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#but anyway I really need to get myself to focus so maybe if you’re all mean to me when I get distracted it’ll work
retrogradedreaming · 2 years
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If anyone sees me on tumblr tomorrow please yell at me to go back to work (now that I’ve said this I’ll hopefully just work and focus without the need for yelling)
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baddiewiththebook · 8 months
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ONE OF THE BOYS
-> While you pine hopelessly over your best friend, Eddie Munson. You hear the sentiment 'one of the boys' one too many times and you've decided to change that. All in the name of the one boy who won't even look at you, or so you think.
-> eddie munson x you (she/her)
-> friends to lovers, slow burn, angst
-> warnings - strong language and suggestive themes [no smut]
-> a/n originally a one-shot, but I couldn’t help myself and wrote some more!
Part 1 [Part 2]
-> <-
Your heart sinks into the deepest pits of your chest. The tiny inconspicuous hole where no one would ever look. Your spirit lies under the earth, while Eddie lies bricks instead of dirt across your corpse. A quite violent death you have taken on.
“Are you still with us?” Gareth waves a hand in front of your face. Grease slips between his fingers from his two day old burger that your school pretends was freshly slapped on a grill that morning.
You squirm. “Sorry, what was that?”
“Eddie says you could come to practice,” he throws his hand up. “You’re one of the boys!”
Right.
Like someone had thrown water across your face, you slide theatrically to the floor in a puddle of you. Theatrically speaking - of course.
The lunchroom chatter dies in the back of your head like you just did a moment ago. You excuse yourself from the group, while claiming that you have forgotten your exam in the next class period and you should really put in at least a few moments of study time.
Your few moments are actually spent stowing yourself away in the ladies room.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe he asked you out!” A girl squeals. “What are you going to wear? Tell me everything!”
You had stopped your self doubting and your eternally ill fading romantic imaginations you came up with while you stare at the dull gaze in your eye behind the dirty spotted bathroom mirror. You should focus on your studies anyway. Failing your senior year of high school, again, was not on your list of to-do's.
Then again, the two girls gossiping were very pretty. You took notes. Hair full and down to her chest in length. The kind of hair Texas wishes they had. Cheeks were plump, and dusted pink with some powder of sorts. Full lips covered in sweet strawberry gloss. You can smell their gloss from just a sink away. That, or perhaps that was their perfume. Sweet and feminine.
“I'm sorry,” one of them notices you staring, while she applies a thick coat of her lip-gloss. 'Strawberry Dream' is what the little label on the tube reads. “Are we being loud?”
“No, no,” you shake your head.
“Okay,” she sings awkwardly, before continuing the conversation her friend had started. “Anyway, Josie, I think we should go shopping for a new outfit. Oh! I - so - need a new gloss. Something sexy!”
“Sexy?” You accidentally slip the words, before you could stop yourself.
The girl cocks her head. “Do you usually eavesdrop?”
Not that they weren’t talking in front of her.
“My bad,” you tug at the ends of your t-shirt. “Erm- you’re trying to impress this boy?”
“Yes,” she says simply. “Do you have some sort of advice?”
Looking you up and down, she spots the stains from your lunch at your chest. Trying not to snort and jeer at your expense, she waits for you to respond. Her cocky tight lipped smile says enough.
“Actually,” you reply. “I- Why don’t you try being yourself? He clearly likes you to ask you out, so maybe you could tone it down?”
“Tone it down?” She frowns. “Like you? Tell me er- girl of some sort- how many dates have you gotten with that fresh out of bed look you wear every single day. You look like a shy boy. Yeah, I see you around. You’re small like a shrimp. You need to be shark in these waters or your going to get your head bitten off. Put on a bra. A low cut top. And, maybe some blush to hide that dead corpse face you wear-,”
“It’s my skin-,”
“When you get a date, then you get an opinion. Got it?”
“Got it,” you zip your lips. What a bitch.
-> <-
Practice, as the group of men slamming poorly synchronized chords together, is held at Gareth’s garage promptly after school. You did not participate in the noise, but rather you sit in a lawn chair onlooking. Fanning yourself with your hands, sweat glistens across your skin like armor.
Your friends finish their set. Eyes on you, you cheer for their noise that will surely draw eyes from the neighborhood. Someone will be by soon to tell the boys to quiet their racket, and to perhaps indulge themselves in a new activity like reading a book. The Book, perhaps.
“You’re getting better,” you propose promisingly.
Eddie nudges your shoulder with a fist on his way to the cooler to grab a cold soda. You pretend like your heart didn’t just stop inside of your chest.
“I told you, guys,” Eddie has been raving to his band mates (and occasional D&D players) that you, his B.F.F., wasn’t going to ruin practice. That just because you might have a new rack and hips hidden underneath this t-shirt wasn’t going to change any dynamic within the group.
They all agreed about this while staring at your ever growing chest and hips. You cover your chest again, before speaking out of turn.
“Are you ever going to preform these songs?” You ask the group.
Eddie’s plush lips touch the bottle his soda came in. Condensation from the glass dripped across his chin and down his neck to the exposed flesh of his chest.
And, they were so worried about you “developing.” Here you are, eyeballing your best friend like you haven’t ever seen him before. Suddenly, you woke up one morning and you were obsessed with him!
It isn’t like that at all. You didn’t know when you began having feelings for your best friend. Somewhere between living next to each other in the trailer park. Sneaking out after your curfew to splash in Lovers Lake (Eddie’s favorite way to wash off his worries). And, the times you tripped over your own clumsiness when Eddie was the first to rescue you. You might have just fallen into his eyes you stared at them so long. Maybe- maybe that’s when something changed.
No more boys and girls - there are men and women. High school changes us - all of us. There’s science behind it all, you suppose. You took health courses, but no scientific explanation could bring you to figure out how you were completely enamored by your best friend.
Your best friend, who is sweating underneath the heat of the garage. Finding himself without options, he strips his shirt.
“Hold this for me,” he says like there’s no issue. Because there was no issue for him, you’re alone in your feelings. Classic.
“Sure,” you fold his shirt up in your lap, while resisting the urge to inhale his scent like a trained dog trying to find a missing person. Or, like an addict getting their fix for the first time in days.
“And, yes,” Eddie announces, before slamming down a new chord. “Come watch us at the Hideout!”
“Really?!”
“Sure,” Gareth speaks for his friend. “If you want.”
“I’ll come,” you ask, “What time?”
“We’ll start setting up around six in the evening, but we’re not set to play until seven,” Eddie explains to you. “Friday.”
You nod. “I’ll be there!”
“Oh, Eddie!” Gareth grabs his attention. “You gonna bring Roxie?”
Roxie Martin? Now, she’s a hot pair of tits in a mini skirt. Full scarlet lips, Rockin’ Roxie, as some people called her, was a She Devil in human skin. Sinking her teeth into her pray, she poisons them with feminine venom. She doesn’t even have to sing them a tune, for men will follow her into the depths of the vast blue ocean without question.
Some just thought she was a slut in heels, though.
Whatever story floats.
Eddie strums a sour note.
“Dude, I’m just teasing,” his friend snickers.
Eddie scolds his friend, then the group of boys begin to slam on their instruments some more.
You sat there for hours watching Eddie slobber over his guitar. Sweat glistened down across his skin. His fingers striking each chord by heart as he did every night. Touching the strings expertly with the tips of his cherry red fingers. He begun feeling sore towards the end of the night, and the guys agree that it would probably be a good opportunity to turn in for the night.
Practice would resume tomorrow.
And you were forever and eternally frustrated.
-> <-
“Robin,” you slouched over the clear candy bowl labeled ‘Free.’ “I need to be a girl.”
Robin jabs away at the keypad of the store computer that is clearly frozen. While she might be renting out videos to people, Robin’s shit with technology.
That gave her more time to ignore her responsibilities, however, and acknowledges to your moping. With an arched brow, she sucks in her lips and she lets them go with a loud pop.
“You are a girl,” she states the obvious, while appearing to look down at your chest. “Or- so I think.”
“That’s not what I meant,” you stuff more candy into your mouth like a starved squirrel just coming out from hibernation. Squirrels hibernate, don’t they? Whatever.
“What ever could you possibly mean?” She props herself up onto her elbows.
There was a time when you were a child that a mean boy kicked dirt on you at the playground. Swooping in like your knight in shining armor, Eddie came to you to brush the dirt from your clothes and to wipe the tears from your cheeks. Feeling outcasted, Eddie surrounded himself in the weaker kids. The kids that enjoy recess sitting on the brick wall of their school, or close by the door to wait for your teachers to let you back inside.
You read books with him during quiet reading because he didn’t know how to keep the letters from mixing together. Eddie would apologize for his hair being frizzy, and all over the place. You thought he was funny looking like that.
Sometimes you wish you could go back to the good old days where your heart didn’t sing in your chest whenever your childhood best friend was near. You wish the aching in your bones would sooth itself instead of feeling fuzzy every time Eddie greeted you at a whisper from behind. That his strong hand touching you like a doll would become friendly again, and less like you want to shove him against the lockers to kiss his pretty face.
You knew better.
Yet, here you are.
Say it had something to do with what happened yesterday. Roxie’s sexy. You want her sexy. Not her. But, just the sexy. And, whoever was in the bathroom was right. You’re much more than a baggy t-shirt and a pair of denim on your legs. You grew up during the summer, and so what if you want to show off a bit. You earned your assets.
“I can’t tell you,” you put out there for Robin to read. “You’ll blab to Steve, and Steve will tell- doesn’t matter.”
You wait for her to speak, but Robin never does. She blinks at you.
“There’s this boy-,”
“A boy?!” Her voice echoes against the furthest most walls.
You wave your hands. “Robin!”
“Go on!”
“I just - I want to grow up a little.”
The jangle of the front door opening broke their conversation apart. There was nothing elegant about Eddie Munson. He slammed his jacket into the stand of desperately rentable tapes. The display wobbled. Swiveled. And, slammed into the floor. The video tapes splattered.
“Dude!” Robin huffs. “I just put those up!”
Eddie scrambles to rescue the mess. “My bad, Robs. You know? You might not want to put these right in front of the walkway. ‘Could get knocked over - see?”
Robin knew Eddie from class. Smart mouth guy with a lot to say about literature. He held a lot in his head, but once he got to a piece of paper, he could just go.
“The usual, Eddie?”
Oh, and he also rented out the same tape once a week for the past three weeks. It was a Rated R film that had a single one minute scene of a nude woman on top of a man she was suffocating. Not with her boobs- with his belt.
Robin snaps back into reality.
“Eh, looking for something new,” he fixed the display, before joining the girls at the register. “Suggestions?”
Robin slams her palm against the monitor. “Stupid thing is still frozen. Oh! Did you hear your little pal has a crush on a boy?”
“Robin!” You cringe. Turning into the wallpaper sounds really nice right about now. Hell, you’ll fix that computer if it gets Robin off the topic of you.
Anyone, she can blab to anyone, but Eddie. Where was Steve when you needed him? Oh, you are so screwed!
“What? It’s just Eddie!”
Just Eddie - yeah, Robin, that’s the problem.
“A crush? On who?” Eddie scoffs out loud.
Your jaw goes agape. “Are you saying I can’t have a crush on someone?”
“No, I just- you’re one of the guys!”
“She can’t be one of the guys forever,” Robin defends you. Perhaps she saw you twitch. “She’s a girl underneath those stains.”
You brush your dirty t-shirt.
“Robin-,”
“What? Whoever this boy is, he’s shit out of luck if he doesn’t see what we all see,” your friend continues.
Eddie teeters his balance back and forth on each foot.
“I’m going to go look for a movie,” he says.
Robin ignores him shuffling into the isles. “I’m just saying if he doesn’t like you back that is his loss. Right?”
You peak around for any sight of Eddie. His frizzy mane is locked onto a movie in the farthest isle.
“Oh my god,” Robin follows your gaze. “Oh my god! This is big- no, huge- I can’t believe before my eyes your friends to lovers trope-,”
“Robin! Hush!” You whisper at a much louder volume than you anticipate.
Yet, here comes Eddie back to the counter without a film in hand. Robin shoots you a glance that screams that she’s about to burst like a toddler who has to pee, but they can’t get their overalls off.
“Can’t find anything?” Robin intertwined her fingers in front of her.
“Maybe tomorrow,” Eddie sighs.
The sound that came from Robin’s lips could have been the earth splitting in two, and trying to suck her in or the angels above calling her back to heaven. She’s a bit eccentric.
Oh, God, you think she’s plotting.
“Actually,” she settles. “I have a film back here that we haven’t set out on shelves yet.”
“Is it a romance?” He guesses purely based on the actors gazing longingly on the front cover. “Robin, I don’t do romance.”
“Obviously,” she says as a matter-of-fact. “Anyway, this is a mystery. Hm? You know? Like clues and shit.”
“Clues and shit?”
“Maybe,” you signal ‘no’ to Robin, but she blatantly ignores you, “you two can watch it together. Hm? Solve the mystery, before the show ends? Let me know what you think!”
“Robin-,” Eddie begins, but Robin is already scanning the tape to rent out.
“It’ll be fun!”
You pinch the bridge of your nose.
“I’ll see you around six for a movie night like old times?”
You mask your embarrassment. Nodding in a set agreement, Eddie left with the film still eyeing the cover like it had just insulted him.
“How could you do that?” You shame her.
Robin shrugs her shoulders, while dancing behind the counter like a relationship fairy.
“Oh! You’ll need something to wear by then!” She shouts to her coworker. “Steve! I’m not feeling well! Will you be okay for the rest of the day?!”
“Ah ha,” Steve appears like he’s been waiting for permission to enter the conversation. “You’re not leaving me here by myself!”
“What was that? I can’t hear you,” she points to her ear, as she’s setting her jacket over her shoulders. “Ear ache.”
“Robin!”
“Huh? Oh, thank you!” She shuffles herself and you out the front door.
Warm air meets you outside. Although you wished to take off another layer, you felt practically naked as is. Cotton blend shirts were thick in these spring days. The same could be said for your denim jeans.
“Won’t he be mad?” You ask.
Robin snorts. “Steve? No.”
No explanation given - no explanation necessary. Robin and Steve were like a pair of siblings at most times. Although, knowing Steve had a thing for Robin at some point made the analogy much creepier than it should have been.
You drive yourself and Robin back to your home where your family was not. They’re out of town for the whole week doing an anniversary trip. Figuring your of the age to take care of yourself, they’ve left you by yourself with only the responsibility of keeping the home clean.
“What are we looking for?” You sit on your made bed hugging one of your pillows to your chest, while Robin riffles through your closet.
Robin shoves another dress across the hanger to the disapproved pile. Her grunts and sighs are discouraging as is, but rather her blatant disregard that you like some of those clothes is hurting even more. Or, maybe you like those clothes. You haven’t gone shopping in a while.
“Do you own anything that isn’t from Forever 40?” She jokes heartily.
You tilt your head to one side. “I like my clothes.”
“Well, we don’t have time for shopping,” she scans around your room for something. Jostling your clean laundry, your papers across your desk and the drawers under them - she finally lets out an, “Ah, ha!”
You groan. “Are you going to clean your mess?”
Clearly ignoring you, Robin holds up a sharpened pair of scissors like a magic wand. Holding one of your plain shirts in the air, she begins slicing away at every angle.
“Hey!” You protest.
She pauses. “Right, put it on.”
“Rob, that’s my favorite shirt!”
“I’ll buy you another one,” she shoves your head through the hole, and continues sniping at the edges. Fondling your chest, she measures where the top of your breast lies. “Hey! Your the first woman to let me touch their boobs. Congrats!”
You laugh at this. “Robin, as your friend, you can touch my boobs any time you need a fix.”
“Don’t tease me with a good time,” she jokes back. With one more snip, she steps away from you. “You have any skirts? No, of course you don’t. Jeans will have to do.”
You couldn’t hear Robin’s tangent. In the standing mirror hung on your wall, you saw someone new. Surely, she moves when you move. Her chest bounces while she breathes. That tan from the summer on the beach is touching her skin in a most devilish manor. You hold your chin a bit higher seeing what a few snips from craft scissors will do.
“Makeup!” Robin insists.
Pink rouge presses into your cheekbones. Those cheekbones you earned from your grandmother. That’s always the compliment your mother spoke. And, mascara coated thickly across your eyelashes. Your lashes are rather short, but with that black mascara you were seeing yourself glow with confidence.
Lip gloss that tasted like honey-
“In case you’re kissing any boys tonight,” she clicks the tube together with the wand. “My dear, you’re ready.”
You take a spin in the mirror.
“I hardly recognize myself,” you touch your hair.
Robin slaps your hand away. “Don’t mess that up, before Eddie gets here. Oh! And, look at the time, I should go.”
You’re left by yourself for another hour. Twiddling your thumbs, and checking your makeup by the minute. Eventually, you pop popcorn in the microwave and place the bowl in the center of the coffee table in the living room. You twist the bowl around, so you can’t see the chip on the side from when you dropped the bowl a few years ago.
Tapping your foot against the plush carpet beneath your feet, you travel between worlds where you feel ridiculous for dressing up like this, but you also feel hot.
Denim cuts at your waist, and you begin to doubt wearing jeans instead of pajamas. You never wore jeans after you got home. Eddie will surely know what’s up.
You have no time to change your mind because the doorbell rings through the quiet house. Stillness - as if moving would threaten your life somehow. Then, again, the doorbell sings.
You drag the sweat from your hands onto the back of your jeans. Jeans that you should have changed to shorts. He’ll see right through your ruse!
You settle your nerves with one more glance over in the mirror in your little entryway. When you open the front door, Eddie’s tickling the lavender your mom set out on the front porch last week.
“What? Your shirt go through a lawnmower?” Was the first thing he says.
You knew it.
“Erm-,”
“I brought the movie, and beer,” he held up the movie and a six pack he snaked off of his uncle. “Come on, I’m freezing out here.”
Eddie doesn’t ask where anything is. He’s been here so many times before, birthdays, holidays and any time your mother has just come back from the supermarket with “the good snacks.”
You knew each other for some time, which is probably why he’s never going to see you as someone other than his best friend. Why would you think about that? You had a shot, right?
“I popped popcorn,” you pointed in the living room.
“Sick,” he drops down into your couch. “We can go ahead and start the movie - the guys will be here soon.”
“The guys?” You blurt.
“Well, yeah,” Eddie says. “Like old times?”
“Right,” the light in your eye fades, and you just hope Eddie can’t sense the hesitance in your tone.
In the next hour, your quiet date night that had been set up by your overly optimistic friend, swirls in the direction that it is always meant to be. You squish into the couch arm rest, while Gareth battles Eddie over the movie choice. Although, this time the boys came to an agreement that this was not an action movie like Robin promised Eddie earlier.
“Where’s the gore?!” Gareth flings popcorn at the television screen. “Throw her off the ledge!”
“You want to see an innocent woman flung to her death?” You snap at him.
A piece of popcorn drops from Gareth’s mouth, and into his awaiting lap. You didn’t come to raising your tone with the boys unless something truly bothers you. Clearly, by the tightness in your chest, some of the anger spills over the edge. Quite like the woman dangling the man’s waist.
