#life changing hacks for women

[hungryfacesart]

5 Beauty Hacks Every Woman Should Know

Every woman wants to look her best, but let’s face it, life can be busy and overwhelming. Sometimes, we need quick and easy beauty hacks to elevate our routine and help us feel our best. Here are 10 beauty hacks that every woman should know. Каждая женщина хочет выглядеть как можно лучше, но давайте посмотрим правде в глаза, жизнь может быть занятой и подавляющей. Иногда нам нужны быстрые и…

[fromtheseventhhell]

Imagine being 9 years old and asking your dad about the things you're interested in doing when you grow up and he's like "No ❤️! But you can get married, have babies, and then maybe your sons can do those things ☺️🫶 "

[adviceformefromme]

Personal health hacks that have completely changed my life in the last 9 months.

Absolute number one is removing carbs from my diet. I had THE WORST crashes and lethargy every single day after my morning oat meal, after my carb heavy lunch, and carb heavy dinner. Despite being vegan my body lacked nutrients and calories from under-eating being plant-based and carb-overloading. 

Introducing grass-fed meat and high quality eggs into my diet. Red meat gets such bad press in the media, but personally it has given me energy, strength and I feel much better eating this in moderation. 

Little exercise each day. Not killing myself with a hardcore workout and then not being able to move for rest of the week (which I was doing previously). I now do a little each day. 1.5 - 2mile run most days, and daily stretches and weights at home. Nothing crazy, but a little goes a long way and I find it much easier to be consistent doing smaller bouts on my own schedule daily. 

Hormone health, ensuring I am keeping my hormones balanced. I make watermelon juice daily with 1.5 heaped tablespoons of flaxseed. Alongside that. I take omega 3, DIM, Selenium, Iodine, Vitamin D +K2, Evening primrose oil for womens health. I eat foods that support healthy hormones, broccoli, carrots, sunflower seeds and removed the foods that cause imbalances (carbs, sugars).

Removing all stress from my life. Including moving overseas, deleting social media and keeping my circle small but wholesome. 

Quit drinking alcohol. Initially I thought I would have the occasional drink but I truly have no desire anymore. My life is significantly better for not drinking. My body never responded well to booze. 

Sleeping properly for 7-9 hrs per night. Meditating for 1 hour before bed usually puts me in a completely zen mode for relaxation. That means my phone is switched off, I use a lavender pillow spray and light candles to set the mood for a goodnight sleep. 

Zeolite detox for heavy metals (currently in the process). I have Zeolith Med powder each day with water to flush out any toxins. 

Learning about gut microbiome, and probiotics..in the process of obtaining kefir grains to make my own batch. Making sauerkraut on weekends and introducing a wider variety of foods into my diet. 

These are completely personal and I can honestly say I feel better than ever. I wish I had done the above years ago, especially the carbs! I got a continuous glucose monitor of Amazon to see how my body was responding to carbs before I completely cut them off and I recommend doing this if you want to know more about how your body is reacting to glucose. 

*this all took time and effort, but once I removed the distractions, the meaningless socialising, the boozing, the scrolling I’ve had time to invest in myself + my health

[seirei-bh]

Jason Mendal headcanons

I wrote these headcanons for fun, however, keep in mind that there is only a few episodes of MCL NG out by now, so I may be wrong about some ideas due to later revelations. (I've also added some NSFW headcanons under the cut!)

-He loves luxury restaurants, especially Italian food, and everything expensive and exotic that is the specialty of five-star chefs.

-He has a limousine and a driver, but he only uses them on special occasions, since he prefers to drive his own car.

-If he were an animal he'd identify with a panther, a wolf or a shark

-He likes to listen to jazz.

-He made an anonymous Twitter account that he uses to insult Devemenentiel members (later Thomas found it and hacked it to permanently ban it, lol)

-He usually wears cologne, his favorites are “Sauvage” by Dior, and “Eros” by Versace (obviously very expensive and brand name)

-He doesn't feel close to his family. Most of them are unbearable to him, with a few exceptions.

-He tends to think that stable romantic relationships are a waste of time. Most of his romantic relationships in the past didn't last very long, almost all of his former lovers complained that "he was married with his job" or that "he was a self-centered asshole". He never had enough time for them and he got bored of them because they were not intelligent or interesting enough to him (something that changes with newsucrette/Ysaline)

-He likes women with self-confidence, who know what they want and are capable of challenging him.

-His poliosis was a consecuence of his Waardenburg syndrome. That syndrome also causes on him to suffers from partial deafness and has vision problems. However, he hides all this by using a very discreet hearing aid and contact lenses. Almost no one knows this except a few people very close to him, Jason hides these problems from the people at his company and any competitors to avoid look weak.

-He's afraid of one day becoming completely deaf, so he learned to read lips and sign language.

-He doesn't want to have children, partly because he doesn't have time to raise them, but mostly because he fears they could inherit the physical problems he has, like a partial or complete deafness.

-Since he was little he was always very good at maths.

-Jason pretends he was always popular, but he was quite nerdy at school, something that he decided to change later in high school and college, he went from being the nerd boy who other made fun of to being the popular boy who insulted and bullied the others.

-During his childhood and teenage years he used to dye his hair so that other children would not mess with him, but as an adult he learned to leave his natural white streaks with self-confidence and to see them as an attractive and unique feature.

-He likes the beach, the pool and going on a yacht. He hates mountains and nature.

-He likes to go to the theater and museums. He knows a lot about the life and work of artists, but he doesn't know as much about art itself, although he pretends he does.

-He has the philosophy of “the end justifies the means” and also that money does give happiness, or at least it can help buy it.

-As a child he learned to play the piano, but as an adult he has thrown away most of his former hobbies from his little free time, because he no longer has time for any of that.

-He got that tattoo on his arm because he lost a big bet once, but since Jason never talks about his defeats, when someone asks him, he says that he got that tattoo just because he wanted to and without any reason or meaning beyond the aesthetic.

-Devon was one of the few true pals Jason really respected and appreciated in the past, before “something” happened between them and they became enemies. Each of them has a different version about what really happened in mind, so that hostility due to differences in povs became increasingly stronger as the years went by. (Probably in this case it is Jason who is not right, but he is too proud to admit that he was wrong.)

-He felt attracted to newsucrette/Ysaline from the first moment he saw her. At first it was just desire and he wanted to manipulate her, but over time that feeling grew stronger and turned into love. Something that he also tried to ignore and deceive himself, denying it until he realized about the truth. He knew that maybe she would hate him, that maybe he would hurt her, that everything could end very badly, but still he couldn't resist to try it.

NSFW headcanons

-He loves bondage, specially tying your hands with his tie.

-He enjoys giving you orders in bed and see you obeying them, but also he enjoys secretly even more when you're a "bad girl" and refuse to do what he orders.

-Praise kink (both give and receive)

-He absolutely adores when you claw your nails on his back, so he has more excuses to call you “kitten.”

-Also when you grab him by his tie to drag him to the bedroom and passionately tear off his clothes.

-His favorite place is in his house, although it can be in bed, against the wall or on a table.

-Too excited by the idea of f*king you in Goldreamz's office, on his desk table sometime.

-He almost always prefers to be the dominant one, but also loves when you fight for dominance and you get to be the queen in his bed who is able to doms him.

-He loves to tempt you beforehand, whispering sexy and dirty things in your ear, kissing you on the neck and caressing you softly and subtly, until you can't take yourself anymore.

-Hard. Savage. Passionate. Sometimes very fast for all the sexual tension you two can't handle, sometimes unbearably slow on purpose because he wants to hear you beg for more and praise him how good he is and how much you want him.

-You two always end on a bed after an argument. He's turned on by how beautiful you look when you're angry and how you fight back fierly. Sometimes he makes you angry on purpose because how much he enjoys the moment and what comes later.

-He loves when you tell him that you hate him. That turns him on too even more.

-Skilled with his fingers and proud of it *wink*

-Proud of his own body. Yeah, his size too.

-He loves to kiss your neck, caress your legs and grab your thighs and butt.

-He loves looking at you. His gaze is especially intense and challenging when you're riding him, and he likes to hear you gasp as he watches your beautiful face and body.

-Sometimes is a competition between the two to see who shows better skills in bed and how much you both can last (how many hours and poses). He'll give you his best sexy smirk and won't stop f*king you until you beg him, but you would never beg your enemy... right?

Extra! A few nsfw sweet headcanons too:

-If he notices that you feel too uncomfortable and nervous, he makes humorous comments to break the ice and make you laugh.

-Although he likes BDSM, he will always ask you if you feel comfortable or not with it and will stop if you ask him to do so.

-He's not very used to aftercare, but he knows that you need them, so he tries to give it to you. Plus, he likes it when you rest your head on his torso, close to his heart, and he thinks you look gorgeous while you sleep.

[sevensinswithin]

Okay so to everyone who was here for the original post, here’s basically how Alicent and Laenor get married in my lavender marriage au:

The entire thing starts because Alicent catches Laenor and Joffrey fucking in a secluded part of the castle a few weeks before Aemma dies. The boys only realize they’ve been caught because Alicent runs away from them like her ass is on fire. That girl had no idea gay male sex was an option in life and now needs to reevaluate everything in her life after catching them.

Laenor then spends the next few weeks trying to find a way to get her alone because guess what. Fucking in a secluded but also public area is not a good strategy if you want to keep your gay love affair a secret. So now Laenor is hoping to convince Alicent to stay quiet about what she saw because his dad seems to think he'll grow out of it (do not attack me, this literally happens in canon) and he doesn’t want anyone to know yet since it might impact who he’ll get married to eventually. Meanwhile Alicent is desperately trying to forget that she ever saw anything and doesn’t tell Otto about seeing Laenor and Joffrey because let's be real. This man said “childhood companions” like it was a slur in that one scene, so she knows that her father would do something with this information. Alicent does not want to be the reason Joffrey and Laenor are in trouble for their relationship. Nevermind that she’s suddenly having the realization that women liking women isn’t that far of a stretch after all.

Unfortunately, to everyone else in the world, it looks like Laenor is trying to court her and that Alicent is just trying to be very polite about his interest in her since she never wants to be alone in a room with him unless they’re around other people. Which is something that is totally normal and not weird at all. Why would you say otherwise?

Then Aemma dies and Otto sends her to see Viserys in his room and Alicent is now very stressed about something else in her life because she wants to do what her father says, but she also doesn’t want to betray Rhaenyra.

So during those six months after Aemma dies - which is apparently how much times passes between Aemma’s death and when Viserys decides to marry Alicent according to a HOTD article I read - Alicent, like in canon, is sent by her father to Viserys’ chambers and desperately hopes that her father’s ambitions won’t happen and that Viserys will simply see her as person that is supporting him in his grief.

(Life Hack: If you ever want to read an article and it says you have to make an account to read the rest of it, just go back to the google page you found it on, right click the link, and save the link as an HTML document. That lets you read the article without having to make an account. I found this out from someone on the internet and damn did it help when I wanted to access any account restricted article. Anyways, back to the plot.)

So to counteract that and make it so she’s less appealing to Viserys, Alicent always mentions Laenor and how fond of him she is during their talks. She also mentions how worried she is about Rhaenyra and her position as heir because there seems to be so many people that seem to be under the impression that they can replace her by having Viserys marry one of their daughters and convince him change his heir to one of the possible children he might have with those daughters.

Meanwhile, Laenor is absolutely losing his mind because all of a sudden Alicent is always around him and receptive to interacting with him, even though literally weeks before she avoided being around him like the plague. During this she also manages to wring out of him the fact that his parents (mainly Corlys, let's be real) are talking about potentially marrying Laena to Viserys and that he hates that idea as she’s way too young in his eyes for that. Eventually Alicent manages to find a way to be alone with Laenor and make him swear to secrecy about what she'll tell him because telling anyone might mean that his sister will actually have to marry Viserys. He does and she fills him in on what her father wants and what she’s attempting to do, and that she needs his cooperation to get him to at least appear like they’re courting.

So Alicent and Laenor put up the appearance that they’re at least attracted to each other to get people talking, which totally doesn’t ignite jealousy in Rhaenyra at the idea of Alicent being in love with her cousin. Cue Rhaenyra absolutely doing everything in her power to make Laenor appear like a loser to Alicent and the rest of the court. Alicent makes sure to get her to stop that shit real quick and tells Rhaenyra that she and Laenor are only pretending to be in love in order to avoid having to marry someone that would disrespect Laenor’s preference for men and disregard Alicent’s autonomy. Alicent also mentions that possibly marrying Laenor means that Alicent and Rhaenyra will be allowed to see each other very frequently as she will be Laenor’s wife and the Velaryons are often at court since they are related to the royal family. So now they have Rhaenyra on board.

Eventually the night before that one small council meeting where in canon Viserys announces that he’ll marry Alicent, Alicent “confesses” to Viserys that she’s in love with Laenor and that she wants to marry him, but that her father would never allow Alicent to marry Laenor because he and Lord Corlys dislike each other. She also lets it “slip” that Otto is very adamant that Viserys must have a male heir despite the fact that Rhaenyra has already been made heir, and that he sees Alicent as a potential bride for Viserys despite her unwillingness to marry her best friend’s father. She also sprinkles in the fact that Rhaenyra would be devastated at the idea of her father remarrying, especially if the bride in question were her best friend or even her little cousin (Yeah fuck you Corlys, you’re on thin ice for that and the grow out of it comment), and the fact that surely his wife would want him to defend his daughter’s claim to the Iron Throne from potential usurpers, which is something that would definitely happen if he had a son.

This causes Viserys to absolutely lose his shit, but Alicent calms him down and he sends her away from his chambers. However, not before Viserys hints that he would not dissolve a marriage between a highborn lady and lord if they eloped and consummated the marriage. So instead of heading straight to her rooms, Alicent instead books it to Laenor’s chambers. The two of them run off to a sept and convince a septon to marry them with a few commoners as their witnesses because they can’t take any nobles in fear of being stopped (and to also have the commoners spread the fact that Alicent and Laenor eloped). Then she and Laenor head off to Laenor’s chambers to consummate the marriage with the help of Joffrey, who they had stay in Laenor’s chambers so that no one would get him in trouble or notice that he was in the room with them during the consummation, and to have Alicent stay over so that people could catch them together in the morning and spread the news of her “ruined reputation”.

The next morning Laena bursts into Laenor’s chambers like she always does and “catches” them before running off to tell Rhaenys the way all little siblings do. So then Rhaenys and Corlys show up, as does Otto; he caught wind of the situation through a servant he paid off to spy on the Velaryons. Once there Otto starts shaming Alicent about her ruined reputation and Laenor retorts that she didn’t ruin anything as he married her before he bedded her. Otto then explodes at the pair when Laenor says that and Corlys rushes to defend his son against all the stuff Otto is saying and threatening him with.

Eventually their argument gets so loud that a servant rushes to get Viserys and a few guards since they’re afraid that the two lords will resort to violence. Trailing after them is Rhaenyra and the Small Council, as the meeting was supposed to start half an hour ago but certain people were missing and needed to be found. So now the entire Small Council, Rhaneyra, and Viserys are at the doorway of Laenor’s room while a furious Otto and Corlys trade insults. Meanwhile Rhaenys sees how afraid Alicent and Laenor are and rushes to the pair’s defense (because they need someone in their corner that isn’t shaming the other party), saying that perhaps the two wouldn’t have resorted to eloping if Otto and Corlys weren't always at odds. Seeing the King, Otto rushes to demand that he have the septon reverse the marriage, but Viserys reveals that he knows about Otto’s plan to make Alicent marry him and how he knows that she wished to marry Laenor instead. He then fires Otto from being Hand and sends him packing to Oldtown, approving of Laenor and Alicent’s marriage as a final insult to Otto. He also firmly informs the small council that he will not be getting remarried, that Rhaenyra will remain his heir, and that anyone who objects otherwise is speaking of treason.

So there you go, the outline for a story that I’m most likely going to write in non-linear bits. In this world Alicent is Lady of Driftmark, Laenor and Joffrey get to be happy, and Viserys prioritizes making sure that Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne is secure. Also somewhere down the line in this universe Rhaenyra and Alicent get their shit together and realize they’re in love with each other, and Rhaenyra gets to marry Harwin because Daemon never takes her to the brothel and so she gets to pick her husband and be the polyamorous bi queen we all love.

[ms0milk]

firework breathing, fifth form.

tengen uzui(s) x bounty hunter of sorts

no cw whipped tengen and the wives try to recruit the love of their lives using all means available. thank you @ltadoriyuujl for making this request for the @ficsforgaza initiative! to say I had fun with this one is an understatement 2.5k

Vigilante justice had repercussions, and before you would have said you were amply prepared. Law enforcement had no chance of keeping up with you. That’s what happens when you don’t believe in monsters. You could make all the noise you’d like in a hunt and their incompetence only served to soothe, always looking for the humans on their wanted posters. Bounty hunters cowered when your blade cleaved through the throats of demons and theirs hacked pitifully at the creatures happy to consume them.

