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miley1442111 · 1 month

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thank god for dr. spencer reid

a/n: this was written with a fem!reader in mind but imagine what you want, reader has a period (same girl) :) spencer us such a cutie in this :)))))))

summary: your shitty family is in town and spencer is away, what will you do?

pairing: spencerreid x reader

warnings: heavy family issues, mentions of stress and sickness, very brief mention of abuse (litch not talked about just referenced dw), kinda cursing (just realised i've never warned this before... opps) and i might've missed some!

My eyes are glued to the screen with a perpetual frown playing on my lips. It’s hard to try to care about my job when I have this looming feeling of dread hanging over me like a cloud. Spencer has been MIA for days now. He left in a hurry on Monday night for a case. It’s Saturday now and he hasn’t been responding to my calls. On top of that, I have dinner with my mother and father. Both of them make it abundantly clear that they’re disappointed in my career choice, which is ridiculous because I’m a lawyer. Not the right kind of lawyer they constantly say. I’m an environmental lawyer and I make good money. The only way to satiate their insufferable whining is with Spencer. They love him. They probably love him more than me at this point. Alas, I will just have to deal with them alone tonight. And today has already been one hell of a day. First, Morgan called me,asking where Spencer was, telling me that they finished and that they should be home soon. He had not come home yet. Secondly, I feel like shit, an allergic reaction, my period and some random nausea all add up to making me feel itchy, gross, and practically vile all over. Thirdly, a huge pimple has decided to pop up on my face and just know my mother will comment on it. My mother is one of those women who look effortlessly put-together 24/7. I am not one of those women. She does not like women who don’t look effortlessly put together. Aka, she barely tolerates me.

I sigh and close my laptop screen, unable to reread the same few sentences again and again, hoping that they would get into my brain. I’m defending a client, one of my firm's biggest clients, in court next week. They were accused of illegal dumping (dumping they did not commit) and now they’re being sued for 2 million dollars. I slump out of my desk chair and out of my home office, locking it behind me for the weekend ahead. If I have court next week and Spencer is coming home after a difficult case, then we’ll need a day or rest and relaxation together. That is, if he even bothers to come home. I busy myself with getting ready and try to push those thoughts out of my head.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The last hour of my life has been 60 minutes of absolute misery. Why did I ever accept this invite? My mother excuses herself to the bathroom and my father excuses himself for a cigarette, I nod along. Then it hits me… my dad doesn’t smoke anymore. I stare at the door and before I can stop myself my face contorts into a frown once again. Amelia, my sister. The sister that I haven't seen in years. The sister that bullied and abused me throughout our teenage years. Fuck.

“Amelia?” I question, looking at the blonde woman who looks… different. She’s obviously older than I remember, and a bit more… I don’t know how to put it. Her blonde hair surpasses her waist and she seems to be pregnant? Her blue eyes seem dull and lack a certain vividness they used to sparkle with. She’s the typical peaking in high-school mean girl who became a nurse girl. I honestly can’t believe I used to look up to her.

“It’s so good to see you!” She smiles, one of her fake-bitchy smiles and I grimace as she tries to hug me. “I just wanted to know how you’re doing, especially with the baby on the way, I’ll need all the help I can get!”

My heart drops. “Oh!” Is all I can manage. She sits in the seat beside me and I instinctively move further away. Just as I think this stupid dinner can’t get any worse, her pervy fiancé, Johnny, walks in.

“No Spencer?” He smirks. “What? Did you two break up? He was always too vanilla for you, you need a real man-”

“No, sorry. I was just late. I had to come straight from the jet,” Spencer smiles from behind him. My parents' eyes light up, as Amelia and Johnny’s faces fall. I smile appreciatively at him as he hands the flowers he brought over to my parents and sits beside me, a comforting hand on my thigh.

“How’s work, Spencer?” My father asks, his undivided attention on Spencer.

“It’s good, strenuous but good. Our cases recently haven’t been too difficult- though there was one that had a puzzle I thought you might enjoy…”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walk inside our house behind him, a million thoughts at once flowing through my head. We walk to the kitchen, he sits me down and takes off my shoes for me, a true gentleman.

He presses a kiss to my cheek and smiles. “You look beautiful.”

I just nod back, a small smile on my lips.

“Is everything alright?” He asks, turning to me, his hands resting on my waist.

“Fine,” I tiredly smile. “Just… you know, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“You know, saying that makes me worry more, right?:” He smiles softly, though we both know he’s serious.

“I just… I can’t believe she just showed up, like 7 years of not seeing her and she just shows up? Like it’s casual? And then asks for our help with her baby? Like she did nothing to me? Like she-” I stop myself, determined not to cry right now.

“Angel, it’s ok, let it out,” he soothes, a hand on my back, rubbing comforting circles.

“I don’t want to cry though, they’re not worth crying over.”

“Then how about we get ready for bed, yeah angel?” He offers, a tired look in his eyes. I nod and press a soft to his perfect lips. He smiles against my mouth, his hands finding the sides of my face. I run a hand through his hair. He pulls away softly, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I smile. “Thank you for coming, my knight in shining armour.”

“I enjoyed it. Watching your father fail to solve a simple puzzle was amusing.” He smirks, a mischievous glint in his eye as I roll my eyes.

“We’re not all geniuses,” I remind him.

“You are.”

“And how am I a genius?” I chuckle.

“You’re dating me, you clearly have superior taste and intelligence,” he says matter-of-factly. I gigle at his antics and kiss him again. He pulls away and grabs my hand, leading me into our room. We both opt out of brushing our teeth and washing our faces, a makeup wipe sufficing for removing my makeup. He pulls me into bed with him, and finally, after a long week, I finally lie down in bed with him, his arms around me in a bear-hug of sorts. This is heaven. He’s my knight in shining armour. Thank God for Dr. Spencer Reid.

#spencer reid x reader #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds #bau imagine #bau team #criminal minds x you #criminal minds fandom #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid #doctor spencer reid #criminal minds fanfic #dr spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #fanfic #fanfiction #criminal minds imagine

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tuhtofu · 1 year

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cw: sub alhaitham, dom reader, gn reader, mild dacryphilia, enemies with sexual tension gone right, foot jobs, hand jobs, choking, begging, light sadism, coming in pants, dumbification

wc: 1.6k

Summary: Sometimes, even the scribe of the Akademiya needs a reminder of where he belongs.

You hate Alhaitham.

You hate the way he carries himself with that arrogant air surrounding him, and each time he opens his mouth, you want to punch a hole into his skull. It’s such a pity for a man as handsome as he is, but you’ve grown used to it.

Due to your field of work, and how well the two of you work professionally, you are constantly assigned to partner up with him. The both of you are very dedicated to the task at hand and usually, whatever annoying remark he throws at you, you can handle. Unfortunately, you’re not always in a good mood, and Alhaitham, being around you so often, always seems to know it. To him, that’s the best time to push your buttons.

Today was one of those days. You and Alhaitham were assigned to work through and sort out different documents and archives, and prepare materials for a meeting between the sages of the Akademiya. “Where should I place the documents about the Knowledge Capsules?” you asked, breaking the comfortable silence between the two of you.

“One as skilled as yourself should know something so simple,” he replied with a slight scoff. Oh, here we go again.

“My foolishness doesn’t comprehend the talent of a scribe such as yourself, hence my question being directed to you. O mighty scribe, would you fucking answer it already?” you say, standing up to wave the documents in his face. Despite knowing you were playing into his cards, entertaining him with your reactions, you couldn’t help but express your annoyance. You’ve had a long day, and playing games was not something you were in the mood to do.

Grabbing your wrist, he looks up at you with a slight smirk. “Come now, there’s no need to be so emotional. The point of a discussion is to arrive at a conclusion, is it not?”

“Then quit your attempts at patronizing me all the time. I’m not in the mood to play games,” you reply, snatching your wrist off of his hold.

“Is that so. Well, let’s get back to work then, shall we? Considering you’re the one who interrupted me, after all.” He looked back down at his papers, seemingly satisfied with his reply. You swore he looked like he was about to burst with laughter from your anger. He was mocking you.

“I fucking hate you.”

“Mhm,” he replied absent-mindedly, going back to sorting out his own documents laid on the table.

You’ve had enough of him. Reaching out with the hand that wasn’t holding your papers, you grabbed Alhaitham’s jaw roughly, making him look up at you. Gods, he was so pretty it only served to irritate you further. There was a hint of surprise that disappeared as soon as it appeared.

“Look at me when I fucking speak to you. It’s proper etiquette, isn’t it?” To your annoyance, he started grinning. He clearly thinks he’s won.

“I’ll kill you,” you spoke again.

“Go ahead.”

There was a moment of silence between you, your eyes locking with his. Even now, with him looking up at you from his chair, his cheeks being squished together roughly, he was trying to win, to assert dominance.

Fuck it.

Fuck him.

You lean down and smash your lips to his, and he lets out a yelp that was almost inaudible, having once again been caught by surprise. He gave in quicker than you thought though, shutting his eyes and kissing you back with a sloppy hunger you weren’t expecting from him.

Alhaitham was an intelligent man. Was he expecting this? Did you play into his cards again? Deciding to enjoy the moment rather than dwell on it, you bit his bottom lip before going back to kissing him with fervor, licking his lips as if to ask for access to his tongue only to pull away once his mouth opened for you.

Panting, you looked at each other with half lidded eyes. Fuck, his lips looked so glossy and inviting, you wanted to dive back in, but unfortunately, that thought dissipated the moment he opened his mouth to speak.

“If you wanted me this badly all along, you could’ve just told me,” he breathed, speaking as if he didn’t look debauched from a single kiss already.

Sliding your hand downwards, you took hold of his neck, and leaned in to whisper. “You know... It’s about time someone puts you in your place, you arrogant mutt.”

Fuck, your words were so harsh, and since when did you look so dominating, looking down at him like that? And why did it make his dick throb? In an attempt to regain his composure, he cleared his throat as he spoke, “Is that so? Enlighten me, how exactly do you plan on doing that?”

“My dear scribe, I trust someone as smart as you would know. After all,” you prod his legs open with your knee, before lifting it and placing your shoe on the base of his erection and nudging it. “You’re already hard. Do you like this treatment?”

Looking down at where your foot met him, he gulped before attempting to look up at you again, only to turn his head to the side at the way you stared down at him. Dissatisfied with the lack of response, you applied pressure to his balls, making him jerk up and look at you with widened eyes.

“H-hey, how about we get back to work now…” He cringed at the way his voice came out, shaky and breathless, but the smirk forming on your face and the way you’d been touching him only made him harder.

“How about no? It’s true, Alhaitham. I did want you all along. I’ve been dying to see you like this. How could I not?” You lean into his ear, continuing as he tried his hardest not to squirm, “The way you speak just screams of someone who wants to be put in their place. And don’t get me started on how you flaunt that tiny waist and those tits of yours with the tight clothes you wear.”

You could see the goosebumps forming on his muscular arms from the proximity of the two of you and your hot breath on his sensitive ears. He opened his mouth to speak, but he could only breathe out heavy puffs of air as you lifted his head up by his throat and began to leave open-mouthed kisses along his jaw.

“Go ahead, tell me how badly you’ve longed for this. There’s no need to keep putting up a front, I’ve already seen how perverted you are. See?” You look down, and his eyes follow yours only to find that he’s been subconsciously humping your shoe. Fuck, if he felt pathetic before, he feels like a complete degenerate now. But… he couldn’t stop. His mind was becoming hazy from everything, and he didn’t care anymore.

“I want this. It feels so good. Please,” he breathed, watching as the precum leaking from his slit started to form a wet spot in his pants from the delicious friction.

“There you go darling, good job,” you whispered, and finally decided to help the poor thing out by moving your foot along with his thrusts, causing him to buck up and let out a whimper that surprised the both of you with how desperate it sounded.

Moving your hand from his neck to the back of his head, you pulled it backwards, and Alhaitham let out a hiss in response, but the way his hips sped up told you how much he enjoyed it as you smashed your lips to his once more. Your other hand traveled along his torso, leaving feather-like touches all over it, contrasting the desperation and roughness of your makeout.

Not daring to pull away, Alhaitham moaned into your mouth before muttering incomprehensible words. For a man like himself, he was surprisingly needy and quite adorable. It made you melt a little on the inside. You took the initiative to pull away first so he could speak, looking at him as he attempted to catch his breath.

Aw. His eyes were getting teary.

Cupping his face gently, you let him speak. “I’m s-so close. Wanna cum. Gonna cum,” he panted, words all slurred as he got drunk on the pleasure you were so graciously providing him.

“You can ask me nicely, can’t you? One as skilled as yourself should know something so simple,” you mocked, and his face burned with embarrassment as the knot in his tummy kept getting closer and closer to snapping. He liked it. It felt good being the one who’s played with.

“Please. Please let me cum, I need it. Please?” Gods, the desperation in his eyes as the tears finally started falling sent jolts down your spine. Hearing him finally beg like he was made for it felt so much better than all the times you’d fantasized about it.

Pulling him in for one last kiss, this one gentler as you left small pecks all over his plump lips, you removed your shoe from its place, causing Alhaitham to jolt his hips into thin air as he whined. He quickly went quiet though, because you replaced it with your hand, cupping his cock and rubbing it in tandem with his thrusts. You’d graced him with something better to rut against and it made him go dizzy as he whispered chants of thank you’s into your lips, attempting to catch them into a kiss but ultimately failing.

“Go ahead, cum for me like the dumb puppy you are,” you whispered back, helping him connect his lips to yours while his mind went on auto-pilot and his hips stuttered before he came into his pants with a loud moan.

Helping him ride his high out, his eyes had shut from the intensity of his own orgasm, but your thumb rubbing his tears away from his flushed cheeks caused him to open them once more to the sight of his cum having seeped through his pants and your hand being stained.

Absent-mindedly, he took hold of your wrist and started licking your hand free from his own filth, wincing at the taste of himself but being too out of it to care.

You really hate Alhaitham.

And now you hate how the beautiful face he makes when he orgasms would be etched into your mind permanently.

#sub genshin #sub alhaitham #sub!alhaitham #sub genshin impact #dom reader #dom!reader #sub character #gn reader #gn!reader #genshin smut #al haitham x reader

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chaotic-saturne · 9 months

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Just watched good omens season 2 so here are our thoughts :

SO OBVIOUSLY BIG SEASON 2 GOOD OMENS SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!

- don't like the Aziraphale slander, let characters be ✨flawed✨ and not perfect little beans

- not really fond of the fan theory that Metatron did put smth in Aziraphale's drinking cuz it would miss on the whole Aziraphale' struggle with his morality and basically religious trauma, AND the fact that Metatron clearly pushed him into it, Aziraphale has lots of issues with the statue quo and authority figures, so Metatron clearly coming in right after Crowley left (I'd think he likely saw them kissed, or at least see Aziraphale emotionally distressed) so Aziraphale has no time to think, Aziraphale clearly hesitates but Metatron pushes and pushes again

- love (tho emotionally destroyed us as well) the scene in which Aziraphale is waiting for Crowley to bring him to hell because he lied, as if lying is worse than killing CHILDREN because it's god' ineffable plan, this whole scene really shows the lack of understanding of humankind from angels and God AND how authoritarian god actually is, which is why when Crowley says in the last episode they're toxic, it really hits on point, how cult-ish it almost looks and how it destroys your own morality, how Crowley who is a demon is supposed to be bad but is doing good things and angels are supposed to be good and do constantly bad things, and how Crowley is "bad" only cuz he asked questions (it also makes us wonder, are all demons stereotypes bad or are some shut down/pressured into acting bad? Like the angels can be shut down/pressured into not thinking too much?)

- was destroyed by the fact that Crowley opened up to Aziraphale on his feelings to end up being emotionally so fucking hurt to the point of putting his GLASSES ON WHICH HE NEVER DOES BEFORE INSIDE AZIRAPHALE'S BOOKSHOP

- love the lesbians, so glad Nina was able to break up and so glad they opened up with Crowley on how THEY also play with human lives as if it's funny and/or entertaining and not considering humans' relations and feelings which is in fact a replica of their own relationship to each other (also as a way to not emotionally open up to the other)

- the way God is treated in the show really keeps reminding us of the way God is shown in Angels before Man by Rafael Nicolás (really recommend ! especially if you're a queer with religious trauma)

- happy for Belzebub and Gabriel tho'

- glad to have wheelchair disabled representation, as a wheelchair user as well ☺️

- loved the tension between Michael and Uriel (they should angrily smooch)

- love the fact that both Crowley and Aziraphale use god' imagery to do good when it was not god' intention to do good, the whole morality thing is even furthermore questioned there (let there be the light by Crowley episode 1 and the whole situation with Job)

- Crowley has religious trauma but acknowledge it and Aziraphale don't

- Mr Fell, i don't know i just feel like his name being FELL when trying to pass as human, is kinda funny and ironic and maybe means something more

- Aziraphale being a landlord is UGH SIGH BIG SIGH, however that he is bad at it is actually good and it just furthers (along with his capitalist bullshit ranting when in Scotland) him wanting to follow the statue quo and what authority portrays as good even within the human morality is, well, it says a lot

- Aziraphale wanting to be saved by Crowley cuz 1/maybe it means in his thinking that it means Crowley can be saved/redeemed 2/Aziraphale likes being saved, taken care of 3/Aziraphale kinda puts his authoritative issues (trusting someone too much bc they have an authoritative power over him) on Crowley those moments cuz Crowley is the one deciding and taking control, but at the same time they are on equal foot and everything so it may mess up Aziraphale furthermore into his own personal dilemna

Here's for now, thank you for reading 😭

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cinnamoncountess · 4 months

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Fellow Travelers Rewatch Party | episode 1

Content warning: NSFW, strong language (likely)

This will be mostly a reaction and based on observations, given the knowledge about how things will unfold in later episodes.

