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universecorp · 4 months

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Hearbeat pt.2 Teaser

Summary: After starting a situationship with your best friend from high school, things start to become complicated. Especially when you start to catch feelings.

Jaehyun x Reader Haechan x Reader (In pt2 and 3 )

w.c.: 2.3k

Genre: Comedy, smut, and angst

Warnings: Sexual themes, small argument

PLAYLIST: ♡

Sitting in a Dennys at 2:00 AM is not how you expected your night to end. You and Donghyuck had spent the better part of an hour talking and getting to know each other. He was easy to talk to, and funny, you didn’t feel like you were forcing any of your reactions which made you feel a lot more at ease than usual.

“Wait, you're Haechan? The streamer?” Donghyuck nodded, shoveling a scoop of hash browns into his mouth. “That’s so fucking crazy, my best friend loves your streams. We used to fuck and I remember one time he got the notification for your stream and stopped mid fuck to watch you.” Donghyuck nearly choked on the strip of bacon he was munching on.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” You shook your head. “That’s so sick, did he at least like pick up where he left off while watching?” Another shake.

“I had to push him on his back and ride him.” Donghyuck laughed loudly, catching the attention of most of the other late night eaters, but it was clear he didn’t care.

“Now that I think about it, there was this one time I read a comment and it deadass said ‘I was fucking my girl and stopped to watch.’ I thought it was probably a troll, but that might’ve been him.”

You scoffed, shaking your head once again. “There’s no way that was him, he would never refer to me as ‘his girl’ it would be kind of funny if that was him though.” Donghyuck hummed in agreement, it was all he could do since he didn’t even know Jaehyun.

There was a small awkward silence filled only with the sounds of plates clinking and light chatter from the other patrons. Donghyuck looked like he was having a debate with himself befofe hr finally opened his mouth. “Look, uhm, I don’t usually do this, I honestly don’t usually take my hookups to pre-breakfast either, but I was wondering if I could get your number?”

You were a bit shocked. You thought maybe this was normal and Donghyuck was just one of those nice guys who treated his fucks to post coiatal meals. Hearing otherwise brought a bit of heat to your cheeks.

“So uh… is that a no? Don’t leave me hanging here.”

“Oh no, wait no, I mean yes! Yes… you can have my number.”

“You’ve been smiling at your phone a lot lately. You and big head aren’t fucking again right?” Minjeong was doing your nails on the floor of your dorm, and you were definitely making it hard since you were texting Donghyuck with the hand she was trying to get you to dry.

“Of course not. I’m texting a new guy, I met him at that party me and Jae went to.” Minjeong perked up at the mention of a new guy. Talks like these reminded you of being a teenager, but they were always relaxing. You seriously owed Minjeong some girl time anyway with how far up Jaehyun’s ass you had been for the past year.

“So what’s his name?”

“Donghyuck, he goes here obviously, also get this, ” Minjeong leaned in “he’s that streamer that Jae likes a lot.”

“No way!?” Minjeong gasped, she accidentally swiped a little polish on your finger, but you didn’t mind.

You nodded, smiling basically ear to ear. “Yes way, and he’s so cute. He’s telling me how he wants to take me on a date this weekend!” You closed your phone to give Minjeong your undivided attention while she swiped acetone over her previous mistake.

“I’m happy for you, I know I was kind of an ass with all the ‘I told you so’, but I really just wanted you to be with someone who treats you for what you’re worth.” You knew that, but hearing it felt really good. You always knew Minjeong was just looking out for you, but she also knew that whatever you felt for Jaehyun wasn’t going away like magic. Even now you sometimes felt a twinge of what you used to when he did certain things, but it wasn’t as strong as it was a month ago.

“It’s ok Minnie, I know you only had my best interest.” You brought your nails hand up to blow on the wet polish. “Look on the bright side though, I went through all that and now I've learned my lesson. No more wasting time or energy on people who don’t deserve it.”

Minjeong jostled your shoulder, “That’s my girl.”

A week later you were with Donghyuck in his apartment, playing a co-op game called “it takes two” that he specifically bought for the date. He turned on his twitch to stream, but he left his mic off to enjoy the moment with you. He was ticking so many boxes and even Minjeong gave him the stamp of approval when he met her a couple hours ago. Everything today was perfect, he bought you flowers, ordered from your favorite takeout place and even surprised you with slippers for you to wear around the apartment. You had been seeing each other for about a month now so you figured he would be asking you to be his girlfriend soon, but you were in no rush. His gestures meant the world to you and even then just his presence was enough for you to feel satisfied.

Now the two of you were snuggled up side by side, controllers in hand and your head on his shoulder. Nothing could ruin this moment, nothing except your phone which had been buzzing on the nightstand for a good two minutes. “Hey babe, I can pause if you wanna get that?” You looked up at Donghyuck with a small pout before shaking your head. You felt bad that whoever was calling you clearly didn’t get the memo that you were busy.

“We can keep playing, I’ll talk and play, m’sorry.” Donghyuck waved it off as he waited for you to answer your phone. You rolled your eyes slightly when you saw Jaehyun’s photo, but still answered the facetime call. “What’s up loser?” You sounded less than enthused, but he should’ve expected that since you ignored his calls for two minutes.

“God what crawled up your ass and died weirdo and why aren’t you showing your face?” Jaehyun scoffed as if his facetime screen wasn’t paused.

“Just the fact that you’ve been calling me for two minutes. What the fuck did you want? I’m kinda busy.” You cursed under your breath since you and Donghyuck failed the game stage for the fifth time.

“First of all, I wanted to see if you wanted to grab dinner and come watch a movie, I’ll buy obviously. Second of all, if you’re gonna lie about being busy at least make it believable, I can hear you playing a game in the background.” Jaehyun had some fucking nerve assuming you would lie to him about being busy, but you weren’t gonna fight about it. You were gonna be civil. Even though Donghyuck had heard the way you and Jaehyun talked to each other before, he was a little annoyed that the other man was accusing you of lying.

“Jae, I’m on a date and we’re playing a game, so I actually am very busy.

“Wait… are you playing ‘it takes two’?” Jaehyun didn’t know about Donghyuck. He knew you had been on dates, but since he didn’t ask who with, you didn’t bother telling him it was Donghyuck A.K.A. his favorite streamer.

“Yeah, with my date.” You knew you sounded like a bitch, but you didn’t care. Jaehyun had barely been hanging out with you and even then it seemed like he only wanted to when he was bored. You were trying to follow Minjeong’s and your own advice and stop wasting time on people that don’t deserve it.

“If you’re actually playing a game with your date, show your face and his, then show the tv.” You were so close to hanging up on Jaehyun, but when you saw the screen pause and suddenly your phone was being held up by Donghyuck.

Donghyuck didn’t look happy. All of the irritation must have been building up to a point where even Jaehyun looked concerned. “Look, Jaehyun, I get it, you’re bored. I’m sure you miss having Y/N at your beck and call because you knew she would drop anything for you before.” Jaehyun opened his mouth to speak, but one glare from Donghyuck had him closing it immediately. “Those times are past and whatever sick game you’re playing at needs to stop. Got it?” The silence on the line was loud, Donghyuck knew he made his point. “Good. Now I’m going to go back to playing games with my girlfriend, enjoy the stream Jaehyun.” With that he pressed the end call button with a sigh and immediately after you were straddling the man.

“Girlfriend huh?”

Donghyuck set his controller down and placed his hands on your hips, it was all he could do to look cool despite the blush rushing his face. “Yeah uhm… I was going to ask you later during pillow talk after some earth shattering sex, but this is cool too I guess.”

You giggled, placing a kiss on his cheek. “This is cool too, don’t worry. We can still have earth shattering sex but now as boyfriend and girlfriend.” It was Donghyuck’s turn to giggle now. “Do you want to keep playing, we could even turn on the mic?”

Haechan shook his head, “No I think it’s time for that earth shattering sex we were talking about.” You bit your lip trying to suppress a laugh, he was so goofy and hot at the same time, you didn’t understand how anyone could be capable of that.

“I think that can be arranged…boyfriend.”

“He told you off?” Mark nearly yelled, catching the attention of several of the other students in the library.

“Dude keep it down, we’re in a library.” Johnny reminded before focusing back on his music theory assignment.

“Sorry, he told you off?” Mark asked again this time in a more suitable whisper.

“Yes, and she didn’t say shit bro, she just let him.” Jaehyun grumbled, taking a chip from the bag Johnny had managed to smuggle in.

Johnny was pretty unamused with the entire situation, given that he asked if the two men wanted to study in the library, but had basically been talking the whole time. “Have you ever thought that maybe she’s over how you treat her. I know you think you’re like bestie of the year, but you literally evaded her feelings for at least 6 months just so you would have an easy fuck.”

Jaehyun scoffed, “Remind me to stop telling you about my problems.” Johnny simply rolled his eyes before training them back on the score in front of him.

“I mean he has a point. You knew she caught feelings a while ago, and your agreement was to break it off, but you kept everything up. Plus you were the one who kept fucking with her and being all domestic, she’s probably traumatized.” Jaehyun shot a glare at Mark; he did not come here to be ganged up on.

“She can’t be but so traumatized since she spends all her time with Haechan, or Donghyuck, whatever the fuck his name is.” Mark and Johnny looked ready to hit their heads against the table, but clearly this was a delicate situation that needed to be nurtured and cared for so that Jaehyun would actually get some sense.

“Jae, buddy, pal, old friend if you will.”

“Get to the point Johnathan.”

Johnny sighed, “See the point is, she’s in a relationship now. You had your 15 minutes of fame where she basically avoided getting into something because she was holding out hope for you. Now, she’s tired of waiting. She wants something that makes her feel loved and worth it and frankly, your bare minimum effort of taking her back to your place to watch a movie and then fuck, isn’t cutting it.”

“Bars.” Mark fist bumped Johnny, adding an explosion sound effect at the end.

“You guys are losers. She didn’t seem to be complaining about the movie and fuck a couple months ago.” Mark cringed and Johnny simply shook his head at the way their friend could so shamelessly talk about you like that.

“Jaehyun, listen to yourself, you sound delusional. She may not have been complaining, but that’s also because if she did you would’ve had to break all of that off. You’re acting like she broke up with you when the two of you weren’t even together in the first place.” Johnny’s volume was starting to increase, but he couldn’t help it, he wasn’t the closest to you, but he refused to let Jaehyun disrespect you like this. “Also you literally only text or call her now when we can’t hang out. Do you think that makes her feel good?” Jaehyun opened his mouth, but Johnny cut him off. “Don’t answer that because I know you’re about to say some bullshit. You need to get with the program and stop treating her like some play thing that you decide to pick up everytime your other toys are broken!” Johnny finished closing his laptop and packing up his belongings.

“Dude, where are you going?” Jaehyun groaned before looking at Mark who was following in Johnny’s actions. “You too? Come on!”

Mark just shook his head, slinging his backpack over his shoulder before speaking again. “Dude, you have some serious soul searching to do. We don’t mind if you vent, but the way you talk about and treat her is sick.” Jaehyun just clicked his teeth in response to the younger man.

“Whatever.” Jaehyun stood up from the table and stormed out of the library.

“He needs to get laid.”

“Totally.” Mark agreed.

Taglist: @snapcracklen, @peachesmilk

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enden-k · 9 months

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Your post on kaveh's portrayal kinda reminded me of a thought I had during Nilou's story quest (im a bit newer to the game, so this was after Kaveh's release) basically, Kaveh would have been perfect for that situation, like he cares enough about the arts to see the value in the theater and be willing to fight for it, but also, he's been through the akademia and should be at least be somewhat familiar when it comes to akademic debates (i realize that kshahrewar doesn't really deal in debates, but still, as someone who was in school for tech, you still pick up some related skills from doing write ups and such, also, just look at who he lives with, he has experience)

What I'm saying is basically, he would not hold back when debating the scholars who wanted to get rid of the theater, and would tell them to fuck off in the most intellectual way possible

Even if Nilou was still the one debating the scholars, he would have been great at helping her with her arguments and coaching her through it

Anyways, sorry for rambling, not sure if this really relates to anything, but just some thoughts i had

i still love nilou doing this (my girl!!!!!!!!) but kaveh would be quite funny bc he would rip the guy a new one fr (in a way that doesnt make him look bad or ruin his reputation badly); if he helped nilou out (im still convinced they would be great friends) he would give her good tips for sure and they would destroy him in seconds

("[...] i see! but what do we do when he does [this]?"

"well its simple nilou! we kill him.")

#reply

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yuugen-benni · 5 months

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Non-proportional quantities

When you question the extent of their love - Odasaku, Ayatsuji, Akutagawa, Tachihara; A/N: ''But Why every post with Tachihara you bring up his past/spoilers ?'' BECAUSE I LIKE ANGST. shut up dude.

''Love cannot be measured'' Oda replies looking at you calmly. Although he was direct, he still takes a short time to contemplate your doubt, which honestly seems so small to him. But why small? Because as a romance writer he knows that love cannot be measured, so he reflects, weighing how he will express himself best

''But if I could think of a way to explain…I would say that not even all the books in the world would have all the words to say how much I love you''

His is so calm, his expression almost emotionless. You curse him every time he acts like a statue but evokes the words of a poet on his deathbed

Ayatsuji sighs, as if responding to a child asking something inappropriate.

"Are you doubting it just now?" The detective taunts, leaning back in the chair, arms crossed at stomach height ''or are you mad because I made you wear-'' Oh this mf knows too much-

''Yukito! It's a serious question'' Your words hangs in the air, for a moment then, with a small smile playing on his lips.