A looted sword and penchant for timeliness, what fight couldn’t you weasel victory from? The answer was rhetorical until a letter arrived on scented paper, where, buried under three pages of classical poetry there lay a clear and calligraphed, 'Marry me.' Signed, Uzui Tengen.

“Saw your kill,” Tengen gleamed at dawn outside the shop that kept you good and fed on steamed buns. “Just as flashy as they say.”

“Next time someone has something to say about me, kindly change the subject.”

To call him persistent was an understatement. The Uzuis were old money with old traditions and older practices. Their mansion sat behind flowering hedges and wisteria vines on the stream at the lip of the forest, just too far to receive visitors and just close enough to rub the opulence in the whole town’s face. You quite liked your little life, the little apartment above Old Man Tatsu’s udon shop, the reward money that came in little pouches when you rolled bountyheads across the sheriff's desk. Though you had to be fast. Their expensive criminals had a habit of disintegrating.

“Are you Kinoe?” He’d ask as you shopped for dry goods. Obnoxiously tall and draped in silk for every color of the week, the master of the mysterious house was never too far from the hunter in her linen haori. “Who's your master?”

Sometimes a wife would come and when Makio accompanied you she would drop coin into the merchants’ dishes before you had the chance to pay for yourself, “Stop asking her so many questions.”

“Women like to talk.”

“Not to you.”

And so gifts started arriving shortly after. Clothes and ribbons, a barley pillow of purple silk, perfumes, ceramics– your one room above Tatsu’s udon shop was soon so laden with treasure you worried it might fall through the floor. “Leave it here,” Hina whispered to couriers from the staircase outside your apartments.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” you yawned in the doorframe, wrapped in a padded red hanten. It was one of your many new treasures. Hina smiled wide at the insinuation and you could see even through sleep, all the notes she took behind bright eyes. Three more jackets came that autumn and the fourth was delivered in person.

You slid a cloth down the bladedge of your sword after a hunt. As always, your weapon had burst from the arc over your head and with shattering speed through the back of the creature’s throat, but it found your scent the second the rattling strike touched its flesh. It twisted this time and caught the blade at a notch in its neck before losing its head. Every swipe of the cloth down your sword was filled with the apprehension of it catching on a crack in the blade.

In the cold candlelight, there was a grunt and then a hand in your apartment window. You startled when the hand started to talk, and gripped your sword from the cover of blankets. “Don’t pounce, princess.” Tengen’s voice was at least better than the snarl of a demon. His head peeked over the frame. Two lilac eyes grinned at you.

“Little late for a climb, Uzui.”

“S’cold,” he grunted and his head dropped below the frame for a moment before his hand gripped the sill and the rest of him followed, swinging over itself into the room. His mountainous body landed without a sound and he smiled, white hair framed by moonlight, “brought a gift.”

You thought he might be referring to himself before he rummaged through his haori and pulled a twine wrapped bundle out from under his arm. You rolled your eyes, “How do you know where I live?”

“You know where I live.”

“You want me to know where you live,” you crept forward to accept the package, “you’ve practically spelled my name out with your hedges.”

“Did you like that?”

He crouched a respectful distance away from where you startled back into blankets and settled on his knees. He and his family moved like cats in the night. They appeared exactly where you expect them and still it was always surprising. “Why do you work so hard for my attention?”

“I want more than your atten–”

“Mr. Uzui.”

He bobbed his head in concession and shifted his legs underneath him so that the white muscle of his thigh glowed through the drapes and folds of his long pretty robes. He pulled one knee up and rested like a king against your simple wooden window. “Who taught you?”

“Taught me what?”

“The sword.” He pointed with a painted nail to the weapon you kept tucked against your chest.

You shook your head, “No one, I just– I found it.”

“And so you hunt demons for fun?”

You smiled through the sarcasm, “For money.”

“Is there much money to be had in bounties that disintegrate?” He loved to thread a reel between endearing and irritating and that evening was no different. He watched you like an acrobat on a line.

“And what do you know about hunting, Sir?”

“Why do you think the strong ones stay away from this town?” Strong ones, was a horrifying thought and for a moment you forgot to stay cool across from the sudden and fleeting stoicism of your patron. Tengen’s eyes darkened, his broad hands flexed like a fist would be more natural. “You’re safe here. Protected.”

“That’s not necessary.” 

And his facade changed with a nod of his head. The smile returned under summer eyes. “I hear you fighting, you strike like fifty firecrackers– a roman candle–” You jerked your hand to your lips in a signal to keep it down, which he did, and leaned forward with a simmered voice, “Your breath is like a firework. Like nothing I’ve ever heard.” It was as if the sound followed the command of its master and cupped your jaw where he’d like to. Worry about your chipped sword was as far away as ever. Your life was warmer with the Uzuis in it, if not just slightly more embarrassing. He raised an eyebrow, “Have you studied the poets?

One picture of your apartments could inspire a whole comedy performance. Cold and wooden and upholstered with jewels that could buy the building five times over. If he started sending poetry you might have actually had to pay taxes. Tengen waited, happy and handsome, for your response as you stared. Could you have ever guessed grabbing the sword of a fallen soldier as your village crumbled around you would have led to this?

“In pale moonlight,” he urged and leaned farther towards you, drawing his knuckle over your fingers at sword hilt, “the wisteria’s scent…”

You steadied yourself through the waves of goosebumps that came from his touch and his gaze, closer than he was before. “It’s late, Mr. Uzui,” you managed and closed your hands around his to keep it from wandering farther. He sighed through a smile and drew back slowly to stand.

“Then I’ll wish you goodnight, Mrs. Uzui.”

You pursed your lips and he laughed like a windchime, lightly, his warmth and perfume spilling from his chest as he drew a thick haori tight around himself. “I’ll show myself out.” He stood and crossed your room to pull open the door.

“No,” you startled again and covered your own mouth at the volume. He turned to you, grinning, surprised, and it took everything you had not to grin back behind your fingers. His flamboyant dress was already enough, townsfolk didn’t need any reason to speculate on why a man who dressed like a successful pimp was coming from your rooms at midnight.

Tengen flashed one more obnoxious and knowing smile before crossing back over his dozens of gifts and stepping through your window frame like there might be a staircase waiting outside. “As you wish.”

He dropped with your heart and your sword clattered to the ground and you dove to see, surely, a broken puddle of a man two stories down. But the master of the flamboyant mansion only dusted his shoulders off with his landing and turned back up to watch you from below. As always, every proposal of his was punctuated with a deep bow.

See how he likes it, you grumbled, brimming with renewed frustration. Just a few weeks later and it was supposed to be a simple night.​​ The edge of town reeked of blood that day, the blood of fresh kills and wild animals, all day it lingered on the shadows that touched the forest. A new demon was always easy to track because hunger is easy to smell when you’re quiet. You were the loudest thing at twilight. You hushed the moss underfoot and bobbed between branches. Simple. Night. You would have been easy to smell too if demons weren’t too gluttonous to realize humans can reek of bloodlust.

In the clearing ahead where iron mingled in the fog, stood a woman where, by all accounts of your tracking, the creature should have been. Uzui’s Suma stood alone, pregnant beyond imagining, and dropped her kunai in the grass when you stumbled into the open. She wailed when she saw you and sobbed immediately to the tune of, “s’not fair!” and “wanna propose too!” as she waddled closer.

Like gifts that much– lucky I’m even delivering this one.

You spent the better part of two hours walking her back home, sword raised and mind racing at all the ways you might strap a pregnant woman to your body and walk a little faster for the both of you. She apologized sixty-seven times and kept track herself and when you finally approached the back gate of her home, she labored over her belly to pull the latch open. No key, no guard, no Uzui. No supervision! No protection! No worried greeting at the door–

You gripped tighter at the vines on the side of the house and pushed higher. Your feet found purchase in wisteria so solid it must have been a hundred years old, farther, higher towards the window at the corner of the mansion that Suma pointed you towards. You hissed and pulled yourself the last two feet to the windowsill.

“Uzui,” came out as a grunt.

“M’lady,” he smiled. You edged yourself into the room with an arm braced over the sill. Tengen rose from his desk to meet you. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Bite me,” you grunted and regretted immediately and slung your other arm inside, ignoring all the retorts such a man might have to that.

He settled on, “Happily,” and offered you a hand. Suma had pointed you to her husband’s office before drifting towards the pantry for a snack. The room was modest, tatami mats and a paper door, and a low desk on the floor long enough to fit his long legs. Western paintings were hung satisfyingly asymmetrically in what would otherwise be a very traditional room. A coal brazier glowed beside the cushion he used as a seat. 

You tried your best to do without the hand but when footing gave way and your chin dipped below the window, he snatched you up by the bicep. The temperature difference inside was dizzying.

“Long night?”

“Understatement,” you shivered in the new heat. Your shoes and scabbard suddenly seemed too dirty inside such a pleasant home and a bit of your fire faded. You sat on the lip of the widow and pulled your legs up beside you. “You–”

“Yes?” Tengen cocked his head, smiling always smiling. His loose white hair fell in locks over his shoulders.

“Your wife was wandering demon-infested woods until just a minute ago.”

“My Suma?” You thought he might ask which one and had prepared a thousand scathing retorts, but he only watched your anger fall from you cooly, “she wanted to impress you.”

“By dying?”

“She killed your demon didn’t she?” You opened your mouth too quickly to realize you hadn’t processed the thought. Tengen massaged a hand through his hair and down the back of his neck. He almost looked normal like this, in a pretty house, in a warm room glowing by firelight. The cold of the night nipped your back in breezes. “Did it work?”

“Did what work?”

“You impressed?” He chuckled and settled himself on the floor beside the window. He knelt beneath you, elbow on sill and cheek in hand. “Do we impress you?”

You rolled your eyes but didn’t fight a smile, “You all do something to me, but impress it not the word.”

“Do you think of us?”

“Naggingly.”

“You worry?”

“Not anymore,” you sucked your teeth and pushed his head off balance with a finger to his forehead. “She really scared me, you know. All those months pregnant and alone like that.”

He grumbled something like, not alone, and, mice were with her, which you chose to ignore because Tengen Uzui took up your rough fingers in his. Whatever face you made he couldn’t see. He brought the knuckles to his lips and kissed your ring finger just once before releasing you. “My wives are capable. They don’t need permissions and they don’t need escorts, but know they are cherished by me.” You watched him, fingers lingering in the warm space. “They want you, I want you. Want to cherish you.

The sincerity, the lack of laughter, made your ears hot. His lilac eyes set to swallow you. “Mr. Uzui–”

“Tengen.”

“Tengen–”

“Mrs. Uzui?”

“No,” you giggled and rolled your eyes. He rose to his knees and made to guide you inside but you rested two hands on his broad shoulders to settle the advance. You turned and tucked your legs back out the window, “It’s late.”

“Then come rest.”

“Mr. Tengen,” and the voice came out so much softer than you meant it to, “In pale moonlight.”

He clenched his own jaw at that as if to keep himself from pouncing. The veins in his hands rose on the sill instead of around what he so badly wanted. “The wisteria’s scent..”

“Comes from far away.” With your last murmured words and a smile, you dropped back into the vines and floated to the garden floor. He stared after you from the second story as you took a theatrical bow and called back up just once, “G’night princess.”

Next time then, he agonized behind his own smile, pink climbing up his throat like a spell. In the hallway outside of his office, the wives groveled amongst each other in piles cursing their husband’s lack of charm.

"In pale moonlight the wisteria's scent comes from far away." -Yosa Buson, 18th c.

[cherrycola27]

Red, White, and Rooster

Series Warnings: Language, alcohol consumption. Frenemies to lovers, relationship of convenience. Political situations. Allegations of affairs, military and political inaccuracies. Smut. 18+ Minors DNI. Banner Credit: @thedroneranger

Masterlist Previous Part Next Part

Specific Chapter Warnings: Violence against women, torture

...........................................

Chapter 15: The Great War

You groaned as consciousness slowly made its way back into your body. Everything hurt. Your head was pounding, your mouth was dry, and your body felt stiff. "Ugh," you sighed as you tried to sit up from the wooden floor.

You slowly blinked to take in your surroundings. You shot up as the memories came back to you. You tried to stand but were quickly pulled back down thanks to a set of handcuffs that were attached to the floor beside you.

"Well, look who's finally awake, and just in time." Someone said. You snapped your head in the direction of the voice. "You." You sneered as Preston Baxter strolled into the room. "I should have known you were behind this!" You growled at him.

"Of course I'm the one behind it. I'm the only person who's life you ruined, aren't I? Or are there others?" Preston asks as he tilts his head to the side.

You flare your nostrils and tug on the cuffs.

"Now, now, don't hurt yourself." Preston chuckled.

"How are you out of prison?" You demand. "A good lawyer and a temporary insanity plea." He states before grabbing a chair and walking over to sit in front of you. You slide away, putting as much distance between the two of you as possible.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me how I did it?" He says.

"How you did what?" You spit at him.

"How I kidnapped you silly." He exclaims.

"Okay, I'll bite. How'd you do it?" You ask him. You've seen enough action movies to know that if you get the bag guy talking, they might slip up and tell their plan.

"Well, first off, I had my baby brother Alex hack the White House so he could get himself a job on the security team. He forged all the documents and changed his last name to not raise red flags. After a few months, he was put on your detail. I waited for the right time until we had an opportunity. Once we had it, we took it." Preston tells you gleefully.

"You've been in prison. How were you able to plan all this?" You ask him

"You see, that's the thing about prison. It gives you plenty of time to plot your revenge. I spent two and a half years perfecting this plan, and you're not going to ruin it for me this time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a ransom call to make." He claps his hands.

"Ransom call?" You question him. "Yes, while kidnapping you is a great revenge arc for me, extorting your husband for money—it just sweetens the pot," Preston says before getting up.

"The president doesn't negotiate with terrorists, foreign or domestic." You spit at him.

Preston, let's out a breath. "In normal cases, he wouldn't. But he's already proven that when it comes to you, he doesn't think rationally." He tells you before Alex brings him a phone that looks like a brick. He taps his foot before the call connects.

"Hello, am I speaking to the president? Wonderful. Well, Mr. President, I'm not going to mince words. We both know that I have your wife, and if you ever want to see her alive again, I'm going to need one hundred million dollars wired to an offshore account. I just sent the information to Mr. Rodriguez's email." Preston says into the phone. There is a pause before he sighs and brings the phone closer to you. He clicks a button before holding it in front of your face.

"They want proof of life. Gone on. Let them know you're alive. But don't try anything stuipd." He urges you before placing the phone on speaker.

"Bradley. Bradley, Dearest. I'm alive. I'm okay." You assure him.

"Sweetheart, I'm going to get you. I promise everything is going to be okay." Bradley tells you.

You shoot your eyes up at Preston. It crosses your mind that Bradley might not know who took you, so you do the exact thing that you knew Preston wouldn't want you to do.

"Preston Baxter and Alex are the ones who took me!" You shout into the phone. Rage flashes across Preston's face. You continue to yell as he takes the phone away. "Don't give them a dime, Bradley! Don't give them—" a harsh slap across your face sends you tumbling to the floor.

"Didn't I tell you not to do anything stupid you bitch?" He sneers as he crouches down next to you on the floor.

He grabs you by your hair and pulls your eyes up to meet his. "I hope you know just how much I'm going to enjoy making your life hell." He tells you.

"Fuck you." You growl before spitting in his face. He roughly drops you, and your forehead makes contact with the wood floor. You curl up, protecting your midsection before he gives a swift kick to your ribs and exits the room.

After a few minutes, you find enough strength to sit up. You drag yourself until you're leaning against the wall. A few tears prick your eyes, but you will them away. You won't let them see you break. You place a hand on your stomach and stroke it. You weren't sure how you were going to make it out of here alive, but for the sake of the child growing inside you, you knew you'd have too.

.................

It had been six days since you had been taken. News of your kidnapping had hit the mainstream media, and tips from all over the globe were coming in. Bradley made sure each one of them had been followed up, but nothing had come from any of them.

He sat at his desk with a now cold cup of black coffee, a copy of the Times, a stale muffin, and more cigarette butts than he cared to count. Dark rings framed his eyes, and his five o'clock shadow had morphed into a three a.m. blackout.

"Jesus, Rooster, you look like shit." Jake said as he came into the Oval Office to check on him.

"Well, Hangman, please forgive me for not looking front page ready while my pregnant wife has been missing for almost a week." Bradley snapped back.

Bradley saw the hurt face across Jake's face. "I'm—I'm sorry. I can't eat, I can't sleep, and we are no closer to finding her than we were a week ago. I'm going crazy Jake. Every tip we get gives me some hope, and then when it doesn't pan out, I'm back to rock bottom again. The only helpful information came from that couple who saw the abandoned car at that rest area. They said the SUV that was leaving was headed south. Do you know how many places are sound of D.C.? And what if they aren't even in the country anymore? It was hours after she went missing before the first call came through. And the ransom call wasn't until the next day. She could be anywhere in the world right now!" Bradley sighs before sinking back down in his chair.

"How the fuck did we not know that Preston Baxter was released? How did we end up hiring his brother for her security team?" He sighs.

