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bluesidez · 2 months ago

Note

Can I request a Miguel O'Hara x Curvy reader where they both get intoxicated from sex pollen ??

[Sticky-Icky]

lab taster: @waterinthefire 🩻

pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Curvy!Reader

summary: He's a lot less irritating when he puts his mouth to better use.

content warning: a PWP but you guys know me (there's a little plot), this is so 18+ that it's crazy so MDNI, sex pollen (or more like Miguel is playing around and doesn't know wtf he's doing), unprotected p in v sex (WRAP IT UP 🫵🏾) manhandling, temperature play if you squint, standing 69, facefucking, creampies, wrong use of webs, biting, breeding, spitting, squirting, cunnilingus, fellatio, fluff if you squint...I think that's it. my god.

word count: 4.3k, halfway proofread

a/n: Listening to Sticky by Ravyn Lenae inspired part of this. Also watching several episodes of Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen, and Law & Order: SVU in the bg kept me sane. And one more rewatch of ATSV.

My duty as a fanfic writer is fulfilled as I give you this mandatory trope. 🫡

When you first started working at Spider HQ, you were amazed by the fact that one man was able to create all of this.

It was astounding, beyond what the gray tones of Nueva York could ever present to you.

Now, you think back to your glittering eyes during the first year working here and laugh.

Working for Miguel O’Hara was like squeezing a watermelon through a straw. He was impossible.

Nothing you did was ever satisfactory for him. Something could always be fixed. Sometimes, you wonder why he still kept you employed here.

Currently, he was turning his nose up at a salve you were working on for spiders whose healing time wasn’t nearly as quick as others.

“Run a new test. This batch is no good.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“The formula could be better, it’s too thick, and why does it smell like that?”

The scent was similar to one you wore often and a lot of the spider-people that swung by the pharmacy seemed to like it.

“Uh, jade tea.”

The pinch in Miguel’s eyebrows deepened as he sniffed the air.

“Switch it to something else.”

You huffed, already tired of this conversation, “Well, what smell do you suggest?”

“Anything but this.”

“How about lavender, then? Perhaps peppermint.”

“And now, you’re being childish,” Miguel put the tin down before placing his hands on his hips. “You know there’s spider-people who can’t smell too much of that.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

He plopped a giant file on your desk, “Deal with that later. I need you to work on something else. For some reason, villains across dimensions are obtaining access to a substance similar to rapture. Every time there’s a mission, the spider-person of that dimension has been left affected. I need something to subside the effects until we can get them back here.”

“Ok, well do you have the substance with you?”

“No. But I’ll get you something soon. For now, I have a year’s worth of research on rapture. It should be of some use.”

You took the rubber band off of the manilla folder, something so old school for this era of tech.

You saw a line of formulas that started to make your head spin.

“Are there a lot of people affected right now?”

“Only a few. They’ve used the leftover solution I made a long time ago. It’s only going to work for so long,”

“Good. I need to sleep on this.”

Miguel’s head knocked back an inch, “Are you refusing work? The state of the heroes of different universes relies on this research. It’s not some science project-“

“I understand completely, Miguel, but I’m off the clock.”

He stopped and checked his watch, the red six o’clock burning back on him.

“I only work the hours you pay me, Spidey,” you reach to pat his arm and regret it when his stern face doesn’t move.

“Not interested in paid overtime?”

You bit your cheek to stop the laugh from coming out.

“That’s nice and all, but I’ve got plans.”

“Like what?”

“Like resting, sleeping, not touching lab work with a you-sized pole. All of these are things you aren’t familiar with. Plus, I have a date.”

A pause went through the room as you started to gather your things.

“Since when do you date?”

You push your chair under your desk harder than you mean to, “Since when do you care?”

“I,” he follows to the elevator, “care about my employees.”

“Sure, Miguel.”

If it weren’t for your tired state, you would think he looks a little sad at your statement.

“See you tomorrow, then?”

The doors start to close as you nod your head, Miguel’s gaze stuck just above your head.

Weird. Just like his frequent stops to your lab.

The feeling doesn’t leave your gut even as you’re smiling in your date’s face.

One minute, you’re laughing at a story about some amateur skateboarders Downtown, and the next, an electric billboard is being covered in tiny nano-spiders across the street.

“So the guy just takes one step on the board and then he’s flying. A straight line across the park.”

“That’s,” the spiders start to crawl into different lines. Then a logo forms, displaying the spider on Miguel’s suit next to an exclamation point. “So hilarious.”

Your date chuckles then follows your gaze, the silence too long, “Is there something wrong?”

The nano-spiders flipped around, the regular billboard showing like normal. You squint.

“No, I thought I saw something. Must have been my imagination.”

“You did say you were a little tired from work. Should we raincheck? We can always catch a movie another time.”

You wanted to say no, you’d been looking forward to tonight.

The billboard flickered to a little picture of Lyla with “SOS” above her head.

“Yeah, I should probably get going. Sorry about this.”

The way he doesn’t sweat you practically ditching him makes your heart pang. You’re already dreading another night exhausted and alone. Your date seemed promising.

You wave at him from your taxi, the route leading back to Spider HQ feeling like torture. You unclasp your purse and check your gizmo.

40 missed messages.

It’s not until you’re walking into the regular lobby that you turn it on.

“What is so important that you waste Margo’s time to interrupt my time?”

Lyla pops in your peripheral, hands up and wary, “I’m only doing what boss asks! Don’t get mad at me.”

“Lyla, why am I back here right now?”

“Well, Miguel has gotten himself in some particular trouble.”

You punch the elevator button, “Get to the point, please.”

“He went into your lab to try and start the solution he talked about earlier. After his first accident, he’s never had any luck with lab work, so uh. He’s kind of made a mess.”

The elevator moves and you look at Lyla, “What kind of mess?”

The doors open and you can smell it before you see it.

It’s poignant, like perfume soaked roses and patchouli. The scent hits you hard enough to make you grip the metal opening as you come out.

“What exactly did he do?” you breathe out.

Your limbs start to shake, nerves drumming from the inside out. A weight feels like it landed on your core, your stomach twitching as you continued to take in whatever had transpired.

“Something about DNA splicing and plants. I can trace his movements back if you’d like, but I’m also currently trying to figure out how to reverse it.”

“Great.”

You swing open the door to a disheveled Miguel. He’s sweating profusely as he tries to clean up your lab desk.

Before you can even begin to yell he’s fussing, “Lyla, I told you not to call her!”

“But you obviously don’t know what you’re doing.”

He bites his lip as he tries not to look at you, fingers trembling as he starts to store materials back into their drawers.

“Thought you had a date.”

“And I thought I told you stay away from my station,” you feel like a baby deer walking over to him.

When you get closer he sucks in his breath like you cut him, stopping in his tracks.

“I don’t think you should be near me,” he grunts. His eyes are dark, lips swollen with the way he’s biting them.

“What are you talking about? I’m trying to help you.”

You round the corner of the desk, the image of you two almost comical. Miguel moves to the edge of the desk, chest moving faster, while you chase after him trying to get a hand on his forehead.

He felt extremely cold compared to the numbness of your palm, despite how flushed he looked. His eyes close as your hand slides from his head to his neck, muscles there tensing.

“Please. Don’t,” he whispers.

“Who else is coming here to save you?” you ask, frustrated. “What did you do anyway?”

He doesn’t answer as he peers at you. Your heart is beating faster and you can’t tell if it’s because of the air or because of the way he looks like he’s about to climb you.

Every move you made felt like sharp pricks in your skin, the tight material of your dress digging into your hips. It felt like the ends of burning flames and you wanted it off. Your breaths were picking up and you couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on other than Miguel being your cooling solution.

“Miguel,” you sounded like you ran a marathon when all you did was step into his space.

“It’s the shocking formula that I screwed up. That’s why everything feels-“

“Like I need you,” you interrupt. “Like I want you on top of me.”

The insides of your thighs were fighting against themselves to stay together, the urge to let your legs fall around him strong.

“That’s just the chemicals talking. W-we can get somewhere safe and separated.”

You grab the back of his neck and pull yourself even closer, his hands gripping the table like a lifeline as he groans.

“So you don’t want me?” you press against him, caging a knee around him right next to his hand. “You don’t think about me?”

You can almost feel his heartbeat matching yours as you pull yourself up.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t wonder how I feel when you come into my lab snooping around? How I feel when you come in here barking orders?”

Your face is in his neck and you feel yourself clench around nothing as you take a deep breath. He smells like coffee and fabric softener, but there’s an underlying wave of musk. Of something so unbelievably him and you want to keep that scent close forever.

“I imagine you’re annoyed. But a job is a job.”

“But you still come in here asking for things you know someone else can do,” your panties are soaked, and from the way his nose flares, you know he knows. “Why?”

His teeth grit as you start to grind on him, the feeling giving you an inch of relief that only makes you want more.

“I, I don’t- It’s because I,” the counter began to crack under his hands. His muscles were pulled taut. “Dios, ayúdame.”

Maybe you were wrong, and your hazy mind only brought thoughts from the subconscious one.

“Fine. I get that you don’t like me but could you at least give me some type of relief?” you were whining in his ears at this point, a complete 180 of how you left him earlier today. With every grind of your hips, you left noises in his skin, desperate.

The desk made a terrible sound as Miguel finally lets go and grabs around your waist. Your breath is slammed out of you as your back hits the wall, Miguel’s hand holding your head to stop it from crashing into the wall too.

Your throat makes a gargled sound as Miguel licks down your jaw, his talons ripping into your dress. His tongue swipes into your mouth, breaths rapid as he finally gets a taste.

“I do like you. More than I should,” his words were passed right into you. “You and your smart mouth.”

“Then stop talking and do something about it.”

A yank in your hair stops your complaints, Miguel kissing down your side. Every press of his lips left a chilly flutter. Your hips are moving frantically, patience wearing thin. Right as you’re about to say something again, he flips you, the layers of your dress falling as he rips into your panties.

The blood rushes to your head as he takes a bite into your thigh, sucking as your legs fall to his shoulders.

You moan his name, hands gripping at his thighs. His kisses led to your lips, swollen and dripping. From your clit to your entrance, he groaned as he covered you, drinking like you were water in the middle of the night.

You felt like you were going to slip, but Miguel’s arms were looped around your legs, not letting go. His suit was in your way, your mouth salivating as his crotch stared back at you. Your fingers could only dig as far as his suit allows and you have half a mind to call Lyla to disengage it.

“Please,” you sigh as you rub his bulge with your cheek. “I need it so bad.”

“Cállate,” he hums, face delving deeper into you. The sound of him licking up every drop echos off the cool walls and the light of his suit dims away letting you see what you’ve been waiting for.

His length hits your chin, precum spilling down and you’ve never been more excited for a man to go commando. You open your mouth and let your breath hit him as you take a swipe down to his balls.

Miguel’s grunts and shifts his hips back. His tip swerves around your face as he tries to find your mouth without unlatching his jaw from your sex. You help out with the last bit of sanity you have, and once you wrap your lips around him, his hips snap hard onto you.

All you can feel is Miguel entering you from top to bottom, his hands keeping you stationed in your position. There’s no room to do anything as he’s devouring you and taking your breath away at the same time. Two of his fingers sink into you, and you jerk from the difference between his skin and his tongue.

Miguel nibbles at the hood of your clit, urging you to be still. Whenever his fingers leave you, his pelvis fills your senses. Your throat gags around him, spit building to keep up with his thrusts.

“So good,” he hums. His pace picks up and the tears in your eyes fall to the floor. “Made for me. Only me.”

Your fingers wrap around his thighs and squeeze tight, your vision fading as you try to take in pockets of air. The shake in your legs and the broken moans that escaped your lips only ignited him.

“Bebé,” his hips stutter. He’s sloppy as he drools over the entrance, voice loud. “Bebé, you’re so, ngh.”

He cums down your throat, balls twitching against your face. You close your eyes and try to swallow everything, jaw aching. Miguel groans your name as he slides his dick out to the tip, a few spurts still landing on your lips. You cough, position making everything go north.

The taste of him was delicious, but you needed more of him elsewhere. Your mouth was as drenched as your cunt and yet you still felt empty.

When Miguel flips you back upright, you’re ready to pounce on him again. The state of you both is alarming. Your breasts have completely fallen out of your dress, that black thing barely holding on by its zipper. Miguel’s suit is phasing in and out in the most obscene places. There’s slick up to his eyebrows and his cum is all over your cheeks.

He grabs your jaw and runs his tongue over your face, cleaning up his mess. You let him live in his own bubble before that burning in your core came back.

Your nails dig into his shoulders and your whispers of “more” come to light. You’re clawing at him like a cat begging him to do something, anything, to make this feeling go away.

