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#and yes i did go through the king video frame by frame
girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 11 months
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tuesday again 5/23/2023
six sentences or less bc that's the kind of week it is
listening
straighten up and fly right from the nat king cole songbook, covered by sammy davis junior. i have a lot of fondness for the nat king cole songbook bc my grandmother had a lot of fondness for it, and this one was very comfortably in our (contralto) ranges. really burrowing into the comforting familiar as we enter the Cross Country Move Hellzone (tm). spotify
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reading
lot of documentation for work bc i am trying to build a google sheet + calendar for our grants and reports such that when someone adds OR EDITS a row in the grant/report tracker it creates a new google calendar event OR UPDATES existing events. i may have to give up on that second half.
in non-work stuff, it is hysterical how many hackers brian krebs (infosec reporter/journalist/researcher) is able to interview. like when this guy was asked "yo is this your code targeting a specific mastodon server with a crypto scam" the response was
Clicking the “open chat in Telegram” button on Zipper’s Lolzteam profile page launched a Telegram instant message chat window where the user Quotpw responded almost immediately. Asked if they were aware their domain was being used to manage a spam botnet that was pelting Mastodon instances with crypto scam spam, Quotpw confirmed the spam was powered by their software.
“It was made for a limited circle of people,” Quotpw said, noting that they recently released the bot software as open source on GitHub.
we live in the stupidest possible cyberpunk future.
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watching
i don't know jack about shit about cars and i don't know what the fuck jennings motorsports on youtube is talking about 80% of the time but a friendly guy with a calm voice talking through how he's going to get some cars in the worst shape you've ever seen up and running again? yes good thanks, i've blown through his entire backlog in the last week in my second monitor while i've cleaned data. this man is essentially rebuilding this rare limited edition shiny holographic car from half a frame and a panel LOOK how fucked this thing is.
youtube
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love the Will It Run? videos bc the answer is almost always yes AND SOMETIMES HE EVEN DRIVES THEM DOWN HIS DRIVEWAY AND BACK even if the cars are barely holding themselves together. the horse souls in these machines can be coaxed back into resurrection with the proper burnt offerings and application of liquefied dinosaur
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playing
the charm of Powerwash Simulator is somewhat dampened by its extremely buggy achievements bc i KNOW i could get all 40 so fuckin easy if they just WORKED. i didn't get the "main campaign completed!" achievement despite spending nearly forty hours 100%ing every job, so i think the rarity of the achievements is somewhat inaccurate, bc it's more like, did you happen to play through that level at a time when the achievement was working? despite all that, it has been incredibly effective at damping generalized moving anxiety and it's a tremendous catch-up-on-podcasts game. it's hysterical to me this was published by square enix bc this style of simulator game is usually published by Playway or a Playway company, a shadowy network of about a hundred small polish studios, many of which went public and had IPOs in order to hand over a controlling interest of the company to Playway. long history of annoying business practices such as remaking more popular games with the serial numbers filed off and making demos to gauge interest and THEN only making about one full game for every twenty demos, which is very irritating for players. not this one tho, it's in fucking brighton in the uk, no relation!
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making
this is going to be cleaning and move prep for the next six weeks. i deep cleaned (even mopped!) my kitchen and bathroom last weekend bc it uh. really needed it, and that's the most exciting thing i did. no progress on cleaning the flip clock radio bc i do not currently have the patience to sit down with qtips and get in all the little grooves.
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siconetribal · 2 years
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The Science of Worth (Part 4)
Tags: @vbecker10 @huntress-artemiss
Pairing: Loki x Y/N
Warning: Fluff and humor
Author Note: I hope you enjoy this next part!
Were things totally fine, no. However, they were not “not fine” either. The provided room was larger than the apartment they shared, with ample furniture and storage space. There were no unwanted quadrupedal creatures scurrying along the corners, gnawing into their unsealed food, nor were there cracks and holes in the structure which let air leak in the hot or cold. Overall, the living space was an upgrade that was a dream come true.
It was the sleeping situation that was the greatest concern. Why? Because it did not add up. Almost every night she would get comfortable alone on the large sofa, which was as wide as a twin mattress, and every morning she would wake up in the king bed with Loki right beside her. The first morning she woke up beside him, she nearly died from fright from seeing such a handsome face so close to her. The second morning, she fell out of the bed because they were so close to one edge. The third time she was back to square one because it had not occurred for some time. This on-off pattern had been going on for weeks now and she needed to know the reason.
There has to be a reason. It just makes no sense! Y/N let out a sigh of frustration as she fell back into the cushions of the sofa. Loki was off in some meeting with the others, but that hardly mattered. “Not like he’s been any help,” she muttered to herself. “He just laughs at me and tells me that I should just give up and sleep in the bed with him. How the hell am I supposed to just up and sleep in the same bed as him?! This isn’t some novel where we’re stuck in a room with one bed-well, yes, there’s only one but not the point! We have a perfectly large and comfy couch!” She grabbed a pillow and pressed it onto her face and let out a muffle cry of frustration. Stupid Asgardian pretty boy prince, probably has more than enough experience getting comfy with all sorts of beautiful women…females…whatever they’re called up there! Plus, the point isn’t where I sleep! The point is how and why do I end up somewhere else! I’ve never sleepwalked a day in my life!
Seconds ticked by as she lay slumped on the couch. Suddenly, she sat straight up and nearly fell over as she used the moment to grab her phone off the coffee table. “I nearly forgot! I set up my phone to record myself and bought the silly looking nightlight!” She pressed her thumb to the screen once, twice, and thrice it failed to accept her fingerprint. With her frustration growing, she swiped up and drew the pattern. “Ah, ha!” She let out a cry of triumph before tapping and swiping until she reached the gallery and found the video. “Aaaaand play,” she tapped the icon and watched, skipping ahead here and there when it looked like nothing was happening. When she noticed she was gone from the frame, she backtracked slowly until she was back in the screen, but so was something else…someone else. Loki, why you little luxurious mountain goat! Her eye twitched as she watched him lift her with ease from the comfort of her spot and not only did he carry her away, he even paused and winked at the camera. “You truly are as false as hell!” She shouted out in frustration. “Here I’m thinking I’m having a breakdown, and he is the reason behind all of it! Oh, it is on !”
Loki came back into his room after a rather dull day of meetings, meetings, and more meetings. With new intel pointing them in the right direction, things were set into motion and the time to deploy was nearing. On days with no meetings, he was actively working to better his chemistry with the team that he would be joining on this mission through training exercises and practicing formations to better. Attending meetings and training were not foreign to him as a former prince of Asgard. In fact, he was pleasantly surprised how easily he fell back into such routine. What irked him was the shrinking time spent with Y/N. Back on Asgard, there was no one waiting for him to return. There were no friends of his own to relax with, it was just him and himself. There were times he would be with Thor and his group of comrades, but they were never truly his friends. He was simply the younger brother that had to be allowed to join them. With Y/N, he finally had someone for himself.
My very own dear friend and personal toy to play and tease to my heart’s content. The corners of his lips curled up at the mere thought of her puffed red cheeks of frustration. What is the name of that rodent she showed me? Chip-monks or something like that? She looks exactly like those with their faces stuffed with food when she gets upset with me. She complains a lot, but seldom does she try to stop me. He chuckled to himself. “Now, where would she be at this hour?” He glanced at the clock and was surprised. “Midnight already? She must be asleep.” He frowned, walking around the sofa to see her laying on her back with a book on her chest.
“Of course she’s reading,” he rolled his eyes and smiled at the heartwarming sight. Carefully, he moved the table aside to give himself more room and first plucked the book off of her stomach. “Magnetism,” he raised a brow at the title and quickly located the summary. “Indispensable text on the science of magnetism…invaluable source of data…?” He skimmed through the paragraph before glancing down towards her. “Why are you reading a book on science? She can’t have gone through all her books, right? Don’t tell me you’re growing an interest with that annoying Stark, that simply won’t do, love.” He dogeared the page she was one and placed the book on the table before carefully lifting her up into his arms. “Are you spending time with Stark?” He whispered, not expecting an answer from the sleeping woman, but nearly laughed aloud when her face scrunched into a show of great distaste at the name. “You are so spoiled, you know that? But whose fault is that?”
Loki carefully laid her on the bed and sat beside her, gently combing his fingers through her hair, watching as the silky threads slipped away with each stroke of his hand. Though he wanted to spend some time with her awake, he had not the heart to wake her. She looked so innocent and peaceful that it melted away the stress of his day in an instant. When she stirred a little in her sleep, he froze and waited, hoping he had not disturbed her. Seeing her scoot closer to him and settle back into the depths of her dream, he smiled and continued carding his fingers through her hair.
“You told me once that most women dream of being a princess from the faerie tales you’ve shared with me. What was that one with the cleaning? Cinderella, I believe you called it.” He softly whispered, not expecting an answer from her but hoped that perhaps his voice would help keep her asleep. “I know I mocked them and told you they were ridiculous and meaningless tales, but in truth I felt similar to her in some ways. My mother was not a bad person, she sincerely loved and cared for me but she was guilty of hiding the truth from me. My father was different, he was a ruthless and calculating ruler that only wanted and cared for things that were of use to him and on his terms.” His voice slowly withered away as he thought back to his childhood, the lies he was raised in, and how he was never truly accepted as a son because he was a tool. A relic meant for the treasury. His once bright world had been torn and dipped in darkness, hatred, and confusion until he was released from the poisoning effects of the Mind Stone.
“Unknowingly along the way,” he pulled himself from those spiraling memories. “I met prince charming. I didn’t even realize it at first. Someone who was as strong and beautiful as the prince had come into my life. Always smiling and facing everything even when they are afraid. So vibrant and full of life, seeing kindness in everything…to the point it is a fault. That person, that prince charming, is you. I’ve always wanted to tell you that…I’ve been bewitched from the beginning, and I was too foolish to realize it. However, I don’t believe in faerie godmother's with magic that runs out at the stroke of midnight. I will make this spell last forever. I want to protect you and save your smile. That’s why I agreed to join my brother and the Avengers. Not for Midgard and the people that inhabit it, but for you who’s cursed me with such happiness. I know I will be gone for unknown lengths of times and you will worry, but know that I’ll always return to you.” He leaned over her, his face inches from hers as he eyed her lips. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to know what they felt like against his and how they tasted, but not now. No, when he finally did kiss her, she needed to be awake so he could enjoy the heat that would blossom on her cheeks as she struggled to contain her emotions. Pressing his lips to her forehead, he wished her goodnight and made his way to the bathroom to wash away the day before joining her on the bed.
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windona · 2 years
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how about some brion angst
A/N: : ) Trigger warning for discussions of suicide and its in universe glorification
"My sons," King Viktor began, "Have I ever told you the tragedy of Bratoslav, prince and warrior?"
The two modern princes shook their heads as they grinned and leaned closer. It was rare that they got story time like this, and they were going to appreciate it as much as the sweet hot cider they had to sip.
"It begins like this. Bratoslav was a brilliant warrior, who dedicated himself to what was true and just. But he had one great weakness in his naivety and inability to listen-"
Moonlight filtered through the windows, uninhibited by the heavy velvet curtains. If one stood in front of it, they could see the whole of Markovsburg, the nearby sea glittering with the occasional ship sloughing through the waves, and the distant mountains as dark behemoths with occasional moon-touched patches showing silvery forest. With a propped up body in bed, one could only see the tips of Markovsburg's taller buildings and spires framed by the looming mountains.
The light on Brion's phone shone with the new notification. He ignored it.
"Bratoslav trusted his advisor, and the woman courting him. They were gentle, yes, and flattered him as much as they changed his every action to suit their needs. He did not listen to his father as much, despite the great king's wisdom."
Brion mentally reviewed the documents his eyes had spent the last few weeks pouring over. The newscasts he had neglected. All of it with Fury right there.
Countless Markovians who tested negative for the meta gene had left, far more than Trajectory or Everyman could have individually terrorized. Metas from across the world had flooded in, displacing the native people in the name of superpower supremacy.
It had sounded like the typical far right theory that cropped up every time a group of immigrants or refugees came to a new nation. But the numbers, threats, and even propaganda had shown it to be deliberate.
"It turned out that his advisor had led him astray to enrich his own power, his own lands. He cared little about the nation as a whole, but instead only that his taxes were fat and his lands were bountiful and safe. He had taken a hefty bribe, and in return his lands were untouched. Instead of trusting in the bride that was arranged for him, Bratoslav had trusted in a spy sent to intercept his letters. It was only after his army had been thoroughly crushed that he realized the depth of the deception, far too late to mitigate all the damage done. Enemy soldiers came, planning to take and ransom him. But Bratoslav knew that he was not worth the ransom, and it would cost far too much for his family and country."
He had reviewed over videos obsessively, put together the pieces. Luckily Baazovi was at the UN right now.
That did not stop the nightmares from keeping him awake. Even now, he wondered how many of his people were living in fear because of a man who should have been their protector.
He wondered what Tara and Gregor were thinking, made unsafe because of him.
"So Bratoslav did the only honorable thing. He took out his sword, stuck it in the ground, and fell on it. It doing so, he defeated the enemy's plans for him and retained his honor."
Gregor shivered. "Was there no other way?"
King Viktor shook his head. "He had failed in his duty to his family and country. He would have failed it more had he been captured. In doing so, he denied the enemy victory and foiled their plans. It was a desperate situation, but his sacrifice ended up denying information, and helped tilt the war back into Markovia's favor. It is why kings used to be granted a special sword on coronation, and now a pistol."
At the look of his two sons faces, King Viktor smiled. "Don't worry. Your great grandfather didn't use the King's Pistol when the Soviets took over Markovia, because he knew he had to fight and there was a chance for victory. It is only the last of all resorts, if a general is cornered and there is no chance at either victory or escape. It is a way for an honorable end when there are no other honorable ends."
Brion leaned over to the side table next to his bed. He took out a key and unlocked a special drawer to see a fine pistol with the inlay of the Markov crest. The chamber could hold six bullets.
Brion picked up one. It felt oddly light in between his fingers.
He had to make the right choice for once in his life.
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snappedsky · 1 year
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Borderlands: Skies the Bodyguard 5
The Calypsos’ livestream has a surprise guest host.
*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*
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Chapter 20
           “They’re gone!?” Lilith exclaims.
           “Affirmative,” Moze replies. She and the other Vault Hunters are at the entrance to the Great Vault, where Troy and Tyreen were supposed to be, and talking to Lilith through their ECHO communicators. “There’s no sign of them here.”
           “Could they have ran when we cut off their Eridium supply?” Ava suggests, in the bridge of Sanctuary III with Lilith, Tannis, and Claptrap.
           “That seems unlikely,” Tannis replies, “they’re not the type to just give up.”
           “But then what happened?” Lilith questions.
           “Incoming transmission!” Claptrap suddenly announces, “from Timothy Lawrence.”