He opens the drawer on the left side of the table, taking out his pipe. He carefully fills it with tobacco, each movement unhurried. Lighting it, wisps of smoke begin to dance in the air, a aroma filling the room.

Turning back to you, he holds the pipe in his hand, his expression serious "When we smoke," he starts, his voice taking on a gentle cadence, "we inhale the smoke from the burning substance, tobacco, and then we need to exhale it." Ayatsuji takes a drag from the kiseru and exhale "If you were the tobacco in this pipe, I would certainly let you invade completely my lungs. Suffocating me. And I would die happy with your taste in my mouth."

Morbid. Suggestive. But a captivating answer. He shut you up, as always, after all, isn't that what he does to those who challenge him?

''You said you wanted to ask me something important…not that'' Akutagawa mumbles quite annoyed "I put up with you everyday, isn't that enough ?'' internally debating whether he should stay and listen to any of your arguments or leave without a headache.

The idea of extension of love is not new to him, It's not new to anyone who has ever experienced killing someone. Seeing you asking something so obvious in his eyes is stupid knowing that he would do everything, and he already does, so that no one would lay a finger on you, not even himself

''Am I that annoying ?'' you put your hands on your hips looking at him with a frown. He eventually he gave up, the persistence in your eyes makes him reconsider. With a resigned sigh, he rubs his forehead;

''Yes, you're that annoying, but if it makes you feel better, fine. I'd use rashomon to tear the world apart if it meant you'd be safe, okay ? Now please, enough with the clinginess''

''Are you drunk, [name] ? I knew I shouldn't have bought that coffee for you'' Tachihara teased reminding you of the embarrassing situations you always go through for drinking too much coffee, unfortunately for him that wasn't the case.

''If I hadn't drunk, we wouldn't be here, now answer'' you retorded with a quite firm tone. Tachihara wasn't someone of expressing his feelings although you know he loves you, not because of a simple ''I love you'' but because you somehow felt it. You also know that Tachihara was a good actor, a good scoundrel.

His gaze slowly shifted away, subtly conveying his avoidance of the subject. The answer was already on the tip of his tongue, ''the extent of my love would be due to the fact that I would trust you with the truth'', but wouldn't that be reckless ? risky ? Both for you and for his disguise.

Slowly, the morning sun began to rise, showing its radiance that you two were so happy to watch. He took a deep breath, slowing his heart and lowering his head, hoping that the great doubts would disappear when the sun fully appeared.

#benni #bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd x reader #sorry for my bad english #bungou stray dogs x reader #akutagawa x reader #bsd akutagawa #akutagawa ryuunosuke #gin akutagawa #ayatsuji x reader #yukito ayatsuji #oda sakunosuke #oda x reader #odasaku x reader #bungo stray dogs odasaku #tachihara michizo x reader #tachihara michizou #tachihara x reader

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xxsycamore · 11 months

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𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂

↬ 💋 "You're going to stand here against the wall because you're being punished."

Napoleon Bonaparte x Main Character • rating: E (MDNI) • tags: Bickering; Femdom to Maledom; Light Dom/sub; Lipstick; Kissing; Marking; Neck Kissing; Teasing; Nipple Play; Blow Jobs; Dirty Talk; Vaginal Sex; Size Kink; Multiple Orgasms; Creampie; Post-Sex Cuddless • wordcount: 3,831 • masterlist

a/n: Today marks FOUR years since I love this man......Enjoy🙇🏻‍♀️

"Who kisses the other more?"

"Easy. That would definitely be me-"

"It's me."

Napoleon and MC cross their gazes, lips still parted in mutual interruption. Napoleon raises a brow, quick to defend his bold statement. "Nunuche, I love you, but no."

"Excuse me?? I'm kissing you every chance I get! And you know that!"

"Nunuche." He puts a hand over hers, insisting overconfidently. "Need I remind you of what I'm infamous for, in this mansion? They even go as far as call as to me a kissaholic, yet you still…"

"That's nothing! You might have your kiss attacks in the mornings, but I'm out there giving you full-course meals of smooches all throughout the day! Are you seriously going to argue with me about this right now?"

Vincent awkwardly sinks into his seat, lowering his face into the 101 Questions For Couples book that he picked up as an anniversary present for Napoleon and MC. He is starting to regret his choice, as he never as much as imagined these two to be the type to argue over anything at all. And now they're having a couple's argument over this. It's somehow fitting and, frankly, it's even adorable, but all he wants right now is to restore the peace between the two… but how does he do that?

Out of nowhere, (as per usual) comes Sebastian, who might have listened in. Before Vincent can wave his arms at him to signal SOS, the couple figures out by themselves how to get help from the poor butler.

Napoleon and MC turn in his direction, putting an abrupt end to what only looked like them about grab each other's collars (were they going to fight, or kiss?! ) only to shout at Sebastian, almost in one voice:

"Sebas! Which one of us do you think kisses the other more?"

Sebastian stands up stoic and serious, visibly considering their question with utmost diligence. They've given him too much power in the debate and he has to use it wisely.

His hand travels up to rest under his chin, as if deep in thought. His fingers ghost over his lips which are curling up in a smile. Could it be that he's recalling an event that would help him with his decision?

"I'd say… Monsieur Napoleon. He is the person I have more record of seeing initiating a kiss, MC."

Napoleon is busy putting his hands on his hips triumphally as MC simply stands there and gasps, taking in a gigantic portion of pure betrayal… coming from her dear co-worker of all people, nonetheless.

"That's- That's only because I keep my love in private! What's wrong with that?"

"Absolutely nothing, MC. Forgive me but even without this data, Monsieur Napoleon strikes me as the person who'd kiss you more, rather than the other way around. He is a warm and loving person who wants to remind his partner of his feelings regularly. Physical touch is his second love language. Those are my observations."

What should have been an attempt to put out MC's burning rage seems a lot more like flattery towards the man he idolizes instead. Having had enough, MC gets up in a rush, clearly headed for the door. Seeing that Napoleon is not following behind, she turns on her heel, crosses the room back to his side, grabs him by the sleeve until he's got no choice but to follow, and spells it out for him.

"We're going. To our room."

Before anyone has a chance to say anything, Napoleon is snatched away with the loud thud of a closing door echoing behind him.

Vincent closes 101 Questions For Couples shut and shakily puts it down on the tea table as if it's a cursed relic bound to bring despair. He frowns at Sebastian.

"What do you think will happen now?"

Sebastian nods with eyes at rest, as if the answer is clear as a day.

"It's obvious, Master Vincent. They are going to kiss and make up."

Napoleon knows things are about to get serious when he hears MC locking their bedroom door from the inside. Uh oh. He decides for now it's best to cross his arms and patiently wait until MC decides to approach him and address her grudges. And preferably, to remove that smirk from his face. It's a little hard when he finds her cute when mad. And what is she doing now? She seems to be tying her hair back in a slick ponytail. Someone's getting hot, perhaps. Should he be scared, or should he be aroused? The limited time to ponder is already over as she finally turns around to face him. Her angry glare is turning him on. He is not sure how to fight her with a hard-on.

"Hey…"

"Hey." MC returns the pointless greeting, doing a good job of keeping her unwavering cold expression. She surely doesn't plan on simply standing there attacking him with that dagger-shooting glare alone. Only a breather more and she steps in closer; reaches out to him.

Napoleon stands still, unsure of what to expect. He's got an idea or two about his own next move but he first wants to see hers first. Jade orbs travel down to follow the movements of her hands as she begins to tug at his clothes.

One by one, the buttons of his white shirt come undone under her gentle hands. She is taking her sweet time, undressing him slowly, agonizingly so. It's as soothing as when she helps him change for bed when he's sick. Something tells him he's not getting all tucked in and cozy this time.

"Do you need help with that, Nunuche?"

"Ferme-la."

That's a harsh way of telling him to shut up. But he's guilty of using the same words when he's annoyingly nudged awake in the morning sometimes; he can't help it. He does shut up.

MC makes sure to not leave a single clothed spot on his entire toned body, making him feel exposed and watched by her sharp gaze. After awhile, the silence is at last broken by her.

"Now."

Now? Napoleon almost asks aloud, curious to see how she'd shut him up this time. He hopes his boner is not getting any more obvious because of this.

He expect her to come closer, because where else she could be going right now? But instead, she takes a step back, looks at him from head to toe, and then goes to her dressing table. Napoleon shivers. Is she going to fetch some sort of torture device from there? Could it be that his innocent Nunuche is finally turning to the dark side because he crossed the line teasing her?

Oh, it's just lipstick. She hoovers over the dressing table to look into the mirror and applies it precisely; just as if she's getting ready for a nice date out. Napoleon is dumbstruck and wants to jokingly ask if that's for getting her dominatrix persona on, but remains silent. He is not left hanging for much longer as soon MC pockets her lipstick and giddily returns in front of Napoleon.

"Can I at least lay down?"

"No~ You're going to stand here against the wall because you're being punished."

So that's indeed where things are going. Napoleon gulps down, holding back a sigh fueled by the frustration of finding himself uncharacteristically not in control. He tries to put two and two together, finding a connection between MC's blood-red lips and the fact that she's got him all stripped down like an empty canvas.

She gets on her tippy toes and puts a hand on the wall behind him to steady herself before kissing him gently on the lips. Napoleon wishes with his whole being to return the kiss and transform it into something less innocent, but the chance slips out of his grasp as MC withdraws too soon. Ducking down for another smooch attack, this time she aims at his cheek. It reminds him of being greeted back from work, so pure and warming. Another two or three kisses are pressed against his other side and he feels giddy, imagining what he looks like with so much lipstick smeared on him, like a little kid on his birthday when it's the aunt's turn to give a present. It's ridiculous, everything that is happening right now, but more ridiculously so he enjoys it and doesn't question a thing. That’s the far opposite of a punishment, though. The next kiss lands lower, on his nape, and MC uses her hand to tip his chin upwards so she can place one right under his jaw. Next, she pays more attention to his neck, making a row of kisses down his collarbone. She knows he is ticklish here but that only encourages her more for this impromptu torture.

It doesn't get any better for Napoleon once those devilish lips find their way down from his collarbones. Nothing could've prepared him for the contrastingly bold gesture of suddenly having his nipples playfully pinched and pulled. It comes nonetheless, making him grunt out a moan of surprise. As if apologizing for getting too naughty, MC kisses them better, leaving two identical lipstick prints around his areolas. Napoleon gazes down at her, bewildered, as she slowly sinks lower, kissing her way there as well. Her hands map the familiar area of his abs, replacing the feather-light caress of her fingers with the one of her lips time and time again. Excitement pools in Napoleon's loins as the woman in front of him finds herself fully on her knees, having reached his most sensitive place with her lips in the meantime. His fists clench and unclench with the absence of anything to grasp into and his neglected cock twitches with anticipation.

"Has the color come off already?"

Ah, she refers to her lips that are indeed a much paler shade of red already. The sudden distraction breaks his expectations in million pieces as he just nods tepidly. MC casually sits back on her heels as she reaches inside her pocket to fish out the lipstick.

Napoleon tries to steady his heartbeat, watching her apply it anew on her beautiful lips, kiss-swollen to perfection and just so fuckable, but that's his cock doing the thinking instead of him. Hence the need to calm his pulse. She takes her time in order to be careful, and truly, without the aid of a mirror, perfectly fills them in with the red color; if he knows anything about that. He clicks his tongue, realizing where all this red is going.

"Down there, too?"

"Oh, yes." She clicks the cap back on and discards the cosmetic product to roll off somewhere on the floor for now. "Especially down there."

You're driving me crazy, Napoleon thinks, and if he has to be honest with himself, he is not so sure of however much longer he would be able to limit himself to thoughts alone. Perhaps his Nunuche underestimates the situation. More and more small grunts leave his lips as MC puts imprints of the newly applied lipstick on his fair untanned skin, dangerously close to his cock but missing it on purpose. The red marks bloom on his hipbones and the inside of his tights, it feels like forever before she finally does what he was hoping for most. Wrapping her delicate hand around his stiff length, a kiss appears on the side of it, too; right over a thick vein that runs there. The most frustrating of it all has to be the fact that she does none of it all with the intention of giving him pleasure. Not that her plan is much more innocent, as she particularly marks him as hers all over, in her own way.

He is able to, at last, enjoy her mouth for one short but rewarding moment as she parts her lips and takes the tip in between, swirling her tongue around it. Perhaps not wishing to ruin her make-up with such activity, she lets go in shortly, noticing how he twitches eagerly in her hand. She keeps his cock there, stroking the base slowly as she busies herself with additional kisses on the length of his tights, knees and however much lower her position would allow.

She stands to her feet and the curtain falls. Hands on her hips, like a craftsman admiring his handiwork. Her eyes travel to chase over trails of dusty red roses blooming all over Napoleon's body, but as they finally return to his face, the expression doesn't match her own, not one in a bit. He looks out of breath as if each of those kisses were received by his mouth instead, face flushed and hair sticking wetly to his face.

"Do you like what you've made of me, Nunuche?" Snorts Napoleon, wondering if she is proud of herself for her little game and the effects it had on him.

"Mhmm! I love it."

MC claps her hands together, visibly admiring his body again to rub it in his face just how much she means it when she says she loves it. She gets closer again, lifting up his limp right hand and placing kisses against his wrist, just a little spot she missed.

"I'm almost not mad at you anymore, Napoleon. You look thoroughly kissed, and everyone who gets a look at you would know that it's me who kisses you more… and not the other way around."