“Miguel,” you gasp as he sinks his teeth into your skin. “Miguel, it hurts. Fix it, Miggy, please.”

You guide his hands down your body and place them on your ass. His touch sates you for only a moment, but your body reacts as if he needs to be deep in your bones. He spreads your ass and groans as the sound of how eager you are for him follows.

“You’re not ready,” are the words that make you even more frustrated. Your hands pushing and pulling at him, ready to try and put him where you want him to go.

He clicks his teeth and flexes his wrists. His webs tie your wrists together, neon red strings leaving a buzz on your skin. He yanks your dress off and you stumble with the motions.

The clinical room doesn’t aid the building heat you feel, but Miguel turning you around and pressing you into the wall as he cuts the rest of your panties off does.

He squats and grabs two hands full of you.

He spits onto your hole, mesmerized as he watches it slide to your entrance. “Qué hermosa,” he whispers.

You bend, whimpering as your folds cover his nose, clenching and grinding.

“God,” you sigh. Something this small was going to bring you to the edge so quickly. “D-don’t stop.”

“Greedy,” Miguel says as if he’s not moving the fat of your ass to nudge his face into you. The arch in your back deepens as he continues and your whines get higher.

He smacks your right cheek, sound echoing off the metal tables, and you shout his name as you coat his tongue.

Tranquility clears your mind for a second, one where the flowery scent in the air is less strong.

The peace leaves just as fast as it came when Miguel gets rid of his suit and stands behind you in all of his glory.

His eyes followed from your dewey face to the curve of your hips to bitten thighs to feet with one heel still on.

“He didn’t deserve to see this,” he says.

“W-what?”

Miguel ignores you and pulls your wrists up straight, a confused noise leaving you. He wraps another web around your ankles and huffs. He sets your arms under your chest, your hands in front of you like a prayer.

When he picks you up by your waist, his dick lines up with your ass.

He groans as he grinds, watching himself disappear and reappear.

You try to move with him, “No, not there. Inside.”

“You’re always so distracting,” he growls. He slides his length between your thick thighs and you nearly scream as his hips hit your ass, his tip just barely passing over your clit. “Can never think straight when I see you.”

He rubbed over the bite he left on your shoulder, “So pretty. My pretty baby.”

His low voice right in your ears only made you wetter. He was holding you like you were his toy, fucking the inside of your thighs with ease.

Miguel could cry watching your ass bounce on his stomach. Your legs were soft and warm and he just couldn’t stop.

“Want you so bad. Need to fuck you again and again and again,” he said as your thighs quivered around him.

“Please, Miguel. Make me yours,” your voice crowded the sound of his grunts as he held you up and pounded away.

Those were the magic words to get him to lean back with a firm grip on you and release all over the wall. It was everywhere, from your legs to the wall to the ceiling.

He set you to the floor with shaky arms, and you started to sob.

All of this and you still wanted more. If this was making you feel this insane, you can only imagine the small relief Miguel was feeling after being exposed for longer.

“C’mere,” he pulls you to the bare floor and cuts the webs. You immediately try to climb him, legs wrapping around his waist.

He was painfully hard for someone who came twice now.

Your cries of “inside” slur together, tears running down your face. Miguel was no better, fangs dripping with venom and the hairs on skin raised.

The two of you tussle as Miguel tries to keep your hips to stay stationary. You kept jerking in order to get some sort of friction but he was baring his teeth to get you to quit.

You dip your nails into his shoulders and arms while he drags a talon down your sternum to snap your bra off.

A clatter of your stiletto sounds off across the room as he pinches your thigh, “Easy, beautiful. Let me take care of you, yeah?”

“Fucking hurry,” you whine.

He shushes as he plunges inside of you, the noise you both make as loud as a choir.

Your eyes roll back as Miguel presses, bending your body in half.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Miguel leans to whisper onto your lips.

Tight is the first thing that comes to mind and heat is the next.

He moves his hips up and slams back down, your ass shifting from the pressure.

“Miguel!”

“That’s it. Talk to me.” All of that chatter earlier and now you can barely get out a word.

“H-harder,” your hands don’t know where to go. They’re grabbing Miguel, they’re falling next to your head, they’re grabbing at your breasts as Miguel jerks your body.

Miguel goes to open your jaw, lips pulling on your tongue to suck. It’s tender and sensual compared to the way his balls are slapping against you. There’s a ring of white on his shaft getting thicker and thicker as he continues.

“Pretty thing,” he says as he lets your tongue go, a string of saliva falling to your neck. “Watched you on the cameras. Always.”

That stirs something in you, a spark in your chest as you see stars.

“Did you want to do this to me when you watched me?” you manage out.

“Yes.”

“I can put on a show for you next time.”

“Yes.”

“You can come in here. ‘N fuck me over the counter.”

“Sí, sí, baby,” his hands push your knees next to your head and he ruts against you. His thighs were straining as he took and took.

A yell pulls itself from your core, that burning feeling getting a crash of cold water. The dam bursts and you’re running all over Miguel, essence leaving every time he inches out and back in.

“Gonna fill you up,” he rasps, eyes glazed over.

You nod your head, clenching and pulsing around him.

His eyes don’t leave yours as he shudders against you. You suck him in, gaining a deep moan from him, “Así, bebé. Take it.”

It’s like you can finally think as his cum overflows, your heart rate finally slowing.

He stares at you as you both come back to reality. Your body is limp, the weight of Miguel making itself known.

“Holy shit,” you wiggle and he catches the hint. He lifts a bit and pulls out. The swirl of you two falls out of you in waves. “What. The fuck.”

“God,” Miguel mumbles. “No shocking way we just did that.”

“You can’t say that when the evidence is leaking out of me.”

Miguel groans as he watches you, your face pouty and your hole glistening. It was intoxicating.

His dick twitches, coming to life again the longer he watches.

“‘M sorry in advance,” he says as he pulls you into his lap.

“Just take care of it, O’Hara.”

The two of you sat in the middle of the floor, breathing hard. Pieces of consciousness were starting to come back.

“You looked stunning tonight,” Miguel said. He looked at your shredded dress on the floor. “I’m glad he won’t see you in that dress anymore.”

The snort that leaves your nose turns into a full-blown laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“You just took my soul ten times over and you’re worried about a guy I just met less than a week ago. I fear I’m ruined for anyone else.”

“Oh,” he smiles. “Good.”

“You still should take me on a date. You’ve got a lot to explain.”

Flashes of him confessing to his habit of watching you from afar come back, “O-of course.”

“And you owe me a new dress.”

“On it.”

Lyla pops up next to you both, a blindfold over her shades, “Is it safe to talk to you guys now?”

Miguel checks his gizmo, “I think we’re good for about forty minutes. The effects are starting to wear off.”

“Excellent!” She throws the fabric to the side, “Oh my god, this room is a mess.”

You look at the array of substances over the room and grimace. The entire hall will have to be on lockdown.

“Well, I managed to vent out the solution. You two should be ok soon.”

You lean on Miguel’s chest and close your eyes, happy to hear good news.

“Kind of sad that this is what it took for you to confess, Miguel,” she comments.

“Lyla!”

You laugh again, “Some confession.”

“That’s enough,” Miguel scowls.

Your giggles die down as you pull yourself onto Miguel’s thigh, bubbles in your chest molding into moans as you start to grind over his thigh.

“I’m starting to think you guys are just bluffing,” Lyla gags before she disappears. “Let me know when you’re done.”

“I think,” you nuzzle into his neck, “this’ll be the last time. I’m tired.”

“If not, we can take it to my house.”

The world blurs again as you and Miguel connect under the white lights.

Take a shot every time I say breath or breathe 😭. Anywho, as always, if you enjoyed, please like, reblog, and COMMENT!

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petermorwood · 4 months ago

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Recent article on NPR about the history of artificial light somewhat frustrated me -- they portrayed all of pre-kerosene history as dark and heinously expensive at all times. Thing is, the writers based their findings solely on tallow candles, & ignored oil lamps, beeswax candles, clever use of refraction & outdoor light including moon/starlight... Also seemed to ignore the ubiquity of hearths / cook fires. Was wondering if you'd be willing to talk about non-tallow light? This isn't to ignore that truly, artificial lighting WAS much more difficult & expensive for much of human history, but acting like tallow candles were the ONLY light source seems very silly! (Plus your other lovely post about bottles of water used to make those candles more efficient via refraction & focus)

I'm betting the article you mean is this one - which refers back to this one.

For matching reference, my own posts about period lighting are here, One and Two, including observations about painting walls white, how to light candles and lamps without matches, and several other matters.

*****

It didn't take too much listening before I got tetchy, because the first half of this podcast seems more about mocking how WEIRD and PRIMITIVE old-time people were, than passing on any useful information.

Despite the presence of Jane Brox (author of "Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light") whale oil only gets touched on in passing, and olive oil isn't mentioned at all.

Instead she starts talking about using oily seabirds (stormy petrels) as "candles", despite this scholarly study concluding that it was something talked about far more than done, besides being so very, very localised that its relevance to the history of lighting is very, very small.

But hey, WEIRD and PRIMITIVE, right?

*****

By contrast, making candles was so commonplace that it was another of those jobs which created surnames. Fletcher once put feathers on arrows, Cooper made barrels, Fisher, Miller, Baker and Farmer are obvious, and Chandler used to make candles.

Lampier, of course, made lamps, which helped keep those naked candle-flames away from anywhere they shouldn't touch. The man on the left is making the lantern bodies, the one on the right is shaving sheets of horn as windows.

It's cheaper than glass, less easily broken yet is translucent enough, when shaved properly thin, to give quite adequate light.

*****

The podcast has a digression about measuring the light output of a reproduction Ancient Babylonian lamp. Here's an original and a repro.

Yet that too says nothing about what fuel the lamp is or should be burning - olive oil, traded all over the Mediterranean by ancient olive-growing cultures.

These are Roman oil-lamps, from simple and cheap to elaborate and costly.

As for beeswax, so far as the podcast is concerned might as well not exist, despite being a by-product of honey, which was THE principal pre-sugar sweetener for centuries when not being made into all that mead whose existence, production and quaffing nobody questions.

Oh yeah, and then there was the amazed discovery (2:40 / 1:25, depending on which you're listening to) that melted beef fat "...smells really nasty, like, ANIMAL nasty,"

Why is this guy surprised? It's part of an animal!

*****

It's the same sort of infotainment ignorance as displayed by this TikTok twit, right up to complaining about the effort involved in preparation of anything because not having powered appliances was so labour-intensive, oh woe. Yes, it was, welcome to any historical period before about 1920. That's where "the daily grind" originates.

However the implication (listen, it's there) that cattle were raised just to provide fat for candles is ludicrous. The fat was a by-product, not a main one, and was often a butcher's side-line, while members of the Chandlers' Guild only worked with superior beeswax.

I don't think you could make candles like these with tallow:

...and you definitely couldn't make one meant to be hand-held.

Picture evidence shows, by their clothing, the class of society who bought these, and tallow-greasy fingers would have been a no-no.

A Chandler didn't make individual candles. By the time that fresh batch is hung up, the first batch away down at the end is cool enough to be dipped again.

A chandler's shop in a medieval city would look very similar, and often had a horizontal wheel on which to hang each batch of candles, rotating them up and around to cool, then back to the dipping pot. Non-modern people may not have had modern tech or time-and-motion studies, but they weren't stupid.

*****

By contrast, the podcast's disparaging attitude of WEIRD and PRIMITIVE is emphasised by what seems a deliberate avoidance of anything which counters it (examples of that in my own posts) and finally at 11.24 / 9:50 came this:

"Even when you get all the way to the 1700s (...) most people are still subsistence farmers, living in some kind of hut, trying to grow enough food not to starve to death (...) and light? Light still comes from finding stuff that's lying around and just lighting it on fire."

Some kind of hut...

Stuff that's lying around...

After making such a declaration, I'm surprised - since they'd been implying it for half the podcast - someone didn't just go ahead and announce that "there's some lovely filth down here..."

That's when I stopped listening.

Enough is enough, and I'd had it.

*****

ETA:

cc: @asmuchasidliketo :->

Here's a photo of what purports to be a Petrel (not petrol, that's something else) Candle, held in the Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford. It's mentioned in that scholarly article I linked above.

Just as "one swallow doesn't make a summer", so one - and only one - known example of this, which may have been a fake-up to spoof the Southerners, doesn't prove it was a common or even rare practice.

There's another reason to take this with a big pinch of salt, so maybe Jane Brox was on a low-sodium diet when she wrote her book.

Creatures with a layer of fat or blubber for insulation all have it like any other form of insulation, on the outside, where it does some good. A wick passed through the inside couldn't draw on it for fuel since there's a layer of muscle and another of internal organs for the oil to get through first.

