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#anyway i think she could “get away” with making a female character be so cruel and antagonistic with marthe
leojurand · 22 days
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I knew Dorothy Dunnett was a crazy crazy author from page 1 of Game of Kings, like that woman wrote what she wanted to write, cared not at all about hand holding or dumbing down her story to make it more palatable (or even marketable), and was of the "just read the books babes 🫰" approach when asked by fans to confirm or deny stuff that wasn't super clear in the story. Love her for that!
But something that makes it so much clearer to me that she was, very much, a crazy (compliment) author is the way she writes gelis in Scales of Gold. Abrasive female characters have never been popular, but to make the main female character in your series, in the first book where she has a major role, so unpleasant... and specifically unpleasant towards the main male character? I think it's so brave tbh! The ending of this book is so cruel, and it's a stinging slap in the face for both Nicholas and the reader. But Dorothy was still like "yeah well Nicholas is crazy in love with her, he doesn't want anyone else, that's the love of his life" and I don't even think it had anything to do with trusting her readers to see the vision and that they would enjoy the character development and slow burn of Nicholas and Gelis learning to love each other like normal people lol. Like that's the story she wanted to tell and that's how she wanted to tell it. And I'm sure Gelis had a lot of haters back in the day (and now), but I genuinely don't think Dorothy gave a fuck. Would have loved to discuss this over a bottle of scotch though
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eustasskidagenda · 7 months
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anon asked: Hello you <3 your writing style is so smooth, I love it! So, I would like to ask you some smutty fruity juicy smut for Law my man, Kid (maybe it will make you accept this request more easily 😇), and Sanji. Something about how they would react after being teased all the day by their s/o, like bc she’s wearing some suggestives clothes or touching them in public etc. For a female reader, if possible. And regarding the kinks, do as you wish, I trust you with the result. Hope I made the request correctly and tysm for bringing our ideas to life <333 Oh, and you can add some more characters if you want! anon, please.
Hi there! Tysm for your kind words, I'm always a bit uncertain and unconfident when I have to write scenarios in other languages than my native one ;w; So, it means a lot to me ;w; I didn't add more characters bc you already pick two of my personal fav + my ultimate fav ♡. Anyway, the meal is ready, hope it will match your expectations, thank you for requesting!☆
☆Law, Kid & Sanji after being teased all the day by their s/o
CW (generals) : MDNI, f!reader, smut, teasing
WC : 3,3k
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Law 
CW : dirty talk, fingering, overstimulation, slight degradation (usage of 'slut'), panties stuffing (mouth)
What a foolish game to tease Law. You know that, don't you? Law could write a complete book about teasing and still have much to say regarding this topic, in fact. So, sure, go ahead and tease him. Taunt him with this short skirt, bend just in front of him to grab the book you "accidentally" let fall, and try to annoy him while he's working in his office. He won't show anything, always keeping his cold and serious attitude in front of others. Law is pretty good when it comes to controlling himself. But inside, oh damn, his blood is boiling with pure desire to make you pay. Law is not one to let things fall, so he wants to avenge and he will do so.
And we all know Law is the king of shenanigans. While working, he would imagine a cruel scenario that would make you turn into a moaning, whimpering, and wet mess. He would keep thinking about it the entire day, holding back a mischievous grin as you continue to tease him. 
In fact, he thinks you're cute. You're putting in a lot of effort to tease him, but you have no knowledge about this topic. But it's fine, he'll teach you how it's done soon enough. 
Despite your attempts to annoy him, he's still working even though it's almost midnight. Even so, you enter his office once more, sitting at his desk, throwing his papers away. And you're wearing a really short skirt, one of his favorites. Slowly, you cross your legs, showing him the panties you're wearing under: again, one of his favorites. "Law, I'm bored" you whine, with wet puppy eyes.
And now the fun begins. Law would use his DF to 'room, shamble' you into your shared bedroom. Obviously, he would also lock the door from a distance. All you can do is wait for him. He won't let you go soon. He would continue working, taking pleasure in the silence and picturing your pitiful whines. 
After maybe two hours, he would finally join you, slowly opening the door to find you lying on the bed, all bored and eagerly waiting for the long wait. As you attempt to jump into his arms and say 'Law, you're here!', he would scowl mad at you and take off his hat without any consideration for you.
The aura surrounding him would only radiate anger and eagerness. "Get on the bed." And this is not a suggestion or a nice request coming out of his mouth, but an order. He rarely commands that directly, but when he does, you better obey really quickly. Honestly, you know it's not time to act like a brat anymore, so you should comply.
First thing first, Law would tie your wrists. "A naughty girl like you doesn't deserve to touch me." With that sentence, he would slowly remove his shirt, taking his time, playing with the buttons, and eventually revealing his bare tattooed chest. The one you love to fondle, kiss, bite, and even leave hickeys on. 
You're already squirming, anticipating being touched, anticipating intimacy with him, anticipating his skin touching yours. "Is there something wrong, y/n-ya?" Ah, yes. He would really take his time, slowly sliding his shirt down the ground, and running his beautiful tattooed hands through his hair. 
As you writhe, your short skirt goes up your thighs, revealing your panties that are already wet. "You're such a pathetic slut. You need me so badly already, y/n-ya?"
He would simply observe how your underwear is becoming more and more wet. He hasn't touched you yet. It doesn't matter if you squirm and beg, he won't care. You did that to yourself. You can try to untie yourself if you want, you're tightly tied. 
"Please Law, I'm sorry! I need you so bad! " 
" And you decided to tease me all the damn day to get my attention? You're such an eager slut. Now shut up and take it." 
Law would love to sit on the edge of the bed, close to you, but not enough to allow you to touch his skin. He would make you feel his presence, enjoying all of your pathetic whistling. And after a certain time, finally, without a word, he would run his skilled fingers along your body, touching you everywhere, avoiding your inner thighs in purpose. The more you contort and arch your back, the more he will tease you. He loves how you crave for his touch. 
As tears of frustration start to prickle at the corner of your eyes, he would roughly pinch your nipple. "Something wrong, y/n-ya?" He's tricky because if you beg for more, of course, he won't obey. And if you keep quiet, he would continue to torture your body, waiting for your answer. "That's how we tease someone, y/n-ya."
His hands would slowly, slowly, taking off your skirt and then, he would hook his thumbs under your panties, sliding them down your legs, inch by inch, revealing your bare pussy and damped folds to his eyes. "Law… I" And brutally, he would stuff your wet panties in your mouth. "Nice girls are the only ones allowed to speak." 
Your muffled complains would be pure music to his ears. He would continue to tease you, his fingers tracing patterns on your lower-stomach. Finally, sliding along your slit. "You're soaking wet for absolutely nothing." Oh, he would love to watch how your dripping core is aching, clenching around nothing, before slowly rubbing his fingers along your pussy.
"You're making a mess on the bedsheets. You better clean them right after I'm done with you. " 
He would push one finger into your pussy while you moan, your mouth still full of your own panties. Law is truly talented, even with just one finger. " One finger. That's all you deserved." 
His middle finger, which is nicely curled, would hit all your sweet spots when he circles your clit with his thumb. He would love to watch you trying to get more friction, more of him, more of his fingers. But he won't comply.
He would be painfully slow, thrusting his finger in and out of your body at an unrealistic slow pace, before brutally pushing in, and then, nice and slow again. Yes, it's frustrating, it makes you tense yourself in anticipation, and it's precisely what he's looking for. 
"See, I've told you one finger would be enough" as you cum violently all around his middle finger, making a mess on the bedsheets, with shivering thighs, shaky breath and pathetic whimpers. 
"I'm not done yet." 
Before sliding two fingers inside you. He would continue to rub your clit, hitting all your sweet spots, making you squirm on the bed as you try to untie yourself. But there is nothing you can do. You're sentenced to take more of his fingers, to cum again and again, your sensitive pussy aching and clenching.  
Then, he would take off his fingers, licking his tattoos covered in your wetness. And if you dare sigh of relief, he would slowly run his fingers along the length of his cock through his pants. 
"Oh, y/n-ya, you're here for a long, long night."
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Kid 
CW : Degradation, rough sex, fingering, dirty talk, v!sex, spanking, hair pulling, slight choking, Kid has a filthy mouth, size kink, overstimulation, unprotected sex, mention of anal sex
The master of rough sex.
Kid has absolutely no patience or self-control, and absolutely hates being teased. Whenever you tease him, his honest reaction is to grab you roughly by the wrist, pin you against the closet wall, and just fuck you roughly from behind. He doesn't give a damn if it's in a public place. 
But today is different because he can't have his fun with you. That damn reunion for the 'alliance thing' that he agreed to because of Killer is way too long, and you're teasing him under the table by rubbing your feet against his cock. Or showing him that you're wearing your red panties, his favorite ones. The poor Kid would hold onto the table, his phalanx white due to the intense effort he's making to maintain his composure. 
Don't you dare think about his thoughts right now, because all he can imagine is you being fucked roughly like the little slut you are
The moment the meeting is over, he would try to grab your hips and fuck you immediately. If you manage to escape his grip, sticking out your tongue to mock him before running to the Victoria Punk, oh, damn, you're doomed.
Kid would waste no time looking after you, with clenched fists and gritted teeth. No one would dare approach him because, honestly, his anger is wrapping him up like an aura. And we all know how Kid deals with annoying people. 
He would slam the door of your shared bedroom angrily. Kid would be even madder if you lie on the bed, giggling and pleased with your mischiefs. "Think you're funny, fuckin’ woman?" The way he spits his words in your face is quite frightening. Now, you're not laughing anymore. "'Gonna fuckin' ruin ya" 
That's all your waiting for, right?
With sloppy moves, he would let his coat fall on the ground, take off his shirt, and throw his boots away. Before ripping all of your clothes, including your panties, and crawling onto the bed, his impressive figure looming over you. He would shamelessly use his large metallic arm to crush you onto the mattress. The prosthetic hand would hold your upper body, with two metallic fingers around your throat and the rest wrapping around your waist. "Stay fucking still, slut."
As you squirm and start to moan, turned on by how dominant he's acting right now, he would scowl angrily. "Stop bein' so fuckin' loud" with a rough slap on your inner thighs.
He would love to watch how you look, pinned down and totally helpless. All you can do is take all of him. He would make you spread your legs, pushing your knees away, and force them to touch the bed sheets in a matting press position. 
The sensation of fitting your small body between his muscular thighs would be immensely attractive to Kid. He would slam roughly two thick fingers into your soaking wet pussy without any warning or consideration, hitting all your sweet spots. The only thing you're allowed to do is take it. You won't be going anywhere. Not with his metallic hand holding you still. 
As you moan and beg for more, he would laugh mockingly. "Shut the fuck up, slut." Without a word, he would take off his fingers covered in your wetness and force them into your mouth. "Suck them clean." 
He would probably make you gag and drool a bit, forcing his fingers down your throat, enjoying how tears are starting to prickle at the corner of your eyes. "Thought it would be funny to fuckin' mess with me?" 
After taking off his fingers, he would roughly flip you over on your stomach. "Ass up. Chest down. Now." And, as you comply, he would smash your head against the pillow, forcing your back to arch until your spine hurts. 
Kid would spank you with his heavy hand. The flesh one. Leaving red marks on your cheeks and spreading them apart brutally to watch your tight pussy clenching desperately around nothing.  "You're just a fuckin slut, Y/N, gettin’ soaked just for some fingering." 
Quickly, he would slide down his pants, just enough to free his large cock, leaking in pre-cum, throbbing and twitching with impatience. Then, slamming his hips forward, burying his cock deep inside you, and bullying your cervix with his thick length. "Take it all." As you cry out from how good he's filling you up. 
"Shut the fuck up" burying your head violently against the pillow if you start to moan. And if you continue to muffle, cry out, and whimpers, Kid would wrap his large hand around your throat, squeezing roughly, silencing you. 
He would slam his cock so hard, making your ass jiggle with each thrust, his heavy balls slapping against your wet pussy, with a sloshing, obscene sound. He would make sure you feel helpless under his control, enjoying how your breath becomes shallow and labored as you struggle to get enough air through your nose. "Don't fuckin' mess with me, Y/N. Never." 
He would love to watch how your inside is swallowing his cock, burying himself so deep that it feels like he's pounding your very core. 
"You keep sucking me in, you like my cock that much, lil slut?" 
The headboard slamming against the wall would cause the bed to creak. With his hand, Kid could either slap your ass or hold you still. And sure, his eyes would be glued to his cock, sliding roughly in and out of you, glistening, all covered by your wetness. 
As he pounded into you at a breaking-spine pace, he would grunt loudly and shamelessly, sweat dripping down his face. "Cry out for me all you want, fuckin' whore." 
He would pull you back onto his cock with each thrust, almost tearing you in half. He would use his exceptional stamina to his advantage, plowing into you repeatedly and showing no signs of slowing down. He won't stop if you don't use your safe word for a rough session. 
"Who's fuckin' you so well?" 
His ego would be immensely satisfied if you keep shooting his name.
His hand would grab your hair, pulling it roughly, almost breaking your neck, forcing you to look at him while he fucks you. Squeal for him, cry for him under his unforgiving pace. That's all he wants. "I don't even know why I'm fuckin' you. A slut like you doesn't deserve my cock." 
He would continue until your mind starts to melt into nothingness, leaving bruises all over your skin. Your moans and his low, animalistic grunts would fill the rooms. As you cum all around his cock, he would slap your ass, keep thrusting, and overstimulate you. And brutally, he would cum inside of you, his body shaking with the force of his release. After a few more sloppy thrusts, he would pull out, his member sliding out of you with a loud plop, followed by a large amount of white sticky fluid leaking out of you.
"Keep it in, slut." 
Slowly, his thumb would find its way to your asshole. "This hole deserves some attention too, right, slut?"
Good luck, you just awake a wild beast. He would be delighted to observe your struggle to walk the next morning. That's what you get for teasing him. No one messes with Eustass Kid.
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Sanji 
CW : oral sex , fingering (reader receiving), slight food play, squirting, v!sex, Sanji is talking in French here and there 
Okay, but Sanji is almost always turned on by your simple presence. Our poor Sanji would struggle to even breathe if you decided to tease him. His eyes would always be glued to your every move. He would smoke more than usual, attempting to resist the urge to lift this beautiful dress and devour you.
Honestly, he would assume that you're angry with him. "Have I done something wrong today, Y/N?" With wet puppy eyes. 
Poor Sanji would be even more confused if you start laughing playfuly and lift up your dress slightly, revealing the elegant lace panties you're wearing today. He would struggle to cook, almost burn the dinner for the crew because his mind would be so dizzy. Oh, he would sacrifice everything to eat you out right here, right now, in front of anyone.
Sanji would cough loudly as you continue to tease him under the table during the diner with the rest of the crew. And once everyone has left the kitchen, Sanji would waste no time locking the door and just grabbing your hips and sitting you on the table. 
Let's remember the broken plates with a minute of silence.
"J'ai tellement besoin de toi, Y/N" (I need you so bad)
He would also ask you what he has done wrong today, and as you laugh and reply 'nothing, I just wanted to tease you,' Sanji would be relieved. "If my pretty girlfriend is needy, then, I have to take care of her. Je vais bien m'occuper de toi." (I gonna take care of you)
Sanji would use the environment to his advantage and cover your body with black chocolate, slowly licking your breasts covered in the warm liquid. "Tasting so good…" 
He would eat and treasure every inch of your skin, sucking on your nipples, pinching them slowly between his thumb and index finger while sucking on the other. Sanji is eager to please you and is happy to finally touch you after a long day of teasing.
He's a starving person, he would never be able to tease you back or just ignore you.
Sanji would slowly slide your panties down your legs. At the sight of your bare pussy, his cock would roughly press against the fabric of his pants. 
He would treat you like a queen even if you've been teasing him for the entire day. After all, you are his queen and you deserve the best.
While you remained on the table, he would ask "Are you comfortable?" and then kneel down and gently run his hands along your inner thighs. He would slowly bury his head between your legs. Being between your thighs is his favorite place. Pure heaven for Sanji.
Sanji, the oral sex king, would take his time, placing soft kisses on your inner thighs, slowly approaching your soaking wet pussy. "My pretty girl is so needy." 
He would eat you out by using his skills to make you moan his name loudly. Please grasp his hair and press his head harder against your lips. When you use him for your own pleasure, he loves it. His tongue flicking against your clit, he would smoothly slide two long fingers inside of you, curling them deeply inside of you. 
Sanji doesn't need anything but his skillful mouth and hands to make you feel good. Your responsiveness is something he loves. He would love to feel your legs wrapped around him as he continues to drink all of your juice as if it were a glass of red wine. 
With a gentle touch, he would intensify the passion, his tongue licking harder at your clit, and his fingers perfectly curled against all your sweet spots. Although he's patient, he's also battling against his own urge to take off his pants and slide his cock deep into your hot and wet pussy.
He would look at you, enjoying how your face is twisted in nothing but pure ecstasy. "You're always making the prettiest noises for me" before returning back to his duty: making you cum.
And that's what you do, squeezing his head between your thighs, grabbing a full hand of blond hair, cumming hard against his lips and around his fingers nicely curled inside you. 
Sanji would drink all of your juice, continue to eat you out, until you cum again. And again. You teased him all the day, now, he can't get enough of you. He wants more, he needs more. He would leave you with your legs shaking and turn you into a pathetic whiny mess. "Too much!" He would continue until you squirt on his face, your mind so dizzy that you can't feel your own orgasms anymore.
Finally, he would stop, licking his lips and glistening with your wetness. "Tu es si bonne, je ne peux pas m'arrêter." (You taste so good, I just can't stop.)
He would not expect you to return the favor. But it would be cruel to leave him with an uncomfortable erection. You're not cruel. Right? 
If you decide to let him slide his cock inside you, he would moan so loudly and shamelessly. The prettiest moans. You just feel so good. 
He would fuck you on the table, in all the positions, worshipping every single inch of your body until you're both exhausted.
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ecoamerica · 1 month
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sombredancer · 7 months
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How to be a more interesting character than the Main Hero (Pt.4)
Shangjue and his fiancée
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Shangjue has an interesting yet complicated relationship not only with his didi, but also with his fiancée, who happens to be an assassin. The girl aims him from the beginning and plays a cruel game to win his attention, because her mission is to get the secret weapon of Gong clan (the Sutra), to which Shangjue has an access. She is a liar and he knows it, so he decides to choose her as his bride in order to keep his enemy even closer than his friend. So, in the beginning they both play their roles. But Shangjue has a critical vulnerability: he looks like Mr. Danger, but inside of him is a heart of silk. It`s not that hard to tear it apart if you can sneak beneath his ribs.
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Their relationship unfolds in an interesting way: an assassin tries hard to find a tiny crack in Shangjue’s nutshell and to guess his thoughts by doing some stuff (cooking meal he doesn`t like, planting flowers he doesn`t want to be planted and bringing havoc into his well-ordered world), and he ends up kinda liking it. He badly needs someone who will dig into his inner core and find there what he truly wants, because he thinks of himself just as of a function and barely knows his own desires. The blankness of his residence is like one of a service apartment – everything is only for work, nothing is for soul.
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But bit by bit she learns more about him and finds out that he is not that person she thought he is. At the beginning of the story she says to the female lead that Shangjue likes no one but himself. But in reality, he hardly likes himself either. There is no «himself» at all. There is a sharp saber against clan`s enemies, a legendary martial artist who brings wealth and prosperity to his clan, a wise father figure for didi but there isn`t a man who is called Gong Shangjue. Her thought of Shangjue as of someone who doesn`t love anyone beautifully echoes with herself. Her tutor said that she loves only herself, but at the end of the story she ends up feeling something (not love, but not nothing at least) towards said tutor and Shangjue as well.
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Bay flowers are Shangjue's favorite. Btw, their conversation about these flowers is very eloquent, too. An assassin says that Shangjue's favorite bay flowers mean something dangerous yet beautiful and bewitching. Just like her by his side. And he says that they represent victory and prosperity, which are his goals as a Gong clan member (but maybe not what his heart truly wants).
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Paying the last respect for the tutor. While an assassin is toying with Shangjue, he is toying with her. He always pulls her closer and immediately pushes her away, gives her approval of her actions and the next moment punishes her for the same actions. He knows that she is dangerous and got closer to him on purpose, but he ends up liking her anyway.
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Along his toying with her, nevertheless, he treats her as his real future wife and indulges her to change something chaotically in his realm of order in front of his servants and, I suppose, starts believing himself that she will be his wife.
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Meanwhile, an assassin uses the knowledge she received very skillfully: she learns about death of Shangjue’s mother and talks about her mom in order to worm her path out into his shell, later she uses the information given her by Yuanzhi (about Gong clan above everything for Shangjue) to make Shangjue believe she knows his heart.
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It looked like he would kiss her. But he didn't.
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Their conversation in this scene is heartbreaking: she tells him, that the Main Hero puts Gong clan in danger because he knows there is an assassin in the residence and does nothing about it, and Shangjue has got no evidence that could help to catch her red handed. And by the time she is speaking Shangjue already knows - it is HIM who knows that an assassin is by his side and voluntary puts his clan in danger (and, as we know, will proceed to do it till the end of the story). When Shangjue catches his fiancée as a suspect, his moral trial begins.
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Watching the drama for the first time, I was very surprised that he did almost nothing to interrogate her (pushing at the wound can't be considered as a torture). His duty is to expose and to kill a Wufeng assassin, but he ends up eagerly believing any lie his fiancée tells him because he likes her and WANTS to believe her. Then he is about to touch her but doesn't dare to do so, and it's a significant sign, too. He hadn't problems with touching Yuanzhi (at least, when they were younger), so, I suppose, this lack of touching between Shangjue and his fiancée represents his inner struggle. He wants to be tender with her because he likes her, but tenderness is a weakness and shouldn`t be shown to an enemy.
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Speaking of intimacy and touching, a lack of it between them is so palpable that I felt very uncomfortable when, a few episodes later, that pool sex scene happened. Many people didn`t understand either, have they banged or not, because even them touching each other is already something unbelievable in this drama. I spent a lot of time thinking about how they banged considering Shangjue’s problems with touching her and allowing her to touch him 😁😁😁.
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Btw, this scene is definitely a sex scene. In China there is a very strict censorship in terms of a lot of things, including queere-relationship and sex, but there is also a lot of ways to show it without actually showing something (but even the fact that they were NAKED together in one pool told me everything, as long as in other dramas people had to have sex being dressed in three layers of hanfu). I`m not that deep into Chinese culture, but I have read in comments that the strange phrase of Shangjue «These buds will bloom soon, then you will know if I like you like this (her less obedient and more ambitious self)» refers to a Chinese idiom about a loss of virginity (so if it’s true, Shangjue deliberately invited her to have sex with him if she wanted to know if he liked her and that’s why she came to him without undergarments in the dead of night). The lanterns in the water of a pool refer to the unity of male Yang and female Yin energies (and we could see them in the scene of their first «date», btw). He loosened her hair in the pool: manipulations with girl’s hair it`s something that only husband is allowed do (that’s why you often can see in dramas that a male lead gifts his lover a hairpin or a comb). After everything’s happened, he hovers his cup above a saucer, which means «want to repeat». However, I couldn`t find any proof of these meanings because it seems like Chinese internet doesn`t cross English-speaking one at all and I respectively don`t understand Mandarin. So, if you know something else about it, feel free to correct me in comments. Btw, I`m sure, Yuanzhi's constant speaking about tea in front of Shangguan Qian refers to some kind of idiom, too, but I couldn`t find any information about it. UPD: my fellow @randomingoftherandomness says that it has something to do with a Chinese slang phrase 綠茶婊 (green tea bitch) - "a person who tries to look innocent being in fact calculating".