What a perfectly beautiful way to start a show! The song flows amazingly with the cinematography and it encloses around the viewer like a warm hug, simultaneously delivers an underlying sadness, the lyrics preparing us of what lies ahead, a tragic love story that yearns to end happily, but won’t. It sets the mood and gently announces with a toe-deep dive that we’re about to journey backwards into a different decade. I love it! <3 (song: Stevie Wonder - If It’s Magic)

Marcus drives down the sophisticated suburban lane to meet Hawk in his perfectly cultivated family nest to hand over the package, according to Tim’s wishes. It’s sweet to know that he supports and protects Tim, because - as we find out later - he knows Hawk and his shenanigans the best.

Promotion party! Lucy and Hawk certainly know lots of people. Also, how many grandchildren do they have? I’d assume the other kids are probably the children their guests brought to the party, playmates of his granddaughter, right? No, wait, Lucy says „grandkids“ - so there are more than one?

Lucy: The grandkids are going to miss Hawk so much when we got to Milan. I don’t know what Kimberly’s going to do. - Hawk’s a beloved granddad.

Hawk: Well, she’ll ship them over in the diplomatic pouch. - The sass and wit never ceases.

Lucy: I almost gave up my dream of moving to Italy with the man I love.

Hawk: In the end, sh settled for going with me. - OH. The foreshadowing, the ambiguity. The HURT. For BOTH of them. My heart.

Did we ever find out how and when Lucy got to meet Marcus, though?

Marcus is sooo distressed about the AIDS situation killing all his friends, his beloved ones around him. I want to hug him!

Marcus: Tim doesn’t want to hear from you. He asked me to make that clear. - It’s another verbalisation of ‚Promise you won’t write’, Tim might have been hoping to hear from Hawk. Then again, of course Tim made sure Hawk will receive the paperweight. It’s the same ‚message‘ that Hawk delivered to him when he left it as a gift before betraying him - to let go. Tim wants to let go.

Flashback to 1952!

Tim ordering a glass of milk, almost snapping at Hawk for questioning his beverage of choice.

The beginning of the milk odyssey…

What a beautifully shot scene, the lighting, the music / score, the switch between scenes, paralleling the scenes between society conform married life of a ‚straight’ man and cruising through park bathrooms - the double life of Hawkins Fuller and preparing us for what lies ahead, truly marvellous.

I think that’s the roughest and most mechanical, unemotional sex we’ll see in the show. Hawk literally punches Eddie like a donkey.

Hawk: Milton. But my friends call me ‚uncle Milty‘ - Cracking up. Hawk, be serious.

Hawk doesn’t care about your little life, Eddie. He got what he wanted. He doesn’t give him his number. Important detail since that’s the first information he receives from Tim, already going one step further than he does with Eddie here.

The small „:|“ glance Mary and Hawk share in reaction to Miss Addison’s disapproval of commies, only the eyeroll and irritated sigh missing. Love Hawk’s and Mary’s interactions and friendship overall, so entertaining how they’ll constantly talk ambiguously.

Tim and Hawk first meeting at the park!

Tim: I have a degree in political science and history. I think I should aim a little higher, don’t you? - Oh, baby, you should! Too bad he’s never got to indulge in a profession that fits his education. But then again, maybe it’s for the best that reoriented his career and found a better path for himself, for his eagerness to be politically vocal! He still became a spokesman.

Tim flusters as Hawk inquires him about memorising his biographical entry! His reaction is sooo endearing. He’s already so smitten.

The banter between them!

Hawk: Down boy. - And so the dynamic starts.

Hawk: Perfect. I’ll spend the afternoon picturing you kneeling in prayer. - Pants flew to the moon, ovaries and peepees exploded!

Smith: Your plan, me in the White House in eight years. - Hawk intending to ‚manipulate‘ his mentor’s career, making him president.

Tim and his little cupboard where he hangs his very few white socks and pants. D: Also, he is a plant person! In this apartment as well as in his 80s one he own quite a bunch of greens.

Jean: … could stand to improve his spelling. You’ll have to do this one again. - Is Tim dyslexic?

The book Tim bestows Hawk with, as a present for getting the job is titled ‚Look Homeward, Angel.‘ Angel. Skippy, in the book apparently, is derived from an angel’s name. So maybe that’s Hawk’s inspiration in the show?

Hawk visits Tim for the first time and wants to take him out for dinner! So much to the ‚we NEVER eat in restaurants!‘-complaint in episode 3. Hawk wanted to take him out to a restaurant before. <3

Tim is very, VERY drastic in his political views, which is a bit concerning, but also understanding, given the historical context.

Hawk asking for consent before lifting Tim to his feet and undressing him, love it.

Tim showing Hawk the family photo album.

Tim: This is uncle Ronald, the drunken designated hopeless sinner of the family.

Hawk: I think you’re giving uncle Ron a run for that title.

Tim: Thanks to you… - and the little smirk, I can’t.

Mary: How are you enjoying ‚Look Homeward, Angel‘?

Hawk: Immensely. Although I have trouble finishing a book before I wanna start another. - he says while he eye-flirts with the next guy standing closeby, oh Hawkins.

Eddie making a scene out in the open, in the hallway…That is very, very awkward and risky and Eddie should know that, not a clever move. I feel for him, for what happens to him later on, but he had it coming, unfortunately. He should’ve let it go when Hawk made clear he doesn’t want further contact during their encounter and then clearly signifies he doesn’t recognize him. It’s like having an ONS or anonymous sex, the rules about how this will go and what it entails are set.

Tim toe-sucking bj-ing himself to the fancy party is still wonderful and he must’ve done a spectacular job to convince Hawk. Also, he’s wearing Hawk’s coat here. Wonder if they acted out the little monologue and Tim really went there with the taste of him in his mouth.

Alsop: My wife says the aroma is somewhat reminiscent of feet. I can promise you it tastes perfectly marvellous. - This is a very feet-heavy episode.

Lucy and Hawk share such entertaining banter moments, I wish they could’ve stayed just really good friends, without all the heartbreak and pain.

Bringing up Lucy is a red rag to Hawk, but Tim just can’t help it. These two have severely different perspectives on life at this point and Hawk told Tim multiple times that he can’t give him what he wants, the life he dreams of, that they can just enjoy these occasional moments of fun together, which of course isn’t enough for Tim, who craves for everything straight couples have, to date his partner openly. It’s not possible in this environment and Tim acts very stubborn and naive here. He is also constituting a great risk for Hawk, who doesn’t shove him away just yet, which is surprising, giving what we’ve seen of him and how cautious he wants to be, leaving no traces endangering his career.

After hearing McCarthy’s speech it’s actually so disturbing and irritating to know that Tim holds onto this man’s ideals so firmly.

Shout out to the beautifully nuanced OST created by Paul Leonard-Morgan.

And that’s it for this episode.

#fellow travelers #fellow travelers rewatch party

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saphirered · 1 year

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For the winter prompts: Azriel x reader x Eris, blizzard. Not angsty. 😍

It's a short one but I hope you'll like it either way. No angst, just (affectionate) bickering that reminds me of three cats that fell in the bathtub. 😘

The dark heavy clouds above just a few hours ago should have been a clear warning. This warning, was instead clearly ignored. ‘We can make it before the storm hits’ those words echo through the mountainous expanse upon not but memory. Azriel doesn’t quite recall if it was you or the Autumn Court prick who had challenged nature so to the point all three of you now wander through a heavy layer of snow, pelted by wind and ice with a sight barely further than an arm’s length even with superior senses. He’ll happily shift that blame to likely the most guilty of all, but in reality it’s the sheer fact that Eris seems the least amount affected by the horrible weather. It is exactly that smug attitude that melts away every shard of ice, and snowflakes upon contact. Though this does not mean the Autumn noble isn’t equally miserable. The two have taken to arguing constantly, quipping back and forth to the point you have stepped ahead, so the wind may numb your hearing and block out their voices, to no avail.

“If it wasn’t for your need to show off, you could have winnowed us out of here already.” The Illyrian grumbles. That earns a snort from Eris.

“Oh I am terribly sorry for keeping your ungrateful arse warm through the ice mist. Next time I’ll let you freeze to death. You’ll hear no objections from me.” Azriel prepares to retort, offering a beat of his wing and sending an extra heavy current of snow his way. You’ve noticed this happening and stop, turning on your heels, the fuming expression you carry might as well have melted the snow around you but you wrap your arms around yourself tighter, pull tighter the protective garments that keep you perpetually miserable but alive in this harsh weather.

“Will you two knock it off! I’ve had enough of this endless bickering! Now shut it and behave before I throw you both off this mountain!” Eris bites the inside of his cheek to prevent some kind of witty retort to escape his lips leading you to make good on this promise. Azriel mirrors that expression and glances between the drop to his side, debating his chances. It’s not like he’ll fall far before his wings catch him. When you realise your comment Eris’ resilience breaks, a resolve you’re an expert at breaking away. Silver words, and cleverly chosen sentences have been his speciality but with you he sometimes struggles not to speak what’s on his mind, particularly so when it deals with your image of him so if he in this discomfort and unfair circumstances can throw Azriel under the proverbial carriage, he will in a heartbeat.

“My apologies, petal. It’s just I hardly think it fair to threaten me with a demise when he has wings. I’d deem it equally unfair to blame me for our predicament. Why don’t you put those wings to work, dear Azriel, and carry us out of here?” Of course he couldn’t hold his tongue. Of course neither could Azriel who joins your side, wrapping an arm around you and shielding you from the worst of the wind despite the numbness in his wings. He gives Eris a look as you curl closer to him and his wing curls with you as much as it can.

“I’m perfectly content flying the two of us out of here.” You’d gone over this before, in this weather it’s too risky. You and Eris would both be plummeting to your deaths with one savage gust not even a weathered Illyrian could brave. Of course Azriel had offered to take just you and leave Eris on the mountainside but you’d refused. It takes you just one look at him to say this was not going to happen and you’ll be suffering together, all three of you. You’d told him he could go off on his own but he’d never leave you alone in this. It’s not that he doesn’t trust Eris to assure your wellbeing, it’s just that he thinks he’s better at it. “The firebug can take care of himself.”

“That’s enough out of you. We’re not leaving anyone behind now can we please keep walking before my toes freeze off!” You shiver and remove yourself from Azriel’s embrace, hold out your gloved hand to Eris. He gives Azriel a look that one is mirrored when you lace your other hand with the Illyrian’s and push on.

“The ‘firebug’ can speak for himself, thank you very much. I much rather prefer this company to solitude.” And that’s about as much as an acceptance or admittance to affection you’re going to get out of Eris when he’s in a mood like this. The tension fleets and you continue moving, hand in hand, huddled together to bear the worst of it as you trail along this path. Just a few more miles you keep telling yourself. Just a few more miles until you can find shelter and warm up in their arms, engulf yourself in their embrace and be reminded once more that maybe the cold isn’t such a bad thing if you got these two to keep you warm.

#azriel x reader #eris x reader #eris vanserra x reader #eris x azriel #acotar x reader #azriel x you #azriel shadowsinger #azriel acotar #acotar azriel #acotar #acotar eris #eris vanserra #eris x you #eris vanserra x you #acotar fanfiction

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ruinaimagines · 1 year

Note

This maybe too specific, but can you write headcanon of Roland with a librarian who lost her fiance in an abnormality breach?

Worry not! It is not too specific at all.

Roland w/ a Librarian who Lost their Fiance in an Abno Breach Headcanons:

Given that he wasn’t involved much with the company during its time of operation, Roland’s actual knowledge on just how Lobotomy Corp functioned is limited only to that which he has been told or overheard. His knowledge on the abnormalities really only comes from those that he has witnessed and fought in the library. Yet even from those little glimpses he has grown familiar with just how ruthless and dangerous some of them can be.

He holds a lot of empathy for your situation. He too has lost a loved one he cared about very dearly, so it’s a pained feeling that he is all too familiar with. His expression and behavior when you tell him is one of compassion.

He treads very carefully with the subject, not wanting to pry too much further, but holds a lot of respect for you carrying yourself still so strongly and fighting in the remnants of the place that took your fiance. Sure, you don’t really have much of a choice in what you get to do, but you still manage to prevail.

He himself is always stumbling on constant reminders of his past wife, even as he has moved on to heal, just little things will manage to bring back memories like opening floodgates. If he’s still afflicted with these recollections in a foreign place, he can only imagine what it might be like for you when you’re constantly surrounded by them.

Roland honestly looks up to you a bit with how you seem to remain so strong. He doesn’t want to go into some territory that you’re uncomfortable with.. But he also wonders if you were affected with that same fuelled desire for revenge that got him into this very situation. Did you lash out on others? How did you cope? How similar was your mourning to his?

Very interested in your current opinions, especially on abnormalities. Is it one of anger towards them for taking away your fiance, or do you not blame them at all for they’re more like animals in nature? There isn’t a wrong answer, he’s just curious.

Depending on if this occurs before him and Angela forgive each other, and when he’s a bit more vague on his origins I could see him envying you in a way. He doesn’t have any ill wishes towards you, but there’s just this sort of pained feeling that makes him wonder why he couldn’t have taken things like you had, why he was so upset as to commit the violent acts he did. He’s not proud of the harm he’s brought to people, so if you instead were rather peaceful after the loss of your fiance I think there would be a little bit of jealousy.

You’ve told him of other stories and experiences from your time as an employee, not really worried about it being a breach of contract no more as it’s not like Lobotomy Corp exactly existed anymore. From the sounds of it, he’s pretty relieved to hear that the abnormalities now are hosted inside of books in their ideal habitats. No longer is there the need to worry about them outside of the few times you may fight them in a controlled environment.

It’s a bit of a sad thought, but there is the realization that should your fiance have made it a little longer till the fall of the corporation they would probably be able to be here with you.

He’s always here to listen to you if you want to talk about it, otherwise if you prefer moving ahead and on he’s fine with that too. You both have quite the long lives ahead of you so there’s all the time in the world to make that choice.

Remembering passed loved ones isn’t always sad either! If you have any fond stories you want to tell of your fiance he is ready to listen. You two get to know eachother better than most and connect on an even deeper level with such a similar experience.

A lot of the time people see him as a laidback and indifferent guy, and while this is true to an extent there is a lot more to him. Including stuff he is and is not proud of. I believe the two of you would have the grounds to have much easier conversation concerning vulnerable topics, and you’d get more insight into his own history and impulsive decisions.

If ever there is a time where you feel like you’re going to lose sight of yourself, he will be there to pull you back into reality. You aren’t alone in this, and he’s reached his own breaking points before. You’ve shown interest and desire to support him through his hardships, so it is only expected he would do the same.

Overall very supportive and this new knowledge shapes his understanding and desire to get to know you further in a unique way.

#library of ruina roland #lor roland #library of ruina #lor #library of ruina x reader #lor x reader #library of ruina headcanons #lor headcanons #roland x reader #x reader #hcs #headcanons #roland headcanons #roland hcs #roland

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lostinthemines · 8 months

Text

Rage

Sorry this took me forever to post, but enjoy :)

The night had fallen extremely quickly.

It always seems to approach faster the further you travel away from the mushroom kingdom, he’d noticed. He’s not sure if it’s a symptom of being closer to Bowsers kingdom, which is covered by darkness, or just Mario’s mind constantly playing tricks on him whenever he gets to this point in his adventure. Either way, his exhaustion was definitely catching up to him as the moon started to rise. He knows that he has to rest soon, if he’s feeling it so are the others. He looks to his side and sees Luigi slowing down slightly, and Yoshi’s eyes are beginning to close. It had been a long day of travelling.

“Mario, it’s getting dark,” Luigi seems to read his mind, stopping in his tracks. “Bowser will have his army all around looking for us, I think we should stop for the night,” Mario knows his brother is right; he can feel how sore his feet are, he’s been practically dragging himself for the past couple hours. However, he still hesitates. Every minute they stop is a minute longer he’s away from Peach, a minute longer Bowser has her locked up doing god knows what to her. “You’re no good to Peach if you exhaust yourself.” Luigi adds for good measure, which seems to snap his brother out of his own head. He sighs to himself, Luigi’s right, as usual.

“Yeah.. okay.” Mario agrees reluctantly, retreating into the bush to find a place to set up for the night. Yoshi offers Mario a ride but he politely declines, the poor dinosaur is tired enough without having to lug Mario around. They all find a good spot to set up camp and get started on a fire. If any of Bowsers army found them, they’d deal with them. It was too cold not to have a fire tonight, it was a risk they’d have to take.

Yoshi is asleep in a matter of seconds, snoring quietly as the fire crackles in the darkness. The two brothers can practically see the zzz’s coming from Yoshi’s figure, he was absolutely exhausted. Mario watches Luigi’s eyes try to stay open, looking at him with concern. Luigi dismisses it immediately and Mario lays his head down, but doesn’t do much else. He doesn’t even look like he’s trying to sleep, he’s just staring up at the many stars littering the night sky.

“Are you at least going to try to sleep?” Luigi asks seriously. He can see the bags under his brothers eyes, he knows he hasn’t been sleeping well these past couple of nights. He’d tried to stay up and ensure his brother got even just a few hours of sleep, but mostly Luigi would just end up falling asleep himself.

“I can’t,” Mario admits. “I keep thinking about what he could be doing to her..” Mario trails off, turning to face his brother. “What if he’s going to..” He didn’t need to finish his sentence. His brother knew exactly what he was worrying about. This capture was a lot more serious than usual; Bowser had taken Peach out of pure anger this time and they all knew it. There’s no telling what he’ll do.

“He won’t,” Luigi replies sadly. “We’ll get there before anything happens, and I’ll be here every step of the way, Mario.” He assures. Mario smiles weakly at his brother, eyes growing heavy.

