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anystalker707 · 1 year ago

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Got ya

Pairing: Marine!Portgas D. Ace x Pirate! [male, amab] Reader Words: ~ 3 200 Summary: The rear admiral has a favorite pirate, apparently. Tags: Rough / Bruises / Overstimulation / Hate fucking / Dom-sub dynamics / Dom Ace / Very light dacryphilia / Objectifying

Requested by anon ["Smut with Ace & Amab reader, (Hero x villain), Hate fucking (they just won’t admit they like each other), lots of overstimulation, Reader is a villain & Ace is a hero (...)"]

MASTERLIST

It’s always that damn marine. The same rear admiral coming after you to ruin every plan you have. Sometimes he’ll just blow things up indirectly or make it quick when he can’t hold you captive. How could he be so annoying? You make part of the Worst Generation, of course, but you don’t remember Kid, Law, or any of the others having a personal marine going after them like that.

There was a while since the last encounter—which involved Ace creating a fire barrier that fucking stopped you from doing anything until the marine cleared the area. Worst thing? You were actually just helping the local village get out of the control of some other pirates that were the real bad ones, but no, Ace was there to make your crew seem like the villain of the story. Again.

Ace sort of left you in peace after that. He disappeared for a while, instead showing up in marine propaganda with that damned smile. You hated seeing that pretty face on the first page of newspapers, but you still kept it. All those pages of newspapers, either hanging on your cabin’s wall or kept inside the first drawer of your desk. Those pretty eyes stared at you whenever you lay on your bed, thinking about how you should’ve just taken a knife and buried it right into Ace’s chest the last time the two of you were having drinks together. Maybe if you did, you wouldn’t be like you are right now.

Ace had fucking caught you. You were on a random island, and the only thing you knew next was that you woke up, tied to a chair with the idiot sitting on top of a desk in front of you, swinging his legs. Was it all a plan? Did he give you a pause so that you’d let your guard down?

Well, it didn’t matter now.

“Oh, look at who’s awake again!” A silly grin stretched across Ace’s face as he looked at you, leaning back on his hands.

A sigh escaped your lips. Your head didn’t hurt, surprisingly. “That’s mad cliché.”

Ace observed you for a moment, then exhaled, shortly and humorously. “Let me think about something else to say.” He paused, tongue peeking out between his lips as he thought for a moment. “I’m glad you’re finally in my hands, I hope you enjoy your stay. Does that sound better?” A smirk played on his lips. Idiot.

“You’re so funny,” you didn’t even try to sound sarcastic as you moved your fingers over the armrest of the chair. Your ankles also ached to move, but they were way too restrained for that. Soreness tugged on your muscles, that sharp pain making itself present the more you tried to move. A sigh escaped your lips. How long had you been tied there? Damn, Ace. “Let’s just skip the part where we have a drink and let me go already. I’m not in the mood for our pointless talks today.”

With a quiet hum, Ace hopped off the desk. “No, I don’t think you understand what’s happening. That’s it, (y/n). There’s no going back. The marine has caught you, so that’s bye-bye to your pirate era.”

Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked at him. “Don’t be annoying,” you said simply, voice strained. “I’m really not up for jokes today, Ace. You really just interrupted me in the middle of a—”

“If it makes you feel better, I don’t care,” Ace said simply as he stood in front of you. He had his hands in his pockets when he leaned forward to your level, and you could finally see his eyes properly. There was something different about them. There was some sharpness in his eyes, and the playful glint they usually carried was replaced by something else. It was different from what you were used to seeing when it came to Ace—a shiver ran down your spine while you gulped.

“I’ll be making sure you don’t get away this time, (y/n),” he said in a softer tone of voice that made your skin rise in shivers, but you couldn’t really identify whether it was due to panic or something else. Ace’s index finger ran along your throat before it was set under your chin, lifting your head, so you could look at him. “You’ve been causing a lot of trouble, and do you know what we do with pirates that stress us out a lot like this? Yeah, we keep them on a tight leash,” he said slowly, eyes never averting away from yours. His words sank in a little harder than they should.

It took you a solid minute to ground yourself again and gather your thoughts. “Well, drop the act. I know you’re not that type of marine. You hate a tight leash yourself.” It was obvious how much of a headache Ace could be for his superiors—it was practically common knowledge, at this point.

A small scoff escaped Ace’s lips. “Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get my duties done. Or better— It doesn’t mean I don’t achieve my own goals.”

Ace was exposing you around like some wild animal he had caught. He had his arms crossed and that grin over his face the whole time, always nearby whenever you were interrogated by the other navy officers. There were so many repetitive and boring questions that you had to go through with those shitty, heavy handcuffs sinking into the skin of your wrists.

Once all the interrogation was done, your mind felt so fuzzy. Your thoughts couldn’t complete themselves. All you could do was curse everything and everyone. It took you every ounce of self-control in your body not to curse and kick everything when your jacket got stuck on the door handle.

Ace could probably see the annoyance irradiating from you, with that lousy smirk over his lips as he walked ahead of you. The look on his face made you want to strangle him with the chain of the handcuffs, but you just walked past him when he opened his office door for you again and let you walk in. You sat onto the armchair with a huff, trying to finally calm down as you kicked your feet over your desk, but you were driven to the edge again as Ace started clicking his tongue.

“Nope,” Ace said after closing the door. “Where are your manners?” He scoffed exaggeratedly as he pushed your feet off the desk and let them fall to the ground.

Hell, how could someone be so annoying? Your blood boiled under your skin, heartbeat in your head as you glared at him.

“You think you can—”

The words died on your tongue at the moment Ace’s gloved hand took firm hold of your jaw. His eyes gazed into yours with that sharpness once again; his face was so close you could feel his breath fanning upon your cheeks. “Who do you think you are here?”

“Who do you think you are to control a pirate?” Your voice was breathy and as low as his.

Ace’s lips parted into a grin as he tilted your head back up. He turned it from side to side as if to get a good look on your face. Are you some object to him or something? That loser.

“I know I always say that,” Ace said with a chuckle, “but you look so adorable when you’re angry like that.”

That really was the last straw. Ace couldn’t even see it coming when you suddenly stood up and pinned him to the wall with the cuffs’ chain across his neck. His eyes widened, but it was a matter of time until Ace started laughing. His hands wrapped firmly around your wrists as he looked at you.

“You can be quite stubborn, can’t you?” Ace scoffed. “That’s so annoying. Can’t you just recognize it when you fucking lose?” Ace’s grin disappeared as he easily pushed you off him and pinned you to the wall instead, holding your hands above yourself by the chain of the cuffs. “Don’t make me waste time.”

“Ah, Ace, go get a life!” You said through gritted teeth. “What even are you doing now that you caught me? I thought catching me was sort of your life goal or something.”

The way Ace started laughing made you lose it again, and you tried to fight him, thrashing and kicking. He was actually caught off guard this time, resulting in the two of you wrestling a little until he had you pinned to his desk this time—the edge of the wooden surface dug into the back of your thighs as he forced you back. His lips were parted in a wide grin as his hands closed tightly around your wrists.

“You better stop this,” Ace said with a chuckle, though humor wasn’t the only thing it carried. “My patience is starting to run out.”

“I don’t care,” you hissed in response. “Aren’t you always making things happen your way? Letting me run away in the end? Let me go already. You’re taking this way too far—”

Ace’s fingers were tight around your jaw again, making you look at him. Something about that simple action made your heart jump in your chest every single time it happened. “You’re not escaping anymore,” Ace said, his breath fanning over your face with the smell of the fruit drink he had earlier when talking with you during one of the uncountable interrogatories. “And I’m making sure of that.”

Damn it, that voice of his…

“You are?” You scoffed. “If anything, you’re a useless Marine. You could’ve caught us so many times—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Ace said as his face fell serious. “I’m not joking—”

You started struggling against Ace again, trying to get his hands off you, not minding how his palms started heating up against your skin. “Then fucking shut me up!”

Ace’s eyes widened a little as you started shouting, and the tightening grip of his fingers around your jaw sent pain sharp enough to make you falter.

“Oh, I will.” Something played in Ace’s tone before he pressed his lips to yours, making you gasp and ball your hands into fists. Despite all the tension and the will to fight, it wasn’t that bad.

A soft sound escaped your lips with the way Ace’s lips pressed forcefully to yours—forcefully, but damn, enough to make your legs want to give up under you—, and the way his thumb gently ran along your jaw made you snap back to reality. That damn fucker. You bit down on his lip harshly, making Ace hiss as he pulled away.

“You’re asking for it!” Ace scoffed.

Damn it. Maybe you were. Maybe ever since the first time you ran into him. The grin on your face didn’t deny Ace’s words, making his gaze change a little as he pushed his things off the desk before pushing you on it instead. He had one hand on your hip and another on your wrist for some leverage.

“You’re so annoying!” Ace clicked his tongue and forced a kiss upon your lips again, starting to move his lips only when you finally welcomed the kiss.

It was a shitty, forceful kiss, but it sent the blood straight to your crotch. His tongue ran against your bottom lip before he took the smallest opportunity he could to push his tongue into your mouth with a soft groan, also managing to snatch a sound from you. His tongue pressed down to yours, gliding against it as he deepened the kiss and pressed closer out of instinct. Fucking hell. It had you throbbing, but you half wished it wouldn’t have been against Ace’s thigh. He felt that, of course—he broke the kiss with a satisfied sigh.

“I’ll show you who you’re messing with,” he whispered, “and make sure you don’t escape again.”

Ace wasted no time. His fingers unbuttoned your shirt skillfully, letting his hands roam over your chest and pinch your nipples. He seemed a little amused by the way you tensed up, skin raising and shivers and nipples hardening as you squirmed just by the little touches. His thumbs pressed to your nipples to rub circles into them until you let out a sound—a hiss through gritted teeth because of the friction of his gloves against your sensitive skin. He let himself continue his journey until his hands met the waistband of your pants to start unbuttoning them.

“Fuck you,” you whispered as you observed his hands. The chain between the cuffs was long enough to let you lean back on your elbows as you sat on the desk, even if it was uncomfortable.

Ace scoffed a chuckle. “Well, that’s what I’m going to do, can’t you see?”

He let out a low whistle once your pants were unbuttoned, revealing your tented-up boxers. Your tip stretched the thin fabric, making its shape obvious. He took his glove off by biting on the tip of the middle finger of it and pulling his hand, then let the glove fall to the side.

There wasn’t any discretion in Ace’s touches. No hesitancy. He just took hold of your cock through your boxers, giving it a couple of experimental pumps, his lips slowly curling up into a smirk once it made you start squirming.

“As much as I’d like to,” Ace said as he got rid of your pants and boxers—along with your shoes—properly, then removed his other glove. “I am not going to invest too much into foreplay. Not this time.” He reached into the desk’s drawer, rummaging through it.

“This time?” It probably sounded more desperate than you intended it to be.

Ace chuckled. “What?” He didn’t formulate. He turned back with a small tube in hand, pouring lube generously on his fingers before he also let some of it over you; the cold liquid made you hiss and twitch once it fell on your balls and slowly dripped down to your ass. You squirmed with it, but not as much as when two of Ace’s fingers started tracing your hole and pushed in. The soft burning feeling and the discomfort of the intrusion quickly subsided as Ace’s fingers curled up. Given how brief it was and with little real care, you presumed it was to actually spread the lube rather than prepare you for anything.

Your elbows were starting to hurt from pressing into the wooden surface of the desk like that, but you couldn’t resist it. You simply had to see it the moment Ace lowered his pants and boxers, mixing the bit of pre-cum that coated the flush pink tip of his cock with the lube he had in hand.

“Finally,” Ace breathed. He hooked a hand under your knee to push your leg up, and feeling his gaze on you like that made you throb more. Fuck. His cock sat heavily on his hand as he stepped closer, and just the tip of it pressing to your hole was enough to make you squirm. Amusement laced Ace’s grin—his eyes met yours before he finally started to push in.

“F—Fuck you! Fuckin’ hate y—you!” You couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped your lips when Ace’s cock started stretching you so good, making your arms give up under you. Lying on that desk wasn’t comfortable, but it was one of the last things you thought about now that Ace was thrusting his hips into you while his fingers sank into your thighs to hold them up for him.

The moans were impossible to suppress, even with Ace scolding you. Whenever he got annoyed and scolded you, the thought of being caught only made you tighten around his cock, leading Ace to fucking you harder and snatching more moans from you. Even when he teased the way you came so fast the first time—all the teasing and degradation just made you more sensitive and louder, something that Ace didn’t hesitate to exploit. His hands were everywhere, he was deep inside you, and his lips were wherever he could reach. He fucked you until your eyes crossed before giving you a break and starting it all over again, not caring whether you were shedding tears or not.

Despite the way your neck hurt, you kept your head up to observe Ace.

Ace’s eyes were half-lidded, eyebrows occasionally furrowing as he practically made out with your chest. His lips were wrapped around your nipple, sucking and licking on it. He had been on it for a couple of minutes already, and his touches made you feel on fire, but you wouldn’t make him stop, still. You could tell that excited him—his cock throbbed inside you while he kept that extremely slow pace. Suddenly, his eyes shifted to meet yours, and it was just a second before his teeth sank into your skin.

A long, loud whimpering moan drew from your lips as you arched your back and let your head fall back again, squirming with the sharp pain. Cold air replaced Ace’s warm lips once he pulled away, and he was back on slamming inside you again, fingers sinking into your thighs enough in a way he’d probably leave bruises behind.

The moans slipped past your lips with each thrust, each time your body rocked, but you had already given up on fighting that. You looked at Ace, observing it as the strands of hair started to stick to his face and neck already. Looking down at your chest, you saw that the hickeys he’d left behind were now accompanied by a bite mark that formed a ring around your nipple. Fuck. He was hot.

Ace suddenly pulled away, and all you could do was mumble slurred questions about what he was doing, only to be silenced when he guided you to change positions, letting you bend over the table this time. Your arms felt too weak, so you just let them rest ahead of you, and this position thankfully gave your legs some rest, despite how feeling the surface of the desk all over the bare front of your torso wasn’t the best thing ever. It wasn’t only that, though.

A gasp escaped your lips as Ace pushed inside you again, his cock reaching new angles that just felt so perfect. You felt like you could easily cum again, but he was careful not to let that high arrive so easily. He aimed for your sweet spots, rubbing your hips in a way that made you squirm the most, but his motions fell slow again at the moment he felt you squeezing around him way too much. Hearing your words fall into incoherent pleas satisfied him so much. Something he took pride in.

Ace moaned as he squeezed your hips, feeling his own high arriving again. He had come a couple of times already, but not as much as you, and his self-control was starting to falter a little. He hissed softly as he rolled his hips, holding tightly onto yours, so he could fuck you as harshly as he wanted to, fucking you through his release and apparently giving you yours as well.

“Ah, fuck,” Ace cursed as he observed his cock slowly slip out, letting the cum trail out of your hole. He took it in his thumb, pushing it inside you again while biting his lip.

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

#one piece #portgas d ace #x reader #x male reader #ace x reader #one piece x reader #oneshot #imagine #scenario #ace x male reader #portgas d ace x male reader #fan fic #fan fiction

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theology101 · 1 month ago

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I’m bored, so I’m rewriting fallout 4. Lets start with the big factions

Part 2

Fallout 4 Enhanced, part 1 - major factions

The Minutemen

So despite trying to uphold the values of Old World America, it’s a military junta made up of disorganized paramilitary troops. My brother in Christ, thats Yugoslavia.

After retaking the Castle, we should have the ability to form a democratic government and perfect the Commonwealth Provisional Government. And then have elections for Governor that the player can run for but also very much can choose not to. If you’re playing an evil Institute run one candidate should be Mayor McDonough as your puppet, but forbidding you from running. If we’re rebuilding America, let’s start with Democracy, eh? I think that the president should be Abigail Finch, but I’ll take Blake Abernathy or Preston Garvey.

Also, I want there to be a continuous through line of the Gunners-Minutemen rivalry. Honestly, once the Institute is gone, I want a big set piece battle against the Gunners in Quincy (maybe destroying the Overpass with Artillery?) and freeing the still captive population of Quincy. Give us a fourth act, semi protracted factional conflict

I think it would actually be fun if this was a multi faction battle, but we’ll get there.

Railroad

The biggest negative for them (besides the brain wiping) is that they put a lot of focus and effort into freeing *only* Synths. Which makes sense, because there are only Synth Slaves in the Commonwealth (besides ones explicitly being removed) - so here is an idea, say that is because of the Railroad. Make them be this famous and legendary group who’s broken up countless slaver groups and factions, and have no turned to the Synth as their latest Crusade.

It’d definitely give them a lot more good will with your average citizen who, even if they don’t like Synths, remembers their story. A large, established network that stretches across the entire East Coast that has the vast resources to fight the Institute on a level, if asymmetric, playing field. Hell, let’s even have a few long-term Brotherhood infiltrators who are leaking secrets to the Railroad (Maybe they’re a vertibird pilot who “throws their trash” and agents pick up the encoded message). They know of the Brotherhood and have agents in the Capital Wasteland, it isn’t impossible. There should be an option to assassinate Maxson and replace him with Danse whos more sympathetic and wont attack them, but also won’t work with them either.