           “Him? What’s he want?” Lilith asks. “Put it through.”
           A hologram appears overhead of Timothy. He immediately tenses up and smiles awkwardly. “Ah, h-hey, Lilith. It’s Timothy. Remember me?”
           “Yes, I remember,” she replies impatiently. “What do you want?”
           “Uh, sorry to bother, I just have a question,” he says, “um…do you know where Skies is?”
           “Skies?”
           “Well, it’s just…she left me this message and now she’s not answering,” Timothy explains worriedly, “I just…I think she might have done something…dangerous.”
           “Perhaps she’s responsible for the disappearance of the Calypsos,” Tannis suggests.
           “Oh, actually,” he replies, “she did mention before that she…hypothetically…might have some way of defeating the Calypsos. But she seemed really apprehensive about it.”
           “She also mentioned to me that she had some kind of plan,” Tannis adds, “but she didn’t elaborate.”
           “What is she up to?” Lilith muses. “We’ll watch out for her, Timothy, and let you know if we find anything.”            “Thank you,” he nods appreciatively and hangs up.
           “Did Skies go up against the Calypsos without us?” Ava asks.
           “It seems likely,” Tannis replies.
           “But then where is she? What happened?”
           Before anyone can reply, all of their ECHO devices chime with a live video.
           “It’s a new COV video!” Claptrap exclaims.
           “The Calypsos?” Ava questions.
           Across the galaxy, everyone tunes in to the new video. All the denizens of Sanctuary III; Rhys, Zer0, and Lorelai on Promethea; Hammerlock and Wainwright on Eden-6; Vaughn, the Vault Hunters, and Tina and Brick and Mordecai on Pandora; and Timothy in his apartment. They all wait apprehensively as it loads.
           It opens up to Troy. He’s in some kind of darkened room, doubled over on his knees. His face is contorted in pain and covered in sweat and his robot arm is clutching his side while the rest of his body is tense as if bound in some way. He’s glaring at someone behind the camera with exhausted defiance.
           “Now turn the camera to me,” somebody orders in a male, charming- some might even say ‘handsome’- voice. It sends shivers down the spines of all who recognize it.  
          The camera turns around to a mask of Handsome Jack, being held by someone out of frame. “Hellooooo, galaxy!” his voice sings, “we interrupt your regularly scheduled COV bullshit to bring you…”
           The mask is dropped to reveal Skies’ face and she lowers her ECHO device which was disguising her voice. “Me!”
           All viewers gasp with surprises as she giggles and the camera zooms out to get a full shot. “That is way too much fun. For those of you who don’t know me- which I’m hoping isn’t too many- I’m Skies the Ultimate Treasure Hunter.”
           “Now, I’m sure you loyal listeners out there are wondering what the hell I’m doing here and just how I turned your so-called ‘God King’ Troy into my little boy toy,” she says as she walks around to where Troy is kneeling, and pats his head. He growls defiantly but is unable to do much else. “Well, to fully explain all that, I hope you will indulge me on a short history lesson. And seeing as how you’ve listened to these two go on about obnoxious crap for hours, that shouldn’t be a problem. Just consider me a guest host.”            “Now, Tyreen and Troy weren’t the first to try and use the Vaults to become gods,” Skies explains, “about seven years ago, there was Handsome Jack. I’m sure most of you out there will know he was CEO of Hyperion. Others will know what an absolute asshole he was. None alive now were quite as close to him as I was.”
          “He intended to use the Vault of the Warrior to purge Pandora and rule the galaxy. He failed, of course, because that’s what happens to villains. They fail. I know this because I also failed.”
           “But I still live!” She spreads her arms victoriously. “And Jack’s legacy lives on with me, because I have this.” She shows her Handsome Jack mask. “And I have made it my goal to use Jack’s legacy as much as I can for good, to make up for all the evil I did while I was with him.”
           “I don’t just own some fake Handsome Jack mask,” she explains, “I have the real deal that he wore on his stupid, chiseled face. And it wasn’t just used to hide an embarrassing scar. It hides so many secrets inside its artificial flesh. Like the long-lost rights to Hyperion, making its owner the CEO. Or blueprints to a special holding cell made specifically for Sirens. Or fast travel codes to such a holding cell that was already built. Or even digistruct codes for a special collar made to control Sirens.”
           “And that’s what we have here.” Skies kneels down so she’s level with Troy and lifts his head to show off the glowing-purple, metal collar around his neck. “When powered up with Eridium, this collar turns Sirens into Jack’s personal little dolls. The only hitch there being that Jack is dead, and the collar only responds to his voice. But of course making a voice modulator is easy enough.” She lifts her ECHO device to her mouth and Jack’s voice comes out. “Especially for someone who loved the sound of his own voice.”
           She lowers her ECHO as she sighs, leaning against Troy. “But what’s the point, I hear you asking? Why not just kill Troy now that he’s next to useless? Why have I subjected to you to my babbling? Well, that’s very simple.”
           Skies grabs the camera and pulls it in close to her dark glare. “Tyreen, I’m calling you out.”
           “Your brother is my hostage. Right now we are locked away in an impenetrable fortress that can only be accessed one of two ways. Either you have Jack’s exact DNA and voice and know the access password- and I know only one person alive has all of that and he better stay the hell away. Or you can phase through the walls with, say, stolen Siren abilities.”
           “If you care about your brother at all, or just don’t want to be considered a coward by your followers- I’m betting the latter- you’ll come face me,” Skies challenges. “I’ll give you one hour. If you don’t show up, I’ll have my Troy toy here do a livestream of his corpse after I shoot it. We’ll be waiting.”
         Skies wraps her arm around Troy’s neck, pulls him close, and tugs on his cheek. “Now smile!”
           She smiles widely while Troy just grimaces beneath her grip. Then she speaks into her ECHO device, “now end it.”
           And the livestream ends.
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I was talking about Joey's predeliction for sleeveless the other day, especially when performing, and
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I'm just grateful it's a thing that exists
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dejwrites · 2 years
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missing chubby y/n & plug!draken :((((
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❪ ♡ ❫ ─── ⠀ ⠀⠀ his fav customer ⠀ 〳 ⠀ k.ryuguji ‵
❪ ♡ ❫ ─── ( synopsis ) just moments surrounding draken & his favorite customer.
♡ ˙ ˖ ✧ — ft ken 'draken' ryuguji, afab reader, her/she pronouns, fem petnames, chubby reader, plug!draken, suggestive themes, mentions of drugs, drug usage (weed), established relationship, tbh this is just word vomit because i have had the worst case of writers block, super short lovey dovey drabble, lowercase intended, continued from 1 & 2, minors dni!
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the neon lights looked so elegantly against your soft skin or maybe you just were high at the moment to the point where you were highly concentrated on your legs. your eyes stared up at the ceiling as you were laid out on draken's king-size bed. the black supreme hoodie (obviously belonged to draken) that was on your thick figure would rise with each movement you attempted to make. your eyelids half-open, your eyes shot red, and you were personally counting each time your heart pulsed against your chest.
"you good?" draken asked as he took place in between your thighs. despite him taking place in the warmth in between your thighs as he watched those annoying (unnecessarily loud) sports recap videos.
"mhm." was the only thing you could hum out before going back to attempting to count your heartbeats. this time you begin to comb through draken's black hair.
"you sure? i told you the new strain i received was strong and what did you say?" draken asked.
"that i'm a big girl and i can handle it," you repeated your own words back to the drug dealer that currently was in between your thighs with his head resting right above your pelvis.
"yes, you said that! i do not want to be taking your ass to the hospital." draken reminded as he locked his phone and toss the red iphone to the side.
"i'm good ken," you sighed happily.
you could feel draken lift up from laying on you. despite the room being warm, you still felt a shiver shock down your spine when you no longer could feel the warmth from draken's skin. you could feel him climb off the bed just to tower over your frame. as your eyes stared up at him in the red neon lights, you just were so starstruck. your breath hitched in your throat at how attractive draken looked at this moment. his black hair fell in his face so he found himself constantly combing through it. or the fact that when he was lost in some random thought, he'll toy with the one earring that pierced his left ear. perhaps it was the way the gold necklace with your first and last name initials would clash against his broad chest with each quick movement he'll make around his room.
at this point, you didn't know. you just knew that you had to breathe. another happy sigh escaped past your lip gloss-covered lips as you could feel draken kissing at your ankles. tugging you closer to the edge of the bed so he could kiss up on you some more. playfully dropping your ankle down before climbing on top of you decorating your cheeks with kisses.
"kennn'," you whined, but you still let the boy's lips place kisses on your neck.
he's lifting himself off you slightly, his forearm right next to your head as he stared at you. you could feel the pendant off his necklace brush against your skin as you looked up at him. mouths inches apart from sharing a heated kiss after smoking.
"(y/n), do you want to experience cummin' on my dick while you're high?"
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TAGS — @sanwioz @indiecursor @tyga-lily @gabzlovesu @misss-chrisss @hellavile @maydayaisha @thicksimpx @luffysthickwaifu @simpingforwakasa04 @sleepy3 @warmchick @festive @caribbeanwifey19 @gardenof-venus @ryuugot @strawberrysanzu @plussizeficchick @littlemochi @celi-xxmoon @po3ticb3auty @thenerdyrebel @reiners-milkbiddies @babyyblueey @woahhajime @yooniluvbot444 @whoismoneaa @tonaken @h-shibas @rueren @kazufuyusluv
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tinyyoungblood · 3 years
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hi!! do you know that tiktok trend where the girl asks her bf if he can temporarily break up with her so she can be heartbroken when she listens to olivia rodrigo’s new album and the bf always says no? could you do that but with peter and avenger!reader? i don’t really know how the avengers play into that but i trust you to think of something great. love your work babes <3
pairing: peter parker x avenger!reader
word count: 2.7k
a/n: hey fren, tysm <3 i do know that trend, and it always warms my darn heart. you probably meant for this to be a headcanon but halfway through i realised that i was writing full sentences, so i just rolled with it bc i have no self-control lol enjoy x
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
“Peter, I need you to break up with me.”
Not a moment later, you heard a series of loud crashes and Peter stumbled out of the bathroom, hopping on one leg while fiddling with his zipper. “What did you just say?” His eyes were wild as they scanned your face.
“I need you to break up with me,” you repeated calmly, not taking your eyes off your laptop.
“Break up with you?” Peter echoed, hand raking through his hair in bewilderment. “Why would I do that? Do you want to break up?”
This made you look up. Peter was staring at you like you had just insulted his face, making it quite an effort to stay serious. “It’s just for 34 minutes and 46 seconds,” you assured. “So I can listen to Olivia Rodrigo’s new album.”
He blinked at you.
“What?”
“Please?” You set your laptop aside, shuffling to the end of the bed so you were sitting right in front of him. “I want to listen to it in full effect with a broken heart and everything.”
“I…” Peter slowly shook his head. A helpless laugh escaped him. “Um, no. Thank you.” He turned and made to return to the bathroom.
“Peter,” you whined and grabbed for his hand, pulling him to a halt.
“Sorry, angel.” He shrugged, supressing the faint tug at the corner of his mouth.
“Pleeeeaase.”
“Nope.”
You pouted. “We can break up when you train with Bucky! In that way you won’t even notice because you’ll be busy and distracted. I won’t even be on your mind.” You weren’t sure what you had said that made Peter stare at you like you were insane, but it took him a second to snap out of it.
He cupped your face with his hands and made sure to meet your eyes. “Babe, I think about you all the time.” He said it like it was a wish he wanted to word correctly. Slow and precise. Then he switched to a lighter tone that implied that he was done with the conversation. “I’m not breaking up with you.” With that he turned and left for the bathroom.
“Fine,” you called back although the water was already running and you doubted that Peter could hear you. And if he did, he probably didn’t care. You took that as your cue to leave. Defeated, you plucked your headphones into your phone and picked out a song of Olivia’s album at random.
Steve was lounging on the couch of the common room when you entered. He looked up from his magazine and gave you a small smile by way of greeting. You returned it by tapping two fingers at your temple in salute, ignoring the way how his stare lingered a little longer. You sat down next to him. When you locked eyes again, you saw the silent question on his face and let out a laugh. It ended up sounding more like a delightful scoff.
“I know Tony takes pride in being the philanthropist amongst us, but for someone who grew up in the ice age, you’re really good at reading people’s faces.” You wanted to annoy Steve, maybe even coax out a laugh, but he just kept looking at you, and you held his gaze. You were good at it—an aftereffect of living with Bucky who happened to love the same yoghurt as you did. Sometimes you put all western movies to shame with the way you narrowed your eyes at each other early in the morning in front of the fridge.
To your luck, Steve was just as stubborn, which meant that you two could’ve kept it going until death if it weren’t for the door banging open.
“I can’t believe you did this to me!” A voice boomed. You took a wild guess and assumed it was Clint.
“Tell me about it!” Another voice bellowed right back.
A second later, Sam and Clint marched into the room, furious, whereas Bucky strolled in behind them with no care in the world.
The former two were holding bags of food. Both were animated and waving their arms through the air while arguing. You turned down the volume of your phone in time to hear Steve demand, “What’s going on?”
Clint and Sam stared daggers at Bucky until Steve amended, “Buck, what did you do?”
The man in question turned around, facing his best friend in exasperation. “I asked these two to get food for me.” This earned him a snarl. Bucky waved them off and examined his metal arm, unconcerned. “Honestly, I have no idea why they’re getting so worked up about it.”
“We—” Sam gestured wildly between Clint and himself. “—were asked to pick up food for him from two different places. And neither of us knew about it!”
“Yes, neither of us knew,” Clint chimed in, eyes narrowing at Bucky who was busy flicking dust off his arm. “And I don’t know about you, Sam, but I was touched. I was moved, okay? Because Bucky never asks for anything and here I was, thinking we’re starting to bond or whatever but now I just feel USED.”
Sam gave a harsh sound in agreement.
“Bucky,” said Steve after no one had anything to add. “What do you have to say to that?”
Your gaze flitted between them, not sure what to expect. Bucky didn’t give any sign of wanting to respond, making you wonder if he had heard Cap at all. But then a slow smile swept over his lips and you noted that it was probably the most feline smile you’d ever seen. It was a smile storybook villains wore after burning down the world.
“The only thing I have to say is that I regret not having the moment they ran into each other in the elevator on video tape, because that—” He turned and looked Sam and Clint straight in the eye. “—was amazing.”
No one spoke.
“Ruthless,” you said under your breath and just like marionettes, the four men glanced you before another argument broke.
You took the chance to turn the volume back up. “happier” was playing and you settled further into the couch to watch the scene unfold. Sam was arguing so passionately that the vein on his neck was making an impressive appearance. Clint, on the other hand, had a palm pressed flat to his chest; his face showing pure betrayal. Bucky didn’t seem to care for the chaos. He tried multiple times to grab for the bags only for one of them to move out of his reach. When you glanced at Steve, you nearly lost it.