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During the «torture» scene an assassin asks if Shangjue can spare her life and he says «no», because his duty is not to show mercy to Gong clan enemies. This scene echoes with the end of the story, when she asks him again to spare her life and he says he will if she gives him back the Sutra. And he really lets her go, which is strictly opposite to his mission of protecting Gong clan, because she knows everything about their inner residences and Gong clan members, and, what is the most important, the secret of the Sutra. But Shangjue wants to let her leave because she is the first thing he wants for himself, the first longing of a person, not of a function. Only by opposition between his duty and his heart he could find out who the real he is. Letting her go is very VERY irrational decision, but, unlike for the Main Hero, who stole his assassin‘s heart by his incompatible with life naivety, for Shangjue it is a natural point of his character development: being restricted from all his human wishes for a decade, when he gets the opportunity to fulfil them, he gets off his leash and does it fully. Very human behavior, btw.
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I was very surprised seeing that Shangjue’s fiancée had time during this mess to change her clothes. Later I understood that she did it on purpose: she had more chances to survive if Shangjue would recall his feelings for her because this pink dress was a gift from him. In their final scene together he says that he would let her go if she gives him the Sutra back, it means she doesn't need to pretend to be pregnant in order to save her life, as soon as Shangjue always keeps his promises. But he lets her know that he doesn't count her as someone from Gong clan (and as his fiancée as well) anymore, and maybe that’s why she says that she bears a child and formulates it's so as if it's a new member of Gong clan, not just a fruit of their passion, because Gong clan does matter for him and his own personality doesn`t (and, btw, remembering the fertility problems, children are very valued in the clan). But I don't understand why preserving of her bond to Gong clan is so important to her. Yes, she couldn't go back to Wufeng because her information caused its collapse but she couldn't stay with the man she just tried to wipe out as well. Maybe her only hope was that she could keep the Sutra as a clan member (a mother of a Gong child), but Shangjue snatched it back. Her story have had some curtain development but kinda not till the final point so I would like to see how their relationship would move further. It is crystal clear by this last scene of them together that Shangjue catastrophically and fully lost to his assassin. When I have watched the drama for the first time I was sure she would use his soft spot on her to kill him, especially when she put his sword down and came to him very closely. At the very end of the story it seems that Shangjue believed everything she said to him in this last conversation, because her information about Wufeng’s boss is spreaded across the Martial World by the Main Hero, which means Shangjue shared it with him.
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Azaleas mean "I belong to you forever".
Back in the story, when didi takes the assassin to Shangjue`s residence, he says that the most vulnerable and unpredictable thing is a human heart and that people often don`t want to know the truth. The story itself proves him right: it’s true in terms of Yuanzhi self, whose heart can be and is hurt only by Shangjue, even if his sworn brother doesn`t have a clue about the inner processes that are going on inside didi’s head; it`s also true in terms of an assassin, so far as she starts seeing a handsome man instead of her victim; and, of course, it’s true for Shangjue as well: he deliberately deceives himself believing the assassin isn`t assassin just to have an opportunity to be with her.
It was a pure pleasure to feel for these characters and to watch their stories unfold and I definitely would recommend this drama for watching.
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callsignthirsty · 2 years
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OMG THIRSTY YOUR SUGGESTION BOX IS OPEN UMMM, first of all hi I love you, second I was thinking maybe a maverick x femPILOTreader can (her call sign be avalanche?) were they are a thing that only goose and carol know about, but not really just “casual sex” in mavs words, then ice starts flirting HARD with the reader and mav gets jealous and makes a big scene and they end up breaking up over it (cause maverick is too hard headed) and he regrets it forever but says nothing (that man won’t swallow his pride) and maybe a time skip to top gun maverick? Where he and the reader are called back together to train the team (is this too much?), I think it’d be cute to see mav fall in love all over again (not really cause he never forgot her) with her and be together in the end. Bonus points if she is like an aunt to rooster cause she was also good friends with the Bradshaws. I don’t know if it’s something you’d like to write or if it’s really not up your alley. Sorry if it’s a mess not good at explaining my self, anyway I hope you have a lovely day ❤️❤️❤️
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Hey there @i-wear-wet-socks313 — Thanks for sending in your suggestion. There was a lot to unpack with this one, so I hope you don’t mind that I shortened it a little bit by breezing over the events of the first movie. That said: it’s still fixing to be about 10k by the time I get around to publishing part 2 (yeah, that’s right, I had to break it into two parts!) But what can I say? Your suggestion definitely smacked me upside the head (and I liked it)! Be on the lookout for part two in the coming week or two ❤️
Pairing: Pete “Maverick” Mitchell x F!Pilot!Reader (call sign: Avalanche) Word Count: 7500 Warnings: Canon character death (x2), language, a general glossing over of movie events, the author knowing nothing about the Navy or aviation smut coming in part 2 Minors DNI
Call Sign: Avalanche
You hadn't kept in touch with Iceman since graduating from Top Gun. Honestly, you hadn't kept in touch with any of your classmates — it had been easiest to cut all ties. Despite this, you'd have had to be exceptionally observant not to notice the Iceman's rise within the ranks. Not that you hadn't done well for yourself but you were no Commander of the Pacific Fleet. So when Admiral Kazansky put in the call to have you transferred to North Island for a special assignment, you were flattered. Really. You figured that Iceman's recommending you for the job spoke to his appreciation for your shared craft and his belief that you could train the squad to do what needed to be done.
The good feelings last until you learn who you'll be expected to teach alongside.
Maverick.
That's when you see this assignment for what it is: a cruel joke.
Like Iceman, you haven't seen Maverick since your joint graduation ceremony in '85. Unlike Iceman, you actively worked to avoid Maverick. Because it was just your luck that you'd have a history with the Navy's best pilot.
You'd dated for months, though neither of you was brave enough to put words to it. Carole was, though. Date. Relationship. Love. Any time she mentioned it, your cheeks would flame, Maverick would awkwardly look away, and Goose would pull her into a hug, kissing her until she giggled and the topic was changed.
Those were the days. And in a kinder world, things would've stayed like that forever. Instead, Iceman had unintentionally swooped in and blown your good thing to shit.
But even you could admit that it wasn't entirely Iceman's fault. As much as you liked Maverick, you knew that you had to keep your relationship under wraps. Though the Navy allowed women within their ranks, getting the opportunity to become one of the first female naval aviators was still a hard-won privilege and one that you didn't take lightly. The last thing you wanted was for someone to call you out for fraternization and jeopardize your job. And though you looked at Maverick as if he'd hung the moon just for you, you knew that few others within the Navy viewed his endeavors — and you knew they'd consider you, an endeavor — similarly.
But as hard as you'd tried in the beginning, you hadn't been able to stop Maverick from worming his way into your affections. And, it appeared, your efforts were similarly wasted on Iceman.
When you first met Ice, you'd suspected he was a dime-a-dozen. Tall and confident and by the rules. Until you saw him fly. You had an ego like the other pilots who made it to Top Gun, but you, at least, knew when you were beaten. And Iceman had all of you beat. Well, except for Maverick. That appreciation, however, must have been misconstrued. Somewhere along the line, Iceman had gotten it in his head that sliding into the seat next to you at the O Club and flagging the bartender down to grab you a drink was a good idea. You hadn't known he was interested until it was already too late.
You couldn't even remember the words that blew your world to pieces. Only knew that Maverick had his hand around your arm, your drink spilled all down the front of your khakis as he'd hissed and spit until he was red in the face. "You want to fuck Kazansky. Fine. I won't stand in your way."
"Pete."
"I'm done." And he'd gotten on his bike and driven away.
It had been the end of your relationship but the beginning of Maverick's downward spiral.
Goose died the next day.
Maverick turned in his wings.
Iceman won the Top Gun trophy.
Maverick was called away to the USS Enterprise right after the graduation ceremony.
You were long gone before he came back.
But here he is. Strolling into the briefing late, clad in his dad's jacket and old jeans. His brows draw down in confusion when his eyes land on you, his head tilting. Assessing.
At least he hadn't been expecting you, either. Neither of you had the advantage.
"Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell." Cyclone draws Maverick's attention to himself, sitting behind his desk. "Your reputation precedes you."
"Thank you, sir."
Cyclone's frown deepens. "Wasn't a compliment." It does little to humble the smile on Maverick's face, so Cyclone goes on to introduce himself, Warlock, and yourself, though, from the casual greeting they shoot each other, you gather that he and Warlock have met before.
With little delay, Warlock goes on to outline the mission. "The target is an unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant built in violation of a multilateral NATO treaty. The uranium produced there represents a direct threat to our allies in the region. The Pentagon has tasked us with assembling a strike team and taking it out before it becomes fully operational."
Warlock goes through his slides. The plant is in an underground bunker at the end of a GPS-jammed valley guarded by an extensive surface-to-air missile array and fifth-generation fighters. "Which, in turn," Warlock continues with another click to zoom in on an aerial view of the nearby airstrip, "are backed up by a plentiful reserve of surplus aircraft. Even a few F-14s."
"Seems like we're not the only ones holding onto old relics." You'd have taken Cyclone's words personally if they hadn't been meant as a blatant attack on Maverick. As it is, Maverick ducks his head as if the shot at him is expected.
"What's your read, Captain?" Warlock breaks the stalemate.
Maverick looks at you briefly before clearing his throat and approaching the projector. You follow along in your own hastily scribbled notes as Maverick talks through the possibilities. GPS-jamming means F-35s are a no-go. The low-level laser-guided strike is about as tailor-made for the F-18 as a mission can get. Two precision bombs. Four aircraft flying in pairs. High potential for g-loc on the way out and a dogfight all the way home. But it can be done. Supposedly.
"It's been a while since I've flown an F-18, and I'm not sure who I'd trust to fly the other three, but I'll find a way to make it work."
And then Cyclone hits you with the twist: "We don't want you to fly it. We want you to teach it."
Twelve Top Gun graduates have been recalled for the special detachment. Among them: Bradley. You can pinpoint the moment Maverick sees Bradley on the board, and you almost feel bad, but Maverick had brought this upon himself. You'd been there to pick Bradley up after Maverick pulled his papers to the Naval Academy. Had jumped in your car and floored it to the Bradshaw residence to hold the boy — now a young man — as he'd sobbed fat, angry tears.
That doesn't mean you don't wince when Cyclone sticks his fingers into the open wound that will evermore be Goose. "Tragic what happened." Even you want to smack the Vice Admiral for that.
But if Maverick has the plan and Maverick is expected to teach the graduates… "Admiral Simpson," you say, breaking your silence as you close your notepad, "I fail to see why I'm needed for this detachment if Captain Mitchell has the planning and training under control." Professional. To the point. "So if you don't need me…." You stand and make for the door. The sooner you can slip away, back to your life without Maverick, the better.
"Not so fast," Cyclone interrupts your exit and leans forward against his desk. "Let me be perfectly blunt. You–" you turn to find him pointing a stern finger at Maverick "–were not my first choice. In fact, you weren't even on the list. You are here because of Admiral Kazansky. Now, Iceman happens to be a man I deeply admire, and he seems to think that you have something left to offer the Navy. What that is, I can't imagine. And he has assured me that you–" Cyclone's steely green eyes lock on you "–can keep him in check."
Well, isn't that rich? "With all due respect, Cyclone, I'm an Admiral for the United States Navy, not a babysitter."
"Well, for the purposes of this mission, it would appear that you are both." He tosses a file onto his desk, and you glare at it. Not only does Cyclone outrank you, but the orders technically come from the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. You could say 'no' and walk away, but unless you're officially dismissed, it's a career-limiting — possibly career-ending — move. Ultimately, you walk back to the desk to pick up the file and stack it on your notepad.
Satisfied, Cyclone turns his attention back to Maverick. "You don't have to take this job, but let me be clear: this will be your last post, Captain. You fly for Top Gun, or you never fly for the Navy ever again."
That night, as you pour over the mission file, you wonder what Kazansky is up to. There's no way he put you, Maverick, and Bradley all in the same place over a mid-life power trip. But you can't figure out what he's out to accomplish for your life.
— — —
Warlock introduces you and Maverick to the twelve graduates. Well, eleven — you both know Bradley. Cyclone is beside himself when Maverick throws away the F-18 NATOPS and shoots you a look, but what does he expect you to do? Fish it out of the trash? This is Kazansky's circus. He can fish the NATOPS out of the trash.
Bradley catches up to you as everyone disperses to get changed into their g-suits for the day's hops. "Why the hell is he here?" he asks, voice low but venom clear in his tone.
"Iceman."
"Figures." Bradley's lips pull into a tight line. "So, what do we do?"
You sigh, exhausted, and the day has only begun. "What we do best, baby bird. Fly."
Frustratingly, Maverick's just as good as you remember him. Better, even. The fire of his youth still there but tempered marginally by time. And you hate to admit it, but you're rusty. No one told you when you joined the Navy that the higher you climbed the ladder, the further you'd get from the sky. You're shot down once by Hangman — which you're sure he'll brag about later at the bar — but Maverick is untouchable.
You're already on the ground when Bradley touches down to do his own pushups. Once your arms have turned to jelly, you let Hondo go with a promise to count the rest for Bradley.
"I told you to fly, not lose your shit," you say once Hondo has walked far enough away to give you the illusion of privacy. Bradley glares at you before returning to his pushups, sweat dripping off his nose and onto the tarmac. "When you let him get to you like that, you give him the edge."
"What does it matter?" Bradley says, taking a seat and looking up at you for the first time since he was thirteen. "He's going to wash me out."
"I won't let him."
Bradley shakes his head. "Don't."
"I won't."
"Well, you couldn't stop him last time." And that's not fair. You weren't the one who'd pulled Bradley's papers. You hadn't even known until the deed had been done. Until Bradley was asking if he could stay with you for a while, and you insisted on driving to him. The same night Maverick's name had become a dirty word to both of you.
You do your best to keep the hurt off of your face. Bradley isn't mad at you; he's stressed and lashing out. But on base, you're still his superior officer. "The four best pilots will be on the mission. Whether that includes you or not, Rooster, is up to you. But it won't if you keep flying like that." You leave when your phone buzzes with a message to meet at Cyclone's office in — you check the time — ten minutes.
— — —
It's cathartic, you decide, to watch someone else lose their shit on Maverick. Unfortunately for Cyclone, though, this is one of the rare times that Maverick's rule-breaking has a defensible reason behind it.
"The hard deck will be much lower for the mission, sir," Maverick responds at your side.
"And it will not change without my approval!" Cyclone snaps. "Especially not in the middle of an exercise. And that cobra maneuver of yours? That could've gotten all four of you killed. I never want to see that shit again." All you do is shrug when Cyclone's stare focuses on you. You aren't sure what Iceman told Cyclone to make him think you could make Maverick behave, but you're not sure what you're supposed to do when you haven't spoken to the man in nearly forty years.
And then they're off again: Cyclone and Maverick. Oil and water.
"You have less than three weeks to teach them how to fight as a team and how to strike the target," Cyclone says, and he looks like he's ready to wave a hand, dismiss you all for the day, and pour himself four fingers of whiskey.
"And how to come home." Your head snaps to Maverick. His lips are parted as if he wants to say something else, but the words must escape him because instead, he repeats: "And how to come home, sir."
You try to swallow, but your throat is dry like sandpaper. Eyes wide, you stare at Cyclone. Coming home had never been a part of the training plan. This — Maverick is the first person to mention bringing the team home. A pit settles in your stomach as the realization of what you've been assigned to hits.
A suicide mission.
You're sending six people into enemy territory to die. Less, if you're lucky, but not everyone is coming home.
Cyclone chooses his next words carefully — "Every mission has its risks." — but they do nothing to settle you. Your blood is on fire, and you're simultaneously hot and cold, an icy sweat breaking out across your temples. "These pilots accept that."
"I don't, sir." Maverick's statement settles around you like a well-worn quilt. You shiver, despite yourself as a part of you that you'd believe to be long-dead flickers back to life. Because at that moment, in those words, you know that Maverick will do everything in his power to ensure everyone comes home. It feels like hope. Like trust. Clumsy fingers pull the feeling tighter around you.
"Every morning," Cyclone breaks the silence, "you will brief us on your instructional plans in writing. And nothing will change without my express approval."
"Including the hard deck, sir?" You're running through a plan to get all the paperwork together to lower the hard deck as soon as the question is past Maverick's lips because, much to your chagrin, Maverick is correct, and you should all be flying much lower to properly prepare.
"Especially the hard deck, Captain."
Without skipping a beat, Maverick hands a manila file over the desk to Cyclone. "Sir." And it appears that years of getting on Admirals' bad sides have prepared Maverick for this exact moment. You have to fight the twitch threatening to bring your lips up at the thought that Maverick knew he was going to break the hard deck and had come prepared with the paperwork already filled out.
When you regroup the next day, the hard deck sits much lower.
In two-plane teams, the graduates take turns flying the simulated course on their nav systems. And because you're going easy on them, they have both extra time and a higher ceiling than they'll have when they fly the actual mission. Even with these allowances, no one can make it to the end of the course. Except for Bradley, but he'd flown too slow despite Yale's insistence that they would be late.
As Maverick and Rooster argue over whether or not running the course in four minutes would be a death sentence, you can see the graduates' faces drop as they come to the same conclusion you'd come to in Cyclone's office: that this mission might not be doable.
"That's no time to be thinking about the past," Hangman says as if he couldn't stand that Bradley's ire had been aimed at anyone else.
Bradley's head whips to Hangman. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Something about this screams danger, but Maverick is frozen to the spot. "Rooster," you say, hoping you can get in front of this; calm Bradley before Hangman can dig his nails in and give him a shake.
Hangman leans back against his seat, a smile curling his lips. "I can't be the only one that knows that Maverick flew with his old man."
"That's enough." Maverick finally snaps out of whatever had held him silent before, but Hangman is undeterred.
"Or that Maverick was flying when his old man–"
"Lieutenant," you bark, "that's enough!" But it's too little too late. The fuse must have been lit before you and Maverick had been on the scene because Bradley is suddenly out of his seat, other graduates clamoring to their feet to grab him or push Hangman out of his reach.
Maverick throws himself into the middle, ordering each man to stand down while Bradley snarls, "You son of a bitch!"
When you get a hand on Hangman's shoulder, he shoots you a self-assured smile. "He's not cut out for this mission."
You shove him away from Bradley. "Walk."
Hangman's pale eyes land on Rooster. "You know it."
"I said walk, Lieutenant." You give Hangman another shove for good measure, and his feet finally begin to carry him away from the situation, but not before his eyes lock on Maverick's over his shoulder.
"You know I'm right."
Back in the hangar, Maverick dismisses the class. You march Hangman to an empty classroom to reprimand his piss-poor behavior. Hangman nods in all the right places, but you doubt any of your scoldings get through to him.
— — —
Getting all the graduates on the same page calls for a new strategy. They can fly the course on their navs until they're blue in the face, but it won't bring them closer together. Won't keep Hangman from leaving his wingman out to dry or light a fire under Bradley's ass. With a few ideas in mind, you arrive at the hangar early, hoping you can snag Warlock and go over some of your ideas before seeking approval from Cyclone.
Instead, you find Maverick.
"You're a bit early," you say as you take a seat atop one of the desks in the back row. And underdressed. It seems that he hasn't updated his wardrobe since the '80s. Instead of khakis, Maverick must have walked onto base today in his jeans and an old, white t-shirt.
Maverick jumps a little bit, then erases an errant mark on the whiteboard with the hem of his shirt and returns to what he was writing. "Yeah," he agrees. "Wanted to get here before everyone else."
Clearly. "And what's that?" you ask, gesturing at the board.
"Oh." Maverick stands back and taps at the board. "New plan for the day. I'd have talked with you about it, but…." He doesn't have your number.
Class on the beach.
Meet at The Hard Deck.
Wear civvies.
"What's at the beach?"
"Dogfight football," he says as if that explains everything.
You cross your arms. "This isn't volleyball all over again, is it?"
"No." Maverick shakes his head with a fond smile crinkling his eyes. “No, this is teambuilding.”
"Ah," you play along and nod as if that clears everything up. "I think that's exactly what Viper called it when he sent us to the volleyball court." More like when Jester had chucked the volleyball at Maverick's head, and Viper ordered he and Iceman get their posturing bullshit over with. They hadn't, of course, but it had been worth a try.
"He did, didn't he?" Before he can start fiddling with the whiteboard marker, Maverick caps it and sets it down. You wonder if he's thinking about it, too. The long summer days. How the sun beat down on all of you until your shoulders were red. Goose. "Let's hope this goes better, then."
When you arrive at the beach, Hondo's already there with two nerf footballs in his hands and a referee whistle around his neck. Maverick's bike is in the parking lot, but you don't see him when you scan the beach.
"Avalanche."
"Hondo."
"Anything I can help you with, ma'am?" Hondo shifts his weight from one foot to the other in the sand. Maybe Maverick had told him about your history, maybe he hadn't, but the two seem close enough. Whatever he does or doesn't know, Hondo doesn't let it come between your professional relationship.
"Just trying to figure out what dogfight football is."
The idea is all Maverick's, but the concept is pretty simple. Offense and defense at the same time. Score by running your ball into the opposing team's endzone before they run their ball into yours. Stop the other team from advancing by grounding their ball.
As Hondo gets into the hastily made-up rules, Maverick comes down from the bar, jeans rolled up to just below his knees and dragging a cooler behind himself. "You made it," he greets you, his movie star smile warm like the sun as the sea breeze tousles his hair.
"What's in the box?" you ask, hiding behind the question and your aviators. Instead of answering, Maverick opens the lid to reveal a multitude of cans. "Beer? On the job?"
"There's water in there, too," Maverick says, digging through the ice until he uncovers a water bottle and hands it to you. You drop the bottle back into the ice with a crunch. "The class on their way?" he asks as he closes the cooler.
"I'm not sure." So you fish your phone out of your pocket and send Bradley a quick text to make sure he's on his way with the others. Truthfully, you hadn't stuck around long enough to be sure. Had simply added your own note below Maverick's before leaving yourself.
Erase after reading.
The class shows up, and shirts come off. You fight to keep your eyes on Hondo as he separates you into teams. For someone pushing sixty, Maverick looks good. Trim waist, toned arms–
"Avalanche." Your attention snaps to Hondo as he motions you to the left. "Orange team."
After a quick huddle, both teams line up. Maverick and Bradley against you and Hangman. You don't have enough time to overthink it when Hondo blows the whistle, and you all take off at the snap.
By the time you stumble to the cooler for some water, you've lost track of the score. Hondo might know, but you doubt it. Laughter rang out from the group as Phoenix brought Fanboy down to the sand. Count on Maverick to succeed where others have failed.
