#having a lot of thoughts about this one so i'll be annoying with the self rbs | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ruvviks · 2 years

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Chapter >> 2 [x] Characters >> Ivan Dupoint (oc), Mikhail Koshechkin (oc), Ravager (oc), Vincent Mayer (oc), Vitali Dobrynin (oc), a long list of side characters, [redacted] Total >> 9.2k words Warnings >> Blood mention, chess :/, torture mention, violence mention

‘May I come in?’

Vincent patiently waited at the door of the bathroom, knowing it was unlocked yet hesitant to open it himself. He heard the voice of Vitali on the other side, speaking softly to Mikhail; too muffled for Vincent to understand what he was saying, yet still loud enough for him to hear the exhaustion dripping from his words.

It was already far past midnight. Vincent had only just arrived home; he had decided to hang around the office for a little longer, to take care of unfinished business in Vitali’s absence and to give other mercs an update on the situation. Not his brightest idea- he was about as exhausted as the rest of them, battered and bruised from earlier that evening and he had nearly fallen asleep behind the wheel on his way home.

The door carefully opened and Vitali appeared in the doorway. He still wore the same outfit as earlier; though he had taken off his chest armor as well as his holsters, and his dark gray henley had several large blood stains in it and his black cargo pants were covered in water and soap.

‘Hey, baby,’ Vincent quietly said, stepping forward and kissing Vitali on the cheek. He made sure to move slowly, and kept his hands to himself- Vitali was always a little jumpy after combat situations, and especially considering the severity of the one they had found themselves in that day, Vincent knew to watch his footing around him.

‘Thank you for staying behind,’ Vitali mumbled, his eyes closed when Vincent pulled back. ‘I hope they didn’t give you too much trouble.’

‘It’s all good, no worries.’

Partially a lie. Vincent had handled it well, but the entire office had been chaos once again, comparable to the time Vitali’s cargo trucks had been intercepted, or comparable to- well, the attack, of course. Still less so, but exhausting nonetheless.

Vitali glanced over his shoulder and stepped aside, now allowing Vincent to look further into the bathroom; the bathtub shoved against the wall on the left side of the room was occupied by Mikhail, sitting with his back toward the door and his arms and legs pulled close to his body.

It had all happened so fast.

One moment, they had been doing paperwork together during a quiet afternoon at the office. And the next, they had been fighting side by side against a horde of mercenaries and their people, raiding the place like it was nothing but a fucking toy store to them; and to make it even worse, Vitali had been absent at the time, leaving his mercs entirely to their own devices.

But as sudden as the attack had started, it had been over as well. No casualties, only a handful of injuries- yet they had still suffered a loss, as Mikhail had been nowhere to be found.

Vincent slowly walked closer to the bathtub, pulling one of the wooden stools near the sink with him and he sat down next to Mikhail. Said man did not even look up, nor did he flinch when Vincent reached for the tub and checked the water’s temperature with his fingers- the water was hot, yet Mikhail was still visibly shivering.

Vincent had followed them. Had tracked them down all the way to a construction site- one of the Broker’s vantage points, not much to his surprise- but had found it abandoned, and it had remained untouched from that moment on, no longer in use by the fixer’s mercenaries now that Vincent had shown his face around.

He had not been able to find Mikhail. And neither had anyone else.

‘Has he talked yet?’ Vincent asked, glancing at Vitali as he joined him, sitting down on a stool as well with his leg stretched out to the side.

‘Barely.’ Vitali clearly tried his best to hold it together, but the slight tremble in his voice gave him away. ‘Has not even been able to look me in the eyes, yet.’

It hadn’t taken them all too long to find a lead, though; a man by the name of Ravager, ex-Maelstrom, now one of the Broker’s mercenaries- and a fierce one at that. More cyberware than human, and whatever little sliver of humanity he had left in him was just another representation of that.

Vincent reluctantly reached out for Mikhail’s face, stopping the moment Mikhail leaned away from him; his eyes were unfocused when they finally found Vincent’s, and he looked- he looked scared, almost.

‘It’s just me,’ Vincent quietly said, slightly lowering his hand but still holding it close, as if he was waiting for permission to close the distance. He repeated himself in broken Russian, and added- ‘I’m not gonna hurt you.’

Ravager had hurt him. Plenty.

Vincent and Vitali had not heard the full story yet, but Ravager’s factory had already done most of the work; the tools they had found there, the torture rooms and the remains of other people- corpses, though not always entirely in one piece-

Mikhail slightly leaned in to Vincent again and shivered when Vincent’s fingertips collided with his cheek. Vincent softly caressed his skin, until Mikhail closed his eyes. Then, he carefully moved his hand up a bit; there was still some dried up blood covering Mikhail’s forehead, causing strands of his ash blond hair to stick together.

He had been captured for only a few days. Still, it had been too long. Vincent dreaded finding out what Ravager’s people had done to him exactly, and the thought of it all alone already caused his blood to boil.

‘Am I allowed to wash your hair?’ Vincent asked. He knew it was of no use trying to coax Mikhail toward a conversation about his captivity- they would be lucky if he was going to speak at all, both well aware of the fact Mikhail could go mute for days if something terrible had happened, either to him or someone else.

Mikhail nodded- it was barely a nod, but visible enough for Vincent to understand, and he allowed Vincent to gently pull him back a little until his back touched the end of the tub and his head was closer to the water.

They had rescued him just in time. Ravager’s people were exactly like their boss- stripped from all their humanity and in it for the eddies and, above all, a good time- and they clearly did not draw the line at torture and murder.

But it was over, now. Mikhail was back home, safe, and Ravager’s factory had been left behind littered with corpses and a clear message for him, as well as his boss- though Vincent wondered how much the Broker had been involved in all of this, considering how out of place it felt compared to every other attack thus far.

‘None of ‘em came after us,’ Vincent said to Vitali, while he carefully scooped up some water to let it stream through Mikhail’s hair. ‘They left the facility, went elsewhere- probably moved districts, but so far we haven’t been able to pick ‘em up on the radar.’

‘Let’s hope it stays that way,’ Vitali mumbled, his eyes still slowly scanning Mikhail’s features. ‘The further they are away from us, the better.’

His answer surprised Vincent a bit.

Ravager was still alive- they knew, because they had not been able to get to him in time when they had attacked the facility to rescue Mikhail. Of course they didn’t know where he had run off to, yet; but Vitali was not one to just let people walk away, especially if they had hurt one of his loved ones.

What was different this time, then?

‘I think if we wanna strike back we gotta act quickly,’ Vincent continued, knowing his words would probably not be nearly enough to convince Vitali to act; yet he still spoke up, too stubborn to just let the conversation end there.

‘If we can track him down, launch another attack before he gets the opportunity to reorganize- we might be able to, you know-’

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’

Vitali still spoke gently, despite clearly being exhausted and having little patience left in him; possibly only because Mikhail was still in the room with them, but Vincent was not entirely sure.

‘It’s been chaos for weeks now,’ he quietly said, noticing Vincent’s clenched jaw and reaching out to place a hand on his knee; a gentle reassurance, and Vincent carefully allowed the built-up tension to leave his body.

‘Everyone is tired. We have Mikhail back- we are all safe, now, and I would like for things to stay that way. We can deal with Ravager later, just- right now, I- I would like for us to stay together. You understand?’

Vincent understood.

Vitali was right. Ever since the explosion near the escort, since Vincent’s fight with some mercs, since the cargo delivery went wrong- since Ravager’s raid- the entire office had been upside down. Eddie and Lauren were both still out of commission, the latter only awake for a few days now; and the encounters with the Broker’s mercs they’d had in the meantime had not done the rest of Vitali’s network much good.

Vincent understood- Vitali felt guilty. He had left so briefly, only to return to a mess bigger than anything he had ever had to handle before. Mikhail taken, Vincent on the hunt, mercs injured and their supplies raided and sabotaged- and he had blamed himself for it all.

Vincent understood. But as much as he wanted to answer Vitali-

He said nothing.

Instead, he grabbed a bottle of shampoo and began soaping Mikhail’s hair, gently massaging his scalp as he worked. Mikhail leaned in and rested heavily against the side of the tub to move closer to him, and he exhaled deeply while Vincent brushed his fingers all the way through his hair.

Vitali watched in silence, his hand still on Vincent’s knee. He briefly opened his mouth to speak, but visibly changed his mind- and instead, he just gave Vincent’s leg a soft squeeze and pulled back his hand.

‘How are you feeling?’ Vincent asked Mikhail, a weak attempt at shifting the conversation and not even expecting a reply- though much to his surprise, Mikhail actually responded.

‘I’m tired.’ His voice was barely audible, and hoarse from the amount of screaming he had done earlier that evening. ‘My back hurts. And my head.’

Okay, a horrible attempt at shifting the conversation, then.

Not surprisingly, Mikhail’s words only made Vincent angrier and he tightly gripped the edge of the tub to prevent himself from storming out of the bathroom and leaving home, to go back outside and scour all of Night City to find Ravager and-

‘We can’t just do nothing,’ he promptly said. Instant regret hit him, and he quickly moved his hands back to the water to scoop up some more and rinse Mikhail’s hair.

‘I know.’

Vincent had never heard Vitali sound as defeated as in that moment.

He slightly turned his head to look at him, a painful hesitance in his movements- and the look in Vitali’s eyes instantly made him look away again, unable to tell who the anger in them was meant for.

Vitali was rarely angry. Sure, he could get frustrated at times, but the pure, seething rage Vincent had seen a lot more on him recently had once been an uncommon sight. Thus far, it had not been directed at him, or any of Vitali’s other mercs- at least, he hoped-

But in that moment… Well, it was a little hard to tell.

‘Can I tell you a story?’ Vitali asked, moving a little closer to the tub to lean on the edge with one elbow. He hesitated for a moment, jaw briefly clenching when his eyes met Vincent’s. ‘I- I am not upset with you. I just… I just want to try and explain myself, if that’s alright.’

Vincent unclenched his own jaw, and quickly nodded.

That helps.

‘When I was younger, my brother always got on my nerves,’ Vitali quietly began. He paused and scoffed softly, momentarily glancing at Mikhail. ‘To put it plainly- he was a fucking cunt. And it got… It got bad at times. To the point Mikhail had to step in.’

Vincent looked at Mikhail, who had opened his eyes upon the mention of his name and had managed to force a small smile out of himself. Vincent gently cupped his cheek again and Mikhail instantly leaned in to his touch, resting his head entirely against Vincent’s hand.

‘He never got punished.’ Vitali’s voice faltered for a moment, though he quickly regained his composure. ‘Always got away with everything; mother told me I was old enough to handle myself and I had to stop being a baby about it, and my father- well, I don’t even think he ever even noticed.’

Somehow, a very familiar situation to Vincent- though he knew it was still different, knowing Vitali was the eldest of his siblings and Vincent himself the youngest. They had not shared the same feelings of responsibility; and that still often reflected in their behavior.

‘I dealt with it myself, most of the time. I would find clever ways to make Daniil regret what he did- nothing serious, of course, please don’t take that the wrong way- but someone had to teach him the things he did and said to me were hurtful and unfair.’

‘Did you get punished for that?’ Vincent asked, already knowing how the story was probably going to end.

‘Usually not, no. Only once, actually.’ Vitali shifted on his seat, pausing again as memories momentarily overtook him.

‘I was fed up with his bullshit,’ he said, a shadow washing over his face. ‘Normally I could control myself, but- I lashed out. Screamed at him, told him exactly how I felt- and, well, he started crying. He was told to “man up” by mother, but she also gave me house arrest. For the rest of the month. Was only allowed to leave my room for bathroom visits and dinner.’

‘Dinner?’ Vincent repeated, voice unwillingly a little louder than before. ‘And- breakfast? Lunch?’

Vitali simply shrugged. ‘Not important, apparently. But Mikhail brought food to my window nearly every day. Even my father brought me some, on occasion. But that’s not my point, here.’

He paused again, inhaling and exhaling deeply as he looked back up at Vincent.

‘I lashed out, and suffered direct consequences,’ he said. ‘Had never happened before, because I had always acted clear-headed- except that once. And right now? Everyone is tired. Everyone feels like shit, and I- I don’t think things will turn out the way we want them to if we rush this now.’

Vincent averted his gaze and lowered his hands, a sudden wave of embarrassment rushing through him; Vitali was right, as per usual, and he felt bad having brought any of it up in the first place.

‘We’ll get our revenge, in time,’ Vitali quietly said, reaching out again to gently touch Vincent’s shoulder. ‘But right now, I think we should focus on staying together- all of us. I do not want anyone else to get hurt. Especially the two of you.’

Vincent found himself unable to speak and quickly nodded, the knot in his throat nearly bringing tears to his eyes.

He looked at Mikhail again, and carefully brushed a wet strand of his hair out of his face. Mikhail immediately reacted- but instead of pulling away like Vincent had expected him to do, he leaned in closer until his head rested comfortably against Vincent’s shoulder.

‘Will you stay?’ he quietly asked, his breath shaky against Vincent’s skin. An unexpected question, and Vincent loosely wrapped his arms around Mikhail’s shoulders and neck before responding.

‘Of course,’ he answered, a shiver running down his spine when some water trickled down his neck into his t-shirt. He glanced at Vitali again, and was met with a look of relief- he reached out his hand and took Vitali’s, then pulled him closer to hug him with one arm and plant a reassuring kiss on his cheek.

As much as he wanted to go after Ravager, Vitali made a good point; and Mikhail needed them, both of them, and Vincent knew it was of no use to try and track down the merc himself.

So he stayed.

For a little while, that is.

The poorly lit room was suffocating, weighing down heavily on Vincent’s chest and making it difficult for him to breathe; each raspy exhale scoured the inside of his windpipe and the lack of oxygen kept him in a constant state of near-fainting.

He was bound to a chair, wrists and ankles and waist and neck held in place tightly by metal clasps. His heartbeat painfully thrummed in his side, where he’d been kicked repeatedly earlier that day- no stab wounds or bullet wounds yet, much to his relief, but most definitely a broken bone or two.

Vincent grunted softly as he tried to look up; the instant he did that, the metal clasp around his neck put pressure on his throat and he almost lost his ability to breathe entirely, to the point he quickly dropped his head back when a rush of panic overtook his muscles.

Yes, yes- of course he had not been able to sit still. Had lasted a record period of two days at home before his hands had gotten so itchy he’d just had to get back to work. It was fine, though, he had been allowed to go back to the office; Vitali had been at home as well anyway, to take care of Mikhail.

And at first, Vincent had just helped out around the office, like he had promised Vitali. He’d even spoken with clients- a terrifying experience he really did not want to go through ever again, now with a sudden newfound respect for Vitali on top of the respect he’d already had for him- and he had taken care of some small gigs that hadn’t been closed yet since the Broker had taken the stage.

