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#1 it seems rude. i don’t want people to think i’m saying I Could Do Better
mabaris · 1 year
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not to be that bitch who reads too much into things again but. it feels rly telling that not a single woman made it into the romance survey semifinals
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powermakar · 6 months
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Slut! (3+1) - LS2
Summary: 3 times you break down and Logan pulls you in and the 1 time he breaks down and you pull him in. Based off of the song "Slut!" by Taylor Swift
Words: 2.5K
Warnings: Swearing, self-deprecation, and Qatar 2023
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1- I crashed my car
“Logan,” you breathe out. “Logan, I, Logan…” you try again.
“Y/n what happened? Are you okay? Did you get into an accident? Where are you?” Logan quickly asks as panic builds up inside of him. 
A quick “yes” is all you are able to croak out. “I crashed my car, I don’t know what to do and I need you,” you say with tears rolling down your face. “The other guy is being an asshole and he just keeps yelling and swearing at me.” Wiping your runny nose on your sleeve you say, “I’m scared, please hurry up.”
“I’m on my way, just try to breathe with me, we don’t want you to hyperventilate,” he tries to joke. 
As you mentally go through the checklist of things you know what to look for and ask for when you get into an accident, you can’t seem to think straight. Embarrassment, the fear of failure and disappointment run through your veins. You can’t even imagine how angry people will be at you, and that thought alone just scares you. You walk to the back of your car to reassess the damage, luckily there is a miniscule dent on the back of the bumper. Nothing really worth fixing or paying any attention to. When you turn to the man’s car you cringe inwardly as more tears prick your eyes. You look back at the man and say, “I am very sorry sir, I really do not know what happened but I am willing to pay for any of the damage.” 
The man looks you up and down before telling you to shut up. At his abrupt comment, you turn away from him as more tears begin to run down your face. “Don’t you walk away from me you bitch!” the man yells. 
Unfortunately for the man, Logan heard his comment as he was getting out of his car. “Do not ever call her a bitch ever again, do you understand?” he says as he walks towards you. You see the man awkwardly turn away from the two of you.
Logan turns to you as you quietly call his name and engulfs you in a hug. “It’s okay, we will figure this out, don’t worry about it, angel,” he whispers as he presses a kiss to the top of your head.. All you could manage was a little hum. 
And I break down, then he’s pullin’ me in. In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman
2- I’m tired 
Being a university student is exhausting. Add in a boyfriend, a social life, and a job, all of your days seem to blur together. As the weeks went on, assignments and projects stacked on top of each other in a never ending loop. Once you finished one project, you were assigned another one along with some long-term assignments you needed to constantly work on. This week in particular seemed extra hard. Two projects, one discussion, and five different assignments were all due in a span of three days and you haven’t even started on some of them. You knew it was going to be a long week of sleepless nights. You were fine with it though, this is what you wanted anyways. Right? 
“Hey angel, do you want to go out to the theater and go to dinner after?” Logan asks as he walks into the kitchen area. 
“I would love to, Lo, but I really have to work on all of these assignments. They are all due pretty soon and I don’t have much done,” you sigh.
“Oh come on Y/n, you’ve been working extremely hard and you deserve a break. Please, for me?” 
“I deserve a break after I finish these. It is important that I finish these. Please just let me finish.” 
“Ok, how about we just go out to dinner and skip the movie?” 
“Logan, don't you understand that I’m tired and I just want to be alone so I can finish these assignments. God, you are so annoying. Just stop bothering me, please.” you abruptly say. Logan, who was taken back by your rude outburst, just looks at you before walking into your shared room. 
You couldn’t focus on your work after Logan left, all you could think about was the look on his face after you yelled at him. You were running on a few hours of sleep and you knew that wasn’t an excuse, you felt awful. 
Walking to the bedroom you gently knock on the door, “Lo, can I come in?” 
“Go work on your assignments, I don’t want to talk” he says muffled. Ignoring his comment, you walk into the room anyway. 
“I’m really sorry Logan. You aren’t annoying, it was a bad thing for me to say. I’m just really tired and overwhelmed so I took it out on you when I shouldn’t have.” The tiredness suddenly hits you like a train and emotions are running high. 
“I’m really sorry Lo. I did not mean it and I really feel awful. I’m so sorry” you say, feeling a tear roll down your cheek. 
“Come here Y/n. I know you didn’t mean it, I also know how serious you take your studies so I shouldn’t have really asked you to step away from it for some stupid movie,” Logan says while pulling you into his lap. 
Burying you head into his chest, you can feel more tears fall. “I’m sorry for getting your shirt all wet”. 
“It’s okay. How about we get some take-out and I will try to help you with some of your work?” 
“I would really love that Lo, thank you.”
And I break down, then he’s pullin’ me in. In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman
3- I read the comments
You knew that you would have to deal with all of Logan’s fans and others when you first started dating him. You knew that, you understood that, but what you couldn’t understand was the fact that they will scrutinize every single little detail about you. You didn’t understand why they didn’t do it to the other girlfriends, not that you wanted them to experience it, it just felt like you were singled out. Maybe the others did get all of this hate but they just hid it or covered it up well. That is something you would never be able to do. The comments were on your mind 24/7, it was all you could think about nowadays. 
Looking into the bathroom mirror, all you saw was the few stretch marks on your thighs and how much more you weighed compared to everyone else. Now you did not blame Logan for posting the picture of you two on a beach over the summer break. You blamed yourself. Why did you have to look like that? Why did you have to weigh what you did? Why did Logan date you and not someone skinnier? 
It was like a never ending spiral. Soon you were taking off your shirt to look at the ‘lumps’ on your stomach. Gently grabbing the skin, you pulled on it, imagining how much less you would weigh if you were to cut it off. Your eyes made it up to your boobs where some of the upper flesh was spilling out of the cups of your bra. ‘Tiger stripes’ were what Logan called them, you called them stretch marks and were embarrassed of them. Logan said that they were one of his favorite things about you, they were probably your least favorite thing about yourself. 
You didn’t even register the bathroom door opening until you made eye contact with Logan in the mirror. “What are you doing?” he asks as his eyes make their way over your breasts. 
“Oh, I was just- uhm, just…” you say, clearing your throat. 
“Doing what exactly?” 
“Do you ever read the comments on your Instagram posts?” you ask abruptly. 
“No not really, why?”
“Well I read the comments. Are you not embarrassed about me? To be seen with me? To post a picture of you beside a person like me?” 
“What are you talking about Y/n? I would never be embarrassed about you. I love you, don’t you know that?”
“Logan you shouldn’t be with someone who looks like a whale when they go to the beach or with someone who has stretch marks all over their body.” These were just two of the comments that seemed to run like a broken record in your mind. 
“What the hell? You look perfect, angel. In fact you are perfect Y/n. I don’t want to be with anyone else but you. Whoever put those silly ideas in your head should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves for saying such things about a beautiful person. Now let me show you how much I love you.”
You can feel a faint blush rise to your cheeks as you turn off the bathroom light off, leaving your discarded shirt laying on the floor, and the bad idea in the air. 
And I break down, then he’s pullin’ me in. In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman
+1- I crash and burn constantly
Another DNF in the books. Another podium for Oscar in the books. You felt torn between sickness and happiness. You felt awful for Logan as he wasn’t able to finish the race due to the bad conditions and felt sick to your stomach as his F1 career could be on the line, it was all he really dreamed about. But you felt happy for your long-time friend Oscar as he seems to be finding his spot within F1 with McLaren. 
You grab a water bottle on your way into Logan’s driver’s room. You don’t even knock. You just walk into the room and sit down on the couch. You look over to Logan and you don’t even dare to utter a word to him. You know he doesn’t want to talk about it so you don’t even bother with it. He looks up at you but quickly turns away and looks at his shoes resting in the corner of the room. 
Clearing his throat, he asks, “Did you go watch Oscar’s podium celebration?” 
“No” is all you say. 
“You should have. You should be out celebrating with him and Lily. Go and congratulate him, you shouldn’t be in here with me.” 
There was something just…off about him. “I doubt this would be the only opportunity to congratulate him.” 
“You’ll never get to congratulate me.” 
“You know that is not what I meant. I congratulate you after every race. There aren’t enough words to tell you how proud I am of you.” 
“You aren’t proud of me. You are proud of Oscar. You are just embarrassed of me. I’m lucky if I get to finish my race, let alone fight for a podium. I have been out-qualified by Alex every single damn time. I crash and burn everytime I get in that car and I’m fucking tired of it.” He lets out a shaky breath and runs his hands through his hair. “I’ll never be like Oscar, I’ll never be that ‘once in a generation talent’ and I don’t even have a chance at being the best rookie since Lewis. It’s too much pressure to even keep the car from hitting the wall,” he continues.
“I know I will never fully understand the pressure of being a F1 driver but I at least want to help. Help me understand what you are going through and we can work through this together. Please let me help you Logan, please,” you whisper. 
He walks over to the couch and takes a seat next to you, resting his head against your shoulder. You take a hold of his left hand and begin playing with his fingers. 
“I was fighting at the top with Oscar when all of a sudden I found myself being glad that I finished the race or even finishing P19 instead of P20 is a miracle. I just feel like I need to prove to everyone that I am capable of competing and having a seat in F1. I hate seeing how upset the mechanics get when I crash and the fact that they have to rebuild a whole damn car in a single night. And the memes and jokes, I hate seeing them. I know what a fucking kilometer is and I know that me and Oscar are now at total ends of the spectrum when it comes to results. It’s fucking hard to see everyone comparing me to him is those stupid videos.” Throughout his whole speech, you could hear multiple voice cracks. 
“Love, we all support you. Me, your family, your friends, the whole team, even Oscar supports you and only wants the best for you. Please believe that we are all so proud of you and what you have been able to accomplish.” You can feel a wet spot growing on your shoulder, when you look down you can see Logan trying to wipe his face. “It’s okay Lo, you will get the results that you want, you work so fucking hard and I know, with out a doubt, that you will achieve something great.” 
You kneel down infront of him and take his hands into your own. “Please trust me on that Logan, please.” 
“I trust you Y/n, 100%” 
And he breaks down, then I’m pullin’ him in. 
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torscrawls · 8 months
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Batman’s no-kill policy is ectophobic
Summary:
“Well that just makes it sound like he thinks ghosts are worse than humans, you know? And! It got me thinking, Batman refuses to kill his enemies, right?” “Right,” Tim faintly agreed, desperately trying to make sense of this conversation. Phantom relentlessly continued, oblivious to Tim’s spiraling sanity. “Maybe that’s because he thinks that ghosts are less than humans! He doesn’t want to create more of us.”
Phantom is upset that Batman refuses to kill his enemies. Tim just wants his shift to start so he can get out of this conversation.
Words: 1 245
You can read the whole thing on AO3.
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Tim was sitting in the break room of the Watchtower, mindlessly flipping channels on the big wall-mounted TV while trying to wake up for his next shift. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Phantom slowly drift in front of the big windows, face almost pressed against the glass and his whole attention fixed on the stars outside.
This in and of itself wasn’t anything uncommon; Phantom seemed to have an almost obsessive fascination with space, but what had caught Tim’s attention was the frown on the ghost’s face. Normally he would have a dreamy expression if not a big smile on his face as he watched the expanse outside the windows, but not today. And Tim was willing to admit that it was getting to him.
After another few minutes of switching between channels, silence, and no change in the frowning Tim pressed the off button on the remote and heaved a sigh as he turned to face the window and the floating ghost. “What’s wrong?”
Phantom startled as if he had forgotten he wasn’t alone in the room, or as if he had forgotten he could be seen by others. He had a bad habit of forgetting to turn himself visible and scaring the shit out of people around the tower. He looked over his shoulder and fixed Tim with a wide eyed, literally shining, look of confusion. “What do you mean wrong?”
Tim made a vague gesture at the ghost. “You’ve been frowning ever since I got here. Did something happen?”
Phantom turned around in the air, spinning on his own axis until he was looking at Tim upside down. Tim noted that his hair stayed in the same position throughout. He wasn’t jealous, not at all.
“Well, I was just thinking... Does Batman hate ghosts?”
Tim blinked, thrown by the direction the conversation had taken. “What? No?”
The frown on Phantom’s face deepened as he righted himself in the air. “But he just told me that he ‘was sorry for my loss’, as if something bad had happened? And when I asked him what he meant he said he regretted not being able to save me.”
Tim paused, weighting his words carefully before slowly saying, “I’m sure he just meant that he was sorry that you had… You know…” Tim trailed off, winced, and then forced out, “Died.”
It was always a hard subject to breach, nobody liked to think about death. The Justice League and the Batfamily had all come to the unanimous decision to avoid the subject around their newest member since they were convinced that he would react badly to the topic.
Phantom snorted. “Yeah I know. Kinda hard to miss.”
“I didn’t mean—”  
But Phantom cut him off, “Wait. Is that why none of you talk about death around me? You’re scared that I’m gonna be, what? Offended?”
“Well… No?” Tim said unconvincingly.
Phantom laughed. “Oh my Ancients! You did! That’s so cute!”
“You know, we don’t really talk about death with each other either,” Tim said, feeling like he had to defend himself somehow.
Phantom tilted his head, still smiling. “Why?”
Tim blinked, thrown by the question. “Because… People don’t like to think about that?”
Phantom pursed his lips in thought. “See, that’s what I meant! Isn’t that just kinda rude? I mean, I’m dead, does that mean you guys don’t wanna think about me?”
“No?” Now it was Tim’s turn to frown. “That’s different.”
“Hmm,” Phantom hummed, looking unconvinced.
Tim scrambled for a change in subject and latched onto the first thing that came to mind. “So why would you think that Bruce hated you just because he said he was sorry for your loss?”
“Well that just makes it sound like he thinks ghosts are worse than humans, you know? And! It got me thinking, Batman refuses to kill his enemies, right?”
“Right,” Tim faintly agreed, desperately trying to make sense of this conversation.
Phantom relentlessly continued, oblivious to Tim’s spiraling sanity. “Maybe that’s because he thinks that ghosts are less than humans! He doesn’t want to create more of us.”
Tim had to step in at that, feeling like they weren’t on the same page when it came to some very important fundamentals. “Phantom, you—you understand that people don’t like dying, right? It’s the end.”
Phantom tilted his head with a look of confusion. “It’s not though?”
And Tim guessed that was true. He couldn’t really argue the point with a literal ghost, now could he?
“The town I come from, people don’t really care. Death, life, it’s kinda all the same,” Phantom said happily, as if that wasn’t a very troubling statement to make. And with no respect for Tim’s quickly dwindling sanity, he continued with a thoughtful finger tapping at his lower lip, “Except that death has a lot more flying in it. And energy beams.”
Tim made a mental note to try and find out exactly what town Phantom was talking about. Hopefully it wasn’t one on Earth. He managed a resigned, “Of course,” and hoped that was the end of the conversation. He needed to have enough energy left for his whole shift after all.
But Phantom just nodded and continued on, “Batman refusing to kill his enemies is all just an obvious ploy not to have them move on as ghosts!”
“Obviously,” Tim faintly agreed.
“That’s messed up! He just wants to trap them in the human realm with him so he can torment them forever!” Phantom shook his head. “I know a couple of people in the Zone who would love to exchange torture ideas with him. I thought that Fright Knight was scary and now I’m working with a guy like that, can you believe it?”
Tim couldn’t. “I—I don’t think that’s what he means by that.”
Phantom huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms. “It’s blatant ectophobia, is what it is!”
Tim opened his mouth to try and come up with an argument when the subject of their argument stepped into the break room. Bruce addressed him with clear disapproval in his voice, “Red Robin, you’re late for your shift.”
Tim had never been so grateful to receive Bruce’s disappointment. At least he wasn’t alone in this shitshow of a conversation anymore. “I’m sorry. Me and Phantom was just having a conversation about how you’re clearly discriminatory towards ghosts.”
Bruce stopped from where he had turned to leave. “…What?”
Phantom nodded. “Yeah! Don’t think I’ve forgotten your rude comment earlier about your condolences!”
Despite the bizarre situation, Tim almost laughed at the shocked expression on Bruce’s face, visible even under the mask. His father opened his mouth, closed it, and tried again, “I was just saying that I wish I could have helped you before you ended up as a ghost.”
“And I’m saying that that’s clearly showing a preference for living people!”
Bruce pressed his mouth into a thin line before saying, “I think we need to have a conversation about the value of life if you’re going to be joining us on any more rescue missions.”
“See!” Phantom looked at Tim as he gestured angrily at Bruce “There he goes again!”
Tim got up from the sofa. “I’m late for my shift.” And he left the break room as if the ghosts of hell were at his heals. Which they kind of were; Phantom’s angry voice following him down the corridor. He really wasn’t awake enough for this shit.
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kinopio-writes · 3 months
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A/N: Decided to answer these two in one go. Screenshotted, lol. 3rd POV and the reader is referred to as they/it like last time. Also, I’m gonna be honest with you, after the last Adam post, I started to find his relationship with Sera and Lute intriguing. They both make an appearance (separately).
I just found out. Apparently, Sera and Emily are sisters (just with huge age gaps)? Well, I never viewed them as actual mother and daughter, but I was leaning more towards motherly-figure Sera. Kept it vague.
Words: 1,404 (not including the bullet points)
Warnings: Swearing (surprisingly not as vulgar as pt.1)
———
More Adam w/ a Child!Reader
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• to solidify my statement that Adam wouldn’t just give the child away to someone else—along with the points I said in the previous Adam post—is because he didn’t want to seem incapable and, God forbid, ask for help?
• uh-uh. No way
• also, I don’t really see their first word being “papa”
• because of Adam, the kid cursing as their first word seems pretty on-brand
• not to mention that I don’t think they were with many people other than Adam, Lute, possibly Sera, and maybe his friends, too
• if he even has any
• and this isn’t even slander (when Charlie said, haven’t you had a night of drinking with friends after a rough night, he neither confirmed nor denied it. Not exactly the most reliable proof, but I take whatever I get)
• so, yeah, they were stuck with Adam’s vocabulary, unfortunately
• but for the sake of it, I’ll do “papa” as their first word (“fafa”, actually. You’ll get it when you read it)
Also, uh, heavily focused on Adam. Again. I mean, you can’t really do much with a child!reader in regards to personality, so.
———
Adam sat comfortably on his chair outside his balcony, his hand carrying Adam Jr. while the other was mindlessly plucking at his wings’ loose feathers. He would let them fall onto the floor after collecting a pile of them on his lap, finding that to be the only source of entertainment he could do without his kid crying.
Before he was going to push his feathers off his lap, a gust of wind blew them off for him and they flew over the edge of his balcony. All of his previous feathers slipped through the railing’s gaps as well.
His hand lingered mid-air as he looked up to see Sera land next to him. “Holy shit.” He instantly became more animated, a grin forming on his face as he stood up. “Y’know, I keep forgetting that anyone can just waltz in here.”
“Good evening to you, too, Adam.”
He bit back from replying rudely, instead choosing to place his hand on his hip while he held Adam Jr. closer to him. “Yeah, whatever.”
Sera then went on to dramatically stare down at the scenery above the city of Heaven, hands folded in front of her as Adam waited for her to say something. He got impatient after a few seconds.
“What’s up your ass?”
She turned her head to face him and furrowed her brows. He only rolled his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching downward into a grimace as he slightly turned his head away from the head seraphim. Her attention was instantly directed to the baby in his arms. “Do you mind if I hold it?”
Adam jerked back at the sudden ask. “Uh, weird request…but you do you.” When he didn’t attempt to move, Sera leaned down and took the sleeping child from his secured arms, standing back to her height as she observed their peaceful slumber.
Quite a surprise, frankly. She didn’t think Adam was capable of handling something so fragile as life for more than a day, let alone a whole year.
The feeling of a baby in her arms made her reminisce about the time when Emily was just as little.
“The concept of birth is astonishing…”
“ʼKay…?”
“Having a child is one of God’s greatest blessings...”
“Uh-huh.”
“You must be very proud…”
“Uh, yeah…sure…”
“It even has your wings.”