He was staring at them like his lifespan had just been reduced to ten years. He looked like he wanted to throw pebbles after them.
Nudging him with your arm, you silently handed him one of your earphones. He glanced at you and hesitated, probably thinking of the many times you had offered him a taste of blaring electronic music. You rolled your eyes and insisted again. This time, Steve took it and you watched in amusement as his brows rose in surprise.
“I like the piano,” he mouthed and glimpsed at the name of the song. You grinned.
In the meantime, Clint and Sam had decided to form an alliance. They had planted themselves in the opposite couch, digging into the contents of the brown bags while Bucky gawked at them from the other side of the room with his mouth ajar and heart ripped out of his chest. Shaking his head in disbelief, he let himself fall into the armchair facing them. He looked devastated. You weren’t sure if you had to stifle a laugh or tears.
Next to you, Steve chocked back a laugh. You quirked an eyebrow and considered him only to realise the reason behind his glee. Bucky was brooding in his seat while Sam and Clint did an excellence job on commenting every bite. Nothing has ever received as much praise as that pasta, and you were certain that if this were a cartoon, there would be rain clouds hovering above Bucky’s head. As if the angels had set it up themselves, you took notice of the lyrics.
I hope you're happy, but not like how you were with me
I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go
So find someone great but don't find no one better
Bucky was pouting, poking the leather of his armchair with his finger while stealing glances at Sam and Clint. It was perfect. Steve slapped a hand on his chest and he tipped his head back, laughing.
I hope you're happy, I wish you all the best, really
Say you love her, baby, just not like you loved me
And think of me fondly when your hands are on her
I hope you're happy, but don't be happier
You were both laughing hysterically. The others had stopped their on-going war to stare at the two of you; their expressions baffled. The song came to an end and Steve gave back your earphone, rubbing his eye as if wiping away a tear. He rose and walked over to Bucky, hurling him to his feet and putting an arm around his shoulders.
“Oh, Buck,” Steve said with a note of laughter in his voice. “There’s a song I need to show you.” You smiled as you watched them leave.
“Well, this was fun.” You pushed yourself off the couch and shook your head as Sam offered you some of his sushi. “Thanks, but I’m on a mission to get heartbroken.”
Leaving the men to their food, you wandered the halls and listened to “traitor” as you walked past Wanda’s room. Her door was open and you could see that Vision was in the middle of a chess game with Bruce and Wanda. By the looks of it, Vision was as good as winning and you reined the urge to cheer for him. You peaked around the door frame and saw that Vision had their king in check. Deep betrayal crossed Wanda’s face.
You chuckled quietly and whispered, “FRIDAY, play what I’m listening to right now through the speakers in Wanda’s room.” FRIDAY didn’t bother to respond but not a second later, the lyrics were blasting through her room and their heads snapped up in confusion.
Don't you dare forget about the way
You betrayed me
'Cause I know that you'll never feel sorry
For the way I hurt, yeah
“Wanda?“ You heard Vision’s careful voice. “What is going on?”
Guess you didn't cheat
But you're still
You're still a traitor
“I’m not sure, but these lyrics aren’t wrong…You are a traitor.” Wanda narrowed her eyes at him, slowly bobbing her head to the music. Treason danced in her eyes. It was the beginning of a villain origin story.
“Maybe it’s a sign of God,” Bruce said and you almost burst out laughing.
God, I wish that you had thought this through
Before I went and fell in love with you
“Hell yeah!” Wanda yelled and this time you bolted down the hallway, wheezing. You dashed right into Tony’s lab and slammed the door.
“What are you on?” He looked up in amusement. You simply shook your head, laughter still bubbling over your lips.
“Just spreading love in this facility.” You waved your hand at nothing in particular and Tony nodded.
“Right, I heard you asked Peter to break up with you to listen to that one album? Very dramatic. I like it.”
“See.” You gestured at him, indicating that he was the only one who got it. “It’s a good album. Maybe you should ask Pepper to divorce you.”
Tony gave a humourless laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think she would come back if I asked her.”
“Yikes,” you mumbled and this time Tony’s laughed for real.
“So what? You’ve just been walking around waiting for heartbreak?” He turned back to whatever he was working on. You stepped closer to get a peek.
“Precisely.”
“Sounds tiring.”
“I’m powered by exhaustion” You handed him the wrench he needed. “Want a listen? I think there’s a song you might like.”
He contemplated the offer and lifted his shoulder in a half-shrug. “Sure, why not.” You couldn’t help but squeal. You knew that Tony probably didn’t care but sharing your music was always exciting.
Beaming, you removed your headphones and connected your phone to the speakers of Tony’s lab. The first tunes of “good 4 u” started playing and Tony tapped his foot to the beat, head bobbing just slightly. When the chorus hit, he stood up and you stepped back, thinking he wanted to headbang. Instead, he reached for a tool that was further away. You didn’t miss the way he moved his shoulders in a little dance move though.
“I like this one,” he said, and you flashed him a smile. You continued working on the suit, handing Tony things you knew he needed until you passed him a plier and he froze. You furrowed your brows, glanced at the tool you knew was the right one, and cocked your head in silent question.
Maybe I'm too emotional
Or maybe you never cared at all
Looking you straight in the eyes, he flung the plier over his shoulder, opened a drawer, and took out another plier to use on his suit. You gasped.
“How dare you,” you whispered in shock. Tony had the nerve to shrug.
“Enjoy your little heartbreak moment, Y/N.” He shooed you away like a cat. “FRIDAY, yank up the volume, would you.”
Well, good for you, you look happy and healthy
Not me, if you ever cared to ask
Good for you, you're doin' great out there without me
“Guys?” Peter’s voice was drowned out by the booming music. He was leaning against the doorframe, watching in amusement as you and Tony towered on the lab tables, using screwdrivers as provisional microphones. While Tony played a terrific air guitar, you sank dramatically to your knees and impressed the crowd with your air drumming skills.
“Guys?” Peter tried again, chuckling. This time you and Tony whipped around at the same time and pointed straight at Peter.
Like a damn sociopath
You threw your arms up in the air and spun in circles while Tony jumped into quite an impressive split leap.
I've lost my mind
I've spent the night cryin' on the floor in my bathroom
Just over the fact that I really don't get it
But I guess good for you
The song came to an end, and you leapt on Tony’s table to share a screwdriver with him as you sang the last lyrics together.
Well, good for you, I guess you moved on really easily
The song ended and all you could hear was heavy breathing. Peter began to clap. “This was great, you guys. Wow.”
You exchanged glances with Tony before making a show of bowing at the waist.
“So this is what happens when I refuse to break up with you?” Peter strolled over to where you sat on the lab table, positioning himself between your legs. Tony chuckled and jumped off to grab a water bottle from across the room.
“I’m gonna need you to elaborate on that,” you said, just for the devil of it.
Peter smiled. “Cap and Bucky are crying over a song, Vision is sending Wanda flowers in ten-minute intervals, and you are down here having a rock concert with Tony.”
You gave him a toothy grin. “I was just feeling sour.”
* * *
stay hydrated pals
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duuhrayliegh · 3 years
Note
Hello, darling! I was wondering if you could right some Bucky x reader, where the reader worked along Sharon during Civil War and she meets Bucky. Then she runs always with Sharon and meets Bucky again in Madripoor and continue their story. I hope that makes sense. Thank yooouuuu✨✨✨
hey babes!! yes i absolutely can! i kind of gave more background than i meant to making it way longer, but i hope you enjoy it anyway! i do want to continue this story and most definitely will be so be on the lookout for the other parts of it lovie <3. i hope you still enjoy it even though it isn’t quite what you asked for yet :)
A Friend of Yours
FATWS SPOILERS
warnings: not much, canon lvl violence, some suggestive stuff closer towards to end, language, i think that’s it
word count: 6140 i went a bit overboard, it’s fine i’m totally fine
a/n: i got this request and then didn’t stop writing all day. i didn’t get anything else done all day. i got home at like seven-ish? and i’ve been sitting on the floor of my bedroom just writing this fic (for context it is now 12:47 pm where i’m at)
check out A Friend of Yours - pt. 2 and A Friend of Yours - pt. 3
p.s.: this is the first fic that i’m writing with an actual ‘x reader’ i’m so proud
xoxo ray
ray’s m.list
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******************************
You grew up with Sharon, the two of you were best friends from birth it seemed. Honestly, Peggy raised you more than your own parents did. When Aunt Peggy got Sharon her first thigh holster, she got you one too. You enlisted together, moved up the ranks together, everything. So, it was of no shock to anyone that after the fall of SHIELD, you both moved together into the CIA’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
You were inside the hotel with Sharon, Steve and Sam when the bombing on the UN took place. The look of unbridled fear that fell over Steve’s face as they announced Barnes as the primary suspect was heart wrenching. You weren’t able to watch it for long because your phone was already ringing off the hook.
“Look, you need to get me more information, and now.” You gritted into your phone speaker before quickly hanging up the phone and turning to a crestfallen Steve who was still watching the news casting. Sharon ended her phone call and turned to you.
“We have to go to work.” A few short hours on a jet later, you and Sharon were coordinating the operation. Close by, Steve and Sam were awaiting new information. Steve had this insane plan to find Barnes before the whole rest of the world did. Like that’s going to happen, it took the world 70 years to find Barnes. Of course, Steve and Sam are going to find him in about half that time.
You followed the blonde woman into a busy coffee shop and up to the counter. She slid a manila folder over to a well disguised Captain America. “Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everyone thinks the Winter Soldier goes to their gym. Most of it’s just noise, except this.” Sharon was talking quietly, trying to not draw attention to the fact that she was committing a serious offense.
“We have to give the briefing, like now Shar, so we have to go.” The two of you pushed off the counter and you turned quickly to say one last thing. “And you better hurry. They’ve given the order to shoot on site.”
You left the shop quickly and made your way back to the white tent, passing the redheaded spy who was watching you like a hawk. A look of understanding crossed her features as you kept a calm facade. She fucking knows, how the hell could she read you that easily?
*********************************
The next time you saw any of them, they were exiting the back of an armored prison van. It was no surprise that his eyes flitted over to his best friend from childhood. You glanced over at Barnes, who was strapped in all different ways, and your heart hurt for him. You tried not to pity him, you know you would’ve gotten a slap on the wrist from Aunt Peggy about it.
Bucky must’ve felt you looking at him because his steel blue eyes locked with your pair. This was the first time that you’ve ever actually seen the man in person. It was startling, in a good way. You grew up going to the Smithsonian and hearing Aunt Peggy’s stories about the great James Buchanan Barnes. You never thought that you’d get the chance to meet the man you did a history report on your freshman year of high school.
“Y/N?” Sharon’s voice cut through your thoughts, recalling you to reality and out of your past. “We have to go. We’ve been assigned to monitor Steve and Sam while they’re here.” Sharon was clearly not a fan of this, which made you laugh loudly.
“Oh, score! We get to babysit Captain America and the Falcon!” You spoke in an unnecessarily upbeat voice and then clapped your hands together. “Our dream job! Let’s go, Shar!” She stared at you for a millisecond before slapping a hand on your shoulder.
“Let’s go, you fucking dork.” You followed her through the office building into the control room where you observed Tony talking to Steve. Apparently, the conversation was not going well because both their faces held angry glares. Eventually, Tony left the room, leaving Steve alone with his thoughts and that can never be good.
“How you doing, Cap?” You asked as you less-than-gracefully plopped yourself into the chair across from him. He looked over at me and released a heavy sigh.
“Honestly, Y/N, not that great at the moment.” He looked at you with his iconic mom Steve stare. Wow, so that’s what it’s like to be on the receiving end of that. Sam walked in and sat next to you. You drowned out their conversation as your gaze focused on screens outside of the glass office.
The video feed of Barnes in his metal cage was displayed on a TV screen. How is this considered humane? Obviously you knew that the CIA had pushed boundaries in the past, but this was just insane. “Are those restraints really necessary?” Sam seemed to be just voicing his thoughts, not expecting a response back.
“Well, he is considered an international terrorist, so yeah, they’re kind of necessary.” You said quickly and then muttered under your breath, “No matter who thinks that it’s excessive.” Steve’s gaze met yours and he was about to speak when Sharon walked in and dropped a paper in front of Sam.
“The receipt for your gear.” A scoff sounded from Sam as he glared at Sharon.
“‘Bird costume’? Come on.” Always quick to defend your best friend.
“Hey, we didn’t write it up.” It came off snappier than you had meant it. Sharon shot you a look, signaling you to back off. You raised a brow at her as she leaned over the table to the intercom buttons.
The audio from Barnes’ evaluation echoed through the glass room. Everyone around you was unsuspecting the four of you listened in. The psychologist was talking to Barnes, who seemed incredibly closed off. Who could blame the guy though?
“I’m not here to judge you. I just want to ask a few questions. Do you know where you are, James?” The psychologist paused for a second, looking down and off to the side. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me, James.” The caged man spoke for the first time.
“My name is Bucky.” His voice was rough from not being used. A look crossed Steve’s face and he turned to Sharon.
“Why would the Task Force release that photo to begin with?” Sharon’s body turned to face the man speaking to her. Her brows furrowed while she answered.
“Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?” Your head tilted, trying to follow Steve’s train of thought.
“Right. Good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. Get seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier.” Oh shit.
“You’re saying someone framed him?” You wanted to believe it with every fiber in your being.
“Steve, we looked for the guy for two years and found nothing.” Sam reminded in a calm tone.
“Yeah, you didn’t bomb the UN though. That turns quite a few heads. Especially if prominent people like King T’Chaka end up dead because of it.” You made a good point, but there were still pieces missing.
“That doesn’t guarantee that they would find him. It guaranteed that we would.” Sharon and Steve began examining the room around them. Your attention returned to the audio emitting from the intercom.
“You fear that,“ the doctor paused, “if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop. Don’t worry.” He glanced down again and moved his hand to swipe something away.
“Guys?” You pointed to the screen as the doctor held up his pointer finger.
“We only have to talk about one.” All of the sudden, the screens went dark and the lights flickered off. Secretary Ross was yelling at technicians to get his video back. Tony was speaking to his AI, Friday, about locating the source of the outage. Steve and Sam tensed at the thought of what could be going on with Barnes.
“Sub-level five, east wing.” was all Sharon said as the pair ran off. You looked at her and threw your hands in the air.
“What the hell do we do now, Shar?” She glared at you as she started reasoning with you.
“They’re stronger than we are. If they can contain whatever the hell is happening down there then great. In the event that they can’t, we’ll be up here with Natasha and Tony to deal with it.” You nodded quickly as you both ran out of the room.
You quickly followed Natasha, Tony and Sharon to the main level of the building. Clearly Steve and Sam were unsuccessful in containing the situation because Barnes could be seen through the glass, fighting his way to his destination.