But it hadn’t stayed at that for long. Of course not.

Vincent was fucking pissed.

Mikhail had barely slept, haunted by nightmares and memories, and he had often woken up screaming and in tears, begging for it all to stop. Vitali had not wanted him to sleep anywhere other than in their bed, so naturally the two of them had also had trouble closing their eyes at night. Vincent hadn’t minded at all- he wanted to be there for his friend, even if that meant losing sleep, but all of it together-

It had only made him angrier than he had already been.

Of course he hadn’t been able to stay put.

Vincent tried to move again, going for his legs this time. He was able to turn his feet slightly, but did not have enough space between his ankles and the metal clasps to pull them free; and his arms were very much dealing with the same issue.

They hadn’t done anything to him. Yet. He’d been brought in after his solo attack on the building- a different facility than before, and it had been hell to track it down- and after putting him in the chair they had left him there, to wait for Ravager’s return.

Ravager.

Vincent shivered by the thought of him. He had only seen him from a distance, a few times; Mikhail’s capture had unfortunately not been his last attack, and he had continued to be a pain in the ass for Vitali’s mercs over the last week or two- and he was terrifying.

Vincent dreaded seeing him up close.

He was no longer sure why he had decided to go on his path of revenge. It was something that he had wanted to do- of course, Mikhail was in pain because of Ravager- but now it just seemed stupid and dumb. He had gone after the guy all by himself; had only asked Judy for help once when he’d had trouble figuring out how her equipment worked, but that was about it.

Normally it was Mikhail who helped Vincent with his dumb suicide missions, sharing about the same level of impulse control and the burning desire to deal with a soluble situation as fast as possible; but now he had been unable to do so, and it had been Vincent alone against all of Ravager’s people. Worst part is, he had actually been doing fairly well; until the explosion, and he’d been blasted off his feet and then kicked down until he had lost consciousness.

Vincent was still unsure why they had not just killed him.

His eyes had finally gotten used to the semi-darkness surrounding him and he took a moment to look around. Apart from the chair, there was not much else to see; dark walls and barely any furniture apart from some lockers, an empty desk and a hospital trolley right on the edge of his peripheral.

In the distance, he could hear a door open. Footsteps followed- two sets of them, slowly but surely approaching the room Vincent was stuck in. His heart jumped and sped up significantly, and he momentarily lost his vision as he gasped for breath.

Please, no- Not yet-

But the door already opened.

Ravager was a tall man with muscular build- though because of the various cybernetic body parts connected to his person it was hard to tell what was muscle and what was machine. His jet black hair was slicked back, framing a face of mostly cyberware; blood red eyes with black sclera, plating covering his temples and the bridge of his nose, and a broad cyberjaw decorating the lower half of his head.

The few bits and pieces of pale white skin he still had looked almost rotten, for some reason. Vincent had not been able to tell before; but he could see it clearly this time round, now that Ravager was standing right beside him, looking down on him with a wide grin on his face- revealing pearly white, sharpened teeth.

‘Well, well, well,’ Ravager said, his raspy voice carrying through the entire room and bouncing off the walls. ‘If it isn’t one of Night City’s most feared mercenaries. Gotta be honest, I still find that a little hard to believe- You are surprisingly small.’

In any other situation, Vincent would have easily been able to come up with a clever response; yet in that moment he found himself frozen in fear, unable to even string together a coherent enough sentence in his head to reply with.

He watched in silence as the other person- Ravager’s right hand man, a skinny guy with almost as much cyberware as his boss- walked around the chair, and placed something on the trolley just out of Vincent’s line of sight. However, he was able to tell by the soft metal clank alone it was probably a handgun.

‘Good job, though- you found me again. Not many would’a been able to pull that one off.’ Ravager walked a little closer and Vincent instinctively flinched when the man patted him on his arm with cold, cybernetic fingers. ‘Clever idea, hacking into the GPS of our scout. Reminded me I gotta take those goddang computers out of the vehicles before I put ‘em back on the road.’

Vincent still could not speak. He was a little unsure why; he had been in similar situations before, many times before, yet for some reason this specific one was getting to him even though nothing had happened yet.

Yet.

That was probably the issue.

The other man handed something to Ravager- a device, similar to the ones Vincent knew were used by the NCPD to identify people with. Ravager held it in front of Vincent’s face, and patiently waited as the screen on his side lit up, accompanied by a bright, red light on the other, blinding Vincent instantly.

‘What are you doing?’ he finally managed to ask. He didn’t even want to know all that bad; but it was nice to have control of his vocal cords again.

‘Scanning you, clearly,’ Ravager simply answered. ‘Just a formality- to get your detes into the system. Saves me the paperwork when we’re done with you.’

Ah. Okay.

Vincent lay unmoving as Ravager continued, knowing it was of no use to attempt and break free- he knew he was better off saving his energy for a better opportunity, and especially considering the fact he still had trouble breathing it was probably in his best interest to just stay as calm as the situation allowed him to.

As calm as the situation allowed him to. Not all that much, at that moment. Ravager had started to hum a tune and scanned Vincent a second time, a hint of a frown taking shape on his face; though it was a little hard to tell, considering he barely had eyebrows anymore.

‘Interesting,’ he mumbled, double-checking the screen then turning it to the other man, who stared at it with a similar look on his face. ‘Picks up a whole second person, for some reason- info’s all jumbled. What’d you do? Illegally download a new fucken’ personality?’

‘You don’t know the half of it,’ Vincent dryly answered.

Hehe. Got ‘em.

‘Well! Problem for later, I guess.’ Ravager stuffed the device away and huffed, for some reason appearing to be a little pissed about it. ‘It was all so much easier with your friend, but- whatever.’

Mikhail.

The mention of him made Vincent’s blood boil again. He had probably been in that position as well- a different facility, a different chair, but tied up exactly like that- with Ravager standing over him like a predator looking at its prey.

‘Oh- Don’t ya worry, we made sure he had a fun time,’ Ravager suddenly said. Vincent looked back up at him; the man had clearly noticed the shadow that had washed over his face, and was staring at him with another lingering, toothy grin.

‘He really didn’t wanna talk, but- that’s fine. We’ve got our ways to make people talk. He dropped some nice info about your fixer- and about you. Stuff we already knew, o’course, so that was unfortunate. The look of guilt on his face was worth it, though.’

None of that was new information to Vincent. Mikhail had already told them about it- once he had been able to speak again. Though he had still been barely comprehensible, sobbing so uncontrollably it had nearly caused both Vitali and Vincent to cry as well; but the information he had told Ravager about them was not nearly as important as his safety and well-being, and of course neither of them had been upset about it.

But still, it got to him. He knew Mikhail felt guilty, but to hear it out of Ravager’s own mouth-

A sudden alarm cut through the room and Vincent flinched, throat tightening painfully when he accidentally lifted his head and the metal clasp around his neck punched the air out of his windpipe. Ravager and his right hand man both jolted up, and shared a somewhat panicked look; but then, triumph washed over Ravager’s face, and he left the room without saying another word.

The other man left as well, and Vincent was alone again; though he hoped it would not be for long, knowing exactly why the alarms were blasting through the facility. A relieved smile took shape on his face and he relaxed in the chair, eyes briefly fluttering shut when he realized soon he wouldn’t be tied down anymore, and he would be reunited with-

He was relieved they had found him so quickly. Finding Mikhail had taken longer, and rescuing him from the building had not been easy either; everything had looked exactly the same and they had needed to travel deep into the factory to even reach him in the first place.

Vincent vividly remembered it, though. How they had moved through the hallways together, losing more and more people the further they traveled- they had to stay behind to fight off Ravager’s men, keeping them busy while Vitali and Vincent continued on. How they had found Mikhail, how he had barely been able to walk, and how he had clung to Vincent so tightly-

Only a few days. Yet still, still, it had been way too long.

Vincent closed his eyes, exhaling shakily as he tried to picture Vitali- he was probably there as well, unable to sit back and let others handle things for him, on his way to Vincent, killing anyone who got in his way-

Should he call out for him? Let him know where he was?

‘I’m here!’ Vincent yelled as loud as he could, not giving it a second thought and slightly moving in the chair as he tried to peek around the door into the hallway. ‘Guys- I’m over here!’

Minutes had gone by. They were probably nearby by now, right? This facility was a lot less confusing than the other one. The room Vincent was being held in was probably essentially right around the corner of the entrance.

Vincent nervously bit the inside of his cheek, listening to the distant sounds of a scuffle. He could hear some screams, and some gunfire- but it was a lot less than he had expected, and the longer he waited the more it seemed to die down until it was no longer audible over the alarms.

There had been alarms last time, too. Louder than these, to the point it had nearly overwhelmed Vincent. But he had been able to hold it together, knowing he’d had a job to do- and he couldn’t afford to lose it before ensuring Mikhail’s safety.

It had taken them some time- but they had found him.

They had found him.

The alarms stopped.

And Vincent was still alone.

They brought him back to the previous facility the next day.

Not much else had happened, other than the failed scan and the brief scuffle with some intruders; Ravager had not shown his face anymore and Vincent had been left alone with his thoughts for most of the day.

That morning had been more eventful, though. Vincent had in fact managed to fall asleep at some point- cold and hungry and exhausted as hell, and even though his night had remained dreamless it had been nice to lose consciousness for a little while, at least.

But he had been woken up with a solid punch to the face and he’d been dragged off the chair, kicked around a bit for the entertainment of whoever had been in the room with him and he’d been blinded and gagged and tied up with ziplock ties and he’d been thrown violently in the back of a car and they had left him there, once again on a constant brink of passing out because of lack of oxygen.

Vincent nearly fell to the floor when he was suddenly pushed forward, mind instantly pulled back to reality and away from the events that had happened earlier that day; he was already there now, walking the same hallways he had ran through while rescuing Mikhail yet this time he had no idea where he was going, and what to expect.

He wasn’t scared. At least, that’s what he was telling himself. And it helped, for the time being- his head was surprisingly clear and he looked around intently, memorizing each turn they took to map out the facility’s layout in his head.

Soon enough they arrived at a door at the end of a hallway. Vincent was yanked back momentarily, and he stood back as two of the people bringing him there exchanged some words in a language he didn’t understand.

And for a moment, he saw an opportunity; it was four against one, but he was fast, and a lot stronger than most people thought he was. He could charge forward, ram the two people into the door- use their bodies as shields while freeing his hands from the ziplock ties- steal their guns and flatline them all before they could hurt him-

But he had no idea what was on the other side of the door. And it was too much of a risk.

So he did not move, and watched as the people opened the door- and they pushed him inside.

The room was bigger than Vincent had expected it to be. It reminded him of an office a little bit; though the desks were all shoved to the side, pushed together underneath the blinded windows on his right. All, except one, standing right in the middle of the room with two chairs adjacent to one another and right on top of the desk stood-

A chessboard?

Though that was not what Vincent’s attention was drawn toward.

On the left of the room, lined up against the wall, sat his friends-

All of them.

Including Mikhail and Vitali.

‘Ah, the star of the show. Welcome!’

Ravager’s voice boomed through the room and Vincent’s head snapped up, watching as the cyborg hopped off one of the desks on the other side of the room and slowly began wandering over, arms spread out and another one of his signature grins plastered on his face.

‘Couldn’t get the party started without you,’ he said. ‘Just a little longer, though- gotta wait for my friend to get here.’ A pause, and he glanced at his watch. ‘Dunno what’s takin’ him so long. Should’a gotten here before you.’

Vincent’s heart was going a million miles an hour. His eyes were drawn back toward his friends- fuck, even Eddie and Lauren were there- and his chest tightened painfully, mind wandering back to the day before, when- when he thought they-

He caught Vitali’s gaze. And Vitali’s eyes widened, mouth opening briefly as if to speak- to explain himself, perhaps, or to ask if Vincent was alright- or maybe just to scold him, to ask him- Why? Why did you leave?

But he closed it again, unspoken words lingering in the distance between them, and he defeatedly lowered his gaze.

He looked ashamed.

Vincent was pushed down into one of the chairs and three of the people who had entered with him joined the others that had already been inside; a small army, almost, presumably to keep Vincent’s friends in check.

The fourth stayed behind, and cut Vincent’s hands free- but then also took out their gun and briefly pushed it against the back of his head as a warning, and he knew the moment he would try something- anything- his blood would paint all the chess pieces in front of him the same color.

His eyes were drawn to his friends again. They did not appear injured; not all too terrible, at least, some scrapes and bruises decorating faces and visible arms and necks. Though all of them looked exhausted, drained from every last ounce of energy in their bodies as they sat there- some on their knees, others leaning against the wall- though all carrying the same defeated look in their eyes.

Vincent clenched his jaw. It felt wrong. So wrong- they had come back for him, and would now suffer the consequences of it all- whatever those were going to be.

Oh, had he just not left- had he just listened to Vitali-

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, V. Never got you anywhere before, won’t get you anywhere this time.

Shut up, Johnny.

Hey, I’m right. You know that.

Of course Vincent knew.

Suddenly, the door behind him opened again, though Vincent was not interested enough to turn around. Ravager, who was standing right beside him at that point, did look up- and grinned again when he noticed who had entered.

‘Ivan! Took you long enough. Come in.’ Ravager glanced at Vincent and tapped him on the shoulder, causing Vincent to flinch. ‘V, meet Ivan Dupoint. Though if I’m not mistaken- you two already know each other.’

Vincent frowned and finally turned his head to look up, his curiosity winning over his fear. He had no idea what to expect; the name did not sound familiar at all, and- not much to his surprise- the man who had entered the room did not look familiar to him either.

Tall, like Ravager, though a tad bit shorter- mostly just because of his hunched posture, and his slightly buckled knees. Short, slicked back hair and a tall forehead, dull gray eyes and a mustache adorning his upper lip- he had facial cyberware similar to Vincent’s, though somewhat asymmetrical and radically out of place in the rest of his face, as if he had attempted to superglue it there himself.

‘Pleased to make your acquaintance?’ Vincent said, the sentence more a question than a statement, and he frowned slightly as he watched Dupoint walk around the desk and sit down opposite of him while unbuttoning the jacket of his slightly too big suit.

‘Or not,’ Ravager mumbled, shrugging and wandering back to the pillar in the middle of the room to lean against it. ‘Fuck if I care, anyway.’

‘No, you were right, Edward,’ Dupoint said, his accent a strange mix of French and a hint of something Scandinavian. ‘We have met before. Curious, though, that V does not remember.’

‘V has had a lot of things on his mind, as of late,’ Vincent dryly said. ‘Please do enlighten me.’

Dupoint glared at him, jaw clenching slightly the moment one of Vincent’s friends snorted- Cato, probably, but Vincent could not check, his gaze still focused solidly on the man opposite of him.

‘Alabaster Whittaker,’ Dupoint plainly said, leaning back into his chair. ‘Rings a bell, perhaps?’

