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#did either of them release any statement about their return? did they just sort of slink back on there quietly? hahaha
thequietabsolute · 2 months
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Joni and Neil are back on Spotify. Which is wonderful, and very funny. Presumably the new contract renewal Joe Rogan signed with the company for $250 million recently demonstrated that Joe has suffered enough from their little temper tantrum, and has learnt his lesson and can now be rehabilitated.
Thank you Joni and Neil. Not only timeless musicians, but forces for, for erm, medical, social … something and good and things 👏
[anyway, here’s two of my favourites from J & N]
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thefanficmonster · 3 years
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All The Colors
Corpse Husband x Reader (Gender Neutral)
Warnings: Colorblindness, Swearing
Genre: Fluff, Romance, RPF (Real Person Fic)
Summary: The colors are not always seen but rather felt. Just like Y/N feels the colors through their best friend and boyfriend Corpse. That’s how they realize that what they can’t see is the most beautiful and genuine feeling in the world. The feeling of knowing something and someone so deeply.
Requested by my dear friend Lulu, who you might have known as greenieofshield. Unfortunately she’ll never get to read this fic and I’ll never forgive myself for not putting it out sooner but I’ll also never forgive the universe for being so cruel as to take her away so early. She was one of the best people I’ve ever met, always so full of optimism, always there to brighten up my day and make me smile. Always so strong and brave, never falling victim to the hate she received despite not being deserving of it. The world lost an angel the day she died and I as well as so many other people will forever miss her.
Love you and miss you with my whole soul and hear, Lulu. Hope they’re treating you right in heaven ❤
For what it’s worth, Y/N has never asked people to describe the colors to them. In their eyes that seemed like the equivalent of poorly patching up a wound: they could hear thousands upon thousands of descriptions of each color and still wouldn’t be able to imagine it. The descriptions would only make that worse to them. So to avoid feeling even more like they’re missing out they never asked.
However, that doesn’t mean they haven’t developed their own way to ‘visualize’ and imagine colors throughout the years. They’ve tried loads of different methods, few of which stuck around and not for long either. That is exactly why they frequently used to tell their friends: “You can’t paint me a rainbow with black and white and shades of grey and expect me not to feel like I’m missing out on something. Paint me the gloomy sky on a rainy day and only then we’ll be even cause you’re seeing the same greys I am.”
Little did they know how drastically their logic was about to change in the following years.
Speaking of said following years - they met Corpse who became one of their best friends in practically no time. And within just a few months of that friendship’s blossoming, a romance sparked. A romance their friends would jokingly refer to as ‘romance of a lifetime’. Maybe it was said jokingly but Lord knows they weren’t wrong in saying so because the two were completely head over heels for one another -s till are to this day - and never shied away from showing it.
Y/N and Corpse met through Rae who Y/N was staying with while on a little vacation to Los Angeles. To be even more specific here, the two met through a game of Among Us, the game responsible for many wonderful friendships since its release.
“Guys, guys, guys.“ Y/N said after sparking up a bickering session for falsely accusing ‘blue‘ of faking a task in Navigation during the final round for the day, “Here’s a little rule of thumb for whenever we play together again: don’t trust me if I accuse a color instead of a name.“ It’s safe to say that statement rose a few eyebrows in the Discord call, the confusion serving as amusement to them before they explained themself, “Oh, why that is? Hm, I don’t know, maybe cause I’m colorblind.”
Rae who was in on the scheme the whole time and was struggling to hold in her laughter finally snapped while the rest of the players were left processing the information that had been dropped on them.
“But you practically kicked our ass every single round?!“ Corpse said, amazement and confusion in his tone.
“Expect the unexpected from this schemer, take it from someone who’s known them for a decade now.“ Rae said, winking at her friend from across the room. Not failing to notice the blush on their cheeks while doing so though.
“Corpse, are you calling me a good liar?“ They poked a stick at him teasingly, desperately avoiding Rae’s gaze which widened the second she realized why her friend was so flustered by Corpse’s remark.
“Practically a con artist.“ He replied to them with a laugh, earning one from them in return.
And so they practically conned him into falling in love with them with their quick wit, sarcasm and cuteness. If someone is to ask Corpse if he expected to fall for Y/N, he’d probably say yes.
“They were like a magnet the moment they entered the lobby and started talking.“ He said once on a live stream in response to a question he received in the chat regarding Y/N, “It wasn’t hard at all, falling for them. What took me a while was realizing it. While I was referring to them as ‘best friend’ all my friends were rolling their eyes and going ‘Sure, bud.’ Just took me a bit to realize why.”
Luckily, it didn’t take him too long to grasp what his heart was actually screaming at him. Good thing they came to terms with it so soon too, otherwise they would’ve driven their friends insane.
Anyway, enough about what happened and what could’ve happened under one circumstance or another, what matters is the ‘here and now’ of their relationship. And trust me when I say it has never been better and it keeps getting better every day.
The beauty of what those two have is in the tiny every day things that they do for each other, the good morning texts even though the other person in probably just in the kitchen making breakfast while the other cannot find it in them to get out of bed; or it’s laced within the calls between them when neither of them are home or at least one of them is out and about, busy with a task they’ve probably been putting off for far too long. Don’t get me wrong though, the romantic gestures aren’t rare either. Random gifts are exchanged by them on regular intervals but one consistent and super romantic gesture that repeats a few times every year (of the two years they’ve been dating) is Corpse giving Y/N a bouquet of flowers.
A detail Y/N couldn’t help but take notice of was the fact that the bouquet was always made up of the same flowers with only small changes to the arrangement of them and maybe some tiny ones added too. Unfortunately, they aren’t artificial so they couldn’t have kept them thought they wish they could’ve. That being said, it goes without saying that those flowers mean the world to Y/N, the gesture actually - they know flowers are a common gift to give but anything they receive from Corpse is so special and makes them feel like the only person who’s ever received such a gift.
And so they got curious, they had to ask. They had to ask the question they never thought they’d actively ask considering their view of the topic. But they still did.
“Hey Corpse.“ Y/N spoke up out of the blue, breaking the silence that had fallen over them while they watched the movie they were only partially interested in given how exhausted they both were from devoting themselves to their respective tasks and responsibilities throughout the last few days.
Corpse hummed in response, the arm wrapped around their waist doing a little motion as if encouraging them to continue, his gaze immediately traveling down to his partner.
“What color are the flowers?“ They asked, gazing at the bouquet - a gift they had received from him for their birthday a few days prior - in the vase on the dining table.
They waited a few seconds but when they didn’t hear nor feel any sort of response from him they couldn’t help but look up at him. Upon doing so, they saw his small smile as his eyes too remained on the bouquet. “They’re black and white.“ He replied eventually, “Black roses and white daffodils.“ His gaze wandered away from the vase and down to meet theirs, “I don’t want you to think I’m seeing them in their ‘full beauty’ while you only see them in black and white. You are seeing them in their full beauty and not missing out on anything. They are absolutely beautiful black and white as they are.“
As a response to his answer, Y/N couldn’t suppress the growing smile on their face no matter how hard they tried. So they didn’t try at all, they let the smile lighten up their face before speaking up: “You’re a wonder, Corpse.” They said, pushing themself as upright as they could to be able to kiss his cheek. “However, you’re wrong.” They say when they pull away, smirking up at his confused expression, “My world was black and white until you came into it. You’re all the colors, Corpse. Your love’s red, joy’s yellow, sadness blue, chaos green. Love red. You’re all the colors and out of all the people that have tried to describe to me how they look, you have managed to do that just perfectly without even trying.”
Little did they know that’s exactly what he thinks of them - their world is black and white because all the colors live within them. Because they are all the colors.
And maybe they both are, seeing as how they came into each other’s lives exactly like the rainbow after the pouring rain.
@maat-the-prescriptive  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @itsminniekat  @hacker-ghost  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze  @divine-artemis  @waterlilypat  @idontknowwhatthisisfam  @evi-ka  @classyandfabulous00  @redperson58  @lilysdaydreams @solowheein  @mythicalamphitrite  @axen-gers  @luckygirl144  @nj01  @buddyemily   @the-albino-lioness  @stardream14  @gdhdkfnn  @nomadicgypsyy  @preciousskye  @fluffysuicideunicornsworld  @o-kaelin  @manacharlotte  @awkward-youtube-trash  @lolalee24  @bonky-beerns  @meme-lord-and-savior-sebastian  @strawbrinkofdeath  @teenloves  @tams0527  @browneyespinkhair  @starstruckllamapuppy  @daisychains012  @y0ulooked  @tinytacosuitcaseflap @supernatural-is-my-only-life  @jula-pauline  @melodykitty  @just-that-bi-girl  @crazybutconfidentaf  @lowellshade @alphakees  @bellero  @weallneednamjesus  @starryhanji  @boiled-onionrings  @husherstan  @fockingwhore  @melaningoddessthings  @prettypastelpetals  @haleypearce  @godwhyamiawkward  @y-napotat  @daisychainyoonmin  @little-miss-rebel3  @free-wheelin-bi-sexual  @redmoon261 @darkacademic2  @wiseflamingoqueen  @into-the-end  @namikhai-i  @nastiablr  @thelittleplantlover  @mirktuan  @dont-hyuck @jjk-bunny  @vintagegothlover  @easygoingtheatre  @itsrandombooklover  @miiaivi  @emmybaybee  @befourgolden  @jjk-is-my-shit  @eternalteaaars  @spacebadgerx  @princesslunalight  @acequinn14  @samm48  @misselsbells06 @simp-lykawa  @fo-love  @marishimomura-blog  @therealglenncoco  @cinnamonbun332  @killtherandomness  @sanshinexxxsan  @fee-btheweeb  @press-lay  @cathleenpotgieter16  @jazzydoesstuff  @moonlxghtbay  @forestrain2000  @hyunjinhugs  @blood-of-fandoms  @lovellylies  @ukiyolixx  @simpforhpcharacters  @chrisdylan17  @parkerjisung  @pedernille  @theodonyous  @wineandionysus  @malfoystilinskii05  @morbid-x  @coryisagee  @jessewa26  @scoobydooluver97 @mindintheskies365  @raeanneinwonderland  @indecisive-empanada  @gluttonypalace  @loriane2503  @btsiguess-kpop  @khaoticbunny  @lucidlycactus  @smiithys  @rottenroyalebooks  @kpopgirlbtssvt  @fangirl-tc27  @fr0z3n-1  @notmesimpingfortechno  @shotarosleftpinky  @kunoi-chan  @idk-whats-wrong-with-me  @yikeroonie  @goldenstarofthunderclan  @poetry-and-tea  @ama-do-writing-stuff  @wishbonewolf  @emeraldxhope  @t0xick1tty  @kusuinko  @speakyourselfloveyourself  @sophia902103  @lo-manburg  @classsykittykat  @dmgama  @depressedpuppythatneedscoffee  @btsiguess-kpop  @akaashi-baby  @gun-jong-simp  @geschichtenfee  @yerapotato-wp  @browneyedgirl365  @thysagclub  @sparklycloudnight  @helloatomicshadow  @queentorresstuff @vtte @val-gal  @lucy-bunny17  @aaliyahh0  @katluckybear  @boyleanti  @straybids  @franchesca-791  @cosmicstorm19  @averyisbackinthetrashcan  @aomi-nabi  @xlanawriter  @allensimpsforcorpse  @sunnyrae-cessh  @ladykxxx08  @meowiemari  @renupf  @booklover76  @sra-verissimo  @beatrhizn  @blueberrystigma  @beatrhizn
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tetralea · 3 years
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Only to watch - reversed
Pairing: Tom Holland x reader x Harrison Osterfield
Word Count: 1.7 K+
Warning: pure smut. Vaginal sex, oral sex (male receiving), forced orgasm, over stimulation, edging, sooo much dirty talk, a bit of a degradation, but nothing major, dom!Haz and switch!Tom, but Tom dominates this one pretty much, swearing
Summary: You and Haz invite Tom into the bedroom mainly to watch first, and now it’s pay back time. Now Harrison has to watch and live up to his statement as in he could behave better than Tom did. Tom plays absolutelly shamelessly dirty. 
A/N: It is also a filthy one shot, thank you for @hazofmyheart for the inspo after the ‘first part’. 
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A few weeks went by since your first time with Tom also in the bedroom and since that absolutely reckless statement Harrison made:
‘I could behave a lot better if the tables were turned.’ And Tom? Oh, sweet and competitive Tom just couldn’t forget that.
That’s how it started, him sneaking into your bedroom while Harrison was in the shower, crawling on top of you, kissing you with internet. It wasn’t long until he undresses the both of you, making you impatient and longing for what he was about to give you.
By the time Harrison returned into the room Tom was already fucking you, with slow, deliberate motions. Your nails leaving long, red marks on his broad back and you were silently pleading for more.
When he noticed Harrison, he stilled, opening his thigh wide to give himself leverage as he sat up, his cock still burried in your hot cunt.
‘I think it’s payback time.’ That cheeky grin didn’t mean anything good, and he already had something in mind you could tell.
Harrison on the other hand remained eerily calm, only smirking and dragging a chair to the end of the bed.
‘Let’s see if you can just sit there and watch until I fuck your girl silly.’ Tom didn’t move ever since, making you squirming, trying to gain any sort of friction. His thick cock stretching you out as you kept him warm, slowly driving you mental.
‘I can behave better, you can bet on it.’
With that Tom returned his attention to you, starting to move slowly. The way Haz positioned the chair gave him a perfect view of you splayed across the mattress, legs impossibly wide for Tom, as he was still on his knees and shins, keeping his hips low and fucking into you. His hands were either on your hips or roaming on your body, earning a low growl from Harrison any time his hand wandered down, playing with your clit.
You were sure the position was intentional, and that Haz could see everything, every time Tom’s glistening cock entered you and pulled out. Tom made a show of it, moving slow, pulling almost completely out and then bottoming out. You couldn’t help it you whimpered every time he pulled out and moaned in pleasure when he pushed back. Your back arching from the mattress trying to feel more, get more and make him go faster.
When he finally did you almost completely lost it. ‘That’s it, darling, take it like a good girl.’ Tom growled as he was pounding into you, his fingers rubbing your clit deliciously. ‘Fuck, Haz, she is almost there.’ He looked up his lust blow, brown eyes meeting with tense blue ones. Harrison took it like a champion so far, his hands gripping his knees so hard his knuckles were white. ‘Look at her, so pretty, fucked out like this. Bouncing on my cock, letting me use this pretty pussy as I want.’ Your eyes widened at his words, but you didn’t have time to process it really as those words alone took you to the edge. ‘Say my name as you come.’ Tom commanded and you did so, his name fell from your lips like a prayer, as you pulsed around him, your body heaving under his strong, heavy thrusts.
‘Shit.’ Harrison let out a strangled curse his hips jerking and he needed every ounce of pride and strength not to say a word or touch himself.
Tom on the other hand seemed like he was enjoying this way too much, only starting to warm up. He fucked you though your orgasm, slowing down a little, dragging out every movement again to give you a bit of time to collect yourself.
‘Your boyfriend is pretty strong willed isn’t he?’ Tom asked and leaned back down, hoovering over you, resting on his elbows to kiss you. It was gentle and soft and made you melt into him immediately. ‘Let’s see how many orgasms I can pull out of you until he breaks.’ Tom’s devilish smirk returned and it didn’t promise anything good.
He pulled out of you, manhandling you easily, turning you around and pulling your ass up in the air and pushing back to with a satisfied moan. ‘Good, she feels so good, Haz. So wet and warm and tight. Fuck.’
You whined at his words, your body shuddering to his words and deep, hard thrusts. It felt like he was gonna be the death of you. He was still careful and being sure he was showing off as his cock was disappeared in you with ever second.
You heard some ruffling and looked up just to see Harrison giving in and pulling his cock free from his pants, his long fingers wrapping around his big cock. It was hard to tell if it was the sight or the small sound he made or Tom or all of them at the same time but you were on the edge again, pulsing around Tom. He chuckled like he was reading your mind.
‘It seems like our princess, likes your show pretty much.’ Tom said, surprisingly steady and coherent compared to his thrust. ‘She is squeezing me so much. What is it princess, you want to come?’ He asked, and didn’t leave time for you to answer. ‘Just say my name and you can.’ 
Your eyes remained shut, not daring to look up at Harrison as the words tumbled over your lips. ‘Tom, please.’ 
‘Keep going.’ He encouraged you with a smirk and you did. In return he fucked you right into your second orgasm, his hands holding you steady as it washed over your body. Through your dazed mind you could hear him praising you with broken moans and whimpers while Haz was panting heavily, cursing lightly as his eyes were drinking in the sight of you coming. 
This time Tom didn’t slow down, he was way too worked up, seemingly running out of time and stamina to prove his point, so he decided to play dirty. 
When you were down from your high, slightly shaking from over stimulation he reached out and pulled you flush to his torso, slightly turning the both of you so you were facing Harrison entirely. 
This way it was impossible not to look at him. His gaze was on you, watching the two of you almost mesmerised. He wanted you, he wanted to go there and take you, but he had a point to prove. 
‘Look at him, darling.’ Tom’s sounded breathless and like he was almost losing it, but he didn’t leave you time to dwell on it, when two of his fingers poked your lips, making you open your mouth for him. 
He was playing dirty now.
Those two fingers pushed passed through your lips and you eagerly started to suck on them. ‘Keep your eyes on him, and imagine it’s his cock, that he is the one fucking your mouth like this.’ You moaned around his fingers shameless, body trembling, your mind on short circuit. ‘Do you want it? Do you want his cock in your mouth?’ He asked, and slowed down his thrust just to bring the worst out of you, playing with you, pushing your buttons just the way you told him you loved it. 
You tired to respond but it was barely coherent, your earlier moans becoming cries as it slowly become too much. 
‘Ask him nicely.’ Tom removed his fingers, some salive coating your swollen lips.
‘Please, Haz, I need you cock in my mouth.’ The words come easier than any of you ever dreamed of. He looked at you with desperation, his body and mind battling with each other, while Tom pushed his fingers back and you started to suck without any command. 
‘She loves it so much, and both you and I know it. She loves when we fuck her cunt and mouth at the same time. She is so easy for us, comes so easily every time.’ Tom reasoned, breathing heavily, his hips going slow, shuttering slightly. He was close. ‘Ask him again.’ 
You did, over and over, shamelessly begging for Harrison as Tom fucked you. Haz’s hands were pumping fast his own cock, his chest heaving, cheeks flushed his inner battle visible on his pretty face. 
You were at the edge and Tom used it mercilessly, your begging becoming high pitched, as he paused to hold you off for a second more. Now you were begging for Harrison for your orgasm, completely out of your mind and he couldn’t resist anymore. 
‘Fuck it.’ He groaned when he got to the bed, pushing his pants off a bit more, grabbing your shoulder and bending you over to your hands and knees, his hard cock sliding into your mouth with ease. He tasted like pre-cum and something what was utterly and uniquely him. The weight on your tongue, the stretch of your lips, as you bobbed your head up and down felt like heaven. Tom fucked you hard and fast now, wanting to make you come so you could push him over as well. 
‘So, easy for us. Always so eager to be filled with our cocks, love. Now let Tom use that pretty cunt and come inside of you. Don’t squeeze him. I know it is hard, just keep your cunt nice and open for him.’ Harrison’s voice slowly swam into your mind, his words having its effect on your as always, immediately obeying, your eyes rolling back and you moaned around his cock. ‘Now come for me.’ Harrison said with stern voice. ‘The both of you.’ 
And you did, you come hard around Tom’s cock milking him, as he twitched inside of you, Harrison’s command setting him off  as well. It was all a blur, the pleasrue, your orgasm completely numbing all of your senses and it felt like it took over your body completely. You were overstimulated beyond anything you have felt before, but they didn’t stop until Tom emptied himself completely inside of you. When he stopped then and only then Haz tapped your shoulder, cueuing you about his impending orgasm. You nodded and he come hard into your mouth. His muscles tensed, thighs shook as he pulsed in your mouth, you doing your best to swallow all of his release. 
After that it was a blurry mess again, they helped you to lay on the mattress, cleaned you up the best they could.
‘Maybe it was too much.’ Tom sighed, his hand reassuringly wrapping around yours. 
‘You were so fucking extra, and you are so being punished for it.’ Haz chuckled, and you couldn’t stay awake anymore. 
Tags: @we--are---not--afraid @terrifictomholland @tomsrebeleyebrow @greenorangevioletgrass @augustholland @worldoftom
If you also like these threesome type of fics let me know if you want to be tagged! Thank you!
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ssplague · 3 years
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Chapter Two
A rough start we get off too
Series Masterlist
Katsuki B. X Reader
Rated M
⚠️Warnings: SMUT, improper use/depiction of certain kinks, abusive, manipulative, toxic behavior, unreal ideals of sex, use of daddy, ddlg themes, hard Dom, etc.
Let the SMUT commence
The way each pair of lips fit so perfectly together was absolutely enthralling: Passion was raw, ferocity was made so obviously evident from the growl he emitted at each attempt you made at sucking his tounge into your mouth. Only separating to take in a few large gulps of much needed oxygen, before diving back in to repeat the process over again.
“Please….P-Pleaseee…Kat..Suki…I-“ he presses a finger to your lips. That brief period of oxygen deprivation seemed to of induced a delirium of sorts. Assessing your thoughts has become similar to sifting through wet sand; Try as you might, you just can’t seem to comprehend what exactly you’d been attempting to beg him for in the first place. This look of empty headed confusion is also something Bakugou commits to memory, a first glimpse of his dumb little girl. He surveys you with bemused interest, looking as composed as ever.
“Down that bad for me hah? All I did was kiss ya a little and you’re already falling to pieces on me” the finger on your lips slides down to tilt your chin up, while he dips his head down to whisper in your ear. “Cant even imagine what kinda mess you’ll become once I finally split cha open with this big cock, such a stupid little girl”.
You suck in a deep shuddering breath as your legs suddenly give out beneath you, leaving you helplessly sliding down the wall. Bakugou laughs in such a condescending baritone as he effortlessly picks you up and deposits you on his bed. Picking his chair back up, he moves it beside the bed to take a seat in front of you.
“Listen real close to what I’m about to tell ya cause its important, open those fuckin’ ears princess cause if I end up havin’ to constantly keep repeatin’ myself…” he leaves the implicated threat hanging in the air between you two. Swallowing what remains of your now virtually non existent pride: You sit up straight and lean forward slightly, making sure to hold eye contact while he spoke. As the one sided conversation progresses and you inevitably begin to feel the need to either scoff or mouth off, you lightly bite your tounge. When the need to roll your eyes seems irresistible you make sure to blink a few times.
Bakugou and his ego always seem to have a way of destroying any sort of illusion that he is anything other than a self-righteous narcissist. Well, now he’s YOUR self-righteous narcissist…CORRECTION; You cant think like that anymore….from now on he’s….daddy.
The thought accompanies a brief pang in your metaphorical gut, is it regret? Maybe guilt? You aren’t sure.
“-Last ones, your still paying attention right princess?”.
Hearing his question has your eyes immediately snapping back into focus. You take in the handsome (but grumpy) face in front of you, nervously wondering when exactly he’d invaded your personal space.
“Y-Yes daddy, I’m listening to you” you stutter slightly, now noticing he’s actually kneeling on the mattress with you.
“So every day I expect you to do your absolute best” now with each statement he leans further into you, “You’re always going to remember how much daddy cares about you”. He presses a large hand against your chest, forcing your back down against the pillows behind you. “Realize that daddy always knows what’s best for you” both hands now rest on either side of you, effectively caging you in.
“You’ll always know that you can rely on daddy, and will trust him one hundred percent of the time”.
The intensity of his crimson stare has your face burning up, and heart rapidly pounding in your chest. It’s now taking a serious amount of conscious effort to keep your eyes locked with his. “Any questions? Comments?…..concerns?” he puts an emphasis on that last word, wolffish grin firmly in place.
Shaking your head apparently wasn’t a good enough answer because its followed with a stern; “Use your words princess, you either say: Yes daddy or No daddy….understood?”.
“I understand daddy….I’ll follow your rules daddy” you reply, embarrassment evident at having to repeat the unfamiliar word.
“You sure? It’s not like you to have absolutely nothing to say” he’s testing you, you’ll play into it this time.
“Well if you insist…..I do have a question, just one” at this his eyes instantly narrow and you could have sworn you’d seen a few stray sparks emit from his palms.
“Would it be too much to ask daddy if he wouldn’t mind kissing me again?”
🌆
Euphie checks her phone for the eigth time since she’d last texted you over forty-five minutes ago. Why weren’t you responding? Maybe she really had pushed you too far this time….A large hand comes to rest over her much smaller one, at this she finally sets her phone facedown on the table with a sigh.
“She wont stay angry with you forever, her and Bakubro might be having such a good time together that she’s forgotten all about her phone” Kirishima tries his best to reassure with his usual smile. The sudden wide eyed, dead pan stare he gets in return whipes that smile from his now reddening face. He’s realized far too late at what his words seem to of implied.
“I didn’t mean it like that! Really! I promise I didn’t! M’sorry”. Seeing the red head this flustered is so adorable, his companion cant help but giggle.
“I know Eji, dont worry about it”.
Entrusting your care to Bakugou was fine: He cares about you almost as much as she herself does. If she wasn’t certain how genuine the boy’s feelings toward you were, none of this would ever have happened.
Yeah, everything is going to be just fine….You’ll thank her one day.