"So this is what your little plan was about, hmm?" Napoleon forcibly releases his right hand from her grasp and uses it to collect her chin instead, squeezing her cheeks firmly. "You said almost not mad. What's the price I have to pay for your full forgiveness?"

MC begins playing coy with a little hum rumbling in her throat, and Napoleon releases his hold so she can give the reply she comes with. She decides on putting on her commanding tone one last time, having decided on her answer.

"Fuck me nice and we're good."

"Yeah." Putting the overdue end to her naughty ministrations by makeshiftly handcuffing her wrists with his much stronger hands, Napoleon's gaze pins her down. "Yeah, that's what I was intending to do."

Napoleon suspects that he hardly needs to throw her on the bed himself, as something tells him she'd straightly jump there if he were to let her go now. One way or another, she is soon to find herself pinned under his large frame, inhaling nothing but his scent on the pillow as he envelops her smaller body with his own from behind. He spreads her legs at a favorable angle, barely having the mind to make sure she is comfortable before grabbing into his cock and guiding it towards her sopping wet hole. He grunts and grabs her by the waist, dragging her further down the bed to ensure they're as close as possible, and watches her arching her bottom in anticipation.

Napoleon rubs his blunt head into her swollen lower lips, teasingly. He collects her wetness until the glide is smooth and rewarding, but makes sure it's not too pleasurable for her just yet. He aims at her dripping hole and guides his cock there slowly, enjoying the way she clenches desperately around him as if to pull him further in.

As he withdraws, familiar whines of dissatisfaction reach his ears. Despite the person he knows himself to be, being unfair once in a while feels just right. Especially after what she did to him earlier.

MC curls one leg around his own, trying to make him get the hint and hurry up, and Napoleon's eyes darken with lust at her desperation.

"Shh, ma chérie, I've got you." He fails to hold in a chuckle of endearment, heart swelling with pride at how easily he drives her crazy for what only he could give her. "I've got you, is this what you wanted?"

He gradually pushes in, stretching out her insides with his girthy length that never ceases to be just a little too big for her.

"Oohh! Yes, yes, give it all to me… Napoleon… don't make me wait any longer…"

"Hmm? Can you take it all in?" He strokes over the small of her back, admiring the beautiful arch of her back; the way she presents herself so willingly to him, making it that much easier to ignore the part of his brain that wants revenge for the part of it that wants raw pleasure.

"Y-yes, please, more, please…"

Slowly, he bottoms out. Letting out a satisfactory moan of his own, he didn’t until now realize how much self-control it cost him to keep his gentleness. That and, with being previously stimulated to a certain dangerous degree, he wants to throw away any plans of taking it nice and slow from now on. Screw revenge. He gives one long look at the place they're connected again, admiring how much of him has disappeared inside her hot tightness, and then grunts again, readjusting his position.

He drapes his body over his lover's, chest to her back, using the opportunity of being close enough to whisper in her ear. Each word he utters this way is making her clench deep inside, and he makes the best out of it, feeling utterly satisfied with himself but remembering to keep the grin out of his tone.

"I'm going to move now." He breathes in and then out, "I'll try to go at it slowly because it looks like you need to cool down, but…"

"No…" a sharp inhale, "No, give it your best." She shifts her body a little, rocking her bottom on his cock as if to demonstrate the intensity of her wish. "Fuck me for your pleasure."

Napoleon chuckles darkly, pecking her arm with wetted lips and collecting her wrists again into his iron grip.

"How am I supposed to do that when you're already rutting against me so selfishly? You're trying to get me to set the pace that you need. Look at you fucking yourself against me."

"Nnh-"

"Yeah? Do you want me to let you keep going? Can you cum like that?"

Instead of wanting to keep going or not, a more fitting question would be whether she could retain herself from it. The pulse in her ears is maddening as she chases after her high, the tip of Napoleon's cock rubbing against her sweet spot and MC making sure she is maintaining the angle all the way. Soon enough, without having the time to warn him, she shouts into the pillows and rocks her body repeatedly, using his cock like a sex toy, convulsing harshly around it. Napoleon groans, bucking slightly back into her and enjoying the sight, the feeling of her coming undone in his arms coupled with the heavenly tightness wrapping around his cock. He presses kisses into her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo; then pressing more kisses into to whichever part of her he could reach, until she comes down from her high. He almost considers her calmed down before another set of whines leaves her mouth.

"Already?" Napoleon teases. He gives an experimental thrust, knowing not to overwhelm her senses.

"Mmm, more, more!"

That's a nice reaction, he thinks to himself as he thrusts again, slowly gaining speed. He wants nothing more than to fuck her breathless at last, reducing her to a moaning mess beneath him. He could mockingly refer back to the thought that it all started with her having the upper hand, but maybe later. Though it's intriguing to imagine another scenario, of how this should've played out - with him tied to the bedframe and his hips straddled as she rides him to her satisfaction. He would be a rotten liar if he says he isn't interested in seeing it come true. But oh how much better victory tastes. There is a good reason she didn't go all the way, and that's because she wanted to be fucked raw and fast instead. But since she has his heart - she's been having it for a long time now - more than playing with power he wants to simply satisfy her and quench her thirst for him. He knows that no amount of true dominance would feel as good to her as to simply have him buried deep to the hilt inside her, moaning his pleasure into her ears as he spills his seed against her deepest parts. It's because he feels the same way.

"Do you still want me to keep going? Fast and deep like that? You're going to make me want to fill you up."

"Ahhhh, yes, Napoleon, Napoleon do it, please, fill me up with your cum, please."

He thrusts hard and noisily into her wet heat, feeling his release building up by her cute pleas alone. In addition, she feels incredibly hot and tight around him, coaxing his release as he tries to maintain a steady pace.

Enclosing her arms with his own muscular ones and holding a vice-like grip on her wrists, he lets himself go.

The burning sensation of Napoleon hitting her deepest, most sacred part is slightly painful, but in a very good way. She feels so full. The sheer thought of him giving into his desire and claiming her like this is enough to send her spiraling into pleasure, but the feeling of his hot cum rushing into her depths is mind-shuddering on its own. She doesn’t realize there are tears rolling down her cheeks. Rutting away the rest of his high into her hips, smacking the sweat-lined skin of her ass, he moans her name, letting himself be milked from every last drop as she keeps convulsing and following him into the throes of release in high-pithed, pleading shrieks that morph into downright pornographic moans. Their legs tangle together, maintaining the gradually dying down friction until their senses start to calm down.

Napoleon can feel the slowly cooling layer of sweat covering the skin of his back, though he still feels very hot; the humid summer air demandingly asserting his presence. He carefully rolls off MC, making sure she is getting enough air to breathe. He almost pouts in realization, I'm always the one doing all the work yet she is panting harder. Pleasure still rocks all over him, and his heart beats lovingly at the feeling of MC curling into his chest even when she must be feeling hot.

They stay like this for a moment, catching their breath, hands wandering each other's bodies, and sending muted fireworks of pleasure aftershocks everywhere they touch. It could either be that he is ticklish, or the endorphins kicking in, but soft giggles escape Napoleon's lips and pour right into hers, infecting her along the way. It's a very clumsy kiss, but it gets Napoleon an idea.

"I still think I can turn the score around. Let's see who leaves this room more thoroughly kissed or whatever."

Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @ale-teodora @kimi00twin @otomelady @privilegedpancake @g-kleran @pumpumnnnp @thesirenwashere @ravenarld @kimmy-banana @devonares @galaxyprison @sadshaxk @starshards26 @pro-cat-stination @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @keen19thcenturygoatsstudent @lordsister @ikemen-banshou @themysticalbeing @canaria-blackwell @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @coornn @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning @aquagirl1978 @ikemenlover24 @violettduchess @mcofthemansion @joy-the-reader @katriniac @ikemen-writer @tele86 @lovely-bubb1es @princesspraya @delicateikemenmemes Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!

#ikemen vampire #ikevamp #ikemen vampire napoleon #ikevamp napoleon #ikemen vampire napoleon bonaparte #ikemen napoleon #ikemen series #ikeseries #ikemen #cybird #otome #ikevamp fanfic #ikevamp smut

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rose-in-a-fisted-glove · 2 months

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Hi it’s the SU anon here I’m very sorry for how much I upset you, and I seriously wanted to piece tgt what I’m missing from the Jewish viewpoint so I appreciate u still being open to talking to me despite the ignorance. Also disclaimer I’m born and raised in Malaysia so I’ve not met an actual Jew in person until very recently in uni, so all I know is from the messy pile on the internet and I do genuinely learn from ur posts when I see them.

From what I see on ur blog u do show quite a lot of sympathy to the all the cruelty happening in Gaza, but don’t tolerate this being used as an excuse to target Israel/Jewish ppl. I do understand that the whole concept of pushing for an Israel/jewish ethnostate is very much entwined with the history of Jewish culture and the antisemitism endured through different times, so I think this is the part where I made the most ignorant statement on? After rereading what I wrote it might also have sounded like all Jews hold extremely reactionary views towards the word “ceasefire”? Pls do point out more of what upset u, I take full responsibility for what I said and pls stop this convo at any point if I end up offending u more.

Recognizing that you don't know something is the first step towards fixing it. It's good that you thought on your previous ask and tried to research it! But you're missing an awful lot so let's start from the top.

(As a reminder and so others can seee, here's the original ask)

"Hi, this a question abt ur opinion on what’s happening in Gaza just bc you’re one of my favourite blogs that goes deep into Jewish culture/issues. If at any point this question becomes annoying pls ignore.

Anyways so in my college SU meeting recently someone sent in a motion to make an official statement to condemn the war and call for immediate and permanent ceasefire + provide more support to the Jewish and Muslim/Arab students affected by increased hate in the community as well. This sparked a debate among those in attendance and of course there’s a few very pro-Israel voices that insists that a ceasefire will cause Israel to lose all ability to defend itself as well as many pro-Palestine arguments. The motion ended up discarded bc of procedural reasons but as someone who has mostly held a free Palestine view so far and has been hoping for a more inclusive Israel in the future, I don’t understand why stopping a war hurting both sides is taken as an Israel must disappear take by many. I always just accepted it as it’s probably got a lot more antisemitic undertone when it’s a Jew that hears it, but I really wanna hear ur take as well bc the debate I witnessed brought up very disturbing points that I can’t stop thinking about. Hope this didn’t end up sounding disrespectful and thanks for always sharing important Jewish viewpoints without undermining other social issues!"

First problem comes right with the opening sentence; "Hi, this a question abt ur opinion on what’s happening in Gaza just bc you’re one of my favourite blogs that goes deep into Jewish culture/issues."

Going to random Jews who do not post about the conflict and asking for their "stance" on it is part of a series of antisemitic loyalty tests and is extremely rude on top of it. Furthermore, speaking on Jewish cultures and issues and antisemitism is not the same as being experienced or knowledgeable on international conflicts.

And then your next paragraphs are of course riddled with anti-Israeli biases and examples that you've been listening to/reading propaganda uncritically, such as "wanting a more inclusive Israel" and in your more recent ask saying things like "I do understand that the whole concept of pushing for an Israel/jewish ethnostate is very much entwined with the history of Jewish culture and the antisemitism endured through different times". So you clearly have a basic lack of knowledge about both Israel and the conflict in general along with Zionism itself.

But, again, that's not an area I talk about much. If any of the folks who do talk about it, see this and want to go into it, please do! Just to repeat here, you shouldn't have been asking me in the first place.

Then, this part here, showed me that you have a history of dismissing antisemitism as Jews being overly sensitive "I always just accepted it as it’s probably got a lot more antisemitic undertone when it’s a Jew that hears it." And then that was compounded by your closing insult, "thanks for always sharing important Jewish viewpoints without undermining other social issues!"

And that closing insult told me that I had woefully failed in sharing any information about antisemitism at all. "Sharing important Jewish viewpoints without undermining other social issues". Jewish "viewpoints" and antisemitism are just as important as any other sort of bias. Pointing out antisemitism and sharing stories about antisemitism does not, and can not, undermine other social issues. It is not lesser. Honestly, I'm still kind of livid over that shot.

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muzzleroars · 4 months

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I love the personalization you give V2 in your most recent comic, I’m reminded of Plato’s Socrates, they’re one step ahead of Michael’s arguments, picking them apart and shaking up expectations (and being a bit of a troll to boot), but from that I also get the feeling that these are questions V2’s already asked itself.

It’s a thinker, an asker, programmed and taught with human intelligence and curiosity, and in a world mostly bereft of people thinking and asking questions like them I bet it’d turn that curiosity inwards.

I also bet that V2’s very appreciative of having someone to bounce questions off of, someone of a different mindset and origins to provide differing lines of thought and alternative viewpoints. Argument need not be a negative experience, after all.

I’m betting a lot of things, they’re just stuck in my head now and I can’t help but think about how this snarky warrior-poet would contemplate its life. So perfectly human but also so perfectly inhuman, detached and attached to how we think.

I think I sent a rant about how much I love the way you write and draw a while back, I can tell you put so much thought and effort into your work, and I want to reiterate that, I ADORE the work you put in, it shows and it shines so brightly. Thank you for posting it.

(see this!)