‘Oh- the Zetatech bootlicker? For sure.’ Despite the circumstances, Vincent was only just able to suppress a smile, and he finally turned his head toward his friends. ‘Remind me, boss- What did we call him at the office?’

‘If I am not mistaken you all affectionately nicknamed him “Albie”, at some point,’ Vitali answered, voice still calm and eyes focused straight ahead- though Vincent could tell by the way he clenched his jaw and and held his shoulders just a bit higher than usual, he was also barely holding it together.

‘He was my boss!’ Dupoint sharply said, raising his voice slightly when some light chuckling and snickering filled the room. ‘You stole from him, and- above all- ruined all my precious work. Months and months of calculations and predictions- all gone!’

‘I’m sorry, say what now?’ Vincent cut him off, slightly leaning forward in his seat and immediately- once again- feeling the cold barrel of a gun pressing against the back of his head; though it did not do him much, too confused by the situation to care.

Dupoint clenched his jaw again and leaned in too, face hardened and eyes nearly spitting fire.

‘You knocked over an entire mug of coffee and spilled it all over my laptop,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘Whittaker was furious. And fired me on the spot. I lost everything because of you. Everything.’

Vincent sat unmoving, blinking slowly as Dupoint’s words slowly settled in his brain. He felt a strange knot in his chest- a feeling he genuinely could not place, confusion still tightly holding him in a chokehold-

Everything had been leading up to- to this?

‘Well, that’s a little pathetic.’

Judy’s voice shattered the deafening silence and Vincent slowly sank back into his chair, eyes wandering off until they met Judy’s- who appeared just as confused and pissed off as he felt.

‘Is that- Is that why we are all gathered here today?’ Lauren asked. Vincent was relieved to hear her voice; though she still sounded exhausted, and surely this entire situation was not doing her much good.

‘You could have just bought yourself a new laptop, or something,’ Mikhail chimed in now as well, as everyone else quietly started mumbling. ‘Instead of…doing this.’

‘A backup goes a long way,’ Vitali quietly added.

Dupoint opened his mouth to say something, though no sound came out as more insults and remarks were flung his way. Vincent glanced up a little, at Ravager- even he had covered his face with one hand, and was clearly desperately trying to focus on anything other than the scene in front of him.

It was fucking ridiculous.

Vincent genuinely had no idea what to think anymore. Dupoint was not- he was not the man at the top, right? Or was he? If he was, that would be even worse- considering everything that had happened thus far. Had it all been about this?

He looked at Dupoint again and watched him try to silence the small gathering of mercs, stammering and stumbling over his own words without much success-

No, this was not the man at the top. Couldn’t be. Vincent refused to believe it.

‘Shut the fuck up!’

Ravager had finally managed to regain his composure and stepped up, waving a gun around until everyone finally went quiet again.

‘V- You knocked over the man’s coffee,’ Cato quietly whispered, still. ‘How could you?’

‘I mean- I’m sorry, I guess?’ Vincent shared a quick look with Cato- nearly burst into laughter once more- and then turned back to Dupoint. ‘You’re telling me all of this- all of it- is just because I accidentally spilled some coffee on your stupid-’

BANG!

Vincent flinched involuntarily at the gunshot and his teeth clacked together so hard it sent vibrations through his skull. He immediately glanced back at his friends- though none of them appeared hit.

A warning shot.

For now.

‘Not all of it, no,’ Dupoint answered, his voice suddenly surprisingly much in control again. ‘You see, the Broker is in charge here- I am merely here to send a message. From him, to you- or, well…’ He paused, and his gaze wandered off to Vitali. ‘To you, actually.’

Another deafening silence filled the room and Dupoint looked back up at Vincent, a sudden, somewhat creepy smile on his face.

‘Though I thought it would be a great opportunity to make you, V, pay as well. For what you have taken from me. Feels only fair I take something back, no?’

Vincent did not answer.

Dupoint relaxed in his seat and cleared his throat, averting his gaze while pulling up the sleeves of his jacket a bit, and he gestured at the chessboard on the desk in front of them.

‘Today, V, we are going to play a game of chess,’ he said. ‘Fairly simple, I’d think. Do you know how to play?’

Of course Vincent knew how to play. Chess champion back in high school- twice, even. But Dupoint really did not need to know any of that.

‘Sure,’ he shrugged, using all his strength and willpower to keep a straight face. ‘I’m- I’m a quick learner.’

Dupoint stared at him for a moment, and Vincent watched as a sudden twinkle appeared in his eyes and a smile formed on his lips again.

Good.

‘Wonderful! However, there is a catch.’

Ah. Of course there is.

Dupoint reached out toward the board and let his hand hover over Vincent’s pieces. He hummed softly and grabbed one of the pawns, then slowly lifted it up, the bottom of it turned toward Vincent- and the moment he saw what was underneath he felt his throat tighten.

‘Go on, now, don’t be shy- read it,’ Dupoint slowly said, mockery dripping from his voice.

Vincent swallowed heavily, and clenched his jaw before opening his mouth.

‘Cato.’

A brief, but deafening silence fell over the room. Vincent did not dare avert his gaze from the tiny piece of paper taped to the bottom of the pawn.

‘Very good.’ Dupoint placed the pawn back on the board. ‘Now! The rules are simple. We play, one of us wins. You win- nothing is lost. You, your friends, all walk free. For now, that is, of course, “until we meet again” and so on. However, you lose- and each piece I managed to conquer from you, each name taped to the bottom- stays with us. With Ed, specifically. I won’t be staying long.’

‘Don’t-? Don’t call me that,’ Ravager muttered in the background.

‘So- all clear to you, V?’ Dupoint asked, entirely ignoring his colleague and looking back up at Vincent instead. Vincent was unsure how to describe the look on the Frenchman’s face- though the pure triumph and smugness in his eyes made him nauseous.

‘Crystal,’ he answered, eyes unwillingly moving back to his friends for a brief second and he sat up a little straighter, heart suddenly pounding rapidly in his chest once more. ‘White begins. Hit me.’

Even with his knowledge, he was still nervous. Why wouldn’t he be? The stakes were just a tad bit higher this time than merely losing his king- his friends’ lives were on the line now, and Vincent would be lying if he said he still vividly remembered every opening and sequence of moves he had once been taught.

At least they were playing without a timer. Vincent knew he still wouldn’t get all the time in the world, but at least it took away some of the pressure. Sure, there was of course still the cold metal of a gun’s barrel resting comfortably against the back of his head- but that wasn’t new to him.

He watched in silence as Dupoint moved his king’s pawn. A move that told Vincent very little; could be a beginner, could be a pro. Either way, he was going to have to keep up appearances for just a bit longer, his brain still whirring as his muscle memory of the game was only just coming back to him.

Vincent copied Dupoint’s move, putting his own king’s pawn directly against that of his opponent. Dupoint hummed, then moved his knight- and Vincent did the same, making sure to take an extra second to pretend to count the squares before proudly placing it down.

‘Petrov’s Defense,’ Dupoint plainly stated, though for some reason it sounded more like a programmed response rather than an offhand comment. ‘If it was not for the fact you clearly seem to be copying my moves I would’ve believed you actually know what you’re doing.’

‘As I said, quick learner,’ Vincent replied, watching as Dupoint grabbed a second pawn and placed it right next to the one already in the middle of the board. An interesting move; Vincent had not seen that one before.

‘A fully opened center.’ Dupoint paused, raised an eyebrow, and glanced back at Vincent. ‘Do you know what that move is called, V?’

Vincent shrugged, and swallowed his laughter. ‘Dunno. The American Nutcracker?’

A loud snort on his left broke the silence in the room and Dupoint’s head instantly snapped to Vincent’s friends- though it was of no use, as several of them could no longer contain their laughter any longer. Even Vincent had trouble keeping a straight face, and Dupoint was forced to wait until everyone was quiet again before he could continue.

‘Steinitz Attack,’ he said, the tone of his voice slightly less cocky than it had been before. ‘An…aggressive move.’

‘A bold move, if you ask me,’ Vincent answered, a slight tremble in his voice from his once again suppressed laughter.

‘One that gives me an advantage, if you paid any attention at all.’

Dupoint continued to speak, though Vincent was no longer listening to him. His gaze was drawn toward his friends once more- initially to pull a face, or to make a jerk-off motion underneath the table in hopes to draw another quiet snort or some laughter from their lips-

But his eyes caught Vitali. A curious look was plastered on his face; one of his famous stares which always told Vincent he was lost in deep thought, cogs of his brain turning as he pondered whatever was on his mind at the time.

Though now, it was accompanied by a look of recognition.

‘V. Your turn.’

Right. Chess.

A slow setup. Vincent’s mind was elsewhere and he continuously glanced back at his boyfriend, heartbeat suddenly faster again now that he had taken notice of the shift in atmosphere. His distraction soon proved unfortunate- he had not paid enough attention and Dupoint captured one of his pawns without further consequences.

Vincent clenched his jaw as Dupoint slowly flipped the pawn and read the piece of paper taped to its downside.

‘My, my,’ he said, another smile shaping on his face. ‘Thibault. The first of many, I hope.’

‘Kiss my ass, you piece of shit,’ Thibault sneered at him from the sidelines, immediately switching to Canadian French and unleashing a string of swears Vincent only half understood.

The gravity of the situation instantly kicked in again and he was quickly reminded of why he had been so nervous at the start. If Dupoint would win- every captured piece, every captured person- they were going to have to stay.

With Ravager.

And after Mikhail- well, Vincent did not want to find out what he and his people were going to do with them.

He redirected his attention to the board in front of him again. He saw an opportunity; though part of his attack depended entirely on Dupoint’s defense, but given the circumstances it was a risk he was willing to take.

Without hesitation, Vincent captured one of Dupoint’s pawns, clearing half of the center of the board. Dupoint hummed again, and responded by merely moving his bishop- Vincent barely gave him the time to let go of the piece and captured a second pawn, leaving both their kings exposed.

‘Interesting.’

Vincent kept his composure, though his heart was racing in his chest as if he had just ran a marathon. He lowered his hand again, resting it on the edge of the desk as he watched Dupoint think for a few seconds- his hand moved down, and hesitated above his pieces.

He was nervous. Vincent could tell. It was exactly what he had hoped for- by making his own moves as quickly as possible, he was attempting to put more pressure on his opponent. And by the looks of it, he had succeeded at that.

Dupoint finally moved his hand down. He grabbed his king, and moved it one square, to slowly but surely move it back behind his other pieces.

And in response, Vincent castled- rook and king swapping positions, his rook now lined up directly with Dupoint’s king. His eyes slowly moved up, until they met those of his opponent-

‘Check.’

Silence fell over the room as suddenly everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Vincent leaned back in his chair, pushing his head closer against the gun- and as much as he wanted to crack a triumphant smile, he instead kept his composure, eyes piercing straight through Dupoint as he stared him down.

‘Is that allowed?’ Ravager suddenly asked. He had wandered a little closer now that the game had finally started, and for a split second he sounded like a whole different person to Vincent.

‘It is, yes,’ Dupoint mumbled, shifting uncomfortably on his seat. ‘Interesting move, V.’

His change in demeanor was exactly what Vincent had been aiming for.

He was not a professional at the game; but neither was Dupoint. Vincent could tell by the way his eyes shifted across the board, darting from piece to piece as he visibly went over every possible move in his head. An analyst at heart- calculating and cautious, with a decent memory as well, Vincent presumed. Though he knew very well that doing everything by the book was not going to get you very far-

Not in Night City, of all fucking places.

And oh, how Dupoint was desperately trying to hold on to his strategy. Whatever sequences he had planned on, Vincent easily managed to throw him off his rhythm with nearly every move he made. He lost more pieces- Shiro, and Panam- then Huxley, and Eddie- but it did not matter. The path was already clear to him.

Check, check, check-

Constantly locking Dupoint in tight positions, attempt after attempt to force his king into a corner. Pawns were advancing to Vincent’s half of the board, but he ignored them largely- nearly every important player of Dupoint’s little army was already down, leaving him without his defenses in the endgame.

Vincent just had to be quicker, that’s all-

‘Check.’

Oops.

Vincent blinked and snapped out of his trance, a little confused by what had just happened. His eyes trailed the board- and suddenly he noticed his own king, locked between several pieces, with one opening only-

And Dupoint’s bishop was solidly blocking his only way out.

Vincent exhaled sharply. Not over yet- there was still a way out for him, though he was unable to move his king into any direction. He clenched his fist under the table when his eyes finally landed on his queen, and he realized the only way to save himself was by-

Do it.

Vincent swallowed heavily and moved his queen, and captured Dupoint’s bishop. And without hesitation, Dupoint captured the queen with his own pawn.

‘Ah, yes- sacrifices, sacrifices,’ he sighed, twirling the piece around and shooting Vincent a small smile before reading the paper on the bottom. ‘Hmm… Mikhail. Round two, I suppose. Ed, go easy on him this time, yes? We don’t want any casualties. Not least, at least.’

Vincent felt his blood begin to boil once more and he exhaled sharply, jaw clenching tightly when he noticed Vitali bolt forward out of the corner of his eye- he was grabbed by two of Ravager’s people and dragged back in his place violently, and one of them pressed a gun against his head.

His eyes briefly moved to Mikhail, sitting between Panam and Cato, knees pulled to his chest and head resting heavily on Cato’s shoulder as he stared straight ahead- no longer scared, no longer angry-

Just tired. He looked so fucking tired.

Vincent turned back to the board, fighting the urge to leap over the desk and strangle Dupoint with his bare hands- unarm Ravager and kill him with his own gun- emptying the entire clip in his chest before landing the finishing blow, just to make him suffer as much as possible before his heart would give out-

The rook.

Vincent had moved his queen. His rook had been beside it- and now securely guarded the entire row, locking Dupoint’s king in the back. And Dupoint had captured Vincent’s queen- and with that, he had moved his pawn out of the way-

Vincent reached for his second rook, entirely left untouched thus far, and moved it all the way to the other end of the chessboard, locking Dupoint’s king in its place. He leaned back in his seat, a smile finally breaking through his facade, and tilted his head upward ever so slightly, spitting the word out with a venomous sting-

‘Checkmate.’