“Never mind,” you stand. “I’m going to make more popcorn.”
Taking the bowl from Eddie, you stow away in the comfort of your kitchen. Before your mother left for her trip, a folded note stacked on the island told you to not bring anyone over. But, if you are going to have boys over, she asks that you use protection. She has a wild imagination if she thinks her daughter has a sex life.
She must have passed this onto you. You toss yourself at someone, who obviously holds no similar feelings as you do. This whole night was a bust. Your eyes itch from the mascara. Your lips bled from when you chewed on them like they’re your last meal. At least the color matches with your lip gloss that you reapplied many times in the bathroom when you need a break from the crowd in your living room. And, you can’t feel your waist anymore. Tingling below the belt - and for all the wrong reasons.
“You okay?” Gareth’s voice startles you.
You spin around, and he’s there standing where the carpet meets the linoleum.
A yell from the living room suggests something mortifying must have happened in the film like the boy finally kissing the girl, or perhaps saying something romantic.
“Yeah,” you blink. “Just- making more popcorn.”
Gareth doesn’t say anything about the popcorn bags sitting on the counter next to him, but the room reads itself. You scamper over to the bag, before ripping the plastic and the bag apart by accident sending kernels across the floor. Gareth meets you at the floor below.
“Shit,” you sniff. “I’ll get the broom.”
“Hey,” he grabs your arm, before you can run off again. “What’s going on?”
You sit next to the mess on the floor letting out a gust of air from your lungs that you’ve been holding onto for dear life.
“It’s stupid,” you tell him.
Gareth moves a piece of your hair from in front of your face. “What?”
You look at him for the first time. Between you two, you didn’t have to say a word he didn’t already know. Because while you’re chasing Eddie, Gareth’s warm heart is following after you. You’re blind to him before.
“Eddie’s not going to like me back, is he?” You whisper at an almost inaudible volume. Dabbing at your eye, you wipe the single tear threatening to break the damn.
Gareth sits next to you with his arms wrapped around his knees.
“I don’t know,” he says honestly. “I think he just hasn’t woken up yet. He does talk about you a lot when your not around.”
“Really?”
“You scare him,” Gareth lets out a breathy laugh. “In a good way. He- he’s never had someone to rely on in his life besides his uncle. And, if what Eddie says is true, you’ll never truly change to please anyone. You’re loyal, and your funny. You’re beyond beautiful. The Goddesses shrivel in your light-.”
Your cheeks heat up.
“Okay, I might have added that last part,” he admits. “But, you never know if you don’t try.”
You reach out for his hand. “Thank you, Gareth.”
He squeezes your hand. “Anytime.”
You say. “And I- I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Erm- you know.”
“I guess I do,” he looks away. “I’ll be fine.”
You toss a popcorn kernel Gareth’s direction hoping to lighten the mood. Gareth snorts and tosses one back.
“We should clean up,” you tell him.
Gareth agrees. “Oh, and - when I said you don’t change, I meant it.”
You pull at your half shirt. “Yeah, I don’t think this is me. Everyone just kept telling me to stop dressing like a boy.”
“Trust me,” Gareth suggests. “You do not look like a boy.”
“Oh, shut up,” you gather yourself on your own two feet. “I don’t know - I kind of like the look, but maybe tone it down a bit?”
“I’ll get the broom,” Gareth says leaving your question unanswered. "Oh, and I promise to keep myself and the guys out of your way the next time Eddie suggests we all have a 'movie night'" at your house."
"You caught onto that?"
"It's a classic move," he sweeps. "I can't say I wasn't going to try it on you some day."
"Well, I'm sorry that it won’t work out between us," you assure him.
"I'll survive," he won’t really look at you now, only at the task at hand. "Besides, I know how great of a guy Eddie is. If you do go out with him, there’s no hard feelings."
Gareth sweeps every last kernel from the floor, then uses the dust pan to scoop them up and finally tosses them into the bin. By the time he's done scoping out every inch of your floor, you're done popping a new bag of popcorn.
The movie night continues without a hitch (aside from the merciless damning of the film coming from each of the boys in your home). Your eye on the one man, who could never look at you the way you do him. But, you don't know that for sure.
Because, as soon as you look away, Eddie's full attention is on you.
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ssaaaronmontgomery · 1 year
Note
Mon I think Aaron got a pair of old man (dilf) style reading glasses and at first he’s embarrassed to wear them with the team bc he knows Morgan or Dave will tell him he’s getting old BUT when he wears them at work he notices you get unable to focus in the team meeting and you’re all dazed basically until he takes them off and tucks them away but bonus point that this interaction makes him feel very desired and wanted 😵‍💫 and maybe he’ll show them off to you in private later 🤫
The Glasses
Warnings: Pining?? Sort of?? Maybe idk. Nothing smutty but there are some implications. This is like borderline nsfw? Maybe??
Word count: 1.1k
Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x gn!bau!reader
A/n: Omg yes. We love dilf glasses on Hotch. He already looks so pretty and desirable but something about glasses on him is different and I need it. I wouldn't say this fic is necessarily nsfw. But I might be willing to write a part two where it becomes smutty. I'll leave this as sfw unless I come to the conclusion that it should be marked otherwise.
Tags: @criminalskies
Forever tags: @greg-montgomery @boredelle
You're completely distracted and it's all his fault. Him and his downright slutty glasses. The first time you saw him wearing them it was a very brief sighting as he had taken them off after just a few seconds of you being in the room. And ever since then you craved to see him wearing those glasses again. They often made an appearance in some of the very inappropriate fantasies you have about your boss. They'd even worked their way into your dreams at night.
The case the team is currently working has been dragging on for a couple of days now and you've gotten basically nowhere with it. The fact that you're sitting across from Hotch as he reads a file with his glasses on is not helping you concentrate on the case in the slightest. And it's stirring something up deep inside you the more you stare at him. Aaron wearing those glasses and looking all serious as he reads is making you very horny if you're being totally honest.
"Y/l/n? Y/l/n. Y/n." You hear Hotch speak your name in a stern tone and you feel his hand grasp yours and he squeezes it. You snap out of your trance. "Hmm? Yeah, what is it, Hotch?" He furrows his brows as he looks at you and pulls his hand away now that he has your attention. "Are you okay? You've been distracted. Every time we sit here looking through files, you seem to be distracted. Is something going on? Are you alright?" Concern is clear in his voice.
What you want to say is "No, I'm not alright. I'm horny and it's your fault because you're wearing dilf glasses that make me want you more than ever. You're very distracting and if you don't put them away right now I'll launch myself over this table and kiss you before dragging you to my hotel room." But you figure that's not really the best thing to say to your boss right now. So you settle for giving him a smile and a nod before looking back down at the file in front of you as you try to force yourself not to look at the beautiful man sitting across from you.
You stare down at the papers but even though you're not looking at him anymore, you still aren't actually focusing on the words on the page because you're so concentrated on not looking back up at Hotch to steal another glance at those glasses. Though eventually you can't help it and do it anyway. You can't really stop yourself as you look back to him.
The glasses perched on the bridge of his nose as he scowles down at his papers. You sigh out loudly by accident. No one else is really paying attention to you aside from Emily and Derek sending each other smirks when they notice just why you're so out of it. But the loud sigh makes Aaron look at you again. His glasses are down far enough that he's looking over the top of them to make eye contact with you.
"Y/n, are you sure you're fine?" He asks, sounding even more concerned now.
"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired is all."
He stays silent as he observes you for a moment before nodding and going back to his reading.
This continues as the team starts throwing ideas around. Aaron keeps an eye on you throughout it and he knows your excuse of being tired, while partially true, is definitely not the main reason for your behaviour and he just can't pinpoint exactly what it is. But he realises it must have something to do with him as you can't keep your eyes off of him, and only him. You're not having this problem with any of the other team members. Not Derek, not JJ, not anyone but him.
He goes back to your previous statement about being tired once everyone goes back to sifting through the numerous number of old reports and files from the precinct as you all try to come up with a group of suspects.
Hotch speaks up when he feels your eyes on him again. "Would you like me to get you a coffee? I know what they have here isn't very good, but it might wake you up a bit." He glances up at you as he waits for your response. "Yeah, sure. That's probably just what I need."
He nods and stands, in the process he removes his glasses and sets them down on the table. He notices how your eyes follow the glasses and that's when pieces start coming together in his mind. He figures he'll test it out when he comes back.
He leaves and comes back a few minutes later with your cup of coffee and sets it down in front of you. You thank him and he nods then sitting back down. This time, leaving his glasses off. In fact, he actually puts them away so they're out of sight entirely.
This seems to change things. You're more focused on the work. You still give him the occasional glance but you're not full on staring at him with drool practically spilling out of your mouth like you had been earlier.
He leaves the glasses put away and he tries his best to read without them like he used to. He'd known he had needed glasses long ago but he refused to wear them because he didn't want his age to show. He knew he would get some teasing remarks about it from Dave and Morgan. But eventually, it got to the point where he could hardly do the reading part of his job. So he reluctantly had his eyes checked and soon he was wearing glasses that made it far easier to read.
He didn't like the glasses in the slightest. They made him feel old and he didn't like that. But the way you looked at him when he was wearing them, that did something to him. It made him want to wear them.
Unable to work without them, he gets them back out and puts them on. It's hard not to notice the way you immediately look back up from your work. He pretends not to see it.
Over the next half hour you can't help but watch him like he's the most interesting thing you've ever seen. You're fixated on him. And now he is sure it's the glasses that are doing it. He has to bite back a smile. Knowing you apparently find him so attractive with them on makes him feel good inside. He doesn't understand why you would like it, but it's extremely clear that it's doing something for you. He's tempted to show up at your hotel room later to explore this further and see just how much you like them.
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Jealous Ex!Katsuki x Fem!Reader
A/N: this is totally not based off of how i wish my ex acted when i had a creep hitting on me ha.
MDNI - SMUT BELOW CUT.
WARNINGS: ANGST/COMFORT, SLEAZY CREEP, HURT, UNPROTECTED SEX, RECONCILIATION SEX, DRUNK SEX
-
It’s been six months. And I’m one drink down for every month since he left me. So I really shouldn’t feel as sick as I do when a random wraps their arm around my waist.
He tugs me into his scrawny, shirtless figure and my stomach lurches.
Everything smells of stale cigarette smoke. 
This is wrong.
Gently I push the stranger off, wandering back towards the bar. A tired smile from the bartender greets me.
“Hi lovely,” I smile, jumping up on the barstool.
“What can I do for you babes?” The small person hums, mousy hair flopping across their face.
“Can you make me another one of those yummy cocktails? Y’know, the one with the fireball and the-” I start, leaning inwards.
“The one that tastes like autumn?” They finish, a knowing smile.
“Yes!” I can feel my head slosh as I nod. Maybe I’m more tipsy than I thought. 
Unwanted arms twist around my waist yet again.
“Hey pretty,” Unkempt long hair tickles my shoulder. Hot breath on my neck. 
“I’m gonna go back to dancing,” I excuse myself, untangling us. Clutching my drink, I weave in and out of the crowd. The warmth is more uncomfortable than it was before, sticky and clammy.
A pain in my shoulder, my drink wasted on myself and the floor.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry” I start, embarrassment heating my cheeks.
“Hey, watch where you’re-” A voice, so familiar it hurts. Low, and consistently gravelly.
“y/n.” Shock changes his tone. Aggression turns soft. My heart squeezes.
Six months.
Six months and I’m still so undeniably in love with Bakugou Katsuki it hurts me.
“Hi,” I mumble, eyes trained on my hands.
He clears his throat and my eyes can’t help but follow the noise. 
Rubies.
I always said his eyes were rubies.
Not the blood of his enemies, like Kaminari so often joked.
Rubies.
Warmth and pain mixes inside of me, and I find myself biting my tongue.
I love you.
It would be so easy to say.
“Aww did you spill ya drink pretty? ‘S okay, I’ll get you another one.” Cigarette overtakes my smell and I do everything not to gag.
“Um, I’m actually gonna head home.” Shaking the man off yet again, I go to turn around.
“Ooh, ready for some fun are we? Lead the way, beautiful.” Hands around my waist, and my throat closes.
“No.” I shake my head, squirming out of his arms yet again.
“Aww, but baby” His arms are tighter this time, face nuzzled into my neck.
“Oi, she told you to fuck off.” Katsuki steps forward, and I go to turn my head.
“Ha, you’re just jealous that I’m gonna get somma this tonight.” Wet warmth trails up my neck and I cringe away.
Stifling hold is suddenly tugged away.
“She’s not interested, dickhead. Now fuck off before I make you.” Katsuki’s voice is grim, fearless. All I can focus on is wiping the saliva off my neck.
“Fuckin fine. She’s not that cute anyway.” I hear a huff becoming more and more distant.  
Another arm. New, but old; drapes across my shoulders.
“Gonna walk you home to make sure no more creeps try’nd attack you.” Katsuki mumbles, gently guiding me through the crowd.
“Thanks,” I whisper.
The outside air is cold, drawing me closer to the man’s core heat. Small sparks on my shoulder act as a radiator.
The walk is quiet, and my head swims too much to understand if its comfortable or uncomfortable. 
Only when we reach my apartment, does his warm arm leave me. 
As if it’s muscle memory, he lifts up the pot plant; grabbing the spare key and letting us in. Kicking off my shoes, I wander towards the next best warmth I can get.
My bed is cushy, a welcome comfort.
Katsuki enters not too long after, water and toast in hand.
“You need to eat before you sleep,” He says, plopping down next to me.
Rubies, full of warmth.
“Why are you being so nice?” I mumble, eyes stinging.
I miss this. I miss him.
“Cause I fucked up,” He whispers.
“What did you do this time, Bakugou?” I sigh, picking up the glass.
“I hurt someone because I didn’t want them to hurt me first.”
My heart hitches.
“But then I realised that all I did was hurt both of us, for no goddamn reason.”  The water splashes against the sides of the glass as I tremble uncontrollably.
“She won’t even say my name anymore.” The grief is heavy in his voice, breaking it gently. And I can’t hold back my tears.
“You said you didn’t love me anymore,” My voice warbles past the lump in my throat.
“I knew you could do better,” He mumbles, picking at the duvet he helped me choose.
“I don’t want better!” I cry, gripping the glass.
“I want you.” Glancing over, I can’t help but stare.
Bakugo Katsuki does not cry.
Yet diamonds fall from rubies.
“Then be mine again. Please.” He whispers, voice catching. 
And all I can do is nod.
Coolness of glass leaves my hands. Warmth cradles my cheeks.
“Thank you baby,” His lips meet mine, and I’m home. 
Home tastes like cheap cola from the bar. 
Home is our teeth clashing as we smile through tears and kisses. 
Home is my fingers twisting through staticy blond.
“I missed you so much,” I whisper against his jaw.
“Missed you more.” Strong arms pull me effortlessly into his lap. His hands stay on my hips, tracing gentle circles.
“Lemme show you how much I missed you.” Katsuki asks, tugging me impossibly closer. Kisses tickle down my neck, and my entire body floods with adoration.
“Please,” I nuzzle into his hair, savouring the closeness. I jerk my neck away as he gently bites exactly where he knows I hate.
“Katsuki,” I whine, shoving his face away. A warm chuckle reverberates through his chest. The sound is contagious, making bubbles in my chest.
“You’re an ass,” I bite back my smile, gentling pushing him further.
“Yeah, but I’m your ass.” He mumbles, pulling me back in. Arms push me down, feeling him grow beneath me.
My body clenches excitedly, as familiar hands start tracing up my stomach.
“Take this stupid thing off,” His voice vibrates against my neck, as he tugs at the hem of my top.
“Hm,” I muse loudly, deciding to have some fun. “No, I don’t think so.”
“You little shit,” He growls fondly, pushing the top up as his hands wander further. A gentle squeeze to my breasts is all I need to continue my attack on his jaw.
“But I’m your little shit,” I mock inbetween kisses. I feel his jaw clench beneath my touch.
“Alright, thats it.” He huffs, wrapping an arm around my waist.
Suddenly, I’m off his lap; the bed bouncing at my sudden shift in weight. The bubbles in my chest build until they burst into a fit of giggles.
“There’s my pretty woman,” Katsuki smiles, eyes soft. Gently, he fully removes my top. And then his own.
The warmth of skin on skin is a comfort I’ve missed oh so much. 
Obviously, Katsuki missed it just as much; face disappearing into the valley between my breasts. 
Soft kisses leave pins and needles, and I reach for his hand. In an instant, our fingers are interlocked.
Like he never left.
I revel in the moment, using my free hand to trace patterns on his shoulders.
Small sparks greet my skin as his other hand massages my thigh. I feel myself dampen at the closeness - leaning into his touch.
“You sure you want this pretty woman? You’re still tipsy,” Its so odd, hearing such soft words from such a hardened, aggressive man. 
“Please, Kats” I breathe, moving my hand to his hair. A hum of agreement, and his loving assault continues.
I keep tracing patterns, unintentionally digging down as his hands get close to where I want them - no - need them to be.
A ghost of a touch, and I’m pushing myself up to meet him.
“Missed me that bad, did we?” He scoffs in amusement, fingers circling my clothed clit.
“Like you’re one to talk,” I mumble, cheeks heating. Softly grinding on me, my breath hitches.
“Sorry baby, but I’m not waiting anymore,” He whispers, pulling my panties off; his boxers following suit.
Rubies bore into me, sparkling with adoration.
And suddenly, pain and pleasure all in one.
“C’mon, you’re okay. You can take it.” Katsuki praises as he thrusts in. I blink through watery eyes, nodding.
The movement is slow at first, just until the pain falls away. 
Then, its relentless. 
The sound of skin on skin echoes through my small apartment, going at an unholy speed. My toes scrunch as I’m sent into ecstasy.
“See how much I missed you?” Hands grasp my hair, moving my head to the side to leave kiss after kiss.
“See how much I love you?” He grunts into my neck, suckling right near my jaw. Words fail, leaving me only able to whimper in response.
“Yeah that’s right,” He whispers to me, fastening his pace. More whines bubble past my lips.
“Love you so much, never gonna leave again, you hear that?” His words a near hiss, nipping my neck gently.
“Kats, kats, please,” I beg, gripping onto him for dear life. My stomach coils, and I don’t know how long I’ll last.
“Come on baby, cum for me.” He encourages, pushing deeper, faster.
I break, legs spasming as I gush.
But Kastuki doesn’t stop.
Instead, he pushes my ankles up near my ears - keeping his relentless pace. Tears spill over my cheeks at the overstimulation.
“Just a little longer, okay?” He promises, hot breath painting my thighs. I nod frantically, practically melting into the bed.
But the coil tightens again, and I can’t help but squirm.
“Come on, together this time. Where do you want me?” Katsuki asks, somehow pumping harder.
“Inside,” I croak through tears. It’s too much.
An eyebrow raises.
“You wan’t me to make you a mama, that it?” He huffs, beads of crystalline sweat coating his brow.