WAAAUUUGHHH THANK YOU,,,,i've been wanting to do a lot of little character interaction comics, and with settling on a simpler style to get them done, i'll definitely have a few more i'll make!!

but that is a lot of what i think about v2 as a character - it's very different from the machines that surround it and didn't find any that could understand its curious, inquiring mind, so it had a lot of conversations with itself. it got to know gabriel, which was its first true conversational partner ever since humans got wiped out, but michael is a much different experience for it. while gabriel is great to talk with since he's gregarious and charming, michael is introverted and, for a warrior angel, a rather deep thinker with obvious existential questions weighing on his mind. yet those thoughts aren't allowed to go anywhere because mike needs to constantly keep himself "on track" and answer himself with what his faith dictates. v2, as a rather free thinker, just goes where logic leads it and accepts that as the truth. sure, it knows here that it's poking at mike by pointing out the similarities (it really can't help being a LITTLE annoying lol), but it also views mike as someone with a deep but narrow mind. he has so much potential, v2 KNOWS he's a lot like it in many ways, he just refuses to get out of the comfort zone of his rigid dogma. so it does something small here. because v2 sees this all differently - its name is perfectly unique, as it is the only one that is the second of the v-series, the same way mike's name is unique as he is a warrior of god named for his own battle cry. it knows he won't agree, he'll argue the differences in his talking points, but all v2 ever wants is for mike to think. he has a mind starved for it and wanting it, but no one could challenge him in any previous connection he had. he is the prince of heaven, always so right and always so intimidating, but v2 can start cracking away at him little by little...and it's exactly what both of them have wanted. they begin having healthy arguments, and i think their relationship is always marked by debating one another. it gives v2 the conversations it's always wanted and it gives mike more and more room to breathe in a philosophical mind that had always been so smothered.

#i really REALLY love the comparison of their relationship to that of gabe and v1 #gabe needed the outlet of violence and physicality that he has never allowed #v1 needed someone that could understand its inherent drive for that violence #while mike and v2 has been starved of any deeper thinking or philosophy because they're not meant for that #and the idea that both of these things are good. people have different needs #and it's just about finding the person that fits with you!!!#cake answers #v2 #michael #rise and fall au

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schrijverr · 1 year

Text

I'd Make a Deal with God and Get Him to Swap Our Places

While out on a date in the grass hills of Hawkins, Steve and Eddie start to roll down one of the hills after play fighting. Eddie instinctively ensures Steve won’t hit his head again on the way down, making Steve emotional with the caring display.

This fic is based off this post by @babyboymunson bc I couldn't get it out of my head ever since I read it!

On AO3.

Ships: Steve x Eddie

Warnings: none

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie and Steve are up on one of the many hills in Hawkins. The summer is just starting, the flowers are blooming and it’s the perfect day for a picnic, something Steve has been looking forward to ever since Eddie got out of the hospital.

Steve wants to romance Eddie properly. Hospital bed dates can only go so far and now that they’re both in good enough health, he’s excited that they’re on a proper date.

However, Steve and Eddie work for many reasons and, while they have their sweet moments, they mostly work because they can gossip together and fondly get into heated debates about utter nonsense, but that is only when they’re not committing slightly too much to a bit together.

Today Eddie commented something and Steve’s mean era personality shone through, when he returned with a bitchy reply that Eddie decided to take faux offense to just to start shit.

With Eddie, Steve has learned how fun it can be to argue, not because you mean it, but just to see how far and to what ridiculous extend you could take it. Picking a hill to die on, just for the sake of doing it.

Still, Eddie is a little bit more wordy than Steve, his love for fiction and DnD coming through in times like these. So, when Steve runs out of arguments, he falls back on his life as a jock and lunges at Eddie.

Now they have abandoned their picnic and are play wrestling. It’s nice to do idiotic teenager stuff after everything, so they’re laughing as they roll through the grass each of them trying to pin the other down.

Neither of them have noticed how close they are to the edge of the hill they scaled earlier with their picnic, threatening to roll back down in a bumpy way.

Eddie is the one that feels it first. Steve manages to get the upper hand, but as Eddie twists towards the ground, he can feel that this is different than before. Steeper. It only takes a second to figure out why and then a split second more to make a decision.

He can’t let Steve get hurt again. Not in the head. His boyfriend is the kindest and most protective man Eddie knows, but no matter how strong and badass he is, there is no denying what Eddie heard in that hospital. How much Steve can’t afford another head injury.

Not to mention that Eddie can see it himself every day. The way Steve lives in a house of sticky notes, reminders to pick up the kids, dates, Erica’s favorite ice cream flavor, the movie Robin talked about loving, some songs Eddie mentioned. The way Steve is always a little slower than the rest to answer questions, taking a little longer to process the question and think of a reply. The way some days his headaches get so bad, he’ll be down for hours.

Eddie knows Steve.

Eddie knows that Steve has done enough and can’t afford to do more. That he needs to be kept safe for once. That he needs to be protected.

So, without thinking he reaches up to pull Steve towards him. His cushions his head on his chest and wraps both arms around his head to keep it still and away from the danger of getting hit as they start to roll down the hill.

For Steve it goes equally quick. One moment he’s play fighting with Eddie, the next he is janked down, before the whole world starts spinning.

It takes a moment before he realizes they’re rolling down the hill, because Eddie has his arms around his head and crossed his legs around his body. The action pins Steve’s arms to his side, so he can nothing but let Eddie hold him as they go down.

He is conflicted on how he feels about that. It’s not the best environment to analyze one’s feelings, you know, when rolling down a hill. But Steve is safe in Eddie’s arms and has enough a brain to realize that he’s usually on the other side of the equation.

Steve is the protector and Eddie got seriously hurt during those bat attacks. He shouldn’t be the one holding Steve. Yet- He can’t deny that it’s nice to be held like this. To be protected for once. To be cushioned from the ground, instead of bouncing off it as they pick up speed the more they roll, until they get to the flat part and start to slow down again.

When they finally stop, both of them are breathing heavily, coming down from the shock of suddenly falling so far down. Steve is on top of Eddie, hearing the other’s heartbeat.

Eddie groans a bit and while it felt nice to be the one protected, Steve is still anxious and worried about Eddie. About loosing him as he nearly did before. About him being hurt. So he attempts to get up. Eddie has dropped his legs, meaning Steve can get on his hands and knees. However, there is one problem…

“Baby, Eds, my head,” he says, when Eddie keeps holding his head like he’s done all the way down, not letting go in the slightest.

In response Eddie just holds his closer and lets out a soft noise. He squeezes once as he lets out a shuddery breath, before moving his hands down, not letting go, but changing to ensure he can look Steve in the eye.

One hand comes up and feels around Steve’s head, before cupping his cheek when Steve asks: “Eds, are you okay?” his own hands fluttering over Eddie’s ribs to ensure he didn’t get hurt, relief washing over him when he can’t find any immediate injuries.

“I- I’m fine,” Eddie chokes out, a few tears starting to gather in his eyes that didn’t soothe Steve’s worries at all, even if they look to be from relief as Eddie realizes Steve is totally fine.

“Are you sure? You’re not hurt?” Steve frowns, just checking one more time in case his eyes deceive him. “Come on, baby, why those tears?”

Eddie roughly wipes them away, only now realizing they’re there, before giving Steve a wobbly smile and answering: “I’m good. Promise, Stevie. Just really happy you’re okay, you know? I don’t know what I would do with myself if you hit your pretty little head again, because of a dumb silly argument.”

The words stun Steve to silence.

He already knows that Eddie cares for him. That Eddie loves him. Yet, this seems to do him in somehow. Just the fact that Eddie’s instinct had been to pull Steve close and make sure he couldn’t get hurt. To keep him safe.

Without his permission tears well up. He tries to push them down, biting his lip so it can’t wobble and blinking a few times. But it’s no use, they start to fall anyway.

At first he tries to ignore the tears rolling down his face, but when he takes a breath he chokes on it and soon he’s properly crying, burying his face in Eddie’s chest. Eddie for his part, just moves his hands so he can hold Steve better, letting him cry with only soft and soothing words.

It takes a few minutes before Steve has his breathing in check again, throughout it all Eddie just holds him and tells him they’re okay. When he notices Steve’s breathing getting better, he softly asks: “Want to talk about it, sweetheart?”

“No, ‘s just- ‘s just nice that you care,” Steve mutters, hiding his blushing face from Eddie when he gives his confession.

Eddie’s heart breaks a little for Steve, the boy, who cares so much and was never properly cared for in turn. God, he wishes the world would have been kinder to Steve. Wishes he could fight someone and make it all better. Wishes there is more he can do than hold Steve and promise: “I’ll always care about you, baby,” hoping Steve can understand how much he means it.

And when Steve whispers: “I know,” that has to be enough for Eddie. Now he just has to prove that he will keep that promise for the rest of their life. It doesn’t sound like much of a hardship.

#rr writing #stranger things fic #stranger things #steddie #eddie lives au #steve harrington x eddie munson #steve x eddie #eddie munson #steve harrington

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frangipanidownunder · 1 year

Text

Today

Rating G, pure fluff, post revival.

Thanks to @txf-fic-chicks-blog for asking me to join this fun nostalgia trip. I had fun writing my loves again!

She studies the box. It’s small, perfectly square, wrapped in thick white glossy paper with a cream bow decorating the top. Intriguing. Terrifying. It doesn’t take an FBI agent to deduce jewellery of some kind. Earrings? A ring? But what for? She checks her cell-phone. It’s the 28th of March. Her memory is sharp but the date means nothing. Not their first case. Not their first date. Not their first kiss. Not their marriage. Not their separation. Not William’s birthday. Not Emily’s. Not Skinner’s. A death? Emily. Missy. Maggie. The Gunmen? Too many to linger. And still her mind is blank.

“Do you give in, Scully?”

He’s smirking in his chair. Silvery streaks in his hair and scruff temporarily draw her gaze from the box in her hand to remind her of their age, of the decades they’ve spent together, apart, working, protecting, mourning, laughing, fighting, debating. And loving each other. Still. Always.

“Tell me again why you’re giving me this, Mulder.” She tries for playful but it sounds querulous. Like when a case has got to the point where he’s about to tell her it’s aliens and she points out that the science doesn’t support his theory and he grins and shrugs and she tries to ignore the worrisome niggle in her gut and hopes something rational turns up.

“Just because,” he says, leaning forward so she can smell his cologne and see the same old testing sparkles in his eyes. “Open it.”

“But I haven’t got anything for you to celebrate…” she flaps her hand in the air, “whatever it is we’re celebrating.”

“I never give to receive, Scully. Surely you know that by now.” The smile oozes across his lush mouth and she squirms on her seat. When will this damn man loose the ability to leave her feeling like a blob of cherry Goop-O ABC.

She turns it this way and that. Shakes it. Sniffs it. If she whips out her scalpel and starts a dissection, he’ll be even more insufferable. Instead, she tugs the end of the ribbon, picks away the sticky tape on the sides, removes the wrapping to reveal a white cardboard box with a single gold letter on the top. S.

“For Scully?” she asks, and her voice is lower than she wants. She can’t believe she’s still falling for his games. That she still craves this to-and-fro playfulness.

“If you like,” he shrugs and it irritates her that her mind is full of cotton wool instead of theories or retorts. How is he still surprising her when she knows him by heart and he knows her inside out?

She loosens the lid. He leans closer. She licks her lips. The tension is thick like one of those early cases in Weirdsville, Virginia when rain would pummel the windows of the motel room and he would roll up his shirt sleeves as she typed notes on the clunky laptop. His brain would spark up like lightning and her adrenaline could power small towns. He’d talk feverishly and she’d temper his wild ideas. Nights lasted minutes. Life was a delirious ride of stellar highs and swampy lows, an intellectual smorgasbord of argument and counter debate, of fact and theory, of impossible, improbable details she could neither deny nor accept. How she missed those days. How she didn’t.

“What is it?” she asks before she prises the lid free.

“You tell me,” he responds and looks right into her, through to her heart, her soul, her essence.

Inside, there’s a fold of white velvet. In that soft fabric, there’s a tiny piece of paper. She removes it, aware of his gaze on her. Her cheeks heat. Her breathing quickens. Just like those nights when they’d unlock the key, uncover the conspiracy, decipher the code, see the arcane truth among the mundane lies. She unfolds it. On it, in Mulder’s precise penmanship, is a date. Today’s date. 032823.

“What does it mean?” she asks, a little flustered now. What has she missed?

His face cracks into the widest of smiles that sets her body to trembling. He shakes his head slightly, softening his grin into more of a gentle appraisement of her, one she’s seen when she’s sick or distressed or in pain. It comforts and reassures and grounds her. She asks again. “What does it mean? I just can’t think…I’m sorry, Mulder.”

“It means,” he says, placing a finger under her chin and moving in for a chaste kiss. “It means absolutely nothing. It’s today’s date. And today we are celebrating…today. Us. Being here. The now. The present. Whatever you want to call it. It’s our anniversary of nothing and I wanted to spend it with you.”

Her forehead rests against his and she chuffs out a quiet hmmph. She hasn’t forgotten anything important. Everything important is right here, right now. No good looking back. No use looking forward.

“Thank you, Mulder,” she whispers.

“Thank you, Scully,” he says, “for yesterday, for tomorrow, but especially for today.”

#txf fanfic #my fanfiction #msr #txf fic chicks #anniversary #today

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jeork · 3 months

Text

How to (not) Fight for Love: The Morning after the Wedding

I finally got around to continue reading and reached the part I looked forward to the most, the great debate of chapter 14. As I mentioned in my post ‘Meeting Ralph’, for this read I was particularly interested in looking at Ralph from an “outsiders POV” and exploring why he - although a beloved character in the fandom - seems to often not be very well perceived by casual one-time readers.

This is not about whether the things he says are logically right or wrong, but more so about his communication style, and how IMO he tends to blunder quite a bit. Also, @renaultphile already wrote a really interesting breakdown of the power struggle in chapter 14 here.

