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joshslater · 2 months

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Emergency Model

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"Excuse me, what's your shoe size?"

Bewildered I looked around to find the man who asked the random question, like out of that old episode of Monty Python. Off to the side, almost behind me, was a thirty-ish man in polo shirt, jeans, and glasses with plastic rims that looked purposefully selected to make him look like a film director or architect. He looked unsure or stressed. "Eight, eight and a half. Who's asking?"

Immediately he brightened up. "Hello. I'm Ben Atkinson, " he said and extended his hand. "We're making a photo shoot of the supplemental collection of sporting clothes," he continued without waiting for me to shake it. "It's all for the online shop, so simple stuff. White background, a few poses." Tentatively I shook his hand. "Pretty fast rotation of models. Unfortunately one of them has called in sick. You have the right look, but more importantly the right build and size."

"Uhum," I answered, sensing where this was going. It was a Saturday morning, and I was on my way to meet up with some friends at Wayland's Deli.

"This is quite sudden, but we are on a tight deadline. If you're willing to model for us I'll give you twice the normal rate."

"Ok," I said, not waiting to hear what the normal rate was. I'm sure Stuart would not stop giving me grief about it for the rest of the year, but I would technically be a photo model which wouldn't be a negative in Sarah's eyes. Turned out that it would also be double my monthly earnings as well, so maybe I could shut Stuart up as well.

We entered the building, which apparently was an office space that had been taken over for the day for the shoot. There were racks of clothes everywhere, lots of people with iPads tracking what item was where, who should wear it, and in what conference room they should shoot it. It was bustling with activity. After some exchange of information with Ben, and signing papers, I was handed over to a conference room turned makeup and styling studio. Most of the furniture was stacked in one corner and the floor was covered by transparent plastic that had been rolled out. To one side was a table with lots of makeup tools and bottles and stuff I wouldn't know how to use, except maybe the hand mirror and the scissors, and even that I'm not confident with. A pair of strong LED lamps on stands lit a chair placed at the center of the plastic.

"I'm Julia, pleased to meet you. So you are the last one," said the stylist, carefully surveying me and in particular my face and hair. "We're short on time, so we have to work quickly. Are you ok with a buzz cut and tight fade?" Not what I would have chosen, but it's starting to get warm outside and it's only hair. I'd be back to my current length after the summer. "Sure."

She seated me in the chair and began the work with a corded trimmer, and soon a flurry of detail work with smaller trimmers and some of her tools from the table. Probably took her about ten minutes for the haircut. Then some time with a straight razor blade and a tweezer to pluck and shave all over my face and then arms. I told her that this was all new to me, having literally just been picked from the street. She reassured me that there wasn't much to it. Just be no-nonsense about it. Take whatever the stylist decides, change clothes quickly, do the poses the photographer asks for, and repeat.

"All done," she said and handed me the hand mirror as if I had any say in this. I looked so different than just moments before. The hair was shorter than I've ever had it, with a razor sharp fringe line. The fade on the sides was basically just an inch tall from the head and down the temple, then skin tight down, and presumably the same around the back of the head as well. The total amount of hair I was left with could fit a shot glass. "If you go down the corridor to the break room there is a shower in the bathroom there. Ask Andy outside to let you in. Take a quick rinse to get rid of stray hairs, change into these, put your stuff in one of the plastic boxes there, and come back to me for a final touch-up." She handed me a pair of white briefs and white socks. I hesitated a bit, and she was quick to jump ahead of my thoughts. "Everyone around here are used to see gorgeous bodies without clothes. Act as if it is normal, because to us it is. You can't be self-conscious. Oh, and Andy is the only one with a key, so your valuables are safe." Another boy showed up at the door saying he needed a new application. I told Julia thanks and went to look for Andy.

Andy unlocked the door to the office lunch room for me and I did as Julia had told me. I stripped naked and put everyting, clothes, wallet, phone, keys, shoes, into one of the plastic boxes, wrote my name on it with a whiteboard marker and placed it next to all the other boxes. Eight boxes in total. I went into the bathroom, took a 90 seconds shower, and dried myself off with one of the towels from the pile. I put on the briefs and socks, had Julia apply her things to me, and within ten minutes I was dressed in Nike shoes, joggers, and a fleece hoodie, being ordered by a photographer who didn't have time to introduce himself to look left, turn around, put my hands in my pockets, pull up the hood, sit down on the floor, and on and on. Then out change, and back with the next item.

It was going non-stop since they were behind on my stuff, so I had barely time to talk to anyone. There wasn't any proper lunch break either, just a protein bar together with two of the other models, Mark and Andrew. At first they thought it was funny that I had just been snatched off the street for the shoot, but when I told them how much more money I got they were like "fuck you, go back to work". Well the break was over anyway, so I don't know how serious they were.

It continued with item after item, until I realized I was the only model left. The others had taken off without saying goodbye, not that we had any relation. People were moving things out of the office, and when I asked about the hurry they said there was a firm deadline when they had to be out so the cleaning crew could put everything back to a working office again. I could feel the pressure as it was my item changes that held up everyone. I swapped into a pair of MRKNTN underwear that probably was like half a size too small but decided to just power through with the shoot. As soon as the last photo had been taken, they started to dismantle the light rigs. As I walked back to the lunch room I could see that most of the clothes racks were gone. The makeup room was back to looking like a conference room. I couldn't find Andy anywhere though, and the lunch room with my stuff was still locked. I wanted my stuff for sure, but more importantly I wanted to get out of the underwear that kept squeezing and chafing. I couldn't go more than 30 seconds without having my hands down the joggers to adjust them.

Ben wasn't anywhere to be seen either. I asked one of the remaining people and he said they had all left, working on getting all the stuff back and preparing the "delivery pipeline" for the photos. Probably Andy had checked off everyone from his list, and it was printed before I was recruited. "Just keep the clothes you have on and you can come back here Monday and pick up your stuff," he said.

Fuck.

No point in hanging around any longer. Everyone wanted to leave as soon as possible, so I just left and headed towards the bus stop. It was getting late and with no phone on me I couldn't call home and say what was going on.

Fuck.

I didn't have anything to pay the bus fare with. I could perhaps go back to the office building and see if I could catch anyone exiting, use their phone, and call for someone to pick me up. But there was no telling if and when I would get hold of anyone. Just walking back there would make me miss the next bus, so that would set me back at least an hour. I could just as well ask someone else to use their phone. Or perhaps ask them to cover the bus fare.

That's when I saw them, a little bit further down the street, past the bus stop. Six boys huddled at the corner, talking and messing around as if no one else was around. One had a bike. All of them dressed in the kind of clothes I had spent all day modeling in, track suits, hoodies, trainers. All of them were smoking. I figured I'd have as good a chance with them as with anyone else now, looking the way I looked.

As I was getting closer one of them alerted the others and they had some kind of conversation about me. "Hello, excuse me. Could I borrow money for the bus fare from any of you?" There was a second of silence before a mixed snicker erupted, and one of them answered "No, bruv. I don't think so."

I don't know why, but for some reason I was mortified by how I had been dismissed. I could feel my face turning red, so I quickly turned away from them to make my way back to the bus stop, without any plan of what to do next.

"Oi, bruv!" I heard from behind me. Looking back at them I could see three boys had gotten up and were heading my way. "Callum's grafting down at the barber's for some extra quid and need someone to practice on. What if he can do some practice while we cover the fare and take you home safely? Fair, innit?"

"I barely have any hair," I said and let my hand touch my fresh skin fade, almost shocking myself with how radically different it felt.

"Won't be much of a nick then, bruv."

He was right. There wasn't much he could ruin. I had only a few millimeters of hair so in the worst case scenario I could shave completely and it would be back within the week.

"Good lad. A deal innit."

"Yes," I said, unsure if it was expected. The guy who had spoken and Callum flanked me while the third lad walked behind me, enveloping me with the scent of smoke and body spray. After a silent moment the guy spoke again, introducing himself as Iwan and the third guy as Rob, and asked where I lived. I gave him the bus stop, Hillside Garden North, about 18 minutes ride. Would have been busy during the week, but at weekends there wouldn't be many on the bus.

We didn't have to wait long for the bus to arrive, but instead of entering by the driver they all bunched up again with me in the middle and entered through the exit doors as a single unit. Then they quickly moved to the back of the bus and pushed me into a seat next to Callum, facing Iwan and Rob in the furthest back seat. I half expected the driver to say something over the speakers, but there was barely a delay, if any, before the bus was moving as if nothing was out of the ordinary. I looked at Iwan with perhaps a bit of surprise and he just shrugged as if to say "what did you expect? That the driver would confront us?"

Then he nodded at Callum next to me, backpack in his lap, who answered "Aye" and got up. He placed the bag on the seat and positioned himself right in front of me, one leg on either side of mine, his knees hitting the edge of the seat, and his left hand grabbing the rail behind me. It felt both imposing and intimate. He opened the backpack and rummaged around with his right hand until he found a small trimmer in a zip-lock bag.

He opened it with both hands and threw the plastic bag into the backpack. Then he looked out and waited for the bus to drive on straight and even road before he turned the trimmer on. Then slowly he moved it in an arched line from my temple and along the side of my head until he reached the neck. Then he studied for a few seconds before he made a few additional buzzes along the same line.

"Not bad, innit?" he said while shifting his body so Iwan and Rob could see. "Fucking mint, mate," Iwan answered.

Then he turned on the trimmer again and unexpectedly extended the line by buzzing my eyebrow for a few seconds. I hadn't even considered my eyebrows. Callum reached into his backpack again to put the trimmer in the zip-lock, but without moving his feet so his body pressed even closer to me. While I couldn't see much, I could certainly feel his body spray filling my nostrils while I felt my eyebrows with my fingers. I guess there would be a lot to explain to mother anyway, so this would just be yet another detail.

I could just see it for a fraction of a second. It looked like a small glue gun in off-white plastic. Then before I could realize what it was it was pressed against my ear, it made a snapping sound, and I felt a sharp pain. "What the!" I said, more in surprise than pain.

"18G piercing. Hurts more, heals slower, but much better," Callum offered, as if it was the type of piercing that was in question, not that he had done it at all. He reloaded the piercing gun and I struggled with what to do. Just take it like the first one? Why should I? But then one piercing was the real threshold. Once you pass that, two is if anything better than one. This would soon be over anyway.

He was just as quick with the second one as the first one. "These need to stay in 30 days, you hear me?" he said, still standing essentially on top of me. "Yes, I understand," I said with a sinking feeling of all the implications. He put the gun back into the bag and went searching for something again. Finally he pulled out some sort of pliers, then held my earlobe with one hand while doing something with the pliers with the other. "Making sure they don't fall off," he explained before sitting down again on his seat. I could see Iwan and Rob again, and booth looked pleased. Iwan looked absolutely chuffed. "Fucking proper, innit" he said and pat me hard on the shoulder. "Fucking proper."

After than Iwan opened up and started to ask me all kinds of questions, starting with my name, which I realized I hadn't given him when he presented everyone. I was soon giving the highlights of the day as a photo model until we arrived my stop. To my surprise everyone got off with me. "Said we would take you home safe." We continued to chat all the way home and it turned out me Iwan and Rob had the same taste in electronic music while Callum was more of a rock guy.

"Ok, this is my stop," I said once we reached my house. "Meet us Monday, same time and place," Iwan said. "What?" "You owe us £2 for the bus, bruv." "But..." "You going back on our deal?" "No, I'll come by." "And wear the same clothes. Underwear too." "No! I have classes." "You'll figure it out, bruv." Callum opened his backpack again and tossed something to Iwan. "And use this," he said and handed over a can of Lynx Jungle body spray. "What if I don't? What if I don't do any of that?" "Where you live isn't a secret, innit? See you Monday, bruv."

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thesunthemoonthestarstheearth · 11 days

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“I will give him less kiss from now but in bed nothing changes” WHAT THE FUCK, insane thing to say to you co worker, and Marc going along with it like what

I will never stop saying this, I fear, but these two are FREAKING INSANE hOWEVER this topic is something that actually boils my blood nonsensically, and I will rant about it for hours on end if allowed

Valentino Rossi is on a whole other level - he's not even insane, he is an absolute sadist because he was saying that about a 22 year old and in front of said 22 YEAR OLD!!

And I KNOW that he must have felt some sort of sick joy seeing Marc squirm under the looks of the journalists AND KNOW that Valentino felt incredible pride from the .5 seconds of polite pointed laughter he got at that comment

This is not to say that Marc is not responsible for events too, far from it HOWEVER there is a fine line between being angry and cruel to the point of harm and Valentino reached that line and CONTINUED being the way he was/is

Because the man is a CUNT and a BULLY AND WAS ONLY SPURNED ON FURTHER BECAUSE THOSE AROUND HIM CANNOT SEE THAT HE IS ALSO THOSE TWO THINGS (Uccio watch your fucking back mate) BECAUSE THEY TOO ARE THE SAME THINGS ITS LIKE A DIRTY MIRROR BEING CLEANED BY AN EVEN DIRTIER CLOTH

THAT FUCKING 22 YEAR OLD HAD NOTHING BUT LOVE AND UNDYING LOYALTY TO SOMEONE HE THOUGHT HUNG THE MOON AND THE STARS

A WHOLE FUCKING 22 YEAR OLD.

I make fun of them so much in rpf and in jest generally BUT it never stops aching my heart when I remember that Marc was only a year younger than I currently am when his entire world came crashing down around him

AND THE FACT THAT HE PICKED HIMSELF UP?? DUSTED HIMSELF OFF?? AND CONTINUED TO SHOW KINDNESS TO VALE (that press conference hand shake actually haunts me because he was SO willing to wrap things up because fighting and hating someone is so exhausting and it drains you so much if you dont regulate it)

AND VALENTINO HAS THE AUDACITY TO SMILE WHILST SHAKING HIS HEAD?? LIKE BABES YOU ARE NOT WORTH AN OUNCE OF COMPASSION THAT MARC HAD IN THAT MOMENT FUCK OFF

THE VERY CATALYST OF MaRC'S WORLD TURNING UPSIDE DOWN TO THE POINT WHERE HE STILL FEELS THE AFTERSHOCKS WAS THE PERSON WHO HE TRUSTED WITH HIS LIFE?? WITH HIS VERY BEING, HIS HEART HIS SOUL HIS EVERYTHING??

Unforgivable. Absolutely unfucking forgivable.

Valentino Rossi and Uccio Salucci, I will see you in hell, and I will make you pay DEARLY for your actions.

#marc marquez #valentino rossi #mm93 #vr46 #motogp #l's yapping #can you tell that this topic is one #that actually upset me so fucking much #like i am actually so angry rn #sometimes i'll go into thoughts #or see a clip from post sepang #and just feel such UNBRIDLED rage

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allthecanadianpolitics · 2 months

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Any agreement between the federal government and an Alberta town, school board, university or other provincial entity will need to be vetted by the provincial government, should the legislature pass a new bill.

The Provincial Priorities Act was tabled in the legislature Wednesday by Premier Danielle Smith. It is framed as a step to prevent federal interference with the Alberta government's priorities.

"We need to change the relationship with the federal government because they are doing an end run around us," Smith said at an embargoed news conference Wednesday.

Just how many agreements could be affected, how long it would take the province to review each agreement, and what kind of agreements would be exempted, provincial officials said they have not yet decided. They said the law is not intended to block minor agreements, such as a grant for festival fireworks, or leasing a tiny parcel of land for a Canada Post mailbox.

Smith said government officials have tallied about 14,000 existing agreements between the federal government and provincial entities. Around 800 of those were "flagged as problematic." [...]

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @abpoli

Notes from the poster @el-shab-hussein: To @vague-humanoid, I just want you to notice how much Conservative province parties are pulling a U.S. "states' rights" nonsense with everything just to deepen their corruption and bleed their citizens dry. If you look through anything in the Alberta, "Danielle Smith" or "Progressive Conservatives" tag on this blog you'll be able to see it.

#cdnpoli #Alberta #Conservatives #UCP #United Conservative Party #Danielle Smith #Corruption

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onceuponaoneshotfanfic · 11 months

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Once Bitten

Part of my 900 Followers Celebration!

Request: Happy 900 lovely!! What a boss! 👑Can I please request: "I don't bite, unless you're into that sort of thing?" Just thinking of Roy Kent leaving his mark on you.... ooof! 🥵 That'll do! You're such an inspiration, I adore your work! 😘

Roy Kent x Reader

0.8k words

Warnings: Language

You let out a deep sigh as you walked into the parking lot at Nelson Road. You were definitely not a sports reporter, but when your colleague Penelope begged you to cover the Greyhounds press conference so she could go meet with her daughter’s teacher, you agreed. You’d hoped you’d followed along well enough to take decent notes for her; the Greyhounds press room had been nothing short of overwhelming. Besides knowing nothing about football, you weren’t used to being one of the only women in the room, and you definitely weren’t used to Roy Kent’s expletive-filled way of speaking.

“Alright there?”

Speak of the handsome, bearded devil. As you lingered by your car, contemplating the best way to apologize to Penelope, Roy Kent had walked out of the building. His eyes rested on you with some concern, probably seeing the horror on your face.

“I’m fine,” you lied, giving a small wave.

He glanced around the parking lot and walked over to you. “Don’t look fine.”

Despite your inner anguish, a hollow laugh escaped your lips. “Wow. That’s what a girl likes to hear.”

“Oh. Fuck, not like that,” he chuckled, eyebrows raised. “You look good, trust me. Just… It also looks like you’re thinking very fucking hard about something.”

