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spikedfearn · 1 month ago

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I Said Just a Little Bit, Then I Got a Taste of It

Chapter IV

bjorn x fem!reader

summary: After being transferred to another sector of Jackson's Star you reluctantly befriend a ragtag group of people with the exception of one cocky asshole who knows just how to get under your skin.

On the surface, you hate each other, but after experiencing a particularly harrowing event together, the two of you grow closer than anyone else could ever imagine.

a/n: alright, the moment you've all been waiting for, it's nothing but smut from start to finish!! I took a mini-break to write something else but I plan on getting chapter v, maybe even vi out before I post part ii of let's make love!! this fic is gonna be around 8-9 chapters if I follow the outline I have laid out so we're at the halfway point now (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) also—always remember to wrap it up girlies!!

warnings: secret friends with benefits, enemies to lovers, angst, alcohol/drug use, nsfw, non-linear narrative, trauma bonding, resolved sexual tension, praise kink (both ways), oral (giving), loss of virginity, dirty talk

tags: @asvtrials @urfavhanna @orangebeauty @3arthtoeden @barnes70stark (comment if you wanna be notified when a new chapter drops)

wc: 2.8k

Masterlist Next Chapter

If this really is the end, maybe this isn't such a bad way to go out—making out with someone as hot as Bjorn.

It's been awhile since you've kissed anyone, more than a little out of practice, not that Bjorn seems to mind, slipping his tongue in your mouth, overwhelming it.

Your fingers thread through the sweaty tangle of his hair, dislodging some of the loose sediment and debris that had showered you both earlier, your other palm sliding up the side of his neck to cradle him just below the jaw, the slick, wet noise of your tongues meeting echoing through the limited space.

This is the last thing you ever expected to happen, apart from the cave-in, swapping spit with your sworn enemy while you await your inevitable demise. Always assumed if anything were to go down between you two it would be homicide, with you in cuffs and Bjorn six feet under.

In reality you are much, much further down below LV-410's surface, spending your last few moments alive with the last person you wanted to spend them with. At least, that's how you felt prior to you and Bjorn's little heart-to-heart, able to come to an understanding that whittled the strain down to almost nothing.

Bjorn's hand drifts from where it's cradling your cheek down and over your grimy t-shirt, yanking the hem free from the cinched waistband of your standard-issued cargo pants it's tucked into. Slips it underneath the ratty fabric to touch your bare skin, skimming the flat of his calloused palm over your stomach up to the underwire of your bra, flirting along the edge.

He slips his hand under that too, cupping the entirety of your breast, the dry rub of his thumb over your nipple hurting just right.

“Bjorn,” you whine, watching him pull back, a string of saliva stretching between your lips, the lighting casting orange shadows to dance across his face, eyes heavy-lidded and narrow, “please.”

Immediately obliging, he rucks your cotton tee and bra up and over your collarbones so your tits are out, arms coming up to cover yourself on reflex when he stops you, pinning your wrists in the dirt above your head with one hand.

“Don’t go shy on me now, princess, we've only jus’ started," except—it’s Bjorn's turn to go shy, cheeks turning an uncharacteristic shade of pink as he looks down and away, voice a little insecure when he whispers, “jus’—tell me if it feels good or not.”

Then he's diving forward to close the distance between your body and his, the broad stroke of his tongue over your nipple making you writhe beneath him.

What he lacks in experience he makes up for in enthusiasm, sucking with a fervor that has you feeling hot all over before he's switching to the other side, replacing his mouth with his hand to fondle your heaving, wet breast at the same time. There's a saying that passion is an extension of hatred.

“Oh—fuck,” you whimper, almost having forgotten how euphoric it feels to have someone else touch you so intimately, “so good. You sure you've never done this before?”

That seems to spur him on, gaining more confidence as he continues working over your chest, blowing warm air over the cool wetness of your nipples, starting to soak through your underwear as a result and you haven't even gone that far. Yet.

“God if only ya’ could see urself right now,” Bjorn groans, low and breathy, “Lookin’ like a propa’ wet dream.”

Bjorn lets your wrists go to rip both of your shirts off, pulling him down into another filthy, wet kiss, lifting your shoulders off the ground long enough to unhook your bra for you, swallowing each other's moans.

You're aware that you're running on borrowed time, the shaky rumble of the tunnel you're hooking up in providing a morbid reminder. Breaking the kiss, you lightly push back against his naked chest when he tries to chase after you, sharing winded breaths between your barely separated lips.

“Easy now,” you chuckle, tucking a sweaty curl behind his ear, over the little frowny face he has tattooed there,“you still wanna lose your v-card, don't you?”

The nod he offers you is quick, eager—definitely virginal, turning you on more than you thought it would. There's just something insanely hot knowing you're the first to touch him like this, the only one so far to witness him desperate for more.

“On your back,” you tell him, naturally taking charge, cutting him off right before he can interject, “now be a good boy and listen. Can you do that for me?”

You watch the rapid flutter of his lashes at the pet name, the whites of his eyes showing as his pupils roll back into his head like he just came from that alone. Well—who would've figured Bjorn to have a praise kink; deciding to file that away, planning on weaponizing it to your complete advantage.

“Oh—did you like that? Me calling you a good boy,” you purr, reveling in the breathy moan he gives back in response, feeling a little powerful as he follows your instruction, sprawling out without any push back. “There you go, just like that. Look at you taking direction so well.”

Kissing down his chest and over the thin happy trail disappearing into his pants, you feel him shiver in anticipation. You pull the metal prong on his belt, unfastening the leather until the strap is lying on either side of his hips, hands a little shaky.

You're just as nervous as he is, wanting it to be good for his first—and last—time, opening his zipper, the gold teeth revealing the tented fabric of his briefs as you yank it all the way down, damp from pre-come. He's looking forward to this just as much as you are.

“I’m gonna go down on you,” you explain, Bjorn drawing a ragged intake of breath into his lungs hearing that, assuming neither of you have lube on you, “need you nice and wet, then you're gonna get me nice and wet if we're gonna make this happen. Okay?”

A smirk stretches across his lips as his chin raises, a fraction of that familiar cockiness returning, finding it more attractive than you normally would, “Oh? Gonna gag on it, princess?”

“I can't believe I'm seriously about to put your dick in my mouth,” you grumble, choosing to keep up the illusion of irritation, if only to slightly detach yourself from the situation you've found yourself in, from the exceedingly foreign flicker of your heart.

You unsheath his cock from the unbuttoned fly of his underwear, eyes going wide when you finally lay eyes on him. Fuck. He's big. Of course he is, his grossly misplaced confidence making a lot more sense now.

“Droolin’ already, love?” He laughs, loosely steepling his fingers together behind his head, face rearranging into something incredibly smug.

Rather than saying anything you let a fat glob of spit fall from your mouth to make the slide easier, working your way up from base to tip, mixing your saliva with his pre-come, fueled by the continuous stream of moans he's feeding you.

Your mouth closes around him, the few strands of hair that had come loose from your ponytail framing your face, hollowing your cheeks to pay special attention to his head, the bitter taste of salt spreading out across your tongue.

Bjorn's sensitive, you can immediately tell, judging by how responsive he is to everything you're doing, swearing a litany of curses under his breath as your tongue massages the underside of his cock, swirling around it, babbling things like, “fuck—jus’ like tha,’ ur a fuckin’ pro a’this, holy shit” and, “m’ gonna come if ya’ keep this up, princess.”

You pull off with an audible wet pop, shushing Bjorn when he starts to whine at the loss, “now, now. Can't have you coming too soon, can we? Not when we haven't even gotten to the best part.”

He gets the hint to sit up after tugging on his wrist, chest heaving and flushed down to his navel like he just ran a marathon. You didn't think it was possible for Bjorn to look this devastatingly attractive but he's once again proven you wrong, not that you mind at all in this case.

“Alright,” you say, getting on your knees to rip your pants and underwear down and off your legs, shuddering under the weight of his lustfully heedy gaze, staring at your soaking wet core as he licks his lips nice and slow. “My turn.”

Drawing his wrist to your mouth, you wrap your tongue around two of his dirty fingers up to the last knuckle so you can suck them clean, get them ready, “gonna teach you how to open me up, get me nice and stretched for your cock. Would you like that?” You check, words a bit muffled with your mouth preoccupied.

Bjorn groans watching you, hastily nodding his approval, following the path your tongue takes as you curl it around and splice between, finding satisfaction in how much he's enjoying your little show. Which is brand new for you, never having gotten this turned on by giving your bed partner pleasure.

Once you've deemed them sufficiently wet enough you lead his fingers down between your thighs, sliding between your folds, lashes fluttering at the contact, “ur fuckin’ drippin,’ princess. Allat’ jus’ fo’ me?”

You don't even have it in you to deny it, whimpering “yes,” as the first finger goes in with ease, pushing and pulling his wrist to steadily fuck it in and out of you, twisting and telling him to curl it upward, hitting your g-spot dead on.

“God that's—you're doing so good, such a good boy,” Bjorn diving forward and shoving his tongue down your throat in another desperate, filthy kiss, pumping his finger faster, repeatedly brushing over the same spot you told him about that has your thighs trembling and your eyes rolling. He's certainly a quick learner.

His second finger joins the first upon your instruction, scissoring them apart to stretch you wide open, foreheads leaning against each other while you both watch them disappear inside you, fragmented breathing and occasional moans punctuating the shared air between you.

It doesn't take long before you're pulling his fingers out, licking them clean to get him even more riled up, jaw getting tight as he grits his teeth, looking like he wants to devour you whole, causing heat to coil through you. Fuck, you've never wanted anyone more.

“So howdya’ wanna do this?” He asks, reclining back, keeping himself propped up on his elbows so he can stare up at you appreciatively.

Your answer is immediate, having already thought about it earlier, crawling over his body to straddle his hips and hover just above him, “gonna ride you.”

You figure it'll be the best position to do it in, will give you complete control, being able to set the pace and angle while Bjorn can just lie there and reap all the benefits.

He smirks hearing your answer, cocking his head sideways as his eyebrows raise, arches disappearing underneath his bangs, “fuckin’ knew ya’ wanted ta’ sit on it.”

“Bjorn,” you scold, pushing squarely against the abdominal muscle in his solar plexus until he's lying flat on his back again, “be a good boy and shut up.”

That does the trick, moaning a “kay” as you get ready to sink down, feeling the blunt pressure of his head against your entrance when you realize something important—he isn't wearing any protection. How did you almost overlook something like that? The arousal must be clouding whatever critical thinking skills you're still working with.

Wait,” you pause, grabbing his attention, listening to him whine in annoyance at you to “not be a fuckin’ cocktease,” lightly slapping his chest in retaliation, “do you have any condoms on you?”

“Huh?” He blinks, moony-eyed, mirroring your dumbfounded expression, clearly also thinking with the wrong head, “nah, why would I?”

“Damn it,” you groan, considering backing out of the whole thing, not sure if you really want to let him hit it raw. You've never let anyone fuck you without one, the only contraceptive Jackson's Star has to offer—is even willing to offer, their attempt to force a baby boom with how incredibly low the colony’s population currently is. “Why not?”

“Well sorry ta’ say I don't jus’ carry rubbas’ on me babes, neva’ saw tha’ point since I wasn't gettin’ none ‘nyway. Besides—da’ we even really need one?”

“You're joking, right?” You give him an incredulous look, thighs starting to tremble from how long you've been holding yourself up, “I don't want a UTI, fucking in a mineshaft is already reckless enough.”

That and you're definitely not looking to get knocked up, especially by Bjorn of all people, preferably by no one at all. You just can't imagine subjecting a baby to such a miserably hopeless situation like the one you're doomed to die in.

“Well tha’ won't really matta’ when we're squashed like a coupla’ bugs, now willit?’” he challenges, feeling your resolve waver, hating to admit that Bjorn’s been making solid points throughout the night.

He's right. It won't matter, none of it does, not in the long run when your bodies are inevitably being dug out from under the rocks and support beams waiting to topple over onto you.

So—you make up your mind and sink all the way down, only stopping once you're fully seated in his lap, listening to the drawn out groan that escapes him when he's bottomed out.

“Shit,” he whines, eyes momentarily closing while he adjusts to the tight, wet heat hugging his cock, “ya’ feel fuckin' incredible princess.”

You place both hands on his chest to keep you stable as you start to move, lifting all the way up to the tip before dropping back down, your shared moans echoing off the walls around you.

His hands come up to squeeze your thighs hard enough to bruise, aiding you in the slick slide with his shirt balled up and pillowed beneath his head. You don't remember it ever feeling this good—this mind-blowing, your bodies molding together like they were made for each other.

The wet slap of skin fills the air, angling your hips to repeatedly hit your g-spot again, your orgasm building quick, reaching down to massage your clit in time with your bouncing.

Bjorn plants both feet on the dirt to fuck up into you harder, head falling back as your eyes close, slapping your hand out of the way to replace it with his own, “fuck. This is betta’ than I coulda imagined, takin’ ma' cock so well. Gonna come soon.”

His arm circles your waist then, pulling you on top of him, taking the reins to thrust inside of you at his own erratic pace, moaning filthy shit into your ear like, “love tha’ way ya’ moan fo’ me,” and “ur such a plesha’ ta’ use.”

He sucks a hickey into your neck, your chest sliding up and down his from the force of his hips, signaling he's about to bust with a low grunt, offering to pull out and aim it at you somewhere instead.

But it doesn't matter, right? Hearing an ominous grinding coming from the rubble behind you, blocking off the path leading to the tunnel’s entryway—the final collapse.

So you shake your head no, begging him to come inside you, to consummate your relationship and make you his just before the end. And he does, sliding in deep as he moans your name and releases everything he has to offer, milking you into an orgasm of your own, sucking a matching hickey into his clavicle.

Listening to the thump of his rabbiting heartbeat as your breathing starts returning to normal, you feel him press a kiss to your temple in a silent thank you. You want him to hold you, to keep you close and give you the illusion of safety as everything unavoidably collapses around you.

Except—nothing ends up collapsing, realizing the grinding you heard is the sound of drilling, excavating through the rock and splintered wood to get to you, sharing a bewildered look with Bjorn when you both recognize it. You're not dying like you both thought, you're being saved.

Both of you barely manage to get dressed just as a sudden stream of headlamps flood through the hole that's been made, just big enough to accomodate one body at a time, your pupils going small under the bright white lights.

A small group of miners are crouched there, instructing both of you to quickly crawl to the other side towards them before everything ultimately comes down, rendering their little rescue mission futile.

You let Bjorn go first, still rooted to the spot, completely shell shocked as you watch him squeeze his way through with the help of some hands being extended out to him, not once glancing back your way.

You're gonna live to see another day. You just had unprotected sex with Bjorn and now you have no choice but to deal with the aftermath that tomorrow will inevitably bring.

#posting this a few hours late but i havent gone to bed yet so it still counts lol #hope this lives up to the hype #i hit 117 notes on chapter iii which is actually insane!!#you guys are the best #thanks for all the love it keeps me going #bjorn alien romulus x reader #bjorn alien romulus fic #bjorn x reader #bjorn alien romulus #alien romulus #spike fearn

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rottenrosethorns · 1 year ago

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Promise | Part Two

Pairing: RE4!Leon S. Kennedy x co-worker!fwb!afab!Reader

Genre: Friends with Benefits AU, Angst, Fluff, Smut

Synopsis: It’s been days since Leon left, the last you heard from him being rumors about the mission. Over the span of those days without him, you start to realize how much you craved Leon’s comfort beyond physical. But, why is he suddenly acting so distant?

Word Count: 9.2K

Warnings: 18+ SEXUAL CONTENT MINORS DNI; mild slow burn?, allusions towards depressive episode, crying, slight depictions of blood and gore, Y/N used once, reader smokes cigarette, reader consumes alcohol, switch!reader x dom!Leon, slight humiliation (reader receiving), slight overstimulation (reader receiving), pet names (love, baby, beautiful), fingering (reader receiving), rough fucking, oral sex (reader receiving), spanking (reader receiving), choking (reader receiving), oil massage (reader receiving), manhandling (reader receiving),mutual aftercare, swearing

A/N: ITS FINALLY HERE!!! A huge, huge thank you for everyone's love for Promise pt. 1. I really hope everyone enjoys the second part. I appreciate everyone’s patience and apologize for taking so long to finish this. I cannot tell you how many times I reconstructed the plot lol

Taglist: @navreads @navstuffs (sry i couldn't tag your side blog)

__________

- masterlist -

- part one -

__________

You don’t remember the last time you slept. Well, of course you slept, every human needs sleep to recover. Maybe you should say that you couldn’t remember the last time you fully recovered. Regardless, all you knew was that feeling of uneasiness whirling in the pits of your stomach.

Ever since Leon left for the mission, you couldn’t help but worry. The constant feeling of fear consumed your thoughts 24/7 as you daydreamed about what horrors Leon could be facing and whether or not he had the skill and luck to survive. The devil that people call “the little voice in my head” tormented you with narrative images of Leon’s death. Some scenarios were soaked with gushing blood, some were infected with whatever mutated virus, and some – the one you deemed the worst out of all – was simply a missing person, no body to be found whatsoever.

You spent your mornings in bed, laying there for what felt like hours only to fight off the grogginess with some cheap coffee or energy drink before heading to work at the very last second possible without being considered tardy. Normally, you were a very diligent worker, investigating virus cases or testing for possible antidotes. But these days with your mind clouded with Leon’s absence, you often caught yourself stumbling over work. Your supervisor scolded you for simple mistakes, ones that you would’ve never made before. You were slow and sloppy, and Leon was all to blame.

If you thought your performance at work was bad, your personal life was even worse. Once work was over, you’d go home, maybe make a sorry excuse for a meal, watch an episode or two of whatever show you had queued, and get ready for bed. When you entered your apartment, you’d think of when Leon would push you towards the closest wall, pining you with his hips as he grinded his restricted erection into your hip bone. When you cooked, you’d think of when Leon slid his hands down from your waist to pick you up and trap you on your granite countertops. When you ate, you’d think of when Leon bent you over and railed into you from behind over your kitchen table.

Fuck.

You’d hope some TV would ease your mind, but the audio quickly became white noise as your thoughts drifted towards Leon. On a day where you were feeling particularly lonely, you closed your eyes and layed yourself in bed with your hand creeping under the waistband of your pants. You sighed in relief, reaching the spot which craved your attention. With your imagination, you pictured Leon in front of you. His eyes watched as you did your best to satisfy yourself. You listened to his ghost-like whispers as he guided where to put your fingers and how much or little to apply pressure. With your fingers, you tried your best to follow his silent commands, doing your best to imitate his technique. For an hour, you remained like that, pushing and hoping to reach a climax, but even imitation could never compare to the real thing. Nothing could compare to Leon. So, you found yourself cleaning up, although barely lubricated and heading to bed to ignore the pitiful aching between your legs.

You didn’t know when – if – Leon was coming back, all you knew was that somehow, this became routine for you.

“Hello?? Hello???” Poppy waved a hand in your face, “Earth to agent? What’s got you so distracted?”

Startled, you jumped back, not realizing that you’d been staring blankly at your laptop screen for some while. You cleared your throat, finding the almost empty cup of whatever drink left behind and chugging it, “Shit, sorry. Need something?”

Poppy looked at you with concern, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder, “I do. I need to know what’s up with you. Are you okay? You’ve been totally out of it these days.”

“I’m fine,” You touched her hand, grateful for her concern, “Just tired.”

“Trouble sleeping? I don’t want to be mean, but those eye bags are killer. Not the good kind.”

Rubbing your eyes, you sighed with the weight of last night’s lack of sleep on your shoulders, “Yeah, something like that.”

“You know I care for you, right?” Poppy softly smiled, “And, that you can tell me anything, and I mean anything, if you need to.”

You nodded, reciprocating her smile, genuinely thankful for her friendship. Although you weren’t ready to share your experience, you were glad to know that you had someone to go to if you ever felt particularly sentimental, “I know, thank you. Just got some stuff on my mind, but I promise I’m okay.”

Taking a deep breath, you composed yourself back into work mode, “Did you still need something or just come to visit?”

Only then, you noticed the collection of papers in Poppy’s hands as she gave them to you. Looking through them, your heart leapt to your throat as you instantly recognized Leon’s handwriting on the mission reports. Stunned, you felt like all of time ceased around you as a loud buzzing sound pierced your ears. It was only until Poppy’s soft voice pulled you back into reality, “He’s in the infirmary, the doctors are watching him for any signs of Las Plagas just in case Luis’s laboratory was faulty. We’re supposed to go see him and run some tests as well.”