First, let’s start with Laurie, through who’s POV Ralph is filtered. Laurie perceives Ralph as calculated, which comes through especially on the morning after the wedding night. In the same vein he appears to misinterpret Ralph’s display of desperation as a display of loose morals. This assessment builds up within him throughout the novel, and fully breaks through to the surface on the day after the wedding night:

„Seven years was a long time, after all, and something had gone.“

He casts Ralph as the lover in Lysia‘s speech. It leaves little leeway and benefit of the doubt for Ralph. Now, while I think Laurie misinterprets the intent behind Ralph‘s calculative behavior, I wouldn't say he is wrong about perceiving it.

Before going through chapter 14, I want to first go back to the morning after the wedding, to look at some of Ralph’s speech mannerisms outside of an argumentative context.

One thing he likes to do is what I would consider to be a sudden switch up. In the morning he seems to very organically fall into one after Laurie mentions how Ralph reminds him of a character from Treasure Island. Previously idle, Ralph suddenly goes into alert ship's captain mode, then immediately switches back to lanquidity after he’s done relaying his shark information. Obviously there was no calculative intent behind this, still it has a slightly off-putting effect on Laurie (and potentially readers). He’s immediately reminded of their power imbalance.

It’s harder to feel at ease with someone who can easily emotionally detour from the shared mood, and then return to it at the drop of a hat. It can come across as if they can’t chill out, or as if they're not emotionally present with you. At worst it can come across as them being fake.

Another habit I think Ralph has is to invert stereotypical expressions that would typically be phrased in regards to oneself (I feel, I am, etc.). He asks „Are you thinking about me?“, as opposed to the more stereotypical expression of “I’m thinking about you.” In this case this inversion is not an issue, I actually think it’s very boyish, indulgent and endearing haha. But this speech mannerism could easily be perceived as a problem when used within a different context.

Later, after Laurie hesitates about moving in with him, Ralph says “You didn‘t think I was going to be difficult, did you?” I feel like a more common phrase to de-escalate a potential argument would be “Sorry if I’m being difficult right now.” (Not saying this is what Ralph should’ve said.)

Sometime afterwards he also says „It half kills me to see you making yourself unhappy like this.“ as opposed to „This situation is making me unhappy (as well).“ Here of course Ralph's own unhappiness is heavily implied (although he phrases it like a hyperbole, which makes it sound more like he's being inconvenienced). But the real focus still lies on Laurie's emotional state.

The way I see it, Mary uses these inverted expressions to reveal a lot about Ralph’s inner emotional states, without him actually having to voice them. On one hand he's too prideful to do so, on the other I guess he's trying to not make it about himself. Still, when taken at face value these statements can come across as patronizing. Everything’s always framed as being for Laurie’s own good, as if he’s being done a favor. It establishes the dynamic of Laurie needing Ralph, without making it clear how much Ralph needs Laurie.

“I know what you’re like without me there.”

This implied dynamic unfortunately goes right to the core of what Laurie’s afraid of. He feels naive and powerless, which ends up turning into the instinct to push back against Ralph.

(Follow-up on how all this flows into their chapter 14 confrontation will come ASAP.)

#the charioteer #mary renault #tc fandom reread

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wanderinginksplot · 2 years

Text

Gar Cyare Chapter Seven

Continuation of my Alpha-17 x fem!reader story. (Probably at least novel-length by now, tbh.)

If you're confused and feel like you missed a chapter, don't panic! There was a chapter posted on my NSFW sideblog. I originally labeled it as Chapter 5.5, but I'll probably rename it to Chapter Six to keep the numbering consistent. If you're worried you missed something, you can read this post about minor (SFW) things that happened in the chapter.

Word Count: 6,300

Warnings: descriptions of intense training, high expectations, lectures, extremely vague references to intimacy.

Previous* | Next | Masterlist

*The Previous button will bring the user back to Chapter Five, as I don't want any unwary readers seeing something they would rather not.

---

Ramikadyc (A Commando State of Mind)

“But they just left!”

“Yep.”

“Isn’t that a little…”

“A little what, neverd’ika?” Alpha asked, eyes traveling quickly over the screen of his datapad. When you didn’t answer him immediately, he paused to glance up at you. “Soon? Sudden? That’s how the GAR works, if you forgot. Efficiency. At least, that’s what they say.”

For several reasons, you let his grumbled statement stand without argument. First, he wasn’t wrong. For all that the Grand Army of the Republic claimed to be a fast-moving, flexible marvel of an organization, it was bloated with far too much structure to be anything of the kind. Everyone had been excited about the formation of a centralized army, and half the commanding officers were in place despite having only the barest hint of military experience. You had learned that friendship with a Senator was the qualification that mattered the most.

Second, you didn’t debate with Alpha because you were still processing your own surprise. The last ARC group had just left a few days before and Alpha was already preparing for the newest group to arrive.

“It just seems strange,” you concluded eventually.

Alpha lowered his datapad, settling back in the chair he had claimed in your office. “When would you bring them in? How long would you schedule between groups? What would be your justification for more time?”

You shrugged, unprepared to answer so many questions. “I just feel that you could do more in-depth preparations if you had more than a weekend between departures and arrivals.”

“I’m the only ARC trainer in the GAR,” Alpha reminded you. “They come in small groups, usually five or six men per group. The training lasts six weeks. That means that ARCs are already being added very slowly. In fact, the GAR needs to lose fewer than one ARC per week if we have any chance of breaking even.”

“That’s-” You cut yourself short and shook your head tightly, knowing exactly how the rest of the conversation would go if you objected to that cold view. Instead, you focused on numbers. “Are the casualty numbers high enough that the GAR needs to worry about running out of ARC troopers in the near future?”

“Not at all,” Alpha replied smugly. “I’m a good trainer and I train ‘em right. Typical casualty rates tend toward two lost ARCs per year. We're aiming for none.”

“I’m not surprised,” you told him. Flattery didn’t work with Alpha - as he reminded you regularly - but you were trying to make it a habit to tell him when he did something noteworthy or impressive. Alpha had been treated poorly by far too many people. He trusted you, but that didn’t mean you stopped earning his trust. Besides, he heard more about his flaws than he ever had about his strengths. You couldn’t hope to even that out, but you could try. “If I didn’t already know it, you proved it with your last group. They were extraordinarily talented fighters and strategists. That’s something you made sure of. You keep your men alive.”

Alpha glanced away, fiddling with the datapad. “If you say so.”

You beamed. It wasn’t often you got to see Alpha flustered, but you treasured it every time. After a moment, though, your eyes traveled down to the datapad Alpha was holding. It was a twin to the ones scattered across your desk, but you were willing to bet that his held vastly different information. Yours was taken up by your report while Alpha’s… Well, you had no idea what was on that datapad.

There was a lot you didn’t know about ARC training actually, despite the fact that you were dating an ARC trainer.

“You’re going to give yourself a headache if you keep doing that with your face.”

Alpha’s warning made you realize that you had been frowning absently at his datapad. You smoothed your expression, smiling as he chuckled.

“What are you thinking about that has you so serious?” he asked.

“I was just realizing that I don’t know much about ARC training,” you admitted.

Alpha shook his head. “That’s because it’s all classified. You probably know too much already.”

“I have top-secret security clearance,” you reminded him. “I needed it to write this report, which is also classified. Almost everything that has gone into it is classified information, meant to be read by people who also have high security clearance.”

“So, what are you saying?” Alpha asked, now frowning himself. “That you want to… observe the ARC training process?”

“No…” you trailed, reconsidering even as you said it. It wouldn't be a bad idea, honestly. The report wasn't due for some time, and including information about the ARCs would be smart. Since you were already contracted to write a comprehensive report for the Senate, you might as well make it truly comprehensive, right?

The fact that it would add more work and - accordingly - more time to the process was worth considering, too.

"Actually, yes," you told him decisively. "I do want to observe the ARC training process."

You watched with some hidden amusement as Alpha processed that. His jaw tightened, brows lowered over eyes that were carefully studying your face.

"You won't like it," he said eventually.

The laugh you gave was accidental, but Alpha didn't seem like he was in the mood for excuses. "I'm sorry, I know. I'm not asking because I think it'll be fun or because I want to watch you work. I think it's necessary for the report."

"You're going to write about me?" Alpha asked, sounding stunned.

"Of course," you admitted. "I was always planning on it. You're the only ARC trainer on Kamino, and one of the few troopers who is designated to train the men."

Alpha scowled at that, too. "You're going to tell a bunch of di'kutla senators that I'm not good for anything but instruction?"

“Never,” you told him fervently. “You’re qualified for everything. Training the men to survive is just what you chose to do. Besides, do you care what the Senate thinks?”

“I care what you think,” Alpha revealed, pretending to read something on the screen of his datapad.

“Then you know exactly what I think about you, Alpha.” You stood, skirting the desk to press a kiss to the warm curve of Alpha’s cheek, round with the pout he was trying to hide. “But if you need me to remind- oof!”

Alpha had waited for you to keep speaking, biding his time until you weren’t focused as strongly on him, then he had snagged you by the waist and pulled you down into his lap. His arms wrapped around you, keeping you in place as he cradled you to his chest.

“That was your first mistake, neverd’ika,” Alpha said, sounding thoroughly satisfied with himself. “Never get within arm’s reach. Didn’t Trem teach you that one?”

“She didn’t tell me I should worry about an attack from my boyfriend!” you protested, laughing as Alpha gave you a smacking kiss every time you tried to push away from him. Eventually, you gave in and settled where you were, positioned in an undignified sprawl across his lap. “What’s your plan here? Distract me until I forget about observing ARC training?”

Alpha ducked his head, dropping a kiss on your lips and steadily deepening it until you felt dizzy with too much sensation, too many emotions, and not enough air. When he pulled away, it was with a wry look on his face - an odd counter to the passion you had felt from him a moment before.

“I know better than to think I can distract you from anything,” he told you. “My mirdala civvie. You’re smart. Stubborn, too. Stubborn enough to be stupid about it.”

“Thank you.” If your voice was dry, who could really blame you?

“Anytime,” Alpha replied, unbothered. “And neverd’ika? Maybe you’re not observing ARC training because you want to watch me work, but we both know you will anyway. You won’t be able to help it.”

You stared up at him, unsure of whether he had intended to come off as overly confident as he had. Hewas in a strangely cheerful mood, so maybe…

Alpha flexed his arms, his pecs firming at the edge of your vision. As far as you were concerned, that only confirmed that he was indeed preening and you couldn’t hold back a giggle at the realization.

“I can have more than one reason to watch ARC training,” you demurred. Alpha grinned at you, but your smile softened into one of fondness. “Confidence looks good on you, Alpha.”

“Thank you, little one.” Alpha gave you a gentle squeeze, then let his grip loosen. “You should go back to your own chair or I won’t get anything else done today, and they get here tomorrow.”

Now you were the one pouting, but you did as he suggested - it turned out that you were just as susceptible to distraction. “Fine.”

You went back to writing your report, laying an outline for the section about ARC training. It was sparse, based only on what little you already knew, but you really had gotten distracted by your boyfriend. Had he agreed to letting you observe, or would you need to push a little harder? That may be unpleasant, but you wanted to include ARC training information in the report.

Before you could get too lost in your own thoughts, Alpha cleared his throat. With his gaze still locked on his datapad, he said, “Be in the ARC training area by seven-thirty tomorrow morning.”

—

You arrived at the training area slightly before seven.

Alpha was already there, but glanced at you questioningly when you stepped inside, eyebrows jumping up his forehead in shock. "What are you doing here already? I said seven-thirty."

"I know, but…" You shrugged. "Over the last few months, I've learned that the phrase, 'if you're not early, you're late' definitely applies to the GAR. I didn't want to risk missing something."

After another moment of silent contemplation, Alpha gave an impressed nod. "Smart."

"And stubborn," you finished for him. You were rewarded with a smile.

"Exactly. And since you're stubborn enough to stay here, I need you to be smart enough to listen to me. I need you to observe, not participate. Training these men… it isn't just physical work. That's a big part of it, but there's mental work that needs to be done."

You nodded slowly. "Physical and psychological training. Is that so they can handle the intensity of the missions they're going to do?"

"Partially," Alpha said, glancing at the chrono on his wrist comlink. "It's also an old military trick. People can adapt faster in a hostile environment, learn to change the way they do things so that it's reflexive."

"Twisted, but I suppose I see the logic," you admitted. "So am I going to ruin the hostile psychology by being here?"

Alpha shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've never had a civvie sit in on ARC training."

"Well, do you need me to hide?" you asked. You hadn't realized that Alpha was worried about your presence there, and now you were, too. The idea of destroying the effectiveness of an entire ARC group’s training was very concerning.

Alpha was staring at you as if you had started speaking in your best impression of a B-1. “They’re troopers designated for ARC training; they’ll see you. Believe it or not, I think having a civvie hiding in the training room would probably be more distracting than one being in here at all.”

You huffed at his lack of faith in your reconnaissance skills. “Fine, then what do you need me to do?”

“Just sit there,” Alpha said. “Make your notes, but try not to speak. If you have questions, write them down. I can’t stop to answer questions and I can’t explain my reasoning without giving away too much to the men.”

You nodded solemnly, but Alpha didn’t look convinced. “Don’t- try not to look too pleasant. Don’t smile if you can help it and definitely don’t smile at them. I need you to play the role of an impartial observer, or as close to it as you can get.”

“I am an impartial observer,” you reminded him. “That’s basically the job description.”

“You’ve never been impartial about anything in your life, neverd’ika,” Alpha told you with a snort. Before you could get too offended, he ducked to press a kiss to your forehead. “It’s one of the reasons I couldn’t help myself around you.”