"I did some digging, and apparently, his little brother is a genius. Graduated from MIT, ran a software company, but ended up getting mixed in with the wrong crowd and did two years from hacking a bank in the Midwest. IT found a hole in the White House firewall. They think he hacked a server and forged his information to get him a job here." Jake tells Bradley.

"I feel like this is my fault. No, I know this is my fault. If I had never run for president, none of this would have happened." Bradley sighs as he rakes his hands through his hair.

"You can't blame yourself for this Rooster. If you hadn't had done this, you never would have met Wise-woman. You never would have married her or made a kid with her. He'll, I wouldn't have met the love of my life either. It's not your fault. Y/N is smart. She left those notes for us. She told us who took her. She's going to be okay. She's strong. She's a survivor. She's a Bradshaw for crying out loud. Now, you might want to shower and fix your face. Yout in-laws and Mav and Penny just got here." Jake said as he patted Bradley on the shoulder before leaving.

Bradley did what Jake said. He took a shower, cleaned up his face a bit, and put on fresh clothes.

He wanted to shoot himself in the foot when he came face to face with your mother. He could tell that her tearful words and sullen expression were more of an act than anything. He'd tried to get in contact with them the day he found out you were gone, but they were in Greece and had finally decided to join in the search now that it was getting national attention. Your father seemed genuinely concerned, even offering to to man the tip room phone lines if that would be helpful.

Maverick and Penny tried their best to comfort Bradley. That evening after they had come to the White House, Bradley pulled Maverick and Penny into the Oval Office to tell them you were pregnant. He swore them to secrecy. It was on a need to know basis, and your parents were not in that loop.

Later that evening, Maverick made a few phone calls and called in a few favors. There wasn't much the Navy could do, but if Bradley needed them, Pete Mitchell would make damn sure the entire Dagger Squad would be ready for him.

...............

It's nine days after your kidnapping that Preston reveals the true reason why he has taken you. You're woken from a fitful sleep by the sound of a table and chair being slammed on the floor in front of you.

"Rise and shine sleepy head." Preston calls as he pulls you to your feet and plants you in the chair. Alex brings a laptop and places it in front of you before opening it.

"What do you want me to do with this?" You gripe.

"I want you to use that fancy security clearance you have to log in and get us into the encrypted server. Once we are in, my dear brother is going to steal something more valuable to us than you." He tells you.

"Nuke codes. It's always nuke codes." You breathe out. "Why would you need those?" You ask him.

"Let's just say that before I was in prison, I made some deals with some shady people. I borrowed a hefty sum of money, amongst other things, and promised to pay them back in nuclear codes once I was chief of staff. However, you came along and wreck those plans. Now that they know I'm out of prison, they are demanding I pay up. So, get me those codes." He demands.

"Can't your brother get them?" You ask him. "Unfortunately, the security is too good. Alex can't hack it, he's tried." Preston informs you.

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but when you become First Lady, you don't get top secret clearance. My information doesn't work anymore." You cross your arms.

Preston slaps you hard enough to knock you out of the chair. He grabs your and jerks you up. His fingers dig into your arm.

"You wanna do this the hard way, fine, will try again tomorrow." He says before twisting your arm and leaving.

After two days of him not giving you any food, you realize that Preston is going to try and starve the information out of you. He tried beating it out of you, but the bruises on your face and arms are proof he didn't get anything. When the third day comes, you're almost ready to break. Not for you, but for your child.

When the door to your room unlocks, you expect him to come in again for another round, but instead, it's Alex, and he's carrying a bag.

You scamper to the far side of the room, trying to put as much space as you can between the two of you.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Alex says as he holds his hands out like he his trying not to spook a wild animal.

"I brought you something to eat." He tells you as he brings the bag over and sets it next to you before walking away and sitting down on the floor across from you.

It's not a five-star meal, but you gladly tear open the pack of beef jerky and chips he brought you before gluping down some of the water that's also in the bag.

"Preston is out checking in with his parole officer and running some errands in the city. I went to the little gas station a few miles away to get this for you." Alex tells you.

"I know it isn't good for pregnant women to get dehydrated or starve." He says. You pause mid chew and look up at him with wide eyes.

"How—" you can't finish the question.

"I saw you leaving the clinc that day. And you got sick the first couple of days here. Don't worry. I'm not going to tell Preston. He's already done enough to you." Alex shakes his head.

"Why are you helping him?" You ask him. "I'm the reason he owes so many people money. A few years ago, I was trying to prove to some buddies of mine how good of a hacker I was. I stole money from the wrong people. Pres, he—he kept them from killing me. I owe him." Alex shrugs. You can see in his eyes that he never intended for it to go this far.

"I know it probably doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry. You didn't deserve this." Alex tells you before getting up and leaving the room.

Your eyes drop back to the plastic bag in front of you. There is a sleeve of powdered donuts and some peanut butter cups inside and another bottle of water. You grab the candy, and that's when you notice it. A small slip of white paper. You grab it and realize it is a receipt from the store. You quickly read over it and smile. There, printed in tiny black letters is the name of a town and a state. You know where you are. Now, you just have to figure out how to let Bradley know.

Two days later, Preston brings the computer set up back again. Only this time, when you refuse to do anything, he pulls a gun from his waistband.

"Recognize this?" He asks you as he cocks his head to the side. Of course you recognized it. It was the same one he'd tried to kill you with once before.

"Type in your information, or I shoot you." He states coldly.

"You and I both know you are going to do that." You tell him with a smirk. "And why wouldn't I?" He sneers.

"You're not going to kill me because you need me. You can't get the codes or the money without me. You've been sending Bradley dated proof of life videos every two days. If those stop, what makes you think he won't track you down and blow you and this shithole off the face of the earth?" You state. "Me being alive is the only barging chip you have. You may be dumb Preston, but I don't think you're stupid." You say.

"Shut your mouth before I blow your brains out." He threatens you.

"Just make sure you don't miss this time." You laugh as he cracks the handle of it across your face.

"Type. Now." He demands. And for the first time, you give in. But you purposefully type your password wrong. You know that after five incorrect log-in attempts, your account will be locked, and cyber security will be notified. You are praying that they look at the attempted passwords. Each one you type in is a bit of information about where you are. After the fifth attempt, the screen goes black.

"See. I told you. My credentials don't work anymore." You smirk as you point to the screen.

Preston shoves you out of the chair and screams. "You fucking bitch. You did this on purpose!"

"No, I didn't! I don't have access anymore!" You defend yourself before his fist makes contact with your face.

"Fine. If I can't get the codes from you, I'll just have to get them from your husband. Maybe a good old-fashioned torture video will be just this thing to motivate him." He says before storming out of the room.

..................

"Mr. President!" Dante yells as he bursts into the Oval Office. Bradley shoots up and looks at him. He can tell Dante has news.

"Sir, we think we know where she is." Dante breaths out. Bradley sucks in a breath as he waits for him to explain.

"It appears she tried to log on to the White House server, but used the wrong password five times and locked her account. IT looked at each incorrect attempt to see what was going on because they knew the activity was suspicious. Each one is a clue about where she thinks she is. Look." Dante says as he hands a paper to Bradley. He reads it. "North Carolina, RidgewoodFalls, House, GasStation, Help." He says.

"We looked into the town and found out that a few months ago, an old farm in Ridgewood Falls was bought in cash by someone named Peter Brandon. We think that might be the alias Preston is using. We are currently working to get a rescue team together. The only issue is that the farm is near the town. We have to be careful going in without alerting him." Dante says.

Bradley agrees before dismissing Dante. He leaves his office and makes his way to the bedroom. He sits on the bed and grabs the framed photo of the two of you from your summer in San Diego. He touches your face and twists his wedding ring. "I'm coming for you, Sweetheart."

Two days after finding out where you are, almost seventeen days after you were taken, the White House receives a video of what they think is proof of life. Instead, they are met with the sight of you tied to a chair and gagged while Preston breaks three of your fingers and punches your face until its bruised and bloody. It ends with demands for nuclear launch codes in addition to the ransom money.

Bradley's blood boils as he watches the events unfold. He throws the coffee he is drinking across the room, and the mug shatters into a million pieces before he screams in anger.

He demands that the Navy SEAL team that Dante and others were organizing be sent in immediatly to extract you. Dante informs him that it isn't so simple.

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE WHAT IT TAKES! If you won't have the SEAL team go in and extract her then you'll leave me no choice but to fly Air Force One to North Carolina so I can get her myself!" Bradley screams before slamming his hands on the table.

"Sir. I understand your frustration. But we haven't been able to arrange air coverage and support for them. We need jets and pilots and don't have them yet.

"You need jets and pilots? Well, why didn't you say so. Bring me, Rear Admiral Mitchell. Now." Bradley says as people scramble out of the room.

"Mav," Bradley begins as he enters the room. "Is Phoenix sit the commander of the Bush carrier?" He asks.

"She is." Maverick answers. "How fast do you think we can get the Dagger Squad to Norfolk? They are the only people I trust for this mission I'm about to send them on." Bradley says.

"I made some calls. They were stationed there last week. Just in case." Maverick tells him.

"Thank you, Mav." Bradley says before calling for Dante.

"Dante, I need a secure line set up now. I need you to get me in touch with Captain Natasha Trace on the U.S.S. Bush in Virginia. You need a team of pilots. I'll get you the best damn team in the entire world." Bradley says.

"Sir, with all do respect, how do you know that they are the best?" Dante asks him.

"Because they aren't just any old team of fighter pilots, Dante. They are my team."

Taglist: @daggerspare-standingby @shanimallina87 @teacupsandtopgun @hecate-steps-on-me @roosterscock @roosterbruiser @roosterforme @seresinsbabe @startrekfangirl2233 @soulmates8 @xoxabs88xox @avengersfan25 @blackwidownat2814 @loveforaugust @mak-32 @cottagecori @amysteryspot @heyimmadisonn @princess76179 @bradshawseresinbabe @sunlightmurdock @lewmagoo @cassiemitchell @die-cunt @shipinabluebottle @malindacath @violyn20 @imawkwardlysoc @books-for-summer @blackroseboulevard @recordblues @desert-fern @luckyladycreator2 @katieshook02 @samhapner6 @sebsxphia @roosters-girl @diorrfairy @je-suis-prest-rachel @mizzzpink @a-linabean @amklibrary @gretagerwigsmuse @jstarr86 @actuallyazriel @krismdavis @bradshawsbaby @wkndwlff @dakotakazansky

[themainspoon]

One thing I haven't seen anybody else mention about Dr. Hillary Cass's whole "transition success should be judged by employment success, getting 'out of the house', marriage, and sex life, not happiness" thing is that it's a textbook example of biopower and biopolitical discourse. And I think it's important to be able to take apart what she's doing. Cass is not breaking new ground in the field of transphobia here, she's parroting some of the beliefs that have been causing issues for trans people for decades now. She's doing biopolitics.

This is Foucault theory so I'm giving a very abridged version here: Biopower is power over bodies. As Foucault writes in Vol 1 of the History of Sexuality: Power is no longer about having ultimate dominion over death, but instead about being able to control life itself. In Biopower, power has more than just the threat of death, it has access to our bodies and lives as well. When combined with the concept of the medical gaze, it can be said that medicine is no longer a body of techniques for curing illnesses, but is now an institution with the ability to define "health" and "normality".

In biopolitics, the body becomes a political object, and various technologies, political strategies, and diciplinary techniques operate upon bodies through various institutions in order to shape them and integrate them into society. Ultimately, what is defined as the healthy and valuable body is seen as necessary for the society/nation to thrive. The ideal body is the body of the "ideal citizen", one who fits definitions of "normality".

Within biopower, the purpose of trans healthcare is not to affirm gender or improve the lives of trans individuals. Instead, it is to create "healthy", "productive", "docile", and "normative" bodies that adhere with both the gender binary and understandings of the ideal citizen.

The criteria that Cass states that she thinks the success of transition should be judged by (employment, social involvement, and ability and willingness to participate within heteronormative relationship dynamics) is a list of things expected of "ideal citizens".

In the view of individuals like Cass, who funtion within biomedical discourses, transition isn't about allowing trans people to modify their bodies in ways that bring them joy, better embody their identities, and/or that allow them to feel more like themselves. Transition is instead purely about correcting percived dysfunction, to allow those percived by them as dysfunctional men and women to be transformed into normative, unproblematic, binary adhering, and productive women and men. Options like being non-binary, or using this transition technology to change your body in ways that do not align with medical understandings of binary transition, are seen as invalid, as they create disruption and non-normativity as opposed to 'curing' or 'treating' those things.

Therefore, for people like Cass it only makes sense that the success of transition would be judged by the ability of trans people to adhere to dominant gender norms, productivity, and overall normallity, as opposed to things unrelated to understandings of what "the ideal citizen" is. Y'know, things like happiness, joy, the ability to feel like oneself, etc.

One last point, and this is partially speculation on my part: But I think this is why the fact that trans people face discrimination that makes things like remaining employed and being in healthy relationships much more difficult is ignored by people like Cass. These forms of discrimination are seen as the result of the individuals failure to properly perform and embody "normality". Transphobia is therefore not percived as the fault of a patriarchal cisheteronormative society and culture, but instead a failure of the trans individual and the practice of medical transition.

If it wasn't clear, I think Dr Cass is a hack and that the discourses that inform her positions on trans health issues are not only incorrect, but also act to perpetuate bigotry and social inequality. Fuck Dr Cass, Trans Liberation Now.

[stellar-constellations]

An Alliance (Part 9)

        

        Fem! Spy! (Y/N) x Yuri Briar

        Parts: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, current part, ten (to be continued when Spy x Family has more Yuri content!)

        (Y/N) is given her own backstory that is important for the story!

        The setting for this story is based off West and East Germany's (because Spy x Family is heavily based off Germany in the 1940-1950) laws (or at least replicated to the best of my abilities since it's unknown what time period Spy x Family is exactly in, we'll go with 1950 for the sake of this story). 

        Historically-accurate women misogyny and mistreatment! Only small comments and historically-accurate laws (replicated to the best of my ability). 

        The story, plot, and settings might not match up to the Spy x Family manga as it's not completed and the manga is still being crafted.

        This series contains spoilers for the manga and anime!

        A couple weeks passed by and Yuri decided he wanted to visit Yor. Yuri's wound had healed up a little so I allowed it (by allowed, I mean I tried to restrain him and gave up since he was too strong and determined to see Yor).

        During those months I gathered some intel from the National Unity Party that I didn't know about until talking with Twilight about little details of his current mission (or doing a little bit of hacking into Eden Academy's files). I learned that WISE's top suspect is Donovan Desmond has two children I wasn't aware of, Damien and Demetrius Desmond, along with a wife, Melinda Desmond. A little trip to City Hall and snooping through some files and database there, I found out what they look like along with their private information such as their birthday and where they work.

        I wrote down everything I saw (even stuff I figured didn't matter) and placed it into a big white envelope with a false train logo imprinted on it, handing it to Franky when I saw him at the train station on the way back. How I did this without Yuri knowing? I got him drunk and made sure he was sleeping when I left. 

        But Vixen—the West Spy—doesn't matter right now. (Y/N)—Yuri Briar's wife and secret SSS agent—does.

        Yuri happily skipped to the Forger's apartment, barging in quite rudely as I trailed behind him, used to this routine by now.

        "Yay, my sweet sister! I came by for an early morning visit!" Yuri shouted.

        "I'm not satisfied with our life together!" Yor shouted at Twilight.

        Yuri's face morphed to horror (as did mine and Twilight's).

        Twilight and Yor are having relationship problems?! I thought to myself. This is really bad! Twilight's goal is to maintain a family to get closer to Donovan Desmond. If this is ruined, WISE will have to start all over again, and who knows how long it'd be until Donovan does something drastic that breaks this very thin ice Westalis and Ostania is on! We'll have another physical war!

        "LOID FORGER, YOU BASTARD! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SISTER?!" Yuri screamed, pointing an accusatory finger at Twilight. 

        "Let's not get hasty! We haven't heard both sides of the story!" I smiled nervously, grabbing his shoulder.

        "Yuri? Didn't you get hit by a truck and hurt your shoulder not a little while ago? You should be resting!" Yor spoke, concerned.

        "That healed up right when I talked to you on the phone! More importantly..." Yuri spoke dully, then his tone changed as he got serious. "I warned you, Loid Forger, that if you ever made my sister cry, I would have you exe– er... I would be extremely upset." 

        "Yuri, no! It isn't like that!" Yor claimed.

        It's not?

        "So then what is it like, Yor?" Yuri questioned.

        "Um..." Yor stumbled, thinking.

        "Tell me so I can properly chastise this ne-er-do-well!" Yuri spoke, then looked as if an idea struck him. "If I can keep her angry at him, she'll finally dump him like I've wanted all along." Yuri muttered.

        "Um... you're thinking out loud." Me and Twilight spoke.

        "All right, Yor. Let's get you out of this marriage. We'll go file the divorce papers right now!" Yuri exclaimed.

        "Wait a second, Yuri! I'm sure this can be justified! Let's not get into something so big like that!" I spoke, worried for the future of Ostania and Westalis.

        "We're not getting divorced!" Yor claimed.