You were out the door quicker than Poppy could finish, leaving her to trail behind you as you rushed towards the infirmary. You could hear Poppy shouting for you to slow down and wait for her, but your mind was racing with Leon and the need to just see him. You heard a soft crunch, looking down to notice that the reports had been crumpled by your death grip. You felt light headed, out of breath with anxiety, almost like your heart was about to burst through your ribcage. Turning towards Poppy, who just caught up to you, you pleaded, “Which room is he in?”

“The one on the left.”

In your mind, you wanted to dash towards his room, slam the door open, and jump into his arms; however, your legs felt like jelly, each step slower than the previous as you paced to a standstill just in front of the closed door with your hand frozen on the handle. From the little window in the door, you saw Leon laying on the bed, draped in a hospital gown and tucked underneath the thin, white top sheet. Next to him, his bloodied uniform folded in a sealed bag, waiting to be sent off to forensics. With your free hand, you covered your mouth as tears silently ran down your face. The sight before you was freighting, nothing like any type of fear you felt before. Leon, bruised and battered, became your worst nightmare. The image of his dormant figure etching into your memory forever.

“Is he…” You gulped, swallowing down the lump in your throat before taking a shaky breath. It didn’t matter as you couldn’t bear to finish your sentence.

Poppy grabbed your hand, the one that’d been resting on the door handle and pulled you to face her. She cooed at you to take deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling with you. You hadn’t realized you were starting to hyperventilate. Once the heavy pressure on your chest dissipated, Poppy spoke, “He’s okay, just sleeping. His body is recovering from the lack of food and sleep. The doctors are closely monitoring him, and we’re waiting for his results.”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and thanked whatever higher being for protecting Leon. As much as you wanted to look back at Leon, you were scared to see him in such condition again. This isn’t the first time you’ve seen him return from a mission, but this was definitely the first time you’ve seen him return so beaten up and in a hospital bed.

A tight hug from Poppy pulled you from your thoughts. You’d meant to ask what she was doing, but her warm embrace reminded you of your lack of social interaction and sent you into another fit of tears. Your lips trembled as you buried your face into her shoulder and graciously accepted her embrace. You mumbled as coherently as you could about how scared you were, how worried you were, and how lonely you’d been without him. Unknowingly, you’d just confess your feelings for Leon.

Poppy consoled you, bringing up a hand to pat the back of your head and caringly brushing your hair, “You haven’t told him?”

You shook your head, “I don’t think I realized until now.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t.”

You pulled back, confused, “What do you mean?”

“Everyone can tell that you two have chemistry,” Poppy laughed to ease the tense atmosphere, “Sorry to say, but you two aren’t so good at hiding your not-so-secret glances at each other.”

You sniffed, wiping your nose with the back of your hand as you blushed, “Damn, I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“It wasn’t, you just confirmed it for me,” Poppy snickered as you scowled. She rejoiced with an empathetic look in her eyes, “You know you should tell Leon how you feel. We almost lost him this time, you might not get to say how you feel about him.”

You pressed your lips together, hesitating before speaking, “I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“Getting rejected?”

“And, how would you know that? We’ve seen the way he treats you, you both go home after work together, what else do you need?” Poppy reasoned, “How could he say no to you?”

“I don’t- I don’t know,” Your voice came out as a hushed whisper, as you looked towards the floor and found the patterns on the tiles more interesting than your answer.

Poppy looked over at Leon’s sleeping body, “You can practice when he’s not listening, and then, when you’re ready, you can tell him how you feel without being scared.”

You followed Poppy’s eyes, once again landing on Leon’s body. Internally, you debated whether or not you should follow Poppy's plan. You bit your lip with anticipation, “What’s the worst that could happen, right?”

Poppy nodded, a brighter smile blooming on her face. She wiped your tears and fixed your hair, “I’ll give you two some privacy.”

You thanked her, giving her one last hug before turning back towards the door. You took a moment to breathe before bracing yourself and entering his room. The hum of the machines buzzed through your ears, blurring the deafening thoughts racing through your mind. Soft yellow hues from the overhead light illuminated Leon’s scratched up face. Slowly, you moved towards him and stood near the edge of the bed. You stared at his hand, a bandage wrapped around what you assumed to be a wound obtained from catching a knife. Hesitantly, your fingers touched the bandage before gently snaking them to hold his hand. A sense of relief washed over you as the warmth of his hand reassured he was alive and well. Although he was sleeping, you felt him grip your hand just a tiny bit tighter once yours was in his, causing your lips to quiver again and slow tears to fall.

“Um, hey,” Your voice cracked, “Sorry. Um, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I really missed you, and I was really worried about you. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since you left. Uh, I don’t really know what I’m saying right now, but I care for you. I want you to be happy, I want you to be healthy, and-”

You gulped, “And…I want to be the one to make you happy.”

“I…” You took a deep breath, “I love you, Leon.”

And, mumbling through his slumber, Leon whispered, “I love you too, Ada.”

…..

It’s been three days since you showed up to work, having a poor excuse of catching a nasty cold. In reality, you were perfectly fine if you considered an aching heart to be okay. Like a teen whose crush just kissed another person, you spend the last three days lazing around in your bed, barely getting up to eat and seldom showering. You basically lived in your bed. But as nice as this was, you couldn’t run away forever. You had a day job, and you didn’t want to risk getting fired. So, you shuffled towards your bathroom and hopped in the shower, not having the confidence to look at your appearance through the mirror’s reflection. Even though it took most of your energy to walk to the shower, you instantly regretted not showering sooner with the relief of the hot water soaking your frail body. You worked through your matted and tangled hair, cleaned up your hygiene, and took some time to think about random shower thoughts. After all, that’s all you’d been doing with your time – thinking. Though no matter how much you thought about it, you couldn’t figure out any answers to your questions: Who was Ada and when did he meet her?

If you recall correctly, you were the only person that had been hooking up with Leon. You confirmed this because he rarely spends nights at others’ places, having preferred to be in the comfort of his own home. Plus, you never saw any indications of other female visitors at his place. So, if you and he had been exclusive for the past few months, that limits the time frame down to Ada being way before your time and not a recent person of interest. So, then the question changes to whether Ada was an ex-girlfriend and whether Leon still had feelings for her.

Who were you kidding? Of course he still had feelings for her, he confessed his love to Ada afterall. Even though he didn’t know that it was you that had confessed to him, Leon subconsciously kept Ada close to his heart.

The only thing to confuse you was why had Leon treated you so nicely beforehand? He was always around you, kept you company, walked you home, memorized your favorite foods, and so on. What was the reason for all of that if he hadn’t been interested? Was he leading you on? Toying with your feelings? Had you over-thought his actions?

You groaned, frustrated at the endless loop of questions in your head. With some new found anger, you stepped out of the shower and started your care routine. You kind of missed having a normal person routine as much as you despised how much effort it took to make yourself deemed socially presentable. Fortunately, your journey to work was uneventful. You did your best to avoid crowded areas, mostly keeping your eye out for Leon. You were not ready to face Leon, knowing that you’d freeze up immediately. You were trying to lay low, keep yourself from being too suspicious.

“What are we looking at?”

Fuck.

You jumped through your skin, nearly having a heart attack. You spun around abruptly, having been face to face with the very person you’d been trying to avoid. You stood there, frozen and mouth agape and you tried to muster up a coherent sentence to speak.

Once he realized you were struggling, Leon popped his brow, “No hello?”

“Hello?”

Leon nodded, slowly, “Hi. So, how’ve you-”

“Um, I gotta go!” And, you sprinted towards your office, leaving Leon staring confused at your retreating figure.

You spent the next few days avoiding Leon like that by running into the bathrooms whenever he passed in the hall, ducking under the table if you both decided to go into the food hall, and sitting on the opposite side of the table in the briefing room for mandatory meetings. You didn’t care if you were blatantly obvious that you were avoiding Leon. You knew he was smart enough to know that, but you weren’t ready to confront him. Thankfully, Leon hadn’t pushed you to meet with him, but he did send you many concerned glances whenever you both were in close vicinity. Until today, at least, when a light knock on your doorframe took you out of your work.

“I thought you said you were leaving early today, Poppy.”

“She did leave.”

Your head snapped up, “Agent Kennedy-”

“Oh so, it’s agent now?” Leon questioned, welcoming himself into your office and closing the door behind him. His eyes narrowed and expression stern, indicating that he was fully serious. Admittingly, he played into your game for a while, but he grew tired of you running away. He too wanted answers to his questions.

You looked away, not liking the way your heart ached when he looked at you with that condescending expression on his face. It made you feel like you disappointed him, “This isn’t very work appropriate.”

“Is there something wrong with co-workers visiting each other?” Leon questioned, sitting himself in your guest chair.

You countered, “It’s after work hours.”

“That hasn’t stopped us before, has it?”

You bit your lip, having no rebuttal against him. Silence cloaked the room as the both of you waited for someone to say something. When he knew that you weren’t willing to give a response, Leon pushed the conversation.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” Leon stated blandly, “Why is that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit,” Leon spat, “I’ve seen you run into bathrooms, hide under furniture, and make up lame excuses whenever I’m around. What the fuck is going on?”

“Nothing, you don’t have to worry about it,” You buried your face in your hands, already feeling a headache forming from the result of a long day, “Please, Leon, just-”

“What happened to Agent Kennedy?” Leon sassed, his tone indicating that he was choosing to be petty.

You groaned, “Please, don’t make this any harder for me.”

“And, you don’t think it’s hard for me as well?”

You scoffed, “Why would it be hard for you?”

Leon pressed, “Because the person I’m fucking is avoiding me like I still have Las Plagas.”

“So, is that what I am?” You laughed in disbelief, “Just someone to fuck?”

“Isn’t that what we agreed on?” Leon grimaced at his own words, but continued to stand his ground.

“We didn’t agree on anything, Leon. Shit just happened.”

“And what about now? What changed?”

“I don’t know, you tell me. One moment we’re no strings attached and the next moment we’re eating pizza like we’re a couple. You confuse me, Leon. You lead me on, and I don’t know how to feel about you,” You took deep breaths, trying your best not to overreact or become too emotional, but you were failing.

“And, how do you feel about me?”

“For fucks sake,” And, you snapped, “I love you, Leon! Can’t you fucking see that!?”

The cloak of silence engulfed you two again, only the sounds of your ragged breathing piercing through the air. As you caught Leon’s eyes for the first time, you finally broke down with that familiar lump in your throat and blur in your eyes.

“And, I’m fucking heartbroken sitting here infront of you, acting like everything’s okay when it’s not. I feel like my heart is ripping out of my chest, because I confessed my love for you and you don’t feel the same,” You sniffled, trying your best to hold your tears back as they trailed down your face.

“You confessed to me? When?” Leon questioned in disbelief.

“When you came back.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Let me make this easy for you then,” You paused, “Who’s Ada?”

Leon’s eyes widened, jaw slightly slacking. He didn’t answer you, just staring at you as he internally debated what was the best answer. But, he didn’t know what to say to you and even more so what to say to himself.

You purse your lips, wiping away your last tears before confidently speaking, “Exactly, so until you figure out your feelings, please don’t talk to me.”

…..

It’s been two weeks since you and Leon last talked – or rather interacted. There were no longer any lingering looks, no hiding behind furniture, and no running into bathrooms. It wasn’t an effort to stay out of each other's lives anymore, it rather came naturally as you both had differing missions. During your time apart, you took much time to think for yourself – healthily at that – and unravel the situation. Beneficially, you were doing slightly better than before such as eating more and sleeping more. But ultimately, Leon was still on your mind 24/7. And, being invited to the President’s gala dedicated towards rewarding and celebrating the researchers and agents who contributed to saving Ashley did you no justice in keeping your mind off Leon.

“Doing okay?” Poppy found you sitting alone in the corner with a large glass of champagne.

“Yeah, just taking a break,” You sighed, craning your neck to loosen up the tense muscles, “I don’t know how much longer I can take people coming up to thank me or tell me how great my research is.”

Poppy laughed, popping some of the table candy into her mouth, “What? Don’t like being the center of attention?”

You itched at your face, skin feeling heavy with the makeup that covered your dark circles, “Not when I have to dress up and act prim and proper all the time. Like, could we have not done this in an email or something?”

Poppy took her flute of champagne and gently tapped the rim against yours, “Cheers to that, I could be home watching TV.”

You both shot back your drinks, relishing in the sweet flavor and bubbly texture. You and Poppy chatted for a moment before she was taken away to meet more people, leaving you back in your lonely corner. Eventually, after sitting for a while, you became bored, having already met with most people or just on low energy in general. You didn’t want to take another flute of champagne, fearful that it’d make you more sluggish than you already were, so you motivated yourself to make your way to the snack table and hoped that something citrus-y could wake you up.

Just as you were about to grab a scoop from the fruit bowl, a voice from behind you caught your attention, “Hey! You’re the agent that discovered that I got kidnapped, right?”

Turning around, you came face to face with Ashley, “I had a bit of help.”

“Thanks, you saved my life,” Ashley smiled, hugging you with appreciation before taking your hand and dragging you towards another part of the gala, “Hey, let me introduce you to my dad!”

“Actually-”

You tried to protest, but you already found yourself face to face with the President.

“Ashley! So, that’s where you ran off to. Who’s this?”

You turned towards the man, body instantly stiffening with formality, “Mr. President.”

Ashley smiled, “This is the agent that discovered that I got kidnapped.”

The President gave you a nod, “Thank you for saving my daughter.”

Feeling awkward in the presence of such high authority, you just smiled and fiddled with your empty fingers. Before you could excuse yourself, Ashley perked up, “Dad look! It’s Leon!”

Fuck. Just what you needed.

The President turned towards Leon and gave him a firm handshake with much more adoration and affection than what he gave you, “I knew I could count on you, Leon. You’re a valuable asset.”

You and Leon connected eyes for a brief moment, his eyes lingering before Leon focused his attention back to the President and acknowledged his words, “I couldn’t have succeeded without my partner.”

Leon and the President continued chatting as you stood there silently, thoughts about your fruit bowl long gone. You choked at Leon’s words, definitely knowing that he was referring to you but not directly. It’s been so long since you’ve heard Leon’s voice and seen Leon’s face, all of your progress of moving on fell back to ground level as your heart longed for him. You stood there awkwardly, having felt like you were very out of place. You were zoned out for most of the conversation or at least until you noticed Ashley inching closer towards Leon. Her laughter was louder, more forced as she clung on Leon’s arm. She pressed herself up against him, causing a sickening feeling to brew in your stomach. But that feeling was nothing compared to seeing Leon do nothing to brush off Ashley from his side.

At this moment, you were glad you never touched the fruit bowl, knowing that it would’ve come up from your front seat view of Leon and Ashley. Unfortunately, the heaps of alcohol were starting to get to you as nausea and fatigue washed over your consciousness. Picking up a glass of water from a passing staff member, you took a few heavy gulps before inserting yourself back into the conversation, “Please excuse me.”

For the most part, you were ignored which you didn’t mind too much, having been able to slip away unnoticed. Briskly walking out of the main room, you found yourself stumbling through long halls, almost identical to the last before somehow locating a low leveled balcony overlooking a large open field of grass and garden. You untangled the curtains and softly closed the elegant door behind you, shielding yourself into isolation as you walked towards the balcony’s edge and leaning your hip against the cold stone. Looking out into the night, you sighed a breath of relief as the rush of cool air enveloped your flushed body.

You lost track of time staring at the stars above you, drunk thoughts floating through your mind. Specifically, thoughts about Leon, then Leon and Ashley, and then Leon and you – or rather Leon without you. At this point, you hated how your thoughts were consumed by him, almost like your entire life revolved around him. You wondered, how did you get yourself to this point?

Groaning in frustration, you fished out a spare cigarette and lighter from your person, pressing the soft paper between your lips and reaching up to light the tip. You rotated the gears of the lighter to ignite a flame; however, the cool breeze of the night prevented the flame from growing high enough. You cursed, trying again and again, but to no avail – until a large hand helped enclose your cigarette and block the wind from extinguishing your flame. You followed the hand’s owner, surprised to see Leon standing before you, having no conclusion on how he made it past the balcony doors without you noticing or hearing him.

You slacked your lips, letting the cigarette slightly fall just enough to let you speak, “I thought you didn’t like smokers.”

“You only smoke when you’re stressed,” Leon shrugged, still cupping his hand near your cigarette.

You didn’t comment, lighting your cigarette and sheathing your lighter. You took a long, deep breath before blowing out the smoke in the opposite direction where Leon stood. For a moment, you did debate whether to blow smoke in his face, but you weren’t that petty. Yet.

“Long night, I guess.”

“Yeah, same,” Leon scrunched his brows, referring to these awful parties that always praised the small number of agents and soldiers that were lucky enough to return home to their families.

Deciding to act civilized, you lightly chuckled, flicking the ashes off your cigarette, “Not enjoying the spotlight, hero boy?”

“Can’t say I do this often.”

You didn’t reply and found no need to keep the conversation going. Maybe it was awkward, but the smell of nicotine helped ease your nerves. You enjoyed watching the smoke as it dissipated into the night air, only to be blown away by the gentle breeze which made you and the garden bushes shiver.

You heard Leon rustling before a bit of heavy weight landed on your shoulders and the residual warmth engulfed your arms and torso. Stubbing out your cigarette, you blow out one last drag before looking over at Leon in his button up and instinctively gripping his jacket around you tighter. You usually brought your own jackets to these kinds of events, but you didn’t expect to run and hide outside for this long.

“Kenn-”

“Keep it, you’re cold,” Leon leaned up against the balcony, “And, call me Leon.”

You didn’t know how to answer him, so you chose not to. You didn’t feel like you could be personal with him, at least not anytime soon.

Noticing your lack of interaction, Leon piped up, “So, what’s on your mind?”

You cringed at the question, shrugging through his jacket, “Things.”

“Like?”

“Personal things.”

Another blanket of silence covered you both, but this time, it was definitely awkward as you no longer had your smoke to distract you with.

“You-”

“I’m-”

You purse your lips, “Sorry, you go first.”

“Please, I insist.”

For the first time since he came out, you and Leon made eye contact as you both tried to read each other's emotions. You debated whether or not to say anything to him, knowing that you had weeks of pent up emotions and unresolved tension. Thinking about Poppy, voices about weighing your pros and cons came back to mind. Pros with talking with Leon were gaining yourself a sense of conclusion, whereas the cons were getting your heart broken – again. Somewhere along the line of thinking, your heart must’ve made the decision for you, throwing logic completely out the question. While gazing into his blue eyes, your pupils shook, causing you to close your eyes and take a deep breath for confidence.

With a small and broken voice, you softly spoke in a volume borderline inaudible, “You can’t- you can’t keep doing this to me, Leon.”

Leon pinched his eyes closed, almost like he was in physical pain, “I know.”

“You’re hurting me,” Your voice quivered.

“I know.”

“I’m confused at your words and actions.”

“I know.”

“And, this whole time I feel like I’ve just been used.”

“I know.”

Suddenly, you grit your teeth in frustration and throwing his jacket off your shoulders, “Fuck, Leon, can you say anything besides I know!?”

You didn’t mean to shout at him, but it just came out like that. You really shouldn’t have yelled. You were never the type to speak out from emotions anyways. Plus, you didn’t need to draw attention to yourselves had there been any unseen party goers straggling in the hallway.

Watching Leon frown from your outburst made your heart ache before his eyes shifted towards something sympathetic. He shifted closer towards you, picking up his jacket and fixing it back on you before placing a warm hand over yours, “I’ve figured out my feelings.”

Tears flooded your vision as the air in your lungs crushed your chest. It didn’t matter what Leon’s answer was, you just weren’t ready to hear it, so you did the first thing that came to mind. You ran away, “No, no, no, don’t do this to me right now, please. I can’t do this anymore, just leave me alone, please.”

With his lightning reaction, Leon caught you by the arms and stopped you halfway towards the door. His grip was strong enough to hug you comfortably in his chest, but nowhere near tight enough to be painful or uncomfortable. Still, you pathetically fought against him, weakly slapping his upper chest; although, a part of you really didn't want him to let you go.