Trying not to blush at the compliment he technically just paid you, you cleared your throat. “You don’t want to hear about it.”

To your surprise, the handsome manager shrugged. “Sure I do. Otherwise, Jamie Tartt’ll invite me out for a drink, and ‘I don’t fucking want to’ is never a good enough answer for him.” He stuck out his hand. “Roy, by the way.”

“Oh, I know.” You shook his hand. “I, um, was at the press conference right now.” You told him your name and what paper you were from.

“What happened to Penelope?” The genuine interest and concern in his voice surprised you.

“Parent-teacher meeting. She asked me to cover.”

His smile only added to his handsomeness. “And I take it you weren’t very excited to join us today?”

You really didn’t want to offend the attractive man standing in front of you but- “I hate sports,” you admitted reluctantly. “Barely knew what the fuck you were talking about in there. And now I just have to hope my notes are good enough for Pen’s article.”

“Brutal honesty, I like it.” Roy thought for a moment. “Why don’t we grab a drink while I look over those notes with you? Can help you translate sports-speak. Plus, I could give you some quotes no one else’ll have.”

“Why?” you blurted out, unable to believe someone like him would be so nice to someone like you.

He shrugged. “I like Pen. She doesn’t ask me stupid fucking questions like the other pricks do. Besides…” He bobbled his head, hesitating about whether he should continue. “I’d never say no to the chance to buy drinks for a pretty reporter.”

How were you supposed to say no to that?

Twenty minutes later, you found yourself sitting in a pub, sharing a corner booth with Roy Kent. Beers sat in front of you, along with the notes you’d taken during the press conference. Roy was bent over them, mumbling under his breath as he read. He glanced over at you.

“You weren’t fucking kidding. You don’t know shit about football.”

Beer almost came out of your nose as you held back a laugh. “Alright, well help me then!”

His eyes studied your face thoughtfully. “Well, scoot closer so you can actually see the nonsense you wrote.”

You froze. When you sat down, you’d very carefully placed yourself a respectable distance from Roy Kent and his overwhelming handsomeness. If you scooted closer, your thighs would be pressed together and your bare arms would touch and oh fuck, he’d be able to feel the warmth radiating off your body that was completely covered in an embarrassing blush.

He could see the hesitation on your face, although hopefully not the reasons running through your mind. “Come on, get over here. I don’t bite.” A wicked smirk crossed his gorgeous face. “Unless you’re into that sort of thing.”

A choking sound flew out of your mouth, but you managed to return his grin and move closer to him, allowing your legs to lightly press against each other. You didn’t need to worry about your arms touching though; Roy instead chose to wrap his arm around your shoulder.

“There,” he muttered, raising an eyebrow at you. “Isn’t that better?”

Looking into his eyes felt so surreal, as if you were living in a cheesy movie and not just your daily life as a low-ranking journalist with an overbearing mother and a messy roommate. “Yeah,” you agreed in a breathy voice you barely recognized. “Much better.”

As Roy leaned closer and softly pressed his lips to yours, your last coherent thought was a mental note to thank Penelope for having a parent-teacher conference.

#900 followers celebration #request ❤️#he's here he's there he's every fucking where #roy kent #roy kent x reader #roy kent fanfic #roy kent fic #roy kent fanfiction #roy kent fluff #ted lasso #ted lasso fic #ted lasso fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction

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callsign-dexter · 10 months

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Unexpected Reunion (18+)

Request:OMG ! I LOVE CONNOR RHODES ! Now you have me sending in an idea as well 😏 maybe where he and the reader meet at the Hawaii Bar and end up having a one night stand, but she leaves before he wakes up. Connor regrets that he doesn't even have her number, as he really wants to see her again. later at the Med it turns out she's his new assistant and they are more than happy about it 😊 some smut and a cute Connor ❤️ thank you darling !

Pairings: Connor Rhodes x Assistant!Reader

Warnings: smut, inaccurate medical talk, fluff, angst

A/N: My heart goes out to the people that are dealing with and have lost family members in the Hawaii fires.

Masterlist

Hawaii. Paradise on earth. A great place for a vacation. You had just recently finished medical school and had rewarded yourself with a trip to the Hawaii islands. You've been several times and each time it was great. Especially this particular day. You had come with friends and you all agreed to go out to several bars and try to see if you could score some hookups before you all left for Chicago the next day. You were going to be an assistant to some well-known there but you didn't know the name of this person or what he looked like.

You and your friends had decided to go to a bar on the beach and as you were doing shots and drinking, several men came up to you but you politely declined in your tipsy state.

You sat all by yourself at the bar while everyone else was on the dance floor. You were by yourself that was until a very handsome stranger came up to you. He was tall, broad-shouldered, had perfectly styled black hair, a little bit of scruff, and striking blue eyes. "Is this seat taken?" He asked and you actually looked around making sure he was talking to you.

"Oh! No, it's all yours." You said with a smirk and he let a bright dazzling smile and sat down next to you. The bartender walked up to you both.

"What will you be having?" The bartender asked.

"I'll be having an Old Fashioned and whatever this beautiful woman is having." He said directing the last part back to you. You blushed.

"You didn't have to do that." You told him and shook his head while waving off your comment.

"Nonsense. I'm Connor." He said with a smile and you smiled back.

"Well thank you, Connor. I'm Y/N." You told him.

"Y/N." He said testing it out on his lips and it flowed with ease "Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman." He said and you blushed again. "So what is a beautiful woman doing out in Hawaii by herself?" He asked you.

"I'm actually here with friends, who seem to all have disappeared." You said while looking around "We have just graduated medical school. What is a handsome guy doing out here?" You asked him back.

"Medical school? You must be one very smart beautiful woman. Congratulations you look like the medical field would fit you just right. I'm here for a medical conference that just finished up and decided to spend a few days here before going back to work." He said and you nodded your head. You both continued to talk for what seemed like hours but really was just a few minutes.

"Say, do you want to get out of here?" You asked him. Connor seemed to think about it and you thought you had made a wrong choice and was about to apologize and tell him to forget it but he answered before you could say anything.

"Absolutely. Especially with a beautiful girl like you. Your place or mine?" He asked and you blushed for the third time tonight.

"Yours." You said and he nodded. He flagged down the bartender and paid the tab for both him and you. You sent a text to your friends letting them know what was going on and that you would meet them in the lobby in the morning to catch your early flight back to Chicago. You instantly got several responses back all congratulating you and one even said to use protection, you laughed at that quietly and put your phone away. When he turned around to you after putting his card away and held his hand out to you. You accepted while slinging your purse over your shoulder.

"Are you ready, my lady?" He asked and you nodded and took his hand. He helped you get up and you both walked out of the bar. As you both waited for an Uber since you both had intended on drinking until you were drunk. While waiting for the Uber he turned to you. "Can I kiss you?" He asked and you nodded your head.

"Absolutely." You replied and he smashed his lips into yours soft at first but then getting heated pretty quickly. It left you dizzy.

The Uber arrived and you both got in, neither of you could keep your hands off of each other. You both tried to keep it Uber-friendly not wanting to make the driver feel awkward. It was only a 5-minute drive to your hotel. You both thanked your driver and paid a tip and he held your hand while you both walked into the hotel. You both walked to the elevator and it was game on.

Connor gently pushed you up against the back of the elevator and ferociously kissed you. You returned that kiss with the same amount of ferociousness. Connor decided right then and there that he loved you and wanted you. You were wearing a short black dress that fit you in all the right places.

You felt his hand travel down your side to the hem of the dress. He slid it up just enough to trail his hand up and to the hem of your underwear. You were soaking wet. Connor continued to kiss you and then his hand slowly crept into your underwear he pulled away. "Absolutely wet. All for me?" He asked and you moaned as a response. You brought your hand to his crotch and he was semi-hard, he was already big you just wondered how big he would be once fully erect, you rubbed him and he moaned into your neck while he attacked your neck with kisses and suckling on that sweet spot. His fingers slid through your wet folds and circled your clit every now and then. Then he slowly pushed his finger into your entrance your head went back and you let out a moan. The elevator finally dinged and Connor pulled away from your neck and out of you which you complained about, you were so close. He brought his fingers to his mouth and sucked on them. "You taste exactly how I imagined." He said and you only moaned as a response. He slowly walked out of the elevator with you holding his hand and you walking in front of him.

He turned to where you were behind him and he was leading you with his hand in his and stretched out behind him. Both of your pupils were blown by this point. You and he reached his door and he got his key card out opened the door and led you into the room. Once you shut the door he turned and attacked you with kisses again. You dropped your purse. Now out of the public, he was about to message your breasts and you could be as loud as you wanted and you were loud. You made quick of his belt and his zipper, you broke the kiss and sank to the ground to your knees. You grabbed his boxers and pants and pulled them down until he sprung free fully erect, you were right he was big. "Like what you see?" He asked his voice gone gravely.

"Absolutely." You said and took him into your mouth and he moaned closing his eyes. Your mouth felt like heaven on his cock it took everything in him not to face fuck you and come right then and there. You kitten licked his slit and probed it with your tongue, his hands came to the back of your head but never pushed and his head was thrown back and mouth opened in a moan.

"Gosh, baby. You're absolutely amazing." He moaned out and looked down at you while you looked up at him through your eyelashes. You hallowed your cheeks and took him further until he reached the back of your throat, you were glad your gag reflex was nonexistent. You bobbed your head up and down and used one of your hands to massage his heavy sac and your other to pump the rest of his cock that wasn't able to fit into your mouth. After a minute you pulled away for air and a string of saliva was left. You were about to go back when he stopped you and pulled you up. "As much as I love you sucking my cock I need to taste you and get inside of you." He said and you moaned. He quickly shed his shirt, shoes, and socks and kicked his pants off and he started to help you out of your dress while doing so. He was thankful you weren't wearing a bra with your dress.

Connor slowly walked you to the bed and gently laid you down to where your head was on the pillow. The smell of his cologne filled your nose and you fell in love with it and right then and there you fell in love with him. You were zoned out until you felt him slide your heels off your feet and slid your underwear off and gently spread your legs. "You are beautiful. So wet for me." Connor said as he kissed the inside of your thighs altering between them until he got to where he wanted you the most and when he licked a broad stripe up folds you let out a photographic-worthy moan your hands clenched the bed sheets.

He ate you out like you were his last meal "Just like that." You told him and that made him go faster. His nose rubbed your clit and every now and then he would suck on it bringing you closer to orgasm "I'm close." You said.

"Let go, baby." He said while altering between licking up your slick and your clit until that rubber band snapped inside you and you came hard until you saw stars.

"Connor!" You moaned out. When you came down from your orgasm he was still eating you out. Your hands came to his head and pushed him further and spread your legs further, if he kept going at this rate you were going to cum again and sure enough that is what happened. As you were coming down from your second high of the night he had let up and was moving up to where his head was at your level and kissed you, at some point you had let go of his hair, and you tasted yourself. He pulled away from you when air was needed.

"Are you ready, baby?" Connor asked you and you nodded your head, he braced one arm next to your head and the other grabbed his cock and guided it to your entrance after rubbing it up and down your folds. He pushed in and you both moaned. You were no virgin but it had been a while since you had sex. "You're so tight." He moaned out and pushed further until he bottomed out.

"You're so big." You said while looking up at him. He kissed you again and rocked his hips into you. He smirked as he trailed kisses down your sternum to the valley of your breasts. He latched onto your right nipple, as he thrust into you, gently bit it, and then soothed it. Connor then switched to your other nipple and gave it the same attention.

"I'm close, baby." Connor said and you could tell because his thrusts were getting sloppily. Your hands found their way to his back and your nails raked down his back leaving long deep scratches down his back he hissed but then moaned. "I'm cumming." He told you and "Y/N!" He moaned out and he stilled inside you and pained your walls white. You had your third orgasm of the night and you were spent.

You both came down from your highs and you were shaking. He pulled out of you and rolled over the the left of you. "That was amazing, Connor." You told him and turned to kiss him which he returned.

"You were amazing too." He said and started getting up.

"Where are you going?" You asked rolling over back onto your back.

"I'm going to get a washcloth and clean you up. Aftercare is important to me." Connor said and that shocked you. Most of the time it's the guys cum and leave without getting you off. You were going to hate leaving him in the morning before he got up but knew a long-distance relationship wouldn't work. Connor came back and got to work on cleaning you up and you jumped when he swiped through your folds. "I'm sorry." He said but gently continued. You leaned up on your elbows.

"It's ok. I'm just a little over-sensitive." You said and he nodded saying he understood. When he got down he climbed back into bed after discarding the washcloth. He laid down and you snuggled into him. Small talk was thrown here and there until you both fell asleep.

▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎

The next morning you woke up earlier than him. He had turned into the middle of the night to his back which made it easier to slip out of bed without him knowing. You quietly shuffled around and found your underwear and then your dress slipped them on and then grabbed your heels tiptoed to the door grabbed your purse and silently opened the door. You walked out silently closed the door and headed to the floor below, thankfully you were both in the same hotel.

You got into your room, took a shower, brushed your teeth, and got dressed. You packed everything up and headed down to the lobby where your friends were waiting. You all checked out and walked put of the building they asked for details and you gave them everything. You got several squeals from them.

You all landed in Chicago and started your journey home. When you got home you walked into your house, went up to your room and unpacked getting ready for the next day as an assistant at Chicago Med.

▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎

When Connor woke up he turned to cuddle into you but was met by cold sheets. His eyes shot open and sat up, hoping you were in the bathroom or something but when he saw your things gone he was so disappointed. He really wished that he had gotten your number and it was tearing him apart.

He got up, showered, and got dressed while packing clothes. He grabbed his suitcase once it was packed and headed down to the lobby. You were and would be on his mind all the time now. He got to the lobby and checked out, he thought about asking the front desk if you were still there but it was pointless he was leaving in a few hours.

Connor landed in Chicago and headed out of the airport. He got to his car unlocked it, got in, and started the engine while shutting the door. He pulled out of the space and headed home. Once he got there he parked the car, killed the engine, and got out. He went into his home and got ready for work the next day.

▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎

The next day you walked into the hospital walked up to the front desk asked where Mrs. Goodwin's office and they told you. You followed the directions and found her office fairly easy. You knocked on the door and she called you in.

"Mrs. Goodwin, I'm Y/N Y/L/N the new assistant you hired." You said as you walked in and shut the door. You walked over to her desk as she stood up and held out her hand for you to shake and you did.

"Oh yes! Ms. Y/L/N, I'm so excited to finally meet you. You'll make a good asset to this team. You're going to be an assistant to Connor Rhodes. He'll be here in a minute." She said and you smiled as she let go of your hand and gestured you to sit down. You didn't think you would see Connor again much less be his assistant. You couldn't let her know that you already knew him so you just smiled and nodded.

"I'm excited that you hired me. This hospital was one of my top picks. I'm also looking forward to meeting him and the rest of the team." You said, and when you finished, someone knocked on the door, and she called them in. You looked over your shoulder, smiling to see Connor walk through the doors, and you could see him falter but only you noticed.

"Dr. Rhodes! I would like you to meet your new assistant, PA. Y/N Y/L/N." Mrs. Goodwin said and you stood up and shook his hand which he gladly did.

"Nice to meet you Dr. Rhodes." You said and smiled.

"You too." He said smiling and you let go of each other's hands.

"Now that you two know each other. Why don't you show her around and introduce her to everyone?" She asked Connor and he nodded.

"Of course." He said without looking away from you, and finally, he broke eye contact to lead the way to the door and opened the door for you to walk out. You shut the door when you walked out. You walked further into the hospital until you got to the locker rooms, and he made sure nobody was in there before dragging you in. "I thought you were gone for good." He said and breathlessly.

"I'm here now." You said looking into his striking blue eyes.

"Why did you leave?" He asked sounding hurt.

"I didn't think a long-distance relationship would've worked and I didn't know you were a doctor here in Chicago." You said.

"I'm just glad you're here now. This is definitely an unexpected reunion." He said and you nodded.

"I can agree with that." You said

"Can I kiss you?" He asked and you nodded way to fast and answered way too fast.

"Absolutely." You said and he smashed his lips to yours ferociously you returned it with the same amount of ferociousness. His hands came to your face and cupped it, gently pushing you against the lockers. You both pulled away when the need for air was needed.

"Never leave me again, please." He said and you nodded.

"You're stuck with me now." You said and he smiled and you returned it.

Connor made sure he got your number this time. He continued showing you around the hospital and introducing everyone to you. His mood was soured when he came into work but now that he knew you weren't going anywhere he was happy. Hopefully, he could take you out on a proper date and ask you to be his girlfriend. Both you and Connor were happy to be back in each other's presence again. You and him were meant to be together.

Tag list:

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007

@nyx2021

#connor rhodes x reader #connor rhodes imagine #connor rhodes fanfic #connor rhodes fic #one chicago imagine #one chicago fanfiction #one chicago x reader #chicago med imagine #chicago med x reader #chicago med #chicago med fan fic #chicago med fic

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sweetnsour1 · 4 months

Text

7:37

Bakusquad fluff nonsense

13 Reasons Why Red Riot Will Die Alone

The text was bright red on a blindingly white screen. Shitty clip art and doodles covered the corners of the projected image.

“The fuck is this? You two were supposed to prepare shit for last month’s crime stats.”

“Ummm, we did.” Kaminari flapped his arms toward the words above him. A click sounded from Sero’s hand.

“Exhibit A…Mari.” Both heroes standing at the front of the conference room sighed as Kirishima interrupted proudly.

“Oh, she was fun. I took her to an amusement park.”

“Yea yea. What do you think the A stands for?”

“What’s wrong with taking a date somewhere fun?”

