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railleriee · 1 year

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Bungou Stray Dogs Men with a S/o that has an Animal Ability:

This was just something I whipped up! I also edited my layout! lmk what u think! Still some add-ons and fixes I need to do but I'm really liking it so far! Without further ado, enjoy :) -spence

(I may make a second part to this if it does well.)

Characters: Dazai, Chuuya, Kunikida, Ranpo, Akutagawa, Atsushi

Warnings: Slight nsfw halfway through Kunikida's part, but for the most part it's fluff!

Reader is non-gender specific!

Dazai:

S/o with a dog ability!

We all know he hates dogs

So after finding out about your ability, long after the relationship had begun, he was quite thrown off.

I’d like to think he doesn’t show any fear towards your ability, although he’s secretly terrified.

Rants to kunikida, even asks for advice on the situation.

( Has never seen said ability in person, just knows from stories you’ve told him. )

You try convincing him that your ability isn’t that scary, that all that happens is you turn into an adorable puppy! ( Your ability isn’t well created for combat. )

Couldn’t help but stare in awe as a little fluffy animal appears in front of him.

Screams like a little girl when you try to approach him.

Has his arms held out in front of him, eyes squeezed shut as you nudge up and down his bandaged arms.

He eventually gets warmed up to the little fur-ball constantly around him now!

Shows off to the ADA his “major” improvement towards your ability as he picks up the newly turned dog.

Everyone stared at him with a “seriously?” look across their faces.

Still startled when coming home to find a little puppy laying on his bed!

He secretly got over his “fear” of dogs a little while ago, although claims he’s still frightened to tease you.

He’s like a puppy, he’s always all over you, littering you with kisses.

Chuuya:

S/o with a Red Panda Ability!

He ADORES your ability.

Walking into the PM to see a Red Panda wandering around one Saturday afternoon was not what he expected, although he wasn’t too bothered with it.

Thought it was some pet Mori bought to please Elise.

Soon finds out it’s not some pet, but the new recruit.

The two of you instantly became close after Dazai left the PM, soon developing into something more.

You tend to have the mannerism of a Red Panda, he’s always sure to cater to any needs!

Makes sure to find the best, high quality, expensive bamboo he can to satisfy said mannerisms and tendencies.

He’s a big whiny baby who refuses to fall asleep (some nights) with you unless you are in panda form.

Enjoys the warmth, and softness of your fur!

Finds you to be the cutest thing he’s ever witnessed, I think he’d honestly prefer you to stay as the red fluff ball forever.

Kunikida:

S/o with a Fennec Fox Ability!

He’s honestly not bothered by it much, see’s it as any other ability.

Can often be easily annoyed by how playful you are.

You’re very talkative and active, often tiring him out while he’s trying to focus on work.

He also is very tentative to your needs.

Understands your ability to easily be scared, always is able to calm any anxious jitters!

Just like fennec foxes, you hate being held, touched, any of the sorts, he knows better to push those buttons, no matter how badly he wants to cuddle after a long day at the agency!

( You do often allow him to hold you upon seeing how exhausted he is! )

Nsfw (ish) Below !

January-February is mating season for Fennec Foxes, Kunikida has the dates marked in his calendar!

Your sex drive goes up incredibly.

Ensure to take a little bit of time off to help with your needs.

100% willing to partake in anything to help you feel relieved!

Will go round-after-round for you <3

Secretly enjoys Fennec Fox mating season, stress relief for both of you!

Ranpo:

S/o with a lamb ability!

ADORES how fluffy and cute you are.

I imagine the ability to cause disorientation and confusion on basic topics.

He’s very understanding and talks through everything with you!

Many lamb mannerisms and tendencies, often ask questions on why he doesn’t eat greens like you!

Tries to feed you sweets 24/7.

Gets scolded by Kunikida because your digestive system can’t handle such foods.

Tries to encourage your interactions with others as the result of knowing how shy you tend to be.

Immediately sticks up for you against Dazai’s teasing.

JEALOUS!

Someone tries to pat your head? Expect him to plan their death.

Someone tries to make flirty remarks? He’s throwing himself at you.

So protective of your innocence :(

He’s genuinely a really sweet s/o, always thinking of his partner and making sure they are okay. <3

Akutagawa:

S/o with a Sea Otter Ability!

Shocked with how much energy you have, Sea Otters have a ton of energy, didn’t expect for it to rub off on your actual personality!

VERY social!

It’s a, you talk, he listens, relationship.

People often question your relationship as the two of you are total opposites.

I feel like he hates water, idk why he just does.

So when he found out about your love for water he internally scolds himself.

You two take baths together!

(Enjoys when you wash his hair.)

He struggles to express his emotions 99.9% of the time, unlike you.

He gets easily flustered at your ability to compliment him with such ease!

You’re very touchy, another shock for him.

He’s not used to physical affection, so when you randomly grab his hand while out in public, he tenses up.

In private he’s super sweet and tends to any of your needs!

A relationship with him is a learning process, but he’s trying his best. <3

Atsushi:

S/o with a sloth ability.

He genuinely has a bunch of energy, so having a s/o with the ability of an animal so sleepy he doesn’t know how to handle himself at first.

Should he ask you to hangout? Should he invite you to movies with Kenji?

He soon finds out you’d love to do anything with him, just to be patient with you.

Often has to catch you when you fall asleep standing up.

Work for you takes quite a long time, he often insists he helps you!

Startles every time he comes back to his dorm to see you asleep on a support beam.

( Often has to help you down from the high places you get stuck in. )

Like sloths, some of your actions and thinking are rather slow!

He waits patiently while waiting for an answer, or anything for that matter.

He knows not to rush you, knowing you get upset thinking you aren’t trying hard enough!

Enjoys napping with you SO much.

Poor baby goes through so much, sometimes he just wants to curl up and sleep with you in his arms.

#bungo stray dogs #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungo stray dogs fluff #bsd fluff #bsd x reader #bsd smut #atsushi x reader #dazai x reader #chuuya x reader #akutagawa x reader #kunikida x reader #ranpo x reader #atsushi fluff #dazai fluff #chuuya fluff #kunikida fluff #ranpo fluff #akutagawa fluff

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drabblesandimagines · 1 year

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Kitty (part 8)

Parts 1-7 here:

Pairings: Rei x (afab) reader Fluffity fluff as per -

After a relatively quiet evening, Miri demands a bedtime story from you. You’re not sure what you’ve done to win the title of chief bedtime story-teller this evening, and Kazuki’s not going to tell you he gave Miri an extra pudding cup as an incentive to choose you, but his parenting boards suggested that reading aloud to pets or children could improve one’s confidence. Once Miri’s in her pyjamas, teeth brushed, goodnights wished to her papas, she drags you up the stairs, already talking about what book you’re going to read her.

Kazuki waits until he hears the firm click of Miri’s bedroom door being closed, then he walks round to the back of the sofa besides Rei, and leans down.

“So,” there’s a sly grin on his face, “how’d it go?”

“How’d what go?” Rei mumbles, switching games from the online library. He promised Kazuki he wouldn’t play any of the more violent ones until Miri was in bed.

Kazuki sighs, walking round to the armchair and sitting down heavily. “You did ask Kitty about the zoo, right?”

“Oh. Yeah.” He nods.

“And…?”

“And what?”

“What did she say?!”

“She said she’d like to go.”

Kazuki squeals and Rei winces – it was a near spot-on impression of Miri. “Knew it! When are you going?”

“I don’t know.”

“Wait, you didn’t agree on a day?”

“No.” Rei pauses. “Should I have?”

“Oh, jeez. Okay, well, you need to do it on a weekday – there’s no way you and Kitty can sneak off on a weekend without Miri demanding to join and though our Miri is a sweet angel child, that’s gonna eliminate any possibility of romance. I wonder if the weather’s good tomorrow…” Kazuki pulls his phone out his pocket.

“Tomorrow?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Gotta strike while the iron’s hot, Rei. Plus, if you leave it, who knows when our next mission will come in?” He answers as he scrolls. “Ah, perfect. Dry, even a little sunny. Trust me, you think it’d be romantic sharing an umbrella but it’s not - it’s awkward.” He’s up from the armchair now. “I still have time to run to the store…” He heads to the kitchen, mumbling a list of what Rei thinks might be ingredients.

“The store?”

“Uh-huh. I’m going to make the two of you the most perfect lunch. Remember the one I made for Miri for the zoo?” He’s opening cupboards now, taking a mental inventory.

“Kazuki, wait…” Rei hasn’t even made it to the load menu when he drops the controller on the couch, stumbles up to his feet from his previously slouched position on the couch and stands the other side of the counter. “Tomorrow? That’s so… soon.”

“Aw, you nervous?” Kazuki teases over his shoulder.

“Yes.”

“Oh!” Kazuki’s surprised at his honesty, and turns to face him with a reassuring smile. “Well, don’t be. You’ll be fine – it’s just the two of you hanging out, like you do here, right? You’re just gonna walk around, talk, look at the animals… She already likes you, Rei. You’re going to have a nice time. Trust me, okay?”

“Okay.”

You exit Miri’s bedroom 20 minutes later, expecting to see both men on the couch but it’s only Rei. From the low sound coming out the TV, you recognize it as some sort of survival horror game. He looks up and smiles, nodding to his side in a suggestion. You walk down the stairs and sit besides him, tucking your legs up under you as he shoots some odd-looking beast in the head, his accuracy spot-on.

“Did Miri settle down okay?”

“Y-yeah. She w-was more tired t-than she was l-letting on, I think. D-did I hear Z-Zuki go out?”

“Gone to the store. I told him about us, and the zoo. He thinks we should go tomorrow when the weather’s nice. And he wanted to make us lunch.” His eyes move from the screen to you, wanting to gauge your reaction.

Your heart skips a beat. “Tomorrow?” You can’t hide the excitement in your voice and Rei is momentarily taken back with how confident and genuine you sound in your question. It had been on your mind all evening, you had meant to ask when he was thinking of going but it had been busy with the normal routine…

There’s a guttural groan from the television followed by a horrible squish as Rei’s character gets mauled by the beast. “S-sorry! I’m dis-distracting you. I c-can go to b-bed if you n-need to co-concentrate.”

“Not at all,” he fibs, adjusting his position ever so slightly on the sofa, “this bit is just a little tough.”

Kazuki insisted on givng the two of you a lift in the car, dropping you right at the gates of the zoo that morning after he’d done the daycare drop-off. He seemed more excited than the both of you combined, so much so you wondered if you should’ve invited him along to be polite.

“Take your time, okay?” Kazuki winks, waving his arm through the window as he drives off. Rei’s laden with a backpack that looks a little overstuffed for two people – Kazuki had come back with two paper bags of food last night. He shooed you away when you offered to help and was still at it when you’d headed up to bed. If the weight of the bag is bothering Rei, he doesn’t let it show.

“Have y-you b-been be-before?” You ask as you begin the walk up the stairs, past a cute giraffe-themed arch.

“Once, but I didn’t get much chance to look around.” At your quizzical look he pressed on, “Work got in the way a little.” He didn’t want to regale the tale of how Kazuki basically made them stalk Miri around the place to return her packed lunch.

Rei pays the entry fee – you feel weird when either of the men pay for things for you, but it’s not like you have your own money. You’ve raised it before it with Kazuki before but he was quick to reassure you. The front desk gives you a map of the place, wishing you a pleasant day as you unfold it – the place is huge, drawings of the animals are spotted about to show you what’s where but it seems there’s a route that’ll take you round the whole place. There are some people milling around as you enter and you start to feel a little nervous, but Rei takes your hand instinctively - without question, without fanfare, but it makes your head tingle and with him, all your worries are instantly quelled without a word being spoken.

The morning goes by so fast with all the enclosures and exhibits you visit. Every animal you see enchants you both and there’s a look of childlike wonder on Rei’s face that is just so adorable. At points, you can’t believe you’re actually here, free of that awful place, bruises healed, a full stomach… At any second, maybe you could find yourself back in the closet and it’s all just been a wonderful dream. But then Rei squeezes your hand, points out something, and you’re grounded once more.

Just before lunchtime, you find yourselves at the big cats exhibits – lions and tigers. You’re both quite taken by them, watching as they laze in the mid-morning sun.

“I t-think l-lions are my f-favourite.”

“Mm. Why’s that?” Rei asks.

“I a-always t-thought they l-looked quite c-cuddly.

Nearby the big cats enclosure is the picnic area and it seems the ideal it’s time to partake in Kazuki’s spread. He even packed a picnic blanket, you note, and help Rei lay out a myriad of boxes, all filled with Kazuki’s delicious delicacies.

“D-did he t-think we w-were going to feed the an-animals too?”

Rei smiles at your quip. “You know Kazuki. He was still working on it when I went to bed.”

After an incredibly generous and delicious lunch, you lie down on your back on the grass and sigh contentedly, looking up at the sky.

“I t-think I m-missed this t-the most.”