💥
Bakugou’s crimson gaze is way too intense while roaming over the female laying down on his bed. Having her completely bare, and spread out before him is an accomplishment he shamelessly contragulates himself for. She’s getting self conscious now: Delicate hands come up to cover her chest, and plush thighs press together in an attempt to hide the drooling mess kept between them. It’s all or naught though as her legs are suddenly wrenched apart, and each wrist is now pinned above her head, held in just a single one of his hands.
“Nu-uh princess, no hiding….keep those legs open…wanna see all of you” condescending words only seem to widen his feral grin.
Seeing his cock now freed from its previously strained confinements as its looms above you, standing tall, has your leaky little hole twitching. The smooth inner walls inside repeatedly clenching in anticipation. Bakugou trails a finger from clit to slit as he hums in approval.
“What’s this hah? Such a fuckin’ mess your makin’ down here”
“S-Sorry daddy…I cant help it…Just want you so bad…dont wanna wait any longer…Please dont make me wait more” a soft roll of your hips accompanies your pleading whines. Your continuous begging for his cock has that monster stirring in him again, he has to forcibly push the dark thoughts away before addressing you again.
“If I dont prep you then-“ you interrupt him.
“It’s fine! I can take it, please just take me…” he notices your moment of hesitation before you lock eyes with him while adding “make it hurt”.
You’re just so fucking bold!
Trying to make demands, disguised as requests! Its so cute he cant help but caress your cheek before bestowing upon you the last gentle kiss you’ll get until he’s throughly DESTROYED you for anyone else.
“Dont ever fucking tell me what to do again” he growls before slamming his hips forward.
He’s buried balls deep inside you: Your initial gasp at the sudden intrusion, now morphs into a silent scream that has a you arching up off the mattress.
“Got that you greedy little slut? See what happens?” He taunts through gritted teeth.
Your cunt squeezing and spasming around his cock feels incredible, to the point he has to busy himself with sucking harshly on your neck to keep from releasing desperate whimpers of his own.
“I can take it…please move….m’sorry daddy…please don’ be mad a’me….”
“M’not mad at you baby….s’okay” He manages to reassure you through his clenched jaw. He finally starts to move inside of you, desperately trying so hard to take it easy on you. All precedent falls apart when your legs wrap around his waist, now he’s digging you out.
“Y’okay?” He rasps while continuously ravaging your tight cunt.
“M-mm-more than okay” you stutter.
“Taking my cock so well baby girl….Fucking hell!” His lewd compliment causing your insides to involuntarily clench.
“Deeper! Deeper!” You plead.
Katsuki thought you’d preferred his shallow thrusts, but if you really wanted your guts rearranged he’d be pleased to make it happen. He grabs one of your legs, placing it up on his broad shoulder, while the other remains curled around his hip. Straightening up he smirks down at you, before delivering a harsh slap to your clit. Now beginning to rapidly piston his hips while taunting you: “What did I tell you earlier hah? Answer me dammit!”.
His hot hand comes down on your inner thigh and you cry out: “N-Not supposed t-to tell y-you what to d-do!”. It shouldn’t be possible for you to be squeezing him even tighter, but somehow you do. That can mean only one thing… “Gonna cum aren’t you princess? I can feel ya choking the life outta my cock”.
A pathetic whine accompanies your vigorous head nods and he growls in response: “You.better.fucking.not” a thrust accompanying each word, “Y’dont fuckin’ listen, shouldn’t let ya cum at all with how you keep misbehavin’, better start fuckin’ beggin”.
Horrified at the thought, you fight through the fog permeating your brain and force movement out of your lolling tounge.
“P-please daddy, I’ll b-be good from now on if y-you’ll just let me c-cum! Y-you’re just making me feel so good daddy, no one’s ever made me feel this i-incredible before” your panting breaths making it too difficult to continue speaking. Even if he doesn’t believe it, your words are entirely true, this is the first time you can ever recall feeling like this during sex. A foreign sensation is making its way into your gut, your limbs are moving of their own accord, you cant think straight when you manage to speak next: “Its too much! Too big, Too deep, Too intense! I c-cant take anymore please make it stop!”.
“Stop? Oh fuck no princess, after all this lip you’ve been giving me, you think I’m gonna let you tap out like a little bitch? Think again” his thumb begins to rub harsh circles against your clit. “We’re not stopping until you cream all over my cock like a nasty girl like you is supposed to, then you’re gonna do it again when I blow my load inside this tight fucking cunt and you’ll scream my name while I fucking do it because this pussy is all mine! Got all that you fucking whore?”.
“Yes daddy” you whimper, face screwed up in tight concentration as he finally pushes you over the edge. Your eyes fly open as you blindly search for his hand, gripping it tightly in attempts to anchor yourself in reality as a sudden rush of dopamine floods your brain. White hot pleasure seemingly overwhelming every single nerve in your body, making your legs shiver as you faintly hear yourself calling out his name repeatedly. Katsuki is the only thing you know in this strange foreign place: This comforting warmth suddenly invades your tummy, continuously being pumped inside you while you moan at the newfound sensation.
A pair of strong arms wind themselves around you, pulling you closer, making you feel safe, at ease, loved?
“Come…back…..come back to me” he’s calling for you. Your soul had to of vacated your body; You feel Weightless, you’re floating, “Daddy?”. Suddenly you start sinking, and without warning your body jolts, “Katsuki?!”.
“M’right here princess, daddy’s got you….Disappeared on me for a lil while” his familiar voice is grounding. His fingers card gently through your hair, and for the very first time you’re seeing a “Soft” side to this so easily angered man. Sighing contentedly you snuggle into his chest, letting his caramel scented sweat overwhelm your senses.
“I really like this”
“Hah?! That’s all you have to say?!”
Ah there he goes, moment ruined, illusion shattered.
“I’m sorry. But I’m not entirely coherent just yet…you uh…you kinda did a number on me there” you mutter sheepishly, making an attempt to escape his embrace. Its immediately thwarted, and your pulled right back against his chest. “Ah fuck…knew I shoulda just made you wait and prepped you properly….Sorry about that, guess I just got caught up in everything”. Surely hell has frozen over: Katsuki Bakugou just not only admitted a possible wrong doing, but APOLGIZED for it as well!
“Ive wanted to do this with you for so long: Fuck you, hold you, be with you, and I fucked it up! Just like I always seem to fucking do, I-“
“Daddy” your voice effectively silences his self-depreciating rant. His hand begins to gently run up and down your back as he mumbles a “Yes princess?”.
You lean back slightly, tilting your head up so those cute doe eyes can stare up into his, the smile your wearing makes his chest tighten.
“M’not hurt, sore but not damaged….I wasn’t referring to my body, I meant you did a number on my mind…Besides I asked for it remember? I’ve wanted this for a long time too, so I got impatient…Please dont berate yourself, lets just enjoy this moment as the first of many now…Kay?”.
That’s right, you’re his now; Along with the opportunity to care for and make sure to correct you…he’ll be able to do this with you again. You had given yourself to him after all, so he can have you as many times as he wants, whenever he wants! He’s far too occupied with his lewd thoughts to care about the foreboding darkness thats begun to emerge from its confines within his skull.
You don’t remember falling asleep but Katsuki gently prods you awake: “Baby…wake up, Its dinner time…I made food for us…c’mon princess you need to eat”.
You whine, attempting to burrow further beneath the blankets, “Not hungryyyy...wanna sleep more!”.
“Dont make daddy ask you again, you wont like what happens”.
Not interested in ruining such a wonderful night, you begrudgingly sit up. Noticing he’s seated at his desk, with a large steaming bowl set infront of him. You slide out of bed, standing up and realizing you’re naked, but strangely not embarrassed by it.
“Here” he tosses you a shirt, “Now c’mere, hurry up before it gets cold!”. Pulling his shirt over your head as you pad over to him and take a seat on his lap. Noticing the single spoon and bowl has you looking at him with genuine curiosity. “Since you like actin like a damn baby so much, figured I’d continue treatin’ you like one” his words make you grin sheepishly again, and you hold out your hand expectantly waiting for him to hand you the spoon….he doesn’t.
Taking an impressive spoonful of the steaming food he then proceeds to blow on it before bringing it up to your lips.
“Say ahh, brat”.
“Wha-?”
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he shoves the spoon into your open mouth. Of course it tastes amazing, but he doesn’t plan on keeping this up right? WRONG!
Repeating the pattern of giving you a bite and then taking one himself.
“I can feed myself y’know…” you mutter growing increasingly flustered at the insulting action but more so the fact that its making you feel….excited?
“I dont think you can princess….I always hear Euphie bitchin at ya for skipping breakfast or to hurry up and come eat dinner” pausing to feed himself, then repositioning the now loaded spoon back infront of you before continuing.
“That shit ends today, gonna teach ya how important it is to take care of yourself, and if you wont? Then I guess daddy will have to do it for ya”.
You’re squirming in his lap by the time you accept the last bite,swallowing thickly before making an attempt at vaulting off his lap. Large hands immediately snag you around the middle before your feet even touch the ground.
“No, No, thats not how we do things around here, where the fuck are your manners?” he slips a hand between your clenched thighs to move them apart, and then brings a slap down to the inside of each. You dont even know why he’d done that and the shock is evident on your face. “You like when I baby ya, dont lie to me LITTLE girl”.
“No I-“
“What’s this then?” he quickly interupts while holding up the palm he’d previously slapped you with. Glimmering in the low light is your sticky arousal coating his palm.
“Sorry” your voice is barely audible as you hang your head in shame.
“Mhm sure you are…Here I am being a good care taker to you and what did you do? Sat there thinking all kinds of nasty things while I spoon feed you, you really are a fuckin depraved slut aren’t you princess?”
You bite your lip as your eyes start to water,still refusing to look up and far too embarrassed to respond. A finger beneath your chin forces your head up and his breath hitches when he notices tears getting ready to fall. A malicious smile now turns his lips upward as he cups your cheek, “Look at that…shes about to start crying and all because of what? Cuz you just exposed yourself for being the depraved little slut you are?”.
“NO! No im not I-“.
“You are” his grip tightens painfully on your jaw, pulling your face forward so its now just an inch away from his own, “And I fuckin’ love it”. Then he’s surging forward pressing his lips against yours; Forcing his tongue into your mouth, hand coming around to grip the back of your head. Your lungs are on fire while his hand slips under your shirt to harshly grope at your chest. Clawing his forearms is finally enough to get his attention and he reluctantly pulls away. You’ve just barely began catching your breath when he suddenly stands up, keeping a firm grip on your ass to carry you, before dropping you onto the bed.
“Take that off and-“
*knock knock knock*
The sudden knocking followed abruptly by Kirishima’s muffled shouting, startles both you and Katsuki, and the rattling door knob has you immediately springing into action.
“Hey we brought back desert to share with you guys! So just meet us at my room whenever you feel like it, Euphie’s changing her clothes and then she’ll be there too, we’re gonna watch a movie if you two wanna join us!”.
He must have heard Bakugou’s standard non-committal grunt in response, because you hear his retreating footsteps trail off down the hall.
Grabbing your skirt out from underneath the bed, you stand back up.
Just as you’d gotten to your feet your immediately pushed face first onto the mattress. A sweaty hand takes hold of your hip in a bruising grip, while the other delivers a sharp pinch to your ass cheek. Yelping in response to the sudden harsh yank of your hair that proceeds a whisper of:
“You didn’t really think I would let you off that easy did you? Your fuckin’ cake can wait brat, we’re done when I fuckin say we are, got it?”.
A/N: I hope this chapter was to everyone’s liking, I’m actually kind of nervous to post it but 🤷🏼‍♀️ Chapter 3 has a fair amount of smut in it as well so look forward to that. I’m hoping to get another one shot up for “A man of his word” this week, if you like extreme Yandere Bakugou check that out. I have one penned but it needs to be typed up.
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wizkiddx · 3 years
Note
Congratulations on 500 followers!! Could you do nr 2 with Tom please <3
thankyou <33 im very in my feels abt friends to lover atm, so ik this is a completely unoriginal concept but here we are
warning: nothing much- maybe homesickness? (+ the fact tom has poor choice in popcorn )
^^^ sorry I couldn't not put this on here and I will reuse it lots n lots
/////////////////////////
“Right I got two options annnnddddd there is only one correct answer.” Tom hummed up at you, pulling his tired gaze away from the phone screen and up towards the kitchen where you were standing triumphantly - having just raided his cupboards. From behind your back you whipped out a bag of popcorn in each hand.
“Sweet…. or salty?” Sighing with a small chuckle Tom shook his head at your playfulness. He didn’t know how you did it but you always always made his smile.
“I’m not a psychopath…” You huffed in relief, already turning around to throw the salty back in the cupboard where it belonged. “So salty of course.”
You were trapped in a house with an absolute psychopath.
You scowled at him, for having such poor taste, expecting some sort of argument to start. That wasn’t the case though, instead he just stared at you expectantly.
He must really really be unhappy.
You’d sensed it on set that morning - it wasn’t hard to miss. Not when it was your best friend, who for the past two months you’d been spending at least 6 hours a day with whilst shooting. Even when you were supposed to have a day off, when Tom had some solo shots or vice versa, you’d still come to keep the other company. It didn’t make sense but you both just sort of liked it that way.
This wasn’t your first rodeo working together either. Your first joint project had been almost four years ago, when both of you were barely adults, still figuring everything out. Ever since it had been bumping into each other every so often, always with an easy and effortless relationship.
Your current director had noted your chemistry at an awards show (the man never switched off) and decided in that moment he HAD to cast you together for a project. And a year later, here you both were, shooting in Australia for what was set to be a record breaking new release.
And it had been going great - better than great even. But as soon as Tom had shown up to makeup this morning, you’d known something was up. It was fair to assume it was something from home, maybe even just a bit of homesickness, or perhaps something more severe. Either way, the situation was probably exacerbated by the fact he didn’t have his brother or bestfriend or manager or normal syltist with him right now. Tom was pretty renowned within the industry for always having a massive entourage - which was normally made up with his family and friends. This time though he was going it solo.
Today had been long and you’d had to do press at stupid oclock in the morning last night for your current release - which meant your plan had always been to leave promptly and collapse into bed as soon as physically possible.
But Tom needed your company. So you hadn’t. Instead, you’d somewhat subtly invited yourself to his rented house for a movie night - blaming it on your director wanting you both to study the relationship dynamics in ‘out of sight’ (a J Lo and Clooney romance movie).
“You think you know a person and then they loose all your respect… just like that.” You sigh jokingly, gesturing to the bag of ‘foul’ popcorn your costar seemed to like.
“Well we’ve come to a crossroads.”
“It’s been nice knowing you but this…” you scoffed and dramatically rolled your eyes “… I see no way out.”
“Isn’t it better if we have a bag each? Then I might manage to actually get some before you scoff them all.”
You yelped in protest, though really you were just grateful he was still up for a bit of a laugh. He had been much less jokey the whole day, though was seeming to warm up a bit.
Once you had poured the two bags of popcorn into two separate bowels and prepared the film on TV; you plopped yourself onto Tom’s sofa, so your back was against the corner and your feet were over his lap (it wasn’t weird, just normal for the two of you). Instinctively, Tom lightly grabbed your ankles, repositioning you on his thigh slightly before leaning across the pull the blanket over the both of you. Whilst he smoothed out the crinkles in the fluffy navy fabric you took the opportunity to poke your toe into his side - garnering his attention.
“I take it you don’t wanna talk about it?” After he froze, Tom then nodded jerkily. “But if you change your mind, you know I’m here right?” His demeanour changed at your second statement as his body literally sagged into the cushions, with a grateful if small smile.
He respond by mouthing an ‘I know’ and that was enough for you. Shuffling down the side a bit you pressed play, settling in for the evening. Tom still had a hand resting on your ankles, occasionally rubbing his thumb up and down the bony bit.
Honestly you didn’t really see what your director was going on about when he raved about their on screen chemistry and it seemed that neither did Tom. It wasn’t a scathing commentary that gave it away, instead it was his silence. Which you quickly realised was the he had drifted off, his head lolling a little so he was facing you, palms now completely lax on your legs. It was whilst you were just taking in the sight before you, that a buzzing cut through the otherwise soft noise from the TV - which you had turned down for Tom’s sake.
It wasn’t your phone but you instinctively still reached for it from the coffee table and seeing that the name just read “Harry H” you thought it’d be fine to answer.
“Harry?” You whispered into the receiver, slightly cupping your hand round your mouth just to make sure you weren’t too loud for Tom.
“Hello?”
“Harry it’s me”
“Who?” You’d met Harry countless times, though given the fact Tom had been alone all shoot - you shouldn’t of expected the kid to be able to recognise your voice.
“Oh sorry Y/n um Y/n L/n”
“Oh no my fault sorry Y/n. How are you?” The conversation was jilted, you could practically feel the awkward energy radiating all the way from the otherside of the world.
“I’m alright thanks, how about you.”
“Yeh not bad I uhm… I - is my brother there?” Oooh. How to answer that question.
“Um sort of, we er… we were having a movie night and he’s fallen asleep. It’s why I’m whispering like a weirdo.” Harry laughed at that and you continued. “Is everything okay? You need me to wake him?”
“No no, mum just said he was having a rough time so was going to cheer him up with my exquisite sense of humour but if you’ve bored him to death then no need.”
“What can I say I’m just talented. Anyway I should be heading back to mine anyway so um I’ll let you go?”
“Oh yeh no worries, and uhm thanks-um thanks for keeping an eye on him.”
“Someone has to” You chuckled softly back, before bidding a final farewell to Harry.
Having hung up the phone, you leaned over to gently place it back on the coffee table but making a mental note to put it on charge before you left. Your next job was to manoeuvre your legs away from him without disturbing him but before you could even start planning the movement, you noticed his weary eyes blinked over at you. Freezing, your mouth made a little ‘o’ shape as you winced at yourself for disrupting his peace - today really wasn’t the day for that. There was a silence as Tom swallowed thickly, attempting to shake off the heavy lull of rest before he spoke. “Will you stay with me… please.”
Undoubtedly, your body didn’t play it as cool as you wanted it to. Thinking you’d heard him wrong, your chin protruded forward and his eyes widened. “ Sorry not like-not like that just um-just on the sofa… theres-theres spare blankets and I can-“
“-course T, no worries…Oh and um your brother just phoned if you-“
“I know.” He spoke softly and with a nod, but didn’t move at all, apparently no interest in calling his brother back.
With a stammered nod, you stood up, finally removing your legs from his touch in order to nip to the loo. You splashed your face with water, ate some toothpaste ( better than not brushing your teeth at all) before going to collect Tom’s quilt off his bed. By the time you re-entered the living room, Tom hadn’t appeared to have moved at all. The hood of his purple jumped was still up, the blanket still only half covering him, the excess lying cold were you had been sitting. He laughed lightly at you trying to wrangle with the king size duvet and get it in without tripping over yourself or knocking anything over.
“You sure you don’t mind? I’m just being stupid and-“
“Honestly I’m too tired to walk back to mine so this is perfect.”
“You live across the road.”
“Thats like 50 steps too far.” You deadpanned back, as he raised his eyebrows and locked you direct eye contact - which you very stubbornly returned.
The both of you sat like that for a minute, Tom eventually gave up with a sigh as he motioned for you to lie back.
There wasn’t an issue at all with space. A listers rental homes were never lacking in space - the grey sofa was a U shape, with ample space for the both of you to lie down. Each of you took a respective corner, your legs meeting in the middle and gently brushing against each others.
“Thanks for babysitting me today by the way.”
“I wasn-“ You were about to deny it, except one look and Tom saw straight through you.
“Thankyou Y/n/n” Seeing there was no way out of receiving his thanks, you instead opted to just shut him up. Nudging his leg with yours and leaving it touching you murmured you last words of the evening - eyes already closed.
“Fuck off Holland, ‘m tryna sleep.”
~~~~ let me know if you have any feedback or anything (but pls not too mean this isn't proof read so blame that) <33 ~~~~~~
tagging : @thefernandasantana @lovehollandy12 @hallecarey1 @crossyourpeter @hollandfanficlove @msmimimerton @thegirlwiththeimpala
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Text
NAGĀ!SERO
Hey y’all! This is a part of the Citrus Server Hybrid!AU Collab! The masterlist is HERE, please please please go check everyone’s pieces out!
A/N: I am fully aware that this is all over the place, ya girl is off her meds and will edit later. Please don’t tell me it sucks, I already know and I hate it, too.
SERO HANTA X F!READER
WARNINGS: 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, angst, smut, double penetration, aphrodisiac, interspecies miscommunication, size kink, breeding kink, mating, idk tell me if i missed anything
You had always heard stories about creatures in the forest; ones that eat humans, ones kidnap children, ones that would hurt you if you ever ran off by yourself. You didn’t believe them… Or maybe you did, but either way, the creatures could never be as scary as the life you already lived.
You had been taken prisoner when your coastal village was raided by pirates. Your clan’s viking warriors were off on a journey, leaving all of you oh so vulnerable with depleted numbers. They were going to kill you, like they did most of the others, but the pirate setting fire to everything in his path halted when he found you trembling under the rubble.
“Tomura, come see the new toy I found. Don’t you wanna keep her?”
“You sadistic bastard, how you get off to them crying like that never fails to make me sick. I don’t care what you do with her, Dabi, but I’m not cleaning up after you this time.”
They hauled you back to their ship, stripped you of everything and chained you in the hull. People came in and out, always different but always vile. You never spoke, you knew they wanted your screams. Overhaul, the captain, was the worst. You never knew when he was coming, and once he was there, you wondered what he wanted from you at all. Chained up, never touching you with anything but knives and his boots, not looking for your reactions… You wondered if he’d even notice if you stopped breathing. You dissociated for most of it, choosing instead to safeguard your mind, plan an escape.
About a year later, you found an opportunity in the carelessness of one of your captors. You docked someplace warm, someplace humid, maybe tropical? Toga had left your chains too loose after your last “date”, and had tossed the keys just a bit too close. As soon as she left, you had slipped your wrists out of the restraints, strained for the keys, and unlocked the shackles around your ankles. Not taking a moment to revel in the surreal feeling of being unchained, you listened until the heavy footsteps above you all faded into nothing, leaving the ship and most importantly: leaving you alone.
You ran. You ran so steadily, somehow comforted by the sounds of destruction getting further and further away. You found yourself blindly sprinting into a forest that looked nothing like your own, so damp and bright and warm. You kept running until you heard shuffling behind you, causing you to find the first thick vine hanging in your vicinity and clung to it as you climbed. Looking back, you see a simple boar grazing the forest floor. Sighing in relief, you relaxed a bit too soon, as the vine you had wrapped yourself around began to move.
Before you could react, you were wrapped up tightly in bands of muscle and brought towards the head of the- wait…- man? You had heard of nagā before, but the ones from your village’s stories were never described as so… tan, muscular, handsome. He didn’t look all that mean from the waist up, just the black, orange, and yellow scales trailing down his massive, strong tail seemed intimidating. He looked confused, concerned even, by your nakedness and panic stricken silence. Forked tongue flicking out to taste the air, smelling the blood and the abuse on your skin, seeing your quickly defeated body give up, and your mind resign itself to the comfort that at least you died free of your captors.
“Are you… okay?” The giant snake rumbles, human hand reaching towards your face and recoiling when you flinch.
You haven't spoken in months, your silence having been a security blanket, and you’re not ready to give that up. You do nothing, just look into his eyes and search for any sort of indication as to what he’s going to do. He loosens his grip a bit, just enough to slip down from his tree and head towards his hide- an old cave covered in ivy, moss, and little orange blossoms. He brings you in, and places you down on the ground before turning away to rummage through his things. He brings out water and bandages, along with some kind of salve that looks like a mixture of plants. You don’t reach for the water when he sets it near you, so he resorts to using the tip of his tail to bring it to your lips while his hands are busy tending to your wounds and gently rubbing the salve over your poorly healed scars. He offers you food, very confused when you don't seem to know what to do with the forest rodent he’s brought you, and decides on fruits he’s found. You don’t seem to want to do anything, not even going to sunbathe even though you’re obviously shivering.
THAT’S IT!!! SHE’S COLD! He thinks to himself, before wrapping his tail around you once more and bringing you outside to the rock where he typically warms himself. He gently places you down, uncoils you from his grasp, and gives you enough space to move as you please. You blink a few times, slowly realizing you’re free. He helped you? For no reason? He doesn’t know you…
“H-Hi… Thank… Thank you.” You mutter, looking away and blushing.
Cute… He thinks. “YOU TALK!!! What’s your name? I’m Sero, but you can call me Hanta! I was worried about you! Who are you? Why are you here? How did you get here?”
The line of questioning makes your head spin, and you try your best to answer before looking down and realizing you never found clothes. Blushing once again, you meekly gesture to your body and ask, “C-Clothes. I need clothes.” Hanta looks confused, but retreats to the cave and returns, bringing you a large piece of cloth that somewhat resembles a hemp blanket. It smells like oranges and spice, and you unconsciously snuggle into its comfort. Sero notices your calmed reaction to his scent and approaches you, gingerly grasps your ankle and picks up your leg, never having been so close to a human, and explores the strange angles your appendages bend.
“What are you doing?” You seem embarrassed, despite the number of people who've touched you before. This is too familiar, too intimate, almost too gentle.