Speaking of, during the Battle of Quincy, they should be freeing slaves. We see massive empty cages when we go in game, have them filled and make it the basis of the Gunner’s new slave trade operation. We convince Desdemona for a joint strike, so while our artillery is firing, a few squads of heavies and infiltrators hit the cages, free the prisoners, and bounce before anyone notices.

Brotherhood of Steel

This one is going to be the most radically changed, because I think the Brotherhood, while cool in principle, felt undercooked. Which is why I think there should be sub-factions within the Brotherhood of Steel - Hard Liners and Sympathizers, split between their view of Synths. Brotherhood Ideology is not monolithic, in fallout 2 there were debates if Super Mutants were bad, or Hostile Super Mutants only, and similar ones about Ghouls exist in Fallout 3. And then there are the ones who are Space Marines fighting for the God Emperor Elder Maxson.

Hard Liners: Kells, Quinlan and Teagen

Sympathetics: Ingram, Cade, Neriah and Madison Li

Maxson himself starts off as a Hardliner, but based off of choices in other questlines, the Brotherhood’s own new quest lines from the characters I just mentioned, and your charisma in dialogue checks, can be changed into being Sympathetic.

Kells is just a straight military man, also the easiest Hard Liner to convert once you convince him of the military impossibility of trying to actually find Synths, his quest would probably be making an airbase at one of your settlements for the Brotherhood. Quinlan is just a Maxson sycophant and propagandist and has fully bought into whatever Maxson says, even writing his propaganda piece, he also already has quests so he’s good. Teagan is a right bastard and Synth Racist, who will also disapprove of you making democracy if you’re a Minuteman - you have one quest were he sends a squad to intimidate your settlement and they kill the squad and you can either punish them or bring Teagan up on charges of plundering and terrorizing innocents.

Ingram feels a lot of sympathy for the Synths due to her own bio-mechanical nature and thinks that some institute tech can be used for good like agriculture or limb replacement. Her quests should be about finding a way to lessen her work load, maybe with robots, maybe by training and recruiting settlers, maybe by optimizing the Prydwen - her quest ends with her leaving the power armor frame and getting to sleep. Cade is a doctor, he isn’t too interested but since he cant tell a Synth from a Human under tests, he doesn’t really trust the Brotherhood to perform summary executions of them - his quest should just be getting the Covenant research to validate his assumption of ‘dont kill synths.’ Neriah thinks that Institute research in general, especially in bio science, and that Synth researchers with their long lives and rad resistance would be a massive boon for the Brotherhood, she also thinks Synths are similar to Star Paladin Cross and he was fine? - her quest already exists. Madison Li obviously values Synths and the Institute and, one step further, doesn’t want to destroy it either. Hold trials and take over? Sure, but not destroy a perfectly good lab filled with good people

Also, someone on the Sympathetic side is a Railroad agent but idk who, you decide! Not the only one, but definitely the highest ranking

Based off of all these people and their quests, I want a Far Harbor style “Everyone pause and let’s talk about it!” where there is just a full on debate between the leaders of the Brotherhood about wether or not Synths need to be destroyed, or just the method of creating and controlling Synths, allowing them to be free people. Hell, let this happen after Danse runs off but before you go get him. Make a case that the Institute records you stole have him as an escaped slave who then enlisted, of his own free will - while he needs to be taken off the active line of fire while the Institute still has the ability to control him (albeit only up close and if he hears it, so maybe just blast death metal?), let him be the thing that changes Maxson’s policy.

Or if you’re an absolute bastard, instead of doing anything that I just said you encourage everyone’s worst tendencies. Tell Cade that Covenant is almost there and that you let them carry on, get Proctor Ingram believing in conspiracy theories and Teagan an alt-right podcast where they debate whether or not the Brotherhood should have mandatory breeding regulations. I doubt anyone would play it, and all this option would do is lock you out of other stuff (probably preventing or toppling the Commonwealth Provisional Government but hey, at least you get to be Elder of the newly founded Commonwealth Chapter!), but if someone wants to be a bastard and not an unhinged freak who eats corpses, this is how

Let your choices in the story matter.

For the Battle of Quincy, just send a vertibird or two and drop in some guys in power armor and heavy weapons. Land them inside the walls while the Minutemen storm the gates - after the Artillery and Railroad have escaped, of course

The Good Ending

Before we get to the Institute, this is what I call the Good Ending. With the Brotherhood no longer having a desire to take down the Synth, and the Railroad, while powerful, very much lacking the firepower to take down the Institute, are both brought to the Castle for a meeting between Maxson, Desdemona, the Governor, Preston Garvey and you (if you’re not Governor-General). There is shouting, yelling, insults traded (maybe there is even an intermission) but unless you fuck up badly or intentionally screw yourself, you have a joint Minuteman-Railroad-Brotherhood attack force against the Institute.

The Brotherhood still play Pacific Rim, as a distraction, while Railroad operatives sneak through the tunnel system in the Charles. By the time Liberty Prime has blasted a hole into the Earth and Minutemen and Brotherhood troops are storming the base, Loyal and Rebel synths are already fighting on the ground for their freedom. Unlike in game, some of these scientists absolutely would not go down swinging. I can talk those nerds in bioscience or engineering are gonna fight to the Death? SRB sure, but come on. Maybe not all of them are genuine and there is some post game shit with that but with your planning and overwhelming advantage, the Institute falls rather bloodlessly

Now, you can decide to do what Arthur wants you to do and blow it up, or… you can decide to give the Institute to be jointly run by the three factions and the Synths. It’s just a social hub, maybe some act 4 shenanigans (racial conflict)

Oh boy,

The Institute

Hey what’s their goal?

Like, beyond keeping the surface permanently destabilized (Sabatouging any collective government, fomenting conflict between Goodneighbor and Diamond city, seeding Super Mutants at random to ensure chaos) so it remains their pretty, perfect little petri dish, what are their goals?

I got the idea for this from a youtube video, so I’m just gonna say it “Why did you program them to feel fear?” Like, what purpose does it serve to give the Synths complete, perfect sentience and then enslave them? The Gen 2s seemed to be doing just fine. Okay, maybe you wanted to make perfectly humanoid ones, why arent they all like Coursers? Why, why, why? And no one can give me a damn answer!

So, here’s an idea: Shaun is dying of Cancer, so he had his eyes set on True Immortality. A Gen IV Synth, perfectly capable of human thought and creativity, perfectly human in every biological way only superior - faster, stronger, quicker reflexes - immune to radiation, disease and starvation and, once they reach a certain age, become immortal. And I did say “reach a certain age.” Using biotech and nanomachines, lil Shaun is the first Gen IV Synth, born as an infant in a lab womb and fully capable of spreading as a new Ubermensch i mean, new tomorrow. Shaun was going to wait until the body was in its 20s, but his brain cancer is getting so bad that only fragments of his mind can be copied into the 10 year old body.

This should be an active debate of whether or not this is the next step in Cyborgs and Synths (after all, was Kellog not just a Synth at a certain point?) where as some view it as a gross violation of human dignity. Show me some angry academics, damn you! Regardless, some (especially older people) should be Quite Excited about getting flash copied into a “perfect” Gen IV body. This also, at least to me, explains why they needed to be perfectly human - they wanted a perfectly platform to hold onto their intelligence and not go insane or lose their “soul” like the Necrontyr-Necron. It gives an actual reason for all the weird shit they do

As Director you get to decide wether or not this gets to go ahead or not - also whether or not you should kill and replace people with Synths. Give me moral consequences, damn it, there is NO WAY Piper isnt getting replaced in an Institute Victory and you the player should have to carry that burden.

Also i want assassination missions where I replace people with Synths. I think it would be a fun stealth segment to get NPCs alone and either kill em or teleport em. We’re a shadowy cabal, we should be able to end all the faction disputes quietly. Send the brotherhood home, break apart the railroad in a single night. Right proper evil stuff. Or, if you want to play terminator, you role up with an army of death bots and destroy everything for the Gen IV Synth Army!

End Notes

Fallout 4 needed a fourth act. After the Institute is gone, nothing changes. I just blew up a solid chunk of cambridge and am i high ranking leader in two military governments and im a secret agent, and that’s it? No interaction with each other beyond killing? No “crossing idealogical boundaries for the greater good?” I don’t want to fanboy for New Vegas but there, I could cross boundaries and convince people to join their enemies for their own safety and betterment. Preston Garvey is just like “Hey, we can blow up the Blimp if you wanna. Danse is cool, and I know there are kids on board, but I don’t want them breathing down our neck.” Like, motherfucker I’m their Sentinel - no.

The point of the series is “War Never Changes, so Men Must Change.” There’s no change in Fallout 4. There is no seeing the bigger picture and reaching peace. Once the Institute blows up, most factions could probably just go home because the only reason they’d bother to do anything is to kill each other. And that’s deeply boring to me.

Next episode, the minor factions - Gunners, Children of Atom, Raider Gangs, and Super Mutants

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backmuscles21 · 10 months ago

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Rebirth

Recoms x Reader

Summary: Being reborn in a Na'vi body allows you to be with your lovers again, but then you have to watch them leave you all over again.

Warnings: Smut, explicit language, angst, hurt/comfort, semi-public sex, size kink, canon violence, canon death, com/sub undertones, mentioned suicide

You were the last to wake up and when you did you were surrounded by people in full medical get up, the dust suits and the oxygen masks and everything. You looked around at them, your body not quite catching up with what was going on. You tried to look down but you couldn’t your head was being pinned back. Your whimpers alerted those in the room that you were awake and suddenly you saw multiple blue faces. It just made you more afraid, you couldn’t move and there were hostiles right above you.

Tears started to come out of your eyes, you couldn’t move, why couldn’t you move? Why were there humans and Na’vi in the same area, it didn’t add up.

You faintly heard a voice saying “go, go.” You couldn’t see but it was Prager shooing away the scientists. If there was an emergency Ja was here, he could help you.

“Baby, baby, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

“Prager?”

“Yeah, baby it’s me.”

“What’s going on? Why are you all blue?”

“It’s Project Phoenix. Do you remember signing up for it? We’re in Na’vi bodies to beat the enemy.”

“Why can’t I move?”

“When they were taking us out of the tanks they grew the bodies in, you had some complications. They are trying to help you.”

“What is wrong with me.”

“Uh, I-“ he stopped for a moment, “Ja,” Prager called over one of your fellow teammates. “Can you tell her what the scientists said, I have no idea what they said. Too much medical mumbo jumbo.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ja nodded as he walked up to the side of your bed.

“They said that you aren’t developing as fast as the rest of us, your body is behind in development. Well the rest of us, our bodies are about 20 years old, yours is only about 17, 18 give or take. It’s a complicated thing but they are running some tests.”

“What will happen to me?”

“Nothing princess, absolutely nothing. They will take your body out of the restraints and you’ll be free to go.”

“Will I still be an active marine though?”

“Always thinking about the mission, princess. You’ll be okay, don’t worry,” Ja kissed your forehead.

“Colonel ‘s coming,” Prager said.

“Your favourite is coming.”

“I never picked favourites. I love you all the same.”

“Look who’s remembering now,” Prager smirked.

Miles, Lyle and Z dog walked in and saw you with Prager and Ja by your side.

“She up?” it was Miles’ voice, you recognized it.

Prager and Ja nodded.

Miles, Z, and Lyle came up to you, you felt the back of Lyle’s finger stroke your cheek.

“Buttercup why are you crying?” Lyle asked as he wiped away a tear on your cheek.

“I woke up and I didn’t know what was happening and I couldn’t move. I was scared, I was so scared. I couldn’t move and I thought they were Na’vi. I thought I was going to die.”

“Buttercup we did. That’s why we're reincarnated in these bodies to get the Na’vi. To get Jake Sully.”

You didn’t necessarily hate Jake, you liked him, and you were good friends, but you loved these guys and you couldn’t leave them. You could only assume that you went through with your plans, you weren’t going to fight for either side. You must’ve done what you planned to do, you hoped that it wasn’t one of them who found you when you killed yourself, if that’s what you did.

“Ja, when does she get out of this,” Miles asked.

“Soon, they want to run a few more tests then she’s free to go. She’s going to be shorter than us and not as built.”

“That’s okay, she’ll be just as badass.”

You giggled at Miles’ comment, he looked over at you with a smile.

“You were always smaller than us and you managed just fine, I have faith in you.”

“Z you stay with her, the doctors will finish. We’re gonna go tell everyone else.”

“On it.”

“Baby girl, you’re gonna be okay,” she kissed your cheek.

It was just before the scientists walked back in; your cover remained unblown. Z dog only moved when the scientists swarmed around you, she wanted nothing more than to hold your hand as they prodded at you with sharp objects.

It was around an hour later that you were finally let out and were able to sit up, the scientists started to run motor function tests on your body then a few mental tests to ensure you were brought up to speed. It was determined that your body was just slow to maturing so you were a few years behind the other guys in terms of your body. You were still quite tall just not for a Na’vi, you were more like 7’6 compared to everyone else being at least 8 feet or higher.

You stood up slowly and walked with Zdog out of the room until you were alone down a corridor and she picked you up like you were nothing. You felt like a small child, hugging her neck and wrapping your legs around her waist as she carried you to where the rest of the recoms were hanging out. She opened the door to the recom-only room which just happened to be where all your beds were, your lounge area, and the bathroom. It’s like you all shared a space together which just brought more domestic thoughts into your head.

“And look who it is, our corazón,” Lopez walked up to Zdog, “how are you dear?”

You snuggled into Zdog’s neck and she chuckled.

“Tired?” Lopez grinned as he stroked your hair and kissed your head.

“You’re so small babydoll, how are you ever going to take us?” Walker said as she stood next to Z taking one of your hands in hers.

“I’m just as badass as before, Miles said so.”

Everyone giggled at that.

“Is it just me or is her being smaller than us making her more subby?”

“I definitely am getting so much sub energy from her, it’s dripping off her,” Lyle spoke up.

Mansk stood up and took you from Zdog and sat down with you in his lap, he had you facing everyone with his arm around your waist. He was always one for cuddles and he was also known to be the strong but silent type. Liked your company and would cuddle you as such but wasn’t great with his words and he knew that.

“We should get you all cleaned up,” Miles said as he realized you were still in your hospital gown.

You nodded and stood from Mansk’s hold and as Miles stood you caught up with him and he opened the door to the gym and through there into the large bathroom. Miles picked you up and placed you on the counter and untied the bows at the back of the gown and removed it off you. He removed his clothes and picked you up by your underarms and brought you into the shower with him. You only came up to his pecs, your arms wrapped around his torso and your head rested against his chest.

You liked the warm water while being with your previous lovers again, you were glad to have them all back. After your body was thoroughly rinsed, Miles started to wash your body with some soap, you leaned onto him for support a few times. Miles was getting hard as he ran his hands over your butt cheeks and ran his hands up your stomach to your tits. You really did have such a nice body, even for a Na’vi.

“Cupcake?”

You nodded with your eyebrows furrowed.

Miles’ hand slid down your side sides, one rested on your ribcage and the other stopped at your hip before he lifted it up and placed two fingers in your folds. He moved up slightly and caught your clit, as he saw you bite your lip he knew, he started to move his fingers in tight circles. Your head hit the shower wall as you gripped his forearms. They all love how responsive you got at any of their touches, he liked to see you moan for him.

He liked the feeling of your hand gripping his wrist as he fingered you, he liked watching your back arch and your body squirm. With his hand on your rib cage, he could feel your fast breathing and every small move your body made. He loved it even more that when you arched your back, he could very easily push you back. He pulled his fingers out and sucked his fingers before lifting you up by your hips and pinned you to the wall with his hips. Your eyebrows furrowed and you whimpered at him.

“Don’t worry Cupcake. I’ll take good care of you.”

Miles kissed you and slowly slid his hard cock into you, your nails scratched at the back of his biceps as your head tilted back and your toes curled. Your first moan was so loud, you knew the recoms outside could hear everything, not that they didn’t know this was going to happen. Miles couldn’t help himself; he just drilled your sweet pussy, it had been some time since he had gotten any, at least that’s what his memories could tell.

You were squeezing Miles, your body too small for their giant bodies, he knew you weren’t going to go forever and neither was he. The idea of being in the shower was to get you clean but Miles always had ulterior motives. He held onto your hips as he kept fucking up into you, he was going to cum he knew it was going to happen soon. His one hand left your hip and started to rub tight circles on your clit, he wanted you to cum first, he wanted to feel you cum around him.

He could feel you gripping him harder, he knew you were getting close, and he knew you were going to cum. He was grunting lowly in your ear trying to hold back his own orgasm until you came, your moans were getting louder, he knew it was any moment now.

You came, right as you did Miles let go as well, it was an overwhelming feeling. Miles pulled out and put you back onto your feet, he held onto your shoulders to keep you steady for a moment. Then he started to finish washing your body and hair, he then rinsed you both off and turned off the water. He dried you off and then himself and handed you some clothes and you both got dressed.

You both walked out to the other recoms smiling at you both, you knew they knew what went down. Walker came by and picked you up to sit on her lap on the couch, she moved your head to rest on her shoulder.