“Y’know, this is starting to feel a little one-sided right now.”
“What I’m trying to say is—” Sera seemed to have gotten out of her sentimental trance and narrowed her eyes at the man below her, “—you are fortunate to have this child, Adam.” She slowly returned the child to its father and watched as Adam held them back securely in his arms. “Children grow up faster than you think. Spend your time wisely. It’s not as if you’ll get any older yourself.”
“Mhm, yeah, got it.” The seraphim only hardened her gaze. “Okay! Fatherhood is the best thing ever, time is faster than the speed of light blah blah blah.” He swayed his head from side to side to emphasize each word, shoulders slumped. “Sheesh. Don’t have to be so sensitive over a kid that isn’t yours.”
Sera tightly shut her already parted lips and deeply breathed out through her nose, turning her back on the man and pushing the hair that strayed on her face. She didn’t say anything more and simply stared at the view on his balcony again.
Adam only raised a brow at her unusual behavior.
“So, not that I care or anything, or about your weird touchy-feely icky vibes, but you never told me why you’re here, so, if you could just tell me what I need to know and leave, that’ll be really great—”
“Adam.”
“Okay. Fine.” He held up a hand and lifted his shoulders. “Wallow in your melancholic—whatever this is. It totes ruined my vibes. I’mma dip.” Adam flapped his wings to get himself on the railings as the head seraphim watched him gently fly down with his child.
Sera speculated he would most likely come back after ten minutes. That would hopefully be enough time for her to have a composed mind to have a discussion with the first man.
———
“Say, ‘fuck’.”
He was told that it was smart to teach his kid how to start speaking at this age with pictures and shit. Adam, however, went with his method and sat Adam Jr. and himself on the carpet floor, repeatedly saying what he wanted it to say. He’d been like this for half an hour.
“Fafa!”
He blinked.
“That’s not what I fucking wanted you to say, but, close enough.” He shrugged. “Now say, ‘di—”
•••
It was only after Lute came over that he realized what his kid just said.
“Yeah, so my kid just called me his dad. First words,” Adam spoke with drawled-out speech, inspecting his lack of nails. “Pretty dope,” he accentuated the ‘p’ in ‘dope’
“That’s not what we were talking about, Sir.” Lute had her hands on the edge of the table as they both sat on the carpet floor.
“Uh, does it look like I care?” He had his kid on his lap, playing with it by holding its hands in his and making them punch thin air. “ʼSides, we still have a week to finish this shit.”
Lute only deadpanned at her leader going off-topic to talk about his kid but said nothing more, deciding it was best to let him run out of things to say so they could get some work done without interruption.
———
“Yeah, you little piece of shit, slash ʼem!” Adam’s maniacal and obnoxious laughter bounced around his living room space as Adam Jr. punctured the heads of hand-made figures of sinners with their fake angelic spear (he couldn’t get a real one, unfortunately. They’re only obtainable during the extermination).
Lute happened to walk in on the scene. Adam always left his balcony door open. His neighbors, despite being come-and-goers, continually complained about his loud guitar sequences. He always responded with something about how he was being generous and that they should be happy—heck, blessed that they were getting a free concert without having to pay.
He hasn’t had those arguments lately, though.
She observed him sitting on the cardboard-littered floor with his HolyPhone in hand, assumably recording his child slaughtering the wretched sinners.
He had the biggest smile she’d ever seen on his mask.
“Sir, what are you doing?”
“AH!” he released a guttural yell as he snapped his head over to the source of the voice. “Jeez, Lute—what does it look like I’m doing?”
The lieutenant immediately answered, “Playing with your offspring, Sir.”
“I’m not playing! I had tons of cardboard lying around from my fan mail, and throwing them all away’s a bother.” he defensively retorted. “And, ew, don’t call it offspring. It’s Adam Jr. now. Check it.” Adam clumsily messed with his phone, muttering curses until he found the video he was looking for in his endless album of blurry photos. He showed the screen to Lute, not realizing it wasn’t even playing. “This kid will grow up to be such a badass!”
“But it isn’t meant to be an exterminator, Sir.”
“Uh, so what?” He placed his hands on his hips.
Lute missed a beat when countering, “Sera won’t allow it.”
“Pftt, what? No.” Adam refuted with a wave of his hand. “She so would. I have the proof.” He lifted his phone and shook it for emphasis. “And it’s my extermination, so I do whatever the fuck I want.”
Lute turned her head away momentarily before perking back up. “When it grows up eventually, it’s a possibility.”
“Ah, what? I can’t wait that loooong,” he whined, slumping onto the floor. “Bummer. I mean, imagine a tiny cunt-born exorcist! How cool is that? The first in history!”
She nodded. “With it under your wing, I know that it can learn our ways just as quickly as we slaughter those wretched sinners.”
Adam tapped a finger on his chin, face scrunched in thought before he placed his hands on his hips as he kneeled on the floor. “Hmm, yeah.” He spread out his wings, too lazy to stand up on his own two feet. He then plucked Adam Jr. from the floor by their armpits, deciding to bring them along without much thought. “Let’s go pitch the idea to Sera. And let’s get takeout on the way.”
“Right beside you, Sir.”
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teopatra · 9 months
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Holaaaa
~ choose a meme for a channeled message // this is not a tarot reading .. happy Virgo season and happy Mercury RX 🥵 feel free to choose multiple groups-
Why do ppl love/hate u ??
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Group 1 : si or yes
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People do not know how to read you. The decision most people would immediately jump on you take the time to consider and really weigh your options. People hate that about you bc they think you’re too good but it’s lowkey a subtle flex bc it shows you have options. People feel like you get too many chances or things come to easy for you and almost like it’s not fair like you always win. If it’s a situation where you always win people feel like you don’t even try. For example at school it can be a random drawing and your name can get called in an assembly or in the morning announcements and people know you didn’t even try and they put so much energy into hoping they’d get it. 😂
Folks pay a lot attention to you bc you always seem so oblivious yet you’re so rational. You say the most intelligent things and overall you make people feel stupid because a lot of times people assume you’re slow or have dumb blonde energy when half the time you’re not even paying attention. But the other half of the time when you seem like you’re not paying attention you actually are you’re just very strategic. Life is like a game of chess for you and this can make others feel like you’re sneaky or have the intention to one up them by using information when it’s convenient for you. You give non chalant energy but not in a rude way in a calm at peace type of way. People leave you out because you make them realize they’re lowkey thirsty or pick Me’s since you don’t jump at every opportunity like they would, but you teach others about the vastness of life by being patient. Others see you as abundant and before you come into peoples lives even if you’re not close to them they see things as very black and white, this or that, left or right, but you being a multi faceted perspective energy to things. I’m getting mutable energy especially gemini, or heavy Jupiter energy or aspects to your Jupiter or 9th house.
People do love that you kind of don’t care about things BUT YOU DO😂 people really don’t understand you, but the crazy thing is with you it’s what you see is what you get but people swear that you’re hiding something or people may ask you what’s wrong a lot and you’re like nothing????? You don’t have the typical type of resting face it’s more of a stare into the distance because you’re trying to remember if you unplugged your flat iron or turned off the TV before you left the house. If you’re in school you may forget about assignments or homework and end up having to do them on the bus, in the bathroom or in other classes and people hate that they’re tying to fill you in on things but you seem so preoccupied like you don’t care but girl you’re just trying to passss.
EVERYONE wants your energy meanwhile they’re all gossiping about you lowkey bc you’re so interesting and they don’t have anything better to talk about in the sense. But not bc there isn’t anything to talk about it’s just you’re so mysterious. You’re a popular loner like people will try to leave you out just to tell you about it later and you’re like 😃 ohmygosh that’s so wonderful and they’re like BIH you should be jealous like… people really wanna make you the villain. The type of look you have is very girl or guy next door but effortlessly sexy. You actually do alot of self care and you’re intentional with getting dressed but you’re subtle. It’s just a I washed my face and brushed my hair type of thing. You could have a chiseled jawline or symmetrical face. I’m seeing Reggie’s fine self from riverdale. It reminds me of the main character from clueless also how she’s very girl next door almost typical looking but still very standardly pretty. Don’t get me wrong you’re gorgeous and you eat everybody up on your normal day to day. I feel like you actually plan to really make yourself look nice n the mornings before you go to work too but half the time you’re almost running late bc that sleep just be too good.. you focus mostly on your dental health and I see you putting drops n your hair like hair vitamins or oil so your hair must be long and light brown. OHHH you’re giving me Ariana vibes , “no tears left to cry” like people love that you’re unproblematic but that’s the problem lol who do you think you are to be so unbothered? Meanwhile you’re oblivious 😂
Signs: STRONG Scorpio, cancer, gemini, Pisces too actually all water
Side note: People love your hair and be wanting to play with it, when you flip your hair it’s smells like Garnier fructise or something like that like not the new style shampoos that smells perfumy the old type shampoos that smell fruity but still that tumblr era shampoo smell . Your hair puts people n a trance everyone stares at the back of your head when you’re not looking so keep protection crystals around or evil eye
Group 2 : eeyuh?
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People love how talkative you are; you’re funny as hell like why you be saying crazy stuff. Even teachers love you or superiors look up to you even if you’re younger. Your supervisors or older colleagues could have crushes on you because you make them feel young like you. People love your light hearted youthfulness it makes them feel comfortable being themselves. This causes people to get clingy and obsess over you. People may send you random messages through the day like when they’re at the store shopping like Ohemgee this reminds me of you haha and it’s like a notebook or some random stuff they have at 5 below and you’re thinking uhmmmm ohhhkay should I be offended orrrrr…? Lol people make themselves uncomfortable with how much they love you because everyone kinda volunteered you as tribute to be THEE it girl or HIM, and you’re like Ohemgee I’m the main character but you just keep that to yourself. People feel like bc they praise you or put you on a high pedistal that you owe THEM something 😂 it gives you wouldn’t be here without me energy almost like you’re a local celebrity and if it wasn’t for your fans that you would be a nobody. You mind your own business and sometimes you can’t get time to yourself bc someone is ALLLLLWAYS calling your name and you’ve gotten caught a few times trying to avoid people n the halls, office, target or whatever and those people feel slapped by will smith n the moment bc how dare you. Next thing you know you’re shadow banned irl by everyone. You have this very magnetic control on folks to where everyone’s energy is the EXACT SAME towards you it’s almost scary sometimes cuz you’ll think dang did someone pass away? Cuz the energy is HEAVY; you’re left confused as if you didn’t get them memo then BOOM almost as if paparazzi announced the new issue of YOU is dropping and everyone needs the scoop and now you’re bombarded at once. Angry mob vibes almost. Heavy air sign energy I’m sensing Kanye, Doja, trump even tho you prob can’t stand either of those 3 ppl the example is to show how they can have such a strange cult like following and be hated but followed at the same time.
Back to the funny thing where you end up being like the class clown bc once people get your joke which it’s not like you’re trying to be funny but you’re very theatrical in how you talk and communicate and it cracks people up and those laughs just fuel you. People hate that you’re so funny they don’t want you to stop but then they realize so much time has gone by that they’ve spent laughing at you they’re now mad bc THEY got distracted 😂 people hate how you disappear or you like to eat alone people be literally wanting to watch you eat. People hate how obsessed they get over you because they start to feel like the feeling isn’t mutual but even as outgoing as you as you tend to be a bit reserved at times especially when you’re trying to focus. You have very good time management skills and you type fast lmao. People hate how fast you finish your work and how fast you run 😂 you’re a runner you’re a track star 😂 you be runnin from people huh lol people will literally chase you like this old school Disney channel movies where the fans chase the pop star.
People love love love you but they hate how lost in time you make them feel and everyone wants to be your best friend and people may try to make it seem like you’re mixy or you’re just social for attention.You actually made yourself be social to help with your shyness or anxiety; only your close family would realize this and you almost live a double life like Kim possible or Hannah Montana where your family would be so surprised to see how much of a starrrrrr you areeee. You may like to read books or do skits; I’m hearing theatre kid or you like to sing old pop or rock n roll. I heard “that’s just the way we roll” by the Jonas brothers 🥺 I love them they’re actually having a concert n my city this week 🫶🏽😭I’m getting more Pisces and gemini vibes like group 1, also Leo and Sagittarius
Group 3 : doj
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People hatteeeee how fine you are 😂 you will catch people staring at you and you don’t know why? You also can be super tall or super strong and if you’re a workout girly people like staring at your muscles or buttocks lol . People hate to see you in the gym or gym class bc you can do so many reps OR it’s the fact that you’re not the typical type to look as strong as you actually are and there’s a saying/ word for this but I can’t remember what it is. You could be very slim or maybe more thicker or big boned and if you’re on the heavier side you’re super beautiful and people have never seen someone plus size be that beautiful. Sorry if that’s triggering but people are superficial. People hate that you look better than them even tho you’re big 😂 BIG SEXYYYYY . For my plus size girlies and gents you have a lot of confidence and everyone loves you and people hate that bc you make them feel small no pun intended but n the sense that they try to put you down maybe by making a fat joke or a skinny joke and it just makes them look lame bc you’re actually the total package you’re smart, creative, strong mentally emotionally and physically and all they can do is comment on your weight 😂 people actually wish you were their friend bc you sound so smart when you speak it makes people feel slow bc you’re very wise.
People love how you dress and they love your shoes and the bags you carry. If you get pedicures pay attention to when you get a fresh set bc I’m hearing it be looking good and people lowkey wanna copy they wait for you to get a new color. Or you have gorgeous looking feet it makes people stare it them in a weird way lmao and you may catch people staring at parts of your body even if it’s your face and they feel awkward and may try to make a 😒🥴 face because you looked at them back bc of how hard they was staring like 🙄. Your family or friends may be very well known and you’re very quiet which for some reason attract a lot of rude people to you like someone may try to cut you off in line and you call them out now they’re embarrassed. You could have to deal with confrontation a lot or have disciplinary hearings like someone was always telling on you trying to get you into trouble 😂you’re literally so quiet half the time but you also speak multiple languages so you could be part foreign and people assume you’re dumb bc you’re foreign smh.. you could be into spirituality or some associates from school or your neighborhood could have seen you in your traditional dress maybe you’re of Asian/Indian descent or you’re Muslim … if you’re into spirituality people actually watch your YT, tiktoks or listen to your tarot readings and may blame you for being right like😂 I was just trying to warn you. People really do not like you sometimes and you honestly don’t even do anything aww 🥺 PLEASEEEE don’t let this make you feel bad bc tbh your lil feelings would be hurt n the moment but after about 5 to 10 minutes you don’t even care 😂
Like you’ll go home and forget that even happened and if you are sensitive and it hurts your feelings people are threatened by you and sometimes that’s just life and both life and people can be sucky but you’re not here n this lifetime for people your here to share your research findings and your creativity/art. Especially if you’re a tarot reader, a yogi, a herbalist, spiritualist or any type of healer , you heal those who have negative energy around or towards you bc they cannot transmute the energy in their own. It’s not your job to transmute energy for others tho bc if you do that people will only become codependent off of you then turn on you. You have to build up strength and boundaries and if you have been doing so or done that already then good. People will try you sometimes and just don’t even let it get to you bc they are projecting onto you but people love your advice they just hate that it’s you giving it 😂 you really bother insecure folks
Big libra, Capricorn vibes .. also Taurus or Saturn dominants /aspected Saturn
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skyward-floored · 8 months
Text
Dawn part 4 analysis, here we go! At it again with my ramblings.
Starting off with THE GLORIOUS RETURN OF THE MAILMAN! The moment I saw the flag I was like :O HE’S BACK!!!
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(I also got the blue’s clues mail song stuck in my head)
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Hey look, it’s Warriors’ money! And the inkeeper who’s happily admiring the ridiculous amount of rupees Warriors now does not own!
Rip Warriors’ money. It will be dearly missed.
Also no vacancy?? I mean, it’s possible there’s other people staying there, or it’s just a small inn, but... it kinda looks like Warriors literally bought every available room there was. Mad lad.
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I (like everybody else lol) took a crack at figuring out who’s signature was who’s, based on their respective game’s Hylian texts/scripts, order of when they got there, and the OG tags on the comic. So here’s my best guesses—
1. Time is first, which makes sense based on him being the one to take Twilight to the inn
2. Hyrule appears to be next— his games don’t have a written script, but the hylian here is close to Legend’s, so I’m assuming it’s his, based on the fact that he was part of the next group to get to the inn.
3. Four is who I’m least sure about I’ll admit, but seeing as how he came with Hyrule, (and he’s the only Link left I couldn’t identify at all), I’m assuming it’s his.
4. Warriors we know for sure, since the tags say this signature is his. He gets a shout out for being the only Link who can actually write in the lines.
5. Wind seems to be next, as his hylian is very close to what’s here (his signature partially obscures Warriors’ XD)
6. Legend is who I’m going with for this one, but I’ll admit it could be Wild’s since their script is pretty darn close. But once again, based on when they all got to the inn, Legend would make the most sense to be here.
7. Sky is definitely here. His hylian is very unique compared to the others (I think it’s my favorite)
8. Wild is probably next, but same case as Legend, they could be swapped. But once again, probably not, since Wild was the last to get inside.
9. Twilight bringing up the rear! His hylian is unmistakable, and it makes sense that he’d mark his name last. I don’t think he could handle it until he woke up that morning, though I do wonder which arm he wrote it with...
(Rip Mr. Mailman in trying to figure all this out)
Moving on!
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It’s gotta be close to mid-morning by now based on the light, but Sky obviously does not handle waking up at dawn well. It’ll be interesting to see if he stays sleepy during the rest of this arc, or if he'll wake up a bit.
(Side note, Sky looks so soft and fluffy here, I want to hug him)
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Sky is so relatable in this update, he’s got some serious “I have no idea what’s going on” vibes. That first one he's got such a deer in the headlights look XD
The mailman is just like “you! I’ve been looking for you! Great to see you!” and Sky’s just “I have never met this man in my life” (probably forgot he actually did see him once (because he’s sleepy))
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Four letters, all different languages and dialects... I’m guessing at least one Zelda based on the seal on that blue letter (it seems fancier to me), but I don’t know about the rest. I would guess Malon for one, and maybe another Zelda? Warriors or Wild or Four’s Zelda maybe? Maybe Twilight got a letter from someone in Ordon, or the Resistance!
Only thing I do know is that there’s probably not one for Sky, since he wasn’t immediately like “letter for me! :D”
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Four trying to do something nice and fix Wild’s sword and this guy just laughs at him, rude 😤 At least he didn’t make a short joke, which was honestly what I was expecting. I mean I get knowing that your equipment won’t be enough for the job, but sheesh.
(Also the blacksmith’s goggles look a bit like Gondo’s in skyward sword’s, plus the ones the rescue knights wear, thought that was interesting).
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(Cool pose mode: engaged)
I love this panel!! They all decided to follow Four and help him out just like they did last time, fix the sword and get Wild a good, reliable weapon.
I’ve also never noticed how similar these guy’s hair looks before, especially Warriors and Hyrule’s— if Rulie’s hair was a little shorter and blonde, it would be pretty near identical. Very interesting...
(Plus Wind has the funniest expression, he's so cute)
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We interrupt this rambly analysis to bring you a brief moment of me yelling about Warriors' smile ABHDGFSFKHSBBG LOOK AT HIM that stupid cocky grin and the way he's rolling up his sleeve I'm *swoon*
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Four absolutely losing it over Warriors’ jab about teamwork is SO funny, Captain you have no idea how good your joke was. (also Four, bud, you good? Little hysterical there pal)
Also he looks so happy!!! Compare that to any of the faces he was making the night before, he's doing so much better. I’m so glad he’s happy and smiling now, even if it was just at a dumb joke :)
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I don’t even have anything to say about this panel. Just look at it. Glorious.
And one last thing...
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MULTILINGUAL WARRIORS HOLY CROW that's such a cool trait to give him, I am in love with it now that's awesome.