“Oh, nothing at all…except-“

“Except you took HIM with you!” The hero’s arm now swung fiercely toward the table, sending a disc flying across the room.

“Well-we normally don’t have the same day off.” Kirishima mumbled.

“Okayyy, fine. BUT he didn’t bring a date…which is super weird. Then you ditched that poor beautiful innocent woman to race each other in a UA themed obstacle course…for children.”

Another click sounded, dissolving the screen into a picture of Bakugou standing on Kirishima’s collapsed body. He was waving an Allmight squishmallow proudly…and aggressively.

“Ha! I should get that shit framed.”

“Laugh now, but we’ll get to you after we’re done with Mr. Never-gonna-steal-your-girl.”

“Me? The hell are you-“

“No, I don’t want to hear it. We’ve had it. You two are actual menaces to society. And even worse…you are ruining us. Our agency came LAST on the eligible heroes list. Do you UNDERSTAND THAT??? L-A-S-T.” Kaminari turned swiftly, slamming a tired fist as his forehead met the wall in frustration.

Sero nodded solemnly. “What he means is…Everyone we went to school with beat us.”

“You don’t mean-“

“That. Grape. Infested. Goblin. Beat. Us.” Kaminari punctuated each of Sero’s words with a smack against the wall.

“How the fuck?”

“How the fuck indeed, Mr. Screams-the-first-thing-that-pops-into-his-bleached-porcupine-head?”

“I DON’T-“ Bakugou coughed and adjusted his volume before continuing “-fuckin’ do that.”

“Oh yea? What’d you say the other day when that woman gave you her number during patrol?”

The hero huffed. “I asked her out and she didn’t text me back.”

“Oh, yes. I see. You calmly and gently asked her out and she just for no reason at all blocked you.” Bakugou’s nod of agreement was halted as Kaminari’s voice grew icy and shrill. “That absolutely did NOT HAPPEN.”

Sero patted the charged hero’s shoulder with an understanding hand before taking over the retelling.

“You shouted ‘Take a hike!’ at this doe eyed angel in black. Then came into work the next day confused when you still hadn’t heard from her.”

Kaminari sighed, rubbing his temples before addressing the two professional problems in the room once again.

“So we have closed the agency for the week and Deku’s team will be covering our patrol shifts, while we educate you.”

“YOU DID WHAT???!!!”

“See what I mean? This is going to take a LOT of time. I thought we talked about the screaming already.”

Tired, but finally kinda finished this draft that’s been festering for months.

Masterlist

#Bakugou #bakugou imagines #bakugou drabbles #bnha #bnha fluff #bnha drabbles #bnha imagines #bakusquad #Kaminari #kirishima

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michelleleewise · 1 year

Text

Claw and Order

Pairing: Loki x female reader

Warnings: cat mischief, loki being loki but as a cat, use of the word "purr" a ridiculous amount, established relationship, sub/dom dynamics, collars, shenanigans, spells gone wrong, the loss of Steve's favorite cup....

Summary: An argument between Thor and Loki about his new "accessory" causes Loki's anger to rise.. when the good captain tries to help....

A/n-graphics by @harlequin-hangout and a special shout out to @soubi001 for helping with the title!!! Your amazing!! And @vbecker10 for listening to my nonsensical rambling!! Love you!!!

Part of the lokitty series-

You watched Loki roll to his back, the small gold bell of his collar jingling as he moved. He had changed back some time ago but he hadn't woken up yet, so you patiently waited. You crossed your legs, biting your lip as your eyes took in his bare form. A few loose strands of his hair gently draping across his face, the collar moving ever so slightly as his Adam's apple bobbed, a small groan passing his parted lips. You eyes traveled further down, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath, his large hands splayed across his stomach, your thighs clenching remembering the last thing he did to you with those hands.

You felt your cheeks heat up seeing his stomach flex as he shifted again, your eyes traveling further down when Loki cleared his throat "you know I love how you admire me love." He purred, turning to his side facing you snapping you out of your trance "loki..." you said crossing your arms "oh dear, you aren't upset with me are you?" He smiled propping himself up on one elbow "loki, you destroyed the lab." You said sternly seeing his smile widen "improved is more like it." He said swinging his long legs off the bed sitting up "but, i am at your mercy. you may punish me as you see fit my queen." He said watching you. "Oh, I already have...darling." you said mimicking his accent smiling widely seeing him furrow his eyebrows.

You stood up, swinging your hips as you walked to the bed, stepping between his parted legs you reached out running a finger under the green collar, tugging him slightly forward as you leaned down to his level. "You've been a bad boy loki." You purred, hooking your fingers under the collar "now, what should I do with you?" You smiled seeing his eyes widen "well I have a few....suggestions if your interested." He smiled, quickly regaining his composure as you straightened up, his head tilting up looking at you making a shiver run up your spine, this man was going to be death of you. You gently pulled him forward, his eyes never leaving yours as his knees met the carpet, his back straightening placing his hands on his thighs

"first, you are..." you were cut off as Jarvis spoke "Mr Laufeyson, your presence is requested in the conference room." It said making you roll your eyes "Jarvis, can it wait?" You called out to the ceiling "I'm afraid not, It is rather urgent." It said. "Dammit." You muttered hearing Loki laugh "to be continued I guess" He snarked as you crouched down to his level "you may go, but this." You said tugging the collar "stays...on." you said sternly seeing him swallow "now darling, really. I can't wear this out there, they will..." you cut him off "will what? Know your mine...know that I can bend you to my will at any moment...that I can bring a prince to his knees?" You asked smiling "i..well you see.." he stuttered "it stays, am I understood?" You purred y...yes ma'am, understood." He said watching you straighten up

"good, we will discuss your punishment when you return." You said smiling as you turned back taking a seat in the chair as Loki stood clearing his throat, biting your lip as his clothes materialized on his long frame, the collar visible under rhe collar of his tunic "Darling, could we atleast remove the bell?" He asked, it jingling lightly as he talked "no, it stays as it is." You said "now hurry back, my patience is wearing very thin." You said hearing him sigh as he turned walking out the door. You couldn't help the smile that spread across your face as be left, ideas of what you were going to do to him running rampant through your mind.

Loki huffed, walking into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. The captain had been utterly insufferable, droning on and on about rules and regulations, how they needed to be a team and stop lone wolfing evey mission when he told them there was a team building trip this weekend and everyone was required to participate. Loki rolled his eyes remembering the end of the meeting "now laufeyson, don't be like that. It'll be fun." The man said smiling. Loki wanted nothing more then to slap the smile off the man's smug face. "Righteous imbicile." He grumbled setting the kettle on the stove.

"Brother, there you are." Thor said walking in. "I was looking for you after..." he trailed off, his eyes meeting Loki's neck "have my good looks left you speechless Thor?" Loki snapped crossing his arms. "I didn't think you the type Loki." He laughed sitting on a stool "what is that supposed to mean?" Loki snapped glaring at him "the type to allow a woman, a mortal no less...to collar you." Thor laughed again making Loki's face heat up "jealous are you?" Loki snarked feigning indifference "Loki, prince of asgard...rightful king brought to his knees by a mortal." Thor laughed, slapping his hand down on the counter. Loki rolled his eyes grabbing a cup from the cupboard "as much as I looove our little chats." Thor cut him off with another laugh, grating on Loki's nerves.

"D..does she..." Thor leaned forward holding his hands up "you know." He winked, making a lewd gesture with his hands as Loki slammed his and on the counter "what I do in my private chambers is not your concern!" He yelled as Thor sat still staring at him "I will thank you to stay out of my affairs." He said walking around the island towards the hall "loki don't be like that, I was only...." loki turned glaring at him "what...mocking me, making jest of my relationship?" Loki snapped stepping forward "atleast I have one, brother." Loki sneered as Thor stood up "what happened with your mortal...oh that's right, she dumped you." He smiled as Thor stormed up to him, standing nose to nose. "You do not know the story." Thor said glaring at him.

"Well, one can only assume you couldn't please her." Loki snarked when Thor shoved him "woah you two?" They both snapped their heads seeing Tony walk in "I don't need you destroying my tower." He said walking to them, smiling as his eyes landed on Loki's neck. "I see you got your present." Tony snarked "I don't have to stand here and take this." Loki said pushing past Tony storming towards the hallway "atleast I know where you are now!" Tony yelled at him when they both laughed. "Morons." Loki muttered hitting the button for the elevator feeling his anger begin to boil over.

Steve walked towards the elevator, pressing the button as he shifted through a small stack of paperwork from his last mission, tucking it under his arm when the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. He walked in, his eyebrows furrowing seeing a pile of clothes in the corner when they shifted making him jump back dropping his paperwork as a small black car emerged from the pile, hissing and snarling. "Oh, hey little guy." He cooed, a shiver running up his spine as the cats deep green eyes met his. "Where did you come from?" Steve asked kneeling down holding his arms out when the cat hissed and ran for the doors as they closed.

"Hey...hey calm down little fella." He said watching the cat claw at the doors leaving deep gashes in the metal. He reached out, quickly grabbing the cat holding him to his chest as it hissed and growled, digging its claws into his chest "god...bless America!" Steve yelled twisting the cat around trying to keep the cats razor sharp claws away from his skin. "Who is your owner little guy?" He asked, running a finger under the green collar as it began twisting again. "Ok, ok I'll take you to my room until we can find your master." He said as the doors slid open, Steve held the cat out into the air as he walked to his room "Alright, you stay here and I'll be right back." He said opening the door setting the cat down quickly shutting it so it didn't get out. "Sheesh, someone's upset." He said hearing the snarling on the other side of the door.

He hurried back to the elevator grabbing his paperwork, shifting through it he pressed the button for the labs, the sooner he got the paperwork to Tony the sooner he could take care of his new friend. Rushing out as soon as the doors opened he walked into the lab seeing Tony hunched over his latest project "Hey, I'm gonna leave these here, I've got something to take care of." He said as Tony looked up at him "where's the fire cap?" He asked grabbing the stack of papers "oh, I found this cute little cat in the elevator and I need to find his owner." Steve said smiling.

"wait...black cat?" Tony asked freezing "yeah, big green eyes, do you know it?" Steve asked "green collar I'm assuming?" Tony continued "yeah, do you know who the owner is?" Steve asked "I think so, but your gonna wanna get back to your room...like now." Tony said standing up "what do you..." Tony cut him off "trust me...I've got a call to make." Tony said rushing to his desk. Steve stood there a minute trying to figure out what Tony's issue was before he shrugged and headed back towards the elevator "scientists..." he sighed stepping inside pressing the button for his floor. His phone ringing as he stepped out "Steve! Where are you?" He heard your panicked voice through the speaker "y/n? I'm heading to my room." Steve said stopping in front of his door.

"Steve, listen to me...the cat." He pulled the phone away hearing a loud bang behind the door "y/n, I'm gonna have to call you back." Steve said hanging up as he opened the door to his room, his eyes widening at the scene in front of him. His clothes had been drug out of the closet, spread across the floor in shreds. His favorite chair sat in the corner, deep gashes slashed through it as the cotton stuffing poured out and into the floor. His eyes traveled further, seeing the deep blue duvet that was on his bed now on the floor ripped apart, the same gashes traveling across his mattress the insides pulled out when he saw the blank space on the wall where his shield had been.

"No no no.." he said, closing the door he rushed across the room seeing his shield on the floor, long deep claw marks traveling across it. He dropped to his knees, running his fingers along the gashes "why..." he sighed, picking it up holding it to his chest when he heard another noise come from the kitchen. He got up, still holding his shield he slowly walked into the kitchen, seeing the cat sitting on the counter twirling a long knife on the counter with its paw. "H..hey little guy." Steve cooed walking forward as the cats eyes met his "Let's just stay calm." Steve said as the cat batted the knife hard with his paw, launching it into the air lodging in the wall next to Steve's head "woah! What are you.." he trailed off seeing the cat jump into the cabinet and begin knocking the plates down onto the floor.

"Hey! Stop that!" Steve yelled as the cat kicked a stack of bowls, glass shattering across the floor. "Steve, open the door." He heard your on the other side of the door as he watched the cat slither along his coffee mugs, his tail whipping around each one as it knocked one by one out of the cabinet, glass flying everywhere when he stopped, placing his paw on the last cup...Steve's favorite, the dark blue cup with his insignia on it that bucky had given him "Please..." Steve tried as the cat looked into his eyes, pushing the cup forward. "No..." Steve whispered as the cat tipped it over the edge. Steve dropped the shield, diving for the cup but barely missed as it shattered in small pieces across the kitchen floor. He picked up a few of the larger pieces, leaning against the cabinets when he heard the door open.

"Steve, where are you?" You called out hearing a noise in the kitchen you walked in seeing glass covering the tile floor, a knife lodged onto the wall and Steve's shield "Steve, are you..." you trailed off seeing the super soldier hunched over on the floor "i..I was only trying to help." Steve said looking up "are you crying?" You asked furrowing your eyebrows "no! I got something in my eye." He said wiping his face "riiiight." You said looking around "Where's the cat?" You asked "i..I don't know, he was here a minute ago" Steve said standing up. You walked out, sighing seeing the destruction when you heard a ripping sound in the closet. You looked to Steve holding your finger to your lips as you stalked closer, peeking inside you saw loki digging his claws into Steve's uniform. Steve tried to storm in when you punched him in the arm making him wince "shh...stay here." You whispered as you kneeled down, slowly crawling forward.

You waited until he turned to pounce, lunging forward your wrapped your arms around his small frame pulling him to your chest. "Loki....I swear.." you growled, his eyes widening as he looked back at you. "Oh...you just wait..." you said hearing him purr as you stood up. "D..did you get him? Are you ok?" Steve called out as you sighed "yes, im fine." You said stepping out of the closet. "I'm so sorry Steve, I'll replace all of this." You said looking around the room. "It..it's fine." He said looking down, still holding the pieces of his cup. "No, it's not. I'll make sure it's taken care of." You said patting his shoulder. "I'll come back with Loki, I'm sure he'll he more then happy to help." You said hearing Loki hiss.

"It's ok, I'm pretty sure he hates me." Steve said sitting down in his chair, shifting as a spring poked him "He does not hate you, he's just..." you trailed off looking down at Loki purring against you "no, he's does. I know I can be a bit...much." Steve said with a sad smile. "I'll talk to him, I promise." You said seeing Steve nod. "Ok, I'll call you in a little bit." You said as you walked out, making your way back to your room. "I have a surprise for you.." you snarked, seeing loki look up at you. You walked into your room, shutting the door you walked across the room holding him tightly. "I had a talk with your brother today." You said walking into the bedroom flipping the light on "and he had a....suggestion...in how to get you to behave." You smiled, walking towards the corner.

"He even helped me set it up, said it came from Asgard." You smiled. You looked up at the six foot structure, three glass walls forming a rectangle with runes you didnt entirely understand etched into the glass. stepping in you set him down on the fluffy green pillow, watching him sit down looking up at you as you stepped back, your fingers pressing the buttons on a small keypad on the outside wall as a bright orange light covered the opening. "Now you sit here and think about your behavior." You said sternly watching him walk towards the energy field, pressing his paw against it when he looked up at you, his eyes squinting at you. "Don't look at me like that, you did this to yourself." You said walking over towards the bed.

"It's a shame really..." you sighed, slowly sliding your shirt over your head "I had so many plans for tonight." You said. Standing up you slowly pulled your jeans down your legs, looking up seeing Loki stalking back and forth across his little cell. Turning around your slid your panties down your legs, kicking them to the side as you stood, removing your bra leaving you bare as you glanced over your shoulder seeing loki clawing at the wall. "Goodnight Loki." You purred, blowing him a kiss as you climbed in bed hearing him mewl and whine. "Maybe next time you'll.......behave." You said grabbing your earbuds you hit play on your phone.

He was going to learn his lesson, one way or another.....

@mochie85 @lokisgoodgirl @kinky-faerie @xorpsbane @midnights-ramblings @simping-for-marvel @holdmytesseract @kkdvkyya @slpnbty2001 @lokixryss @vane28282 @violethaze @coldnique @aniar4wniak @nate-ate-hate @buttercupcookies-blog @brattymum96 @dukes2581 @your-taste-on-my-lips @mybabyh @blog-the-lilly @irishhappiness @sinsandguilt @filthyhiddles @lovebyloki @kikster606 @javagirl328 @misunderstoodself @highkeysimpingforloki @eleniblue @commanding-officer @athalialaufeyson @stupidthoughtsinwriting @lokiandbuckysdoll @loopsisloops @joyful-enchantress @jaidenhawke @silverfire475 @high-functioning-lokipath @kittiowolf210 @slytherclaw1227 @joyfullymassivewhispers @wolfsmom1 @libbybeaz @lokikissesmyforehead @goblingirlsarah @thomase1

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twilightarc-gm · 10 months

Text

Guidao in MDZS, Quotes

🖤 Okay so you know the discourse is hopping, now I wanted to slide in with the full excerpt from the official EN novels of MDZS. Alot has been said about the cultural nuance with how certain Xianxia cultivators treat the dead.

But I specifically wanted to address how guidao isn't about "peacefully" anything.

🖤 Here is the passage that was cited by another Commenter With Opinions. Some of the fluff pulled out (noted with [...]) and most relevant passages in bold for consideration: vol 1 chap 4

[...] There is an executioner who executed hundreds while alive. His parents and wife are alive and well. He was murdered in town, his corpse lying in open air for seven days, brewing resentment. He now haunts and perpetrates violence. What is to be done?”

