#this was actually gonna be lumped with part 1 but it was a lot of work so i split them for upload purposes | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

house-of-lovin · 2 years ago

Text

safety net

Tara Carpenter x F!Reader

masterlist | over (1) | love language (2)

Summary: Tara Carpenter loved playing games with you. (inspired by safety net by ariana grande ft. ty dolla sign)

Warnings/Tags: toxic!tara, clueless!tara, mature language, implied sexual themes, mentions of violence and trauma.

Note: as promised THE LAST PART (woohoo😮‍💨) this was seriously a lot of fun and became a bit of a writing exercise using songs as prompts and trying to piece them together into a storyline. Thanks for all the comments, reblogs and feedback. They are so appreciated! Let me know what you guys think! <3

Word Count: 3.4k+

“You’re staring, again.”

Tara snaps her gaze back to the book on the table, ignoring her friends’ smug smiles. “Why don’t you just go up to her and apologize?”

“She doesn’t want to talk to me, trust me, I’ve tried.” Tara rolls her eyes.

It’s been two weeks since that night at the party and you have been ignoring Tara. You spent the rest of spring break working at your uncle’s shop, avoiding the friend group, sans Mindy because you couldn’t exactly avoid someone you lived with. Tara attempted to give you space the following days and then reached out to you in hopes that you could talk and sort out the situation. Tara doesn’t want to lose you as a friend.

“I’m not gonna apologize for something that wasn’t my fault, Mindy. Just because she caught feelings doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. But now she’s ignoring me?” Tara scoffs, “Well, some friend she is.”

“God Chad’s right. You two are clueless.” Mindy’s nose wrinkled.

“She knows where to find me when she’s done being stubborn.” Crossing her arms, she glances back at you. You were sitting across the quad, on a bench surrounded by your other friends; laughing and talking, unfazed by Tara’s brazen staring.

How were you not seeing her shameless looks?

She swallowed the pitiful lump in her throat as she continues to observe your carefree nature.

“Weren’t you begging me to tell her to call you back like a week ago?” Mindy objected causing Anika and Quinn to snicker as they listen in, not bothering to pretend like they weren’t eavesdropping.

“Begging is a stretch,” She mutters weakly, picking at the corner of her book.

“Tara, why can’t you just admit that you want to be with her?” Quinn ponders, genuinely confused as to why you two are playing hopscotch around one another. Everyone could see how madly in love you two are.

It genuinely puzzled the friend group as to why it’s taking this long to get you guys to stop playing games.

They just wanted to see their friends together and happy, definitely not because of the growing bet pool. And not because it was getting increasingly expensive to wager in the bet the longer it ran because you two refused to acknowledge the clear feelings you have for each other. (It was starting to burn a sizeable hole in their wallets)

The brunette shakes her head defiantly, “We’re just hooking up.”

“You’re not acting like you guys are just hooking up.” Anika counters, “actually, you guys act more like a couple than me and Mindy sometimes.”

“No. We don’t,” She frowns.

“Yes you do and it’s gross,” The aforementioned girl interjects. “No one should be cuter than me and my girl.” She wraps an arm around Anika, leaning in to lovingly peck the girl’s cheek.

“Y/N’s always bringing you coffee when you study with us at the library, even though her class is on the other side of campus.” Anika comments.

“She always loses on purpose when we play card games just so you can win,” Quinn adds.

“She laughs at all your lame jokes and obscure movie references – there’s no way you enjoy Suspiria as much as you say you do,” Mindy stated.

“Hey!”

“Dude, she has a Spotify playlist titled with your name and heart beside it.” Mindy throws her hands up, feeling a bit fed up.

“Doesn’t mean anything, we share music all the time!”

“Tara, Y/N literally takes care of your plants when you complain about forgetting,” Quinn objects.

Tara’s still feeling persistent. “That’s not true.”

Her dying plants have been on the mend these last few weeks and it’s definitely because she’s been paying more attention to them; placing the potted plants in a better area for sunlight and watering them more.

Quinn shoots her roommate a pointed look, “You were over-watering them, Tara. Y/N had to come over and change the soil. Did you even notice?”

No, Tara didn’t even notice. She was shocked at how much went over her head as her friends continue to list all the little things you do that, apparently, she’s been too blind to see. She glances back at you as you’re talking to a girl; smiling, unbothered. She recognizes her from her creative writing class – Tara didn’t know you two were close. Close enough for the girl to wrap a hand around your arm and lean into your ear something that the Carpenter can’t make out from the vast distance.

Tara’s eyes slither into tight fissures as she watches the random girl continue to make herself comfortable on you. Eventually, whatever she felt she had to whisper so close was over, but not before the girl planted a kiss on your cheek unsuspectingly. The Carpenter watches as you slightly jump from the contact, then eventually grant her a shy smile – the same smile you reserved for her.

Tara feels an unpleasant drop in her chest because, for the first time since moving to New York, she allowed herself to finally feel everything she’s been burying.

It was suffocating, making her want to claw at her throat to get rid of the nasty sensation. Regardless of how much she swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the feeling, it only grew larger as it ached; begging to be acknowledged. Hastily, Tara stands up, gathering her things.

“Where are you going?” Her friends' questions were left unacknowledged as she footed it, not really sure where she was going; all Tara knows is that she had to get away before her friends see her break down.

In her haste, Tara misses your concerned eyes tracking her disappearing figure.

●●●

Tara is choosing to ignore the world and her problems.

After that conversation with her friends, she ran home, plopped into her bed and hid under the covers for the remainder of the afternoon. She put on her favourite horror movies, hoping it would distract her from her thoughts of you. But her efforts proved to be fruitless. You tormented her thoughts regardless of how desperately she tried to drown them out.

So, she sat there until bright blue skies turned navy and drove herself mad thinking about you.

Trust came sparsely for someone who was violently attacked by a deranged murderer. As much as Tara tried to push through the past and live as if nothing happened, it plagued her in her daily life. It revealed itself when a phone rang too loudly, near kitchen knives, or in dark areas – there were just certain experiences that were tainted by the memory of Ghostface.

But then you showed up. She remembers opening the door to her apartment and there you were, standing behind Mindy with a $15 bottle of champagne and a poorly-wrapped throw blanket for the old couch to celebrate the Carpenter’s housewarming party (an attempt at some normalcy) with a shy smile and Tara was hooked.

No matter how much she tried to distance herself, echoing sentiments that it’s a bad idea to get involved with someone so soon.

You lured her in, anyway.

It was in your tenderness that you had Tara wrapped around your finger.

Normally, the Carpenter would be annoyed with someone treating her like she was made of glass, but when it came to you; she knew it wasn’t out of pity. Your gentleness was welcomed with open arms because for once in her life, Tara finally felt like she didn’t have to be so brave all the time, at least, not when she was around you.

She didn’t have to pretend her life was as put-together as she made it out to be.

Because for once, someone had finally made her feel like she is worthy enough to stay for, to care for, and maybe to love. And that was terrifying because all anyone in her life had ever done is let her down and leave – Sam, her mom, her dad, Amber. So she kept you on a tight leash; taking control and leading. Never letting you close enough to see how she really feels about you. But there are cracks in the unsturdy walls she tries to put up, she’s not perfect. How can she resist you when you still willingly chased after her regardless of what she’s put you through – and how even through her harshness, you never lose your gentleness with her.

You create real balance and peace within her (not the fake one, she’s desperately fronting) and to someone who’s only known chaos and instability – that’s terrifying. So sue her, for being a little scared.

So, yes.

Right now, Tara is ignoring everything around her because that realization is too big a burden to deal with.

She has her legs pulled up to her chest, the fuzzy blanket you gifted months ago, wrapped around her shoulders as she watches the TV from the couch; not really paying attention to the film. Her eyes begin to burn the longer she stares at the blue-lit screen causing a painful sting to her pupils.

A terse knock on the front door startles her making her blink at the sound.

Everyone was out for the night; Sam at therapy, Quinn at a hookup’s house and her other friends, all off doing their own thing. She wasn’t sure who could be at the door at this time. Cautiously, she stands to silently walk to the door – the pads of her naked feet connecting to the wooden floor litter goosebumps on her skin. Standing on the tips of her toes, Tara looks through the peephole.

She sees you shifting on your feet, glancing over your shoulder – looking unsure if you should even be there.

Tara feels a pit forming in her stomach, but moves swiftly to unlock the door, opening it.

“Hey.” She says softly, palm wrapped tight on the doorknob in an attempt to ground herself.

“Hi.” You rub a hand on the back of your neck.

“What–what are you doing here?” Tara sees you flinch, mistaking her tone for malice but you’re answering before she can correct herself.

“Mindy said you needed my help.” You drawl as if confused.

Tara shares your confusion, brows drawing together. “I… don’t need help?”

You shake your head, clenching your jaw tight, “God dammit… I think she set us up.”

“Oh.”

Rolling your eyes, “Yeah, oh. Look, that’s my bad, I’ll deal with her. You can go back to… doing whatever you were doing.”

Tara sees you eye her attire glumly; an oversized shirt that covered her bare legs; assuming the worst. Her eyes immediately widened like saucers, grabbing your arm before you could leave.

“No! That–that’s not–I’m home. Alone.” She clarifies. The word ‘alone’ taking a special raised and rushed tone.

You scoff, pulling away from her, “good for you.”

“Can we talk?” Tara calls out, she can’t let you leave yet – despite her previous decision to ignore you and ignore her feelings. The longer you stood across from her, the more she realized just how much she’s missed you these last few weeks.

“No.” You continue to walk down the hall.

Tara grows desperate, running after you and grabbing your arm again to stop you from leaving. The concrete floors were rough on the soles of her feet. “Y/N, please.”

You turn, ready to yank your arm away from her grip but her watery eyes halt you; sympathy bubbling lowly in your chest and you curse inwardly at how easy it was for her to lure you back in.

“Can y’all shut the fuck up? Some people are trying to get some sleep!” A voice interrupted, it was her neighbour, peeking his head a couple of doors down to yell at you two. He pops his whole body out when he sees Tara’s revealing figure, shooting her a lewd smile through his cigarette-tainted teeth, “Oh hey, there.”

Tara feels you turn in her hold as your face drops – jaw clenching as you glare at her sleazy neighbour (who was at least in his late 40s judging by his greying hair) “Go back inside unless you wanna get fucked up and stop looking at her.”

He stares back for a few seconds, debating if the challenge was worth his time. You move her behind you with a tug of an arm; blocking his view of her. Tara knows it's the wrong time but she couldn’t help but move closer; inhaling your familiar perfume. “Man, you’re not even worth my time.”

You wait until he shuts the door before facing her again, muttering under your breath. “Creepy motherfucker.”

“Go back inside before anyone else comes out here begging for a show.” You tell her, lightly pushing her back to her door. But her hold on your arm tightens, “Not until you come inside and talk to me.”

You sigh, looking around the hallway in an attempt to buy yourself some time before you eventually gave in – tugging her inside the apartment.

Only once you were both inside did you pull away from her grip; Tara’s arm falling limply by her side. You look at her expectantly, “Well?”

Tara remains unmoving and silent, She curls into herself, leaning against the back of the couch just staring at you

You grow annoyed at her silence, running a hand on your face, “Tara you begged me to talk…”

Still nothing from the Carpenter; she isn’t sure why she can’t say anything now that you’re standing in front of her. Maybe it was because she wasn’t ready to confront you and her feelings but as you stood there, about to leave, she knew she couldn’t let that happen. She wasn’t sure when she would see you again, this was the closest you’d been around her in the last few weeks.

At this point, she was acting on pure impulse and heightened emotions.

“Unbelievable…” You mutter, grabbing the doorknob. She can feel practically feel the sharp snap in your patience as you try to leave, again.

“I don’t get you.”

That stops you in your tracks, making you turn looking confused.

“What?”

Tara begins to shake her head.

“I mean, I don’t get you… Like, why are you still here? Jesus, Y/N, you’ve been ignoring me but you still came here cause you thought I needed help. Even after all the petty shit I’ve been doing with those guys to fuck with you and after the party” She grabs at her hair; roughly tugging on it. “And even after all that, you still chase after me. Why!”

“Because I love you.”

Tara inhales a sharp breath at your admission and how carelessly easily you said those words. Your brows furrowed like you looked genuinely confused by her question, it has Tara scoffing in disbelief. Unsure how you can still give her genuineness even after everything she’s done, she doesn’t deserve it.

“No, you don’t, you can’t. We’re just hooking up, it was just sex.” She denies, but a fog of tears is beginning to cloud her eyes. Even through the haze, she can see you approaching closer, holding a cautious hand out.

“Maybe I am just a hook-up to you… but I didn’t just catch feelings for you. I’m not just falling in love with you, I already fell Tara. More like, I dove head-first without a life jacket,” You take the moment to chuckle dryly.

“And yeah, that wasn’t part of the plan but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself I didn’t tell you that there’s someone that wants to wake up and fall asleep beside you every day. Someone that wants to show you that maybe this time you don’t have to be so afraid to let someone in.” You shake your head, looking down for a brief moment of insecurity but you regain the passion in your eyes as you connect gazes.

“So, look me in the eyes and tell me that I’m just a hookup, and if you do. I’ll leave you alone – for good.” She desperately blinked away the tears as she attempts to meet your eyes to tell you that you are just a hookup, it is just sex, she doesn’t love you too. But when she meets your eyes, she sees tenderness again and suddenly her knees are buckling under her.

Her body doesn’t meet the ground like she expects it to. Instead, you grabbed her, wrapping a firm arm around her waist as you held her weight up. She can hear distant mutterings of comfort being whispered in her ear but nothing registers as she realizes that she’s starting to sob uncontrollably.

“Baby…need you to breathe… ‘gonna make yourself sick.”

She couldn't hear anything around her until her face is being pressed into soft fabric; clawing at it, in a desperate attempt to self-soothe. She’s having a panic attack.

“Tara… Please, baby, you have to breathe–” You beg but Tara can’t hear you properly.

Nothing works until she feels you wrap her in a firm hug, still leaving her enough space so as to not feel suffocated. One arm around her waist, the other hand wrapped around her neck, as you rub soothing lines on her clammy skin.

A few moments of silence pass until Tara feel the pressure in her chest ease as the ringing in her ears subsides. She gasps for air against your chest, coughing as a burning ache in her throat develops. The rubbing of lines on her neck turns into firm pats on the back as Tara continues to cough through her tears.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” You shush her. Eventually, her coughs turn into occasional sniffles and deep breaths as you run fingers back up her hair comfortingly; giving her all patience she required.

“I’m sorry,” Tara says once she pulls her head off your chest, keeping a tight grip on your clothes.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Your eyes softened as you ran the pads of your thumbs to wipe away at her tear-stained cheeks.

She shakes her head in your grip, “Yes, I do. Even now, you’re still treating me so well. I don’t deserve it.” Her voice turns into a broken whisper as she finally allows herself to be vulnerable.

“Oh Tara,” You said so tenderly, “You deserve the world, baby. You’re amazing.”

“No, I’m not,” She shakes her head, beginning to pull away from you, not wanting to hear your words and how genuinely you believed it.