An amazing update as always, it was fantastic all around <3
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tgmsunmontue · 5 months
Text
It's not who you know 1/4
YEAR 1 - Non-angsty Nepo!Baby Bradley and his first year at the USNA and his head-in-the-sand approach to the nepotism and the fact that he ends up being known as the guy with the two hot dads instead...
YEAR ONE – 2001
                “You don’t want us to drop you off?”
                “No! I don’t need a… a Captain and an Admiral coming to my first day. It’s not school!”
                “Lots of parents will be dropping their kids off. It’s the beginning of Plebe Summer…”
                “Yeah well, it’s not like I haven’t been there before. I know my way around already, you know your way around! Please don’t…”
                “Are you… embarrassed to be our kid?”
                “Uh…” Bradley refuses to meet their eyes.
                “Oh my god, you are!”
                “No! No. I’m not embarrassed okay? It’s more… I don’t want people knowing I’m a legacy kid.”
                “Oh,” says Ice then, expression going understanding and Mav looks confused.
                “What? What am I missing?”
                “Bradley wants to prove himself. Doesn’t want others to think he got in because of his… connections.”
                “But… he did.”
                “He also tested crazy high, he would have got in regardless.”
                Bradley feels a flush of achievement at the sheer surety in Ice’s voice, proud and no-nonsense.
                “But… you’re more than just a legacy kid. You know that right?” Mav asks, and he suddenly seems so unsure, like Bradley isn’t aware of how good he is.
                “Yeah Mav, I know that.”
                “Anyway, you’re a triple legacy kid and plenty of the brass at Annapolis already know you’re on your way. You going to pretend you don’t know half of them?”
                “If I have to…”
                Mav cackles then and Bradley lets out a laugh as well when Ice just lets out a resigned sigh. He needs to make a couple of phone calls. Another job for tomorrow.
…             …             …
                “When did we become uncool? He doesn’t want anything to do with us! Maybe it’s just you that’s uncool, do you think he’d let me take him? I want to take him.”
                Tom rolls his eyes, because Mav is nothing if not dramatic.
                “We have to let him go. I’m sure we’ll figure out some way of keeping in touch. My parents wrote me letters.”
                “Too slow. We could get BeepBeep one of those transportable phone things.”
                “Calling him BeepBeep is another reason why he doesn’t want to be seen in public with us. Also, it’s a mobile, or cellphone, you’re not old so stop sounding like you are.”
                “Yeah yeah, just because you have one.”
                “We can get you one at the same time we get Bradley one…”
                “Hmm, I feel like it would just be another way you could tell me no.”
                “It would be another way in which you ignore me telling you no.”
                “You like it when I don’t say no,” Mav says, turning toward him and grinning.
…             …             …
                “Mav, where are you?”
                “Uh… I took a couple of personal days?”
                “To do what? Also I find it highly suspicious that these personal days coincide with the start of Plebe Summer. Tell me you aren’t stalking Bradley.”
                “I’m not not stalking him?”
                “Jesus Pete…”
                “He doesn’t know I’m here! I’m just… making sure he arrives okay!”
                “He’s an adult. He flew there, we put him up in a motel and he then caught a taxi. Shit. I still haven’t rung Sli and let him know Bradley’s going to pretend not to know anyone…”
                “Oh! Don’t do it. Let Bradley cause havoc! Can you imagine some of them talking to Bradley like they know him and Bradley just… pretending they’ve got the wrong person?”
                “Do you really think Bradley would be that rude?”
                “Depends how committed he is to this whole ruse. And he was pretty stubborn.”
                “I wonder where he gets that from…” Tom remarks dryly.
                “One of life’s mysteries,” Pete replies, clearly distracted and Tom lets out a long breath and reminds himself that he loves Mav. Mantra or curse, he loves the man.
                “So what are you actually doing?”
                “Watching everyone arrive. I’m just parked in a car up the road and watching everyone walk in. Bradley will be easy to spot because he’ll be all alone…”
                “So you’re in a car outside a naval training center staring at cadets as they arrive. Tell me you don’t also have a pair of binoculars.”
                “They’re small ones.”
                Tom groans and hangs up on him, glad that he did go through with getting Mav that cellphone after all. As much as the idea of letting Bradley cause chaos may be appealing to Mav, he knows better and he really needs to make that phone call.
…             …             …
                “Welcome back to Annapolis Bradley!”
                “I’m sorry sir, you must have me confused with another cadet…”
                “Bradley Bradshaw?”
                “That is my name sir, but I think you have me confused with someone else…”
                Admiral Mackenzie blinks and frowns and then steps back.
                “Sorry Cadet Bradshaw. On your way then.”
                “Thank you sir. Nice to meet you.”
…             …             …
                Tom sighs and wonders what the easiest way of dealing with this is going to be. He’d fully intended to make this phone call months ago, not leaving it until the first evening of Plebe Summer when Slider is no doubt at his busiest.
                “Hey Ron…”
                “Oof. First name. What did I do?”
                “Not you…”
                “What did Mav do?”
                Tom snorts and rubs at his eyes.
                “Not him either…” He won’t mention the creepy sitting in a car aspect of Mav’s latest craziness.
                “Bradley? Baby Goose? He’s never any trouble…”
                “Well, I think he’s going to make up for it.”
                “At Annapolis?” Ron scoffs disbelievingly.
                “He’s going to pretend he doesn’t know anyone…”
                “Uh. But he knows everyone.”
                “I’m well aware. Just… can you prepare everyone for Bradley being an idiot and pretending he knows no one?”
                “Oh… I think this conversation is coming too late. Mack came into my office earlier and said that Bradley completely blanked on him.”
                “Oh shit…”
                “Well, at least we have an explanation. He was worried that he might have memory issues.”
                “Who? Him or Bradley?”
                “Either. Both? Anyway, I’ll let Mack know. As well as the others, because that could have backfired horribly.”
                “I know. They’d think he was getting smart. He just… I think part of it is wanting to be judged on his own merits, but also not have anyone use him to advance themselves.”
                “He’s a smart young man. I look forward to watching his career.”
…             …             …
                “You seem to know how everything works around here…”
                “Uh. I did a lot of reading in preparation for coming. I didn’t want to be taken by surprise by anything you know?”
                “Smart move. You definitely seem to have caught the attention of all the instructors at least. They all know your name.” Bradley grimaces, because that’s not necessarily a good thing. At least no-one has called him MiniMav, BeepBeep or Baby Goose. There are others, but he doesn’t need his childhood nicknames coming common knowledge. “Although, I guess Bradley Bradshaw is an easy name to remember. Kind of rolls off the tongue. Brad Brad.”
                Bradley lets out a sigh, resigned to yet another nickname.
…             …             …
                Mav follows through with the other visitors. He hasn’t really told Ice or Bradley that he was planning on coming today. Unlike Ice who went through USNA Mav never really allowed himself to show too much interest, directing it all toward the flight school after doing his Bachelor degree. Now that Bradley is here though he can ask all the questions. Even the ones he’s pretty sure he knows the answers to. He spies one of the cadets with the last name Trace and wonders if this is the same one in Bradley’s platoon. Maybe.
                “Hi! I’m Peter, Bradley Bradshaw’s dad. Nice to meet you.”
                “Good morning Mr. Bradshaw. Natasha Trace. Bradley didn’t mention that his parents were coming…”
                “Well no, I hadn’t been planning on coming. I can’t often get away from work, but I thought I’d try and make an extra effort with it being the parents day and all…”
                “Oh, did your wife come with you?”
                “Uh, no, I’m not married…” The young cadet looks awkward then and Mav takes pity on her. “I’m just going to join one of the tours. If you see Bradley tell him his dad Pete is here. I’ll catch up with him later. It’ll be a surprise!”
                “Uh, but if I tell him then won’t it spoil the surprise?”
                “He’ll still be plenty surprised when he actually sees me.”
…             …             …
                Bradley still hasn’t seen Mav, and he knows it must be Mav, because Ice surely wouldn’t fuck him over like this. He’s heard through three others that his dad is here, and also a few comments that he looks good. Bradley hopes like hell he’s not in his fucking uniform, although everyone is fairly desensitized about uniforms looking in any way sexy when everyone is wearing them. He’s more worried about people finding out exactly who Mav is… But he can’t seem to find him in the swarm of people, everyone showing their family around. Plus Mav is short and likely knows Bradley is looking for him.
                “Bradshaw! I just met you dad, holy fuck he’s all sorts of hot isn’t he?”
                “Short guy? Dark hair?”
                “Why? You have more than one dad?”
                Bradley freezes, suddenly unsure of what to say because in his head he’s got space for three dads and they’re all very distinct people. None of whom he would ever describe as hot. Gross. God, it’s even worse than thinking of them having sex.
                “I, uh, yeah… fuck.”
                “Like… a dad and a step-dad, or are we talking a couple of dad’s who adopted you?”
                “Closer to the second one I guess,” Bradley says, resigned, because fuck it, it’s close enough. He’s not going to get into the specifics but he guesses he can share some rough details. “My dad died when I was a little, his best friend is my god-father and he was pretty much my dad growing up. And once him and his partner figured their shit out I got another dad…”
                “What about your mom?”
                “She died a few years ago. Cancer.”
                “Oh wow… so you really have two dads.”
                “Yep. And one of them is here?”
                “Yeah, he said his name was Peter Bradshaw?”
                “Oh. Huh. Of course he did…”
                Trust Mav to fucking come up with a cover story but not tell anyone else what is.
                He doesn’t end up finding or seeing Mav for the entire day, although he does receive a couple of overly exaggerated winks from some of the teachers, as well as Uncle Slider and Admiral Mackenzie. He takes it with good grace because they’re humoring his need to try and stay as anonymous as possible, even if Mav seems to be intent on fucking it up.
…             …             …
                “You couldn’t have stopped him?” Bradley asks, and Tom would almost call the tone whining, but there’s too much desperation there.
                “I’m sorry, are we talking about the same person? Have you ever tried to stop him doing something once he’s set his mind to it?”
                “Ugh, I didn’t even get to see him! What was the point?
                “So he could see you. See that you’re happy and alright.” Just like that the wind seems to leave Bradley’s sails, like he has to let Mav have this. Has to be grateful for small mercies that Mav didn’t learn how to do sky writing, which he’ll keep to himself because it’s totally something Mav would want to try out. “And you should know he’s actually being fairly restrained, especially if he didn’t approach you. He did follow you out there for your first day and just watched from a car like the giant dork that he is.”
                “What? Ugh. Dork, yes. Giant, no. Ugh. Why is he like this?”
                “I really have no idea. Do you like the taste of whiskey yet? I find that helps.”
SECOND YEAR
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olderthannetfic · 2 years
Text
Man, a lot of the commentary is pretty harsh
Re the Tiffany G thing and the OTW elections, I think people are being a bit dramatic.
No, I don’t want her on the Board. I don’t think you should want her on the Board either.
But a lot of the commentary is like “Hasn’t she heard of strikethrough?” and the reality is that she probably hasn’t if she’s younger and especially because she’s from mainland China. She could easily have been using AO3 for years and not know that much about its founding. Her English is good now, but has it been good for that whole time?
I’m not going to give her a complete pass like “aww, widdle baby doesn’t speak English and didn’t know what she was saying”. That’s rude and clearly untrue. But it seems like people are making zero allowance for the difficulty of expressing oneself in a foreign language and zero allowance for different cultural backgrounds in how people phrase things and talk about issues, and that’s not great either.
I think she’s too focused on appeasement and her own past shame, and that opens the door to manipulation by puritywankers, but whatever kind of better outreach she’s envisioning might actually be fine if she really is talking about better communicating what AO3 is to fans in mainland China and not about removing content. Most fans there hadn’t heard of it till the ban and all the wank around it. I’m sure there is considerable misinformation. I don’t think PR should be a major OTW priority, but if Chinese fans see a need and a way to fill it, that could be good. (TBH, it doesn’t sound like Tiffany is super experienced or confident just as an individual person, so IDK if other mainland Chinese fans would actually agree with her, but it’s worth keeping an open mind.)
I mean, yes, don’t vote for her, but also don’t assume everything she said is just a 1:1 clone of US-y anti garbage without at least trying to investigate the cultural context and her attempts at clarification. US puritywank does poison other fandom communities, but if someone is primarily doing fandom not in English, they may have a pretty different frame of reference. Just something to think about.
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seneitut · 11 months
Note
Hii!!! I found your work and i LOVE it so much! especially the wordcount!!
if its ok can i request gekko x freader but the f reader is really dom? assertive like gekkos talking but stutters so much and forgets what hes saying when she like looks at him the wrong way **doesnt have to b nsfw but whatever works thanks!
“Quietness”
[Part 1][Part 2] [Part 3]
[Gekko/F!Reader]
Words: 9K (I'm so sorry is this freaking long)
Tags: Fluff, violence, deaths, teachnicality of the game because I miss Ice box, slow-burn, NSFW (+18), Dom!Reader, Sub!Gekko.
[It seems I didn't know how the queue works because I thought this was posted days ago im so sorry gfjnfghgh
You can skip the nsfw part when the words are bold like this, its near the end!]
-------------------------
The silence that envelops the common room is ringing deep inside his ears. 
Vibring, trembling, deafening. 
Gekko hates the silence. A reasonable amount, you could say, to not be able to stand it to the point he wants to rip his brain into shreds to stop the thinking and not process the buzzing.
It brings memories he tries to suppress, echoing within the silence and rolling like a corrupted movie behind his eyelids over and over again. Gekko grunts in discomfort, trying to dissipate the images by rubbing his eyes with force until it stings but that doesn’t deter the silence to swallow him whole. 
Since when has he become this dramatic.
He whines loudly, head thrown back, “Why is it so quiet in here, dios!” But finds not even the echo of his voice filling the void.
Most of the agents have left for missions earlier that day, leaving only the most reclusive people at the base alongside him, hence the quietness. 
And it is not like he didn’t want to go—he’s always eager to accompany his allies in battle and have the time to bond with them through killing their counterparts— but the reasoning of Brimstone when assigning the teams is based on whether or not their powers and abilities compliment each other and not how well they get along.
KAY/O and Skye were out on two different teams, so his kits were not really necessary for the mission at all. Sova was out of commission until further instructions after getting injured and Fade was…well, he doesn’t know her whereabouts, but she must surely be busy with something else instead of hanging out with him.
They are on pretty good terms thanks to Neon, so he doubts she would avoid him on purpose. The only reasonable option would be that she was busy. And Breach? Breach is Breach, the man is unable to stay still in one place so he must definitely be either hitting the gym or committing crimes. Not really of his taste.
That only left him, the last initiator, back at home. 
Most of the sentinels were with him at the base; but like the cliché they are, none of them were eager to share their spaces with others nor entertain him in, how did Chamber put it…´dumbassery´ of sorts. 
Rude, honestly. Gekko is not at fault that they don’t know how to have fun outside missions. 
“I’m surprised to see you here.”
Whipping his head around, he finds you leaned on the doorway with a clipboard on hand. The dark shades you’re wearing do not give away whether you’re surprised or emotionless to his presence here, which, in retrospect, wasn’t important to know. 
He’s just happy someone is here to make the silence go away.
“I’ve got no missions today!” Turning his body around, he rests his head on the back of the couch to get a better view of you without breaking his neck. “I thought you left with Sage hours ago. Weren’t you going to…uh, what was it called…”
Frowning in concentration, he tries remembering the name of the place you were to set off, but none came to mind. Ice cube? Ice mountain? It had something to do with ice and something something…right?
“I can see the smoke coming out of your ears from your thinking alone.” The subtle smirk on your face was noticed by him, pouting by the teasing. “Sage is unable to go to Ice box with me.”
“Ice box, that’s it!” Sitting down on the couch next to him, he continues. “So, what's up? Change of plans now?”
Nodding, you go through the pages in the clipboard before raising your eyesight to him. Gekko seems eager, if not a little energetic for someone who has nothing to do. He seems expectant as well, jittery and a little fidgety with how often he toys with his gloves.
Biting the inside of your cheek, you ponder whether it's a viable idea to ask him to duo with you on the task that was assigned. Although you don’t have the energy to deal with someone like him: a little chatterbox and full of energy; his abilities might come in handy if the situation calls for it.
But this is an important mission, and you haven't worked with Gekko before. It would be a gamble whether the mission goes well or not and you’re not sure if you want to put something this important on line.
Gekko waves his hand in front of your face, a frown apparent on his features, “Hola? Are you okay there?”
Avoiding his question you decide to deflect it with another one, “Do you know where Cypher is?”
“In his room I think? I tried going in but I got tangled with his tripwires at the entrance and he just shut me off.” Crossing his arms, he sighs. “I’m kind of tempted to think he doesn’t like me very much.”
No shit. Who goes inside another’s bedroom without asking first? And Cypher, above all, is such a secretive man it is no wonder he loves to hide his secrets under lock and blackmail to keep it safe; the worst person to skip over pleasantries and ignorance was him. 
Gekko has pissed him off, then. Great. Out of options.
“So he is in no mood, got it.” 
“What do you even need him for? Such a grumpy man to work with.”
With no desire to argue, you leave Gekko to run his mouth about why he is so pissed about most sentinels at the protocol and how little social life they all have to be wasting it holled up in their rooms.
The need to defend Cypher is big, but you know the man has cameras all over the place and you don’t want to say something out of pocket in his presence—digital presence, in truth—or worse, out yourself with the soft spot you have for the secretive man.
Cypher wouldn't let it die down.
“...And you know, I tried speaking with Brimstone about having activities inside the protocol to strengthen our partnership, friendship, whatever the heck we are so we can be more trusting to each other!” Rolling his eyes, he huffs loudly. “But he said no, because this is not a fraternization house and I should take my work more seriously.”
“He is not wrong.” You comment absently.
“But I feel like it is necessary!” He continues. “How can we be a team if we aren't on friendly terms?”
“Not everyone will be your friend, Gekko.” Sighing, you stand up and begin to leave. “You cannot force yourself into others just to fulfill your need to get along. If it happens, happens, if it doesn't work, just let it be.”
“B-but, wait! Where are you going?”
Raising the clipboard, you move it slightly to let him know you still have things to do instead of indulging in his little chat. 
“I'm busy. And I need this done by today.”
“But you don't have to leave!”
Frowning, you turn around to see him slouched over the couch with a pout on his face and a look that begs for you to stay. 
You're not easily swayed by childish behavior from people you don't know. It didn't work on you as one might assume from your laid back personality, which most confuses it as rudeness, but this kind of attitude is what you hate the most.
If Gekko doesn't confront you about why he doesn't want you to leave, you won't hear him out. If he isn't honest, then you won't entertain him any longer.
“See you later, kid.”
Not even two steps ahead, you stop dead on your tracks when you hear him whine loudly. 
He's not even looking at you, eyes downcast and making sad noises; like a kicked puppy. It makes you question how old is this kid to be throwing a tantrum because he doesn't have his friends around.
This is not your problem, though, you can just keep walking away and try your luck with either Chamber or Killjoy to fulfill your task instead of lounging around and wasting time. But deep inside, there is a little fire that has been ignited by seeing someone like him acting so pathetic that you just want to strangle him.
“The fuck is wrong with you?” You spat with anger. Uncalled for, since he's done nothing wrong. “Fucking childish.”
Gekko looks offended by receiving such rude treatment in a single question that his sad façade is forgotten.
“Why are you—!” He exclaims. “¡Háblame bonito!”
“I don't understand spanish, you dumbass.”
“Speak nicely to me!” 
“I am speaking nicely. I don't get why the fuck you're so childish about this. Do you want something from me? Then say it.”
“I don't want anything from you! I just wanted some company but you're leaving like the rest do!” Huffing in frustration, he scratches his head in an attempt to subside his irritation. 
“You never said you wanted company, what am I, a mind reader? And why is that a reason to be acting like a brat? Grow up!”
“No, you grow up! You are so irritating!”
Scoffing, you close the distance slightly, hovering over his form with a menacing aura and scowling at his defensive stance.
Gekko is frowning, his hazel eyes holding back a fury only he could comprehend but softens ever so slightly when you approach him and, if your eyes don't deceive you, his cheeks reddens when his sight roams your body now that he had a new angle from you.