You shook your head, trying to pretend you were still irritated by his too-accurate observation, but you were rapidly losing the fight. Instead, you held up your datapad. “Can you tell me a little about the men who are coming in? If I can’t ask questions in front of them, knowing who they are before they get here will help me take more accurate notes.”

Alpha nodded. “This is a standard group. Five men, just like the last one. Ready?”

As soon as your fingers were poised over the screen of your datapad, you looked back at Alpha. ”Ready when you are.”

“There’s Salvo, a commander from the 22nd Air Combat Wing. Obviously, he’s a pilot, but the 22nd has seen its fair share of combat. Next is Aftermath from the 327th Star Corps, an infantry unit. We’ve got one named Maw. He’s from a squad in the 104th Battalion - the Wolfpack, they call themselves - which tends to get more search-and-rescue and aid missions than the other battalions, but I expect he’s seen some combat.”

Alpha paused while you wrote all of that down, but when you caught up, you arched a brow at him. “Why does the Wolfpack get fewer combat missions? I thought all units of the GAR were supposed to be infantry-focused.”

“They are, but…” Alpha sighed. “The 104th was decimated early in the war when the Seppies targeted their general’s fleet.”

“Oh, no,” you said, feeling stupid for the shallowness of the sentiment compared to such loss. “What happened to the escape pods?”

It wasn’t something anyone had taught you specifically, but you had briefly investigated the battleships used by the Republic. Each Venator-Class Star Destroyer was equipped with a fair number of systems that would start up in the event that a ship had been disabled or destroyed. There were hundreds of escape pods and, if more than twenty were deployed in a span of ten minutes, the ship would send an automatic distress signal to a predetermined location, regardless of whether the communications systems had been activated. For an entire fleet and the battalion it carried to have been destroyed, something catastrophic had to have happened.

“The escape pods were used. From all reports, anywhere from sixty to seventy percent of the personnel were evacuated from the ships,” Alpha told you, the muscles in his jaw flexing with emotion. “The Seppies hunted down the pods. Only one survived: one holding General Koon and three of the men. It’s been a while since that happened and the 104th has brought in enough men to be a fully-functioning battalion again, but the GAR still tries to give them missions that are more strategic or aid-oriented than the other units.”

“That’s horrible,” you murmured.

“That’s war,” Alpha countered, but there was darkness behind his easy acceptance, a deeply burrowed sense of pain that made you bite back any harsh reply you may have given.

Instead, you cleared your throat softly and looked back at your datapad. “And the last two?”

“The last two are from the same unit: the Torrent Company of the 501st Legion. It’s an infantry division. The men call themselves Fives and Echo.”

“Fives..?” you repeated, the name sounding slightly familiar.

“You met him once,” Alpha reminded you. “He and one of his brothers were trying to flirt with you when I interrupted.”

“Yes, I remember!” you said with a fond smile. “Wait, that was only a few months ago. How are they already going through ARC training?”

Alpha grimaced and it was enough to make you brace yourself. “Their first duty station was attacked during their second week there. They stopped an invasion of Kamino - before the big one. Two of their squad were killed at the start of the occupation of Rishi Outpost, but Fives, Echo, and their brother Hevy helped Marshal Commander Cody and Captain Rex get the Republic’s attention before the attack could land. Hevy died in the attempt.”

Your stomach twisted at the thought of so much death, but you pressed on. “And that made the GAR decide to give them ARC status?”

“No, that made Captain Rex decide to bring them into the 501st,” Alpha told you. “They were actually close enough to help with the invasion on Kamino with the 501st. They were part of the forces that repelled the Seppies. They did a good enough job that Captain Rex requested they receive ARC training.”

With a nod, you finished making your notes and summarized what was displayed on your datapad’s screen. “So we have Salvo from the 22nd Air Combat Wing, Aftermath from the 327th Star Corps, Maw from the 104th Battalion, and Fives and Echo from the 501st Legion. What are your preliminary thoughts?”

“Why?” Alpha asked, sounding suspicious.

With effort, you managed to avoid rolling your eyes at him. “Because I want to know how you approach training. I want to see what you’re planning with minimal information about them.”

“Minimal information?” Alpha asked, sounding slightly offended. “Clearly, you don’t know how in-depth the GAR’s files are. I’ve read all about these men.”

“That’s not a real answer,” you chided.

Alpha smirked, but didn’t argue. Instead, he pointed at the seat you normally took when you came to the ARC training area. “It isn’t, but we’re out of time. They’ll be here soon.”

You grimaced at him, but sat down. You scarcely had time to arrange yourself and prepare your notes before the door opened to admit a group of men dressed in the typical clothing the troopers used to exercise and train.

That was the most disconcerting thing about working closely with the troopers: they were all so young. The cadets were the worst ones for making your heart hurt - something about a lost childhood made you morose and sentimental - but the ARCs weren’t so different. Troopers were tapped for ARC training at different ages, of course. Salvo seemed older than the others, a hint of silver in his dark hair when he turned his head the right way. In contrast, Fives and Echo were so young that it seemed impossible they had already been through so much.

Silence reigned as they arranged themselves in a line and stood at attention. Alpha stood at parade rest in front of them, hands clasped neatly behind his back. He watched them all, meeting each man’s eyes before giving a slight shake of his head.

“We have a lot of work to do here. I hope you troopers are up for it.”

You could see the already straight spines straighten even further as if the men could gain Alpha’s confidence through posture alone.

Alpha continued, the troopers hanging on every word. “I’m Captain Alpha-17, your instructor. You’re here with me for the next six weeks. By the time you leave, you’ll have either proved yourselves worthy of ARC status, or you’ll go back to your units without it.”

He paused as if to let them speak or ask questions, but the quiet in the room only thickened until it felt hard to breathe… and you weren’t even one of the ones he was directly addressing.

When they had all marinated in the ringing silence, Alpha said, “Today we’re setting a baseline for your abilities so we can track improvement. We’ll be doing a series of to-failure exercises, followed by a mission. Find a place and get ready. I trust you can keep your own counts. I’ll be watching for form. If you get sloppy, I deduct from your numbers. Understood?”

Five cries of, “Yes, sir!” echoed around the ARC training area as the troopers scrambled to do as Alpha had ordered them.

And so you watched as Alpha led the group in their exercises. They were generally grouped into major muscle groups, though he liked to hop around a bit. Push-ups, crunches, squats, pull-ups, planks, lunges… the moves blurred together, though you were surprised how slowly they passed. Eventually, you realized that you hadn’t know what to-failure exercises were. They literally were meant to be done until the troopers’ muscles were unable to do each one any longer. With their strength, stamina, and excellent physical condition, they did impossible numbers of each move.

When the troopers were left lying on the floor, panting for breath as their muscles trembled, Alpha gave a sharp whistle between his teeth. “That’s enough of a break, men. We still need to get some work done today. Follow me.”

Everyone stood, a surprising lack of grumbling among them, and followed Alpha from the room and down the hall to the arena where the troopers were tested for basic abilities before they were allowed to ship out for their first duty assignments. You had never seen the ARCs use that area before, but there was a lot you hadn’t been around for.

You followed them into the training area, careful to stand in the marked observation area. The room was designed to be completely changeable, and you had no desire to be standing on a section of floor that was suddenly designated to be high in the air at a strange angle.

“Your mission-” Alpha started, but was soon interrupted.

“Captain, why is a civilian allowed to observe our training?”

If memory served, the trooper who had asked that was Aftermath. He was the trooper with an appearance closest to what you would consider ‘standard’. He was older than the pair from the 501st and younger than Salvo. He didn’t have a tattoo like Fives or Maw, and no facial hair. The only thing that distinguished him from the others was that his hair was cut a bit longer than you typically saw. Amusingly, the front section of his hair was a nest of curls, featuring one particularly thick spiral that stubbornly hung over his forehead, no matter how many times he had tried to brush it back into the rest of his hair.

Alpha, unsurprisingly, looked less than pleased with Aftermath. “First, don’t interrupt me. Second, 4960, if you manage to do something more than sit on a bench and breathe, I’ll let you ask dik’utla questions. And if you manage to impress me -unlikely - I might even answer.”

Aftermath straightened and Alpha shook his head. “Fall in.”

Perhaps you shouldn’t be surprised that all of the men had immediately obeyed the simple instruction, but Alpha hadn’t even raised his voice. You couldn’t help but think that was something worth making note of. When the men had arranged themselves in a line once more, Alpha walked in front of them, pacing slightly as he spoke:

“Listen up, because I’m only gonna say this once. ARC training is one of the most challenging things a trooper can do, and ARC status is one of the most impressive distinctions a trooper can have. You’re here because you were identified as the most competent man or men of your particular unit.” He glanced around, letting the self-congratulations get started before he said, “And I’m here because I was identified as the most competent ARC trooper and the best person to train you men. But we’re not here to discuss my osik luck. Let’s get started.”

“Your mission is to get the flag,” Alpha said simply, gesturing to the room behind him as it arranged itself into a preprogrammed configuration. It wasn’t complex, but it definitely looked challenging. The platform holding the flag lifted into the air, taller and taller until it was towering over your head.

“Your secondary objective is to slice into the data terminal. In this scenario, the flag should be treated as a hostage and the data to be retrieved is sensitive information,” Alpha continued as you frowned. What terminal was he-? Ah. There was indeed a data terminal far to the other side of the room and up a slightly smaller platform. “Blasters are on the table. I’ll be listening to your HUD feeds to evaluate your performance. Time starts… now.”

And then Alpha stepped back next to you as the troopers scrambled into action. He entered a code into the control panel on the wall and the observation area lifted into the air slightly, just enough to see everything without being ridiculously far up.

“I’ll transmit the audio so you can take accurate notes,” Alpha told you, removing his helmet as he did so. You soon heard the crackling sound of inter-HUD communication. It appeared the men were arguing.

“We need to get to the hostage,” a voice said. “That’s our first priority.”

“Echo,” Alpha helpfully supplied.

“First, we need to create a chain of command,” another voice interrupted. As Alpha identified the speaker as Salvo, he continued, “We need to make sure the right person is issuing orders.”

“Kriff issuing orders,” a third person bit out, and you recognized Aftermath by his impatient tone. “We already have our orders.”

“Let’s split up.” This one was Fives, according to Alpha. “Three of us go get the hostage and the other two try to slice the terminal.”

“Too much droid interference,” Salvo told him. “We’ll need at least two people providing cover fire at all times if we don’t want to be taken out.”

“We should go for the terminal first,” a previously unheard voice opined. Through the process of elimination, you identified it as belonging to Maw even before Alpha confirmed that for you. “If I can slice into it, I can lower the platform holding the flag.”

“Why would we need it lowered?” Fives sounded disdainful.

“Do you see any equipment around here?” Maw asked sharply. “None of us have ascension cables. We’ll have to scale the wall. That’ll be easier with it lowered.”

“That’s cheating!” Echo chided.

“No such thing,” Aftermath told him. “As long as we complete the mission objectives, we’ve done what we needed to.”

“Yeah, plus this is all a test,” Maw reminded the group. “Why would the captain have placed an active data terminal in here if he didn’t expect us to use it?”

“Do the ARCs usually argue this much?” you asked, curious.

Alpha shook his head, but a small smile played around the corners of his mouth. “At first? Yeah. There’s a lot they haven’t figured out yet. It makes the first few days of training a shock for them. But the sooner they get over it, the sooner I can start teaching them what they really need to know.”

You made a note on that, as well as the arguments made by the different troopers. Such small details probably wouldn’t make it into your report, but they could be helpful while you were writing, depending on what happened with their first practice mission.

By the time you were paying attention to the audio feed again, the argument had dramatically increased in fervor.

“Our orders were to retrieve the flag first, then the information if possible!”

“But I can slice the terminal and increase our chance of success in retrieving the flag!”

“I think we can get both done. Might as well do the slicing first.”

“It would be faster if we split into groups. Maybe part of our evaluation is how long we take. The less time, the better.”

“Like I said, we can’t split up. We need to plan for interference. No fewer than two men providing cover fire per team. The math doesn’t work out.”

By the time the men started for the lower platform and its data terminal, Alpha had pulled out his own datapad and began to make notes.

The troopers scaled the platform with ease and Maw sliced into the terminal less than three minutes later as the others returned simulated bolts fired from Kamino’s practice droids. The platform lowered until it was nearly level with the ground, the sides sloping instead of steep. The troopers made their way over to it, scaled it easily and took the flag.

“Endex,” Alpha announced, his loud voice carrying through the large room. The simulated blaster fire stopped from both the droids and the troopers, the lights returned to uniform brightness, and the platforms lowered into the floor until it was even once more.

Salvo and Maw approached where the observation platform had eased back to ground height. Salvo presented the flag while Maw offered a small data chip. Alpha took them both, glancing curiously at the data chip.

“Where did you get a chip?” he asked. It was a good point - data terminals didn’t come pre-supplied with blank chips ready for information storage.

Maw smiled. “I erased one of the non-essential chips so I could rewrite it to hold the information we needed to retrieve, sir.”

Alpha nodded thoughtfully. “Fall in, men.”

After the troopers had done so, Alpha said, “Let’s start with what you did right. You completed both objectives. You used some creative problem-solving. You worked as a team. Everything else wasosik.”

You were extremely grateful you were standing out of the men’s line of sight. You were sure the shock on their faces was mirrored on your own.

“Fives,” Alpha said. “You were overconfident about getting both parts of the mission done, but you didn’t argue for your idea of splitting up. If you toss out ideas and don’t back them up, all you’re doing is creating more confusion. Come up with the plan you think will work best and fight for it to happen.”

