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twistedtummies2 · 2 years ago

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What video games do you think the dorm leaders would play if our games existed in their world? Gimme specific titles! >:3

This has been sitting in my Inbox for a bit. I had to really think on it. XD I want to thank @belliesandburps for his help making some suggestions on possible games. I didn't take all of them, but it was good to bounce stuff off of him, and he did help me work out some options. :)

RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS

I don't really see Riddle as being much of a gamer. Indeed, he's such a perfectionist and workaholic that such things practically seem beyond his comprehension. That's a big part of Riddle as a character: he's extremely uptight, due to his upbringing and his own personal ideals and standards, often to a ludicrous and comical degree. Riddle playing video games just doesn't seem like something that would happen. HOWEVER, if I were to pick a specific game or franchise...I'd probably go with, of all things, the "Carmen Sandiego" games. Why, you may ask? Well, first of all, they're edutainment games; if someone can't convince Riddle to play them for their entertainment value, then suggesting them as a teaching tool or something might be a way to sort of weasel him into playing them. Second of all, they are games all about detectives trying to capture a master criminal; Riddle has expressed an interest in a career in law, in the past. And third of all...I think it's funny to imagine Riddle going into "OFF WITH HER HEAD!" mode because Carmen got away again. XD LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

Leona is a chessmaster, both literally and figuratively. Strategy is the name of the game for him; he likes finding ways to manipulate situations or seek out his enemies' weaknesses. He always has a Plan B, and he keeps his cards close to his chest. He's evasive, elusive, and much more intellectual and intelligent than his slothful, gluttonous demeanor would at first indicate. At the same time, Leona is a wild animal; he's ravenous, beastly, aggressive, and somewhat unpredictable. As a result, I think that stealth-action games would probably be his forte: they appeal to him as both a hunter and a strategist, offering him the thrill of the chase and combat, but also opportunities to flex his mind and work out the best way to approach a dangerous situation. I decided to pick "Assassin's Creed" as his game of choice. If I had to choose a specific game from the bunch, I'd go with either the very first game, or perhaps "Origins," simply because I feel like the environments in those games would appeal to him most. Other potential options are "Rogue" (because villain protagonist), and "Black Flag" (because Pirates, and see the Halloween Event). AZUL ASHENGROTTO

This choice might be a bit of a weird one. But I felt Azul needed to have a game a bit different from all the rest. Azul is greed incarnate, basically; he measures everything he does first by how much he can profit from it, and then how much pleasure he can get out of it, usually in that order. This idea is reflected in his hobbies, as well as in the games he plays; like Leona, he is a master strategist and a great chess player. However, while Leona sees things more like a hunter and perhaps as a soldier, Azul sees things more like a businessman or a mob boss: it's less about battle plans and more about economics. Therefore, when it comes to video games, I felt a resource management type game would be a good one for him to use. I chose a little ditty called "Turmoil": if you haven't heard of this game, it's an RM game where you actually play as a prospective oil tycoon int he days of the Wild West. The game has you try to build up your funds, drill for oil, claim stock prices, make bargains with the bank, and so on and so forth. It's all about economics and becoming the richest, biggest businessman you can possibly be. Tell me THAT doesn't sound like an absolutely perfect fit for Azul! ;)

KALIM AL-ASIM

Kalim likes to have fun and is generally a sweetheart. He likes to do things people can do in groups; he likes having a good time with his friends. My first initial instinct was to go with something DDR or Karaoke related, but I decided against it simply because I decided that would work better for another Dorm Leader, and I wanted to keep each of them separate from each other. So, instead, I decided to go with a little game I'm sure you've never heard of called "Mario Kart." A flashy, fast-paced, generally rather innocent kart racing game that you can play with friends sounds like just the ticket for the Baby Otter. He'll be laughing and cheering, even if you throw a shell at him. After all, tis all in good fun. ^^

VIL SCHOENHEIT

Just like Riddle, I don't really see Vil as much of a gamer. However, I DO see him as a performer, because...well...that is very literally what he is. He's an actor, a singer, a dancer, a model, a photographer, a director, a choreographer, a musical maestro, a fashionista...basically, just about everything that can pertain to such things, Vil has the talent and passion for it. So if he's going to play a game, it's going to be something that gives him a chance to strut his stuff and perform. I decided to go with the somewhat obscure title "Dance on Broadway." It's a pretty standard rhythm game for the Nintendo Wii that is most notable because, as the title suggests, it features songs from various stage musicals. The game itself is, by all accounts, sort of "meh" (I've never played it, myself), but it definitely seems like something up Vil's alley. We'll just ignore the fact there's actually a Disney song in the mix. :P

IDIA SHROUD

In the universe of TW, Idia is actually a canon gamer, and his tastes are pretty darn cosmopolitan. He likes a lot of titles, from space shooters to gacha games, and this makes it hard to determine what his actual favorites would be. If I had to choose games from our world, that I'm super familiar with, I feel like online games feel most close to home to what I imagine Idia would enjoy, since he's also a streamer. I decided on two classic titles: "World of Warcraft" and "League of Legends." In the case of the latter...for lack of a better way of putting it, it just feels like something Idia would enjoy. In the case of the former, it is specifically because of the Halloweentime Event for the game which features the Headless Horseman. We all know how Idia feels about "Creepy Hollow" and the "Pumpkin Knight," after all. ;)

MALLEUS DRACONIA

Once again, Malleus I don't see as a gamer, for probably very obvious reasons. But I think that if he were to play games, he'd want to have something he can play alone OR play with friends, given his issues in the story of TW. He'd want to have the option. He'd also want something he can understand pretty easily and can get a hand of quickly, so to speak. And he'd also want something that appeals to his rather Gothic sense of style. Putting it all together, I chose a specific title from one of my favorite franchises, "Castlevania." Namely, the game "Portrait of Ruin." Putting side my own bias towards the game (it's one of my favorites from the series), the fact you can either play it on its own or connect with other plays for co-op, and is available on a portable platform, makes it quite ideal for our favorite dark prince, in my opinion. The imagine of himself and the Prefect working together to take down Dracula and the Grim Reaper in the final boss battle (one of the BEST BOSS BATTLES EVAH!!!) is just a mental image that makes me grin.

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lassieposting · 2 years ago

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SP Characters & First Dates

Because. There's not a lot of imagine/preference type content in this fandom and I think that's a bit sad actually? I like seeing this lame shit in other fandoms. Embrace the trash.

Become one with the cringe.

Ghastly is an old-fashioned romantic who loves the simple things in life. He'd invite you over for a fantastic homecooked meal - suggestions welcome - and an evening of good conversation. If he doesn't know your alcohol preference he panics and picks up a selection just in case. He mostly wants to talk about you and your life, not him and his magic. He offers to drive you home or get you an Uber when you decide it's time to head out.

Dexter's ideal first date is usually along the lines of quadbiking, or abseiling, or camping together - if you suggest an outdoorsy activity, it nets you extra enthusiasm. It's very casual - you roast snacks on a campfire and share some beers, and he'll keep you entertained with amusing anecdotes about his adventures. He's very chilled out and he'll be upfront that sex is on the table if you want it, you know where his tent is, but no pressure.

Skug is classy and likes to impress, and throwing money around is his love language, so your date is probably at like, the opera, or the ballet, or an art gallery - somewhere he can make use of the Hot Voice to lean in and quietly translate particularly poetic lyrics or point out that all the paintings in this room resemble you, have you noticed, because 300 years ago your features/figure/hair type were the absolute height of desirability - with an expensive dinner afterwards. He picks you up, pays for everything, and makes sure you get home safely afterwards. He'll get kind of flustered if you invite him in for a nightcap, but it's a flattered kind of flustered, and he won't turn down someone he's clicked with.

Saracen has an awful lot of money and likes to gamble, so he'd probably suggest an evening at the high rollers' table in a fancy casino. He'll teach you to play all the games - who cares how much you lose as long as you're having fun? It's only money - and claim he's your good luck charm. He's actually just able to see the other players' cards and advise accordingly, but if you ask he'll tap his nose and say he knows things.

Erskine is a lunch guy rather than a dinner guy, and he likes to lounge. He'd prefer a cozy booth at an upscale café than a walk in the sunshine, and an afternoon relaxing on the beach tops...literally anything Dexter would come up with. He's very charming and affable, but he likes to keep things casual - discussing heavy topics like What He Wants In A Relationship are a bit much a bit too soon for someone with this many trust issues. He has Strong Opinions about wine, and he'll enjoy introducing you to different flavours and scents. He'll probably leave before you do though - his job is time-intensive and he doesn't really get guaranteed off hours where nobody can call him and claim he's needed in the office.

Larrikin is fun-loving, full of energy and the world's cheapest date. He likes to bar-hop, will always get up to do karaoke (and sign you up for a duet while he's at it) and will start grinding on you once he's had a few drinks and "his jam" (any song he enjoys) comes on. Honestly it's entirely possible you didn't even arrive with him - he's so comfortable with people that he'll just casually attach himself to someone he likes and whoops, you're on a date now. He enjoys drinking games like 20 Questions or Two Truths, One Lie - anything with a fun aspect to it. He's almost alarmingly upfront about what he likes and what he's looking for, but like, he's gonna have and be a good time anyway, even if you're ultimately not compatible.

Shudder is shy, introverted and not great at talking about himself, so he likes going to educational places like aquariums or zoos, somewhere there's a distraction so that he feels less like he's under a microscope. He actually knows a lot of pointless fun facts, which make for good icebreakers, but he prefers to listen while you do most of the talking - though, if you ask him questions, he's happy to answer them.

Mevolent is a public figure and under a lot of scrutiny, so he'll usually send a servant to unobtrusively invite you to some private activity - like a nice long country ride. He's a bit awkward, but if you bring up a subject he loves, like books or sigils, he'll get really enthusiastic and chatty and kind of tell you 8495737 new things about The Thing. Bickering with him is actually a good thing - he's used to getting whatever he wants whenever he wants it, and he's fascinated by someone who can tell him no, or that he's wrong. He'll thoroughly enjoy a good debate. (He's also very tall. He knows. He's literally waiting for you to comment on it. If you make it the entire date without telling him how tall he is, he'll like you a lot more.)

Nef is classy in his own world's way, but he's had to adapt a lot to life with few resources in Roarhaven, so he's a lot more open to trying new things that he would've turned up his nose at 50 years ago. He'll trail around a museum with you or go watch a - preferably horror, he's living vicariously these days - film at a drive-in, and he'll even let you cuddle into his side if you get spooked. But he'll also start helpfully explaining that this is all very unrealistic, the onscreen killer has terrible flaying technique, the actor hasn't researched this at all. So, you know, swings and roundabouts. He's an odd combination of 17th and 21st century manners - he'll still offer you his arm while you're walking, but he'll also absolutely try and get in your pants by the end of the night.

Vile - because he's canonically dateable now - is a challenge, because you have to do most of the work. He can be won over, and a little part of him that misses affection even wants to be, but he's massively traumatised and he's not going to come around easily to the idea of opening up or having A Weakness again. He's not a talker, so he's happiest with someone else carrying the conversation, but he can be drawn into a chat more easily if it's not about him. He likes to get out of the city and burn off some excess magic - a refreshing full-tilt gallop across open ground, or a makeshift shooting gallery where you can toss targets for him to hit with shadows in mid-air. Talking to him about anything that's not the Faceless Ones is appreciated too - it's tough sometimes, being a nonbeliever surrounded by zealots. A conversation where he isn't told at least once that the gods will burn his bones is a good conversation. (Or you could always, you know, fight him.)

#skulduggery pleasant #sp preference #yes i am distracting myself from intrusive thoughts why do you ask #vile also likes 'share a space and do your own thing in companionable quiet' but you gotta kind of know them first for that shit to be like #comfortable rather than awkward #i genuinely tried to imagine vengeous on a date and my brain crashed #i dont normally write this kind of thing but i enjoyed it so

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strawberrymilkgeorge · 4 years ago

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Part Fifteen. “eyes eyes eyes.”

word count: 5.9k (not including pictures) warnings: swearing

behind the screen (irl dream x f!reader) series masterlist ultimate masterlist

A/N: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you know? anyway uh....... hope you like this... a lot is kinda going on in this part... but more details will come in the next chapter don’t worry i’m not scamming you

_____

"I can't believe you," Dream scoffed from the other side of the phone, which was displaying only his eyes and up as Y/n's phone laid face up towards her ceiling. She didn't mind; he had pretty eyes and his blond hair poked out wildly beneath his hoodie and it was enough to make her only half focus on their conversation about her newest Minecraft build.

Y/n smiled as she glanced back at her phone to see him squinting at his screen in confusion even though there was no face on the other side, then looked back at her monitor. Neither of them were streaming but were bored so they decided to wander around on the SMP, continuing their all-day FaceTime call instead of transferring to Discord. They were on their fifth hour of FaceTiming at this point. Y/n had suggested multiple times switching to voice call instead since she wasn't showing her face, hoping he would say no so she could see him still, and each time he denied it because he claimed it felt more real when he could see her ceiling. Whatever that meant.

"I don't know what to tell you, bud. I'm just playing the game."

"But..." he pouted, she could tell by his voice... and by the eyes that were still glued to the call. "How are you so good?"

"Magic."

"I knew it."

She giggled and looked back to Minecraft, where she was looking at the massive hideout Sam had helped her build, complete with secret doors and tunnels and a whole lot of redstone. "Sam did most of it."

"Bullshit. Look at that," he said as he looked away from the phone and his green avatar punched the side of the build. "That has 'Bug' written all over it. You did that."

"Okay, I did do that part, but the cool parts like the secret doors and stuff are all Sam."

"Stop downplaying your skills. It looks good, Bug." His voice was clear and genuine and sent chills down her spine. For someone who want physically affectionate, she really wanted to give him a big hug. And... well... other things.

"Thanks, Dream," she whispered.

"You're welcome," he whispered back childishly.

"What in the..." Y/n said as she turned and saw a familiar Minecraft character with a white and red shirt in the distance. She pressed the zoom hotkey and stared at him as he filled her screen. "What is he doing?"

"Oh, speaking of Tommy," Dream started, clearing his throat as his avatar ran back and forth between the door of her hideout and a tree about ten blocks from it. "Um, I had an idea about, uh, the lake thing? The New Years' trip?"

"What's up?" she asked, turning to face him as she listened.

"Well, it's only about three weeks away and I was thinking—"

Dream was cut off as Tommy ran over to hit him with an axe a couple of times before running away.

"What the hell?" Dream grumbled as they watched Tommy sprint and jump in the direction he came from. The young boy paused when he realized neither of them were following, just looking in his direction.

<TommyInnit> did I scare you guys <TommyInnit> I did, didn't I <TommyInnit> I am very good at scaring people

Y/n laughed and typed her reply

<BugsyGames> not one single bone in my body was scared, tommyinnit <BugsyGames> try harder next time ig :/ <TommyInnit> JOIN VC RIGHT NOW <TommyInnit> VC <TommyInnit> VC <TommyInnit> VC <TommyInnit> VC <TommyInnit> VC

"Oh my gosh, he's so annoying," Dream mumbled with a small laugh but made no effort to do as the younger told.

<BugsyGames> idk if i really wanna HEAR you curse me out bc you already have over text multiple times <TommyInnit> VC <TommyInnit> VC

"Are you gonna join?" she asked, opening Discord on her other monitor.

"Hell no," Dream scoffed before his voice turned worrisome. "Are you?"

"Yeah, he's entertaining," she said. "And he won't leave us alone until one of us pays attention to him."

"Oh, you wanna be left alone with me, Bug?" he teased and she couldn't help but smile widely in embarrassment.

"Whatever you want to think I said, Dream." Y/n laughed, making Dream pout.

"Buuugg... just say you love me already," he whined jokingly.

Since she couldn't ignore the overwhelming butterflies in her stomach, she ignored him and opened Discord and looked at the voice channel Tommy was in. "Oh, Tubbo and Ranboo are there too, so it's worth getting cursed out," she told Dream before sliding on her headphones and joining. She moved one side off of her ear so she could still hear Dream over FaceTime if he spoke to her, seeing as he wasn't going to join the Discord call.

"Hi—"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?" Tommy started yelling quickly. "I'M NOT AFRAID TO FIGHT A GIRL, I HAVE FOUGHT MANY WOMEN AND HAVE WON EVERY TIME."

"Uh... geesh Tommy, no hello?" Y/n asked. "Why do you get in so many fights with women?"

"They question my manliness."

"Hm. Maybe work on making it less questionable?"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"What is... happening?" Ranboo asked.

"I don't really know. Tommy came over and punched Dream and then made me join vc so he could yell at me, I guess."

"Oh, that's where he went!" Tubbo said. "I had no idea, he just disappeared."

"I HAD TO GO HIT DREAM BECAUSE HE'S TALKING TO A FEMALE AND I WANTED HIM TO LOOK BAD IN FRONT OF HER."

"What is he saying to you?" Dream asked from the phone on the desk. "He's yelling at you?"

"No, it's just Tommy being Tommy."

"W-What?" Tommy asked.

"I was talking to Dream," she explained.

"I can get on and tell him to stop if you need me to," Dream offered before his keyboard started clicking. "Should I? Do you want me to?"

"No, Dream, it's okay. I'll just fight him."

"YOU'RE WITH HIM??" Tommy accused.

"No! We're on FaceTime."

"YOU'RE FACETIMING HIM?"

"Yup," she stated before quickly changing the subject since Tommy and Ranboo were both streaming. "What are my sons up to?"

"We're just trident-ing around talking about whether or not my or Tommy's accent is worse," Tubbo said. "He says 'grass' weird."

"Tommy's," Y/n voted, wanting to piss off the youngest more. "You have the voice of an angel, Tub."

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that Bugsy and Dream are FaceTiming right now?" Tommy asked in a calmer, more mumbled but still frantic voice. "Cause, I mean, I just think it's a bit strange is all but if we're just going to breeze past it, I mean... you know? The two faceless Minecrafters are staring into each other's eyes while we all talk on Discord like nothing is happening."

"We aren't 'staring into each other's eyes'," Y/n corrected.

She paused when Dream giggled and said, "I bet you're staring into mine, Bug." She glanced down to see his full face beaming up at her with a playful smile. He had propped his phone up on his monitor so she could see where his elbows met his desk all the way to the top of his fluffy hair. Her cheeks and neck burned hot as she looked at the boy cuddled up in his hoodie once again. He folded his arms on his desk and placed his chin on his forearms, looking impossibly cuter as he stared at the camera. "There's no way for me to know you aren't."

"Shut up, Dream," she mumbled before speaking to the others again. "We're not even showing our faces," she lied. "Dream sorta is but not really."

"No need to lie to everyone," Dream said, still smiling, sitting up from his position. "This is my entire face. What, you don't want people to know you get to see me whenever you want? You have VIP access, baby, the people should know."

An abrupt laugh escaped her lips at the nickname. "Can you guys hear Dream?" Y/n asked the boys in the voice channel nervously.

"No, why? Is he telling you dirty things?" Tommy laughed evilly.

"Nope. Just wondering." Her face was on fire. She hit Dream's character in-game and watched him focus back on his computer with a goofy smile. He returned the favor by hitting her character back once even though she was continually dealing damage until he had half a and begged her to stop.

"He's probably flirting with her like he does when we're on call but, like, worse because no one else can hear him," Tubbo proposed before all three of the young boys gagged and yelled over each other.

"GROSS!!" Tommy shouted.

"Ew!! Mom, is there a dude flirting with you? That's disgusting," Ranboo gagged.

"I cannot stand you guys," Y/n laughed, making her voice as confident as possible so they couldn't detect her lies. "That's not what's happening."

"Do my words mean nothing, Bug?"

"Dude," she mumbled to Dream again. "I wish you could see how hard I'm glaring at you right now." He laughed in response.

A knock on Y/n's door snapped her out of her conversation and she quickly muted on Discord. "Come in!"

Naomi poked her head in and quickly put her hand up. "Oh, sorry!" she whisper-shouted. "I didn't know you were streaming."

Y/n shook her head and smiled. "I'm not. What's up?"

"TUBBO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Tommy screamed, making Y/n deafen also.

Naomi stood taller and dropped her hand to her side. "I'm just bored and want to do something."

"I do too, actually," Y/n admitted.

"You're bored?" Dream scoffed. "Bug, I'm offended!"

Y/n smiled widely and turned back to her phone to see the blond boy frowning. "I've talked to you all day. Can I not go hang out with my roommate?"

"No! Tell her to fuck off."

"Dream! She's literally right here, she can hear you!" Y/n covered her phone screen with her hand to hide Dream's face as Naomi walked closer, laughing.

"Naomi?" Dream asked.

"Yeah?"

"Fuck off."

Naomi laughed as Y/n gasped. "DREAM!" Y/n grabbed her phone and held it up to show one eye in the corner of the screen so he could see her glaring, but he wasn't looking.