The cropped-off bottle just visible to the left is a far more likely way seabirds became lamp fuel: by rendering out their oil. This oil is from the Northern Fulmar, Fulmaris glaciaris (or glacialis, I've seen both. Same bird regardless).

Incidentally, the Wikipedia article on European Storm Petrel mentions a supernatural connection, that the petrels were the souls of drowned sailors, and killing them is unlucky.

Not just killing them but making them into candles sounds like A Bad Idea, and is yet another reason why, IMO, the candle thing may be a folktale, or a deliberate leg-pull, or...

Let's just say "improbable" and leave it there. :-P

#period lighting #research #writer notes #too light too dark #worldbuilding

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harmonicakai · 7 months ago

Text

Like Real People Do

Pairing: Gyuvin x Reader

Summary: You find yourself falling for the cute boy whose writing assignments you proofread, and discover that your lives have been intertwined for longer than you thought.

Tropes: tutor!reader, basketball player!gyuvin, writers, soulmates, college AU, fluff

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: literally none it’s so cute

A/N: This is a formal apology for my Beomgyu angst <3

“And isn't it just so pretty to think All along there was some Invisible string Tying you to me?” —Invisible String, Taylor Swift

Gyuvin certainly doesn’t need any help with English, but it gives him a good excuse to spend time in between classes and basketball practice staring at you.

If anything, your talents would be better suited to helping one of his classmates understand all the old poems or crazy novels that they get assigned, but he’s the one who lucked out when your former professor suggested you read her most promising student’s work.

From the first draft, you were hooked, and had somehow started a writer’s circle where just the two of you meet weekly to share your works in progress.

In no time, you’ve helped Gyuvin become one of the top students in Writing 101, and he’s worried you’ll notice that he’d be just fine if you stopped helping him. Still, the A’s keep rolling in and you keep meeting up with him anyway.

When Gyuvin’s latest short story gets nominated for a departmental prize, you’re over the moon for him.

“You are so amazing,” you smile up at him. “We should celebrate! That’s a really big deal. I was nominated last year, but didn’t come close to winning.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” he points out, looking down at the ground and rubbing the back of his neck. “Really, Y/N. If I win, it would be just as much your prize as it would be mine.”

“Don’t be silly,” you say, packing up the rest of your lunch. You usually only see him in the library at your designated meeting time, but today, he sought you out in the courtyard to make sure you were the first person he told. “I’m just the editor. All of the ideas came from you. Plus, I’m only good at English because I grew up speaking it. It’s much more impressive for you to have learned it recently and write at the level that you do.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Y/N,” he replies, helping you up off your picnic blanket. Before you can do it yourself, he’s already reaching down to fold it, his long arms handling the fabric with ease. “You’d write circles around me any day.”

“I don’t want to get into another compliment war,” you giggle, swinging your backpack over your shoulder. Recently, it’s been filled with way too many books, and your classes are so jam-packed that you never have time to run back to your room in between them.

“Here, Y/N, let me,” he says, taking your backpack from you. He’s already got his own on, but he wears yours over his front, barely even flinching at the extra weight. “Where are you headed next? I’m done with my classes for the day, so I can walk you.”

He’s always been desperate to ask you to hang out outside of your brainstorming sessions, but every time he thinks he’s worked up the courage, you’ll laugh or smile or even just glance at him and his brain short circuits.

“I have a music class across campus in thirty minutes,” you reply. “Don’t you live the other way, though? You really don’t have to walk me. It’s pretty far.”

“I want to,” Gyuvin reassures you. He offers his hand. “Here. I walk pretty fast, so let’s make sure I don’t leave you behind.”

You hesitate for a moment before taking it. You’ve had a crush on Gyuvin ever since the two of you first crossed paths—he’s the literal embodiment of sunshine trapped inside a cute boy—but things have only ever been friendly between the two of you.

His hand is big, wrapping itself around yours almost entirely. The walk is silent, although you swear you can hear your heart about to beat out of your chest as you pull him along your usual route. Gyuvin makes sure to always let you lead.

“You know,” you start, still not looking back at him. “We’re kind of like Orpheus and Eurydice right now.”

Gyuvin lights up at the reference, with mythology being one of the first things you two really bonded over. “If you looked back at me, the only thing I’d probably die of is how cute you are, Y/N.”

You’re glad you’re turned away so he can’t see the bright blush that’s spread across your cheeks. His words get you so flustered that you don’t even notice you’ve stopped walking.

“Did I say something wrong?” Gyuvin asks, his voice laced with concern. He moves to face you, your height difference causing him to crane his neck down. Meanwhile, your gaze is locked on your shoes.

“Gyuvin,” you say, still refusing to meet his eye. You pull him over to a nearby bench. “Remember when I said I liked the love story you wrote the other day?”

“Yeah, I remember,” he confirms. “You complimented me on how realistic it was and I told you it was only because I based it off of real life.”

“Was it…” your words catch in your throat, unable to face the embarrassment of if you’re wrong. “Was it about us?”

“Yes,” he admits almost immediately. You finally turn to face him, greeted by a nervous look. “Listen, Y/N. I only wrote it because I knew you’d read it, and I thought maybe if you saw how good characters that were a lot like us could be together, you’d give me a chance in real life. But you didn’t really notice, or maybe you just wanted to ignore it, so I kind of abandoned all hope of us ever being together.”

You blink back at him. How could you be so oblivious? Your entire major was based on analyzing words, and you couldn’t even see that he wanted to be with you so badly that he had to write it into existence.

Words always come easy to you, except at this very moment.

“You abandoned all hope?” is all you can manage to get out. You try to pull your hand away, but he only grips it tighter.

“I tried,” Gyuvin says, his voice soft. “But you’re all I ever think about. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be capable of writing someone who even comes close to how wonderful I think you are, Y/N. There just aren’t words to describe all the ways in which you’re special to me.”

You laugh, his words making tears well up in your eyes. “You know, I used to go to basketball games a lot before we even met, just so I wouldn’t have to feel so lonely all the time. And I remember liking your smile and the way you always encouraged your teammates. I would go home and wish I had someone like you in my life.”

“You’re kidding,” he says, taking out his wallet. You knit your brows in confusion, watching as he pulls out a small piece of paper and unfolds it. “Here.”

He hands it to you and your eyes widen at the words printed out. It’s the poem that you had published in the school’s literary magazine last spring about wanting to romanticize your life. Talking about your feelings makes you anxious, but nobody reads those publications. Except for Gyuvin, apparently.

“I liked you before we even met, too,” Gyuvin confesses. “Your poem is actually the reason I got into writing in the first place. I used to read it before all of my games, but I know all the words by heart now, so I just keep it in my wallet for good luck.”

This all feels too good to be true, but his touch keeps you grounded in reality.

“Maybe I should start coming to basketball games again, then,” you think out loud. “I stopped going because I felt awkward not knowing anybody.”

“Well, now you’d know me, and I’ll make sure the whole team gets to know you, too, okay?” The way he smiles at you, his eyes so full of light, takes your breath away.

“Really?” you ask, looking at him in disbelief. The thought of meeting so many new people at the same time scares you, but if Gyuvin likes them, you’re sure you will too.

“On one condition,” he says, closing the gap between the two of you. He tucks a loose strand of hair behind your ear, his hand settling on your cheek. “I get to introduce you as my girlfriend.”

“Deal,” you grin, inching closer until your lips are pressed against his. You’re nervous that he’ll somehow figure out that you’ve only ever read about kissing in books, but the way he melts into you tells you that he doesn’t mind.

“You’re going to be late for class,” Gyuvin reminds you, pulling away. He desperately wants to keep going, but not at the expense of your grades.

“Class can wait,” you say, leaning in for another kiss. Your fingers lace themselves through his soft, messy hair. “I said we’d celebrate your nomination, so let’s celebrate.”

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edwinspaynes · 1 month ago

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Re: The DBDA fandom is dying (inspired by @crafteeauthor)

Can't speak for other creators but:

Am I uploading fewer fics than I used to? Yes! But what you don't see is that I'm writing a 100k word longfic in most of my writing time. This is true of many writers in the fandom, too! We all are devastated by cancelation and are working on long projects to get justice for our faves.

But for my shorter oneshots, fine. I have been getting fewer hits on my DBDA fanfic lately but the hits-to-kudos ratio is genuinely insane. Like, for every 2-3 hits I'm getting a kudo. I'm getting a veritable smorgasbord of comments at that.

(Also the hits are far from bad like I get 500 regularly still. They're just, like, not like the 2k-3k I'd get in the beginning.)

Plus, the fan events on here like @dbdpromptober (the one I've been doing) are immense successes!

Sure, some more casual fans are dropping off, but the fans who engage are staying. The fans who CREATE are staying, based on the sheer volume of wonderful fanworks (art, fics, etc) we're getting daily.

This is very obviously becoming a creative community that is here for the long haul. Which is wonderful, a rare and beautiful thing.

Also! The magnitude of people who are still discovering the show is awesome. Every day, I'm seeing new people in the tags going "just watched Dead Boy Detectives and learned it was CANCELED!?!?"

Like, the community is growing! Please!!

As someone whose other main fandom genuinely did die out after the last book was released, this is not what the death of a fandom looks like at all.

So don't worry! We're clearly in a Fireflyesque situation, and as Charles once said, we're not going anywhere.

#dead boy detectives #dbda #edwin payne #charles rowland #payneland

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unreleasedwrites · 5 months ago

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hello my beloved writer <3 can I ask for a Gun oneshot in which we wear his perfume but he owns so many bottles that he don't actually remember that's his so he thinks that the scent belongs to someone else lol. the story goes after will be decided by you hehe <3 thank you <3

A Certain Scent

“just whose perfume am I smelling?”

summary: You had just finished getting ready for your date with your boyfriend, when he suddenly questions the perfume you had on you. He thinks it’s some other guy’s until you clear it up and you two go on your date, with him still thinking that you’re upset with him for suspecting you of cheating. But you really aren’t and you two eventually cuddle together in bed to end the day.

character(s) included: Park Jonggun x fem!reader

cw: established relationship, teasing, hints of jealous gun, kissing, soft, fluff, petnames / couple names (idk what they’re even called), cuddling, like all of my works— not proofread

unwrapped on: Sunday Midnight, June 9 2024

wrapped up on: Saturday Night, June 15 2024

published on: Saturday Night, June 15 2024 (at around 10 pm)

“Alright, I’ve finished getting ready! How do I look?” You announced as you walked into the living of room of your shared apartment.

Your boyfriend, Gun, was stood at the wall leading to the doorway, dressed in semi formal attire for your guys’ date that evening.

“I’ve told you before that no words can describe you, didn’t I?” He replied, tilting his head to the side while his eyes were wandering across your body.

“That’s corny but then again, I asked.” You scoffed at him while walking closer and closer to where he was stood at.

He only laughed at your response and pulled you in closer for a kiss. The kiss went on for a few good seconds until you broke it since you noticed that Gun didn’t seem intent on stopping there.

“Save that for later, we haven’t even left the building yet,” you scoffed at him yet again, earning another laugh from him.

He held your hand and just as you two were about to exit the room, he froze. His grasp on your hand became tighter.

He looked over to you, “baby?” to which you replied with a hum and he added, “just whose perfume am I smelling?”

You rose an eyebrow at the sudden interrogation, “huh—? What do you mean?” You said as you tilted your head to the side, visibly confused.

“What do I mean?” He scoffed, “that perfume you’ve got on is obviously a man’s. Who were you with before I arrived?” He said, with a more demanding tone.

“Gun..” You said, “are you serious or..?” You were skeptical with his sudden change in demeanor and tone, did he seriously not realize that the perfume you’ve got on was his own?

Gun obviously heard you but didn’t respond, he only looked at you and he hasn’t looked away since.

“It’s yours, you idiot.” You audibly sighed at him.

“Wha-? No it’s not,” he replied, seemingly growing confused as well.

“Yeah, it is! Let go of my hand and I’ll prove it to you.”

“Fine,” he finally let go of your hand and you walked back to your guys’ shared bedroom, where all of your stuff including makeup, perfumes, and accessories were at.

You opened one of the drawers to your vanity, revealing an extensive collection of luxury perfumes, many of which were your boyfriend’s. You took out the one you had just used and walked back to where Gun was stood at, only for him to look even more confused.

“Does this seem familiar to you?” You opened it up and sprayed it in his face from a safe distance where he can still smell the scent.

He took a few seconds to analyze what you just sprayed, only to realize that the scent was in fact from his perfume.

—…

“Well— Is that really mine though? I have so many bottles that I don’t know whether or not I own that. And plus.. What if some guy just left that here?”