He stammers when he asks you to back off, eyes to the side and fidgeting on his seat.
You fix your shades before starting, “I told you I can't stay, I've got work to do yet you insist on me staying to fulfill your own desire? Don't be selfish.”
“Am not…”
“You are. Stop pretending that this isn't to make you feel better.”
Gekko's eyes widened in embarrassment, “Yeah? What if I am! Is that something wrong to wish for?”
“No, only immature.” Checking the time, you decide this has taken too long “I've gotta go.”
“Nadie nunca se queda de igual manera. Go off, just leave already.”
You sigh. 
Is never easy to confront others about the feelings bothering their minds and souls, and you know a person is easy to rile up if you press their buttons constantly. 
You've heard of the happy Gekko at all times, bringing laughs and smiles to his fellow friends and filling that void of a friend if needed—but who does the same for Gekko when he needs it?
Usually the happy people you encounter like him are the most troubled within their hearts. You don't want to be pointing fingers, but this boy has some deep issues with solace and individuality. It makes you wonder if he's ever had a healthy friendship or a healthy relationship in general.
Because now that he's this angry, he could use some emotional support to go through his feelings and what wrongs he's done.
Capable of angering someone like him should be a feat, but besides that, you must have acted terribly for him to get to this point of annoyance.
Gekko seems really upset, but mostly, he looks so worn off that you pity him for whatever he's going through. 
God, you cannot leave without resolving this first. Is going to nag your brain with guilt if you don't make amends with him.
“I apologize for my behavior.” You begin, Gekko levels you with a skeptical look. “Let’s try this again: I’m busy, I can’t stay, and sorry about that. The others might return later today if you’re patient enough.”
“Yeah, in hours maybe, or never.”
“Have a little faith there.” you shrug. “Aren't they your friends? They are coming back for sure, don't worry too much.”
“It's not only that.” He says. “I- um, I don’t like the silence here, it's too deafening, you know? I just wanted some noise, something to fill in while I wait. I keep talking and talking now because I don’t want it to be quiet.”
“Yeah, I quite get it. Still, I'm sorry about earlier.”
“I accept the apology because it really was rude of you to snap like that.” Gekko sighs, “Why did you even react like that? Like, what prompted you to do that?”
How do you explain to him you don’t even know exactly why you’ve snapped at him?
Perhaps you won’t. There is a small idea planted that you don’t want to dwell on because it would be too embarrassing to admit and you don’t think Gekko would appreciate your thoughts.
“Didn’t have a good day.” You lie. He seems to buy it. “Shouldn’t have taken it on you, though.”
Gekko nods and offers a small smile. Things seem to have calmed down for now and the other looks a little better than before, which is good in your opinion.
“Go,”  He nudges your arm with his finger, smiling. “I think Cypher really likes you in comparison to us, if you ask him, he might go with you.”
Ah, clever boy. 
“Maybe, I’ll think about it. Thank you.”
Waving your goodbye, you take your time to regard him silently before walking away from the common room, sighing in tiredness and stress consuming you entirely when you’re finally out of his vision.
This is not how you expected the day to be going. You expected nothing; just to do your job, return to the base and maybe get a nice glass of wine—you feel like trying your luck and figure out if today is the day you’re gonna like the beverage—puke from disgust because you will probably still hate it and take a long ass nap.
But by the looks of it, maybe you're doomed to solo this.
God you won’t be able to finish this alone.
Going back your steps, you reach the common room once again, startling Gekko who seemed to be playing with his knife. He takes a moment of consideration, gaping like a fish out of water before realization dawns on him.
You raise your hand before he can even say a word, watching his smile stretch to a grin while he waits for you to give him the chance to say something.
“I’ll offer this once: I’m going to Ice box, and I need a partner for this specific mission, are you up to this?”
Gekko didn’t even let the question be finished, jumping from the couch with a loud: ‘Hell yeah!’ and a fistpump in the air, a bright smile adorning his face. Doing him once over, you decide that the deed is done and now there is no turning back.
Take it or take it.
“We leave in five, be ready at the launching site or else I’m leaving without you.”
With that final warning you take off to gather your equipment. 
-----------------------------------
Ice box is not like it used to be. 
Throughout the time you’ve been working for the protocol, this place has changed a thousand times. You don’t even remember how it was supposed to be in the first place, but your best guess is the omega agents had something to do with it: the cargo ships, the laboratories, everything has been modified to their convenience thanks to kingdom. 
You are thankful enough that at times that this place has been in danger, your team has been able to stop the detonation of the spikes and prevent further catastrophes. Either you knew the place better than them or their teams weren’t able to catch up with how fast you did the retake of the sites.
Luck was on your side, you suppose.
This time, however, you won’t need any of that to complete the mission.
Go in, download the data, steal the samples if there is some, and get the fuck out of there.
You wish your duo were someone able to surveillance while you get what you need, but it is okay, you can make it work. Gekko will keep watch while you gather the info, or maybe he can go and inspect the samples near the kitchen so the work can be doable and quick to do. 
“Damn, this place is huge!” Gekko watches around him with wonder in his eyes and excitement pouring from every word uttered. “And so fucking cold, god, what the fuck.”
The wind seems to have gotten stronger after many months of keeping this place barred from people. The blizzard was picking up fast, making the snow rise with strong bursts of air and freezing you to the bone. Your shades were getting covered in snow quite quickly and you were annoyed you had to clean them up often. A bit more and your fingers will become windshields.
Gekko was wearing his usual fit, which is not proper for this kind of weather. Either he was going to die from hypothermia or worse, become an actual ice statue with the lack of clothing. This is partly your mistake for not warning him on time before taking off; you cannot expect people to travel somewhere called Icebox and not be aware that it might be a cold place.
“Here, warm yourself up.” Taking off your coat, you fix it on top of his shoulders until he pops his arms through the armholes. He sighs, burrowing his face on the fur covering his neck and shyly inhaling your scent.
Smiling at him, you pat his head gently and begin your walking towards the rafters on A site. The turtleneck you’re wearing should be enough to cover you until you reach the surveillance room. Being a closed space, you guess the old scientists might have a heater installed; and if they don’t, you are going to curse their entire lineage for this crime.
Is pretty cold out here, your supposition that people might still linger around the area is close to none, so you can breathe in peace for the time being.
“Hey, aren't you cold?” Gekko treks besides you, catching up with your quick pace. “You're not wearing much, I'm sorry I had to take this from you.”
“It’s okay, I’ve worn less when I had to come here and fight for our lives, this is alright.” Is not and your chattering teeths gives away how cold you were getting. 
Gekko stretches his arms out, wiggling his hands to signal you to come to him and you cannot help but raise a brow at his antics. Rubbing your hands together to breathe in some warm air you ignore him to reach the destination.
The site is clear, quiet, and echoing the footsteps you fear someone might hear it. Gekko is keeping the silence still, and you wish he would speak or say something so the atmosphere would not be perceived as…deathly.
Is way too quiet.
“I need to download some data from the main room, it might take a while until I find what I’m looking for.” You comment, Gekko nods. “I need you to reach the kitchen and find the secondary lab to take some samples. Remember the pictures I’ve shown you on the jet? We need to take them back to base for Killjoy to analyze them.”
“You got it boss!” He exclaims, saluting you. 
“Once you’ve got them, return here. Is better to stick together, but knowing this won’t take you long, we will separate for a while.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m not gonna be gone forever, you know?” He sets off, giving a slight wave in your direction. 
That brings a grin to your face. 
Opening the compartment where most of the computers are located frightens you a bit. The metal doors sound like they need maintenance with how rusty they crack while opening, scaring you to the bone with how loud it is. 
Everything inside the room seems impeccable and things are where they are supposed to be. Most of the computers are off right now, except for one that is stuck in the far corner of the room, the screen on sleep mode and projecting a small animation of the logo of Kingdom. Is warm inside, too, which you are thankful for so you can shake off the coldness chilling you.
There is no password required when you move the mouse, the desktop greets you with multiple files organized on the side and you wonder if this should feel easy to scavenge through kingdom’s most important secrets.
Don’t mind the hours put into learning how to hack into computers taught by Cypher, you are going to get the info and get out of here as soon as possible.
Getting the usb from your back pocket, you put it in and wait for it to load. Drumming your fingers, you get a glimpse of A site from the window and admire the pristine and cleanliness it maintains while you wait. One of the reasons this place has always given you the chills, is how weird it works. 
Despite how often it snows, none of it gets inside. As if it avoids entirely to be dirtied by it. Does it have to do with any of the inventions they’ve worked on here? Could it be that it had something to do with the experiments they’ve tested on Yoru’s ancestors' armors? An invisible shield?
Ping!
The computer loads the usb without problems, the work starts here.
Going file through file might take a while, but you hope this doesn’t take longer than what you expect. 
There are some files already open that you think will go over first. Some titles you don’t understand quite well, but there are profiles from the alpha agents that have the basic information one might get if the both worlds share the same fates.
Some are coordinates to cities that still exist in their world and the current location of every omega agent. All their data, every single mission they’ve been assigned and their contact information is there, in open sight.
This is no coincidence. Someone had left this on purpose for you to find, but why?
You decide to dwell on it later, copying every data of importance to the usb and reading the remaining files. Paragraph through paragraph, each sentence you read is worse than the other and the horror it hides behind this screen is worse than you imagined.
Who keeps this on a scientist computer? 
Unless this isn't information saved here. All you've encountered here has been placed exclusively for someone to find, with a purpose.
Oh, fuck.
Who else knew? Besides you and Sage, there has been no one else this mission has been talked about. 
Brimstone and Viper are both very picky with whoever they share important details about kingdom or omega earth; unless there is a rat in your forces, you doubt anyone else would snitch it out.
You trust Cypher with your life, and after learning what's going on with his counterpart, you doubt it could be him. Killjoy is a no-no, she is Brimstone protegé and someone who you cherish very much.
There is only one centinel left whom you found nothing inside these files.
You cannot grasp the why, though.
Someone who wanted to warn you about this and knew you were coming to gather the information that was left long ago—why would he expose himself like this? 
You were tasked to figure out the experiments on radiants and the power the armor from Yoru's ancestors held; to find the correlation to the spike and the radianite they so desperately wanted to steal.
They have an intel too, sharing the information openly and creating a bridge of knowledge for both sides without actually involving any party.
The intel is here.
And Gekko is alone.
Taking the usb with the information it loaded, you run out of the computer room towards the kitchen with rapid footsteps.
Your heart is pounding wildly inside your chest, terrified of anything happening to Gekko while you were not there to help. 
Tapping on your comms, the only answer you get while calling out Gekko's name is pure static; that only heightens your worry.
There is a small chance he might be alright and is only messing around while he waits for you to finish. Maybe he's only exploring the sites freely because no one is here and you are just paranoid and overthinking stuff.
The blizzard has gotten stronger for the past hour, covering almost everything outside in big piles of snow and picking up air currents. It made the running impossible to do and the desperation to get a hold of your senses, making you feel like your steps were slower or simply not enough.
“If he's okay I'm going to murder him myself.” you take the mental note, worried sick and furious.
Once you've arrived at the door frame from the kitchen, you are quick to notice the door to the lab is wide open. There is no sign of your partner nor anything to indicate there has been a fight here. Some things are messed up in the lab so you could only assume it was his doing while searching for the samples.
But where is Gekko? Where the fuck did he go that he is unable to answer the calls?
Going down the hallway you stop dead on your tracks when you pick up the faint sound of ticking. Above the raging weather, it is impossible for you to not recognize that awful sound.
Taking out your ghost, the only weapon you brought with you, you swing on the corridor to B site. There is a Fade holding the angle, she seems bruised and worn off, but still holds onto her phantom with the strength she has left.
You fail your first shot, which is fatal because she injures your leg with one of her bullets before you can land one through her head. You gasp in pain, leaning on the doorway and breathing in heavily while her dead body falls to the side.
The cold is not helping the wound at all, feeling the tender skin burn under your touch and friction against the tight clothing. You're not sure the bullet has exited the appendage and don't want to figure it out now, that’ll be a problem for your future self.
Gekko is your priority. 
Biting back a pained groan, you rush your walking to get the weapon, leaving the ghost strapped to your waist.
Hovering over the threshold, you are quick to spot Omega Chamber holding the angle to snowman, undisturbed and unaware one of his teammates has died. The loudness of the blizzard could be in your favor right now, since you didn’t know how many of them were left and the comms were unavailable for all of you.
The best option was to back off to the entrance to snowpile and jump down. From that distance Chamber won’t be able to detect you and you will have a chance to lower their numbers.
Reloading the gun, you follow your plan until you are close to B site. 
You didn't want to use your powers, always having faith in your aim and supported your missions with that alone.
On this occasion, there is no other option left.
Taking the shades off, you breathe in deeply, holding onto the phantom tightly and canalizing the energy from the spike ticking down. 
One of the reasons you fear your powers is when the spike is down. 
The longer you use it, the faster the ticking goes and closer to exploding, exposing everyone to its danger. There is some sort of connection from the radianite it extracts to what you can do—experimentations that has been done to you before the first light to tranform you into a radianite magnet and localize them for kingdom. 
Is a bad memory to reminiscent, painful to the core.
But if you want to get out, if you want to find Gekko, you have to become the monster you've swore to never be.
When you open your eyes, you can see your reflection in one of the cargo boxes in front of you. Your eyes are designed like waves of a radius, ring after ring moving outwards and magnetizing—demonic.
The white of the sclera and the red of the rings, Viper once mentioned how evil you look like this, which made you self conscious as to how the others might perceive you. The shades you so dearly hold onto you was taken when you killed your counterpart once. 
It belonged to her, the you from another world, and the little thought that you were no different after all made you upset and sad.
It's scary, seeing yourself like this after so long of denying your nature, is terrifying not knowing what's going to happen now.
Once upon a time, you thought it matched your vibe, but those times are long gone after the many mistakes you've made while using it.
There is no time to dwindle in the past.
Every vitals from every person within the spike radius shows in front of your eyes; where are they hiding, what are they holding, and between them, Gekko lays on the floor, unmoving.
The feeling of bubbling anger chokes you, and you cannot help the hellish cry before swinging to a Sage next to the spike and head shooting her.
You can feel the life of her becoming one with the energy of the radianite when she finally dies, going back to where it belonged once.
There is another person hiding behind the yellow box, another a little far behind near their spawn and Chamber has not stopped holding snowman even after shooting Sage who was almost right next to her. You pay him no mind, perhaps he hasn't heard you yet—you've gotta act quick.
Running to yellow, you quickly swing with the phantom and shoot Yoru in the head, but he bursts into a bright light, blinding you for a moment before you see the actual one shooting you with a bulldog.
Many bullets go past you, but as soon as it makes contact with you, your body swallows them. Yoru makes such a disgusted face seeing your body contort to accommodate the new hosts before dropping dead.
Gekko's body is right behind him, wounds littering his skin and your coat covered in amounts of blood it freezes your heart for a moment.
You know he is alive thanks to the vitals of radianite inside his body, but you fear you might lose him if you were to stick here. 
Reloading your gun, you throw his whole body on your shoulder. You've gotta take advantage while in this mode, strength won't be lasting for long with how close the spike is to exploiting.
Gekko grunts in pain when you start running, you mentally apologize to him but won't slow down.
Is not until you reach snowman that you finally hear the spike detonate.
Weakness takes hold of you and, without the energy from before and the bullets that Yoru shot you, new wounds start opening up, making you tumble down onto the snow with Gekko by your side.
The boy wakes startled, gasping for air and choking onto his own blood while looking around him. When he spots you shaking next to him, he crawls next to your side to cradle your head, unaware of the many wounds hurting him.
Turning to your side, you finally make eye contact with Gekko, happy to see him awake and somewhat okay despite his injuried. Before you can ask him yourself if he's okay, he lets off a scream, backing off until you are no longer touching. 
The terrified expression on his face should be enough to offend anyone, but dizzy and tired with the whole play you've done, you cannot figure out why he is making that expression.
Until you blink. 
You are not wearing the shades.
It must have fallen off when you ran away from the detonation and didn't notice because of the rush of adrenaline. He is staring right into you, an expression you are not able to discern through the wisps of blizzard and ice cooling you down. 
“Tsk, tsk. You've gotten away, then.”
Your hair stands on its ends, turning slowly until you see Chamber hovering over your form with his weapon in hand. Gekko gasps, choking in his own blood until his throat is sore and hurting, but closing the distance until he has you within reach.
Chamber looks down at you, his operator aiming right at your head while you try to hide Gekko’s body behind you. The poor boy grunts in pain, eyes wide in fear and body trembling for the loss of blood; he can’t even utter a word after what has happened.
Is this how you both die?
There is one shot, a second one follows after that and Chamber clicks on his comms.
“The subject was found dead.” Is what he says, to your horror. There are two holes next to your leg where he's shot, clearly missing the target. “I’ve dealt with his partner as well, I’ll be going back as soon as the spike radius goes down.”
There is a conversation going on between him and the Viper that escaped before the spike detonated. The chance of jumping him while lowering his guard is high, but would prove it to be fatal if his reflexes are sharp with the shotgun he has strapped on his hip.
Giving a brief glance at Gekko, you are safe to assume he will be okay for the time being, but not for long if Chamber decides to act on his words. 
Moving slowly, you try to reach for your knife. Maybe if you’re quick enough, you can slice his neck and leave with his weapon.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” He warns. There is not an ounce of pity in eyes, which confuses you as to what he wants to do with you both.
“If you’re going to kill us, why prolong this? I knew you were sick to the head, but not to this point.”
Walking slowly around you, he regards you with quietness and a pensive expression. The closer he gets, the more you cover Gekko with your body to create some sort of shield against the other. 
You know you wouldn’t be able to do anything if he were to manhandle you or hurt your partner; the amount of blood pooling around you was alarming enough to not do anything drastic.
“I’m taking a look.” Is his answer. With the barrel of the gun under your chin, he raises your head with gentleness. “You’ve never given me the chance to see you in action, I’m taking the time admiring those beautiful eyes you have there. Enchanting, aren’t they, kid?”
Gekko frowns at his words, with the last of his strength he scowls at Chamber and holds your arm with a weak grip.
“Territorial as well, how amusing.”
He straps the operator on his back, extending a hand to you. “Stand up. Time is running out for you and they won’t take long before they ask why I’m taking so long.”
Accepting the offering hand, you let go of Gekko to support your weight on Chamber. The moment you’re on your two feet, Chamber feels the sharp sting on his neck of your knife threatening to cut the skin. He tries to reach for his shotgun, but the pressure of the knife gets the better of him and he stops.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” You warn. He laughs at that. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t slice your throat and leave you to die.”
“Just kill him!” Gekko chides in, frightened. “He’s the bad guy, anyway!”
“Now, now, that’s not the way to treat your comrades, is it?” 
“What the fuck are you talking about?” you spat, hand trembling with anger seeping out of you. 
“You better get running, the spike radius has gone down by now. I have to report back that your bodies were sadly disintegrated by the explosion so there is no proof of you leaving.” Pointing at the pile of snow covered in crimson, he continues, “The blizzard has not gone down yet, it will be no time until your trail is covered if you leave by now.”
“Why should I let you go alive?”
Smiling, he coyly asks back, “Say, who do you think gave you the information you have now? Quite promising, isn’t it?”
Dropping your arm, you let him go easily. Chamber doesn't strap his gun off nor threatens you when he makes distance, giving you the time to compose yourself and think for a moment what will be the course of the situation.
Gekko hiss loudly, gasping for air when the current gets colder. Not even giving a look at Chamber, you fall to your knees to get your partner before he hits the floor. 
You need to leave.
With your busted leg and the last of your strength, you try to carry Gekko on your back. Chamber approaches then, to help you on your feet with the boy secured on you.
“I'm sorry…” Gekko whispers in your ear, coughing up some blood and sniffing back some tears. You shush him softly, holding his legs tightly.