Alpha turned to the next man. “Aftermath. You were the only one to argue against creating a chain of command. You were right: it didn’t matter who was giving orders out there. You already had the only orders you needed. But you were too worried about beating the best time to focus on what needed to be done. For the record, time does factor into your score. And you wasted yours.”

“Echo. You were right about the orders you had been given,” Alpha told him. “The data terminal was a secondary concern and shouldn’t have had equal weight in your planning. But there is no ‘cheating’ on a mission. Anything you can do to give yourself an advantage is fair game. The enemy isn’t gonna play fair. Make sure you don’t, either.”

“Maw.” Alpha continued, turning to the trooper in question. “You did something I’ve never seen another man do: you sliced into a data terminal to change the layout, then rewrote a data chip… all in under three minutes. That’s impressive. However, none of that matters in the real world. None of your missions will happen in an ARC training area. Slicing in to lower the platform wouldn’t work on a real mission, and it shouldn’t have been such a big part of your plan. Definitely not important enough to put aside rescuing the hostage.”

“And now for Salvo,” Alpha announced, looking at the man in question. “You wanted to be in charge out there. You wanted to be the one issuing orders. Fine. That means you take the heat for what went wrong. And plenty went wrong.”

Salvo ducked his head, but Alpha was pitiless. “You wasted almost two minutes arguing about a chain of command. As an ARC trooper, you’re outside of the chain of command. Missions are done as effectively as possible. No one needs to be in charge. Get that idea out of your head. You had a good point about cover fire, but you didn’t think about the possibility that three or even four of you could have gone for one area or the other to draw fire and let the last man covertly go for the hostage or the data terminal. And since you were so determined to keep the men together - men who are training to be individual forces of nature when it comes to completing objectives - the correct order would have been hostage retrieval, then data retrieval. From now on, leave the orders and training tome.”

“Yes, sir,” Salvo agreed hastily, embarrassment written across his face. “Sorry, sir.”

“Let this mission be a lesson to all of you,” Alpha told them, addressing the group as a whole once more. “Intel is vital. Yeah, GAR intelligence is spotty at best, but it’s better than nothing. I studied your files, all of the information about your past missions that was passed on by your officers. This mission was planned to test your strengths and show your weaknesses. I think we covered weaknesses pretty well, but if you have any questions about how I knew what I did, you need to pay more attention to your post-mission briefings back with your units. This information was pulled directly from them. Now, does anyone have any questions about the mission?”

“Yes, sir,” Echo said. When Alpha nodded at him, he continued, “We didn’t have any ascension cables. How would we have gotten onto the platform without lowering it?”

Alpha watched him steadily. “Trooper, do you know we keep holos of every training group’s final exercise? With you and Fives both coming from the same squad, I rewatched your final training holo. This wouldn’t be the first time you scaled a wall with no ascension cables. Domino Squad did something new that day, something no one else had thought to do before. That flexibility of thought is your best tool as an ARC.”

“But there were guns on the Citadel tower,” Fives reminded him. “There were none on this platform. Sir.”

After a dry look at the hastily added ‘sir’ at the end of his statement, Alpha returned to the control panel and began to enter data. A thin platform rose a short distance in front of the troopers, easily twice their height.

“Echo, you’re gonna help me with a little demonstration,” Alpha announced, heading for the new platform. When he was standing in front of it, Alpha tapped his shoulders. “Stand on my shoulders and reach for the edge of the platform. Don’t pull yourself onto it, just hold the edge.”

It wasn’t an elegant process, but Echo managed to do as Alpha had ordered, standing on the captain’s shoulders as he got a firm grasp on the platform’s edge.

“Alright, hang on,” Alpha told him. “I’m going to use you to climb.”

And you watched, stunned, as Alpha began to climb up Echo’s body, using his feet, waist, and shoulders as hand- and foot-holds until he had gotten to the top of the platform. He reached a hand down to grasp Echo’s forearm, hauling him up with ease until they were both standing on the top and looking down at the other troopers.

“Your gear can save your life. You should always be as equipped as possible, on a mission or not,” Alpha reminded. “But even when you don’t have equipment, you’ve been engineered with advantages that most species in the galaxy don’t have. You can lift more, run faster, survive longer. Those are all tools that you can and should use.”

Alpha stepped forward and off of the platform. You were surging forward before you could stop yourself, your heart battling for a place in your throat with the scream that was taking up most of the room. Alpha rolled as he hit the ground, managing to stand at the end of the motion.

You had managed to keep yourself from screaming, but your desperate motion must have caught some attention. Maw was watching you curiously and Echo’s eyes flicked in your direction from his vantage point on top of the platform.

“Any other questions?” Alpha asked, tone casual.

There were none and he gave a satisfied nod. “Good. Dismissed.”

Echo copied Alpha’s dismounting procedure and caught up with Fives as the troopers all left the training area. You turned to Alpha in the recently abandoned room. “Are there really holos of past training sessions?”

Alpha’s expression turned comedically guarded. “If I say yes, are you planning to spend the next few weeks watching all of the final missions?”

“No,” you denied, letting a slow grin turn the corners of your lips upward. “I was just going to suggest that we move somewhere with fewer cameras.”

“What-?” Alpha started, though he cut himself off fairly quickly and began to smile as well. “I didn’t know that in-depth conversations about training were a weakness of yours.”

“You’re a weakness of mine,” you admitted openly. “And it’s interesting to see you in your element. This was a new experience for me.”

“Hey,” Alpha said with a scowl. “You’ve seen me in an actual battle.”

“That’s true,” you agreed, pretending to think it over for a moment. “Though weren’t you teaching in the battle, too?”

“No, I-” Alpha cut his denial short, his scowl growing even more fierce. “I don’t teach, I train.”

By that point, you couldn’t hold back your laughter anymore and Alpha’s displeasure turned to false offense. “Are you teasing me, neverd’ika? And people say I’m rude. I let you come here and watch my training process…”

“Come on, Alpha,” you urged, still chuckling. “Let’s go somewhere with fewer holocameras.”

Alpha’s shock when you waggled your eyebrows was palpable, which only made it all the more entertaining for you. You steered him where you wanted to go with only the slight touch to his hand you could manage while looking casual enough to fool any observers. Of course, the stupid matching grins sprouting across both of your faces would probably give something away, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care just then.

---

Author's Note - Thanks for reading! If you find any mistakes, please let me know! I'm having trouble with the site today. I did my best to fix what went wrong, but I may have missed something.

Salvo is a canon character, though he may be part of the Legends now. Fives and Echo are obviously canon. Maw and Aftermath are OCs. Aftermath was mentioned in a previous one-shot of mine, but never directly seen. If you have any questions, please let me know!

You can find other works on my masterlist or sign up for my taglist here!

Taglist: @rexs-wife @sugarpuffsstuff @stargazingthenightaway @just-some-girl-92 @kimageddon @ladysongmaster @carodealmeida @adriiibell @nomercyforthewarrior @boomtowngirl @bitchylittleredhead @blck-omen @hrk-fic-recs @lackofhonor @captxin-rex @literallydontlook @salaminus @mothmanbelievesinyou @archivedreading @lucyhelena @808tsuika @ladykatakuri @echos-gal @shawtyitsyou @butterbug14 @skyguy-snips @fan-fic-favs @frietiemeloen @tsedeshgishnii @buddee @justanothersadperson93 @leotatombs @mavendeb @rain-on-kamino @itsagrimm @dancingwiththeplanets @hummellchen @theclonesdeservebetter @wolffeswife @ladyemxo @maulslittlemeowmeow @murder-of-crows-1 @dsburnerblog @ollovaemisc @rosmariner @staycalmandhugaclone @marennial @fordo-kixed-rex @murderofcrows1 @quietplaceinthestars

#Gar Cyare #gar cyare #star wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars legends #star wars prequels #star wars fanfiction #captain alpha 17 #alpha 17 #alpha 17 x reader #alpha 17 x you #alpha 17 fic #fives #echo #commander salvo #oc aftermath #oc maw #clone troopers deserve better #more to come

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ladyluscinia · 2 years

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Ok, so there's one line that I want to talk about, but I think it's getting off topic in my current Izzy meta so I'm gonna sidebar into a separate post.

In 1x04, during his resignation speech, Izzy says:

"For years I've followed your every whim, I've managed your increasingly erratic moods, I've massaged this crew when they were worried about your judgement..."

The first two points line up with what we see of Izzy - obviously he's not good at managing Edward's moods but it is apparent that he's trying, and that Edward's mood swings are real enough he needs someone to try - but the third one seems to inspire a lot of debate.

I think a lot of people hear that phrase and assume it means breaking out people skills, persuading and reassuring and smoothly lying as needed to convince the crew that everything is fine and dandy (which I'll acknowledge is the connotation you get from "massaged"). And then they try to picture Izzy doing that, imagine at best his scrambling in Ed's 1x10 depression era, and even the most ardent Izzy apologist struggles to believe it. From a meta standpoint, Izzy lying here can have a lot of implications - toxic caretaker, inflating his own importance, manipulation, etc. - and most people are offering pretty solidly constructed arguments, but I can't quite make them click.

The thing is... I don't think Izzy would mean it that way???

First, Edward knows Izzy, and no one who has has known Izzy for more than 5 minutes would believe he's been doing that. Top stupidest moments to lie. Izzy might be good at self deception for repression reasons but I can't imagine he actually thinks he's been doing anything resembling that, so it's not ego. And finally, possibly most importantly, persuading and reassuring the crew through communication and plying bonds of trust is the kind of leadership style that Izzy straight up does not believe in. Why would he be falsely associating himself with it?

Rather, I think Izzy and Edward are both on the same wavelength about what "massaging" the crew entails, and it's pretty much what Izzy actually has been doing. Moreover, I think it technically works.

"Piracy is a culture of abuse" we establish in the first episode, and most every pirate we meet understands there is a traditional way things are done and power is maintained. It's what Hornigold was pulling when Edward and Jack reminisce fondly about being "beaten like dogs," it's why Edward would never have tried to rock a silk robe on deck before meeting Stede, and it's all about respect. As a captain, you get respect by violently claiming riches and glory (see what most of the Revenge crew expects in early eps, especially Pete) and you secure respect / power by force (Buttons encouraging that "iron fist"). Edward and Izzy know this.

Izzy "massaging" the crew would be a blend of blunt reminders why working for Blackbeard is the best gig you will ever get and threats / physical punishment for questioning him. Carrot and stick method, with a very unpleasant stick. That moment where he yanks on Fang's beard isn't proof he can't massage the crew, it is part of him keeping them loyal in the standard pirate way. "Don't ask why Blackbeard wants this thing done, just do it because Blackbeard is telling you to." (Sidenote: While it's mean to Fang - bad Izzy - as a general rule Izzy seems to trust Fang to get jobs done, so it's not completely a sign of disrespect. He's reinforcing power for show and they are all somewhat aware of that.) And since the show is critiquing a social status quo more than an individual management style, I don't think we're meant to read it as wholly ineffective. Good? Fuck no. But - with Edward's crew at least - probably effective and accepted as normal.

(Stede's crew is different, being specifically protected from the abusive standard approach, so of course Izzy can't make them do shit. And by the time he does have the authority, he has no one around who is willing to accept the old system or enforce it. A bad social status quo loses power in an improved social system.)

So going back to that bit of the line, Izzy means and Edward hears: "I've kept the money flowing and the supplies stocked. I've talked up your reputation and mystery. And I've immediately and effectively disciplined anyone who was stupid enough express doubts."

And lest we fall into the trap of underestimating Edward... He's fully fucking on board with this system. It's not just Izzy's thing that he's letting him run with or whatever.

Edward's response in this conversation is a mocking "Sounds stressful, Izzy" because he's already got what he thinks is a foolproof and brilliant plan (which he's concealing to fuck around), so as far as he's concerned, Izzy's complaints are baseless and therefore he's just bitching about doing his job. Edward himself has been leaning on the same expectations and power structures all episode. He's just a hell of a lot subtler about it (because that favors the leadership dynamic they have going on).

Not even a minute before, Edward was introducing Stede as "Blackbeard" to the crew, and absolutely threatening them to play along. As soon as Stede comes out he very flatly demands "Clap" over his shoulder, then he's back to having fun. He's laughing when he first tells the crew to line up and greet Stede, but when they don't listen he repeats the order in a way that clearly conveys Do Not Ignore Me. Stede's crew thinks he's way crazier than advertised but they are also terrified, and Edward is using that to take control of the ship. And there's another very telling moment (to me) earlier in the episode when he first meets them.

The first Blackbeard scene cuts straight from Izzy suggesting executing the whole crew and Edward not caring at all (I think his mind is still on the clouds tbh) to Pete being in awe. Funny, but it makes it easy to miss Edward's apathy. Then Ivan smacks Pete on the back of the head and Edward jumps off that for his introduction. The first words he says that the crew can hear are "Boys, boys, boys! Hey, don't brutalize our guests like that," and this is deliberate as fuck. Edward is peacocking through that whole interaction, being showered with praise and awe up until Frenchie asks if they are going to live and Izzy shuts it down.

And what does Edward do? He shrugs.

Aw shucks, looks like Izzy is being a buzzkill. Anyway, Edward is off to go poke around the ship some more, good luck random pirates with the whole being pressed into repair work by his men thing, see you all later! Fang hisses and yells at Izzy's command, Ivan punches Pete in the gut again, and Edward doesn't even glance over. Because he's not actually disapproving. It's basically just a good cop / bad cop routine, and Edward did the friendly introduction bit. He made a good first impression, made them want to impress him, and now he's walking away (still talking to Izzy) to let the violent enforcement bit resume since that's how shit gets done.