“Did you have fun, babydoll?” Walker asked while other recoms in the room snickered and laughed.

“Yeah.”

You felt her hand grip your hip and saw Lopez move to sit next to Walker and he took your legs and placed them in his lap. You only now realized how much you missed being with all of them, getting to be like you were before you all died.

Going out on your first mission together was kind of nerve-wracking, you wanted everyone to be safe, and you knew something could go wrong.

And something went wrong.

Holding those kids didn’t feel right but you did it anyway, you had no choice and on top of that your lovers wouldn’t have let you chicken out. You knew their parents would come at some point; it was stupid not to think that way. So, when the first arrow hit, your brain shut down, you were scared for the first time in your life, you were scared to lose one of your fellow soldiers.

Multiple people from your crew were dead, the only one you cared about.

Walker.

She was dead.

You just woke up with her that morning.

You sobbed as you all ran off for cover from Jake and Neytiri, really everyone in your crew that was left was with you and Walker. The nine of you were together, and now there were eight. You knew this could happen and now that you’ve experienced it, you never wanted to ever again. You lost others in the recom crew but they weren’t a part of your little arrangement. As Mansk held you for a while as your body hurt from sadness, you all came across the boy from earlier, Spider.

You were back at base and you couldn’t stop thinking about Walker, how you had to just run off. You couldn’t ever look at her face again, you couldn’t hold her body one last time before you said goodbye. You had to just run off, you didn’t want to die or anyone else to but you missed her. Everyone could tell how much it affected you; you sat on the couch in the common room and just looked disconnected. Normally you were so cute and cuddly and loving to soak up how they treated you like a child but you were broken now.

All the recoms could see it, you were so disconnected from what was happening, they knew that they had to stay alive for you. They didn’t want you like this, they loved to see you happy and smiling and moaning their names. Lyle’s great idea at cheering you up was trying to fuck you but giving you every ounce of pleasure but you didn’t look like you’d ever move. You were in the RDA sweatpants and sweatshirt; you were just trying to hide. You didn’t want to eat or sleep or talk, you just wanted her back.

It made Quaritch think about calling off the arrangement but that will probably make things worse. You needed them at this point but the wound was so fresh, but you needed them to heal. They were all sad about Walker dying, she was a part of their crew, she was their friend, and she was also in on their smutty circle. They were upset, but no one was as bad as you.

Ja went over to you and sat next to you, he grabbed the hand you were currently scratching at and held it in his hand.

“Are you okay princess?”

You took a moment to respond before moving your eyes to look at him and you climbed into his lap, your arms tried to wrap around him and you placed your head on his shoulder.

“I don’t know.”

“I know this is a hard time. It’s hard for all of us, but princess you gotta eat.”

You shook your head.

Prager came up to you and squatted down in front of you, “please baby? Let’s get you something to eat then it’s nap time.”

“Can I nap with Mansk?” You liked to nap with him the most, he was warm and liked to have you on top of him and you always enjoyed that.

“Of course, baby, but you gotta eat first.”

“Can I eat in here?”

“Yeah, we can get you somethin’ what do you want?”

“I don’t know and honestly, I don’t care.”

“I know you do, luckily, I know what you like. I’ll be right back.”

Prager kissed your head before walking away and you relaxed back into Ja’s arms. The other recoms were in their rooms watching you and Ja, they were scared to take things too far and hurt you in such a fragile state. They hadn’t seen you this submissive since they had you hit subspace when they all fucked you at once. You just did whatever they wanted without the bratty attitude, which they loved to see but the circumstances made it upsetting.

Prager came back with food and after you ate, Mansk took you to lie down with him and you fell asleep pretty quick. Turns out that crying for hours will do that to your body, your body is exhausted. Mansk was a great cuddler, he kept his arms secure around your waist and held you close and he liked you laying on him. On top of that, he knew how to keep his hands to himself, sleeping with Lyle or Lopez usually meant they were groping you in some way. Not that it bothered you, it made you laugh really but right now you didn’t Lyle’s hand on a titty or Lopez’s hand squeezing your butt.

Every now and again one of the recoms would come in to check on you and Mansk, he stayed awake usually stroking your back or moving some hair from your face. Miles, Lyle, Ja, Lopez, Prager, or Zdog would come and just make sure you were still doing okay, the last thing they wanted was for you to wake up from a nightmare.

When you did eventually wake up about two hours later, Mansk was stroking your back soothingly.

“Hi honey, how was your nap,” Mansk said as he realized you were up and looking around.

“It was good, I was tired more than I realized I think.”

“I’m glad you’re awake,” Mansk kissed your hairline.

“Where is everyone else?”

“They are all at the gym.”

“You didn’t go with them?”

“Nah I figured being with you was better. Plus, someone's gotta keep you warm.”

You giggled at his comment.

“Do you want to go join everyone?”

You stayed quiet, Mansk stared at you for a moment till her felt your hand on his lower stomach. You reached beneath his pants to his already aching cock.

“When did this happen?”

“You were cute while you slept and your little noises. I got carried away.”

You smiled up at him before you started to slowly stroke his cock.

“Honey, you sure you want to get into this?”

“Why not? We’re the only ones here. Let’s take advantage of that.”

Mansk’s hand on your waist gripped harder as you sped up and gripped his dick harder, he hissed lowly and you smiled up at him.

“Honey, let me fuck you.”

You removed your hand and sat up, you took off your sweatshirt and your sweatpants. He looked at you with a smile before he did the same, you threw your leg over his torso and leaned down to kiss him. He grabbed your hips and held you onto his cock, you started to move not long after getting onto him. Your head tilted back as you started to pick up speed, your hips kept moving, and your hands gripped onto the sheets right beside Mansk’s torso.

“Keep going, keep going please.”

Mansk gripped your hips and started rutting up into you, he was making you move faster and hitting you deeper. Your cries were getting louder and as you came, Mansk hit you deep a few more times before he came too.

“Look who’s up and already at ‘em.”

You turned your head around to see Lyle and Lopez smirking at you.

“You have a good time corazón?”

You smiled at them and nodded.

They were glad that you had cheered up, that you seemed to forget about losing someone you loved. You didn’t forget, but you needed to move on, you wanted to be there for those you loved. You didn’t want to be lost, you didn’t want to never move on, you missed her but you needed them.

“Glad to see you’re awake,” Miles said as he walked up between Lopez and Lyle.

“Mansk is finally getting some,” Lopez laughs as he walks off to shower.

“Oh, shut up,” Mansk said as he threw a pillow in his direction hitting Lyle.

The next few days weren’t horrible, but you missed Walker, they could still see it. You were still trying to find Jake Sully, getting intel was hard, he was hidden and no technology liked to work out in the wild. Every time you went out, you felt anxiety crawling its way up your throat, you didn’t want it to be like last time. This time you got word on where Sully was, he was with some ocean clans.

Hijacking this dude's ship was always fun, watching Miles be bossy and in charge did something to you. you watched the boys turn to look at you and smirk at you, you knew they could smell how wet you were becoming. One by one their heads would turn to you and smirk before looking back at the man telling off Quaritch.

Trying to act tough and badass when you are a foot shorter than everyone else is weird, you felt so shy, you wanted to cuddle into the side of the closest recom. Luckily, Ja seemed to notice that and wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled you into his side. He smiled down at you and you looked up at him and smiled, he always knew what you needed.

All the people on the boat could see something was going on with you and the other military people. They also thought it was weird that you were so much smaller than the other Na’vi soldiers, you also knew they hated the team being there. They liked to look at you and whoever you were around, it had to be because you were so soft around each other.

The stares got worse when one of your lovers held you on their hip like a child and walked around. You were all still wearing tact vests and armed to the teeth, yet you were cuddling into them like a tired toddler. Zdog loved to stare them down when they would look at you in any wrong way.

She also loved the idea of having you alone in an empty hallway as she held you up against the wall. She held you up against the window of the left wing, and your butt rested on the railing attached to the windows. She ruthlessly ate you out, your head kept hitting the glass as she knelt on the ground. Her tongue was doing wonders to you, you missed her so much and her tongue was probably the best ever, better than any guy at least.

“You two really are fucking crazy.”

You opened your eyes and took your hand off your mouth, your eyes slowly blinked to focus on who stood there.

Lopez, that smug mother fucker.

“You’re ruining girl time,” Zdog pulled her face off enough to speak before digging right back in.

“I think I’d like to join in on girl time,” Lopez walked closer.

“You prepared for getting caught? After she cums she’s all yours.”

“What about you?” You said to Zdog between moans.

“I’ll be fine baby girl. It’s always about you.”

Your eyebrows furrowed as you whined lightly.

Her tongue went back into you, she instantly put more speed and pressure into her actions this time, she was eager to make you cum. You had a couple of close calls with people walking by or hearing people, but never enough to make her stop or make them check out what was happening. Once she made you cum, she moved away, showing Lopez your wet pussy.

“She’s all yours. Don’t say I never did nothing for ya. I did all the hard work.”

He winked at her, “I’ll return the favour later, Z.”

He grabbed your legs and unbuckled his pants.

“Just you wait, you’re in for a good time.”

Lopez took Zdog’s spot and held you up against the window, he stroked his dick a few times before pushing inside. You bit your lip and pressed your hand to your mouth to try to keep quiet, Lopez smirked down at you. You felt a tear roll down your cheek from overstimulation and just forcing yourself to stay as quiet as possible. You looked over Lopez’s shoulder to see Zdog standing there, leaning up against the wall with her arms crossed under her boobs smiling at you.

She pushed off the wall and stood next to you and kissed you, she was swallowing your moans. You took one hand off Lopez’s shoulder and wrapped it around her neck and pushed her further into you. Lopez kept a firm grip on your hips, he was pushing in so deep, he was making you cry out, luckily Zdog was there to keep you quiet.

“Please, please Lopez. I have to cum.”

“Come on, corazón. Give it to me.”

His last few thrusts were getting sloppy but still hard and deep, you clawed at Lopez’s shoulder and Zdog’s next as you were cumming.

“Fuck, that’s good baby. Squeezing me tighter than before.”

“Lopez, fuck.”

His hips stuttered as he came Zdog smirked at you and turned her head to snicker at Lopez. He pulled out and dressed himself again, he let you down to stand on your own. Zdog and Lopez helped you get dressed and you walked three started to walk back to the main hub. On your way, you joined up with Ja and Prager who stood in another hallway talking. Prager noticed you guys, his head turned and he smiled, Ja did the same thing.

“What are you guys up to?”

“Heading back,” Lopez said.

“You guys reek of each other,” Ja laughed.

“I blame Z, she started it,” you said pointing to her.

“I’m sure it was all Z,” Prager said sarcastically.

“Where did you guys even go?” Ja asked.

“Left-wing,” Zdog smirked.

“Just out in the open?” Prager said shocked.

“Yeah, I happened upon those two. Zdog’s got her pushed up against the glass, tongue fucking her, and I couldn’t just sit by and watch or leave knowing what’s going on,” Lopez said.

“Don’t blame ya, I’d be in the same boat,” Prager winked at you.

“Are you guys heading back to the colonel?”

“Yeah, things weren’t great in there earlier but you know Quaritch and Wainfleet, they love conflict,” Ja said starting to walk with the group. As you walked all headed into the main room, you smiled at Miles and Lyle once you made eye contact. You walked up to them and hugged Lyle first as he was the closest and then went to Miles, as you hugged him, he smirked.

“You smell like Lopez. What were you guys doing?”

“We were in the left wing. Zdog was eating me out then Lopez joined.”

He laughed at that, “good that you guys are here, we have a hit on Sully’s kids.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, there on that tulkan over there.”

“They fell right into our hands. Who could’ve guessed.”

Hours later you sat on some island of rocks, you had been cut and scraped a few times. Blood was bleeding down the side of your face, having been cut on your forehead. Your body was exhausted, not only did you fight hard, then it was almost drowning and swimming. You laid back to try and let your body relax, let your muscles have a moment to regenerate.

You knew deep down you lost everyone; you no longer had a single one of your lovers. You watched them get stabbed or knocked out or squished but debris or drown, you couldn’t take it. This was like losing Walker all over again, but this time there were no support systems.

This is where you were going to die.

All alone.

Then you watched that human boy, Spider, drag a body up with him, you sat up and went to your knees. It was Quaritch, you saw the tattoo on his arm, it was him, he was alive, he was awake.

Suddenly, you weren’t alone.

You watched the human boy run off and then you crawled over to Miles’ side.

“Miles? Miles you’re okay.”

He looked at you, he looked just as tired as you did.

“I thought you died. I thought you went out with Lopez.”

“No, I left his side just before he, um,” your eyes pricked with tears

“I know, cupcake.”

“They’re all gone, Miles. All of them.”

“It’s okay. I’m still here. I’m here. We will be together.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” you rested your forehead on his and just laid down next to him.

He placed his hand on your cheek and turned your head to look at him again, he brought you up to kiss him.

“I’m glad that you’re okay. I should’ve kept a closer eye on you.”

“You did great. You’re still an amazing colonel. We all had a lot to worry about.”

“We’re together now. Now we just gotta figure out what to do next.”

“Take a nap.”

He laughed for a moment before he coughed.

“I think we should check out your forehead,” he placed a finger by the cut on your forehead dripping blood.

“I’ll be fine, I’ll live. I just wanna be with you.”

“You’re with me now.”

Miles tore the bottom of his shirt and tied it around your head, the knot sitting on your cut.

“There now you’re somewhat dealt with.”

“Where do we go from here? Back to the RDA headquarters?”

“No, going back, they may kill us again. We’re on our own cupcake. They will think we died in this. better to keep it that way.”

“So, where should we go?”

“Fly around on our Ikrans for a while and find out.”

“Can we nap first?”

“Of course, Cupcake.”

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queenlucythevaliant · 8 months ago

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Okay, here we go. Rating literary allusions in Taylor Swift songs:

The Outside: "I tried to take the road less traveled by /but nothing seems to work the first few times/am I right?"--Starting off pretty well! She tried to take the road less traveled by, but it didn't make any difference. 8/10

Love Story: Whole song allusion to Romeo and Juliet-- All those 2008 jokes about Taylor not having read R&J weren't funny then and they aren't funny now. It's a fun, satisfying subversion. However, I am going to dock points for the fact that Romeo and Juliet aren't a prince and princess, just rich. 7/10

Love Story: "You were Romeo/I was a scarlet letter"--Is the Juliet character in "Love Story" being publicly shamed? Did she do something scandalous? There are zero other lines in this song to suggest that she did, and a fair amount of evidence that she didn't. This allusion confuses rather than clarifies and tbh this is the one people should've made fun of in 2008. 2/10

New Romantics: "We show off our different scarlet letters/ trust me, mine is better" --Hooray! She figured out what the book is about! This is a beautifully executed allusion, where "scarlet letters" represents a mark of something shameful which, in a fun subversion, is being shown off with pride. Fits the song really well. Most improved award, 11/10

Getaway Car: "It was the best of times, the worst of crimes" (A Tale of Two Cities) -- Goes in the category of "fun wordplay, but doesn't really mean anything deeper" 5/10

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: "Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year" --This is a perfectly serviceable allusion, but not a super interesting one. Sub "Gatsby" out with "nostalgic" and the song wouldn't change at all. She could've done a lot more with the reference, given the subject matter of the song. 6/10

cardigan: "I knew you/tried to change the ending/Peter losing Wendy" -- This works! You get a sense of Betty losing her innocence and choosing to leave James and of it being inevitable somehow. Plus, it imbues the song with a lovely fairy tale quality. 10/10

illicit affairs: "take the road less traveled by/tell yourself you can always stop" -- To take the road less traveled by is to do something risky, unpopular, or unfamiliar, not just to take a route through town where you won't run into people. Not totally egregious, but the regression from Debut is disappointing. 4/10

invisible string: "and isn't it just so pretty to think/ that all along there was some/ invisible string tying you to me."(The Sun Also Rises)--Ugggggh. Okay, so "Isn't it pretty to think so?" is this sad, tired, ironic note in The Sun Also Rises. Brett tells Jake, "We could have had a damned good time together" and Jake says "Isn't it pretty to think so?" because their whole situationship was never going to work. It's not a positive thing; it's pure, bitter Lost Generation irony. Completely out-of-place in a song about how two people we're supposed to believe will actually work as a couple. This one drives me nuts, and I don't even like Hemingway. 0/10

happiness: "I hope she'll be a beautiful fool/ who takes my spot next to you" (Gatsby)--Saying this about an ex's future SO is so... off. Like, the reason why Daisy hopes her daughter will be a beautiful fool is because it's easy. The two situations have nothing to do with one another, and not in an interesting way. 1/10

The Albatross: whole song allusion to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," but most notably "She's the albatross/ she is here to destroy you"--The albatross in the Rime is a good omen. The Mariner shoots is for no reason, and the albatross's death is the ostensible source of bad fortune. I wrote a whole separate post on this here. That said, culturally "albatross=bad omen" is common enough, so whatever. 3/10

I Hate It Here: "I will go to secret gardens in my mind/ people need a key to get to/ the only one is mine" -- I like this one a lot. Exactly the right vibe for the song, trying to escape something miserable by going somewhere pleasant. The key is a nice touch. Poor Archibald. 10/10

The Prophecy: "I got cursed like Eve got bitten" --No Taylor, that's not what happened. Famously, Eve was the biter in that situation. 0/10

Cassandra: whole song allusion -- correct me if I'm wrong (I haven't actually read the Illiad), but my understanding is that Cassandra died fairly far into the Trojan war, and not by burning. 4/10

#this probably isn't exhausive lol #but it's what i've got off the top of my head #this was weirdly cathartic to write #you guys know i adore taylor swift but literary allusions have always been my biggest nitpick with her #i would just like to send her to an English class or gently help her out or something idk #tay tay #i'm aware that i'm not addressing Peter off ttpd but that song is such a nothingburger that i really can't be bothered #pontifications and creations #literature makes us more human

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thebookishwallflower · 23 days ago

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I want to make a post to inform people about the current situation with the bird flu (/avian flu/H5N1) outbreaks.