“Lying down?” You’re not quite sure if he’s teasing you, but Rei lies down besides you a moment later.

“That, and b-being under t-the open sky, c-cloud watching.”

“Cloud watching?”

“Mm. H-have you d-done it b-before?” You turn your head to see his expression grow puzzled.

“I don’t think so.”

“N-not even as a k-kid?”

“No.” He sounds almost embarrassed and you feel bad for mentioning his childhood. Kazuki has mentioned things when the two of you had been alone, mainly talking about Rei’s ‘progress’ since he first met him.

“T-that’s okay. You s-spot s-s-shapes in the c-clouds. Like…” You point up at a cloud and tilt your head, “that one k-kinda looks like a rab-rabbit.”

“Huh,” Rei tilts his head in a similar fashion. “I see it.” He looks around for a few moments, before pointing to his right. “Like, that one sort of looks like an elephant… if you squint.”

“S-see, expert al-already,” you smile, warmly. As he places his arm back down, you can’t tell if he misjudged or it was an incredibly smooth move, but soon your fingers are laced together as you sit and watch the clouds drift by in silence.

“Are you happy, Kitty?” Rei asks, tentatively.

“Y-yeah, I’m ha-happy.” You turn your head to look at him to show him your smile, but he looks troubled. “W-why?”

He doesn’t know what it is, maybe the brief mention of his childhood, or things he’s been pushing down since his feelings have been developing. “Kazuki and I just… We took you with us without really asking what you wanted, we just… took you home with us.”

“Not w-with ill in-intent.” You roll over onto your front, propping your head up with your elbows, leaning over him. “And I w-wasn’t r-really saying m-much, huh? I l-like being w-with y-you.”

“I worry we’re just as bad as him.” He says, softly.

“No,” you say, as firm as you ever have. “N-never. Rei, you, Zuki a-and Miri, y-you all care f-for me and I care ab-about you. It’s s-s-so different. Why are y-you thinking a-about that?”

“I don’t know…” He shrugs. “I just… I hate thinking about what your life must’ve been like there. He took all your freedom away, he hurt you…” He’s been piecing it together with the snippets of information that come up in your conversations, along with what he saw of your living arrangements in the house that night. The blank look on your face when your abductor had a gun pressed into your temple and Rei holding his own firearm aloft. People would plead, sob, beg, drop to their knees, bargain, bribe. He would’ve said there wasn’t even an ounce of fear in your eyes when you were a trigger-pull from death, and it would’ve been true, but he couldn’t forget the look he recognized as relief, either. It reminded him of how he was before Kazuki had shown up in his life – cleaning, cooking… caring for him.

“B-but I’m not there any-anymore. I’m w-with you.” You think carefully ahead of your next sentence. “There w-w-were okay t-times, too.” Okay doesn’t seem the right word but you can’t think what else might suit. “Like, s-s-sometimes he was a-away and I w-w-would go into h-his li-library and r-read. No-one e-ever really w-w-went in there.” It wasn’t really a library – he just referred to it as that to guests to try and elevate his status, you supposed. It was a room lined with bookshelves. It was horrendously dusty in there the first time you’d been sent to clean it and you’d never even seen him with a book in his hand or around his general vicinity either. His entire collection consisted of leatherbound hardbacks and you’re sure he didn’t come into possession of any of them legitimately.

“You like to read?” He enjoys finding out this little tidbits about you.

You nod. “I l-like f-fantasy and, well…” you swallow, “r-romance.”

“Oh?” He places an arm behind his head.

“Mm. Like, a val-valiant hero s-slays the beast, s-saves t-the d-damsel.” There’s a warm smile on his face as he listens to you talk. His hair framing his face just so… If this were a novel, you think he’d kiss you. If you were braver, you think maybe you’d kiss him.

But you don’t – it’s too big of a step, there’s still uncertainty, clumsiness in this relationship, if it is a relationship? You don’t know – maybe it’s too soon for that. These are the things you’ve missed out on, you think – the things that he took away from you. But then, if that hadn’t have happened, would you have met Rei, Kazuki and Miri? It’s confusing.

“I’ll have to remember that.”

“I am h-happy t-though.” You emphasise. “Thank you f-for bringing m-me here.”

He nods, sitting up. “Well, still more to see.”

You’re near the exit when, without warning, there’s a loud bang nearby and you jump out of your skin. It’s odd - you’d got so used to the gunfire in the house that it seems stupid that such a loud noise would set you off now, but it takes you back there, trying to work out how far away it is from you. Your mind panics though – shelter, you need to take shelter. Table, chair, sofa, none of which are around. This time, though, the shelter ends up being the man beside you, grabbing him around the waist and pressing your head into his chest, before you can really think. Warm arms wrap around you, squeezing you softly.

“You’re okay, it was a balloon.” He murmurs into your ear. He can see the large rabbit and alpaca mascots, holding a bunch of colourful balloons aloft, one string now hanging limply. They’re handing them out to children as they go.

“So-” You go to step back but Rei holds firm.

“Please don’t apologise for seeking comfort from me, Kitty. It’s my honour.”

You can feel your face burn a little at that – how does he know exactly the right thing to say to make you feel so flustered? You nod into his chest and relax into a cuddle, at least until your heart’s stopped threatening to beat out of your chest, you reason.

A few moments later, though you feel you could stay there forever, you head out towards the exit. There’s an employee thanking everyone for visiting as they pass, standing besides the mascots as they pass out the balloons.

“We hope you enjoyed your visit!” The woman bows. “Would you like me to take a photo of you both to remember your trip?”

Rei’s hand hovers over his pocket for a second, debating. He knows that Kazuki and him try and avoid photographs of them together, and now especially with Miri… but maybe on his phone it wouldn’t hurt? Kazuki’s always talking about a cloud something. He’s handed it over to the employee before he can finish rationalizing it before he remembers you.

“Would you…?”

But you’re already smiling in anticipation. He steps closer to you, slides an arm around your waist and you both smile, anxiously, awkwardly, adorably at the camera.

You pop to the restroom in the giftshop on the way out. Rei is waiting outside when you’re finished, his phone in one hand – staring at the photograph taken only a short while ago – but now with a paper bag in the other that he didn’t have before. He holds it out to you as you return.

“A gift - for you to remember the day.” He explains to the quizzical look on your face as you take it. Peeking in the bag, you see the top of a plush lion. “You said you thought lions were your favourite, and that looked like one you could cuddle, so…” He trails off, awkwardly.

You couldn’t stop the giddy smile that was on your face – not that you’d want to - as you pulled it out the bag and clutched it close to your chest. “Rei! Thank you, that’s so sweet.” You look up at him, looking directly into his eyes. “I love it.”

His eyes widen briefly and there’s a split second of confusion but then it hits you – that’s definitely the most words you’ve said stutter-free and now, for some stupid reason, you feel incredibly self-conscious about it. What does he think? What if he thinks it means you’ve been faking it this entire time? Is he going to question it…? Rei takes your hand – doesn’t mention it aloud, doesn’t make a big deal. You don’t know what it is about his touches, but they just make all your worries evaporate.

“I’m glad. Come on, let’s go home.”

Ughhh, I'm not sure about this chapter at all, but I'm finally hitting post and just hoping you like...

Part 9.

#ghostdogwrites #buddy daddies x you #buddy daddies #buddy daddies fanfic #rei suwa fluff #rei suwa x reader #suwa rei x reader #buddy daddies fluff #rei suwa x you #suwa rei #kazuki kurusu #suwa rei x you

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itsclydebitches · 1 year

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Continuing my perhaps delusional argument/hope that Ted permanently returning to Kansas is just a red herring, I was thinking about our references and callbacks this episode. Specifically, how they don't paint Kansas in a positive or unique light.

The Wizard of Oz pinball game is definitely the most on-the-nose nod to his return, yet in the scene itself Ted is literally refusing to play.

When we get a closeup on the machine we're shown Dorothy's house spinning out of control. That is, a moment when she leaves Kansas for the bright world of Oz, not the ruby slippers of her return.

Similarly, Beard loses his game before Ted walks over. The ending of the Wicked Witch is one wherein Dorothy (Ted) does not go back home.

(I'm not entirely sure what to do with this one yet, but having Mae quote "This Be the Verse" is certainly A Choice. Though I think the overall message -- people, specifically parents, will inevitably hurt their kids -- is an uplifting and very relevant argument within Ted Lasso's heartfelt context -- ergo we should acknowledge that we'll never be perfect while still striving to improve -- but that last line? Oof. "Get out early as you can / And don't have kids yourself"? That's not the proposed solution I'd expect for an episode that was sending Ted back to his son for good. Obviously Ted already has Henry, but it may be significant that Mae eschews a generic 'You can do it!' argument for a far more nuanced and harder to swallow conclusion, perhaps one that heralds Ted's controversial decision to stay separated from Henry for at least part of the year.)

(Also let's toss in the fact that Dottie uses a football metaphor -- not American football -- to describe how Ted needs to parent: sometimes you lose, sometimes you win, mostly you just tie, and all you can do it keep playing.)

Finally, we've got references to both BBQ sauce and sunflowers via Ted's WiFi password and the bread Dottie bakes him, Ted's "favorite."

Half a season ago these would have been straightforward references to Kansas, positive ones at that. However, post-S3E6 (literally titled "Sunflowers") Ted has both of these beloved objects tied to the UK instead. He enjoys the beauty of Van Gogh's Sunflowers in the Amsterdam museum and finds a BBQ sauce so good that it inspires him to (hopefully!) win it all in his English sport.

It might just be me reading into things because I'm looking for my preferred ending to the series... but also I don't think I am because it's weird that Kansas is continually framed as a negative this season. Ted is still super awkward with Michelle. Her new boyfriend is kinda awful and likewise makes him incredibly uncomfortable (understandably). The Wizard of Oz references aren't targeting the happy aspects of the story, or even the parts about going home. The symbolic references to Ted's beloved state (sunflowers, BBQ sauce, the little green army men) have all been integrated into his life here. We get a whole episode about how once Ted learns to focus on Henry instead of Michelle, Henry has a fantastic time living in London. Hell, this episode opens with Ted enthusiastically greeting everyone he passes on his walk, a beloved member of the community, a staple of this town... and then his mood turns sour when he hits his Kansas-sprung mom.

Obviously Ted is undergoing some last-minute growth when it comes to being a father to Henry (and healing the rift with Dottie), but I think Ted's in-universe improvement is misleading, implying that because he may think he needs to return to Kansas, that's actually how the story is going to end. If that were the end-goal though, I would expect the subtext to have a more hopeful, optimistic feel to it; something that not just implies Ted's return, but argues why he would want to outside of Henry.

If none of that is relevant... that's going to be even worse for me than Ted just going back to Kansas. A Kansas ending framed as a positive is far from my preference, but it's (arguably) a strong conclusion to Ted's journey. A Kansas ending after all these implied negatives both isn't my preference and feels like more objectively bad writing.

#Ted Lasso #Ted Lasso spoilers #look if I was writing the show #all the Dorothy references would be a deliberate mislead #actually culminating in a 'Ted is a friend of Dorothy's' reveal #but sadly I do not have this power lol #mymetas

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olderthannetfic · 1 year

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I'm having difficulty with trying to place some of my fandom's feelings about misogyny in our source materials, GoT and HotD. On the one hand, I can understand how as women, we may not want to be confronted with the pitfalls and dangers of misogyny in the real world in a fantasy story with dragons, but on the other hand, it isn't like GRRM discusses misogyny in the books without tact. Margaery, Sansa, Cersei, and now Rhaenyra all have complicated relationships with gender and power in their own storylines that make sense in the context of the world. And GRRM doesn't shy away from showing the dangers of masculinity, either. Like, how mens' prides can doom themselves, their families, and entire nations, how most of the ones who die in battle are the poor foot soldiers who are usually men. Even how some men, in their pursuit of perfection/reinvention through their sons, harm the rest of their family, like Tywin. Or how there are men who use others that he thinks are weaker than him (sex workers, women, children, the poor) to feel bigger and more important, but their harm doesn't actually improve themselves, so they repeat cycles of hurt.

I don't think people are inaccurate in saying there is misogyny in the books, but this misogyny is purposeful and not accidental. Idk, to me pointing out how Cersei thinks misogynistic things about other women is like pointing out there's racism or homophobia in a Baldwin novel... yes, that's the point. Do you or others think that there's a disconnect between audiences of fantasy and mainstream? Like, with some people just wanting fun escapism but being reminded of the real worldvs. people who just want the story as-is. Because sometimes it sounds like when Anglophone westerners try to make "feminist" retellings of myths like The Iliad about Helen or Briseis, when all it ends up doing is proving that maybe Homer was more conscious of the realities and perspectives of women than they gave him credit for, or that they missed the point of Helen's story to begin with. Sometimes I think modern reviewers/critics get so caught up in pointing out every societal ill without context of the work, that we present discussions of these ills as failing of the work. Any thoughts?