Tony stunned Barnes with a previously concealed Iron Man glove. Barnes started towards Tony and quickly attacked. After Barnes bested Tony, it wasn’t long before Natasha rushed the man alongside Sharon. It wasn’t hard for Barnes to throw Sharon across the room. Natasha took the opportunity to launch herself onto his shoulders, which caused Barnes to slam her into a table with his metal hand wrapped around her neck.
She mumbled something to him as you kicked his ribs, releasing his chokehold on her. He stumbled backwards, his hard gaze landed on yours as he approached. Your eyes locked on his as the two of you traded blows.
They weren’t the same eyes as before. Those eyes were soft and remorseful, these were hard and unattached. There was no emotion behind the pair staring at you. The fraction of a second that you were analyzing his eyes in your head was enough for him to catch you off guard. His metal fist landed in your rib cage. The opposite hand jabbed at your face, busting your lip and sending you flying backwards.
You hit your head on the concrete below, making your eyes roll back. The wind left your lungs and you gasped to get it back as Barnes and T’Challa fought in the background. It was a few minutes later that a concerned Sharon made her way over to you.
“Are you okay?” You looked her over as she did you, checking for any severe injuries. You offered a small nod, not wanting to shake your head too much in fear of a concussion. “Let’s go check in with Ross.”
******************
“And how the hell did Rogers and Wilson even know where to find Barnes?” Ross’ voice boomed through the office. No one said anything, not wanting to incur the wrath of Secretary Ross. “I’ve already allowed Stark 36 hours to find them and bring them back here.” Ross turned to you and Sharon standing in the corner of the room. “If they contact any of you, report it immediately.” Rounds of ‘yes, sirs’ bounced around the room, then chaos ensued as everyone got back to trying to clean up this mess.
“Carter. Y/L/N. Elevator now.” He raised two fingers to point toward the elevators before walking into one. It was just the three of you in the enclosed space. He clicked the button for the ground floor. “I know you have some kind of connection to Rogers but do not let that cloud your judgement. The both of you are CIA agents first.”
“We understand, Secretary.” The elevator doors opened again and you went to step out when Ross stopped you again.
“I mean it, girls. This is your job on the line here.” You and Sharon shared a look before continuing walking. Did he just call us girls?
“Do you think that was supposed to be intimidating?” You laughed under your breath as you went out to the parking lot. Sharon sighed and shrugged her shoulders.
“Probably.” She looked at you over the top of her car. “You don’t have to come with me.”
“Where do we start?”
****************************
Getting that fucking shield and bird suit wasn’t easy. They had moved it from the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre to the US Embassy to await transport back to the States. It made it easier but still damn near impossible to get. Thankfully, you and Sharon are good liars. Skills of a misspent youth.
The two of you walked in the front door and displayed your badges. “We’re here to pick up Captain America and the Falcon’s effects.” The man behind the counter didn’t even question it. Man, they need better people at the Embassy.
“You’ll have to sign some paperwork saying you picked it up.” There it is. You both flicked a brow and Sharon held her hand out for the clipboard. Small scratches from the pen in her hand were echoing throughout the empty building.
She handed the clipboard back to the man behind the counter. “Okie dokie, just pull your car around to the side of the building and we’ll get you loaded up.” He shot them a small smile and turned around to file the papers.
“That was easy enough.” You whispered to Sharon as you left, not wanting your voice to carry. You walked to your car that was parked in front of the iron wrought gate. Pulling your car around to the side of the building, you popped the trunk. The gear clad Embassy soldier carelessly tossed Sam’s suit inside before gently placing the shield on top of it.
“Hey, if there’s a scratch on that suit, it’s coming out of your paycheck buddy.” You held your pointer finger up to the man’s unimpressed face.
“Y/N, let’s go. We’ve got to get these to the jet or Ross will have our heads. Remember it’s our job on the line here.” What Sharon said made you laugh big while hauling yourself back into the driver’s seat of the car. As you pulled out into the street, Sharon was typing away on her phone and pushing it to her ear.
“This is a secure line but I don’t know for how long, so don’t talk just listen.” She took a deep breath and then continued. “We want to help. Meet us under the bridge on Route 6. We’ll be there in two hours.” She ended the call quickly and threw the phone outside the car. Glancing over at you, she nodded and sighed again.
“We’ve gotten this far.” You had one question burning in your throat that you were afraid to ask.
“Where do we go after they’ve gone?” She looked at you and she was biting her lip, something she only did when she was incredibly stressed.
“I don’t know yet. Do you have any ideas?” You smiled and thought of the one place that you wouldn’t be followed.
“Yeah, I’ve got one, but it’s rough.”
***************************
The drive to the underpass wasn’t a hard one. You had beat the boys there so you and Sharon were sitting in the car. You had the radio playing softly in the background.
“Who the hell do you know in Madripoor?” You laughed and shrugged.
“I’m supposed to tell you all my secrets for free?” You shook your head and shifted in your seat to face her fully. “I was tasked with tracking some artwork down there. One of my assignments when we went through initiation for the Agency.” You picked at the holes in your jeans. “I thought it was just all fake stuff, but I researched it more and more. Turns out, the underground artwork dealing is really lucrative over there.”
Sharon stared at you in amazement. “What did you do, Y/N?” You smirked.
“I haven’t done anything.” You held her gaze, “Yet.” She released a small laugh and her mouth hung open a bit. “I may have a warehouse out there.” You squinted one of your eyes, and leaned forward. “And the apartment above it.” She was going to say something when an old ass blue Beetle pulled up behind you.
“Now how the fuck did they all fit in that tiny ass car?” You both laughed as you stepped out of the car with big smiles on your faces.
“Not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car.” Steve walked up to Sharon and they began talking as she popped the trunk, revealing their gear. Your attention was on the men in the car behind them. Barnes was stuck in the back away from cameras and Sam was lounging in the passenger seat. Your eyes met Barnes’ again, they were back to the remorseful pair you saw the first time.
“You know he kind of tried to kill us.” You waved your hand in gesture to the man in the car.
“Sorry, I’ll put it on the list too.” He glanced back down at Sharon, who had migrated closer to him. “They’re going to come looking for you.”
She nodded, “I know.” Then the most awkward kiss in all of kissing history took place. Your brows shot up then furrowed quickly, a small wince overtaking your face. They pulled apart and traded more words. Sharon began walking back to the passenger side of the car.
Steve turned around and you looked back at the two men in the car. Both of them were wearing proud, smug grins. Steve threw his head back as if he was berating them.
“About damn time, Cap! She’s been pining over you for God knows how long now.” The windows were down in the Beetle so the other two heard you shouting at their friend.
“Y/N!” Sharon was a bit embarrassed.
“What? It’s the truth, Shar!” The two of you began bickering like an old married couple as you started the car again. Steve got all he needed from the trunk and shut it quickly, slapping it twice. You began driving off with Sharon giving you directions to an airport on the opposite side of the country.
***********************
That was the last time you saw Steve. Last time you saw anyone for a while. You had been dusted in the Blip. Sharon had followed you to your apartment in Madripoor. The two of you were able to figure the city out pretty quickly. Learning the ins and outs of the island, where to go, who to sell to. One afternoon, you and Sharon had been surveying a Van Gogh piece for your gallery when you flew away. In the middle of a fucking deal, what perfect timing.
Five years later, you were reunited with an even more successful Sharon. “I kept your room the way you left it.” She said as she led you through your shared home. “I figured that you’d be back and you’d be pissed off if I fucked with anything.”
You smiled at the woman gratefully and hugged her. Neither of you let go for a while. When you did, she started filling you in on everything. She had continued to split all her profits and had been depositing the money into your account. “Even if you didn’t come back, I could’ve used it if I needed to bug out. Win-win.” She explained with a smile.
The two of you had about six months of getting back into the groove of things. It was quickly cut off by a ping of your phones one day. A look of confusion and anger crossed her face, “Are you fucking kidding me?” She locked eyes with you and told you to get your gear.
“Where are we going?” She threw her phone at you and you looked at the screen. As soon as you read the notification at the top of it you understood. Repeating your question from before, you tied the knots on your Converse. You followed Sharon to the Low Town side of the island.
“Now what the fuck are they doing here, do you think?” The two of you camped outside of the Brass Monkey nightclub, ready for whatever came your way. Deciding that you were too visible to everyone else, you moved to the building across from the club. Something is bound to go wrong and the first place they're going to get ran to is this dead end alley.
Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, Sam, Barnes, and Zemo got cornered in the alleyway. Sharon had decided to stay on the ground floor next to the door. You shot two of the assassins following the group of three and Sharon took out the final one.
You made your way back down to Sharon, who was still holding her gun up. “You cost me everything.” She focused her gun on Zemo.
“Sharon, wait. Someone recreated the super soldier serum and Zemo had a lead.” Sam remarked calmly, trying to diffuse the situation.
“Explains why you guys are here and Selby’s dead.” Your brows shot up at that, must of been new information that she got while you were upstairs.
“Why are you here, Sharon?” Sam questioned.
“She was one of the ones who stole Steve’s shield, remember?” You stepped forward, raising your gun to gesture to the men in front of you. “And the wings, so your ass,” you waved at Sam, “could save his ass,” at Barnes, “from his ass.” You lowered your gun and stepped in front of Zemo, staring the man down. Your fist balled and you launched it at Zemo, landing a solid hit to his cheekbone.
Barnes grabbed your hand, twisting your body to slot against his with your arm bent behind your back. He leaned close to your ear, breath making shivers trickle down your spine. “I only let you do that because I’ve wanted to for a while now, so don’t get any more ideas.” Your breath hitched because of the proximity of the man behind you.
“Alright, give me my Y/N back.” Sharon said, lowering her gun to holster it. Bucky held onto you for a few more seconds than necessary and then pushed you towards Sharon as he released you. You scoffed, then shoved your gun into the waistband of your jeans. Sam and Sharon had already started their own conversation by the time you calmed down enough to face Barnes.
Sharon bobbed her head to you, an unspoken language between the two of you. After bringing them into your home, Sam began admiring the artwork in the first floor gallery. “Looks like breaking the law is treating you two well.”
“Before even graduating into the Agency, I had a place over here. Never had any intention on using it, but here we are.” You started, “Then, after having to flee Berlin, for you,” You shot a look at Bucky, “we figured if we had to hustle, might as well enjoy the good life. Do you know how much we can get for a real Monet?”
“Deactivate your hustle mode. You sell fake Monet’s.” Sharon shot him a look, about to defend us when Zemo cut in.
“No. She means real. This gallery is specialized in stolen artwork. Monet. Van Gogh. All the classics.” Sam made a face of disbelief.
“It’s true. You know, half the artwork in museums like the Louvre is fake. Real stuff sits in places like this.” Bucky gestured to the gallery. Sam pulled his phone out of his suit pocket.
“Okay, guys, I see what you’re doing. You’re more worldly than good old Sam.” He was typing furiously as he spoke. Bucky passed him, soundlessly following you and Sharon to the upstairs apartment.
“Yeah. What’s Google say?” Once the five of you got upstairs, Sharon began walking them into her office, telling them that they needed to change because we were hosting clients. It didn’t take long for the men to switch outfits. It was refreshing to see Barnes in something other than combat gear or a torn Henley. Sharon followed you in the office, making a remark at Sam while he apologised.
“Look, you know the whole hero thing is a joke, right? The way you gave up that shield, deep down, you must know it’s all hypocrisy.” She said as you plopped yourself on one of the plush chairs across from the couch, holding a clear glass full of whiskey.
“He knows. And not so deep down.” Zemo added quietly, since when is Zemo informed? Sharon glazed over his comment, opting for asking about the new Cap while filling a glass for herself.
“Don’t get me started.” Barnes spoke for the first time since being downstairs. You narrowed your eyes at the man.
“Please. You buy into all that stars and stripes bullshit.” You swung your glass to Zemo, “Before you were his pet psychopath, you were Mr. America! Cap’s best friend.” His gaze darted over to you, nose wrinkling at your comment.
“Do you know who I am?” He tried to be intimidating but it was just funny to you. You were taking a drink to moisten your throat to fire back a witty comeback, when Sharon spoke for you.
“Oh trust me, she knows. She did a report on you freshman year of high school.” You started choking on your drink as Sharon smirked from the couch next to Barnes. His brows raised and a smug smile graced his face.
“She did now?” Clearly he was a different man from the last time you saw him. Meeting his eyes for the fourth time ever, you were surprised with what you saw. There was almost a hunger lingering behind his eyes.
“Most definitely. I don’t even know how many times she went to the Smithsonian to see the exhibit about you.” You glared at Sharon, who continued to talk, unbothered by you. She raised her own glass to her lips, speaking into her cup, muffling her words.  “Honestly, think she developed a little crush.” Barnes’ eyes never left your face, his mind racing.
“Wait, so the entire time you were helping me and Steve, you had a crush on Tin Man?” Sam interjected, wanting to be included in the conversation. You rolled your eyes and gave a subtle nod to Sam. The action wasn’t missed by Bucky.
“Which is why I think it must’ve been really hard for you to ask him of all people for help. They comin’ down real hard on you out there?” You asked Barnes with a smirk and a head tilt towards Zemo. “I know he fucked you up real good, triggering the Soldier, Barnes.”
Sam laughed beside him. “Dude, that’s basically what you told Walker.” Barnes threw a glare at Sam, who had clapped a hand on his metal shoulder. The conversation dissipated after your comment, guess you killed the vibe.
Sam turned to a relaxed Sharon, “We need your help.” Her body tensed, neither one of you was ready to throw yourself back into enemy territory. “I can get your name cleared.” He dangled a huge bargaining chip in front of her face. You knew Sharon was eager to get back to the States. She misses her dad. It was unfair of Sam to use that as a way to gain her favor.
“Haggling with someone’s life like that isn’t okay, Sam.” You said quietly, focusing your gaze on the glass in your hand.
“It’s not like that, Y/N.”
“Yes, it is, Sam.” You said firmly. “You can’t just say something like that. I know you’re an Avenger. That’s great shit, but you need to realize that if you can’t deliver on your word, we go to jail or worse. You know that.”
“I don’t trust charity, Sam.” Sharon said from beside Barnes.
“All right, a deal then. You help us out, and I get your names cleared.” Your nostrils flared and you shook your head. Sharon agreed, blinded by the possibility of seeing her family again. You don’t doubt that she thought through all the outcomes, it just wasn’t the route you would’ve taken.
“We sell to some pretty connected people. Lay low, blend in, and enjoy the party.” She got up, exiting the office.
“Try to stay outta trouble, boys.” You said placing your glass on Sharon’s desk as you left. “We’ll see what we can find.”
