#for only ever playing in 2 oneshots prior and it being my first time as keeper t

[zincbot]

THE MONSTER HAS BEEN WEEKED

they sang wonderwall to save the day

[90stvshowgoth]

—THE BET

summary: you thought that as a member of the phantom troupe you were supposed to be smarter than this, yet here you were betting against hisoka. everyone knew that hisoka was a master at poker, cards were his weapon after all, but you couldn’t resist wagering one more bet on a drinking game.

w/c: 4587

tags: dubcon, drunk sex, creampie, blood kink, hate sex, begging, brat taming

a/n: this originally started as a chrollo oneshot, you can kinda tell from how the opening paragraph is about him, but once i started writing the poker game i was like “okay no i gotta make this its own thing,” and because of that decision we now have loose ends getting ch.3 rn :) also no, i couldn’t help but kinda reference phantom of the opera cause it slaps and nobody can tell me otherwise. also, no, before anyone asks, this is a oneshot. it aint getting a sequel.

big thanks to the lovely miss @sealedrosewater for beta reading this clownfucking nightmare.

The heist had gone off without a hitch, Chrollo’s plan worked like a charm and before the night was out you had all flawlessly extracted each and every one of the gilded texts being held in the museum. You still remembered the childlike gleam in your boss’ eyes as he ran his fingers over the aged leather, its binding parchment laced with gold. The faintest ghost of a smile fled from his pallid lips as he admired his new conquest. It made your chest swell with pride, happy to help the man you respected so much. Besides, your cut was nothing to sneeze at.

Your rendezvous was inside a long-abandoned opera theatre where dust clung to the red velvet of the seats and the chandelier was seemingly hanging by a thread; your boss always had a flair for the dramatics. Once all members of the spider had finished reconvening at the empty theatre to gather their spoils it wasn’t long before someone, probably Uvogin, brought out the drinks. Nobunaga had already begun nursing a rum and coke, all while Feitan kept turning down Shal’s insistence to “Just try some, Fei,” Even Shizuku cracked open one of the ice-cold bottles, knocking back an impressive swig. As soon as you saw Machi pulling out a deck of cards you knew you had to stay for the after party.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said of your leader. He’d gone to his room with the book you recovered tucked under his arm. A few other members who couldn’t be bothered took after your leader and went off to whichever side room they’d stashed a futon in the week prior; the Phantom Troupe’s equivalent of picking out a bedroom. A shame, really. You’d seen Feitan drunk once before and it was truly a sight to behold.

You sat crosslegged on the wooden floor, watching your comrades slowly get comfortable for a night of fun. Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat above you, looking up to see Pakunoda with a soft smile on her face and an opened beer in her outstretched hand.

“Paku, have I ever told you how much I love you?” You couldn’t help but shower the woman with praise. She had been the one who recommended you to Chrollo after all, and she served as your mentor for your first few months until you found your feet.

She scoffed at the compliment, “Far too much,”

Sticking your tongue out playfully at the mindreader, you took a deep sip of beer, enjoying the familiar taste. Paku sat down beside you and it wasn’t long before the two of you were drinking shoulder to shoulder.

“Machi! Deal us in,” You raised your drink to the transmuter and she flicked two cards towards you both.

Scooting away from Paku, you quickly scanned the cards you’d received before pressing them face down. A queen and an ace. Not great, but not awful either.

The others had formed a haphazard circle, each glancing at their cards with an unreadable poker face. Well, all except Hisoka, who seemed pleased as punch with whatever hand he’d been dealt. Silently, Nobunaga took out two coins and threw them into the center— the Troupe’s house rules counting it to be equivalent to 2 billion jenny.

“Call,” you answered, matching the swordsman’s bet with an unreadable expression on your face.

“Oh? Well then, I’ll raise you,” Hisoka purred, pushing five extra chips into the pot without breaking his gaze from yours.

‘What was he planning?’ That smug look of his just made you want to win that much more. The same seemed to be true of everyone else, each calling the clown’s bet in a row. After all, to a member of the Phantom Troupe, five billion jenny wasn’t that much of a loss.

When Machi turned up the first three cards your heart skipped a beat. Two queens and a seven. Winning a round of poker against some of the smartest criminals the world had ever known was an uphill battle, seeing as how you’d been a member for years without winning a single game.

‘Three of a kind already... what should I do?’ Your face was as stone-cold as before, even with the excitement bubbling in your gut. As nonchalantly as you could, you raised another two billion. At that, Uvo and Shizuku both folded, the enhancer grumbling with a disappointed frown.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I haven’t got enough coins~” Hisoka slapped down a twenty, and a chorus of annoyed groans broke out like a choir, the abandoned theatre’s acoustics amusingly echoed the loud noises of displeasure.

After that little stunt only three others remained: Pakunoda, who’s facade hadn’t cracked all game, Nobunaga, who was glaring daggers at Hisoka, and the aforementioned magician holding up his cards in front of him like a child playing for the first time.

All three of you matched his bet, but none were happy about it. As Machi flipped over the fourth card you found yourself holding your breath. Not because you particularly cared about the money at stake, but because you felt closer to a victory than you had in months. The caricature of a medieval jester being illuminated under the light made you dig your nails into the palm of your hand.

Joker. That meant you had four queens.

It never felt harder to fight a smile off your face than in that moment. Without betraying your excitement, you called, and to your surprise so did Hisoka. Was he bluffing? Or did he have something else in mind? Nobunaga took a deep breath, knocking back the rest of his drink before calling alongside Pakunoda.

All eyes were on the card beneath Machi’s fingertips, the seconds it took to turn the paper on its head filled the theatre with a suspense liable to bring its fragile walls to the ground.

An eight of hearts. Oh well, no big deal.

Nobunaga muttered a curse under his breath, revealing a simple jack and ten of the same suit. Pakunoda was unreadable when she showed the pair of kings she held in her hands. She must’ve thought that the three of a kind would’ve won her the game. The smile on your face felt sweeter after holding it in the whole round, and Nobunaga rolled his eyes when he saw your hand, pushing the pot towards you.

“Well, look at that~” Your victory was interrupted by Hisoka’s insufferable tone, the cards he held up making your jaw drop.

A nine and a jack of hearts. A straight flush.

“That’s bullshit!” You cried, enraged over the loss. It wasn’t even that you cared so much about losing, It only mattered because you lost to him. In an instant you had summoned your nen into the palms of your hands, ready to lunge at the clown when Pakunoda grasped your shoulders, holding you back. Sometimes you forgot how much brute strength was hidden under that pantsuit.

“Just flip a coin, don’t give him what he wants.” Your first reaction was to ignore her, squirming against her iron grip to try and get to Hisoka, who was dramatically scooping all your winnings into his arms.

Uvogin tossed yet another empty beer can over his head, “C’mon Paku, I say let ‘em fight,”

“I concur~” The magician chirped, dramatically stacking each and every coin he’d won while boring his yellow eyes right into yours. His tongue parted his lips, a manic excitement hiding behind the coy expression.

Although every muscle in your body screamed at you to rip into him, you knew you wouldn’t win. He knew your abilities and you couldn’t say for certain you knew all of his.

“Never-mind,” You spat the words out at him like they tasted sour, “You’d probably get off on it anyways.”

A few laughs from the peanut gallery followed your words and Hisoka shrugged, the intense bloodlust from a few seconds ago vanishing as if he’d changed his mind about fighting you on a whim. “You may be right, darling,” your face scrunched up at the nickname you knew he only used to get on your nerves, which it did. “but what if we played a different game?”

Despite how badly you just wanted to ignore him and laugh the night away with all but one of your comrades, you couldn’t turn down the idea of a rematch. Your pride wasn’t nothing to you. “What kind of game?” You asked hesitantly.

He hummed, standing up from the towers of coin he’d made, sauntering over to the cooler of drinks Franklin had provided. After digging around the cold box he pulled out a bottle of fruity tequila and two empty shot glasses.

Your eyes narrowed at the “innocent” smile on his face, looking over to Pakunoda for reassurance.

“You’ll kill him if he spikes my drink, right?” You asked your mentor, who nodded resolutely.

Paku was staring at Hisoka like she was already thinking of ten different ways how to kill him. After sizing him up she flashed you a reassuring nod, “Without question.”

Resolute in your decision, you marched forward, snatching one of the shot glasses from his hand. The stage lights shone above him, making his eyes gleam like the plastic gloss of a doll.

“Shall we begin, then?”

You raised an eyebrow, “What are the rules first?”

He waved his hand in the air, brushing it off, “Nothing too complex, I assure you. The first one who taps out will lose. The loser will do something for the winner. That’s all.”

You still weren’t convinced it could be that simple. “What’s the catch?”

That smirk from before returned to his painted face and he suddenly leaned forward, feeling far too close for comfort. Still, you didn’t step away, your face expressionless as he whispered into your ear. If you did you felt like he’d somehow win whatever stand-still the two of you had on.

“If I lose, I’ll leave the Phantom Troupe,” You reeled away, stunned at his declaration.

Being accepted into the Troupe was the best moment of your life, it always would be. When you looked into the mirror at the tattoo that curled under your ribcage you felt such a warm swell of pride. You couldn’t imagine throwing it all away over some drinking game.

“And...” You blinked rapidly, trying to collect yourself, “If I lose?”

The laugh that echoed from his chest was far from reassuring.

The evening slowly ran into the early morning, each of the other Troupe members wandering off eventually in varying stages of drunkenness. Even Pakunoda headed off to bed after confirming that Hisoka hadn’t spiked your drinks with anything other than a strawberry vodka base. It was unnerving at first, to be completely alone with Omokage’s replacement. Luckily his tastes ran strong, and your vision was spinning before your knew it.

“Match.” Another shot went down your throats, the taste disgustingly sweet, and you watched as his Adam’s apple tensed from the burn.

You’d long since stopped counting how many drinks you’d had, losing track once you got to the double digits. You were both using nen to reinforce yourselves, obviously, but it wasn’t infallible.

‘How is he so good at this?’ You wondered, because as the bottle ran low you started to question just what had made you so confident as to enter a bet with Hisoka in the first place.

“My dear, why not rest for a minute? At least try to enjoy each others company?” His legs were crossed, resting his hand on his palm as he not-so-subtly checked you out. It wasn’t uncommon, and certainly not unexpected from someone like him, but what you hated wasn’t just the nerve of him, but how it made you feel. His scrutiny sent chills down your spine, the unnerving edge to his tone only making you shift your thighs together to relieve some of the pressure.

“You’re the worst, Hisoka,” you knocked back two consecutive shots, unable to hide the wince it caused on your face. Good, you wanted it to sting. Anything to take your mind off the magician in front of you.

He pouted as he poured another row of drinks, “Aw, now why’s that?”

You answered his question with another, pointing towards the half-empty bottle of liquor, “Whats in this, really?”

The magician rolled his eyes, “I did pick an unopened bottle for a reason, dear, I do so want you to trust me.”

Without much fanfare he threw back four shots, over your stunned reaction.

“Just give up already, Darling~ I promise to make it worth your while,” You were reaching your limit for sure, but you were far to stubborn to give up without a fight.

“Fuck you,” you took the first of your next four shots slowly, not managing his fast pace.

He grinned a cheshire smile, “Oh, say that again, will you?”

If he were to call you out on the blush slowly spreading across your nose you’d just blame the alcohol, but the truth was that his words just egged you on even more to the point where you were almost—barely even considering...

“What do you mean, make it worth my while?”

He leaned forward like a cat, agile and silent, whispering his words against your temple, “I’ll tell you how I won that hand,” He got you, hook, line, and sinker.

“You’ll tell me how you cheated?”

Hisoka nodded, a clawed hand coming to stroke a stray piece of hair behind your ear, the action far too intimate for someone like him.

There was no way you’d win against him in this match, that much was clear from the very sober way Hisoka held himself against you, inhumanly still, so what did you have to lose?

‘Your dignity,’ A part of you answered back, but it wasn’t all that convincing. You’d left your dignity behind four shots ago.

“If I lose...”

“If you lose,” He mouthed the words into your cheek, his eyes closed in thought, “You do know what I’ve decided my prize shall be, right?” Of course you knew what he wanted. You weren’t stupid, and the way he nuzzled himself into your neck was far from subtle.

Were you actually so desperate to learn how you lost that you’d sleep with him?

No, you weren’t. But the ache between your legs was getting harder to ignore, and the idea that you could write off what you were about to do behind the excuse of gathering intel sounded like a win-win.

You dug your hands into his hair, not trying to be anything but rough, basking in the moan that spilled from his lips, breath hot against your neck before you yanked him back to meet your gaze.

“Fine. You win, Hisoka,” He smirked, and although he was on his knees he still towered over you, “so how did you cheat?”

Before you could blink his hand had wrapped around your throat, the magician slamming your head into the wood of the stage. You’d had plenty of time to block the damage with your hatsu but the action left your brain rattling inside your skull.

“I’ll tell you later,” He promised, the disorienting blur was slow to fade from the alcohol, and distantly you could feel his other hand stroke your face, his nails like filed daggers trailing over your cheekbones.

“What to do with my prize, then, hm?” He mused, tilting your head from left to right as if examining a block of wood he was about to carve. You coughed on impulse when he let go of your neck, guiding it up instead and taking both your small hands into his palm with an iron grip.

With a flick of his wrist he drew a card, the eight of hearts, seemingly out of nowhere, his nen sharpening it into a thin blade, “Don’t move,”

“Wait... Hisoka, don’t—!” You were far too late to stop him, the frigid air of the ghostly theatre rushing to meet the bare skin of your chest.

Your shirt fell to ribbons along with your bra and you thrashed desperately in his grasp, angry over the loss of your favorite top. He paid your escape attempt no mind, enraptured with the way your tits rose and fell with the timing of your breath and the way you tried to wriggle yourself free.

Still holding your hands to the floor above you, his head bent to wrap a skilled tongue around your tits, a soft sigh involuntarily falling away from you.

“I fuckin’ ha-ate you, Hisoka—ah,” His teeth bit down on your peak at the comment, peering up at you from under his fiery hair.

“Oh? Then why is it you’re moaning like a little whore?” He shifted his weight above you and you saw an opportunity.

You kicked with all your strength between his legs, pulling your knee back and shoving him off with a dig of your shoe into his stomach, “I’m not, don’t call me that shit!”

He actually loosened his grip on you clearly not intending for you to get free from his grasp, a choked sound of what you thought was pain devolving to something much more heated as he stared into you.

“You... are well worth the wait, my dear,” His bloodlust seeped out from every pore, grounding you to the spot. You could usually hold your own against someone like him but it wasn’t hard to see the disadvantage you were at.

Within a fraction of a second he was on you, twisting your waist in his clawed grasp until your ass was hiked into the air, a sharpened playing card slicing through the denim until he could rip it from your legs, yelp echoing like music in the long-silent theatre.

“I knew you’d have some fight left in you,” He crawled forward and you started to realize why he wore exclusively baggy pants, his length hot against you through the fabric as his hips caged you in. As he began to remove that street-performer getup he always wore he’d occasionally curl his hand around your waist to mercifully tug on your ignored clit, your groans muffled and cursed, “I love it. That resilience? It just turns me on.”

You could feel your confidence fade as he tugged those sweatpants down, the weight of him grinding into your ass made all your bravado vanish.

“It will make it so much more satisfying...” He pointed his finger upwards, and suddenly your hands became magnetized to each other, no amount of struggle even budging the rubbery nen substance. “...when I break you.”

Without warning he slid himself inside you, hands holding your hips still as he forced your back into an arch. You couldn’t move even if you wanted to, the flailing of your bound arms useless as he shallowly began pumping his cock deeper inside you.

Your muffled curses whispered into the floor made him laugh, pulling his hand back and cruelly slapping the vulnerable flesh of your ass without a warning.

“Wh.. Why?”

“Because, darling, I want to hear you beg for me.” He pouted, teasing your clenched walls with only the tip of his slick head.

Despite the desire coursing through your veins you still had your pride in tact, “Never gonna happen, asshole.”

Gripping your hips, he dug himself into your dripping cunt as far as he could, both of you unrestrained with a moan at the feeling of his cock brushing near your cervix, your hips traitorously snapping back to meet his eager thrusts, movement near impossible as Hisoka forced you into the ground.

You cried out softly with each quick pull and stretch, only able to say his name one syllable at a time,

“Hi-so—kah...” It was hard to turn your head to the side from his brutal pace but somehow you manage, craning yourself in order to see him; His head was thrown back with a sheer bliss softening his glistening skin, his eyes closed and lips parted. The sight made your keening grow louder, the simple image of him losing himself in your twitching pussy sending a wave of slick dripping around his length.

He must’ve felt your gaze on him because soon enough his was staring at you, his pupils blown wide with desire in a way that made them look like a sun eclipsed, black outlined with a ring of fiery gold.

All at once his hips froze, digging his cock so far as to leave an indent in your pelvis. For a confused second you thought he’d finished, but his gaze was cruel and focused, his lips in a smirk, and you felt no more full than you had a moment ago. He was doing this on purpose.

“Wait, no-nono, wh..y?” You hiccuped, taking his break as a moment to wipe unshed tears from your glossy eyes.

He sighed, “I don’t like repeating myself, darling,” He accentuated the infuriating nickname with a slap to your thigh, face unchanged as he trailed his sharpened fingertips along the reddening skin.

“His..oh.. fuck, Hisoka—“ The banished tears returned, falling silently down your pink face as you whispered, “please,”

“Hmm? Sorry, I couldn’t hear you, my dear, mind saying that again?

Your voice hiccuped as you spoke, “Please, alright? Please,” You thought it’d be enough, that he might finally go back to toying with your clit while he fucked you into the old floorboards, but you’d underestimated the magician’s self-control.

Innocently, he tilted his head, “Please what, dear? Please hit you again?” Hisoka didn’t blink as he slowly brought up his palm, giving you plenty of time to try and wiggle free from your punishment just to show off how futile escape really was, lashing his hand down on the same patch of skin as before, grinning at the shriek he yanked from your lungs.

“No! No, fu-uck.. just—“ You whimpered, brain seemingly disconnected from your mouth as you struggled to form the words, “just fuck me, Hisoka, please.”

“Look at you, huh? You were a slut after all,” He purred, letting the weight of your words hang lifeless in the air along with your stubborn pride. Before you could argue again his hand had returned to your clit, pace unforgiving as he pulled your nerves ever closer to snapping only to halt the second he grew bored, “Say it,”

Mindlessly, you nodded your head, “I’m yours, I’m your slut, Hisoka,” you intentionally clenched yourself around him, mumbling lucid pleas for more as his hard cock twitched, pre cum dripping from your heat onto the floor as your conscience trying to deny what your body so willingly accepted, “want you to fuck me, Hisoka, fu-ck,” you whined, the still presence inside your sensitive walls drove you insane.

With each word a truly unhinged aura began to surround him, and by extension, you, the intoxicating menace dripping over you like a drug as you faced forward once again, wiggling your ass as best you could in his grip.

That was his breaking point, ripping you away from his cock only to drive himself back in, digging the full blade of his nails into your hips, blood pooling around the crescent cuts.

“Fuck, ah.. Darling, ‘doing so good, so good’fr me-ah,” He slurred his words together, more drunk on you than the vodka as he leaned back, forcing you to meet him as his thrusts became so quick that it was getting hard to breathe, your ribcage creaking with discomfort as you were nailed into the stage.

“M..o-re, more...” You begged, and he was happy to oblige. the smearing crimson of blood running hot down your thighs, the pain only making you more pliant in his sculptor’s hands as he folded your body however he liked, ignoring your pained weep from the stretch as he slung one of your bleeding legs over his shoulder.

It was almost weird to hear him say your actual name, so often he used a pet name to mock or flirt with you, sometimes both, “So good for me like this, taking me so goo-uh,” He choked on his words as your cunt tightened around him, your hands clinging for balance in his hair, and Hisoka clearly didn’t mind if the slew of moans from his lips was any indication.

The angle his hips cut into had the edges of your vision turning into a vignette, “I’m close, so close, gonna cum inside you, yeah? Right here,” The hand that had been toying with your clit changed angles, his fingertips spinning spirals onto your aching bud while the flat of his hand pushed against your stomach, your shout swallowed by his pretty lips, tongue toying with yours.

“Ye-es cum inn-side me,” You were too far gone to care, anything he said sounded good as long as he said it in that sultry purr, arms numb as they lay suspended above your head.

“Take it, take it, Darling,” With what little strength you had left you curved your calf beside his neck, pulling him in until his cock brushed your cervix, the pain indistinguishable from the pleasure, “Uhn, cumm-fuck, i’m cumming—“

His cum was thick, the curve of his cock jutting inside you as he filled you up, mercifully swallowing your hallowed scream as he kissed you deeply, almost all feeling in your raised leg lost until he lowered it to his waist, involuntarily snapping his hips up although they had nowhere left to go until your moan turned into a broken sob of lingering bliss.

“Shh, dear, I’ve got you,” With a whirl of his wrist your arms were free of his bungee gum, shakily pulling them to your sides again as he pressed open-mouthed kisses along your neck, whispering a slurred mess of sweet words, stopping to suck a particularly deep hickey into the vein of your flesh.

“Hisoka, quit it!” Your fight had returned along with feeling to your fingertips as you wrenched him back by the hair, his cock jumping.a bit inside you at the grip, “I’ll have to wear sweaters for weeks now, you jerk.”

