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quibbs126 · 5 months ago

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*sigh* screw it, I just want to complain more

So I’ve been trying to draw Menos (he is said favorite character above) yet again today, but it just keeps not working. I don’t really even know what I’m doing wrong, though at the same time I don’t really know how to do it right either

He’s just so difficult for me to draw for some reason. Actually no, I know the reason. It’s because he’s big and buff and has a different body shape to the rest of the main cast, and I don’t really know how to draw that. Also, there’s that godforsaken neck chain of his, that for some reason is impossible for me to draw

It doesn’t look that hard to draw in the game’s concept art, hell he doesn’t look hard to draw, especially considering his clothes are awfully simplistic compared to his companions and other characters

It’s literally just that he’s buff, I swear. But I just can’t draw him!

And this summer, I actually did somehow manage to make a sketch of a character with his body type this summer, and I keep looking at it for reference, but it just ends up looking trash

I don’t know how I did it that first time!

I know you people don’t really see my art of him that often, mostly just Ceres (though in all honesty I have been drawing a lot of her recently), but that’s because I either keep deleting it or I don’t post the never to be finished page that I drew him on, and only my Discord server that’s for Cookie Run and not this gets subjected to it. I have been trying and failing to draw him so much, including today

Speaking of today’s drawings, I actually did manage to make something halfway decent today, that being this

I’ve previously mentioned being at the dentist today, and drawing this while waiting (not entirely sure what I was waiting for, other than the thing to fill my cavities I guess? Since we were finished drilling holes in my teeth. Ah well, not important). I wanted to recreate the style drawing thing I had done above, while also maybe attempting to give them eyes closer to their canon designs

And quite honestly, I think they turned out pretty well! Maybe not the best, and I really don’t know what Ceres is doing with her arms, but it’s still not horrible

Then later today, I was trying to draw Menos similarly. And it crashed and burned (I’ve already erased what I was drawing, so I can’t show you). I’ve also been kind of trying to draw something else on the page, but it just isn’t working

I think I can only draw decently when I’m not at home, like when I’m at the dentist. Because it just isn’t working for some reason. I mean, I guess I won’t have much longer to wait, since I go back to school one week from now, and I always do my best work during lecture. Which isn’t great since I need to pay attention in lecture, but I at least will be able to draw outside of my house, and presumably do better

And yeah, I was able to draw that Dark Cacao and Choco picture yesterday, and it turned out pretty fine. And also, I’m a Cookie Run artist, I should just stop complaining about all this, making it a bigger deal than it is, and just go back to what I can do relatively well

But for one thing, I’m still stuck on this quest to draw Menos good, and I still haven’t gotten there, because I literally don’t know how to achieve it

And second, quite honestly it’s those Cookies’ fault I can’t draw these guys anymore!

I tried to learn how to draw the Cookie Run characters in a style similar to how they’re officially drawn. It took me a while, but I can pull it off I think pretty well, or at least decently (it just depends on how lazy I feel with the designs). But in the process, I have forgotten how to draw human characters properly/other beings with similar proportions. I may be able to draw them and it look semi decent by the end, but I don’t actually know what I’m doing in the sketch layer, and it feels like far more of an ordeal than it should be, and that quite honestly, I don’t have the skill anymore. I’m sure you can see it with how limited the poses of most human-ish characters I’ve drawn recently tend to be. Or at least, I’ve noticed it in drawings that I’ve done but haven’t posted because they weren’t done or I didn’t like them

And I struggle with applying what I’ve learned from Cookie Run to these human designs, because in my mind at least, they aren’t applicable here, because the proportions are all different and they have hands and necks now, and it’s all completely different so how do I apply it? Not to mention the fact that I’m semi-remembering how I used to do it and trying to copy what I used to do, but not knowing how I’m supposed to actually do it, so everything becomes a jumbled mess, and I get something that might look decent out of pure luck. I want an actual stable process for drawing human characters that looks good, but because of Cookie Run, I don’t have that anymore

And I can’t just draw in the Cookie Run style, because that’s basically like a Chibi art style, and that just wouldn’t look proper when it’s entirely different from the actual art of the game. Cookie Run you can get away with since that’s the canon art style and also just what the characters look like, being living gingerbread people. But I can’t do that with Evoland 2, it’s just not true to the game and quite frankly would just look embarrassing

What was I talking about again? Right, being unable to draw Menos. Well, that’s why you have to deal with this right now, because Cookie Run is in some way the reason that I am having this problem. Also, I really like Menos and want to draw him, but I can’t and it’s so endlessly frustrating

Yeah there’s the other characters, but I want to draw him specifically, since he’s the one on my mind most of the time, along with his family and also Velvet. It’s mostly Fina and Kuro who aren’t on my mind that often. But even then, I struggle with drawing the other characters too. Though that might be because I run out of steam by the time I decide to draw them, and so I just don’t want to draw them. I don’t know

I hate that I’m an artist who’s whole purpose is to draw, and yet I cannot draw my favorite character, who frankly isn’t that difficult to draw, all because I currently lack the ability to

#ironically back when I first drew Evoland 2 fanart it was more the opposite #Menos was my favorite but he was also the only one that was actually easy to draw #and by proxy he helped me try to figure out how to draw more buff characters #and look at me now #literally unable to draw him for no good reason #I tell you I get worse and worse every year #in every regard not just art #*sigh*#sorry I felt like complaining #I know you don’t care #art stuff #art struggles #evoland menos #real life stuff #I mean technically?#rant

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sibyl-of-space · 1 year ago

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youtube

Yesterday, myself and a group of friends released THOUSANDS OF PIXELS IN YOUR HANDS. This is a 6-track collaborative concept album of original art and music themed around the GameBoy Advance console. The album in full is viewable above with timestamps for each piece. For individual track uploads/BandCamp release (planned for the near future), check the NeoCities Page where they will be embedded when available.

Tracklist:

Sealed Chamber by Error Sparrow (Vapor) ft. digital art by DarthButcher

Fuchsia Zone by ZeroJanitor ft. mixed 2D+3D gif by Aaron (AReallyFrog)

When the Levee Remakes by Joey Puricelli (CaptHayfever) ft. mixed media cross stitch by nyankat

My Internal Battery Has Run Dry by Leo ArcanaXIX ft. photography by DarthButcher

Liquid Crystal by Revolver Project ft. digital art by Marcus Bower (SpriteDude)

Adventure's End by Monstrman ft. painting by nyankat

Piece descriptions below readmore.

I. SEALED CHAMBER | Music by Error Sparrow (Vapor) | Digital Art by DarthButcher

Musician Notes: Sealed Chamber is an instrumental ode to the legendary Pokemon of the Gen III pokemon games (Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald), specifically Regirock, Regice and Registeel. It's an ambient, dungeon synth-kinda track meant to capture the mystique of the elaborate quest through Hoenn's secret areas - undersea, underground and elsewhere - that the player undertakes to find all three Regis. The instrumentation is 100% Pokemon RSE soundfont (with some effects and such thrown in).

Artist Notes: Digital watercolor and ink pen using Adobe Fresco on iPad. May has heard the legend of three bionic beasts and finally thinks she has come upon the cave of legend. She has searched far and wide across Hoenn to try to find the entrance and after a series of trials, her quest may prove fruitful. What she doesn’t know is that while she searches for them, they stand alert to her presence ready to pounce when the moment is right. Stylized with inspiration from Ken Sugimori for a watercolor aesthetic, my first time working with the medium.

II. FUCHSIA ZONE | Music by ZeroJanitor | GBA 2D+3D Gif by Aaron (AReallyFrog)

Musician Notes: Inspired by the translucent pink Game Boy Advance model, officially known as the Fuchsia model. Instrument samples are taken from Sonic Advance 3, and the voice samples are from the LingoJam robot voice generator.

Artist Notes: I created this little animation by exporting the frames from Blender, drawing over them in Aseprite, and then exporting them as a gif. I think the gif struggles a little but I’m happy to have gotten to try combining 2d and 3d animation!

If you’re interested in homebrew games for the gameboy family there are a few collections of roms (.gb/.gbc/.gba) on my itch page I try to keep up to date.

III. WHEN THE LEVEE REMAKES | Music by Joey Puricelli (CaptHayfever) | Watercolor + Cross-Stitch Mixed Media by nyankat

Musician Notes: Arr. for voice, jaw harp (x2), shaker, wood handles, bongos, drumkit, & Casio PK-5.

I had the opening lines of the first verse looping in my head for weeks before I finally had time to hash out the rest of it. There really were a metric buttload of remakes on this system; this song cites 38 (though maybe I’m cheating to include Game & Watch Gallery) & that’s just where I stopped researching because I thought I had too much. My nickname for Kirby in verse 3 came from the American NiD commercials, which for some reason used the theme song to the 1960s spy show Danger Man.

Artist Notes: Watercolor on paper and Aida cloth, cross-stitch. As soon as Joey laid out his idea I was inspired to do a mixed-media piece. This is basically a reimagining of the old Pokemon Kanto intro screen, in a forest clearing, with one side cross-stitch/“low res” and the other watercolor/“high res.” I asked Joey what else he might end up referencing besides Pokemon and went from there. (I presented him with a word map before starting the actual design; this piece was an absolute boatload of work. But I’m pleased to say I captured his intended vibe on the first try!) The full piece depicts Nidorino, Kirby, Piranha Plant, and Samus (low res) vs. Gengar, Meta Knight, Baby Mario on Yoshi, and a Metroid (high res). Let me tell ya, stitching on Aida that you’ve already painted is very difficult! But it made for a really cool effect. Thank you for the collaboration (and your patience lol), Joey!

IV. MY INTERNAL BATTERY HAS RUN DRY | Music by Leo ArcanaXIX | Photography by DarthButcher

Musician Notes: My concept for this was to sample sounds from doing a GBA cartridge internal battery surgery and use those sounds as instruments. I took inspiration for the form of the song itself from "Clockwork" from Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, a GBA game with both an internal battery and a banger soundtrack.

Artist Notes: Shot on a Sony a7IV, Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN, 70mm, 1/40s, f/7.1, ISO 1000. Nothing says cartridge repair more than actually dismantling a cartridge and beginning to conduct surgery. Utilizing photography with a strong key light, contrast of the system on one side and additional cartridges behind it, and some mild post-production to bring out the colors, this piece tells a story of frustration that a beloved game may have seen its last days.

V. LIQUID CRYSTAL | Music by Revolver Project | Digital Art by Marcus Bower (SpriteDude)

Musician Notes: This song began with the intent to write a dark-step inspired drum & bass track using the Game Boy Advance internal synthesis. I set out researching the best homebrew Tracker/DAW for the console, and discovered that my ancient flash cartridge wasn't fully compatible with the majority of them. As a solution, I used a branch of LSDJ which maintained compatibility with the GoombaGB wrapper for GBA.

I opted for a harsh and bright industrial guitar style to compliment the harsh synth and percussion sampling of the GBA, which may sound familiar to older Revolver Project fans. All of the percussion and the majority of the synths were originally voiced using the GBA's internal synth and sample abilities. They were then heavily edited on a PC DAW, into the final sounds you hear. Notable exceptions include some bass sounds, which were created using a semi-modular Behringer Neutron.

I hope after listening to this, you'll be inspired to fire up a GBA and play your favorite Metroid or maybe a racer. Just remember to turn a light on if you're playing on an original model, don't let that LCD stay dark. ☻

Artist Notes: AI was pretty much the perfect match for me, as we’ve worked together many times in the past and we always seem to be on the same wavelength. In fact, he suggested “neon lights and cyberpunk” for the theme of the piece after I had already started drawing just that. Other than that, it’s pretty much just a fast-paced super-foreshortened actiony sci-fi piece. The guy is just a random cyberpunk dude I made up, and the drones are supposed to kinda look like metroids.

VI. ADVENTURE'S END | Music by Monstrman | Acrylic Art by nyankat

Musician Notes: I wanted to make a song that really captured the finality of finishing a game on the GBA. In reality it’s more about the experience of completing all your games in general, but since it’s GBA themed I added some flavor. The intro/outro was written on my guitar first, then I made the rest in my DAW.

Artist Notes: Acrylic on canvas, 8 in. x 8 in. I listened to a very early draft of Tim’s piece, which reminded me of the ending screen of Mega Man 2, where he walks away through different landscapes. This evolved into the piece it is now, with a person facing away from the viewer with a guitar over his back, next to a GBA set on a table and showing the message “Thank you!” I’m not particularly strong in figure drawing, so I asked Tim to pose as a reference, and I think that turned out quite well. I also asked him if he wanted the GBA or the curtains a specific color: The GBA is silver like the one he had growing up, and the curtains are OG GBA blurple. Thank you for the collaboration, Tim!

#gameboy advance #new album #new music #concept album #electronic music #my audio shit #ok last post on this i swear i just wanted to do a proper post now that it's released #ill probably post my track individually later but that can wait #Youtube

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vynegar · 3 years ago

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So... finally getting around to (partially) answering @alyss-mermaid-motel with my Marius card thoughts. Thanks for your patience x)

I figured a tierlist would be a fun way to do the short version of my opinions! Below are my explanations and ramblings about each card.

You can see my post ranking Vyn’s cards because the same disclaimers and explanations to my thought process apply, but the main disclaimer is that these are just my own personal opinions!

Btw, I’m pretty sure there are subs for all the cards on youtube (many by Jin Yamashina or Sherry’s Gaming Notes); for some, you just might have to search using the Chinese card title. So go watch them first if you care about card spoilers!

S Rank

For me, this card is worth getting

Fabulous Feast: I’m obsessed with Marius’s formal outfit and I managed to get this card so I’m a little biased, BUT. There are really memorable fun moments in this card, while also being MC’s introduction into Marius’s family lore and his world of hypocritical social politics. It showed that MC can still manage to carve out a place for herself in there and help Marius in her own way, so they can still express themselves.

All Through the Night: Most obviously there’s the iconic drunk!MC scene and him talking about his mother and the story of him in the forest as a kid, but throughout the card there’s just so much of Marius caring about MC in his own particular way, showing how special and important MC is to him. Tbh I haven’t fully read the card until recently, and I think what really struck me about the card was Marius’s understated gestures of affection, like offering MC something to fall back on and spending a family tradition with her. The story is probably tied with Fabulous Feast; maybe the former is there to display him in his professional life, and this card follows it up by showing his private self.

Desert SSR: This card had me SCREAMING with the plot twists oh my god!! The plot of the card is so suspenseful and the main story of it is genuinely enjoyable; it really takes advantage of the AU setting to intensify aspects of Marius’s stories. One of those was showing how Marius has many different sides to him and turning them all up to eleven, while affirming that he’s still Marius in the end. Another is the pressures and risks and loneliness of Marius’s high status being stretched into life-threatening extremes, forcing him to escape in a drastic way (while irl… he does not have the option to escape). But it still really felt in-character the whole time, with some moments almost having a sense of déjà vu with how similar it is to canon!verse Marius (I had written down that it stood out to me how he had his suspicions of MC because she wasn’t trying to get something more from him, which reminded me of Fabulous Feast when he mentions everyone has expectations of him except the MC, and he’s not sure if that’s a good or bad thing). Anyway this card should be ranked higher, but I stopped myself since it’s an AU and technically doesn’t progress the relationship :/ But honestly, probably my second favorite card.

Ancient China SSR: So far this is the closest we’ve gotten to true obsession and enemies to lovers in tot TTTT I love how MC becomes the target of some of the more dangerous sides of his personality, and if the desert card is Marius completely shackled by his identity and status, then this card is if he completely indulges in his emotions and art. I liked how MC was the one who was on a hero’s quest basically, but there were decisions that felt too ooc for her, and the story resolution was a bit abrupt and felt like a copy of the desert ending. Bonus points for Vincent getting a sprite and being friends with MC though, it’s what he deserves!!

A Rank

it’s a good card and i enjoy the story!

In the Darkness: This is one of the early cards so it still feels like MC doesn’t know Marius super well yet, but throughout the card story they definitely learn a lot more about each other! I like how MC got Marius to open up, and how he ended up the more vulnerable one in this. The main card story was a bit better than I expected too; there’s a bit of genuine mystery as to why the NPCs set up this fake treasure hunt, and why Marius would play along with them, and the answer just ends up being very down-to-earth, human reasons. Also the final card evolution art is probably one of my favorite Marius artwork; his open and longing expression makes me go feral.

Eye of the Beholder: His tone saying “How pitiful! He has no friends” lives rent-free in my mind… This story is still pretty random but it manages to introduce a lot of the tropes that’ll show up in Marius’s route, like a LOT of him acting cute, him being greedy about being the only one in MC’s eyes, him being very forward (sharing a dessert!) while still being very careful and thoughtful, expressing his feelings for MC in art, Mc getting him to open up, his idealism, etc. Anyway, I distinctly remember this story making me like Marius a lot, so I think this really did a good job as an initial SSR! Also the end when he admits to himself that he just wants to see their two names together… I love it when the men are so down bad for MC>….

Anniversary SSR: Honestly I wasn’t sure how to rank this; it could be a few cards lower but I’ll tentatively put it here. The card art and the fact that it’s a culmination of his feelings would help its ranking, but after all, the entire “plot” of the anniversary cards is “he wants to confess” so it’s very simple and short. I think the reason I rank it higher than Vyn’s was ranked is because the Marius’s intense nervousness the night before was cute and refreshing to see, and his interactions with his wingmen Vincent and Payton were amusing. His confession method represented his overflowing emotions in a way that’s very true to him, with lots of small nods to previous events, and it just makes perfect sense. (Opinion of this could improve after I read his chapter 4).

Will of the Trees: I loved hearing Marius talk about Giann (his voice was soooo soft and gentle when reminiscing ;;) And how MC is seriously thinking about what it would be like to be with Marius. It’s kind of a more straightforward story, they travel together and learn about the local legends, but the info about Marius’s brother and childhood and the clear progress that their relationship has made are really satisfying!

Daytime Aurora: The main card story is more on the fluffy side, but the side story involving the old man, and Marius’s past experience, really makes it hit home how heavy a responsibility Marius has and how high of an EQ he has to be able to handle all of it well. It makes my heart ache for him TT

Sweet Fantasy (Dreams of Childhood SSR): It’s a cute story that also gives us more insight into how Marius processed his mother’s passing. I also liked how it directly referenced previous events. Basically it’s a nice story with good, profile-picture-worthy art, and I have no complaints~

B Rank

I have some mixed feelings about the card but I still enjoy it overall

Cozy Couple’s Getaway SSR: His whole speech about possessiveness is SUPER fascinating… I just kinda wish he had done something more extreme to warrant it? Which, the writers are in a tough place about this, bc you don’t actually want to show one of main characters treating the MC badly since they need to be a fantasy partner, but stories still need conflict. (This is why I like his ancient china SSR so much since he actually got to get a little unhinged.) But it’s still an interesting element to have, and having Marius shelve his original plans for the trip to try to make MC feel better is a good way to show his self-sacrificing nature again, in that classic Marius story way.

Revisiting Youth SSR: It’s a pretty cute story (and the card art!!!!!!!), and I love to see jealous Marius (and I like how the reason ends up not quite that straightforward). There’s also extensive backstory of Marius’s high school life that once again reminds us of his self-blame and loneliness… I initially felt like it kind of goes against Matching Tattoos, but maybe it still fits because Matching Tattoos was technically about a college friend, and you could say that it makes sense he wouldn’t talk that deeply about heavy things so soon after getting to know MC…

Tideborne Romance: Whatever he’s paying Vincent, double that salary for making him third-wheel here.This card is super fluffy in the first half, but in the last two parts it gets a bit more serious and shows how free-spirited and Romantic Marius is, how much he believes in those stories and legends and longing for that in his life. This card makes it seem like he’s truly felt alone for all his life, and since at least his college years he’s been wanting to find his True Love, the person who would be that kind of story-like figure for him. I think… there’s nothing really wrong with this card but it just happens to focus on aspects that I’m not as interested in, so it doesn’t rank highly for me.