[...] Murdered in town, a corpse in the open air for seven days—it was the very definition of a major malicious ghost, a great fierce corpse, super difficult to handle.

[...] “First, deliverance; second, suppression; third, obliteration. “Confer with his family and endeavor to learn how to fulfill his dying wish; one must absolve him of his obsession in order to ensure he is released. If the attempt proves futile, then one must suppress him with decision and with force. If his crimes are excessively heinous and his resentment still does not disperse, his existence cannot be tolerated; in this case he must be eradicated. In discharging duty, cultivators must heed this ordering without error.” [...] Wei Wuxian said, “Although ‘deliverance’ is the first step, deliverance is often impossible. ‘Fulfill his wish, absolve his attachment’ is easier said than done. If his wish is for a new set of clothes, then sure. But if it’s to kill an entire family for revenge, then what is to be done?” Lan Wangji repeated, “Deliverance is supplemented by suppression as required. Obliterate when necessary.” Wei Wuxian smiled at the response. “What a waste of resources.” After a pause, he continued, “It wasn’t that I didn’t know the answer, I was just thinking of a fourth option.” “I have never heard of any fourth option,” Lan Qiren said. “This executioner died a horrible death, so him transforming into a fierce corpse is inevitable,” Wei Wuxian said. “Since he executed hundreds whilst alive, why not dig up the graves of those hundreds? Awaken their resentment, fuse their skulls, and have them fight the fierce corpse…” Lan Wangji finally turned his head to look at him. His expression remained impassive, yet his brows were slightly knit. Lan Qiren was shaking so hard even his goatee was trembling. He shouted, “Such ignorance!” Everyone within the Orchid Room was stunned, and Lan Qiren shot to his feet. “The purpose of exorcism is deliverance! Not only do you pay no thought to the deliverance methods, you want to awaken resentful energy? You are reversing the proper order of things, disregarding ethics!” Wei Wuxian argued, “Some creatures are impossible to deliver anyway, so why not make use of them? When Yu the Great was taming the waters, he already knew blockage was an unwise plan and that redirection was the way. Suppression is a form of blockage, so isn’t that an unwise method?” Lan Qiren hurled a book at him and he ducked, continuing his nonsense without batting an eye. “Spiritual qi is energy. Resentment is also energy. Spiritual qi is stored within the dantian and can be used for great feats, so why can’t resentful qi be used the same way?” Lan Qiren hurled another book his way and exclaimed sharply, “Then let me ask you! How will you guarantee all this resentful qi will remain under your control and not harm others?!” Wei Wuxian ducked as he answered, “Haven’t thought that far yet!” Lan Qiren was outraged. “If you had, then the cultivation world would have no place for you. Get out!”

🖤 So here I think we should pay attention to how Wei Wuxian wants to "awaken" resentment, not just use what's already there.

Further as we saw with the cultural nuance posts, he wants to fuse skulls together, which... hmm not great.

Then, we see him say that such creatures are impossible to deliver anyway, why not make use of them? But the scenario Lan Qiren gave is to get rid of one (1) ferocious corpse and instead we see Wei Wuxian considering making more of them. And further, he's not really making use of the creatures that already exist, see? Otherwise he wouldn't need to awaken anything.

As we see post-rez, he comments that the eviler the better so as the Yiling Laozu he figured out how to control ferocious corpses like the executioner in this scenario.

But also there is no assumption that this is helping anyone but Wei Wuxian. "So why not make use of them?"

And I think specifically when Lan Qiren is calling out the disregard for ethics, this is mostly about the digging up properly buried corpses and awakening them. Like... as all the cultural nuance posts are trying to say, Wei Wuxian proposes and does the opposite of helping corpses/ghosts move on.

🖤And I think the most ringing argument you can really make about whether Wei Wuxian's guidao has any righteousness at all is when Jiang Yanli speaks up for him. vol 3 chap 15

[...] A-Xian used a different method from the rest of you, but it’s still a skill he cultivated on his own. You can’t write it off as ‘demonic’ just because he claimed a third of the prey that others were never going to capture to begin with.”

🖤 Which we see at Baifeng Shan he's using his ways to help Yunmeng Jiang secure prey. He played his flute and took a nap, while the corpses all ended up at Yunmeng Jiang's camp where they all use a more traditional way of dealing with corpses, i.e. obliteration. He doesn't even go to supervise.

🖤 Wei Wuxian has good in him, but I think it's better to actually look at his good deeds, no matter how selfish they are, than try to attribute inherent goodness to a path notably flaunts ethics and norms to incite yin qi (e.g. yuan qi, resentment) which is harmful to the living and resting dead. Wei Wuxian's character is a subverted villain trope, but what makes him the villain trope is the use of evil ways, i.e. the use of yin qi to seek power to use for one's own ends.

Feel free to reblog with his actual good deeds and intentions 😚

#wei wuxian #mdzs #quotes #guidao #modao #fandom discourse #long post #twi posts #his yllz era was the hottest era #lets not kid ourselves #that its because he was nice and sending corpses off peacefully #he was mean and sexy #good for him #😌😌😌#🏏🐝⁉

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year

Text

Rent control works

This Saturday (May 20), I’ll be at the GAITHERSBURG Book Festival with my novel Red Team Blues; then on May 22, I’m keynoting Public Knowledge’s Emerging Tech conference in DC.

On May 23, I’ll be in TORONTO for a book launch that’s part of WEPFest, a benefit for the West End Phoenix, onstage with Dave Bidini (The Rheostatics), Ron Diebert (Citizen Lab) and the whistleblower Dr Nancy Olivieri.

David Roth memorably described the job of neoliberal economists as finding “new ways to say ‘actually, your boss is right.’” Not just your boss: for decades, economists have formed a bulwark against seemingly obvious responses to the most painful parts of our daily lives, from wages to education to health to shelter:

https://popula.com/2023/04/30/yakkin-about-chatgpt-with-david-roth/

How can we solve the student debt crisis? Well, we could cancel student debt and regulate the price of education, either directly or through free state college.

How can we solve America’s heath-debt crisis? We could cancel health debt and create Medicare For All.

How can we solve America’s homelessness crisis? We could build houses and let homeless people live in them.

How can we solve America’s wage-stagnation crisis? We could raise the minimum wage and/or create a federal jobs guarantee.

How can we solve America’s workplace abuse crisis? We could allow workers to unionize.

How can we solve America’s price-gouging greedflation crisis? With price controls and/or windfall taxes.

How can we solve America’s inequality crisis? We could tax billionaires.

How can we solve America’s monopoly crisis? We could break up monopolies.

How can we solve America’s traffic crisis? We could build public transit.

How can we solve America’s carbon crisis? We can regulate carbon emissions.

These answers make sense to everyone except neoliberal economists and people in their thrall. Rather than doing the thing we want, neoliberal economists insist we must unleash “markets” to solve the problems, by “creating incentives.” That may sound like a recipe for a small state, but in practice, “creating incentives” often involves building huge bureaucracies to “keep the incentives aligned” (that is, to prevent private firms from ripping off public agencies).

This is how we get “solutions” that fail catastrophically, like:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness instead of debt cancellation and free college:

https://studentloansherpa.com/likely-ineligible/

The gig economy instead of unions and minimum wages:

https://www.newswise.com/articles/research-reveals-majority-of-gig-economy-workers-are-earning-below-minimum-wage

Interest rate hikes instead of price caps and windfall taxes:

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/03/1173371788/the-fed-raises-interest-rates-again-in-what-could-be-its-final-attack-on-inflati

Tax breaks for billionaire philanthropists instead of taxing billionaires:

https://memex.craphound.com/2018/11/10/winners-take-all-modern-philanthropy-means-that-giving-some-away-is-more-important-than-how-you-got-it/

Subsidizing Uber instead of building mass transit:

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/cities-turn-uber-instead-buses-trains/

Fraud-riddled carbon trading instead of emissions limits:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/27/voluntary-carbon-market/#trust-me

As infuriating as all of this “actually, your boss is right” nonsense is, the most immediate and continuously frustrating aspect of it is the housing crisis, which has engulfed cities all over the world, to the detriment of nearly everyone.

America led the way on screwing up housing. There were two major New Deal/post-war policies that created broad (but imperfect and racially biased) prosperity in America: housing subsidies and labor unions. Of the two, labor unions were the most broadly inclusive, most available across racial and gender lines, and most engaged with civil rights struggles and other progressive causes.

So America declared war on labor unions and told working people that their only path to intergenerational wealth was to buy a home, wait for it to “appreciate,” and sell it on for a profit. This is a disaster. Without unions to provide countervailing force, every part of American life has worsened, with stagnating wages lagging behind skyrocketing expenses for education, health, retirement, and long-term care. For nearly every homeowner, this means that their “most valuable asset” — the roof over their head — must be liquidated to cover debts. Meanwhile, their kids, burdened with six-figure student debt — will have little or nothing left from the sale of the family home with which to cover a downpayment in a hyperinflated market:

https://gen.medium.com/the-rents-too-damned-high-520f958d5ec5

Meanwhile, rent inflation is screaming ahead of other forms of inflation, burdening working people beyond any ability to pay. Giant Wall Street firms have bought up huge swathes of the country’s housing stock, transforming it into overpriced, undermaintained slums that you can be evicted from at the drop of a hat:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords

Transforming housing from a human right to an “asset” was always going to end in a failure to build new housing stock and regulate the rental market. It’s reaching a breaking point. “Superstar cities” like New York and San Francisco have long been priced out of the reach of working people, but now they’re becoming unattainable for double-income, childless, college-educated adults in their prime working years:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/05/15/upshot/migrations-college-super-cities.html

A city that you can’t live in is a failure. A system that can’t provide decent housing is a failure. The “your boss is right, actually” crowd won: we don’t build public housing, we don’t regulate rents, and it suuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

Maybe we could try doing things instead of “aligning incentives?”

Like, how about rent control.

God, you can already hear them squealing! “Price controls artificially distort well-functioning markets, resulting in a mismatch between supply and demand and the creation of the dreaded deadweight loss triangle!”

Rent control “causes widespread shortages, leaving would-be renters high and dry while screwing landlords (the road to hell, so says the orthodox economist, is paved with good intentions).”

That’s been the received wisdom for decades, fed to us by Chicago School economists who are so besotted with their own mathematical models that any mismatch between the models’ predictions and the real world is chalked up to errors in the real world, not the models. It’s pure economism: “If economists wished to study the horse, they wouldn’t go and look at horses. They’d sit in their studies and say to themselves, ‘What would I do if I were a horse?’”

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/27/economism/#what-would-i-do-if-i-were-a-horse

But, as Mark Paul writes for The American Prospect, rent control works:

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/housing/2023-05-16-economists-hate-rent-control/

Rent control doesn’t constrain housing supply:

https://dornsife.usc.edu/pere/rent-matters

At least some of the time, rent control expands housing supply:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-9906.2007.00334.x

The real risk of rent control is landlords exploiting badly written laws to kick out tenants and convert their units to condos — that’s not a problem with rent control, it’s a problem with eviction law:

https://web.stanford.edu/~diamondr/DMQ.pdf

Meanwhile, removing rent control doesn’t trigger the predicted increases in housing supply:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094119006000635

Rent control might create winners (tenants) and losers (landlords), but it certainly doesn’t make everyone worse off — as the neoliberal doctrine insists it must. Instead, tenants who benefit from rent control have extra money in their pockets to spend on groceries, debt service, vacations, and child-care.

Those happier, more prosperous people, in turn, increase the value of their landlords’ properties, by creating happy, prosperous neighborhoods. Rent control means that when people in a neighborhood increase its value, their landlords can’t kick them out and rent to richer people, capturing all the value the old tenants created.

What is life like under rent control? It’s great. You and your family get to stay put until you’re ready to move on, as do your neighbors. Your kids don’t have to change schools and find new friends. Old people aren’t torn away from communities who care for them:

https://ideas.repec.org/a/uwp/landec/v58y1982i1p109-117.html

In Massachusetts, tenants with rent control pay half the rent that their non-rent-controlled neighbors pay:

https://economics.mit.edu/sites/default/files/publications/housing%20market%202014.pdf

Rent control doesn’t just make tenants better off, it makes society better off. Rather than money flowing from a neighborhood to landlords, rent control allows the people in a community to invest it there: opening and patronizing businesses.

Anything that can’t go on forever will eventually stop. As the housing crisis worsens, states are finally bringing back rent control. New York has strengthened rent control for the first time in 40 years:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/nyregion/rent-regulation-laws-new-york.html

California has a new statewide rent control law:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/business/economy/california-rent-control.html

They’re battling against anti-rent-control state laws pushed by ALEC, the right-wing architects of model legislation banning action on climate change, broadband access, and abortion:

https://www.nmhc.org/research-insight/analysis-and-guidance/rent-control-laws-by-state/

But rent control has broad, democratic support. Strong majorities of likely voters support rent control:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/07/metro/new-statewide-poll-shows-strong-support-rent-control/

And there’s a kind of rent control that has near unanimous support: the 30-year fixed mortgage. For the 67% of Americans who live in owner-occupied homes, the existence of the federally-backed (and thus federally subsidized) fixed mortgage means that your monthly shelter costs are fixed for life. What’s more, these costs go down the longer you pay them, as mortgage borrowers refinance when interest rates dip.

We have a two-tier system: if you own a home, then the longer you stay put, the cheaper your “rent” gets. If you rent a home, the longer you stay put, the more expensive your home gets over time.

America needs a shit-ton more housing — regular housing for working people. Mr Market doesn’t want to build it, no matter how many “incentives” we dangle. Maybe it’s time we just did stuff instead of building elaborate Rube Goldberg machines in the hopes of luring the market’s animal sentiments into doing it for us.

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Toronto, DC, Gaithersburg, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/16/mortgages-are-rent-control/#housing-is-a-human-right-not-an-asset

[Image ID: A beautifully laid dining room table in a luxury flat. Outside of the windows looms a rotting shanty town with storm-clouds overhead.]

Image: ozz13x (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanty_Town_Hong_Kong_China_March_2013.jpg

Matt Brown (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dining_room_in_Centre_Point_penthouse.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #urbanism #weaponized shelter #housing #the rent's too damned high #rent control #economism #neoliberalism #monetarism #mr market #landlord brain #speculation

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purelyfiction · 1 year

Text

Small Doses - 2

Jake “Hangman” Seresin x F!Reader | Part 1 |

Summary: After a very spontaneous weekend full of unpredicted characters, Knockout returns to work - only for the same character to greet her as well as a whole host of problems that follow him.

Word Count: 7,003 words

Content Warning: This story will have TopGun: Maverick plot line elements to it and will possibly spoil the movie for you. Please be aware. This - and all of my stories - is 18+. By continuing to read you agree that you are 18 or older and that any content you come across is by your own discretion. || HEY THERE’S SMUT DOWN THERE SO YOU BETTER BE 18!!! (unprotected piv (don’t be hangman - use protection pals), fingering, light bondage, spanking, more really hot and reckless nonsense)

Author’s Note: um... so hey! long time no see i know, i know - life has been crazy and hard to keep up with and I haven’t been able to finish up this chapter. It’s been driving me up a wall and giving me the worst writers block. But!!! Y’all can thank @callsignthirsty because she single handedly brought it back to life for y’all. i’m getting back on the proverbial horse so to speak and will hopefully be getting more regular about my writing. I missed these two and all of y’all so I hope you’re ready for more Knockout and Hangy :)))

█ ✪ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ✪ █

You had to take a day to get your sights re-centered after the spontaneity of running into Hangman at the Hard Deck.

In fact you’d been so distracted, even Amelia had something to say when you’d picked her up that day.

“You’re being weird,” she instigates from the passenger seat - a spot she rarely gets to sit in since it's usually the three of you and you are always in shotgun.

“Am not,” you retort, glancing at her before looking back to the road.

“Your shirt is on inside out.” Frazzled, you glance down to see the seams of the shirt you’re wearing - the telltale sign of an inside out shirt.

You nod and sigh. “So it is.” A clearing of your throat comes as the teenager tries again.

“So what’s the deal? Is it work? You got some big secret mission you can’t tell us?” The spitting image of Penny starts tearing into you before she gasps. “It’s a boy.”

“It is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Is too!”

“I broke the lamp in my room,” you confess. Amelia’s face stretches, a hand covering her mouth.

The reality was, you couldn’t give a shit about the lamp right now. Or the fact that you technically hadn’t broken it — Jake had.

Jake had done a lot of damage this weekend.

“Mom is gonna lose her sh-”

“Finish that sentence, I dare you,” you say with a laugh, shaking your head.

After losing fifty bucks, the lamp in an old shoebox under your bed is the furthest conversation topic you and Amelia focus on. Conversation shifts and the weekend goes on without a hitch.

Until you’re at the base, about to enter a conference room with Cyclone and Warlock at the head of the table. Receiving word that you are sought out by both the Admiral and Rear Admiral puts you in a bit of a tailspin. The entire walk to the conference hall has you tracing your steps, wondering if you’d made a huge error. You take a centering breath before opening the door. You’re seemingly interrupting a conversation with a third-party, which makes you pause in your step, hand still on the doorknob. Warlock clears his throat before redirecting the discussion.

“Which is why we’ve decided to bring you a second set of eyes.” You smile at the man standing at the foot of the table as you finish your step. Apparently, this was also your conversation too. As Bates begins to introduce you, you turn and direct a respectful nod to him.