The capillaries had already begun to burst as he laughed, reaching up behind your head to pull his discarded top forward, digging out what looked like a piece of smooth cleaning cloth from its pocket and lying it over your neck with a simple point of his finger, gyo revealing the pink gum of his aura that controlled it before he smoothed the fabric over your skin, the texture so light you could barely feel it.

“A deal’s a deal, love, I’ll tell you how I cheated,” He smiled as satisfied and smug as he could ever be, a tingling sensation overtaking the patch of covered skin.

As he pulled your hand away you ran your fingers over the cloth, not finding a seam among the normal tone of your chest. Eyes wide as you looked at him for answers he was already happy to provide, “It’s called texture surprise. I can apply it to any flat surface and change its appearance. It’s quite handy,”

“It works on skin, paper, even playing cards,” You felt like an idiot. During the match you kept analyzing him for a sleight of hand trick all while he was using a second nen technique to win. It was so simple but genius, and you felt a little bit better knowing you weren’t outwitted by something obvious.

“You’re the worst, Hisoka,”

He chuckled, kissing along the new unblemished canvas of your neck, “I know~”

[belfrygargoyles]

*whispers* I would like to hear what you have to say on reader inserts in the SW fandom because I too have a problem with them and I feel like not enough people are calling it out 👉👈

I’ve made a few posts about it in the past but I think it’s high time I actually Do This and really get into it.

Before I start: 1) This will be in specific reference to fanfiction written for the Star Wars fandom, particularly tcw and the mandalorian eras, 2) A lot of the issues come down to racist fetishization of men of color by white women; I am white, so there is much that is simply not my place to make statements on. What I can speak most on is my take from the gender side of things.

I’d honestly recommend reading this post by @nibeul with addition by @clonehub first, as they discuss the core issue with reader inserts in the Star Wars fandom.

And 3) some of this will involve discussion of sexual acts (as they relate to fanfiction) and sexual fantasies. These discussions will be non-explicit, and no pornographic text or content will be displayed.

Also. I’m GNC and nonbinary. I’m also a very feminine looking person that falls under the generalization of “small and petite.” I don’t have dysphoria, I like my body and the traits I have, and treating them like inherently female sends me into a blind fury. This is, unfortunately, important.

For the sake of making sure I come across as clearly as possible, I will be writing as though the reader of this post has never read or is broadly unfamiliar with reader-insert fanfiction.

Without further ado.

Hey, Star Wars reader insert fic writers? Please get your shit together.

INTRODUCTION

I’ve been reading reader-insert fanfiction since I was a grade schooler waking up early to check Quizilla. I love it! It got me into fandom, kept me engaged, helped me make and develop some of my oldest OCs, and it’s just fun to read and write- it’s like a self-indulgent little gift you can give to a bunch of people all at once. Because who doesn’t like the idea of starring in their own little adventure, usually alongside some of their favorite characters? It can be fun, immersive, get you attached in ways other ways of fandom interaction may not, make you feel just a little bit special, or be a way to express some feelings you might have about canon and the way the story went.

Like any form of fiction, it ends up saying more about the author’s feelings than anything else, whether the author realizes it or not. For many, many authors of reader-insert fanfiction, the primary enjoyment comes from writing “themselves” into the story- before the readers, the author most often makes the “reader character” someone they, themselves, can relate to and substitute for themselves. They write to live out a self-indulgent fantasy they have, and their readers can come along for the ride.

Some writers do actually try to write as diverse or as vague of a reader character as possible- as few details about the body, identity, etc. as possible so anyone could superimpose their image without the narrative directly contradicting it. This is not the kind of reader insert author I will be discussing.

The kind of author I will be discussing is the one most common in the Star Wars tag on Ao3: White, AFAB, cisgender, gender-conforming, able-bodied women who assume all of their readers are also White, AFAB, cisgender, gender-conforming, able-bodied women. Yes, you can tell.

ISSUE: fetishization of men of color

Again, this post puts it in the best words, but there is a rampant problem with Star Wars reader-inserts, particularly those involving the clones, Boba Fett, and Din Djarin, fetishizing characters played by men of color as either “physically aggressive and threatening, hypersexual and dominant, big strong men who are scary because they do violence and fuck constantly when they’re not” or “completely inexperienced baby who doesn’t know anything about things and needs a gentle nurturing guiding touch to introduce him to the mere idea of a vagina.” The former is common across all of them, the latter most common among clone trooper fics or Din/Reader.

I went into the Boba Fett/Reader tag on Ao3, because I like him and hoped to find something alright. Here are some stats I tallied up (give or take some) based solely on tags, summaries, and warnings:

There are 284 works in the Boba Fett/Reader category as of the time of this post.

198/284 are rated E for explicit sexual content. 69.7% of all Boba Fett/Reader works are sexually explicit.

259/284 are in the F/M category. 91.2% of all Boba Fett/Reader works involve an explicitly female or AFAB reader.

24/284 are tagged with or mention “Age difference,” “Older man/Younger woman,” “Innocence kink” or “Virginity kink.” 8.4% of all Boba Fett/Reader works are written explicitly with an age gap, with Boba Fett as the older party

26/198 E rated fics are tagged with or make reference to “Daddy kink” or involve the reader being called some variation of “little girl” by Boba. 13% of all E-rated works under Boba Fett/Reader are daddy kink fics, or allude to Boba Fett being a daddy dom/sugar daddy.

102/198 E rated fics are tagged as, make reference to, or suggest in the summary that Boba Fett takes a dominant sexual role with a submissive reader involving rough or painful play, or make reference to Boba Fett being frightening, physically intimidating, having a power dynamic over the reader, or being possessive or violent. 51.51% of all E-rated works under Boba Fett/Reader portray Boba Fett as sexually dominant and/or enacting use of physical force or pain play.

Just using this as an example, because it’s the easiest stats I can gather and also what made me realize there was a pattern.

The problem isn’t even necessarily that people write explicit fic about Boba- it’s that 1) over half of all fics in the category are explicitly pornographic, and 2) the way those pornographic fics are written. The two things compound on each other. They’re dominance fantasies projected onto a character of color in which he becomes extremely sexual, physically rough with the reader, possessive, and demeaning towards a reader character who is always written as White, AFAB, and petite.

This brings me to the next issue.

ISSUE: The way sexual relationships are portrayed.

Let me clarify so there is no chance of me being misunderstood: sex is good. Liking and wanting and enjoying sex isn’t bad. It is not bad if you are AFAB and have submissive fantasies. It is not bad to be sexually attracted to a man of color. You can write about sex even if you haven’t had it. Writing about sex can be a good way to express some more complicated feelings you could have about certain things. It doesn’t even have to be realistic. It has its time and it has its place.

This being said.

Sexual relationships as they are portrayed in the vast majority of E-rated Star Wars reader inserts are… not great.

The reader is always AFAB. I can think of maybe one fic off the top of my head where an AFAB reader was written with they/them pronouns and not just she/her.

The reader is almost always submissive, the dominant character is almost always portrayed as cis male. Even when the characters are supposed to just be having spontaneous casual sex, D/S or BDSM aspects will be introduced with no prior discussion or talks about it afterwards. Sometimes characters will start using dirty talk and it just does not fit at all, but it’s what the author thought was hot.

Sometimes, it just reads like a quick smutty oneshot. More often than that, it reads like the author doesn’t realize that sex… isn’t always a dom/sub thing. Or that someone can take the lead in sex and that doesn’t automatically make them a dom.

It’s not bad to be inexperienced. It’s not bad to have preferences or kinks or specific turn-ons.

But it gets… tiring to read, over and over and over and over, because that’s all there is.

That and… I dunno, it just has me a little worried? It doesn’t make me feel good knowing so many people can only portray a sexual relationship if it’s dom/sub. I don’t know why it makes me so uneasy.

Vanilla sex isn’t a bad thing I promise. It's this feeling of insistence that something "spicy" absolutely has to happen for it to be worth writing that gives... some weird vibes.

I’m going to move on to the next Big-

ISSUE: Every “reader” character is exactly the same

By which I mean the following:

Always cis AFAB female

If a character is written with gender neutral pronouns they will always be AFAB and written like Girl Lite

I have never seen an explicitly stated nonbinary/gnc reader character unless it was a request specifically for a nonbinary reader

I have never seen a gender neutral reader insert fic where the reader was AMAB

I have seen a grand total of 1 cis male reader fic and 1 trans male reader fic. The trans male reader fic was about dysphoria.

The reader is allowed to have one of the following backstories: slave/runaway, mechanic, medic, ex-Rebel, secret Jedi, bounty hunter.

The reader is allowed to have one of the following personality traits: throws knives, babysitter, completely civilian, WOMAN, says curse words.

The reader is never written with any narrative agency- things only ever happen to the reader character or around the reader character, they are never written to take charge and actually affect things on their own. Essentially the sexy lamp trope.

Remember when I said the majority of people writing Star Wars reader-insert fanfic on Ao3 were White, cisgender AFAB women who are gender-conforming and able-bodied? This is how you can tell.

It’s at this point where you can tell they’re really not meant to be reader-inserts, but author-inserts with the names removed- they were only meant for a very narrow selection of readers.

I’m nonbinary, I’m gnc, and I’m a very feminine looking person, generally speaking. I’m used to people looking at me and assuming oh, girl. I’m at peace with that.

I can barely stand reading some of these fics just because of how much the author emphasizes that the reader is FEMALE shes a WOMAN with BOOBS and a VAGINA and FEMININE WILES. There’s barely ever even a chance to give myself room to mentally vault over all the “she”s and “her”s because then I’m getting hit with Din or someone calling the reader “girl” or “the woman.” It’s unbearable, and I even fall into the general description every fucking fic author uses for their generic protagonist!

Even with the “gender-neutral reader” fics, it is just. Painfully clear that they just wrote a female character and changed the pronouns- no, there is no such thing as “male behavior” or “female behavior,” and I quite heartily rebel against the concept of gender essentialism. And honestly, I can barely even begin piecing together how I know it and what it feels like, because it’s just one of those vague conglomerates of cues and writing patterns I can’t consciously pick up on but I know it’s there- it’s frustrating, it’s demeaning, and it feels like you’d have to threaten these authors at gunpoint to get them to write a reader character who was any major deviation from the same three cutouts they use every time.

It seems like they can’t possibly force themselves to write a reader character who isn’t meek and submissive or has the sole personality traits of “mean and can hit things”- you can actually strike a balance between “absolutely no personality” and “fleshed out oc” you know? And you don’t actually have to tell the reader what their hair looks like or how full their figure is

It’s like 2:20 AM and I started this at like 8something PM but.

I’m someone who loves reader-inserts. I enjoy them. I still check for new ones regularly. I’ve been reading them for well over half my life now.

So many of these authors are just locked in on exactly one way to write things and it fucking shows. It’s like a self-feeding loop, they just keep writing the same things and the same dynamics because they see each other doing it and they never think about taking a step back.

It’s… exhausting. I’m exhausted. If you’re a reader-insert fic writer and you want to improve your reader character inclusivity and have also read this far, you can DM me or shoot me an ask.

[doctenwho]

MASTERLIST

Hello! I thought I’d compile all the fics and reader-insert requests in one place so people don’t have to scroll through my whole blog to find the one they’re looking for! I try to avoid pronouns unless specifically requested, but female is usually default for my writing, so male!reader requests will be tagged for easy viewing!

Each fic will have a short(ish?) summary, but word count and any warnings will be at the top of each oneshot when opened since that was easier than tagging everything here (and shorter). 

Anywho! Happy reading :)

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Not a Cat Person - Reader makes herself a new cat friend, and has to convince a certain alien, who really does not like cats, to let her new friend stay aboard the TARDIS with them. Good thing Ten has a soft spot for his companions.

A Name for Kitty (NACP-pt2) - After succeeding in convincing the Doctor to keep the cat, the two must decide on a name for the poor little guy. Too bad Time-Lords and Humans have such different taste in names.

Lured Desire - In a reality where your desires lure you in and give you what you deeply crave, the Doctor must turn away from his own perfect world, and encourge his companion to do the same, as much as it hurts him.

Sad Truths - When reader gets taken and injected with a truth serum in a place the Dctor brought her too, the man must accept that maybe the reader isn’t really who he’d thought she is, and that maybe the two of them aren’t as different as he’d thought.

Ten’s Proposal - Ten’s been sitting on his utter adoration for reader for ages, and he’s finally decided to do something about it. It’s been a long, long time since he’d even thought of proposing to anyone, but he can’t bear having you as just his companion any longer.

Parental Demeaning - Reader’s parents aren’t quite as nice and loving as they should be, but reader, nor her parents really see that. Thankfully the Doctor is really a man of observation, and well, a bit protective of his companion. 

Exhilarating - The Doctor really should learn the appropriate times to be kissing his companion-- and that’s certainly not when there’s a huge beast stood a few feet behind from them. 

Purest Expression - In a world where art and creativity is celebrated, the Doctor and his companion are pressured into taking the stage for a tradition among the planet. What are the two to do when they’re to sing a song that perfectly, and honestly, describes the other from their point of view? Sing the song!

Should Be Me - When a trip to a well known bar in the galaxy takes a flirty turn (a Jack Harkness turn), the Doctor has to finally own up and admit to his feelings about the reader. If only it hadn’t taken Jack’s flirtations with his companion for the Doctor to come clean.

Ten’s First (real) Halloween - Reader has decieded that she and the Doctor are going to do matching Halloween costumes this year. The only problem is the Doctor refuses to play along, since the last Halloween he’d been too (the first Halloween) he hadn’t liked it. Thankfully he’s got a soft spot for her... so, Halloween parties and Trick-or-Treating commense!

Woes of Infetility - The Doctor and the Reader have being trying to have a baby for a little over a year with no luck. Maybe it’s time to accept the fact that... maybe that’s just not withing arms reach?

The Man Who Should be Dead (Male!Reader) - The Doctor stumbles across a very human companion on a planet that is very much not earth. Of course he takes the straggler space explorer along with him, because he’s not going to leave him. When danger strikes, the Doctor has only one question: How on earth did his very human Reader survive that? 

Icy Surprise - The Doctor takes his companion for a nice, calming evening ice skating. Only, instead of an ice rink, or frozen body of water somewhere, he takes her to skate on Saturn’s rings. Icey shinanigans ensue.

A Night With the Stars - When Reader gets distracted looking out at the stars from the TARDIS doors one evening, the Doctor doesn’t want to pull her away. Luckily he’s got a plan so she eats dinner, and doesn’t have to leave the view. 

Moonlight Getaway - After a few days of utter intensity with the Doctor, Reader is exhausted. Luckily, the Doctor decides to surprise his companion with a bit of a getaway from their usual escapades. Lots of laughter and dancing ensue. 

Talk Me Down - When the Doctor makes a rash decision to split up on an unknown plant, (Y/N) panics and finds herself trapped in an anxiety attack. There’s little for the Doctor to do when he finally finds her, well, besides giving her comfort and support and helping her through the attack.

Gestures and Evasion - The Doctor has been trying for years to win over his companion, but no matter how hard he tries, it never seems to work. Why does (Y/N)’s lack of interest and blatant evasion hurt him as much as it does?

Man (and TARDIS)’s Best Friend - Reader has been sneaking dogs in need into the TARDIS without the Doctor knowing. (Y/N) really didn’t mean for it to get out of hand, but well, the TARDIS has been helping out, and clearly has a soft spot of the canines.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Alec Hardy (Broadchurch)

Alec’s Emergency Contact (Male!Reader) - When hurt on the job, hospital staff call the first number on Alec Hardy’s emergency contact list. Too bad he’d be in the dog house when his boyfriend arrives in Broadchurch to give him a piece of his mind (as well as affection). Ellie Miller is just living for her boss being told off, and she can’t deny she’s not incredibly happy to see someone loving her boss like the man deserves.

Hardy’s Cure for Sadness - Some days you’re just blah. For no reason other than just feeling blah. When a blah spell strikes you at work, it’s Alec Hardy who happens to notice when no one else does. And it’s Alec Hardy who tries to turn your mood around.

A Dinner In (H’sCFS Pt. 2) - As a thank you of sorts after Hardy being so kind, Reader invites the Detective Inspector to her place for a home cooked meal in. Reader can’t help but wish they were something more than friends. A romantic evening ensues.

Awkardly Perfect - Reader is used to being the grump of Broadchurch-- well, that is until Alec Hardy makes his way into town and gives her a run for her money. The two of you hit it off easily, and honestly, you really don’t see why everyone else is so weary of the Detective Inspector. Also, why can’t the townspeople leave the two of you alone?

Happiness is Homemade - Alec and Reader welcome their new baby into the world with lots of sweet words and cuddling. Alec can only remember being this happy one other time, and it was about fifteen years prior, when he welcomed his little girl into the world.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Zebediah Kilgrave (Jessica Jones)

Not Always a Bad Guy - Kilgrave knows he’s not exactly a good guy. Jessica made that very clear towards (and he supposes throughout) their relationship. So... why has Reader been so nice to him? And what’s up with that iPad she’s always drawing on but won’t ever let him see?

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

I probably won’t have the time to update this with each new fic, but I will every few! Just wanted to get a head start on orginizing this so people son’t have to scroll through everything to find the fic they’re looking for!

Hope eveyone’s having a good day/night, or whenever this finds you!

[ramblingthoughtsofayoungadult]

Nev, Max, Help!-Nate Jacobs Oneshot

Requested: Yes

Warnings: aggressiveness and rudeness from Nate and a brief panic attack scene

A/N: The reader is gender neutral since the requester did not specify what they wanted and I did not want to disrespect the storyline from the show. Also, it’s a long one. 

  For once, Amy Winehouse’s low, melancholy voice did nothing to soothe my nerves as I typed what I was looking for in the designated box. “Love is a Losing Game” was definitely not the best song for the mood but I loved her voice so much; it was like a really messed up security blanket for me. My thumbs shook as I kept typing and quickly deleting my words. 

  Someone to have fun with.

  No, that’ll bring every single creep to my profile.

  Someone to watch Netflix with.

  Ew, no, they won’t want to go anywhere or do anything. 

  Someone to discuss Maya Angelou with...

  This could go one of two ways: attract a sensitive, nice person or the ultimate softboi who was really just an f-boy in a sensible cardigan.

    Okay, Y/N, just add to it.

   ...and have adventures, great conversations, and watch the best movies.

   That seemed broad enough and, potentially, weeded out all the weirdos. Patti Stanger would approve of this. I took such a deep breath that I could feel the oxygen in my feet as I pressed the green check mark. An adorable buffering sign appeared before being quickly replaced by a CONGRATULATIONS, Y/N/N, ON COMPLETING YOUR PROFILE. 

   The air came out of me slowly, like a balloon, and I tried to make myself relax as I swiped through different matches. One person was too short, the other too tall, another had way too many pictures with reptiles in his profile, and one’s bio simply read: DM and you’ll find out. 

  Serial killer much?

  “That’s part of your problem, Y/N,” Jules had chastised me a few day prior.

 “What do you mean by ‘part’?” I’d replied.

 “Well, for one, you barely leave the house anymore unless I drag you out,” Jules argued.

  “I’m busy,” I’d defended. 

  “Rewatching Breaking Bad for the eighth time does not count as being busy. Plus, you’re so picky.”

  “Am not!” 

  “You said you’d only do DiCaprio in his Great Gatsby days,” Rue had added.

  “Did you see him in that suit?” 

  Jules then shrugged. “All I’m saying is if you aren’t careful, you will end up all alone.”

  “That’s not true, Y/N might get cats.” 

  That conversation had haunted me since and had driven me to making a dating profile after the required Saturday night family dinner. While my parents and brother were downstairs watching a movie, I was holed up in my room, cringing and regretting accepting any chat requests. 

   Half an hour on the app caused the images of various male genitalia to be burned into my mind. I would need my brain soaked in holy water for it to be erased. I huffed and kept scrolling, vainly hoping and wishing for a decent guy to pop up on my radar.

  Maybe Jules and Rue were wrong. Maybe I had all the right in the world to be picky, I thought harshly to myself. 

  I dropped my phone on my nightstand and flopped against my pillows as Me and Mr. Jones began playing. I sighed and felt myself being lulled into the comforting abyss Amy created. 

   Ding!

   I jumped out and glared at the source of the noise. Another chat request, another picture to ruin my young brain? 

  “Be positive, Y/N, this might be good,” I stated as I grabbed the phone. 

  Tyler wants to chat!

   I frowned and opened up the app, only to be met with the most sculpted six-pack I had ever seen. My heart began banging against my chest and my thumbs fumbled for a moment to answer the chat request. 

  Whoosh. 

  My stomach dropped as I stared at my first chat to Tyler: Shg.ismtle

  I’m. Going. To. Die. Alone.

  I quickly typed: Please ignore that, I’m so sorry!

  Seconds later, my phone dinged.

  Tyler: Really? I thought you were trying to send me a secret code and I liked that we were that cool already.

  This was not real, this could not be happening. Tyler had to be a bot, that was why he didn’t show his face in his profile. Bots were supposed to have a hard time recognizing and creating faces, right? 

   But, on the off chance Tyler was real, it would have been rude to leave the conversation so abruptly? 

   Y/N: Who knows? Maybe it was a secret code and I’m just testing you.

   Tyler: Ok, let me guess what it means.

   Tyler: Hi? 

   Y/N: Haha, you really thought I’d use such a simple code as a first message?

   Tyler: It’s my bad for underestimating u. I should have known u were smarter since you read Maya Angelou.

  Y/N: U a fan? 