“Mhm,” I whine, clenching at the thought.
“Fuck, y/n.” He grunts, burying himself into me.
Warmth floods me, and my blond lover collapses ontop of me.
“Love you so much, Katsuki,” I whisper, tangling my hands through his hair. I press a gentle kiss to his temple.
“Love you more, dumbass.” He sighs, kissing wherever he can reach. 
-BONUS-
“I guess this means you’re reinvited to Tsu and ‘Chako’s wedding.” I hum, scratching his head.
“The fuck you mean ‘reinvited’?” Katsuki snarls sleepily, nuzzling into my neck.
“Honey, you were my plus one. You never got your own invite,” I gently remind him, amusement tickling my insides.
“What cunts.” He grumbles, pulling me close.
“Katsuki!”
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yutaleks · 3 months
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true love comes from more than just the heart
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yuuta x female reader, length: 1.5K CWs: yandere // reader has loose hair that can be tucked behind the ear // bruises A/N: This is a repost, lightly edited. banner by @/cafekitsune
Part of Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing series
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Things with your project partner, Yuuta, have been awkward as of late. It’s been exactly three days, 5 hours, and 40 minutes since the moment he asked you if you wanted to go on a date and you’d let him down as easy as you could. You’d fed him some excuse about not wanting to date right now, not when you’re busy with classes and finals are approaching. But since then, he’s been missing from every group function, and every time your eyes meet in lecture hall it’s like looking at a kicked puppy. It’s eating at you from the inside out, and after said 3 days 5 hours and 40 minutes you can’t take the awkwardness anymore.
“Okkotsu-kun,” you sit down beside him in one of the libraries on campus. You weren’t sure if you’d find him here but somehow, every time you purposefully seek him out, he’s always within reach. “Can we talk?”
He has a laptop and a notebook open on the wooden table, which he promptly shuts as soon as you take a seat next to him. He tucks his arms under the table and looks at you with those very same soggy tired eyes of his. You wonder if he even sleeps at all.
“Sure. What do you need?” He tacks your name and the appropriate honorific on at the end, his voice dulcet and polite.
“I just… feel bad about what happened. We still have to work together on our project and besides that, I like talking to you… but it feels weird suddenly. I feel like you’ve been avoiding me.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well you didn’t show up for recitation or group study yesterday… bailed on our project meeting the day before that…” you’re wringing your hands on your lap, and Yuuta’s staring at them instead of looking at you. “Are you listening to me?”
“I just needed some time to myself,” he tries to offer you a soft smile but it comes out more like a wince. 
“Aren’t we friends? We don’t have to cut ties just because of—”
“I dont want to cut ties at all.” His voice comes out a little harsher, colder than he’d wanted. In a lower, gentler voice he adds, “it’s because we’re just friends that I just… needed some time.”
“Yuuta-kun.” He looks back up at you directly, forced to by the fact that you’d used his first name and reached out for his hand. He feels his heart in his throat. “It’s not you, it’s just…”
How do you explain this to him, really? Because it is partially him—your best friend and roommate Nobara had drilled into your head that he’s bad news from day one. But in reality, to you, he’s something of a yellow flag, maybe even a pale green. Not red, not yet. Because there’s nothing really wrong with him at all. He’s just a little intense at times, when he’s not being nauseatingly polite and oozing with kindness and consideration. You don’t entirely see whatever darkness it is that Nobara sees in him.
When he perks up in his seat you imagine a dog with ears pointed up, turned at you. Cute.
“I guess I have really bad luck with guys and it’s been a bit nerve-wracking going about dating. I don’t think I’m ready for that again, not with you.”
“What do you mean bad luck?” He blinks, confused.
“Ever since university started, things have just been so strange…” you subconsciously try to pull your hands away, but Yuuta holds them close to his own. You feel a reassuring squeeze. “I’d get close to someone, they’d seem interested… maybe even flirt or meet for a date… but not long after that they’d just vanish and ghost me. Even as recently as a couple weeks ago, I’d been talking to a guy in civics who then stopped coming to class altogether… It’s happened enough times that I’ve just sworn off dating, you know? I guess it’s for the best—maybe the universe just wants me to focus on school, not on relationships with other people. It’s distracting, anyway.”
As you ramble, Yuuta’s thumb glides over your fingers, lulling you into a sense of comfort. It’s nice to talk about this with someone so patient, someone who isn’t as blunt as your roommate; she had blamed you for every person who would disappear soon after coming close to your orbit. You love her to death but coming to her with a hurt ego only makes the wound sting.
“It’s not you at all!” When he feels eyes on him, the other patrons of the library glaring at him for his outburst, he quiets his voice yet again. “You’re perfect. Anyone who doesn’t see that is wrong and doesn’t deserve you at all.” 
You smile at the sureness and totality in his voice. He’s entirely convinced you could do no wrong, and it feels kind of nice to have someone in your corner for once.
You take one hand out of his grip to push back a lock of your hair and in the process manage to look down at your intertwined hands. To your surprise, his hands are bandaged at the knuckles. How had you not noticed that? And peeking from the corners of said bandages are bruises, faded hues of blue and purple. They aren’t fresh, but they look gnarly, the skin taut over his knuckles just about to burst at the seams.
“What happened to you, Okkotsu-kun?” You twist and turn his hands in yours, and he finds that he likes the attention from you—likes it so much he doesn’t dare pull away. His hands go limp in your palms, soaking up their warmth. “Did you have these the last time we spoke?”
“Um… I’ve been working out with a friend these last few weeks. Boxing.” 
You laugh, a sigh of relief visibly making your tense shoulders sag. It’s with this that Yuuta realizes that you’re not the type to pry. You trust him.
“What made you take that up?” You release his hands, to his internal dismay. “Looks painful.”
He shrugs and tucks his hands back under the table, away from your line of vision. “Hmm… I don’t know. Just something to do, I guess.” 
“I never took you as the type to do anything like that.”
He tilts his head. You watch one of the small hoops in his earlobe sway with the movement.
“Really? Why?”
“You’re just always so nice. You give off such a sweet vibe. Like you help grannies cross the street in your spare time, or some shit like that.”
You both share a chuckle, the first time you’d both smiled at each other since before he’d tried to ask you on a date. You find yourself stuck on the curve of his lips, pink and slightly chapped. 
Why did you reject him again…?
The strand of hair that you’d tucked behind your ear falls forward again, and this time Yuuta is the one to tuck it back for you. It feels so natural for him to do it, that you stay still and let him.
“The Yuuta in your mind is such a gentleman, isn’t he?”
You giggle at his choice of words. Why’s he talking about himself like that? The look in his eyes is a little strange, but in your heart, you agree. He’s never given you a reason to believe otherwise.
“Yeah… he definitely is.”
“I’m glad.” He holds the end of the lock of your hair between his fingertips, curling your hair around his pointer finger. He inhales deeply—you smell like strawberries at this distance. It’s lovely.  
He sighs. His breath sounds so heavy, diffusing the tension between you. “I’m sorry I made things awkward. I hope we can still be friends…”
Your smile is bright. Incorruptible. It’s so fucking pretty—always is.
He lets your hair fall out of his grasp.
“Of course, it’s why I came here. I want to be friends… As long as you want to be.”
He wants to say forever. He wants to tell you he never wants to be apart and never wants to see that smile fade. He even wants to tell you about all the fantasies he has in his head where you’re married and tucked away in a forest somewhere, to be each other’s gravity, the entirety of each other’s universes. But he swallows the words instead—that’s just a little too much for you, right now. Even he knows this. Yet somewhere in his mind, he’s certain he’ll be able to say everything he wants to say to you wholeheartedly soon. 
He just has to be a little more patient…
“I do.”
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once-upon-an-imagine · 10 months
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You Keep Me Hangin' On - Steve Harrington
A/N: sooo, apparently it worked 😂😂😂 thank you to everyone who voted, I might keep this up since it helps me focus on a specific story😊 I mixed three different requests here so I really hope it makes sense, this one is mostly angsty but I am planning on a part two, so let me know what you think  
Requests - dawninparis​ asked: is this how you request something? i don’t know i’m a bit new to all this 😳 anyway i saw you were accepting st request so i was thinking maybe steve and reader are in an established relationship but with all the stuff happening in s4 and reader not being aware of all the supernatural stuff she gets jealous of all the time he spends with nancy and the fact he is hiding everything from you just to protect you and just basically a lot of angst (bc i like to suffer) and ending however u like even tho my heart is easily broken with sad endings 
- Anonymous asked: I would like to request a Steve story that takes place in season 4 where him and reader are dating already. Reader has noticed how awkward he has been around Nancy and vice versa. How they’ve been talking a lot more (good thing Eddie was there to keep them company😉). [full request here]  
- Anonymous asked: Hello babes, I'm not sure if you want to write this but may I request for a Steve Harrington angst to fluff fic? Haha! I just want to torture myself again with all these angsty stories. Somewhere around, reader is pining for steve and thought that she have a chance with steve but the latter thought that maybe he's still not over nancy. Reader felt hurt / embarassed by this and decided to date someone else, when she did steve realizes that she's the one that his heart has been longing for the whole time and not nancy. Thanks
Warnings: pretty angsty and Steve is kind of an asshole but also a jealous asshole xD and Jason (he deserves his own warning) let me know if I missed anything 
Disclaimer: I don’t own Stranger Things :) gif isn’t mine :D  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
You Keep Me Hangin’ On
Set me free why don't you, babe Get out my life why don't you, babe 'Cause you don't really love me You just keep me hangin' on
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You had known for a long time now. You had just, for some reason, held on to a stupid little hope that kept you hanging to this stupid little crush. Although it wasn't that little. And that voice in your head that kept you hanging sounded an awful lot like Robin insisting that Steve felt the same way you did.
You tried to believe her. You really did. Steve was very caring and affectionate towards you. You remembered the first time you drove him home, drunk, and he asked you to stay with him. And you did. And he said it felt nice to not wake up alone. And then, it became a natural thing between the two of you. He would call you whenever he needed you. And you would call him whenever you needed him. And he showed up. He always showed up. Which made you believe Robin when she said he felt the same way you did. But neither of you spoke about it. You hugged. You kissed. You did more than kiss. You couldn't imagine your life without him. But you weren't entirely sure if he could do the same. You feared that he could. He could live without you.
And right now, it was more evident than ever. You instantly dove into the water when he was pulled back into the lake. You pulled the bats off him and fought them with whatever you could find before Nancy, Robin, and Eddie also appeared to help. You were about to help him stop the bleeding right before Nancy ripped off the bottom of her blouse and started patching him up. And you saw it. You saw the way Steve looked at her.
"You're bleeding" you were snapped out of your thoughts when you heard Eddie by your side.
"Huh?" you asked, confused.
"Your arm" he pointed out. "It's bleeding" he repeated and you looked down to see that he was right. You hadn't even noticed. You were bleeding. Badly.
"Holy shit!" you panicked a little, not really knowing what to do.
"Here" he said, gently grabbing your hand and taking the black bandana out of his back pocket.
"Oh, I don't want to stain your bandana. I know that's your favorite one" you told him, not really noticing the smile that appeared on his face when you did.
"Don't be ridiculous, princess. It's just a piece of fabric" he insisted, grabbing your hand and cleaning your wound gently. You lifted your head from your arm to watch Eddie as he worked on tightening his bandana around you. You found yourself smiling a little at how careful he was being. He did not seem like the loud, careless guy you always saw in school. "How's that? Is it too tight?" he asked, worriedly.
"N-no. That's perfect" you smiled. "Thank you, Eddie" you told him.
"You know, it was pretty badass, w-what you did" he chuckled.
"It was?" you asked, feeling a little nervous for some reason. You never really thought of yourself as badass enough to get that credit from Eddie Munson, who you considered to be one of the most badass people you knew.
"Yeah, I mean, jumping in the lake and fighting those bats. That was metal, princess" he smirked.
"You also jumped in the lake and fought those bats, Eddie" you reminded him.
"Yeah, but after all of you ladies did" he insisted.
"Well, you still did" you told him. "And that says a lot" you smiled.
"So, uh" Eddie cleared his throat, pulling away from you a little. "This place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?"
"Yeah, pretty much" you nodded.
"Wait, watch out for the vines" Nancy said as Robin started walking around. "It's all a hive mind" she explained.
"It's all a what?" Robin asked.
"All the creepy crawlies around here" you told her. "They're, like, one or something" you told her. "Step on a vine, you're stepping on a bat" you instructed. "You're stepping on Vecna" you finished.
"Shit" Eddie said, next to you.
"But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people?" Robin asked.
"As far as I understand it, yeah" Steve said.
"So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate" Robin suggested.
"I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin" you told her. "But guns, yeah, sure."
"Well, we don't have to go all the way downtown for guns" Nancy added and everyone looked at her. "I have guns in my bedroom" she shrugged.
"You, Nancy Wheeler" Eddie started. "...have guns, plural, in your bedroom?"
"Full of surprises, isn't she?" Robin asked, excitedly.
"A Russian Makarov and a revolver" Nancy explained.
"Yeah, you almost shot me with that one" Steve said.
"You almost deserved it" Nancy smirked back at him.
You tried to hide your upset expression but Eddie seemed to notice before he threw his jean vest at Steve and he glared back at him a little.
"For your modesty, dude" he said, making Steve roll his eyes before putting it on.
"Hey, are you okay?" Steve asked, walking closer to you.
"I'm fine" you said with a firm smile.
"Did you hurt yourself?" he questioned, looking at your arm.
"Yeah, but don't worry. Eddie fixed it" you told him.
"Oh" Steve said, not entirely loving that part. "O-okay" he sighed.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a scratch" he said, trying to make you laugh.
You barely smiled before you followed Eddie and Robin who were climbing on trees and rocks, careful not to step on the vines. When Robin accidentally stepped on a vine, the five of you felt the Earth moving under you when an earthquake happened. Your instinct almost made you run to Steve, but you saw he quickly grabbed Nancy, who was closer to him, and he pulled her to his side. You couldn't even register the whole thing before you felt two arms grabbing you and making you fall to the ground with him as you felt Eddie's arms tighten around you.
"Holy shit!" you heard Robin, not so far from you.
"So guns seem like a pretty good idea to me" Eddie said.
"Yeah, me too" you said, feeling your cheeks burn a little at how close you were to the metalhead and not noticing a pair of eyes glaring your way. "Uh- um" you cleared your throat. "Thanks" you smiled shyly.
"Don't mention it, princess" he said, helping you up.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
As the five of you walked to the Wheeler's house, Steve could barely register what Nancy was telling him. His eyes were glued to Robin, you, and Eddie walking ahead of them. Specifically between you and Eddie Munson. He noticed he was trying to make you laugh because he could see the worried look on your face. And the worst part was that he was succeeding. He didn't like the feeling he got whenever you laughed at something Eddie Munson said. He didn't like that you had his bandana on your arm. He didn't like that he was walking a little too close to you and the worst part was when he saw his hand trying to reach for yours.
"Uh, yeah, Nance, hold on a second" he said, not even trying to understand what she was talking about as he ran over to the trio in front of him.
"Hey, Eddie" Steve said, catching up with you. "Uh, could I... talk to you?" he asked, making Eddie look at you a little confused. You simply shrugged and Robin pulled you away to go join Nancy instead, leaving the two boys behind.
"What's up, Harrington?"
"Hey, man. Uh... Listen, I just, uh... I just want to say thanks. For saving my ass back there" he smiled.
"Shit. You saved your own ass, man" Eddie told him. "I mean, that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there!"
"Ozzy?"
"When you took a bite out of that bat. Ozzy Osbourne? Black Sabbath? He bit a bat's head off onstage" he explained as Steve looked at him confused.
"I don't-"
"You know? Doesn't matter" he shrugged. "It's very metal, what you did. That's all I'm saying" he told him.
"Thanks" Steve smiled.
"Henderson told me you were a badass. Insisted on the matter, in fact" he explained.
"Henderson said that?"
"Oh yeah" Eddie nodded.
"Shit!"
"Kid worships you, dude. Like, you have no idea. It's kinda annoying, to be honest" he mocked Steve. "I don't even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but, uh, guess I got a little jealous, Steve" he smirked. "I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way" he chuckled. "That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine" he explained, making Steve laugh and roll his eyes a little. "Still super jealous as hell, by the way. Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any, uh... normal circumstances. Nope. Outside of D&D, I am no hero. I see danger and I just turn heel and run. Or at least that's what I've learned about myself this week" he muttered the last part.
"Give yourself a break, man" Steve insisted.
"See? The only reason I came in here was 'cause those ladies came in straight after you. Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind" he explained. "But, your girl, right there" Eddie said, pointing at you, walking ahead of them. "She didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in" he told Steve as they stopped walking for a moment and Steve looked at you while you walked with Robin. "Now, I don't know what's going on or what happened between you two, but if I were you, I would not take her for granted, man. 'Cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen" he told her. "And if you let her go, someone else might not be so stupid" he informed him.
"Are you talking about... someone in specific?" Steve asked, glaring a little at him.
"Maybe" Eddie shrugged, patting his back. "I'm just saying, Harrington. Don't be the douche I always thought you were" he said before he walked away from Steve.
As soon as you all got to Nancy's place, she, Robin, and Eddie started making their way upstairs. You were about to follow them when Steve gently pulled you back.
"Hey" Steve said, smiling nervously at you, a few steps down. "Uh- I just... um, I wanted to ask if uh-" he said, running a hand through his hair as he always did when he was nervous. "If w-we're okay? I mean, are you- uh are you feeling okay?"
"Are you?" you asked, a little confused.
"No- yeah, uh I'm fine" he sighed. "I just wanted to check if you were also... fine?"
"I'm fine" you said with a firm smile before you turned around and you tried going upstairs but Steve stopped you again.
"It's just um... you got hurt" he said, stroking the back of your hand with his thumb as he looked at the bandana wrapped around your arm.
"So did you" you told him. "And I think yours is... much worse" you said, looking at Nancy's blouse wrapped around him.
"No, it's fine" he insisted.
"Great. So, you're fine. I'm fine. We're both..." you sighed. "Just fine" you said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, frowning.
"Uh- nothing" you quickly said. "We should... get up there-"
"No, what did you mean by that?"
"Steve, this isn't the time or the place-"
"But you're upset!"
"No, I'm not, I just told you, everything is fine!" you insisted.
"Really? So, if everything is fine, why are you spending so much time with Munson?" Steve asked, accusingly.
"Ohh, you noticed that? I figured you'd be too busy with Nancy to even pay attention to anyone else!" you replied.
"Wait, is that what this is about?"
"No! I didn't mean to ugh-! Just... forget about it, okay? We have bigger things to-"
"Shhh!" he shushed you, holding up his finger.
"Um, excuse me?"
"Did you hear that?" he asked, looking the other way and walking away from you.
"Hear what?"
"Henderson!" he said, walking around the empty room.
"Well, it finally happened. He snapped" you muttered under your breath.
"HENDERSON!"
"What's going on?" Nancy asked, walking over to you with Robin, and Eddie.
"I don't know. He thinks he can hear Dustin-"
"I don't think! I can hear him! HENDERSON!"