“Tiny… Humans are… Small…”
You let him bend your limbs and play with your squish, strangely calm and trusting in his presence. He seems so enthralled by your body and how you move, so intrigued. That is, until he makes his way to massaging your plush thighs, causing a rush of arousal you hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever. He prys opens your legs to continue his ministrations, not knowing the smell of your lust would have him flicking his tongue out and his eyes turning to hyper-focused slits. He suddenly releases your legs, slithers around your back, and presses against you. He taps the top of your head with his chin and waits for your response. Not knowing what this means, but wanting him to continue his exploration, you lean back into him and whine quietly.
You have no idea what you’ve started.
Hanta leans down, pressing sweet kisses down the column of your throat and leaving scathing bites in all the right places. Aphrodisiac venom coursing through your veins, you don’t even register his muscular arms wrapping around your body and lifting you, carrying you back into his cave and up into his hammock. He wraps his strong tail completely around your torso and takes his time kissing and groping your soft body, mumbling “mate, mate, mate” into your heated flesh. He finally makes his way down to your mound, prying your thighs apart and diving straight in before you could question his reverent gaze.
“HANTAAA~” You practically screamed as his long tongue slipped between your folds, running along your clit and down to your clenching hole, his saliva increasing the heat coursing through your core. “M-More, please… More~”
“More, what?” He smirks against your heat. “Say it. Tell me I’m your mate and I’ll make sure you’re fucked dumb, yeah? My pretty little mate.”
You stutter for a moment, getting more desperate the longer his fingers drag along your wetness. “Mate… Please! I need you… I’m yours!”
“Good mate~” His tongue wriggles back into your cunt, and his fingers slowly move further down to stretch your tight ass, making you squeal in surprise. Your orgasm takes you by surprise, all thoughts abandoning your mind as you ride out your high on his face and fingers.
“Are you ready, little one?” He growls lowly, lining up two long, thick cocks with each hole. Your eyes widen in surprise, head clearing for a moment after your climax.
“T-two?! Wait wait wait, I’ve never… I can’t! Two?!”
“Oh, little mate, but you can and you will!” He punctuates his statement by spitting down onto your cunt, thick venom slipping down to your tight rim. You moan and grind against his cocks, aphrodisiac leading your body into a blissed out state of submission. “Gonna fill you up so good. I promise you’ll be so full, feel so good, little mate. Trust me?”
“Y-yes! Wanna be full, want my mate!” You beg and plead for him to push into you, hips bucking against him, trying to get him to satiate the burning want he’d created. It isn’t until you thread your fingers through his hair and wrap your legs around his waist that he thrusts into you completely.
“That’s it, wrap around me like that. So tight, so warm… Fuuuck!~” Sero pants, chest pressed tightly to yours and face tucked into the crook of your neck, licking and sucking deep marks over your pulse point.
You’ve never felt so full, your body strangely welcoming the pleasurable stretch of your holes, pulling him deeper and deeper until you can feel him in your belly with every roll of his powerful hips. Your whimpers and tears only seem to spur him on, drawing orgasm after orgasm from your body.
“S-Shit, keep squeezing around me like that. Come on, little one, I know you have one more for me. Cum with me, I wanna feel you cum one more time. Gonna breed you, gonna fill you so good. Come on, pretty mate- fuck- cum for me~” He reaches down and pinches your overstimulated clit between two fingers and bites down on your neck one last time, sending you over the edge with a cry of “breed me, breed me, breed me!” and nails digging into his back.
“Mine! My mate, pretty little mate. Breed mate, all mine!! Gonna- gonna… Ah~” Hanta’s words steadily fell from his lips as he released deep inside your holes, belly bulging from the sheer amount of seed he spilled into you.
Utterly exhausted and dreamily floating off, you cling to him. Sero wraps you up in his tail and lays back into his hammock, keeping you as close as he can. When you snuggle into him, he whispers little praises into your hairline, a constant stream of “so good, pretty mate, all mine, i love you, so perfect, did so well, took me so well, such a good mate”.
The next day, you wake up surrounded by soft cloth, feathers, fruits, fluffy furs, a dozen shiny objects and pretty dried flowers. You sit up, looking around frantically for your mate before your eyes settle on a sheepish-looking Sero, wiggling nervously around the cave.
“Um… Do you… like it? I made it for you… I just- please tell me you like it!” He shrinks himself a bit, arm coming up to palm the back of his neck.
“Oh, is this a… nest? It’s- It’s very nice. Thank you, Hanta!” You smile softly at him, curling up into your nest and reaching out for him.
“MATE!!! I’m so happy you like it, I was so nervous!!! My mate. You can stay here all the time, so I can protect you, forever! My pretty little mate.~” He climbs into the nest and coils himself around you, content to guard you.
Maybe this time, being kept isn’t so bad.
548 notes · View notes
joonessence · 3 years
Text
The compliment // jjk
summary: When Jungkook remembers a passing comment you made about one of his friends, he makes sure you’ve learned your lesson.
wc: 2.9+k
tags: smut, pwp, kinda possessive/ jealous jk, dirty talk, oral (f and m receiving), fingering, unprotected sex (obv stay safe guys), slightly dom!jk, praise kink, jk calls oc baby an insane amount, fluff at the end though, hmm i think that’s it?
notes: this is a part 2 for this but it can be read alone, also there’s like a year time jump between pt 1 and 2 so if i turn this into a series i’ll order them in the series masterlist in chronological order soon
Maybe it’s all the blood rushing to your head, but you’re positive you didn’t hear Jungkook correctly. It’s one of the rare days that you and your boyfriend have a day off. Normally, one of you would have come up with a way to spend your time together but after that time Jungkook tried taking you to the park and ended up pushing you just a little too hard off the swing (your unripped jeans became ripped jeans that day), you mutually decided that the plan-making responsibility, minus the times he planned dates, would fall to you. Today, you felt like doing absolutely nothing, leading to you and Jungkook laying on his bed with both of your feet resting on the wall behind it. You’d spent more than an hour like this before Jungkook asked you something that had you wracking your brain in search of a memory of what he mentioned.
You turn your head to look at him, incredulously. He’s still looking up at the ceiling with a growing smile on his face.
“Do I remember what?” you ask as you sit up, half expecting Jungkook to take back his statement and say it was all a joke.
“I said, do you remember when you called Namjoon the buff one? Before we started dating?” At this point, his smile looks like it’s taken up more than half his face. Why is he smiling when he’s asking if you remember complimenting someone else? Seeing the prolonged, baffled look on your face he sits up too and reaches for his phone.
“I’ll show you, I think I can still find the message,” Jungkook’s got this determined look on his face while scrolling through thousands of your texts throughout the last year. When you met him over a year ago, Jungkook instantly made you lose your breath. What really surprised you is that he still had the ability to do so, with his twinkling eyes and too bright smile. You were stuck for good, but you don’t mind; you actually preferred it. Jungkook lets out a triumphant noise, signaling to you that he’s found what he’s looking for, and he reads it out to you.
“Here it is, and I quote, ‘I was just wondering if you could tell your tall buff band member that I liked his voice.’ It’s right here!” Jungkook looks at you expectantly, waiting for you to confess your sins.
It takes everything inside you to not burst into laughter. Of course, the second Jungkook started reciting your message, you remembered it. You recalled testing the waters, to see if Jungkook would give you any sort of reaction and you also recalled thinking it was hilarious. God, you were so funny.
“Oh, I remember that, why are you asking?” you wonder, suddenly curious as to why he would bring it up so long after the fact.
“I just remembered it randomly, it’s so funny that you lied to try to get me to be jealous,” Jungkook states.
All in under a second, you decide to play along.
“Lied? Babe, what are you talking about?” you put on your best confused face to sell the act. You’re praying Jungkook falls for it.
He cocks his head to the side and looks puzzled for just a moment before he lets out a huff, “I know what you were trying to do, you lied and used Namjoon to get me jealous. I’m big enough to admit that it worked. You got me.”
You almost feel bad for what you’re doing. “I mean, yeah, that’s what I was doing but I wasn’t lying about Namjoon,” you trail off, quietly.
You can feel Jungkook’s fists clench on the mattress and you look up to see his eyes hardened. You’ve come to learn that Jungkook doesn’t like sharing much and definitely hates sharing attention from you. Jungkook is scooting towards you. He’s towering over you, making you feel small, his jaw clenched as he looks down at you.
“Since when have you thought that about him,” Jungkook spits out ‘him’ like he can’t speak Namjoon’s name anymore.
Your gaze falls as you hesitate to speak, considering calling the whole thing off, but you’re a beat too late. Jungkook’s thumb finds your chin and tilts your head up, forcing you to look at him.
“I was just kidding, Kookie. You know I only have eyes for you,” you gulp, nervously.
Jungkook scoffs, as if he doesn’t believe you, and then smirks. You already know what you’re in for.
“How about you try to prove it and if I believe you, you’ll get something in return,” Jungkook’s words flow out so smoothly that you’re already crawling down the bed.
When you muster up the courage to look up at Jungkook, he’s positioned himself with his back against the headboard. He sends you a questioning look, silently asking if this is okay, and when you nod, he’s smiling at you with that too bright smile, like he’s already forgiven your transgressions. You’re climbing into his lap to straddle him and before either of you can say anything, Jungkook pushes your head down, your lips meeting his. Jungkook’s hand slides over your cheek to your jaw to pry it open, his tongue slipping in and meeting yours. Underwear already soaking, you shift on Jungkook’s lap to find some relief, which you find only for a moment before he removes his hand from your jaw and places it on your hip to still your movements.
“I thought I said you’d get something in return only if I believed you,” Jungkook says with a smirk.
You let out a whine, this is so unfair, and Jungkook laughs, “Don’t complain, baby, you did this to yourself.”
A huff escapes past your lips before Jungkook is pulling you down again, this time towards his neck. You kiss his searing skin, the spot under his ear, then his jaw, and trail down the column of his neck. Jungkook’s letting out little grunts to encourage you to keep going. You lower your hands to the hem of his shirt to lift it up and pull it over his shoulders. You continue kissing down his chest and look up, anxious to get Jungkook’s approval. By the way his face is flushed, you know you’ve already got it. You get to the band of his sweatpants and leave light kisses, the kind that almost tickle.
“Don’t try teasing, baby, I won’t let it slide,” Jungkook states in a dominating tone.
You nod briefly and slide the sweats down. Jungkook’s cock, already hard, slaps his stomach. You let out a giggle, another thing you’ve learned: your Jungkook never wears underwear when he doesn’t have to. Your laughter dissipates quickly when you spot the curve of his cock, it always makes your mouth water and right now is no different. Jungkook moves his hand from the mattress to the side of your head, pushing your hair out of your eyes. You make an appreciative noise before grabbing the base of his cock and leaning over it to release a trail of spit, connecting him to your lips.
Jungkook’s breathy grunts let you know you’re doing something right when you move your hand up and down the length of his cock. You poke your tongue out to lick your lips and Jungkook groans.
“If you take any longer, I swear I’ll make you take care of yourself,” Jungkook threatens.
With that horrible thought in mind, you lean forward and place small kisses up the side of his cock, skin so hot you feel like it could burn you. You swirl your tongue around the angry, red tip and Jungkook’s hands find a place in your hair. Opening your mouth, you wrap your lips and the tip and suck, using the hand that’s not steadying yourself on Jungkook’s thigh to slide up and down the rest of his cock. 
“That’s it baby, look so pretty with my cock in your mouth,” Jungkook praises, “Let’s see if you can fit some more in that pretty mouth, hmm?”
You try to nod without moving too much and continue sliding down, tongue rubbing against the thick vein on the underside. Jungkook’s cock feels heavy on your tongue, the way you like it. You get halfway before you hollow your cheeks. When you look up, Jungkook’s head is thrown back, his hair framing his face. Your heart swells at the sight for two reasons. 1. You love Jungkook so much and 2. Jungkook looks so good when you’re making him feel good, you make it your mission to have him always looking like this. 
Gripping your hair, Jungkook pulls you up, off his cock. You’re confused for a second before he explains.
“Are you gonna let me fuck your mouth, baby?” Jungkook’s tone is strong but his eyes give him away, he wants you to say yes so bad.
You nod your head and place your palms on his thighs to steady yourself before opening your mouth and taking his tip back in. You look at Jungkook to let him know you’re ready. Jungkook’s breath is shaky as he puts his hands back in your hair and starts to thrust into your mouth.
“Oh fuck, f-fuck that’s so good, baby,” Jungkook’s tip reaches the back of your throat. Your eyes are tearing up. “Take some more, baby.”
You try to slack your jaw to take more of Jungkook. Underwear beyond soaked, you straddle one of Jungkook’s legs and press your core down on it. The pressure is tamed by your shorts but it’s enough for now. Letting Jungkook thrust forcefully into your mouth, you circle your hips on his leg, moaning around his cock at the feeling of your sticky underwear against your skin. 
“Namjoon’s cock wouldn’t look as good in your mouth, hmm, baby?” Jungkook lets out between groans. You look up at him and nod, eagerly. When Jungkook catches sight of your gyrating hips, he shoves you off his cock and sits up, chest to chest with you.
“Didn’t you hear me the first two times? What makes you think you can use my leg?” Jungkook looks angry now.
“I-I’m sorry, I can’t help it.”
Jungkook’s frown grows into a smirk. He’s got something planned.
“You want it that bad, hmm?” Jungkook fakes concern, “Beg.”
This was new for Jungkook, not that you minded. He looks at you with real concern this time, afraid he’s overstepped his boundaries.
“Jungkook, please, I need something, please, Jungkook, please help me,” you plead, repeatedly. If he doesn’t touch you, you think you could die.
“Good girl, baby. Come here,” He lays back down and motions you to come up.
His lips clash against yours in a messy kiss. His hands slide over your shoulders and down to your waist, pushing down your shorts. You wiggle out of them and place your legs on either side of Jungkook, his hands instantly finding your hips and pushing them down against him. His cock is hard against your clothed pussy, rubbing up and down providing relieving friction for you both. You moan, aching for something.
“Lay down,” Jungkook mumbles against your mouth.
He flips you over on your back and leaves wet kisses down your neck. With your help, your shirt comes off and right away his hands find your breasts, massaging and kneading. He’s kissing around one nipple while his hand is tugging on the other. It’s a little rough but Jungkook knows you like it like that. You moan loudly, unable to keep it in and Jungkook is smirking against your nipple.
“Namjoon wouldn’t have you making those noises, right, baby?”
You nod, hoping and praying that eventually Jungkook will move his hand towards your pussy. Instead, Jungkook shakes his head and tuts. 
“Not good enough, gotta say it,” Jungkook looks smug now.
Normally, you would show some resistance to Jungkook’s inflated ego but right now that issue pales in comparison to how badly you need him to touch you. 
“Namjoon can’t, he couldn’t, just you. It’s just you, Kookie,” you babble. 
Satisfied, Jungkook kisses down your stomach, his tongue tracing the sensitive parts above the waistband of your underwear, your body is second nature to Jungkook. With his fingers hooked onto the sides, he drags your underwear down your legs, slowly, not wanting to give into you just yet. His hands come back up your legs and push them open to reveal your dripping pussy. He squeezes the flesh of your thighs and leaves open-mouthed kisses on the insides. Your hole clenches around nothing, as if trying to tempt Jungkook into giving it a taste. 
“Such a pretty pussy, baby, so wet for me,” Jungkook says and you bask in the glory that is another praise from Jungkook. 
Finally, Jungkook’s fingers trail from your thigh to the puffy lips of your core and spread them open to see your swollen clit. Jungkook sighs like it’s the most beautiful sight he’s ever witnessed, he makes you feel like it really is. He blows warm air and the contrast between it and the cool air of the room makes you tremble. In a swift movement, Jungkook is pushing forward and leaving a wet kiss on your clit.
“Oh m-my god, Jungkook, please, keep going,” you beg him, but it’s your idea this time.
Pleased, Jungkook rewards you and licks a fat stripe from your hole back up to your clit before stuffing you full of his tongue. Your legs try to shut around his head, but Jungkook pushes them back open and circles his arms around the backs of them to keep them in place. His thumb moves to press down on your clit and circle around it. Your hips buck involuntarily into Jungkook’s face and he groans out like he welcomes it. Jungkook circles his lips around your clit and sucks while prodding your hole with two fingers.
“You look so good, so good for me only,” Jungkook asserts.
“Only for you Jungkook, no one else,” you breathe out, surprised you can even make out the words.
Jungkook’s fingers slide in smoothly, you’re unable to keep your mouth shut, going from letting out high pitched whines to begging Jungkook to keep going. Your hands shoot to his hair, pulling it the way you know Jungkook likes. His fingers move in and out with a purpose while his tongue rubs over your clit. Legs shaking and the feeling of release nearing, you tug on his hair and remove him from your core.
“Kookie, I-I can’t, I’ll come if you keep going,” you say breathlessly, hoping he gets the message.
“Fuck, okay, baby.”
He leaves one last kiss on your clit before he’s moving up to kiss you. You moan at the taste of yourself on his lips. Jungkook takes hold of his cock and rubs the tip against your swollen lips.
“Look how wet you are, just soaking for me,” Jungkook’s in awe.
Jungkook finally pushes himself past the tight ring of muscle. Both letting out a sigh, you revel in the way he stretches you out so good. Jungkook thrusts hard into you and you let out a whine- turned moan.
“You take me so well, baby, so perfect. Namjoon can’t make you feel the way I do, hmm?”
“F-faster, Kookie, p-please, I’m so close,” you say, feeling your stomach tightening.
Jungkook listens and throws your legs over his shoulders, at this new angle you can feel every vein, every ridge of his cock. Moans are spilling out of both of you at an uncontrollable rate.
“F-fuck, say it, say I’m the only one that can make you feel like this, can make you come like this,” Jungkook pants out between thrusts.
“It’s only you Jungkook, just you, no one else, I love you, Kookie,” you ramble on, almost to tears.
Jungkook lurches forward to press his lips to yours. His hand, between your sweaty bodies, travels down to circle around your clit, bringing you closer to the edge.
“I love you, baby,” Jungkook mumbles on your lips, unwilling to move his lips from yours for just a second. 
Jungkook’s thrusts are becoming more sporadic, and he brings his free hand down onto the pillow, beside your head for balance, you can tell he’s close. You squeeze your eyes shut, feeling your release coming any moment now.
“Open your eyes, baby, look at me when you come,” Jungkook says and who are you to refuse?
Your hand reaches up to grab his hand, the one on the pillow, as you come. Your legs shake and your lips tremble as moans tumble from your mouth. With a few more thrusts, Jungkook is covering your fluttering walls with his warm come. Jungkook removes himself from inside you and lays beside you, both trying to catch your breaths. His breathing still hasn’t returned to normal when he turns and looks at you.
“I feel kinda bad for Namjoon.” Jungkook laughs, breathlessly.
“Why are we still talking about Namjoon after all that,” you ask, almost too tired to, but you know if you don’t ask, he’ll just tell you anyway.
“Well,” Jungkook sits up with his head leaning on his hand and explains, “He doesn’t get to love you like I do. I feel bad for everyone who isn’t me because they don’t have you like I do.”
It’s so true, it’s only Jungkook who can make you feel the way he does.
191 notes · View notes
whumpmatsus · 3 years
Note
So. Todomatsu always ACTS like he hates that Karamatsu is so eccentric, but we all know he actually doesn't mind that much. If anyone else made fun of him for that stuff, I can't help but think he wouldn't let it fly. So what about a situation where Karamatsu gets made fun of/bullied/put down by someone OUTSIDE the family for being the way he be and Todomatsu gets an opportunity to go into full protective mode over him??
OH SHIT the youngest of them goes feral
dare I say... RELEASE THE BABY!!!!!
God I love Zaimoku, it’s so good <3
-
If Totty is being completely, utterly, unfailingly honest with himself, his brothers need his help if one of them is going to be going on a date.
Really, he’s the only one who has any clue about how to act on a date! He could hit his big brothers over the head with a Clue-by-four with that shit and they still wouldn’t really get it.
Even so… part of him thinks he shouldn’t really be following Karamatsu to a date. Karamatsu is the one Totty knows is never going to come running to him for advice or assistance, especially with girls; he’s got the undeserved ego of an avocado toast sandwich. Totty isn’t sure he’d be pleased to know his baby brother tagged along not because he has to sort out a schedule thing at work, but because he wants to keep an eye on Karamatsu.
What else is he supposed to do, though? Just let Karamatsu go alone and totally blow it? His usual behavior aside, Totty really wants his big brothers to be happy and have fulfilling relationships. He thinks if he can be there to keep an eye on things, well, maybe it won’t go so bad. Maybe Karamatsu will have a shot with this woman. Maybe he’ll get a girlfriend!
The very idea was enough to make him feel a little better about lying so that his brother will take him along. It eases his conscience, imagining that if he manages to help Karamatsu out to the point that the second eldest ends up in a loving, joyful relationship, (obviously as opposed to the past few horrible ones he’s had), then a little fib isn’t so bad, is it?
After all, if he were the one in need of something like this, he’d be grateful for his brothers’ help however they did it.
Of course, when he sees the look this girl gives Karamatsu, a look like the kind a baby gives after licking a lemon for the first time, Totty can’t help but wince. This isn’t off to a great start. He lingers by the counter, greeting Sacchi and Aida, trying not to look as if he’s watching his big brother’s date.
“Aren’t you off today, Totty?” Sacchi hums as she turns to start making a drink.
He nods. “Yeah, well, I can’t stay away, I guess, haha.”
Aida jerks her head toward the table where Karamatsu and his date are. “That’s one of your brothers, right? Still as painful as ever,” she teases. “Is he… oh, my God, he’s on a date??”
“Shhhh, shh!” Totty waves his hands a little, hoping to get his friends to quiet down a little. The last thing Karamatsu needs is to be drawing attention. “He thinks I tagged along to talk to you guys about my schedule. But, yes, he’s here on a date.”
Sacchi finishes serving her customer, one of the few in the shop at the moment, and then leans against the counter to look over. “Aw, good for him. He’s not either of our types, but he deserves a shot with someone who’s interested.”
He lets out a soft sigh. “Agreed there. I kind of just wanna keep an eye on him, you know? To make sure he doesn’t mess it up too much. He should have let me pick his outfit, ugh… that aside, he’s doing okay so far, though, I think.”
Aida frowns as she slides a cup of coffee toward her coworker. “Um, I hate to burst your bubble, but he’s got his work cut out for him. I’ve been to some mixers with that girl, and she always finds something wrong with every guy she hangs out with.”
“She’s right,” Sacchi adds. “Good thing you came along so you can carry him home, ‘cause that girl’s gonna tear him to pieces. I mean, she went out with Atsushi and the next day he was in here crying and telling me she made him feel two inches tall. Nobody’s good enough for her.”
Aida clicks her tongue. “Your big brother’s in big trouble, Totty.”
It’s Totty’s turn to frown as he looks toward Karamatsu. Unfortunately, Sutabaa is so small and he’s close enough that he doesn’t have to strain too much to hear what’s being said.
The woman is laughing. However… Karamatsu hasn’t even really opened his mouth yet. “Oh, my God! You’re my date, huh? Last time I let my sister set me up. That bitch, haha. Ah, well… wow, your jacket is hurting my eyes. Could you take it off?”
Karamatsu seems to be trying his best to smile. “O-oh, yes, of course.” He moves to tug it off, folding it over the back of his chair. “Please forgive me. Anyway, my name is Karamatsu. And you, my angel?”
“Ahaha, WHAT?” The woman raises an eyebrow at him. “C’mon, dude. Don’t call me that. I’m nobody’s angel.”
Totty feels himself starting to steam. You’ve got that right.
“A-ah… right, my apologies.” Karamatsu just keeps smiling. The expression on his face reads almost like he’s in pain. “Well, should we order?”
She gives a cursory glance toward the menu, then suddenly her eyes are drawn to Karamatsu again. “Oh, my God, hold on… is… is that your face on your shirt?! Holy shit! Are you really that full of yourself?”
Totty’s heart sinks as his brother’s cheeks flush bright red. This is not going well. And while, yes, Karamatsu probably should have picked a different shirt, what’s really wrong with what he’s wearing? Even though he’s a little over-the-top and dramatic, this woman can’t know whether or not he’s ‘full of himself’ when she’s barely letting him get a word in.
Totty is the most socially intelligent of his brothers, and even he doesn’t think Karamatsu’s actually doing anything wrong. He hasn’t drawn anyone else’s attention like he usually does, he hasn’t gone overboard with any poses, and he’s… kind of just being himself, slightly toned down. It’s not like he’s bragging or being a jerk. Hell, it’s just a strange fashion choice; how the hell does she think it has any bearing on what he’s like as a person?
“Damn,” Sacchi cringes. “She’s not wasting any time, is she?”
Aida gives a pout toward her friends. “He didn’t even do anything wrong yet. He’s been a perfect gentleman.”
“Yeah, he’s just a little odd and, like, a tiny bit painful. But he’s acting really nice and polite.” Sacchi sighs as she props her head up on her hand. “There’s no pleasing some people. Aida, why don’t you go take their order? Maybe you can accidentally spill it on that pretentious top of hers when you bring it to them.”
“Pfff, if only. I’m on it, though.”
Totty continues to fume as he watches his poor brother try to impress this girl, pretty much in vain. He gets the feeling that nothing Karamatsu says or does is going to be good enough. For some reason, that really pisses him off. Despite the fact that Karamatsu can be a bit much, that he’s overcompensating for being insecure on the inside, that everyone rolls their eyes at him… Karamatsu isn’t a bad guy. He tries hard to make other people happy and treats them with respect. Even his brothers who don’t always return the favor.