A lot of "feminist" retellings are junk that misses the point of the original, sure, but the complaints I've heard about GoT are mostly about "But it's realistic though!" bullshit, particularly about the show rather than the books.

It's realistic for women to face sexual violence. It's also realistic for men to face it. It's also realistic for women to have nice lives.

This is fiction: everything someone chooses to put on page or on screen was just that: a choice.

I haven't consumed any of these canons. In the books' case, I hadn't heard of them back when I read fantasy doorstops by men. I no longer do that unless it's a queer book.

The show broke one of my cardinal rules: female full frontal without equal or greater male full frontal presented equally sexily and GOD DAMN shaved pubes that 1. don't make sense and 2. aren't equally common on men.

I'll watch a rule of horny show, but not if it's aimed at someone else's libido.

In the horny premium cable with sex and gore realm, I did watch the first season of Spartacus. That show was campy trash in many ways, and far less critically acclaimed, but it managed to show vastly more male full frontal and a really sensitive depiction of sexual coercion of a big, manly dude and what it did to him emotionally.

Lucy Lawless' horrible slave owner character was fantastically interesting and also shaped by misogyny and the expectations that she was only valuable for bearing an heir. All kinds of awful things happened in that season, but the only time I got the feeling we were there to gawk at tragedy porn or naked bodies, it was men on the receiving end.

People see GoT as neutral because they're so used to only seeing media that is by and for straight guys who are used to fapping to women's crying faces and calling it realism.

I can't speak to the books. From what people have said, they sound marginally more thoughtful than the show but still firmly in the Old Guy SFF tradition where "historical realism" upon which one builds one's dragon fantasy realm means abused women, not third gender priests or Muslim travel writers or any of the other underused historical shit you could pull from.

I'll give GRRM that many of the other cliched books are stealing from him and not vice versa, but this trend is more than old enough to predate A Song of Ice and Fire, which wasn't published till 1991.

So no, I don't think it's about escapism. I think it's about being bored of the same old, same old.

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transmascpetewentz · 9 months

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Something I've been thinking about recently is how like. Trans men are expected to perform a level of emotional labor for traumatized cis gays that cis women are not forced to do. Cis gays find it perfectly acceptable to derail my activism because they want to trauma dump about how awful their lives are. As much as I do have sympathy for cis gays living in countries where they are extremely oppressed, it is also not my problem as a trans man to do anything for these people.

Cis men and women are not expected to do anything beyond saying "I feel bad for you," but I have paragraphs sent to my inbox about how I need to stop my activism because it hurts a poor cis gay's feelings. Why should a cis gay in another country be my problem? And I'm not saying this because I don't feel bad for him. I do, and I hope things improve for him soon. But it is not my responsibility to be a therapist, punching bag, and object for these cis men to take all their anger out on. This is classic misogyny made worse by the fact that I'm not a woman.

And when I show the slightest bit of anger or talk about the ways in which I am oppressed, cis gays will also see my struggles as lesser and not as important, and even the trans allies will label specific experiences of homophobia as "transphobia" when they happen to a gay trans man. Cis men's feelings are seen as more real, valid, and worth paying attention to than trans men's suffering and oppression.

#wentz.txt #transandrophobia #long post #t4t more like knowing my worth

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he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle · 1 year

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Getting To Know Your BL Mutuals

I was tagged by @gunsatthaphan thank you so much! I've never done one of these before, but it seems fun.

So here I go. rules: answer the questions and @ some people. include the tag 'g2ky BL mutuals 2022' on your post so we can find everyone's answer.

What have been the BLs that took you by surprise this year?

1. Between Us - I had to drop UWMA because I couldn't handle how hard Pharm was playing into the Blushing Maiden trope. Boy really just looked like he did not enjoy the physical part of their relationship at all, and it made it uncomfortable to watch. Also the reincarnated soulmate tragic death bit was just not doing it for me. I was afraid Between Us would be more of the same, BUT IT'S NOT! It's actually really good so far and Win and Team have explosive on screen chemistry. I guess all the work Boun and Prem have done together since 2019 has really paid off!

2. Old Fashion Cupcake - Mostly because I'd never heard of it. It just showed up on my Viki recommendations one day and was exactly what I was in the mood for. As always with Japan, the production values are perfect, the cinematography is excellent, and the acting was brilliant. I also loved seeing a romantic lead who was 39. (I'm 46, so it's nice to see representation nearer my age!)

3. My Only 12% - I generally dislike High School BLs because their characters are younger than my sons and it's hard for me to relate unless their acting is surprisingly good. And that's what happened here! SantaEarth knocked it out of the park. I laughed with them, cried with them, oooed and awed with them. They really made me feel it all!

What have been the BLs that you felt a bit a lot disappointed with this year?

1. Check Out - I mean, episode 0 was killer. How did they drop the ball this badly???

2. Coffee Melody - It started out with pretty production values and made me hope everything would be equally as excellent. But it was just so boring.

What has been your favorite BL this year?

Hard call! I think I have to answer this by country because they all approach BL so differently. Also only addressing shows that started airing in 2022, so that automatically removes Bad Buddy and Not Me from the running.

Japan - Old Fashion Cupcake. See above!

South Korea - Semantic Error. I was afraid of the bullying plot, but when I watched it, it just seemed funny. They somehow struck that magic balance of making Jae Young irritating and attractive without being an actual asshole. Plus I loved the excellent production values, tight plotting, hilarious dialog, Yu Na being a hot af bisexual babe, and the excellent kissing game our leads brought to the screen.

Thailand - Kinnporsche the Series. I liked the way they improved so much of the gross from the books so the story made more sense and wasn't as offensive. But I really enjoyed the excellent cinematography, the acting from literally every cast member, and the distinctly Thai humor. It's also obviously very big budget and just LOOKS expensive, you know? Like something I'd see on American or Korean TV. Even the violence looks real, which is something Thailand usually has a very hard time pulling off. Plus the cast is just so pretty. I'm also a huge sucker for darker narratives, so it was refreshing to see one mixed in with so many fun BL tropes. I expected to be massively disappointed by this drama and was pleasantly surprised instead.

Favorite BL couples (not just of 2022)?

Actors or characters? I want to answer actors because that's more fun to me.

1. I am forever indebted to MaxTul because I really needed to see their steamy physical chemistry back in 2018. My intro to BL happened when I stumbled upon Advance Bravely on YouTube. It was so much fun to see fanfic tropes between two men! But the ending was wonky AF because of Chinese censorship. So I asked around on Tumblr for more manly men doing fanfic shows, and found out that BL was a whole Thing and the epitome of manliness was in Together with Me. Was the girlfriend plot obnoxious? Yes. Did MaxTul deliver believable chemistry anyway? Yes. If I hadn't seen them, I probably would have given up on BL because the next few I watched didn't do it for me at all (Love Sick, Sotus, Puppy Honey, Kiss Me Again). But because I knew couples like MaxTul were out there acting their hearts out, I made it through my BL dryspell and into 2019 and shows that I actually did love (like Theory of Love and Deep Blue Kiss).

2. Offgun because they clearly enjoy each other's company, they're in it for the long haul, and their fans aren't rabid shippers. Gun's acting was always leagues beyond his co-stars, but Off has completely risen to that challenge and become formidable in his own right. I also adore how Gun has clearly melted Off's heart over the years. Watching his real life evolution from being touch averse to actually initiating physical intimacy with Gun over the years is like watching a slow burn 140k+ word fanfic unfold right in front of me. I think their fans not straying into delusionally obsessed crazies is also a sign that they're good guys managing their coupledom like pros.

3. FirstKhao because they surprised me so much with The Eclipse. I knew they were decent actors on their own, but together they're 🔥🔥🔥. Also I really enjoy their personalities outside of their performances. I am excited they decided to cobrand, and I am hoping to see more stellar acting from them in the future!

What's your non-BL favorite this year?

Oooo. This is hard! Do I answer based on how many times I re-watched a 2022 show, or how high quality I think it was, or how well I rated it?

Sh**ting Stars wins if we're talking about the number of times I re-watched it. It's a no drama romcom from South Korea. A celebrity and his PR manager have been frenemies for a decade then realize they're in love. It's got killer banter and good side characters, is laugh out loud funny, has no annoying tropes, and has 5 side couples (and you will root for all of them).

But based on acting and script and cinematography? My Liberation Notes knocked it out of the park! It's a slice of life South Korean drama. 3 siblings in their 30s feel stuck by life. The youngest decides to liberate herself from disliking everyone by choosing to like a nameless stranger unconditionally. This is the story of the ripple effects from that one decision.

Time to tag people! (not sure if all of these are mutuals but imma tag you either way so deal with it!! 💜)

@stefanyd @rythyme @piningbisexuals @disaster-j @spicyvampire @syrinth @machikeita

#g2ky BL mutuals 2022 #BL mutuals ask game #asian gay dramas

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dear-mrs-otome · 2 years

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Do you like Jin? I honestly don't. Cause' I kinda like Emma's partner to be not a womanizer that slept with many women. I don't like cliche man who say's they don't believe in true love and just goes on slee falls in love with the protagonist. I don't know, why but it pisses me off how he slept with many women and get to be with Emma.... Does he also remind you of Sirius from Ikerev?

Hey Nonny, thanks for sharing your thoughts and asking my opinion, I'm flattered!

As to your question…Jin and the general 'womanizer/flirt' is not my particular type, but I hesitate to say I don't like any character or to talk harshly about them, because invariably any character is someone's favorite out there. And no one likes to hear a boo get trashed - it's an awful feeling and I wouldn't want to put people through that unwittingly.

I tend to enjoy Jin as a character even if not as a suitor. Cybird (and otome in general) leans heavily on tropes, and Jin fits the bill of older/mature man who is often (but not always) a flirt or womanizer, but is invariably charismatic and sometimes an unwitting Cassanova simply by dint of that. Think Sirius, as you mentioned, or Shingen and somewhat Hideyoshi from IkeSen, Leonardo from IkeVamp, and Morinaga from IkeGen. Such characters often step in to give our MC helpful advice and share their life experiences, provide a stablizing presence in the plot, and the story is generally improved a great deal by their inclusion. And for many readers out there, that is something that holds a strong romantic appeal for them as well.

I also hesitate to castigate Jin for his womanizing ways, because I don't think it's fair to in essence slutshame anyone of any gender. Especially given that Jin is honest and upfront about his expectations with his paramours and it is not a case of him manipulating anyone into sleeping with him - consenting sex between two or more adults who are all on the same page is nothing to be ashamed of. I also hesitate to ever declare anyone or any character 'undeserving' of love…because I think that is patently false and not an outlook I would like to espouse. People can change, and no one should ever be punished for the actions of their past indefinitely, least of all when they didn't do anything necessarily wrong.

Fortunately, these games give us a wide range of suitors and personalities so we can all find something that speaks to us personally. I hope you've found your special prince Nonny, if Jin isn't fitting the bill - I'd love to know which of the lucky men has tickled your fancy!

#mrs o talks

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deripmaver · 2 years

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Omg hiiii!!!

I read your fic ‘all the king’s men’. First of all, it’s amazing. I don’t think I’ve had my gut wrenched quite like that in a long time!! But importantly, you can’t leave that story there.

Please please please write a sequel!! You cannot cut Egeria’s response to the scenes, you just cannot!! It’s cruel, (on theme with the fic but still) and I need to see how it affects her in the longer run. I already she becomes Laurent, what with all the same circumstances, but I have to know how it goes for the three of them!! Does Damen become the only tolerable person for her? Does she go away to a distant palace? Does she send them away? I have to know!! And then there’s also the matter of how Laurent pays for his acts, I fully expected Damen to die in the fic, and for Laurent to pick up the pieces after, but that’s not what happened, so I have to know how Laurent pays. Please write a sequel/another chapter/epilogue (if you will)

I don’t even want to talk about Nikandros. So I won’t. But you probably already know how I’m dying to see it.

So please think about writing, I won’t forget the favour ever.

