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cinnamonest · 3 years

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Rewriting my Diluc housewife thoughts but I saved it in my notes this time, but I made it infinitely more sexist than it already was before bc 1) I was in the kink mood and 2) the spirits of writing gods possessed my body and told me that is the way all Diluc content should be, so, this is major 1950s-ish housewifey horrendously misogynistic shit, you've been warned. Like, even *I* looked back over this and was like "wow this is vile" which is kinda saying something for me so, putting the nastier parts under cut for the sake of my followers' eyes ----------- I was thinking about the post a while back about Diluc reforming a criminal darling - a thief around Mondstadt that's been on a crime spree and of course he catches wind of that and goes to defeat the perpetrator (surprisingly very easy? How is a thief this weak?) and haul the bastard off to jail except... What's this? Said criminal is actually just some girl and not a gross ugly bastard?? This changes things. Clearly, this was not an intentional act of malice or greed, but rather, he, master of criminal psychology™, rationalizes that the world is far too cruel for unwifed girls that have no one to depend on, a cold terrible place, so you must have been driven to these actions out of desperation. You had no provider, no caretaker, which are needs. How could you possibly be expected to provide a means of living for yourself?? This is just the consequences of the unfairness of the world. However, things all work out in the end. You need to be taken care of and restrained from these self-destructive choices by force (since you cannot recognize how bad it is, not that you're expected to, it's natural that you have poor perception, that's why you need a man to make choices for you), and he needs a wife. This solution benefits all parties.

He is, however, a rather dense man, and doesn't really think to like, tell you that. Or tell you anything. He's too lost in thought in his planning -- gonna get you new clothes to replace your ragged ones, gonna have to rearrange the guard schedule so they can watch the house better, all that -- and just kinda slings you up and over his shoulder without a word. Ignores you kicking and hitting because it doesn't really hurt or anything, you're too weak for that. Just says he’ll explain in detail later, but don’t worry, you’re not going to jail. He’s just taking you home. This is better, he says. Stop struggling so much, what, you want to go to jail? No? Then be still. And you don't recognize that it's good for you yet, but again, that's expected. In a better time or society, you would have been married off sooner, and prevented from ever falling victim to your own decision making to begin with, but the world isn't perfect and you can be forgiven for it. You're not responsible for your own actions since you can't comprehend them. It's frustrating and he sighs a bit over it, but that's just the way things are. You'll be happy in the long run, even if it takes a while, you're naturally programmed for a better lifestyle he has in mind. And, really, he's glad you weren't married off, because if you were then he never would have had you, so even though it was technically unideal, the stars align and the universe works out things perfectly. It's all the more of a sign that this was fate and you were made for him. The issue is that a hardened criminal darling is... Not the ideal candidate for a housewife. To some extent, he's right that the criminal underworld hardens a person, you can't survive in that realm if you're submissive or weak willed. And criminal darling certainly is not. Loud mouthed, opinionated, argumentative, bad attitude, defiant and aggressive and very much unafraid. A complete loose cannon. All very unfavorable traits. Worst of all, very much unaccepting of and ungrateful for the privilege of a second chance and being graciously granted the opportunity for a better life. Lots of bad behaviors.

The cursing is a problem. It's not very... Wife-like. Gives off a bad image, you know. Especially since said cursing is usually directed at him at a very loud volume with a snarl and getting all up in his face to tell him he's fucking insane and a bastard. To be honest, the worst part isn't the words themselves, it's the fact that you are so unafraid to be defiant and so fiery that is the primary issue. You disobey very deliberately. Little acts of pettiness. Being mean to the maids who are so graciously trying to teach you how to cook (at his direction), since you had no idea how to (and nearly burned his house down as a result). The first time you were mean and bitter and that's how you learned they report back to him about how you behaved. It did not go over well.

Intentionally burning food. Once you somehow found a bottle in a cabinet somewhere in the mansion and put rat poison in his food, made him sick. Muttering a sarcastic whoops and shoving a vase off to crash and shatter on the floor. Early on you refused to wear all the nice dresses you were generously given and even tried to go through his clothes to find something to wear, which was kinda cute since it was way too big, but still. You mutter and grumble under your breath every time you're given a command. The most important thing is sex, though. You know, your job. One of your only real responsibilities. He has a very stressful job. It's only reasonable that he can expect to come home to his sweet, loving little wife with open arms and equally open legs. You've probably fucked around a bit right? For money, for favors, for intel, you get the idea, lots of ties to criminal gangs to earn their trust. So, if you do it for something so insignificant, how much more does he deserve it for taking care of you fully? You should -- and you will, with time -- drop to your knees the second he walks through the door. But instead, sigh, you fight and whimper and cover your face in shame after you spasm and cum, and worst of all, you actively try not to cum. You shouldn't feel ashamed of that, it's good, he says. Sure, you may not be officially married (since the laws of Mondstadt unfortunately require that whole "consent" thing for both parties, ugh), but, he's basically your husband right? So, it's perfectly normal, you're supposed to cum for him. Maybe once you're all knocked up you'll be even hornier, and less shameful. He actually wasn't expecting you to be this bad. Incredibly stubborn and prideful. Literally the exact opposite traits of a good wife, you know, submissive and humble and obedient. He kinda thought that it was like... automatic. That once he just kinda shoved you in the right environment, it would be like flipping a switch right? Apparently not. But no matter. It can be changed, with effort and time. You're worth it. See, you're not supposed to backtalk him, you're supposed to smile and do what you're told without question. You're supposed to submit and obey, and instead you seem hellbent on pissing him off out of spite - and frankly, you're doing a good job of achieving that. Every time you defy him it sparks an irritation he can't describe, worse than he'd normally get from just being snarled at by anyone - no, something about being disrespected by someone he feels is beneath him makes him much, much angrier than it would be if it were, say, one of the business partners who get snappy and argumentative very frequently. He could break you and it would be easy, don't you know that? You stomp and you hit him and you yell, but clearly you process that you have to look up to look him in the eye, you have to realize how much smaller you are. You hit him even though you have to know by now he'll just grab your wrists, and like always you'll be unable to even hope of pulling out of his grip, the strength difference between you two is so great. There's no way you don't realize all that, yet you continue to behave the way you do. The inferiority is so blatantly obvious, but you act as if it's not. He spends a lot of time contemplating the source of this, the cause of your behavior, it occupies his thoughts. It's like... You resent him for something. Could it possibly be kidnapping you and keeping you as a glorified sex slave? No, no, that's not it. It's something else, yes. Are you just bitter about being inferior in, you know, every conceivable way? Is that it? The criminality for you was compensation to make you feel powerful, perhaps. You have a complex. You resent him not for anything he's done, but because you know he's stronger and smarter and generally superior to you. You don't want to accept it. You're prideful when you shouldn't be. You're supposed to be humble and content with your inferiority. Yeah, that's it. You just have a negative perception of the lifestyle you're supposed to have. Maybe some event in your life or someone else warped your view of things. You don't realize how happy you'd be if you just accepted it. Yes, if you submitted to it, if you swallowed your pride and actually accepted your place, you'd find you would be very happy, you just don't know that. Or maybe, your brain can't grasp something like that. After all, that's the reason you're supposed to be the submissive party of the two of you, you're not as bright or perceptive (says the densest man alive). You have to be... Led. Guided. So he says it. He is, again, a dense man. He does not really think about the fact that perhaps blatantly confronting you with the epiphany he thinks he's had and specifically using the words inferior and weak and small is probably not going to make you very happy. You get bitchy and bratty and try to hit him and he sighs because, see, this is exactly what he's talking about. You reacting the way you did only confirms you do have a complex, he says. So, how could he go about... reconditioning? He is not the most creative man, but thankfully it's a rather easy problem to solve. If you're reminded of a reality often enough, you have to accept it. For starters, using physical strength against you. Maybe that will metaphorically open your eyes. Holds you down in place when you're hitting him like you do, firmly bending you over a counter or whatever and just holding you in place. Come on, try to get up, try to push him off. You snarl and claw at the marble and push will all your strength, but he doesn't budge, not until you politely apologize and ask him to let you up. If you're being difficult and not going where he tells you to, well, he can just sling you up over his shoulder and carry you. If you're fighting being fucked he can just flip you over and press your face into the mattress and hold you still, and you can't help but take the brutal reality that you're basically a ragdoll to him, that is, physically overpowering you doesn't even require trying. It helps to knock you down a peg, remind you of your place and maybe get you to swallow that pride a bit. The orgasms and fucking have a similar effect -- every time you can't help but feel like he has a power over you. And really, he kinda does. Every time you lay there still panting and shivering in aftershock, the shame comes swarming in, all the obscene noises you made and the way you came undone under the person that treats you like property. Even if the rational part of you knows better, you can't help but feel like in a way it's like you let him win, allowed yourself to more or less prove him right. Maybe you'll learn better if you're in more humiliating positions. Stuck getting rammed from behind, hand forcing your face down and ass up. Actually correcting bad behaviors requires more direct approaches, so he takes the... Old fashioned route. After all, it's pretty much guaranteed to work. You don't listen to words, you don't listen to reason, but you'll certainly listen to handprints and belt welts on your ass. It's the first time you really, truly break, and that brings him a lot of satisfaction. The first time you really cry and whimper and beg and apologize so profusely it feels like you mean it for once. Granted, for a while you just persist in your bad behaviors and even try to run when you see him sigh and take the belt off, but you never get far. And, most notably, you actually fix your behaviors, with enough reminders. At one point, the next time you start being bad and get to bitching and snarling and putting up a fight, you catch the look on his face and, for once, you shut your mouth and look down and mumble an apology by default. See, you're learning. Speaking of, you still have that major issue with backtalking him. You're supposed to submit to him and acknowledge his authority over you. So he gets firm. Grabs you by the jaw and forces you to look him in the eye and reminds you that you will *not* get an attitude with him. You *will* show some respect. You say yes sir and no sir and do what you're told. And if you forget, he can give you a reminder, if you want that. But you shake your head with fear in your eyes, say you don't want that. It makes you mad. You want to lash back, but you swallow your pride and mutter a fine - before realizing the mistake, violating the rule you were just reminded of. You stammer out a yes sir but it's already too late. He has to control himself too, not let his anger get the better of him. He speaks in a way that isn't snarling and mean, but rather firm, cold, a flat tone that asserts dominance and demands respect. But... still wants you to like him. So he has to be nice, too. After all, you'll learn better if you're rewarded for being good, right? So you can get little rewards. Words of affirmation. A pat to the head. He'll buy you something you want, let you drink a bit (since, as a thief, of course, you had a problem with that before you came home, but that had to be corrected too, since drunkenness isn't very befitting). And sooner or later he does have a really good little wife. He's proud of you. You smile and obey commands without complaining. He can come home every day, and rather than hearing a long report from the staff about how much trouble you caused that day, instead you have food and smiles and sweet affection waiting on him, you hug him when he walks through the door. You're polite and sweet to the various business partners and guests that come through -- you don't speak to them without permission though, of course, and you look down at the ground so you don't make eye contact with another man. People say he's lucky and how they wish they had a wife that was so outwardly affectionate to them as you are to him, always clinging to him physically. And you don't complain or every object to anything, you just smile and say yes and do it. It makes him happy in a weird way he can't quite articulate. A warm swell of pride, a feeling of success. You have vague memories of a time when you were breaking into houses just to scrape by, not knowing when you'd eat next, not knowing where you'd sleep. It's kind of a fuzzy memory now. You don't have to worry about those things anymore, and you're a lot happier this way.

#this is vile im sorry #tw: ff #tw: misogyny #.dl #yan.txt #q

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queen--kenobi · 4 years

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You Make Me Feel (Home Again, Whole Again) Part II

Story Summary: Down on your luck and your money, you decide to take a job serving the Republic. Your new job is to entertain clones. Of course, nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Certainly not when emotions become involved.

Pairings: Captain Rex x f!reader, eventually Commander Cody x f!reader, Commander Wolffe x f!reader, and Commander Fox x f!reader

Masterlist

Part I

Next Chapter

Chapter summary: Rex being gone for the first time is an adjustment. You begin to wonder just what you might have gotten yourself into.

Warnings: NSFT (PiV, f!recieving oral, hinted at BDSM tones), brief mentions of racism and classism through a sci-fi lens.

Word Count: 4.7 K

Author’s note: Honestly, this chapter is mostly fluff and plot with some porn. It nearly became super political because I have always associated Coruscant with DC lol whoops

The door to your apartment ‘whoosh’s shut behind you. You sigh and run your hands over your face.

You knew that the survey was mandatory. They did gauge how much to pay you for your services based on what you said, but it still felt weird. Even with droids asking the questions and running through the data, it still felt... Weird. Weird was the best word for how it felt. It felt as if you were kissing and telling. Actually, the longer you think about it, the more you realize that the report makes things feel impersonal.

You don’t like the feeling.

You contemplate what to do for a long moment before letting out another sigh. He’s been gone for less than a rotation, and you already miss him. It makes you feel pathetic. You take off your shoes. You don’t think it’s because you’re desperate, far from it. It was because Rex was the first to treat you so well. Yes, you had known him for a week, but the way he treated you was far above and beyond how others did. His reverence last night was something that you’d never experienced before, and now. Now you were addicted to it.

You make your way to your room. You need to go ahead and get yourself together. If this is how you’re acting the first time that he has to leave you, you can’t imagine how bad it will get in the future. Something tells you this isn’t a feeling that you can get used to.

You decide to take the time to make your office more comfortable. You have no idea when you’ll get another assignment. It could be awhile, or it could be relatively soon. This will at least keep you busy while you wait. That’s the important part right now, keeping yourself busy. If you keep yourself busy, then you’ll be fine. You won’t be stuck in a loop of increasingly worrisome thoughts.

Time seems to take on a strange feeling, one that gives you an ever mounting sense of anxiety. You know part of your worry is about the money aspect. You got into this because you needed the credits, but you have no idea how it was going to work. This job wasn’t like a traditional sex work. For starters, the clones weren’t exactly paid. You aren’t sure where exactly the money was coming from, but you honestly didn’t care. You just wanted to make sure that you had enough to send back to your family. Things were getting very tough for them out there, even without the current political climate.

You find out about a week after Rex has shipped out. Part of the program demanded that you keep a log of your hours spent with a client. From what you had gathered, you would be paid a base rate depending on the type of clone trooper you entertained, and then if their performance in the field went up, you would get incentives based on that. You had been a little afraid to ask too many questions. This was in the name of the Republic. You felt cheap asking those types of things.

You’re called into the same office complex that you had to do the post-client survey in. The transaction is fairly painless. You go in and talk to the person with your bag of credits. The person is human, which is odd to you. Then again, you suspect that might have been a tactical choice. You know for a fact that some humans get uncomfortable when their credits are handled by any non-humans. Several people back home had that problem, which you always found odd because they had no trouble hiring any non-humans to do work they deemed as menial. You had thought that the attitude on Coruscant would be much different, but it wasn’t. It was just more well-disguised.

Honestly, you can see why portions of the population don’t like it here. They were certainly on to something.

The bag is heavier than you expect it to be. You had a vague idea of what your base rate was going to be. The bag clearly had more than that in it. You pause. You open your mouth and close it. You aren’t sure if you should say anything. The woman behind the desk lets out a little snort.

“You got lucky, kid.” She tells you. “Take it and don’t question it.”

“I- Yeah. I won’t. I need all the luck I can get.” Thankfully, you have another bag with you that you can place the other bag inside. It’s a closed one, which makes you feel better.

“That’s the spirit.” The lady waves you away. You wait until you get into the safety of your apartment to count it, making sure to lock the door behind you. Something about the weight of the bag made you paranoid. The bag had a flimsiplast with it. You read over it quickly.

Well.

Well, fuck. You sit back after reading it. You aren’t sure if you’re that good or if Rex really needed what you gave him. The amount isn’t ridiculous, but it is well over what you expected. You bite your lower lip. You’ll have to think of something special to do for him when he gets back. Yes, he didn’t have anything to do with this end of the business, but you felt as if he deserved it. Scratch that. He definitely did deserve something nice. The man worked too much and didn’t get nearly enough in return. You hum softly in thought. You needed to set aside some for regular expenses, but you would have enough left over to do something like buy a nice set of lingerie to surprise him with. That thought gets your mind going. Yeah. You could work with this.