"Looks like your plan worked," you call out as Maverick makes his way over to you, jeans wet and sandy from all the times he'd been knocked into the surf, aviators crooked on his face. You get off the cooler to grab him a water bottle as he sits in the nearby chair and pulls his shirt back on. When you turn around, he's beaming.
"Get him!" Halo screams, and you and Maverick look to where Hondo has intercepted a pass. He looks between the ball and WSO as if he's surprised before he runs, but he doesn't get far before — regardless of which team they're on — the aviators jump on him like a bunch of puppies. Screaming and laughing and wiggling as they bring Hondo to the sand. A laugh escapes you, and suddenly you and Maverick are laughing together. It feels good to laugh with him again.
Not even Cyclone's shadow can dim your shine, but Maverick does peak at him over his sunglasses. "Sir?"
"What is this?" Cyclone asks as everyone sets up again, none the wiser to Cyclone observing from the sideline.
"This–" Maverick gestures to the surf "–is dogfight football."
"Offense and defense at the same time," you say once you take a sip from your water bottle.
Ever critical, Cyclone asks: "Who's winning?"
"I think they stopped keeping score a while ago," Maverick says, his own water bottle crinkling as he drains it.
"This detachment still has some training to complete, Captain." His words are said to Maverick, but they're directed at both of you. Cyclone shooting you a look that says he expected you to do more to keep Maverick on Cyclone's track than go along willingly when he decides to play hooky. And maybe it's because this is the most fun you've had in years, but you'll readily admit that Maverick's plan had worked better than anything you'd wanted to run by Warlock. "Every available minute matters. So why are we out here playing games?"
Bob scores a touchdown, and Bradley lifts him onto his shoulders. Bob raises the ball above his head as the rest of the squad mills about them and chants, "Bob! Bob! Bob!"
"It's a teambuilding exercise, sir," you say, catching Maverick's surprised look out of the corner of your eye. "You asked him to create a team. There it is."
The three of you watch as the group runs into the ocean to cool off, only Hondo appears to be aware of their spectator, but Maverick raises a hand in his direction as if to let Hondo know that you have it handled.
"I expect them to be ready to fly tomorrow." By the time the graduates fish themselves out of the surf, Cyclone is long gone. And as they begin to walk around The Hard Deck with the promise of food and a few rounds of pool, Maverick's eyes find yours through your sunglasses.
"Well," Maverick sighs, hands clapping against his thighs, but he doesn't make to stand up. "I've gotta see if Penny will take some of these beers back."
You nod, dusting sand from your legs and shaking your shirt before pulling it over your head. "Make sure they drink some water," you say because you remember what it was like to be young and in the Navy. "I don't want Cyclone on our asses about them being hungover tomorrow."
"You heading out?" He rises to meet you.
"Yeah." You pat down your pockets to make sure that you have your keys. "It's about that time."
"Stick around," Maverick says when your keys jingle in your pocket. "Penny makes a mean burger."
Mean might be an exaggeration, but it turns out that Penny's burgers are pretty good. You hadn't expected much from a Navy bar, but credit where it's due and all that. By the time Maverick finds you at your booth, he's returned all but two of his beers and passes one of them to you. "I'd have gotten you a glass, but I already paid for these, so…" he trails off, and now that you can see his eyes, he looks uncomfortable standing at the end of your booth.
Maybe you're still running on the endorphins from your teambuilding exercise, or your newly blossoming trust is making you do some weird shit, but you decide to accept the can that Maverick offers you. You crack it open and take a sip, nodding to the bench across from you. Maverick jumps at the chance and slides onto the seat, his elbows resting on the table as he takes a gulp of his beer.
"So," you say, not entirely sure where to start with how long it's been since you've willingly engaged in a conversation with Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, but you're in a mood to humor him, "still a Captain, huh?"
Maverick chuckles. "A highly decorated Captain." It sounds like he's been saying it for years.
The conversation is stilted. Strictly professional. But it's more than you've been willing to give Maverick in years. The conversation is shot dead when the jukebox is unplugged, and Maverick gets a faraway look on his face as Bradley begins tickling at the piano keys. Before long, the rest of the bar is scream-singing Great Balls of Fire along with him, but your silence stretches even after Bradley moves on to the next song. And the next.
Your anger rises with each change of the keys. Finally, you can't take the silence any longer. "It was wrong what you did." It's the least of what you've wanted to say to him for years.
"I did what I had to."
"Bullshit," you grit. You see red. Because who the fuck did — does — Maverick think he is? "You had no right–"
"Carole asked me to do it." He says it so softly that you almost miss it between the clack of the pool table and din of conversation. Of all the defenses you'd been expecting, all the excuses you'd imagined over the years, you'd never…
"What?"
"She– Well, she–" he stumbles over his words. A couple non-starters until he can finally spit it out with a careful look in Bradley's direction. "She never wanted him to fly. Not after what happened to Goose." So there it was. What you'd always assumed was Maverick's own selfish reason for keeping his best friend's son from flying.
But it wasn't his selfish reason. Fuck! You stared into your can, the carbonation fizzing against the thin metal until you could feel it beneath your fingers.
Fuck. You'd had Maverick wrong for years. Bradley had him wrong.
Maverick clears his throat when you don't have anything to say to his overdue confession. "She made me promise before she died."
"How long?"
"The next day," Maverick gives you a sad little smile.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
You still hate it, but you begrudgingly get it now. Years later. Maverick hadn't wanted to pull Rooster's papers. Carole had put him in an impossible position. "You could've lied." You hate to even offer it up. It feels wrong the second the suggestion slips past your lips. Who lies to their friend on the deathbed? But Carole wouldn't have known. She could have died in peace, and Bradley would've been none the wiser.
"I couldn't bring myself to tell her, then…" he shakes his head. "Anyway, I knew Bradley would fly." He gestures across the table at you. "Knew you'd be there to help him get back on track."
But something about all of this still doesn't sit right with you. "Why not just tell him?" You abandon your beer and lean across the table, catching Maverick's downcast eyes. "He's… It would've hurt in the moment, but you've had years." An urge seizes you, and you have to fight every instinct in your body telling you to reach across the table. To cradle Maverick's hand in your own and rub some comfort into the old bones beneath tan skin. "You have to know by now that he'd have understood." That he'd still understand. He'd be angry, but he'd understand.
For all that you were the wind in Bradley's sails after their falling out, you knew you'd always be a piss poor replacement for Bradley's Uncle Mav. God, you wished Goose was there to knock some sense into him.
Maverick takes another sip of his beer, his gaze on Bradley, surrounded by his teammates by the piano. "It's better this way," he says. "I'd rather him hate me than resent her."
"You're an idiot if you think Bradley ever could've hated Carole."
A smile tugs at the corner of Maverick's lip, but his dimples don't pop. "No one ever accused me of being smart."
— — —
You and Maverick play the role of intercepting fifth-gen fighters while the graduates practice the course at speed and attempt to hit an old refrigerator in the middle of the desert meant to simulate the underground bunker.
The day doesn't go as planned.
It starts with several unsuccessful runs, then Coyote going into g-loc, followed by a bird strike that forces Phoenix and Bob to eject. Your hands, steady in the cockpit, shake once you touch down while you try to keep your mind from spiraling. You try to do simple math in your head, and when that isn't distracting enough, you force yourself to look at the positives: Coyote is fine; Phoenix and Bob punched out, their parachutes deployed, and a helicopter is picking probably picking them up right now; Bradley hadn't been in the air.
Bradley.
Thinking about your baby bird makes your breath catch. Heart beating in your throat. How was he handling all of this? Had he watched them punch out? Had he ever–?
Before you can go to him, Maverick is there. "Hey," he says with a hand on your shoulder, and you don't brush it off. The touch is grounding. It's the only thing keeping you from entering a flat spin. "Are you okay?" All you can think is that you should be asking him that. What you muster is a nod. It's been a while since you've been in the air when something had gone wrong, and your mind keeps circling back to Goose. Maverick's eyes study yours before he ushers you toward the building. He asks you to wait before disappearing into the men's locker room and returning with a manilla folder. "Think you can bring Cyclone tomorrow's lesson plan?"
You accept the folder, looking at the thick card stock in your hands. "Where're you going?"
Hesitation and desperation war in his eyes. "Rooster." Ah. Yeah. That makes sense. You want to go after Bradley yourself, but Maverick needs it.
You swallow to wet your dry throat. "Yeah," you croak. "Good. Yeah. I'll make sure he gets it."
Maverick's hand squeezes your shoulder. "Thank you." Then he's gone down the hallway, peering through windows as he goes.
But bad news always comes in threes.
The call comes in while you're defending Maverick's lesson plan.
You hadn't even known that Iceman was sick.
Warlock offers his condolences to Cyclone, then dips out of the room to find Maverick and deliver the news. Seconds later, footsteps hurry past the door and out of the base. A door slamming as the rumble of a bike disappears into the distance.
You stand with your old Top Gun class at the service. Well, the ones who had been able to show up. Slider. Hollywood and Wolfman. Viper.
Ron had tried to get approval to fly one of the jets overhead, but his request had been denied, which, you thought, eying his hands as they shook during the eulogy, was probably for the best. After the service, the five of you grab a drink for old time's sake, and Viper pours one out for your fallen comrade. Maverick doesn't join.
But when it rains, it pours.
An email is all the warning you get that Cyclone is taking over the mission. Maverick's career as a naval aviator is over, but yours isn't. You're expected to stay on. Without Iceman to fight for him, Maverick is grounded. All over the world, you're sure, admirals and air bosses were breathing a collective sigh of relief — but to your surprise, you weren't among them.
For the first time since joining the Navy — with his best friend gone and his career at large buried alongside his wingman — Maverick is well and truly on his own.
Everyone is given a day off to mourn and collect themselves while Cyclone develops a new game plan.
New orders come through the following day. You arrive on base early and are briefed on the latest mission parameters, but they make you feel like you've swallowed lead. It's a feeling you can't shake while you change into your flight suit, a voice in your ear buzzing that you're sending your team off to an early grave. You're on your way to run through preflight to fly an example of Cyclone's plan when you swear you see Maverick out of the corner of your eye.
You squint through the early morning sun. "Maverick?" He puts a finger to his lips and waves you over, and with a quick look around, you go to him. When you're close enough, he pulls you into the shadow of the hangar he's hiding behind so neither of you will be seen by officers about their dailies. "What are you doing here?" you ask, quiet this time. "Cyclone said that you were done."
"Yeah," Maverick said, his eyes sparkling with mischief, "I'm sure he'd like to believe that."
"I don't like that look." But you're smiling.
"A lot of people 've been saying that lately." He smiles back. Then: "I'm going to steal a jet."
"Come again?"
Maverick holds his hands up to calm you down. You must've been loud in your surprise because he's looking around the tarmac like he expects to be found out any second now. "The only way they come home is the way we've been teaching them," he says, and it's truth. You both know it. The squad knows it. Cyclone knows it.
Every mission has its risks. These pilots accept that.
"I won't drag you down with me, but if you could just — I don't know — distract the ground crew while I climb into one of the F/A-18s, I'll deny that you had any part in–"
You hand Maverick your helmet. "Take mine."
"What?"
"I'm set to fly the course in–" you check your watch "–at the top of the hour." With your helmet in Maverick's hands, you begin loosening the strap that fits under your chin so it'll go on easier for him. "Keep your head down and use signals during preflight or you won't make it off the ground."
"Avalanche–"
"Cyclone doesn't think it can be flown, but it can," you say and place your hands on Maverick's shoulders. "Prove him wrong."
"Thank you."
"Turn 'n' burn, Mav."
You make your way to the class after you watch Mav take off in your plane. As luck would have it, you arrive just as your plane appears on the screen.
"Avalanche," range control crackles through the comms, "you are approaching point Alpha. Confirm green range."
"Copy, Range control. Green range is confirmed." Cyclone's eyes find yours when he starts at the very decidedly not feminine voice that responds to the tower.
"Umm… Avalanche?"
"Maverick."
"We have this event scheduled for Avalanche, sir."
"Well, I'm going anyway," Mav says. "Setting time to target: two minutes and fifteen seconds."
You might be the only person in the room who isn't surprised when Mav pulls off his stunt.
Cyclone takes off from the hangar with Warlock hot on his heels. You follow as they pass you by.
"You were supposed to keep him in line," Cyclone says, but he doesn't turn to look at you. Warlock does, you even think he understands why you did it, but Warlock wasn't the one Mav had to convince.
"With all due respect, sir–"
"Dismissed."
Your steps falter. "What?"
Cyclone shoots you a glare over his shoulder. "Go home, Rear Admiral. We will discuss this later." Then to Warlock: "Bring Mitchell to my office. Now."
With no other way to contact him, you head to the Hard Deck, knowing Mav will find you there eventually. You hope he's got good news when he does.
Mav takes significantly longer to show up than you'd anticipated, which is either good or bad. It's a busy night at the bar, the jukebox plays hit after hit, and one unlucky sod has the bell run on him for disrespecting a lady. No one is tossed overboard. You've only managed to drink half of your beer, your stomach lurching uneasily each time you take a sip, and your eyes jumping to the door every time it swings open, unsettled with the knowledge that you all ship out in the morning. That this was the last chance Mav had to prove the mission could be flown, to change Cyclone's mind before the team was selected. That he — you — might have been too late.
Then he shows up. Nostalgia personified in his dress whites, cap tucked beneath his arm as Loverboy croons over the clink of glasses and laughter that fills the bar. Your breath catches in your throat.
This is it. The moment of truth.
Mav's face gives nothing away as he leans in close enough for his breath to tickle your ear. "Take a walk with me?" You abandon your room-temperature beer and follow Mav onto the deck and down to the beach. He lets out a bone-deep sigh as his dress shoes fill with sand.
"What's with the whites?" You're shooting for casual, but you're practically shaking. Is this a final night of glory? A swan song? A victory lap?
"Just seemed appropriate." Mav shrugs and drags out your suffering.
"So," you say, drawing it out until the vowel is lost in the breeze, "did you get canned?"
"No." You give him a look, and he relents. "Close, but no."
The surf fills the silence, but there's only so much it can do before the space between you grows stale. The moment to say something has almost passed when: "Spit it out. We aren't getting any younger."
"I've been appointed team leader."
It crashes into you like waves against the hull of a carrier. The whites, the solemn expression. This is supposed to be goodbye.
"Don't go." And you mean it. Don't even have to think about it.
But Mav's eyes stay on the water. Dark waves gliding up the sand and retreating. "I have to."
"No. You don't."
His shoulders stiffen; you can see it clear as day with the way his whites contrast the inky black of the night sky. "Is that an order, Admiral?"
You scoff. "No. If it was, you'd just break it." Mav chuckles despite himself. "It's a request. From a friend." But the request feels hollow when you put it that way. Tastes like a lie on the back of your tongue.
"I'm the only one who's flown the course in the timeframe. It has to be me."
"Please," you say because you aren't above pleading. Because you're desperate and running out of reasons.
"I love you." The words feel like ejecting without a parachute. Like diving headfirst into an alpine lake at the height of summer — frigid water filling your lungs as you gasp. "Never stopped, but," he pauses, meets your gaze with his own, and for the first time, Mav seems every bit his age. You can't help but feel that he looks all the more handsome for it. "I wanted to say it now. In case I don't get the chance to, later."
You pull him into a kiss and breathe him in like water. Longing. Lingering. Drowning. Mav allows himself to sink beneath the surface with you before his hands cover your own on his cheeks and pulls away. He takes a step back, surfaces, stumbles slightly in the sand. "When I come back," he promises.
And that's precisely what echoes in your head when you hear that Dagger One has gone down.
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 #Yandere #YandereKungFuPanda #YandereLordShen #LordShen #LordShenXListener #LordShenXReader #Reader #Listener #KungFuPanda #Headcanons #Scenarios #FemaleListener #GNListener
Base Yandere Lord Shen Headcanons+Scenario: His Fate and His Obsession
[Hello My Sexy Muffins, welcome back to another update, I hope that you all enjoy this lunar new years update!]
.Disclaimer: Lord Shen is not yandere in canon, simping for fictional yanderes and fictional characters is fine. As long as you separate fiction from reality and do not do anything illegal or gross. You know who you are. Yanderes are not ideal partners to have in real life, this is just for fun and NOT to be taken seriously at all!
Disclaimer 2: You are a duck in this and a female duck in the scenario!
Anyways I hope that you all enjoy this!
-Base Yandere Headcanons With Lord Shen-
.Lord Shen is a bit sadistic man.
.It shows in the way he treats people around him, especially rivals.
.He is capable of caring for others though and the person he cares most for is you.
.You have stolen his heart and become his obsession.
.Though to him he wanted you to be his fate.
.So he is even more determined to eradicate all pandas.
.Comitting mass murder on all Pandas.
.With you he is willing to get rid of anyone in his way no matter what he has to do.
.May it be ending their lives, torturing them, or even worse things!
.He is not afraid to do it.
.Though he is also very cowardly.
.In which he fears someone would try and steal you away from him.
.So he would keep you chained near him at all times.
.He also would be afraid that someone would look upon your beauty.
.So he has you draped in clothes so no one may look at you.
.Only he could gaze upon your beauty.
.He would not allow you to speak as only he can hear your sweet song of a voice.
.When in private you would have to be focused solely on him.
.If not he will have fear you were thinking of someone else, or worse you were thinking about leaving him.
.He would guilt you and gaslight you into you believing you were in the wrong.
.That you were a bad partner and that you cheated on him.
.The manipulation and emotional abuse he would give you as a yandere is obscene.
.He would also emotionally manipulate you into thinking no one could love someone as nasty as you.
.You are not nasty he just will break you down so you stay with him and be grateful to him.
.He is very much a toxic manipulator type of yandere.
.Thinks that he is the only one good enough for you and that you are his.
.He would not confess in the normal way.
.Most likely give you a choice to be his.
.If you say yes the emotional manipulation will be subtle but still very toxic.
.If you say no he will kidnap you and it will be very clear and a bit cruel how he does it.
.He knows what he is doing to you is wrong.
.Though he believes it is needed and he refuses to change his way.
.With Rivals he would slaughter them all as he wants you to be his fate, so if there are no rivals taking you from him then you must be his!
.After all, he will make it happen or die trying!
-Scenario Yandere Lord Shen X Female Duck Listener!-
(No One's POV/Third Person)
She was the most beautiful duck he had ever seen. That Duck was you, a beautiful duck that was just minding your own business. Lord Shen came across you one day. His heart was stolen and he knew he would make you his no matter what. So he began to learn about you, having his men gather information about you. Finally, he has been brought into his home where he could confess to you.
"My My." He says. "You are even more beautiful up close my sweet~"
"Why am I here!?" You demand to know of the Lord.
"Well you see my sweet I am due to have a bride, I thought no one would be more better suited for the job than you." He says. "You will be mine and I can give you everything you want and more."
You stare at him in shock. You knew he could do that, but also you know what this man has done. You could not be with him.
"I am sorry." You tell him. "But I will have to respectfully decline."
His eyes narrowed upon you and you knew that was not the answer he was looking for. You go running but one of his guards snaps his fingers and grabs you. He walks up to you slowly.
"I was not asking my sweet, you will be mine and you will stand by me forever." He says and then kisses you
you were shocked and could not even react before he pulls away. "Take her to the dungeons, I will make her learn to love me, she will be my fate."
You were dragged away screaming and kicking and he smirked. Oh he finally had you and now that he does have you. He is never ever going to let you go. He does not care how long it takes he will break you and make you his at last.
"You are to be my fate, my sweet (your name)"
[YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS another chapter done, I hope you all enjoyed and stay sexy all my sexy muffins!]
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inkdemonapologist · 11 months
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Who's your favorite female character in BATIM? Also, what do you think about Audrey as a character (aside from the weird stuff about Joey and "you don't have to be like this" that you mentioned in that one post)? You draw her really well.
Aw, thank you! And MAN that’s a tough question……
Dot and Abby and Susie are my personal stack of favs. Dot’s probably the one where I like her personality as-written the most, since Abby I find difficult to summarise beyond “she’s gender” and loving her friendship with her besties in TIOL (and also getting my heart destroyed after seeing her and Joey interact in DCTL). Abby seems like a delight to interact with and I enjoy that she’s a little bit rude at heart but in a “omg its true but u shouldn’t say it lmao” sort of way, and I get the sense that she and Joey kind of enabled each other when they were younger. I’d love to hear more of her art opinions. I would say I’d get in a fight with her about Monet, but I don’t think she’d even give me the honour of an argument.
We as a fandom have spent a lot of time yelling about how Buddy is clearly autistic and I don’t think we spend NEAR enough time talking about how Dot is clearly autistic as well. I really like the contrast between the two of them through that lens; Buddy has never understood an unstated implication in his life and he’s not about to start now, but badly wants to interact the way he’s expected to, whereas Dot is incredibly intuitive, perceptive, and understands subtext but has no time for it frankly and would rather be direct than conventional. A day after meeting Buddy she’s explaining how conversations work and coaching Buddy on how to ask questions even when he’s being guided away from asking questions, which is definitely a normal way to converse. I love her so much.
Meanwhile Susie is so complicated by virtue of having almost no presence in the books – just the games, where her timeline is one of the most up in the air, her writing is hit or miss, and so so much of her personality is in the gaps between audiologs that, like most in-game BatIMs, means no two fandom Susies are the same. I find her really compelling, though, exploring the character to find that sweet spot between someone who is clearly very charming and cheerful and sweet and sympathetic, but also cruel enough to become Malice, entitled and demanding enough to not take “no” for an answer and to simply decide that Alice should get to be hers forever. I’ve said before that I like to imagine that’s what Sammy saw in her, someone who could somehow be simultaneously thoughtful and optimistic and ruthlessly ambitious. I think she’s neat, but also I love her best when she’s not just sweet and not just horrible.
Anyway, Audrey’s a fun character with a lot of pretty believable emotional responses; when scenes are taken individually, I like her. Grain of salt that I haven’t watched the whole game, I’ve just seen some big moments and cutscenes, SO I COULD BE WAY OFF HERE -- but from what I've seen, while it’s tempting to say she has more personality than her predecessor, I’d be hard-pressed to pin down exactly what that personality is.