I don't want to cause panic but do want to spread information.

This is especially important if you live in an area that has a news system you don't trust to give accurate, timely, or honest news about something like a possible new pandemic, use your own judgement.

If that applies it is going to be very important to make sure you stay informed and follow these H5N1 outbreaks yourself and know how to best protect yourself.

I am no expert, but I do know a good bit about disease and influenza in particular, and have been following the H5N1 outbreaks as they've been happening, so under the cut I'm going to do my best to inform everyone I can.

Please stay safe, stay informed, and spread information, not germs.

What's bird flu and why do I care? (What's bird flu and why do I care?)

Avian flu and bird flu mean the same thing, an influenza virus that (primarily) infects birds. H5N1 denotes a specific strain of avian influenza. H5N1 can spillover (when a pathogen spreads from it's normal host organism to a new host organism) from animals to humans.

How could I get H5N1? (How could I get H5N1?)

Human to human transmission has not been observed yet (12/1/24) during this current outbreak. You can get this from contact with wild birds, especially water fowl, domestic birds, cattle, pigs, horses, dogs, and bats. It is also possible to get from raw (unpasteurized) milk and undercooked meat from infected animals.

What's the big deal then? (What's the big deal then?)

The common flu is not very pathogenic. How pathogenic something is determines how sick something makes the host, something that is highly pathogenic can cause severe disease. H5N1 is considered a HPAI, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

H5N1 is also a Type A influenza virus, most known Type A influenza viruses can infect birds. There is one Type A human flu in circulation at the moment, however it isn't very prevalent.

"IAV poses a significant risk of zoonotic infection, host switch, and the generation of pandemic viruses. IAVs can infect humans and a variety of animals, such as pigs, horses, marine mammals, cats, dogs, and birds (S1)."

IAV - Influenza A Viruses | Zoonotic infection - when an infectious disease of a non-human host infects a human host | Host switch - when a cross-species transmission of a pathogen can lead to successful, stable, and continuous infections

Every species the flu infects, the more strains that pop up under a sub-type IAV, the possibility for recombination increases. "Recombination occurs when at least two viral genomes [or strains] co-infect the same host cell and exchange genetic segments (S2)."

The flu is pretty good at recombination, when given the chance. It is also really good at mutating, and fast. If there were to be a recombination event and a new strain evolved (this would be called an antigenic shift) that was highly pathogenic, highly infectious (good at spreading, which H5N1 is), that could then infect humans and cause human-to-human transmission we might have a pandemic on our hands. This has not shown signs of happening during this outbreak*, this is what to look out for.

This (a recombination event) is what caused the 1918 pandemic during WW1. This pandemic killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people in 1918, in a world with a population of around 2 billion. 7.1 million died of COVID 19, as of 11/9/24 (S3), from a population of around 8 billion.

We know more, we are prepared, it's not guaranteed to happen, and it's not guaranteed to be as bad. But the possibilities are endless and it's extremely important to be prepared and stay informed.

So what do I do? (So what do I do?)

Again, stay informed, and that might mean checking independent news sources, the CDC website, and more, to keep yourself updated, especially if you know your local news won't do it for you. You should also familiarize yourself with the symptoms of influenza, if you have it, stay home.

Keep yourself safe, we had a pandemic already, you know the drill. Cover your nose and mouth when sneezing/coughing, wash your hands, sanitize your hands, and get your flu shot. And, in addition, avoid contact with wild birds, poultry, pigs, and cattle if you can.

In the event that this gets worse, social distancing is very important, being outdoors, wearing a mask, and all the stuff above, you can shed the virus for around a week before you start feeling bad. Keep yourself safe and don't infect anyone else.

If that doesn't sound like it'll do much, I promise you it does. Those are all classified NPI's (non-pharmaceutical interventions) and even epidemiologists were shocked at their impact and importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. They did work, and they were incredibly effective—as long as they were carried out.

I don't want to cause panic or worry anyone, but that is how information ends of suppressed. I want to make everyone aware of what we might face so that we can fight it and be strong and stay safe.

If anyone has any questions, wants any clarification, any corrections, or wants to know some good places to learn more about this stuff please don't hesitate to contact me (@'s, dm's, or asks), I will answer as best I can.

Here's the CDC's page covering the H5 bird flu current situation.

S1 - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5578040/

S2 - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7106159/

S3 - https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths?n=c

*with the exception of this coverage (as a possibility): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/19/bird-flu-cases-mutation-canada

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imperiuswrecked · 5 months ago

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Here lies Namor. Invader. Avenger. International Terrorist. - Namor (2024) #1

I am Namor. The Terrorist Propaganda says I have issues. Don't trust the Terrorist Propaganda. - Bucky Barnes: Winter Solider (2014) #1

You know what annoys me about Aaron's writing, where is Defender? Namor is part of and actually is the instigator in creating Marvel's The Defenders, the first trio called Titians Three consisted of him recruiting Hulk & Silver Surfer to aid him in stopping humans from hurting the Natural World in The Sub-Mariner (1968) #34. This would later spin out into Doctor Strange recruiting Namor, Silver Surfer, Hulk, and later joining them Valkyrie for the main and first wave of The Defenders. A team made up of outsiders who defended the world from supernatural threats. Namor is literally a founding member of (in my very strong opinion) the best modern team he's ever been on.

Yes, he's Namor the Avenging Son, but he was only ever called Terrorist by his enemies. Namor wouldn't think of himself in that way, he'd call himself a Defender, a Protector of his people, of the seas, his home. If Aaron means Invader as in he was part of the Invaders team then that also is a defense because he and the Invaders were fighting in WWll.

Namor knows the humans see him as a threat and for the most part he doesn't care if they label him as a monster because he's always had this strong belief of defending his home and people, he worked past his hatred of humans to help them all the way back in the golden age, but time and time again the humans do something that he has to respond to.

If you ask me for 2 panels to understand Namor in a nutshell then it would have to be;

The Defenders (1972) #53

Sub-Mariner (2007) #4

He's actually so easy to understand if people actually took the time to read his freaking comics. He's complex yeah, but that's what makes him so interesting as the first comic Anti-Hero!

Aaron focusing on Namor's outsider status isn't something new, it's been explored in his comics a lot of times. What really frustrated me was back in Avengers (2018) #9 Aaron had the chance to set up Namor to combat Captain America in terms of ideology of what is right and wrong, how is the defense of his homeland wrong? how is resistance against oil drillers, and poachers, and corporate greed, and polluters, and giant space robots falling and crushing his city and people wrong???

Human Laws have always been in favor of Humans, not the Atlanteans, not the Sea. Instead of exploring the concept of Namor being a Defender of his home and his people, Aaron constantly labels Namor a Terrorist. The he makes Namor want to atone for the wrongs he's done (never specifying exactly which ones, just a general "crimes against surface humanity") while never addressing or exploring the wrongs done to him by the humans/surface world!

Even now Aaron sets up Namor for conflict under the sea, and states it's for the best interest of the human world that their shipping lines and cruises be uninterrupted by the "shrieking blue skinned warriors who've invaded their coasts". Basically it's "We humans don't care if the Atlanteans are suffering so long as they suffer in silence and don't bother us or disrupt our money & lives".

Aaron writes in Avengers that Captain America offered aid to help the Atlanteans, but it's Namor who's rejected it, why would he accept help from the people who constantly hurt his people? Why would Namor ever trust them when they've broken his trust so many times in the past? Humans make promises and then break them all the time. Why should Namor ever accept the crumbs they deign to give him in return for obedience and silence so the humans can keep doing whatever they think is right? Why is the Surface World more moral and more right than the Undersea World? It's Namor's land, it's his home, they broke his laws, they broke his home, his people, his seas.

I've always said the biggest obstacle and mistake writers often encounter when writing Namor is they come at him from a very surface world mindset, where the humans are right and Namor isn't. Namor was never meant to be a champion of humans, but of the Atlanteans, the Seas, and all it's creatures.

I could not care less that you are breaking the Laws of Man. What you do here violates the Law of Namor. And thus you shall now endure Namor's Justice. - Defenders (2012) #1

Namor being seen as a Invader/Terrorist began back with his first fight against The Human Torch in Marvel Mystery Comics (1939) #8, Jim was championed as the Hero of Humanity, while Namor was labeled as Public Enemy No. 1. and even now 85+ years later Namor faces persecution for doing what he was raised to do all his life, be a king, be a protector of his people, take justice and vengeance for the wrongs done against his home and people.

Aaron wants to focus on Namor's outsider status of being born half human/half atlantean. He's already shown Namor being bullied and nearly killed as a child for being born different by his people, but that isn't anything new, that's been canon that Namor is an outsider among humans and atlanteans, it's canon that the Atlanteans are just as racist as the humans, but often they're framed as worse than the humans.

One comic reviewer questioned if Aaron is making statements about the current political climate but honestly anyone who reads Namor comics can see these themes, the tensions among atlanteans and humans, have always been there. What remains to be seen is if Aaron can actually deliver on some good writing.

#namor #namor mckenzie #namor the sub mariner #imp talks comics #jason aaron hate train #sorry to rant on and on but im not sorry bc i have THINGS TO SAY #aaron makes me want to scratch my eyes out #ik non rabid namor fans might think im insane for focusing so closely on every tiny detail and from a distance it doesnt look bad #but trust me when i say that in all the decades of namor being written this writer is stupid as fuck and cant handle the character #thats not me being a mean gatekeeper bc i usually try to find the good in the bad and can even enjoy brynes run for all the damage it did #bc he actually did keep namor in character and added another interesting level with the corporate angle

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namorweek · 1 year ago

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NAMOR WEEK 2024

Welcome to the the 5th Annual Namor Week, a fandom event dedicated to our favorite Undersea Anti-Hero! We welcome all new & old fans to the event and hope you can join in this year’s Namor Week on April 24 - 30!

(Art by @pointdotiozao )

Themes

Day 1 - Wings // Sun Day 2 - Prince/King/Emperor // Outcast Day 3 - Alternate Universe // What if...? Day 4 - Piercings/Tattoos // Scars Day 5 - Friends/Allies // Enemies Day 6 - Magic // Science Day 7 - Creator's Choice

The Rules

No sign ups, no checks, just create whatever you feel like creating! Choose one or all of the prompts. Please read and follow all rules to be a part of this event. Types of fanworks accepted: Fanfiction, Fanart, Podcasts, Edits, Playlists, Podfics, Aesthetics, Gifs, etc. you may commission work to be submitted but it must be created for this event, so no reposting an older work for this.

All work must be submitted on the day of the prompt, late works will be accepted up until end of the week. You may add your works to the Namor Week Collection on Ao3 if you wish.

All Fan Works must be original works created or commissioned for this event and it must focus on Namor or any of his supporting characters in the Talokan or Atlantis universes, examples but not limited to; Lady Dorma, Namora, Attuma, Fen, and more! Choose from MCU or Comic Canon, but it must be a canon character and the work may not use Namor or his supporting characters as background for other non Sub-Mariner characters or fandoms.

Fanworks must be tagged with #namorweek in the first five tags & tag @namorweek so that it can be featured on this blog by end of day, and unless otherwise stated then fanworks will be linked/cross posted to the Namor Week twitter. If you wish to participate on twitter and post there then simply @ the namorweek account there! All works will be rounded up in a master list.

Tag appropriately! If you have heavy themes, tag what your work contains!

Any fanwork*, ship, canon, canon divergent, or non-canon, romantic or platonic, welcome. However this is a character(s) week so please remember to keep focus on Namor, Atlanteans, Talokanil. *see banned content

Ship and let Ship & Don’t like? Don’t Read is in full force.

Banned

Racism, hate work (fanwork created to bash on characters), and other forms of hate are not tolerated or accepted. Including Anti Ship or Shipping Wars. Don’t create something just to be a jerk to other fans or shippers.

Pedo/Incest works are not accepted.

NamorSue, Namor/Susan in a romantic ship are not accepted. (Platonic Namor & Susan Storm is accepted.)

Namor x Reader, x Reader, Character x Reader, all works with x Reader or Character Imagines are not accepted.

Good Luck with creating and see you in April & if you have any questions please send an Ask!

#namorweek #namor week 2024 #mcu namor #namor #namor the sub mariner #attuma #namora #marvel comics #mcu #fandom event #prompts #themes #mod: imperiuswrecked

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kinghe · 9 months ago

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Mariner's Rinds 3.6k words | Wriothesley/Neuvillette tags: sexual content, dubious consent, dom/sub undertones

Happy birthday to my dearest @denimecho, my sweet cheese. My good time boy. This is fic based on his beautiful Wriollette artwork.

The Fortress of Meriopode: the imposing stronghold in abyssal drink, a long-standing and lone custodian. The principle of such a being meant protection for those of the outside world or a cautionary tale. Thus, the wonders of the institution were unknown to the general public and untouched by the hand of the judicial court. Insofar as it involved the affairs of the underground, it was Wriothesley’s domain. Except the Iudex stood at the threshold of his office, looking as discrepant in all his glory as he always did.

“Well,” Wriothesley said with raised brow, “this is a surprise.”

"Hello," Neuvillette stepped forward like a haze, slow and uninterrupted.

“Hello?" Wriothesley smiled, clearly pleased, "make no mistake, I welcome you with open arms, I just can't help but notice there was no prior notice of your arrival.” He set his teacup down, “aren’t you usually very proper with such things?”

He slots his fingers in the space between Neuvillette’s neck and jaw, cold like ice, smooth like leather, and watches the way his head tilts back against Wriothesley’s shoulder in consequence. Silence. It makes the roaring in his ears sound like discomforted static and his own breathing, laboured, rolls out in sharp intervals.

He feels Neuvillette’s heartbeat, slow, stilted, irregular, through the membrane of his own.

“I apologise. My arrival was sudden, even to me." Neuvillette said, his voice at once cutting and balming, “I do recognise the disruption my presence here may entail. My stay won't be long.” Not a single hair out of place. Noble, and immaculate.

“Nonsense. My doors are always open to you. As a matter of fact, I feel as though I’m always asking you to stay, only to meet with your insistent departures. Please,” he gestured to the seat by his desk. “Really though, this is quite peculiar. Have you come to chide me?”

“I cannot imagine what for.”

The quiet stretched and Wriothesley replied with a mildly amused, “neither can I.”

"...In truth, my duties required me nearby, though matters were resolved quite… efficiently, to say the least. I daresay my presence was not needed.”

“Ah, the reconstitution meetings, is it? You had to oversee that?”

Neuvillette nodded.

“The council is ruthless.” Wriothesley chuckled despite himself. By natural inclination, Neuvillette remained the highest authority of Fontaine but the nobility would always be the first to bow to it and simultaneously undermine it.

“If I had known the gravity of their cases, I would have scheduled our times accordingly. I’m not suggesting their concerns should be disregarded, however I believe Imena to be capable on her lonesome for the time being.” He paused, as though reliving the brunt of insipid chatter, but whatever bitterness Wriothesley was searching for showed no trace. “Nevertheless, I had a great deal of time on my hands, and since my visit to Qiaoying Village, I confess I’ve made a habit of, as one would say, ‘loitering.’ As of late.”

“Oh?”

So the observer has abdicated.

“Before I knew it,” Neuvillette added, “I found myself here.”

Neuvillette’s eyes are hidden behind grey tresses but Wriothesley imagines the slits dilating, darkening. Then he imagines hardly anything. The column of Neuvillette’s neck is submerged by a faint red, giving the appearance of having drunk too much liquor. It's a hard catch in the dark yet drastic on Neuvillette's flesh; he finds it brings him down to physicality, and further into Wriothesley's handling.

He grabs Neuvillette’s wrists, holds them up and the colour travels to his ears. Wriothesley traces it with fervour.

“Aha, how quaint. I imagine it is nothing short of a spectacle for the folk to see you out and about.”

Neuvillette looked hesitant, but Wriothesley was patient. “Regardless, I wished to ask: does your invitation for tea have an expiration date?”

“Course not, Monsieur Neuvillette.” The smile on Wriothesley’s face was unreserved, stretching easy on his face. “Way ahead of you.”

The room is warm, warm - his steel ice office has never been so humid. Neuvillette’s skin is jumping under his touch, pulling him in: teasing him out.