You tightened your grip around her waist, preventing her from moving. “Yes, you are, if only you can see yourself the way I see you. Oh, Tara, you don’t even realize it. You amaze me, you make me want to be a better person, that’s what you do to me, that’s what you make me feel. Not the other stuff you’re saying.”

Shaking your head, passion raging in your eyes; eye contact with the smaller girl unwavering, “The way you care for everyone around you, and how you carry yourself despite everything you’ve gone through… Baby, it’s amazing to watch you be yourself. I know, I know… After Amber, it’s hard–” That makes Tara’s eyes widen, unaware you knew about her and her late friend.

“–to trust people but, if you just gave me a chance and spared me an ounce of trust to let yourself fall… I promise I’ll be under there waiting with a safety net.”

Tara examines your eyes, there was no ounce of dishonesty in them. But that’s to be expected, you’ve always been genuine with her, always up-front, and calling her out on her shit – with love. It was one of the things that made her fall for you. Where everyone around her treats her like she’s a porcelain doll, letting her get away with whatever she wanted – you stopped her, but always in a way that was more so loving and protective rather than overbearing and smothering.

The thudding in her chest begs for reprieve as her heart craves to be moulded with yours. Her heart wants to know what it was like to beat in tandem with you, to finally allow herself to be caught instead of trying (and failing) to hold herself up all the time.

As Tara’s body caves in on herself, she pulls you down by the neck, unable to hide the content sigh that leaves her lips when your mouths meet in the middle. The kiss was sweet, passionate and firm; it poured out all love that words could never capture; where the tool of language proved to be invaluable in expressing her feelings.

“I trust you…” Tara whispers when she pulls away, unable to school the smile breaking across her lips. You giggle, making her smile wider. For once the heaviness in Tara's chest feels bearable with you in her arms.

No other words were exchanged as you two attempted to meet again for a kiss only to bump noses and miss because you two were beaming so wide.

●●●

happy reading!

#tara carpenter #tara carpenter imagine #tara carpenter x you #tara carpenter x fem reader #tara carpenter x reader #tara carpenter x y/n #scream #scream 6 #scream vi #jenna ortega

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tyrantisterror · 6 months ago

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What are your top favorite fairy tales? Either classic literarily stories, adaptations of literary fairy tales, wholly modern fairy tales, or even just stories that you think are structured like fairy tales. (Roald Dahl books, Studio Ghibli movies, even Shrek and Puss in Boots movies, etc.)

That is an unfathomably vast genre of fiction to try and condense into a ranked numbered list. I think... I think that may be impossible to actually answer as requested. But I can ramble about some of my favorites I suppose.

Let's do this sorta like the Oscars and divide things into categories.

Category 1: The Heavy Hitters

Some fairy tales are significantly more famous than others, so this category is for them: the heavy hitters, the classic fairy tales that are most well known, as defined by my own nebulous perception of which fairy tales are more popular than others.

Of the heavy hitters, my favorites are Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Little Red Riding Hood is such a spooky story no matter which telling you're looking at, and has contributed a lot to both the fantasy and horror genres thanks to its simple yet evocative premise and visuals. Jack and the Beanstalk, meanwhile, is just a really solid story of a trickster fool, which is one of my favorite archetypes in all of fiction. Love a good trickster fool.

Category 2: The Obscurities

As I said, this ask is covering a HUGE amount of fiction in its topic, especially since the border between a fairy tale and, like, ANY folklore isn't really well-defined (not in a way anyone can agree too, anyway). But there are a lot of obscure folktales I love that are at least sometimes lumped in as fairy tales, and I'm gonna list them here:

The Lambton Worm - a classic tale of dragon-slaying and getting fucked over by prophecies

The Lindworm Prince - queen can't concieve and consults a witch, ignores witch's directions, gives birth to human baby and dragon baby. Dragon baby grows up and demands a wife before human baby can get his, and a clever girl decides this is her chance to get rewarded for monster fucking.

Maud and the Dragon of Mordiford - the story of a girl who adopts a dragon only for it to end tragically, which inspired one of the novels I'm gonna write one of these days

Tam Lin - the story of a woman who wanted that elf dick and wasn't afraid to do some weird shit to get it

Biancabella and Samaritana - a story about a girl and her sister who is a snake because her mother had trouble concieving

King Odd - a story about an odd king who's actually an exiled fairy queen in disguise, and the man who wins her heart after surviving her attempt to execute him. It's like a Nordic medieval Tenchi Muyo.

You've probably noticed some themes about my favorites right now - lots of stories with dragons, people being transformed into monsters, and heroes who are into that monster shit.

Category 3: Archetypal Pieces

Ok, so for this I'm going to focus less on individual folktales and more on recurring plotlines, character types, and story beats, which you begin to notice the more you read up on Fairy Tales in part because many of the more obscure ones take beats from ones you're probably more familiar with and mix them together in new ways. So, my favorite plot beats in fairy tales:

Any sort of monster, obviously

The villain who literally removed their heart out of fear of being vulnerable

The baleful polymorph (i.e. a human who inhabits a beast/monster body against their will)

Monsterfucker protagonists

Trickster Fool protagonists

Disobedient Girls (examples: Little Red, Goldilocks), though I don't like how this archetype is treated

You want to have a baby and seek a witch and she gives you VERY SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS which you ignore because you really want this baby and oops you've got twins and one of them is some sort of monster good job asshole

The hero helps three (or more) people/creatures in need, and when shit hits the fan, they return the favor

Category 4: Modern(ish) Adaptations

Our penultimate category focuses on adaptations of fairy tales from, like, the 1900's on - anything made in a century I've lived in part of, basically. These arguably shouldn't be divided from "normal" fairy tales, but my brain regards them differently than, like, Victorian era fairy tale retellings, because hey, I lived in the age of these, more or less. They're "modern" for whatever nebulous definition of that word my brain's decided on.

And there's a lot for me to put in this category. Sleeping Beauty might be my favorite of Disney's fairy tale retellings, though Beauty and the Beast is a strong competitor for that role (and maybe Mulan, if we count its source material as a fairy tale, but I'm not sure we can). I think overall I like Sleeping Beauty's more stylized animation and character designs as well as its less conventional story-telling structure a bit more than B&B's, but Beauty and the Beast is still gorgeous and kind of perfectly scripted, so it's a tough competition.

My alltime favorite adaptation of fairy tales, though, would be Jim Henson's The Storyteller:

youtube

Using the magic of 1980's muppeteering, it adapts several fairy tales, many of which are more on the obscure side, and sometimes mashes a few different ones together to make sure each episode has a good three act structure. It's wonderful and fully captures the weirdness of fairy tales, while also having a lot of heart - The Heartless Giant is my favorite of the whole series.

Category 5: Works Inspired By Fairy Tales

I almost lumped the following stories into the above category, but while the division is, again, purely in my mind, there's something different about modern works that claim to adapt fairy tales 1:1 and ones that take fairy tale characters or concepts and throw them in entirely new tales with different directions, so that's what our final category will be.

I've gushed about Puss In Boots: The Last Wish enough that I don't think it'd surprise anyone that it would end up here - the same goes with the works of Rankin Bass, which is why I doubt anyone is surprised I'd put The Last Unicorn here too (technically based on a book, but it still fits the "has big fairy tale vibes despite not being based on one specific one" that I'm using to justify this category).

Pan's Labyrinth would also go in this category, with a protagonist who's both a trickster fool AND a disobedient girl, as well as a beautifully gothic take on fairy tale motifs. I'd put Company of Wolves here as well, being a very multifaceted riff on the Little Red Riding Hood story and a movie that sets both my analytical and creative parts of my brain on fire each time I want it.

I'd also put The Path, a short video game explicitly inspired by Company of Wolves, on this part of the favorites list. It's a game about, like, a DOZEN or so different takes on Red Riding Hood and her story, all with different flavors and subtext to analyze. It's unsettling but good.

Dimension 20 had a whole season focused on a horror-themed crossover of fairy tale characters called Neverafter that was fantastic, with one of the best riffs on Little Red Riding Hood I've ever seen, Puss in Boots and Pinocchio working together as con artists, and a vampire Snow White, so yeah 10/10 there, no notes.

And while I've only seen scattered bits of it, what I've seen of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, a sequel series to Disney's Rapunzel adaptation, is pretty great, though maybe I just think Cass is hot.

youtube

If you put an angry woman with a sword in your work of fiction I will at least stay for a few episodes to see what you do with her.

Given how much it consumed my brain in so little time, Revolutionary Girl Utena has to rank among my favorite Fairy Tale things ever - like, this is too chaotic a list to really rank things, but if I were to try, it'd at least be in the top 10. The same is true for Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, which in addition to being a big fun crossover between a bunch of the Heavy Hitter fairy tales, is also one of the best musicals ever written - and indeed, one of the best stage shows of all time.

Shit, where do I put A Midsummer Night's Dream? It feels like it should be here, but it predates the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson, whose works my brain categorizes as "old fairy tales" rather than "modern fairy tale retellings." Well, it'd be somewhere among these categories, being one of the best tales with fairies in it ever told.

The Princess Bride would be up high like Utena no matter what - it's one of the best works of fiction about love that we've got. Same goes with Galavant, which I consider its spiritual successor, although I think one could argue Galavant isn't specifically a fairy tale pastiche and is more just a lampooning of fantasy in general.

Oh, and The Hazards of Love, a concept album by The Decemberists, should be here too. That's the last one I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll think of a few others later that I like enough to regret not putting on here.

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hibiscusfairys · 1 year ago

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🐞 draco malfoy ; unrequited love, part 5 (hufflepuff fem reader)

♪ a lots gonna change : weyes blood

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

♡ warnings: angst

tagged: @miawastakens @watercolorskyy @pinkynecktie

also to the last person who requested to be tagged, im so sorry but i cant seem to find your blog when i try to tag it :(

by the way a reference to the last chapter, i realised adrian pucey is two years older than harrys year, so for the sake of it not being weird just pretend he was a year older than us

☆

You cried all night.

You didn’t know if whether you had swayed him, or distanced him from you even more. Each passing thought that involved him had only provoked your yearning tears. By the end of the long evening, your pillow was wet with the heartbreak and sadness you wept for him.

You were stupid enough to believe he was for you. The muggleborn girl and the pureblooded boy with a family full of blood supremacists which he was surely influenced from — yeah, right. What a foolish imagination you must have.

Dawn had rolled around, and your quiet sobs had eventually stopped and morphed into your sleep. The bright light of the sun shone through the fogged window, reflecting onto your hair. Your yellow duvet covers were spread everywhere, and the mascara you had worn from the ball before had stained your pillow like watery, black ink.

You rose up from your slumber, increasingly light headed from all the thinking you had been doing all night. It was time to finally get on with your life, and leave this all behind. Your feelings for him would have to disappear, soon enough.

Your ball dress was still on, and was crumpled from the action of tossing and turning restlessly in your bed.

A letter was positioned unknowingly on the windowsill. You noticed that the window door was open, the cold air hitting your face like a vent. You saw that a midnight feathered owl with amber eyes as bright as streetlights perched on the sill, looking at you with its pupils dilating.

Eagerly, you opened the letter, hoping it to be from your parents. They had only just figured out how to use the owl. But the envelope looked too classy, too posh even. Nothing like the basic white envelopes you’d usually see.

It had a certain family emblem on the black seal.

Ripping the top of the envelope, you lifted the mysterious letter from the pocket. You had almost instantly recognised the handwriting, as you had seen it in your potions class not too long ago. It was Malfoy’s.

The words were carefully carved with ink on the parchment, and ink smudges seemed to be far less of a problem for him to prevent than it was for you. Using a quill and proper ink was still something to get used to, even if it had been 4 years. You anxiously let your eyes scan the page, a lump forming in your hoarse throat from all the sobbing. To….

I apologise for my previous behaviour last night

I understand that I may have upset you. This is quite new to me actually. I’m too wrapped up in myself to recognise others problems, if I am being honest.

However, while I still stand by what I said about us not working out, I do want to create a compromise with you. And before you ask, I’ve dealt with Astoria. It was entirely difficult for me to tell her. And to be honest, I am feeling quite down. But I’m still so confused on where my heart is leading and I don’t want to lead her on either. She’s one of the only people I care about. Except for my family and some others which I won’t name.

If you are so desperate, it will have to be a hidden secret between us. If I ever eventually decide to let myself love you, while the guilt might weigh heavily on me, I am not afraid of it. It is quite dismaying knowing that you aren’t a pure-blood like I am, but I want to learn to be more tolerant at least. And I’ll try to be more open. But don’t let a word slip out. I’m sorry if I am asking much. I should really not ask you of anything, but I can’t help it. I’m still adjusting to this. I thought it would be so easy, love. But it’s not. Sometimes we fall in love with the wrong people. But I don’t want to label you as wrong. Rather — unexpected. My family will surely be disappointed, so it’s why I’m so hesitant. But it’s a risk I am willing to take for my heart to finally be at rest. It has been tugging on me for weeks.

Do answer me later. Moreover, maybe I can explain it to you better in person.

Draco Malfoy

You saw your tears melt onto the paper. Different emotions poured through you like a rainfall, you felt excited and happy, but also unnerved. It disappointed you that he couldn’t accept you in the first place.

You found out your quill and a pot of ink.

To Malfoy,

Thank you for your letter. I am glad that you’ve explained to me your feelings. Sometimes writing it down makes everything better.

But please, do accept me as I am. I don’t want to pressure you into doing something you won’t find comfort in. Plus, it would put me in danger too. I don’t know what your family is like, but I don’t want to entrust them just yet.

However, I do feel similarly. Maybe we could try it.

I’d be glad to keep it a secret for you.

From…

You finally signed your name in one swoop of your quill.

“Hopefully..” You say to yourself, handing the addressed envelope to the messenger owl.

☆

thank you all so much for reading this fic, i appreciate all the support youve given me so much and im excited to write more future ones for you soon ♡

also im sorry if the ending seems quite rushed, i had no idea what to do and i didnt want to keep anyone waiting too long :( ill try to improve on this in the future and hopefully, not pressure myself too much with releasing chapters

#harry potter #harry potter fic #draco x reader #angst #draco angst #draco imagine #draco malfoy angst #draco x female reader #draco x hufflepuff!reader #draco malfoy x reader #draco x muggleborn!reader #draco x muggleborn

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md-confessions · 4 months ago

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Oh boy, someone made another stupid take on CodeGold and me, being the only vocal sane CodeGold "fan" has to talk about it.

Just gonna say right now, Juzi and CodeGold are completely different. Don't compare the two. That's really all I had to say about that confession, it just riled me up so I'm gonna ramble here a bunch.

So, question here, am I a horrible person for shipping CodeGold in an AU where J isn't abusive to N. Not even a major personality shift, maybe one or two little things changed but plenty of people have done that to plenty of characters. And J herself doesn't exactly have much of one anyways due to her limited screen time so you have to fill in the gaps either way.

Am I a proshipper, because I enjoy a ship that's normally a proship in a non proship situation? If I condemn the fics where N is like "step on me mommy" to J, or condemn fics where J hits him and he continues to love her?