I don’t think it was intentional, but Henry’s weary compartmentalisation soaked into every comment he made, even when the things he was saying were deliriously strange (“[survives a deadly supernatural ordeal] huh, looks like I need 3 gears here”). We all made headcanons about how he’s either tired from the loops or selectively mute or just trying not to think about the horrors, and it felt like it worked. But Audrey is tough to really pin down a motivating force for, as if she’s defined by static descriptors like “determined” and “kind” rather than any particular desire like “wants to help” or “wants to stay out of trouble” that might spur her to make decisions based on those desires. Her most consistent character trait is giving others the benefit of the doubt (and constantly getting burned for it) and her most reinforced motivation is that she just wants to not be in the confusing dangerous weird ink place, which, like, same! I WOULDNT WANT TO BE THERE EITHER
She sounds bitter when Joey compares her to a father she never knew, which is an expected and reasonable response on its own that feels right in the moment – but when we look at her timeline (or the Archive’s revelation that she repressed her memories of her father AFTER Joey’s death), it’s actually a sort of difficult reaction to make sense of. I feel like a lot of her reactions are like this, especially near the end; they’re not that weird in the moment, but it’s hard to get a sense of why she’s doing these things or what’s led her to the conclusions she comes to. She defends Wilson to Allison, but like… what led her to believe that he’s legit? We can fill in those blanks with headcanons, of course, but we don’t have strong clues. Is it her having sympathy for him now that she “knows” he’s trying to save his father, or does she think it’s her best shot to get out of here, or does she really believe Wilson is going to fix everything despite everything else she’s seen? Do her chat with Henry and the revelation that Baby Bendy and the Ink Demon are one and the same just not affect her decision-making at all here? Or is killing Baby Bendy just a sacrifice she’s immediately willing to make once she realises that? What ARE Audrey’s feelings on her father and at what point does she remember him? Audrey giving Allison her name is a nice subtle indication that she’s started to accept that Joey’s story might be true, which I genuinely like, but it’s weird that we see her doing that right before insisting that she’s gonna go off and hear Wilson out – we get this indication that she’s started believing Joey, but apparently not enough to decide to try to fix the cycle, not enough to put together that the “wicked creatures who never came from my pen” might be the Keepers that she knows answer directly to Wilson. She’s determined to help Wilson so that she can get out of there, and only after that extremely fails does she decide to try to fix the broken cycle. (Honestly, it would’ve been kinda neat if she HAD in fact been selfishly helping Wilson as a “well, sucks for you guys, but I gotta get home,” and then Joey’s insistence that we always have a chance to make a better choice would actually mean something and inform her decision to take the Reel as more than just “well I guess this is the option that I have left.”)
Anyway, DESPITE THIS CRITICAL PARAGRAPH this is all fine for a player character who basically just needs to go from task to task; I think she’s likeable and I enjoy her interactions. But it does feel like a lot of times she’s just doing the next thing she’s been handed, to me, and it’s harder to make that a part of her personality than it was for Henry. It’d be neat to see a little more of Joey in Joey Drew’s daughter.
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ecoamerica · 2 months
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ofallthelostdogs · 1 year
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Lost and Found
i think it feels appropriate that the first chapter posted on here introduces a new (and slightly old) character. with lots of fun backstory.
word count: 5,835
TW: female whumper (briefly there, does no actual harm while there), running away, interrogation (kind of), memory loss, past whump, uhh. i think that’s it!
tldr its not really whumpy, a sweet boy runs away from his owner and finds an azure shelter to help him. tagging @spookyboywhump bc naturally. also shoutout to allen for helping write this bc my brain is MUSH. mush i tell you. i havent posted a writing in so fucking long uh. eenjoy.
-edwin
~~~
The plan was solid, if he didn't mess it up. He had counted the minutes second by second, every day until he was certain he would get it right.
She got up, showered and made coffee. He waited patiently for her to collect him, to bring him downstairs and make breakfast. He helped cook like always, and laughed quietly along to her chit-chat. His heart raced in his chest, his throat tight with anxiety.
"Will you collect the mail for me, sweetness?" She asked. Lost smiled gently and stood up, nodding his head. It was almost over. Finally, it was almost over.
He fetched the mail quickly, hurrying back to her side so as not to arouse suspicion. She wouldn't notice a thing for hours, if everything went according to plan. She was going to leave for work after breakfast and reading the news. It took her an hour to get to and from work on a good day, and about a half hour more if the traffic was bad, which it always was on a Monday. He wanted as much time as he could get.
His owner kissed him goodbye as she left, grabbing her purse and her coat and leaving a bright red stain on his forehead. She waved as she closed the door, and locked it behind her like always.
As if he hadn't learned how to unlock it.
Once she was gone it was time. Lost hurriedly made his way to the bathroom, rubbing the lipstick off of his face as quickly as he could and tossing the wipe into the bin.
He needed something to hide his collar, which took the form of one of his owner's scarves, wrapped around his neck with the hopes of it covering his face enough to bypass anyone recognizing him. It was soft, and as he stared into the mirror he stroked the fabric and paused.
Was he really making the right choice? What if she was angry, oh and she would be. She could have someone track him down, he could be dragged back kicking and screaming and she would hurt him, punish him for his disobedience, because how dare he leave her like that?
Well, wasn't that the point? She had told him his mother was cruel, that she rescued him but… he couldn't remember anything before her. His whole life was just… blank. Every memory erased. Nothing came before her, not in his memory, or in his life. There had to be an after. He needed there to be.
She wouldn't have heard him anyways, but Lost always found himself creeping down the stairs as if every little creak of the wood was going to summon her, and she would see him and know he was going to leave. His stomach turned at the thought, making him nauseous. It would take at least an hour before she was home even if she found out, that was why he chose today. He had even checked her bag the night before to ensure she wouldn't forget anything, and hidden a twenty dollar bill from her wallet in his favourite pair of shoes.
Lost wasn't sure how long he stared at the door, willing himself to build the courage to unlock it. Once he made it past the driveway he was set, he could get anywhere he needed to. He had even written down the directions to the nearest Azure shelter, a name he recognized from her scorn of the company's mission.
How dare people want to be free.
He barely recognized his own hands as he reached in front of him, pressing numbers into a keypad and hoping she hadn't changed the passcode. She got notifications on her phone if he pressed the wrong number, and he knew that she would never let him forget his mistake if she caught him.
1-2-0-8
The keypad lit up green, and a high pitched chime signaled as the lock clicked open. Lost blinked, almost unbelieving. It was working.
He was going to get out.
It chimed again as he shut the door behind him, and he flinched. All he had to do was punch the code back in, and she wouldn't know he had left until she was inside after work and it was far too late to find him again. One two oh eight.
One two oh eight.
1-2-0-8
It beeeped at him when it locked shut, and he smiled slightly. He was almost free, for real. No more false promises.
Lost turned on his heel and began to walk down the driveway, cutting over the front lawn and slipping through a break in the fence that he had found months prior. Conveniently hidden by hedges and his owner's precious flower bushes.
He looked at the house for a moment as he walked away and pondered. Anxiety sat like lead in his stomach, still unsure of whether or not he was making the right choice. He had to be, right? None of his fears could be as bad as she was. He could be a person, on his own, if he wanted to. He just needed to learn.
He just needed the chance.
***
It took him longer than he had expected.
By the time Lost made it to the shelter the sun was much higher in the sky than when he began, and his mouth and throat were dryer than he could ever remember. His legs felt weak and his head felt light, making him dizzy. He imagined the scarf wasn't helping, as the sun beat down on him he was sweating hard enough to soak the front of his shirt. 
He promised himself it would be worth it. 
The shelter was at the end of a very inconspicuous block, and the only things marking it as anything besides an ordinary apartment complex were the security measures and small Azure logo above the door. Lost faltered as he saw two large men standing outside, the bravery he had built up wilting and cowering at the sight, at the idea of what they could do to him. One of them took notice and watched him backtrack for a moment, before calling out. 
"Do you need help?" 
Lost stood in place. Yes, he wanted to cry. Yes, yes please, please help me. Save me. I need help. His hands shook, along with his legs. He had walked too far to turn back, too far to hide and run back to his owner with his tail between his legs like a dog. 
He stepped forward and nodded. The man quietly acknowledged his hesitation, crouching down slightly when he spoke again. 
"Did someone hurt you?" Another nod. 
The man smiled sympathetically at him, and Lost noticed a collar similar to his around his throat, with a shiny silver plate that said Zander at the front. 
"We can help you, you don't have to rush but… when you're ready, we can go inside and I can get you help. You came to the right place." Zander said. 
Lost nodded, slowly coming closer. "I- I, I don't… I don't wanna be owned any muh-more…
He collapsed just a few steps away from Zander, who caught him and held him close, feeling how violently he shook. "You're gonna be okay," He murmured. "I promise, nobody is gonna hurt you again." 
Zander adjusted his hold on the boy and stood up, lifting him easily. The security guard he had been talking to opened the door for them and shot him a sad smile, familiar with the fragile state of many rescued and escaped victims. 
"Thanks." Zander acknowledged. He scanned a card that unlocked a more secure, interior door and pulled it open, hitching the small boy in his arms up to not drop him.
Alondra noticed him coming back in immediately and rushed to his side, standing on her toes to get a look at the boy he carried. 
“He just showed up.” Zander explained to her, and she nodded, understanding right away. 
“He looks exhausted,” She said, looking at Lost sympathetically, “here, come with me.” She told him, and Zander followed her as she led them back to a more private room. Zander was able to sit Lost down in a chair but he didn’t seem quite ready to leave his side, hesitant to do so at first when Alondra instructed him to go grab the boy something to drink. 
He did so after a moment regardless, and Alondra looked at Lost worriedly, asking him, “Would you be okay with removing your scarf? You must be really hot…” She spoke softly and gently, not wanting to pressure him into anything.
Lost nodded slowly, reaching up slowly to unwrap it. "I… d-didn't want… anyone t-to notice… it…" He mumbled, gesturing at the collar around his throat when he pulled his owner's scarf away. He wanted to hold it, despite all of his sense telling him not to. It was her's, not his, and he didn't want it. 
He tossed it across the room to dispel his desire to cling to it, to his life as a pet. He wanted out. "C-can you help me t-take it off? I- I don't, I can't, it, it's locked…" 
“Of course.” She told him, getting closer to get a better look at the lock. “It might take us a little bit to get it off but we’ll find a way, I promise.” She assured him. 
Zander came back shortly after, bringing Lost a nice cold water bottle which he handed to him right away. 
“I called Eli while I was out there.” He told Alondra.
“That’s good, he should be able to help us get this collar off him.” She said. 
Lost watched the two of them tiredly, holding the bottle in his hands. It was so cold, it felt nice. He held it to his forehead instead of opening it, breathing slowly. "Uh, um. Um, excuse me," He spoke up. "Wuh- what t-time is it?" 
Zander looked down at his phone. "It's uh… just about twelve." Lost sighed with relief. His owner wouldn't be home for hours yet. 
"Th-thank you…" He said, smiling politely. Finally he opened his bottle of water, having cooled off enough to feel present again. The cold water was a welcome relief, soothing his parched throat. The poor boy was so small his feet barely touched the ground, and he kicked them slightly and shut his eyes happily as he drank.
They gave him time to cool down, knowing he must be tired. They still had to wait for Elias to get there before they could even attempt to get that collar off of him. Alondra let him drink, waiting until he had finished before trying to make him speak again. 
"So, can you tell us what we should call you?” She asked. Though she could easily check the collar around his neck, she didn’t want to assume that was the name he’d choose to answer to.
The boy looked at her with wide eyes, seeming to mull it over for a second before answering. 
"Muh- my name is, um, my n-name is Lost…" He said quietly. He looked down at his feet as he said it, almost ashamed to admit that he had been so far gone as to be named by his owner. He wrung his hands together nervously, hoping with all his might that these two would continue this level of kindness, that his many shortcomings weren't going to earn him lashings, or the silent treatment for days. Worse still was his owner saying she was disappointed in him, sitting him down to tell him all the ways he's failed her in the past… well, however long it had been since she did it last. 
However neither of them seemed shaken by his response, and he let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't his fault that his name was Lost, or that his real name had really been lost to time. He was Lost, or sweetness, although the latter made his skin crawl. He shivered slightly. 
 “Alright, Lost,” She said with a smile, “my name is Alondra, and you’ve met Zander.” She said, gesturing to him. “Once our friend gets here they’ll probably have some questions for you, but you don’t need to feel like you have to answer anything you’re not ready to, they’ll understand.” 
He nodded. These people seemed nice enough, and although he was in an unfamiliar place he was already feeling better about his decision than earlier that morning. It was smart of him to leave early, the kind of thought that would have gone unappreciated by his owner, and her constant efforts to keep him feeling and behaving like a child. 
 After some time passed there was a knock on the door, and Zander commented on how that must be Eli before telling him to come in. Elias opened the door, taking a step inside but he seemed to pause in the doorway, looking directly at Lost. He almost looked a little bit confused, his head tilted to the side just slightly, but he caught himself and smiled at him, trying his best to appear friendly. 
 “Hello there.” He said to him, closing the door behind him. “Zander told me you came here looking for help?” He asked, trying to get a good understanding of the situation.
Lost nodded. He was quiet, and hadn't said a word since telling them his name. When he did speak, his voice was soft. He almost seemed afraid to speak above a whisper. "I- I wanna… I wanna be, um, I…" 
He stumbled over his words for a minute, getting frustrated with himself the more he stuttered, and the frustration seemed to make it worse. Eventually he gave up, puffing his cheeks out and sighing and settling for another nod. 
 “It’s alright.” Alondra said to him softly, trying to be reassuring, before she looked to Eli. “He needs help with this collar, it’s locked.” Alondra told him. 
 “I thought that might be an issue.” Eli said as he stepped closer, stopping before he actually got close enough to touch the collar. “Is it alright if I touch you?” He asked Lost. “I should be able to get this off, I haven’t found a lock I couldn’t figure out yet, I just need to take a look at it first.”
"P-please… please g-get it off of me…" Lost whimpered, lowering his head. "I… I don't, I don't want it… please t-take it off." 
 “Don’t worry, I’ll try to do this as quickly as I can.” Eli told him, still being very careful as he checked the lock. He’d come prepared for this scenario, as this wasn’t the first time somebody needed to be freed from a locked collar. 
The collar was simple, leather stained a light purple collar with thick blue stitching. The lock hung off the back, with a little heart shaped tag on the front that read Sweetness. Lost had never seen the other side of the tag, but he had been told that it said his owner's name, in case he managed to escape her and was found by some well meaning individual.
And just like Elias had promised, he was able to get it off rather quickly, and immediately handed the collar over to Zander to take a look at the tag. “We can get rid of that for you, you won’t have to worry about it anymore.” Eli assured him.
Lost's hands shot up to his throat, touching the skin that had been covered for years now. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape. He looked up at Elias and his eyes shone, the hint of a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. 
"Thank you…" He mumbled, his hands gently placed against his throat. He could barely believe the feeling, the freedom of having his throat unbarred and unhidden. The last restraint, the one constant reminder of his ownership, of his place. Finally gone. And so quickly, he barely had the time to process it before it was taken away from him, before he would never see it again. 
For a moment, he regretted tossing the scarf away from him. 
He almost hoped that his owner had been lying about putting her name and address on his collar, and that they wouldn't be able to find her. He almost didn't want her to know that he was gone at all, and wished he could somehow leave without really doing so. A part of him knew deep down, that there was something wrong with how he had been treated, that he was not a pet, or a child, or anyone's property. 
He didn't watch what Zander did with his collar, and put his head back down, pulling his knees to his chest with the hope that curling in on himself would protect him. 
He couldn't imagine finding someone in his state and returning them to the name listed on their collar. He could imagine a thousand scenarios, but all of them ended the same way; with that person as far away from any "owner" as they could possibly get.
Now that the collar was dealt with, Elias pulled up one of the chairs so he could sit across from Lost, so he wouldn’t be standing over him anymore. He didn’t try to make him look at him, but he was closer to being on his level and he spoke to him kindly, being very careful with what he said. 
“I know you’re probably tired, and we’ll let you rest as soon as we can, but we would like to ask you some questions if that’s okay?” Eli asked him. “We’d appreciate anything you’d be willing to tell us.”
Lost looked up at him through his eyelashes and nodded slightly. "Uhuh," He whimpered, and sat up a little straighter. He focused on Elias' freckles, the scar on his face, anything to avoid looking him directly in the eye. "I- I can."
 “If you’re comfortable with it, what can you tell us about the person who did this to you?” Eli asked him gently. 
 “We’ll look into the name on the collar, but if there’s anything else you can tell us that you think would help, that would be good.” Zander added.
"I…" Lost began, looking immediately anxious. "I, I don't… know. She, she's my owner… um, wuh- what do you wanna… know?" 
 “I guess we should start with how she got you in that situation to begin with. Did you know her before or was she just a stranger?” Eli asked him.
"Um…" He scrunched up his face uncomfortably. "I… don't… remember. I- I'm sorry." 
 “That’s alright,” Eli said, “Even if you can’t remember now, if you do remember anything later you can always tell somebody then, everything helps. Is there anything at all you can remember from before you were with her? Any family or friends? We’ll try our best to contact them for you.”
Lost's expression grew more frustrated, puffing out his cheeks again. For years now it had been the more he focused on it, the less he was able to recall. He could remember a terrifying, filthy cell and his hands restrained above him. He remembered being beaten, and screaming for help, and then… nothing. Nothing before, and nothing after until waking up on his owner's carpet; terrified and shivering only to be brought into her arms. 
He could remember her petting his hair, holding him and comforting him. He remembered her giving him the name of her sweet little lost pet. But nothing else. Nothing but her. 
"I… I remember my… my Miss, I…" Lost placed his hands on the back of his neck and whined quietly, starting to rock back and forth. "I remember Miss. I- I don't… know about… before her. I j-just, I just don't… it's not… there."
 “Hey, it’s okay.” Eli said gently. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stress you out. We can stop or take a break if you’d like, we only have to keep going if you want to.”
Lost whined again, putting his head between his knees. "I, I… just, I just rem'mber g-getting… hurt… I… rem'mber waking up… 'nd she was there, Miss wuh, was there 'nd… and… and I don't… have anything… before. Just, just her."
 “It’s alright,” Elias said softly, leaning forward in his seat just slightly. “You don’t need to force yourself, I understand. We can talk about anything else, we can leave this alone.” He told him, trying his best to stay calm and calm him down as well at the same time, he couldn’t stand seeing him so distressed. “We don’t need to worry about before until later, right now and how you’re doing is much more important.”
Lost sniffled, wiping his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. "I," He stammered, eyes welling up with tears. "I don't wuh, wanna be useless… I, I'm sorry… I just… I just wanna go home…" 
Eli's heart panged. It wasn't going to be easy to get any actual information out of him, least of all because he seemed to not know any. The poor boy was already so distraught, it was almost a wonder how he had gotten all the way here on his own. 
"I shouldn't hah, have left…" He mumbled, shaking his head. 
“That’s not true, it’s good that you’re here, we’ll keep you safe.” Eli told him. “We don’t need to rush anything.” He looked around worriedly, but it wasn’t uncommon for new rescues to be emotional, and Alondra had already grabbed a box of tissues and offered it to Lost. 
 “Here, it’s okay to take a break if you need to.” She assured him gently. “No matter what you can or can’t tell them, you’re still going to be safe here.”
He took the tissues with a soft little "thank you," and began wiping his face, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down. It took him a few minutes, sitting in silence and wiping at his face occasionally.
"M-miss is, um, she…" Lost began carefully. "She's… pretty. Um, she hah, has light hair, l-like, real light. And, and blue eyes like, like mine. She… she isn't muh, much bigger than me. She… she wears pretty dr-dresses, and shoes that make her t-taller. Her friends are… scary…" 
He paused for a minute and squeezed his eyes shut, balling his hands into fists and slowing down his breathing. 
"Her friends… do b-big, big bad work. Th-that… that's where I think… I came from. They… all have… pets…" He lowered his voice, as if the word itself was dirty, tainted by these people and their actions. "One of them h-hated me… I, I dunno why." 
“Hated you?” Elias asked, his eyebrows raised. He briefly glanced at Zander, wondering if he was thinking the same thing he was, the other man seemed just as intrigued by this. The thought that had been at the back of his head since the second he saw Lost was bothering him more now, he took his phone from his pocket and only searched for a minute to find the picture, almost hesitant to show it to him. “I’m sorry, you said her friends did bad work, do you… do you recognize this man…?” He asked him, showing him a picture of Nicholas Fairfax.
Lost's face dropped, the courage he had just built up leaving him in an instant. He pushed himself back in his chair, his breathing kicking up into quick, panicked breaths. He whined loudly, pulling his hands up to his chest protectively. 
"Uhuh," He whimpered, nodding. "I, I, I h-hate him, I hate him, he's, he's so mean. He doesn't, he doesn't t-tell the truth!" Lost buried his face in his hands, shaking his head and whimpering. "He's a buh, bully! And his pet is t-too…" 
 “I was worried you would say that…” Eli scowled, quickly putting his phone away so that Lost wouldn’t have to see the image again. “I’m so sorry that they treated you that way, but you won’t have to worry about him or his pet anymore. The fact you knew who he was is helpful on its own, so thank you for telling me.” He had to remind himself to stay calm, he could be upset later, right now he just needed to focus on Lost and trying to keep him comfortable. 
"He… he's m-mister Fairfax. I… I'm not allowed to c-call him by his um, his first name." Lost said quietly. "Good boys um, d-don't." He added, almost as an afterthought. 
 “Did you… have to spend a lot of time with him?” Eli asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer to that.
"Not… at first." Lost chose his words carefully. "I… I wasn't… allowed to. For, for a while. I… I d-disobeyed. And, and I th-thought… he would be nice to, to me. When, when I was wrong… miss didn't care anymore. Cus, cus it was… it was m-my fault." He wrung his hands nervously, looking at Elias. He didn't trust them, not yet, all that he had heard about the company from his owner's angry ranting was that they took pets away, away from where they belonged. He didn't have any idea what was done with them afterwards. 
"She j-just kept, kept leaving me wuh, with him. All the t-time. Cus I earned it and, and she had, had places to g-go." 
 “I’m… I’m sorry… that wasn’t your fault, you never deserved any of that…” He told him. He tried to be careful about what he said, he didn’t always know what would or wouldn’t upset somebody in this situation, but he hated to think he believed he’d earned or deserved any of what happened. It sounded like pretty standard behaviour from Nicholas, but he didn’t want to comment on that to him either.
"Miss t-told me I did," Lost said, as if that made it fact. "She said I'm b-bad, and, and he said so t-too. They, they're… smarter than m-me." 
 “Well… I don’t think you’re bad… and neither of them are going to bother you here, we’ll make sure of that.” Eli said. He wanted to tell him that they were wrong, he was never bad no matter what they said, they weren’t smarter just because they acted like it, but he didn’t want to overwhelm him, no matter how angry he was that they made him think that way.
"They're mean," Lost replied. "They… th-they suck! I, I don't l-like them." He had finally settled on sitting with his knees up, his arms crossed and his chin resting on them. He pushed his face into his arms, covering his eyes and sighing heavily. 
Really, he wasn't sure how he felt. His mind felt strangely blank, although his heart raced and his eyes watered. He wasn't… upset, but he wasn't happy about it, either. Everything seemed so overwhelming. He wanted the questions to end, his head hurt and he was so tired, and hungry, the more he focused the more he realized just how much of a mess he was. He was exhausted, and covered in sweat, his feet, legs and back ached so badly, and his scars burned. He wanted to lay down on the floor and let it swallow him, but the effort of moving even that far made him want to cry. He hurt. 
"I… I don't wanna do th-this anymore puh, please…" Lost whimpered, burying his face further in his arms. "I'm so tired…"
 “That’s okay, you don’t have to.” Eli quickly assured him. “Alondra can go make sure a space is ready for you, and we can let you get cleaned up and bring you some new clothes and then you can relax.” He told him. “You can take all the time you need to rest, we don’t need to rush anything.”
Lost nodded, too tired to do much else. All of the exhaustion he was feeling before seemed to have doubled, and he barely stopped himself from falling asleep in his chair. 