#nuclearwriting #rbs much appreciated :) <3 #bit long innit! sorry about that LMFAO #anyway here it is. my magnum opus [lie]#do not look too deep into the chess thing i was fighting for my life trying to write something coherent okay ;w; i tried #having a lot of thoughts about this one so i'll be annoying with the self rbs #as always feel free to send asks if you feel like it i love talking about. well. anything LMFAO #but god. vincent. augh. my boy!!!!!! he's so smart!!!!!!! I LOVE HIM #THIS is why i need to write about him more he is so so special. in general. but also to me #but vitali and mikhail kinda stole his spotlight :( my fault entirely but still :(#anyway the continuation of this is gonna be interesting because i already wrote the fic but i'll make a post about that soon!!!#ch:the broker

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genderqueerdykes · 21 days

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there really is a cultural pressure for transmascs & men to detransition, and it comes from all sides. it comes from the queer community too, not just terfs and cishet transphobes.

it took me a while to realize why transphobic people and transandrophobic queers utterly despise trans guys & mascs who are over the age of like 25- it's because it pisses them right off that we've resisted their attempts to make us detransition. it makes them so angry to see they were unable to groom that person into a life of self-shame and repression. it really seems like MOST people believe that trans men will just detransition eventually in life? people NEVER think about older trans men, only teenage trans boys and trans men in their very early twenties.

when i was involved with my local punk scene i was addressed with condescension, almost everyone around me didn't accept transmasculinity as a legitimate identity and thought that we would've transitioned by now in life. i encountered folks who would talk about transmasculinity with subtle disgust that made me feel like i was doing something wrong, and people who expressed overt disgust, saying in plain english that they were disgusted by breasts and vaginas because they were gay men. all along the way i was literally mocked for not having a penis, and one of my roommates started treating me differently once they found out i didn't have one (because they were attracted to me)

i've been on T for 9 years, and been out as a trans man for a bit longer than that, and i noticed as i've aged i've also attracted a lot of folks who have tried to deter me from identifying as a trans man, either through directly telling me that trans men are inherently dangerous, or by implying that women or another gender are safer, quieter, calmer, "less traumatizing to be around," etc. one of my exes told me they were terrified to date me (despite literally going out of their way to do so for over half a year) because they were scared i would be transphobic to them because i'm a transmasculine lesbian.

i received pressure from online friends to either detransition and become an intersex butch woman, or to something feminine adjacent or nonbinary. for years i dealt with a few friends who kept subtly hinting that i should stop identifying as a trans man or trans masc because of how awful transmascs are- going as far as to sending me screenshots of transmascs speaking, complaining about them and calling them whiny, annoying. talking about how all transmascs are entitled, how all transmascs take things too personally, how we complain too much, and so on.

people make no effort to make space for transmascs and men. i met 0 transmascs in my local punk community that i was able to stay in contact with. none. i met a few in passing but none that actually were introduced to me in a capacity where i could actually try to befriend them. it really felt like other punks in the scene were desperately trying to keep the transmascs apart at times. excuses were made as to why i couldn't hang out with other transmascs i liked, but i was constantly being forced to befriend transphobic cis gay men and transandrophobic transfemmes who outwardly expressed hatred and disgust of us. it really felt like it was on purpose... almost as if other members of this community wanted our attention, but never wanted us to give each other attention or a sense of community. like we were objects, not people to be included in the community for real. satellite friends, if you will.

i'll be honest with you. i was at my lowest at this point. i realized i wasn't just a trans man and that i'm a genderqueer person who experiences multiple genders, including womanhood and an "other" gender, which was great. however now i was being forced to completely stuff down being a man for the sake of other people. instead of folks telling me they'd rather not hang out with transmascs, folks rather just attempted to guilt me for identifying as such in the hopes i'd stop identifying that way. i was being told daily that trans men and mascs are inherently violent and terrible to be around. i was in discord servers where transmascs were being kicked constantly for getting even slightly upset about transandrophobia, or being unfairly targeted by staff.

it's violence, but nobody wants to call it that. i pulled myself out of there and am now able to contact other transmascs and trans men who are proud of who they are and have elevated me back into a headspace where it's okay to truly be myself. just keep in mind that if you feel like you're in that situation, you're not alone. people who attempt to groom others are often very subtle it's not always up front. they will start slipping in hateful sentiments very slowly and make you feel like maybe they're the ones who are actually right.

it feels good to be an almost 32 year old trans guy. there's nothing to be ashamed about there. people project their feelings on to my gender and that has nothing to do with me. it has nothing to do with you, either. people will just project on to you for whatever reason- hatred is usually the motivator there. if you encounter folks who keep trying to badger you out of identifying as your gender, no matter who you are, transmasc, transfemme, transneutral, trans anything- they are not good for you. they are not your friends. they do not accept you as you are and you deserve so much better.

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eightyonekilograms · 1 year

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I turned off reblogs on this post because it was about to breach containment in a way that looked unpleasant, but I did want to provide one bit of followup for those of you fortunate enough to not be following Twitter drama. You'll want to follow this bit though, because it's really funny.

The second bit is, as Matt says, that because a lot of leading figures in tech have gotten so annoyed at their treatment in the press recently, they've conjured up this theory about how journalists attach tons of status and self-worth to their blue check marks. And Matt is saying, no, this really isn't true at all: the fact that journalists all get blue checks by default is more of an implementation quirk of Twitter and nobody really cares. I have no reason to doubt him on this. So what's sort of funny is that apparently Elon got caught up in the same hatejerk as the rest of tech, and thought that "bluechecks" really did put tons of value on their verified status and could be extorted out of money for it. Which is probably a mistake, and one that's going to cost him literally billions.

At the time I thought this might have been a little uncharitable, but it turns out it was completely correct and, if anything, did not go far enough.

Today was the day that "legacy" blue check marks got turned off, and so now only the people paying Twitter $8/month get to have one. And this is absolutely hilarious, because now suddenly the blue check mark is a strong signal that you support Elon Musk and his Twitter machinations. So it went from being something which was free and had maybe slightly positive "eh, sure, I'll take it" valence, to something which (for most former bluechecks anyway) has strongly negative associations and costs money to boot. So they are, overwhelmingly, declining to pay. In fact, Twitter can't even give them away: LeBron James said he wouldn't pay for a check, Elon offered to give him one for free, and James refused, because the association is now so toxic. ell, em, ay, oh.

And this is absolutely infuriating the Elon fan crowd, because they never understood the indented paragraph above, and really did think that people valued the status of their blue check mark, instead of it being a "eh, whatever" thing that was barely worth it when it was free and certainly isn't worth $100/year. So you're getting deranged takes like this:

You can find thousands of these I'm-not-owned corncob posts, along with even more posts in the replies of people going "no thanks", cajoling and begging them to buy a blue check.

Sociologically, it is frickin' fascinating that this symbol just overnight had a complete valence inversion (and also that, despite this flip, the word "bluecheck" still refers to somebody just as insufferable as it did before).

#cetero twitter delenda est #but it seems like at long last deletur est

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oxymorayuri · 3 months

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❞𝐍𝐨 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬❝

ShortFic

here the storys masterlist. ♡♡♡

✦ Pairing: Portgas D. Ace x Reader ✦ Warnings: cussing/language, use of alcohol, mature content ✦ Spoiler: none

wordcount: 6328

It annoys you that you're starting to develop feelings for Ace. Unlike you, he's just unreliable, messy and has no brains. Sure he's hot as the sun but how can a woman like you be into a guy like him?

! ᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ !

ᴍɪɴᴏʀꜱ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛ

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓: Xuan

"Hey gorgeous, watcha doing?" With his stupid big grin, he steals the sun you were enjoying a moment ago. You exhale a little annoyed but don't look up from your book. You calmly flip the page.

"Isn't it obvious?" It comes from your lips. You sound rather bored by his unnecessary question, but it's impossible to ignore the displeased undertone.

"Mmm bitey as always…" Any other man would be offended, would insult you and leave but Ace finds it quite amusing. He finds it rather fun that you're not throwing yourself at his feet.

Your eyes remain on the words in your book. You won't grant Ace the satisfaction of giving him a single glance. You would only be forced to look at his sly smile and his splendid torso. Gross.

"Okay, let me see what you're reading?" Ace's hand reaches for your book and now he is the one flipping through it. You are a little perplexed, your hands still in the air as if you had the book in your hands, but the confusion quickly fades and you stand up, annoyed.

You want to take the book away from him but all your efforts are in vain because he skillfully keeps you at a distance. You accept your defeat and cross your arms in front of your barely dressed chest.

You just wanted to sunbathe a little before you drop anchor ashore, but Ace has to annoy you again.

Your eyes rest on his utterly beautiful lips. You despise yourself for your thoughts while he reads a few lines from your book, but you listen to him intently and after each sentence you have to laugh a little at his comments even though you roll your eyes. He looks pretty hot as he tries to analyze your book... with a strained expression, he thinks about those things he read.

"…That's why Cunt describes the awakening, or rather: the awakening, of reason as a second birth…." he quietly mumbles the rest to himself "…a beginner who is able to begin for himself….????" He frowns very hard and gestures at the book.

"Who the hell understands that!" You put one hand on your hip and snatch the book from him, with a puff of annoyance.

"First of all, I understand it and secondly, it's pronounced Kant and not Cunt!" - "Yea sounds the same…"

He seems confused but doesn't quite understand that he has just named one of your favorite philosophers a cunt. You roll your eyes again, you've done that so many times now, that you should be getting dizzy.

Arrogantly, you walk past him and toss your hair over your shoulder. Ace's confusion quickly fades as he inhales your sweet, floral scent, which has a pinch of salt from the fresh ocean breeze.

"I'll soften you up, y/n." He calls after you and without you turning to face him, you flash him your middle finger.

Once in the kitchen, you made yourself a drink to calm your nerves. You know that you're a pretty deep woman, but you've experienced several times that men aren't interested in woman like you.

As soon as someone realizes how smart or intellectual you are, they simply turn their back on you. You are sick and tired of people only liking you for your appearance but not your inner self. Why is that? Is it too exhausting for them? Are they too stupid?

You exhale in frustration and throw a straw into your drink. This is the very reason why you are not happy, that you like Ace. He's not exactly the brightest candle on the cake, but he has that special spark, that makes you want to keep your eyes on him. What if he just wants to get his hands on you and then throws you away like the others?

"You're groaning a lot again, little lass…" You flinch as if lightning struck you and you slowly turn around, only to see Marco drinking his coffee and browsing through the newspaper without looking at you.

"Gosh Marco… Tell me you're here, jeez!" You put your hand on your chest while leaning against a wooden plank.

The man looks up at you from his newspaper with an raised eyebrow.

"I was here first." He rustles the paper briefly to get it back into shape and turns his attention back to the latest headlines.

"Besides, how can you be so blind and not notice me? It's not like I'm hiding here…" Mumbles the commander of the first division. You stop as you sip your drink.

He's right. He's obviously sitting at the table. You should have seen him when you came in, but you seem to be too absorbed in your own thoughts.

"Whatever, sorry."

You wave him off as you walk back out the door.

The sun greets you directly and you notice that the deck is a little busier. Apparently we'll be docking ashore soon. You're walking across the deck towards the railing when someone calls out to you.

"Hey y/n you should start getting ready, we'll be in Mocktown in 10 minutes." Says Jozu, who is hauling in the sail with a few shipmen.

"Thanks boss!" You call out to your commander.

You could already see it in the distance, the island of Jaya. You quickly made your way to your private cabin. Of course you don't want to go ashore completely in a bikini, even if the weather is good, but Mocktown is still a criminal city and you have no desire to be seen as a cheap prostitute.

You quickly put on a short pleated skirt, attach your gun holster to your thigh and for a moment you think about whether you should just leave your bikini on or put on a shirt. You shrug your shoulders and think to yourself, why not?

Even if some idiots whistle after you, you'll always be at the safest place in the world with your crew members. After all, you're one of the Whitebeard pirates.

Just before you were about to go ashore with Whitey, you stop on your heels.

You watch as Ace is already on land, in the company of a few lightly dressed girls. You can see how much he enjoys being wooed by the beautiful women. He's such a show off. You think to yourself as you roll your eyes.

"Well well, where are your eyes going again, sweetie." It wasn't a question... Whitey knows exactly who you're watching as she stands next to you at the railing. She rests one elbow on the railing and puts her chin in one hand.

"Just look at him… The way he flaunts himself in front of those chicks and acts like a clown... bleurgh..." Not in a million years would you admit that the show Ace gives these women is fucking dope. He plays with his devil fruit power like a fire eater, juggling fireballs, surrounding himself with flames and giving the ladies a little show.

It clearly annoys you and somehow you don't like it, that the ladies are allowed to admire Ace so obviously.

You don't think twice and start to act. You point one finger in Ace's direction and move your index finger in small circular movements.

Behind Ace, who is still playing with his fire, the water on the shore rises without anyone noticing. When the water is high enough, you pull your finger slightly to the right and all the water falls on Ace and extinguishes him.

Steam rises from Ace as he stands in front of the women, drenched in water. He tries to shake some of the water off him, which makes you laugh.

You quickly leave the ship with your friend and together you go to your troop of the third division.

Whitey hooks her arm into yours and comes a little closer to your ear so no one can hear her words.

"You jealous, beastly bitch…" You give her a humming laugh. You may be jealous, but what does it matter? That crush will soon fade away anyway.

While you and Whitey ran a few errands for the whole crew, Jozu waited for you and watched who went in and out of the store. Two beautiful women like you need to be protected in a shady place like this. It's not that you're weak, it's more like a rule.

You came out of the store with a lot of bags. Jozu's eyes widened as he looked over the bulging shopping bags.

"What have you bought again? Do we really need all this?" He questioned but also grabbed all the purchases to carry them for you.

You look up at the tall man with a raised eyebrow.

"Well listen Jozu. You're lucky we do this shopping, if we didn't, we could wipe our asses with meat because food is all YOU think about!" You boldly point your finger at your commander, who shrinks back a little with beads of sweat on his face.

A nervous laugh escapes his lips and he apologizes quietly.

"Save it boss. At least we can decide what quality the paper is. The last person who was responsible for this basically bought sandpaper!" You complain with your arms crossed as you walk down the street. The commander and Whitey laugh at your little tantrum, but your walk is suddenly interrupted when a small child falls in front of you and different items fall from his arms.

Bread and fruit rolled across the ground and to your feet. The boy hastily jumped up and picked up the food. You didn't hesitate and went straight to the ground to help the child. You immediately notice how anxiously the child looks around and seems to want to get away very quickly.

"Hey are you okay kiddo?" You ask carefully with so much care in your voice, which is rarely heard from you. You are known for being quick and merciless, but with children you become a big sis.

The boy, no more than 8 years old, looked up at you with fear in his eyes when he saw the Jolly Roger on your skirt. Again he dropped his food, fell to the ground and frantically scrambled backwards. Meanwhile, you can hear an angry mob in the distance. You suspect the boy has stolen the food by the look of him.

No shoes, torn clothes and a dirty face. The sight makes you sad; it reminds you of yourself. You were just like him before Whitebeard took you in.

You stand protectively in front of the boy and Jozu and Whitey also stand around the boy so that he is protected from all sides.

You keep your hand ready to draw your revolver in case of need. The angry people shout and demand that you hand the boy over, but you're definitely not going to do that. The little boy didn't even steal much and from the looks of it, the food seemed more like scraps that the stores threw in the trash.