And I know someone will say "Making an entire AU for it doesn't justify it." Then what about personality swap AUs? One where N gets V's personality, V gets J's, and J gets N's. Then it'd basically be Envy, right? What's wrong with it then? If there's elements outside the CodeGold, is it justified?

And then that's the next question, why is CodeGold condemned while Envy isn't? V is still quite abusive to N, even if not as harshly and with better intentions. And the answer to this is probably "V has shown she's changing for the better" But J hasn't had a chance to show that. Outside ep 1, her only actual character moments were in ep 6 and 7 and she only insults N once with a pretty tame insult all things considered. Now I know, in the pilot J says she'd kill N. And to be honest, I don't blame anyone for using that one line as justification for shipping Envy and not CodeGold. Still, I'd like people to understand that V hurt N a lot too. And this is coming from someone who enjoys Nuziv and the occasional standalone Envy content.

Next thing up, why should me making slight changes to J's character to make shipping her with N not a proship be made invalid? Plenty of fics make small changes to the characters in order to tell the story they want to tell. Why should it be any different in this case? And I know people out there will say "Just make an OC." Right, so I should make an OC that looks exactly like J, acts like J 95% of the time, and take J's place in the story, rather than just change J ever so slightly. Makes sense to me, honestly not sure why I didn't think about doing that. I say that sarcastically but that's only because it's something that genuinely irks me. I apologize if I offend anyone by doing that.

The reason I bring this up is because while I wouldn't really label myself a CodeGold shipper nor fan, I still enjoy the occasional cute art or well written fic of it. But the only reason I like that art or the fics is because J isn't some abusive asshole and does actually like N. And often times, J is pretty well exactly like her canon counterpart, aside not saying she'd kill N. But I could never say that because the moment I do, I'm lumped in with all the Cyncest redditors, the Khan x Uzi people, and god forbid the idiots who think Nuzi is a proship and enjoy it because of that. All of those disgust me, and I feel me shipping CodeGold in a way in which it's not a proship should not condemn me to that fate.

I'm not saying CodeGold isn't a proship. If you just ship it directly with how canon is, it is a proship. No doubts about it. And there are some disgusting people out there who enjoy that dynamic, and I. Am. Not. One. Of. Those. People.

Generally things like this don't disgust me, but non-con and abusive relationships just...do not sit right with me. Incest is disgusting too, but it just doesn't affect me nearly in the same way. So being lumped in with those people despite how I ship CodeGold just...makes me feel dirty.

And the biggest thing, CodeGold is hardly part of who I am. I know most of you will probably know me from my J confessions and CodeGold confessions, but neither are even a particularly big part of my attachment to Murder Drones, ESPECIALLY CodeGold.

I like J, don't get me wrong. I think she's an endlessly fascinating character. But Uzi, N, V, Lizzy, Thad, Sam, and Emily are all characters I engage with as a fan far more than I do with J. And two of them are the camp kids from ep 4 that die.

Just please, don't throw people like me into the pits of Hell because of how other disgusting people ship something like this. This isn't like Cyn x N where it's a proship no matter how you do it. CodeGold is a proship due to the history between N and J, and history is something that can be changed. I mean, technically I guess you could make Cyn and N not related in an AU, but that feels a whole lot different than making some minor tweaks to J's character and her history with N. Maybe that sounds hypocritical, that's just what if feels like to me.

I have friends who also enjoy CodeGold, but have told me about CodeGold stuff they dislike. They dislike the "mommy step on me" stuff like I do, they dislike fics where N is abused by J but it's still CodeGold. They're good people. I know that's a rare thing from CodeGold shippers, many of them are idiots and terrible people. Like a certain someone who said Nuzi is toxic and yet ships CodeGold of all things. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about.

I'm not one of those idiots. I sometimes say questionable stuff, or do questionable things. But I'm not an idiot and I wouldn't consider myself a bad person. And I don't think I should be defined as such because I like CodeGold stuff where it's not abusive and thus not a proship, when I have so many other things that define me. I really should show that more by making confessions not related to J or CodeGold but the whole point behind me using anonymous and having a signature was because I knew talking about this stuff would get me lynched. Understandable though with my first confession because I was just plain fucking wrong with some of the shit I said. J isn't an abuser my ass, seriously. What was I thinking saying that?

and one last thing. You can still dislike CodeGold after this. That is perfectly reasonable. I just ask that we could be friends still if we met, or at the very least you don't just immediately block me and see me as a horrible person.

With that all said, I leave you all once again by wishing you all a good day, evening, or night. (also sorry for making you read through all that, admin. I hope it doesn't cause you too much stress)

-- TSM

⠀

#md confessions #serial designation j #serial designation n #serial designation v #uzi doorman #n/j #n/j crit #j/uzi #md lizzy #md thad #md emily #md sam #incest cw #md cyn #n/cyn #n/cyn neg

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crow-aeris · 4 months ago

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Part 5 of And Yet the Clock Twists Back

parts 1, 2, 3, 4

directory

#and yet the clock twists back #tim drake #batman #batfam #batfamily #jason todd #fanfic #dc comics #cursed object #time travel #tw kidnapping

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brxttydevil · 2 years ago

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First Time Y’all Kissed (Scenario) PT 2

From: Bungo Stray Dogs Scenario

Part 1

Warning! Still out of character

Characters: Edgar Allan Poe (request by @student-in-devildom), Kunkida,

Ryūnosuke, Naomi and Jun'ichirō

Edgar Allan Poe

Poe is known to be competitive with Ranpo. And he has you always helping him to show that he is better and changing to Ranpo. You have had a good friendship and possibly a romantic relationship.

“You got the things?” He asked. He looked over towards you seeing you. To him, you were an angel in disguise. No matter how hard his plans are you are still there and able to help him in any way.

“Yes, I do!” You smiled at him. When you walked towards him, he turned back around because he was a blushing mess. You put the things on the desk, he was sitting at.

He been wanting to confess to you but everytime he becomes a mess and not being able to tell you until today. “I need to tell you something.”

You looked over at him and got closer. “What is it?”

“I…I-” he felt a lump in his throat every time he gets to the word like. But it is more than a like and more than a love. “I really like-”

You kissed him on the lips and he was a blushing mess afterward. “I like you too Poe.”

Kunikida

He had a list of his ideal woman or man which includes a lot of details but when he met you that list went out of the equation. You were so beautiful to him that the list wasn’t even needed at this point.

You were smart, amazing, and talented. He thought you weren’t even real for a while until he realized you actually were and he was super in love. He would help you with things and do things for you if you are sick. Dates always happened with him. The closest you got to kissing his lips was only kisses on the cheeks.

On your next date, he knew what he had to do. He wanted to kiss you before the night was over between you two. He wanted to stay with you forever. And hope you wanted that as well.

During the date, you can tell he was nervous about something but didn’t want to tell you. He got his lines prepared to ask you to be his lover and to kiss you. After the amazing date, he was in front of your house and that’s when he popped the question, you said yes of course and that’s when he kissed you. The kiss was short but it had both of you being happy and then you kissed him again before you walked to your door. You turned around to tell him that you love him then went inside the house. He was red-faced the whole way back to his house.

Ryūnosuke

You wanted to do something special for him. He did a lot for you and saw you as a strong person. You went to an antique store. You knew he liked those sorts of things.

While looking around you found the perfect thing for him. It maybe was a tiny bit expensive but it was something he would love. When you got back from the store you wrapped it up and went to go give it to him.

“Ryū, I have something for you!” He heard your voice and went to you. He looked at you questionably and looked at the thing in your hands.

“What is this?”

“Something special for you!”

You gave him his present and he opened it up. He was happy about it and he put it down and got closer to you. “There is something more special than that.” He kissed you. “And it’s you and thank you for the gift.” He smiled and got his present and walked away.

Naomi

Naomi was under you when you got closer romantically with her. She would help you out with missions as well as cuddle near you. She was jealous and you knew that and sometimes it was cute but other times over the top where you have to have a sit down with her. But she was amazing and cute and sweet.

You wanted to start a relationship with her. You have been seeing her for a week now and it feels like everything is going great. But you never kissed her. And that is gonna be your plan after you ask her out.

After your mission with her and only scratches on your body, you asked her out. She thought you meant on a date but you told her that you two would be together. She was very excited and said yes and then you asked to kiss her which she agreed and you started to kiss her which turned into a make-out.

Jun'ichirō

He made a mission himself to kiss you. He wanted to kiss you after he asked you to be his lover. He would always give you kisses all over your face so why not kiss your lips?

When he went into the room you were in and found you laying on the couch. He went over to you and took a deep breath and kissed you. It was unexpected for you, but you got into it really quickly.

#bsd edgar allan poe #edgar allan poe #hanamaru kunikida #kunikida x you #kunikida fluff #bsd kunikida #bsd ryunosuke #akutagawa ryunosuke x reader #akutagawa x reader #akutagawa x y/n #bsd akutagawa #bsd naomi #bsd junichiro #tanizaki junichirou #bsd tanizaki #bungou stray dogs tanizaki #junichiro tanizaki bsd

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danceswithsporks · 2 years ago

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Warm- Part 5

Part 1 of 6 in the Complete Series!

Parts 1 2 3 4

Tech x Reader

Warnings: Assault, implied attempted r*pe, this one’s gonna hit a bit hard. I’m sorry in advance and if you’d like to know what happens without reading this part let me know and I’ll cliff notes ya. 🖤

Authors notes: Ok so besides the warnings, you’re gonna be seeing a lot of retconning going on. I just…don’t like allllll of our fav clones being dead or MIA. Also, there are some decisions I had to make that we don’t have canon information on. If that gets changed anytime soon I’ll update this part with the new information.

Luke warm, the temperature of the cup of tea that sat unattended on the counter. The owner was now on his way to the next stop of his journey to freedom. With a happy sigh, you pick the cup up and dump it into the sink behind you. You’d lost count of how many clones you’d helped at this point. It made you happy to know they were all off to hopefully better lives away from the empire. Off to families of their own. Actual homes with normal jobs where their lives weren’t put on the lines all the time.

Zeffos wasn’t the first stop on their journey, more like the third. Here they would get new identities and chain codes. They’d be set up with some money and clothing and moved through the underground tunnels of Ord Mantell. You helped them however you could as they waited for the next leg of their journey. From changing their hair, teaching them about colored contacts, and giving them a place to stay.

Phee had bought the entire building for a fair price and in turn, you’d completely renovated the three floors above the shop. Different apartments with emergency exits were available to any on the Path in need. While your shop mainly focused on helping clones on the run, you’d had a family with a young force user stay with you just a week ago. You’d never believed the whole ‘Jedi were the real traitors’ thing that had been blasted across the Galaxy. You’d seen firsthand how much they cared about the public and the clones. It just never made sense to you.

When Phee approached you about helping those in need escape the Empire, you didn’t hesitate. Now you were two months deep into being a part of…well the resistance. It was going on six months since Tech's death and while you still had moments where your heart ached for him to walk through the doorway, you were surviving. Dreams of him still filled your sleep every night, but instead of waking up in tears, you woke up with a soft smile. In a way, it was like he was rewarding you from the afterlife. Letting you know that he was proud of the hard work you were doing to help his brothers. At least that’s what you told yourself.

“Wolffe just contacted me. Slips on his way to the next leg.” Echo moved across the space behind the bar and next to you. “Ya did well today. Know that one wasn’t easy.” He watched as your fingers stilled against the teacup. “Wanna talk about it?”

“You guys helped him survive an assassination attempt. He talked a lot about helping Tech figure out the access codes to prove Kamino was an inside job.” You shrugged carefully as you placed the cup into the dryer. “Wasn't hard to hear about Tech before Pabu. It was when he asked where Tech was.” A lump formed in your throat for a moment before you cleared it away. “Don’t worry. I filled him in.”

“You shouldn’t have had to. You could have asked one of us to do it.” He was impressed with how you’d been handling yourself in all of this. But every once in a while, he’d see your lip tremble for a moment.

A sigh left your lips as you pulled on your leather jacket over Tech's shirt. “I’m a big girl. I can handle telling people he’s dead. Thanks though.” You didn’t mean for it to come out so sharp, but you also kind of did. “Looks like we’re out of some stuff I need for tonight’s dinner. I’m heading to the market.”

Echo only nodded as he watched you pull your satchel over your shoulder. “ I’ll have WA-7 keep an eye on the place. Gotta work on some more chain codes.” Using the program he and Tech had developed. Echo missed his brother more than most. At times he felt like Fives had sent Tech his way as if knowing he needed that second half. Fives…Tech…felt like he always lost brothers that became too close to him.

“Sounds good. Have her clean around the bar, think someone spilled some milk. Don’t need more pests.” You heard Echo agree as you walked out the door and into the dim alley outside your shop. Even with the new streetlights you’d had installed, the alley was still too dark for your comfort. You checked your boot for the Vibroblade that Crosshair had given you and once satisfied that it was there, you made your way to the grocery stalls.

As it stood you had three extra clones staying in the building. They had been higher-level clone captains and commanders. As such they were heavily wanted by the Empire which meant it took longer for the heat to die down. Someone named Quinlan Vos was supposed to be securing a safe route out for them, but that seemed to be taking more time than you’d expected. Which meant you had three more mouths to feed on top of Echo, Howzer, Phee, and Kix, plus yourself.

A commotion near one of the gambling bars drew your attention and you casually made your way over. The crowd was massive and hard to see over, so instead you tapped the shoulder of the person in front of you. “What’s going on?”

The species turned to you and you realized that you didn’t recognize it, which meant you didn’t speak the language. They uttered unrecognizable words to you in a deep guttural tone as their tentacles waved around excitedly.

“I’m sorry I don’t understand.” You fumbled in your satchel for your datapad, hoping they at least wrote in Aurebesh.

The tentacle went up quickly to their throat and tapped at the translator device. After a moment of fizzing static, a computerized voice answered you. “Racer of Riot Pods Champion, Automan, has been spotted! Most believe death for his absence.” The translation wasn’t exactly perfect as their kind did not have words for the true name of the racer, nor did they possess the ability to make the necessary sounds required to say his name. But it would hopefully be enough to get the point across. Three yellow eyes watched the female before she made a face, uninterested. Confused? Who knew with humans?

“Oh, I don’t know anything about Riot Racing, or Pod racing for that matter. But thank you for the information.” You nodded carefully to the species before you and watched as they returned the gesture with an odd smile. Maker, you really hoped you didn’t just agree to marry them or something. When they turned from you and back to the crowd you took that as a sign that you were in fact safe from an accidental engagement.

-*-

“Excuse me? Can I get a cup of tea? Anything you’d recommend?” John sat at the bar of the comfortably lit tea shop Gonzo had found. He wasn’t sure exactly what kind of tea he was looking for, but hopefully something would jog his memory. The last two months had been spent in preparation for this trip. Research on Ord Mantell City and its many shops. Research on how to safely leave Eriadu and not draw attention to the village.

“This is a one-way trip, John. We can’t go with ya. Can’t risk too many ships goin in and out. We’ve stayed out of the Empire way this long.” Gonzo had handed him a satchel with supplies to survive on his own for a while. A decent amount of credits had even been placed in the bag. “Entire village chipped in. Ya find your family, John.”