Carrot. And stick.

It's just how you run a pirate ship.

#our flag means death #the line connotation is strong enough that i can't confidently say 'you are wrong'#but a lot of stuff in this episode is why i tend to view the problems with izzy's leadership on a more systemic level #i just don't feel like he's that far from 'mainstream piracy' in his understanding of authority structures. *stede* is #(and stede's system is based on better principles but he can't make it work until he addresses his own personal and privilege issues)#not to say izzy doesn't struggle to lead *alone* but that's mostly tied up in him needing edward. they work as a unit #izzy hands ofmd #blackbeard ofmd #my meta #ofmd meta #ofmd 1x04 #ladyluscinia

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reflections-in-a-critical-eye · 9 months

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Hey m, what's your stance on separation of the art from the artist when it comes to the artist being of a questionable character?

And on a wholly separate note, did you ever talk of Letter and Jimin and Jungkook and if there's a case for interpreting the song as most shippers have done?

Wow, that is a totally separate note there, anon 😆

But let's start with the first part of your ask. I'm sure I've written about this in the past, but my tagging system is not the best. Anyway..

What I can tell you is that there is no definitive answer. Which is probably boring because we're "supposed" to pick a side and stick to it. Regardless of our position, it's almost expected for us to be radical. I've had this exact debate so many times, with people of different ages and backgrounds. It's an ongoing debate and I really don't think there is a correct way of looking at it. I think that the more we try and move away from an abstract position and rather look at the particularities, it would be easier to understand our own arguments and how/why we choose to accept or dismiss some people. Then we also have to keep in mind what is condered questionable character. Does its definition include a general understanding of a person that is accepted all across the board? Or our own character and world views influence the way we perceive other people? And sometimes, there's another element that perhaps it's easily explicable, but in my mind, it's the one about a lack of logic. I'll give you an example. It's close to impossible for me to rewatch CMBYN because of Hammer's cannibalism allegations, more than the ones of abuse against women. I also publicly and vehemently condemn Woody Allen because I believe he is guilty of what he's been accused of, but it doesn't mean I will also never watch Annie Hall. Does that say that I'm a bad person? A hypocrite? Maybe. But it also says that I can't help but be subjective depending on each singular situation and that some of my views don't have any logic even in my own mind.

But these are extreme cases, of people who had actual charges brought against them. There are countless others that are usually accused of wide range of things, from sexism, racism, homophobia to xenophobia, you name it. Everything under the sun. Some people will not care, while others will. It's an individual choice. Not only a moral one, but economic as well.

I'd like to end this though by saying that I personally don't expect art to be made only by morally righteous people. I think that's a dangerous trap that leads to just another type of extremism.

Now, the second part, a bit more fun!

The only time I mentioned Letter was in one of my early posts on the new blog. I said it reminds me of a studio Ghibli movie but that I also have a more personal attachment to it.

I know how it's been interpreted by jikookers. I personally don't subscribe to the theory, but not for some major reason. I think it's nice Jimin had Jungkook do the backing vocals and seeing him sing during a livestream was moving. That's sort of enough for me. I think it's perfectly possible for the song to really be a letter to his fans. What I'm trying to say is that as much as it is really sweet, if it's for Jungkook or not, it doesn't have a major bearing on my opinion regarding them.

But I want to be very clear that just because I believe that, it doesn't mean I have an issue or condemn any jikooker who believes in the theory that it's a song for JK and about them. It's a harmless theory that is not based on any toxic or weird narrative. People should be free to talk about it, without having condescending anons or bloggers making fun of it or even criticising it too harshly. I've seen that happen a lot after the album was released.

P.S. Anon, I just saw your second ask. I'd rather stick to my answer as it is now, without going into any RM specifics as of today. I'm not in the mood for that.

#m thoughts #art discourse #jikook #jimin letter

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arwenadreamer · 2 years

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Arwena's JiB 12 experiences

The Jensen-Misha panel

Warning: This post is going to be both Misha critical and Misha positive, but most of all written by a J2 fan, so if you don’t want to read either, don’t read this post.

I was debating with myself whether to post this at all. I had it sitting in my drafts for a week now. While this is Misha positive, it is also biased, I know that. There is criticism on his past behavoiur. And I don't want to stir up any hate. Yet it is a part of my JiB experience, and I wanted to post all of those. So here it goes:

To be honest, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to that panel. The last Jensen-Misha panel we got at JiB 2019 was downright painful to watch. I did, though. I watched the whole panel, because there were so much heated arguments about this panel going around, and I wanted to built my own informed opinion, rather than getting it second hand from out of context posts. (Reminder: it was the panel where Jensen lost it and shouted “Destiel is real? Where? Where is it real?” and Misha at some point sat on Jensen who was lying on the floor and tried to “kiss” him. The one where Jared came in way early to Jensen’s rescue, and there was also this very sweet moment, half hidden behind a giant unicorn, where Jared was tucked under Jensen’s arm and looked up at him.)

Then there was one short incident on Saturday morning at JiB 12 that also didn’t seem promising for the panel. It was a very short moment, and I have not seen any videos of it so far, so maybe no one even filmed it. It was the end of Jensen’s panel, and Misha was on right after. I was sitting with a good view to the left hand steps up to the stage, the steps Misha had to take. Jensen was saying his goodbyes on stage and was walking towards the steps, but facing the audience. Misha was getting up the steps, aiming for Jensen, who, still not seeing Misha, still facing the audience, changed his path a little towards the front of the stage. Misha corrected his course, but was now really awkwardly not getting straight onto the stage but was almost out of room to get to Jensen to intercept him. Jensen still didn’t see him coming, so Misha turned him around with both hands and pulled him into a hug. It was just a short hug, but it was so awkward, because it was so unnatural. Not two people who see each other and sort of both signal to hug each other. (You know, like you do, how social interactions work.) It was so intentional from Misha’s side, not a spur of the moment at all, which was quite apparent. And it took Jensen completely by surprise.

So for obvious reasons I was prepared for the worst regarding the Jensen and Misha panel. I think I would have left the panel room if it had escalated like this, because I did not want my so far amazing JiB experience to end on a bad note. Especially since there would be no Jared to come in for the rescue and the panel would be slightly longer. (For those not familiar with JiB scedule: On sunday evening there is a Jensen-Misha panel that Jared is supposed to join after 30 minutes for a 15 Minute J2M panel that then is joined by the rest of the guests for the closing of JiB.)

But let me tell you: the panel was a pleasant surprise from start to finish! I genuinely enjoyed it!

If Misha acted like this all the time, I would be a much bigger fan of him!

The panel started with Jensen and Misha sitting with, if I remember correctly, a chair between them. It didn’t seem awkward, it just felt natural.

Both of them started talking and joking. I can’t remember in detail what was being said, but I had fun listening to them. There were a lot of “that’s what she said” jokes. And Jensen told a few dad jokes. (“Did you hear? They are not making 12 inch rulers any longer.”) They kept talking and joking, spinning the wheel. At some point Misha threw some rings (one of these childrens games where you have to throw the ring on a small pole) and Jensen assisted him by throwing the rings to Misha. Misha managed two hits in a row, then asked Jensen to do it too. Jensen declined and Misha didn’t push.

All this went on and on while people were standing in line to ask questions. Finally Jensen asked “Should we take questions?”, and they joked about that, but still didn’t take any questions. Neither of them. For another few minutes. By that time I had a feeling as if they were avoiding questions. But that is merely my feeling, not fact! Fact is though, that they took the first question after around 15 minutes into the panel!

The fan asked: “Misha, you wrote a poetry book. And Jensen you are being creative with your music. Do you two ever talk about your artistic projects with each other? Like your writing and your lyrics.” Something along those lines.

And Misha just said: “No!”

Silence. Jensen and Misha both sitting on their chairs, neither saying anything more. By this time Jensen has his head lowered, facing his lap, and obviously starts laughing, while Misha says to the fan “thank you for being so patient”, turns to the other side and says “next”. Jensen is almost cry laughing, then he lifts his microphone to his mouth, still laughing, and says:

“It’s funny because it’s true.”

He goes on: “This is such a simplistic answer! We have never collaborated, nor do we wish to.”

But then they do get into the question a bit more describing this hypothetical scenario:

Misha: “I imagine me showing up at your trailer, being like ‘Jensen I want to show you this’”, and then miming Jensen shutting the door into his face.

Jensen is laughing more and more and stands up to mime while he’s talking: “The trailer has steps, so Misha would be essentially standing at foot level, and he’d be ‘hey Jensen, I’m having a hard time with this line…” and then he mimes kicking him off the trailer with his foot.

Misha turns back to the fan: “That’s how it would go. So we don’t collaborate.”

Note: both were having fun answering that, and both sounded honest. Obviously, Jensen would not kick Misha. But they had fun painting this hypothetical picture.

The next fan asks something about Jensen going viral on tiktok with the Soldier Boy Blondie video. Misha has to ask what that is. He says he isn’t caught up yet on the boys. The fan explains that it is extra content for The Boy’s that actually isn’t aired in the show. Jensen says they did a lot of these and then adds: “I just did another one.” Smirkety smirk. (Jensen was smirking. I was cheering with joy.)

They then somehow go on talking about Kansas and Carry On My Wayward Son, and Jensen is like: “Yes, and I got to direct a Kansas concert!” Misha is like: “Really?” He genuinely didn’t know about Kansas being in a Walker episode singing Carry on. So Jensen tells that story in detail. He talks about how he tried to insert himself in a shot without the actors knowing beforehand. The cameras were on Jared and Odette Annable, and when the shot was done, he signaled the camera operator to keep rolling. He stepped into the frame and looked a Jared who knew immediately what Jensen was up to. He looks at Jensen like ‘What? Who’s this?’.

Jensen mimes all this, but Misha isn’t getting where he wants to go with this. He says in Jared’s voice: “You’re not in my show!” As if Jared’s face was confused for Jensen being in front of the camera.

Jensen corrects him. “No! And this is… see this is how good… like Jared just immediately knew that there was a pit going on.” (Whether he meant “...how good Jared and I work together” or “...how good Jared is”, or whatever, it’s so sweet!) Jensen then acts out his part. Like ‘Do I know this guy?’ But Odette, who was in the shot too, didn’t get the memo and was like ‘Oh, hi Jensen’. If that weren’t the case, there would be a nice little Winchester easter egg in that episode. Let’s just hope it will be in the gag reel!

Instead of taking another question now, they spin the wheel and drink something. Jensen tells another joke. “Of all the inventions of the past 200 years, I think the dry erase board is the most remarkable.”

Misha jokes about Jensen's jokes being embarrassing.

Jensen: “Listen! Jared wrote those jokes! He sent them to me!” He then smiles softly and says “When in doubt, blame Jared”. Lol. (I’m writing this here, because I have seen this statement taken out of context. Both to hate on Jensen and on Jared. In fact, it was a very sweet friendship moment. Jared sending Jensen jokes. Jensen, who usually isn’t telling jokes like these (that’s more Jareds resort), still telling them all in Jared’s absence. And the “when in doubt blame Jared” really was just loving, joking banter.)

After almost 30 minutes they finally take a third question. I didn’t completely understand it, but the gist of it is: “Did you talk about your new roles with each other?”

Misha: “No!”

Silence. People laughing. Seriously, it’s basically the same as the first question. Do you talk about your work? No.

Jensen: “There is very little creative collaboration outside of when it has to be necessary.” (Sounded serious, sorry, IMO it wasn’t even said in a joking tone.)

Misha: (joking) “We avoid it at all costs.”

Jensen: (now jokingly too) “All costs!”

That’s when Misha started putting his hand on Jensen’s shoulder, while Jensen kept answering. They go on joking about not taking creative ideas for The Winchesters from any cast member, and how they where making fun of that in the green room.

Jensen: “I kid. I don’t know -” Misha puts his hand on Jensen’s shoulder again and Jensen asks, looking shortly down at the hand (in a jokingly angry tone?) “WHAT?”

That was a short moment when I thought “uh oh”. But they took the turn and went on just as cool and relaxed as before, no one crossing any lines. Misha talks about how he called Jensen about his role in Gotham Knights, and asking for his advice on whether he should take it. Jensen then explains that the relationship that Misha or any of the other cast and he have is not necessarily about creativity, because everyone has their own talent and …. That’s when he is interrupted by Carry On playing and the rest of the cast coming up on stage. Which leads to Jensen speaking the words of Carry On while Rob is singing the parts. An amazing performance, completely spontaneous.

I feel like Misha got a very serious talk after the last panel and acted accordingly. Friendly, funny, not crossing any lines. If every Misha panel where like that,I would watch them all. (I also had a positive autograph experience whith him, but that will be a seperate post.)

Also, one thing they made crystal clear in that panel was: they do talk, but not all that often. And they don’t follow each other's lives all that closely. I mean, Misha didn’t even know about Jensen directing Kansas in a Walker episode. So Misha has neither watched Walker, nor has he followed Jensen’s IG, because I’m pretty sure he posted about that, nor any news regarding that on Twitter. Which is not a bad thing, just a fact. Their relationship is the same as with any other cast member. Friendly, friends, loose contact. Except for Jared. Jared sends Jensen dad jokes. And Jensen passes them on. That could be called creative input. :-)

For those interested, here’s the link to the panel part one. I can recommend the watch.

#arwenas jib 12 experiences #the Jensen Misha panel #Jensen Ackles #misha collins #anti misha collins #Jared Padalecki

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