“Meet Lieutenant Commander Benjamin, callsign, Knockout. In turn, I introduce Captain Pete Mitchell, call sign: Maverick.” The brunette gives you a smile and the small glint of recognition that dots your memory begins to expand when you realize how stiff he’s become. And for good reason. Your brain starts into a montage of discussions between you and Penny while you were about to embark to TOPGUN for the first time. How she’d met a pilot that ended up teaching at Miramar shortly after his tenure there and how every now and then she’d run into him. Amelia then informed you, when she was old enough, that every time he flew into town they’d end up picking up where they left off and it was a vicious cycle.

The same old flame that Penny kept reginiting is your co-instructor.

You retrain your focus to hear more about the mission at hand, learning that you’ll have a month or so to get every aviator in shape. Seems like a tight timeline but you’ve learned not to argue with Simpson, seeing as he is pretty rigid. The two admirals then instruct you to meet them in the hangar in the next fifteen minutes.

Maverick joins you as you walk towards the respective hangar. “So… Lieutenant Commander,” he speaks up. “That’s… a big deal for your age,” Pete begins as you step with his stride, sunglasses perched on your nose.

“Yes. I’m incredibly proud of it.” You keep conversation short for now, primarily due to the fact you’re trying to get into your teaching mode.

“As you should be.” Mitchell is quiet for a few steps before piping up again: “Benjamin. You wouldn’t happen to be related-”

“Yes. I would.” You watch from behind bronze lenses as he meets your gaze and nods. “I also know far too much about your reputation, Captain,” you warn as the contents of the hangar become clearer. Pete shuts up as you get within earshot of the group, walking into the metal skeleton of the hangar above you as Bates finishes Maverick’s introduction. The older of the two of you starts his soliloquy of sorts, leaving you to look over the faces of the group. As you do, you begin to recognize each of them by name.

You’d met all these people at the Hard Deck on Saturday-

“It’s my pleasure to introduce my co-instructor, Lieutenant Commander Benjamin, callsign Knockout.”

In the past five months, there had only been one day you’d been nervous to take on the task of teaching at TOPGUN. That’d been day one.

And today, as you lock eyes with unmistakable green ones.

█ ✪ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ✪ █

The dismissal of class has you nearly darting out of the hangar but not quickly enough. At least, not fast enough to avoid Hangman’s voice.

“Lieutenant Commander.” You keep walking.

“Benjamin.” Four more steps -

“Knockout.” Finally, you fold, stopping and turning to look at him. Jake’s hands are out at his sides, a look of ‘what the hell’ on his face.

“Yes, Seresin?” You’re careful to keep a professional boundary between you, hoping it’s drawn clearly enough for him to catch on. It takes a moment but his expression twists as he clears his throat.

“When were you going to tell me you got a promotion?” It’s not the question you’re expecting out of his mouth, but once it’s there, you struggle with an answer.

“You… never asked.” A shrug as you look around you to make sure the coast is clear. “We… need to discuss a few things.” The reminder is clear and he nods in agreement.

“Yes. We do.” Jake drops to a whisper: “My place… I’ll text you the address.” A nod and he stands upright before you dismiss him, letting him move at his rushed pace back to base, his shoulder grazing your own as he swiftly departs from the airfield. You follow his pace to head home, to freshen up and regroup.

After a quick change and a rinse off in the shower, you grab the keys to your Jeep and give some excuse to Amelia as you run out. Penny is at the bar, so you’re grateful that the young girl is finally old enough to be left at home alone. Climbing into the vintage baby blue vehicle, you turn the engine over as you enter the address Hangman sent to your phone.

You pause, seeing the last message in your chat history.

Seresin: Happy Birthday, KO. Any plans for the day?

Benjamin: Not many, but that’s fine LOL

Then he’d called.

The rest of the chat was similarly structured: two or three bubbles on each of your birthdays. A rouge message for a holiday here and there.

Shaking the sullen feeling spreading through your chest, you shift gears. Soon after, you’re throwing the phone onto the spare seat next to you, as you pull away from the curb and head in the direction provided by the robotic voice coming from your phone.

As you pull into the apartment parking lot, you realize: he never called. He said he would, as he’d slipped out your window, but he didn’t. It’s only been two days, so maybe you shouldn’t hold it against him. After all: here you were, at his apartment.

Four flights of steps later, you’re knocking on the door of 4B, rocking on your heels. You’d changed into the first thing you’d seen in your room, which had happened to be a pair of leggings and a flowing sports top. Paired with the sneakers, you looked like you’d gotten lost on the way to the gym. When the door finally swings open, Jake has already walked away from the door and made himself at home on his couch. With a light scoff, you enter the apartment, shutting the door behind you and watching him as he leans onto his hand that’s propped on his thigh.

“So this teacher thing is… a new development?” he questions, meeting your eyes as you nod.

“No…yes? I mean I’ve been teaching since I got here…” Your answer doesn’t seem to be enough to stop the inquisition of questions from him.

“You said you’ve been here for months. Why didn’t you tell me? First the promotion and now this? You mean to tell me you didn’t know about this? I seriously doubt that.” he gripes, leaving you standing in the entryway of his apartment, mouth gaping as you avoid his eyes.

“No, Hangman, I didn’t know this was a thing until this morning. They pulled me from my current assignment for this. Now would you stop asking questions for like,” a pained sigh leaves you as you take the far end of the couch, “two seconds? That’s all I need, two measly seconds.” As you fall to the couch, Jake stands and rotates in the direction of the kitchen.

He tugs the fridge door open, grabbing a glass bottle from the door. By the time you can even think to ask for one, he’s already got the top of it off and is drinking it. You give a less than amused glare toward him before prying it from his hands once he sits down.

“Thanks for the beer,” you sneer before taking a swig. Hand frozen in a drinking motion, he looks at you with a scoff.

“You’re welcome,” he groans as he stands back up to retrieve another. “So. Lieutenant Commander.” There’s a song-like tone to his words, leaving you to look at him with one eye as he sits in front of you on his coffee table, opening up the beer bottle with the class ring on his hand. You pause the sip you’re taking to watch as the cap falls to the cheap wood and begins to spin on an axis until it falls on its face — leaving you looking at Jake, face to face.

“Nice trick,” you mumble as he takes a swig of his own beer, but continues on his thought process.

“You gonna talk, since, that’s why we’re here?” He leans back on the table, a large hand gripping its side. You finally can take a second to notice what he’s wearing: a pair of gray heathered sweatshorts and a cotton graphic tee. The shorts are riding up ever so slightly, showing evidence of the California sun on his skin in the form of swim-trunk tan lines. A small bit of gunmetal pokes out from beneath his collar — dog tags. Can’t say he’s not consistent. The metal is a sharp contrast to the overall comfortable aesthetic. There’s something softening about seeing him like this. The last time must have been in his dorm back in Nevada…

“Okay, okay. What are we doing about Penny’s lamp?” you try, just as you start sipping at your beverage, seeing his face twist from unamusement to a shake of his head, a small smirk on his lips as you start to giggle with the bottle on your lips.

“This again? She must really fuckin’ love that lamp, Kody,” he snickers and you shrug.

“It’s vintage, I don’t know what to say.” You finally reach forward and set the glass down on the table, leaning back and crossing your arms. “Obviously, I think you know-”

“Did your parents raise you in a damn barn?” Jake scolds, grabbing a plastic coaster at the end of the table, only to wiggle it in your face, picking up the bottle and slipping the disc under it before setting it back down. “Coasters, LC. Coasters.”

Your jaw drops with mock surprise as an astonished laugh leaves you. “Oh I see. IKEA street tables that you saved from the landfill get love and care but Penny’s Tiffany lamp gets shoved under my bed.”

“I am offended you think I would subject my apartment to street trash.” Jake tsks you before leaning forward. “Ten bucks on Craigslist. Target Exclusive table.”

You can’t help but roll your eyes, “Oh, of course. That makes it so much better.”

He smirks. “I like to think so.”

Finally, you begin trying to tackle the difficult conversation that’s waiting for the both of you. “In all sincerity, what happened Friday night… it can’t happen again. Not with work being the way it is now.”

The blonde tilts his head with a look of feigned confusion. “Really? I thought the teacher-student thing would’ve been right up your alley. We can try a nurse and doctor routine if that suits your fancy.” He’s leant on his knees now, a wild smirk on his face. You give him a disgruntled look and he sits up again. “Really, Kody, it’s not as big of a deal as you’re making it.” He lets the alcohol hit his lips as you sigh.

“It is Jake. This could be detrimental to my, hell, to both of our careers, which is why it can’t happen again.”

Jake is grabbing your drink before you finish speaking and pressing it into your hand with a shake of his head.

“Who’s gonna know? It’s after hours at the end of the day, so why should they care? And hey, we got through bootcamp without a problem, didn’t we?” he asks with a small cheers of his beer against yours before he sips it.

Your stomach drops when he asks the question, encasing you in ice.

Jake doesn’t give you a chance to respond, let alone get too in your head about what he’s just said. He sets his own beer down — on a coaster of course — a cold hand landing on one of your thighs, a warm one on the other. “But, I get your concern.”

Your eyes widen slightly at his statement.

“Really?” You lean back further into the couch as he nods. “I guess that settles it then. Right?”

“Yep.” Jake simply replies, his focus no longer on the conversation, which is clear as his fingers start to run along the elastic fabric of your leggings.

“We agree… we can’t sleep together while this is going on,” you try again, a grip of his hand changing your tune slightly as you finish your sentence.

“Absolutely. Couldn’t agree more.”

You find it hard to believe as he shifts to your side of the couch, lips pressing against your neck.

“Jake. I’m trying to have an adult conversation about this,” you warn, but your body is already betraying you as his grip trails up your sides, carefully pulling you closer.

“Oh, I know, keep going, I’m listening.” It certainly seems that way as he continues to tongue at the spots he’s been messing with along your neck.

“Jake,” you huff, hoping that you don’t sound as breathless as you’re beginning to feel, “come on.”

“Come on and what?”

“You know what.” You can feel the smirk on his lips as his breath trails along your skin — silently taunting you despite the fact you can’t see his features.

“Come on and get on with it? Or, come on and stop?”

“The second one.” As you answer both of his questions, his hands are moving to your hips and guiding you backwards, further and further until you’re flat on your back on his couch.

“Then say it.” He presses a kiss to the corner of your lips and you lean into it before you can stop yourself. “Tell me to stop, Kody.” You’re following his lips as he pulls away further, dark eyes meeting yours.

Your jaw is slacked, your breathing heavy, chest moving at double its normal rate. Words fail you, and while you’re trying to think of something, anything, to give a solid, rational reason — he returns to the spot under your jawline.

“Because, you see, Kody–” the words are hard to make out with his lips latched to your skin, tongue glazing over every spot as he drifts along “–I don’t think you want me to stop.” His hands begin to roam from their spot on your waist. “No, no, I think… that you want me to touch you… to keep you under me as long as I want. To get rid of every important thought in that pretty brain of yours — forget the world… work… everything.” There’s a near hiss to the sentence, so low and sultry it sends a shiver up your spine. “But I need to hear you say it, first.”

His fingers dip below the waist of your leggings, but they freeze there as he sits and listens. Your mind tries to work through the white noise, the consistent bah-bum bah-bum of your heart clawing up your throat until it’s reverberating in your head and making it hard to string together a coherent set of words.

Jake’s lips curl into a smile that tells you he knows exactly what he’s doing to you. “Baby, I mean it. You just say the word and I'll do all the thinking for ‘ya. I'll be in charge of making the decisions. Make you feel good. How's that sound?” Although patronizing, it flips a switch in your mind.

You aren’t the lead for this assignment — Maverick is. He makes the hard decisions. He leads the lessons. If no one knew about you and Hangman… nothing would change.

So really, what would it hurt?

From above you, Jake retreats a hand from your torso to bring it to his mouth, mockingly holding a radio receiver, and making an intercom noise. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. The cabin doors are closing and we're about to take off to pound town, so if you would like to get off the plane, this is your last opportunity to do so.”

You’re not sure whether to laugh or roll your eyes, so you’re doing the former and knock your knee against his in a swift upward motion as he hovers above you. He looks down at you expectantly. “I can’t believe you used pound town in a sentence.” Your tone comes off as slightly disgusted, yet Hangman tilts his head.

“Gotta say something fast, because flight crew is about to close the cabin door for the taxiway.” You roll your eyes. Can’t believe he’s doubling down on the pound town thing. Then he leans in close, husks against your ear: “Do you not want me to tie you up and wrap your thighs around my ears?”

You groan, caught between annoyance and want at the mental image he paints with those words. “Fuck yes, why didn’t you lead with that?” Finally, you reach up and pull his head down to level with yours, his lips feverishly capturing yours as you kick off your shoes. His fingers quit teasing at the waist of your leggings and tug them from your hips, carelessly tossing the fabric somewhere — out of sight, out of mind.

His lips cascade down your neck to your collarbone, exposed by your slouchy top. Your casual outfit is making this process of getting you out of your clothes so much quicker for him and he isn’t complaining.

“Can you” a kiss “wear this” a nip “more” a lick “often? I’ll have you naked in seconds and it's so efficient,” he hums along your skin, kisses sneaking between words.

“Why are you still talking?” you lament in response.

Propped up on his knees with his hands caressing the exposed skin of your sides, Hangman gives you a hard look. “This coming from the woman who said this was a bad idea,” he sneers.

You’d roll your eyes, but it’s true. “I stand by that,” you repeat, defending your previous position even as green eyes turn mischievous and his hands come to grip your waist.

“Actually, you’re lying under me,” he hums, a gasp leaving you as he presses your torsos closer together. “Kinda’ defeats the statement.”

“What? You’ve never chased a bad idea before?” you tease. “I find that hard to believe.”

“You keep saying this is a bad idea.”

“Shut up, Seresin.”

“Can do, LC.” You watch his smirk stretch as his fingers undo the tie from his shorts. He pulls the braided string free and presents you with his palm. You raise an eyebrow in question. What does he want? A medal? “Hands,” he instructs. You lift your arms and he takes each wrist gently in his one hand. Dilated jade eyes meet yours, and you find yourself waiting on his next instruction with baited breath. “You have a word?”

A safe word, of course. It’s genuinely been so long since you’ve needed to have a safe word that it had completely skipped your mind. But within a split second you have one. “Nevada.”

Hangman stops short, cord slack where he'd been trying to figure the best way to wrap your wrists. When his eyes meet yours with a nod, the smallest smile flickers over his features. “Nevada it is.” Jake returns to the task of tying the cotton string around your wrists.

You watch him intently, when an idea pops into your head. “Always prepared, huh?” you ask, mentally cheering as Hangman takes the bait, a prideful smirk splitting his face.

“Of course, gotta be ready for anything.”

You mirror his smirk as he falls into your trap. The only thing better than Hangman in your bed — “And you call Rooster a boy scout.” — is an irritated Hangman in your bed. You watch with glee as his face falls and he pulls your restraints tighter until the braided string burns against your skin and your wrists are bound in front of you.

“Shut up, Benjamin.” It’s grumbled under his breath as he puts the final touches on a knot against your skin. You stay quiet for a moment as he finishes, tucking the strings away before looking him dead in the eye as you test your bindings.

“Make me.”

Hangman smirks and pulls his shirt from his shoulders before tossing it to the floor with your leggings. Instead of the witty repartee you’ve come to expect, he readjusts you on his sofa to give himself more room to work with. Then, without giving you a second to breathe, he crouches between your legs and pulls your underwear from your hips. You inhale sharply as his breath ghosts over your slick folds, now exposed to the cold air of his apartment, but he doesn’t make a move to close the distance. No. He lets you relax first. Then he pounces.

Your back arches as your hips try to simultaneously jump away from and into the warm press of his tongue, your lips parting in a sultry noise that has Hangman smiling. His lips are slick with your arousal, pupils expanding to overtake the verdant green of his eyes. “I don’t think I will,” he says with another lick, this one barely brushing your clit and you jolt. “I think I like it much better when I can hear you.”

As Hangman makes good on his promise and wraps your legs around his head, you suck your bottom lip between your teeth. It tastes like his coconut chapstick, blended with the slightly stale taste of hops from your spontaneous happy hour — but the thought barely registers, because this time, Hangman doesn’t pause before he’s on you.

It’s almost instantaneous how your body reacts to him. Hips jolting, bound hands attempting to reach out to him — failing, of course. The thought of having your hands bound seemed so sexy while they were free, but you’re beginning to regret the makeshift bind now that your fingers itch to lock into his hair. To push and tug and encourage him with each lap of his sinful tongue. Instead, you rock against him only to whine when he shifts back and a strong hand presses your hips into the couch. It would be hot if it wasn’t so frustrating, the sudden lack of friction makes you dizzy and a light groan slips from you before you can try to bottle it up.

You feel like soda that’s been shaken up. You want to stretch out your arms, to dig your nails into the cushions above you and scream as the electric tingle spreads through you until you’re ready to burst. As it is, all you can do is clench your fists to secure yourself for the pending wave. With your wrists locked together it only boosts your temptation to grab something. Your inner thighs are already pressed so tightly against Jake’s sharp jawline, it doesn’t seem possible for them to squeeze even further. Inevitably, there’ll be bruising, that you’re absolutely sure of. You clamp down harder anyway, grabbing at him any way you can and your back arches, which really speeds things up. In response, Jake’s grip on you tightens and he pulls your hips towards himself as they instinctively try to jump away.