C Rank

Something feels off about the card and overshadows its merits; or, the card doesn’t have much that is unique about it

Limited Top-up card: Lol this card is for the people who want a spicier story 👀 I think it’s interesting that they’re dealing with the realistic complication of MC dating Marius, that they have to decide if/how they’ll be public. I just feel like the scene at the end is like… too secondhand embarrassment for me since the manager is still RIGHT THERE. Like it’s one thing to not be afraid of going public but it’s another to go… beyond PDA in the middle of what was supposed to be a PR negotiation. So I feel like maybe the resolution was still a bit too idealized where I expected the game to feel more grounded? (But it’s an otome game so maybe I’m the one who’s being unrealistic)

Narrow Road: Pretty straightforward story that shows Marius’s capable, yet very compassionate, business. Since it’s early, it makes sense that they’re establishing baseline character traits (that Marius is not an asshole despite being rich) like this. This ranks so low because it just doesn’t really stand out to me compared to the other cards.

Glorious Coronation (birthday SSR): Maybe I got influenced by the more critical comments I saw about this card, but I agree with those comments TT So warning for a very negative review ahead. It feels more like the artist team REALLY wanted to draw Marius in actual king-like outfits for his birthday card, and then tried to reverse-engineer a story to work with that. For the vast majority of the card, I felt nothing; it just seemed like due to a series of random coincidences and luck, MC ended up in this game with Marius. A few of the lines felt too overtly lovey-dovey to me too, or the card just felt more fluffy/sweet than an actual Marius/MC story. Only the last ten or fifteen minutes give some context that add meaning to the card, but… too little too late? They could have spread some clues throughout the card to make the whole thing interesting.

Matching Tattoos: not Marius calling himself an omega and wanting MC to be his alpha Um anyway, fanfic trope connections aside, it’s a pretty straightforward story with Marius up to his usual tricks, and a friend which causes Marius to talk a bit about his college life in Florence. I feel like his Revisiting Youth SSR implied that he was rather alone for the entire time at Florence (even though the card focused on his high school days), but I prefer this part to the backstory since I want Marius to have had good friends that he was able to feel simple camaraderie and joy with. I also think his return to Stellis is more meaningful if he had to give up so much in Florence. This card still rates low for not being super memorable and bc I really can’t bear to put a birthday card as last ;;

Anyway, I once again question my own thoughts immediately after trying to organize them.

#marius von hagen #tears of themis #tot liveblog #not sure if this is what you were asking for but uh.... here you go !#also an artem post wouldn't come for a very long time since i'll probably get through his slowly #card ranking

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whatifyoulivelikethat · 3 years ago

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a kiss from the moon | jjk

pairing(s): jungkook x reader

summary: All these years, all these summers, Jeon Jungkook has loved you. His problem? You have no idea. Mostly because he has always said it far too platonically and thrown up in your lap after saying it. Drunk. Fuck. Oh, yeah, and you're also Park Jimin's best friend since preschool. Shit.

warnings: language; alcohol consumption; pining; JK gets distracted by (your) tits during his quest, typical; non-idol!BTS - purple-haired!Jungkook x sleepy af, noona!reader, ft Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung radiating big soulmate energy; childhood friends-to-lovers

yes, it's JK from the 'Butter' beach photos

“I love you!”

You lifted your head out of the mountain of pillows, groggy and hazy, squinting at the moonlight filtering through the floating curtains. The night breeze was warm, drifting in softly with the low hum of cicadas. But what was that other sound? That other sound was familiar, wasn’t it?

You heard your name being shouted, followed by, “Wake up!”

You made a face and stumbled out of the bed, sticking your head out of your bedroom window, your own hair flying back and smacking you in the face.

“Yah! Jeon Jungkook, are you trying to wake up the whole damn neighborhood?!”

“Get down here!”

You put on your best disgruntled expression and peered down at the form on your front lawn, shoving your own hair aside.

“What are you going on about?” you muttered, seeing Jeon Jungkook looking up at you, puffing his cheeks, long wet purple hair fading to gray because of the chlorine from swimming all night at that party Park Jimin had invited you to earlier today, to which you had responded, no thanks, I’m going to sleep all day, I worked three double shifts in a row and I have zero desire to be flung into your family’s swimming pool at this time, but I will acknowledge that your offer is very generous, and then promptly passing out for a good – you glanced at your phone with the pink bunny case Jungkook had given you two summers ago – ten hours and it was still not enough for you to comprehend why your best friend’s best friend was standing on your front lawn yelling at your parents’ house that you were watching for a month while they were in Italy getting drunk on far too expensive wine and eating cheese they probably couldn’t pronounce.

Jungkook was shirtless, clad only in orange swim shorts and sandals like a fucking hooligan. He was clutching a plastic red Solo cup and he threw it at the house, yelling your name again.

“Oh my fucking God, don’t litter, you idiot!” you bellowed back, throwing yourself away from the windowsill and crawling on the floor to your bedroom door like the evolution of mankind, making it from all fours to two legs by the time you got to the stairs – good thing too, you might have broken your neck if you were still disoriented – and you dragged yourself downstairs, yanking your white slip dress straight. Not your choice of pajamas. Your mom’s, who told you to be more ladylike, whatever the fuck that meant, and who also informed you in the same breath that it was your only choice of pajamas since they donated all your clothes from high school.

Awesome.

You go to university and your parents yeet all evidence that they had a child and go vacationing.

Good for them.

You wrenched your front door open and shoved your feet into your dad’s giant brown sandals and clapped your way over to the pink-faced, mildly drunk, shirtless man in swimming trunks on your front lawn.

“It’s two in the morning. Why are you standing here drunk and professing your love like some kind of deranged Romeo?” you sighed, rubbing your eyes. “Why aren’t you at Jimin’s?” You spied the red Solo cup and picked it up, whipping your head back to Jeon Jungkook.

He was staring at you with his mouth open.

Charming.

He didn’t say anything for a good ten seconds.

“Alright, fine, let me call my loser of a best friend and tell him to pick up his loser of a best friend, so I can go back to sleep,” you muttered, about to turn around.

Jungkook seemed to sputter back to life. “Wait, um, noona–”

“He speaks! He’s not dead.”

“A… Ah… Um…”

You squinted at him and reached up to knock the side of his head. “Hello? Anyone in there?”

Jungkook blurted out, “I love you.”

His breath smelled a lot like alcohol.

“Yeah, I got that. You also said that when I got you through your Chemistry and World History exams. Both times. You also say that to like, what, six of your guy friends? Don’t get me started on the amount of times you’ve said it and thrown up in my lap right after. Don’t do that this time,” you added sternly, prodding at his chest. “I’ve got one set of pajamas because my mom forgets that human beings change clothes, so throw up on the grass.”

“Uh… that’s pajamas…?”

“Lady pajamas,” you grumbled sarcastically, lifting the lid and chucking the crumpled Solo cup into your parents’ trash can. “Since I’m not lady enough apparently according to my mom, even though I’m ninety-nine percent sure giant band t-shirts are completely unisex but, whatever, it’s just a dress, not a big deal.”

“Um.”

You looked at Jungkook, who looked back at you, who put your hands up and gestured him to say something, who in response rose his hands and flapped them in confusion, giving you absolutely zero helpful communication. The movement reminded you he had gotten his right arm and hand tattooed in the last couple years, the black ink standing out against tan skin. You hadn’t seen him too many times during your university years, too busy completing research papers and staying late nights in laboratories, only to now end up working on hospital software and sitting on your ass all day. Life, eh? These past three days were spent on working through bugs for the next software update and you had maybe lost all social skills as you attempted to unravel lines of code that you stared at for forty-eight out of the past seventy-two hours.

Fun!

“Do you need a cookie? A shower? The Bible?” you offered, waving your hands. “Maybe tell me why you’re here, yes?”

He was staring and you realized you were slightly bent over in your gesture, your breasts firmly pressed into the cups of the slip dress. You straightened and Jungkook’s wide dark brown eyes went back to your face.

“I… I didn’t realize you had come back, noona.”

You raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? I told Jimin last week. He said he was hanging out with you and Taehyung. I figured he’d just tell you guys then.”

Jungkook shook his head quickly, gray-purple hair flying about. He pointed to the left, where Jimin’s house was several blocks over. “He only mentioned it just now, when he was throwing up in the bathroom from doing eight shots in a row because Taehyungie dared him.”

“…. Maybe he needs the Bible…” you muttered, shaking your head.

Then the realization hit you.

“Did you walk here from Jimin’s and straight up abandon the party?”

Jungkook tilted his head and thought about it. “Yeah.”

You looked around to find the camera and see if you were being pranked, but there was no camera because this life wasn’t purely for entertainment, right? Nah, this wasn’t The Matrix.

Mhm.

“Hah, well, what’s wrong? Are you upset I didn’t go to the party or something? I had three double-shifts this week, I wasn’t going to be any fun passed out before actually drinking–”

“Yoongi-hyung was passed out before drinking.”

“In some ways, I swear that guy and I are the same person,” you laughed, shaking your head. “Anyway, I’m sorry I didn’t go and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I really banked on Jimin not being an airhead, but once again he is, so maybe I should reconsider him as my best friend…”

“Noona, I…”

You looked up from your mental consideration of Park Jimin’s pros and cons, the first pro being he punched that ex of yours that cheated on you with some Tinder hookup and that was already enough to stop contemplating, so you blinked at Jungkook curiously, looking into wide brown eyes, long strands of ash-purple floating around his handsome face from the night breeze, brushing against his parted lips, highlighting the mole underneath them, placed perfectly in the center like a kiss from the moon itself.

“Can I take a shower and sleep it off here?”

You tilted your head. “Yeah, sure. You can borrow my dad’s clothes. You should call Jimin though. You don’t want him to panic that he lost you.”

“Y… Yeah, okay…”

Jeon Jungkook really thought he could say it this time.

Collected all his courage and ran, ran as fast as he could, couldn’t believe Jimin had neglected to say she was coming home over the summer for more than a day, days without her reminding Jungkook that he was a coward for not saying it when he could have, having lost his most important person in the world because he was too afraid of telling Park Jimin that he was in love with his best friend.

He remembered that smile wearing nothing but a large t-shirt, sitting on Jimin’s bedroom floor, crushing all of them at UNO and cackling as Jimin blew up for ending up in last place for the third time in a row, yelling that the game was rigged, and Jungkook remembered thinking, I should tell her tonight.

And he didn’t.

He remembered her saying to Taehyung that she just wasn’t into girly things. They were having this argument over pizza and Taehyung was waving his around saying she should at least try a dress on every once in a while, never know, might actually like it, and her rolling her eyes as she shot back that she didn’t have to do anything just because it was stereotypical for her gender. Taehyung told her to stop using big words and waved his hands, accidentally flinging his pizza slice into her lap, and Jungkook remembered thinking, I should tell her after we clean up.

And he didn’t.

He remembered seeing her prepare to leave for university once again, holding a small package from the internet and handing it to her, a small but practical belated birthday gift, both of them surprised when she opened it, not the matte black phone case he had ordered, but somehow mixed up with a pink bunny phone case that had no business being owned by someone who didn’t like girly things.

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t order this–”

And she laughed, shaking her head. “That’s okay, I gotta go, thanks anyway, Jungkook!”

The years went by and every year Jungkook told himself, this is the one, and every year he just couldn’t say it.

He thought he could say it now, drunk and furious at Jimin for not preparing him for this moment, but on his way here Jungkook figured that perhaps this was preferred, that maybe it was better that he couldn’t sit around nervously overthinking what to say.

But, of course, the problem was…

He had already said it in a platonic way.

Shit.

He really fucked himself throughout the years.

Jungkook sighed, now wearing borrowed clothes, holding the note of her handwriting as he rubbed his hair with the towel.

I washed your shorts and they’re hang-drying now. You can sleep in the guest room. I left a glass of water and some hangover meds. If you need anything, I’ll be asleep but you can attempt to wake the dead if you want.

He walked down the hall, towel around his shoulders. Her bedroom door was open. He stood outside the entrance, sighing, seeing her sleeping form and her bedside table, her phone sitting on the charger.

His breath caught in his throat as he recognized that pink bunny phone case.

“Where’s Jungkook?”

“Probably at her parents’ place, confessing his love,” Kim Taehyung snickered, picking up the beer bottles left behind next to the pool.

“Hah, of course he would leave without cleaning up,” Park Jimin grumbled, pushing the recycling bin along as Taehyung tossed each bottle inside.

“You think he’s gonna tell her?”

“He didn’t even tell me,” Jimin muttered, shoving used napkins into the bag hanging off the side of the recycling bin that he was going to toss into the trash later. “I had to find out from you. I think he’s hopeless. Why does he like her anyway? She’s fun to be around, yeah, she’s good at school, yeah, knows a lot of random facts, yeah, if you get into philosophy with her like Namjoon-hyung does, you begin to question humanity and reality, yeah, but other than that…”

“You hitting on your best friend, dude?”

“I mean, she’s kinda hot, she wouldn’t say no to me.”

Taehyung snorted.

Jimin smacked him in the ass with the recycling bin.

“Anyway, he’s probably just standing in her bedroom creepily watching her sleeping.”

Jungkook stared down at her sleeping form.

He looked up, looking out the window into the late, late night. He was tired, and yet he couldn’t sleep, too busy wondering.

I don’t deserve her if I’m not brave enough to say it.

“Jungkook?”

You squinted at the large form in your bedroom.

“Why are you just staring moodily out the window?” you mumbled, rubbing your eyes. “Is something wrong? Are you hungry? I can make you a snack…”

“Noona, do you know what the worst feeling in the world is?” he asked softly, still looking out into the warm night.

You grunted and scrunched up your face. “Stepping on a Lego?”

You heard Jungkook laugh and you smiled a little despite your groggy state, hearing a little bit of his old self, the younger Jungkook hanging out with you, Jimin, and, later, Taehyung, the four of you getting up to no good. Somehow, in the past few years, he had gotten quieter and quieter, at least around you, but then again you only came home to visit for a day or two before going back to university.

“Have you ever been in love, noona?”

“Yeah, with the red bean popsicles they used to sell at the ice cream trucks, but then they stopped, those assholes, I’ve never been so heartbroken in my life,” you grumbled, remembering the day where the ice cream man told you they were sold out and your young teenage heart shattering.

“I love you, you know.”

Was this a fever dream? Why did he keep repeating himself? You looked over to his back, still looking outside onto the street, the street where you all used to run and laugh every summer, pretending you were surviving in the wild and not in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, sitting around sipping lemonade and complaining about the heat even though you all could have gone inside, lighting sparklers at night and seeing whose would last the longest even though such a thing was only based on chance anyway.

“Is that the worst thing you’ve ever heard?” he added quietly.

“The worst thing I’ve ever heard was accidentally hearing Jimin jacking off. Twice.”

Jungkook finally turned around, giving you a disgusted look. “What?”

You placed a hand on your face and sighed heavily, trying not to remember. “For some reason he thinks the bathroom isn’t echoey or something, like, at least do it in the shower, so the water masks the sound…” You chuckled, shaking your head. “Anyway, I would much rather hear you say you have love for me than listening to Jimin getting off.”

“I don’t have love for you.”

You raised your hand from your face and shifted your gaze to him, half-smile lingering on your lips from remembering Jimin’s carelessness. You made eye contact the second the words left his mouth, those brown eyes shrouded in shadows, but still so clear, a little helpless, a little sad.

“I’m in love with you,” Jungkook whispered softly.

Your eyes widened.

A soft breeze swept through the window, lifting the purple-gray strands from Jungkook’s face, revealing his lost, desolate expression.

The cicadas hummed.

A car alarm honked loudly, screeching through the night.

Both you and Jungkook jerked to face the window. You bolted out of bed and you both threw your hands onto the edge of the window, yanking it shut, wincing at the loud noise.

“Ah, jeez… what the hell…?” you groaned, slumping to the ground.

“What’s with people…?” Jungkook muttered, falling to the floor beside you, yanking the towel off his shoulders.

“Fuck, I pressed the wrong button!”

“Taehyung, what the hell, turn it off!”

“I was just trying to put the tangerines your parents gave me in my car!”

“I don’t care what you were doing, turn it off!”

“Anyway, sorry, you were saying something important and you got interrupted by some dumbass,” you sighed, nudging Jungkook with your shoulder.

“Uh… well, that was it…”

You blinked at him, tilting your head. “What, that you’re in love with me?”

“Y… Yeah?”

You blinked some more.

“Not the, want to go to the arcade and see who can get the highest score in PAC-MAN or go watch shitty action movies and rate the unrealistic plot lines or dare each other to eat whatever expired delicacy is in Taehyung’s fridge, kind of love?”

Jungkook made a repulsed face. “I regret eating that tofu. Don’t think I can ever look at uncooked tofu without gagging a little now…”

You leaned over and caught his eye.

“Do you mean the… want to date and get married and make babies, kind of love?”

His lips parted and the moonlight lit the small mole placed perfectly underneath his lower lip.

A delicate kiss from the moon itself.

Then you realized he was staring at your tits.

You yanked the neckline up a little and Jungkook started, looking back up at you with wide eyes.

“Sorry, I’m just not used to you in a dress, sorry, I’m being really rude–”

“It assures me that you’re at least interested in the making babies part,” you chuckled.

His ears turned red and he reached up to cover them, trying not to look down. “S… Sorry…”

“So…?”

He chewed on his lip, messing with his earrings with his fingertips. “Um… yeah, that kind of love. The latter kind.”

You lowered your hand. “You’re not messing with me, right? I swear, if this is one of Taehyung’s elaborate ideas to mess with me, I’m going to ki–”

Jungkook shook his head quickly, purple hair flying about. “I’m not joking around. I wanted to tell you for a long, long time, but…” His eyes darted about, panicking a little, before looking back to you helplessly. “You’re Jimin’s best friend, besides Taehyung, and what if… what if you thought I was gross or something and then I don’t think I could hang out with you guys anymore, but then you went to that prestigious university far away and I thought, I’m so stupid, I should have said something, anything, but every time I could even think about it, I didn’t know what to say, nothing seemed right…”

He let out a big sigh and tapped his head against the windowsill, closing his eyes.

“Also, I said it before and threw up in your lap right after, so that kinda fucked me up.”

“Can’t say I was really feeling the romance, yeah.”

He groaned and covered his face with his hands.

“I’d date you though. For real.”

Jungkook removed his hands and blinked at you. “What?”

You chuckled. “Why are you acting so surprised? I’m not going to date Jimin, blergh, I’ve known that guy since I was in preschool. I’m not dating Taehyung, I’m pretty sure he’s on a different brainwave than other human beings.”

You smiled at him and turned around to pick up your phone, holding it up.

“I don’t like girly things or cute things very much, but I kept your gift because it was from you and, funnily enough, I think it made me realize that I was rejecting femininity because society puts such a negative connotation on things young women like and because my friends growing up were primarily male, thus I wanted to seem cool or relatable so I rejected stereotypically feminine concepts…”

“… What?”

Now it was a confused what.

“Uh, never mind,” you laughed awkwardly, putting your phone back on your nightstand. “Anyway, Jungkook, you made me realize things about myself, and I love being around you, but I thought a handsome guy like you would want to date a pretty girl, and I’m not really that.”