By the point Sacchi and Aida are finished making their order, the youngest is ready to explode at this woman. She never even told Karamatsu her name, but she’s spent the whole time talking him down. When she asked what he did ‘besides be super excruciating’, and he told her he didn’t really have a job, she laughed at him. He tried to save it by saying he occasionally played guitar at coffee shops, and she responded something along the lines of, “What kind of hipster loser does that these days??”
Listening to it just makes him so angry. She doesn’t think Karamatsu is attractive, she’s called him embarrassing more than once, and no matter what he does or says, she’s not happy with it. Why the fuck did she even bother going out with him, then?
Totty was worried that Karamatsu was going to screw this up; so far he’s actually managed to be a decent date. He wasn’t prepared for his brother’s date to be the shitty one.
Sacchi brings him a simple iced coffee while Aida returns with the serving tray, a fake smile on her face from laughing uncomfortably at one of the woman’s comments. “God, she’s exhausting.”
“I don’t even know her and I can’t stand her,” Totty mutterrs before taking a sip of his drink. “Why the hell is she treating him like that? He’s just… being himself!”
Being himself. Karamatsu’s really not doing anything wrong. He’s trying to talk himself up when this woman gives him a chance to, but who doesn’t talk themself up on a first date? He just wants to impress her.
It makes Totty feel a little guilty to realize that, honestly, all Karamatsu really wants is to impress everyone because he wants people to like him… including his brothers. If Karamatsu feels the need to seek love and acceptance from strangers like this girl, to the point that he’s willing to put up with the horrible way she’s treating him, what does that say about his brothers? It’s not the first time he’s sucked it up and dealt with something he shouldn’t have from someone just because he wants that person to love him.
His attention is drawn by the woman giggling a little too loudly. “Fuck, you wanna go out with me again? I mean, how do you think this is going? I’m two seconds away from sneaking out the bathroom window. You’re so obnoxious, you dress like an edgy middle schooler, and who wears sunglasses inside, especially when it’s raining outside? You’re, like, cringe incarnate.”
Completely contradicting every statement she made, she slid her hand across the table to take his, if only for a brief moment. The wicked look in her eyes, more sadistic than even Ichimatsu, made Totty’s stomach twist in anger. “I might keep you around, though. You seem like a guy who’d keep me laughing for a while. Maybe next time I’ll take you out with my friends so everyone can laugh at you.”
Oh, that’s it.
He doesn’t know if Karamatsu is oblivious to what she means because he’s blinded and deafened by the promise of another date, or if he knows exactly what she means but perhaps thinks it’s worth it. His eyes light up… and behind that hopeful spark is the pain she’s already put him through.
Baby of the bunch though he is, Totty isn’t going to sit around and twiddle his thumbs while some bitch takes advantage of his big brother.
“Oh, that is sooooo not happening!” he calls as he approaches the table. Although he feels a little bad about just stepping in like this, he’s not gonna let her get away with treating Karamatsu like that. Laughing at him herself was bad enough; parading him in front of her friends for all of them to laugh at him when there’s nothing wrong with Karamatsu isn’t gonna happen if Totty has something to say about it.
The woman gives him an unimpressed look. “Who the fuck are you?”
“T-Totty!!” Karamatsu,  on the other hand, looks immediately panicked. “I can handle this… please, go back and fix your schedule, and I’ll meet you at home.”
“Wait, you work here?” She tilts her head at him. “Oh, shit, hold up. You’re the asshole who messed up my drink last time I was here.” Her gaze flits between the two of them, and she laughs again.
“― Oh, my God! You had to bring your twin brother along to come on a date? You’re pathetic!” Her hand pulls away from Karamatsu’s. “Oh, you’re definitely coming out with me and my friends.”
Totty hisses and pushes her hand away from Karamatsu’s. He steps in front of his big brother to physically block this woman from him. “Keep your hands off him! You’re not taking him anywhere. He’s never seeing you again, because you treated him like… like, fuck, I wouldn’t treat a rock the way you treated him!”
He hears Karamatsu make a noise of almost-protest behind him; he can just imagine the other man sinking down in his seat and trying to hide his face. “Totty, please…”
“No! No, she doesn’t get to just treat you like dirt, Karamatsu-nii-san! You think my brother’s just some kind of dumbass you can show off to your friends and laugh at and treat him like crap?!” he snarls. “Well, guess what? He may be sort of a dumbass sometimes, and maybe he’s a little painful, and maybe he’s not the perfect guy you’re looking for! But he’s a whole hell of a better person than you are!”
Although Totty could kick himself for not saying anything to Karamatsu before, it might be best it’s coming out now. He doesn’t have a lot of time to really think about it or pretend or rehearse. What he’s saying isn’t practiced, it’s real. “Karamatsu is the kindest person I know, and you wish you had at least half the passion he does for the things he likes! Who cares that he wears a shirt with his own face on it? He was bending over backwards to make you happy, even though everything out of your mouth was word barf about how embarrassing he is! And, by the way, you’re wrong!”
It only takes half a step for him to reach over to grab his coffee from the counter, assisted by Aida who’s smirking as she holds it out for him. “If my choice was between you or him, I’d be way less embarrassed to be seen in public with him than with you! He’s not perfect, but he cares about people, and he’s always there when you need him, and ― and all this stuff you think is embarrassing, who the hell gives a shit?! It’s what he wants to do and it’s not hurting anyone! I’d break my phone before I let my big brother go out with someone like you again! Maybe he keeps striking out with dates, but he’s never going to be that desperate!”
He feels a little bad about what he’s about to do. That feeling is mitigated by the fact that at least his coffee isn’t hot.
“And, you know, I actually am sorry about messing up your drink last time. So here, you can have mine!” Almost before he’s finished speaking, he’s dumped his entire cup over her head.
He doesn’t stick around to deal with the aftermath aside from seeing the look of abject horror on the woman’s face as the coffee makes her bad mascara drip. And even though there’s a little bit of guilt over the fact that he’s leaving his coworkers to deal with her, the fact that Sacchi and Aida are cackling while they gather up napkins eases his mind.
He grabs Karamatsu by the hand and leads him out, tossing his coffee cup on the way. There’s not much choice on Karamatsu’s part, except he doesn’t particularly look as if he minds that.
“You didn’t… have to do that, Totty,” Karamatsu mumbles. When Totty glances over, the second eldest looks more tired than anything. He knows that look; the exhaustion of something not working out, of thinking you had a chance only for it to all go up in smoke.
Totty huffs, marching the two of them in the direction that leads back home. “Of course I did! You weren’t going to do it, so someone had to. God… you’ve gotta stop letting people walk all over you, Karamatsu-nii-chan.”
The shift to the more affectionate honorific suggests to Karamatsu that this is really, truly something Totty cares about. He squeezes his baby brother’s hand with a thoughtful hum. “… If that’s the case, perhaps a romance for me just isn’t in the cards. I… really thought it was going to go somewhere this time.”
At last Totty slows slightly, from an aggressive pace to something a little calmer. He’s still pissed off that someone treated Karamatsu like that, and although he’s a bit upset that Karamatsu sit there and let it happen, he knows what it’s like to want people to like you so much that you’ll put up with nearly anything.
However, that’s also the reason he doesn’t want Karamatsu just putting up with it. He deserves so much better than to have people treat him like dirt. It’s not right to do that to anybody, but… especially not to Totty’s big brother.
“I’m sorry I kind of… tapped into Murder Totty in there,” he sighs. “Did I go overboard?”
Karamatsu shrugs. “Maybe a little. But I wasn’t truly enjoying myself and I didn’t want to go on another date with her. I just… didn’t know how to tell her no. I suppose I really am lucky you were there, too.”
Silence falls between them while they walk, then after a moment, Karamatsu clears his throat. “Totty… did you… mean all those things?”
“Huh? All what things?”
“Those things, you know… you said I was… kind and passionate and reliable.” He lets out a soft laugh. “You… you said you’d rather break your phone than let me go out with her again.”
… Oh. He. Did say that, didn’t he?
He pouts a bit, then squeezes Karamatsu’s hand. “Yeah, I meant it. Of course I meant it.”
Beat.
“But as much as I love you, I’m just glad I don’t have to do that.”
48 notes · View notes
wreckofawriter · 3 years
Text
Bubblegum
pairing: remus lupin x reader
word count: 3k
warnings: language, none fluffy
summary: you know you annoy remus but that doesn't stop you from trying to get close to him
a/n: i actually like this fic more than I thought I would... anyway I'm actually motivated again so posts should be more frequent. I plan on writing the next part for pulled apart next
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    Remus has always been very good at ignoring distractions. Considering who his best friends were that was really no surprise to anyone around him. He had ignored parties and screams and fights and pretty much everything else you can imagine. He could probably read through a tornado if one happened to strike the castle. But we all have that one thing. 
    The classroom was quiet. The scratch of quills on parchment and the occasional shuffle of feet filling Remus’s ears as he did everything in his power to focus on the test in front of him. Potions was a subject he excelled in, yet he had barely finished the first three questions and now sat practically fuming in his chair, his mind clouded with irritation. 
    A pop once again resonated through the room and no one else blinked, the quills continued their march. Remus gripped his own feather so tight he thought it might break in two. A few moments later  the sound greeted his ears again and he whipped around. His eyes fell on you, your hair bouncing lightly as you tapped your foot to some inaudible rhythm. Soft pink bubble gum lined your lips, the corpse of a bubble being tugged back into your mouth for rebirth. 
    “Would you cut it out?” Remus hissed drawing more than one pair of eyes. 
    You tilted your head in confusion, reminding the boy slightly of a puppy. You glanced behind yourself quickly and then pointed a finger at yourself in a silent question. 
    “Yes you.” Remus scorned, “Stop popping your bloody gum.” 
    Maybe it was because of how rude he had been or maybe it was the cute red tinge of anger on his cheeks, either effect led you to the same action. You gathered the treat in your mouth inflating one of the bigger bubbles you had made that day, popping it between your teeth.  The noise was loud like the snap of a whip. You smiled softly at the boy's stiff reaction, “No.” You hummed turning back to your work. 
    Remus was pretty sure you had verbally slapped him across the face. 
    The library was crowded with people, almost every chair was taken, faces shoved into books and fingers stained with ink.
The quiet atmosphere was broken by James’s loud groan, “Godric, that test Slughorn gave us was dreadful.” he complained, his head hitting the table in front of him. A chorus of hushing which he paid no mind to followed. 
“Tell me about it.” Remus mumbled his mood still sour from the period before. 
Sirius snapped to attention, “Since when do you have trouble in potions?” 
Remus sighed, rolling his eyes at his friend's amusement, “It wasn’t the test you idiot.” 
James turned his head, his cheek now squished against the wooden surface, eyebrows scrunched.
“There was this girl.” 
“A girl!?” Both boys shouted in unison, James’s head popping up from the table. They both were shushed aggressively. 
Remus scoffed, “Not like that-”
“Was she just so hot you couldn’t focus?” Sirius mused, the smirk on his lips mildly irritating.
“Did she have the top few buttons of her blouse undone? I damn near fainted last time Lily did that.” James chimed in.
Remus felt his cheeks go hot, “What? No-”
“So who's the lucky lady Moony?” 
“Yeah I can’t believe you didn't tell us.” James pouted. 
    “I don’t fancy her, you idiots!” Remus snapped, earning multiple glares.
    James and Sirius’s smiles dropped, disappointment finding their faces as all the excitement they had just been tempted with washed away.
    “I knew it was too good to be true.” Sirius mumbled halfeartly. 
    “So what was it then?” James asked, “If you don’t fancy this girl what’s the issue?”
    Remus huffed, “She was being bloody annoying that's the issue. She wouldn’t stop popping her gum, it is one of the most infuriating things I've ever experienced.”
    Sirius quirked a brow, “That's it?”
    “James was there.” Remus continued, “He gets it, it was absolutely dreadful.”
    James shrugged, “I don’t remember hearing any popping.” 
    Remus gauffed, “Seriously? It was so loud.” 
    “I probably just tuned it out,” He hummed, “Why didn't you just ask her to stop?”
    “That's the problem.” Remus groaned, “I did and she was totally rude and popped it right in my face.” 
    “Sounds kinda bitchy.” Sirius mumbled, “Any chance you know who she is?” 
    Remus racked his brain, “I think her name is y/l/n something, I'm not sure.”
    Sirius paused, “Y/n y/l/n?”
    “That sounds right.” 
    Sirius whistled, “She is wicked hot.”
    Remus scrunched his face in mild disgust, “Is that all you have to say on the matter?” 
    Sirius nodded returning to Transfiguration book,
    Remus sighed, “You guys are no help at all.”
If you had heard the conversation that had just taken place you would have been sorely disappointed. In fact you probably would have stormed up to your dorm and pouted fiercely. 
Remus Lupin was someone you knew well. Probably too well considering he had never even looked your way until the period before. It's not like you were a stalker or anything, he was just… really cute.
He had caught your attention in 4th year and never seemed to let go as he slowly reeled you in with hazel eyes and soft smiles. 
You would count his freckles in charms and imagine running your hands through his hair in potions, he never seemed to notice the pair of eyes boring into his curls. You were pretty positive that your crush was hopeless. I mean this was Remus Lupin you were talking about, sure he wasn’t as sought after as Black but he definitely had his fair share of admirers.
Your friends, the few you trusted with important information that is, were always pushing you to take some sort of action on your crush. You ignored them for the most part claiming it was useless and he would probably end up with someone else anyway. Yet year after year he was still single. It was a bit shocking in fact. Almost as shocking as the words you had spoken to him earlier that day.
You buried your head in your hands for the third time that minute, embarrassment and regret were eating you alive. What the hell is wrong with me? You thought. 
Adrianna, who was one of your closest friends and the one seated next to you for the horrific event was snickering behind her hand attempting to turn it into a cough as you glared at her. 
“I mean at least you talked to him.” She chidded and you threw your book at her. It was her turn to pout.
You groaned, your head hitting the table infront of you, “I’m a fucking idiot.” 
Adrianna shrugged, “Well yes.” 
“Why did I say no? Why couldn’t I just say yes and apologize like a normal person?” You complained.
She shrugged again, “Maybe it’s just in your blood to be a dick?” This time she caught a quill on her forehead. “Sorry, sorry,” a pause, “You know you could use this to your advantage,”
You raised an eyebrow, “How the hell would I manage that?”
“You could apologize, you know like a normal person.” she giggled.
You cringed at the thought, “Why would I do that?” 
Adrianna rolled her eyes, “Because you were an asshole. And most people apologize after being an asshole.”
You scrunched your nose, “Do you have any idea how awkward that would be?” 
“You’re helpless.” She mumbled returning to her work. 
You pouted, “Well you're not very helpful.” your mind began to turn as she continued her essay, one you had already finished the night before. Then suddenly an idea struck. 
You marched up to Remus with confidence you didn’t actually have. Your anxieties buried beneath a blanket of boldness. Your hands shook, stuffed deep in your pockets. 
“Yes?” He repeated reminding you that you had indeed called his name. 
You glanced around at his friends, their eyes locked on you with amused smiles. You put on an uncaring mask and rolled your eyes at Potter whose smile only grew, “Could we talk away from your goons?”
Remus grinned a bit as Sirius gave an over-exaggerated gasp, “Yeah sure.” 
You nodded quickly turning and starting towards the staircase. You didn’t catch Remus raising his eyebrows back at his friends and he didn’t see you release a shaky breath.  
Once you both stood in the narrow staircase leading to the deviations room you turned back to Remus who stood two stairs below you, the height advantage made you feel powerful. 
He didn’t seem particularly bothered by it, “You here to apologize?”
Your eyes widened, he seemed snarkier than he had been in potions, almost like he was challenging you, “I was, but now I don’t believe I will.” you clipped back.
Remus rolled his eyes, “Can I leave then?” 
Panic struck you, this was not going well, “Actually I need a favor.” 
Remus was surprised, that was definitely not what he had expected.
You huffed, praying to whatever god was up there that this would work. “Can you tutor me in potions? I’m actually not all that good at it and I know for a fact you are.” One of those statements was a blatant lie. Potions had been one of your better grades for a while now but he didn’t need to know that. 
“Why should I help you?” Remus asked, taking a step towards you, the height advantage lessening. 
You weren’t really sure how to answer that, “I suppose you shouldn’t.” You sighed and Remus smirked, “But you will.”
He raised his brows, “And why's that?”
You popped your gum enjoying his flinch, “Because you are just so sweet.” you said it with a slight coo like you were talking to a young child.
Remus didn’t respond as you brushed past him.
“Meet me at the library tomorrow after lunch and don’t be late.” You called over your shoulder.
Remus stood in the stairwell staring where you had just stood. He let out a heavy sigh , his heart beating louder than it should have been. 
Part of you thought he wouldn’t even show and that instead you would sit in the library like a fool as Remus laughed about you with his friends. So when you entered the library and found the boy already seated at a table, textbooks and notes placed neatly around him you were surprised. You fought a wide smile skipping beside him and reaching for the book in his hands. Before you could snatch it away Remus snapped it shut and moved it aside. 
“Take a seat y/n”  He spoke, smirking at you, clearly happy about his quick reflexes. 
You rolled your eyes sitting beside him and glancing at the papers in front of you. They were notes, neatly taken, no doodles in the margins. 
Remus leaned over your shoulder, “I think we should start with the basics and see how much you already know.”
It was only then that you realised you were going to have to pretend to be terrible at potions. You swallowed thickly, “Sounds good.”
You surprised yourself with how easily you lied. You slipped up only twice, brushing both off as lucky guesses and contuinuting with your stupid little curade. 
Remus ate it up, showing you simple questions and walking you through them as one did a child. It would have bothered you if he wasn’t leaning over your shoulder with his breath soft on your neck. He smelt like chocolate and fresh parchment, his curly hair so close you could reach out and run your fingers through it if you wanted to. 
You walked back to your common room in a slight haze, your stomach full of wings.
Remus peered after you curiously. Your actions confused him, he could’ve sworn you had already known the practice problems he gave you. Yet you had struggled, almost comically. He supposed you were just really good at pretending to be smart. 
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to pretend to be stupid?” You groaned.
Adrianna shook her head too focused on the note sheet in front of her to really care about what you were saying. 
Your rambles continued regardless, “Do you think I’m going to have to fail my next test so I can keep Remus as a tutor?”
She sighed fed up as she tried to study over your speaking, “You know you could just ask him out like if you weren’t such a pussy.” 
You glared at her lacking real malice, “I’m not a pussy, I’m just creative.”
“Pussy.” Adrianna coughed quietly and you rolled your eyes, she was only a little bit right. 
As your study sessions continued Remus found himself growing strangely fond of you. The banter you offered was entertaining, despite the fact you took every chance to annoy him. Your sarcastic comments made his lips twitch into a grin. Your response to his own remarks; a scrunch of your nose, making him chuckle. You still seemed a bit off and for the first week, Remus wasn’t sure what it was. It was clear that you were hiding something, faking something but he just couldn't place it. 
A pattern began to settle in front of him quickly. Your slip ups became a bit repetitive. And by slip ups he really meant your success. You were good at potions. In fact probably better than he was. Remus wasn’t sure why you were pretending to be terrible at a class you clearly were doing well in, but he was even more confused on why he didn’t call you out on it. 
For some reason he was dead set on keeping you at those study sessions. In fact he used a nearing test as an excuse to meet you daily. He debated his actions in his own mind most nights, why did he keep wasting his time to teach you things you already knew he wondered. He always came up empty, even more lost than he had been before. 
You had thought Remus to be smarter than he was. The fact that he hadn't picked up on your seemingly obvious act was astounding. You supposed it only helped you if he fell for it hook line and sinker, right? You started meeting him everyday in the library, he was very adamant about you passing the upcoming test and you weren’t going to complain, it gave you more time to count the freckles that dusted his nose anyway.  
You hummed quietly to yourself, fiddling with your quill. It was the night before the test and Remus had been insistent on you studying late into the night. So now you sat in the Gryffindor common room under the hazy light of candles with notes you had memorized ages ago. 
The crack of the fire was a pleasant background noise to your tune as your eyes locked onto Remus whose hair had fallen in front of his eyes yet again. You smiled softly watching him scribble final notes onto his Transfiguration assignment. Your gum was slowly losing its flavor on your tongue. 
Feeling your gaze he looked up, “You want me to quiz you on them?” He asked, gesturing to the notes under your arm. 
“Sure.” You reposed picking up the paper and passing it off to him. 
Remus watched you carefully, answers came easily most of the time but every once and  while you would struggle, himming and hawing as you pretended you didn’t know how to respond. He played along until you finished the note sheet.
You were confused when he put it down, “Aren't we going to go over the ones I got wrong?” 
Remus sighed, “Why would I do that when you already know them?”
You furrowed your brow, “I got them wrong.”
“You know them though don’t you?” He smirked, “You know all the stuff that I’ve been teaching you.”
You laughed but there was no humor to it, “I don’t know what you mean.”
He only smiled more, “Yes you do.” 
You just sat there, your mind was spinning, you hadn’t really planned for the end of it all. You had no clue how you were going to explain this. 
“I’m curious.” Remus said, “Why go through all this trouble?” 
You just started at him opening your mouth to answer only to close it again. 
“Come on y/n don’t leave me hanging.” He grinned and you felt like you were going to throw up. 
“How long have you known?” You asked quietly.
Remus shrugged, “About a week.” 
You hesitated, “Wait, why didn't you say anything sooner?”
He shrugged again, “No reason.” 
It was your turn to smile “No really Remus, why waste your time with me?” You questioned. 
He sighed, “It wasn’t really a waste of time.”
“It wasn’t?” 
Remus felt weirdly trapped, “You still haven't answered my question.” 
“Fine you really want to know?” You said chewing your gum anxiously. 
He nodded.
“I wanted to hang out with you, and I wasn't really sure how to ask.” You huffed picking at your nails. 
There was a beat of quiet, the fire popped behind you.
“Now you tell me why you didn’t say anything earlier.” You said trying to divert from your embarrassing confession. 
Remus pondered his answer for a moment, “Because I like you.” 
Your eyes widened, “I thought you found me annoying.” you laughed lightly.
“Oh no I do.” He grinned leaning closer to you as you scrunched your nose in annoyment. “You know you could have just asked me out instead of pretending not to know anything about potions.”
You ignored the heat in your cheeks as Remus leaned just inches from you, “Where’s the fun in that?”
He chuckled, “I supposed there isn't any.” his breath was warm on your skin and your eyes slipped shut as he closed the distance between you. 
Remus’s lips were smooth and soft against your own, his hand cupping your cheek lightly. You ran your fingers through his hair as he tilted your chin back, deepening the kiss. 
He hummed lightly, you tasted like bubblegum.
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424 notes · View notes
rivalsforlife · 3 years
Text
AA7 Speculation Post: One Year Later
here we go again.
A year and a day ago, I made a speculation post about if/when we’d ever be seeing AA7. Obviously, my claim that AA7 would be announced in September 2020 did not turn out to be true, but later that year we did get a leaked calendar containing information on the new ports for Chronicles, and also plans for a new aa7, which I summarized in this post.
Now that we have Chronicles we can verify that the leaks contained legitimate information (as if a statement from Capcom saying they were hacked wasn’t legitimate enough). So that leaves us with one key question: is AA7 still happening? If so, when can we expect it? As well, what other information from the leaked calendar can we consider, especially with early sales data on Chronicles? In addition, what are the implications of this new survey on Chronicles from Capcom?
All of that will be discussed under the cut so that this doesn’t take up too much space.
Revisiting The Calendar
Once again, here is a rough translation of the calendar that was present in the leaks:
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As a note, in this post, I’ll be referring to our new games as “Chronicles” to prevent this from being blocked by people avoiding spoilers.
So: this original calendar, generated before the pandemic, had Chronicles releasing in Q1 of FY2021 - and it’s also important to note that in Japan, each fiscal year starts in April 1st, so FY2021 is actually April-June 2021. This shows that Chronicles was pushed back about a quarter from their expected release date. However, Chronicles was a port of already existing games, therefore somewhat less work was needed on them - upscaling models and textures, adding in some new features like autoplay and story mode, and of course, the English translation and voicework were needed, which is still a lot of course, but less compared to development on an entirely new game. In addition to that, the pandemic hit AA7 in its early development stage, assuming this schedule was still being followed by the time the pandemic hit. That could cause more delays than expected.
So the original plan was for AA7 to be released in Q3 of 2021, which corresponds to October-December, aligning with the 20th anniversary of the series in October. While it’s a desirable goal, it’s quite likely the pandemic pushed it back at least a quarter, if not more, if not cancelled it entirely. ... haha.
We’ll only know the fate of AA7 for certain when it’s announced. Which it is possible it may never be. However, I have two theories for, if AA7 is getting an announcement, when it will be:
1) Sometime during September 2021, either in the leadup to or during Tokyo Game Show this year. These are for the same reasons as I outlined in my initial speculation post. It’s a popular time for Ace Attorney game announcements, after all. TGS, according to what I can find, will be held online this year from September 30th to October 3rd. If Capcom announces AA7 earlier in September through Famitsu, like they did with AA6 for example, then we can expect to get some information during TGS... 
2) Sometime during a 20th Anniversary Event, possibly in October 2021. I’m assuming AA is planning something for the 20th anniversary - Chronicles wasn’t really marketed as a 20th anniversary release, for instance. If they can’t release a new game for the 20th anniversary (which at this rate, seems unlikely, as we’re about two months out from that with no word about it) then an announcement would be just as good at generating hype for it.