“Is alright, Gekko, I'm going to take you back home.”
He hums, nuzzling your neck. His cheeks are freezing, “With you?” he asks, words slurring.
“Yeah, Gekko, with me.”
Nodding to Chamber, you start walking away.
“Give my regards to my counterpart, I bet he is doing fantastiqué!” 
You don’t turn back, ignoring his words and moving forwards where you left the jett. Gekko has long passed out, having his full body weight on you slows the trail to safety, but you won’t be leaving him behind just because of a little setback.
Your only hope is he is going to be okay by the end of this.
--------------
Reporting back everything that happened feels like a far off dream you wouldn't believe your tale if you were to not be there. 
From the files, to the samples Gekko did get and held onto them so he could fulfill his mission; you think you deserve a little rest.
Your conversation with omega Chamber still nags your brain, leaving many questions unanswered and many things inconclusive. There is no one you can confide this information to; you decide to keep it out of the report.
Gekko seems to be recovering well—Sage did an amazing job calming you down when you arrived at the protocol. Worried sick and begging her to please heal him as a priority, she did not fight you and complied with the request. 
The boy has said nothing from the moment he woke up and has avoided talking with anyone but you. Being sedated and under many medications to his full recovery, he only has asked for you to accompany him while bedridden.
Gekko is cute under the effects of sedatives.
He asks for your hand to hold his, to please talk to him to avoid the silence, to kiss him on the forehead and whatnot; you are amused by his straightforward attitude, and appreciate the direct requests with pure intentions—you don't fulfill his requests, much to his dismay, but do talk to him softly to help him sleep better.
One would think that after such a mission and adventure you both went, the relationship would change eventually. 
Under sedatives it looked like, all cuddly and emotional—but after he was discharged and time passed by, it was the opposite.
Gekko is acting weird.
Weirder than you think he could get.
Confidence is something that oozes off him constantly, finding him caught off guard is not right nor an event that happens often; so you wonder, why does everytime you cross paths with him it seems like he gets scarred for life.
He gets all flustered, stammering over his words and fumbling hands all over the place trying to excuse himself, avoiding your gaze like it was the plague itself, and then escaping from wherever room you are situated.
There is no moment where you can go and stop him because he always finds a way out. Is bothersome and annoying that his childish behavior gets the better of him instead of confronting you about whatever has happened or is bothering him.
“Say now, what have you done to our new residential kid?” Cypher asks, tinkering with his camera. “He seems…skittish around you, haha.”
Grunting, you kick him under the table until one of your hits gets him. “Gekko is acting so fucking weird. I’m not in the mood to entertain you with my dramas, you devious man.”
He chuckles, caressing his offended appendage after your attack, “Devious, you say? I’m stating the obvious, the eyes don’t deceive from what I’ve observed, dear.”
“Oh, yeah?” Crossing your arms, you dare him to keep talking. “Go on, then, speak.”
Leaving his tools on the table, he leans in one of his arms, his whole posture seems to change from the relaxed stance towards a more formal one. “Everything comes with a price, my dear. Nothing is free in this world.”
“Your annoying self is.”
Cypher hums, fascinated, “Is it now? Go on, you know what I want to know. Tell me, and I’ll offer the knowledge of what’s going on with Gekko.”
Drumming your fingers against the table, you consider his offer for a moment. 
The weight of the information he is offering is not worth what you know. What you’re asking for is a more personal matter. What Cypher is asking for could potentially endanger the protocol and its integrants if mistakenly shared with the wrong people. And under an oath, it is impossible for you to disclose it to him this easily. Brimstone would have your head on a stick if he were to know.
The keyword here in play is know.
Cypher won’t tell a soul, there is no unless, you know he won’t tell a soul so there is nothing to lose here.
Maybe a little bit of dignity because you’re this distraught over a boy, something you thought were beyond and above, but that is a matter for you to figure out later.
“We found part of the coordinates of the omega agents, most are scattered around their world, without the need to survive nor coexist within the same space like we do because the first light happened but the catastrophe was completely different. They are seen as heroes, not villains.” You begin, Cypher leans in, interested. “Brimstone seems to believe they are using radianite to support their own world and create matter from the power it gives them since they can’t afford to. Their world is dying at a fast pace, so the attacks with spikes might occur sooner than we think.”
“How so?”
You shake your head. “I’m not sure, Killjoy is investigating that aspect as we speak right now. I don’t think they are going to share that information with me nor any of us except Viper and, perhaps, Sage. And until we get assigned another mission, we have to pretend everything is under control.”
“Anyhow, we’ve got another problem.” You sigh, “There is one amongst us who is giving the omega counterparts our information, and vice versa. Viper seems to believe it could be Chamber—so do I, but we have no proof to support the supposition. They’ve yet to discuss how to tread in to obtain more information.”
Keeping the conversation you had with omega Chamber as a secret might be the wrong move, but if you can work on the shadows and try to get in contact with him once again, maybe you will get a lead as to how to read their moves before they act.
Risky, but willing to test it out.
“Anything else?”
Thrumming against the surface, you consider whether to share this tidbit of information to him or save it for yourself. Because, how do you tell the man who has lost everything and everyone, that his counterpart has been able to get his wife and kid back, unlike him? 
Cypher has been your friend for many years, you cherish him enough to not want to hurt him in any way; for his sake, this will also die with you.
“Nothing more, is just a summary of what I was able to get.”
Cypher hums, contemplating your words and the information given before nodding, satisfied with what he’s learnt.
“Gekko seems to have developed quite the feelings for you, dear.” He announces after a moment. Blinking, completely caught off guard, you scowl at him.
“I’ve given you all the information I've gathered so you could laugh in my face, fucker?” Cypher watches your hands close into fists, holding back the need to punch him in the face. “What else, are you going to tell me he is in love or something?”
“But he is!” He defends himself, both of his arms shown in surrender. “Is it not my fault the boy is completely enamored with you now, you can ask him yourself.”
“You are an idiot.”
He laughs, “Maybe, but in matters of love, dear, one is not deceived so easily. Gekko is in love, if not a little obsessed with you now. Say, you don't know how he looks at you when you're distracted.”
Huffing, you roll your eyes. “He's scared of me, I think.”
“Says who?” Going back to his camera, he keeps going, “If only you were to see how much he hates our close relationship, or how heated his gaze is whenever I approach you. Ah! Young love, murderous and territorial.”
“Someone said something like that before…”
“See? Eyes do not deceive what we perceive.” Cypher chuckles, putting his tools back into its bag. “He won't make a move, and it is up to you whether you want to pursue something with this kid or simply start bedding someone else until he gets the idea, hm?”
“You are disgusting.”
“But I'm not wrong. Better break his heart now than later.”
If Cypher isn’t dead by the end of your little chat, it is only because of the years you’ve known each other or else the protocol would be one less man on their lines. 
Something he’s said is true though, you can ask Gekko directly the fuck is going on with him to solve the problem. Bedding someone else is not an option, disgusted by the many men inside this place, Gekko and Phoenix are the only ones you might consider handsome and eye candy in your opinion.
You have the lingering suspicion that what happened at Ice box had something to do with his shift and new perspective of you. Which you find unfair, since all you did was try to save your asses and he was only awake partly through the end.
Why would your eyes be of enough importance for Gekko to run away from you? Something wasn’t adding up here. Nothing about what Cypher said of Gekko's newfound love for you made sense with the way he was acting. It could almost pass up as if he was afraid of you, right?
No matter. You are going to find out one way or another.
Gekko finds that you can be terrifying when you really want to, finding you hanging and waiting in the darkest corner of the base to ambush him or worse, kill him. Is a ridiculous thought, in truth, he doesn’t think you would be capable of such a thing.
But right now, after what’s transpired on Ice box and witnessing how fierce, methodical, hot, you were, he is sure you can snap him like a toothpick and he won’t complain. Which is why he is so concerned! That is the main reason why he’s so scared right now, because if you asked him to bend over, Gekko would do it without hesitation! 
Too much, that’s way too much. His own thoughts are embarrassing, and he doesn’t know what he’s capable of when you’re in the vicinity. He needs to keep his libido in check or else he’s going to burst if you were to direct a word at him.
But of course, life never wants to give him a moment to breathe in peace.
You are able to corner him once his practice is done in one of the empty hallways of the base. 
Patience has been a key in the whole process of waiting for Gekko to be left alone. The boy seems to be surrounded by people all the time, which infuriates you because you wanted nothing more than to squeeze out the information from the source from the moment your conversation ended with Cypher.
Gekko looks like a second away from passing out with his red face and how hard he is shaking from the close distance. You thought if you were to put your arms and cage him with no way to run, it would be easy to talk to him, but he isn’t even looking at you!
There is no moment to waste, “Gekko, have I done something to you? Something to offend you?”
“N-no.”
“Then why won’t you talk to me? We’ve literally gone through a life threatening situation together and now you won’t just direct a word at me?” 
He whines low, eyelids lowering and refusing to meet you in the eyes—or the shades, to save yourself some embarrassment— and something about his voice, the way he is acting so vulnerable and weak, ignites the same fire inside you like it did the first time; and to your horror, you are able to discern it wasn’t anger what you were feeling that day, but something entirely different.
Great, now are two who are flustered enough that the conversation won’t be able to go on.
Gekko gulps loudly, eyes darting everywhere except your face and fidgeting slightly. 
On a sudden rush of adrenaline and braveness, you take your shades off, closing it and hanging it on your shirt. Once the other gets a hang of what you’re trying to do, his eyes widen in panic. But by then it was too late.
Your fingers close on his chin, making him raise his whole face to level with yours and finally, his hazel eyes make contact with yours.
Is a gamble, but you are ready to accept whatever happens here.
There is a whole shiver that runs down his spine when he tries to speak, stuttering over his words but his eyes never leave yours. Too many things, so much blabbering of his trying to fill in the silence to keep his hammering heart at bay, you’re getting tired of it.
Unspoken things sometimes should stay that way, unspoken.
Your lips crash against his on a bruising kiss, stealing his breath in one single contact and swallowing his whines when he tries to protest. Gekko is quick to reciprocate and deepen the kiss, letting his tongue invade your mouth eagerly in an attempt to savor every crevice and keep the contact to last long, for as long as you want, anything you give him he is going to devour with fervor. 
One of his hands finds purchase behind your neck, obligating you to push him against the wall while the other snakes his way under your shirt, feeling every inch of skin available until his fingertips toy with the hem of your bra. 
His mouth moves in tandem with yours, desperate and wanting. You cannot escape from the iron grip behind your neck nor the other hand trying to figure out how to take the clothing off. 
Gekko wants you, wants you, no kidding. With the way he is grinding against you, and how he keeps making these noises when your tongues connect in his mouth, to the low grunts he slips when you regain dominance. This boy is desperate to bed you, and you cannot deny you don’t share the same sentiment.
You groan loudly when his hand gives up and tucks under the bra to grab your right breast, toying with the mound and fingers stimulating the nipple. Gekko smiles against your lips when he hears the reaction, sucking on your lower lip and claiming your mouth once again.
Your hand finds purchase on his hip, guiding his erratic movements to a slow one, making the friction harder to pursue but more aware of the pleasure flooding his system.
“More, please.” he whispers, kissing your cheek and leading his mouth down your neck to suck on the skin. “Give me more.”
Submissive.
Holding his cheeks you redirect his lips to yours, giving him what he wants. Rising your leg and applying pressure, he groans loudly for you to stick your tongue down his throat. His cock feels hard rock against your thigh, twitching with the need to be touched directly by your hand alone.
Gekko doesn't know what comes over him nor how he finds the courage to be touching you without shame. From kissing you, to feeling your breasts fit perfectly in his hand and having you ride his thigh unconsciously, is all too overwhelming and hot and it turns him on so much he wants to be devoured by you.
Own me, he wants to say, own me, mark me, make me yours only, please.
His finger racks down your chest with the many sinful thoughts running his head, leaving a red trail of his mark on your body. Gekko’s hand lowers until he grabs a handful of your ass now and tries to bite your lips in an attempt to seduce you. But somehow gets to draw blood because of his eagerness to feel you too. You stop for a moment, whining in pain and catching your breath from the make out session.
Taking distance, Gekko grunts in protest, eyes begging you to keep going. But when he notices the slight blood, he panics wildly. 
“I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you!” His hands hold your head with tenderness, and he watches your lip bleed slightly and get swollen with how hard he was chasing after the kiss. “I’m really sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
Huffing in amusement, you grab him by the neck and push him against the wall once again, his hands fall to his sides. He seems caught off guard, a surprised expression painting his features while he figures what you’re trying to do. 
Leaning in, you whisper in his ear, “You’re such a brat, you know that?” 
Gekko sighs at your words, melting under your touch, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, I am…”
Wanting to test the waters, you tighten your grip on his neck, Gekko moans at that, bucking his hips.
“Who gave you permission to talk back, hm?”
You feel him gulp, having enough braveness to let his hand fall on your waist and caress you softly. Your eyes soften looking deeply into his eyes, finally understanding that his feelings are real.
The tenderness in which he looks at you fills your heart with this unknown feeling. Overwhelming, blooming, that is suffocating. In a good way, though, is pleasing.
“Are you okay with this, Gekko?” you ask. Gekko blushes and nods. Leaning your forehead against his, you smile gently.
“I-If you are, yes, anything.” Your stare is heavy, scorching, but he thinks that has nothing to do with the fact your eyes hold so much power and weight; but because he’s made you this flustered with his kisses.
That alone is enough to rile him up even more.
The blood has dried by this point and you are more than eager to keep going, but the fact anyone could find you both like this, and Gekko would be unable to hide the hard on he is sporting right now, obligates you to keep your feet grounded.
“Want to continue this behind doors?” you ask him, your hand touching his lower lip with care. Gekko nods excitedly, kissing your thumb. 
“Yes, please.” 
Oh, you cannot wait to wreck and ruin this man for anybody else.
Bold of you to assume he would want anyone but you on his bed by the end of tonight.
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Text
Cat’s 3K Series
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part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5
Part Five
“Do you think I’m a bad person?” The villain sucked another hickey into the hero’s neck with a precision and calculation the hero didn’t know from lovers. Apparently, the villain was more than attentive: they were not only considerate of the hero’s wounds but also of their reactions.
Whatever they did to make the hero moan, they kept doing it until the hero was too overwhelmed with pleasure. Hungrily, the hero had watched them stitch the reopened wound again. A slow burning had overtaken their brain and heart, making it impossible to think well.
The villain had more self control, though. They calmed down the hero, made them go slower, urged them to relax more. Even though they let the hero sit on their lower stomach, they were fully leading the those situation with their hands in the hero’s hair and on their waist.
Every now and then, one of them hissed out of pain, especially the villain when the hero got a little too excited.
Both were far from being healed.
“You’re not a bad person,” the hero said.
“I can be very rude,” the villain whispered against the hero’s lips which made the hero smile.
“Yes, but…you came back. You could’ve gone anywhere but you chose to be with me.”
The villain wasn’t so eager now and the hero thought they had something wrong. Had turned a switch, had scared the villain and now they were quiet again.
“I didn’t tell you everything,” they confessed.
“I know. But I know what I need to know.” The hero kissed their cheek gently, staring at the band aid on the villain’s face.
“I never told anyone before but I think you might understand what it feels like.” The hero’s attention switched to the villain’s serious eyes. It was true, their adrenaline was spiking from pleasure and they wanted the villain so bad but this was more important than their desires.
Whatever the villain was gonna say, it was going to be horrible, the hero knew that.
“I come from a family of means and…when I was younger a criminal organisation decided to use that. They kidnapped me and my brother. My reluctance bothered them obviously, so they did a lot of fucked up stuff. Beat me up. Put me in cells with worse people, forced me to kill others for their entertainment. My parents kept giving them money to reassure our safety but once I got more violent, they started to give me weapons.”
The hero bit the inside of their cheek again. Hard enough that it hurt. They couldn’t imagine what it must’ve felt like. Being separated from their family like this, fighting to survive, being forced to kill people…Eventually their mind wandered to the plane crash to find something they could compare this with.
Thankfully, they hadn’t known anyone on the plane. But waking up in the jungle with their leg shattered, being experimented on after…suffering was suffering, no matter what. Suffering ate and didn’t leave. Even if the worst was over, it stayed and infected the brain. It stuck around to punch them in the face every now and then.
Subconsciously, they took the villain’s hand.
“And they sent me on missions. Made an assassin out of me. All backed up by the promise they wouldn’t hurt my little brother in return. He’s nine now, doesn’t even remember our family anymore. I— I don’t know what to do. I’m still coming back to them for my brother. My parents seem to be still alive. At least, the money keeps coming in. I’m just so tired of this. I’m so tired of fighting and running around like a dog.”
The villain swallowed and the hero could see the little tears gathering in their eyes.
“Hey,” the hero said gently. They cupped the villain’s face and wiped the tears away with their thumbs. “We can work together, okay?”
They kissed the villain slowly, lovely.
“We can do this together. We can make a plan, gather resources. I can steal tech from the agency. They won’t notice if we’re quick. We can free your brother and you can return home. Change our names and move to another city.”
The villain nodded slowly, red eyes trying not to look at the hero as a few other tears rolled down their face.
“Thank you,” they whispered. It was their turn to kiss the hero and they did. Not as passionately as before but tenderly, lovingly. It was a scary thought for the hero. Loving someone was messy and complicated and difficult. But they were certain if there was one person in the entire world who could understand them and their pain, it was the villain. The villain was the only one who was able to protect them, who was on their side.
So, they allowed themselves to get lost in the moment. To enjoy the warmth the villain gave them, to mumble reassurances and little compliments until the villain’s ears go red. Everything was perfect and for a moment the hero felt like they were healed. Until the villain got the text message.
They let their phone beep once, then twice. With a sigh and an uttered sorry, they sat up and took their phone out, scrolling on the display until they found the right message. Apparently, the villain didn’t check them.
The hero didn’t see the message. But they saw the villain’s pale face.
“Are you…?”
“Where did you put my suit?” The villain’s voice was scarily cold and the hero’s throat burnt. Was this some sort of protection? Turning into a cold wall to keep themselves form feeling anyway.
“I…I think it’s in my bathroom somewhere. It’s totally ripped apart, though, I don’t think you can—” Not answering, the villain stood up and disappeared in the bathroom.
“Hey, what is going on?” The hero followed them just as quickly. All the progress, all the secrets they had revealed to each other seemed to be falling apart.
“Whatever it is, we can work through it,” they promised. The villain looked around the bathroom, their movements almost mechanical. They found their suit in the bathtub where the hero had tried to clean it.
“No, we can’t” the villain answered bluntly.
“We can. We decide what we do with our life. How we act. Those are decisions only we can make for ourselves.”
The villain turned around, looking at the person they had wanted to devour a few minutes ago.
“It doesn’t work like that,” they said. “People like us aren’t allowed to decide.”
“No, that’s not the true—” They took a step forward to touch the villain’s arm but the villain moved away, as if the hero would burn themselves if they touched them. “Please, whatever happened, we can do this together.”
The villain turned around, heading for the door but the hero didn’t give them up that easily.
“Please,” they begged. “We can’t run away from our problems anymore. We both deserve to be happy. We both deserve a life.”
The villain breathed in and turned around. Once again, tears ran down their face, worse this time. Surprisingly, they walked up the hero and kissed them. It was quick but the hero knew it now. This was love. It was all of it. The good stuff, the bad stuff. The hurt and the comfort.
But it ended too soon and with that, the villain took all the warmth the hero had discovered these past few days with them.
“Leave the city,” the villain said. “Get away from the agency. You deserve a good life. You deserve to be happy.”
“But I want to be happy with you.” The hero felt tears rising as well. Confusion and grief together made them want to make drastic decisions. They grabbed the villain’s forearm.
“There will be someone else who can take care of you.”
“I don’t want someone else.”
“No. You’re in danger when you’re with me,” the villain argued. They were crying, their nose was running. “This is what they do.”
They showed the hero the message. They’d sent a picture of a severed finger, blood all over the concrete where it lay. In the background, a crying boy. Told you to remember my puppy.