You click your tongue. You can't believe they get so angry when it's just a few pathetic scraps. You lose your patience and in the blink of an eye you've already shot all the angry people in front of their feet. The people were visibly frightened by your speed and people around you started whispering.

"Oh my god it's the Whitebeard pirates!" - "Look! Jozu, the commander of the third devision…" - "And isn't that the right hand; the Revolver?"

By Revolver, they mean you. That's your nickname, but only for the rest of the world. In fact, you have to thank the Marines for that cool nickname. They didn't know your real name because you were just a teenager living on the street, you were born without a name.

Back then you were already pretty good with a revolver, it helped you keep yourself afloat but it was a dirty life. You quickly became known to the Marines and had your own wanted poster with the name 'Revolver'.

Then one day you came across Whitebeard and you set your mind on robbing him... You knew who he was but you were ignorant and thought you were faster than him but you were definitely no match for Whitebeard... You could count yourself lucky because he saw potential in you and asked you to join his crew.

Whitebeard was also the one who gave you your name and since then you see it as your duty to make him proud as a daughter.

You suddenly heard a man's voice calling from above and your gaze went up to the roofs.

"Hey, what's with all the ruckus?" The sun blinds you a little and with squinted eyes you could make out Ace's silhouette. Ace landed in front of you with a wave of fire and the people froze, no longer looking angry but more like they were shitting their pants. One of them took to his legs in his hands and screamed as he ran away.

"Nope, the commander and the revolver are already a big deal, but you can't survive Ace's devastating fire!" Ace just laughed like a fool and held his stomach as he watched the wimps make a run for their lives.

Your attention was on the boy who threw himself crying into your arms. You stroked his head and Jozu and Whitey picked up the food again.

"Hm, unfortunately the food is already pretty dirty… you can't eat that." Whitey whispered to Jozu.

When you notice a shadow above you, you look up at Ace, who was looking at the boy with a serious face. The look surprised you quite a bit, There is no trace of his usually playful expression that Ace always has.

He crouches down to you two and reaches into his pocket to pull out a bag.

"Hey little guy, do you live alone?" The little boy sniffled heavily before answering him.

"No, I live with my mother and two brothers..." - "Heyyyy, I have two brothers too!" The boy turned around. The fact that Ace was talking to him seemed to calm him down a little. No wonder, Ace had once again made a unique appearance and looked like a cool superhero. You watch Ace interact with the boy.

"Really?" - "Yeah, I'm the oldest of the three of us!" The boy wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

"I'm also the oldest of us…" - "Yeah, that's what I thought… You just wanted to look after your family, didn't you?" Ace said as he looked at the food. The tears rolled down his dirty cheeks again as the boy nodded in agreement.

"You know what? This should be enough for now... buy plenty of food with it and make sure no one catches you with that much money!" Ace placed a sack full of money in the boy's hand. The weight caused the boy's slender hand to drop a little and his eyes widened with tears.

"Are you serious?" Ace just smiled at him with a nod and patted him on the head. He straightened up again and your eyes went up to him, mesmerized by his kindness. He gave him quite a lot of money and once again you found another reason to like Ace. The way he treated the child warms your heart, but inside you curse yourself...

When you arrived at the pub, you took a seat in a corner, where a few others from your division were already sitting and the waiters brought you your drinks.

Ace, on the other hand, begged and pleaded with the owner of the bar to let him pay later, but the owner knows the area and doesn't trust anyone to pay their debts.

You could no longer stand to watch your second commander beg a measly bartender and with an annoyed groan you made your way over to Ace.

"What do you want Ace." You say coolly, not even looking at him. Ace quickly realizes what you're up to and his sad face turns to joy.

"Food and booze!" He puts his hands together as if worshipping you. You somehow like that he makes himself small and a tiny smile appears on your face.

"Let the man order what he wants, I'll pay for it." - "Awww y/n, you got something good with me!" You raise an eyebrow as you look into his wide grin. He's pretty close to you and you draw in your breath inaudibly as your heart threatens to explode but you don't let it show on the outside.

Before your face turns completely red, you turn around and go back to your seat.

How you missed just sitting in one of those shabby pubs, laughing with your comrades while prying ears tried to listen to the stories you could tell.

But today it's all about fun and relaxing, so there's nothing important for the shady characters around to catch. Anyway, you wouldn't be stupid enough to discuss important things in public. Maybe their eyes are only on you because they are curious or even tense.

With every sip of your drink, the desire to mess with one of the dark figures increases. You're in the mood for a bar fight, because the last few weeks have been pretty quiet.

You were undercover in Alabasta for a long time and two weeks ago your crew picked you up again. You're glad to be out of there. All that sand and the dry air has damaged your skin and you've really missed life on the Moby Dick.

You realized that a lot had changed during your absence, because suddenly there was a new commander. The commander of the second division to be precise. Jozu had informed you about the latest events from time to time, but you hadn't expected Ace.

"Hey doll, I've never seen you here before…" A halfway attractive guy blabbered at you from the side while swaying and leaning onto your table.

Your eyes shift to the side without moving your head. That guy reeks of alcohol... Brave of him to talk to you, but maybe this could be the entertainment you've been looking for?

Your lips are curled in to a malicious smile. You look up at him with your dreamy eyes.

"What's up, big boy?" you wink at him in a seductive voice. You can probably get a few drinks out of him while thinking about how much money you've already spent, since Ace drinks like a hangover is just a rumor... If the drunk refuses, you can always blow a bullet through his head and be done with him.

It was easier than you thought to wrap the rascal around your fingers and he bought not only you a drink but also the others! You almost felt sorry for him when you pulled his wallet out of his coat but well… you're a thief and a pirate. It's his own fault because he couldn't take his eyes off you. It was just too easy.

"Ohhh y/n that was really nasty again. The poor guy really thought you fancied him."

You answer your commander with a little dirty laugh. Unconcerned, you shrug your shoulders and sip your newly snatched drink, paid with the money you stole from the guy whose name you don't even remember.

"'Aww come on… it's funny. The 'poor' guy, as you call him, will arrive at the hotel, go to the room and meet whoever the hell is there!" you laugh diabolically until tears gather in your eyes. You're not the only one laughing… the others are laughing too and even Jozu has to admit to himself that it's hilarious.

You've done this a couple of times and every time you've proved how dick driven guys can be...

You really played with that guy's mind when you flirted with him. Little random touches and your laughter sounded so sincere as he told his stories... But in the end, guys usually want more than just to sit in a pub with you, so you always come up with something new.

On the way to the pub you saw a hostel… So you wrote down that exact hostel and a room number on a piece of paper. You told him that you would meet him there later at 8 pm because you still wanted to have some fun with your crew and the idiot believed you.

Whitey started to laugh, she seemed to be imagining the whole thing.

"I wonder who he'll run into in that room?" You all burst out laughing. Too bad you won't find out.

The evening went pretty well and you have to admit that Ace is a pretty cool guy. He was one of the few who raised the mood and you kept catching each other sneaking glances.

The table gradually emptied until only Jozu, Whitey, Ace and you were left. Jozu told you the story how Ace wanted to kill Whitebeard at the beginning. The stories made you laugh like crazy. You were already stupid, but killing Whitebeard? That's crazy.

You caught Ace blushing a little and scratching his head in shame while Jozu was talking, but he let Jozu talk about his stupid actions. Because of his sweet expressions, your laughter slowly died down as you looked up at him. Over time, your seats had changed so that you were sitting between Whitey and Ace and you press your elbow into his side.

"Oh don't make such a face Ace. I think that makes you really likeable!" Like the buddy you are, you raise your drink to him and symbolize that you want to clink glasses with him.

Ace froze for a moment because of you. He wasn't used to you beeing like this but he actually likes this side of you. He returns your grin and clinks glasses with you.

Usually you're not that bitchy. You get along with everyone. Ace is the only one you were so distant with from the start, and not just because he swept you off your feet. It sounds shallow, but from the first moment you saw him, you felt a spark inside you. A slight tickle in your chest.

The real reason for your cold manner is rather because he was given the position of commander of the second division. You worked really hard for the position and were one of the few candidates, but suddenly he comes along aaaand gets the job. You didn't even know that Ace was the one when he stood in front of you. It was only later that Jozu told you that he was the one who got the job and the spark in you shattered like a mirror.

But you have to admit that Ace is still doing a good job. He's actually pretty strong. You remember how some wannabe pirates tried to attack you, but Ace quickly wiped them out by setting their ship on fire. It was kind of beautiful… this burning ship in the middle of the ocean…

"Hey girl what are you thinking about?" Whitey nudges you while you're lost in thoughts holding your chin in your hand.

"Ace…" you babble, responding directly to her question but in a rather absent manner. All of you react immediately to your answer…

Whitey looks at you with a raised eyebrow while Ace freezes as he drinks. You quickly realize that you've somehow admitted that you were thinking about Ace. Oh dear, you probably had a little too much to drink… You straighten up and clear your throat.

"…Ace… tell me… where are you from?" You try to rock the boat, even though you think it's in vain, but luckily for you, the dark haired man answers you and joins in ignoring what you just said. The mood is a little awkward, but from the outside you don't allow to show any signs of embarrassment… On the inside, however, you're ripping the hair from your head in humiliation.

"Oh dear, look at the clock, it's almost 8pm… I think I'd better get back to the Moby before that guy comes back after he finds out I'm not staying at that hostel." A little slyly, you laugh into your hand as you stand up.

"I should go with you…" Ace gets right up and wants to follow you "…you know, in case you run into him and need some firepower." You look back over your shoulder at him and grin as he forms a finger gun with his hand and shoots little balls of fire.

"Do what you gotta do Firefist…" You voiced his name a little sexier than you intended, but you're so drunk right now that you don't give a fuck.

As you walked side by side through the dark alleys, you had the feeling that you didn't want the evening to end. You are alone with Ace. No one would tease you for it, seeing how well you get along with him all of a sudden…

"Hey Ace… Wanna go flick some rocks on the waterside?" He looks at you a bit surprised, while you continue to look ahead.

"Yeah sure, sounds fun!"

And so it came that the two of you were flicking stones over the water's surface a little away from the city. You made it a competition to see how many times you could bounce the stone on the water and you expected nothing less than Ace to have a good hand.

You watch him as he skillfully swings out from the hip to throw the pebble. His muscles twitched slightly as he released the tension in his body. It's a good thing he runs around without a shirt…

As you both watch the stone splash across the surface, Ace breaks the silence.

"Listen y/n, I know you were supposed to get the commander's spot and I think you would have pretty much rocked the position…" You perk up at his words…

I would have got the position? You've never heard that before. Ace had to grin a little when he saw your questioning face.

"Yes, Edward told me that he wanted to leave the second division to you… But in the end he decided against it." You both took a seat on the beach and you looked thoughtfully at the open sea.

What made him choose Ace as commander and not me? What does he have, that I don't?

Ace finally gets a chance to look at your face in peace. You look so harmless and gentle as you gaze out to the sea. Your eyes literally shine due to the moon's reflection in the water.

"Do you want to know why?" You turn your head and look directly into his black eyes.

"Sure…" you answer a little absently as you look repeatedly at his lips. Ace leaned back, propped himself up on his elbows and looked up at the starry sky.

"He told me a lot about you, how he took you in and how he views you. He treats us all like his children, but he once said to me that if he had a daughter, she would definitely be like you…" You pull your legs towards you and hide your smile. You know he treats you a little differently from the others, that's definitely no secret.

Even though you were thirteen when he took you in, he was the parent you've always longed for. He raised you and taught you your values. He has a great influence on you…

Even though these words flatter you, they don't satisfy you. You lean back and cross your arms behind your head.

"Well, if I mean that much to him, he should name me commander of the first division!" You say cheekily, but more in a funny way. Ace bursts out laughing and lies on his side to look at you.

"I don't know why either… I think you're super strong…" His praise is like music to your ears and it makes you even happier that he doesn't stop.

"I've heard the name Revolver a few times, but your wanted poster didn't reveal much about your appearance… There were stories told around the taverns… about the legendary Revolver shooting faster than his shadow and being quick as lightning." You start to laugh.

"Sounds like a cowboy." Ace looks down at himself, smirking, and you stop laughing when you notice him taking off his hat.

"The only thing missing is the hat…" he whispers to you as he puts his hat on your head. For a moment, you find yourselves trapped in the endless silence. You have already blocked out the sound of the waves and the only thing you can hear is Ace's breathing.

You think you've never looked into someone's eyes for so long before and if you're honest, you don't intend to look away. You catch your breath as Ace brushes a strand of hair out of your face and as a response to his warmth, you slightly open your mouth.

"The first time I saw you on the Moby Dick, talking to Whitebeard, I knew you were the special daughter, but I would never have guessed you were also the Revolver." - "Ah yes?" You ask him a little provocatively, meanwhile you've also rolled onto your side so that you're both facing each other with your upper bodies.

Ace is giving you a hard time, as he absently goes with his teeth over his lips, while looking down to gather his words.

"I actually thought the legendary Revolver was a guy who could be a good mate." His eyes glance past you as he grins a little sheepishly.

"Oh are you disappointed that I'm not a guy?" - "Quite the opposite…" He carefully moves his hand over the sand until he touches your fingers like it's just pure coincidence. You don't quite react to his touch, you're more interested in what he says next.

"You're also not from bad parents, Firefist…" The heated atmosphere between you is hard to ignore. Ace finally dares to lean down towards you and you can already see what's coming. You place a finger on his lips and gently press him back.

"But I don't have time for playing games with boys…" Your words escape your lips in a whisper as you search his eyes for a reaction.

"I'm not a boy y/n, I'm a man." He couldn't have said it better. His words trigger feelings in you that you desperately want to explore and lightly you support yourself to rest your lips on his.

The kiss is so gentle and innocent, as if your lips have to get used to the incredible feeling. The fire that Ace ignites in you is a thousand times stronger than anything you've ever felt before and yet your lips barely touched.

Your chest expands with excitement as Ace increases the pressure on your lips and grabs the back of your neck with one hand. You lean back slightly and enjoy the feeling of his hold.

"Ace?" You break the kiss and speak softly against his lips.

"I don't want to share a man. I want you all to myself, you understand?" You know that Ace is a womanizer and you have the feeling that he could break your heart… no matter how much you enjoy this… you're still crew members.

"I'd be crazy if I didn't take Whitebeard's favorite seriously…" Ace's words on your lips make everything in your stomach twist and somewhat out of control, you lean against him. You want to feel his fire.

You don't hesitate for long and your lips quickly meet again. This time neither of you takes the time because this rising feeling is so strong that you both have to let it out.

Ace's other hand wanders along your side while still holding the back of your neck. The tingling sensation gathers directly in your lower middle and you throw your arms around his neck, causing Ace to fall backwards a little. Eagerly, you explore his upper body with your fine fingers and go up and down his muscular frame.