"I'm just kidddinnnggg... obviouslyyy..." he dragged out. "Unless you do steal Bug away from me, in which case I'm not kidding."

Naomi was silent with her hand over her mouth, not wanting to freak out and make Y/n back out before Dream could see her eye. It was a small thing, but a huge deal.

The silence caused Dream to look down and his jaw dropped. "B-Bug!!"

"You see this?? I'm glaring at you. How dare you talk to Naomi that way," Y/n reprimanded teasingly, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice.

"WHAT? Is this how you felt when I showed my face just to prove a point?"

"Probably."

"You're doing the exact thing I did! You're just proving a point!"

"Yeah, but I'm not showing my whole face like you did, idiot. Just enough so you can see the glare."

"Oh my gosh. Okay, yeah, I see you glaring, stop glaring!" he giggled and Y/n's camera went back to only showing her ceiling as she smiled. "I'm sorry, Naomi!"

"You can't just joke like that to someone you hardly know," Y/n scolded as Naomi continued laughing. She knew Naomi had that kind of sense of humor, but Dream didn't.

"Who said I'm joking?" he asked.

"Oh, shut up. I can't stand you."

"I'm kidding! I'm sorry, Naomi. I was just kidding."

"I know," she reassured. "It's all good, don't worry. I know you love your Bug too much to hurt her friends."

Y/n saw Dream quickly pull his phone away from his face after he smiled shyly, and she liked to imagine that he was blushing at Naomi's accusation.

"Yeah, I guess she's nice to have around," he mumbled.

<Ranboo> bugsy? you still there?

"Wait, both of you quiet for a second," she told Dream and Naomi before unmuting and undeafening on Discord. "Yeah, sorry, what's up? I was defended and muted."

"You were so cryptically silent, it was a little scary."

"Sorry, my roommate is talking to me. I'm gonna head off, actually."

"Aw, but we hardly got to play with you!" Tubbo pouted.

"We'll play soon! I promise! But not you, Tommy. I don't like you."

"I DON'T LIKE YOU FIRST, YOU EVIL WOMAN."

"Bye, Tommy."

"Bye, Bugsy," he grumbled.

"Goodbye, mother," Ranboo said as Tubbo laughed out a, "Goodbye mom," making Y/n's heart shed a proud tear.

"Goodbye, my sons. Be good. Be safe."

"Bye!!"

She left the Discord and then left Minecraft. "Okay, sorry, continue," she promoted Naomi.

"I think it's so cute how you talk to Tubbo and Ranboo," Dream cut in. "It's adorable."

"It is," Naomi agreed. "Tommy, too. I know you pretend to hate him but we can tell you want him to be your son too."

"Never," she murmured, making both of them laugh. She slid off her headphones and grabbed her phone, careful to keep it pointed away from her face as she walked to her closet.

"Anyway, I just wanna do something. It's really nice out today, do you want to go to the park or ride bikes or something?"

"Yeah, sure." She ripped a hoodie off the hanger with one hand, making the hanger ricochet and clank against the closet ceiling.

"Yeah, sounds fun," Dream agreed from between them.

Y/n laughed. "Sorry, bud, not you."

A deep frown etched onto Dream's face and Y/n laughed. "What are you going to do there that I can't join? You can just prop me up on a tree and sit next to the phone."

"If we ride bikes, I can't hold you. And if we go to the park we usually skate. Besides, we want to talk about how much we hate you anyway so we don't want you there."

"Bug!" he pouted. Dream paused before saying, "Can you give the phone to Naomi real quick?"

Y/n hesitated but handed the phone to her friend. She used her free hands to slip on the hoodie before tuning back into the conversation.

"You don't have to show me your face but I want you to look into my eyes and promise me something, Naomi," he said.

Naomi held the phone up to her face anyway and Y/n could see both of them looking at each other. "What's up?"

"Promise me you won't let Y/n fall and scrape her knee or something," he requested and Naomi laughed.

"I promise not to let your Bug get hurt." That was the second time Naomi referred to her as 'his Bug' and she was not opposed to the sound of it.

"Thank you very much."

"Great," Naomi said before her voice turned teasing. "Now that that's settled, Y/n, you're right he is cute!"

Naomi was a pot-stirrer. Always was, always would be. She knew what to say to make tension rise in the room whether it was between people who hated each other or people who secretly liked each other. Or whatever Dream and Y/n were.

While Y/n's face grew warm, Dream laughed.

"Hey, you're pretty cute too, Naomi. Should I tell George or does he already know?" Dream fired back, trying to embarrass her as much as she embarrassed Y/n.

Naomi's evil smile fell before a confident one took its place with a raise of her eyebrow. "Oh, he knows."

Y/n laughed abruptly and grabbed the phone back from her friend. "Okay, I'm hanging up now." Before I lose self-control and show you my whole face right here, right now, she thought to herself.

"Boooo," Dream whined. "Will you call me back later? Please?"

"Maybe," she teased. "Depends on if I'm clumsy enough to fall and break everything like you think I will."

"I don't think that. I just want you to be safe."

He needed to stop being so sweet. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm a pro."

"I believe it. Still, though."

"I'll be safe. I promise."

"Also, Bug, um..." he paused shyly. "You have really pretty eyes. Just... thought I'd tell you."

Heat rose to her face again and the look on Naomi's face said she could tell.

"Thanks, Dream."

Naomi nodded her head towards her Y/n's door. "I'll be in my room," she whispered and Y/n nodded.

"Sorry," Y/n said to Dream with a short laugh. "I don't know why I did that."

"It's okay," he reassured. "I appreciate it. I know it was just a small part of your face but it still means a lot to me that you showed me because I know you haven't shown anyone."

"I want to," she blurted out. "I really, really do."

"Want to what?"

"Show people my face." She squeezed her eyes shut and walked to her bed, setting the phone face up towards the ceiling. "Specifically you."

He paused. "Then... why don't you? I'm not pressuring you, I just don't understand. If you want to, then what's stopping you?"

"It's not that simple, Dream," she responded softly. "I'm scared."

Dream was silent for a few moments. "That's kinda what I wanted to talk about earlier before Tommy came in."

"Really?" she perked up. What was he going to say? That she seemed too scared so he didn't what her to go on the trip?

"Yeah, uh, I know you're nervous about meeting everyone and Sapnap and I were talking and– well, okay, so I assume you, Karl, and Naomi are going to go to Georgia together?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, so, yeah, what if– only if you want, obviously, but, you guys could come down to Florida and hang out with us for a few days and then, like, the five of us could go up to Georgia together? That way you meet two people first instead of everyone at once. So, like, since you haven't shown anyone, it'll be like dipping your toe in the water and if you meet Sapnap and I and absolutely hate it you can go back home before meeting everyone else." He finally concluded his proposition and Y/n's heart was so warmed. He was so sweet it was killing her.

"I'll still pay for all the travel stuff for you guys to fly down here," he added with a shy mumble at her silence, "and it's only a four and a half hour drive from here so Sapnap and I were just going to drive up and we could just rent a bigger car to fit comfortably. But obviously you can say no. Just a thought we had."

"Dream," Y/n started softly, her voice coming out way more fondly than she intended but she did nothing to fix it.

"Yeah?"

"You're the sweetest damn person I've ever met in my entire life."

"I just want you to be comfortable," he said softly.

"I think..." she paused. "I think that would be fun. I'd like that. I'll see what Naomi and Karl think."

His voice perked up slightly. "Really? Awesome. You guys can come down whenever. We're going to leave on the 26th to get there that night but whenever you guys want to come, you can. You could even spend Christmas with us if you want to come a few days earlier. Might be hard to find tickets this late since it's the holidays but I can see what I can find."

"That would be cool! The three of us were just going to hang out together so we don't really have plans for Christmas. I'll ask them but I think they'll like that too."

"Cool," he breathed. "If you want to say no later, you can."

"I don't want to say no, Dream."

He paused and his next word had his smile laced clearly through them. "Okay."

"Thank you–thank you for thinking of me," Y/n fumbled out. "It means a lot to me."

"Eh, it might be a little selfish of me, too. I just want to spend as much time with you as I can."

She beamed and bit her lip to not laugh with pure joy. "I'm probably selfish too because I'm going to make Karl and Naomi agree even if they don't want to go."

"I have no problem if you need to use physical force," he joked.

Y/n laughed and shook her head. "I should go save Naomi from her boredom."

"Okaaayyy..." he sighed. "If you must. Thanks for talking with me today."

"I had fun! I'm surprised you didn't bore me to death," she teased and he scoffed.

"Well apparently I did since you're ditching me!"

"Nooo, you could never bore me."

"Hmm... sure."

"Dream," Y/n dragged out and he laughed. "You're so clingy."

"Ugh, I know," he joked. "It's almost like I like you or something."

Y/n froze before mentally scolding herself. He was obviously joking, but it still made her heart skip some beats.

"Almost," she mumbled. "Alright, I'm going to go. I'll call you later if you're free and want to hang out on call more or something."

"Yeah, I'd like that," he said. "Have fun with Naomi! And don't get hurt."

She laughed. "I won't get hurt. Bye, Dream."

"Bye bye, Bug."

Y/n finally hung up and threw her phone on her bed with a small external scream. Naomi came back into the room a few moments later with a smirk on her face and leaned against the doorframe. "Done with the call?"

"Naomi..." she said dreamily. "He's... too freaking cute."

Naomi laughed. "Come on, lover girl, you can tell me all about it while we go outside. Bikes or skating?"

"I haven't gone biking in a while, let's do that."

"Perfect, I found a new trail recently I've wanted to try out," Naomi said as she grabbed her keys off the front table. "Let's go."

"OH, and then," Y/n recounted her story with Dream in detail (per Naomi's request) and she swerved on her bike a little in excitement."Then he said, 'it's almost like I like you or something'! What does that mean??"

Naomi laughed brightly and looked over her shoulder at Y/n. "Maybe it means that he likes you."

Y/n scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Don't get my hopes up."

"I mean it, Y/n. I know you think it's not possible, but just think about it. Do you really think you didn't like him until you saw him?"

Y/n looked up into the treetops that provided shade on their trail. She dreaded that question. She had thought about it so many times, tossing and turning countless nights asking herself the same question over and over. When did she start liking Dream? She had always had interest in him but when did her starstruck admiration and wanting to be his friend turn into wanting to hold his hand and kiss him good morning? When did that change happen? Could it have happened before she knew what he looked like? It would go against so much that she believed, so much she had been told, but... maybe it was true?

"I don't know," Y/n admitted softly. "I really don't know."

Naomi's heart broke for her friend, knowing her internal battle was killing her slowly. "Hey," Naomi said in a lighter tone than she felt. "It'll all work out. I promise."

"What if it doesn't? What if he really doesn't like me and won't ever like me?"

Naomi shrugged. "Then... then he missed out and someone better will eventually come along."

Y/n nodded, wanting to talk about something a little happier. "So... I showed him my eye."

"You did," Naomi said cautiously. "I wasn't going to bring it up, but, damn dude. How do you feel?"

"Good. Great. I know it's small and insignificant but it doesn't feel that way."

"I don't think it's insignificant. It definitely shows you trust him a lot."

"He said I have pretty eyes," Y/n whispered excitedly, making Naomi laugh.

"You do! You really do."

"Speaking of thinking things are pretty, George knows?? What does that mean? Have you guys video called or what? I've been so stuck in my pity party that I have no idea what's going on with that!"

Naomi turned pink but her confident smile never faded. She slowed down and Y/n followed suit, both taking drinks from their water. "Can we sit for a minute?" Naomi asked as she nodded towards a large tree trunk. Y/n nodded and they sat down together, bikes haphazardly thrown to the side of the trail.

"So?"

"So," Naomi started. "George."

"George," Y/n prompted. "What's going on?"

"I like him a lot. And... he told me he likes me."

Y/n raised her eyebrows and beamed at her friend. "Really? Naomi, that's great! That's so awesome, I'm so happy for you!"

Naomi let out a small squeal before blushing. "I know. We're both a little worried because of long-distance but we decided to not think about it until after the trip. Then we'll work out how often we want to see each other and stuff."

"Wait, so, are you guys, like, dating?"

Naomi hummed. "No? But I have joked about how I'm going to kiss him as soon as I see him and it always makes him turn bright red and he just laughs and is like, 'you're an idiot', so that's a good sign."

Y/n laughed. "Yeah, sounds like George."

"Sorry I haven't told you sooner. I just feel like since you're so confused about everything with Dream that it would be like I'm bragging or something? And I didn't want to make you sad that I'm talking to this boy so much and—"

"Naomi," Y/n smiled and grabbed her arm. "It's okay. I'm not upset by it. I'm so so happy for you, really."

Naomi let out a breath of relief. "Thanks, Y/n. You're a really good friend."

"You make it easy to be a good friend to you," she said with a smile and a scrunched nose. "You're the best. I love you."

"I love you too," Naomi giggled and threw her arms around Y/n, forcing a hug even if she didn't want it. Y/n accepted it anyway, hugging her friend back tightly.

"Alright, break's over. Let's finish this thing. How much more do we have to go?"

Naomi checked the map on her phone. "About a mile. Think you can manage not falling off for another mile?"

"What?"

"I promised Dream I wouldn't let you get hurt."

Y/n rolled her eyes fondly. "He's so stupid."

"Maybe, but you like it."

"Who on Earth knows why? Oh! That reminds me," Y/n said as she got back on her bike and rode slowly next to Naomi. "I forgot to mention a huge detail."

"Ugh, you never stop talking about him," Naomi teased. "Just kidding, what happened? I want to know everything."

"This involves you and Karl. How do you feel about taking a detour to Florida before the trip?"

______

When Y/n got home, she showered while Naomi made them dinner. "Today was fun," she said as she sat down at the kitchen table. "We need to hang out more, just the two of us. Thank you so much," she added as Naomi handed her a plate off food.

Naomi nodded. "Agreed. But when do we ever have time when you aren't streaming and I'm not doing school or working?"

"Hmm, true. For a job with a flexible schedule, I don't feel very flexible. Maybe I should promise to join less streams."

"But then I can't join streams," Naomi joked with a laugh.

"Just ask George. I'm not your closest streamer friend anymore apparently," she fake pouted and Naomi blushed.

"He wants me to join one of his streams except neither of us want anyone to know so he thinks it'll be suspicious if it's just him and I."

'Wait, no one else knows you two have been talking?"

"Well, Dream does based on his joke earlier but you're the only person that either of us have told that we're, like, actually talking."

"Oh, I feel so special!"

Naomi laughed. "Good. You are."

Y/n smiled and looked down as her phone vibrated on the table.

"Boyfriend calling?" Naomi teased with one eyebrow quirked.

Y/n stuck her tongue out. "Wouldn't you like that?"

"I would like that. Date him."

"Oh, shut up," Y/n said with a laugh. "But actually, Dream invited me to get back on and hang out."

"So I was right?"

"No."

"Well, go ahead, I won't stop you."

"Thanks, Naomi. I had fun today, thanks for forcing me out of my room and for dinner."

"Anytime dude," she giggled. "Put that sponge down, I'll clean up."

"But you made dinner. Let me help."

"No! Go, your boyfriend is waiting for you. I got it."

Y/n ignored her and started cleaning dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.

"You're the worst. Love you."

"Love you!" Y/n called back as she walked to her room. She got on her desktop and opened Discord while she waited for Minecraft to load.

"Who just joined?" Tubbo asked in a tired voice. "Oh, Bugsy, hello again!"

"Hi!" she greeted back. "How's everyone doing?"

"Good, good, good. How was your, uh, thing? Bikes... or something?" Ranboo asked.

"Yeah, I went on a bike ride with my roommate. It was fun! The weather was super good today so it was good."

"Is it the roommate who's coming on the trip with us?" Tubbo asked.

"Yup," she replied. Ranboo fake whined and Y/n's heart hurt a little. "Ranboo I wish you could come."

"Me too. It would be fun but also very scary," he chuckled and Y/n nodded. "But I'm busy anyway."

"I'm terrified," she admitted. "So I fully understand."

"It's going to be good, Bug," Dream reassured softly, sending butterflies to her stomach. "I promise."

"Why are you terrified?" Tubbo asked.

"Um... just... you know... showing my face to everyone," she said with a small laugh. "Kinda weird." Though, admittedly, she was much less nervous than a few hours ago before she showed Dream her eye.

"Well, Dream has seen you, hasn't he?" Ranboo asked.

"No, what makes you think that?"

"He hasn't?" Tubbo spoke up. "I'm shocked! I could have sworn he had."

"What, why? Dream asked.

"You guys are just super close so I guess we assumed," Tubbo explained.

"No, we are close, Bug is just a tease," Dream joked and Y/n scoffed.

"Oh, whatever. You've seen more than anyone else."

"What?" Ranboo asked with a slight panic in his voice. "What, uh, what does that mean? Oh gosh."

"She showed me her eye today!" Dream announced like it was a huge deal. Which, it kinda was. "But she's a tease because that's all she showed."

"Why do you want to see her so bad, huh Dream?" Ranboo teased. "Hmm???"

"So I can call her pretty without her yelling at me that I can't know," Dream stated bluntly.

Y/n buried her face in her hands, the Minecraft welcome screen long forgotten, and laughed. "I cannot stand you, Dream."

"Awe!!" Tubbo cooed. "Bugsy, give the poor man a break, why don't you show him?"

When she normally would have taken that sort of comment to heart and would have beaten herself up about not showing him, she lifted her head to look at her screen. 'Give the poor man a break'.

"No, Tubbo, she doesn't owe me anything," Dream said with a nervous laugh. "Don't pressure her!!"

"I'm not! I'm not pressuring her to do anything!" Tubbo defended. "I was just joking! But it would be so easy to just send a picture of your face."

"But she doesn't want to and I respect that. Ranboo, are you still on the SMP? Where are you?"

Y/n tuned out the conversation, which had quickly changed topics, scrolling right to the picture she found the other day of her sitting on her bed. She didn't think twice. It just felt right.

Sent

"So, the next manhunt is going to have five hunters or what? Like what's changing?" Ranboo asked. "I think it's super cool that you're continuing the series."

"Yeah," Dream started to explain. "I'm trying to see who would be the best to have as the fifth person to make it—"

Y/n's heart pounded in her ears as she listened to the new silence, waiting for some verbal indication from Dream that everything was okay. That he saw the picture and that everything was still okay.

But he was dead silent.

"Dream?" Ranboo laughed. "Uhhhhh...."

"Uh.." Tubbo laughed too. "Did he break? Dream?"

Y/n bit down on her hoodie sleeve in anticipation and excitement, surprised that there were butterflies in her chest instead of raging thunderstorms of fear.

A loud sound banged through her headphones and her eyes darted to the Discord to see it came from Dream's mic. "Dream?" she asked softly. Did this man just knock something off of his desk?

His regard for them being on call with others completely evaporated. "Holy shit, Bug," he breathed out. "I-Is that you?"

"Sure is," she hummed.

"What the hell?!" he shouted, joy and surprise laced in his voice.

"Wait, what happened?" Tubbo asked before sounding excited. "Did you actually send him a picture of yourself?"

"Mhm," she hummed. "Maybe."

"AHHA! YOU BROKE HIM!" Tubbo laughed.

"Error: Dream.exe broke," Ranboo teased. "Man's files broke at the sight of Bugsy Games. Headlines tomorrow: Bugsy Games murders DreamWasTaken with a selfie."

"Oh, shut up," she breathed.

"Text me back right now," Dream demanded.

Y/n giggled as the other two teased Dream but she picked up her phone and found his one-word response.

Seconds later, Dream's voice was back in her ears. "Uh... I'm gonna get off. I have a lot to process."

Tubbo and Ranboo laughed loudly. "A lot to process?? HAHAHA! Just say you're in love with her and move on."

"WhaaAATT?" Dream yelled. "I-I'm not in love with her, what the hell is wrong with you, Tubbo?"

Y/n laughed, agreeing with him even though it kinda hurt. He didn't have to sound too shocked at the accusation.

"Have fun processing," Ranboo said. "Are you staying Bugsy?"

"Nah, I'm gonna get off too. I'm pretty tired."

"Are you going to be in Big Q's stream tomorrow though?"

She hummed. "I don't know. I didn't know he was streaming tomorrow."

"Oh, I thought he invited you?"

"Guess not. He just lost points."

Dream laughed. "Good."

"Well... we should stream together soon," Ranboo said. "I think that would be really cool."

"I do too! We definitely should. If you have any ideas or anything let me know, okay?"

"Yeah, I will!" he promised. "Talk to you later."

"Bye guys," she said before disconnecting. She noticed Dream linger in the call for a little bit even though he said he was leaving and she decided to get ready for bed, turning off her computer and walking to her closet. She was stopped by some texts though. Priorities.

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chaoticevilbean · 4 years ago

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Voltron Humans are Weird 4/?