Looking away, the hero whispered a simple “no,” unable to believe the horror they had seen, unable to believe that worse might happen to the villain too.
“They sent me your address,” the villain said. They could barely breathe. “Leave. God, please leave the city, I am begging you.”
The hero shook their head over and over again.
“But I love you,” they whispered.
“I told you. We aren’t allowed to make those decisions. We don’t get what we want.”
With one last longing gaze, they looked at the hero, not ready for the goodbye. Not ready for the pain. And yet both knew this was it. There was no turning back from this.
Both knew what suffering was. But they had never felt anything like this before.
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clownprincehoeshi · 3 months
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Parallel Hearts - Chapter 1
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Synopsis: Never in your wildest dreams you imagined that you'll meet your ult bias. But it seems that the universe really loves you this time. Will Jeon Jungkook notice you?
Genre: for all chapters- Fluff, Smut, Angst
Pairing: idol Jeon Jungkook x fem reader, idol X x fem reader, idol Y x fem reader
Warning: for all chapters- Kissing/Nudity/Sex scene/Pet names/Angst Minors don't interact!
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Word count: 4620
This is my first time writing, I hope there are no big mistakes in the text, I am also not a native english speaker. This is chapter 1 from a series of chapters that will be about more idols. The story starts sometime in 2022. Enjoy!
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Masterlist
Why does it have to rain today of all days? Is this how this city is welcoming me? Am I not wanted here? Well, you’re stuck with me now, city! I’m not going back to my shitty town and my shitty life. This is a new beginning. Y/N said, as she stacks some boxes on the floor of her new home in Seoul.
She moved here today, after she was offered a new job at an advertising company. She thought she needs a big change in her life. It’s not like her life in her country back in Europe was interesting. Yeah, she had a couple of really good friends there, and her sister, but that was it. She’s not interested in dating or having a man, she’d rather spend her free time on her hobbies and on herself.
One of her hobbies being kpop. She got into it when covid struck and she had to spend her time inside. Weeks and weeks of working from home and spending her entire free time at home, so she needed to find new ways to entertain herself. That’s how kpop came into her life. It was also a period in her life when she felt lonely, because she just ended a 2 year relationship. She put a lot into it, and let’s say she was more than disappointed when the guy told her out of nowhere that their relationship isn’t going anywhere. But that’s life, and she had to move on.
Now, this is like a new start for her, but she will focus on work and making herself happy. Starting a new life in a new country isn’t easy, but her luck is starting to change when she meets her new coworkers. Most of them are Korean, but there are also some foreigners that immediately try to talk to her and get to know her. She’s not a very open and social person, so it’s hard for her to open up and be all friendly with strangers. But Hana from work notices this about Y/N so she will make it her mission to befriend Y/N and make her feel at home. Hana knows how it must feel, she’s been in her shows when she moved to Seoul from Busan.
Hana: I think me and Y/N will be good friends, she seems genuine, so I’m going to invite her to have lunch with me today.
Maddy: Go ahead. I think she seems pretty arrogant to me.
Hana: Stop judging before you actually talk to the person, geez.
Maddy: Whatever, you do you.
So here you are, having lunch with this girl with bright brown eyes, named Hana who just seems so nice. It makes you want to be friendly and nice back. But you’re curious as why is she being like this with you, so you ask.
Y/N: Soooo… I don’t want you to think I am being rude or anything, but I am curious about why you approached me.
Hana: Well, I also moved from a different city like 2 years ago, and I know things must feel weird for you now.
Y/N: Yeah, it does feel weird. And I am not the most social person. I am a little concerned about how people will see me and if I will make any friends here.
Hana: Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be here, we can be friends. Deal?
Y/N: Deal.
Hana: Stick around me and you’ll end up with a lot of friends. You could say I’m pretty popular.
Then she winks cutely at you, smiling.
In these weeks that you have grown to know Hana, you have learned that she’s is indeed popular, she’s sweet, kind, had a ton of friends and acquaintances. She’s so cool, you think to yourself. Also, thank god she’s into stuff that you too like, for instance kpop. You haven’t met that many people that are into it. Strange, you think.
It’s Friday evening and a text from Hana pops up on your phone screen.
Hana banana: Y/N, I think it’s time
Y/N: Time for what, silly?
Hana banana: For you to meet some of my friends
Y/N: But I met your friends?
Hana banana: Naah, these are other friends that I haven’t told you about
Y/N: Ok?
Hana banana: But I needed to be sure about you
Y/N: What you mean?
Y/N: Hana?
Y/N: Hana banana?
But she didn’t reply that night. She called you the next day, saying she wants to come over to talk about her friends. Was she hung over from last night? How much did she have to drink? Was she drunk now? Did she drink first thing in the morning? What’s with the mystery? You scratched your head as you loaded the washing machine. You’re waken from your thoughts by the doorbell. Hana must be here. You open the door and she’s storming inside, with a big grin on her face.
Hana: Ok, here you are
Y/N: Yeah, I should be here, it’s my house. Are you drunk? Where did you disappear last night?
Hana: I was with my friends and I told them about you, so they got curious and told me to bring you next time I meet them.
Y/N: And are they like spies or something? What’s with the mystery? Are they aliens?
Hana: I was thinking to prank you and just not tell you who they were and see your face when you meet them, but it would not be fair. But you need to look your best if you’ll meet them
Y/N: It’s not like I look like shit when we go out
Hana: Y/N, come on. Sometimes you dress like a homeless person
Y/N: That’s how I like it?
Hana: Nooo, you need to look your best for this one
Y/N: I think the fuck not. Not dressing up for no man
Hana: It’s Jungkook. You’re going to meet Jungkook, bitch. He’s one of my friends. And all the 97 line.  Jaehyun is my cousin and sometimes he invites me to their dinners and hangouts with the other guys
Now… in your head there were conflicting thoughts. First thought was that this was a lie, there is no way in hell that the universe was so kind to you after all the shit you’re been trough in your life. She must be saying this to prank you, But what a stupid prank this is. Nobody should play games with you when it comes to your ult bias, JK. What is she thinking?
Y/N: You trying to die today?
You’re starting to get all red, you can feel it. You’re starting to get hot and angry. Angry at her for being such a pain in the ass. She knows you don’t like this type of shit, why is she doing this?
Hana: I am not lying!!! Look
As she takes her phone out her bag, she starts to show you photos and videos of her with the guys. Them, eating, drinking, taking night strolls, car rides, laughing, having fun
Remember that first thought? Scratch that. Those other thoughts? Irrelevant. Now you’re only thought was that one tik tok where Sponge Bob was putting on a maid outfit.
You grab Hana’s hands, look her in the eye and quiet sets between you two. You stay like that for a few moments. Then tears are forming in your eyes and they start to roll down your cheeks that are not a dark shade of pink, because you got angry before you got excited. You cry. You ugly cry.
Hana: What the fuck? Why you crying?
Y/N: What am I going to weaaaaaar?
What you’re going to wear. That was your fucking concern. Really? Well, duh!!! It’s Jungkook. He’ll see you. You. Why and how you’ve gotten so lucky, you don’t know. And the rest of the day you’re a ball of nerves, because you will see him tomorrow.
You can barely sleep that night. As usual, you spend your late hours in bed, watching Run BTS and Jungkook reels until you fall asleep. At 6 AM. You think you’re crazy and you will look like shit tomorrow. This is not the time to say I don’t give a shit how I look, I’m not going to look perfect for any man. But he’s not just any man, is he? No no. He’s the perfect man, you’re ideal man. How is he not everyone’s ideal man?
The next day you make sure to eat properly, to take extra care of your hair and skin, because you only got 4 hours of sleep last night. Thanks, Instagram for making reels a thing.
It’s 5 PM and Hana will be here any minute to pick you up. You’re feeling like shit. You feel like throwing up or shitting your pants, you don’t know which. You call you bff who’s back in your hometown. You’’re sure she’s awake, she’s a night person like you.
Y/N: Wifey, what am I going to do? What if I do something stupid in front of him? Should I just not open my mouth at all?
Bff: What? No, wtf! I mean, I know you’ll be weird and all, but just relax. Just be yourself, maybe try not to look like you trying to kill people, you know.
Y/N: Great talk!
Hana texts you she is downstairs. You grab your bag, check yourself in the mirror and leave your apartment. When you get into Hana’s car she starts whistling
Hana: Yooo, you looking for a girlfriend? I’m single.
You slap her shoulders and start blushing. But you know you’re mostly blushing because you know who you’re going to meet. But what if he’s not going to come? What if something happens and he can’t come? Shit! I wanna put my head into sand right now.
You arrive at the place you’re going to have dinner and drinks. You’re not much of a drinker, never been. In fact, you hate pretty much any taste of alcohol. It’s just not for you and your sensitive tasting buds. And you never try to drink just to please the people around you. No, you don’t care about that. So you won’t drink tonight either, unless they have something sweet. You like sweet alcohol, it’s tasty.
Hana walks in front of you, arriving to a private room and opens the door. You hear voices inside and your stomach shrinks into a little grain of sand. Oh god, I’m going to die!
She greets the people inside, everyone sounding friendly and nice, but then she moves. You were trying to hide behind her, but you’re been revealed now. You bow, greeting everyone. You’re so shy that you can’t even look them in the eye. At least not for more than 0,00001 seconds. You could be an octopus with how fast you feel your face changes color from normal to red. But you love octopuses, you find them cute. Your mind flies to octopuses when you’re meeting Jungkook. WTF. Focus!
Jungkook’s POV
You’re already at your second drink and you feel just a tiny tipsy. You hear the door opening and there is Hana. Oh, this means her new friends must be with her. But you can’t see the friend. You were about to ask about her, but then Hana moved from the way and there she was. Was she hiding behind Hana? That’s hilarious. She must be nervous, cute.
But when you see her, it’s like everything slows down. Like in those movies when the main character appears, looking all cool, and everyone is starring. This is how it felt. How can anyone be this attractive? Have I been drinking too much? I just had one glass, the hell. First thing you notice it’s her hair, because she was kind of looking down at first, then she bowed and her long, golden hair moved towards her face like the softest silk. You notice her big bright eyes, the way they avoided yours and that shy smile. She had a beautiful smile. She was wearing a cute short dress, revealing her shoulders and legs. Well, wow is all that you could say. Good thing nobody heard you. You hope.
Y/N’s POV
Hana points you to sit between her and Jaehyun. There is another girl there, and you find out it’s Eunwoo’s girlfriend. Wow, it must be crazy hard for them to hide their relationship from the public. I don’t really envy that, though. I wonder if Jungkook has a girl too. Jaehyun hands you the menu and tells you to pick whatever you like and he’ll order for you. What a gentleman, you think.
Y/N: Oh oh, beer and sprite.
Jaehyun: Interesting combo, never tried it.
Jungkook: Never to late to try new things.
He says that, while sipping from his glass, looking at you with hooded eyes.
Shit! Why are you doing that, Jungkook? I am weak! Stop with those eyes!!
You’re so happy when you mix your beer and sprite in your little glass and take a sip. The day got better and you feel like you can do this. Whenever you have your favorite stuff around, you feel more like home and it gives you confidence. Like your favorite drink, or food you like, or a song you love, or a doggo.
You’re pretty quiet, but that’s just you. You’re a die hard introvert and you take time to feel comfortable around new people. You’re happy thought that nobody says annoying stuff like “oh, you’re so quiet”, “You don’t talk?” and other shit strangers say to you when they first meet you. It annoys you to the Moon and back that some people are so unaware that not everyone is like them, extroverted, outgoing, super social, loud.
Sometimes, when you’re in a mood to put those types of people in their place, you fight back with “why are you so loud? Why do you talk so much?”. They get pissy, but you don’t care. You like your little bubble and you let only your people inside, the ones that care to understand.
You’ve had already 2 glasses of beer-sprite and a glass of strawberry soju. It’s sweet, you like this one. You feel a little social by this point, but still super shy to look at Jungkook. And what’s worse is that he’s just across the table, right in front of you. You need to look left or right to avoid his eyes. You only look his way when you’re sure he’s doing something and has his head turned away from you. But the alcohol is fucking with your eyes, so at some point and you think about admiring him a little more and you look. You look straight into his big eyes, because guess what. He was already looking at you. Good thing you’re sitting, because your knees become jelly. You do the unthinkable and for once in your life you don’t move your eyes. You keep them on him. And he keeps his eyes on you. What’s going on? Why is he looking at me? What do I do? Do I have something on my face? On god no, I must have something on my face, shit.
You must feel brave today, because you ask him:
Y/N: What’s wrong, do I have something on my face?
But you’re dead serious and while touching your face. He giggles
Jungkook: No no, you’re good. Sorry, I think I was starring too hard.
He takes another sip of his drink, while saying “cute” in a low voice, but you heard it and it made you blush. You felt like a big ball of lava right now. The Jungkook thinks you’re cute. The universe must be joking right now, making fun of you. Is this a dream? Have I hit my head one day and I’ve been in this dream since? When did your life become this? You were never a lucky person and it feels weird.
You observe Mingyu in the corner of your eye, kind of like trying to start a conversation with you. You don’t know much about him, you just know he’s Jungkook’s friend and he’s also in a band, but that’s about it. He starts to fiddle in his seat, you feel his eyes on you.
Hana: What’s with you, Mingyu? You seem a little agitated.
Mingyu: Oh, nothing. Just trying to hop into the conversation you’re having with your friend. I’ve heard something about going to a concert next week?
Hana: Yeah, I want to introduce Y/N to the kpop concert life, she hasn’t been to any so far and I think that’s wack.
Mingyu: You really must go, you’ll love it. What show you’re going to?
Hana: Ateez, we love them. You know I have a thing for Mingi.
You push her shoulder a little, knowing what she’s thinking right now, because you know your friend has a dirty mind.
Y/N: Girl, behave, not in front of my beer.
Mingyu: Oh, so who’s your Ateez bias then, Y/N?
Y/N: Yeosang. You answer shily.
Mingyu: Really now. And why is he your bias?
You feel Jungkook’s eyes on you and a rush of heat runs through your body.
Y/N: Well, I like his personality. He’s introverted and shy, has a great sense of humor, and he’s hot but at the same time really cute and adorable.
Mingyu nods like he’s in agreement, and then he’s asking the craziest question.
Mingyu: Who’s your bias in BTS?
You choke and you feel like you don’t know what words are. What’s speaking?
Y/N: I won’t tell you, since Jungkook is here. It feels weird
Mingyu: Oh, come oooon! Pleaaase?
Jungkook: Dude, it doesn’t matter. She’s right. I am here. Maybe you’ll find out another time when I’m not here.
Ugh, your savior. How can he be more perfect? He saved you when you were feeling awkward.
Mingyu: Damn, was just trying to make the night more interesting. Sorry, guys.
He says with a pout, the others teasing him. He seems like a big puppy. He’s so tall but so tiny at the same time.
The food is here. You let them order whatever they wanted, you had no idea what to choose. You just knew you don’t anything too spicy or weird. You can’t wait to eat, because you feel fucking hungry. You’re not something to shy away from eating, and even eating a lot. So you start with some soup, then some steak and all kind of grilled stuff. You just love Korean food, so tasty and filled with different flavors. You wish your best friend was here with you. You think to yourself that this is the happiest you’ve ever been. Eating delicious food and being in the same room with your ult bias. What could be better than this?
Well it could be better than this, but that’s another story, something you fantasize about when you’re alone.
Jungkook and Mingyu, seeing as you enjoy the food, the offer to help you with the meat. They put it on the grill and cook it for you, then put it on your plate.
Hana: Wow, guys, you’ve never done that for me. What’s this, now? Acting nice for the new girl?
Mingyu: She has been nice to us, you’re mean.
Jungkook starts to laugh, because he knows Hana always teases and bullies Mingyu. They all tease him and they do it because he never gets upset, he’s just that nice and soft for his friends and everyone loves him for that.
Mingyu, being the extroverted guy that he is, tries to find out more about you, so he goes crazy with the questions. He’s also had a few glasses, so you answer all his curiosities.
Mingyu: So, Y/N, tell me.
Y/N: Yes, Mingyu?
A pinch of pink appears on his cheeks, hearing his name on your lips, sounding so pretty.
Mingyu: Well, how did you end up in Seoul, why this city?
Y/N: Umm, long story, but to make it short, I have been a fan of Korean cinema, then started watching dramas too, then I thought I want to learn the language because it sounded so interesting. I already knew English pretty well, Spanish, and a little of French and german, so I wanted something different. Then stuff happened in my personal life and I needed a big change, so my boos from back home told me about this job opportunity in Seoul, since she knew I spoke the language already. I didn’t think about it, I just booked a flight and here I am.
Jungkook: Your Korean is really good, though and you know so many other languages, wow. You’re really smart.
Y/N: Oh, thank you.
Now you feel yourself blushing again, but what’s new.
Mingyu: Do you have a boyfriend?
You almost choked on your food. This man.
Hana: You have no shame today, Gyu.
Mingyu: Hey, we’re just getting to know each other here, we’re practically friends now. Right, Y/N?
Y/N: Umm, I guess?
Jungkook: So?
You look at Jungkook, trying to figure out what he’s trying to say. But all he does is lay back on his seat and manspread, with a grin on his face. You feel like going crazy. He knows what he’s doing. Does he know he’s my bias? Could he? Maybe he reads minds. Oh, I hope not!!!
Y/N: What?
Jungkook: Do you have a boyfriend?
Y/N: Oh!! I don’t, no.
Mingyu: Why not? If that’s not too much to ask.
Hana: Oh, this is going to be good.
She knows your life story and your history with guys and relationships, so she knows you have a lot to say about this.
Y/N: You really want to know? I can give a formal short answer or a genuine longer answer. Which one is it?
Jungkook: Long answer.
The whole room is now looking at you, curious about what you have to say. People are always curious about this type of stuff. You are too, you have to admit. And not in the Oh, I like gossip type of way, but you like to hear about other people’s love stories and why they didn’t work out.
Y/N: I don’t trust men. I used to. Big mistake, because whenever I put my trust in one, I would get disappointed again. My last relationship was a disaster. I felt used, like he came into my life, promised the world, then after he got what he needed, he left. I invested so much time, energy, feelings into it and all I got was emptiness. I tried dating a few times after that, but everything felt so shallow. Nobody with real good intentions. Everyone felt so fake, so I stopped everything. Why waste my time on people that don’t care about me? No. And you know what? Unless some guy shows up, really doing everything to show me he’s a real person with real feelings and not some stupid cardboard box, then I might consider giving him a chance. I’m just happier alone.
Hana: Mingyu wouldn’t know about that, he’s got a new girl every other month.
Everyone starts to giggle and you’re surprised but not really, because he’s a really attractive guy. And he seems to have it all.
Mingyu: Wow, you say such nice things about me, Hana. You’re just the best.
You laugh, you find him funny and charismatic. No wonder he’s getting so many girls.
Jungkook: Guys, come on, leave my man alone. He’s not that slutty. He’s just overly friendly and excited so he can give the wrong impression.
Mingyu gives a proud smile, hearing his bestie taking his side. Finally, someone takes his side, he thinks.
Y/N: But what about you guys, how hard is it to have a romantic life in your situation?
Mingyu pouts, Jungkook tilts his head and looks like he’s thinking, Jaehyun shrugs.
Eunwoo: In my case, all I can say is that it’s really difficult. You put your career on the line, but when you meet someone you really like, you can’t just ignore the feelings. You can’t live just for your work, you’re not a machine.
Mingyu: It fucking sucks, I barely have time for a romantic life. Things are getting really intense at work lately and I need to be there for me and for my members.
You look at Jungkook, who’s taking a soju shot, waiting for him to give a response too. You really want to know, it burns you to know.
He realizes you are waiting for him to say something, so he tries to change the subject.
Jungkook: Let’s do shots before we end this night?
