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frvnkcastles · 2 years ago

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YOUR WOUND BUT MY SUTURES ➵ F. CASTLE

Summary: Frank has a long night ahead of him… and his best friend really wants to meet you. Cue stakeout!

Warnings: She/her pronouns used, Hurt/comfort, Reader compares herself to Maria

Word count: 2.8k

Curtis had been incessant. Nonstop bombarding Frank with questions of when he’d finally get to meet you — the amazing woman who had stolen The Punisher’s heart and tamed his nightmares, only for Frank to grumble something vague in response. He didn’t blame Curt; you were a gem and one that he planned on cherishing for the rest of his days, but he also preferred keeping you safe and at an arm’s length from his nightly activities. As much as he appreciated Curtis, there was no denying that he was deeply involved with The Punisher side of him, and with you… he just wanted to be Frank.

You had crossed paths with Curtis once — that was what he always pointed out, too, only to receive a lecture about how it doesn’t count if you’re bleeding out on the table, Frank. At the end of the day, it was just about meeting the person who was making his best friend so happy, even if he was completely inadequate at showing it apart from a few crooked smiles and less bitchiness.

Tonight was one of those nights when the two men were planning on sitting in Curtis’ dingy car, staking out the outside of an apartment building where Frank’s latest target was known to hang around. That meant, he was booting up while you got cozy on the couch with a bag of Doritos and the remote in your hand.

”Be safe”, you wished him well when he stomped over to you to give you a slow kiss as farewell, his finger lifting your chin up for him to press his lips onto yours. It was supposed to be short and sweet, but with residual tension still hanging in the air from your earlier fun in the bedroom, he couldn’t resist leaning into you a bit deeper and knocking the air out of your lungs. You were left with a blissful smile when he pulled away, and with a soft look in his eyes, he brushed his thumb across your cheek and then withdrew towards the front door.

”Don’t worry, sweetheart. Should be just sittin’ around tonight”, he reminded, and you rolled your eyes — you had carefully asked him about the plan while in his arms in the bed earlier, only to be shocked that he wasn’t even planning on making himself a sandwich or something. The man was undeniably good with his patience, fully prepared to wait out the night with just coffee in his backpack.

However, as his own words rung in his head, he wondered if there was something else he needed to bring. ”Ya know, uh, Curtis ain’t so happy I haven’t brought you over yet. Sure you’re good with your shows, baby?” he spoke up, his hand falling from the door to turn back to you, and with a Dorito hanging off your lip, you stared at him in quiet wonder.

”You want me to come along?” you asked, your voice so soft with surprise that Frank’s heart swelled at the sound of it. The best he could offer in response was a haphazard shrug, almost like he was nervous you’d say no. And maybe he kind of was. After all, this was a big step for him — opening the door to his other life, willingly inviting you to take his hand and take a glance at the other side.

”It won’t be dangerous?” you added, even though you already knew the answer. He would never place you in harm’s way, he had made that clear on several occasions, and him asking now could only mean it truly was going to be an uneventful night.

”Nah, no excitement. Just two ugly mugs talkin’ shit”, he snorted while zipping up his jacket, concealing the notorious skull. You gave him a disapproving look at the not-so-fond nicknames for him and Curtis, but eventually your expression melted into a grin.

”Should I get changed?” you wondered, half to yourself, but Frank was quick to protest.

”Y’look perfect, sweetheart. C’mere”, he nodded at the front door, something proud fluttering his heart when you shifted the sleeves of his sweater, the worn out fabric from his broad chest loose over your curves. You looked fucking adorable and if you weren’t due to meet Curtis, he just might have shown you just how much he appreciated the look right there on the couch.

You pulled on your shoes and that was it — Frank had the keys and anything else would just get in the way, you decided. With that, he opened the door and held his arm above your shorter frame to let you get out first, his protective figure looming over you as you strode down the hallway of your apartment building.

Curtis was already waiting outside, seated behind the wheel but when he noticed you coming alongside Frank, your hands enjoined, his eyes widened and he climbed out of the car. A wide grin took over his face and he opened his arms, greeting you with joy.

”Hey you!” he laughed, and with a flattered smile that someone would be so happy to see plain old you, you let go of Frank and accepted Curtis’ hug. ”So glad you’re finally joining us! Gets boring with this guy”, he nodded towards Frank who suppressed a smile and adjusted his backpack over his shoulder.

”Yeah, well, it ain’t exactly movie night. Nothin’ happens to her, aight?” he spoke sternly, and with a chuckle, Curtis gestured over to the car where the three of you piled in.

”You make it sound like we’re still disarming bombs, man. It’s just a stakeout”, the man reminded, and with a snort, Frank gave him a look but said nothing more — until he turned to you, glancing over the seat to make sure you were all buckled in in the back.

”Good?” he confirmed, and when you gave him an excited nod, he repeated the gesture and smiled. ”Attagirl.”

Curtis started the car and Frank rested his arm on the window, silence falling in the vehicle for exactly the time it took to make it off of the curb. ”I gotta tell you, I’ve been bugging this guy nonstop to let me meet you. I’ve never heard him speak as much as when you come up. You make him happy, you know”, Curt began explaining, and with an agreeing nod, Frank chimed in.

”Goddamn right.”

Smiling from the backseat, you eyed the two. ”He makes me really happy too”, you emphasized, not missing the way Curtis shot Frank a look, followed by a grin — your best guess was the man was looking more flustered than Curt had seen him in a long time.

As the drive ensued with Frank and Curtis discussing the actual plan of the night, you couldn’t help but wonder how involved he had been in Frank and Maria’s life. He was a good guy, you didn’t doubt that, but a part of you begun to question if maybe he wanted to vet you; make sure you were worthy of his best friend. You wouldn’t blame him, Frank was one of a kind and deserved everything good in the world, and you were fully dedicated to giving him as much as you could. But you also knew you could never be what he had once had, you couldn’t be her.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when the car halted with a whine, officially parked across the street from an apartment building in much worse condition than yours, with dogs barking and distinct yelling in the distance. Frank assessed the situation from where he was sitting, scanning the surroundings and making sure no one was watching them watching.

”If I had known you were coming, I woulda brought snacks. This can get kinda long”, Curtis piped up, twisting in his seat to face you.

Chuckling, you dismissed his worries with a wave of your hand. ”It’s okay. I’m happy to be here”, you reassured before tilting your head at him. ”I hear you have a girlfriend too, now”, you mentioned, and with a low laugh, Frank turned from the window to the two of you.

”Yeah, Curt. Think we oughta do a double-date, huh?” he teased.

”You joke, but I’m serious!” you intervened with a laugh, fondly swatting at Frank’s shoulder from your seat. ”I hope it’s going good with you two, though.”

Curtis smiled at you, nodding to confirm that it had been going well. ”It’s been good. Thanks for saying that”, he replied before turning back in his seat and directing his eyes out of the windshield, both him and Frank keeping their attention on the front entrance of the building. They weren’t stupid, though — there was an alley leading into the back entrance, just in case.

”So, y’all thinking about taking the next step?” Curtis then asked, inviting a heavy silence in the car as Frank turned to him with a glare and you… you just didn’t know what the fuck to say.

It would have been a lie to say you hadn’t thought about it, but you weren’t stupid. You knew marriage with The Punisher wasn’t on the table, and you were perfectly fine with that. Things were perfect as they were, and as awkward as it was to have Curtis bring it up, you didn’t need anything more than what you had right now.

Maybe you could have said that. Instead, you froze completely.

”Think those snacks sound good right now”, Frank was the first one to speak, and you felt defeat heavy on your shoulders, the embarrassment of not saying anything and the slight disappointment of Frank changing the subject. ”Come on, sweetheart. There’s a shop ’round the corner”, he continued, and unsure what else to do, you nodded and exited the car.

You were used to comfortable silences with Frank, but this one was far from it. You felt uneasy, though vaguely comforted when his hand reached for yours instinctively and held on tight. You followed him without a word, silently praising whatever superior power had planted the convenience store quite literally around the corner, allowing you to distract yourself with the food inside.

Before you could make it past the automatic doors, though, Frank was tugging on your hand gently to pull you back. ”Hey—”, he began, but you cut him off, an apologetic smile on your face when you faced him.

”I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I know it’s an uncomfortable topic and he—you know, he really shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that”, you huffed, slouching your tense shoulders when you got the words off your chest. Frank looked at you quietly, narrowing his eyes while inspecting you with that stare that you could never quite decipher, but when he broke into a weak chuckle, you supposed it was a good look.

”Yeah, shit, he shouldn’t have said it. But it’s not…”, he inhaled, pinching his nose before gesturing in the air. ”Look, I, uh, I said somethin’ to him and now… Fuck. Yeah. I guess that’s why he’s been insistin’ on meetin’ you”, he laughed to himself, shaking his head as if to beat himself up. For what, you couldn’t quite tell.

”Baby, I’m not following”, you frowned, and with a nod, Frank swallowed.

”Yeah. Y’know I’m kinda outta my depth here, doin’ this whole datin’ thing again. But it feels right with you, yeah? I wanna be with you. I can’t imagine shit without you anymore”, he explained, his hands slowly encompassing yours as he licked his lips. ”It ain’t somethin’ I’m ready for yet, but I told Curt… I told him that if I ever were to marry someone again, it’d be you. You know? There ain’t no one else for me. No one I’d rather have”, Frank continued, and with every word, you became less and less convinced that you hadn’t just passed out at home and were enveloped in an intense dream.

But the squeeze of his hands on yours, the shy look swimming in the darkness of his eyes, the nervous tick of his jaw… It was all too real and you couldn’t stop your lips from twitching into a sheepish smile.

”No one?” you blurted out, and with a snort, Frank glanced at his feet.

”Yeah, I know it ain’t easy bein’ with me all the time. All that baggage… Shit, I dunno how you deal with me, sweetheart. But yeah, no one. She, uh… she was the love of my life. But I ain’t that guy anymore. Whoever I am now, is so fuckin’ in love with you. I’ve got a new life, and you’re the love of that one”, he rambled, his voice obviously nervous but entirely sincere as he confessed his love to you under the stars and the neon sign of the convenience store. It wasn’t the first time you’d heard him say I love you, but like this? Never.

”I’m in love with you”, you repeated, dropping his hands only so you could wrap your arms around his neck and pull his taller body into yours. ”And you don’t have to be ready. I’m perfectly fine the way we are. We’ll take that step together whenever we want to”, you promised, murmuring into his shoulder, and with a soft nod, he agreed. He held you against his chest, precious like you were going to vanish at any second, and closed his eyes while breathing you in.

”Okay”, you chuckled, wiping your eyes when you pulled away from him, ”let’s go get some snacks.”

Equipped with some chips and chocolate, as well as Twizzlers for Curtis, you and Frank made it back to the car hand in hand. As soon as you had climbed back into the backseat, you dug Curt’s candy from the little plastic bag and waved it in his face, grinning up at him.

”You’re a blessing”, he sighed at you, taking the licorice with gratitude.

”Don’t know how you eat those shits. It’s like fuckin’ rubber or somethin’”, Frank grumbled, just as he reached for the thermos in his backpack and made Curtis laugh.

”Says the black coffee drinker”, he pointed out while unwrapping his Twizzlers. You giggled in the back, digging through the bag for your favorite chocolate bar to snack on.

Frank had just poured himself a cup, when he noticed the man of the hour sneaking into the apartment building. ”Fuck, you gotta be kiddin’ me”, he huffed, placing his cup on the dashboard before unholstering his gun and turning quickly towards you to press a kiss on your forehead. ”Anythin’ happens, you follow Curtis”, he instructed before turning to the man himself and giving him a look, ”got that?”

Nodding, Curtis promised to look after you. ”I got it. Go, man, we’ll be fine”, he assured, and with that, Frank fled the car and you watched him jog across the street.

As he entered the right building, Curt turned back to you and noticed how nervous your bites had become. ”Hey, he’s just being dramatic. He knows what he’s doing, nothing to worry about”, he tried to console you, and with a wry chuckle, you finished your chocolate.

”You know I’ve patched him up enough times to know that’s not always true”, you noted before giving him a smile, ”but thank you.”

He shrugged before turning back to look at the building, keeping a close eye just in case. ”Hope I didn’t put you guys in too awkward of a place earlier”, he spoke then, and with a quiet laugh, you shook your head.

”It’s fine. Kinda ruined the surprise, though”, you hummed, and with wide eyes, he looked over to you.

”Shit, he didn’t bring it up with you?”

You laughed. ”Nope, but I guess it had to come out one way or another. He was really sweet, anyway. It’s okay”, you reassured before tugging on your sleeves and bringing your hands to rest on your cheeks so the warmth of the sweater and the stuck scent from Frank could comfort you.

”For what it’s worth, I think you’re great. You know, he thinks he’s the luckiest guy in the world. And I know you feel just as lucky and that’s all I need to know”, Curtis announced, relieving any tension left in your jaw and any worries on your heart when it came to making a good first impression. Of course, he wasn’t comparing you to Maria — you were the only one doing that.

You could get used to this, though. You didn’t need to be Maria, you just needed to be you, willing to spend ungodly hours outside with your vigilante lover kicking ass while you snacked with his best friend.

#frank castle #frank castle fanfiction #frank castle x reader #the punisher #the punisher x reader

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waitineedaname · 1 year ago

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Lan Fan had known about Winry’s exuberant love of automail. She had not quite been prepared for that attention to be laser-focused on her with a delighted squeal. “Look at the plating!” Winry exclaimed, eyes practically sparkling as she admired Lan Fan’s arm. “The way they slide together so that the armor doesn’t limit your mobility! Oh, wow.”

Lan Fan went slightly pink, unused to this kind of attention. “The engineer tried to keep my profession in mind when they designed it. It’s modeled after Xingese platemail.”

“Amazing.” Winry turned her adoring attention to the elbow joint. “Ed says you have a knife attachment too.”

Lan Fan nodded. “Be careful, I don’t want to cut you with it.” Winry withdrew her hands, and with a swift motion, Lan Fan flicked the blade out of the elbow joint. Winry practically shrieked with joy.

“I can’t believe it’s retractable! And so smoothly!” Winry carefully ran her hands around the base of the blade where it was deployed from.

“I have to oil it regularly,” Lan Fan told her, extending her arm so Winry could examine the underside of it.

“That makes sense. That’s a given with any automail, especially ones that experience the kind of strenuous use you’d be putting yours under. Ed never oils his enough,” she added with a sigh, though her exasperation didn’t last long. “Do you just have the one blade or can you swap it out?”

“Would that be possible? Multiple attachments?” Lan Fan asked, eyes wide. Winry clutched her arm, a determined sparkle in her eyes.

“Lan Fan. You have to let me make you new knives. Give me a week, and I’ll have all sorts of new blades for you.”

Well, Lan Fan wasn’t going to turn down an offer to make her more dangerous. “Okay,” she said, nodding. Winry clapped her hands happily, clearly resisting the urge to squeal again.

“How’s your port?” she asked, back to examining her arm. Lan Fan knew the scarring at her shoulder was unpleasant to look at, but Winry was a professional and saw scarred automail ports for a living. “Does it get sore?”

Lan Fan winced. “I did not give it enough time to heal when I first got it,” she admitted. “The nerves were definitely damaged. But physical therapy and alkahestry has helped.”

“Alkahestry, huh?” Winry tapped on her chin, contemplative for a moment. “I wonder if I can get Mei’s help with improving physical therapy… Hm…” Winry shook herself out of her thoughts with a smile. “Sorry. Got distracted there. How does it compare to your other arm? Are you used to it?”

“I’m not ambidextrous anymore,” Lan Fan said with some regret. “But the automail is much stronger than my right arm. And my dexterity is almost the same. I can throw kunai with my left arm just as well as my right.”

Winry’s eyes lit up again and she took Lan Fan's automail hand in both of her own. “You have to show me right now.”

Which is how they ended up in the Rockbells’ back yard, Lan Fan’s set of daggers in hand. “Pick a spot for me to hit,” she told Winry, pointing at the large tree she’d chosen for target practice.