  Tyler: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” 

  He knows Angelou? He could have Googled a quote though. Still, it’s a good quote to use if he had Googled it.

   Y/N: Nice, but, doesn’t get u out of the guessing game.

   As Tyler helplessly guessed wrong for several minutes, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I used to think online dating was a last resort or a breeding ground for predators. But, maybe there were decent people looking for something (or someone) meaningful after all. 

  Tyler: I give up, you’re really good. 

  Y/N: Thx. But, I can tell you what I meant to say. 

  Tyler: The suspense is srsly kiilling me. 

  Y/N: I meant 2 say hey.

  Tyler: I guessed that!

   Y/N: No, u guessed ‘hi’, there’s a difference.

  Tyler: C’mon, barely.

   For the rest of the night, Tyler and I chatted. He told me that he plays baseball at a school across town and he doesn’t like anyone around there. He liked John Mulaney stand-up, lemon bars, going to the gym, hanging out with his friends, and reading good books. He was an only child and his parents tended to spoil him. I told him about my friends and how I liked being on the swim team at my school as well as the different YouTubers and books I enjoyed. When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed of talking to him. 

   On Monday, Jules and Rue were hanging out outside the school as other people either headed to class or relaxed on the lawn. I could not stop my feet from bouncing as I walked up to them.

   “...and that is why Sailor Mercury is the most underrated character of the whole show,” Jules affrimed. 

   Rue seemed halfway interested as her head nodded slowly underneath the hood of her burgundy hoodie. “Cool, all I asked was who’s your favorite but, cool.” 

   Jules rolled her eyes playfully and straightened up when she saw me. “Hey, Y/N, nice shirt.” 

  “Thanks.” I wore a sky blue tie dye shirt with ripped jeans and white Converse.

  Rue leaned forward and squinted at me. “You’re not wearing black, something’s wrong.” 

  “Nothing’s wrong, she’s obviously been influenced by me!” Jules teased as she wrapped a slim arm around my shoulders.

  “Yeah, you can only hang out with this literal rainbow human so long before she starts influencing your outfit choices.”

  We started heading inside, which was really just Jules and me dragging Rue into the building.

   “But I don’t wanna be here. It’s so stupid that I have to wait six more months before I can legally decide where I spend my time,” Rue muttered.

  “It’s fine, you have us!” Jules insisted.

   “Yup!” I agreed.

  “Hey, Y/N, Rue, Jules!” Cassie greeted as she sidled up next to me. 

  We all greeted her.

  “Have a good weekend?” Rue asked. 

  “Yeah, there was this great party that Nick Davis threw. I swear, everyone there was on acid.” Cassie stopped herself and bit her bottom lip. “Sorry---” 

   Rue shook her head. “It’s fine.”

  “How were yours?” Cassie asked as we continued to our lockers. 

  “Fine,” Jules said.

  Rue shrugged in response.

  I opened my mouth to reply when my phone beeped and I wrestled it out of my pocket. 

  Tyler: Is it 2 late 4 a good morning text? 

  I smiled. 

  “You’re so cheesy,” I muttered under my breath. 

  “Who’s that?” Cassie asked, peeking over my shoulder.

   I jumped and cradled my phone to my chest like it was my child. “No one.” 

   Jules pulled open her locker and cocked a bleached eyebrow. “‘No one’ does not cause huge smiles like that!” She jabbed a sparkly-manicured finger at me. 

  “Yeah, show us,” Rue said. “We are your friends.” 

  “It’s nothing,” I insisted as I weaved around them. 

  I pushed myself against my locker and managed to open it with my free hand. Rue was on one side of me and Cassie was on the other. 

  “Is it a boy?” Cassie sang.

  “Or a girl?” Rue questioned.

  “It’s none of your business,” I gritted out as I grabbed my necessary books. 

  As I shuffled the books in my arms, Jules came from behind and slipped my phone away from me. I gasped, whirled around, and watched as Rue tried to look at the phone while Cassie playfully blocked me.

  “Guys, this is not cool! This is such a serious invasion of privacy,” I argued as I tried to move around Cassie.

  “We’re besties, there’s no such thing as privacy!” Jules retorted. 

  “Wow, Y/N, these are so----” Jules cut Rue off.

  “Adorable!” Jules squealed and turned to face me.

  Cassie took the opportunity to glance at my phone and she smiled. “Aw, this Tyler guy sounds so sweet.” 

  I snatched my phone from Jules. “Well, now you know. Can we please go to class now?” 

  As the other girls grabbed their things from their lockers, I got out my phone to reply to Tyler.

  Y/N: It’s never too late...until noon technically.

   Somehow, I started wandering away from the girls until I ran into someone. I tried to jump away, but they grabbed me by the forearms.

  “I am so sorry, I should have looked where I was going---” I stopped speaking when I recognized Nate’s direct gaze on me. I was pretty tall but I always felt like he could throw me into the lockers if he wanted to.

  “Watch it, Y/N,” he muttered. 

  “Nate, let go of them,” Maddy chided, her hand resting against one of his arms. 

  She seemed to have the magic touch because he relaxed and I joined my friends. As the couple continued down the hallway, I couldn’t help but admire them. In a very messed up way, they worked. Kat had told me only a little about what Nate would do whenever Maddy upset him and I felt so bad for her, angry at him, and then conflicted. Nate just had to have that stereotypical amazing all-American look.

  “You okay, Y/N?” Cassie asked.

  “Yeah, is it weird that I can still feel his eyes on me even when he’s not looking?” I asked. 

  “No, his need for dominance permeates everyone’s sense of autonomy,” Rue assured.

  “Nice,” Jules said. 

  “And scary accurate,” Cassie added. 

  Jule looped her arm with mine and steered us in the direction of our first classes. “Anyway, if he tries anything, I’m sure Tyler would gladly kick his butt for you.” 

   Throughout the day, Tyler and I chatted and I even had to get creative with responding. In English, I kept my head down during quiet reading time and made sure my phone was positioned just right in my lap. During geometry, I told Mrs. Packer that I was having some digestive issues and spent most of the class outside the bathroom, texting Tyler. At lunch, I could barely focus on my friends’ conversation.

   “Hello, Earth to Y/N?” Lexi waved her hand in front of my face and I blinked.

   “Sorry, I was----”

   “Texting her boooyfriiiend,” Jules sang.

   “He’s not my boyfriend, we’re just talking.” I started poking at my sandwich. “What did I miss?” 

  “Oh, nothing, just the fact that I nearly blew up the school during chem,” Cassie said. 

  “Magnesium chloride isn’t an explosive,” Lexi argued. 

  “Well, the tube overflowed and everyone was freaking out,” Cassie argued.

  “Yeah, because magnesium chloride can have bad side effects,” Lexi continued.

   “I wonder what would happen if the school exploded and we weren’t all here? Would they have to give us our diplomas?” I thought outloud.

  “Ooh, and I could go to fashion school early!” Jules cheered. 

  “I’d be happy not coming here anymore,” Rue admitted. 

  It was quiet for a moment as we all ate but that quiet was broken when Maddy yelled.

  “WHO ARE YOU TEXTING?”

  I couldn’t help myself but look. Maddy was standing behind Nate, who was sitting with his teammates at the center table. Bebe and Kat flanked Maddy a little behind. Everyone stared at them. Nate’s jaw tightened. 

  “Maddy, calm down,” his relaxed, controlled voice nearly echoed in the silent cafeteria. 

  “DON’T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! YOU’VE BEEN ON YOUR PHONE ALL DAY!” she snapped. 

  “Maddy---” 

  “ARE YOU TEXTING OTHER GIRLS?” Maddy shouted.

  “Can we talk about this somewhere else?” Nate asked. 

  Maddy sighed. “Are you gonna let me see your phone?”

  “Maddy, we need to talk.” 

  “Don’t talk to me again.” 

  Before Nate could respond, Maddy dumped the contents of her lunch tray over his head and threw the tray aside. Kat and Bebe followed her as she strutted out of the cafeteria amid the shocked gasps. 

   “I’m gonna go check on her,” Cassie whispered.

  We all nodded and she quietly exited the room. As I stared at Nate, the supposed king of the school, drenched in soggy salad and fat-free milk, I wondered why he could never stay broken up with Maddy. Their relationship was not just toxic, it was volatile. Their breakups were always public and outrageous, but they always ended up back together. No one questioned it either. I never understood why people could continue to choose relationship they knew was bad over pursuing something new. I told Tyler as much that night. 

   Y/N: It’s like those dogs that get killed by electric fences because they keep walking into them.

  Tyler: U have a good point, but, that couple’s relationship is more complicated than u think. 

  Y/N: Probably, but, it doesn’t look that way. They hurt each other a lot.

  Tyler: How do u know? 

   Y/N: Bc I’ve seen it. I don’t mean 2 b judgy, but, I could never be in a relationship like that. 

  Tyler: Well, I don’t think anyone would b if they knew it would b bad. 

  Y/N: Good point. But, why would they get back together so much? 

  Tyler: Idk them, but, it could b bc it’s familiar and it’s what they know.

  Y/N: Still, it’s messed up.

 Tyler: Yeah, but I don’t wanna talk abt them anymore.

 Y/N: K, what do u wanna talk abt? 

  A few seconds later, Tyler sent me a picture so graphically beautiful that I was convinced I passed out.

 The next day, I showed Rue and Jules the picture during break time.

 “Holy crap!” Jules took my phone and leaned into it for closer inspection. 

 “Tyler is packing,” Rue agreed. 

  Jules slid my phone back to me. “You haven’t replied to him?”    “No, and he hasn’t talked to me at all today.”

  “He’s probably expecting a reply that’s similar to what he sent,” Rue said.

  My face warmed up. “I can’t send him nudes,” I hissed.

  “Why not? It’s like the greeting cards of our generation,” Jules stated.

  “Really? You’d send your grandparents a greeting card of your naked body?” I replied sarcastically.

  “Relax, if you’re uncomfortable, we can help you,” Jules assured.

  “We can?” Rue asked.

  “We can.” Jules gave her a look and Rue relaxed. 

  “It’s still weird, but, I guess you guys can come over after school.”

  “Sweet! Your mom still bakes cookies for you after school, right?” Jules asked.

  I nodded.

  “She might stop once she learns her darling favorite older child is sending nudes,” Rue snorted as she spoke.

  I recoiled in my seat, taking a second to bask in the sun’s warmth. “Don’t remind me.” 

  After swim practice, once my teammates left the locker room, I eyed my naked form in the mirror. I had nothing to be ashamed of, really, thanks to all the swimming, but, I just felt weird being naked in front of people. There was something so vulnerable about it, like, being on display in a museum or lying on a cold surgery table. But, online dating was supposed to get me out of my comfort zone and I’d found someone who’d made me feel comfortable enough to do it. With this resolve, I changed into a hoodie and some sweatpants and left the school. It was dusk and I typically walked home after practice since it wasn’t far. Plus, I’d told Jules and Rue to just go to my house after school. 

  The late breeze rippled past me and I dug my hands into my pants’ pockets as I started walking towards the parking lot. There was barely anyone around, except stoners hotboxing their cars, some couples making out, and dance team members and football players getting out of practice.

  I kept my head down as I maneuvered around the few cars and people around. It felt like someone could spot what I was about to do once I got home and it was nervewracking. All I had to do was get home, let Jules make me look even better, take these pictures, and never thinking of it again.

   “Something on your mind, Y/N?” Nate called.

   I froze and snapped my head up to look at him. He was leaning against his truck, looking like a model for Ford in only a tshirt and jeans. Ford should hire him. 

   “No, not really,” I said. 

   I started to side step the truck, eyeing the sidewalk that was only a few yards away as though it was a lifeline. 

  “Get in,” Nate ordered.

  I paused and looked at him. “Excuse me?” 

  “I see you walking home all the time, let me do you a favor, one athlete to another.” Nate was about halfway in the driver’s seat of the car and all I could do was stare.

  “We’ve...never really talked before,” I stated. 

  “We can talk during the drive.” 

   I stepped back and my eyes flittered around, like the best decision would hit me in the face. Then, I saw Maddy across the lot. She was standing with a couple of dance team girls, including Cassie. She stared me down as though daring me to do it. I glanced from her to Nate, who started the engine loudly. 

   I quickly climbed into the passenger’s seat and stared into Maddy’s reflection in the rearview mirror as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

  “How do you know where I live?” I asked.

  “You forgot that I gave you a ride before?” Nate asked.

  “When?” 

  “After Cassie’s sweet sixteen. You blacked out, your friends were panicking, and I offered to take you home. For some reason, you remembered your address,” Nate recalled.

  “Oh, thanks?” 

  “Sure.” 

  We pulled up to my house a few minutes later, Lil Wayne bragging about his conquests filling the quiet. I hopped out of the truck and grabbed my bag. 

  “Thanks for the ride, this one, I mean, I owe you,” I said.

  “Yeah, see you around, Y/N.” 

  I closed the door and headed inside.

  “I’m home!” I called.

  My mom poked her head out from the kitchen. “Y/N, how was school and practice?” 

  “Fine.” 

  “Was that Nate Jacobs outside?” 

  I hesitated. 

  How did she know what Nate’s truck looked like?  “Yeah, he gave me a ride today.” 

  “Aw, isn’t that sweet? Rue and Jules are waiting for you in your room. They took the cookies with them.”  

  I nodded and went to my room. As soon as I walked in, they bombarded me with questions.

  “Why did Nate give you a ride?” Rue asked.

  “What did you guys talk about?” Jules inquired. 

  “Don’t you hate him?” 

  “He’s kind of a dick, but, unfortunately, super good looking.”

  “Did Maddy see?” 

  “Do you think she’s gonna kill you?” 

  “Guys, I don’t know but I do know that if you do not take amazing pictures of me with no clothes on soon, I will delete my entire profile,” I interrupted. 

  They both nodded. 

  “But, we will ask for details later,” Jules insisted.

  “Okay, but, please give me a cookie, I’ll need it to get through this.” 

  Rue extended the plate towards me and I bit into the melty goodness as Jules began doing my makeup. It was simple, only bringing out my best features. I made them both turn around as I undressed. Once I had, Jules encouraged me.

  “You look amazing, I would be shocked if he didn’t jizz in his pants,” Jules said.

  “Lower your voice, Y/B/N can only play Five Nights at Freddy’s so loud,” I hissed.

  Jules held her hands up and Rue direct me to lay on the bed, my phone held up in front of her.

  “Okay, look sexy,” Rue said.

  I tried to smolder, but, by their expressions, I did not achieve it.

  “No, like, pout your lips, like, you just heard that TheOdd1sOut is not uploading for a month,” Jules directed.

  “And give the camera bedroom eyes, you know, as though it’s Tyler.”

  “Okay.”    After a few pictures, I slowly got the hang of it and even started posing a little naturally.

  “Oh my gosh, Tyra is shook!” Jules cheered. 

 “Yeah, these are pretty good if I do say so myself.” Rue handed me my phone and I flipped through the pictures. 

  She was a talented photogrpaher and I joked that maybe she should go professional.

  “Yeah, I’m sure I’d have a nice clientele.” 

  I laughed as I changed back into my hoodie and sweatpants. “Okay, help me pick one to send.” 

  Jules took my phone and she and Rue began scrolling.

  “No, the lighting’s off in this one,” Jules muttered.

  “No, it’s never off in any of these,” Rue argued. 

  “I’m not shading your talent, I’m just trying to find the best thing for Y/N to send Tyler.” 

  After a little more bickering, we all agreed on the picture and I sent it to Tyler.

  “Should I follow it up with something?” I asked.

  “Maybe say ‘Wrong person’? Guys want what other guys want,” Jules suggested.

  “Or say ‘Sorry for the late reply’,” Rue added.

  “I’ll go with Rue’s, sorry, Jules.” 

  Jules shrugged. 

  I sent everything off and my friends and I watched as Tyler typed a response.

  Tyler: It was worth the wait ;).

  We squealed so loud that my mom yelled for us to keep it down. We apologized as we descended into a fit of giggles. Through it all, I could not help but feel so bouncy and light all over. Was I...falling for this total stranger? 

  “What do you think he looks like?” Jules asked during lunch later that week.

  I shrugged. “It’s different every day, if that makes sense.” 

  “I guess that’s the nice thing about interacting with someone who doesn’t show their face,” Jules thought outloud. 

  “How do you see him now?” Lexi asked. 

  I sighed. “Right now, I think he’s tall, six feet at least. He’s got a mix of blonde and brown hair like a surfer because it’s lightened from all the time he’s spent in the sun. He has green eyes, freckles, and he dresses well.” 

  “Sounds amazing,” Jules said as she rest her chin in her hand. 

  Rue nodded slowly. “You’re not nervous or anything?” 

  “No, this is so cheesy, but, I feel like I know him, you know? He’s so easy to talk to and has so much to say.”

  “Y/N’s blushing,” Jules teased. “Do you love him?” 

  “I really, really, really, like him.” 

  “Do you think you’ll meet soon?” Lexi asked.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, neither of us has brought it up.”

  “Well, it just matters that you’re comfortable, okay?” Rue said.

  “Okay.” 

  If I was honest, I did not know if I wanted to meet Tyler. I knew that I liked him more than I liked anyone before, but, there was something strange about breaking this wall the internet provided us. It was freer to talk on the internet than it was in person. What if I said something stupid in front of him? What if he thought that I looked different in person? What if he looked different in person? 

  I managed to keep these thoughts at bay for the rest of the day until I got home. Post-dinner had been officially declared Talk to Tyler Time. None of my family knew what I was doing besides blasting Amy Winehouse in my room for about an hour. My laugh nearly overpowered her high note in “Best Friends, Right?”. I had to blink away my happy tears as I replied to him. 

  Y/N: That did not happen!  Tyler: Yes it did! Do u want 2 c the scar????

 Y/N: No, I think I’m good.

 I wiped away my tears and settled under the covers. I wondered if his friends would agree that Tyler gets into some weird situations as well. Just as I started typing, Tyler beat me.

 Tyler: I want 2 meet u.

 The speed that I launched my phone away from me almost shocked me more than the text.

  Almost.

  My heartbeat thrummed in my ears. This was it, I knew I couldn’t avoid him much longer, but, I felt like I couldn’t move. All I could do was stare at my phone like it was the most offensive object in the world. Slowly, I regained mobility and grabbed my phone. I took a deep breath.

  “Take a chance, Y/L/N,” I whispered.

  Y/N: When and where?

    “You’re meeting him tonight?” Jules squealed the next day.

  I hushed her as people in the hallway paused to look at us. “Not so loud.”   “But this is so exciting. Please let me help you decide what to wear,” Jules pleaded with a pout. 

  “Sure,” I said. 

  Jules hugged me. “This is going to be so fun. I won’t go crazy with glitter since this is the first time you’re meeting this guy.” 

 “Thanks?” 

 “Do your parents know?” Rue asked.

 “No,” I replied as I slowly pulled away from Jules. “They’re coming Senior Night tonight, though. and I’m going to meet him at Mercy Park an hour before it ends.” 

 “Are you sure you even want to do this? I know that Jules and I tease you about your love life, but, this is risky,” Rue said. 

 “You weren’t saying that when you were helping me with those pictures the other day,” I shot back.

  “That was different. You’re...you’re actually meeting him now and he could be a psychopath or a sociopath or, just, a creepy old guy who likes to look at teenagers!” Rue insisted.

  “Rue, relax, everything’s going to be fine.”

  “You don’t know that!” She turned on her heel and hurried into the bathroom with Jules and I on her tail. 

  When we entered, Rue was leaning against the wall, panting and staring up at the ceiling. Jules and I approached her slowly as the girls who were in the bathroom quickly filed out. 

  “Rue, slow down your breathing,” I said slowly.

  “I...I can’t. You-you could get hurt or something and-and I would know about it an-and I-I couldn’t live with that!” Tears burst from her eyes as Rue began pacing and Jules and I were close but gave her room. 

  “Rue, Y/N is going to be okay, we both know what time she’ll be at the park. If anything happens, we’ll know the area she could be in,” Jules assured her.

  Rue shook her head and stopped in her tracks. Then, she looked between us helplessly before bowing her head and sobbing. Jules and I carefully hugged her and let her cry.

  “I’m sorry that I’m scared and I care about you and I don’t want you to get hurt,” Rue mumbled into my shirt.

  “It’s okay, I appreciate it. I really want to meet Tyler, though, and, I promise I will let you know if something happens, okay?” 

  Rue nodded and sniffled.

   It took Jules about an hour to make me look amazing. I had no idea my hair could be so fluffy and put together until she was done with it. She used eyeliner to make eyes look bigger and rounder and added sparkly lip gloss to make my lips look plumper. After she contoured and highlighted the best places she deemed that her work was done. My outfit, a fitted forest green long-sleeve shirt and fitted black pants with Jadons, was also approved by her.

  “Tell me everything later!” she insisted.

  Rue couldn’t join us since she had “prior commitments” but I texted her that I would let her know when I head to the park and when I leave. My nerves didn’t let me focus on the soccer game my parents insisted I joined them and my brother at. I couldn’t care less that the forward on one team got a yellow card or that the goalie on the other team made illegal blocks. I was practically buzzing with excitement and fear so much that I had to give my pretzel to Y/B/N. Finally, the third quarter arrived and I told my parents that I would meet them at home since I’d promised Lexi that I would help her with some homework. 

  Lexi wouldn’t mind being used for a lie this one time; it was an emergency.