When you think about Rex and the other clones, you realize that you don’t know nearly as much as you should about the war efforts. So whenever you have some downtime, you begin looking into old holojournals about it. Well, as many as you can find. It’s more than a little difficult to find any information on certain fronts. You aren’t sure if it’s because the operations need to be kept secret or if it’s a censorship issue. You know better than to ask. Instead, you find what you can and read it. You end up spending hours pouring over your datapad. You never realized how much political knowledge you lacked until you started reading about it. It’s downright fascinating.

You’re curled up in your office chair going over some the holojournals from the very beginning of the war. You had the day off but didn’t want to stay in your apartment. It felt empty somehow. You frown and reach for your datapad to make a note of something. Some of the names in the holojournal weren’t familiar to you, and you want to make sure you understood everything. The list was growing steadily longer as you read. It was both encouraging and discouraging. It gave your mind something else to fixate on other than the growing worries about your parents, your financial situation, and your whole existence in general. However, each entry also functioned as another to do on an already busy schedule. It also didn’t help that knowing more about politics and the current undertakings made you realize just how fucked things are.

You don’t hear the ‘whoosh’ of the door as it opens, you’re so absorbed in what you’re reading. A knock on the frame makes you look up. It’s Nikali from upstairs. You’d met him when you were originally onboarded. You set your datapad to the side. He seems to be in a decent mood.

“You reading about the war?” He nods towards your datapad. The question seems mostly genuine. It’s probably a lead into something, but it feels like it’s a lead into something good. You nod.

“Yeah. I realized I didn’t know as much about it as I thought I did. I thought I should fix that.” You give him a sheepish smile. “What’s up? How can I help you?”

“It seems like you’re really researching.See, I would have just done basic research and called it a rotation.” He smiles. You still aren’t entirely sure of his intentions. “I just wanted to check on you, see how you’re doing.”

“I’m doing pretty well.” You smile at him. You’re fairly certain this is genuine kindness and not some sort of set-up. “I feel pretty good about this.” How could you not feel good about it? You had a stack of credits handed to you not long ago. He nods.

“Good! Because, well. We normally just try to keep people at your level with just one or two so you guys don’t get overwhelmed. We know that some of these commanders can get... intense sometimes.”

“I haven’t run into that problem.” You can’t help your remark. You imagine that if Rex could be if he was in a bad mood, but you think it would take a lot for him to do that. No doubt you’d have to reassure him afterwards. Nikali smiles again.

“I’m really glad to hear that!” He pauses for a second. “I bring it up because we’ve been losing some people lately. You know how it is. We might need to go ahead and have you work with some others.”

“Sure. If that’s what you need.” You aren’t going to say no to the extra credits. Something twists inside of your gut for a second. What are you going to tell Rex? You nearly shake your head. Both of you were adults; he would understand the nature of the relationship. He surely would get that. “I assume you’ve got someone in mind.”

Nikali nods. “I’m going to send the files over to see if you would want to work with any of them. We’ve got a couple in mind for you. You can read them over and see if you’re interested in any of them.”

“Sounds good. I’ll go over that tonight.”

“Good! I’ll send the filers over right away.” He practically chirps before leaving. You resist the urge to sigh. He was friendly enough, but you could tell that it was more along the lines of being friendly with an employee rather than genuine friendliness. You don’t know why that bothers you.

Later that night, once you’re home and debating the merits of take-out vs a home cooked meal, you hear a knock on your door. Your heart leaps in your throat, but you shake your head. You would have gotten some sort of indication if Rex was coming back by now, right? So it couldn’t be him. You make your way over to the door. Part of you hopes it is him, and your core clenches at the memory of what happened last time. You check to see who it is.

You’ve never punched the passcode in faster in your life.

“Rex.” You breathe. He smiles at you, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Maker, his eyes are so warm. You motion for him to come inside, and he does. The door shuts behind him.

“I wa- Mmph!” You cut him off abruptly by taking his face in your hands and kissing him hard. He melts into your touch, both of his hands coming up to cradle your face. You drop one of your hands to his pauldron. When you pull away, he looks almost dazed.Both of his hands drop from your face down to your shoulders.

“Hi.” You breath, your voice suddenly tinged with shyness. Rex seems slightly dazed, as if he wasn’t expecting that. “I missed you.”

That earns you an amused eyebrow raise. “Never would have guessed.”

“In my defe- Mmmmhhhmmmm.” He cuts you off this time, surging forward to kiss you. One of his hands comes back to your cheek while the other goes to the base of your neck to pull you closer. You sigh into the kiss, and he’s quick to pull you even closer. When he turns you so that your back is towards the wall, you let him. He backs you up against it with slowly increasing confidence. You nip at his bottom lip, and he’s quick to part his lips. It’s not a practiced motion when he runs his tongue along the seam of your lips, but you can tell he’s a quick learner. When you both need to breathe, both of are panting somewhat, chests rising steadily.

“I missed you too.” He murmurs softly. His admission is quiet, almost as if he’s unsure of himself, unsure if he’s allowed to miss you at this point in the relationship. You smile at him. His hand is still on your cheek, so you press a soft kiss to the inside of his wrist. He lets out a soft shaky noise, one you almost miss.

“Can I.” He takes a deep breath. “I want to take you to bed and take care of you. Make up for me being gone. Can I?”

“Of course.” You shimmy out from between him and the wall and take his hand. You gently lead him back towards your room. He’s looking at you with that soft edge, and it makes your heart melt. As soon as the door to your bedroom shuts behind the two of you, he’s pushing you gently but insistently towards the bed. You walk backwards until your calves hit the bed. You fall back, quickly sitting up on your elbows so you can watch him. Rex undoes his armor with deft, practised motions, stripping until he’s left in nothing but his blacks. You watch him with baited breath. He places one knee in between your legs on the bed and quirks an eyebrow at you. You take the silent cue and scoot up the bed.

Once you’ve moved up to the head of the bed, Rex follows. Gently, he pushes you legs apart so he can settle between them before he drapes his body over yours. He molds himself to you. His weight is comforting. He keeps his weight off of your upper body by using his forearms. He places them so his hands can go to your face. He kisses you with a startling intensity. It’s slow and unhurried, and you groan into the kiss. The two of you stay like that for a while. Both of you are clearly trying to take your time with the other. At some point, it becomes too much, and you roll your hips. He pulls away with a soft noise. You’re pleased to see his chest is heaving some, and his eyes are dark.

“Look at you.” He murmurs softly, brushing stray hairs away from your face. “Maker, you’re a dream.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” You tell him. He gives you a look, which makes you laugh. You shift so you can get your hands on the hem of his blacks. “Take this off. I want to see you.”

He shifts, tossing his shirt up over his head and to the side. You work on worming yours off as well. Rex shifts so he can start placing kisses all along the column of your neck, down your shoulders, and to your collarbone. You run your hands along the broad planes of his back and chest. You want to memorize the feeling of his under your hands. He lets out a stutery breath when you drag your nails lightly down his back. You do it again, digging a little harder. He arches into your touch, eyes fluttering closed. You lean up to nip at the juncture of his neck and shoulders. He lets out a startled noise that morphs into a moan. When you pull away, he gives you a flat look.

“I told you I’m going to take care of you tonight.” He reprimands you. A slight amount of heat makes its way into his words. You give him a cheeky grin.

“Yes sir, Captain sir.” Your tone matches your grin. Rex’s eyes grow darker with lust, and you file that information away for later.

“Don’t act like a brat. It doesn’t suit you.” His words have some heat behind them, but not enough that you feel like he’ll follow through on any threats. He bends his head down again and lightly nips at your neck as if to prove a point. You gasp, and you can feel him smile.

Rex takes his time, lazily exploring your body. It’s like he wants to map out everything, make sure he knows every spot that makes you squirm and gasp. By the time he gets your pants and underwear off, you’re nearly desperate. You’re searching for any kind of friction. He groans when he sees the damp spot on your underwear.

“You’re soaked.” He sounds almost awe-struck when he runs his thumbs along your outer lips. You nod.

“Only for you. Fuck, no one else can do this to me.” It’s true, but you also want to see how he’ll react. He lets out a noise under his breath that you can’t place. It’s somewhere between a whimper and a growl. He looks at you, and kark. You’ll never get tired of him looking at you like that. The way he looks at you takes your breath away. He keeps eye contact with you as he parts your folds with his fingers and runs his tongue from the bottom of your pussy all the way to the top. You gasp, your hands coming to the back of his head. Rex’s eyes darken, and he repeats the motion but with more confidence. It’s not long before your thighs are trembling around his head.

What’s getting to you the most is his eye contact. The only time he’s not looking at you is when his eyes are closed. He makes noise like he’s a man starved and has just been given his favorite meal. You whimper. The entire time you give him gentle praise, telling him how good he looks like this and what he’s doing right. You notice the way he ruts a little into the bed, as if he can’t help himself. It’s a heady feeling. You can’t believe the amount of power you have in this moment.

“Rex.” You try to inject some sort of commanding edge into your voice. You move one of your hands from the back of his head. He knows exactly what you’re looking for and shifts so he can hold your hand again. He uses his free hand to slide a finger into you. You keen at the feeling. He fiend that spongy spot inside of you with very little effort, and you buck your hips up towards his mouth. Rex is a quick learner, so it’s not long before he slides another finger inside of you and curls both of them towards that spot.

Despite the noises he’s making, Rex takes his time taking you apart. Your hips roll at a steady pace as you chase the feeling of his fingers and tongue. When your orgasm surges to the breaking point, it’s not so much a drop as it is a wave. Rex doesn’t so much rip your orgasm from you as gently takes it from you. He works you through it, keeping the same steady pace as before and not faltering. It’s not too much at all. Honestly, you could stay like this for a long while. You imagine he wouldn’t object. Still, you push gently at his head. When he lifts his head up, you can’t stifle the groan at seeing your slick on his chin. He watches the rise and fall of your chest.

“I need you to fuck me.” His eyes darken, and he nods. The noise when he pulls his fingers from you is positively obscene, but you don’t care. You reach behind you and grab sightlessly for a pillow. As he shucks off the rest of his blacks and his greys, you get a pillow in your hands and slide it under your lower back and hips. Rex drapes himself over you again. He looks into your eyes, and you nod.

Both of you groan when he slides into you. Your toes curl. Automatically, your legs move up to wrap around his waist. Rex stays still for a moment. His nostrils flare as if he’s trying to exert some form of self-control. He takes a hold of your chin again and kisses you. Slowly, he begins to move. His lips never leave yours. One of your hands goes to the back of his neck while the other goes to his shoulders. You lightly rake your nails along his spine again, and he makes a keening noise into your mouth. You dig a little, and you’re rewarded with a deeper thrust.

Rex keeps the rhythm slow and deep. Eventually, the two of you stop the kiss, but he keeps his face close to yours, noses nearly touching. You’re breathing in sync with one another, and Gods. You’ve never felt something like this before. This is what people talk about when they talk about making love. Rex makes you feel adored and cherished just through his actions. You can feel another orgasm beginning to wash over you. He drops his head to your shoulder.

“Kark. I can feel you tightening.” He nearly whimpers into your skin. “You feel so fucking good. I want you to cum for me. Can you do that? For me?”

You throw your head back and nod vigorously. “Anything. Anything you want, Rex.”

He does let out an actual whimper at that, and that’s what sends you over the edge. You dig your nails into his back and bow towards him. You try to pull him closer to you, impossible close. Your orgasm apparently triggers his, and fuck, if that’s not the hottest thing.

The two of you lay there for a moment, simply basking in one another’s presence. Slowly, Rex moves to prop himself up on his elbows. He slides out of you. You can feel the combined mixture of your cum seeping out of you. Rex looks transfixed for a moment.

“I’ll go get a rag.” He clears his throat after a second. You huff a soft laugh as you watch him go. When he comes back, he cleans you up gently. You take the rag from him before he can get up.

“I’ll deal with this.” You tell him. You swing your legs off the bed before he can fight you. You hear him huff as you slip into the fresher. When you come back, he put the bottom part of his blacks back on and is laying down. You smile softly at him and pad into the room.

“You didn’t have to get dressed.” You tease him. You pause for a moment and consider the possibility of putting his shirt on but decide against it. Instead, you slip under the covers.

“I know. I just don’t know how long I have before they’ll need me.” He seems reluctant to leave you already. He wastes no time in joining you under the covers. As soon as he’s comfortable, you move so that you’re resting somewhat on his chest.

“Next time, if you can, give me warning when you’re coming back.” You murmur. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“You don’t need to do that.” He counters, arms coming up to make sure that you’re resting securely on his broad chest. You idly run your hands over his muscles. He shivers at your gentle touch.

“I want to.” You pout. You look up at him. “I had plans, you know. I was going to dress up all cute for you.”

That clearly piques his interest from the look in his eyes. “You don’t have to.” He repeats, his tone a little more firm. You exaggerate your pout.

“I thought you’d want to see me in lingerie. I even found a set in white and blue.”

Oh, that thought clears get to him. His nostrils flare for a second as he takes a deep breath. His eyes gain that slightly hungry quality again. “If that’s what you want, I’m not going to stop you.”

“I thought you might like the idea.” You smile at him. It’s hard to keep yourself from laughing. You let your head drop back down onto his chest. Your thumb sweeps in a broad motion across one of his biceps. “Do you have any idea how long you’re here for?”

“None. I’ll most likely have to ship out sooner than later.” You nod in response. The two of you stay like that for a long moment. It’s nice. He’s a surprisingly grounding presence. You catch yourself nearly dozing off several times. Rex shifts, and you realize that he’s steeling himself to ask something. You look up at him. His expression is careful neutral, but you can see something in the way his brows are a little pinched together.

“Have they given you anyone else?” His question is a little halting, as if he’s afraid of the answer. You sigh and shift so you don’t have to crane your neck to look at him.

“They want me to, yeah.” You let out a long sigh. “If that makes you uncomfortable, I can say no.”

Rex shakes his head. You can tell he doesn’t like the idea, though. “If that’s what you need to do, then do it.”

“I don’t want to do anything that will hurt you.” You counter.

“Don’t worry about me.” He says, his voice oddly firm.

“Yeah, well. Too late.” You counter. “I’m not- I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or hurt you.”

“What I want doesn’t matter.” He responds, almost curtly. His tone holds a note of conviction to it that hurts your heart. You shift so you can place a hand on his cheek. You telegraph the movement. Rex nearly jerks away from your touch.

“It does to me.” You respond softly. You pause. A thought occurs to you, and you bite the inside of your lip. “What if... They’re not going to give me people randomly. I don’t think. Would it help if you had some say in that?”

“What do you mean?” He pushes a pillow further under his head to prop it up better.

“I mean, there’s got to be people you wouldn’t be comfortable sharing me with, so. What if I tell you who they want to give me, and you get final say?” You watch his face intently. Rex’s brows are furrowed, and his lips are pursed. You can see his expression lose some of the hard edges as he thinks. Finally, he nods.

“That would work.” It’s clear that he still isn’t thrilled with the idea, but he’s clearly more okay with this situation. He looks down at you. “Were you given a list already?”

“Yeah. I can show it to you. Not now, though.” Your tone makes it clear you want to enjoy this moment for just a little longer. The corners of Rex’s mouth twitch. He runs his thumb across your bicep.

The two of you talk softly for a little bit longer. You aren’t even aware of how sleepy you are until you can barely keep your eyes open. Your head keeps on dropping, which makes Rex let out a soft chuckle.

“You’re tired. Go to sleep.” His voice is full of exasperated fondness.

“But what if you have to go?” Your voice is muffled as you speak into his chest. “Don’t. Don’t wanna miss anything.”

You can feel his breath stutter for a second. You wonder if you’ve done something wrong. Your fears are soothed when Rex shifts so he’s laying down more comfortably. He pulls you closer to him.

“I’ll wake you up before I go.” He promises before turning out your lights.

#Fic: You Make Me Feel (Home Again Whole Again)#Captain Rex x reader #NSFT #Reader insert #Text

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raskies456 · 3 years

Text

I posted 33,764 times in 2021

562 posts created (2%)

33202 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 59.1 posts.

I added 2,867 tags in 2021

#fr - 898 posts

#long post - 710 posts

#456 words - 543 posts

#ask to tag - 156 posts

#yeah - 132 posts

#us politics - 108 posts

#self reblog - 89 posts

#reblog bait - 79 posts

#feel free to reblog - 76 posts

#mine - 76 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and can’t say ‘the centralization of power inherent in socialism is corrupting and allows for the same injustices to occur under socialism’

My Top Posts in 2021

coping by making memes

93 notes • Posted 2021-08-13 22:25:58 GMT

actually speaking of nbc hannibal imagine hannibal setting up all these elaborate situations where will and a serial killer fight so that will has to kill them and/or almost gets murdered but like....will just straight up dies.