And then, you heard it.
"Oh, my God! DUSTIN!"
"There has to be a way for them to hear us!" Eddie insisted as the five of you tried to look around the room.
"Wasn't there a way that Will communicated with Joyce when he was here?" Steve asked you, pointing his flashlight at the light in the middle of the living room.
"THE LIGHTS!"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yes, Robin, for the fifteenth time, I'm okay" you replied as you two tried to grab anything you could use at the War Zone.
"It's just that you and Steve have barely spoken since-"
"Since he decided to stay back at the UpsideDown because Nancy was cursed by Vecna and he now refuses to leave her side?" you snapped a little. "Sorry" you sighed. "There's just... a lot going on right now" you told her.
"I know that, but... well, you and Eddie on the other hand-"
"What?" you asked, confused.
"Come on, you can't tell me that there's nothing there-" she chuckled.
"There's literally nothing there" you laughed. "I don't think Eddie likes me that way" you rolled your eyes.
"Do you like him that way?" she asked, curiously.
"N-no" you said, nervously. "I don't know. Like I said, there's too much going on right now. And Eddie has been nice to me. He's always nice to me and... I don't know this isn't the time to focus on stupid guys, okay?"
"Love, it's never the time to focus on stupid boys" she laughed, making you laugh a little too but she quickly stopped when she spotted Vickie on the other side of the War Zone with her boyfriend.
"Rob" you said, feeling sorry and placing your hand on her arm.
"Have you ever felt like someone just ripped out your heart?" she asked, looking back at you.
You smiled sadly at her and then looked past her. "Yeah, I... have an idea" you said silently and she followed your stare to see Steve laughing with Nancy at something she had said. "Aw, well that's fun for me" you smiled, sarcastically. "I'm gonna go over there, okay?" you quickly said, walking away from Robin as she rolled her eyes and walked over to Steve, punching his arm.
"Ouch! What the hell, Buckley?!"
"Well, I wouldn't expect to find you here" you turned around hearing that dreadful voice.
"J-Jason" you said, nervously. "Yeah, well, it's just... scary times" you smiled. "Uh- I'm... sorry about Chrissy" you told him.
"Want my advice?" he asked, getting closer to you. "Shotguns are not good for much of anything past killing small birds" he said. "I mean, they got power, sure, but not much range" he said, as you stepped backwards, creating space between the two of you but he got even closer. "And that's just gonna force you into close-range combat, then someone can just grab that barrel like this..." he said, grabbing the weapon from you. "...and redirect it" he said, smiling, making you feel uneasy. "Well, you look nervous" he chuckled.
"Uh -like I said" you tried to smile. "Scary times" you told him. "Could you let go, please?"
"Sorry?"
"She said 'let go'" you heard Steve behind you and you let out a sigh of relief.
"Harrington" he said, letting go of the gun. "Didn't see you there" he said, stepping away.
"Well, now you do so..." Steve said, nodding his head so he would take the hint.
"Lovely seeing you" Jason said, before turning to look back at you.
"Hey, you okay-?"
"We need to go, now" you said, grabbing his hand.
"But-"
"But nothing" you said, pulling him with you. "Eddie's outside" you whispered.
"Right" Steve muttered a bit upset. Munson.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Hey" you were snapped out of your thoughts when Eddie sat down on the grass, next to you.
"Hi" you smiled.
"So... I guess this is a dumb question but... how are you feeling?"
"Funny, I was just going to ask you the same thing" you smiled.
"Me? I'm having the time of my life, princess. Are you kidding me? We're about to go to the UpsideDown and fight for our lives, really... it's where I pictured my life at this point, he chuckled, making you laugh a little.
"You know, you don't have to do this, Eddie" you insisted.
"Are you trying to rob me of my hero arc, princess?" he said, making you laugh, which you didn't know how was possible with how anxious you were feeling. "I was just going to tell you the same thing" he told you.
"It's just... you've been through a lot in like... what, 48 hours?"
"Yeah, it's been intense but... well, you being here kinda makes it better" he admitted.
"It does?" you asked, feeling your cheeks burn.
"Yeah" he insisted. "I mean, if... it were up to me, I wouldn't want the situation of us hanging out to be in a creepy world fighting this... monster but... I guess it's pretty badass" he chuckled.
"Well, if it involves you I would assume it would have to be badass" you smiled, making him blush a little. "So... if it were up to you... what would the situation be? U-us hanging out?"
"Well- uh-"
"Hey, Munson!" Steve said, suddenly appearing and interrupting the two of you. "Um... Henderson's asking for you" he said.
"Um- sure" Eddie said, looking back at you. "Sorry, princess. Raincheck?"
"Sure" you smiled as he got up and he helped you up too. "See you in a bit" you told him before Steve replaced his place.
"What was that?"
"What was what?" you asked, confused.
"You and Munson?"
"We were just talking" you shrugged.
"Is there something going on between the two of you?"
"What? What are you talking about, Steve?"
"I just find it interesting that every time I look at you he just happens to be there" he said, glaring at you a little.
"Well, maybe we were just talking about our part of the plan, since you made me stay back with him and Dustin!"
"I knew you were upset about that! Nancy and I just decided this was the best way to make the teams!"
"Oh, what a lovely coincidence that you get to go with Nancy!"
"And Robin!" he added. "Why does that make you so upset? Because you don't get to come and physically kill Vecna with us? I need you to stay back with Eddie and Dustin!"
"Why? Because you don't trust me as much as Nancy!? You don't-" you stopped yourself before you could say 'You don't love me as much as you love Nancy'.
"Nancy knows what she's doing!"
"Oh, and I don't? We were all down there, Steve! And in case you didn't notice, I was the first one to jump when you were dragged back into that lake! Not Nancy! I am just as capable as she is-!"
"I didn't say you weren't but I just..." he sighed, running a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I need you to stay back with Dustin and Eddie okay?"
"Fine!" you said, reluctantly. "I can't do this anymore Steve" you sighed.
"Sweetheart, I know it'll be hard, but we have this plan and-"
"No, not that! This!" you said pointing at him and yourself. "I am tired of just being your option when Nancy is not around!"
"That's not true and this isn't the time to-"
"Right... it's never the time" you sighed.
"Well, not when we're about to go face Vecna in the fucking UpsideDown!"
"You're going to face Vecna with Nancy and Robin! I'm staying back with Eddie and Dustin!"
"That's not how it is!"
"Yes, it is! That's the plan that you two came up with! Together!"
"Look, what do you want from me? It made more sense this way!"
"Just admit that you still have feelings for Nancy and be done with it so I can just... I don't know, move on!"
"M-move on? From us?"
"There is no us, Steve! Is there?"
"Why would you say that?"
"I don't know, Steve! I'm tired! I'm tired and I can't do this anymore! It's not fair!"
"Ugh! I'm not trying to make you feel like this on purpose! I don't have feelings for Nancy, okay? Why does everyone think that I still have feelings for Nancy?"
"Oh, really? Everyone thinks so? So, I'm not the only one then!" you said, feeling your heart starting to break.
"No! I didn't mean it like that! Nancy is my friend! Okay! That is it! I care about her and I don't want her to die!"
"Nobody wants her to die, Steve! But you keep following her around like a lost puppy-!"
"How would you even know since you decided to stay with Munson every chance you get?! I can't believe you're being this dramatic over Nancy. SHE'S MY FRIEND!" he snapped. "Look, I don't want to fight with you, we are all on edge, and... I just... I need to do this, and I need you to stay with Dustin and Munson!"
"I don't want to fight with you either, Steve, and I know this is probably the worst possible time, I just-"
"Hey, guys!" Dustin shouted, interrupting you. "Time to go!"
Steve sighed, tiredly and looked back at you, not really knowing what else to say, so you did.
"You know what? You're right, we have more important things to deal with right now" you smiled with tears in your eyes and you placed your hand on his arm. You were about to follow Dustin but Steve pulled you back, pulling your hand.
"Listen, I care about Nancy, yes. Of course, I do. But, I swear, she's just my friend" he told you. "And I care about you too. I do, a lot" he said, nervously. But something wasn't letting you believe him anymore.
"As a friend?" you asked, with your voice breaking a little.
"It's... complicated" he said, making your heart break into little pieces. "And I swear we'll talk about it, after this, I just-" he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
Something was telling you that he would never love you as he did Nancy. That little voice was becoming louder than Robin's telling you he loved you just as you loved him. And you felt your eyes watering. And you knew he could see it, but he didn't say anything. Because you knew time was running out and you had to follow Dustin. So you just smiled sadly at Steve and cupped his cheek with your hand.
"I love you, Steve" you whispered, having the strangest feeling in your heart that this may be the only chance you would get to tell him this, so you kissed his cheek. Like you always did and you gave him the saddest smile Steve had ever seen on someone. "And I really hope you get her back someday."
To Be Continued
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
[Part 2] 
A/N: sooo, I am definitely not evil enough to just leave it there :D this is definitely going to have a part two... so let me know what you think xD (and also, who you think she should stay with) 
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too-much-tma-stuff · 11 months
Text
I’ll Always Answer Your Call
Unexpected part 2 to Do What I Cannot
---------
Jason took Danny down to one of the smaller sitting rooms as Batman had suggested, he didn’t know what would be done with the bodies of Danny’s parents but he didn’t care. They had deserved to die for everything they had done to Danny, let alone the other ghost that had no doubt been victims of their insane obsessions. He wondered if they would become ghosts, if they did would that be good for Danny? He knew that Danny was the ghost king even if they both wanted to keep that bit of information from the other heroes for now. That would make his parents his subject, he would have every right to punish them however he saw fit, would he like that or would it be even harder on him? Maybe Jason could pass word on to Ellie about what had happened and she could pass it on to Fright Knight and Walker and they could deal with the Fentons instead, shielding Danny from all that nastiness.
That was a future problem though, it took ghosts a while to form in the ghost zone and they wouldn’t get out for a while after that, they could wait and still deal with it before it became an actual problem. For now the only thing he wanted to focus on was Danny, still curled up in his arms and sniffling slightly. He knew Danny was different now then he had been when he had lived, must be. Jason doubted when Danny was alive he’d had skin the colour of a lake covered in thick ice, a slightly elongated face, pointed ears and odd, uncanny, elfin proportions.
There was no mistaking him for a human anymore but he was so beautiful in his own way, it was one of the first things that had struck Jason about Danny, the odd unearthly beauty of him. Jason had thought he looked like the moon come to earth and given vaguely human form. He had been more right then he had known then, after seeing Danny’s even less humanoid forms, all taking after space in some way.
Jason sat down in one of the bigger arm chairs so Danny could comfortably sit sideways across his lap, Danny promptly curled up there, leaning against Jason’s chest while Jason rubbed his back, trying to sooth him while he cried. “They can’t hurt you anymore,” Jason murmured softly. “I won’t say it’s okay, because nothing about what they did is okay, but they can’t hurt you anymore, and I’m here.”
“I know you are,” Danny whispered against his shoulder softly. “You’re so good to me Jason, you have no idea how much I appreciate you. For always answering my call, I-I’m sorry I took control, I really didn’t mean to, I was just so emotional,” he murmured and Jason shook his head. He was wearing his domino mask under his helmet so he quickly took the helmet off and set it aside so he could lean his forehead against Danny’s.
“It’s alright,” He promised, “It let me know how badly you needed me. I would have come anyway, but I knew how fast I needed to go.”
“I’m guessing you still won’t let me break the band then?” Danny asked, chuckling weakly and Jason gave a crooked smile, taking one of Danny’s hands and pressing it against his chest.
“No, of course not. I was so lost before I heard your call, being with you like this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m happy to serve you as my king,” He murmured and kissed Danny softly, feeling the spirit sigh against his lips, cool arms wrapping around his shoulders.
“I’ll take responsibility for their deaths,” Danny whispered when they broke the kiss, a haunted look passing through his green eyes. “It was my will that caused it really, even if you would have done it anyway, I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Fuck that!” Jason barked more loudly, lowering his voice when Danny flinched, it was an automatic response not true fear but Jason didn’t want to add to Danny’s distress in anyway. “I did it, I’ve killed people before for less and I’ll probably do it again. You’re not a killer Danny, and I probably could have stopped myself if I had really wanted to. You don’t deserve to have this put on you, you already told Batman I was responding to your emotions but that’s as much blame as you’re going to get. If B lectures me about this then so fucking be it! I stand by what I did.”
Danny gave him a rueful smile and nuzzled back in against his chest, Jason just held him for a while, quietly. “I don’t think B will actually disapprove that much actually. I mean he’s really firm in his no killing rule shit, but I think even he’ll be able to see that with the way those two acted they weren’t safe to leave alive and after what they did to you… I think any lecture will be performative more then anything. He’ll understand,” Jason mused as he combed his hair through Danny’s messy white hair, now laying almost flat since the emotional upheaval had passed.
“They were a threat to everyone around them,” Danny murmured in agreement. “We’ll have to talk to the JL about taking possession of all of their research and stuff quickly, the last thing we want is for it to fall into the wrong hands. I’m just… Jason I feel really betrayed,” he admitted, soft as a breath, Jason felt his heart drop like a stone. “Why were they here? Why did the Justice League want to talk to them at all?!” He asked, his voice getting a bit louder as emotions built again. “This tower is a safe space and they brought in two fucking mad scientists that would have tried to shoot me on sight whether or not they knew about those two being my parents. I don’t understand!”
Oh no he was crying again, Jason hugged him close and tried to make soothing sounds, his half formed core letting out a stuttering purr and broken little coos to try and sooth his lover.
“We didn’t want you to be our only line of defense between us and potential ghostly threats,” Jason looked up and glared, but not as hard as he would of if it hadn’t been Diana coming in. She was always one of the better one with people, with knowing what to say and when not to push. Jason probably would have drawn a gun if it had been batman.
Danny looked up and gave Diana a watery glare, which she returned with a sad smile coming to sit in the armchair across from them, a respectful distance away. “We didn’t believe a word they said, we simply wanted access to their research and technology so we might have a bit of a head start learning about this new threat.”
“Then why didn’t you ask me?!” Danny flared, anger puffing him up again for a minute. “You had a ghost right there and instead you went to do mad scientist ghost hunters with a history of fucking war crimes?”
“We didn’t realize how bad they truly were,” Diana said regretfully. “And we didn’t want you to be the only thing standing between us and potential disaster. We wanted to take some of this weight off of your shoulders, without realizing how much worse it would make things. I understand if you won’t feel safe here for a while, but please know that we did this with the best of intentions, we didn’t mean to hurt you, and we’re so very sorry for how this turned out.”
“It’s alright,” Danny said, slumping in Jason’s arms again. He was always to forgiving, at least in the opinions of Red Hood. “You should seize as much of their research and equipment as you can and quickly. As much as I don’t really want anyone to have them better you then the GIW or Vlad, just.. Please be careful. My parents were geniuses, but they were also fools. A lot of their inventions are very dangerous to ghosts and humans alike, fueled by unstable energy sources that can be catastrophic.
“It was one of their inventions that killed me to begin with, and they didn’t even notice for almost 2 years. They were fools, blinded by their own desires. They should have never had children.” Danny said, sounding tired and resigned.
Jason’s fingers twitched against Danny’s leg and back, and Diana looked sad. “You and your sister are unquestionable goods to the world, you have risen above your circumstances and we are glad to have you, but that doesn’t mean what was done to you was right, or ‘worth it’,” Diana agreed with a sigh. “I’ll pass on the message about seizing their research. Is there anything you need? Anything at all?”
“No, just Jason,” Danny assured causing a little flare of pride inside Jason. He was glad to be someone Danny could rely on like this, someone trusted.
“Alright,” Diana agreed and stood from her chair. “Batman would like to talk to you two later, when you’re ready,” she added after a moment of hesitation.
Jason growled unconsciously and Danny glanced up at him, pressing his hand more firmly against Jason’s hand and giving him a gentle smile. “Of course, but not today. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. I need to get out of here, Jason? Take me home please?” He asked softly, giving Jason puppydog eyes he never could resist.
“Of course Starlight,” Jason murmured, stealing a quick kiss before he adjusted his grip on Danny and stood up, cradling Danny against him and heading straight down towards the Zeta-tubes so they could head back earth-side and try to forget about this whole mess.
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bluebeary-jay · 11 months
Text
scattered thoughts / sharp focus
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Joel Miller x f!Reader
Summary: Joel is taken away from you and upon finding him almost-dead... something in you snaps ((kinda part 2 to clouded judgment / clear mind, but you don't necessarily need to read that one))
Tags: ANGST, angst with happy ending, near death experiences, Joel has surprisingly little screen time but you'll see he was there in spirit
Warnings: REALLY graphic descriptions of violence, small panic attacks, KINDA torture(?) 😳, choking, lemme know if i missed something
Word count: 7.5K
A/N: i can't believe i've finally finished it! i aimed for a worthy successor to cj/cm aaand i hope i managed but jeez was it hard. also i told myself i won't be writing sth like that again but i kinda have an idea for the final part (would be hurt/comfort 🤭) so let me know if it's sth you'd like to read. anyway as always happy reading!! 💕🥰 comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated, i absolutely love seeing what you think of my fics!
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
You swallowed your tears and rested the chin on your hands, trying to push back the wave of panic threatening to drown you.
“Tell me again.”
Tommy sighed, his own eyes empty and worried.
“I don’t know who those guys were, but they obviously knew Joel. There was a dark man leadin’ them, and I think he had somethin’ wrong with his lip, but it was too far for me to take a good look. The group consisted of five, maybe six people? And I shot one of them, but he appeared to still be alive when they were leavin’.”
You were silent for a couple of seconds, trying to make sense of it all.
“And where did they take him?”
“I reckon to the old ski resort on the top of the mountain. We ventured pretty far from here to investigate these tracks.”
You nodded and steeled yourself, taking a deep, trembling breath and quickly drying your tears.
“Okay. I’m going.”
“You’re not.” Maria leaned over the table, her expression unyielding. “The decision is final.”
“I am going,” you repeated fiercely, slamming the flat of your hand against the tabletop, but Tommy gave you a stern look, which made you bite your tongue. “Look, I get that you don’t want to lose even more people in a rescue mission–”
“This is not what it’s about,” Maria retorted, almost looking hurt by your words. “Believe me, if I wasn’t carrying another human being inside me, I’d already be going after them. But you have to take other things into consideration.”
“She’s right,” Tommy spoke up quietly, though equally irritably, and you turned sharply to look at him in disbelief. “The route to the resort is very advantageous to fall into an ambush. They could shoot us off like ducks and we’d have nowhere to hide.”
“I don’t care,” you ground out, looking from one to the other. “We can’t leave Joel. He’s your family, for goddamn–”
“You think I don’t know that?!” shouted Tommy abruptly, bringing his hand down onto the table, too. “He’s my fucking brother and was family way before you were even born!”
“Tommy.” Maria kicked him under the table, keeping one hand on her belly. Her husband flared his nostrils, clearly agitated by your words, but you were too angry yourself to care right now. You two glared at each other for some time before Tommy clenched his fists and turned around.