Winry examined it for a moment, then pointed at a knot near where one of the branches split off. Fast as lightning, Lan Fan embedded a blade in the center of the knot, quickly followed by the rest of her kunai in a radial pattern. Winry applauded like she was watching a sporting match.

“Do you want to try?” Lan Fan offered once she’d plucked the daggers out of the bark.

“Me?” Winry pointed at herself, as if there was anyone else Lan Fan might be talking to. “I’ve never done this sort of thing before.”

“It’s never too late to try.”

She showed Winry how to hold the kunai, and how to position her body in relation to the tree. She ended up guiding Winry’s arm similarly to how Winry had been handling her automail only a few minutes prior. The first blade Winry threw ended up bouncing off the tree without embedding itself in the bark, but it at least hit the tree, which was a victory in itself. Lan Fan guided her through when to release the blade and how much force to put behind the throw, but just seconds before Winry threw it, they were interrupted.

“Hey Win, Ben wants- SHIT!” Ed yelped just barely ducking out of the kunai’s trajectory. He and Ling had taken the children raspberry picking at the neighbor’s that afternoon, and he had chosen that moment of all moments to walk around the side of the house. Ling appeared beside him, raspberry stains around his mouth and a toddler on his shoulders absolutely making his hair sticky. He looked at Ed on the ground with the other toddler in mild bemusement, then looked over at Winry and Lan Fan, realization lighting up his face.

“Ooh! Are you doing knife throwing?” He grinned, excited. “You should do that thing where you throw it at me and I catch it with my teeth!”

“Not with my kid on your shoulders, you won’t!” Ed complained, pulling himself upright to pluck Liane off Ling’s shoulders.

“I’m not doing that, my lord,” Lan Fan said flatly. Ling pouted.

“Why not? We used to do it all the time as kids!”

“I don’t want to return home and have to explain why the emperor has a new scar on his face.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ling insisted, but the moment was broken anyway, the children rushing over to their mother to distract her by showing her their baskets of freshly picked berries. Lan Fan collected the daggers Winry had thrown, taking one of them from a disgruntled Ed who had nearly become a dartboard himself.

“Your wife is cool,” she informed him as she took the knife back. Ed raised an eyebrow.

“I’m aware. Did she drool over your automail and offer to design more knives?” he asked. Her blush was apparently enough of an answer to make him laugh. “Figured. She’s been itching to do that since I first told her about your elbow sword thing. I dunno what your automail mechanic is like in Xing, but Winry isn’t gonna want to let you go once she gets her hands on your automail.”

“Well,” Lan Fan said diplomatically, “We will just have to visit more often, then.”

Ed grinned. “None of us will complain about that. C’mon, let’s eat some of those raspberries before Ling and the kids eat them all, then you can give us all a knife throwing demonstration.”

The children were even more thrilled by her knife throwing than their parents, though it was Winry’s cheers that Lan Fan heard the loudest. Yes, they’d definitely have to make it a point to come back to Resembool more often.

#fma #lan fan #winry rockbell #ed and ling make brief appearances as well as the edwin kids #my writing #this ended up being more automail appreciation than knife throwing #you know how it is with winry #also it was not my initial intent but as soon as I started writing I was like 'oh lan fan is gonna be kinda gay about this isn't she'#let's pretend this is in the same poly relationship setting as my edling fic <3 #ling and lan fan each get one half of the elric-rockbell married couple

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bijoumikhawal · 9 months ago

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Bite the Hand that Starves You: Chapter Six

Fic as of this chapter contains: discussion of abortion, references to drug use, intersex and trans characters, torture/graphic violence, colonialism and its aftermath, implied sexual violence, disassociation

Kardasi: peikirvi- would translate to something like "concubine", specifically refers to an individual that socially presents as male, and was assigned such at birth, but can carry children (and often could impregnate someone else), who is legally bound to someone. Usually this is done with a pre-existing couple who has fertility issues.

---

Peikirvi don’t get grand celebrations when they’re added to someone’s family. Women, less commonly men, or more commonly… it didn’t matter.

It is Garak, Barkan, and Palandine. Almost like that night in the garden, many years ago- except now, there is a government official, looking quite bored, and her assistant.

Normally, their parents would be here too. Of course, Garak does not get that comfort. He wonders why they didn’t bring theirs.

The dark coral doesn’t look quite right on Garak’s skin. Palandine and Barkan both naturally look regal in reddened burnt orange. Orange, orange, orange- of course it's all orange. Blue is too improper, even when it's ostensibly the only reason he's here.

Palandine, as the existing spouse, has a structured cap over her hair, to symbolize that she won’t be jealous. Neither of them has been able to make eye contact since they both entered the room. These are the details Garak latches onto as, in turn, they each wash their hands and mouth. The ink of signatures is already drying.

The skimmer isn't outfitted the way it would be if this was a grand celebration either, of course, and there is no procession, no well wishers. It wasn’t that Garak expected any- had ever expected any. He stopped considering the idea that he would have a legally recognized partner after he left Bamarren.

Palandine is sent off so he and Barkan are alone. Barkan stands behind him, stroking his neck ridges.

“How is your leg these days? Your spine?”

“Healed.”

“A pity, what happened during the competition…” Barkan sighed. “I suppose I never explained myself to you.”

“I suppose you didn’t.”

“Shh- this is meant to be a happy occasion. I shouldn't have mentioned it.”

Garak let his shoulder relax under Barkan’s touch instead of pushing himself to resist. “How would you explain yourself?”

“You know how brutal social politics can be, Elim. You were only in your first year… and frankly, you didn't have a strong standing among your peers. If I had awarded you, I realized, it would put a target on your back.” Barkan’s fingers slipped into his mijast, undoing the fastenings. “You would be the one to beat, into submission. It was improper of me to seek out your knowledge in the first place. Hearing how badly you were injured made me realize why.”

“I thought that was an accident.” Barkan stayed behind him, so Garak did not reciprocate the undressing.

“As far as I know, it was. But if that was how bad an accident could be, a purposeful attack…” he was at the lacing on Garak’s supportive garments now. “It was a miserable sight, seeing you use that cane for all those months.”

Garak’s hand curled, remembering the grip of the handle, how smooth it had worn by the end. “I see.”

“You don't.” Barkan’s hands slid over his stomach. “I…”

Garak turned in his arms. “You're still dressed.”

---

This time, Garak wasn't in a decrepit hall, or his shop, or on the promenade. This time, Garak was ill fated to be on a turbolift.

There were many times when he wished stairs were feasible on space stations.

When Barkan laid eyes on him, he turned to his aide, and gestured for them to go off and do who knows what. The doors closed behind him like red curtains.

"How lucky I've become." Barkan mused, voice like a whetstone.

"How unpatriotic." Garak replied. A good Cardassian did not believe in fickle luck- fate was another matter.

Barkan laughed, but didn't go for the obvious barb. He went for a worse one. "That doctor of yours... he's quite young, isn't he? A little younger than you were, when you joined my household."

"I hadn't noticed." Garak said dryly. He was lying, of course, but Barkan didn't know that. It had, once or twice, prickled at him, like straight pins shoved under scales, Julian's youth, and the things that came with it- naivete, exuberance.

It sometimes made him angry. Made Garak want to grab him by the collar and shake him.

"Really?"

"Yes." Garak resisted the urge to elaborate- to say something about Bashir's competence as not just a doctor, but CMO, member of the station senior staff. To further slide in that he was not only a doctor, but a soldier.

Barkan wanted him to talk.

"Strange." Barkan murmured. "You're usually so observant. I suppose you pay more attention to clothes than people these days."

Garak stared at him blankly. Well, not blankly- simply with what, to him, felt like a neutral expression. It tended to make him look a bit sullen.

Barkan tilted his head, smiling. "Well, when you do that, you like you did when we met."

Palandine's advice of smiling as a way of being powerful did not work on this man. Garak’s smile would be evidence of his power. His sullenness would be too, but it was more unpleasant for Barkan.

He hoped it prodded at his wounds, whispered in his ear how did you think this was your caged darling? How blinded by your desires were you not to see the teeth in his maw, the claws at the bend of the wing?

The compartment came to a stop, and the doors opened. Garak left without a word.

Barkan let him.

---

Julian was in line at the Klingon restaurant, trying not to think about work, when he of course ran into his only superior. “Captain.” Julian greeted him with a smile. “I don't usually see you eat out.”

Sisko tipped his head to the side. “Kaga has been pleading with me to try his cooking, on the house, ever since we tied as finalists in a station competition. I gave him a heads up that I'd be taking him up on that offer today- I'm hoping it'll help me relax after all these meetings with Dukat.”

Julian sighed. Dukat and his crew would, thankfully, be leaving in two days. “Speaking of… sir, I have a request.”

It was then that Kaga came to greet his guest. “Captain Sisko! You did not tell me you had a guest!” He clapped a hand on each of their shoulders. “But he will be a great help to you in eating everything I've prepared! Doctor, where have you been hiding?”

Julian opened his mouth to explain that actually, they were both on their own, but a squeeze on his arm from Sisko made him think better of it. “I've just been…” he sighed, “Very busy.”

“Too busy to eat! Pah. You must learn to delegate.” Kaga escorted them to a corner that had been done up nicely, and already was set up with several dishes giving off fragrant steam. They were indeed, more than enough for one person… potentially three. “Sit, sit and eat. Later I will come and entertain you personally, and if T'ustolla does not treat you well in the meantime, he will go in tomorrow's special!”

“That must be the new assistant.” Julian said as Kaga left.

“Hopefully he's a match for Kaga.” Sisko said with a smile. “You had a request of me?” He said, taking the first dish.

“Yes.” Julian looked down at the table. “I understand if you think it's a bad time, sir, but I was hoping to take some leave.”

“Of course. What makes you think it's a bad time?” Sisko asked as he looked around for utensils.

“You eat these with your hands sir, it's like Ethiopian food- well. Recently, we had first contact with the main political power of the Delta quadrant, and it was hostile, possibly irreconcilably so. There's the usual tension with Bajor, increased tension with Cardassia, kunowaat is still going around even if it’s petering out with no new infections, and most likely something I'm forgetting at the moment.”

“To you that sounds like I shouldn't give you leave. To me that sounds like the last chance you may get in awhile, doctor.”

“Oh, don't jinx me.” Julian sighed. “I see your point, though. It'll be a moment before things get worse, and when they do…”

Sisko patted his hand. “Just wait until you've got a decade of service under your belt. Now, is there anything else you wanted from me?”

“No, sir.”

“Then take Kaga's advice and eat.”

---

The rest of their dinner conversation had been light. They'd said their goodbyes to each other, and now Julian was walking. Walking and thinking- found himself thinking about his own... relationship to the idea of children.

One of the things he and Palis understood was that Julian was never having children. She'd been fine with that- understood some of it, even, having a fraught relationship with her own parents that they'd mended after years of effort.

No one knew that a lot of it was for the sane reason as Garak- it simply would be cruel for him to have children. It'd brand them as accomplices, and Julian would rather not repeat his parents mistakes.

He stopped in front of Garak’s quarters.

Naturally, he was here to check in on his friend, as a friend, not as a doctor.

After a moment of thought, Julian buzzed the door. It seemed Garak took a moment to think as well, since the door opened just as Julian was about to press the door buzzer again.

Garak had on his normal clothes this time.

It seemed Garak was in the midst of sewing something, fabric stretched out on the table before him. Fragrant steam floated up from a mug of tea kept in arm's reach.

"New clothes for yourself?" Julian guessed.

"Mm." Garak put down the cutting tool he was using.

"It looks nice." Julian offered.

"Why are you here?"

Julian’s brow knitted in confusion. "I'm checking in on you. I thought you might want to talk again."

"Did you." Garak passive aggressively folded a length of fabric- it made Julian tense, reminding him of his mother.

Julian set his jaw, cautious. "Yes, Garak, I did."

Garak didn't look at him as he kept talking, instead putting the fabric on a shelf under the table. "Well, doctor, I don't. I don't wish to acknowledge whats happened at all- you should know that by now." He hadn't looked at Julian the while time, and he was putting on a a patronizing air, but-

But it was normal, really. Julian breathed. "Alright." If Garak didn't want to talk, that was fine. And he wasn't lying, or at least his lies were consistent- last time, he'd just asked about the pudding. "I still-"

"Came for something else."

"To be... here, yes." Julian felt off balance, but held his ground. Garak had called him last time, and yes, they'd had a misunderstanding, but. Ultimately, Garak had been soothed by him.

Julian wanted to soothe him.

"Why?" Garak asked again. "Just being here is hardly a reason. There's nothing here. I'm in no state to host, and you know this."

Julian stared at him. "I'm not asking you to host me. You don't need to-"

Garak laughed, getting up and walking to the window. "Well, thank you for your clemency. Your permission."

Everything he said was going to be taken badly, wasn't it? Julian sighed- he hadn't figured out how to respond to Garak when he was upset like this yet. "I didn't mean it that way."

"No, I suppose it simply doesn't matter to you." Garak remarked. "That imposing might be inconvenient for others."

He was doing bullshit again, it seemed. Julian bit his cheek, thinking.

Garak had his back to him. "Well? Have anything to say for yourself?"

"Garak... must we do this?"

Garak was still- his shoulders did not twitch, and if his face changed, it was hidden. Unlike last time, and the time before, he had solid control on himself. "Dodging, doctor?"

"You aren't upset that I'm imposing and you aren't in a state to receive guests."

"How do you know? How do you know anything at all?"

"You never cared about it before." Julian pointed out. Admittedly, Garak had only invited him over once or twice before- before this, and the wire. But he hadn't cared then. There'd been the clutter of life around then, and it wasn't that anything special was prepared. They had drinks from the replicator and draped themselves over the too-hard chairs.

"Perhaps I've realized I've been improper and wish to change."

Julian raised his brows, thinking back on their interrupted lunch. "Improper?"

"Classless. Whichever word you like."

Julian frowned. "That's not it either."

That made Garak snap and turn to him. "Then perhaps it's this, doctor: I want you to leave, and wanted to-"

"Be polite about it?" Julian couldn't help himself. The second part was so ridiculous- nothing about Garak’s attempts had been polite. His tone conveyed all that disbelief exactly.

Garak’s face was set and cold. "So clever. So... quick."

This had been a mistake. Or had it? Julian still didn't know why Garak was acting like this, and didn't buy that him coming by had incited it. Mistake implied he could've avoided it.

In any case, he was at a loss for what to do. "Garak..." He tried again, and it hung in the air, lonely and ineffective.

"Good night, doctor." Garak turned away from him again.

Julian reached for him for a second, then, remembering, took his hand back. He nodded to himself and left.

He walked a few yards of corridor before the overwhelming need to stop came over him. He leaned against the wall, pressed a hand to his forehead and willed his heart rate to go down.

CMO of a station fresh out of the academy. Impressive, and an easy way into an early grave- exactly what he'd wanted. But two years was a little fast.

He really needed that break away, didn't he?

#Fic: Bite the Hand that Starves You #Ds9 #Garashir #Ds9 fic #Star trek fic

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dailycharacteroption · 8 months ago

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Hybrid Class Review: Investigator part 2

(art by Nezart on DeviantArt)

Utility and Builds

Now with the preamble out of the way, let’s get into the meat of what makes the investigator tick.

At their core, the investigator gets proficiency with light armor, simple weapons, and a collection of thematically-appropriate weapons revolving around more subtle and dexterous weaponry. They also get a nice selection of class skills and a heaping helping of ranks to put into them, making them a very skill-focused class to begin with.

They also start out learning alchemy the same way alchemists do, able to use it to identify potions and elixers, as well as brew extracts, though they do not gain bombs or mutagens. They use the same spell list as alchemists, though obviously the bomb admixture extracts won’t work for them normally since they don’t gain bombs.

Honestly, I dislike the addition of alchemy to the base investigator, as it seems a little too out of place and/or too much a reference to Sherlock Holmes’ drug habit, but maybe that’s me seeing things that aren’t there.

The biggest mechanic, however, that the investigator is known for is their pool of inspiration. This pool allows them to add an extra d6 to skill checks. They can do this with any skill, though they can do it for free with knowledge skills and linguistics as long as they’ve trained in them. Additionally, they can spend double the points to use them with attacks and saves as well.

