#and I bet they cut our worse parts

[lennies-blog]

English Translation

Schumacher vs. Wirtz

Ready, set, go!

Together with his sponsor Mick Schumacher is hosting a Kart race in his home town Kerpen. Nationalplayer Florian Wirtz (German  National Football Team) also let's himself be challenged to a race. The Schumi-son decides the race for himself, but Mick also won in love.

He is in a relationship with the Danish model Laila Hasanovic - and talked about his new luck.

Mick: "If I will say something about it I will continue to do it via posting it on social media or via pictures."

I: "But it is like that, that it's kind of a public thing and it's a good and important step, right? That you stand (up) for it?"

Mick: "Right. I'm not hiding and that's why I shared it, but it's still not something that I will publicly discuss in the media, but rather through a picture or social media."

A clip from Mick's recent karting event in Kerpen.

source- rtl.com

[grandlinedreams]

You’ve done an aged up quirk story, could I request one one where the Heart Pirates get hit with the opposite, and suddenly reader and Law are frantically taking care baby everyone. And there’s something about seeing reader handling babies that stirs…something in Law.

Hiya!! I actually haven't done a story like that before so I think you have me confused for Coza who did do an aged up thing, but I hope I can do this justice for you! But also hey i made it a week on this blog before devolving into my law based brainrot also most of this is under a readmore bc it's LONG pulling in at about 2.4k

[!]: MINORS DNI. AGELESS AND MINORS WILL BE BLOCKED.

[Heads up!: devil fruit effects, fingering, reader is not gendered but there is usage of termed genitals(clit), unprotected sex, breeding kink, piv, i think i have my bases covered]

All in all, you’re really not sure this situation can get worse.

 But on second thought, you amend it ㅡ things can always get worse. And so, correction ㅡ things could get worse, but you’re desperately hoping that they won’t.

“[Name]?” You look down at the tiny redhead, his arms wound around your leg. “Can you hold me?” 

“Of course.” You bend down as he reaches up, your hands hooking under his arms to lift the small boy into your arms, situating him against your hip. “Careful though, don’t wake Bepo.” 

The mink, now reduced to a small cub, is fast asleep in the cloth you’ve tied around yourself as a makeshift carrier, his head resting against your shoulder. Approaching footsteps make your attention shift to the newcomer, your eyes locking with familiar gold. “Any luck?”

Law shakes his head. “I didn’t figure that he’d hang around long afterwards. Baㅡ” Your eyes narrow in warning and Law looks away, jaw clenching as he surveys the mess that’s been made of his crew. Besides you and himself, the rest of the crew’d been the unfortunate victims of a devil fruit effect that’d reverted them to children ㅡ and without their current, adult frame of mind.

“How long do you think this will last?” you ask, adjusting Shachi on your hip again, and Law’s eyes flick from the redhead to Bepo’s sleeping face, then to his own hands. Both are occupied by a set much smaller than his own, and Ikkaku looks up at him and beams as Clione stares at the ground, scuffing his shoe in the dirt. 

What an odd scene this must appear to be ㅡ two adults and a group of children of varying sizes scattered nearby, tucked far enough into an alleyway that the casual passersby wouldn’t spot them. 

“Not sure. If we’re lucky, it shouldn’t last much more than a couple of hours.” 

“Well, nothing to be done but figure out how to look after them until it wears off.” You wiggle the fingers of your free hand in invitation, and Law watches as Uni darts over to latch onto it with both of his. “Should we take them back to the Polar Tang?”

“That’d probably be our best bet,” Law sighs, and Clione looks up at him with a frown. 

“Are you mad at us?”

Law turns, lips parting ㅡ and you cut him off before he can speak, your tone gentle in a way he’s never heard. “Of course not. Nobody’s mad at any of you, okay? You’re not in trouble, I promise.”  

Clione perks up at your words and you smile, pleased that you’ve been able to help cheer up your crewmate. Pushing down the stir of something odd in his chest, Law looks back up at you. “We should head back.”

You nod and adjust Shachi again, coaxing him to wrap skinny arms around your neck for support and still when Bepo squirms at the accidental knock of Shachi’s hand against his cheek, though the mink otherwise stays asleep. 

You slip past Law and he watches as Hakugan, Penguin and Jean Bart hurry to follow you, sight uncannily similar to that of ducklings following their mother. Glancing down at Ikkaku and Clione, he heaves a soft sigh before he moves to follow you. 

You make it half-way back through the little town before Ikkaku is tugging on his hand, and he glances down at her. “My feet hurt.” Cheeks puffed in a tiny pout, brown eyes bore into his own as she tugs on his hand for emphasis. “Carry me!”

“It’s not much further,” he tries, adjusting his tone so that it’s something closer to yours had been and when it doesn’t do anything beyond making Ikkaku pout further and stomp one of her feet, he gives in and lets go of Clione’s hand for a moment to pick Ikkaku up. The tiny girl makes a noise of delight, and he reaches for Clione’s hand again, little fingers curling around his. 

He knows how strange the two of you must look with your entourage of children, and he finds himself wishing more now than ever that the effects of that devil fruit will wear off. You’re stuck here until it does, after all ㅡ the two of you can’t pilot the Polar Tang on your own, and he’s not certain about the effect of deep-sea submersion on children. 

“You have a lovely family, my dear.” Law looks up to find you halted by an older woman who watches his crew cluster around your legs, Shachi tucking his face against your shoulder. As Law steps closer, her eyes flick to him. “This must be your husband.” 

There it is again, the odd flicker from before ㅡ stronger now, even as warmth threatens to rise to his cheeks at being called your husband. Your own are already pink, though your smile stays polite.

 “Thank-you,” you say, and the lady beams before she hurries off ㅡ apparently her only intent to compliment you and your supposed family. The Heart Pirates are your family, you've said that before and made it clear ㅡ but that woman's words are rattling around in Law's head with an entirely new kind of persistence. 

He's never given what he'll do after all of this much thought. To keep himself grounded in reality and not let himself hope for too much, he's told himself he'll be fine with just making it out alive. But now? 

"Law?" Your voice pulls him out of his thoughts to find you watching him, your expression somewhere between confusion and concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he says, "let's keep moving. The sooner we're back on the Polar Tang, the better." 

Now, he thinks he might give it more thought. Something soft, vulnerable ㅡ a future with you, where he can be your husband. He's never even thought about marriage like that, but being called your husband ㅡ he could get used to that. 

And a family. 

That surprises him, the sudden want for it ㅡ or maybe it's always been there, pushed down and buried. He doesn't even know your own thoughts on it ㅡ what you want for the future. You've never talked about it in depth before ㅡ but he still hopes that whatever you want, he can be the one to give it to you. 

ㅡ

"They're all finally asleep," you report quietly as you slip into Law's room, shutting the door with a sigh. "They'll be confused if they wake up like that and they're back to normal." You pause. "They are cute, though."

"Small price to pay," Law says, watching as you climb over his legs to settle on the bed beside him. "I just hope they don't remember this."

"Embarrassed that they might see you as anything but a grump?" You tease, grinning when he gives you a flat look. "I saw you holding Ikkaku earlier, it was cute." You reach, snuggling into his side. "I can see you as a dad to a little girl." 

Law tenses. "About that," he starts, and you pull away to regard him curiously as his attention shifts to you, eyes locking with yours. "Have you thought about what you want when this is over?" 

Your head tilts. "I mean not really," you admit, "but if I had to…I think I'd want us to settle down somewhere nice. I'd want a garden, so it'd have to be a place with good weather…" Law is staring at you, and you trail off. "What?"

"You said 'us'," he points out, and you snort, amused.

"Well yeah, dummy. You think I want that with anyone but you?" There's a small smile tugging at your lips, one that gives him the push to continue with his next question. 

"And…would you want a family?" 

"Well, you're my family," you say and his lips part to protest that he doesn't mean like that, but you're continuing before he can. "But like…our family? Between you and me? Yes, but…I would never push for something you didn't want too, Law." Your tone is soft but expression serious, no sign of teasing. "Kids or no kids, I want my future to be with you, whatever that means for us." 

He wants to agree. Wants to tell you that he feels the same way, that it doesn't matter as long as he has you ㅡ but instead, he kisses you. 

He can tell he's surprised you with the vehemence behind it, the seconds delay before you kiss him back. You let him push you onto your back, caging you beneath him. 

"Law," you manage when he finally pulls away in favor of kissing your jawline, "Law, the kidsㅡ"

"They're not really kids," Law counters and you huff, finding it hard to focus with the pinch of his teeth, worrying strawberry pink blooms down your neck. 

"They're right there," you still protest weakly, though you know you're already on the losing side of the argument. Law hums, pausing against the flutter of your pulse point, lips curving into a smirk.

"Then you'll just have to keep your voice down." Law is an absolute menace when he wants to be ㅡ something he's making clear at the moment.

You bite back a whimper when his lips press against your collarbone, the upward skim of one of his hands on your stomach earning a shiver from you and the arch of your back as he palms at your breast. 

There's the brief pause as he works your shirt up and over your head, his own following before there's the warmth of his mouth on your skin again. 

Lifting you a hand to cradle the back of Law's neck, you whine when he reaches up, tugging your hand away and pressing it down into the bed beside your head. "If you know what's good for you," he murmurs, "you'll keep your hands there."

It's a threat and a promise, one that makes heat pool between your legs, instinctive upward roll of your hips against earning you a groan against your skin as he grinds down against you. 

The path that Law makes down your chest is gentle but intentional, the brush of fingers down your ribs as he lets his attention linger at the soft skin of your stomach. Your cheeks burn at the soft intimacy of it, the strategic handful kisses at your navel, down to the swell of your hip bone. 

And then Law is moving back up, kissing you soundly as he pops the button of your pants, tugging the fabric of your underwear down with it and thumbing at the plush of your thighs as he skims his hands back up. 

The sink of one long finger into you gets a choked gasp of his name, one that makes him smirk, watching your face contort with pleasure as he adds a second finger. 

"This soaked and I've barely touched you," he murmurs, eyes gleaming at the crawl of darker red across your cheeks before your hips buck at the curl of his fingers. You've been intimate only a handful of times but he knows you like the back of his hand, drinking in every sound and face you make and committing them to memory. 

He can feel the slick pulse of your walls around his fingers, clenching with every curl and press of his digits, a moan slipping from your lips when he scissors them. A hard crook of his fingers paired with the abrupt press of his thumb against your swollen clit is what does you in as you cum, clenching hard around his fingers as you soak his hand. 

He gives you a moment to recover, watches your chest heave as he reaches to shed the last of his own clothing. His skin is warm against yours as he settles over you, hisses at the slick drag of your core against his throbbing length. 

"Want you," you say, and Law's chest aches as he leans in to kiss you. This time he does it sweetly, intertwines one of your hands with his, the other slipping down to guide himself to your entrance before he sinks into you. 

Your fingers squeeze his as Law's hips meet flush to yours, room quiet save for the sound of soft panting as you try to ground yourself. Law hisses as you clench around him, kissing the corner of your mouth before he pulls back enough to start moving. 

It's not as rough as you'd been expecting with how suddenly he'd pounced on you, but there's a certain intensity to his thrusts that doesn't go unnoticed. Your gaze drifts over the flush to Law's cheeks, the fine layer of sweat at his forehead, the shock of dark hair you so often run your fingers through during late nights and early mornings. Times where he's wholly, selfishly yours, just as much as you are his. 

Pleasure lances through your veins when he shifts his hips a little, nudges your legs apart a tiny bit further apart so that he sinks just a little deeper into you. The hand intertwined with yours slips free, fingers drumming down your ribs and in.

The barely there swell of your lower stomach is what catches Law's attention, magnetic as he spreads his fingers against it, pressing down slightly. It's not enough to hurt you, would never be that much ㅡ but the way your eyes roll makes it beyond worth it. 

"Gonna give you a baby," he says, words tumbling from his lips unchecked, "give you everything you could ever want, so long as you're mine." 

He pairs it with a rougher thrust, aware of how you're clenching around him, dangerously close to that precipice. "Say you're mine, [Name]. Wanna hear you say it." 

"Yours," you gasp, voice pitching higher when he slips his hand down to rub at your clit, working it in tight circles. "I'm yours!"

Law cums first, presses as deep as he can and groans into your neck as he spills into you, setting off your own orgasm as you clench around him with a moan. 

He all but collapses against you, breathing hard as you drag a hand up and down his back. Once he's caught his breath, he leans up enough for a soft kiss, one you return before you thread your fingers into his hair and tug him away from your mouth.

He expects a comment on what the two of you just did, or perhaps something about what he had said, the potential ramifications of your actions. But you don't. Instead you stare at him sweetly, a juxtaposition from the words that you say next. 

"If the kids heard any of that," you warn, "you're dead to me."

[808airsoftbros]

Yujin's Wake Up Call

Author: This is a simple short story nothing too special and something that came to my mind that I want to write. If you want to see more of my stories check out my Masterlist.

Author's POV

It was another busy day at Starship, the IVE girls recently returned from their world tour and they were indeed exhausted after travelling the world for the past several months.

Yujin especially was tired along with the girls but she was disheartened when she heard that they would be visiting a patient with cancer as part of the wish foundation.

"Can you girls go for me? I'm too tired," Yujin asked and Gaeul rolled her eyes.

"Are you serious, Yujin? I get that you're tired from travelling the world but our manager says will be getting a whole month break afterward and we can do whatever we want from there," Gaeul pointed out and Yujin groaned.

"Yeah, and also our fans mean alot to us, and what about you?" Rei asked and Yujin scoffed.

"What are you on about? I'm only being nice because I have to and I hate that I have to be fake!" Yujin complained and Gaeul shook her head in disappointment.