“Thank you.” Mario says quietly, going back to looking at the sky. Luigi turns on his side, shutting his eyes.

“Peach will need you to be at your best,” Luigi adds, just as a gentle reminder. “So if you can, try to get some sleep.” Mario just nods, and Luigi takes that as a win, he’s too tired now to argue. They’ve got a big day ahead of them and he knows Mario won’t stop until they reach the castle. Luigi wouldn’t either if he was in his shoes.

“I’ll try.” Mario replies, turning on his side and shutting his eyes tightly, trying to sleep. When he closes his eyes, all he can see is Peach’s face when she is grabbed; the scared eyes, the gloved hand reaching out, the yell of his name said in pure terror. Bowser had never come at them like this before. It shook Mario to his core.

He finally manages to fall asleep a few minutes later, tossing and turning the entire night.

✧ ✧ ✧

The last thing Mario wants to do is keep going. He’s so physically and mentally drained, he isn’t sure how much longer he can go on without needing to stop. He knows that’s not an option, he wouldn’t let himself even if he was dying, but he’s already looking forward to the next night time. He can tell Luigi and Yoshi are very much in the same boat, Yoshi has started to drag his tail along with him, and Luigi can feel his eyes closing even as he walks. All of them are determined to get to Bowser no matter what, so they are all pushing through it together.

Luigi’s noticed a significant change in Mario’s mood over the last day or so. He’s gotten quieter and more reserved, which he honestly expected. He’s surprised it had taken his brother this long for it to start affecting him so badly. He hasn’t really been speaking much either, and when he does it’s with a tone Luigi can’t place, which is the change he is taken aback by. Irritation, impatience, anger? Only Mario would know, but Luigi had never known him to get angry before. He was always calm and collected, the voice of reason, the one who fought but fought with compassion, not with anger. Anytime Mario would speak, Yoshi and Luigi would share a concerned glance, and make a mental note to keep an eye on him as they progressed in their adventure.

It takes the three another day and a half to reach Bowsers castle. By the time they arrive, the sun has gone down, which means it’s absolutely covered in guards from head to toe. Buzzy beetles and dry bones guard the courtyard entrance, pacing back and forth. Paragoombas and koopa paratroopas patrol the sky, eyes darting back and forth over the gate and towards the courtyard, looking for anything suspicious coming inside. Four koopa troopers guard the gate to the castle entrance, big spears in one hand. Mario looks to Luigi and Yoshi, trying to figure out how they get past all of these enemies without alerting Bowser to their presence.

“At least it’s nighttime,” Luigi is the first one to break the silence, looking around left and right. “Means we can sneak past them.”

“Yoshi, you might have to clear a path if we get caught,” Mario looks to his dinosaur friend, who looks determined. He’d do anything to get Peach back home safe. “Luigi, you be my eyes on the sky.” He starts. The three of them start to plot out a pathway to reach the entrance as fast and undetected as possible. Yoshi eats a buzzy beetle and spits him out, causing the shell to knock out a bunch of the other beetles, even a few dry bones. While the other dry bones hurry to help gather the scattered bones, the three make their way past them and into the entry. So far so good with the air enemies, they haven’t noticed a thing. Bowsers henchmen aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.

“How do we get past those two?!” Luigi whispers. “Yoshi can’t eat them, they’ve got spears!” The dinosaur in question feels his chest tighten at the thought of those spears piercing his stomach.

“I’ll go for the one of the left, you go for the right. Let’s try and get around them.” Mario suggests. Luigi nods, feeling a little scared but he braves it for his brother. He knows Mario needs him more than ever, and that’s a good motivator. The two approach the koopas from the side of the railing. Mario strikes first, jumping from the railing onto the koopa and yanking the spear from him. Luigi reacts quickly and knocks the second guard, making him retreat into his shell almost instantly.

“Some guard.” Luigi mumbles humorously. Luigi picks up the shell and tosses it in the air, causing it to fling far away from the door. The younger brother assumes the other koopa is taken care of, so he turns to face Mario, eyes widening. Mario has the koopa pinned down with the spear in his hand, pointing it directly towards the turtles throat.

“Where is she?!” Mario shouts, staring darkly into the koopas eyes. “Where is he keeping her?!” He’s not even giving the koopa time to respond before shouting another question at him.

“I-I don’t know! I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I just guard the door! I swear! I swear!” Mario doesn’t seem satisfied with this answer and stabs the spear into the ground next to them, causing the koopa to get up and quickly scramble away. Luigi is in brief shock for a moment, he’d never seen his brother so angry before. This was definitely taking a toll on him.

The three of them enter the castle and make their way through. It looks like most of the guards were set up around the perimeter, as there was barely any inside. They passed a few hammer bros and spinys, but besides that the castle was empty.

“It’s too quiet,” Mario mumbles, making Luigi look at him with concern. “I hope we find them.” He’s not sure if Mario is talking to him or himself at this point. They reach the throne room and Mario approaches the big double doors, grunting as he pushes them both open.

“We might need to split up,” Luigi looks around at the many different ways to go. “They could be anywhere.” Mario just nods, picking a direction and heading down it. Luigi and Yoshi share a glance before going their seperate ways. The pair were growing more concerned for Mario but they know he’s just worried about Peach. They were too.

Mario finds himself stuck in a maze. Every single room looks the same; the same patterns on the walls, the same ugly statues of Bowser, everything. The more rooms he passes the more angry he feels himself become. He’d tried so hard to be calm, to keep his cool until he found Peach, but he just couldn’t anymore. Bowser always kidnapped Peach, yes, but this was different. He had done this out of the cruelty of his heart. To hurt Mario, hurt Peach. It was all for a reason. Bowser wants to scare him, terrify him, and Mario hates that it’s working. He can feel his heart beating inside his chest in fear, every step forward he takes that doesn’t lead him anywhere just causes his chest to sting.

Eventually, he comes across an entryway, sighing in relief and rushing through the door. He can see chains on the floor and debris, as if construction had been done. Or a struggle, Mario thinks briefly, but he doesn’t let that thought linger. Refuses to, knowing that it’ll just make him more upset. As he continues to walk he smells something, following the scent instantly. It was fire, and not just any fire, Bowsers fire. It had a distinct smell and Mario knew it like the back of his hand at this point.

He finally reaches the end of the corridor, coming face to face with the reptile himself. Mario’s made his way to Bowsers throne room, and upon seeing the plumber enter his room, Bowser grins playfully.

“Mario!” Mario’s eyebrows furrow at him, making his grin even wider. “So nice of you to stop by.” Bowser looks to Mario, noticing a different kind of look on his face. He really must’ve pissed him off this time.

“Where is she?” Mario asks, cutting to the chase. He didn’t have time to entertain Bowser today. He never really did, but today was different. He needed to get to Peach immediately before anything worse happened to her.

“Somewhere in this castle,” Bowser replies casually, staring at him. “Surprised you haven’t found her already, especially under these circumstances. He laughs. “I’m disappointed in you, Mario. I made this maze just for you.”

Mario isn’t laughing. “I’ll kill you.” He spits, his hands balling into fists. Bowser looks at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, slapping his hand against his throne. This only makes Mario more mad, taking a step closer.

“Kill me?” Bowser challenges, not really thinking too much of the plumbers threat. He’d soon come to regret that. “I’d like to see you try.”

✧✧✧

Luigi feels like he hasn’t made any progress whatsoever. Every time he enters a new room he can’t recall if he’s already been in it or not. It’s all the same and it’s driving him crazy. He hopes the others are having better luck than him.

He eventually runs into Yoshi, sighing dejectedly. “We just went in a big circle, didn’t we?” Luigi realises out loud, raising his voice a little. Yoshi frowns at him, but the frown quickly disappears upon hearing a certain voice through the corridor.

“Luigi?” The voice calls, and the man is immediately alert. He looks down the hallway to the few rooms, wondering where the voice came from. He knew that voice anywhere.

“Peach? Where are you?” He shouts down the hallway, ushering Yoshi to help him check each room thoroughly.

“Down here!” She shouts, voice hoarse. She’s hoping her voice will lead them to her. She knew where she was, it was just getting Luigi to her that was the hard part. Bowser had hidden her pretty well, behind a secret wall that looked like every other room. She’d been helplessly waiting for what felt like hours, begging anyone to hear her or find her.

Luigi finally enters the room she’s in, following her voice cues perfectly. He presses his ear against the wall, finally realising it doesn’t feel like the other walls. He pushes against the wall and it slowly starts to turn to his amazement.

“Yoshi! Come help me with this.” He requests. Yoshi comes over and helps Luigi push the wall, finally turning it all the way to the side. Luigi puffs out a breath before entering the room, finally spotting the princess in her cage. Her eyes light up as soon as she sees Luigi’s face, a weak smile making its way onto her face.

“You found me,” Peach says in disbelief. She was so relieved to see him, even though she was hoping it would be Mario who would find her. “The key is behind that wall panel over there.” She points it out to the boys and Yoshi gets to work removing it. He grabs the key and unlocks the cage, allowing Peach to step out shakily. Before Luigi can say another word she’s embracing him tightly, and he quickly wraps his arms around her. Yoshi moves closer and joins in their little hug, making Peach smile.

“Thank you,” She whispers, and Luigi just hugs her tighter, letting her know it’s finally over, she’s finally safe. They pull away after a moment and Peach frowns, asking the dreaded question. “Where’s Mario?” She looks nervous as she asks this, playing with her hands.

“He went looking for you,” Luigi explains quickly, motioning Yoshi to give Peach a ride. Peach slowly sits on his shell, holding him tightly. She hopes she doesn’t weigh too much for him. “C’mon, we’ll take you to him. He’s probably found Bowser by now.”

“I can show you the way.” Peach offers. The three of them then head off down the hall with Peach’s directions, trying desperately to find Mario. They pass through many secret passageways, which makes Luigi wonder if Mario has actually found Bowser or if he is still stuck in the maze. They hear some commotion coming from the other side of the castle, so Luigi’s previous thought is instantly scrapped. They hear Bowser groaning and Peach grips Yoshi a little tighter, fearing the worst.

Nothing could have prepared them for what was around the corner.

Luigi is the first to turn the corner, stopping dead in his tracks for a brief moment. There stood his brother, gloves bloody and body heaving violently, staring down at Bowser with pure hatred in his eyes. Luigi had never seen him like this before. The reptile was on the floor, face bloody and bruised. Mario grabs him by one of his horns and lands another blow to his nose, causing Bowser to cry out in agony. It seemed like Mario had been at this for a while, judging by how bloody he was.

“Mario!” Luigi shouts, getting his attention. Yoshi has covered his eyes with both hands, not wanting to look at it anymore. Peach hops off Yoshi’s back, trying to get a look at what’s going on. She lets out a small gasp upon seeing the scene unfolding in front of her. She can practically see the steam coming from Mario’s body, he’s completely filled with rage. She’d never seen him like this before in her life, and it seemed like Luigi hadn’t either. “Mario! Stop!” He tries again, but it’s like his brother can no longer hear him, all he’s focused on is Bowser. Peach looks at Luigi before taking a step forward, trying to get as close to Mario as possible. She gets close enough that she can touch his shoulder from behind, causing him to jolt.

“Mario?..” Peach gets his attention softly. He finally gives up his attack on the now helpless reptile in front of him, turning around at the sound of her voice. His face doesn’t look angry anymore, in fact, she can notice a hint of sadness, and worry. It looked like his usual face again, there was none of those hostile flames in his eyes anymore. He was her Mario once again, no longer on autopilot.

“Peach?” He looks at her in disbelief, as if she’s just a figment of his imagination. She frowns, looking at him gently. “Are you okay?” He asks, because of course he does. He’s always thinking of her first.

“I’m okay,” She assures. She’d rather not tell him now, given the state he’s in. “We can go home.” Mario sighs shakily, suddenly feeling exhausted. He just nods, following behind her like a child that’s just gotten in trouble. All he wants to do is embrace Peach but he doesn’t want to get blood all over her, so he keeps his hands to himself as they exit the castle.

Bowser lets out a hoarse wheeze as they leave, but doesn’t make any effort to move from his position on the floor. Mario hates himself for not feeling bad, not even one bit.

✧✧✧

Once they return to the mushroom kingdom Luigi and Yoshi head off to their respective homes. Luigi wanted to stay with Peach until he was sure both her and Mario were okay, but the princess assured him that they’d be alright by themselves. It had been a long couple of days and they just wanted to settle down together. As much as Mario had concerned him he knew if anyone could talk to his brother about this, it was Peach, so he reluctantly said goodnight and headed off, looking back once more as he did so.

Mario enters the castle first, sitting down on the sofa and looking at his hands. He looks ashamed, like he can’t believe what he just did. Peach disappears into the bathroom to get a warm washer, sitting down beside Mario and giving him a gentle smile. His hands were shaking violently as he tried to figure out what to say to the woman in front of him.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers, not being able to form any other words. Peach frowns and takes hold of one of his hands, slowly taking off his glove. She then takes off the other one and places them on the coffee table. She’d clean it later, she wasn’t too worried about that right now. Mario shivers as the princess delicately takes his hands in hers, using the warm washer to clean off all the blood that has seeped through the material of his gloves. His knuckles were bloodied and split in many different places, he’d likely have bruises soon enough. Bowser isn’t exactly a smooth creature, so it only made sense Mario would have some cuts. It must’ve been extremely painful for him to hit Bowser but he’d kept going anyway, it showed what kind of mindset he was in. It’s like he wasn’t in control of himself for that period of time.

“I’ll be gentle,” Peach tells him, trying to reassure him. She continues to go over his hands with the washer, watching his face every couple of seconds to make sure he’s still okay with what she’s doing. He does wince a couple of times but otherwise keeps a straight face, biting the inside of his cheek. She wishes he didn’t think he had to be brave all the time. “I’m going to get some bandages.” She announces, getting up off the couch. Peach returns a few minutes later with some bandages; she always keeps a couple of first aid kits in the castle, as Mario always seems to be getting himself injured one way or another.

Mario watches as the princess delicately wraps his hands in the bandages, securing them with a bit of tape. He looks at her, hoping she’ll see how grateful he is. “Thank you.” He says quietly, praying that’s enough for now.

“Are you okay?” She asks him, sitting beside him. She really does want to know the truth now, he’d definitely been playing it off in front of his brother. Peach couldn’t believe the state of his hands and knuckles. He should be howling out in pain but he isn’t. Still trying to be brave.

Mario nods. “Yeah.. my hands sting, that’s about it,” He admits quietly, not wanting to worry her. “Did Bowser hurt you?” He asks seriously. Peach looks down for a moment.

“He grabbed me quite roughly, so I’ll have a couple of bruises on my arms,” Peach knows she can’t lie to him, he’ll see right through her. “He did throw me around a bit on the way to the castle and when he was locking me up too.” She admits nervously.

“Oh god,” Mario fears the worst, looking at her stomach instantly with wide eyes. “Are the twins-“

“They’re okay,” Peach assures quickly, and she watches his face soften in relief. “They’ll always be okay, they’ve got you as their father.” She smiles gently at him. Mario laughs weakly, shaking his head a little. Peach gently takes his bandaged hands and strokes them softly, making Mario lean his head on her shoulder. He knows he’s meant to be comforting her right now, but he can’t bring himself to move. He knows she’s mostly okay and the twins are okay, that’s enough for him right now.

“I love you,” Mario mumbles, closing his eyes. “All three of you.” Peach smiles to herself and runs a hand through his hair, encouraging him to get comfortable.

“We love you too,” Peach assures, kissing his head. “Now get some sleep.”

Mario doesn’t hesitate in the slightest.

#mareach #princess peach #mario #luigi #yoshi #mareachbrainrot #super Mario #angst #nothing like mareach angst on a saturday night #fanfic #ao3 #oneshot

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urgonnaneedabiggership · 1 year

Text

NAMOR (MCU) X MEXICAN!OC

MASTERLIST

A/N: Remember you can find this fanfic on AO3 right here. Any feedback and/or comments are greatly appreciated <3 If you want to be added to the taglist, just say so!

Also, I think this is the first time I mention Mercedes' faceclaim. I originally envisioned her as Oaxacan model Karen Vega but it became too hard having to constantly picture an older version of her (she's 21) until @evita-shelby introduced me to Sofia Engberg and she's SUCH A GREAT FIT TOO especially after I came across this gif! So, special thanks to her! Now, without further ado, here's chapter XVIII

Warnings: Violence, weapons, death and un-aliving people. Language. Mentions of sexism.

Word count: 4,538

They hadn’t exchanged more than a few words since they left Moni’s house undetected. The only sound around them was the relentless singing of cicadas. Mercedes usually found it to be soothing, but not then. Discretely observant, Namor noticed the way her fingers gripped the edges of the map she was using to find her way to the coordinates in the paper. He observed her locked jaw and how her eyebrows barely met in the middle of her forehead when she narrowed her eyes whenever the slightest noise reached her ears.

Mercedes was in her element. Still, something was new. He could see it in the way her knees were slightly bent to make as little noise as possible the closer they got to their destination, and in the way she never lowered her arms below her waist in case she needed to protect her chest. Talokanil knowledge taught by one of his best men and closest friends. Even after such a short time, he knew she would always remember to gather all her strength in her knees and elbows because that’s what Attuma always taught to shorter soldiers.

Too late he realized she had said something to him and was expecting an answer.

“Sorry, I thought I heard something behind us,” He excused himself.

“I said I’m worried because now they seem to know where the village is,” Mercedes repeated, swatting a low-hanging branch away, “Maybe you should have stayed behind to look after Moni and Antonia,”

“If they knew of their closeness to you, they would have targeted them too,” Namor reassured her, “They would have taken them as well,”

“Are you sure?” She asked, taking another look at the map.

“It’s what I would have done.”

“And do you think she’s still…?” Mercedes asked, unwilling to finish the grim sentence.