Their keen perception also gives them the roguish ability to notice traps with ease and disable even the magical ones.

They also study lots of lore on poisons, not only being able to handle and utilize them safely, but able to identify them with ease and even neutralize them.

That practice comes with a lot of errors and tests in the lab, and as a result, much like alchemists, they develop increasing resistance to poison, and even immunity later on.

Much like alchemist discoveries and rogue talents, investigators get their own supply of talents. These talents range from adding nasty extra effects to their studied strike (more on that in a moment), adding a limited list of alchemist discoveries or rogue talents, improving the base die of their inspiration, letting them apply inspiration for free on more types of skills, making using inspiration for combat purposes more efficient, new ways to spend inspiration to bolster themselves or others, and so on, leading to a lot of customization.

Their skill and instincts with traps Also makes them good at dodging them.

Much like rogues, investigators have their own advantage in combat, though it functions differently. By studying an opponents every move, from the way they attack to the subtle ways they give away past injuries and weaknesses, giving them bonuses on their aim and the damage they deal. However, normally such a foe immediately learns to compensate once the studied state ends, making it impossible to do again until at least a day has passed, that is, unless the investigator expends some of their inspiration to compensate for their compensation.

However, they can also end this studied state with a bang, ending the state in return for dealing a singular crippling strike against their target, the damage of which only increases with time, and can apply to both lethal and nonlethal strikes alike.

Much like alchemists, they also learn to brew their alchemical items with exceptional speed.

Finally, the most brilliant and skilled of these investigators can use their inspiration for free on all skills and ability checks. What’s more, their inspiration rolls two dice instead of one, boosting them to even greater heights whether they are applying it to skills or combat.

Of course, investigators got alternate capstones in Chronicle of Legends, with the one specific to the investigator making them even more lethal when studying a foe.

Aside from that, some become pinnacles of mental and physical fitness with Perfect Body, Flawless Mind; become the heads of organizations with The Boss; acquire a legendary weapon or piece of equipment with With This Sword; or become a death-defying legend akin to the apparent death and later resurrection of Sherlock Holmes by Doyle with Won’t Stay Dead.

The investigator class is very much a skill monkey, and arguably one of the best ones thanks to them able to add an extra dice to their rolls, often for free, not to mention being able to roll on all knowledge skills even without training. You can be anything from a rambling chatterbox that gets others to let slip information, to a sneaky investigator that seems more like a thief despite gathering evidence instead of riches, and so on, leading to so many different builds.

Additionally, their combat gimmick is fun and rewards strategic play, gaining a lesser passive buff for a while before striking at the right moment with a devastating blow, which may be at the end of your strike or whenever it would be most useful to damage the foe right now or apply a debilitating effect.

And on top of that, they have alchemical extracts as well, providing plenty of buffs with some blasting and strange other effects. Despite my misgivings about them, the base investigator can do a lot with them, though it’s no surprise that the Second Edition version of the class treats the alchemy side of the original as an optional possibility.

All in all, whether you use then as actual detectives, brilliant scholars putting their knowledge to good use, or even military tacticians or masterminds, the investigator truly is a class all about putting their intelligence to good use without having to be a caster (mostly).

That will do for today, but as we’ll see tomorrow, archetypes only improve the variety of brilliance that these investigators can command.

#pathfinder #hybrid class #review #investigator

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omniblades-and-stars · 4 months ago

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Shrios & 28 fuck me up harder than heat exhaustion could

I would just like to remind you that you did say "fuck me up harder than heat exhaustion could". I would like to apologize in advance for this. Context: This is based in a no Reapers AU where Thane and Shepard (or The Shepherd here, and by a bunch of aliases) are rival assassins or are in love obsession with each other. The pieces I wrote are actually pretty fun little things, but sometimes and I think too hard about the implications of what's going on there and it is dark. So ... here you go?

From this prompt meme here.

VERY IMPORTANT CW: Blood, implication of the most toxic sort of "relationship", death, and suicide. I cannot stress enough that you should read and heed this warning.

drowning

A raft made of lies cannot save you from the ocean.

The knife met little resistance from his exposed skin. It parted muscle like waters, the strike expertly slipped between the wall of ribs. The Shepherd smiled as she panted, wiping ruby red blood from her lip with the back of her other hand.

Her target's back crashed against the island counter, hand pressed against against the wound but failing to staunch the flow of precious blood. "Thank you," Thane whispered as he allowed himself to slide to the floor. Relief and peace hidden in the great expanse of his dark eyes.

"Alright, I know what we've got going on is fucked up, but you don't have to just lay it out like that," she answered with more snark than she felt. It was different. Things hadn't gone according to the rules. He was supposed to hate her right now. She was supposed to feel like this was a victory somehow, though it felt less and less like one every time it was her turn to win.

"It is a good end. A well-earned one," he said from his place slumped on the floor. "Sophie, this was only ever going to end one way," he added tenderly. And then he coughed. He had coughed earlier too, before this standoff.

This was only ever going to end one way.

There were emeralds in her hands and crystals forming in her eyes. She shook her head, "No, you-you ... you always have a plan," she sputtered, the truth failing to take grasp as her mind fought violently against it. "Medigel, sutures, antidotes, a fucking safe house, or-or a false identity so you can call for help!"

"Not this time," he answered weakly. His breath had grown so thin already, a reedy, wheezing sound.

Emerald green painted her palms, evidence of her violence sunk into the lines, rivers of shimmering cruelty. She tasted salt and copper on her tongue, bitter as the lie that lay shattered and slipping away at her feet.

The realization broke upon her like the crashing of the ocean waves, cold and uncaring if they dragged her away with the undertow. "You wanted this." She was drowning.

Thane nodded, making no attempt to hide the truth of it from her. "I am dying, Sophie. I have been dying for a long time." He chuckled, blood tainting the pleasant rumble with a gurgling that made her stomach churn instead of making her heart flutter like it used to. "It was selfish of me, I know. But wasting away in a hospital bed seemed a worse end."

Sophie nodded, numb. She was drowning. Someone, maybe it was her, dropped a knife, it fell next to her foot with a metallic clang that echoed only in the empty cavern of her mind. She was hollowed out, a void, a black fucking hole where everything good went to get twisted and mangled and warped. Everything she touched turned to rot and ruin and death.

She'd ruined him too. He couldn't escape the event horizon no matter how much they had pretended that he could.

She wanted to say something, anything. Curse him for fooling her, for hiding the truth. But she couldn't really blame him for it. How could he trust her? He didn't even know her real fucking name. Just the one she stole from someone who had once been important to her. Did she even remember her name? Not Sophie. Not Nora. Not Julia. Not Artemis. Not anyone. There had been so many names. So many lies to hide from herself.

She had been dead for a long time. She was drowning.

She turned, taking one unsure step after another away from the man dying next to her.

"Sophie, wait," he gasped. "Please stay with me."

She closed her eyes, swallowing the sob that tried to claw its way out of her throat. "I'm just getting something." Was it better to fight the swelling waves or against the whirlpool pulling you in? Was it better to let the ocean take you? The Shepherd gathered her resolve, though her heart raced, and she felt like she might vomit. The little glass vial was so cold, it almost burned in her hand. She tried not to look at it, or the blood smeared and drying on her palm.

She returned to him and bent down to kiss him as tears spilled down her cheeks. It wasn't supposed to go like this. He was supposed to be with her when she died, not the other way around. "Something for the pain," she whispered against his lips. He wouldn't feel anything from the liquid in the bottle, it wasn't for him. She couldn't be alone. "If you see my mother there on your sea shore, tell her Marcy missed her."

Thane's struggled to keep his eyes open, his ragged gasps just shallow imitations of breathing. "You can tell her yourself, when it is your time. Not yet."

There were emeralds on his chest, and crystals staining his cheeks.

Marcy closed her eyes against the burning tears that refused to stop. She sat down against the island counter, pulling Thane into an awkward and desperate embrace. "Not yet," she lied as she kissed him again. What was one more lie? Her heartbeat began to slow despite the fear she felt in the marrow of her bones.

This was only ever going to end one way.

Marcy thought of the sapphire sea, and glittering emerald scales until the tendrils of her thoughts quietly slipped away.

The vial rolled from her open hand to the ground. It echoed in the silence, heard by no one.

#daisy screaming into the void #this is my ask game tag now #wicked game #anyways um ...#fuuuuuuuck

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richincolor · 1 year ago

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Love & Resistance by Kara H.L. Chen (Quill Tree Books)

Publisher’s Summary: Seventeen-year-old Olivia Chang is at her fourth school in seven years. Her self-imposed solitude is lonely, but safe. At Plainstown High, however, Olivia’s usual plan of anonymity fails when the infamous Mitzi Clarke (influencer, queen bee, bully) makes a pointed racist comment in class. Olivia knows what she must do: let it go. But Olivia is tired of ignoring things just so she can survive. This time, she defends herself.

That is the end of her invisible life.

Soon, Olivia discovers, and joins forces with, the Nerd Net: a secret society who has been thwarting Mitzi’s reign of terror for months. Together, they plan to unite the masses and create true change at Plainstown High.

But in order to succeed, Olivia must do something even more terrifying than lead a movement: trust other people. She might even make true friends along the way . . . if Mitzi doesn’t destroy her first.

My Thoughts: This book was a perfect summer read. There’s a good balance of ups with the downs throughout. The story contains bullying and racism, but also brings in friendship, love, and as the title would indicate – resistance to the injustices.

Having attended seven schools between kindergarten and graduation, including two in Ohio, there were many things I could relate to in Olivia’s experience. Many readers are likely to connect to her attempts to be invisible and find out the lay of the land when she starts attending new schools. And if not, they probably would at least understand the necessity.

Being new to a school junior year is challenging enough, but having the added layer of race, makes starting over significantly harder in a place like Plainstown. Olivia explains, “When you walk through life wearing a target–your face–there are times when you forget you are different. But there are always reminders.” The little things people do like staring or talking too loudly because they think you don’t know English all communicate that, “You are not one of us.”

Though her grandfather has died prior to the beginning of the book, I appreciated how Olivia shares parts of his immigration story and their relationship. Over the years, he told her many stories and taught a lot about military strategy. She is especially well practiced in the art of non-engagement. And then everything sort of spirals out of control and she has to utilize other strategies she learned from him. She also has to look for and collaborate with allies.

One of my favorite parts of this book was seeing the friendships being built and nurtured. It’s also a plus that there are people working together who have different opinions and find ways to express them without simply laying judgement on someone’s personality. Comparisons are drawn to the ‘us and them’ aspect of modern politics where you are only for or against us and there is no nuance. It’s not easy, but there are individuals who value being able to question and discuss things while also respecting others and being open to seeing people as more than one-dimensional. This doesn’t mean they ignore the vile actions of folks, but they see other ways of interacting with people and ways to work with those who they may have only seen as enemies before.

And yes, there is a romance or two to be found in these pages. The banter is super fun and made me smile. There is one central relationship, but there is also another side couple added to the mix.

Recommendation: Get it soon! Olivia and the Nerd Net are folks well worth meeting.

Extras: Excerpt

Pages: 352 Review copy: Final copy via publisher Availability: On shelves now

#book review #Love and Resistance #Young Adult Lit

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hime-memes · 2 years ago

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• Kidnapped / Held Captive Starters •

Okay, I’ve compiled a list of requested kidnapping / being held captive starters. Some of these could be said in other contexts besides kidnapping, so use at your own discretion. ** Some of them range from serious to the down right absurd. ( I think I’ve covered a range of character personality types, and I’ve added a bonus bit for a potential kidnapper’s perspective. )

As always: Feel free to change anything within these that you see fit to make it work for your muse & the receiver’s muse !

Recommended For: Criminal muses or plots

Trigger Warnings For: Kidnapping - ( obviously ! ), drug / alcohol mentions, lots of swearing.

“ Where am I ? ... How did I get here ?! “ “ What was in that drink / dish ? ” “ I might not get very far, but I swear to God -- I will fight to get out of here ! “ “ I doubt anyone is looking for me ... so, why bother taking me ? “ “ Listen: contact, [ Name ], they’ll give you whatever you want - just let me go ! “ “ I’m going to make so much fucking noise someone is going to find me. “ “ Why does stuff like this always happen to me ?! “ “ I don’t know who put you up to this, but you’ve got it all wrong ... “ “ I could have gotten out of here anytime I wanted ... but, this shit show was too fun to resist watching, if I’m honest. “ “ I’m not eating or drinking anything you give me ... last time that happened, I ended up here ! “ “ Listen - I’m just thrilled to be away from the assholes I’ve got the displeasure of being related to. Congratulations, you played yourself ! “ “ Huh, my mom always said if someone kidnapped me they’d bring me back account of me never shutting up … anyway, what were we talking about ? “ “ Just because you’re holding me here like a caged animal doesn’t mean I am one. “ “ Please don’t hurt me. “ “ Did [ name ] put you up to this ? Wait … am I on candid camera ?! Very funny guys, just make sure you get my good side ! “ “ I don’t care what you do to me, I’m not selling [ Name / Organization ] out ! “ “ I don’t have the energy to fight this anymore. You win, I’ll tell you about [ plan, place, objectives, etc. ] … “ “ I didn’t think anyone would stoop this low, but to be completely honest - I’m not surprised. “ “ It never had to come to this. “ “ Please don’t toy with me, I’m already scared enough. “ “ What do you mean [ Name ] isn’t coming for me ? I thought I could always count on them … “ “ Where did you take [ Name ] ?! [Name]!? [Name]!! “ “ Oh yeah ? Well I’m going to chew through these ropes like a stinky little rat baby ! Then what ?! Your plan is gonna be so fucked ... “ “ Wait a minute — do I know you ?? Oh my God … [ name ] ?! “ “ I don’t understand, why target me ? “ “ I think you’ve got the wrong person — I don’t know what’s happening here ! “ “ When I get out of here - just know, I’m coming after you and your goons … relentlessly ! “ “ There were easier ways to get my attention ... “ “ My head hurts — Did you actually hit me ? “ “ I WANT TO GO HOME ! LET. ME. GO ! “ “ If you bastards hurt [ Name ] … I swear, there is no where you can run from me in here. “ “ I’m not locked up in here with you … you’re locked up in here with me ! … Oh, come on ! That’s the most badass line in ‘ Watchmen ‘ ! “ “ I can honestly say I didn’t see this coming. “ “ NO ! Leave [ Name ] alone ! It’s me that you have a problem with ! “ “ You left me locked up with only my thoughts for company … you can’t be that surprised that I’ve figured out [ how to get out of here / who you are / what your plan is etc. ] ! “ “ If you haven’t hurt me / killed me yet, then it clearly isn’t that personal. Is it ? If it’s money you’re after, name your price for my freedom - I’ll pay it. “ “ Tell [ Name ] I’ll get them the [ money, object of importance/ etc. ], just let me go. This has all just been one big misunderstanding ! “ “ I’m not scared, … just exhausted. There’s a difference. “ “ I already know I’m never getting out of here, so I’ll just save my tears and the pleas for mercy ... “ “ You’re insane ! Let me go - I haven’t done anything to deserve this ! “ “ Wait until my [ Parents, Spouse, Siblings ] hear about this ! Wait … what do you mean they sold me out ? No ! You’re lying ! “ “ Please let me out of here. I won’t tell anyone, just please let me go ... I’ll forget I ever saw you & forget that this ever happened. “ “ I’m not going to lie down and play the good little victim ... i’m not as dumb as you look ! “ “ I’m getting out of here one way or another. “ “ Get any closer and I’ll spit in your pathetic face. “ “ I didn’t think these would be the consequences for crossing you - it won’t happen again, just please, let me out of here ! “ “ I don’t want things to escalate anymore, just tell me what you want ! “ “ ... I’ll just add this to my extensive resume of weird experiences, and we’ll call this even. Okay ? Now, let me go. “ “ This stuff just happens in the movies ... It’s not supposed to happen to someone like me. “

• Bonus • From the Kidnapper’s Perspective:

“ Fear and mock bravado go hand in hand from what I’ve seen this evening. “ “ Do you ever, and I mean this respectfully, shut the fuck up ? “ “ Treating your current predicament as some sort of ‘ Home Alone antics ‘ act would prove very dangerous for you. I’m in this business because my men and I are VERY good at what we do. “ “ Listen to me, I’ll take the tape off your mouth so you can tell me what you want from Taco Bell … if you scream out in any way, I’m putting the tape back and you can have a crunch wrap. Are we clear ? “ “ Fuck how you feel; I’m just here to get paid. “ “ … Shit, not you again … Do you have some sort of damsel in distress complex, or something ?! “ “ Trust me, no one’s doing this job sober - that’s what henchmen and goons are for. “ “ I don’t even like you, so why would I bother lying to you about your current circumstances ? “ “ … Whoops … I don’t think you’re who we were looking for. “ “ Scream until your vocal chords are raw, this place is sound proof. God himself can’t hear you now. “ “ I might be smiling, but please know — way deep down … I’m SO pissed off right now. “ “ As far as I’m concerned, you’ll never see the light of day again as long as I can help it. “ “ What can I say ? Animals belong in captivity. “ “ Groveling like this: snot nosed, eyes bleary from tears, voice hoarse from pleading for your freedom ... Ha ! It really suits you, [ Name ]. “ “ I think after this job, I’m switching careers because this bullshit is just too much ... “

#rp meme #original rp meme #roleplay meme #sentence starters

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lilyblackdrawside · 1 year ago

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Well, that's FFVr done. Overall, it was alright. I had been meaning to replay FFV and this put a slightly different spin on things. The first half up to I'd say end of World 2 was quite a bit stronger than the rest. There were a lot of optional bosses in chests, which is just about the best place to put them I suppose, but most of them weren't very fun. Damage values were so high that even with using Chemist abilities to double my health to around 5k it wasn't enough. I did use codes to increase my levels to give them a shot and some were interesting, most were okay. The constant inclusion of dead targets to neuter X-Fight was mostly just annoying. Without close to max level and/or buffs from Mix and Sing you're not hitting too much over 9999 with dual-wielding anyway, so you're just making me use Aim instead to still actually hit stuff. Most stuff also had some kind of Counter either to being hit in general or to specific attacks and when it's on some bosses it's fine, but when almost everything punishes me for playing the game before having set up the entire palette of defensive buffs it's not great. Just increase the Speed stat of bosses if you want them to act more. A lot of bosses had heavy counter-measures against magic damage, be that just absorbing all the elements or having permanent undispellable Reflect and dead targets so you can't bounce magic off your own Reflect into them. Felt a bit like the FFIII endgame where starting with the Labyrinth of Ancients all bosses resist all elements. In the end I just had Faris on Mix/Sing, Krile on X-Magic/Sing to both play support, Lenna on Aim/Magic-Sword (for Flare Sword and nothing else) and Bartz on X-Magic/White.

Exdeath was still Exdeath with like two added moves. I saw him use Almagest in Tree form, which he normally doesn't and then Blaze of all things in his Neo form. Nothing that can't be handled. His backrow part was also made immune to True Edge so I actually had to damage it down after it ignored Odin from the Magic Lamp.

Exdeath still being Exdeath made the finale quite limp, since he's an actually well-designed boss with reasonable numbers. He still has the best music though and it was a fun fight regardless of me being overleveled and -geared for it.

I fought all but four of the optional bosses. Two weird dragons, one was in Phoenix Tower and I could've gone back for it but didn't feel like it, the other in the Void Castle where the gimmick is that it casts Dragon Kiss on you, which is a Chemist mix that makes you weak to anti-dragon damage (and has a bunch of upsides), and then follows it up with anti-dragon damage attacks for 9999 damage regardless of what kind of protection I put up. I didn't win the damage race and didn't feel like trying more than I did. Omega was replaced with Omega Something and opens the fight with L5 Death and my whole party was at level 50 at the time and I didn't feel like going back to it after I stopped being level 50. Shinryu was Fiend Dragon, who counters every attack with a 9999 special attack that I could've probably bypassed with Blink but I only thought of that five seconds after I got tired of it. It also did some other stuff. In the end I was just kind of done with it by the end.

All in all it was fine. Going in I thought there would've been more changes to the jobs, but it was just some stat modifications to three or so of them and Hunter got Animals as the default command and Attack replaced with Aim. More in that regard would've been nice.

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orossii · 1 year ago

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i have a recurring problem with tumblr where i make an offhand post in a fit of frustration that ends up taking off, and then end up with people lecturing me about the nuanced complexities of an issue that i already understand

but anyway, my overarching issue here is not necessarily with you or with other parents that use screen time selectively while encouraging their children to play and develop in healthy ways. i even have sympathy for the overworked parents that do cave and let their child spend way too much time in front of their ipad or the tv, even if i don’t like, approve of it. obviously there are other reasons a child will have issues with emotional regulation beyond ipad usage

i think my biggest issue with liberal ideology broadly is that it encourages you to place an over-emphasis on the idea that it’s the guilt and judgmental attitudes regarding toxic behaviors and societal trends that are the problem, rather than the overarching material forces encouraging us to adopt those behaviors at our own detriment in the first place. liberalism encourages you to look at choices like this in this hyper-individualistic vacuum wherein the question is ‘are you a bad parent if you buy your three-year-old an ipad?’ and not ‘are tech companies taking advantage of overworked parents by offering them convenience in exchange for their child’s emotional and intellectual well-being, all while selling them the lie that this elaborate data harvesting and social engineering scheme is largely harmless’? it’s too busy making sure everyone feels comfortable and unjudged well before having serious conversations about what the government along with the tech and finance sectors (which own the government, lol) stand to gain from a population of children that have been jacked into the internet starting practically at birth. how does a two year old develop their own sense of self and community in a world of targeted ads and content? how do they defend against an onslaught of highly addictive and intensely stimulating tidbits of information that undermine their attention span while corralling them into a very rigid, homogenized, and vapid worldview?

not all children will totally succumb to this of course, there are still good parents out there with the time, maturity, and wherewithal required to raise their children to be resilient and socially engaged and not quite as prone to screen addiction as a result. kudos to them. but that is not where society is currently trending. i’m in the US so i won’t speak for other countries here, but US society is in a state of absolute crisis. the working and middle classes are disintegrating, alienation has reached levels so toxic that we can hardly go a week without a mass shooting. drug addiction is rampant, children are being exposed to porn at younger and younger ages, our infrastructure is falling apart, our schools are failing, our healthcare is atrocious, everybody’s in debt, fewer and fewer people every year have the attention span required to read anything longer than a few paragraphs. all of these issues compound on themselves with every subsequent generation if left unchecked. this is not a context in which we’re being set up for success. we’re suffering from a catastrophic failure in governance, we’re ruled by people that hold the common person in complete and utter contempt. they can and will sell us out to make a buck and take no meaningful action to disrupt the windfall profits our emiseration generates for the banks and silicon valley vampires sucking us dry

i don’t blame any individual for this trend because its implementation in society has been engineered without our consent. obviously i think that people need to educate themselves about these things and resist them, we have an obligation to fight back and protect our children. but i also know that this isn’t exactly accessible information, and a lot’s been done to keep us from it. i’m not a doomer about it, i think a lot of this is getting too out of control for an increasingly stupid and arrogant ruling class to maintain, and they can only stifle our awareness for so long. but the answer to feeling like the future is bleak isn’t to ignore it and brush aside the increasingly and screamingly apparent fact that society is dissolving as ‘pearl-clutching’. social media, smartphone technology, largescale data collection, and algorithmic social engineering are absolutely terrifyingly powerful vehicles for propaganda and social control. fail to take it seriously at your own peril

i honestly think toddlers with ipads are one of the most pressing issues facing US society today lol. our children are being made neurotic, distracted, and addicted to screens before they’ve even learned to speak. this will have devastating longterm consequences on their ability to develop normal social skills and learn new information. it feels like these tech companies and their financial backers are trying to create an underclass of people whose experience of life will be almost entirely online. they’re setting our future generations up to be unskilled, anti-social, and intellectually stunted

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aemonds-sapphire · 4 years ago

Text

Fire Meets Gasoline - Dabi x Reader (Smut)

Summary: Sex with Dabi rarely goes as expected, and that is exactly why you can’t get enough of him.

Warnings: NO MINORS! NSFW. Pure filth (seriously). Cumplay. Quirkplay (? Is this a thing? Basically just Dabi heating up his hands and using them on you), Cockwarming. Creampie. Vaginal fingering. Overstimulation.

Word count: 4.8k

If you had to pinpoint the exact moment when you realized there was no escaping Dabi, it would most likely be the first time he kissed you.

After a month of denying and suppressing how attracted you felt towards him, you finally caved in.

You would potentiate each other just like when fire meets gasoline. It started off as a gentle flame, but it soon increased in both size and intensity.

The young man was filled with anger and was the embodiment of pain and sadness, but you were equally as broken. He hadn’t expected you to retaliate the poison that would drip from his mouth.

What Dabi had failed to consider was that you knew exactly why he was keeping people at bay. He didn’t necessarily hate everyone. But anyone could become a threat.

So he’d rather push people away.

What he had also not considered was that fire needed oxygen to burn. And that most of the time, the walls we build around us aren’t meant to keep others out. They will just fence you in.

You could bear him being cold to you as a defense mechanism, but he couldn’t deny his fiery nature for long.

“Beautiful...”

There was something so innately blissful about having Dabi cracking his hardened surface to display this beautiful side of him.

It would have your heart fluttering and your breath coming out in shallow pants as you experienced having his vulnerability be given to you.

“So. Beautiful.” He went on, accentuating his words with gentle kisses along your jawline.

You allowed your fingers to rake across his scalp, feeling his soft hair tickle your skin.

“Do it.”

He knew exactly what you meant by that. His quirk was powerful and dangerous. You had had the opportunity of witnessing him go berserk with rage and cast his trademark blue flames around his targets. The heatwave that had hit you was surely enough to have you jolt in fear. Dabi had to live with the consequences of not being able to control himself when using his quirk. All the patchwork across his body was licking proof of that.

However, the sense of danger had adrenaline rushing through your veins, and feeling the feared villain light up his quirk just enough to warm his hands was definitely an aphrodisiac.

Dabi stopped and pulled back, beautiful turquoise eyes meeting yours. He was truly breathtaking. No scar in his body would ever be able to take away from how handsome he was.

He flashed a boyish grin at you — one that you had grown to adore — and you felt the mattress shift lightly as he positioned himself between your legs.

The sight alone was enough to send sparks rushing down your spine. Dabi took his sweet time admiring the view, capturing his bottom lip between his teeth.

“See something you like?” You teased as you spread your legs farther apart.

He ran the palms of his hands slowly along your thighs, his eys lingering on your panties. “Pull them to the side, doll.”

You took a deep breath, knowing fully well what came next. He was too fucking good at this, and he was aware of that. Sex with him just felt like a whole new experience each time since he refused to stick to patterns. There was always something new, and that just added to the thrill.

Too bad you weren’t feeling like complying with his demands.

“Do it yourself.” You shrugged, slowly adjusting your panties to further accentuate your pussy lips.

You should know better than to challenge Dabi, but quite frankly you didn’t give a fuck, because it would just work in your favor in the end.

“Don’t be a brat,” he warned, keeping his voice calm, but his hands betraying the impatience as the grip on your knees increased. “Push them to the side... now.”

“Make me.”

Too bad Dabi wasn’t feeling like complying with your demands either.

Even though his room was poorly lit, the moonlight was more than enough to make you your jaw clench when his brought one hand to the waistband of his sweatpants.

Oh, he was fucking cruel.

Another teasing smile danced on his lips as he noticed your eyes glued to his crotch. You were too weak for this man. There was no way around it. No matter how hard you tried to prolong the mouse and cat game, you always caved.

You couldn’t tear your gaze away from his hand, especially when you saw it grip the growing bulge that he squeezed lightly.

“Seems like we have an issue, then, doll,” he chuckled, giving his clothed cock a few pumps. “‘Cause the way I see it... you really want this, uh?”

It took two to tango, so you tugged on the your panties once more, feeling the damp fabric rub against your clit and making you wince. You had underestimated his ability to have you dripping for him.

Your panties perfectly outlined your pussy lips, a silent invitation to the hungry man before you who wasted no time in dragging one finger along your covered slit.

“Doll...”

You flashed a devious grin while arching just slightly. “No.”

He had his other hand tightly gripping his cock, and you could see a discreet wet spot staining his sweatpants.

The scenery had you licking your lips in anticipation. “Let me see your cock, then.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “You first.”

One of you would have to give up first, and there was only so much resistance you could pull off when it came to Dabi leaking precum because of you.

You hooked one finger around the lace of your underwear, painfully slowly pulling it to the side, the wetness clinging onto the fabric.

A low growl erupted from him. “Fuck.”

He pressed on your clit with his thumb just so he could hear you moan for him. It was swollen enough to be seen through your pussy lips, and that drove him crazy. The ultimate proof that you wanted him was at the tip of his fingers, quite literally.

Your eyes instinctively closed as he continued teasing you, spreading wetness along your folds. It came with no surprise that your hips would involuntarily buck against his hand.

“Dabi...”

“Look at me,” he asked, his voice visibly strained as he circled your clit back and forth with the pad of his thumb. “Open your eyes.”

You did as you were told, and, through hooded eyes, you found yourself staring at him dragging the waistband of his pants down, successfully freeing his hard cock.

He halted his ministrations at once, only to have your entire focus on him.

Just as you had imagined, a few strings of precum were dangling from the tip, and he gave his cock a few pumps just to squeeze more from him.

Dabi positioned himself closer to your pussy in order to have his precum drip directly onto your clit.

You bit back a whimper as his thumb mixed the liquid with your wetness. “Dabi... oh my—“

The word died in your throat as you felt the tip pressing against your entrance. Was he that horny to jump right into the main course?

He sighed. “I really need to fuck you.”

It was crude and it surely wouldn’t win any awards as the most romantic declaration ever, but it did win points in getting your pussy to clench as more wetness spilled from you and coated him.

He applied just enough pressure to have his tip slide inside you. “Let me fuck you... please.”

The urgency in his voice had you melting. How could anyone resist this request?

He leaned over, brushing his lips with yours, but keeping his hips in place. You threw one arm around his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss. You could feel both hand gripping your things, and you figured it was taking all of his willpower not to slam his cock fully inside you.

But what’s life without a bit of fun, right?

Dabi hungrily suckled on your tongue, but you felt him freeze in shock. Both his eyes shot open and he gasped.

Oh. You loved it whenever you were able to get that reaction from him.

So you did it once again.

And he shuddered.

He was panting heavily as you contracted around his tip. Despite your heavy state of out, you still had a few tricks up your sleeve.

“Fuuuuuuuck....” his voice was coming out in broken and deep breaths.

Self-control definitely wasn’t Dabi’s forte, and you knew that you were playing with fire. Literally. You suddenly felt his palms heat up against your skin as the grip on your thighs tightened.

“Let... me...” He breathed, his face dropping to the crook of your neck. “Just...”

The safest course of action would be to indulge his request, but you also wanted to help him build up the ability to control himself once he got pushed over the edge. He had even asked this of you not long ago. It was hard for him to hold back when using his quirk against heroes and even harder when facing his father. So Dabi craved to be able to do so when having sex with you.

“Reign me in...” He had once asked of you.

He started licking and taking a few bites off your neck, the warmth of his hands never wavering.

You brought on hand to his face, carefully caressing the metal rings that traced his skin.

“How badly do you want it?” You asked him, squeezing around his tip once again. In reality, you knew exactly the answer to that question. His desperation was answer enough.

But you were now treading on a dangerous territory.

His teeth dug into your skin before he let out a moan. “Let me fuck you...”

You angled your hips in order to have him slide out of you. “Tough luck, Dabi. Control yourself better.”

The grin on your face widened when a pair of angry eyes met yours, and the heat coming from his hands increased ever so slightly.

He wasn’t smiling.

Well. Fuck.

He pushed his own hips to meet yours again, but this time he had his cock placed directly between your soaked folds and rubbing up against your clit.