Like WHOOPS maybe setting up deadly situations to make a murder husband out of the sad empath ISNT such a smart move when you want him to live (or at least murder him yourself)

94 notes • Posted 2021-02-19 20:29:18 GMT

“it seems like you don’t allow yourself to express or even feel angry”

sir if I expressed anger I would commit war crimes because someone’s mouth made a wet noise in my presence

118 notes • Posted 2021-07-02 06:13:06 GMT

my mom’s annoyed at me bc I joked about prince Phillip and she was like

“well he was good in that he supported his wife instead of taking power for himself”

and I replied “yeah he really let her use girl power for imperialism”

253 notes • Posted 2021-04-09 23:12:53 GMT

southerners in the snow storm—

if your car is outside, go run it for a bit so the battery doesn’t die

scrape your car if there’s any snow on it

If you have a fireplace, learn how it works (gas or wood) and look up how to use it

leave your faucets dripping and open cabenits under the sink

if you can get supplies, get what you need for fire (wood, matches, fire starters), kitty litter to keep in your car and sprinkle around if you lose traction, warm clothes including gloves, socks, and thermal underwear, water bottles

if you must drive make sure you have warm clothes in the car

While driving keep a long follow distance, go slowly, don’t expect anyone else to be able to stop easily

Dont brake if you lose control of your vehicle, or during any turns

this isn’t a comprehensive list by any means

Northerners/People who live in cold/snowy places—

Realize that the South doesn’t have the same infrastructure to plow and salt roads and that most people are never taught how to deal with cold

Also most houses aren’t built for it and we have external water pipes and power lines

So shut up about how people can’t handle a little cold and actually give helpful advice if you must speak (:

12640 notes • Posted 2021-02-15 23:38:17 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #yay this finally worked for me #doesn't include posts I KNOW have more notes but those are p recent

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a-crimson-lion · 4 years

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A (Hopefully) Reasonable Response

For @kiricookie .

[Read this if you want the following ramblings to make any sense.]

(Sorry this is so hecking long and all over the place, I just wanted to be thorough.)

[Manga Spoilers and Movie Spoilers Ahead]

I’m gonna do things a little differently here.

For starters, I’m gonna not gonna be addressing the fandom at large, because the fandom at large won’t be able to give me an answer.

I’m just talking to you, kiricookie. Because it’s your post, and you deserve to know what people (like myself) think of it. Just letting you know right now, and this is with absolutely NO sarcasm: I won’t be rude. I’ll do my damndest to not be rude.

Because you didn’t go and make that post and share it with the entirety of the world wide web just for it to get ridiculously crapped on without so much as a glance.

So, I’ll read it. I’ll think about it. And I’ll give you my thoughts. You don’t have to read them if you don’t want to. But common courtesy makes it so I leave the opportunity. You deserve that much.

You probably already know what this is about anyway. So I’ll start with something… unexpected, at least coming from someone like me…

...you’re right.

To be more specific, you’re right about Tenya. You’re right about how his split second decision to murder Stain should be concerning and in fact is concerning. You’re right about how he’s the most prone to lose his control and how his emotions get the better of him. You’re right about all that.

*Internal wince* Now, if you don’t mind me going into other details…

I’m not saying anything that spurnned on Tenya to murder the Hero Killer was in any way justified; it wasn’t. It never could be, it never should be. Murder is wrong no matter how the hell you look at it, and even if you have no choice but to go through with it, you shouldn’t be happy that you had to take someone’s life under any circumstances. But looking through Tenya’s perspective for a moment… he lost a brother, in a way. He lost a hero. Someone extremely close to him, who inspired him and others, who did nothing but good in any way he possibly could. And then he got cut down by someone who Tenya only knows as the antithesis of good and now his brother can’t do any good, or at least not as much as he used to.

Again, that doesn’t excuse attempted murder. In a morbid way, it’s sort of the logical extreme of when we saw Tenya at the start of the series: he immediately writes of Izuku because he only sees him as a hindrance and recognizes his own shortcomings after the fact. He immediately guns after Stain because he did something unforgivable in his eyes, and recognizes his own shortcomings after the fact.

In the heat of the moment, Tenya is prone to failure. He is prone to misjudgement. We’re talking about the same guy who decked his best friend because he was about to do something borderline illegal. The entire point of Tenya is to showcase the distance between what he wants to be and what he actually is, and the steps he takes to get there.

But yeah, the murder plot was a tad… oh who am I kidding, a HELL of a lot of overkill.

But circling back to why we keep scrutinizing Katsuki about his mannerisms while we keep praising Tenya from sunrise to sunset… I can’t speak for all of us Bakugo antis, because I know some of us have legitimate reasons for disliking him and the others are butthurt record players on repeat that you mentioned, but I can at least give out my reasoning behind it.

We don’t talk often about Tenya having a murder episode because he never tries to do it again, and he legit tries to improve and avoid anything similar happening again.

After the Hosu incident, Tenya admits that Stain was right about him, and he resolves to not be a screw up from then on out. He makes an effort to be a better class representative, a better example than what he had been setting before. He doesn’t deck Izuku just because “hE aNgY” during the Hideout Raid arc; he doesn’t want Izuku to make the same mistakes as he did, because everyone else was worried about Tensei, Stain, and Tenya, but Tenya was so dead set on “righting a wrong” that he ignored everyone around him and nearly got himself killed for it, and if things were any worse in Hosu, Tenya might not have been the only one dead. For all intents and purposes, that’s what Tenya thinks is happening again when the Bakugo Rescue Squad suggests tracking their friend down.

And like you mentioned when Tenya offered to lend an ear to Izuku when the Shie Hassaikai incident was tearing him apart from the inside, that’s the progression coming full circle. Tenya realizes that there are other people in the equation that he needs to listen to and that need to be listened to, otherwise they’ll do something completely ludicrous and get themselves and/or other people hurt in the process.

And the thing is, Tenya only needs to have his “Oh f***” moment once. And it’s barely brought up again, which puts out of the audience’s minds.

(Sidenote, while you’re “heroes not killing is weak” thing kinda came out of left field with me, I actually agree. A whole lot actually. Just so you know.)

The thing about Katsuki is that everything supposedly “wrong” with him… is still kinda going on to some extent. Sure, the people at UA have thicker skin and are willing to brush him off or call him out, but that doesn’t change the fact that some of his behavior is… highly concerning.

Personally I tend to avoid the Episode 1 suicide baiting (“avoid,” not “ignore”) because it was forever ago and it is repetitive, but I still think it needs to be addressed to some degree. In any case, Katsuki’s actions throughout the series are what get me and others to not think he’s exactly hero material. In any team exercises, he often puts himself at the forefront (not without reason, but still) and tends to shy away from tag-teaming unless his back’s against the wall. Despite what the Joint Training Arc would claim, Baku did most of the heavy lifting on his own, with little to no actual teamwork, though that’s more of a narrative problem than an in-universe problem. Even his teamwork with Izuku is still shaky at best; he keeps yelling at him, berating him, and telling him to do his best just so he won’t screw Katsuki over.

Say what you will about Katsuki’s “unique” personality, it may fly with his classmates, but realistically speaking, it’s gonna be a problem for when he does get into Professional Hero work. Can he be rude and snarky on professional business? Absolutely. Does he have to scream at his partner(s) whilst making them feel like they’re at the bottom of the barrel? Eh…

Before I commit to your last paragraph, I wanna bring up something. We can both agree that Tenya lost a hero when Tensei was attacked, right? We can both agree that his decision to ignore everyone and go in guns blazing was terrible, 0/10, wouldn’t recommend, right?

Okay. It’s not to the same degree, but… Katsuki has done something similar.

Katsuki lost a hero too. His name was All Might?

And what did Katsuki do well after the fight was over. He didn’t talk about it with anyone. He dragged out his childhood friend so he could rough him up, because fists is the only way he knows how to deal with his disconnect of societal expectations and, as AO3 would attest, Katsuki is complete s*** at feelings.

Katsuki did the same things Tenya did, albeit to a lesser degree. They both lost a hero. They both didn’t talk about it to anyone. And in the end, they both tried to hurt someone in order to alleviate their pain. The aftermath is… admittedly lucky for both parties.

So, about your last paragraph before the GIF… do you wanna know why antis (at least like me) keep bringing up Katsuki’s previous mistakes. It’s less so because they ever happened, or even because Katsuki did them. It’s more so because despite what the narrative and most of the fandom may think, Katsuki’s mistakes are never treated as such, at least not substantially. Eraserhead doesn’t even bother giving Katsuki a pep-talk about his behavior on the first day, or at any time he’s there to witness Katsuki acting like a jackass. All Might doesn’t stop the training exercise when Katsuki nearly kills a fellow student, which he was aware of being a possibility but it’s fine so long as he dodges, and it isn’t even addressed properly afterwards. In the Final Exams, Katsuki hitting his partner and later being dragged out the gate doesn’t bar him from passing, like say, Hanta; while Katsuki did contribute more, it doesn’t change the fact that his initial uncooperative behavior wouldn’t fly in the Pro Hero world, and he made himself a liability in those last few seconds against All Might. Even him losing the Provisional License Exam isn’t as big of a deal, because Katsuki gets to learn about a really important Quirk, no one’s grilling him like, say, Izuku is getting grilled, and not having his License and getting an additional day of house arrest spares him a potential “maybe strength isn’t everything” ass whooping from Mirio. I could go on a bit longer, but I think you get the jist.

Now, I’d absolutely LOVE it if society didn’t royally f*** up Katsuki’s perspective the way it did, but the problem is that the narrative has absolutely no intention of showing or admitting that Katsuki’s perspective is problematic. Ever since Deku vs Kacchan 2 decided that was enough development for Katsuki, he is always in the right, 100% of the time. Any opposition is few and far between, and will often be seen in the wrong anyway despite the legitimate concerns a person like Katsuki would present. Sure he can tell a kid not to look down on people during the Remedial Course arc, but when the Cultural Festival comes around he immediately decides to look down on the other classes. The fact that a majority of UA hates Class 1A is some grade-A bulls***, but the speech Katsuki gives to 1-A is also bulls***.

It essentially boils down to “F*** everybody else and only do things for yourself.” Because that’s what heroes are supposed to do…

That aside, Katsuki needs help. He needs therapy, anger management, and someone who won’t take his s*** just because he’s a so-called natural born leader with a flashy Quirk, because that’s what canon essentially boils down to. Any time Katsuki takes the lead, at least in my eyes, it’s less so because he’s a legitimately good leader and more so because the narrative has decided he’s the only one who should be taking charge.

I want Katsuki to improve, even if I personally have given up on the prospect of that happening. The problem starts when the narrative continually insists that Katsuki is more or less in the clear and is totally fine when really, he isn’t.

Izuku needing help is obvious and valid, but Katsuki needing (and getting) help is valid, too. Now if only the narrative could pick up on that.

And as for that last bit of your post… really, I can only speak for myself. As strong as Izuku is, as much as his opinion matters in this entire debacle, I can’t help but feel like Izuku is more blinded by nostalgia more than anything else. He still wants a connection with someone he’s known since childhood, and I can respect that, but the thing is, Katsuki spent nearly a decade telling Izuku, intentionally or otherwise, that he didn’t want the same thing. This continued from the time Izuku tried to help Katsuki out of a river all the way until after the Sludge Villain incident. And society had a hand in that bulls***tery, Katsuki was never the only culprit, but he was still a prominent one. And I don’t know about you, but nearly two years is probably not as long as you’d like to think it is, because that’s how long that it’s been since the overplayed, overrepeated suicide bait. And even ignoring that, two years isn’t enough of a gap between the near decade of societal degradation Izuku had to suffer through.

I don’t hate that Izuku is so forgiving. I hate that Katsuki isn’t willing to accept or consider it in any meaningful capacity. I hate that in a world where Tenya Iida, Shoto Todoroki, Kota Izumi, and even Gentle Criminal exist, that Katsuki has to be the contrarian because of his damn pride. And again, society f***ed up on that end, but that doesn’t stop the fact that Katsuki has actively refused to pursue other options, instead staying on the first and foremost thought of “blast it,” with his Quirk or his voice, unless he’s in combat, in which case it becomes “blast it but don’t be stupid about it.” Because Izuku’s forgiveness has worked before for the benefit of others. What does Katsuki get from Izuku’s forgiveness he doesn’t even fully accept, other than another obstacle he sees that needs to be beaten?

Yeah he’s still 16, yeah he’s a teenager and therefore still has the time to grow proper, but you know who else is 16? Tenya Iida. Shoto Todoroki. Two prickly, borderline asshole characters who also received gradual growth, faced setbacks and proceeded to grow past them. Meanwhile, Katsuki is still just passing the halfway point. I’m not putting that on Katsuki, but if Hori really wanted us to root for him, he shouldn’t have displayed that characters like Tenya and Shoto are able to develop overtime at faster rates than Katsuki can, and as much as I can keep playing the society card, Katsuki wasn’t the only one bombarded with high expectations. Shoto, Tenya, Momo, and potentially Mina all come from backgrounds wherein high expectations were expected of them; Shoto grew up in a confirmed abusive household for crying out loud, and we’ve seen him trying to grow past his issues.

Katsuki has yet to demonstrate anything similar. After Deku vs Kacchan 2, he’s still yelling Izuku’s ears off, or throwing his mask like a ninja star because comedy, or trying to fight a big time villain again because he still actually hasn’t learned to take a loss. Maybe it’s because he internalized most of his self-hatred and projected it onto Izuku so long, but I really can’t say for certain. The change doesn’t have to be night and day, but it can certainly be more substantial than what we’re getting now, and that alone disappoints me. And I’m sorry to say it, but the wait for Katsuki to finally grow beyond his excessive asshole tendencies and graduate to decent asshole is draining on me, and no longer a big contributor to me keeping up with the story (Izuku is a big contributor to that, because I’m basic).

Changing each other probably wouldn’t be advised, but their dynamic and their issues with and independent of one another should still be addressed. I have a big issue with “win to save, save to win” because of this, actually. Katsuki has to give a s*** about people, sure, but Izuku doesn’t need to focus more on winning when he already wins enough as is. It’s a false equivalence that further justifies the worst parts of Katsuki. That obsession with winning, with never falling behind in the eyes of society, only further fuels his need to put others down and push his physical capabilities to the maximum while he puts his emotional spectrum on the backburner. And the “friendship” he has with Izuku isn’t gonna change that, because again, Katsuki’s primary concern is surpassing One for All, surpassing Izuku as the Chosen One. He has yet to display any major concern for Izuku beyond the extent of his Quirk usage in the main series. The closest thing we’ve gotten was a look of shock on his face during Heroes: Rising, and this was in response to Izuku suggesting that he pass One for All.

On that note, Izuku cares about Katsuki, as a person, as a rival, and as a friend, and he has displayed this time and time again. Katsuki has only shown care for Izuku as an obstacle, as a challenge he must overcome and one he wants to overcome without hindrance. He has yet to show any semblance of care for Izuku beyond that with meaningful context, believe it or not. And quite frankly, I’m getting sick of people wanting to bring Katsuki on board just because Izuku is giving him the benefit of the doubt when he arguably hasn’t done anything proper to earn any of Izuku’s trust. I know Izuku’s not weak, I know he’s sound of mind, but Katsuki is not a rational subject for Izuku. He has known this boy since childhood, he has seen what he is capable of, and his optimism keeps him in a favorable light. That is incredibly noble of Izuku, and I commend him for it, but I cannot stand by the decision when Katsuki’s attitude towards Izuku and his actual contributions to Izuku’s journey don’t show anything direct or substantially reflective on Katsuki’s end.

...but that’s just me. The hell do I know anyway?

And if you actually bothered to read this word vomit… thanks.

-Crimson Lion (18 August 2020)

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harusha · 5 years

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by last 2 gens, I meant SUMO and SWSH. I loved XY, but liked SUMO characters better. USUMO could have made great sequels. Lillie as prof. Gladion as champ, Hau as a kahuna. Etc. Would also make the transition to wormhole traveling more realistic if they were set in a universe where the events took place. I loved Gen 2 for letting us see Kanto 3 years later, and BW2 for letting us see what's changed in Unova. Just frustrating with the direction of things

Whoops, sorry anon. I never got the notification for this, so this is probably a week old or so. Tbh, I feel you though. I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but it feels like the mainline games are riding somewhat on name brand at this point. Making games is hard don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot going on w/ SWSH rn on release.