Sadly, Yujin can be lazy at times, she'd be often caught slacking in dance practices when off camera, and you can bet every dollar that she tried every excuse you could think of to get out of her work.

This would annoy her members especially Gaeul and they'd always be fighting and arguing with one another.

"Yujin, do not start this shit again... We've been over this how many God damn times already?! When are you ever going to change?!" Gaeul angrily asked and Yujin rolled her eyes.

"When management doesn't constantly make us work to death," She answered spitefully.

"Well, if you do not behave, Ms. An Yujin, you will be one sorry woman, do you hear me?" Gaeul coldly warned but Yujin shrugged it off.

Because of how she always tends to act, the crew and management, and even her own members don't like nor respect her, but she doesn't seem to care.

Yujin also tends to have bad habits of drinking and smoking too much and Gaeul always catches her vaping when she's not supposed to.

Wonyoung and Yujin's friendship began deteriorating as she was fed up with her antics and was disheartened to see her friend changing for the worse.

One quiet night, Yujin snuck out of the dorm without waking up the girls and sat on a bench to smoke and drink.

It was quite foggy and there were hardly any noises to be heard besides the slight sounds of the breeze which was perfect for her.

"Perfect. No one to bother me," Yujin muttered as she takes a sip of soju.

"Excuse me," She heard a feminine voice asked and she turned to see a unfamiliar woman.

Yujin jumped in surprise as she didn't notice the woman approaching her.

"W-what do you want?" She nervously asked.

"Oh, sorry for startling you, it's quite a foggy night is it?" She kindly asked.

"I guess you can say that..." Yujin muttered to her and took a puff from her pod.

"Shouldn't idols be limiting how much they drink and smoke?" The woman asked as she sat down next to her.

"Why is it your business?" She snarled and the woman frowned.

Seeing Yujin's attitude, the woman just stared at her intently and then gave her a cold demeanor.

"I'll tell you why you're here... It's because you're lazy, useless, and a pathetic excuse of an idol," The woman coldly said and Yujin was taken aback.

"Who the fuck are you to judge me?! I can't help but get overwhelmed sometimes! Maybe if you were an idol then you'd understand!" Yujin retorts and the woman shook her head.

"Tsk. Overwhelmed? Only because you just have to visit a special patient? Is that your only excuse? As someone who has a chronic heart condition, you disgust me," The woman angrily replied and Yujin was now lost for words trying to come up with the words.

"I-" She was about to say but was cut off.

"Shut it! Did you know I was once an idol like you? I couldn't practice or sing on some days but I still give it my all! Unlike you, who has a management who at least cares for you and would get you the help you need... My management never cared for me, if they don't see me as efficient... Poof, they will simply get rid of me like I'm sort of a piece of garbage meant to be disposed of," The woman explained her story and Yujin gulped in fear.

"Every day I have to work through excruciating pain! The only person who ever cared for me was the custodian who works here, and I have to keep working no matter what just to survive, and here I see a spoiled rotten you always coming up with excuses just to get out of work! You leave me speechless... Do you have any idea how lucky you are?" The woman coldly asked with a tear shedding from her eye and Yujin tried to shrug off the feeling of guilt but no matter how hard she tried... It lingered inside of her but she refused to show it.

"There are many other idols left forgotten in the winds of time and talents wasted, they would give anything to be in your position yet you couldn't care less... It's pitiful," She finished and Yujin was boiling deep inside.

"And who the hell are you?!" Yujin asked her and the woman grinned.

"Consider me your wake up call, An Yujin, I hope one day you realize the error of your ways... Goodnight," The woman bid goodbye and got up from the bench.

Yujin watched as the mysterious woman walked into the fog and vanished out of sight.

After that, Yujin was left angry and confused, she wondered who the woman was as she had never met or heard of her. She quickly concludes her drinking and smoking session and goes back inside the building.

When she got into the corridor she finds the janitor Jake sweep mopping the floor.

"Hey, Jake!" Yujin called out and he paused.

"Yes?" Jake replied and Yujin sighs.

"Do you happen to know a woman who was an idol here? She claims to have a heart condition but... I don't know she's making it up or not to trick me into making me feel bad," She asked and Jake frowned before looking down.

Jake goes into his pocket pulling out a picture of the very same woman that Yujin encountered earlier and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Is this the woman you're referring to?" Jake asked as he showed the photo.

"Y-yes, that's her alright, who is she?" She curiously asked and he deeply sighed.

"Her name is Jennifer Jung, she was once a trainee here, she was also the sister of Jessica and Krystal Jung, but she had a severe and chronic heart condition... I tried my best to help her when management wasn't looking but it wasn't enough, she perished five months into her training," He explained the story and sighed once more.

Yujin froze in terror and shivers were sent down her spine as she could hardly believe that she was talking to the spirit of Jennifer this whole time.

She didn't know what to make of it but Jake didn't see her as a crazy person and he already figured she saw Jennifer. Yujin returns to her dorm and Jake continues his janitorial duties.

After that night, Yujin was a changed woman much to everyone's surprise, she eventually quit smoking and stopped drinking as much, although she mostly kept to herself, she stopped complaining and followed their schedules.

Yujin and the girls visited the hospital patient without issues or trouble much to management's delight and they were happy they were able to deliver someone's last dying wish.

Sometimes Yujin felt the urge to return to her old habits but refused and kept going no matter what. Yujin would never forget that encounter that night.

She never saw Jennifer again but on some foggy nights, she felt her presence was near but never again would she take anything for granted.

[sweetcreaturetm]

I wish there was more nurse Steve.

Like Steve in nursing school doing clinicals and he does a round in the ED. And his first shift he gets this weirdo who has to have one of his rings cut off his finger cause he bet his buddy that his rings wouldn’t bend under the wheels of his van. He’s honestly lucky none of his bones are broken. Steve’s kind of just in the background since he’s just doing clinicals but the guy keeps looking at him for comfort while the doctors are setting up all the stuff to cut the ring. Steve can tell he’s a little scared so he goes to stand on his other side to distract him.

“So- uhhh” Steve checks the chart “Mr. Munson do you usually go around running over various body parts?”

Eddie smiles widely at him “it’s Eddie, and no. But uh” he shares a sneaky look with Steve and lowers his voice like they’re conspiring together “I was a little… shall we say elevated”

Steve literally giggles “I knew it smelled a little funkier than usual” he winks.

“What can I say I’m a funky guy-“ Eddie gets cut off by the small saw the doctors are aiming at his hand. Steve can tell he’s about to freak out he sees him start to pull his hand away.

He puts his hand on Eddie’s other arm and brings his attention back to him. He glances down at his guitar pick necklace. “Do you play the guitar?” He asks his hand never leaves Eddie’s arm. And that gets Eddie distracted going on and on about his sweetheart and his band and how they play at a place called the hideout and Steve listens intently. Steve’s more than kind of mesmerized by him.

Before either of them realize the ring is off. The charge nurse asks Steve to finish wrapping Eddie’s fingers and discharge him. Steve goes about getting the gauze and other supplies while still listening to Eddie now he’s talking about D&D something Steve knew more about than he wished thanks to Dustin.

He interrupts Eddie “Okay so I’m gonna put this ointment on just for some relief the saw blade didn’t cut you but it got a little hot for your skin so you might feel a little discomfort. Then I’ll wrap it up. Try to keep an eye if it starts to hurt worse or you have a reaction. I can sneak you some of this it works wonders” he starts to clean the tray off but Eddie stops him with his hand over Steve’s own.

“Do you think I could have my ring back?” He asks sheepishly.

“Oh yeah! Of course sorry I wasn’t thinking” Steve’s a little embarrassed of course he wanted his ring he probably didn’t even care about the stupid ointment. He puts the ring in a little plastic cup they use for pills. Unfortunately they had to cut it a few times so there’s some small bits of the band that are in pieces.

After Eddie signs all the paperwork he gives Steve a little bow in thanks “you probably couldn’t tell since I was being so brave” Eddie says. Steve giggles at that. “But I am a tad frightened of hospitals and stuff. So thanks for being so nice to me. And distracting me when they tried to saw my finger off”

“They would not saw your finger off!” Steve laughs even harder. “It was nice talking to you.” He gives Eddie a hopefully flirty smile.

“Whatever you say, Stevie” Eddie says after he glances down at Steve’s temporary badge. “But hey if it was so nice maybe you can come check out our next show after my fingers are fully recovered” he waggles said fingers but then winces and stops.

Steve reaches out for his injured hand and holds it and says “that actually sounds really nice. But I literally have no time out of school and clinicals.”

“Well maybe I’ll just have to find another way to injure myself to see you again” Eddie says getting bolder.

Steve looks deep into his eyes. He glances down at Eddie’s lips god he wishes he wasn’t literally working right now. “What if you didn’t hurt yourself again and I give you my number and you can come by when I get off my shift.”

Eddie considers for a second and hands Steve his own phone so Steve can put his number in. “That sounds doable” he leans close to Steve’s ear as he gathers his jacket to walk out of the curtained off area and then whispers “just like you” he winks over his shoulder at a gaping Steve.

When Eddie pulls out his phone after getting to the van he sees the newest contact in his phone “Stevie” with a little stethoscope emoji next to it. He sends Steve a quick text so he’ll be able to text him when he’s off.

Finally Steve takes a break and checks his phone he’s been dying to check it since Eddie left he has a text from an unknown number “Guess who *guitar emoji* *ring emoji*” Steve cannot stop grinning the rest of his shift.

[missmarveledsblog]

Bet on it ( Bradley Bradshaw x reader ) PART THREE

Summary : it the night of the gala an awkward start til the two break the silence that leaves them going down memory lane to simplier time with the ice breaking and thawing bradley starts to realise somethings like how good his name sound coming from her lips , how beautiful she truly is and the two get closer and closer

warnings : goofy , fluffy fun , allusions to smut rooster is older than reader by like 8 or something years so aging him up in og top gun timeline

previous part

It was odd , it was awkward as hell and a silent car ride as the both went to talk,opening  their mouths and yet closed a second later . going from enemies and friends wasn’t so clear cut like in the movie where they were instant besties . sure they didn’t squabble or insult each other much as before still few slip ups here and there .  now she kind wish its like in the movies anything would be better than this and when she tried to kill the silence words failed her . she also felt old feeling coming to the surface which she could only hate more for the timing .  she never hated him , never truly  a part of her always loved the man.  a drunken confession to jake  after a particularly bad time between the two that night . she confided in what happened all the years ago maybe it was dramatic reaction from her side but he did truly hurt her and now she was  questioning if he really knew that  , something they could talk about some other time she wasn’t going to make an already awkward moment even worse . it didn’t help how good he looked not that he wasn’t hotter than the fucking sun before but rooster in  three piece suit should of been a crime how good he looked and even more happy she wasn’t driving or they would be heading to a hospital instead of a hospital charity gala . 

Why couldn’t he talk , He of all people  having trouble speaking when all he did was talk . it was like bagman not having an ego and yet the woman currently sitting in the passenger seat of his bronco had him either silent or a blubbering mee  . the same woman who made his blood pressure rising had it rising or a whole different reason .  “ say something jesus anything” he cursed himself internally. 

“ music” he asked quickly to which she just gave a polite nod to . “ least it was something “ he mentally wondering how it was so bad , how it was like this to the point they couldn’t even talk to each other without the rest of their friends around , tapping his finger on the wheel as he listened to the music pretending he wasn’t cringing inside then it came on the radio a song from their childhood , a regular in the hard deck . 

“ you shake my nerves and your rattle my brain” that voice it wasn’t him , 

“ too much love drives a man  insane” she could sing since well , he remember she and his father did but a three year old rendition of twinkle twinkle like star. 

“You broke my will , but what a thrill “ he joined turning to see her smiling . 

“ GOODNESS GRACIOUS GREAT BALLS OF FIRE “ they screamed before bursting into a fit of laughter ,

“ erm excuse me mini mitchell why the hell have i not heard you sing before” he asked. 

“ well you hated me so i wasn’t gonna sing you a lullaby now was i “ she snorted. 

“ i disliked you never hated you but i regret all that really wish i could change it all if i could we could be touring america singing jerry lee lewis” he winked.

“ as much as i love your rendition nothing will ever beat your dad’s  what i’d give to hear him singing it again” she smiled softly .  

“ nah what i would love is his and your version of twinkle twinkle little star , i mean you both made that a ballet” he chuckled. 

“ we did rock that one , but i think our rewrite of bingo was better “ she snorted. 

“ oh yeah the one where you made bingo like a twenty letter word and some numbers in there too “he mused yet playful lilt to his tone. 

“ hey i was exploring art through music and i was also a toddler all words were big back then “ she mock offense .

“ hey now your taking me up wrong i am a fan and so was my dad as he was able to follow along  he was your biggest fan “ . 

“ and my dad is your biggest fan we lucked out on the godfather train huh ? …. Well sort of “ she grimace realizing how it came out. 

“ hey your dad’s  maverick i might be an orphan godchild soon with how he take risks  “ he grinned was her laughter always this way and why did he wanna hear more of it .

“ my dad is maverick that man is gonna outlive us all” 

 the venue was bigger than she though it was bigger event than she thought . in a way it was better it meant more fund for her department , more resources,  more bed. 

“ im not going to get tackle when we walk in her am” he joked . 

“ i mean beth might … nah you should be fine i'll tell them  it was a misunderstanding or something” . 

“ beth the lady i talk to cause if so i  will use you as a shield” . 

“ chivalry isn't dead after all” she smirked . 

just as she went to get out of the car only for him to run like hell to her side opening the door even held her hand as she got out the full gentlemen treatment  seemed to be on the cards as  they walked in the entrance. to say he was  nervous seeing the same security guard eyeing him up til she smile and shook her head signaling is all is good .  the security guard made him nervous but the glare on beth face  well  had him standing behind  y/n when the woman made her way over. 