The tea he poured was a hearty homage to Neuvillette’s new ventures. Liyue’s specialty was herbal and demure, best suited for night, just as one was on his last ream of paperwork. Wriothesley watched with no obstacle as the mug pressed red into Neuvillette’s white palms.

“I am not disrupting your duties, am I?”

“No no, you came at the perfect time. ” Wriothesley waved, “what is this I’m hearing about loitering?”

“Well, it is still quite rare that I do. My duties occupy me for the majority of the day, and I have a sense that my workload will double in the near future. However,” Neuvillette said, a semblance of a frown twisting the corner of his lips, “it has come to my attention that it may prove worthwhile.”

“And what are your findings?”

“That remains to be seen, I’m afraid.” The corners of his eyes and lips rounded, becoming softer, more malleable. Those features were best blessed under the night sky, and Wriothesley’s office was kept dim for a reason.

He is clinically, accurately precise when he wants to be, but finds that its never what he wants, with Neuvillette. He can’t help but shove him into book cases, bend him over desks, pin him against limestone. Now, to the thrum of frenzy, his palm splayed on the small of Neuvillette’s back forces an arch too bowed to be painless.

For a brief moment, the intensity of his own stare was not known to him and when he came to, he almost startled. He considered winding up the gramophone but stopped himself; Neuvillette at his most serene was in the quiet.

“It’s a good look on you.” He said, voice ahead of mind.

“Do you think so?”

Wriothesley cast his eyes away and to the far corner of his office, on a cabinet closest to the doors. It was crowned by a legal codex. He jerked his thumb in the direction of it.

“How else would this trophy of mine get to me?”

Neuvillette took a long sip of his tea, staring at the structure with bemusement. “Is it wise to have it on display like this?”

“Absolutely,” Wriothesley said, “not.” He flashed the Iudex a smile. “Its home is in the storage room, as promised. I just like taking it out sometimes.”

“That is peculiar. For what reason?”

“Of course, it reminds me…

His hunger feels like it will never be quelled. It’s been there since his creation, merely dormant. Suppressed. Deactivated. A sigh escapes Neuvillette, quiet and like a song, and Wriothesley reconsiders.

“…of my appreciation of you. Our connection if you will,”

Some part of him knows his touch is audacious, that he's treating Neuvillette too lightly, as if he were an object. As if he were a thing Wriothesley owns. But his hands are made to be on Neuvillette’s body, and he grips his shoulder, his hip, and Neuvillette stills under it. Neuvillette stays where Wriothesley puts him.

“-and the code that I must dutifully live by.”

Wriothesley clenches his jaw, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple as he reminds himself: be gentle, be gentle. He shapes his consciousness back into its automated material and concentrates, until he doesn’t, and then he does what he likes. He grips Neuvillette’s hardened thigh, the tips of his fingers tracing the thin skin of the inside.

Neuvillette stared.

“And, of course, I had to have Clorinde bear witness to my earnings.”

Neuvillette gave a slow nod. “I hope it satisfied her expectations.”

“Oh, she was very impressed by the craftsmanship.” Wriothesley rose from his seat, and moved towards the slab of stone. He picked it up with tenderness, stroked a thumb over the engraving with a fond eye. “In fact, I, myself, have started to segue into a great fondness for the arts. Finally, a fitting citizen of this country, no?”

“I highly doubt it deserves this calibre of praise." Neuvillette disagreed. "Please remember, it was conceived merely in jest.”

“Even your jokes are pristine, then.”

“I do not know what to say to that.”

Wriothesley chuckled.

Once more, he reassessed the situation; Neuvillette, Chief Justice of Fontaine, sitting in his office, finally having some tea. He would appreciate the absurdity of it all if the man himself weren’t such a distracting contrast amongst his belongings. Timeless and stoic, unbound by teacups and velvet settees.

“Now, Monsieur Neuvillette,” Wriothesley crossed his arms, lax against his chair. “I must say, I do not hate engaging in pleasantries with you. However, it also stands that I have not yet known you to involve yourself and it makes me uneasy on how to proceed.”

“I... apologise. You are right; I was, and am, unfamiliar to the need. This a first attempt of sorts.”

“You’ve been doing a lot of those recently. Oh, let me refill that. ‘Scuse me.”

Neuvillette reached out for the pot but Wriothesley, steeled by reflex, grabbed his wrist before he could intervene. Not unkindly. A beat, and Neuvillette’s arm went lax in Wriothesley's hold, and he grabbed the pot himself. The kettle on his worktable was the only household appliance in his office, filling the office with a muted hum.

Neuvillette is sturdy, solid and damp, and letting out a breath as a strong grip claws the meat of his breast. The curve of Neuvillette’s neck lies bare as his hair slips before his shoulders, and his steady exhales become the symphony of the evening.

Neuvillette holds himself up where Wriothesley places him, always. Idle where Wriothesley mouths at the mound of his neck and shoulder, going easily when shoved. Wriothesley pushes in and there’s a solid thump of a fist, green veins protruding from Neuvillette's pale forearms.

He pulls him closer, pushes him back. He guides the ancient entity forward so his forearms presses into book spines as Wriothesley violates him again and again.

Wriothesley places a grip on the back of Neuvillette’s neck, perhaps to tame if he thrashes, but he is still, so still. A monument that stands solid through the passage of time, purely and painfully ornamental.

Neuvillette eventually said, “it seems to have become a curiosity of mine.”

“Very well, then.” Wriothesley smiled and switched the kettle on, “take the reins.”

Neuvillette’s lips worked around words that were silent, and then stopped moving altogether.

The articulation of those lips had been embedded in Wriothesley’s wiring the moment they delivered his verdict. When he spoke, motion was minimum, the cadence of his voice a soft imprint against ego: at once, nullifying and devastating. But if Neuvillette was careless, then call Wriothesley naive. The entity’s biggest crimes were his scarcity and fortitude.

“The process of reconstruction has posed significant challenges.” Neuvillette said after pause. The same low timbre from twenty years ago. “As you know, the termination of the Oratrice means the ease of this transition is my priority. I would like to know where you stand in all of this.”

Wriothesley laughed, “Ah, it has become work-related again. But that’s okay. I won’t be surprised when the shock dissipates and we find ourselves swamped down here too. People have already started to notice the state we’re in. You’ve read my reports, haven’t you? We are at the cusp of an interim.”

“I indeed have. It provided great clarification.”

Neuvillette's warmth all around him, a suffocation and a vice that promises to sever but Wriothesley yanks the tail of his coat out of the way and kicks his legs apart. And then takes him again. Raises him higher, higher, until Neuvillette is searching for better purchase. A grunt leaves his throat, thrust out with how hard Wriothesley’s muscles flex and then strain, and further ripples through his skin.

“And I’ve read your proposal. I stand by it.”

“I am grateful to hear that,” Neuvillette said, though the corner of his lips creased. “Fontaine has never been without an Archon. It seems I’ve misunderstood the effects of such a phenomenon.”

“This is not really a commonplace thing, though...”

“That much is irrefutable. As it stands, I have been faced with a series of novelties I may not be equipped to deal with.”

“You’re worried?”

“I would only like to enact what is best for Fontaine,” Neuvillette explained, and Wriothesley was once again reminded of a sorrowful form of a man barred of its features, staring down at him from a high throne. “It is not my capability per se, but my status that may destabilise the prospect of moderation. I am not asking for reassurance, rather, it is in that line of thinking that calls for perspectives outside of my own.”

Wriothesley hummed, pouring the tea with mechanical tenderness. “So that’s what this is about. You’ve seen the movement, haven’t you?” I thought I took care of that.

“It would be arrogant to assume there would not be any to resent my state of being.”

“Sure,” Wriothesley said, “If you ask me, it’ll be some time before it becomes an issue. Any semblance of visibility or violence right now is scoured by the loss of Focalors, and those who carry these sentiments lack the manpower and the influence. Trust me on this.”

Neuvillette spent a long time digging into his irises. Then he placed his tea back on the table. “I see now that it was reckless of me to have left.”

“You, reckless? Why, that’s not in your dictionary,” Wriothesley’s grim smile was concealed by his teacup, but Neuvillette caught onto details far faster than formalities anyway. “I actually think it best to lay low just as you are. Have a full-blown holiday, even. No one is better suited for this than you.”

His other hand plants over Neuvillette’s stomach as he forces the man back against him, the muscles tensing hard under his palm, and a shaky inhale wanes as soon as it starts. Neuvillette’s hands find Wriothesley’s wrists; all else is insufficient in holding him up. Neuvillette is — cold and tight and addictive.

He peels back layer by layer, smoothing hands over skin, until he finds him raw and pink and ripened.

“Why do you say that?”

“The people here have grown accustomed to its idols. They are used to performance and machinations. I’m assuming you don’t intend to pick up where Miss Furina left off?”

Neuvillette blinked. “Of course not.”

“I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds with this, however you, as a public figure, are not defined by archaic concepts such as ‘justice,’” Wriothesley jerked his chin, “but duty. In you, people see the vision already, and they will see that things will not be returning to the status quo. In fact, your transparency is what the nation needs right now, so give them that as you are.” He paused, and shrugged, “or don’t. They’ve already had their sweethearts.”

“I see your point, Your Grace.” Neuvillette murmured, chin in hand. “I… will not pretend to comprehend the dynamics of human relations. Despite my efforts to understand, each time I feel I’ve gained insight, a new facet eludes me." He looked troubled. "I’d initially hoped to salvage this with contributions. Gifts. Though it appears that those around me have emphasized the significance of my departure, instead. Needless to say, your advice has been highly valuable."

His palms drag heavy over Neuvillette’s hips to the back of a firm, thick thigh. He can feel Neuvillette brace himself when he forces his leg up in a firm hold, and the closeness presses him deeper inside. He’s a machine running on the fumes of Neuvillette’s wreckage. He’s a nexus of unstable energy contained by the wet clasp of Neuvillette, who remains untainted by mortal devices.

The thick expanse of a shoulder so regal, so close to him, and Wriothesley sinks his teeth into it as his vision spots.

“You do better than you think.” Wriothesley said with a small smirk, “and you’ll have to tell me more about Liyue some time.”

“Very well.” Neuvillette said. “I’ll have a detailed review for you at a later date. Perhaps I’ll squeeze in another visit before we next meet.”

"You do that." Wriothesley hummed, scratching the side of his head, “still, though. To think a day would come where the overworld and the underworld would find a middle ground.”

The tendency to believe punishment started in Meriopode will never stop being a point of focus for him. It was as deeply amusing as Neuvillette's antics. There was a short pause where Neuvillette studied his face.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” Wriothesley smiled. He grabbed Neuvillette’s cup, refilling it. “Up there resembles down here with each passing day, is all I’m saying.”

The wrinkles that appeared when Neuvillette furrowed his brow were also decorative, an adaptation of warm blood. His scrutiny never failed to thrill Wriothesley because it reduced the entity into somewhat of a reflection, laying the groundwork to be scrutinised in the same manner. Here, it wouldn’t surprise him had Neuvillette taken his leave, appeased with their exchange. Instead, Neuvillette followed him.

“No more performances, I believe, is what you mean?”

“Everything is a performance,” Wriothesley said, offering Neuvillette’s teacup when the man leaned in close. He let the cold air stagnate around him, hindered only by Neuvillette’s breath. Except you. He let go of the cup. Neuvillette lingered, fingers secured around it.

He watched Neuvillette indulge himself in another sip, exhaling, and the sound sliced the silence into thick slivers. It encased the room like fog, like condensation, and Wriothesley’s palms tingled and his throat went dry.

Wriothesley forces parts of himself deep inside him. They shudder in unison, Wriothesley gasping, chasing for breath. He folds Neuvillette over, draping over him like second skin with his forehead pressed against the damp back of a strong, noble shoulder.

“It’s good,” Neuvillette murmured, and the world started spinning again.

It rushes into a geyser of a memory; nails against skin, the pulse of his throat, the feeling like hurtling liberation and abandonment, before Neuvillette can button himself back up and wash it away. A phantom of the fragment of solidity Wriothesley can mould him into, when he was under his hands.

“Now that is a compliment indeed, coming from you.”

“Please. Your discernment in matters of tea far surpasses mine. When you brew it…” Neuvillette trailed off, perhaps scanning Wriothesley in his entirety. It was always a breathless thing to have the Iudex’s full attention. “When you are the one brewing it, I have complete confidence in its quality.”

“Is that a fact?” Wriothesley said, pleased as day.

"Do you know me as one to lie?”

“Point taken. Have you lied once in the past millennium?”

“I must have, statistically, but put on the spot like that, it is a challenge to recall.”

“Doesn’t count." He pointed out, "omission doesn’t count, either. Oh, and that was a rhetorical question, by the way.”

“I… see. In that case,” Neuvillette cast him an unreadable look, “the amount of lies you’ve told is sufficient for both our lifetimes.”

"Why, Iudex Neuvillette!" Wriothesley grasped his own chest. “You’re really getting the hang of things, aren’t you?”

The gentle clink of fine china, the notes of Neuvillette’s quiet tones, the submergence of a glass bottle under the sea. The tea was starting to grow cold. The better part of an hour he had kept the Chief Justice locked in his hollow underwater. A free spirit made tangible, like picking up water with the sole equipment of one’s hands. The sentiment settled into his palms and fingers like a desperate ache.

“This was pleasant, Duke Wriothesley. You have my thanks in accommodating me tonight.” Neuvillette folded his hands atop his knee. “As a token of my appreciation, please allow for our next meeting to be in my office. Though I do not hold a candle to your tea-making, it would be my honour to prepare the refreshments."

“Well, if you insist! Perhaps I shall.”

He waits for Neuvillette to say something. Anything.

The doors were too loud when they screeched open. Wriothesley had half a mind to fix that later. “Our next tea party aside, might one hope for your presence more often down here, considering the circumstances?”

Neuvillette fixed his eyes on him. “That may be a likelier thing. Nevertheless, this was an unusual deviation that I do not foresee becoming a regular occurrence. My responsibilities remain unchanged.”

“Unchanged,” Wriothesley echoed, pausing. “That’s an interesting word to use in this climate of events. To think you may inspire unrest among the people here; would you not consider my own appearances to yield the same result? This place is my foundation, but this does not mean anything to new faces.”

He said quietly, "Wriothesley."

And there were a lot of new faces, though the number was not privy to Neuvillette. Wriothesley’s eyes were intent, and he took care not to slip a bit of himself outside, “it is the next chapter, dear Iudex. I am but an authority, just like you.”

Neuvillette’s face remained unchanged, though a long sigh escaped silently through the nose. His fingers twitched, imperceptible if Wriothesley was not so attuned to his movements. “Yes, I… you are not wrong. I will take it into consideration." And then short and swift, "I bid you goodnight.”

Nothing. Everything.

The door swung closed with an echo that resonated deep within his chambers. Wriothesley settled back in his seat, his fingers coiling together as he rested his chin.

Neuvillette leaves in silence, his pristine coat flowing behind him.

#genshin impact #wriothesley #neuvillette #wriolette #wriollette #rated mature #Denimecho birthday drop

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oceansssblue · 5 months ago

Text

100 CELEBRATION – PROMPT 7. MERMAID AU

TECH/ FEMALE READER 💖

WARNINGS: This story alternates between reader's and third person (Tech'ish) pov. Seahorses can survive in cold temperatures in this fic because I say so. Fleeting mention of mer-child abandonment. Very tiny non-graphic shark attack. Otherwhise fluff, fluff and fluff!

Note: this is my third time –second for Tech– writing mermaids for our clones! In this one-shot, both Tech and female reader are mermaids, though from different sub-species. Hope you like it, let me know!

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Below the surface, where the world is a myriad of blues and different marine kingdoms coexist, there are two subspecies of mermaids. Shallow mers mainly live in lakes and ponds; the few that not, never wander too far away into the cold, dark depths of the ocean. Their thin, iridiscent scales are more suited for warmer temperatures; while the thickness of the deep-water mers allows them to travel surprising distances down where the sun can no longer reach. Deep-water mers have strong powerful tails and sharp canines and claws that turn them into dangerous predators; shallow mers, though agile and fast, aren't a comparable threat.

You've never seen one of them.

You've heard the stories, of course; heard of their aggression and how they lurk in the darkness to hunt any poor creature that has dared to enter their waters alone. You've seen the scars that their claws and bites have left on some of your people; deep marks carved deep into scales and skin. They've appeared on your nightmares –when you were nothing but a kid–; bubbles tinged with the scarlet red of your blood. Everyone shares the same opinion about them; they're hostile, dangerous, and you should never, never, never, get close to any of them.

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It's a beautiful day. Rays of sunlight reflects the water in a way that makes it sparkle; almost as if thousends of tiny stars had fallen into it. The ocean is cold enough for a dive into it to feel refreshing; but not as much as to bring unpleasant shivers to your skin.

You spend most part of the morning exploring the reef and curiously observing different types of starfishes around the corals; pausing here and there to play with the ocasional mischiveous octopus or angry crab. After so many years living in the sea, you know by now when to interact with them and when to give them space; and you are very careful of respecting the sealife around you. It's a delicate balance for all of you to live in peace.