Jungkook furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about? You’re the prettiest girl in the world. No one could ever be prettier than you.”

You felt your neck heat. “Yo, don’t inflate my ego when it’s not the truth,” you chuckled sheepishly, waving a hand. “You’ve been drinking anyway. Alcohol makes everyone prettier.”

“It’s the truth.”

Was he drunk or were you drunk? Why was Jeon Jungkook getting closer?

“Would you really date me?”

You stared into those chocolate eyes and smiled.

“Yes, I would.”

And you leaned forward and kissed him.

His eyes widened, staring at you and you closed your eyes, pressing your lips to his, inhaling his scent, memories of hot summers and mirthful laughter filling your head, standing beside Jungkook and kicking Jimin and Taehyung’s ass at table tennis even though Jungkook was doing most of the work, finishing a movie together after Jimin and Taehyung had passed out on the couch on top of each other and talking excitedly about it until you both fall asleep, getting lamb skewers after Jimin and Taehyung went off to eat ramen in a huff, unable to agree on the same meal as a foursome, but it was fine, no, better than fine, perfect even.

Because you were with Jungkook.

You broke the kiss and opened your eyes, smiling at him.

He blinked slowly, looking down at you.

“Noona…”

His hand raised, fingers spreading out longingly. You quickly reached up and pushed it back down.

“Jungkook, I swear, I do want to touch you in a less than holy way, but maybe not when you’re wearing my dad’s clothes, including his underwear, because that’s really fucking weird.”

Jungkook looked down at the brown t-shirt and beige shorts. “Oh. Yeah. Right.”

“You know, come to think of it, I feel like Taehyung has slowly stolen Jimin from me over the years, so maybe this was fated…” you mumbled, remembering at the moments you had shared with Jungkook were because your other two friends had abandoned you.

“I feel you, sometimes I feel like a third wheel…”

“I’m so sleepy.”

“I’ll tuck you in first, but I’m going to get us some water so we don’t die tomorrow morning.”

“Ugh, Jimin, bring another pillow please.”

“Hah, fine, but you’re buying breakfast tomorrow…”

masterpost

#jungkook x reader #jungkook fluff #bts fluff #jungkook x you #jungkook x noona #jeon jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x you

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uncpanda · 4 years ago

Text

RISK

AN: This right here . . . is a true story. Based on people I know very well.

Pairing: Hotch x GN!Reader

Prompt 19: “No . . . no! Come on, I can’t lose you!”

Requested by: @vxxn128

You’re feeling pretty full of yourself. Tonight is YEARS in the making and you’re nearly vibrating with excitement. Tonight is the night that you’re finally going to win a game of RISK against Aaron. True, he’s exhausted, having just gotten back from a case. And yes you had gotten a good nights rest. And you’re pretty certain all he wants to do is go to bed but is doing this game night for the same reason Derek is: to spend time with you and Savannah. That doesn’t humble you at all.

Every time you take an army you shoot him a grin, when you take over a territory you let out a whoop. You don’t miss the way his eyes narrow, or the way Savannah and Derek shoot each other cautionary looks. You can see the Aaron’s gaze narrowing, but you don’t care because you’re going to win.

And then things suddenly change. Aaron sits up a little straighter, and his gaze sweeps across the board with an intensity he usually reserves for serial killers. And oh so slowly he starts making a comeback. Your eyes narrow as he goes from maybe five armies to twenty, and his sole focus seems to be taking you out. Savannah and Derek are just collateral damage.

You can feel the anger brewing and as he goes in for one of your last two armies you scream, “No. . .No! Come on, I can’t lose you!” But it’s too late the army is gone, and you’re dead in the water. You’ve lost and Aaron has won.....again. You glare at your husband.

Savannah and Derek give the two of you a wide berth as the fussing starts. He calls you a sore winner and you call him a petty loser. They watch you for over twenty minutes before Savannah whispers, “We’re never going home, are we?”

Derek snorts, “I’m afraid if we leave them, they’re going to kill each other. I don’t want to have testify.”

They end up staying for another hour until you and Aaron separate into different rooms. At that point they feel it’s safe enough to go home.

You lay in bed alone and mad. Mad because you had taken the game too far. Mad that Aaron’s on the couch instead of curled around you. Mad because you can never beat that man at a game. You flat out refused to play monopoly with him anymore.

And while you may both be in the wrong, you’re more in the wrong, and you know it. You push the suffocating blankets off and head towards the den. You find him awake, a side lamp on as he stares at the book in his hands.

His head turns towards you and you take a deep breath, “I’m sorry. I was a bad winner.”

And just like that the fight is over. Aaron has never been one to hold a grudge, and though he’ll probably tease you about this in the future you know all is forgiven.

“I may have taken my quest to destroy you a little too far. I’m sorry too.”

He tosses the book to the side and opens his arms. You smile and go to settle on top of him. You wrap around him like a boa constrictor, trying to convey how much you love him through touch; even when he kicks your butt at board games.

He kisses the top of your head, and you quietly ask, “Is there anyway we can pin this on Derek and Savannah.”

“Nope. And I think RISK needs to go the way of Monopoly.”

“Agreed.”

On Monday morning Hotch carries the game into the office. He stops by Reid’s desk and gently places it down. Spencer shoots him a smile, “Thanks Hotch! First monopoly and now RISK! This is so nice of you.”

Morgan snorts, “It’s either give them to you or watch his marriage fall apart.”

And really, Aaron can’t argue with that, because it’s true.

#aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #hotch x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds reader insert #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds fanfiction #cm fanfic #cm reader insert #cm imagine

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hockeywhhores · 4 years ago

Text

arrangements- q. hughes

Quinn Hughes x f!Reader

warnings~ smut, alcohol, male receiving, vaginal sex twice, swearing

summary~ You and Quinn had an arrangement, put in one night everything fell apart.

genre~ smut, friends with benefits to lovers

word count~ 2.7k

masterlist

This is NSFW please do not read if it makes you uncomfortable.

Jake Virtian was your best friend growing up, and that is how you ended up best friends with the whole Canucks roster, especially Quinn Hughes. Quinn and you just clicked. Within days of meeting you, he was smitten. You grabbed his attention, and would not let it go.

One night you both got way to drunk, and things ended up with you two together in Quinn’s bedroom. After that incident, you both agreed to be friends with benefits. You enjoyed the sex, and he enjoyed having you around. Even if this wasn’t how he had planned to get you, it would have to work for now. Quinn had even invited you to come back to Orlando with him, during the offseason. You had said no, not wanting to intrude on his family time, but he insisted. You both left it maybe. The offseason is coming in two weeks, so he gave you time to think about it.

Wanting to forget about college, and getting a job, you asked the guys if they wanted to go out. Quinn always said yes, and then most of the other guys agreed to a night out. You picked the bar, and everyone agreed to meet there. Before you had finished getting ready, Quinn had called you.

“Hey!” you said as you put your phone on speaker, so you could finish with your hair.

“Hey y/n! I was wondering if you wanted me to pick you up tonight?” Quinn asked, sounding unsure of himself.

“Sure! that would be great! You don’t even know how many Ubers i’ve called this week!” You exaggerated.

“Perfect pick you up in twenty minutes.” He ended the call quickly after you both said your ‘goodbyes’ and you went back to curling your hair. finishing with minutes to spare you did a little bit of pregaming with some random alcohol you found in your apartment. When you heard a knock on your door, you were surprised to say the least. Quinn usually just texted you when he was here. You shrugged it off, and answered the door. There was Quinn a little early, and standing in your doorway. He was holding a bottle of vodka, and when he saw you he held it up higher for you to see.

“I brought you something to pregame with,” He explained, “I was going to pregame with you, but I realized that I stupidly told you I would drive.” He finished with a little smile, and you couldn’t help a laugh a little at how forgetful he was.

“Oh, I already drink some tequila, but I will be perfectly happy taking that beautiful bottle of vodka off your hands.” You were playing with him, but weren’t surprised when he handed you the bottle. You set it on the kitchen table, and left for his car.

The car ride was perfectly fine, with you and Quinn never missing a beat while you talked. You told him all about how you were needing to start internering, but your school work load was so big, that you didn’t know when you were going to be able to level time in between them. He told you about how he was stressed out with hockey, and just wanted to go home for the offseason, and take a small break from hockey. Quinn’s left hand never left your upper thigh, and your hand never left from its place; resting on top of his. Nothing ever felt awkward between the two of you. You swear if anyone asked you, you would say you had gotten closer to Quinn than you were with Jake, and that was really saying something.

When you pulled up to the club, you jumped out of the car. You couldn’t wait to see all the guys before they left for their last away game stretch. They were going to be all the way in Montreal playing the Candians. You were sad to see them go, but you knew that that was their jobs. Shaking everything off, you entered the club with Quinn by your side. Everyone that was already there greeted you right as you set through the doors. You waved to everyone, but went to the bar before you went to sit down with them. You didn’t know that Quinn had followed you, until after you finished ordering your drink and was planning on opening a tab, but then you felt his arm lightly touch the back of your upper arm and saw him slide his card to the bartender.

“You can put all her drinks on my tab.” Quinn told the guy. the guy nodded and started to get to work with making your drink.

“Quinn! You didn't have to do that!” You protested. Quinn just looked at you as if he was bored, and not wanting to engage in this debate. Quinn bought you a lot of things, he always put up the argument, that he was a hockey player, and he wanted to help you while you go through college. You just wanted to prove that you could pay for yourself, but telling him this was like beating a dead horse. The bartender gave you your drink, and Quinn a beer, you knew he was just going to nurse it all night. you and Quinn walked over to the table of hockey players and their wifes/girlfriends. You were happy just sitting at the table in between Quinn and Brock, but when one of your favorite dance songs came on; you just had to get on the dance floor.

“Oh my god, I love this song! Someone come dance with!” You exclaimed as you jumped out of your seat. You looked back and noticed no one had followed you.

“Ok losers…” you frowned at them, “Quinn please come dance with me!” you gave him your best puppy dog eyes, and lightly tugged on his arm. He huffed but came with you to the dance floor.

“Thank you!” You smiled brightly at him as you started swaying your hips to the beat. Quinn awkwardly dances with you. He did not know where to put his hands, or even how to move his body. You giggled at him, and grabbed his hands and placed them on your hips. Then you gently hand him rock side to side with you. He was still stiff and looked like he was doing something wrong.

You smiled in reassurance, “You are doing great, Romeo” you whispered into his ear.

“I’m sorry, but you know I hate dancing.” Quinn huffed back into your ear. “But did I tell you how good you look tonight.” You did look good in your short black dress, and perfectly styled makeup and hair.

“Oh stop.” You were blushing, “But to answer your question, no you did not.” the blush was still there but you tried to hide it with a confident-ish smirk.

“My bad then. What kind of gentleman am I? Can’t even remember to tell the prettiest girl I have ever seen, how beautiful she looks.” He was messing with you, but that didn’t stop your blush from growing.

“Want to go back to your car?” you asked after a couple songs have ended. You were surprised when Quinn didn’t leave after the song you originally wanted to dance to was over.

“You have your things?” He quested you, looking deep into your eyes.

“Yes, why?” you looked back into his eyes. He knew you saw the hungriness he had for you in his eyes, and he even saw the same in your eyes.

“Because when I’m finished with you, you are not going to be able to come back in here.” he spelt out for you.

“Oh, well do you think if anyone would notice if we just left?” now it's your turn to question him.

“Not if we're careful.” Quinn quiered. Looking back at the table you noticed some have already left, and the ones that were still there were all wrapped up in their own conversations.

“I think we are in the clear.” you testified. Quinn took your hand and you both rushed out of the club and to his black car. He quickly got into the driver's seat, while you got into the passenger’s seat. Without telling you where he was driving to, he started the car and left the parking lot. You ended up in a dark street that was far enough away from everything. Quickly both of you unbuckled your seat belts, and you were strpped your dress off, and took off your shoes. Quinn climbed into the backseat, and you went after him.

“Everything off, baby girl.” he reminded you.

“I just thought you would like to do the honors.” you joked, and before you knew it your bra was in his lap.

“consider me honored,” Quinn joked back. You quickly got to work unbuttoning his pants, and pulled them down to his knees. Before going any further with undressing him you gave his growing erection a soft, little kiss. Quinn let out a strong huff of air.

“Don’t play with me.” he warned. You responded by pulling down his boxers, and grabbing his now fully-erect penis with your small hands. Pumping it up and down, while you sucked on the tip. He was a sighing mess, you knew you weren’t giving him fully what he wanted. Quinn applied some pressure down on the top of your head, in a warning type of way. You pushed him into your mouth as far as you could take him, pumping everything you couldn’t fit. As you looked up into his eyes, you saw that he was already looking at you with hooded eyes. With one hand you messaged his balls, while your other hand was pumping the bit you couldn’t fit into your mouth. He had made a makeshift ponytail with his hand, trying to see as much of you as he could. You continued like this for a couple of minutes, until you felt sticky ropes of cum cover your mouth. You set back up, and whipped your lips, while staring at him in the eyes.

Quinn kissed you deeply, and pasionalty. You knew he could taste himself on your mouth, but he didn’t care. He accidentally ripped your underwear, while trying to get it off of you as fast as he could. No one cared. Both of you know if you asked from him to buy you new ones, you would get several new pairs in return. The car was getting steamy, but you didn;t care. Climbing on top of Quinn, you sat down on top of his already reerected dick. He slid in easily, with how wet you were. His shirt buttons there undid proved the perfect amount of room for you hand to feel his chest up, and down. Quinn helped guide your hips, helping set a pace you were both happy with. Everything was overriding your brain, and you only seemed to know his name; chanting it as if it was a prayer. All that you could hear was his panting, your moans, and skin slapping skin. When you felt his pace slow, and his thrust get sloppy, you knew he was close. you were too. You matched your hips to his, and came with him. You didn’t get off of him, until you stopped feeling aftershocks from your orgasm. Quinn happily let you stay connected with him. Both of your faces were plastered with dumb- looking smiles.

Needing his help you got off of him, and used your ripped pantys to clean yourself up a bit. Sitting back next to him in his backseat, made you feel happy. You don’t know if it was the orgasm or you genuinely liked him, but you felt like you were on cloud nine. Quinn buttoned up his pants, and helped you get your dress on, before he helped you get back into the front seat, so he could take you home.

When you were safely in you apartment you asked him something you never had before, “Do you want to stay?” your eyes looked tired, but your body felt too wired to sleep.

“Sure, If you want me too.” Quinn tried to seem as nonchalant as he could. He did not need you knowing about how he has always wanted you to ask him this.

“There is a pair of your sweat pants in the top drawer. I am going to clean myself up.” you said as you walked to your bathroom. Quinn made his way to your bedroom, and looked into your draw. There was a pair of his gray sweatpants that he had lent to you, after your pants had ripped. He knew he had been in your bedroom before, but whenever he had there were more pressing matters to deal with. So while you were in the bathroom he took the time to look around your room. Your bed was in the far corner, and there were pictures of you and the team. One picture was of you and Quinn when he had scored, in overtime, after a tough game. The other pictures were of you and Jake, or your family.

When you came back from the bathroom you found Quinn already changed into his sweatpants, and was laying in your bed. He playfully whistled when you started changing, and you just sent him a playful glare. He held up the blanket as you climbed into your bed, and you noticed he decided to go without a shirt.

“Wow aren’t I one lucky girl.” you teased him as you ran your hand up and down his bare chest.

“You know I like to think of myself as one lucky guy. I mean I have the cutest girl feeling me up right now!” Quinn laughed into your ear and then kissed your cheek. You don’t why but all of this just felt right. Having him here in your bed, felt like it was always supposed to happen. You talked about everything under the sun as you cuddled. his hand was rubbing, soft, light-feathered circles on your back. You felt so loved. No one has ever made you feel the way Quinn does.

“Quinn?” you whispered into the darkness.

“Yes darling?” he answered back.

“I love you.” you professed. You felt his breathing and hand falter. At that moment you were sure that you stopped breathing as well. The world even felt as if it had stopped spinning.

“I love you too.” Quinn whispered as if you would break if he talked louder than that.

“I have since I met you.” He confessed as he looked down at you. You could barely see him in the dark, but you shot yourself up to give him a kiss. The kiss was passionate, not the passionate like when you were just fucking around, but passionate in the way that told you how much he loved you.

You reached down and pulled his sweatpants down, he wasn’t wearing any boxers. Quinn pushed your shorts, along with your panties, to the ground. You managed to get everything off your legs. Before pushing you down onto the bed, you discarded your shirt. When you both were completely nude Quinn took charge. With him holding your arms on top of your head, he ground his hips into yours. Then when he felt you were wet enough he slipped his hard, throbbing dick into you. Quinn took his time, pushing in and out of you. You were a moaning mess. Nothing was fast about this. It was all slow and loving. Hidden emotions were coming out. Hidden emotions of love and pining. Quinn and you come together.

After Quinn got out of bed he came back with a damp rag, and gently cleaned you up. Crawling back into bed with you he never let go of your hands. You both slept with a new sense of purpose. And when you woke up the next morning you told him how much you would love to go back to Orlando and stay with him and his family. You fell in love with Quinn Hughes and wasn’t going to let him go anytime soon.

finished.

#hockey fic #nhl fic #Quinn Hughes fic #Quinn Hughes imagine #Quinn Hughes x reader #Quinn hughes #nhl imagine #nhl x reader #my writing #jake virtanen #brock boeser #Quinn Hughes fluff #Quinn Hughes smut #Quinn Hughes angst

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erendcaptainofthevanguard · 3 years ago

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My Horizon: Forbidden West thoughts!

Major spoilers ahead!

I honestly don’t even know how to start this… trying to process everything that happened in the main story has me dizzy. And if I’m being candid, completely drained.

If there’s a good summary of how I responded to most of the main story revelations it’s “What the fuck”; which, if I had gotten a penny for every time I said that phrase, I’d be rich.

But I guess I’ll try to start at the beginning with the thoughts I've had thus far!

I might update this if I think of more!

Thoughts at the beginning of the game:

The opening movie/cutscene were amazing, and the transition into the continuation of Aloy’s journey was smooth. Plus, Varl (nice beard) was such a wonderful companion to have following us in the beginning; It felt natural to me.

MERIDIAN! THE SPIRE!

I was so fucking excited to see it again, and my favorite song playing in the background?! So gooooood.

MARAD, AVAD, ITAMEN AND NASADI, VANASHA AND UTHID!!!! <3

Avad… I love you. But, please, stop.

Erend seeing Aloy again :D Erend getting hurt D: Erend, understandably, upset that she left without saying goodbye :( Passive aggressive Erend is scary and heartbreaking at the same time 0/10 would not want to see him like that again, please and thanks.

Returning Characters!

Let me come back to the returning/mentioned characters of the first game. Yes yes yes!!! We love to see it. At least, I loved to see it. We, of course, have the major supporting characters: Varl and Erend <3 my boys. Like I said earlier, it felt natural to have Varl there, and it was comfortable. He is such a lovely, supporting person who truly cares for Aloy (alongside his… spiritual? devotion to her for being the anointed of the Nora). He was the friend she needed to tell her (convince her) that getting help from others’ is okay, especially when they care for her and want to help. His openness and eagerness to learn was so lovely, too, and when he said he wanted to try to open the rest of the Noras’ perspectives to the old world and tech after this was all done… I love Varl SO MUCH.