“She is. We’ll get her back.” He sounded so determined that a hidden, primigenial crook of her brain tingled in a pleasantly alleviated way knowing she wasn’t alone. He would help her. He would protect her.

“Still, there’s something else you should be worried about,” Namor gravely warned her, “Whoever did this knew there was going to be a celebration that day and the exact time at which the noise would be loud enough to camouflage the shooting. Either that or somebody else told them,”

“An outsider wouldn’t be able to randomly show up in town, much less ask about the celebrations without raising suspicion.”

Namor stopped walking and firmly placed a hand in front of Mercedes, halting her steps.

“Stop. There are more people ahead of us. I think we found them,”

“The coordinates are still a few kilometers ahead of us,” She whispered, taking another peek at the map.

“No, that’s probably where they want to make the exchange. We must’ve stumbled upon their campsite.”

Only a few meters ahead of them, settled at the bottom of a steep slope that led into a hollow, stood three large tents. Most of the activity seemed to be taking place inside them since outside, only about eight men circled the area brandishing long weapons.

“Me lleva la chingada. Three tents, of course,” Mercedes muttered, staring intently at them as if she could see through the thick canvas to determine where they were keeping her grandmother, “I guess we’re going to have to take them by surprise,”

“I’m faster. It will make more sense if I check all the tents and you take care of the ones that try to escape,”

“No,” Mercedes immediately objected, the mere thought of going their separate ways bringing up memories that manifested physically as an ice-cold grip on her heart, “No, we’re not splitting up,”

“Xmeech,” Namor placed his hand under her chin, softly turning her head towards him, “Their bullets cannot hurt me the way they would hurt you. But I can’t protect your grandmother and make sure none of them escape. I need you.”

Despite the situation, Mercedes managed to remain calm. She knew that, despite her chiich’s involvement, freaking out wouldn’t help anybody. By now, focusing on tracing and following a plan under crippling stress wasn’t foreign to her. She chose to focus on that Yet, her throat felt dry and raspy, like it was about to close up. Every time his soft exhalations caressed her cheeks, the pressure on her chest increased until breathing became a nearly impossible task.

“Which tent will you go to first?” She asked after releasing herself from his touch with a swift nod before rummaging through her bag.

“The left one,” Namor replied, his voice promptly reverting to his usual tone, back to his Talokanil warrior self that would be much more useful in this situation rather than this stupid infatuated youngster he seemed to occasionally, and inconveniently, turn into, “There is a blind spot in the shifts of those two men, and a ten-second window I can use to sneak in. That will give us the advantage if she’s there, and if she’s not the commotion will draw all the guards…”

“To the tent that needs the most protection, so I’ll know where they have her,” Mercedes chimed in with a complicit smile, which was proudly reciprocated by her partner. Before he left, she took a glass bottle filled with some sort of fuel and a piece of cloth for a wick, “If she’s not inside, light those fuckers up,”

“Táan wáaj a wéetel?” He asked, firmly pressing her hands together and encompassing them in his own.

“Ta wéetel.” She adamantly replied, removing her hands to shift them so they were holding Namor’s, giving them a tight squeeze. The minute she let go, he turned away and began stealthily making his way down the slope.

If somebody had told Namor just a few months ago that he would ever put himself at risk of being discovered just to keep an inhabitant of the surface safe, he would have laughed at their mere thought. However, as kind as the elderly woman appeared to be, deep inside he knew the true reason that drove him to do something as insane as raiding a camp with no preparation whatsoever and no backup was sitting on top of a hill doing her best to contribute to the mission. If only he had Namora and Attuma by his side, they would be done in less than thirty minutes. He hadn’t even been able to inform them of the reason for their delay. Hell, he wasn’t even sure of what would happen or whether she’d actually choose to return after they got out of there, but he decided to focus on the matter at hand. He was right. Two of the guards crossed paths and continued until they got lost around the corner. Right before he could rush into the tent, an unexpected guard popped outside. With a surprised curse, the man aimed his rifle at the warrior, who unwaveringly ignored his orders to stop as he kept approaching him.

Inside, a dozen men pried their eyes off the map splayed on the table before them almost simultaneously when several shots were fired outside followed by cries they did not expect to hear from any of their security personnel. Exchanging nervous glances, some of them even reached to their side to grab their weapons. Before they could begin to wonder what was going on, the man that had just left the tent crossed the entrance again, though not by his own foot. Instead, he flew several meters across the tent and fell on the wooden table so harshly that it broke in two before everybody’s eyes. However, they all turned to look at the only access to the tent when they realized much to their horror and confusion that the only sound coming from the outside besides the distant warning calls of the other guards, was absolute silence. And alarmingly slow footsteps unfalteringly moving towards them.

The minute the first tent went up in flames, Mercedes saw how the remaining guards either rushed to the burning tent or ran to the one on the far right. Not one of them tried to escape, and the urge to come closer was too powerful. Taking one last look at the treeline to make sure it was empty, she rushed down the hill and combed the edge of the remaining tent. Not even a minute later, Mercedes came across one of the guards, the element of surprise enabling her to shoot him down before he could place his finger on the trigger. Hastily picking up his weapon to replace her gun with it, she ran inside the middle tent expecting to find her grandmother inside. Instead, she was met with at least another six men from which at least three raised their guns at her while the rest hid behind a wooden table set in the middle. Swiftly dropping to the floor just in time to avoid getting hit by a rain of bullets, Mercedes practically rolled to seek refuge behind a metallic cabinet. The lack of hiding places made it easy for her to realize her grandmother wasn’t there, but the hollow sound the bullets made against the steel that guarded her prevented her from just throwing a Molotov cocktail and getting the hell out of there. The cabinet was bulletproofed, which could only mean that whatever was inside was extremely valuable. Mercedes took a deep breath and a quick peek at her assailants. There were in fact five armed men and three more taking cover underneath the tables. She firmly gripped the rifle and took a deep breath before leaving her shelter momentarily, opening fire against them and taking cover before they could respond. Three armed men and two under the table. “A ver pinche escuincla, ¿vamos a tener que deshacernos de tu abuelita o podemos hablar como gente adulta?” Alright, fucking brat, are we going to have to get rid of your granny or can we talk like adults? “¿Crees que por decir ‘pinche escuincla’ voy a creer que eres mexa, cabrón?” Mercedes yelled back from behind the cabinet, knowing damn well they were just trying to provoke her to lure her out. The man, despite attempting to use the lingo to cover it up, was definitely not a native speaker. This time, he replied in English. Do you think that because you said "pinche escuincla" I'll believe you're Mexican, asshole? “If any of us makes the call, the next time you see your grandma will be washed off on the riverbed. So you better come out here so we can talk it over.” After giving it some thought, Mercedes stood up and aimed in the direction of the voice with the rifle, despite knowing she was being aimed at. “This isn’t going to work unless you drop your weapon, sweetheart,” The sentence was issued in a warning tone. Mercedes’ blood boiled in her veins at the use of the nickname, but she clenched her jaw despondently and started to lower the rifle, willing to talk for long enough to buy herself some time to better assess the situation. That calm, logical disposition would only last for about five more seconds, right until she heard the mocking voice of one of the unarmed men under the table.

“Thank you. God forbid we should make a woman angry.”

Namor heard the shootout right beside him. Annoyed at the woman’s apparent inability to just do what she was told, he made use of his wings to survey their surroundings, hoping nobody had gotten away while Mercedes unsurprisingly jumped in harm’s way. At least he had made sure nobody in the first tent would be able to say what they’d seen there, and from the air, it looked as if everybody had taken cover and run inside either of the two shelters. He then rushed to the final tent, certain that the kidnapped woman would be inside. Instead, he found it to be nearly empty save for a table filled with scattered papers and old walkie-talkies. He reasoned that since the campsite wasn’t large enough to need a radio communication system, they probably were intended for those waiting at the coordinates that were given to Mercedes. Namor quickly went through the papers on the table, searching for something that could have information worthy to be spared from the fire. Instead, he felt relieved that it was he who found those documents and not Mercedes. There were pictures of her. Some were as recent as the first day they arrived in her hometown, and others appeared to have been taken months ago. She was doing mundane things such as walking the streets of an unknown city or talking on the phone. In one of them, taken through a window, she was sitting in a living room with a small coffee table full of printed photographs. Sometimes he forgot she had not been a soldier for a long time and had chosen to pursue other interests.

Some of the material, however, was confusing. She didn’t look much younger but still was dressed in camouflage apparel, depicted with some other people with the lower half of their faces covered with a bandana or a scarf. But those were undoubtedly her eyes. She was sitting on a rock, supporting her weight on a rifle as she stared at the camera. In another photo, she was standing in line with two other women that stared at the photographer with equally tired looks, a table before them filled with brown packages and three long weapons. The last one was a mugshot, and what baffled him most was the name on the plaque she held. It wasn’t hers.

Another round of gunshots in the tent next to him made him look up. Before he could worry, he could hear Mercedes’ voice above all the rounds shouting something along the lines of “a ver si con ese hoyo en la jeta se te quita lo machito, cabrón," Let's see if that hole in your mug takes away your macho attitude, motherfucker

It was then that he wondered whether she’d ever been truly mad at him. Probably not.

K'uk'ulkan then noticed the flames of the neighboring tent were starting to lick the edges of the one he was in, and he knew it was time to leave before his skin started to resent it. Right before exiting the tent, a sound made him turn around, his observant glance falling upon one of the walkie-talkies, from which some static emerged before a voice was distinguishable.

Mercedes sat down on the pierced remnants of the wooden table, trying to catch her breath. She thanked whatever deity that the men inside that were unarmed weren’t fast enough to grab the weapons of their fallen comrades to defend themselves. Taking down three men was exhausting enough in itself. However, she was far from relieved. She had seen the flames slowly take over the only remaining shelter, which indicated that her grandmother wasn’t there either. With no unchecked tents left, chiich still missing and Namor nowhere to be seen, Mercedes’ heart was beating faster than ever, so much so that she felt as if she was going to throw up. In fact, she was surprised that something like that had worn her out so much. She understood she wasn’t in her twenties anymore, but still… The woman sighed and continued to scan what was left of the papers she’d found inside the cabinet, which now rested on the table, hoping to find a hint of her grandmother’s whereabouts. Enthralled trying to piece together the fragments of information, Mercedes was oblivious to the agonizing man behind her desperately trying to reach the handle of one of the discarded guns. With one last colossal effort, he curled his fingers around the still-warm metal and aimed at her, confident of his chances of hitting his target since she was less than three feet away from him.

A loud bang startled Mercedes as she quickly spun around just in time to see a man dropping a gun and falling to the floor with a heavy thud, a large smoking wound covering the higher half of his back. Slowly making her way towards him, the woman intended to inspect the strange laceration as she knelt next to the body. While her eyes were focused on the edges of the injury, a voice spoke from the other side of the closest wall, calling her name. The interlocutor was hidden by the dark, thick canvas of the tent. Mercedes jumped to her feet, aiming at the spot.

“Stop,” The voice firmly instructed before she could take a single step, “Don’t t come any further. I’m not with them and I’m not here to hurt you.”

“Why would I trust somebody I can’t even properly look at?” Mercedes urged the person, never lowering her weapon or her guard. Silence followed. Unbeknownst to her, the stranger was amused.

“We have that in common. But I think that what I just did is enough proof for now.” They calmly replied. This person had a strict, yet velvety voice. Perhaps slightly condescending, too.

“Thanks. What do you want?” Mercedes asked through gritted teeth, begrudgingly granting the stranger that one point.

“I know who you are.”

“Big news. So did they.”

“No, Mercedes. I know who you are.” The voice insisted, slowly emphasizing the words so that they sounded more like a warning or a vague threat. Inside the tent, Mercedes felt a sharp pressure on her chest and realized she was holding the rifle so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

“What do you want?” Just like it happened with the previous sentence, a subtle change in her enunciation of the question the impatient inquiry now bordered on pleading.

“You have some powerful friends, don’t you?”

She didn’t like the course this conversation was taking. Not one bit. Speaking of powerful friends, where the hell was hers?

“If you’re wondering where he is, he should be getting to your grandmother any moment now at the coordinates these people sent you. She’s as alright as it was possible. Consider this a favor in exchange for another.”

“A favor?” She spoke again, the stranger’s ambiguous statements not doing much for her puzzled state.

“Did you really think they would have let either of you just walk away after you gave them what they wanted? After what they did to you some time ago in the caves one would think you learned something,”

“I wasn’t going to give them anything,” Mercedes argued defensively, “I never intended to negotiate.”

“I see,” The voice replied, mostly devoid of emotion but with a trace of surprise in it, “As I said earlier, your grandmother isn’t in harm’s way anymore, I made sure of it. But we both know there is no way to ensure her safety going forward, right?”

“You’re making it sound like there is. I’m guessing this is where you call in that favor?” Mercedes pressed her lips together, furrowing her eyes in concentration as she anxiously tapped her index against the side of the weapon, “What are your terms?”

“I have some powerful friends too, Mercedes. I can ensure your grandmother’s safety from any further attacks on her or the rest of your family. What I need from you in return is what these men asked from you. I want the laptop that contains all the information you have on Wexler and the research on the toxic spores,”

“Of course,” She replied, her grip on the rifle tightening again, “Who do you work for? Another government that’s going to do exactly what these people intended?”

“I can’t say much more, but I can assure you that we won’t use that information to make any weapons, or harm anybody. I give you my word.”

Despite her inability to see the owner of the voice, the emotion in it was real enough for Mercedes to ponder whether she should trust them. The contents of the laptop did not only include records on her and others or information regarding the toxic fungus, but also photographic evidence of the infested grotto right above an entrance to Talokan. And given the fact that whoever this was seemed to be aware of Namor’s existence, chances were they knew of the submarine city.

“It doesn’t matter anyways,” She huffed in a slightly less defensive tone, “I don’t have the laptop with me. I told you, I wasn’t here to negotiate.”

“I suppose it’s…back there, isn’t it?”

Just like she suspected. They knew. Mercedes looked behind and around her despite being convinced she was alone. Or, more accurately, to make sure she was. Forgetting she was also hidden from the stranger’s sight, she nodded. After receiving no answer, Mercedes remembered and answered affirmatively in a barely audible whisper. She was met with a long, thoughtful sigh.

“Listen carefully. This is what we’re going to do. I’ll make sure your family is safe so you can go back and retrieve the hard drive of the laptop. I think I can get you four months. You come back to the surface, hand it over and that’s all.”

“And if I’m not back by then?” Mercedes asked after a lengthy silence.

“I don’t think my friends would wait for longer than that, and I won’t be able to guarantee your family’s safety anymore.”

Another silence followed. Fortunately, the mysterious person was proving to be rather patient.

“Can you promise me that none of that information will be used against my friends?”

This time it was the other part that seemed to hesitate and took longer to answer.

“Not if they don’t force us to.”

It wasn’t the most reassuring answer. Deep inside, Mercedes knew that even if they rescued chiich that day, she had no idea of what they’d do after. She didn’t even know in what state the whole ordeal had left her and didn’t even want to think about it. The best they could do was taking her back to her comfort zone, but Mercedes didn’t know whether the town was safe anymore. For her, and also for Moni and Antonia. If there were any more members of whatever organization this was, they would respond to what Namor and her had done that day. Harshly. No matter how much she trusted her abilities to protect herself, Mercedes knew she could do little or nothing to fight off a larger number of assailants without Namor’s help if they decided to attack again, and he had to go back to Talokan…yesterday, technically. She looked back up, her lips still forming a fine line and a cold shiver running down her spine. She needed to give an answer.

Namor was visibly confused when he emerged from the thick jungle. First of all, he expected the prisoner to be surrounded by more guards, but there were none in sight. It was as if they’d just left her there in the middle of a clear, despite him having heard through the walkie-talkie that she’d been moved to the “arranged coordinates”. Second of all, it wasn’t just the old lady sitting there with an absent look. Right next to her, fighting to free herself, was none other than Antonia. While there was a piece of cloth lodged in her mouth, the woman glared at Namor angrily and yelled a muffled demand. He slowly approached them to make sure this wasn’t some sort of trap, never ceasing to look at their surroundings even while untying the knots that bound the elderly woman’s wrists together. Then, Namor removed the makeshift gag from Antonia’s mouth before starting to untie her as well.

“It’s her fault,” She cried with a quiet hiccup, “Every time something like this happens, it’s got something to do with her,”

Namor didn’t reply. If only she knew it had been them and nothing else that prompted Mercedes to jump into a ship full of armed men. Still, Antonia seemed to have understood his silence as permission to keep talking.

“And still you’re with her, huh? You must think she’s so brave. What did she tell you? That sob story of a little girl born into a world of violence who only ever did what was necessary to protect and avenge her loved ones? Pobrecita Santa Mercedes Mártir.”

His interest somewhat piqued, Namor slowed down for just one second before continuing to work on the knots.

“I don’t even know who you are but you seem nice, so I’ll give you some advice,” Antonia continued, her voice trembling both from anger and her earlier weeping, “Run. She might’ve fooled everybody with her fucking feigned regrets, but I know that woman. She’s not running from violence and never has. She craves it so much she just keeps finding new ways to get us into trouble and justify herself by claiming she’s doing something to repay all the damage she’s caused and keeps causing. Mercedes was the death of my father, she nearly was ours today and will be yours if you don’t watch your back around her.”

“Kän-än!”

The yell that came from the trees made Antonia stop talking and Namor drop the now loose rope and turn his head towards the sound. Mercedes emerged from the trees and couldn’t help but let a breathless smile tug at the edge of her lips when she spotted Namor standing there. Sadly, the happy moment didn’t last for long since the smile vanished from her lips the moment she laid eyes on her grandmother and Antonia sitting there. Of course, Mercedes first went to chiich.