“ sweet pea blink twice if you need help “ she whispered.  

“ most wonderfully divine miss beth its ok  we sorted it out , bradley this is the wonderfully divine beth most skill nurse beth this is bradley bradshaw master of piano and super hornet jets” y/n stood pulling   him forward and yet it wasn't the nervous  it wasn’t fear of this southern woman who had a sweet  nurturing smile but looks to kill , it was fact it was first time she said his name his actual name , not his callsign or surname but his name . it felt good it felt better then good it made things inside him stir and a dopey grin to form on his face . she got him up in this gala smiling like he was dopey from the snow white and the seven dwarves all because she said his name and this was not good this was not what he thought would happen so early on to the bet ,   he needed to and yet couldn’t squash feeling erupting inside himself that honestly made him feel shit.

Through out the night he stood taller , smiled wider  everytime she introduced him to a coworker or  shit he hope newer people would come in just to do it all again.  Laughing and joking around with her coworkers , the pride that shouldn’t have been there yet burst out of him when they praise her on the good work , how she impacted the patients  or just what an honor it was to know or see her do her thing . 

“ i swear she is only doc i’ve seen that would sing along to the messed up nursery rhymes and not bat a lid and kids love her “ beth cooed as he listened to her coworkers gushing about her. 

“ or trying to get people to come visit the kids she got people dressed as superhero’s last time ” marcus a fellow doctor asked. 

“ hey happy patients happy doctor “ she shrugged taking a sip of her drink . 

“ we should say it to your dad get the dagger squad to come” bradley  clapped excitedly. 

“ the staff and kids would be happy “ beth winked . “ not you i’m still on fence about you pretty boy “ .

“ hey deserved but i hope if her dad says yes i can win you over “ he batted his lashes at the woman as she tried to keep her stance . 

“ what am i missing?” marcus asked. 

“ well we didn’t get along for a while but now we’re cool rooster has redeemed himself tonight “ she swirled the class and yet it he suddenly felt a sting at the fact is wasn’t his name. 

“ so when did you become a couple “ the man  asked excitedly only for both to choke on the liquid in there mouth. 

“ no no no ha no we’re just friend  , buddies “ she laughed grabbing napkins 

“ yeah friends what she said i mean come on girl like her with dude like me “ bradley chuckled til he seen her face drop and the hurt on it . “ i didn’t mean it like that i mean you are wow beautiful .. oh my god am i having a stroke tonight or something”  he groaned. 

“ i think what baby eyes is trying to say is your too good for him and if it not well it what we know”beth god he could kiss that woman if she didn’t scare the hell out of him . 

“ exactly what i meant i didn’t mean i was better or hotter than you “ he stumbled stuttering over his words.

“ boy just shh not making it better.. Now take her to dance that dress is too good to be sitting here all night ” the woman hushed. 

“ yes ma’am … would you wanna dance with me i think my feet work better than mouth “ he turned as she gave a little yes .  now he really did hope his feet worked better than his mouth  or was he going to make more of a fool of himself. 

Hand on hers as she place the other on his shoulder and his other hand to her hip .  gentle swaying he could do as that much it wasn’t too complicated and yet he felt his heart beating hard in his chest he was nearly expecting to see it on his shirt and then she looked up at him and his knees almost buckled  .  he never wanted her to look at him any other way than that , never wanted to hear rooster coming out of her mouth , then he tried to think of the past something to get his head in the game, he couldn’t lose his resolve so quick  a month into the bet he needed to think of how he felt back then the way he felt when it all started . his motivation to keeping strong and yet he couldn’t  the rational part of him was coming to effect and he decided one night to not think of it , one night to think of everything but enjoy the moment at hand. 

As guest filtered out and some memories of her bosses she never wanted to member they stood out of the venue and chill air of night hit . when she saw bradley bradshaw at her door she didn’t think she would have one of the best nights of her life . she never thought feeling she buried so deep would  break and come back in ten fold  . it was crazy , borderline insane to how she felt by end of night and that was it she didn’t want the night to end  , she didn’t want to say goodbye and things to go back to normal . she hated it  knowing it was stupid to think this way fucking hell they just started being some what friends the last month.  The shiver down her body and then she felt the warm weight of his jacket on  her shoulders and his hand out to lead her back to the car .  the whole timeshe willed herself to stop to think clearly to think of how he hurt her all those years ago when she felt like this first.  But she couldn’t all logic and reason quashed by the beat of her heart . . she fell harder than she ever did. Pulling her up outside of her apartment she should of said goodnight leave the good to stay good in that moment . 

“ you wanna come in for a drink” was all it took for another shift to happen a new direction to run it course and what she would find out the worst idea she’s ever had . 

Nervous of being in a small space together , nervous of new but old feeling coming back and nervous  to the  doubt of everything and anything.   Few beers and glasses of wine took the worry , the nerves and the caution away . relax and giddy finding a trip down memory lane filling in the spots of being apart . she told him about med school how hard and crazy it was especially giving she was youngest of her class , old boyfriends and friends . he told her of  collage  still a little sore spot not going to the naval academy but she wasn’t so happy with her dad for that either . then how surreal it was following in the footsteps of his dad and pete mitchell both daunting and exciting . more drink flowing as they laughed and joked around about the good side of memory lane .  

“ i can’t believe we missed out on so much huh ?” she sighed sadly . 

“ we really did , least we friends now right or did my stupid mouth and bad dancing scare you away?”he teased. 

“ you know bad dancing and mouth aside tonight has been so fun , really i mean you haven’t fully won beth over but you have won me over bradshaw”  she beamed up at him . 

“ please call me bradley i like it better when you say it i mean anyone else no eww but when it’s you makes me happy when you say name “ he leaned forward she felt herself pulled like a magnetic force . 

“ bradley “ she whispered and just like that all resolved went out the window  and something snapped as two crashed against one another clash of teeth and tongues , hunger and adorations . stars aligning , fireworks , sunshine and fucking rainbows . a kiss and a fear of what was to come next . 

A blinding light and a thumping headache . a personal jackhammer living in the confine of she sat up  and the sun making it harder to open her eyes  feeling around for her phone til her hand hit something that makes the hangover the least of her problems  as she force her eyes open and see a sleeping rooster naked in her bed . buzzing of her phone on the floor as she dove make sure not to waking the sleeping pilot  crawling out the room not ready to deal with what happened just yet as she hit the  little green icon . 

“ hey darling did ya have fun with chicken ?” 

“ more than i should of “ she gulped .

part 4

taglist : @djs8891 @peachmartini @shanimallina87 @kawaiiskeletondragonbanana @paisleebubbles

[catboygretzky]

Do I even want to know what happened in the last 24 hours 😭 I'm almost afraid to ask but I'm also insanely curious

You probably don't want to know but I'll tell you because you have no choice. This will be long and...awful. But there are sources so that's fun! Please keep in mind that this was all released within 24 hours on Thursday, September 20th, 2024 and that, unfortunately, I haven't mentioned everything.

But! The GOP was certainly having a wild one yesterday.

To start things off:

The first 'Big News' to break was about Mark Robinson.

For those saying 'who the fuck is Mark Robinson', he's the current (R) Lt. Gov of North Carolina that is running for Gov. Before yesterday, he was best known for openly hating LGBT+ and Jewish folks, being a Holocaust denier, being (forcefully) anti abortion, saying it was better when women couldn't vote, anti immigrant, hating the civil rights movement, etc, just being a hateful Evangelical nasty fascist. MAGA to his core. Trump has endorsed him, saying he should be cherished and calling him "MLK on steroids". (Robinson is Black).

So, yeah, that's bad enough right? Yesterday it got even worse. CNN released a report about some comments he made on a porn site forum 12 years ago, the most prominent being 'i'm a black NAZI'. He also commented that he wished slavery was legal and that he'd own a few, and called himself a 'perv' that used to 'peep' on women in public locker rooms when he was a teenager.

Also the tale as old as time that I'm sure you could guess when I mentioned 'GOP' 'loudly transphobic' and 'porn site scandal' - trans porn was a favourite of his. Because of course.

Also of course - the GOP hasn't taken him off the ticket, and he will continue to be the nominee for governor in North Carolina!

Read the article, there's more about him and the situation in general. Mind the warnings.

-

Now on to our favourite worm brained bear eating anti vaxxer conspiracy theorist, Robert F. Kennedy Junior! I'm putting this under a read more now.

The first thing to drop about him yesterday was the news of an investigation after he allegedly cut off the head of a dead whale and took it home 20 years ago. Now I bet you're thinking, wow that's bad! Unfortunately for RFK Jr yesterday got worse. It was then revealed that he (70) was having an affair with right wing journalist Olivia Nuzzi (31) after New York Magazine suspended her.

Everything I learn about RFK Jr I learn against my own will.

-

Saying goodbye to RFK for now, let's move on to Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida! This Matt Gaetz, with the botox if you didn't recognise him.

Scary lookin, right?

This isn't a completely new story (here's an article about how he alledgedly paid for sex with a minor) but new court filings were released yesterday alledging that he attended a drug-fueled sex party in 2017 with the 17-year-old girl at the center of the alleged sex trafficking scandal.

Sure is great to have such trustworthy men representing this country!

OKAY, on to the next.

-

This wasn't really breaking news because this is just Trump being Trump but he gave a speech at an ANTI ANTISEMITISM EVENT where he preemptively blamed the Jews for being the reason he'll lose this election, telling them they need to get their head checked if they vote for Harris (that's pretty much part of his stump speech by now though) and saying he'll reinstate his Muslim ban. White fascist blaming Jews? Wow, I did Nazi that coming.

-

I genuinely could go on, I really truly could.

Oh! Kamala Harris went on Oprah and it was really nice and not at all insane and she talked to the family of the first known victim of Trump's abortion ban and it was very touching. Trump's official social media then posted a clip of her talking about her gun and saying 'If somebody breaks into my house, they're getting shot' like it was a snatch when in reality Republicans in the comments are saying 'actually, this would make me vote for her'. Thanks, Trump Team for the free advertising!

Misc:

Chris Rufo (known racist and anti immigration right wing activist) got revealed to have an illegal immigrant wife, and then got revealed to be a user of Ashley Madison (database where people go to cheat on their partners)(Robinson was also on Ashley Madison).

Jasmine Crockett during her thing and ripping white republicans to shreds. (idk this was just fun to me)

Actually Republicans and Project 2025 got ripped to shreds and shut down in general by multiple Congress members.

GOP is on the brink of causing a government shutdown, because of COURSE they are.

Cards Against Humanity sues SpaceX over “invasion” of land on US/Mexico border.

Anyway there's actually MORE believe it or not but I can't remember if it happened yesterday. Thank you for reading, I'm always open to discussing current events. I don't think it's a well known fact that I'm into politics because I don't talk about it on tumblr because people are kinda stupid. Anyway!

[madforhoran]

Reunion (pt. 1)

Pt. 2 - here.

X X X

It had been six months of trying to get your life together. Six months since you defeated the Elder brain, since you saw Astarion running away from the sun. You’d felt so guilty that you didn’t even try to contact him. You thought he must resent you for what he’d given up after walking away from the ritual. All you wished for him was not to have his hands and soul stained with so many deaths, to see he was already strong and powerful just the way he was. 

“You’re right, I can be better than him.”

He’d agreed with you, but watching him run away in fear of burning to a crisp didn’t feel like much of an accomplishment. Such a lousy friend you were.

You made yourself somewhat presentable, putting on the most flattering dress you owned and travelled back to the place that hit you with nostalgia immediately upon arrival. The campsite near the lake. The conversations you used to share with your former companions, the trials and tribulations, the memories still so vivid in your mind.

You could smell food, burning wood. You could hear Karlach’s roaring laughter. Shadowheart was walking around the lakeshore with Scratch and the owlbear, Wyll was talking to Jaheira and Halsin, and Gale was having a conversation with an astral projection of Lae’zel. 

And there he was. 

Beautiful as ever. 

Sitting next to the campfire, fiddling with his knife. Your fingers remembered the softness of his white curls, the coldness of his skin. Your lips remembered the touch of his. Your heart remembered how you’d robbed yourself of what could’ve been. You stopped in your tracks for a moment, tempted to run away before he noticed you. Yet at the same time, you were drawn to him like a moth to a flame. 

How could you go for so long without seeing him? He was on your mind non-stop anyway. 

He turned his head.

“Shit,” you cursed inadvertently. There was no escape. He was coming towards you now. But you weren’t blind to the happiness and confidence that radiated from him. He looked genuinely content. 

“Ah, finally gracing us with your wonderful presence, darling? People were putting bets on you. I won, obviously.” 

Oh, how you’d missed his voice.

“Astarion… hi.” Your thoughts were turning into mush. “You look well.” 

He chuckled. “As complimentary as ever. Some things just don’t change, do they?” 

Something about him had changed though. It was a good change. There was no bitterness, no resentment in his voice that you expected there would be. You had to know what he’d been through all this time on his own. Hiding in the sewers? He looked too well-kept for it.

You decided to cut to the chase. There was no point beating around the bush, not with Astarion, not when you hadn’t seen him for so long. First things first, you had to address what had been plaguing you the most after you parted ways.

You took a deep breath, swallowing the guilt constricting your throat. “I’m sorry I didn’t seek you out. I felt horrible, like I failed you.. Failed our friendship.”

“You didn’t.” His smile was full of genuine warmth. “I had to process things on my own time, alone. It took a while. But eventually I realised that shadows and darkness are a part of me, same as my fangs. This is a curse only if I allow it to be, if I allow it to define me.” 