Erend… my boy. I can’t help but feel so damn connected to and invested in his character. I was so excited to see him again and what role he would play in this story. When we finally saw him again, I was so excited that he was happy to see Aloy, but when he suddenly got passive aggressive it took me by surprise at first. Erend has faith in her abilities and appreciates her for everything she’s done for him after his sister’s murder and with Dervahl. So when she disappeared from Meridian without a single word, I could see why this would greatly upset him to the point of using passive aggression, as much as it hurts to see him hurt. I mean, he just lost his sister, and then his good friend that he adores just poofs! I don’t know… I’d be pretty sad about that too. ((That being said I must say that I do not encourage passive aggression; it can be extremely hurtful to others)) Anyway, even before HFW came out, that’s kind of why I posted that meme (I’m sorry), because Erend unfortunately has gone through traumatic events in his life (but also what character hasn't?). – I got off topic and went on a rant, whoops… but, altogether he didn’t play as big a role as I wanted him to, but it was still an important one in my opinion. He was present, willing, and actively learning new things to help out his friend. And of course, in the ending quests he was with her. More on this later, maybe. Who's to say?

I actually squealed like a fangirl when I saw Marad. An underappreciated character imo. And, if I must say, he looked really good in these updated graphics. IDK Y’ALL I’M SORRY ALL THESE CHARACTERS ARE LOVELY.

My dear Sun-King Avad… sigh. I don’t really know how to say this. Am I underwhelmed? Was I expecting him to change much in the months Aloy was gone? What he said just… it felt weird?? At this point, I just feel like I blacked out during that scene. I think it was because he said almost the same thing in the previous game, and Aloy was clear to say that she had other obligations to take care of first, even if it were to be a possibility. IDK I love Avad sooo much, but the same question threw me off. Although, I LOVED the part where he said he wasn’t intending to stay on the throne long, wishing for Itamen to take it when he’s old enough; and maybe joining Aloy on her travels? Yes, I like that idea more than her cooped up in a palace ‘getting to know’ him.

I’m glad we got to see Itamen comfortable and happy!! And Nasadi, as well. That was relieving and very heartwarming.

Vanasha and Uthid, oh boy. I love them, and I’m happy they are finding success and happiness after the war. :’)

I wasn’t as invested in Petra in HZD, but I still love her character and I’m SO glad that she’s getting recognition.

Before I started HFW, I read the Talanah comic… and when she showed up and mentioned finding her friend in the forbidden west… *wipes sweat from brow* Talanah is fucking amazing and deserves nothing but the best, as every other strong woman in this game does. So, that quest… dear lord I was UPSET. Not only because of the obvious, but just Amadis. I… I just can’t.

Sylens… as much as I hate his actions, I really like his character. The only thing I don’t understand is his reasoning and motives for not telling Aloy anything. Like, I hear them, I do understand them as motives, but I just fail to be convinced, if that makes sense. (Although his not so subtle warning to Aloy about Tilda was lovely). But, all in all, the thing I’m most excited for in a potential next game is actually them maybe working together??

HOO BOY let me talk about Nil for a second. It took me fucking forever to find this man in the forbidden west, and admittedly most of it is my fault for not wanting to do any racing side quests in games in general. They aren’t my thing and are very frustrating to me… and dear god playing the gauntlet runs??? Horrible. Even my PS5 was lagging terribly, which didn’t make it any better. Anyway, the second he walked on screen during the first gauntlet race introduction, I knew it was him. I could never mistake those steel gray eyes for anyone else. Skip to me finally winning that goddamn last race: omgomgomg dear lord omg. I don’t know what I was expecting, but goddamnit Nil stop being so attractive!!! And cute!!!! Like, was it only me thinking he looked so fucking cute?!?! Ahem… The whole interaction with him was amazing. I loved how he found something to sate his bloodlust and murder to something that wasn’t, ya know, outright murder lmao. (I was thinking the whole time that he would fit in really well with the Tenakth.) Maybe I care too much about Nil, but his hair! HAIR REVEAL!! I just…. Hwooo. Nil the loml.

Lastly, that amazing little hint of Gildun!!! I almost cried.

New main supporting characters!!!

Okay, so I watched the introductory cast video on youtube before playing HFW, and Noshir Dalal talked about his character, Kotallo, and how he really enjoyed him and thought that we would like him. Maybe it’s because I was expecting a likable character because of that video, but NAH. Kotallo is such a breath of fresh air?? Sure he didn’t fully understand or trust Aloy in the beginning, which is understandable, but the progression we see of him is just *chefs kiss*. 10/10 would sacrifice myself for Kotallo. I love his continuing drive and motivation to fight despite being shunned by the Tenakth for losing an arm. And his openness to learn of the old world tech? AMAZING. He is such a sweetheart, I love him SO SO MUCH.

I don’t know where to start with Zo. Her character is so beautiful in many ways. Her strength, stubbornness, perseverance, kindness, compassion; this list could go on and on. She cares so much for her people and the world, it’s honestly inspiring. Her excitement to learn more about the land-gods and of the old world in general makes me smile. Zo’s love is so strong; just as she is. In the end… her being able to get revenge on Erik was such a great parallel to Varl’s death, as heartbreaking as it was. She and Varl deserved so much better, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it. I really hope she gets to settle down with her child and live a loving and happy life at the end.

Alva, already coming from a place where the old world is revered, it was interesting to see her interacting with Aloy and GAIA’s existence. Her drive to learn more valuable information to save her people showed her cunningness and persistence. Not to mention, she’s fucking adorable and loveable. Alva’s character is so different from the rest that it’s almost overwhelming at times, but it’s a great dynamic.

Tilda is…. Interesting. I don’t really have much to say about her because she felt cold, despite her attempts at warmth. If that makes any sense. We find out that she is/was in love with Elisabet, and even with her for a time, which was lovely yet sad, because throughout the story we learn of Elisabet’s unwillingness to let people get close to her. I also really liked her rivalry and banter with Sylens lol. But the rest I’m not really sure what to say. She was helpful in regards to fighting the rest of the Far Zenith, but, as we all know, her motivations and her intentions were kept a secret from Aloy. The last boss fight tho?? I was shouting 'what the fuck' the entire time lmaooo

When Beta first showed up, I almost pissed myself. It was so weird seeing another Aloy/Elisabet clone. At first, it was easy to tell that she was uncomfortable and uneasy, which made me really want to save her from the Zeniths. But the logical part of her, with the intensive knowledge they forced her to learn, made her hard to interact with at first. I mean, who wouldn't be hard to talk to if they were completely isolated and forced to learn everything all their life? That's traumatic af. It was sad and frustrating, but I think that was the point. When Aloy was able to convince her to trust her, it was so heartwarming and relieving. Beta is very sweet, and I hope she also finds a peaceful, love-filled life if they survive Nemesis. (Plus the family/sister dynamic they chose for Aloy and Beta was so sweet.)

Main Story:

I’m not 100% sure what I was expecting when it came to the main storyline and what would happen, but it wasn’t this. I honestly did not consider the world and story to take this direction. Not to say it was bad, but I guess it wasn't in my scope which made me baffled? And those were my thoughts before getting to the end. That??? I– dude, what the fuck.

Like, up until the part of retrieving the GAIA backup, I was chillin’. But then BAM, he’s some creepy-ass alien-esque people who want to kill you :) Oh, and here’s another you.

Sidenote: the boss fights in this game were fun! I genuinely felt scared when we fought Erik the first time, because what the fuck was happening?!

Fetching the subordinate functions was cool, and I had a great time adventuring the world to do so. The Poseidon quest was really cool, especially when everything lit up at the end! Aether (I can’t not think of Genshin anymore, whoops) was also amazing, because we got to meet Hekarro and Kotallo and Dekka :)

Gotta be honest, the Quen tribe intimidate me, even with Ceo out of the mix. But I know it’s mostly because of him and the fact that they tried to kill me on sight. But they are chill afterwards and pretty respectful of Aloy after they see that she's... Sobeck.

The quest to get the Omega clearance fucked me up. I knew Ted Faro was a piece of shit fuck-up, but oh my god. Glad he’s finally dead, though it almost killed Aloy and Alva. A part of me is also glad they chose not to show us what he looked like. I don’t think we needed to see that; the hologram was enough.

So, uh, Gemini. Yeah, no. I’m gonna probably state the popular opinion here that Varl should not have died. I saw it coming when they started the sequence of him trying to fight Erik off, so I was bracing for it, but I was still dumbfounded that it actually happened. Other than to protect Aloy and the rest, his death feels like it served no purpose, narrative wise. (Unless it does have some other narrative significance that I can’t pinpoint at the moment that others can analyze, please enlighten me!) But, as of now, It felt like they killed him just to have someone die. And to have it been Varl??? I was honestly mad and fucking heartbroken. Especially since, here we have an immortal, highly advanced tech person to aid us, but somehow he still ends up dying? I feel like Tilda could've used some sort of tech to save him. But we know she probably wouldn’t have even if she could. And besides the dialogue options for the companions and the very sad scene with Zo, they really didn't give anyone time to grieve. Idk maybe I’m still letting my emotions speak for me, because it’s been hard to process all of this and I’m still upset.

I remember when I thought that potentially fighting a Horus was going to be our biggest problem. Boy, was I wrong. Again, I just didn’t think the scope of this game would be so big. If there’s a third game (probably not a DLC?), which I’m assuming they will make considering how they ended it, I can’t even begin to think how they’ll fight/defeat Nemesis. I have a few little ideas or speculations, but they're small and not very realistic/credible.

A small thing, but the only things I do not like are machine strike and the gauntlet runs, only because I hate strategy board games (because I’m bad at them and don’t want to learn them) and racing. I know others like it, and that’s totally fine and great. But the fact that I need to play machine strike for an achievement makes me see red. If only I wasn’t an achievement seeker, I’d be fine lmao.

Either way, Horizon: Zero Dawn/Forbidden West continues to be one of my favorite games of all time. The world, the characters, the story; everything is beautiful.

Forbidden West itself was a phenomenally made game. Despite the various bugs, it still remains as a great experience filled with improved and new mechanics. The gameplay is familiar enough from the first game, but has just enough new things to make it feel fresh and fun.

#hfw #hfw spoilers #horizon: forbidden west #hzd #aloy #erend #varl #my thoughts #please feel free to completely ignore lmao

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vickyvicarious · 3 years ago

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Leverage Redemption Pros/Cons List

Okay! Now that I've finally finished watching the first half of Leverage: Redemption, I thought I'd kind of sum up my overall impression. Sort of a pro/con list, except a little more just loosely structured rambles on each bullet point rather than a simple list.

This got way out of hand from what I expected so I'm going to put it all under a cut. If you want the actual bulletpoint list, here it is:

PROS

References

Continuity

Nate

Representation

Themes

New Characters

General Vibe

CONS

'Maker and Fixer'

Episode Twins

Sophie's Stagefright

Thiefsome

You might notice the pros list is longer, and that's because I do love the show! I really like most of what it does, and my gripes are fewer in number and mostly smaller in size. But they do exist and I felt like talking about them as well as the stuff I loved.

PROS

References

There is clearly so much love and respect for the original show here. Quite aside from the general situation, there's a lot of references to individual episodes or character traits from the first show. For example, Parker's comments on disliking clowns, liking puppets, disliking horses, stabbing vs. tasing people. The tasing was an ongoing thing in the original, the stabbing happened once (S1) but was referenced later in the original show, the clown thing only had a few mentions scattered across the entire original show. The puppet thing was mentioned once in S5, and the horses thing in particular was only brought up in S1 once. But they didn't miss the chance to put the nod to it in there; in fact with those alone we see a good mix of common/ongoing jokes and smaller details.

We got "dammit Hardison" and "it's a very distinctive..." but also Eliot and Parker arguing about him catering a mob wedding, and Eliot being delighted by lemon as a secret ingredient in a dish in that same episode (another reference to the mob episode). Hardison and Eliot banter about "plan M", an ongoing joke starting from the very first episode of the original show. We see Sophie bring up Hardison's accent in the Ice Job, Parker also makes reference to an early episode when describing "backlash effect" to Breanna, in an episode that also references her brother slightly if you look for it.

Heck, the last episode of these first eight makes a big deal out of nearly reproducing the iconic opening lines of the original show with Fake Nate's "we provide... an advantage." And I mean, all the "let's go steal a ___" with Harry being confused about how to use them.

Some of the lines are more obviously references to the original show, but they strike a decent balance with smaller or unspoken stuff as well, and also mix in some references between the team to events we the audience have never seen. If someone was coming into this show for the first time, they wouldn't get all the easter egg joy but most of the references would stand on their own as dialogue anyway. In general, I think they struck a good balance of restating needed context for new viewers while still having enough standalone good lines and more-fun-if-you-get-it callbacks.

Continuity

Similar to the last point, but slightly different. The characters' development from the original to now is shown so well. I'm not going to go on about this too long, but the writers clearly didn't want to let the original characters stagnate during the offscreen years. There was a lot of real thought put into how they would change or not.

It's really written well. We can see just how cohesive a team Parker, Hardison, and Eliot became. We get a sense of how they've spent their time, and there's plenty of evidence that they remained incredibly close with Sophie and Nate until this past year. The way everyone defers to Parker is different from the original show and clearly demonstrates how she's been well established as the leader for years now - they show this well even as Parker is stepping back to let Sophie take point in these episodes. Eventually that is actually called out by Sophie in the eighth episode, so we might see more mastermind Parker in the back half of the show, maybe. But even with her leading, it's clear how collaborative the team has become, with everyone bouncing ideas off one another and adding their input freely. Sometimes they even get so caught up they leave the newbies completely in the dust. But for the most part we get a good sense of how the Parker/Hardison/Eliot team worked with her having final say on plans but the others discussing everything together. A little bit more collaborative than it was with Nate at the helm.

Meanwhile Sophie has built a home and is deeply attached to it. She and Nate really did retire, at least for the most part, and she was living her happy ending until he died. She's out of practice but still as skilled as ever, and we're shown how much her grief has changed her and how concerned the others are for her.

There's a lot of emphasis on how they all look after one another and the found family is clearer than ever. Sophie even calls Hardison "his father's son" - clearly referring to Nate.

Nate

Speaking of Nate! They handled his loss so, so well. His story was the most complete at the end of the last show, and just from a narrative point, losing him makes the most sense of all the characters. But the way he dies and his impact on the show and the characters continues. It's very respectful to who he was - who he truly was.

Nate was someone they all loved, but he was a deeply flawed individual. Sophie talks about how he burned too hot, but at least he burned - possibly implying to me that his drinking was related to his death. In any case, there's no mystery to it. We don't know how he died but that's not what's most important about his death. This isn't a quest for revenge or anything... it's just a study of grief and trying to heal.

Back to who he really was real quick - the show doesn't eulogize him as better than he was. They're honest about him. From the first episode's toast they raise in his memory, to the final episode where Sophie and Eliot are deeply confused by Fake Nate singing his praises, the team knows who he was. They don't erase his flaws... but at the same time he was so clearly theirs. He was family, he was the man they trusted and loved and followed into incredibly dangerous situations, and whose loss they all still feel deeply.

That said, the show doesn't harp on this point. They reference him, but they don't overwhelm new viewers with a constant barrage of Nate talk. It always serves a purpose, primarily for Sophie's storyline of moving through her grief. Anyway, @robinasnyder said all of this way better than me here, so go read that as well.

Representation

Or should I say, Jewish Hardison, Autistic Parker, Queer Breanna!

Granted, Hardison's religion isn't quite explicitly stated to be Jewish so much as he mentions that his "Nana runs a multi-denominational household", but nonetheless. He gets the shows big thesis statement moment, he gets a beautiful speech about redemption that is the emotional cornerstone of that episode and probably Harry's entire arc throughout the show. And while I'm not Jewish myself, most of what I've seen from Jewish fans is saying that Hardison's words here were excellent representation of their beliefs. (@featherquillpen does a great job in that meta of contextualizing this with his depiction in the original show as well.)

Autistic Parker, however, is shown pretty dang blatantly. She already was very much coded as autistic in the original show, but the reboot has if anything gone further. She sees a child psychologist because she likes using puppets to represent emotions, she stims, she uses cue cards and pre-written scripts for social interactions, there's mention of possible texture sensitivity and her clothes are generally more loose and comfortable. She's gotten better at performing empathy and understanding how people typically work, but it's specifically described as something she learned how to do and she views her brain as being different from ones that work that way (same link). Again, not autistic myself but from what I've seen autistic fans find a lot to relate to in her portrayal. And best of all, this well-rounded and respectful depiction does not show any of these qualities as a lack on her part. There's no more of those kinda ableist comments or "what's wrong with you" jokes that were in the original show. Parker is the way she is, and that allows her to do things differently. She's loved for who she is, and any effort made to fit in is more just to know how so that she can use it to her advantage when she wants to on the job - for her convenience, not others' comfort.

Speaking of loved for who you are.... okay, again, queer Breanna isn't confirmed onscreen yet, and I don't count Word of God as true canon. But I can definitely believe we're building there. Breanna dresses in a very GNC way, and just her dialogue and, I dunno, vibes seem very queer to me. She has a beautiful speech in the Card Game Job about not belonging or being accepted and specifically mentions "the way they love" as one of those things that made her feel like she didn't belong. And that scene is given so much weight and respect. (Not to mention other hints throughout the episode about how much finding her own space meant to her.) Also, the whole theme of feeling rejected and the key for her to begin really flourishing is acceptance for who she is, not any desire for her to be anyone else, is made into another big moment. Yeah, textually that moment is about her feeling like she has to fill Hardison's shoes and worrying about her past, but the themes are there, man.

Themes

I talked a bit about this yesterday, so I'm mostly just going to link to that post, but... this series so far is doing a really good job in my opinion of giving people arcs and having some good themes. Namely the redemption one, from Hardison's speech (which I'm gonna talk a little more about in the next point), and this overall theme of growing up and looking to the future (from above the linked post).

New Characters

Harry and Breanna are fantastic characters. I was kind of worried about Harry being a replacement Nate, but... he really isn't. Sure, he's the older white guy who has an angsty past but it's in a very different way and his personality and relationships with the rest of the crew are correspondingly different. I think the dynamic of a very friendly, cheerful, kind, but still bad guy (as @soundsfaebutokay points out) is a great one to show, and he's got a really cool arc I think of learning to be a better person, and truly understanding Hardison's point about redemption being a process not a goal. His role on the team also has some interesting applications and drawbacks, as @allegorymetaphor talked about. I've kind of grown to think that the show is gradually building up to an eventual Sophie/Harry romance a ways down the line, and I'm actually here for it. Regardless, his relationships with everyone are really interesting.

As for Breanna, first of all and most importantly I love her. Secondly, I think she's got a really interesting story. She's a link to Hardison's past, and provides a really interesting perspective for us as someone younger who has grown up a) looking up to Leverage and b) in a bleaker and more hopeless world. Breanna's not an optimist, and she's not someone who was self-sufficient and unconcerned with the rest of the world at the start, like everyone else. She believes that the world sucks and she wants it to be better, but she doesn't know how to make that happen. She outright says she's desperate and that's why she's working with Leverage. At the same time, Breanna is pretty down on herself and wants to prove herself but gets easily shaken by mistakes or being scolded, which is a stark contrast to Hardison's general self-confidence. There are several times when she starts to have an idea then hesitates to share it, or expects her emotions to be dismissed, or gets really disheartened when she's corrected or rejected, or dwells on her mistakes, or when she is accepted or praised she usually takes a surprised beat and is shy about it (she almost always looks down and away from the person, and her smile is often small or startled). Breanna looks up to the team so much (Parker especially, then probably Eliot) and she wants to prove herself. It's going to be so good to see her grow.