Leon hugged you tighter, holding you closely and consoled your hysterics the best he could, “Shh, baby please, just let me explain.”

You halted your struggling, “Let go of me.”

"You don't mean it," Leon shook his head, "I don't believe you."

"Le-"

“Damn it, Y/N!”

Leon's abrupt outburst killed whatever thought you had and silenced you into submission. Of all the years you've known him, never once has he ever raised his voice at you nor looked at you with such passionate eyes blazing with equal parts frustration and determination.

“I will tell you everything, okay? Ask me anything you want, I’ll give you only the truth. I just want to talk to you, please?”

He continued when you didn't answer him.

“I don’t want to leave you like this, but if you decide that you don’t like my answers or that you don’t like me, just say the word and everything we’ve ever had stops,” Leon looked down at you hopeful, releasing his hold as a sign that he trusts you not to dash away. Instead, he fixed his jacket around you as you didn't realize it was halfway down your torso.

"Deal?" Leon said.

Hesitantly, you nodded. Maybe it was his change in demeanor or thoughtful speech or the smell of his cologne engulfing you – whatever it was, you were compelled to accept the temptations of a devil. And yours was Leon and his sparkling eyes under the moonlit sky.

“Say it, please,” His tone returned back to a soft and gentle level as he cupped your face with one hand and brushed your bottom lip with his thumb.

You gulped nervously, yet determined for answers, “You have one minute.”

Leon let out a sigh of relief before flashing a small, crooked smile and thanking you for giving him a chance.

“Ada was someone I met at Raccoon City. We spent a bit of time together, trying to get to Umbrella’s underground lab. She kissed me, but we had our differences and ended up parting ways.”

“Differences?” You perked.

“I wanted to save the people, but she didn’t," It was a simple answer, but Leon didn't have time to elaborate while on your timer, “Then, I met Ada in Spain.”

"Wait," You paused and rewound the storyline, “I thought only you and Claire survived.”

Leon nodded with a far off look on his face as he reminisced his old days, “I thought so too, I don’t even know how she’s alive or what she’s doing, but she was in Spain.”

“Leon, why didn’t you tell us? She could be dangerous, she could’ve been working for Los Illuminados!” You scolded with a deep frown, wondering how he could've trusted someone like that.

“No, she isn’t," Leon denied, "She’s working for someone else though, I don’t know who.”

Getting sick of talking about Ada and nearing the end of your minute, you jabbed, “I’m failing to see how this involves me.”

“This involves you, because I can’t get you out of my mind! At first, I thought it was all physical, and that was okay with me. But, we started working on more projects together, and I could finally see you for who you are. Like how intelligent you are in the meeting rooms, how your eyes crinkle when you smile at Poppy, and how you always look at me with your sparkling eyes. I didn’t even know when I started falling for you. I looked forward to seeing you every Friday, even if nothing were to happen, I still wanted your company. I wanted to see you for as long as I could, so that’s why I started visiting your office more, inviting you out more, figuring out your likes and dislikes. God, I’m so fucking obsessed with you.”

Without realizing, Leon caged you against the balcony with his hands on either side of your hips and drew soft circles. He ghosted his lips on the nape of your neck before following the shell of your ear and whispered, “‘I’m so fucking obsessed with you, when I look at you I create a future with us. Just me and you, and maybe some little ones later if you wanted.”

You sighed in pleasure as you responded to his kisses, one leg instinctively hooking around his thigh as to bring him closer to you. Leon accepted your beckoning and closed the gap between each other's chests. Face to face, you could feel his breath on your lips as he laid his forehead on yours. There was barely anything keeping you from kissing each other, something you two had never done before while hooking up as it seemed too intimate for friends with benefits to do.

Looking into his eyes, you didn't need to ask if he were sincere. You could see all of him already, and he made sure you knew that he was willing to be a hundred percent and more vulnerable. While observing, you noticed how his eyes darted between yours frantically and how his Adam's apple bobbed in a nervous gulp. You were taking too long to answer.

“Why are you so scared?” You asked gently, placing a hand on his cheek.

He nuzzled into your touch, “I’m scared of hurting you. I didn’t know if I would come back from that mission. I made a promise that I didn’t even know if I could keep.”

“You came back,” You explained, now calm and confident as you said, “That’s all that matters.”

Leon's eyes lit up in delight with a breath of relief. Without any warning, Leon’s lips were all over your face, kissing your cheeks, temple, and forehead. You shied back, embarrassed from his affection. He must’ve known this as well, smirking from seeing the blush surfaced on your cheeks. Palm facing outwards, you partially blocked your face as you looked away, “Don’t look at me.”

“You look beautiful,” Leon gently removed your guarding hand and held it in his with a comforting caress before taking his other hand to guide your chin back to lock eyes, “Can I kiss you again?”

You didn’t answer him with words, opting to crane your neck forward and pressing your lips onto his. Without hesitation, Leon melted into your kiss by sliding the hand on your chin along your jawline and adjusting your angle to deepen the kiss. Arching your back, you circled your arms around his broad shoulders. Leon’s hands moved back to your hips, effortlessly propping you to sit on the balcony’s edge. You gasped in pleasure as you wrapped your legs around Leon’s hips, feeling him pressed against your core. Leon pulled you closer, teasingly grinding his hips against yours.

“Leon!” You hissed, slapping his chest, “We’re at a party. We-”

“- could get caught?” Leon pulled back with a smirk, “Don’t be loud then.”

You scolded him to which he laughed joyously. As much as you were annoyed with his antics, you knew that you’d never be able to forget how big his smile was and how happy he looked with you in his arms. So, you laughed with him with a large smile on your face as well, feeling the most safe and comfortable in this moment.

He held you closely, listening to the beat of his heart, "As much as I want to take you right now, I want us to take it slow. There's so much I want to show how I can treat you. Until then, let's wait until we're both ready."

…..

Leon had gone out of his way to make you feel like you were his world. Every morning, he’d send you a short message even if it were just a hello. If you had time before work, he’d meet you at your apartment and take you out for a quick breakfast before heading to the office. If you happened to be running late, Leon still made sure to drop off your favorite drink before carrying out his own responsibilities. During lunch, Leon would sit extra close to you, enough to indicate to onlookers that something was brewing between the two of you, but distant enough to not make anyone feel uncomfortable. After work, Leon took you out for dinner or walked you home if you were feeling particularly tired. This new found routine eventually became a lifestyle. Leon attended to all your needs and took extra care of you. Although sex with Leon was no doubt amazing, you both found solace in the emotional comfort and companionship. That is until one day you invited Leon over to bake cookies for Poppy’s birthday.

“There’s eggshells in the mix, Leon.”

“Leon, you didn’t turn on the oven.”

“Don’t eat the chocolate, Leon!”

“Leon! How did you get flour in your hair?”

You sighed, realizing a bit too late that the flawless Leon Kennedy actually did not have a knack for cooking. Leon blushed with embarrassment, wiping the back of his hand on his forehead and thus smearing more flour on his messy face. Putting your batch of the cookies in the oven, you glided over towards Leon to brush his face clean before pressing a quick kiss to his lips, "Just get cleaned up, 'kay?

Leon nodded sheepishly, heading over towards your bathroom and showering while the cookies baked. With only your batch of cookies surviving the mixing phase, you modified the recipe to make mini cookies instead. Thankfully, they were done and set to cool by the time you finished cleaning up. Realizing your clothes were dusted with flour, you made your way to your closet to change into one of Leon’s large t-shirts. Just as the shirt draped over your body, Leon entered with a towel loosely wrapped around his waist and water still dripping down his glistening chest.

“It’s rude to stare you know,” Leon teased, stretching his bicep on display as he toweled his hair.

You shuffled your way over to him, teasingly drawing your fingers along the skin of his exposed hipline, “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Leon laughed before sneaking his hands under your thighs and propping you on top of your dresser, “You look good in my clothes. I don’t know how much longer I can resist you.”

You knew Leon liked to tease you, having gotten used to his sly comments by now. But, you’d been waiting so long since you’ve last had him in you, having Leon barely naked in front of you awoke the desires you’d been trying so hard to suppress. Rubbing your hands along his damp biceps, you trailed your hands all over his chest and up to hold his jawline and bring him in for a deep kiss. You broke the kiss, “Then don’t resist.”

Leon went to protest, probably about to spew some nonsense about waiting for the right time or wanting it to be a special moment, but you’d already forgiven him and any moment with Leon felt special to you. You hushed him impatiently, “Shut up and fuck me or I’ll do it myself.”

You knew you won by his stern set features and darkening eyes, knowing that Leon always hated you pleasuring yourself without his assistance, “Like hell you will.”

Without warning, Leon picked you up again and headed towards your bed, tossing you onto the mattress with a small bounce. You yelped, half in surprise and half in excitement as you tried to sit up; however, Leon stopped you by crawling over your lower body and pining your wrists above your head, “You wanna say that again?”

You tilted your head not-so-innocently, “Say what again, Leon?”

With his free hand, Leon wrapped it around your neck and added a small amount of pressure as a warning, “Don’t test me.”

You licked your lips, absolutely loving Leon’s change in demeanor. Sometimes, it was too easy to rile him up, “I said, shut up and fuck me or I’ll do it myself.”

Silence fell between you two as you challenged each other to break first. After a couple moments, you started to believe that maybe you said something wrong by the way Leon had yet to respond or react to you. But this sliver of doubt you held was just enough for Leon to play right into your vulnerability. And with a sly smile, Leon flipped you on your stomach and repositioned your hands to grip a pole on your metal headboard, “Let go and this all stops, do you understand?”

“Wha-”

Your question was interrupted as Leon released your wrists, bundled his shirt towards your shoulder blades, and lightly smacked your ass. You jolted with a gasp, fingers tightening around the pole. You heard Leon throw something, probably getting rid of his towel. You hated that you couldn’t tell what he was doing nor could you see him in his glory, but that added towards the excitement of it all as you guessed what you were going to feel and experience next. Leon hovered above you, lips ghosting around the shell of your ear, “I don’t repeat myself, love.”

You clenched at the pet name, whimpering from the ache between your legs. You felt Leon smirk against your skin as he pressed kisses all around your neck and shoulder. He paused to take a pillow and place it comfortably under your pelvis to prop your hips higher for him. Taking a shaky breath in, you readjusted your fingers to grip the pole even tighter than before, “I understand.”

There was a lack of response as the weight of Leon’s body disappeared, leaving you wondering what was to come next. Through all of Leon’s previous training, he’s perfected stealth movements. No matter how much you closed your eyes to concentrate on focusing, you were well aware that Leon had the ability to exit the room without you even noticing. It felt like forever as your breathing became labored even if you hadn’t moved. The anticipation was killing you, inside and out. Just as you were about to question him, a small pop adjacent to the sound of a bottle opening pierced the air before what sounded like a glop of substance was squeezed out and rubbed between Leon’s hands. You stayed silent, letting your imagination guide you as Leon’s hands finally touched your body. He started at your shoulders, massaging small, pressured circles into the tense muscles. Once he felt you relax against him, Leon moved to give the same treatment along your back, waist, and hips. Although he wasn’t pleasing you sexually, Leon’s hands still felt euphoric as he trailed his hands along your bodyline.

Suddenly, he stopped at your ass, squirting some more oil onto his hands before gripping the flesh and spreading you apart. Instinctually, you buried your face into the sheets and spread your legs as you felt Leon’s lingering eyes on you. Slipping a thumb forward, Leon swiped up and down your pussy lips, “So wet and I haven’t touched you yet.”

You grit your teeth, “Don’t tease me.”

Without warning, Leon slipped his thumb in fully, rubbing against your inner walls as you mewled out in response, “You asked for that.”

“Asshole,” You muttered, still trying to adjust to him. Sure you were no stranger to having Leon’s fingers buried in you; however, it’s been so long since you’ve stretched yourself out.

Leon chose to ignore you, finding your twitching lips more entertaining than your false resistance. He’d gotten used to it by now anyways. Leon explored your tight cunt a little more with his thumb before releasing his hold on you, “Guess we’ll have to do this the long way, not that I mind.”

You heard Leon shuffle before his soft, wet lips connected with your pussy lips. Licking and sucking, Leon teased and abused your already swollen clit. For extra lubrication, Leon spit on you before shoving his tongue into your awaiting hole, causing you to lurch forward. You moaned out his name as he quickly brought his hands up to hold your hips stable. From the lack of sexual activity, you were surprised to find yourself so sensitive to his licks and unable to hold yourself still for him. It was almost like this was your first time getting eaten out.

Your thoughts clouded as Leon pushed his face deeper into you, tongue stretching beyond your tight rim as he fucked you. Shuddering with pleasure, you started to gain a sense of control as you rocked your hips back to push him deeper into you. But just as you did so, Leon retracted his tongue and replaced it with two of his fingers as his lips returned back to your clit. You cried out, confused at how Leon's fingers could make you feel this way when you knew his dick in you would feel even better. Had you gone without him for too long?

You didn't get a chance to dwell much longer as Leon's long fingers curled up and brushed your pleasure point, causing you to cry out even more and subconsciously releasing one of your hands. Leon immediately noticed this, "Calling quits already? I never knew you were so weak."

You hissed out in annoyance which quickly changed into pleasure as Leon continued fingering deeper into you. The way he pumped in and out of you, foamed up your sticky consistency as it dripped all over his hand. With your limited vision, the audio of your wet squelching intensified as Leon quickened his pace.

“Ready for three?”

Leon didn’t wait for an answer before adding another finger into you. At this point, your legs were quivering with delight, barely being strong enough to hold you up. Just as he rubbed your most sensitive part, your legs twitched harshly causing you to give out and slump back into the bed and pillow. Without missing a beat, Leon continued fingering you as his other hand rubbed small circles around your clit. Your moans intensified, legs still shaking from the double pleasuring sensation.

“Wait- Leon- ngh-”

You tried taking deep breaths to calm yourself, but you knew your climax was coming despite the efforts to prolong it. Leon seemed to know this as well as he – again – increased his speed and skill. He shushed you, prompting you to climax, “Come on, love, I know you can do it. Just let go, I promise to give you more. Just give yourself to me.”

Instantly, you clenched around him, feeling yourself cum around the bundle of his fingers as he helped you ride it out. Your loud moans transitioned to deep gasps as you took a moment to catch your breath. Leon flipped you over, giving you a chaste kiss, “Still doing okay?”

“Yes,” You breathed, “Can I let go now?”

You looked up at Leon with a pleading look. Leon debated for a moment before obliging, knowing that your arms must’ve started feeling sore by now, “Fine, but keep your eyes on me. I want to see your face when you cum on me this time.”

You looked away, embarrassed. Leon chuckled, finding your reaction adorable as he took the initiative to pump himself and slide his tip along your super sensitive clit. Leon pushed himself into you with a vice grip on your hips, groaning from how wet you still were, “I should’ve fucked you sooner.”

Before he could fully bottom out, you’d already lifted your hips to indicate to him to start thrusting into you; however, Leon did the exact opposite as he pulled back out just to fuck his tip into you over and over again, “Impatient are we? What’s the rush? We’ve got all night.”

Having enough with his constant teasing, you mustered all your strength to push Leon back as you straddled him with your hands firmly in his toned chest. Power surged through your veins as Leon surrendered himself beneath you. Although you know Leon could easily overpower you and that he probably let you turn the tables on him for his own entertainment, you let your ego fuel your confidence as you took his hardened dick into your hand and guided him inside you as you sank downwards.

You watched as Leon’s face contorted with pleasure, trying his best to contain his reaction despite how good you felt engulfing him with your hot walls. Rocking up and down slowly, you leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “I told you to shut up or I’ll do it myself.”

Placing your hands on his shoulders to hold your weight, you thrust your hips along his shaft, pumping him from tip to balls. Leon’s groans grew louder as he put his hands on your hips to help you increase your speed. With the support of Leon, you postured back up and used your body weight to slam down onto his dick, feeling him reach the deepest depths of you. Your pussy clenched around him, throwing your head back from the pleasure.

A smack to your ass shifted your attention back to Leon as he scowled at you, “I told you to keep your eyes on me.”

Rolling your eyes, you continued to ride him without answering him. Undoubtedly, Leon glared at you, pushing you off of him and pining you back down into missionary, “You asked for it, hope you're ready.”

You went to call out his bluff; however, Leon thrusted himself fully into you. You cried out from the fullness, unsuspecting that Leon would enter so roughly into you. But your clenching cunt revealed that you secretly enjoyed how rough he was with you. With that in mind, Leon thrusted roughly into you, pushing your body higher and higher upon the mattress. Leon intertwined his hands in yours, pinning you down in place as he pounded himself deeper into you. Usually, Leon focuses on the sight of you swallowing him whole, watching as his shaft disappears into you and reappears wetter than before. However, as Leon slammed his hips into yours and elicited deafening skin slapping audio, he was solely focused on you, reading every passing emotion across your face. He was studying you, figuring out what you liked versus what you loved. He’d try different angles, watching and listening to your reactions and changing his technique accordingly. He kept at it until a single harsh thrust had you tightening against his cock, gripped his hands, and moaning out his name. With that information, Leon smiled and monopolized his findings as he fixated on hitting your g-spot repeatedly, “Gotcha.”

Leon pounded into you, harsher and deeper than before as he chased his own high. He guided you, telling you when to wait, so that you could both cum together. You struggled to keep your eyes open from how much stimulation you were receiving. But the look in Leon’s eyes convinced you to keep yours open.

“I’m almost, fuck, I’m almost done,” Leon’s thrusts became sloppy, yet still hitting you where you needed him.

You chanted his name over and over as you began to cum for the second time, “Please- I-”

Without releasing your hands, Leon pumped into you one last time before pulling out and squirting his cum over your lower abdomen. Leon muttered a few curses before lazily falling next to you and kissing you. Leon helped you take off his shirt and wipe his cum off of you, throwing it somewhere on the floor before pulling you closer to him and burying himself in the crook of your neck. You receive his cuddles, lacing your fingers into his messy, damp hair. Leon kissed your neck up to your lips, “Doing okay?”

You nodded with a soft smile, “Help me to the bathroom?”

Leon obliged, lifting you up and placing you in the bathtub to share a bath together. Soaking in the warm water, your back rested against his chest. You leaned your head back onto his shoulder as he wrapped his large arms around your midsection like you’d disappear any second, “Leon?”

He kissed your shoulder, “Yes?”

“Do you love me?” You asked shyly.

Leon chuckled, holding you tighter against him, “Of course, I love you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

You kissed him again, “Good, because I love you too.”

#leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy #leon kennedy fic #leon x reader #leon kennedy smut #leon kennedy oneshot #leon kennedy x reader smut #leon kennedy x y/n #leon s kennedy smut #leon s kennedy oneshot #leon s kennedy x reader #leon kennedy x you #leon scott kennedy x reader #leon scott kennedy smut #resident evil x reader #resident evil fanfiction #resident evil smut

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brujawrites · 9 months ago

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✧ ˚ · . 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 —

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏: "𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞," | masterlist | next chapter

contains: suguru x female reader, shoko ieri, college au, modern setting, college!suguru, english major!suguru, pining, slow burn, inspired by lana del rey lyrics, 18+ ONLY MDNI

synopsis: meet reader! see how suguru and reader's paths have crossed before and why we're especially excited to see him in class this final semester. chapter 1 of a series so there's alot of background being set up!! ao3 - kofi - playlist - pinterest

"sometimes I feel like i've got a war in my mind, I wanna get off but I keep riding the ride, I never really noticed that I had to decide to play someone's game, or live my own life -- and now I do. I wanna move out of the black, into the blue,"

— "Get Free", Lana Del Rey

Suguru Geto was so cool to you. He just exudes an air of captivating mystery, a quality that draws you in. You found a reflection of yourself in him — the curious, introspective soul that found joy in dissecting and analyzing literature and movies for the sheer pleasure of finding a deeper meaning in art. This was a stark contrast to the persona you currently inhabited. Ever since you got everything you thought you wanted by joining the sorority, there’s this “hot girl” facade you’ve been keeping up. You had to, at least you tell yourself that. Being Vice President of the sorority, the hair and nail appointments every couple weeks, the packed schedule every single week, consumed by obligations at work, for the sorority, date functions, or mixers with fraternities — it was everything you��thought you wanted.