HAHAHAH AWWWW ANON THIS IS SO SWEET THANK YOU!!!! its really validating as an author to see that a fic made you feel so many emotions!!! at the moment i dont have plans for a sequel, though youre not the only person who wants one LOL. i can jot down some things ive dicussed with folks that would happen in the future imo

egeria does EVENTUALLY make up with laurent. i dont want to say she forgives him, because my ethos sort of rejects "forgiveness" as the main goal, just continual improvement, if that makes sense? i think she probably would see that laurent really makes damen happy, and defends him against ppl who think he's unfit to rule, and that he loves him geniunely. plus, laurent being laurent like in canon, he probably does stuff like impulsively rescue a bunch of slaves, and just generally shows he has morals, so egeria forms a grudging respect for him and eventually does start to like him. it's not just what laurent did to damen, but this feeling of continual violation that egeria trusted laurent with confiding about her own assault. i can also see egeria needing to go away for a while, or otherwise laurent and damen stay in delfeur/delpha while egeria stays in ios, and the separation gives them all time to think. egeria in her statemanship studies might also learn about how awful the regent was, and so she'd feel some sympathy.

i think of egeria kind of like damen as a natural born ruler. she'll have to learn how to rule in ios, since she never did growing up, and so in that sense she's pretty far behind where damen and even laurent were at her age. i picture her taking lessons with the children of the kyroi in statesmanship, languages, economics, etc, and at first the kids her age are kind of snooty about her, because she knows so little about what they know, but she's a quick learner and she's got these scrappy street smarts and is, as you said, very like laurent. i have this image of her teaching some of the pampered noble's kids to pick locks or something, and then eventually they all look to her as a leader.

she winds up as a pretty angry teenager, much like laurent. she never takes it out on damen though, and all damen has to do is pull the "im not mad just disappointed" and she turns into a blubbering apologizing mess

maybe a cop out, but since laurent genuinely acknowledges what he did was wrong and never tries to make excuses for it, most of his continued suffering is watching the toll it takes on damen and their relationship. he has to hear the way some of the kyroi doubt damen and think he's weak because of his ptsd, he hears damen wake up with nightmares and sometimes damen is too upset to let him comfort him, for a LONG time egeria makes no secret of how much she hates him... leaning more into the a/b/o dynamics, i have been chatting with ccainao3 @ ao3 (read her fic theyre amazing, love u ruth) and how damen sharing his first heat with laurent would probably be a disaster for both of them. laurent wouldnt really want to bc hes worried he'd hurt damen somehow, but he'd also be terrified that if he asked damen to stop, that would make damen think his alpha was rejecting him....... anyway he'd leave that first shared heat feeling absolutely miserable lol.

no nikandros will never ever in a million years forgive laurent LMAO. i think in canon he might, but in this au no. he also would keep like. reflexively standing in front of damen any time laurent got close, which would piss damen off.

so yes at the moment i don't have plans for a sequel, but i hope this is satisfying enough to you!! thanks again so much for your ask, have a wonderful day!!!

#my fic #capri meta #captive prince meta #captive prince #captive prince fanfic

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uselessboss · 2 years

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Obsession(1/4)

People didn’t look like “people” to him.

“Did the boss put you up to do menial tasks again? You seriously need to stop provoking him you know?” One of his colleagues told him, snickering.

“I merely asked him to expand more on his reasoning behind the latest strategy employed, nothing wrong about that, his outburst was unwarranted” Johannes explained.

What a small and insignificant man. He thought with disdain.

Unwilling to listen to suggestions and advices, unwilling to improve and optimize things if they can make do with mediocre results and getting angry when asked to explain his reasoning behind his actions.

It was quite pathetic how he thought that shouting, trying to downplay his opinions and relegating him to less important tasks was a good show of his “power”.

Men talk and dog barks.

“You should really stop making things hard for yourself by acting high and mighty”

He had the same eyes as his boss. Everyone around him did.

Greedy, ressentful, jealous and insecure to the point of trying to drag others down to their level because they are unable or unwilling to think of ways to improve themselves.

“Are you suggesting me to act like you and everyone else? Sucking off to the boss and ‘whoring’ myself out for someone who doesn’t deserve my respect?”

“You are fucking arrogant Johannes” his colleague pulled him by the front of his shirt.

“Pride measures our worth as humans. I won’t bend my knee, otherwise they would have succeeded in turning me into a pathetic and worthless being”. he scoffs, unfazed as he takes away the hand gripping his shirt. “Now, if you excuse me I have to finish this task so I can focus on other more important things”

That was a total waste of time. He couldn’t wait until he found a way to rise above all this scum.

Then again, what should he expect from someone that lacked the qualifications to be even considered as a “person”?

“For this case we are going to work with Miller’s team” his boss presented the leader of the other team, voice filled with contempt.

He wasn’t even bothering to hide his dislike and disdain towards the younger leader of the other team. It was an embarrassing display. Acting like an immature and petulant child instead of a grown ass man.

In contrast, Johannes noted, the person by his side stood tall under all the malicious and dirty looks throw at her direction, unfazed and unbothered, carrying herself with dignity.

Crowa Miller.

According to rumors she was a deranged lunatic that, unable to accept that she failed to convict a criminal, would later on go on a crusade to kill them and almost stupidly got herself killed in the process.

That should make her the lowest of the most irrational beasts but curiously and ironically enough, among all the sea of indistiguishable envy, ressentment and other lower emotions her eyes sparkled human.

Honestly he didn’t care if the rumors were true or not, that alone made her a much desirable footing to rise up from.

(It also helped that she probably had great connections otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to get her position what with the way odds were stacked against her.)

He was probably staring too much because suddenly, as if she had sensed his gaze, Miller turned to look straight at him.

The people that were looking at her with disdain were quick to lower their gaze as soon as they thought she was looking their way like the cowards they were.

He, in turn, didn’t even flinch, keeping his eyes on her in defiance as well as to properly take them in.

She also had green eyes, albeit different from his and unlike anything he ever saw.

While his were almost gold and electric like light itself hers were profound and mysterious like the most secret parts of a forest or the unknown depths of the ocean.

Among the masses of faceless people who threw away their pride and became dolls that lacked identity she stood up as the first person he acknowledged as an individual.

“You have been staring at me an awful lot, can I help you?” she approached him.

“My apologies, I just found you interesting”

They kept their gazes locked at each other again, in an intense staring contest that went for several seconds.

Her eyes twinkled.

“What’s your name?”

“Hills Johannes”

“Johannes huh? I like your eyes” she smiled. “They are pretty vibrant, full of drive and for once it’s not eyes that look at me with jealousy, disdain or fear”

“Was I supposed to fear you?” he smirked, eliciting a laugh from her.

“No, not really. You or anyone else that isn’t a criminal for that matter”

What an interesting person.

“This was an enjoyable small talk. I hope to see you later Mr.Johannes”

“Likewise”

He volunteered himself to work with her team. After their small exchange he got curious and craved for more, to know more about this unique and special individual.

The way she worked was intriguing.

She had great eyes for details and was incredible perceptive to the point of picking on the most subtle of clues or perceiving tells in interrogations in a way even he was unable to figure out.

She didn’t explain herself and if it was anyone else it would have peeved him but the way she carefully considered everything and the sheer accuracy of her guesses made it clear that it wasn’t luck or a shot in the dark, she had a criteria to guide her actions even if he couldn’t understand what they were.

And on the field...

He clapped his hands as she had just finished kicking a guy down in submission.

“You are quite something else” he praised. “Not only for having good and discerning eyes for solving cases but also formidable when fighting. It’s incredible how sharp your instincts and reflexes are”

“...However?” she replied. “I’m sensing a follow-up there”

Ah so she had noticed it.

Didn’t seem offended or mad about it, if anything she seemed amused.

“I think this wouldn’t be an appropriate time to go more in-depth about it, perhaps later when you have spare time?”

He knew he was pushing it, blatantly implying that he had a lot of so not flattering words to say, veering on the line of almost being considered disrespectful and insulting towards someone of a higher authority.

“True, we are still not done with things here” she conceded, not missing a beat.

Now it was her turn challenging him.

She wanted to see if he had anything worth listening for. If he could back up all the words he was implying earlier.

He smiled at that. This felt so refreshing and gratifying.

“Yes, I do have a few suggestions in mind.”

He had been organizing and compiling his data of the joint case for the last hour, barely able to contain his impatience as he looked at the clock.

The time they spent together felt too short so he was elated when she offered to extend their interactions, mentioning their earlier talk and making a witty remark about looking forward to hearing the rest of what he had to say.

Last check-ups done, he went to meet her at the place they had agreed upon.

“Hello Mr. Johannes, your timing is impeccable, we just finished things here”

She was sitting in a table with bosses of other units, he thought he might have vaguely recognized even his own boss there.

“Shall we continue our talk now?” She quipped.

Usually this would be used as a tactic of intimidation, putting someone on the spot in front of others, even more under the scrutinity of people of higher position that didn’t tolerate an affront to their power so you would cower under the pressure.

That said, a quick glance at her expression told him that it wasn’t her goal. Whatever she was scheming she seemed confident he was going to follow along.

It was infuriatingly amazing how, despite knowing that, he was still willing to fall into her goading, the promise of something interesting happening if he did so being far too intriguing and alluring for him to ignore.

“Ah yes, I was talking about how your talents as an individual were outstanding right?” Fine, he was taking the bait, sink and all. “Emphasis on ‘individual’, you’re not much of a leader material and if you allow me to say it, quite the worst at it from what I have seen”

The men at the table looked horrorized at what he said, getting comically even more mortified and appalled the longer his observations and criticism went on as if fearing for Miller’s reaction.

Meanwhile the person in question just smiled, her grin increasing as she found everyone’s scandalized reactions hilarious and entertaining.

“Those are valid points” she chuckles in good humor as she stands up. “Excuse me gentlemen but I have to retire first, I have some important matters to attend.

He slight bows at them in mockery and follows after Miller as she exit he table, schooling his features the best he could so it wouldn’t become apparent how smug he felt at her giving so much importance in spending time with him in front of everyone.

“I gathered all the information I could about our last joint case, I hope you don’t mind if you could give me your opinion on it” Miller’s face turned serious as soon as they sat down on the empty meeting room.

There were piles of folders, maps, layouts of buildings, photos and a detailed written report of everyone’s movements from her team.

It was a throve of information, some of which he would never ever get a chance to access himself.

It was impressive. For the first time he was left speechless.

He had to take back his earlier thoughts about considering her as a “footing” to rise up in the ranks.

That was not a treatment befitting of someone of her caliber. Crowa Miller truly was someone that earned his admiration and respect.

Even now it continued to increase as they oversaw everything, discussing about it in a civilized manner, her asking questions when fitting and taking criticisms and suggestions in stride, not once acting condescending towards him nor reacting to the negative feedback as the old, insecure people he had to contend for so long.

“Thank you for your time and for giving me constructive words, it will be very helpful” she tidied everything out after they finished.

“I saw the reports of other cases you were in and surprisingly you did well despite your weird directing and even have the highest safety rate of every team for that matter” he couldn’t keep his curiosity back. “Why would you want to change the way you do things?”

“Because that’s not good enough” she calmly replied. “As you pointed I lack the experience and skill to properly guide the people under my care. I had to make do with what I had to make it work as no one seems keen to teach me properly but that’s... Too sloppy”

She sighed, aggravated as she massaged her temples.

“I’m used to do things relying on my intuition and instincts but I can’t ask for people to trust their safety and their very own lives on something that amounts to a ‘hunch’”. It sounded like something that she kept mulling about for a while. “But a plan, something that has logic and reason behind it is something that they can accept and put their trust on”

She looks straight at his eyes at that.

He guessed as much. She didn’t seem the type to uselessly flaunt her “authority” like that just to force people to listen to her.

She sought to be worth of it and took the responsabilities of her position very seriously unlike anyone else he ever met.

“Huh?” He sputtered, lacking eloquence, another first for him.

“To be more accurate I want you take charge in directing my unit” Miller chuckles at his astonishment. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on stealing your credit for it, you would be doing that directly”

“For what reason?”

“Even without the problem of my lack of leadership skills I have the issue of my bad reputation to deal with” she explains, refering to all the rumors and general derision people have towards her. “They would feel far more comfortable if they listened to someone like you”

She was very blasé and nonchalant about it, as if it was no big deal to be giving her status away like that and quite possibly making her look worse for it.

“Of course I don’t plan to twindle my thumbs in the meantime. I want to learn from you as much as I can until I earn your approval so I can stand on my own legs when the time you get promoted comes”

“... You make it sound as if our roles are reversed.”

“It’s basically what it is. You earn their trust by showing how reliable you are and if I earn your approval they know they can rely on your sound jugdment and believe in me too... To a degree”

Her smiles widen.

“At least people would know for sure that fear is not a factor in it, what with that splendid showing you did there right in front of the rest of the suited men that didn’t had the balls to diss me to my face despite how obvious they hate me” she extended her hand.

Ah so that was what she was doing there.

She was far more cunning than he had expected.

What a fascinating person.

Unpredictable and unexpected in ways that managed to blindside him, earning his utter respect and admiration upfront, evoking loyalty and obedience towards her without use of underhanded tricks or bringing him down for it.

There was no hesitation nor doubts in his mind when he grasped that hand.

#My useless invincible boss #Crowa Miller(useless boss)#Hills Johannes(useless boss)

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theaustinrockwell · 1 year

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The Explosiveness of Masculine Failures

There are a few channels and podcasts that I listen to, that are made by dudes in their 50s and 60s giving their advice to younger men. A lot of them talk about failure and what to do afterward. The failures that they bring up are pretty heinous things that I have never considered like driving drunk or cheating on your girlfriend or wife. Hell, the things that I consider unforgivable failures in my life or the fatal flaws that I see in myself actually pale in comparison to those things. Anyway, the character of both the failures and the willingness to bounce back and improve yourself that these men talk about has an air of explosiveness in both good and bad ways. The cycle of failure in a healthy man seems to be about action.