John watched as the droid in front of him shook her head awkwardly. “I am not programmed to recommend beverages. Please make a request from our menu.” With a clatter, a menu was placed in front of him before the droid moved away to help another patron.

Tanned fingers moved across the datapad as something pulled at his mind. These were…familiar. The design was something he’d seen before. John groaned softly as his head began to ache. Flashes of distant memories clawed their way to the front of his mind. A woman smiling at him as she worked on the menu. A cup of tea next to her leg as she sat on…something. He couldn’t make it out. John closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to focus.

“Be better if ya came back when the lady of the shop is here.” A stranger at the end of the bar spoke carefully to the newcomer. Seemed the man was suffering from some kind of head problem. “She’s a smart one. Always knows exactly what ya need.”

“Not too bad on the eyes either.” Another voice echoed from across the room.

“Not too bad?” The man at the bar scoffed loudly before looking back at the newcomer. “She’s positively a goddess. Ya wait around long enough and you’ll see.”

“Do you know when she’ll be back?” John wasn’t sure who this woman was, but if she was good at recommending tea then hopefully she could help him.

“Stepped out to get some supplies for the shop. Said she’ll be back in a bit. She’s never gone for more than an hour.” A regular from a table in the corner spoke to the mysterious new man.

John made a face for a moment before standing. “Think I’ll come back later then.”

“Suit ya self.”

-*-

Your trip to the stalls had been eventful as always. There always seemed to be something new popping up and you’d managed to grab some lovely fish that came from Naboo. Or so they said. During your time here you’d quickly learned to take what some people said with a grain of salt. The only thing you knew for sure was that the Mantell mix that Wrecker and Omega were oh so very fond of, was indeed delicious.

It was at said stall that you heard something that almost made you drop your bag of groceries.

“Did you hear? That Riot Racing champ was seen here in the city!”

“That cute one? What was his name again? It was so plain.”

“Started with a T. Tom? Tim? Tech?”

You stared at the Mantell Mix stall owner as the voices became harder to hear. Couldn’t be him. They had to be confused. A lot of names sounded like Tech…right?

“Here ya go, firecracker. Ya sure ya don’t need help?” The stall master watched as you came out of whatever daze you were in. When you shook your head, he nodded before passing you an extra container of mix. “Send that to my favorite customers. Miss seeing them around.”

“Will do, Thanks.” You grabbed your supplies and began to head back toward the shop. Usually, you rushed, your feet naturally moving quickly. Today you decided to take your time for once. Take in the streets lined with stalls, the children running around, and the magnificent smells of fresh spices and herbs. You allowed your mind to drift, to think about what life would have been like if Tech had survived.

He would have come back to Pabu, probably with a new cut or bruise. He wouldn’t run to you and scoop you up as they did in the holovids. That wasn’t like him. He’d be the last of the ship, and would say something along the lines of “I needed to make sure this part of the ship had settled properly.” Something like that, you weren’t good with ships. But you’d smile and tell him it was ok and then you’d lead him down to the sea wall. Together you’d sit on top and watch the waves roll in as he told you about their adventure. Not sparing a single detail. His hand would find its way wrapped around yours and then he’d kiss you softly.

You’d fall into a happy rhythm with each other, like before. But now you were something more than friends, a couple. He’d hold your hand at every chance he could. There was no doubt that he loved to touch you, to hold a part of you, or be as close as possible. Your warmth and happiness were all he’d need to get through the day. Every day you’d sit on the sea wall together and watch the sunset and every night he’d say the same thing to you before you’d part ways. “ I hope I did not offend you.”

In which you’d smile and rest your head against his shoulder as your eyes closed. A hun would leave your lips as you enjoyed the warmth of him being near you. With a gentle whisper, you’d tell him in a teasing tone. “ You could never offend me.”

-*-

John wasn’t sure what he was looking for as he wandered the damp streets and alleys of Ord Mantell. Maybe someone would recognize him? Or maybe a familiar scent would find its way into his nose and he’d remember something useful. Perhaps a familiar sound would trigger something? Whatever it was, he hoped it would come soon.

All of these alleys looked the same and he was sure he was lost. That dumpster looked familiar from earlier, or did it? This area was a maze and down each alley, there seemed to be countless illicit activities going on. A spice dealer down this one, a worker of the night down another. It was all more than he’d expected to deal with. He just needed to find the right one back to that tea shop.

-*-

“Now look who it is. Little miss too good for a Trandoshan.” A large figure loomed over you as you stood outside the back entrance to your shop. WA-7 must have locked the damned thing again and your hands were too full to enter your code. It was high time you updated her to stop that. His large hand rested against the door behind you preventing it from opening.

“Fang. Seems your last fight with Wrecker didn’t teach you anything. Leave me alone.” You adjusted your container of groceries and tried to slip under his arm but found the items thrown to the ground instead.

“There’s a difference now. He ain’t here. Saw him leave the planet three days ago.” Fang licked his mouth sickeningly as he looked down at you. Such a frail thing, you’d be a fun toy to play with.

You scoffed loudly as you began to slide down towards the ground, your hand slipping towards your boot and your weapon within. “Doesn’t mean I’m not able to protect myself from someone as ugly as you.” Just a little bit farther and you’d have your vibroblade.

Stars, he loved how you put up a fight. Reaching down he grabbed your chin and easily lifted you back up. “That big mouth of yours is gonna get ya in trouble, human..” Growling deeply he pressed against your body and chuckled darkly. “Perhaps you should put it to better use.”

“Gag! As if!” Swinging your leg, you aimed for his crotch but found resistance instead.

“After your little stunt last time, I came prepared.” His other hand moved away from the door and gripped your side tightly. “Now stop resisting and just enjoy yourself.”

A scream escaped your lips as you fought his hold. Your fists swung down on his shoulders in hopes of breaking free somehow. Wrecker and Hunter had insisted on teaching you self defense, you should have accepted their offer. You felt his hand cover your mouth in an attempt to silence you. But that instead worked in your favor and allowed you to bite down firmly against him.

With a growl, Fang dropped you to the ground. Crumbling against the wet cold pavement, you feigned curling into a ball to protect yourself. The movement hid you pulling your vibro blade out.

“Stupid Bitch!” Fang swung his thick leg into your side forcing your body towards the wall. A smirk crossed his scaled lips as he approached you. Awake or unconscious, it didn’t matter to him, he’d take you either way.

You heard his large foot take its place next to your head before the feeling of your hair being pulled ripped through your body. Another scream left your lips as he lifted you. Like hell, you’d go down without a fight. Swinging the blade quickly you felt it make contact with his thigh. You were dropped to the ground with a thud and you listened as a growl of pain left him. Good.

Fang stumbled back as his leg began to bleed. Fucking human bitch, he’d kill you first then screw your corpse. It didn’t matter to him anymore. In front of him, you scrambled to stand and make your way to safety.

Turning your back towards him had been your biggest mistake. A large hand gripped the back of your neck and with just barely enough time to throw your arms up, your head was thrown into the wall. A gasp was ripped from your body as pain and something wet clouded your vision.

“Gonna teach ya a lesson,” Fang smirked as he used his foot to shove you into the wall. “Don’t know why my brothers claim human count is the best. You’re too much damn work.” Kneeling behind you, his hand wrapped around your throat tightly. “Better be fucking wor-“

His words were replaced with the sound of electricity followed by a thud. You couldn’t make anything out as you scrambled to turn around. Whatever was on your face had completely blocked your view. “S-stay back.” Your hand scrambled across the wet pavement for your vibroblade. It had to be here somewhere.

Something…familiar, gripped your hand carefully and placed your bald back into your hand. Quickly you wrapped both hands around it and raised it in whatever direction you thought the other person was in.

“It’s ok, miss. I won’t hurt ya.” John kept a safe distance from you but also tried to reassure you he wasn’t going to attack you. He’d stopped for directions to the tea shop and on his way in the right direction, he heard your screams and acted on an instinct he didn’t know had.

Your heart stopped at the sound of his voice. A voice that you’d heard so many times from so many faces but was also so painfully unique. This day hadn’t been fair to you, first, you’d heard his name more times than you’d wanted to, and now? Now you could swear that was his voice. Maybe you’d been working too hard? Or maybe you’d fallen asleep to his audio logs one too many times. Whatever this was, it was a cruel game being played on you by the universe. “W-what happened? Who are you?” It wasn’t him, you knew it wasn’t. The way he spoke wasn't how Tech used to. Whatever hope was building inside you was squashed with that singular thought.

“Names John. I tasered your attacker.” At least he hoped he was your attacker or else you two were into some interesting role-play. “Can’t say how long he’ll be down though. We should probably get moving.” Carefully he placed his hand on top of yours and lowered them to the ground. “Promise I won’t hurt ya.”

You chewed your lip for a moment, the taste of copper exploding in your mouth as you did so. Blood was what was running down your face. This was a gamble you’d have to take. “Shop behind us is mine.” You hissed as you tried to stand, it felt like a rib was broken. Maybe two. You blinked a few times trying to clear your vision, but failing in the process.

John moved quickly to help you stand, still trying to keep a safe distance from your blade. “Here, let me help ya.” When you nodded, he moved in front of you and went to grab your elbows, instead his hand missed and brushed across your breasts. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

Leave it to man to try and cop a feel. A scoff came from your lips as she tried to find the hem of your shirt that was dry. Step one was to clear your eyes, step two was to slap whoever this was. But then he said something that made a lump form in your throat.

“Sorry if I offended you.”

No, it couldn’t actually be him. Your hand scrambled against the wall trying to find the panel for your door. New plan, get inside, clean your eyes, and if it is Tech. Kill him.

“Here. Let me help.” John paused as he looked at the panel. “Sorry to ask this but what’s your code.”

Your hands paused against the wall, changing the code was easy, but saying it out loud was hard. Swallowing, you pushed the lump down and allowed the words to come out. “ 9902”

John’s hand froze over the panel as something else pulled at his mind. That code was…familiar. Tapping in the code, John carefully maneuvered you into the back room of your shop before closing and locking the door. “Where’s your first aid kit?”

“Main Kitchen. Top shelf near the dried fruits, three to the right in a brilliant blue box marked five zero one.” A gift from Kix after Echo and the others had saved him from the Obrexta III.

“From what the boys have told me, you're a bit of a clutz. Probably good to have this on hand.” He’d passed it to you with a wink and a smile.

John moved you to the main kitchen carefully before helping you sit on the counter. “I’ll be right back.” Then he was off, into your kitchen to find the familiar-sounding box. Everywhere he looked he could see containers of tea leaves, fruits, and herbs. A marked container of dried berries let him know he was close.

“Mistress? You are currently bleeding from your right eyebrow. I recommend immediate medical action.” WA-7 loudly made her way over to you.

“Obviously, WA! Do me a favor and go get Echo. Quietly please.” The sound of a box scraping across the ground let you know she had turned.

WA-7 tilted her head at you for a moment before turning and making her way toward the office. “Of course mistress.”

“She goin' to get help?” John had found the kit and was now making his way back to you. It was a surprisingly heavy kit and with just a quick glance, he’d seen it was filled to the brim with supplies. It seemed like a lot for a simple tea shop. But who was he to judge?

A long sigh came from you as you heard the kit placed down. “Yeah. Trust me. She’s more useful doing that than helping us.” The sound of water turning on, hit your ears. Hopefully, that meant he was getting you something to clean your eyes.

“Not a fan of droids?” John carefully took your hand in his and placed the warm towel. Behind him, the water continued to run. “Let me know if ya need that rinsed.”

The hot water on the rag cut through the blood on your eyes easily. “Not that droid.” Two swipes and you felt your left eye becoming easier to open. “She’s more useless than anything. Can’t even begin to count how much time I spent trying to reprogram her.”

“You know how to program droids?” The cloth was passed back to him and John carefully rinsed it into the sink. The water ran red for a bit as he waited for you to answer.

“Kinda, my…” What had Tech been to you? Your lover? No, you’d never slept together and had only just kissed before he left. Your teacher? It felt like it was obviously more than that. “My…friend was teaching me before he died.”

John paused as he began to pass the cloth back to you. “I’m sorry for your loss.” Was that the right thing to say?

“Thanks.” Was all you could seem to say as you heard hurried boots coming towards the kitchen. The cloth ran across your eyes once more and finally, you could open them.

The moment Echo had heard you were bleeding, he was gone. The comm he’d been on with Rex remained open as he left the room and tried to figure out how you’d been hurt. Turning into the kitchen his feet stopped as he took in a man taller than you. A mess of brown curls hung to his ears and his slim form carefully moved to the side to reveal you on the counter. Who the hell was this?

John heard the sound of someone approaching and he figured it was one of your employees. Turning to introduce himself he heard a gasp from behind him.

You and Echo spoke in unison as the face of your helper was finally clear to see.

“Tech?”

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#clone wars fic #tech x reader #tech x you #the bad batch season 2 #the bad batch tech #the bad batch #bad batch fic #bad batch tech #bad batch

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janetbrown711 · 1 year ago

Text

Little Lion Man

Pigsy sends the kids off with Tang for a field trip to the zoo on the eight year anniversary of his abandonment of Sandy. Surely he will be perfectly fine on his own, especially if nobody calls him. And surely Tang will be fine handling the kids on his own for the first time ever. Everything is fine.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 8.5 Part 9 Part 10 Part 10.5 Part 11

Ao3 Link

Pigsy woke up to his alarm on October 14th the same way he did every goddamned year: with his alarm blaring, dread in his chest, and a lump in his throat. It was aggravating– even when Pigsy made an effort not to keep track of calender dates, his body just knew– it just fucking knew. Then again it probably didn’t help that today was also the day of the field trip to the zoo that Tang was chaperoning for MK and Mei– which was good, but also meant for weeks all he’d heard about was today’s date.

The last time he ever talked to Sandy.

Pigsy was going to open the restaurant. He had every year since that godawful call. He had to. It wasn’t like he ever wanted to close it though– that would be stupid. He needed the money. ‘Sides, Pigsy never closed– unless it was for the kids. But that was different. This was nothing. A memory. Something that happened eight years ago. Pigsy was fine. This didn’t matter.

Sit up. Crack the back. Turn off that stupid alarm. Breathe.

He’d lived here for over a month, but it was still difficult to adjust to the fact that while this room certainly had the space for a kitchen, he’d actually have to go out for any of that.

Unlike that day. Or night, really. It was 2:46 AM when he’d gotten the first call. He’d just gotten home from spending the night with some lady demon at a stupid ass bar. He was exhausted from the drinking and hollering and had just wanted to crash into bed, and when he saw it was an unknown number he just ignored it.

“PIGGY! I CAN’T FIND MY BACKPACK!” Mei called from the hallway.

The chef rubbed his eyes. “Have you looked in the closet?”

A bit of pause.

“NOT THERE– OH WAIT–” Pigsy chuckled a little as he heard things being tossed. “FOUND IT!”

“Well there you go, kid. Get ready.” He called out and with a quick patter, she was gone.

Find a clean shirt. Put in one arm, then the other. Make sure the buttons aren’t crooked. Find pants, one leg, then the other. Find socks. Realize all of your socks are a mess. Realize you are a mess. Put them on anyway. Find shoes, tie them. Breathe.