  I tried to practice some calming deep breaths as I walked over to the park. The dark night sky provided a little bit of comfort to my walk. I wondered how different Tyler would look from the picture in my mind. I wondered if he thought I would look any different. Maybe (hopefully) it wouldn’t matter to either of us.

  Finally, I reached the park. It was empty, save for the oak trees scattered throughout the lush green scenery that seemed mysterious under the mooonlight. A few benches and wooden tables were around as well, but, Tyler and I had agreed to meet at the fountain which was further in the park. The breathing exercises had to have helped because I felt much more relaxed and I hoped that everything would go all right. 

   When I got to the fountain, there was a tall person facing it. All I could make out were dark clothes and broad shoulders. I took another deep breath and kept walking.

  “This is a nice spot, you have good taste,” I commented. 

  “I could say the same for you.” I stopped in my tracks as Nate slowly turned to face me. His face was unreadable but his eyes stayed on me. 

  “What? Wh-where’s Tyler?” I asked, my voice already hoarse. 

  Nate glanced down at his shoes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know how else to talk to you.” 

  I shook my head. “No.” My vision got blurry but I could tell that Nate was looking up at me now. 

  “Just let me explain,” he requested softly. 

  He took a step towards me and I took two steps back .

 “I don’t wanna hear it. This....this is some sick joke to you or something?” 

 “No, never, Y/N, just listen to me.” 

 “I don’t want to!” The tears rolled down my cheeks and I swiped at them so hard that I thought I scratched myself. At least I could feel something because my heart felt numb. “You catfished me!” 

  “I just wanted to talk to you, I really do like you, Y/N. Tyler and I are the same, just different names,” Nate insisted, coming closer.

  For some reason, I didn’t move. I didn’t know if it was from emotional exhaustion or stress, but, I let him approach me. I kept shaking my head. 

  “No,” I hiccuped. 

  “I wanted to meet you tonight because I was tired of lying. I want to figure this, us, out,” Nate said.

  I sniffed. “Us?” 

  At that moment, I could actually see his face and Nate seemed so hopeful. There was a slight smile on his lips and his eyes seemed light for once. Maybe he wanted there to be an “us”. Maybe, despite all logic, he wanted to talk to me seriously and could not do it offline because of his reputation. Maybe, he was over the on-again-off-again situation with Maddy. Maybe, this was my chance, our chance.

  I wiped my face again, mentally cringing at how upset Jules would be for my ruining her masterpiece. 

  “Yeah, us.” Nate stepped closer to me, gently wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me into his chest.

  Gradually, my muscles relaxed and I relished in the feeling of his strong upper body and his warmth. Then, I began to feel pressure on my waist and gasped as it intensified. 

  “Nate, you’re...squeezing...too hard,” I rasped out. 

  And he started laughing, no, cackling. As he laughed, his grip tightened and I continued gasping and clawing at everything I could. 

  “Nate...stop!” 

  But he kept laughing and squeezing. When he finally released me, I looked up and saw nothing behind his eyes. Everything in me told me to run, but, I knew he could have easily caught up to me.

  “I really thought you were smarter than that, Y/N. C’mon, you couldn’t honestly think that I would do all this to be with you,” he sneered.

  “So why do it then?” I asked, my voice so small that I could have kicked myself for it. 

  Nate sighed and folded his arms. “Because you made it so easy and, to ask for a favor.” 

  “What? That makes no sense,” I argued. “I told you I owed you one that day you gave me a ride!” 

  “Yeah, well, I needed to make sure that you were available when I needed you.” 

  “Whatever, screw you,” I hissed as I pivoted on my heel. 

  “Too late for you, you’re already screwed.” Nate pulled out a folder from inside his jacket pocket. “Remember those special pictures you sent to Tyler? Well, they count as distribution of child pornography, which has a hefty fine and sentence.” 

   My mouth opened and closed several times before I faced him and responded. “But...but you held them, doesn’t that count towards possession? And, you’re extorting me!” 

  Nate glowered at me and stormed over. “Heresay, no solid evidence for your case. Plus, I’m a Jacobs, so, who are you kidding?” 

   I felt so sick to my stomach that I could have thrown up, fainted, or cried at that moment. This was not real, this could not be real.

   “What do you want?” I asked.

   “Like I said, just be available when I need you.” 

  “Fine.” 

  “Sorry, what was that?” He gripped my chin his hand and forced me to look up at him.

  “Okay,” I said softly.

  “Hmm.” His eyes scanned my face before he released me. “And if I ever hear you judging my relationship with Maddy again, these pictures are going to be the least of your concern.” 

  I nodded weakly, regretting every single thing I ever told him. Nate Jacobs was truly the devil. He wandered off into the night like a centurion leaving a victorious battle. It seemed like he always won. 

  I managed not to start crying until I was on the empty sidewalk. No, I sobbed so bad that my throat went dry. 

  How could I have been so stupid? I should have known it was him that day Maddy yelled at him for texting all day. 

  Stupid, stupid, stupid!

  My sobs continued as I grabbed my phone and texted Rue. 

  Y/N: U were right. 

[innranrae]

🐚 A Birthday Amidst the Archipelago

A/N: oneshot for my fav russian boys bday, i included the golden apple archipelago bc it was the most fun event/area I've experienced in genshin so far and I'll miss it a lot but at least it's inazuma and electro aether time, anyways hope you enjoy this and if you have suggestions/tips on writing or anything please lmk! I'm new to it all and I'm trying my best ;w; my friend proofread this tho and shes big brain so id say this one is pretty swaggy

￫ pairing(s): Zhongli/Childe, Aether/Venti (kinda platonic tbh), Venti and Dvalin vibing

￫ word count: ~ 3k

￫ cw: alcohol

￫ ao3

����️

Zhongli sensed a large being coming from the skies of Duyun Ruins. He did not want to believe it, but his doubts were soon confirmed.

Dvalin descended from the clouds with a heavy thud, sending the living creatures around either running or flying. Mounted on the Dragon of the East were Venti and Aether; The bard wore a pair of sunglasses and a light attire that shocked Zhongli to the core, he had thought the anemo archon could not get any more ludicrous, but it appears he was mistaken.

A slight frown grew on his face watching the scene and the geo archon couldn’t help but raise his palm to his face, sighing. On the flip side, Childe was astonished; his eyes sparkled observing Dvalin, considering what the outcome would be if they were to fight.

—

2 days earlier

“Traveler,

It has been some time since we last saw each other. I do hope your ventures are going smoothly.

I am writing to you to request assistance with an event that will take place two days from now. As you may know, Childe’s birthday is on the 20th of this month and I have been finding it hard to come up with a suitable gift. I wish to surprise him but nothing that fits my criteria comes to mind, in addition to the fact I am still adjusting to mortal life and their festivals.

If you do not mind and, of course, if you are free that day, I hope you can help me with this matter.

Zhongli”

After sending his letter to Aether, Zhongli straightened his shoulders on the stool at one of Heyu Tea House’s tables, raising a cup of steaming tea to his mouth, and waited for his guest to arrive.

“Receiving an invitation from Mr. Zhongli first sure feels nice,” a voice shouted coming from the stairs.

Zhongli glanced at the harbinger who took a seat by his side, “Childe, do you have any plans for your birthday?”

Childe widened his eyes slightly, “Birthday?” He raised his hand thoughtfully to his face. “Oh, my birthday! Hm… Is Mr. Zhongli planning on giving me some type of gift?” The harbinger smiled playfully.

“Please answer my question.”

“Nope! None at all.”

In actuality, Childe should be busy taking care of the Fatui’s business around Liyue; unfortunately for his underlings, he was going to do whatever he wanted either way. Additionally, he had a feeling Mr. Zhongli’s question was not trivial, and speculated the archon probably wanted to make plans.

“I see."

Unexpectedly, instead of proceeding on that topic, Zhongli said nothing more as he took another sip of his tea.

Despite the surprising lack of further development, he forgot about it as soon as Zhongli started to talk about a Ruin Hunter he encountered the prior day in the fields.

He knew by now what topics intrigued Childe's simple warrior mind, and that alone had Childe rambling about fighting tactics and his own experiences to Zhongli, occasionally trying to convince the archon to fight him, which he politely refused.

—

Meanwhile, at the Golden Apple Archipelago...

"I could really use a hand over here, Venti!" Aether's cry for help could barely be heard over the shrieking group of hilichurls advancing one after the other.

"But I-"

After unleashing a wind vortex from his palm, Aether glared at the bard, who was leisurely plucking the strings of his lyre on top of a rock. "Playing a battle song isn't helping!" He cut Venti off, resulting in the end of Venti's untimely concert with lots of whining.

After jumping off the rock, the bard shot an arrow that sent the group of monsters flying altogether.

The pair had a short-lived moment of relief, but soon the eerie sound of a horn was heard, indicating that more enemies were on their way. Aether groaned while Venti giggled nervously, and so, they had to return to their combat stances.

Not long after engaging, the traveler heard a short sound that made him stop his blade.

“Oh, I’ve got mail,” Aether walked a few steps from the fighting, reading the message while leaving the bard to get the monsters’ attention.

Venti's eyes widened at the sudden rush of monsters coming directly at him, though luckily, he sent them flying once again.

“Woah~ Don’t do that so suddenly, traveler, so mean!”

After reading Zhongli’s message, Aether was deep in thought, looking around as if searching for something, until his eyes met the green-colored ones of the anemo archon that reciprocated the eye contact, with a touch of wonder.

Zhongli opened the new mail he received, analyzing the few words Aether had sent.

“Meet us by Duyun Ruins at 9 in the morning, bring Childe with you.”

“Meet us? If I am not mistaken, Paimon has been staying with Xiangling, and didn’t show any signs of wanting to leave any time soon. Perhaps she can easily travel back and forth,” Zhongli thought to himself.

—

Present Day, Duyun Ruins

Jumping from the dragon’s back, Venti beamed, “Morax! Long time no see~!” Arms wide open as he threw himself towards his old friend. But before he got too close, Zhongli shielded himself, and instead of a hug, Venti’s face was compressed against the solid surface of the geo shield.

Venti staggered a step back from the impact, raising his hand to his cheek, now starting to swell, “Ow!” He pouted.

Zhongli tried to keep his cool, throwing a look at the two boys who recently arrived,waiting for an explanation.

Aether catches on the meaningful gaze and reassures, “Don’t worry, I think we avoided being noticed by anyone.”

“Yeah, Dvalin here is… Well, he tries to be discreet when flying around. After all, I was the one who taught him that~" Venti put a hand on the dragon's body while the other gave Zhongli a thumbs up.

"Saying you were the one who taught him does not reassure me one bit…" Zhongli’s veins were protruding from distress by now. "Aside from that, aren't you supposed to be more careful not to expose your identity in front of the common folk?"

The three other men stared at Zhongli in confusion, exchanging looks between themselves, "Common folk?" Venti asked. Childe was the first to realize he was probably talking about him and began laughing at the Zhongli's seemingly forgetfulness.

"Morax, you sure only remember what you want, huh. Even I know from the traveler's stories that this boy here is the eleventh harbinger of the Fatui. If that harbinger lady took my gnosis, I'm sure this kid knows my identity by now," Venti reassured while Aether slowly nodded, feeling second-hand embarrassment.

Zhongli was at a loss for words, raising his fist to his mouth, awkwardly coughing. On the other hand, the harbinger found the situation quite funny and patted Morax's back a few times while giggling.

Zhongli met Aether's eyes, "Nevertheless, what I desire to know is why that bard and his dragon are here?"

"Well, you’ll see when we get there," Aether reassured, getting back on the dragon's back along with Venti.

Childe cheerfully jumped on, extending his hand down to the geo archon who bashfully accepted, pointedly ignoring the meaningful grins the two other boys directed at him. And with little effort, Dvalin took off to the Golden Apple Archipelago.

The Snezhnayan boy's eyes gleamed with excitement from his first-ever experience that high up, sitting between behind Aether and in front of Zhongli.

Though, his laxity almost made the reddish mask on his hair fly away, luckily being rescued by the man behind him.

"Thank you!" The powerful gushes of wind made his words difficult to understand, yet enough for Zhongli to understand them.

If any normal person would travel through the clouds in the back of a dragon for the first time in their life, surely they would practice caution or be a little wary of their surroundings.

However, because Childe was Childe, an expert in adapting fast to just about anything, the journey on the skies was far from frightening.

A few minutes had passed and the boys were already close to their destination, and with his usual carefree expression, Venti looked back at the men behind him, yelling as Dvalin descended, "Hold on tight!"

With another loud thud, Dvalin settled at the northwestern part of Twinning Isle. Aether grew anxious in anticipation, waiting for Childe to see the preparations that he and Venti had come up with in such a short timeframe.

They had the inspiration from Alice's surprise for Klee, though not as crafty as she was. With the help of Tubby back in the Serenitea Pot, he managed to decorate the place nicely with newly crafted objects.

Umbrellas and chairs painted a light shade of sky blue sat next to fishing rods, Sea Ganodermas and conches decorated the sand in a path leading to a gazebo, which had seashells and starfishes hang from the wooden ceiling, surrounded by curtains.

And inside of it, one chest stored miscellaneous things, while the one next to it contained something that Venti declared extremely necessary: summer clothing he managed to acquire. In addition to the clothes he prepared, the anemo archon was also tasked with providing the food and drinks.

Visibly so as there were at least three bottles of either dandelion or osmanthus wine for every single dish on the table. Which, of course, was all paid for with the traveler's Mora.

All in all, the table was charmingly organized. A cake with a whale drawn on top of it sat in the middle of it all, while balloons were tied to the wooden table.

Upon reaching the sand, Childe was fascinated. The ocean breeze brushing against his face, the warm sunlight of the Archipelago and the salty waves gently crashing onto the tide united all the scenery together.

He’d never seen such a tropical place in his life, so unfamiliar in comparison to his frozen homeland's weather and features.

Lost in admiration for the scenery, he had already forgotten that it was his birthday, only remembering when Zhongli called out his name, directing him to look ahead where the decorated area was put, in preparation for the celebration to commence.

Venti leaned back against Dvalin's tail, already playing a melody, as the other three walked along the decorated path.

Aether fastened his steps, going ahead and getting a small box. Then, turning back to the birthday boy, he extended the gift.

"Happy birthday, Childe."

The harbinger let out a small "thank you" before opening it.

His blue eyes twinkled as he grabbed the content inside the box for closer examination. It was a bright piece of wood with a smaller version of him, Teucer and Aether drawn on it, as well as a ruin guard, or “Mr. Cyclops” as his little brother would say, stood behind them.

Without thinking, Childe embraced Aether tightly with a wide smile across his face, and at the display of the ginger’s excitement, the traveler couldn't help but feel accomplished.

After the gift was exchanged, Venti pointed out the clothes he had prepared, which made Zhongli flinch at the thought of wearing sunglasses as eccentric as his. Luckily, they were just lighter clothes, not accessories.

Childe, already excited from the exotic scenery, went on ahead to change his clothes behind a tall rock.

Zhongli and Aether walked towards the same location, at a much slower pace than the Snezhnayan boy, who was already out of sight.

“Thank you for your efforts, traveler. You managed to surprise me as well,” Zhongli finally got the chance to say.

“It was no problem at all. I’m having fun and the ‘tone-deaf bard’ was a great help, too.”

Childe emerged from behind the rock suddenly, wearing shorts and a shirt that was presumably supposed to be buttoned up. As a matter of fact, all the attires were of a similar design, the few differences being their color schemes, a few patterns, and the boy’s usual accessories.

Before any reaction, they heard monstrous noises getting closer to the shelter. A group of hilichurls nearby seemed to have been alarmed by the dragon’s arrival.

Something inside Childe’s mind clicked and he immediately turned the way of the shrieks, getting ready to fight, “Leave them to me!”

“Oh I was counting on that,” Aether affirmed as Venti nodded. Knowing very well of the harbinger’s passion for fighting, they speculated about the attack and gladly attached it to the list of events for that day.

Aether’s words were thrown at no one though, since Childe had left as soon as those four words left his lips earlier, leaving no time to receive any reaction from the others.

Bad luck for those poor hilichurls, honestly.

Childe's hydro blades moved swiftly, leaving droplets in the sand as they slashed one after the other, ending each almost instantly, leaving little space for a counterattack. He only stopped moving when there were no more of the monsters around, either because they were actually all dead or ran away from fear.

Coming back to the shelter’s path, Childe saw that they were now fishing, which made him joyfully run to join them, and noticing that he was back, Zhongli offered Childe a fishing rod and a seat next to himself.

“Oh man, this takes me back to the old days with my dad,” The ginger said while settling down on the beach chair, “Though the temperatures are the complete opposite, haha. I wonder if my family would survive the extreme change in the weather, though.”

Zhongli and Aether listened attentively while holding their rods, all the while, the anemo archon, visibly tipsy, communicated with Dvalin nearby.

“How come you managed to adapt this easily to the sudden climate change, Childe?” Zhongli asked.

“A warrior must always adapt to any situation. If I let the heat get the best of me, I'm weakened, consequently leaving myself open to enemy attacks."

"Damn, he never changes. If it isn't about his family, the answer is always related to being a fighter… Well, it is almost comforting in a way." Aether thought, mentallyrolling his eyes while taking a sip of the drink Venti had given him.

"I see," Zhongli seriously responded, "It is indeed true. Keeping one's body and mind stable is a must when facing laborious challenges."

Childe was filled with joy upon hearing the acknowledgement. It was always pleasant to hear someone who understood his point of view.

The traveler shifted his attention upon feeling a small force pulling down the

rod.

A fish had finally taken the bait, and the eyes of the two men also moved towards him when they heard the small "oh" Aether let out.

They all rejoiced at the successful catch and its size, and the traveler went straight ahead to prepare a meal for them.

—

As the day went by, they had almost checked everything on the task list; They fished for a while, Aether showed the mechanisms and puzzles that Klee's mom prepared, even landing his Harpastum so Childe could try them, he also taught them how to ride and summon the Waverider, they exchanged various anecdotes, as well as how the traveler came across the Archipelago in the first place, describing the whole Dodo King saga, and finally, filled themselves with food and drinks.

The sun rapidly fell under the horizon, merging the last colored rays of marigold into the indigo night sky. Venti had managed to convince the traveler to drink with him throughout the day and, needless to say, they were quite drunk by now, though both of them had a high tolerance and were somehow still acting civilized.

While Dvalin slept, the four men sat on the sand, listening to Venti sing around the crackling campfire.

When the bard began to sing a piece about Snezhnaya, Childe seemed to have recalled something.

He shuffled through his belongings, grabbing a bottle with a clear liquid, “This was a gift I received earlier, it’s a Snezhnayan specialty alcohol, Fire-Water!”

Aether gulped nervously at the familiar name. He had heard the stories around Mondstadt, how Master Diluc spent three days in bed after drinking a single glass of it, leading to the unsuccessful partnership with the Snezhnayan merchants.

Childe poured the liquid into separate cups and went around distributing them to the boys. Sitting back in his original spot, he continued, “As per tradition, we have to down the cup in one go!”

Venti was all in for the proposal, and despite their concern at first, Zhongli and Aether respected the birthday boy’s wish.

After raising their cups in a toast, they all drank the beverage at once.

Childe cheered, rambling about how he missed the taste of the drink. Zhongli seemed to be unaffected, calm as always, smiling and listening to the Snezhnayan boy.

However, Aether didn’t seem so well, he had expected the feeling, but because of the previous drinks he shared with the bard, it seemed to have had a stronger effect on him.

Aether wasn't the most affected by the drink, though.

That one shot was the ultimatum for Venti. His vision was blurry and he couldn’t stop laughing, which alarmed the others, but before they could take action and ask what was wrong, the archon fell into the sand, a grin on his face as he passed out.

After the realization of what just happened, Aether was the first to talk, “Um, I’ll take him to the shelter. I’m feeling a bit… dizzy too. I’ll get some sleep, haha,” He was making a great effort to sound coherent.

“Hope you enjoyed your day, Childe.”

A sincere smile was directed towards the boy sitting next to Zhongli. That expression warmed Childe’s heart. Aether had put great effort into this whole day and he could tell.

Childe was about to open his mouth to say something after the traveler turned his back to them while carrying Venti, but was stopped by the blonde, “Oh, there’s something I forgot to say. If you go west from here you will find another island with a shipwreck on top of the, um… Rock structure thing. It’s a good place to watch the stars. Anyways, hehe, good night.”

That piqued the two tall men’s interest, and after watching Aether and Venti enter the shelter, Childe looked at Zhongli, who was already standing up, as if he shared the same idea as the other.

A short cruise to the Nameless Isle later, Zhongli and Childe were already walking side by side through the tide, leaving steady footprints on the sand’s surface.

When the two stopped to both admire the place and look for a way to get to the top of the rocky mountain, Zhongli noticed a mural on the rock, which showed a shipwreck and what seemed to be a few people trying to save each other.

The archon was pondering about the meaning of it when he heard Childe’s voice from behind him.

“Mr. Zhongli, there’s a wind current over here!”

Zhongli went to the other’s location, noticing the current that led to the top of the mountain.

Without much effort, both of them got to the original destination: The shipwreck Aether mentioned.

It was indeed a tragic but beautiful place; a place where one could watch the azure starry sky, pale moon glowing brightly.

The two found a spot to sit near the ship that once sailed the seas, and watched the galaxies above them.

Childe offered another shot of the Fire-Water, which the both of them shared. Zhongli closed his eyes, deep in thought.