There was peace in his voice that you hadn’t heard before. You could feel pride soaring in your chest. You had hoped to hear something like this from him but it surprised you nonetheless. 

“This is finally ‘me’ in all my glory, for better or for worse.” He grinned and you had to suppress the urge to touch him and kiss him right then and there. It was exactly what you wished for him. To heal and accept he was perfect the way he was. Strong, resilient. 

“So what have you been up to?” you asked, trying to keep your voice steady. 

“Well, darling, I've taken a turn as an adventurer and a hero. Inspiring hope in people, rather than terror. I do try to inspire a little terror though. It’s still me after all.” His face beamed with excitement. “Turns out nobody actually cares about murder when you murder the right people and I’m quite good at it!”  

You let out a giggle without meaning to. Only this man could make you laugh about murder. At least now his thirst for bloodshed had a proper direction. And gods, his confidence was extremely attractive. Not that he was ever unattractive, but until Cazador’s death, he was operating under fear and trauma. His self-perception had been warped by two hundred years of gaslighting and torture. Seeing him this happy finally lifted the burden you’d carried for the past six months.    

“Who would’ve thought of Astarion becoming a hero?” you teased. “I distinctly remember you scoffing about how utterly awful it is and how heroes suck, or am I wrong?” 

He rolled his eyes with playfulness rather than annoyance. 

“Oh, how I’ve missed you, my dear, you and your hero speeches! What can I say, you inspired me.”

Your heart did a little jump inside your chest. Being in his presence again felt so familiar and comforting, alluring even. 

Another memory flashed through your mind. 

“You deserve something real. I want us to be something real.”

Saying to him that he needed a friend, not a lover, was one of the biggest mistakes of your life. Maybe this was your chance to rectify it, unless Astarion had found somebody else. You had no idea how to approach the topic to make it less awkward. This would require a bit of liquid courage.

“Would you excuse me for a moment?”

He gave you his signature silly little bow. “Of course, darling. I’ll be here, eagerly waiting for you.”

You clearly needed a lot of courage.

One drink. 

Two drinks.

Three drinks.

They weren’t enough. You felt his eyes on you, watchful as always for a seasoned rogue. He approached you and swatted the half-drunk wine glass out of your hand. 

“I think you’ve had your fill. We don’t want any drama here, though it would definitely spice up the evening.” He clicked his tongue and lifted you from the chair, dragging you away from the table towards the more quiet area where your tent used to be. You gasped at the sudden touch of his arms around you.

“W-wait,” you stuttered. 

It was now or never. 

“I want to-to ask you…something,” you mumbled, praying not to pass out and utterly embarrass yourself in front of him. 

“Don’t tell me this is why you got yourself piss-drunk. To loosen up that sweet tongue of yours. That isn’t like you, is it?”

Gods, he was so close you could smell his perfume. You yearned to touch his forever beautiful face, his beautiful everything. You felt so damn stupid. He was in love with you back then, but what now, after you’d practically abandoned him?

“D-do you still like me, Astarion?” Your heart was beating so fast now that you could hear it echoing in your ears. “As more than a friend, I mean.”

He pursed his lips and ever so theatrically imitated a thinking gesture. “You tell me, darling, you know me well enough.”

You weren’t so sure. As difficult as it was and despite the wine dizzying you, you were determined to stay on course. 

“Answer me. And please stop deflecting.” 

He smirked. “My dear, you want me now when I have no problems to deal with, is that it?” 

Deflecting yet again. He never stopped being a little shit and you both hated and loved it about him. 

“I want you,” you said, louder than you meant to. “I’ve always wanted you.”

“Your actions spoke otherwise,” he countered with a cheeky smile. 

There was no way in hells he was going to make it easy for you. In the end, it was your fault. His response stung despite his joking manner because of course, he was right. You closed the door instead of walking through it, and he respected your choice. He always did. But it looked like he would not let it slide now that the cat was out of the bag, the bastard was enjoying himself.

“At that time I thought it was for the best. I was wrong, okay?” you spat out going on offense. Damn, this wasn’t going according to plan but when did anything go right when this man was involved? Actually, you didn’t even have a plan, only a complete blackout, your brain refusing to cooperate. “Not anymore,” you added, placing your hand on his chest. You noticed a hint of tenderness in his eyes, unless you completely imagined it with your wine-muddled vision. His palm gently rested upon yours. It was electrifying.

He raised his eyebrow and a devious smirk graced his beautiful lips. “I’m truly flattered, my dear, however your seduction technique needs some work. I thought you’d learned something from me, but clearly not.”

“You…you’re such an ass,” you chided. Hells, he was infuriating. Yet you didn’t move your hand away from the spot where his heart would be beating if he were alive.  

He snickered. “And you’re adorable.”

“Having fun, just like old times, huh?”

“It’s hard not to with you, sweetheart. I have to admit that I do enjoy our roles being reversed.” 

Shit, if you could wipe that smirk off of his stupidly handsome face with a kiss, you would. But you still had enough presence of mind to not do it.

You placed your other hand on his smooth cold cheek, running your fingers over his cheekbone. The face chiseled by gods. How was anyone ever allowed to look this perfect? Your thumb found a way to the corner of his lips, caressing it ever so gently. He didn’t pull away, stood still almost rigid, his stare buried into you with pure undiluted focus. 

As the alcohol slowly began evaporating from your system, you were certain right now you hadn’t imagined the tenderness. Mixed with amusement…and longing. Nothing changed about the fact that you could read everything from his crimson eyes, like from an open book. He presented himself as mysterious but one act of kindness and the facade crumbled. You’d seen it so many times. He wanted you as much as you wanted him. Intense warmth started to spread from your loins up to your face, threatening to consume you.

“Are you casting Charm on me, darling? That’s cheating,” he huffed. “And it doesn’t have an effect on the Undead.”  

You feigned being offended. “As if you didn’t know how my spellcasting works. I didn’t resort to cheap tricks before and don’t need to do it now either.”

“What is it then?”

“You tell me, darling.”

“So cheeky.”

“I’ve learned something from you after all.”

“Perhaps,” he admitted and released himself from under your touch. “We shall continue this enlightening conversation later, I have some business to attend to. Come see me at the Rivington Mill in two days.” 

Bastard, leaving you all hot and bothered like this. At least you knew where to find him.  

[dinums]

The Unexpected Visit

Thomas Shelby X Reader

This is part 3! Make sure to read the first few parts

Sumarry: The Lee brothers raided the Betting shop, Thomas gets closer with the reader, but what more can he do if she herself admits not to love a man from this time?

Word count: 2327 words

"Wait, so what did you guys do at the races?" I asked, wanting to clarify with Arthur as we sat in the private room at the Garrison, where we were currently playing poker. John was the dealer, so he sat on the stool in front of us, while Thomas was seated between me and Arthur. I was on his right, with Arthur on his left.

"We've beaten the Lee's! Cut their bloody brains out, that's for sure!" he said, as if it were the most normal thing to do. They seemed to notice how tense I had become by my reaction, which made John cough a bit.

"Well, not really their brains... um, just, you know, enough to get business done," John explained, trying to lighten my mood a bit. I nodded, trying to dismiss it.

"Ah, yeah, sure. I mean, I guess," I said, looking at my cards. I didn't want them to think that I thought less of them because of this, so I felt the need to explain myself.

"Sorry, I guess I'm not used to all of this, you know? Am I making this worse? Uh, I don't—"

Feeling the three of them looking at me, I made myself small in my seat, hiding my face behind the cards as anxiety rushed through me.

"How did you live your life before, hm?" Thomas asked, finally speaking. Glad that I could explain why I tensed up.

"Well, I was pretty sheltered. The most I heard of beatings were drunkards in our neighborhood fighting at night, but that was it. There really weren't fights that led to really bad situations, unless it was in the movies." They all nodded, though I knew they didn't understand the last bits of what I just said, and that was it. We decided that was the end of that part of the conversation. After a round of poker, the tension from earlier died down and I chimed happily, putting the money on the table inside my coat pocket—my winnings.

"Guess I win, hm?" I giggled, earning a groan from Arthur. When the barmaid came, she took the empty bottles and asked us if we wanted more whiskey. I looked at the men, and Thomas just nodded, waving her off. Before she left, she looked at me, as if examining who I was. I couldn't blame her, though—I stuck out like a sore thumb when placed beside the Shelby brothers. It was evident I didn't look like I belonged here. That thought made me sad, just a bit though. I knew It was the truth and that I had to leave soon. Then suddenly, a thought came to my mind. Thomas went on a date to the races with a barmaid. If my intuition serves me right, then that must have been the barmaid in question.

"I'm guessing that was the woman you went out on a date with?" I said, looking at Thomas with a smile. She looked pretty and acted like one too. If she liked Thomas, then I can bet that after a while the feelings can be reciprocated.

"Drop it." Thomas grimaced as I just chuckled. John, however, smirked as he decided to join in the teasing.

"I'm afraid Tommy here has eyes for someone else, love. Ain't that right, mate?" That piqued my curiosity even more, nudging Thomas to make him look at me.

"Really? Is she pretty?" I asked. Arthur just nodded as he patted Thomas' back. Thomas kept a poker face, but I could tell he was pretty annoyed by the way his jaw was clenched. When he looked at me, he didn't look angry at me, though—at least he wasn't annoyed enough to glare at me.

"You're bloody right she is! Quite smart too!"

"But if Thomas likes her, why didn't he take her to the races instead? Wait, are you leading that barmaid on?" I frowned, waiting for Thomas to reply as I pointed an accusing finger at him. The thought of someone I considered a friend playing with a woman's feelings like that just didn't sit right with me.

"I told you. That was business." He sighed as he shook his head, he took my hand that was pointing a finger at him and placed it down. Deciding to just believe him, I finally dropped the topic. John then asked me.

"How about you? Has someone caught your eye?" I looked over at John, feeling that the focus was on me once again. I nodded, smiling a bit, unaware that both brothers were checking Thomas for any kind of reaction.

"Well, of course!" I answered, that caused Arthur to smile, raising his glass to take a drink.

"Who is it, then?" John asked again, another smirk playing on his lips. I guess everyone was suddenly curious about my love life.

"Yer not gonna tell me he's in this room, aye?" Arthur asked, leaning closer to the table to look at me. I chuckled nervously, shaking my hands in the air.

"Oh, no. You guys are great, but..."

"But what?" Thomas asked and I explained that the man I liked wasn't from here, that he was from back in my time. And that hes a gentleman who kept to himself, that I started to like him because of how passionate he was with his work, how I liked that he was funny and was always there for me.

"Well also, I can't really like someone from here, you know? I'll eventually leave. I can't just stay for love, right? I really miss my old life. You lot understand, right? I'll break that poor man's heart."

I said all of that while looking at Thomas for any form of understanding. He didn't reply; he just leaned back and nodded. After that, he didn't look at me anymore, drinking his glass of whiskey as he fished out some cigarettes.

"Another round, eh?"

///

Thomas didn't talk to me much after that day. Whenever I approached him, he would still have time to talk, but not like before. He'd make an excuse that he was busy, that there were things he needed to do, to brush me off. Understanding his situation, I just let him be.

Around midday, Scudboat and I were left inside the betting shop, counting money as the Shelby family decided to have a family meeting at the Garrison.

"Do you think John will be back soon? Thomas did say he'd be back in five minutes," I asked Scudboat, to which he just shrugged. When we heard a noise, Scudboat was the first to call out.

"John?" When no one answered, I was the one who asked next.

"John, are you there?" When the doors to the betting shop opened, however, it wasn't John but a group of men with guns pointed right at us.

"This is for Cheltenham! We're just taking what's ours!" the man said. Before I could even react, they smacked my head with a rifle, just like they did with Scudboat.

Everything was a haze as I fell to the ground. All I heard were the footsteps of men, rummaging through drawers, shouting. My head hurt, and I felt some of them step on my hand, kicking my body whenever i got in their way.

Mama asan ka mama? Kuya? Kuya, you'll protect me, right?

When I woke up, I heard Arthur's voice as someone placed me somewhere comfortable— it was John.

"You alright, love?" He asked, my mind still being a little foggy from earlier events. Hearing his voice, I tried to give him a small smile and a nod, to reassure him.

"Bloody hell! What happened here?" Polly said. I groaned. When I tried to look over at them, my vision blurred a bit. The betting shop, the house, everything was thrashed.

"Polly...? Men. M-men came, I don't know how..." I tried to explain to them what I knew. Polly sat beside me while Scudboat explained for me. That was when Arthur came back up, holding wire cutters.

"Wire cutters? Why would they leave wire cutters?" Polly asked. The boys seemed to tense up as Thomas asked Scudboat to leave. He went on to explain how they would set traps for the Germans back in the war and place wire cutters as part of the joke. Polly began to panic, walking over to the kitchen as I pulled my knees close to my chest, an act of self-preservation.

"It's not here, alright? It's not here..." Thomas said, sitting next to me on the couch. I looked at him, tears threatening to fall down my eyes. I had never been in a situation like this. Everything was so overwhelming, my body felt so heavy, as if I was Atlas carrying the world.

"They pointed a gun at me... even stepped on and kicked me like an object..." I mumbled before burying my face in my knees. I don't want to feel like that again.

"Oh, love..." Polly said as I heard her walk towards me.

"Oh, I'd like to find them, Tom. Oh, that id do. That id bloody do." Arthur said, balling his fist as he saw my state. I felt weak. I couldn't protect myself. I didn't know how.

"I want to go home."

"I know, (Y/N). I know."