When I look back at my failures, one, they don't look as bad as driving drunk or being an abusive alcoholic, and two, they are characterized by an unrelenting desire to improve in the days and weeks that follow. That's what makes the mistakes "okay." The mistakes themselves are bad, but since we're all human and mistakes are unavoidable, the cycle as a whole (make mistake, then apologize, then improve) is actually not so bad, and I become a better person for it.

What I mean is that, though my social and relationship mistakes eat at me and make me feel like a broken loser, these mistakes are necessary and almost a good thing, because of the growth that they cause. Yeah, I fuck up in spectacular ways, but the lessons that are imparted upon me are fucking golden.

I think spectacular fuck ups are necessary for a man to live a life of action and purpose. Since mistakes are a given, because we're not Jesus Fucking Christ, a large volume of mistakes is not indicative of brokenness but of the daring and adventure of a man who is not afraid to take action in life. Let's say you have two men, one is cowardly and the other is courageous. Let's also make up a number and say 20% of the time, they make mistakes because they're human, and these could be small mistakes or huge embarrassing blunders. We'll say that means they do well 80% of the time which is a grade of B-. Not bad.

Now, imagine all of the actions that either the cowardly or the courageous man will take. If the cowardly man only tries 10 things, he'll only make mistakes 20% of the time, which is 2 mistakes. 2 mistakes is acceptable. We won't exile the cowardly man, because 2 mistakes is nothing. But what if the courageous man is out pushing his boundaries every day and trying to be a force for good and he does 100 things? Since he's human, he'll also fuck up 20% of the time. That's way more than 2 mistakes now. That's 20 mistakes. That's a lot of fuck ups. Is he a worse person than the cowardly man?

I'm trying to develop a framework for how to take action and not be so timid without making huge mistakes. I'm not sure how to, since it seems like being biased towards action naturally invites mistakes, simply because of the nature of statistics and being a fallible human. Maybe there is no real minimization of mistakes, because I can never have all of the information. There is merely doing my best with the information that I have or can get, then there are apologies afterwards for when I fuck up. Hell, the more obsessively I try to minimize mistakes, the more people have been put off by it. It can even come off as cold and calculating to hold social situations with such a tight fist, but I digress.

Whatever timid perfectionism that I have approached the world with, it seems that society, especially women that I've had flings with, have voted that they do not want that. If they can get a great super achiever of a man, then sure, that's preferable. But it seems like people hate a man who refuses to act out of fear.

My final thought on mistakes and forgiveness is that it seems like men are expected to make big, awful mistakes. Society makes room for it (to an extent). What they don't make room for is a timid man. I see this in why women forgive male cheating and why men can shake hands after a fist fight. Male mistakes are explosive and then they're over. There's a handshake, then it's in the past. I much prefer that framework, because I want to be both able to act and have the space to improve after I fuck up. Humans who make mistakes aren't broken. Men can't become the best versions of themselves if the social framework says to hold their mistakes over their heads forever.

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absolutelyfizzing · 3 years

Text

little dove

loki x reader

description - Loki acted so caring around you, more so than anyone else in his life. He loved to take care of you, especially when you had a long day, and he got teased by some of the team for it.

warnings - fem reader, cute loki and pet names, implications of gender fluid loki?, reader gets picked up, slight implications of a nsfw theme the night before

word count - 1900

A/N - this is a pretty plotless blurb but i just love this man, i have been obsessed with the new series and just wanted to write anything about him. i will inevitably be writing for him more so please end me now. there are no spoilers for the new series and it takes place in an AU after new york but pretty much otherwise out of timeline. all the avengers live at the compound together, endgame didnt happen and no i wont talk about it.

MASTERLIST

Loki was not someone who was overly friendly. To most of the people in the compound, he was courteous at best. That rule, however, was bent occasionally. The only exceptions were you and his brother (some of the time). He had been smitten with you the moment he saw you though he would never admit it. You were bubbly and light and the exact opposite of him. You were so friendly and kind that it almost made him want to be the same.

You were kind to him, which he was shocked by. Most of the people in the compound tolerated him but they were never caught being too nice. You, on the other hand, were friendly to him the day you met him.

You weren't an Avenger, you weren't really even a fighter. You were a genius in the medical field as well as the unofficial caretaker of everyone on the team. You made sure that they all ate, they didn't overwork themselves, that they were getting enough sleep every night because they were your closest friends. Everyone listened to you. You had this power over them all that they just wanted to make sure you were happy and that meant they wanted to do what you asked of them. They tried their best to take care of you as well.

When you met Loki and were very nice to him, he expected some ulterior motive. He assumed that there was something you wanted or that you would gain his trust and then humiliate him later. So he kept his guard up. This was proved wrong over the months to come. He noticed that you were that kind to everyone and you were just happy to be around other people. He let you in over time.

You became the only person who he opened up to, even more than his brother. You would keep him company even when he lashed out at others and when he was filled with guilt. You forgave him for his past without question and opened up to him as well. It took probably 3 months for Loki to realize that he was in love with you.

He couldn't believe himself. In love with a midgardian? What was he thinking?

But it was undeniable and uncontrollable. He just couldn't help himself. You would read to him and watch movies with him. You would braid his hair when he was stressed and would teach him how to cook when he asked. You were just everything to him. It took him a long time to confess. He was terrified that you would reject him. You could have had anyone you wanted, why would you choose him?

When he did confess, you were thrilled and he couldn't believe it. You kissed him and he thought he could die happy right then and there. He had never felt this much love for anyone besides his mother.

You continued to break his walls down and he fell deeper in love with you every day. He didn't, however, change his behavior towards others very much. He had grown closer to the team, having regained some trust from them all. He was no longer aggressive and he tried very hard not to lash out. Most of that was out of his own desire to be trusted. He realized that he was going to have to make his life work to remain with you and he slowly learned that most of the people in the compound weren't actually as awful as he might have originally guessed. That didn't mean that his personality changed toward them though. He was still slightly cold and short. He wouldn't smile too much and he was what some might call grumpy most of the time.

That only changed around you and everyone noticed. Loki got teased for it constantly and he couldn't care less. He just wanted to make you happy and he had no regard for what anyone thought of your relationship.

He was waiting patiently in the common area of the compound on the couch. Steve and Rhodey were sat on the couch watching something that Loki didn't recognize or care for, it was some kind of reality TV. When he heard the elevator door open he looked toward the door and you were walking towards him. A grin spread over his face and his posture relaxed. He could hear the men on the couch scoff at his sudden change in demeanor. When you got close to him he picked you up and pulled you to straddle his hips on his lap and immediately began kissing all over you. You buried your face in his chest and he kissed your hair.

"How are you, my love?" He mumbled sweetly and you hummed. "Long day?" he questioned and you nodded in affirmation. "Lets go get you some food then, yes?" He asked lightly and you hummed happily. He picked you up and you clung to him, arms and legs wrapping around him. He carried you with ease toward the kitchen. It shocked you sometimes how much he could lift and how easily he lifted you but you had to remind yourself that he was indeed a god.

"How come you never treat us that way?" Rhodey called from the couch and Loki grumbled a bit.

"Oh I'm sorry did you want me to pick you up and make you some tea?" He asked sarcastically and you giggled from where your face was pressed into his chest. He smiled at the fact that he had gotten you to laugh and he set you on the countertop. He tried to pull away to make you some food but you did not let him leave you, still holding on to the front of the shirt that he was wearing. "Do you want to talk about your day?" He asked sweetly, kissing your forehead lightly. You gazed up at him lovingly and his heart skipped a beat.

"I'm just tired. People are annoying and I didn't exactly sleep much last night." You winked at the last part. He smirked at your comment.

"I'm sorry, my love. I was under the impression that you enjoyed what we did last night but I would be happy to give you plenty of time to sleep tonight if that's what you would prefer." he teased and you punched him lightly in the chest.

"Okay fine you're right, I like getting kept up." You confessed. You paused for a moment and his eyes remained on you as he waited patiently for you to continue. "I was mistaken for an intern again today. You would think that after over a year of working here that people would recognize my name and my work but today there were some new investors walking through the facility. When they came to look at my work they started to talk to one of my coworkers and then turned to me to ask me to get them a coffee order while they waited for the doctor to arrive." You grumbled, your mood now sour at the memory. Loki frowned and he felt his anger begin to take shape inside of him. His eyes flashed green for a moment.

"Would you like me to go and teach them a lesson? Perhaps just to mildly terrify them?" he asked, fully serious. That cheered you up plenty and you chuckled. Loki knew that you were laughing because of the absurdity of his statement and the fact that he was dead serious but he was just happy to see you smile again. "I will never understand the midgardian obsession with gender roles. Though I suppose my own identity is more fluid than most asgardians as well." He confessed and you brought your hand to rest on the side of his face. He leaned his head into your hand as he beamed at you. You loved when he compared his home to yours. It reminded you just how powerful he was and that he still chose to spend his days with you. There was suddenly a flash of green before he held his hand out to you, now holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers. When you gasped and moved to grab them he slipped from your grasp to move towards the refrigerator.

"Hey that's not fair, you tricked me." You pouted at him, now grumbling that you couldn't hold him anymore.

"Little dove, I cannot make you food when you hold onto me. When I am finished cooking then you can stay with me for as long as you would like." He promised and you nodded solemnly. He quickly pressed another kiss to your cheek before moving around the kitchen to prepare you waffles as he often did when you were having a long day. You observed the beautiful flowers in your hand and watched him as he moved around the kitchen, a million times more comfortable than he had been when he first moved into the compound. You talked contentedly with the people passing by as well as the man who was diligently trying to improve your mood. Occasionally one of the other team members would walk by and laugh a bit at how caring he was acting toward you, all of them just happy you were content though. Eventually Thor stopped by while Loki put some batter into the waffle iron and sliced some fruit.

"You know, this is the happiest I have ever seen him." He stated simply, a smile in is voice.

"It's the happiest I've been too." You responded with a small grin.

"The last time I saw him open up to someone the way that he opens up to you was on Asgard with our mother. She would be happy to see him being so vulnerable again." He patted your back and walked away as tears started to come to your eyes. The brothers would talk of their mother sometimes and Loki often mention the fact that he believed she would have loved you, if not for your own personality then for what you did for her son. You wished that you could meet her.

You were suddenly taken out of your thoughts by someone handing you a plate of waffles and sliced up fruit with a little container of syrup on the side. You looked up at Loki and nearly cried right there. You put the plate aside for a moment to reach out and pull him into a crushing hug. He was a bit startled but responded quickly, a hand going to the back of your head and his fingers brushing through your hair soothingly.

"Did something happen, my love?" He asked softly and you sniffled a bit.

"Just love you and I'm very thankful for everything you do for me." You got out and he affirmed to himself that he would die for you in an instant.

"I love you too, darling, but I slaved away at those waffles and now they are getting cold." He teased and he kissed your hair gently. You took a deep breath before pulling away, looking up at him with love. You smiled and then hopped off of the counter. He walked with you over to the dining table where he sat next to you and serenely waited as you ate, the food lifting your spirits a bit and easing your anxiety of the day. You planned on spending the rest of it with the man next to you as well as every day after that.

#loki #loki x reader #loki imagine #loki x reader imagine #loki laufeyson #thor #thor ragnarok #thor imagine #marvel imagine #marvel #marvel x reader #the avengers #avengers imagine #avengers imagines #avengers x reader #fluff #loki fluff #loki x reader fluff

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Text

Initiative - aka NMJ and JYL get engaged - ao3 or tumblr pt 1, pt 2

Jiang Yanli’s first engagement had been announced when she was three and a half years old – there had been a big party, festooned in color, exquisitely and meticulously planned out in advance, and she’d been obliged to stand on stage next to a baby in a cradle that had done nothing but cry and spit as all the adults around her congregated and congratulated each other on the excellent match.

She hadn’t enjoyed that at all.

Her second wedding announcement was simultaneously more casual and more noteworthy, and she enjoyed it tremendously.

Madame Jin had sent several invitations to Jiang Yanli to come visit Lanling in advance of the hunt planned for Phoenix Mountain, speaking of how beautiful it was and how much she looked forward to seeing her good friend’s daughter – talking about she’d always regretted how Jiang Yanli had been obligated by circumstances to take shelter at the Unclean Realm rather than in Lanling City, although she’d been pleased to hear from her son that she was doing well – all the right sort of words. The words might have been more welcome if Jiang Yanli hadn’t known that Madame Jin was still intent on securing the marriage she had arranged.