Your grin dropped in an instant, and a he let out a satisfied chuckle. “Not so funny now, right?”

Dabi kept on sliding his cock up and down, coating it in your juices. The wet sounds that filled your ears were enough to have you fists the bedsheets, and it served as a further incentive for him to keep on teasing you.

One hand was placed directly beside your face so he could support himself as the other went to join his cock. The heat coming from is fingers was maddening and he pinched your clit, trapping it and sending jolts of pleasure across your entire body. Goosebumps prickled your skin as you felt a heatwave reach your cheeks. It wasn’t just coming from your own body’s reacting to the stimulation, but also from his own hand.

“Where’s that pretty smile now?” He rasped, focusing on your face twisting from bliss, otherwise he might let his composure falter.

“Dabi... fuck... fuck...”

It was really taxing having to keep his quirk at bay and only allowing a certain amount of heat to flood the palms of his hands. It took a lot from him to having to exert so much self-control. It was twice as demanding having to keep his dick from plunging inside you.

“What do you want, doll?”

“Please... just...”

Not so amusing now that the tables were turned, and you gripped the sheets tighter until your knuckles turned white. You wouldn’t last much longer if he kept sliding his cock in between your pussy lips like that.

Your eyes locked with his, and your opened your mouth in an attempt to say something, but only moans spilled from you.

“Just what?”

He pulled his cock away and replaced it with the palm of his hand. The metallic hoops had heated up significantly and when he dragged a few across your clit, that was when your body reached a new high.

“Oh my — oh my fuck—“

Dabi couldn’t tear his eyes away from you. You looked so delicious, and he didn’t even know how he was being able to withstand the discomfort coming from his cock. He would need to be buried inside you soon. It was such a waste to have you clenching around nothing when you could be milking him instead.

But he wanted you to reach your orgasm first.

He was so used to watching things come undone out of rage, that watching you come undone from the pleasure he gave you just made his cock throb. The thrill of building you up just to have it all crumbling down in the most alluring way possible was something he could not get enough of.

Your body had started writhing and convulsing, forcing him to lean back and press one hand on your hip to keep you in place.

“Good girl... that’s it...”

You had your thighs desperately wrapping around him in the hopes of him filling the emptiness.

Dabi was going insane from how responsive you were being to him. To his quirk. He had grown up forced to live with the remainders of what it had done to him. The thought of having it being used to give someone pleasure was so fucking fascinating. Yes, it was exhausting to keep it at a low intensity, but the high outweighed the exhaustion by far.

The familiar sensation built up more and more, until it washed over you in a deep wave of pleasure. A shriek ripped through your throat from your lungs, and behind closed eyes you could see colors dancing over your vision, accompanying the molten streaks of pure bliss that shot through your entire body with every flick of the metallic hoops on your clit.

Dabi couldn’t resist it any longer.

He needed to feel you.

In one swift motion, he slid his cock balls deep inside you. Your pussy welcomed him with strong and rhythmic contractions that sent his eyes rolling to the back of his head. He had to balance himself on both arms from the sudden overload of pleasure. It was clear he wouldn’t last long. The amount of teasing and foreplay was enough to sent him into overdrive.

Your fingers went up to grip his forearms as if holding on for dear life. Having his cock buried inside your pussy as you came made your mouth drop open. You felt your walls clamp around him viciously. He pulled one of your legs up to rest on his shoulder, spreading you enough before he started slamming against you with such force that the bed started squeaking from the motion.

He was mumbling something, but you couldn’t quite make out what it was as you descended from your peak. Your heart pounded hard against your chest, but still not as hard as he pounded your pussy.

“Stop... squeezing... fuck!”

The overstimulation hit you like a train, and you felt tears stinging your eyes. Your fingers would leave marks on his arms, but you doubted he cared about it.

“D-Dabi... I...” you tried to reign him in, but gave up when his lips crashed into yours.

He was thrusting into you with an animalistic ferocity, all sense of control finally coming to a end. You’d clench around him whenever he hit a sweet spot inside you. The moans that came from within in were so hot that you couldn’t blame your clit for pulsing and your pussy for squeezing his cock.

Suddenly, you felt one hand groping your breast, fully enjoying how it bounced and defied gravity with each snappy strike from his hips. His eyes slid shit and his mouth was hanging open in a silent hiss.

You wanted to bring him over the edge. You wanted him to give it all to you.

To prove your point, you snaked an arm between your bodies and flicked at your clit just so you could your pussy to clench harder around his cock.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

Through the stings of overstimulation the need to have him come undone for you was just ecstatic.

That it for him. His eyes snapped open and the most beautiful growl rumbled in his chest.

“You are so... fuck...” Was all he managed to say before he began pumping in a final broken rhythm.

“Fill me up...”

The effect those words had on him caught you off guard.

Dabi let out a strangled moan as he buried his cock deep within you. “Oh... fuck...”

He shuddered a few times, emptying himself inside your pussy just like you had encouraged him to. You could feel a few streaks of cum coating your walls, and it almost sent you back to another orgasm.

He was panting heavily above you, cock still lodged inside you. When he looked up to your face he saw a few tears leak from your eyes due to the overwhelming overstimulation. Without thinking, he brought one thumb to wipe a clear droplet from your face.

Dabi no longer remembered how it felt like to cry without physical pain from having bloody tears spilling from where the staples held his skin together.

“Dabi?”

He shook his head and blinked twice. “Sorry...”

You didn’t want him to apologize for this. “It’s okay... don’t be sorry.”

Instead, the young man leaned forward and tasted the salty liquid that smeared your skin, wiping the tears away.

You couldn’t contain the low chuckle that erupted from you. “That tickles...”

He didn’t want to slide out of you just yet. Your warmth was too welcoming and comforting. If he had to find a name for it he’d choose home. Intimacy had been so scary to him. The vulnerability of it all had always frightened him, and for the longest time he didn’t think he would ever have this. Casual sex was good, but sex with someone you had an emotional connection with felt so much better.

Dabi let his body tumble to his side, physical exhaustion finally taking a toll on him. However, he slid one arm over your lower back to keep you tied with him.

His hair was sticking to his forehead from all the sweat, and you took some time to inspect a few strands through hazy eyes.

You gently brushed the damp hair away from his skin. “You need to dye your hair again.”

“Hmm.”

The roots of his white hair were starting to show, and even though you’d love for him to embrace his natural color, you knew this was not something for you to decide.

Some wounds took longer to heal.

His cock was starting to soften inside you, but that had no effect on him.

“Planning on sleeping like this?” You offered, but only half-joking.

His hand thoughtlessly caressed your back, and you shuddered as the metallic rings dragged along your skin. “Actually...”

Wiping a few beads of sweat from your face, you arched a brow. “What?”

A squelching sound filled the room as he slid off of you, and you couldn’t help but to pout at the sudden emptiness.

Dabi, on the other hand, seemed to have something else in mind as he got on his knees again, placing himself in between your legs.

It didn’t take long before you started feeling the warm liquid ooze from you. That definitely earned Dabi’s full attention as he watched in admiration.

“Proud of yourself?” You questioned with a gentle laughter. Just as you were about to prop yourself on both elbows, he had one hand on your shoulder, keeping you in place, as the other hovered near your pussy. “Hey! Dabi...”

“I want to do this...” he whispered, and you couldn’t help but wonder if he was just thinking out loud.

You had a faint idea of what he had planned next, and, if so, it would be something new for you both.

The young man hesitated for a split second before his middle finger joined the index, slowly collecting the few strings of cum that had pooled between you and the sheets. Not even five minutes had passed since your body had been sent into overdrive, and you could feel your insides twist in anticipation and you clit throb from the newfound stimulus.

Dabi paused once more.

Although, you’d been affectionate with each other for over a month now, you could still identify the remnants of his struggles with intimacy in moments like this. It had taken him quite a while to open up to you emotionally. It had taken him a great deal more to give himself to you physically as well.

You couldn’t help the loving smile that tugged at the corners of your mouth. “Go ahead...” two of your fingers rubbed your swollen clit briefly before spreading your pussy lips invitingly.

That was all the incentive he was looking for, and in one swift mention he slide both fingers inside you, dragging his cum back inside once more.

He hissed deliciously when he felt you clamp around him. “Fuck...”

The hand keeping you down faltered, and you immediately seized the opportunity to position yourself in a way that gave you a privileged view of what he was doing to you.

“So much cum... fuck...” Dabi’s words came out in ragged pants as he fingered you slowly. “Don’t clench, doll... it will spill out again.”

“Then stop being so hot...” You half moaned, trying your best to fight against your reflexes. Your pussy was practically on auto-pilot. The obscene sounds that filled the room just made the task so much more difficult.

It didn’t take long before his turquoise eyes darkened and you watched him capture his bottom lip with his canine.

Oh fuck... he was getting hard again.

His cock was twitching ever so slightly, growing before your eager eyes.

“Dabi...” You weren’t even sure of what you wanted to say. The sight alone was enough to have your clit throbbing, but his thumb pressed on it was what had you involuntarily clamp down on his digits in a way that dragged a long groan from him. Even if he was someone who had to ability to mask his true emotions, the pleasure was splattered across his face.

You felt your pulse quicken further and shuddered from all the stimulation.

Knowing fully well you wouldn’t be able to comply with his request, he removed his fingers from inside you at once, bringing out a whine from deep within you.

A faint smile pulled at Dabi’s lips. “So responsive...”

You wrinkled your nose at him. “You’re stalling... please...”

“I’m taking my sweet time with you, doll. What’s the fun in rushing?”

His finger glistened with the mixture of your juices with his cum. Suddenly, his hands went to your ass to positioned you on his thighs. A very effective way of preventing any further leaks, no doubt.

Just as you were about to question why the sudden change in positions, he plunged one single finger back inside your pussy.

“I wonder...” he started out as if lost in contemplation while he coated his fingers once again. “Hmm...”

“Dabi...” you warned him in a low voice.

You were growing impatient. Very impatient. The heat between your legs along with your throbbing clit were driving you absolutely insane.

He was an expert in making you lose your mind, and he’d always use this to his advantage.

His cock was already growing harder and bigger with each passing second. You’d be more than willing to have one more orgasm, and considering the way you were clamping around him, and the blinding heat jolting through your clit and nipples, it wouldn’t take you too long to get there. The young man pressed your clit down with his thumb, circling it with just enough pressure to gather the most delicious moans from you.

“Good girl... you look so hot,” he encouraged, and you felt a pair of fingers spread your pussy lips. “Fuck... I wish you could see this.”

You were so close.

So damn close.

But things with Dabi had a way of rarely going according to plan, and just as you shut your eyes in anticipation for another high, the infuriating sensation of withdrawal made you whine.

“Put that back! Dabi! What the fuck?”

You were left clenching around nothing and he merely chuckled at your distress. “I don’t think I will, doll.”

Propped yourself up on your elbows. “I will end you. Fuck!”

He didn’t really care. Nor did he take you seriously. You sank back into the mattress, wiping the beads of sweat that had formed in your forehead.

“For fuck’s sake...”

You felt the bed shift beneath you as he leaned forward. “Open.”

Wait...

This was new.

Your eyes widened once you understood what he meant. His long index finger was a few inches from touching your lips, a few droplets falling onto your chin. The thick layer of both cum and your wetness covered the entire digit, and you oiled even see some wetness spread along the metal hoops carved into his skin.

Oh. That was fucking hot.

“I won’t ask again,” his demanding voice quickly snapped you out it. “Open. Your. Mouth.”

A part of you wanted to tease him and put up a front just to rule him up, but another part of you — a much more urgent and impatient one — just wanted you to let go and enjoy the ride.

The moment you parted your lips, he promptly shoved his finger inside your wet mouth, faintly teasing your tongue with it.

You suckled on it slowly and sensually, never breaking eye contact with him.

He hissed softly. “How does it taste?”

“You tell me.”

Acting on pure instinct, your hand went to the back of his neck, pulling him into a kiss. Dabi’s widened in sheer surprise as you darted your tongue inside his mouth, allowing him to taste the liquid. You weren’t sure if he was enjoying it, but his body language was pretty telling after a while, so you kept going.

There was something really hot about having Dabi taste his own cum directly from your mouth. Maybe next time you’d have him lap at it from your soaked pussy.

He broke the kiss to take a deep breath, thin threads of spit mixed with cum and your wetness linking both of your lips together.

You smiled teasingly. “Good, right?”

Dabi licked his lips before wiping the excess with the back of his hand. “Well played, doll.”

For a few seconds all you could hear were the ragged pants coming from both of you. You looked down and noticed that his cock was fully hard, probably getting ready for the next round.

“Want me to take care of that?” You wiggled your brows at him.

He followed your stare, but rolled over to fall flat on his back, one hand wrapping around his cock while kicking his sweatpants off.

“It’s okay, doll. I know how much you love watching me jerk off.”

Ah. Damn. He was right.

The metallic hoops provided an interesting friction whenever he applied enough pressure. Considering he had nearly half of his palms covered in a single row of staples he just had to get used to the feeling, and soon enough he had found a way to have those work in his favor.

You shifted on the bed to scoot closer to him, and have your head resting on his heaving chest. As expected, you started feeling his cum leak from your pussy.

The two of you lay there in a comfortable silence for a while, until you felt his heartbeat and breathing evening out against your ear. He was lazily pumping his cock, but it didn’t seem like he was too invested in the task at hand.

You raised your head to look at a very much sleepy Dabi.

An instant loving smile fell on your lips.

“You asleep?”

Was that a smirk on his face? Adorable. “Yes, doll.”

He looked so peaceful. You’d never get over post-sex Dabi. Ever. You had witnessed his full potential as a villain, but you were just now getting to experience firsthand what it felt like to have someone like him opening up to you.

A few more minutes passed by, and you watched as he let go of his softening cock. You took his now free hand in yours and laced your fingers with his.

“You’re changing the sheets.” You mumbled to him when you felt more liquid ooze from you. Not that you actually minded the current predicamen.

He scoffed. “Your pillow talk fucking sucks, doll.”

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arixwrites · 3 years ago

Text

Matt Murdock x best friend!reader

A/N: So, there's no sexy time in this but I couldn't resist adding this amazing gif! Also, female reader cuz I kinda picture myself-ish while writing this hehehe.

Thoughts in bold

word count: 900ish

Lawyer reader who is a part of the duo from college - they end up partnering together

Nelson, L/N, & Murdock Attorneys at Law

All very close-knit friend group, but reader and matty get drunk and have a one night stand

Reader is afraid to lose Matt as a best friend so she shuts that shit down real quick:

You were having one of the best sleep you had in a while. The bed felt like a cloud, and were those silk sheets? Now, you know for certain your target sheets have never felt this luxurious, so where the hell were you?! At that thought, you jumped up out of your stupor.

You didn’t know this, but Matt had already been awake for a while. He couldn’t believe he had finally had the courage to make a move on you last night. He didn’t want to wake you from this much-needed sleep since he knew how hard you studied. So instead he laid there next to you, trying to memorize the smell of your hair, the smell of your skin, and the way your body felt beneath his fingertips last night. But not in a creepy way!! He knew you were waking up because he heard your breathing change and your heart race. During all that time lying next to you, he never once thought, "What the hell am I going to say when she wakes up”, and at this point, it was too late when he felt the quick movement of your body in the upright position.

When you flipped around to face the person lying next to you in bed, you found a very tempting sight. There next to you was Matt Murdock, your best friend of three years, sitting against the headboard of the bed. He was shirtless with the gray silk sheets that you were just reveling in laying dangerously low on his hips. On display were his broad chest, large muscles, and an eight pack. You were completely speechless! First, when did Matthew Murdock get so ripped and where was he hiding it all this time?! Second, you just woke up in your best friend's bed naked with a hazy recollection of what happened the night before. At your silence, Matt awkwardly waved, “Hey” You covered your face with your hands and mumbled back a response. What have I done? This is horrible! No matter your true feelings for Matt, he is one of your closest and most loyal friends. How could you be so stupid as to risk this relationship over a drunken one-night stand? You never wanted your feelings for Matt to come out, well, maybe someday, but definitely not like this! You have to fix this fast and carefully so that you don’t completely destroy your guys’ friendship. 'Oh my god, Matt! I am so sorry! You know how I get after too much peach schnapps.'