Naturally, if we reach this time next year with absolutely no news on AA7, it’s probably safe to say it’s been cancelled or at least delayed so severely that anything we currently know about it isn’t worth much.
There’s one more point of interest on the calendar: reconsidering the porting of 456. I feel that this depends heavily on how well the Chronicles ports are doing; if it’s not financially viable to keep porting games, then why bother? So, let’s take a look at that.
The Success of Chronicles
As I write this, it’s about two and a half weeks since the release of Chronicles worldwide. So... how did the games do? It’s a bit hard to tell, especially as I am not a game marketer and don’t know the expectations for Chronicles. What is obvious is that, if Chronicles does much better than expected, porting 456 and possibly even the investigations games seems likely. (If Chronicles, indeed, does especially well in the West, than a porting of the investigations games and localization of investigations 2 after ten years could very well be possible.) If Chronicles does absolutely terribly, it damages the chances of porting, and possibly of continuing the series. If it does terribly especially in the West, where the games are essentially new, it could damage the chances of any new games being localized at all.
So, a lot is riding on this, and I don’t know enough to tell how well it did. Here’s what I have found, however:
Nintendo Enthusiast reports on Famitsu sales of Switch games, and overall thinks it’s not doing so great. Chronicles ranks third on the list of Switch sales in its first week, with 14,460 units sold, over 4000 less than NEO: The World Ends With You, which was released on July 27th. Keep in mind that Chronicles was released in Japan on July 29th, which is two days later, and that these are only Japanese sales (where they’ve had Chronicles for years on both mobile and 3DS) and only Switch sales, where NEO:TWEWY is currently only available on Switch and PS4 (Chronicles has the additional platform of Steam, where there could be many more sales). In the next week, Chronicles ranked 22 overall, with NEO:TWEWY at 23, though of course they’re still a little less than 4000 units behind NEO:TWEWY overall. Slightly closing the gap, I guess.  
How about overseas data, then? ... It’s hard to tell. I can find this report from gamespot which discusses the top 20 games sold in the US in July, and Chronicles is not on the list, while NEO:TWEWY is at 16. However, they don’t give any number for the units sold, and it seems that they aren’t considering digital sales for a lot of them, so it’s hard to tell how much of a hit that is.
However, let’s go back to Japanese sales for a bit, and look at the 2019 Trilogy re-release for a comparison against Chronicles. Allegedly, combined Switch and PS4 sales in the first week of the trilogy’s release only amounted to about 8000 units, a little more than half that of Chronicles’ Switch sales. It’s also important to note that the 2019 trilogy ended up being the only ace attorney game to sell over a million copies. Ace Attorney is not a big series; I’m sure Capcom takes this into account when considering sales data, especially for ports. If Chronicles does end up doing better than the trilogy overall, it’s definitely looking good for ports and especially so for Chronicles.
However, there’s more to this than just sales data.
The Survey
Capcom now has a user survey for Chronicles, which you can answer even if you’re partway through the first game. I believe it’s only open until September 30 2021, so if you think you can finish the game before then, I’d recommend filling it out once you’re done so that you can give the best feedback.
It asks you a bunch of questions like what platform you bought it on, why you bought it, your expectations, and all sorts of detailed questions on the various mechanics, difficulty and enjoyment of the trials and investigations, satisfaction of visuals, plot, characters, music, and even free response sections for what you liked and disliked about the game. It’s a very detailed survey that’s pretty long but I think is worth filling out. At the end they ask you to fill out some demographic questions (such as age, gender (male, female, other), country, what kind of things you like to spend money on, and what kind of games you like, what platforms you have to play games on). But what’s possibly the most interesting question is this:
“If a new [Chronicles] game is released in the future, do you think you would buy it?”
This means that, depending on the answers to the survey, they could very well decide to work on a third game to Chronicles.
This has huge implications for the future of the series. I’ll probably make a separate post on plot-related stuff later, but for now... let’s talk about logistics.
In my initial AA7 speculation post I said I highly doubted that they would ever make another Chronicles game. I also said that they probably never would be localized, so, guess who’s a clown now. 
Right now the AA series is in a bit of a dry period, with no new games having been released in the last four years. As well, with Yamazaki (the director of the investigations games and AA5/6) having left Capcom, the next director of the mainline games is completely unknown. As described in this video, the main reason Chronicles ever came about was because Capcom went ahead with mainline AA5 before Takumi could come back from the Layton crossover. Now, since 2017, we don’t really know what Takumi is working on. It’s possible he’s gone back to mainline to work on AA7 (though of course, there is absolutely no evidence suggesting that he has, so definitely don’t take that as any sort of confirmation).
However, if we do get a Chronicles 3, it’s quite likely Takumi would return to work on that, as he directed the previous two games. In addition, if Chronicles ends up being such a success to completely eclipse mainline (from what I’ve heard, though I have no serious proof, Resolve is considered as highly rated as T&T by many Japanese fans) then the series could permanently go down the road of writing more Chronicles games, leaving mainline stagnant (which, let’s be real, it’s already stagnating). The success of that is uncertain considering how neatly our current Chronicles duology wraps up, but... we’ll have to see how things unfold in the future.
For now, I highly recommend filling out the survey to give your input to the series’ future directions. Maybe mention that you want localized investigations 2 somewhere in the free response section because uhh I forgot to do it in mine. do that for me.
TL;DR
Main takeaways from this post are:
- I personally expect an AA7 announcement either during TGS or a 20th anniversary event
- If Chronicles does extremely well, then 456 ports are likely to happen, and I personally speculate investigations ports (along with localized investigations 2) will as well.
- Fill out this Chronicles survey before September 30th to give your input on the games and possibly the future direction of the series. I recommend completing the games before you do, but if you think you won’t before September 30th, you can fill it out at any time.
- We Very Well May Get Another Chronicles Game. Who saw that coming. Not me.
Thanks if you read through all of this, let’s hope September/October doesn’t leave me looking like a fool again.
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erosofthepen · 3 years
Text
Letters From Amad part. 1
Hehe, I started writing this and was going to originally end it at 3,500 words, but then I realized that the plot was super boring and dry and changed some things... I’m at 6,000 words overall so far so I split it into two parts. I hope you enjoy it.
Words: 3713
Paring: Fili x reader
Warnings: none
Tags: (these are people who just said they’d be interested i guess): @grunid, @elvish-sky, @amelia307, @moony-artnstuff, @sassyscribbler, @fizzyxcustard
The battle was won, the mountain kept safe, and the gold preserved.
Not that anyone was too worried about the gold anymore. No, Thorin had recovered well from the sickness, given the Lake-men what had been promised, and had returned the white gems of starlight to King Thranduil. Yes indeed, everything had turned out fine in the end.
More than fine for you.
The second the orcs had fled the battlefield, Fili, that beautiful lion of a dwarf took your hand, pressed a kiss to each knuckle, and asked for you to marry him. The answer couldn’t have been anything but yes.
So there you were, five months after the Battle, eating dinner with the line of Durin and talking of the wedding ceremony to come. Thorin was especially particular and picky about all the odds and ends of the event, especially since it would be the first royal wedding in Erebor in centuries. So, as he rambled on about the colors of gems and fabrics, Fili held your hand in his. At the beginning of dinner, both you and he knew that Thorin would keep you for an hour at least, talking about preparations.
It’s not as if you didn’t enjoy talking and planning your future wedding, it’s just that the actual ceremony was an entire year and a half away. Dwarrow are notorious for their long engagement period. With the event so far off, you’d just rather devote your time to being with Fili, for once not worrying about wargs or orcs or goblins or evil. Fortunately, you were saved from the conversation by Balin.
“Letters from the Blue Mountains, Thorin!” he said cheerfully, entering the room with a jolly bounce. He placed the letters in front of the mountain king before stealing a biscuit and leaving. Thorin nodded thanks, and examined the seals, a broad grin splitting his face.
“From your Amad, Lads.” Kili, who had been playing with the food on his plate, snapped into attention with wide, excited eyes.
“From Amad?!”
“Aye, here’s yours,” Thorin handed an envelope with a dark blue seal to Kili, and the young prince tore it open rapidly, reading it hungrily. Thorin then handed a letter with a matching seal to Fili, and your husband-to-be released his grip on your hand, opening his letter with the same urgency his brother had.
It was just slightly awkward for you, with each dwarrow at the table reading their respective letters, but you occupied yourself with your stew, occasionally glancing up to watch Fili’s eyes as he read. His beautiful blue eyes displayed excitement, then delight, and towards the end, longing. You had always known Fili was a mama’s boy (Or amad’s boy, in this case), and you also knew that he missed her dearly.
“She’s supposed to be leaving to come here in May!” Kili exclaimed, finishing his letter before his brother and uncle.
“Aye, next month,” Fili agreed, a smile lighting up his features. “How long do you reckon it will take for her arrival?”
“Six months, I would guess,” Thorin replied, mentally re-accounting your own journey, “Seven maybe. She’ll be with a caravan, remember. It’ll take some time for a group that size to get ore’ the Misty Mountains.”
Kili sighed, his shoulders slumping. “That’s much too long to wait.” Fili nodded in agreement at his brother's words.
“It’ll have been twenty months since we’ve seen her. A year and two-thirds.”
“Don’t worry lads, you’ll see her soon enough,” Thorin said, looking over his letter once more. “But in the meantime, I suggest you write back.” Kili scooted out of his chair, rushing out of the room with his letter clutched tightly in hand. Fili got up to follow, but then doubled back, pressing a kiss to your cheek.
“I’ll come to wish you good night,” He promised.
“I’ll expect you,” You replied. He grinned and headed out after his brother.
“So (Y/N),” Thorin began, with a tone that made you inwardly groan, “What type of cut do you think the gems on your marriage robes should have?” You suspected that you might not be back in your room in time for Fili to wish you good night.
Three months had passed since the letters had come from Lady Dís, and the mountain was busy with preparations for the arrival of a hundred and fifty or so dwarrow. It would be the first caravan of many to come.
With the attention of the kingdom now focused on the arrival of the caravan, it proved to be quite the relief to you and Fili. More of Thorin’s focus was on planning for the newcomers, and not combing over details of your wedding ceremony, which meant more time for you and Fili to enjoy yourselves. It also brought on some tasks in which Fili and Kili accomplished together.
The brothers had prepared a room for their mother in the royal wing, and had furnished and decorated it to perfection. All the furniture was made of dark walnut wood, and the rugs and drapings were dark blue in color, made from the finest fabrics that could be found. They had also set about commissioning dressmakers and robemakers to complete a new wardrobe for Dís, even though Fili knew that Dís would prefer to sew her own clothes. Still, the act showed the brother’s devotion to their Amad.
When Fili was occupied with preparing these sorts of things, or otherwise completing his royal duties, you would more often than not find yourself in the library. There were several libraries in Erebor, with the mountain being so huge, and only one of the libraries was cleaned and in use. This particular library was known as the Grand Library, and only twenty or so dwarrow were ever in it at once, so it was lovely and quiet. It was probably your favorite spot in the mountain, especially when it grew chill, as it held an incredibly large fireplace with an assortment of couches and cushions in front of it.
This was exactly where you could be found that day, and it was quite curious to see Fili rushing towards you, a smile on his face and a letter in his hand.
“Amad wrote back, and she sent a letter for you as well!” he said, sitting beside you and handing you an envelope with the dark blue seal of Dís.
“She sent one for me?”
“Aye.”
“Why? She doesn’t even know me,” you replied, staring at the slightly crinkled parchment. Fili cleared his throat,
“...I may or may not have written a lengthy description of you in my letter to her.” Well, his statement shouldn’t have surprised you. Of course Fili would have told his mother about the person he planned to marry. But for some reason, the fact that Dís knew about you made you nervous. Fili interrupted your thoughts. “Well, are you going to open it?”
You gave him a small smile before carefully breaking the seal and lifting the letter out of its envelope. As your eyes scanned the page, you noticed that while Dís’s hand was rough, it was still tidy. The letter read:
“(Y/N),
I am not exactly sure how I should feel about you. My son left me without any desire of ever forming a relationship, yet he wrote to me that he has found his One. He speaks incredibly highly of you, and his description was indeed full of love.
However, do not think I am convinced of your relationship. My sons are precious to me beyond any riches, and I will not tolerate or allow anyone whom I do not approve of to wed either of them. If you truly love Fili, you must prove your love to me. Otherwise, I suggest you abandon any thought of a future with him and leave Erebor immediately.
~Lady Dís, Thrainsdottir.”
If you had been nervous about Dís before, now you were a bit terrified. You realized that, if she was not satisfied with you, Dís could very easily break off your engagement and ensure that you never saw Fili again. The thought was enough to scare you even more than running straight into a battalion of orcs. The dwarf prince himself had been reading over your shoulder, and once you had finished reading, he took your hand in his and squeezed it tight.
“She’s… Well Amad’s just a bit overprotective. She’ll love you once you meet, I know it. Don’t worry yourself over it ghivashel.”
But you did worry over it. You worried over it throughout the rest of your time in the library, all throughout dinner, and when you eventually slipped into bed. After a few hours of uneasily trying to fall asleep, you came to terms that you could at least address your worries if you wrote back.
“Lady Dís,
     I was surprised to receive your letter, as I hadn’t thought that Fili would have written of me. I understand that you don’t yet approve of me, and I think that, if our places were swapped, I probably wouldn’t approve of me either. But I do love Fili, with every single part of my being. He is my world now. It’s actually fairly remarkable to acknowledge that, since before the quest, I hadn’t even known of his existence. But I truly do love him, and would do anything to ensure his happiness and well-being.
I hope you can grow to like me, or tolerate me at least.
Sincerely,
(Y/N)”
In the months following that letter, the worry inside of you didn’t subside. Fili could tell that it was on your mind, and he tried his best to sooth your nervousness, but it didn’t help very much. Much of your time was spent in the comfort of the Grand Library, which seemed to become more in use by the common folk with every passing day. You were seriously considering trying to start cleaning out one of the smaller libraries, just so it would be a bit quieter. Apparently, the rules of a silent library did not apply to dwarrows.
One day, you were sitting in the least used corner of the Grand Library, reading a book about dwarrow folklore, when you were interrupted by an exasperated sigh.
“Good Mahal, I finally found you! Why the hell were you all the way over here? You do know there’s plenty of space near the entrance, right?”
“Yes, but it’s not nice and quiet there. In normal libraries, there’s rules set in place for silence.” You replied, rolling your eyes at the young prince Kili.
“Sounds boring.” He said, plopping down next to you. “Anyways, my Amad sent another letter for you.” He brought out an envelope and you took it and set it aside. “You’re not going to open it?” He asked.
“I am, just not right now.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“I think you should open it.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
You and Kili held some sort of bizarre staring contest, until you decided that Kili would at least be off your back if you opened it now. The letter read:
“(Y/N),
It brought me a small comfort to have read of your love for Fili, but it did not satisfy my doubts. Fili has told me much of your history and past, and you indeed seem like quite the character. However, I know my son would have put you on a pedestal to try and convince me of you, so I decided to rely on information about you from a much more honest source. That being my son Kili and my brother Thorin.
Thorin believes you to be an honest lass, with loyalty to match, and he told me he is very sure that you and Fili are the perfect match. My brother is not one to sugar-coat anything, and he is probably the most thickheaded dwarrow in the world when it comes to recognizing romantic love, so his assurances lessened my doubts. Kili on the other hand, told quite a different story.
Kili has told me that you are irritable, witty, incredibly thoughtful, and usually annoyed with him a vast majority of the time. He wrote about a few events during the journey that made me laugh quite a lot. I wholeheartedly support you and his decision to put a toad in Thorin's boot. That was brilliant. However, do not mistake this for approval of you, but know that my initial opinion on you has changed towards the better. My distrust of you has eased.
From,
Lady Dís”
When you finished reading, you turned to face Kili. A boyish grin had split his face.
“I can’t believe you told her about the toad incident.” You said.
“Oh, I told her about plenty more of our mischief as well. I already read her reply to me, she especially liked the one where we put a snakeskin in Fili’s sleeping role.” You couldn’t help but laugh as you remembered that night. That was probably the only time you had really seen Fili freak out. He had thrown the snakeskin as far away from him as possible, before taking his boot axes and chucking them at it. The snakeskin had been shredded, and you and Kili laughed for a good long while.
“I nearly forgot about that one, what fun that was!”
“Aye. I mentioned it to Fili today and he turned as red as a tomato, it was fucking hilarious!”
You and Kili spent the rest of the afternoon recounting your wrongdoings and pranks from the journey, only leaving when you grew hungry. After dinner, you wrote Dís back.
“Lady Dís,
     I’m glad you approved of the Toad Incident, honestly one of my finer moments. Thorin had his head in his arse all day, and Kili and I were tired of it. He completely ignored Gandalf’s advice for the third time in a row. I mean, he’s a terrific leader and has the support of all who follow him, but… sometimes I think someone else should have been making the decisions, as most of his decisions ended up with us being in trouble. But that’s all in the past, I suppose. He’s leading Erebor to prosperity once more.
     As for what Kili told you of me, I can’t say that he’s wrong. I do get annoyed with him much of the time. And very irritated at him. But he’s one of my closest friends, so I guess it balances out. He was reading your letter over my shoulder, and we ended up discussing all our tricks on the company afterwards. We both agree that we shall have to continue them now that we live in Erebor. We were thinking that putting cumin instead of cinnamon in a cinnamon bun would be a lovely surprise for someone.
      I’m very glad that your opinion has changed on me. It’s a bit of a relief, though I know that you do not approve of me yet. I hope your journey is going well, and that you are alright.
Sincerely,
(Y/N)”
In the weeks that followed, you were much more relaxed. The day that the caravan would arrive seemed much less daunting now that Dís appeared less cold towards you. Preparations for the day were in full swing, and about a hundred new rooms and halls had been cleared out and cleaned, as well as the start of cleaning out another library. It was called the Silver Library, and when you first saw it, you were amazed. Even in its abandoned state, it was breathtaking. The marble walls were a lovely rich blue, a nice change from green, and the shelves and tables were inlaid with silver. It was a long walk towards the north side of the mountain, but ever so worth it. Your days were now focused on clearing out the dust, alongside with a handful of scholars and writers.
The work was long and hard, but at least it was a great deal smaller than the Grand Library. The writers told you that this would be the best library to find peace, as the books here were all about history. The Grand Library hosted books from metal-working to children’s tales, hence why every sort of dwarrow could be found there. The Silver Library was a place for dedicated learners who appreciated the quiet now and again. Perfect.
Four weeks after the work had begun, it was looking nearly finished. You had spent the entire afternoon scrubbing a row of shelves, and unfortunately getting dust all in your system. A bath and bed were most welcome when night came ‘round.
After washing up, you found another letter had been placed upon your pillow, along with a note. The note was from Fili.
‘I missed you today, amrâlimê. My Amad sent another letter for you. Rest well.
-Fili’
The letter read:
“(Y/N),
We can both agree that Thorin is not the best decision maker. But there’s only so much one can do when he’s the first-born. And now I know not to trust your cooking. Or, at least I will force my brother to try it first, just to make sure it is safe for eating. I almost pity him now, that he had to put up with trouble from Fili, Kili, and yourself during the journey. But then again, he’s had it coming for a while.
The road to Erebor is long and rough, but nothing that I cannot handle. I’ve done it before, as a child no less, and I can sure as hell do it again. Hopefully though, it shall be the last one I shall have to do. We are almost half-way around Mirkwood now, another month and a half and I will be able to see you in person. I look forward to meeting you.
-Dís.”
Before retiring to sleep, you picked up your quill to write to Dís for the third time.
“Lady Dís,
     I am happy your journey is going well, and that you are nearly here. I am really excited to meet you. Fili hasn’t stopped talking about you for the past week. He says that you’ll be here in four weeks or so. The weather is getting much colder, and the Lake-men in Dale say that the winds aren’t promising. Keep safe and warm, and I wish you the best for the rest of your travels!
Sincerely,
-(Y/N)”
No more than two weeks later, you received her reply.
“(Y/N),
I should think this will be my last letter before meeting you in person. I have been able to see the mountain for the last few weeks and it makes my heart warm to know I am close. I am not worried about the cold, the elders agree that the snow will not fall hard for sometime.
We plan to arrive on November the Nineteenth.
From,
Dís”
Every dwarrow in the mountain was bustling with energy now that the caravan was only a week away. Fili and Kili were beyond excited, dragging you to the secret door to see if you could spot the caravan in the distance. It was just visible, a tiny spot by the forest that had many ant-sized dwarrow moving about.
For the next five days, Fili and Kili would find time to come up the platform with you in tow, seeing how much closer the caravan got. On the sixth day, the dwarrow had stopped roughly in between Laketown and Dale.
“I don’t like the look of those clouds,” Fili commented, his blue eyes turned grey to reflect the sky.
“Mean neither. But they’ll clear tham in time,” Kili replied, hands fidgeting with his talisman.
“Hopefully.”
The next morning, you woke to find a note on your dresser.
‘(Y/N),
             Kili and I went to the caravan, our patience to see our Amad has worn thin. Don’t worry, we’ll be back by tonight.
All my love,
Fili.’
Well, you hoped they were having a good time. It wasn’t until you had made your way out of your chambers, bundled up warm, that you heard the news.
“Did ye hear? More than a meter deep!”
“Oh aye, fresh powder, as far as the eyes can see, and still falling!”
“One has to wonder how the caravan will fare. There’s wee ones traveling.”
“And old ones.”
With every word the dwarrow spoke, you felt your heart sink even further. Your pace picked up and soon you were running to the dining hall.
Thorin, Dwalin, and Balin were all discussing the caravan when you entered the hall.
“We’ll have to send out help to hurry them along,” the King said, “We’ll wait for a break in the snow and send out a group.”
“We should probably have ponies ready for the children and elders, they won’t be up for trekking through the snow.” Balin said.
Thorin nodded before noticing you hurrying towards them.
“Ah, (Y/N). Where are the Lads?”
“I was just coming to see you about that, Fili left a note this morning.”
Thorin raised an eyebrow.
“Well?”
“They went to the caravan.”
Thorin groaned and pinched his nose. Dwalin spoke up.
“The night watch said that two dwarrow in hoods went out last night. About three hours before the snow started up.”
“Mahal damn them!” Thorin cursed, “The two should know better!”
“I’m sure they’re fine Thorin,” Balin replied, “They can travel quickly.”
“Not quickly enough to make it halfway to Laketown during a blizzard!”
“We can send out a search party,” Dwalin said.
“No, we can’t risk any more dwarrow getting stuck out there. When the snow breaks we’ll go out and look for them. And send help to the caravan.”
You were ready to shout at them. If Fili and Kili were out in the blizzard, they could need help. Even if dwarrow’s blood ran hot, it didn’t run hot enough to keep warm in a blizzard for hours on end. Balin seemed to notice your anguish and smiled in your direction.
“Fili will be alright lass, we’ll find him as soon as the storm breaks.”
You blinked and shot a glare at Thorin before turning away and leaving.
“What did I do?” You heard him ask before exiting.
“Only Mahal knows.” Dwalin replied.
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mintymiknow · 3 years
Text
Trust Fall ch. 8 | Lee Minho
summary | character profiles | masterlist
Pairing: Lee Minho/Lee Know x Reader
Summary: Little discussions here and there seem to open some eyes and hearts, but is it enough to fully break down the walls that were built? 
Genre: Secret agent/spy au, romance, angst, action
Word count: Approx. 5.8k
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Warnings for this chapter: Genre-typical violence & blood due to fight scenes (rest assured, it isn’t gore; just basic or typical violence for fight scenes). Let me know if I missed anything or should add more warning tags though!
A/N: I know you all had to wait for a bit, but I used my break to spend time with family (and play Genshin so...hehe I needed some “me-time”). Anyway! I’m back and here to give you all the next chapter for the series. I hope you enjoy reading it as the end scenes have been my favorite to write so far ‘cause you’ll be getting some tension and fluff at the same time. Leave an ask for any questions and comments!
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“I’ve fallen into a daily routine now. I’m used to everything and go about my day normally now.”
That’s what you’d like to say anyway.
While it’s somehow true that you’ve fallen into a systematic rhythm in SKZ, it’s still something that weighs down on you, and you just want to get things over and done with. You still have to drag your body away from the bed, drag your feet here and there, and work in the lab department.
This systematic rhythm consists of working in the lab with Seungmin and Jisung - and eating your meals with them mostly. It also involves Minho and the other boys going on smaller-sized missions, each return giving you more things to work with and whatnot.
In the very back of your head and heart, the brief moments Minho spends with you - namely late nights in the lab discussing the recent findings and theories - are somewhat a breather as it reminded you of the times you and Dr. Kang would stay in the doctors’ lounge, talking about how your rounds with the patients went for the day.
Well, at the end of it all, at least you’re basically good friends with Seungmin and Jisung now. Being with the two gave you a sense of freedom as if you were back in your more relaxed college days or something of that sort.
After getting showered and dressed for another day, you head to the lab department. On the way, you bump into Felix in the courtyard-like area of the HQ. The young male greets you with a smile, “Morning, y/n! Lab duty again?”
You offer a small smile and nod in response, “Hi, Felix. Yes, as usual.”
“I see.” Felix chuckles lightly, “Don’t forget to stand up and stretch from time to time. Sitting for long hours isn’t good for your posture! Though you’re the doctor so I’m sure you knew that…”
“We can forget.” you chuckle, “Thank you for the reminder. You should keep that in mind too.”