“Gun. You bought this when we were on vacation in Japan, you even specifically told me that you like smelling your scent on me so you sprayed on me as well.”

Gun paused. He started thinking about that vacation you guys had and suddenly, that exact moment that you were telling him about started flashing in his mind. You could see his eyebrows rise slightly, signifying that he’s finally come to realize what you’re talking about.

“Fine fine. I’m sorry that I thought you were wearing some other guy’s perfume..”

You only pouted at him so he gave you a kiss on the forehead.

“If you forgive me now, I’ll kiss you on the lips instead.” He offered.

“Deal! I forgive you for basically accusing me of cheating!” You said, adding sarcasm towards the end.

He scoffed at your quick change in mood and gave you another kiss on the lips.

You returned the perfume from where you first got it and once you got back to Gun, he held your hand again but in a more gentle way. Then you two finally went on your awaited date.

“Don’t tell me…” Gun said after he took a sip of the drink he ordered at the restaurant you two were at. “You’re still upset at me?” He added.

“Hmph.” You only mumbled as you were chewing on the food that came from Gun, right after he spoon fed you the last of his food as you had just finished up with your plate.

Gun sighed, somehow seemingly amused too. He then spotted a waiter and asked for the bill, turning to you while the waiter left to fetch the bill.

“How can I make it up to you?” He asked with a smirk on his face, confident in his abilities to be fully forgiven.

“You wanna go shopping before we head back? Name any shopping mall you’d like to go and I’ll get you whatever you want there. How’s that sound, you little baby?” He added as he slipped in some teasing at the end.

“No, Gun.. You can’t just buy your way into forgiveness y’know,” you scoffed at him and you finished up what was left of your drink. He subtly pouted, his smirk faded as his confidence in getting you to forgive him went down.

The waiter arrived with the bill and without even taking the time to read through the receipt, Gun put his card in and the waiter took it away.

The waiter eventually came back with his card and you two stood up to leave, making your way back to the car.

“You sure you don’t wanna go shopping?” Gun asked as he opened the car door for you and you settled into the passenger seat.

You nodded in response and Gun shut your door, making his way to the other side and settling into the drivers seat.

You put the topic aside and chatted with him all throughout the way back to your guys’ shared apartment. And you two finally arrived back at the doorstep with Gun seemingly distracted.

“What’s on your mind, honey?” You asked Gun while he was removing his shoes and setting his coat aside.

“You, just as always.” He teased.

“Corny as hell, again, but then againnnn, I asked…” You replied and added, “no but what is it really?”

You were looking at Gun, whose coat was now removed and all of the buttons of his top were now undone— revealing his body.

But you weren’t looking at any of that , you were just maintaining eye contact and looking at him oh, so sweetly. He smiled at you genuinely, a sight that not many see right in front of them.

“M’pretty sure you’re still upset with me, and I don’t know how to fix it.” He blurted out as he successfully finished removing his top.

“You’re such a baby, I was barely upset to begin with.” You reassured him with a kiss on the cheek and left to take a shower so you could get into bed.

After your shower, you walked into your guys’ shared bedroom, only to see Gun on the bed. He’s already taken a shower as well and as per usual, he’s shirtless with some pajamas you bought him. You giggled, thinking how he’s actually wearing them and made your way onto the bed.

He put aside whatever he was just doing to cuddle you, completely sinking into you with all his weight. Which is why you had to shoo him off you to get some air. He pouted at the sudden kick out but was all happy again when you got on top of him to cuddle. You already were so exhausted, so in no time you felt like you were drifting away as your head laid in the crook of his neck.

Gun whispered, “I love you so much,” and he badly hopes that you heard him despite being seemingly asleep. Which you did, but instead of saying it back, you lifted your head and kissed him.

Then you sunk your head back into the crook of his neck, while he stroked your hair gently until you fell asleep.

notes: ik none of my works are proofread but this one really isnt as i worked on it during unholy hours and i might’ve been half asleep while writing some parts.. 🫠

so im very sorry for any grammatical and spelling errors but I hope that it’s still understandable 😭

I swear this would’ve been done much sooner but I really wasn’t sure what to do after the like main request about the perfume 😭

Anyways, tysm to the anon who requested this!! 💗💗 I hope it’s not too bad

- With or without proper credits, please don't try to steal or claim any of my works as vour own

I genuinely appreciate opinions, feedback, likes, and reblogs

Once again, I hope this isn't too bad for a request, and l'II be doing more characters in lookism so feel free to request but please read my pinned post !!

#lookism #webtoon #lookism fandom #lookism fic #lookism imagines #unreleasedwrites #park jonggun #jonggun park x femreader #jonggun park lookism #lookism park jonggun #park jonggun x reader #jonggun park #fluff #lookism x reader

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the-cat-and-the-birdie · 1 year ago

Text

You don't need to worry about the ATSV fandom dying. As someone whose been in the Marvel fandom over ten years - I can assure you this is natural.

The ATSV Fandom Isn't Dead: A brief look into the science of fandoms.

[me standing beside Hobie beaming my thoughts of love and adoration into his head like I'm professor x]

A lot of people are afraid of the ATSV dying - and I don't blame them.

In the era of shows releasing all in one day, or movies coming to streaming almost immediately - it's not hard to say we're in an era were content is consumed at ridiculously rapid rates.

I mean, this time last year Wednesday was breaking records on Netflix. Where's the hype now?

I know you see it too, there's less posts everyday in the Hobie tag, less screenshot breakdowns, etc etc etc.

But I'm here to tell you - The ATSV fandom is doing just fine. Better than fine. All of this is meant to happen.

Let me put it into perspective.

ATSV released on June 2nd - it's November.

ATSV released a little over six months ago.

For reference: The Avengers (2012) was released on May 4th.

The Avengers DVD wasn't available for purchase until SEPTEMBER 25th - almost SIX months later.

The time that the Hobie fandom has formed and existed - is the same amount of time people had to wait just to see The Avengers again.

Large periods of time where tags only get three posts a day TOPS was nothing to fear. xReaders and fanfics held the fandom over until the next trailer, the next sneak peek or leak.

Prior to the release of streaming, only a little more than ten years ago - it was NATURAL for a fandom to wait six months before even seeing the movie for a second time.

And mind you - streaming didn't exist. If you wanted to see The Avengers again, you had to go out and BUY it. $26.99.

If you wanted to order it online - you'd have to get it shipped to you. Before Disney plus, we watched on BlueRay Discs.

And the fandom was fine and healthy.

If a fandom that doesn't even have a DVD release can keep up content for six months, I think we'll be fine.

But I'll admit - there's still the question:

If the ATSV fandom is 'doing fine' then where is everyone going? Why are the tags getting slower?

The answer is simple:

FANDOM BIOLOGY

I LOVE social sciences and the systems people create and how they work - even unintentionally.

And I have a theory - one about the natural evolution and regeneration of fandom. Hear me out -

When it comes to ATSV:

We are leaving the Analysation Phase, the phase in which content creation is centered around deciphering and breaking down the most recent installment in the fandom.

During this phase usually see art of newer characters, new ships, meta breakdowns, easter egg point-outs.

We were in that phase.

Once the Analysation Phase dies down, usually main content creators may remain. The intermediate or liminal period.

The intermediate is usually when you'll see more x-reader art pop-up, the levels of fanart evening out as artists return to their favorite characters - usually incorporating any new ones they gained from the last installment.

Shitposts usually also become popular around this time, as the shock and weight of the story wear off, and we're more able to joke about the storyline a lot more light-heartedly.

That's why the intermediate point is often see as the passion 'dying out'.

When in fact, it is the fandom getting comfortable. Resting for the next phase.

And after a few months, the next phase comes:

The Speculation Phase:

The Speculation Phase cannot come until the Analysation Phase is over.

During the Analysation Phase the fandom begins to breakdown and digest the writers intentions. They integrate the new character into the story, and the fandom.

As the audience and fandom talk amongst each other, we get more solid ideas of who the characters are, what their motivations might be, and most important of all-

What they might do.

In the Speculation Phase we turn from the last installment - and start looking towards the future.

Let's take Hobie for example.

Looking at the timeline of the Hobie fandom, we can see a progression.

Originally taken as a punk-rockstar and little more, throughout the months the fandom began posting things about punk culture, the 70's, Hobie's motivation in the comics, and how that all correlates to him.

As the fandom analyzed, the collective zeitgeist and understanding of Hobie grew into something a lot more sound, and telling.

We looked at the parellels he provides in the story, and what kind of person he is.

And because if that we have seen a marked improvement in people's contextual understanding of Hobie - as a punk and a hero.

And now that we can understand him - we can predict him.

The same goes for Miguel - over the months, a lot of us have began to question if we know him as well as we think we do , if we really know the kinda person he is -

And if we really know what he's doing to do.

That's where the Speculation Phase comes in.

The Speculation Phase in fandom is when we see some of the most passion - and instead of tapering off overtime, it builds. More and more until the next release.

The Speculation Phase is when the fandom takes the analysis' and from there, they begin to theorize.

Now that we understand, we can begin to predict.

And this is arguably one of the most interesting parts in a fandoms natural ecosystem.

During the Speculation Phase, we can see a number of diverse opinions appear.

As more and more creators begin to gather their understanding, tips from the writers, new released news, and past comic book arcs, we start to see dozens of triguing paths the writers can take us on.

As more news releases, the more hype people get. I mean - imagine how you'll feel when they release the first new poster of Hobie, or Miles? Or when we get to see Miles.G in the trailer?

And with each new poster, or trailer, we're given clues. The theorizes develop more. And the plot thickens.

It's all natural.

So I can understand the fear. Only getting one or two new posts when you visit the Hobie tag can be a bummer. But it's natural and it's GOOD.

Y'all, we need to conserve our energy. We are in the liminal phase. And they never last long.

With the news of the voice actors back in the studio, and a cliff-hanger like we have - I can assure you, it's only a matter of time before we begin to see the theories, the trailer breakdowns, the people guessing what Miguel might do, or exactly how much tech Hobie is hiding.

And when that time comes we need to be READY. I can already feel it on the horizon.

I really wonder what they'll do with all that left over Hobie concept art.

Plus with explosion of Hobie approval, I wonder if they'll add him in even more. Hobie fan-service anyone?

Hmmm...

But chill y'all, we're on the right track -

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

If you read this far, as always THANK YOU SO MUCH!! And as a token of my appreciation, I hand you this Hobie. Hold him gently please

Bye 💗

#no proofread ever ever EVER #spiderman #atsv #spider man #marvel #across the spiderverse #hobie brown #spider punk #spiderpunk #Miles morales #miguel o'hara #miguel ohara #peter parker

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peanutpinet · 1 year ago

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Hey. I really like you fics. All of them are soo good. I really have a request for you like if you could make a fic about haechan in mafia with a established relationship and his girl got kidnapped or something and haechan went to full on hulk mode with some fluff and a little bit of steamy scenes( wink wink)🤭. I recently read your taeyong and jeno mafia fic and it was awesome. Thank you 😊. Keep up the good work.

Don’t Test Me - Mafia! Haechan x Fem Reader

A/N: thank you so much for the sweet comment and I’m glad that you enjoy reading my fics 🥺 I really want to try to write Haechan for a while and you just gave me the opportunity to. Unfortunately, I’m not a smut writer but I will try to write a bit more steamy scenes. This will also probably be part of my like NCT Mafia mini-pairings which I’ve done about Taeyong and Jeno

Synopsis: Haechan was always known as the funny, sunshine one of the whole of NCT. But that doesn’t mean that can’t go serious. Especially when it comes to his lover who is actually the opposite of him. Quiet, reserved but anxious.

Warnings: mafia activities, kidnapping, cursing, torture, steamy makeout session :)) your writer still can't write smut (sorry). Also, you might want to read Jeno and Taeyong's mafia story to know some of these :]

Jeno mafia: read here

Taeyong mafia: read here

Haechan was known as the famous gaming streamer who sings in front of the world, behind the laptop is Lee Donghyuck who is actually known for his smart hacking, information-digging skills, and problem-solving skills in NCT. Thanks to his outgoing and cheerful personality, no one would ever suspect him to actually be collecting information whenever Haechan was talking to them.

Haechan met his now lover on one of his online gaming while he was nearly on the losing side thanks to his friends who suddenly abandoned the game, one of the random players managed to carry Haechan and the team to victory which caught the attention of the smooth-talker.

It was the first time when Haechan found someone not being charmed by his flirty messages which intrigued him even more. Because of the match, Haechan befriended the player and he would often talk with them whenever he had a chance and invite them for a friendly match every now and then where Haechan would try to dig up as much information as he could but somehow, even with his hacking skills, he could barely get any information except for the IP address of the player who surprisingly doesn’t live too far from him.