“Chiich? Can you hear me?” The woman turned to look at her grandchild and nodded absently in complete silence. At least she could react to that.

“Na’, this is not home,” Chiich spoke with a raspy voice, “Am I being carried with my ancestors?”

Mercedes threw her arms around her grandmother and buried her head in the crook of her neck, a few tears already spilling down her cheeks as she shook her head negatively.

“Not yet, in chan nikté. Not yet. We’ll take you back home,”

Caressing her grandmother’s hair, Mercedes turned to look at Antonia, whose eyes were fixated on the dirt on her fingernails.

“Are you okay?” She asked. Antonia nodded and dryly asserted she was fine.

Feeling a wave of much-needed relief wash over herself, Mercedes tackled a surprised Namor in a hug, silently thanking him for his help. He knew it would take her a little to admit she wouldn’t have done it without his help, but for now, feeling her breath against his neck and as she held him tightly against her would do. Namor let himself melt into the embrace, sliding his arms around her slowly to test her reaction. When he finally pulled away, he did it just enough to keep their noses touching to once again see if she tried something, anything, that might indicate that whatever had elicited her reaction earlier on top of that tree was still there.

Mercedes’ mouth hesitantly hovered over his, a shaky breath left her lips and reached his ears, coursing through his body like a violent shiver in stark contrast with her warm breath against his face. Leaning in, she pressed a chaste kiss to the corners of his mouth on each side before thanking him again.

Too preoccupied with the ambivalent, hard-to-predict displays of affection from the woman before him, K’uk’ulkan was unable to perceive the figure that watched from the trees.

The Translations

Táan wáaj a wéetel?: Are you with me?

Ta wéetel: I'm with you

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izukuwus · 1 year

Text

Edible Arrangements 31

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A/N: FORMATTING THIS FOR MIDNIGHT FROM AT 11:53 PM YEET

Chapter Summary: January flies by as you begin a new semester. Izuku falls deeper and deeper. You begin to fear you may never pull him out.

Warnings: off-screen minor character death, murder talk, blood

Word count: ~3300 words

January comes like an old friend, the cold biting, the snow settling over the house and the lawn in a gentle, untouched blanket. Izuku has spent most of it—all of it, except for when you drag him out somewhere—inside, focusing on grading, on work, until the exact moment he can break away to his real project of the day:

The Fucking Death Adder.

("Fucking" is not part of the man's serial killer alias, but it might as well be for how Izuku thinks of him.)

Four days into January had woven the threads Izuku had been collecting into a dead end. Nothing seemed to be happening anywhere—had the man gotten injured and was recovering? Or had he decided to lay low in light of too much attention? It couldn't be that he knew Izuku was getting closer—his habits hadn't changed except for you. Still he spent his time inside, squashing the occasional media request from a desperate journalist who still remembered his past and focusing more on his students than on things like getting an appropriate amount of sunlight for a vampire or remembering to drink. Still he isolated himself. Still he appeared to research, and teach, and teach, and research.

He wants to be grateful for his time spent studying languages, but his decent Russian only gives him enough to know that the news site he's scouring has nothing to say about mysterious murders matching the description. Neither does any of the others—in other words, just as much information as he had before. The man could be anywhere, and here Izuku is, sitting still.

Sitting still and waiting.

It is with great displeasure that I must inform you that suffering does not come to an end. Not even minor sufferings, or medium-strength sufferings that beg you for a steady supply of extra-strength Tylenol.

Or, in this case, not only one familiar face, but two, the first sitting just across the aisle from you in a bigass auditorium in a too-cold building on campus so that you’re stuck shivering with an arm not yet healed enough to make long sleeves comfortable.

Blond hair and a resting annoyance face.

Further ahead, towards the front of the room (you think making a point not to turn around and be forced to acknowledge Neito’s presence) is a head of fiery hair. It seems Itsuka and Neito still aren’t getting along. (Did they ever?)

Neito waves at you. You consider dropping out of college.

(If Izuku weren’t now also paying your tuition, too, you might.)

(You should really consider getting a job.)

On the bright side, suffering comes with good things! On Tuesday, there Mina is, TA’ing your general education credits-mandated dance class! When class lets out, you hang around and walk out of the building together.

“You didn’t intentionally take my class, did you?” she teases, eyes playfully narrow.

You snort. “No way. How do you even TA for dance? Gonna be grading papers this semester? Proctoring dance exams?”

“Oh, totally. For sure. Definitely.”

You check your phone. For the millionth time since New Year’s.

“You good?” she peeks at you.

You shrug. “I just… Did Tenya happen to mention why…”

“Oh. That. He hasn’t said anything… maybe ask Tsuyu? I know she and Tenya have been hanging out, like, constantly.”

Something in you twitches in discomfort. You can’t place it—why should you care? They’re your friends. If anything, you’re pleased that for once, people are getting along, seeing as how you tend to collect people who are incompatible on a fundamental level. (Case in point: Tenya and Izuku. Case in point: Neito and half of your friends.)

(Whether Neito counts is debatable.)

So you’re glad, really. And you don’t care! You don’t have a reason to care about something like that!

“Since when?” you ask.

(Dammit.)

“Since New Year’s, I think. Chalk it up to bonding over not being drunk at the party, I guess.”

“If only that worked.” You force a smile. It comes too easy to you. Why do you have to force it? “And yet the usual two are still at each other’s throats.”

She snorts. “Got that right. I’m not sure you’re ever getting those two to agree on anything, sorry.”

“Haha, yeah.”

(God, you really just said “haha” out loud.)

(It’s worse than you thought.)

Mina arches a brow your way. You hate her nose for these things. Ear. Whatever. She should take a journalism course and leave you to not acknowledge your problems. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Nothing’s wrong. I think I’m just stressed. You know, all the classwork, and I didn’t really get any rest over the break, and—“

“Oh?” Her voice drops low, teasing. “What were you up to?”

You roll your eyes, batting at her shoulder. “Shush. I was doing some personal research.”

“On what? Vampire anatomy?”

“I’ll bite you.”

“Go for it. Bite your hot landlord first, though!”

“Oh fuck you,” you reply, though there’s no bite to your words and you both know it.

She smiles. “There’s [name]! You were getting all gloomy there for a bit.”

“Was I?” You tilt your head. Maybe you were. It’s already slipping away, though. Fuck, are you experiencing mood swings? Do you need to call up your old therapist? “Weird. I already can’t remember.”

She hums suspiciously. “You’re a good actor, though…”

“Really!” You take on a mocking tone. “You just make everything unimportant slip away, my dearest—“

Now she’s laughing and hitting your arm.

Whatever it was, it’s gone, and with it, the pair of you go, too.

Neito to [name] at 3:47PM

Neito: You probably don’t care, but I wanted to tell you:

Neito: I called the number for the therapist you gave me.

[name]: that’s great!

[name]: like, genuinely

Neito: Regrettably, it seems that I’ve been put on a waitlist. Who knows when she’ll actually be available, but I thought I’d tell you

[name]: oof

[name]: that sucks

[name]: she’s totally great though. worth the wait

Neito: I sure hope so. You said she’s good with trauma-type things, right?

[name]: oh yeah totally

[name]: did I ever tell you my roomate freshman year stabbed me?

[name]: *roommate

Neito: she WHAT

[name]: right? it was totally out of nowhere

[name]: yeah apparently a girl with a transformation quirk totally replaced my roommate for no reason

[name]: like my roommate was just a random sort because I didn't really have any friends to room with so we'd never met or anything

[name]: anyways so she was dead before we ever met afaik shit was wild

[name]: some other stuff went on around that time too so I just bucked up and forewent some meals to pay for therapy lmao

[name]: all that to say doc fuyumi's great! aside from the scar it's like it never happened lmaoooo

Neito: well, that's a rave review if I've ever heard one

Neito: but are you just like a magnet for trouble or something?

[name]: hey, that's not nice

[name]: apparently I'm ALSO a magnet for vampires, thank you very much

Neito: I'm sorry but I'm failing to notice a difference

You roll your eyes and pocket your phone. You're sort of hoping your troubling vampire magnet tendencies will help you find the answers Izuku's looking for. Best not to curse it.

The time flies on. Maybe it's your nose being in so many books and classwork, maybe it's the looming presence of your lack of a job (completely for lack of trying, mind you) in the background of everything, but it flies.

(Izuku's no longer sure what day it is, let alone the time. He's trying, really! But sometimes things are more important than sunlight and keeping regular schedules, and Sbeve is good at reminding him to eat every now and then. So if he sleeps at his desk more nights than not these days, that's between him and his desk.)

And then, as January melts into February, you check your email on your way in the door after class. It's an absent scroll—you're worried about a paper draft for your Quirk Genetics course; you've been checking for a notification of the feedback obsessively every day since you submitted it. You've been working hard on this paper, dammit, and—

(He's replying to an email from a student. Run of the mill questions, but he's sure they just missed the line in the syllabus they need. No big deal! A quick reply, and—)

Anyways, that's not the issue, not really.

(His fingers still on the keyboard, head tilted in confusion.)

The issue is that, as always, the house is eerily silent. Some days it's been like you lived alone in this mansion. You hate it—not because Izuku can't spend his time doing as he wishes, or because you're finding that the meals you've grown used to just having have started trickling out, but because Izuku is steadily growing worse along with it. You can barely count how many times you’ve had to remind him to feed, how often you have to drag him away from his damned desk to make sure he sleeps and dresses himself.

(His desk phone is ringing, the one intended for work calls. His desk phone never rings. Of course he picks up—he's got tunnel vision, but he's still doing his job! It's probably just a matter of something his colleagues need to know. Not a big deal, either!)

(If his hands twitch with nerves and his eyes skim a news article on his second screen as he picks up the phone, that’s between him and Sbeve.)

And you've tried to help! You have! But there's only so much you can do when the man doesn't even look for information in a language you speak half the time. It's shit like Russian, which admittedly is extremely cool but completely unintelligible to you!

(Whatever he had been typing is gone from his brain. The words on either screen are gone.)

But still.

(Dr. Midoriya? Are you there?)

The mansion's silence feels heavier than usual.

(“No, no!” he replies, voice strained. “Yeah. No. Sorry. Just… yeah. You get it.”)

(I do. No one’s gonna blame you if you take a day or two off work, you know.)

(He navigates to a new tab and pulls up his email. He’s got someone to contact. “Oh, I won’t be doing that. Can’t fall behind, you know? But I’ll give the poor kids a day off. Uh, yeah.”)

You set down your bag and scroll back through your emails, searching for any point of interest. Feedback, or a new assignment, anything to keep your mind off of how useless you're being while Izuku falls deeper into tracking a serial killer who might be dead by now anyway.

(“Does anyone know yet?”)

(The chancellor sent out the memorial email earlier. Depends how many have checked their email, I guess.)

Your breath hitches on the words "In Memoriam" in your inbox.

from: [email protected]

A message from the Chancellor

February 2nd, 2051

Fellow Ravens,

I am deeply saddened to inform you about the loss of one of our Senior students, Momo Yaoyorozu, an undergraduate student completing a degree in Biochemistry.

Momo was an exceptionally bright student. In addition to her work in the International Honors College, she worked in the KUC as a tutor, offering her expertise to all students in many fields. She participated in the university debate club and has won many awards in the College Bowl since her beginning at the school. Momo had accepted an offer to join a Master’s program with Ossenfelder beginning in the fall, furthering her education in biochemistry.

Our thoughts now are with Momo’s friends and family, those who cared for and loved her, and other Ravens who are touched by this loss.

Visitation for Momo will be held from 7:00-9:00 PM Saturday, February 11th, at Respite Funeral Home, 48th Street. A memorial celebration will take place at 5:30 PM Monday, February 6th, in front of the Kevin University Center.

The U of O Counselling Center can provide support to any students and other members of the campus community affected by the loss of Momo. The Dean of Students Office may also be a useful support resource for students and may be reached during hours Monday through Friday.

Sincerely,

Shouto Todoroki

Chancellor

There’s a bliss that comes with this. You’ve known it since the first bite, and you’ll know it to the last. In the time following a fresh bite, your mind is clear, your emotions lulled, the waters calm ahead. You’d like to think that it somehow soothes Izuku, too, to drink from you like this. He needs it, of course. Idiot’s been forgetting.

He pulls back, buries his face in your freshly-bitten neck. His exhale is heavy, but no heavier than yours, which comes out more tired sigh than you’d have liked. If you’re holding him too tight, if he’s holding you too tight, well, you’re both used to that.

“Did you know a Momo Yaoyorozu at the university?” he mumbles eventually, and you still.

“I was trying to convince myself I didn’t,” you admit, voice already creaking with tears. “She was one of my TAs last spring.”

His words come slow, halting, haunting. “They aren’t publicizing the circumstances around her death out of respect for the family. Those of us on faculty have been told to keep a close watch on all of our students for the rest of the term.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean—“ He pulls away, stares you dead in the eyes so you know he’s serious. “They think she was killed. Her family had a lot of money, but we can’t rule out other motives if she was killed. The police want to question any of her professors, in case they know anything.”

Your blood hasn’t warmed since you first read the email. This doesn’t warm it now. “Did—did they say why they think it was a murder?”

He stares for a second, eyes hard, and then looks away. “She was in one of my classes. I don’t know when they’re coming, but just in case, you should cover your arm and your neck.”

“What? You don’t think—“

He sighs. “If it is what I think it is, then it’d be best if they didn’t see me living alone in a massive house with someone covered in the same kind of wounds as the murdered student.”

Your eyes are blown wide as you nod. “Right! Yeah, of course!”

He smiles, drops his head against your shoulder again for a moment. “Thank you. Now let me deal with those wounds.”

He pulls out his usual bandages—these ones covered in tiny, smiling bats—and smooths them over the bite marks as always. His thumbs linger on the edges, eyes somewhere far away.

“Izuku?”

“Be careful, okay? I-I won’t force you into anything, just… m-maybe stay in at night when you can for a little bit? Just in case?”

You let out a breathy, tiny laugh. “Yeah. I’ll be careful.”

The cops come, just as expected, two days later. You’ve got a scarf on, and long sleeves that scratch, but aren’t nearly as uncomfortable as you were expecting. Too bad you had to go almost the entire winter before you were able to wear long sleeves again.

When you answer the door, it’s two men—one who looks more detective than cop, and another who looks more cop than detective. “Good afternoon, there. We’re here looking to speak to a Dr. Midoriya Izuku. Does he live at this address?”

You nod, studying them closely. Given the tails on the more-cop one, you can guess that he’s just got an animal quirk. On the other… nothing jumps out at you. He looks perfectly normal. Nothing that would indicate a quirk at all. “Um, yeah. I think he’s in his office. If you’d like to come in, you can sit while I get him! But be warned, our cat bites.”

You lead them to the living room, let them sit on the sofa. Before they can thank you, you’re bounding off toward the stairs, careful to maintain a calm persona even though you know what you and Izuku both want out of this situation.

It’ll be rough trying to get it, especially without casting needless suspicion on fifty year-old baby-faced Izuku.

Cops probably expect a healthy amount of nerves, right? Polite smile, wide eyes? But Izuku would have obviously known they were coming and what for, and if you live here, of course you have an idea, and—

You’re overthinking it.

You poke your head into that damned hidden office, eyeing Izuku carefully. He’s looking better than he has in nearly a month, hair as untamed as always but clean, clothes that he definitely wasn’t wearing yesterday or the day before. If nothing else, thank fuck those cops didn’t give a specific date for when they’d show up. Izuku has been forced to pay at least a little attention to himself in the meantime, not knowing when he’d need to be presentable.

“’Zuku, it’s the cops,” you say, gentle. He’s easier to startle these days, too, with tired eyes and the occasional growl sent your way if you don’t telegraph your entrances enough. “C’mon, they’re here to talk to you.”

He raises his head with a resigned sigh. Even having planned for them to show up (you more extensively than Izuku… I think) he’s unprepared, dragging himself after you. You’re careful not to say anything strange, not knowing the quirks of the cops sitting on your living room couch. The cat one likely has better hearing than average; the normal guy? Anything’s fair game. Best not to chance it.

You split from Izuku as he greets the cops (“Good afternoon, g-gentlemen!” with only the slightest stutter) and poke your head in to ask about drinks. If you’re listening, if you leave your phone on the buffet with the recording app on, no one has to know.

Friendly chatting, quiet, forced laughter from both sides. The kind of laughter you would expect to hear from men talking about a dead girl—trying to be jovial in spite of awful circumstances. Failing, just a little bit. You’ve got drinks down in front of them soon enough—water, tea, and the most concentrated coffee you can manage for Izuku. (A sludge, really.)

You linger in the doorway to the kitchen, unsure of whether they want you out of the room or not. They don’t seem particularly bothered by your presence, but the normal guy flicks his eyes between you and Izuku as if trying to decipher something. You can’t place it until you do, and then it hits you in the chest.

You miscalculated.

It’s real nice to think about keeping suspicion off the uninvolved Izuku, lest they realize he’s in his fifties and connected to a very high-profile case, but—

I’ll be honest, her wounds were… strange… one of the men says from the other room. Almost like bite marks.

You stride back in, keeping up the pretense of chasing Sbeve. You scoop the little terror up, cuddling him to your chest and lingering behind Izuku.

“If possible, we’d also like to talk to your… um…” The normal guy has his eyes flicking between the pair of you again, confusion written on his face.

At once, you and Izuku are reaching for an explanation, because shit, yeah, doesn’t it look suspicious if the professor connected to the dead girl has a similarly-aged girl living in his secluded mansion for no apparent reason?

“Tenant!” you blurt. (“R-roommate!” Izuku yelps.) “He’s my landlord. I rent a room upstairs.”

(The visible relaxation on Normal Guy’s face makes you even more tense.)

“Uh, the name’s [name],” you follow up lamely.