While Ace gains access into your mouth, he pulls you by your arm onto his lap so that you sit on him without your lips parting once.

You begin to feel like you're craving another body for the very first time and slightly out of breath, you pull away from his lips.

You look down at Ace as he stares up at you with hungry eyes. His gaze is already so fucking hot and you long for more reactions in his face.

Your hand goes lightly to your back to undo the bow of your bikini but Ace stops you.

"Let me touch you y/n…" His voice is deeper than usual and there's something so playful about it that you can't help but surrender to him completely.

Ace's hands wander along your side until his hands are on your breasts. You've been used to the cool air for a long time, but it's Ace's hands that gives you goose bumps as they brush against your bare skin. Your nipples harden as Ace brushes your bikini top aside.

For a moment, he enjoys your womanly curves and the way the moon glistens on your skin.

"You're so fucking hot…" Ace suddenly comes up to you and pulls you into an intense French kiss. You rest your hands on his shoulders and moan slightly as he places skillful kisses on your neck. His hands rest on your hips only to push you back and forth on his lap with circular movements to relieve his arousal.

Ace knows exactly the right moves to get you going and caresses one of your nipples with his tongue while lightly pinching and pulling the other.

These overwhelming sensations make you laugh like a dirty whore as you start to move your hips to feel his erection against your wet panties. You are happier than ever that you are wearing a skirt today. But you don't want to have a dry fuck as you are far too wet for that. You want to feel Ace's dick sliding inside you…

You push Ace backwards and force him to lie down while you undo the belt of Ace's pants with your free hand.

"So we're about to get down to business, huh?" he grins dirtily at you as he crosses his arms behind his head. You run your tongue over your teeth and return his grin.

"We'll have plenty of time to explore each other thoroughly, darling." You wink at him and his breathing quickens a little as you grab his member to get it out of his pants.

Fascinated, you run your hand up and down his shaft, causing the otherwise ruthless man beneath you to whimper in relief. His cock gets a little firmer as your hand touches it, to which your cunt reacts in equal measure.

You lift yourself up a little, pull your slip to the side and place Ace's already hard cock in front of your entrance. As the tip of his cock touched your soft folds, a shiver ran down your spine and you slowly let its entire length disappear inside of you. As he filled you completely, Ace moaned in a deep, satisfied voice.

"That's never felt so good as it does now y/n…" His broken voice sends the next shiver down your spine and the growl in his voice runs through you.

At first you wanted to move slowly to get used to the filling sensation of his glory but Ace had other plans...

He bent his legs and started thrusting into you, sending you into bliss over and over again.

You're really glad that you're far away from anyone because you can fully indulge in the sensation and moan to your heart's content.

You have no idea how long this up and down has been going on, but you have the feeling that hours as well as just seconds could have passed.

You lean down to him to taste his lips on yours, but you pull away again because you enjoy it more when you straighten your back as Ace fills you up completely. You don't even think about stopping riding Ace and when you see his hat you somehow have the urge to put it on.

With some effort you reach for Ace's hat which was lying in the sand and put it on while you enjoy riding him to the fullest. The sight of you topless, in just your skirt and his hat, is enough to drive Ace crazy. He can barely contain his voice and moans like he's never done before.

"Mhhm yeah, ride me, cowgirl." His voice a little hoarse and dangerous.

That's probably the second nickname you really like.

Masterlist

Oh Ace.... ♡

➽ Next chapter

#one piece #ace x reader #portgas d ace x reader #portgas d ace #one shot ace #ace one piece #portgas ace x you #portgas d ace smut #portgas d ace one piece #ace x you

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thekeeperof-thefandoms · 2 months

Text

Hazbin Hotel characters react to your stims

(I'm doing my personal favorite characters, so if there are others you wanna see, ask me. They may also be slightly OOC.)

Vox

You can't convince me this man doesn't also have ADHD. He's just spent decades masking it, as well as most of himself, to present a perfect image. Probably heard the term as it got more well known but didn't really connect the dots until meeting you.

He fidgets a lot, tapping his claws, bouncing his legs, can't sit in a fucking chair properly.

Doesn't realize he's overstimulated and burnt out from multi tasking dozens of screens until you point it out.

Once he's aware of it you help him manage his work better so he can be less stimulated and tense. You buy him proper fidget toys to mess with and he makes himself some top of the line bass boosted sound canceling headphones. He gives you a pair, too. When you're both alone, you look up songs with loaded bass in 8d just to watch each other twitch and involuntarily move your head with the sound.

That's about the extent of the conscious level of unmasking he'll do though. He gets self conscious.

But, he adores the fact you're comfortable enough to stim around him. Or in public. He can and will violently end people for even giving you dirty looks for stimming in public.

If you show excitement and joy over being around someone through happy noms he will literally get heart eyes. Just be careful where you bite him because it may lead to something else.

He's happy to let you stim, which means tricking him into doing it more.

He remembers and sub consciously absorbs your echolalias or any word replacements you use. If you do a lot of call and response vocals he learns them. (Call and response is basically when you memorize a sound with two people. One calls the other responds. You can just say both parts yourself ((I do)) but it's more satisfying with someone else).

If you do happy flappies this man will short circuit. (He will laugh if you accidentally smack yourself though).

If you squeal and kick you may give him a heart attack. He thought you were hurt or something. He gets used to it eventually but it still startles him.

Vox is also a chatter box so you two can info dump about special interests to each other for hours. Neither one of you expects the other to remember details, but the fact you don't tell each other to shut up and are content to do your own thing while listening to your partner/friend gush is enough.

He has long since forced himself into strict routines so if you struggle to get tasks started or get distracted in the middle of them he's understanding but stern. Tends to cause more harm than good because he talks down to you unintentionally.

If you're a visual/hands on learner he also gets frustrated with you for wasting hours trying to figure it out yourself and getting yourself upset instead of just letting him do it for you. You get into a lot of fights about it at first. He gets better when he sees it genuinely prevents you from enjoying things or trying new things and that you just kinda default to defeated and helpless. He didn't mean to make you feel dumb, he just doesn't understand why you wouldn't want help. Until the tables turn and as he's getting worked up over something he can't figure out and you just stare at him.

He finally snaps at you what the hell you're doing and you smirk "need help? Why don't I just do it for you and you watch? Come on, you've been struggling for an hour, stop being so stubborn and just let me do it. I'll show you later, it's not hard." You feed his own lines back at him and his stomach drops.

"Oh....that feels...mmmm. Nope! Don't like that. Ok. Won't happen again, doll."

Realistically if you work with him and you make mouth noises a lot (bird whistles, tongue clicks, humming, random shrieks) he will get annoyed. It's distracting him and sometimes you don't realize you're doing it and mess up anything he tries to record. The first few times he snaps at you and it causes problems (hello rejection sensitive dysphoria) but eventually he learns how to better talk to you/communicate without accidentally convincing you he hates you.

Alastor

Probably on the spectrum himself, but it also could just be his anti-social habits. Either way he finds you entertaining and your bouts of sporadic energy and gremlin like behavior don't phase him. He's been dealing with Niffty for years.

If you sing or hum a lot to get work done, or listen to music he's all for it. But if you're the type of ADHD where work fast music=horny and bass he'll insist you wear headphones. If you're content to listen to swing (he'll compromise with electroswing) or jazz, he'll play the radio for you.

He doesn’t even care if you're a good singer or not, he just likes seeing you get into it. Will show off by singing it better than you though.

If you're someone who picks your fingers or skin, he'll slap your hands. You bleeding is making him hungry and distracting him. He'll find you something else to do with your hands. Same with nail biting.

He tends to pull his hair when stressed so if you stim with your hair he gets it and unless it's harmful (eating/pulling) he'll leave it, but if you're like him he's either cutting your hair short or braiding it.

Will die before admitting it but thinks you flapping, hopping, clapping, squealing is the most adorable thing ever. Also, laughs at you if you smack yourself, though.

Doesn't understand your memes so half your echolalia go over his head and he just kinda stares at you.

Scolds you for not sitting in the chair properly.

Smiles, nods, and occasionally says "that's nice dear" when you info dump. It's not that he doesn't care, he just can't listen to something he's not interested in for that long.

Mouth noises make his eye twitch but so long as they don't interrupt him, he won't scold you.

He understands you're not dumb but he also doesn't have the patience to help your or wait for you to get things done so he does them for you and tells you stop pouting when you get upset with him.

He likes you enough to not reject your touch and enjoys being in your space, but please refrain from happy biting the cannibal. He will bite back and it's less cute when he does.

Lucifer

The original AUDHD. You two chatter for hours about special interests.

He makes you stim toys.

You two do the adhd laugh so hard over dumb shit you gotta hold onto and smack each other thing. You both wind up on the floor.

Literally would never talk down to you or trigger your RSD. He's spent centuries feeling like he's constantly annoying, dumb, and struggling to time manage and do tasks.

Is equally fed up with people offering to do things for him because he can do it he just needs help getting started. The more you ask if he wants you to do it or when he's gonna do it the harder it is. So you two just sorta hobble together a system for getting shit done.

It's not perfect but if it gets outta hand he can just snap his fingers and fix it.

He happy flaps with his hands and wings and constantly knocks you or other shit over. It embarrasses him but you're in love. You two sometimes hold hands to do the happy bounce squeal, shaking each other.

He initiates happy bites more than you do. Honestly you both start looking like chew toys.

You two echolali all the time and share new ones you find. If you ever can't find each other, just shout one of your current vocal stims and he'll respond.

Literally, the definition of choas couple.

#hazbin hotel imagine #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin lucifer #hazbin hotel vox #vox x reader #alastor x reader #lucifer x reader

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savannahsdeath · 8 months

Note

heyy! this is my first time asking a request but can you do more mafia ellie? i love her sm omg 🤭

MAFIA!ELLIE X READER

mdni please<3

warnings: 18+!! mentions of ellie not having time for reader;(( finger sucking? cum eating just smut and ellie ending up shoving her fingers in your mouth because .

writers note: inspired by @seattlesellie 's fic though hers about abby 🤭(read it here) .. i found it days ago and just couldnt get this out of my head goshhh and finding it again was so hard !!

: ̗̀➛ "yeah, good fuckin' job." ellie mumbled in a raspy whisper.

you could see her arm muscles tense as her grip on her phone tightened. you bit your lip and threw your head back, leaning it on her shoulder.

it wasn't supposed to be like that. not at all.

: ̗̀➛ she told you she has a day off - well, she's her own boss, so she could have one any day, but her job is hard to take a break of. there's always some problems or complications. or unexpected calls, like this one. of course, she apologised a hundred times before picking it off (not really, she just murmured a half-assed 'sorry, babe'), but it didn't make it any less annoying.

: ̗̀➛ so you ended up pressed against her chest with legs spread wide open, making room for her right hand, which, much to your surprise, didn't slid out of you.

"ellie—" you let out a desperate mewl, feeling her fingers slow down as her focus shifted to the person on the phone.

she shushed you, planting a loving kiss on your neck, which only added fuel to your neediness.

"i know." she whispered, curling her fingers inside of you to prove her point. she straightened up as if whoever she was talking with could see her previous posture. "uhh, yeah... could you repeat?"

her every move would force a sound out of the back of your throat, every touch of her lips on your neck whenever she wasn't the one speaking left dark marks on your skin. you held onto her hand, digging your nails into her forearm what didn't bother her at all. being silent wasn't easy, it took lots of self-control which disappeared in ellie's presence.

: ̗̀➛ it was even harder when the "good fuckin' job" turned out to be something more like "fucked job". that's when you finally earned her focus. her fingers found the perfect way to calm her down, take some anger out and let her listen to your beautiful moans. you really tried to be quiet, but all you could do is purse your lips, what only muffled all the little whimpers.

"look, if you don't figure it out till tomorrow, you're fucking dead." she hissed, her frustration spreading through her whole body - from head to toes.

you felt the electricity cumulating in her fingers, you felt how mad she was. oh, yes, you felt that.

"i—" you whined, tugging on her arm to get even more of the attention.

"hushh..." she clicked her tongue, turning back to her phone. "i'm not kidding. your wife's gonna get your head as a christmas gift, if i'll feel generous."

every single word that escaped her mouth caused another gasp from you, because you didn't really listen to how harsh her statement was, you just enjoyed her raspy voice which was perfectly sychronised with her fingers. when she spoke slowly, her movement would also slow down, and, oh, how much you wanted to beg her to hang up.

"i don't care— no, shush, shut up." she hissed, but you felt better at the thought of you not being the only one who has to stay quiet now. "i have no idea how you'll do it, but you will, or i swear to god i—" her slim digits digged into you as she kissed your cheek, mumbling a tired; "fuckin' idiots" close to your ear while pulling away.

the man on the phone must start to get nervous, as his pathetic voice was now audible even for you. he kept apologizing and rambling nonsense, though ellie wasn't really interested in his excuses. plus, she had other things to do.

she used the little break as much as she could, pumping her fingers in and out of you and even slightly withdrawing her phone from her ear so she could listen to the sticky, dirty noises. nuzzling her face in your neck, she let out a long hum, either satisfied at the sound or to make the poor man think she cares. maybe both.

eventually, she continued her conversation. not forgetting about a disappointed, dramatic sigh first, of course. "any last wish?" she asked with an obvious smirk.

his voice raised even more, now not only apologizing but begging her for forgiveness. ellie never hurt any of her 'workers', unless they were traitors, so the fact that he took her seriously seemed unusual and, at some point, hilarious.

: ̗̀➛ you were so close, finally, after minutes of this torture - of your satisfaction disappearing for a few seconds just to come back... just to leave again, making your neediness take over. you bit your lip and looked at ellie, plopping your head on the crook of her neck. she felt how fastly and roughly you exhaled against her collarbone, grinning in amusement. you shifted, pressing your back even harder to her chest so you could feel it raising and falling as she breathes. your eyelids fell, making you get lost in a dark maze of every possible sense but sight.

"ellielliellie!" you whined, her name rang out in the dense, cold air.

your voice could be definitely heard on the other side of the phone, though the man didn't even stop his panicked rambling, what probably meant he was too busy to notice it.

she tsked as your throbbing walls clenched around her, her soaked fingers dripping on her palm. the ache which was persistently located somewhere deep in your body, maybe in the core of your bones, and didn't want to let go of you finally subsided. your hands almost unconsciously rested against your sides and as you opened your eyes you could see little moon shapes left on her forearm, where your nails digged into her.

it took you by complete surprise, not giving you time to react - though you wouldn't do anything anyway - before your pornographic moan got cut off with her digits sliding inside of your mouth. your saliva pooled down as your teeth grazed her flesh; salty and,, callous. her palm rested against your chin, forcing you to keep it raised.