The past two years had been hard in an unconventional way. You were suddenly best friends with over 60 girls, learning about what it meant to be a ‘sister’, navigating your academic life, new found social life, & trying to not fail miserably.

Meeting Suguru in Spanish class two years ago may have actually been around the time things started to get overwhelming. The sight of him walking into the bustling lecture hall remains etched in your memory. His raven black hair gracefully framed his cheekbones, a striking contrast to his fatigued expression. He calmly looked around the room for a potential seat when his gaze suddenly met yours, his velvety dark eyes sending what felt like a jolt of electricity through you. Immediately, you looked away, intimidated by such abrupt intimacy. As the moment drifted away, you couldn’t help but steal more glances, mesmerized by the effortless allure of his hair half-tied, and admiring the contrast between his hair and the crisp white of his band tee. Your hungry eyes lingered on the sight of his strong, lightly tanned forearm, the muscles flexing as he set his bag on the ground in front of his feet.

A small smirk played on your lips as the facts informed the fiction, aligning your romanticized narrative with reality — you liked him. You wanted him… right? It seemed like a recurring pattern, a new infatuation added to your roster each semester, you were starting to hate how your mind went to those places when looking at complete strangers. He settled into his seat a few rows ahead, to your right. The rest of the hour-long class went by as your attention wavered from the professor's lecture to the constant pings of the pledge class' group chat on your laptop, all while thoughts of this enigmatic boy swirled through your mind. What was it about him? Obviously, his looks played a role — he was undeniably attractive! But there was an unspoken allure about him that resonated with you. Something remarkably genuine.

He was attractive, but not like the frat boys you had started to learn — those confident, almost arrogantly charming boys supported by the rowdy group of self identified brothers. Suguru stood apart in that way, his demeanor stoic, shrouded in enigma. You, on the other hand, were no different than those frat boys. Donning your Greek letters, surrounded by sisters at parties or on campus, you exuded a confidence that was empowering. But when you’re all alone, face to face with a cute guy, maintaining prolonged eye contact feels like you’re in over your head.

A twinge of disappointment grew inside you as the realization set in; you haven’t changed. You hadn’t felt the profound shift you had envisioned when justifying your sorority membership to friends back home. College was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to compensate for feeling like a loser in high school. Encountering someone like Suguru served to remind your of your discomfort within your own skin, in your clothes. Despite this, you pressed on, going through the motions because you thought that was what would make you happy. You thought it was what you wanted.

That concern quickly snowballed into a full-fledged personal identity crisis, intensifying by the time you were twenty-one. Everyone your age experienced that overwhelming anxiety about the trajectory life seemed to be going in, right? You were pretty aware that these insecurities stemmed from your less than wonderful experiences in grade school. The desire to be accepted, to belong, felt deceptively straightforward but in reality, it was complex. Seeking validation through association of status started to overshadow authentic connections, a realization that took two years to hit. Stepping down from the exhaustive responsibilities of the exec board of your sorority, a position that took way too much time and stress, you now craved a final semester dedicated to your genuine pleasure. No more putting on a facade, no more living for appearances.

So, when you trudged through the cold, grey January air to your senior seminar to find three or four other students, you immediately slipped into your unnatural facade, feigning interest in your phone screen instead of others around you that actually held your interest. So much for not living up to appearances, you thought silently to yourself when he walked in.

Suguru Geto. The name alone sent a jolt through you, so seeing him walk into the room sent a surge of excitement swiftly followed by a pang of panic. Today, he looked impeccable. His hair effortlessly framing his features, a brown flannel that accentuated out the deep hues in his eyes, paired with a white crewneck & off-white khakis. Simple, but something about it brought on a flush of warmth over your body. As he moved closer to your side of the classroom, the facade threatened to crumble. Buried in your phone, pretending to text your roommate, Utahime, just trying to avoid the prospect of awkward eye contact or embarrass yourself by speaking to him.

Your attention is lifted from the screen when the desk in front of you starts to shift. Suguru stood before you, unfastening his backpack, meeting your gaze. You silently hoped your flushed cheeks weren’t betraying your emotions as you offered the boy a friendly grin. After all, the two of you knew each other. A soft smile grew on his lips before he turned away, settling into his seat before class.

Yeah, you think to yourself, recalling that you and Suguru had crossed paths before, that it wasn't a fantasy you made up. Last Spring you took that boring poetry theory class together. That professor was super strict & everyone in the class realized it at the same time when he revealed the daunting project: reconstructing a Wikipedia page for an ancient poem. You got a B for the midterm, Suguru got a D and was shocked to see your grade so much higher than his. “Everyone got a super low score,” you remember him rationalizing, a touch of defeat in his tone. There was nothing you could really say back to him thanks to the slight intimidation that comes from talking to someone so effortlessly cool. Handsome, even.

“Yeah, I’m not entirely sure how I managed that score either. I didn’t really know what I was doing.” You admitted, not intending to mislead, but also recognizing you had no actual insight to give.

“I’m gonna call Shoko and see what she got. See ya later,” he waved before strolling over to the bike rack, phone already at his ear with Shoko on the dial. You tentatively wave back, feeling a peculiar sensation settling in your stomach. You noticed Shoko and Suguru in class together, but they’re dynamic never struck you as particularly flirtatious. They were definitely close though. It was funny for you to think back to the immense crush you had on him the spring semester one year before, only for fall semester to roll by — out of sight, out of mind. And then, there you were a year later.

The digital clock on the wall hit 9:30 right as the professor entered, exchanging morning greetings before setting up the projector. The first class of your last semester is starting now, causing a subtle flutter in your stomach. It was surreal that just four years ago you got lost in this exact building during orientation week. You had experienced a myriad of changes within yourself since starting university. Why did you feel such shame about it? Because it’s not you, you quietly reasoned to yourself. As Suguru adjusted in his seat in front of you, his hair and big shoulders encroaching on your desk space, the subtle whiff of his black-cherry scented cologne served as a gentle reminder of your conundrum.

Okay, so you’re into him.

This time, you silently told yourself, you’re actually going to do more to get to know him. Usually, your interest in men gravitates towards fraternity-affiliated boys, but after two years of mingling with them, nothing felt truly authentic, worthwhile, or genuine. Reflecting on the time an upperclassman in another sorority was gushing about her parents meeting through Greek life at a mixer — you could barely mask your dismay at the notion of finding a lifelong partner within that circle. Gradually, you learned to adapt to navigate those environments with copious amounts of alcohol among other substances. They served as a mask, veiling the disdain some of those young men would bring out in your expression. Their thoughtlessness with their dicks and carelessness with their words often left you repulsed and disheartened..

“Alright,” the disappointment in your professor’s voice snapped your attention back to the room. “Well, you were expected to have had that reading done for today’s discussion. Given that only two of you have actually taken the initiative of checking their emails before class, we’ll need to end early. Check your email for Thursday’s assignment as I’ll be sending it out briefly.” The sound of zipping bags and shuffling papers filled the room as the Professor’s words trailed off, students preparing to leave. Both you and Suguru remained seated, attentive. Hot, you thought. A man with respect for women speaking. “Thursday’s discussion will cover today’s missed discussion along with the planned agenda for our second meeting. See you then.”

She nodded briefly in your direction, and a faint warmth spread across your cheeks from the unexpected attention. Only two of you completed the reading? That caught your curiosity, and it seemed Suguru shared that sentiment. Pivoting in his seat to face you, his grin returning with your flush. “Hey,” his voice, smooth and gentle, made the corners of your mouth instinctively curve upwards.

“Hi,” you replied with a playful smirk, casually tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

“Did you do the reading?” Suguru’s voice lowered, his gaze discreetly scanning a few classmates nearby. You responded with a nod and a soft giggle.

“Did you?” You teased back, your own voice barely above a whisper. You felt like jelly when he rewarded you with a chuckle. Oh man, you thought silently.

“Yeah, I did. It’s just... none of it really made sense. Wondering if you might have some notes or something you could share,” he admitted as you both gathered your belongings, preparing to leave. You suddenly felt self conscious about your outfit, conscious of his attention. You and Suguru were unintentionally matched with your puffy, white turtleneck and shades of brown from your plaid mini skirt complementing his flannel. The leather knee high riding boots didn’t exactly match his black Converse in style, but certainly in color — you just worried it was too… girly. You hoped he wouldn’t write you off for your affiliation to Greek life.

“Um, I did read it, but I have a bit of a weird approach... Do you have a class next or are you free for a bit?” the words spilled out before you could second guess yourself. Yes, keep going, you urged yourself silently as you led the conversation with Suguru into the hall. He can’t make assumptions without knowing you, you reminded yourself. He nodded agreeably, indicating he had some time to spare, then suggested grabbing a table at the coffee shop near campus. As you exited the building together, you decided it was time to let him see the real you.

#jujustu kaisen #jjk #jjk fanfic #jjk au #jujutsu kaisen au #geto suguru #suguru x reader #suguru x you #geto x reader #geto x you #geto fanfic #college au #suguru geto fanfiction #geto fic #suguru fluff

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patchwork-crow-writes · 5 months ago

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Kralsei is Doomed (and that's why I love it)

To me, Kralsei is a commentary on the idea of being in love with the idea of being in love - that is to say, being enthralled with the anticipation of courtship and falling in love, without really taking into consideration how the ensuing relationship would... actually work.

The depth of longing that is evident in Ralsei towards Kris is indeed intoxicating, and as I've mentioned previously, the game itself seems to push this pairing in the way that certain events are made to happen - most notably the acid tunnel of love running parallel to Noelle and Susie's heart-covered ferris-wheel ride. And add to that the whole nature of dark worlds as synonymous with dreams, fantasy and imagination. From a narrative perspective, the relationship seems almost destined to occur.

But I think Ralsei might find himself a bit adrift if and/or when he actually succeeds in wooing Kris... or the player, or whoever is predominantly in charge by that point. Like a dog chasing a car, I'm not certain he'd know quite what to do if he got what he was after, because at that point it stops being a flight of fancy and becomes real... which is very much the domain of the light world, and outside the darkness's purview.

And when getting swept up in the thrill of romance stories, it's easy to forget that the "struggle" does not end just because the couple share a tender kiss or whatever. Reality can, and often does, quickly ensue, and questions of long-term compatibility in the face of waning desire can spell doom for any relationship, no matter how "destined" it might seem in the run up to it.

This does not even take into consideration the biggest obstacle to this relationship - to exist in a form that we as players might recognise as reciprocal, it'd have to either be entirely confined to the dark world, or there'd have to be some way to bend the rules of Deltarune's reality to allow Ralsei to manifest in the light world, which... presents entirely new problems, not least because of the whole "Roaring" shindig.

Indeed, the more likely scenario, aside from the whole thing fizzling out or otherwise coming to an unfortunate end, is that Kris begins wearing the horned headband that is supposed to represent Ralsei, which as romantic a gesture as that might be, does not exactly live up to the promise that the pairing hints at... although in a strange way, such an outcome might end up strengthening the fantasy element of Kralsei, as a nascent relationship brought to a tragic end by the unflinching and immutable rules of light and dark. Such relationship never has to be actually tested by reality, which allows it to exist in a sort of crystalised state, a seemingly-perfect snapshot of a love that can perpetually exist in an idealised form.

It might be worth watching in future chapters to see how Kris and Ralsei's friendship develops, as it might give hints as to how Deltarune itself might end. Should the above come to pass, and the two come together only to be tragically wrenched apart by outside forces, it will suggest that the dark worlds will not be completely closed off, as the fantasy of Kralsei will be allowed to persist unchallenged by reality. If, however, they drift apart, or decide to remain friends only, or perhaps even if they break up mid-game, it would allow for a cleaner break between light and dark, suggesting some sort of sundering of the bridge between the two.

This, of course, sidelines any other interpretations of their relationship, such as an extended metaphor for self-love and acceptance, or of a coming-to-terms with the past, though I don't see that these can't co-exist alongside the above.

One final note: much of my focus has been on Ralsei rather than Kris, and there are grounds to argue that Kris does not wish, nor will they ever wish, to pursue a relationship with Ralsei. However, the fantasy of Kralsei's potential that exists both in Ralsei's head, and in players receptive to the game's suggestions, almost renders Kris's feelings and opinions on the subject moot. In other words: the reality of what Kris might want, even if that DOES end up wanting to be with Ralsei, is supplanted by the fantasy of their potential thrilling romance story.

In this, the core themes of Deltarune are again reinforced - Kris's choices do not matter, even if their choice would align with the fantasy-romance being suggested. This is not to suggest that I do not care what happens to Kris, but it does highlight that there is a narrative reason for Kralsei, or at least the idea of Kralsei, to exist in the game, and lends further weight to the idea that it is ultimately doomed to failure, regardless of the wishes of its participants.

#rambling #essay #analysis #theory #meta #Deltarune #Kris Dreemurr #Ralsei #Kralsei #Krisei #your choices don't matter

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utilitycaster · 6 months ago

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@disastergenius replied to your post “perhaps unpopular but while I do agree the EXU...”:

re: this party doesn't talk much; i think that narratively, fcg's death isn't the call for them to talk in the way that molly's was? Molly's death happened early and bc of molly, but it was the wake-up call the party needed while separated and to actually begin to work together. bh's have different problems and fcg's death wasn't a result of party but was fcg's decision. so it also makes sense that it's not bringing the group together or anything, it's just mourning

So I think this is part of it but I also wanted to post this as a full response because I've been thinking a lot about this! In short...having experienced a death within a friend group, people respond in weird ways, and for the most part, with the caveat that this was a friend among my friends from college and she died when we were all adults in various different cities and therefore not necessarily closely in touch all the time, we did not have a big sit-down and go around talking about our feelings. It's much slower. And I've talked a lot with people who have experienced a death within a friend group that was closer. Sometimes the group falls apart dramatically. Sometimes it just drifts apart. Sometimes it's sort of a weird blank space no one knows how to deal with.

I found Ashton's behavior in particular to be really well done on Taliesin's part and deeply affecting. They're exhausted not just mechanically but emotionally, and they don't want to really talk to anyone, but they do very much want some kind of comfort that doesn't require a lot of effort and most importantly, they don't want to be alone. When I had to learn about the (Jewish) religious practices surrounding grief and mourning, one of the things they tell you about sitting shiva (and to be clear this is not unique to shiva, it's just that Judaism has very clear time delineations of the mourning process) is that sometimes you just go there and sit with someone who doesn't want to talk much. His reaction felt incredibly real and natural, is what I'm saying. Grief can be isolating and tiring and difficult to talk about.

It feels right for the others too. Like...we can talk about the rapid pacing but that's been the case for much of the campaign, and no, I didn't like the EXU decision but what's done is done. I think deciding to, as Chetney said in 92, "make it count" seems very natural. I do hope there are conversations in Zadash and/or Aeor but at this point "we're drunk and tired and aren't ready to really feel this", especially since in-world, everything might be over in a week or so, makes a lot of sense. I also think FCG's death has united the party at least in the sense of purpose, and I think some people just dislike that the purpose is "double down on the moon plot." I think at the very least we'll have to visit it when they tell Imahara Joe (and hopefully Dancer, too.)

Ultimately, again, while I do love the episodes after Molly's death, episode 27 only has three party members in it, and episode 30 is arguably more about Fjord and Jester and Yasha being rescued (and on a meta level, welcoming Travis and Laura back to the table after parental leave) and incorporating Caduceus into the group as it is about Molly being dead. A lot of the conversations are about that, and 31 is very much about fucking around in Zadash and doing weird shit! Jester and Veth make Molly illusions not long after while on Darktow! The effects of Molly's death ripple through, quite honestly, the entire rest of the campaign and the grief is very nonlinear. Again, I adore episode 2x30, but I think one should be careful not to overly romanticize it; the party is still very much working through those initial feelings throughout the entire pirates arc, which takes place over the span of a couple of months. Bells Hells might not have months, and it might not get explored to the same extent, but I do think we'll see the effects nonetheless.

#disastergenius #cr spoilers

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dearweirdme · 4 months ago

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Hi Rain,

I've been watching BV 4 recently and wanted your insights on Tae and taekook in this season. Tae seemed really sad and disconnected to me and tk barely interacted or made efforts to hang out with each other.

While members chose group activities, Tae chose to explore the city alone. BV is a time for them to spend time together as a group and enjoy but i sensed a weird block from Tae's end. He was there physically but not really mentally there if that makes sense. Especially important since they started the season saying they hadn't met or spoken to each other in some time.

Jimin is an empath and hence we saw him really taking efforts including Tae in activities and taking care of him. Other members just let him be.

This season was late 2019, was this a period when Tae wasn't doing well? Did you get the feeling that he was disconnected from the group? Till when did this continue and was this observed in other content as well?

Similarly in context to Tk, do you agree that they do seem distant. And doesn't it give some credence or probability to the timeline or story of them having drifted apart as friends?

As a Tae biased army it does make me a bit sad seeing Tae in this season. Would really appreciate some insights on how you or older Army's perceived this.

Hi anon!

Edit after finishing rewatching all episodes: Aside from me being in a rewatch kinda vibe the last month or so, I could not for the life of me recall feeling the way you (anon) did about this BV series. It was some time ago that I watched this in full, and I started to wonder if my recollection about Tae was perhaps flawed. But after rewatching, I still don't see Tae disconnected and sad. I haven't once seen this sort of vibe "Jimin is an empath and hence we saw him really taking efforts including Tae in activities and taking care of him. Other members just let him be." I paid attention to Tae and Jk ofcourse, and while I agree this is a very low Tkky series, I do not feel that they were avoidant or awkward. I saw them together in the background of things. They looked at each other with smiles and love all throughout, they went to walk, sit, stand next to each other often. As a Tkkr, this is what I feel was still going on in 2019: I don't believe in the narrative that Tae and Jk grew apart. It makes no sense to me in a wider context and I feel there is plenty to point at that not being true. It's ofcourse possible they had rocky times and therefore had moment that they seemed off, but I don't think they were ever distant for as long as the general narrative would have people believe. I believe BH made an effort to make it seem like Tae and Jk weren't something special, but rather just bandmembers.. and not the closest ones for that sake. You'l find special interactions or outings with many pairs, but never Tae and Jk. they are mostly together with other members present. I believe that was a conscious choice, and probably a definite plan that was come up with when Bh realized Tae and Jk were a couple. When you don't believe Tae and Jk are together, tis is not something you consider to be possible. I think for outsiders, nothing weird will be found during this BV series. As Tkkrs however, we are missing the physical closeness we know Tae and Jk had (even during 2019). For example, this was them in august and october (before and after BV was fimed).

So what we know about Tae and Jk, does not fully come out during this BV.. and I think that was an editing choice, but also Tae and JK and the members knowing what the deal is and that they just can't be Taekook for a few days.

About Tae's mental health.. it's hard to say exactly when he was going through the worst period.. or if it perhaps was fluctuating in intensity. I don't think from this footage we can say that he was feeling down. It's not how I see it anyways. But, people with mental health problems very often know how to mask very well, so it is ofcourse a possibility that that's what he was doing. I think it likely that Jk's scandal effected them during this trip. Jk felt the need to appologize, and whether that was something hé felt he needed to do, or something that he was told to do.. it's obvious the issue was something they dealt with while in NZ. I think it would have bothered both Tae and JK.

Anyways.. it's interesting how different people can have such different views on the same footage 😂

Warning… this is long. Your ask prompted me to rewatch, and I did a little note-taking while watching the episodes. At this point I have only rewatched 5 episodes, I wanted to post this today because it’s loooooooong and I kinda said I would. I’m gonna watch the other episodes the next couple of days and edit this post when I have finished. This is going to be my opinion on footage that was taken while I wasn’t in fandom yet. So I’m unable to talk with the point of view of someone who went through this realtime. Feel absolutely free to comment or send asks with additions.

So, they spent 6 days in New Zealand right? What we got to see was only a couple of hours of their time there. Yoongi said that 80 percent of film is edited out.. that is no joke, that is actually true. On top of that, the stuff that is chosen to be in the released footage, is the exciting/interesting stuff... while we might see some clips of members just hanging around (because the message is supposed to be that they're relaxing.. while this is still work for them on a certain level... you can't actually relax when there's a film crew around).. they're not going to show boring stuff (or stuff we're not meant to see). Tae and Jk are pretty lowkey and aside from my believe in their relationship being hidden, I also think their moments are not deemed interesting enough at times. Their vibe is different from Jk and Jm's bolsterous interactions, it's different from Jm and Tae's cute supporting vibe. Jm is an extrovert, very clearly so... and extroversion is often deemed fun to watch. While Tae has been described as an extrovert at times... I also think he has a strong introverted tendency (and he turned out to be an infp while taking the test) so Tae and Jk together are just a lowkey couple. To add to this further, Jm is an empath, but so is Jk. Their differences in extroversion is why the way it's practiced is also different.