///

Thomas didn't know what to say to her. He was seething with rage, but she came first. She would always be first. He grabbed a clean cloth and saturated it with alcohol. The family saw what was happening and understood that Thomas wanted to take care of her alone, so they knew better than to interrupt. Before they left, Thomas asked John and Arthur to inspect the family car, using the word "tampered" so as not to frighten (Y/N) even more.

"Hey, look at me, aye? Come on, up you go. Up," he demanded, gently cupping her face. When that was done, he began to clean the wound on her head. Whenever she winced, he would make sure to try and be gentle. He didn't know how, he just tried. As he cleaned off her wounds, their eyes met.

"It hurts," she mumbled, flinching as Thomas accidentally applied too much pressure to the wound. In that moment, she instinctively grasped his hand, attempting to stop his actions even for a small amount of time. Then and there, he stopped. This was all new territory to him. Back at war, when he would clean the wounds of his comrades, pain be damned if they got to live. But she... she gets hurt, so he needs to try harder, be slower, gentler—anything that would spare her from inflicting pain, pain that he had caused.

"Sorry," he replied. Thomas tried his best to help her, disinfecting the wound slowly as his free hand cupped her face. He was apologizing for everything. Guilt seeped into his bones. If it weren't for him picking a fight with the Lee brothers, she wouldn't be hurt. Maybe if he took her with him and Polly to the Garrison, then...

"It's not your fault," she said, interrupting his thoughts. He didn't answer. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't agree. He felt shame.

"Thomas, it's not your fault. I can see it in your eyes." This time, it was her turn to cup his face. She cradled it like it was something precious, like he was something precious. (Y/N) smiled, a comforting smile as one of her thumbs caressed his cheek. He found himself leaning into it.

"I know you feel guilty. Yes, I could blame you, but why should I when you're here as gentle as a lamb with me? So smile, yeah? Even just a bit?"

How can she do that, he wondered. How can she easily wander her way inside his heart? It was so easy for her. Everything seemed so easy with her. Thomas let out a smile, nodding to her.

"There you go."

"Your hands are soft," he said, changing the subject. She only chuckled, putting her hands back in her lap as he sat next to her on the couch. They both decided to take a break from cleaning her wounds.

"Yours aren't," (Y/N) said, taking his hand in hers, feeling the calluses and roughness of it. After a while, she continued, their hands now interlinked. "And I think it's nice."

"How is that nice, aye?" he scoffed. These very hands had killed thousands.

"It's nice because it tells me who you are. A hardworking man who has clearly seen and been through shit. Me, on the other hand, I actually have very soft hands because I never did hard labor," she said, her face flushed in embarrassment, which he secretly found endearing.

"I actually found it rather embarrassing when I got here. When I was young, my relatives would feel my hands and say, 'Dika tumutulong sa bahay, noh?' Or 'Tamad ka siguro.'"

"What did that mean?"

"The first one means 'Youre not helping with household chores, are you?' The second one meant 'I bet you're lazy.'"

She chuckled, shaking her head. After a bit more moments of comforting silence, Thomas decided to finish cleaning her wound. When that was done, he helped her go upstairs to his room.

"Hey, Thomas?" (Y/N) asked as he sat her on the bed. He only hummed to let her know that he was listening.

"Why were you avoiding me before? Like, after our little poker game at the Garisson. Was it because I kept winning?" She asked, playing with her blouse. Trying to suppress a smile, he licked his bottom lip, hands on his jaw as he shook his head.

"That was a provision— once you leave."

"Mhm? What? Why?"

"To get used to feeling like yer not here, eh. Now none of this, aye? I'll ask Pol to help you change." That was all that was said before he left.

@optimisticsandwichgladiator

[wobblesthecowgirl]

I'm No O’Driscoll!

Chapter One: Rescue Mission

Tags: Arthur Morgan x Femreader, enemies to lovers, O'Driscoll reader, game plot, Arthur doesn't have tuberculosis, eventual smut, age difference, 18+, mild gore

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: This is my first rdr2 ff! This is also my first time posting ff on tumblr so I hope it's set up nicely! I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading! I hope to make this a long series.

Chapter Two

Despite being a part of the gang, Y/n hated the O’Driscoll’s. Except for Kieran Duffy, who acted like her brother, like her partner in crime. Which was how she found herself in Horseshoe Overlook after following the Van Der Linde Gang.

She used her binoculars to get a better look. It was nighttime, so the only light she had was the moon and the warm glow of the campfire. She pinpointed Kieran, who was sitting on the grass with his hands tied behind a tree. He looked malnourished and weak. The anger upon seeing his sorry state only worsened for the woman, as she sat to think of a plan. She groaned in annoyance. This wasn’t what she usually did. I’m a sniper, she thought to herself, not a stealthy hero.

There were too many people around for her to use her actual skills, so her best bet was to sneak behind the tree and cut him loose without cause a scene. Shoving her binoculars in her satchel and making her way over with her knife in hand, she was able to get to the tree.

“Kieran!” Y/n whisper shouted, causing the poor man to jump out of his skin. He turned his head around, and his eyes widened when he saw who it was.

“Y/n? What are you doing here?”

“Getting you, dumbass.” She already started cutting at the rope, which was too thick for her knife.

“Leave me! This gang is real scary.” He pleaded, “If they catch you, you’ll end up like me…or worse!”

She ignored his pleas for her to abandon him and focused on getting the rope loose. She was halfway there, the rope almost freeing him, when she got caught.

“Hey!” The voice was low and gruff. Y/n snapped her head up to see a tall, broad man with a beaten cowboy hat on, pointing a pistol right at her. She moved away from the tree slowly, but before she could make a run for it, he shot her in the thigh. She instantly fell to the ground, screaming in agony as she held the wound in hopes to stop the bleeding. The fabric of her jeans didn’t help ease the pain as it was now sticking to her wound.

The man ran towards her, pulling her up harshly and propping her up against the tree next to Kieran, who was calling out to her, as she was tied up. He was right, she was now in the exact same position he was in. 

The man who shot her was glaring as others from the gang showed up. 

“Dutch!” The man called out for the ringleader, who jogged over.

“What is it, Arthur?” 

The man she now knew as Arthur gestured at her sorry state before replying, “We have another O’Driscoll, I caught her trying to free our friend Kieran.” 

Everyone was staring at her whimpering state. Her hair was messy from the journey over, her black button up top had been untucked from her jeans, her satchel and belt were barely intact, and her wound was only getting worse. 

“Well now, she doesn’t seem like that much of a threat!” Dutch chuckled, earning a glare from Y/n.

“You shot me!” She hissed at Arthur, who seemed surprised by her feisty nature despite bleeding out; she knew it was a risky move, especially as she was becoming lightheaded. 

Arthur pointed at her, his eyebrows furrowed, “Of course I did. You snuck onto our camp, trying to free our prisoner!” He then turned to a woman with black hair in a messy bun.

“Abigail, will you please tend to her wound. Can’t interrogate her if she dies on us.” 

Abigail nodded her head as he thanked her, and she soon returned with medical supplies. Everyone kept a close eye on her, hatred in their eyes. An older man with a grey hair spoke up to Dutch, “Are you sure it’s wise to have another O’Driscoll on camp? Having too many may cause a riot.” 

“I think this is a great opportunity!” The gang’s leader said, “She came all this way for him, so they must care for one another. We can use that against them when getting the information we need on Colm.” 

Y/n’s eyes were going fuzzy, and Kieran’s cries were starting to sound far away. Abigail made her way over with the med kit; she seemed to be talking to the wounded O’Driscoll but was ignored as she began to pass out. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

When she awoke again, the sunlight blinded her, and every inch of her body ached. Her arms were cramped, her neck snore, but the biggest pain was her thigh, which felt like it had been beaten and set on fire. She looked down to see the wound had been disinfected and sewn up, and the fabric had been cut a little to get to it, leaving her thigh exposed. 

“Y/n! You’re awake! Oh, I was so worried!” Kieran’s voice caught her attention, who sighed with relief; he was stood up, most likely to stretch his legs. 

“I’m sorry.” Were her first words to him, she stretched her legs out in front of her and winced as a sharp stabbing pain went up her leg. 

“No, I’m sorry. It’s my fault you got shot, and now you’re a hostage too.” He also apologised, a sympathetic look on his face which matched that of a kicked puppy.

“Hey, don’t go crying now.” She warned him, rolling her eyes like she always did. He nodded his head but looked away, probably to go against her request. However, her attention was diverted to the very man who shot her, as he strode over to her. 

“You’re awake.” He stated, standing in front of her, making her look up at him from her seating position. He must’ve been at least six two and built like a brick house. Either way, she wasn’t winning a physical fight against him any time soon. 

“I appear to be.” She stated, deciding to be cocky. If she was going to die, she wanted to die with her dignity and sarcasm. He clicked his tongue, clearly not impressed with her quick remark. 

“I wouldn’t get smart if I were you. Someone in your position can’t afford to be arrogant.” He folded his arms as she scoffed, shaking her head.

“My position? You mean shot in the leg and tied up? If anything, I think this calls for sarcastic remarks towards the very man who put me in this predicament.” 

“I hope you talk this much when I ask you about Colm.” He sighed, rubbing is eyes and placing one hand on his hip. She went quiet, realising being shot and tied up were probably the start of a long, antagonising death. 

“Well don’t get quiet now.” Arthur snapped, but she looked away from him, receiving a small groan from the older man. 

“We can start of easy.” He began, “What’s your name?” 

Still facing away from him, she replied, “Why should you get the honours of knowing that?” 

“I can see that wasn’t an easy question.” The irritation was laced in his words as she refused to cooperate. She looked up at him again, who had an impatient look on his face. It seemed he wasn’t going to leave till she answered.

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” She mocked, the same irritation in her words. He shot me, why should I make this easy for him?

“Are you a child?” He scoffed, his eyes narrowing but still answered her, “Arthur. Arthur Morgan.”

She hummed after hearing his name, and then fell silent. The wind picked up, causing Y/n’s hair to get messier, and creating goosebumps along her skin. The man sighed before walking towards Kieran who instantly cowered. Her once bored attitude was no more, now she was on high alert.

“Look,” Arthur began, “I ain’t gonna hit you, I don’t hit ladies. But I do hit men, and you clearly care for this one. If you don’t start talking, he’s gonna get hurt, and you don’t want him to get hurt, do you?” 

She watched as Arthur swung his leg back and kicked her friend hard on the shin, causing him to crouch down in pain and wriggle his bound wrists. 

“Alright! It’s Y/n L/n! You asshole!” She spat at him, trying to get the man away from Kieran. Arthur smirked and made his way back over to the woman. Oh, how I would love to smack that smug look off his face. 

“There we go, that’s much better. Well Miss L/n, you wanna tell me where Colm O’Driscoll is hiding?”

“I don’t know. He doesn’t care to share that type of information with me.”

“Is that so?” He raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing a word she said. All she could do was nod her head, not bothering to develop her answer further. Arthur shrugged his shoulders, “Suit yourself. The longer you put off telling us, the longer you go without food.” He stated before turning around and walking off back to his tent, leaving Y/n to glare daggers at his back.

“This is real bad. I’ve gone days without food, I can’t take it much longer.” Kieran made sure Arthur was gone before her conversed with her. She tried moving her leg again, but the pain was unbearable.

 

“Just you wait Kieran. We are going to get out of here, and I’ll make sure I snipe that man right between his eyes. Whatever you do, don’t tell them anything. We won’t be able to go back, we’d be hung for selling Colm out.” 

Kieran rested the back of his head against the tree, looking dead ahead.

“I don’t think I want to go back.”

“We don’t have a choice,” She exhaled, “We would be hunted down if we tried to be lone wolves. We are bound to the O’Driscoll gang till we die. Let’s just make sure our death is merciful.” 

With that, the two captives fell silent, watching the rest of the campers go about their day: eating, doing chores, and laughing with one another as the days ticked on. 

[aethesfaelibrarae]

(holy shit was I not expecting anyone to like that previous Mouthwashing post—but thank you, genuinely for reading it and this one)

The Mouthwashing brain worms speak to me again—let's talk about hierarchy and caste and the implications in Mouthwashing one more time.

Say what you will about Jimothy's cowardly ass: he's not an idiot. The apathy of the crew is, at least, in part maintained by the top of the ladder: Curly and Pony Express.

Curly starts the game at the top of the ladder, able to help out a guy he perceives in a rough spot with a snap of his fingers, able to control how much sugar anyone got.. Able to control the food, the medicine, the weapons. Curly isn't the sort of person to abuse his power.

But he also isn't the type to use it.

Next up is Jaundice. His second in command, his (traitorous backstabber) right hand man. We'll get back to him.

No, who come next in this hierarchy can be debated—is Daisuke for his youth and potential or is it Swansea for his seniority? It could be both, depending upon the lens of examination. When the chips are down.. Or when they're still able to make a bet?

I'm going with Swansea, simply because of the fact that both Curly and Catastrophic Jameson's headass respect him. Neither of them really correct or step in to ask about his behavior with Daisuke, Jaundiced is more than happy to leave the room alone until it stands in his way and up until the chase sequence is largely unwilling to get into physical altercation.

Daisuke is next on the rung—an intern getting his due hazing. Young, plucky, clumsy, the aimless silver spooned baby of the crew. He wants to be liked by people in the higher rungs and he trusts in their authority. To his own detriment. But for the most part, he's neither too high for the responsibility or too low to really suffer in forced silence. He's protected.