Pigsy was glad he wasn’t going on the field trip. Of course Mk and Mei had practically begged him, but it was a good step for Tang to have them for a couple of hours. Sorta like ‘testing the waters’ or whatever. ‘Sides, he was feeling hungover, despite the fact he didn’t drink at all the previous night. Or– week, for that matter. Either way there was a headache and he didn’t feel like making breakfast.

MK was already dressed and waiting for the pig demon at the kitchen island, feet swinging happily with the kind of pure joy radiating on his face that only a child could possess.

“Morning Pigsy!” He said, leaning forward. “Whatcha gonna make today?”

“Cereal. I’m tired,” Pigsy grumbled, pulling down a box of ‘Monkey Charms’ and some bowls.

MK laughed a little. “You’re tired a lot, Pigsy.”

“Yeah. I am,” Pigsy sighed, going to the fridge for milk, disappointed to find there was barely enough for two bowls– but whatever, he’d just skip it. Wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it.

MK was content though, scarfing down his food at his usual quick pace while he tried to talk about the latest episode of The Ninja King while Pigsy brewed himself a pot of coffee and tried to listen.

He hadn’t even had time to take his coat off when the phone rang again. With a grunt, he set it on the counter, upset he saw it was the same unknown number. He had gone to pour himself a glass of baijiu. It had stopped ringing by the time he finished drinking it.

“...And then Monkey King– er– Monkey Ninja King was all like ‘Watch this suckaaaaa’ and did a backflip, snapped the bad guy's neck and saved the day! It was so cool, Pigsy– I love cable,” MK finished, snapping Pigsy back.

“Sounds kind of violent, don’t it?” Pigsy didn’t have an issue, he just wondered how a kid like MK would like something like that.

“Eh, it was cool,” MK shrugged with a grin, eating more cereal. “Plus, it was to defend this lady monkey so it was for honor and stuff and the greater good.”

“Well that’s good I guess,” Pigsy shrugged to himself.

“MK-! Do you have my– Cereal? Why cereal?” Mei stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong with cereal? Don’t you like it?” The chef frowned a little.

“Nooo, I dooo, it’s just– I dunno– boring?” Mei shrugged.

“Well it’s what you’re getting today. Mr. Tang can buy you two some lunch– and if he can’t, then tell him I’ll pay him back,” Pigsy rubbed his forehead and went back to his coffee.

“Ughhhhhhhhhh, okay,” Mei groaned, taking her seat and complying.

The machine beeped and Pigsy grabbed his favorite mug and poured.

With the blink of dissociative eyes, Pigsy was already out the door and dropped the kids off at the school, and apparently he’d lit a cigarette somewhere along the way too. He wasn’t supposed to– he knew MK hated it, but he couldn’t smother it no matter how hard he tried.

“Hey you two little monkeys-! You ready for the field trip?” Tang snuck up on Pigsy and cheered for the kids who quickly joined in.

“I wanna see the monkeys! I hear they got cool nets and stuff and you can go through tunnels and stuff and they’ll move around you,” MK grinned big, glad to step away from the smoke a bit.

“Well I wanna see the reptile room. I wanna see me a big old lizard boy,” Mei announced.

“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time for both, you two,” Tang laughed before turning his attention to Pigsy.

“Are… you okay?” His face immediately fell.

“Bad morning. Have fun with the kids,” Pigsy half-lied, not wanting to get into it and figuring a simple explanation would keep him happy and at least slightly unworried.

“Oh– uh– will do then,” Tang winced a little, before adding– “Try not to smoke too much, though.”

Pigsy snorted weakly before saying motionless goodbyes and heading off to the restaurant by himself.

In the subway, his phone rang. Pigsy’s breath hitched as he fished it out and immediately hit decline, not even bothering to check caller ID. He also didn’t get rid of his cigarette when someone told him it wasn’t allowed on the train. He rode in silence, until he was suddenly unlocking the door of the restaurant.

8:32– he was late.

How, he didn’t know– maybe there’d been a delay in the train. Maybe he’d done something wrong– well that was probably guaranteed but– ugh, he didn’t have time for this. He set his cigarette in an ashtray and started prepping, startled when half way through slicing chives he realized he already had another in his mouth, and the stench was starting to burn his throat.

Get it together.

Suddenly he was finished with both the cigarette and the prep work and so opened at–

9:03– still late.

This time he saw himself fish out his reds and lighter but he didn’t even bother to try and pull back.

His phone buzzed to life again at 9:32, when still nobody had arrived at the restaurant. He took it out of his pocket but instead of answering, he placed it on the counter and watched it buzz and buzz and ring and ring and ring and ring and– Why hadn’t anyone arrived yet? It was a friday for crying out loud– Pigsy was supposed to be busy by now– his hands were supposed to be clocking in orders and he was just supposed to be lost in the circadian rhythm– they were supposed to fucking be here already.

When the phone finally stopped buzzing, Pigsy scrubbed down the restaurant one– two– three but still by 10:19 nobody was there. Nobody. Not a single soul.

Alone.

…He wasn't supposed to– it was technically illegal, but he opened a bottle of rice wine and began to drink, the dry mix of sweet and sour clashing with the ash and toxicity of tobacco. It was god awful and didn't do anything to make Pigsy feel better but he continued to drink anyways as his world just started to spiral in his head.

Nobody was there.

Was he even reading the clocks right? It was morning– people should be here– they shouldn't let him do this– he shouldn't let him do this–

His phone rang again.

Enraged, Pigsy snatched the phone from the counter and grabbed another bottle of wine (having finished the first) before storming up the stairs into the mostly empty apartment that was in the process of becoming an office/hang out space for MK and Mei. He set the phone on the counter and sat at a stool and watched it as his mind tugged him further and further back into the past.

Pigsy popped open the bottle and took a long, long swig.

.o0o.

Annoyance had flooded Pigsy’s senses when the phone rang a third time that morning, and despite his instincts to just hang up and block the number, he answered.

“Hello–”

“Pigsy-! Thank the stars you answered– I-i—”

“Sandy? The hell happened to your phone?” Pigsy poured himself another glass of baijiu.

“Pigsy– l-look, I-i– I don’t know what to do– I-i didn’t know who to call– I-i–”

“Woah, woah, woah– slow your roll here, man,” Pigsy huffed and took a sip. “The hell happened? Are you– crying?”

“I-i’m in jail, Pigsy– b-but look– you gotta listen to me– whatever they tell you, I-i didn’t mean to, okay? She was my world Bajie– please–”

All humor left the air and Pigsy set his glass down. “Sandy, you gotta calm down. I can’t understand you with all this weepin’.”

Harsh words– too harsh.

“Pigsy please, you gotta help me–”

“Sandy, stop– Just–” Pigsy rubbed his forehead, leaning on the sink. “It’s way too late for this, and you know I got delivery day tomorrow– ‘sides, bail is closed on the weekends.”

“I just– Xin– you know I-i love her– b-but I thought– she looked like one of ‘em– the enemy soldiers– I didn’t mean to hurt her, Bajie, you know I never would.”

Pigsy’s eyes widened, a lump forming rapidly in his throat.

“Sandy… what happened to Xin?”

His friend didn’t reply.

“Sandy, answer me," Pigsy slammed his fist against his fridge.

Sandy, the tall and stoic and brave, just started blubbering like a baby again and all Pigsy could do was shake his head to stop realization from hitting him, but it settled in nonetheless.

“B-bajie– I swear I didn’t mean to– I didn’t mean to– It was an accident– I thought sh-she– A-and now– I-i can’t live with myself– Bajie please–”

Pigsy took his trembling legs to the table where he lowered the phone and poured another drink through rapidly cloudy eyes.

Hai Xin was the kindest woman alive and the perfect soulmate for Sandy: tall, strong, honest and confident. She was everything Pigsy couldn’t have ever been– she made Sandy happy.

And now she was fucking gone. Because of Sandy. Because of the war.

Because of Pigsy.

“–Bajie y-you have to help me– you know I didn’t mean it– I never would– I loved her– I loveher– please–”

“Jesus fucking Christ Sandy– what the hell do you expect me to do?! Y-you killed her–! I-i can’t–”

"Pigsy, please. No one else knows me like you– y-you’re my best friend– you have to help me," His friend wept.

“Friend???” Pigsy laughed bitterly, tears falling down his face. “I-i– I’m not your friend, Sandy– Friends don’t do this to each other.”

“B…Pigsy, you don’t mean–”

“Of course I fucking do! I-i– I can’t do this– I can’t be with you– I-i–” Pigsy buried his face in his hands.

“Pigsy… please… It was an accident– please believe me…”

Pigsy shook his head violently before having to take several deep breaths so he could spit out, “Get a lawyer, Sandy. A good one.”

Sandy gasped on the other line– “W-wait, Pigsy– plea–”

Pigsy hung up, poured himself another glass of baijiu, and chugged it down before collapsing into sobs.

.o0o.

Sobbing.

Pigsy was sobbing.

He was sitting at the same fucking table, in the same fucking apartment, holding the same fucking phone– that phone– that ringing, unceasing phone– that stupid fucking cursed phone that had destroyed everything–

In half a heartbeat, Pigsy stood and threw his phone against the wall with all his might, shattering it into bits and pieces instantly. He was almost startled by the monstrous force behind it, before he touched his face and realized he had completely lost his glamor.

Long tusks, scarred cheek, wild and matted fur, and roughly seven feet tall– probably 700 pounds too.

He looked like the monster he was inside.

Pigsy immediately sank to his knees and wept– he wept and wept and wept and wept until he was on the floor next to the completely empty bottle of rice wine, sharp pain infecting his chest as it felt he forgot how to breathe.

“S-sandy, I– *hic* – I-i didn’ mean– I’m so– *hic*–sorry,” He gave meaningless, useless, pathetic apologies to the swirling apartment around him. Painful ringing filled his ears and all he could do was cry and cry and cry and cry.

Hai Xin was a saint. Sandy was a saint. And Pigsy? Pigsy was what you saw– a filthy, disgusting, violent, destructive, addicted, fat demon who can’t ever solve his own goddamned messes and was now intoxicated, miserable, and alone.

His vision started to blur as the pain and agony in chest grew. He tried drinking more wine to drown out his disappointment and wrath but by now the bottle was empty so he threw that aside too, glass going everywhere.

Broken pieces– shattered lives– what was Pigsy even doing right now?? God– he totally destroyed his phone– what if it was Tang who called? The school? Were MK and Mei alright? What about Tang? Were all three of them– he shouldn't have left them alone– he shouldn't have left any of them alone. This was his fault. He was a monster– a beast– a murderer– a–

“Mr. Zhu?” A soft voice sent Pigsy shooting straight up, and he immediately swung a punch in that direction, but the (glowing???) figure dodged with perfect ease.

Pigsy landed on the floor with a heavy thud and he cut himself on some of the glass from the wine bottle. He turned back to them, anger still bright in his eyes before the glowing figure touched his arm, and a deep calm washed over him, relaxing his breath and muscles before he could focus his eyes and realize that the bright figure was just–

Gatita..???

“Pigsy– are you alright?” The woman touched his oversized, beastly arm with zero hesitation, which made Pigsy flinch.

“G-gatita– I-i wasn’t– *hic*– expecting you,” He struggled to sit up.

“It’s okay, Pigsy, you’re okay– you're just having a panic attack, just breathe for me,” Gatita assisted, getting him against a wall and kneeling in front of him.

“Th-the kids– they’re– *hic*– are they okay?” He grabbed shoulder. with all his might, making her wince, and he let go in a panic.

“Hey, hey– easy there,” She tried to soothe. “The children are fine, Mr. Zhu– I’m asking about you; What happened? Why didn’t you answer my calls? Why are you up here?” She sat in front of him so he was forced to look at her.

Pigsy’s hands fumbled for his cigarettes in his pocket, but Gatita gently pulled them away from his hand.

“Mr. Zhu, I need you to be forward with me,” She looked at him so softly it hurt. “What happened here?”

Pigsy blinked slowly. “Y-you’re the one who– *hic* –called?”

Gatita nodded. “I was hoping to have lunch with you; have you take the day off to chat and see how you’re holding up.”

Pigsy laughed, covering his eyes with his hand. “Sandy… Xin…”

The woman nodded solemnly. “I’ve heard.”

“You’ve– oh shit– Gatita– please– y-you– *hic* –you can’t– the kids– please the kids–” Pigsy shook his head as tears streamed down his fur.

“Hey now,” Gatita said, and another calm wave washed over the demon against his will. “Nobody is going anywhere, nobody is getting taken away– it’s okay.”

‘It’s okay.’

When was anything ever “okay”? How could ruining your best friend's life and getting someone else killed ever okay?????

“Leave me alone, Gatita,” Pigsy growled, eyes red.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. Zhu– you are deeply unwell, and you need help,” She placed a soft hand on his giant cheek.

Pigsy glared. “You should be– *hic* – afraid of me.”

Gatita chuckled and wiped away a stray tear. “I’ve seen my fair share of demons, Mr. Zhu, and you’re a rose compared to them.”

Pigsy grunted his disbelief, before asking, “Why were you calling?”

“Well… if you want to think of it in professional terms, then it’s because I know that my client–Mei–’s wellbeing is directly tied to your wellbeing. However, I like to think of it more as me being fond of you and wondering how you’ve been holding up since I last saw you,” She assured him gently.

“You calling is what set me off in the first fuckin’ place– I mean– goddamn– six– seven times–?”

“It was only twice, Mr. Zhu,” Gatita looked genuinely confused.

Pigsy blinked. “N-no, you had– who–?” the demon shook his head, “Doesn’t matter– phone’s fucking broken,” he gestured to the shattered pieces before rubbing his face. “God, I’m such an idiot– I’m sorry– I just– I–”

“You’ve hurt yourself,” Gatita noticed the cut in his hand.

Pigsy growled, “S’what I get for breakin’ all this shit.”

"Broken glass can be swept, and a phone can be replaced, Mr. Zhu, but a life cannot," she frowned softly, reaching into her bag and pulling out a bandage.

“God– you think I don’t know that?!," Pigsy snapped, startling her.

For weeks he had pleaded to never had heard that phone call– that he'd go to Xin and Sandy's wedding in two months as planned. That he'd be the best man and give a sappy speech and everything would feel okay and Pigsy would be satisfied knowing Sandy finally had someone good in his life and he could become the recluse in his restaurant like he was always meant to be.

He wished for– begged for– prayed for a way he could've possibly made things better– but once the newspaper arrived and the details of the trial were released, he had known the best thing he could do was disappear.

His Nana had stopped him.

"Hey, hey– it’s alright, just breathe for me–"

“Hai Xin is dead because of me, Gatita,” Pigsy snapped. "I cant just fucking 'breathe' that away!"

Gatita went silent for a moment, closing her eyes before unwrapping the bandage and placing it on his hand.

"Mr. Zhu… feeling guilty and torturing yourself or even getting yourself killed won’t bring her back– you must understand this," she pleaded. "MK, Mei and Tang need you, and I will not watch idly by as you throw yourself away."

Pigsy sat up a little. “I-i wasn’t– I’m not–”

Gatita looked deep, deep into his eyes.