General Vibe

A brief note, but it seems a fitting one to end on. The show keeps it's overall tone and feeling from the original show. The fun, the competency porn, the bad guys and clever plans and happy endings. It's got differences for sure, but the characters are recognizably themselves and the show as a whole is recognizably still Leverage. For the most part they just got the feeling right, and it's really nice.

CONS (no, not that kind)

'Maker and Fixer'

So when I started writing this meta earlier today, I was actually a lot more annoyed by the lack of unique 'maker' skills being shown by Breanna. Basically the only time she tries to use a drone, the very thing she introduced herself as being good at, it breaks instantly. I was concerned about her being relegated into just doing what Hardison did, instead of bringing her own stuff to the table. But the seventh episode eased some of those fears, and the meta I just wrote for someone else asking about Breanna's 'maker' skills as shown this season made me realize there's more nuance than that. I'd still like to have seen more of that from her, but for now the fact that we don't see a lot of 'maker' from her so far seems more like a character decision based in Breanna's insecurities.

Harry definitely gets more 'inside man' usage. His knowledge as a 'fixer' comes in handy several times. Nonetheless, I'm really curious if there are any bigger ways to use it, aside from him just adding in some exposition/insight from time to time. I'm not even entirely sure how much more they can pull from this premise in terms of relevant skills, but I hope there's more and I'd like to see it. Maybe a con built more around him playing a longer role playing his old self, like they tried in the Tower Job? Maybe it's more a matter of him needed distance from that part of his past, being unable to face it without lashing out - in that case it could be a good character growth moment possibly for him to succeed in being Scummy Lawyer again down the line? I dunno.

Episode Twins

This was something small that kind of bothered me a little earlier in the season. It's kind of the negative side to the references, I guess? And I'm not even sure how much it annoys me really, but I just kinda noticed and felt sort of weird about it.

Rollin' on the River has a lot of references/callbacks to the The Wedding Job.

The Tower Job has a lot of references/callbacks to The White Rabbit Job.

The Paranormal Hacktivity Job has a lot of references/callbacks to the Future Job.

I guess I was getting a little concerned that there would be a 'match this episode' situation where almost every new Redemption episode is very reminiscent of an old one. I love the callbacks, but I don't want to see a lack of creativity in this new show, and this worried me for a minute. Especially when it was combined with all three of those episodes dealing with housing issues of some kind. Now, that's a huge concern for a lot of people, and each episode has its own take on a different problem within that huge umbrella, but it still got me worried about a lack of variety in topics/cases.

The rest of the episodes failing to line up so neatly in my head with older episodes helped a lot to ease this one, though. Still, this is my complaining section so I figured I'd express my concerns as they were at the time. Even if I no longer really worry about it much.

Sophie's Stagefright

Yeah, I know this is just a small moment in a single episode, but it annoyed me! Eliot made a bit of a face at Sophie going onstage, but I thought it was just him being annoyed at the general situation. However, they started out with her being awful up there until she realized the poem was relevant to the con - at which point her reading got so much better.

This felt like a complete betrayal of Sophie's beautiful moment at the end of the original show where she got over her trouble with regular acting and played Lady Macbeth beautifully in front of a full theater of audience members. This was part of the con, but only in the sense that it gave her an alibi/place to hide, and I always interpreted it as her genuinely getting over her stagefright problems. It felt like such a beautiful place to end her arc for that show, especially after all her time spent directing.

Now, her difficulty onstage in the Card Game Job was brief and at the very beginning of being up on stage. @rinahale suggested to me that maybe it was a deliberate tactic to draw the guy's attention, and the later skill was simply her shifting focus to make the sonnet easier for Breanna to listen to and interpret, but he seemed more enraptured when she was doing well than otherwise in my opinion and it just doesn't quite sit well with me. My other theory was that maybe she just hasn't been up on stage in a long time, and much like she complaining about being rusty at grifting before the team pushed her into trying, she got nervous for a moment at the very beginning. The problem there is that I think she'd definitely still get involved in theater even when she and Nate were retired. I guess she could've quit after he died, and a year might be long enough to make her doubt herself again, but... still.

I just resent that they even left it ambiguous at all. Sophie's skills should be solid on stage at this point in my opinion.

Thiefsome

...And now we come to my main complaint. This is, by far, the biggest issue I have with the show.

I feel like I should put a disclaimer here that I had my doubts from the beginning about the thiefsome becoming canon onscreen. I thought the famous "the OT3 is safe" tweet could easily just mean that they are all still alive and well, or all still working together, without giving us confirmation of a romantic relationship. Despite this, the general fandom expectations/hopes really got to me, especially with the whole "lock/pick/key" thing. I tried to temper my expectations again when the character descriptions came out and only mentioned Hardison loving Parker, not Eliot, but I still got my hopes up.

The thing is, I was disappointed pretty quickly.

The very first episode told me that in all likelihood we would never see Hardison and Parker and Eliot together in a romantic sense. Oh, there was so much coding. So much hinting. So much in the way of conversations that were about Parker/Hardison's relationship but then Eliot kept getting brought into them. They were portrayed as a unit of three.

But then there was this.

I love all of those scenes of Parker and Hardison being intimate and loving and comfortable with one another and their relationship. I really do. But it didn't escape my notice that there's nothing of the sort with Eliot. If they wanted a canon onscreen thiefsome, it would by far make the most sense to just have it established from the start. But there aren't any scenes where Eliot shares the same kind of physical closeness with either of them like they do each other. Parker and Hardison kiss; he doesn't kiss anyone. They have several clearly romantic conversations when alone; he gets important conversations with both but the sense of it being romantic isn't there.

Establishing Eliot as part of the relationship after Hardison is gone just... doesn't make any sense. It would be more likely to confuse new viewers, to make them wonder if Parker is cheating on Hardison with Eliot, or if they have a Y shaped relationship rather that a triangle. It would be so much clumsier.

Still, up until the Double-Edged-Sword Job I believed the writers might keep it at this level of 'plausible hinting but not quite saying'. There's a lot of great stuff with all of them, and I never expecting making out or whatever anyway; a cheek-kiss was about the height of my hopes to be honest. I mostly just hoped for outright confirmation and, failing that, I was happy enough to have the many hints and implications.

But then Marshal Maria Shipp came along. And I don't really have anything against her as a character - in fact, I think she has interesting story potential and will definitely come back. But the episode framed her fight with Eliot as a sexyfight TM, much like his fight with Mikel back in the day. And then his flirting with her rode the line a little of "he's playing her for the con" and "he's genuinely flirting." The scene where he tells her his real name is particularly iffy, but actually was the one that convinced me he was playing her. Because he seems to be watching her really closely, and to be very concerned about her figuring out who he really is. I am very aware though that I'm doing a lot of work to interpret it the way I want. On surface appearance, Eliot's just flirting with an attractive woman, like he did on the last show. And that's probably the intention, too.

But the real nail in the coffin for me was when Sophie compared herself and Nate to Eliot and Maria. That was a genuine scene, not the continuation of the teasing from before. And Sophie is the one whose insight into people is always, always trustworthy. She is family to the thiefsome. For this to make any sense, either Eliot/Parker/Hardison isn't a thing, or they are and Sophie doesn't know - and I can't imagine why in the hell she wouldn't know.

Any argument to make them still canon leaves me unsatisfied. If she knows and they haven't admitted it to her - why wouldn't they, after all this time? Why would she not have picked up on it even without an outright announcement? Some people suggested they wouldn't admit it because they thought Nate would be weird about it, but that doesn't seem any more in character to me than the other possibilities. In fact, the only option that doesn't go against my understanding of these people and their observational abilities/the close relationship they share.... is that the thiefsome is not a thing.

And furthermore, the implication of this conversation - especially the way it ended, with Eliot stomping off looking embarrassed while Sophie smiled knowingly - is that Eliot will get into another relationship onscreen. Maybe not a full-blown romantic relationship. But the Maria Shipp tension is going to be resolved somehow, and at this point I'm half-expecting a hook-up simply because of Sophie's reaction and how much I trust her judgement of such things. Even if she's letting her grief cloud her usual perceptiveness... it feels iffy.

It just kinda feels like I wasn't even allowed to keep my "interpret these hints/maybe they are" thiefsome that I expected after the first couple episodes convinced me we wouldn't get outright confirmation. (I mean, I will anyway, and I love the hints and allusions regardless.) And while I'm definitely not the kind of fan who is dependent on canon for my ships, and still enjoy all their interactions/will keep right on headcanoning them all in a relationship, it's just.... a bummer.

Feels like a real cop-out. Like the hints of Breanna being queer are enough to meet their quota and they won't try anything 'risky' like a poly relationship. I dunno. It's annoying.

That's the end of the list! Again, overall I love the new show a lot and have few complaints.

#leverage #leverage redemption #leverage spoilers #leverage meta #my meta #this turned into a BIG ol ramble #i planned to write like a couple of sentences for each point but noooo

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stardusttandstories · 4 years ago

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“Don’t go to Hill Top Road again.” aka Lines That Already Hit Different In Hindsight That I’m Sure Will Destroy Me Tomorrow

(mostly under the cut because i decided to relisten to all the web statements to prime myself for whatever pain jonny has in store for tomorrow

“Can you be haunted by the ghost of a spider that destroyed your childhood?”

- Arachnophobia

“I was returning to Hill Top Road, no matter what I might feel about it. Choice didn’t even come into it. The door was unlocked when I returned, and the house was quiet. My eyes darted around, looking for anyone who might be able to tell me what was going on, why the fine threads that pulled me through my life had dragged me back here. But I was alone.”

- Recluse

“The first of the dark powers to touch me, perhaps, but it did not claim me.”

- A Guest For Mr. Spider

“The feeling I have been living with my whole life, that if that poor idiot hadn’t gotten involved he would still be alive. A strange conviction that, if I had been able to face that thing myself, maybe I could have saved him. Stopped it.”

- A Guest For Mr. Spider

“What struck him about it, though, was the utter absence of anything resembling a hero or protagonist. No one fought against the monster. And although there were vignettes in the lives of those under the spider’s shadow, they all ended the exact same way: with the character in question marching slowly and calmly into its waiting jaws.”

- Creature Feature

“But you know better than anyone how the spiders can get into your head. Easier to just do what she asks.”

- Far Away

“He wouldn’t be breaking any contract, and the client hardly ever even gets in touch. There is no reason he couldn’t just walk away, but I honestly don’t think he ever will. And I really don’t know how it’s going to end for him.”

- Web Development

“I resisted for some time, but I’m done now. She’s won. And I’d - very much like to go home.”

- The Puppeteer

“I’m stronger now, tougher, I can - If I do die, now, or get sealed away somewhere forever? I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. And I don’t want to lose anyone else, so if I can maybe - stop that happening, and the only danger is to me, I - I’ll do it in a heartbeat; worst case scenario, the universe loses another monster.”

- The Puppeteer

“[…] a string pulled by the Ceaseless Watcher or the Mother of Puppets? Or both?”

- Weaver

“But by then you’re away; the roller coaster is dropping, and you’ve no real choice but to hold on and hope that – I don’t crash you.”

- Weaver

“I’ve simply been… watching. I’m sure you understand that. Maybe I’ve occasionally been nudging something here and there to keep you safe, to keep everything on track. But I know you’ve been more worried about your choices, about whether you’re being controlled by me, or by the Mother. So I thought perhaps I should leave a little something to reassure you that, yes, your actions and choices have all been your own. […] if you choose to believe in a free will, then yes: All you have done has been of your own free will. They have all been your choices.”

- Weaver

“I will simply say that – when a spider reaches a certain size, it is often not entirely made up of spider anymore.”

- Weaver

“…if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Web, it’s that it plays its own game. All you can really do is hope it doesn’t get in the way of whatever your plan is. Because the Spider usually wins.”

- Extended Surveillance

“And certainly the Spider smoothed things, elided questions, wiped away evidence, but it barely had to. Far better to feed Gertrude a steady string of plans to foil and rituals to derail.”

- Curiosity

“W-Without trust. W-Without a reason. Gertrude needed both the purpose her mission gave her and the control her position allowed. To be here, like us, without a – a reason, without someone to ground her? She – She’d have power, but – no control. No real purpose. Perhaps she’d have dedicated herself to a d-doomed quest like us but – (quieter, contemplative) No. I think this would have broken her. And she’d have resigned herself to – ruling her domain.”

- Curiosity

“THE SPIDER, offstage: “Then walk away, Francis, just turn and leave. All that is required is a little bit of willpower. You have a little bit of willpower, don’t you?” […] FRANCIS simply screams in response. It is a scream of anger as much as it is of pain, and it cannot hide the dreadful inevitability they feel. The dull terror that this act will end like all the others.”

- Strung Out

“There is no escape to be found here, no respite from the charade that is now found to be the sum of FRANCIS’s existence. By now, FRANCIS knows with utter clarity what falling to the call will bring, the awful crawling fate that they will endure before the next act eventually begins.”

- Strung Out

Shoutout and thank you to @tmatranscripts because there was no way I could type fast enough to note these as i listened but copy paste is a wonderful thing!

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #the web #catch me vibrating with excitement and fear

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sullustangin · 3 years ago

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Darth Marr and Satele Shan: Names and Priorities

I’ve reached the point in my Yavin fic that I’m starting to use Marr’s POV on occasion. One of the things I’ve been chewing on (likely to the annoyance of others) has been the Marr-Satele-Theron dynamic during the Yavin 4 op. It’s clear that Satele and Marr have put aside differences and have become friends (as much as a Force ghost and a self-exiled Jedi Master can be friends) by Chapter 12 of KotFE.

I give credit to @swtorpadawan for posting about Satele on Yavin 4 a few months ago and being willing to have continued discourse about the post -- thank you. In comments and reblogs, there’s been discussion about how to interpret Satele’s references to Theron during the op and her motivations for why she does this.

This is a spin-off of that post, since I’ll be focusing more on the dynamic between Marr and the Shans instead of Theron and Satele.

During the Yavin op, Theron is consistently referred to as Theron, not as Agent Shan or as Shan. The issue of his last name is avoided. A few people (including me) have the headcanon that ‘Shan’ is a common name in the galaxy, like Smith or Patel or Garcia would be on our world; two people named Shan does not a family connection make, necessarily. It would explain why Theron doesn’t have a code name (though he jokingly? complains about it on first meeting).

And yet, Satele avoids using the name in reference to Theron. So does Marr. And Theron doesn’t insist on being referred to by his last name, even though his peer, Lana Beniko, is referred to as ‘Beniko’ by Marr. (Satele never addresses Lana using her name.)

Why the dance?

Honestly, when I try to reverse-engineer dev!logic, in terms of the game design for Yavin 4, I’d guess it was done to help the player differentiate between Grand Master Shan and Agent Shan. And maybe that’s all it is: calling Theron “Theron” just keeps the player from getting confused, especially if the player isn’t a Jedi and doesn’t know Satele; and/or skipped the Forged Alliances quests and thus doesn’t know Theron.

Within the universe, however, what’s an explanation a player can come up with?

The Spies in Question

Theron’s name was broadcast across the galaxy as a wanted man for killing Colonel Darok. He was to be apprehended on sight, but Theron was a spy; spy agencies to this day rarely let any images of their active duty agents be circulated, even if they do go rogue or defect to the other side. Theron’s image in direct connection to his name and job as SIS agent would be on a need-to-know basis. This has led me to headcanon that Director Trant was well-aware of Theron going off the grid; in fact, he aided and abetted it.

Lana, on the other hand, was a known member of the Sphere of Military Offense. She commanded troops on Hoth. She had a known face, and there was an Imperial bounty contract on her head, per Theron at Manaan. If anything, Lana was in as much danger as Jakarro; someone could try to claim the bounty on her head, since the bounties weren’t lifted til the end of the Yavin op.

And yet, Theron’s name was the unspeakable one.

Satele and Theron

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I feel that the dynamic between Theron and Satele is not that of son and mother; both of them have gotten past that decision. Rather, it’s more similar to a child who was given up for adoption looking for some sort of acknowledgement from his birth family -- it’s not love. It’s not approval. It’s.... complicated. Acknowledgement of existence. Acknowledgement that the decision had impact on Theron well beyond his first year of life. Acknowledgement that Satele hurt Jace.

I’ve interpreted Theron’s bristling at the use of the term “my agent” to be more directed at the possessiveness of the word, yet how far apart they still are, despite the biological connections. Technically, Yavin 4 was the first time they worked on an op together. This was their first professional collaboration. They haven’t seen each other socially, they can’t talk about their issues/relationship/whatever.....and they have to save the galaxy together.

Giving up Theron doesn’t mean Satele felt nothing. She privately struggles with what she did and how it turned out -- still does, based on 6.2. However, she, like Jace and Theron, believe in serving the cause at great personal cost. Seeing Theron beat to hell after Rishi bothered her -- it would bother anyone with any sense of compassion (which she does have). Theron got the beatdown he did because he was taken by the Revanites. Revan attempted to convince Theron to join him on Yavin 4 by invoking the idea that they are flesh and blood -- family.

Pretty sure Revan wasn’t talking about the Malcom side. Satele knew that. Was there a sense of protectiveness for Theron because of what happened immediately before Yavin 4? I think so, yes, but it’s not motherly.

Theron’s experience on Rishi probably made Satele hyperaware that if Theron was of interest to the Revanites, then the Empire would doubly interested in Theron if they knew that he was not only an heir of Revan, but that the Grand Master of the Jedi Order was his biological mother. Referring to him as “my agent” may be Satele’s way to avoid using any part of his name on Yavin 4.

I’m willing to bet, regardless of any efforts to ignore or conceal Theron’s name, that Marr quickly figured out that the agent who managed to outfox Revan, resist torture, get Marr’s attention, and unravel an intergalactic conspiracy was something special to the Republic. Odds were that this agent had acted against the Empire.

Marr would be interested.

The History of Darth Marr and Satele Shan

Prior to Yavin 4, Marr and Satele had most recently squabbled over Makeb in the Hutt Cartel expansion through their various operatives. When Marr saw Satele on the Imp side Battle of Rishi, he bowed. He respected her and she respected him. I didn’t get any other impression from their interactions. They saw each other as equals, though on rival sides; that creates tension, since a fight between them would be a draw or mutually assured destruction. It’s highly likely they fought against each other in the previous Galactic War (which I’ll talk about below).

Marr was born in 3702 BBY, Satele in 3699 BBY. They’re about the same age, and they ascended almost equally quickly when the Sith returned in 3681 -- Satele is 18, Marr is 21. I have spoken about how Satele and Jace (who seems to be somewhere between 16 and 20 in the trailer) were essentially just kids when the conflict started. So was Marr.

The big difference, in terms of how their characters are constructed, is that we have the end product of Marr. Period. We don’t know what his name was before he took on the name ‘Darth Marr.’ We know nothing about his family, his relationships, his struggles. As Marr said later to the player in KotFE, he wanted to be a symbol to the Empire. Marr did not let himself be just a man.

Darth Marr is not the singular leader of the Sith. Marr is the head of the Sphere of Defense of the Empire for decades, and as of the Battle of Corellia and the death of Darth Decimus, he also becomes the head of the Sphere of Military Strategy. With 2 of Military Spheres in his grasp, Marr was the de facto leader of the armed forces of the Sith Empire. The Sphere of Military Offense passed from Baras to Arho and then to Arkous after Ilum. When Arkous is killed by the player’s character, there is no indication as to who was the next head; that Sphere is never spoken of again in-game. We may assume Marr took hold of that. Either way, he has become the de facto leader of the Sith Empire. His voice, his robes and mask -- immediately recognizable to the whole galaxy.