If she hadn’t been engaged, she would have accepted the invitation, hoping to form an alliance for her sect through a close relationship with Madame Jin even if she didn’t have one with Jin Zixuan (no matter what Madame Jin hoped), but as she was, in fact, engaged to another – even if it hadn’t been formally announced – it would be inappropriate to go. So she instead played ignorant and responded graciously, protesting that she couldn’t possibly impose, that the rebuilding at the Lotus Pier needed her, but that she would of course be happy to attend the hunt alongside the rest of her sect.

She arrived at her brother’s side, smiling all the while.

Her second engagement was announced like this: Sect Leader Jin, using his newly legitimized son as his mouthpiece, had brought forward some ghastly ‘entertainment’ that involved shooting at helpless prisoners, tied up in chains. Jin Zixuan had complied, but Wei Wuxian had marched out and disrupted everything by showing off to a ridiculous extent – Nie Mingjue, who had been watching with a black face full of rage but unable to speak due to propriety, had started applauding very loudly and very enthusiastically – and Sect Leader Jin had ordered the prisoners taken away.

“Well, then,” he said, clapping as if he had impressed himself: as if they hadn’t just been subjected to a powerplay under the guise of hospitality, as if everyone would be over-awed by his might now that they had seen him abuse the helpless while they were all forced by the rules of etiquette to say nothing or else risk carrying the blame for trying to start another war. “Absent anything else, we should proceed to the hunt itself, where await you only the finest of prey and the sharpest competition among your peers.”

For the further display of the power of the Jin sect, he meant.

“Actually,” Nie Mingjue said, interjecting in a moment in which Sect Leader Jin had paused to take a breath so that it was technically not an interruption, “there is one thing. A request, in fact.”

Sect Leader Jin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he maintained his false smile. “Of course, Sect Leader Nie. What can I do for you?”

“I’m getting married,” Nie Mingjue said. “The bride is Young Mistress Jiang, of Yunmeng Jiang, and I would like –” He raised his voice to overcome the abrupt explosion of talk that had erupted. “– I would like to have her accompany my sect in today’s hunt. I hope that doesn’t interfere with your plans for a competition between the sects?”

There were those who said that Jiang Yanli’s chosen husband was bad at politics, and they might even be right. But it didn’t really matter in the end if he’d thought of the idea on a whim or if it’d been a prearranged plan by Nie Huaisang, who was cleverer than he liked to let on to people, Jiang Yanli’s future husband had still wiped away in a single sentence all memory of the farce they’d all just endured and of the hunt that was yet to come, ensuring that the only thing anyone would remember about today was the shocking news of the engagement of the leader of one Great Sect to the sister of another.

(And if everyone remembered that at the last celebration hosted by Sect Leader Jin, he had proposed to resurrect the marriage between Jiang Yanli and his own son, instead, forcing her to publicly demur on vague terms…well, that just made it all the more satisfying.)

Now it was Sect Leader Jin’s turn to scowl and glare, and Madame Jin’s expression looked no less thunderous, but in the end Jiang Yanli got to go with the Nie sect on the hunt.

“You know I’ll only slow you down,” she said to Nie Mingjue, who snorted.

“No more than Huaisang will,” he said, and if his face was stern and his voice gruff then she still thought she detected fondness and humor beneath it. “Besides, it’ll be a good opportunity to measure you.”

It turned out that he meant that more literally than she might have thought.

Jiang Yanli was promptly whisked away to the back of the Nie retinue by a small cadre of Nie disciples, men and women both. She was presented with a number of training sabers shaped out of wood and made to hold them in a variety of positions as they murmured things about stability and reach and balance as if they really, truly thought that she would actually use the saber they were preparing for her.

“This one,” Nie Jiahui, a steely older woman with silver in her hair and fierce eyes, eventually announced, and the practice saber Jiang Yanli had been waving around was taken away. She was then presented with one that was twice as heavy, for “practice”.

“Do you always practice with something heavier than the actual thing?” she asked, and Nie Jiahui nodded.

“Strengthens the shoulders,” she said, curt but not standoffish. “Have some candy.”

Jiang Yanli blinked, but smiled and accepted the offer. It was licorice, which she liked.

“Do you often carry candy with you on night-hunts?” she asked, listening to the sound of fighting from up ahead. Every so often, a disciple or two would trot by carrying the corpses of larger and larger creatures, slain in the fighting; it seemed that the Nie sect was not, in fact, being slowed down in the slightest by her presence.

Of course, she also wasn’t being tended to as if she were their chosen lady, either, as she might have otherwise expected – all pomp and flowery language, Nie Mingjue by her side at all times to show her around as if they were on a pleasure stroll – but in all honesty that would have been a little bewildering. It was very much not the Nie sect’s character, all practical and straightforward, and she found that she preferred it that way.

“It’s important to have something to replenish energy,” Nie Huaisang said, having dropped back to join them from the front. He looked tired and grumpy, but his saber appeared to have been put to some work; he immediately climbed up into the carriage that people were taking turns riding and started cleaning it. “And licorice candy clears the lungs.”

“Clears the lungs?” Jiang Yanli asked.

“It’s good for more than that,” Nie Jiahui said. “But that’s one of the uses, yes. Do you ever feel like your chest is too tight, especially when you move too much? Leading to coughing, shortness of breath, your lips turning blue?”

Jiang Yanli blinked. “Yes,” she said. “But that’s just because I was born with a weak body.”

Nie Jiahui scoffed and Nie Huaisang laughed. “Good luck with that,” he said cheerfully. “I was born with muscles that didn’t keep their tone: too flexible, incapable of gathering strength, requiring more energy to do less, making me twice as tired twice as fast – even sitting up straight can be a struggle in some extreme cases, though luckily not mine. And do you think that helped me one bit in getting out of saber training? It did not.”

“Early childhood intervention is best,” Nie Jiahui said. “But the next best is starting today. I’ll show you some low-impact exercises that you can start working on to strengthen your shoulders and stomach, as well as some balance movements to center yourself and improve your posture – that way, by the time your actual saber is ready, you’ll be able to take it through one of the basic routines.”

“I’m happy to learn whatever you have to teach,” Jiang Yanli said, ignoring Nie Huaisang’s dramatic cry of ‘And here I thought you’d be on my side!’ “I only regret troubling you.”

“Not at all,” Nie Jiahui said. “It’ll be good to have someone watching the Sect Leader’s back on night-hunts.”

Jiang Yanli felt a surge of terror and excitement in her belly. “He would trust me with that? You would trust me with that?”

“I did tell you that you’d need to keep up with him,” Nie Huaisang said mildly, and it was true, he had, only she’d assumed it was a bit more metaphorical. “You don’t have to fight or even walk too much, if it doesn’t suit you – my grandmother was lame in both her legs from a childhood illness, she rode everywhere, scariest woman I’ve ever met by far – but you do have to be there. Someone needs to be able to tell my brother to stop. Someone he’ll listen to.”

And wasn’t that something of a thrill to think of?

Jiang Yanli wasn’t someone anyone listened to – not her parents, not her brother, not her sect disciples. She’d always been the one who comforted them afterwards, who supported them; she made them food and tried to convince them to be kinder to each other, and sometimes they even tried for a while before getting into another tiff. They would kill for her if she so much as hinted at it, tear down the sky for her, but it was more in the nature of indulging her rather than actually allowing them to guide her.

Yet here was Chifeng-zun, a war hero and a sect leader, one of the most powerful men in the world, a man admired by men and sought after (even if only in their hearts) by women, and his family was telling her that he would listen to her.

“If you say so,” she demurred, but they insisted, and by the time the hunt was over Jiang Yanli was surprised to realize that she hadn’t needed to resort to sitting on the carriage more than twice the entire time.

“We’ll send Auntie Jiahui to the Lotus Pier after today’s hunt is done,” Nie Huaisang chattered cheerfully in her ear as they headed back towards Jinlin Tower. “She’ll work you through your paces, believe you me, and all the supplemental things, too – making sure you eat the right thing, take medicinal baths to improve your meridians, apply massages to loosen your joints…those parts are nice, actually. Take care of your body as you would your saber, take care of your saber as you would your wife! That’s how the saying goes. Trust me, you’ll be regretting the whole thing soon enough.”

Jiang Yanli didn’t think she would. “You seem very confident that A-Cheng will allow you to do as you please, even in the Lotus Pier.”

“I’ll tell him it concerns secret Nie sect marriage rituals,” Nie Jiahui interjected. “When two women are involved, men tend to run away when the words ‘marriage’ and ‘secret’ are combined.”

Sadly, she was probably right.

“Show me those exercises again,” she requested, and Nie Jiahui climbed up on to the carriage to show her the ones she could do even while sitting down.

Jiang Yanli might never have had the opportunity to strengthen herself before, and she was moderately certain that she wouldn’t have too much success now, as the various tricks Nie Jiahui had taught her were largely body refinement, barely reliant on qi, and her cultivation was still as low as ever.

But she was good at devoting herself to learning something when she wanted to, and as soon the hunt at Phoenix Mountain was over and they had shifted over to the various feasts and meetings that Lanling Jin had planned for the rest of the week, she began her efforts at self-improvement in earnest.

The weak body her mother had always despaired of might always be weak – Nie Jiahui had been quite blunt on that subject, making it clear that nothing she was suggesting was some sort of miracle pill, and furthermore that there was nothing wrong with being weak as long as she made an effort (Nie Huaisang had been the recipient of several pointed looks there) – but Jiang Yanli was determined to at least demonstrate that she was trying.

A gesture of good faith, perhaps. Some small show of initiative.

Nie Huaisang had said that Nie Mingjue appreciated her initiative.

“A-Xian,” she called one morning, only a few days later. “A-Xian, are you going out for a walk? Let me come with you.”

“You’ve gone on a lot of walks recently,” Wei Wuxian laughed, but allowed her to take his arm as they walked into the crowd. “Do you like Lanling City so much?”

“It’s the exercise I’m after,” she said, smiling at him. “The Nie sect is a martial sect, remember? I’ll be going on more night-hunts in the future, if all goes well, and I’ll need to keep up.”

“Oh, but surely they’ll bring a carriage..? I don’t know if you really need to go on night-hunts –”

“I want to! It’ll be nice. Don’t worry about me so much, A-Xian –”

Wei Wuxian was shaking his head, smiling, and he wasn’t looking where he was going; perhaps that was why he bumped into the young woman.

But then she looked up at him, and he looked down at her, and he froze.

“Wen Qing?”

#mdzs #jiang yanli #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #wei wuxian #my fic #my fics #initiative #the untamed #includes my medical HCs for JYL and NHS #but no actual medical incidents

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dienamights · 3 years

Text

Road Mishap | K.Bakugou | Drabble

Where Dynamight pays you a little visit when someone is being a little too friendly on the road.

» Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x Fem!Reader.

» Word count: 1.1K

» Genre: Crack, Prohero!au, fluff if you squint real hard but basically reader being a simp.

» Warning(s): Swearing, guys being assholes, suggestive themes(?), basically Kacchan flexing that he’s getting some ass. Characters are aged up.

» Author’s notes: ahahaha, what are you talking about, this isn't self-indulgent, no I didn't cry for hours after it happened to me today. @tteokdoroki iloveyou come laugh at my pain

I know its too long for a drabble but I HAD FUN WITH IT AND I ALREADY MADE THE BANNER AS A DRABBLE SO SUE ME)

» Masterlist | Requests

“Hah? The fuck you mean you’re being tailgated?” you heard the hoarse voice of your boyfriend through the speakers of your car as you looked through your rearview mirror, the fucking shit-piece of car swerving left and right to irritate you, the heads of five guys swaying with the car and grinning evilly.

“I mean I’m being tailgated Katsu, the fuck else would I mean?” you sneered, sending a glare to the center console of your car, hoping it would reach your dumbass of a hero boyfriend. You honestly didn’t know why you were calling him, Katsuki was busy being on the top 10 ranked heroes and you didn’t expect him to drop everything and run to save your quirkless damsel in distress ass.

But the car behind you sped up, the front bumper of their car kissed the rear bumper of yours, making you screech, a sob escaping your throat when your car jerked forward, hearing the maniac laughter of the douchebags despite your closed windows. You wished you didn’t leave the comfort of your home, knowing that no one in their right mind would even come close to harming the home of Dynamight, unless they wanted their asses blown off.

Katsuki was silent for a few seconds, before you heard frantic shuffling on the other end of the phone as you slowed down at a red light, the car behind you jolting left and right as the boys danced at their loud shit music. Yet, your ears couldn’t miss the deep growl in his voice.

“Send me your live location.” It wasn’t a question, nor a request, it was a demand. And even then, you were pretty hesitant to do as he told. You took a few deep breaths, wiping the few tears that managed to escape during your panic and tried to sound as convincing as possible.

“N-no its alright Suki, I’m almost home a-and besides you’ve got more important things to-”

“Y/N.” You gulped, not used to him directing that threatening voice at you, “I’m not asking you; I’m telling you to send it to me. Now.” No ifs ands or buts, so with a shaking grip, you did as you were told, right as the light turned green, the honks and tires screeching making you whimper as you pressed on the gas pedal to keep driving back home, only then realizing the fact that your boyfriend hung up on you.