And the hands you a glass of shot, you drink it, looking at him. He’s avoiding your eyes for the rest of the night and it’s not long until you all need to leave. The restaurant is closing, it’s past midnight and tomorrow it’s a work day. Shit, you have so much work to do tomorrow and here you are, a little drunk., wondering why Jungkook didn’t answer your question and why he didn’t look at you the rest of the time.
You all give your goodbyes and the guys are telling you how glad they are to have met you and that they will see you next time. You feel Jungkook’s eyes burning into your skull, and when you turn to him you catch him starring so you give him a little smile with a “goodnight”. He bows and smiles then turns and walks with Mingyu to the direction where a car is waiting for them.
You felt sadness. Sadness because this night was over, because you thought that you were weird and they didn’t like you. Shit, you met your bias of biases and you’re glad you didn’t shit yourself when he looked in your direction. You felt a little proud of yourself for not acting like a crazy fan. You always thought that if you met any of your favorite artists, you would just be quiet and act normal, trying to not make them feel uncomfortable. That’s what everyone should do, right?
You’re also trying really hard not to be too delulu right now, after meeting him. You can’t wait to tell your bestie about it, too bad she’s sleeping at this hour, must be really early in the morning there. Oh well, I’ll just take a shower and go to sleep. Who knows, maybe the universe is starting to like me and I will see him again.
Next morning you wake up all sweaty and worked up. You had a sex dream about Jungkook. Damn, it felt so real, wtf. Stupid brain, let me function today! You arrive at the office and you find Hana waiting at your desk, two cups of hot cocoa. She known you hate coffee, and what else could you drink on a cold march morning?
Hana: I figured you’ll be a little hungover, we had a lot to drink. Well, me. You were lightweight.
Y/N: Ugh, you’re a life saver. Thanks for the cocoa, I love it.
Hana: So what did you think?
Y/N: About last night?
Hana: Duh! Did you feel weird or it was fun? Want me to get a signed photocard from JK?
Y/N: Nooo, I would feel so embarrassed. But I really enjoyed it. They seem like normal people, though Jungkook is a little reserved. So mysterious, no?
Hana: Hm, maybe because you were there. He was a little more quiet last night though, but so were you. I could see you two being a couple.
Y/N: Omg, stop! I’m not that delulu, girl.
Hana: You never know.
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oceanbug · 9 months
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when worlds collide
smau non!idol ningning x reader
17. anxiety.
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"Are you going to fucking stare at me all day, or are you going to start speaking?"
Ah, that’s what Aeri meant by "you’ll know."
You start to clear your throat and formulate your thoughts. While you think, Giselle starts the conversation.
"Y/n and I aren’t dating." Oh! Okay! I guess that’s how we’re starting things.
"Ugh, Obviously. You two barely know each other?"
"Don’t act like you knew already, Ning; weren’t you the one who ran away crying?" That didn’t take very long for the conversation to go south. You weren’t going to let this meeting go to waste, so you tried to regain control of the conversation.
"Okay! Let’s just calm down a bit. How about we start off with a positive conversation? I’ll start. Ningning, I’m sorry if you felt offended or betrayed in any way by me hanging out with Giselle. It wasn’t my intention. There, now, does anyone else want to give it a try?" Both parties at the table remained silent. Ningning had an angry scowl, while Giselle was smiling brightly.
"Apology accepted? Is that what you want me to say? Listen, it doesn’t matter what I think anyway; in a week we’ll go back to being strangers. Unfortunately, I’ll be stuck with this obsessive stalker for life, but you and I, Y/N,  won’t stay in contact." Ouch. It was obvious that you and Ningning didn’t have the same social circle, and you definitely didn’t plan on staying close to her after the presentation, but did she have to be so rude about it?
"You know, I am curious about one thing, though. How did someone like you end up in contact with someone like you?" She meant Giselle when referring to it, and you knew that. You gave Aeri an apologetic look, and she just returned a bright smile. I guess it didn’t phase her; I mean, she has dealt with Ningning for years.
"I messaged her on Twitter. I felt like we had something in common and could be friends."
"In common? What being backstabbing bitches? Aw, the BB club, cute!"
"Nah, being framed for being buddy buddy with your boy toy."
"Okay! Things seem to be getting out of hand." Like usual, you’re cut off by Ninging.
"How dare you? You’re still lying after all these years? When are you just going to own up to being a slut? It’s getting pathetic. How many times do I have to tell you that Wonyoung told me what you did? Yeonjun even admitted to it."
"How many times do I have to tell you she’s lying?"
"Give me one good reason Wonyoung would lie about that. She’s my best friend."
"So was I. So, why didn’t you believe me?" The room was silent. Ningning's face softened, while Giselle's bright smile faded. You awkwardly cleared your throat and began to speak. Might as well get your thoughts out now before you get cut off again.
"I know you have no reason to trust Giselle or me. I get it. But what if we could prove it to you? Prove that Giselle’s innocent."
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
"Well, in this story, the only people involved are you, Giselle, Wonyoung, and Yeonjun. We’ve gotten 1/4 sides of the story. If you tell us your side of things, we'll already have half of the story together. If we can just get the other half, I’m sure we’ll be able to prove Giselle right."
"What does it matter if I tell you my perspective? It'll just be the same as Wony's since she told me about the cheating. Go ahead, chat it up with Wonyoung and Yeonjun. Why should I stop you? Why even tell me your plan in the first place?" Ningning began packing her things and signaled to her driver that she was ready to go.
Giselle rolled her eyes and responded.
"Ning, you know getting to Wonyoung isn’t going to be easy. We’ll need your help. Please. Just tell us, what did Wonyoung tell you?"
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masterlist ~ next
(Synopsis) Y/N had never been the type to take life for granted. You grew up with the mindset that if you wanted something, you had to work for it; So getting paired up with the university’s “Rich Bitch” Ning Yi Zhuo for your midterm was the last thing you wanted. Are you willing to step into the world of fame for an A+?
taglist (open): @azraism ; @kimsgayness ; @sewiouslyz ; @winieter ; @llluvbluy ; @i06kkura ; @everydayiloveyves ; @edamboon ; @rdfgfv
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I saw this post going around and got really curious as to how OP came up with their numbers because I could not replicate them at all.
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I was going to reply directly but it was getting very very long and I didn’t want to wade onto someone’s post with a bunch of my own stats bc it seemed rude, so I’m putting my response here.
I’m going to preface this by saying that I’m fully in the camp of “write because you like writing, not for an audience response” because if you don’t like the process of writing, there is no level of audience response that will make writing worth it. But. I’ve seen a lot of folks agonize over Ao3 stats and get stuck in the weeds on Ratios™. And I think there are a few really common misconceptions around what these numbers mean.
The rest of this is going to be under a readmore to spare y’all but basically it’s a breakdown of trying to calculate my own percentages like the OP in the original post and then dialing down into why hits != readers.
Here’s the stats from one of my fics as of today, May 1st 2023. I am by no means a prolific or widely known fic writer - I happen to be in a big fandom and writing for for the main pairing in that fandom.
completed multi chapter fic, rated Mature:
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So this one has three chapters, 2736 hits, 436 kudos, and 146 comments. Kudos divided by hits is 16%.
“Oh no!” I might say, seeing this. “Only sixteen percent of people liked my fic enough to leave a kudos? Either my stuff is shit, or fic-readers are a bunch of lazy fucks who don’t appreciate the work I’ve put into this. Either way, I’m mad now!”
But (and I say this with a lot of love in my heart, I promise) that’s silly. Not just for the philosophical reasons of writing what makes you happy and not caring about the response. It’s silly because it’s wrong.
On a multi-chapter fic, each person who finishes it is responsible for at least 3 hits but can only leave 1 kudos. Dividing the total hits by 3 gives you 912 hits. So, once you’ve corrected for number of chapters, the percent of people who have hit kudos is 47%.
“Holy shit!” writer-me says, “I’ve published original fiction in my university newspaper, original fiction that I poured my heart and soul into btw, and if approximately half of the people who read it  sent me a little heart emoji, I would have died and gone to heaven. Fic readers are the Nicest, Most Generous, and Most Beautiful readers on the planet and I am so grateful to be in this community with them.”
But! 47% is still wrong. Here’s why.
Hits != Readers
I don’t how other people do this, but my process of reading a fic is often like this (each step is one hit):
open link from someone else's rec, try to click "mark for later"
realize I'm logged out. sign in to Ao3, go back to fic and click "mark for later"
come back to read fic, generating at least one hit per chapter
open a second tab so that I can write a comment as I go (again, generating at least one hit per chapter)
finish fic, create bookmark, and then navigate back to fic to mark it as read so it's taken off my marked for later page
if I really liked the fic, I'll end up opening it back up in a tag many times so I can rec it to people by sending them the link
if I really really liked the fic, I'll come back and read it again (this is doubly true for explicit fic, btw.)
I think I’m on the high end of generating hits, but it only takes a few of me to really dial up that hit counter. And most people are going to do one or two of these things - I’d argue that it’s pretty rare for someone to leave just one hit on a fic unless they nope out of it in the middle.
Formula for calculating number of readers from number of hits:
There isn’t one. And it would take a much better mathematician than me to make one. Because this is way more complicated than dividing by chapters. Most readers leave more than one hit - especially if they like the fic a lot. Short fics and explicit fics are more likely to be read multiple times.
“But what if I crave validation?” writer-me complains, irritated with math-me for not downloading statistics software, shoving a million Ao3 fics into it, and producing some kind of bullshit linear regression. “What if I constantly see people with higher kudos/hits ratios than me? This is all very optimistic but it really doesn’t jive with my deep seated belief that everyone secretly hates me all the time and they’re too nice to tell me about it. Do they hate me? They probably hate me, right? Tell me if you hate me.”
To which I say, listen very closely, writer-me. You can either decide that AO3 stats mean something and lose your damn mind deciphering what they mean, or you can be like that kid who got an avocado for christmas and say “it’s a avocado comment!! Thanks!! :D”
And that kid seemed pretty happy.
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waytooinvested · 6 days
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Forgotten, Not Forgiven - Chapter 11
This and previous chapters are also on AO3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clinical trial for Q-wave brain stimulator.
Trial subject 1. Session 5
First official sleep study: subject agreed to an overnight sleep study, during which two periods of Q-wave treatment are to be applied for 40 minutes each, one commencing during the deep sleep stage and a second at onset of REM sleep.
11.11pm – Deep sleep phase treatment commenced.
11.51pm: First treatment application successfully completed: blurring evidenced on Q-scan slightly extended to 0.7mm
2.07am: Following initial treatment dosage subject was allowed to complete one full sleep cycle at rest, followed by commencement of second treatment application on entering REM sleep
2.19am: Negative effects of Q-waves observed, treatment aborted.
Q-wave brain stimulator trial terminated with immediate effect.
Everything had been proceeding exactly as they had been anticipating. The deep sleep phase had been perfect, and to begin with the REM sleep treatment seemed even more promising, with the blurred patch expanding by 0.4mm within the first seven minutes. Success had seemed inevitable.
Then Lena looked over at Kara and saw the thin ribbon of blood trickling from her nose, and her heart stalled painfully in her chest before thumping back into action at twice its usual pace. She bypassed the dial completely and yanked the plug out of the wall to stop the Q-wave generator, then ran to kneel beside the bed.
‘Kara? Kara, please wake up. Are you okay?’
Kara stirred sleepily, blinking up at her in evident confusion as Lena tugged at the straps and pushed the Q-wave cap off and away with one hand while the other tenderly cradled her head.
‘What is it, did something happen?’
‘Do you feel alright?’
‘Of course, I’m totally fine. I was having the strangest dream though. I was flying, and... I think I was carrying you’.
Lena forced a laugh that might more properly have been called a sob as she remembered saying almost those exact words to Kara after she had been poisoned by Edge.
And after she had saved her life yet again...
It was a piece of real memory, and that Kara had it at all should have been incredible news, but combined with the nosebleed all it did was prove Lex had been serious about the dangers of forcing her to remember.
What if Lena had looked up five minutes later?
What if it had been too late?
Kara could have died tonight because of her.
She could have died.
‘Anyway, I don’t suppose you woke me to hear about my weird subconscious. Is everything alright?’
‘No, I’m afraid it’s not. I’m stopping the trial’.
The bed frame squeaked in protest as Kara sat up abruptly, looking properly alarmed for the first time since her rude awakening.
‘What? No! It’s been going so well, you can’t just stop!’
‘We have to Kara, you had a nose bleed’.
‘Don’t be silly, I never get-’
But the protest died as Kara reached up to touch her face, then examined the smear of red on her fingers.
‘Huh’.
‘I’m so, so sorry, I really thought this was going to be completely safe. I can’t say for sure that it was caused by the Q-waves, but I’m not willing to take that chance. If there is even the slightest possibility that this is hurting you, we are not doing it again’.
‘But it’s only a little one. Couldn’t you just… do some checks on the wave frequency or whatever before we try again? I would feel so awful if you cancel the whole project just because I had one tiny nose bleed, especially when I feel completely fine and it might not even have been caused by what we were doing. Think of all the people you were going to help’.
I was going to help you. That’s all. It was always just you, and now I can’t even do that.
‘No, I just can’t take that risk. I’m sorry Kara, but it’s over. I’ll just- I’ll find another way to continue the work. Come on, we’d better give Alex a call and get you over to the DEO so they can check you out properly’.
It looked like Kara wanted to protest further, but after taking in Lena’s expression for a few moments she apparently decided there was no point, and nodded reluctantly.
‘Alright, if you really think we need to stop, then I trust you. There’s no need to wake up Alex though, she’ll only fuss and there’s nothing wrong with me’.
‘Oh, we’re waking Alex for her sake, not yours. Otherwise she’ll be looking at a life sentence for my murder after she finds out I didn’t tell her about this so she could check you out for herself. What’s a bit of lost sleep compared to that?’
Kara rolled her eyes, a look of fond exasperation on her face that could have been for Alex or Lena or both as she picked up her phone to call her sister.
‘You two are as bad as each other, you know that?’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Kara had been checked out, cleared, and taken back to her apartment, the core task force for Project Atlantis (as Operation-get-our-girl-back had become more formally known) gathered for an emergency meeting to discuss what had just happened. Given that Kara had been cleared medically and was now back in her own home none the wiser this probably could have waited until morning, but when Kara had called Alex, Alex called J’onn, and the others were already en route to the DEO after Nia had seen something troubling in her dream, so they had decided not to wait.
J’onn, Nia, Brainy, Alex, and Lena.
There were a few other agents who knew Supergirl’s identity and therefore part of what they were working on, plus James, who was helping to hold things down at Catco, but the five of them were the only ones who knew everything, and Lena was glad she didn’t have to admit her failure to a bigger audience.
She had already presented the progression of the trial and the hopes she had had for the sleep study, and now went on to explain how it had gone wrong shortly after starting the REM treatment stage. For a long minute everyone was quiet as they examined the scan progressions Lena had just given them, then Alex banged a fist on the table and swore.
‘It was going so well. I really thought we had the answer’.
‘The probabilities looked quite promising, I too am surprised that this happened’.
‘So what do we do now? Do we dial back the treatments? Make them shorter, or less frequent?’
Lena had nodded along in commiseration with Alex and Brainy’s comments, but at J’onn’s contribution she stopped, brows drawing into her boardroom “someone just suggested dangerous cost cutting measures at the children’s hospital” expression.
‘Of course not. This is it for the Q-wave stimulator, I’m terminating the trials effective immediately. I assumed that was implied’.
The nosebleed was proof that her premise had been flawed, and it was sheer luck that the whole thing hadn’t ended up a lot worse than it did.
Kara could have died tonight. She could have died. She could have-
‘I’m not certain that is a logical course of action Lena. My calculations show only a 6.3% chance of further injury to Kara if the sessions return to being carried out while she is conscious, and with greater spacing between-’
Now Brainy too?
‘That is 6.3% too much. I’m sorry, but this is not a debate. It’s my device and I am telling you that I will not let any of you use it on Kara again. If I have to smash it to pieces and destroy the schematic to make sure of it I will not hesitate’.
Alex raised her eyebrows, reaching out towards Lena as if she was going to put a soothing hand on her arm, though she stopped short of actually touching her.
‘Woah, hey, there’s no need for that, we’re all on the same side here. But we don’t have another plan – if we can’t use Q-waves, what are we going to do?’
‘For now, nothing, Kara’s brain needs time to heal from the trauma it’s just experienced. Maybe in a few weeks we can think about trying something new, but until then-’
‘A few weeks?’ Alex interrupted, extended hand withdrawing along with the conciliatory tone. ‘We can’t wait that long. We’re barely holding things together as it is without Supergirl.’
At another time Lena might have been sympathetic, but right now the image of blood running down Kara’s face while she lay apparently unconscious (just sleeping in fact, but the seconds when Lena had been unsure if she would ever wake up again had felt like an eternity) was hovering just behind her eyelids ready to ambush her the moment she closed her eyes, and Alex’s protestation seemed flimsy at best.
Kara could have died tonight.
Lena could have killed her.
The roil of panic she was trying not to acknowledge boiled over, and her reply lashed out like a whip.
‘National City survived for years without superheroes. Are you really telling me that you can’t last a couple more months without your little sister holding your hand?’
Alex slammed both hands down on the table, her own tenuous grip on her composure snapping under the weight of Lena’s goading.
‘DAMN it Lena, this is not about me! Do you realise that Kelly nearly died confronting Malefic? He was seconds away from forcing her to cut her own throat. Seconds. I can’t let that happen again!’
‘And I can’t let you risk hurting Kara to make sure it doesn’t!’
‘You think I want to? She’s my sister, I love her more than almost any other person on the planet, but we have to be realistic. Kara is not the only one in danger here!’
They were both standing now, eyes locked, though Lena wasn’t sure when or how that had happened. If the two of them had been alone they would have fought it out until they had vented what they needed to, then calmed back down enough to figure out a new plan together, but they were not alone. J’onn interrupted their glaring match with a stern throat-clear, looking between them like a disappointed teacher with two unruly pupils.
‘That’s enough, both of you. Will you please sit down so we can discuss this rationally?’
Lena was prepared to ignore him and continue their debate to its conclusion, but after a few more seconds of crackling tension Alex flickered her gaze to J’onn and nodded stiffly, a part of her apparently still reacting to the authority of her former boss. She dropped back into her seat looking partially (though not entirely) chastened, and after a moment Lena followed suit more slowly, schooling her own features to avoid showing any hint of similar emotion herself.
It wasn’t that she didn’t care what happened to Kelly.
She was actually the one person connected to this little group that Lena had not entirely cut contact with after she’d found out about Supergirl, and she liked her very much. It was awful to think that she had so nearly been hurt, and if there was anything Lena could do to keep it from happening again, then she would. But she was a scientist, and a researcher, and she could not in good conscience support the continuation of a trial that would put her subject at a greater level of potential harm than was warranted, especially after having assured them that they would be entirely safe.
And she would not allow Kara to be harmed. Not for anyone. Not even if it meant every other person in the city suffered for it.
‘Thank you. Lena, you may be right about continuing any form of physical intervention at this stage, but Alex is also right that we can’t wait too long to do something. So, I suggest we stop trying to break down the barrier with external force and take a different approach entirely’.
J’onn paused, looking round to check he had everyone’s undivided attention, then continued before anyone (Lena) could raise objections.
‘Sometimes Martian powers will kick in without conscious direction when presented with imminent threat to life, and I think a similar instinctive approach could work for Kara. A survival reflex could bring back her powers without having to pass through her conscious mind, allowing the memories to follow after them once the way had been opened up and avoiding the potentially dangerous weakened pathways created by the Q-wave treatment’.
‘Interesting… Like avoiding the locked door in her mind altogether and instead creating a hitherto undiscovered window. I predict that that course of action would have an 84.2% chance of success’.
There was a beat of silence while Lena waited for J’onn to add something that would make his idea sound more sane, but it appeared he was done speaking.
‘Are you actually suggesting that we should put Kara’s life in danger? That’s your safer plan?’
J’onn raised his hands, fending off the argument they both knew was still simmering just below the surface.
‘Controlled danger. Something we could set up and monitor, and bring her out of if needed. She wouldn’t be at any real risk’.