Alondra headed off to set up a room, while Elias left with the promise to return with clean clothes and towels. Zander stood awkwardly in the corner of the room, having not been given a task he seemed to remain stationary, his hands in his jacket pockets and his eyes fixed on the floor. Occasionally he would rock on the balls of his feet, scanning the room while Lost stayed in place.
He was far too tired to move. Presumably, he was going to be offered a shower but the thought only exhausted him more, if only partially because he wasn't used to bathing himself anymore. After four years of being babied and doted on for every little thing, he wasn't quite sure where to begin taking care of himself. 
Alondra returned fairly quickly, the same gentle, yet friendly smile on her face that she had offered while he struggled to answer Elias' questions. 
"I've got a room with a bed for you, if you want to come with me," She said softly. Lost whined. "You don't have to shut the door if you don't want to, we won't lock you in. And you aren't sharing with anyone, it's just for you." 
Lost continued to whine, rubbing his eyes against his arms. He produced an array of colourful explosions behind heavy eyelids, trying with all his might to keep himself awake. He shook his head, grunting in disagreement as he found that words simply refused to obey him. 
"Do you want me to carry you again?" Zander spoke up, taking a step out of the corner. Lost mulled it over for a moment. Fresh clothes and a bed did sound better than curling up in his current state, on that chair no less. He groaned something resembling a yes and looked up tiredly, eyes red and puffy. He reached out to Zander with both arms, and Zander picked him up easily. The boy weighed next to nothing, clearly his owner and Nicholas hadn't been doing a great job of keeping him fed, which wasn't uncommon. 
Zander followed Alondra down the hallway, up a flight of stairs and around a corner to a hall with many rooms coming off of it, each one having either a blank tag beside the door, or the occupied ones with names hastily scribbled in. 
They arrived at a door recently labeled with his name, in a curly, swirling text that he could only assume was Alondra's. Inside was a bed, a table and chair, and a small dresser. Lost noticed a closet around the corner when Zander put him down on the bed, with empty hangers ready to be filled. 
His own room. 
The most his owner had given him was a kennel.
Elias came back quickly, carrying the items he had promised as well as a small stuffed shark, which he handed to Lost with a shy smile. 
"You don't have to want it, or like it, but… I always find hugging them helps me calm down. I thought you might like one." 
Lost stared at the small blue plush, with its embroidered black eyes and sharp white teeth. It smiled at him, and he found himself smiling back a little. He tucked it into the bed beside his pillows and smiled at Elias, his eyes shut with sleepiness. 
Eli smiled back, and placed the towels and clothes on the bed bedside Lost. 
"I got you some sweatpants and a tee shirt as well, um, there wasn't a lot of options so they're blue and gray. I hope that's okay. The showers are just down the hall to your right, there's signs in case you get mixed up too." He explained, gesturing to the general direction of the showers. 
"Th-thank you…" Lost mumbled, stifling a yawn. "I… I think 'm too… sleepy… though… um…"
"Oh, that's okay!" Eli exclaimed, not wanting Lost to feel pressured. "You can do whatever you'd like." 
"I…" Lost continued. "I wanna… um… new… n-new clothes… and… and… slee… sleepy…" He paused for a minute, looking down at his feet nervously. After a moment he looked at Elias again, big blue puppy eyes pouting up at him from the bed. "Wuh, will you… st-stay with… me? I… I don't… want m-miss to… to find me… please…" 
 “Oh- of course, if that’s what you’d like.” Eli told him. He was almost surprised he wanted him to do it but he didn’t mind helping, anything to make him feel better. “I can step out so you can get changed but I’ll come back in when you’re ready. I’ll make sure everything is okay while you sleep, you don’t have to worry about her.” He assured him.
Lost smiled. He mumbled another thank you and resisted the instinct to refer to Elias as sir. Eli left the room for a moment, and Lost made sure he kept the door at least an inch ajar, and that he wasn't trapped before hauling himself off of the bed and into his new closet to change his clothes. Lost liked small spaces, and he could imagine setting up a little den of sorts in there to recharge himself. 
Changing went quickly despite his exhaustion, and he meekly called for Elias to open the door again as he dragged himself back to bed. 
"I… am so t-tired." He stated flatly as he pulled the covers back. The bed was warm, and clean, and the room outside was cool and comfortable. It was a gracious relief after walking so far, and he almost began to feel like he deserved it. After all, he was only human. Lost grabbed the plush that Elias had given him, and held it to his chest before laying down and tucking himself in. He had always preferred to go to sleep with something to hold. 
"Thank you," He called again, looking up at Eli with sleepy eyes. "Um, um… th-thank you. 'M, I… I… am… sleepy. Good… goodnight." 
 “Of course.” Eli smiled at him. “I hope you sleep well, goodnight.” He told him, taking a seat in the chair in the room so he could stay with him. He hoped he’d feel better once he’d had some time to rest, he couldn’t imagine just how exhausted he must’ve been. 
It only took a few minutes for Lost to fall asleep. He curled up around his plush, hugging it close to his chest and laying almost fetal. When he closed his eyes the darkness embraced him kindly, wrapping him up and taking over easily. Lost let himself be lulled into sleep by the sound of people working outside his door, knowing that if anyone wanted to come in; they would have to answer to Eli first. 
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m1ckeyb3rry · 7 months
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Endure XIII: Secret
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Series Synopsis: You and Eren Jaeger have been best friends since the age of two, but the two of you are destined for an inevitable tragedy. The world you have been born into is cruel; it is one where friends are traitors and enemies are allies, one where you find yourself doubting everything you've ever known. In this life, mistakes are fatal, and you must be careful, lest you make one too many.
Chapter Synopsis: You and the rest of the 104th must get the fuel for your ODM gear and then figure out a way to seal the breach.
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Series Masterlist
Pairing: Eren Jaeger x Female Reader, Armin Arlert x Female Reader
Chapter Word Count: 7.7k
Content Warnings: swearing, canon-typical violence, sexual abuse (non-explicit), major character death, angst, original characters included
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Making plans was normally Armin’s thing, but considering he was currently traumatized, almost getting eaten and then seeing his best friend suffer the same fate, he was in no state to do anything of the sort. That meant that it was up to you and Jean, you who had been the ones to propose such a radical course of action, to tell everyone what to do and how to do it.
“I’m thinking an all or nothing charge,” you said.
“It’s our best bet,” Jean said immediately, “The titans have completely swarmed the supply depot, so we’ll need everything we’ve got to have a chance of making it through.”
“Agreed,” Tullia said with a nod, “But that means everyone has to be willing to do this. There’s no chickening out or anything like that allowed. If one of us falters, it’s over for the rest.”
“She’s right. Are all of you prepared? You see a titan, you can’t run from it. You have to kill it or distract it in some way, but if we panic, we fail,” you said.
“Understood,” Connie said, answering for everyone. They all looked uneasy still, but Jean’s level stare and your reassuring demeanor was enough for them to stand as well, though their legs trembled and their eyes belied their fear.
“Right, then. Hopefully we’ll meet Mikasa on the way there, as her aid would be invaluable, but we can’t bank on it. The only ones we can count on are the ones here and now,” you said.
“We can do this, everyone! I know it!” Sasha said, her optimism shining through. The girl did not have a pessimistic bone in her body, and though you knew some people might find it annoying, you found it was a relief. There was far too little light in this world, and she provided some of it. No wonder Mikasa loved her so much.
“Armin,” you said softly to the boy who was standing beside you, his entire body shaking, “I need you to be at your best. I know it’s hard that he's gone, but now isn’t the time to grieve, you hear me? He wouldn’t want you to be sad, anyways. Trust me.”
He blinked at you as if he had just awoken from a long nap before saying, “You’re a lot braver than I remembered.”
“I’m not brave. I just see what needs to be done and I do it,” you said before hugging him, “You’re brave, Armin. Braver than you know. Brave enough to be able to save us all.”
The cadets took off like birds, flitting through the sky, dodging titans and trying to conserve your gas.
There was a sort of beauty in the destruction, if you looked at it sideways. Life and death all came together in one fatal mosaic, so that mere steps away from a little girl’s corpse, a scared boy could choose to keep going.
Your eyes tracked Jean’s movements warily. He was furious, you could tell, though his rage manifested differently than Eren’s did. Eren was all fire and lightning and righteous fury. Jean was cold and sharp, guilt overpowering his anger. Any titan that crossed his path, he cut down with ruthless efficiency, and you did the same, until your faces were dripping in the blood that covered your clothes, too.
Because you and Jean were the same. Second best, always falling behind the wonderful people you had trained with. Jean was a prodigy with the ODM but little else. You had a lot of theoretical knowledge but no particular talents. Yet it was you two who had witnessed the most base horrors of this world, witnessed life leave the innocent and life leave the guilty, too.
Maybe that was why you both didn’t get along. Jean was your mirror, as you were his. Or perhaps you were not mirrors of each other but rather alternate versions, reflecting what might’ve happened if your circumstances had been different. If you didn’t have Eren looking out for you, maybe you would’ve been cocky and quick-tempered, too. If Jean didn’t have his mother there for him no matter what, maybe he would’ve been shy and easily hurt, too.
“Oh, shit!” you shouted in alarm as the canisters of your ODM gear stuttered and hissed before your cables went limp. You had used more gas than the others when you had gone back to get that lily for Leah, and now that choice was catching up to you in a bad way as you began to fall to the ground.
“Keep going! Do not give up!” you called out. Jean gave you a wide-eyed look before nodding in determination. He would continue to lead the cadets, and he would make sure that Tullia and the others were safe.
Somehow, miraculously, the fall did not kill you. You were not even injured, landing in a cart full of straw that had hastily been abandoned, most likely during the evacuation efforts. You scrambled to your feet, taking in your surroundings.
You were in an alleyway, with tall buildings on either side of the road. You had no gas, which meant you were easy prey, but you had a couple of blades left that you might be able to use, though you doubted it would be very effective. You were no Mikasa or Reiner, after all, no top cadet or strong-willed soldier. But this was what you had, and so it would have to be enough.
Pulling out the blades, you stared at your reflection in the silver metal. Your face was covered in hot, steaming red, and your hair was dishevelled from the wind. You barely recognized yourself. All traces of innocence and wonder had left your now-hardened gaze, and you figured they must have died earlier today, though whether with Leah or Eren, you did not know.
Transfixed as you were by your appearance, you almost did not notice the ten meter titan heading towards you until the ground began to shake. You looked up at it, and as you stared into its vacant eyes, a memory came to you.
“Hey, Y/N, can I tell you a secret?” Eren whispered into your ear. You shrugged. You were eight years old now, still as close as you had been at two. You were at the Jaegers’ for the night, as your parents had wanted to have a date. You for one were more than happy to have a sleepover with your best friend and did not complain.
“Sure. What’s up?” you said.
“You can’t tell anyone about this. Not even Armin,” he warned you. You nodded.
“Yeah, yeah, I won’t,” you said. He leaned in close to you, and you blinked at him in confusion, wondering what he was going to tell you. It was bound to be something huge, if he didn’t even want Armin to know.
Instead of saying anything, he shyly pecked you on the lips.
“Why’d you do that?” you said, crossing your arms. He shrugged, blushing slightly.
“Because,” he said, “I think the moon is pretty tonight.”
“That’s true,” you said.
“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “I don’t think I deserve to look at it. Nobody does.”
“Huh? Why not?” you said. He lay back on the bed, and you did the same, pulling the blankets up around your shoulders and turning on your side to face him.
“It’s too good for this world. Good things never last when greedy people get their hands on them,” he said.
“Why did I think of that now?” you muttered, furrowing your brow. At any moment, you would get eaten by a titan, yet all you could think of was that random moment with your now-dead best friend.
“I guess good things really don’t last. Otherwise, you’d still be here,” you said. It still hadn’t hit you that Eren was really gone again, so soon after you had finally gotten him back. He was gone, but you were still here. There was only one possible explanation for that: he was good, and you were not, and this world was so fucking greedy.
“Fine, then. If being a good person gets me killed, then I’ll be bad! I’ll be terrible if that means I get to live!” you said. The titan continued to trudge towards you. You wondered if it thought the fear would make you taste better.
“Sucks to be you, because I have no plans of being your meal today. I would give up anything to win! My humanity, my family, my friends...you don’t understand, you asshole! I’ve lost it all! Yet despite that, I’ve endured! I’ve endured all of that pain and grief and sorrow, and here I am. You do NOT get to be the one that kills me!” you said, pointing the blade at the titan as threateningly as possible.
As if to punctuate your statement, there was a loud, shrieking roar. The ground shook again, but this time, the source was behind you. You did not flinch as a muscular titan lunged forwards and punched your predator in the face, knocking him back before letting out a victorious cry.
He turned to you, green eyes glowing and pointed ears flicking back and forth. He was tall, about fifteen meters high, and his mouth did not have lips, exposing his gleaming white teeth. He had a shock of dark hair that danced about in the wind as he huffed and stomped on the nape of the titan that had tried to eat you.
A dangerous smirk formed on your face. This titan, whatever he was, represented all of the rage and heartbreak you had ever felt in your life. He was getting revenge for you. He was getting justice for you. You felt strangely vindicated as you watched him raise his fists and then kick a third titan in the head before crushing its nape.
“Y/N! You’re okay!” Armin said. He and Connie dropped to the ground beside you, but you waved them off, pointing at the rogue titan.
“Look at him,” you said in wonder, “He saved me, and now he’s going to save us all.”
“What do you mean?” Connie said as Armin undid his gas canisters and poured the little fuel he had left into yours.
“I was going to die, but that titan over there saved my life. He knows martial arts, for some reason, and he’s killing other titans. He ignored me completely,” you said.
“Yippee, you found another kind of abnormal! Let’s ride out this good luck while it lasts and get out of here!” Connie said with a nervous laugh.
“Armin, tell us what we have to do,” you said. You could tell he had a plan forming in his mind. He turned to you, a serious look on his face.
“You’re going to have to be good. As good as Mikasa, for this to work,” he said. You frowned.
“Whatever it takes,” you said, even though you were sure you could never be as good as Mikasa. Armin knew that, but still he put his faith in you, because this was your biggest chance. This rogue titan could change just about everything for you, for humanity.
“You said he’s only fighting titans? We can assume he has a similar call to kill titans as other titans do to kill humans. That means, in a few seconds, he’s going to go seek out more to kill. What if we get rid of the titans in his path, though? He’s going to go straight to the supply depot and get rid of the titans there,” he said.
“The hell? Guys, this is a titan we’re talking about! You’re talking about him like he’s our a-ally or something!” Connie said.
“I’ll do it. I don’t know if I can, but I will. Connie, you carry Armin back,” you said.
“No, that’s a waste. Leave me here, please. Just...give me a blade. I’d rather die at my own hand than that of the titans,” he said.
“I won’t lose you again. We might need you to make another plan once we get to the supply depot, as well, so it’d be foolish if we leave you to die. Connie, carry him,” you said.
“It’s okay, Armin, you’re really light. It’s not like having to carry Reiner or something,” Connie said.
“If you’re sure,” Armin said as Connie scooped him up.
“I am. Now, look. I don’t trust this titan, and I don’t trust this whole plan, but I do trust the two of you. We’re going to do this, and we’re going to do this as best as we possibly can. I don’t think I’ll be able to help you kill any titans while carrying Armin, but I’ve got your back, Y/N,” he said before adding as an afterthought, “And I won’t drop you, either, Armin.”
“Thanks, Connie. Let’s go, then, before the rogue vanishes,” you said, leaping into the air, Connie at your side.
Finding the rogue was easy. His signature shrieking roar made it simple to locate him, and the pile of steaming titan corpses he left in his wake was also a pretty good indicator as to his location.
Destroying the titans in his path was harder. You employed every trick you had ever heard of, every spin and twirl and dodge and slash in order to clear the way for the rogue. By the end of it, you were panting from exhaustion, but you kept going, and as the rogue titan punched a titan about to reach into the supply depot, you and Connie crashed through the glass, landing neatly on your feet despite the rough entrance. Connie set Armin on his feet before wrapping an arm around you for support as you sagged against him.
“You did good,” he said, “Really good.”
“Almost didn’t make it,” you wheezed out, your muscles sore from the exertion and strain you had just placed them under.
“But you did. You did it, and you saved us all. You and that weird titan friend of yours,” he said.
“Y/N!” Tullia shouted, and suddenly, you, Connie, and Armin were swarmed by your friends.
Tullia and Mikasa took turns fussing over you, while Jean gave you a nod of respect and a half-smile. Sasha began crying and hugging Connie, who was her best friend, almost like her twin. Marco began to speak in soothing tones to Armin, who had begun to shudder again, the adrenaline from earlier finally fading.
You explained the entire situation about the rogue titan to them, and they informed you of the titans in the supply room, blocking you from getting to the gas.
“We made it all this way, and now ten titans are going to stop us? I think not,” you said sharply.
“She’s right. At this point, it would just be embarrassing,” Reiner agreed. Warm, dependable Reiner, who smiled and offered you his hand. You took it, finding solace in his calloused palms and the way he reassuringly rubbed circles on your skin with his thumb.
“Min-Min, this one’s all you,” you said. Armin frowned but nodded slowly.
“I have a plan. Do you guys trust me?” he said.
“After that whole rogue titan thing? Fuck yeah!” Connie said.
“Without a doubt,” Mikasa said.
“More than anyone,” you said.
“If we trust you, we have a chance. Only a fool wouldn’t do such a thing,” Jean said.
“He’s right. We all trust you, Armin. The question is do you trust yourself?” Reiner said. Armin seemed taken aback at this, and you all stared at him, waiting for his answer. Your faith and platitudes meant little if Armin could not find his own strength, his own validation.
Something shifted in little Min-Min at that moment. He was no longer the sweet, shy boy that he had once been. A light entered his eyes; a light of madness and knowledge and wonder — but not a childish wonder. Rather, it was a fascination, a sort of calling, almost, and you knew without a doubt that he would no longer hesitate to do what must be done.
“I do.”
The lift lowered agonizingly slowly, and the titans paused in their wanderings. The scent of human bodies sang to them, an irresistible aria that they were powerless to deny. You almost felt bad for them. In the end, they were slaves to their instincts. They could never rise above mindless monsters, doomed as they were to beasthood. Could you really blame them for giving in to their urges? Maybe not, but you sure as hell could fight them for it, could understand that it was cruel and wrong. And so you always had, and so you always would.
The ten of you chosen to jump from the rafters and slay the titans readied yourselves. You, Tullia, Mikasa, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Annie, Bertholdt, Reiner, and Ymir — the top ten, with Sasha replacing Eren and Ymir taking Marco’s place. Marco had chosen to lead the cadets in the lift, giving them hope. They needed someone brave to make sure that nobody messed this up, and Marco was more than up to the task.
“3...2…” Marco began to count slowly. You had to trust him, trust that the titans would be in position when you dropped to kill them, because that was the catch: you could not see your foes.
“...1...NOW!” he shouted. The cadets in the lift opened fire, blinding the titans. As soon as they ceased, the ten of you dove to the ground. Despite your shaking muscles and the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm you, you dug into your target’s nape with as much force as you could muster, finding joy in the way its blood spurted up into the air as it fell.
“SASHA!” Mikasa screamed in terror. The auburn haired girl had missed, and she stared, slack-jawed, at the titan that was poised to eat her.
But that brutal snap of teeth never came. Mikasa leapt into the air, impossibly high given the fact that she had no gear, before bringing her blade down and felling the titan about to kill her girlfriend.
Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Annie do the same for Connie, though she was decidedly less dramatic about it. She brushed his thanks aside coolly before heading to one of the supply tanks and filling her canisters back up.
“Annie’s got the right idea. Everyone, refuel!” Tullia called out.
“I cannot believe we did that!” Marco said, hopping out of the lift ecstatically, holding up his hand for a high five. You smiled fondly at him and slapped your palm against his.
“We did that,” you agreed, “Now let’s get back to the safety of the walls.”
Once everyone had filled their canisters, they began to take off, though you, Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Armin, and Mikasa lingered.
“I wonder what happened to that rogue titan,” you said to Armin.
“Agreed. Let’s go check it out. You four coming with us?” he said.
“I’m curious about it, so yeah,” Reiner said, and of course, where Reiner went, Bertholdt was sure to follow.
“Whatever,” Annie said. This was her way of agreeing, though, so none of you took too much offense.
“I’d like to see what saved us all,” Mikasa said, giving Reiner a dark look when he tried to put his arm around you and placing herself in between the two of you. He held his hands up innocently, and you gave him an apologetic look.
Peering out of the window, you were met with a disheartening sight. The other titans had ganged up on the rogue and were beginning to devour him. A lump formed in your throat at the sight, and you blinked back tears, even though it was silly to be crying over a titan of all things.
“I thought he might’ve been able to help humanity,” Armin said.
“What a shame,” Mikasa said.
“Maybe we should try to help him,” you suggested quietly.
“Help a titan? I know he saved you, but he’s still a titan,” Mikasa reminded you.
“There’s the one that killed Thomas!” Armin said. Almost as if the rogue titan had heard him, it staggered to its feet, throwing the titans off of it and stumbling towards the abnormal that Armin claimed killed Thomas. The rogue didn’t have arms, so it bent over and picked the abnormal up with its teeth before turning and using it as a weapon, swinging it at the remaining titans. They were powerless to defend themselves from his attacks, and then, with one final swing, he threw the abnormal into a building. It fell to the ground limply, and you knew they were all dead.
The rogue slumped over, and steam surrounded his nape. You cocked your head at this development. You hadn’t seen him sustain any injuries to that part of his body, and that was an absurd amount of steam.
And then a figure emerged from the nape. You narrowed your eyes, feeling lightheaded all of a sudden. Was this some sort of trick of the light? You jetted towards him, ignoring the way your friends called out warnings for you to stop.
Touching down lightly in front of him, you fell to your knees, gathering his limp form in your arms with a sob. You pressed your ear against his chest, and to your surprise, his heart was beating, as steadily as it had been that day on the roof in this very city.
Drawing back, you stared at his face in wonder before he slumped against your shoulder, his body collapsing into your embrace. You held him close to you, as close as you possibly could, though even that was not close enough.
For the second time, he came back to you. Eren saved you, and he came back to you, because that was what he did. Tears poured down your cheeks, and you muffled your choked sobs in his hair.
“Is that...Eren?” Armin said.
“Yeah,” you sniffed.
“How is this possible?” Mikasa said, her eyes wide as she took in the sight before her. Armin inspected Eren’s left hand, fascinated by it for some reason.
“He grew his arm back,” he said.
Perhaps Eren wasn’t a good person, either. Well, in that case, you both would be bad together. You would be awful, awful people if that meant you got to live, if that meant you got to win.
“Cadets! If you continue to defend this titan, you will be tried for treason and executed!” Captain Woermann bellowed, “I have cannons trained on you at this moment! Don’t think I’ll hesitate!”
“Try it. I dare you. But you’re getting through me before you get to Eren,” Mikasa spat.
“Captain, be careful. Ackerman is invaluable to humanity. It’ll be a great loss if she dies,” Ian Dietrich said.
“There is a titan in Wall Rose! It’d be a greater loss if he’s allowed to go free!” Captain Woermann snapped.