The creators of content for SWTOR took the opposite approach to Satele. We can read about how her mother Tasiele was forced into exile when Satele was still a child. We meet Satele at 18 in a SWTOR trailer during the first Sith incursion at Korriban. We see her in comics fighting against the Empire. We see her at the Battle of Alderaan against Malgus. In Annihilation,we see bits and pieces of her falling in love with Jace Malcom and hoping she doesn’t get too attached... until a pair of permanent complications occur in 3667 BBY: Jace was severely maimed in the Battle of Alderaan, and Satele got pregnant. Jace’s injuries made him a much harder person than the soldier Satele met in 3681 BBY; he scared her with his hatred of the Empire.

I’ll take a moment here to say that Satele wasn’t dumb or naive when she made the decision about Theron. Satele was at least 32 years old, possibly 33 by the time Theron was born in 3666 BBY. She wasn’t a teen having a knee-jerk “oh noes, he’s evil” moment. She had been in a constant state of war for 15 years when she got pregnant. It’s in that context that Satele was concerned that Jace’s hatred could drag their child to the Dark Side... but also, Satele’s love for her child would make it impossible for her to serve the Republic without a second thought. She couldn’t fight and die for the Republic if she was always preoccupied with coming home to her baby.

So she let Theron go. She had other adventures. She was at the Treaty of Coruscant. Satele founded Tython. She became the Grand Master of her order.

We don’t get any of that pathos or glory with Marr. Marr IS. Marr is the Empire. He is the best of them. He has been, is, and will be.

The odds are pretty good that Marr and Satele met each other in combat, directly or indirectly. The bow on Imp side Rishi is a big thing for me that points to that. Also, look at their responsibilities during the last war. Marr was responsible for not only defending Korriban and what would become the Imperial core, but also any gains the Sith made over time against the Republic. That’s the job of the Sphere of Defense of the Empire; taking planets was somebody else’s rodeo, not Marr’s. His job was to defend... something the Imperial people living on these planets would love him for. He was their protector against brutish Republic troops and their systemic corruption.

Satele was responsible for winning those territories back; we see her on counter-strikes against the Sith. Satele is cast as the liberator of people imperiled by the spreading Sith Empire, not a conqueror taking new territory. Marr probably had to defend against Satele at least once in their careers, possibly multiple times. If she was absent from the front lines for any period of time, Marr would have noticed; he had to anticipate the next move of Republic counterstrikes as part of his job.

And indeed, Satele was absent for an extended period. How long Satele was absent from the battlefield due to her pregnancy, we don’t know. Satele did continue her battlefield duties for “months” after she found out. The only information we have about post-partum Satele is that she stopped visiting Baby Theron at 6 months old, according to Lost Suns. I don’t think she could just skip off at random while in command, so I think she probably was off the battlefield at least 10 months (last 4 months of her pregnancy, 6 months post-partum), possibly as long as 18 months, since Gnost-Dural reports she was assigned to duty with the Republic Navy at some point in 3665 BBY. She did give birth on a random planet in a cave, so she didn’t exactly have the best medical care immediately. Maybe there were complications. Maybe she did show early. We don’t know.

Regardless of the timeline, Marr would have been paying attention. Marr would have noticed when Satele Shan stopped fighting for the Republic. Where was she? What was she doing? Was this part of a greater plot by the Republic? What were they planning? And when Satele did return, he may well have wondered what she had been up to. But no matter; she had returned. Marr had to be ready.

There’s no obvious indication in the game as to when Marr figures out Satele and Theron are mother and son. He makes no comment to indicate that he knew before Rishi. Based on Marr’s dialogue in game on the Imperial side, he heavily suggests that he knows who Theron is by the time Iven, the former commandant of the Imperial Guard, is taken into custody and it’s time to interrogate him. Satele objects to Marr’s plans to torture Iven. “And what do you think your agent has done in the Republic’s name?” is Marr’s response.

The delivery of ‘your agent’ is indicative that Marr knows.

Theron himself stated at the end of the Imp side romance that if he was indeed recruited by the player to join the Empire, people would be suspicious that he’d be working for his mother. That would have to include Darth Marr.

Personally, I would guess that the after-action reports from Lana and Theron would have some clues for Marr. However, once Theron had healed up from the Rishi events, Marr may well have taken one look at Theron standing next to Satele, and then had an epiphany so immense it gave him a headache that Lana felt across the compound. There’s the answer. That’s why she disappeared for almost two years, twenty-nine years ago. Theron Shan.

(According to Jace in Annihilation, Theron has some similar features to his mother. He doesn’t specify which ones.)

The Lie of Omission

A lie of omission is permitting an inaccuracy or a falsehood to continue to circulate without correction, even though the person knows the truth. (In contrast, a lie of commission is when you actively make something up or contribute to the lie -- you commit the act lying.) Marr signals he knows who Theron is by the time Iven is retrieved from the Imperial Guard training facility on Yavin, but he never says the name Theron Shan out loud. It’s simply “the agent” “your agent” or “Theron.” But not Agent Shan.

The use of “Theron” in the Pubside story is most eyebrow-raising.

Marr calls people by their titles. Marr always keeps professional distance. Underlings are uniformly referred to by their titles. Lana doesn’t like titles, so Marr doesn’t refer to her as Lord Beniko or Darth whatever; it’s just Beniko.

Calling someone by their first name is highly irregular. He does not refer to Satele as such until 6.2 (and that might be the Socratic Problem of Marr in the player’s memory rather than the real Marr). It’s always Grand Master or Grand Master Shan. In a unique instance in the game, Marr calls Theron by his given name when he finds the Imperial Guard’s buildings in ruins during the Pubside story: “But given the destruction Theron describes, it’s mostly likely a distress call.” This is before the Pub operative annoys Marr by going to the Imperial Guard facility by themselves; it’s not said in anger or in irritation. It’s said under ‘normal’ circumstances (if circumstances on Yavin are normal at all).

But why? Why not “Agent Shan”? That would differentiate him from Grand Master Shan. Just referring to the pair as Grand Master and Agent would work too; how many Grand Masters and SIS Agents are running around on Yavin 4? Why is Marr avoiding attention to the man’s last name?

And why doesn’t Marr hop on this and use it to the Empire’s advantage?

Pragmatism and Prioritization

Marr is not a Jedi. Marr doesn’t do things for the greater good. He does things for the Sith Empire and for the people of the Sith Empire. Offing Theron Shan? Definitely on the agenda. So is killing Satele, eventually.

But not now. Not on Yavin 4.

Marr is probably the person closest to knowing what Revan is going to try to do in order to make the Emperor take physical form again so he can kill him. It’s going to involve a lot of dead people. That can easily happen; up until this tiny fragile cease fire between Marr and Satele, the Empire and the Republic have been engaged in a hot war. When they first make camp on Yavin, there is a real possibility they’ll frag each other regularly. This is why players have to do daily quests, in theory -- to build good will between the factions.

My partner is a military nerd and a Star Wars nerd. He watched both version of the Battle of Rishi. His conclusion: based on the ships we see, Marr had more than twice the number of troops that Satele did (I put the numbers in my Yavin 4 fic). The Imperial troops, at Marr’s word, probably could wipe out the Republic forces on Yavin 4, pack up, and head back to Dromund Kaas in time for tea.

But they won’t. Marr wouldn’t permit it.

He knows how dangerous the Emperor is, and if he does let his troops kill the Pubs, they feed him. There also appears to be some sort of weird mystical thing going on with Revan’s bloodline. Revan knew highly personal information about Theron (and Theron says so when the player opens the temple later on); somehow, Theron was able to use that connection to get Revan to give up Yavin 4 and secure an invite there at the end of the Rishi op.

Marr knows about this. Marr doesn’t know what Revan would do if Marr did kill Theron or Satele, plus there’s the more predictable possibility that the Republic would respond to the death of Satele Shan thanks to the Jedi feeling it through the Force. Chancellor Saresh would not let that opportunity pass by, even if it did feed the Emperor; we saw that at Ziost.

Grand Master Shan is a public figure. Her name and her power is obvious to everyone in the Yavin camp. Theron, however, is everything his mother is not. He is a spy. His face is not known to the general public. His work is secret, his exact abilities unknown.

Sure, the last name is common enough....

But Theron and Satele have never worked together before. They’ve never operated in such close proximity before. Yavin 4 would be the first time all the pieces could fall into place to someone observant. Marr is many things, but one of the things he really gets annoyed about in regard to the Sith is their arrogance. They get such fat heads that they can’t see obvious danger or they overlook aliens and non-Force Sensitives to their own detriment.

Marr isn’t arrogant.

He doesn’t think he’s the only one who can see a family similarity or sense some connection between them. Saying someone’s name is a powerful thing; we get upset when someone screws up our name. It’s how our attention is attracted. Shared last names of interesting people attract attention. Attention leads to distraction away from the primary goal of stopping Revan and the Emperor.

That’s something Marr doesn’t want to deal with right now. Revan and Emperor now. The Shans later. He avoids referring to Theron as “Shan” so as to reduce any chance that some young Sith will attempt to make their bones killing Theron, since that would spell doom for the Empire, whether through Revan’s anger or the Republic’s revenge. It would also help empower the Sith Emperor to retake physical form, which is the last thing Marr wants him to do.

Exposing the Grand Master as having a secret son would remove an ally from the field for Marr; Marr doesn’t want to destroy his assets before he’s used them to their full ability. There’s no point in burning Satele Shan on Yavin 4 before Revan is dealt with.

...And Marr respects her. It’s a cheap way to win against a rival he knows to be his equal.

Marr wants to end Revan and the Emperor now, in that order, to defend the people of the Empire. He’ll worry about the Shans later. Marr will let Theron’s last name be overlooked and unmentioned, if only because it makes his job as Defender of the Empire less complicated for a few months.

Thanks again to @swtorpadawan and also @inyri @shabre-legacy @theniveanlegacy for discussing the original post about Satele and Theron and making me think about this.

Headcanon Postface:

This last bit is purely my headcanon ideas about Marr, so you can leave here if you so desire. I’m placing them here rather than making a separate post and having to link back to this one.

As I’ve described previously, we have the finished product of Darth Marr, with none of the personal insight that was provided for Satele Shan. Who’s under the mask? Nobody knows, really. His first comic book adventure takes place in 3678, when he’s about 24 years old. There’s nothing about his life beforehand that would let the player wonder how his past life affected his current decisions. Marr ultimately would do the best he could for the Empire, regardless, but knowing if he ever hesitated, ever had second thought, had a regret -- that would make him mortal.

And Marr is an icon, not a man, in the grander SWTOR universe, per the writers. That’s the point driven home to the player. So that leaves it to fan fic to take off the mask or not.

In “The Planter of Trees and Other Tales from Yavin 4,” Marr comes to this conclusion about the Shans’ relationship after observing two Shan chins. He then alludes to understanding Satele’s decision to conceal Theron’s existence.

After Marr had gained his seat on the Dark Council (late 3680s, early 3670s), a lot of Sith families wanted him to add to their prestige. The man needed a legacy; he needed heirs. Marr had already set himself on his path, however; he understood that it was better to be an icon. If Marr was a normal man, he would be weakened by family connections, love, protectiveness, concern for his personal future. Instead, Marr’s devotion to the Empire was unmatched and pure. In the public’s eye, he was the great defender. He was the perfect Sith.

Marr never did have a public wife or a political marriage. His private life -- better secured than Imperial state secrets -- produced a daughter that did not inherit her talents from her Force-Using parent. Marr had been relieved that his daughter was not like him. It meant she would never be pressured to come into public life. It meant she was free of the burden of his legacy.

Lately, I’ve considered that, regardless of having access to the Force or not, a child of Marr was always in danger of becoming a pawn. She was something Marr’s enemies could use against him, if they ever found out about her; being Force-Null simply meant that others could not detect her as easily. That may have also have been a concern of Satele in regard to Theron, especially as she rose through the ranks of the Jedi Order. As soon as Marr could let his daughter fly away from Dromund Kaas, he did. She was free.

She died shortly before the Sack of Coruscant. Marr did not go to her. The Empire had to matter more. That doesn’t mean he didn’t love her. He just never could prioritize her over the Empire.

In my fic universe, Marr understands Satele’s choices. He can keep his mouth shut. For now.

Theron is far more dangerous to the rival faction than Marr’s daughter ever was, however; he is an active player in the war, while she... just got caught in the middle, in the end....

Revan and Emperor now. Shans later.

#swtor #shadow of revan #darth marr #satele shan #revan #theron shan #lana beniko #swtor fan fiction #headcanon #pragmatic sith

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bunnyywritings · 4 years ago

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true love’s kiss

tenya iida x gn!reader

word count: 1.5k

requested by @coleluuviida : So may I request a iida tenya x gn! reader? The plot I want is where reader likes reading a lot of books and comics, they will read romance, action, horror, etc. So then one day reader and the dekusquad are eating lunch together, reader was quick eating their lunch so that they can continue reading their book but then iida ask about what their reading and reader go on and on how, and why they like the story with passion iida was listen with joy even the dekusquad are listening in. After that reader let iida borrow their book the rest is up to your imagination!

[a/n: thank you so much for trusting me with your request sweetheart!! i’m sorry it took so long but here it is, i hope you enjoy! I kinda got carried away...it’s been a while since i’ve properly written so i apologize if it’s not very good :/ without further adieu, here’s some adorable iida content cause he’s the best and deserves the world - yours truly, bunnyy -`ღ´-]

It was never strange to see you with your nose buried in between the pages of a book. Your friends found it endearing.Some people, literally just Bakugou, found it a bit ridiculous.

Denki and Kirishima made a game out of it. They would bet on the genre you were reading purely based on your reactions alone. If your cheeks ever got flushed and your eyes wide, 10/10 it was probably a cheesy romance manga. If your brows were furrowed and your bottom lip was caught between your teeth, it was a mystery novel. A forlorn look in your eyes ment it was some type of magical book with Knights, Wizards, and Dragons (oh my!)

But somebody in particular, albeit enamored by your love of literature, was also concerned.

Iida was in your group of friends and so he had witnessed first hand your obsession with finishing a book. Sometimes you wouldn't eat during lunch because you were so enthralled and when he did get you to eat something, you raced to finish your food so you could grab your book once more and pick up where you left off. You weren't much of a talker and no one at the table really minded your lack of conversation and let you be.

However, this time around, it was different. Iida noticed the bags under your eyes and knew that you hadn't been sleeping. You had been engaging in class and you were keeping up with your studies but the second you guys were allowed a break or you all were let out for lunch, you picked up your book and resumed reading.

Even as you walked with them to the cafeteria, your eyes hadn't left the page. You had your book in one hand and your other was gripping the end of Shoto's blazer, leading you to where you needed to go.

"It must be a really good one this time." Kirishima muttered to Denki, both watching in amusement as you were being led around by a nonchalant Shoto.

So as you sat at the lunch table, Iida watched in concern. Even with your favorite food in front of you, you still hadn't put the book down. As much as he hated what he was about to do, he just couldn't do nothing.

"(Y/n), as much as I hate to disrupt your reading...I must know, is a book really more important than sleep? Or more important than eating a healthy meal?"

All conversation came to a screeching halt. No one had ever really disrupted your reading before...so no one knew what to expect when Iida spoke up. The seconds were tense as they ticked by and as you moved your hand, they all held their breath, but instead of bookmarking your page, your finger deftly slipped under the corner of the page and turned to the next one.

"Huh...they didn't even hear you." Ochako giggled.

Sighing, Iida reached over and placed his hand flat on the pages, successfully obstructing your view of the letter on the pages.

"(Y/n)..."

Normally, you'd be a slight bit annoyed that someone had interrupted you but it was Iida. Sweet, sweet Iida.

"Oh. Sorry." Your cheeks burned in embarrassment, "I must've not heard you. What's wrong?"

Iida sighs.

“I'm just concerned, is all. What's got you so interested?"

"You really want to know?" He noticed how your eyes twinkled with excitement.

"Yes, I really want to know."

And with that, you went off on a whole tangent.

Explaining the story from the very beginning. Giving character description with wild and elaborate hand gestures. Even going as far as adding sound effects to fight scenes. This was nothing new for Shoto or Midoriya. They had often asked about the stories you read and quite enjoyed hearing you re-tell them. Shoto never had anyone tell him bedtime stories but he assumes

this is what they would've been like.

Iida was stunned. Absolutely stunned. He's never seen you speak about something so passionately, other than the time he had asked you why you wanted to be a hero.

So as you went on and explained what you've been reading, he felt himself fall even more. He was intently listening.

You had been reading a rom-com style, action book about two knights going on a quest to slay a dragon to break an evil curse. There were wizards and mystical forest creatures. Once you finished, you had asked if he wanted to read it once you were done.

Now...this wasn't really Iida's cup of tea. Don't get him wrong, he loves sitting and enjoying a book but fantasy books

aren't really his style.

"So..? Would you want to read it? Ya' know, see for yourself?" The look in your eyes was absolutely adorable, he couldn't possibly say no.

"S-Sure, I'd love to borrow it."

He wasn't too worried though, you still had a few chapters to go and surely you'd forget about it.

Boy was he wrong.

As he was getting ready for bed, the knock on his door confused him. Upon opening the door, there you stood in your pajamas

with the book tightly clutched in your hands.

"Sorry I took so long but here you go. Let me know what you think." You had an excited smile playing on your lips.

"Oh...thank you." He reached out and took the book from your outstretched grasp.

He read through the first chapter before going to bed, slightly intrigued.

It took him about a month to read, maybe a little longer since he definitely took breaks and focused more on school than anything...but eventually, he finished.

You had been hanging out in the common room when Iida had walked in, book in hand. It took you a while to notice since you had been buried in another .

“Oh, hey Iida!” Ochako grinned.

You turned and took notice of what was in his possession and your smile grew.

“You finished! What’d you think?”

“Uhm well, it was quite...quite interesting-” He was fumbling with his words, something that’s a bit unusual for him.

“Oh...you didn’t like it?” your face fell and his heart dropped a little.

“No, no! What I mean is that-!”

“It’s okay, you can be honest. It’s not for everyone.”

“I did like it but there’s something that I didn’t quite understand. Why would they risk leaving the magma gem? From my understanding, it would’ve given them the abilities needed to slay the dragon.” The complete and utter confusion on his face was adorable.

“Come on, Ingenium!” You chuckled quietly. “If they had gotten the gem, they wouldn’t have been able to save their partner. Remember, sometimes the best strategy is to run and get help instead of fighting a fight that you can’t win.”

“But they didn’t even slay the dragon!”

“They didn’t because that wasn’t needed to break the curse. The only way to break the curse was with true love’s kiss.”

“That’s not very logical. How would that break a deadly curse?”

“Don’t underestimate the power of love, Iida. It’s quite strong.”

Upon hearing those words he looked up from the book and into your eyes...had they always been that mesmerizing? His heart hammered in his chest as he parted his lips to speak once more.

“W-would you show me?” This was a big leap of faith for him. He had confided in Midoriya a while ago when he realized his feelings for you, and ever the observant one, Midoriya had a feeling that you felt the same way. There had been multiple times where he had caught you gazing longingly at the class rep.

Now you...you were stunned. Your cheeks had flushed red and your mouth was agape. Taking your silence as a rejection, he swallowed the lump in his throat and shook his head.

“I apologize, that was quite forward of me. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” He placed the book down on the couch and got up. Once he turned away from you, you had realized that the words in your head never left your mouth so you reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“Wait…” your voice was barely above a whisper but he heard you and turned back around. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable, I’m just surprised that you feel the same way I do.”