"...It's just a bad day."

"You don't have to be alone, you know."

"I've been alone for eight years, Gatita, and I’ve always been just fine, and I’ll always be fine–"

"You know you didn't turn on your sign. The one outside."

Pigsy blinked. "...What?"

"That’s why nobody was in the restaurant. They thought you hadn’t opened.”

The demon shook his head. "But that's… nonono, I always–"

"Mr. Zhu, look at me."

He hesitated but obeyed.

"You are not fine. You are not okay. You made terrible mistakes in your past and they have wounded you severely. You need help and not just for your sake– but for your family's too."

"They aren’t my family…"

Gatita gasped in quiet heartbreak and Pigsy quickly corrected himself.

"I-i don't mean it like that– I-i just– I-i can't. I'm not good enough– I'll never be good enough– I mean– look at me!" Pigsy laughed pathetically. "I'm a seven foot drunk fucking monster with giant tusks and claws and just– I can't. I-i can care, I can watch, I-i can protect, but I'll never– I can't be a– I'll kill them."

Gatita instantly wrapped her arms around his thick neck and squeezed tightly, saying nothing and yet everything at the same time. For some stupid, pathetic reason, Pigsy hugged her back and allowed himself to cry in her embrace.

“Mr. Zhu… you are not cursed, and you are not a murderer. What happened was an awful, awful accident that isn't anybody's fault," She said, still holding on.

Pigsy shook his head. "I'll kill them one day– I will, I will–”

“Pigsy–" She let go.

“All I do is hurt people. A-and yeah, I can try, but I’ll fuck up just like my pops did and then they’ll turn 18 and never, ever want to see me again, and with Mei’s fancy schmancy inheritance they can move to the otherside of the world for all they care, a-and–”

“Pigsy, look at me.”

He did.

“Your father is not kind to himself. Neither was his, or his father and so on and so forth. If you want to break this pattern, you must believe in yourself and that you can be better,” She placed a hand on his shoulder.

“How the hell’d you know that?” Pigsy snorted in contempt, and Gatita frowned.

“That doesn’t matter,” She waved him off. “Let me ask you somethinge: do you think the kids would be happy seeing you like this?” She asked.

Pigsy shook his head and meant it.

He could practically imagine it– MK standing frozen by the door at the sight of him– terrified of him throwing that bottle. Mei would yell at him for scaring MK– say she hates him, or say she wished she’d prefer her babysitters or nannies anyday compared to him. She’d find a way to hurt him– she would. They’d never trust him again. And Pigsy would deserve it.

“Children are impressionable creatures, Mr. Zhu. Their minds are so susceptible to every little thing and pattern– not unlike monkeys, really,” Gatita laughed a little before shaking her head. “But I digress– what I mean is… well… Would you like it if the kids, having heard or seen your self-abusive tendencies, began to mimic it?”

“No-! That’d be–...” Pigsy’s eyes softened in realization. “That’d be awful, ma’am.”

The lawyer smiled at him wearily. “You need to take care of yourself, friend. For the children’s sake because– well– pardon my bluntness, but the last thing they need is to lose another parental figure.”

Her words hit like dagger in his chest, but at least the message was loud and clear.

“I-i don’t… I don’t wanna fail ‘em, I just feel like I will anyways…” He whispered, looking away.

“The best way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to take care of yourself, Mr. Zhu,” She placed a soft hand under his chin.

“But I– I don’t–”

“You may think you don’t deserve it, but don’t the children deserve a happier, healthier guardian?”

“Then give them to Tang-!” Pigsy shouted. “I-i don’t know why or how I was chosen, but I am very clearly not the best guy for the job– I mean– look at me– really, really look at me.”

She did.

“Do I seriously look like I could ever be a ‘happy, healthy guardian’?” He asked, voice cracking.

“Mr. Zhu, you do not understand how much deliberation went into your eventually selection– while Mr. Tang is good and kind and–”

“–And human?” Pigsy glared.

“...and intelligent, he cannot provide the level of protection you can. He lacks your bravery and tenacity and your resourcefulness– he is a great man, but he is not the protector and caregiver they need,” She took two of his fingers and squeezed them, since his hand was far too big to be held.

“...But what if I ruin ‘em? What if–” Pigsy swallowed a lump in his throat– “What if one day that light in MK’s eyes just… fades. What if Mei stops joking around? What if something hurts them– what if I hurt them? What if it’s all my fault and they really would’ve ended up better off with some fancy schmancy royal life instead of being with me? What if you were wrong?”

“There is nothing that cannot be overcome with love, compassion, and care– and that includes to the self,” Gatita didn’t waver a second.

Pigsy opened his mouth to speak, but Gatita held out a finger.

“Think of it this way: if you had the option of boarding a bus with a driver that hated himself, never got any sleep, and was smoking and drinking, versus one with a bit of temperament but always arrived on time and with care, which would you feel better about picking? Heck– which one would you want MK and Mei to ride with?”

Pigsy closed his eyes and bit his cheek before shaking his head. “Dammit Gatita– you make this really hard.”

The lawyer laughed. “I’ve had a lot of practice over the years.”

Pigsy didn’t doubt that.

Gatita dusted herself off and stood. “Look– how's about you let me take you home, I’ll make you some tea, lend you an ear for any other thoughts or feelings you have– or we just watch a movie, go for a walk– and overall just relax until the children and Tang get home and I’ll let you take it from there, hm?”

Pigsy sighed, running his hand through his fur. “I… yeah, I guess that does sound kinda… nice…”

“Wise decision,” Gatita winked and offered her hand.

Pigsy didn’t take it right away though, glancing at her nervously.

“I… I really, really don’t wanna hurt ‘em…” he confessed.

“You want to know something?” She asked.

Pigsy nodded.

“No good parent wants to either,” She whispered with a wink.

Pigsy laughed a little. “Guess I can’t argue there, huh?”

Gatita shrugged. “You put up a good fight– reminds me of an old friend,” she once again offered her hand.

This time, Pigsy took it, shrinking back down to his glamored form, though stumbling a bit forward since he was still quite drunk.

“Feeling any better yet, Mr. Zhu?” Gatita smiled softly and helped stabilize him.

“It’s Pigsy– and… yeah, I guess I am… thanks.” Pigsy couldn’t help but give a weak smile in return.

“Anytime, Pigsy,” Gatita nodded a little. “Now let’s get you home and get something other than two bottles of wine in you, hm?”

“Ugh– is that what happened? Jeez, I really am a mess,” Pigsy cringed.

“You’re a work in progress,” Gatita patted his arm before getting the door. “Shall we?”

“Yeah… yeah– let’s go,” Pigsy nodded to himself and together the pair walked into a brighter day.

#lego monkie kid #lmk #pigsy lmk #lmk fics #freenoodles #ptsd #sandy lmk #dadsy of two au #hurt/comfort #angst #my fics #fuck how do i tag things #why do i keep forgetting tags #uhhhhh #dadsy #hell yeah

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oddmerit · 14 days ago

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being called a genuine, actual cisphobe in 2014 by (most of) my closest friends bc i had the gall to reblog posts about how cis people perpetuate transphobia without stopping to think about how The Good Ones would feel about me lumping them together with other, more actively transphobic cis people (bc even allies can perpetuate transphobia!) makes me really hate that “the left hates me, a white man, for my immutable characteristics :(“ post. because:

1. a lot of the time they’re not referring to out-and-out “man i genuinely hate cis white men” talk, its “cis white men, even the Good Ones, still perpetuate and are complicit in racism and misogyny” that had a brusque tone because op was frustrated with someone specific, and the whole “wahhh they hate me cause im a white man!!” schtick is a smokescreen for “these people are making up racism and misogyny, some of which i participate in or agree with, to get mad at”

2. even if it IS direct hate? you just gotta learn to let it roll off you like water off a duck’s back and understand people are venting their frustration at being oppressed. i used to be extremely sensitive to that kind of stuff cause i was easily made upset by literally ANYTHING! but part of maturing is realizing that sometimes people giving you shit is not going to, like, physically hurt you. who cares if someone thinks less of you cause you’re white or a man or cis. people don’t have to be endlessly thankful for your generosity in order to be helped by you. you will feel a lot better about yourself and your capacity for helping others if you disabuse yourself of this notion and gain a sense of satisfaction from doing the right thing instead of external back-patting

there are better things to worry about than the person in a country with a history of us-backed coups saying “damn i dont care about yanks freaking out over cheeto man because the US is gonna fuck over my country regardless of the election results”. i thought we went over the whole “tone-policing is bad and if you stop supporting a social movement cause some people were superficially mean in your general direction then you were never really their ally anyways” thing in the early 2010s but i guess not

#unidentified gay noise #you see it a lot with transmisogyny& trans men too #shoutout to danny for being the only person i was friends with back then to actually turn out to be a good person. love ya bud

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thebibliomancer · 2 months ago

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Essential Avengers: The Terminus Factor - First Half

1990

The TERROR Begins!

The terror of another Annual Crossover! Oh noes!

But, but, but! Instead of trying to make one event for the whole company, Marvel has split into fiefdoms.

The Avengers and related books have their own event, the Terminus Factor. The X Books are doing Days of Future Present. The Spider-Man books apparently have a crossover called "Spidey's Totally Tiny Adventure." And the rest of the annuals (Punisher, Daredevil, Incredible Hulk, and Silver Surfer) get lumped together for Lifeform.

The takeaway here is that I don't have to kill myself trying to cover 14 annuals, Atlantis Attacks. There's just five annuals in the Terminus Factor: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, West Coast Avengers, and Avengers. All relevant to my interests and within my wheelhouse.

And all written by Roy and Dann Thomas! It's still a lot of material to cover in one post so I'll still be splitting it up. But limiting things to the Avengers and having the same writers for the thing means it should stay on the rails and not go off into some drug subplot so Punisher can play.

Sure, the focus is Terminus and he's nobody's favorite cosmic jerk. But everything is working in favor of this being a better event than Evolutionary War or Atlantis Attacks.

That's a low bar so fingers crossed, knock on wood.

Captain America Annual #9: You ARE What You Eat

Something already neat about this event is this table of contents. Instead of just Part 1 or Chapter 1, the parts are labelled Stage One and so on and seem to refer to... uh, Terminus' life-cycle. Which he apparently has.

Also, Hercules killed him. But it doesn't seem to have stuck. Or, considering the life-cycle... maybe Terminus laid some eggs before he got Hercules'd?

We're gonna find out!

Also, this Captain America Annual starts in the wildest place. Tony Stark dropping Captain America into a volcano.

Okay, once again with context. Captain America is accompanying vulcanologist Dr Ramona Napier in a special capsule to study Mt. Saint-Cloud from the inside. Tony Stark asked Cap to ride-along. The capsule gets dropped into a volcano by helicopter.

I don't know what kind of wonder capsule this is that it's actually dense enough to sink in magma. Truly science is amazing.

But deep in the new volcano, a mechanical looking egg EXPLODES and releases glowing blobs which start rising upward.

The glowing blobs twine around the capsule, so bright that they're blinding in what should be a pitch black environment (despite how magma is usually depicted as warm orange and reds, even in this very comic). Dr Napier bumps the controls and accidentally locks the capsule to plummet deeper into the volcano.

Observers near the throat of the volcano see the glowing blobs shoot out of the lava and into a nearby stream. They have no idea what to make of that.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark.

He's waiting outside the mountain. Anxiously. Because they lost communications with the capsule.

Which, by the way, they tested in simulated lava! Because, honestly, if you're going to drop your friend into a volcano, it'd better be in a capsule that's already proven lava-proof.

One of the engineers manages to track the capsule as sinking out of control. Tony tells the engineers to do what they can while he goes for a walk and think.

Some Guy: "'Think'? What good'll it do him to go walking off into the woods now? He claims he cares so much about the human beings in Persephone-1... Was that all just a pose?" Another Guy: "Nuts! To blazes with Tony Stark, Boy Industrialist! We've got people to -- Huh? IRON MAN!?"

Yup, Tony Stark went for a walk out of sight and then Iron Man shows up.

Tony Stark, Iron Man, being his own bodyguard is one of those things where you have to suspend him disbelief. But in this instance... Tony Stark goes for a walk, Iron Man shows up and goes 'wow good thing Tony had me on call, just in case!' yeah, I wouldn't question it.

Also a good thing that Tony designed the Iron Man armor to withstand 2000 degrees... well, for a few seconds. Just can't fit as much heat-proofing on an Iron Man armor as you can on a volcano capsule.

Iron Man: "See you soon -- or not at all!"

This story could go in a very grim direction.

Also, Iron Man just plunges right into the lava. Yadda yadda density. Although, he once shoulder checked a rock the size of Manhattan. I believe he could force his way through dense molten rock.

Inside the volcano and inside the capsule, Captain America manages to pull the capsule out of the dive. So they're not sinking. But the heat refracting tiles are coming loose so they're cooked regardless.

THEN BIG HERO MOMENT

Iron Man carries the capsule to the surface of the lava. Then he has to fuck off to cool his armor down before it goes into meltdown.

Which does leave Captain America a chance to be cool too. The door is still locked and it's still ridiculously hot inside... because, well, they're resting in a pool of lava. So Captain America kicks the door down and jumps to the lip of the volcano!

Volcano rescue makes for a pretty amazing opening. Probably not remotely scientifically accurate but comics seldom are.

Meanwhile, the glowing goop from the volcano landed in a stream. One of the engineers comments that something that unusual is what they're dropping capsules into volcanoes to study but what can ya do. No harm done if it lands in the stream, right?

Anyway, the goop is eaten by trout who get weird eyes. A bear is fishing in the stream but is scared off by some people from Georgeville who cast a net to catch some fish for a fry.

A fish fry hosted by the that Iron Man, Captain America, and Dr Napier attend. Tony Stark was scheduled to attend too but whoops, he had to go back to California and people have definitely seen him and Iron Man in the same room at the same time.

Cap and Dr Napier don't eat anything at the trout feast, already feeling queasy from being bounced around inside the volcano capsule.

Also, the thing where Tony's fellow Avengers aren't sure whether or not he's Iron Man continues. They also continue to strongly suspect it's him.

I dunno the point of this subplot. It hasn't really gone anywhere.

Anyway, Cap is distracted mid-conversation with Dr Napier when the mayor suddenly gets the same red with white crackle eyes as the trout and starts growling.

He jumps at Captain America, who grabs him mid-leap and flips him headfirst into the ground. Ouch.

Captain America: "Maybe I had to rough up his honor a bit more than I'd have liked -- but that was more to stop him from really getting hurt than to protect myself. No northwoods politician -- not even one who suddenly turned into a raving maniac -- is any real threat to a guy who's gone toe-to-toe with the Red Skull."

But he quickly realizes it's not just the mayor. It's the whole crowd. It's Iron Man.

It's nearly everyone aside from Cap and Dr Napier.

Cap quickly deduces that something was wrong with the food so even though all these people are trying to kill them, he doesn't want to hurt them unnecessarily. Or let them hurt those in town unaffected. Or let the berserkers hurt themselves.

He sees an adult man and a child running at a terminal box. The man rips the live wires out and gets electrocuted. The child nearly gets the same but Cap tackles him out of the way and shoves him in an ice barrel so he can't try it again.