It wasn’t until one morning while Haechan was on a run to get some coffee with Jeno where Jeno’s girlfriend used to work did he stumble with the player whom Haechan had come to know because of the game that they were playing along with the specific character and the way they play the character. It was all too detailed to be any other person. But what shocked Haechan was that the player turns out to be his long-lost childhood friend, (y/n).

Ever since their meeting, Haechan and (y/n) reconnected about their past childhood, why did (y/n) left and what was she up to now. Though the entire pace of reconnecting was slower than what Haechan would’ve wanted, but he was more than happy to have his childhood friend and his crush back and this time, Haechan is making sure that he confesses about the crush he had for years.

Unfortunately, what was standing between Haechan and his confession was none other than another guy. But not just any other guy. This guy had to go to the same campus as (y/n), be in the same degree and heck, even was in the same lectures and tutorials with her.

Annoyed at the guy, Haechan decided to do some snooping around and was shocked when he found out that the guy, whose name was John, apparently had some sort of connection with Chad, the guy that drugged Jeno and his girlfriend in Italy.

“I’m telling you, there’s something off about him. I just know it, (y/n)” Haechan mentioned

“Haechan, you’re exaggerating. He’s just a teammate. Plus, even if I want to avoid him, I can’t. The lecturer literally picked the groups and I have to go meet up with him to discuss about our assignment. It’s 40% of our grade” (y/n) replied back

“You don’t have to meet him. It’s not like you’re doing a presentation. It’s just a joint research paper which you can just do your own part. I’ll help you if you want to!” Haechan offered

“I’ll be okay, pooh bear. We’ll just be at the library. Don’t worry okay?” (y/n) replied, not wanting the debate to go any further

“Fine. I’ll be by the campus, waiting for you. I won’t go to the library cause I’m not a student but I’ll be nearby. Your phone better be on at all times. Text me if anything. Heck, call me if anything. I’ll come and fight the securities” Haechan exclaimed, making (y/n) chuckle

“I will, pooh bear. Oh hey Jeno” (y/n) mentioned as she tidied her things

“Hi (y/n). Going back to campus already?” Jeno asked as (y/n) nodded

“Yeap. I gotta meet my teammate for our joint research paper to discuss what we’re going to do. It’s 40% worth my final grade for this subject” (y/n) replied, putting on her backpack

“Well, good luck on that. You’re practically as smart as Haechan, I’m sure you’ll pass with a HD” Jeno replied

“Thanks!! I’ll text you when I’m done, pooh bear. Bye Jeno!!” (y/n) exclaimed. “REMEMBER TO HAVE YOUR PHONE ON AT ALL TIMES!” Haechan half-shouted as (y/n) just waved back

“She’s in campus, Haechan. I doubt anything would happen. There are security cameras and guards practically everywhere” Jeno mentioned, sitting across the younger 00 liner

“I don’t trust security cameras or guards. Remember what happened to you and Zenny in Italy?” Haechan replied, taking his “gaming” laptop out

“Don’t you dare remind me of that you pooh bear. I should’ve killed Chad when I had the chance” Jeno scoffed, fisting his hands

“And risk being punished by Taeyong-hyung before he finds out what he needs? No thank you” Haechan mentioned, typing away on his laptop

“You’re hacking the security cameras, aren’t you?” Jeno stated

“You can’t be too sure of everything. Just like you despise Chad, I find John very sus” Haechan replied, looking through every camera from the front gate of the campus to the library

For the past 30 minutes, Haechan and Jeno were monitoring the cameras that Haechan hacked into. Occasionally, Haechan would text (y/n) to make sure that the cameras that he hacked into weren’t already hacked by someone else.

After another 10 minutes, Jeno got bored and mentioned that he was going to the convenience store to grab some snacks for his movie night with Zenny. “You sure you don’t want to come? Dude, she’s fine for the past 40 minutes, I think we can leave for just 5 minutes” Jeno mentioned

“She texted me that she’s done. Kay, we can go to the convenience store and then go to her campus” Haechan replied, finally closing his laptop and joining Jeno to go to the convenience store right before he went to (y/n)’s campus

Haechan’s POV

Right before I was about to cross the street to (y/n)’s campus, I saw (y/n) and waved at her which she waved back until a black van stopped right in front of her which made me anxious and instantly ran across the street, ignoring the traffic lights and Jeno’s scolding.

But when I saw the van driving off and no (y/n) in sight, I instantly put my in-ear piece and contacted Yangyang and Jaemin to help me track the van right as he rushed back towards Jeno, pulling the leader of the 00 liner with him.

“Haechan, what the hell?! Why are we running?!” Jeno exclaimed

“(y/n)’s gone! That van took her! I’m sure of it! Since you’re the racing champion, you’re driving while I figure out where they went” I mentioned as we reached Jeno’s car

“Connect your laptop to the car and buckle up, pooh bear” Jeno mentioned, putting in the gears and racing off as I, Yangyang and Jaemin were tracking down the van that Haechan mentioned

During the car chase, Jeno managed to catch up to the van as closely as he could while I took his gun out, ready to shoot the van’s tire until Jeno scolded him. “Dude, I know that you’re angry but you can’t just shoot in broad daylight! If people find out and I’m in the car, my reputation to cover up who I am would be doomed and I would get a scolding from Taeyong!” Jeno scolded

“Then what do you suggest I do, Mr 00 liner leader?!” Haechan growled back

“Hold on tight” Jeno stated right as he put in the gear to the highest setting and stepped on the gas, now beside the van

Jeno then slowly directed the car to hit the van, trying to corner it but whoever was in the van was just as smart cause right when it seemed that Jeno managed to corner the van, a few other cars appeared, distracting Jeno and me without realising that the ones in the original van that was being chased moved into another van.

Suddenly, the other cars that surrounded Jeno all sped up and left Jeno’s car to hit the van that they were chasing until it stopped. Both Jeno and I went out of the car and opened the van but it was completely empty. What kept the van going was a brick.

“Shit!! We lost them!! Both (y/n) and the van’s tracker” I complained, going back into the car

“You have (y/n)’s phone, right? Am sure you must’ve hacked into her phone for these kinds of situations, right?!” Jeno asked, speed-driving back to the NCT HQ

“That’s the problem, Jeno. (y/n)’s phone is completely off. Not the power that’s off but it’s off off. No signal, no way to hack to turn it on. The chip that I planted was destroyed. Dammit. Looks like I might have to use our big bois for this one” I grumbled as the two boys arrived at their headquarters

Arriving at headquarters, Jeno directed the staff to help fix his car while I rushed to our weapon and tools floor, trying to find what I was looking for. “Where is it, where did Taeyong-hyung keep it?” I grunted until the lights of the room were turned out

“What are you looking for exactly, Haechan?” I heard Taeyong-hyung question, making me gulp and turn around to see my leader and Jeno standing right in front of me

“Nothing, hyung” I gulped. “My office, now” Taeyong stated and both Jeno and I followed him to his office

“I’m going to cut to the point because I think you both are eager to do something else, so. Why are two of our tracking chips destroyed?” Taeyong questioned, sitting down and sliding his tab towards the both of us

“I told you that you would eventually get caught even if you could hack into the chips” Jeno mentioned which made Taeyong raised an eyebrow. “Explain”

“Long story short, I met with my old childhood friend and I was reconnecting with her but then I found out that she was in the same class John, someone that is well was, acquainted with Chad, remember him? The guy that nearly…” Haechan rambled on and Taeyong stopped it. “I remember. So you used the chips to track your old friend and on a van that you speculated was the one that took (y/n)” Taeyong-hyung explained back

“Well, that is my hypothesis, hyung. You have to let me use the big bois, hyung. I knew that John was no good and even if he didn’t kidnap her directly, I’m sure that he must’ve played a part in this” I argued

“Well, that wasn’t my hypothesis. I know about you using the chips right when you took them and did some snooping around. No hard feelings Haechan but I know more than what you think. Just like I know that John is somehow trying to get you to exchange Chad with (y/n). I know that it was John who took (y/n) because he has been eyeing you and her for a while. I watch my members, too. Sorry. Force of habit. But anyways, Jungwoo told me that John decided to dig for some information about you, especially when Chad had sent him images of you and the 00 liners during the race back when Jeno was racing for the Grand Prix in Milan. Just like you, Haechan, John is smart and witty. Unfortunately, I don’t know where he is. But maybe you could” Taeyong-hyung explained, giving me access to the satellite system

“Hyung…’ I started. “I trust that you won’t use it to your advantage. How many members do you need with you?” Taeyong-hyung asked

“Just the 00 liners” I exclaimed, getting to work with the satellite to find John and (y/n). “I’ll come with Mark, Kun, Yuta and Johnny” Taeyong mentioned, texting on his phone as he got up

“Yo-you’re coming?!” I asked right as his laptop showed us the location of both John and (y/n) which were luckily in the same place

“Yes, I am. Looks like these frauds just never learn their lesson” Taeyong growled, putting on his jacket. “Go get your team then, I’ll meet you there”

As time passed, my nervousness started to grow. No one could know what could happen during the night when the shadows, devil and all things evil come out to play. But I wasn’t nervous about myself nor my team because compared to whatever may be lurking in this dark time, the majority feared the name, even just the NCT logo on their uniform whenever they were going around at night.

No, I was nervous about my own reaction to what may happen to (y/n). While I had never gone angry or out of control. Heck, the most rage he has experienced was when someone tried to hack into my own computer to get whatever information they could about my gaming strategy without knowing who I was.

“Remember, no matter what happened, we can’t kill them. Yet.” Jeno reminded me

“You don’t have to remind me. Seems like deja vu, don’t you think?” I chuckled

“I’ll help you torture the guy once you get (y/n) and make sure that she’s safe. I also told Zenny to help take care of (y/n) once we’re done here” Jeno replied

“Where’s Taeyong-hyung?” I asked

“He said that he’s on his way. He had to take care of something before coming here” Jaemin replied. “He told us to go ahead in” Yangyang added

“Let’s take down some frauds, boys” I growled, kicking the door to the abandoned building as we walked into the building

Right when we walked in, Jaemin noticed that there were traps and stopped everyone from going any further. Jeno scanned the room for all the traps took a broken wood and threw it as far as he could, triggering most of the traps and a smoke bomb.

Once the smoke slowly dispersed, Yangyang noticed red dots and instantly held his weapon up as did the rest of us. When the smoke was completely gone, we saw John along with his minions all armed to shoot but I told everyone to not shoot as I walked closer towards John and his minions

“Bold of you to walk as if you’ve triggered all the traps” John chuckled but Haechan took his gun out, pointing towards John. “Bold of you to assume that me and my friends don’t know that” I stated, angling my gun at an odd angle and shoot, destroying the main control panel of the traps

“Quick tip, If you want to build traps, make sure that their control panel is hidden underground or somewhere else. But what can you do with limited resources, am I right?” I chuckled, making John and his men cower a bit

“You’re one to talk. There’s only 4 of you and basically 30 of us. No matter how skilled you all are, I doubt you’d be able to handle this amount of people” John taunted

“I suggest you rethink that while I’m being nice. Where’s (y/n)?” Haechan asked

“Ahh, of course that’s why you’re here. But what’s in it for me then?” John asked back

“Getting out of this place alive. Consider it mercy for what Chad has done to my friend here” Haechan stated, slightly angling his head to point at Jeno

“Hehehe. Chad did warn me about him but I’m not like him. He’s always been more of a coward who hides behind his men. Whereas I” John stated, taking his gun and pointing it at me. “I don’t. How about this? If you win against me with no weapon, I’ll spare (y/n)” John taunted

“And if I refuse?” I growled but John just chuckled, snapping his fingers as two of his men came and held (y/n) who was severely injured and unconscious

“You sick bastard. Maybe leaving you out of here alive is too merciful of me. You coming out with legs and arms is already good enough” I growled, pointing my gun towards John

“Even if you kill me, Lee. My men will kill your girl and little friends first. You really think you can go up against this many people? I suggest you take my offer and fight me or, you get me Chad” John replied

“You really think your friend is with me and my friends? That motherfucker is with NCT” I scoffed back, making some of John’s men shiver in fear just by hearing our group’s name

“You’re bluffing, Lee. He was last seen with your little group here. How the hell could he be with NCT?!” John grunted

“Why don’t you give me (y/n) back and find out” I taunted which made John snicker as he redirected his gun towards (y/n), making my heart drop

“STOP!! I’ll fight you! I’ll fight you with no weapons!” I screamed which made John laugh while I went back towards my members and took off all of the weapons that I had on, handing them over to Jeno. “You’re going to get killed. He only said no weapons for you. He never said for himself” Jeno half-lectured

“I know. I won’t die. Don’t worry about me. As you said, he only said no weapons for me” I chuckled, raising my eyebrows and went back to the center of the building

“Hope you’re ready to die then, Lee Haechan” John chuckled as I took his stance. “Careful, John. Don’t try to provoke the bear. Even Winnie the Pooh can get violent if he doesn’t have his honey” I reminded and John instantly took his gun. “We’ll see if Winnie the Pooh lives or not” John smiled, shooting right at me but I managed to dodge it

Despite being trained by some of the tougher members, I wasn’t as used to this close combat battle with weapons against me. There were some close calls where I managed to land a punch on the side of John’s ribs and even kicked him down which made his gun fly from his hand.