“Eren, please, wake up,” you murmured. He was unconscious, head tucked under your chin as Armin sat next to you in worry and Mikasa held back the Garrison from blowing you off the face of the planet.
“I’ll kill them all,” Eren muttered, long lashes fluttering against his cheeks and lips curving into a sadistic smile. You groaned as the Garrison members began to panic at this declaration.
“Not the best thing to say at the moment,” you said.
“HE’S GOING TO KILL US!” a soldier screamed.
“What? Who’s going to kill who?” Eren said with a yawn, blinking his eyes open and gazing up at you in adoration, “Oh, hey Y/N.”
You flicked him on the forehead. “You’re going to be killing everyone, apparently.”
“What? Wait, what’s going on?” he said, scrambling to his feet before immediately falling in a heap beside you.
“Are you playing dumb now or something? Answer me, titan!”
“Titan?” Eren said.
“Yeah, you kind of emerged from the nape of a rogue titan earlier,” Armin informed him.
“CADET JAEGER!” Captain Woermann shouted.
“Yes, sir?” Eren said.
“Are you a human...or a titan?”
“I really don’t understand the question, sir!” Eren said, looking around desperately, his eyes meeting yours. He was panicking, fear and confusion clouding his mind, the same as it was to the members of the Garrison. This was a volatile situation, with both parties apt to explode at the slightest of triggers.
“Eren, calm down. Relax,” you said.
“They want to kill us! They think I’m a titan! How can I relax?” he said, his chest heaving as he began to hyperventilate.
“Answer the question, cadet! Human or titan!”
“Human! I’m a human!” Eren gasped out. Captain Woermann’s face fell.
“Then I’m sorry that I have to do this,” he said before lowering his arm. Eren shot to his feet, electricity crackling on his skin as he pulled you against his chest and wrapped his arms around Mikasa and Armin before raising his hand to his mouth and biting it.
Heat and steam blew your hair back, the world turning to fire and smoke before everything was suddenly very still. You were in some kind of bony construct, with Mikasa underneath you and Armin on top.
“Ugh, hold on a second,” Mikasa said, dropping to her feet and rubbing her head before reaching up to help you and Armin out.
“Did Eren transform again?” Armin said.
“He must have, but not all of the way. It looks like just a rib cage, but I think it saved us from the cannons,” you said.
“You guys...good?” Eren said, emerging and swaying on his feet, blood dripping freely from his nose.
“Yeah. Are you?” you said. His face was pale, but he nodded.
“Totally great. Anyways, I don’t know how or why this is happening, but I think it’s related to my cellar. Dad gave me the key, and we have to get there to figure it all out. Shit! The amount of people he could have saved...I can’t understand why he would hide it,” Eren said mournfully.
“We can worry about that later. Right now, we’re all going to be killed by the Garrison if we don’t figure something out. Your skeleton is already beginning to disintegrate. Once it’s gone and the smoke vanishes, we’re going to be in big trouble,” Mikasa said.
“Right. I think I should try and transform into a titan again before going to my cellar and find out what all of this is about,” he said. You all waited for him to elaborate, but he did not.
“And...what is our role in this plan of yours, exactly?” you said.
“You stay here. Be safe,” he said.
“Nope. Not happening,” Mikasa said.
“Agreed, and I really don’t think you’re in any state to transform at the moment, either, provided you can even control it, which I’m not too sure you can,” you said.
“I’ll be fine! I can push through,” he said.
“Doesn’t matter. If you go, I’m going with you,” Mikasa said, her voice cold.
“And so will I,” you added loyally.
“You guys are so stubborn! Fine, then, here’s my second idea. Armin, you convince the Garrison that I’m not a threat. We’ll leave everything in your hands,” he said.
“We’ll go with that,” Armin said decisively. You gaped at him, expecting him to fight or argue or protest about how he didn’t deserve your faith. Noticing you, he gave you a grim look and nodded.
“It’s like I said back in the supply depot. I trust myself now.”
Armin marched up to where the Garrison elites waited, casting his gear and blades aside before beginning to defend your case.
“Eren, what happened to you? How did you become a titan?” you said softly.
“Like I said, I still don’t really know. I just did it,” he said. You looked at him, and tears welled up in your eyes again as you realized that he was really, truly, alive.
“Don’t do that again. Don’t keep dying,” you said. He brushed your tears away.
“You don’t cry. You remember what I said, right? I want the last thing I see to be you smiling, and since we never know when our last moments could be, you need to always smile, just in case,” he said.
“You morbid bastard,” you said, though you smiled anyway before returning your attention to Armin, whose voice was growing shrill and cracking as Captain Woermann refused to listen to him.
“Sir! I am a soldier! That is to say, I’ve devoted my life and heart to saving humanity. For as long as I live, I will defend Eren’s strategic value! He could change the tides of this battle forever!” he screamed, saluting at Captain Woermann, who clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“My apologies, Cadet Arlert. If things had been different, maybe we would’ve been on the same side,” he said, going to lower his arm. You pressed closer to Eren, and he placed one arm around you while readying the other to bite down on. Mikasa snarled and drew her blades, standing in front of the two of you protectively.
“Captain Woermann! Have you ever seen a salute as magnificent as that?”
Everyone paused as a man you knew to be Commander Pyxis stopped Captain Woermann from signalling for the cannons to fire.
“C-Commander? What are you doing?” Captain Woermann said.
“Sorry for taking so long. Anka updated me on the situation. From what I’ve heard, we have a little titan friend! How wonderful! Greetings, Cadet Jaeger!” Commander Pyxis said, waving at you. Eren hesitantly waved back, not relaxing his grip on you for an instant.
“He’s a danger!” Captain Woermann said.
“Look at that boy and tell me he’s dangerous. Why, he’s just a child! Furthermore, I agree with Cadet Arlert. We might be able to utilize this power of his to seal the breach and regain Trost, thereby winning humanity’s first victory since those monsters began terrorizing us,” Commander Pyxis said.
“Do you think we can trust a titan?” Captain Woermann said.
“As far as I’m concerned, we can. I also don’t think we have any other choice. Come on, cadets, let’s return to Wall Rose where Cadet Arlert can inform us of his plan,” Commander Pyxis said. You all gave each other bemused looks before following after him.
Standing atop Wall Rose, you peered off of the edge, where titans clawed at the structure frantically, trying to reach you and devour you. You shuddered and stepped back. Pyxis waved cheerfully at the titans.
“Sorry, lads! None of you fellows gets the privilege of eating me, unfortunately. If I have to go, it’s going to be one of the sexy lady titans that does it. Say, Cadet Jaeger, would you happen to know any?” he said.
“Uh, I can’t say that I do,” Eren said awkwardly.
“Walls be damned! Is that my favorite pair of hellions?” a familiar voice you had not heard in many years said. You turned to see none other than Mr. Orion standing there, beaming at you and Eren.
“Hey, Mr. Orion! Is Mr. Hannes around?” you said.
“Damn right, I am! And how have you been, lassie?” Mr. Hannes said, appearing and throwing his arm around his friend.
“Pretty good. All of us are graduating from the cadet corps tomorrow,” you said.
“Where’d all the time go? Just yesterday, you were going to Eren’s third birthday party!” Mr. Orion said.
“A lot has changed since then,” you said with a frown. The two men’s faces grew sober at this, and you knew that you were all thinking of everything you had lost when Shiganshina fell. You had been fortunate that you got Eren, Mikasa, and Armin back, but your family was really and truly dead for forever, and unlike your friends, they would not return.
“Not everything, though. Seems you and Eren are still as close as ever,” Mr. Hannes said after a moment. You nodded at him before shifting to give Eren, who had gone over to talk with Pyxis about Armin’s plan, a fond look. He had an endearing frown on his face, and a small smile crossed your face at the sight.
“Yeah, that’s true,” you said, missing the knowing glances the two Garrison captains exchanged.
“I don’t know about that, Hannes. I’d wager they’re a teeny bit closer now,” Mr. Orion teased. You snapped your gaze back to them and their smirks.
“What are you talking about?” you said.
“I’d say you two are in loveeee,” he sang.
“Yeah, well,” your face fell, “One of us is.”
Both of them winced dramatically. It would be comical if you weren’t talking about your unrequited feelings for your best friend. Tullia insisted otherwise, but you knew the truth, knew Eren in a way she did not, knew that he would never love you.
“How did he handle the rejection?” Mr. Hannes said.
“What?” you said.
“Eren? I mean, obviously you two are still friends, but it must’ve been hard for him. That boy’s been in love with you for probably his entire life,” Mr. Orion said.
“No, wait, hang on. I think you guys are confused here. I’m the one in love. He’s not,” you said.
“He rejected you?” Mr. Hannes said incredulously.
“Well, it’s not like I’ve told him,” you said, rolling your eyes. At this, they facepalmed.
“Lassie, if you seriously think that gremlin doesn’t care about you as more than a friend, I don’t know what to tell you,” Mr. Hannes said.
“Hannes is right. You guys are the hellion duo! Everyone in Shiganshina knew you would end up with each other. It’s inevitable, although, please refrain from having children until after I’ve retired. They’re going to give me grey hairs,” Mr. Orion said.
“You really think so?” you said.
“Yeah, any child raised by you two is going to be the most troublesome thing to ever terrorize these walls!” Mr. Orion said.
“No, dimwit, about him loving me back,” you snapped.
“Not sure I’m the dimwit here if you can’t even tell that Eren loves you,” he said defensively.
“Do you think...I should tell him? After this mission and all are over, of course. He has more important things to worry about right now,” you said.
“I’d wager good money that you’d feel pretty darn great if you did,” Mr. Hannes said, patting you on the head affectionately. You gave him a determined nod.
“Right! Then that’s what I’ll do,” you said.
“Atta girl! You be safe, distracting those titans, you hear me?” Mr. Orion said.
“You, too. You should come to the Rals’ for the next break. I’ll be there; we can eat Petra’s mashed potatoes,” you said. He grinned at you before taking a swig of beer, his first and only love.
“Sounds like a plan. See you around, little Y/N,” he said.
“See you around, ancient Mr. Orion.”
Just like earlier, you were put in a squad with Jean, Marco, and Connie, though this time, Annie replaced Sasha.
“Remember, guys,” Jean said as you glided through the eerily empty town, attracting the attention of the titans before dashing back to the safety of the walls, “We don’t have to engage with them unless absolutely necessary.”
“We were all there for the debriefing, Jean, we know,” you said.
“Shut it, L/N,” he said.
“You know I can’t. I’ll be talking until the moment I die,” you said.
“Great, something to look forward to,” he said.
“You know, what with the two of you at each other’s throats like normal, this almost feels like a normal training exercise,” Connie marvelled.
“It’s honestly best to think of it that way. Less pressure,” you said. As you reached the wall and scaled it, reaching the top, a red flare shot up from where the elite squad and Eren were, signifying that something had gone wrong.
“Commander Pyxis! What do we do now?” a woman named Anka, who was like Pyxis’s personal assistant, said. The Commander frowned.
“Continue as planned! We have to trust that the elite squad can figure things out. In the meantime, we have to keep the titans off of them at all costs!” he said. Everyone exchanged fearful and disbelieving looks. Was he going to risk your lives on the small chance that Eren would be able to pull this off despite whatever had gone wrong?
If it was anybody else, you would have refused to continue. You would’ve given up and gone home. But it wasn’t anybody else. It was Eren, and that made all the difference, because you trusted Eren. More than anything or anyone, you trusted Eren.
And so, without thought or care as to whether anyone was following you, you dove off the wall, latching onto a house and flying through Trost. You heard the whir of ODM gear behind you, and tilting your head back, saw Jean and Tullia whizzing by, side by side like they were always meant to be.
“Hey, Mrs. Springer. Long time no see,” Connie said with a grin, coming up next to you as you landed on a rooftop and surveyed the area.
“I don’t know how many times I need to tell you that we’re divorced before you believe it,” you said.
“I’ll never believe it. How could you leave such a fine man as myself?” he said.
“Yeah, yeah. Things are looking pretty good, aren’t they?” you said. Tullia and Jean were a force of nature, and you watched as the girl flew past Jean, who grabbed her by the hand and used his superior strength to throw her in the direction of a titan. Taking advantage of the added momentum, she rammed her blades into its nape before dragging them through the flesh, sending it collapsing to the ground.
“If only Eren could get into gear and plug this damn hole, it would be perfect. As it is, we’re going to get tired eventually, and for each titan we kill, another two take its place. We’ll be overrun if they can’t figure whatever issue they’re having out,” Connie said.
Almost as if Connie could speak things into existence, there was a loud thudding sound. You turned your eyes to see Eren’s titan hefting the boulder onto his shoulders and laboriously beginning to trudge over towards the hole.
“He’s doing it!” you cheered, pride for your best friend, for the boy you loved, filling you. He was doing it.
“We’ve gotta keep the titans off of him! I’m going to go help out Marco. Will you be okay by yourself?” Connie said.
“Hmm? Yeah, I think I see Reiner and Bertholdt up ahead. I’ll go see if they need anything. Good luck!” you said.
“You too!” he called over his shoulder, swinging away. You watched him go before heading in the opposite direction, towards the rooftop the Reiner and Bertholdt were standing and watching Eren on.
“They’re going to plug the hole with that? It’s insane! What if Eren gets eaten? Then we won’t know a thing!” Bertholdt said
“Yeah. I might have to do something with my Titan somehow, if things go south,” Reiner said. You froze. His...Titan?
“But if their plan works, they’ll plug up the hole we just opened!” Bertholdt said. The hole they opened? This didn’t make any sense. What were they talking about?
“Doesn’t matter. We’ve been searching for a clue for years now, and we’ve finally found it,” Reiner said.
“Guys? What...were you just talking about?” you said carefully, though a sinking pit was forming in your stomach. The two stiffened before slowly turning to face you, and suddenly, you knew. Reiner had seen you at your weakest, all of those years ago: because just like Eren could transform into a titan, so too could they, and he was the Armored Titan, while Bertholdt was the Colossal.
“Y/N,” Reiner said, his amber eyes wide and something akin to pain filling them, “We were only joking. That’s all.”
You began to back away from them, laughing nervously.
“Right, of course,” you said, “Really funny, you two!”
They were silent, watching you with predatory stances. Reiner, you almost could have predicted this from, he who had been so untamed and wild and raw, but not Bertholdt. Gentle Bertholdt, shy Bertholdt, he was the reason your family was dead. Oh, Sina, you were face to face with the destroyers of 20% of humanity, and you could only back away while laughing.
“Yes,” Reiner said dourly, “We’re real pranksters.”
For once in your life, as fear filled you, you didn’t freeze. You ran. You leapt off of the side of the building and shot off. You had to get away, you had to get to safety, Eren, Jean, Mikasa, Tullia, anyone at this point.
Reiner and Bertholdt were traitors. What sort of cruel joke was it that the boy you had innocently flirted with had been the one to take your childhood from you? It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be true. Sparkling tears escaped your eyes as you pushed your gear to its limits in order to escape the wolves stalking you.
One strong arm wrapped around your ribcage as Reiner Braun rammed into you, tackling you out of midair and slamming you face first into a roof. He straddled your waist, pinning your arms behind your back so you could not break free if you tried.
“Reiner,” you whimpered, “Please, Reiner, you were joking, right? This is a joke. Please get off of me.”
“Oh, Y/N. We both know you’re a little too smart to fall for that, aren’t you?” Reiner said.
“Help! Please, somebody —” Reiner muffled you with his palm, and you began to cry harder. This was it. This was the end for you.
And then you heard the familiar sound of ODM gear being used. You looked up to see who your savior was. Annie Leonhardt landed in front of you, gasping for breath. Reiner removed his hand from your mouth, and you greedily inhaled, choking on the fresh air before giving Annie a beseeching look.
“Annie! Oh, thank the walls, Annie! You have to help me!” you said.
“What’s going on here?” she said, her glacial blue eyes wide. You began to thrash about, though Reiner kept you firmly in place.
“Reiner, he’s gone crazy or something! Help me!” you said.
“She overheard us talking. She knows our secret. You know what that means — we can’t let her live,” Reiner said. Annie took in a sharp breath of air.
“You’re kidding me. You asshole. How could you have let that happen?” she said.
“What?” you said. No. No, Annie couldn’t be with them, there was no third titan, Annie was your friend, she had saved Connie’s life!
The house you were standing on shook, and everyone froze. Bertholdt turned slowly before he spoke, alarm entering his tone.
“A titan! It’s coming this way!” he cried out.
Reiner lifted you, holding you securely to his chest. You were limp, sobbing incoherently as you realized what they planned to do.
“Annie, take Y/N’s ODM gear!” he said, voice low and commanding.
“No! No, Reiner, please, please, I’ll do whatever you want!” you shrieked, struggling against his grip. He only held you tighter, glaring over your shoulder at Annie, whose eyes widened as you screamed for help.
“Why do I have to do it?” she whispered, sounding close to tears.
“We all saw you risk your life for Connie. I’m starting to think you feel sympathy for these devils! If I’m wrong, prove it to me right now! Right now, Annie! If you and your father, who’s waiting for you to come back, are any better than devils, prove it to me!” Reiner said harshly.
“Reiner! It’s almost on top of us!” Bertholdt said.
“Annie!” Reiner roared. Annie began to cry before kneeling in front of you and undoing the buckles of your ODM gear, squeezing her eyes shut.
“No! Annie, no, no, please, we’re friends! Don’t do this!” you begged her desperately, tears blurring your eyesight, your voice cracking as your sobs began anew. She ignored you, though you could tell she heard you by the way she let out an audible whimper.
“Why? Why do this? Reiner, I’ll give you anything! I won’t tell anyone, I promise! I can’t die! I can’t die yet! I never — I never even got to tell him — no! Don’t leave me! Come back!” you cried out as Annie wrenched your ODM gear off of you and tossed it into the house next to you. The titan stomped closer, and you were left lying prone on the rooftop, defenseless and with no way of escape. Bertholdt and Annie looked back at you in horror.
“Reiner!” you screamed, reaching out for the warm, steady boy you had once known, the boy you had had a crush on, the one that was solid and dependable and kind and brave and talented. He paused, mid-flight, before turning around. He was coming back for you! He was coming back, he was going to save you, you knew he wasn’t evil, you knew it, you knew it —
“You scream too loudly,” he said, voice like ice and expression twice as cold, “It’ll attract unwanted attention. I know you won’t silence yourself, so I guess I’ll have to do it for you.”
He raised his fist. Your eyes widened and you shook your head frantically as you realized what he was going to do.
“No, Reiner, please, this isn’t you, don’t —” He struck you, and your vision blackened as you were knocked unconscious by the blow.
The last thing you saw was Eren’s titan form slamming the boulder in place, sealing the breach and letting out a victorious shriek. In your delirium, it almost sounded like he was saying your name. A soft breath escaped you, and as the darkness enveloped you entirely, you found the strength to say his for one final time.
“Eren.”
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taglist (send an ask or dm to be added): @futuristicxie
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raspberrysmoon · 9 months
Text
were hitting the end of @rtcshipweeks :(((( but here is day 12!! post-canon ship! unpopular opinion but with enough serious development: perfectspace
the literal meow meow (and his scary dog privileges) and also this is accidentally kinda long- (pls note that i am disabled so this isnt an able-bodied person trying to erase the blatant ableism that is very present in oceans character-this is only a snippet of how she changes her attitude to get the ship across)
ocean o'connell rosenberg, most successful girl in town, survivor of the cyclone rollercoaster, future first female prime minister of canada, hated herself.
she could barely bring herself to look at the choir in the eyes. any of them. even in the hospital, mid-recovery, she started to force distance.
constance would offer her a pastry from the café, and she would shake her head with a smile, telling the other girl she was too nauseous to eat solid food, and eventually constance stopped offering them to her.
mischa would ask if she wanted to watch a movie with him, and she would shake her head with a smile, and tell him that she was tired, and she was going to try and sleep soon, and eventually mischa stopping asking her.
noel would walk over and cross his arms at her, asking her to go for a walk with him, adm she would shake her head with a (much smaller) smile, and say that she wasn't sure she could make it down the hall, and eventually noel stopped asking her.
penny would come and ask her nervously for help with an assignment, and while ocean couldn't say no to that, she wouldn't be friendly about the help either, and eventually penny stopped asking her.
but ricky. ricky would come and sit by her silently, reading or drawing and never even looking at her. he just sat.
and it destroyed her. she couldn't bring herself to shoo him away- she didn't want to- but she couldn't interact with him either.
and no matter how little she looked at him, how cold she was, he kept coming back.
he would sit there for hours every single day. every so often he would leave to get a drink, and he'd bring one back for her.
she refused to drink it in front of him, but she stayed up so much later than anyone else, so they were always drank anyway.
finally, she snapped. she sighed as he came over in the morning, and when he looked at her questioningly, she shook her head. there was no smile, this time. she just shook her head, and murmured, "not today."
and today turned into two, then five, then a week.
and day eight, he came back with a note.
why are you pushing us away ?
and ocean felt her heart crack just a little for the boy in front of her. she had spent so, so long being so incredibly cruel to him, and now she can't even let him sit with her? what kind of person does that?
but she simply handed it back, and shook her head at him.
except this time he didn't budge, holding the note back out.
why are you pushing us away ?
she knew. but none of them got to. ricky didn't get to know. she didn't take the note.
ricky huffed, setting the paper on her bed and grabbing his aac, typing aggressively.
"ocean, you're starting to scare us." he looked up at her. "why are you pushing us away?"
she dropped her gaze. scaring them? why would they ever care enough for this to scare them? what had she ever done that was deserving of that level of care?
"ricky, i don't want this to sound too harsh, but i don't think you guys should want to be my friends. you especially." she squeezed her eyes shut briefly, "i would rather you didn't keep pushing."
she heard a choked-off gasp from the other end of the room and her stomach flipped.
ricky started to type. "why? do you think you did something to make you undeserving of friendship?"
ocean almost scoffed. instead, "how many times did i grab your wheelchair without asking? how many times did i make fun of mischa for his relationship with talia? how many times did i blow constance off as someone below me?" she took a breath, "i think i did plenty of somethings, ricky."
he paused, staring at her with wide eyes. "ocean, us coming to you so often is us trying to give you a chance to prove you can change." he shifted, adjusting the device in his lap before continuing, "we all want you here. but you have to want that too."
she twisted her hands in her lap as she listened to the frankly grating voice. she knew, realistically, that he wouldn't lie to her. she wasn't sure ricky could lie to any of them anymore, or that any of them could lie to him.
she knew she couldn't.
but "why?" was all she could get out, and her voice was a million times smaller than she wanted it to be.
ricky sighed, pushing himself next to her and starting to type.
"ocean, you're a very important part of this choir." he set his hand on the bed next to her, palm up. "whether or not we had gotten on the cyclone, you would still be important.
while most of us loathe to admit it, specifically noel, you're the leader of the choir. you're the person that keeps us together, you keep us on track during practice and give all of us tips when father markus isn't listening. you're the one who got me and mischa into the choir, and arguably you were the one who got noel to join too."
she shifted uncomfortably, looking at his hand still sitting on the bed.