“Yeah, sitting in front of computer screens and whatnot is bad for my eyes, but probably my back too.” Felix laughs, his eyes filled with so much brightness.
You release a soft sigh and smile, “I commend you and your efforts in the tech division.”
“Thanks…” Felix says sheepishly, “I’m not one for being in the limelight, but it’s nice to hear that us tech agents are doing good too. We are working in the background most of the time.”
“Well, I’m sure that without you and the other tech guys, Minho and the rest of the agents would be doing missions blindly and without any advantages.” you say seriously yet warmly.
“That’s true.” the younger laughs, “Gee, you’re really nice, you know that?”
“Not really...just...um, saying facts.” you stutter, suddenly taken by surprise by his compliment, “It’s from a completely objective perspective after all…”
Felix grins wider, shaking his head, “I can tell you’re a nice person, y/n! Minho says you’re a bit closed off, but it’s understandable. Jisung and Seungmin know you best, and they like you a lot, so that’s more than enough to like you too. Besides, you wouldn’t be here if you really didn’t care, right?”
After that statement, another agent calls for Felix, so the freckled male has to excuse himself. As he trots off to the main HQ building, you stand there, dumbfounded.
“Besides, you wouldn’t be here if you really didn’t care, right?”
You’ve been blaming Minho and Jung and SKZ for dragging and forcing you back into the game. Blaming them for giving you no choice no matter what, but deep down, you knew that you did have a choice. You could run away any time, turn to the government or something to fight for your rights. You could give in to the dark whispers of joining Cle to end whatever struggle once and for all.
But you had a choice, and you chose to work with SKZ.
Because yes, you cared. Yes, you wanted to make sure no one lost their lives over a stupid serum.
You chose this.
Who knew that Felix, happy-go-lucky and carefree as he was, would just nonchalantly utter words that would open your eyes and heart. Well, maybe it was that innocence and cheerfulness that made it more believable and genuine to you.
Shaking your head to release yourself from a trance, you clear your throat and make hurried steps towards the lab department. You take the elevator and go down to the underground level where most of the work is done. You then venture further inside, heading for the hallway where various rooms are lined. You’re about to scan your ID to open the door to the lab room you frequently use when the door slides open by itself; you’re met with a tall figure in front of you.
You look up, only to see Jung standing in front of you, tilting his head to the side. “Oh, Dr. Song, good morning.” he chuckles.
You nod politely, “Yes, good morning, Jung. What...what brings you here?”
Jung rarely stepped foot into the lab unless you guys summoned him and the agents for briefing on test findings and results. As far as you were concerned, the results for the tests Jisung ran yesterday are due later in the afternoon, not this morning.
Unless...something happened and Jung needed to speak directly to you, perhaps?
“Did...something happen?” you ask again, clearing your throat.
Jung shakes his head and offers a smile, “Well, technically I was looking for Seungmin, and since you both work closely, I thought he’d be here...where’d that boy go?”
“Seungmin’s doing his rounds in the medical wing, I think.” you explain, “Did you need something from him? Maybe I’d know…”
“Oh, no. It’s just about an agent that needs treatment, and I think Seungmin would be the best doctor to work on it.” Jung sighs and offers a small smile, “No matter, I’ll look for him myself.”
“I see, alright then.” you nod.
“Have a good day, Dr. Song. Don’t forget to take breaks. Minho says you’ve been working non-stop.” Jung calls over his shoulder as he walks away, muttering something about ‘where is Kim Seungmin’ afterwards.
You go inside the lab room and press the button for the door to slide shut. Call it “trust issues”, but as soon as the door closes, you scan the room and check everything there, making sure how you left it last night was how it was until now.
Not a single thing was out of place, so you mentally slap your mind for being so suspicious.
You then proceed to study whatever chemicals and substances the team has brought back the past few days, and you study them along with...well, vials of chemicals that you’ve hesitantly withheld from the rest - from Minho. These withheld items were things you’d only test and analyze when you were working by yourself, keeping the observations and notes in a small notebook that you kept in utter secrecy and safety.
If Jisung and Seungmin wanted to enter the lab room, they’d have to knock or scan their IDs, and if it were the latter, the beeping sound before the door opens gave you enough time to conceal whatever substances you were hiding under the table or in the desk drawers.
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After a few hours or so, you finally decide to take a break and keep the vials and flasks in a locked cabinet before clearing up the desk and returning whatever equipment you used. However, you still remain seated on the stool, going through the notes you’ve written in your notebook and rattling your mind to come up with mental calculations and formulas to make sense of your findings. So far, you don’t have anything, and your eyebrows knit together in desperation.
“Y/n.”
You freeze in your spot upon hearing that sharp and clear voice; you don’t even bother to make any moves in hiding your notebook - that’s too suspicious. Instead, you simply close the notebook and try your best to look as calm as possible as you look up, “Agent Lee.”
Minho crosses his arms, something you’ve learned to look away from - unless you want to internally drool over how attractive the simple gesture looks. “I thought you were supposed to be with Jisung for today? That’s what he told me last night anyway.” he says plainly.
You sigh. Did they all keep tabs on you or what? “I was just about to meet with him.” you answer, breaking eye contact with him once again, “I just...wanted to check some things here.”
“Anything of use?” Minho raises an eyebrow, and you know he’s trying to get you to explain yourself.
You lift up your notebook and weakly wave it in the air before explaining, “Just...going over some notes from previous findings and trying to connect the dots. I...am yet to see anything of significance.”
Once again, not a complete lie; yes, you were trying to connect that dots and whatnot, but nothing of significance? That was a lie. You’ve already noted some pretty significant findings aside from the ones you discovered with the other scientists, but you didn’t need to tell Minho that. Not yet...maybe.
Minho walks over, stopping a bit too close for you, and you involuntarily flinch at the suddenness...and proximity. The agent notices the subtle reaction, eyes slightly lidding in either annoyance or guilt...you aren’t sure which one. He plants a hand on the desk, leaning against it as he raises an eyebrow again, “Care to share anything else?”
You shake your head, moving to put your notebook in your small purse and slinging it onto your shoulder. You stand up from the stool, but instantly regret it as Minho takes one very miniscule step towards you. That tiny step is enough to cause you to take your own step back, unfortunately bumping into the stool behind you. The male catches you with ease, a hand lightly supporting your lower back as he tugs you close with one swift and effortless motion.
Your hands fly out to settle against his chest in an effort to put as much distance between you two. Minho leans close, his head perfectly and dangerously near the side of your neck; his dark hair tickles your ear, and you can almost feel the tip of his perfect nose against the skin of your neck. You can’t help but gulp, and you’re sure the agent notices it. Despite his body warm against yours, you’re frozen like ice, unmoving as Minho remains in that position for a few more seconds.
After, he pulls back and stares at you with an unreadable expression, dark eyes still somehow sparkly despite the tension in the room. “Did you...perhaps drink at the bar before coming here? While on duty?” he asks sternly, as if reprimanding you.
You blink your eyes, staring at the male with confusion. “Excuse me?” you blurt out.
“You smell like alcohol.” Minho says in a deadpan manner.
You angle your head to sniff your shoulder to see if he was telling the truth. Surprisingly, you caught a whiff of alcohol from your jacket and internally groan, closing your eyes in embarrassment. If this were a cartoon, your cheeks would be tomato-red. You open your eyes to see Minho smiling at you, the curl of his lips nothing short of teasing and playful. Your cheeks are probably redder now.
“I didn’t drink today.” you clear your throat, tearing your eyes away from Minho’s to look down. Instead, your eyes land on his tie, already loosened at the top with the first few buttons of his shirt unbuttoned. Your mind goes hazy.
Minho laughs lightly, “You do know it’s against the rules to go to the lounge bar when on duty, right?”
You snap out of whatever reverie you were in, dragging your eyes back to Minho’s. You nod, narrowing your eyes to mask your flustered state, “I drank yesterday, but with Seungmin and Jisung. I didn’t do anything today. This is the jacket I wore yesterday, that’s why.”
“I see.” Minho tilts his head innocently, pulling away and retracting his hand from your back; you suddenly miss the warmth.
You clear your throat once more before bowing politely, “Now if you’ll excuse me, Jisung might be waiting.”
You don’t wait for Minho to reply, skirting around him to leave the room in a hurry. Minho watches your retreating figure with warm eyes, but as soon as you’re gone, he narrows said eyes and scans the room. Though nothing in particular seems wrong, he does notice a small sheet of paper on the floor, perhaps slipping from your notebook when you hurriedly put it back in your purse. He bends down to pick it up, flipping it over to reveal a small polaroid photograph.
Minho’s eyes glaze at the photo, taking into account the three individuals posing happily. He sees a woman on the right, one eye closed as she makes a winking face with a smile wide and bright as she flashes a peace-sign with her hand.
In the middle is a male who Minho recalls is the man you met up with before - Dr. Kang Hyunbin, the one you claimed to be your good friend. He smiles calmly, eyes twinkling even through a photograph as he has one arm around the other woman’s shoulder, and another arm around your shoulder.
There, at the left side you stand, smiling wider than Minho has ever seen, eyes full of life and not dull like how it is in here. The three of you were in casual clothes, though still wearing your usual lab coats in what seems to be the outdoor garden of Gongjak Hospital.
“Never thought I’d see someone smile like this after her.” Minho thinks to himself, “How cruel is fate, huh?”
He catches himself looking at you a second too long than he intended, so he releases a sigh and pockets the photo, making a mental note to return it to you soon. Turning on his heel, the agent then heads for the training facility in the main building.
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“If I may be so bold, I’d say you’re in love.” Jeongin laughs after finishing a routine on the treadmill, plopping down onto a bench, “Not kidding.”
Minho leans against one of the gym equipment, raising a displeased eyebrow as he utters, “Yeah, you’re being too bold as usual, Innie. That’s not even - I don’t even know what to say in response to that.”
Chan wipes the sweat off his forehead with a towel after he finishes his turn with the punching bag. “I am intrigued how you came with that conclusion though.” the eldest says.
Jeongin laughs, his eyes narrowing into a playful yet sincere disposition, “Well, you don’t show it, but we know you well enough to see that you really do care about her. And it’s not just because you’re her partner or it’s your job to do so. I know how you are when you genuinely care about someone, and your eyes tell me that you do care about y/n more than you lead on.”
“Ok, but what if I’m only like that because I don’t want her to die? Because we’re agents? We’re supposed to be protectors of this country and its people?” Minho reasons, heading towards the punching bag.
“You’re pretty touchy and teasing with her, am I right? Kinda flirty and charming.”
“It’s called a cover, Innie. You’re familiar with that.”
“I just have a feeling. You don’t care about people to that extent. You tend to act out of duty and obligation, not attachment and emotion. With us being an exception to that, the other person I can see this side of you with is when you’re with y/n, or if it involves y/n.” Jeongin leans back against the wall, his smile not faltering one bit, “Not saying you’re attached to her, but I’m just saying that there’s already an emotional connection, and I have a feeling it won’t be long until it becomes something more serious.”
Chan looks at the youngest in awe, smiling like a proud father as he slowly claps his hands. He puts a hand on Jeongin’s shoulder and gently shakes him before turning to Minho, “You know, I do have to agree with Innie on this. You don’t even have to act on feelings or whatever. Just...try not to close yourself or your doors, alright? Maybe you’ll earn another new friend along the way.”
“I don’t need her if I have you guys.” Minho lightly punches the bag a few times, “She’s a waste of time. I just need her to finish her part so we can finally conclude this long mission.”
“You’re probably going to shoot me for saying this,” Jeongin starts as he hides behind Chan, “but are you just saying that because she reminds you of Jiyeon?”
At that, Minho shoots a glare at the two males, eyebrows furrowed. Jeongin sheepishly chuckles, but he boldly presses on. “Changbin told us...how much y/n reminds you of Jiyeon, and well, yeah, we do see it too. Is that why you don’t want to get attached? Not even romantically...platonically, even.”
Minho’s eyes soften as he looks down at the floor, “I’ve made myself clear when I said that emotions are a waste of time and are a useless distraction - things I can’t afford in this job. I’m here to protect people, not make friends and fall in love.”
Chan hums, offering a slow and easy smile as he looks at the male with warmth. “Y/n isn’t going to kill you. Or us. Or anyone for that matter.” the eldest agent states confidently, “It goes against her principles...against the doctor in her. That’s more than enough to convince me she’s on our side.”
“Wasn’t that what we thought of Jiyeon?” Minho scoffs, “Noble woman serving the organization to protect the people because of her pure heart?”
“No.” Chan says in an instant, his voice filled with certainty, “Y/n cares about lives, otherwise she wouldn’t be here. She’ll do everything in her power to fix this just so she can prevent harm...and maybe find peace from whatever past is haunting her.”
Then Minho and Chan stare at each other, a brotherly connection swarming in their eyes as whatever determination Chan has to share makes its way to Minho. The eldest agent then continues with a softer, more apologetic voice, “Jiyeon...is the opposite of y/n, now that I think about it. Y/n reminds you of the mask Jiyeon had, but not Jiyeon herself. That woman...worked in the complete opposite way of what we stand for - what y/n stands for.”
Minho releases a sigh, slumping down onto the bench beside Jeongin. With a groan, he leans his head back and rests it against the wall. Chan chuckles, giving his friend a light pat on the shoulder.
“Jiyeon’s gone, so let go of her now.”
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A day later, Jung sends Minho and a small team to a factory site for investigation. He requests your presence as well, as the factory was used for chemical experiments, and you might have additional input as the investigation is carried out.
You sit in the backseat of the car, staring out the window as Minho sits next to you, and despite being on the other end of the backseat, you can feel his warmth radiating from him. Usually, he’d be driving or seated in the passenger seat if Chan was driving. But right now, two other agents were in front, and while Minho was supposed to sit in front, he swapped places with the other agent and sat with you.
Though, if you were being completely honest, you couldn’t decipher why, because right now, the man has barely spoken or looked at you. It’s a quiet ride, and you aren’t sure if it’s because he’s with agents who aren’t his usual circle of friends; you decide to keep quiet as well.
The agent driving parks the car by some trees along with another car before your groups begin to trek up a small hill that leads to a secluded factory building. The other agents go their own way with Minho reminding them to keep things subtle and quiet. The male agent then addresses you, but he does not look your way, “Follow me.”
Not that you really cared, but his indifferent - or more indifferent than usual - demeanor slightly puts you in a confused state, but you follow him nonetheless. Once inside the factory building, you look around and whisper, “Is this an abandoned site?”
Minho shakes his head, sharp eyes looking around, “Technically not. Cle occupied and used this site, but as per intel, they’ve only recently relocated the operations for this place somewhere else. This is now just a backup hideout, in simpler terms.”
You nod your head, and Minho continues, “We’re here to investigate, nothing more, nothing less.”
“Ok.”
With that, another blanket of silence befalls you two, and you find yourselves searching and investigating the room you were in. You both work in silence, and while it has its pros and cons, you can’t help but feel uneasy. On the bright side, you could focus on your task at your own pace and not get distracted, keeping things to yourself if needed. However, you’re slightly used to him asking questions and checking on you every now and then, so you can’t help but think if he’s upset or angry.
Or he knows something about what you’ve been hiding.
Impossible; that couldn’t be the case right?
He’d confront you if that were the case, not avoid you...right?
Unfortunately, there’s nothing of interest and significance in this room, so you tell Minho. It would seem he has the same thoughts because he furrows his eyebrows and gestures towards the rooms down the hallway nearby. “They must have swept this place clean.” he sighs tiredly, “Let’s move on.”
You nod and follow him in silence, the agent carefully and quietly navigating through the confusing halls and rooms of the factory building. Unfortunately, it was as he said; it would seem Cle did a good job in making sure no traces were left for SKZ to pick up on, leaving you empty-handed. The agents communicate with Minho through their communication devices and inform the male that they’ve moved on to the North building which was on the opposite side of the factory compound.
You and Minho head to the last location to scout, and it turned out to be a run-down lab room. The interior and leftover equipment and tables were clean, but you could see specks of rust forming on the surface. You gingerly brush your hand on one of the table surfaces, sighing, “This kind of environment could affect whatever chemicals and substances they were working with.”
“Unless this is a set-up to make it look like they haven’t been doing anything here.” Minho points out, squatting down in front of one the shelves lined with bottles of murky liquid and chunks of...whatever specimens, “Any idea if these will be useful?”
You walk over to him and look at the stuff on the shelf. You sniff the bottles of murky liquid before contorting your face in disgust, “This is just stagnant water. It’s murky because of dust and dirt.”
“But these…” you trail off, tilting your head to examine the containers with whatever solid specimens, “...these are…”
You gulp, unable to finish your sentence as your mind finally registers what those specimens were; pieces of body parts that had long decayed, probably to be used for observational purposes but rotted over time.
Minho notices the way you stiffen, gulping hard as if urging yourself to keep the bile to yourself. He breaks whatever “silent treatment” he had going on, putting a hand to your shoulder to get you away from the shelf. He steps in front of you to block your view, bending slightly just to get to your eye level. “Y/n, just rela - ”
He doesn’t get to finish his words because in a split-second, his eyes leave yours as they fill with urgency. Before you know it, he grabs your shoulder more firmly and pushes forward. You yelp as you land on the ground with him on top of you at the exact same time you see a small dagger lodging itself into the shelf. Your eyes widen and fall to Minho who already has his icy eyes on the newcomer to the room.
He mutters a hurried “get out of here” before getting up and facing off with the stranger. However, you can’t bring yourself to move, frozen on the floor as you watch the stranger lunge for Minho. The two men engage in a frenzied hand-to-hand battle, but it would seem like the man is at par with Minho, keeping up with the skilled agent’s moves.
Minho refuses to draw out his gun to make sure he doesn’t make any noise to prevent attracting attention should there be more enemies around the area. He manages to gain a short upper-hand, sending the enemy a few feet back with a strong spinning kick. He then rushes over to you and grabs your hand so that he can pull you to your feet.
“Let’s go.” he says in a low voice, not wasting any time in running from the room.
You’re both running as fast as you can, hand tightly gripping each other’s as if your life depended on it. You arrive in one of the open-space rooms, and as you continue to run, the wooden floor below creaks softly. The enemy is a quick runner as well, somehow managed to catch up with you two. He reaches out, grabbing your other wrist and pulling you from Minho’s grasp and pulls his fist back to land a punch. The agent refuses to let him do so and turns around, using whatever momentum to pull you behind him just as the enemy’s fist lands on his jaw. The impact causes Minho to let go of you as he falls to the side, and you find yourself yelling his name.
The opponent chooses to go for Minho instead of you, picking the agent up by the collar of his shirt. He bashes his head against Minho’s, and while the agent winces in pain, he grits his teeth and fights back, back to being on equal ground with the enemy. They engage in another physical combat, landing blows on each other here and there. As if nothing could be worse, another stranger runs into the room, grabbing you from behind in a choke-hold.
You do your best to stop him from suffocating you, kicking and trying to elbow the man behind. Minho sees it from the corner of his eyes, clicking his tongue in exasperation. His opponent lunges an arm forward, holding a knife, so Minho grabs said arm and pivots with complex skill, doing some sort of flip and twisting the enemy’s arm so he could end up behind the agent. With the opponent in a similar choke-hold, Minho grabs the knife and skillfully throws it towards the stranger holding you.
Unfortunately, because you were both moving a lot, the blade seems to approach you instead. Your eyes widen with fear, but thankfully, it only shallowly cuts your cheek before lodging itself into the stranger’s neck. He lets go and collapses on the ground with a thud, blood now pooling around him.
However, because of that moment, Minho’s opponent gains the advantage once more, headbutting Minho’s chin, prompting the agent to let go. The enemy is quick to turn to Minho, another knife in his hand to jab at the male who is recovering his bearings. You don’t know how you managed to bring yourself to do it - maybe the adrenaline rush or fear of having Minho killed in front of you - but you pull out the knife that killed the other stranger and run towards Minho’s opponent, stabbing the blade into his shoulder as he was wearing a muscle tee.
You try to ignore the blood painting the enemy’s skin, using the time he takes to get the blade out to rush to Minho’s side. You both then take steps to run away; however, the enemy isn’t too pleased with what you’ve done, shifting his attention to you instead of Minho. As he takes a step forward, however, the wooden floor beneath creaks loudly, and Minho’s eyes catch the subtle splintering around the three of you.
“Minho, let’s go.” you say in panic when the agent seems to be standing still.
Minho’s eyes are stuck to the wooden floor, making some sort of mental calculation in his mind.
One more step.
As the enemy makes one more step, the floor makes a breaking sound and gives out. Minho, however, is able to push you back just in time, allowing you to remain on the unbroken part as he and the enemy fall to the floor below with a sickening crack.
“Minho!”
You see the agent pushing himself to get up with a few coughs, but so is the opponent. The agent then looks up to you, eyes still calm yet with a sense of urgency, “Go now! Run to the rendezvous point! I’ll follow!”
“But - ”
“I promise, just go!”
You bite your lip, nodding in understanding as you turn on your heel and make a run for it. Minho then wipes the blood dripping down his chin and turns to his opponent, a cold and almost cruel smirk playing at his lips, “Now that I don’t need to hold back, I hope you’re ready.”
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Meanwhile, you pump your legs as hard and fast as you can, running towards the rendezvous point. Unfortunately, that meant where the cars were parked, but you still had a bit of distance to cover since you and Minho ventured deep inside the building. Just as you’re about to reach the end of the hallway near one of the back doors, you hear gunshots, bullets barely missing you. You try to conceal your screams, ducking down and running into a rather large room, quickly finding a hiding spot behind a cement pillar.
The shooter repeatedly shoots the structure as you cover your ears. Fragments of the pillar crack of and fly here and there, dusting your hair and shoulder with chalky-white bits. After a moment, the shooter stops to reload his gun, and you take the chance to sprint to another hiding spot. 
He begins to shoot just as you drop down and make your way behind an old couch, a bullet barely missing your leg. He shoots without stopping, the couch fillings flying everywhere. Another round to reload his gun, and you grab a nearby ceramic vase and throw it to him as hard as you can. 
The shooter shoots it, but the split-second allows you to find cover behind a desk in the other end of the room. You curl yourself up, hugging your knees to yourself as you take deep and shaky breaths. In the dead silence of the room, you can hear your shooter’s footsteps approaching slowly, the grasp of fear locking onto you as you cover your mouth. You hear the clicking of the shooter’s gun, and you close your eyes, anticipating the worst.
However, when you hear a bang followed by a thud, you don’t feel anything and instead see a body collapse to the side, thankfully facing away from you. A few seconds later, Minho appears, kicking the body away from you and kneeling beside you. “Y/n.” he whispers.
You let out a deep breath, only noticing now that tears have streamed down your face. Minho’s expression softens, eyebrows knitting in concern as he reaches out to brush off the cement particles that dusted onto your hair and shoulders during the shootout. He then moves to wipe your tears with his thumb.
Never have you seen so much warmth in his eyes as he stares at you, eyes never leaving yours as you let out quiet sobs that rattle your shaky figure.
Despite the cuts on his bleeding lip, bruises painting his cheekbone, blood trailing down from his head to the side, and disheveled hair, he still looked familiar, warm and comforting - like a home you’d return to after a hard day’s work in the hospital.
You didn’t know it was possible for him to look like that.
You close your eyes when his thumb stops brushing your tears away, his hand now moving to cup your cheek with a tenderness opposite of how he fought off his opponents. “Hey.” he whispers so softly, only you can hear it like a secret message, “Are you hurt?”
You shake your head, still trembling. Minho nods in understanding and helps you up before telling you to wait for a second. He walks over to a nearby window and communicates with the rest of the team, giving them an update on the situation. Meanwhile, you kneel down next to the shooter’s dead body upon noticing a small plastic vial filled with red liquid. Quickly, you swipe it and shove it into your brassiere for extra measure. You stand back up, walking over to Minho.
He finishes communicating with the team before gently taking your hand in his, “Come on.”
Without a word, he leads you out, walking calmly towards the rendezvous point. Once there, it would seem like the team was still on the way from the other building, so Minho sits on the hood of one of the cars, eyes still on the sharp look-out for any enemies. You sit next to him, exhaustion clouding your eyes as you stare straight ahead.
“I’m sorry.”
You hum emptily, “Hm?”
Minho sighs, turning to face you. You don’t pull away when his hand finds your face, thumb gently dancing around the cut you got from the knife from earlier. The blood had dried up, but it made its mark. The agent’s thumb is soft as he strokes the skin under the cut, “Sorry about this. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“It’s fine.” you clear your throat, looking at him for a fleeting moment before turning your eyes to his chest, “You still saved me, so thank you.”
“And you saved me.” Minho responds, offering a small smile.
You can only nod, the impact of the events finally catching up to you. Tears swell in your eyes again, and you feel a light shiver travel down your spine. Minho isn’t new to comforting people; he may say he doesn’t care, but he knows what to do and how.
So he reaches forward, gently tugging on your arm to pull you close to his chest. Once your head comes into contact with his chest and you feel his arms wrap around you, providing warmth and security, you weakly sob against him. He brings a hand up to your head, softly stroking your hair as he whispers against your temple, “This mission wasn’t supposed to go this way. My bad for not being able to foresee these circumstances. Sorry you had to go through it.”
Perhaps today, you put your guard down enough for him to console you. You let yourself believe and trust him. Just for today. Tomorrow, who knows?