Right as I stood up and was about to confront John, he suddenly turned around and nearly stabbed me if not for my reflexes and ended up getting a cut on my ankle which made me stumble back but still could keep up with the fight.

Unfortunately, John was right, no matter how well-trained I was, I was still human and had my own limits. Despite managing to land a few hits, my hits weren’t as powerful as Jeno's or Jaemin’s, hence John still being able to attack me and cut me here and there. Heck, I was even now on the ground, trying to catch my breath as John stepped on his chest, pointing his knife right at my neck.

“Any last words, pooh? Perhaps I should record this moment, for (y/n) that is” John snickered as Haechan just chuckled

“Yeah, neo got my back” I breathed, confusing John but before John could process my words, I twisted his ankle, making him scream in pain as Jeno kicked him out away from my chest, making me cough for air

“You fucker. You cheated” John grunted as Jeno helped me up to my feet and I limped my way over towards John as I was the one that put my foot on his chest, making him hard to breathe. “It’s hard to breathe, isn’t it?!” I growled

“Also, you’re wrong. I didn’t cheat. You only said to not use any weapons. You never said that I couldn’t have my friend help out” I chuckled, taking out my gun and pointing it at John. “So, how about you drop all of this before I drop this bullet in one of your non-vital parts so you know what pain feels? Pick your answers carefully cause I don’t like to be tested” I taunted, loading my gun

“You made a mistake, pooh bear. How dare you! Kill the girl!” John shouted

But before any of John’s men or I could do anything, everyone felt the ground shake and eventually, John’s men also fell to the ground. The door then opened to reveal Kun and Mark, followed by Johnny, Yuta, Renjun, Shotaro and some of the other nct recruits in their training uniform, surrounding the area and pointing their gun towards John’s men. The atmosphere instantly became tense; especially when heavy boots were clicking along the cold cement floor whilst a dragging sound followed.

The crowd from NCT immediately parted, revealing our leader, Taeyong, dragging what seemed to be one of John’s men who was unconscious with him. “Oh, I think you’re the one who made a mistake” Taeyong-hyung growled, throwing the unconscious man right in front of everyone

“Lee Haechan” Taeyong-hyung stated, making me let out a rough sigh, lifting my feet off of John. “Go get your girl and Renjun, Shotaro, help Jeno get the other 00 liners out and treated. Including the girl” Taeyong-hyung stated

Despite limping, I still managed to walk as normally as possible to not show the enemy that I was actually in pain and asked for (y/n) back. “If you can see who that guy is, I suggest you hand her over unless you want him to blow your insides in front of everyone” I reminded, immediately those men handed (y/n) over and I carried her away

“Hyung…” I called out, looking at Taeyong before I left with the other 00 liners

“You’ll have your share. You did well out there. I’ll have Johnny brush you up more” Taeyong-hyung mentioned, making me chuckle

Back to 3rd POV

Right after the 00-liners were out, the atmosphere became even more tense to the point that no one dared utter a word until Taeyong spoke.

“Was my warning not enough? Not only that but you accused my member of cheating when you started it? My members were taught well but clearly, you managed to outsmart them in your own sinister way” Taeyong stated, walking closer and kneeling down, grabbing John’s face forcefully. “Be thankful that I told my boys to not kill you. Well,” Taeyong chuckled. “Not until I’ve dealt with you that is” Taeyong smirked, standing back up as John gripped his ankle, all the NCT recruits pointed their guns towards John

“I, it was a mistake. I didn’t kill them. They might be bleeding and have a few bruises but they’re completely alright. Please” John pleaded as the main NCT members scoffed

“You’re only pleading because they’re my members and because I’m here, in the flesh, right in front of you and your little group. What if I didn’t come? What if you accidentally killed one of my members? Or worse. What if you killed that girl? Would you be able to live knowing that you killed someone that was precious to someone else? How would you like to be hunted to the point where you would wish that you were killed in an instant?” Taeyong sighed. “Take him and his men as well. If you or your men try anything. I assure you that both of you would wish I kill you in an instant while I still have mercy” Taeyong stated, his own men took care of John and his group

Back at the NCT headquarters, the 00 liners were immediately treated. “Treat her first, I’m fine, just a slight scar on my ankle” Haechan stated as one of Kun’s staff took (y/n) from him

“That is clearly not a scratch Haechan, c’mon, let’s get you treated” Xiaojun mentioned, helping Haechan towards the operating room

After Haechan had several stitches, he was told to rest by Xiaojun but Haechan being the mischievous member he is, ignored Kun’s advice and went to search (y/n). Quietly, Haechan lurked around the halls of the healthcare building and even half-threatened one of the recruits to tell him where (y/n) was which they help pointed Haechan in the direction.

Haechan’s POV

“Of course you would ignore Xiaojun’s suggestion for you to rest” Renjun half scolded

“I need to see her, Renjun. I need to know that she’s okay” I pleaded making Renjun sigh. “Fine. She’s in there, resting up. I just came out of her room after doing some basic checkups. She’s alive if that’s what you’re worried about. Her injuries are healing up but I think you need to check up on her mental state. She actually called your name right when she woke up” Renjun mentioned which made Haechan bolt into the room

“(y/n)…” I whispered, holding onto both of (y/n)’s hands. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve taken you with me when I had the chance. I just, I just thought that maybe even if he was acquainted with someone I hate, he would be different. But turns out I should’ve trusted my own gut feeling. I’ll make him pay. I’ll make them all pay” I growled but calmed when he felt (y/n)’s fingers moving

“Hae, haechan…” (y/n) mumbled

“I’m here. I’m here. I’m not leaving” I replied softly, caressing (y/n)’s hands

“I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you” (y/n) uttered making my jaw clench

“Don’t be. Hey. It wasn't your fault. No one knew what that douche was planning” I replied back, kissing (y/n)’s temple

“Note to self, listen to whatever Haechan tells you because he is always the smarter one” (y/n) joked, making me chuckle

“I’m not that smart, alright? Stop comparing yourself to me. We’re not even going to college together. How can you be so sure that I’m better? Even if I was smarter academically, you excel in every other way possible” I compliment, making (y/n) blush a bit

“Like what, pooh bear? You’re clearly more social” (y/n) replied

“So? You’re always better artistically. You excel in expressing your emotions. You’re one of the most selfless people ever. You never judge anyone at all. Overall, you excel in every other social aspect. You’re generous, you’re caring, but I will tell you what you don’t excel in” I mentioned while (y/n) just looked at me, anticipating my answer

“You can’t tell about my feelings for you even when we were younger. I have always liked you. Sure I had a weird way of showing it by teasing you but I was so young, I don’t know how to confess. And then you suddenly went away and I thought that I would never get the chance to tell you. When you came back, I want to take it slow because I don’t want to overwhelm you and then this John shit happened and…” I rambled on until I felt soft warm lips on mine

(y/n) was kissing me?! My crush since childhood was kissing me after I confessed everything. Because I was still shocked, I didn’t do anything until I felt (y/n)’s lips left mine did I finally put one of my hands behind her neck and pulled her back for a deeper kiss.

Our lips reconnected before I left her lips and kissed her cheek, down to her jawline and neck which made (y/n) let out a soft moan, making me even more turned out that my other hand reached the edge of her shirt, slowly playing with it before my hand went under her shirt, massaging her sides, making (y/n) moan again.

“Haechan….” (y/n) moaned and it was then that I realised that she was still injured as my hand grazed over a bump of stitch on her stomach

“Shit, I’m so sorry. I got caught up. Are you okay? What did they do to you?” I asked, regaining my breathing while cupping (y/n)’s cheeks

“I, I don’t remember, Chan. I, I tried to fight in the car and even when I was half-awake but they, they…” (y/n) cried, making my heart clench as I pulled her into my embrace, letting her rest her head on my chest, gripping my shirt while making it wet

“Let it out, honey. Let it out. You don’t have to tell me everything yet. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere” I reassured (y/n), stroking her hair as she let out her cry while retelling me what she had gone through

[06:06 am]

6 hours have passed since Haechan and his members found John and (y/n). 6 hours since Taeyong came to keep the situation under control and 6 hours since John and his men had been locked up without knowing the time or day until Taeyong and several of his members came into the room, waking John and his men.

“Hope you had a good 6 hours of thought about what you did in the past week. Not even the past week but you get what I mean” Taeyong stated, sitting on his desk, looking at another pathetic young man, being reminded of the time he had to confront the person that was responsible for the taint on NCT’s name

“How about we start easy? Why did you kidnap her? Was it to exchange with your friend, Chad? Who by the way, was also the one that sat on that chair you’re sitting” Taeyong mentioned, sending shivers to John’s body

“Is, is he?” John finally talked. “Dead? No. We’re not that heartless to take a life. But we’re also not merciful to let you just be locked up” Taeyong replied bluntly

“What if I say that I have no specific reason other than trying to finish what Chad started” John stated. “And that is? Misusing my group’s name? Using it to your own advantage by creating a fake embossed logo? That’s it?” Taeyong questioned

“In a way. But more so for power, money, and fame. That girl was just in the way of it all because she brought one of your hackers apparently and that slim waist guy” John replied making Taeyong let out a long sigh

“One. That hacker is Haechan. Two. That girl you messed with is Haechan’s girl. Three. That slim waist guy is Jeno, captain/leader of the 00-liner group. Four. Jeno is the one who captured Chad and even tortured him to the point where Chad doesn’t even want to leave his cell. Five. You’re a terrible liar” Taeyong stated, walking towards John, circling the younger man

“You and Chad, Courtney. What you guys did to Zennie? That incident in the cafeteria that made me expel the majority of your little group” Taeyong growled, gripping John’s shoulder, his nails digging into the skin

“T-Taeyong…hyung…I, I mean, s-sir…” John pleaded

“I was done with all of you and ready to move on but you had to come back and taunt the others, didn’t you? My members might not remember everyone but I do. Only this time, you didn’t just piss me off” Taeyong chuckled, patting John’s shoulder

“You also provoke the devil” Taeyong whispered right as the door was barged open and the one dubbed as one of NCT’s smartest was also dubbed as the small devil

“Yeah. No hard feelings, man. You just like to test people a lot, don’t you?” Haechan growled, piercing a knife into one of John’s hands. “Like I said. Don’t. Test. Me. Let’s see how you like it to have all those scars on your body, hmm?” Haechan smirked, pointing another knife towards John’s face

A/N: i know I didn't actually made it like the request but I tried and I hope that you enjoy it anon and everyone else! If anyone wants to request another nct mafia please send me one (for the other members). I might just turn this into a mini NCT mafia universe, let me know if you'd like that and stay safe everyone!! xoxo Vinet

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tkdrawz · 1 year ago

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Some of the TMNT fandom (and, frankly, society) really ain't shit.🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️

[From left to right: Princess Fiona (Ogress Form) (Shrek) Eep (The Croods) Gloria (Madagascar) Dijonay Jones (The Proud Family) Luisa Madrigal (Encanto) April O'Neil (TMNT Mutant Mayhem)]

These ladies are female protagonists in their respective franchises. All of them have different body types that contrast from the default thin, petite body type that we're used to seeing. And all of them are BEAUTIFUL! 💖

Three of these ladies became love interests that ended up in healthy relationships with partners who love them for who they are. Also, four of them are women of color. (idk if Fiona counts. While she is green, she started off white so... 50/50? 🤷🏾‍♀️) That part is especially relevant to this post because Twitter got me EFFED UP. I'M ON ONE, ON TWO, ON THREE TODAY!

So the concept art of Mutant Mayhem's April O'Neil was revealed by James A. Castillo, an artist who worked on the movie.

And people are DRAGGING HIM LEFT AND RIGHT! Being disrespectful to both him and April's design. I can tell you right now not even a third of those quotes aren't positive! There is a vast difference between criticism and insults:

💛"I do not like this design. Besides the color yellow and her red/ginger hair, she simply doesn't read as April O'Neil." That's criticism. This expresses disproval of the design without any vulgarities.

💔"Rethink your entire career. "Artist" my ass! This shit is garbage! She looks like she sleeps in a van and smokes so much weed she reeks of it. You failed." That's disrespect. And I don't think I need to tell you why.