*********************************
You were standing next to Sharon when the three men joined the party. Leaning over to Sharon, you told her you were going to get a drink from the bar. You pushed your way through the crowd, planting yourself on a stool in front of the countertop. Nodding your head at the bartender, they passed you a bottle of club soda.
“Not drinking tonight?” A raspy voice questioned over your shoulder. You turned to face the owner as you shrugged your shoulders.
“Already had my fill. And technically, I’m supposed to be working, Barnes.” Your eyes met with his again. You couldn’t tell if it was the light in the room or if it was just him, but they were a deeper shade of blue than before. He leaned his weight on his elbow that was resting on the bar top next to you. He was so close you could feel his body heat rolling off him in waves.
His eyes roamed your face, stopping on your lips as he spoke. “You know you can call me Bucky, right?” You made a face, bringing your bottle to your mouth. He watched intently as your lips wrapped around the opening.
“We’ve never had a single conversation before today. And the first time you actually met me, you twisted my arm behind my back because I punched the dickwad standing next to you.” You took another sip and his eyes drifted down to your throat. He watched as it bobbed when you swallowed.
“So, yeah. I’m going to call you Barnes.” You leaned closer, “I’ve never been given permission to call you anything else.” You could tell you struck something. Something that he didn’t even possibly know about. His face heated and he had to clear his throat before speaking.
“Um, okay. Well you can call me Bucky or if you want, James.” Your brow quirked and you pulled back to take him in fully.
“How many people have you let call you that since you got your free will back?” Your tone was serious, but your face held a smile.
“None, doll.” His eyes ran over your face again. “I just want to hear how it’ll sound coming from your mouth.” One of his metal fingers came up to rest on your bottom lip as your smile grew.
“James.” You whispered, just for him. What he was giving you was a privilege, one you were going to revel in. One corner of his mouth tugged upwards.
“Again.” He growled as his finger remained on your lip.
“James.”
“Again.”
“James.” The party around the two of you faded away. In your reality, it was just you and the man in front of you. A peaceful place, where nothing could change what was happening right at that moment.
Of course, reality is a bitch. And you never got what you wanted. Your jaw clenched as soon as your phone pinged. James dropped his hand from your face as he read the text with you.
Found Nagel. Meet us outside and if you find Bucky, tell him too.
You scrunched your nose and bit your lip. James’ hand was quick to pull your lip from your front teeth, before resting there for a second as he studied your face. He stepped back quickly, nodding his head for you to follow him.
**************************************
You don’t know how the hell Sharon managed to find him, but she did. You were in a shipping yard for storage cars. “Madripoor could give New York a run for its money.” Sam said as the five of you weaved your way through the containers.
“With a bounty on your head, the longer you’re in Madripoor, the less likely you’re ever leaving.” She glanced down at her phone in her hand. Nodding toward a red container, “Alright, he’s in there. Container 4621.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out five earpieces.
“We’ll keep watch while you guys talk to Nagel. But hurry. We’re on borrowed time.” You said as you watched everyone situate their pieces. Sharon turned around and began walking down an aisle not far from the container Nagel was in. You stopped James before he could go anywhere.
“Hey, be careful.” His eyes met yours and they were back to the normal steel blue. “Don’t forget who you are, James.” Something flashed behind his eyes, but his face showed no change.
“You too, Y/N. Don’t make me come out here and save your ass.” His eyes flicked down quickly and a smile spread quickly. “I mean, not that I would mind.” You rolled your eyes and shoved his shoulder, turning and walking down the aisle Sharon did.
“So,” She was leaned against a rusted container with a smug smile. “You and Bucky, huh?” You groaned and stood next to her.
“I don’t know, Shar. Neither one of us should be in a relationship. Especially since we’re both Enemies of the State, well one of us is, the other one was.” You turned your head to look at her. “What do you think about all of this?” She opened her mouth to speak when you both heard something ricochet off a metal wall.
She raised a finger to her mouth and crouched down before pressing that same finger to her earpiece. “Guys, we have company.” She took off down one end of the aisle and you down the opposite, ready to attack from both sides. There were three men walking towards Nagel’s container, you shot a look down to Sharon and she nodded.
She came from the back with a baton, whacking the last guy once in the knees and once in the head, disarming him. When the front man turned to help his comrade, you did the same move to him with your own baton. You both continued trading blows with the men. You had effectively taken out the first man, using his thigh to latch yourself to the third man’s shoulders. Situating yourself to use your body weight to flip him over, definitely knocking him out.
“Every bounty hunter in the city is here. We gotta go now, boys!” You yelled to your earpiece as you watched Sharon fight off another opponent.
It wasn’t until the gunfire started that Sharon said something else into the piece. “Guys, we’re seriously outta time here.” You both split off, out of each other’s view, battling your own demons. You were currently dealing with two of those said demons, when a third approached from behind. Locking you in a chokehold as the other two continued punching your ribs.
One of the hunters was suddenly ripped away from you. Punches were landing and groans were echoing through the alleyways. You threw all your body weight forward, throwing your assailant over your shoulder. Two gunshots rang out and then a third one, which landed a bullet hole between your aggressors eyes. Your head whipped around to face James, whose arm dropped back to his side.
He walked towards you, putting a hand on your back leading you to where Sharon and Sam were standing. Zemo pulled up in a blue convertible car, “Supercharged.” was all he said. Sam pointed his finger at the man in the driver’s seat.
“You’re going back to jail.”
“Do you want to find Karli or not?” James sighed heavily, his shoulder sinking with the action.
“He’s right. We need him. And there’s two of us, and at least twenty of them.” James got in the front seat, leaving the door open for Sam.
“Fine. But if you try that shit again--”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Zemo raised his hands in surrender. Sam turned to Sharon.
“Well, that was one hell of a reunion.” You leaned over the open door to talk to James. He looked at you with a sad face.
“Why don’t you come back to the States with us?” He tilted his head. “We could clearly use your help, doll.” You smiled at that and licked your lips before responding.
“You know we can’t. Not yet anyway.” He placed his finger back on your bottom lip, maintaining eye contact. “This isn’t the last you’ll see of me, James. That I can promise you.” He smiled and dropped his hand back to his lap.
Sam climbed into the seat behind James. “You’re not going to move your seat up, are you?” James smirked before replying.
“No.” You watched as they drove off, desperately wanting to see James again already.
You turned back to Sharon and the two of you began walking back towards High Town. “I think you should go for it.” 
604 notes · View notes
bestiesenpai · 3 years
Text
Youtuber Sukuna pt3
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life! I never thought youtuber sukuna would be so popular, so thank you everyone for giving me encouragement to continue this lil series. This will be the final part, but who’s to say we can’t have an OVA episode?? I smell a beach episode...or maybe a trip to an onsen? Who knows!
Part one --- part two
This had to be the stupidest thing he’d ever done. It certainly felt like it. Scrolling on Pinterest was the last thing he wanted to do, in fact it was something he openly mocked in the past, but now per your advice, he was looking at thousands of photos of home decor.
Sukuna was hesitant to admit to you that he had no furniture in his home. After seeing how well decorated and lived in your home was, it only made his shame increase at being a grown man with foldable furniture. But you took it in stride and offered to help, even making him share a Pinterest board with you so the two of you could get inspiration for a shopping trip.
That’s how he found himself at IKEA on a bright and early Saturday morning. You’d begged him to let you come shopping with him, and Sukuna was a man unable to refuse any request you made of him.
“Ah, this is going to be so exciting!” You shouted, nearly running to the carts at the front of the store. You were clearly more excited than he was, your energy seemed to know no bounds as you bounced on your heels and waited for him to trudge to the front door.
“What’s so exciting about furniture?” He grumbled, subconsciously taking the cart from your hands. Pushing into the store, Sukuna felt like he had been transported to another world. With staged living quarters that looked more real than his own home, he was at a loss for words.
“Sukuna, c’mere!” You were already ten paces ahead, standing at the entrance to one said fake home. Coming upon it, Sukuna nearly gagged at the color palette. There were bright orange tufted couches with a blue area rug and more pillows than he had owned his whole life. With white accents and gunmetal colored lamps, it looked far too much for him.
“It’s ugly.” He said, not caring about the other people around you that seemed to enjoy it.
“Really?” Taking another look around, you shrugged your shoulders and took a step back. “You’re right, it doesn’t really fit your whole vibe.”
That was definitely correct. If Sukuna had to give a name to his personal style it would be ‘who the fuck cares as long as it works’. He wasn’t one to dwell on his looks for too long, just content grabbing clothes that were easily accessible and trendy, ones that he knew would help him fit in. And that habit had bled into his furniture choice as well.
“Okay, you seemed to pin a lot of pictures that look like this-” Leaning over, he watched you scroll past picture after picture of what almost looked like the same thing, a living room with dark colored couches, a white rug and dark colored walls, almost always with a metal or dark wooden coffee table.
“Yeah, it fits me.” Wandering through the store, Sukuna glanced at an all white room with a window frame encasing a faux view of a city lit up at night. “None of this shit.” He made a vague gesture to the room, and the one following it that looked similar.
“You don’t want any bright colors at all?”
“My hair’s already pink, what more do you want?” That made you snort and giggle, and in turn made Sukuna smile.
“Okay but you can’t just have all black furniture, it’ll make your house feel like a dungeon.” Your hand came to rest on the handle of the shopping cart, dangerously close to laying on top of his. “Promise we’ll get at least a little color today? Maybe a yellow, or a pink to match your hair.”
“S-sure.” Sukuna couldn’t look at anything except for your hand. Your pinky finger was just barely touching his, almost enough that Sukuna could slide his hand under yours and interlace your fingers together.
“Ooh, what about this for your bedroom?” And just like that, you were gone. Dashing off to a display on the wall for bed sheets. “You said you only have a plain white one, right?”
“Yeah.”
“How about this? This design is really trendy right now.” You were pointing to one that was a deep navy, white grid lines crossing over to make big squares.
“I like it.”
“Awesome! Now, do you have a queen or a king bed?”
After picking out the bed sheets, Sukuna slowly opened up more to the idea of shopping. He was able to recognize pieces he’d seen on Pinterest, picking them out as things he readily liked and would enjoy looking at in his house. He was even persuaded to get a few area rugs for different places in his house, and before he knew it you had piled the basket high with things.
“Ah, today was so much fun!” You sang, bouncing in your seat on the way home from IKEA.
“Now I just need to build all this shit.” Sukuna was amazed at how much you’d convinced him to buy. He had new furniture for his bedroom, a new couch was going to be delivered, a dining table and chairs and even a new desk and chair for his office setup in the corner of his living room.
“Lemme help!” You looked far too eager to help him build, and although Sukuna wanted to tell you no - he really didn’t want you to see how he was currently living - he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to have you in his house with him, working together on something.
“Alright. Let’s stop somewhere and get food though, I’m hungry.”
One quick fast food meal that Sukuna loathed later, you were carrying things up to his apartment. He refused to let you carry the heavy things even if he could really use the help with some of the oblong boxes. But he didn’t want to risk you getting hurt, so you carried the small things.
When everything was inside the house, Sukuna watched your reaction to his place. You hadn’t made a sound when you first arrived, you were probably too busy trying to bring everything in from his car.
“Sukuna…” Scanning his apartment, your eyes landed on his abysmal furniture.
“Yeah?” He screwed his eyes shut, dreading what you had to say.
“This is totally what I expected from you.” You laughed, unpacking some of the fake plants you made him buy. “It totally fits you.” Letting out the breath he’d been holding in, Sukuna grabbed one of the boxes containing his new desk.
“Let’s get started.”
If Sukuna thought cooking with you was hard, building furniture with you was the final boss level. He had you read the instructions while he laid all the pieces out, and when you let out a whine at how many steps there were, Sukuna could have died happily right then and there.
It was easy to build the furniture he bought, but it wasn’t easy to work with you. There was no problem with your actual work, but the fact that Sukuna had to be so close to you at times, nearly hugging you when he had to hold up a piece for you to put a few screws in, it was too much to handle.
He quickly banished you to work on another project. It was your fault he kept getting distracted and forgetting what step he was on, so the only solution was to work on separate things. Plus, watching you flit around his house, hearing you change the bed sheets and lay down a new mat in the bathroom made him feel like you were newlyweds decorating your first home together.
“It looks so good in here!” It was well past dark when you finished everything. It truly did look like a brand new space, and not just in the living room. The touches you’d added, with bright pillows, fake plants and some actual art on the walls, made Sukuna happy to be home. His place finally felt like a home and not just somewhere to crash at the end of the day.
“You did a great job picking shit out, I woulda never been able to do all this.” Putting his arm around your shoulder, he gave you a squeeze.
“Are you gonna do a house tour when the couch and table come?” A house tour? Why would he do that? Knitting his brows together, Sukuna sent you a look. “C’mon, you know what a house tour is! All the popular Youtubers do them.” You giggled, wiggling your eyebrows. “And aren’t you a popular Youtuber?”
“I-” Well, you had him beat there. His subscriber count was well into the millions at this point. “Okay, I’ll do one when the rest of the stuff comes.”
“Yes!” Bouncing up and down in joy, you clapped your hands together. “I’ll help you film, I know how bad you are at angles.”
“Hey! I’ve been getting better!”
In a week, you were back at his place, more excited than him to film this video. You’d helped prepare a little script should he need it, and you were fluffing all the pillows so they looked nice on camera.
“Let’s have an entryway shot, those always look so cool!”
“Whatever you say.” Sukuna was merely a puppet on your strings, maneuvering however you saw fit. He made his hands as steady as possible getting b-roll shots of everything in advance.
“If you forget what to say, remember I made a script!” With that final warning, you were standing at the entrance to his apartment and waving your hand. “Okay, start!”
“Hi people on the internet. This is my house tour that (Y/N) is making me do.”
“Shut up!” You laughed behind the camera, trying not to shake it.
“This is my kitchen and dining room, (Y/N) picked out the table and chairs for me.” Doing a sweep over the kitchen, he transitioned to the living room. “And this is the lounge room, where (Y/N) picked out the couch and rug, and my desk stuff over there.”
“Yeah, Sukuna had no rugs in his apartment before!”
“Mhmm.” Somehow Sukuna managed to not stumble over his words, easily recalling parts of the script you had written for him. Highlighting the fake plants and cheap art on the walls, the two of you stood in the bathroom together.
“Look, it’s us!” You waved to the camera in the mirror, nudging your shoulder with Sukuna. Suddenly, the image of getting ready in the morning with you or winding down after a long day together in the bath flashed before Sukunas eyes. What would it be like to come into the bathroom while you were in the shower and join you? Give you a shoulder massage under the hot running water, or to brush his teeth and tell you to hurry up and not waste water.
“And this is the bedroom.” Quickly exiting the bathroom, Sukuna hid his blush with his hand as he entered the room.
“Hold this.” Shoving the camera in his hands, you leapt onto the bed. “This is where I sleep!” Your laugh was easy and you rolled around his bed a few times, simply having fun wrinkling the sheets.