He had been trying to find the chance to give Childe his birthday gift, but he couldn’t find the opportunity to do so. Finally, now seemed like the perfect time.

He reopened his eyes and stared at Childe, who was watching the sky attentively, blue eyes shining unitedly with the stars.

“Childe.”

Upon hearing his name, he turned to look at the archon.

“Give me your hand,” Zhongli said, reaching his own towards the harbinger.

Childe automatically did so, and after searching for an object on the pocket of his shorts, Zhongli put the present on the other’s palm.

It was a single earring made of Noctilucous Jade and Cor Lapis, in a similar fashion as the one earring Childe normally wore.

“This reminded me of you when I saw it. If you do not wish to wear it, I understand, but I do hope you could keep it with you.”

Zhongli said that but the harbinger was already taking off his original earring, making the archon a bit embarrassed at the impulsiveness of the boy, yet very pleased.

Childe had been rambling about the, now, old earring and how he had gotten it in the first place, but after a while of no response from Zhongli, he gazed at him, being met by the image of the geo archon fast asleep.

Zhongli had a high alcohol tolerance, but with the nightfall, his drowsiness had grown to an almost unbearable level, and now, he was finally subdued by it.

Ajax couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his chest, his expression softened and he decided it was time for him to rest too.

He had never had a better birthday in his life.

[emwritesfootball]

Best Friend’s Wedding | Tyrone Mings

being the maid of honour at your best friends wedding and meeting tyrone during the wedding planning process as he is the grooms best man. you get to know each while helping plan the wedding and end up hooking up at the wedding and it turns into a nice relationship that ends up with you married in a few years and your maid of honour and best man are your best friends and they can do a speech at the wedding. idk if it makes sense but i really trust your writing to bring the idea to life lol

Okay so I tried really hard to make this one part because I feel like I could very easily turn this into a mini-series but I hope this oneshot is enough xx thank you for trusting me with this idea, my dear!

- - -

You hadn’t really ever been into football, but your best friend was and it was no surprise to you that she’d landed a footballer and was on her way to becoming your favourite WAG. The day your best friend got engaged to John McGinn was one of the best days of your life. You’d wished you could have been there to celebrate, but you were still on the other side of the country for your job. 

A month later, she asked you to be her Maid of Honour when she came to visit for a long weekend and the two of you spent time looking at all the shops and discussing who the other bridesmaids are and who John’s Best Man and groomsmen were. You were excited to meet Tyrone Mings, especially after you’d Googled him and found out what he looked like. 

You got your wish a couple months later when you went back to help your friend pick out her wedding dress, and you were instantly attracted to him. You were on the taller side for a woman and you’d originally been scared to wear heels to the wedding, but with someone by your side who was almost 2 metres tall, you could definitely wear them. 

Tyrone was funny and charming, making you laugh and blush every time you met him. There was chemistry between the two of you - everyone could see it - but neither of you wanted to do anything about it. You didn’t want to be someone’s wedding fling and he didn’t want to start up anything with a girl who worked on the other side of the country.

When you couldn’t be at an event because of time, work, or distance, Tyrone was the one sending you funny pictures and texts or FaceTiming you in so that everyone could get a chance to say hi to you. Even when there wasn’t anything going on, he would FaceTime you and tell you about his day or the latest match he’d played in. Slowly, you started getting into football, if only so you could have an excuse to text him at least once a day. 

***

Finally, after almost a year and a half of planning, the wedding was finally here! You were in a beautiful burgundy dress, A bright smile on your face as you walked down the aisle with Tyrone, your heart in your throat.

The wedding was beautiful and you knew it was everything your best friend had wanted. You couldn’t help tearing up at little as the two of them read their vows to each other, and you caught Tyrone’s eye; he gave you a small smile and you could see that his eyes were shining with unshed tears as well. 

The reception was magical. You were seated next to Ty and you loved every minute of it. He wouldn’t stop making jokes throughout people’s corny speeches and managed to ensnare you in a game of creating backstories for people not seated at the main table. 

It wasn’t any surprise to your friends when you left with Ty and hooked up with him in your hotel suite next door, relishing the feel of his hands all over your body and the sounds he extracted from your lips. You fell asleep in his arms, both of you vowing that this changed nothing.

***

And it didn’t change anything...at first. You and Tyrone still talked almost every day, but then you both started making plans to visit each other. Whenever you were planning on going back to Birmingham, Ty was the first person you told and he usually met you at the airport or the train station. You always spent your long weekends at his place when you could and vice versa. When the Premier League was on holiday break and he hadn’t been called up for this string of international matches, he was travelling to you to spend his holiday with you.

After about six months of travelling back and forth to each other, both of you finally decided to have The Talk. A week later, you were updating your relationship status and making posts featuring Ty and he was doing the same to you. It felt odd to be in such a public relationship, but as long as you had Ty to centre you, everything would be fine.

Before either of you knew it, you’d been seeing each other for a year. Then two. He proposed to you privately on the day that England qualified for the group stages of the World Cup, posting a picture of the two of you with the ring on your finger with the caption ‘Best Day of my Life.’

The two of you were married after three and a half years of dating and you couldn’t be more excited. You’d asked your best friend to be your Maid of Honour and Ty had asked McGinn to be his Best Man, mirroring their wedding almost four years prior. 

You didn’t leave Ty’s side all night, always touching or kissing or whispering something in each other’s ear. “Can you believe that almost four years ago, we were them?” You murmured to Ty as the two of you were having your first dance, your gaze flickering over to your best friend and McGinn.

Ty huffed a quiet laugh in your ear. “No, but I hope that we’re them in four years - still happily married and so in love with each other.”

“Of course we will,” you said, smiling up at him. “It’s us.”

***

Five years later, after a house and two dogs and a discussion about kids, you and Tyrone were celebrating your fifth anniversary, still just as in love as you’d been on your wedding day. Sure, there had been ups and downs - Ty had moved clubs twice and the two of you had had your fair share of fights - but what mattered was that you were both always there for each other and you worked on your marriage every day.

Forever Tags: @chilly-me-softly @savingprivatecass @inlovewithamess @footballdaydream @brewsterbabyy @bbychilly @jamesdanielmaddison @hmminnbirdd @sweetlikesugar9 @lawsandother @eastxfeden @words-for-marcus @eatsleepbreathefutbol @hoelymolywinksy @marco-asensios @kingkepaff @meteora-fc

Tyrone Tags: @idiotsfc @qwetyronerty

[redrobinhoood]

the lakes | chapter 1, something of good quality

A sequel to no choir

AO3 Link | 2,800 words (approx) | Chapter 2

A/N: Experimenting with putting chapter titles on Tumblr

This was supposed to be a oneshot. It was supposed to be an in out and done. Less than 15% of this chapter was planned. I’m in writer’s agony.

Story Summary: Fox and Riyo are at peace. But Fox's injury has yet to heal, and they find themselves redefining who they are now that their prior identities have been stripped away. [M rating]

Riyo awoke to an empty bed beside her and the sound of retching. She threw off the covers and hurried to their bathroom to find Fox bent over the toilet. She sat down beside him and pulled him into her arms when his body had stopped heaving, running her fingers through his sweaty hair as he rested his head against her breast.

“I thought they’d said one month?” She said softly.

“So did I.” He huffed. “And I waited three.”

“We can go to a medic in the morning if you want.”

“I’ll see how I feel.”

Riyo reached behind her for the closest towel and wet it with water from the bath tap before raising Fox’s head from her chest and cleaning off his lips with the wet cloth. After she had set the towel aside she leaned down to kiss him, gently brushing her lips against his before she pulled his head back to her chest. “I just want to know you’re healing.”

“Well, my stomach works.”

“Fox.” She chided.

He laughed. “But not my liver, can’t even process weak Phibian beer.”

“Who would win; one genetically engineered super solider with patented DNA and deadly accuracy, or half a glass of rye water?” She teased, grinning as she felt his chest shake underneath her touch.

“I didn’t even drink the whole bottle.”

She leaned down and pressed a kiss into his jaw, taking delight in the scratchiness of his short beard against her lips. “I won’t tell Jek and Thire.”

“No, please do.” He chuckled quietly. “They’d love to hear from you.”

Riyo took in a deep breath, trying to cement the moment in her memory. Fox’s laugh, the press of his head against her breast, the sterile bathroom lighting falling over their bare skin. “Want to go back to bed?”

“Yeah. I think my stomach is settled.” He rose slowly from her lap and waited for her to stand beside him before they made their way back into the bedroom together. Riyo gently pushed him back down into the sheets before she herself slunk down into them. She turned away from him, pressing her back against his body, giving him room to breathe. But Fox wasn’t having that tonight. She felt an arm snake around her waist before he pulled their bodies together and buried his face in her hair. She draped her arm over his and closed her eyes, listening to him breathe her in as they fell back into sleep.

---

The light coming in through their bedroom windows woke Riyo first. Finding that she had turned onto her back during the night, she slowly opened her eyes to find that her head was resting against Fox’s, whose face was still buried in her hair, though now in the crook of her shoulder. Some small movement of her waking woke Fox in turn, and he stirred beside her.

“Jate vaar’tur, cyar’ika.”

“Kaliméra, philaítatos.”

“Oh?”

“Two can play at this game, Fox.” She craned her neck down to kiss his forehead, then his nose, then his lips as he pushed closer to her. Then she was the one being kissed when Fox leaned over her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, stroking the smooth skin beneath them. His hands were roaming over her bare torso, one thumb lazily stroking the curve of her hips as the other teased the waistband of her underwear.

He leaned further over to plant a kiss against her neck, only to flinch and draw away with a groan, reaching for the fresh scar in the center of his torso. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, no, don’t be sorry.” Riyo sat up to press her fingers over his, fully covering the damage that the sniper’s shot had left behind. She pried his fingers away from the scar and pressed her lips against the pink skin to leave gentle, fluttery kisses over the exit wound, then the surgical scars that his recovery had left behind. “I know sex has been painful for you with this bastard.”

Fox took her face in both hands and raised it back up from his chest. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“You did take two shots of blasterfire for me the week we met.” She closed her eyes and accepted his kiss. “And I know that you respect my opinions and will go to a medic today because you don’t want me to worry over you.” She continued when he had pulled away.

Fox laughed and brushed his lips against hers one last time before drawing away completely. “I guess the matter is settled then. Such a politician.”

“Blackmail is my specialty. Get me and a Jedi in the room and-.” She stopped, remembering there were no Jedi. Not anymore.

“I know, it’s still weird. And I was there.”

Riyo sighed and ran a hand over her scalp to push back her hair from her face. “Do you think the Emperor had anything do with it?”

Fox shook his head as he got out of bed. “I think he’s a slimy conspiring snake, and was a traitor to the Republic, but even he is just a politician, in the end. A damn good one too.”

“Has Thire found anything out?”

“No. He says the Emperor is good at covering his tracks. But I trusted him, Riyo. I really did.”

“I know.” She threw her legs over the edge of the mattress and stood up, walking around the foot of the bed to Fox and taking his hands in hers. “But that’s in the past. All that matters now is me getting you into the shower because you still smell like vomit.”

“And yet, you still kissed me.”

She took a moment to take in the man before her. The scars that stretched across his bare skin, a bruise stretching up from the waistband of his boxers from when he banged his hip against the counter two days ago, the familiar curves of his body that she had so often traced with her palms. “The logical part of my mind wasn’t awake yet. It is now.” She stepped back from him and slipped her underwear off, managing to throw it in the dirty clothes bag she had propped open against the packing crate that their bed had come in.  She didn’t look back at Fox’s reaction as she stepped into the bathroom to turn on the shower tap.

Fox joined her before the water had warmed. “You know it’s never too late in life for you to become a hover ball player.”

“That toss was for me, Fox.” She laughed. “Personal accomplishments are important.”

“After you missed with your socks last night.”

“I’d like to see you try to throw your clothes across the room!”

“Oh I’m sure you would.”

She reached out a hand into the water and found it to be satisfyingly warm. “I’ve changed my mind.” She said as she stepped in. “This is my shower now and you’re going to have to wait.”

“How ever will I recover from this devastating loss of my shower privileges? I suppose I should go for a run and come back and lie down in our bed to sleep it off.”

“Are you going to roll around in the dirt too while you’re out there? You animal. I suppose I could make an exception. Just this time mind you.”

“Just this once, I understand.” Fox stepped into the shower with her. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, head turned to block the flow of water from her face. Like this, she could feel the strong beating of his heart against her cheek. She could feel that he was alive. He reached around her for the soap, then he was running lathered hands over her body. She relaxed further into him as he rubbed slow circles in the soap on her back, wishing they could stay like this forever.

---

The smell of breakfast in the air reached Riyo even in the bathroom, where she sat perched on the countertop drying out her hair. Once, she would have immediately pushed it up into a ceremonial updo. But these days, she let it hang loose down her back. She didn’t know why she still dried it instead of patting it down with a towel and letting the warm air of Numidian Prime lift the moisture from the strands. She supposed that old habits die hard. Except for makeup. She’d had no issues with ditching her long makeup routine she’d once had as a senator. Coruscanti standards were far above par for her new home, and she didn’t feel the deep hunger to please everyone with her appearance anymore.

When she thought her hair to be sufficiently dry, she rejoined Fox in the kitchen just in time to see him setting their plates on crate that currently served as their table.

“Do you want juice?” She asked as she reached into the cabinets for two glasses.

“Water, please. I think if I drink anything with taste right now my stomach is going to turn itself inside out.” He said as he gingerly lowered himself to the floor beside the crate.

Riyo was beside him a moment later, setting the glass before him and running a hand through his half-dried hair before she took a seat on the ground opposite him. “You know, dear. I think we should buy some furniture. When the rainy season comes, we’re not going to be able to spend the whole day outside.”

“We could sit in the greenhouse.” Before Riyo could protest, Fox held up a hand. “I’m joking, Ri. There’s still holes in its roof. I agree. A couch, two chairs, and a table? Nothing fancy.”

“Nothing fancy, but something of good quality. You can enjoy the nice things in life with me, Fox. We’re not in danger of starving for a long time.” She’d been wise with her money as a senator, and now she was glad that she had put nearly all of her earnings away.

“I promise, Riyo, once I’m recovered, I’ll make a living for us.”

“We’ll make a living, Fox. We’ll do it together.”

He smiled fondly at her. “Together.”

“What are you thinking of doing?”

“Well, I fixed that speeder well enough. I figured I could do speeder repair, then from there learn how to fix other things. Get a small business going.”

“Could I go into business with you?”

“Do you want to?”

“My grandparents own a small farm on Pantora. My family were farmers for generations before my father became a senator. I grew up fixing farm equipment with my cousins.” She waited for Fox to finish his sip of water before continuing. “And for the record, I look really hot when I’m covered in grease.”

Fox coughed lightly, raising a hand to his mouth as he sat the glass of water down. “Then I suppose I’ll have to wash you off again.”

“I’d like that.” She winked at him.

They fell into silence. Having finish eating, Riyo sat sipping her glass of water and watching Fox try to stomach the small portion he had set aside for himself. His hand had fallen back from his mouth to his torso. Three months later, it still pained him. Three months later, she still had nightmares about it. Ones where Fox had died in her arms before the medics could arrive. Ones where the assassin didn’t miss. Once, one where Fox was never targeted and carried out his plan to kill the Emperor before being shot dead by a commander of the guard. Thire? Stone? Thorn? She hadn’t been able to tell. Maybe she had been the one holding the gun. She never told him about the nightmares. He must’ve known, sometimes she woke up to find herself bundled in his arms or pulled against his chest, but they’d never spoken about it. He had nightmares too. She could see it in his eyes when he woke, and in sleep she could feel his hands twitch as if around the trigger of a blaster. Sometimes she walked in on him holding the gauntlets of his phase II armor and a picture of four kama-wearing guardsmen sitting on the edge of a patrol transport as it flew over the city. She knew for a fact that one of his gauntlets had once been Stone’s, she had watched Fox repaint it to match his own armor, but she’d never had the courage to ask him who the other gauntlet came from. She didn’t have to. She already knew.

“Are you okay, Ri?”

She came back to the present to the sound of Fox’s voice. “Lost in thought. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. I can’t finish this.”

She nodded before standing up and making her way over to Fox, helping him to his feet. They walked to the front door together, Riyo stopping to put her shoes on while Fox took the remains of his food to the compost bin that sat against the side of the garage under the house. By the time he came back up, she had cleared the crate of her plate and their glasses.

“Are we missing anything?” She asked as he set his plate in the sink.

“Nothing we can’t live without for a few days.” The freezerbox and the cabinets were full, or full enough, to sustain them for weeks.

When Riyo stepped outside onto the porch, she took a moment to breathe in the air. Warm and wet. Alive. Everything Coruscant was not. She couldn’t compare it to Pantora either, whose chilly air and warm soils she had grown up in. For Fox, nothing in his life came close. Kamino, Geonosis, Coruscant. That was his scope of the galaxy. Dead planets with dead air. Here, the whole planet was covered in life.

“One of my batchmates would have loved it here.” Fox said as he stepped out of their home behind her. “Alien species were his specialty. He’d know the name and purpose of every lifeform on this planet in a week.”

“What happened to him?” Riyo asked as they descended down the staircase to the ground.

“He died on Kashyyyk at the end of the war.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s what we were made for. And we were never close.”

Riyo fell silent as they waited for the garage door to open. When it did, she pushed Fox to the passenger side and climbed in the driver’s seat. This was what she had wanted during their time on Coruscant; to drive around with Fox in the passenger seat like any other couple could. She waited until the door had closed once more and they were speeding through the trees before she spoke again. “Who were you close with? You never talk about your brothers.”

Fox sighed, sinking further into the seat and turning his gaze out towards the jungle. “Wolffe. And that ruled everyone else out.”

“I didn’t think he was that bad.” Riyo laughed.

“You met him for an hour. We lived with him for ten years. The only troopers who could stand him for extended periods of time were me and Thorn. We were a quite a trio. Sometimes Cody and his pet captain hung out with us, but we all knew we wouldn’t see each other much once the Jedi came for us. No sense in forming bonds like the regular troopers.”

“Was it Captain Rex?” By the look on Fox’s face, she knew it was. “I’ve met him. He came to Orto Plutonia with the Jedi.”

Fox’s look shifted into one resembling regret. “He’s dead too. He and Tano. Their Venator crashed. I know you two worked together before.”

“Yes, we did. She helped me lift the Trade Federation Blockade of Pantora. Which as you know, led to a bounty hunter being hired and ultimately, you.”

“Did you ever talk after she left the Order?”

“No, she just disappeared. I didn’t know she went back.”

“Cody was there. Cody told Bly, Bly told Wolffe, Wolffe told me.”

She grinned. “You gossipers.”

Fox laughed. “News travels fast between battalions. All we clones know is fight, gossip, and die.”

Riyo fought to keep her eyes on the road as she laughed. “Now you know fight, gossip, die, and cook breakfast. The foundations of the modern man.”

Fox went quiet for a few moments, and when he spoke again his tone was softer. “Riyo, if there’s something wrong with me and they can’t-.” He stopped, throwing his head back against the headrest as he fought to find the right words.

“There’s not.” She said firmly. “You’re fine. They just took you out of the bacta tank too early, that’s all. You’re going to be fine.”

[dbzebra]

I want to know more about your latest project! I’m especially interested in knowing which MarTen fic ideas you have coming for the future 👀

hey Maiika! :D

thanks for sending this! I’m gonna @ediblenonsense because these 2 are basically the same answer!

Anyway, my main WIP I’m working on/most excited to work on is the End of Z canon divergent fic, Surpassing the Strongest. Basically ignores everything DBS, movies, just the original manga/anime for this. Only difference being is (besides MarTen lol) s that Goten and Trunks started training again around ~2 years prior to the Tournament, unlocked SSJ2 and pretty much mastered it. 

Goten’s main goal is to get SSJ3 and finally surpass his dad. Trunks is more or less the same, but he cares more about the former rather than the later. He struggles with not feeling strong enough//unable to live up to his dad’s legacy despite wanting to be the one to protect Marron and his family if someone ever showed up again. 

Goku is more than happy to hear that he’s entering, between him and Uub, since I’m trying to continue the character arc he had in Cell/Buu Saga, about him wanting the next generation to take over since he wont be around forever. So the Tournament itself is a bit different than canon as well. Not going to spoil much, but Goku doesnt leave with Uub. the whole thing plays out! Plus we have guys like Tien and Chiaotzu, plus Piccolo fighting too so its in some ways a big reunion of the past.

Also, I’m planning to rectify a problem i had with Buu Saga is that nobody remembered the Z Fighters despite everything that hapeend with the old Tournaments, DKP, and the Saiyans. Like nobody even acknowledges Piccolo as the same Demon King from years ago,and thats not something people should forget lol. Gotta bend things a liiiitle bit to not cotnradict too much, but yeah people wont be like “lol whos the green guy”

I’m thinking it’ll be around 10-12 chapters? Depends how the fights go. they cant be too long cause its for fun + tournament ring only, but DB managed to make them super exciting either way so I hope to keep that up lol

As for other ideas, there’s the twins time travel AU, where they got back in time for the lols and meet kid Goten, and then shenanigans ensue (total gag fic lol)

I also want to do a Baby Saga marten oneshot where, im not sure how I’d do it, but after Baby vs Goten in GT and he gets possessed//infected she like instantly knows thats not him and all that. idk more drama than anything else ive really done, but i cant get rid of the idea lol

Lastly, I want to do a confession+first date fic (prolly combine it into one big oneshot or a two shot) plus Not Just A Fling part 2 where they tell Gochi and K18 about getting engaged lol

sorry i kinda got carried away with all this but again thanks for this!!