"What the heck, Coran?" Lance's shout echoed through the hallways. When more, less coherent shouts continued from the Blue Paladin, probably directed at Coran, the other Paladins followed the noise curiously.

In the middle of the medbay, laying on the floor, Lance was struggling to get Coran's hands off of his leg. The Altean seemed to be trying to drag the boy into a healing pod, only stopped by the death grip the human had on a nearby table. It was definitely a good thing all the tables were magnetized to the floor to avoid movement.

"Coran, I told you, I'm fine!" Lance screamed at the alien. "I don't need a healing pod!"

"You shouted gibberish and didn't react to something shocking!" Coran countered. "For you, that's all that is needed to warrant at least a scan!"

"That was one time! We were in the middle of a battle!"

"You didn't come in afterwards!"

"REFUGEES NEED IT MORE THAN ME!"

"YOU ARE A PALADIN! YOU ARE DEFINITELY IMPORTANT ENOUGH AND YOU WERE DEFINITELY INJURED ENOUGH TO WARRANT PRIORITY!"

"GUYS!" Shiro hollered over the two of them. The duo froze, staring at the Black Paladin. Both seemed extremely hopeful that he would support their side of the argument. "What is going on? Lance first, mostly because this might be another 'humans can do weird things'."

"Coran and I were just cleaning the healing pods, and you're not supposed to keep using one of the rags if it gets to a certain level of dirty. So, I'm over here," Lance pointed to the left-most side, "Coran's over there," he pointed to the right, "and he's got the bucket we're supposed to put the rags in when they're done. And I just finished my rag, and I don't want to walk all the way over there, then all the way back, just to put it in the bucket. So I ball it up, toss it into the bucket from where I'm sitting, and shout, 'Kobe!' Coran turns right as this happens, and his eyes went all wide, then the next thing I know, he's tackling me and demanding I go into the healing pod."

"Coran, what's your side of the story?"

"Why aren't you questioning his side?" Coran asked instead.

"What d'you mean?"

"He claims to have thrown something from there to there and hit his target," the Altean gestured as he spoke, "and says he shouted some form of gibberish as he did, and you aren't challenging it."

"Well, sure, it's a bit hard to believe someone made that shot, but Lance has good aim. And 'Kobe' is what some people shout when they throw and make the shot. It isn't that strange."

"So Lance has been trained in throwing?"

"... I'm beginning to think this is something that has to do with us being humans and you being Altean."

"What is this about throwing?" Allura walked into the room, pausing to give both Coran and Lance an appraising look.

"OF COURSE!" Pidge yelled suddenly. The entire group turned to stare at her, confused. Seeing this, she launched into an explanation.

"We've already learned that humans are a lot different than most aliens, maybe all. We have high tolerances to things that are considered deadly, we adapt to new environments and temperatures with ease, we literally consider living with other predators that aren't sentient to be completely normal. It would make sense that Alteans..." Pidge paused for the drama, "...are like primates." Lance, Hunk, and Keith all let out noises of understanding, though Shiro, Allura, and Coran remained confused. Lance clicked his tongue, ignoring the weird looks he got from his alien peers, and instead started his own explanation.

"In the Garrison, we had an entire biology unit dedicated to the fact that humans are extremely unique compared to Earth animals. One of the biggest discussion topics was the one about how primates, our closest biological counterparts, can't throw things very well. But humans..." Lance stopped, jerking his leg from Coran's grasp, and stood. He grabbed a small roll of bandages, then turned sharply.

"Catch!" Hunk caught the roll, tossing it to Shiro quickly. The leader snatched it from the air on reflex, chucking it at Keith's head, who then lobbed it at Pidge. The motions quickly escalated into a game of hot potato, though there was no timer. Lance almost dropped the bandages when Hunk faked throwing it at Shiro again, before instead flinging it towards his buddy. The Cuban caught it with his foot, bouncing it up into his hands and launching it back at his bro.

The Alteans watched on, frozen in abject shock. They had been so sure that most of the Paladins had never completed their training, but here they saw that the humans could throw with extreme speed and precision. If it was something they all could do, then it was no wonder Shiro didn't question Lance's accuracy.

"When did you all learn to throw?"

"Two! Booyah!" Lance cheered as he flung the roll into the bin where it was meant to be.

"You are very skilled for having learned two decaphoebs ago. Or rather, less than two, given your strange times," Coran praised. The humans shared weird looks with each other, preparing themselves for what was about to happen.

"Um, Coran," the Blue Paladin began. "I didn't learn two decaphoebs or two years ago."

"Then what did you mean by two?" Allura inquired, curiosity piqued.

"I learned when I was two years old."

"You learned... how to throw... with speed and accuracy... at less than two decaphoebs old?"

"Yep. It's a little early, but my brothers wanted me to start practicing so I could join some sports when I grew up. Probably why I'm the sharpshooter now."

"How do you say that so casually?" Allura demanded. "It takes decaphoebs of experience to learn to throw with even a little accuracy. Alteans and Galrans can throw with some speed because of our strength, but even then, we cannot throw much more than a few meters. Coran can throw due to practicing since he began his training, but he misses a quarter of the time."

"Well, humans have the natural ability to throw with a bit of speed and accuracy, and we have a lot of activities that are based on that fact. Sports like basketball, baseball, football, ultimate frisbee, all of them require being able to throw. I learned to throw better at a younger age, but things like a simple game of catch is pretty simple. What we just did was easy because we aren't that far from each other and there are only so many directions that we'll aim for." Hunk shrugged as he finished his answer. He had been the most involved in that unit of the Garrison.

"You all can throw because of biology? Not training?"

"I mean, if we want to throw better, we still have to practice, but yeah, that's the basics of it all. Watch. Lance, go long!" Hunk tugged off his shoe, waited for his bro to reach a certain spot, then hurled it through the air. With a small jump, the Cuban caught the shoe and threw it at the ground.

"WOOHOO! I LOVE THIS DAY!"

"Lance enjoys catching and throwing things more than a lot of activities. Do it enough and he's basically a dog. I once literally played a game of fetch with him because he was having a depressed day. Perked right up and I could barely keep up for the rest of the day."

"Perhaps we should include throwing in our training, then," Coran suggested. The next moment, the Altean was receiving a hug from behind as Lance laughed ecstatically.

"¡Gracias, gracias, gracias!"

"What?"

"He's saying thank you. Lance, let go and I'll find a stick for you."

"Puedo ser humano, pero mi alma es un perro."

"Si hermano. Now let go of Coran." Lance did so, racing out of the room with Hunk trailing afterwards. Pidge and Keith followed, wanting to see if their comrade would actually play fetch with a stick, and Shiro hesitated before tagging along, not keen on an actual injury happening.

"Coran, I believe it is yet again time to update the guide."

"Indeed."

Humans have the ability to throw with amazing speed and accuracy, developed from a young age. They are born with a larger natural aptitude for throwing, and improve upon it as they mature. If the word 'Kobe' is heard, assume that a Terran has thrown an object and most likely hit their target. Some humans enjoy throwing and catching objects more than is considered usual. These humans are likely to be more proficient at throwing, and should be given many opportunities to practice their skills.

Terrans also sometimes participate in competitive games called 'sports' or simple recreational games called 'catch'. These are based off their throwing abilities, and often including passing a specific item between players via throwing. Do not get directly between two or more players, as, while humans will often change their targets, they may be attempting a pass at that moment and the speed at which they throw could cause physical harm. Do not distract a player for this same reason.

Both Alteans and Galrans would need to train for over twenty decaphoebs to be at the same skill level as many mature humans are naturally. For an example of this, a clip is included of the Paladins of Voltron, who are all Terran, playing a game of 'catch'.

#voltron #vld #voltron oneshots #humans are weird #humans are space orcs #humans are weird oneshots #earth is space australia #oneshots

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hyperbali · 4 years ago

Text

Agatha Harkness Was Right, And Here’s Why

Alright. Finally had to sit down and write my way out of this quiet, internal temper tantrum, and a few people were interested in seeing what I had to say, so I present to you:

Agatha Harkness Was Right, And Here’s Why

Disclaimer: MASSIVE spoilers for the entirety of WandaVision, and I am not nice about it.

I’ll start off by saying that, for all its foibles, WandaVision was genuinely a good example of a property within the MCU/Disney umbrella that stepped out of the usual ‘good guys fight bad guys action extravaganza’ in a way that pushed the envelope. The pseudo-horror aspect of the first few episodes is something I would really love to see engaged with on a more thoughtful basis in future projects.

I would say that it proved to be more than a vehicle to promote toys, but… well…

Yeah. Anyway.

I’ll assume that you watched WandaVision if you’re reading this, but quick recap: In the aftermath of ‘the Blip,’ Wanda is left broken and alone with no one in her corner. Her biggest mentor willingly abandoned his team to get his own ‘happy’ ending (do not get me started on Steve, that’s a document in and of itself), her other biggest mentor is probably off enjoying his family while ignoring the incredibly racist killing spree he’s been on for the past five years, and her lover is dead. When she goes to claim the body, she’s told nuh-uh, that’s government property, please leave.

So she goes to a plot of land in the middle of some nowhere town in New Jersey, which Vision apparently bought despite the fact they were living a pretty decently comfortable life in Scotland, where she looks at the deed that Vision drew a heart on and wrote ‘To Grow Old In’. Very sweet. Kind of weird, considering nothing of this caliber had ever been suggested for either of their characters and they’d been actively running from specifically the U.S. authorities? But sweet.

She has a breakdown and, in her grief, contains the entire town of Westview and all 3,892 of the people in it in her own personal paradise, where nothing bad ever happens beyond sitcom hijinks, no one dies, and every problem is tied up and neatly dealt with by the end of an ‘episode’. Except we learn that this is only paradise to Wanda, who apparently shares the aspect of having to relate everything to her favourite pop culture with Tony, because everyone else in Westview is more or less being psychologically tortured by the incredible amount of pain she’s in, forced to be puppeted actors to make her happy.

Bear in mind, Westview might have been bigger at some point - we have no idea how many people survived the Blip, or how many have been brought back to life within the past few weeks of the current setting. Either way, this is a town that has already dealt with a lot of trauma being dragged into yet another awful, much more specific kind of emotional damage, thanks to ‘the heroes’. Nice.

Agatha Harkness, a witch who’s been up to who-knows-what in the 340 years since she drained the coven that tried to kill her for getting a little too ambitious into jerky, feels the massive expenditure of magical power and decides to investigate. All the while, she carefully uses her own magic to try and peek into Wanda’s psyche, her motivations, all while keeping up appearances and not letting slip that anything is amiss.

I’ll point out that she’s no saint here, either - she specifically keeps one Westview resident at her mercy, and knows what’s happening to the rest of them, but doesn’t attempt to stop it. I’ll chalk that up to her pragmatism; their ‘sacrifice’ was fine to her as long as she could figure out how Wanda could have done something so unheard of in terms of power.

What we come to learn over the course of the show is that, given everything that happened, Wanda didn’t mean to take over an entire town and tool it into her own personal slice of heaven. She very quickly became aware of it; we know that she knows it’s her own personal bubble as soon as episode three, when she’s confronting Monica about how the latter could possibly know about Ultron. Wanda is made further aware of how much damage this is inflicting on others in episode five, when Vision himself tells her that these people are scared. But still, she has everything handled! It’s okay! The outside world is worse, trust her!

Her handling of the question, ‘where are all the children of Westview,’ is one that bears some thinking - and, y’know, kind of more than a little concern. They’re allowed to walk around as part of the ‘Halloween special,’ but as Vision walks further and further out towards the edges of town where Wanda doesn’t have as much full control, people are just frozen in place, or conducting the same few seconds of action over and over. And fully aware of being trapped.

How are they being sustained? Eating, sleeping? If someone isn’t part of her storyline, is she just locking them down into a coma? What made Wanda decide that keeping the children ‘out of the way’ was somehow kinder than involving them, especially given her later argument that she’s been trying to keep the entire town safe and happy?

The fact of the matter is, she only actually starts to feel remorse for any of this after she’s confronted with the fact that, after weeks of being at her mercy, the townspeople of Westview would rather be dead than endure another moment of having to play nice for her enjoyment. She finally opens the ‘bubble’ to let them out - which leads to the ‘epic’ finale of three different entities trying to take down Wanda and her happy family: the S.W.O.R.D. military led by Hayward, the White Vision, and Agatha.

Winding back to how we got here: after Agatha uses her own trapped resident, Ralph Bohner (who, given his casting and the props in place during the last episode, I’m willing to bet is actually the missing witness protection person Jimmy was looking for) in an attempt to lure out Wanda’s reasoning - and fails - she’s pretty much done pretending. She tricks Wanda into her basement, nullifies her powers, and makes her face her own past to get to the truth of the matter.

Not going to lie, favourite moment of the show. Kathryn Hahn killed Agatha’s slightly-amused-slightly-irritated observations about Wanda’s coping mechanisms, and the whole arrangement was extremely meta. I would have paid real money dollars to see her do the same thing to the likes of Tony, Strange, and Loki. Hell, even just having her meet the rest of the Avengers? Augh. If wishes were fishes.

When Agatha comes to the conclusion that Wanda is the vaunted, nigh-indestructible force of nature that she’s literally spent her entire life reading about is the ultimate source of chaos magic and will likely bring about the end of the world, she’s pretty understandably taken aback. To that matter, the fact that Wanda… has very little control over any of it, and is using what she does understand to play housemaker? After how long Agatha has spent learning control, hiding in plain sight, just to be child’s play compared to what Wanda has at her fingertips? I’d be pretty pissed off, too!

The way that WandaVision handled both of the major ‘fights’ - Vision versus White Vision ending in philosophy, and Wanda ending up beating Agatha at her own game of deception - is excellent. A little grating that they had to go with the beat down angle before they got there, but this is MCU; punches and thrown cars had to get shoved in somewhere. And, given that this series very much played with the idea of grey morality, I was sort of hopeful that Agatha would end up in a not-quite stalemate arrangement with Wanda. She’s not as powerful as the Scarlet Witch, but she has the know-how that Wanda sorely lacks; in recompense for her own deeds, she would be able to teach what she knows while also kind of scheming on her own time.

Y’know, like what they did with rehabilitating Loki?

Except that Wanda, who has just gone through the entire rigamarole of coming to terms with the fact that she trapped thousands of people into a nightmare scenario against their will, rendering them helpless to her mercy… traps Agatha into a nightmare scenario against her will, rendering her helpless to Wanda’s mercy.

That moment actually shook me. Oh, my god. We’re supposed to still look at Wanda as a good guy after this?

This isn’t even covering the incredibly awful confrontation with her and Vision where she tries to gaslight him into believing that everything is A-OK, or the fact that the person she gets most violent with (apart from Agatha) is Monica Rambeau, a black woman who spends most of the show bending over backwards trying to say that what Wanda is doing is understandable, justified, and just needs a gentle touch to be dealt with.

That could be its own document, too - how Monica, much as she’s incredible and definitely looks to be a really exciting addition to the MCU roster, more or less gets used as the Good One to absolve and enable Wanda’s actions. One of her last lines to Wanda, after seeing how the people of Westview (rightfully) look at Wanda like she’s monstrous, is “they’ll never know what you sacrificed.”

Sacrificed what? The fake husband and fake kids she made out of her own compulsion to pretend that everything is okay? None of that would have existed if she’d been given the proper resources to actually cope with how much loss she’s had to deal with. None of that would have existed if she hadn’t caused this problem in the first place.

In the end, Wanda flies off in her fancy new gear before the FBI shows up, avoiding any real consequences to her actions - which has pretty much been the running theme of her character ever since she was introduced to the MCU in Age of Ultron. The worst kind of direct consequence she’s ever gotten was being grounded to her room for a while, then kept in the Raft for, like, maybe a day - and both times, she was broken out post-haste.

Meanwhile, she worsened the issues in Sokovia (which, I will say upfront, was Tony’s fault to begin with), unleashed the Hulk on Johannesburg, got a pretty significant amount of civilians killed as bystanders in Lagos (hey, how come Wanda keeps turning a lot of black people into casualties?), and stood back in Wakanda to let their people try to fight off Thanos from getting to Vision until it was clear that there was no other option than for her to get involved.

Great Power Comes With No Responsibility At All, Actually.

Wanda, in the several years she has maintained her identity as an Avenger, has proven time and time again that she takes on innumerable risks without any full understanding of what they mean, allows others to take on the brunt of the fallout for her, and looks sad until she’s forgiven and moves on to the next problem. She has no business casually throwing around the kind of power that being the Scarlet Witch entails, not until she’s actually made any kind of headway into making reparations for what she’s done and tried, really tried, to get a handle on what she’s capable of.

Which she’s apparently doing in the last post-credits scene, astral reading the literal Book of the Damned on her lonesome in the mountains, but… without anyone to guide her, or give her any kind of boundary?

[I ran out of images I could post, but you know exactly what image I am referring to here]

Agatha Harkness was right. And that should terrify everybody that has to deal with Wanda in the future.

(P.S. Do we know if she actually even killed that dog? We never see her holding anything but a blanket, and characters go in and out of that show all the time. Granted, she wasn’t great with the cicada-turned-bird... hmm.)

Additional Notes:

“Well, you’re a Tony Stan, of course you think Wanda’s a villain”

I like Tony because he’s such an awful mess, and the narrative isn’t exactly kind about telling him what a piece of shit he can be! He reaped a lot of problems, created practically half the villains in the MCU, and ended up dying a martyred hero. Thanks to being the tent pole by which this franchise hoisted itself into a cultural powerhouse, he will always be their golden savior. If you want to read about how he’s the true villain of this entire affair, feel free to look up any number of takedown pieces about him that are out there. He’s a dick. I will never “uwu sad baby who did nothing wrong ever 🥺” him the way people do about Wanda.

“Why are you so pressed about this”

Because something as good in concept as WandaVision could and should have been about anyone other than the whitewashed, antisemitic take on Wanda Maximoff that MCU brought upon us. They put crucifixes on her wall in Civil War, for fuck’s sake!

“Weren’t you mad about them not including Aaron Taylor-Johnson”

At this point, I am almost kind of relieved the real Pietro wasn’t resurrected for this, because god knows they probably would have killed him all over again just to inflict that much more pain on his sister.

“Anything else you’d like to tell us, turbo nerd”

This was literally itching at me all weekend to write, so it’s more or less just to get it off my chest. If you powered your way through it, uh… thanks? Sorry if I yucked your yums, but I tried to be as clear with the disclaimer as I could. 🤷‍♂️

#blah blah #long post #marvel #mcu #wandavision #wandavision spoilers #wandavision critical #anti wanda maximoff

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sepublic · 4 years ago

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Luz’s Online Experience?

Talking a lot with @sterling-jay over the subject and discussing this; I noticed that Luz can be particularly persuasive and a powerful debater, specifically at the end of The First Day where she mercilessly gives Bump a peace of her mind until he finally concedes her genuine point. Coupled with her mentioning “Jerks online who want to debate” as one of her primary fears, and… I have to wonder if she honed her argumentative, debating skills from having to deal with those kinds of people as a kid, usually in online forums that she’d go to talk about her hyperfixation with other like-minded kids; Especially since the internet tends to be a place of solace for neurodivergent kids who can’t find others like them in their area.

I’d see Luz as being SO passionate and into her argument as she brings up a bunch of brilliant points, and then she just gets shut down by a cruel remark (like some internet edgelord calling her “nerd”) and it HURTS so much, because Luz invested so much energy and effort, and yet clearly others don’t feel the same, despite apparently inviting her into discussion. Luz really seems like the type of kid who practiced her arguments and speech and really deliberately stewed over them during class and meals, getting distracted as she thought of the perfect rebuttal, usually within the shower; Because for someone like her, she just CAN’T let it go, because her hyperfixation is being trashed and she has to defend this, etc.

And I think Luz was the kind of kid who easily fell for the kind of taunts and trolling that older people online would do, targeting neurodivergent kids who take things at face-value and are too literal and innocent to realize what’s up. I can imagine Luz getting into flame wars online, because some trolls deliberately aggravate Luz by trashing on her interests and saying dumb things, forcing Luz to go on the defensive as they mercilessly criticize what she likes in order to ruin the fun for her- And eventually Luz realized those people weren’t actually interested in debating her, just making Luz second-guess and doubt herself. So she learned not to bother engaging with those people and just shut them out- Hence why she defeats her fear by recognizing such people as not coming from a place of intellectual honesty, that they aren’t worth her time trying to convince because of this.

That’s why it’s one of her primary fears, “Jerks online who want to debate”, because there’s always that one person on an internet forum who has to be “Um, actually” and deliberately try to ruin Luz’s fun and disprove her headcanons, all while acting so much smarter than Luz, all condescending and pretentious; Probably defaulting to that “Why are you so EMOTIONAL/triggered” response that’s frustrating and invalidating to Luz. And you know someone with a good heart like hers would NOT stand for that kind of talk on principle; And as the daughter of a nurse, she’d go into a spiel about how triggers are an actual medical term, only for Luz to be accused of “taking things too seriously” or “ruining jokes”.