You shake your head and clear your throat, “Not your fault. It’s part of the job, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Minho sighs, hoping you don’t notice the way he holds you closer and tighter, “It is.”
Maybe Jeongin and Chan were right.
Loved you? Maybe not that.
Cared about you? Genuinely? Perhaps he sees it now.
But can he afford such a luxurious feeling? Such an emotion?
Last time he allowed himself such indulgence, he paid a cost too high.
148 notes · View notes
rainydaydream-gal18 · 3 years
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(Clone Wars) Obi-Wan Kenobi x Jedi!Reader: Here to Stay a Little Longer
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Author’s Note: In this fic, reader is a jedi who volunteers to care for an educate younglings in the order. Just wanted to say I know a few teachers and caretakers, and I just wanted to say the amount of respect I have for people who dedicate their time to little ones whether it be for a job or because their your own little ones!
    “Good work today.” 
    There was no stopping the affectionate smile that bloomed on your face as the youngling chirped in response to your affirmation.  You could sense his happiness at the lesson being over for the day.  He wanted to take a nap.
   “Me too, Grogu,” you sighed.  “Me too.”  He waddled over to you, and you lifted him into your arms.  Another jedi would be coming to take him back to the nursery for rest. 
   “___________?” a voice asked.
   “Hm?” you turned to see an elderly female jedi at the doorway to the training room.  “Oh, jedi Lilanou.  You are here to take Grogu back to his quarters?”
   “Yes, indeed,” she said with a smile, outstretching her hands.  They were weathered but ever so gentle as you transferred the tired baby to them.  He waved at you, and you laughed and waved back.  “Grogu will see you later this week for another training session.”
   “I will be expecting him.”  You nodded.  Grogu wasn’t quite like the other younglings.  He was more developed mentally for one so small, and he was much older than the others.  This meant he started training, but only a little since he was still a baby.  As Lilanou carried him away, you felt sadness creep its way into your feelings.  No doubt your attachment to the young one went beyond what it should.  You felt that way about most of the younglings you volunteered to look after and train before they became padawans and were assigned to mentors.  It was hard to let go when that time came, but the need for jedi to step up and help the next generation of younglings drew you in again and again.
   With the absence of Grogu, your afternoon was free.  The rumble in your stomach told you it was time for a meal.  You released a sigh and stepped out of the empty room into the vast halls.  Jedi walked to and fro, some in pairs while others had their noses in datapads.
   The sound of children’s laughter weighed your steps until you stopped altogether.  It was a collective laugh as if it was one shared by an entire class.  You started back on your way again before it rang out once more.  It was indeed a class that occupied one of the nearest training rooms, and from where you stood outside the doorway, you could hear Yoda’s voice instructing.
   “I’ll just stop in for a minute,” you said, grinning.  “Lunch can wait.”  As you approached, Yoda paused the lesson to meet your gaze.  As he greeted you, the younglings that were all seated in a semi-circle turned their heads to look in your direction.  Their faces lit up in recognition.
   “Ah, _________, how nice it is to see you,” Yoda said.  “Younglings, say ‘hello.’”
   “Hello!” they chorused.
   “Hello everyone!” you gave a nod of greeting before turning your gaze back to Yoda.  “I was just wondering if I could sit in on class today?  And maybe help if you need any assistance?”  It felt like a silly question to ask.  He was Yoda.  He’d been training many generations of younglings since long before you were born.  Nonetheless, his features softened as he motioned with his hand for you to enter.
   “Needing a lesson to refresh your memory, are you?” he joked in a good-natured way.  You chuckled as you took a seat on the far right of the semi-circle.
   “Something like that.”
   “Good, your timing is.”  He nodded.  “Discussing the process of constructing lightsabers, we are.  Perhaps, share with the class your experience, you could.”
   “That’s right,” you mused.  “Many of you are nearing that time.  Oh, yes Ganodi?”
   The Rodian girl lowered her hand, galaxy eyes averted shyly for a moment.  “Was it hard to build your lightsaber?”
   “It was a challenge,” you admitted.  “But it wasn’t meant to be easy.”  When you noticed her nervous expression, you added, “I’m sure you will do well.”
   “I’m excited to build mine!”  Petro exclaimed.  “I can’t wait!”
   “All in good time,” Yoda told the enthusiastic youngling.  “Anyway, back to our lesson, we should get....”
- - - - - - 
   After the class had been dismissed by Yoda, some of the younglings stuck around to talk.  Yoda walked over to you.  “Thank you for your help today.  Warms my heart, it does, to see your compassion and willingness to nurture the next generation of jedi.”
   You smiled.  “It warms my heart to see them so eager to learn.”
   After he left, you found yourself in the middle of a game of tag with the younglings in the classroom.  Katooni was “it”, and the rest of the group scattered.  She was fast for a youngling!  You raced past Byph, and he got tagged instead.
   “Sorry, Byph!”
   You were so captivated by the game that you hadn’t noticed a new presence.  “I thought I’d find you here.”  You skidded to a stop, looking over to see Obi-Wan Kenobi standing at the doorway.  Your heart did flips at the sight of that smirk of his while he stood there with his arms folded across his chest.  He had left on a campaign weeks before, and his return to Coruscant was a surprise to you.
   You turned to the group, who didn’t seem to notice him.  “Give me one second, guys.”  They continued to run around, and you walked over to the jedi, out of breath.  “It’s good to see you.  How are things on the front?”
   “Well, we were successful,” he replied.  That smooth voice was like music to your ears.  As you listened to him describe the gist of the mission, your mind wandered to silly little things like his velvety hair that shone in the light or his soft blue eyes or the way his lip quirked when he spoke.  It was just so nice to see him, to be able to take it in that he was there.
   “Sounds like an interesting time.”
   “Oh, no.  Not interesting in the least,” he said sarcastically, the shine of amusement in his eyes.  “How have things been here?”
   “Same as ever.”  You smiled and nodded in the direction of the younglings playing their game.  “These ones keep me occupied.  It’s not fighting Separatist battle droids, but…”
   “It’s an important duty.  I can hardly think of a more noble endeavor,” he told you, eyes looking distant and warm as the younglings’ laughter carried.  “I myself hope to dedicate more time to the cause.  I haven’t been as involved as I’d like to be.”
   “Well, we could always use the help.  Besides, you have become a sort of legend around here.”
   Obi-Wan’s brow lifted curiously.  “Is that so?”
   “It is, and you have Anakin to thank for that.  He stops by every now and then and shares a story or two about his and your adventures on the battlefield.”
   “That sounds like Anakin,” he sighed.
   “He’s an inspiration to the younglings, as are you,” you paused.  “To me as well.”
   “Obi-Wan!”
  “Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan!”
   The group began to gather around the two of you, their eyes wide with admiration and curiosity.
   “Well hello there,” he said.  “I was beginning to think I’d gone unnoticed.”
   “Where’d you go? Did you fight Grievous?” Petro’s questions poured out quickly.
   “Was Anakin there?” Zatt asked, tipping his head to one side.  “He said he was going on a mission too.”
   “Alright, alright,” you laughed.  “Let’s not overwhelm him.”
   “I’ll tell you all about the mission another time,” Obi-Wan assured them.  “For now, you might want to run.”
   “What?  Why?”
   “Because it looks like Byph is still ‘it,’ and he’s sneaking up behind you.”
   “Ahhh!”  They burst into laughter and screams as they scattered once more, leaving you and Obi-Wan chuckling.  One of the smaller younglings fell down in front of him.  He simply took her hand and gently pulled her to her feet.
   “Careful, little one.”  His warning was tender, and you watched the scene with heart thumping.  Obi-Wan was always good with younglings.  His kindly nature and humility made him quite popular. 
   He’d make a good parent, you thought.  Realizing where your mind was taking you, you shook your head.  That was hardly appropriate for one to think about a fellow jedi.  Romantic feelings were normal, but these were driving you to imagine a life with him outside the order.  You imagined a loving man with whom you could have your own children with.  The way he was gazing at you made you feel embarrassed, as if he sensed your thoughts.
   “___________?”
   “Yeah?”
   “Are you hungry?”
   You glanced down at your stomach as it gave another rumble.  Ah, right.  You skipped out on lunch to join the youngling class.  How embarrassing he heard that!  “Uh yeah, I missed lunch.”
   “I’m rather hungry myself,” he said.  “Shall we go get something together?”
   You nodded, smiling.  “We shall.”  You looked at the younglings.  “I’ll see you all soon.”
   “Okay, bye ___________!”
   “Bye Obi-Wan!”
   They headed out the door, their chatter echoing down the hall.  You walked alongside Obi-Wan on your way to get something to eat.  He was always pleasant company.  He walked with his hands folded behind his back and his gaze occasionally resting on you.  You had longed to see him again, but when the moment was finally there, you weren’t quite sure what to say.  Finally, you thought of something.
   “Did you need me for something?”
   “Pardon?”
   “You said you might find me there with the younglings,” you said.  “Does that mean you were looking for me?” 
   He opened his mouth as if he had a clever response, but his voice came out in a subtle stutter before he found the words. “I thought I’d pay you a visit since I arrived back on Coruscant.  I merely...wanted to see you.”
   “Oh, I see.”
   “Is that a problem?” The question wasn’t irritated.  His eyes searched you with genuine concern.  He had made it known that he sought you out for no reason in particular other than his enjoyment of your company, and he didn’t want this knowledge to make you uncomfortable.
   “No, no, not at all.”  You shook your head.  “I’m glad you did.  I’m pleased to see you.  It was only a few weeks, but it felt like so long.”  You went silent after that statement, unsure if you crossed a line either.  You were supposed to be a jedi free from attachment, and the last thing you wanted was Obi-Wan Kenobi to think you were needy.
   “I know exactly what you mean,” he muttered in agreement.  His eyes went to the floor in a way that suggested he had something on his mind.  The implication that he may have missed you too made you want to hide your face shyly, but you remained nonchalant.
   “When do you leave Coruscant again?”
   “Not for some time, I hope.  Like I said, I’d like to be more involved with training the next generation for a while.”  He glanced your way, eyes crinkling as he smiled.  “But my apologies, that means you’ll have to see more of me.  I know how much of a burden I am.”
   “Indeed.”  You returned the smile.  “How terrible.”
   The warmth between you two was unmistakable during the playful banter.  Part of you was thrilled that he would be around, that you wouldn’t have to say “goodbye” for a while.  The other part was worried what it might bring upon both of you.  If the two of you spent more time together with the younglings, it would do you no good as far as dismissing the attachment you had to him.  And what of the Council?  Would they take notice?
   Obi-Wan sat across from you at one of the long dining tables, and those doubts one-by-one went out the viewport.  He spoke about his mission away and then listened as you told him about some of your adventures on Coruscant.  Some involved your travels outside the jedi walls while others were about your daily struggles and victories with the little ones.  You told him of a youngling still in the nursery that ran off without their robes that you had to chase down and dress.  Fortunately the nursing droids had proper security so the youngling didn’t leave the nursery.  Obi-Wan’ laughter rang out clear as a bell as he tipped his head back at the outrageous tale.  Something fluttered in your chest as he lost himself in the humor for a moment before taking a breath and sighing.
   “Well it seems I have much to look forward to,” he chuckled.  “I recall once you said you wished you had some war stories to share, but it seems you do now.”
   “Some days it is a battle,” you agreed.
   “Believe me, I know.”  He gazed at you then, that glint in his eyes as he smiled tenderly.  You found yourself unable to look away.  It was like a magnet pulling you to him, and if there weren’t a table separating you, you might have even leaned in for a kiss.  It was like electricity crackling between you, and you had to force yourself to glance down at your now-empty tray.  The time working with Obi-Wan again would be interesting.  Even after only a few hours together, you felt that same pull that you fought for years.  You wondered how long you could go without giving in.  You wondered if he felt it as strongly as you did.  By the look flashing in his eyes as you leaned in ever so slightly to scoot out of your seat, you figured he might.
   An interesting time indeed. 
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In Which I Project
Jon has some sort of neurodivercence and it is making work hard.
@janekfan
cw Jon is really really getting down on himself about what his brain is making hard, so cw for that and internalized ablism relating to things like rsd and executive dysfunction.  Jon also takes this out on his coworkers, because that is how Jon can be.  This chapter is a bit heavy with a hopeful end. If there is a chapter two, it will have a lot more fluff, promise.  (The reason Jon doesn't have a diagnosis is because I am projecting and I am not 100% what all is going on in my brain, this is just my experience.)  Also mentions of alcohol and food.  
Fuck.  Fuck.  Fuck.  Fuck.  
Why is he like this?  Why can’t he just fucking be a normal, functional person. Why does his brain behave like a backed up, broken drain.   He can’t think today.  
He’s been staring at his computer since 6:30 this morning.   He’s been here eight hours.  And it isn’t like he isn’t getting anything done.  But it’s not what he meant to do.  
He was going to check his email, record a statement, do some filing, check Martin’s work, then do some follow ups and check his email again before going home.  
Well.  He checked his email.  Then he noticed a flaw in what he filed yesterday so he had to fix that.  Then the loo was out of toilet tissue and he had to go chase down that, because the building’s maintenance tends to skip the Archives half the time.  (Which is usually fine because it’s used by four fairly neat people, but doesn’t help when they run out of things).  Then Elias had requested a meeting.  And that sent Jon spiraling because he wasn’t supposed to have a meeting today.  That was supposed to be tomorrow and while it’s nice that he doesn’t have to do that tomorrow it threw off his whole day and now he just feels like he’s going to cry or pass out or break his jaw by clenching it so hard.  
He can’t do it.  
He tries to make himself record a statement.  He does.  
But he can’t open the file.  
He can’t.  
He wants to scream in frustration.  Which, of course, is when Martin walks in.  
Jon doesn’t mean to yell.  He really doesn’t.  He doesn’t know where this vitriol comes from.  Was he always like this?   He doesn’t even remember what he says, just the acrid taste of bitter words on his tongue.  
When Martin flees, he tries to open the file again but the color and whine of the lights breaks down on him and his dragging fatigue.   
He tries to loosen his jaw.  Wiggles it side to side.  It pops, but ultimately goes back to tense.   It’s starting to give him a headache.   
He can’t do this.  It’s barely lunch.  He’s gotten nothing done.  
He tries to open this statement.  
He opens his email instead.  
The library wants his books back.  
He’s tired.  He means to gather his books and bring them up, but he ends up cleaning his desk and making notes on half researched statements he forgot about yesterday.  
That puts him off balance.  He hates not finishing.  It makes him feel on edge.  Like the world is going to drop from below his feet at any moment.  Like, in forgetting, the world has already dropped from beneath him, and he’s been walking on empty air and delusions.  And if this has already happened, how can he be sure it didn’t happen before.  
He finishes cleaning and files the loose statements away.  
He finally remembers to drink some water.  
He rubs his eyes against unshed tears and exhaustion.  It’s too bright.  Too loud.  
He takes his books up to the library.  
Hannah in the library tells him to remind Tim to return his books, she he does that.  
Jon is.  Edging towards …probably a nervous breakdown, if he’s honest with himself, by the time he stands before Tim’s desk.  
And Tim isn’t going to relinquish his books without a fight.  
“You can give Martin a rest or I’ll tell Hannah that you lost her books.”  Tim crosses his arms.  
It’s reasonable, Jon knows.  He’s behaved childishly.  This is more than warranted.  But, unfortunately his brain isn’t working.  He’s caught up in the disappointment in Tim’s tone, and again, the floor drops from beneath his feet.  Stomach dropping.  He tries to convince himself that, no, Tim doesn’t hate him.  All he as to do is agree or apologize which he should do anyhow.  But.  But what comes out of his mouth is something along the lines of, “Tim, I’ll thank you not to try to run my department.   This is hardly professional behavior.  Who do you think Hannah is more likely to believe?”   
This wouldn’t have been so bad, if not for the force and anger in his tone.  Misplaced confusion and frustration and exhaustion.  
He turns on his heel before Tim finds the words to argue.  
This is it.  
He’s ruined everything.  
Tim will never talk to him again and Sasha won’t either because he was rude to Tim.  And of course Tim’s mad at him because he was a prick to Martin.  
It’s all his fault.  He should have been able to stay on task.  He’s an adult, damnit!  
He finally opens the file but he hitches a sob before he can squeeze the introduction out of his tight jaw.  
He can’t do this.  
He can’t do this job.  
He can’t sleep at night and work all day.  Can’t even feed himself or get to the store once a week.  
How the fuck did he make it through school.  He’s a worthless mess.  
Georgie knew it.  
He wants to scream.  
They’re talking about him.  They must be.  That shouldn’t matter to him.  He’s their boss.  Besides, he was right even if he was rude about it.  Martin does make irritating mistakes.  He could have been more professional about handling it, but he still had to say something.   And Tim.  Tim had no right to bargain that way.  He has a responsibility to the library, and trying to use it as leverage against Jon is ridiculous.  
But at the same time.  There are the closest he has… had to friends.  Tim was his friend.  Right?  
Had he made that up too?  Has some memory of some earlier misdeed fallen out of the torn hole in the pocket of his memory where he looses things like hours, tasks, sleep, meals, meetings, half-finished statements on his desk.  
Why is he like this?  
He gets some more work done.  But none of the stuff on his list.  
He tries to make himself read the statement, again.  But he doesn’t.  
It’s late.  He’s left with lingering taste of disappointment and discontent.  
Today’s been a wash.  
He looks angrily at his scribbled to do list on the neon sticky note, from the stack Tim gave him back in Research.  Nothing’s been crossed off.  Statement has been circled twice.  He rubs at his eyes.  Tries to wipe away the tension headache.  Remembers to take a drink of water, finally.  It’s been hours.  It does help, a little, soothes some of the anxious desperation and crushing despair.  He wonders how much of it would be soothed if he got himself a hot meal.  How would it compare to the relief of finished that statement.  
But…. he won’t be able to go home and sleep if he doesn’t finish, because he won’t be able to relax until he gets it done.  
He allows himself 5 minutes to cry.  He sets a timer.  
It doesn’t help.  Doesn’t even offer the release he’d been hoping for.  
He dries his eyes with his sleeve.  
He reads the statement.  And scolds himself for taking all day to get to it.  It wasn’t hard.  It wasn’t even that bad.  It was a foolish statement that reeked of mischief and falsehood.  And he wasted his whole day avoiding it.  
He cries again, then.  No timer.  
He leaves his office.  He’s finally done with the day.  It’s edging on 21:00.  He feels like shit.  Of course he hadn’t brought a lunch, why would he have enough brain cells to do that?  He did make a halfhearted attempt at breakfast.  But that was a lot of hours ago, and he’d barely managed a few bites before his anxious stomach had stopped him.  He doesn’t feel hungry now, but he knows he is by the shakiness if his limbs, the over-lightness in his head, the irritation at himself still thick in his veins.  
He still has to get himself home.  
Then he hears footsteps on the stairs.  He thinks about going back to his office, but the idea of going back in there makes his head spin.  He’s spent too long in his office.  Christ, he just wants to sleep.  Just wants to be in bed without having to get home and make dinner or order dinner or shower or get in bed.  He just wants to be there.  Just wants to be there and sleep of eternity.  He angrily brushes away a stray tear.  
Of course, it’s too late now to try to hide, and eh certainly can’t hide how rumpled and tear-stained he is.  So he stands there dumbly, some archaic part of his brain reasoning that if he stays still, maybe no one will see him.  
Tim sees him.  Tim is laughing on his phone, pleasantly buzzed, and fumbling for the jacket he most likely forgot before going for drinks.  At least it’s still fairly early.  At least Tim still cares enough about his job to wrap it up at a decent hour.  He spots Jon, and hesitates.  Jon doesn’t look like he’s doing well.  He trails off mid chuckle.  “Sorry Sash, I’ve gotta go.  I’ll talk to you later, yeah?  Had fun tonight.”  
What does he say to Jon, who’d been a right ass earlier.  Jon, who is now teary and frozen, staring at him with exhaustion and mortification.  
He makes a decision, making a conscious choice to make himself smaller and softer.  “Hey, come back to mine, I’m going to buy you dinner.  As my boss, you’re a prick, and I haven’t forgotten that.  But as my friend, you need a curry.  Maybe we can sort out my asshole boss and my upset friend at the same time, yeah?”
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skylarmoon71 · 3 years
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Reverse Flash x Reader- Oneshot (Flash)
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Dealing with this yellow suit wearing maniac was not how you thought you’d spend the night. As an ex citizen from Central city, you knew just about every villain that came out of the tragedy of the explosion. Every day a new one seems to arise, and since you liked having all your body parts as they were, you stayed caught up with the news.
That’s why you’d left the place for some much needed peace. 
Rockstone was quiet, and still pretty populated. It wasn’t that far away from Central City either, so you could still visit your family every now and then.
“You seem awfully calm for someone being threatened."
The dark haired male raised his vibrating hand, hoping to urge at least some kind of reaction. After being brought back and wiped from existence so many times, this time around he’d just been looking to have a little fun. Chasing Barry around was starting to get redundant. And then he supposed the hero had his own problems to deal with right about now.
He planned to stay as low key as possible until he could figure out what his next move was. So kidnapping an unsuspecting victim and forcing them to provide him shelter seemed like the best way to go.
“Not gonna lie, scared the shit outta me when you appeared out of that little portal. Really thought I dodged a bullet leaving CC. Just my luck.” you grumble. Sipping at your coffee, you adjusted your bag strap. “Sorry old man, got a job to get to so if you’ll excuse me.” you walk around him. It was already dark, and since you had a night shift at the university today, you really weren’t in the mood for this.
Your hair is taken with the whip of the wind, and it feels like a blink. Drink discarded on the ground, you stare in shock. He has you pinned to the wall, snare on his face, blue eyes emitting so much raw agitation. “I’d advise against mocking me.”
He’s started to vibrate, the red light overtaking his eyes.
“It’s not wise to test me.”
The echoing of his voice would bring any person to their knees in fear. The look in your eyes shifts from shock to annoyance. Your free hand is hanging at the side of your waist. You raise your palm, and he looks down just as a blue light shoots out. He’s gone once again, obviously not anticipating this. No longer forced up on the wall, you shrug your shoulders, straightening your shirt that was ruffled.
Eobard is now standing at a distance, intrigued. He halts his speed for a second to observe you. He’s positive he has no recollection of you. Being the evil genius that he is, he’s pretty much recorded all the villain metas in Central City. All those years travelling through time also played a big part in it. So why does he have no profile on you?
“Who are you?” He narrows his eyes, and all you provide is a smirk.
“I think you mean what.” You open both your palms, and your eyes are now emitting the same glow as your hands.
“Great.”
What in the world did he get himself into. He really had a knack for picking bad situations.
~Three Months Later~
“I could have just. “ He makes a hand motion, and you don't need to even guess what he means. This guy. You'd just been telling him about your experience yesterday with one of your peers.
“Now now, don’t make me put you to sleep again Bardy-poo. “ You could tell from his facial expression that the name was anything but desired.
“How long do you intend to keep me hostage?” you scoffed at his statement.
“Hostage, I’d like to think of it as a gracious service to society. “
Eobard was still glaring in your direction.
Running into you that night was such terrible luck on his part. He really thought he’d be lucky this time around, but he was dead wrong. You were unlike anything or one he’d ever met. Certainly not a meta. Since you weren’t exactly forthcoming about your origin, there wasn’t much to go on. What he did know is that every time he attempted to do something even remotely evil, you knew about it.
His powers also had very little effect on you. Trying on many occasions to drill a hand through your chest with no luck. You had him mentally and physically subdued. What’s even worse is he was trying to avoid time travelling, cause that would catch Barry’s attention, and the prospect of the male finding him was even less appealing. With nowhere to go, and you keeping him on a tight watch, his only option was to stick around.
It wasn’t like he was completely stranded. He had means to get by for moments like this. With his abilities he could take whatever he wanted without so much as a flinch. You apparently didn’t care much for his little adventures as long as no one got dead. For all intents and purposes, he was a free man, minus the unnamed being keeping him on a leash.
“I can feel you plotting from all the way over here. Something you’d like to share with the class?”
“Will you remove the bind?” He asked. You click your tongue.
“You know I can’t do that. Evil villain and all. I wouldn't sleep very well if I knew you were out there impaling civilians. “
His eyes were still marking you, and you shifted, brows knitting.
“Well...I’m gonna go because that look is a bit off putting.”
Moving to pick up your cup of coffee and head for the door, you’re once again trapped between the speedster and the wall. You’re about to give him another snarky retort, but you become a little distracted by how deliciously rosy his lips are.
You divert your eyes quickly before your mind can stray any further. He doesn’t speak for a moment, and for a second you almost think he’s trapped in the same haze you are. He’d obviously prepared something diabolical to say, but like some of your most recent interactions, his usual malicious intent is missing.
“So, you're gonna say something or are you trying to relive some Korean drama scene."
He blinks, then takes notice of the position. You’re a bit confused at the lost look on his face. If you didn’t know any better you would have said he didn’t intend to do that. Taking a step back, the coldness returns to his eyes, and just like that he takes off. You release a breath.
“It’s getting harder.”
This little ploy was becoming difficult to keep up. If he ever figured it out you’re not sure what his reaction will be. Your reason for doing this has greatly changed from the beginning.
~~~~~~
The little mental battle has been going on all day.
You could barely focus on anything even when you were teaching your criminology class. That night walking to your door, you felt heavy. Not just from the secret you were keeping from Eobard, but also the feelings you’d lectured yourself not to grow.