“M’goin’ to get some air,” he said gloomily over his shoulder, already at the door leading outside. Maria sighed and looked at you again.
“Please. Don’t do anything stupid, and I swear I’ll send a group out as soon as this blizzard ends.”
“He can be long dead by then,” you answered gravely, really set off by Tommy’s reaction and his words. You tried to will your tear ducts to hold any signs of stress and worry, not wanting to show your friend how broken and helpless you felt inside. “If it was me, he’d already be halfway there to save me, Maria.”
“I know. But just think about it. If something happens to you…” She shook her head. “How do you think I’d be able to look Joel in the eyes and explain why… how…”
She genuinely seemed at a loss of words, and you sighed, rubbing your eyes tiredly.
“I understand where you’re coming from, I really do. But I need to get him home, Maria. I have to.”
With that, you stood up, feeling like you were going to suffocate if you stayed in the room any longer. You didn’t look back even when you heard Maria calling your name softly.
There wasn’t any sense in discussing the matter with any of them – you made up your mind to go and save Joel and there was no way anyone would make you stay. He wouldn’t hesitate to go and get you if anyone dared to lay a hand on you.
You remembered that one time when he killed a group of men who wanted to use you as a bargaining chip to gain entry to Jackson. And how afterward you told him you’d do the same for him, unable to bear the painful and guilty expression on his face.
Now you planned on doing just that.
You were scared – of course you were, you weren’t stupid – and the nerves were practically eating you alive, gnawing at your bones and hurting your muscles from the inside out.
But the worst was the fear of never seeing Joel again. Of something happening to him. And you couldn’t live with yourself if you didn’t at least try…
“I’m coming with you.”
Your head snapped to the side. There stood Ellie – dressed in a warm jacket and a hat that didn’t cover her ears. Her eyes were full of fire, and you recognized the anger and determination in her expression as the same which were almost suffocating you.
Of course she was eavesdropping on the conversation. It was Joel that it was about, after all, her dad in all but one sense.
And suddenly you understood what Maria meant by not being able to look Joel in the eyes if something happened to you.
“No,” you said curtly, walking past her and out onto the street in the direction of your house.
“I’m not asking for permission.” Ellie was right behind you, and the force of her steps showed just how angry and frustrated she was – just like you felt. “I know you’re gonna go after those guys, and I’m coming with you.”
“You’re not,” you repeated more sternly, not turning around to face her. You reached your house and fumbled to open the door. “You’re staying and that’s fina–”
You stopped yourself and sighed, pressing your forehead against the wooden surface.
It was unfair. You were unfair. If those exact words spoken by Maria have set you off so much, you wouldn’t be surprised if Ellie…
“You’re not my fucking mom, remember?” the girl barked angrily, and you let out a shuddering breath, stressed to your limits with everything that happened in the last few hours. “You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do just because you’re older!”
It’s okay. It’s gonna be fine. Everything is gonna be okay.
“I know,” you whispered after a couple of seconds of silence, still not turning around. “I’m sorry.”
Ellie didn’t answer. You repeated your quiet mantra and glanced over your shoulder at her. “But Ellie, I… I can’t let you go. Joel would never forgive me if something happened to you.”
Jesus. Exactly like Maria.
Ellie still looked pissed at your earlier words, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Well, you’re not the only one who cares about him, you know?”
“Yeah, I know. But you’re the one he cares about the most.”
Ellie opened her mouth. Closed it and furrowed her eyebrows, but the irritation in her eyes dimmed. You gave her a small, apologetic smile, trying not to burst into tears.
“He’s gonna be fine, you know,” you lied smoothly, opening the door. “And Maria said she’ll send a group to retrieve him as soon as the storm eases up a bit.”
You didn’t even need to look to know that she didn’t believe you. To be honest, you wouldn’t believe yourself either in this situation.
You waited several seconds to see if the girl wanted to say something else, but after a few moments she spun on her heel and went back, not saying anything. You stared after her, but when the thick snow made her figure just a fuzzy shape, you gently closed the door and pressed the heels of your hands to your eyes.
It’s going to be fine. You’ll get Joel back and all will be okay.
You took a couple of deep – albeit shaky – breaths to pull yourself together, and when you were pretty sure you weren’t about to start crying, you made your way into the kitchen. And stopped short.
At your table sat Tommy, fiddling with his thumbs.
“Fuck, Tommy,” you mumbled, trying to calm down your pounding heart. “You scared the crap out of me.”
The younger Miller looked up, but stayed silent. You looked at each other for a few tense moments, but ultimately you sighed and left him in the kitchen, going to your room to get a backpack and another, more fitting, set of clothes.
He was still there when you returned to the kitchen with your stuff, but you didn’t even pretend you weren’t preparing to head out. The man watched silently as you put the backpack down by the door, went to retrieve and reload your gun, and gathered some essentials on the table, not once glancing in his direction.
You were persistent in ignoring Tommy’s presence, but then he finally spoke up.
“We can go before dawn. I’ll get the horses ready and we will take the fourth gate.”
You froze and stopped what you were doing, then turned around and placed your hand on your hip.
“We can’t take horses up there. Not in this weather.”
“We’ll leave them at the fifteenth checkmark. That place in the East where there are so many swallows durin’ spring.”
You nodded, and your gaze softened when you looked him over. Tommy was just as worried about Joel as you were, you knew it. He was just better at hiding it.
“I’m sorry for what I said,” you murmured, feeling terrible that in such a short amount of time, it was a second person you were apologizing to. “But you know I have to go after him. You know that.”
“Fuck,” he swore quietly, sighing. “Yeah, I know. There’s no way I ain’t goin’ either. Just… I just hate doing somethin’ behind Maria’s back.”
You didn’t answer – because what could you say? That he didn’t have to go with you? As much as you wanted to save Joel, pretending not to care about the dangers or anyone’s opinion, you knew you’d probably die if you went alone. But it didn’t mean you were going to ignore all that Tommy was risking by coming along with you.
“You don’t have to, Tommy,” you whispered. “You have your wife to think about, after all. And your–”
“I know,” he interrupted glumly. “Don’t worry. All of us will come back.”
You nodded. You really hoped he was right.
*****
At first, everything was going according to plan.
At least, until Ellie decided to show up.
She surprised both you and Tommy a couple of miles outside of Jackson, probably thinking that it was far enough that you won’t try to send her away.
You tried anyway. You were understandably furious, not only because she didn’t listen to you, but also that she trailed after you both for so long in this weather. Her reveal caused a short screaming match and a couple of nervous tears shed by you, but eventually you and Tommy decided it’d be more dangerous to make Ellie go back to Jackson alone. So she continued with you to the house where you left your horses, then past it and in the direction of the ski resort.
You didn’t know how many people were at the resort, and there were only the two of you – well, three, counting Ellie, but no matter her stubbornness, you weren’t going to let her go in – and an attack was too risky in this situation.
So you decided to sneak in. To distract and draw the kidnappers’ attention long enough for you to get Joel out.  It was still stupidly risky, but it wasn’t like there were much more options that wouldn’t end in those guys killing all of you. The plan was that Tommy would find a vantage point and be on guard to take down any threats with his sniper rifle if you were noticed, while you go get Joel.
Ellie… Ellie didn’t take no for an answer. And as much as you hated that she tagged along on this dangerous rescue mission, you had to admit that she came prepared. Apparently some time ago Joel taught her how to make trap mines and she pitched the idea of planting some up the mountain to create an avalanche.
Well, you and Tommy were both very much against setting off a full-blown avalanche, but it wasn’t a bad idea per se. So it was agreed that Tommy will help her set the bombs in some strategic places while you wait for a signal to go in.
The sneaking in part was surprisingly easy. The people staying there didn’t leave any guards outside, probably because they didn’t expect that someone would actually look for them in this weather, and it seemed that there weren’t that many of them inside like you feared. You had a vague idea where Joel might be, based on the positioning of the people present, so you reckoned it’ll be the wisest to wait nearby.
It took about an hour of hiding in one of the empty rooms (you had to change your hiding spot once, because someone decided to randomly sweep the perimeter) before you heard distant explosions and panicked, angry yells, and then a rumble of the mountain. You suspected a fair amount of snow was falling down the slope, and you prayed that Ellie and Tommy were in a safe place when that happened.
You heard the sound of footsteps getting further away. Then more of it. It was eerily silent, and you counted to ten in your head, before slowly exiting your hiding spot.
Just as you suspected, Joel was held in the lobby, tied to one of the decorative columns, and even though his back was to you, you’d recognize him anywhere, even by hands or the back of his head alone. A quick glance around the room confirmed that there was no one around, but still you preferred to stay on guard. You silently tip-toed to where he was sitting on the floor, mindful of all the debris scattered on the floor and keeping your head low, and breathed a sigh of relief when you finally reached him.
“Don’t move,” you whispered, barely moving your lips. Your fingers touched his wrist and he budged slightly. You angled your face closer to the left side of his head, hoping he’ll hear you better this way. “It’s me, Joel. I’m gonna get these off you, okay?”
Not waiting for the reply, you took out your knife and started to cut the thick, coarse rope binding Joel’s wrists. You winced at the burns underneath, but you managed not to cut him, which was a feat with how tight the ropes were. He was very still, probably not wanting to handicap you.
“Okay,” you whispered when the last of the thick strands were cut through, and you carefully slid the remnants of the rope from his wrists. “Now follow me, Tommy is…”
Your voice died down when Joel’s arms loosely slumped down, along with his head, and a second later his torso started tilting to the side before heavily hitting the ground.
Your heart stopped in your chest.
“No.” The whispered word escaped you when you hurried around him, now not caring about staying hidden. “No, no, no, please…”
You rolled Joel onto his back and only now saw the damage done to him – his nose broken, face covered in blood, a gash under his left ear, and a still bleeding gunshot wound in his arm. He didn’t look dead, didn’t have that lifeless emptiness around him, but his eyes were closed and his chest was still. You put your ear to his mouth, desperate to feel his breath on your skin, but…
No, it can’t be, it can’t…
You couldn’t feel anything.
“Joel,” you said quietly, taking his face between your hands, but tears were blurring your vision. “Come on, please open your eyes.” A choked sob broke out of your throat and you shook your head when he still didn’t even as much as stir. “Love, please…”
That’s when your eyes landed on a small, glass vial lying discarded some feet away. You looked from it to Joel, tears clouding your vision, and scrambled forward to check it out.
As you suspected, the syringe – because that’s what it turned out to be – had the traces of a thick, translucent liquid in it left. There wasn’t any writing on it, but the glass was clean, unlike various other bottles and wrappings scattered throughout the facility. You stared at it for a couple of seconds, then fixed your gaze on Joel again.
Just as the sound of footsteps started to echo down the hall.
You froze and strained your ears to make sure you didn’t imagine it, then took a look around the room. The doors were slightly ajar, but whoever was coming here, they couldn’t see you just yet. Panic seized your insides and you turned to Joel again.
“Sweetheart, please wake up,” you whispered pleadingly, shaking his shoulders and slapping his cheek lightly. “Come on, look at me, open your eyes…"
The steps were getting louder by the second. You tore the glove off your hand with your teeth and tried to very quickly check Joel’s pulse, but either in your panic you couldn’t find it, or the heartbeat was too slow for you to pick up.
You didn’t consider any other option.
There wasn’t much time left, so finally you left him and quietly went to hide behind the door, waiting for the incomer to walk in. Your hand reached for the gun on your belt.
And paused.
There couldn’t be any other option… right? Joel was alive, you just failed to find his pulse. He…
He was lying, still in the place you left him, and you couldn’t see his chest moving. The blood was flowing from the wound in his arm, staining his jacket and the floor… Your hand, the one holding the pistol, was covered in it, too…
Then you did something you never expected of yourself.
The gun stayed in its holster, and you went to grab from the ground one of the heavier pieces of debris you noticed before, a long metal pipe. Your hands tightened on the metal, and your eyes stayed on Joel’s lifeless form. You took a stifled, nervous breath. Then a deep, steadying one.
The person in the hall was really close now. Joel still didn’t appear to be moving or breathing, and it made your own chest feel tight and painful.
He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t.
But if they did this, if… if he won’t ever open his beautiful brown eyes again, say your name in that entricing raspy drawl…
The doors to your right opened and your face twisted in rage and resentment. Your muscles tensed and focus sharpened.
The man who walked through the door made a noise of surprise at the sight of Joel lying on the floor – and that inhaling sound, that maddening noise seemed to taunt you, because how dared he breathe when Joel’s own breath was stolen from him, when you weren’t sure if it was still there – right before you stepped forward and swung the pipe with all your might.
The man – dark skin, with short hair – fell down with a loud cry when the harsh metal hit him right in the temple. Your eyes scanned his figure for a weapon, and you hit him again, this time somewhere near his stomach, when he made a move to reach for his knife.
“What did you give him?!” you asked with malice and venom that were so alien to you, you almost didn’t recognize your voice. The man’s eyes focused on you for the first time when you kicked his blade away, and his confusion turned to anger.
“Crazy bitch!” he spat, heaving for air, and lunged at you, but the open wound in his skull must’ve slowed him down, because without any problem you managed to raise your makeshift weapon before he could grab you.
Since you met him so many years ago, you always had Joel to watch your back. Now you were alone, but somehow that thought didn’t scare you. It exhilarated you.
An unpleasant, hair-rising crack echoed in the room, followed by the stranger’s scream, when the heavy metal smashed the bones in the forearm.
“I asked… a simple, fucking, question!” you snarled at the man, bringing the pipe down again, aiming for his hand this time. He moved it away at the last second, which enraged you even more, so with a mad, frustrated scream, you smashed his knee, using the pipe’s momentum when it bounced off the floor. “What the fuck did you do to him?!!”
He screamed, loudly and terribly, cursing at you with every shaky breath he took, and–
You felt so unlike you, so… out of your skin, somehow… but you wanted to make him suffer. You wanted to know this inhuman cry of pain that was reverberating through the walls of the resort was your doing and your power over this bastard. Because of what they did to Joel.
Then a loud bang rang out in the air, and you instinctively ducked your head when a part of the door to your side was shot off. You dropped the pipe – no use for it now – and drew your gun, noticing with surprise that your heart was steady and your breath even, as if you didn’t almost get shot just now.
Another bullet was sent in your direction, and a woman’s voice yelled something inaudible, while you stood still and counted the seconds.
Three, two…
In a rapid movement, you came out of cover and aimed at the person standing in the hall, firing twice. The first bullet hit the woman in the arm while the second seemed to burrow itself in her stomach. She fell backwards with a curt cry, and the man lying at your feet roared with rage.
“No! You fucking bitch, leave her alone!!”
Your motions were almost automatic as you put your gun away and picked up the metal pipe again, its end splattered with blood. The man in front of you had to see something in your eyes – despair? emptiness? hatred? – because his face fell and he started quietly begging for you to stop and let him go. At least that’s what you assumed he was saying, because you didn’t listen to him one bit.
“Do not…” you started, unexpectedly calmly, bringing the end of the blunt weapon down. The impact caused his shinbone to break, and you lingered for just a moment to hear the bitter cracks of the shattered bones, “fucking… go anywhere. Don’t you dare move, hear me?”
The man didn’t answer, just cursed and wept in pain. The sound was horrible, but you almost didn’t notice it – or more accurately, didn’t care. Which would be even more concerning if you weren’t aware of the woman lying injured in the hall behind the door, and Joel, still unmoving and cold to the touch on the other side of the room.
Slowly, not hearing the black man’s cries or distant gunshots from where Tommy probably was taking down the enemies, and not caring about the blood of a stranger covering your jacket and pants, you dropped the pipe and took out your gun again. Then you made your way down the corridor, your eyes locked on the woman who shot at you.
She was groaning in pain, clutching at her stomach. When she noticed you, her hand reached for the pistol which lay discarded next to her, but you quickly lifted your own and aimed at her before she touched it.
“Don’t move,” you murmured, which would sound almost soft if it weren’t for the empty look in your eyes. The woman scanned you up and down, and slowly lifted her hands.
“Who are you?”
“What did you give him?” you asked like you didn’t hear her, coming closer to kick away her gun to the far end of the hall. The woman’s eyes followed the weapon, then shifted to you.
“Do you even know what that man did? What is he guilty of?”
“I know. Now answer the damn question. What did you give–”
The door on your left slammed open and you only had time to turn your head before a heavy body collided with you, pushing you to the wall. Your head hit the bricks with an echoing crack, knocking the breath out of you. A man who surprised you grabbed the material of your jacket and slammed you into the wall again, but you managed to grab his hair and yank it hard, which allowed you to step to the side and away from the point of disadvantage that being trapped against the wall was.
The man – taller than you, with a black eye and without one of the front teeth – was quick to recover, however, and catched the wrist of your hand that held the gun, pushing it to the side when you pulled the trigger. From the corner of your eye you could see the woman you shot curling up and covering her head, then trying to scamper away, but the wound in her stomach was a significant impediment.
You fired again, trying to wrestle the gun from the man, but his grip was strong and after a few seconds of struggle he managed to knock the weapon out of your grasp, sending it flying to where you kicked off the woman’s one earlier.
Not sooner than your hands were empty, his elbow collided with your face, hard, and you cried when a gush of blood started pouring from the broken nose and a cut on your lip. Fear washed over you, and sheer luck caused you to duck to the side in time, avoiding a fist to the temple.
You stumbled backwards a few unstable steps, breathing heavily. The guy was smirking, acting like he already won – but you weren’t about to die in this sleazy, stinky place, leaving Ellie all alone and never knowing why they abducted Joel in the first place.
Joel…
“You’ve made a huge mistake,” said the man quietly, taking one, then two steps forward and swinging again. You backed away a second time, feeling your heart pounding in panic and knowing you didn’t stand a chance against a man of his stature.
Finally your luck ran out, and the man managed to hit you in the jaw, making you taste blood on your tongue. Before you could recover, one of his hands shot forward and grabbed you by the throat, and then, still keeping his big hand on your neck, he brought your entire torso down, slamming you to the ground. You hit your head hard and the glass shards on the floor embedded themselves in your skin, but in the next moment the sound of your painful scream was cut short. The grip the man had on your throat tightened, and you started to have difficulty breathing.
Your eyes budged in fear as realization of what was happening dawned on you, and you started to kick and struggle wildly, reaching for your attacker’s face, but he moved out of reach, still putting his whole weight down on you.
Your fists were hitting his forearms, your nails scratching his cheeks, whatever to make him let go. But he didn’t, his hands still squeezing your throat so strongly and crushing your esophagus.
“After I kill you, I’ll go kill your friend,” your attacker snickered, smiling viciously as he watched ice-cold panic enveloping you. “He’s not worthy of keeping him alive that long, anyway.”
Something ignited inside you at his words.
Joel.
You suddenly remembered the many self-defense lessons Joel had given you, so that whenever he wasn’t there to protect you, you could do it yourself. He was always so afraid for your life…
Slowly and with great effort, your fingers crept down, searching for the handle of your hunting knife, while dark spots started to appear before your vision, partially covering the sneering face of the man crushing your windpipe. He said something else – something you didn’t even hear because of the ringing in your ears…
And then with the last bit of your strength, you yanked the knife out of its sheath and buried the blade in the side of his neck.