I love the whole sequel stuff, but my only concern is “canonzing a protag.” Like…look at Alexio/Cassandra from AC:O. Sheer madness in how those arguments go on “canon. Like, I like ambiguity because I can avoid that.

Tbh alongside the sequel idea and the coherency it would bring, I would love it if wormholes let you go to the OG timelines (RBY–>GSC, FRLG/RSE–>PDPT/HGSS->BW->BW2), and that’s why you get hidden abilities, rare Pokemon, and increased shiny chance. They could just explain it as the wormhole changing the Pokemon’s characteristics. RBY timeline is basically “no one had abilities,” hence the drastic changes, FRLG timeline could be “they decided to go with you, and now they changed to fit your timeline.”

Like they wouldn’t have to put every single region in; they could even just make it to where you visited parts of each region, perhaps the most iconic locations and/or moments, as a post-game/high difficulty thing (everyone is set to lv. 100 and have ideal spreads+sets). Like dropping in on Mt. Silver at the foot of the mountain, and have the area name pop up as “???” and have the player traverse the dungeon (w/ the HGSS encounters but inflated to 80s-90s so the observant veteran player can go “hmm this is familiar”) and have it accumulate in walking in on EthanVSRed on Mt. Silver, and it ending up in a double battle with them. Like that would blow people’s minds and make them realize what the post-game is, a love letter to every single generation so far, and set the stage for the rest of the post-game.

They don’t even have to confirm the canon protagonist for Johto if they just cover them up in snow gear (ie. put a cloak on them and have the hood up), and give them Meganium, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Tyranitar, Raichu, and Espeon/Azumarill. The three starters, the Pseudo-Legendary of the generation, Raichu to parallel Red (also small callback to how Ethan was supposed to be Red’s younger brother in the old GBC pamphlet), and Espeon if they want to showcase the OG day/night cycle gen+it being the gift Pokemon and a Easter egg part of Red’s original team. Azumarill is if they prefer to reference the childhood friend.

They could even make this a chance to up the difficulty through the excuse of “alternate universe/wormholes caused their Pokemon to change abilities.” Make Red’s and Ethan’s teams complement each other and have them carry optimized spreads and sets for doubles. Ex. Blastoise or Pikachu with Fake Out and Focus Sash sets up rain and Ethan’s Raichu w/ Air Balloon/Choice Specs and carrying Thunder+Surf and has Lightningrod (wormhole shenanigans gave it a Hidden Ability) and so forth. Give them things such as Magic Bounce Espeon, Dual Screens Meganium, Mega Charizard X (wormholes made it happen), etc. Just showcase them as a bonus challenge and their status as legendary trainers akin to Mameo from Digimon. Perhaps give a reward of something like “Red gave you that extra Master Ball he never used” or a music player from Ethan so you can listen to curated songs from the older games. Or even simply clothes modeled after their original designs (Leaf and Kris outfits for girls and Red+Ethan for boys; or make it all available as unisex outfits where the inspiration is obvious but it’s not exactly the same).

And if they want to make it even more of a nostalgia bomb, have Ethan’s Raichu have a spiky/notched ear to imply that it’s a timeline where the special Pichu evolves and had Surf instead of Pain Split as the special move.

Other iconic moments could be dropping in at Turnback Cave and traversing Distortion World again and saving on Lucas, Dawn, and Cynthia and rescuing them from Giratina. Reward is catching Giratina and a battle against Cynthia, Lucas, Dawn, and perhaps Cyrus. Avoids picking a canon protagonist and arguments over who should have showed up. Focus is single battle gauntlet with each trainer giving a choice on whether you want to heal after each victory (exception is Cyrus).

Have Lucas/Dawn mention how they like trading and that’s why one of them has two starters (or multiple gift Pokemon) to help avoid narrowing down the canon protagonist. Lucas could work in Trick Room (Torterra, Cresselia/Dusknoir, Vaporeon, Magnezone, Heatran, Machamp). Showcases the notorious number of roamers/legendaries in Sinnoh, Mt. Coronet evolution, trade evolutions (GTS), a new gimmick of the gen in Trick Room, and incorporates a gift Pokemon). Dawn could work with Iron Fist Infernape, lead Empoleon w/ Stealth Rock (showcase that infamous entry hazard), Paraflinch Togekiss, Porygon-Z, Lucario, and Glaceon. Gift Pokemon+showcases the (then) new evolutions of that gen.

Have Giratina be like lv. 80-100 with Totem Pokemon stat to explain how in the darn, everyone lost with those sorts of levels.

RSE could be dropping in on Brendan and May going up Sky Pillar and setting Rayquaza off to stop Groudon and Kyogre, and it starts a side quest of following them to experience the climax of the Hoenn Saga. Climax is them itching for a fight from seeing your skills. Have Brendan (Sceptile, Mega Blaziken, Celebi , Salamence, Starmie, and Latias) and team up with Steven and May (Mega Swampert, Gardevoir/Gengar, Latios, Metagross, Jirachi, and Ninetales) with Wallace in a doubles. Both teams have callbacks to stuff like the manga (Brendan with Celebi and Salamence), references the two Pseudos of the generation, the roamers, trading with Orre for the promotions (Celebi and Jirachi for US and JP respectively) and Red/Leaf in Brendan’s case, Wally’s OG signature, or even the OG Mystery Dungeon. Have Brendan wear his Emerald outfit while May wears the Ruby/Sapphire outfit to blur who the canon protagonist is. Bonus fight could be seeking out Archie and Maxie in their atonement/voluntary isolation for a fight.

BW is dropping in on Hilbert and Hilda encountering Kyurem (since it feels wrong to interrupt N’s goodbye tbh). Teams would be [Contrary Serperior, Samurott, Victini, Archeops, Zoroark, and Mandibuzz] for Hilbert and [Emboar, Keldeo, Genesect, Volcarona, Braviary, and Carracosta] for Hilda. Their teams aren’t amazing, but it’s meant to showcase the generation’s fossils, gift/event Pokemon, and version exclusives. Have it be you saving them from the snow and from Kyurem. Have them talk about how they’re thinking of setting off together to find their friend N, and how much they want to see him again. Make it emotional and have them talk about what they’ve learned about Pokemon from him and their interactions on their journey.

BW2 is saving Rosa and Nate from Ghetsis’s murder attack and fight Ghetsis. After you all return to a Pokecenter, have the two of them challenge you to a Rotation and Triple Battle respectively. Rosa runs a rain team with Drizzle Politoed, Octillery, Smeargle, Kabutops, Kingdra, and Ludicolo while Nate runs a Sand Team with Hippowdon, Sand Rush Excadrill, Rhyperior, Garchomp, Scizor, and Gliscor. Have it be a gimmick to where weather is infinite again in this wormhole location since their teams are meant to be a callback to the weather wars of gen v and the stars of those teams.

And have N show up to thank you for saving Rosa and Nate since he was almost too late right as you are leaving through a wormhole. Have the player tell him about what Hilbert and Hilda said and how they want to meet him again+urge him to meet his friends again and have it end with N saying something to the effect of “…I’ll think about it.” and leave it on an ambiguous note to whether he will meet them.

And finally, have it end with Red encountering Mewtwo in Cerulean Cave and have it diverge by you saving him from Giovanni (he lied about quitting and it’s only after you defeat him that he leaves for isolation until Ethan/Lyra/Kris beat him up again). Ends on a note of “this is where it all began.” Reward is catching Mewtwo and battling Red in a single. Here, they can make his team diverge from canon because it’s pre-Mt. Silver Red/alternate universe. Alakazam, Dragonite, Zapdos, Persian, Eviolite Chansey, and Mew. Showcases popular threats of that gen+trade evolution, irony in Red having Meowth’s evolution (Giovanni is associated with Persian b/c anime), the mythical #151 and source of playground rumors, the pseudo, one of the “your reward for exploring” stationary legendaries, etc.

Could even do a bonus of letting you travel to Kalos (but just the port) and meeting Serena and Calem who are both arguing about fashion while waiting for Sina and Dexio. Make their reason for battling you something lighthearted like you interrupting their argument to say “both of your fashion senses suck.”

Have them carry [Delphox, Chesnaught, Tyrantrum, Furfrou, Mega Gyarados, and Goodra] and [Greninja, Talonflame, Aegislash, Mega Kangaskhan, Meowstic-M, and Aurorus]. Showcases starters, Megas, radical gender differences, fossils, popular threats of Gen VI meta, Furfrou cuts, etc.

And if that’s too much, just recreate parts of the legendaries OG encounter dungeons, Cerulean Cave for Mewtwo, Bell Tower for Johto, etc.

Like…Gen VII was the “this is the 20th anniversary of Pokemon” gen and that would have been a great time to pack everything into one gen. Like…they had space for multiple walking Pokemon animations on the cart that they could have taken out or even tweaked these ideas so the dungeons would be slightly smaller (ie. fit to cart) or reduce the weirdly high number of Lillie models in the game. This isn’t an entire region (or regions) either, but snapshots and small locales to revisit. It also incorporates more fights with the Team Leaders at higher levels and difficulty.

Like idk, I made myself sad because I realize this would never happen unless some mad lad decided to create a massive rom hack/expansion, Masuda gets a larger team (and Pokemon stops with the yearly releases so the team isn’t pressured as much), etc.

Idk, I feel like the games for the 20th ani weren’t as good in hindsight for what they made out to be a year of Pokemon. But that’s just me griping again about Alola.

Also perhaps solviing all this gives you a final wormhole where you’re taken to fight Leaf. Give her Clefable (Clefairy’s original yet scrapped mascot thing), Golem, Flareon, Jolteon, Aerodactyl, and Omastar. Showcases fossils, gift Pokemon, other Eeveelutions, etc.

#long post #pokemon #me tooting my own horn in what i'd like to see from the series tbh

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crazy-little-cool-cat · 5 years

Text

Gold Digger - Chapter 1| Gwilym Lee x OFC

A/N: Sunday, 6:11AM. This dumb bitch realized she never posted the first chapter because it got stuck in her drafts. I’m so sorry.

Warnings: Absolutely none. Maybe some mild swearing?

Word Count: ~1.4K

Prologue

Lizzie and Gwilym had just calmed down from a laughing fit. Still in the cafe, they were so preoccupied with their conversation, they didn’t even realise time was flying by.

“Seriously, clowns?” Gwilym dabbed at the corners of his eyes as he chuckled. “What’s so terrifying about clowns?”

“The make-up, for starters!” Lizzie pointed one finger up in the air. “They’re always chasing kids around with balloons and candy.” Another finger. “They aren’t funny, at all!” Third finger. “They’re usually creepy old men.” Fourth.

“Alright, solid points.” Gwilym smiled and ran a hand through his hair. Lizzie felt her breath hitch for a split second. “How long have we been here?”

“I have no idea.” She shrugged. “Judging by the amount of coffee and food we’ve consumed, though…”

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!” Gwilym apologised, yet again. “I didn’t mean to keep you from going about your day!”

“You didn’t, I chose to be kept.” She winked and smirked before having a quick look at her watch. “God, we’ve been here for hours!”

“Have we, really?” Gwilym’s face scrunched curiously as he looked at his own watch. “Would you look at that!”

“I have an odd question,” Lizzie said and bit the inside of her cheek. “Feel free to tell me to sod off if I’m out of line, of course.”

“Yes?”

“Do you work?”

“Do I work?” Gwilym parroted. “Yes.”

“So, is this your day off, then?” Lizzie cut a chunk of croissant with her fingers and popped it in her mouth.

“In a way,” Gwilym propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his fist. “I’m sort of on a hiatus. In-between projects.”

“Right.” Lizzie nodded slowly. “Well, I should get going. I have so much I need to do still -”

“Oh, not a problem!” Gwilym cut her off. “Is it alright if I asked for your number, maybe?”

Lizzie mulled it over.

On the one hand, this man is probably the best looking man she had ever seen, let alone spoken to. On the other, she’s had enough of in between jobs and waiting for my next project type of men. Yet, again, he was so devastatingly handsome.

“Sure.” Lizzie finally said and took Gwilym’s phone to tap in her number. He called her and hung up after two rings.

“Now you have mine, as well.” He grinned.

###

‘I see what you meant about clowns.’

Lizzie opened the text and snorted when she saw the picture attached. It was a T-Rex photoshopped as a clown.

‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, clowns are terrifying!’

She didn’t even put the phone down before it dinged again, notifying a new incoming message is waiting for her.

‘Today was great. I don’t think I’ve ever lost track of time in conversation like that before.’

Lizzie’s thumbs hovered above the screen for a minute while she pondered what her response should be.

‘It was definitely nice :)‘

“Earth to Elizabeth!” her roommate snapped her fingers in front of Lizzie’s face. “Hello? who are you texting all the time?" Shelly almost scared Lizzie out of her skin. "Whoops!"

“Sorry, Shelly,” Lizzie switched the screen off and tossed the phone aside. “You were saying?”

“Answer my question, then!”

"No one." Lizzie smiled sweetly.

"So, a bloke?"

"He's a man, yes." Lizzie tried to sound nonchalant.

"Handsome?"

"So handsome." Lizzie smiled to herself.

"Sharing is caring, Liz." Shelly sauntered over and flopped down on the sofa next to Lizzie. "Get on it with it. Go on."

"His name's Gwilym -"

"What kinda name is that?" Shelly snorted.

"Welsh."

"Right."

"He's about as tall as a tree, he looks like a prince out of a fairy tale."

"How'd you meet?"

"He knocked me on my arse a couple'a'hours ago." Lizzie mumbled.

"He knocked you on your arse?"

"He was jogging, we both weren't looking where we're going and just..." Annie clapped both of her hands. "On my arse."

"Charming."

"Bought me coffee later. Talked for hours at the cafe."

"That's nice." Shelly said. "What's the catch?"

"There's no catch." Lizzie lied.

"There's a catch. You did the thing with your lip. You're lying."

"I think... it's just that... well, he's unemployed..."

"Oh bugger." Shelly groaned. "Another one bites the dust."

### "Hello?"

"Oh, there she is!" Gwilym drawled. "How are you? Been trying to talk to you all day!"

"Yeah, it was hectic." Lizzie blew a strand of hair away from her face. "Work, you know?"

"What happened?"

"The kids got into a huge fight in the yard during recess," Lizzie jumped back as a hoard of kids ran past her. "No running in the halls! Sorry, the kids..."

"School's still going?" Gwilym frowned. "I was hoping you were finished by now!"

"Oh, I am!" Lizzie sighed gratefully. "Just leaving for my car, now. How was your day, Gwil?"

"Good, good!" Gwil smiled to himself. "Met up some mates, had a couple of pints down at the pub..."

"It's not even five o'clock."

"I'm on hiatus and an adult." Gwilym snarked. "Don't judge me."

"Right."

"Would be lovely if you joined me next time I'm at the pub."

"I've got such a hectic week ahead, Gwil."

"Righty-O."

###

Lizzie sat with her legs tucked under her, her sock-clad toes poking out slightly. She typed at the screen furiously, giggling out loud occasionally, totally lost as far as the Netflix series she and Shelly watched. At first Shelly had some things to say about her behaviour. Lizzie could not be pulled away from her phone no matter what.

The only thing that got her to stop texting was when she had to teach class. Other than that - it's like the thing was glued to her hand. It has been going on for three whole days now.

"Liz -" Shelly turned to face her roommate and best friend.

Lizzie jumped and dropped her phone. It landed on the rug with a muffled thud. "-Jesus, didn't mean to scare ya." Shelly stifled a chuckle. "Are you even watching this?"

"What?" Lizzie bent down and picked up her phone. "Yeah, yeah!"

"Did you even listen to my question?" Shelly raised an eyebrow and cocked her head. "Liz?"

"Yes! It's just that -"

"Will?"

"Gwil." Lizzie corrected her. "His name is Gwil."

"Right, then." Shelly rolled her eyes. "So are you going out with this bloke or...?"

"What?"

"Is he taking you out on a date or are you just going to text infinitely?" Shelly asked as she got up and went to the kitchen to make herself something to drink.

“Are you serious?"