Anya is not. As the sole woman of the crew, soft-spoken, heavily pregnant and forced to entertain her abuser's delusions of grandeur with the wreckage evidence of how far he's willing to go to get rid of her, rinse his mouth of her, all around them.. She starts the game on the bottom of the ladder—ignored, talked over, dismissed. People's—Curly and Catastrophe Jim—eyes skip over her without thinking. It's easy to dismiss her. Empathy is extended to her as an afterthought. Her death an inevitable tragedy. Because either way of framing it, without access to the ax or the gun, the ship was Jimothy's way of shutting her up for good and she knows it. In my previous post, I touched on the difference between the situations that Anya and Curly find themselves and in all honesty, it's defined by who finds themself at the bottom of the rung when Mr. J finds himself a way to the top.

And who else would it be but our resident golden boy himself, Captain Enablement—I mean, Curly. Now that he's completely disabled, useless and helpless.. He finds himself in a position even worse than Anya's. Both of them taking on the brunt of Jimmy's worldview—he's gotten way more than he bargained for from Anya and besides, she was a means to an end. At the moment of the assault, she was an object, the lower rung of the perceived ladder. It wasn't his fault, just look at her—And afterwards.. Well, this whole thing could also be framed as spite. Sneaking behind the golden boy's back and "stealing his girl" or whatever, maybe he knew that he'd be caught and wanted to see something other than Curly's gentle understanding. He wants more. And in direct opposite to Anya, Curly is the center of his world. The spindle upon which Jaundice's last steadily fraying thread of sanity spins. And what an awful place it is to be. He gets front row seats to hindsight truly becoming 20/20 vision when it's a barrel of shotgun—and you're jealous of the fact that it's not aimed at you. He suffers being consumed and thus consuming himself. Looking into why didn't Jimothy just cut up any of the others is a fascinating exercise. By the time he starts eating Curly, this is not the first time he's imagined Curly in the place of food—of nourishment. He imagines him in the place of cake—even the way that he cuts a part of Curly's leg is reminiscent of the way that Curly cuts into the cake. (yes, what the heck Curls but then again, gelatin probably feels weird to cut). Eating someone is often a taboo form of intimacy in media like Preacher's Daughter by Ethel Cain or Tokyo Ghoul..Listen. There's a reason why vore is popular.—it's the most violent type of intimacy.

It's the only type of intimacy Jimmy engages with on screen and yet—There's an equally fascinating intimacy in consuming yourself. And even that is ruined.. Being forced to eat your bile-covered offal again and again and again.. A memory that would scar on its own. But. With the implications of this being the one type of intimacy that Jimmy feels comfortable sharing combined with what the game says about rape culture have "good" men protect and enable their friends.. There's another angle of their friendship there.

Jimmy loves Curly as much as he hates him. He wants him to suffer. He wants him to live. He wants him dead. Who is saying I hope this hurts?

The hierarchy traps them in so many ways—and the first time we see it for what it is is with Curly. Not Jimmy. From Curly's perspective, we see him unfocused and exhausted and Anya offers him a helping ear and he can't accept it. He's the Captain. He can't be seen asking his subordinate for help. Jimmy was removed from the hierarchy in Curly's eyes. Maybe even at the same spot. Co-captains. Two peas in a pod—except one is a festering open wound and the other has his eyes tightly closed, quietly muttering he can fix it if he just gets a little bit more time.. Can't tell the difference between who's who?

Top or bottom of the hierarchy—awful and isolating for two men who claim to take responsibility. Both have some level of inferiority complex—a complex that I'd argue is the becoming the bread and butter of modern day society but is steadily starting to show the signs of where it's been baked into the perceptions of being a man—there is the fear of someone bigger, better and more capable of you.. But there's also that small quiet part that gets told men don't cry that desperately, desperately, wants to have no choice. Almost takes comfort in the idea of someone better than you.

And everyone in between their rungs gets crushed as collateral.

In a caste made by white supremacy, white able-bodied young men who meet societal standards for being in their prime are at the top. Old enough to know better, young enough to play stupid have potential. Just look at all our promising young rapists men with their whole lives ahead of them.

On a ship like the Tulpar, that hierarchy gets a necessary edge—the Captain is the most useful person aboard the ship, the most needed. The man of the proverbial house. The co-captain is like being called vice president—made only as important as the person in that role can make it. Otherwise it's a hollow consolation prize. And Jimothy can't work an honest day in his life. So it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Then would be the nurse but.. It's a feminine job, a pink collar job through and through. If Anya had been a man, the jokes would have been targeted at her masculinity but as she is a woman, the role and her usefulness to the crew are invisible necessities. The quiet labor and genius that keeps great men going. I think people underestimate how much work goes into even passing the N-CLEX to become an RN. Anya was trying to get into medical school—she studied the human body extensively and in all honesty, the way that I've read it is (especially with the context clues of her being overlooked continuously) she just wasn't important enough to help out. Medical textbooks are expensive on their own and tests can be upwards of 2,000 dollars (my sources: my mom had to take the N-CLEX 3 times when I was much younger and the financial strain was ridiculous especially if you want to get in on a study group).. And Anya clearly worked for that goal. You don't throw that kind of money at anything else but the goal—the one you could just swear would make it all worth it. Maybe if she was Doctor Anya, the crew would've treated her better.. Her usefulness cemented and people would question how such a nervous woman made it through medical school.. Maybe it would have made Jimmy worse. There's nothing hollow about being a doctor after all.

But Anya is Anya and so Swansea, the mechanic is useful. He keeps the ship going and Daisuke in line. Bitter Knowledge and the Dog Days of Youth.

Wasted Potential (double entendre) and Boundless, Wasting Potential.

Immediately useful and eager to be useful.

Then there's Post-Crash Curly. And I must stress, your usefulness is not your value as a person. But then again, where would ableism find its footing save for such a sad hierarchy? And let's call a spade a spade, once Curly loses his ability to interact with the world as he once did, his skin literally peeled open to expose the soft inner flesh to the cruelty of the world, his small bit of usefulness as a Captain gone.. Most people on the ship act accordingly. Daisuke and Swansea, their places on the ladder's rung unchanged fairly quickly become enured to Curly's cries of pain. Anya, the closest to the his newfound rung.. Continues to care for him, unable to free him as he was unable to free her. Jimmy is all too happy to grind his boot in Curly's face as many times as he can. Until he feels better.

But he won't. He can't.

The game touches on the haves vs the have-nots a lot as well as the creeping sense of human work becoming obsolete, that body horror in being made useless by your own complicity but where it absolutely shines in Jimmy and Swansea—especially Swansea's final speech—is the messaging about the never-ending demand for more, for greener pastures leaving you hollow and bitter. Curly seemed well-aware of Swansea's thought process and leaves him be but internally agrees and fears that ending if he stays in the Captaincy for too much longer.

And that's where I think Jimmy really thinks it was a win-win for him and Curly. He truly doesn't think of the pain that Curly must find himself in, worsened by the constant beatings and continual medical assault. He doesn't think about it as anything more than Curly being a nuisance. One more way that Curly just didn't trust him not to fuck up his eyes eternally trapped in the cold hate and fear as he watches Jimmy proceed to ruin the one thing he took pride in as the metaphorical man of the house: keeping the crew safe.

Jimmy thinks of himself as the son who stayed faithful, worked himself to the bone, only to receive scraps while his undeserving brother is celebrated and lauded.

Within the hierarchy, the system is only as "good" as who remains on top. And "good" people, blindly faithful and eternally forgiving, aren't ruthless enough to stay up there for long.

Jimmy's not a good person but he's not stupid. And he's very ruthless. While there may have been somewhat of a hierarchical situation before he joined the crew, it's clear from his conversations with Anya, Curly valued a more lateral role system as he felt trapped in Pony Express's all-consuming ladder over Jimmy's rigid rungs of better and worse.

But over and over, he isolated the crew to their sectors. Over and over, he demeaned Anya, insulted her and Curly. Leaned into the insults of Daisuke. Left Swansea alone for the most part.

Anya, as much as it pains me to admit this, could have worked with Swansea earlier. But would that have worked? What about Daisuke—the younger version of Curly's eternal optimistic "I've never seen the dead pixel" attitude? The isolation absolutely worked. There's no imagining a world in which it doesn't work unless you imagine the crew as better than they are.

And that's just one more tragedy we can't rinse out of mouths with mouthwash.

[tanglepelt]

The blobs among us

this was a fun project to work on. Go check out @sumiink for their awesome art pieces! Check out the awesome art here

AO3 link, ao3 has all chapters up

Blobs are running around in Amity Park. The portal brought more problems than he realized. Even worse these blobs were appearing everywhere all over the world. The GIW has created a set of laws to "protect" the blobs. Danny and the trio aren't falling for that. They know there using them for their own game. They had to be up to something. When all their attempts to expose the truth fail, they take drastic measures.

Meanwhile, Tim and his team aren't buying these "acts"

“Maybe, just maybe we shouldn’t raid this base”

“We have to hit this one, we have too much info on it not to. Tonight is the night. Less staff on duty and who knows how long the bug is going to last unfound” Danny pointed at the laptop Tucker had opened at the security feed on the screen.

“Plus, the Wayne charity Gala is happening tonight. Anyone who is anyone is going there, and more importantly Danny’s godfather. He will cause a scene if necessary.”

“The last place I want to be is anywhere near Gotham, not given the whole supposed to be investigating a totally real not fake case on the other side of the country. This base based on all the intel has the paper files we need.” Tim sounded annoyed by the fact “In theory, we should be able to find out what is happening with it.”

“We have photos and stuff I still say we just post it out for all to see. Someone’s bound to notice” Danny supplied “I’m just saying. The league is not going to help. Your crew has too much faith in them. Show them all the evidence you want. They’ll just ignore it.”

“We just need one breakthrough. Any exposure would compromise our secrecy. All it will do is draw attention from the league to us.”

“Then you guys can stay out of it. We three are fine with it. We already are in the center. Let the public know. Better than letting the government get more control.”

Sam gave a pointed look at Danny “The blog we had remember got wiped. Showing evidence isn’t enough, they’ll claim it's fake. What we need is proof and live proof.”

Tucker cut in “What we need is a livestream, that’d be hard to fake.”

As far as Danny was concerned that sounded like a great plan. Sam had even seemed to be contemplating it. This whole villainy thing was getting obnoxious.

“NO, what we need is a plan and to Just stick to the plan. Do not start a live stream”

“What plan” Sam cut in

Tim was more than happy to go in-depth on the game plan. Five on the inside two on perimeter duty. They weren’t quite in Gotham thankfully, just close enough where it could draw attention. Stealth was a necessity. He still wasn’t too convinced about that.

Danny and the others still weren’t convinced of the whole plan idea.

It was far too difficult to have a secret meeting when there were trained people around. He thought it was difficult to sneak around when his parents were around. He was positive what they were doing wasn’t hidden at all. Nobody had bothered to stop them. A livestream was the best bet. Tucker had even managed to snag some tech from the zone last time he was there Which was to make it untraceable and add a flare. All he needed to do was start the stream. Which can’t be that hard. It was just loading or something.

"Dude come on, quit stalling. We've been waiting forever for this livestream to go live; we need it online quickly and without notice". Tucker sighed “I should have just handled both parts apparently. Hitting a button is oh so hard”

Danny scowled, "I'm telling you, it's up! Just give it a sec”

Sam leaned against the wall and crossed arms, rolling her eyes. "Well, I'm not holding my breath. Knowing you we'll be waiting forever.”

Tucker chuckled, his fingers dancing over his PDA. "Seconded. Remember when he tried to fix the thermos and ended up setting it on fire, again?"

Danny glared up at the two. " That was a minor mishap, a little fire doesn’t hurt anyone”

Tucker grabbed the device rigged to stream and followed them. If everything went right, they’d have a worldwide audience. Tucker owed Technus now. Which was a future trio problem. Not a now problem.

“Dude, you have to hit the start button” Sam cackled as Tucker started the stream. In the distance, they could see the green glow. Time to focus on the building ahead of them. “We have a party to get to”

Danny took that as his first opening. "Cause we're about to crash the ultimate government party! You know, the one they conveniently forgot to send us invites to? And hey, while we're at it, let's add a little flair to the occasion. Keep your eyes peeled for the pin drop, 'cause that's when the real fun begins.”

Phantom was going to be front and center for this livestream. Better him than the others. Figures a member of the species they were tearing apart would be a bit more dramatic and more serious than if Pharaoh or Hemlock took the lead “Did I mention the fireworks? 'Cause we're about to light up the night sky with a bang! So grab your snacks and strap in, 'cause we're about to blow this conspiracy wide open!" Danny sent a blast into the wall causing a bright green explosion.

“I said no live streams, did you not get that” Red Robin spoke from the coms and a voice modifier on.

Danny chose to ignore him and continue walking through the now-open wall. It made a great door if you were to ask him. “The public deserves the truth” while broadcasting a blast knocking out the agents heading towards them.

Another blast led deeper into the facility. Revealing the room line with cages, glowing green. Some blobs half melted in the cages, ectoplasm dripping from them into containers below the cages. The containers full of the ectoplasm that was meant to be protected and freed back to where it belonged.

"These cells contain the blobs" He explained, "The government has been lying to you. They don’t aid them naturally dissipating; they force them to ectoplasm. They feel the whole thing, “standing beside a row of sealed jars containing a swirling mass of green blobs, their frantic movements betraying their desperation to escape. "They're being harvested, drained of their life to help the government's research for power."

In the background were government agents dressed in obnoxiously bright white suits, their unconscious “Aren’t they so happy we crashed right in, greeting us” Danny spoke to the camera focusing on the agents’ gathering weapons. One’s blasting the same green. “Don’t you feel so protected? Fun fact for my viewers. Those supposed blobs, that your government has claimed need protected… well. Given the chance they grow. Not like you. BUT.” Danny made sure to flash his pointed teeth at the camera “Things like me. They aren’t meant to stay on this side of the veil.