Matt responded sheepishly, 'No, Y/N it's fine, I - I mean I ha-'

'No, Matt, it's not okay. This should not have happened! I mean you’re my best friend!', you reached out to touch Matt’s arm from across the bed, 'You mean so much to me Matt.' Matt pursed his lips and nodded. You quickly got up from the bed and hastily threw on your clothes that were laying all over his dorm room. =This won’t be weird, right, Matty? I don’t want us to be all weird with each other now,' you said this as you were trying to grab your bra from under the bed How did that get under there?

Meanwhile, Matt was hurt. He anxiously ran his fingers through his hair and lowered his head to hide his face, 'Nope. We are all good here.' What he really wanted to say was, Everything is not all good because I’ve been in love with you since we met. I want to be more than just your ‘best friend Matty’. I want to be yours and I want you to be mine. And in a perfect world, after that confession was shared, they would have gone out for coffee and laughed about how stupid they had been to not realize their feelings for one another. And after coffee, outside the cafe, Matt would’ve asked you officially to be his. However, this isn’t a perfect world, a world where the guy always gets the girl. That’s just not in the cards for Matt Murdock.

While you were still under the bed, Matt reached to the floor on the side of the bed to grab the discarded pair of boxers from last night. He slipped them on and walked over to the dresser on the other side of the room to grab some sweats and a faded t-shirt. He then went back to sit on the bed as you finished getting dressed.

You had gathered up all your belongings and stood in front of Matt. He sensed you nearby and stood up from the bed to walk you out. As you both reached the door you chuckled nervously, 'Thank god Foggy slept over at Marci’s, right?'

Matt exhaled sharply, 'Yeah, thank god.' Matt reached for the door and opened it for you. As you were leaving, you laid your hand gently on his hand at his side. Instead of the usual comfort, he felt at your touch, he felt the burn of rejection.

Later, Foggy came through the door, reeking of hard alcohol, to find Matt sitting with his back against the headboard of his bed. He walked over to his best friend and heavily laid his hand on his shoulder, 'What’s this I hear about a girl sneaking out of our dorm this morning? You naughty, naughty boy!' Matt shook his head with a tight smile on his face. 'So, was it the greek girl? From your Spanish class?'

Matt shook his head again, 'Erm, no, it wasn’t her.'

Foggy’s face lit up, 'Okay, Murdock! I see you! So, is she gonna be back? When can I meet her?'

Matt swung his legs off the bed, 'No. I don’t think she’s going to be back, Foggy.' he walked toward their shared bathroom so that he could wash the lingering scent of the night you two shared off his body.

(I have one more bit of this story that I'm still working on, we'll see how long this goes)

Part 2

#matt murdock #daredevil #matt murdock x you #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock fanfic #y/n #reader #marvel fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction

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procrastinatingsapphictrash · 4 years ago

Text

My Tasha

Word count: 7334

Genre: Mostly angst but the ending is fluffy

Pairing: Natasha x fem!reader

Warnings: A sort of suggestive scene? I think that's all (let me know if I need to add any)

Request: congrats on those 500’ love!!! they are well deserved for all of your amazing words 🥺 i was just thinking how cute it be for nat to take a liking to reader, so she tries all those “seductive” tricks the red room taught her, but r just reads it as a cocky fuckboy thing and rejects her? soft!nat appearing later to ask her out? 🥺

Summary: Natasha tries to seduce you at a party but you misunderstand, assuming she's just using you. Both of you mope before realizing what happened.

A/n: Finally I finished this! It was supposed to be 2000 words max but I got carried away and @teenwonder I blame you since you were the one who sent in this idea. I actually really like how this turned out, even if it differs from the prompt slightly so I hope you guys like it too because this probably took at least ten hours to write and I have lost way too much sleep over it. Enjoy!

Natasha looks in the mirror and lifts the corner of her mouth into a slight smile. She looks hot and she knows it, spending hours in front of the mirror perfecting the look. Her eyeshadow screams seduction and her lipstick highlights and colours the natural shape of her lips. Her lashes are curled to perfection and her makeup is applied with the technique she learned years ago that was guaranteed to make people stare. Her hair is straightened because it matches the look and also the last time she straightened it you had complimented her hair so she knows you like it.

Her dress is black, the colour that looks best on her, with a neckline that is dangerously low and the bottom riding dangerously high on her thigh. Her heels are her go to ones for anytime she wants to seduce anyone, they manage to work every time and have become a small symbol of luck for her and tonight she needs all the luck she can get for tonight’s party.

Usually people are easy to seduce, she just has to figure out the likes and dislikes of her target and play up to them. Tonight shouldn’t be much different except for the big added aspect of her actually caring. She’s never had to seduce someone she’s wanted to before so she knows it’s going to be harder than normal. Taking a deep breath she pushes the nerves away and smirks at her own reflection before going to meet everyone in the main room.

Your breath hitches when she walks in and you quickly look away so it doesn’t seem like you’ve been waiting for her arrival. She’s gorgeous, she always is, but tonight there’s something about her that’s different, like she put more effort than usual. You force yourself to stay calm and look away, pretending to still be interested in the conversation you had been having with Carol that you zoned out of the moment Natasha entered the room.

Carol’s looking at you strangely. “What?”

She gives a half laugh. “You think I didn’t notice you drooling over Natasha.”

“That obvious?” you ask and she nods. “Damn.”

“Damn is right, she’s smoking!” Carol whisper-yells, glancing over quickly and then back to you.

“Carol!” you exclaim aghast.

She laughs again. “Don’t worry I’m not trying to steal your girl, after all I have Valkyrie.”

“Yes and you constantly remind me of that.” you mumble which she ignores.

“I’m just saying that some people are already staring at her and are going to be all over her soon, you need to make your move quickly.” she finishes.

“I will.” you tell her, with no real intention of going to talk to her.

“Sure you will,” she says quietly at first before yelling in Natasha’s direction, “Hey Romanoff! Come here.”

Natasha is surprised and she hopes Carol isn’t calling her over because she noticed her staring. Logically she knows that Carol doesn’t want to date you and is dating Valkyrie but it looked far too much like flirting in her opinion. There were whispers and giggles and at one point you got all flustered and embarrassed. She doesn’t like how possessive she feels over you when she has no right to but somehow when it comes to you she can’t quite control herself.

Showing none of the inner thoughts that go through her head she weaves her way over to you. At first some of the team is staring because they got startled by Carol’s yell but a small glare gets them to look away again.

“Hey.” Carol greets when she walks over.

“Hey.” she says back with a smile and it’s not her fault if the smile is a little flirtier than normal and directed more towards where you’re standing. “What’s up?”

“I want to go find Valkyrie and see what’s taking so long for her to come back from the bar but didn’t want to leave Y/n all alone at a party and since you were alone too I thought it would be a great idea for you guys to spend the party together!” she explains quickly. “I’ll come back soon!”

With that she leaves and you and Natasha are left looking at each other awkwardly. She wants to say something to break the silence but all her earlier confidence is gone and she feels like a schoolgirl with her first crush. Which is half true, she is definitely not a schoolgirl but she’s never had feelings like this for anybody before.

“You don’t have to stay here.” you offer, feeling bad that she was forced to come here and babysit you. Carol is your best friend but sometimes you just can’t stand her. This is so uncomfortable and Natasha is looking at you weirdly and you just know that she’ll apologize and leave so she can spend the party with people who actually know how to have fun.

“I know but I want to.” she says and you can’t help looking away shyly and smiling. She smiles herself at your cuteness, now slightly more confident knowing that she can make you react like that.

---

She smirks as for the thousandth time that night you struggle to keep your gaze from dipping below her neck. The dress was a good choice and judging based on your lack of eye contact you appreciate it. She knows you find her attractive, it’s hard not to know that with you staring at her boobs every few seconds but as the night goes on she’s more and more hopefully that you want to date her. Your flushed cheeks and occasional stuttering give you away.

Some guy interrupts your conversation and she resists the urge to punch him. She doesn’t know what he’s here for and shouldn’t punch people for interrupting a conversation with a girl she really really likes (she doesn’t allow herself to consider love just yet).

“Hey beautiful.” he greets her, stepping into her space and ignoring you. Against her better judgment she does punch him and giggles as he staggers backwards muttering about bitches under his breath. Really the punch shouldn’t have affected him that much, it was light and not in an area that would cause serious injury, he was just weak.

“Holy fuck.” you whisper under your breath.

“That didn’t bother you, did it?” she rushes to confirm, not wanting to have upset you by resorting to violence. She wasn’t quite sure how to take your holy fuck, whether you meant it in a good way or not.

“It was so hot.” you breath and then immediately clamp a hand over your mouth once you’ve realized what you’ve said out loud.

You’re about to apologize but she speaks first. “Really?”

You don’t understand how she makes her voice sound so smooth and seductive but it makes your knees weak. You’re nervous but there’s no point in taking it back now and it does seem like she’s flirting with you so you continue.

“Yeah, what can I say I like strong women who don’t take shit from men.” you say, moving closer to her. You haven’t flirted very much before but judging based on how her eyes darken slightly you think it’s working.

She reaches out and runs her hand down the side of your face slowly, making you shiver. “Looks like we have the same type.”

She keeps her hand there for a second then leans in slowly, giving you time to pull away. You’re frustrated by how long it’s taking and try to take a small step towards her so you can kiss her. It doesn’t work well since you forgot you’re wearing heels and lose your balance, making her laugh, her breaths dancing over your lips. And then suddenly she’s not moving slowly anymore and her lips are on yours and it’s all you can think about. Your other senses are all dulled and you kiss her harder to prove that this is real.

After a few seconds she pulls back. “I didn’t want people to see,” she explains when she sees your pout, “hallway?”

You’re not sure if it’s even possible for you to do anything but nod and take her hand as she leads you out. Inside of taking you to the main hall she takes you to a side one that doesn’t get used often and only the avengers have access to. Glancing around again to make sure nobody notices she pulls you inside and immediately you’re kissing again.

She presses you against the wall and you grip her shoulders tightly, your nails dipping into her bare skin. When she pulls back again she notes in satisfaction that your lips are smeared with her lipstick and she applauds her choice of bright red. Inside of going back to your mouth she kisses along your jaw and your neck, the lipstick marking you. Happy with her work she moves back to your lips, humming happily at the feeling.

She likes it even more when she feels your mouth open to let her in, taking the opportunity to explore your mouth with her tongue. You let out a small whine and the noise reminds her of where you are.

“Come up to my room?” she asks, smirking. You’re about to say yes when you notice her smirk. It bugs you for some reason, it makes it seem like she’s winning some sort of prize. Breathing heavily you look more closely at her and notice her heels. It’s her seductive mission heels. And then you realize she often wears a black dress to seduce people as well. You feel like a complete idiot, she doesn’t want you for anything more than a quick fling. This was a calculated move on her part.

“No.” you tell her firmly, only able to hold back your tears due to sheer anger. You thought that you were friends, how dare she try to play with your feelings just because she knew she could. Taking advantage of her shock you push past her, running out of the hall and back into the party. You look like a disaster so as quickly as possibly to rush to the doors and leave, running to your room, thankful that everyone seems too invested in their own conversations to notice you going.

You keep running until you reach your room. It didn’t look like she was following you but you don’t want to take any chances. Flinging off your heels because they’re uncomfortable you launch yourself onto your bed and curl up, pulling the covers over your head and putting your face into a pillow. You’re probably getting her lipstick all over right now but you don’t care, you don’t have enough energy to care right now.

You berate yourself again for how stupid you are. You got so caught up in your own emotions that you didn’t even consider that it didn’t mean the same to her as it did to you. It’s so obvious in hindsight. How after one kiss she wanted to sneak away so nobody saw, her glance back at the room before you entered the hall. She wasn’t looking for a relationship that much was clear. She invited you to her bedroom, not on a date.

You try to reason with yourself to make the pain go away but it doesn’t. You weren’t super close but you considered her a friend. Apparently she didn’t consider you one if she was willing to put your friendship aside for sex. You briefly consider that maybe she didn’t know about your feelings but you shake that thought off. She’s smart and reads people easily, she knew she just didn’t care.

You hate the tears that roll down your face. You can’t tell if they’re from sadness or anger and it doesn’t matter. Nothing seems to matter right now. Sobs wrack your body harder and you scream silently into your pillow. You hate this so much, you hate crying and you wish you could hate Natasha but you can’t. You hate yourself for letting yourself get hurt like this though.

---

Natasha watches you leave. She wants to run after you but the look on your face when you pushed by her stops her. You looked so disgusted that you had just made out with her and she can feel her heart breaking into a million pieces just thinking about it. She doesn't know what she did to get it. It’s obvious that you regretted kissing her but it hurts that you seem disgusted by it.

She allows herself a few moments to stand there and try to comprehend what just went on, a single tear dripping down her face. Swallowing hard she wipes it away and takes a breath to collect herself. She makes sure her dress is straight and runs her fingers through her hair so it doesn’t look too wild.

It doesn’t really matter what she looks like, she’s planning to slip out the back of the hall, the opposite way that you went, so it’s unlikely anyone will see her but she wants to be prepared on the off chance that the halls aren’t empty. Biting her lip to stay calm she walks out the end of the hall and slowly makes her way to her room.

She feels so stupid. She’s not even mad at you for feeling disgusted she’s mad at herself. She got so caught up in her own feeling that she never stopped to think about the fact that you don’t like her back. For a moment it seemed like you did but that was probably you being too nice to say no to her.

Her heels seem to mock her as she walks up the stairs with the way they clip clop. So much for lucky heels, she’ll never be able to use them again without remembering how badly she failed. She tugs on her dress from both the top and the bottom, trying to pull it longer in both directions. She felt so confident in it earlier in the mirror and especially when she caught you staring but now she just feels dirty and slutty.

“You’re a fucking idiot.” she mutters out loud to herself when she finally gets to her room. Looking in her mirror upon entry only makes things worse. She’s lucky that she didn’t see anyone in the halls because even after her attempts at cleaning up she looks like a mess. Her makeup is smudged all over and she can see the upset written plainly on her face.

Usually it’s easy to hide her emotions but usually she doesn’t feel such strong ones. You make her feel and she hates it. Only earlier today she loved that you made her feel. She loved the way her heart fluttered thinking about you and how she wasn’t always perfectly composed. You made her feel normal. But now she hates the way her heart betrays her, happy at even the thought of you.

Her only option right now is to forget and she thanks herself for always keeping a bottle of vodka in her room. A bad habit perhaps, but she rarely drinks from it and it is perfect for this situation. Drinking doesn’t help much, even after a while the hurt is still fresh in her mind, but it stops her from overthinking. When she eventually leaves the bottle and slips into bed it’s nobody’s business but hers if she cries herself to sleep.

---

You bury yourself deeper into your covers when you hear knocks at your door, hoping that whoever it is will go away soon.

“Y/n open up!” you hear Carol shout, still pounding on the door. “Unless Natasha’s with you, don’t think I didn’t notice you left the party earlier.”

Carol’s mention of Natasha makes a lump form in your throat and suddenly you feel the sudden urge to take a shower and wash all of her off you. You must have stayed silent for too long because Carol’s knocking stops and she speaks again.

“If you don’t say anything in five seconds I’m coming in.” she tells you.

You don’t know if you want her here or not. Carol is always good at making you cheer up but you feel embarrassed to tell anybody what happened.

“Four.”

Carol would understand though, she’s never been one to judge people for things and she was the one who helped push you towards Natasha, telling you she liked you back.

“Three.”

You realize that Natasha’s lipstick is still all over you and you’re still wearing the dress from last night. It’s too late to fix the clothes but you try to wipe the lipstick from your neck as quickly as possible (spoiler, it doesn’t go very well).

“Two.”

You’re still not sure if you want her to come in so you open your mouth to try to tell her to go away but the lump in your throat prevents you from speaking.

“One, I’m coming in now.” she says, opening the door. “Is that Natasha’s lipstick?”

It’s too much and you get overwhelmed, bursting into tears. Her grin of triumph from when she saw the lipstick quickly disappears and she rushes over to comfort you, wrapping you in a big hug.