This kind of frustrating, constantly-being-egged-on harassment from others online- It could’ve really soured Luz’s experiences, making her feel even more lonely and unsupported… And it could’ve led to Luz explaining that it’s not worth one’s time trying to engage into argument and conflict, which she explains to King at the beginning of Once Upon a Swap- She’s been there, Luz knows how it feels, and she knows that it never ends well and is just playing into the aggressor’s game. And when Boscha bullies and harasses Willow during Wing it like Witches, it strikes a particular nerve with Luz, causing her to challenge Boscha; And for a less drastic example, this kind of unpleasant experience influences Luz to challenge Amity at the Covention, for King’s honor.

It’s because Luz IS curious and genuinely thoughtful and willing to hear others out in a meaningfully critical sort of way, so she just HATES people who act like that, who come from a position of bad faith and aren’t interested in actually evaluating arguments. So she’s so passionately against the type of ableist trolls who make fun of people for being so invested into their hobbies and interests (because that’s “not a personality”). And it just culminates in Luz being somewhat cautious whenever people approach her online or in real life, because she’s not sure if they’re being genuine or not, if they’ll ever take her seriously, so what’s the point in being able to argue on her and others’ behalf?

For a while, Luz could’ve been the kind of kid who has a brilliant argument, but it’s just… SO HARD for her emotions to not get riled up, to be made fun of as her voice wavers and her eyes water- Which means getting dismissed as unreasonable, ‘too emotional’, all that sorts of stuff. And so despite setting this situation up, Luz’s bullies manage to make it look like LUZ is the aggressor, that she’s the one throwing the first punch, when they were deliberately trying to emotionally trigger her into doing so. And as @sterling-jay suggested, that just leads to the word “Trigger” becoming an ACTUAL trigger for Luz, because of the way it was cruelly and inaccurately used against her in the past- And sometimes when people use it like that, it can launch Luz into a whole spiel about how that’s super-disrespectful to people with actual disorders and PTSD, only to be mocked for being so ‘emotional’.

That means Luz having to learn to regulate her emotions, pretending to not actually care, to be more mature… Before she realizes that no, that’s also playing by their game, who cares what those trolls think? So Luz just blocks them out, ignores them, and continues to be who she is unapologetically, blocking anyone who tries to intrude on her fun without remorse. But what happened still happened, so Luz has a bunch of clever debating skills and rhetoric left over from those days when jerks online would drag her into flame wars for their own amusement. But on the Boiling Isles, especially Hexside… Luz might find an actual, genuine debate club in the Bard Track or someplace similar.

She’d have an environment where people DO debate and argue on good faith, from a place of intellectual honesty- A place where people genuinely, critically think and reflect on their own and others’ takes! So Luz has this powerful, persuasive energy and debating skills that she’s built up over the years, but never had a chance to properly utilize in an environment where it would be taken and evaluated seriously; So like a lot of her passion and interests, curiosity and energy- Luz finds the opportunity to indulge and explore it in the Boiling Isles, channeling that skillset and ability into something good and productive… Like convincing a local principal to provide multi-track learning options for students, and not bend a knee to a corrupt system!

And Luz’s fiery, righteous rage against injustice can come into play during a revolution against Belos’ dictatorship; Because she knows firsthand what it’s like to be frustrated by people who claim to argue on superior, academic merits, but are only really interested in just shutting you and your ideas down… Because no, Luz KNOWS that her and others’ ideas are worth listening to, and hearing out- And it’s just so validating to see people like Eda actually listen to Luz… To actually change their minds, or else explain their own thought processes in earnest, instead of just shutting the girl down because they said so.

It’s this ability to really critically question things and evaluate if people are coming from a place of good, intellectual faith, that makes Luz ready to challenge all sorts of things, while mentoring and encouraging those who are in a similar spot to her childhood, but didn’t have any support- Until now. That yes, what you say IS valid, and if people can’t be bothered to explain themselves properly and/or take your argument into account- Then you shouldn’t have to listen to them, and at times; Just remove yourself from the situation entirely! Prioritize your own comfort and health, and don’t bother trying to play by the rules established by others who are trying to drag you down onto ‘their level’. Challenge the system, break its rules, and don’t bother vying for some kind of moral approval from others who don’t actually care about that kind of thing; And always remember, your emotions, your anger and grief, ARE valid…!

‘Calmness’ doesn’t necessarily indicate objectivity, it can be apathy operating from the comfortable status quo that is being upheld. And don’t fall for the trap of lowering yourself to their playing field, by assuming both sides have a point, because chances are; Both of you are operating from very disparate positions already. What others say may be coming from such bad faith, that they are not entitled to your ‘respect’, nor an actual platform to validate their terrible ideas. And don’t let yourself be blamed for making things ‘more contentious than they need to be’ when you lash out in self-defense; Because a lot of the times, the status quo that’s being disrupted is unjust and NEEDS to be changed, and it’s the one causing conflict by hurting people in the first place.

#the owl house #toh #the owl house luz #luz noceda #toh luz #speculation #meta #angst #ableism tw #bullying tw

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adobe-outdesign · 4 years ago

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Showdown Bandit but it’s my series now

I’m still kind of annoyed that SB had such a great premise only to be rushed and then cancelled, so this is kind of my take on the story and my interpretation of things. Keep in mind that I’m approaching this from a “someone handed me this game and now I have to reboot it” standpoint, so while I’m trying to stick to the original plot as much as possible I am changing things where I see fit.

Also, I’m just focusing on things from a story perspective. Gameplay is another thing entirely.

Backstory

Buddy Bublik was from Czechoslovakia and had a passion for puppetry. He met Carl, who was more of a businessman. He came up with the idea of capitalizing on cowboys, which were popular at the time.

The show originally premiered as “Showdown Bandit and the Dusty Hills Band”, with the band playing in each episode to draw in more people. After they “disappeared”, the title just became “The Showdown Bandit Show”.

I would loosely tie things in with BATIM by implying that the two figured out how to bring their characters to life by studying Joey’s memoirs and notes or perhaps having been friends with him (as this game takes place in the 50-60s, after DJS closed).

Recognizing that Joey’s method had some... issues, they made a few changes. Namely, they didn’t sacrifice people in order to bring the puppets to life, instead using blood pacts (smearing blood on the unfinished puppets) from willing people to make their puppets more lifelike without actually giving them souls.

Buddy made a pact with Bandit first as a test run of sorts. It went smoothly for about a year, with Bandit being more lifelike in movement and personality but not sentient.

However, after about a year Bandit started acting a bit too lifelike in a way that concerned them (as they didn’t want to forcibly control sentient puppets, nor did they want the puppets to be fully independent of them). Buddy ended up locking Bandit away out of fear for his life, instead using a different Bandit puppet as a replacement.

Initially they did a few pacts with other crew members, such as the Dusty Hills Band, in exchange for pay raises and other benefits.

However, freak accidents started cropping up and people who had made pacts started dying, at which point the puppet they were bonded to would be possessed (but unaware of what had happened). Buddy and Carl were absolutely horrified at this, both due to the people dying and the fact that they were controlling what used to be other human beings.

As the year went on, other people outside of the show had started to get word and Showdown Bandit was getting a literal “cult” following from people who were interested in immortality, despite the two’s attempts to put a stop to the pact (the idyllic world of Showdown Valley was an appealing afterlife option for many, especially fans of the show). They attempt to cancel the show, with the intent to shut down the studio and burn the puppets.

The cult didn’t respond well to this, wanting to keep their pacts and their immortality. They ended up breaking into the studio one night and killing both of them. Buddy ended up possessing Bandit, but because he was in storage he remained “asleep” for years. Carl possessed the Sheriff, but like all puppets he didn’t retain his memories.

Ironically, the death of the two sealed the cancellation of the show (it was declining anyway as space stuff was now getting popular), but the cult continued the show behind the scenes for years afterward.

Puppets & Possession

Each time a character “dies”, their soul moves on to possess another puppet of that character. If there isn’t another copy of that character, or the other copy is already possessed, they become a stringless (IE unfinished) puppet. A dead stringless usually stays immobilized, but they can be fixed by Carver (much to Miss Undertaker’s chargin).

The puppets become more and more lifelike over time, especially after being possessed. It gets the point where they have to fake eating in order to stay alive, even though they can’t eat and don’t need food.

The puppets can move on their own. The strings serve as a way to control them, usually without them being consciously aware of it.

Because the puppets have no memories, they have no idea that they’re possessed or that they’re being controlled, which is how the puppeteer wants it. They understand that they’re puppets and that they put on performances, but that’s about all they understand. This is why the rules are in place.

Play your part - a puppet not playing their part is indicative that they’re starting to get their memories back, which is a no-no.

Guard your strings - the strings allow the puppets to be controlled, so it’s important that they stay attached.

Don’t look up - the puppets don’t know they’re being controlled. Looking up not only breaks this illusion, but tends to cause them to go insane.

The sheriff helps not only protect the citizens from rogue threats, but helps to enforce the rules before they get broken.

Puppets who break the rules are taken and mutilated as an example to others. Their hostile behavior is really just them trying to cut other character’s strings and free them.

Characters

Bandit: As mentioned above, he’s possessed by Buddy, though he doesn’t remember anything. After being woken up after a few years, he’s trying to help out the others while figuring out what’s truly going on (while not knowing he’s being manipulated himself). Because Bandit is, by definition, an outlaw, he’s not likely to actually follow the rules set in place. As the game progresses, he realizes he’s being manipulated by the Puppeteer and cuts his own strings, allowing him to act independently and help free the others from being controlled.

Miss Undertaker: Miss Undertaker, as her name suggests, takes care of Showdown Valley’s dead - unbeknownst to everyone else, that includes the entire town. In addition to maintaining the graveyards and trying to make sure the dead stay dead, she’s the one who finds newly possessed puppets and introduces them to the town. Later on in the plot, it’s revealed that she’s not possessed like the others, but rather a literal puppet controlled by the Puppeteer, hence why she knows about her when all the others don’t.

The Sheriff: Possessed by Carl, the sheriff enforces the rules, though he doesn’t know about the puppeteer. He particularly has it out for Bandit due to his outlaw nature, ironically pitting Carl and Buddy unwittingly against each other. Eventually, Bandit is able to convince him that the rules are in place to control them, and he ends up helping him take down the Puppeteer.

Penny Hemsworth: Possessed by one of the former stagehands who helped with props, Penny’s general store literally has anything the puppets need in stock (and if it doesn’t, the Puppeteer will fix that shortly). This includes mundane things like food and less mundane things like The Sparkblaster(TM). Penny herself has been afraid of accidentally breaking the rules and generally gets more and more insane throughout the game before eventually removing her eyes (which happens near the end of the game here rather than the beginning).

Doc Carver: Possessed by a former stagehand who helped repair broken puppets, Carver’s purpose is to fix the puppets (without requiring human intervention, which once again, is a no-no). Despite the fact that he’s just supposed to help with damage, he’s become curious about how they’re all alive and has begun experimenting with reviving the dead and creating new creatures (the Araknits were his fault, albeit accidentally), which puts him in thin water with the Puppeteer.

The Banker: Unlike the other puppets, the Banker (possessed by one of the band members) got possessed before his puppet was actually finished. Buddy and Carl couldn’t finish the puppet without breaking the rules and his sanity, so they just scrapped their original design and presented him as-is. Because he’s unfinished, his memory wasn’t as thoroughly wiped as the others, resulting in him being terrified of accidentally breaking character. He eventually does, and is “fixed” by the end.

Faceless Bandit: The Bandit made after Buddy’s Bandit, who was used after the original puppet was damaged. Possessed by another one of the band members. Being a bandit, he eventually went rogue and cut his own strings, successfully escaping the Puppeteer; however, his face was clawed off shortly thereafter by Frenzy. Attempts have been made to capture him again, but it’s hard due to the massive scythe he’s carrying.

Frenzy: One of the “rule-breaking” puppets. Used to be a rival to Bandit who claimed to be an even better draw than him. He, ironically, accidentally let his strings get cut during a showdown and had his torso removed as punishment. While he’s technically only supposed to pursue rule-breakers, as his name implies he’s gone a bit mad and will basically attack anything that moves.

Grieves: Another “rule-breaking” puppet. Bubu the Clown was one of the first characters on the show, and was a regular live-action human. When the puppets started being possessed, Bubu had to go due to breaking immersion, and Grieves was created as his puppet replacement. Bubu eventually committed suicide in the studio, resulting in him accidentally possessing Grives. Because Grieves didn’t remember anything, he eventually became depressed and broke character - because he was mourning Bubu. They recognize Bandit as a rule-breaker and will attack him as such.

Lookout: Lookout was created as a way to monitor the puppets without gathering suspicion. Given that their entire job was to look at things, it was almost inevitable that they eventually looked up, which drove them into madness before they disappeared a few days later. They’re also stringless, allowing them to warn Bandit of danger. They used to be close friends with Miss Undertaker, who’s trying to find them and put strings on them.

The Puppeteer/Lorelei: The leader of the cult, the Puppeteer is the main one handling the show and directing the others. She personally controls Miss Undertaker (Lorelei is her first name), and occasionally controls Bandit as well. She and the rest of the cult attempt to forcibly control Showdown Valley, keeping the puppets in ignorant bliss. Like the other cult members, she wears a mask and a cloak at all times.

Basic Plot

Because the plot would be semi-dictated by the gameplay, these are just some rough outlines and ideas of how the plot and characters would play out.

Starts out more or less the same as the canon plot, with Bandit waking up and Miss Undertaker sending him on his first quest.

The first part of the game is mostly following instructions from Miss Undertaker and going on quests that seem like they’re meant to help improve the town and keep people safe (things like clearing out the Araknits, killing the Faceless Bandit, getting Miss Undertaker’s key back, etc).

As Bandit does more and more tasks, he starts to realize that these tasks might be doing more harm than good (the Araknits were Carver’s attempt at figuring out the possession and destroying them prevents him from doing so; the Faceless Bandit was attempting to free the others by cutting their strings, etc).

The Sheriff is dispatched to deal with Bandit before he breaks any rules, leaving Bandit trying to escape from him for a chapter.

Carver, already suspicious of what’s going on, is the first to believe Bandit. Banker refuses to help but admits to remembering some things, leading the two to explore the stage and end up finding several bodies from the cast (that hand that drops down is Bubu’s).

The sheriff finds the two and the bodies, and is convinced to help Bandit out on his quest.

They return to the set and Bandit overhears Penny talking to Miss Undertaker about her insecurities regarding breaking the rules, with Miss Undertaker being the one who pushes her towards the eye-gouging.

The Puppeteer attempts to separate the three, resulting in Bandit cutting his own strings in order to escape.

Most of the final chapter is him trying to avoid both the Puppeteer and the other enemy puppets, who have become considerably more aggressive.

Penny takes out her eyes. The Sheriff ties her to a post to keep her from hurting herself anymore (he did the same thing with Lookout when he lost his mind), and stays behind to make sure she isn’t taken.

The Banker finally remembers everything and goes through a bit of a mental breakdown wherein he almost blows up the set with dynamite. The Puppeteer intervenes and he’s picked up and removed from the set. He shows back up later on, now a finished puppet with no memory of what just transpired.

Bandit learns who he’s made from by finding some old journal entries. He tries to tell the Sheriff, but both he and Penny are gone. He then goes to confront Miss Undertaker, who’s revealed to be a lifeless puppet in the most literal sense. The Puppeteer attempts to grab him while he’s distracted.

Lookout warns Bandit with their bell, then points out some weak spots in the studio’s wiring. Targeting these spots cause wires to fall down around the Puppeteer, slowing her down and getting her tangled. Hitting the controls for the stage rotation pulls on the wires, snapping her neck and killing her.

Because she had a blood pact with Miss Undertaker she wakes up, now fully possessed and not remembering anything about the Puppeteer or her previous actions.

The epilogue/end credits reveal that with the Puppeteer gone, most of the cult disbanded (though presumably they’re still out there somewhere). Everyone’s strings are cut, the broken puppets are repaired as best as possible, and Showdown Valley ends up the peaceful afterlife it was always meant to be, with Bandit and Sheriff heading the town.

#showdown bandit #bandit #miss undertaker #banker #penny hemsworth #doc carver #long post #tw: suicide #outdesign posts things #outdesign attempts to write #hopefully this is coherent enough #it's very hard to pick up the tattered scraps of the beginning of a story and try to flesh it out without changing too much

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keijikunn · 4 years ago

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Rivalry ── Chapter III

── A @babythotshq collab “To All the Boys I’ve Loved”

Old feelings

Pairing: Tsukishima Kei x gender neutral!reader Tags: college!au, angst, it’s kinda fluffy??? i don’t know, it’s not that angst either Summary: Tsukishima Kei had never imagined that you, his forever rival in high school, would write him a letter confessing your feelings. Does Tsukishima feels the same way? Word count: 3.7k

Author’s note: I’m dividing the last chapter in two, so I won’t be too long (trust me, it’s over than 6k and I wanna spare you all lol). Hope you all enjoy the chap III and I swear by the end of the month I’ll post the final part! Biggest thank you to @kaitycole and @newfriendjen that helped me out a lot, I love you two so much 🥺

WARNINGS: swearing, tsukki being salty but what’s new?, makeout (???), hints of anxiety

RIVALRY MASTERLIST

BECOME A BOOKWORM!

Ever since that… eventful day, you managed to avoid Tsukishima like the plague. It helped the fact you had classes in different buildings, not to mention the fact the college campus was huge. You were about to forget about the letter issue, as the courses have started a few days earlier and you dedicated most of your time to get things settled into a nice routine. Things were too good to be real, though.

You couldn’t believe in what you saw the first time you stepped inside the extracurricular class, after the first week since classes started. Not only your love letters were sent to all your previous crushes (who seemed to attend the same college as you), but the person you dreaded to see again would spend the next semester with you during your afternoon activities.

Tsukishima Kei smirked at your distressed expression, waving at you as if you were long time friends. He wants to irk you, Y/n, don’t give him this pleasure. You are better than him anyway, you repeated it as many times as possible before the bell rang - indicating the class was about to start. Fortunately you managed to sit on the opposite side of the room as Tsukishima, though you could feel his eyes burning holes on the side of your head.

“Why is he so annoying?” You muttered to yourself, sighing in annoyance. The professor entered the classroom, quickly introducing himself and the upcoming project you would work on. You were excited for it when you researched about the university, it was as if a dream was coming true, and you made up your mind to not let Tsukishima Kei ruin this experience.

“As always, we randomize the duos, so be prepared to work with someone who does things differently than you.” The old man at the front announced, and your guts were telling you that this wouldn’t be good. “Raise your hand if I call your name so your partner can find you.

The longer he took to call out your name, the more convinced you were that fate wouldn’t play nice with you. When the other two people left were paired up together, leaving you and Tsukishima without a partner, you had to hold the urge to scoff. As much as you tried your hardest to not bump into your old crush, the whole universe made sure to go against your will.

I should have gone to another extracurricular activity, damn it.

“So… guess we’re a duo, now,” Tsukishima snickered at your disgusted face, laughing at your dismay. “It’s not that bad be paired up with me, Y/n, c’mon”

“You’re right, it’s not bad.” You started, sending him a sharp glare. “It’s the worst thing ever”

With that, you turned around to pay attention to the further details the professor addressed the class. You knew Kei would try to make your experience in this project a literal hell, but you weren't going to let his antics distract you from getting anything less than the best result. You internally hoped that the tall boy also aimed for that, despite his annoying demeanor around you.

If not, you’d have a long semester ahead of you.

“For God’s sake, Tsukishima, this is not how we’re supposed to do it!” You whisper-yelled at the blonde boy, angrily gripping on your hair, holding yourself back from screaming at his face. It has been two weeks since you two started working on that stupid project, and it’s been two weeks of complete hell and anger. Being at the college’s library didn’t help as well, since you couldn’t externalize your frustration. “Can’t you read what I wrote down? Professor said we should follow this!”

“Yes, I’ve read it and decided that it sucks.” Tsukishima shot back, pushing away your notebook, writing a few words on your draft. “C’mon, Y/n, you should know by now that we don’t follow any professor’s instruction. We’re not at high school anymore, be more independent, won’t you?”

You hated to admit, but he was (at some instance) right. What hurt your pride more was that his suggestion was actually good- not that you would admit that, you’d rather die than say it out loud. This idea could easily work out with what you have thought previously, not to mention it would make more sense.

The lack of response made Tsukishima’s shit-eating grin grow on his features, irking you the exact same way he knew he was able to. He proceeded to add a few details on the paper and neatly placed it inside his folder, collecting his materials from the table. You two have been workin for almost two hours non-stop on the project after the whole morning classes, you had to admit your energy wore off at that point.