Now.. more specifically about BV4. For context.. Tae did seem to have mental issues during 2019/20... and during this BV Jk went through the tattoo artist 'scandal'. Mental health issues are a tricky thing... because we're not always able to tell from the outside what someone is going through on the inside. So take into consideration that we’re possibly not even able to understand the actual state of Tae’s mental health fully from the little bit of footage we’re given… same goes for any member really.

To start with the "not having seen each other debate that popps up a lot". I think this is blown up way out of proportion (probably thanks to Jkkrs pushing it as a debunk). I'm not really aware of what both of them were doing around this time. They had a month off, which isn't that long if you also go traveling. Anyways, it's possible they needed time apart.. I can imagine things being tough from time to time, so maybe this was intentional. Maybe they just had different plans... Tae traveled a lot with friends and family, and maybe Jk just wasn't into that? Maybe Jk's perception of time was off and it was less long than he thought since he'd seen Tae. Maybe it's a members and Tae situation. Maybe he's very aware of not being able to mention Tae as flippantly as he does other members. Maybe they were off atm (though it doesn't seem like it to me). All sorts of possibilities, but I doubt they weren't in contact at all. Being apart while knowing that in a bit you'll be spending plenty of time together again is pretty doable for most people. You'll never see Jk and Tae act like a couple in content for real, they know they can't do that on camera. BV, ITS, Run, Interviews... it's all work and they will always behave according to that.

In general I think there's nothing weird about their interactions, but rather that it feels something is missing. We know Jk and Tae are touchy and they hang off and on eacch other.. we don't get that here. On top of that.. when we do see them together it's mostly them with other members around, while other members do go of as pairs. It's almost as if Tae and Jk need chapperonnes 😂.

I'll get into the episode after the cut.. otherwise everyone will just be annoyed by how long this is.

Episode one is basically them travelling. It's rather uneventfull. A lot of sleeping and Tae wasn't feeling great for a bit. I'd say every Jk/Tae interaction was pretty normal. I don't feel Tae was off during this ep and we get Jk and Tae interactions a few times with them seeming completely normal to me.

Episode 2 starts with Tae and Jk in front seats of the campervan and then next to each other in the restaurant. Seems normal to me. We see some traveling, some shopping... Jk talking to sheep... Tae happily learning the Chicken Noodle soup dance. Tae and Jk together might not be the main focus, but they can be found close to each other often enough. Jk goes off on his own in the morning, when he gets that chunk of snow. I tend to think he wanted some time alone, since he didn't even wait for a camera to join him... Tae asking him if he's alright I interpret as him checking if Jk is mentally okay. People need space sometimes, that doesn't mean they have issues with the group they're with.. but rather that they need time to just be without having to consider other's feelings and wishes for a bit.

In episode 3 they start with a hike, and Tae does wander off a bit.. but I don’t feel it’s because he wants to be alone.. but rather to see where the path leads them. When Jk approaches the table where Tae, Hobi and Jin are eating he doesn’t hesitate to touch Tae’s back. There’s more driving and shopping. Jk takes Tae’s pic at a reststop. They eat, shop and drive again. Jk takes pics if Tae again and they laugh together like normal. Hobi, Tae, Jm and Jk practice the Chicken Noodle soup dance again. I feel Tae is participating enthusiastically in everything they do. He comes up with ideas, he laughs freely, he interacts with the others naturally. Tae and Jk keep bot being the main focus, yet they do continue to find each other all throughout. We see them standing close, touching, laughing, walking together. I feel there’s no avoidance or weirdness from their side.

Episode 4 kicks of at the accomodation they're staying at. When Yoongi prepares their food Tae gets Jm, Jin, and Jk to participate into a joke-ish skit thingy.. Jk smiles at Tae adoringly. After dinner we do get Tae taking a walk in the dark alone. At that point though, you see several members taking a moment for themselves. I don't feel Tae was particularly sad. Pensive maybe? I think it's too short a clip to tell. The next day has them shopping again, and we get headband Tae and Jk (my weakness 🥰). Tae and Jk do the Chicken noodle soup dance with Hobi at the lake, after which Tae and Jk review the footage closely together. They go hiking as a group and Tae and Jk are closeby nearly all throughout. Tae asks Jk to stop because he wants to take his picture. More hiking. The episode ends with a chaotic preparation of their camping site. Again, I don't feel that Tae is particularly sad or distancing himself. They all take moments of solitude, which is pretty normal to me during a group vacation.

I'm now at episode 5 and I have not yet felt that at one point Jm was the reason for Tae to partake in group dynamics, but rather I feel Tae was enjoying himself. He takes initiative, goes to help when he can, is funny inbetween, has no trouble taking on stuff like driving, interacts with all of them.

During their dinner preparations and meal at the campsite Tae was very much taking a backseat. It didn't seem like him having a hard time to me though, I tend to think he was just tired. Preparing dinner isn't his thing, so the camera wasn't on him much because of that too. Dinnertime is often Yoongi and Jin's time to shine. Tae leaves to go to sleep without announcing it, and yes I think he was done for the day. I don't think it has anything to do with Jk or the members, but they had a tiring day with hiking, Tae drove for hours, and anyone will get sleepy in front of a campfire. It is possible that he felt sad ofcourse, but I don't feel that particularly showed in this footage. Jk was the one to ask where Tae was, he also took a quick peak to watch him sleep. They wake up in the morning and Tae does seem a bit subdued to me... but in all honestly, so does everyone else. When they leave the hottubs we see Tae wearing one glove.. just like Jk. During the drive Tae seems fine and happily participates in the singing. Tae chooses to do the swing while he could've easily passed.. he was even the one to try and persuade Jm. Tae enjoys it so much that he himself asks to do the catapult as well. Whe don't really see Tae and Jk's reactions to each other's jumps. When deciding who goes shopping for groceries.. I could swear I see Tae and Jk share a glance (but that's also possibly just me). Tae and Jk go shopping for groceries with Namjoon and Yoongi, Tae once again wears one glove on his hands. All seems well and we later find out Jk bought Tae a jacket.

In episode 6 Episode when returning to the camp site, Tae immediately tells Jm about the jacket he got from Jk. Tae is helping out at the camp site quite a bit. Tae is the one who asks Jm to come horseriding the next day. He also super cutely asks to hold Namjoon when they sleep. The next day they go on the helicopter flight and Tae is so happy to land at the snow. Jk is making a snowman. Vmin are the cutest. Namjoon and Jk trying to sled are hilarious. After that Jm and Tae spend some time together horseriding/cycling, but at no point do I feel it’s Jm trying to involve Tae.. I rather feel Tae is enthusiastic just because of himself. There’s really little Jk and Tae interaction in this episode. Jk was basically with Hyungline the whole time, while Vmin had a lot of moments. Only in the story untold do we get a bit of Tkk interaction when Tae gives Jk sunscreen.

Episode 7 starts with members arriving at the last place of their stay. Tae isn’t feeling well (carsick). Jm and Tae end up rooming, and Jk ends up with Namjoon. We see Jk sitting with Tae while he’s lying at the couch in the background. We see Jm massaging Tae who’s still not feeling well. Tae does go and watch when Jk prepares the fish. After dinner they play uno and Tae and Jk are next to each other. They interact normally I’d say, though they are mostly busy with the game. Jk has no problem leaning into Tae to help him decide which cards to play. For some reason we suddenly see Jk in the other side of the table. Tae seems to be in good spirits to me. Jk very confidently states that he’s the one sharing a room with Tae, which isn’t the case. Jk returns to sit with Tae after the game. Tae has to wake everyone up and hangs over Jk’s sleeping body for a while. So many headbands 🥰. Tae again is the one to ask Jm to ride the cable ride together. Tae and Jk ride to the top separately, which is a bit odd to me since they were the last two to go up. Later in the car Tae easily mentions Jk’s snoring and goes to describe it. Tae is a bit late to lunch, but in the Story Untold we learn he told them to start eating because he would take a while. We get to the part where Tae wanders through the city alone while the others chose to go on group activities. I think it’s important to point out that this is the only time that has happened during this trip and that I feel he was pretty involved with the others the whole time. You can’t really say Tae went out on his own, because he’s with a camera man. He looks in good spirits to me, so possibly he just really wanted to enjoy the city while the others went for more action. Doing things alone when you’re on a group outing can be very important because having to be social constantly can be draining. In the Story Untold we learn that Tae has muscle ache (from horse riding), so possibly that’s why he wanted to go to the city instead of doing something active.

Episode 8 starts with where we left off in episode 7. Tae is walking around town, having a burger and icecream. Jk is at the new fishing spot with Yoongi and Jin. Tae is home first and is super funny (to me at least) by hiding from Namjoon, Hobi and Jm when they return. At this point Tae is very clear about not going with the other's because his butt hurt 😂. Tae helps Hobi and Jm with dinner preparations and joins in normally and happily imo. They do funny skits. Jk walks in when Jm and Tae do a scene... considers what he's seeing for a few seconds.. and decides it's nothing new 😂. Jk tries to but in wiht the cooking, which neither Tae and Jm want him to do and they send him away. Tae: "I got rid of the intruder" 😂. Later on Jk helps Tae get the rice.. again nothing weird about it. They have a very happy dinner after which they start to dance and sing. Tae and Jk are next to each other, though not physically close like we know them to be. To me they seem a normal, happy part of the group. Tae looks at Jk dancing with a huge smile on his face. We get an entertaining game of UNO during which Tae is proud to not finish last. Jk goes off to bed as soon as he's done. Tae stays to watch the others finish.

During their solo interviews both Tae and Jk express having had a great trip. Tae hopes fans won't have a problem with him having gained a bt of weight (which... hello, he looks amazing) and eating a lot. Jk actually apologizes for the tattoo artist 'scandal', but he emphasizes having been happy on the trip.

#taekook #bv4 #Taekook analysis #tae #work in progress #yes this is long

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thestrangestthing89 · 10 months ago

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Catching up on some of the behind the scenes stuff. My take on what we have seen so far...

Mike having a similar look to season 1 is so good for him. I think it shows he is more comfortable with himself. He's going back to his roots when he was the character everyone loved. So I think we will get a more authentic Mike and Paladin Mike back right off the bat.

I like the blue polo with the yellow collar. And it looks like his jacket is a little green in the video with him and El (like a sage green/greyish green color). It reminds me a bit of the color block polo he was wearing in S3 which makes me wonder if Will is going to have a matching one this season too.

Mike and El's relationship closely resembles Nancy and Steve's. El broke up with him with the From El letter and he knows this. I've written about this a lot so I'm not going to get into it here, but the fact that at the end of S4 shows a 2 day time jump and after this point Mike and El aren't even talking and they are rolling their eyes at each other is meant to indicate that something happened with them during that time jump that wasn't good.

The fact that S5 seems to pick up a couple years later (judging by El's hair) I think is further proof that they already filmed part of S5 back when they were doing S4. The part that picks up right where S4 ended I think was already done. So I think this is where we will get to see a clarification of what exactly happened during that 2 day jump and get confirmation that Mike and El broke up already.

Their relationship was defined as being immature and made both of them feel badly about themselves. They were already at a point where they wanted it over so there is no reason narratively why that needs to drag out over 2 years when neither of them is happy.

Especially considering Mike's new look where he is dressing more like himself. They have established for 2 seasons that Mike isn't himself when he is with El. So him acting more comfortable and looking more like himself all points to him and El having broken up a while ago. He had time to figure out what was authentic for him already over a time jump.

I think Mike and El's conversation has more to do with reestablishing a friendship. They didn't communicate well when they were in a relationship and El dismissed Mike's feelings a lot (the conversation about bullying being one of those times), so I think it's possible they drifted apart during the couple year jump because I think it's hard for Mike to trust her. I saw people comparing it to the train track conversation back in S1 and I think that's accurate. That conversation was meant to indicate the first time Mike started seeing her as a friend (even though they really didn't reach an understanding here the way he thought). But I think this time it actually will establish a real friendship in a way that was different than before.

I do think think it's likely Mike and Will are together at this point in the beginning of S5. But either way I think a lot of this conversation with El has to do with Mike telling her how he feels about Will and them being honest with each other for the first time.

Mike and El have very few one on one scenes together. I think I can count on one hand the amount of conversations they have had where it was just the two of them and a group wasn't around them. To me, this indicates that this conversation is actually important. Unlike a lot of their other conversations where they weren't communicating well or they weren't acting like themselves. But I think in keeping with the pattern the show has always had, this is likely the last one on one scene with them until the end of the season. They tend to not interact much in the middle of every season so I would be surprised if there was much more content with just the two of them.

This scene is very platonic just based on their body language. They aren't close or acting in any romantic way. And again, the fact that they seem comfortable indicates that they have had time to reflect on their relationship and heal from it. Mike is never comfortable around El in S3 or S4. He is never comfortable with her touching him or being close with her. So the fact that he is here, is further proof to me that it's already over. He isn't pretending anymore (I think he was done with this by the end of S4).

Another thing that makes me think they haven't spent much time together over a jump of a few years is Mike directly telling Will in S4 that he wished he spent less time with El and more with him. He already made the mistake of not spending time with Will and regretted it. He isn't going to do that again. So I think it's possible that he has been spending more time with Will to make up for it and ended up pulling away from El. And this conversation in S5 is meant to be an acknowledgement of that and the fact that he can have a romantic relationship with Will and a platonic one with El at the same time. Two people he has been struggling to have a relationship at the same time with since pretty much the beginning of the series.

Very curious to see what Will's look is because I don't think it's a bowl cut. I always thought that hairstyle was meant to indicate him holding on to his childhood and all of his trauma. If he has a new look I think it's a good hint that not only is he more comfortable with himself but that him and Mike are already together at the beginning of S5. The show has already established that the two of them are only comfortable with themselves when they are together. Mike being true to himself is a good thing. It shows he learned and grew from his immature behavior in the past few seasons. I would be surprised if Will's look doesn't indicate the same based on where his character arc left off at the end of S4.

#anti mileven #byler #mike wheeler #will byers

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menlove · 4 months ago

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I don't know if somebody already asked you, but what do you think ACTUALLY happened in India?

in myyyy opinion I honestly don't think anything major happened 😭 I have a Couple Reasons and it's mostly bc I'm a "they were fucking the whole time" truther, but I can see where people that view paul as being repressed & rejecting john would find india as the most likely Catastrophe Spot

i'll just toss some of my thoughts under the cut fdfasf

but basically for me it just comes down to:

the Biggest shifts in their attitudes to each other seemed to have happened when brian died & the subsequent mmt disaster, when john started going all in with yoko, and finally at Some point between the rooftop concert and the abbey road sessions. none of those, to Me, line up w something major happening in india. they were already a little strained after brian/mmt & they seemed to be still at that "strained but still friends" point after india

apparently, paul & ringo leaving india early was pre-planned out. there was like an article that mentioned that they'd be leaving early before the beatles even left for india, mentioning that paul would be coming back early to deal w some business stuff. so this, to me, is a hole in the Big India Shift theory

and IF they were fucking the whole time like i personally believe (i may be crazy it's fine), i think that fits pretty well with the lil reference we get in get back. bc john blows that mic with GUSTO & paul isn't acting nervous or like someone who just got called out for ditching him after fucking him, he's just sort of giggly/flustered like john's just referencing a time they fucked that they can't talk about in front of people lmao

so for MEEE what i Actually think happened was probably just....... things getting More uncomfortable (what with john constantly getting telegrams from yoko & the fact that cyn was there and her and john were Not getting on well) & them possibly fucking but it not really being a big deal bc it was just already a thing that they did.

i Do agree with one take i saw in the general beatles fandom world that part of the reason things started to go sour for everyone after india was just that they were all sober for the first time in fucking AGES & when that happens you kind of look around at yourself, your life, and the people you're around and start questioning things. i think by that point they were all becoming highly individualized people & without the security blanket of drugs it became apparent that they'd drifted apart. not just john and paul, but all 4 of them (& cyn and jane, for john & paul respectively).

i mean i could be wrong! if i'm wrong abt paul just being closeted & them having had an acknowledged sexual relationship going on, i can see where the logic would follow that maybe something happened in india. but honestly, for me, even in that case i just don't see enough evidence of smth happening. i think it's a Good Spot for something to happen, like narratively/for fanfiction, but as far as it being like a solid theory for me i just don't really buy it? it's kind of like how for me personally i think a "good spot" for them to have a tender moment would be after the "bigger than jesus" incident, but it's not something i have evidence for or necessarily Believe, i just think narratively it would be neat. same goes for india, so like i can and do still enjoy fics/headcanons about it, i just personally don't see enough actual concrete evidence to lead me to believe in it seriously.

and this is absolutely not to shit on anyone or judge this theory at all. like i said, i can see why people get here, i just don't see it myself. and that's mostly due to my own core mclennon theories that they were fucking & paul is just a closeted bisexual lol. if people believe otherwise, that's totally fine! keep on theorizing and having a blast yk

#reference #mostly for myself for laterrrr for the bit abt paul and ringo leaving early being pre planned

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juliapark13 · 1 year ago

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sending this ask because i want for all the tkkrs who lurk here to see me debunk all their previous and new narratives;

1) "taekook was real" no it wasn't. yall pretended that they were real for years and got slammed thrice, first when tae replied "you'd better get out of the imagination, it's not good in there" to a taekooker on weverse telling him to look at jk's photos whom he loves before going to sleep.

then it was in ITS1 when taekook admitted to having drifted apart when yall spent years making up excuses for why they aren't behaving like you wanted them to, saying that the company is forcing them to hide.

then yall spent every waking moment of 2023 repeatedly using the "taekook are finally free in this solo era and they're coming out to let everyone know that they're together. the company doesn't control them anymore." narrative. then BOOM, taennie got caught.

2) "taehyung is being punished for being loud about him and jungkook so he was forced to get into a fake PR fan service relationship"

a) nothing about taennie is fan service. their fans hate each other and blinks hate taehyung, armys hate jennie. which fans are they servicing?

b) this taennie thing has been going around since late 2021 when tae accidentally followed her on Instagram. it's not a recent thing that hybe chose as a coverup for TK.

c) i thought tkkrs took pride in taehyung never bowing to the company? i thought only jk was the helpless puppet forced into a fake relationship with jimin? i thought that's why hybe were easily able to make jk delete his IG account but couldn't force taehyung? now tae is a puppet too?

d) accusing tae of doing fan service? the same insulting crap you attached to jimin all these years? tkkrs are now tae antis as well?

3) "it's the lookalike" no it's not. he's in Seoul amidst of this controversy. and it was never him at all. other than the fact that he denied being the one in the pictures, and him having a girlfriend, all those pictures that were leaked last year that yall spent hours insulting every part of tae's body in vain effort to prove it isn't him backfired badly for you today. i saw tkkrs calling tae in today's pictures "musty, white, ugly, with a moustache, flat assed" and a whole bunch of other bullshit just for clear pictures to come out later proving it was indeed taehyung.

4) "it still doesn't prove that jikook is real" no one said that. we're here to talk about how yall spent years moving like a cult, twisting reality at every turn of events that didn't fit you little bubble, and dragged jimin for YEARSSS accusing him of all kind of shit but most importantly is how yall accused him of oppressing your precious taekook, yall accused him of trying to steal jungkook from taehyung when jk was never tae's in the first place. yall accused jimin of being a bad friend to tae for being all over his man when tae was dating a woman this whole time. THIS is why jikookers/pjms are gloating rn. because we've been waiting for jimin to be freed of your narratives for years. we've tried talking it out with you using logic MANY times, that your ship isn't real and taekook are just close friends, that you shouldn't drag an innocent man in the sake of theory that could very well turn out false at any day. but yall didn't listen, yall left no place for doubt in your minds and were so adamant that taekook is real and didn't matter to you what horrible shit you said about jimin, even jk in the process. yall accused jk of being a cheater, accused him of being toxic and riling tae up on purpose to make him jealous, accused of enjoying fan service with jimin too much, got mad at him for never doing things for tae that he did for jimin, etc. all of this shit can't and won't be erased in one day. now you have jjks, pjms, and jikookers all celebrating and they will make your lives HELL like you made ours and our idols’.

i'm just gonna end this with saying that this was a long time coming, and taekook were never going to scare me even if tae and jk kept their private lives private forever. even if taennie was never confirmed, taekook would still be as much as a lie as they've always been. no amount of theories, lies, manipulation, and gaslighting would've made that ship sail. and anyone with a half brain could see from a mile away that taekook are just great friends, nothing more. except for taekookers, yall st yourselves up long ago when you started shipping them based on aesthetic, potential and popularity, and now you're been bitch slapped by reality and your bubble finally burst. i can't say i told you so but I told you so.