Phantom led his audience deeper into a high-tech laboratory, Pharaoh dismantled weapons revealing a cluster of green blobs partially melted back into goo.

"These creatures deserve freedom,” Phantom spoke to the camera Phantom couldn’t help but fly through the halls. Pointing out true process. What was happening to the entities in “protection”? That the blobs wouldn’t cause harm or issues.

Phantom continued down the hall.

The air grew heavy with tension as he approached a reinforced cell, one labeled for decontamination.

He knew what that meant.

What could be happening?

Who did they have?

Was it someone minor? Someone with barely any lingering ectoplasm.

Who.

He needed to get in that room.

But he didn’t want to.

But he had to.

The world was silent as he approached the door.

He paid no attention to the chat.

Nor the voices asking for his status.

Not the voices about how their location was out.

He froze when he peered into the batter window on the cold metal door.

He through the camera to the ground. Finally responding in the coms “cut the stream”

Ellie was bound to a surgical bed Cuffs blinking red, leaving her powerless and vulnerable. All while hooked to IVs and machinery. Ones that would be removing ectoplasm from her system. What she was very much made of.

It seemed more streamlined.

Danny was quick to try and open the door.

Ellie was fighting against her binds, her muffled cries of frustration echoing through the cell. But as he looked into her eyes, he saw only fear and confusion.

"Phantom, what's going on?" tucker demanded.

“They have Ellie”

[cer-rata]

Excerpt from "Unknown Brother"

Kon didn’t hate Gotham exactly. Hate was a strong word, and it would have been unfair to say that he hated an entire city. They’re just too complicated to really make that kind of judgment about.

But he didn’t like Gotham. It was depressing, hard to listen to, and maybe even cursed? Because what were the odds that the same exact city was always a nightmare in every alternate reality he’d visited? Hell, by whatever logic Earth-3 seemed to work on, it should have been so nice there, and it managed to be worse. Plus with everything else that had changed about his Earth--or the closest thing to his Earth anyway--when he was on Gemworld, it was even more disheartening.

Still, he couldn’t complain, he was thankful that Tim let him crash on his boat while he figured out what he wanted to do about his ‘family’ situation. He wasn’t upset with Clark for not remembering him, that wouldn’t have been fair, but it was still painful to have Clark look in his direction and just…not see him anymore. They’d gone from something like brothers to something like strangers in the blink of an eye. To Lois’ credit she was able to digest all of the new information fairly quickly and managed to almost treat him like she used to. Almost. And they had different kid! Another little boy who thankfully looked a lot like Lois, because Kon honestly didn’t know if he could have handled looking at a small Clark, or worse--

“Hey, sooo,” Tim’s playful but tired voice cut through his thoughts. Kon’s eyes focused and he realized that Tim was watching him from his spot on the couch, a bowl of pasta held firmly in his pale, subtly scarred hands. “I know I’m not good at cooking, but you could at least like…pretend and use your superspeed to fling it into the water. I’ve been pointedly looking away to give you the time, you gotta work with me man.”

Kon smiled guiltily. “Oh, sorry, no the food is fine.”

“Mmm. Liar.” Tim mumbled through an agonizing bite of food.

“...I can eat it. I will eat it. I was just thinking.”

“About the existential nightmare of your existence?”

Kon channeled his tactile telekinesis over the surface of the couch and up Tim’s body, earning a surprised “Eep” from his friend, before focusing it to completely mess up what was left of his hairstyling for the day.

Kon laughed. “You look like an emo sonic the hedgehog oc.”

Tim sighed and shook some hair out of his face. “Newsflash, Spaceboy, that’s our bit here in Gotham: We all secretly wish we were multicolored cartoon hedgehogs with no rules for what clothing we have to wear. Imagine the freedom of wearing shoes that big!”

“Bart clearly understands something we don’t. He’s evolved.”

Tim put his still half-full bowl on the coffee table and stretched. “You know, I was serious about the existential nightmare thing.”

“Which means you want me to TTK you again, right?”

“Kon--”

“We don’t have to talk about this.” Kon laced his fingers and rubbed his thumbs together. “It’s fine. I can…figure it out.”

“It’s… a lot to figure out, man. You don’t need to do it alone, I mean I thought that’s why you were here and not in Smallville. You know, to use my big meaty brain to help plan your next steps.”

That was…part of the reason he wasn’t in Smallville, yes. “I bet your brain tastes better than your food.”

“Honestly? Probably.”

Kon leaned back against the couch and looked up and through the ceiling with his x-ray vision so he could see the stars. “I just…I thought it was all worth something? In the end.”

“What was?”

“All of the crazy shit that happened to me. Like it was so terrible, in so many ways at so many different points, but at least I was Superboy, you know? It’s not like…It’s not about being famous, but more that like…I’d done good stuff. I'd helped a lot of people. And technically none of that matters anymore.”

Tim settled back into his corner like a roosting hen. “Okay, but I remember everything, so does Cass and Bart and Cissie and the Kents--like you still did those things. It still matters, and so do you. You are still Superboy. We just need to figure out how to get you settled in here, that’s all.”

Kon groaned and rubbed his forehead. “It scares me when you’re this nice.”

“It’s self preservation: I don’t need you sinking my boat.” Tim smiled.

“Ugh. Fine. Fine! I’m just in my head about it, but you’re right, it’s not that bad.”

“Correction: It is that bad, but I think it will get better.”

Kon put his bowl on the table next to Tim's, then used his powers to pull the startled vigilante across the couch and into a hug.

Tim cleared his throat before awkwardly reciprocating the embrace. “Yeah, yeah It’ll be alright…if you want to cry I won’t tell anyone--”

“I’ll crush you.”

“Hot.”

Kon sighed and he felt Tim’s chest heave in a silent laugh. “I’m supposed to spend the day with the other Superboy tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah? He’s a good kid.”

“Of course he is.”

“Do you want to let go or--”

“No.”

Tim sighed. “Sure. So through my intense powers of deduction and mastery of detective work--ow! Kon, those are my ribs--”

“Skip to the end please.”

“--You’re not excited about tomorrow.”

“That sounds bad.”

“It sounds like the truth. Why though?”

“It was his idea.”

“Jon’s?”

“Yeah. He has the need to make sure I feel welcome apparently, so he told Clark that he wanted to show me his favorite places and get me up to date.”

“...That’s…sweet? Right? Damian would never offer something like that, you remember that when we met, he tried to kill me--”

“I think I’d prefer that actually.”

“What!?”

“Okay so. I know that also sounded bad--”

“So bad.”

“--But I feel bad that he’s putting all this effort in. He doesn’t know me, and he didn’t even exist in the last world, so I don’t know him either. I just showed up out of the blue and now he assumes we have to be family. It doesn’t feel right to accept that.”

“Kon.”

“Yes?”

“Let me go, please.”

Kon sighed and released his friend, only to immediately be slapped across the face. Like, it didn’t hurt, but it was certainly a statement.

“...Tim?”

“You’re being dumb! You’re not a criminal, and even if you were it’s still not wrong for someone to be nice to you! You can’t just mope and assume people should agree with how you feel about yourself, who are you, Batman?”

“Woooow. Low blow.”

“I will blow lower if you don’t get this stick out of your ass, you are encroaching on my emotional territory here! Weepy emo boy is my bit, Kon.”

Kon decided to not point out how terrible the first half of that sounded. “No it’s not.”

“I can’t just be the invasive nerd, alright? That gets you uninvited to things.”

“I think that’s more the privacy and biological autonomy thing--”

Tim groaned and wiped a hand across his face. “You’re still mad about that?”

“No, not really, it’s just funny watching you squirm.” Kon grinned.

Tim threw a nearby paper cup at him. “That’s it, you’re on the couch tonight.”

“...I always take the couch?”

“Yeah, well…take it harder.”

Alright, that was two in a row. Kon hesitated, but decided to ask his question anyway. “...Are you gay now?”

Tim blanched. “What?”

“I mean…I dunno you’ve been saying things that almost sound flirty, and I mean that’s cool, I just didn’t remember that being a thing.” Kon tried not to pay attention to how Tim’s pulse got weird for a second before he used his freaky bat-training to fix it.

“What! C’mon man, Steph and I are a thing again, remember? We're pretty happy, so that’s…yeah. Not…not gay.”

“You’re sure? Not even just a little…?”

Tim squinted at him. “Are you trying to fill out the bingo sheet?”

“Huh?”

“You know, make it so that the four of us have all been with each other at some point?”

Kon flattened himself back against the couch like Tim had just whipped out a piece of green K. “What! No! I just--”

“Cause we’ve both dated Cassie (sorry again), so progress has already been made. All we’d have to do is have you and I go on a couple dates, and then convince Cassie to hold Bart’s hand for a few minutes--basically hours for him you know. And then on the topic of Bart--”

“OKAY! OKAY I’M SORRY! YOU CAN STOP!”

Tim was grinning like a maniac by that point. “--I think Bart would just do it for the bit. But you know…now that I’m picturing it, the two of you might actually--”

That was not the scenario he pictured when thinking about what would make him kill Tim, but it would do.

[sapphic-agent]

I read your analysis and anti bakugou posts and I want to say thank you!

Going to be kinda long so I’m sorry!

There is another fandom where there is character exactly like bakugou; angry, violent, egotistical and target his hate and aggression to one person only.

the character name is Jiāng cheng from the MDZS novel. But the narrative in the story doesn’t treat all the shit that jerk did as right, it the opposite. He seen as vile that nobody want to associate with (getting banned from all the match making places in the story even)

He never takes the spotlight of the two main nor he is redeemed characters instead seen as pathetic and arrogant jerk he is. The MC, Wei wuxian who was his adoptive brother (not really more like a servant that got treated like a dog) cut ties with him in the end.

He a well written and rounded character but the character personality is shit and I don’t really like him. And the narrative isn’t treating him any differently than being a piece of shit

Why I’m telling you this? Because I feel like if MHA have been written by someone who isn’t Hori bakugou would not have gotten away with the shit he did in the story.

beside the point of the way the narrative treat Jiang cheng, it’s the fandom. When I got into the MDZS fandom I was so disappointed to see bakugou stans 2.0 there but instead of bakugou it’s Jiang cheng.

Both bakugou and Jiang cheng get the same treatment in the fandom as “UWU needs to protect the angry violent person” and “it’s the MC fault our cute UWU baby didn’t do anything wrong” and lots of stuff that I bet you seen in the bnha fandom

It’s sad that even if the story shows that what Jiang cheng wasn’t right (unlike bakugou case where the story doesn’t make him have any consequences) people would outright be mean to other people just because they follow the canon prototype of the character in their fics (I seen it and it’s horrible)

And, in fics it’s seems that every time that Jiang cheng appears in the scene he makes everyone OOC (if the fic is sticking to canon personality). Makes them act like they won’t ever act; it’s the same thing with bakugou (in canon and fanon respectively sadly)

I love to call it the “black hole effect” when a certain character just make the scenes about them no matter the context, like a black hole.

Im sorry this is all over the place, im not really good with words and i used to be pretty active in both fandoms but now its really hard because bakugou and Jiang cheng stans are overall tiring to deal with and they seems to grow up in numbers everyday and yeah… 👍

Have a nice day and week!

Hi! I've never read it but it sounds interesting.

I always try to tell Bakugou stans, it's not the fact that Bakugou's an awful person. I don't care about that. Fictional characters aren't real and can be liked for whatever even if they're vile pieces of shit. It's okay to like a vile piece of shit.

What's not okay is creating that vile piece of shit and then brushing over and never calling out their horrible actions. What's not okay is everyone around them condoning their behavior. What's not okay is pandering to them over their victims. What's not okay is never making them face consequences for their actions. What's not okay is constantly putting them on a pedestal for doing the bare minimum.

Look at Vegeta (RIP Toriyama). Vegeta is always getting humbled and called out. He is never going to surpass Goku because never getting what he wants is part of his retribution. Considering his actions, he should be worse than Bakugou. But he's a way better character because of how the narrative and the other characters treat him.

(You can even compare specific instances. When Bakugou rushed ahead and attacked Kurogiri and got Thirteen seriously hurt, no one said a thing to him and he still won all his fights. He faced zero repercussions. When Vegeta let Cell absorb 18, he immediately got his ass kicked and had to get saved by Trunks and Krillin. Vegeta's actions always affect him terribly, Bakugou's actions always affect everyone else terribly while he gets off scott-free)

DBZ came out decades ago and it still created a better character arc than a 2010s-2020s manga. Horikoshi could have easily given Bakugou a proper redemption arc. He chose not to

[yourftmfriend]

Glad you getting back into writing and remember to take care of yourself. But this idea popped into my head which was imagine ftm sub Steven grant who came back from Mr knight business with his suit still on. Reader then gets the idea to fuck him with his batons till he physically can't cum no more.-🥭

Thank youu <3 and goddamn the asks that you send😍😍

Also this is more aftercare than sex. I was in a soft mood today so I just prolonged the aftercare part. Aftercare is important❤️

Also x2 I didn’t check for any spelling mistakes so sorry in advance if there is any in this one.