        "Yor, have you been holding on to this grievance all along...?" Twilight questioned, a million thoughts going through his calm blue eyes.

        "No, just since yesterday." Yor smiled ditzyily, causing Twilight to go wide-eyed.

        "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER YESTERDAY?!" Yuri shouting, pointing his finger at Twilight again.

        "He didn't do anything!" Yor exclaimed.

        THEN WHAT ARE YOU MAD AT HIM FOR?! I thought to myself, yet held my inner peace as I watched the scene play out.

        "Apologize. I don't know what you did, but you're going to apologize to my sister." Yuri spoke, his tone intimidating me despite me not being at the end of his words.

        "I am so deeply sorry, Yor. I never–" Twilight started, but was cut off by Yor.

        "Loid, no! An apology from you is the last thing I want!" Yor claimed, causing Twilight to have a mortified expression on his face as I saw the Ostanian military clean their guns, ready for their command to infiltrate and kill.

        "HOW DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO APOLOGIZE YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS, YOU FLIPPANT LOUSE!" Yuri screamed, still pointing his finger at Twilight.

        "I understand, Yor. You want me to show contriction through my actions. And I will! I swear to you, I won't ever make you suffer this way again!" Twilight spoke.

        "TH-THAT'S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM!" Yor shouted.

        "HUH?!" Twilight and I exclaimed.

        I can hear the marching of Ostania's army. I can smell ashes from fire and gunpowder. 

        "Yuri, please, could you just stay out of this? This is a martial issue between me and my husband!" Yor scolded, directing her anger towards Yuri.

        "M-martial?!" Yuri exclaimed, a shocked and dejected expression on his face.

        Yuri depressingly made his way to the couch and flopped down, deflating like a ballon as he laid on the couch.

        Yor said this is a martial issue between her and Twilight, so I shouldn't get in the way too, I thought as I sat down next to the sulking Yuri. 

        The phone starting to ring and Yor quickly ran to go answer it.

        "Oh. I'll get it." Yor spoke. "Hello, this is Mrs. Forger." She answered, then redirected her attention to Twilight. "Loid, it's for you. It's from the hospital." 

        "Yes, hello?" Twilight spoke, answering the phone.

        Hospital? Oh, right! Twilight's cover job is a physiatrist for this mission!

        "I'm sorry. I've been called in for an emergency." Twilight stated, hanging up the phone.        

        "Oh dear, that sounds serious." Yor spoke, before it was like a switch was flipped in her as she started to shout. "EVEN ON YOUR DAYS OFF, YOU ABANDON YOUR FAMILY FOR WORK! HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD I EVER BE SATISFIED WITH THE WAY YOU ALWAYS PUT YOUR PATIENT'S FIRST?!" 

        "I'm sorry, Yor. We'll talk about this when I get back." Twilight stated calmly, sparing me a glance before walking out. "I really am sorry!" he exclaimed before walking out and shutting the door.

        Yor had a prideful smirk on her face as she looked at me and Yuri (Yuri seemed like he had a skeptical look on his face as he looked at the door Twilight just left).

        "Yor, I really don't mean to pry into your martial problems, but I really believe you need to think about this." I sighed.

        "Huh? But having gripes is a normal thing for marriages, right?" Yor questioned.

        "Of course, but you should understand his side too. You're claiming he spends too much time at work, correct?" I questioned, making sure I got the facts straight.

        "Yes, that is a normal gripe wives have against their husbands, right?" Yor spoke, genuinely seeming like she needed a gripe to appear normal.

        What's she need a gripe to appear normal for anyways? I thought to myself.

        "I hate to give unsolicited advice, but Loid works to provide for your family. I understand that you grieve the lack of time he spends with you and your daughter, but he's a physiatrist. He helps aid people's mental health to prevent something drastic happening. Life and death doesn't wait, that's just apart of this job. However, I do understand you. I believe it's a good idea to have a family outing soon, that way you're able to spend time with Loid and Anya!" I suggested. "That's just my idea though." 

        "I suppose, I could bring it up with Loid..." Yor mumbled.

        "I think it'd be fun for everyone! And don't worry, it's perfectly normal for couples to fight; I mean, me and Yuri fight quite regularly." I reassured. 

        "Yuri? You have gripes with (Y/N)?" Yor questioned, surprised.

        "Huh, yeah. Whatever you say, sis." Yuri spoke, his eyes not moving from the door.

        "Yes! Like this one right now." I smiled. "Yuri! You need to stop adding fuel to the fire! Yor was right! When a couple is arguing with each other, keep out of it! You could've actually did some serious damage to their relationship by bringing up divorce! We didn't even know what started the fight!" I shouted, grabbing Yuri by his shirt and forcing him to look me in the eyes and away from the door.

        "O-okay..." Yuri mumbled. "But something's fishy!" he spoke, redirecting his gaze to the door.

        "What?!" Yor exclaimed, seemingly worried.

        "The way he ran off in such a hurry just now... He's cheating on you, Yor." Yuri accused.

        "WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST TELL YOU ABOUT ADDING FUEL TO THE FIRE?!" I screamed, resisting the urge to uppercut him.         

        "What?!" Yor gasped.

        "Let's go follow him." Yuri spoke.

        "W-we can't do that!" Yor tried to reason.

        "I agree! We can't do that, Yuri! Have you no shame?!" I exclaimed.

        He's acting like he's following one of the people suspected of espionage at our job (or my SSS gig)!      

        "You aren't worried at all, Yor? About your so-called husband cheating?" Yuri questioned, turning to look at Yor.        

         "Well... maybe just a little..." Yor muttered.

        I was about to interject, say some wistful words about "how relationships should have trust" before remembering when I bickered with Yuri about if he'd fall in love with someone else and cheat before we agreed to get officially married.

        I felt like I was about to throw up, I don't want to be a hypocrite! But I also don't want there to be another physical war between Ostania and Westalis! But if Yuri finds out that Twilight is a spy and he gets caught, then Twilight's mission to keep peace between Ostania and Westalis will be screwed!

        "You need to be careful that he doesn't notice you, Yor." Yuri instructed. "Stay close, but not too close. You need room in case the target suddenly stops. You can't stop yourself, or you'll get spotted."

        "You sure know a lot about this, Yuri." Yor commented.

        "Uh... they just said that on some cartoon I watched with chihuahua girl the other day..." Yuri claimed.

        Dummy, we weren't even here! You were healing up from your wound, remember? I thought to myself.          

         I heard some noise from an alley and peaked over, seeing our lieutenant!

        What does he want? I thought to myself as Yuri noticed.

        "I-I-I-I-I'm sorry, Yor! I just remembered I had some paperwork that I forgot to file yesterday!" Yuri exclaimed. "Stay with Yor." Yuri whispered into my ear.

        "Huh?" Yor gasped.

        "I have to run back to the ministry! You go expose Loi-Loi's infidelity by yourself, okay?!" Yuri spoke. "I'm really sorry!" he shouted as he ran from us.

        "Hey, wait a minute! Yuri!" Yor shouted.

        Shouting? Thanks for giving us away... I thought to myself, then redirected my thoughts to the serious matters. Two emergency summons today? There's something going on between WISE and the SSS today. I can't go to the SSS since Yuri ordered me not to, but I should be able to go to WISE? I'll follow Twilight.

        Me and Yor kept following him as he walked into the hospital, allowing Yor to see for herself that she's actually going to "work." 

        "See, Yor? You have nothing to worry about. When has Loid ever given you a reason to doubt him?" I smiled. 

        "You're right. This was childish..." Yor sighed. "We can go home and make some tea." Yor suggested, smiling at me.

        "I would love to, but I'm on the lookout for an anniversary present for Yuri." I smiled sheepishly. "This is the only time that he's not with me, so I need to hurry before I have to get to work myself later!"

        "Ah, I understand! Do you need any help?" Yor questioned.

        "No thanks, I want to give him something straight from my heart." I spoke. "Have a good day, Yor! Tell Anya I said hi!" I spoke, jogging off to the streets away from the hospital.

        I ducked into an alleyway and waited for Yor to leave the hospital, making sure her back was turned from me before running back to the hospital. I ran into the lobby and walked through the halls, finding a nurse. 

        "Excuse me, I have an appointment for Dr. Forger, but I got lost and I don't know where his office his." I smiled.

        "Ah, no problem! This hospital is pretty big. I'll guide you, follow me." The nurse spoke.

        I followed the nurse to an office as she knocked on the door.

        "Come in." I heard Twilight's voice as we opened the door.

        "(Y-) Mrs. Briar?" Twilight spoke, looking at me as a white-haired woman stood next to him.

        I recognized her as Nightfall. She's very pretty, but she's very scary to me, so I stay clear from her. 

        "Mrs. Briar has an appointment with you, Dr." The nurse stated.

        "Thank you. Come on in, Mrs. Briar." Twilight spoke. 

        I nodded, walking in and closing the door behind him.

        Bugged? I morsed through my blinks.

        Safe space. Twilight morsed with his own eyes.

        "You're Nightfall, correct?" I spoke in a soft voice just in case the walls were thin as I held out a hand.

        "You know her?" Nightfall questioned, eyeing my hand like it was gum on her shoe.

        "Yes, this is Vixen. She's infiltrated the SSS and is up to date with information from them. I heard from the Handler you're back on the force." Twilight informed. "What brings you here?"

        "The SSS." I spoke. "An emergency summon happened today with the SSS. I was informed from my husband to not attend, so I'm here." 

        "You came here without orders from the Handler?" Twilight questioned, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

        "I need information from WISE and the SSS so I can determine accurate and inaccurate information to feed the Handler." I explained.

        "You're married to an SSS agent?" Nightfall spoke, a glare on her face.

        "Just for this mission." I smiled.

        "There's no time to send the Handler a message. We'd bring you, but your husband will identify you immediately." Twilight spoke.

        "There must be something I can do. I'm still apart of WISE, after all." I huffed.

        "Fine. Let's make haste, the SSS may already be on the scene." Twilight sighed. "Nightfall, the details." 

        Nightfall gave me a glare before reluctantly speaking up.        

        "We have an extreme level 3 situation. WISE HQ in Ostania has been trying to ferret out a mole. Yesterday, they finally uncovered the culprit. However, by the time they were identified, the mole had gone underground. And right around the same time, numerous top secret documents were taken from agency files. Among them was a coded map indicating areas of operational activity by WISE agents in Ostania. And some of the information contained within that document pertains of Operation STRIX. If that were to fall into Eastern hands and be decoded... our lives would be in danger." Nightfall explained in a mouthful.

        I'm unaware of the SSS receiving new files, so it hasn't been delivered yet. I thought to myself. I haven't seen anyone at the SSS that is a spy at WISE, could it be a new recruit? I'm aware of the new woman that came aboard, she's a total rookie, but the Director really wanted her onboard. But I doubt she's the mole, it's just a gut feeling. I don't know of any new rookies other than her, so it must be someone whose been at the SSS for longer than me, but if that's the case. I might not be able to help... unless.

        "Hey, I got an idea. I'm heading to the library, take this. It's a tracker so I know where you guys are, I'll meet up with you both later." I spoke, handing Twilight a small chip that he attached to his collar without second thought. 

        "You better hurry with whatever you have to do. Nightfall, you and I will make our way to the scene." Twilight spoke.

        "Be careful!" I exclaimed, quickly opening and shutting the door as I ran down the hall.

        I followed the way the nurse guided me to the office and made it out of the hospital, running into town and to the HQ of SSS. I checked the clock and knew it was time. I clocked in and ran to find a guy who owes me a favor (by that, I mean making someone do my work).

        "Hey, Donnie! I need a favor, buddy." I spoke, patting his shoulder.

        "Oh, what's up?" he smiled.

        "Today's your anniversary, right?" I questioned.

        "Huh? Today's my anni- OH! TODAY'S MY ANNIVERSARY! NO WONDER CARMEN WAS ANGRY AT ME THIS MORNING- but that never seems to be new..." He spoke, going through many stages of shock. 

        "Listen, today's my anniversary with Yuri! I can pick you up an anniversary present too for Carmen if you put my name in your document with yours." I spoke, referring to the document he was writing as he listened to a bugged room on one of our potential suspects. "This is the only time I can go out and get the present, but I need to be at work too! Please?" I spoke.

        I need to make sure that the SSS don't know I'm working with WISE in this part of the mission. If I mess with the information they gain, the SSS will kill me! I thought to myself. 

        "Yeah. I got you. Barely doing any work anyways with this! Thanks, (Y/N)!" he beamed. 

        "No worries, man! I'll see ya soon!" I spoke, rushing out of the room.

        I carefully checked the room with our schedule, making sure that there wasn't anybody there, before I ran out of the room. I ran to a nearby shop I knew that WISE was in control of, where you make anonymous purchases for wigs, outfits, and contacts to change your appearance for missions (or, their public front, for costume parties or parades). 

        I purchased a (different hair color) wig and a different shade of (eye color) for my contacts (making sure they were appropriate for my eyesight since I decided I wouldn't wear my glasses [if you wear glasses]). I grabbed a pink t-shirt, a white ribbon, black shorts, and a pair of brown boots. I made the purchase and ran into an alley, changing clothes and hiding my old outfit behind a dumpster in the dark alley. I threw a cereal box from the dumpster onto the ground near the alley entrance so I'd find my clothes as I raced out and to the library near city hall.

        I made inside and snagged a computer, taking a seat and quickly logging into the public computer with the library's username and password written on a yellow sticky-note on the desk. I wrote a fake name on the computer's public name log, then disabled the browser from any third-party trying to watch my internet activity. 

        I hacked into the SSS database, the screen going black with green letters.

        Woah, cliche hacking. I thought to myself, before quickly pushing away that thought. 

        It took longer than I'd like to admit it, but I finally found the information the Director receives from his little mole (perhaps my hacking skills are getting rusty). Sometimes there were emails but as I long as I thought really hard enough, I would crack the words they made up and proceed with the next file. This scum has been actively giving information on WISE for at least two years now, in fact, he was originally from Ostanian Intelligence before he got in WISE solely for Ostania's purpose! Worst of all, there's no name! All of his emails and files are signed off with W.W. Who had the initials W.W. that I'm aware of?        

        Nobody, that I can think of that the top of my head, that is. But the good thing about our day and age is that the library has public files for use, so marriage certificates and criminal records are available to me. 

        I need to get to the backroom and get those files so nobody knows I retrieved them, but I need those librarians to get away from that back door.

        I noticed a group of kids nearby and walked over to them, fishing in my pocket for some money. 

        "Wanna make some money?" I questioned, changing the pitch of my voice to a high but monotone tone, that way if there's any cameras or microphones here being watched by the SSS, they wouldn't recognize me. 

        The three kids nodded excitedly.

        "I need you guys to distract that librarian, but don't tell them that! Tell them you're looking for a book that's about a zebra becoming a tooth fairy and convince them to go look for it with you, okay?" I instructed.

        "Okay!" they all agreed, rushing towards the librarian's desk and distracting the librarian as I watched from behind a bookshelf.

        The librarian seemed a little stingy to leave, but they eventually agreed after some pestering from the kids. While they were distracted with that, I ran into the backroom and looked through metal cabinet files. I made it to a large drawer with the letter W written on a piece of tape. I scanned through the folders and papers rather impatiently since I'm on a timer. 

        I found the files of civilians and searched through, looking at the faces in case they'd be familiar. It's going to be a man since me and Chloe, our new recruit, are the only females in the SSS and we're both new. The only think I'm running off on is they're a man and their initials are W.W. I found a file that made me pause, observing the face more closely.

        He had a long face with white skin and blue, droopy eyes. His hair was blond and he has thick eyebrows with a fair and tall build. I checked the name, making sure that initials matched up (they did). I checked his birthdate and figured it was reasonable since he's a double-agent. The file said he works at the Ostanian Foreign Ministry (a cover-up in case WISE agents come snooping around here, like me). I swear I've seen those eyes before, whether at WISE HQ or Ostanian Intelligence. 

        I know I have a bad memory, but I really think I just found my guy! I thought to myself, smiling.

        I know that WISE had identified the mole, but looking at these files tells me how much Ostania really knows about WISE, and I know if that coded map from Westalian Intelligence gets out, it'll definitely end up in the National Unity Party somehow, then we're all screwed!

        I placed the file back where I found it, now having information on the target myself.

        Now I can hunt this mole down myself, I thought to myself, smiling at the irony itself.

        I looked around to make sure the librarian wasn't around as I exited the backroom, getting away from the librarian's desk and waiting for the librarian to give up on their search of the zebra tooth fairy book. It didn't take too long before the librarian complained about this being a waste of time, and going back to their desk.

        "Here. Thanks for your help, and ya didn't see me." I spoke with my undercover voice, handing the kids their well-earned money and running out of the library.

        I checked the watch on my hand, turning a tiny button twice, and seeing the clock's face get swapped to a black screen with a bunch of white lines, and green and red dot. The white lines are the streets of Ostania being displayed from the satellites, the red dot is my location, and the green dot is where Twilight is. 

        I won't be able to run that far on foot, and the train would take too long (not to mention I'd have to hop multiple trains too).