“Give me the paper, I want to add a few extra things.” You demanded, holding out your hand for him. Tsukishima arched his eyebrows as if he was surprised by such a request, then he scoffed at you - like always. “I’m not joking, I do want to modify it a bit.”

“The point of this being a group project is that we work on this together.” He stressed the last word, zipping his bag and shoving it over his shoulder. “And you wouldn’t do anything, judging by how tired you are.”

“I’m not!”

“Then care to explain how you didn't think about what I suggested earlier?” Suddenly your mind went blank at his response, what in the world does that mean? “You can think about this tomorrow, try not to melt your tiny brain.”

The tall boy left you without sparing a second glance, fumbling with his intertwined earphones as he walked. To say you were confused by his comment would be an understatement. Was he worried you would overwork yourself? No way, Tsukishima Kei would never care enough about you of all people.

Yet he’s still your partner.

“Fuck off, Tsukki.” You muttered tiredly, focusing on putting your belongings inside your backpack to (finally) head to your dorms.

The first time you’ve ever heard Tsukishima’s name was after the first exam of your freshman year in high school. Everyone was crying about their low grades, groaning at the prospect of having to study a lot more to the upcoming test. If you were not mistaken, a boy in your class named Yamaguchi commented how “Tsukki was smart” and he wasn’t surprised he aced it.

“Hey, L/n!” The girl who sits next to you approached you, paper in her hands. “How did you do?”

“I got 96%.” You answered quietly, trying not to drag attention to yourself due to your great performance. People in middle school didn’t like when you mentioned your grades, claiming you did that just to brag.

“Ehh? You’re so smart!” She said smiling. “Please, help me study! From what I heard just you and a boy from class 3 had such a high score. And Yamaguchi-kun said Tsukishima-kun doesn’t help anybody.”

“Of course, we can study at the library if you want to.” The offer seemed to appeal to her, given the fact she nodded quickly and proceeded to write down her cellphone number to you. “By the way, who is this Tsukishima guy?”

“He’s a tall, blonde boy. He uses glasses and if I’m not wrong he’s part of the volleyball club.” She answered, waving at you as she went back to her circle of friends, leaving you to think about who this boy is. “He’s not nice though. Always treats everyone as if he’s superior.”

You were able to put a face to the name you had in your mind after a couple of weeks, when another private school had a volleyball match against the male team of Hakone Academy. It wasn’t hard to figure out that the middle blocker with a poker face was Tsukishima, and you were surprised that he was actually good looking. Something that lacked in him, though, was passion in the sport - or rather in anything, according to your classmates.

Ever since that game, it seemed like you started to see Tsukishima every day in the corridors. You’d see him walking down the halls, his headphones always placed on the top of his ears, muffling the loud noise caused by the other students. He was cold to everybody, even rude if you were to be honest, but he was something else. His interests were inviting, itching your curiosity to get to know him better.

You realized you had a crush on Tsukishima Kei when you noticed how you paid attention to whenever you saw him around school, hearing his steady tone (usually talking to Yamaguchi) and his snarky smirk. All information you knew about him was, being honest, too little to grow intense feelings, but what got you hooked up was exactly this: you wanted to get to know him.

Things, however, didn’t work out the way you planned. The very first interaction you had with him was a disaster. You sounded way cockier than you wanted, you’ve never planned on teasing him and you have never imagined that it would backfire on you and lead him to dislike you.

After that incident, you discovered the aversion quite a lot of students had against him. Most of them claimed the same thing: Tsukishima Kei was mean, smug, had a superiority complex and always treated everyone poorly. A part of you didn’t want to believe in that, but how could you not when he mocked you in front of everyone?

Things didn’t get easier as the project progressed, not because it was too technical or that it required too many details. Yours and Tsukishima’s endless arguments and bickering always ended in screaming matches, hurtful comments and you two not on speaking terms. The premise of group projects was to create something together, but at this point you were doing your own thing while thinking about what the other was working on.

“Are you a dumbass or do you just pretend to be one?” Tsukishima angrily asked, dropping your notebook on the table. “This is horrible, Y/n.”

“You think it’s horrible because you’re doing things as you wish, not considering what I have to suggest!” You responded, your voice tone a few octaves higher due to your stress. Currently you two were at his dorms - the library was not an option anymore, the librarian kicked you out after you were shouting at each other - both awfully close as his dining table was tiny. “This is a fucking group project, you said it before! So you have to listen to what I have to say.”

“I’m not listening when you suggest stupid things like this!” He retorted, ripping the page out and crumpling it to toss on the floor. You widen your eyes, shocked at his recent action.

“Wow, Tsukishima, you are really being this petty.” A humorless laugh escaped your lips, you shook your head in denial, getting up to collect your paper off the ground. The tension in the air grew thicker and the man’s intense gaze burned holes on your back. “People were right, after all. You are unbearable.”

Tsukishima’s smug facade cracked a bit, you noticed, after hearing what you just said. His smirk left his face for a brief moment and his eyes mirrored mixed feelings, could they be sorrow, insecurity? You didn’t have enough time to decipher them as he quickly recomposed himself, offering you a snark grin.

“That’s why you liked me, huh? Did you want to correct the horrible, mean, malicious person that I am?” Tsukishima teased, hitting your emotions with ease. Your mind was empty, only his words echoing inside it, bumping into your skull with force.

You couldn’t understand him, honestly.

One time he is all worried about you overworking, passively aggressively implying you’re capable of suggesting better ideas; and now he’s being childish and not sparing a single offense towards you. You knew Tsukishima Kei was a hard person to handle if you’re not as quick witted as him, but this? This level of pettiness and stubbornness? For a young adult like him, that claims he’s better than everyone else?

“I’m done.” You stated, too burnt out to respond to his teasing comment. Your temples hurt due to the confusion the blond man was giving you, the constant push and pull between you two worn you out.

“What do you mean ‘you’re done’? We’re not done yet.” He stated as if it was a matter of fact - which was, he wasn’t wrong.

“Do I look like I care? I’m doing this shit by myself, you can do whatever you want, I’m done with you.” Silence engulfed the room, and you mentally thanked this peaceful moment. It, however, didn’t last long, because Tsukishima always finds ways to make things worse.

“Are you giving up that easy, Y/n? Couldn’t handle a bit of teasing?” That was it. The mocking tone he used against you was enough to snap the last string of sanity inside you, freeing a rage you never knew you had against him. The angriness burned your chest as you slammed your hands on the table, making Tsukishima flinch at the sudden outburst.

“Yes, I can not deal with your teasing ass.” You admitted shamesly, your mind ran a thousand miles a minute, not registering the words that left your mouth. “What I can’t deal with is a petty boy that can’t take this goddamn project seriously!”

“It wasn’t me who suggested stupid ideas.” Kei spat back, leaning in your direction, inviting you to answer him - almost like a dare.

“You always say my ideas are vain, stupid or whatever, but you never offered anything great or fucking brilliant,” it was indeed true. Tsukishima proudly belittled everything you said for the past few weeks, but never came up with something new. Instead, he modified everything you’ve given to him. “So please, before you put yourself above the others, do something that makes you actually the best-”

Any and every train of thought you had was interrupted by the aggressive contact of Tsukishima Kei’s lips against yours. Everything seemed to melt with the heat coming from the kiss, your hands sneaking behind his neck and gripping rather harshly at his blond hair. In between the feverish moment, Tsukki managed to sit you on the table and place himself between your legs. Gasps and soft murmurs interrupted the kiss every once in a while, your mouth occasionally made its way down his jaw and neck, nibbling and sucking his skin.Only until one of you reconnected them, tongues sliding against each other.

You honestly don’t know how long you two spent making out, but it was enough time to leave a few hickeys on each other's necks and clothes lightly pulled up. Tsukishima’s ears were as red as his swollen lips, the blond hair was a mess thanks to your roaming hands and the white t-shirt wrinkled.

“Still think I don’t suggest brilliant ideas?” Tsukishima teased, but the embarrassment he was feeling was written all over his face. To say you were speechless was an understatement, you’ve just had a full make out section with your biggest high school rival, the one you knew hated you the most. “Cat got your tongue? Or should I say- did I get your tongue, Y/n?”

“What the fuck did you just do, Tsukishima?” You demanded flustered, the feeling of his body close to yourself fading away. "Why have you done this?!"

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy, Y/N, I can feel the spot you left a hickey on." His comment made you groan in annoyance, because you knew you wouldn't be able to retort it.

Not paying attention to your surroundings, you pushed Tsukishima away from you, quickly grabbing your bag to leave his dorms. You didn't mind if you forgot something at his place - you would see him the next day, anyway. All you wanted was to get away from him, to finally think straight.

The cool air of the end of the day would help you come back to a reasonable state of mind.

You kept acting around Tsukishima after the first encounter. Whenever you had the chance to irk him you did it, initiating an unnecessary banter. You felt stupid to say the least, how low could you go?

Yet, you continued. Just to have his attention. Pathetic. However, you had a limit. And Tsukishima managed to trespass it with such facility you were surprised.

It happened during your second year, exactly one year after you got so interested in that mean boy. Things weren't easy for you, many reasons were behind your unstable state. School was overwhelming like never before, you could barely juggle between regular activities and your club's.

The stress weighted on you to the point you let your grades slip at one exam. You knew you had your worst performance so far, and the subject didn't help you as well.

"I'm going to hand back the exams." Your homeroom teacher announced, earning heavy groans from the whole class. A sigh escaped your lips, knowing how screwed you were if Tsukishima knew how poorly you did. "L/n Y/n"

As you got up from your desk, you felt a familiar pair of eyes burn holes on your back. The moment you read the barely 50% score written on the top of the paper, you blanked out. You missed how your teacher kindly smiled at you, reminding how this one performance didn't define you. The words didn't make sense to you, because for you it didn't matter. You failed.

Tears pricked the corner of yours eyes, shallow breaths escaped your parted lips as you sat down once again, barely sparing a glance at the paper on your desk. You truly didn’t know if someone tried to approach you, mind far away from reality, engulfing itself in a spiral of self doubt, worries and self depreciation.

“Well… looks like the top 2 student failed miserably on the test.” The steady, yet teasing tone of Tsukishima’s voice broke you out of your own head. “You’re fake, couldn’t even get more than half of it correct. You’re a lie, Y/n.”

“Not now, please.” It took most part of your will to mutter these three words without letting your voice crack. Tsukishima arched his eyebrows, amused by the scene unfolding in front of him: you lowering your head against your forearms on the table, shielding your tears from anyone. “Tease me all you want, but please do it another time.”

However, he kept going. Tsukishima pointed out every single question you got wrong, rubbing in your face how he aced another stupid paper while you were a failure. The classroom was noisy, the end of the period let the students talk freely, but you only heard Kei’s voice, adding to your pre-existent stress and pressure.

As far as you could remember, you’ve never underestimated him in any interaction you two had. Sure, you threw a teasing comment every once in a while, but always bragging about yourself, how you’ve outsmarted him. But you were sure you never humiliated him - and you’d never do such a low blow like this.

“Enough, Tsukishima!” You raised your voice, everyone now was paying attention to you two. The embarrassment heated your entire face and your tears finally ran down your cheeks, the blond boy seemed startled with your sudden outburst, though his smirk quickly returned to your face. “I got that you’re better, now can you please shut the fuck up?!”

Thankfully the bell rang, indicating classes were over for the day. You quickly shoved your test on your bag, throwing it over your shoulder as you turned to head to the door. With the sleeve of your coat, you wiped the reminiscent tears from your eyes and left the room. Not only you exited that suffocating place, but also you left behind the stupid crush you had on Tsukishima Kei.

Since that day, you couldn’t stand being near him, all teasing interactions reduced to none and you’ve never checked the scoreboard as soon as the grades were out. You focused on your own stuff, trying your best to clear your thoughts from Tsukishima - which didn’t work as well as you planned.

Every once in a while, in the middle of a studying session, you found yourself pushing your limits like you used to do to get a higher performance than him. As much as you hated to admit, Tsukishima was a great incentive to do better, to set higher goals academically speaking. And though he caused you a lot of pain, a part of you (the stupid one, in your words) still thought he was attractive, you still had a tiny interest in the true guy behind that acting.

That’s why you decided to write him that letter. Perhaps admitting your “crush” on him would make you realize you’ve created almost an entire new person using his name and face. In a way it actually helped, you truly thought you have moved on from him and college would give you a new beginning away from Tsukishima.

Fate, on the other hand, had other plans for you and here you are: walking slowly towards your dorms, emotionally drained and confused. The prospect of Tsukishima Kei having the slightest interest in you was shocking, especially after all those three years of. endless insults.

Are those feelings coming back?

“Oh, no.” You muttered to yourself, immediately stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, frightened about your last thought. “Oh my, there’s no way I’m crushing Tsukishima once again!”

If you concentrated enough, you could still feel his chapped lips against your skin, his large hands roaming through your body. He was right about you enjoying it- in reality, you did more than you’d like to admit. Tsukishima Kei was annoyingly filling your mind with both his smart and arrogant ass and that unexpected (but surprising) heated moment.

You needed to get to your dorms and take a long shower to put your thoughts in order, because there’s no way you’re having feelings for Tsukishima Kei once again.

COLLAB MASTERLIST!

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@heykoutarou @tetsujime @restricted-illusion @kac-chowsballs @ne-kuroo @kellesvt @aksteldesu @avbreyissad @elianetsantana @fuqkuroo @justatempo @barali.k @kweenregent @luckypartyranchmug @humanitysbiggestsimp @daniella-uwu @omigogames @melialeic @bokuakadaily @cafetetsu @sleep3deprived @vicassa @the-writing-otaku @chibishae34 @chickennuggetthot @timeturnerss @mariachiiii @dearestsuna @spaceboitrash @tsukisemi @atsumubabe @ariasnight @cadenceh2o @hawkssnugget @hikari-writes @dabilove27 @isleofnajera @thathoneybee3 @uncleirohsbobbatea@shinhiromi @solarskiesdream @greyevangeline @graykageyama @holycometz @wallflower-tori @mattsuns-prettybaby @fluffymilkbread @rogueofbullshit @turntechsquishy @sunashi @stale-sandcastle @kellesvt @timeturnerss @lovinnoya @elianetsantana @hencevy @stormweaver13 @h4nabi @hariosborn @mint-mai @keikyoo @osamu-simp @keepitasecretokay @misssugarless @mirikusashes @laylatrbl @estmagnifique @moremilkforkags @pebbles @callmejennni7 @trustworthy-hypocrite @tessarqt @litle-crow @aruhappy @manikasena @hohochaan @smash-styles @asahi-babie @kumihayu @K1ngl3s1 @ukeishin @d-angerboys @kuroosleftkneecap @jessie9008 @melodiamore @neomuxuxi @nyelsy @kiritokunuwu

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fanfiction #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima imagine #TATB: Tsukishima route #haikyuu imagine #baby thots collab

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teiasviago · 4 years ago

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Jaime’s not a rapist, so stop claiming he is

I got this ask last year about forgetting that Jaime raped Cersei in the show, and in the comments someone recently said this:

Book Jaime also raped Cersei. Jaime is a rapist.

To which I replied:

no, actually, he didn’t. their relationship plays with consent within its confines but it’s consensual all the way. Jaime’s a lot of shitty things but a rapist he is not.

Then, that person said:

Cersei saying no and Jaime having sex with her anyway definitely seems like rape to me, whether she gave in at the end or not since we don’t see it from her perspective. And there’s also her thinking of Jaime as a “man not to be denied” who will take what he wants no matter how many no’s he hears until she’s saying yes as well. Which sounds less like kinky sex and more like coercion to me.

Me:

if you think Jaime’s the one coercing Cersei in their relationship then I suggest you do a good long in-depth reread of the books. GRRM literally *didn’t write them as rape scenes*. It’s a dynamic in their relationship that plays with consent but *it’s just pretend*. If Cersei genuinely meant no, she would 1000% make it clear & Jaime would respect that. (Which Cersei *doesn’t* do when Jaime says no, choosing to insult him. Again: reread the books please.)

What I mean by “[i]f Cersei genuinely meant no, she would 1000% make it clear & Jaime would respect that” is that she would walk away or push him away or use a safe word/phrase. And she wouldn’t just make it clear to Jaime, she’d make it clear to us, the audience.

Them:

“A hundred times I told him no, and he said yes,” the other woman told her, “until finally I was saying yes as well. He was not the sort of man to be denied.” “I know the sort,” the queen said with a wry smile. “Has Your Grace ever known a man like that, I wonder?” “Robert,” she lied, thinking of Jaime.

^^^^ That right there (and the infamous “no our dead son is right there and someone might see us” scene) reads like rape to me whether that was GRRM’s intention or not.

And what does “she would make it 100% clear” mean? Was Cersei not raped by her husband (the only other man she’d ever had sex with besides Jaime before the war starts)? I’m honestly confused as to what you’re trying to say here. Is Cersei too “strong” to be raped? Are you saying it’s not rape bc she didn’t fight harder? Bc you know women can be raped through coercion by their partners and not put up much of fight and that it’s still rape, right?

But this might just be a matter of different interpretations of the book so I’m gonna stop here. But it’s interesting that you immediately jumped to “If you think Jaime’s the one coercing Cersei” like where did I say that? They are both awful people and their relationship is toxic bc they’re both awful to each other.

When Cersei says no Jaime thinks it’s a game and fucks her anyway (with no confirmation of this on Cersei’s side), when Jaime says no Cersei mocks him but she does stop. She also physically assaults him. Is one better than the other? In my opinion, no.

My response:

dude. they’re NOT both awful to each other. don’t minimize the abuse Cersei’s put him through. Cersei coerced Jaime through sex to give up his claim to Casterly Rock and you want to tell me that something so subjective as Cersei saying no when [safe words] exist and the books were written in a 90s mindset is rape? Jaime’s not a rapist. you’re entitled to your interpretation, but that doesn’t make it right.

also, Cersei’s not a reliable source of information. she’s a narcissistic self-[aggrandizing] woman living in a stifling feudal society. it’s quite normal for 1) an abuser to twist the facts 2) a victim to try to reclaim whatever freedom they can in relation to the abusive relationship, whether they realize it’s abusive or not.

ALSO also, you literally said “[w]hich sounds less like kinky sex and more like coercion to me.” so don’t pull the “where did i say that you’re putting words in my mouth” shit on me. I’m tired of people like you thinking you can just spout lies about the books bc your progressive or something. time period context matters and so does educating yourself on abusive relationship dynamics.

We need to have a conversation about how to identify mutual abuse versus a victim of abuse fighting back. Jaime and Cersei’s relationship is not mutually abusive. Jaime is the sole victim. Does that mean he never did anything nasty to Cersei? No. But that doesn’t make him an abuser. Cersei manipulates him into giving up his claim on Casterly Rock; she belittles him after he loses his hand and cheats on him when she expects him to be faithful. Jaime never forces Cersei to give up anything. He never forces her into anything.

You cannot take their sex scenes away from the context of their relationship just to twist it to make Jaime a rapist. Their relationship lived on its illicit nature and playing around with power fantasies.

Studies have shown that victims of abuse may try to gain something back for themselves by turning their abuser’s tactics against them, but that doesn’t mean that they’re also an abuser. Jaime thinks of Cersei as a whore in AFFC because he’s hurt and using his abuser’s tactic of insulting him to fight back. Does that make it alright? No. Does this condemn him? No.

Everyone’s entitled to their own interpretation, but that doesn’t make it the truth.

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #jaime lannister #cersei lannister #anti twincest #abuse #rape #tw abuse #tw rape #a song of ice and fire #meta

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anika-ann · 5 years ago

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For a Smile

Type: One-shot, Reader Insert Word count: 5400

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader, OC x reader (brief)

Characters: Steve Rogers, Reader, OFC, OC

Summary: You see him run past every morning. So you smile, because he looks like a nice person. How could he not be when he smiles back and the world stops for a while to pay respect to such beauty?

And sometimes… sometimes this incredibly handsome man smiles first.

Warnings: mentions and hints of (psychically) abusive relaionship, suggestive themes, swearing, all the fluff in the world

A/N: I used to pass this guy near a café playing music every morning when I went to school and at some point, our eyes kinda met and we smiled at each other; then we did that every day. I kid you not, he’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. It’s not a Hollywood-star smile, no – it’s a guy-next-door smile, heart-warming, with his eyes simply shining. He’s like a kid on Christmas Day… I could ramble on. Anyway, just so you knew what brought this on.

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A smile costs less than electricity, and gives more light. (Scottish proverb)

Warm honey, sandstone and apricot orange melting into indigo, cerulean blue and stone-grey sky. Merigold playing with salmon and rose pink, teasing each other and making space to the warmer shades of orange.

You watched the beautiful colours of sunrise as you shifted your legs for a bit, causing the simple plank hanging on two tattered ropes sway, a smile tugging on your lips.

It was a little childish really, or it may appear so to anyone who would be passing by; but given what an early riser you were, just so you could watch this breath-taking game of colours, the little miracle of nature, no person could question you as you were dangling your feet off the old swing.