[johnnyutah]

Hey I love your tabletop gifsets! Do you have any posts about the campaigns or the characters you play? 👀 Like the plot and stuff

hey thank you so much!!! I’ve made a couple posts about it, but if you’re curious about anything I definitely wouldn’t mind going into greater detail 👀 let me organize this by campaign real quick.

so my main group has a couple of campaigns, mostly we use the Powered By The Apocalypse system. i would really strongly recommend it because it’s a ton of fun, i’ve played a long pathfinder campaign (and oneshots) and i think PbtA just works better for the kind of storytelling that I’m interested in.

the first PbtA campaign that i got the chance to participate in is The Institute, a ‘monster of the week’ horror/adventure campaign featuring a group of interns hired to work at the Etsijä Institute. my character, scott douglas, was a skier in the 80s who got caught in an avalanche while backcountry skiing alone and died... and stuck around as a ghost! the institute campaign is very complex and interesting and if you’d like you can read more about it on @theetsijainstitute blog (although i have yet to update scotty’s page... whoops.)

the second MOTW campaign that i’m in is about a group of frat boys who have been tasked with saving the world from multiple apocalypse groups. their frat acronym is DCK SCK which should give you a hint at the tone for that series. we talked @beyblaiddyd into being our Keeper, they have done a fantastic job and we’re currently on season 3! i play morgan prior, a gay trans witch/DJ/nightmare person. you can read more about morgan here if you’re curious!

i’m in some other miscellanous campaigns, but I won’t go into detail since I haven’t had the chance to make gifsets for them yet. here are the broad descriptions:

in a ‘Sword, Crown, and the Unspeakable Power’ campaign set in a newly ancient country hundreds of years into the future, i play the leader of a very corrupt royal militia. they just go by Horse. this is like, my favourite character. you can look at horse here! this campaign is DM’d by @seafucker

i DM a homebrewed version of PbtA that’s basically a fan campaign for westworld, it’s the first time i’ve ever DM’d anything and we just had our second session yesterday! if you’re curious about that, I could post a list of NPCs (minus spoilers) or some plot details/where it differs from the show!

i played a twoshot Until Dawn-inspired game run by @fethesacredstones; my character was named Noah Acevedo and they fulfilled the archetype of The Hero (very similar to Mike Munroe). It was so good, there was a lot of overlap with the original game but we had to fight a completely new villain and our choices had very direct consequences (only 2/5 players survived 😔)

i’m going to be in a campaign called wild wastrels but i’d rather not share more information until i’ve finalized the details for that OC, but. I’m prooobably playing a time-traveling criminal who’s the rake/a face character, which is obviously extremely exciting! the premise of that campaign is a bunch of space criminals being temporarily given freedom from their long jail sentences so that they can go act as mercenaries on a TV show and entertain the rest of space :)

[eskalations]

Smoke and Gunpowder, Chapter 1

A/N: Wow, so I haven't written a fanfic since 2017? That's crazy! I watched FMA: Brotherhood a few weeks ago and couldn't get this ship out of my head. I know that my writing skills are a bit rusty, but hopefully after writing more frequently, I'll be back in the swing of things. This originally started out as a oneshot, but if people enjoy it, I am willing to make it into a series of oneshots based in this universe.

Let me know what you think!

Summary:

Even now, in the privacy of her room and away from the prying eyes of their government, he stiffened at her proximity. The careful lines drawn between the two of them seemed to blur at times like these when they were alone and out of uniform. In the dim light of her room, it was easy to imagine that they were just a quiet country boy and bold city girl again.

(ROYAI GENDERBEND AU)

AO3 | FFN

Tumblr: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Patience had always been her strong suit.

There were many things she wasn't – calm, collected, stoic (ironically these were all things that were usually recommended in a soldier) – but patient she was.

Except for tonight.

Raina Mustang's dark eyes had been glued to the clock for the past two hours, willing the hands to move faster. No matter what she had done to try and distract herself – shower, cook, read – nothing could keep her mind off the eternal ticking of that damn contraption. So now here she sat in her pajamas with a wet head, eyes still burning from the smoke produced by her attempt at dinner, and book wide open to page 3 – with nothing to show for it except raw anxiety.

She worried her lip between her teeth and shut the book with a huff - there was just no use pretending anymore. She glanced at the pile of papers in front of her and set the book resolutely on top of them. The paperwork she had brought home was surely not getting done in these conditions and she couldn't take her mind off the situation long enough to even bother with it.

He should have been here by now. They agreed on 2100 hours and now it was 2130 – and if there was one thing that Ray Hawkeye was not, it was late.

It looked like neither of them were living up to their usual standards tonight.

The mission was simple enough. Take one of Madame Christmas's girls out to dinner, get the information she had to offer, escort her back to the hotel she was staying in, linger for just long enough to make it seem like their good time had extended beyond their meal, and then get out of there. There was no reason it should be taking this long.

Unless….

Before that train of thought could go any further, there was a timid set of knocks on her door. By the third rapt of knuckles on wood, she had already swung the door open wide and was pulling her visitor inside.

"Colonel!" The man nearly exclaimed, a touch of disapproval in his tone. Ever the cautious soul, her bold actions set his mind reeling. What if someone had seen his dark-haired superior dragging him desperately into her apartment? What would people think?

However, that was the last thing on the Flame Alchemist's mind.

Her eyes narrowed as she gave him a once over. In his civilian clothes, he looked just like the unassuming young man she had met all those years ago – there was just one difference now. While his hair and clothes were typically in perfect order, they were in utter disarray today.

First Lieutenant Hawkeye's usually carefully combed blonde hair was now mussed in a way that implied much less professional activities had taken place prior to their meeting. If that wasn't proof enough that he had been up to no good, the white button up badly hidden by his long brown coat certainly was. With several buttons messily inserted into the wrong holes, it wasn't hard to guess what he had been doing before visiting her apartment.

Despite the incriminating evidence on his person, Raina released a sigh of relief. His appearance was as it always was after one of his "dates" – right down to the slight smudge of lipstick left on the right side of his mouth.

"So," She started casually, a smirk appearing on her lips as she gave him another once over before continuing, "It looks like you had a good time."

A pale hand reached out to pluck at one of the buttons of his shirt – however, her wrist was caught up in the strong grip of her adjutant. His hands were warm, familiar and calloused just as she'd expect a sniper's to be.

"Colonel," His voice was near pleading, face brooking no amusement. While his grip lessened, and allowed her hand to drop – the stern expression on his face did not change. She could see the line of his jaw tighten as he remarked quietly, "You know better than anyone that I have very little fun doing your dirty work."

"That's harsh, Lieutenant," The young woman's lips dropped into a pout, wounded by his words.

Despite the sad look on her visage, the man did not recant his statement.

"It's true." He spoke resolutely, joining his hands behind his back and straightening his spine a bit. She could see in his face though that he held no actual malice for his comrade – he was just tired after working overtime to get the information they needed. The Colonel was grateful to him – however, she could not pass up the opportunity to tease the serious man just a bit. Especially after such a cruel remark.

"You know what I think?" She countered while circling around to his back, hands reaching out to divest him of his coat. If there was a slight shake in her appendages due to the history that she had with this part of his body, he was certainly too polite to point it out. "I think you're just frustrated that your superior officer is a better wingman than your fellow male office mates."

Hawkeye didn't miss a beat.

"Considering the fact that I take orders from my younger, female superior every day without complaint – I highly doubt that's the reason for my distaste of these activities," With his coat off and hung by her door, he followed the young lady into her rent home's small living area. "But while we are on the subject of things I am not happy with, let's talk about the way you just let me in the do – wait, have you been practicing?"

"Huh? Practicing what?" Raina paused on her way to the couch, looking back at him curiously. The young man was glancing up at the ceiling as if the answer was going to materialize right in front of him.

Hawkeye's eyes narrowed, his face suddenly resembling the bird that was his namesake.

"It's smoky in here," He stated flatly, his hand drifting into the air and making a slight gesture as if to point it out.

. "I didn't even notice." The Colonel raised her dark brows innocently, choosing to play dumb in an attempt to keep her pride intact. He knew she was a terrible cook and any further evidence of such was sure to just add fuel to the fire.

The young man's expression, however, let her know that he most definitely did not believe her.

Ignoring his reaction, she sunk into the cushions of her couch and allowed an exaggerated sigh to slip from her lips as Hawkeye remained standing. The movement caused the straight, black bangs on her forehead to go airborne for a moment. "I was so busy with paperwork that I lost track of time – any reason you chose today to be late for the first time ever?"

Amber eyes glanced dubiously at the alchemy book laid out on top of the "paperwork" the Colonel had claimed to be doing so diligently before his arrival. If you looked closely enough, you could even see a few lines that still needed signatures that were left empty. The young man wished he could say he was surprised, but that would be a lie.

"The eagerness you displayed at the door says differently, sir."

The Colonel feigned ignorance. "I have no idea what you're implying, Lieutenant. I was simply trying to pull you into my home before anyone saw you standing on my doorstep looking like that."

The man looked down at his clothing stoically before glancing up again and meeting her gaze. While there was a slight flush in his cheeks, his expression remained the same – as though he wasn't standing in the middle of her living in a questionable state of undress.

"If you'll excuse me, sir – I am going to go and refresh myself before we continue this conversation," Hawkeye gave her a quick salute before turning in the direction of the bathroom. However, before he could make it around the corner, he looked back at her and their gazes met once again, a slight smile making its way on to his face. "Why don't you go clean up whatever you were attempting to cook in the kitchen? It seems like the rain isn't the only thing you're useless in."

Before she could even react, he was already down the hall and slamming the bathroom door shut. The audacity.

Raina sat shocked for a moment before rolling her eyes and rising from the couch. Same old Hawkeye – observant as ever. He knew her far too well at this point in their lives to fall for any of her tricks.

Entering the kitchen, she cleaned out the now burnt pasta stuck at the bottom of the pot she had left on the counter. The young Colonel had meant to get rid of such incriminating evidence before her subordinate got there, but it must have slipped her mind once she saw the time.

'Oh well…' She thought to herself as she tossed the remnants of her burnt dinner into the trash. No use in hiding her weaknesses from a man who had been her professional shadow for years. Ever since their initial transfer to East City from Ishval, they had been a package deal. She was grateful for it – since their time in the city certainly hadn't been spent idly.

With General Grumman being a very lenient leader, a majority of his work fell on to the shoulders of those who were under him. While this meant more work for them, Colonel Mustang didn't mind since the more accolades she received, the easier it was to rise in the ranks. Knowing this, Grumman usually reserved his most high profile of cases to the Mustang unit.

Being as feminine as she was – most people did not look at Raina Mustang as a huge threat to their position. Despite her title as a State Alchemist and the youngest Colonel currently serving in the Amestrian military, most top dogs in the brass barely gave her a second glance. Sure - some of them were suspicious of her rise in the ranks – however, many just assumed she had slept her way to the top.

The amount of investigations that had been done on said accusation were numerous, but so far no evidence had come forward to warrant an official court-martial. Let them think what they wanted as long as it didn't affect her goal of being able to repent for the crimes she had committed.

Taking note of her appearance in the reflection of the pot she held, she couldn't say she was surprised by the assumptions. With long black hair and exotically dark features (she thanked whatever higher powers there were daily that her mother was Xingese and contributed to her unique look), Raina could fit right in with Christmas's unassuming gaggle of girls. Her flirty nature and feigned laziness was a façade that played into this persona that she had carefully crafted whenever she had decided what path she wished to take to the top.

She didn't necessarily like being looked down upon for such behavior – however, she was a patient woman. Colonel Mustang knew what she wanted and knew exactly what it was going to take to get it. After the actions that she had taken in Ishval, it was paramount that she become Fuhrer eventually – the sooner the better.

The return of her Lieutenant broke her from her thoughts before they could take an even darker turn.

"So," She casually remarked, dropping the pot into the sink before turning to face the young man. "What's on the menu?"

This Hawkeye was one she was more familiar with. The young man's shirt was now buttoned correctly and his light hair was styled to perfection just as it normally was. If it wasn't for the slight coral smudge that was still visible at the corner of his mouth, she wouldn't have even been able to tell he had gone out earlier.

Glancing at the pot she had in the sink, his response was dry. "Since I'm assuming that pot is the only one in your possession, I suggest a simple stir-fry."

"Fine by me."

They were quiet as they worked to get a small dinner for two prepared – Ray at the stove and Raina on ingredients duty. The smell of burnt pasta was soon replaced by a new, delicious aroma.

Once dinner was finished, they sat across from each other at her small table.

"Which of my sisters entertained you tonight?" Raina asked casually as she took a sip of water, glancing at Ray over the rim of her glass. The young man was taking his first bite and nearly dropped his fork at her choice of words.

"Could you not refer to it in that way?" The Lieutenant finally collected himself long enough to answer, his expression already back to the stoic mask he donned daily. He knew she was just fishing for information – however, he knew her well enough to know that she was also trying to get a reaction out of him. "You know better than anyone that nothing of that sort has ever happened on any of these dates."

Raina shrugged non-committedly, taking a bite of her food and waiting for him to continue.

At her silence, Ray sighed before finally taking a moment to answer her question. "It was Vanessa – you should have been able to tell from the shade of lipstick she chose to leave on my cheek."

He took another bite as Raina chuckled, "I figured she was the one that had been sent. The Madame knows that Vanessa prefers Easy City clients. Did she tell you how long she would be in town?"

Ray gave her a dry look, "We were too busy discussing the information at hand to really talk about anything personal. I will be seeing her tomorrow though."

"I'm sure we'll cross paths at some point," The Colonel commented offhandedly, grinning at the slight panic that appeared on her subordinate's face. "Don't worry, I will make sure we aren't being watched."

Ray gave her a doubtful look before returning his attention to his meal. Raina couldn't let this go without comment.

"You took her out for dinner, right?" She asked, spooning another serving into her mouth before continuing. "Did she steal the food off your plate or did you get so distracted by her womanly wiles that you forgot to eat?"

Ray remained unaffected. "We actually went to a show instead, that's the reason I was late."

The young woman was surprised by this. Her Lieutenant usually stuck to dinner with his dates as it was a more casual experience. In the civvies he sported now, she imagined he had looked quite out of place at the East City Opera.

"Vanessa must have felt quite special then," Raina remarked carefully, taking another sip from her glass. "You don't usually treat the girls to a show."

"I was being followed."

"Oh?" This had the woman pausing mid-sip.

Ray finished chewing before setting down his fork. His dark eyes met her own, the concern evident in his expression.

"This is the first time I have caught someone tracking my movements," The man shared, folding his hands under his chin. "Vanessa felt it too. They were inexperienced from what I could tell in covert operations, so we lost them pretty quickly – however, I chose to remain cautious for the rest of the night and diverted from my usual routine."

Raina sighed in relief, her own dinner forgotten as she leaned back in her chair. "Trust the Hawk's Eye to catch something like that."

"The information Vanessa had was not of an incriminating nature," Ray remarked, speaking on the subject for the first time that night. Raina leaned forward to better hear the man's soft voice. "I have no idea who would have been following me tonight – so please be on your guard when you are out of the office."

"What was the information?" Raina asked, choosing to ignore the warning. Someone following them from afar wasn't going to discover anything noteworthy – her team was much too careful to fall victim to such a ploy.

Hawkeye stood, gesturing for her to follow him down the hall to the bedroom at the back of the house. Her bedroom.

Rolling her eyes at his worry, she followed her subordinate. He often was overly cautious when sharing with her whatever secrets he had discovered, checking for bugs and speaking quietly before relaying the information, but tonight he wasn't taking any chances. The bedroom at the back of her house was the one furthest from the door with curtains that would hide them from the eyes of anyone standing outside.

After shutting the door behind him and surveying the room, Hawkeye turned to address her.

"The information she had was in regards to General Hakuro." He finally revealed, his eyes following her as she took a seat at the end of her bed. "Like I said, it's nothing incriminating – but I know it's something that will interest you."

"I'm listening," Her eyes lit up at the mention of her rival. Despite the seriousness of the conversation though, she couldn't help but add on, "– and I'm sure the bugs that the enemy has hidden are all ears too."

Hawkeye was unamused by her comment. Ignoring his put-out expression, she gestured for him to continue - and, with a sigh, he followed her orders.

"Hakuro is planning on petitioning for Colonel Becker to be moved to Central when a spot is open," The Lieutenant revealed, watching as a familiar fire became evident in the Colonel's eyes. "He heard that you were planning on applying for transfer and has chosen to counter Grumman's recommendation of you."

"Tough luck," Mustang commented, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "I have it on good authority that Colonel Becker has been having an extra marital affair with one of the Madame's girls out in New Optain."

"It's Mollie" Hawkeye confirmed, his eyes looking quickly over to the window before meeting her gaze again. It was in these moments that his position as a sniper was most evident – always watching. "The Madame has a plan to keep this transfer from happening but she wanted to run it by you before taking action herself. That's why I'm meeting Vanessa tomorrow – to let her know your answer."

"What's the plan my foster mother has come up with?"

"Blackmail," The young man commented dryly, as if it could have been anything else where the Madame was involved. Her greatest weapon was the information she had against pretty much any high-ranking officer in the military – of course the answer was blackmail. The Colonel gave him a small smile at this solution.

"Let me guess," She stood and walked over to where he was stationed in the corner of her room, her voice low and even. "His lover will threaten to go to the press if he chooses to leave her alone in New Optain?"

"Precisely."

"He has a wife and kids too, does he not? I think Hughes shared with me once that he did…" Hawkeye nodded in confirmation, prompting a deep sigh from his companion. "So such a story would affect not only him, but other parties as well?"

"Meaning he has much more than just his career at stake." The Lieutenant finished lowly.

Raina nodded, stopping in front of him. It was so strange to see him without his gun holsters positioned over his shoulders – but she knew better than to assume that he was not armed. He never went anywhere without at least two loaded pistols on him. She knew him so well, yet any outsider would think they were strangers from the way they danced around each other.

Even now, in the privacy of her room and away from the prying eyes of their government, he stiffened at her proximity. The careful lines drawn between the two of them seemed to blur at times like these when they were alone and out of uniform. In the dim light of her room, it was easy to imagine that they were just a quiet country boy and bold city girl again.

But too much had happened since those days for them to lose themselves completely.

Glancing up at Hawkeye, Mustang chose her next words carefully. "Do you think it's fair that one day we may have to answer to our sins - yet for Becker to answer to his, we would have to destroy the lives of others in the process?"

The young man remained still, meeting her gaze steadily. Always her moral compass, he was the one she usually came to with such sensitive questions. While his voice certainly held a degree of sympathy, there was a firmness in it that spoke of a steely resolve.

"The goal is to not have to reveal this information," He reminded her gently, his chin tilted downwards to better gauge her reaction to his words. "Vanessa said they will do as they always do and hang it over his head just long enough for our transfers to be processed. After that, Mollie will conveniently disappear from his life."

Raina nodded, aware of the usual protocol the girls followed. They knew just how to play their cards right to further her career while remaining unassuming. It wasn't their fault that the men in the military seemed to have both loose lips and loose morals.

"You can tell Vanessa that I'm fine with the plan," Raina conceded, though there was one thing about the situation that bugged her. "Do you really think he'll take the bait though?"

One of Hawkeye's blonde brows rose. "In a position where bad press can possibly get someone court-martialed? I think it's more than likely that he will."

She couldn't argue with that.

"Alright," She agreed, nodding slowly as she worked through the plan in her head again. She wouldn't be applying for transfer for another month, so Mollie should be able to hold Becker off long enough to get everything processed before anyone became too suspicious.

Hawkeye gave her a stiff nod as well, acknowledging that he heard her orders. With his mission now completed - the young man began to shift, his eyes drifting to the bedroom door, signaling that his thoughts were now focused on leaving.

"Should I muse you up a bit before you go?" Raina asked, knowing this would rattle his nerves. Her hand reached out to play with a button on his shirt, the warmth of her palm seeping through the fabric and causing him to stiffen. "Do you think that would get tongues wagging again in regards to my activities outside the office?"

"It was already risky enough for me to come here in the state that I was in," Hawkeye reminded her – a clear warning evident in his tone. This was her lieutenant, always playing by the rules. "Please do not do anything else that could possibly result in an investigation. The Madame's services already could get us into serious trouble if anyone found out."

The Colonel gave him an innocent look at his words. "I don't know what you mean, Lieutenant – I was simply offering you the same services that my sister provided you with."

He raised his brows again. "I highly doubt that, sir."

The young woman shrugged, turning away from her subordinate. Opening her bedroom door, she walked back down the hall to where their dirty dinner plates still sat on the table. When Hawkeye made a move to pick them up, she batted his hand away. He had cooked for her, the least she could do was clean up the dishes.

She brought him his coat and helped him put it on. While the look he gave her was one of thanks, there was a slight warning in his eyes as well. She smoothed her hands over his arms before taking a step back, giving him the space she knew he needed.

But before he could turn the knob on the door, she stopped him with a gentle hand.

"Lieutenant?"

The young man turned towards her, wondering what else she could have to say.

With a smirk on her face, the Colonel stepped forward. Suddenly, their breaths were mingling and her usually unshakeable Lieutenant was frozen. Staring deeply into his eyes for a moment – she waited, watching for a reaction.