“Uh- w-wha-” Sukuna nearly dropped the camera in shock. Seeing you in his bed, even if it was just on top of the sheets fully clothed, made his heart stop. Gripping the camera hard in his suddenly sweaty hands, Sukuna nearly tossed it to the side and joined you.
“Just kidding!” You were already climbing out of bed as soon as that thought entered his head. “But isn’t this room pretty? I picked out most of the stuff in here too.” Just like that you were back to normal, talking about some random print on the wall that he’d ordered per your suggestion.
Needless to say, Sukuna had a hard time falling asleep that night, the image of you in his bed burned into his mind like it was the only thought he’d ever have again. His imagination was going wild, and he tossed and turned all night - even after relieving some tension.
With his new desk setup, Sukuna felt motivated to edit the video as fast as he could. What you said about improving his living quarters was true; now that his place looked nice, he felt nice in turn. He even left in the part where you jumped on his bed, adding a funny break in the video like you’d shown him.
‘IT’S CONFIRMED. IT’S CONFIRMED. THEY’RE DATING’
‘sirpohdjb my ship has sailed!!’
‘I come here to see why sukunax(Y/N) is trending and it’s this bullshit?? Y’all need to get a life’
Sukuna often felt like a fool when he was with you, and sometime after as well. Even from the first comment he left on your Instagram, he knew people shipped you together and wanted you to date. He felt embarrassed more times than not, but it seemed he never learned his lesson. That scene of you on his bed had gone viral and he regretted leaving it in.
But could you blame him? You made his head spin, most of the time leaving him incapable of doing anything else beside standing in his place looking stupid. It was hard to edit the videos you did together because reliving the footage made him dizzy all over again.
(Y/N): SUKUNA. ANSWER ME ITS URGENT
It was the middle of the day in the middle of the week and Sukuna had nothing better to do than laze around and do nothing. Except now, he was texting you back with his heart suddenly pounding.
Sukuna: what?! Is something wrong where are you??
So much adrenaline was coursing through his body that he had started to shake.
(Y/N): I just got a great idea, I need to know if you’ll do a video with me!
What the fuck.
“What the fuck?” Sukuna said out loud, staring at his phone in disbelief. This is what was so urgent? Nearly sending him into an early grave for a possible video?
Sukuna: what the fuck I thought it was serious
Sukuna: I thought you were in trouble
He wasn’t upset per say, but Sukuna was definitely annoyed.
(Y/N): sorry :( i didn’t mean to scare you
Sukuna: you did more than scare me
(Y/N): I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!
Now Sukuna felt bad and it wasn’t even his fault. In all the time you’d known each other, you never had a negative interaction. He waited five minutes for you to text something, but you didn’t and it was making him anxious all over again.
Sukuna: well tell me what the idea is
(Y/N): no, it’s okay it was a stupid idea anyway
It took you another five minutes to respond, and your answer made Sukuna groan.
Sukuna: you got me all worked up and you’re just gonna leave me hanging?
He had to rectify the situation somehow.
(Y/N): I just thought...of maybe doing your makeup for a video?
Sukuna: what
(Y/N): I told you it was stupid! Just forget it
Sukuna: shut up it’s not stupid
As typing bubbles appeared and then disappeared, Sukuna could just imagine the way your cheeks puffed out indignantly.
(Y/N): here’s a link to someone else who did it with her boyfriend, they had so much fun together!
(Y/N): let me know if you wanna do it, I think it could be a lot of fun…
Sukuna only needed to look at the thumbnail to know he would say yes. The two people on the screen were very close, with the girl nearly touching her boyfriend's face with her own. They had big smiles on their faces as well, and that enticed him more.
Sukuna: I’ll do it
(Y/N): really?? That’s awesome! Come over to my place on Friday, we’ll order pizza and make a day of it!
And that’s how Sukuna found himself in your filming room, stomach full of pizza with a disgustingly cute green frog headband keeping his hair back. He’d seen this room a hundred times in the backgrounds of your videos, but now he was actually here. There were even more plushies than appeared on camera and you had a humidifier going in the corner.
“Okay now stay still, I’m going to wipe a toner on your face.” He had no idea what that meant, watching you with curious eyes pick up a bottle from the table in front of you and dab the liquid onto a cotton pad. “Usually I use my hands to apply toner, but we wanna wipe the dust off.”
With a gentle hand, you held Sukuna by the chin and swiped the cotton across his face, it’s soft chemical scent wafting into his nose. It felt nice, having you apply toner and moisturizer on his face. The most he ever applied was sunscreen, but maybe he could convince you to do his skincare for him every day.
“So today, I chose this makeup look by Beyoncés makeup artist! It’s a really popular style called ‘soft glam’.” Sukuna nodded along with you like he understood what you meant, taking a glance at the picture on your phone before you showed it to the camera. “I think Sukuna would really fit this kind of look, he is a natural beauty afterall.”
“Shut up.” He snorted, a light flush heating his cheeks.
“It’s true! There’s so many comments under your house tour video saying how good you look with the new furniture.” You spoke about the new makeup you bought for the video as you applied the products. Sukuna tried to keep up with what you were doing and saying, but he couldn’t really contribute anything to the conversation about makeup.
“Tuck your lips in so you don’t get foundation in your mouth.”
“What?” He jerked away right as you lifted the small dish you had with what he assumed was foundation.
“I don’t think you want to eat makeup, do you?” You chuckled and pat him on the cheek. “Tuck your lips in.” Doing as you asked, Sukuna flinched when you gripped the back of his head. “Try not to move too much, I want it to be even.”
As you applied the foundation and subsequently the concealer and powder, Sukuna barely moved. In fact, he barely breathed. You had leaned in far closer than you’ve ever been to him, your breath lightly fanning over his face as you worked to smooth everything out.
The hand on the back of his head dipped down to rest at the base of his neck, your body coming to lean more onto him as time went by. You were speaking, Sukuna could hear it, but he wasn’t responding. The excuse was he didn’t want to mess you up, but in truth he couldn’t find any words to say.
“Look at you!” Holding up a mirror for him, you laughed at his shocked face. “How do you like it?”
“I look so flat.” Turning his head side to side, Sukuna lifted a hand to touch his face.
“Don’t touch it, you’ll mess it up!” Snatching his hand away, you held it tightly in your grasp. Sukuna was thankful for the layer of makeup he had on now, no one could see his blush.
“What’s next? This eyeshadow shit?” He picked up a product on a whim, opening it up and staring at it. “Why’s there only two colors? Why are both of them brown?”
“That’s contour, we’ll get to that! This is the eyeshadow!”
Putting eyeshadow on Sukuna was harder than both of you thought. Not used to the feeling of the brush, he twitched every time it was swiped across his eyelid. Through plenty of trial and error, and many times of you telling him to just take a deep breath, you got through it.
“I’m gonna have to cut out so much of you flinching.” You teased, checking the camera to make sure everything was still working.
“I don’t get how you can do this shit, it’s fucking awful.” All Sukuna wanted to do was rub his eyes and face until his skin went raw.
“We aren’t even at the worst part yet: eyeliner.” Taking a seat, you lifted up a simple black pen.
“Oh god.” Hanging his head, Sukuna said a quick prayer for his eyes before straightening up and taking a deep breath.
“Sukuna, I gotta ask you something.”
“What is it?” Cracking an eye open, you were looking at him with your lip caught between your teeth.
“Can I...I need to sit in your lap to do eyeliner.” Sukuna audibly and quite loudly gasped in shock, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. “When I help my friends with eyeliner I sit in their laps! It’s just easier that way!”
“I-I uhm- okay?” He eventually forced the word out, copying your movements and turning his chair to face yours. “What uh- what should I…?”
“Sit still.” Pulling your chair flush with his, you pushed Sukuna’s legs closed and scooted up his thighs until your butt was firmly seated on him. Wrapping an arm around his shoulder, you uncapped the eyeliner. “There, now I can get started.”
Sukuna was in so much shock, he didn’t move. Even when the eyeliner tickled the inner corner of his eye, even when you moved his hands to rest near your lower back so you wouldn’t slide off, even when you did the bottom lashline, he was frozen.
If this is what heaven looked like for him, he would gladly take it and never leave. Your face was so close, he could feel it even when his eyes were closed. The soft skin of your hand held his powdered cheek gently, keeping yourself steady as you drew the lines on his eyes.
“All done.” You whispered. Sukuna opened his eyes and made a noise in the back of his throat; your face was close enough that if he tried to focus too hard he’d go cross eyed. You weren’t paying attention to his reaction at all, too focused on making sure his eyes were even.
The rest of the time went by in a blur. You’d slid off his lap after that, diving right into putting more powders on his cheeks. Swiping thick gloss on his lips is what drew him out of his stupor and into another one as you once again held his chin, swiping the corner of his mouth with your thumb when you were done.
“Sukuna, you look so good!” You said with a slight whine, showing all angles of his face off to the camera before showing him. “You have to promise when you get rich and famous and become a global celebrity that you won’t forget about me.”
“Shut up, you know I won’t.” He said with a smirk, swiping the mirror from you. “(Y/N)...I look fucking hot.” Bursting into laughter, you wiped imaginary sweat off your brow.
“Well I guess I don’t have to ask how you like it!” Patting him on the back, you got up to stretch and check the camera one last time.
“Would you fuck me, ‘cause I’d fuck me.” Sukuna said to himself, striking a few poses in the mirror and for the camera. “Hey, you watching this video you better fucking share this with all your friends. Everyone needs to see how hot I am.”
“We should have ordered you some clothes, turned you into an Instagram baddie!” You teased from behind the camera.
“Please, I don’t need fancy clothes when I’m this sexy.” Running a hand through his hair, Sukuna pointed the mirror at you. “Be honest (Y/N), you wanna date me right now. I look so hot, I bet I’m gonna have thousands of DM’s.” Sukuna’s confidence was the highest it's ever been around you. For some reason, the makeup gave him more assurance.
“Well let me know when to schedule a date with you then, I’d love to grab dinner sometime.”
“I’ll have my assistant pencil you in.” He joked, looking back at himself in the mirror. Sitting back down, you ended the video and made Sukuna wave to the camera. Not turning off the lights you used to film, you made him snap several pictures with you.
“This video was so much fun, Sukuna, thank you!” Rocking back and forth in your seat, you had a demure look while you fiddled with your phone. “And I wasn’t joking about dinner. I really like you, Sukuna.” That made Sukuna stop in his tracks, nearly throwing the mirror down in shock as he turned to look at you.
“Huh?!”
“I-I mean- I mean I like hanging out with you!” Obviously embarrassed, you leaped from your seat and began turning the filming lights off, pointedly avoiding his gaze. Both yours and Sukunas faces were burning with embarrassment, awkwardly not looking at each other.
“(Y/N)...” Sukuna half stood from his chair, forcing himself to move despite how awkward he felt. “I-”
“Let’s wash off that makeup now, I bet it’s uncomfortable.” Keeping your eyes trained on the floor, you went to the door. “I’ll show you what to use in the bathroom.”
The tension in the air was thick after that, and it remained that way for a few days after. Sukuna knew what he heard, he saw how your face looked as you said you liked him, he could hear the sincerity in your voice. But it obviously wasn’t something you were ready to say, as evident as you not texting him as much as you usually did.
When the video went up, Sukuna immediately felt butterflies in his stomach all over again watching it. Reminded of how close you were to him made him ache to have you near him, and seeing you sitting on his lap had another feeling rising in his stomach, warming him up in an embarrassing way.
He patrolled the comments as usual, but there were no mean ones that he could yell at. All of them were screaming about how the video just confirms that the two of you are dating, and surprisingly they weren’t calling out him for looking like he was in love with you.
The comments teased you this time, keen longtime viewers of yours pointing out specific timestamps where you looked embarrassed or looked like you wanted to kiss him. Sukuna checked out every single one, liking the comment for showing him that what you said earlier wasn’t a mistake.
Ever since that day, it seemed like you were promoting on Instagram and Twitter a lot more. Sukuna already had notifications turned on for all your socials and there was a definite uptick in your content posted to those platforms.
There were more sponsored posts and polls posted asking your followers for style advice, and which beauty items they preferred more. Sukuna was happy to see you got an increase in brand deals from the video you did together, a video that had now easily reached five million views and counting. He congratulated you whenever he saw a sponsored post, sending you cute little emojis along with the praise.
All week you had been hinting that there was a big announcement coming, a major event in your life that you were so excited to share with everyone. Sukuna, along with all your other followers, ate up all the crumbs you left throughout the week. Many suspected you were going to go work for a designer label, while others assumed you’d announce a sudden marriage.
(Y/N): Sukuna, check Instagram!
You texted him in the evening on Friday, but he didn’t need the update. He was already on your page when the post was dropped, waiting impatiently for the picture to load.
“A TV show, huh?” As he read the promo photo, he smiled. Appearing on a TV show was a big opportunity for you, one that was sure to lead to many more. Your role wasn’t stated in the photo, but your promo picture was a professional one no doubt taken at a studio.
“Wait, what?” When Sukuna got to the caption, he took a pause. Why were you going on a dating show? He read the words over and over, hoping for a different outcome each time. But there was no denying you’d be going on a dating show.
Checking out the show's page, Sukuna let out a groan. All the male contestants were hot and not even he could deny it. Some had muscles like he did, others were more unconventionally attractive.
Sukuna: you’re going on a dating show?
It took him a while to text you back. In fact, it took nearly thirty minutes for him to text you. Sukuna had gone through all five stages of grief several times, coming back to being in denial over and over again.
Dragging his feet to his kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of wine that one of his rich clients at the gym gifted him. Popping the cork, he collapsed onto his couch and took a long drink from the bottle.
(Y/N): yeah, I’m super nervous!
Sukuna: I bet
Oh, did he fucking bet. He’d gone through all the male contestants' Instagram pages, trying to talk them down in an attempt to lessen the blow that he could potentially lose you to one of them. Why did he have to wait so long to confess to you? Now the chance was gone, possibly forever.
(Y/N): what do you think about the show? I was kind of scared to take the deal
You didn’t want to know how he really felt.
Sukuna: it’s a great opportunity, great for exposure and it’s a lot of money
(Y/N): that’s true!! I’ll have to treat you to dinner with my first TV check!
Just great, a chance for you to gush about whoever you met on the dating show. Taking another long drink from the bottle, Sukuna crumpled even more into his couch. Back were the stages of grief, each emotion washing over him until he mustered up the courage to do something about it.
“Hello?” You answered the phone, confused as to why Sukuna called you instead of replying to your messages.
“(Y/N).” Sukuna said your name firmly, honing in on a spot in the ceiling. Swallowing around a growing lump in his throat, Sukuna forced the next words out. “I like you. I-I really, really like you.”
“What?” He could hear you gasp over the phone.