“Where ya goin’, darlin’?” It’s muffled by the curves of your skin but dripping in promise, dark eyes glancing up at you with a devious grin to match. “I ain’t done with you.” He licks a fat strip up your cunt and smacks his lips. “Now, be a good girl and cum on my face.” The words go straight to your gut, forcing a strangled noise out of you as Hangman doubles down on his efforts, your thighs quivering where they’re still pressed to his ears. Your shoulders rock against the couch under you, barely keeping a constant pattern in your breathing as your entire body is set ablaze. Large hands smooth over your thighs as you come down, a gentle effort to calm the jittering motion as warm strokes of his tongue work to clean you up. Finally, he’s patting one of them, trying to pry his head from your grip. “Not so tight, baby,” he keens, pulling himself up onto his knees, a hand moving up to wipe across his lips, only to caress his jaw in feigned pain. Your breath is returning to you after its jolting disappearance mere seconds before, a slight laugh leaving you. “I thought you said earmuffs?”

He scoffs before twisting his head in an attempt to crack his neck. “Yeah, earmuffs not a fuckin’ vice grip.” A hand pushes through his hair, an attempt to reset himself, like a bird preening his feathers. ”It’ll be in the New York Times headlines tomorrow,” he cracks, before annunciating each word with a flash of his hand: “Pilot Dies Doing What He Loves Best.”

You let a roll of your eyes follow your miffed expression. “What, sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”

You don't feel his hand as it sneaks its way between your thighs, but you know something is coming when his lips curl into that infuriating smirk. ”A finger, maybe,” he huffs, said finger sliding in with ease, before he crooks it up against a sensitive spot within you. “Besides, I thought we’d established last time that this–” his finger retreats “–is mine.” With a heavy hand, he plunges in again, forcing your hips to jolt up at the sharp movement. The waning oversensitivity. You let out a whine. “Isn’t it, darlin’?”

“I dunno,” you hum, watching a questioning expression flit over his face, “you might have to remind me.”

He huffs, his hand withdrawing just as quickly as it had appeared. “Well, now you’re just asking for trouble.” Hangman curls two fingers around your bindings and pulls you up until you’re almost chest to chest, only your bound wrists between you. You smirk, leaning in to close the distance between your lips, teeth clicking around air where you’d expected to find Hangman’s bottom lip.

Fingers curl around your chin as Hangman chuckles. “Bad girls don’t get kisses, Kody,” he taunts. In the next instant, he’s got your knees on the floor and the rest of you bent over the same damn coffee table he’d been boasting about earlier. Before you can say anything smart, a hand comes down on your ass and you jump, hip bones smashing against the edge of the table. “They get spanked,” he says and you can hear the satisfaction coloring his words, feel it in the way his palm rubs over your hot skin. “So what d’you say? You ready to apologize?”

“For what?”

“That mouth, for one.”

You roll your eyes even though you know Jake can’t see it. “You love my mouth.” You yelp as his hand comes down on your other cheek.

“Oh, I do,” he agrees, “but it keeps getting you in trouble.” Your thighs tense when his hand disappears from your skin. “So what do you say?”

You huff, giving in if only so that your ass won’t be too sore to fly the next day. “What am I apologizing for?”

“Take your pick,” Jake drawls, hands smoothing up your spine and lips brushing over the red splotches on your asscheeks. “Calling me a bad idea.” He is. “Trying to bite my lip off. Insulting my coffee table.”

“You want me to apologize to your street table?”

“Target exclusive.” A sharp nip to reddened skin. “Sorry it doesn’t have a name like Penny’s ugly lamp. See, apologizin’ isn’t so hard.”

Your forehead thunks against wood veneer. “I’m sorry I was mean to your coffee table.”

Hangman hums. One of his hands trails over the knobs of your spine until calloused fingertips whisper around your cunt, the skin tacky with a mixture of his drying spit and your arousal. “I’m not sure I believe you.”

“Bite me.” You regret your words instantly, but instead of biting you, Hangman merely grazes your skin with his teeth.

“Next time,” he says, scooting closer to you until the hot line of his cock nestles along your cunt, rutting against you in a tease of what you hope is still to come. Then, absentmindedly: “I wonder if I could fuck some manners into you.”

Your shoulders bunch in a shrug. “Worth a shot.”

One of Hangman’s hands plants itself near your head, his other helping to guide himself into you. “That’s my girl.” But he stops with the fat head of his cock pressed to your slick folds. “Now ask me nicely.”

“Jake,” you whine, pressing your hips back but only succeeding in driving yourself a little more insane.

“Come on, baby. Use your words.”

You turn your head to get a look at him over your shoulder, hot cheek pressed against the stupid coffee table. “Please fuck me stupid, Jake,” you groan, half from exasperation. “Need it. Feel so empty.”

Hangman leans over you until his chest presses against your back and leaves a lingering kiss on your cheek. Your jaw goes slack when he finally pushes in. “That’s it, baby,” he groans against your ear before hiding his face in your neck, and you know you’ve got him right where you want him. “Taking me so well. Always so good for me.”

“Fucking move, Jake,” you curse. A moment later, the hand by your head shifts to gather your hair at the base of your neck, only for Hangman to use it to arch your back slightly, lips to your ear.

“Nicely, Kody.” You outright moan at the display of domination and go slack in his grasp. “Don’t you want to be good for me?”

“Please, Jake.” You swallow to wet your dry throat, lashes fluttering to brush against your cheeks. “I’m sorry I made fun of your street table, but I’d like it a lot more if you fucked me over it.”

“Knew you’d come around,” Jake says as he lowers you back to the table, but you’re to the point where you just hope you cum. You don’t have to worry about that, though. Not with Jake. He may have left all of the others hanging, but never you. At least, not in this regard. “It’s a great table.”

Hangman lets go of your hair, but that doesn’t stop you from throwing your head back when he locks onto your g-spot with an eager thrust. “So good!” And you’re hardly aware of anything except the way his body plays yours like a fiddle, but Jake can take your answer however he likes - he could take it to hell with him so long as he doesn’t stop. So long as he stays stretched over you and inside of you. His voice in your ears, and ambrosial taste on your tongue.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he grunts, wrapping his hand around the edge of the coffee table for more leverage to fuck into you. “Thought you could just quit this? Thought I’d let this pussy go?” Your only answer is a drawn out moan. History would say yes, but fuck you’ve never been happier to be wrong in your life. You’ll gladly be wrong more often if it means finding yourself under Jake. You rock backwards to meet him halfway, the clap of sweat-slick skin dampened by the roar of blood rushing in your ears. It’s almost as good as flying. The rush. The light, dizzy feeling. Like a high. Each moment is unique but blurring together and vaguely familiar.

When he pulls back too far and slips out of you, you raise your ass up and give it a tempting swivel. Greedy hands capture your hips and hold you still so he can push back into you.

This, proves to be the coffee table’s undoing.

You yelp, only avoiding a faceful of apartment floor thanks to Jake’s quick reflexes as a loud crack echos off the walls. Broad forearms have slid under your waist, stopping your momentum as Jake’s prized possession meets its demise on the carpeted floor. Both of you are panting — both from the sudden cease in activity and in some semblance of surprise. When you finally register what’s happened, you can’t stop the terribly loud laughter that leaves you as Jake pulls you back up to your knees and eventually onto the couch, away from the scene of the crime.

“Shut it, Benjamin,” he mutters, haphazardly pulling sweats back up around his waist — not that they stay up since the drawstring is still digging into your skin. He looks back at you from over his shoulder, where you sit with your bottom lip between your teeth, biting back laughter. The longer he looks at you the more his own expression cracks as he joins you while you continue to laugh.

“I guess it’s a good thing I apologized to your table,” you wheeze when you manage to get enough air back into your lungs. “You know, now that it’s no longer with us and all.” The laughter continues as Jake covers his face with a hand, both of you reeling, stomachs aching.

“So,” you draw out. “You wanna untie me so I can help you clean this up, or…?”

And while Hangman shakes his head no, he reaches out to untie your wrists all the same. “Leave it,” he says as he massages the red, bloodless lines crisscrossing your arms. “We’ll pick it up after.”

“After?” You grin, eyes half-lidded as you give Jake a onceover. He’s still hard, cock tenting his loose shorts.

“Yeah.” He tosses the drawstring to the side, intending for it to land on the coffee table, but it lands, instead, on top of its debris. “Gonna have to take this to the bedroom unless we want splint–”

Knock! Knock!

“Yo, Jake! You good?” It’s Coyote. Your wide eyes meet Hangman’s.

“What is Coyote doing here?” you hiss as quiet as humanly possible.

“I think we were supposed to get drinks.”

“You think?” It’s a struggle to keep quiet, but Coyote finding you in Jake’s quarters — naked in Jake’s quarters — could mean the end of both of your careers. You’re his commanding officer, dammit!

“Jake?!” Coyote’s sounding a little more frantic and you’re worried that he’s going to try the door next. God, did Hangman remember to lock it when you got there?

“Yeah, man!” he’s shouting a response and already wide eyes look pleadingly at green ones, silently begging him to get Coyote the fuck outta Dodge. “I’m good.”

“Alright, so… you gonna open the door?” You’re in the middle of locating your clothes from around the room, pausing as Jake looks at you — as though he’s incapable of selecting the correct answer, which is obviously ‘no’. You shake your head frantically, leaving Hangman’s response.

“‘Fraid that’s not happening, Machado.” You’ve finally located your shirt on the floor but before you can grab it, Hangman’s hands grab your hips and pull you off balance and onto his lap.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ you mouth at him, brows drawn in a stern frown.

“Why’s that?” Oh, you know, just a typical Monday night with his very naked commanding officer on his fucking lap in his living room. You watch as the gears turn in Jake’s head, you’re nearly about to tell him off and try your luck climbing out the window when he replies.

“Got a girl in here, man.”

“Ha!” Coyote barks a laugh. “You work fast.”

Not fast enough it seems. You try to stand but Jake’s grasp around your waist is impassible, leaving you stuck between a proverbial rock and a hard-on. Despite the situation, Jake’s lips curl into a smile against your neck. “Please,” he continues, falling into the same teasing back and forth he and Coyote have always had, “you would too with a face like this.”

God, you want to smack that look right off of his face.

“And that body!” Coyote laughs back.

“Javy, please,” Jake chides, an ever growing smirk on lips that continue to tantalize your skin, trapped in his arms and the worst possible situation. “You’re making me blush.” The blonde snickers as his friend joins him from the hall. Like a cat trying to escape a child’s manhandling grasp, you continue to push from Jake, which he finally catches on to. “Alright, man, unfortunately, I’m gonna have to ask you to get goin’.”

“What, you don’t wanna share?” the other pilot propositions from behind the incredibly thin — I mean, seriously, what kind of door allows a damn conversation like this to happen through it — door.

You stiffen at the insinuation. The idea that Coyote could find you out. Flush your entire career in an instant.

“Not this one.”

Your expression softens at Jake’s answer. In the line up of answers A through D, that was not one of the responses you’d anticipated. To be fair — the question itself was rather unpredictable to start with.

“Ten-four. Just make sure you wrap it.”

Jake answering grin is lecherous when he turns to you. “Ah, come on, baby. You’re not gonna make me wrap it, are ya?”

Exaggerated heaving noises filter through the door. “I’m leaving.”

“Good riddance,” Hangman calls after him as you breathe out a sigh.

“Thank god.” Jake’s grip is still tight around you. Neither of you are exactly fighting to move just yet. Maybe that’s why his hands find your waist, lips trailing down the back of your neck and along your shoulder. Normally, you would’ve melted into it, but right now? Your stomach is doing somersault after somersault after the entire interaction. “Hangy,” you mumble, hearing his hum from behind you. “It’s dead.”

He chuckles as he sits back finally. “Dead as the table?” A sad laugh leaves you as you finally slip from his fingertips, standing up and looking at the wreckage below you.

“Oh yeah.” You nod, finally snagging your shirt from the floor and pulling it over your head. “Ashes to ashes.”

“Dust to dust,” Jake continues, slumped into the depths of the couch.

“Street trash to street trash.”

“Hey!” he corrects, brows furrowed, and you can’t help but giggle at your jab, relishing in your own amusement.

When the both of you finally sort yourselves out, you offer to help Jake carry what remains of the coffee table down four flights of stairs and out to the green dumpster in the parking lot. You set the broken pieces on the asphalt, stretching out your back slightly once it's down.

“Did you, uh…” With one of the legs in your hand, you point to the table before your eyes rise to meet Jake’s — facial features filled with annoyance. “Did you want to say something?” You gesture to the table, slapping the leg in your hand against your free palm.

“Shut up, Kody,” he snides, picking up the broken and disassembled parts of his table and throwing them into the dumpster.

“Alright, I’ll say something.” You look at the stained wood table leg in your hand, clearing your throat. “Ikea table–”

“Target,” Jake’s correction comes, leaving you to glance at him, nodding.

“Target table: Our acquaintance was short lived. Much like you were.”

Jake lets out a low chuckle, he’s trying to hide it, but he’s not doing a very good job of it.

“You were mediocre at best.”

“Excuse me?” Jake interrogates, an eyebrow raised in silent retaliation.

“I was talking to the table.” A scoff comes from him before he squats down to pull said table from its spot, up and into the dumpster as you hold the lid open. With a thud the lid returns to its closed position as Jake lays his table in its final resting place upon a bed of trash and brushes his hands free of dirt. He starts off in the direction of your car but even in the few feet he’s managed to get between you, you can hear him mumble under his breath.

“Brat.”

#jake seresin x reader #hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin x reader #seresin x reader #top gun #top gun maverick

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kaidabakugou · 1 year

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❅ DAY 6: CHRISTMAS LIGHTS WATCHING FT. KATSUKI BAKUGOU

❅ WORD COUNT: 1.8K

❅ WARNINGS: BRIEF MENTIONS OF READER BEING INTO WITCHCRAFT / MENTIONS OF PERIODS / YOU GUYS OWN A DOG / NAMES LIKE DUMD DUMD, DUMMY, CRYBABY, PRINCESS AND MOMMY (DOG MOM) ARE USED / LMK IF I MISSED ANYTHING ELSE <3

❅ AUTHOR’S NOTE: welcome to day six, sorry i haven’t been able to update as frequently but i promised to finish this event and i plan on doing so before getting started on other wips, this is very self indulgent but i hope it brings you comfort since we all seemed to have started the year a little stressed, xoxo <333

❅ 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MASTERLIST

“come on boom, let's go wake up mommy”, katsuki whispers down to your dog as he jogs up the stairs towards your shared bedroom where you were currently resting, boom trotting excitedly next to him. you both had arrived extremely tired after a long meeting at the agency after being pestered by your team with all the activities and public appearances that were expected of you and katsuki this holiday season.

as the top and hottest pro-hero couple in trending, both of your teams wanted to take advantage of the current attraction to boost your public images, katsuki’s more than yours considering all the encounters he's had with the media getting in his face.

bakugou could care less of his image and whatever nonsense he’s agents had been spewing at him for breaking, yet again, another camera from the paparazzi to the ground after they invaded his space, his focus had been on you the entire meeting as he noticed you shift uncomfortably in your chair from time to time.

taking a quick moment to unlock his phone and confirm his suspicions as he looked over a widget that shows the current moon phases, noticing how the full moon was near which meant you'd probably be getting your period soon. he never truly understood why you always got your period near or on a full moon sometimes, even after you explained to him the witchy lore you believed was the reason for it, he still didn't see how the moon and your cycle could be related. nonetheless, ever since he learned the information, he became more aware of the moon and keeping track of the phases so he could prepare for when you got your time of the month.

extending a hand towards the one clutching your knee under the conference room table as he takes it into his own to comfort you as he figures every time you shifted in your chair had to be because of your cramping. which is why you both had decided to take a quick nap after you arrived from the meeting but katsuki had woken up before you and prepared a couple of things to surprise you before returning to wake you up.

gently lying beside you on the bed as he runs his finger slowly along your arm, resting his head on the palm of his hand whilst he peers down at your sleeping form. admiring how beautiful you looked even with your face squished against the pillow, a soft smile adorning his face whilst his fingers tucked the strands of hair covering your face behind your ear.

leaning down to lay kisses against your shoulder while whispering a soft ‘hey babe’ against your skin as he trails up to your neck, ghosting his lips above your warm skin as he breathes you in before continuing to pepper you with kisses. leaning back when he feels you take in a deep inhale followed by a small grunt as you shift to bury your face deeper into the pillow. boom quickly hopping on the bed when he hears you, snuggling up to you in between you and katsuki’s legs waiting for you to fully wake up.

katsuki and you had adopted boom a couple months ago when you found him abandoned inside a box near the gas station you stopped in while returning home from a holiday vacation. he was the only one left and you didn't have the heart to leave him there with such cold conditions so you decided to bring him back with you and he's been part of the family ever since.

gently cradling your face in his hand as he moves you towards him, katsuki squishes your cheeks together between his fingers as you grunt in his grasp, your eyes still closed as he gently shakes your head.