        My only option is to steal a car. Well, it's for the greater good. I'll return it! I convinced myself, before finding a motorcycle on the street left unattended.

        Or... we'll be dramatic! I smiled, running up and hopping on it. 

        I grabbed the wires and retraced the steps I remember one of my WISE trainers telling me a while ago. I burnt my hand a couple times and lost the feeling in them, but I finally got it working as I heard the beautiful cat purr of the engine. 

        I checked my watch once more, looking at the location of Twilight once more and memorizing it as I fixed the white ribbon in my wig, making sure my wig was secured very tightly to my head by tying the ribbon on. I turned the gas and rode away. Judging by how far it looks on my digital map, they must be either in or nearby Shellbury, in Northwest Ostania. It'll probably take a good thirty minutes to get there—that is if I abide by traffic laws, but again, I'm on a timer and the small "peace treaty" Westalis and Ostania is in danger, so we're going fast enough that it'll make lightning look slow.

        I got there in ten minutes, internally glad of saving time as I parked the motorcycle on the side of the road, checking my watch to see Twilight wasn't too far. I made it to a fountain in some park, seeing one of SSS' captains meeting with Winston. 

        I sat down on a bench, eavesdropping into their conversation for any leverage.

        "How about you hand over those files, Wheeler. WISE seems to have gotten wind of the meet, so I don't want to drag this out." The captain spoke.

        Yes, yes. WISE agents like me, I internally thought, yet shut myself up so I can focus. 

        "Before I do... I want to verify that you're really with the State Security Service." Winston responded.

        The briefcase he's holding must be the files, I could shoot him with the gun on my waist under my shirt, but that's extremely risky. 

        "What, you think I'm really Twilight, Master of Disguise? Ha ha. Good one." The captain laughed. "Can you prove to me that you're the real Wheeler?" 

        "My green tie and yellow gemstone tiepin already have." Winston informed. 

        "Mm... hey, it's yellow." The captain spoke, looking at one of his men.

        "Got it." The lackey spoke, walking away to make a call.

        What is going on? Is that a code the SSS made I'm unaware of? Well, with my low-rank position it is possible. I'll have to find information on their secret codes later.

        "As for... Our fake Wheeler here... Is that you, Twilight?" the captain spoke.

        Twilight? I thought to myself, checking my watch. He is! No wonder why Twilight's location showed up here! I can't believe I forgot about that!

        "That really is an incredible impersonation of Wheeler. You're every bit as good as they say you are." The captain spoke, reaching into his jacket's pocket and pulling out a gun. "So, what's next now? You gonna peel off that disguise for me?" 

        I reached for my own gun, ready for combat in case Twilight needs some help as I watched Twilight wiggle his foot. Suddenly, the big water fountain next to them blew up. Someone fired at Twilight as he ran, clicking a button on his briefcase that turned the bottom of the briefcase into a gun!

        Woah! I didn't know HQ had those! A whole shoot-out took place and I decided this wasn't the place for me. If I get shot and Yuri notices, he'll know I didn't follow his instructions, and that I was possibly working with WISE!

        I ran away and ducked behind some bushes surrounded by a fence, hiding in them as I checked Twilight's location on my watch.

        He's running straight for me? 

        I peeked my head out slightly, seeing a figure running to my spot. I ducked back into the bushes so I wouldn't get caught, hearing more footsteps running towards me.

        "Yuri!" a pair of guys shouted.

        Yuri?! Yuri's here?! Crap! 

        I felt my heartbeat raise out of fear for myself and Yuri's sake. This place really seems to be dangerous, he shouldn't be here! Twilight and I are here!

        "You still with us, man?!" one shouted.

        "Yeah, where did he go?!" the other shouted.

        "Ngh..." Yuri groaned.

        Is he injured? How?! Who ran into him and hurt him?!

        "The East gate..." Yuri mumbled.

        Huh, that's weird. He sounds like Yuri, but not at the same time? Is this... Twilight? I checked my watch to see his location, it proving my correct.

        "East! Got it!" they shouted as they ran away to find Twilight (who was right in front of them). 

        I very carefully peeked my head out and saw "Yuri" standing up, adjusting his jacket.

        "Oi!" I exclaimed, standing up from the bushes 

        I don't have to be careful, I'm in a disguise! I remembered.

        "Yuri" turned around quickly, looking at me with a surprised expression.

        "Um... hey...?" he paused.

        "No worries, Twilight. It's me, Vixen." I smiled as his composure relaxed.

        "Thank God, it's you. That's a decent disguise—amateurish, but it works well enough."

        "Sure as hell worked on the Master of Disguise." I smirked pridefully. "Now, what's next?" 

        "Let's make our getaway." Twilight spoke, looking around before his eyes landed on a sewer gate.

        "Ah, shit..." I mumbled, knowing what we'd have to do.

        Gross...

        "Let's go." Twilight ordered.

        "Yes, boss!" I joked, trying to make light out of this situation as we walked through some mud.

        I lifted the heavy cover and jumped in, Twilight following after as he closed the lid.

        "Stay quiet, light on your feet, and look out for all exits and entrances." Twilight muttered.

        "I'm a spy too, remember?" I huffed quietly.

        Even after all these years, he still has the audacity to treat me like I don't know anything. 

        We started running and heard some footsteps up ahead around the corner. Twilight efficiently kicked up a metal pipe for me as he ran. I caught it and gripped it tightly as he pulled out his gun, getting ready to fight.

        I felt a warm sense of admiration that he gave me the metal pipe since he's aware I don't like using guns, not after what I've used them for in the war. 

        We past the corner as Twilight shot, but instead we saw, Yuri, the real Yuri!

        Twilight's shot missed him, hitting his hat instead, as Twilight paused, making me pause too. Twilight's gun was aimed directly at Yuri's face, I was going to shout and tell him no, but he held his hand, behind me and only for me to see.

        He's telling me to stand down and stay behind him—like always...

        "Gah!" they both exclaimed.

        Yuri hasn't spotted me... he's too focused on Twilight that he hasn't seen me! This is good!

        Two gunshots rang simultaneously, one hitting the gun out of Yuri's hand and into the sewer water and the other piercing Twilight's shoulder. 

        "Guh!" Twilight voiced his pain as Yuri kicked Twilight's gun out of his hand then stepping back to make room as the gun hit the sewer wall before going into the sewer water too.

        Twilight clutched his shoulder tightly, a serious and frustrated expression on his face as they both stood still, looking at each other. They both look similar to each other, it's really scary. The only difference is that Loid is 6'1" and Yuri is 5'10". I wondered briefly on how good Yuri is at hand-to-hand combat, before seeing it myself.

        "Give up..." Yuri started, raising his fists. "And come quietly!" 

        He punched at Twilight, but Twilight dodged it and kicked him in the gut, giving Yuri a punch to his face as he fell down. While Yuri was distracted, I threw Twilight a white cloth from my pocket for emergencies just as this.

        I have to make sure I'm prepared in case me or someone else gets shot or is bleeding intensely. I've learned from my past mistakes.

        Yuri stood up, his fists raised once more, having a mark on his face as Twilight wrapped the cloth around his bleeding wound. 

        "Stop resisting and surrender. We've got the sewer surrounded." Yuri claimed.

        There's no way! They didn't figure it out this quickly that we were down here, did they?

        "If you don't want to die here, run back to the surface. Now." Twilight commanded, mimicking Yuri's voice pretty well.

        I understand why Twilight sounds different from Yuri. Twilight speaks in a calm and collected tone, always serious. Yuri, he speaks with his tone, he's very open about his feelings. 

        "DON'T TALK TO ME IN MY OWN VOICE!" Yuri screamed, rushing at Twilight. 

        Twilight quickly undid his belt and whipped Yuri in the jaw, hard, with it as he drew blood and possibly even broke his jaw! Yuri fell hard onto the ground as Twilight looked down at him.

        "You may not be eating any decent meals for a while, but you'll live." Twilight spoke.

        He's showing Yuri mercy. Could it be for operation STRIX? So Yor wouldn't be devastated and the family falls apart? Could it be he's aware of my feelings for Yuri and doesn't wish to kill him out of respect (or pity) towards me? Or, could it be he's genuinely grown attached to his "in-law"?

        That should be enough, I thought, worried for Yuri's safety and health. I'll make him some southern stew tonight, he really likes that since it came from his childhood. 

        Twilight turned around, giving me a nod as he started to walk away. I almost turned to follow, but I heard the sound of metal and raised my metal pipe. I turned the corner to face Yuri, our metal pipes clashing together. I pulled his leg from under him with my own leg, then used my metal pipe to shove him backwards, kicking the metal pipe that fell out of his hands into the sewer water.

        "You're wrong, Twilight! It's you who won't be eating any decent meals... in your prison cell!" Yuri spoke, spitting out blood.

         Wow, even though I'm right in front of his face and entered the fight, he's still caring about Twilight.

        "And who the hell are you?!" Yuri shouted.

        I ignored his comment, afraid if I talked he's recognize my voice as I stared him down.

        I really, really, don't want to fight him.

        Twilight noticed my hesitancy and was about to speak up, but Yuri charged at me. I hit him upside the head with my metal pipe with some heavy force, hoping to at least knock him out or disorient him so we can run and avoid further harm to him.         

        Yuri staggered to his side but quickly punched and hit my jaw.

        Man, he packs a punch! I thought, hearing a clack! 

        I grabbed him by his jacket and pinned him against the sewer wall as he grabbed my wig and pulled it. The wig fell as he looked at me, confused as my natural hair came down.

         "Wh-" I used his confusion to my advantage, grabbed his own hair and quickly turned him around so he was facing the sewer wall, slamming his head three times in the concrete wall before pulling back.

        Twilight quickly threw himself into the mix and karate-chopped Yuri's throat, coming up behind Yuri and elbowing him into the ground, (even giving a good kick to in-between Yuri's legs).

        I wanted to scold Twilight for being too harsh and mean (like I wasn't slamming his head against concrete a few seconds ago), but I understood Yuri's looking to kill (or at least capture) us both and watched on. 

        Yuri stood his ground and Twilight punched his face as I knelt to the ground and slammed my metal pipe into the back of his knee with full force. I ran back to Twilight's side as Yuri fell down, but he just got back up!

        Jesus Christ! Yuri Briar is seriously a force to be dealt with, how is he standing?!

        "Don't hold back this time." Twilight spat out harshly, his eyes kept on Yuri.

        "YOU BASTARD! I AIN'T!" Yuri shouted, holding his fist up and rushing towards Twilight as I took a deep breath and hid behind Twilight, clutching my metal pipe tightly and raised it.

        He said not to hold back. Sorry, love. I thought to myself. Consider this payback for my jaw.

        Yuri got closer and Twilight quickly side-stepped, leaving me vulnerable. Yuri didn't even stagger as he changed his target to me, but his eyes widened. 

        He ran too fast, so he can't stop now. His only option is to move forward and attack, even hesitate his attack now and he's screwed (which, he really can't stop now anyways).

        "He was talking to me." I huffed, making my pitch and tone high and monochrome as I did earlier in the library. 

        I swung my metal pipe down hard onto his head, the force even hurting my own arms as he fell cold onto the ground. 

        We watched closely as Yuri was on the ground, making sure he'd stay there. To my surprise, Yuri stood up, causing me and Twilight to let out a scream of shock. I swung my metal pipe upwards, hitting his jaw as he fell back to the ground. Me and Twilight watched on to make sure he was fully down as I held my metal pipe up high.

        Twilight huffed heavily as breathed in, finally glad it's over and that he's still alive.

        "Yor... I'm so... sorry..." he mumbled before passing out (for real this time).

        "Ready?" Twilight huffed out.

        I nodded, staring at Yuri before leaning down and checking his pulse.

        "He's fine." Twilight confirmed. 

        "I just have to make sure..." I mumbled, checking Yuri's pockets. 

        I found a walkie-talkie and looked at Twilight. 

        "Do his voice. Tell him to come find him; that he's injured." I ordered, shoving the walkie-talkie in his hand.

        "Are you serious right now?!" he hissed. "We gotta get outta here!" 

        "He's hurt!" I huffed. 

        "Fine..." Twilight groaned, grabbing the walkie-talkie. "Yuri Briar. Injured. Help, over." He spoke, talking in his tone.

        "Thank you." I smiled.

        "Let's move." Twilight spoke, grabbing my hand.

        Twilight started to run while clutching his shoulder as I followed, running ahead of him in case of any danger. I have to be able to protect him since he's injured. We ran a while until we heard different footsteps, causing Twilight to grab my arm and stop the both of us. The footsteps stopped as Twilight carefully led us to a corner. He peeked out of the corner as I watched his expression to see if it changes, indicating he saw something. I turned to look at my right just in case anybody was there, looking just in time to see a tall man holding up a brick and aiming it right at my head.

        "Oi!" I shouted, alerting Twilight of the man's prescence as I quickly ducked, bringing my metal pipe up and wacking his jaw. 

        The brick was crushed in the man's hand as it collided with the concrete wall.

        He was going to hit me with that! That would've killed me!

        Twilight grabbed my pink shirt's collar as he jumped backwards, forcing me away from the man. 

        "Winston Wheeler!" I shouted.

       "You're him!" Twilight exclaimed, quickly tapping a finger on my lower back as he let go of my collar.

        Don't, he's telling me. 

        "You're Winston Wheeler, right? Relax! I'm with the SSS! I was pursuing a wise agent down in the sewers! I don't know what you're doing here, but I sure am glad to see you! Captain Gascoigne and the others are waiting for you back that way! Let's join up with them!" Twilight spoke, grabbing a SSS badge out of his pocket. 

        I, too, grabbed a badge out of my own SSS pocket out of my pocket. 

        "How about you show me your I.D. to be sure." Winston spoke, outstretching his hand.

        "Okay." Twilight obliged, giving him his badge as I did the same with mine.

        "I don't match up with my badge at the moment, I'm in disguise." I explained.

        "What about the guy you were pursuing?" Winston questioned.

        "Securing you is our priority." Twilight spoke as I nodded.

        "WISE is here and infiltrated, we can worry about the agent later." I added as I crossed my arms.

        "Lieutenant Yuri Briar and Lieutenant (Y/N) Briar. You're married?" Winston spoke as Twilight crept behind him.

        Twilight came behind him and suddenly Winston turned his back, kicking Twilight in his stomach.

        "Or is that just the face you're wearing?" Winston commented.

        I immediately raised and slammed my metal pipe on his knee, causing him to huff and hop back a few steps. 

        "Nice try. Before you silenced them, your footsteps were those of someone being chased. You should know better than to lie like that." Winston spoke, the leg I hit raised from the ground as I yanked Twilight by his collar and pulled him up from the ground.

        "I don't understand you, woman. I've seen that hair before, facial structure too, and your badge just proves it. You're apart of the SSS too; are you aware of this?" Winston spat, his last question directed towards Twilight.

        "Course I am, you really didn't think you were the only double-agent, huh?" I smirked, my metal pipe raised. 

        "Huh. So you're both WISE. Those are really good disguises. Could you actually be him? Could you be Twilight?" Winston questioned. "We did an OP together once, remember? But I never got to see your face. So... let's take a look at that illustrious face of yours. Couldn't hurt to have one more gift for the SSS..." 

        "You gotta get through me first, pal." I spat out.

        I don't need to hold back at all. I can just kill him and have it over with; his life holds no more worth, not after he traded mankind for some extra pocket change. At least with me, I'm doing this to keep peace, not destroy it.

        "If I were you, I'd run. A weak woman like you is no match for me." Winston spoke, clutching his knuckles.

        So what he's taller and stronger than me? I'll whoop his ass! I thought to myself, grinding my teeth. 

        I clutched my metal pipe tightly, then threw it at him. He caught it with no thought.

        "That was stup-" I reached into my shirt and grabbed my gun around my waist, firing straight at his head.

        He dodged it effortlessly, then ran towards me with my metal pipe. I ducked and shot his kneecap, using the floor and rocketing my elbow into his stomach. His grip loosened on the pipe as I grabbed it and slammed the pipe down on his back, knocking him to the ground.

        He grabbed my leg and pulled it under, making me fall onto the ground and hit my head on the concrete floor.

        Shit, I thought as my head rang and felt a painful sensation, followed by something wet in my hair. That better be sewer water and not blood... I thought as he quickly got on top of me and balled up his fists.

        He hit me straight in my face, hearing a crack in my nose as I reached for my gun and aimed at his face. He dodged to his right as I pulled the trigger, his weight shifting, giving me the opening to roll my body right and make him fall. I stood up and stomped on his hand, kicking the metal pipe away from his hands as I took a few steps back. 

        Twilight grabbed the pipe as we both stood next to each other, I huffed as we kept our gaze on him.

        "His fists... are made of pure steel." I panted, blood flooding out of my nose, but I didn't dare care to raise my hand and cover it, I need both hands for this fight. 

        I kept my gun trained on his head, pulling the trigger. He ducked and rushed towards us, running to Twilight and throwing a punch. Twilight blocked it with his uninjured shoulder, but Winston was too quick and used his injured leg to hit Twilight on the side of his head, knocking him out. 