After a small but satisfying lunch you make your way to your best friend's home; a tiny seahorse you've long decided to name Yellow. Basic, you're aware; but well, your friendship started many, many years ago, when you were finally getting the trick on how to properly swim. When your mother left you. Once a shallow mer gives birth, the mother takes care of her child until the newborn has adquired the knowledge on how to survive on it's own; then, they follow different paths, so the young mer learns to face the difficulties of the ocean on it's own. If he's strong enough, he'll push through; and one day he may reunite with others and close the cycle with a child of it's own. Perhaps for some it may seem like a cruel thing; but that's how it has always been, how your subspecies still exists today. It's a solitary life; but there are so many unexpected places to find friends.

Yellow's home consists in an almost complete circle of redish and orange corals not too far away from the water's surface. There's a lot of plancton in this part of the reef; so it makes sense for the small seahorse to have settled here. He's as chirpy as always to greet you; swimming excitedly around you before anchoring his tail to a strand of your multicoloured hair. You chuckle at the thought of it looking almost like a tiny seatbelt for your hipocampus friend.

"Good afternoon, dear Yellow" you tell him affectionately, the knowledge that he doesn't understand your language never detering you into chatting with him. "What shall we do today, mm?"

You like to go on little adventures with Yellow; explore new parts of the reef or perhaps make new acquaintances together. He's a little energetic thing, and so adorable you never get bored with him.

"Wanna' try to find some parrot-fish?" You propose, and he moves his tiny dorsal fin in agreement.

He may not get your every word; but he can read into the way you move and talk. By the tone of your voice, he knows you're offering some exploring. If he didn't feel like it and he'd prefer to stay closer to home, he'd have let you know by staying completely immobile.

"Mision parrot-fish it is. Hold on to that seatbelt" you smile happily, and slowly begin to swim.

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In the end, your innocent trip turns to be a heartbreaking disaster; an encounter with a triaenodon shark has an unexpected outcome. They're usually pacific creatures, but the blood slowly trickling from one of it's sides has evidently scare the animal enough to react agressively at the posibility of a second predator going in for the easy kill. You've got no time to try to difuse the situation; as the wounded shark inmediately lurches for you. A terrified Yellow abandons the now precarious cover of your hair; releasing air to quickly let himself sink into the ocean and away from the fighting scene.

It's a game of swim-dodge-redirect from there. Finally, to your relief, the shark exhausts herself and decides to cautiously leave; and panting, body aching from the effort, you let out a long sigh of relief. The terrifying part of the encounter isn't the minor wounds you now carry on your skin; not even the fear and adrenaline. No; the real scary part is that Yellow is nowhere to be seen, and you can't seem to find him after an exhaustive search.

Tears in your eyes at the thought of losing your tiny best friend, you continue swimming downwards in the direction you knew he escaped to; so anxiously focused on finding him you don't even notice the way the water darkens around you and the increasing cold that freezes your skin.

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"Yellow!" You call him in a happy cry when you finally get sight of him.

In just two quick ondulations of your tail you're floating right next to him; and the little seahorse inmediately goes to hide on your hair.

"Oh, Yellow" a tear finally manages to roll down your cheek. You talk to him in a hushed, tender whisper. "I was so worried for you! I thought I was never going to find you! Oh, dear friend, I think we're gonna' have to take a break from exploring for a while..."

You're so overwhelmed by being reunited with the small hipocampus that you don't even notice the way he seems to shrink away; and tug insistently at your hair. You don't even realise you're not alone anymore until you hear the sound of something big moving too close to you in the darkness of the water.

Fear instantly spreads through your body, and you tense scanning the ocean around you. It's then when you noticed that fuck, you're deep; the cold almost unbearable and your eyes having trouble adjusting to the lack of sunlight. You don't see the creature lurking until it's right in front of you.

It's a deep-water mer.

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Tech curiously observes the mer interacting with the tiny hipocampus. She's nothing like he has seen before. There are so many differences between them that the deep-water mer can't help but put a stop in his journey back home to study her. It's highly unusual to find one of them here; it's too cold, too dark, and their bodies aren't enough adapted to be permanently exposed to the depths of the ocean.

Tech has never come across a shallow mer before. Their subspecies live in different layers of their wide acuatic habitat; and shallow mers are incredibly timid, elusive creatures, always opting to flee without further questioning than to expose themselves to any danger. He can understand that; evolution hasn't gifted them with the same resources as deep-water mers. For the rumours he's heard, Tech knows shallow mers lack of pointy canines and their thick, resistent skin; tail also smaller, thinner, and less powerful than theirs. While the shallow mer subspecies had slowly adapted to a tranquil, mostly uneventful life on the surface, deep-water mers had had to perfectionate their hunting techniques; and any useful fighting traits had been inherited through generation after generation to what they are now.

Tech can't really understand her words; they sound similar to their language, though in a higher, more melodious register. Still, he can read the relief and melting worry in her body; the way she seems to sag upon finding the small yellow seahorse, who quickly hides in her hair. Tech observes them curiously; are they... friends?

She has a small heart-shaped face; her big expressive green eyes, plush lips, and button nose giving her an innocent look. Streaks of blue, green, red and yellow paints her long half-braided hair without an apparent order; perhaps trying to imitate the vibrant colours of the corals of the reefs above. Two pairs of small thin fins protrude from the tragus of each ear; probably vestigial and without real function. Her skin is much paler than his; and while deep-water mers have dark blue and black scales, colours shared as well with the tail, shallow mers apparently carry a very different canvas on their body. The scales on her upper chest begins with the same pale tone of her human skin, and transitions to a mint and persian green towards her tail. Tech notices it's much smaller and narrower than his; the flukes aren't as pointy, and there isn't a stinger at the end. It's a mix of the previous greens and some darker emerald colour as well.

Tech's own colours mostly mimetizes him with the depths of the ocean; but even with that advantage, he has remain staring for too long to pass completely unnoticed. At least by one of the two creatures barely twenty feet in front of him; the hipocampus trying to alert her fellow distracted friend.

Tech can tell when she exactly realises they're not alone. Her whole body tenses; eyes quickly scanning the water around them. They pass right over him once; then, her frightened gaze returns to his figure and transforms into terror. She freezes staring at him.

Tech understands her fear; it's only sensitive. She can barely see him from this distance in the depths of the ocean; his blue-black tail dissappearing in the darkness. Tech realises right then that, as much as he has heard stories of shallow mers been shy, mostly innocent creatures, it's possible she has heard stories about them as well; and by the mers reaction, Tech can guess the ones about deep-water mers aren't as pretty.

Still, Tech's endless curiosity hasn't been extinguished after one brief examination; so he very slowly aproaches her until they're nothing but three feet apart from each other. Tech's attention is again redirected to the creature's hair; the small underwater currents softly moving the few colourfull strands that escapes her braid in a half halo around her head. Up close, it holds an almost iridiscent hue; and Tech reaches a clawed finger to carefully trace a strand up and down, enthraced. His eyes scan the shallow mer again, and Tech has a sudden realisation that surprises himself; she's pretty, and he's so confused and lost at his own thoughts he can't do anything else but blink at her. There's endless beauty in the ocean, he has admired it countless of times before; and yet, no creature had personally called to his desires and perception of attraction like this.

Lost in his silent pondering, it takes Tech a few minutes to realise the level of stress the poor creature is experiencing at his presence. The shallow mer is uncontrollably shaking; eyes shut tight and heartbeat speeding at such a pace Tech can hear it in the quietness of the ocean. He had asumed she'd understand he meant no harm by now; but clearly there's another million options that are passing through the mer's mind, and Tech decides to give her space.

Upon the swoosh of his tail, the shallow-mer carefully opens her green eyes again; analysing him in what feels like an eternal second. Tech does his best in appearing relaxed and non-threatening.

The silent mutual observation lasts ten more seconds or so; then, the shallow mer makes an abrupt turn and sprints in a fast swim upwards, clearly running away. Tech can't help but feel dissapointed; but even if he's mostly sure he could catch up to her with a bit of effort -and something inside of him saddens at the thought of never seing her again-, he decides the best course of action is to let her go.

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You return to the reef and give your goodbyes to Yellow in a blurred daze. Once alone, the adrenaline of your friend's dissapearance and the encounter with the deep-water mer drops down; and you feel so exhausted and drained you inmediately curl up in the safe, hidden space between the rocks you call home.

That night you go to sleep thinking on him; on how unfairly stronger and powerful he looked with his sharp claws and muscled tail. It's a fitfull dream at first; though as the night advances and the fear grows distant, other details come to light. You suddenly remember his mesmerising amber eyes; how soft his bronze skin looked, tone much darker than those of shallow mers. The colours of his tail, so different to hers; a navy blue mixed with black, with just a hint of details in faded white and cyan. The impresive width of his two tail flukes and the sharp stinger in between. He made a fine mer.

The abrupt thought rips you of your light slumber. You wake up, panting in surprise. Surely you can't find the predator that almost made you have a heart attack atractive, right? He could have killed you; you'd like to think you're a bit more intelligent than that.

But he didn't.

The tiny little thought crawls like an unexpected visitor into your mind; and then, you can't think of anything else. He could have killed you, hurt you, but he didn't. Why?

At first you thought he was going to attack you. When you first felt his dangerous clawed hand reaching for you, you had shut your eyes in terror, waiting for the inevitable doom to come. Claws and canines biting and tearing delicate skin. But nothing had happened; nothing further than a... Could you call that a caress? Was that it?

Now, away from the danger and with your head in a clearer state, you picture the encounter again in your head. You try to remember the expresion on his face; realising there was more genuine, innocent curiosity than vicious agression. And he hadn't even tried to chase you when you had swam away. Could he hold the simple gentle curiosity for you you felt for the smaller creatures you often explored in the reef? Would he... Would he not attack you if you came across each other again?

It's a dangerous thought; and when the new day starts, you can't seem to quieten it inside your head.

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A rush of electrifying excitement zig-zags through Tech's body upon identifying the creature swimming in the distance. He interacts with orcas and whales enough to know the figure is somewhat unique; at least in this depths of the ocean. He hovers in place, patiently observing. He doesn't want to scare her away like last time. What is she doing down here again?

Tech scans the dark water in search for the hipocampus. He had the impresion the shallow mer had followed the small animal here last time; perhaps the situation has repeated itself. After a quick eye-search, though, he brushes the posibility away. She came her on her own. Why? There's no reason why a shallow mer would have to swim this deep.

Tech notices the way she swims in short bursts of energy and how her eyes constantly flicker around; like she's stubbornly looking for something. If not the hipocampus, what could that something be?

It has to be him.

It's the most logical answer; and yet, some part of Tech refuses to believe it, perhaps because he doesn't want to be hurt and dissapointed if it isn't. With a mix of hope and waryness, the deep-water mer swims towards the visitor; slowly announcing his presence to her.

The shallow mer's eyes widen in surprise; just a hint of fear and caution taking a grip on her. She doesn't make any move to run away, though; instead, she floats in place and stares.

Tech resists the urge to get closer and greet her, swim around her and gently brush his tail with hers as he does with his family. He doesn't want her to flee; so he patiently waits for her to make the first step.

Almost as if understanding this, the shallow mer flicks her flutes and cautiously shortens the distance between each other. Coming to a stop in front of him, she takes a deep breath; then, a high melodious voice breaks the silence of the ocean around them. She's talking to him.

Tech's inmediate surprise must be visible in his face. Frowning, he tries to make a sense to her words; but he doesn't get the full meaning of it, just an impresion of what she's saying. Tech thinks -or wants to believe- she's greeting him.

The shallow mer sighs quietly. Observing him for a few long seconds, she makes a move forward; a trembling hand extending towards Tech's face.

He tenses; not a product of fear. She doesn't have claws like him; Tech doesn't think the shallow mer can hurt him much with her bare hands. It's more of a wary reaction. He doesn't know what she wants; and the thought of her touching him admitedly sends a sort of carefull expectation to his body. Tech has shared a few kisses here and there with a female friend from another pod of deep-water mers; but it was sort of an agreement for them both to experience the situation together, and not out of real desire or attraction. Now, this mer... Not knowing where she stands, what her intentions are, being unable to talk to her about it, makes him nervous.

Breathing heavier and without tearing his eyes from her face, he let's her be. He shivers when he feels her soft fingertips playing with his hair; closing his eyes involuntarily before watching her with surprise.

She shows him a shy smile and then repeats the gesture in her own hair; exactly like he had done the day before. It's like she's trying to tell him something with it; and Tech flushes finally comfirming she came back because she's curious about him as well.

Tech nods; and calling his courage, he repeats the gesture on her. This time she just observes; she doesn't flinch.

It's a game of reconnaissance from there. They curiously study the other, hands no longer touching in order to try to respect their space; sometimes asking for a better perspective or trying to ask questions with mimics along the way. At one point, she opens her mouth and points with her index at his teeth, tilting her head. Tech answers showing her his sharp canines, and the shiver she gives him this time is clearly a joke, paired with an entertained smile. Tech chuckles and nods. They could look scary, he supposes. The deep-water mer makes a "no, no" sign with his hands before pointing back at her; indicating a clear "i'm not going to hurt you". The open, friendly smile she gives him is blinding.

They spend almost an hour interacting with each other. When she finally points upwards, signaling her need to return to the surface, Tech feels an instant urge to keep her with him a little longer. He knows he can't, though, shouldn't; perhaps she has other things to do.

He makes a "wait" sign and -upon her nod of acceptance- quickly dives down in the ocean; tail moving powerfully in order to take him to his home as fast as possible and back.

When he returns, he's got a mix of algae and zebrafish crushed scales in his left hand. Zebrafish are an incredibly species; they can regenerate a whole fin amputation and their own heart damage. It's one of the most interesting creatures Tech has spent his time studying.

He tries to convein this to her, his voice gentle and calm while he tries to represent his explanation with his spare hand. She frowns, completely lost at first, glancing down at the mix in his hand and back at his face. Then, he tries to draw a starfish with his index, and upon poiting to the still angry wound on her side and shoulder insistently, an "oh" of understanding washes over her expression. She nods with an appreciative smile.

Tech's hovering so close to her now that he can feel her breathing pattern in front of him; the tiny change of the water movement when it passes through her gills. Tech has them at both sides of his pectorals; while her's are positioned a bit lower, towards the end of her rib cage.

He studies her wounds with critical eye, wondering what could have caused them. There's a few scratches here and there; probably produced by the drag of skin against rocks and corals. A bigger one on one of her sides above the beginning of her tail looks like a shark bite. None are deep or particularly worrying; but Tech knows they must hurt, and if he can help her, he will.

Tech swipes some of the mix in two fingers and gently presses them against the indents of the bite. The shallow mer hisses in pain, her body reflexively trying to shy away; but he makes a soothing sound with his voice and the mer looks at him, breathing through it and regaining awareness of herself. She stays patiently put while he helps her.

Heartbeat speeding inside his chest, Tech slowly dares to trace the pad of his thumb over the scratch on her cheek. He knows the minor wound needs no medicine, it's already healing on itself; but he can't keep his hands to himself. She's beautiful; expresive eyes and cute nose, colourful hair and a elegant, delicate body he wishes he could further explore.

She shivers; but the deep-water mer doesn't detect any fear from her, can't smell anything of the sort in the ocean around them. Her eyes lock with his; and even if no words are exchanged, Tech can't help but feel there's some sort of silent conversation there. Wonder, desire, caution. A longing reflected in the other mer.

The moment has stretched too long, and Tech drops his hand back to his side. He nods, signaling that his work is finished; that she's free to go now if she wants to.

The shallow mer doesn't take her eyes off of him. Tentatively, almost as if testing his boundaries, she grazes her tail with his in a gentle, thankful gesture. Tech's aware that the gesture could be considered flirting in their species; and blushes slightly.

He hears her soft chuckle. Then, she swims up and they grow apart again.

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You grow fond of him. It's easy to do so, really; once the frigthening first impression is out of the way, you can see further than that, and every small thing you discover about him apeases you more and more as weeks pass by.

The first few days are just more of those cautious, curious interactions. As you slowly get used to the others presence, you both start to grow more relaxed and playful; Tech –his name is one of the first things he teaches you– eventually inviting you for a long swim, and you happily accepting. You can't help but observe the way he moves; the power and strength in his long blue tail, mesmerised. When he catches you gawking, a tiny satisfied and knowing smirk makes it's way to his face; and though you inmediately look away, embarassed, you can't help but think it looks good on him as well.

A month after your first encounter you ask him to follow you to the surface. You know it's not ideal for him, his scales and skin too thick to cope with such warmth for long periods of time; but you know he'll be okay for a couple of hours, just like you are able to cope with the depths of his comfort zone. Tech nods curiously and explores with you every inch of the reef just like a kid. It's him who stares at you enthraced this time; marvelling at the way the sunlight flickers off of your iridiscent scales, at how shiny and bright the greens become. When you glance at him in confusion as to why he had stopped, wondering if he felt tired, he stares straight at your eyes and whispers one of the few words he has learned in your language.

"Pretty".

It makes you blush and internally swoon for him. You answer with a radiant smile and quickly peck his cheek before swimming away. Tech looks at you in surprise before moving to catch up with you. He affectionately rubs his body against yours as he does and passes by.