“time to wake up, sleepyhead”, he laughs whilst leaning down to press his lips against yours, repeating the action a couple more times before capturing them in a long kiss as his hand shifts to tangle with the hairs behind your ear while he gently scratches your scalp, pulling a soft moan from you making him smile against you at how easily you melt to his touch.

finally meeting your eyes as you slowly open them when he pulls away from the kiss, smiling at how even with your sleep-heavy eyes you still look up at him like he’s the most important thing on the planet. leaning in to steal another kiss before whispering a small ‘come on’ against your lips as he rises from the bed and circles it towards the foot of it, wrapping his hands around your ankles whilst he pulls you towards him, ignoring your small grunts as he wraps your legs around his waist before leaning down to lift you up into his arms, carrying you out of the room as he calls out for boom to follow him.

whispering a low ‘you'll see’ against your shoulder before placing a kiss on it when you ask where you guys were going as he continues to carry you down the stairs towards the exit. shifting you in his grasp to hold your weight with one arm so he can unlock the car and open the back seat for boom to hop inside before getting you settled in the passenger seat.

taking the time to fix your appearance the best that you could while katsuki rounded the car, unaware of where you guys were heading but considering you noticed he also still had his pajamas on, you figured you weren't going anywhere you needed to step out of the car, so you didn't worry about your appearance much.

it was already night time so you assumed he just wanted you to accompany him to go get some takeout since you both slept through dinner so it definitely surprised you when you saw him take a turn towards the more luxurious area of the neighborhood, shooting him a confused look to which he just grins back at you accompanied by a quick wink before returning his focus back on the road as he reaches over to take your hand in his. making a turn towards where the bigger line of houses started as katsuki smiles to himself when he feels you shift in your seat to look out the window as he slows down the car.

the houses in this part of your community always went all out decorating for christmas and you've always had the tradition of going on drives around the area to enjoy the christmas lights, but you've been so busy recently that the activity totally went over your head this season.

“you remembered” you say excitedly towards him as you shoot him a quick glance.

“of course i remembered dumb dumb, it's one of your favorite things during this time…”, he answers while rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand still in his, “... besides, thought you needed a little break with everything going on recently on top of getting your period”.

you whip your head around to stare at him, taking in what he said as you feel yourself getting emotional when his words sink in, katsuki notices your eyes glossing over and immediately reaches over to cradle your face in his hand, his thumb capturing the tears escaping your eyes as he lets out a small laugh whilst he leans over to hold you with both hands.

“come on, don't cry, dummy” he whispers against your quivering lips before pulling you into a kiss, wiping the tears still falling from your eyes before giving you a quick peck. hearing boom whimper in the back seat as he pokes his head in between katsuki and you and shoves his snoot in your face to make sure you're okay, licking the trail of tears staining your face making the both of you laugh before katsuki goes back to driving the car.

“we’re almost there”

“there's more?”

“mhm”, he hums with a smile as he takes your hand in his again.

you lean your head against your seat as you peer out the window, taking in all the pretty lights and decorations as you feel yourself grow more relaxed, something you hadn't been able to do recently. katsuki drove up a hill in the same neighborhood before he parked the car in the area where there were no houses on each side, bringing your hand towards his lips to give the back of it a quick kiss and lightly squishing it twice before letting go of it to exit the car.

circling over to your side quickly as he opens the door to pick you up, shifting you in his arms to hold you on one side again so he could have a free hand, a habit you were already used to since he enjoyed having you in his arms, especially when you were still languorous.

opening the trunk of the car, you gasp when you noticed that he had laid out blankets and pillows along with your favorite takeout in the back, looking at him as you find his gaze already on you watching your reaction, laughing when he sees your eyes gloss over again, finding it amusing how emotional you could get while on your period as he sets you down before crawling inside with you.

“come ‘er you crybaby” he coaxed whilst pulling you towards him to lay in between his legs, resting your head against his chest as he throws one of the blankets over both of your legs before reaching over to grab the food, pressing the button that lowers the back seats in the process so boom could join you. enjoying the meal while you both chatted whilst you peered down at the neighborhood where you had a clear view of all the decorations and sparkling lights from up the hill.

leaning your head back so you could look up at katsuki as his eyes shifted to yours, smiling down at you before lowering himself to capture your lips in his, feeling the hand that had been rubbing circles on your lower abdomen lift up to hold the side of your head as his fingers tangled with the hairs at your nape, gently caressing your scalp. soft lips wrapped around yours in a slow yet passionate kiss before pulling back to press his forehead against yours.

“thank you for this”, you whisper against him before smiling.

“no need to thank me, princess” he coos down at your before capturing your lips again, the kiss not lasting very long as boom shoves his wet nose against both of your cheeks, jealous he's not getting affection as well making both of you laugh again as you reach up to scratch behind his ears, settling your head against katsuki’s chest again to continue to admire the sparkling lights while reveling in the warmth of your lover and fluffy companion.

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republicansaredomesticterrorists · 8 months

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Tim Burchett is a shameless Qanon conspiracy theorist and Ultra-MAGAt sack of shit. He is a clown, showboat, and crisis actor. He pals around with Gaetz, Greene, and Boebert. He lies continually and is one of the RepubliKKKlans biggest spewers of misinformation, disinformation, lies, and propaganda. Further he is a dumb f—k who is constantly blathering nonsensical facts about history, government, science, and virtually everything. Kevin McCarthy isn’t exactly the HULK who can rupture kidneys with an elbow. McCarthy isn’t a street brawler either in fact he’s one of a tiny percentage of RepubliKKKlans to have the tiniest shred of decorum. Both of these traitors are wimps who wouldn’t even know how to physically deliver a blow.

In summary, Tim Burchett is a f—king liar pulling an absurdly cheap stunt to get even with McCarthy to get even on behalf of Gaetz and the other Ultra-MAGAt traitorous assholes.

🖕

#republican assholes #Tim Burchett Is Disgusting #republican hypocrisy #republican family values #cheap stunt #Kevin McCarthy

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riewritten · 3 months

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CHAPTER 6. COUNTERATTACK

EDGE OF THE PRECIPICE — DIRECTORY

ERWIN X FEM!READER, ERWIN X YOU, NO Y/N | hurt/comfort, angst, mystery, childhood friends, fake marriage, modern au, parallel universe, reincarnation, mentions of canon, pining commander erwin smith, trauma, manipulation, referenced child abuse, violence, psychological torture

SUMMARY: Aggressive land grabbing from the royal government ensue from one countryside to the other, all allegedly for the prophecy: a tree, vast source of power that'd bring great abundance and prosperity to mankind, is standing among their lands. As the said prophecy holds the answer to the tragic childhood you have no memories of, the guerilla's commander pulls out something he prepared for years to help. AO3 | FANFICTION

WORDS: 6k | Want to get tagged for the succeeding chapters? Sign up here.

Levi, Isabel, you, and Erwin stayed inside the conference room after everyone in the HQ called it a night. An old vintage television is open and its news flash report further echoed the already grim mood.

“Breaking news: Stohess citizens, abducted by rebels to avenge their comrade’s death.”

“What?!” Isabel grimaced.

“Reportedly thirteen soldiers were dead on arrival while five were injured. Citizen casualties remain unknown as they were seized before back-ups had arrived. The rebel being avenged, Petra Ral, was a university student branded as the ‘brainwashed Eldian.’ Ms. Ral was said to be killed after trying to shoot a Military Police officer,” the newscaster continued.

“So this is their game?” Isabel taunted at the air. “Bet they’d make these five soldiers who weren’t even there fool the media with sob stories of how merciless we were.”

Petra did not deserve such disdain at her name, but this time you remain composed instead of making a scene yet again. It’s not like you could do anything about it, not when the next person interviewed on the news was your former boss—the same man who berated Petra at the cafe, the same man who made you realize how desperate you were for normalcy to the point of letting a precious friend’s reputation undeservingly stepped on over and over. Your then-boss sputtered a lot of nonsense on live TV to make his exposure longer. He spoke of how barbaric Petra was, of how he regretted hiring a girl like her, and even went far as to mention your name—that you were one of the poor fellows fooled by Petra’s “so-called” kindness because, before you went AWOL, he caught you staring daggers at him which sent shivers down his spine. He even added in his final statement, “It wouldn’t surprise me if she joined the rebels, too. Petra was smart enough to brainwash students who seemed like a complete airhead like her workmate.”

The one who broke the grim atmosphere (or perhaps made it even worse) was Erwin. He chuckled, sardonically so, as if it was nothing but a noontime gag show and your then-boss was none but a stand comedian.

Levi had the face saying ‘the fuck are you laughing on’ but didn’t waste energy to tell him out loud because, after all, out of all people inside the room, Erwin would be the one to react most unkindly once your name was said in a bad light. It’s always been that way for you, even back in Mitras, so annoyingly protective even after you berate him for taking on fights that were yours to take in the first place.

Perhaps Isabel deemed the laugh utterly displeasing and felt compelled to turn off the TV and change the topic—you were her chosen target, “I actually don’t know what name to call you anymore. Would you rather go by your original name, A—”

“That is not my original name,” you grimaced but quickly regained composure because, if anything, Isabel meant no harm, “I’m sorry. I just—I don’t like the name. Please call me as it is.”

“I prefer your current name now, too! Erwin said you were the one who came up with it as a child. How did that happen, though?”

“Erwin’s aunt allowed me to do so after she adopted me. Now that I think of it,” you then turn to Erwin to ask, “You were the one who suggested to give me a new name. Did you do that to hide me from the royal family?”

“If I were Erwin, I would’ve done the same if not more. The last thing I’d want for you is to be used as collateral for a prophecy that can’t even be proven unless you die,” Isabel tapped Erwin’s shoulders. “Smart move, Er—ouch! Levi, be more gentle!”

Levi carefully tied Isabel’s hair up to tend the wounds on her back, after which he called your name to say, “The royal family and its cohorts are squeezing their brains out to find you. Not even your face as a child could be retrieved. It was as if someone intentionally ensured that your traces would be erased.”

“When I was young, everyone in the village made a precaution to not take pictures of me. I thought it’s because camera flashes could be a trigger as they could potentially be associated with explosions, but the reason is much clearer now.”

“Seems like Erwin’s family was hands-on with you.”

“Erwin himself, even,” Levi mused, “he’s been watching you all this time. Erwin and I had known each other even before you went to university. He was the one who urged me to let you in. The ‘room for rent’ poster at the university bulletin board was intended only for you to see—just so you’d think you found us all by yourself.”

Your eyes widened.

“That’s a bit creepy,” Isabel shuddered.

“Oh, it seems like you’re not fond of saying your acts of love out loud, yeah?” Levi quipped nonchalantly at the man in question. Erwin, although stoic, seemed to ask Levi what he was trying to do right now. But even before he got to, you glared at him and asked, “Is that true?”

“It is.”

“And you didn’t tell me anything, Levi?” the next glare was for him.

“That’s my next question to Erwin,” Levi lowered his voice, darkly so. “As I said, I’m not here to mess around with whatever prophecy the royal family is brewing behind our backs. If you still don’t give us the context regarding her identity, I’m taking Isabel home with me.”

“Hey, Levi,” Isabel grimaced.

If Erwin was threatened with that, he showed no signs of it. Instead he looked at you. His gaze was silent but asking. It didn’t take you long to construe what it was: Would you like to be the one to answer? It concerns your past, after all.

“Did you really save her from those fires?”

And thus, you tried answering in his stead, “Yes. As far as my memories are concerned, he saved me, but…”

“But what?”

Try to recall it. Try to recall it.

Years ago, you saw the giant tree and witnessed Erwin crying for the first and last time, after which he started avoiding you. He started locking the door of his room so you wouldn’t enter. You thought of ways to apologize, including searching around their house for an apology gift, leading you to a newspaper clip in his father’s room. You saw the headline news of your house being burnt to shreds. Then you remembered. You remembered what really happened in that house.

What happened? You already remembered what really happened! Why couldn’t you recall it?

You just woke up blaming Erwin all of a sudden. It came to a point that Carly brought you far away from him to ease your panic attacks. She got you checked by a psychiatrist. The professional said that your brain might be formulating memories that didn’t happen.

Then…? What happened next again…? How did your relationship with Erwin get fixed again?

Erwin eventually forced himself to your new home. He lived with you and made attempts to clear the misunderstanding. He recalled the truth to you, repeatedly so, and you finally succumbed to him when he saved you from the fires in the vacant lot—a fire instigated by random kids.

That’s what had happened, right?

Then why… Why do you have a dream about Erwin instigating that fire himself to convince you, albeit forcefully, that he saved you?

What exactly have you seen that day?

“Hey,” Isabel patted your shoulder to cut your thoughts off. “You okay?”

“I am not sure,” you muttered, “I’m not sure what I’ve seen that day,” you clasped both hands on your head, wide-eyed, utterly confused. “It’s as if my brain is making up something. It’s as if it’s intentionally painting Erwin in a bad light. The voices are speaking inside my head, full of warning, even if Erwin’s the last one to hurt me out of all the people in this world.”

REALLY? IS THAT REALLY THE CASE, LITTLE FLOWER?

“People who went through horrible situations could really have foggy recollection, you know? Your brain has a reason to be like that to protect you. Don’t beat yourself up for it. Don’t force yourself to remember.” Isabel seemed really worried this time.

REALLY? REALLY? REALLY?

Isabel’s glare tightened at Levi. Erwin’s gaze was looking on you, then to Levi not long after, “Is that what would make you stay? Forcing her past out of her—making her remember the things she had forgotten to protect her sanity—would that really help you unveil the truth of how bastard of a father Kenny was to Furlan?”

‘Don’t speak as though Furlan’s death is not connected to her identity in the first place!’ is what Levi almost said; you could see the look of disdain on his face. But his face softened as soon as he glanced at you. You wouldn’t like to hear that from him. Erwin was right. Your past is not the primary reason he and Isabel joined the guerillas. It’s to uncover Furlan’s death.

Levi sighed, exasperated, then gave you a bottle of water. “Isabel is right. Don’t force yourself too much.”

The days went by with Levi and Erwin seemingly in a rift between each other, yet they were still able to work efficiently for the next mission.

It came to Erwin that the Military Police distributed a huge intelligence fund to find Anna. This eventually resulted in rising worries of citizens, especially women, as they felt like someone was watching them. Some condemned the Military Police for it, but some defended it and said it was all for the prosperity of Eldia and that the royal family surely knew what they were doing.

You managed to build relations with the establishments where most Military Police hang out, which led you to befriend Marie, the owner of the bar nearest to the Interior Police headquarters, and she hired you immediately when you said you’ve been trying to find a job.

“Bloody hell, I feel like every woman I’ve been fuckin’ lately could potentially be Anna,” the MP soldier hiccuped as you poured him another drink, “and that I can’t let night pass without questionin’ ’em. It’s that or my promotion at risk, y’know?”

“It must be unfortunate to be a soldier,” you lamented. “Maybe I must be grateful I settled on a job like this.”

“I also am grateful, ya see,” he giggled and scooted closer, breath reeked of beer—disgustingly so, “’cause I get to have a beauty like ya pourin’ my glass after a long, long day.”

Fortunately, Marie swatted him away from you, “That’s my girl you’re touching there.”

“Oh, why so stingy! She’s the first woman ya hired since this damn business got movin’! Lemme have my share as yer best customer!”

“I sell liquor, not women—as if it’s even ethical to sell women,” Marie rolled her eyes and, as swift as ever, collected the used glasses at the counter. “Why don’t you find that wanted girl first so you’d have your long-awaited promotion? Flirting around won’t get you there.”

“Easy for ya to say because yer husband’s already a high-rankin’ dog!” he spat. “These damn women, suckin’ higher officers’ dick off—hic—but scold low-rankin’ soldiers tailin’ ’em.” This time, he sounded like sulking to himself, although Marie could still hear it.

Poor Marie. This bar was swamped by drunkard soldiers when their reputation changed from valor to perversion due to the intelligence mission, and yet this drunk man in front of you trying to mimic Kenny’s way of talking didn’t make the nuisance lighter.

“It’s already a woman’s burden to be tailed by the likes of you and yet you still have the guts to blame us.”

“‘Ya sayin’ something?!” the man shot daggers to the now enraged Marie, “Know yer place and just keep suckin’ yer husband off after his long long day of workin’ his ass off! Just for yer damned bar!” then he spitted on the counter. “Ya thought just ’cause ya got chance doin’ business, yer already superior to us, huh? I bet ya husband’s just lettin’ you ’cause of how good you are in bed! Know yer place and—”

The whole place is rattled into silence when Marie slaps the soldier, clearly offended, eyes shaking in anger. You thought how hard it must’ve been to her all this time, to have such barbaric customers in and out of her lawn. Perhaps that’s even the main reason why she wasn’t fond of hiring women until you asked her for help.

It was even more pitiful when a group of drunk soldiers came to rescue the man. They spat curses to the both of you, of how this whole operation of finding an unknown girl has been stressing their guts, of how they would still do it anyway because they’re men who merely wanted the prosperity of Eldia—the prosperity of the women who so despised them.

Just before Marie could request security, one soldier suddenly exclaimed, “Ah! You must be that person! Hah, we found her. We found Anna!”

It was as though a bucket of ice was thrown at you. But then, their inebriated selves were looking at Marie. They claimed Marie as the wanted girl just because she defended herself against blatant disrespect. No one seems to be functioning properly because of the liquor, hence none of them would cut the commotion off. “You see, one thing we know about Anna is that she’s a child born out of the Interior Police’s operation. Some soldier fucked a woman of a powerful lineage, a lineage so powerful that it could give the holy tree!”

“What are you trying to say?!” Marie shouted back, fuming.

“So the product of that operation must be affiliated to the military, one way or another! Right, right?! Don’t you think so?! We’re all stuck in this because someone in our ranks is a snitch! That’s it! We solved it!”

His remark seemed to turn on the lightbulbs of every soldier inside the bar. Their eyes start becoming more predatory—perhaps even more desperate, because their superiors are onto nothing but “Find her, find her, find her!” recently that every woman they come across salivates their desire to get this over with.

While you’re secretly communicating with the guerilla unit near the area so they’d arrive before the commotion starts, what he said bothered you to no end. No, it didn’t just bother you—it made you remember something, and it’s the first time you have remembered something you’re sure is accurate.

“Once she turns ten, she’ll be the royal family’s property. Don’t you get attached to her,” he says.

“No way you’d tell that to a mother like me,” she quips, voice laced with honey. “Worry not, she is aware of it herself. Aren’t you, my cute little girl?” then pinches your cheeks.