        I took the opportunity to fire while his back was facing me, but it was as if he knew this as he ducked low, quickly grabbing the metal pipe and blocking the bullet, creating a dent in the pipe before he struck it at me. I stepped back to avoid his swing, but he quickly grabbed my gun and fired it at the wall six times, wasting all of my rounds. 

        "Heckler and Koch P7. Eight rounds in a magazine. Not much for a shootout, but luckily you're not in one." Winston spoke, throwing the empty gun to his side. "You won't ever be in one after I'm finished with you." He threatened, raising his fists.

        "I don't think that was necessary." I huffed, lowering my stance and widening my footing so I could prepare just about an action I need that's necessary in the moment. 

        "Just evening th-" I quickly righthooked him while he was too busy yapping, then kicked him, hard, in his nether regions. 

        "Ammo cost money, bastard." I huffed. "To pay for the money you've wasted, I'll take your life." I brought my elbow into his back, aiming for his spinal cord and hitting it. 

        It should paralyze him for a few seconds. I thought, rushing to grab the metal pipe out of his large hands. 

        I would run, but I'm not going to leave Twilight here; he'll kill him. I thought, angry at this situation. I need to buy time, WISE must be aware that Twilight hasn't returned, WISE has trackers on everyone, so they'll find him.

        I turned around to see Winston already on his feet, in fact, behind me! He tried to elbow the back of my neck but I dodged, backflipping onto his back and wrapping my thighs around his neck tightly. He tried to pry me off him, but I refused. I've always been stronger in my legs, now that I'm here, he's a fly that's right in my trap now.

        I wrapped my arms around my thighs too so I can direct more pressure to him. He's a strong and tall man, who knows how long he can hold his breath. I need him to pass out, then I'll kill him right here and now. 

        He coughed, scratching my legs but to no avail. He backed up to the sewer wall, slamming his back and the back of my head into the concrete wall. He backed into it multiple times before I felt my vision stagger, a terrible headache forming as I felt my grip loosen. He noticed and grabbed my shirt's collar, throwing me down to where Twilight was knocked out. 

        I can't do this. He's so strong... I thought to myself. If only I had the endurance Yuri has, maybe then I can take him on.

        I huffed, sitting up, only for him to place his black boot onto my cheek and roughly hit my head back onto the floor. 

        "Such a shame, I've always been a fan of cold-hearted woman." Winston spoke. "I told you, should've ran when you had the chance." He spoke, applying more pressure under his foot. 

        He's going to crush my skull... I thought, my head pounding terribly.

        "While you die, I might as well see what Twilight's face really is." Winston spoke, reaching down next to me where Twilight was and grabbing his face mask. 

        "I hope... you fall onto that metal pipe... and tear your ass open." I huffed, the left side of my face smushed onto the ground as my right cheek was under his foot. 

        My vision was fading a black and white, a color I remembered from the war in Westalis when I was younger and lost my vision, or when I'd faint many times during my training in the army and in WISE. If only I was taller, stronger, worked out more or even took some extra missions, maybe then I could've fended him off. Maybe then I could've kept peace between Ostania and Westalis.

        I hate this feeling, I was always left behind. Even as a kid, my growth was stunted after I turned ten, promptly after joining the military. The work they put me through had negative effects on my body, my eyes, my ears, my memory, and my health. I couldn't grow like the other kids after that, but I guess I truly lost my childhood innocence when I forced my way into the Westalis Army like that. How childish I was.

        I heard footsteps and trailed my eyes to where I heard them, seeing a woman with black hair. 

        Is she apart of the SSS? I thought, then recognized her pretty eyes. Nightfall! I've never been more glad to see her! I felt a smile crawl onto my face. Twilight should be in good hands now, so I don't have to fight anymore. 

        I allowed my guard to go down as I closed my eyes, taking a quick power nap.

        .

        .

        The ringing in my ears was loud, along with the pain I heard screaming in my body. I heard muffled talking, recognizing Twilight's voice, but it was younger.

        "You're going to have to do more than that to take me down." Twilight spoke.

        "Shut up! I'm going to kick your ass!" I screamed, forcing myself out of the mud I was in and charging at him

        Twilight quickly sidestepped and righthooked me, throwing me right back into the ground.

        "I hate you..." I huffed.

        "I've heard." Twilight smirked. 

        "This isn't fair. You're stronger and taller and older than me! I need like, a gun or something!" I exclaimed. 

        "Do you think the enemy cares about that? If you're armed or not?" Twilight questioned. "The only thing they care about is if your head is still attached." 

        I looked down, adverting eye-contact as I felt tears welt up in my eyes. 

        "Hey, you're still a kid. You'll grow up to be strong." Twilight spoke, sitting down next to me in the ground as he ruffled my hair.

        "But you're a teenager and you're strong!" I shouted. 

        "I worked hard for it. You just need to train a little more, even during your free time." Twilight spoke, slightly scolding me in that last part. 

        "So much work..." I sighed. 

        "You wanna be big and strong, right? Surpass me?" Twilight questioned.

        "Yeah." I confirmed.

        "Then get up and let's do this again." Twilight ordered, standing up from the ground. 

        I stood up and looked at the sun, looking for how long it'll be until dark, but I just saw my vision fading instead.

        .

        .

        I opened my eyes to find myself on someone's shoulders. I looked to my left and found a roughed-up Winston. I turned around and saw I was being carried by one of the SSS captains!

        Aw, crap, the SSS found me here! I thought to myself.        

        "She's awake!" the captain spoke, in a voice I did not recognize as his.

        "Are you okay, (Y/N)?" I heard Twilight's voice and smiled in relief, seeing him not to far in front of us, carrying Nightfall on his uninjured shoulder.

        "Are you good?" I questioned. 

        "Always deflecting." He mumbled. "I'm okay."

        "I'm fine too. I just... really need a nap. And medical attention." I sighed, the headache I have almost felt like my head was splitting open.

        "Don't worry, we're almost out of here." Twilight spoke.

        I hopped off the imposter Captain's shoulder and followed them as we made our way out of the sewers, ending up in a van. 

        "We sure are lucky they stopped short of a full-scale mobilization with checkpoints and such. They refused to get the police involved from the start. Gotta be some reason they couldn't move overtly on this." Our driver spoke.

        "If our luck holds, we might actually make it all the way back to Berlint." The guy that was imposing as one of the SSS captains spoke (now out of his disguise).

        "At any rate, by catching Wheeler, we've succeeded in protecting the West's Intelligence assets in the East." Twilight spoke. 

        "Yeah, but we heard from Blue team that our mole in the SSS's comms team got taken out." The fake SSS captain said.

        "Even after catching Wheeler, we still can't get a clean win. It's hardly worth the effort." The driver spoke.

        "I tell you, I've had enough for today." The fake SSS captain said. "Hey, Twi-guy, you're getting a drink with me when we're back." 

        "HUH?!" Twilight exclaimed. "That's out of the question! I came here under the pretext of a work emergency! If I don't get home soon, it's going to look awfully suspicious."

        "Tch! Always the family man when you wanna get outta something." Fake captain said.

        "Being a family man is literally my mission." Twilight counterclaimed. "And especially today out of all days..." 

        "Oh? Are you and the wife fighting?" fake captain spoke.

        "Don't worry, Twilight. I feel you, man." I groaned, really hoping that Yuri wasn't at home right now.

        I still need to get an anniversary present for Donnie's wife, and for Yuri too. I owe him after all me and Twilight did to him today... I thought, sighing as my work wasn't done just yet. 

        "I don't know if I'd call it a fight, exactly..." Twilight sighed. "Let's just say I'm having trouble reading her feelings."                

        "So that even happens to the lofty Twilight, huh?" Fake captain spoke. 

        "It sounds like Operation STRIX is still in danger. I'll accompany Twilight home to investigate the source of friction." Nightfall spoke.

        "What's wrong with you? Get to a hospital already!" Twilight scolded, then looked at me. "You too!" 

        "Yeah, I probably got brain damage or something." I huffed, touching my head as I still felt it ache. 

        "Yeah, he's right. Only way to help a martial squabble is to stay the hell out of it." Fake captain spoke.

        We finally got to Berlint and I finally remembered the motorcycle I left back at Shellbury. 

        Ah, damn it. Well, the police will find it sooner or later. I'll just walk around. I thought to myself. 

        I looked at the stores open at this time, not finding many, but I did find a makeup store. 

        I remember from Yor that there was this new makeup kit every girl was after, but it's so expensive, so I should just buy that (I have the money with the two jobs I'm holding).

        Right! I still have to send in a report of today's events to WISE, along with the information the SSS has received, I thought, letting out a groan as I walk into the makeup store and quickly bought the makeup kit. 

        I headed to a flower shop and got some red carnations for Carmen too, thinking about what I'll get Yuri. A first-aid kit seems like a good investment at the moment for him (and me).

        I decided to grab some flowers for Yuri too. I heard guys never receive flowers, and I could believe that with the era we live in. I did a quick trip to the store and got a big stuffed bear for him too, that way he knows it was from the heart. 

        I also made a quick trip to the doctors, having them patch up my nose and the back of my head (apparently I got hit so much the back of my head broke open, so I'll have to return to remove these staples). I also washed the blood off my face and hands there, finding the alley I left my clothes in thanks to my little cereal box. I changed clothes and got rid of my eye contacts, wearing my glasses (if you have them) once more. I made it back to the SSS headquarters seeing a very worried Donnie.

        "You're so late! I thought that you had to leave for an hour or two, not the whole day!" Donnie exclaimed.

        "The line for this damn product, I swear!" I huffed, lying to Donnie as I gave him the makeup kit and one of the bouquets. "It was expensive as hell so consider that an apology for how long it took. The demand is high for it."

        "Thanks! This means a lot! I clocked out for you too." Donnie smiled. "You need me to walk you home? It's very late." 

        "No thanks. Yuri's a jealous man." I laughed. 

        "You're right. Be safe! If you feel anyone's following you, just call me!" Donnie spoke.

        "You're a good man. Later!" I spoke, waving as I walked away with my bouquet and my teddy bear. 

        I finally made it back to my apartment, just about ready to burst into tears since I was so happy to be home. 

        Home? Can I call it that after all that's happened? I basically just committed domestic abuse today at work without Yuri even knowing of this! 

        I climbed up the apartment stairs and made it to mine and Yuri's apartment, knocking on the door since Yuri has the only key (it's a work in progress for Yuri to get me a key). Yuri opened the door with an angry expression before it faded once seeing me.

        "Hey, what happened to your nose and face?" Yuri questioned. "And why are you so late?"

        "I worked with Donnie today on listening to bugged rooms, then did this extremely long interrogation and the bastard landed a few punches!" I huffed, gritting my teeth.

        "Are you okay? You should really lay down." Yuri spoke. "And what's with the bear and flowers?"

        "For you." I mumbled, adverting my eyes. "Donnie told me about how today was his anniversary with his wife, and it made me realize we never had a honeymoon or anything, for our real or fake relationship... so... I wanted to give you something so...you know...I care..." I muttered. 

        Yuri smiled, walking towards me as he took my gifts and set it down. I looked up at him, confused on what he was doing. 

        "I don't need you to spend money on me for me to know you care. Just you being by my side is enough for me." Yuri spoke, raising his arm and patting my head. 

        I smiled, ignoring the tears welling up in my eyes as I gave him a hug, completely forgetting about his wounds.

        "Ow! Ow!" he exclaimed.

        "Oh! Sorry!" I spoke, about to let go before he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in further. 

        "No! The pain is worth it!" he spoke through tears as I laughed. "What are you crying for anyways?" he smiled.

        "Listen, been a long time since I've had genuine love directed towards me." I huffed. 

        "I'll make it my life-long mission to make sure you're always loved!" Yuri declared confidently. 

        "By the way, I won't be cooking tonight. Today's been so long with how that damn brat broke my nose and fractured my jaw." I huffed.

        "So your jaw is injured too?" Yuri sighed. "I picked up some store soup for me since it'll be a while for me to see solid foods; you can have some."

        "What happened?" I questioned.

        "It's a long story..." Yuri huffed, resting his head on top of mine.

        Earlier, he said that just me being by his side was enough, but, I'm not truly by his side in this case... am I?

        Yuri Briar, I'm terribly sorry, but I don't think I could ever be the perfect Mrs. Briar for you. I'm Vixen, the West Spy after all. I've never failed a mission yet and I doubt I'd fail this one too just because of some measly feelings I harbor.

        Parts: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, current part, ten (to be continued when Spy x Family has more Yuri content!)

        Want more Yuri content? Yuri has his own masterlist now! Check it out!

        Have any requests? Check my masterlist to see the characters I write for: Masterlist (Please request, I have too much free time and too little fics).

        Hey! I need your help, my star! What do you wanna read for chapter 10? Help me decide on some new character’s personalities! Poll

[star-xxx1]

Money is the Anthem of success Pt. 1

Mob! Natasha x fem! reader

Summary: You changed, not wanting to be a slave to the women who said she loved you and that didn't sit right with Natasha.

Warnings: kindnapping, cheating, angst, fluff, Slapping, Aguring, illegal activities, Mentions of sub/ Dom dynamics, toxic relationships, cursing.

A/n: This was a request but I sadly lost, but thank you to whoever requested! <3 Kinda proof read, so sorry if there's any mistakes - enjoy :)

A name known by the world- Natalia Alianovna Romanova shorten name Natasha Romanoff, professionally know as Black widow...

A woman who was feared by many, but was hard to be seen. She was known for her intelligence, a master at escaping sticky situations easily. She's a quick thinker and is always one step ahead of her enemies, a master of disguise and can blend into any environment with ease. An expert at lockpicking, hacking, and surveillance and many more illegal activities. Her resourcefulness and creativity have gotten her out of many tight spots. Natasha is not afraid to take risks, but is also very calculated in her actions, which allows her to avoid getting into situations that she cannot handle. Overall, Natasha is a highly skilled and cunning women who can escape even the stickiest of situations, every single time.

She knew what she wanted and was not afraid to go after it. Her strength and determination made her a force to be reckoned with, and many people respected her for it. Despite the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-dominated world, she refused to let anyone stand in her way. She was a true inspiration to many criminals and has secured her place as one of the most powerful women of her time. She has built a vast criminal empire through her intelligence, resourcefulness, and sheer determination. Natasha is a charismatic leader who commands respect and loyalty from her followers. A skilled negotiator, able to make deals that benefit her organization while minimizing risk. Despite her success, Natasha is not afraid to get her hands dirty, and is known for her ruthlessness when dealing with those who cross her.

She is a master of manipulation and is able to use her charm to get what she wants. Her criminal empire is a testament to her power and influence. She is a true queenpin in the world of organized crime. Her empire climbing it's way to the top, untouched, thousands of people in the palm of her hand, many in the law itself.

Now you, a stunning 25-year-old women who was born into a wealthy family. You grew up in a mansion in the countryside of England and was surrounded by luxury your entire life. Your parents were successful mob people who provided you with everything you could ever want, from designer clothes to exotic vacations. You were always interested in the family business and spent most of your childhood learning about the criminal organization and how it operates. You were natural at business and quickly rose through the ranks after joining the network full-time. You were soon promoted to be the leader, making you one of the youngest in the industry.

Despite your success in business, you struggled to find true happiness. You felt like you were living in your parents' shadow and that there accomplishments were not truly your own. You also found it difficult to form genuine relationships with people, as you felt like they were only interested in you because of your wealth, status or body. When you resigned your parents weren't so happy however they supported your decision and decided to take back control of the company again. You were they top priority and you being that got you into a muddle, the muddle that led you to the love of your life.

The black widow herself.

The women who stalked you, held you hostage, manipulated you, played awful mind games with you until you gave in. Your parents were ambitious people, rising in the ranks of the crime world, threatening Natasha's organization in a attempt to gain more power. This didn't please the women in anyway what so ever. She devised a plan, to scare them off. That's were you came in, she did heavy research on your parents, witnessesing how much they cherish you. How they called you constantly, sent you money and presents daily, had family dinner dates every sunday, and how they celebrated all your achievements by throwing humongous parties, attended by hundrends of people. Taking in the information she sought out to capture you, use you as a trade off. Your parents get you and back off, or you die. The time she spent monitoring you she developed a deep admiration for you, she found you very attractive, smart and kind, she loved the way you helped out whenever you could. How can a girl so sweet be born into such a dangerous world?

Natasha would make a deal with your parent's but play them. She wanted you and you is what she'll get.

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

One of the celebrations is how she got you, sending teammates out to retrieve you, while she watched over the operation for her office. Clint barton, one of her most trusted members, slipped passed security, while Natasha bypassed cameras, and followed you into bathroom, drugging you with chloroform. Texting Wanda, he told her cut the lights so he could sneak out your limp form out.

The night you went missing, there was extreme uproar, everyone was worried sick, you were loved by everyone in that community.

That same night you woke up in an unfamiliar room, feeling disoriented and confused. quickly realizing that you had been held captive. Your head aches, and you feel weak and sore , realizing that you are tied to a chair. As you take in your surroundings, you realized that your is in a tiny room with no windows and a single door. You tried to scream for help, but you your avail no one. The grey, steel door opens with a loud creek, a silhouette walking in.