On your way to work, if the time allowed it, you would always make a stop on your favourite spot; a no-name park in upstate New York you were walking through every day, rather calm and drunks-free at the early hour.

Once upon a time, someone had placed a simple swing on one of the trees farther from the path. You sent a silent thank you every time you parked your behind there. You weren’t a monster; if a kid wanted to sit here, you would have gladly (...reluctantly) made space for them, but they seemed to always be more mesmerized by the playground with the actual swings, the chutes, the monkey bars and the sandpit. You couldn’t say you complained though, having the old-fashioned swing for yourself.

It was childish, perhaps; though your mother had once chosen that you should be going into accounting and so you had. Numbers and bills were things even adults hated, but that was what being old enough meant. You didn’t mind it too often, plunging into them for living, but… you needed to compensate, so you felt entitled.

Plus, the motion of the swing was soothing, as if magically transporting you back to your childhood indeed, with less worries, more ease and pure mind.

Yeah, sitting on the swing was your favouri-

Rapid staccato of feet hitting the ground in the distance, no doubt scaring off the birds chiming their morning songs, reached your ears and you had to admit you wouldn’t be completely honest with yourself if you said this was the favourite moment of your day only because of the aforementioned reasons.

There was one more.

It had strong long sweatpants-clad legs, broad shoulders in a sports t-shirt with seams crying for help, blond hair and-

Your heart melted along with your brain as your lips curled up in a genuine smile you sent in return.

-and the most beautiful smile in the whole universe.

You never spoke. Didn’t say hello. You never even nodded in mutual acknowledgement.

You just… smiled at each other.

And that was your favourite moment of the day crafted to perfection. A breath-taking sunrise, almost eclipsed by a mesmerizing display of the row of perfect white teeth framed by plush coral red lips and the twinkle in beautiful inviting eyes of a stranger.

You knew his name despite never exchanging a single word. Everyone knew his name. But Captain Rogers – Steven Grant Rogers – was a name that held no meaning. He didn’t know yours and probably never would; so strangers was who you were. A couple of strangers exchanging a smile every morning and lightening up (hopefully) each other’s day.

It always felt nice when you glanced at someone on the street, then just… somehow smiled and they smiled back, didn’t it? So what if you were an adult woman dealing with numbers for Stark Industries sitting on a swing and he was a deservedly treasured national icon?

It made no difference.

Just two people sharing a tiny piece of their day for a smile.

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“You’re insane,” your colleague stated dryly as she walked into the office at seven thirty, already finding you with an empty coffee cup, your fingers flying over the keyboard.

“Huh?” you raised your eyes from the screen on autopilot, not really paying attention.

You still noticed Harry rolling her eyes; it was just that distinctive.

“I said that you’re insane, you crazy-ass lark. My brain isn’t even awake yet. To be fair, I’m ninety percent sure I met Captain Handsome in the hall along with our boss, so it’s hard to tell if I’m dreaming or not, having a vision like that.”

“Captain Handsome?” you frowned, your mind racing, desperately trying to remember who was Harriet’s newest crush. ‘Captain Handsome’ could be literally anyone.

“Our resident Star-Spangled Man, you dummy. You’re low on caffeine. Or sleep. That’s what you get, getting up in such an ungodly hour…” she hummed, crossing her arms on her chest as she looked at you sceptically, a drop of disappointment in her eyes.

Oh. Oh! That made sense; if the man was with Tony Stark, the range of options narrowed significantly, especially since your friend had called him a captain. Except it didn’t make any sense at all.

“What was he doing here? I mean… since when is he wandering in our department? It’s all across the compound here from the training area.”

“Well, look who’s actually awake and bright-minded…” It was your turn to roll your eyes at your friend. “My point exactly. No clue, but lemme tell you – seeing that ass? Definitely made my day,” she threw over her shoulder as she stalked to the coffee machine and you couldn’t but chuckle at her bluntness.

Your stranger had an amazing smile, that was true. But your gaze did slide elsewhere on occasion too; which was why you would never try to disprove Harry’s claim.

“We might have the Ironman for a boss, but, girl… I’d like to know what Rogers’ ass is made of then,” she added and you burst into another fit of giggles, your face feeling hot all of sudden when your mind unhelpfully supplied with ‘vibranium’.

What would it feel like?

Yeah, you definitely needed to go back to your numbers before your impure thoughts got the best of you.

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The first time you two met outside the park, you were in a bar.

You hadn’t seen him for almost a month, assuming he went on a long-drawn mission; one that had ended well, clearly, since he was out drinking. Just eyeing his companions and instantly noting his body language, you could tell he was suffering. Like, not literally suffering, but it was very much obvious he was not feeling comfortable.

His eyes were drifting all over the place, as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes laughed loudly, patting his shoulders while a hint or red dusted his cheeks, and then they fell on you.

His face was screaming ‘save me!’; yet, his smile was still as warm and kind as ever, an impossible spark within his irises, visible even from the distance. That twinkle was always the biggest mystery to you, because logically, no person could have eyes so bright, but here he was, proving your claim wrong.

Your lips spread in a smile automatically and encouraged by your second drink, you considered adding a small silly wave.

Before you could execute the decision, the result of your two last braincells arguing whether it would be more silly or sweet, an arm sneaked around your shoulders and your smile widened on instinct at the sensation. You turned your head to Cade and met his lips halfway to yours.

You had been dating for almost a month now and this inconspicuous guy from logistic of a giant company that was surprisingly not Stark Industries was a dream coming true. He was showering you with so much attention you weren’t sure he was real. Late-night conversations via phonecalls or texts, good morning, good night, kisses that lasted long enough for you to forget that you in fact needed oxygen, touches that set you on fire. He was easy to fall in love with.

“Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout that got you smilin’ so wide, babe?” he whispered to your ear, grazing your earlobe with his teeth.

Gosh, you wanted him. The first sex hadn’t been so great, Cade chasing his own release, but hey, first times were always hard in a new relationship. The more were you excited about your second time and you were confident the second time would happen tonight.

“Nah, just smiling at strangers. You know that feeling, so nice, when you just toss a smile and they smile back?” your eyes found his, only to see him frown.

“I like it better when you smile for me, babe. What did some stranger do for you to deserve that?” he hummed discontentedly, pouting adorably as his hand slid lower to squeeze your hip possessively. It sent a spark through your body, a lightning striking right into your core.

“Just teasing you, Cade. I was thinking about how I lucked out,” you batted your eyelashes and a slow delicious smirk played with the corner of his mouth all of sudden, intensifying the heat inside of you.

“Wanna get out of here, pretty thing? Lemme show you how lucky you are?” he whispered, the pad of his thumb grazing your lower lip, pulling it down a fraction. “Or maybe… show me how much you think you lucked out, huh? How much you appreciate being mine?”

God, yes.

Judging by the glint in his eyes and the hungry kiss that lasted too short – but too long for such a public place – he didn’t need a verbal confirmation. He swung by the bar to pay for your drink and practically dragged you out of the rather crowded space. Your head was spinning a bit and you couldn’t tell whether it was excitement or alcohol. Either way, you really, really liked it.

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“You know that Cade was a dick right?” Harry noted nonchalantly while she handed you a cup of coffee and assessed (correctly) that you were sulking again, thinking back to that one particular night when you had noticed the first sign – or you would have if you hadn’t been such a goddamn idiotic goose of a woman, drunk on top of that.

You sighed and sipped your punishingly bitter dose of caffeine.

You were positively brooding and you didn’t care if it affected anyone else. The world apparently hated you and you couldn’t quite blame it.

Not even your precious strangers-exchanging-smile moments felt the same anymore. First, your stranger had started smiling less brightly after your encounter at the bar and then, even if it had changed, you wouldn’t be able to tell, because you were too wrapped in your own misery. Even the curve of his lips looked sad, which was a stupid thing to say, because he had no way of knowing about either Cade turning out to be an abuser-in-making or about you breaking things off with him and cracking your fragile heart in the process, while yelling at yourself mentally every morning and still longing for Cade’s arms around you since it always felt oh, oh so good to be held…

You recognized the signs early, but not soon enough. You let it escalate into him trying to control when you went out and with whom, him lashing out when you wouldn’t respond to his text in longer than five-minutes time, letting him yell at you when you missed his call… he loved you, after all, he just missed you and was afraid you were with someone else, and oh babe, come here, you can make it up to me…

Your sister had gone through something similar, for god’s sake. You should have noticed sooner. You should have known better. But no, you had allowed your body, your twat to be precise, to rule your brain and that had been stupid.

Cade had tried to get in touch several times after your break-up, even waiting in front of your apartment until you would go out once; you might have threatened him with a restraining order after that particular day and he had stopped quickly after that, only two of three attempts with a new e-mail address and number to get pass you blocking his previous ones.

Still. It made you miserable. And perhaps a bit self-hateful.

You deserved every bitter drop of Harry’s horrible coffee and more.

“I was being blind and stupid,” you opposed and returned to your figures, deciding your exchange was over. Figures were clear enough; they were easy to read and didn’t make your brain drunk on endorphins and other very specific hormones allowing you to act like a teenage girl, excited at her first boyfriend groping her. “Thanks for the coffee.”

A huff sounded above your head and suddenly your swivel chair was being yanked back and turned around, a pair of strict chocolate eyes boring into your soul with startling clarity. Harry’s fingers were wrapped around the armrests as she was leaning into your space.

You backed into your chair instinctively. She looked menacing.

“He was a charming bastard from what I heard and his type always knows how to manipulate people, letting them see what he wants them to see. It’s not your fault. You’re one badass of a woman, smart as hell for noticing before it escalated. You’re my hero. Mine and every other person’s who has ever been in or even heard of an abusive relationship. You can do better than him. It’s a funny coincidence they spelled his name wrong anyway.”

You blinked away your sudden tears, immensely grateful for her words that somehow wormed their way inside your very core (you blamed the intense stare that reminded of your mother’s when she was giving you the kind of talk that was too serious for you to handle) and yet you tilted your head in confusion, not understanding the meaning of her last statement.

“Huh? His… his name?” you stuttered, baffled.

Harry positioned your chair back to its place with a grin and went back to her own business.

“Clearly, they added an ‘E’ at the end. What a stupid typo…” she threw over her shoulder cheekily and when you caught up, understanding her point, you released the first honest laughter in what felt like a year.

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Your life had been set off to better course after that short conversation. You felt like you were healing every day, finding yourself lighter. Happier. Freer of the baggage Cade had tried to left you with. The sensation was indescribable and it radiated from you; some days more noticeably than others.

You found yourself indulging the blond stranger’s smiles once more, finally seeing the spark in his eyes again, the genuine curve of his lips warming your heart and starting off your day in the best way imaginable.

Naturally, life had a reliable means of showing you it could suck.

Right when you thought that you were fine, it delivered another blow; your favourite place in the world… ceased to exist.

Someone put the swing in the park down.

They just… erased it from existence.

Maybe they considered it dangerous. Maybe they were being dicks. Maybe they thought it was old and ugly. It didn’t quite matter.

You could weep, mourning your intimate inanimate friend.

You didn’t cry. But it was a damn close call as you shuffled towards the playground and eyed it sceptically. You knew it wouldn’t be the same and not just because the swings were in a plain sight, but they also looked too fancy, to actually child-like and— they weren’t your swing. Your sanctuary. Your private space. Your secret place you never told anyone about, not Cade or your previous boyfriends, not your family, not Harry or other friends, not to anyone.

You watched the sun rise on the horizon, ridiculously heavy feeling in your chest, ignorant to the rest of the world.

God, you hated Mondays. You already knew this week was about to be a disaster.

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“There’s a swing outside in the green area.”

“Huh?” you hummed distractedly, too deep into figures to register more than the sound of your friend’s voice. What was her name again? What was yours? What day was today? What was the time? Had you already had lunch? Had the lunch-time already passed…?

A chuckle followed by a to-be offended tone responded to your intelligent way of communicating.

“I’m starting to think ‘Huh’ is my name with how often you call me that,” Harry (aha!) remarked with a hint of sass, but repeated herself, because she knew she shouldn’t take it personal that you didn’t quite payed her any attention. You were a person who would get sucked into their own world, too focused on one task to acknowledge anything else. “A swing. In our compound park. It’s kinda cute, hidden from a plain sight though, a simple wooden thing.”

You slowly raised your eyes to hers, your pupils widening with surprise. Your pulse was roaring in your ears, your heartbeat no doubt shaking your whole frame.

Harry was telling you that there was… a swing. In the compound area. Hidden from everyone’s prying eyes, at least partly.

Why?

How?

You could only come up with one ridiculous theory which involved you, but that idea alone was laughable. Why would anyone do that for you? More importantly, how did anyone know-

“You think it’s an invitation for children? Like, is ‘bring your kids to work’ day happening any time soon? ‘cause, not to be rude and greedy, but one swing doesn’t seem like— hey!” Harry called after you, but you could barely hear her as you jumped to your feet, your heels be damned, and strode through the halls with zero regards to anyone in your way.

Not that there was a soul; people actually worked around here, too busy to wander the halls.

The thing was, that one theory about the swing didn’t just involve you. It involved one more person, but that person was a stranger to you and had no reason to even… acknowledge you. Besides the obvious part of your day that no longer existed – not in the way it used to. But the thought was simply laughable.

A different part of your brain raised a figurative sceptical eyebrow, argumenting that you had no better explanation for the phenomenon.

Because… you loved Harry. She knew about your traditional early morning watching the sunrise, but not about the swing. The swing was always a secret, no one knew, except… except one particular guy who always passed you on his morning run and exchanged a smile with you and just happened to work at the very same compound you did and technically had the power to pull the strings to make this happen.

With your heart hammering in your chest, you gasped for fresh air when you finally made it out of the building, your eyes searching for a calm spot, a tree in whose shades you could possibly find a prove of Harry not pulling your leg.

Your heart positively stopped when your eyes fell on the simple plank hanging on two ropes, indeed offering a safe space for anyone who decided to sit there in search for serenity.

You felt tears stinging in your eyes, your feet moving of their own will despite semi-high heels digging into the ground an inch with each step, bringing you closer to that little, yet breath-taking miracle. A chuckle escaped your lips when your trembling fingers brushed the grey ropes, more of your senses acknowledging that this was in fact happening.

Your hand followed the line of the rope, sliding to the plank, only to notice a rough sensation on your fingertips in the corner. A carving, you realized.

Tears of surprise actually welled up when you recognized they were initials. Your initials.

How-- how was that possible?

‘Sit down, you dummy!’ your consciousness cried out exasperatedly. ‘It’s clearly for you!’

“But why?” you asked it under your breath incredulously, thousands of questions ruminating, no answers on the horizon.

Regardless, you reluctantly lowered yourself, shocked when your feet dangled above the ground in precisely the same way they used to-- they used to in the park. It was even installed in the same height.

Reverently, you gave the swing a test-drive, just tiny motions of your feet to try it out.

It was perfect.

Your gaze fell on a sign on the tree trunk, small, subtle and harmonizing with the place without a fault.

Sanctuary of the kind ones. Do not disturb, it read.

You giggled breathlessly, lightheaded and with no care in the world.

That naturally changed when you spotted your very much expectant colleague in the distance, her arms crossed on her chest, figuratively tapping her foot and screaming questions without saying a single word.

The thing is, you thought, I have no idea how to answer.

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Perhaps it was naïve, a child-like trust and excitement, but the next day, you went to your new spot expecting to enjoy the sunrise there and not to be disturbed indeed.

You weren’t.

What you couldn’t quite prepare yourself for was the single daisy lying on the wood, starling you to no end. Hesitating all of sudden, you searched your surroundings, wondering if you interrupted someone else’s plan. Perhaps someone had the same initials as you and whoever made this happen had a different person in mind, doing it for them and the swing was just a funny coincidence.

But then in the middle of your mussing – on the swing, because, screw it, you might as well enjoy this since no one had kicked you out yet – a familiar figure ran past, gracing you with a beautiful smile, once again without a word and with a shy gaze falling to the ground after you met their eyes. With that, it… actually started to settle.

He had done this for you. For some incredible inexplicable reason… your smiling ‘stranger’ offered you a kindness of unseen measures.

And as if it wasn’t enough, you would find a different flower on the wood every day for the whole week. They weren’t even fancy flowers, which made it absolutely magical. Daisy. Tulip. Lilly. No red roses, only cute blossoms, matching the simplicity of the swing.

Harry was nearing the verge of insanity due to your goofy smiles and flowers in your hands; but you remained tight-lipped like an international spy during an interrogation, too afraid that if you said it out loud, sharing that ridiculous impression you were getting these days with anyone, your bubble would burst.

And surely enough, as if you jinxed it mentally, the next Wednesday, no flower waited for you.

It was ridiculous how your mood died instantly. It could have had hundreds of explanations including the one that he went for a mission, because he was Captain Freaking America, in case your stupid heart forgot, but nope, you would still feel the corners of your lips turn down.

You watched the shades of orange bleeding into blue and grey, lost in thought and with unsettling longing in your heart.

You suspected his steps sounded purposely loud when they came from behind you, where you wouldn’t expect them. You didn’t need to see the familiar Nikes on his feet to know it was him; you doubted anyone else would approach you, let alone at such early hour.

Yet you would lie saying your heart didn’t skip a beat when he stopped in his slow tracks by your side, steady feet next to your dangling ones, and you had his identity confirmed.

Your throat went dry and stiff, your voice dying before it could form.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he whispered reverently, not disturbing the peace of the indeed lovely scenery in front of you.

You didn’t dare to look away from the sunrise as your voice came out unfairly scratchy, a stark contrast to his deep and smooth one that felt like a caress on your skin.

“It is.”

Silence fell on your pair again, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The birds sung their morning songs, waking up the world and you didn’t think words were needed. Except you owed him something, and you wanted to say it.

Reluctantly tearing your gaze away from the painting by the most amazing artist, the nature itself, you casted a glance at him.

You didn’t realize you had never seen him still; duh, you did know that, but what didn’t quite click in your brain was that you would be able to see him in all his glory, soft smile and an absent gaze framed by long eyelashes, shadows casted all over his face and body, playing games which gave him a surprisingly ethereal aura for a man of his built.

Your stomach tied itself into a knot at the sight and the ‘thank you’ got once again stuck in your throat when his eyes turned to you as well, you breath stolen from your lungs, your lips parting uselessly and curling into a smile on instinct when his did.

Despite seeing the too startling sparkle up close, you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the deep blue with a hint of green of his irises. It was just too captivating, locking you in a sweet cage you didn’t feel trapped in, but free and suddenly able to breathe in again.

“Thank you,” slipped from your lips unwittingly, shocking to your own ears.

The very same hint of scarlet you remembered from the infamous bar encounter dusted his cheeks, his smile softening as he turned a bashful gaze away, now fixated on the ground.

“Just wanted to see you smile again. Best part of my day,” he admitted, peeking at you from the insanely long and thick eyelashes and you could melt on spot, dizzying vertigo overcoming you at the sweet words. Good thing you were sitting.

You had no idea how to respond, your heartbeat thumping in your temples, your face feeling too hot and chest pleasantly warm at such admission. Your teeth went to chew on your lip and you abruptly stopped yourself. Bad, bad habit.

“Was… was that the only thing? Because the swing would be more than enough, let alone with my initials, and the flowers-“

“Maybe-“ he softly interrupted your lame attempt at flirting which had turned into a babble, but with same nerves coursing his voice unless your senses were playing tricks on you. A shiver ran down your spine at the realization that he might be as nervous as you were-- the strangest thing in the world, wouldn’t it be? “Maybe I could tell you… over a coffee?”

A daffodil entered your field of vision, happy, bright and yet somehow shy in his big hand and you didn’t think twice before accepting it, your fingers brushing his skin in the process only half-accidentally. Passing you the flower, he offered you a hand so he could assist you in standing up.

Ah, as if he knew your knees felt wobbly and uncooperating with the overwhelming turn of events.

You didn’t hesitate to accept that either. You had a hunch that the manners of a forties’ man would be offended if you didn’t anyway.

“Thank you. Again.”

The twinkle in his eyes shone brighter at your words, his smile widening.

“My pleasure.”

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“If I trip over something, I’ll bully you into carrying me everywhere for the next month,” you threatened in a joking manner as your boyfriend of one year led you through his apartment with his huge palm sprawled over your eyes, while his other gently rested on your lower back, making sure you maintained some balance.

“I wouldn’t complain about that. Are you serious? Because I just might let you trip then…” he teased back and you could hear the grin in his voice, mesmerized by the happy note in it. You would roll your eyes at him fondly, but he wouldn’t see it, so there was no point.

“Don’t you dare…”

“Okay, let’s stop now,” he whispered in your ear, his hand shifting to your hip to squeeze lightly, causing you to shiver. You and Steve had taken your time when it came to physical aspect of your relationship (past certain bases anyway), so a touch like that still sent a delicious electrifying feeling through your whole body.