"About what? Drinking or asking if the lad's gonna take you out?"

"Both!"

"Yes." ### "Gwilym?"

"Yes?" Gwil smirked to himself.

He tidied his place up while talking to Lizzie on the phone. He couldn't remember the last time he enjoyed phone calls this much. It's like they never ran out of things to talk about. The more they spoke, the more he liked her - and the feeling seemed mutual.

"What is it you do for a living?"

"I'm an actor," Gwilym stated. The silence on the other end of the line was deafening. "Hello? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, yeah." Lizzie sounded disheartened. "An actor, you say?"

"Indeed."

"What, like, theater? Movies? TV? Commercials?"

"A little bit of everything." Gwilym shrugged and dusted off his coffee table. "Why?"

"Just curious." Lizzie sighed.

"Everything ok?" Gwil asked. "You sound... preoccupied."

"Oh, just thoughts," Lizzie said. "You know how it is. Work, life..."

"Adulting."

"Yeah."

###

Bloop.

Lizzie glanced at her phone as she towel-dried her hair. She's been texting Gwilym almost all day, every day for an entire week. Not that she complained, though. Devastatingly handsome, witty, and intelligent. He was every girl's dream.

But there was that one thing.

For the life of her, she had no idea whatsoever what Gwilym Lee did with his life. He never talked much about work. He said he's "in-between projects," whatever that meant.

'Dinner?'

Lizzie huffed and sat on the edge of her bed, biting her nails. It's not that she didn't want to go to dinner with him.

She most certainly did. But his weirdness around the subject of employment made her feel rather iffy. She's had her fair share of Dead-Beats, as Shelly so fondly called them. Leeches. Roaches. Pests. Men who did absolutely nothing with their lives, yet somehow manipulated Lizzie into being their care-taker. The amount of money she spent on those blokes brought her to the threshold of utterly broke. She knew better this time. This time, she'll listen to her gut.

'Working tomorrow, need a good nights' sleep. Sorry.'

'Everything alright?'

'Yeah, yeah. Why?'

'Not sure. You keep rejecting my invitations to go out...'

'Just a bit stressed out from work. It's fine.'

'Right... Have a splendid night, then. Sweet dreams! x'

###

TAGLIST:

@ramibaby @filmslutt @lose-you-to-find-me @sonic-volcano @nosferatyou @rogertaylorin1976

#gwilym lee #gwilym lee fanfiction #gwilym lee fanfic #gwilym lee imagine #gwilym lee x ofc #gold digger

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beinfriends-a · 5 years

Text

As I announced a while back, I am adding a few new muses to the blog; Bede and Leon-- but I’ve also elected to add Chairman Rose to the roster as well. While I am still working on their bios (I’m trying to juggle homework and rp jdfsdfbjsd and it’s slow goin-), I stated in my tags of that original post that these characters would be extremely canon divergent, and I hold true to that. Enclosed here is the in depth explanation for the AU for which all SwSh muses operate under: the Rusted Sword and Broken Shield AU-- or RSBS for short.

Please use this for reference if you are confused about the verse for my muses. This is an overview for the entire AU, so there’s some extra characters discussed as well aside from my muses. I’d also like to give a quick shout-out to my buddy Koshi for reading over this and helping come up with a lot of Marnie’s arc (because I completely forgot about her the first time... whoops). He doesn’t have a blog for me to tag unfortunately, but I sincerely appreciate the help!

Under the cut because it’s long.

Gloria is the player.

Hop like usual, idolizes Leon and has developed an arrogance from being the Champion’s brother. He can’t separate his own identity from Leon’s and so becomes incredibly discouraged when he keeps losing to his rival. It’s Gloria that ends up making Hop reconsider his choice to become a Trainer, rather than Bede. Bede rubs it in, but he’s not the root cause. Hop realizes he’s thought he was better than Gloria this entire time and learns to see her as an equal.

He learns by the end that you have to lose sometimes in order to grow as a person. If you’re never challenged, you’ll stagnate as a person. After seeing Leon struggle to take control of the situation with Macros Cosmos as well as his depression after being defeated, he realizes Leon is another human being, like anyone else. He comes to respect his brother rather than worship him.

He finally admits that he never really enjoyed training in the first place and Sonia allows Hop to be her lab assistant so he can train to become a Professor.

Marnie is less friendly to the player, Hop, and Bede at first. She’s taken that resent of Dynamaxing to heart thanks to Spikemuth’s lack of a power hot spot, leading to Piers’ obscurity. She wants to prove that someone can be Champion without needing to use Dynamaxing, and she manages to convince her brother Piers to give her an endorsement to prove herself. If she fails, she promises to return and take over Spikemuth Gym for him.

Marnie doesn’t hate her rivals, but she resents them because they’re “special”-- having been endorsed by the Chairman and Champion. Although she too was chosen by a League member, she feels as though Piers and Spikemuth are at a disadvantage. Team Yell essentially hold their same position as in the original game, except that they have a strong dislike of Chairman Rose and the current state of the League.

Yell views Marnie as their Champion and cheer her on to victory. Marnie is just as tired and annoyed by them, but she appreciates the support. Although she ultimately loses to Gloria, she’s proud to have stuck to her guns about keeping away from Dynamaxing. She becomes good friends with all her rivals by the end. She and Piers later help evacuate Hammerlocke during Eternatus’ attack.

THE CHAIRMAN’S CHOICE

Bede starts out the same. He’s sponsored by Chairman Rose, who has encouraged him to become a Trainer in order to pull himself out of his miserable childhood. After hearing about Galar’s alleged impending energy crisis, he begins collecting Wishing Stars for Rose. After he desecrates the monument at Stow-on-Side, Rose pulls him from the Gym Challenge.

However, Rose does not wash his hands of Bede. He continues to encourage Bede, who is desperate for his approval and paternal affection. He tells Bede that withdrawing from the Gym Challenge was to show that Bede had been punished properly; however, he sets the boy out on a new mission.

Not only does Bede continue collecting Wishing Stars, he is also attempting to take people’s Dynamax bands from them as well as seeking ways to harness some of the Dynamax energy from the stadiums. It’s Bede who accidentally causes the first Dynamax incident in Hammerlocke when he is given a tour with Oleana and Rose, who intentionally leave him to his own devices in the Energy Plant. The power failure is all orchestrated by Rose, but he makes Bede believe it was entirely his fault.

Bede eventually becomes the “fall guy” for Macro Cosmos. By using the unaware teenager, Rose can divert attention away from himself and make himself out to be the good guy as he attempts to “teach” Bede to be better, all while stringing Bede along by getting closer with the young man as a father figure.

Whilst waxing about the state of Galar’s energy, Rose “accidentally” lets slip the mention of Eternatus, a being that could help forever power Galar if only they could harness its energy. Although it’s buried deep below Hammerlocke and its energy provides much already to Galar, it’s not enough.

Bede decides to take matters into his own hands and attempts to summon Eternatus to help Rose by utilizing the machine to wake up the creature. Just as planned, Rose again is able to blame Bede for everything in order to get people to cling even closer to his company.

Chairman Rose then discards of Bede now that his plans have completed, telling him he’s unlovable and too hard to “fix,” but thanks him for the help. Hurt, Bede finally realizes he’d been used this whole time, but had repressed it due to his wanting to belong and be accepted by Rose. He slinks back to Gloria and Hop and agrees to help them. Although Rose hasn’t told him much, he has enough insider information in order to help them defeat Rose and Eternatus before it’s too late. He’s injured battling Eternatus, but gives Gloria and Hop enough time to summon Zacian and Zamazenta in order to defeat Eternamax Eternatus.

After redeeming himself to the best of his abilities, Opal finally offers Bede the position of Ballonlea Gym Leader. She met him during his initial withdrawal from the Challenge, but knew he had growing to do, but she encouraged him from the sidelines, always hoping that he would come around and learn to be better.

UNLEEFEATED

Leon is quite the same to start out as well. He’s kind and cheerful, but ultimately shallow and arrogant. Being the undefeated Champion of Galar for over ten years, he’s stagnated. Although he never loses until Gloria comes along, he doesn’t learn much from his experiences. His arrogance rubs off on Hop.

Although Leon believes in Hop, he still thinks his little brother will never match the talent for training that he has. Gloria he sees more potential in, but still doubts he’ll ever be defeated. However, curious to see how they’ll grow, Leon gives the two starter Pokemon as well as an endorsement so they may participate in the Gym Challenge.

Leon and Sonia’s formal rivalry is more highlighted. The two had a falling out years ago due to Leon’s arrogance. Sonia had enough of his inadvertent talking down to her during the Challenge as well as when she decides to quit in order to become a researcher, and the two had a massive falling out once Sonia felt she couldn’t even recognize Leon anymore after he took the Champion’s title.

Leon carries a lot of guilt for how he treated Sonia, but has repressed it enough to ignore it rather than ever try to bridge the gap between them. He instead throws his investment in a rivalry and friendship with Raihan. As he begins to encounter Sonia more and more over the course of Hop and Gloria’s journey, those feelings of sadness and regret return.

Before the Gym Finals, Rose approaches Leon to discuss business with him about Galar. Rose is concerned for the energy that Galar will have, and shows Leon that the “endless” energy emanating from deep within Galar is starting to rapidly deplete all of the sudden. Leon is shocked, and feels uncertain about Rose’s plan to fix it, and promises to think it over after the finals are done.

Once Leon is defeated for the first time by Gloria, he experiences a huge mix of emotions. While he knows he should be proud of Gloria, a sadness eats away at him. He feels empty now that he isn’t Galar’s undefeated hero anymore. He had attached his entire identity to that ideal, and now, it’s gone. While Rose exploits him at his lowest, Leon eventually comes to terms with his defeat.

He becomes proud of Gloria defeating him and throws himself at a new project: renovating Rose Tower into the Battle Tower so he can continue battling new and strong trainers. Once Hop is given the assistant position to Sonia, Leon finally swallows his pride and apologizes to her. While it doesn’t completely fix the tension between them, it’s a start, and Leon works at becoming at growing as a person and trainer. Things are looking just as up for him as ever.

GALAR’S MOST BELOVED

Chairman Rose is a fucking bitch and I’ve had enough of him. Basically, he’s not a big fucking idiot in this version. He plays much harder into the role of the good guy, using Bede and other distractions in order to draw attention away from the fact that he is orchestrating a plot to take over Galar.

After all, Rose already controls a vast majority of the industry in Galar, as well as having the Pokemon League in his pocket. He orchestrates a fake crisis about Galar’s energy, hoping to scare people into giving him more power. This eventually culminates into false attacks on energy in Hammerlocke as well as the summoning of Eternatus.

He unintentionally almost summons Eternatus earlier in the story whilst attempting to pull more energy from the power spot in Hammerlocke, but fails, only to realize what opportunity he has. Eternatus is stirring, and begins to eat away at the energy reserves at a dangerous rate.

After he tricks Bede into summoning the beast, Rose lets Eternatus wreak havoc by acting as if it was another error by the boy, who he constantly manipulates and feels little for. He hopes to re-establish his role as the leader of Galar by helping defeat Eternatus, taking responsibility for Bede’s actions. He has an untested device that will ideally contain Eternatus, but only in the event of Leon and his failure to defeat it.

Seeing Leon unable to beat Eternatus, he attempts to kill Leon in hopes of drumming up sympathy, wanting to make Leon a martyr for Macro Cosmos. Then, he would attempt to use the device to placate Eternatus and utilize its power to further help Galar and prove how badly the region needs him. However, he is defeated by Bede and then captured by authorities, jailed and his business dissolved.

HOW ABOUT THE PLOT?

There’s a lot of the same beats as in the vanilla game, but with some changes. When the Dynamax incident happens in Hammerlocke, Hop and Gloria go to investigate, only to find Bede responsible for the incident. They battle, argue a bit, and then try to help fix the problem, only to be stopped by Leon. Leon is upset that the kids would disobey him when he told them to move on without worry, but was glad to see them stop Bede.

Bede is encountered a few more times throughout the game generally causing trouble on behalf of Chairman Rose, who continues to sigh and look like the tired father figure to the boy. Opal attempts to nudge Bede towards realizing his true potential, as well as that he will not find meaning or value in trying to fight for Rose’s affection, but goes unheard.

There are unusual earthquakes and things happening with Dynamaxing. Sometimes Pokemon randomly start and stop Dynamaxing in different areas. Macro Cosmos promises to investigate but encourages everyone to continue their Gym Challenges and Dynamaxing to the best of their ability.

When Leon takes the kids out to dinner to celebrate them making it to Wyndon, Hop doesn’t freak out. Leon texts them to let them know he’ll be late, and eventually, the kids are invited to Rose Tower when it appears that the meeting is growing longer and longer. Rose gives them a tour, and explains that he and Leon are simply discussing some troubles with Galar, again disparaging Bede for his foolish actions in order to “help” the issue, before sending them on their way. Hop and Gloria have a bad feeling about it, but don’t say anything.

Leon is defeated without any outside interference from Rose. After a party celebrating Gloria’s win a few days later, Eternatus breaks out of Hammerlocke and starts wreaking havoc.

Rose approaches Leon and begs him to help. He tells Leon that although Gloria overcame him, he is still Galar’s strongest hero, and that he’ll be loved in the hearts of millions if he is the one to defeat Eternatus. He’d show Galar that he didn’t need to be undefeated to be a hero and a winner. Leon agrees both out of duty and out of a need to “prove” himself to Galar once more.

Leon and Rose confront Eternatus together at the top of Hammerlocke Stadium. Rose promises to fight alongside Leon, but soon disappears as the battle grows wilder. Leon hardly notices as he fights to protect his and his Pokemon’s lives. Leon tosses a Master Ball given to him by Rose just before in order to catch the dragon, but it fails. Eternatus is uncatchable. The beast bursts out of the ball and attacks Leon and his Charizard with even fiercer determination.

Leon starts to lose hope and confidence in himself, and soon nearly his entire team, save for his Charizard, is wiped out by Eternatus. He attempts to escape, but Rose reappears to stop him, demanding to know why he’s giving up. When Leon tries to leave again after explaining himself, Oleana knocks Leon out and they leave him to be devoured by Eternatus.

Bede soon arrives to stop the Chairman from his plans in order to give Hop and Gloria time to grab the sword and shield and to arrive back in Hammerlocke. He manages to fight off Rose and Oleana, but finds himself beaten by Eternatus as well. It’s just enough for him to try and drag Leon to safety before Gloria and Hop soon arrive, and begin to battle Eternatus with the help of Zacian and Zamazenta.

Leon comes to in the middle of battle and rushes back out once he hears the sound of the beast from outside. As much as Bede attempts to stop him, they both arrive at the top again to see Gloria, Hop, and the legendary wolves defeating Eternatus’ Eternamax form. The Pokemon loses its form and collapses into a pile of bones, the energy dissipating and being taken by the wolves, who returned to their resting place in Slumbering Weald.

Authorities catch up with Rose and Oleana and the two are arrested. Macros Cosmos is dissolved. Dynamaxing is no more thanks to Eternatus’ defeat, but the Gym Challenge roars on. Zacian and Zamazenta absorbed the energy, spreading it evenly throughout Galar, helping the energy issue but preventing Dynamaxing from occuring. People cope with the loss, but enjoy the act of simply battling anyways, learning about other forms of ultimate evolutions, such as the Megas from Kalos.

Not sure about the post game yet because I hate those sword and shield hair fucks and I don’t feel like coming up with a reasonable plot for them. That’s not really important to the AU anyways, but if I come up with something, this post will be amended and I will make a note of it.

#Rusted Sword / Broken Shield [VERSE]#Deeper Into the Subconscious [HEADCANONS]#Unleefeated [LEON]#Galar's Beloved [ROSE]#Chairman's Choice [BEDE]#( I'm very proud of this- )#( I've been planning this for a couple weeks and I finally had the inspo to write this all out )#( I love this AU and care about it a lot so here ya go )

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makeste · 6 years

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BnHA Chapter 134: A Magnificent Debut

Previously on BnHA: Some yakuza dickwad shot Amajiki with a bullet that deactivated his quirk. Kirishima ran off after him and laid him out with a manly punch. The guy acted like a good defeated villain for about 30 seconds, and then shot himself up with some sort of quirk-enhancing drug. Then he sprouted a bunch of swords from his body and tried to stab Kirishima. Kirishima flashed back to his quirk-strengthening training, and a pep talk that Bakugou gave him about never backing down. Present-day Kirishima then proceeded to hulk out into a badass unbreakable rock man.