There was a small silence that followed but your body seemed to move on its own. You held his face in your hands, the feeling of your thumbs gently caressing his cheekbones sent the butterflies into a frenzy.

“Can I still kiss you?” Your voice was hesitant, quiet, and it made him smile, gazing into your eyes with such a fondness that it made your stomach do flips.

“Yes...please.”

That was all you needed before leaning in, his eyes and yours fluttered shut as your lips met. Both of you were unsure but he trusted you and you trusted him. The feeling of his lips moving languidly with yours was absolutely euphoric. He tasted like mint and black tea, and his lips were soft. Gaining confidence, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer.

After finally pulling away, he rested his forehead against yours.

“Believe it’s strong enough now?”

“Hmm…” His chest vibrated as he hummed in feign thoughtfulness. “I may need more convincing.”

#bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha imagines #mha imagines #bnha x gn!reader #mha x gn!reader #tenya iida x reader #tenya iida x gn!reader #request

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forever-rogue · 4 years ago

Text

Step into the Daylight - Part 12

Summary: Crafting, whispered declarations, and a newcomer lead to some interesting revelations.

A/N: Thank you guys for being so, so patient and still being excited for me to update. Taglists are open, and as always feedback is welcome! xx

Pairing: Din Djarin x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: general s2 spoilers, and canon divergence (hehehe)

SERIES MASTERLIST

MANDALORIAN MASTERLIST

MAIN MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

“So I’m going to make that,” you glanced at Cal’s glowing green lightsaber with a furtive point of your hand, “from this?”

The small Kyber crystal felt pathetic and pointless in your hand as you looked between it and the lightsaber. It seemed like surely the one couldn’t truly come from the other. How was the dinky little crystal going to power up such an advanced weapon?

“Of course,” Cere offered you a kind smile and a warm hand on your back as she ushered you over to the workbench at the back of the Mantis, her ragtag crew’s ship, “all the materials and items you need to craft your own saber are right there. The most important of it all, the key, is the small crystal in your hands. Have faith in it - and yourself - and you’ll be able to do it.”

“O-on my own?” your eyebrows shot up as she nodded, “how will I know what to do? I’m not dumb...but I don’t see how one equates to the other.”

“You will know,” she insisted, taking a step back and motioning for Cal to join her. Your eyes were wide with worry and concern as you were positive that this was a task you would never be able to complete. Maybe this was all a mad joke, and they were somehow testing you? But then again...surely they couldn’t be. Few things you’d learned about the Jedi and the Force made sense and this was definitely one of them. You were beginning to wonder if anything ever would make sense.

But your instinct, your gut or whatever it was, had gotten you this far. It had kept you, Din, and Grogu safe. Maybe there was something to it after all. Maybe now wasn’t the time to question it.

“Alright,” you nodded in quiet agreement, “I’ll try my best.”

“We will see you when you’re ready,” with that she turned and left, with Cal close on her heels after he gave you a wave of goodbye. Nodding to yourself you decided that you might as well just try and see where it led you.

“Okay,” you whispered to yourself as you put the crystal in the center of the bench, “let’s give this a go then.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

It was several frustrating hours before you emerged from the Mantis, dirt and oil on your face, but more importantly, a giant grin. You quickly found yourself surrounded by several pairs of curious, prying eyes. The most important of all were inky black and accompanied by a happy little coo.

"How did you fare, young one?" Cere asked you as you reached behind your back and slowly pulled out what looked like a black metallic tube, covered in intricate golden designs.

"You tell me," without a moment of hesitation or pause, you ignited the saber and displayed the brilliant, glowing golden beam of light. Before anyone could say anything you wielded it and displayed the other end, showing that you had crafted a dual ended saber, "ta da!"

"Golden," Cal mused as he came closer and studied the saber, impressed by your ability to create such an impressive thing on your first try, "I've only seen one other person with such a color…"

"Should I have chosen a-a different one?" your brows knitted in confusion as you disengage the saber and clipped it onto your belt loop, "is there a way to change it?"

"No," he shook his head in amusement, "the Kyber chooses us and the color. It's nothing on your part."

"Oh...well, I'll take it as a good thing then," you cast a look over at Din and Grogu who were both watching your every move intently. You felt your cheeks warm up under his gaze, but a smile still graced your features, "golden...what does it mean?"

"Balance," he answered simply, "the balance between light and dark."

"O-oh," you swallowed thickly as you realized just how much it meant it, "wow."

"Wow is right," Cere game over and gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze, "you've done well. The art of wielding it is another thing. But you will learn, over time. There is no right - or wrong - way to do it. You'll have to find out what feels right to you."

"Thank you," giving her a nod of reverence, an odd feeling washed over you. It was all done now - your journey of finding your crystal and your building of the saber. This is where you parted ways. It was a lonely idea, a scary one at that, but you knew you'd still have Din and Grogu. That was all you really needed - anything else world work out.

Like it always seemed to.

"I believe this is the parting of the ways," she sounded almost disappointed as you inhaled deeply. Although you hadn't known them long, you felt as though there was a deep bond between your small clan and their crew. Like yourself and Grogu, Cal and Cere, and in some ways Merrin, shared a special bond with you. They were probably some of the only people that knew exactly what you were going through; especially the push and pull between light and dark.

“Indeed,” you slowly made your way over to Din, who gave a small nod of acknowledgment as Grogu reached out for you. Gently taking him in your arms, you kissed the top of his fuzzy head before positioning him so he could see everything, just like he pleased, “where will you go?”

“Wherever we’re needed,” Cal seemed as cryptic as his mentor, but you knew that despite trusting you, it was best for their own interests to kept their whereabouts as secret as possible, “I have not doubt that there are plenty of others just like you and I that are out there, and they’re scared and need help. We’re just going to go around and keep finding them, and helping them. So that way they can hone their own powers, just like you.”

“I’m sure they will be more than thankful for your help,” you said as Grogu cooed in agreement, “just like we are. I hope our paths cross again one day, Cal Kestis.”

“As do I,” he held out his hand and you grabbed it, giving it a firm but gentle shake. The energy that flowed between the two of you was enough to prompt a small sound of surprise from your lips; the force really was a strange, but wonderful thing, “until next time.”

“Until next time,” you repeated as you stood back and rejoined Din. A hand went to your side as he led you close to him. And then you realized - “wait! Jele - what about you? Are you going to come with us?”

For the first time since your reappearance, you really noticed the older woman watching you curiously. She offered you a warm smile, much as the others had done before shaking her head lightly, “unfortunately, our time is over, and I’ve found a new calling. I’m going with them, hopefully to use the skills I have remaining for good use. Just like with you. There’s nothing left for me to teach you, young one. Everything else will come to you in time, you will be ready for when it does.”

“Thank you,” tears pricked at the back of your eyes as you nodded in understanding, “for everything.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for,” she insisted, “everything’s always been within you, everything plays out as it should. Sometimes it just needs a little push in the right direction.”

A playful little grin crossed her features as she glances at you and Din in turn. Your cheeks warmed up at the mere thought of kissing him the previous evening, of finally getting to see him, of the whispered declarations of love, and what it all meant. Clearing your throat, you gazed at your feet awkwardly to hide your warm face, “well, regardless. Thank you. For everything.”

“May the force be with you.”

“And with you.”

The three of you remained there for some time, watching as the others gathered their things and packed up the Mantis to leave. It was strange to watch them leave, it almost felt wrong; they were new friends, fast friends but it felt wrong to see them go so soon. Something told you this wasn’t the last you’d see of them.

“We should go in,” Din finally said after some time, his voice cracking lightly from how long he had been silent. It wasn’t that he had been worried about you while you were crafting your blade like he had been when you were on your quest for the crystal, but he was...nervous. Din knew you were more than capable of handling yourself, but at the same time he couldn’t help but fret over your safety. He loved you, truly, fully, and completely - he knew that now. Since he’d had the privilege of knowing a life with you, he wasn’t sure he could handle one without you.

Shivering in response, it was only mere moments before Din had whipped his cape off from his shoulders and placed it around your own. You turned to him with a thankful smile before shaking your head in amusement, “what about you, my love? Now you’re going to be cold.”

“Not terribly if we move inside and warm up the Crest,” he snorted in amusement before moving in the direction of the ship just behind the snowy horizon, “come on, let’s go before we freeze.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

It was warm inside, the forced air was blasting and making the whole ship more comfortable. It really was the only way to combat the freezing chill of Illum. You’d showered and changed into something more warm and comfortable, and once you’d returned to the small living space, you’d found that Din had tucked Gorgu back into his small hammock. You watched the small green little bean fondly for a moment before gently stroking his ears and the top of his head.

“Hungry?” you stopped at the sound of the voice that reached your ears. It was familiar and known to you, yes, but there was a part of it that was still more or less unknown. Dropping your hand, you turned and found Din watching you, his brown eyes meeting yours, “I-I made some food.”

“Y-yes,” you nodded, swallowing the lump that had welled up in your throat before walking over to him. Din stood there for a moment as you studied him; but then silently, tentatively, you reached up and cradled his face in your hands. He practically keened into your touch as you traced over his features, before leaning closer to him, the tips of your noses lightly brushing, “is this okay?”

"Yes," his voice was gentle as his warm breath fanned across your face, somehow causing you to lean forward and gently brush your lips against his. Din's hands found purchase on your waist as you breathed him in and familiarized with this - the sheer, wonderful act of intimacy, "may I kiss you?"

"Please," you barely whispered the word before he closed the gap and gently pressed his lips against yours. His touch and taste were intoxicating, despite being so simple and pure. It wasn't much, a few mere seconds passed as you both tested the waters to see how it would go. Not that there was any lingering doubt in your mind that you loved him, but it was all still so new and threatened to send you into an overwhelmed headrush all at once.

There was something so saccharine and sacred about kissing him, about knowing he was yours and you were his, that was too much and not enough at once. Your eyes closed as you rested your forehead against his, lips pulling into a small smile.

"What are you thinking?" you asked softly when you found inquisitive brown eyes searching your face for...something.

"I like this," his cheeks flushed slightly as his fingers danced around your waist, "I've never done this before, let someone see me like this, but I just…"

"Feel like this is right?" you finished as he nodded softly, "I don't know what it is either, Din, but I feel it too. I like to think that...there's a reason you found me and saved me that day. I'm glad you did."

"Even though you tried to fight me off?"

"Even though I tried to fight you off!" you pulled back and laughed, that wonderful sound that made Din's insides flutter happily, "I thought for sure you were going to turn me in. I...couldn't trust you or anyone then."

"And now?"

"I trust you with my life," you promised, "you are my home. You and Grogu."

“I’ve never…” Din paused for a long moment before closing his eyes and gently stealing another kiss from you, lingering against your lips. You were so close, but not close enough; part of you wanted to swallow him whole and keep him as yours forever, “I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I’ve never loved anyone. Not before…”

“Him?” your voice was soft as you pulled back and cast a fond glance at the sleeping child. Din followed your gaze before training it right back onto you, “I can understand that. I love him too. Have you never...loved another?”

“No,” he admitted, almost shy as he gnawed on his bottom lip, “I’ve had lovers, here and there, but nothing like this. Nothing to where…”

“No one has seen your face,” you concluded as he nodded. Running a hand through his curls, you scratched lightly at his scalp as he choked back a moan at the tender touch, “thank you.”

“For what?”

“Letting me love you,” pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose, you couldn’t help but pull him close, “for letting me see you as you are.”

“You have always seen me,” he acknowledged, “just as I am.”

“As you have me,” you grinned at him, “I haven’t either...I’ve never loved anyone before.”

“Never?” he seemed surprised as you nodded at his surprised expression, “I thought...you’re...everything.”

“Not to most people,” you reminded him, “I never had the opportunity or the luxury to allow myself to relax or be...human. No one, not since I was just a small child, has ever loved me or cared so much about me before. Now I have a family, a real family. I must have done something right in some life to find you, Din.”

Unable to find the right words, Din’s hand found your face this time as he pulled you into him and just held you, watching you like you were the reason for every single glittering star in the sky, “Jeele told me that souls that are bound together will always find each other, no matter the time or distance or how hard it is. I’m glad ours found each other.”

“Din…”

“I love you,” he blurted out as you left a warm rush wash all over you. There was something about how he said - so sweet and gentle that left you breathless and in a dreamlike state. Part of you was convinced that none of this was real, surely you couldn’t be deserving of this much love or delicate intimacy. But the touch and feel of his skin on yours, the ecstasy of his kiss was enough to remind you that this was all real. He really did love you.

“I love you,” it was a promise, a tender declaration that set his soul at ease, knowing that you felt the same way about him. How, no matter how crazy or convoluted it seemed, your souls were bonded and had managed to find each other in this lifetime. Brushing your fingers over his patchy scruff, you grinned, but were quickly cut off from saying anything else by rapturous growl of your stomach, “oh.”

“I knew you were hungry,” he chuckled warmly, and Maker, you could easily get used to a lifetime of this, “come on, my little Jedi, the food’s almost ready.”

“Din-” you held onto his hand to stop him from walking away, “I have something to tell you.”

“What is it, Mesh’la?”

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum,” you tried your best not to butcher his language too much. Judging by the incredulous look on his face, he didn’t mind a bit, “I-I told you I had time to study a lot...my Mando’a is far from good, and you said it to me last night. I hope it’s not too horrible.”

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum,” he repeated back to you slowly, “you’ve got it down perfectly.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“You’re thinking much too loudly,” you mouthed at him between bites of bread. Din’s eyebrow raised in amusement as he looked and waited for you to repeat yourself. Stuffing the bite down, you offered up a sheepish smile, “what’s on your mind, Din?”

“I was just thinking about...Tython,” he admitted, “I know we should go, we have to go, but I’m...I don’t know if I can part with him. Not yet.”

“You don’t…” you set your fork down and let out a heavy sigh. You knew, you both knew exactly what it meant. A part of you still held onto hope that it wouldn’t come to that. You didn't know a life without your small green bean anymore, and honestly, you weren’t sure if you could face a life without him, “nothing is set in stone, Din. Things could always...change. And if not...you will have fulfilled the duty you were tasked with.”

“It must be selfish of me to want to keep him,” he trained his gaze away from you, but you could see that his eyes were glistening with some tears, “he’s not just some thing. He’s….”

“Family,” you finished, “aliit.”

“Yes,” he agreed, gently resting his hand on top of yours, giving it a gentle squeeze, “just like you.”

“Whatever happens, Din,” you whispered, “this won’t be the last time you see him. I promise you that. You are his father - nothing is going to change that. He knows that, and so do you.”

“What do you think will happen when we go?” he opened and closed his mouth a few times as he blinked back tears.

“I don’t know,” you whispered, “I don’t know if there is a way to know. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. I do promise you one thing though.”

“What’s that?”

“I love you - and I will always love you,” you took his hand and brought it to your lips before pressing a kiss to his palm. “And so will he. I promise you that.”

“I love you both too,” he said after a few moments of peaceful silence, “we should get some rest...we’ll be on Tython soon enough anI want to make sure we’re rested and prepared for...anything.”

“Yes,” you concurred, “you’re right, of course. Come one then, my love, we’ll rest for now.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“So...this is it?” Din sounded skeptical as he looked around the rocky ruins, with Grogu clutched tightly in his arms. You couldn’t help but snort at him in amusement; Grogu seemed to be enjoying himself anyway, “is it...does this look Jedi to you?”

He gently set Grogu down and he toddled over to the small stone pillar in the middle of the ruins. The little one cooed excitedly as he looked between the two of you; Din, studious and bewildered as he looked around, and you, doubled over as you laughed and tried to catch your breath.

“How does something look Jedi?” you finally choked out as you tried to stop your giggles, “it doesn’t have to look Jedi. It’s about the energy.”

“Okay...well, does it feel Jedi?” he was at your side, gently nudging your ribs as you laughed at him again, “you’re being cruel!”

“I’m sorry,” you were but it was still amusing nonetheless, “it’s just...the energies. Can you feel them? Can you feel the force?”

“I don’t feel anything,” he shrugged lightly, “should I be?”

“I think so...Cal was right. The energies here are very strong,” you closed your eyes for a moment as Din huffed, “it’s alright...Jeele says everyone’s in tune with the force to a certain extent, and that it can be strengthened through practice. I-I’ll teach you, my love. That way you can tell if something looks Jedi.”

“Very funny,” he sighed, his signature trademark sigh as you took his hand and pointed towards Grogu. He was surrounded by a small swarm of bright blue butterflies, giggling as he tried to chase after them, “I didn’t know it was possible to have so much love in your heart for someone else. But now I know...because of the two of you.”

“Come on,” you took his hand in yours, “let’s look around to see if we can find anything. Grogu - you stay here, we’ll be right back.”

You hesitated for a moment before deciding it was okay, and trailed alongside Din. It wasn’t a huge planet, but it was beautiful in its own way, with animals running around. No humans or other creatures seemed to inhabit the place. It was quiet here...peaceful even.

“I like this,” you said to Din as you walked through a small field of wildflowers, “it’s quiet and calm and you can just...be. I wouldn’t mind living someplace like this one day.”

“Without any intelligent life nearby and completely cut off from everything else?” he teased as you groaned at him.

"No, shiny dummy," you plopped down into the tall, soft grass. You let out a long sigh and put your hands behind your behind, closing your eyes, "somewhere nice and quiet and with just us. Peaceful. What do you think, Din? Ever thought about the future…?"

With me?

After a few beats of silence, you heard the grass next to you crunch softly before you felt his body lie next to yours. His hand reached out and sought yours; you wasted no time in shifting your arm and letting him take your hand. He laced your fingers together before resting them on his chest.

"Yes," he whispered quietly, "I've thought about it a lot."

"Oh."

"I never thought I would ever want to settle down and not...do what I do," he confessed as his thumb stroked the back of your hand, "I never thought there would be more than what I had. But then I found Grogu and...you. I came to realize that I did want more, I want more than what I had."

"A future…"

"With him and you," you were positive that you could hear him smile at his confession. This was easy and hard at the same time - neither of you had ever imagined there would be this, "I don't want this life, the constant fighting and fleeing anymore. I want...a home, a real home."

"Me too," it was a smitten, gentle declaration, "I still want to help people somehow too."

"We will," he promised, "we'll have it all, Mesh'la."

Unable to stop yourself, you rolled onto your side and on top of him. A small grunt of surprise escaped his lips as his arms went to your waist and your hands went to his helmet.

"May I?" it was a gentle request, but his hands joined yours and the helmet was pushed up to expose his lips, and you wasted no time in kissing him.

You were loath to break away from him, but you were soon left breathless and flushed, about to say something when a loud, booming sound met your ears. The two of you broke away and looked to the ruins where you'd left Grogu. At the giant beam of bright blue light emitting from the center of it, you gasped loudly.

Scrambling to your feet, you held your hand out to help him up, before the two of you ran over to see what the commotion was.

"Kid!"

"Grogu!"

When you reached the ruins, you found nothing around except for Grogu sitting and meditating in the center.

"What's happening?" Din asked in confusion as you realized what was happening.

"Its okay," you put a hand on his arm, "he's reaching out. To see if any other Jedi are listening. There's nothing we can do...we just...wait."

"Okay," he sighed lightly as he let you take his hand and the two of you sat down. It was better than pacing around and worrying; at least this way you could keep an eye on him.

»»————-　♡　————-««

After a while, there was suddenly silence. And after the loud noise of the beam, it was almost deafening. Grogu waddled over to the two of you, smiling as he reached for Din. Ever the doting father, he easily scooped him up and clutched him to his chest.

"Did you do it, buddy?" he asked quietly as Grogu cooed happily. Reaching over and you stroked his ears, smiling at the small green bean.