They can’t get it and they can’t see it, because delusion is a mental disorder defined as:

false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly sustained despite what almost everybody else believes and despite what constitued incontrovertible and obvious proof for evidence to the contrary.

#jikook #kookmin

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wanted-to-be-nosey · 2 days ago

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Everything's Fine

I read this prompt a while back and was inspired to write the following fic. wordcount ~6,900 AO3

Tony had known he was in love with Peter since the day the newly turned nineteen-year-old had forced his way into the lab and physically carried him up the stairs and through the penthouse before depositing him in his en-suite – clean towels and a change of clothes folded neatly and waiting for him on the vanity unit – with very succinct instructions to shower and that his pity party about his divorce was over.

The thing was, he hadn’t been having a pity party over the divorce. He and Pepper had called it quits about three months before they made the public announcement. Things hadn’t been working, they both knew it and were both getting too old for the on-again-off-again thing they’d had in their younger days.

So, it wasn’t her leaving that had caused his retreat to the lab.

It was the public reaction to the news of their divorce that had hit the hardest. They’d all followed the one narrative he hadn’t anticipated; and he always tried to plan for all possible outcomes.

For some forsaken reason, every gossip columnist and “investigative blogger" on the internet assumed it had all come down to Tony cheating. That his infidelity was apparently the only possible reason for their split.

He’d never protested his playboy status in his younger years because he knew it was true. But he had never cheated on anyone. If he was in a relationship, he was true and faithful. Even if his eyes did wander, he’d never dream of acting on it.

Despite growing up in the public spotlight, it still hurt that so many people would believe he was capable of such things. He’d felt the accusatory stares in meetings and in restaurants. He felt more exposed simply walking down the street than what he was used to. Friends and colleagues alike asked how he could do that to Pepper, fully believing what they’d read rather than what they knew of him and ignored him when he tried to explain they’d simply come to a mutual agreement to split after drifting apart. For her part, Pepper had tried to tell others the same, but by then it was too late. People had already made up their mind on what Tony was capable off. In time his reputation would recover, and people would forget, but until then he had to battle the storm.

It hadn’t taken him long to seek the refuge of his lab instead of dealing with the judgemental stares. Something that with Pepper out of the picture and Rhodey deployed overseas, he would be able to do. No one would be there to prevent him from sulking for days. No one cared enough to stop him.

That is until Peter Parker stepped in.

Peter who’s first year at Columbia had filled him with a newfound confidence. A confidence, that try as he might, Tony couldn’t help but find at least a little sexy. They’d been growing closer as friends for years — Peter was one of a few that Tony had let into his inner circle — but he’d never allowed himself to stop and consider that Peter had also felt the same way. That he was also no longer seen as the older mentor, but instead a close friend.

During the months following Peter dragging him from his lab, the kid became a constant in his life. It was the summer break at Columbia, so the kid had a lot of free time. Time he spent in Tony’s lab, doing his internship to help earn some extra credit for the coming academic year. It was the company Tony needed to get him through the worst of the aftermath of his divorce. The companionship that got him over the funk of what the media assumed about him. Eventually he found a new sense of normal and returned to working alongside Pepper, leaving the divorce and all the accompanying fallout behind him.

Finding his new normal was made easier with how close he had grown to Peter.

Tony wasn’t stupid. In fact, he had the IQ tests to prove he was far from it. He knew that Peter could have his choice of any partner, that the kids at Columbia must’ve been throwing themselves at him. Peter had the kindest heart, a massive brain, amazing sense of humour and abs of steel to complete the package. He could have his pick of the litter, which is why Tony was so blown away that he’d somehow chosen him.

Not long after the kid had returned to classes for his second year, he’d stuttered his way through asking for a date – which Tony had readily accepted – and things had progressed from there. Friday movie nights now continued into the bedroom, and they spent their days texting between meetings, classes and patrolling. Now that they’d been together for six months, they were finally taking the next steps, and Peter was moving in with him. May and Happy were helping to pack Peter’s belongings and would drop him off at the penthouse later in the evening, giving them the weekend to unpack and settle in before classes resumed on Monday following the Christmas holidays.

As he waited for them to arrive, Tony found himself nervously tidying behind himself. Wiping down tables and fluffing cushions. Its not like Peter hadn’t been there hundreds of times before, but it was different when his boyfriend was going to be living with him. Other than Pepper, Tony had never lived with a partner. It was a massive step to him, one that showed how serious he was about their relationship, and he knew it was a big deal to Peter as well. He’d never lived away from home before, had managed to stay living with May even while at school.

The elevator dinged to announce their arrival, and interrupted his attempt at moving the lamp in the hallway (for the third time).

“Hey, Tony,” Peter greeted, as he dropped a pile of boxes onto the floor beside the elevator before moving to give him a hug.

“Hey, Pete,” Tony breathed into the younger man’s hair, as he held him close. “You manage to get everything packed okay?”

“Yeah, Happy and May are going to come by with the last of the boxes tomorrow, but I’ve got most of it with me. They didn’t want to intrude on our first night together.”

“Good, good. D’you want to start unpacking while we wait for dinner? I ordered us some pizza earlier. Didn’t want you getting hungry.”

“Sure,” Peter gave him one last squeeze before pulling away and back towards his pile of boxes. “This still feels so surreal. I can’t believe I’m going to be living here with you. It’s just amazing.”

“You’re telling me. I personally can’t wait to wake up to your face each morning. I’m sure you’ll be sick of me in no time.”

Peter chuckled, as they carried the first couple of boxes through to the bedroom, depositing them on the bed to start unpacking.

“I’m not going to get sick of you. You have no idea how long I’ve dreamt about this moment. My fourteen-year-old self would never believe that not only am I dating Tony Stark — I’m living with him.”

Turning from the boxes, Peter wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Tony’s hands found themselves settling on the younger man’s hips, holding him close, as their breathing grew laboured, and their kiss grew heated.

“You said we had time before pizza arrived, right?” Peter asked coyly.

“We certainly do. Shall we leave the unpacking for later?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following weekend found them up at the compound for the Avengers monthly training session. Things were still strained between the team, the fight in Germany and Siberia leaving lasting scars that no amount of time would ever completely remove, but they still tried to put their differences aside for the greater good.

Hence, the regular training.

Tony’s only saving grace was that Rhodey had returned from overseas and so had made it along. He was glad to have him on his team, especially given Peter had been appointed to a team with Steve and Sam for the weekend. He and Peter weren’t big fans of PDA, neither wanted to be known as the couple that were always all over each other, but Tony still thought they would have had some more time alone together over the weekend.

Maybe Peter needed some space after spending most of his time outwith classes with him over the last week.

Regardless of the reason for them missing each other during the training, he still found himself completely ignoring Rhodey as they warmed up in the gym. Peter and his team had obviously had an early start as they were already working up a sweat on the mats across the gym, taking a rest from their sparring. The high ceilings provided them with the right acoustics to carry the other groups voices across the hall for him to eavesdrop.

“Not bad, Queens. You thought about moving out here rather than staying at the Tower? The gym there’s not bad, but there’s much better resources here.”

“I can’t be the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man if I’m not in the city. Besides,” Peter made a show of flexing his muscles. “I don’t think I’m doing too badly without the fancy gym stuff.”

“True that,” Sam whistled. “It’s unfair how little work you enhanced need to stay looking fine.”

Peter chuckled, scratching the back of his neck but Tony missed whatever his response was when Rhodey smacked the back of his head.

“What’s the point of me even coming to these stupid things, if you’re just going to ignore me the entire time?”

Raising his hands in surrender, Tony turned his back to the others to give Rhodey his full attention while he tried to come up with an excuse.

“Don’t say that, Honeybear. I could never ignore you! I’m just...”

“Ogling your boyfriend across the room, rather than either working out yourself or just going over to say hi?”

“What?” Tony spluttered. He hadn’t been that obvious, had he? Who was he kidding. It was Rhodey he was talking about. He noticed everything.

“Uh-huh,” Rhodey snorted. “Whatever, man. Looks like you missed your chance anyway since they’re getting back to it.”

Glancing over his shoulder, he clenched his jaw at the sight. Peter and Steve were circling each other again to start a new round of sparring, their bare chests glistening with sweat, and muscles tensing as they prepared to pounce.

Some primal part of him wanted to run over and pull a shirt over Peter’s head. Or maybe just drag him off where he couldn’t be seen by the others at all. The adrenaline from the training filled weekend must’ve been getting to him. He wasn’t thinking logically. Even if he desperately wanted to punch Steve for the way his hands gripped at Peter’s shoulders and waist as he tried to pin the younger man down.

It’s fine. They’re just working out. It’s the whole point of the training sessions. The entire reason they were there.

He had no right to be jealous.

“We’re starting with the weights, right?” he said, striding towards the benches without waiting for Rhodey’s response, desperate to distract his mind. Worried that if he didn’t he’d find himself across the hall.

“Sure. I’ll spot you first.”

The familiar repetition of lifting weights, and the burn in his muscles, provided a good distraction. The easy bantering back and forth with Rhodey also helped. At least, it did until the others were leaving to hit the showers.

Standing behind Rhodey to spot his bench press, he was at the perfect angle to witness Sam wrapping his sweaty arm around Peter’s bare shoulders and pulling him against the older man’s naked side. He couldn’t make out what was being said, but he didn’t miss the flush colouring Peter’s face as Steve approached his other side and whispered something into his ear.

Peter had always been friendly. It was one of the things Tony loved about him. He was always open with hugs and affection – friends and family alike. He just hadn’t realised he was as close with the other Avengers. Specifically with the man who had tried to kill him in an abandoned bunker in Siberia. Not that he could raise it with Peter. He had something good going and he wasn’t going to start dictating who he was friends with. That’d be a surefire way to end the best relationship that had ever happened to him.

“A little help?”

“Shit,” he cursed before grabbing the bar from Rhodey to rerack it. “Sorry.”

“Why not just talk to Peter if you don’t want him on their team? I think it’s reasonable that you wouldn’t want him to be with Steve, given everything that went down between you. I’m sure the others would understand as well if you said something.”

“Oh yeah, that’d go down so well. ‘Hey kid, your far too old, insecure partner has decided you can’t hang out with your friends because they had a falling out on the playground.’” Tony rolled his eyes, while reaching for his water. “It’s fine. Peter’s a touchy-feely guy, I’m not trying to change him. I don’t want to scare him off.”

“If you’re sure.” Rhodey hummed unconvincingly. “Ready to spot me again?”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Despite his best efforts, that feeling of what could only be described as jealousy continued to grow throughout the weekend.

Tony himself knew he could be a lot. He had always been a tactile person. It was a way he could control the touches; form physical connections he hadn’t had growing up. A hand on the arm as he was talking, an arm round the shoulder as he walks with friends, a pat to the chest to drive home a point, but none of those touches were ever lingering. Those would always be reserved for his partner. Especially when he’s in a relationship, he tried to keep any and all touches limited – even the most innocent of ones like handshakes. It had always been a pet-peeve of Pepper’s that he’d been so free with his touch around his friends. So, he’d tried not to be. He hated the feeling that he was letting her down, so he worked hard to suppress his hands natural instincts of moving.

He felt shamed for being who he was.

It was for that reason he couldn’t let Peter know how jealous he felt watching his boyfriend flex in the kitchen while other men’s hands trailed over his muscles. They were all showing off, it wasn’t like Peter was the only one being groped, but he couldn’t help but feel inferior watching them. Despite the hours he spent in the gym or the time spent grafting in the workshop, he was aware enough to know he was past his prime. He could never compete with the young, buff men that were showing off in the kitchen. Instead, he sat with Rhodey, Clint and Natasha in the living room making plans for the next training weekend.

“You must be fighting off the girls at school,” Sam commented as they finally joined the rest of them in planning. “Just show them the gun show and they’ll be falling over themselves.”

Peter chuckled, as he took a seat on the couch beside Tony, cheeks turning red.

“Please, unlike you, I don’t need to rely on my muscles for them to come running.”

“Hold up, pipsqueak!” Sam scoffed. “The ladies can’t get enough of my muscles or my ass. Don’t let Cap take all the glory for having America’s ass.”

“I’ve never claimed that,” Steve sighed, sounding defeated.

“You’ve never tried to refute the title either,” Clint added. “Feels like you want people to know.”

“I mean, its not bad,” Peter added, wiggling his eyebrows at Steve who was sat across the room.

“Pretty sure, you’d have the title beat, Pete,” Tony murmured, letting his hand rest on the younger’s thigh.

“He’d certainly be a contender,” Natasha smirked from the other side of Peter. “Lord knows all the Spider-Man fans are appreciative of the suit.”

“Can we stop talking about my ass?”

“Aw, are we embarrassing the Spider-Baby?” Sam cooed.

Peter spluttered before turning bright red, eyes darting to Tony looking for a save.

“Alright, leave the kid alone. He’s got an amazing ass, move on.” Tony rolled his eyes and gave Peter’s thigh a reassuring squeeze. “Are we doing any more planning or will we call it?”

“We’ve still got a lot of details to work out,” Steve stated, focusing back on the job at hand. “I’ve been thinking about adding in some new scenarios...”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Tony was younger, he could never understand why his mom stood by Howard all those years. Tony didn’t have any fond memories of the man, most of them revolved Tony either being berated or ignored by the man, but perhaps the most painful memories where the ones the man hurt his mom instead of him. The memory of the first time he’d been aware of what was going on had stuck with him.

On a rare holiday weekend home, he had spent the evening sitting with his mom in the quiet living room. Jarvis had been dismissed after dinner, and it was just the two of them sitting listening to the ticking of the clock. Conversation had been stilted and slow, but he’d been content to spend the time with her. Although he’d only been eleven at the time, he couldn’t have missed the way she would glance at the clock every ten minutes, or the despair and dread that seemed to radiate off her as the night grew longer waiting for Howard’s return.

The worst part was that Howard’s location wasn’t a secret.

Everyone – the public, friends and staff alike – knew he was out with his secretary, again. It was something they all knew, but none acknowledged. Tony had heard the whispers at school, had read the gossip articles, but he’d never discussed it. If he tried to mention it to his mom, she shut him down before he even started. Instead, they would sit together watching movies or talking about school. Pass the time together ignoring the elephant in the room.

When Howard would eventually show up – smelling of another woman’s perfume, and with foreign lipstick stains on his shirt – his mom would simply welcome him home and fix him a drink like nothing had even happened.

He could never understand why she would put herself through it. The pain, humiliation and heartbreak of loving a man who clearly didn’t feel the same way.

He didn’t understand until Peter.

It had been late Sunday night before they’d arrived back at the Tower, the planning had taken longer than expected and ended up spilling into the evening. They’d both been tired and achy from the intense training, and while Peter bounced back the following day it wasn’t until Wednesday morning that Tony could get himself out of bed without a medley of old man noises accompanying every movement. That had certainly led to a bruised and wounded ego.

With his muscles no longer actively working against him, he made quick work of getting dressed and made his way to the kitchen to start the coffee while Peter showered. Despite his urge to join him in the shower, he didn’t want to be the reason Peter was late for class. Instead, he let himself make plans for the evening. He knew Peter’s class schedule, and after checking his own meetings, asked Friday to make some reservations for dinner.

“Could you pour me a cup, Tony?” Peter asked, skidding to a stop in the living room and grabbing his bag. “In my flask please? I must have zoned out in the shower cause I’m gonna be late.”

Grabbing Peter’s favourite travel mug, he filled the cup and moved to grab some granola bars for the kid to take with him.

“No worries, just make sure you eat,” he said, grabbing some fruit as well before making his way over to where Peter was hopping around putting on his shoes. “I was thinking we could go out for dinner tonight, make up for lost time now my bodies back under my own control again?”

Peter giggled at his exaggerated eyebrow wiggle, before shaking his head.

“That sounds so nice, but it’s Wednesday and Wednesdays are my date night with Harry. We skipped last week cause it was the first week moving in, but I can’t stand him up two weeks in a row!”

Suddenly Tony was very glad the kid wasn’t looking at him as he double checked everything in his bag. Joking about with the avengers was one thing – could easily be played off as Peter’s friendly nature – but actively going out on dates with another man – how long had it been going on for? He said it was a long-standing thing, was he supposed to already know about that?

He knew Peter was young, fit and in his prime. That there was bound to be competition, he’d just naively thought that Peter would be a one and done kind of guy. Of course, with his enhanced stamina he’d need more than one man to keep up with him – especially one Tony’s age. The past few days had clearly shown that, taking almost three days just to get over some light training. How could he have been so blind?

If he raised an objection to Peter having other lovers, which one of them would Peter break it off with? Harry was obviously fine with it if they skipped the previous week since Peter was moving in with his boyfriend.

If he wanted to stay with Peter, he’d have to accept it. He’d long ago concluded that he was utterly in love with the boy. Knowing that Peter didn’t feel the same way didn’t erase those feelings, even if the emotional knife stabbing him in his chest made him wish that it did.

Despite it all, Peter must still love him to be with him. Its just that, he needed more. More than what Tony could provide, but wouldn’t it still be better to keep what he has, even if that will apparently never be all of Peter?

For the first time in his life, he understood his mother’s silence.

“We can go out tomorrow night though, right?” Peter asked, oblivious to Tony’s internal dilemma.

Thankfully, he had just enough time to school his features before Peter turned round, bag slung over his shoulder ready to go, a question in his eyes.

“Yup. Yeah. Course.” Tony clapped his hands, before giving Peter a chaste kiss. “Gives me longer to make plans. Have fun tonight and I’ll see you later?”

“Sure. Have a good day and I’ll let you know when I’m heading back but don’t feel like you need to wait up,” Peter smiled, leaning in for another kiss before running for the elevator. “Bye, love you!”

“Love you too,” Tony replied as the elevator doors shut, leaving Tony alone in the penthouse. A rock settling in his stomach.

For the first time in his life, he truly understood his mother.

He’d rather have the person that he loves in anyway that he can, than be without them completely. If being the faithful partner Peter had waiting at home was all he was allowed to be, then that’s what he’d do.

It hurt to know that’s all he apparently was, but it would hurt even worse to be removed from his life completely.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“This where you’ve been hiding?” Rhodey asked, as he barged into the workshop and silencing Tony’s music.

Tony had been elbow-deep in the guts of his latest suit. There hadn’t been anything wrong with it — he’d simply felt the need to take it apart and rebuild it in order to distract himself from his boyfriend’s whereabouts. His mother had spent her time pacing the floor when Howard was out with his flings, the past month Tony had found himself immersed in work in the lab instead.

“I’m not hiding,” Tony huffed, despite knowing that was exactly what he was doing. With a groan he stood up and grabbed a rag to wipe his hands. “I’m working, there’s a difference.”

“Sure,” Rhodey snorted. “Where’s Pete tonight?”

“I think they’re off bowling,” Tony mumbled, staring a hole into the ground and scrunching the rag between his fingers.

“Okay... d’you want to unpack whatever that was?”

“Nothing to unpack, Honeybear.”

“Right,” Rhodey drawled. “Either way, I came to ask if you guys would be making it to my birthday dinner next week. Y’know, since you still haven’t let me know.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Tony sighed.

There was a reason he hadn’t responded yet. Of course of all the days Rhodey’s birthday could have fallen, it just had to be on a Wednesday this year. The one night Peter always reserved for his other partner, the one Tony spent hiding in his workshop. He’d avoided asking the younger man if he would be able to make it as he couldn’t face the rejection he was sure would follow. Instead, he’d simply ignored Rhodey’s attempts to get an RSVP from him. He should’ve known the man would only accept his silence for so long.

“Of course, I’ll be there,” he finally answered. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“And Peter?” Rhodey prodded.