"you're the one who got us to start working on assignments we missed, 'just one a day,' you said. you're the one who got mischa to finally call talia so he could talk to her about everything and make sure she didn't think he ghosted her. you got noel to finally reach out to corey to see if he was interested in a relationship, and you've been giving constance motivation to finish her physical therapy no matter how difficult it gets."
ricky looked down, starting to type again, "you're giving me a reason to keep writing. a new passion for it, you could say. because of you in that warehouse, and how kind you were to me, genuinely, you made me want the world to actually hear me. i didn't care before. i was okay with having a few friends and family read my work, but something about how... fiery you were, made me realize i can do more."
she looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "how could i have been the one to do that? constance and mischa are the ones who wanted to hear you speak, i was all.. condescending the whole time."
ricky chuckled, shaking his head. "you absolutely were. but you realized, at some point after penny sang, that it wasn't right. every single one of us could see that shift." he held out his hand again, offering it to her. "if you want it, we want to see you keep that change. i want that. the fire you have for everything you do."
ocean shifted again, staring at his hand blankly. "i just.. i don't understand."
rickys gaze softened, and a few moments later- "you don't need to. just say yes or no."
she felt her heart skip a beat. she knew that somewhere in the room the rest of the choir was probably listening. maybe they were waiting anxiously to see what she'd say.
but in the moment, there was nothing but ricky.
and for the first time, she could.. really see him. not as the pity-points kid, not as the tambourine, not as the space-cat sex guy, but as ricky. just another kid she knew, someone who liked astronomy and had too many cats, someone who tried to do stupid tricks with mischa and nearly landed them and constance in the hospital, and who nearly failed fifth grade because he kept goofing off with a friend instead of paying attention to their math teacher.
and it was terrifying.
but ocean could never let herself be a coward.
so, she took his hand, and allowed herself to be a better person.
for her friends. for him.
he deserved to know a better ocean. one who didn't need to be reminded of his existence, or told not to grab his wheelchair randomly.
and damnit, if he wanted to, he would.
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ntaras · 6 months
Note
"i think people in the mortal kombat fandom should be required to pick one female character and write a study on them before they can do anything else" - I don't think NRS themselves can do that,tbh. How the duck do you have a cast of 20+ characters and only 6 are women? Then,among those 6, a little over half of them aren't really relevant to the story, one is there for the promo and the other two are in the back ground when they should be front and centre. And,no, I'm not counting Kameos because they don't really do anything.
Kitana got hit the worst with the timeline revisions to me. She was never meant to be this passive. Or,hell,they could have done something with that, that also showcases her dynamic with her twin. They keep telling us shut about them but.....like.....let us see the real tea. In fact, Mileena herself is an unanswered question, because:
a) How did Mileena's Tarkat diagnosis affect Kitana?
b) What's being done to prevent her from catching it from Mileena?
c) How did Mileena even get Tarkat to begin with? We know she supposedly wandered out of the palace unsupervised, but how did she get past the Umgadi?(then again, someone managed to get past them to kill Jerrod, so I guess she could do it too)
d)Where did she go and what was she doing? Did someone help her sneak out or did she decide to go on a whim?
e)How is Tarkat contracted to begin with? Skin contact? Viral infection?
f) Are we supposed to genuinely believe that the literal crown princess of Outworld snuck out of a huge palace and somehow no one saw her leaving? Or the general public didn't bar an eye at her being out and about alone?
And this is just off the top of my head. Did none of the writers utilize the "5 Ws, 1 H" method for any of the girls?
a lot of the issue is with nrs and especially with mk12 having a TINY selection of female characters (but still that doesn’t negate how overwhelming the current fandom is with the men and should not be an excuse to just not care about the women).
i do not like this iteration of kitana either (they took her claws away she needs them back), nor mileena, but i especially do not like their relationship. they are too sweet with each other and as much i do like seeing that they are sisters it really is just. please start fighting with each other. PLEASE have some conflict. they are THE siblings of mortal kombat. like you said, how did mileena getting tarkat affect kitana? i also really would have actually liked to see WHY people wanted kitana on the throne instead of mileena because nothing really shows us the reason. it’s also really cruel that for some reason kitana had be to written more so in the background so mileena could have her moments to shine, instead of being able to provide equal footing for both sisters.
as for what mileena was doing when sneaking out i kind of assumed that it was cause she just wanted to get out of the palace for a bit, and somehow got in contact with a tarkatan (which as you pointed out we know nothing about.)
mileena really was there just to be like “hey she’s back and she’s happy like everyone wanted!!” and there is some nuance to her new iteration, but nothing that makes me… happy? about her new story. it really just feels like fan service because happy character = happy fans. i do think her relationship with sindel is interesting but that is just me and my interest in parent/child dynamics, but also i think people in general should be talking about her because she’s mileena. she’s objectively one of the most popular mortal kombat characters yet there is nothing about her (or literally any woman).
but anyways, as much as the writers are at fault for providing a shockingly little amount of story or backgrounds for the female characters, it shouldn’t be an excuse for the fandom. to just forget about the female characters. make up headcanons. theorize about them. it’s not impossible cause we are already doing it for the guys (just to name an example the amount of content on smoke should be telling that people are capable of focusing on characters that got very little screen time).
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kkusuka · 3 years
Text
HQ Middle blocker kinks <3
@xxxxtanaxxxx​ request  hq kinks but middle blocker version please 🥺
I'm gonna be honest i wasn't gonna do this buuut here it is 
i have a setter one in the works and here is the ace version!
here is the setter version <3
Characters:  Tsukishima Kei, Kuroo Tetsuro, Suna Rintaro, Satori Tendo, Taichi Kawanishi, Issei Matsukawa,  Takanobu Aone,, Shoyo Hinata, Lev Haiba Shugo Meian (MSBY captain), and Yutaro Kindaichi
Mentioned female anatomy, but mostly gn
content warning: consensual non-con, humiliation, public sex, exhibitionism, voyeurisms, degradation, bondage, sex toys, cockwarming, edging, soft priamal/prey, mentions of house break-ins, pegging, size kink, overuse of the word Daddy, face fucking, hickeys
i think thats all? 
buckle up, this is gonna be looooong.
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Tsukishima Kei
Degradation
This is a given, my mans has a mouth on him, AND HE KNOWS HOW TO USE IT
He says the most vulgar things in your ears (and you love it)
His nickname for you is Cum-dump, and he calls you that so much that you’ve started to respond to it. “Hey, Cum-dump! Come here” “ok Tsukki”
And when he’s cumming? A slew of insults just come out
“You whore, oh, you fucking cum-slut, you’d let anyone do this to you won't you”
And it's not limited to this!
“You're just a hole”
“You only exist for me to fuck, Right? You're just a glorified fleshlight”
“You're only good for sucking my cock”
“I should just leave you chained to the wall so I can fuck you anytime I want, that's all you're good at so you should love it”
It won’t even be only during sex
You could literally be just studying with him and he’ll just lean over and say “ you want to be fucked right now don't you? In front of all these people, I bet you’d love it Cum-dump”
Humiliation
Goes with a dirty mouth
He’ll flip your skirt while walking in front of groups of other students
He purposely sucks hickeys where your uniform does not cover and then laughs at you because you're just such a slut.
One of his favorite things to do is have you wear a vibrator in school, only on days where you have to do something in front of the class
No worries he has the remote and turns it alllllll the way up during the middle of your presentation, you just look so cute all red!
He’ll make it better!!
You can cum in front of the class, let everyone know how much of a whore you are!
Purposeful neglect
He wants you so horny you can’t think
If that means not giving you attention for FIVE DAYS so be it.
No touching yourself and if he finds out you did he’ll ignore you for longer and you don’t want that do you?
You will wait for him to touch you.
He’ll also just ignore you.
No begging, he doesn't care, he doesn't want to hear it.
Don't touch him, stop being a brat or you won’t get off for a whole week.
Bondage
It's all about control <3
Having you tied up and immobile is the best way to show how little you are.
He��ll tie you up and put you on the couch with a vibrator and just watch movies, unable to rock your hips
This seems cruel but he’ll tie your hands up and make you eat dinner with just your mouth <3
He’ll make you watch tv with a ball gag in
He’ll have a riding crop in his hands when you study and he’ll hit your little clit/silt with it every time you get a question wrong
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Kuroo Tetsuro
Pet names
Literally any kind o endearment, but mainly switches between Kitten and Baby Girl/Boy(i am swooning right now)
He WILL call you these in front of people and out loud in public
He’s called you them in front of your parents in front of Kenma in the middle of the grocery store.
So you're wondering, why does that matter? People do that all the time!
Well, he calls you them so you remember how he completely ruined your little body and how his cum is still dripping out of you <3
And its cannon that he has a sexy voice, and it drops and gets deeper when he calls you them.
Thigh highs
It doesn't matter in you have the biggest thighs ever or just a bone, if you wear any kind of thigh highs (bonus points for Cat ones) he will be ready to bust a nut
It's not only him that gets off on them, especially when he takes them off
He’ll climb over you and use his teeth to pull them down to your feet and he’ll kiss and bite his way back up to do the other one.
He also will sometimes leave them on to rail you into your bed, when this happens he puts your legs over your shoulders and squishes his head between them.
(kuroo loves thighs, and that's that)
Caregiver
He's taken care of Kenma all his life, and you bet your ass he’ll do it for you
This means he gives the best aftercare you could imagine, I’m talking bubble baths
He’ll cook for you in nothing but an apron, and he’ll tease you when you get all flushed and cute!
You had a bad day? He’ll eat you out for hours until you’re all cuddly and tired.
He’ll fuck you slow where you need it and he’ll kiss all the pain away <3
He just loves having you dependent on him makes him so happy and thankful to have you!
Threesomes
Mainly for Kenma, but he let bokuto have a turn and even convinced Tsikki to give it a try!
He really just wants to show off that you’re his what better way to show you off then let some of them get a taste of something they’d never have.
Favorite position for this? Split roasting/ Eiffel towering
He's the one who you're sucking on, and he’s so far down your throat making him suck you deeper and deeper until you’re drooling all over his balls like a good Kitten
Whoever he sharing you with would be in you following whatever Kuroo tells them to do
Rub your clit? Yes Sir.
Faster. Yup
Slowdown Kittens being bad so she doesn't get to get off <3
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Suna Rinatro
Purposeful neglect
Just like Tsukki, he wants you hot and bothered all the time
He will just sit around and scroll on his phone while you’re whining :(
Just let him watch this video and he’ll get you off!
Will never tell you but you just look so cute, all needy and horny for him.
Sometimes he’ll slip you a libido pill and just watch the world burn.
He will wait until you have ruined whatever shorts you’re wearing (and he’ll take them) and THEN he will help his poor needy baby
Cockwarming
Almost every time he games, he puts you on his dick
you already know it’s happening when he takes the controller out
He says it's because he doesn't want to “leave you out”
No moving on him though, if you8 move it could distract him and you do not want him to lose, losing means being pounded into the floor until you can't think, then being ignored the rest of the day “horny sluts can sit on the floor until they need to be used”.
But if all goes well, he’ll go soft in between rounds and will suck on your neck and will let you cuddle into him during the rounds
But when Suna if feeling a bit more adventurous he will put his headset on you and fuck you with all of his friends listening
And if that's not bad enough they all clearly know what’s happening id Osamus soft coo’s and Gin’s little comments (but it's not like they want it to stop anyway)
Edging
Will literally just do this out of nowhere
You thought you were finally gonna cum, then nothing
HE WILL just do things for hours to see you cry and begging or him to just let you cum
He’ll stick four fingers in you and bring you to your climax and just leave you on the edge
He won't even have a reason, you were being good, you let him play his game and he does this?
Que pouty bby
Video/Photography
We all saw this coming-
But he takes it a step further than just having a photo collection of you
He has a personal private story with just you in it where he put videos of you riding him or sucking his dick fo you to “see how slutty you are”
 that's not even it,  he sends you a picture of you naked in the middle of work, with no shame either
Thus one time you were showing a coworker a shirt you had bought and he texted you and the picture showed up. It was awkward for the next few days.
But these don't even compare to how he has an entire Instagram account (private of course) of your nodes and videos of the two of you fucking.
One extra little thing is that you both watch porn together for ideas.
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Satori Tendou
(i could make him a post of his own-so so many kinks for Satori)
Humiliation (mentions of pee)
This can range from calling you names to making you touch yourself in public
He’s called you a pillow princess in the middle of class, in front of your teacher
It had gotten so bad they Ushijima had to ask what a “cum-dumpster was” because Satori had called you that in front of the team.
He doesn't even introduce you as his S/O, hw=e would call you an escort or that you were just his personal fuck toy.
This kink goes so far that when you were on a double date with Semi, under the table Tendo had his hand literally in your pants.
**One of his favorite things is to make you hold your pee in until you are almost peeing yourself, isn't that embarrassing that you're a grown adult who’s about to wet yourself?
Overstimulation
He wants to see you a complete mess all over him
The main goal of all of this is to make you squirt or begin to have dry orgasms
He will not stop until he’s happy or you say your safe word (which is rare)
One orgasm just isn't enough for him :/
And it's a big boost of confidence for him!
he‘s proud to know he can make you cum so much you cant even think!
Dacryphilia
This AND overstim?
Good luck
He can't even explain why it turns him on so much.
You just look so beautiful with tears streaming down your face all fucked out
It always hits him at the worst times too, you crying over a bad grade? A pretty tear falling over your soft cheeks. Hard.
Just watched a sad movie, he’s ready to pound you into the couch.
Anal
Oh ho ho
This can be one of two things, he does it because it feels good
OR
He does it as punishment
That means no lube
No adjusting to his dick
And no extra pleasure to help you get off
He’s so mean </3
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Taichi Kawanishi
This man screams pornstar
Public sex
This man is unstable
You could just be walking in public and he just decides he wants to fuck.
Who are you to stop him?
Just let him get this out real quick you can shop later.
Exhibitionism
The thought of being in the open? This man loves it
And you don't really have a choice but to love it
Every time you go to the beach he just has his dick in you, in the ocean sitting in his lap while eating lunch
He doesn't even care who sees
Children? Who cares, look away or whatever
Getting caught
It doesn't even matter who it is
If someone walks in when you're doing it he’s cumming
It's just hot
He doesn't need to explain it to you
he also makes u take nudes and had them as his homescreen for a while
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Issei Matsukawa
I’d let this man kill me-
Leather/ latex
LEATHER GLOVES
He wears them when he fingers you so he can make fun of how wet you made them.
He dresses you up in these pretty little pastel dresses (gender to heel, he doesn't care, you look hot weather your a boy, girl, or not) and he wears all black (goth daddy Mattsun) and his gloves to fuck you in his leather-covered fist.
That's not even it
He has an entire bin of different colored chokers and leashes just for his pretty baby
Along with that, he has a shelf of latex thigh highs for you to wear and even has an entire outfit for you to wear and show off to him.
Ddlg/b/n-Lifestyle
This is why he has a lot of things that you wear!
He loves to take care of you all the time!
He loves to make his baby food and love to watch movies with you
And you love him so much too!
You would do anything for Daddy!
And he takes you shopping and to restaurants, and if you want literally anything big or small all you have to do is look up at him with puppy dog eyes and a “Daddy, please!!” and boom his credit card is already out.
Size kink
Big dick Mattsun-
This all comes back to the fact that you are so beautiful
And big dick little hole, who doesn't love that??
He sure does, don't worry though he always makes sure to prep you
Except if it's punishment- he doesn't like it he swears! He’d never want to hurt you!
And you’d believe it until your crying on his cock and it throbs ://
But if it still hurts, and it does, he’ll let you go your pace and sink all the way down onto his cock<3
Fun fact the first time he went into your ass he tried to with no lube and you couldn't sit for DAYS
Voyeurism (receiving)
Makki Makki Makki
I would say he was into Cuckolding but its always him doing the watching while Issei fucks you
And Makki loves it too if his constant praises and coo’s said anything about it.
And Mattsun just gets off on the fact his best friend is watching something he’ll (maybe if you're not into it) never fully have
Mattsun also likes having you tied up an watching him fuck a fleshlight of just jerking off
You look so pathetic :)
extra for big dick mattsun, he Shows all of his friends <3
I am a whore for the Seijoh 4
You bet Makki has an entire folder of pic of you, whether they are of you dripping cum or just with your legs open.
Even if he says he doesn't save them, you know Iwa has gotten off you a recording of you moaning and asking for Daddy’s cock
And Oikawa is always asking for more (the little manwhore), he says they are “references” for him, liar, he jerks off to them in his bathroom.
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Takanobu Aone
It's always the quiet ones-
I just gotta get these first two out-
Consensual non-con
I can just TELL he like to pretend to break into your house
Pretend you're so scared and you don't like it
Tying you up and listening to your little cries, awwwwweeee
You were just too pretty to ignore
Just let him have a taste, stop crying he knows you want it just as much as he does
Primal/prey
He wants to feel like he earned his reward
A perfect little trophy for him to use as a toy
His dick in your tiny dripping hole is all the reward he needs
It's like you're a pretty innocent bunny and he’s a big fox just waiting for the right time to strike :)
Soft sex/ praise
I know what I said up there
But none of that means he doesn't love just setting you down on the bed with candles and rose petals and just making love
Soft music in the background and worshipping every inch of your skin
You need to be vocal though!
Tell him how pretty he is when he cums, and how perfectly his dick fits in your hole!
Tell him how soft he looks and how he is making your nipples feel like heaven.
Aftercare- bc I am also soft for aone and he is a good guy
Bubble baths and chocolate
Movies and cuddling
All of this makes him so glad that he found you
Especially when you cuddle into him all sleepily and tired.
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Shoyo Hinata
oh he is so pretty-
Mutual masturbation
It's the perfect way to experience pleasure
He can see you in all your glory
All of the faces he sometimes misses when he’s fucking you!
He also learns from it!
He sees the angle your fingers go to hit that sweet spot so the next time he’s in you he knows where to aim!
(he is so precious-)
Pegging
You wanted to try it so he almost immediately agreed-
But it felt good!
The two of you reserved what one you wanted so the one he picked was almost made for him.
Plus, you look ridiculously good with the strap on-
And he voices that as much as he can!
And sometimes when he rides the strap he just watches it going in and out and in and out
(you also think this is SUPER hot but won't tell him :/)
Riding
It doesn't matter if it's you or him
Watching you fall apart on his cock without him doing a thing makes him cum harder than anything
Sometimes he gets so excited that he comes before you and makes you stay there until he’s hard again, which doesn't take long at all.
when it's him?
he’ll go for hours just to hear you tell him how good he is and how pretty he looks
Lingerie
Especially pastel babydolls
But nothing you wear could ever make you look bad in his eyes
Ok he likes it when you keep the lingerie on too like he’s fucking you and you till have a little nightgown/crop top on
Lord he will BUUUUUUSSSTTT
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Lev Haiba
Size kink
Unintentionally too
He didn't even know it, but he did know that he liked that you were so much smaller than him.
He likes to put your hand to him and just look at the difference and before he knew it he was painfully hard
On the occasion, he makes fun of you saying his dick is just too big for you and you can't handle it, but then you get on your knees and he shuts up real quick
Praise kink
A given
He wants to know how good he makes you feel at all times
It doesn't have to be words either!
loud moans explanations of pleasure all drive him to move faster and faster!
Even yelling “oh god!” gets him off
He makes you feel that good huh?
Wall sex
Just playing on the size kink thing
He loves to just pick you up and fuck with reckless abandon
Gets a way better angle too- bet you didn't think he would realize that
He also likes to watch the combination of your juices drip to the floor-
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Shugo Meian (MSBY captain)
Sexiest team-
Daddy/ Captain kink
Just look at him, he screams Daddy louder than you do when he’s fucking you
He takes pride in being Captain meaning he’ll fuck you for hour if the word even falls from your lips
And yes you have said it (daddy) front of the team and he did get hard, and the both of you did fuck in the locker room of the gym for an hour before you got kicked out
Even in arguments you better call him daddy, he will stop and fuck you into the ground for it
Angry or not you WILL use his title
Spanking
Will threaten you with this almost everyday
He just uses it as an excuse to touch your ass
He makes you count after each one and makes you thank him
It would look a bit like this
“Five! Thank you Daddy!” “Good Baby, five more”
But that doesn’t mean when you really deserve it that he won't unleash the wrath of god onto your poor ass
But after he’ll kiss it all better and Daddy will reward you for taking your punishment well
Controlled orgasms
By this i mean that you wont cum unless he says so
And you have to ask
Aka “Daddy please let me cum, I really want to”
And depending on what he’s feeling maybe you’ll get to cum then
And if not you’ll have to wait like a good Girl/Boy and cum when he does, which could late literally forever.
but its better than disobeying his orders, which could lead to him completely pulling out and just jerking off to cum on you :((
Deepthroating/ Face Fucking
Nothing is better to him than coming home to you on your knees and mouth open and ready
But when he’s all pent up from practice and he sees you?
Rip your throat, you aren't talking for a few days
He’ll literally fuck your face no question
He’ll put his dick so far down your throat you could feel it in your stomach
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Yutaro Kindaichi
Hate sex 
He just makes everyone angry
And he gets off on it
You look so fucking delectable all red faced and angry
Makes him want to just slam into right then and there
Dom/Sub
Clearly he wants to be in control
Controlling someone is just such a  turn-on for him
Looking all pretty doing exactly what he wanted you too <3
Hickeys 
Wants to show off that you are his 
What better way than marking up your neck with pretty bruises
Plus he likes how you get all shy when people look at them 
2K notes · View notes
serpenteve · 3 years
Text
what did alina starkov want, anyway?
People have been arguing for ages about the ending of Ruin & Rising. One faction says Alina losing her powers was misogynistic and needlessly cruel while the other says the ending is fitting because Alina always wanted to live an ordinary life with Mal.
I would argue the problem lies with Alina's mess of a character arc.
For the majority of S&B and the first half of S&S, Alina is a very passive character who wants nothing more than to run away with Mal. Though they changed it in the show, it was originally Mal who wanted to go after the stag and who wanted Alina to have the stag's amplifier because he thought it would give them a fighting chance against the Darkling. In S&S, Alina is terrified of taking a second amplifier because it goes against all the Grisha theory she knows, echoing the arc words of the trilogy: What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men.
It is only when Alina takes the second amplifier that she's allowed to grow a backbone. This is truly a bizarre writing choice because it all but forces the narrative to frame every active step Alina takes to forward the plot and her own character arc---whether that's deciding to rebuild the Second Army, or form a political alliance with Nikolai, or search for the third amplifier, or simply stand up for herself against bullies---as being manifestations of her creeping villainy.
Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there is her Muggle boyfriend who is there to remind us that this is not who she is, that Morozova's amplifiers are corrupting her, that he wants her to go back to the girl she was when she was more passive, vulnerable, and dependent on him.
Surely, there is a line between the heroine learning to trust herself and gaining confidence in her abilities versus the heroine giving in to corruption and becoming more power-hungry and evil? However, the narrative does not distinguish between these two very different arcs. Consequently, the reader is left in a bizarre place where we cannot watch Alina's character arc grow from passivity to maturity without being reminded of how ~evil~ she is becoming, despite there being very little textual evidence to back this up. We also grow to resent Mal because instead of him being a supportive boyfriend who is trying to help Alina navigate her own character arc, he is holding her back from her potential---not just in her powers but also in her personal autonomy.