Before anything could be said, she reached up to the side of his mouth and swiped at the coral colored patch of skin that he had left unattended earlier. Drawing her fingers back, she gave him a wry look.

"Coral's not my color, but we wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea – would we?"

[sabine-leo]

Bloody Valentine

Author: @sabine-leo

Genre: Humor, Sracasm with a hint of fluff ;) 

ONESHOT

Note: I know I´m a but early to ring in Valentines Day posts, but I wrote this yesterday and thought somebody out there might appreciate it! 

Bloody Valentine

This was probably the worst Valentines Day ever. I mean WHO DOES THAT?

 Blind Dates on Valentine’s Day? Speed-dating? Did your friends really think you were that desperate?

It must have been one of your weakest moments to agree to do this.

Come on (Y/N) this will be fun, 

Don´t think to much about it (Y/N), 

Just roll with it (Y/N)

Something along those lines you had heard the last 3 days. Even worse, your friend who talked you into it said she was ill 30 minutes prior.

Now you were sitting in a restaurant full of desperate people which wasn´t only dimly lit but plastered with hearts and fake cupids hanging from the ceiling. You looked around into hopeful faces, faces that had a staring contest with the empty chair in front of them and faces that were so nervous their eyes twitched. You were about to get up and just leave as the first man sat down at your table and this whole nightmare started. He probably was 20 years older than you and smelled of old smoke. Not that you were an ungrateful or biased person, but you rang the little bell on your table before he could speak. Signalling that you´d be free to talk to again.

 Maybe if you´d do that 5 or 6 times you would get disqualified or even better... thrown out.

The next man that came to your table looked fairly normal but opened his monologue with.

“Can you touch my hand? I want to tell my friends I’ve been touched by an angel.”

“You do know Lucifer was an angel too?” You just answered and rang the bell.

This would so give you a headache in under 5 minutes…

 Guy number 3 declared that he´d rather watch the movie then reading the book.

“Seriously?” DING DING DING…

 For a moment you just rested your head on the table and grunted.                      “I´ll kill my friends! ” Which made the next guy so uneasy that he didn´t sit down at all. Great, that was going as well as you´d thought.

You didn´t even lift your head, just hit the bell as you heard the chair scratch over the floor as the next one wanted to sit down.

 At the bar Tom was waiting for his takeout to be ready and watched in amusement what happened in front of him. A ballcap hid his longer curly hair and the hoodie made him nearly invisible to people who would normally recognise him. This day always seem to hit a lot of people in the feels even those who normally wouldn’t care to be alone on any other day.  Not that Tom didn´t love romance and sweet gestures. No, the woman he´d love would know and feel cherished on any given day, not only on Valentines Day...but cupid was a blind and spiteful bastard in recent years. His gaze wandered around before fixing on a particular funny sight. This woman appeared to have not as much fun or desperateness oozing out of her to be here at all. Tom had to hide a coughing laugh behind his hand as her head hit the table and she just rang the bell without looking.

 For about 1 minute nobody wanted to sit at your table anymore. A sigh escaped you. Hopefully the torture was over now, but before you could lift your head a smooth voice began to talk.

“Cupid is a blind, spiteful toddler who has an aim that needs to be enhanced by miles!” Ok, that wasn´t the worst opening line you heard tonight, or ever. However you have had enough for tonight. You lifted your hand without looking up as you heard that Mr. smooth-voice wanted to sit down. “Nah-ah!” he warned and took the bell from the table.  

 You lifted your head to take a look at him and tell him to leave, but he just smiled and said.

“Hello, my name is Tom and I thought I would spare you the agony to hit this bell another time.”

That made you stop for a second and grin a little, but that night had left an imprint on you.

“Either you are full of yourself to think I wouldn´t hit that bell another time or you are as exhausted from this crappy, spiteful toddlers behaviour as I am!” Tom laughed a little and looked into your eyes.

“Maybe a little bit of both, but why are you here when you don´t want to be here at all?”

He really seemed interested…and he still held on to that bell.

“Long story short, my friends think I´m desperate and in need of a shag. Or I will likely end up as one of those sad little ladies with a ton of pets.”

Tom began to laugh out loud and grinned afterwards.

“Some friends you have.”

“Yes, I think I need to find new ones…or retaliate in the most vicious way possible!”

 A woman came to your table.

“Excuse me Sir. You are not registered to be sitting on any of those tables.”

Tom looked up and said. “No I´m not and I think its cruel of you to take money from people that are lonely and in need of company…” He stood up. “Oh and by the way, this..” He gestured around to the decorations “…is a bit on the nauseating side.” You just grinned and looked up at him…he was funny!

 In that moment his takeout was ready and he held out a hand to you. “Care to join me in my anti Valentine´s Day celebration and laugh at cupids bad aim?” You took his hand and stood up.

“Sounds good to me!” you bundled up and went outside. Gladly it wasn´t raining or to cold to be outside for long. The both of you walked down the road of restaurants and bars a little and took a seat on a bench. You had the best view into the windows of 2 restaurants and the people inside.

 Tom took out his food and propped it up between you.

“Dinner with a view is served and ready my lady!”  You shook your head laughing quietly and took a little something out of the container. “I didn´t catch your name earlier.” Tom said in between.

“Because I didn´t give it to you, but nice try Mr. Hiddleston!”

For a moment Tom  just looked at you and then started to grin.

“So you recognised me?! Couldn´t tell because you seemed to behave so normal.”

“Oh, please…you are really full of yourself aren´t you?” You teased him.

“Why should I behave otherwise? You are a human being like I am…and a decent one it seems.

“You really are something else!” He laughed and leaned back.

 From that point on the both of you ate, talked a lot and tried to analyse the people having dinner.

It was an easy-going and interesting conversation with lots of laughs and fascinating insights you gave each other.  

 “Oh.. look there! She´s fidgeting with her phone under the table. She´s texting her friend to give an SOS call to get her out!” Tom snorted softly.

“And this guy over there just dropped the engagement ring. Poor fella is going down on his knees for other reasons then proposing.” You had fun watching the social life of other people, even if it was a bit unfair to them. But this day just had its own rules…so one night of sarcasm wouldn´t hurt your karma too bad.

 After discarding of the long empty food container Tom looked at you. “Let´s walk a bit further.”

He took your hand as if he´d done it a million times before and tugged you up. Lovers, Dates and Couples strolled the streets. Some happy, some in love and some just saying their good byes without further looking at each other. Somewhere at Leicester Square was a musician playing on the streets.

Tom grinned and twirled you around 2 times before dancing with you on the pebbled streets. He was cute, you had to give him that and he was a good dancer. Laughing at each other you stopped and gave the musician a tip. Tom leaned in and kissed your cheek softly.

 “Thanks for the best anti Valentine’s Day ever! (YN)”

You looked a little surprised that he knew your name but then he whispered in your ear.

“I read your name tag back at the table.”

You laughed and nudged him a little. Sneaky!

“Indeed, thanks for the best anti Valentine´s day ever Tom!”

“We need to do this together again next year!”  

Tom smiled a little wicked smile before his hand went through your hair to your neck and his other hand pulled you close whispering. “We have a whole year to plan it!”

His lips crashed onto yours and you held on for dear life.

[lavellane]

2: Post a line of dialogue from your OC.6: Describe your OC’s love life.13: Describe your OC’s living situation.20: Post a picture or gif that describes your OC. for Gwen and Ella

thank you !

2: Post a line of dialogue from your OC.

i don’t actually have anything written yet for gwen, but here’s a lil thing for ella from a oneshot i really need to finish trghitruhiutrg

She nodded. “It was something I used to think about often as a girl - the possibility of being a queen. The Queen. There’s a reason people refer to the Cousland’s as ‘second only to kings’.” She paused, swallowing hard. “Of course, as the years went on, it left my mind entirely, and it’s never truly been something I’ve held much interest in, since. But I can lead - my family made sure of that. I know how to talk like a queen, how to walk like one, how to dress and plan and think like one. And to think of all that … all that knowledge my mother and father gave me, being wasted and resulting in me letting the - the person I love marry somebody else … I  …”

She cut off, her throat tight. Her eyes flickered away from his, returning to stare at her hands. She felt something warm and wet slide down her cheek, and realized for the first time that she was crying. “I thought I could let you go, but I can’t. I … won’t let you be lonely, Alistair. Not ever again.”

6: Describe your OC’s love life.

ella and gwen’s relationships are so vastly different from one another its amazing. gwen’s relationship with hancock is very??? chaotic at first. it’s the first relationship she’s been in where she feels she has full autonomy and consent, and she really gets swept up in it for a while. in the first maybe 6 months of their relationship, she and hancock argue CONSTANTLY, since she’s finally feels safe enoug to actually trust someone enough to confront them about things, you know? basically she’s had no voice for so long, at this point she kinda goes about wild with playing catch up lmao. but eventually she settles down as they both figure out how they fit together, and after that they tend not to fight much. they’re relationship is very easygoing for the most part - they are apart for long periods of time and they’re both okay with that - they love and trust each other enough to make it work !

ella’s relationship with alistair is very different. it’s very soft and domestic, mostly because they are best friends and teammates first. ella also knows how much alistair has gone through, and how much support he needs, and she’s more than willing to offer it. they love each other so wholly and completely that it often makes people uncomfortable - theyre the obnoxious couple that dont neccesarily engage in pda or anything like that, but you can almost FEEL the lovely feelings radiating off them gthugtrhuitrghi anyway they are VERY good at communicating with each other and they have a rule where if they ever have an argument, they don’t leave the room until they’ve resolved it, and they can walk out of the room together. theyre very cute and i love them so much :((((

13: Describe your OC’s living situation.

ella becomes the queen after origins so she is living it up in denerim’s palace, but prior to that she lived in her family’s ancestral home in highever. as for gwen, she travels from settlement to settlement, but she considers goodneighbour her home. she’s never felt safer or more accepted anywhere in her life, ironically, so goodneighbour has a very special place in her heart.

20: Post a picture or gif that describes your OC.

gwen:

ella:

[dong-hyucks]

can you do a spy au with one of the dreamies? she/her pronouns please :) ily~ - baby anon

fear is our enemy. | na jaemin [1]

➳ genre. spy!au, future!au, angst, minor fluff➳ warnings. mentions of blood and death, character death in later chapters, swearing➳ word count. 4.4k+➳ author’s note. lmao this was supposed to be a oneshot but oops // i stopped procrastinating to write this for nana’s birthday :))) - admin. jade➳ synopsis. [Y/N] Park, the adopted daughter of late director Park Minjun, crosses paths with Na Jaemin, a spy known for his aloof tendencies. 

➳ masterlists. | 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. | 9. | epilogue. 

   You stared down the target, your arms outstretched, pistol armed. Breathing slowly through your nostrils you let your eyes focus on the target’s head. In a single movement, a bullet shot from the .44 Magnum, piercing the target successfully.

   “Nice shot.”

   You spun on her heel, pressing the barrel of the gun against the chest of whomever stood behind you. You only relaxed upon seeing his face, relenting with a sigh. “What do you want, Chenle?” you asked the hacker, shoving the gun into the holster strapped around your thigh. “I told you not to interrupt me while I’m training.”

   Zhong Chenle rolled his eyes, wrapping an arm around your shoulder despite the glare you sent his way. “Taeyong called for you,” he beamed, “been trying for half an hour apparently, and you know how he gets when he has to wait.” Sending you a mischievous grin, he pushed you out of the practice room. “It was nice knowing you,” he sung.

   You refrained yourself from flipping the younger male off. Despite having worked with him for a couple of years, his constant enthusiasm still got to you from time to time. Grumbling under your breath about being interrupted, you made your way down the halls of NCT headquarters. As you walked, you fiddled with the holster strap nervously. Not that you’d ever admit that you were nervous, anyway. Even through your prior annoyance, you knew Chenle was right.

   An impatient Lee Taeyong was never a good one.

   It wasn’t long before you reached his office. Taking a deep breath, you pushed the doors open, not bothering to knock. Taeyong was sat behind his desk, as always, a slight scowl painted onto his features. His fingers tapped against his wooden desk as he leaned back. He almost instantly locked eyes with you, the feeling of being under his glare making you shudder.

   Before you stood a male, one you had never seen before. He had yet to turn around, but his hair was much lighter than the other spies you had worked with beforehand. The man wore a blue pinstripe suit, perfectly tailored to fit his sturdy yet thin frame. When he did glance over at you, you felt your breath catch in your throat. To put it bluntly, the man in front of you was gorgeous. Everything about him just yelled ‘model.’ You heard someone clear his throat. Turning your attention to Taeyong, you ignored the way your face heated up slightly. The man chuckled, having obviously caught you in the act of checking him out.

   “When you’re done checking each other out, I have a mission for the both of you,” Taeyong began, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. His voice was cold, just as it usually was but with an edge to it. You assumed it was because of your late presence. “You have no choice in the matter.” You raised a brow. The mission must be important, since you usually have a say in whether or not you take missions.

   “We’ve had a break in. Yesterday at roughly 21:00, DH noticed suspicious activity in the vault while watching the security tapes,” at the mention of the young hacker, Taeyong’s frown deepened. “When he went to investigate, he was knocked out with chloroform. We’re now missing seven top secret documents.”

   Beside you, the man stiffened. You felt yourself grow angry at the thought of Lee Donghyuck, unconscious and drugged. The man had, after all, been like a brother to you since you joined the organization. He was the first one to befriend you in the hellish world that you worked in.

   “The two of you are NCT’s smartest spies. We’ve already identified one of the perpetrators, we just need you to go undercover and retrieve the documents.” Taeyong fished through his desk drawer, pulling out a manila folder. He tossed it onto the desk, gesturing for you and the male to look at its contents. You did, finding pictures of two men, both clad in black. Only one of them was masked, the other merely wore a cap and bowed his head. His attempt to stay hidden failed, however, when he had glanced at one of the security cameras. Your eyes widened at the picture. Though blurry, you could recognize him clear as day.

   “That’s Byun Baekhyun, thirty-five years old. We suspect his accomplice is Kim Jongdae, his jail-buddy, based on height and probable weight.” Taeyong furrowed his brows together, “We can’t be sure, since his face is covered. Anyway, they’re regulars at the Seven Luck Casino in Busan. They’ve been seen countless times by the staff– every Saturday at exactly seven, Byun will come in with a few friends of his. They all go under different names though.”

   The man beside you crossed his arms. “Why do we have to go undercover? We know where he’ll be, we can just ambush him when he least expects it and get it over with.”

   “He’s apart of EXO,” you mumbled under your breath, your chest tightening. “They were an underground crime syndicate before Byun, Kim, and another; Do Kyungsoo, were arrested for murder. Every member had their profiles leaked by some unknown source. All of them were almost arrested before they escaped. Only three other members got caught. The rest just,” you paused, taking a moment to trace the indents on your pistol. “– disappeared.”

   The male looked surprised at your knowledge, but Taeyong wasn’t phased. “We’ve had some altercations with them in the past, but this is the first time since they disappeared that they’ve gone anywhere near us,” he informed the man.

   “Then shouldn’t I go alone?” The male shifted his weight, not meeting your gaze. “If you’ve had contact with them in the past, wouldn’t they recognize her?” He nodded in your direction. You narrowed your eyes at his condescending tone. He stood straight with a cocky air surrounding him. You nearly scoffed. He had no idea who he was dealing with.

   “Agent 127 wasn’t apart of NCT back then. Neither were you, another reason why the two of you are the best fit for this mission.” Taeyong closed the folder. “We’ll have 323 and 423 there with you. They won’t interfere with your mission unless you instruct them to. They’ll only be there for backup,” Taeyong glanced at the two of you, his eyes dark. You nodded, not questioning the director. “I sincerely hope you will not need them.”

   “Sir, if I may–”

   “Dismissed.” With that, Taeyong brushed the man off. While you turned to leave, the man stayed rooted to his spot. You felt tempted to pull him away, he obviously didn’t know how Taeyong took people who denied his word. However, the thought of Taeyong exploding at him sounded far more amusing. You stopped outside of the office, a growing smirk playing your lips like a violin.

   “Sir–”

   You heard a thud, presumably something Taeyong had banged against the table. “I said, dismissed, Agent. Do I need to tell you twice?”

   There was silence before the man exited, walking past you completely. You snorted, even the way he walked seemed pompously arrogant. “You must be a newbie,” you commented, pushing yourself off of the wall you had once been leaning on. He turned to you, glowering. “Everyone who’s spent more than a week here knows how Taeyong is. Didn’t help that I was late,” you shrugged.

   He stared at you, his gaze lingering for a moment longer, before he abruptly turned and walked off. You followed closely, clasping your hands behind your back. “You have a name, Mr. Tall, dark, and moody?” He looked annoyed at your ‘nickname’ for him, a scowl on his face. You nearly laughed at how much he resembled Taeyong in that single moment. “At least give me a fake one; we’re going undercover Saturday, I’ve gotta call you something.”

   He paused for a moment, “Nana.”

   You stopped dead in your tracks. Nana seemed to notice and glanced over his shoulder at you quizzically. You chuckled in amusement, “Nana? Seriously?” He growled at you under his breath, his glare hardening. “Might as well call you my grandmother. If that’s really your name, then damn, you must’ve had one rough childhood.”

   Nana’s mood seemed to have dropped drastically. If he wasn’t annoyed before, he surely was now. His stare was harsh and his form was rigid as he sent hate toward you through his eyes. “My childhood is none of your business,” he spat, turning to walk away again. And again, you followed.

   “Woah, man,” you walked ahead of him, raising your arms in defence. “It was a joke. You know, something people say to induce laughter? That sorta’ thing.” Nana sent yet another glare at you before jogging down the corridor, disappearing down a flight of stairs. You huffed, “What’s his problem?”

   Shaking your head, you headed back to the practice room. When you got there, Chenle was still present; this time with Mark Lee, a gunman. “Hey look, the woman of honor is back!” he exclaimed upon seeing you. You scoffed, cocking your gun. “What’d the boss want you for?”

   You rolled your shoulders back, stepping behind the table covered with ammunition. “New mission with a newbie. He’s a total asshole, though.” You picked out a certain clip, inserting it into the magazine. “Name’s Nana, apparently.”

   You heard Mark cough, the sound directing your attention away from the bullet-riddled targets on the other side of the room. Mark looked shocked, wide eyed, open mouth. “Nana? You’re working with Na Jaemin?” he asked quietly. Chenle gasped, eyes shifting from Mark to you.

   “Jaemin?”

   Mark nodded. “He’s a new recruit, yeah, but he’s skilled. Rumor has it, he stopped an entire mafia from mass murder on his own.” Mark looked as if he were mentally admiring Nana, or rather– Jaemin, as he spoke. Chenle rolled his eyes at the older male’s clear admiration toward him.

   He crossed his arms, a small frown appearing. “Well, I’ve heard rumors that he paralyzed his past partner,” Chenle harshly whispered, brows furrowed in concern. “Apparently Jaemin,” he uttered his name with disgust, “let him get hit by a train. He was lucky he didn’t die, but the poor guy hasn’t been able to walk since. Practically lost his entire career thanks to your little role model, Mark.” You shuddered at the thought of Jaemin letting someone get struck by such a fast moving vehicle.

   Mark gaped, “I hadn’t heard that one.” He turned to you with worry, “Don’t go near any trains with him, okay? Maybe he’ll do that to you too!” His voice was hushed as he spoke, leaning in ever so slightly as he did. You rolled your eyes at Mark’s behaviour; typical of him to go from admiring someone to practically cowering in fear.

   Honestly, it was surprising he was even a gunman– he was too much of a sweetheart for such a job.

   “Stop trying to psych me out, guys,” you huffed, shaking your head in an attempt of forgetting Chenle’s story. “We’re only partners for this mission. After that, I can ignore him all I like.” You missed their relieved expressions when you turned to face the targets once again. “Besides, Renjun and Jeno are going to be present; if he tries anything suspicious I can just call them for backup.”

   The boys simply watched as you shot at each of the target’s heads skillfully, never missing. Your late father had been the past director of NCT, so as you grew up you learned how to use a variety of weapons. Through his teachings, Taeyong was able to confidently hire you with little to no worry. Lucky for you– you’ve heard brutal stories from other spies in the agency about the ridiculous training regimen.

   You heard a beep, most likely from a phone, but chose to ignore it. From the corner of your eye, you could see Chenle pressing his phone against his ear. He let out a sigh, a sound that was equivalent to that of a mouse compared to the deafening bang of a gunshot. “[Y/N],” he called. You whipped your head in his direction, slightly annoyed at the constant interruptions.

   “Your partner’s causing a ruckus in the basement,” Chenle scoffed. “Management wants you to take care of it.”

   You let out a groan. You had forgotten about NCT’s seventh rule; you are responsible for your partner’s safety and behaviour. You shoved the pistol into your holster for the second time in the past hour. You walked out, your irritance obvious in your walk. You could hear Mark and Chenle following you, the two whispering to each other loudly.

   The three of you headed to the basement, using the elevator instead of the stairs you had watched Jaemin stomp down moments before. When the elevator dinged, you headed out. Almost immediately, you could hear yelling, coupled with the familiar sound of a fist colliding with skin. Turning a corner, you were immediately faced with Jaemin, hovering over a boy – whose, you had no idea since Jaemin was covering him – his collar collected in his fists.