Today on BnHA: Kirishima wraps up his fight and, spoiler alert, wins. Everyone congratulates him and it even ends up making the news. Meanwhile, Fat Gum relays the news about the quirk-suppressing and enhancing drugs to Nighteye. Several days later, Kirishima is called back in to his internship along with Deku, Tsuyu, and Ochako. All of them meet up at Nighteye’s office, along with the Big Three, Fat Gum, Ryuukyuu, and even Aizawa and Gran Torino. Nighteye informs them all that he’s gathered them to discuss the Eight Precepts.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 164 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

Kirishima Eijirou has turned into a weird sort of dinosaur looking dude made out of rock

and he’s running toward knifey stabby man, whose swords are now all broken, as you’ll recall

oh damn, knifey stabby man is making one last all-in play here

that’s enough swords to build the goddamn iron throne

Kirishima is taking the entire blow head-on because there are still people behind him and people in the shops around them

he’s so fucking heroic you guys

he’s thinking to himself that he’ll use brute force to overwhelm him. heeeeey. exactly like All Might said, huh

I was just starting to think to myself that I was getting a bit tired of Kirishima just turning into a rock dude and doing muscly rock dude things, and then this fucking happens and I’m like, “but damned if it isn’t satisfying to see Kirishima punch this guy so hard he goes flying off his feet, though”

and then I also remember that my all-time favorite moment in this series is not when Bakugou fought Deku the second time, or when All Might hugged Deku on the beach, or even when All Might hugged Bakugou, but rather when Kouta punched Deku in the nuts that one time

so idk. maybe at the end of the day I’m pretty simple-minded after all

that said, this guy had better be down for real this time

that was pretty manly, dude

one of the bystanders is like, “he’s so young... but such fury...” lmao. yes. look how furious

furious like a damn puppy

knifey stabby has started crying again

he’s fucking asking Kirishima to let him go. um, no lol

what the fuck Kirishima

“sorry I can’t do that because you shot my friend and tried to kill me after you just pulled this exact same stunt two minutes ago. but I will still be empathetic towards you because I’M LITERALLY THE NICEST PERSON”

seriously Kiri, Red Riot isn’t gonna cut it any more. time to change that hero name to Mister Nice Guy

and then when you get really pissed off, you can be all, “THAT DOES IT!!! NO MORE MISTER NICE GUY.” get it. I think it’s a good idea that could really catch on

now what is this son of a bitch up to

are you gonna launch yourself into the air or something. don’t do that, actually. Kirishima’s not that mobile. although it has been a while since we last saw FG so maybe he could show up and catch you

oh look. he is launching yourself into the air

Kirishima’s cursing himself for just standing there and letting him escape again. yeah, you dumb, boy

knifey stabby is gleefully whooping about how Kirishima is way too naive and trusting, and that he’s gonna get away! for sure! no way he’s getting caught!! famous last words, what do you mean, what are those

lol

as many times as this series has pulled the rug out from under me, it’s nice to still be able to call it every once in a while

FG’s capturing the guy with his quirk and reminding Kirishima that while villains may have any number of goals, the heroes’ goals are always the same: capture the villains without any victims

hey, that sounds familiar. basically just another way of saying “win and rescue”, isn’t it? All Might really was right

anyway here’s FG’s quirk

at first I read this as “5000 goopy” and I was like, “what an odd unit of measurement”

Kiri’s standing there excitedly and thinking “wow! FG beat him instantly!” but really all he did was stand there and absorb him into his goop

now a nice Kansai accented man is thanking Kiri and says he did amazing, and that he didn’t fail to notice how Kiri was purposely keeping knifey stabby focused on him so that he wouldn’t attack the others

what a nice thing to say in front of Kiri’s mentor!

LOOK AT THIS WHOLESOME CONTENT

[HAIR RUFFLES!!!!]

now we’re back by the takoyaki place and Kiri is apparently telling FG and Amajiki about the quirk-enhancing drug

FG seems to know a lot about this. he says the short duration indicates the drug is an Asian knockoff. apparently there are African ones that last up to 1-2 hours

how much do you want to bet that Overhaul kept all the long-lasting ones for his best guys

(ETA: sweet jesus imagine if he had. we would still be in that basement to this day)

one of the cops is running over to FG

looks like they found the “bullet” that ricocheted off of Kirishima’s hardened forehead earlier and are going to check it out

Kiri’s asking Amajiki if he’s okay, and Amajiki is hiding himself under his costume hood

he’s embarrassed not just because his quirk stopped working, but because his kouhai had to cover for him. d’aww

he says Kirishima is the same type as Mirio. “another of those that shines bright like the sun”

Kiri says Amajiki shines just as much!

I’m starting to feel like Kirishima may literally be compelled to say something whenever someone around him starts badmouthing themselves. like, he physically can’t stand there and let them

while they bond, Fat Gum is thinking to himself that although he’s familiar with the quirk-boosting drugs, he’s never heard of a drug that makes quirks unusable. and he’s thinking to himself that this doesn’t look good

so they’re gonna take Amajiki to the hospital to get him checked out. good call. why haven’t they already done that, in fact. why were they just standing around talking for so long

“for starters, let’s head back to the office.” dude. I’m glad you’re being chill about this, I guess, but there’s like no urgency at all

BACK TO U.A. HOORAY

Kaminari is excitedly waving his phone in Kirishima’s face and announcing that Kiri made the news

meanwhile Bakugou is grinding his teeth but not actually saying anything. does that count as being supportive

(ETA: ooh I forgot he was in this one panel here. probably because he does absolutely nothing at all. but he really sells that background gag though)

Ochako and Tsuyu made the news too! niiiiiice

Iida is telling them that they’ve “rendered a splendid service”

BUT

sometimes he reminds me of Percy from HP

now they’re talking about supplementary lessons and stuff. actually, yeah, I’m impressed Kiri is managing to juggle both the internship and his schoolwork. unlike the other interning students, he’s in the bottom 25% of the class. Ochako isn’t much better, but I’d bet her grades are more middling

apparently Sero was considering interning too (and he’d be great honestly), but he didn’t think he’d be able to handle it. I think he was ranked like 17th out of 20. I just posted that recap pretty recently

while everyone else sits there being excited about their internships, Deku is sitting there being moody af about his. and I can’t honestly blame him. All Might potentially dying, Nighteye believing Deku isn’t good enough and being determined to prove that Mirio is a better choice; and last but not least my poor sweet little jelly bean Eri whom I have not forgotten about and who is still in peril!! :|!

and Deku hasn’t forgotten about her either and says the thought of her is constantly present in his mind day in and day out

now it’s “several days later” and Kirishima and Deku are meeting up outside the dorms early in the morning and seem pleasantly surprised

and the girls too! that’s nice

obviously this is the day of the big operation Nighteye was talking about that he had called in additional agencies to help with. and as we know, their agencies were coincidentally the ones he called

though it doesn’t seem like they’ve actually realized that yet lol

they’re remarking on how they’re all taking the same train even though Kiri’s agency is in Kansai. he says he was told the meeting place is somewhere different than usual

weird that Deku was told he didn’t need his costume though. were the others told the same?

(ETA: I keep forgetting there is a really easy way to verify this, which is just to look and see if they’re actually carrying the costume briefcases lol. and they are not)

also, are their senpais already at the agency? Mirio and the rest?

lmao

how fucking slow are these kids

at this point if I were Deku I’d be half-suspecting some sort of weird surprise party lol

finally they’re turning the corner and there are Mirio, Hadou, and Amajiki

I wonder if Amajiki’s quirk is back yet??

OH MY GOD

EVEN FUCKING AIZAWA IS THERE. and Gran too! AND IS THAT SOME SORT OF FUCKING COCKROACH MAN HOLY SHIT I JUST SUPPRESSED A SHUDDER

so Deku’s freaking out that two of his teachers are there, and he’s trying to figure out what’s going on

dude, you know what’s going on. even I remember, and it’s been more than a week since I read the chapter where Nighteye mentioned this whole thing

so now Nighteye has arrived and is calling the meeting to order

and the chapter is just ending there. lol. okay

BONUS:

I’m gonna be honest with you guys. I didn’t read this bonus page until literally the night before I posted this recap. it’s like that for all the bonus pages in this volume

and also, I’m not quite sure if this is the correct page for this chapter? but he is in the chapter, albeit just as a background character on that one page with Everybody

anyway. Centipeder. what can I say about him. he scares the living shit out of me. I’m so scared of centipedes. they’re so gross and they’re fucking sneaky and the few times I’ve seen them they were just chilling on the couch or even the bed without any warning omg. one time when I was in college there was a centipede hiding under the strap of my messenger bag and I didn’t notice until I’d already grabbed it and it was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I would seriously take spiders over centipedes any fucking day

anyway. so here’s a centipede who’s six and a half feet tall. and they say he’s a hero and a gentlemen. sure. okay then. but I don’t trust him. pretty sure he is the U.A. traitor. even though he doesn’t actually work at U.A. he’s evil okay. just... I don’t want to look at him anymore lmao

#bnha #boku no hero academia #kirishima eijirou #midoriya izuku #uraraka ochako #asui tsuyu #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #horikoshi: 'okay I just finished giving kirishima a two-chapters-long fight scene which was very cool'#'now to plan the other fights for this arc'#'both uraraka and tsuyu are involved in the raid'#'maybe I should give one of them a big fight'#'...'#'nah you know what'#'I'll just have kirishima fight *again*'

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frauleinsmaria · 6 years

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The Village Is a Glow (1/2)

A/N: Merry (belated) Christmas to those of you who celebrate! This was written for my @cssecretsanta2k18 giftee, @eastwesthomeisbest , who expressed an interest in modern au’s with a fantastical element. While this was a bit out of my comfort zone where fic is concerned (and ended up being fairly light on the fantasy), I took suggestions from a few friends and came up with this story based on some of her preferences. This was both fun and challenging to write, and I've so enjoyed interacting with you over the past few weeks! Part 2 should hopefully be up and posted by this time next week.

Special thanks to @profdanglaisstuff for beta’ing, @justanotherwannabeclassic and @forestiyari for helping me think of this idea, and @welllpthisishappening for answering my questions about NYC. (Also, please keep in mind that I’m not a native, so there may or may not be a few things I did less research on that should be taken with a grain of salt.)

Summary: Killian Jones credits moving to the Big Apple for getting his photography career off the ground. He also has it to thank for causing his first run-in with Emma Swan, who makes him question every photo he takes afterward.

AO3

Three years and a handful of questionable experiences had shown Killian that almost anything was possible in New York.

For starters, there were things like the number of naked people you could spot on a normal day in Times Square, a Storm Trooper getting arrested, and a teenage couple making out while standing in a dumpster. And those were all things he’d seen within the first week after his move. Being a photographer had only given him the opportunity to catch things like this on camera and show them to his friends both in the city and back home in London who didn’t quite buy the odd stories he had to tell on any given day.

Despite the regularity of seeing things that made him wish he had issues with his memory, there was so much Killian loved about his now home that made up for it all. He loved the constant energy and excitement that lived within the city, whether that be in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. The first few weeks after his move, he’d dealt with the jet lag by wandering around at all hours of the night and taking pictures, trying but never fully succeeding to capture the neon lights, hoards of people, and bumper to bumper traffic guaranteed to be found at every corner.

Killian also had to credit the move to New York for getting his freelance photography career off the ground. He’d gotten some attention back in London from friends and colleagues, but it wasn’t until after relocating when he began posting pictures he’d taken around the city that his Instagram account started to receive a considerable amount of attention. He was able to use the site as a way to both market his work and seek out potential clients. Since coming to New York, he’d received offers to shoot everything from weddings and parties to family portraits and sessions for online companies and influencers. He still took a few shifts a month at a local bar to make ends meet, but he was grateful his photography was able to cover most of the costs and requirements that came along with living in New York.

Killian had grown to love almost everything about his new home and tried to encompass as much of it as possible in his photos, but the main focus on his Instagram account over the past year or so had been capturing the lives of mundane New Yorkers like himself on film. Killian had soon learned thanks to comments from his friends back at home that most outsiders saw the city as the home for the rich and famous, and assumed only those that fit one or both of those categories were able to thrive and succeed there. It wasn’t hard to believe that such ideas existed thanks to the typical depictions of New Yorkers in fiction and the media. But, from his experience, the majority were just common people trying to make a life in the city that never slept.

And, yes, many of these people and the pictures he took of them were a little on the unusual side. But he’d never taken a photo that made him question his own sanity, until he met her.

It started on a Tuesday morning. Despite having the ability to create his own work schedule most of the time, he preferred getting out early a few times a week to take photos and observe the city as the work rush began. He’d been walking around with his camera for an hour or so around Tribeca taking snapshots of people and scenes that caught his eye. There was the elderly couple holding hands while waiting at a crosswalk, a young dog walker who looked as if he could barely keep up with his four legged clients, and one he was particularly fond of, a pair of young twins sisters walking their dog in Hudson River Park he couldn’t wait to share after receiving permission from their parents.

It was just after eight-thirty when he decided to wrap things up before he went back to his apartment to edit this morning’s photos and make a call to a client who he was scheduled to do an engagement shoot for that weekend. He wasn’t far from a nearby cafe when he spotted a distinct golden glow coming up from the side of a building. It was probably just the way the early morning sun was reflecting, but it caught his attention enough that he considered it worth documenting for himself if nothing else.

After taking a handful of photos, he was scrolling through the media library on his camera while still walking (something he should have known better than to do in the first place) when he felt himself slam into something just as he was passing the building in the picture.

“Oh!”

Whoops. Not something, a person. The first things he saw were blonde curls and a pair of bright green eyes that didn’t look nearly as angry with him as they should.

“Bloody hell,” he cursed under his breath. “I’m terribly sorry, love. Are you alright?”

“Well, I’m definitely awake now,” she laughed. Killian was grateful she didn’t look ready to strangle him, which seemed fair considering the circumstances. “Just maybe be careful what you do with that thing while you’re walking,” she added, nodding toward his camera. She had to either be a saint or in an exceptionally good mood.

He shoved his camera back inside the bag on his shoulder. “You’re right. I apologize again. Can I buy you a coffee to make up for it?”

“Emma Swan. Make it hot chocolate instead and you’re forgiven.”

He liked this woman already. “Killian Jones. And I believe I can swing that.”

Killian opted for taking her to the nearby cafe he often visited since he knew they served hot chocolate, as well as his own preferred Americano. It was a short walk from where they were now.

“This is neat,” she said when they arrived and she followed him inside. He had stumbled across Gotan in Tribeca not long after his move to the city, and often dropped in at least once a week to drink coffee while he edited photos or answered client calls. The modern, eclectic feel of the place made it enjoyable for working, and hopefully enjoyable for sharing a hot drink with the stranger he’d just inconvenienced.

There surprisingly wasn’t a crowd considering what time of day it was, so they were able to quickly order their drinks. Emma picked out a table near one of the large windows, wanting to sit by the sunlight.

“Tell me something about yourself, Swan. Do you live in the city?”

She nodded. “As of last weekend, yes. I’ve bounced around different areas on the East coast for awhile now, but it was time for a change, and my friend had an extra room in her apartment. So, here we are. What about you?” she asked. “Although the accent kind of gives your roots away.”

“Afraid so.” As the barista approached the table with their drinks, he briefly explained his childhood and life in London and why he’d chosen to move to the city. “There wasn’t much rhyme or reason behind it. I also wanted a change, and to do something with my photography. New York seemed to be the best option. I’ve been here almost three years now; it’s worked out well, at least by my standards.”

“I hope some of your luck is contagious then.” Emma took a sip of her hot chocolate and gave what he hoped was a satisfied smile. He saw then that she’d gotten whipped cream on the corner of her mouth and tried not to laugh, instead handing her a napkin from the stack on the table. “You’ve got a little something there, love.”

She laughed when she caught her own reflection in the window and wiped the mess away. He liked hearing her laugh. Actually, he liked quite a few things about her, he soon realized as they spent the next half hour discussing everything from rom coms to the best restaurants in New York.

“You’re the first guy I’ve ever met who’s willingly admitted to liking Mean Girls.”

Killian shrugged. “I suppose you could say I’ve been personally victimized by Regina George, love.”

It was a bit of a disappointment when she announced she had to leave. “Job interview,” she explained.