As if you weren’t excited enough ever since the moment he had told you he had had a surprise for you.

Chewing on your lower lip, you followed his gentle instruction and stopped in your tracks.

“Should I be afraid?” you asked for the fourth time in the past five minutes.

“Terrified,” he confirmed in a joking manner. “You ready?”

Not waiting for your answer, he uncovered your eyes and with a deep inhale, you snapped them open.

Only for your breath to hitch at the sight in front of you.

“Oh my god... it’s beautiful!” you exclaimed, a surprised chuckle escaping past your lips.

In the corner of the living room, soft marigold pillows laid in a circular hammock chair coloured in the indigo of an early sunrise, practically begging for you to jump in and nestle there with a book and relax.

Instantly reminded of how you met Steve in the first place, you couldn’t but spun on your heels and threw your arms around him, strong arms eagerly welcoming you as his chest shook with hushed chuckle.

“Glad you like it,” he murmured, hiding his face in your hair, raising you from the floor effortlessly. “Happy anniversary, sweetheart.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! Happy anniversary, Steve. This truly is amazing. I love it!”

“But not more than me?”

It was your turn to chuckle as you retreated, placing a kiss on his nose and earning a pout that simply had to be kissed away.

“No, Steve, not even this amazing hammock compares to you. I’ll show you exactly how much I love you in a sec, I just have to test it out,” you promised.

He released you with no protest and watched with a fond smile as you climbed in with a child-like excitement, the corners of his eyes twinkling. He slowly made his way to you as the hammock swung gently with your weight and you sent him a delighted grin as he sat on his heels in front of you, his hands landing on the edges so he had the control over the movements.

“What’s the verdict?” he pried softly and you opened your mouth to respond with enough enthusiasm to power the state of New York for a year; but he continued. ”Is it comfy enough for you to… make you consider- that maybe-- you could… stay here more often?”

Your breath hitched, your throat swelling when you got a pretty good idea of what he was asking from his serious gaze. Yet, you needed to make sure, butterflies in your stomach flipping their wings wildly as you leaned forward, invisible magnets pulling you towards him.

“And by ‘more often’ you mean-“

“All the time,” he whispered, his eyes roaming your face nervously, trying to spy a reaction, read the answer in your expression alone.

You chuckled incredulously, ecstatic at such proposition, and placed your palms to both sides of Steve’s face, grateful for his grip on the hammock and trusting him not to let you faceplant on him with how hazardous the kiss you gave him was.

Your eyelids fluttered close, but you felt his smile as his lips engaged in a tender dance with yours, one of his hands sneaking to the side of your neck to pull you closer, tilting your head as his tongue teased your lips to part.

How could you deny him anything even when you felt like you were about to fall face-down any second? He would be under you when you landed anyway. What more could you wish for-

“I love you,” he breathed to your mouth as he broke the kiss for one damned second that felt like eternity; one second in which you forgot to suck more air in even when given the opportunity. Who needed oxygen anyway? You could breathe Steve in and live blissfully, it was what you were trying to do for the past minute and it was glorious- “That’s a yes, right?”

A chuckle escaped you as you dodged another kiss, his lips landing in your hair instead, the hammock swaying hazardously. Mm, seemed like your supersoldier was too distracted to watch your balance.

“Yes. The hammock totally convinced me,” you teased him lightly, an idea striking you when you said those words. Climbing down as he was still sitting in front of you on his heels, you lowered yourself on him, nestling in his lap and leaning to his ear and sharing your not necessarily filthy thought in a breathless whisper. “But I think I still like sitting right here much better.”

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S.R. masterlist

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Tags: @mermaidxatxheart

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Thank you for reading :-*

P.S. - Keep smiling; at the people you love whenever you can, at strangers and at the person you see in the mirror :))

#marvel #fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers fanfiction #mcu #captain america fanfiction #captain america x reader #captain america imagine #reader insert #fluff #one-shot #steve rogers oneshot #captain america oneshot #avengers #captain america #for a smile #anika ann

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9worldstales · 4 years ago

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Loki & Thor in “Thor & Loki – Double Trouble” n° 3

It seems I forgot to post my thoughts for “Thor & Loki – Double Trouble” 3 so here they are.

We left the brother falling in a hole. Well, the fall seems to be quite long in an “Alice in Wonderland” fashion and, instead than constantly panicking like Loki seems to do in “Thor: Ragnarok” the two apparently had grown quite comfortable with it, Thor perfectly straight, head down with his arms crossed while Loki seems almost seated, arms crossed behind his head and legs also crossed.

I do wonder which kind of adventures they usually live if they can get comfortable in such a situation.

Anyway, to Loki’s question if Thor has heard something, Thor insists all he could hear is the wind of Loki’s idiocy. Really, it’s worrisome Thor believes Loki is an idiot and yet he insists on playing along with his schemes. As Obi-Wan Kenobi would say ‘Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?’

I get why Loki can call himself the smart brother of the two, at least he’s not following the fool.

Anyway Loki dismisses the fact he has maybe heard a voice to ask Thor if he wants to play a game. Really, this Loki is someone who’s desperate for his brother’s attention… in the most terrible way because his way to get it is by being overall terrible.

Thor, you’re the older, you should try teaching him he can have your attention without getting you two in troubles.

Also I’d like to know how to play ‘Rock, hammer, dagger’, which Loki suggests, offering with an enthusiastic smile to even let Thor play first… since Thor turns the offering down saying he won’t give Loki another chance to stab him.

Is it a version of ‘Rock, paper, scissor’, only instead than making hand gesture you literally use them to hit your opponent?

Whatever, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, Loki notices it and as he praises himself for being the smarter… neither of the two attempts to place himself in a position that would make their landing better.

Thor falls straight on his face because for some reasons he moves behind the arms he has raised while Loki falls on his back.

Loki would like to know for how long they had been falling but Thor counters the smart question would be where they landed… to which Loki replies it wasn’t a competition for best questions. I love this Loki. I get Thor might feel like strangling him but I can’t help but love him… though if I were in Thor’s place either I find a way to handle him better or I might consider strangling him as well.

Thor thinks they’re in Jotunheim and proves his point by sniffing a rock. I don’t know what Jotunheim rocks smell like, I didn’t even know they were meant to have a distinctive smell. I though they would be ice shaped as rocks or rocks covered in ice. Whatever, every day you can learn something new, in this case that Thor can recognize Jotunheim by the smell of the rocks.

Loki thinks the orb can bring them back only… to discover he lost it. He’s not happy when Thor points it out. Thor, blaming him for losing the orb and asking him for a solution, tosses the rock away… and it predictably hit someone who was previously concealed from everyone’s sight, who’s clearly big, dangerous, with many friends (which also were concealed from everyone’s sight… really guys, why so many people hidden? And mountain giants, no less! Where you playing ‘hide and seek’?) and not happy to receive a rock on his head.

Meanwhile Loki and Thor argue. Loki claims it was his idea to fall into the tunnel and Thor says he was merely being foolish and using something he didn’t understand to clean up the mess he made and is again avoiding responsibilities and getting him in troubles. Really Thor, if you thought so, WHY DID YOU ENABLE HIM TO DO SO INSTEAD OF STOPPING HIM?

I’ve a younger brother who used to be troublesome, I didn’t use to tell him ‘yeah, go for it’ when he came up with a dumb idea and follow after him with my fingers crossed in hope it didn’t get us killed! You aren’t even tagging along because you want to babysit him, you just let yourself be completely roped by his crazy schemes and then complain if they go predictably wrong…

Also Loki, sweetheart, really, no need to lie when it’s obvious it’s a lie. As the smartest brother don’t do it, unless you enjoy arguing with Thor, which I fear is exactly the point of all this mess. You really have to learn you can get attention from him with better methods, you know?

Anyway while Thor is complaining, completely focused on his own complain Loki notices the giants approaching and tries to warn Thor.

Should I point out I love how Gurihiru, in those four panels manages to give them different expressions and poses while keeping them in the same spot in the image merely having them do a discussion?

But back to the story Thor finally notices they’re surrendered… so he accepts Loki’s suggestions they should just run away.

I love their faces as they realize so!

Though really, this time they don’t attempt to pass for brave.

Loki asks Thor which is the plan, Thor demands to know why he’s in charge of the plan and Loki points out Thor doesn’t like his own plan to which Thor agrees because he claims since Loki is the God of mischief he doesn’t have plans but fiendish plots… while Thor’s plan turns out to just hit people in the teeth with his hammer.

Great plan, Thor… -_- but really, for once Loki is deferring to you and he’s right, you don’t like his plans so why are you complaining he put you in charge of making plans?

As they talk a hammer goes past them and then SHE appears.

The goddness of Thunder. AKA Thor.

Which I’ll call ‘Lady Thor’ from now on, to make things simpler to follow.

What follows are again 4 wonderful panels of the siblings being confused (I love Thor’s expression and Loki tilting his head) before Loki satisfied point out this means they aren’t in Jotunheim and they found another Thor and not another Loki because Lokis are very rare and special...

...and Loki, love, I adore you but, first of all, I think it’s hard to manage with just one of you and second, you’re basically inviting disaster because I just know this means a Loki will show up as well.

But I love you anyway.

Female Thor doesn’t waste her time and starts beating the rock giants, pointing out Thor and Loki could make themselves useful as well.

Thor reminds himself he has a hammer as well and could help. Loki says he was just giving her space and be chivalrous. It’s kind of fun how Loki doesn’t seem to want to fight but when they started fighting he can hold his ground pretty well.

Once they’re done, Loki and Thor introduce themselves to Lady Thor. Loki is polite about it, bowing to her while Thor does so in his own boisterous manner (I love how each of them has his own panel with Lady Thor looking at each of them as they introduce)…

...which pushes Lady Thor to decide there’s not enough space in that universe for two Thors so the two attempts to fight things out before Loki realizes he has the wonderful chance to put not one but TWO Thors at work into one of his crazy competitions to see who’ll be Thor (Christmas has come early for Loki, indeed)…

...and like any true loving brother informs Lady Thor he’s rooting for her, which annoys his own brother.

They still decide to go for a competition that’s not the ‘there can be only one’ Highlander style of competition.

Thor suggests hammer toss, rejected because simple, Lady Loki best lighting strike rejected because subjective so Thor tries again with something involving strength, arm wrestle. Lady Thor, who must be more clever than him pretends to thinks it over, clearly figuring out he suggests competitions based on strength thinking her weak…

...but in the next page we see her effortlessly winning the arm competition.

Thor, who can’t even accept to lose against himself complains arm wrestle is a sport of mortals.

Lady Thor retorts it’s a good thing HE suggested it. Learn take responsibilities for your failures, Thor and be a positive example for Loki. You’re the big brother after all.

Loki points out they can’t go home without solving the small issue of a missing orb, which is their only mean to go back home.

As Lady Thor considers where it could have ended we see that the orb was retrieved by Lady Loki… who’s planning to have lot of fun with it.

Now there’s a long and complicate story with the identity of Lady Thor and Lady Loki in the Marvel universe… but, I wonder if here the case is merely that both Thor and Loki are gender swapped in that universe (if so could be said in regard to Loki…).

So, is Lady Thor Jane, or she’s the female version of Thor and Lady Loki is her sister? Was it her voice what Loki hear while they were falling or someone else is involved? Or there was just no voice?

We’ll discover in the next episode!

Anyway I continue to love this crazy comic. The characters are very expressive and the situations are funny, although a bit predictable. But whatever, Thor and Loki are love and I love this story.

#loki #thor #thor odinson #loki laufeyson #thor and loki double trouble #9 worlds comic study

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dicapriho · 6 years ago

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Important quotes to take from this article, that sums up perfectly why Daenarys’ treatment in season 8 was so heartbreaking..(long post with bullet points for easy reading):

Game of Thrones is "a world where women are often treated as disposable objects, Daenerys outwitted and overpowered her male enemies. As the sole protagonist in her own storyline, far from the rest of the characters, she was set up to be one of the few unambiguously [female] heroic figures in the series."

"in just a few episodes, she quickly transformed from a woman who has prided herself on saving the downtrodden to one who burns the innocent."

"[Daenerys’] treatment this season from the makeup of the writers’ room: The writers and directors on the show have always been overwhelmingly male, and women were shut out of both writing and directing jobs for every episode in season 8."

"Throughout her life, Daenerys has shown a commitment to justice...She freed the slaves in Meereen... When Drogon burned one child, she chained up her other two dragons, leaving herself more vulnerable...She put her fight for the Iron Throne on pause to fight in Jon’s war against the White Walkers [in the North where she knew she would feel unwelcome]."

"She was called the “Breaker of Chains” for a reason. When she misstepped, we forgave her, as we forgave, say, Tyrion for strangling Shae." [And Jon for killing a child for betraying him!]

“Daenerys has certainly used “Dracarys” to punish plenty of people during her reign... she always gave some compelling reason for doing so.”

She first used her dragon’s fire to kill a warlock who tried to imprison her, and again against a slaver who tried to cheat her...she crucified all the masters in retaliation for them having killed slave children — but they had killed children...She burned all the Khals who were threatening to keep her as a slave or rape her, or both."

Dany’s advisors gave awful advice:

"Daenerys agreed to make Tyrion her hand because Tyrion said he “knew things”...specifically, he claimed to know how to make alliances in Westeros and exploit people’s hate of Cersei in order to put Daenerys on the throne. Except, Tyrion did…none of that."

"...when did Tyrion convince a single lord that if they joined their side, they could get a new title and nice castle and see the land’s most hated woman [Cersei] burned to a crisp? Never."

"...what Tyrion did do: Try to cut a deal with slavers that would have kept slavery legal for a longer period of time, until Daenerys decided to burn their ships instead; convince Dany not to fly to King’s Landing and burn the Red Keep, which would have resulted in far fewer Kings Landing deaths; come up with the horrible plan to capture a wight that almost got Jon killed and lost Daenerys a dragon and still didn’t earn Cersei’s allegiance; convince Daenerys to trust Cersei, who has never proven herself to be trustworthy; forget to remind Daenerys that Euron and the Iron Fleet would almost certainly be waiting near Dragonstone, thus losing Daenerys another dragon; free Jaime from captivity in an effort to help both his brother and Cersei escape death at Daenerys’ hands..."

"Don’t even get me started on Varys, who didn’t write a single letter to a single lord to gain intel against Cersei or an ally for Dany but did find time to spread the word about Jon’s true parentage...”

“Tyrion and Varys were supposed to be her helpers. They failed her. Instead of owning up to this and realizing the part they have both played, Tyrion and Varys begin to worry that Daenerys is a flawed ruler exactly because she’s losing faith in them over their terrible decisions."

On the Sansa v Dany struggle:

"...The writers of the show cited much more petty reasons for their [Sansa and Dany's] conflict: “[Daenerys is] also very pretty, and how much does that factor in? Sansa starts off this season very suspicious and not at all friendly with Dany.”"

Her Isolation:

"In the last few episodes, Daenerys finds herself envying the love that Jon’s people feel for him...it’s destabilizing for her to arrive in Westeros and find that people are not eager to see her. Why, exactly, the Northerners don’t appreciate her dragons — without which they could not have defeated the Army of the Dead...."

"Daenerys rightfully glowers at Jon as his countrymen celebrate the fact that he mounted a dragon a couple of times when Dany has been riding one for years [Not to mention she is the first Targaryen in hundreds of years to have successfully mothered & raised/trained dragons]...In a mission to make Dany feel as isolated as possible, the show killed off her closest advisors, Jorah and Missendei."

"Daario is controlling Slaver’s Bay in her absence. Yara Greyjoy is sworn to her. In theory, the new Prince of Dorne would be allied with her since Daenerys struck a pact with Ellaria Sand. Daenerys could have called on any of these allies when she faced Cersei’s army but didn’t — simply because the show needed her to be alone ."

On Missandei:

"Game of Thrones fridged Missandei. There’s no other way to put it. Her capture and death happens just so Daenerys would feel isolated. The fact that the writers turned the only major black female character on the show into a device to motivate Daenerys feels even more cringeworthy."

"The fairly quick transition from complicated hero to totally mad villain leaned heavily on an oft-repeated line: “every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin”. But should Daenerys’ Targaryen blood necessarily doom her? After all, Jon is half Targaryen, too. So why does he get to sit comfortably on the other side of the coin?...The show has long been obsessed with various characters’ struggles to shake their family’s legacies. Tyrion killed his own father and joined Team Daenerys, only to betray Daenerys in order to help his family again."

"Daenerys has long tried to differentiate herself from her father, the Mad King, only to become her father’s daughter."

"...the show’s most recent plotting flaws was Varys’ rushed decision that Daenerys was a terrible enough queen that he would endeavor to poison her — quite a stretch for a man who served under King Joffrey...Remember that Varys once wanted to put Dany’s brother Viserys, a demonstrable megalomaniac, on the Iron Throne."

"...when Varys found out Jon was a Targaryen, he began openly conspiring to undermine and overthrow Daenerys...He accused her of being paranoid while simultaneously conspiring against her, which means she had every right to be suspicious...Again, it’s a failure of the show that the man who was once revered as Master of Whispers walked up to Jon in the middle of a crowded beach and suggested he usurp Daenerys."

"Other rulers we think of as heroes in this story have executed men for less than attempted murder: Robb Stark executed Rickard Karstark for killing the Lannister hostages, against Robb’s orders...Ned Stark executed someone for abandoning the Night’s Watch...Jon Snow executed the men who succeeded in murdering him (before he was resurrected) including Olly, a young boy."

"...Jon betrayed Daenerys’ trust by telling his family, and Tyrion betrayed her — twice. Davos also betrayed her too for totally inexplicable reasons by helping Tyrion smuggle Jaime to Cersei...Her advisor’s lie to her and gaslit her, plain and simple. And yet the way that Daenerys’ destruction of King’s Landing is shot, we are supposed to see her as the irrational one and Tyrion as one of the victims of her terror."

"...either due to time restrictions or lack of source material or just plain lack of creativity, the show took shortcuts this season...And those shortcuts tended to rely on the laziest of sexist stereotypes about crazed, power-hungry women."

"Maureen Ryan at the Hollywood Reporter put it best: “Inescapably, infuriatingly, what we’re left with is apparently the central message of Game of Thrones: Bitches are crazy.” "

"...Had [Dany's] paranoia been seeded many episodes ago and grown over the course of several seasons, it would be an epic Shakespearean tragedy. Instead we must infer this descent based on her frizzy hair."

"Worse, the moment when she seemingly decides to rule with fear, not love, comes after she’s romantically rejected by Jon...” [Suggestible that the lack of requited love is a strong enough reason for a level-minded strong woman to fall into a pit of craziness, despite all the good she has ever done and vows to continue doing..]

"Varys suggested that Jon would be a better ruler exactly because he did not want to rule. Figures in mythology and history ranging from Moses to George Washington to Harry Potter have been heralded as heroes because they came to power reluctantly. Those figures also tend to be male. How do our stories cast women eager for power? As evil queens. And now Daenerys is a cliché."

"There have been a lot of problematic characterizations of women this season, as revealed by the writers’ own commentary surrounding the episodes...Sansa essentially parroted what the writers have been saying for years about her rape by Ramsay Bolton — that it made her stronger...and the showrunners called Cersei, one of the smartest, most vicious characters on Thrones, “just a girl who needs the comfort of a man..”

"...in the end, Daenerys cycled through several tired stereotypes: Another evil, power-hungry queen literally shot with a dragon’s wings behind her; the crazy lady that a noble man has to heroically overcome..."

Like Cersei, Dany was a character introduced in the first episode, who ws incredible meaningful in the narrative of Game of Thrones. Instead of going out with a bang, Daenerys’ death wasn’t a bang like she truly deserved, but a whimper and forgotten to emphasise the man’s conquer and victory.

#game of thrones spoilers #anti got #daenerys targaryen #got spoilers #long post #sexism #anti d&d

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koko-bopp · 5 years ago

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Flirty Criminal

Part Five

criminal!song mingi x detective!male!reader

word count – 6k

genre – low-key mature

warning(s) – blackmail, lot of choking, gun warning, degrading, mentions of death and murder

synopsis – “[Y/N] [L/N] is known famously around his police precinct as the detective that the infamous criminal Song Mingi has a crush on. The detective denies these claims, though Mingi gets into as much trouble as possible just to see him.”

Mingi didn't know what to think, two months had gone by since the two of you were seeing each other. Not explicitly romantic, he liked you, but he didn't want to move to fast. For the last two months it had been about enjoying each other's presence and going on dates; like, fuck, he rented his friend's dog for three weeks just to take you to a dog cafe.

But, it had been a week since the whole fiasco of your soon-to-be ex-husband ruined the perfect date, it was also the night Mingi begun to be suspicious of your intentions with him.

Sure, a detective that technically works for the state and a criminal that has lived all his life going against the state was a little bit... foreign to many.