   “Jaemin,” you exclaimed, rushing over. Only then did you see the boy. Anger coursed through your veins when you saw the blood dripping from Donghyuck’s nose, the quickly forming bruise on his jaw that stood out against his skin. Donghyuck was merely a hacker, though he was trained in physical combat and with guns, it was no doubt that Jaemin, a spy, would be stronger. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” you demanded, pushing the man off of Donghyuck.

   You didn’t notice how stiff Jaemin looked as he stared at you with wide eyes. “You okay?” you asked Donghyuck, helping him up. You barely spared Jaemin a glance as you headed back toward Mark and Chenle, who had been watching with agape jaws. Mark was quick to act, helping you move Donghyuck to the elevator.

   “You’re getting all beat up lately,” Mark said with a light tone. “You should start carrying a gun around with you.”

   Donghyuck rolled his eyes, “I’m a hacker, [Y/N]. Most don’t even know of my work, much less will they come after me. Even if they did, I practically live in HQ; we have insane security.” You gave Donghyuck a dirty look. Catching it, he shrugged. “Okay, we have a few cracks, but normally it’s pretty insane.”

   Chenle chuckled, pressing the button to the third floor; the mini hospital wing. “Still,” you pressed on, wiping the blood away from his face with your jacket sleeve. “You’re apart of NCT. I’m surprised Taeyong doesn’t already make you guys carry guns.”

   Donghyuck and Chenle shrugged nonchalantly. The elevator dinged quickly after, and the four of you hastily brought Donghyuck to one of the nearby beds. Moon Taeil, one of the resident doctors of NCT, saw the four of you and shook his head. He made his way over, raising a brow at Donghyuck’s beat up state. “Again, Donghyuck? You were just here yesterday, if you keep getting attacked like this it’d be best you carried a weapon of some sort.”

   “See,” you and Mark chorused.

   “Oh, leave us alone,” Chenle stuck his tongue out.

   Taeil chuckled at your interaction, before waving toward Donghyuck. “Come to the X-Ray room, judging by your state there’s a possibility of a fracture or break.” Mark moved to help Donghyuck to the aforementioned room. You saw another doctor come out of one of the rooms, glancing up at the three with confusion.

   “Hey,” he said, looking over at you. “What’d he do this time?”

   You let yourself laugh. “Got beat up by my weirdo of a partner.” You glanced over his shoulder. “Shouldn’t you be helping? You’re Taeil’s assistant after all.”

   The assistant, whom everyone knew as Jung Jaehyun, shrugged. “It doesn’t take two guys to do an X-Ray, unless the patient’s hostile or something.”

   “Have you met Donghyuck?”

   There was a pause. “Good point. I’ll get going then,” Jaehyun bowed his head toward you and Chenle before scurrying off in the direction Taeil, Mark, and Donghyuck had disappeared to.

   You let your gaze linger on the doors that swung back and forth as Jaehyun passed through them before leaving with Chenle.

   Morning came, and it came far too quickly for your liking. With barely an hour’s worth of sleep, you were forced to get up to go to work. Sometimes you wished you lived a normal life, one that didn’t include the guns and violence, all so you can get a good night’s rest. Then again, anything other than your job now seemed boring to you.

   You couldn’t sleep that night. Your thoughts had been too preoccupied for sleep to even become an option. All you could think of was Donghyuck and Jaemin. On one hand, you were truly worried about Donghyuck, but on the other hand you were curious about your partner. Rumors were rumors, but what Chenle had told you seemed to stand out in your mind. The way he carried himself made him seem unapproachable, not to mention the arrogant yet impudent way he spoke.

   It didn’t take long before you arrived at NCT headquarters. Though you had a car, you always preferred to walk since you only lived a block away from the main building. “Morning,” Nakamoto Yuta, a security guard, smiled at you as he let you enter.

   “Morning.”

   You passed by many other people; staff members and spies alike. Most of them, however, weren’t as chipper as Yuta could be in the mornings and just ignored your presence completely. Fine by me, you thought.

   “Hey,” a voice grumbled from behind you. You turned to see Jaemin standing before you, hands shoved in his pockets as he avoided eye contact with you. He was wearing another pinstripe suit, this time in black. “Taeyong wanted you to know that we’re leaving for Busan at 20:00. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so he wants us to get prepared before the mission.”

   “Why couldn’t he just,” you shrugged, “text me instead of having you be a messenger for him?”

   “Apparently, you never answer your phone.”

   “Well, touché.”

   He merely rolled his eyes before spinning on his heel and turning away. Before you had the chance to even continue heading to the hospital wing, he stopped and turned. He took a step forward, the movement hesitant. “How’d you know my name?”

   You cocked a brow at him. “That’s confidential,” you quipped, crossing your arms in a defiant manner. Jaemin frowned as he hunched forward, his bangs hanging over his eyes slightly.

   Before you could even say anything else, Jaemin really did turn away and walk off. Only when he disappeared from your view did you continue on to the hospital wing.

   When you got there, Mark and Chenle were already surrounding Donghyuck’s bed, all three speaking eagerly about something. When Chenle spotted you walking toward them he hastily shut the pair up by covering their mouths. You watched in amusement as they complained, their whines muffled by Chenle’s hands, completely oblivious to your presence.

   “Okay, I expect this from Donghyuck, but you Mark? Weren’t you trained to pick up on quiet noises? Including footsteps?”

   Both Mark and Donghyuck jumped simultaneously, whipping around to find you standing there. “[Y/N],” Mark stuttered. You merely chuckled, moving to stand beside Chenle. He avoided eye contact, as did Mark and Donghyuck. You raised a brow at their suspicious activity, placing a hand on your hip as you stared each of them down. They were all being suspicious.

   Noticing your side eye, Chenle laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he finally turned to look at you. “We were just talking about,” he paused looking to Mark and Donghyuck for help. When they both coughed, he sent a glare in their direction. “We were talking about girls,” he sounded unsure, his smile forced and body rigid.

   You nodded slowly, not believing a word he said. “Sure. Anyway, I just wanted to visit. I’ll be leaving for Busan with Jaemin later.” Donghyuck winced at the mention of him. You caught the worried looks Mark and Chenle were sending you and sighed. “I’ll be careful, don’t worry. If he tries anything weird, I’ll send a bullet through his shoulder or something.”

   Donghyuck still looked concerned but nodded. You glanced over your shoulder. No one else was in the hospital wing, other than Taeil, Jaehyun, and a new doctor you didn’t know the name of. “Hey, could you do me a favour?” you requested, glancing at the two hackers. “When you have time, could you possibly find out about Jaemin?”

   Mark looked incredulous, staring at you with a small frown. “What ever happened to we’re only partners, I can ignore him later?”

   You snorted, “I will ignore him after the mission, I’d just like to know more about his background. Something about him is off.”

   “Like his sanity?”

   You chuckled at Chenle’s comment, shaking your head. “No, something else.” Glancing at your wrist watch, you began to step back. “I’ll get going then,” you smiled toward Donghyuck, “recover well. I should be back by Monday at the latest.” You waved toward the men, walking off toward the elevator.

   To your surprise, Taeyong was in the elevator when it arrived. You stepped in, keeping your distance as you pressed the button to the fifth floor. “I’m assuming you know the departure time,” Taeyong surmised. “I could care less about what you do until then, but when the time comes a few of the guards will come get you.” You nodded.

   Reaching into the pocket of his blazer, he handed you an envelope. “Inside will be your identification and a summary of your character. Study it, become it, then dispose of it. Byun’s smart; you knew of his role in EXO before it disbanded. If you come on too strong, he’ll figure something’s up and you’ll be in danger.” The elevator stopped on your floor.

   Taking the envelope, you stepped out, turning just before the elevator doors closed. Taeyong stared back, looking void of emotion as he nodded at you. “Good luck, Agent 127.”

   You stood there for a moment, unmoving, before making your way to the main ammunition room. You thumbed the envelope, tracing its edges as you walked. The only noise you could hear, other than your own breathing, was the quiet tapping of your shoes against the tiled floor. As you reached the ammunition room, you pressed a hand against the scanner on the wall. After a second, the door opened on its own.

   Almost instantly, you saw a man hunched over one of the desks. You immediately recognized the clothing and stature, freezing in the doorway. After hearing the door open, Jaemin glanced over his shoulder. When his eyes laid upon your form, he looked away. Shaking your head, you moved toward the far wall, ignoring his presence completely.

   He watched as you picked out a couple of guns along with the necessary clips. When you finished loading the weapons, you turned to see him staring at you. “What?” you questioned, switching your Magnum with a Berreta M9 as you spoke. You packed a S&T Motiv K14 into a spare case and brought it off of the desk. Jaemin’s gaze lingered on you for a while before he went back to loading a few guns. You furrowed your brows before exiting, the large steel pocket door closing behind you automatically.

   Jaemin truly was odd, to say the least.

   True to Taeyong’s word, a couple of guards had found you a little before the departure time, both equipped with a packed suitcase for your new character. You had been on the top floor, practicing your sniper skills. The sniper room took up practically the whole of the top floor, so it did take the guards a while to find your exact location (since you had left your tracked phone in the lockers near the entrance). The drive to the private airport, owned by NCT, was quiet for the most part. Every once in awhile, Johnny Seo– the main guard, would crack a joke and Ten, the guard whose real name you didn’t know, would laugh.

   “We’re here,” Johnny announced, parking the car. You climbed out of the vehicle, thanking the two quietly before ascending the stairs to the entrance. Inside, Jaemin was already waiting for you, dressed differently from when you had seen him earlier in the day. This time, he was wearing a simple white button up, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, coupled with slacks. You had to stop yourself from staring. Even you had to admit Jaemin looked great with his light brown hair almost messily pushed out of his face.

   “You’re late,” he grumbled. You scoffed, glancing down at your watch. It was only five past the given time, you were hardly late. Jaemin glanced down at your clothes, the bomber jacket you had been wearing slightly dirty from when you had been laying on your stomach during practice. He gestured toward the restroom, “There’s a dress in there for you, a wig too, probably.” You scrunched your nose up at the thought of wearing a dress but complied.

   Leaving Jaemin, you headed to the restroom, locking the door behind you. In the envelope Taeyong had given you, you had found out that your ‘new name’ was Kim Hyonhui, a name you rolled your eyes at, an employee at TCN Inc. Hyonhui was a completely different person from you. Hyonhui’s character was the disloyal and seductive wife of Kim Hansol– or rather, Jaemin.

   True to Jaemin’s word, there was a neatly folded dress on top of the counter. Beside it was a long, black wig. Grumbling under your breath, you slid the dress on and carefully placed the wig atop your head, hiding your natural hair effortlessly. Soon after, you spotted a pair of heels on the ground. You nearly groaned– if you detested anything more than dresses, it was heels. You inspected the shoes, recognizing the style. There was a secret compartment in the back, perfect for hiding spare clips or drug capsules.

   You walked out of the restroom, watching your feet to make sure you don’t trip. As you walked with your head down, Jaemin looked over after hearing the clicking of your heels against the hardwood floor. He quickly looked away, trying to appear nonchalant.

   When you reached him, a man walked into the room. He wore a pilot uniform, making it obvious that he was the pilot. “The plane is ready,” he said upon walking up to the two of you.

   You and Jaemin locked eyes before nodding. Together, you followed the pilot outside to the private plane.

   Off to Busan.

⇢ next

[ed-edward-blackbeard]

@rootingformephistopheles posted a looooooooooong list of fanfiction questions right here.

I answered every damn one of them before I realized it was probably meant to be an askbox thing.  SO, here you fuckers go.  (it’s five pages long, wtf.  so it’s under a readmore to save your dashboard)

Fanfiction Questions

Fandom Questions

 1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Xenaverse, including Hercules: the Legendary Journeys.  I did PBeM (play by email) role play, and then moved to fanfic, and then slash fanfic.

2. What is your latest fandom?

I have three, technically.  Doctor Who, Hannibal, and Gotham

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

Hannibal.  Fannibals are the best, by 100 miles.  I’m sure there’s bad parts of the fandom, I’ve just never yet run across them.  

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

As far as the people go? Highlander.  There was a lot of overlap, at the time, with The Sentinel, both shows I enjoyed.  I just feel like there were a lot of assholes in the Highlander fandom who disliked me and my writing because of the people I was friends with, not because I sucked (and believe me, I did.  I have the fic to prove it.)  

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

From my AO3 dashboard:

Smallville --  The Sentinel -- Hannibal (TV) -- Doctor Who (2005) -- Supernatural -- Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- Veronica Mars -- Stargate SG-1 -- Actor RPF -- Charlie Countryman/Spacedogs -- Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling -- Adam (2009)/Spacedogs – Brimstone -- Supernatural RPF  -- Stargate Atlantis -- Yami No Matsuei | Descendants of Darkness -- The Fast and the Furious (2001) -- Sherlock (TV) -- The Blair Witch Project (1999) -- Star Trek: The Original Series -- Sense and Sensibility (1995) --  Law & Order: SVU -- Lost Boys (Movies) -- Watchmen (2009) -- Lost (1) -- Smallville RPF -- Marvel Cinematic Universe (1) --  Gargoyles (TV) -- Dogma (1999)

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Oh my fucking God. Okay, here goes:

Xena/Ares and Xena/Autolycus, Xenaverse; Clark/Lex and Lionel/Chloe, Smallville; Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg, the Sentinel; Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham, Hannibal; Doctor/Rose, Nine/Rose/Jack, Doctor Who; Dean/Sam, Supernatural; Buffy/Spike, Giles/Ethan, Spike/Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars, John Winchester/Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars; Jack O’Neill/Daniel Jackson, Stargate SG-1; Ezekiel/Lucifer, Brimstone; John/Rodney, Stargate Atlantis; Muraki x Tsuzuki, Yami No Matsuei; Dom/Brian, the Fast and the Furious; John Watson/Sherlock Holmes, BBC Sherlock; Nigel Lupei/Adam Raki, Spacedogs; Kirk/Spock, Star Trek; Christopher Brandon/Eleanor Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility; Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson, Law & Order SVU; Elisa Maza/Goliath, Gargoyles.

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

I don’t really have NoTPs in the fandoms I’ve written in.  I have a few NoTPs in general, though, although I’m not listing them here because wow, would I cause some hurt feelings.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

I saw the gifsets from The Wrath of the Lamb, and I saw the name Hannibal Lecter being bandied about, and I fell in love because I’ve loved Hannibal Lecter ever since Red Dragon.  I don’t know how I missed out on hearing about the show when it first came out, but holy hell, am I sorry.  I’ve been a Fannibal ever since.  It was the same story with Gotham.  I’d actively avoided Gotham because of the debacle of Smallville, but it was the Nygmobblepot gifs and Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin that finally drew me in.

 9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

Fannibals are fucking awesome, yo.  They’re the best thing about the fandom; hell, they *are* the fandom.  I love them all, every one.  From well-thought out meta to cracked out gifsets to the supportive fanfic community.  It’s amazing.

10.  Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Because I write, I try not to read a lot, because I don’t want to accidentally crib from someone else’s story, or steal someone else’s idea, because I know what it’s like to pour your life into things.

 Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

 11. Who is your current OTP?

Hannibal/Will, Doctor/Rose, and Oswald/Edward

 12. Who is your current OT3?

Nine/Jack/Rose. That’s pretty much it.

 13. Any NoTPs?

None I’ll share.

 14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

Jim Gordon/Harvey Bullock, and I’m sure there’s more that I can’t think of right now. 

 15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

I think I’m probably the only person who actually ships it, but John Winchester/Veronica Mars.

16. Are there any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Destiel.  I dislike Destiel with a passion.  Ditto Barisi.  That’s about it.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Ares/Strife.  They’re not my favorite by any means, but I still have a huge soft spot for them.  

 18. What ship have you written the most about?

uh, probably Clark/Lex or Jim/Blair, just due to the length of time I was in both fandoms.  

 19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

Destiel and Barisi. They’re popular ships shipped by some people I really like, but I just can’t get behind them.  It’s a knee-jerk thing.  I can’t even really voice why I dislike them as much as I do, I just do.

 20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Nygmobblepot, actually. I didn’t think I was going to like anything in Gotham, much less the Penguin and the Riddler, but damned if I don’t love it so much I’m actually writing about it as we speak.  

Author Questions

 21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Detested Sport, it was from a Shakespeare quote, I think, and it was Ares/Strife. I think it’s lost to the world, thank fucking God.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Writing?  No.  Sharing? Yes.  It’s called “My Soul’s Imaginary Sight,” and it’s the first time I used an OC, Meravin, who has gone through about a billion evolutions since, and has ended up as a Star Wars OC named Sheridan.  I wish I hadn’t shared it, because while it was a definitely needed step in my development as a writer, it’s such a blatant self-insert Mary Sue that I really regret sharing it.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Shoah.  It’s a Sentinel fic, written for one of the “Many Faces Of…” edition of My Mongoose e-zines.  I think it was MFO Jim.  But it’s an AU set during the Holocaust, in one of the concentration camps.  It’s not a particularly cheerful story, and the writing process was terrible.  I did so much research trying to make it honest to the experience that I spent whole evenings crying in chat windows with my friends Lisa and Patt, who basically hand-held me through the worst of it.  But I’m inordinately fond of it, because of the work that went into it, and of how it came out.  It’s not my best writing, by a long shot, but I think it’s probably my most emotional and evocative.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

Pretty much everything prior to my Doctor Who fic.  I’m very critical of my earlier works.

 25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

A recent one, Consortio, an ABO Hannigram sort-of Medieval-ish handwavey AU.  

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

Quotations, song lyrics, poetry, Shakespeare, sometimes pulled out of my ass.

 27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

SUMMARIES, JESUS CHRIST, SAVE ME FROM SUMMARIES.

 28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

Dealer’s choice, really. I’d just be thrilled for anybody to pick SOMETHING.  

 29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

I do not, although I fear I need one for Gotham.  It’s more a personal choice than anything else.  I’ve got a particular style that doesn’t always mesh well with taking concrit, and while my grammar is very… erratic, at times (stuff it, I love my commas as you can tell), I feel like I should be the arbiter of what I create.

 30. What inspires you to write?

Practically anything. Songs, less often.  TV shows of the source material, obviously.  Movies, sometimes.  Random quotes, what ifs, conversations with friends, AU lists, prompt lists, sentence starters…

 31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

It’s from a writer named Mysenia on my fic Consortio:  “All the kudos! Just re-read this story, and I loved it every bit as much as I did the first time :D”  Because that’s honestly the first time anyone has mentioned re-reading something of mine in the comment, and it made me so happy for DAYS

 32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Actually, it depends on what I’m writing.  If I’m working on writing sex, then I need dance music, which I usually abhor.  I find the Matrix soundtracks work really well, as do Rammstein albums.  If I’m doing emotional/angsty things, then Meat Loaf is my go-to.  Otherwise, it’s kind of a mish-mash.  My music folders are here, on my Google drive, if anyone is really interested in anything I listen to.

 33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

Mostly one-shots, although I’ve been known to do a chaptered fic/series once in a while.

 34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

7,706 on “The Masks We Wear.”  I’ve got a series of fics that is 35,498, over about fifteen different stories.  Consortio and Kastytis are both chaptered, so they don’t count.  Consortio is 23,088 and Kastytis is 24,706

 35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

Strictly 100 word pieces? Not any more.  I used to write for drabble challenges, but I can never stay within the word limit any more.  If you mean 200 words or less drabble-ishes, then yes, I do write those.  About a lot of things, really.  

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

I’m kind of fond of first-times, although that’s not a given.  I don’t tend to stick to any one given genre.

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Third, unless it’s some VERY special occasion.  First person drives me nuts.  I love the Hunger Games books, but seeing things as Katniss gives me hives from time to time.  

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

I’ve done both, actually, although 99% of my OC writing stays private.  Which is sometimes a pity, because I think I’ve written some pretty good shit with some of my OCs.

39. What is your greatest strength as a writer?

I don’t know that I really have one.

 40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Staying in character, finishing what I start.

 Fanfiction Questions

 41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

I’m not reading anything right now.  Except Stephen King’s IT

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

Just five?  @slashyrogue, @damnslippyplanet, @granpappy-winchester, @mummyholmesisupset, @moku-youbi

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

@bonearenaofmyskull, @crossroadscastiel, @bu0nanotte, @granpappy-winchester, @moku-youbi

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

All of them.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

Home and Dry by @moku-youbi

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

Consortio, or Kastytis. They’re both Hannigram AUs, and I feel like they’re the best examples of my writing style.

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

AO3 and Wonderful World of Make Believe, where I am woefully behind.  But AO3, because I enjoy having everything in one place, easy to use dashboard and posting interface, and it’s pre-sorted for me.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

Mostly I do, because I know how valuable the reviews are to writers.  I try and speak to what I liked best about the story, or how it moved me.

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

I don’t want to care, but I do.  I want the validation, dammit.

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

I eased into it by way of RP.  Play by email was my thing, and I loved reading threads strung together, which was basically fanfiction.  Then a friend of mine introduced me to Ares/Joxer slash, and I’ve just gone from there.  I’ve always written it, as long as I can remember, even though I didn’t know that’s what it was called.  

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

The one thing I hate in the world of fanfiction is the kind of elitism that is absolutely bullshit. As a writer, if you don’t write the pairing du jour, or the kind of thing that the fandom at large is clamoring for (RPF, AU, ABO, ten thousand other different things) then you don’t get a bit of recognition no matter how good you are.  Hannibal fandom is the first time that I’ve not seen this.  This is the only fandom that I know of where an author can write what they want to write and still be recognized for it.