Controlled danger.
Inducing hypothermia until Kara’s muscles gave up shivering and her heart slowed and eventually stopped.
Pressing on her throat to make her fight for air, her eyes wild with terror as she tried to free herself of the constriction.
Submerging her in water and watching her thrash and struggle, breaking the surface only to be drawn back under without having managed to take a breath, water replacing air in her lungs until at last she went limp and sank out of sight, just like-
‘NO’.
Her muscles tensed, ready to jump to her feet again, but Alex broke in before she could manage more than that single, reactive syllable of negation. It was probably lucky that she did, because for all her years of social training, Lena wasn’t at all sure her own response would have been as measured as Alex’s.
‘Sorry J’onn but I’m going to have to side with Lena on this one. We need Supergirl back, but we can’t take the chance on something going wrong with that plan. Even if we made some artificial danger that we could fully control, if it was real enough for survival instincts to kick in, it would also be real enough that something could go really badly wrong. Besides, that still leaves a 15.8% chance of failure for a plan that would be seriously traumatic to Kara, and that is way too high’.
‘It doesn’t have to be real danger. If we put Kara into a simulation-’
‘That doesn’t negate the trauma of thinking she’s dying!’
Lena’s volume was creeping up again, but she managed not to actually shout.
‘Maybe not, but Supergirl is tougher than you’re giving her credit for, and we can’t afford to take a kid glove approach on this one. Kara would want us to try it if it meant reducing the risk to the rest of National City caused by her absence’.
‘Kara has no idea what’s going on, so she can’t really express an informed opinion right now, can she?’
‘Exactly. That’s why we have to make a decision based on what she would want us to do. You’ve worked with Supergirl before, when have you ever known her to choose her own safety over someone else’s?’
J’onn had a point. The Kara Lena thought she had known was someone who had needed her protection, who had stood behind her when danger threatened and let her take the lead. It had made her feel strong, protective, trusted to keep her friend safe, and that trust made her believe she really could be an immovable object between Kara and whatever threatened them, no matter how bad things got. Now she realised with a pang that Kara’s attempts to hide were in reality her trying to slip away to return as Supergirl, and whenever she had she had immediately put her own body between Lena’s and the source of danger, and Lena had let her. Of course she had. Supergirl was the girl of steel.
But right now she was just Kara, and whether she wanted them to or not, all of those old protective instincts surged at the idea of standing back and allowing her to be killed, even if it was only in a simulation.
Lena folded her arms and stared steadily back at J’onn.
‘Well then. Maybe it’s time someone made the decision for Kara that she would make for them.’
‘Maybe… but I think you’re wrong about what that would be.’
She laughed, but there was no humour in it.
‘You’re telling me that Kara wouldn’t keep the truth from someone to protect them, whether they would have chosen that for themselves or not. You’re telling me that.’
J’onn had the grace to look uncomfortable, but he still didn’t rise to the provocation.
‘This situation is different from Kara choosing not to tell you about her Kryptonian identity.’
‘Yes, it is. Because finding out the truth wouldn’t have fucking KILLED me!’
‘No one is going to let that happen!’
‘You literally just suggested that we should try that exact thing and hope that the barrier breaks in time for Kara to save herself. Tell me J’onn. Would you be saying the same thing if it was Alex’s life? If she lost part of her memory, and the fastest way to get it back also risked giving her a major stroke or a fatal brain hemorrhage, would you do it? Or would you decide that a kid glove approach might be better if we were talking about someone other than Supergirl?’
‘Lena, that’s not f-’ Alex started to protest, so Lena snapped her attention to her instead.
‘How about if it was Kelly? Right now Kara is more vulnerable than a human, so you can’t argue that we should push ahead because she’s Kryptonian and her body can take it. It can’t. Not right now. So would you risk leaving Kelly brain dead for the sake of a few weeks? Brainy, how about you? Would you think a 6.3% chance of killing Nia was acceptable? Or you Nia, if it was Brainy? I know things are difficult in the city right now, but the world is not in immediate danger, and Kara is safe like this.’
There was utter silence around the table, so thick it would have taken a machete to cut through it. Nobody quite met Lena’s eyes.
‘You’ve made your point Lena’. Alex finally said in a subdued voice, fists clenching and unclenching on the table before her.
‘You’re right. We’re used to Kara being physically a lot stronger than she is right now, and we need to take that into account with whatever plan we make. Maybe we should to go right back to the beginning and look over all the test results again – see if there’s anything we missed the first time round and-’
‘Um… Alex? Maybe I could try something else first?’
Everyone turned to Nia, who until now had been silently watching the argument pinging from Alex to Lena to J’onn and back round again like it was a game of ice hockey.
‘What are you thinking Nia?’ Alex asked.
‘Well, I’m not sure, but maybe there’s a way I could reach Supergirl through Kara’s dreams. It would be less direct than the Mind space because dreams aren’t supposed to be literal, it’s all more vague and symbolic there, so she might fight it less. Plus what Lena told us about the flying dream shows that maybe that’s where the cracks are going to appear’.
‘Oh.. yeah, you could be onto something!’
‘An excellent proposal Nia’.
‘I agree, that could be a good compromise’.
They all looked at Lena, waiting to see if she was going to object to this plan too in spite of everyone else’s support for it. And to be honest, she would have been more comfortable continuing to approach the problem with science rather than something as wishy washy and unpredictable as “magic”. But then… so would Lex. He would be much more likely to anticipate and plan for anything she could do with science than Nia’s dream powers, especially when even Nia didn’t entirely understand how they worked. It was by far the best option on the table at the moment, even if it did mean she was going to have to trust Kara’s treatment and welfare to somebody who wasn’t her.
That part was going to be a wrench after all this time feeling so sure she could crack it, but in a way it was also a relief. For the last few weeks Lena had not so much been burning the candle at both ends as throwing the candle into the centre of a blazing fire and keeping it from melting up entirely by sheer force of bloody mindedness. Between working on the Q-wave stimulator, keeping L-Corp running and spending more time than ever with Kara as part of Project Atlantis, not to mention check in meetings with the rest of the task force, it had been weeks since she had had a full night of unbroken sleep, and that was starting to take its toll. She sighed.
‘I’m in too. But if we’re going ahead I think Alex or I should be there during the sessions so we can keep an eye on Kara and bring her out immediately if she starts showing dangerous symptoms. Sorry Nia, it’s not that I don’t trust you to take care of her, but if you’re in a dream state you might not be so aware of what’s going on physically’.
‘Sure, I’d be fine with one of you two being there – it might be easier to explain as a group thing anyway’.
Around the table shoulders visibly relaxed as the tension eased, and the general mood finally began to shift to something more hopeful – optimistic even – as they started discussing how Dreamer should approach the task. Now that their course was decided Lena sat back and let the conversation go on around her, half listening but making no attempt to direct the flow, or even step into it. It wasn’t like she knew much about powers in any case, and she needed a minute to collect herself after what had just happened.
In the heat of the argument she hadn’t cared what bridges she was burning or what the fallout from that might be just as long as she was keeping Kara from being hurt, but now it was over she felt slightly... unbalanced by the experience. She wasn’t sorry that she had stood up against the suggestion that they should suffocate Kara for her own good (or whatever other ridiculously dangerous alternative J’onn would have come up with), but had to admit, if only to herself, that the way she had gone about it might not have been entirely prudent. Because she wasn’t the top-of-the-food-chain CEO here, whose word had to be obeyed by the majority of the people she came into contact with whether they liked it or not. In fact, now that they no longer needed her technology she wasn’t really anything to this group, and the idea that they might realise as much and drop her from the project made bands of panic tighten around her chest all over again.
She couldn’t walk away from this now. She was in too deep for that. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet.
Not to Kara, but not to the rest of them either, because somewhere along the way she had stopped thinking of these people as adversaries she was forced to partner with to achieve a shared goal, and started to think of them as… something else. People that she cared about, and whose company she would miss if it suddenly disappeared from her life.
The hours she spent with Brainy working through technical details and swapping jargon-based humour that no one around them understood.
The coffee breaks with Nia when she and Dreamer both had cause to be at the DEO Headquarters, and the conversations they had that had begun, very lightly, to touch on families and the otherness that both of them experienced in their own different ways.
The camaraderie with Alex and mutual needling that increasingly felt like their own private in-jokes, and the fact that despite all the teasing (and even sometimes fighting), she was the first person Lena wanted to call when something well wrong with Project Atlantis, because Alex cared about Kara as deeply as she did.
Even J’onn, despite a somewhat awkward beginning, was becoming a respected colleague that Lena could almost forget had also posed as her best friend while she opened up about her love life and family insecurities…
Alright, that last one still stung, but they had been making progress. She didn’t want to just throw it all away now, no matter that that was exactly what she would have to do sooner or later, when Kara got her memories back.
‘Lena?’
She blinked back into the room, chagrined to have been caught zoning out just when she most needed to justify her presence here.
‘Sorry Alex, what did you say?’
‘I just asked if you could make next Monday instead of Thursday for the next Atlantis meeting’.
‘Oh-’ She was still in then. For now at least. ‘-Yes. I might need to move a couple of things around, but I can make Monday work, definitely’.
That meant there would be a few extra days until the next meeting, and Lena resolved to spend them (or as much of them as wasn’t already taken up by L-Corp) proving that she could still be a valuable asset to the project. Somewhat regretfully she let go of the extra couple of hours sleep per night that she had promised herself following the end of the Q-wave trials, and instead allocated the time to the study of dream interpretation. Because while it was true that Lena was just about as unmagical as it was possible for a person to be, she was excellent at research, and there was bound to be something in the established body of peer-reviewed literature that would begin to explain the mechanics of Nia’s power. If she could only find it then they would be able to take a scientific approach to determining the right way for Dreamer to get through to Supergirl, and that was something Lena could do in her sleep. The bands around her chest loosened, and she took what felt like her first full breath since she had looked up to see Kara’s blood staining her pillow.
‘How long do you think before you’re ready to get started Nia?’
Is there time for me to express ship some pertinent reading material from overseas, or should I only look locally?
‘Well, there is one snag I’m going to have to work out first... It turns out that Kara doesn’t actually know that I’m Dreamer anymore. That memory must have been pretty tied up with her own identity as Supergirl, and she has just blocked the whole thing out. So. I think before I can start on any of this stuff, I’m going to have to come out to Kara’.
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act-nat-ural · 14 days
Text
Occupied
Prologue
(idk if posting on my phone makes the format look weird but if so please lmk. If you want to be added to the taglist lmk also!)
chapter 1
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You stroll into the small diner as if you have been there hundreds of times, due to the fact because you have. It is your first and only choice of a lunch date location with your dear friend, Eliza. You would say it is because it’s because it has the best food and the desserts are to die for, but it’s really because of how affordable it is. Despite the food being subpar, the diner is still very cozy and the waitstaff is friendly whenever you dine there. The place isn’t very busy today, with only an elderly couple and a young lady studying in the right corner being the other people.
You hardly need to scan the room before you see her in the far left corner, sipping quietly on her latte. You grin at the sight of the back of her unruly blonde hair and as quietly as possible, creep over to her. As you get closer you notice she has her headphones on, blinding her to any noise approaching her.
Perfect.
A hand quickly grasps her shoulder and she curses loudly, accidentally spilling a bit of her drink onto the table.
“Shit! Why! Why did you do that?”
You giggle and slide into the booth across from her, grabbing napkins and cleaning as you go.
“You make it easy,” you respond nonchalantly.
“No, you’re just a fucking ninja.”
“I don’t need to be a ninja to sneak up on someone who is making themselves deaf.” You respond eyebrow raised. She rolls her eyes and shrugs off her headphones. “So, what did you want to tell me about?” you question.
“What, no greetings? Hi, how are you, my darling friend?”
“I think we are beyond that point if we’re being honest. Besides, we were on the phone on my drive over here.”
“What I wanted to talk to you about was-“
Moving on then, I see.
“-you do not have to pay rent during your trip next week.”
You pause, interest immediately piqued. This could go one of two ways. One, the most probable answer, she has come up with one of her outlandish plans that we both know hold no real meaning to them, just to entertain you. Or, there’s a small chance it could be option two. She actually has found a valid, soundproof way to save you hundreds on hotel fees.
“… I’m listening.”
“I knew you would be,” She quips with a cheeky smile. “So you know my totally loser brother? The one who lives in England?”
Ah, yes. Adam. Her weirdo brother who chose to make bombs as a career. Not the most friendly or stable man you’ve met, but hey family is family.
“Don’t tell me you want me to stay with him. I think I would rather get shot down in a plane than have to converse with him for longer than an hour.” You groan and rest your face into your hands.
“Nooo, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemies. Yuck. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, he’s going out of the country for a month or so, to Germany. Sooo…?”
“...So? I don’t see how this correlates.”
“Seriously?! You can stay at his place while he’s gone. Duh!”
“Hmmm… no.”
“Wha- no!? You can’t just say no! I already told him you would.“ Eliza starts raising her voice, accidentally attracting the attention of the student in the other corner. The lovely elderly couple either don’t notice or don’t seem to mind.
“Why in the WORLD would you do that? And lower your voice!”
“Because he wanted me to house-sit for him, and what’s the difference between me and you sitting in an empty cabin for a few weeks? Plus, not only is it not costing you money, you get PAID to stay there.”
Damn. She’s got you there. You sigh and rub your temples, feeling a migraine coming on.
“Okay, let me get this straight. I can just fly over there, live in your brother's cabin for up to a MONTH, for FREE, and get paid to do it. But he thinks it’s you staying there?”
“Yeah, but I mean a body’s a body,” she shrugs.
“Huh. I don’t know, Liz. This feels weird. “
“It’s not weird, I swear. I wouldn’t put you in a weird situation and we both know it. “
She does have a point, but you can’t shake the feeling that something unexpected is going to occur during your stay. Still, that could just be the nerves getting to you. This could be a really fun opportunity! You get to lay back and enjoy the nice open countryside, all by your lonesome.
“Okay, say it hypothetically agree. Where would I get a key to his place?” you question. “It seems suspicious to ask him to copy a key for me to use.”
“Just use mine. I had one made during my last stay, I’m pretty sure he knows about it. Like, 87 percent sure.”
You sigh. You can’t comprehend that she had a plan that made logical sense, let alone convinced you to go along with it.
“Okay. I’ll stay there.”
Yes! Let’s fucking go! We are going somewhere nice to dinner with the house-sitting money, by the way. “
You just smile and shake your head in return.
———
The day of your trip finally arrives and everything is going relatively smoothly. Although you about had 5 heart attacks every time you couldn’t feel your passport in your pocket, you landed in one piece. The flight was long and boring, but you had Chappell Roan and Podcasts downloaded to listen to. The drunk guy sitting next to you did end up spilling water on you, of course. Just your luck.
Nonetheless, your mood was sky-high. Months of planning and preparation have gone into this, and it better be everything you expected and more. Or else some tea is going in the damn harbor. You decided against using transport services mainly because of how remote Adam’s cabin was, it would be extremely tedious just to get a ride to go grocery shopping. Instead, you went with renting a vehicle. Sure, you initially entered the wrong side of the car and almost caused an accident or two, but hey! Nobody’s perfect.
You finally, FINALLY, pull into the small gravel driveway. There are hardly any neighbors around, the closest probably being a mile or two away, so you don’t feel self-conscious about your parking job. You inspect the cabin as you heave your luggage out of the car and onto the front porch.
It was a fairly large log cabin with a second story and a garden in the back. There were hardly any cobwebs on the porch, and the cabin looked well taken care of. The garden seemed to have a selection of different vegetables, but not any flowers. Figures, Adam was the kind to say taking care of flowers was a waste of time and energy. As you put Eliza’s spare key into the door knob, you felt a rush of excitement. You couldn’t wait to just do whatever you want for a few weeks. You turn the key and push the door open.
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kierantierney3 · 19 days
Text
Mason Mount
First part, this is more just an introduction to the characters, seeing how their relationship started. Maybe a bit of a boring one but hopefully you find the others pick up!
Warnings: Fighting, breakup
Background information
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Throwback
You first met Mason when your brother was allowed a friend over for dinner one night, you believed that it was love at first sight. You got the biggest crush on him and obviously couldn’t act up on it because he was your brother friend.
You got embarrassed whenever he came over which seemed to be a long, your mum seemed to pick up your crush quickly.
——
When it came to your birthday, your brother begged your parents to let you throw a party. Which they were happy enough to agree to with strict rules set of course.
You were not too bothered with having a party, you would have been happy enough going out for a meal with your family, it was your brother who wanted the party more, inviting his friends and even strangers.
You had a small friendship group who you invited, they came over early to help you get ready for your big day.
“So is Mason here tonight?” Sarah asked, Sarah was your oldest friends, you had met in primary 1 and had become best friends, she was your closest friend, the friend you told everything too, she was the only one in your friendship group who knew about your crush on Mason, which still hadn’t gone away.
“Yes, my brother invited him” you replied trying to stay calm and collected at the fact Mason would be here.
The party was crazy, you barely knew anyone. “Who are these people?” you asked your brother “My friends” he replied he was drunk already you could tell from the way he was acting.
“Hey happy birthday” you heard a voice say you were grabbing yourself a drink, turning around you found Mason stood there. The kitchen was the only room that was half quiet. “Thank you” you replied feeling yourself getting red, at least you could blame it on the warm environment.
“So how are you feeling?, finally legal and 18” he asked “Good, can’t say this party is really for me though, i don’t think i even know half of these people” you replied “Well if it helps neither do i, guessing it’s some of his Uni friends” Mason didn’t go to Uni he was given the opportunity to become a footballer which was his childhood dream, meanwhile your brother went to Uni to do a 4 year course.
You and Mason stood in the kitchen speaking for a once, you had never spoken to him by himself and for so long. You never realised how nice he actually was.
At once point you got lost in his eyes, and leaned in for a kiss, which he kissed back before pulling away “We shouldn’t have done that, your my best friends sister” he said getting angry, you were embarrassed leaving the kitchen and past the people at the party heading up stairs to your bedroom.
Fuck why did you do that, you couldn’t even blame it on the fact you were drunk, you had only had a couple drinks. You were embarrassed, yes you may of had a crush on him but you were never going to act up on it.
You heard a knock on the door, “y/n let me in please” it was Mason you really didn’t want to let him in, you stayed quiet hoping he would leave but of course he didn’t knocking again before telling you he was coming in and before making a move he was in your bedroom.
“Look i shouldn’t have gotten so angry at you i’m sorry” he said “It’s ok” you replied “No it was rude of me” he said “No seriously it’s ok, it’s embarrassing for me, i never should have kissed you even if i had a crush your my brother friend it’s fine” You replied quickly realising what you revealed to him.
It was silent “I know you do” he revealed to you “How?” you asked “You were always quite obviously with it” he said, you always thought you did well to hid it, clearly not. “And your mum told me” What the heck? Your mum told him “Told me to be nice to you as you had a crush” he explained, you were so embarrassed.
“I’m so sorry” you said as this point in time you wanted the ground to swallow you up. “Don’t be” he replied.
——
That was the last of that chat. The next was Mason birthday he was turning 21. Both you and your brother had been invited.
It was a big party, he had invited some of his Chelsea teammates, derby teammates and some of the england u21 players.
You didn’t know much people at the party, so your plan was too turn up show your face then leave after about 2 hours.
At least that was your plan which definitely didn’t happen. Mason made sure to stick by your side the whole time even though it was his birthday.
“So i have a question for you?” Mason asked “yes?” you hated questions like this at least if it was over messages you had time to think of an answer.
“What will it take for you to go out on a date with me?” he asked you, you were shocked, Mason asking you out of an date, “Maybe just ask me?” you replied you never expected this.
“Well then y/n will you go on a date with me?” he asked with a big smile on his face. “Of course i will” you replied, you couldn’t wait to get home to tell Sarah, you just knew how happy she would be for you.
——
Part 1 is finished. The next part is the break up this was most of a throwback to show you how there relationship started.
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