The dark haired male is not a good man. You keep telling yourself that. But you’d hope that these months being around you would change that. He hadn’t hurt anyone since his arrival. You honestly thought that you could change him for the better. Opening the door, you step in. The area is silent, and it sort of makes you a tad bit suspicious.
“Eo-”
“Good evening.” You jump, glaring in his direction as you push the door close. He’s sitting on the couch casually like he didn’t just scare the shit out of you.
“Geez don’t do that!!”
He’s once again strutting that stupid smirk.
“It’s uncomfortable isn’t it, when things happen that we have no control over. Surprises.” you squint.
“Why do I feel like that has some alternate meaning."
He’s dressed in dark clothing, glasses perched on his nose. Everything about his body language tells you something is up. With his attention now fixed on you, the bag in your hand is placed on the counter. You’re preparing for anything. As you’ve realized Eobard is very unpredictable.
“I’m done playing your game, release me at once. “
Trying not to pay much mind to his request, you walk past him.
“Come on, we've been at this for months. I can’t let you go on a rampage. Innocent lives and all. If you really wanna blame someone then blame yourself. What are the odds that out of all of the people here you decided to grab me right?” you laugh, but you don’t receive any in return.
“You’re under the impression that this is a game.”
Eobard knows there’s no harm he can inflict on your body, doesn’t mean his actions don’t make you nervous. He approaches slowly, but with purpose. With your back now to the fridge, you try to move to an area where you won’t feel as trapped. Eobard in no way allows this. His hands press into the cool surface of the fridge.
“Y-You know this fetish you seem to have with pushing me against stuff is getting kind of old.” Who were you kidding, shit was driving you mad.
“You can’t keep me here.”
There was no humor in his voice. Just flat out hostility. Yet he wasn’t emitting the anger you knew he had inside. Just because he couldn’t kill you didn’t mean he couldn’t hurt you. You’re positive he’s realized that by now. The prospect of him leaving, somehow it caused an ache in your heart. Eyes connected, it was impossible for you not to look so vulnerable.
“I-If you really want to leave then just go.” you willed your body not to shake, but it was becoming difficult to even keep your tears at bay. “Are you toying with me?” He clenched his fist.
You shook your head, lowering your eyes. Why did you have to feel guilty for keeping the truth from him. The guy wasn’t exactly an upstanding citizen. “I’m not. You can leave Eobard. “
His eyes grew a little wide at the information. 
“I’m not a witch, or a metahuman. I’m just a mutant.” you state. 
“It’s how I’m able to produce barriers like the one I placed on you. It can only be sustained for a maximum of three weeks. It’s taken me years to get to that point of control. You just assumed I always had the barrier up after a month, and I never corrected you because I was trying to keep people safe.”
That wasn’t your only reason.
This entire time he’d been trying to solve your mystery when the answer was right in front of him. It still made no sense. Why didn’t he leave?
“The only reason you’re still here is because you want to be.” Eobard took a step back.
“That can’t be right, why would I want to be stuck in this wretched town.”
All you offer is a smile. At the back of your mind you hope it’s because he’s grown closer to you than he wants to admit.
“I’ve been wondering the same for weeks now. “
You aren’t sure what else can be said. Thankfully you haven’t started breaking down. You sort of want him to leave so you can have the privacy to do so. You take a breath, forcing a confident smile on your face. “Well the cat’s out of the bag so I guess this is goodbye. Just because I can’t hold you doesn’t mean I won’t know when you’re causing mayhem. Better not fall back to your old ways.”
You refuse to look him in the eye, so you have no idea what kind of expression he’s wearing.
Eobard steps forward and grabs your arm.
“Wha-” your swept right off your feet, and you grunt when your back suddenly comes in contact with the softness of your mattress. Eobard is hovering over your body, and you realize he’s just taken you into the bedroom without so much as an explanation. Not just that, but the hunger behind those dark rimmed glasses is enough to turn you into putty.
“W-What are you doing!!”
“Testing a theory.”
“The fu-” His lips collide with yours and your eyebrows shoot up. If you had expected something, it wasn’t this. His entire body is now pressed into you. You’ve held your breath, whimpering.
This is bad, wrong even. His hands are pressed into the mattress, as he shows no signs of moving, or slowing down. His lips are moving eagerly against yours, and at some point your body has started to respond. You reach up, grabbing a fistful of his black shirt, forcing him closer. Your kisses are desperate now, and raw. One of his hands lands on your thigh, trailing up your leg. Because you’re wearing a dress, you can feel his palm against your skin. You moan, and he takes full advantage, slipping his tongue in.
“So good..”
He tastes amazing. His kisses are even more incredible. If you never came up for air that would be too soon. Eobard parts for the breath you are both in need of. Sapphire orbs have changed to navy, and it elects another needy moan from you. His hand is still on your thigh, caressing the skin teasingly. He’s so close to where you need him the most. Eobard takes pleasure in your soft cries. Now it all makes sense. The reason behind your need to keep him there, his apparent unconscious reluctance to leave you.
“Delicious.”
He licks his lips, pulling off his glasses and tossing them overhead.
“I hope you understand what you’ve gotten yourself into. “ You gulp.
Did you?
His lips hover over yours and the logical part of your brain has vanished. You lean up to connect, but he’s keeping you at a distance with that stupidly sexy smirk on his face."
”It appears I’m the one who has you bind now. “
What an unusual turn of events.
Not that you’re complaining.
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rachelbethhines · 3 years
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Tangled Salt Marathon - Day of the Animals
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While perhaps not my favorite episode this season, Day of the Animals is easily the best written story of season three. Even so, it still has problems due to the third season’s poor approach to characterization. 
Summary: Rapunzel, Varian, Angry and Red are returning stolen loot that the two girls had stolen years ago. They are accompanied by Max, Pascal, Ruddiger and Hamuel who all cannot stop quarreling with each other (or in Hamuel's case, just being useless). While messing with a sea shell pendant, it magically transports the humans into it, leaving the animals to fight over it. A minor thug named Dwayne, steals the pendant forcing the animals to work together to retrieve it. 
So Why is a Polynesian Inspired Kingdom Within Riding Distance of a Northern European Country? 
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If you’ll remember my review of Beginnings, Neserdina’s princesses were wearing Polynesian garb and dancing the Hula when prepping for the competition. Now I’ve already went into length as to why that’s not good representation, but in addition to that it’s also just plain dumb. You can’t just transport one ethic group and dump them into another part of the world because it’s convenient for you. You don’t earn any brownie points for doing that. Especially when your fantasy world is still based off of our own historical earth. 
To make things even more confusing, we actually saw Neserdina way back in season one in Way of the Willow. It’s where Willow bought the gremlin knock-off. 
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That is an island. How the heck do you get to a volcanic island riding in a horse and cart? And don't tell me they’re riding to a port, because Corona is a port city already. They could have gotten there by boat. It’s also can’t be too far away from Corona’s borders if Angry and Red were able to get there on foot during their year long travels. 
The only explanation is that the entirety of the Tangled crew doesn’t understand geography, and this won’t be the last example in the show to back up that statement. 
So Why Is Rapunzel Here?
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We get explanations for why everyone is on this road trip, except for the main character herself. Red and Angry are trying to return some stolen loot. Varian is wanting to pick up rare alchemy supplies at the market and was invited along because Raps hopes it’ll be a chance for Ruddiger and Max to get know one another better. 
But why on earth does Rapunzel feel the need to come on this trip herself? Doesn’t she have a kingdom to run? While I’m sure Eugene is more than capable of handling things, this doesn’t reflect well upon the writers supposed plan of making Rapunzel appear more responsible. 
Literally any other adult could have come along on this trip. This wasn’t something Rapunzel needed to waste time on. Lance especially would have been more appropriate here as he’s the one who’s suppose to eventually adopt Angry and Red.  And the sad thing is, all they had to do was give Rapunzel a line about needing to attend some sort of diplomatic business in Neserdina. That’s it. 
In a show that’s supposed to be all about Rapunzel; Rapunzel sure doesn’t have a whole lot of reasons to exist in the majority of the episodes. 
Lack of Worldbuilding Strikes Again
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At this point I’m kind of numb to the whole “magical thing just exists for no adequately explained reason” and so I’m not as upset as some people are about the shell necklace. But it’s still not good writing. 
Why does this thing exist? How did come to be cursed? How did it get mixed in with their stuff? What activated the magic and why did it only effect the human’s even though the animals were closer to it? 
Just something show. Anything. You bothered to give use rules for how this thing works and even stuck to them this time, but you can’t just make the last leg of the trip and give us some exposition? 
Yeah, okay. 
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So Where Exactly Are We in Relation to Corona?
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We can see Pittsford and Ivangarr on the road sign and we have to be in riding distance to Neserdina from Corona, but like are we in Corona still? Are we in Koto, which is Corona’s nearest neighbor to the east according to season three. Are we in some no-man’s-land where none of the kingdoms have control, or are we already in Neserdina itself? 
The series gives us no sense of direction nor any firm placement for Corona within it’s world. I only know it is a Northern European country because Corona itself is a peninsula with a north sea, uses French, English, and German fashion/customs, and Rapunzel is a Germanic fairy tale. But like those clues are thrown into a blender and contradicted several times over, on top of never being told where it’s closest kingdoms actually lie. 
All of this matters when traveling and exploring the wider world are big themes of your show. You need more solid and consistent world building than this. It also impacts how much authority and control your main character has within the episode itself if she range of political power is limited to one area. So like we need to know where the heroes stand here. 
(FYI I personally headcannon Corona as former Prussia which was once part of Germany and it’s alliance of smaller kingdoms. It’s also a peninsula next to the Curonian Spit) 
This Is Not Progress
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Okay so the idea here, is that the show is implying that Rapunzel is trying to improve Corona’s justice system over Frederic’s previously inhumane crack down on crime. However, this is terribly executed. 
For starters the show has never called Frederic nor Rapunzel out for their previous misbehavior. You can not change any system for the better without acknowledging the flaws within said system first. Therefore this comes right out of nowhere and doesn’t stick around long enough to stay within the viewers minds for later. 
Secondly, Rapunzel is incredibly fickle about who she does and doesn’t set free. The Saporians were still in the dungeons last time we saw them, Caine was shipped off to the prison island and left to die there as far as we know, and the Stabbingtons are shown shackled together in the wedding short even though they supposedly changed their ways and befriended Eugene again. 
Meanwhile Dwayne and Stalyan are free to go their marry way and continue their life of crime, Varian is only released from his overly harsh punishment because he kissed Rapunzel’s ass not because it was wrong to imprison him in the first place, and later Cassandra gets away scot free because she’s Rapunzel’s bestie even though she committed the worst crimes out of everyone in the show and for very little reason. 
That’s not justice. That’s not compassion. That’s not progressive reform. It’s just nepotism, and it’s every bit as corrupt as Frederic’s classism and totalitarianism. 
Just because Rapunzel is “nice” it doesn’t mean that she is kind. Real reform has to treat everyone with equality and have a set of base standards that are beyond one person’s personal judgment. She is still a dictator and an abuser even if she lets the occasional person go free on a whim. 
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Finally, Rapunzel’s methods are just downright ineffective. Dwyane may not be a threat to our heroes, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a threat to other people. He’s not actually sorry about trying to rob people at knife point and he fully plans on continuing being a thief after feeding Rapunzel the lines she wants to hear. 
Furthermore, we don’t know if this course of action is born out of malice or desperate need. He half heartily comments about finding ‘an honest job” but can he even do that? Is it even a realistic option for him? The series has been weaving this class inequality theme through out it’s past three seasons and directly connecting that to Corona’s crime rate. 
Eugene had a hard time finding a job during season one directly due to his past record, remember? A life of crime he was forced to lead in order to survive, and he’s the Prince Consort! What chance does Dwayne have? Did Rapunzel even try to help him find work or did she just wag her finger at him and told him “Now, now, stealing’s not nice.” 
The show wants to act like Rapunzel is this progressive reformer but then they turn her into a Republican instead. That’s not me being sarcastic either, this approach to criminal justice is the foundation of conservative belief and has been for centuries. The right are not interested in why people commit crime. They don’t care about addressing the fundamental problems in society that lead people to break the law. Let alone bother to analyze why those laws exist in the first place. Instead they resort to doublethink and survivor bias to either write off those that fall through the cracks or make excuses for why their policies repeatedly fail, often ignoring the fact that things aren’t actually working for whole swathes of people who aren’t themselves.  
Tangled the Series is far too simplistic and childish in it’s approach to deeper subjects like this to enforce the messages it supposedly wants to enforce. Rapunzel herself relies on magical thinking, double standards, and personal bias to see her through every and any problem and the show just rewards her for it rather than challenging her to grow and in doing so winds up supporting people like her in their authoritarian ideas, whether that was the writers’ intentions or not. 
In short, Rapunzel shows no interest in putting in the real work it would take to implement genuine restorative justice. She doesn't honestly care about Dwyane or his victims. She’s just posturing here for the sake of her self image.  
You’re Not In Any Position to Talk Rapunzel 
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Speaking of Rapunzel being a hypocrite.... The entirety of season three’s main conflict is her having a petty bitch fight with her supposed best friend and needlessly dragging everyone else into it.
In fact that’s the whole show. Rapunzel repeatedly failing to get along with other people because she’s deep down a shitty person despite the veneer of ‘friendliness’ she slaps on to hide it. Having her just say she knows better does nothing to convince me that she’s actually learned anything. You have to show that she’s learned it first, and that requires acknowledging her own wrong doings.  
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Varian’s face here just tells it all. Rapunzel is full of shit and no one in the show knows it better than him. Why are they even friends again? Why should we trust her with the three kids she neglected more than once? Why should any of these people take what she says seriously? 
Well This is Contradictory
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Also, since we brought up double standards, here’s Varian undermining that whole “jail is bad” thing Rapunzel is trying to push with Dwayne and later with Cass. Not only is the show under cutting it’s themes for a joke, but it just reinforces the abuse Varian received. He’s now bought into Frederic’s stupid beliefs and winds up reinforcing to the audience that that his ‘reform’ was due to his past imprisonment.   
As an adult watching this series, Varian’s supposed redemption continues to increasingly look like a victim complying with their past abuser out of fear of further harm rather than anyone genuinely learning to be better.
Can We Please Stop Infantilizing the 16 Year Old
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As if to deflect from Varian’s past mistreatment and continuing parentification, the show then goes on to showcase the opposite extreme whenever possible. I know it’s hard to tell just from these few screen shots alone, but over the course of season three Varian is spoken down too and treated condescendingly by the rest of the cast, and by Rapunzel in particular, even as he enters his later teens/early adulthood.  
Some of this is just to due to Rapunzel being her usual holier than thou self, but there’s also times, like here, where Varian is lumped together with the actual children of the show, even though he’s 6 to 8 years their senior. 
In fact out of everyone Rapunzel interacts with, Varian’s actually the closest to her in both age and development. Queen for a Day forced the two of them into a power imbalance due to a mixture of classism and society’s ongoing unhealthy (and often artificial) divide between younger and older teens, but as we get further and further away from that point in time and as Varian nears the same age Rapunzel started out as, that imbalance becomes less and less relevant. 
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Look at how this scene is framed, He’s standing between Angry and Red and is placed lower than them to make it look like he’s one of them. He’s not. 
Varian may still look 12 with his big old eyes and short stature, but seeing as how we’re past Hearts Day, he’s actually close to being 17, if he isn’t already. The timeline gets even wonkier after The King and Queen of Hearts, but trust me, we’re close to being two years past Queen for a Day, if not more so. 
Varian, for all counts, should be Rapunzel’s equal by now in terms of story. Not only is he closest in age to her, but he’s also the only other person going through a coming of age arc. And of the two, Varian’s the one who has actually learned and grown as a person. He has more real world experience than Rapunzel ever will and knows how to implement that experience. (He’s also the more mature, but that’s more of a failure to write Rapunzel competently than a reflection of his capabilities.) 
No matter how you slice it, Varian shouldn’t be taking orders or advice from Rapunzel; no one should be, really; and he most certainly shouldn’t put up with her condescension. Rapunzel is not his nor anybody else’s mother. She’s not even a big sister like figure, and at no point should be treated as the leader of anything or anyone. 
Rapunzel is a Poor Man’s Rose Quartz 
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I typically try not to draw too many comparisons between Tangled and other shows outside of the occasional parallel, as a show should be able to stand on it’s own for good or for bad, but it’s hard not to discuss the series without also discussing Steven Universe in some way. 
Steven Universe is this generation’s Batman the Animated Series or Scooby Doo. It’s the game changer that everybody else is trying to copy in some manner. Chris desperately wants Tangled the Series to be the next Steven Universe, right down to how the show is structured, paced, and what themes are presented. But unfortunately Chris has no idea why Steven Universe works the way it does. 
For starters SU adjusted it’s pacing as it went along, smoothing out its rougher edges while Tangled doubled down on its filler. SU had a planned arc from the get go and stuck to it, so that by the time the twists came they made sense. SU kept it’s focus on Steven purposefully so that the story unfolded from his view point while making to sure to acknowledge the importance of other characters around him and their conflicts. It didn’t make him infallible nor shove aside everyone else’s arcs.  
But most importantly, Steven Universe was written by a bisexual nonbinary person who set out to make a show for people in the queer community like themselves. Meanwhile, as a middle aged white man, Chis hasn’t a damn clue about his primary audience and has shown no interest in connecting with them. 
This isn’t to say that Steven Universe is a perfect show. No show is beyond criticism. Nor is this to say that straight white cis men can’t write; many of them do and can portray characters unlike themselves competently enough. But if you’re completely disinterested in other points of view than you can’t be a good writer of fictional stories, that’s just a fact. Because in order to understand proper characterization you need to acknowledge that not every character ever will be like you and that even you’re main heroes will hold beliefs and experiences different from yourself. Otherwise there is no genuine conflict to build off of. Either no one will disagree with each other or the conflict will come across as flat and forced, complete with lopsided bias. 
Therefore, in the end, Rapunzel winds up being less of a Steven and more of a Rose Quartz/Pink Dimond. Both are spoiled princesses/co-rulers of a kingdom that mistreats it’s people and anyone outside of it, who rebelled against their guardians, supposedly out of a sense of justice, but really for themselves and their own freedom, only to make things even worse for everyone. On top of that they both accidently harmed their friends, freindzone their best friend while also bossing them around, are condescending to their love interests, is controlling of people who trust them, and throws temper tantrums when they don’t get what they want, oh and neglected someone for an inhumane amount of time. 
Even then, Rapunzel winds up being the worst of the two. 
The whole point behind Rose was that she is someone whom the main characters place upon a pedestal and as the series went along slowly had the scales fall from their eyes and learned to view her for who she really was flaws and all. By the end, in Future, she is even metaphorically removed from her pedestal when Steven removes her picture from the wall.  
Rose also grows as a character, unlike Rapunzel. Her story is deliberately being told to us backwards. The awful person she was in the past was no longer who she was by the time of her death. True she was still flawed, and the consequences of her actions continued on even after her demise, but she actually tried to be a better person. She got called out for her behavior, she wasn’t excused for actions even when the show explained why she did what she did, and she stopped doing harmful actions whenever she realized that they hurt someone. 
Greg was allowed to stand up to her and show how she was wrong, and she respected him for it and later fell in love with him because of it. She tried to better control her temper when she wound up hurting her friend. Her failed revolution and her mistreatment of Spinel was actually born from a misguided desire to help, rather than outright selfishness. 
Rose Quratz/Pink Dimond is a brilliant fucking character. You may not like her, but you can’t deny that she is one of the most complex figures in children’s media to ever be created. She is real, nuanced, and multifaceted. He role within the story is complicated, messy, and intricate. She is the most well rounded female character I’ve ever seen and she is what I had hoped Rapunzel would be when I first watched season one, only even more so as the actual focus. 
I want women in cartoons to be people! 
But Rapunzel fails at every turn to follow through with this promise. She is not a deep complex character. She’s not a flawed and complicated heroine. She’s a blank canvas in which the creator can shove his creepy ass views upon. She is never taken off her pedestal, she’s never allowed to be wrong, and she is forced to spout the the creator’s personal bias against other characters. 
Rapunzel isn’t a person. She had the chance to be one, but then was reduced to .. to this. As a woman, the treatment of Rapunzel and Cassandra in this show is just flat out insulting. 
So What Is the Difference Between Angry and Red Now?
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I’m all for character growth, but at this point Angry and Red are just interchangeable. Anything that made them uniquely them has been lost, and they’re now just fulfilling the generic rambunctious little kid trope. Red becoming more assertive shouldn’t mean she stops being an introvert altogether; that’s not how that works. While Angry shouldn’t lose her temper completely just because she’s wiling to open up more. 
So Why Dwayne?
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I like Dwayne as a character and in truth I don’t mind his existence here, and unlike that werewolf hunter last time he at least was established in a pervious season. But this is still time that could have went to a more important antagonist. 
Also notice that Dwyane gets a villain song, but not Lady Caine or Zhan Tiri. Just saying. 
Rapunzel Has Not Earned the Role of the Wise Sage and Mentor 
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Rapunzel has never learned to listen to others. Ever.
On it’s own this might have been a good speech, but when taken in context of the wider story it just makes Rapunzel look like an ass. 
A year traveling does not make Rapunzel suddenly all knowing. She is not wiser nor more experienced than anyone else in this scene. She’s also a crappy leader and big fat hypocrite.  
Even when she’s technically right, as seen here, she’s still in the wrong because she never follows through and acts upon her own advice; making this whole story pointless in the grand scheme of things. 
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And that’s the core problem with season three. Rapunzel is shoved into a role she is not designed for and the whole premise of the series runs right off the rails. You’re main heroine in a coming of age story can not inhabit the mentor role. She can not simultaneously learn and grow and be always right while instructing everyone else. 
All through out season three Rapunzel is either rendered completely useless in her own damn series, or she utterly fails to fulfill any sort of narrative promise laid out for her while she infuriatingly hijacks the story from more interesting and dynamic characters. 
Behold The Only Reason Why Varian was Included in the Episode 
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Speaking of hijacking things, Rapunzel of course has to get the idea to save everybody, even though what she thinks of isn’t anything special. It’s not derived from her character as an individual nor from all that experience she supposedly has. It’s literally an idea anyone could have come up  with and the show just hands it to her in order to justify her exitance. 
Meanwhile the character who actually is useful to the plot is sidelined and reduced to just a plot device. And not just here, Varian is rendered practically pointless in all but two episodes in season three, even in episodes that he actually should have more impact in, like the season opener and series finale. 
Good writing treats characters as equally contributing to the plot in ways that complements who these characters are.  
Ok I’ll Admit That This Line Is Funny
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Look, I know this whole review series is about pointing out the negative, and I stand by my opinion that Tangled the Series is one of the worst written shows I’ve ever seen, but I want to make one thing clear.... I do not hate the show. If I hated the show I would not waste my time reviewing it. 
Yes the over all writing is shit, but there are a lot of good things to be found in the series beyond just the crap story arc. The humor is usually solid, the animation is gorgeous, the music is a delight, and the majority of the characters are likable even though they don’t develop in the ways that they should. There’s a lot of talent that went into this show and there’s a lot of potential to be had in it’s set up and lore. 
Being critical or negative about the aspects of something doesn’t mean you dislike it, or that you’re not a real fan, or that you’re just a ‘hater’, and I actually find TTS to be fascinating because it’s such a mess. I write reviews because they’re fun and because I genuinely think there is something to be learned from Tangled’s mistakes. 
So Why Do We Cut Back to Rapunzel Here and Not Varian? 
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This is such an odd framing choice. Varian is the one who is talking and reacting to what’s happening. It’s his pet that’s in trouble and therefore he carries the emotional weight of the scene, and yet it’s Rapunzel’s shocked face we focus on? Why? What’s the point of that? She has no business being the center focus here. The action does not involve her. 
If you wanted to include her for a later set up then why not have both her and Varian present in this shot? Usually I can at least count on the story boarders to frame things better than this, but they really missed the mark here. Unless Chris is just that stupid and petty that he over ruled them and forced Varian out of the scene, but that seems like a pointless fight to pick, even for him. 
See This is How you Fulfill a Narrative Promise 
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The conflict between Ruddiger and Max was set up in season one with What the Hair, then it was reiterated a few episodes ago during The Lost Treasure of Herz Der Sonne, and then it was reintroduced in this episode along with a stated lesson about working together that they needed to learn. By they end of the episode, guess what, they’ve learned to work together. That is how you properly set up and resolve a conflict. 
It’s clear from this that the writers of Tangled the Series know the basic tenants of writing and how to fulfill narrative promises. So the fact that they don’t follow through with this in the majority of the show’s episodes and ongoing story arcs just baffles me. 
Is it negligence? Is it hubris? Is it incompetent management and editorial mandates? Is it just one asshole ruining everything or is this a failure in the writers room as a whole? 
I just don’t understand what the fuck went wrong here. There’s no reason for why the show got as bad as it did. How does the most acclaimed animation company in the world put out such amateurish tripe? 
Just... wow. 
Now you know why I’m mesmerized by this show. It is a mystery to be solved, like trying to figure out how the crew on the Titanic fucked up so badly or why Hindenburg blew up. You just can’t look away. 
Conclusion 
Like I said at the start, structurally speaking this is the strongest episode of the season. I personally enjoy Lost Treasure a little more, just because Rapunzel annoys me less in that, but it’s not a bad story. However when you’re best episode in your final season is filler, then you know you’re in trouble. 
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