Meanwhile, Iron Man lands so Captain America throws his mighty shield and all who oppose his shield must yield their ass to the floor.

Weirdly, the crowd piles on Iron Man instead of continuing to go after Cap. Also, notably, the child Cap shoved in some ice seems to have recovered, regaining his speech and asking if he can get out.

Cap tells the boy to run home. And the gears in his head must have been turning because he suddenly seems to have a plan.

He tells Dr Napier to get to tha choppa, he's got a theory. And just as he predicts, Iron Man throws the dogpile off of himself and takes off after the helicopter.

Captain America flies towards the mountain and nearly gets there when Iron Man blasts the rotors.

The helicoptor crashes on the snowy mountain. Luckily, Cap and Dr Napier survive the crash. Good piloting, Launchpad.

But the townspeople are marching up the mountain path after the helicopter "like the cast of 'Night of the Living Dead'! and Iron Man is circling overhead.

Captain America: "IRON MAN! If you want me -- if there's enough of your brain functioning for you to have any idea what you want -- COME AND GET ME!"

And Iron Man swoops down and fires his repulsors at Cap. And when the guy just backflips away from that, Iron Man punches him in the face.

This glowy eye trout food poisoning sure is an odd beserker status. The people affected don't seem able to talk anymore but Tony is operating a complicated suit of powered armor. Weird.

Anyway, Iron Man beats the shit out of Captain America. And Captain America baits him into flying into a snowbank and also SPTANNGs him in the chest.

It's a very disproportionate fight. As one would expect when a dude, even a peak human dude, is trying to fight a war machine.

Iron Man punches Captain America off a cliff and then repulsors the rock he's clinging to. But as Cap is falling to his death, Iron Man seems to regain his sense and his non-glowy eyes.

He flies down really quick and catches Captain America and flies him back up to the clifftop.

And now is when Captain America Explains It All.

Captain America: "Something in those fish turned people into raging psychopaths -- beserkers attracted to energy sources, like a terminal box and your armor -- or you, to the chopper. But you snapped out of it -- just in time, by my reckoning -- because cold somehow seems to reverse its effects. An accidental ice-dip had worked on that boy -- so I had to pray it'd work on the rest of you. And it did, once the townspeople had tramped up here to the snowline chasing a power source -- you! As you can see, they're slowly returning to normal."

Well, that sure was a lot of correct conclusions you jumped to, based on the available evidence.

Dr Napier adds that the weird glowing stuff they saw shoot out of the volcano was probably to blame. It landed in the same stream that the trout were fished from.

Iron Man: "Then, whatever that glowing substance was -- we can't be sure the menace it posed is over, can we?" Dr Napier: "No. Of course, it's possible that all of it was absorbed by those particular fish -- or else dissipated harmlessly in the flowing stream --" Captain America: "But if it wasn't, it could be way downstream by now. It could be... almost anywhere... And, if something else ate some of those tainted fish... the whole world could be in big trouble!"

Oh no, the bear from earlier was infected by eating a glowy fish!

TERMINUS LIVES!

Well, the cover has Terminus on it and the title of the crossover is the Terminus Factor. So it's not a huge surprise.

But I guess the glowy stuff was Terminus goo and now that bear is Terminused. Got the red eyes.

This introductory issue was not bad. An excuse for Captain America and Iron Man to fight, with Captain America getting to be the smart one. An interesting new angle for Terminus, who was just budget Galactus before now.

And the Iron Man Annual is next so I assume Tony is going to have to fight a bear.

Let's find out!

Iron Man Annual #11: If the TERMINI Come...

THE BEGINNING of the END!

That Terminus-infected bear is looking pretty gruesome. Like an animatronic that has seen better days and is also into murder.

Also, hi, Aaron Stack!

Feels like it's been a while since I've seen you in something. I don't remember if you appeared in any of Essential Avengers before now so it would be the Earth X liveblog instead.

Anyway.

We start with some Aaron Stack, Machine Man (X-51), status quo. Apparently, the Captain's team of ad hoc Avengers found Jocasta's disembodied head floating in the ocean after she blew up the High Evolutionary's gigantic boat. And lacking the ability or motivation to do anything about it, they mailed the head to Aaron.

... That's what Iron Man did with Victor Mancha's head too, when he 'died' in the Vision series.

Avengers, stop mailing people robot heads!

As Aaron tries to repair Jocasta (or at least reactivate her head? She's missing most of her), he's kept company by Peter Spaulding.

Anyway, suddenly a very angry bear bursts through the wall.

Aaron shoves Peter to relative safety and tries to restrain the bear. But it knocks him away, tearing its fur in the process and revealing

ROBOT BEAR.

Wow, Terminus infection is a hell of a thing.

It completely hollowed out that bear and replaced the body with metal, leaving just the fur.

I would have had a seemingly normal bear be the threat for a while, delay the metallic reveal. Perhaps during Aaron's very ineffective attacks on it.

He tries tackling the bear, to no effect. He tries shooting the bear with his finger gun (he has a .357 Magnum built into his pointer). He even tries using his knuckle flamethrower. Which would have been a good time for the fur to be burned away and show what Aaron is really dealing with.

Aaron even tries an extendo-punch but the bear rips off his arm and starts chowing down on it.

Getting his arm ripped off knocks Aaron the fuck out. Peter Spaulding has stuck around despite Aaron telling him to run and he won't leave Aaron to be snacked on. He manually activates Aaron's boot jets and sends him flying out of the shack. Aaron even manages to snag Jocasta's head, despite being unconscious. Nice!

Then Peter Spaulding figures, this thing wants to eat metal, I'll give him metal to eat. He throws a container of liquid titanium at it. While the METAL BEAR chews on that, Peter tries running out the Aaron hole.

But the bear snags his leg and drags him back into the shack. And considering the scream and the SNAPP!... Yeah, Peter Spaulding isn't making it out of this one.

And by this one, I mean this story.

What's weird is that this isn't the end of Peter Spaulding. For some reason, despite dying here, he was brought back ten years later in a X-51 series with no explanation.

SO NEARLY TWENTY YEARS AFTER THAT, Marvel Comics #1001 has to establish that the Peter Spaulding was an impersonator.

Why was someone impersonating Peter Spaulding? Iunno.

Sometimes retcons amount to little more than a shrug. Anything to get out of a seemingly irreversible writing decision.

Over on the Iron Man side of this Iron Man book, Tony Stark is being given a tour of the Baintronics Inc factory by Sunset Bain.

Tony Stark: "Hope you won't mind my asking -- is 'Sunset' your given name?" Sunset Bain: "Yes. Given by me... to myself. I'm very much a self-made woman, Tony."

Tony and Sunset vibe for a bit over robotics. Sunset has a nostalgia for the robots you'd see in old sci-fi. And muses how she always wanted to grab a can-opener and see what was inside.

Odd lady, Sunset Bain.

Something triggers the Baintronics Inc factory reconnaissance radar and Sunset cuts the tour short to go check it out. Tony being Tony decides to check it out too, after finding a spot to change into Iron Man.

Iron Man spies a missile that is very much shaped like a man just hurtling through the air past the Baintronics compound and towards the Columbia River.

He uses his repulsors to nudge the object into landing on the shore and discovers that it's no missile, it's Aaron Stack, Machine Man! Minus an arm and plus a Jocasta head.

Iron Man scoops up Aaron and takes him into Baintronics factory. He lie/explains to Sunset that he took Tony Stark to safety and that he'll call later. But hey, look at this Machine Man.

Tony Stark, that resourceful, clever man, definitely has some tools at his Los Angeles plant that can help repair Machine Man so he asks if he can leave Aaron there for an hour while he goes to get those tools.

Sunset Bain says that's no problem and that's because she's up to no good.

My cursed future knowledge of Dan Slott's Iron Man run makes me aware that Sunset Bain is actually evil. And she has the supervillain name of Madam Menace. She reveals her true colors the second Iron Man is gone.

She's been after Machine Man for a while and now he was just dropped into her lap? Everything coming up Sunset!

She has the deactivated Aaron taken to the Duplikatron, which scans his body and creates a duplicate except with both arms.

And she would have gotten away with it if this wasn't taking place during a crossover.

The Terminus-infected robot bear OH YEAHs into the Baintronics facility and starts tearing its way through men and machines.

Begrudgingly, Madam Menace Sunset Bain sends out her evil mooks to go deal with the robot bear. She doesn't like Madam Menace business mixing with Sunset Bain business. And she also errs on the side of caution and commands Iron Man to turn around and come back.

Sunset Bain: "You've got to get back here!"

Iron Man: "But I'm already halfway to Fresno!" Sunset Bain: "I don't care if you're halfway to the Moon! Get your tin can back here -- fast!"

Iron Man turns around but he sourly thinks that he doesn't really care for that attitude.

And in fairness, she hangs up on him without actually explaining jack. He's reasonably irritated.

When he arrives and sees the giant hole in the skylight and the robot bear terrorizing, he concedes okay this is a real emergency.

Iron Man jet boots right at the bear to welcome it to the slam but gets smacked back, FTHAK!

Iron Man: "That huge metal thingie -- it's terrorized those men, and now it looks like it's eating those titanium rods. Ordinarily, I like to find out what's going on before I take sides in a squabble -- but this time, I think maybe I'd better make an exception! ARRRGN--! On the other hand -- maybe there's something to be said for the diplomatic approach."

So Iron Man tries approaching the bear and asking what its deal is. The bear does not respond... uh doy... so Iron Man resumes resorting to force. He repulsors it against a wall but it manages to force itself loose and KTHANGs him again.

This time Iron Man got a good look at its eyes and recognized the look from what Captain America told him about the Georgeville, Washington fish fry incident. The stuff that shot out of the volcano and infected the fish and the people that ate the fish!

And for some reason, Iron Man also leaps to the conclusion that this is Terminus! Even though he's never been around on the previous times the big guy has been encountered.

I wonder if that's just narrative convenience to establish that this is a Terminus thing or if it will be important in the plot that the word Terminus leapt to Tony's brain.

Anyway, the link to the fish fry incident gives Iron Man a thing to try. Cold killed the terminus spores (or whatevers) in that case. So he'll just dump a big vat of frozen liquid titanium on the bearobot.

(I don't think titanium is liquid at cold temperatures actually... But it sure is in this story)

Unfortunately, the robot bear just absorbs the inexplicably frozen liquid titanium and grows bigger.

Then it smacks around Iron Man some more, except with bigger claws.

Meanwhile, Sunset Bain is trying to relocate the Machine Men out of the path of the bear rampage but her workers tender their resignations, no two weeks notice because they do not want to get beared.

A power surge wakes up Machine Man. He remembers his own encounter with the metal bear and follows the sounds of an exciting action packed comic book fight to see what's been going on without hi.

(Luckily for Sunset, the copy Machine Man was on a lower platform than Aaron and he doesn't look back once he gets going.)

Machine Man joins the fray and Iron Man catches him up on how things have been progressing. He also asks Aaron whether he's ever heard the name Terminus. he has not. And since Terminus was 150 feet tall...

Machine Man: "May we assume, then, that our present foe is still growing?" Iron Man: "At this point, we can't assume anything -- including our survival!"

Stakes: raised.

Aaron mentions that when he ran into this thing and it took his arm, it looked more like a bear. Fur and whatnot. And Iron Man says maybe it was and explains how a more microbial stage was able to mindjack anything that ate it.

There's an error with who the speech bubbles are pointing to but I think Aaron comes up with the idea to try molten metal if frigid liquid metal didn't work.

Machine Man has to swoop down and scoop up Sunset Bain (who has changed out of her Madam Menace mask) when the giant metal bear starts chasing her.

Sunset Bain: "But -- what's Iron Man doing with that vat of hot liquid metal? " Iron Man: "whatever -- i can -- lady -- unnnh! -- Whatever I CAN!"

And he just dumps that vat of piping hot metal all over the giant metal bear. Who melts.

Aaron was right about the first and second Terminus stages having different needs and weaknesses.

Unfortunately, out of the frying pan into the fire.

Right after finishing off the bear, Iron Man, Machine Man, and Sunset Bain hear a news report of hordes of animal-shaped robots swarming towards Seattle's aircraft factories, shipyards, and the Baintronics complex. On the hunt for Titanium.

Metal birds, metal fish, and metal beeeeees.

The problem was not limited to one net full of fish and one bear. Those Terminus spores have gotten all up and down the food chain.

Iron Man and Machine Man head off to go tackle the problem while Sunset Bain stays behind to capitalize.

One of her guys asks if she wants to activate the duplicate Machine Man so he can help deal with the robot animals. Sunset calls him an idiot. She's keeping the duplicate. Going to have to change some details around since the original is still kicking. Maybe use that random woman robot head Machine Man left behind.

Sunset Bain: "What's the difference? After all -- they'll only be robots. Our robots! It's not like robots have any real feelings or anything!"

Scene cut to Machine Man being very sad that (eventually retconned into an imposter) Peter Spaulding got super killed by the robot bear. He also has to comfort friend Gears Garvin who is feeling a lot of survivor's guilt for not being around.

Also, apparently, the horde of animal robots have diverted from Seattle. Iron Man suspects that there's some kind of group mind that told them one of their number got destroyed. Also, he's dubbed the robotocized animals Termini.

Aaron gets a new arm and he and Iron Man take off to go fight lots of things!

So many things.

As covered in one of the annual's back-up stories, which takes the form of a news broadcast about the "Terminus Plague."

Gonna be honest. Terminus Plague sounds like a better name for the crossover than the Terminus Factor.

Apparently, as Iron Man explained it and the KSNN broadcast conveyed it "'Termini,' which is apparently a sort of electronic virus that infects living organisms and slowly transmutes them to rabid, robotic creatures."

Which seems right.

It's cool to follow up directly from Iron Man and Captain America having a weird Terminus-related situation to Iron Man dealing with the same problem but bigger.

Just something you can do with these more contained crossover annuals which just have one writing team.

But, geez. I'm not very familiar with older Iron Man comics but Dan Slott must have loved this era. Sunset Bain making a copy Machine Man and having Jocasta's head. That's all stuff he repeated during the Iron Man 2020 event.

It's always weird, reading through older comics and recognizing some plot points as having been recycled later. Bendis ripping off Darker Than Scarlet. Morrison doing their own take on That Which Endures. Dan Slott loving this Iron Man era, apparently.

Anyway. Anyway. Anyway. Onto the next annual.

Thor Annual #15: Can Terminus Be Far Behind?

The Return of the ORIGINAL Terminus!

Is Thor shoulder dropping Terminus? Because that would be awesome.

More awesome than the title of this part of the crossover. The Captain America annual got to have a title that hinted at the story. "You are what you eat." People ate Terminus spores and got infected by Terminus.

"If the Termini come..." is a little ominous. What are the Termini? What happens if they come? And by the end of the issue, after Iron Man and Machine Man spend most of the story fighting one, they learn there's a whole bunch more. Uh oh!

But then it turns out that the Iron Man annual title and the Thor annual title are just one complete thought. "If the Termini come... Can Terminus be far behind?"