“I know, what kind of asshole confesses to you when you’re about to go on a TV dating show?” He chuckled, taking a deep breath. “But it’s true. I wanna be your boyfriend, (Y/N). I know it’s too late to back out of the show but-”
“Sukuna-”
“No, let me say this. I know it’s too late to back out, and-”
“Sukuna!”
“And I don’t want to hold you back from finding someone better suited-”
“Sukuna!”
“Better suited for you than me. I’m just a dumb, muscled up chump that-”
“Sukuna I’m a stylist, not a contestant!” You were finally able to get a word in, face flushed from the sudden onslaught of emotions going through you. Sukuna was silent on the other end, mouth hanging open as he processed the words.
“Y-you’re a...a stylist? So you won’t be dating any of them?” He whispered after a few moments, the shock starting to wear off and being replaced with humiliation.
“Yeah, I’ll be on the styling team.” Your voice also dropped to a whisper, the weight of his words beginning to settle down on the both of you.
“Oh god.” Putting the bottle down, Sukuna slapped himself in the forehead. He had never felt like a bigger idiot than in this moment. “Sorry, I’m so sorry, just- just forget it.”
“No.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to forget it. I...I want you to be my boyfriend too, Sukuna.” There was a pregnant pause, and you could practically hear Sukuna’s brain working overdrive.
“Let’s go out on a date!” He shouted, pushing himself off the couch and to a shaky stand. “I’m free whenever, let’s go on a date!” The alcohol was definitely affecting him more than he first thought, and Sukuna fell back down onto the couch.
“Really? Okay, how about tomorrow? That’s like the only day with good weather for the rest of the week.”
“I’ll pick you up at noon.”
Sleeping restlessly through the night, Sukuna woke up way earlier than his alarm. Taking an obscene amount of time getting ready, he was still early to your house. Taking a lap around the block, he went to a flower shop and bought you a handful of flowers.
“Hi.” Your voice was soft, almost meek as you entered his car.
“Hey. I got you these.” Handing you the flowers, Sukuna bit his lip nervously.
“That’s so sweet, thank you!” Gently hugging them to your chest, your nerves began to melt away and you smiled, making Sukuna smile as well.
Sukuna once again had you pick the cafe you were going to. This one was in a bustling downtown street, not in the middle of the countryside, and as you two walked down the street there were couples passing you left and right.
Snagging an outdoor seat, Sukuna went inside to order for you. This cafe, unlike the last, actually served coffee and Sukuna was quick to get a large cup of it. Buying a few croissants cutely decorated with various creams, he went back outside.
“Say, you’re really cute, why don’t we sit and chat for a bit?” An unknown man was standing near your table, and Sukuna caught the tail end of his sentence.
“N-no, I’m good.” Your eyes were glued to your lap, obviously uncomfortable with the attention you were receiving.
“Aw, really? A pretty face like yours shouldn’t be all alone!” The man had a sleazy grin on his face, visibly eyeing you up in a salacious manner. “My name is-”
“Baby, who’s this guy?” Sukuna had had enough. Stepping right up to the table, he nearly slammed the tray in his hands down on the table. Your head shot up, relief flashing across your face.
“Who are you?” The man scoffed, curling his lip in disgust.
“I’m their boyfriend. Who the fuck are you?” Puffing up his chest a little bit, Sukuna stared the man down.
“Boyfriend? They didn’t say anything about having a boyfriend.” The man attempted to look at you again, but Sukuna beat him to it and caught your eye instead.
“Geez baby, I know we had that fight before we came but I’m hurt! If I get rid of this creep, will you call me your boyfriend again?” Laying a heavy hand on the man's shoulder, Sukuna gave it a squeeze.
“Y-you’re always gonna be my boyfriend, dummy.”
“That just warms my heart!” Sighing loudly, Sukuna gave the man a not so subtle push away from the table. “Well, you heard ‘em. Get lost, you worthless sack of shit.” Grumbling, the man walked away and Sukuna took his rightful seat next to you.
“Thank you.” Immediately, you latched onto him, squeezing his arm in a tight hug as you pressed your face into his shoulder.
“It’s okay, I’m here.” Wrapping you up more tightly in a hug, Sukuna pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “I would have beat him up if you wanted. Men are fucking disgusting.”
“Sukuna, you are a man.” You laughed lightly.
“Exactly my point.” Rubbing a hand on your back, Sukuna picked up one of the croissants. “I hope you like these because I can already tell it’ll be too sweet for me.” You laughed again and sat up, keeping your face close to his.
“I have something sweet for you too, I hope you like it.”
“What is it?” Quirking a brow, Sukuna jumped when you planted your lips on his. The kiss didn’t last long and the taste of your lip balm and feel of your lips was permanently engraved into Sukunas brain.
“There.” Your cheeks were absolutely on fire, shame rolling off of you in waves at having your first kiss in a crowded cafe on a busy day in the city. It wasn’t even a particularly romantic setting, but something spurred you to do it.
“W-what the hell! You can’t just do that!” Sukuna gasped, his own cheeks burning a deep, scalding red. “You gotta warn a guy first!” His dramatics were drawing attention from the other patrons, making the situation even worse.
“Sshh, you’re being too loud!”
“Like I care! Kiss me again, I’m ready this time!” Grabbing you by the shoulders, Sukuna tried to kiss you.
“W-wait, there’s people watching!”
“I don’t give a fuck who’s watching!” Grabbing your chin, Sukuna kissed you much firmer than when you kissed him. It lasted longer as well, bordering on too long for what is accepted in public. “There.” Pulling away slightly out of breath, Sukuna sat back in his seat and took a sip of his coffee.
“You’re so embarrassing.” You whined, hiding your face in your hands and hitting Sukuna with your head.
“All I’m hearing is how great of a boyfriend I am.”
“No you’re not.” You countered, getting wrapped in a side hug by Sukuna.
“It’s debatable.” Picking up the croissant he dropped, Sukuna took a bite. “Hm, this is sweet but not as sweet as that kiss you gave me.”
“Sukuna!”
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Just Two Things: A Young Royals Fix-It Fic
His mama had stood over him as she began talking. Wilhelm could hardly focus; the vision of the video (his video, his and Simon’s video, the video of Simon) burned into his brain on a constant loop. She hadn't asked him if he was alright, not yet, but he had stopped expecting her to early on in life. Duty first, he guessed, as usual. She pulled away and off the bed, rattled off the words about the interview he’ll do to protect the royal family et cetera, et cetera.
“I don’t want you to see Simon for the time being,” she said, and he glanced up, suddenly feeling like his world is fell away underneath him. He wished Erik were here, that Erik was still alive. If he were, then maybe this would all go away. He doubted any of it could now.
--
August brought him dinner that night when he’s too exhausted to even leave his bed. He said that Erik would want Wille to be himself - but how is August so sure of what Erik would want him to do to fix this, to just get this whole shitshow over with, when the only person who knows that is six feet under.
“Follow your heart, really.” August said. “Follow your heart.”
If anything his heart only thought of two things at the moment. One is the crumpled up rage he feels that’s been broiling under his skin since he saw the video; the screaming, panicked wild thing that wants to shout at the world and watch it shouts back until no part of him remains, no crown prince, nothing.
The other part of his brain thought of Simon. Holding him, soft and warm until his skin, kissing his neck and inhaling as much of him as possible. Kissing him, kissing Simon, an exhilarating feeling he can’t describe, he won’t ever be able to describe. Almost all of the girls he had kissed had kissed gently and slowly, like they were afraid he would disappear right next to them. It always felt like he was being kissed by air, a ghostly possession that was over in a second and just as uncomfortable.
He would have thought that Simon would kiss like that, he had thought Simon would kiss like that, Simon had kissed like that, before they really truly got to know one another. Now, Simon kissed hard and rough, like he knew Wilhelm wouldn’t disappear but just as quick, aware he couldn’t have him by himself ever. Simon’s kiss had the edge of sandpaper, tough grit and fine smoothness rolled into one. Simon kissed for the sake of it, like there was so much he wanted to do to Wille, do with Wille, that he simply couldn’t function enough to do anything but kiss him. Wille fell asleep soon after that, dinner discarded. He wondered if the last time they would ever kiss would be the time that caused both of him to want to recoil from society and away from the world. A part of him hoped so.
The nail on his thumb was raw and bleeding.
--
As he walked through Hillerska, everyone stared at him in pity. He was used to the stares, used to the way his simple presence shut up people around until all they could do was give him a dumb look. It was pity that was new to him, but he tried not to focus on that as Malin rushed with him to his first class of the day. He knew the things they were saying, drove himself insane as he googled himself over and over again, watching Sweden’s trending page unravel until it felt like it was all over. He watched as Simon walked into their classroom, turning heads for once in his life. Once except for the amount of times he had his, of course. He mindlessly made small talk with his classmate, but all he could think of were two things.
After class he rushed into the locker room to talk to Simon. He looked sullen, his features that were generally framed in a light source of their own were moody and dark, an awkward, ill fitting portrait. He wanted to kiss it all away. Instead, kicked at Simon’s foot, hooking the two into a game of footsie.
“What the hell are we going to do?” Simon asked, wrapping his hands around Wilhelm’s, as if he had any of the answers. Breaking news, he didn’t. All he could do was sit in silence and hold Simon, it felt like the only thing he could do. Unless…
“They’ve asked me to deny it was me in that video.” He could barely get the words out.
“Serious?”
Wille hummed, unable to interpret that reaction. “They want me to make a statement at the castle on Saturday.”
Simon turned, his head moving off of Wille's shoulder in a way that feels entirely unwelcome. Put that back please. Wille had realized that he could only really function anymore in Simon’s arms. As if he wasn’t touch starved enough, but Simon was hot and didn’t mind so it didn’t really matter. “But you’re not going to do it, right?”
“I don’t want to say anything.” Simon doesn’t get it, but Wilhelm doesn’t expect him too; too impossible to explain.
“But, Wille, everyone can see that it’s me in that video,” Wille groaned. He had forgotten that slightly important detail. Simon continued, “What am I supposed to do? But no matter what, they can’t dictate what you say,” Yes, they absolutely can, they’ve done it before.
We haven’t done anything wrong.” He had forgotten that too, spending so much time yesterday going over consequences and contingencies ranging from plan A to Z it made his head bled. But no one had actually told him that they hadn’t done anything wrong. Not even August, with his love is love attitude that came out of nowhere. Not even fucking him.
--
Mama had been waiting for him. Mama had met Simon. She never looked twice at Wilhelm, veiled disdain souring her mouth as she stared out the window.
“What? Why can’t I just have a relationship with him? And not say anything. Just live a normal life.” He knows why. He just wants to hear her say it.
“You’re the crown prince.” And there’s the world crashing back down onto him. “And that’s a privilege, not a punishment.” It’s both actually, but whatever, mama.
“Yes, but I didn’t ask for this!” Erik should be here. Erik would know what to do.
“Well, nobody has ever, ever asked for this,” his mama shot back. He feels like a little kid again, feels like biting his thumb raw. “You’re the only one who can take over the throne after Erik. Don’t you understand that?” He wished she would just look at him.
“You’re so young. When you’re young love feels like the most important thing in the world. When I was your age, I too had an unfortunate romance.” He wants to laugh or cry or release that panicked, clawed, anxious feeling that’s always been trapped underneath his chest, beating his heart faster and faster and faster. Unfortunate romance, she said, like Simon isn’t the best thing to happen to him, like Simon wasn’t the only one holding him together, like Simon wasn’t the only real thing in his world.
He snapped back into the conversation.“Is it worth it,” she continued. “If you feel that the attention you’ve been getting so far is unacceptable, it’s nothing compared to what you will endure for the rest of your life. We have a chance to cover this up. I urge you to take this chance. You may not get another.”
With Simon on one shoulder, and his mama and the world on the other, it turns out he was going to make the statement after all. Fucking great.
--
He felt like throwing up, but, to be fair, when hasn’t he.
“Are you ready?” His mama asked, like he could ever be ready to announce to the world, no that definitely was not me in that tape and that boy is definitely not the love of my life, thank you very much.
He dragged his feet, as he went into the room where Rosenqvists sits. Like Mama said, they only have one chance to not fuck this up.
Rosenqvist smiles at Wilhelm, her eyes hawkish. He musters as much of a smile as he can, playing with the buttons on his suit as the photographer directs the two around.
“It’s good to see you again, your highness.”
His eyes darted around the room. He could hear his mama and papa argue in the room they were in
“You too.”
The interview began then, menial questions about his existence that made him want to bite at his thumb. He resisted, knew that if Rosenqvist saw how his anxiety was surging through him like a freight train and mentioned it in her interview, his mama would be more angry then she already was. The questions are simple really, he barely thought about the answers and more about how Erik would have phrased them. Not like Erik would have been in this situation.
“So, Wilhelm, we both know why we’re here.” She smiled apologetically at him. Here we go. “As you are, no doubt, aware of by now there was a video from Hillerska that is going viral of what is rumored to be yourself and another male student,” she paused for a moment, uncomfortable with the what she’s about to say to a boy she’d been interviewing for most of his life, “being intimate. What do you have to say about these rumors, Crown Prince Wilhelm?” She’s less probing, then. He can tell his mom already prepped her on how exactly this interview needed to go. Fuck.
“That’s not-” his words got stuck in his throat.
“That’s not you in the video?” She filled, looking more and more saddened with each word, more maternal that he thinks he’s seen anyone in his entire life. He wanted to nod, wanted to do what his mama wanted for him, wanted to listen to what she feels is best for their country, because it is theirs now, isn’t it? Erik is dead and gone and never coming back no matter how much Wilhelm wishes he had been able to keep him alive. Wilhelm doesn’t exactly know much about what it takes to be king, not like Erik did, but he’s pretty sure a leaked tape is one thing a king is not supposed to have on his record. Wilhelm should want to deny the rumors, so why does it feel like every time he tries to open his mouth that it’s filled with cotton, that panicked wild thing grabbing hold of his brain and shaking it like his snowglobe. It’s begging him to choose the path of least resistance. And then there was Simon. Simon with his pretty soft voice and his even softer lips. Simon with his kind eyes and hands and just Simon, Simon, Simon. Simon, who has already been broken by the video and if Wilhelm denies their relationship then he’ll only break more. The only things he can think about. Just two things. Two things he can’t seem to choose between.
He took a deep breath. Erik would have wanted him to follow his heart, would have said that that would be how he becomes a great king. By being kind and good, and wholly himself.
He chose.
--
Simon’s mama shouts for a rematch as he laughed into his snack.
Ayub tensed next to him, “Oh, shit.”
“What’s up?” Simon asked, confused. Did his dad ask him to go home or something?
Instead, Ayub read from his phone: an online copy of this week’s Göteborgs-Posten screenshotted and reposted to Twitter. “The Crown Prince addresses rumors of Viral Video.”