“Do I have to kill her?” she asks, when you’ve calmed down a little bit. If you didn’t know Carol enough to know she’s actually a huge softy you would think she is dead serious.

“No,” you tell her, managing a weak smile at how quickly Carol comes to your defense.

“Are you sure?” she asks. “You have her lipstick all over you and you’re crying because of her. What did she do wrong?”

“It’s not her fault,” you protest. Natasha and Carol are friends and you don’t want them to stop being close because of you.

“It’s not her fault you’re crying?” Carol asks skeptically.

“I-um, she,” you stumble over your words because technically it is her fault you’re crying. “She didn’t mean to.” you finally settle on saying.

Carol doesn’t look any happier with the situation than she did before. “Please tell me what happened Y/n so I can go beat her up for you. Did she try to force herself on you or do anything you didn’t want?”

“No.” you say, shaking your head. Natasha may have only been looking for a one night stand or short fling but you can confidently say that she would never do that.

“Okay, then what did she do to make you so upset? It doesn’t look like she rejected you.” Carol is both stubborn and curious and you sigh knowing you’re not going to be able to get out of this conversation without telling her what happened.

“At first it was really nice, we were talking and then we were kissing. But then-” you pause and take a deep breath as Carol rubs a hand comfortingly on your back. “But then she asked if I wanted to go up to her room.” you pause again, trying not to cry for the second time this morning.

“What did you say?” Carol asks softly, knowing this is hard for you.

“I almost said yes, I was planning to say yes,” you tell her, “but then I looked down at her heels.”

“Her heels?”

“She was wearing the heels she always wears for missions where she has to seduce shady old men.” you explain. “And her dress seemed different than normal, like one she’d wear on a mission and she was smirking at me, like she got exactly what she wanted.”

“She treated you like a mission.” Carol states, a hard look in her eye. “That bitch.”

“Carol,” you warn, “you’re her friend too.”

“And as her friend I’m going to give her some friendly advice.” She emphasizes the word friendly giving the impression that it wasn’t going to be friendly at all.

“It will only make things worse.” you tell her. “I just want to forget about it.”

Carol keeps the hard look but softens a little, smiling at you. “Okay, whatever you want. We could spend the day watching movies and eating ice cream?”

“Okay.” you tell her. You’ve never been heartbroken before but you’ve seen movies and apparently this is what everyone does.

“I’ll go get the ice cream while you pick a movie.” she tells you, standing up. “I’ll even watch a disney one if you’d like.”

You give a halfhearted cheer, trying to convince Carol that you’re excited. She frowns as she leaves the room, that cheer was obviously fake. Any other time and you would be beyond happy that she was agreeing to watch Disney movies with you, you’ve been begging her to for almost a year. She can’t help but feel anger at Natasha and anger at herself. Anger at Natasha for playing with your feelings but anger at herself for pushing you to be with Natasha. She should have realized Natasha wouldn’t treat you right but she was so caught up in trying to pair you together that she didn’t see it.

---

Natasha wakes up as normal, feeling a headache forming already. Glancing towards her alarm clock she sits up in shock when she reads how late it is. She’s never in bed after noon. She groans when she realizes sitting up that quickly was not a good idea and makes her feel nauseous. She takes a few breaths, in and out, to calm herself and tries to remember why she drank so much. She was upset, she remembers that. She was upset because her plan didn’t work.

She feels a sharp pain in her heart when her mental blocks seem to go away and she remembers everything that happened, how the night had been going so perfectly and she had felt so happy only for it to all come crashing down when you ran away, disgusted that you kissed her.

“Stupid.” she tells herself, getting out of bed. She reminds herself of that as she goes about her normal morning routine, washing her face, brushing her teeth and getting dressed. She was so stupid to risk your friendship for something more, now it would be a miracle if you still wanted to be around her. Even if it hurt to pretend you hadn’t kissed she would go back to being friends with you in an instant if you still wanted her. She tries not to think about how big of an if that is.

When she is presentable she decides to head down the kitchen and grab some food. It’s been awhile since she last ate and there’s no use in trying to hide away and avoid her problems; she will either see you and have to confront them or you won’t be there. She knows that hiding away will only make things worse and appear weak, if she leaves her room and pretends everything is normal it will make her seem less hurt than she is.

“Hi Natasha.” Tony says in a weird voice when she enters the kitchen, waggling his eyebrows. She does her best not to show her obvious disappointment that almost everybody is here. The one upside is that you’re not.

“Hi Tony.” she says tiredly, walking over to grab a piece of bread and plopping it in the toaster.

“So Natasha,” he starts, oblivious to her unrelaxed mood, “how was last night?”

Natasha whips around lightning fast, staring at him. “What do you mean?”

He couldn’t possibly have heard, could he? She had hoped to talk to you before word got out about the rejection, to try to keep it on the down-low because the guys would never let her live it down. She assumed you wouldn’t tell anyone but you did leave the hall in the direction of the party so maybe you decided to stay.

“I mean with Y/n.” he says casually as Natasha fights to keep a straight face as her heart beats wildly in her chest. “Don’t think we didn’t notice how you both left early.”

Natasha lets out an almost unnoticeable sigh of relief. He didn’t know anything important.

“Well that may be the case but I can assure you nothing happened.” she tells him.

“Then where is she now?” Tony challenges.

“I don’t know, if you haven’t seen her she’s probably in her room.” Natasha responds smoothly. It’s just her luck that after being rejected by the girl of her dreams Tony thinks they got together.

“And where were you?”

Natasha gives him a deadpan stare. “My own room.”

He scoffs. “First of all you could be lying to us, I know you spies are good at that. But if you aren’t you need to get some balls and ask her out already.”

Natasha scowls. “A man’s balls are the weakest part of his body, I am good without them.”

Tony has enough self preservation to step back for a second. Natasha lets him think that her annoyance is solely over his sexist statement but really it wasn’t that bad and she’s just upset that she can’t have you so she really doesn’t want to be talking about asking you out.

“You should.” Clint speaks up.

Natasha rolls her eyes. “Not you too.”

“See Clint agrees with me and I bet the others do too.” Tony says smugly. Natasha lets her eyes move slowly around the room and one but one they all look away when she catches their eye, showing her that while they are too nervous to outright say it, Tony is right and they do agree.

“I don’t care about that,” she says, “I am not and that’s the end of the story.”

“What not?” Tony persists. “You like her, you can’t deny that, so give me one good reason not to.”

“Because she wouldn’t want to and I respect that.” Natasha says calmly. Inside she feels her stomach twisting and she wants to break something. She may be good at hiding her emotions but this conversation is proving to be next to impossible.

Tony scoffs again. “There’s no way, that girl is so in love with you it’s ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous is that you assume things about other people and can’t let this go.” Natasha tells him icily. “You don’t know what she’d say.”

“Then you don’t know either.” Tony counters.

“Then why did she say no when I asked her out last night?” Natasha snaps at him. There are gasps all around the room and to her mortification she is barely holding in the tears that spring to her eyes.

“What?” Sam asks in disbelief.

“I asked her out, she said no and that’s that.” Natasha explains, trying to keep her composure but failing when a tear falls down her cheek. “Excuse me.”

She hurries out of the room, no longer able to handle the talk of asking you out and the disbelieving stares. As she gets back to her room and lies in bed once more she notes in annoyance that she never got her toast. Not that she’s hungry anymore anyway. She doesn’t feel anything anymore except sadness and emptiness. She knew her feelings for you were strong but now that she knows for sure that you don’t want her they feel even stronger and it makes her realize just how much this meant to her and how much she lost.

---

“Hey.” Carol greets as she walks in the kitchen and heads straight for the freezer.

“Morning Carol.” Bruce says, looking shocked when he sees the amount of ice cream she’s holding. “Ice cream for breakfast?”

“It’s for Y/n.” Carol explains.

Tony’s expression turns dark. “What on earth does she need it for?”

“Girl problems, also known as none of your business.” Carols says, in an admittedly sassy voice.

Tony glares. “By girl problems do you mean what happened with Romanoff last night.”

He may tease Natasha but she was like family to him and he would not allow your feelings to be coddled while you stomped all over hers. He doesn’t care if you feel bad for rejecting her, you had flirted and let her on for too long and feeling bad was the least you deserve.

In an instant Carol is across the kitchen and inches from his face. “How do you know?”

“Hey, calm down.” Bruce says, stepping in when he notices Clint and Sam have both tensed up, presumably to defend Natasha’s honor. Even though he’s a man himself he doesn’t understand them sometimes, Natasha was more than capable of taking care of herself and starting a fight between Tony and Carol, the two most stubborn on the team, would only be a headache for weeks to come.

“How do you know?” Carol asks Bruce, thankfully stepping back from Tony.

“She was here a few minutes ago and told us.”

Carol curses under her breath. “That bitch.”

“Hey!” Clint says loudly. “If anyone is a bitch here it’s Y/n.”

“Yes because it’s all Y/n’s fault.” Carol says sarcastically.

Sam decides he’s had enough of Carol. “Yes actually, it is.”

“Bullshit.”

The three of them go back and forth with Carol, mainly cursing and getting a little off topic.

It’s when Carol calls Tony an idiot that Bruce speaks up. “You weren’t here to see Natasha cry.”

“What?” Carol turned to face Bruce, shocked. He isn’t one for petty arguments so she believes what comes out of his mouth. But why would Natasha cry? It doesn’t make sense, she was the one who broke your heart, not the other way around. “Natasha never cries.”

“Well she just did.” Tony says but it’s not in a confrontational tone anymore. He’s not sure what Carol knows but it’s obvious she didn’t know fully what happened.

“Why?”

“It was partly my fault,” Tony admits, “I was teasing her about asking out Y/n and she kept saying no and eventually snapped and told us that she did last night but Y/n rejected her.”

Carol scrunches her brow in confusion. “That’s not what Y/n told me- OHHH.”

“What?” The voice comes simultaneously from all four men at once.

“They are both idiots.” Carol says, smiling and laughing for the first time since entering the kitchen. “They are both huge idiots that don’t know shit about feelings.”

“What?” Tony asks again, wanting to know what Carol’s thinking.

“Okay I’ll tell you but don’t interrupt.” Carol warns and looks at all of them to make sure they nod in agreement. Once she is satisfied she starts. “So this morning I found Y/n in tears and covered in Natasha’s lipstick. Apparently they had fun at the party last night and then snuck away to makeout. Y/n was upset because Natasha asked her up to her room instead of on a date and she noticed that Natasha was wearing her mission heels, do you know them?”

“The ones that she uses to seduce old men for Shield?” Sam asks just to make sure.

“Yep.” Carol confirms. “So anyways Y/n is upset because she thinks that she was just some sort of challenge to Natasha so she left her there…”

“...but Natasha was actually serious about her.” Clint finishes.

Tony laughs. “They really are idiots.”

“I am definitely telling this story at their wedding and to their future kids.” Sam says, also laughing.

“Well first they need to actually talk to each other about this.” Bruce points out, lowering the happy mood of the room. “Right now they’re both in their rooms miserable and feelings like the other doesn’t want them.”

“We should get Natasha to talk to Y/n,” Carol suggests, “because I know that Y/n won’t believe us unless Natasha is the one to tell her.”

“Okay I volunteer to talk to Natasha.” Tony suggests.

“No.” Carol tells him.

“Well you’re Y/n’s best friend so she won’t want to talk to you either right now.” he counters.

“Yes but you’re also a horrible option, I think Bruce would be best for this.”

Bruce looks around the room. “Me?”

“That does make sense,” Clint agrees with Carol, “out of all of us you’re the best at calming people down and she’d be most likely to believe you quicker.”

“But-”

“No buts Brucie, don’t you want to see them together?” Tony pleads.

“Yeah come on Brucie,” Sam mocks Tony, “do it for love.”

Bruce sighs as he watches Tony pout and Sam flutter his eyelashes ridiculously. “Fine.”

“Get straight to the point,” Clint advises, “because she will kick you out if you don’t.”

“Okay.”

Bruce leaves the kitchen to head to Natasha’s room. It took ages for him to be convinced to join the avengers and every day he can’t tell if he regrets his choice or loves his choice. Certainly no other job in the world would force him to go talk to his scary assassin coworker so she and his other coworker can get together. He really isn’t paid enough for this.

A knock startles Natasha. She didn’t think anyone would come after her because she assumed they would all be too scared when she’s in a bad mood.

“Who is it?” she calls out.

“Bruce.”

“Bruce,” she sighs, “I’m sorry but I need to be alone right now, I hope you of all people can understand that.”

“No.” he responds, surprising both her and himself with how determined his voice sounds.

“Bruce-” she starts but he interrupts.

“Hear me out first Natasha,” he begs, “please.”

She thinks about it for a moment before giving up and sighing, she’s not in the mood to spend time arguing. “Fine, but you have to stay outside the door.”

“If that’s what you want.” he agrees, pausing a second to figure out how he wants to word things. “I just came back from an interesting conversation with Carol in the kitchen.” he settles on saying.

“Oh?” She tries not to think about what that means. Carol is your best friend and after her scene in the kitchen this morning she doesn’t think there would be any other reason he would bring her up.

“She was getting ice cream for Y/n because apparently she’s upset.” he offers as a means of explanation.

“Oh.” she says again and it’s so quiet she doesn’t think he heard her. “You can tell Carol that I’ll apologize to Y/n tomorrow, I need to gain control of myself first.”

She never thought about how it would be from your end of things. She forced you into more than you wanted and tried to ask you out and she selfishly focused on her own feelings when you probably were upset that she kissed you. Or you thought you would lose her as a friend. She doesn't think she is capable of talking to you without breaking down right now but in a few days she’ll be fine and able to pretend nothing changed.

“That’s not what she was upset about,” Bruce tells her, “Carol says she was upset because she thought it didn’t mean anything to you.”

“What, why?” Natasha can’t help but let her interest be taken. She doesn’t want to get her hopes up, what Bruce said could mean a lot of different things.

“I feel like I’m in middle school and there’s broken telephone being played between two crushes.” Bruce jokes.

“Bruce, tell me why.” Natasha demands. Her voice is soft but they both know if Bruce stalls any longer she’ll drop the sweet act.

“Well Carol said she said that it seemed like you were acting as if she was your mission to seduce and not like you actually wanted to be with her.” Bruce says, relaying the information.

“Crap.”

Bruce waits for Natasha to elaborate but she doesn’t say anything. “Are you okay in there?”

“Yes, thank you Bruce,” she says, “I need to go fix this, you can leave now.”

He can’t help but feel relieved as he speeds away down the hall. He is never going to do anything like that again, it was way too awkward. He still doesn’t understand how the others forced him to do this, damn his heart for being persuaded it was a good cause. The one upside is that talking to Natasha did seem to work and with any luck she’d be able to fix her mistakes with you. If she didn’t he did all this for nothing and may very well hulk out.

---

Natasha paces back and forth in her room. If Bruce was right (and she has no reason to believe he would lie) you didn’t run away because you didn’t like her, you ran away because you thought she didn’t like you. She winces when she thinks about it. Looking back she can see why you were mistaken and thought she didn’t have true feelings for you because she did treat you like a mark. She analyzed what hairstyle and dress you would like and wore her good luck heels. Even the way she talked and acted was calculated to be exactly what you’d like.

She’s stupid, so stupid and if she had just asked you out in a normal way instead of trying to seduce you she could be on a brunch date with you right now. It had never occurred to her to try it any other way, she was taught that seducing was the easiest way to get people to like you so why should it be different for a normal date? In hindsight using red room techniques to get a date is a horrible idea and she can’t believe she didn’t see it before. Maybe she hasn’t shaken off the red room ideals as much as she thought she had.

The thought scares her, her entire life upon leaving the red room has been dedicated to being a force for good, the opposite of everything the red room stood for so to realize that they still have their claws in deeper than she thought is terrifying. She takes a deep breath and tries to make it go away, which is mostly successful as the thought is reduced to the back of her mind. She can take her thoughts and analyze them later, which is another thing the red room taught her to do she notes, but right now she has to focus on the thing that’s most important, fixing her mistake.