“Yes, I do! Once I turn ten, I will bless the royal family with prospre—prospreri—prospreritri—”

“It’s prosperity,” your father spats. He seems about to scold you but ends up shaking his head instead. “Nevermind. Not like it’d make a difference if you were born smart.”

“Give her some slack,” your mother quips then fondly looks at you, “don’t mind him. Daddy’s jealous because you’re special.”

“I am?”

“Yes, you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because our bloodline is special! We’re saviors capable of finding the tree and awakening its bearer! Awaking the bearer means giving prosperity to Eldia!”

“Yay! Prosprerity!”

Your mother’s laugh gets even louder, and although your father still looks annoyed, you can see him holding back a smile.

“Miss Marie, pray tell, pray tell,” a soldier hummed, “where do the rebels stay?”

“You son of a—” Marie cut herself off and shot you a glance instead. “Go get someone to fix this.”

You nodded and tried to walk away, but another soldier cornered you, “Why do you think we could let you go when you’re working alongside this woman?” then his face turned sour, “You’re a damn rebel too, aren’t you? Look at how young you are, as old as that orange bitch!”

You very much knew who he was talking about, so your rage did something unhelpful to the situation: you slapped him hard, tears in the corner of your eyes. It enraged the soldier just the same, and so he ordered, “Cuff the two of them!” You tried to defend yourselves, but twenty inebriated soldiers were still soldiers; even if you managed to knock down five of them, someone would be swift enough to point a knife at Marie’s neck. That was your cue to stop fighting. The soldier smiled sardonically, “I see you’re a good girl.”

You let yourself be cuffed, nothing ringing in your mind but vital information you gathered while staying here.

The previous week, a customer working as a clerk inside the Interior Police said that Commander Kenny’s son was a needed sacrifice for the prosperity of mankind. He mourns for him, but it must not be mistaken for Petra who died at the same age. Petra was a life wasted. Had the rebels heeded the warning to give Anna over, no one would have been killed. You asked her then, “So it was a massacre, wasn’t it?” She shrugged and answered, “Is it really relevant if we’re talking about the rebels? The government had always wanted to get rid of them. Who would budge if it really was a massacre?”

Then, two days ago, a young soldier who had just been promoted to be a part of the Interior Police valiantly said, “Someone as powerful as Anna must be kept by the authorities, but look where she is instead, in the hands of the rebels! The royal family means no harm. They need her power for their citizens’ prosperity. It must not be held by the Eldians who could abuse it!” And so you asked him, “Do you know what Anna’s power really is?” Instead, he glared at you, “Are you not attending the church every Sunday?” When you shook your head, he sighed, deeming you lower than him. The young soldier told you everything Isabel and Levi knew about the prophecy and the tree. After thirty minutes of him rambling, you finally cut him off out of annoyance. “Do you know what exactly Anna’s part is?” You then realize that the young boy doesn’t know at all. He doesn’t know a thing, yet he still holds their words dear because they’re his fellow believers, and believing them means being loyal to the royal family.

When you and Marie were all tied and surrounded by drunk soldiers pretending as though they were inside an interrogation room, you asked,” Why do you think rebels exist, Officer?”

“Because they’re incompetent and aching for war, ruining peace for their own gain. Why? Finally admitting you’re one of them? Oh, we gon’ reward you real good, then.”

“The royal government and its cohorts are the ones ruining peace for their own gain. The rebels just retaliated to defend themselves.”

Another soldier pushed him away in a glare, “Yeah? So what is your relation to them?”

“They saved me.”

“Oh, poor girl. She must’ve been brainwashed, too,” the other one sitting on the counter, about to faint, murmured while hugging his bottle.

“Do you know where Anna is? How about the Commander? What does he look like?”

You didn’t speak. That’s something they could never squeeze out of you. The drunk soldier, much to your and Marie’s surprise, hit your head hard with the bottle. You tried your very best to gulp down your scream, tried your very best to not let the pain know because Erwin trained you for it. You felt the blood drip to your cheeks and chin until droplets of it came down to your shirt. Marie’s screams made you dizzy.

In a span of a moment, you get the urge to sleep, but something uncanny makes you alert—the longer the blood permeates the room, the darker it gets. You thought you were merely feeling things because of the head injury, but you were sure everyone else had felt it, too. The soldier who hit you looked so utterly horrified not long after. He seemed sober again. The soldier who was about to sleep just stood up to scream. The glass bottles on the shelves started clanking against each other as the tables began shaking. The barely cleaned roof showered everyone with its long-standing dust just as if they were alive and as scared as you all were. It wasn’t long for Marie to faint, too.

Out of nowhere, everyone started kneeling at you, shouting their apologies, acting as though they just angered an otherworldly entity. You looked down at them, aghast, as the concussion in your head and the blood you were losing didn’t help you comprehend the situation at hand.

The pin of the grenade was the rats under the floor, running and running as if an onslaught was happening inside their homes. The wind reeked of corpses, of anger, of suffocating entity taking control of every molecule in the space.

“T-the voice… it’s the same feeling when the voices speak…” you murmur to yourself. You did so repeatedly as the soldiers wept harder until the door banged open.

“Why are they kneeling and crying?” Moblit exclaimed in horror.

“No! Why are they kneeling and crying while she is tied and bleeding? Oh god, Nifa! First aid kit, please!” Hange ordered.

“Oh, y-you’re here… Thank heavens.”

However, your relief was quickly replaced with horror upon seeing Erwin’s face. It’s always been like this. Back when you two were younger, your playmates have always been so scared to play pranks at you because the first time they did, young Erwin—as you quote them—had ‘made them see hell.’ Your head dripping with blood upon his arrival would obviously warrant a situation way worse than this. You might be safe now, but nobody else is—not with this sight.

“Who’s the one responsible for this?”

You refused to answer. Perhaps out of impulse, or perhaps because you finally realized how scared you are at Erwin all this time. The voices in your head may be the deeply rooted fear for Erwin the same way your former Mitras friends had feared him.

Erwin called your name and repeated the question.

“Don’t worry too much about this. More importantly, Marie, my—”

He walked towards you. The nearer his footsteps get, the more dreadful the atmosphere becomes. “Who did that to you?”

Everyone went silent. The weeping became quiet strains. You were just about to repeat your remark—that there are more things to worry about—but then Erwin’s gaze turned to the soldier kneeling right before you.

The same officer who hit your head with the bottle.

“Commander, the place is starting to shake,” Nifa reported as she brought him the first aid kit.

“Is there an earthquake?”

“God, it reeks of corpses,” Hange pinched their nose.

“W-what?” Nanaba muttered in horror from the outside. “The rats are all over the road.”

“What the fuck is happening?”

“Fourth squad, check if the bar owner has incurred wounds. Treat her if need be. Miche, seize the soldiers. Do it quickly. Something strange is happening. Let’s leave this place all at once.”

“How about her…?” Hange pointed at you only for their question to be answered immediately as soon as Erwin untied you himself and applied pressure on your concussion.

With all the strength you have left inside you, you try to bargain, “D-don’t hurt the soldiers,” but his face didn’t change; hence, you repeated, “Don’t you dare hurt the soldiers, Erwin.”

Despite the whole place shaking, more stray animals panicking, and people weeping in fear, his scowl was only due to your pleas. “I loathe this attitude the most. If you ought to be too merciful of your enemies, even to the point of not holding them accountable, you might as well sit still and never join any operation again.”

“They must pay for this. We both know they must… b-but—hah,” you stammered, clearly struggling not to let the dizziness take over your consciousness. “they have information regarding Anna. I heard most of it already so—”

“So they must talk about it before bullets strike their heads.”

“No,” you stopped him from addressing your wounds to look straight in the eye, “It’s not the guerilla’s move to get swayed by their emotions, yes? You—hah—you’re the one who told me.”

If he weren’t too livid, he’d be chuckling sardonically. You almost saw him do so. “I’m not fond of repeating myself.”

He’s primarily here to ruin anyone who dared to go after you—you didn’t forget that, but it irks you. Amidst your consciousness on the precipice of leaving, anger kept you awake. How helpless have you been all this time that he naturally thought this was something to be done? And why is he depriving you of dealing with your issues now that you can do so?

“I must be the one to do that. Don’t take it away from me.”

There, you saw a glimpse of amusement in his features.

How sweet of you, really — he might’ve thought — how pathetically kind to try and save them by taking the punishment job in his stead. It’s not like you’re entirely wrong—you have all the right to subject all the needed punishment to those who laid their hands on you. It’s just that you lack something he’s been so full of all his life: resentment. He’s not just doing this for you. It’s to satiate his anger for those who dared, and while he trusts you with all of his life, he just knew you wouldn’t be able to do it the way he wants to.

“Are you worried that they’d feel pain?”

“No. Don’t try to change this—”

“Don’t you worry, silly flower. Corpses can’t feel more pain.”

“Erwin,” you warned.

“Sleep.”

“I’d seriously leave you if you do this.”

You almost saw his features falter. Before you fainted, you heard him mutter, “I’d like to see how that goes.”

The next thing you knew, you were on the infirmary bed inside the Underground, and news of what happened at Marie’s bar terrified every single citizen of Eldia, rebels alike. Believers of the prophecy increased just as the fear of the conquest horseman did. That was also the needed confirmation for Levi and Isabel because the captured soldiers spoke in a language they only heard from you before killing themselves.

“You told me you wouldn’t kill them!” you stormed to the conference room where Erwin and the squad leaders were meeting.

“I didn’t,” Erwin said. “Go back to your room and rest. You’re still not in your best shape.”

“You killed them, didn’t you?! I told you I’ll deal with them myself!”

“He didn’t kill them. We were there. We did interrogate them, but before they could say anything, they sputtered shit and killed themselves,” Levi snapped.

After a sigh, Erwin asked, “Would you like to sit, then? That’s what we’re talking about right now.” His offer made you look at everyone who’s just as lost. Your face flushed with embarrassment. You didn’t even get to fix your hair before storming inside. You sad down beside Levi, and Erwin finally continued. “Not only did they babble in a language we’re yet to understand, they also had the same carvings written on their bodies.”

“The same carvings written on Furlan’s corpse,” Levi begrudgingly admitted.

“So, the prophecy really might be true…” Miche pondered. “Then does that mean their land grabbing in pursuit of Eldia’s prosperity could be justified?”

“Would taking lands out of their tillers be justifiable with some dark magic in our lands? How about how the royal family’s cohorts privately named the seized lands theirs? Would the power of the tree explain that?” Levi scowled.

“There are only things we confirmed in this fiasco. First, the prophecy must be investigated further, and second, the conquest horseman born out of that tree—whoever they might be—does not side with the royal family. We must also find them to know their motives, and…” Erwin looked at Levi, “…to avenge Furlan Church, the first casualty they had brought to our ranks.”

Seems like Levi and Erwin were able to fix their rift while you were unconscious but it doesn’t change the fact that the horseman slipped away from your hands—the very being that haunted you since god knows when, and it was there on that day. You also realized it as soon as the atmosphere got uncanny and the soldiers knelt before you—oh. Oh god.

“Okay, so now, before we dig deeper, does anybody know what the prophecy entails in the first place?” Hange asked. “Sorry, I’m not a churchgoer, so…”

It was Levi who answered, “The church said that the Eldian race was once called ‘Subjects of Ymir,’ and we contain a power brought by a giant tree. The people blessed upon it, however, used the power in vain and committed atrocities all over the world, and so the whole Eldian race perished. The Church believes multiple worlds stipulate the universe, and this one we have is just one of them. The Eldian race was supposed to cease existence as their divine punishment, but a bloodline who also got power from that tree saved us from it.”

“And perhaps we can deduce that your bloodline is related to it, no?" Miche faced you. "Your counterintelligence report at Marie’s bar confirmed that a soldier admitted your upbringing was an operation led by the royal family where one of their men copulated with a woman of the same lineage.”

“And, as far as her recollection is concerned, said parents have mentioned giving her up to the royal family once she turns ten,” Moblit added.

“And! It just so happened that the fires happened on your tenth birthday!” Hange beamed. “Oh, you powerful girl.”

“It would seem as though I did it all by myself, no?” you chuckle blankly. “Burning people into crisps, inducing fear and suicide, carving on their corpses, among many other cruel things no sane human could do…”

“No, sorry,” Hange backed off, expression softening. “That’s not what I meant at all.”

Awkward silence permeated the room until Erwin cleared his throat, “To continue where Levi left off, the royal family wants the tree back in their grasp. One report we got from Petra's team before they were killed was that the previous king, Uri Reiss, on his deathbed, dreamt of the person who had saved the Eldian race through the power of the tree. His last words were, ‘Find her and her lineage, give them gratitude, for they used the tree’s power beyond their own gains.’ The royal family then deduced that by finding this lineage, they could use the tree once again. That’s the end of their report. Nothing has been found about the operation once it took place.”

The rest of the meeting was about recalibrating tasks inside the unit, considering that the prophecy was real. As soon as they finished, you followed Erwin to his room. You ensured no one would be lurking around outside, for you were about to say something that could scare them.

“The conquest devil is living inside me. I’m sure of it. That’s why they’re finding me.”

Erwin was silent, tormentingly so, and thus you repeat louder. “The conquest devil is living inside me. Everyone must know that the threat is within their ranks. You, of all people, must know what should be done at this point.”

“You see,” Erwin called your name, “while I wouldn’t deny that, I doubt it. You were not around the area when Furlan got killed, and Marie told us everything you had said. None of them could be used against you. Meaning, you didn’t say anything unusual of your character.”

“So all I have to do is prove that it’s inside me, right? Okay, then. Worry not, Commander.” Exasperated, you opened the door to dismiss yourself, only for Erwin to stop you. “Let go, Erwin.”

“They know what the voices inside you have been saying. Levi and I made a report out of it.”

You faced him wide-eyed, yet he looked at you gently, “A-and? What did they say?”

“It didn’t raise their doubts. In fact, they were filled with sympathy.” Your grasp at the knob loosened and Erwin got the chance to close the door again. He let you register the statement for a few minutes.

“They didn’t doubt me,” you repeated. “Not a single doubt at all?”

He held your shoulders against the door and gently asked, “Wanna know why?” You really are clueless as to why. Those alone are objective facts. How could they—

“Because they know you. And you’re dear to them just as they’re dear to you. When Marie explained how you defended the guerillas without fear, Nifa even started to cry. Isabel and Levi weren’t surprised, though.” His remark silenced you, your thoughts, and your horrifying claims about yourself. It was so apparent on your face that Erwin knew he won the argument yet again.

“I still wouldn’t remove the possibility that the conquest horseman lives inside me, but… yes, I understand.”

“Yup. Do as you please.”

That’s when you start getting embarrassed at the distance. Erwin is still pressing your shoulders against the door with a smile so sweet it makes you think how privileged you must’ve been to be one of his chosen people to receive a smile like that from him, knowing well not anyone could have it even if they hardly wished so.

“In the other world, what was my name? Is it Anna?”

“Strange enough, it’s not. Why do you ask?”

“Then, is my name in the other world the same as the one I go by right now?”

Erwin nodded, and so you beamed as it confirmed that your very being was not tied to poor child Anna's fate. “I like the name Carly had given me better. Glad to know I got that name in the other worlds.” You smiled at Carly’s memory. You regret not visiting her before this catastrophe happened.

“Indeed, the name you go by now fits you more, but Carly didn’t give it to you. You were the one who came up with it when she asked.”

That reminder plucked a thorn out of your heart. It made you smile wide and sweet, the very smile Erwin likes to see. “So, you told me you saw what that tree could offer. Tell me about it.”

Erwin smiled ruefully, “I told you. It’s how beautiful you look in worlds even beyond this one.”

“Seriously, I’m not kidding around.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding around?”

You rolled your eyes, hoping it could conceal the fluster instead, “Then, who am I aside from my beauty that goes beyond different worlds?” Hell, saying it out loud sounds so embarrassing.

However, Erwin’s smile faltered, “After you used the power granted by the tree to save the Eldian race, your existence was subjected to death and despair. In every other world, you always end up dying miserably. Even now I see that you’re still being chased by it.”

“I’m the one who—” you covered your mouth in surprise, “I’m the exact person who did all that?”

“Yes, perhaps the royal family knows by now that you’re the person they’ve been finding for so long; that’s why their search for you got even more unrelenting.”

“God, how cruel. Why am I dying repeatedly after doing that much, then?!”

“Breaking divine laws, I suppose?”

“If that isn’t a beauty that goes beyond worlds, huh!” you huffed. Erwin, however, is still smiling as if he meant praise literally. It flustered you further. Is this due to your stress? Are you perhaps seeking comfort?

“Who were you in those worlds?”

“I’m not sure. The worlds I’ve seen are just glimpses. The only thing clear is that you were the only one in your bloodline who used the power granted to your lineage and willingly carried the consequences tied to it.”

That’s sad to know, yet deep inside you, you’d still choose that path if that meant Erwin and all of your loved ones would not cease to exist.

“What are we in those worlds, then? Did we also know each other in childhood?"

“Uh… It's a bit more complicated than that.”

“Okay, what are we to each other based on the glimpses you’ve seen?”

He seemed to hesitate at one point, but perhaps saying it out loud made his smile return, “My lovely wife, that’s who you are back there.”

🔖@cadenza-damour @xiaotopia (hi u two it's been a YEAR [god i cant stress this ENOUGH] since ive updated this fic and i would totally understand if you'd want to get excluded from the tag list from hereon!! please gimme a heads up if this is the case, :) ty!!)

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