“In that case, I hope some of my luck you mentioned earlier is contagious too.” Killian considered asking for her number but decided against it; it seemed too forward and there was a good chance she wouldn’t be up for sharing personal details with someone who was still virtually a stranger in many ways. “Perhaps I’ll be lucky enough to run into you again in the future? Although I’ll try not to make it literally next time.”

“Thanks. And I appreciate the consideration.” She smiled and disappeared around the corner a moment later. Despite being in a city with millions of people, a small part of him couldn’t help but hope he hadn’t seen the last of her.

He spent most of the afternoon uploading the morning’s pictures onto his laptop to see which ones were worth holding onto. Most of them turned out well, aside from a few that were out of focus and one unintentional shot of the sidewalk he’d taken while trying to avoid being hit by a pigeon. The few that stood out the most, though, were the handful he’d snapped of the sun coming around the side of the building where he’d come across Emma Swan. They weren’t particularly great in comparison to some of the others he’d taken earlier, but what he hadn’t seen before was a strange golden glow that seemed to cover the scene like a filter. He must have hit something on his camera that changed the color settings when he and Emma collided. That was the only reasonable explanation.

Even though it was unlike the others and wasn’t his normal style, it was the one he posted on Instagram first after making a few minimal edits.

Kjones87: I’d call it a successful day.

If he noticed the number of likes and comments were higher than on any other photo he’d uploaded recently, he chalked it up to coincidence, or maybe what Emma Swan thought was his good luck.

The scheduled engagement photoshoot plus a local business event he’d been asked to photograph at the last minute kept him busy enough that he wasn’t given a chance to repeat his habit of wandering around the city with his camera until the following week. It was Wednesday when he found himself exploring Tribeca again. He liked the area, and it was close enough to his apartment that avoiding public transportation was typically an option.

His routine followed the same pattern it normally did, simply walking around to take random snapshots of people or things that caught his eye, until two women holding hands approached him at City Hall Park.

“Hi,” said the taller of the two brunettes, wearing a bright shade of red lipstick that matched the streaks in her dark hair. “I really hope I won’t bother you by asking, but is there any way you’d be willing to take a picture of my girlfriend and me?” she asked, holding up her phone and squeezing said girlfriend’s hand, a shorter woman with dark curls and a stack of books sticking out of the bag on her shoulder. “If you don’t have time or you’d rather not that’s totally fine, we just saw you taking pictures and figured you would know what you were doing better than someone else.”

Flattered by the unexpected request, Killian reached for the woman’s phone and then paused, thinking of a better idea. It wasn’t something he would normally suggest in similar circumstances, but they seemed like a sweet couple and why waste the opportunity to do something nice for them? “I can do you one better. Suppose I take several shots of you two on my camera and just email you the final results?”

“Seriously?” the shorter brunette asked. “How much do you charge for doing something like that?”

“No charge. I mean it,” he continued when they both attempted to protest. “I would probably consider posting one or two pictures on my Instagram, with your permission of course.”

Killian spent the better part of an hour following the couple around the park and taking various pictures of them holding hands and embracing in the different picturesque locations. He found out their names were Ruby and Belle, and they had come to the city from Boston for a few days to celebrate their second anniversary.

“Are you sure we can’t pay you?” Belle asked for the umpteenth time when they were preparing to leave. “I mean, we’ve probably taken up a good part of your day.”

“I was glad to do it,” he insisted. “I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.” He got both of the women’s contact information and watched as they left the park hand in hand.

He was just walking away when he heard a vaguely familiar voice. “I hope that camera hasn’t caused any run-ins today.”

Killian turned and saw Emma Swan walking toward him, clutching a well-read paperback he couldn’t make out the tile of and a steaming cup of what he assumed was hot chocolate. “Ah, hello, Swan. And, no, I am pleased to report that I’ve succeeded in being aware of my surroundings since our meeting last week.”

“Good to know. Otherwise you’d probably go broke buying hot chocolates for every girl you ran in to in New York.”

“Aye. I’d rather save those for you anyway. I’d offer to buy you another if you hadn’t already beat me to it,” he said, gesturing to her cup, feeling both amused and reluctant.

She shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s almost lunchtime, and I never say no to a grilled cheese.”

He’d be an idiot to turn her down.

Emma chose the place this time, a small diner called Granny’s located a few blocks away. “My roommate got me hooked on this place,” she told him when they walked in and took a booth near the back of the restaurant. As expected, she ordered a grilled cheese with a side of onion rings, and a second hot cocoa topped with whipped cream and cinnamon. “Just because I can,” she explained when he raised an eyebrow at her odd selection. (She laughed when he caved and ordered the exact same thing.)

Killian learned quite a bit about Emma Swan during the hour they spent sharing greasy food and random tidbits of information. She shared that she’d recently been hired at a local bookstore, hence the interview she’d been headed to after their first encounter, had a liking for eighties teen movies, and usually found herself on Amazon Prime when she couldn’t sleep, leading to receiving a number of random items in the mail that she never quite remembered ordering. She asked a question about his photography, which led to him explaining what he did as a freelancer, as well as his occasional work at the bar.

He had just pulled out his phone to show her his Instagram page (which he realized later probably would have looked like gloating) when she had to leave for her shift at the bookstore. “I have a feeling you’ll see me again,” she said, almost as if she knew something he didn’t.

“I have a feeling you’re right.”

He spent the better part of his afternoon editing the photos of Ruby and Belle in the park earlier that day. When he got to the last of them, it was impossible not to notice the golden glow over the couple in the final picture he’d taken of them kissing in front of the fountain in the park.

The last picture he’d taken before meeting Emma.

Just like the last picture he’d taken the week before...right before meeting Emma.

There was a reasonable explanation behind all of this. There had to be. He just had no clue what said explanation was.

One thing was for sure, he needed to see Emma Swan again.

#eastwesthomeisbest #cssecretsanta2k18 #csss #cs ff #cs au #captain swan #captain swan ff #ouat ff #captain swan au #cs fic #captain swan secret santa #meredith writes #my writing

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whatscallion · 6 years

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reply i.

COFFEE/COLLEGE AU: POV - Natasha Romanoff - a reply to THIS starter from @cptsteven because we live for AUs that aren’t serious at all. this is probably one of our first ones? i think we’re on #984375 au right now. enjoy!

Sugar Ray was playing overhead, talking about the halo on his girlfriend’s four post bed, setting that of a casual air. The music of the nineties generally reigned supreme when Natasha Romanoff was working behind the counter at The Grind, the main hangout for any and all students of the college nearby. There were usually bouts of busy times around lunch, and especially around midterm season. It was damn near unbearable when it was finals season, though she had never worked during that time. Natasha had her own classes to prepare for, but fortunately enough, they were in a pleasant lull between massive tests. It left a pleasant air about the town, just in time for the leaves to start turning colors in their Autumn display.

Crisp and cool, the air beyond the warmth of the coffee shop held its own kind of comfort in its own way, beckoning forth warm knit sweaters and wool socks. Loose beanies and wind-bitten cheeks. Scarves and mittens. It was a change in weather that made people feel cozy without them really even noticing, and the constant heat from the espresso machines not only made the place inviting, it gave life to the already decadent scent of brewing coffee. It was a time of year that had one thankful for their position in life, no matter the impending doom of midterms or tests or quizzes.

There had been a shift in the air as of late, within the small cafe, and it didn’t go unnoticed - not by Natasha and certainly not by her coworkers. The presence of a college student every morning had become more and more noticeable, to the point of casual ribbing from her cohorts, which only begged the question: why did he come to the shop just for black coffee? On occasion, he’d order something that required more elaboration, but more often than not, it was just plain black coffee, something he could’ve easily gotten at the cafeteria on campus.

Steve. That’s what Scott had told her his name was. Tall, blonde, artistic - he was an easy kind of person to grow soft for, and it was even easier to see the way heads turned when he was around. Yet it didn’t seem like he noticed - not when she happened to see him from afar at the college. Oblivious to his own prowess, and it made him humble, almost like he were some kind of fairytale prince. The sudden comparison had Natasha scoffing at her own thoughts, very thankful the sound of steamed milk drowned it out, for Scott was far too nosey to let things like that slide. Not so much a Prince Eric or Prince Phillip - more unconventional, like Hercules. Needless to say, Disney’s Hercules was swiftly watched upon the realization. The biased nature towards the new regular at the shop was slow burning, yet it was becoming painfully obvious. He needn’t even order for Natasha to even start on his coffee the moment he walked in. She even went through the trouble of actually making herself look more presentable that early in the morning, a task that wasn’t that much of a rigor. A swipe of mascara. A quick blow-dry of her hair. Small things that she didn’t think made that much of a difference.

“What can I do for you, Sam?” It was important to know names in the business of coffee, since that’s generally what customers wanted: to be in a place where their name was known, like they were special.

“Just a mocha. Don’t care about the size. Hey, you’re in my accounting class, right? Wednesdays with Isaiah, right?” The redhead was looking away from her sudden customer, writing down an order on the cup with a Sharpie marker. The small talk gifted him a glance of bright emerald before moving to the register.

“I thought that was you,” she responded with an amicable smile. “It’s an alright class but...definitely just a prerequisite for my actual major.” The total flashed before them and Sam dug out the appropriate change.

“Yeah, Gen Ed can be a bitch, huh?” Nat’s reply came by way of a small snicker and a nod before she turned to work on his drink.

Stolen glances at Sam and Steve were taken, yet she didn’t do anything more than what was necessary. She was being paid to make coffee, not make eyes at customers. It genuinely sucked how much of a distraction they became, just by being there. Natasha was more thankful that Scott had the day off, knowing full well he wouldn’t let her live down anything. If he didn’t hit on her constantly, Scott would’ve been more like an annoying little brother to her.

Two days, three ballet classes and a multitude of nonsensical general education classes later, and Natasha was being bored to death in the infamous accounting class. Something about how happiness was translated into something called “utility” and that there was an actual measurement called “utils”. How could one even measure the happiness gained from an action or object, then comparing it to the cost to see if it was even worth it? This was making something so much more complicated, to a point where it was beyond that of a microscope. While Isaiah was passionate about accounting, it didn’t matter to his students. This was, without a doubt, incredibly boring to someone who wasn’t even going to school for numbers. It was torture in the form of two classes, each about two hours along.

This was it. This was Natasha’s Hell in the form of needless academia.

“....And that about sums up the general usage of utility and the subsequent utils. Don’t forget to read chapter 14 and complete the required questions at the end of the chapter. I’m still waiting on some analyses from some of you. Each day is another percentage point taken off, so please turn them in. This is my job, after all.”

After finishing up a page of mundane doodling, centering around a game of MASH gone awry, the class was finally over and the rest of her afternoon was free. Wednesdays were generally meant for mid-week assignments to get caught up on, as well as casual social interactions. There’d been rumblings of the fraternities throwing parties the following weekend, sparking the beginning of a very long, very exhausting homecoming season. Though Natasha specialized in the graceful art of ballet, it was safe to assume she was also on the dance squad. It was an easy way to maintain rhythm and flexibility.

“Are you going to Delta’s thing this weekend?” Hope, a somewhat close-ish friend, had made a point to be in the same class as her, mostly so they could rely on one another to stay focused. They decided being friends could make up for the fact that they made out once at a party. Whoops. “They’re doing it a week early so they don’t get popped again this year.”

“Delta, huh?” Parties weren’t really Natasha’s scene, generally opting to working the late shift at the coffee shop in order to have a good excuse not to go. “Delta’s the worst frat on campus, I thought.”

“You mean, the best because their parties are always balls to the walls? Yeah, Saturday. You should go. Who knows? You might actually have fun.”

“Maybe, but I’ll have to look at the schedule.”

“I swear to god, if you change your schedule again to not go, I’m going to call in a bomb threat on The Grind so you can’t have that excuse.” The girl was quick to know things and use them against whoever she could in order to gain a semblance of an advantage. Unfortunately, Nat wasn’t on her game as of late.

They were getting ready to go when--

Shit. She could pick out that combination of towering height and blonde hair anywhere. Suddenly, Hope wasn’t really there, and it all felt like a Disney movie again.

Stop it. You’re working yourself up. He just comes in for coffee. Probably doesn’t even know your name without your nametag on.

Quit acting like such a girl. .

#marvel #romanogers #mine

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retphienix · 6 years

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It’s done.... Sorta.

I’ll swing back around to that.

There’s so much to say but I’ll keep it as clean as I can.

SCREW. CRITS. AND YOU KILLED MY FRIEND.

Will was fine. It did make me begin to reconsider my items allowance. Early on I said “It doesn’t matter so I’ll let myself use them in battle” but then here I used one and immediately felt cheap, it’s like the second time in the entire run I used one (at the time during the Will fight) and I made a thought right there to limit myself, which didn’t end up mattering. I believe I used 3-4 potions through this? It’s only been a few minutes and I already forget, whoops. I believe it was 1 on Will 1 on Karen 1 on Lance, or was it 2 on Lance? Oh drat.

Unimportant! The rule said use as I please this was all just me reconsidering things.

During Will’s fight I realized Curio was going to be a bigger help than I gave her credit for, and I was right.

Will went down to her.

Koga entirely went down to Goyber, my wonderful little guy.

Bruce did the same.

And then there was Karen. You see, I was scared of Karen. Because her Gengar has destiny’s bond. I felt so relieved and triumphant when the unplanned switch to Curio worked out by putting Gengar to sleep- the inital plan was for Xiol to solo this and take the sacrifice Earthquaking Gengar with the bond on if it must be done. I came in this fight READY for Xiol to take that plunge.

But not like this.

Not from a stupid Umbreon critting him to critical health.

Not like this.

I got Xiol on route 32 at level 4, and they ended up being my powerhouse for a ton of this game. They replaced my starter for pete’s sake as the water type for my team.

Their sacrifice wasn’t as I had planned. Even the plan was a last resort, I hoped to just not see Destiny’s bond. And I didn’t. But it didn’t matter. Amazing work Xiol. Amazing work.

Lance saw the raw rage of Curio, complete with two crits back to back and a damage roll to punish him for healing. Curio had no mercy.

And with that, the nuzlocke is done. Maybe? Maybe.

For now I’m gonna take a break. One final post just silently showing Xiol being released and that’s it.

I had planned on doing all of this game- the post game kanto gyms, the secret fights, the last 2 rival fights- all that jazz. I mean, that content is a huge reason why this is my favorite gen, but now, I’m not so sure.

It was a lot of fun revisiting the concept of a nuzlocke, like a lot of fun. I didn’t go on long stories as much as the first run (I think), but still, I had an unusual team to end with (my favorite part of nuzlockes), I built some bonds with pokes I never really looked at before like Quagsire (Xiol) or Clefable (Curio). That’s the beauty of a nuzlocke, and I feel like I got my fill.

That’s unusual for me to be honest, to ‘get my fill’ of a game when there’s clearly more to do, but yeah. I put a lot of hours into this silly run few will see or hear of, I did all I said above or showed in my previous posts, and I feel like I got my fill. My adventure concluded; The parting of a dear friend and eternal victory for them, my team, and myself.

Feels nice, all from a silly revisit of a pokemon title.

It truly feels like going through the kanto gyms and fighting the rival fights would just be a needless addition at this point.

Add 25 levels to my party and the same outcome and there you go, I’d probably replace or loss Qutie at some point and there- because the higher the level on my team the less likely anyone will die even though the opponent is also higher- like- I can just switch out to one of my what? Three tanks? and heal while the enemy struggles to scratch em.

Kinda just sounds like reruns. I think we’ll close here.

If I decide to revisit this, I have the save, it can be done. Still feels weird to close 2nd gen before Kanto but yeah, I think that’s what this adventure is feeling.

Great work everyone.

#RetPlays #Pokemon #Pokemon Crystal #Nuzlocke

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stereksummerexchange · 7 years

Text

Fixer-Upper

Clotpolesonly - A bit of a throwback fic! I tried to put in stuff you mentioned enjoying, so fingers crossed it hits the spot :)

by @troubleiwant

Explicit - no warnings

Post-S2 divergence with no Alpha Pack and nobody dead, just rebuilding the Hale House and with a little bit of pining and maybe some kissing! Also, minor Lydia/Stiles and Erica/Stiles friendships

Stiles scrubs a hand through his spiky-short hair. It needs a trim, but fuck it. Summer means he doesn’t have to worry about shit like that. He’s beyond glad to be done with the year, not least because he was getting sick of the wary looks cast his way on account of the damage Gerard’s beating had left on his face. The split lip is long healed by now, but the bruise across his cheekbone is still a tender reminder, reflected in the bathroom mirror and in the gentle tone his dad takes with him at breakfast.