He believes you. More than his cat-faced partner seems to. Easily, too. Completely and totally easily.

And that?

That stresses you out even more.

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#my fics #midoriya izuku x reader #izuku midoriya x reader #deku x reader

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psychewritesbs · 9 months

Note

I think one of the reasons I love Jujutsu Kaisen because it feels like a reverse-parody of shounen, atleast to me. Gege takes common shounen tropes and instead of doing the same thing as the writers before him, he takes those tropes seriously instead of just using them as clutches to make things happen.

For example Sukuna, he isn't just an evil magic battery inside our main hero to get him out of tough situations who gets tamed with time but a fully realized character with motivations of his own. Or the failed older generation that reflects and mirrors the current trio (Nobara is still alive and nothing can take this delusion away from me) who are not just copypaste with a minor twist to them. Gojo isn't just the strongest character who our protagonist will have to eventually overcome and the world doesn't revolve around Yuuji, like literally 7 other characters could have been the main characters as well. Even with the KennyMommy twist we got nothing but a crushing irony that Yuuji was made to be expendable instead of being the most special character out of them all. (Even if there is more to the story -which is very likely, but who knows because it's Gege- and he was in fact more special than that, it still works because next to someone like Maki or Yuta, it's like nothing lmao)

I also love the grading system and how realistict it is, the special grade curses/sorcerers are treated more as monsters than the goal the characters should work towards, I never once felt that grade 1 sorcerers were ever disregarded or degraded to constantly up the power scale. Grade, technique, curse level or even domain expansion isn't the ends of all means, every fight is unique and fresh, unlike in some other shounens were the fights start to feel like dick measuring after a time.

Also also our main character isn't the moral epitome of the whole world with writer's clairvoyance, who knows everything better than everyone else. No, he isn't always right and his approach isn't always the right one or the only right one, something that was showcased with both Megumi, Junpei or even Mahito. When he faced the awakened Junpei, he didn't want to accept his actions and preeched without knowing anything, it is only when Yuuji tried to understand Junpei is when he made a big push through, which was handled greatly in my opinion. It's understandable that Yuuji rejected him at first and I don't neccessarily see it as a flaw, but him trying to connect to Junpei is what made him a great protagonist in my opinion. Everything is chaotic and gray in JJK, there is no clear right and wrong, there is only your side and their side, or more accurately you vs them. There are no one-dimensional bad guys who suddenly turn one-dimensional good guys once they are defeated (which I'm so thankful for, my god). Curses, for fuck's sake this universe has curses which could have been the faceless unthinking monsters the heroes could massacre en masse without ANY moral implications, then Gege went ahead and said Lmao, Lol even, here, kill these innocent civilians made by a sentient curse that's the manifestation of humankind's fear and hatred for our own kind while you are there and then things just went further downhill after that. (I just want to say, when Nanami and Yuuji defeated those curses without knowing their true nature, I really cried seeing those poor people suffer, I can't wait to see the Shibuya arc being finally animated. Maybe this time Nanami and Nobara won't die if I am delusional enough).

Sorry for rambling, I may not have worded things exactly the way I wanted them but writing in English is not my greatest expertise. Also idk if someone has already made this point or not, I try to avoid the JJK fandom as much as possible because 90% of it is just SatoSugu or Character x Y/N and I'm not interested in either of those (no hate towards the fans tho)

HOLA anon! Ehem...

So... when your ask came through I was getting ready to go Cancun+ing, but I promise that even while my skin scorched under the sun (I am sunburnt af 🥲) I was in deep thought regarding your magnificent ask because.................

HOLY DAMN YES!

Welcome to another JJK-Sunday Confessionals.

I love it! Thanks for sending your #thoughts. I honestly don't even know that I have much more to add to this other than saying that I love how you've captured many of the #things I love about jjk.

Ok, jk, have we met? I vomit words and words I shall vomit under the cut.

Gege takes common shounen tropes and instead of doing the same thing as the writers before him, he takes those tropes seriously instead of just using them as clutches to make things happen

I love this so much and I've been thinking about what it is about how Gege writes that is so refreshing and I think it defo has something to do with how he fleshes out the tropes he uses in detail.

Perhaps he understands that tropes are at their core experiences. And where most mangaka rely on tropes at face value, he re-imagines new ways of expressing the same core concept. i.e. the Kurama vs. Sukuna example you shared.

Honestly, this is one of the reasons I like jjk so much. I simply cannot predict it to a t. There's a lot of media that I simply do not indulge because, as soon as I am able to predict the story because of the tropes used, I get bored.

the failed older generation that reflects and mirrors the current trio

Ok but listen. What if Kenny, Tengen and Sukuna were such a trio? Same trope, take it back, way back. There's something about how Gege is writing about Tengen (especially in relation to Kenny) that is interesting in that there's this sense that fate has been repeating itself for many, many years.

I haven't been able to gather my thoughts on it but... something about it...

the world doesn't revolve around Yuuji, like literally 7 other characters could have been the main characters as well. Even with the KennyMommy twist we got nothing but a crushing irony that Yuuji was made to be expendable instead of being the most special character out of them all.

Just today I was thinking about how Yuji is such a refreshing and unique take on his trope as the mc of a battle shonen. Like Megumi, he is all the #things that define him according to his trope, and yet he does it in a way that is unequivocally Yuji.

As for the other main characters, that's what I love about them. It's like they are all the protagonists of their own lives. There are a few plot devices in the story, but for the most part Gege's character writing is absolutely fantastic.

Also. Crushing irony is abso-fucking-lutely on point lol.

Grade, technique, curse level or even domain expansion isn't the ends of all means, every fight is unique and fresh, unlike in some other shounens were the fights start to feel like dick measuring after a time.

YES. I have to half disagree about how the fights don't feel like dick measuring tho.

There's something very ironic and absurd about Hakari vs. Kashimo and Gojo vs. Sukuna that is 300% dick measuring but in this very Gege-kind-of-egotistical-way 😂. I personally love it tho. No complaints here.

Also also our main character isn't the moral epitome of the whole world with writer's clairvoyance, who knows everything better than everyone else.

Loved this 🥲. All of it!

I can't wait to see the Shibuya arc being finally animated. Maybe this time Nanami and Nobara won't die if I am delusional enough.

oh hey! it's like me thinking Tokyo Babylon's volume 7 will have a different outcome if only I read it enough times. I have not successfully managed to manifest a different ending but shall keep trying lol.

So relatable.

Nah, please ramble away. Thank you for sharing your #thoughts with me.

You are using British English, does that mean you are on the other side of the world (Europe/Asia)? Also I'd say you write quite well in English :) better than many USAmericans actually lol.

Yeah so... about the fandom.

What I'll say is that I have had several negative experiences that have left a very sour taste in my mouth. It's gotten to the point that sometimes people will comment on my content with inoffensive messages and I immediately get defensive because I think they're being mean when they aren't. It actually makes me sad to react like that and it is something I'm working on.

For that reason I've stayed here in my little Tumblr corner for the vast majority of my fandom experience and interacted with others very little because I found some posts and attitudes to be too triggering.

But alas, I've come out of my shell and have met good friends/moots through here as a result. So thank you to my Tumblr moots for helping make my jjk experience better!

I also only recently started interacting more on twitter with others in the fandom. So I have a small circle of mutuals who share the same level of understanding as me but it isn't always easy to find people I vibe with in such a large ocean of loud voices.

It's interesting to note that the most popular content for jjk isn't necessarily the kind of discourse I enjoy. To your point, sometimes I see a a very popular post that is specifically about satosugu and I wonder whether it would be as popular if it wasn't about the ship. So I totally share your feelings about the state of the fandom on all levels.

And while I personally do enjoy "shipping", I also like to explore and understand the characters as individuals. That is not to mention I consider myself to be on camp ship and let ship.

What I've learned is that you have to curate your content experience and I get the feeling you're already on it for yourself.

Anyways anon! Thank you so much for dropping by!

I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on why you love jjk and look forward to hearing about what other #jjk thoughts you might have.

#god I love jujutsu kaisen #ask the mental gymnastics anime girl

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fe-fictions · 2 years

Text

Frederick x Robin commission

Ever since he won your heart by confessing his love over nearly-vomited bear jerky, Frederick realized that he had a lot more on his hands in this courtship than he first realized.

You were always clumsy. Of that, there could be no doubt; if there was a trap, you would most surely be in the middle of it.

Pitfall? You were at the bottom with a bruised tailbone. Net trap that pulls you into a tree canopy? Tangled within seconds. He had tallied the number of times you’d been caught in a snare or bear trap far past what was a safe number.

Thankfully, he’d learned to reinforce your boots with a much thicker leather, to prevent your leg from being mangled. But the biggest issue was, despite his best efforts, you were still prone to getting caught in one trap or another. It was officially starting to eat away at both his patience and his worry.

Chrom and Lissa noticed it first, when they realized that Frederick was scouting a lot further ahead than he normally would. More so, he would take a much longer time to get the pebbles cleared out up the road.

Well, that, and he seemed to prod at the ground with a wooden rod in front of his horse. It was curious, indeed, seeing as they weren’t yet aware of the affections he and Robin shared.

“What do you think he’s doing?” Lissa asked him one morning, the pair of them leading the Shepherd’s march towards Plegian territory.

The mountain pass that would soon open up to a valley, and would then lead to the unforgiving desert.

Chrom, harboring a fairly educated guess, gave a smart enough response.

“I think he’s scouting for traps.”

“Traps?” Lissa echoed, eyes widening with realization, “But who would put traps out in the middle of the road?”

“I don’t think it’s because of the people putting them out. I think…it might have more to do with people who somehow manage to fall into them. Constantly.”

She balked.

“You think Frederick’s doing that for Robin? Last I checked, they were at each other’s throats! You’d think he’d want her to get trapped and stay there! He’s always so annoyed whenever he has to help her!”

“Maybe he’s had a change of heart,” Chrom offered, looking back at the tactician’s whose nose was deep in another book. “Robin?”

“Hmm?” You looked up, half-hearted and uninterested.

He smiled at you, “Any clue why Frederick’s scouting for traps?”

Your expression shifted to one of surprise, followed by a bright red blush.

“U-uh…well, if I were to venture a guess…probably because he hates that I keep getting stuck in them?”

“Told you.” He grinned at his sister. “So are we to assume the two of you have gotten closer?”

Your heart skipped a beat, but you shrugged, trying to play it off as embarrassment that he was coddling you rather than happiness that Frederick was being attentive.

“I don’t know if I’d say that. He might just be trying to save himself from more trouble, down the road.”

“Told you!” Lissa poked his shoulder, triumphant.

You watched after the sweet lieutenant, knowing full well that he was likely going to say something about how nice and safe it would be for you.

His intentions were kind, but it did make you feel a bit bashful. After all, it was quite obvious what he was doing, even if he was far ahead and in front of you.

The treatment of you were incapable of fending for yourself was a bit much, even if this was a man you loved dearly, and someone you knew had no intention of doing such.

It would be better if you could discuss it with him, though. As soon as camp was set up and you were on your way, trying to hunt down a very troublesome and handsome lieutenant.

He was, naturally, hard at work tending the fire at the edge of camp.

“I thought I’d find you out here.” You mused quietly, heading towards the man whose back remained turned to you. When you alerted him to your presence, he looked back with a gentle smile.

“Your intuition is impressive, as always.” He glanced around the area in search of prying eyes or unassuming patrols should they see the two of you. When none were found, he held out his hand, hoping you would take it.

Naturally, you obliged, giving his gloved fingers a happy squeeze before taking your place beside him.

The relationship was still quite private, seeing as it was only in the early stages. Courtship was something Frederick insisted on. Though to be honest, neither of you really wanted to wait any longer. What you really wanted was the ability to actually date, and kiss and do all sorts of couple-y things out in the open.

If you were honest, you wanted to put a ring on the man’s finger for longer than you can remember.

But right now, you had something more pressing on your mind.

“I was hoping I could talk to you, Freddybear.”

“You do not encourage goodwill when you use that name, you know….” He sighed, but looked away from the fire and at his young lover “What do you wish to speak about?”

“It’s about us, a little bit. Chrom and Lissa were talking, while we were traveling.”

“About us?” He deduced, his expression shifting with anxiety, “Did they find out about us already? What were they saying?”

“They don’t know anything, at least, not yet. But Lissa is always quick with these kinds of things. Really….it’s more about what you were doing. They were chatting about how….they noticed you were doing more than just clearing pebbles.”

“Oh?” He relaxed some, looking back at the happy flames. “Yes, I added an extra few steps to my typical scouting regimen.”

"You really don’t have to do that for me, though.”

“Oh, but it is not just a good thing that I do this for you; it’s also a great benefit to our lord and lady if they do not risk falling into those traps.”

“I’d be inclined to believe you if you hadn’t started doing it, all of a sudden.” You replied more firmly, “Otherwise, you’d have been doing it a long time ago. You only started because you’re courting me now, right?”

Frederick tilted his head some, unsure of why you sounded so serious.

“Yes, because I wish to keep you safe. I protect you as best I can on the battlefield. Why not do the same out here, too?”

“Because it feels like you don’t think I can take care of myself.”

“How so?”

“I used to get snared in traps every now and then-”

“-All the time-”

“-And when I did, I got out of them without your help! When you still treated me like a stranger, and when you definitely had a smug look when you found me caught up in a bunch of ropes or with a snag on my boot.”

‘I must apologize for that- I was too wary and cruel with you, before. Though in all honesty, I was never smug; more incredulous you were capable of finding so many traps lying about. I mean, four in one day was your record. Even the clumsiest Shepherds have never-”

“Regardless,” You cut him off, a warning squeeze on his hand that was plenty more hostile enough to stop him, “I mean it. I don’t need you looking out for me all the time, like I’m a child. If I find another trap, so be it! I’ll find a way out like I used to.”

“But you don’t have to, Robin.” He turned to face you fully now, the smile on his lips almost completely oblivious to the agitation in your set jaw. “I am someone who has the privilege of taking care of you now, because I care for you, deeply. You don’t have to struggle alone anymore.”

“But Frederick, it’s unnecessary. I don’t want you constantly floating around me, whether in front or the back or right by my side- I’m a capable fighter, and I’ve survived every trap I’ve gotten stuck in! Besides, it’s not even that bad-”

“I have never met someone who gets caught in traps as frequently as you do.” He argued back, starting to grow annoyed with the argument. “Would you have me leave you in a trap if I find you in one?”

“No, I just- I…I hate that you feel like you have to take care of me. I hate that I’m so clumsy, a-and that you think you have to protect me because of it! I’m not a child, Frederick. You don’t have to be coming to my rescue!”

Frederick stared at you, utterly confused and thoroughly confused.

“So what would you have me do, then?” He managed, though he sounded strained. Like he wanted to shout some sense into you, but he was trying to hold back.

It did annoy you.

“I want you to back off.” You huffed, “I want you to let me take care of myself, and stop trying to micromanage me. You’re the one that wanted to keep our courtship private- so don’t do things that could tip people off that something's going on between us. Stop hunting down traps down, and stop thinking it’s helping me!”

“So you want me to just let you keep getting trapped?” He asked, looking far more annoyed than he should. He was the one that wanted to keep things quiet, yet there he was, throwing out very loud (yelling) hints something was happening.

“Yes! It’s embarrassing!”

“It would be foolish of me to prioritize your dignity over your safety, Robin- you don’t think like that on the battlefield, so why are you, now?”

“Because I don’t want to be babied by someone who’s supposed to be my equal! I was doing fine before you helped me, so I don’t need you jumping ahead of everyone to find them first. It’s bad enough you coddle Chrom and Lissa- don’t start doing it for me, too.”

“You can’t stop me from keeping you safe.” He huffed, quite indignant.

“And you can’t stop me from handling my own problems.” You glared at him, turning on your heel and heading your own way. “Don’t bother coming to my tent tonight. I think I’d like some space.”

Frederick watched you stride away with a deep frown, unhappy with the heavy knot that filled his chest. He was only trying to look out for you- why had you spurned him so angrily?

Perhaps he had wounded your sense of independence, or made you feel unintelligent, or incapable. But surely he hadn’t come off that way.

After all, he was only trying to help. He cared about you- loved you, even. And had found himself thinking time and time again about what it might be like if he proposed. Or rather, what your reaction might be like when he did.

He would try and speak with you about it later. Likely tomorrow, seeing as he had been banned from your tent tonight.

And he had been looking forward to keeping you up…

-------------------------

Unfortunately, Frederick’s window to apologize had gotten so narrow it was impossible to track you down. The day had passed without seeing hide nor hair of you, clearly doing your best to keep away from him.

Perhaps you had been more hurt by his actions than first thought.

When he considered all the times he had to free you, it was almost shocking how wounded your pride had been. From the very first day, he had been there to help you, and was always watching your back.

The reason as to why had varied dramatically since the first meeting, but the fact that you were so upset about it now was irksome.

But nothing would come of trying to speak with you when you were still agitated. It would only serve to raise tempers higher.

So he waited.

He waited until the evening, when the patrols began.

The last fire was finally lit, the knight using it as an excuse to try and spot the tactician while he walked around the camp.

Still, you were nowhere to be found.

It was not until Chrom approached him, concerned, that his thoughts began to shift.

“I haven’t seen her since this afternoon,” Chrom remarked, worry creasing his brow, “She was doing a lap around the camp, but I’m worried she hasn’t come back.”

Ah.

Another trap, he deduced with a sour grimace. “Shall I go and look for her, milord?”

“I’ll come with you,” Chrom offered, “I’m worried something’s wrong. Even if she’s been caught in a snare, it’s not like her to stay gone. If she was still around camp, somebody would have spotted her by now.”

“It depends on how far out she wandered where a trap might be set.”

“It seems like they’re always around wherever she goes,” Chrom remarked with a small smile, the pair heading out into the wilderness beyond the outskirts of the grounds.