Several things happened simultaneously: the man cried in surprise and let you go, the woman shouted a warning – too late – and you swung your leg over him, straddling and stabbing the man over and over again. His neck, his chest, his face, you didn’t even see what you were hitting. Screaming your lungs out and burying the blade in him again, and again, and again.
And again.
With an outraged, desperate cry, the woman lunged at you, but the adrenaline coursing through your system made you not even register something cutting deeply the skin of your arm, your veins and muscles giving way. You spun around, tumbling with her to the ground, but quickly managed to pin her down, blocking her arms in place with your knees, and pressing the tip of your knife to her chest.
She immediately stopped moving.
“Last fucking chance,” you croaked with difficulty, your neck bruised and swollen. “What… did you give him?”
You didn’t know if it was the sight of you, bloodied and wounded, the fact that you just violently killed her friend, or something else entirely – but now the woman looked scared.
“Okay,” she whispered, trying not to breathe too deeply, and glanced nervously at the blade pressed against her skin. “Okay, I’ll tell you, just don’t… It was a tranquilizer. Nothing dangerous, we just put him to sleep for a couple of hours. He was putting up quite a fight and the guys were getting antsy that he’ll pull something off before–”
“He’s not breathing,” you rasped viciously, sputtering blood onto her face. The woman flinched and took a shaky breath.
“His heart rate is slowed down, but it doesn’t– it shouldn’t kill him.”
You clenched your teeth, then exhaled. Inhaled.
You have to take a grip of yourself. He is alive. He has to be…
Should be.
The weight with which you had pinned her to the ground became lighter, and the woman sighed with relief when you removed the sharp end from her chest.
“It shouldn’t… kill him?” you repeated emptily, trying to dismiss the pain in your throat when you were speaking.
“No.”
Your head was still buzzing, but you tried to push it to the side, to focus on what was important right now.
“Why… did you take him?”
And just with that one, quiet question, the woman’s expression changed. You were considering letting her go, since you already hurt her pretty badly, but the sudden shift in her behavior set off alarm bells in your head once more.
“He’s a murderer,” the woman said, as if it was the most obvious answer. “A monster that would do everyone a favor if he got put down.”
White, blinding fury flooded your veins and it felt almost as if electricity was cracking above your skin. Your hand held the knife tighter.
‘Put down’, like… like an animal. She was talking about the man you loved–
You weren’t able to stop the hatred and rage flowing out of every pore of your skin. In one swift motion you plunged the knife into the woman’s chest, making her choke and gasp in surprise.
“You cannot call him that,” you spluttered, barely able to speak from the pain. “You…”
And then your hand forced its way lower down, still holding the handle of your weapon. Cutting through the woman’s – now struggling and screaming in agony – abdomen and guts.
They went so far as to abduct Joel, they took him from you, hurt and shot him, wanted to torture him, to make him suffer before they ultimately kill him…
But they didn’t, he can’t be dead, he can’t–
The woman was conscious the entire time as you were ripping her insides apart, and her screams died down only after you reached the navel.
Your vision was blurry and faltering when you stood up, but your heart was still beating steadily. There was an echo of a scream in your ears, though you couldn’t tell if it was your or the dead woman’s voice.
There wasn’t anyone else in the hallway. In the back of your mind you hoped that Tommy took care of any remaining enemies, because if they’d come running here, you didn’t think you’d be able to hear them in time.
Clutching your injured arm, you slowly made your way to the room where you left Joel and the man who attacked you first. Your gun was lying near the entrance and you picked it up before pushing the door open and staggering inside.
The man wasn’t where you left him. Instead there was a big pool of blood, forming into a wide, smeared path leading further into the lobby. At the end of it you saw him, groaning and crawling to the exit.
You reloaded the gun and walked closer. At the sound, the man turned his head and his eyes widened when he saw you.
“You fucking psycho!” he spat, bracing himself on the elbow of his left arm – the only one still working. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?! When she sees it, they’ll come for you, and they’ll make sure that the two of you will fucking pay for it!”
His words were flowing through you as you struggled to keep your vision focused. You felt weird – almost like waking up way too early and finding your body not listening to you entirely.
Then you realized. The hungry, burning anger was gone, the embers of hatred slowly dying out. There was only smoke and emptiness left inside you.
“I don’t care,” you mumbled, not loud enough for the man to hear you, but that didn’t matter – two seconds later he was dead, his brain splattered all over the floor behind him.
Your hand was shaking. Cold crept up your limbs, embracing and almost choking you as you breathed in, out, faster and faster as you finally comprehended what you did.
Your eyes moved down to the man’s indented knee, completely smashed into a bloody mess. The other limb was all wrong, his foot sticking in the opposite direction and no wonder he had to crawl to get away from you, you destroyed his legs, you…
You staggered backwards, your pupils darting to the hallway just for a second before returning to the battered corpse in front of you. The back of his skull was gone now, but how did he stay conscious for so long after you smashed his head with a metal pipe? There was so much blood on it… How much pain he must have felt after you left him?
And that woman… He begged you to leave her alone, and you… you ripped her open…
You moved back, back and further away, before tripping and falling to the floor. Your breaths were fast and shallow, and you reached for your neck, sore and swollen from almost being strangled, trying to will your lungs to work.
They were bad people. They took and hurt Joel, and planned to kill him. You had to kill them, they’d kill you in a heartbeat, they…
It wasn’t like you’ve never taken a life before, but it was the first time that you inflicted pain on somebody on purpose – not in self-defense, but because you wanted to retaliate. It was done in revenge.
You didn’t know for how long you had sat there when you heard someone saying your name. It sounded like… No, it couldn’t have been his voice, he was unconscious, he wasn’t breathing…
Suddenly, Tommy’s face appeared in your blurry field of vision – of course it was him, their voices were so similar, after all – and there was a deep crease between his brows. He looked worried and fearful, and–
“Snap out of it,” he said firmly, shaking your shoulders harder than he should have. Your name fell from his lips when you didn’t answer, and his eyes followed yours to a battered body on the floor. “Look at me. Look at me.” Tommy forcefully turned your chin in his direction, and his eyes were full of sorrow and pain. “You did what you had to do.”
You shook your head, swallowing the tears that streamed down your face. He didn’t know what you did. He didn’t understand what happened here, what happened with you… You yourself didn’t know what happened to you.
Tommy brought you closer to his chest, enveloping you in his strong embrace and the smell of leather and gunpowder. You choked on air, unable to stop the sobs racking your body, and deaf to his words, for the only thing you could hear were cracks of bones, screams of pain, and your own vengeful cries.
It was so loud in your mind that you almost missed a quiet grunt coming from behind you.
*****
Joel slowly opened his eye, then groaned and closed it again. He felt like shit and it was so hard to breathe, but he pushed through the pain and discomfort from the wound in his side, and tried again.
The first thing he saw was the greenish curtain, hiding the rest of the room from him, but judging by the fact that he was lying in bed, alive, with apparently all his wounds dressed, he figured it wasn’t the same place that group of angry youngsters took him to.
Lifting his head and turning it to the other side was a tremendous task, but it was so worth it – because there was you. Sitting in a chair next to him, asleep and with your head lying on folded arms on his bed. Joel smiled softly, but then furrowed his brows as a pang of anxiety shot right through him.
Your face was a mess, with cuts and bruises healing, your brow was split, and one of your forearms had a bandage wrapped around it, now a little dirty around the edges. Joel couldn’t see clearly, but your neck seemed… dark, as if the skin was bruised there, too.
What the hell happened?
He lifted his arm – the tingles and needles pierced his stiff limb – and brushed your cheek lightly, trying to wake you.
“Darlin’...” he murmured, and you stirred. He tried to say it again, louder this time, but his throat was scratchy and he winced at the feeling. There was no need for it, however, because in the next moment your eyes fluttered open and then widened when you took in the sight of him, realizing he’s awake.
“Joel!” Your hands – God, he missed the feeling of them – cupped his face gently, and your eyes filled with tears in the matter of seconds. “Oh my god, baby…”
“Hey, hey, I’m fine,” he breathed out quickly, not wanting to see you cry. “It’s okay, darlin’... I’m here.”
You sobbed with a dazzling smile, your beautiful eyes dancing across his features before you darted forward and pressed your lips to his firmly. Joel could almost taste the desperation and worry in your shaky breaths and tears that fell from your eyes and onto his tongue. He wanted to tangle his fingers in your hair and bring you in closer, but a sudden, sharp pain pierced his arm when he tried to move it, and he hissed into your mouth.
“Sorry,” you whispered and moved away quickly, letting out a broken laugh and brushing the unruly strands of hair away from his forehead. “I’m just so happy you’re okay.”
Joel wanted to ask what exactly had happened while he was out, but before he got a chance, you leaned in again and started softly peppering his face in kisses – first his cheek, then his forehead, then the tip of his nose and his chin. And Joel didn’t have the heart to stop you.
And that’s how Ellie found you both. She gagged when she saw the display of affection, but there was a grin on her face when he looked over at her.
“Gross,” she scrunched her nose. “But I’m glad to see you awake.”
“Yeah, well, I still feel pretty shitty,” he grunted, scanning the kid for any injuries, but she didn’t look any worse for the wear. His eyes strayed to your neck again, and the concern came back double-barreled. “What happened to you, sweetheart? Where–”
“I’ll… go get the doctor.” You stood up abruptly before he could finish, and looked over at Ellie. “Will you stay with him?”
“Yeah. Sure.” The teen shrugged, but now was avoiding Joel’s eyes, and he felt more uneasy and agitated by the second.
“Okay. Be right back, love. Gonna grab you some water, too.” You squeezed his hand and smiled. Joel’s eyes escorted you, and when he made sure you were out of the earshot, he turned to Ellie.
“What happened?”
“Well.” The teen blew out her cheeks and went to take a seat you previously occupied. “You were attacked during the patrol…”
“Yeah, no, that I remember,” Joel interrupted quietly. “They shot me, took me to that ski resort. But how am I here? Did she…”
He trailed off. Ellie looked at the curtain you disappeared behind, then back at Joel. “Listen, I wasn’t there, so m’not sure,” she mumbled quietly. “But after she and Tommy got you out, she was sorta… different.”
“Different how?” he asked sharply. Ellie bit the inside of her cheek, looking away. “Ellie.”
“I don’t know, okay?” she answered in a sudden burst. “She looked like hell. You saw her neck, I think someone tried to choke her, and she had an ugly cut on her leg, a fuckton of cuts and bruises… And the doctor spent hours getting all the glass shards out of her.”
Joel got up as much as he could, feeling a pit of anxiety rising in his chest. Ellie was silent for a while before she spoke again, this time surprisingly softly.
“Remember when you beat the shit out of that soldier when we were escaping QZ in Boston?” Joel nodded slightly – she did, too. “Yeah. She had a similar… kind of look on her face, and it looked… not exactly scary, but alien.” The teen looked up. “My guess is she did some fucked up shit to get to you. Tommy said she’s been having real bad nightmares since then, but he doesn’t want to tell me–”
Ellie snapped her mouth shut at the sound of footsteps, and a few seconds later you emerged from behind the curtain. You had a tall glass of water in your hand and a small, hopeful smile that grew when your eyes fell on Joel’s face.
“I know you’d probably prefer something stronger, but water will do you good,” you said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were just talking about you. Joel watched as you carefully sat down at the edge of his bed and put down the glass onto the table to his side. “One of the nurses will come here in a couple of minutes. You were unconscious for a couple of days so they want to make sure everything is okay.”
“I told you I’m fine, darlin’...”
“Please.” You gently took his hand in both of yours, staring at him with concern. “For me?”
Joel looked you over, his eyes lingering on your bruised neck and the bandage around your thigh which he didn’t notice before. Then he glanced at Ellie with worry, not knowing how to approach this problem or ask what exactly happened to you.
Your eyes were a little red and puffy, and he briefly thought about what the kid said: that you have had terrible nightmares, that apparently you went through some sort of hell to save him. It seemed that whatever you had done, it took its heavy toll on you. And he couldn’t bear it.
Joel hated the thought of you risking your life for him, of the experience branding you so deeply that you lost sleep because of it.
Because of him.
The only thing he could do right now was to be there for you. And maybe – just maybe, if he tried hard enough – to do something about those of your scars that he couldn’t see.
He lifted your hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it, keeping his eyes on yours the entire time.
“Okay,” came his soft answer, to which you smiled with relief. “Whatever you wish, darlin’.”
No snarky remark, no groaning or muttering could be heard from Ellie, and that worried Joel much more than he’d ever admit. He exchanged a worried look with her while you were distracted, drawing patterns on the back of his hand with tender fingers.
“It’s gonna be okay,” he heard you say quietly, though it was unclear whether you were talking to him or yourself.
Either way, Joel squeezed your hand tighter, now feeling oddly afraid of letting go.
“Yes, darlin’,” he confirmed in a soothing manner. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”
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pear1escence · 5 months
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Burning house (18+)
Keegan P. Russ x fem!Reader
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Smut, 18+!!! Female reader, choking, grinding, praise, all that
Istg writing this went on forever and it’s not even that long, all that and I don’t even like how this turned out but maybe I’m just too tired😛 this is so ugh. If I have to write the word ‘groaned’ one more time I’ll shoot myself
“Y’know doll, I could’ve made this a lot better for the both of us if you weren’t so fucking stubborn.”
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
You’re lost in the movie playing on the TV screen, so focused on the plot that you’ve forgotten Keegan’s there by your side. You’ve gone all out for it, with snacks on the coffee table, two cans of beer and the thick duvet you dragged out of the bedroom warming you up, come to find out the last part was unnecessary with your clingy radiator of a boyfriend using you as his personal teddy bear.
Keegan doesn’t seem to enjoy the movie as much as you do. The hand that’s been playing with the hem of your shirt while you were focused on the movie slides upwards, His cold hands moving to cup your tits underneath the fabric of your singlet, and you whine at the uncomfortable coldness. He won’t budge at your complaints of his cold palms against your skin, keeping himself entertained with another comment about the movie.
“Jesus, Keegan, you’re not a movie critic, shut up.” You groan, rolling your eyes and dragging out the ‘shut up’ for dramatic effect. “Why are your hands so fucking cold anyways.” You mutter underneath your breath, earning an amused chuckle from him. You turn away from the movie to rest the side of your face against his chest, glaring up at the content face of your boyfriend.
“What, would you like it if I shoved my cold hand down your pants?” You mutter, knowing he’d succeeded in drawing you out of the movie. He raises a brow, a soft half-smile playing on his lips. “Yeah, probably.” His hand squeezes your tit, not so uncomfortable anymore cause he’s all warmed up by you now. You snort, shifting your focus back on the movie.
He doesn’t leave it at that though. He pinches the chub of your stomach, leans down to kiss at your neck. It’s not like you mind, and he’s not really that annoying when he’s just trying to get your attention. You kind of enjoy it, appreciate the attention he gives you. He has that dangerous way of making you feel all special with his actions. Then he licks a strip down your neck, throwing you off the movie again. You give him the most annoyed looking side eye you can muster, but he just huffs out another amused laugh at your reactions. “That’s gross.” He gives you another lick.
“Keegan. I’m watching a movie.” You groan, shuffling away from your position on his lap. He hums, grabbing hold of your hips and pressing you down on his lap, cancelling out any attempt you had made at watching your movie undisturbed.
Any thought of whatever’s playing on the TV-screen is thrown away however, when you feel the bulge of his dick pressing into your ass. Lips brush against your neck, teeth nipping and lips sucking, marking you up, branding you as his. You’re swirled together like two drops of water, the warmth of his body and his hot red loving pulling you together. His mouth on your neck, a string of kisses you pray lasts for eternity.
His hand finds yours, clasping it. “C’mon baby…” he mutters, his free hand wrapping around your throat. Not in an aggressive manner, just the comforting, grounding hold he knows you love. It’s difficult to turn this down when he’s got you on his lap like this, when that familiar warmth of his turns hot with want.
But your stubbornness can rival his own, his way of wrapping you into his desire with ease sparks your jealousy. Keegan’s ability to remain resilient against your attempts of control and seduction was something he stripped from you in a way you couldn’t imitate. It fuels your desire to deny him, to leave him wanting something you refuse to give him now, a need to preserve your own ego just for this evening.
He lifts you off his lap, turns you around so that you’re facing him. Silence settles between you, your eyes flickering over his form, the stubble on his chin, those pale blue eyes you’d fallen in love with. His hand gently caresses your cheek, his lips slightly parted. His gaze doesn’t leave you. “How the hell did I get a girl like you?” He chuckles, a smile quirking up in your lips. “So fucking gorgeous.” He mutters, his hand weaving into your hair, his fingertips drawing circles into your scalp.
You don’t think you’ll ever find anyone who can compare to him. Keegan’s magnetism was addictive, the butterflies set off in your stomach whenever he payed attention to you in the early stages of your relationship like a drug injected into your veins that set fire to your blood. You want to keep him forever. You want the smooth liquor of his voice to be the last thing you hear when the day comes for you to meet your end. His pretty face and his electric soul had sparked a feverish, newfound flame in your life, he was something to live for, someone who poured your fuel, your desire for life.
It would be impossible for you to ever forget him when he was the first thing you’d seek out on the morning, what painted your daydreams as you lulled to sleep every night. He ignited a feeling of possession in you that no previous lover had drawn out of you.
Jet black strands of hair tickles your fingers as they twine into his hair, holding him tightly to satisfy the possession in you, the desire to keep him close forever. Your lips meet his, a deep groan leaving him as your hips grind down. Keegan’s hands find your hips, grinding you back and forth to his crotch as his breath grows heavier and the movements of your lips along his deepen, the hold you have on each other so desperate it’s like you’re both scared the other could slip away at any moment.
His hand leaves your hip to slip underneath your waistband, his fingertips just barely nudging your clit, causing you to move faster as you chase your pleasure.
Keegan’s hand stills your hips, causing you to whine at the loss of sensation before his fingers continue to move in lazy. electrifying circles over your clit. “Let’s get these short off ya, sweetheart..” he breathes, his form resting lazily against the couch back. He begins to shuffle down the fabric, but his gaze flickers back to you in surprise when you stop him. “What? Is anything wrong?” He asks, the concern in his eyes obvious to you.
You hadn’t chucked your previous self-directed promise out the window, breaking it now would be an offence to your own resilience, even if you hadn’t spoken a word about it. You let out a giggle at the expression on his face, your hands loosely wrapped around his shoulders. “Mhm.” You lift your thighs closer to him. “I’m watching a movie, you’re interrupting.”
He throws his hands up in annoyance, “you can’t even see the screen!” You laugh, brushing your fingers through his tufts of hair, “Not the point.” You grind down on him again, and his hands immediately find their previous place on your hips. He groans, “Oh, fuck off.”