I dunno! I guess not! But, like, so what? Last time Terminus showed his face on Earth, Quasar yeeted him into space. Kind of diminishes the threat of having a bunch of guys presumably growing into Terminus if the big news is the original guy is coming back.

Well, let's dig into things.

Not going to be a lot of panels to share this time because this is the only part of the crossover not on Marvel Unlimited.

Shrug!

So, Thor and Hercules are booking it by hammer throw to San Francisco because Iron Man asked Thor to keep an eye out for the Termini.

Despite the news report back-up story of Iron Man and Machine Man fighting various Termini, according to Tony now in this Thor Annual, the two of them only managed to destroy the bear one. I guess the fights with the others were inconclusive or the Termini fucked off.

Iron Man had to take a break to repair Machine Man at the Stark Enterprises Oregon plant. So he gives Thor the rundown on the fish fry fiasco, the fight with the robot bear, and how Tony thinks Terminus is involved based on zero evidence.

Thor decides to dig into that link so he leaves Hercules behind and fucks off into the depths of space.

Hercules, by the by, barely knows what's going on. Thor brought him to San Francisco without explaining much. Thor does mention that this might be Terminus related, to Hercules' confusion.

Hercules: "Terminus? Why I once did unshell that behemoth like a pitiful lobster!"

Thor: "That, I am told, was not the true Terminus..." Hercules: "What? Dost thou mean -- someone dared make sport with Hercules?" Thor: "So sayteh Quasar, who lately propelled the true Terminus into the depths of space!"

So, apparently... In Quasar #7, Quasar met Terminus and also threw him into space. But before he did, Terminus apparently clarified that the Terminus that destroyed the Savage Land wasn't him.

One wonders why that was retconned. There's some tug of war going on with the canon of a character that's not very interesting. Ah well.

Thor tells Hercules that if he runs into any of the Termini, extreme heat is super effective.

Speaking of the Termini, a bunch of them bust into the Blackrock Nuclear Plant facility. A wolf, an eagle, and a bunch of fish.

And they are brutal. We didn't see a lot of the bear Termini killing people but these ones just shred anyone they come across in the nuclear facility.

Also, they talk now! Which is creepier than all the murder, honestly.

Termini: "Food" Termini: "FOOD"

Meanwhile, Hercules is just hanging around San Francisco. Remember, he barely knows what's going on and has no idea how to find any Termini.

But some cops found him and asked for autographs which Hercules signs with a lot of 'true heroes' flattery. And while he's doing that, the cop car gets an alert about animal-shaped robots attacking Blackrock.

And Hercules goes oh right, that's the thing I'm looking out for and asks the cops to take him there.

After killing or at least maiming everyone, the Termini at Blackrock start upending a giant container of nuclear fuel. Which they succeed at right as more Termini arrive - strangely adorable ones like squirrels, rabbits, and beavers.

All the Termini drink and cavort in the radioactive fuel and transform from animal robots to vaguely human-shaped ones.

They've also gone from just saying FOOD to parroting what people around them are saying.

Even creepier.

Hercules and the cops come in just about then. Unfortunately, not soon enough to save that survivor.

The cops start shooting at the Termini (to no effect, duh) so Hercules tells them to fuck off and cordon off the area. Then he gets down to the business of monster slaying, which is his spech ee ality.

Also, the life cycle of Terminus continues getting weirder. Starting off as microbes that infect other lifeforms and makes them go rabid and be drawn to energy sources. The infection can be slowed or stopped by cold temperatures. If the infection progresses enough, it replaces the creature's meat with metal and makes them crave titanium to nom. The Termini become immune to cold but lose the microbes immunity to high temperatures. These things originally came out of a volcano, remember.

Then there's kind of a gap in my understanding here. A lot of the Termini look pretty shrimpy so it's not like they were eating as much titanium as the bear one. But at some point in the animal robot stage of the Termini, instead of titanium, they start craving radiation instead? And enough transforms them into bigger human-shaped forms. Is it titanium consumption that pushes them to start craving radiation? Just enough Termini in an area? If it's just about Termini population density, what's the point of the titanium? Just so they congregate in the same areas? I dunno.

Meanwhile, Thor.

It is his annual, after all. He should do stuff in it.

And he uses Mjolnir to warp to where Quasar stranded Terminus in space.

And Terminus is just kind of floating in space. Quasar broke his lance so the guy can't propel himself anywhere.

Terminus sends Thor a psychic warning "Worm of Earth -- do not come near!" and Thor, of course, ignores it.

Then he tries to beat the shit out of Terminus. I'm not sure why. And he's not accomplishing much. Hitting Terminus in space just pushes him in the direction of the blow. And Terminus' armor is so strong (despite the imposter Terminus being easily bodied by Hercules) that Thor is having trouble smashing him open. And zapping him with Mjolnir isn't having any effect either.

Terminus is kind of angrily flailing in space, since he can't really control his positioning but he almost manages to hit Thor a couple times before nailing him with a swat.

This makes Thor SO MAD that he finally succeeds at hammerthrowing himself into Terminus' chest.

Like... inside it. He managed to penetrate into Terminus' gooey yet technological insides.

And Thor decides the point of this exercise is for him to GAIN MENTAL MASTERY OVER TERMINUS, THE WAY HE DID TO ATUM IN ATLANTIS ATTACKS!

Sure.

I don't think of Thor as being very psychic but he does have a powerful will and has out-willed things like the Destroyer armor before.

Except this time, Terminus' mind overwhelms Thor's.

But it does provide an exposition dump. So that's helpful, for the readers.

THE SECRET BACKSTORY OF TERMINUS

Once upon a time, the Celestials blew a planet the fuck up. Because the planet wanted to conquer the cosmos and sometimes the Celestials have opinions on that.

The warmongery unnamed alien race couldn't fight the Celestials. So they created a new microbe they called the Termini, shoved it into a rocket, and blasted it off from a doomed homeplanet.

So Terminus is germ Superman?

Anyway, the microbes were created to multiply, infect, evolve into more complex forms of life, and eventually become the Terminus we all know and know. And Terminus is engineered to just hate the shit out of the Celestials.

So Terminus would fly around the universe, finding planets that the Celestials didn't blow up, and basically plunder them. Then he went to Earth and Reed Richards sent him to the center of the Earth.

Terminus didn't die, duh. Instead, he started clawing his way back towards the surface. But, on his way, he met Jorro, a weapons-maker for the Deviants. And instead of continuing to climb back out of the Earth, Terminus deputized Jorro to go pretend to be him. Which got Jorro super-murdered by Hercules after Jorro destroyed the Savage Land.

Meanwhile, Terminus decided to take some of the shit he plundered and recreated the Termini bacteria. And with those ready to go, he continued his climb. Which led to him getting yeeted into space by Quasar.

Just 0-3 for Terminuses around here.

Anyway, that's THE SECRET BACKSTORY OF TERMINUS.

While Thor was distracted getting exposited at, Terminus prepared his blood corpuscles to kick Thor's ass.

Thor fights back but, yeah, he gets his ass kicked. He gets leeched and Terminus tentacle yoinks Mjolnir.

Thor gets thrown out into space with no propulsion while Terminus uses the power of Mjolnir to fix his lance so he can fuck off.

Meanwhile, Hercules continues fighting the man-shaped Termini. Except they start fighting with each other, glooping together, and merging into one big Terminus (with a tail).

Then, the original Terminus arrives.

I like that New Terminus has a different design than Classic Terminus. They grew up in different environments and given what we now know about his life-cycle, it makes a lot of sense.

So, that's the first half of the Terminus Factor.

I liiiiiiiked the Captain America and Iron Man Annuals. Seeing the volcano bacteria infect a town and drive them rabid was spooky and knowing it had SOMETHING to do with Terminus left this ominous note even after Cap saved most of the day.

Then the infected bear from the first part came back and we got to see how dangerous a single Terminus-infected animal was, only to learn that there were dozens more.

Things kinda took a dip in the Thor Annual. Guy barely got to be in his own story, since he had the burden of facilitating all the exposition needed to finish retconning the Savage Land encounter and to give Terminus an origin. And unfortunately, the origin is... meh? Incredibly vague Some Planet and Some Jerks create a germ to plunder as part of a vague plan to get back at the Celestials. Except has any of Terminus' MO been about the Celestials?

And he had to physically make more Termini germs? I dunno. I think it would have been better if spreading Terminus spores is just something that happened after he was dunked into the Earth.

At least the Hercules side of the plot continued showing more of the Terminus life-cycle. So now we kinda have most of the whole picture.

Next post will have the annuals for West Coast Avengers and Avengers and we'll see where the plot goes now that we've got two Terminuses.

Follow @essential-avengers. That's where this liveblog lives. Like and reblog and tell me your thoughts.

#essential avengers #avengers #terminus #captain america #iron man #machine man #aaron stack #thor #hercules #celestials

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sharkslayer06 · 5 months ago

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Fucking hate this era of corporate wokism we're living in where companies will hire minority groups to be a part of their new projects and then respond to any and all criticism of those projects with "Don't be racist/sexist/homophobic guys." And it keeps working because shitheads keep complaining about minorities existing, validating those company's responses. "The Acolyte" is an OK show, solid 7/10, but it's being review bombed by right-wing man babies right now, so any actual criticism of the show is gonna be lumped in with those reviews. Another less extreme example was the "Kenobi" show. It was an objectively bad cash-grab, with a 1 Dimensional villain. But because Reva was played by a black actress, a lot of criticism of her character got lumped in with idiots complaining about her actor. It's like Disney is using minority actors as a shield against criticism, using them as sacrificial pawns in a quest for infinite profits.

#disney #corporate greed #kenobi show #kenobi series #the acolyte

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ibyte13 · 10 months ago

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I keep seeing posts about how awful biden is and that we shouldn't vote for him blah blah blah. The problem with this is that there is a misunderstanding happening on how our political system is currently functioning and whatpart of its life span we are in. I went off in the tags of a post earlier and i apologize for that I'm just gonna make an actual post about it now.

Right now we are at a tipping point in old politics vs new politics. Old politics being that the majority of important shit that matters is happening behidn the scenes. You don't get to see that as the general public for a number of reasons. The things going on are delicate political maneuvering, anyone whose played a political intrigue game knows this. It's a lot like a game of chess except the pieces you are playing with are also other players and you are also a piece on their board. This makes control of information very very important, so keeping it out of the public eye is tantamount to success. These are the rules biden is playing by. The man is an old school politician and he's very good at it. He's a repair man, not a hero.

What trump is doing is playing new politics rules where he's essentially shattering the screen that hides all the pieces and moves that are happening from the public eye and dragging them into the light. People are reactionary. The public as a whole are awful at playing chess and cannot see even three moves down the line from where they are now. So when someone playing by old rules, who speaks vaguely in order to try and placate the masses without revealing their hand is faced with someone who plays with half a deck up their sleeve and their hand face up on the table, now the ones holding their hands close look suspicious, even though you can see the other guys sleeve has a distinct card shaped lump in it and he is not subtle about pulling cards out.

New school politics is the equivalent of a high school popularity contest. "He said this and she said that, then this person did this and can you even imagine the audacity they had to even thi k of saying such a thing" that's new politics. It's an excellent manipulation tactic in the age of social media where the distraction is the key. "Here look at this flashy thing of a politician not being in the know about queer people" or some such while the same person who said that is actively making it so that queer people can't marry or what have you. This is just an example.

So back to Biden v Trump. Biden is old school. Trump is new school. The fact that they are both old dudes matters not. The thing about both is that they are just people and people are not perfect. Biden is not condemning Israel's actions in Gaza which is fucking terrible and worse is bending over backwards to give supplies to israel in fact which is double fucking terrible. We will face the consequences for this. Problem, he's operating under the fact that we have a treaty (i think don't quote me on this and in fact feel free to correct me here) with israel. We are their allies and as their allies we cannot just condemn them outright. Not by old politic rules. But new politic rules are making it a necessity and using it as a manipulation point. What Biden is doing is about a hundred other things that will not make news but ultimately improve our lives here in the states, for example he's working to make marijuana a schedule 3 drug instead of schedule 1 meaning it'd be federally legal for recreational use much in the same way ibprofen or aspirin is from my understanding. No more piss tests, veterans would be able to use it if they're reciving VA medical care etc. Not making headlines. The rail workers strike, Biden forced a stop gap resolution to save infrastructure and critical economic functions, then kept working to get the union members everything they wanted. Again, no headlines about that second part. Airplans are being required to be more disability friendly and required to have bathrooms large enough for an on board wheel chair if need be. Again not making headlines, and these are just the things I've had to dig for recently.

Trump did nothing like that. He made capitol hill the laughing stock of the modern world for all four years he was in office and tried to stage a coup on live television. There is a maifesto circulating called Project 2025 and if you haven't heard of it go look it up. It's 90 almost 100 pages detailing what will happen should trump or another republican be elected president in this coming election cycle. The long story short is that if that happens, we will not have another election and US democracy as we know it will die.

Now rag on Biden all you want, critcize him, let it be known that you are not happy with how he has handled Israel and Gaza. But don't pretend for a second that Trump would handle it any better or any republican for that matter. They'd've handled it worse most likely plus a whole lot of other shit to boot.

Another tidbit you might have pop up into your mind: but ibyte! There's more than just Trump and Biden to vote for! And to that I say yes, there is, but let me let you in on a secret about American politics: if you do not vote for Biden, you are voting for Trump even if you are voting for a canidate that is arguably better than Biden and here's why. The democratic convention and democratic party have thrown their weight behind Biden as the incumbent President so any third candidate already won't have the backing of one of the two major parties. The republicans are throwing their weight behind Trump or someone slightly left of trump (i haven't had a chance to keep up with that the past month or so). Problem is that the democrats and republicans tend to be so.e of the most right leaning parties in this country, so people who hate democrats and will not vote for them sure as shit ain't gonna vote for someone more left of democrats which is where a majority of the small but better candidates lie on the spectrum, they're gonna vote for Trump or whatever Trump replacement republicans have on deck. Thus is you vote for someone more left than Biden, all you are doing is taking vltes away from Biden because everyone more right wasn't gonna vote for anyone but a republican anyway. This is why it's important that you vote for Biden.

This election period is not about Biden vs Trump: round 2. This election is about Democracy vs Dictatorship. A friend of mine likes to say that history doesn't repeat itself, but it sure as hell rhymes. We are quite literally watching a rerun of the events leading to World War II right on schedule. The US will become the fourth Reich if we do not take this election seriously and the facist corners of this country know it and are doing everything in their power to be loud about how badly biden is fucking up the israel gaza tragedy.

Yes be critical, but do not pretend for a minute that Biden and Trump are equivalent choices.

#politics #rant #I'm sick and tired of seeing the you ger generation and a lot of the older generations not understand politics #it's not even that you don't understand it's that you've had the wool so seriously pulled over your eyes #that you can't decipher what is going on #which is the point #realize that politics is not a car #a candidate for prez is not going to give you everything you want #they are not going to drive you straight to the store for your liberty #they are a bus that runs close by #and you gotta work to get that bus line to drop off closer and closer to where you want to be but ultimately you gotta walk there yourself #activism #I'm talking about activism #vote biden 2024 #the only choice if you want to have another election

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