“A rather unfortunate habit…” Frederick trailed off, his gaze hardened. “It appears we’ve found one.”

“A net?” He followed Frederick’s urgent strides, “It’s been cut down…and ripped opened.”

Frederick picked the net up, finding blood on the thick threads. He grabbed the pieces up, quickly scanning the area for some sign of where you’d gone. Within moments, he found it.

“Milord!” Frederick rushed through the trees, signaling Chrom to follow him.

There were broken tree limbs and disturbed shrubs, and a disruption in the forest floor as though there was a struggle.

Immediately, the prince’s face shifted with the realization.

“Someone took Robin.”

Frederick’s heart plummeted. The first thought that clanged in his mind over and over was,

‘This is my fault.’

-------------------------

You couldn’t believe it. That is to say, you knew it was always a possibility, that one day your unluckiness and clumsiness combined would royally screw you over, but…you just didn’t think it would happen so soon.

A rope trap had caught your foot, launching you into a net and suspending you in the air. Suddenly you felt hands in your pockets, disarming you before you could even piece together what was happening.

You didn’t know how many people were there, or what was going on, but it was clear they were interested in taking you, specifically.

There was a very good chance they knew who you were, which only made it worse. You didn’t know what the plan was- whether this was a trap for Chrom, a torture and interrogation for information, or worse.

But what made it embarrassing, more than anything, was that Frederick was absolutely right about you. Of course you got caught, wandering out alone.

And you had no one to blame for it but yourself.

Your hands that clung to the bars, seeking a way out, slumped to the floor. Chains rattled around your wrists, reminding you that escape would be impossible as is.

What were you to do but wait and pray that something came of it.

But the more you thought about it, the louder an idea it became; what if you just stayed? Let them have you?

It was too much of a hassle for the others to try and keep you out of trouble anyway- what good would it do them for you to stay there with the Shepherds if it was guaranteed you would fall into another trap like this?

Chrom deserved a tactician he could rely on. Frederick deserved a partner who he didn’t have to constantly fret about.

That’s what you believed, anyway.

All of that echoed in your mind, until you heard the blaring of war horns.

Ylissean war horns.

It shattered your internal thoughts, forcing you to look up and realize that, dear gods, they were coming for you.

They had come to retrieve you from whatever hells were waiting.

The absolute last person that deserved saving…and they came for you.

“Damn!!” A Plegian coat rustled down the hall, a flurry of boots following. “They’ve found the hideout!”

“We have to get her out of here before they get down here. Validar won’t be kind if he learns we lost Grima’s-!!”

A blast of fire magic propelled the men forward, smashing them into the wall at the end of the corridor. Frantic cries were replaced with shouts of pain, before they were knocked unconscious by the unforgiving stone.

“You were right to alert me that they were slinking away, thief.” Miriel’s voice made your breath hitch, “Alert Lord Chrom we’ve found the prison.”

“Well done, Miriel.”

Frederick.

“Scan the area until we’ve found Robin. Don’t leave a single door closed, understood?!”

“You got it, Sir Stick-In-The-Mud.”

“Yes, sir!”

You were close enough to see the hall, but not visible right away. Grasping the bars again, with trembling fingers, you called out.

“I’m here…I-I’m over here!”

A sharp gasp.

“Robin?!”

The sound of heavy armor clanking rapidly towards you filled your ears.

A vision of worried brown eyes and a relieved, familiar smile caught your gaze first. Then his hand tightly closed over yours, his every breath shaking.

“We found you…!”

You sobbed.

“F-Frederick, I-”

“Are you all right? Are you hurt??” He pressed, frantically trying to look you over. Miriel and Gaius came up behind him, the glow of the flames illuminating the bruises and the dirt that stained your skin.

It made his blood boil at the sight of it.

“Those damn Plegians-- they were going to try and sell you off for a reward.” Miriel hissed, “We must hurry, Lieutenant. Their reinforcements will be coming soon.”

“Reinforcements?” You echoed, Miriel quickly dashing away. Likely to cover Frederick while he freed you.

Said knight nodded, hurrying to the door and taking his axe to hack off the lock.

“They’re not happy we’re here. Virion sniped down a scout right as he sent up a signal for help, and Cordelia spotted soldiers not long before we got into the basement. Our time is limited.”

“W-wait, then…” You paused, choking up. You pushed up on your knees, as far as the chains would allow. “Wait, Frederick, don’t.”

He slammed the axe against the lock again. “Don’t what??”

“Don’t get me out!”

That stopped him.

“What?”

“Don’t waste time. I-I’m a burden enough as it is, so you shouldn’t free me! Just g-go without me.”

“What in Naga’s name are you talking about?!” He returned to your side, sparing a glance backward for only a moment before his full, frantic attention was on you.

You covered his hand this time, his heart twisting when he saw how your fingers shook. “I-I’m a burden. To you, and everyone, but…but especially to you. I got caught in another damn trap b-because I can’t ever see them, and now you have to come a-and rescue me for the hundredth time.”

“Robin…”

“You’re better off w-without me. I’m wasting your time a-and resources, and it’s just…I don’t…I can’t…be worth this.” You were finding it hard to breathe between the tears, trying to push them away with your sleeve.

Frederick watched you, silently, unsure how to mend this crater forming in his chest. Was that what you thought of yourself?

What part of this did he play in making you feel so small?

And why hadn’t he been able to fix it, after all the time you’d spent together? How could you feel this way, when you were the one he wanted to…

A scrape of his boot against the stone brought your eyes back up, only for him to start hacking at the lock again.

Every strike was like a cannon firing.

“Frederick-”

“We will not leave this place without you.” He growled, slamming the blade into iron. “We care about you- all of us care about you- far too much to let you go over a damn trap!!”

“B-but I’m a liability-”

“I would help you out of a thousand snares before I left you behind!!” He bellowed, smashing the lock again.

A chink was heard.

But you were far too focused on the knight in shining armor before you.

“I would mend your boots ten-thousand times, and I would-!” Clang “-Never let you-!” Crash “Be stolen away by Plegian bastards ever again!!”

The lock snapped off of the door, sending the bars smashing back against the stone. He threw the axe to the ground, before falling on his knees in front of you, holding your face tenderly in his hands.

“I will not leave you, because I love you.” He whispered, his voice thick with emotion. It was giving you an entirely new reason to cry.

“I-I…I love you, too.”

“I hoped so.” He smiled weakly, taking his sword and breaking the chains that bound you to the floor. Skillfully he was able to free you from the shackles, long enough to let you push off the ground and launch into his arms.

“I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize.” He holds you, a feeling he had longed for, and feared that he may never have felt again. “You did nothing wrong.”

“I-I’m sorry I yelled at you. I know you’re just trying to help.”

“I’m sorry I made you feel so worthless because I coddled you.” He stroked your hair, tightening his embrace when you buried your face in his neck. “I want to protect you, because you are precious to me. Because I need you.”

You kissed him.

It was bitter and salty, desperate and clumsy, but it was what you needed. What he needed.

“I feel the same.” You mumbled, fingers tangled in his hair. “I can’t do this without you. I…don’t want you to leave me behind.”

“Do not fret, my love.” He lifted you from the floor, careful about your shaking legs. “I won’t leave you behind, no matter how many times you ask it.”

You sniffed, aching arms looped around his neck so you could cling to him as tightly as possible. There was absolutely no way you were going to let him out of your sight after that.

“Never again.” You promised, earning a gentle squeeze and a kiss to your temple.

The Shepherds reunited with you just before the reinforcements breached the hold; a fine sign that it was time for all of you to get out.

Frederick handed you off to Maribelle and Lissa only so that he could vanquish the damnable cowards that kidnapped you, with promises to pull you right back up and into his arms as soon as he returned.

After much haranguing and swift treatment of your wounds, the battle was ended.

Frederick came to the healing tent promptly, ignoring his own wounds so that he could make good on his word to keep you close.

A promise that was sealed with a sparkling ring, buckets of tears and more kisses than either of you could count.

Even if he was overbearing, and even if you were clumsy…you could not ask for a more perfect pair.

Snares, bear meat and all.

#frederick #robin #fe 13 #fire emblem awakening #fredrobin #frederick x robin #commission #fe fictions #fe-fictions #f!robin #fem!robin #f!mu #kidnapping angst #hurt and comfort #freddy would never leave u behind #it broke my heart even writing it #shame on me :(

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teapots-and-hats · 9 months

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So, here is my full review of FF16 (spoilers ahead)

So here is my review of FF16 after finishing the game one time (haven't tried the New Game+)

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR NOT ONLY FF16, BUT FF13, FF15, TACTICS AND BRAVELY DEFAULT, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Overall, FF16 is a good game and a good Final Fantasy, I LOVED the characters! One thing that I think Final Fantasy has been getting better and better each new title is creating characters. FF15 (despite it's numerous flaws) already did a great job putting personality on the main characters. FF16 pushed it further adding more personality to secondary characters and even NPCS that barely appear for more than a few minutes (also praise to the voice acting, it was amazing!). I wish crafting system was more complex, it felt a bit too simple sometimes, to the point I was like "well, I dunno why we have a crafting system, they should have just given me the weapon as quest prize or just leave it for me to buy from some merchant at this point"

If I could say one word to represent FF16, I would say the word is EPIC. Not because the game is perfect. But during our journey with Clive you FEEL how grand is the scale of each eikonic battle. And I personally believe the change to full action played an important role on giving us that scale. Yes, in turn-based FFs we already had big bosses that were clearly bigger than us, but it feels different (mind you, I've played a lot of turn-based RPGs), maybe because turn-based battles usually have the boss keeping its distance from our party most of the time. The cinematic parts with the Active Time Events also helped creating that feel (though I think in some parts I wish there were more actual gameplay and less ATE press button screen moments). That being said, here are my thoughts on several elements of the game (I will not comment on battle mechanics cuz I haven't played many action rpgs to have a solid opinion on whether battle is good or not, I just know I had fun). Music

Music is EPIC, the battle songs were AMAZING. However, while I think the references to FF14's OST were on purpose I do think it did disappoint me a bit that it referenced too much. Several tracks obviously have parts of FF14's Eureka's theme (which is a good theme).

Art / Design

Overall I like the art in this game, they took their time to even give some minor NPCs one detail or another that sets them as unique. My favorite part is the Eikons' design, all of them are gorgeous. I wish some maps had a bit of visual variation (Waloed was my least favorite, while Sambreque is probably my favorite on that aspect). Also, bless Clive's character design.

Edit: May I also add it's a bit of a let down that some maps become rather dull colored after Ultima casts their weird spell that causes aetherical floods everywhere. It reminded me of how The First in FF14 was constantly bathed in light, except in FF16 all open world maps are flooded by a weird purple dim light.

Protagonist

Clive is probably the best FF protagonist I've seen so far because everyone thought he was going to be an edgy character after revenge for whatever happened in his past. He kinda starts that way but we instead got... well, a big puppy (ok, two big puppies cuz we have Torgal). Clive faces his traumas through game and remains a man with a golden heart that just can't say no to helping people. Antagonist

Here is where I think FF16 may have failed, compared to other FF titles like FF7 and FF15. The actual villain is Ultima, and I think they did a great job setting Ultima as an alien that does not understand humans. But I think we were meant to see Barnabas as the antagonist that we would grow to love/hate, with him being introduced right from the start with Cid's and Benedikta's introductions. When Barnabas actually appears in front of Clive and we start the chapters that will lead to our fight with him I just felt... meh. Even his eikonic fight was rather disappointing for me after Bahamut's fight. I believe Barnabas was meant to be something like Sephiroth, or Ardyn, while Ultima is more like Jenova and FF15's Bahamut, but I don't think they managed to do that with Barnabas.

Other characters

As I said, I think they did a great job giving personalities to every character we meet in this game. However I think they missed the opportunity to give more lore development to some key characters such as Benedikta and, again, Barnabas. It's not terrible like FF15, where the base game had actual gaps that didn't make much sense, like Ignis' loss of eyeysight and Gladio going poof! suddenly, but some characters would really benefit if they get a DLC to expand their lore. I have to praise FF16 team for how they dealt with Dion and Joshua though, I think they are my favorite in terms of characterization.

Story

The story overall is really good. Harsh and raw, but good. Unfortunately if you don't do the sidequest as they appear you miss A LOT OF lore. One criticism that I've read a lot is that after the second half of the game the story stops dealing with the theme of slavery and prejudice against minorities. And thinking about it, if I haven't done the sidequest as they appear the main quests alone really don't deal with that theme anymore after a while. The sidequests though, they do. A lot and in certain quests it is brutal and a bit too close to real world, leaving you with some bitter taste.

That being said, because the game relies on many side quests to expand the lore I think the game has an issue with pacing and setting emotional rollercoasters. Again, after Bahamut's fight I think Barnaba's story was a collection of rushed events and Waloed is so empty that before you blink you are already at Barnaba's eikonic fight. You do get to actually explore Waloed via sidequests after that fight but the pacing is already broken by then.

Also, if you take the sidequests off, the game itself is rather linear (as it was meant to be, I believe) and doesn't give you much incentive to explore the world. Once you finish sidequests and hunts there aren't many achievements that makes you want to run around the maps over and over again. Plot and theme similarities with other games The game draws some parallels to FF15's story (both protagonists lose their home, both are sort of princes that have a love interest that are nobility from another country and both sacrifice themselves to save humanity in the end), but I think FF16 managed to at least deal with the romance better than FF15, since Jill fights with us since early game and while yes she is rescued by Clive several times Jill is no damsel in distress and she also saves Clive at least twice on critical moments (and Clive is saved by Joshua several times too). Jill is Clive's love interest but also his partner in his journey. Something I think Lunafreya was meant to be if she had her DLC. Yet, Luna and Noctis' story barely stand with what we actually got from Square Enix.

I can also point out some similarities between FF16 and FF13 with the theme of prejudice. Bearers suffer prejudice much like the l'Cie from Fabula Nova Crystallis, though while l'Cie are probably viewed as cursed individuals to be avoided, Bearers are viewed as slaves in FF16. The destruction of Crystals, while new to a main Final Fantasy, I believe, is not a new concept for Square Enix. Bravely Default already played with the subversion of the usually canonical belief of crystals being a blessing and in both games the protagonists learn that Crystals may not be a blessing at all. FF16, more than FF15 though, has a more direct influence of Final Fantasy Tactics' plot (and not only because both are set in a medieval setting and have an Ultima trying to destroy the world and claim it to themselves). Both Ramza and Clive are outcasts (Ramza as heretic, Clive as outlaw) that fight according to their beliefs, even if that sets them against those in power and subvert the state of things. Both have people that can turn into monsters (Lucavi and Eikon) and such ability has connections with a bigger plan set in place years before the protagonist was even born by some entity that manipulates humans to reach their goal. Both games are also not afraid to deal with politics in a more direct way.

#ff16 #ffxvi #review #personal

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lightstar789 · 1 year

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Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu: Review

Okay, the review y'all have been waiting for is finally here, and I'm ready to deliver! Obvious spoilers ahead, by the way.

MY OVERALL RATING: 3/5

My rating will be further broken down in the next couple of sections but let me just say...I kind of expected more from her, in terms of the whole spy concept and enemies-to-lovers romance, which are the main selling points of the novel, hence why my rating is lower than usual books by her. Additionally, there were just a couple things that irked me about this book that I can't ignore. Looking past all of that however, it is still an enjoyable read, and as a sucker for good action scenes and characters, she delivered!

THE GOOD:

THE ACTION:

Okay, can I just tell you how much I love authors that utilize their characters' normally unassuming abilities to make them extremely efficient in combat?? I LOVE how Winter's performance abilities (dancing, stage persona, choreography) always come in clutch whenever he's in a tight position. Though he's not naturally inclined to the spy life, he's still able to use his wits to think of a plan on the spot, like how he lied to Penelope about the location of her hairpin, and then broke out of his bonds using the private concert as reference. I also love how Sydney fights smarter, not harder, and always finds a way to make it out of every fight due to her lung condition. I've always admired characters that use their wits above all, despite being physically lacking in some aspects compared to their opponents, so all of that was *chef's kiss.*

THE CHARACTERS:

I could talk for hours and hours on end about how much each one of Marie Lu's characters have a chokehold on me, and this book is no different. I absolutely loved the roster of Panacea agents, and Winter's crew. I feel like this book did a better job at addressing all the side characters meaningfully than Skyhunter did (though let's be real, nothing will ever beat Warcross and TYE). I also liked how almost the entirety of the Morrison crew, sans Penelope, Leo, Eli and Connor are queer! Quite refreshing if you ask me!

Winter Young: The ML of the book. Going into the book, I initially thought he was gonna be a Day 2.0 but more full of himself. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised! For the most part he is more melancholy and raw than teasing. Part of what makes him such a compelling character is the fact that he constantly yearns for love and admiration in any form, because he'd been denied that for so long. His older brother Artie had been his last source of love before he died, before it all went up in flames for his family, with the amount of abuse and neglect he and his mother had to endure because of his dad. Because of this, Winter desperately tries to find ways that he can make a positive impact on the world other than his music and signing, and I find that a lot better than what I had initially expected!

Sydney Cossette: The FL of the book. There is a lot to talk about regarding her but it might not be as much as Winter considering her arc isn't exactly finished yet. While unfortunately she does fall victim to several annoying YA tropes at first, luckily, she grows out of them as the book progresses. She's described as someone who's constantly on the run from her issues in order for them not to interfere with her spy work, which she seems to take very seriously. Her lung condition is a painful reminder of her late mother, and the realization that she will always be hindered by it, especially when her job is so demanding. She is also kleptomaniac to gain control over something in her life, and is trying to beat back these instincts in order to remain an agent of Panacea. Sydney is logical and secretive, but secretly longs for love, just like Winter does, wanting to wear her heart on her sleeve outside of her career.