“Great. Shouldn’t have called in the first place, real useless of you to call him knowing he’s got more serious things to take care of, people to save! Not just-” your self-scolding was cut short when you heard it, that loud, deafening, awful sound that always made your ears ring for hours on end. The earsplitting sound of your boyfriend, your hero. His explosions blaring and shaking your windshield as he all but flew to you, propelling himself and dropping down on the road between your car and the assholes behind you.

You slowed down and looked back at him through your mirror, watching as he brought both hands in front of him, palms lighting up in that scorching color that reminded you of fires that should never be put out, because they were so damned beautiful, the mesmerizing color of burning sunsets, the entrancing color of those crimson eyes that light up a smidgen, a speck – too quick you almost always miss it – at the sight of your smile.

The car behind you swerved to the left, – whether because of the man popping out of nowhere and standing in front of them or because his hands are about to blow a hole in them, you weren’t sure – crashing into the railing and activating the airbags of the car while stopping all together.

You turned on your hazard warning lights and slowed down to a stop at the side of the road by the sidewalk, getting out to check on your boyfriend – lowkey wanting to see him kick some ass.

You tried your best to hide your laughter as you saw him dropping his gauntlets, biting off his gloves while stomping his way to them and grumbling about ‘tearing their asses up to pieces for coming for his princess’, the – very oblivious – boys’ eyes lit up at the sight of the number 6 hero, cheering at him for being so quick to come rescue them.

Oh, you poor pricks.

Neither you nor the men expected what happened next, as Katsuki blew the door of the driver’s seat up, hauling the guy out of the car and holding him up by the shirt, yelling and swearing profusely at the cowering figure, while his friends hesitantly tried to free him from the hero’s grip. Only to be growled at and promised their turn in being murdered with no hesitation.

“You mean to tell me, that it took Red Riot, Chargebolt and Cellophane to get your punk ass off of these civilians?” The manager huffed, eyes glaring at the scuffed hero in front of him, falling onto the tv playing the news, the header “Hero Dynamight assaults innocent civilians” rolling at the bottom of the screen before looking back at the hero standing in front of him, who wore a scowl and simply rolled his eyes back at him, not caring about the reporter spitting rumors and accusations that were obviously told by the assholes standing behind her.

“Are we done here?” Dynamight huffed back, the shuffling feet of his comrades behind him irritating him because one, they dragged him away from those bastards before finishing beating them up and two, he wasn’t done kicking the motherfuckers’ asses. Yes, they were the same reason and no, he doesn’t give a fuck.

“You’re off of duty for the week, think about what you did and how you could improve as a hero while not harming the innocent.” The man at the desk declared, dropping his glasses on the surface and pinching the area between his eyes and preparing himself for the chaos Dynamight was about to make for being put off duty.

To his – and the other heroes’ surprise – all Bakugou did was scoff, mumbling a fine and asking if there was anything the manager wanted before he went home.

“W-wait a minute.” The man stuttered, “you know that means you’re only to come by next Monday, right?” an affirmative hum met his question and the man could only inquire for the reason behind the absence of the tantrum the hero always threw when it comes to him not working.

“Oh, its just Y/N is waiting for me at home to rail her for saving her life, and honestly I’d rather do that than hang around with you fuckers, later bitches” and then he just… left.

its 3:35 am rn and now i feel better about myself so i can go to sleep without crying, thank you for coming to my ted talk

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ohheyitsokay · 3 years

Text

just a day

welcome to the poly frontier?

listen absolutely no shade to the other authors who write triple frontier poly fics (I got permission) I just wanted to try my take on what relationships with this group of guys would look like - and I honestly think my execution is going to look really really different. This one’s just for me to explore and start to develop the dynamics, so I really hope you all enjoy!

note: I’m going to say this is an 18+ series, sorry!

pairing: triple frontier guys - Will “Ironhead” Miller, Santiago “Pope” Garcia, Francisco (Frankie) “Catfish” Morales, and Ben “Benny” Miller x (f) reader

wordcount: 2k?

warnings: obviously a poly relationship, which includes kissing, domestic intimacy with all of them (not just with the reader, but not in-between Will and Ben because nope), mild sexual themes

another note: I will not be fetishizing male/male relationships, nor will I be including any romance or sexual between the brothers

You wake up tucked into Will’s chest, his beard tickling your hairline like he fell asleep kissing it. Hand on his chest, you feel the steady rise and fall of it, slow and peaceful in the murky morning light. His arm is around your shoulder, half tangled in your hair, and there’s another arm tucked around your waist from behind - Santi's.

Pressing a kiss to Will’s collarbone, you gently begin the process of extracting yourself, apologizing with soft squeezes instead of words. Their hands find each others in their sleep, and you almost think you made it, for once, before Will’s blue eyes find yours for just a moment. It happens every morning – they need to know you’re okay.

Verifying the time, he gives a bleary smile before rolling, free arm searching for a pillow to hold against his body in your place during the precious few minutes he has before he needs to get up, too.

Frankie is in the kitchen already, and of all of them, he’s the best at hearing your quiet footsteps. His arms wrap around your frame, gathering you into him as he relishes the feeling of just you and him, for a moment.

Your nails run over his back, and he shudders at the feeling, smiling at you a little as the two of you pull things out of the fridge. It’s unreasonable, how many groceries you all go through, but feeding them is important to you, a love language in itself. Frankie was the first awake – his coffee is already brewing. In half an hour, give or take, Will and Santi will wander out, and the smells in the kitchen will change, but not yet.

For now, it’s dark roast coffee and there are quiet crunches of the apple you tossed into his broad palm. It’s not enough for the whole day so you tuck a breakfast bar into his work bag for later, with and extra jacket and a water bottle. There’s no need for notes, with him, the slow kisses he shares with you at the door are more than enough to bring him home to you in the evening. Before he can give up his time with you his hand slips under the shirt you’re wearing, just running over your bare side like he has all the time in the world.

Then his hat is firmly on his head, and he brushes his rough thumb over your cheek, looks at the stairs to the bedroom with just a touch of longing, and slides out the door.

You’re mixing peanut butter into a premade jar of overnight oats when Will wraps his arms around you from behind, pressing his warm chest against your back. He’s tired – more than the others, and you let him borrow your strength for long moments. Santi watched from the doorway, giving them too you, his eyes fiercely affectionate, before he sandwiches Will between you half crushing you with their weight.

Laughter is a good way to start the day, even if it breaks the quiet.

They bump into each other, happy, but silently arguing over who’s turn it is, before Santi relents and slips off to the shower. When you hand Will the jar, he kisses your temple before your mouth, and his hand is firm on your hip. He makes you eat with him, would make you pancakes if he had time, and asks what you’re working on today. His fingers flip the pen in his hand, but he’s too distracted by you to work through the paper like he did before. It’s new, all of you sharing the same space, and there are pros and cons.

Then they trade places and Santi's body is damp and insistent as he kisses you, a little too needy for a man who has less than twenty minutes before he has to leave. You cant really deny him, though, indulging his touching while exploring him in turn, before pushing his distractingly bare chest away from you. He talks about his day a lot, considering it hasn’t happened yet, but his passion is contagious. He isn’t planning on telling you, but he fixed a bug on your laptop last night before he went to bed, and hid your favorite chocolate in your desk.

The kitchen smells like juice and granola now, and the ache of waking up is seeping out of your limbs.

When Benny comes out, you expect him to complain about the noise, but he doesn’t, just ruffles his hair and hugs Santi sleepily from behind.

His energy hasn’t quite built for the day, but he cant really sleep in like he wants to, and likes to see them off. He was restless last night, you could tell even with Santi between you on the bed, and you wonder if he relaxed at all. You give them space, retreating to get yourself ready and set up in your home office, pausing to send Will off with kisses and well wishes. When he forgets his timing and kissed down your neck, you hook your fingers in to his belt loops and he almost calls in sick.

It doesn’t happen, though, he’s too responsible without extra encouragement, and his eyes crinkle as he promises to continue, later.

Then it’s Santi and Benny’s turn, looking silly with the former prepared for tedious meetings and the other in his pajama's with a duffle bag, but that’s how it goes, sometimes.

When Benny finishes at the gym, he finds you working away, lost in your music, and hovers at the door for awhile before his eagerness for you wins out. His hands are needy, but he doesn’t say words – his eyebrows speak for him and you nearly give in to his big, pleading eyes.

He likes it when you run your hands through his hair, and you do, and press a promise into his cheek with your lips. You know today isn’t a day he wants to plan fights or check emails or update his socials, but he gets to it anyway, waiting for you, and needed to feel productive. They’re all too smart, beautifully, wonderfully overpowered with strength and mind and love and you know they cant help but direct it somewhere, Benny included.

As you finish your work for the morning your phone tells you the others are meeting up for lunch, and you thank them individually for the chance to give Ben a little extra attention.

Last night’s fight hadn’t gone great. The four of you had rallied behind him afterwards, patching him up while Santi yelled about justice and Frankie forced him to eat and drink, but now was time for something different. You were the center of this world they’d created, the one who’s undivided attention meant everything to them.

Ben rarely wanted to talk about the pain, during, needed to punch it out at the gym or be soothed by Santi's validation before seeking you for heated, slightly painful kisses. Now, though, he’s frustrated with himself, and seeing it hurts in your chest like the cut across his skin.

You settle onto the huge bed in his corner, offering him your arms and a smile that soothes the throbbing in his bruises. This is a moment just for the two of you, and he takes full advantage, tucking his head onto the pillow of your chest and letting your hands wander his shoulders and hair and neck. Ben starts out ranting, but gets distracted along the way, soaking in your attention and the sliver of skin exposed on your stomach.

He kisses along the line, unable to resist half smiling at you as he licks it, almost losing himself to the temptation to go a round with you all on his own. They wouldn’t mind, really, but he doesn’t, just shifts back up to press your mouth against his. It’s slower and it’s nice for him not to have to be intense, with you.

The afternoon is spent quietly, both of you working diligently, knowing the others are doing the same, so you can cherish your precious free evening. You find a note from Frankie, a little inside joke that he knows will remind you of a story, and it makes you text him something that will make him laugh.

At some point Santi calls you, frustrated, needing to verbal process, and the three of you on speaker phone navigate it with the gusto of heroes on a fantastical adventure. Will’s logic is absent with him, but you get the feeling it hardly matters, this time around. In truth, Ben is better at working the tightness out of Santi’s voice, and when you talk, you can hear him sigh like you’ve scrubbed a bit of darkness out of his day.

When he gets home his mood is much improved and he picks Benny up with a grunt, spinning him around once, thick arms careful of the younger man’s sore spots. You get an equally soft kiss, and you smack him when he squeezes your ass, a glint in his eye.

There’s still a bit of shyness in Ben as he asks Pope to look over the videos from the fight, still a bit of awe and raw respect for the older man, and it makes you melt a little to see. The men are tentative sometimes, about the developments in their relationships with each other, but some things needn’t change.

The couch is nice, a recent purchase, and you have a matching chair you like to settle in, mostly ignoring the distant voices and glancing out the window through the leaves of a large tree in the front yard. There’s a story on your phone you’ve been meaning to catch up on, and it’s peaceful, reading as the clouds float by.

There’s sounds of tires rolling over the gravel, and it makes you laugh when you open the door to see Ironhead and Catfish carrying no less than a small crate of take-out from Benny’s favorite Italian place. Unpacking it, Will spends more time invading your space, catching up, and flirting with you than Frankie does. He would never say it aloud, but he’s excited to see the reaction to their surprise.

He gets a perfect one – Benny yells when he smells it, and is jumping up and down, and the way Frankie’s chest puffs tells you it was his idea. Will gives you a squeeze and you know he’s proud, too, if for different reasons. He takes the moment of distraction, while the attention is on his brother, to slip his hand in your back pocket and kiss you without anyone noticing. If he had his way, he would yank you into the laundry room, but the idea of eating together keeps your feet planted and he sighs against your mouth.

The boys eat like they’re starved, before they’re grabbing at you, coaxing you into the living room, and you’re beyond thankful there’s not really dishes to do. It’s not that they would make you do them, but it’s nice for all of you to be able to ride out the remarkably low-effort evening.

Santi is insistent it’s his turn – the others have all had their time with you today, and only Will grumbles. They compromise, your legs over the later, your side in the protective hallow of the formers chest. You choose a movie at random, knowing they’ll talk through it if you do. It’s nice, to listen to them banter from the cozy arms wrapped around you.

They get caught up talking about an old friend you’ve never met, and Frankie tries to explain things to you as they rapid-fire stories and bets on where he is now. You roll your eyes when you lose track again and again, but it’s full of joy, and he catches it before getting pulled into a ridiculous debate.