“Think I’ll be going stag, Honeybear. More time for us, if you know what I mean,” he smirked, waggling his eyebrows and barely dodging the towel Rhodey threw his way.

“Did you even ask him?”

“Why would you even ask that?”

“Oh yeah. Like I don’t know a distraction when I hear it. Why not?”

“…It’s complicated.”

“Tones, what’s going on?”

“Drop it, Rhodey,” he huffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

That was another reason he’d been ignoring Rhodey. He knew his friend would see through his façade and ask the difficult questions. The ones he’d been doing his best to ignore. His best friend could read him like a book regardless of how well he hid his feelings.

“Don’t give me that shit.”

The two best friends found themselves trapped in a stalemate. The silent glares could only last for so long, and Tony cursed himself for already knowing he’d be the first to break. He hated silences. Especially emotionally charged awkward ones. Of course, Rhodey knew that.

With a deep sigh, Tony turned so his back was to his friend before he spoke quietly.

“Wednesday nights are Peter’s date nights. Some guy called Harry. They’ve been at it for some time, I’m honestly not sure if it was before or after we got together. He doesn’t miss them, and I don’t wanna hear some excuse about why he wouldn’t be able to make it next week.”

“He’s cheating on you?!” Rhodey spluttered indignantly.

“Is it really cheating if I know about it? It’s not like he’s keeping it a secret.”

“Pretty sure it’s still cheating since I’m guessing you never agreed to an open relationship. I know what the shjt Howard did, did to you. You barely even look at someone else when you’re in a relationship.”

“It’s fine. I love him, Rhodey and I want to be with him in whatever way I can. Regardless of what he does on Wednesday’s, he always comes home to me. That’s the important part. I think I finally get why mom stayed for all those years.”

“You need to tell him, man. Does he even know how much this is affecting you?”

“Of course not,” Tony scoffed. “And he’s not going to. I can deal with it. We’re so happy together and I’m not going to ruin that.”

“I take it this is why you’ve been so pissy for the last month? I thought you’d just been having second thoughts about him moving in.”

“Nah, I could never regret that. I just… I thought I was enough to make him happy...I hadn’t realised that he’d need—”

Tony physically shook himself when the telltale signs of emotion began growing too much and his eyes began to prickle with unshed tears. He was not going to cry over this. Especially not in front of Rhodey.

He was fine.

“Anyway,” Tony added with a sniff to reign in his emotions. “To answer your question, I doubt Peter will make next week, but I’ll see you there. And no, you don’t get a clue about what I’ve got you. It’ll be a magnificent surprise as always.”

Rhodey sighed like he always did when he wasn’t satisfied but knew Tony wouldn’t answer any more questions. At least not without more time, and probably a lot of alcohol. Their relationship had always been a careful balance of push and pull between them. Tony had no doubts his friend would circle back to the topic at some point, but he was going to take any reprieve he could get.

He deliberately kept Peter’s whereabouts and how they made him feel as far from his mind as often as possible. Scared that otherwise he’d feel himself drifting towards a drink, and he’s not sure he’d have the courage to stop once he started. Unfortunately, Rhodey’s pushing had already brought it to the forefront of his mind.

“I’m just about done here anyway, what d’you say we head upstairs for a drink? You can catch me up on what I’ve missed in DC.”

Without waiting for answer, he made his way towards the elevator and let out a quiet breath of relief when he heard his friend muttering in annoyance yet following in his footsteps. He likely still had several hours to kill until Peter would return and at least this way he could drown his sorrows with a friend.

It wasn’t pathetic if he had a companion while drinking, right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Voices emanating from the kitchen pulled Tony from his sleep. His back and shoulders ached from his hunched position on what he discovered was the couch in the living area. Empty bottles and glasses were scattered across the coffee table in front of him, and a blanket had been haphazardly draped over his figure.

His mouth felt fuzzy and his head heavy, but he certainly wasn’t hungover. He probably still had hours before that would set in. Glancing at the clock he couldn’t have been out for more than a couple of hours. He’d probably fallen asleep while chatting with Rhodey. It certainly wouldn’t have been the first time. He’d been doing that to his friend since they’d been in college.

Speaking of Rhodey, he could identify his best friend’s angry tones drifting through from the kitchen, although the volume was kept low as if trying not to wake him. Not that it had worked – obviously – but Tony had no plans on letting them know he was awake till he could work out what on earth was going on.

“…some cheek coming in here and getting on at me for encouraging him to drink. Are you just choosing to ignore the whole reason he felt compelled to do so in the first place?”

“What are you talking about?” hissed another familiar voice. “He was fine when I left.”

“Right,” Rhodey snorted in disbelief. “Fine. Tony doesn’t do open relationships. He’s a one and done. And you—“

“Wait, what?” Peter spluttered – and that was definitely Peter’s voice, he recognised it now. “He wants to open our relationship?”

“Of course not. Not that that’s stopping you apparently. I get it works for some people, but you could’ve at least told him up front what was happening. Let him make that choice before he’d went and fallen—“

“What?” Peter interrupted again, Rhodey’s irritated grunt showing his annoyance at the repeated action. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Your Wednesday night date nights?! You know, whatever guy you literally just left? Ringing any bells?”

“Harry?!” Peter yelled, before instantly falling quiet.

Even with his back to the pair, he could feel the twin gazes watching him. Probably about time he joined the shitshow of a conversation. He should’ve known Rhodey wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut. Now he was just going to make it all worse by forcing them to talk about it, and then Peter would definitely notice that he was, in fact, not fine about it at all. He’d worked really hard to keep up that appearance but after a few drinks and having to actually talk it out, he doubted it would last very long.

Still, he’s pretty sure his cover of still sleeping was blown anyway given how they still hadn’t resumed talking.

“You guys can’t whisper-argue for shit. Should’ve taken lessons from Pep. She’s the queen of quiet annihilation,” he smirked as he pushed himself up from the couch, groaning as his body cracked with every small movement. “Rhodey, you promised to stay out of it. Pete, just ignore him. I’m fine, we’re fine, it’s all fine.” At Peter’s uncertain look, he felt the need to confirm. “We are fine, right?”

“I’m so lost right now. Y’think ’m dating Harry?” Peter asked, sounding small and unsure.

It was the type of voice that made him want to hug and reassure the kid. Make sure he never felt that insecure. Although, if Tony was being honest, it was unfair that the kid got to sound like he was the one being wronged in this situation.

“Yeah,” Tony sighed. “But it’s fine—“

“Why?!”

“You’re really not up for letting people finish tonight. Lordy.” Tony sighed, before gripping his left wrist and diverting his eyes to the floor. “Are you really going to make me say it?”

“Say what? You’re not making any sense.”

“You literally told me the week you moved in, that Wednesday nights were your date nights with this Harry guy. You’re always going out to bars, or dinners, or whatever it is you guys do together. It’s not exactly my place to keep track of that stuff.” To distract from the way his voice wavered towards the end, he decided to reiterate, “It’s fine.”

“Oh my God. Will you stop saying ‘It’s fine’. This is so not fine.” Peter paused to run his fingers through his hair, looking like he was minutes away from screaming. “You thought I was cheating on you and never said anything?”

“What else was I supposed to do?”

“Anything!” Peter yelled. Yup, Tony had called his outburst. Although maybe that shouldn’t be what he’s focusing on, because Peter was making zero sense. “Call me out, break it off. You shouldn’t be with someone who treats you like that!”

“You want to break up?” Tony whispered, hating how quickly things were spiralling out of control and the fact he felt so vulnerable in front of not only Peter but his best friend as well. This is not how he expected this conversation to go. Was he supposed to have argued and plead his case with Peter? He hadn’t felt the need to add more unnecessary drama when everything had already been falling apart.

“No, I really don’t. I’m just super confused. Harry’s my friend. Nothing more. We’re the only two openly gay guys in our class, so we started hanging out but with our schedules, Wednesdays are the only time we’re both actually free outwith our classes. We’re most certainly not into each other. That’s gross – besides we’re both complete bottoms. It’d never work between us. I thought you knew that. May’s the one that first jokingly called it our date night and I guess it just stuck. You’ve thought I was cheating on you all this time?”

“Uh,” Tony really had no clue what to say.

Had he misread the signals all this time? It would explain why Peter always seemed so happy with him. How everything always felt perfect between them, other than the few hours he’d disappear each week. He’d tried not to read too much into it. He’d been so sure they were perfect for each other before he’d been blindsided with the news of his Wednesday night date nights.

It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility to acknowledge that he may have simply gotten into his own head and orchestrated the whole thing in his mind. Especially given he’d made a point to never actually address it with Peter. But then he’d always been so out of his league that it had been entirely believable that Peter would be looking for more.

“You’ve got be kidding me,” Rhodey muttered, dropping his head into his hands. “You guys are both dumbasses, I’m out. Talk this stuff out and communicate. I’m off to bed.”

The couple watched Rhodey walk out in silence before returning their gazes to one another.

Tony had no idea what to say, but knew he needed to start. He had honestly believed that Peter – perfect Peter, who went out of his way to avoid stepping on bugs on the sidewalk – was capable of cheating on him. With fresh eyes, he can’t believe he would even think of such things. It went against everything Peter stood for. He’d let his own self-doubts get in the way.

He had to try and fix this.

“I’m sorry,” Tony spoke softly. “When you mentioned the date night I imagined the worst. I hadn’t even thought it was something you’d be capable of, but you’d sounded so sure, and I still think you’d be able to find better than me, so I assumed the worst. I never asked more questions cause I didn’t want to lose you. I’ve already told you my parents’ relationship wasn’t great, but I’ve never really told you the why... My father openly had an affair with his secretary that everyone knew about yet left my mother waiting at home for him. I guess I just figured, if it was something that was happening, I’d rather stay and deal with the hurt than risk losing you.”

“You’re not going to lose me, Tony. I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else. Hell, ask my friends – all they do is complain about how much I talk about you. I know I wasn’t cheating, and now you do too, but if I was – and this is entirely hypothetical – but if I was, you can’t just accept it. I can’t even imagine the hurt I’ve been causing you, and I feel even worse because how could I not see it?” Peter took a step forward, and this close Tony could see the tears glistening in his eyes. Hurt that he had caused. “Its my job as your boyfriend to love and protect you, not even counting my responsibilities as Spider-Man, and I missed it. Rhodey was here for a couple of hours and spotted it.”

“Rhodey’s had an extra twenty years to learn to read me, Pete. It’s hardly a fair comparison.”

“Regardless, I should’ve seen it. I’m so sorry for not.” Peter paused to take a deep breath. “I understand if you wanted to call things off after all this.”

“That’s the last thing I want to do,” Tony breathed, reaching out to grab Peter’s hands in his own. “I want to be with you, and only you. I want to grow old – well, older – and be the man you come home to at the end of the day. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. If I’d asked you any questions about your date nights, I would’ve saved myself the heartache.”

“I understand not wanting to ask though. I’m just… sorry that you felt that way. For the record, I want to grow old with you, too. I love being able to wake up each morning with you and falling into bed at the end of the day together. I love you, Tony.” Peter pressed a kiss to Tony’s lips, that felt like a cooling balm to his soul. This whole evening has felt like an emotional rollercoaster and the alcohol from earlier was not helping steady him, especially with the way Peter was looking at him. “For what it’s worth, I only have eyes for you. How am I supposed to like someone else when you’re right here. Body and brains, you’ve got it all.”

Chuckling, Tony bent forward to lean his forehead against Peter’s shoulder.

“Please, I saw you ogling Steve, remember?”

“I was definitely not ogling Steve. We were training! Besides, we spent near enough the entire weekend talking ‘bout you. I’m pretty sure the whole team knows we’re together.”

“Huh,” Tony said ineloquently. “I hadn’t realised they knew.”

“Probably cause you don’t talk to them. I thought you guys had worked things out?”

“I mean, we have, but not enough for me to want them to know everything that goes on in my life. Especially when they’re trying to steal my insanely hot boyfriend.”

“Trust me, you don’t have to worry about that. Just between you and me, I’m pretty sure Cap and Sam have something going on.”

“Really?!”

“I mean, talking of open relationships, I’m not sure if its threesome thing or not, but there was definitely tension between them.”

“I might actually have to pay attention during the next training session.”

“Yeah, you really should,” Peter agreed, pulling him in for another hug. “And remember to talk to me. This only works if we stay open with each other.”

“Oh, trust me,” Tony snorted, “I will not be making this mistake again.”

#starker #peter parker × tony stark #fanfic #misunderstandings #angst with a happy ending #percieved cheating

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lunanoc · 1 year ago

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first tentative meta post about wu xie my beloved, more specifically about his characterization in his less than stellar moments, sparked by a discussion with @thelaithlyworm about whether or not the lost tomb 2.5 is in character for wu xie according to the books. i figured i'd take the rest of my thoughts to a separate post since our exchange was clogging up poor OP’s replies, and because i feel like a difference in opinion like this is worth being made public if only so people can get both sides of a rare discussion about the books and reach their own conclusions, so for those who are interested here’s a link to the original post where this discussion takes place in the replies if you'd like the full context. sorry in advance for how long this will likely be, and i hope there's no problem with me directly tackling some of the arguments that were made in favor of lost tomb 2.5 being an accurate adaptation of book wu xie's characterization, which is a take i strongly disagree with

i think much of the problem in the discussion simply lies in the fact that we seem to have fundamentally different interpretations of wu xie’s character in the books, because as i see it, none of the insistences that were quoted prove that wu xie has ever acted the way he does in 2.5 in the books—if anything, they disprove it. the quote from ch. 92 of sand sea that was brought up goes as follows:

this is where i believe the problem of different interpretations is at play, and to be fair some of it is ambiguous so there is some leeway, but i read this recollection very differently from how @thelaithlyworm seems to. as i see it, wu xie is recalling a time where pangzi, understandably concerned about his friend because he sees the toll the sha hai plan is taking on wu xie, and the lengths he’s having to go to in order to set it in motion, tells him it’s not too late to stop and turn back. to which wu xie replies that even if he had decided to stop and live his life blissfully unaware of the extent of the wangs' reach and their machinations, things would have caught up to him eventually given they’d infiltrated the jiumen to the extent they had.

“and at that time you’ll have already left me one by one, leaving me to foolishly face those fists” is the most ambiguous as to what exactly it's referring to, but i personally see it as referencing either the fact wu xie and his friends would have by then eventually drifted apart or they'd have stopped giving him their support should he have decided to ignore the truth and sit around doing nothing, or more sinisterly, would have potentially all been replaced by then if there hadn't been a plan in motion. it's likely a little bit of both. to which pangzi replies that he’s right, conceding and agreeing that wu xie never truly had a choice about his involvement to begin with, which is more or less the entire point of sand sea and the wider narrative of the main story.

no part of this conversation is reminiscent of the open conflict between them in 2.5 in that neither of them here are angry, and neither of them are even aggressive or antagonistic towards each other or in general. this is quite a calm if resigned conversation wu xie is recalling that also fits the overall cynical tone of the chapter itself, and wu xie’s certainly not acting out and pushing his friends away in a bid to deal with everything himself. if anything the entire point of sand sea is to show that despite each character acting independently, the sha hai plan only succeeded because they worked together and not alone, and that wu xie needed his support system to create an invisible yet tangilble network that could take down the wangs. so no part of this particular passage reads as though pangzi is saying he ever considered bailing on wu xie because of his behavior, and even if that were the case, it would still be referring to a hypothetical situation and not their current one.

wang meng's behavior in ten years later is also not the greatest example to use as an argument to prove 2.5 wu xie’s characterization is present in the books, mostly because it's actually wang meng himself who's more so the one acting like that than wu xie himself. wang meng, in his concern for wu xie, tries to guilt trip him into letting go of his obsession with xiaoge, and he is the one who instigates a conflict with wu xie that culminates in him staging xiaoge's "death" as a last ditch effort once spewing bottled up vitriol at wu xie and threatening to take over wushanju don't work.

it's however misguided at best given that not only did all of wu xie's close friends who participated in the sha hai plan agree to do so willingly (i’m of course not talking about li cu and co among others who very much did not consent) and so accusing wu xie of having coerced them takes away from their own agency, but the sha hai plan was a necessity beyond freeing xiaoge, which is something wang meng fails to understand. wang meng makes the mistake many people in the fandom do of pinning wu xie’s determination to see that plan through solely on his desire to free xiaoge, and of course that’s an important part of it, but the narrative makes a point of building up over the course of the main books and tibetan sea flower that wu xie’s entire family was at stake as well, and had been for several generations, so on a personal level it went beyond xiaoge alone. but again, whatever truth there is to wang meng’s words (which is an interesting but entirely different topic) still doesn’t make it true that wu xie was either actively petty or vitriolic towards his friends as a way to vent his own frustrations.

several moments in which wu xie objectively does terrible things or acts horribly were listed as a way of justifying that his behavior in 2.5 is in character and in line with how he acts in the books. and of course these moments do happen, and it's very true in sand sea especially that wu xie does terrible things (it's part of what makes him such an interesting character). but again, this argument feels somewhat in bad faith in that it conflates all negative behavior and traits together regardless of what specific shape those negative behaviors take in order to justify that his portrayal in 2.5 is faithful to the books simply because he displays negative behavior in that adaptation, completely disregarding that his less than stellar actions and emotions aren't expressed in the same ways in the books and in 2.5. my dislike of wu xie in 2.5 doesn't stem from him doing unlikeable things, otherwise i wouldn't like wu xie as a character in general. wu xie absolutely does do a lot of terrible things in sand sea especially, but the inherent problem with 2.5 is that none of the things he does or the way he acts in the books ever lines up with the specific way he acts in 2.5.

in the books, even before sand sea, yes wu xie is manipulative (re: threatening bodily harm to himself to force wu erbai into sharing information with him), yes he cut up bodies and sent them to li cu among other extremely morally questionable things, yes he kidnapped li cu and made him go through literal hell, and likely did much the same to other people before him (hence the seventeen scars on his arm). he has and continues to have even in recent book canon re: yucun biji the ability and will to inflict permanent psychic damage on people he deems to be deserving of it or a threat. he’s by no means perfect or even overly kind, and if someone were to say that a number of the earlier drama adaptations especially soften his character and make him much more wide-eyed and innocent than he actually is in the books, i would absolutely agree with them. i would also agree if someone said that gap in characterization is why some people don’t like him much in the sand sea drama. but the fact is for all the negative traits and behavior he displays at varying points in the books, none of them are ever expressed in the very specific way they are in 2.5.