"So you're awake now" the person says, their voice low and menacing. You struggle against your restraints, trying to sit up, but the metal bars and the tight bindings keep you in place.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" You asked, trying to keep your voice steady, sweat dripping from your forehead. The figure leans in, their face hidden in the shadows.

"Your love" they hissed out.

You were taken aback, completely unprepared for that statement. It felt like your brain was short-circuiting, trying to figure out what to say or do. You started to stutter, trying to find the words to respond.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you managed to blurt out, "Excuse me, my love!? I don't even know you!"

You sat there, still trying to process what had happened. It felt like such a sudden and unexpected turn of events, and you couldn't wrap your head around it. You were expecting for an amount off money to be said, not something about love?

"No, I wont take no as an answer, your life is on the line, if yes then you live, live a happy life with me, no and I'll kill you in the most blood curdling, violent, sick way possible"

As you sat in that room, your body tensed up as you heard the words coming out of your kindnappers mouth. You could feel your heart drop into your stomach, fear coursing through your veins, feeling like you were going to pass out. You tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. Your mouth was dry, you could feel the tears starting to well up in your eyes. You had to find a way to survive, and that meant sacrificing yourself, your body, your soul.

"O-okay" you quaked. Before you knew it a bright flash blinded you.

"At least your parents know you'll live" their voice sounded feminine but you weren't sure.

"Did you just take a picture!?!" You shouted.

"Mhm, my love" they hummed out.

" 'My love' is a bit soon don't you think" you said, tone filled with vemon, raising a eyebrow.

This mystery person hidden in the shadows, stepped forward, their footsteps echoing in the dimly lit room. The figure stops, and a silence falls over the room as the figure reveals their true form, a beautiful woman. Her hair shines in the dim light, like a river of silk, and her skin glows with an otherworldly luster. You could feel the blood rushing to my face as you took in her beauty. She stepped closer, her eyes locked on yours, and for a moment, you felt like you were in a trance.

"No, I don't think so, my love, Natasha Romanoff is the name, you might of heard of me? " she said with a condescending tone, raising a eyebrow back at you.

"Fucking hell" you mutter under your breath, blush growing. "I know you" you gulped hard.

"Good, you'll know me better soon" Natasha chulcked out, turning around a walking out the room, slamming the door behind you causing you to flinch.

She returned to her office, where she sent the picture you your parents and stuck up a deal, only to play your worried parents, receiving a hefty amount of money from them- 260 million to be exact in the first 20 minutes. Once she had most their money, she sent out a crew to destroy the rest of your parents organization leaving the with nothing, wanting to take all there valuables even though she had you.

She smiled at the request she sent out to her crew, looking at the macbook with intensity. She could now relax remaining number one, kicking up her legs on her large wooden desk she pondered in ways to make you like her back.

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

As you sat in the room, your thoughts racing through your head. She was attractive? Would she hurt you? Are your parents coming to get you, are they hurt? Suddenly, you heard the sound of light footsteps approaching, tensing up, heart pounding in your chest. The door to the room creaked open, and she walked over to you, a smirk spreading across her face, emerald eyes piercing into your soul.

"Hello, my darling," she said, her voice low and seductive.

You felt like you were going to be sick as she leaned in close to you, her breath hot on your face. "I know you're scared, but I promise, I won't hurt you, unless you give me a reason to" she said, her voice suddenly soft and gentle. "I just want to get to know you."

"Let me go," you muttered, your voice barely above a whisper.

She laughed, a deep, feminine laugh that sent a shiver down you spine. "I can't do that" her voice low and menacing once more. "Not until you love me"

....

As the days turned into weeks, and then months, you started to notice that her behavior towards you was changing. She would bring you food and water, instead of different staff, talk to you about shared interests, even sing lullabies as you slept. And slowly, against your will, you started to like Natasha – to enjoy her company, even to crave it. One day, you realized that you had fallen in love with Her. And so, when she offered to set you free and be hers to, you didn't hesitate. You went with the intoxicating woman, grateful.

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

That's how you got here, all dolled up, walking through the halls of one of the many luxurious mansion, she owned and used for work. Natasha had forgot her lunch today, and as the good little house girlfriend? (if you can call it that) you were, you decide to deliver it to her by hand, and surprise her with the new set of lingerie you had brought recently. She had been cold and standoffish lately. Natasha had blips like these, stress from work devouring her, and she got very upset over it, her fathers acts and words still linger with her to this day, despite the man being dead. He still had a hold on her, controlling Natasha and the way she displays her emotions. Her fathers ways intercepted your relationship, the man taught her that her future partner should serve her, worship her, be her slave. That's the persona she forced onto you, rules like no talking back, no contacting people that she hasn't approved off, no going out with out permission and more strict rules and discipline.

During these times, she wouldn't respond calls or messages, come home late, ignore you, not eat. All because she dove into work, untill She catches up with the load. At first you thought she was cheating on you, accusing her. Leading to a agurement, she proved her self with the security camera footage. After everything died down it took weeks for her to forgive you fully, to get back onto her good side. You thought that maybe sex might cheer her up, help get her mind off things, be her stress relief something you absolutely love.

The sound of your red high heels clicking against the marbel floor, filled the airy halls, your tight bodycon dress hugging all your curves prefectly, push up bra accentuating your boobs, make up flawless. You looked drop dead nervous. Finding the meeting room that Clint told you to go to, having pervious meeting with her, you poped your head into the large area to make sure the coast was clear. The sight before you broken your heart into a million pieces.

Natasha had a girl sat on the large oak conference table, grabbing onto her thighs whilst in between her legs, giving her love bites. She looked like shs was enjoying herself, the way she closed her eyes and moaned along with the woman. You could feel the anger and pain simmering inside you as you watched, eyes narrowed in disgust. How could she do this to you? How could she betray you in this way?Something inside you snapped. The pain turned to rage, walking away with tears brimming your eyes. You walked pasted many people, everyone stared at you, wondering what got you so riled up. You walked in a fast annoyed pace and threw her lunch into the one of the metal trashcans once you reached outside. As you got ready to drive away the engine of your supercar revving loudly, you checked yourself out in the front mirror. Your massacre was smudged all down your cheeks, but you still looked so dam hot. Putting on your versace sunglasses, you sped out of there. The drive was one of the most painful things you had ever experienced, the silence was loud.

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

Natasha got home around 3 hours after you. You were just packing the last suitcase of yours, when hearing her voice ring through out the mansion.

"My love I'm home!" She seemed to be in a better mood, huh wonder why, maybe that Girl made her feel better. You rolled your eyes not responding, stuffing more of you items into the the case. Zipping up the luggage you grabbed your keys, looking over you shoulder to see Natasha leaning against the door frame.

"Whatcha doing hunny?" she asked confused.

"Enjoy Natasha, Enjoy her" you said in harsh tone.

Natasha didn't need anymore information to know what you were talking about.

"I will" she answered in a soft tone, slightly smirking to herself.

"Bitch" you snapped back.

"What did you just call me?" She questioned, stepping forward, her eye brow raising. You stared at her, watching her get closer and closer, her face inches away from yours. You repeated the pharse again.

'Bitch' your voice seething.

She was silent for a few moments, before the face srunched up as she let a out a growl. In the Conner of your eye you saw a hand coming for you.

And then, without any warning, you felt a burning sensation on your check, stumbling backwards, your hand flying up to your cheek as you tried to process what had just happened. A smirk spreading across her face. You had been slapped by her. It was a humiliating experience, one that would stay with you for a long time.

"You've change y/n! " she yelled out at you.

"How Natasha, how !?! You the one whoring yourself out to somebody else! Your the one cheating!" Your were on the verge of a break down, your body was hot and flustered from the anger coursing through you body, nothing felt real.

"You talk back! You don't listen to my order's! And I saw you with your little dumb friends!" She was vexed, her baby hairs sticking to her tense face.

"Oh for goodness sake, I'm tried of being you little slave! I'm a person not something that you can treat as object! It's done!" you screamed before grabbing your suitcase and Storming out the house. Natasha didn't go after you, in her mind you would come crawling back soon, you needed her she was the only thing that kept you alive. Shoving the suitcase into the boot, along with all the other picese of language, you slammed it shut, getting into the drivers seat and driving off.

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

You thought to yourself on the drive, you would go to a friends house, but who? Scanning your brain, Wanda came to your mind. She lived far enough from Natasha and was another leader in the mob business, being able to provide protection. Pressing the buttons on the cars screen, you called up Wanda explaining the situation and asking if you could stay. Reaching the house you let out a big sigh, relief washing over you.

After breaking up with Natasha, It felt like you had no one. But thankfully, you had wanda. As you settled into her spare room, you knew that my life had changed forever. But you also knew that you were lucky – because Wanda was there and she cared about me, and was willing to help when you needed it the most.

And then, slowly but surely, you started to see her in a different light. You noticed the way the would make you coffee in the morning, the way she would always listen to your problems and make you feel heard. She even helped you find you parents again after such along time without seeing or speaking to them. They were doing okay, living comfortably, being able to pick themselves up after the attack that Natasha order, but retired not wanting anymore trouble.

As the days turned into weeks, and then months, you started to fall in love with wanda. You were scared – more scared than you'd ever been before, because you didn't want to ruin the precious friendship. But at the same time, you couldn't deny the feelings that had been growing stronger and stronger inside of you. One night, as you cuddled on the couch, watching a movie, Wanda seemed tense, taking a deep breath she spoke the words that you had been wanting to say for so long. "I know this might sound crazy," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "But I think I love you."

You thought you would pass out, getting very light headed, her eyes locked on yours. "I love you too," you smiled back, "And I've loved you for a long time." Your voice was so tender. She took your hand and you guys finished off the moive, but where to tried to wall to the bedroom, falling asleep in each other's arms.

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

As Natasha layed there, staring at the ceiling, she couldn't shake the feeling of guilt and regret that had been weighing on her since she cheated weeks ago. It was a mistake, a moment that she couldn't take back, and now, she missed you more than anything in the world. She tried to shove the feeling aside, to focus on the present, on the person who was sleeping beside her. They were kind and caring, but she couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness that had settled into her chest. It was like a gaping hole, a void that nothing could fill. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about you, about the life that you had built together and the love that had once existed between you. Maybe it was just nostalgia, a craving for a time that was gone and wouldn't ever come back. And yet, she missed you – your laugh, smile, and presence in her life.

Your words danced around her head, and thats when she realized that she was truly going crazy with out you.

She was going to get you back.

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

Pt.2 here ... I hope you enjoyed! :)

[soupct123]

this will happen in half portal life 3

a while after chell joins the resistance, she’s staying with Gordon and Alyx and a bumcha other friendlies in an outpost, and they’re having one of those video calls with like kleiner or someone, who mentions that something keeps trying to take over these transmissions but they get cut off by that very something

Alyx is like “holy shit the columbo is hacking us we gotta move!”

But when the video and audio clear up it’s just GLaDOS real close to the camera going “*sniff* hello??? is my ex-wifey there?? hello??? is my girl gay best friend there with you?? I’ve been trying to find her for so long!!! hello???”

Gordon and Alyx look at each other and then at chell

and then glados sees Chell and goes “omg is that you????? Chell???? For real???? Cara mia???? My dangerous mute lunatic????? My babygirl???? My #1 test subject???? My little chelly-bean?????”

And chell is just fucking melting

“Chell pleeeeeeease come back to me!!! I’ve been sooooo lonely since you broke up with me!!!! I promise i changed!!!! please come back, if not for me then for our kids!!!”

Just like that, chell’s reputation as the hot brooding mysterious mute newcomer in the resistance is ruined.

The other rebels laugh about it. Alyx calls her all of those terms of endearment GLaDOS mentioned. None of the hot resistance women she tries to pick up want her anymore. Vortigaunts say “Greetings to the Freeman, the Alyx Vance, and the Robotfucker” when she meets them.

Chell is convinced that GLaDOS did this deliberately to mess with her life some more

But GLaDOS wasn’t joking

[moodymisty]

Konrad's beloved:

The job starts out fairly normal. She was just a serf for the Night Lords, and while they can be terrifying at times, they mostly ignored the baseline humans that served them.

She joined them after they overthrew her planets corrupt planetary governer. She knew of the brutal methods the eighth legion used, but considering the fact that her parents were killed by the governor for reporting on his misdeeds, she didn't really feel any pity at his gruesome end.

Her life changed drastically when she noticed another serf stuff a few gold coins into her purse and rush off to hand them over to a night lord who was waiting outside the room.

She barely managed to get a word out when she saw a glint of metal and then everything went dark.

When she woke up, she couldn't see anything. Only feel. The room was as silent as it was dark.

The bed she was on was the softest she had ever been on in her entire life. The pillowcases alone felt divine. She deduced that she must be in some incredibly high ranking officer's bed.

After what seemed like hours, she finally heard the soft click of the door being locked and felt the bed dip as someone heavy laid down.

She figured that it would be rude to simply ignore them, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

She was not expecting to hear back from the Night Hunter himself. "Yes, it is I, Konrad Curze."

Her heart pounded in your chest, "My lord! Forgive me I did not realise that it was you." She managed to stutter out.

"At ease." He hissed, "I simply want you to answer some questions."

She tried to get your breathing under control, "Like what my lord?"

There was a pause before he spoke again, "Why didn't you run when you saw that serf steal? Why did you try to say something?"

She could feel his eyes on her, "I- I was taught to speak up if I saw wrongdoing my lord."

She could hear a thoughtful hum from above her. "And you acted on your teachings?"

She was confused, wasn't that normal behaviour? "Yes my lord. Is that not common sense."

She felt the bed rumble, and she wondered for a moment if she had offended him. Then as she listened closer, she heard an odd deep hacking sound interspersed with deep rumbles. She realized that the Night Haunter was laughing.

Konrad couldn't believe what he was hearing from this mere baseline. She stepped forward to say something when she saw a serf steal for one of his sons. Any normal human would have ran from the scene or at least looked away.

She was intriguing. Konrad heard her small voice pipe up, "If you would indulge me my lord, what happened to the Night Lords and the serf?"

His mood soured when he heard that, "They're dead, as they should be."

There was a silence that was broken by Konrad, "What's your name woman?"

She gently sat up on the bed, feeling the fine linen under her hands as she righted herself.

"My name is Sylvie my lord."

Konrad paused, that was a nice name. He then looked over her, aside from the gruesome sight that were her eyes, the rest of her was what a baseline would call beautiful.

Delicate fingers that were hardened from the life of a serf. The rest of her features were equally fine, with delicate bone structure and full lips. She could easily be confused for a noblewoman once she took a bath and put on some luxurious clothes.

Most women of her beauty wouldn't demean themselves to be a serf, they'd sooner be a prostitute or swindle gullible men than do honest labour.

The more he looked at her, the more remarkable she seemed. Raven black hair and dark tanned skin native to the sunlit planet. How did he not notice her for so long?

Sylvie felt a long silence filling the room, there were many questions she wanted answers to, she began fairly simply, "Why did you kill the astartes my lord? Wouldn't it be difficult to replace them?"

Konrad shook himself out of his reverie, "I'd rather not have criminals for my sons, so it was not any major loss."

He let out a deep chuckle, "and as for replacing them, I feel that you could help me quite a bit in that department."

Sylvie could feel the heat creep up to her cheeks, what had she gotten herself into?

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

@moodymisty I hope you're proud of yourself.

This is what reading that comment on the reader giving Konrad good astartes has done to me.

I am proud of myself :3

And i am very proud of you, I very much enjoyed reading this. Anything that fuels my black hole of a breeding kink as well as multiple other of my darker desires makes me a happy duck.

quack

[rdmaaron]

It’s wild looking back on isekai as a genre. Like, we used to get classics like Escaflowne, .hack Sign, Rayearth, Inuyasha.

And then I realized that the shared trait they all have in common is that they were all about girls and/or written by women. The moment men threw their hat in ring we started getting a deluge of shit called things I Was Reborn As A God Who Has A Harem Of Submissive And Breedable Sisters.

I yearn for the days when an isekai could be about a teen girl falling into a fantasy world and going on a life changing journey of self discovery, and maybe get a cute prince boyfriend or something along the way and it would be peak fiction every time.

[bubuslutty]

Skin & Bones

Frank Castle's masterlist

pairing: frank castle x skinny!fem reader (platonic or romantic? who knows)

word count: 1.5k

tags: fluff, 3rd person pov, she/her pronouns, reader is referred to as darling/Frank's darling, insecurities, body image, poc friendly, sfw

warnings: none

summary: Frank's darling is petite, skinny, scrawny, whatever you want to call her. Frank can easily break her in half if he wanted. She might be strong and incredibly intelligent, but nobody is absolutely safe from feeling insecure from time to time.

a/n: uhhh I wrote this cuz I was feeling insecure abt the way I looked, I don't feel that way a lot but sometimes I do and I hate it. and I just wanted to write Frank to provide some comfort to reader. that's all 💙

Everyone has insecurities. Some more than others. Some know how to cope with them, and others don't. And God help you if you were a woman born into this world, because every made up insecurity under the sun will be shoved down your throat, or they will try at least, to make you feel like shit and buy whatever product they're claiming will change your life and solve all of your problems.