He takes you to meet his pod. You're not going to lie, the first fears and doubts about Tech resurface with the intimidating group of deep-water mers; your instinct screaming at you at the obvious disadvantage, at the danger, encouraging you to run away. But Tech –sweet, intelligent Tech– inmediately notices it; and reassures you by constantly standing by your side and giving soft caresses to your hands and back. It helps that his family is openly friendly and accepting; with the exception of Crosshair. Tech brushes his reaction aside, telling you it's normal of him to behave like that. You hope you will grow on him with time.

The way they live, play and hunt is a spectacle to see and experience. Tech tries to give you a thorough explanation on why and how deep-water mers had had to learn and adapt like that; though with the small bunch of words he has managed to learn by now and his irrepresible excitement it's hard to follow him. Tech's patient, though, and you're curious; so with a bit of effort, you both make it work.

After his quiet, surprisingly normal and easy inclusion to his family, you take him to meet Yellow. You point at the small sea horse and tell him two words –"Friend. Pod"–; Tech's amber eyes filling with some sort of melancholic understanding before he's fiercely hugging you towards him. You tremble in his arms and press your forehead against the side of his neck, breathing him in; you haven't had this kind of contact in so long –it has been years since you last came across one of yours–, and it feels so devastatingly comforting you fear you'll grow addicted to it.

Your heart clenches when you see him interacting with Yellow. He's so big, and your friend so tiny; it's an adorable sight, and the way the seahorse quickly warms up to him and the mer gently treats him is simply adorable. With a fond smile on your face, you realise you're starting to fall in love with him.

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One of those nights when Tech can't help but feel alone, even with the knowledge that his pod is sleeping not far away from him, the deep-water mer follows his heart and thoughts and swims upwards towards the sky; towards where the stars seem to fall into the ocean. He knows his way around the reef by now; and with his speed, he's soon carefully peeking his head into the circle of rocks you sleep in and call home. You're curled up in yourself; arms crossed hugging your stomach. You look so small and vulnerable it tugs at the strings of his heart; and Tech carefully swims into your space and lays by your side.

The carefully brush of a tail against yours wakes you up; your gasp quickly growing silent when you realise it's Tech besides you. You look at him in surprise, quietly questioning him; and he answers in small melodious words in your mother tongue.

"Alone" he points at her, then at himself. "Worry. Miss".

You sigh and eliminate the tiny distance between your bodies, melting onto him.

"Miss you too" you whisper against his neck, tightening your embrace.

Tech hums happily and curls his tail around yours, softly caressing your hair. After a few minutes of memorising his embrace, when you stop hiding in his neck and glance up at him, he gently holds your chin in his grasp; amber eyes shinning with an unusual intensity.

"Love" he whispers delicately in front of your lips.

Your breathing hitches. Is he really telling you...?

Tech kisses you; a soft, reverent press of lips on lips that brands your soul with his name. It draws a sleepy, content sigh from you; and you answer him dreamily.

"I love you too, Tech".

You've finally found your mer.

THE END.

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Tara! This one was so sweet, hope you' ve liked it, I love merfolk so fucking much!

Next up; prompt 8 with pirate!Hunter !! It might take me a little longer as I'm going on a trip with my friends soon.

Please, interact in tumblr! Wether if it's with a like, reblog or comment, it really helps the community to stay alive and personally make one feel more happy and appreciated. Can't deny I've felt a little ploff about it lately. Don't be a ghost, I promise I'm nice! ;)

See you in the next one. Take care.

Xx,

Blue.

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iamnot-crazy · 11 months ago

Text

Stowaway Chapter 6

Trafalgar Law x Fem!Reader

Info: This is my first time posting a story on Tumblr and my first time writing a x reader.

Summary:

The reader is a slave to a nobleman due to her devil's fruit ability which allows her to control the emotions of the people around her. She flees to bump into Trafalgar Law and boards his ship.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11

The day you get to meet the Straw Hat captain came much sooner than you expected as Law returned to the ship after watching the battle unfold at Marine Fort and demanded they set sail. Law's jaw was clenched as the sub sped its way to the battlefield. Everyone was on high alert while cannons were fired at the sub as soon as it emerged. Law ordered half the crew to prepare for surgery while he ran to the deck to collect the Straw Hat captain. You stayed on the bridge with Jean Bart watching the sub's status and preparing for a quick escape. With Straw Hat and the former warlord Jimbi on the sub and rushed to the surgical room you start the ship moving as fast as it could to get away from the war.

Bepo came running into the Bridge complaining that Law wouldn't close the door to the deck. You ran over to the door with Bepo to see Law sitting with the door open looking at the new ship that arrived. One of the four emperors of the sea red hair shanks ship had arrived.

Bepo begged for Law to close the door but he didn't move. You walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and he sighed, "Something just doesn't feel right. Like we are forgetting something." he admitted. As he does so a scream can be heard from the shore and the pirate clown throws a hat toward the sub. As soon as the hat landed in Law's grips he nodded as if he understood what felt missing.

Bepo immediately freaked out begging for the two of you to close the door which you did. You began running down the hallway and Law passed you the hat, "Take care of this while I begin surgery." you nodded as he ran in the direction of the surgical room while you ran to the bridge. Bart had already begun the descent and was pushing the sub to the max as it sped away from the scene. You look out the back window to see ice coming for the sub and shout at Bart to go faster.

Bepo's screams from the surgical room echoed to the bridge. You and Bart do everything you can in the bridge to get the ship to go faster underwater and deeper. Finally, you were free and were in calm waters you announced this to the captain who just responded good work before continuing with the surgery.

While Law and the crew who understand medical practice worked on the injured Bepo whined just outside the bridge begging to resurface. Shachi and Penguin grew tired of his complaints and went to beg Law to resurface. See how they have been fleeing the war at full speed for a while Law agreed.

Once you resurfaced Bepo ran to the deck only to be met with a snake. Soon one of the Warlords jumped aboard the ship from the marine ship that sailed beside your sub. Quickly you ran into the surgical room and alerted your captain and the two of you approached the deck while Law washed his hands.

On the deck, the warlord Boa Hancock stood demanding to see Luffy. Law informs her that Luffy is stable and that he has done everything he could but he is more concerned about his mental state. That is when you pipped up, "Which we have our ways of dealing with." you stood proudly as Law yanked his head toward you in concern.

"I won't ask you to do that." he hissed and you shook your head grabbing his hands.

"I want to." was all you said looking into his eyes as yours glowed purple. He just nodded knowing your determination.

Boa Hancock didn't notice you until now and became defensive. "I will not have another woman lay her hands on my beloved!" she shouted angrily and pointed a disapproving finger at you which caused Law to glare at the woman and step in front of you to shield you.

"If you want Straw Hat to survive I suggest you let my crew do whatever they can to do so." he snarled which took her aback slightly as her priority was to see Straw Hat alive.

She put her finger down but her eyes never left you. "You have a very powerful Haki," she states now approaching you. "You're a devil fruit user?" she questioned as she circled you. "But your observation Haki is extremely powerful."

You pull away from her, "I don't know what you are referring to." you admit but she just hums and walks away.

You all make a plan to follow the empress to her island Amazon Lily where only women are allowed to step foot. There Law and Jimbi agreed to dock at the bay just outside the island so Hancock could keep Luffy safe while still trusting him in your ship's care. The boys on your ship were jealous wishing they could speak to the Amazon ladies and enter their land.

After a few days, Boa Hancock requested your presence at the castle. You mocked the boys as you left with the Amazon ladies entering their land while they cried wishing they would be summoned to the castle too.

Boa Hancock first wanted information on Luffy which you informed her he was still in his coma. After you answered that she began to pry into your devil fruit ability.

You remove your gloves and tell her how your powers work and how you will use them to keep Luffy calm when he awakes.

"But your powers are more than transferring emotion?" she asked knowingly and you nodded informing her that you can also feel people's emotions.

"that isn't your powers dear that is your observation haki which is quite strong and is amplified by that devil fruit." an old lady spoke appearing from behind a pillar. "it's rare for people to be born with your level of Haki but in comparison to people who have trained their Haki it is still quite weak." she pointed out circling you. "I presume that you can constantly feel the emotions of the people around you?" she asked poking your ungloved hand.

You pulled your hand away, "yes. I wear these gloves lined with sea prism to avoid it."

The old lady nodded. "Sea prism can only do so much against Haki especially as yours grows stronger. If you train your haki you can use it for more than just feeling other emotions and be able to control when it is active."

"And how do I do that?" you asked now curious.

"you can train here with us until Luffy recovers." The empress offers. "But you will need to be rid of that hideous outfit." she pointed to your jumpsuit with your ship's Jolly Roger.

The empress provides you with the very revealing outfit of the Amazons which you get made fun of wearing by your crew when you return.

Over the next week, you trained with the Amazons to hone your Haki which left Law alone with his crew missing you. He spent his time reading up on Haki to better support you and to start growing his own.

One day the empress was training you when she noticed a slight shimmer of scaring on your hip. It is really hard for someone to notice your scarring where your tattoo was and even harder to make out the shape but if you knew what the marking was like Hancock did it would send shivers down your spine.

When the empress realized what was on your hip she demanded that everyone stop training and that she was going to take a bath resulting in the place shutting down. The empress pulled you into the bathing room with her and her sister and sat you down. Your thoughts were swimming wondering what you did wrong and what she was going to do to you.

"How did you hide your mark?!" The empress demanded now approaching your hip and touching the scarring. You quickly pulled back and covered the spot where your mark was.

"How.... How do you know?" you stammer. The sister of the empress now saw the mark and understood why their sister had dragged you into the bath.

"You can hide a mark but the scarring will always remain and the scarring on your past will remain as well." she started now using her observation Haki to see the full outline of the tattoo.

You looked into her eyes and used your ability to read her emotions to feel a sense of familiarity and horror. "You were once a slave?" you spoke out loud.

The empress immediately shouted at you to never say that word out loud. After calming down she nodded, "Both my sister and I escaped 19 years ago. This is the biggest secret of this island and can never be spoken about. The only other person who knows is Luffy who bravely kept this secret." she turned her back and revealed her mark.

You took a deep breath, "The only people who know my secret are Law and Bart. Law rescued me around a year ago now when I was running away from my master a celestial dragon. When Law saw my mark he offered to use his powers to remove the ink from my skin but I guess I still have some scarring." tears formed in your eyes, "I fear that my master now knows I am with the heart pirates and will be coming after me soon." you admit.

The empress now with her shirt back on placed a hand on your shoulder, "You can stay here on this island. Here no man will ever hurt you again."

You shook your head, "As great as that offer sounds I would like to stay with Law. I.. I love him." your eyes shifted to pink and the empress nodded in understanding feeling the same way toward her Luffy. If she wasn't running this island and had that responsibility she would never leave his side.

"very well. If at any point you need a safe place to hide you are always welcome here," she spoke and gestured for her permission to leave. You bowed your head before running off.

When you returned to the bay the Heart Pirates you ignored the snickering the crew gave at your outfit as you pushed past heading straight to the office. There Law sat at his desk with the paper keeping track of what the news said about Luffy. "You're back early." He commented as you collapsed on your bean bag.

"The empress saw my mark." you groaned solving your face into the fabric of the bean bag.

Law's eyes widen, "How?" He questioned in concern turning toward you. You shifted showing your side the tattoo laid and the scars shimmered ever so slightly only someone who knows what they are looking for would know what was there. "Are you okay?" He asked leaving his seat to join you on the floor and rubbing where the mark was.

You nodded your head watching his hand rub your side. "Can you do me a favor?" You asked.

The next day you walked off the ship with a new mark on your hip a black heart that matched the one on Law's chest it covered the entirety of your right side and strategically covered the scars.

***

Over the next week, you continued to train with the empress but the day Luffy awoke you could feel his strong emotions from all the way across the island. You paused your training feeling the Straw Hat anguish so powerfully through your bones. The Amazon lady you were training with watched in confusion as you sprinted towards the bay. As you ran toward the bay you felt a pull deeper into the forest where you changed direction.

When you finally reached the young captain he was shouting for his brother and destroying everything he passed. Jinbe was running quickly behind him. You get hit with an overwhelming amount of emotions the pirate is releasing and fall to your knees tears filling your eyes. But you took a deep breath and pulled yourself up.

You know you can't get close to the pirate or you might be injured by accident so you close your eyes and focus on making an emotional mist to reach him. He wasn't too far in front of you but he would need the full effect of your powers to pass his willpower. A cloud of grey started to form out of your hands and float towards him. The cloud surrounded him as he tried to fan it away screaming. You pushed more mist out of your hands using all your might to subdue the rampaging pirate.

The pirate fan away more of the mist before laying his cold dead eyes on you. Fear engulfed you as you cut off the stream of mist and the pirate charged at you.

"LOOK OUT!"

You got shoved out of the way of the pirate's path by the Fishman Jinbe. Where you stood Luffy now stood his fist on the ground where you were huffing. You took this chance to reach your arm out to grab his ankle and push a calm emotion through the pirate.

His anguish was so strong and overpowering that you screamed as you pushed more of your energy into him. He screamed as well but it slowly decreased as your powers began to sink in. Finally, life came back into the boy's eyes and he fell onto the ground with tears streaming down his face. He was still sad but at least he was no longer a raging monster.

You sigh in relief before lying on the ground breathing heavily. Jinbe lifts the two of you into his arms easily and carries you to a tree where you both can rest. "thank you y/n" he said and you nodded in response.

He then bent down and started to speak to Luffy to encourage him to continue without his brother.

It didn't take much longer until you felt Law's blue room cover the area. You smirked before just you were shambled back to the bay. You landed right in Law's arms who stood just outside the cloth fence that surrounded the island.

Law just laughed, "How'd I know you would find yourself there." he turned back to the ship carrying you away. You smiled happy to have helped in some way. "I'm glad you did though he could have easily reopened his wounds if he didn't calm down." Law looked over at the forest where Jinbe and Luffy remained.

"I did the most I can but grief still must play its course." You say as the forest shakes with Luffy screaming his brother's name.

After the last scream, Luffy seemed to calm down as the ruckus he was making died down. You never got a chance to meet the famous Straw Hat pirate before an old man arrived who everyone claimed was the right hand to the past pirate king. Law and the old man spoke before Law ordered everyone to set sail. But before you boarded the ship you ran up to the old man, "Please can you tell the empress and the amazons the y/n appreciates everything they did for me?" You asked

His eyes lingered searching your figure.. no your aura his eyes landed on your hip before he raced back to your eyes and gave you the softest smile, "I will be sure to." You smile before running off where Law waited for you holding the door open.

"Do you think I'll ever get to meet Luffy again in a much better state?" You asked smiling and the two of you walked down the hall.

Law smiled, "I am sure you will. He is another D after all."

***

Your confidence had reached an all-time high now being able to control your observation Haki you rarely wore your gloves. The other crew members quickly learned what your real devil fruit power was as you began to use it more confidently in battle and just around the ship.

Your crew landed on an interesting and beautiful deserted island with flowers that towered above everything at least 20 feet up but some reach 60 feet. The crew and yourself were memorized and you deboarded. Law walked out of the sub last and stood on the deck to give orders to the crew while everyone stood on the beach, "We need to stalk up on provisions as it will be a while before we reach the next island with civilization. Split off into teams and see what you can find."

Ikkuka ran up to you and grabbed your arm, "y/n, can we please team up together It has been so long since we did anything together." She whined.

You looked up at Law who nodded in approval before turning back to Ikkuka with a smile. "Of course!" The two of you ran off into the forest of flowers to search for anything useful.

After not that long of a hike you found a beautiful fresh water waterfall into a small pond. Ikkuka smirked at you before removing her uniform revealing a swimsuit she wore underneath. She ran to jump in splashing you in the process. Seeing how the water is fresh it doesn't seem to affect you in any way. You smiled peeling off your uniform as well glad you chose to wear a sports bra today and you jumped in.

Being a devil fruit user means you don't get the pleasure of swimming very often as the sea always tends to find you and pull you down but the pond is shallow enough for you to stand if anything does occur. The two of you laugh playing in the pond until Penguin and Shachi find you too and insist that you get back to work. The two of you laugh splashing them and encouraging them to join your fun and they quickly give in to the two beautiful girls who flutter their eyes begging them to join and not tell the captain.

You started to feel fatigued the longer you stayed in the water and were the first to hop out. As you pulled on your suit you felt a sharp sting at the back of your neck. You slapped it away but instantly began to lose vision.

"y/n," Ikkaku laughed stepping out of the pond, "We should bounce now that the boys crashed the party." She approached where your stuff was to find just your uniform no longer folded neatly on the rock but fallen on the ground. "y/n?" She began to look around but you were nowhere in sight. "y/n?"

"Ikkaku what's wrong?!" Shachi shouted from the pond swimming closer to the edge.

Ikkaku turned around, "I can't find y/n!" She was holding your uniform beginning to panic.

Shachi gestured for Penguin to follow him out before turning back to Ikkaku, "Calm down she probably just wandered off."