"He called out for someone," you confirmed, "we just have to wait now."

"How long?"

"As long as it takes," you leaned back against him and the three of you heaved a collective sigh, "I guess we can relax."

Din nodded in agreement as you suddenly realized just how tired you were. Despite your best efforts, your eyes started to close and before you could fight it, you were dozing off. Din, however, was wide awake and kept his keen eyes open and sweeping the horizon as you and Grogu snoozed.

Even though he thought he was doing a thorough job, the Mandalorian missed one big thing. He almost jumped when a long, thin shadow loomed over him. In his panic, his hand went to the blaster at his side and he prepared to draw it.

"There's no need for that," it was a man's voice that reached his ears as Din looked up, "if I wanted to hurt you, you’d already be dead.”

"Who are you? Are you...the Jedi?"

"I’m Ezra. Ezra Bridger."

»»————-　♡　————-««

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#din djarin x reader #din djarin #the mandalorian #the Mandalorian x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #star wars #step into the daylight series

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savagesbonergarage · 4 years ago

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Are you looking for prompts? 👀 Can I offer you predator/prey kink with Maul (or Savage?) I’ll just... leave this here...

Oh?

I know that @fallenrepublick has already written an excellent Maul one here, but Savage...I can't say I've seen one with the big boye anywhere yet (though correct me if I'm wrong)...

Guess that's my duty now...oh no...😏

A/N: Smuuuuuuuut, it's kinda long, wilderness survival, taking a leak (like just peeing outdoors in general, if that makes you uncomfortable you can skip it), maybe a pee kink though?? Is it a pee kink if there's no real indication of it being one? Someone will have to let me know lol, general roughness, rough sex, orgasm denial, unprotected sex, aftercare

Savage

"Instinct"

The wind rustled softly through the trees, the scent of fresh mountain air and the the temporary security of your height advantage almost offering you a moment of respite. You had stationed yourself near the top of an adequately concealed tree, it's sturdy branches sufficient enough to keep you up and away from immanent danger for the time being.

You were feeling quite pleased with yourself, if you were being honest. It had been a few days that you had managed to avoid his pursuit, a milestone you weren't quite sure you'd ever be able to achieve, and yet here you were. The few wilderness survival tips that you had learned in your youth inevitably seemed to pay off, as you remained cognizant of as much as you could regarding yourself and your environment that could potentially alert a predator. Rarely did you ever touch the ground of the forest floor, opting to remain high up in the forgiving trees that allowed for your nimbleness to be used as an advantage. You moved slowly, always making sure that your sounds blended together alongside the other calls of nature that wouldn't give way to your position, and you always shifted with the winds to ensure that the breeze never dispersed your scent around.

Savage was certainly the epitome of a predator, and an enhanced one at that - however, you'd studied him enough to understand the drawbacks that came with his awesome power. By his very nature, stealth wasn't his defining trait. At all. Were he to get anywhere within your field of vision, you would know about it without a doubt by the flocks of birds that scrambled to the skies in the distance or the cracking of branches coupled with his screams of frustration that filled the open air. You had to admit, you almost found it cute how you were finally getting the upper hand on him for once.

Although, this only meant that when or if he did catch you, you'd be shown no mercy.

It seemed your tactics this time around were working rather well though, and you considered that perhaps after one more day of survival that you'd approach him and declare yourself the victor in this dangerous game. Oh, the humiliation he would feel from his failure...the mighty Savage Opress, unable to hunt down the creature he craved for the first time. It probably irked him terribly that you were remaining relatively stagnant within the treetops as opposed to frantically running about like a frightened animal, which was likely a large factor in the enjoyment of it for him - the thrill of the chase.

Normally, you might have indulged him a bit more and better acted the part that he desired you to play, but this time, oh, this time, you were determined. Back home, he'd jokingly let slip that if you were ever to evade him long enough, he'd don a fluffy tunic and ears and call himself an ewok. That right there was all the motivation you'd ever need - nothing was going to come between you and getting to see what would inarguably be the most hilarious sight in the galaxy.

Dusk was fast approaching, and although there was still no sign of the beast that was hunting you, it was detrimental that you carefully selected a sturdy tree with tall, wide branches that you could conceal with the surrounding foliage nearby while you slept leaning against it. It was hardly comfortable and you could only rest for maybe a few hours at a time, but it was certainly safer than sleeping on the ground. You gathered your necessities and carefully arranged yourself against a wide branch and drifted off.

It wasn't long before the chill of the night air roused you from sleep. You had to admit, the worst part out of all of this was how damn cold it was being exposed to the wind in inadequate layers for these temperatures. You quietly shuffled around in an attempt to get comfortable, but in doing so you realized an uncomfortable truth.

Damn. I have to pee.

This was gonna be tricky. Finding a place to do so safely was half the battle, since you'd be making yourself completely vulnerable for a short while and if Savage happened to be somewhere nearby, no matter how quiet you were, he'd likely be able to smell you. A slightly gross fact, but an important one. He was a predator, after all. You'd managed to get by this far, and you had been avoiding drinking water for this very reason - also, because he would likely wait near the water for you to show up to inevitably drink.

Being tired, dehydrated, cold and full of pee wasn't ideal, and you couldn't wait for the morning to get here so this game could finally end. You were even starting to wonder if this was really going to be worth it once it was over. Sure, watching Savage embarrass himself was always an entertaining prospect, but right now, you just wanted to be held against him and his warmth even more. You sighed. Only a few more hours, and then you could gloat in his face for a second before snuggling up to his blissfully comfortable frame.

But for now, you still had to pee. You debated over whether or not you could potentially hold it until morning, but the answer to that was a resounding negative. It would be fine. You'd survived every other time, and you'd survive this time. Tentatively, you carefully and quietly lowered yourself to the ground, cursing the night for being so dark. Ideally, you'd want to find a place far enough away from here to go so that you wouldn't be literally marking your territory - but you didn't have any light, or Savage's reflective night sight, and you didn't have his other senses that absolutely trumped your own.

For the first time, the fear was finally starting to creep over you. It was times like this that you got so deep in your own head that you started to forget that this was really all just a game, and not an actual quest for survival; but that's how Savage liked it. You scoffed under your breath when you realized this, resolving to unbuckle your pants and simply relieve yourself right where you were. If Savage did happen to come through here, it was likely that he would assume you followed your usual thought process of maintaining distance from where you actually were rather than look up that very tree. That's how you had been operating so far; besides, there were only a few hours left. What were the chances of-

You heard a faint rustle of leaves somewhere behind you, and the panic started to settle in. That could have been anything, you told yourself as you attempted to calm down your anxiety. You couldn't really do much about it right now, since, well, you were already going. If you tried to push it faster that would only make it louder, and if you tried to scurry back up the tree in the middle of it, it would get everywhere and act as a billboard to your location. You sighed quietly, counting down the seconds until it was done in an attempt to quiet your racing heart.

You had that sinking feeling that you weren't alone. Your eyes darted around only to find that you truly couldn't see a thing, and you determined that the best course of action now was to just calmly finish up and quietly scale back up the tree.

You had just gotten your pants back over your hips when an animalistic growl erupted from behind you, and just like that, it was over. Savage had you pinned between his muscular, gargantuan form and the trunk of the tree, your arms bound to your sides in the grip of his massive hands. There was no way in hell you'd be able to wriggle free, and the adrenaline coursing through you in being captured was making you tremble. You could feel the heavy beating of his twin hearts against your back and his hot breath against your neck, and with a growl he pressed his hips against you until you could clearly feel the outline of his massive, throbbing cock against the small of your back.

"I got you. You're mine."

There was a frightening agitation in his bellowing voice that shook you, and the feeling was only worsened when you heard the scrape of one of his long horns against the bark of the tree as he brought his mouth closer to your ear.

"You think you can get away with hiding from me...? Keeping me hunting you for so long, and then teasing me like that..."

You were breathless, unable to utter a reply even if you'd had one ready before one of his powerful hands yanked your pants back down to your ankles. His claws left mild scrapes against your thigh, a concern that he was usually more cautious of, but not this time. It was clear that he was going to punish you for making him wait so long. You could barely squeak out his name when you felt his teeth rip into the layers of fabric covering your torso. With the aid of his claws he tore the garments from your body, spitting the cloth from his mouth as he revelled in the satisfaction of "skinning" you. You shivered, the heat from the zabrak's body the only thing keeping you warm now.

He flipped you so that you were facing him, the harshness of the tree bark against your bare skin making you wince as you watched him pull his monster dick out from the prison of his pants. No matter how many times you witnessed that reveal, your reaction was always the same. You looked into his glowing golden eyes, a predatory hunger there that sent both fear and heat straight through to your core. You swallowed drily, gazing into his face with a submissive look of defeat as he continued pinning you by your shoulders.

"You got me," you breathed, "I'm yours."

That did it for him. Without another word, he palmed the meat of your thighs and hoisted your legs up to hold you in place as your back rested against the rough tree, causing you to hitch your breath as Savage hungrily lined himself up with your entrance, the sheer amount of precum he leaked serving as lube before he pushed his hips forward. It was a little more forced than usual, and on top of that it had been a while since the last time you'd taken him, with your walls struggling to adjust to the stretch in order to accommodate his size. Your jaw was hanging open and your head immediately rolled back as you felt more and more full with each thrust, Savage gripping your thighs harder and exhaling a groan when he finally bottomed out.

There was a brief moment of hesitation, a pause for a reality-check as Savage lightly tapped his fingers against you. It was a subtle way of asking for permission, acknowledging that although this was your "punishment" and his reward, he still needed to know that you really wanted it like this, and that you were okay. Your response was an affirmation in the form of a squeeze on his forearm and a slight roll of your hips, with the look in your eyes pleading for him to take what he desired.

So, he did. With one strong, massive arm supporting you under your ass and the other pulling you closer to him, he backed away from the tree entirely and moved your arms to wrap around his neck so you could leverage yourself while he fucked the absolute life out of you. The noises that were escaping your lips were just as perverse as the sound of skin-on-skin echoing with vulgar, wet slaps throughout the forest, your mind already turning to mush. He was hitting everything, even when he wasn't really trying, so it took hardly any time at all before your eyes were rolling back and you felt that knot building up in your core. He didn't let up, his pace almost quickening with every desperate whine that escaped your throat.

"Savage, I-"

"Not yet," he commanded, pressing your chest firmly against his as he continued, "not until I say so."

You whined even louder, your hands moving up to hold onto his horns as he continued fucking you without mercy, that ache in your stomach growing more and more unbearable the longer you tried to push it back. Your breaths were desperate and rapid, with your face and chest flushing as red as a Dathomirian sunset with every passing second. You didn't know how much longer you could last, but you wanted to try your best for him.

"Please, I can't...!"

"Just a little more," Savage replied, relishing in the way your body was trying so hard not to break as he resumed his deliciously aggressive thrusts. Your hands moved from his horns to dig your fingers into his broad shoulders, your desperation reaching near-unfathomable limits.

"Savage, I can't-I can't-I can't-I'm-!"

You screamed as he finally allowed you to tip over the edge, having timed his release with yours so that you could ride out your highs in tandem. It was almost too much, the ecstacy of your edged climax intensifying with every twitch of Savage's pulsing cock so deep inside painting your gripping walls with heat. Even minutes later you were still quivering, barely coherent as your whines eventually began to die down and your lover held you tightly in his arms, before gently pulling his softening dick out of you once you had stopped clenching around his length.

He pressed a firm kiss against your temple as he waited for you to catch your breath, also ensuring that the majority of the unbelievable mess the two of you had made spilled out onto the grassy ground. Once he was satisfied, he moved one arm beneath both of your knees used the other to support your shoulders, keeping you close to him in this more comfortable position as he planted another long kiss to your forehead. He always thought it was cute when you were entirely spent like this, limp in his arms like a bag of grain as you relaxed in the afterglow.

"Are you alright?" He whispered against your forehead, lovingly stroking your arm as he did so. You responded with a soft smile and an affirmative hum, resting your hands against his broad tattooed chest as you curled in closer to him.

"I'm ready to go home," you admitted, voice barely above a whisper.

"Agreed. Let's get you some water and a hot bath."

Your heart fluttered, filling your chest with silent praises for him and rhetorical questions of what you did to deserve being here in the arms of this gentle, fearsome predator. He began the trek home, smiling to himself as a thought crossed his mind.

"You know," he began conversationally, "if you wanted to see me dressed as an ewok so badly, you could have just asked. I would have done it for you, anyway."

#savage opress #savage opress x reader #savage x reader #savage opress smut #lemon #star wars smut #why did i title this instinct when that word never actally appears #star wars #star wars x reader #savage opress x you #zabrak #maul #darth maul

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musclesandhammering · 3 years ago

Text

Non-Controversial Loki Headcanons for These Trying Times

1.) Loki has had dozens of Midgard-based aliases over the years, for no other reason than the fact that he was bored and it was funny. DB Cooper was one of them. Hank Williams was another. He may or may not have even pretended to be a vampire at some point.

2.) Loki can definitely sing. Not just in a funny ironic way, but like.. he actually enjoys singing. It shouldn’t even come as a surprise considering he’s such a fine arts nerd, but yeah. He plays the guitar too. Surprisingly folksy.

3.) Loki’s rooms in Asgard literally look like a witch’s lair. I mean straight up spooky. All dark earth tones, spellbooks strewn everywhere, runes drawn on the walls to keep certain big brothers from messing with things they have no business messing with, vials of poisonous stuff sitting on every available surface, shelves full of strange little trinkets and talismans, a dramatic ass medieval-looking bed, a whole ass cauldron… and then in the corner on a stand there’s his Hank Williams Guitar aasdfghhjkl-

4.) When people call Loki a witch, they’re not joking. He’s. Like. An actual stereotypical, like.. witch. He doesn’t just do finger wavy magic- he mixes potions, he does rune work, he recites spells, he has a cauldron.

5.) He also used to dress super witchy. Used to. Past tense. I’m talking black nail polish, lots of necklaces, rings, eyes makeup (ok maybe I wouldn’t go that far, but Loki in eyeliner would be pretty hot, right?), clothes that were like.. 15% scarier yet more fashionable than the ones he wears in canon. The only reason he toned it down was because someone whose opinion he cared about (it was Thor) made a joking comment about his appearance looking “wicked” or “evil” and it made him feel self conscious, so he changed how he dressed. :(

6.) He was rocking the whole short hair look years before Thor in Ragnarok. In fact, by pre-canon Loki’s standards, his hair in Thor 1 was even a bit too long. He did this because a.) he hates how his natural curls soften him and will do anything to get rid of them and b.) in Asgard short hair wasn’t really worn by noblemen because it symbolised servitude, so this was Loki’s subtle way of being defiant and deviating from the norm.

7.) As Frigga said in Endgame, Loki is very good at sneaking. Even when he’s not trying to. There have been many-an-accident in the Palace of Asgard because he unintentionally almost gave Thor a heart attack.

8.) Loki and Thor weren’t always at each other’s throats. They actually got along pretty well up until Odin started planning for the coronation. Loki was still jealous of the way Thor was treated compared to the way he was treated, but he knew that wasn’t Thor’s fault- not really. And Thor was still arrogant and entitled, but that was mostly directed at other people and not his own family, so while Loki knew about Thor’s character flaws, it didn’t really effect him personally. When the planning started, though, Thor gradually became even more superior and insufferable than normal, and Loki became even more bitter and unsettled, and their relationship just kind of went downhill from there.

9.) Loki absolutely joined the Mile High Club with that flight attendant from the first episode of the show. Her name was Florence and she was adorable, Loki thought so too.

10.) Loki’s the only person on Asgard who can beat Volstagg at an eating competition. He has a giant’s metabolism, after all. And, contrary to his elegant and refined tastes in most other areas, he’s actually a straight-up carnivore. I mean he eats other foods too, obviously, but meats are by far his favourites. Boar, fish, poultry, steak. Just meats. He doesn’t know it, but this is because frost giants are mostly carnivorous.

11.) His relationship with the Warriors 4 was always split down the middle. He and Sif always hated each other. Hogun never trusted him and Loki never had any interest in spending time with Hogun. Fandral and Volstagg, on the other hand, were always much nicer and Loki always sort of considered them his friends as well as Thor’s. This is why they were more reluctant to believe that he’d let the frost giants in in Thor 1.

12.) I refuse to believe Loki doesn’t have at least one tattoo somewhere. Probably more. Probably of a snake. The only parts of his body we didn’t see naked in Episode 1 were his thighs, lower back, knee area, pelvic region, and the back of his neck. So it’s gotta be in one of those places. (Might I suggest: snake thigh tattoo, tiny nape tat, goth tramp stamp lol, rune tat behind his ear, Norse mythos leg tat, badass above-dick tattoo).

13.) Loki’s prickly and insecure and has layers like an onion, but once you get to the point of actually being friends with him, he’s a total sweetheart. I mean a literal smol dork. A bit hyperactive and excitable, but still very very soft. It’s because he’s had so few actual friends in his life.

14.) Sometimes Loki only goes a few days before his gender changes, sometimes he stays one gender for years at a time. And he tends to shapeshift his body to match. That being said, one of his biggest pet peeves is how his other-gendered clothes get all dusty and musty when they have to stay in the closet for long stretches of time. So he’s taken to wearing luxurious gowns around the house when he’s in his male form. You know, just to air them out.

15.) Loki hates sleeping with people. Sex is fine, but he’s just so solitary and paranoid that he’s never been comfortable sleeping in a bed with another person. This may or may not have gotten him in trouble a few times when his partners woke up and found him gone lol.

16.) Laufey is actually incredibly similar to Loki, the way Odin is very similar to Thor. He prefers smaller blades (ice daggers), he’s very analytical and calculating, he’s very calm and non-confrontational even when he’s in a stressful situation, and tbh he seems like a better king than Odin- much like Loki probably would’ve been a better kind than Thor. (Whoopsie this one’s a bit controversial)

17.) Loki adores animals! …But he’s also a bit obsessive about keeping his environment clean. Not organised, per se, just clean. And animals tend to be hairy and slobbery and feathery and slimy and poopy and dirty, so he’s never been able to have a pet. He just takes a lot of nature walks to compensate :)

18.) All jotuns are naturally intersex, including Loki. This is a bit unusual for Asgardians, but because Loki is genderfluid and a natural-born shapeshifter- and has always had a tendency to change his body parts around as his gender changes (male, female, both, neither)- he’s never had a reason to find it very odd. In hindsight, that was one of the many eccentricities that should have made him realise something was a little fishy with his “asgardian” genetics.

19.) The snake + stabbing story from Ragnarok was nowhere near as nefarious as Thor made it seem. What actually happened was: Someone accidentally mixed a real knife in with the blunted practice knives. Thor and Loki didn’t know this, of course, and when they were playing a battle game, Loki ended up with the real knife. When Loki “won” and went to “vanquish his enemy” he ended up actually stabbing Thor for real. They were both hysterical and it took longer to calm Loki down than his brother. It ended up just being a flesh wound, though, so everything turned out fine.

20.) A lot of people think Loki discovered his “secret passageways between worlds” from TDW through some sort of inter-realm questing or magical study or something, but in reality, he discovered them when he was like 16 and desperately trying to find a way to sneak out of Asgard without Heimdall telling his parents.

Tagging @natures-marvel & @little-s-creampuff for expressing interest. Thx for listening to my mad ravings lmao <3

#I have so many more of these it’s unreal #my musings #loki headcanons #loki laufeyson #frosty bby #long post #loki series #Thor ragnarok #thor the dark world #thor 2011 #Thor #language tw

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