"el—luhh" you tried to mumble but it came out as nothing like your girlfriend's name. it was slobbery, unclear and— disgusting.

she turned back to her phone, making you only able to guess what her expression was but she was, without a doubt, smirking. your tongue flopped flat beneath / against her fingers, earning a hum from ellie. as your pouty lips closed around her, her digits moved in deeper, causing you to gag for a second.

"c'mon, you'll live." she rolled her eyes, and you weren't sure which one of you is she talking to now - you, or the man who thinks he fights for his life, when in reality his 'threat' doesn't even listen to him?

your view range was violated by her grip, but you could see how unbothered she was through the corner of your eye. you could feel it - feel that her thighs don't tremble and clench, or that her breath is steady and deep, unlike yours.

as she shoved her fingers almost knuckles deep in your mouth, she spread them as if to gesture scissors and you swore you can read her mind, so you twirled your tongue around them, cleaning them up. your own juices got replaced with just as messy saliva, which small droplets cumulated in the corner of your lips. you couldn't help but suck on her digits, and the action itself made your eyes watery.

"you'll stay silent now, 'kay?" she spoke up in a mocking tone, and you couldn't tell who is she talking to again - no matter which one of you it was, you knew she wasn't asking and you hoped that the man realizes it too.

still, you nodded, making her whole hand follow your movements, what almost felt like she's the one controlling your body's reaction.

"of course you will." she cooed in a serious voice, though there was a different undertone - laced with taunting sweetnes.

✧˖°

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writingmeraki · 1 year

Text

min ho as your bf hcs !

genre : fluff ! romance !

pairing : min ho x gn!reader, strangers to friends to oblivious idiots to lovers :)

warnings : insecurity and jealousy ( not anything too alarming ), attempt at comedy, kissing, not proofread ! ( lmk if i missed anything ! ) also self indulgent at times 😔

author's note : dawg it's 5:30 am pulled this out of the two last living braincells of my brains to dip my toes into this xo kitty craze i am having, especially for min ho but anyways! idk if i like this, ( it's normal I'm so sorry I'm never sure if i like what i write at times because i end up writing at the ass crack of dawn and that too unhinged 😔) i kinda find it longer than i intended it to be but hope you like it <3 I'll be writing more if I get feedback and expect something else soon :)

word count : 3.4k (💀)

how you met !

- You'd both met when it was your first day at KISS.

- Well since it's Min ho, i feel like it would take a lot for someone to put an impression on him to make him remember them.

- At the welcome party, he was pretty bored, already used to these types of parties when you'd walk in, clueless looking like a deer in headlights, in your pretty little outfit.

- It definitely made him curious nonetheless, even though you seemed lost, you still had a smile, maintaining a confident aura.

- You'd probably be nervous on the inside though, but lucky for you, someone like you, that was Kitty, happened to also seem lost.

- You both connected immediately, her being new to Korea wanting to get to know her own roots and ofc her boyfriend more while you were there because you'd been wanting a change from your life back home and what better city than Seoul !

- Well okay, you didn't really pick it, it was more so of you just throwing a dart at the map back in your room to choose where you wanted to go as a fresh start and it landed on Seoul. You'd call it fate.

- Now back to the party, as you chattered with Kitty, you walked into someone and you felt your breath hitch, upon seeing him.

- It did feel like those cliche weird movie moments, when you think that this is probably it.

- As he was obviously annoyed at Kitty, he turned to the person beside her and his eyes widened.

- It was you. The one that caught his eye right at the beginning.

- Before anything, you flashed your soft smile at him, an apologetic look in your eyes, apologizing for bumping into him, on behalf of Kitty

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to bump into you, I can get you some paper towels?" You said gently and Min ho definitely wanted to continue hearing you, already really loving the way you sounded.

Q would definitely be shocked though, seeing him look flustered, and staring at you, blinking twice. He never thought he'd ever see his best friend being so…speechless.

He literally had to bump his shoulder to snap him out of daze which seemed to have worked, for the most part.

- You all introduced yourselves, finding out they'd been Dae, Kitty's boyfriend's best friends, and with the way she seemed a bit taken aback by the way she looked at Min ho made you feel like you'd definitely didn't know something.

- And unknowingly both Q and Kitty did notice, sharing a puzzled look, at Min ho's state. They'd met a while ago but clearly there was already something there. A new thing, blooming slowly.

how you got together !

- And fast forward a bit, Kitty who was true to her matchmaking skills, knew you both liked each other.

- You'd both hang out often over the few weeks, connecting more and despite her own love life being confused, she was determined to make you both realize you were oblivious idiots who liked each other, idiots nonetheless.

- He'd upgraded to talking freely around you more, but you found out he wasn't the shy person you thought he was the first time you met him, the very next day, when he began to compliment himself and flash his annoyingly handsome smirk at you.

- But despite his cockiness, you knew he cared about those he loved. Small gestures and actions are proof enough. He was someone who cared without showing it much, giving gifts was his love language and that only made you more convinced you'd definitely gained feelings for him.

- And alas, you came to her, spilling out your feelings, how you had already found him attractive since the first time you saw him, at first you genuinely thought he'd be a jerk, knowing better than to think a handsome face had a good personality.

- And as much as you were terrifyingly nervous of having such a revelation regarding a boy you'd met only a few months ago now, you don't think you'd ever regret liking someone like Min ho.

-Now it was up to the matchmaker to make you both realize you were meant to be.

-The perfect match, in her words and Min ho definitely scoffed at her words when she confronted him about his own feelings, definitely not because you had said to never ever mention anything about how you felt to him, she just wanted to make sure, and as always her gut was right.

- As much as he scoffed at her words recalling his own family, he couldn't stop his own heart from fluttering as he thought of being together with you, and even to him, this revelation made him a bit taken aback but he was sure, he was sure about how he felt about you.

- They all planned to get you to confess during the camping trip, unsurprisingly all of your mutual friends knowing you had both liked each other and agreed, getting tired of seeing you pining for each other in secret, as cute as it was.

-Kitty would tell you to dress up nicely, saying she had planned a dinner, making up excuses about how there was this spot, perfect for chilling, you did find her behavior a bit odd, but with her persuasive nature, you agreed.

- She made you wear this one outfit, it was one you'd bought and adored a lot, you didn't even know you had packed it, but it made you look amazing and was made for you, in Kitty's words.

- Then she did your hair and applied light make up, your suspicions being even more, asking her a million questions about whether all this was really necessary if it's going to be just us chilling, her just dismissing your questions.

- Min ho wasn't too different on the other end, but Q knew him. Min ho was one who dressed to impress, more of himself nonetheless, he knew he wouldn't hold back on his style.

- And he was right because when he just told Min ho to dress his best tonight and Min ho being Min ho dressed in a fucking suit. Yeah he was not one to mess around his fashion game.

- Q made up a similar reason, something about a dinner at this cool spot. And Min ho didn't really question much, going along.

- When you were almost near the place, Kitty suddenly placed her hands on your eyes from behind you, making you chuckle nervously, asking her if she'd suddenly had a grudge and had really just brought you out to kill you.

- Kitty rolled her eyes, you not seeing her of course, having your vision being engulfed in a sudden darkness.

Whispering softly into your ears, she told you

"Just trust me on this one and you should thank me later."

- On the other side, Min ho almost screamed when he felt his eyes being covered in a sudden darkness by a blind fold, Q choosing a blind fold knowing if he kept his hands, Min ho would go on a long rant about how to not touch his face, and would probably snap back saying how he said that but he allowed you to touch his face to poke his cheeks.

"Q, bro, as much as I love you, I am not into thi-"

"Shut up."

He led Min ho, now only a feet away from the spot,

"And thank me later genius, preferably with your fancy water, it tastes amazing."

- Kitty and Q looked at each other making sure, you both were facing each other.

- Knowing you both were probably going to say something, they both just smiled at each other and let your eyes become uncovered.

- As you adjusted your eyesight to your surroundings, you'd both spotted each other, surprised was probably what you felt.

- Yet upon seeing the way your hair was done, the way your makeup only enhances your features, your gentle eyes sparkling under the soft moonlight, your outfit only adding to your beauty, Min ho just wanted to treasure you forever if he could as his heart picked up in pace, more enchanted by your mere presence.

- You were no different, a reminder that he was definitely sculpted by Aphrodite herself as the moonlight fell upon his face, his suit only making you more trapped, fitting him perfectly, his hair styled to perfection, some strands escaping and gently resting on his forehead.

"Well! Now that you're both here, enjoy! And oh, don't mess this up, please for the sake of all of us fed up with you oblivious idiots!"

Kitty said suddenly making you look at her, furrowing your eyebrows at her words and upon hearing Q's agreement Min ho narrowed his eyes at being called an idiot and before the both of you could say another word they turned around and left.

- You took in the surroundings, now noticing the glittering fairylights and the table set up in front of you, a rose bouquet placed in the middle, filled with specifically red roses and some candles.

"Looks like they set us up."

Min ho said, already catching onto what this was all about, and it made him just a tad bit nervous

"Oh and uh if you feel uncomfortable, we can go back-"

Giggling at the way he seemed sheepish and nervous at the same time, you shake your head,

"Not at all, we can't let their efforts go to waste now can we? After all, we shouldn't mess this up."

You air quoted the final words, moving forward to take a seat.

Min ho had a small smile on his face as he heard you giggle, nodding along

"Yeah you're right. Covey will probably throw me off this cliff."

You chuckled as you both sat down

"Don't worry, I'll jump after you to save you. Can't let my date be murdered by my best friend."

His eyes widened a bit at your words, you paused a bit wondering if you spoke too much maybe, but all your doubts dissolved when he replied

"What no! You can't hurt yourself because of me!"

- You were sure your cheeks would have hurt from the amount of laughing and giggles you'd share with Min ho that night, convinced you'd never laugh this much in one night your entire life.

- And as the night came to an end, you both sat on the cliff, looking at the stars, sharing sneaky glances and adorable grins. You knew it was the right moment to just let it all out

"Min ho."

Humming at you, he looked at you from his previous stargazing, sitting beside him with his jacket over your shoulders to top off the clicheness, looking just unreal and you had done nothing but call him yet he loves it a lot more than he'd admit.

"I think I'm in love with you."

You said it, there. Out in the open. Out of the temporary home the words had found on the tip of your tongue and you braced yourself for the worst of the worst.

You looked away, gulping back up at the stars.

"Come on now, you can't just look away after that."

Min ho gently cupped your face, to make you look at him, his cooler fingers a contrast to your warm cheeks.

He smirked at you, leaning closer,

"I know you do."

Frowning a bit at his answer, you narrowed your eyes at him, but he had more to say

"But, I don't think I am in love with you though, I know I am definitely in love with you."

You gaped at his words, staring into his sincere eyes, moving yourself closer as he leaned in more and more.

"Can I ?"

He asked softly, foreheads touching each other, your breathing in sync.

"Please."

- It was slow and gentle, something unknown to the both of you, letting your feelings be conveyed through the touch of your lips. You had placed your hands around his neck pulling him closer as his own hands moved to your waist.

You pulled away shortly, needing to breathe, foreheads still touching each other.

"So does this mean we're official ?" You timidly asked and he responded,

"We'll take it however you want it to be but I won't lie, I would love to be your boyfriend."

He finished with a cheeky grin and you giggled

"Okay then, boyfriend."

Pecking him one more time as his grin grew wider, you knew this was probably your biggest happiness till date.

how being in a relationship with him is !

- It was no joke when he said giving gifts was his own love language.

- He spoiled you to the brim, despite your protests. You didn't mind them of course. It's just throughout your life you'd only get such special gifts on big occasions but he got them for you on random Tuesdays and you felt like you were getting more than you deserve.

"Baby, you know how much I love you, this is my own way of showing it." He'd pouted it to you when you had protested once and you being the best partner you tried to be, just accepted them and of course treasured them safely in your room.

- As much as Min ho didn't mind showing affection to you in public because for one he didn't really care about what others thought of his actions,it was his life, he'd been living it how he wanted and wouldn't let anyone change that.

- But he was protective of you in public, holding your hand, though you didn't mind that at all when his larger hands seemed to perfectly wrap around yours as you pulled him closer to you.

- He'd probably let you and only you use his skincare routine products, in fact going in the extra mile and teaching you how to use them and what to use them for, applying them for you, a little like your very own spa treatment, and you giggled sometimes seeing him focused and serious when talking about how you didn't really need them since you were already perfect.

"You're already beautiful though." He told you as he applied a moisturizer on your face that for the love of all good things, you didn't know the name of. "This will just keep your skin looking healthy but if you don't want to use it, we can stop of course."

"It's okay. It feels nice." You hummed as he trailed his fingers gently on your face, massaging it, and he smiled at your content look. He knew you were a little stressed due to some tests hence why he insisted you take a break with him at the moment.

"I'm glad then."

- He knew you loved his cooking, even before you got together, he'd always been making food for you when you would be at his dorm. He already knew your favorite dishes so when you felt down, he'd be ready with your comfort food.

- He loved to hear your little reviews about his cooking, you always had something to say about any dish he made, whether it was just the right amount of spice or how the tofu made the dish even more delicious, he listened to your suggestions and would use that to improve his skills.

- He'd teach you how to cook as well, starting with smaller and less complicated dishes,feeling his heart swell with happiness when you were successful at one and even if you failed, he'd reassure you that it's alright and we can try it again or another dish.

- Kisses were often shared anywhere and anytime even if your friends would complain about it, calling you gross and lovesick fools, you didn't care about what they said when you felt the familiar butterflies in your stomach as your lips touched his.

- You made him a very long playlist consisting of all and every song that reminded you of him, reminded you of moments with him, reminded you of how he made your heart flutter.

- He'd listen to it, telling you what parts he loved and he too had a similar playlist, it was probably the cheesiest thing to do, as Kitty said but then again you felt all kinds of so called cheesy emotions whenever you were with him.

- He would introduce you to his mother, and that too very proudly. You were nervous but he reassured you about how his mom would probably love you and she did, a sigh of relief coming from you when Min ho told you that.

- Your parents, on the other hand, were definitely charmed by him. He knew his way with words and what to say and nonetheless they loved him!

- Study dates in the libraries tended to end up with you giggling at his ridiculous jokes and him teasing you about how you were so cute, making you slap his arm lightly as you would feel your cheeks warm up.

- Playing footsies was always convenient when you were not paying attention to him, too focused on your novel and you just shook your head on the way and stifled your laughter at his pout.

- He was not a jealous person, not at least after you became his. Before sure, he'd glare at those who tried to ask you out, being happy when you turned them down.

- Q reminding him you weren't dating him for him to get jealous but now that you were, he didn't feel the need to get jealous.

- If he felt like someone was looking at you in that way, he'd either wrap his arm around your waist and kiss you cheek, smiling with a certain glint to the other and they got the message alright. Nothing serious but sometimes he can be jealous.