Normally, I tend not to discuss such sensitive topics on my blog (religion, politics, discrimination of ANY kind, etc.) for my sanity and out of respect for others with opposing views. But today, I will make an exception.

I would love to include Luisa, who alongside April was mocked and disrespected heavily for her appearance, but I wanted to speak on this matter from the perspective of a plus-sized African American woman. Luisa comes from an completely different background whose culture and standards I am not entirely familiar with. I can't speak on what I don't know. Respectfully.💜

In the black community, women are faced with colorism, texturism, constant comparison, and body image negativity on a daily basis. And a good amount of it comes from our own community! Our shade, our 4C hair, our weight, our attractiveness, our lifestyle! It's brutal out here!😭😭😭

However, in terms of media a plus-sized black girl is seen as ghetto, loud, and undesirable with a side of attitude. The best example I can think of is Dijonay from The Proud Family.

This is the show I grew up on! The theme song, the characters, the Suga Mama, ICONIC! I love Dijonay to pieces, but as I grew up I realize that she was, in some aspects, a negative portrayal. She was always chasing instead of being "the chase". She was a horrible friend to Penny. And she sucumbed to a lot of negative stereotypes with barely any redeeming qualities. And this was very disheartening considering that she was the darkest one in the group. And the heaviest. And as a little chubby wubby in the 2000s with THIS as my representation? I have to give the writers a bit of the side eye. Was she any better in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder? To that I would say.... meh. I love her in the reboot, but they could do so much more with her in my opinion. I still haven't seen them address the issue of colorism. 👀

While she is not a human, Gloria is voiced by a black woman (Jada Pinkett Smith) and imitates the sass of a black woman so... yeah. She's included. Gloria was persued by two men. One was the suave, flexing hippo Motto Motto. And the other was her friend/neighbor from her childhood Melman. She chose the latter for good reason of course. Now in Madagascar, Gloria wasn't mocked or criticized for her weight. In fact, hippos are known for their weight. However, she was seemingly fetishized for it. By Motto Motto to be exact. And being fetishized is NOT better than being ridiculed.

Unlike Dijonay, April was the chase, a love interest for Leonardo. I admit, I was SHOCKED that she was gonna be persued. Let alone that the writers wanted to try another Turtle/April pairing considering how April and Donnie went...😬. Now her backlash was on a completely different level. One that I wasn't even prepared for....

While Gloria and Dijonay are original characters, Mutant Mayhem's April O'Neil is a different interpretation of the character that has existed since the 80's. The same can be said for the Turtles, Splinter, literally everybody else! Every show and movie for that matter! And with every story, she changes. Design, motivation, relationships/dynamics, even race as of lately. All of it changes. And change isn't bad. In my opinion, it keeps things fresh and interesting instead of spoon feeding us the same story and concepts over and over again. Change challenges us. Change motivates us. However, some people don't like change nor want to accept it and adjust. And that's life. That's just the way it is. But change is necessary in order to progress.

She wasn't bad in the movie AT ALL. I absolutely adored her! And the dynamic between her and Leo wasn't akward or uncomfortable at all. It was handled really well. Ayo Ediberi did an incredible job bringing her to life! (GOD, I loved her in The Bear! Shameless plug lol)

That being said, I understand some of the sensitivity that fans have when a character changes so drastically you can barely recongnize them anymore beyond the bare minimun. (See also Sonic Boom's Knuckles) But the blatant discrimination, rude comments, and the boldness, THE AUDACITY, that some of these nasty Twitter fingers with their dirty fingernails have to type such disrespect to the artist that I can't repeat up here was wild af. Like, I can't believe we have to share a planet with some of them! Uggh!😷(But that's Twitter 24/7 so what's new?) Her and Rise April don't deserve the hate they get. You don't have to like them. Art is subjective. But to insult and harrass the artists and the people who look like the characters, then mask it under the umbrella of "tHaTs mY oPiNiOn" is 🐱. I said what I said. And I will say that shit again.

Also, just because she's black doesn't mean we can't have another white April O'Neil ever again. We know goodness well they could make another iteration of TMNT and make her white if they wanted to. Heck, I encourage them to explore other races and cultures too! New York is full of them! And it's not like all the other versions of April up and vanished. You can watch them anytime on Hulu, Netflix, Paramount Plus, etc.

One more point I'd like to make is that I am an African American woman who is currently on a weight loss journey. As a plus-sized girl, I had incredibly low self-esteem and picked up toxic, unhealthy eating habits from starving myself to overeating BECAUSE I starved myself. Also, I have experienced both sides from being disrespected and made fun of to being complimented and persued. I was at my biggest weight 2 years ago and I have made incredible progress to lose weight since then. People can lose weight. It is achievable! I went to school with some people who were way bigger than me that lost the weight by senior year! Just because she's big in this movie doesn't mean she can't lose weight by the sequel. Like I've said before, it's not wrong to encourage health and fitness!💪🏾 In life, they call this a glow up. A "remember how you treated them in high school" type of comeback. People can, and are allowed to, change. And it's not wrong to embrace your body and the skin you're in. It's all relative!💖

This post isn't to convince you to change your mind. And it won't make the bullies go away. I can't change the world overnight, nor am I trying to. At the end of the day, you're the consumer. It's your choice. Your prefrence. I can't tell you how to think.

I just wanted to spread a bit of awareness that plus sized people exist. And they will always exist. Everyone is deserving of representation in media in all facets. No matter their shape, size, shade, or sexuality. There are so many people from different walks of life who deserve to be seen and on screen. And the amount of visibility for black girls this year alone is amazing! And I want the same for other women of color, too!

Don't let this trash ass society and the people in it who prefer AI/robots over human beings, fake over real, and bad over good tell you otherwise. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. YES I AM TALKING TO YOU. YOU ARE AMAZING! YOU DESERVE ALL THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE AND MORE. YOUR STORY CAN CHANGE LIVES. BEING A GOOD, HARD WORKING PERSON DOES PAY OFF IN THE LONG RUN! YOU ABSOLUTELY MATTER IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT. WE SEE YOU. I SEE YOU. AND I ADORE YOU. RAISE YOUR SELF ESTEEM, ADJUST YOUR CROWN, WEAR IT PROUD, AND DO YOUR BEST!

Be good to one another. Take care.

💙 -TK

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imthepunchlord · 1 month ago

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God, I REALLY hope Juleka wins the Butterfly poll when it’s time for it - she’s the only one out of ALL the girls whose main color is actually Violet (as opposed to Pink or Indigo), and I feel like her character development wasn’t handled as well as it could’ve been (NONE of the character arcs were, but she sticks out to me in that she’s one of the more recurring supporting characters due to being Luka’s sister yet is simultaneously forgotten by both the canon show and the fandom in how things would affect HER SPECIFICALLY instead of adjacently through the people around her). I also feel like she would be a good match with whatever you’re going to solidify for Bugettes!Nooroo based on the tiny hints you’ve teased about him, both in itself and compared to Roaar, with whom I feel there were existing avenues for it to work but could’ve been sold to us much better in-show. Plus, I’d really just like to see her in a hero suit that’s actually purple; it still bugs me personally that PURPLE Tigress is far more magenta in actuality, almost red even, and very much like REFLEKTA’S main color at that.

Yeah we will see, as ultimately it'll come down to how the polls go, and I know Marinette and Rose have also gotten mentioned for Butterfly.

Juleka will also appear in the poll for Mantis, as Indigo is that in between blue and violet. So it's all kinda up in the air on how it'll go.

I also do agree. Juleka is one of the classmates that does stand out to me in her potential, and yeah it's butchered. So badly. This is primarily on the writers, but one of the things I dislike about Luka is the factor that, for the Couffaines, he's the priority. You could cut out Juleka and you wouldn't miss much. Like, the worst aspect is learning Jagged is their dad, but it was more Jagged and Luka's story than Jagged with both kids. Like, what was the point of making them both his kids when only kid really got priority in this revelation?

And yeah... Juleka with Tiger isn't really my go to pick either. I get her whole thing is trying to find her voice, to be heard and stand out. And with a kwami named Roaar, that does technically work off that agenda, but the power is One Punch Man vs doing something tied to vocals or sound. Which kinda makes the kwami's name a little random (honestly all Zodiac kwamis have really strange names that don't relate to their powers or themes).

The other odd detail is that, when you think of felines that are about roaring, tigers aren't what immediately come to mind, it's the lion. They roar to establish territory, to be heard and say "I'm here!", unless Roaar is meant to be a sort of mix of a tiger and lion? As she doesn't have a body covered in stripes?

I know that, supposedly, there's a Lion Miraculous coming, but it's not official yet.

Either way, tigers I more associate with hunting, stealthy ambush. Not really speaking out. I'll give it, tigers can be tied to leadership which does involve being heard, but it's more military leadership. They're more tied to war, aggression, and strength.

As for the kwami, to me, Roaar came off a bit of a bully. Which maybe Juleka just needs that tough love/push to speak up, but I personally didn't really care for their interactions. Though I still say Mullo and Mylene were the worst paired characters out of all kwamis and humans.

And yeah, Roaar visually doesn't really match with Juleka.

Technically, she matches with Cat the most.

Her main color is black, with bits of purple and green.

While Plagg is meant to be a black cat, there are times he's purple. And of course he has them big green eyes.

I could also see Juleka visually working with Kaalki. I see a hue of purple in her gray, and there is the green eyes to work off as well.

There's also the intrigue that Juleka wants to be a model and Kaalki expects someone famous or wealthy, getting a holder who isn't but wants to be, Kaalki would have to work with them to get them to where they both want Juleka to be; though I do see them butting heads a bit as it's pairing two of high and low status, but that could be fun. Plus, there's the pun potential of Juleka learning to be a show pony with Kaalki's help (she could've also called herself Knightmare).

And yeah, with Butterfly, Juleka could've done well. You do have to communicate with others, so Juleka would have to work at talking with others, to express her thoughts and to be heard, and there's some pressure to be taken off as it's more long range communication vs close, but the option is there for close range communication whenever Juleka is ready for it. And Nooroo would be a gentle and patient guide.

We'll have to see if it happens though.

#ask Punchie #slight luka salt #ml salt #juleka couffaine #bugettes au

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coraniaid · 4 months ago

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I don't know if someone asked this already but: AU where the final big bad of Buffy was the Council of Watchers. Or AU where Buffy *does* take Anya's advice on charging money, or a job in some way that's related to her slaying.

Oh, the Council as the Big Bads of Season 7 is kind of fun.

Trying to make this as different from my other S7 AU as possible, let's lean harder into the idea that no Slayer was called after Buffy died in The Gift. The Council know that Buffy died stopping Glory and (especially after what went down in Checkpoint) they're pretty pleased about it. No more Hell God and no more trouble-making, too-old Slayer. Win-win, right? Only ... they wait and wait all summer and no new Slayer is called to replace her, and then they learn Buffy is, somehow, alive again. How does she keep doing it? They decide that they're sick and tired of waiting for a new Slayer they can control and this time they're going to make sure they get one.

We start with the Council trying belatedly to patch things up with Faith. They start talking about getting her convinctions overturned and how she could be doing much more good out in the world, but she figures out pretty quickly that they're trying to get her to replace Buffy and tells them to get lost. So the Council decide it's time for Plan B. We cut to Ethan Rayne, somewhere in a military prison in Nevada. "Good news," his guard tells him. "You're getting extradited back to England. You can thank your new lawyer for that." Ethan is confused. What new lawyer? In walks Quentin Travers... As the season continues, Buffy still has nightmares like the ones we see her have in canon, but this time the girls she's dreaming about being killed aren't just Potentials. They seem to have full Slayer powers, though not much training or experience. Otherwise the first few episode of the season go mostly as in canon (except no First). Meanwhile Buffy herself [and also Faith, we later learn] starts to have moments where her powers start to fail her, just like back in Season 3's Helpless. In one of Buffy's dreams, the girl whose life she's experiencing is in the middle of a fight with some vampires when her own powers also fail her.

As Buffy and her friends soon work out what's going on. Somebody [spoiler: it's Ethan] is using magic to temporarily drain them of their powers and hand it to over to other Potentials. Only those Potentials aren't ready for it, the power transfer isn't stable, and the people don't seem to care that the new temporary Slayers keep dying. They track Ethan down (for handwaving reasons he has to be close to Buffy to do the spell), she recognizes some of the props he's using [the same crystals from Helpless, let's say] and correctly guesses that the Council are involved. While confessing, Ethan lets slip something about the Council being happy to keep doing this until "one of you" gets killed, and realizes that Faith is in danger. We cut to a version of Faith's introductory scene from Salvage: Faith's working out when she's attacked by another inmate. At first she effortlessly disarms her, but then suddenly her powers begin to short out. The other woman suddenly has the upper hand, but Faith is rescued at the last minute by Buffy herself, who has managed to break into the prison [possibly using that super jump from The Harvest the writers later forgot all about] to save her.