@thelaithlyworm rightfully mentions wu xie's ptsd as justification for much of his more "toxic" reactions to things, and his ptsd is incredibly important in understanding how wu xie works as a character and what his experiences have forged him into, to the point it's a topic that deserves its own in-depth post. but saying we have different definitions of what ptsd is is both accurate to the complex nature of ptsd, and a bit disingenious because of the complex nature of ptsd, because the emotional dysregulation and impaired decision-making it entails won’t necessarily manifest in the same ways in different people.

in 2.5 wu xie, ptsd manifests in the form of vitriol and anger he directs at pretty much everyone in his immediate vicinity, more especially pangzi, because it has no other outlet in that situation than outwards. and i’m not saying ptsd expressing itself like that never happens, because it very much does. what i'm saying is that book wu xie's ptsd, while very real, doesn't manifest in the way it does in 2.5 wu xie.

in book wu xie, ptsd manifests in much more internalized ways, and so he’s far more prone to directing the anger and pent-up emotions inwards through self-harm, both mental and physical (i.e. the scars on his arm, his persistent self-hatred, etc.), and the emotional dysregulation very often comes not in the form of chaotically expressed emotions, but rather abnormal lack of them, as arguably wu xie's bad coping mechanism is emotional dissociation, and when the emotions are truly too strong to be distanced from, they come out in the form of panic attacks he often doesn’t recognize as such (i.e. when he finds xiaoge and believes he’s dead in book 8, or when he has flashbacks on their way to motuo in yucun traveling notes) or of general breakdowns (i.e. wu xie stays numb once xiaoge disappears behind the gate up until he starts crying in the street once he returns to hangzhou).

it’s incredibly rare that wu xie’s trauma directs itself outwards towards his loved ones, and while he might do so in his head quite frequently (which we the readers see since most of the books are from wu xie's point of view), it's rare he actually externalizes it, and since his comments can only lead to conflict if they're extrernalized, there's rarely ever genuine conflict between him and his friends. one of the only times it happens with pangzi specifically is in tibetan sea flower were he makes an honestly cruel dig at pangzi about yuncai because pangzi’s withheld information about xiaoge from him:

but even this scene, which is the closest to anything that's portrayed in 2.5 between them, plays out differently, not only because wu xie knows very well he’s going too far, his mention of yuncai isn't solely an outlet for his anger. he’s very consciously trying to bait pangzi into telling him what he knows, and so aims at where he knows will hurt most. it's targeted and mean because it's meant to be, but it's also not a gratuitious outlet either unlike his comments are more often than not in 2.5. it's manipulation, and he's certainly not trying to push pangzi away, nor is it driving a wedge between them despite how uncalled for his comment it. and more importantly, pangzi once again proves himself to be the most emotionally stable of the iron triangle by not stooping to that level or making light of the conversation. he knows perfectly well what wu xie is doing, so any conflict is diffused before it can even take root, and stays an isolated incident, whereas in 2.5, conflict is an underlying theme.

ironically there are more examples of this type directed at xiaoge, but even those don't showcase the same blind anger or gratuitous meanness that 2.5 wu xie consistently displays, and it's that specifically that's out of character. while wu xie vents his frustrations at xiaoge in book 4 over being kept in the dark, he's more serious about it than angry, and very quickly realizes his foot-in-mouth comment and backtracks accordingly:

he's at his most openly angry with xiaoge at the end of book 8 when xiaoge leaves them all in banai, and even goes as far as trying to have xiaoge detained by qiu dekao in a last ditch effort to force him to stay (which in itself is the real manifestation of him not being able to control his emotions correctly and reason going out the window where xiaoge is concerned, and it only ever really happens in relation to xiaoge, but that's also a topic for another post):

but again, while he's visibly angry and upset, and is looking for support from others around him to validate his upset at xiaoge leaving, he never actually spews any vitriol at xiaoge himself despite his anger being obvious, never actually calls him names outside of his own head despite the rare quality of his anger, never tries to instigate conflict for the sake of venting his overflowing emotions, nor does he ultimately stop xiaoge from leaving. even later as he follows xiaoge up changbai mountain, his desperation eventually turns into resignation and acceptance, not venting.

this post is way too long, but my entire point here as it has been from the start of this discussion is that while wu xie in the books does get angry, he does have ptsd, it does manifest in the ugliest ways and he's certainly not an angel, his anger in general never veers into extended open conflict or gratuitous vitriol thrown at his loved ones as a misguided form of venting his own emotions like it does throughout the vast majority of lost tomb 2.5, just like a number of the conflicts he gets into with other characters stem from out of character reactions from those characters to begin with (i.e. xiao hua absolutely losing it over wu xie hiding wu sanxing's betrayal of xie lianhuan in 2.5 vs. this information being very casually received in book 7). and that's where my point of contention with that adaptation lies.

i feel as though this is a case of agreeing to disagree as far as interpretation of wu xie's character goes, and that's absolutely fine, but in the same way that it's alright to dislike things simply because, it's equally as alright to like things for the same reasons. it's fine to like lost tomb 2.5, and my opinion of it is purely my own, but liking it doesn't necessarily have to be rooted in whether it's adapting the books correctly, even if it can be.

my dislike of 2.5 stems from how i consider it to be out of character by comparison to the books, and my entire point here has been to explain that different interpretations of any particular source material can exist, and therefore yes, it's entirely possible to view 2.5 wu xie as out of character, just as it's entirely possible to dislike that adaptation for the same reason. and i'm far from the only person to have this interpretation. so no, my dislike of 2.5 doesn't come from not liking it when wu xie’s doing unlikeable things, or else i wouldn't like wu xie as a character, nor is it because i don’t understand what ptsd is given the particular ways in which it can manifest from one specific person to another

#i just have strong opinions about this sorry if it's coming off strong #and i'm perfectly willing to debate with quotes etc #but lbr there's a reason lost tomb 2.5 is more or less unanimously the most disliked adaptation across the board #both in the western fandom and chinese fandom #though tbf the chinese fandom doesn't tend to like the dramas all that much in general #which is valid sometimes tbh given some of the takes i've seen about dmbj as a whole from people who refuse to touch the books but well #still #first wu xie meta #exciting #dmbj #dmbj meta #wu xie #dmbj novels #lost tomb 2.5

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columbo-of-narnia · 3 months ago

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You've probably been asked this before, but if you could insert your husbands into each other's shows (Tanner into HSMTMTS and Josh into Cobra Kai), how would you design their characters? What would they be like? What would their purpose in the narrative be?

And most importantly, would they finally get to snog men on screen?

I have never been asked this, BUT I have thought of it! First, let's do Josh in Cobra Kai. This is just part 1. I am gonna add Tanner to HSMTMTS next

His character would be named Briar Thorne and start out as one of Sam's friends. They grew up together, Briar's dad is a lawyer who grew up in poverty, so he does everything he can to provide for his son. Despite this, Briar isn't spoiled and rather understands his privilege and tries to give back to those who don't have as much.

He is very kind and sweet and absolutely hates unnecessary violence.

His narrative reason for being is to add some realism to the show because holy fuck does Cobra Kai not do that itself.

He first meets Robby mid season 1 when Robby first starts hanging around the LaRusso house and he is almost instantly Smitten. Nothing really happens romantically with them until season 3. Really he is a side character one season 1 and 2. He slowly becomes someone Robby can consider a friend and becomes more Robbus friend than sam's (He and she had been drifting apart for a while)

Briar avoids the out of tournament Karate fights but does show up to support Robby and actually goes to the locker room to check on Robby after Hawk cheats and hurts him. That shows Robby that Briar actually cares for him.

When Briar finds out that Shannon just left Robby without food or money. He immediately offers him a place to stay and Robby is thankful but declines because he is living with the LaRussos. Briar leaves the offer open and suddenly after that he is hanging out with Sam more at her place. He knows it's shitty but he wants to spend time with Robby more. He does have a crush but doesn't pursue it because obviously Robby is Dating sam

At the end of season 2 he is there for the Brawl and witnesses Miguel attacking Robby and Robby defending himself by Kicking Miguel over the edge.

Now this is where things change. Robby does still run away. However, Briar is very Vocal to everyone that it was self defense. He even posts videos online showing Robby trying to stop the fight and how Miguel antagonized and kept being aggressive towards Robby up until the point where Miguel fell.

When Robby is caught, Immediately Briar is there with his dad. Robby doesn't go to juvie for Assault but rather running from the police. His stay is still awful but now he had Briar as a Visitor daily.

There is also a lawsuit against the DAs office because they initially tried repressing the videos taken showing how Robby was just defending himself.

When Robby gets out he goes and Lives with Briar instead of staying at Cobra Kai. He doesn't even join the Dojo until Sam comes to see him at the skate park because she tries to just brush everything under the rug and act like she hadn't gone on the news and said "I don't know why robby did it". That's when he joins Cobra kai.

He isn't tricked or conned into it. He is using them. He wants to get back at his dad, at Daniel, at Sam and everyone who turned on him.

He still trains Kenny and forms a bond with him but it's more genuine. Because Robby had someone believe in him (Briar) he hasn't fully gone to the dark side and thus he is able to build a stronger bond with Kenny and teach him the importance of Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai. How Kenny can use both and not be consumed by either.

Robby initially struggled with his feelings for Briar when he first got out of Juvie. He still had Johnny's voice in his head telling him 'no way my son can be gay. Be a man robby'. It took some time and Briar never pushed, but Robby soon realized he liked Briar back and they began dating.

And Briar actually became good friends with Tory once he got to know her and She learned that he wasn't stuck up or judgemental like she thought. They became very close to the point where his dad was willing to help Tory with any legal Issues her Aunt may cause.

Robby goes to prom With Briar, who sets Tory up with a nice guy. They have a lot of fun until the after party where Sam confronts Briar for dating Robby.

She is upset that he is dating her ex and that he took his side. How she feels betrayed that he dropped her and has been ignoring her. That he is friends with the go who tormented and attacked her relentlessly.

He points out that she dropped Robby when he needed her. How she Betrayed Robby. How she showed up to prom with the man who started all this (Briar does not like miguel). He tells her she is acting immature and that the world doesn't revolve around her. He can date who he wants and be friends with who he wants. Because Tory never would have been aggressive if sam had not been judgmental.

Sam slaps Briar and that's when Tory and Robby come over and tell Sam to back off and Sam is horrified she slapped one of her oldest friends. She tries to apologize but Tory stands in the way and tells her to leave before they make her. Miguell comes over and that's when the after prom fight happens.

When it ends Briar and Robby leave and end up cuddling in the car Tetry lent Robby. They didn't have sex but instead spent the night just talking, Kissing and being together. Robby promises that after the All Valley, he was done with Cobra Kai and all of it. T

I've already written too much, and this is just half of my ideas for Joshua in Cobra Kai because I was trying to keep season 1-3 mostly the same with season 4 changing drastically and season 5 being completely rewritten and season 6 possibly not existing.

#joshua bassett #tanner buchanan #when will my husband return from the war #karate husband #cobra kai #hsmtmts #robby keene #ricky bowen

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gabrielle-kl · 2 years ago

Text

Not Your Average Legacy ~ Sims 3

Challenge Created by: gabrielle-kl

Proofreading was done by the lovely Simphora!

Hi, my name is Gabrielle and ever since early last year I wanted to see if I could create my own legacy challenge. Going into this challenge I want you to know that it’s not just about making a sim and completing the tasks to beat the challenge. This is a legacy challenge, however, I made it with endless storyline possibilities; think of it as a narrative adventure game where the player's choice is heavily impacted!

~ R U L E S ~

I do not specifically have rules other than following each generation in order and no money cheats (Only cheat your money for generation 1 for the starting funds).

If you play my challenge I would love to see your sims in action! Please tag me with #notyouraveragelegacy so I can see it!

Generation 01 - Writer’s Block

Ah….ok that’s pretty much that! You pack your bags, check your bank account to make sure you have enough simoleons, and finally your laptop. Perfect, you're out the door leaving your small family and hometown to focus on the only thing that makes you feel like everything around you is in your control.

Growing up you liked making crazy narratives where there was always a twist at the end. You love making others wonder how you are going to finish the story. Like every book, it has chapters and your chapter begins in your new town. Now, this isn’t smart on your part but you got your new place for dirt cheap. I mean it’s empty, it only has your basic household necessities, and it’s not that bad but could be a fixer-upper.

Ignoring the fact you have barely anything in your home you take out your laptop….and head to town. You spot a cafe, decide to chill there for a bit and start doing what you love….writing. You honestly quite like this cafe and decided to write in here often, almost like your Jughead Jones.

Like every writer….sometimes we get stuck and can’t think of anything to write, you are under a lot of stress; I mean I don’t blame you, your home doesn’t even have a comfy couch, not to mention you are low on funds, like really low. Frustrated with yourself, you head home and try to figure out how you are going to pay bills and afford necessities. Yeah, you're going to need a job.

Get started: Start with a house or apartment that is practically empty it only has the basic household needs (ex: stove, fridge, bed, toilet, etc)

* When you start making money here and there that’s when you can start personalizing your home*

Starting simoleons: § 200

Traits - Artistic, Bookworm, Frugal, Perfectionist, Shy

Lifetime Wish - Professional Author

Zodiac sign & Favourites: you choose

Goals ~

Visit the same community lot 3 times a week to write stories on your laptop

Complete the writing skill

Try to befriend your neighbours

Get a part-time job of your choice

Find your spouse at the same community lot you always visit

Adopt a stray

Have as many kids as you want

C H O I C E

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

After a while you realize the job you have now isn't making you happy, yeah it pays the bills but it is not what you want to do.

The choices are: to quit your job or find a way to get fired then register as a self-employed writer.

Generation 02 - You never really grew up

As a kid, you were always playing with the kids who lived in your neighbourhood along with your siblings. You would play at the park, build forts, have sleepovers, tell stories and watch movies super late. You did everything with them, but that didn’t last long. Unfortunately, things don’t stay the same; some of your childhood friends started to drift and do different things that interest them, which includes spending time with other kids. Even your siblings tell you they don’t have time to do these activities with you anymore. You lose all contact with your childhood buddies because all you want to do is what you always did with them but they find it childish but you don’t.

It hurt for a while and you found it quite difficult to build friends in school because none of them were interested. But that didn’t stop you from being a kid at heart, you would go to online chat rooms and talk to people online. You would talk to a bunch of people there and eventually end up texting and calling each other. It makes you so happy that you have people that you can connect with, that don’t find your way of spending time with each other childish.

Traits - Childish, Excitable, Good Sense of Humor, Social Butterfly, Computer Whiz

Lifetime Wish - Super Popular (Don’t worry you don’t need to complete it)

Goals ~

Befriend the kids in your neighbourhood or even some school kids

Collect 5 butterflies or Beetles

Always accept to hang out with friends

Call friends often

Get the distance relationship status with all your childhood friends once a teen

Make four new friends and keep those friends

Never move out of your childhood home

Have 2-3 Kids

Have three failed part-time jobs (constantly getting fired)

C H O I C E

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

The choices are: you rekindle a friendship with one of your ex-friends or fall in love with someone in your friend group.

Generation 03 - Wild

You’re quite the charmer, it stands out amongst your siblings. Hey, it followed you right to high school, you were that semi-popular kid but mostly annoyed everyone with slick remarks. Well, I guess someone finds you funny because you end up finding yourself in a relationship, the two of you just clicked. You would go on dates with each other in the most random places sometimes.

College applications are starting and you have already applied, however, your lover tells you he/she doesn’t have any plans to go to college. You both decide that instead of breaking up, you have a long-distance relationship.

While at college you’re having a blast, and you tend to throw big dorm parties, like cops knocking on your door-type parties. Dorm mates secretly hate you but at least you clean up after yourself…in the morning….they can’t be mad at you forever, right?

Juggling studying, partying and a whole relationship back home, yep you didn’t think this through; the stress is getting to you but you don’t show it. But then you do something that you might regret.

Traits - Irresistible, Born Salesperson, Charismatic, Party Animal, Eccentric

Lifetime Wish - Descendant of Da Vinci (Optional to complete)

Goals ~

Have a high school sweetheart and remain with them throughout University

Get a secret matching tattoo with your lover as a teen

Complete the Inventing skill and Handiness skill

Use the invention crafting bench

Apply for University and major in business

Join a Sorority/Fraternity

Throw big parties every week while at University

Graduate from University and join the business career

Work on inventions throughout your life and sell them for a profit

Call your girlfriend/boyfriend back home often

Hook up with four different sims at one of your parties

Have one kid

C H O I C E

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline. So you did cheat on your high school sweetheart during a party at university. What do you do?

Confess about cheating on your partner once you return home or never tell them what you did.

If you tell them that you cheated on them depending on how they respond, you can rekindle the love or let them go and move on. However, if you decide to never tell them you have to stay with them and have another secret hookup with one of your hook-ups from your University days. (That’s brutal….)

Generation 04 - Guilty Pleasure

I swear you just let anything fly out of your mouth! Of course, you don’t see anything wrong with it but your parents do and they are very concerned about it. That however doesn’t bother you at all, as a kid you liked to obsess over the weirdest things and would not shut up about it. If it interested you, you made sure everyone around you knew about it too.

A lot of other people you know find the things you are into very strange and none of your friends are interested in them, they think it's weird and I don’t blame them. You pick up random hobbies but can never stick to one, you also like dressing up in random costumes doing these hobbies. You are in your own little world and to you, it’s your guilty pleasure. However, being a young adult and trying to please your parents at the same time is very tricky, so you get a job in the cooking business and try your best to be responsible and work hard in your career. But knowing you that doesn’t work out, does it?

You check in with your parents every week and let them know how “amazing” you are in your career and how well life is going for you. It’s your way of showing them how much you've matured…..although what they don’t know can’t hurt them. You like to go to clubs and bars every weekend and sip a few drinks and go on stage and show the crowd how talented you are! Maybe a shot at stardom?…. Yeah in your dreams.

On one of your weekly trips to the bar you get yourself into a pickle, how are you going to cover this up now?

Traits - Inappropriate, Heavy Sleeper, No Sense of Humour, Clumsy, and Insane

Lifetime Wish - One Sim Band (Optional to complete)

Goals ~

Reach Level 5 in five different skills

Go out to eat with your parents / call them every week (while they're still alive)

Go to bars/clubs every weekend and have a few drinks before you get up on stage and do Karaoke

Have three good friends

Get into two fights at the bar/club

Get Pregnant or get another pregnant sim from a random hookup

C H O I C E

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

Oh no! Now you’ve got a kid, what are YOU going to do? Either, keep in touch with the other parent, have he/she visit your kid and maybe this little hook-up could be more, or not? Up to you. Or after your child is born you keep the baby with you and never speak to the other parent again.

Generation 05 - Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

You can’t stand your mom/dad (Gen 4 parent) everything they do is so questionable as if they have zero idea what's going on at all times; the majority of your free time is spent watching action channels on tv or playing with action figures. You spend most of your time in your room with the door locked and you don’t care to make friends with kids your age so it’s just you. No matter how much your mom/dad tries to please you, you do not pay them any attention. You like spy movies and you decided being a secret agent is your dream job no matter what the cost was. However, being in this line of work made you quite paranoid and all of a sudden you disappeared. Where did you go?

Traits - Perceptive, Genius, Ambitious, Good and Neurotic

Lifetime Wish - International Super Spy

Goals ~

Have good grades in school (child to teen)

Move out of mom/dad's house once a young adult (Get a part-time job if you have to)

Max the Charismatic skill

Have a high level of Logic skill

Have a high level of athletic skill (doesn’t need to be maxed)

Have a mediocre relationship with Gen 4 parent

Get a job in law enforcement (eventually, go into the special agent branch)

Surprisingly you fall in love with someone you work with

Have two kids

C H O I C E

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

You've grown quite paranoid ever since you started working as a spy. You think that in the middle of the night, someone is going to come for you, I mean I don’t know who but you do.

Pack your bags and all your belongings, leave your spouse and kids behind, move to an off-the-grid location and lose contact with everyone you know. Quit being a spy to start a new “safe life” (that’s not messed up in the slightest, but hey who am I to judge)

In the middle of the night, you decide to wake up your spouse and tell them to get the kids and pack their packs and meet you in the car. Because all of you are moving to a new home that is far far away from your original home to start a “new life”.

Generation 06 - Globetrotter

All of a sudden your life changed overnight. Literally! Everything you once knew before is all different now, nothing feels like how it used to be and they won’t even tell you why. No one will tell you why. You started acting up as a teen; going out late at night, staying up super late, fighting, you even ran away. You only made it to a park but that was cut short because one of your parents found you, your life is a complete mess. Honestly, I don’t blame you; but apart from being angry all the time you found a hobby you quite enjoy.

Remember when I said you attempted to run away? Well, this time you steal your parent's credit card and sneak out at night to a completely different country. Who cares where it was, you just wanted to feel some adrenaline for once. On your adventure, you decided to start taking a lot of pictures of everything you saw and started engaging in conversation with the people who lived there. Your childhood was pretty much sheltered and even though your parents are frantically searching for you, you're too busy living it up overseas; might as well send a postcard!

Traits - Hot-Headed, Commitment Issues, Photographer’s Eye, Adventurous, and Kleptomanic

Lifetime Wish - Blog Artist

Goals ~

Have a terrible relationship with Gen 5 parent (if they are still in your life)

Master Photography, Social Networking

Have above Level 5 in writing

Go for a jog once a week

Have three different romantic relationships with sims from three different worlds

Be disliked by two sims

Go on vacation five times throughout your life or even more (you are a traveller, of course)

Have a Level 5-star blog (you blog about your travels)

C H O I C E

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

These are your choices: Life is moving fast for you and you are a busy individual. However, you do not want to have a job and instead of just working you find another alternative….your brilliant idea is to gamble to solve all your problems!

You love your blog, you really do and you love your followers but you want more. You want to live life luxuriously and never have to worry about money. So you find yourself chatting it up with the celebs in your city, how? I don’t know but you find a way.

Hope you really enjoy this challenge as much as I had fun making it. Dag, Dag! :)

#Not Your Average Legacy ~ Sims 3 #notyouraveragelegacy #ts3 #The sims 3 #Sims 3 #sims 3 legacy challenge

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