- You, though, you weren't jealous but maybe you tended to get insecure at times. Thinking Min ho could have whoever he wanted yet he chose you as you would find a pretty girl leaning onto him.

But the scoff of disgust as he leaned away, and said something to her which would make her turn around in shame and walk away with her head down, made you look at him, him coming towards your way, smiling as he finally spotted you.

"Hi baby! I was just looking for you." He grinned widely as he wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you into his side, his eyes shining brightly as he looked down at you, in those moments you knew, even if he wanted whoever he wanted, you had him and he had you.

- He's talkative, talking about anything and everything under the sun and moon, you'd give your attention those times, nods of confirmation to questions and gasps of shock when he said something particularly astounding.

- He was grateful to have someone who'd listen to him talk, as simple as that gesture is, he's grateful for that someone to have been you.

- He loves it when you play with his hair as he lays his head on your lap, brushing through his soft locks, easing his worries.

- You love to just cuddle with him when you can, him just holding you when you need it or pulling you onto him from your previous position of sitting beside him on the couch.

- Expect all kinds of date ideas to be pulled off, sometimes by you or by him or even by your friends. Movies, adventure parks, haunted houses, you name it but you think that no matter what, even if you could stare at paint dry on a wall, as long as you have Min ho with you, you couldn't ask for more.

- Despite his cocky moments at times, you sometimes would roll your eyes at him and just sigh softly, or better yet, you love to see his flustered expression whenever you agree on his self praises.

"We all know that my existence is probably the highlight of your day, guys, just admit it." He would say with a smug grin, Q already rolling his eyes and Kitty just scoffing and you replied

"Of course baby, you're the highlight of my life!" You grinned widely at him, chuckling when his ears got a little red and he just nodded "Y-yeah see!"

"I'll be b-back!" You laughed at him,

"Oh he's so whipped for you." Kitty said which only made you laugh more loudly.

- In the end, Min ho was convinced that even if he didn't believe in star crossed lovers, he'd definitely have to thank fate to make someone like you become his.

- And oh Kitty of course.

all written works as well as images and edits (unless credited) belong to pri.do not plagiarise, repost, re-edit or claim as yours. pics mostly found on pinterest.

feedback is always appreciated 💗

links : main navi !

#xo kitty #xo kitty min ho #min ho x reader #to all the boys trilogy #netflix #netlix x reader #to all the boys ive loved before #x reader #x gn reader #x female reader #x male reader #headcanons #min ho headcanons #min ho fluff #sang heon lee #lee sang heon #he's so bbg 😔#[ pri works ]

2K notes · View notes

thehusbandoden · 10 months

Text

You Flinch During an Argument -Kirishima Eijiro

A/n: this took me way too long, so sorry for the wait 🥺🥺

Holy crap this is long.. hope you enjoy this madness <33

General info:

Genre: angst to fluff/comfort // WC: 2,516

Warnings!: Arguing, one sided argument, mean reader, insecurity, self hate, slight self harm (grabbing at hair), mention of bullies, crying, flinching, and a lot of apologizing. Please let me know if I miss any! <3

(it took forever to find this specific gif 💔)

"Y/n- I said that I was sorrry!"

"And I said I don't care anymore!"

"Y/n, please! You're being unreasonable!"

"I'm being unreasonable?! I HAVE ASKED YOU FOR ALMOST THREE MONTHS - YOU ARE SUCH A-"

"Y/n, calm down, you don’t want to say something you'll regret."

"You suck. You're a pig headed, selfish, work obsessed, slobby, jerk."

Kirishima was silent as you insulted him, part of him feeling like he deserved it all.

"Okay, y/n, I understand that I screwed up. And I know that I can't make it all better overnight, but please. You can not drive right now."

"And why not? It's not like I'm under any influence."

"Y/n, it's dark and rainy. That, plus your anger- is a sure way to kill both of us. I can not live without you, Pebble."

"Do not call me that." You seethe, glaring up at your redheaded husband.

Heart aching, Kirishima desperately thought of a way to keep you here with him, not knowing how he would cope if he lost you due to some stupid argument about cleaning.

"J-just stay here tonight. You can sleep in our bed, and I'll sleep downstairs. I won't talk to you, and if you still want to go in the morning, I won't stop you. If you're still angry, Ochako can come pick you up."

Considering the idea, you huff as you cross your arms, glaring at Kiri.

"Fine.. but I have a few conditions. On top of not talking to me, you will not touch, nor look at me. Deal?"

"If you hand me your keys, deal."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Or at least put them somewhere visible."

"Fine, deal."

"Deal." Kiri agreed, shaking your outstretched hand.

After you walked in Kiri waited a minute or so before following pursuit, closing and locking the front door with a relieved sigh- simply happy that you agreed on staying here for tonight.

After picking up the living room and washing the dishes, Kirishima deemed it okay to go upstairs to swiftly get ready for bed.

As Eijiro thought about your side of the argument his heart started weighing him down with guilt.

He truly didn't mean to be such a jerk. He didn't think about how overworked and exhausted you were.

In his head, he was going above and beyond picking up after himself, doing the dishes every other day, taking out the trash, folding both his clothes and the fitted sheets, and cooking breakfast almost every morning. He didn't think about the other household chores, how much work caring for the house took, nor how long and hard you worked on top of the house.

You worked shorter hours then he did, that's true, but you still worked hard and desperately tried to be patient with him. For over a month you've been gently asking him to help out more or do this and that for you.

When you asked him to do a specific thing he truly did try his best to get it done as soon as possible. Pausing his game to take out the trash, setting reminders to switch the laundry on his days off, scrubbing pots and pans late at night, and watering the plants most every morning before work.

But he didn't understand when you asked him to 'do more', he thought that he was doing a lot more than average, totally forgetting to consider that you work too and he's not the sole provider.

You had gotten really annoyed with how much you did in the house and how little he did in comparison, and confronted him once again after he got home from work.

He was quite confused and defended himself, not really seeing your side of things. It took ten minutes of arguing back and forth to actually understand your side of things, realizing that due to you both providing you both needed to tend to the house.

Guilt consumed him as he attempted to apologize again and again yet you wouldn't let him talk. After twenty minutes of this one sidedness you got angry and stormed out, telling him that you were going to Ochako's house.

Even though Kiri felt extremely guilty, he was mostly relieved that you didn't leave in these conditions, knowing that he wouldn't be able to function if he lost you for good.

Kiri was snapped out of his thoughts due to the tingling feelings of his hands going numb due to the cold water pouring onto them.

Sighing, Kiri turned off the water before sneakily grabbing a spare blanket, his pillow, and a pair of pajama bottoms from your shared bedroom, refusing to look at you as he hurried out of the dark room.

After changing and settling on the couch Kiri simply stared at the ceiling, going over your side of things and realising how much he screwed up and what he could do to change and start to make it up to you.

You jolted awake as a large crashing sound came from downstairs, hurrying out of bed, you readied your quirk in case of a villain.

"Ei..? Is that you?" You call, poking your head out into the kitchen.

"Yeah- sorry for waking you up."

"It's okay.. but what happene-" you froze as you saw Kirishima on the floor, shattered dishware surrounding him.

"Eijiro what the heck!" You exclaim, reaching out your arm to try and help the pro hero.

"I- I was trying to clean.. I'm sorry.."

At the word 'clean' memories of last night flooded your mind, causing you to drop your hand to your side, irritation flooding your senses.

"Oh, so now you're trying to make three months of neglectness and excuses better in one night?"

"N-no! Not at all! I just wanted to start helping out more!"

"It's three months too late for that Eijiro."

"You're being unreasonable-"

"No! What's unreasonable is you and your selfish laziness!"

"I'm trying! We're both new to living together and I didn't understand before!"

"Whatever. Just get up and go. I'll have to clean up and stop by the store before work."

"What- no! I'll clean it up!" Kiri exclaimed, jumping up from the ground, hardening his skin so he wouldn't get cut.

Shards of glass bounced off of Kiri's hardened skin, flying everywhere. Luckily, you were a pro hero, and had the amazing reflexes that came from that line of work. You dived down, avoiding the injury you would've received.

"Y-y/n! Are you okay?!" Kirishima exclaimed, rushing to your side.

Seeing the sudden movement you flinched, body still under alert.

After realizing what happened your heart dropped.

Oh no.

Kirishima was a gentle soul. He cared for you deeply and was always looking for ways to make your life easier and more enjoyable. There is no way he would take this lightly. He would definitely paint a wor-

You were snapped out of your thought process at the sound of a door closing. Panicking, you realized that Kirishima was xgonex.

"Ei!?" You call, hurrying to check for him in the living room, quickly realising that he left. Panicking, you hurry to slip on some slippers before making your way out the door, rushing to Kirishima's truck before he could pull out.

"Ei wait!" You exclaim, putting one hand on the handle of the truck and the other on his window. After looking down at you, he bit his lip before slightly opening the window so he could hear you.

"Go back in the house Pebble.." Kiri whispered, causing your heart to ache in dismay.

"Eijiro- what's wrong? I wasn't scared of you it was a reaction from the-"

"I don't care y/n. You flinched because of me- I- I need some time."

You could feel tears stinging your eyes as you stepped back, biting your lip as you watched Kirishima put the truck in reverse and slowly back out of the driveway, face heavy with hurt.

As soon as the red truck disappeared from sight you broke, running into the house before falling onto the couch, sobbing into a pillow.

The angered words you spat at your sweet, loving Eijiro flashed through your mind as you cried, guilt weighing you down as you remembered Kiri's heart broken face. Your mind started playing against you, shouting at you for your selfish, idiotic words and how you hurt the one person you cared most about.

'He didn't do anything!'

'You stupid little- he was doing his best! He apologized! And yet you treated him so- so horribly due to a few mistakes!'

'He really doesn't derseve you. He deserves someone as patient and loving as he is.'

'He was so heartbroken! You idiot!'

'I bet he's going to find somone better then you. I would't blaim him either.'

Tears rolled down your face as you sat up to stare at a picture of Eijiro on your wedding day. His red eyes were sparkling as he grinned at the camera, feeling nothing but joy and such love for you.

You two met in elementary school. You saved him from some bullies yada yada and instantly became friends. He was in third grade, you were in second. Your grade difference meant that you didn't get to play much, and so you thought of him as one of your temporary friends. The kind that you met at a park, played once, and then forgot about one another the next day.

But he was.. special. There was something about how the older boy's eyes shone when he looked at you, or how strong he seemed even though he was in tears frequently. You quickly found out that he was special. Even compared to your best friend, Sakura Mei.

You admired him for many reasons. For trying to be so strong even though the bullies' mean words brought him to tears, for how kind he wa -giving up his hard earned treat to a little toddler who wanted it at pick-up, sharing his lunch with a kid that was too late to get his own, having shorter turns so the next kid would get it sooner, and helping his teacher whenever and however possible.

You two became best friends and played with each other after school, causing your parents to create a long lasting friendship as well. For years you thought of him as your best friend, but a crush started to form in middle school, causing you to get confused.

Even when Kiri started to get self conscious and have a lot of self doubt, he was always by your side. Scolding you for having any of those thoughts, no matter how small. And so in return you helped him. Helping with training, bringing him food and water, reassuring him when he needed it, and even holding him as he cried. You were the reason he was able to recover so quickly, and afterwards he got into UA highschool, and you followed pursuit the next year.

After eight months of high school he confessed, and that was it. After you graduated he was there to cheer you on the loudest, and seven months later he proposed. The day of your wedding was full of joy, laughter, tears, smiles, and love. A love that made your chest ache in happiness, causing you to smile a little wider, kiss him a little harder, and fall in love a little harder.

Thinking back about it now, your tears came faster as an aching cold spread through your chest, causing the tears to fall faster.

"Eijiro.." you whimper, hugging onto the shark pillow Eijiro insisted on getting for your newly bought home.

It was crazy expensive, but he told you not to worry about it, and that it was "for our future famly".

"Ei.. I'm so sorry!" You cry, grasping your hair in your hands, tugging lightly but knowing not to hurt yourself or Kiri would be upest and worried.

Pawing for your phone, you unlocked the device before calling the contact "Bakubeast".

"What do you need." Bakugo huffed, causing you to whimper softly, catching the hot head's attention.

"Woah woah- do not cry. Crappy hair would kill me."

"I- I- E- Eijiro-" you rasp, having difficulty breathing and getting your point across.

"Hey hey- y/n calm down." Bakugo panicked, his softer tone helpig you calm down.

He was a good friend of both you and Eijiro, so him being kind to you really did help.

"Y/n/n, breathe."

Gasping for air you try to control your breathing, taking one deep breathe after another.

"Atta girl. Keep on breathing for m- for Eijiro."

Calm washed over you as you exhaled, sighing shakily.

"T-thank you." You whisper, causing Bakugo to scoff.

"Yeah yeah- now why are ya crying? Do I need to kicks some a-"

"No. It's me, not him. I'm wondering, is Ei over there? H-he left and I'm worried about him."

"No he hasn't. When did he leave? You do know that I'm like twenty minutes away, right?"

"That's true.. it's only been around ten.."

"I'll call you if he pulls up. But if you don't mind me asking.. what happened?"

"I'm sure Ei will explain.. I really don't wanna talk about it right now.."

"Okay.. well hang in there and call me if you need."

"Yeah.. okay."

"Have a better night, talk to ya later."

"Mhm.. bye.."

~~Kiri's pov~~

Kirishima felt like screaming.

Even though he knew that you weren't scared of him and it was just a reaction from the glass but it still hurt.

After pulling into his best friend's drive way, Eijiro quickly made his way to the door and knocked, wanting the hot head's opinion and seeking comfort.

"What happened to you?" Bakugo scoffed, opening his door as an invitation to come in.

"Can we.. talk?"

"If you make things right between you and your Cry Baby afterwards- then yes."

~~Your pov~~

You sniffled as you clung to Kirishima's pillow, eyes dry and puffy.

It's been an hour since Bakugo texted him that Kirishima was at his place, and you've been waiting for him to return or at least an update.

Your heart ached and you wanted nothing more than to be in Eijiro's arms and forget all about this horrid arugment. What if he didn't want you anymore.. what if-

You jumped out of bed as soon as you heard the door open, sprinting down the stairs to meet your Eijiro.

"Baby!" You exclaim, jumping into Eijiro's arms. Wrapping your legs around his waist and your arms around his neck, you attacked his shoulders, neck, cheeks, forehead, nose, and lips with kisses.

"I am so sorry! I- I said so many mean things to you and- and-"

"Woah woah Baby- calm down." Eijiro cooed, catching your lips in a kiss to distract you from your worries. "I know.. and I forgive you, so.. could you forgive me?"

"Yes! Yes- I am so sorry for-"

Catching your lips in another kiss, Kiri sat on the couch, holding you in his lap as he kissed you, stealing both his and your complete attention.

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Sorry again for how late this was.. I hope it wasn't too long :(