—

You were laying on your boyfriends bed, waiting for him to come home. You had already cooked dinner and didn’t have anything else to do except waiting for him. He was already late and you were starting to worry about him. Just as you picked up your phone from the floor to clear off your mind, you heard a click from the front door. You got out of your bed to welcome him into the house with a loving hug and a kiss like you always did. He was taking off his shoes when you reached the door but something was different. “Oh..” you said realizing he didn’t take his suit off this time. As soon as his shoes were off he went for his usual hug and kiss from you. “Welcome home baby!” you said with a wider smile than usual. The ideas were starting to crawl their way into your brain. He let out a pleased moan into your neck, which only made the things worse for you. “You left your suit on?” you asked. “Mhm I thought you’d like it… Did you?” he answered with another question. “Oh yea I loved it..” you answered with a darker tone to your voice as you gripped his hips tightly. “I bet you’re so tired.. Let me take you to our bed so you can rest~”

“o-OhhH! Ff-uck baby— It’s too mmucchh!” he whined as you rubbed his clit in an unbelievable speed. His thighs were trembling in your hold and he moaned your name. “I-I’m gunna cu-UM!” he yelled as his cum leaked out of him. When he was finished you got up from the bed and opened the first drawer to get a fresh bottle of lube. He was watched you with curious eyes as you walked up to the side table to the couch and grabbed one of his batons before getting on the bed again. You popped open the cap of the lube and put a generous amount on your palm before smearing it all over the top of the baton. His eyes widened as he realized what you were about to do. “D-Darling wait-! It won’t fit! Ple-“ he was cut off as you lined the baton up to his pussy and pushed the tip in. Tears started running down his cheeks when you got it halfway in. You were at least 8 inches in at this point and he was sobbing. You knew you couldn’t get it all in so you decided on an above average length to fuck him with. “Shh shh darling… I know it hurts but it’s gonna feel amazing in a few minutes… Just hang in there for me ‘kay?” he nodded as you started whispering praises in his ear, pushing up the baton more and more in him. When you finally got it all in you waited for him to get used to the length in him. As you were waiting you made sure to kiss his tears away and mutter praises in his neck, making him melt in your arms. When he gave you the cue to move you started slowly pumping it in him. Oh you loved the little gasps and whimpers it got out of him. You slowly got faster and faster making his whimpers and moans louder. Your free hand slowly crawled its way onto one of his pecs. You quickly started to pinch and rub his nipple, making him grind onto the baton. “o-OH FuCKK~! I’m gunna c-cum—“ he whined as his thighs started quivering. You enjoyed seeing him like this. Your kiss on his neck was what drove him over the edge. He came with a loud moan of your name, his hands gripping on the bedsheets as his eyes shut tightly. You helped him ride his high as he continued grinding on the baton. When it was over he waited for you to stop but you didn’t. He was now looking at your eyes with his widened ones. “Oh baby.. Did you think that I was going to be satisfied with just one?” you asked smirking at him.

You gripped his tear stained cheek and kissed it lightly. “One more baby. Only one more… Shhh.. I know you can do it baby” you said with a reassuring smile on your face. He was sobbing now, eyes puffy from crying so much. He was hugging your waist as he laid down, face buried in your chest. He couldn’t even get out coherent words as his brain turned into mush. He screamed out your name as he came on the baton one last time before completely collapsing on your thighs. You waited for him to calm down before pulling the baton out of him slowly and laid it on the nightstand. He looked at you with half lidded eyes as you gently lifted him up. There was only signs of pure adoration in your eyes as you looked at him. You laid Steven down on the bed before getting up to run a bath for both of you. Your plans were interrupted when Steven grabbed onto your arm, catching your attention. “Don’t go..” he whispered to you. You leaned down to kiss him on the lips before saying “I’m gonna be back to get you baby I’ll just run a warm bath. Wait a bit for me ‘kay?” He just nodded lazily at your words as you left the room.

You came back a few minutes later with a glass of cool water and a cookie you made hours ago. You sat him up on the bed before kneeling down and giving him a long sip from the glass. You knew he could drink it himself but you decided to support it from the bottom just to be safe. When he finished half of the glass he pulled away and you put the glass on the floor. You got the cookie and he took a few bites out of it before putting the remaining part down on the plate. You wiped his mouth and picked him up carefully. When your reached the bathtub you first checked the water to make sure it was not too hot nor too cold. You then got out of your remaining clothes anf gently put your lover into the tub before going in behind him. You were lucky your tub was quite big -enough to fit two or maby three people in-. You hugged him from behind and he laid his head on your shoulder. “Thank you..” he muttered. “I should be the one saying that baby.. You were so good for me.” you said hugging him tighter. You sighed. “I’m the luckiest man ever to have you as my boyfriend baby..” you landed a peck on his cheek. His face was a shade of red that you loved on him as he looked away, avoiding your eyes. “I love you darling” you muttered into his neck. “I love you too..” he whispered back to you.

[xylaes]

Read Part 1 Here! Read Part 2 Here!

Part 3

Xylaes peeked out from behind the Puppetmaster’s Workshop’s door into a completely alien landscape. Other than being underground, he had absolutely no idea where they were, or how long they had even been here. The darkness was cut by various light sources scattered throughout different levels of platforms, stretching all the way up past his vision. It almost looked like a city with all the various buildings and stalls he could see from his limited view - which was probably just about the worst place they could have found themselves. Being trapped in a foreign city full of enemies was not ideal, but he was very much so determined not to die here.

He clocked a handful of nerubians hanging out in the distance, but for the most part the walkways seemed to be clear. Perhaps it was nighttime? It was impossible to tell down here. It was their best bet to stay in the shadows between the buildings, heading in one direction until they found the edge of the city and then would go from there. The information was relayed to his small group of five others and they agreed that this was the best plan. 

After a few minutes of surveying the streets, Xylaes slipped out of the door in a crouch, beckoning the others to follow him as they crept around the side of the building into the shadows. They silently wove their way through the alleys towards an area where there was only darkness above, hoping that it signaled the edge of the city. A few of those peculiar, lanky nerubians were dispatched along the way and stashed in the shadows as they neared the outskirts.

“Overcrawlers…” A wispy voice murmured in common from nearby. Immediately the entire group began to swarm around the source of the voice until it spoke again, “I come in peace, I am here to help.”

Xylaes kept his weapon at the ready, this could very well be a trap. “Explain.” He seethed through clenched teeth.

“I am Tulumun, Assistant to the Executor. We want the same things that you do, for our new Queen and her vile Harbinger to be eliminated. Our city grows unstable, and our own people that resist are in grave danger. We have aided others of your kind that were brought down here by them, I can take you to them. Or I can let you continue on, but you will likely not get far.”

Xylaes wasn’t exactly an expert at reading the body language of nerubians, but what other choice did they have at this point? He had no idea what else was out there, if anything, and they were lucky to have gotten this far. “Take us to them.”

Tulumun produced a vial of liquid, holding it out to the group, “These are pheromones that will allow you into the Bazaar. Apply them, but still give the guards a wide berth. They are not with us.”

The group did as asked with some hesitancy. Applying strange, smelly liquids to one’s body, offered by a complete stranger, a nerubian at that, wasn’t on Xy’s bingo card today, but here they were. Couldn’t be any worse than what they had already been through, and his gut feeling told him to trust this particular nerubian. There was something sincere in her voice, and an insurrection wasn’t surprising when your ruler sides with pure evil.

They followed Tulumun through the streets, still wary but none of the nerubians seemed to pay them any attention. They moved down into the depths of the city, and the deeper they went, the more decay they found in the buildings around them. “This is The Burrows, you will find many allies here, but still try to keep a low profile. The Queen has spies everywhere. ..But so do we. Please, step inside.” She gestured inside one of the larger buildings.

The tension Xylaes had been holding in his entire body slowly began to relax as eyes darted around towards the various members of the Kirin Tor, military, and civilians that had been in Dalaran during the attack. His gaze fell on a familiar face in the corner and he nearly gasped, “Rynga!” He rushed over to the dwarvish woman and dropped to his knees, pulling her into the biggest hug.

Rynga had been on Talon’s mercenary crew for years prior to his joining, and she was always quick to welcome anyone, and had become something of the ‘camp mom’. Always warm and welcoming, and had a kind word for everyone; but she would absolutely lay your ass out if you deserved it.

“Ohhh, Xylaes! Ohhh my goodness, yer a sight for sore eyes, lad.” She returned the hug eagerly, squeezing him tight. “I knew you were in Dalaran too, and I was hopin’ fer the best. I shouldn’t ‘ave ever doubted ya. Come, come, we have food and water fer everyone here. You can trust these folks, they saved a great many of us that were taken. There’s others too that still need help. They’re bringing in new folks on the daily, so we’ve been helping them and they've been helping us.”

Xylaes exhaled a sigh of relief, finally releasing Rynga’s smaller frame as she cupped his face and looked him over for wounds and continued. “Haven’t had a chance to reach out to anyone outside o’ here. They took all our comms, not sure they’d work this far underground either, and it’s not been safe to do much travelin’. Figure at some point the military will work their way down ‘ere themselves. So fer now, we best be stayin’, and I knew you’ll be wantin’ to get back out there and help others. Yer a good lad.” She gave him that matronly smile and ruffled his hair before pulling him into another hug.

She was right.  He wanted to help, and he wanted his revenge.

@themercenaries

[neppednep]

Syuen with a Nikke S/O

Content warning: UNPROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS?!?!

Very light spoilers ahead.

》 Oh boy.

Syuen:

(Would a Nikke even be considered a race?)

》 Jokes aside, unless you were already very close with or already in a relationship with Syuen beforehand as a human, maybe when she was a scientist or even before then, you're going to be spending the rest of your long life kicking rocks on the surface. You already lost.

》 She's most likely playing a large part of the reason you're even in the position you are now. They stopped really trying to make males into Nikkes ages ago, too many complications, and at the end of the day, it wasn't really worth the cost when females were much easier to work with. But if something were to happen to you, whether it be a life-threatening injury or something of the sort, you bet she's pulling every string she has and using every asset to make sure you live. Even if it is as a... worthless pile of junk Nikke.

》 She's been lying if she said she wasn't at least a little happy when you fired your weapon and turned out to be an SSR.

》 She does see becoming a Nikke as a fate worse than death, but that's for her. Maybe it is hypocritical, but she would rather have you as a Nikke than dead. If she manages to care for some Nikkes like Matis or even Rupee to an extent, she can deal with it if it's for her S/O.

》 Well, one upside is you get to spend more time with her! You're kind of under her direct command now. Forget your old job. You're now the secretary working under the CEO of Missilis! No way in hell you're going to the surface. Already almost lost you once, and she's not trying to do it again. You can be one of the most powerful Nikkes out there for all she cares, but you're not leaving her side.

》 She can try to tone Nikkephobia if it makes you uncomfortable. She understands Nikkes a bit better now. She did before, too, but now that it's something closer to her... Nikkes are more similar to people than she'd like to admit. She may be too prideful to really say it, and she knows how they can be treated better than anyone, but she gets it. She won't be throwing any Nikke pride parades any time soon, but she'll be more empathetic. Even Nikkes have loved ones and lives, after all. Most of them are still disposable pieces of scrap metal though. Sorry not sorry.

》 She will throw hands for you, though will usually just be Syuen before resorting to that. Luckily, not many people even know you're a Nikke, being a male and all, but some people are perceptive. If they're a Nikkephobe, there may be hell to pay. She wasn't just spouting hot air when she wanted to fight Ingrid. Wouldn't expect it from someone her size, but she knows how to fight. If someone decides it's a good day for some good ol' discrimination, Syuen disagrees. Those hands are rated E for everyone.

- "Excuse you and your trash heap of a restaurant?" The petite CEO sneers, glaring a hole through the head of the manager.

"I'm sorry ma'am. We can't serve that thing. If you start treating them like humans-" They flinch as Syuen cuts them off in her usual bratty tone.

"Do you know who I am?" She snaps, crossing her arms with a huff.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm aware of who you are but with all due respect-"

"I see. You've lost your damn mind. Keep babbling, and I'll help you set it straight. We came here to eat, not to hear your barking, dog. Get us our damn food or pay the price."

"Syuen, you really don't have to cause a scene..." You mutter, sinking back into your seat. It wasn't exactly uncommon, but it was still embarrassing when it happened.

Syuen just glanced at you and sighed. "I'll give you one more chance. Serve us like a good little dog before I put you down."

"I'm sorry, but we don't serve their kind. If you want to feed it, you'll have to take it to another establishment."

Syuen stands up, swiftly kicking their foot out from under them and sending them tumbling to the ground. Everyone who wasn't already looking definitely was now. Syuen steps on their fallen form, digging her heel into their back as she stares down at them. "You ignorant piece of trash. You dare ruin our date? I'll sue you into the ground!"

"Yep, that's enough here."

"Hey! Put me down!" Using your enhanced strength, you toss Syuen over your shoulder and start silently making your way to the exit. "Let me teach that idiot a lesson!"

》 Best to keep her on a leash before she ends up doing something that'll make her look too bad.

》 She will at least get to make you into a celebrity of sorts. You're her S/O so it'll make her look better and put you above the other Nikkes in the eyes of the public. It's a win-win.

》 Speaking of other Nikkes, she wants you to avoid interacting with them if possible. You have her. No reason to go and make friends with scrap metal.

》 Unless it's Matis. It's no secret that she plays favorites, and they just so happen to be up there. If you go on the surface for any reason, they're sure to be with you to keep you safe. She'll allow you to bond with her favorite squad.

》 There aren't many dates to speak of with Syuen. She's a CEO and doesn't have time to waste with that sort of thing. You spend almost all your time with her at work anyway. If it two do go out, it's relatively rare, but she'll spoil you at an expensive restaurant or walk through Royal Road. She'll bring you as a +1 any events she goes to if you want to count that.

》 While she can fight and enjoys clocking people who get a bit mouthy from time to time, she still expects you to defend her. She didn't dump all those resources into you so you can stand there and look pretty. Random people upset at her, rogue Nikkes, or even assassination attempts. You'll have to have her back. Put all of that state of the art equipment to use and crush anyone who tries to hurt her. Especially those pesky rookie commanders.

》 I can't really think of anything else, so 😭😭 Syuen Supremacy 😭😭