As she walks through the halls to your room she runs through things she should say in her head but nothing sounds right. Perhaps it’s for the best though, that way you can tell she’s genuine and not performing another script. She pauses as she reaches your door, finding herself almost shaking with nerves. What if you don’t want her anymore or Bruce misunderstood or worst of all you still think she doesn’t care?

She almost turns around and goes back, unfamiliar with this type of fear but she knows that if she does all chances of fixing things and having a relationship with you will be reduced to zero. Taking a deep breath she turns the knob and pushes the door open.

You don’t look right away when you hear the door open, too lazy to care. “What took you so long, you were supposed to be back with the ice cream ages ago.”

“I-”

You spin around quickly. “You’re not Carol.”

“Nor do I have ice cream.” She tries to joke but it falls flat.

“Why are you here?” you ask and she winces. It’s blunt and straight to the point, your tone quiet but practically screaming at her to get out.

Since you got straight to the point she decides to do the same. “To ask you out.”

You must look even more shocked than you feel because she quickly jumps in to explain. “That’s what I was trying to do at the party last night, although I know you assumed that I didn’t mean it. I know you noticed the heels and I know I was smirking and it seemed like I was playing you but it really was genuine, I was just trying to do it the wrong way. I was always taught in the red room that to get people to like you romantically the best way to do that is to seduce them but obviously that is wrong and I didn’t realize until too late.”

There’s a lot of information to take in but your mind gets stuck on one question. “How do you know all that about how I felt?”

“Carol talked to Bruce who talked to me.” she says, looking slightly embarrassed at how elementary that sounds. “So?”

“So what?” You know she wants to know if you’ll go out with her for real and you really want to immediately say yes but you also want to hear her ask you properly.

She seems to understand. “Will you go on a date with me Y/n?”

You hesitate one moment before responding. It’s unnecessarily mean but you just spent a good portion of last night and this morning crying over her and besides, she looks absolutely adorable as she shifts her weight from side to side nervously. She looks exactly how you want her to look, no makeup and wearing sweatpants. It’s natural and genuine and everything you would have loved to see last night.

“Yes.”

“Oh thank god.” she laughs in relief, the pitch of it breathier than normal.

“I like it when you do that.” you tell her.

She furrows her brow, confused. “Do what?”

“When you laugh like that or wear old clothes, like you’re not trying to impress me.” you explain.

“So when I do the opposite of what I did last night?” she asks, laughing at herself for being so stupid. Of course you didn’t fall for all the acts, if you did she wouldn’t like you as much as she does. You make her feel different and that’s a good thing, she shouldn’t have to act around you.

“Yeah, don’t get me wrong last night was hot,” you tell her, “but it’s not you. That’s agent Romanoff putting on whatever mask she needs to be for the night, this here is my Tasha.”

“Your Tasha, huh,” she teases, “possessive much?”

“Sorry.”

“No,” she tells you, “I like it. I don’t need to put a mask on around you because you’re you and I am your Tasha. But you’re also mine.”

“All yours.” you confirm and she visibly shivers. “Apparently I’m not the only possessive one.”

“Apparently.” she says looking at you in a way that makes heat rise to your cheeks.

“Since we wasted time last night maybe we could start with a movie date right now?” you suggest shyly, changing the topic.

“Well we do have time to make up for.” she agrees, sitting down on the bed beside you. “What movie?”

“Mulan.” you tell her pressing the remote to drop the tv down into your room. There were definitely benefits to living with Tony.

“A disney movie?” she asks skeptically.

“Have you seen it?” you ask already knowing the answer before she shakes her head. “Then don’t knock it, it’s a great movie.”

“If you say so.” she says, still slightly skeptical but much more open to it. Even if the movie is garbage she doesn’t think she’d mind watching it with you. She definitely doesn’t mind it when your head drops onto your shoulder and you fall asleep, tired from the emotional rollercoaster you just went on. And when the movie ends she doesn’t move, happy to have you there, even when hours later her shoulder is all tense and cramped. It scares her how much she feels for you already but it also feels freeing, she knows she is not just the product of the red room because their biggest rule is to not fall in love and she’s definitely going to break that soon, if she hasn’t already.

---

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#natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #black widow #black widow x reader #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff fic #black widow fic #marvel fanfiction #mine

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lucysweatslove · 2 years ago

Text

09.13.2022 // 🤷🏻‍♀️

Does a workout ever make you feel worse? I was feeling alright today after physical therapy (first 5 exercises logged in Fitbod), good actually. I hate the modified split squats, and basically everything ended up targeting my hips, but I didn’t get super dizzy, only a little bit, and we started preparing for deads again by doing the mechanics with a dowel. Found that i don’t experience pain if I reduce my range of motion. So overall I felt positive about that.

Since I didn’t work today, I kinda had time to just sit around with my thoughts. I didn’t want to wait to do my usual workout, since not doing anything major was, well, majorly boring. I got on the spin bike and put the resistance back down and just did something light. Afterwards it took some motivation to get going on strength training, and honestly I felt like I was just dragging the entire time. I think my muscles were somewhat fatigued from the split squats and resistance band hip circle type things.

Somehow I got it in my mind that I’d enjoy a nice stretch. But Down Dog gave me some poses that I just don’t like- anything that shifts weight into my arms aren’t my favorite especially the day after arm day- and I think that soured my mood.

After my workout I started to feel dizzy and light headed. Of course my vision started to wobble. It reminded me too much of Old Times where I would let my blood sugar get way too low by exercising way too much on very little intake. So I got myself a bowl of cereal with a banana and raspberries for more simple carbs.

I’m still not feeling great. Both physically (it’s getting better as I sit) and emotionally. I’m thinking maybe adding yoga just isn’t a good idea yet. I feel way too weak, the negative body talk starts, and it’s not longer restorative. I really want to further work on my flexibility, but perhaps I should just stick to a simple stretching routine instead of using my app.

#personal #Lucy sweats #my face #Fitember

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intheticklecloset · 4 years ago

Text

Ask Me to Stop (My Hero Academia)

Primary Universe

So this went from a "how to tickle Deku" lesson to "let's wreck Deku together" real quick, but I think the outcome is absolutely adorable! I love the competitiveness of this whole silly experiment. Enjoy! ^^

Sometimes, Deku honestly had no idea how he found himself in these kinds of situations. One minute he was watching TV with Bakugou and Kirishima, and the next they were talking about him as if he weren’t there, making it obvious that if he so much as shifted into a new sitting position they’d pounce on him.

“You have to go for his worst spot first,” Bakugou said casually, as though discussing what they were watching on the screen. “Break down any resistance he might try to put up right away, then leave it alone until he gets desperate, then end there again to prove your point. It’s a tried and true method, spiky hair. Don’t question it.”

“Okay, but everyone always goes for his worst spot first,” Kiri argued, grinning. “I feel like there are more methodical ways to get him to give in, if you really want to mess with him. Be a little more creative, Bakugou.”

“I’m plenty creative,” the blonde shot back. “I can still get him to beg faster than you can.”

“Says who? We never actually tested that. For all we know, I might be able to get him to beg faster.”

Deku’s heart was racing at this point. He knew they were going to get him, it was just a matter of time—

Bakugou looked at Kiri. Kirishima looked at Bakugou. The both of them smirked, then got up from their places on the couch.

There it was. Deku yelped and used One For All’s power to boost himself out of his seat and towards the dorms slightly ahead of the two of them, hearing their angry (Bakugou) and playful (Kirishima) shouts from behind him as he went.

“Midoriya~”

“We’ll catch you sooner or later, you stupid nerd!”

Thank goodness his room was on the first floor! Deku skidded to a stop in front of his door just long enough to shove it open, but that brief pause was enough for his pursuers to catch up and tackle him inside. He squealed, kicking and squirming even before they’d started.

Kirishima laughed at him. “Why are you running away from us? Don’t you know that only means we’ll make it worse now?”

“W-Wait, wait, I d-didn’t ask to be part of this!” Deku squeaked, already grinning widely as they wrestled him over to his bed and pinned him down on it. “Please!”

“Hey, now, you can’t beg yet.”

“Yeah, nerd,” Bakugou agreed, straddling his waist with a wicked smirk. “We’ve got to test this out for real, see which one of us can tickle you better.”

“B-B-But…but e-everyone t-tickles me differently and it’s all effective in d-different ways!” Deku protested, holding back a whine when Kirishima pulled his arms above his head and sat on them, completely immobilizing him. Truthfully, he was excited to see how this would play out, knowing how competitive each of them could be.

Kiri grinned down at him. “Come on, Midoriya. You know you’re having just as much fun as we are.”

Deku’s face went beet red. He averted his eyes and mumbled, “You don’t have to call me out on it…”

“All right, spiky hair,” Bakugou said, getting started without any warning whatsoever. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

“Nononono wait – WAHAHAHAHAIT!!” Deku cried, laughter bubbling out of him with the slightest press into his hip bones. “Kahahahahahacchan, wait!”

“Wait for what, exactly?” Bakugou grumbled, but he was smirking. “We don’t have all day to figure this out, you know.”

“Yeah, Midoriya. We’ve got to get on with it,” Kiri added, beginning to scribble lightly in his underarms.

Deku jerked beneath them, giggles and laughter mixing together in a kind of musical way. “P-Plehehehehease, nohohohohohoho!”

“Stop begging so fast!” Bakugou kneaded even deeper into his worst spot, making him screech. “How are we supposed to know who’s winning if you’re such a pleading mess all the time?”

“I cahahahahahahan’t hehehehehelp it!”

Kiri hummed thoughtfully. “All right, how about this – you can only ask one of us to stop. Whichever one it is will be the winner, since they made you beg first. Sound good?”

Bakugou answered for him, searching out the hollows of Deku’s hips and kneading. “Fine by me. Let’s hear it, Deku. We both know you can’t take it here for long.”

“Hey, no fair!” Kiri exclaimed, digging into his underarms as well. “You got his worst spot, and a head start! How is this a fair fight?”

“Guess you were just too slow, spiky hair.”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Deku laughed, squirming as much as he could while his two worst spots were attacked in tandem. “PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE!! THIHIHIHIHIHIHIS ISN’T FAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAIR!!”

“What isn’t fair?” Bakugou demanded.

“I DIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIDN’T AHAHAHAHAHAHASK FOR THIS!!”

“But you’re enjoying it, though,” Kiri teased, poking his cheek with a finger. “Aren’t you, Midoriya?”

“SH-SHUT UHUHUHUHUP!!”

The redhead gasped mockingly. “Wow, so rude!”

“You keep making this worse for yourself, nerd. You must want us to tickle you to death.”

“N-NOHOHOHOHOHOHO, NO, I’M SOHOHOHOHOHORRYEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!” Deku tossed his head back and nearly screamed when they both doubled their efforts. “AHAHAHAHAHAHA PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

“You’re not playing fair, Bakugou,” Kiri pouted. “You’ve got his worst spot! Of course I can’t compete with that.”

“Well I’m not leaving it now. You’ve got his second worst. That’ll put you at an advantage.”

“Why don’t we both find a new spot, then? That way we’ve got an equal chance.”

“Fine.”

Deku was relieved when they let up on his worst spots and darted to a different location on his torso, but it was short lived, since they each went for his ribs and kept bumping into each other.

“Back off, spiky hair! I was here first!”

“There’s plenty of ribs to go around!”

“Find somewhere else to tickle him! This is my spot!”

Kirishima grumbled, but finally settled on scribbling his fingers over Deku’s neck and ears, pleasantly surprised when he squeaked and tried to scrunch his shoulders, tossing his head back and forth.

“Nohohohohohohoho! Plehehehehehease, thahahahahat tihihihihickles!”

“Does it, now?” Kiri shot Bakugou a triumphant smirk. “All you have to do is ask me to stop~”

“Don’t even think about it!” Bakugou started pinching up and down his sides. “Ask me to stop.”

This was the silliest thing Deku had ever experienced in his life, and he had no problem laughing about it, thanks to the two determined boys on top of him. He bit his lip to try and stifle himself, shaking his head defiantly. They wanted to experiment on him? That was fine. But he’d make them work for it. Honestly, he was a bit curious about the outcome himself.

“Tch, you want to be stubborn like that? Fine. I know another weak spot.” Bakugou readjusted himself so he was straddling Deku’s knees, then scribbled lightly over his thighs. “Tickle, tickle, Deku.”

“P-Plehehehehehease! Ahahahahahahaha!” Deku squealed, unable to even kick his legs anymore thanks to this new positioning. “Gah – Kacchan – staha—nohohohohohohohoho!”

“Aha! There it was!” Bakugou sounded triumphant, scribbling a little faster. “You were about to say stop, weren’t you, nerd? Go on. Spit it out!”

“No way!” Kiri declared, reaching over him to scribble patterns along his belly and sides, digging in a little more here and there. “Nuh-uh! He wins against you all the time – are you really going to let him beat you again, Midoriya?”

“Butt out, Kiri!”

Deku squealed, his face bright red and his smile uncontrollable. “Plehehehehehease, you guhuhuhuhuys, you’re b-bohohohohoth tihihihihihickling me so muhuhuhuhuhuch! I cahahahahahan’t decide whahahahahat’s worse!”

“Well, you’d better make up your mind quick. Give it up, Deku – you know I’m better at tickling you. Just admit it.”

“Again – not fair! I haven’t had the years of experience or whatever, but I know how to make him laugh, at least!”

“Anyone can make him laugh,” Bakugou growled. “It’s Deku.”

“I cahahahahahahahan’t chohohohohohohoose!” Deku whined pleadingly. “You’re bohohohohoth gohohohohohood ticklers!”

Bakugou had had just about enough of this beating around the bush. He growled, then shot up to his hips again and drilled. He didn’t care about fairness at this point. “But who’s better?”

“NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

“Hey – knock it off! No hot spots!” Kiri protested. When Bakugou ignored him, he climbed off of their target and shoved the blonde away, one hand grabbing Deku’s hip while the other went for his best friend’s ribs. “Look, Bakugou; I can tickle you both at once! That must mean I’m better than you!”

“GAH!! Get – gehehehehehet off!” Bakugou yelled around his giggles, digging into Kiri’s side while reaching for Deku’s other hip at the same time. “Big deal! I can tickle you both at once, too!”

Deku was laughing so hard from the tickling and the silliness of it all he could hardly breathe, but at the same time, he didn’t want any of it to end, no matter how much he fought his attacker’s hands out of pure instinct. “PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE, GUHUHUHUHUHUYS!!”

All of a sudden and without actually speaking, Bakugou and Kirishima seemed to come to a conclusion and each grabbed one of Deku’s wrists, forcing them above his head while grabbing at his hips with their free hands. They were both going to town on his worst spot at the same time, as a team, and that’s what ultimately broke him.

“BOHOHOHOHOHOHOTH!! BOTH OF YOHOHOHOHOHOU!! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP, PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

“Who’s better, Deku?” Bakugou demanded.

“You can only ask one of us to stop,” Kiri reminded him.

In a frantic daze of ticklish sensations and uncontrollable laughter, all Deku could think was that of the two of them, only one might show mercy without nearly killing him first. Really, when he was forced to make a decision like this, the answer was clear.

“STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP, KACCHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAN!!”

“Ha!” Bakugou did stop, throwing his tickling hand into the air in victory. “Told you, spiky hair! I’m just better at tickling than you are.”

“Yeah? Well – well I can make you beg, at least!” Kiri declared, quickly tackling Bakugou onto the mattress in Deku’s place and drilling into his worst spot. “Come on, Midoriya; help me take him down!”

Bakugou was screeching with laughter already, limbs flailing uselessly as Deku tried to snatch his wrists and pin them above his head while catching his breath and giggling at the same time.

“DEKU!! DEHEHEHEHEKU DON’T YOU DARE – NOHOHOHOHOHO!! KIRI I’LL KIHIHIHIHIHILL YOU!! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

Together with Deku, Kiri made good on his claim of being able to make Bakugou beg for mercy, and when that was over, the two childhood friends teamed up on Kirishima as revenge, and when that was over, all three of them lay either on the mattress or the floor of the bedroom, giggling, out of breath, completely spent – and closer than ever before.

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