Now these two yearning for love and a genuine connection should make them palatable love interests, and the enemies-to-lovers certainly makes this couple compelling. Right? RIGHT???

Yeah, no. Which brings me to...

THE BAD & THE UGLY:

Suffice to say that there's nothing ugly about this book, but more so bad. These aspects here are the reason why I deducted two stars from the overall rating of this book.

THE ROMANCE:

Hoo boy. I went on about this for two hours with a couple others in the Skyhunter discord server last night. Lately, I've been noticing a downwards trend in the quality of Marie Lu's romances, and it's hard to believe that the same person who gave us Dune, Magelina, and Romaine (Emika deserves better than Hideo tbh, but they were cute) gave us Wydney and Redlin.

Oh yeah, by the way, during the Steelstriker review regarding the romance aspect of Redlin aspects of the book, I was fucking lying. All of my mutuals at the time LOVED Redlin and I didn't want to disappoint them by saying I found the romance aspect off. I might make a retrospective review of the Skyhunter duology soon, but only time will tell. For now...

PLEASE MAKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS PLATONIC FOR ONCE!! I'M BEGGING YOU!!

Winter and Sydney were just finally beginning to understand each other when I got hit with that ATROCIOUS make-out scene in Chapter 24. I'm not sure if its because of my inner aro-ace or the fact that she was FUCKING POISONED and THAT WAS THE LAST THING THEY SHOULD'VE BEEN DOING. Like?? Why make Wydney smush lips when they could've left it at the simple kiss it once began as??

Not only that, but I could tell the seeds for their mutual attraction were placed and that Lu tried so hard to make them a cute romance, but it just didn't work?? I know their story is nowhere near over in any means but I find it kind of weird that they're gonna make-out when they've only just begun to like each other.

Okay, rant over.

I love how Dameon and Winter are still amicable with each other, despite having broken up. It's honestly refreshing to see a couple that has parted ways, but are still close friends with each other, which doesn't happen very often (*VIOLENT ROMAINE FLASHBACKS*), so props to Marie Lu for this!

PLOT HOLE:

In hindsight, while I praised the worldbuilding of the Skyhunter duology, there were...so many plot holes retrospectively??? Thankfully there weren't as many plot holes this time, due to the modern setting but...

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO AVOIDING THE LISTENING BUGS???

Okay I get that by the time of the check-in from Panacea, the poisoning and subsequent make-out scene in the middle of the hall, Eli Morrison was dead, but did they forget that Connor (and Penelope, as we later find out) were still listening to them?? Did they forget that they were undercover?? I'm honestly surprised none of this was addressed later, or this wasn't used against them, which is why I'm counting it as a plot hole.

THE PROSE:

Okay, I get that this is supposed to be a campy, light, novel, and honestly, I kinda needed that sort of thing after Skyhunter but did that give it the excuse to be written like a Wattpad fanfic?? Methinks not. Also, Marie Lu tends to forget the definition of subtlety a bit and hammer down the same adjectives with the same character so you always associate that character. I noticed it VERY prominently in Skyhunter with Jeran and here, with Dameon and it needs to stop for the sake of my mental health.

THE MOOD:

While this was meant to be written as a campy novel, certain aspects of the book like the SOUL CRUSHING ANGST :( made me want to take this book seriously...which is a recipe for a good whiplash when you're reading Chapter 7 and then get to the bickering and tension in Chapter 8. This isn't bad or ugly per se, just didn't know where to put it.

T - T

Okay, wow, that was a lot more writing than I was expecting, but what can you expect? It's me we're talking about! Anyway, I'd love to see what you guys think of the book, so please, reblog or reply to this post with your thoughts. See ya!

#marie lu #stars and smoke #jesus christ nearly tagged skyhunter with how much content i've made for that book #the retrospective review of the skyhunter duology is coming soon fingers crossed #bookblr #reading #2023 reads

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justgoji · 1 year

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I decided to touch back on a part of my old story and redesign it, so that it would be more coherent, as it’s a pretty old part without much thought put into it (I also wanted to do this for fun). For now, I’ll refer to this as The Neostopian Realm. I imagined it as acting like a video game, where you control a character and do what video game characters do in video games.

There are three main factions in The Neostopian Realm, each serving as varying levels of difficulty from easy to hard. The Yellow Faction is the easiest section, and the first one you come across. It’s members are very forgiving, and are more so training you for your journey ahead rather than hunting you down. I can’t say the same for the Blue and Red Factions, with the Blue Faction going out of its way to retrieve you, and the Red Faction merely intending to kill you and/or use you for themselves. The Blue Faction is of medium difficulty, and will appear every now and then to engage you in either a battle rush, a chase sequence, or a little bit of both. The Red Faction is the hardest in difficulty, and each member in it is their own little boss fight, essentially acting as a boss rush.

The leaders of the three factions are none other than Hatsune Miku, Akita Neru, and Kasane Teto. Neru is neutral in nature, and always tells you to get back up when you fall down. Hatsune Miku is constantly on your tail, arranging ambushes to catch you in your tracks and retrieve you by force. Kasane Teto sometimes sees you as an opportunity to take down a foreign faction member, and other times sees you as a potential new recruit. Either way, she will always be watching you on your journey.

At this point in my life, Heron wasn’t the guy he is today, and back then he was smaller and played a bigger role. He is the main character in The Neostopian Realm, where this realm is the result of what his brain is simulating while he is in a coma (I will not elaborate further). In this realm, he is referred to as The Rouge, and is constantly evading capture, as he apparently ran away from the Blue Faction for unknown reasons. An alter ego acts as a guide for him, helping Heron to go to where he needs to be, and telling him what choices should be made. If you go to the pause menu, the alter ego will appear on the side, and either give you tips or chat with you.

At the time I made this part in my old story, I had just gotten into vocal synthesizers and had ZERO knowledge of the various voicebanks. By the time I had lost interest in expanding upon the world of The Neostopian Realm, I managed to include 5 vocaloids, but never got to adding fanloids and utaus aside from Neru and Teto. I didn’t really think about whether different factions should have different synths, and just added a vocaloid to each faction as I was the most familiar with them (not really saying much), and didn’t want any group to be lonely. The other vocaloids aside from Miku I included are Kagamine Len, Kagamine Rin, Oliver, KAITO, and VFlower. The Kagamine Twins and KAITO are members of the Blue Faction, being led by Miku to go after you. Oliver is a member of the Yellow Faction, taken in by Neru and serves as your buddy during your time in the first act. VFlower is a member of the Red Faction, and is essentially a bounty hunter, hunting you down with silver and lead lining. Let’s just assume there’s more characters in these factions that aren’t mentioned, because this blorbo tank feels severely under stocked.

And finally, I just want to say that this section of my old story is NOT CANON to the new story that I am currently with. It has no opportunity to exist in the new story, and it was already confusing and pointless enough in the old story, bringing up inconsistencies with characters and unanswered questions.

#hatsune miku #kagamine len #kagamine rin #oliver #vflower #kaito #akita neru #kasane teto #digital doodles

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damnredthing · 2 years

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Let’s get ready to ramble – SNW S1E02

This post – naturally – contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the episode yet and do not want to read spoilers, please do not read any further.

This is not an episode review but rather just a bunch of ramblings which I’ve tried to at least sort a little bit into categories.

Season 1 – Episode 2 – Children of the Comet

Pike’s inner demons - continued

So, Pike knows the names of all cadets he will rescue? I suppose this means that we only got a glimpse of his whole vision in Discovery. Pike also said in episode one that he experienced every agonizing moment of it. As someone in SNP chat pointed out, Spock said the crystals cause a temporal displacement, meaning Pike didn’t just have a vision, he was actually there and experienced every moment of it.

I gasped when I saw the pictures of the kids who will one day become the cadets (not to mention the clearance level Starfleet Captains obviously get to access files of normal citizens so easily!). I wasn’t expecting to see such younglings in the files, but it makes sense of course. In about 10 years they will be around 18’ish and in the middle of their education at the academy. Pike’s dedication to give himself and to fulfill his prophecy gets so much more substance now. His mind constantly circles around these kids who all have a future ahead of them. How can he not sacrifice himself for them?

But then comes Una who raises some very interesting questions.

What if the vision just meant to tell him the cadets are in danger and he only has to find a way to rescue them all, including himself? What if his fate is what he makes it? I think that got Pike thinking.

Actually, if he knows exactly when and where this is going to happen, and he even knows the names of all cadets, wouldn’t it be easy as cake to prevent it all from happening? Just call off the mission. Or use another ship. But of course Pike also remembers what Tenavik told him, that his fate is inescapable. He’s probably thinking that if he tries to trick his fate, it’ll come around as a boomerang and hit him otherwise (and the cadets probably, too).

However, I begin to wonder whether the writers might even consider a retcon. Pike is such a lovable character. He is literally Captain Teddy Bear, everyone just wants to hug him and nobody wishes him any serious harm. The show is also meant to be positive and optimistic. How can you hold that up, especially when the show one day (after 10 or so seasons 😋) is going to reach its grand finale? If they really gonna retcon his fate, then this would only work by creating a new timeline.

IMO they should stick with canon though and let Pike go through it all, as much as it pains to know what will happen to him. We do know he will have a life after the accident, and maybe that is what the writers were trying to hint with Una saying what she said. Pike has only seen what will happen to him to the point where he ends up in the wheelchair, he hasn’t seen what will happen after that. I still hope the show will go even further than just the handover to Kirk and we’ll be shown some of Pike’s life on Talos IV and from there on, a new continuation is possible without even retconning his fate. The Menagerie is the last canonical information we got about Pike. We do not know what happens after he spent some time on Talos IV.

I have seen other takes on this topic, but to me the Menagerie is not a happy end for Pike and Vina, it’s just a compromise. He will be able to live in an illusion together with Vina, but he will be aware of that all the time. He will know that the Talosians will take care of them, but also watch them all the time. Will they be really free? Being confined on Talos IV also means both will remain exiled from their homeworld, their families, everyone they love and care for.

I also do not understand why the doctors in the 23rd century prolonged Pike’s suffering by giving him an artificial heart, UNLESS this was just the first step of many for his recovery. I have said it before in an earlier post. Pike would have died if not for the artificial heart, surely there must have been more surgeries planned (we know what they were capable of considering how Airiam was aided), but then Spock got in their way. Who says they cannot aide Pike later on in whichever way that might be? This is sci-fi after all! So do your sci-fi thing and be creative!

Wishlist - yay or nay

Reference is made to this post:

Different tones in different episodes – Kinda yay. The tone of the episode didn’t differ much from episode 1. But I like the fact that even though it is a Pike centered show, the writers do not shy away from focusing on other characters. The A-Plot was clearly about Uhura and I loved that. This is a return to an ensemble cast approach which provides so much more story potential. But I also liked how Pike’s inner fight wasn’t that much of a focus this time (even though it gave me much to think about once the episode was over!). It was still a topic, but much more subtle (except of course when they talked about it). If we’d see Pike having his hallucinations in every episode, it would get old fast. I do not have experience with PTSD, but with depressions. I think how Pike’s mental issues are displayed in the show are very realistic and not over the top.

Randoms

How awesome was that crew dinner scene? That very much lightened up the episode from the get go. Pike is such a chill Captain, I think he’s the kind of guy who plays the hierarchy card only as a last resort. For the most part he sees his crew as equals. And OMG, I swear to god I tried to stay off the thirst hours, but how frickin broad are his shoulders, please?

I wish I had only 1/10th of Anson’s discipline regarding his workout, I wouldn’t look like a wet sack of potatoes. 🥺

BTW I also have a theory about Pike’s hair. I simply think the crew prefers a lower level of gravity simulation on the Enterprise. 😇

How can the crew watch the comet on the screen from afar when they are literally positioned right in front of it?

So, what was the purpose of the space egg, other than opening up?

I love that the alien shepherd was not the evil guy. He was protective of the comet and only tried to prevent the Enterprise from causing it any harm. He never went over the top with his attacks. He only went as far as needed. Even after the Enterprise landed a hit on his weapon systems, he did not retaliate after regrouping. Both ships were facing each other for a while without firing before Pike ordered Ortegas to position the Enterprise in front of the comet. All the while he was always open to negotiations and as it turned out in the end, he was very satisfied that he could teach a new species what wonders the M’hanit is capable of. His mission is first and foremost to protect the M’hanit, but his second mission is to spread the word and share the wonder. I absolutely love this!

In continuation to my previous point, I also love how Pike in the end showed just how humble he is. I am sure with other captains this situation might have escalated quickly. But Pike kept his cool and used his greatest superpower, his crew, to find a solution. When all was said and done and the shepherd lectured him, he genuinely accepted that the shepherd was right all along. The result was that both sides could part in peace and with respect for each other. This is the Star Trek way. I have to admit I had a tiny tear escaping my eye when I saw it the first time.

Celia has such an amazing voice. Too bad we only got to hear them humming a melody. I sure hope we gonna hear them singing one day. I am sure it’ll blow us all away.

Also how funny that La’an is such a no-nonsense character that she flat out refused to hum the melody.

I had a little bit of a struggle with how Uhura was treated as the newbie at first. Sure I get the point that the crew wanted to test her. But some of that was borderline. At some moments it felt a bit like bullying. Like when Hemmer and Spock slam her down for calling Hemmer impaired (which was a mistake on her side, but for which she apologized). Luckily, she looked right through them and called them out for it. Only when she left both Hemmer and Spock admitted they like her, but why not letting her know? I also thought the entire away team was harsh with Uhura in the cave. They were all like oh it’s your first mission? So what? We all had our first missions. Grow up, do your job and do it right. Why so harsh? IMO Star Trek is all about seeing younglings blossom and find their way and greatness. Is it so hard to help a newbie on their first steps?

Anson’s ability to communicate just with his facial expressions never ceases to impress me. It’s an ability that might help him in um… other possible projects to come in which he… lets say… might not have many lines. 😇 *coughs* But yeah, when he talked with the shepherd, his expressions changed so often that you could have understood what was going on without a single word being spoken. He went from

angry

to astounded

to WTF?

to ready to explode

to desperate

to pleading.

I felt truly entertained. That man is just golden, I never wanna miss him again!

I get the feeling that Sam Kirk’s purpose in the show is to be the punching bag. It would be a funny running gag if whenever he’s in an episode, he ends up unconscious laying on the floor just as how William Shatner played Sam as corpse in Operation Anihilate.

Did Pike flirt with Sam in the ready room? Are the writers doing this on purpose? I mean, as writers they surely know about fanfiction, right? That’s how ships are born! Fanfic writers, please do your thing!

And another ship that was probably born is Pikuna, or am I the only one seeing it?

Remarkable Quotes

Pike: So, I have my phaser out, and sure enough, down the street, there's the Nausicaan we're after, running away, no pants on.

Pike: I move after him, only I trip flat on my face. I shout, "Freeze!" But the Nausicaan keeps running.

Pike: I try to stand up, but my feet are caught on something, and then I realize... I've tripped on his pants.

Pike: So, anyway, after my lieutenant pulls me aside and says, "Maybe Security isn't the best fit for you, Ensign."

Pike: Sometimes, Mr. Spock, things go so badly you just have to laugh.

Pike: We've got a planet to save before breakfast.

Pike: I love this job.

Pike: I'm starting to like the mustache.

Sam Kirk: Maybe you should try one for yourself.

Uhura: 😳 .

Pike: You wanted to learn to speak alien languages... go where the aliens are.

Spock: I am more than capable of managing any pain you can induce.

Chapel: *chuckling* Mr. Spock. Now you're just toying with me.

Spock: That was not my intention.

Chapel: I've noticed.

Uhura: 🙄

Uhura: I'm... standing on the surface of a comet. .

Uhura: Uh, Lieutenant, I don't think that's a good idea.

Sam Kirk: Yahtzee.

Spock: 🤨

Sam Kirk: It's an old Earth game.

Spock: I am familiar with Yahtzee, Lieutenant, but I am reading a dangerous buildup of energy. Please step away from the egg.

Sam Kirk: *gets zapped by standing murderous space egg and lands on his ass unconscious*

Uhura: Uh, maybe we don't touch anything else. Just a suggestion. .

Shepherd: M'hanit is one of the ancient arbiters of life.

Pike: Okay? 🤨

Shepherd: If you tamper with it again, we will not hesitate to destroy you.

Pike: 😠

Uhura: Someone match my pitch.

La’an: Oh... no help here. I'll break the thing. .

La’an: We're definitely getting closer to resolving the whole genius or "about to get us killed" conundrum.

Uhura: So the right time for genius. .

Spock: We have less than one hour before the comet will impact Persephone III.

Uhura: You do a lot of reminding people of deadlines, sir.

Pike: She does have a point, Spock. .

Pike: Ortegas, you know how you used to brag you were going to be the best pilot ever to graduate the Academy?

Ortegas: 😳

Pike: Word gets around.

Ortegas: What's your point, sir?

Pike: Time to prove it, Lieutenant. .

Ortegas: Initiating evasive pattern Ortegas-gamma-one.

Pike: Evasive pattern Ortegas...? 🤨 .

Una: It's moving. The sublimation is nudging the comet off course.

Pike: And for the record, we're not actually touching it.

Uhura: But where's Lieutenant Spock?

Spock: *laughing*

Pike: Spock? Is everything okay?

Spock: Fine, Captain. Sometimes things go so badly, you just have to laugh. .

Una: What if you got that message so you could save those kids and that's it?

Una: What if you don't have to ruin your life, too?

Una: How do you know you can't make a different choice? One that saves all of you?

Una: What if your fate is what you make it?

Pike: 🤔

#strange new worlds spoilers #snw spoilers #episode chatter #christopher pike #captain pike #anson mount #una chin riley #rebecca romijn #uhura #celia rose gooding #samuel kirk

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