But, Mingi works in mysterious ways, it's safe to assume his brain resets any emotions he may have for a person as soon as something suspicious happens.

Not to say that Mingi didn't have his guard up the whole time he's been around you, but it gives a little sting in his heart thinking that you tried to play him as if he were a fool, Mingi wanted to know why specifically, Wayne Haulting was in charge of your operation, there's some history to be unveiled.

Mingi suggested that you come to his mansion for a date this time, since the last date ended up being interupted by a bafoon.

"How was work?" Mingi asked, his eyes fixated on the road ahead, but his attention to you.

"Relatively alright," You chuckled, "A kid and her dad came to the station with fajitas to give a thanks. It was sweet, made my whole afternoon."

Mingi smiled, then gently crawled his hand over it take yours into his. He interlocked fingers with you then bought it up to give it a small kiss.

"What?" You giggled.

"Nothing," Mingi said, suddenly a bit stern, "I just missed you."

✨

Mingi pushed you onto the leather couch so your back was against the neck of it. You watched him get on top of you immediately with a big smirk on his face, reaching down to peck your lips softly at first, then brought his hand up to cup your jaw to deepen his kisses.

Your eyes were closed, enjoying what Mingi was providing and vice versa. The smell of his cologne lingered in the air, and it made it all the more enjoyable. Mingi pulled away for a second, looking at you with a smile, "You good, baby?"

A soft sigh left your lips, indicating your answer, one that made Mingi content. He began to unbutton your shirt, only so much to reveal your chest, but he continued to mould his lips against yours until his hand moved from your jaw to your neck, a gentle but authoritative grip around the flesh. You could feel the smirk on his lips.

Though you felt something told against the side of your jaw. Metal and cold.

A gun.

Your eyes flew open and you pulled back from the kiss. Mingi opened his eyes like everything was normal, a dangerous smile on his face.

"M-mingi? What the fuck?" You accidently stuttered, placing a hand on his wrist.

"Baby," Mingi chuckled venomously, "You have ten minutes to explain to me why Haulting is so calm about us hanging out," He pushed the gun further into your skin, making your breath stiff, "Unless you want a bullet through your head."

You frowned, "You'd kill a detective and think you're not gonna suffer the consequences?"

"My house in sound proof, detective," Mingi laughed, "And kind of up a hill decently away from people, it would take about three days until people find you... And a few hours and good lawyers are all I need to get rid of you."

You'd been doing your best to remain calm, the hand around your throat and the gun at your jaw making you tense heavily, but Mingi's words were terrifying you the most.

His gripped around your throat tightened when you didn't respond almost immediately, "I think you're forgetting who's got the gun here, baby," he said lowly.

"I– Yeah, Haulting hired me to get dirt off you," You finally admitted, not hearing Mingi's chest shattering in the process.

"Is he looking for anything in particular?"

"The fuck do you think?" You snapped, the grip you had around his wrist was a lot firmer now and your brows were furrowed in anger, "You're a fucking criminal, Mingi. You've killed innocent people, you've distributed illegal substances and firearms–"

"Killed innocent people?" Mingi laughed bitterly, "Did you get that outta' Haulting's ass? Where'd you hear that from?"

You looked at him in confusion, but also in anger, "The police report said–"

"You're little tree-shredded report is bullshit. My gang aren't involved in drug trade or the killing of innocent people," Mingi spat, his jaw clenched. Seeing you get more confused got him to let out a humourless laugh, rolling his eyes as he pulled down the hammer of the gun, the second last step neccasery before pulling the trigger. He watched you squirm, but tightened his hold on your throat before frowning at you, both your noses only five or so inches from each other, "You're getting on my nerves a bit, baby."

"I don't know what answer you're hoping for!" You fought, "Yes, Haulting hired me to hang around you like a dog as soon as I requested to move precincts after Ty cheated on me–"

"So that wasn't a lie?" Mingi asked, almost too surprised. That would mean the night at the bar was the first day you were undercover.

You shook your head frantically.

"Anything interesting you found, Detective?" Now he got to the point, gun and throat in hand, whatever you next answer was determined your vital status, "You better share now, or you might hurt a bit."

"Fuck! I literally just know your schedule! Thats literally it!" You yelled at the point, tears definitely threatening to spill, the helplessness was getting overwhelming, "I know your fucking favourite colour is dark blue, I know you'd eat chicken for the rest of your life if you could, that you used to visit the sauna twice a week though it only depended on your free time, but you don't go anymore because you spend that time with me!"

You saying that turned some gears in your head. There was a silence in the room, like Mingi didn't know how to respond and honestly, you hadn't noticed Mingi's behaviour until you finally said it out loud. Mingi looked at you like your confession didn't bother him, when deep down, it kind of did.

An airless and bitter laugh left your lips, your eyes looking at as if you'd figured something out, "There's something I didn't figure out, isn't there?" You smiled sarcastically. Mingi didn't give you an immediate response, you took that as an answer, scoffing, "Shit. You're actually in love with me, aren't you?"

"You think too far and you actually missed a few steps, Detective," Mingi had his jaw locked in place as his heart accidently started beating too.

You laughed, "Then what, Mingi? what'd I miss?"

A fabricated smirk painted its way onto Mingi's lips. The gun still at hand and on your jaw, the grip around your throat becoming somewhat comfortable and less threatening. Somewhat. The look in Mingi's eyes became more like when a teacher would look at a particularly dumb student. "Haulting never told you my dad was involved in his game of weapon trade, huh?"

You furrowed your brows, swallowing so hard that that you could feel the gun move against your jaw. You didn't know where in Mingi's eyes to stare into, but yours were searching for other places. You quickly responded, "I have a feeling you're gonna tell me.."

Mingi scoffed, a grin on his lips, "Haulting owed my dad money long before he passed. Haulting didn't want to use his own cash to buy weapons, so made a deal with my old man that if he supplied him, Haulting wouldn't touch his gang."

You couldn't believe what you were hearing. Your mind was literally screaming at you that Mingi's wrong. He's a criminal, you can't trust them. They're dirty creatures with blood oozing from the cuts in their skin from every time they've gotten away with the things they do. Mingi is a criminal, you can't trust him.

He continued: "These aren't the toys you play with, baby boy. These were high-tech, fancy ass guns we gave. Because of the deal, though, Haulting wasn't putting enough people away. Pop's owns half the city, that's almost a million crooks he's ignoring," Mingi spoke like he was a had thought about this for a long time. He knew what Haulting did, and only turned a blind eye for appeasement's sake. "So he turned on my old man, threw hundreds of his underdogs working on the streets away. He didn't realise how much he needed the weapons when he lost it, so he begged on his fucking hands and knees in front of my dad to get em' back."

"Mingi, wait–"

He hushed you, cutely but only in a way to humour himself, "Let me finish, doll." He loosened the grip around your neck, letting your breathe that little bit more properly, but resumed regardless, "My dad wasn't a bitch, he didn't take shit from anyone, especially from someone who double crossed him. He told Haulting to pay up the cash he's used. Wanna know how much?"

It was rhetorical, but part of you still wanted to know.

"Quarter of a billion dollars," Mingi answered, "So after my old man died and I came in, Haulting thought he didn't need to pay up. New man, no need. But the minute I became mobb leader, I told Haulting he needed to pay if he wanted to avoid getting killed."

This was all too much to comprehend. Mingi's speaking another language, but this behaviour he claims in coming from your boss seemed to foreign. You've known Haulting when he was a Sargent up until he became a chief. Not that you were close to him, and that was probably why, but you'd never expect such a thing from him.

"It's been two years, not a single cent. Haulting doesn't have three security guards around him for no reason, he knows he's in trouble," Mingi drew his gun away, you felt he metal off your jaw and the grip on your neck full gone. He got off of you too, but you're adrenaline was taking its time to subside, hence you didn't have the energy to move. "Haulting owes me money. So he's tryna frame anything on me to make sure he doesn't need to. I've never killed innocent people, I've never been involved in drug trade, I've always paid my taxes."

The last one made you both giggle a bit, you weren't sure how you could, knowing a gun was in your face not even a minute ago.

You looked at Mingi, "What do you want me to do with this information?"

Mingi put a hand in his pocket, the gun still in hand, but his body facing slightly sidewards. There was a finger that was still on the trigger, "Here's what's gonna happen," He started, carefully taking a seat on the coffee table, now facing you, no expression other than serious, "Whatever Haulting tells you to do, you report it to me. Whatever Haulting finds, you tell me. Whatever you're about to tell Haulting, you tell me first."

You scoffed, bitter venom from your words, "Suck my ass, Mingi. I don't even know if the shit you've said are true."

"I already did. You were moaning my name like a slut," Mingi barked back, glaring at you, "You'll do as I say or Haulting learns that I found out you're his little puppy, I don't think he'll be pleased."

He was right. Especially if he was right about before. Bad things happen when you know too much..

Mingi got up into his feet, then took a harsh grip of your chin do you looked up at him. A gasp left your lips, one that made Mingi smirk, "Do we have an agreement, Doll? This is business now."

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datleggy · 5 years ago

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I’d Come For You (version 1)

Chapter One.

May doesn’t mention Buck to the cops, and her friends likewise keep their mouths shut about his involvement in the incident.

The three men Buck took on to protect them earlier are cuffed and in the back of two police vehicles, and none of them mention anything either, probably embarrassed to have had their asses handed to them by just one guy alone.

May spends the rest of her Friday night thinking about what happened at the mall that day. About how the men had cornered her and her two friends at the mall parking lot in a more secluded area. And how Buck, who she’d seen in passing, but hadn’t stopped to say hello, had rushed over to help as soon as he realized they were in trouble.

She touches her wrist where one of the three men had taken hold of her, just as Buck had told him in no uncertain terms to fuck off, before the fighting had begun. After the dust had settled and only Buck was left, somehow, miraculously standing, he’d turned to make sure they were all alright.

After confirming that none of them were hurt and someone from the small crowd that had gathered called 9-1-1, Buck had split, but not before asking May not to tell Bobby or Athena that he’d been there. She’d agreed then, too shocked to be anything but compliant at the time, but now, well past midnight, it’s what’s keeping her awake.

Why wouldn’t Buck want her mom and step dad to know? Buck had saved her, her and her friends! As far as she’s concerned, everyone should know. But the look of panic that had crossed his face when he’d begged her not to say a word, that’s what keeps her from telling anyone that night, and though she eventually falls asleep, it’s a restless slumber.

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May and Harry help set up the yard for the BBQ they’re hosting the next day, though Harry notices how distracted his sister is throughout, and questions her, genuine worry on his face. May knows he still sometimes looks at her and thinks about the time she tried to end it all, and isn’t surprised by the concern; in fact, she’s a little touched, though she’ll never admit it out loud.

“I’m fine,” she says, then pauses and purses her lips. “Can I tell you something, and you have to pinky promise not to say anything? Not to mom or dad or even Bobby.”

Harry looks curious before turning serious. “I swear.” he holds out his pinky.

May smiles, wrapping her pinky around his and locking them together. She takes a deep breath. “So, at the mall yesterday, when I was out with Alisa and Quinn, these three creeps started harassing us in the parking lot, and one of them got kind of aggressive and he grabbed me--”

“Are you ok?!” Harry half-whispers, looking around to make sure no adult is in sight.

May nods, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. “I’m fine, and it’s all because of Buck. He ran over and told them to leave us alone and when he tried to call the cops the jerk who grabbed me swung at him.”

Harry’s eyes go wide. “Is he ok? What happened? Didn’t you say there were three dudes?!”

May sighs, “I don’t know, he kicked ass and some rando called the cops and the assholes got arrested, but Buck left as soon as we were safe again, and he asked me not to say anything to anyone, but I’m worried.” she wraps her arms around herself, biting her lip. “Buck is strong and everything happened so fast, but I was there, I saw the fight, he took a lot of hits. What if he’s hurt really bad and he didn’t tell anyone?”

Harry shakes his head. “But why wouldn’t he say anything? He’s a hero! He saved you.”

May grimaces. “I think it’s because of that whole stupid lawsuit thing---which, for the record, I think he was in his right to file. I love Bobby, but he had no reason to keep Buck from his job. He was being overly cautious; and I get that, because well, Buck’s like a big brother to me, I never wanna’ see him get hurt, but that doesn’t mean Bobby was right to deny him when the board themselves agreed Buck was fine to do field work after passing that test.” she shakes her head, annoyed at the adults in her life.

Sometimes they made absolutely no sense.

Harry’s heard his mom and Bobby talk about it, about how Buck is back on the team, but Bobby still isn’t sure he should be out on calls with everyone. He doesn’t really understand, but it seems unfair to Buck, who Harry knows from hearing his mom speak of him over dinner sometimes, is always trying his best to prove himself.

Still, he tries to reassure May, bumping her hip gently. “Don’t worry, we’ll see Buck in a couple of hours at the barbecue. We can check on him then.”

May nods, a little reassured. “You’re right. Thanks Harry.”

One by one, or in pairs, the 118 arrive to the Nash-Grant household.

Though he’s a couple of years older than Christopher and Denny, Harry still has fun hanging out with the boys, especially because due to the age difference, the kids often follow his command when they play games.

May waits anxiously for Buck to show up, but about an hour into the get together she realizes he’s probably not coming, and she has a horrible sneaking suspicion that perhaps he wasn’t actually invited.

The adults are gathered near the grill, Bobby and Michael taking turns flipping burgers---both wearing silly ‘kiss the cook’ aprons Athena gifted them for Christmas last year, with Eddie, Chim and Hen nursing beers to the side.

“Hey, um, do any of you know when Buck is coming?” she asks, interrupting the flow of conversation among them.

Michael looks around, “That’s right, where is the big guy? He’s half the reason I went out and got all this meat.” he jokes.

Bobby makes a face, an ‘I’d really like to change the subject right now’ face, and sighs. “I thought it’d be less awkward if I just didn’t invite him today.” he admits. “Things are still kind of...tense, at work.”

Eddie snorts. “That’s putting it mildly.” he swigs back the rest of his beer, clearly annoyed.

Hen scratches the back of her head. “Yeah, things are...complicated between all of us at the moment.”

“Plus,” Eddie adds bitterly, “He’d probably rather spend his Saturday afternoon with that lawyer pal of his.”

Chim frowns. “C’mon guys, it’s been months, we really should give the guy a break, he went through a lot.”

Hen arches a brow. “Says the guy dating his sister. Look, I love Buck, but he’s gotta learn that doing dumb impulsive things that hurt the people he claims to love is not ok. This is what, his third or fourth ‘second chance’ the Cap’s given him since he started at the station?”

Eddie nods. “Exactly. Enough’s enough.”

Athena hears the conversation going and decides to join in, “We talkin’ about our boy genius over here?” she asks, sarcastically.

Michael shakes his head. “I think you’re all being a little rough on the poor kid, no?”

Athena shrugs. “He brings this kinda thing on himself, if you ask me. I love the boy, but he’s like a walking talking magnet for trouble.”

“You guys are being completely unfair!” May finally cuts in, almost shaking with indignation.

The adults all turn to her in surprise. “Now May, you know better than to raise your voice like that to--”

“Well I thought you were a better judge of character, but I guess we were both wrong!” she continues, as if her mother hadn’t ever uttered a word. “Buck is the only reason I’m even alive right now!” she blurts out in anger. May can’t stand one more person saying one more stupid untrue thing about Buck!

Michael’s the first to react, “I’m sorry, what did you just say? What are you talking about? What happened?”

May hates that she’s breaking her promise to Buck, but she hates what they’re saying about him even more, so she spills everything, telling the whole crew, plus her mom and dad about what happened the day before, how Buck literally swooped in and saved her and her friends from some serious creeps at the mall, how he made sure everyone was safe and sound, though he was clearly injured during the fight.

“Baby, why on earth didn’t you say anything last night?” Athena asks, worriedly checking May over for any possible hidden bumps or bruises on her person.

“I’m fine,” she insists, stepping back. “Buck begged me to keep his name out of it. I didn’t get why before, but after hearing you guys badmouth him while he’s not even here to defend himself, I can see why he wouldn’t think any of you would give a fu---”

“May!” Michael interrupts, eyes widening.

May folds her arms across her chest and heaves an aggravated sigh. “He probably knows you guys don’t care about him, so why bother!” she runs away after her outburst; she’s too angry to stay, she doesn’t know what else will come out of her mouth if she does.

Athena calls after her but she doesn’t stop, slamming the door to the patio behind her.

Michael grimaces. “I’ll go talk to her.” he says, looking at Bobby and Athena. “Maybe you guys should go talk to Buck. See if he’s ok.” he suggests. He’s always liked that kid, and had in fact agreed with Buck’s decision to sue the department at the time that he did.

Karen and Chim stay behind to watch the kids while Athena Bobby and the rest of the crew rush to Buck’s home.

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Perhaps sending four people to check up on Buck is overkill, Bobby starts to think, as they get out of the car. Surely if Buck was hurt in any grievous way yesterday he would have gone to the hospital, wouldn’t he?

Athena knocks on the door, her knuckles hard against the wooden surface. “Buck?” she calls, when a few too many seconds pass without a response. “His Jeep is still in the driveway, he’s gotta’ be home.”

Eddie scoots her and Bobby aside and digs out his copy of Buck’s house key, making everyone raise their eyebrows in surprise. Bobby knows the two men are close, but copy of each others house keys close? Huh.

Eddie opens the door and marches inside, calling out Buck’s name again. He’s quickly followed by Hen, Athena and the Captain.

There’s a bloody rag on the kitchen counter---it looks fresh.

He’s not upstairs in his bedroom, not in the kitchen or in the connecting living room either. Eddie dashes towards the bathroom and slams open the door without even a moments’ thought. “Buck!?”

Buck lets out a startled yip and nearly falls off the sink counter, midway through applying what looks to be some ointment across his side and lower hip, over some seriously alarming bruising.

Buck hastily removes his earphones and sets them atop his phone on the sink. “What the hell is going on?” he hops off the counter, wincing when he lands. “Why are you in my bathroom? All of you?”

He is very much neither ready, nor in the mood for guests right now. Buck snatches a towel to wrap around his waist, embarrassed to be seen in his underwear by Athena of all people.

But Athena isn’t focused on that at all, she can’t bring herself to look away from the spatter of nasty bruises running all across Buck’s chest, side and back---it almost looks like the poor kid got hit by a bus. “Buck, did you get those looked at by a doctor?” she asks, praying he did, but somehow already knowing the answer is a no.

Buck furrows his brows. “It’s nothing. I’m fine. Can you all please get out of my bathroom and let me get dressed?”

Hesitantly they do just that, giving Buck the space and privacy he needs.

Buck comes out a few minutes later, now in a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt that covers all of his injuries, except the split lip, of course. It’s still a little bloody, and Eddie’s pretty sure that’s where all the blood in the kitchen originated---or at least he hopes, since he didn’t see any other open wounds on Buck.

“So...what are you guys doing here?”

Bobby stares at him like he’s gone nuts. “Buck, you’re hurt, we need to get you to a hospital.”

Buck frowns. “I’m just bruised. It’s really not that bad.” He gulps. “How did you even know? Wait, is May ok?”

Athena cuts in. “Buck, she’s alright.” She looks at him, grateful beyond words. “Thanks to you. But now we need to make sure you’re going to be alright. You could have internal bleeding; those are some real nasty bruises you’ve got.”

Buck lets out a relieved breathe. He hated leaving May and her friends after everything, even knowing they were in good hands, so he’s happy to hear they’re alright. But this mess here is what he’d been trying to avoid in the first place. He turns to the Captain, “I’m fine, really. If this is about me not showing up to work on Monday you don’t have to worry, I’m fit for duty, I swear.” he tries to assure him.

Bobby shakes his head vehemently. “Is that what you think this visit is? Buck, I’m not here as your Captain, I’m here as someone who cares about you. How could you try to hide something like this from me? You should have told me as soon as it happened. I know things haven’t been great with all of us lately but we’re still family--”

"It's been almost five months since I came back and you haven't said a single thing to me that wasn't an order for me to do chores or to yell at me in front of everyone for even the smallest mistake.” Buck clenches his fists at his sides, incredulous. “For all I know Captain Nash, if I had come forward you would've just accused me of lying and trying to use May to get back into everybody's good graces.”

There’s a sharp pain in his side, but he chooses to ignore it. “You wanted to teach me a lesson, well, lesson learned, I get it already. We aren’t family." Buck winces when the pain becomes shooting, wrapping an arm around his mid section.

“Buck! Buck?!”

Maybe he should have gone to the hospital, after all, he thinks fuzzily, as everyone around him starts to blur and suddenly it all fades to black.

#Buck Saves May fic #prompt #911 fox #post lawsuit drama #hurt/comfort #hurt!buck #sibling relationship #I'd Come For You (Version 1) Chapter One #long post is long #second chapter will be tagged I'd Come For You (Version 1) Chapter Two #thanku for reading!

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