Buffy breaks Faith out of prison and they head back to Sunnydale. Lots of similar-to-canon vibes here [Buffy being very weird about Faith being back while blaming Faith for 'weird mixed signals', plus Faith being just as weird about the fact that Buffy once again chose to save her life]. For their part, the Council seem to have moved on to plan C: trying to get Faith and Buffy killed as quickly as possible. They use a mixture of their own agents and freelance assassins for this [maybe we can bring back the Order of Taraka too?]. Meanwhile Giles is in England and we learn that there's a growing split in the Council between Travers' faction and a group of people who aren't quite so willing to go along with all this dark magic stuff [can namecheck Gwendolyn Post here, maybe]. Ethan admits that he was just hired to demonstrate that the concept worked, and that Travers is working on a spell that will let him give and take away Slayer powers from any Potential he wants. He's already had dozens of Watchers send their Potentials to England for evaluation [and this is how we can meet Kennedy and any other Potentials we want to include].

Back in Sunnydale, the gang are brainstorming their next move when they get word from Giles that the anti-Travers faction have managed to kick him out and are inviting Buffy to England for (essentially) peace talks. Faith loudly insists that this a trap but when Buffy insists on going anyway because it will give them a chance to find Travers spell preparations and destroy them (and gives a big speech about how they have to do this, not just for their own sake, but for every Slayer who will be called after them). They go, and while it's not a deliberate trap -- and Buffy finally gets to meet the Potentials in person -- Travers does launch a final attempted coup; having his allies attack the Council headquarters to get rid of both Slayers and the rebel faction that tried to oust him.

The situation looks pretty bleak at first, as the anti-Travers faction of Council don't have much in the way of loyal fighters (all the hardline types like Weatherby have defected) and Travers has pulled together a small army of various minor villains from the history of the show. But Buffy and the others find Travers' ritual prepartions in a hidden part of his offices [maybe throw in something from Faith explicitly comparing Travers and the Mayor here?] and Willow is able to modify the ritual to cast a version of the spell she casts in canon in Chosen, activating all the Potentials who are then able to use their new strength to defeat Travers' allies. Standing in the badly damaged ruined headquarters of the Council building, Buffy tells the Council (including Giles) that they're not going back to the old way of doing things -- that the problem wasn't just Travers, but the whole institution he represented -- and this is the end of the Council giving orders. It wasn't just the Potentials in this battle that Willow's spell activated, but all of them. Then we segue into [a version of] the final moments of Chosen; Buffy and Faith standing where the Council used to meet and looking out over all the new Slayers. Dawn asks Buffy what she's going to do next, now she's not "the one and only Chosen anymore" and Buffy slowly smiles.

#btvs #asks #thanks for the ask

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bonefall · 1 year ago

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So I decided to read through Bramblestar's leader ceremony from the original Ultimate Guide today- and I had a thought: have you chosen what cats give him his lives in Better Bones already? Granted, I'm sure you'll gut some of the canon placements for not knowing him in life (Lionheart) or being alive by the time he becomes leader (Goldenflower, Ferncloud, Mousefur) but Bluestar imparting clear judgement is a fun virtue considering his actions are anything but. Plus, Jayfeather could always gripe about it when he argues with Bramblestar. 'Wow Bramblestar, you sure displayed clear judgement when you asked me to let Sunrise BLEED OUT IN CAMP!'

I hadn't picked yet actually! I also haven't read his leader ceremony in aaaages. I never really liked it, felt full of TPB fanservice and didn't really say a lot about Bramblestar as a leader.

(But tbf that is probably because the writers have no idea what they're doing with him. He's generically noble and they have a double standard against female characters, so they just use his man pain to make the girls in his life feel wretched without examining WHY having defiant women in his life bruises his ego so easily)

But anyway, I don't have a FINALIZED thing yet, but here's a rough draft. It's a total overhaul. A big difference in BB and Canon is that Bramblestar is leader BEFORE the reveal, and long before the Battle of the True Eclipse. So all of these picks have to be from Po3 and before.

(BB context: Firestar was killed offscreen during the Fire Scene in an assassination, Ashfur took advantage of the situation to attack the Three. It was an arson set by Whiskernose and carried out by Thornclaw, Breezepelt, and possibly Harespring. Ashfur is still on the run, suspected of killing Firestar to hurt Squilf because he failed to hurt her kits)

(also if you want FULL full context go look at BB!Hollyleaf's character summary)

Gorseclaw -- Righteousness. His progenitor ancestor who set history into motion by betraying his siblings during Ripplestar's Rot, and whose curse continues down through the generations. He tells him he's proud. He SEES how much he's struggled. He's had to make hard choices that everyone else thought would be easy, and he understands. But he's done the right thing... and he tells him to keep doing it. Bramble briefly feels hot with shame-- did he really have so many ancestors in the Dark Forest that he had to hear from someone so ancient? Tigerstar, Pinestar, Oakstar... this life unsettles him and sets the tone for the rest of the ceremony

Snowcarve (Snowkit) -- Opportunity. The last time Brambleclaw saw his little uncle, he was carried off by a hawk after shoving one of them out of the way. He stands as a proud, starry adult before him: the age he would have been. He "speaks" through unfamiliar glyphs that form beside his head, and Brambleclaw knows somehow that this is the writing that he had been working on before his death. Snowcarve commands that he watch for that which he would have missed, to listen to those who are different and have new ideas, for opportunity is silent and tender. If your mind and heart are closed to what could have been, you will miss your chance and never know what you could have had. Brambleclaw tries to bring up that he's sorry he didn't save him-- Snowcarve taps his ear and shakes his head, giving him a stern glare. The words say, "you did not need forgiveness. It was my choice and I have never regretted it." In fact, he can wave his tail and welcome the next life;

Yellowfang -- Judgement. She asks him, "Would you ever blame a kitten for what someone else did?" Bramble is confused, "Of course not?" "Then stop blaming yourself for what others have done for you. I ran back into that fire to save my herbs and leeches. I put myself there, and Firestar knew that. Stop confusing blame for experience, guilt is not wisdom, pain is not good judgement."

Feathertail -- Kindness. A little bit of understanding goes a long way. When you get wrapped up in your anger, or your fear, slow down and consider the feelings and intentions of others. You'll find that most people are good. (He accepts the life but stops himself from arguing with her-- ok, sure, but what about everyone who isn't? He has a bit of a thought spiral wondering if the wise cat he'd travelled with had changed or if she was ever wise at all)

(Idk which elder is dying in Po3 yet, if it's Frostfur or Mousefur, but one of them gives a life) -- Confidence. There was a time where their own judgement lapsed, and they pinned their anger on him. They apologize for it, and tell him that this life is for living in spite of that. The strength to mind that you can't control what other people think of you, and the firmness to commit to what he believes is right.

Brackenfur -- Negotiation. To remember that every action sends a message, to understand that you must remain calm and make the right concessions to accomplish greater things. Don't let emotions like anger, offense, and spite cause you to ruin something you may have worked hard to build. (Brambleclaw is by the halfway point totally missing the point that these cats are trying to teach him nuance and mindfulness, and mostly feels betrayed and confused. He knows most of these things... and did the elder not just tell him to have confidence in himself in spite of people who hate him?)

Speckletail -- Courage. When everyone runs away, you run TOWARDS. People will rely on you now, and StarClan will give you the power to protect them. No storm, no beast, and no tyrant will find its way through you. When he takes the life he feels the rage and FEAR she did when she ran towards the bulldozer, the pride in her power as she attacked the human, and learns that Thornclaw was wrong when he told them she looked satisfied on the way down. After kicking him out she was terrified, but overwhelmed by relief and LOVE that her grandson was safe. It makes him collapse, and as he gets back up he's in tears, asking "i thought this was a life for courage, you were afraid!!" And Speckletail puffs her chest up proudly, "Courage is being terrified and doing it anyway."

Swiftpaw -- Acceptance. He has no warrior name. He has no adult form. When Brambleclaw asks him for his title, he simply says, "I give you this life to know when to accept what you cannot change, and the wisdom to see what you can't control." Brambleclaw can't help himself, this ceremony has been a horrible experience, "what a terrible life!" Swiftpaw dips his head solemnly, "yet without it, what a terrible death." But Swiftpaw also reminds him, this is not a part of his life that he cannot change. He can move on with only eight lives, and he will understand. But Brambleclaw says no, "I have a clan to protect. This is one of the things I can't control." He is surprised by how soothing the life is when he gets it though. He doesn't feel any of Swiftpaw's pain as he died. It's not about that. It's the quiet embrace of the void, the shouting as the patrol finds him and Brightpaw, falling away into silence, accepting that he is dying, and that it's okay to let go.

Firestar -- Trust. It HAS to come at the end.

Firestar opens up by asking Brambleclaw what's wrong, seeing how exhausted he is. He responds, his voice trembling, "I hoped it would be reassuring, but I feel more lost and powerless than ever. How can I be responsible for so many people? How will I protect them all? I will be blamed for everything that goes wrong and never know if I made the right choice!" Firestar goes hm, genuinely and sympthetically, "Those are very heavy and legitimate doubts for a new leader to have. I felt the same things when I was in your paws. He waves his tail, "So, I will give you the value that it took me many years to learn, something you were not given and so feel you cannot give. With this life I give you TRUST. You will face many trials in the near future, Brambleclaw. Your truth will crumble. Secrets will be revealed, friends will turn out to be foes, those you think are enemies may be allies, but you must not lose the ability to find the good in all of them. Remember that trust is a choice and an honor. Apply it wisely, but bestow it generously."

Bitterly, but with what dignity he can have in this situation, Bramblestar murmurs sadly, "So there will be betrayal, but I must still trust? I had hoped that you, of all ancestors, would not speak in riddles"

Though the world is blurring and the spirits of StarClan are fading away, he catches something pained and complex in Firestar's expression. Like he has so much to say, doesn't have the exact words to express it, and he's running out of time to find them.

"There were no riddles," he shouts already sounding far away, "Listen to what we have told you and you will find the way!"

(Basically he's shouting "WE WERE VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD ACTUALLY!!!")

We wouldn't get to see this happen in Cruel Season though, since it would be offscreen and not important to the plot of that book. I'd rather get it into Bramblestar's Thorns, which is about Alderheart, Sparkpelt, and the ways that they've been impacted by him as a toxic father.

The ceremony is written to highlight his major flaws. Especially the way that he's bursting with doubt, pain, and immediately tends to make things about himself without realizing. Bramblestar is a very unhappy person, and he often extends that misery to other people.

he's a tragedy to me, man. All these people turning out to tell him that love and faith exists for him and he can't even see it.

Anyway, bonus, some other thoughts for possible lives; (still possible some of these guys get swapped out)

Lionheart, his uncle, who died before he was born. He'd give a good life for wisdom but I think these others are a lot stronger.

Birchface, one of his Tigerkin ancestors in StarClan. Decided against him in favor of Gorseclaw; I think Gorse's both more interesting AND his distance is a good point of doubt for Bramble. They had to go back 4 generations to find a direct ancestor who isn't damned to hell. Birch would have just waffled about admitting mistakes anyway, still too fearful to admit that he is responsible for getting Frecklewish and Oakstar damned.

Bluestar, a leader who contributed to the death of his brother and mistrusted him when he was young... but honestly I feel she is kinda irrelevant. He didn't know her well.

Elderberry, one of his apprenticehood friends and the twin of Ferncloud/older sister of Ashfur. It could be cool for her to give a life of mercy and ask him to be rational about Ashfur's crimes (starclan won't say outright that Ashfur didn't do it because they're not entirely sure he was uninvolved until after his death in a few chapters, Dark Forest influence hiding the assassins), but it's actually a lot more important that StarClan is trying to warn him about the LEADER he will be and fatal flaws he will display for arcs and arcs, not waste a life on teasing the plot of a single book.

Cinderpelt, his cousin who died tragically. There's no reincarnation thing so she could be here to give a life, but I think the current list is a lot stronger.

Lynxkit, his oldest sister. Strongly considered her for acceptance but I think Swiftpaw's WAAAY stronger and I don't need both of them.

#better bones au #BB!Bramblestar #Bramblestar's Thorns #Leader Life Ceremony #tw death #tw animal death #what else should I tag this with? I know Swift's life could be triggering #Also say hello to Snowcarve lmao #I think my favorite/funniest overhauls are when I go in the EXACT opposite direction as the wider fanon #Sweet cute snow? nay. Snowcarve would have been an english teacher

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