"Or wandered back to the captain." Penguin snickered now jumping out of the pond. Ikkaku nodded but couldn't help her worry. The three decided to split up in search of you calling your name as they went.

Shachi was the first to find his way back to the ship to find Law who stood on the deck looking curiously at Shachi who just come out of the forest calling your name. "Shachi, what is wrong?" Law demanded jumping off the deck and onto the beach.

Shachi looked nervously at the captain, "We can't seem to find y/n." he informed taking a step back from the captain, "We were goofing off in the pond and y/n was the first to leave but then she just disappeared." Shachi pointed towards the pond and the two of them started running meeting back up with Penguin who found no traces of you.

Ikkaku came running to the pond out of breath, "There is another ship that way!" She shouts pointing in the direction she just came from.

Law gestures for Shachi and Penguin to follow him as he dashes across the forest. He quickly reaches the beach Ikkaku was referring to only to see a ship sailing away and is at least a mile off by now too far for Law's powers to reach. "Damn it!" He yelled looking closer at the flag on the ship to see none other than a world government flag and his blood began to boil. "Get everyone back to the ship NOW!!" Law shouted angrily as he began his sprint to the ship. He can still catch you he knew it.

Shachi and Penguin quickly began running through the forest yelling for everyone to get on board before meeting Law back on the ship. Half the crew was able to make it back on the ship before Law decided he couldn't wait any longer and ordered a submerge. The other half of the crew remained on the island confused.

The sub was much faster than the world government sailboat once underneath the ship Law shambled his way to the deck slicing anything that crossed his path. The entire boat was covered in his room as debri hovered over the ship leaving a path of destruction. Most of the navy who was aboard the ship was thrown overboard and the stern was now detached from the boat threateningly looming over the ship.

"WHERE IS SHE!" Law shouts angrily at the captain of the ship who fell to the floor terrified.

"I I... I don't... Kk..know who you mean.." The man studdered hiding from the surgeon of death.

Law sliced the man in half before looking up deeper into the sea where he spotted a much smaller ship with a bounty hunter flag. Narrowing his eyes Law could see the deck was a man holding you down on your knees and holding your chin to watch the terror Law inflected on the ship he believed you to be on. "DAMN IT!!" Law shouted again before jumping up and slicing the ship in half beneath him where the Polar Tang raised through catching Law before he hit the water. Law pulled out his transponder snail to communicate to the bridge while he stood on top of the sub.

"GO AFTER THAT SHIP!" He ordered into the snail and the sub began to move at full speed after the small ship.

You were held down by a bounty hunter hired by your master to retrieve you. He mocked you as you watched Law destroy the world government ship, "Awe it looks like he got the wrong ship. I wonder if he'll be able to catch us now." He laughed holding your face to force you to watch. "Oh look. I think he spotted us!" The man laughed again as you made eye contact with Law before you watched him split the ship in half and ride the sub toward you.

The sub picks up speed but the man holds his arm outwards and the ship begins to slow much to Law's anger as he begins beating the sub yelling for the crew to move. The man holding you down laughed using some sort of ability to push the sub back.

Law angrily threw the transponder snail as far as he could before shambling himself in its place in the air. "Oh wow, he must be desperate." The bounty hunter laughed watching Law grab something out of his pocket throw it closer to the ship and transport himself. Law teleported right above you holding his sword out in the air as he fell towards the ship. Law had the scariest look you have ever seen as he drove his sword straight through the bounty hunter not even bothering to use his powers to lessen the blow.

Before you knew it you were sitting on the cold medical table in the polar tang. You watched as Law buzzed around the room over-analyzing every mark on your body. You just sat there feeling guilty.

Law used a cotton swab to clean out the smallest mark the hunter made when injecting the solution that made you pass out. You let out a big sigh, "He knows." you say causing the captain to pause. "He knows I am a part of your crew and he is just going to keep sending more hunters."

Law paused to think before returning to cleaning your cut, "So what. He is just a noble, all he can do is send cheap ass hunters and when they continue to fail he'll give up. I won't let another one lay a hand on you again." he finished cleaning to his standards before placing a bandage on it and gripping your shoulder with his promise.

You shake your head, "It's not him I am worried about. It's who he works with." your eyes dart to the corner of the room. Law quickly took note and slowly moved in front of you and grabbed your hand causing you to look into his eyes.

"It doesn't matter who he sends or who he knows I will protect you I promise," he spoke sternly. You nodded your has full of tears before digging into his shoulder to release your tears. Law just rubbed your back blinking away his tears as your hands made contact with his back.

You sniffled, "But he is some kind of warlord." you explained wiping your tears away, "Do... Dofl."

"Doflamingo" he spoke coldly finishing your words, you just nodded. Law froze his blood ran cold a the mention of that monster.

You look at the captain's curiosity as he refuses to meet your eyes while his head spins. "Law are you.." you begin but are cut off by his yanking his head up and flashing you the biggest smile.

"you have nothing to worry about." he jumped up and kissed you on the forehead. "I'll protect you." he smiled gently before heading to the door a swiftly leaving.

You sat alone in the medical room but as much as Law could try and mask his emotions he could never hide his true emotions from you. His fear overwhelmed you and left you frozen.

Over the next few weeks, you felt Law's slight anxiety every time he looked at you before he quickly masked his emotions the best he could. You tried your best to ignore it but you couldn't help but feel guilty for his emotions.

Whenever you docked at a new island Law would keep you locked in the office until he staked out the island and deemed it safe for you. Once he had done so he would allow you to come out as long as he stood by your side the entire time much to Ikkuka's guilt.

The few times a hunter was on an island they backed off after seeing you next to your captain and were followed by Bart, Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin. But it wasn't just the hunters who fled but everyone else as well. Store owners quickly closed their stores feeling the intimidating aura of the 5 pirates released with every glare.

You began feeling like a burden and trapped. You stopped joining the crew on island visits and resided in the office staring out the window and watching the rest of the crew run free.

One day your mind continued to wander when you sat on the bridge alone and laid your eyes on the transponder snail.

***

Law returned to his office holding a stack of new books in his arms, "Y/N. I bought some new books I thought you would enjoy." he spoke as soon as he entered the office while you sat by the window in response. Law sighed seeing you still in your gloomy mood. "why don't you go out tomorrow and stretch your legs?" he suggested but you still didn't respond. "I can tell Bart and them to stay back and it can just be the two of us." You look toward your captain but still don't respond.

He sighed placing the books down before heading over to you and sitting down next to you. "I'm sorry I've been a little overprotective lately." You laid your head onto his shoulder for comfort and he reached his hand up to pet your head.

"I called Hancock," you admit which causes Law to pause. "I am going to Amazon Lily until my master gives up." This time Law was the one not responding. "They sent a ship that will meet me at the next island in 3 days. I already talked to Bepo about how I can get there in time for the randevu." You refuse to look at law while you explain.

Law pulled away from you causing you to fall slightly no longer having his body holding your weight. You waited for him to say something but he just stood up and stayed there his thoughts swimming. You waited as you feel his emotions shift around unable to settle on one. You reached your hand out grabbing his arm. "This will be for the best. Next the marines are going to join the hunt"

"SO WHAT!" He finally snapped, "I am already being hunted by the marines they can't do anything." He turned to face you with sadness in his eyes.

"And when Doflamingo joins." You said causing Law to freeze and look at you painfully, "I know he scares you which is why I need to leave until we ar both strong enough to face him."

Laws jaw grinded as you spoke and he thought about the man who has taken the one good thing is his life away once doing it again.

"I don't know what he has done to you but I can feel the effects even mentioning his name has done to you. Law I love you." You spoke standing up to look him in his eyes. This was the first time you said that word to him. Law looked down at you the tears in his eyes began to fall silently down his face which you carefully brushed away and smiling softly "I will be safe on Amazon Lily and we will be together again one day." He finally nodded and rested his face in your hand.

"I Love you too."

***

Next Chapter

#one piece #one piece x reader #trafalgar d law x reader #trafalgar law #fem!reader #trafalgar d water law #writing

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rorywritesjunk · 9 months ago

Text

There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin

Crocodile brings on a former assistant to manage Buggy and his workload. Buggy realizes he likes it when Taron praises him for the littlest things.

Rating: PG-13 to start. Chapters will be rated depending on content. Warning: Slow burn. AFAB nonbinary character. Buggy is touch starved and a virgin who thrives on praise. He's also a bit of a mess because he's thinking he's going to finally be killed by Crocodile. Set with the Cross Guild but won't be a poly fic (as much as I love that unf). However, mentions of past/somewhat present TaronxCrocodile stuff. Also Buggy is bratty, whining, a little pathetic. He doesn't want to do anything. Word Count: 1.8k A/N: My self indulgent submissive Buggy fic. This came from another fic I wrote for another fandom that I never posted but it was pure self indulgent. I decided to do it with the clown and change it up. Originally thought of making this a dom!Buggy fic but after a poll and how I started writing it, I decided to stick with sub!Buggy.

Title comes from "Take Me To Church" by Hozier.

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7

Chapter 1

Taron stood in front of the entrance to the large circus tent. This was where they were instructed to go after being informed of their new job from their former employer who sought them out. Sir Crocodile appreciated how Taron kept things in line with his casino, managing schedules, appointments, and other things he was too busy to deal with at the time. After several meetings between Mihawk and Buggy, where he saw the latter was refusing to do his share of paperwork, forgot about meetings or showed up late, and every other little thing that came with this role, Crocodile made the decision for Buggy in getting him an assistant.

With his connections, Crocodile made contact with his former assistant, requesting their presence on the island for a new job, which Taron was delighted to have. They enjoyed their time working with him before and were pleased they had the opportunity again, but when they arrived with their bag in hand, ready to work with Crocodile again, they were confused when they were instructed on where they needed to go.

Once they arrived at the tent, standing in front of it as they wondered if they could just return to their old job, they decided to take the challenge. Crocodile said this individual was difficult, that he mismanaged paperwork, missed important meetings, the likes, and that Taron was brought in to put Buggy on the right track.

They survived working with Crocodile so there was no doubt they could survive this Buggy the Clown.

Crocodile gave Taron instructions on what was needed as well as permission to enter Buggy’s tent to find him. With a flyer in their hand they knew who to look for: a clown with blue hair and a red nose. Shouldn't be too hard. So they entered the tent, noticing this was an actual circus with a lion, performers, everything, but no Buggy in sight.

They went looking, ignoring the stares, whispers, and pointing in their direction as they went to find his room. They were told he was lazy, that he may be still in bed, so as they walked around, they found what they figured to be his room, another area in the massive tent with walls and curtains for a door. Not knowing how to properly knock, they let themselves in.

The bed in the middle was fairly large, though smaller than Crocodile’s. The lump on one side of the bed had to be Buggy, so Taron set their bag down and went over to it, giving him a shake.

“Captain Buggy?”

Nothing, he kept snoring. Taron gave him a few more shakes, increasing the force each time. When that didn't work, they yanked the blanket off only to throw it back on.

“What kind of pirate sleeps naked?” They muttered before giving the mattress a kick and shouting, “Captain Buggy, the Marines are here, wake up!”

That seemed to do it. He jumped up, blankets falling off and exposing himself as he stood up on the bed, eyes wide with fear as he turned his head frantically for the threat. “Where?!”

Taron pushed their glasses back up their face before putting their hands on their hips, looking up at him. Buggy blinked sleepily down at them and frowned.

“Who are you?”

“Your new assistant.”

“My new- I didn't hire you!”

“No, Sir Crocodile did.” They informed him as Buggy dropped to his knees on the bed, looking at them with a frown. “He feels you need help managing your schedule and paperwork so he brought me on to help you.”

“Why did he decide that without me?!” Buggy demanded, looking them over. Taron wasn't dressed flashy enough to work for Buggy. Their dress was too similar to Crocodile’s, from the cravat to the shoes. They looked like someone who Buggy would end up owing money to and having his knees broken for not paying them back. They were shorter than Buggy, wider as well, looking like it would take a lot to knock them over. They wore glasses, their brown eyes looking at him through thick frames. Long hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, keeping it out of their face as they looked at him.

“Because he wants to be sure the person could get the job done.” Taron replied as they crossed their arms. “You're still naked.” They went over to what they assumed to be his wardrobe and opened it, looking for something for him to wear. “I worked with him for ten years so he knows I can handle anything.”

They reached into the wardrobe, pulling out a shirt and pants for him. They didn't care what he wore as long as he was dressed, but when they turned and saw him sitting on his bed, blanket over his lap as he looked at them sulkily, maybe it wasn't the right outfit.

“I'm not wearing that.” Buggy said with a glare. “Those two don't go well together.”

Taron shrugged. “I don't care what you wear, but you have a meeting in ten minutes with Mihawk and Crocodile, so I suggest you put something on for it.” They looked back at the clothing options before looking at Buggy with a grim expression on their face. “They explicitly said for you to not be late to this one.”

“Ten minutes?!”

“It was fifteen but we wasted five minutes.” Taron told him as Buggy snatched the clothes from them and hastily put them on. They found his hair brush and handed it to him. While he wrestled with bedhead they retrieved his bandana and hat. “This should help.”

“I’m dead if I’m late again.” Buggy grumbled as he put his hair up before tying the bandana on to keep it all in place. He glared over at Taron as he grabbed his hat. “Not that I care, but what’s your name, you pest? Coming in here and waking me up late for my meeting, I should fire you for that!”

Taron looked amused by the empty threat. “My name is Taron and you don’t have the authority to fire me, only Crocodile.”

“I’ll take this up with him then!” Buggy snapped as he headed out of his room with Taron following after them. The two of them made it out of the tent before Buggy stopped and turned around. “Stop following me!”

“I’ve been instructed to make sure you make it to the meeting.” Taron told him. Buggy glared at them before he started walking again, grumbling under his breath about annoying assistants and other unkind things. Taron wasn’t bothered in the slightest by his petulant behavior. Their previous employer was a politician who didn’t know what he was even doing in his role so Taron did all of the work while he was just the face of the office. Once they reconnected with Crocodile and were told the job expectations, Taron realized they would be doing the same job again, but Crocodile would deal with the clown if he got out of hand.

“I don’t need an escort!”

“Mm, I don’t care.” Taron said as they followed behind. “We’re almost there.”

Buggy turned his head to glare at them once again while his body kept stomping along. Taron didn’t flinch at his Devil Fruit powers. They had seen plenty while working with Baroque Works.

They made it all the way to the meeting room where Crocodile and Mihawk were already seated. Buggy stomped over to his seat and sat down, still glaring at Taron for how his day was already going. They said nothing as they took a seat beside them, pulling a pen and notepad from their pocket. Crocodile glanced over at Buggy with a smirk.

“He’s early.” He said, cigar clenched between his teeth as he leaned back in his chair. “How did you manage that?”

“I informed Captain Buggy that the meeting was in ten minutes.” Taron told him as they clicked their pen. “It got him moving, which is what we needed.”

Buggy’s jaw dropped at being lied to as Crocodile chuckled and Mihawk looked over some papers. The meeting started without much fuss, just Buggy pouting in his seat while Taron took notes.

“I don't like you, Taron.” Buggy announced after the meeting. “You wake me up from my beauty sleep, lie to me, and then spend the meeting interrupting my thoughts!” He turned to look at Crocodile. “Why did you hire them for me? They're terrible!”

“They’re less likely to kill you than me, clown.” Crocodile told him without looking up from a stack of papers. “You’ll do as they say, understand?”

“What?! They said they were my assistant!” Buggy complained as he pounded his fist on the table. “They’re supposed to listen to me then!”

“I listen to Sir Crocodile.” Taron said as they looked over their notes. “And I only interrupted your ‘thoughts’ because you were nodding off in the meeting.” They looked over at Buggy. “As for liking me, I’m not here for you to like me. I’m here to make sure you do your job, Captain Buggy.”

Buggy stared at them for a moment before looking pleadingly at Crocodile. He really didn’t want an assistant, especially one that previously worked for Crocodile. Who’s to say Taron wouldn’t threaten to kill him with every conversation, or actually follow through with it? He wanted to throw a fit over this, that at least he should get to choose, but Crocodile glanced at Buggy with a look in his eyes that scared the clown into sucking it up and nodding.

Just because he was agreeing now didn’t mean he would behave, however.

Taron was given space in Buggy’s tent for a room. They put their things away before walking off with Crocodile, leaving Buggy and Mihawk behind as he continued pouting about the situation. If the two really thought he needed an assistant, they should have said something. He could have asked Alvida or someone, not have Crocodile 2.0 helping him out. Buggy had his eye on the assistant as they were in their new room, putting things away from their one bag. It was just some clothes, that was it, no personal items of any kind. It was a little odd to Buggy.

“I don’t trust’em.” He mumbled as he watched them leave. For all he knew, Taron was brought in to eventually assassinate him once Crocodile finally had enough of him. It was inevitable now. He wondered if he should have Cabaji start working on his obituary soon.

He waited a few minutes before returning to the tent. Buggy wondered how much longer he had left to live.

#buggy the clown #taron x buggy #buggy the clown x oc #buggy x oc #opla buggy the clown #opla buggy the clown x oc #opla buggy #opla buggy x oc #one piece fanfic #one piece oc #one piece original character #nonbinary character

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