Frank noticed a lot of things, and lately he's been noticing how his darling stares a bit too long at the women around them.

He hears her sigh once in a while when she's alone, and he watches how her smiles start to dim and how much quieter she becomes, lost in her thoughts.

He notices how her eyes sparkle and shine in admiration and awe when they're hanging out with Karen. And he sure does hear her ramble and talk about how beautiful and cool Karen is when they're in the car, on their way home.

But then she would lock herself in her room and he wouldn't hear a single sound from her, except when he knocks on her door to call her to come and eat.

His darling, so intelligent and pretty, who, in his eyes, belongs in a painting, hung in a Museum, rather than with him, stained with blood and dirt, the ghosts of every person he's killed attached to him like a disease.

And yet, here she is, helping him take out any scum they believed needed to be gone. She investigates, looks for clues, interrogates before he goes to interrogate whoever they're holding captive, hacks whatever needs to be hacked, orders new weapons and ammunition and is the face of their little weird twisted family. She's the one who speaks at the bank when they need to open another account under fake identities. She's the one who sweet talks them out of sticky situations without having him break someone's nose or windpipe. She's the one who negotiates for their benefit.

But she's also the one who's used as bait to catch killers with fetishes, predators and disgusting scums. She's the one who distracts and deceives while Frank is handing out tickets to the afterlife like free sweets behind her smile, staining the back of her legs and slim neck with fresh blood.

And when they're all done for the day, she helps stitch him up, helps clean up their equipment, cooks something to eat when she has a bit of energy, and on days she can't get herself to make anything, she orders them something nice to eat.

More often than not, they'll end up on the sofa, in fresh pajamas and eating while watching a random show, and then Frank would fall asleep and his head would roll to the side, resting on her shoulder. Darling would pet his dark short hair and slowly push his heavy head away, and try to wake him up so he'll sleep on his bed instead.

This is just a glimpse of what their life consists of, but let's all come back to the beginning; insecurities.

Frank's darling is petite, skinny, scrawny, whatever you want to call her. She's shorter than him, her arms are long and he can hold both of her wrists with one hand with ease, he could practically break her if he wanted.

On most days, she was comfortable in her skin, making peace with the fact that no matter what she ate, or how much she ate, her body remained the same. Sometimes she would bang her hip bone with a table and hiss, and sometimes she wouldn't be able to open things or support the weight of certain guns with one hand alone, and that was alright, because Frank was there to do it for her. There were many things Frank could do, but also a lot of things he couldn't do.

Frank would notice how annoyed she becomes when they're out shopping for clothes, and no pair of jeans would fit around her waist, infuriating her. But that was alright, he would grab her hand and walk straight to the next store, to get her a pair of jeans that would fit as intended.

Even bulletproof vests have to be tightened a lot, especially when she has to wear one, but no worries, Frank would be there to adjust the size for her when need be.

"Hey," Frank knocked on her bedroom's door, which was already wide open.

Darling looked up from her position on the bed, she was curled up in the middle against the headboard, wrapped in a blanket and hugging one of her pillows to her chest. And Frank could practically smell the upset oozing out of her.

"Frank?" She said in a quiet voice, smiling a bit.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course."

Darling scooted a bit to the side and allowed Frank to sit next to her, making sure his boots didn't touch her clean bedsheets, staying on the ground.

"What's wrong?" He asked, not looking at her, instead at the random clothes and objects scattered around her room.

"Nothing really, just feeling a bit weird that's all." She shrugged, hugging her pillow closer to her chest.

"Hm, weird." Frank repeated, nodding once and scratching his chin.

"Yeah, just… feeling weird." She repeated, glancing at him.

"D'you wanna talk about it?" He offered, now properly turning his head to look straight at her, his eyes showing nothing but safety, Frank’s safe, he's safe-

Darling thought about it for a long time and nodded, pressing her body closer to his, trying to hide somehow. And he threw an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her tight against him.

"Do you– Do you think I'm pretty?" She whispered and Frank was a bit taken back.

"Of course," Frank said without hesitation.

Darling looked at him without saying anything, and sighed, "Are you saying that because you're a gentleman or do you really mean it? It's alright, I won't be offended if you don't think so, because I still will be more good looking than you, at least."

Frank cracked a smile and chuckled, "I'm being honest, I think you're very pretty, I won't lie to you."

"Okay," Darling whispered, nodding, "But do you think I'm too skinny?..."

Now, Frank frowned at that, "What's wrong with being skinny?"

"I don't know? Maybe because I'm not that strong, I'm not really– I'm not really curvy like most women and I don't know– Maybe I want to be a bit bigger?-" Darling rambled, avoiding eye contact with him and fiddling with her fingers.

"Beautiful, the way you look doesn't matter unless it affects your health, trust me." Frank said, cupping one of her cheeks and turning her face so he could make her look at him.

"I know, but sometimes I wished I had bigger hips, y'know? Maybe more fat under my skin, and maybe I wanted bigger boobs as well? I feel so much smaller and like- like puberty skipped me or something! And it's unfair! I want to look like other women as well-" Darling said, eyes shining with unshed tears as Frank watched her panic and hold her head in her hands as if that was an absolute catastrophe to have skinny hips and small boobs.

"Come on, stop with that bullshit." Frank gently scolded.

"You know it's true, Karen is so beautiful, she's so stunning and I look like a teenage boy." Darling said, now actually crying.

Frank's heart dropped a bit and he immediately collected her in his arms, rubbing her back in an attempt to sooth her.

"Let me tell you something, you're perfect just the way you are. Your body is constantly changing, you won't stay the same forever, you know that, right?" Frank said against her temple as she clutched tight onto his black t-shirt.

"I know, but it still makes me feel like shit sometimes. I know it's stupid-" She cried against his chest, feeling even worse because her periods are due in a couple of days. So she couldn't tell if she did really feel that insecure or if the feelings were amplified by hormones.

"It's not stupid. Everyone has shit they're insecure about, but you need to know that whatever you're insecure about is just a bunch of bullshit. Nobody cares if you're not curvy, if someone likes you, they'll like whatever you look like." Frank said, patting her back.

"But what if I don't find someone that'll like me because they think I'm too skinny?" Darling whispered.

"Now that's stupid." Frank scoffed, "You won't even speak to anyone who'll prioritize the way your body looks over what's in that brain, baby."

Frank's darling's crying was now reduced to small sniffles against his chest and she slowly looked up at him, wet eyelashes, runny nose and all.

"The only thing that I like about being skinny is that you can carry me like a suitcase so I don't have to walk." She said, shyly cracking a smile when Frank laughed, "Attagirl,"

"That's my girl, you're beautiful and smart, don't let anyone try to make you think otherwise, or I'll kidnap them and their kids." Frank said, making her burst out laughing.

"Not the kids!"

"Not the kids." Frank chuckled and placed a kiss to the crown of her head, smiling in her hair and vowing to punch anyone's esophagus if they ever made his girl feel insecure about her looks.

His darling might have bony arms, a tiny waist and a bit of the outline of her ribcage can be seen everytime she stretched. She can have bony hips and hit herself against tables once in a while, no flesh or meat cushioning her hipbone. But he doesn't give a shit what she looks like.

Because he knows how beautiful she looks when she's not looking at herself in a mirror or toying with her fingers and thinking about what ifs.

He loves that she can easily wrap herself around him, like a baby koala, with her long limbs, and sleep against him. He loves that she can practically fit in many tight places that he can't fit in, so that's more places to keep her safe when shit hits the fan.

He loves that many of her opponents underestimate what she can do, resulting more often that not, in their death.

He loves how different they are, yet so similar in certain things. They both want to get rid of shitty people the justice system struggles to hold accountable. They both share a drive to survive that is completely outmatched, he'll claw his way to hell and so will she.

Frank wishes that he could help her understand the way he sees her, but he doesn't think he's that good at expressing what he really means. So as long as she's fine by his side, so is he.

thank you for reading 💙

[mazzystar24]

https://www.tumblr.com/mazzystar24/753386242594455552/okay-so-yall-know-im-nosy-and-cant-resist

Also considering not even 3 days ago she was crying about Bummy being a made up British slur she invented herself 💀

And now she’s saying people refuse to use logic to see her using an actual slur coded word isn’t actually that at all 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

I wonder how long before she changes her story again and try’s the “buddie fans hacked me again I’d never say such a thing!” Defense.

Or she’ll do like what she did yesterday when someone called her out for being ableist on Twitter. She’ll ss their post, block the person, then crop it a little to cut off where she was being called out, and then post it saying a fan let her know it seemed ableist and she’d never want to be seen like that 💀

No literally like I live in Britain and have for most my life and as you’ve probably got from my other posts i have probably heard every British saying and derogatory term or slur whether that be racist or homophobic or whatever (and I interact with enough of a range of people from different regions of the uk to like have the variances) but never have I heard of bummy being used like that

Like I’ve heard it in the way pertaining to homeless people or being bummed out by something but like if it’s a homophobic one it’s one of those super niche and like archaic ones

I’ve also heard “bummed” being used as a reference to anal sex obviously and in crude ways but that’s different from bummy and bummed is more commonly used in the disappointed way than in this way

BUT I SCOURED THE INTERNET AND HAVE FOUND NO REFERENCE TO BUMMY BEING USED IN A DEROGATORY WAY TO GAY PEOPLE

But on that as a little bit of a nerd I want y’all to remember that word meanings evolve over time through colloquialism

When you say something is hysterical and you’re not referring to the hysteria that women used to be diagnosed with

When you say Bugger doesn’t relate to sodomy or Bulgarians now

On the DL used to be about men (particularly black men) sleeping with men while being married to women

Long time no see was a way to make fun of Asians

That’s all to say that to say that a word that’s most commonly used in reference to homeless people or to express disappointment is people being homophobic is quite a leap

Whereas what she’s doing rn and her having like multiple posts downplaying Tommys part in the racism and all that stuff and her being a white woman that is STARTLINGLY confident in speaking about what people should be feeling about Lou’s wording or posts or Tommys past behaviour is TELLING to me

GAJSKF NOT THE HACKED EXCUSE AGJSKFKF

For real 😭😭

[belowzion]

Below Zion: Rethinking Valentino

Hello everyone! Today I wanted to show you how we've been rewriting Valentino. As stated in my previous blogs, the characters are given different feels to make them as distinct from their show counterparts as possible so that eventually this can be its own thing. While still inhabiting the pimp lord aspects, Valentinos way of thinking, motivations and even what he does in his past-time should change how this character works and why I grew a fascination in writing about his character recently. Make no mistake, he is a villain and funnily enough, a stark contrast to Charlies ideas.

"Oh, the sex work is great! Tino is garbage. See, I haven't left the industry. I just ran from that self-rightous prick…" - Hip-Lash, one of Angels best friends, left the 'industry'. Hasn't seen Angel for 30 years. To understand where Valentino comes from and why he is the kind of person he is, some context is needed. In Below Zion, sinners are completely incapable of making pacts with other people. Their power instead depends on how sinful they were in life. If you sinned too much, you get thrown into Penance Machines, where you are excessively tortured and bleed out all that sinful energy for runes! Runes pass off as currency in Hell. But if you were not a cannibal serial child killer, you get to enjoy some amazing powers! Or if you got bailed out of these machines through some higher power. While nothing too crazy like what Alastor might be capable of, these sinners are still very powerful with the Wrath they possess. Valentino is no exception. His hazbin is an interesting case of a person hiding the true degeneracy that they possess deep within them. See, Valentino, known before as Mikhail "Milo" Tarentino, was a yoga teacher, originating from India! The guy, not really enjoying his position in India due to the fact that yoga was already quite popular there, decided to move to Italy where yoga wasn't as prevalent! Tarentino was a social butterfly, able to get many contacts and many students into his class! However, his true debauchery also began here. He would often have sexual intercourse with his own students, coercing them, grooming them and eventually fucking them! It does not help the matters that most of these women were married.

"Oh goodness, I did not expect to have a new neighbour! Welcome! I actually remember you, you know? You agreed to collect dirty things for Butcher Pete." Sledge nods. "So I did." "Gross job. Glad they had rubber gloves my size." He says, raising a paw, and wiggling his pudgy fingers… It reminds Alastor a little of one of those asian lucky-cats… cute. "Why ya callin' him 'Butcher Pete'?"

"Oh! No reason! There is just a very catchy song that I wish I NEVER paid any attention to the lyrics of!"

He says as he spins his microphone!

"Would you like to give it a listen? It reminds me of the kind of sinners that I find often here in Lust…" "Sure."

From Als staff - a combination of magical and technological - comes out a very upbeat tune! "Hey everybody, did the news get around? About a guy named Butcher Pete! Oh, Pete just flew into this town, And he's choppin' up all the women's meat!

He's hackin' and wackin' and smackin'! He's hackin' and wackin' and smackin'! He's hackin' and wackin' and smackin'! He just hacks, wacks, choppin' that meat!"

And also... this.

"Yeah, I see your point there, Al... but I got a question for ya~" He says with a sinister grin~

"Very well, i shall bite! Shoot!" "Say, have you ever had a pump and dump at a family reunion~?"

"[Oh no...]" The T.V Demon grows... concerned for what is about to be retold.

Velvette begins to giggle maniacally!

"I know Some of those words! Likely Not in the context You Want them to be in, though!"

"Then you do know the context I am referring to~ Don't worry Al, I am not talking about ones own family reunion, obviously, but somebody else's."

"You Are talking about FILTH then. No Val, i have done Nothing of the likes!"

"Oh come on, never had the fun? I had this one where I was invited to one of my students', I was a yoga teacher back in the day, you see? Anyhow, I eventually found myself banging different women. See, because they are all related, they had like, slightly different mommy boxes, but I was test driving 'em, right? Seeing how evolution has shaped each one a little differently so that you can find one that's just right?"

[No, Val stop, Al is already-]

"I call this goldilocksing~"

"And this relates to hunting... hoooow...?" Velvette seems perplexed...

Val thinks for a moment...

"I forgot what I was getting at, my bad~" He says as he takes a puff from his cigarette.

Al... looks grossed out. He thinks about this... And shivers in mild disgust again, a few moments after the first time.

As you can see here, Valentino kept his "trade" a secret in his human life, but he was also very good with it. Being able to get around fucking the entire female half of a family. Living in Italy though, he envied the mafia families that always seemed to be able to get what they wanted. More so because one day, one of those families caught Tino and his disgusting tendencies and... lets just say that he was never found on Earth again.

This eventually landed him in Hell. While he did sin quite excessively, it did not compare to the likes of Velvette, Alastor, Eve, Angel Dust or Agatha. However, he did gain one very prominent power from this... The red mist. The mist he puffs out whenever he smokes, the stench that leaves his body, the morphine that binds people to him like soul contracts!

Its an addictive substanance. Some people even describe it as off-puttingly as possible by saying that its his "musk". Valentino, while possessing not a terrifying amount of strength compred to some other powerful sinners out there, he possesses an ability that can dominate each one of them without trouble.

One such case being Angel Dust.

See, Angel, being the son of a ruthless mafia boss, when arrived in Hell, he wanted to become famous and wealthy immidietly! Get rich quick without much work! Well, with work he loves to do~

This is where Valentino steps into his life, offering him such opportunities while... making sure Angel inhales his mist as much as possible. Keep him addicted, don't let him get away~

Valentino is especially abusive towards Angel both sexually and physically. However, this stems not from his actual love for Angel Dust, but his hate.

Valentino, ever since he arrived in Hell, has gained a sick fascination towards punishing the sinners that think they are hot shit.

"He has a… self-rightous attitude lets say. If he thinks you had it too good and don't appriciate the stuff you have… he'll get ideas~" -Velvette

Valentino is the essence of Hell. He punishes the winners of hazbin, not the losers. Seeing Angel Dust, being this mafiaso that loved and CRAVED sex in every opportunity and got what he wanted without ever thinking about the implications, gives Valentino this certain feeling of moral superiority. He feels like a punisher, a true demon of Hell that is there to become Angels worst nightmare for all the horrible things he has done in his life.

It gets better due to the fact that Valentino knows he is weaker than Angel, yet due to his addictions, he wins over him. Its not some pact that binds Angel, its his own Lust... and Sloth. His desire for easy success and wealth led him to this disgusting mess.

When Charlie rolls around with the idea of redemption, of course he hates it. To him, punishment is well deserved and bad boys like Angel need to be made an example of.

This also presents the reader with an interesting question. Does Angel deserve what Val does to him considering that he was CERTAINLY not a good person in his own hazbin? Or does he deserve redemption? This is literally Charlies ideology, being asked to the viewer. Should the sinner be punished or redeemed? Angel was a despicable human being that murdered, tortured, raped and was bound to many external substances. Does he deserve punishment in the hands of Valentino? Or does he deserve redemption in the hands of Charlie?

Valentino is also not just doing this to Angel. This goes for ANYONE he thinks they had it too good for too long...

Welp, that was all! Valentino is an asshole pervert fueled by hatred!

Please do write feedback, I'd love to hear your ideas if you think of any!