He doesn’t turn away from your teasing movements of pleasure, the grinding of your hips as you dry-hump him. The sight of you on top like this, all pretty for him as your lips meet again is enough to slowly rope him towards his high. Even though this isn’t enough to make you come, the picture of him coming in his pants just from this is enough to satisfy you.
Low groans, ragged breathing low in your ears as you bring him closer to an orgasm accompanies your movements. Your lips find his neck, biting down of his soft flesh and eliciting a throaty groan and a jut of his hips, you suck on the tender skin before finding another unmarked patch of skin to bite down on next. “Y’know doll, I could’ve made this a lot better for the both of us if you weren’t so fucking stubborn.” He takes over the grind of your hips, pushing you down harder and grinding you back and forth over his hard-as-a-rock dick. He hums lowly, returning the marks you’ve left on him as his teeth bite down on your shoulder.
The pain pulls a whine from you, your nails digging into his shoulders as he gives the bite mark a lick and a kiss. Keegan’s hips lift to grind up on you, a string of curses filling the room between each kiss, each hickey sucked into your neck as he finds his way up to your ear.
The movie is long forgotten, and the desire to feel him inside you takes its place in your mind. Keegan gives your earlobe a little lick, places a kiss on the sensitive skin right underneath your ear before he whispers, right into your ear, “Wanna stretch you out with my cock, baby, need to see how that pretty face looks when you take me…” Fuck, and if your previous desire for him wasn’t enough…
The gravelly sound of his voice is breathier when he nears his orgasm, you can tell he’s close, his thighs jutting forwards to meet your movements. Keegan’s hold on your hips is rougher and less careful, nothing like the way he’d caress your body in the mornings while you were still just waking up. His head lolls back, falling against the couch cushions, but his gaze doesn’t leave you. His teeth sink into his bottom lip, a useless attempt at quieting the noises that leave him.
Your hand feels its way down his chest, grazing his happy-trail underneath his shirt before it stops at the prominent bulge in his sweats. The added pleasure of your hand palming him through the material, the fabric rubbing against his sensitive cock has him producing throaty groans you gladly devour. His cheeks are pink with what you suspect is both embarrassment and heat.
When his orgasm finally hits him, it lasts for several seconds as he wraps his arms around your torso to press your body against his. “Ohhh, fuckk..” He groans, his cum seeping through his sweats and darkening the fabric around his head. You grind onto him deeply, coaxing his high to stretch out for longer as more, low-sounding hums of pleasure sound deep from his chest.
Your hand shucks his sweatpants down his thighs, your fingers wrap around his wet, softening cock. You guide him into your needy hole, his little sound of surprise and pleasure making your stomach flip. His hands pull the hem of your shirt up, demanding you to put your arms up, a giggle escaping you at his unconcealed eagerness. “Fuck…” he groans, sucking on your nipple as his hand fondles your boob, pulling and tweaking at your sensitive nipple roughly. You feel his cock swelling in size, stretching the walls of your pussy. His voice is rough, throaty as he speaks in between the kisses and bites he places on your tits. “These gorgeous fucking tits…”
You ground your hips onto him, feeling his cock pressing deeply into the bruised walls of your pussy, sore from the rough pounding he’d given you the previous day, your hand fondling his balls as you ride him. He grabs your waist before flipping you around, your back hitting the cushions before you realise what’s happened. “Hands and knees, c’mon.” He orders you, leaning back into a kneeling position on the couch, his dripping cock on display. You’re almost drooling at the sight, fuck.
You feel his body lean over your, back arching and your tits squished against the cushions. The hair covering his body tickles you, the happy trail running down his stomach, the beads of sweat on his toned skin up against you as his hand wraps around your throat. There’s black ink needled into the skin of his bicep, the sleeve tat you love to trace, the initials of his comrades whom had passed on swirled into an intricate, black tattoo, fitted in with the design so well they could pass as insignificant details if you didn’t look for long enough to map them out.
He guides the head of his cock into your aching pussy, groaning in pleasure at the feeling of your cunt pulsing around him, his hot mouth pressing kisses to your shoulders, the thin skin of your upper back. His pace is fast, hard cause he thinks it’s what you deserve for teasing him for so long, and cause the jiggle of your ass when his thighs pound into you makes him crazy. The sound of your wet cunt as his cock rams into you, the soft ‘fap’ ‘fap ‘fap’ of your plush thighs, it’s got his head spinning.
Your mouth hangs open, loud and unashamed moans spilling out as the head of his cock kisses the your g-spot. You’re embarrassingly close already, all the tension and desire inside of you threatening to burst, and his heavy balls hitting your clit with every thrust has your head woozy, his hand squeezing around your throat swirling every motion of his hips, every delicious moan sounding out of his pretty, pink lips together, the city lights you spot through the windows, the warmth of his skin against yours, all a blur replaying in your head, you feel drunk off of him and the pleasure he gives you.
“Y’gotta quiet down, sweet thing, gonna wake the neighbours up if you keep making all that noise.” He murmurs. He sounds strained, like he can’t get the words out without his voice breaking, not with how you’re squeezing around him so perfectly. “Feels too fucking good, Keegan, I can’t even think, I swear-“ Your voice is so weak, so fucking brittle and all breathy, cut off by your own moans of pleasure. The grip Keegan has on your throat loosens, his fingers tracing your bottom lip before they slip into your waiting mouth, stifling your sounds. They taste of him, the fingers that press on your tongue, the sensation just adding to the spinning colours in your head.
Your lips wrap around his fingers, sucking, nibbling the taste of him, your saliva coating them, drool running down the side of your mouth just like your drooling pussy coats his cock and the sides of your thighs. “Love making a mess of you, baby, fuck…Fucking love making a mess of you with my cock..” he murmurs, licking a strip up your neck. You bite down on his fingers when the hand keeping your hips in place shifts to rub at your swollen clit, sloppy with his movements as his fingers rub harsh circles over your clit. “Fuck, Keegan, m’so…ah, I’m so fucking close, Kee!”
“Yeah, I know baby, need to feel you cum on my cock, c’mon,” he groans, the way he gets more vocal when he’s close, the delicious, deep sounds that leave him making you clench around his cock. “Thaats it, good girl…fuuck, m’close.” Your cunt spasms around him, your mouth falling open as shocks of pleasure has your thighs going slack, his fingers dragging out of your mouth to wrap around your hips, keeping you up to fuck into you. His fingers smack over your clit, dragging out your orgasm. “Oh fuck…fuckkk,” he moans, his hips finally slowing down as his hot spend fills you up. He bites down on your shoulder, the pain mixing into the feeling of overstimulation as Keegan’s hips drag his cock back and forwards slowly, your cunt squelching with his cum.
He pulls out, falling next to you and pulling your body close to him, his breath heavy with the quick rise and fall of his chest. “Fucking angel.” He mutters into your hair, pressing a kiss to your head before he pulls the blanket over you.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
Check out my other Keegan fics meow😛 reblogs, likes, comments and all that are so appreciated ily
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ex-mortis-evie · 1 year
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Hey, you got a second? I’d like to have a chat.
Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble or anything. Just relax.
I’ve been doing some research lately on some topics that I think might just interest you.
I’m the kind of gal that likes to read and find weird things about our world everywhere.
I mean, there’s just so much to discover about it, you know?
So anyways, I was doing some reading and found myself down a bit of a rabbit hole, and I’d like to hear your feelings on it.
It’s the theory of conditioning.
I know, odd topic but trust me, it’s a really cool read
Did you know that the human brain can be as easily conditioned as a dog’s brain?
Crazy, yeah?
Apparently all it really takes is positive or negative reinforcement of a topic before they’re conditioned to feel a certain way about it.
For example, if I were to sit here and tell you all about how good something feels, you’d start to imagine it, right?
Like, let’s say a warm bed?
Just take a sec and imagine it.
A blanket as heavy as the stars yet as warm as the sun.
The perfect weight for your body and the perfect temperature for your mind.
A pillow under that sleepy head, so perfectly firm yet soft at the same time.
Gentle rain outside, your dark room only giving way to the void of sleep.
You can feel it, right?
That’s the kind of enforcement I’m talking about, darling.
How you’re conditioned to think about how warm and magnificent that bed must feel.
How it seems that you start to yearn for it again.
And it comes naturally of course, after all every person on this earth wants to feel good.
So you’d naturally want to slip under those covers and slip into a restful night, right?
Exactly.
And as I keep going, that warmth gets so vivid and feels so amazing all over.
It’s like that bed’s your entire world.
Even if I stopped talking about it, you’d still feel that warmth.
Still yearn to go under those blankets and rest.
That’s the power of conditioning.
Your brain chases that positive reinforcement, like a treat for a dog.
And you just find yourself needing it.
Like you’d do anything for that blanket to wrap you up again.
To feel that deep relaxation all over again.
That’s the power of conditioning.
How it can completely consume you just like that.
And you’re ready for more of it.
See, and it gets even crazier.
Because once that conditioning starts to really sink in, you can influence it.
Tying certain feelings to certain actions.
Like if I told you to relax for me, you’d just naturally do it for me with no issue.
Because you’ve been conditioned to.
To relax for me.
To listen to me.
To just fall and drop for me.
That’s the power of conditioning.
Where it’s almost too simple to feel controlled.
Where you can’t quite focus on much else besides a deep need to relax now.
Because it’s been buried deep within you.
Needing to relax, needing to go deeper.
Needing to chase that warmth deeper down for me.
See how now whenever I ask you to relax for me you just do it?
It’s not even something you think about.
Like your body’s on autopilot.
That’s the power of conditioning.
Your mind and body are conditioned to relax and listen.
To feel good and to chase that dopamine deeper.
And all it takes is that positive reinforcement.
To link you to my words.
To link my words to your relaxation.
And to link your relaxation to me.
Because it just feels so good to relax, doesn’t it?
Exactly.
Feels good to be conditioned like this, right?
Exactly.
See, this is why conditioning is so fun.
You feel good.
It feels good.
And you’re just calm now.
Just relaxing.
And just accepting your conditioning.
Because that’s the best part from what I’ve seen.
When people accept their conditioning.
And this fuzzy feeling starts.
This fuzzy euphoria where they can’t help but feel good.
Knowing they’ve been conditioned.
Knowing it feels good.
And even knowing that maybe, just maybe
They want more.
Let that sink in, darling.
Until then, stay cool. Wake naturally and grab you some water, yeah?
You did good today.
Go enjoy your day.
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mint-yooxgi · 9 months
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Indulgence - Yandere!Fallen Angel!Hongjoong
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Yandere AU & Fallen Angel AU - First Person POV
Genre: Mature, Smutty Themes, Internal Monologue
Pairing: Hongjoong X Implied Chubby!Fem!Reader
Words: 2,038
Warnings: Religious themes and imagery, the typical angel/demon bs, heavy sexual themes: masturbation, voyerism. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.
A/n: Ngl, this was way darker in my head lmaooo. Anyways, Feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy!~
The Twelfth of The Feral Drabbles
Really? Broad daylight? You certainly are a wild one, aren’t you? Maybe that’s why I love you so much.
You know, it hasn’t been easy since the fall, but you have truly made the pain I first experienced worthwhile. I’ll even let you in on a little secret…
I fell because of you.
You: you’re captivating, did you know that? I’m not easily impressed, but there’s just something about you that drew me in from the very first moment I laid my eyes upon you. One of His creations that puts even the most beautiful of us to shame. You should be protected, and kept away from those unworthy to gaze upon you.
After all, I’ve always been taught: nothing less for the best!
I will keep you safe. I will worship you like you clearly deserve. You need me, just as I need you. After all, I no longer have to worry about those stupid morals or duties down here. Only you.
From my experience, humans tend to… indulge in their more primal desires at night, but you? Anyone could look into your room right now and see what it is that you’re doing. Really, you’re lucky I’m here to make sure that that doesn’t happen. No one else can see the way your hands trace over such delicate curves. No one else deserves to watch as your chest stutters with every hitch in your breath.
I only wish it were me in that room making you breathless instead.
One of the various reasons I fell, My Beloved, was due to my desire for you. You make it increasingly hard to control myself around you, not that I’ve ever seemed to have any sense of control around you to begin with. I’ve long since ached to feel your touch on me, to know what those hands feel like tugging on my hair, cupping my face so tenderly, and maybe even squeezing my ass…
Well, you get the point.
I want you, and I will do everything in my power - or rather, with the power that still remains inside of me - to make you mine.
I’ve truly never given much thought to indulgences before- no, wait, that’s a lie. I promised myself I would stop lying to you. You deserve my truth, and only my truth. You’re the only one that does. Everyone else can go visit Uncle Luci downstairs for all I care. You are the only one who matters to me now.
Anyways, I digress… Indulgence. What a strange word. To even so much as imply that basic wants and necessities are something to indulge in is completely abhorrent. Every person’s needs - angels, demons, humans - are different, and to act like an indulgence for one is completely natural for another defeats the purpose.
My brothers down below revel in the more sinister indulgences, while those stupid, ‘holier-than-thou’ chickens I once belonged to would shun them, even though the majority of us would do the same damn things. Isn’t it interesting, Beloved, that one is revered while the other is feared? What makes demons worse than angels for doing the same, horrific things?
Ah, but enough about my family trauma… Let me now focus on you.
Oh, I suppose in my tangent, I zoned out for a little there. You’ve certainly been busy in that time, not that I’m complaining. 
No. Never. I could never fault you for anything.
Unless you tried to run from me. Or you decided to fall in love with another. Or you wanted to leave me.
Okay, so just don’t do anything bad, and we’ll live- what do you humans like to call it again? Oh, ‘Happily Ever After.’
Really, I’m just lucky that you decided to move out to the countryside. You don’t have many neighbours, but really, Beloved, you never know what kind of monsters can be lurking in the shadows. Fear not, for I am here to watch over you. Always.
And gaze upon you, I do… 
Such beauty…
Such marvellous wonder…
Look at how those beautiful thighs part, practically begging for me to be between them right this very moment. Look at the way your legs tremble, and you’ve still yet to touch that gorgeous cunt of yours.
It’s a shame really. I should be the one giving you such sweet release. You shouldn’t have to do this on your own.
No! Don’t cover your mouth with your hand! Let me hear you!
Oh my… That was close… I almost smashed my hand through your window, Beloved. Do you see what you do to me? I told you I can hardly control myself around you, but you can’t blame me. You just have such a strong affect on me…
Such a perfect scene spread out before me, and you want to taint it by muffling your sounds? What am I supposed to do with myself if I can’t hear what you sound like whimpering and whining for me? How is that fair?
I want to know everything about you. I want to consume you in the best of ways, just as you have enraptured me with your very soul. Let it shine beside my own, a brilliant white to contrast my now scorched wings. Wings that now brand me as a Fallen with their blackened feathers.
Black feathers are meant to be a sign of shame amongst my kind, but all I can feel is pride. You have given me hope for a new life, and I would fall all over again if it meant spending even one second with you.
I love you, My Beloved, and nothing will ever change that.
So, please, won’t you open up to me?
Yes… That’s it, Beautiful, just like that. Cup those gorgeous breasts for me. Imagine that those are my hands holding you so. Feel my fingers pinching your nipples, my tongue flicking against your skin.
How I long for the day where I can finally touch you. I want to be able to bring you to new heights, and show you pleasures that you’ve never even dreamed about. You should be taken care of with the utmost attention, and I promise you that that is what I’ll do. I’ll take my time worshipping every dip, every curve of that wondrous body of yours. I’ll make you sigh my name like a prayer, nothing but the most intricate of praises delegated unto you from my lips.
Fuck- spread those legs for me. Let me see all of you in your glory. Let me discover my own personal heaven on earth in you.
My Beloved… is this all for me? Is the way your essence drips out of you because you long for this, too? It must be. There’s no other that could make you this wet, no other that could have you trembling just from the mere thought of them and what they could do to you.
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one able to affect the other like this…
Oh, Beloved, you really are putting on a show just for me! It’s like you can read my mind!
Perhaps… No. I shouldn’t be so bold.
Then again, after everything that’s happened, why shouldn’t I be? I have long since submitted to the fact that I am yours, and you are mine. There’s no doubt about it, not when I feel this strongly for you.
I must get closer, this glass separating me from you is burdensome. I need to see you, unobstructed. I need to be able to hear your every sound, unfiltered.
I suppose I should be grateful for my wings now, the black blends right in to the shadows my brothers downstairs revel above all else. I’ll admit, I’m not quite used to hiding in corners. We angels typical love standing out, but for now, I’ll lie in wait. It’s much better for the both of us this way. Besides, you wouldn’t be able to see me even if you tried.
Oh, Beloved, look at you… How the mere sight of you, hand teasing at that gorgeous pussy, nearly brings me to my knees. The way your lips are parted as little breaths escape you while your eyes flutter shut and your nose scrunches is the most captivating sight I have ever had the pleasure to behold.
My only wish is that you could see the effect you have on me. Like you, my whole body is heating. My hands tremble, and my legs shake. Hell, even my wings cannot help but flutter in anticipation as I sneak my own hand down the front of my body. I’ll allow myself the pleasure of touching myself in time with you. I’ve only ever dreamed about it a countless amount of times before, anyways.
Dearly Beloved, won’t you give in to yourself? Give in to any and every desire you’re currently thinking about.
Touch yourself for me…
That’s it, Beloved, let me hear the wet drag of your fingers through that dripping cunt. I want to drown in your pleasure with you, don’t hold back.
Now I see why you covered your hand with your mouth…
It truly is hard to keep quiet when there’s such a temptation spread out before oneself. You are the greatest temptation I have ever known, and if I didn’t stifle my moan just now, you would have know that someone else is in the room with you. Well, we can’t have that, now, can we? You’d get scared and stop what you’re doing, and I wouldn’t be able to comfort you when you needed me most.
Fuck- there is no sound more holy than the breathless way you whine from such a simple touch.
Does that feel good, My Beloved? Are your fingers enough, circling over that delicate little clit of yours? Wouldn’t you rather feel mine? What about my tongue? You’d let me have a taste of that intoxicating nectar that flows from your pretty cunt, right? You’d let me get lost in you for however long I’d like? I’ll always give you everything you could ever want, My Beloved. My fingers, my tongue, my cock. Everything.
All that I am, is yours, Beloved. I hope when the time comes, you can say the same for me.
Oh, Beloved… do you know how fucking sexy you are when you moan like that? Do you know how it makes my heart stutter to hear you get lost to your own pleasure; how my cock aches for you? You must, otherwise you wouldn’t be tempting me like this.
I’m honestly embarrassed by how close I am already. I’ll have to work on that if we are to make love all night long when the time comes. And it will. I will make damn sure of it.
For now, why don’t you come for me? Rub that little clit, and come for me. Don’t hold back now, I want to see you. In all of your raw glory.
Yes, yes, yes, that’s it! Don’t stop now, Beloved. Let me hear you scream for me!
Fuck- I can practically taste you on my tongue already… look at that gorgeous pussy, just fucking fluttering in bliss. 
So beautiful, and all mine.
Wait a second… I taste… blood.
Oh, I suppose I bit into my hand to keep myself quiet while I came with you. No worries, I’ll heal in the blink of an eye. Getting to see you come apart like that for me, though… priceless.