Hands run over your calves, gently kneading, and you wonder if Will even knows he’s doing it – taking care of you is his second nature.

The film is finished but the talking hasn’t, now moved on to the inaccuracies in the movie as they try to outdo each other with random useless knowledge. There’s no real annoyance in their voices as they bite at each other, and you think that really, nothing has changed, and it’s good.

At some point you doze off.

There’s hushed arguing, and Frankie wins, scooping you into his sturdy arms and carrying you to bed. He likes the way you murmur your thanks, and his heart pounds as you sleepily pull off his hat and toss it somewhere. It makes him feel like you knew it was him, could feel it was, even in your mostly unconscious state. It’s a nice feeling, and he tucks it away in his mind, hoping to save it for if ever he get’s jealous.

The sleeping arrangements are a mess – Will has tried multiple times to make cohesive charts, and none of them stick. It’s a tangle of limbs and everyone shifts depending on temperature and general neediness. Santi laments the choice of a movie over a long evening of unhurried lovemaking, and receives and smack on the stomach in return. It makes you wake, halfway, and when your arms reach for him, he forgets his previous complaints.

They settle at their own pace, quiet conversations floating in and out of your dreams, and the sounds of teeth being brushed and plans being made make you smile. Tomorrow maybe, you’ll be up without a thought, awake and talking or kissing with whoever else didn’t need as much sleep, but for now, you didn’t mind. It was just day, with many before and many to come.

taglist:

@fangirl-316 @scribbledghost @writeforfandoms @beautyagegoodnesssize @princess76179 @mrsbentallmadge

#triple frontier #poly frontier #i guess?#i don't know how to tag this #will miller x reader #santiago garcia x reader #francisco morales x reader #ben miller x reader #maybe i don't know people

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archies-litterbox · 3 years

Text

Home

Summary: Some times when Douxie called the castle his home, and one time Merlin realized his son saw the castle as his home whether he was ready to process that or not (and he wasn’t).

Words: 2000

A/N: I got this done! I actually challenged myself by making sure each little segment of the fic was EXACTLY 500 words, and I had a lot of fun! hope you like it <3

[CW: Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Nightmares (there’s way more softness in this than the CW makes it look I swear-)]

The typical chatter of the marketplace was overshadowed by Hisirdoux’s skipping steps, and those were overshadowed by the moppet humming a little tune to himself that Merlin couldn’t make sense of. It was one of many things about the little apprentice that didn’t exactly make sense, but when Merlin brought the boy along to finish an errand, what he truly dreaded was that the boy would be insufferable and get distracted at every turn. So, really, endearing -

- “Endearing to who?” Merlin asked in response to his own internal monologue, because the humming from the boy, a sure sign that his apprentice was content at the very least, was most certainly not endearing to him -

- So, really, definitely-not-endearing humming of silly, nonsensical tunes was a more-than-adequate alternative to that insufferability and distraction, Merlin was sure.

“Getting that potion ingredient was easier than I thought!” Hisirdoux said happily, the spring in his step ever-present, “The merchant wasn’t even cross with me, like usual - like when I come here by myself.”

“Have you considered,” Merlin started, “That she’d been cross because of your notorious slight-of-hand? And your pickpocketing and street tricks has rendered her wary of your possible antics?”

Hisirdoux shrugged, rubbed the back of his head in obvious sheepishness, and turned his gaze elsewhere, “Mayyyybe-”

His face lit up in excitement, his eyes widening as his mouth formed an “O” shape when he saw something off to the street’s side.

“Ooooh! Look!” He turned a little to the side, bringing his hands up as he started to wander to a stand selling some sweet treats, “They’re selling-”

Merlin put a hand on his shoulder to still the boy, who was already a handful without the added hyperactivity of sugar.

“Nothing of importance, Hisirdoux.”

He turned the boy forward again, put his hand on top of Hisirdoux’s head, and turned it forward again as well.

“Awwwh.” Hisirdoux whined.

“We have what we came down here for, and Wizards are many things, but they are not frivolous.” he said as he kept walking, a slightly-pouting moppet walking alongside him, “We’re heading straight back to the castle. There are better pastry bakers there, anyway.”

Hisirdoux’s disappointed pout left his face.

“Right, right.” he said, as if he were reminded of how happy he was just to be out here, on what he probably thought of as a beautiful day, although Merlin was rather impartial to the sunny weather.

“Let’s go home, Master!”

...Home?

Did he mean the castle?

Though he kept moving physically, putting one armor-plated foot in front of the other, Merlin’s mind froze as he looked down at the joyful, beaming moppet. To hear Hisirdoux refer to the castle as his home…

Well, Merlin knew he should have expected it at this point, considering the boy’s utter lack of a permanent roof over his head before, but he still didn’t know what to make of it, if there was anything to make of it.

So, he sighed.

“The castle isn’t that far away.”

The dark circles under the boy’s eyes looked darker in hue than usual today, but of course, that was only due to the contrast against the unusual paleness of his face. Said eyes looked up at Merlin with a rather lacking amount of cognizance as the Master Wizard stood over the moppet. Stripped of his bulky leather hooded vest in favor of keeping on only his trousers and tunic, so he didn’t overheat, Hisirdoux’s deep breaths through his mouth were only interrupted by a brief, pitiful sniffle of his nose.

“Mathter, ‘th thith… plague?” He was hoarse from coughing and nasally from his awful congestion. To this, Merlin only huffed - of course, leave it to his ever-dramatic apprentice to leap to the most dire conclusion possible, even though he couldn’t even rightly walk down to the throne room in this state.

“Not unless a rather nasty cold has become the new plague of Camelot.” he answered, “you should have come back sooner from your last errand, Hisirdoux, before it started to pour.”

Hisirdoux groaned, either out of his achy, miserable condition, or frustration with hearing the old man lecture him, or both.

“I know, I know-”

A wet cough cut him off, making him curl up before he flopped back down on the bed.

“Ugh, ithn’t there thome…” he swallowed, as if to clear his throat of sickly gunk as best he could without another hacking, “I dunno, “thickness begone-iuth” thpell, or thomething?”

“I won’t use magic to alleviate your sickness, if that’s what you’re implying.” Merlin denied, “Although unpleasant, your condition is far from serious, and your symptoms should alleviate in a few days, at the most. If I use magic on something so mere, your natural immune system will weaken, and a dependence on magic to maintain your health is dangerous, so-”

“But Mathter-”

“Don’t “But Mathter” me.”

Hisirdoux sighed, a shaky, ugly-sounding thing, too exhausted to even spare a laugh at how Merlin imitated him.

“Magic ithn’t a permithible shortcut…” he started, but he trailed off and punctuated the statement with another little sniffle.

It seemed, remarkably, Hisirdoux remembered a few of Merlin’s teachings, despite his low-grade fever.

Which reminded him…

The Master Wizard sighed and conjured a cold, damp rag, enchanted to not dry out or get tepid. Making sure it was properly folded, he laid it right onto Hisirdoux’s forehead.

“Oh, ‘th nithe…” he mumbled, “thank you…”

“Your plans for today are postponed, of course.” Merlin declared, “You’re to stay here and rest.”

“But-” Hisirdoux’s eyebrows furrowed, “I wath thupposed to go out and do that… that thing… and get the thing… from the plathe…”

Of course, it must have been harder for the boy to think sensibly and make sense than usual.

“And that will wait until your condition improves.” Merlin finalized, “Am I clear?”

Hisirdoux, resigned, nodded.

“Yeth, Mathter… thtaying home it ith, then.”

Before Merlin had anywhere near enough time to be surprised at that word, “home”, Hisirdoux fell right to sleep.

Merlin couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt like this before; when he couldn’t tell if he was more terrified or furious.

But he couldn’t be bothered to try to figure that out - not when, after hours of Hisirdoux being late coming back to the castle, a shoddily-written ransom note made its way to the desk of the Master Wizard’s study.

Thankfully, Hisirdoux’s familiar could trace it by it’s unpleasant scent. Merlin followed Archibald as the cat-dragon followed the scent trail to some disgusting hovel in a forest clearing, with some deplorable men hanging around it’s outside.

When Merlin laid eyes on them... he leveled them with any spells he could remember through his rage at them all; at their audacity.

Of course, it had been some incompetent group of bandits, but only a fool equated incompetency with harmlessness; just because these idiots didn’t know what they were doing didn’t mean that Hisirdoux was safe.

So, he shifted his focus on finding his apprentice, even if he had to reduce every board of this blasted cabin to splinters.

But it didn’t come to that; the second Merlin stepped in, he saw him.

Hisirdoux was curled up in a corner, sitting on his heels with his hands bound behind him, his arms bound steadfast to his torso, and a piece of cloth tied between his teeth. He was unharmed, but terrified.

Hisirdoux’s muffled cry that came out when he saw Merlin shattered the old man’s heart.

He never ran faster in his life.

A small, very precise blast from Archie made the bonds around Hisirdoux’s wrists and torso come loose, and when Merlin got to him, he pulled the cloth gag out as fast as he could without hurting him, letting it lay around his neck.

The instant his arms were fully free and Merlin was close enough, Hisirdoux hugged him, clinging to the Wizard for dear life and crying his heart out against his armored shoulder.

“Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?”

Merlin felt Hisirdoux shake his head. He could tell he was swallowing to try to get some moisture back in his mouth. It had probably been dried out by that blasted gag, and who knew if they’d given him any water?

“No, just-” he gasped, “Scared.”

Those bandits would soon forget the very meaning of mercy.

For now, Merlin focused on rubbing soothing circles against the boy’s back, seeing that his ankles were bound. Merlin didn’t even notice before, and Hisirdoux was so hasty - so desperate for comfort that he didn’t even wait. He didn’t even seem to care.

Archie started cutting them loose.

“I-” Hisirdoux hiccuped, “I wanna go home.”

The shattered remnants of Merlin’s heart melted.

Home.

His son wanted to go home.

He sighed, moving one of his hands to cradle the back of the poor boy’s head, passing his fingers through his un-bunned hair.

“Please,” he whined, “take me home.”

Merlin nodded, the side of his head rubbing Hisirdoux’s.

“Right… right.”

It was long past nightfall, and the castle was quiet, so Merlin tried to tread the corridors lightly so his armored feet wouldn’t clank against the floor and wake anyone; the last thing he wanted was for any particular moppetish apprentices to stir.

That boy… he had already gone through so much he hadn’t deserved, and for what? To what end? Merlin presumed that before he’d found him in that alley, he’d been treated poorly for being not only a street rat, but a magical one at that. And now, even though he was the Wizard’s apprentice, that treatment hadn’t truly gone away; no, it only shifted onto new grounds: the grounds that... he was the Wizard’s apprentice. Now, much of the animosity sent his way was truly meant for Merlin; directing it at Hisirdoux merely amplified it. Strengthened the blow.

And that blow was strengthened today.

Merlin remembered the note’s creases under his fingertips as it trembled in his shaking hand; the door creaking open with a shriek in its hinges and showing Merlin his apprentice, bound and gagged and terrified in the corner of that hovel; Hisirdoux wailing against his shoulder; the trembling of his son in his arms. He remembered it all.

“Hisirdoux…”

He passed the sleeping boy’s door… and sensed magic from behind it. Unusual magic for this hour. In the little gap between the door and the floor, he could see the blue glow of his magic, too. Unmistakeable.

“...Hisirdoux?”’

He stopped at the door and pushed it open, only to be met with a fretful sight before him (not nearly as bad as the last time he’d pushed a door open to find Hisirdoux today, but it was rather close.)

The boy was thrashing in his sleep - tossing and turning in his blankets to the point where they’d started to tangle around him, which only made his obviously-nightmare-induced thrashing worse. Magic thrummed from his hands as he fought back against… something, and even Archibald, who had curled up on his abdomen to soothe him to sleep earlier tonight, couldn’t quell his night terror.

Merlin knelt down at the boy’s bedside and put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly, “Hisirdoux!”

“N-no! Stop!” he pleaded, thrashing harder to get the hand off him, “Get away! Leave me ALONE! Let me GO!”

Merlin shook him harder.

“HISIRDOUX!” he shouted.

Finally, the boy’s eyes snapped open, and he gasped.

For a moment, he just breathed as lucidity seeped back into him. After realizing he was in the realm of the conscious, he put his hands to the sides of his head.

“Master…” he squeaked, “Where-”

“It’s alright, Hisirdoux. You’re safe.” he assured, “You’re home.”

Honestly, the words just slipped out, for Merlin, shocked by himself, doubted that he would have ever said them otherwise.

And with now-even-wider eyes, Hisirdoux looked just as shocked.

… Well, no good rescinding it now. How could he, really?

“You’re home.”

Hisirdoux nodded, a shaky smile on his face.

“...Home.”

#fic: home #my writing #mine #douxie #hisirdoux casperan #merlin #merlin ambrosius #wizard dad #tales of arcadia #toa #wizards #toa wizards #moppet!douxie #hurt/comfort

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