It’s not so bad, though, Stiles thinks sternly at himself. So he got knocked around, so Boyd and Erica were tortured, so Jackson almost died. Nobody’s actually got killed, except for Matt, who deserved it, and…. and what is his life that that’s supposed to be a reassurance? No, Stiles corrects himself. Things are not great in ye olde Beacon HIlls. Not great at all. They’re supposed to be enjoying a carefree break like the kids they are, but instead there’s so much bad blood lingering around town that you could drown in it.

Even Scott, usually so optimistic about everything, has been knocked down a few pegs what with the breakup with Allison in the wake of her realizing how shitty her hunter family really was. He’s taking singledom a little better than Stiles though he might, honestly, but that means he’s alternating between calm assurance that he and Allison will get back together in the end, and weirdly obsessive focus on a tattoo he wants. Stiles is glad he has goals besides winning her back, but he isn’t at all excited about the specifics. Needles, man. Ugh. He’s not sure what kind of emotional pain a dude needs to be in to think that’s a good idea.

The Hale pack seems equally adrift after the events of the school year. Derek isn’t talking to Scott, on account of the whole “using you as a key element of a plan that I kind of forgot to tell you existed whoops” and new beta Jackson would try the patience of a saint, which Derek certainly is not. On top of that, Erica is handling the trauma of her kidnapping the same way she’d dealt with her frustrations about being bullied when she was first turned - with sex.

She’s flirty with Stiles, who does his best to ignore it, and with Isaac, who doesn’t quite understand that it’s only teasing. Apparently she even kissed Derek at training one day, according Boyd. Fuck if that isn’t a surreal (and, okay, kind of hot) thought. Wost, she keeps hitting on Jackson just to rile Lydia, who takes it just about as well as you’d expect. Isaac, hung up on Erica and already feeling pushed aside with Jackson’s entrance into the pack, takes it worse than that.

Add in all the normal hormonal disagreements between a bunch of teenagers trying to live together in an old abandoned house, and the Hale pack is basically a powderkeg.

All the same, the Hale house is where Stiles is heading now, tromping through the forest because the Jeep is in the shop yet again. He tries to spend a good amount of time here, half to keep them from tearing themselves apart and half because Scott is going to need all the allies he can get. If the awfulness with Gerard showed them anything, it’s that supernatural folks need to stick together. Scott is certainly not in a place to appeal to Derek’s good graces, for the time being, so Stiles’ efforts will have to do.

At least the task almost takes his mind off of Lydia. She and Jackson have been some version of “together” for years, sure, but Jackson’s always been such an ass it was easy for Stiles to tell himself their relationship was unhealthy and he needed to save Lydia from it (and then claim her for his deserving self, obviously). Now, that fantasy doesn’t quite fly. Like, epic healing transformations and a possible resurrection because of her declaration of love? Yeah, all that pretty much put him out of the “one true love” running. It’s strangely painful to realize that Lydia’s relationship is not and maybe never was an obstacle to overcome on his quest to win her heart. In the meantime, Jackson isn’t making things any easier by actively, visibly trying to be better. Stiles can’t even hate the guy properly.

Then again, maybe Jackson trying is mostly because Derek would rip his throat out if he wasn’t. Derek, Stiles thinks, could convince anyone to behave through some combo of those fangs and those cheekbones. Or eyes. Or his perfectly symmetrical scruff. Theres alot going on with his face that could be used for positive reinforcement, basically. Beacon Hills has way too many hot people, but Derek’s up there with Lydia in terms of blinding perfection…. and Stiles has just about the same shot with both of them, which is zero.

Scott has sympathy for Stiles’ perpetual loner-hood, but it seems focused on the sexual aspect. His best friend actually had his lady love before he lost her. “Had” in every sense of the word. He talks about their love life in generalities out of respect, but the mere idea of sex gets him all starry eyed. Which, okay, Stiles would be totally down to cash that v-card and join the adult club already, but that isn’t why he wanted Lydia. He’s not exactly sure why he did want her, really. Maybe it had been primarily about, like, getting something right. Winning a prize, proving he was worthwhile.

Whatever it was, he thinks sourly, it isn’t happening now.

“Hey,” says a voice right at his ear.

Stiles yelps and flails, and Erica shoots him an odd look as she comes up in front of him up on the path.

“Didn’t you hear me catching up?” she asks.

“No! Fuck!” Stiles presses a hand to his chest, willing his heart to calm down. “We are not all supernatural. Did Lydia tell you I was coming?”

Erica gives him a sultry smile. “I’m a wolf, Batman. I could smell you.”

“Great, yeah, that’s not creepy at all,” Stiles mutters

“Oh, let it go already,” she snips, suddenly dropping the sex-kitten act for a much more natural, sisterly irritation. “Look, Derek is being insane, it’s just train train train over here. I’m dying. We’re all dying. Also, Jackson is ignoring me, and Lydia is being a total bitch. Even more than Isaac, which is saying something.”

“Totally unrelated to how you you keep riling him up with innuendo and then looking at him like he’s grown a third head when he tries to flirt back?”

She pouts, but doesn’t deny it. “You need to fix things.”

Stiles snorts. “What can I fix?”

“I don’t know, less training would be a great start. Derek likes you. Get him to calm down.”

“Derek does not like me,” Stiles corrects as they come up to the old house. It’s partially renovated, or at least there are tarps over the worst of the holes. They literally live like animals, hand to God. Where are their parents? he wonders, not for the first time.

Derek wrenches the door open as Stiles and Erica step onto the porch. He’s already scowling because, like Erica, he must have smelled Stiles from a mile away. What an uncomfortable thought. What does he smell like, anyways? Stiles wonders. Would it be weird to ask Scott?

“What’s he doing here?” Derek barks, pointing at Stiles. “It’s time for the pack’s training, you know that. He’s human, he can’t fight.”

Stiles shoots a significant look at Erica. “Wow, thanks for the warm welcome, but I have no intention of intruding. I’m here to hang out with Lydia while you wolves do your whole Battle Royale thing.”

“Fine,” Derek seethes after a moment of weighing silence. “Boyd! Jackson! Training!” He yells as he brushes by Stiles to head to the yard. The point of contact on Stiles’ shoulder seems to buzz. He looks back and finds that Derek’s refocused on him, gazing steadily with those light colored eyes. Hazel? Green? Stiles’ heartbeat ticks up, and not only in fear. “Keep out of my things,” the Alpha growls.

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” Stiles quips. He lets himself into the house as Boyd and Jackson tromp out, looking as if they had at least three puppies that Derek has just run over with his car.

Stiles finds Lydia is in the living room. She’s the cleanest thing there by a wide enough stretch that she looks out of place reclining on the newest couch, feet crossed at the ankle and an Elle magazine in her hands.

“Hi, Stiles,” she says without looking up.

“Yo,” he answers. “So, what’s crawled up Derek’s ass today?”

Lydia shrugs, and sets her magazine down with a sigh. “Same thing as always. Hunter stuff, Scott not trusting him stuff, being used like a pawn for the upteenth time. But his obsessive training schedule is cutting into Jackson and my Notebook time. Plus he needs to take a firmer hand with Erica,” she adds darkly. “Somebody needs to tell her that her tits aren’t the best solution to wanting attention.”

Stiles doesn’t point out that Lydia might be both the worst and best bearer of that little piece of advice. “Why do people keep asking me to help?” he grouches instead. “I don’t know what makes Derek tick. What am I supposed to do about fixing his issues?”

“I think we need to get Allison and Derek together.”

“What? No, fuck! That’s an awful idea!” Stiles sputters. Scott would kill him, for starters, and the idea of Derek in a relationship is… its weird is all.

“Not like that!” Lydia snaps. “I just mean we need them to be friendly. Allison should apologize for the misunderstanding about her mother, but Derek needs to learn that not all hunters are monsters. He knows I’m best friends with her, and it’s making him treat me like a probationary member of this pack. I don’t like it. Plus, once Allison and Derek make up, you know Scott will follow their lead and come make nice, too. One happy pack against whatever thing comes for us next.”

“That’s… actually kind of a good plan,” Stiles admits.

“I know,” Lydia tosses out. “So, I’ll work on Allison. You get Derek to agree to a meeting.”

“Why does everyone think I have some special power over Derek!” Stiles demands. “He doesn’t even like me!”

“Don’t make me explain everything,” Lydia huffs with a roll of her eyes.

Okay, so, Stiles might be in a little bit of “doth protest too much” denial about Derek liking him. There’s some mutual texting (who knew Derek actually understood modern technology!) and Stiles gets away with jokes at Derek’s expense that nobody else would even try to voice. They actually do, in their way, get along. Or so Stiles thinks on his good days.

Then again, the last thing Stiles wants to do is overstate the situation. He’s still trying to get over Lydia, God damn it, and an impossible crush on the not-so-friendly neighborhood Alpha is honestly the last thing he needs. Derek probably puts up with Stiles because they’re both misanthropes who expect the worst in people, and because Stiles is interested in his knowledge and expertise while none of the other teens seem to have time for anything but interpersonal drama and like, lacrosse. The reasons Stiles puts up with Derek include those things… but also how Derek dips his chin when he smiles, and his sense of humor.

Whatever, fine, he just needs to remember that Derek doesn’t feel the same way.

Still, Lydia’s right that it’s only a matter of time before something else comes for their fractured pack, and Stiles has a responsibility to get Derek on board with the “Allison and by extension Scott are ok people who can be trusted” idea. For that, he needs to spend time with Derek, make himself useful. Not really a forte of his, unfortunately, he thinks with a wince.

Enter the Hale House Renovation Project. Derek clearly doesn’t need any help drilling his pack with fighting technique, or with pack lore. Home improvement, however? He’s quite obviously a novice, while weekend warrioring is right up Stiles’s alley. Growing up with just him and his busy dad in the house it had often fallen to him to take care of stuff, so he’s surprisingly handy. He knows how to find a stud and do some basic wiring, anyways. For the rest, well, he researches the hell out of it. Nobody’s ever accused him of doing things half-heartedly.

Or, well, maybe with schoolwork. Or lacrosse. But not, Stiles thinks with a very small pang, things that he actually cares about. Things like Derek, apparently.

So, the next time he’s hanging around with Lyda after a training session and Derek snarls at his latest project going awry, Stiles is able to pop up and, oh so casually, explain that he really needs a staple-gun if he expects to get that insulation to stay put between the studs.

Derek says, “thank you,” in a distinctly icy tone, and then ignores Stiles’ advice. Of course he does. Stiles has no idea why he’s surprised; what in his past experience would make him think Derek had any idea how to accept help?

Not to be deterred, he starts to just buy the tools and supplies that will be needed and leaves the stuff on surfaces where it’s easy to find, just sitting innocently by and waiting to be useful. Even Derek’s pride can only hold out so long he figures.

And lo and behold, one day the supplies that had been left aside start to go missing… just as parts of the house miraculously start improving. After a week of that, Derek offhandedly asks the room at large about what kind of switchplates should be used for the light switches downstairs, and Stiles is the one who answers. Derek just grunts and nods, like the answer came to him from on high. But still, after that, Stiles is tacitly accepted as the home improvement guru.

It starts to be almost a routine, their little home improvement powwows. After training, the baby betas all run off to do whatever the fuck it is they do, leaving and just Stiles and Derek to putter around the house. The training starts to get shorter as Derek’s attention turns to the frankly massive amount of work to be done; Erica mouths “I owe you one” at Stiles that Thursday, and he sticks out his tongue.

It’s a serious project. The bones of the house are there, but not much else in some rooms. They need insulation, drywall, wiring, paint… everything. It’s daunting, and Stiles considers once or twice just asking Derek if it wouldn’t be easier to start over fresh on a different chunk of land, or maybe to just buy a place downtown. But he always stops himself. Clearly rebuilding is important to Derek, or he wouldn’t be trying to damn hard.

Derek’s werewolf strength is a boon with the more physical tasks, like hanging the drywall, so the improvements go quickly over the next couple months. Stiles jokes around as they work, not sure how to bring up Allison and the hunters no matter how many times Lydia prods him about his progress. He hasn’t forgotten his real purpose helping Derek out, he just… kind of wishes he could. It’s unexpectedly fun to just hang out with Derek one on one.

Derek teases him about his terrible taste in junk food, but buys the stuff anyways. He spends a full afternoon bitching that the pack doesn’t need a TV, but caves in the end and brings home the largest one that Stiles had picked out - half as a joke. He goes with Stiles’ suggestions on fucking curtain colors. Well, shit. Stiles really can’t deny that he’s replaced one stupid impossible crush with another one.

Still, it’s not the end of the world, he tells himself morosely. Lydia is a great friend now, right? So maybe in eight years or so can expect that with Derek, too. Maybe some day his soft laugh when Stiles amuses him won’t send his heart pounding, maybe he’ll learn to be unaffected by his intense way of focusing on a problem, the bright crinkled-eyed smile reserved for when he’s truly happy. Sure. A likely story.

Finally, the house is done. While the project of getting Derek to accept Allison’s apology (of course Lydia got her side of things done) isn’t really making progress, Stiles thinks that his own side quest has done some good. Derek is calmer now, with his home base properly restored, which means less training and happier puppies. It also means that Derek has the patience to tell Erica to leave Isaac alone, and to actually praise the kid enough he stops looking like he’d knife Jackson to get some attention. Erica and Boyd of all people are the ones who start to date; the one person she never hit on was apparently the one person she actually gets blushy and flustered with. Things are actually good, Stiles thinks on particularly nice afternoon. Not just “nobody is actively bleeding” good, but honestly relaxed and happy.

Erica and Boyd are out on a date, Jackson and Lydia are upstairs decorating his bedroom to her tastes. Isaac is playing videogames on the huge TV in the den, and Stiles and Derek are in the kitchen making lunch, Derek listening in to Jackson and Lydia’s arguments and relaying the juicy bits to Stiles. Bits like “Erica agrees with me,” for example, a phrase he’d never imagine Lydia of two weeks ago voicing.

“Well, well, seems like your pack’s all finally getting along,” Stiles says to Derek, teasing. And then he can’t help himself. “Seriously, you’re a really good Alpha.”

Derek gives him a wince of a smile, ducking his chin. “Don’t know if I am. Certainly wasn’t last year.”

“Hey,” Stiles says, not willing to let the tentative moment of trust pass unmarked. He reaches out to tip Derek’s face up and look him in the eye. “You were doing your best.”

“Thank you,” Derek says, honest and warm. For a moment afterwards they just look at each other, sitting so close on the couch that Stiles can feel Derek’s body heat. It feels like a moment ripe with potential, but Stiles isn’t sure, can’t let himself think it… until, yes, Derek leans in, eyes dropping shut, and kisses him.

Stiles kisses back, heart thundering in his ears. It’s sweet and almost chaste, perfect. Derek scoops Stiles up and sits him on the kitchen counter for a better angle, runs his hands through Stiles’ hair and then nuzzles their noses together with a cute little smile.

The moment is perfection, which of course means Stiles has to ruin it. “So uh, wow! Are we like, boyfriends, then?” he blurts.

Derek gives him his crinkle-eyed smile, and tries to sound irritated when he says, “Yes, Stiles, we’re like, boyfriends.” He doesn’t sound irritated, though. He sounds impossibly fond.

“That means you trust me, right?” Stiles asks, looking down and picking at Derek’s tee-shirt nervously.

“I do,” Derek says with such a calm surety that Stiles looks up and meets his eyes again. Derek looks back, even and open.

“You should meet with Allison,” Stiles says gently. “She gets that she fucked up, okay? Lydia’s told you that she wants to say sorry, and you… you deserve to hear that. So, just give her a shot. Alright?”

Derek’s face has gone tense at Stiles suggestion, but he doesn’t shoot it down right away, which Stiles is willing to consider a victory. “I’ll listen,” he says finally. “If she’s really going to apologize for what happened with Boyd and Erica, and if you think it’s a good idea, then… okay. I’ll do it.”

Stiles takes Derek’s face in both palms and kisses him soundly. It feels like the start of something good in Beacon Hills.

(+ small coda with Allison and ace!Derek to come this weekend!)

#stereksummerexchange17 #sse17 #sterek #submission #fic

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