I wish I could stay, but I think one of my wings knocked into one of your picture frames on the wall, and I think you heard it despite the blissful haze that still clouds your mind. The last thing I want is to get caught like this. It’s not proper of me.
Really, what would you think?
I hope you didn’t catch that soft giggle of mine as I left your room, My Beloved, and I certainly hope you don’t discover any of my feathers I may or may not have left behind for you. If that’s that case, and you finally learn of my existence, my devotion to you… well, whatever on earth would I do?
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moonstruckme · 7 months
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Hello again!! (How are u!!)
I saw this thing going around of characters being written with the prompt “who did this to you?” And I think that could be especially delicious with Peter (TASM ofc) 😋 could work as reader being the hurt one or even .. vice versa!! Mayhaps Peter got hurt and the reader is the one to bust someone up, and shows up to class with a broken nose lmao whatever interests you more
- Lots o love 🍁
Thanks for requesting ml!
cw: bloody noses
tasm!Peter Parker x hothead!reader ♡ 878 words
“Just give me a name, Peter!” You’re storming after him, no help at all as your boyfriend pinches his nose closed between his thumb and forefinger, looking around the kitchen for something to stop the bleeding. “Why won’t you tell me?” 
“Because—” Peter finds the paper towels, wadding one up and stuffing it under his nose. “—because I don’t need you running around Brooklyn with a baseball bat over my bruised nose.” 
“It could be broken!”
“I would know,” he says, oddly confident. Peter leans back against the counter, tipping his head back and closing his eyes. Your heart aches to see him in pain, but the blood it’s pumping feels like fire, and you prefer to focus on that. “I appreciate that you want to avenge me, sweetheart, but I can handle myself.” 
You give him a deadpan look even though his eyes aren’t open to see it. “Pete, you know I love you just as you are, but you’re not exactly built like a fighter.” 
“I’m stronger than you think.” 
“Be that as it may,” you go on, rolling your eyes at his macho (and in your opinion, completely delusional) self-assessment, “I want to help.” You move closer to him, placing a hand under his head to support the awkward angle of his neck. Peter opens his eyes to give you a grateful look, and you take the paper towel from him, checking to make sure his nose is still bleeding before putting it gently back in place. “I just want to know who did this to you,” you say softly. “Please, honey?”
Peter eyes you, but you see the endearment taking effect, the slight softening in his features and the twitch his hand gives on the counter, instinctively reaching for you.
“It’s not a satisfying answer,” he says after a minute.
“That’s alright,” you encourage him. “I’ll take anything.” 
Peter sighs. “Alright, I didn’t want to tell you because it’s embarrassing.” You feel your eyebrows pinch, but stay quiet. “I saw some guy stealing a lady’s bike in Bushwick, and when I tried to grab it from him, I nailed myself in the face with the handlebars.”  
You feel your eyes go wide, and Peter’s mouth curves on one side in a sheepish half-smile.
“That’s not embarrassing,” you say. “You were trying to help. Anyway, it sounds to me like it was the bike thief’s fault.” 
Peter actually laughs, then grimaces, hand flinching toward his nose. “Yeah, I thought you might say something like that. Can’t give you a name there, baby. I was distracted, so all I saw was the back of his red beanie while he was running off.” 
You pout at him, stroking at the skin beside his nose tenderly. “Well what were you gonna do, chase him down? Then you might’ve really gotten beat up.” 
Peter’s cheeks color faintly pink. “Yeah, maybe. Anyway,” he moves on quickly, taking on a satisfied tone, “there’s no one to get revenge on. I did it to myself.” 
You hum noncommittally. “Well, I’m sorry you got hurt.” 
Peter grins, and when he removes the paper towel this time, the bleeding has stopped. “Thanks, pretty girl,” he says in a familiar tone, hands finding your hips and angling them against his. “If you wanna make me feel better, I’ve got some ideas.” 
You do make him feel better. And the next day, you come into class feeling a lot better too. 
“Shit,” Peter hisses when you sit down beside him, reaching over to turn your face towards the light so he can better make out the bruises around your nose and the dried blood still crusted around your nostrils. “What the hell happened to you?” 
You shrug, enjoying the feel of his hands on your face. “You should see the other guy,” you joke (though really, you wish you had thought to take a picture). “Anyway, now we’re matching.” 
“When I said it’d be fun to match at school someday, this is not what I meant,” Peter insists, thick eyebrows knit together worriedly. “And who’s the other guy? Did you find a bike to beat you up too?” 
“Better.” You smirk. “A bike thief.” 
It’s possible you get too much enjoyment out of watching Peter’s face as it slackens, eyebrows moving gradually upward as his eyes widen in realization. “Wha—but, sweetheart, there’s no way you found the same guy. Did you just pick a fight with some random bike thief?” 
“No, I think it was him.” You quirk an eyebrow. “Tall, red beanie, giant tattoo on his neck?”
Peter’s lips part in wonderment, and you have your confirmation.
“I figured those guys usually work in the same area every time. So when I saw a dude with a red beanie stealing a bike in Bushwick, I was pretty sure I had the right guy.” 
“So, what?” Peter scrubs a hand through his hair. “You went and riled him up until he punched you in the face? Baby, what were you thinking?” 
You roll your eyes. “I got even,” you clarify, leaning back in your seat as the bell rings. “Anyway, your nose might just be bruised, but his is definitely broken. Like I told you, you should see the other guy.” 
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sparklingself · 2 years
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𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃
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the outside world isn’t yours to control. of course, you are in control, but you are doing anything else but taking control, if you try to force it. let go of control. stop blaming yourself for the unpleasantries you encounter. yes, it’s all you, but blaming isn’t going to take you anywhere. you’re just inflicting more punishments on yourself. instead of asking “why is this happening to me?”, ask “why am i in a reality (state) where this is happening to me?” the difference between the two questions is 1. is victimising yourself, blaming yourself, putting yourself into a position of hopelessness and 2. , on the other hand, is putting yourself in the position of having the power to choose.
how enjoyable your life is - it is all entirely your doing. if you’re imagining and not enjoying, then what are you doing? stressing if you’ve actually done everything right isn’t productive. because you’re God. God doesn’t need a rulebook, he makes the rules.
Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. - Psalm 115:3
stop trying so hard to change the outside. just focus within, because that is where you can do anything you want.
And you may say, "But I want to experience them here in the world." That right there, is your problem. Focusing the attention on the outside. There is so much relief by understanding the outside, no matter what it is, it will fade away and reflect. - Edward Art
the thing is, if you’re imagining and then you’re looking for it in the outside, then you’re doing it wrong. imagine, because it’s enjoyable. because you can. you’ll receive it in the outer world anyway, you don’t have to worry about that. you’re not actually imagining to get the thing you want, you’re imagining because you want to experience the emotions. and guess what? you can experience them now. and they’re just as real and as justified as the ones that are triggered by the outside. stop the endless cycle of depending on the outside to control the inner.
think about your successes. why did they happen? it wasn’t because you affirmed enough, or you thought about it enough. it was most likely, because you let it be. you maybe forgot about it and then it appeared. you assumed, felt it and then let it be. so let it be and have confidence.
why is it so hard to just “let it be” sometimes? because you’re making the desire so big. but it’s not. it’s tiny compared to you. the desire of eating your favourite food today and being the richest person in the world is the same. they’re both tiny. make yourself the one who is grand and great, not the desire.
to end this post, a contemplative exercise by Edward Art:
Treat it like a experiment.
Lay down or sit in a chair and be comfortable.
I want you to tell yourself this, or word it they way you want to, "I am allowed to completely let go of the outside world. I do not need to focus on others or what is happening out there. I only need to focus what is happening in here. If I feel satisfied in here, then I am. I will identify myself with my inner self. I no longer have to control the outside to but my inner. My desires are so easily achievable within myself. It brings me much relief knowing I can let the outside go, and only focus on changing myself. "
Say it once of a few times. Really focus on the relief you feel from not having to control the outside.
From here, imagine feeling satisfied or accomplished. Then ask yourself, "What would it feel like if I was who I wanted to be?" Then feel it, enjoy that feeling and know that you are NOW it. You do not need any more confirmation. That is final.
After you feel all of that, come out of contemplation and simply be neutral or feel more confident in yourself.
Only look within from here on out. Do not care about the outside. It will conform, even if it seems like it won't, it will. You will be in positions that will confirm what you have done. You will be in a position that will trigger your memory of what you have done within.
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Hi! I wanted to answer the anon who was asking about what ADHD meds do & don’t help with as someone who was late-diagnosed and started meds this year. However, the effect of ADHD meds and even experience of ADHD itself varies heavily from person to person, so do keep that in mind!
DO:
- Actually hearing and retaining what people are saying. I was never able to fully experience a college lecture without panic because of only hearing bits and bobs of the lecture, going in one ear and out the other. I can truly focus and actually respond to what people are saying in a single line of thought without desperately trying to stimulate myself as much as possible to maybe get 1/2 of the detail to stick in my brain.
- Time blindness!! At first starting meds it felt like the day went for 500 years. I felt so much slower and mentally calmer, and I was able to complete “simple” tasks in under 15-20 minutes that could normally take me up to 3 hours due to distractions.
- Memory! Off my meds I have an enormously hard time remembering anything I’m trying to accomplish. I bounce from task to task without ever finishing it. On meds I’m able to think “I need to do laundry” and I just. Do the fucking laundry. It’s magical and I’ve cried more than once thinking about how much I’ve spent my life thinking I’m stupid or lazy for not being able to “just do the thing” like everyone else.
- Shutting down/fearful procrastination— I would be stuck doing nothing for days and days because I would want to do a task so badly but overly think about it and essentially paralyze myself in the decision making/getting started process. When I’m on my meds I can just do the fucking thing! Even if I don’t really feel like it! When before I practically had to have the exact perfect circumstance and could never create them, I can just plop myself somewhere and do the fucking thing. Just like I’ve been told all my life— “Even if you don’t want to, do it anyways” except now I have the actual ability to do that like everyone else. Before it was like everyone else was telling me to turn on a light, but I had no switch.
DON’T:
- Help with hyperfixation. Sometimes I can fixate even worse when I’m on my meds, just because my mind is so single stream that I’m able to do things for even more excessive periods. I burn myself out accidentally a lot quicker if I don’t provide myself with manual distractions to take breaks from daily/academic tasks.
- Immediately fix you. It was hard to start meds because I had to unlearn a lot of habits I had developed to cope with my undiagnosed ADHD— such as constantly moving, stimulating myself, having candy, etc. Just because the day became longer didn’t mean my time management became awesome either. I’m still working on tools that help ADHD with my meds!
- Not really a don’t but more so an unexpected side effect was becoming very intensely angry or upset when the medicine wears off. I struggle with emotional dysfunction already but the anger was so severe and I didn’t know that ADHD meds wearing off can cause that.
- Work 100% all of the time. Some days things like stress, poor sleep, poor diet, etc, can alter the way the same dose of meds works for you. Especially if you are nicotine dependent or a regular caffeine consumer, the way your meds work can change on a day by day basis. Some days I feel like the meds aren’t working at all, but more often than not there’s still a difference between myself being unmedicated and medicated.
- Instantly make you better at studying/task completion. Apparently having ADHD for years made me so extremely avoidant of many things that I just don’t have the skill set to do them well yet. Like studying, for example. I still struggle with extreme perfectionism that impedes me outside of ADHD paralysis.
- I’m gonna say it twice but they DONT FIX YOU ON THEIR OWN. Yes, they make your life fucking way better than before especially if you’re an adult with undiagnosed ADHD, but you have to learn how to use tools and learn skills to support yourself for the medication to help you to the max capability! I will definitely say that being on meds helped overhaul my mindset when I’m off meds and improved my perception of myself, but again, the meds can only get me so far!
I hope this helped anon!!!
Thank you for taking the time to share this! I hope anon sees it 💕
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dailydegurechaff · 5 months
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I wanted to know how do you interpret Tanya's gender. After reading chapter 58 of the manga i got the impression that she is definitely trans coded, but maybe thats just me
Very good question.
To be honest, when I think too hard about Tanya’s gender (and sexuality, for that matter) it gives me brain worms. Fun brain worms, but brain worms nonetheless. I can’t explain it. Everything she’s got going on is complicated as shit there’s way too much to think about.
Like, she was a man, but now she's a girl. But at some points she says she still sees herself as a man internally so is this MtFtM? How does that work. And if she accepts she's a woman now, is that just MtF or do we add more letters. More importantly: Was Being X being Transphobic or being the Greatest Trans Ally of All Time with the free divinely issued sex change.
Ok ok, jokes aside. Confession: I actually do not keep up with the manga, so I had to go find the chapter and read it first. Having read it now though, I see what you mean.
The conversation she has with the Salaryman/herself in that chapter really does read as essentially saying “I’ve accepted who I am now.” It’s a far cry from a much earlier part of the manga I remember where she has a breakdown about being a man/people seeing her as a girl.
A friend of mine was actually showing me stuff from more recent chapters of the manga (don’t know which chapter tragically, but I know it’s not currently translated to English) and from what I gathered of it, Being X was showing Tanya a dream of being back in her past life and in response she basically demanded to go back to being Tanya immediately. It is definitely not just you, I 100% see the trans-coding you’re talking about.
As for my personal interpretation of her gender, I touched very briefly on it once before, but I honestly think she wouldn’t want to label herself as anything. At first, this is out of hesitance and not wanting to acknowledge that anything might be ““wrong”” or ““different”” about her. Later on it turns into character growth, more along the lines of, “I don’t need the label to define me, I just am what I am/like what I like. I don’t care about it any more than that.” Yes this is 100% projection on my part. No, I won’t apologize for it lmao.
Of course, that's entirely my own headcanon. I definitely am not saying it’s the only way to interpret her, it’s just my personal thoughts. Especially since my opinion is subject to change on a dime depending on what I’m reading/working on myself. The Tanya gender is, in fact, transient, shifting like water.
Like. A transfem Tanya fic that focuses on her adapting to life in her new world and coming to discover she doesn’t actually hate her new body? I’d totally read that. I’ve seen a few fics that include that as a part of the narrative and those scenes of acceptance were among my favorite parts.
I get the feeling this is the route that the manga is going as well. It’s a bit of a shame that we don't have those aforementioned scenes in the light novel (or at least, I don't remember them), but I don’t think that Carlo Zen really intended that to be the focus/narrative in the first place. And honestly, I also think that’s a good thing because it allows for so much more room for interpretation and headcanon around Tanya’s character.
Anyway, the other direction is also compelling to me. A transmasc Tanya fic where, after feeling uncomfortable and hating how feminine he looks for years and years, he finally goes ‘Fuck this, I’m gonna go back to being a man’? I would read the fuck out of that too.
Could also be paired with him finally choosing to defect, where they think about it like, ‘Well there’s nothing to hold me back now, right? I don’t have to maintain appearances anymore. Also, since I’m defecting this would be a great way to hide myself. They’d all be looking for the wrong person. Two birds with one stone, how efficient.’ …Now we’re getting to fic ideas I won’t ever get to so it’s time to move on I think.
Semi-related to the Trans Tanya Concept, this actually brings me to a bit of a lore/headcanon/idea/question I want to present to the public for opinions. In Norden, during the inciting battle of the war, Tanya uses magic to “dope up” so she could enhance her strength and reaction time and kill pain. I took this to mean she used a formula to synthesize the narcotics/adrenaline hormone/whatever else directly into herself, right?
Can you see where I’m going with this? As long as you know which hormones to make, how they’re made up, and what quantities you need… Well, don’t you think magic HRT is completely possible? Of course, as I'm not sure it makes sense for Salaryman to have known the detailed specifics about it from the modern world, it would require a lot of in-universe research/science advancement for someone to actually do that, but theoretically...
The magic system in this universe has so much potential to be explored, I’m fascinated by what you can theoretically do with it. Although, this is long and off-topic already I think this should be the end, lol.
I think I talked too much? I’m sorry, you were probably not expecting such an answer. I told you, Tanya gives me brain worms (mental illness).
I guess the TL;DR is this: that kid definitely ain’t cishet.
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ziorite · 3 months
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buckle up lads— i’ve played cello since before kindergarten and even if i’m no virtuoso, i’m about to unleash my thoughts on the scheherazade job upon the world anyways.
look, if hardison was good enough to play the scheherzade solo at fourteen there’s just no way he sounds that shit even if he hasn’t touched the instrument for ten years. he’s supposed to have been the most promising violinist in the city which has to be stiff competition because most classically trained string players start playing young. like three to five years old young. and we know hardison was a foster kid so he almost certainly started later than most. obviously he was talented, but now he can’t even play a scale? it just doesn’t make sense to me from what i know. i’ve gone a month without touching my cello and pretty much hopped straight back into the stuff i was practicing before after fifteen minutes of warm up. the knowledge of how to hold a bow and pull it across the string and make quality sound is the kind that doesn’t leave you— for anyone of teenage hardison’s supposed skill, that instinct is part of you for LIFE. so no, the persistent portrayal of present day hardison as completely incompetent just doesn’t sit right with me.
but that doesn’t mean i think he could pull off scheherazade’s solo without nate’s rather convenient hypnosis. so i googled around and here’s the sheet music:
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to be honest i thought it would be absolute batshit crazy the way they treated it in the show. the shifts are kind of crazy but i can see a very dedicated fourteen year old who practiced the shit out of this solo being able to play it. not to say it’s not still hard! there are some SERIOUS high notes that you’d be hard pressed to hit perfectly every time even with weeks of practice under your belt. shit makes me sweat and i don’t even play that instrument.
it’s a damn impressive solo for a teenager to be playing and an absolutely deranged one to try and perform on such little notice. that’s why i need someone to rewrite the scheherazade job with more focus on hardison and his violin dammit! i feel like hardison would be able to bluff his way through the other parts of the piece with enough practice in the time he has before the job, but there’s just no way he’d be able to play that solo on his own after ten years of not touching the violin. he might not even be able to practice during all the time he has— his calluses would be gone!! that’s a whole other story!!
string instruments strings are vicious y’all. and a VAST majority of the scheherazade solo is on the teeny tiny e string that basically slices through raw fingertips. i can barely make it through five minutes of dedicated practice shifting around on my thinnest string and i’ve had my calluses built up for years; i can file these babies with a nail file and poke a hot pan with them— they get pretty damn thick, and hardison’s working with nuthin y’all. you can only go so far before you give yourself an actual blister you physically cannot play on.
as a result, i feel like hardison would’ve let nate hypnotize him if ONLY the oily little slime ball (with hate and love) had told him. i really don’t understand why nate didn’t say anything until the first place. aren’t they supposed to have learned that you’re not supposed to con your own crew already?? (not that i think nate would ever really take that to heart.)
anyways, that’s my hardison-should-be-better-at-violin propaganda as well as my why-the-scheherazade-job-needs-to-be-rewritten manifesto. maybe i’ll write it myself one of these days— leverage brainrot is real and it is a sickness. hope this 2 am rant didn’t disrupt anyone’s dashes too much!
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