“What?” He could have sworn Willie had said he wouldn’t do the interview. His mom and Sara exchange glances.
Ayub read on, “While the Royal Court denies rumors that the Crown Prince appears in the video that has gone viral this past week, his royal highness Prince Wilhelm goes more in depth on his time at Hillerska and the events surrounding the video. He says, ‘I started at Hillerska to focus on my studies and have kept to that.’ At this moment, the prince pauses and grows quiet.
‘That’s not the entire truth. The truth is that that is me in the video. I do not know who took it or why but the facts remain the same. There are many people who would want me to not address the rumors surrounding me at this time, and some even would want me to outright deny them, but I disagree. If I am to be king, and no matter what happens from this I will be king, I want to be the kind of king the people can be proud of, the kind of king my brother would have been, and the kind of king that if he saw me he’d be proud of. And that starts by being genuine and being myself to the citizens of Sweden and to the world.’ ‘Everyone should be allowed to live as gay or straight or whatever they want,’ says the Crown Prince. ‘And I suppose the former includes me, but I would still like this time to decide further who I am and what kind of king I will be.’”
Simon is stunned. Of all things, he didn’t think of this as even an option. He fishes his phone out of his pocket.
To Wille: just read the interview, what. the. fuck.
From Wille: Is that a good “what. the. fuck!!!” or a “bad what. the. fuck?!?”
To Wille: you’re so brave, wille, thank you
To Wille: also according to ayub youre trending as “gay king wilhelm” on twitter rn
From Wille: Fuck yeah, bow down to your king. Meet me before school starts tomorrow, courtyard?
To Wille: see you then, gay king willie
As Simon approached the school - having already been stopped by four journalists, three photographers, two nosy neighbors and one blogger - he could see as Wille nervously paced at the edge of the courtyard, his hand rubbed deep into his chest, shirt creasing around it. Simon couldn't even begin to imagine what had happened in the palace after Wille’s interview. From what he saw the queen didn’t really strike him as the accepting type, but that was one of those things he’d let Wille discuss on his own time. He snuck up behind Wille instead, held his arms and kissed his neck.
“Hello, my prince,” he said and twirled Wille around and into his arms. Wille let out a little sigh of relief and if he could have held Willie there for forever he would. Wille smiles at him and kisses him on the cheek.
“Can we just go one day Simon without having your weird relationship issues making a scene,” Sara huffed past and quickened her pace to the school. Simon hadn’t noticed the stares, it felt like everyone in the courtyard had been watching them from Felice to August to other boarders Simon couldn’t name, but that had definitely called him names. Simon can’t bring himself to care anymore.
“I’m so proud of you, Wille.” Wilhelm let out a little noise, the only amount of negative emotion that being schooled on refinement since before he could talk would allow. He grabbed at Simon’s coat and drew him in for a hug.
“I love you,” Wille said and suddenly Simon’s whole world had shrunk down to three words.
Wille quickly ended the hug and walked towards the school, his bodyguards following quick after. Simon speed walked up to him and grabbed his hand, “I love you too.” Wille broke out into that tiny golden smile Simon loved to tease out and grabbed Simon’s hand.
The stares followed but Simon didn’t care. “Just two things left,” he said, “Get through this last day before break and then find whoever took that video.”
“And then?”
“I haven’t gotten that far yet,”
Wille hummed and played with Simon’s as they settled at the doorway of their first class of the day, “You might want to work on your plans.”
“No, my plan only needs those two things.” Simon messied with Wilhelm’s hair and strolled into the classroom.
Wille followed after one hand fixing his hair, the other clutching at Simon’s hand, muttering, “Just two things?”
Just two things.
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feelingofcontent · 2 years
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DNP Rewatch: Why I Went To Hospital
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Date video was published: 11/15/2018 (X)
DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 383
Scary title there, Phil. Although, both DNP had posted on social media (1, 2, 3) when this was actually happening earlier in November (which was surprising!). Phil posted a story right after he filmed this too.
0:00 - this is still one my favorite Phil jumpers. also, his quiff is very high in this
0:13 - it’s good that he says he’s find up front
0:27 - he had been using that editing effect a lot in recent videos
0:42 - the “caveman” examples are a fun way to frame the context
1:03 - that sounds so unpleasant to deal with; I hate having a headache
1:16 - Phil laughing at his own morbidity...but yeah, sometimes I have that attitude about health things which is maybe not the best
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1:38 - I hope Dan let him have the heat up!
1:53 - Phil is very descriptive about things and I love it
2:12 - Chris Hemsworth and dogs in his dreams...of course
2:28 - 5am does not seem like the middle of the night to me, but they way DNP’s sleep schedule seems to be, it is for them
2:32 - important emoji pajamas detail there
2:42 - I feel like you can suddenly see him realize he needs to be careful with the house layout description here
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2:58 - editing skills coming in handy here, although this actually happening must have been so scary
3:14 - poor Phil...freaking out is definitely an appropriate reaction to that
3:23 - Phil linked to PJ’s video in the description too
3:38 - oh Phil 🙁 I feel that though...I would just want to handle it myself too if I thought I could
3:48 - he’s lucky he didn’t hit his head on anything in the bathroom, yikes
3:56 - priorities, Phil 😂
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4:05 - did they take this picture for this video specifically, or did they just have it
4:19 - eventually willing to at least get Dan to help
4:22 - the flop backwards here is great; king of comedy Phil
4:28 - “I think he’s a really heavy sleeper” sure, right. also his imitation of Dan’s “wot” 😂
4:38 - yeah I imagine that would immediately make Dan panic too
4:40 - giving us all the details 👀
4:42 - god Phil is a great storyteller
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5:00 - Phil’s delivery of “was toast” here always makes me laugh out loud...but yeah, maybe not the best idea at the time
5:33 - I’m glad he did go get it checked out...headaches that last a long time scare me
5:52 - I want to know if she did ever get someone who said “yes” to that
6:03 - “accidental dab” 😂
6:12 - sometimes want to move to the UK just for the ability to actually get healthcare like scans that are needed without waiting for an insurance company to approve it
6:40 - yeah, waiting would be the worst bit
7:00 - this could not have helped Phil’s anxiety about it
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7:35 - they do seem to have wanted to check thoroughly which is good
7:41 - don’t blame him for not wanting that
7:48 - aww, sweet 🥺
8:14 - “thankfully not at the same time” 😂
8:20 - that’s a very common type of test
8:55 - that sounds the opposite of relaxing
9:00 - I can feel the awkward through the screen
9:19 - Phil is definitely a fidgety person
9:40 - awww, polite Phil not wanting to be any trouble
10:04 - haha at the reference back to that video from 2014
10:11 - it is so weird...I think I would have some disconnect of it actually being me
10:25 - yeah the eyes are a bit disturbing
10:30 - “oooo...so squishy” sure
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10:49 - the fast cuts between every thought that he just keeps saying is great
10:59 - I think Phil has watched a few too many horror movies...
11:37 - that was around Phil’s birthday in 2010. he talked about it in Worst Birthday EVER!!
12:04 - of course his imitation of his body’s “voice” is very northern
12:22 - I really hope he’s gotten better and not overworking so much
12:49 - he tweeted about that too
13:19 - I love encouraging Phil 🥺
Phil had definitely been getting more open on YouTube throughout 2018 and this is kind of the culmination of that. And it’s great, because I think Phil is really good at talking about honest, or even scary, topics while still being entertaining and making those in his audience who might be dealing with something similar feel not alone. All to say, the “hospital” videos from Phil are actually some of my favorites.
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rachelbethhines · 3 years
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Tangled Salt Marathon - “Rapunzel Knows Best!” ( A first half of S3 Recap)
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So I decided to place the recap after Be Very Afraid for several reasons. For starters it’s where the season three hiatus took place. It’s also framed like a cliffhanger episode the same as The Great Tree and Queen for a Day; so while Cassandra’s Revenge is technically the midseason finale, Be Very Afraid functionally servers this narrative purpose better. Finally I want to keep the Cassandra heavy stuff contained in it’s own recap later same as I did for Varian’s arc in season one. 
Also keep in mind, everything I discussed in previous recaps still apply here. Nothings changed and you could argue that the issues I bring up now could have also apply to past seasons; they just happen to be at their worst here. 
Here are the past recaps 
To Filler or Not to Filler
Hey, What Ever Happened to That Varitas, Guy?
What Is the Point?
‘Whatta Twist’
And here are the episodes that’s covered in this recap
Rapunzel’s Return Part 1
Rapunzel’s Return Part 2
Return of the King 
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf
The Lost Treasure of Herz Der Sonne
No Time Like the Past
Beginnings 
The King and Queen of Hearts
Day of the Animals 
Be Very Afraid 
Poorly Defined Conflicts 
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I’m not just talking about Cassandra’s lack of goals here either, though that is a part of it. I mean in several episodes the central conflict isn’t laid out clearly enough before being resolved.  We flip from one set up to the next without ever resolving the first; like in Rapunzel’s Return when Cass and Varian fight for screen time or whenever Rapunzel is suppose to learn one lesson only for someone else to learn a completely different lesson in every other episode. And to this day I don’t know what Rapunzel and Feldspar’s subplot in Lost Treasure was suppose to be about. 
There’s also of course the ill-defined overall conflict; which at this point has become convoluted and nonsensical to the extreme, and will only grow more aggravatingly stupid as the season progresses. The main villains lack clear goals, their motivations don’t align with previously stated facts, and the actual interesting conflict involving the threat of the rocks and their destruction of people’s lives and homes is just shoved under the rug and forgotten about.  
There is no story without conflict. Having the conflict be all over the place is not only confusing but makes it harder for the audience to invest in what’s going on. 
Failed Narrative Promises 
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Tying in with the above statement regarding conflicts, we have failed narrative promises. Rapunzel is repeatedly told to that she needs to learn something in several episodes only for her not to learn it at all. She either learns some unrelated ‘lesson’ that wasn’t established, (like in Rapunzel’s Return with her pervious goal about ‘opening up to others’ being switched out for a generic ‘responsibility’ lesson that at the last minute, where she doesn’t even do anything responsible,) or she winds up ‘teaching’ the opposite lesson to a different character thereby rewarding her for her bad behavior.   
And that’s just within the induvial episodes themselves; there’s also broken narrative promises through out the overall story arc; like...
no justice/redemption for Lady Caine, 
no acknowledgment that the Saporians are the victims of colonization
no conclusion regarding Corona’s murky past
no satisfying ending to Varian’s plot that sees everyone in involve grow
a poor copout of an explanation for Cassandra’s face/heel turn
The Dark Prince reveal going nowhere 
The Brotherhood being put on a bus 
King Frederic, or any royal, not being held accountable for their past actions 
Lance’s new found responsibilities just being thrown away for the tenth time 
The Disciples plot being being dropped 
next to nothing in season two winds up being relevant 
And Rapunzel, the protagonist of a coming of age story, fails to learn anything at all 
I could probably go on but you get the gist. Tangled is incredibly frustrating show to watch because doesn’t deliver what it promises. You’re not being clever by ‘subverting audiences expectations’ unless you can justify your narrative decisions with previous set up. Tangled is too lazy to build proper set ups so it’s ‘twists’ leave you wanting to punch things rather then impressing you. 
Character Assassinations 
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Every single character in Tangled the Series gets thrown under a bus, driven off a cliff, and then allowed to drown in the ocean of their completely unaware self-congratulatory smugness.  
Rapunzel is turned into a bully
Cassandra is given the idiot ball to hold permanently 
The King and Queen are lobotomized
Quinin gets replaced by a robot  
The rest of the Brotherhood are pale shadows of what they could have been 
Edmund is transformed from tragic complex figure into a dumb jerkoff who abuses his kid for a laugh 
Zhan Tiri, once an ancient demon warlock, is reduced to a floating impotent ghost girl 
The Saporians become poor hipster parodies
Cap is put on a bus
Any villain who isn’t Cass is gets ignored
Lance is infantilized to the point of absurdity
Eugene becomes a doormat 
and poor Varian is forced to become a complacent victim to his abusers as oppose to being allowed to keeping his dignity 
I think the only person who escapes this mass murder of characterization is freaking Calliope, and she’s hasn’t even appeared yet! (Well okay her and Trevor, maybe) 
This all ties back into the poorly defined conflict and failed narrative promises. Rather than let the characters drive the story, they’ve become puppets to the plot, and plot is really stupid and forced, and circles back in on itself and is full of contradictions. 
Manipulating the Audience’s Empathy to Do the Work for the Writers  
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The reason why the creators believe they can get away with such poor characterization and lazy writing is because they expect the audience to do all the heavy lifting for them.  
Cass isn’t given an on screen reason for what she does because they’re hoping her fans will just automatically excuse her because they like her/relate to her and not, you know, get mad at the writers for dumbing her down. And after all who doesn’t love the creator’s pet? Meanies! That’s who! 
No one calls out Rapunzel’s bullshit on screen, because if everyone likes her, then you, viewing audience, should too. Because if you have any sort of independent critical thinking abilities and a sense of right and wrong then clearly you’re ‘just a hater’. 
Everyone should just shut up and be satisfied that Varian is even on screen now and be grateful for the scraps that they get cause he’s not the real point of the show and according to Chris ‘Varian fans aren’t real fans’. Even though they make up most of his viewing audience. 
I could go on, but it’s just variations of the above. The writing in this series is very fond of gaslighting the audience and trying to trick them into justifying the absolute worst behaviors while desperately hoping they doesn’t noticed the continued downgrading and dismissal of characters they do like or once liked.  
And the sad thing is, it’s worked. There are people to this day that still try to justify this show’s shitty morals and bend over backwards to excuse the likes of Rapunzel, Frederic, Cassandra, and Edmund.  Worst, there are loud sections of the fandom, (usually on twitter) who think bullying is okay and follow in Chris and his characters footsteps. Most of them young impressionable girls who are now ripe for TREFS to indoctrinate because they use the same bullying tactics and excuses for authoritarianism. 
Media does effect reality, but not in the way purists and antis would have you believe. No one is going to become a violent manic from playing a video game nor a sex offender because they read a smut fic. But they very much will conform to toxic beliefs if it’s repeated enough at them by authorities they ‘trust’; like say the world wide leading company known for family entertainment and children’s media, and the ‘friends’ they find within the fandom for said company... 
I’m not saying you can’t enjoy Tangled the series or that you’re some how wrong for liking it’s characters, nor do you have to engage with every or any criticism thrown it’s way. But yes you need to think about the media you consume on some level and valid criticism is very much important to the fandom experience for precisely the above reasons. 
Conclusion    
This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg of what’s wrong with this show, but it is most of its biggest problems laid bare. Anything that haven’t covered here or in the past recaps will be explored in the final recap. Cause this is it folks; the last leg of the journey for this retrospective. When come back, hopefully next week, we’ll tackle Pascal’s Dragon.  
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