At the same time, there are sprinklings of Alina's call to her dark side through the Darkling's offer of a throne. Ignoring how sincere his words may or may not be, Alina still feels tempted to join him and frequently thinks about the truth of his words---that she is no ordinary Grisha, that is useless to fight what she is, that she is capable of more than an ordinary mortal life, that he is the only one who can understand the eternity before her. Because readers expect to see a character arc where Alina grows from a scared passive girl to a strong independent woman, we grow to associate her longing for power as a natural evolution of her character development. However, the narrative wants you to believe Alina's development is not a natural progression of her character but rather a corruption due to her greed from the influence of Morozova's amplifiers.
Bardugo completely fails to set up an alternate character arc for Alina where she may grow in power and strength as a character, but does not become evil along the way. Her heroine's arc is completely strangled by the moral panic of the narrative. This is doubly emphasized by the plot: in order for Alina to defeat the Darkling, she must seek out the amplifiers out of necessity. This is framed as greed. In order for Alina to triumph, she must use all three amplifiers, but when she does, she is punished by the plot. But what other choice did the heroine have? It is not like there was some non-evil alternative for Alina to embrace and she deliberately chose the path of most greed. She is not punished for her actions like her male counterparts who seek power. In fact, you could argue, she can't be punished for her actions because her actions are not coming from a place of choice.
At the end of R&R, Alina is stripped of her powers and lives an ordinary life with Mal. As this is the epilogue, one must assume Bardugo meant for Alina's character arc to end in this way. Her character arc is meant to be a cautionary tale against the evils of seeking too much power. This moral aesop falls flat for a number of reasons:
"Power corrupts" is a popular moral message that it's gotten fairly cliche at this point
It's also so heavy-handed, I don't blame readers for expecting it to be subverted because of how much we were hit over the head with it
The strangely gendered way this moral lesson is delivered raises some eyebrows. Are male characters who are actually power-hungry such as Nikolai, the Apparat, and the Darkling not subject to the same punishments the narrative deals out to Alina?
Most importantly, this aesop clashes with Alina's character
In order for this greed corruption arc to make sense, the heroine really should have been an entirely different character who starts off the series with ambition and a need for power. We needed a heroine like Jude Duarte, Kestrel Trajan, or Aelin Galathynius. Someone who is already established as being capable, ambitious, and ruthless. Granted, I still think this would be a shit character arc because of the long history in which female power is demonized, but at least the arc would make sense for the character in the tradition of tragedies.
However, because Alina starts off the series as being insecure and not yet accepting of herself, we expect to see a character arc where she becomes more confident, emotionally mature, and maybe even a little ruthless. We don't expect her to suddenly become corrupted by greed (a character trait she never had to begin with, especially when she would rather run away and hide with Mal than deal with a geopolitical situation) and get punished for being "too ambitious".
To add to this confusing mess of an arc, Alina suppressing her powers leads to her being weak, fatigued, and malnourished. So she must use her powers in order to be healthy, but using her powers is what directly contributes to the rest of her character arc. The heroine cannot win.
In conclusion, Bardugo wrote a book where a naive scared girl gets manipulated into wearing an evil MacGuffin that turns her "greedy" and then gets punished for it, even though the plot offered her no alternative. Alina never wanted power but because a positive character arc meant a complete descent into villainy, we are left with a regressed version of the character by the end of R&R and a whole bunch of readers left scratching their heads about what the hell we are supposed to take away from this mess of a story.
TL;DR: Alina's character arc does not match who she is as a character. She was given an arc that is usually reserved for anti-heroines and tragic heroes with fatal flaws.
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weirwoodking · 3 years
Note
I feel like that if Jon was a girl, she'd be hated so badly by the fandom for everything she was loved for as a male
Oh, yeah, of course. Jon (and the other male characters) gets away with feeling emotion in a way that none of the female characters do or would ever be able to do.
I was going to do this in a separate post, but your ask gave me the perfect opportunity to do it right here. I took the liberty of compiling a few Jon excerpts, and switched the name “Jon” to “Dany” and the male pronouns to female pronouns.
And then she heard the laughter, sharp and cruel as a whip, and the voice of Ser Alliser Thorne. "Not only a bastard, but a traitor's bastard," he was telling the men around him.
In the blink of an eye, Dany had vaulted onto the table, dagger in her hand. Pyp made a grab for her, but she wrenched her leg away, and then she was sprinting down the table and kicking the bowl from Ser Alliser's hand. Stew went flying everywhere, spattering the brothers. Thorne recoiled. People were shouting, but Dany did not hear them. She lunged at Ser Alliser's face with the dagger, slashing at those cold onyx eyes, but Sam threw himself between them and before Dany could get around him, Pyp was on her back clinging like a monkey, and Grenn was grabbing her arm while Toad wrenched the knife from her fingers.
—Jon VII, AGOT
Ser Alliser seized Dany by the arm.
Dany yanked away and grabbed the knight by the throat with such ferocity that she lifted him off the floor. She would have throttled him if the Eastwatch men had not pulled her off. Thorne staggered back, rubbing the marks Dany’s fingers had left on his neck. "You see for yourselves, brothers. The girl is a wildling."
—Jon IX, ASOS
In the end Halder and Horse had to pull her away from Iron Emmett, one man on either arm. The ranger sat on the ground dazed, his shield half in splinters, the visor of his helm knocked askew, and his sword six yards away. "Dany, enough," Halder was shouting, "he's down, you disarmed him. Enough!"
No. Not enough. Never enough. Dany let her sword drop. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “Emmett, are you hurt?”
Iron Emmett pulled his battered helm off. "Was there some part of yield you could not comprehend?" It was said amiably, though. Emmett was an amiable man, and he loved the song of swords. "Warrior defend me," he groaned, "now I know how Qhorin Halfhand must have felt."
That was too much. Dany wrenched free of her friends and retreated to the armory, alone. Her ears were still ringing from the blow Emmett had dealt her. She sat on the bench and buried her head in her hands. Why am I so angry? she asked herself, but it was a stupid question. Lady of Dragonstone. I could be the Lady of Dragonstone. My father's heir.
—Jon XII, ASOS
“Men say that freezing to death is almost peaceful. Fire, though…do you see the candle, Gilly?”
She looked at the flame. “Yes.”
“Touch it. Put your hand over the flame.”
Her big brown eyes grew bigger still. She did not move.
“Do it.” Kill the girl. “Now.”
Trembling, the girl reached out her hand, held it well above the flickering candle flame.
“Down. Let it kiss you.”
Gilly lowered her hand. An inch. Another. When the flame licked her flesh, she snatched her hand back and began to sob.
“Fire is a cruel way to die. Dalla died to give this child life, but you have nourished him, cherished him. You saved your own boy from the ice. Now save hers from the fire.”
“They’ll burn my babe, then. The red woman. If she can’t have Dalla’s, she’ll burn mine.”
“Your son has no king’s blood. Melisandre gains nothing by giving him to the fire. Stannis wants the free folk to fight for him, he will not burn an innocent without good cause. Your boy will be safe. I will find a wet nurse for him and he’ll be raised here at Castle Black under my protection. He’ll learn to hunt and ride, to fight with sword and axe and bow. I’ll even see that he is taught to read and write.” Sam would like that. “And when he is old enough, he will learn the truth of who he is. He’ll be free to seek you out if that is what he wants.”
“You will make a crow of him.” She wiped at her tears with the back of a small pale hand. “I won’t. I won’t.”
Kill the girl, thought Dany. “You will. Else I promise you, the day that they burn Dalla’s boy, yours will die as well.”
“Die,” shrieked the Old Bear’s raven. “Die, die, die.”
The girl sat hunched and shrunken, staring at the candle flame, tears glistening in her eyes. Finally Dany said, “You have my leave to go. Do not speak of this, but see that you are ready to depart an hour before first light. My men will come for you.”
—Jon II, ADWD
“Lord Janos,” Dany said, “I will give you one last chance. Put down that spoon and get to the stables. I have had your horse saddled and bridled. It is a long, hard road to Greyguard.”
“Then you had best be on your way, girl.” Slynt laughed, dribbling porridge down his chest. “Greyguard’s a good place for the likes of you, I’m thinking. Well away from decent godly folk. The mark of the beast is on you.”
“You are refusing to obey my order?”
“You can stick your order up your arse,” said Slynt, his jowls quivering.
Alliser Thorne smiled a thin smile, his black eyes fixed on Dany. At another table, Godry the Giantslayer began to laugh.
“As you will.” Dany nodded to Iron Emmett. “Please take Lord Janos to the Wall—”
—and confine him to an ice cell, she might have said. A day or ten cramped up inside the ice would leave him shivering and feverish and begging for release, Dany did not doubt. And the moment he is out, he and Thorne will begin to plot again.
—and tie him to his horse, she might have said.
If Slynt did not wish to go to Greyguard as its commander, he could go as its cook. It will only be a matter of time until he deserts, then. And how many others will he take with him?
“—and hang him,” Dany finished.
Janos Slynt’s face went as white as milk. The spoon slipped from his fingers. Edd and Emmett crossed the room, their footsteps ringing on the stone floor. Bowen Marsh’s mouth opened and closed though no words came out. Ser Alliser Thorne reached for his sword hilt. Go on, Dany thought. Dark Sister was slung across her back. Show your steel. Give me cause to do the same.
[...]
“If the girl thinks that she can frighten me, she is mistaken,” they heard Lord Janos said. “She would not dare to hang me. Janos Slynt has friends, important friends, you’ll see…” The wind whipped away the rest of his words.
This is wrong, Dany thought. “Stop.”
Emmett turned back, frowning. “My lady?”
“I will not hang him,” said Dany. “Bring him here.”
“Oh, Seven save us,” he heard Bowen Marsh cry out.
The smile that Lord Janos Slynt smiled then had all the sweetness of rancid butter. Until Dany said, “Edd, fetch me a block,” and unsheathed Dark Sister.
By the time a suitable chopping block was found, Lord Janos had retreated into the winch cage, but Iron Emmett went in after him and dragged him out. “No,” Slynt cried, as Emmett half-shoved and half-pulled him across the yard. “Unhand me…you cannot…when Tywin Lannister hears of this, you will all rue—”
Emmett kicked his legs out from under him. Dolorous Edd planted a foot on his back to keep him on his knees as Emmett shoved the block beneath his head. “This will go easier if you stay still,” Daenerys promised him. “Move to avoid the cut, and you will still die, but your dying will be uglier. Stretch out your neck, my lord.” The pale morning sunlight ran up and down her blade as Dany clasped the hilt of the sword with both hands and raised it high. “If you have any last words, now is the time to speak them,” she said, expecting one last curse.
Janos Slynt twisted his neck around to stare up at her. “Please, my lady. Mercy. I’ll…I’ll go, I will, I…”
No, thought Dany. You closed that door. Dark Sister descended.
—Jon II, ADWD
And, of course, let’s not forget about this line:
"Well, he will not want it said that Stannis rode to the defense of the realm whilst King Tommen was playing with his toys. That would bring scorn down upon House Lannister."
"It's death and destruction I want to bring down upon House Lannister, not scorn."
—Jon II, ADWD
If these scenes had been Dany’s, she would have been called a power-crazed mad bitch who’s destined to be the villain of the series. And... people still do that anyway, even though none of her scenes come close to these Jon ones. And no, this does not mean Jon is going to go mad, of course it doesn’t. I love these Jon scenes, and I think that his bursts of anger and emotion are valid and understandable. It just shows how men/boys are allowed to act in ways that would never be possible for women/girls to behave without massive, massive misogynistic interpretations and critique.
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kim-poce · 2 years
Text
Hoping for her return
I do not intend on making this into a series, but I like the characters so wrote this. I'll put this in the masterlist of things without a master.
Yearning for her return
CW: cruel whumper, starvation, left to die, begging, fear of death, female whumper, male whumpee, death mention.
=-=-=-=-=
Bruno knew he wasn't the first; Alya was too good at hurting him not to have experience, the cell had scratches all over the wall, the chains were old and worn out. He wasn't the first.
So what happened to them? Bruno tried not to think so hard about it, but he knew that Alya had not simply freed them. They died, and he didn't want to try guessing just how horrible was their last moments.
He didn't need to guess, not when he was able to find out by himself.
"P-p-please, please don't," Bruno begged when the rag was taken out of his mouth and he could finally speak, "P-please don't leave me here, please."
They were in the woods, so far from both his old apartment and Alya's house, Bruno was tied up to a tree, the ropes were cutting into the raw flesh of his wrists, neck, legs, and chest, but was the last of his problem.
"Don't be like that, I'm also sad that we have to part ways," Alya said with a soft voice, holding Bruno by the chin, "But things just aren't working between us anymore."
Not working. It was her way to say she is done? That now that he is broken she has no use to him? That he isn't as fun now that he is so weakened that he can barely stand any torture without passing out?
"P-please, I'll be better, I promise, please-"
"Shhh shhh," Alya raised his head the more the ropes allowed her to and forced his mouth open, pouring water and making him chock, "Drink it all, we don't want you to die from dehydration so fast right? I won't be coming back but I want you to live as long as you can."
Bruno teared up and before he could get any air to beg again the rag was forced into his mouth again, and all he could do was to look up with pleading eyes, but not even this much he was allowed.
"Don't be like that," Alya said with a hurt tone while putting a blindfold on him as he weakly tried to move away, "I enjoyed our time together, and I'll remember you, well, probably anyway, you were not that memorable," she shrugged.
And just like that she left, Bruno couldn't see but listened in despair as her footsteps were getting farther and farther until they vanished. He could do nothing but cry, it was too much, way too much. the hunger, the fear, the pain, the despair.
Please, please come back. He pleaded internally, knowing full well she wouldn't.
=-=-=-=-=
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Text
Pokemon Teams for Fictional Characters pt. 2
Damian Wayne
(Also, I'm not including move sets because in my headcannon Pokemon do remember all their old moves. But humans choose to only use four)
For this AU I'm having the Wayne's own the Gotham City Gym, which specializes in Dark types. Most of the cannon events still happened. Just with a few tweaks here and there. (Dick's 20, Jason's 16, Cass is 15 Tim's 15 but younger than Cass and Damian's 13 because I love AUs where there closer in age).
Anyway here we go!
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First things first in the Pokemon Universe his alias wouldn't be Robin since they don't exist. Instead I think it would be Rookidee, since thats the closest Pokemon to a Robin.
His Partner Pokemon and ace would be a Gligar
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Name: Goliath
Gender: Male
Why: Gligar screams Goliath (his Batdragon) plus the coloring of his evolutions matches with Dami's Robin and Batman outfits
Story: He found Goliath while climbing a mountain for his training. At the time he was four and Goliath was a hatching. Damian ended up giving him some food, seeing that the hatching was hungry.
Grateful, the Gligar followed him hoping to return the favor.
When Damian's hand got broken on that same trip, Goliath was the one to help him finish his mission and get home safely.
Talia was impressed that Damian could tame a wild Pokemon without catching it, so she allowed him to keep him as his first Pokemon.
-----
Next he would have a Meowth
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Name: Alfred
Gender: Female
Why: This one has to do with its evolution. Persian are said to only be loyal to trainers it likes and that it takes a lot to get them to like you. Their also said to be prissy and uptight. This reminded me of Damian. How it took forever for him to trust his brothers and his own snobby attitude. Thus I think it fits.
Story: After coming to live with his father Damian didn't know how to act. He saw his "brothers" and father treating their Pokemon so different than how the League did. They all trained hard. But, there was something eles: warm praise for a job well done, asking for insight on a case (they had taught their bipedal pokemon sighn language) and comfort on a bad day. His father and brothers treated their Pokemon like... people
In the League Pokemon where the lowest soldier, lower than the slaves or concubines. They trained, ate then they had to and got in their ball.
He had been a little more lenient in his training with Goliath. When asked he said that he was still a baby and he had to take things slow in this stage or he might develop too much muscle mass and be unable to fly.
He had kept him out of his ball with the excuse of developing muscle mass at a proper pace.
He liked Goliath's company. The Gligar was a good companion. But on the same level as another person?
He had expressed these thoughts to Pennyworth, the only person in the house to give him a straight answer when he needed it.
Pennyworth had explained to him that some people love to hold power over others and that Pokemon where an easy target, since they couldn't communicate their emotions as clearly as people could.
"Think of Mistress Cain. She sometimes cannot communicate with words, but we know that she's intelligent. But some people see her as less than intelligent and treat her as such because of the power it gives them."
Two weeks later Damian would come across a group of teenagers attempting to shave a Meowth. The Pokemon was little more than skin and bone and crying out on pain. So, Damian broke their fingers and shaved part of their heads for good measure.
He kept the Meowth and named her after the man who taught him about the abuse of power.
---
Next, a Poochyena
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Name: Titus
Gender: Male
Why: These Pokemon and their evolution are ruthless with their pray, and only obey trainers with external skill.
Story: Raven gave Damian Titus as a gift. She said that she rescued him from an underground fighting ring (where the battles are to the death). He was still to young to battle so he didn't need much rehabilitation. The other Pokemon there though...
---
Now we have a Type Null
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Name: Heretic
Gender: ???
Why: This Pokemon was created in lab, and artificial designed for the purpose of fighting, just like Damian. True I could have given him Mewtwo, but that cat seems to fit Kon more.
Story: Damian's mother had spent years creating Type: Null with the purpose of being able to kill any target. As a last test she wanted to see which of her creations was suppirrior. So she sent the Type Null out to (try and) kill her son.
Damian, with the rest of his team, beat the Pokemon but couldn't kill it. He had long since vowed to wash the blood from his hands. Instead he offered his hand to it and asked it to join him.
---
Here we have the hardest to explain... Mimikyu
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Name: Habibi (I hope I spelled that right)
Gender: Female
Why: Damian is complex, he wants to be accepted and loved just like Mimikyu but dosent know how. Both try to mimic others in order to get that love, Damian his father and Mimikyu Pikachu. So I see this as Damian's spirit Pokemon in a way.
Story: He didn't know why it was so hard to fit in. Gods know he tried. But... little things confused him. Like how eveyone could understand each other without words or singhing. He had no problems with that on a battlefield, but in day to day life; it felt like he was on a separate server.
Like how Todd knew at breakfast with just a look that Drake was in a bad mood and how to help. Or how Grayson could audomadicly tell what kind of day at school the rest of them had withen a few minutes. Hell even Drake could tell what grunts ment what from father! Which ment good job, Which ment I'm glade your okay, or frustration either at them or at a case (Cass didn't surprise him, she had to learn how to communicate without words and watch body language and micro expressions).
School was no better; sometimes it was to load or bright othertimes, when everyone was doing a test, it felt to quiet. But, to much or to little, Damian was always aware of every movement, every sound. It was like the very instincts that saved his life every night where turned against him.
He turned to his nearly forgotten childhood habits to distract himself from everything around him. That only led to more whisper shouting and what even he could tell where displeased glares with a grunt of "fucking tapping" or a snap of "stop!" He knew it was disrupting but it was all be could do to drown out the noise or silence.
On one particularly bad day at school; apparently during one of their tests one of his classmates had had enough of Damian's tapping and decided to make a scene.
There was some yelling from the kid. A few cries in agreement. Before the teacher had gotten hem to settle down. He had demanded that Damian look him in the eye and when he finally did told him to stop with the tapping or else he would be sent to the office, Gym Leaders son or not.
He was the last to finish that test where he normally finished first. The silence had been to load!!
After that clusterfuck Damian finally headed home. He had texted Grayson saying that he was meeting a friend somewhere to work on a project and to not pick him up. In truth he didn't want his brother reading what kind of day he had had. He needed some time to himself.
That was how he found himself in a nearby park. It was filled with plenty of sounds that didn't suffocate him and the fall leaves where soothing to his eyes. Damian had Titus out of his ball as company, knowing that the pup loved park walks.
They had been walking for an hour when they came across a box set off just on the edge of the trail. "Free to Good Homes" was written on the side in black sharpie.
No sound was coming from inside, so he assumed that the had all been taken. Until Titus went closer sniffing at the seemingly empty box.
"Pooch Pooch"
"Hmmm... what is is it boy?" He asked as he walked closer to his Pokemon and the Box. Damian hoped he was wrong. It was cruel to leave a baby Pokemon all alone, especially since the weather was getting colder by the day.
Inside the box was in fact a lone Pokemon. At first glance it looked like a Pikachu. But something was off. It looked more like a doll than a living creature. If it wasn't for the small chirps it let out and slight way that it was shivering from the cold Damian would have written it off as a toy. No wonder it got left behind...
Damian reached down and picked up the mystery Pokemon as gently as he could.
"Come on beloved, lets go home."
He tucked the Pokemon in his jacket to warm it up before reaching for his phone to call Grayson for a ride home.
That night Damian locked himself away, even skipped patrol, and spent a sleepless night learning everything he could about his newest Pokemon.
---
That was inspired by this comic
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Finaly, for his last spot Eevee!!
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Name: Omni
Gender: Female
Why: I'm going to have all the Batfam members have an Eeveelution. This branch and the Batfam are both growing consistently. We all have our favorites but we love them all the same. So I think it fits.
Story: Everyone in the family had an Eevee or one of its evolutions. Damian's Father said that Eevee was the Wayne family symbol, it was potential, the ability to become whatever you wanted.
Though it surprised Damian that the Wayne symbol wasn't a Noibat or Noivern (Batman's ace) at first he eventually understood the logic in choosing such a Pokemon to represent the family name. That only made things harder for him being the only one not having one. Did they not truly see him as family?
On the one year anniversary of Damian arriving at The Mannor, his family through a small party. Pennyworth made his favorite foods, The Mannor was decorated in tacky streamers (Graysons' idea) and they watched some of Damian's favorite fims, their Pokemon curled up with them. His father had offered to take the day off from the gym. Until Todd suggested that Damian take on the challengers.
The Gotham gym was part of his heritage. Damian had been training for the day that he could finally help weed out the weak challengers just like his siblings sometimes did (think the battles you do before challenging a gym leader in the games).
On that day, if the challengers agreed to it, their final battle wasn't with Bruce Wayne the Dark Knight but instead his son. Most accepted thinking that it would be an easy win, that they had lucked out in not having to battle one of the stongest Gym Leaders in the League and could still get the Shadow Badge.
Those poor fools.
Damian was only allowed to use Alfred, Titus and Habibi since he used Goliath and Heretic primarily as Rookidee.
Damian fought seven trainers that day in 3v3 fights. Only two of them got the badge.
With the day overwith and the night rising, so did Gothams' protecters.
The night ended with exhausted body's and adrenaline crashes. Damian was ready to slip into a mini coma from the day he had but before he could head upstairs to The Mannor...
"Not so fast baby bat." Graysons' voice called out to him. "We got one more surprise for you."
Damian raised his eyebrow at that. What else could they do? His father came back from the locker rooms where he had been desuiting, it always took him the longest because of his "old man bones" as Todd said.
"Son," his father said "its Wayne tradition to get your first Pokemon when you turn ten years old. I missed that with you." He paused, eyes briefly shifting to the floor before they snapped back on Damian's face. "Luckily there's one tradition we didn't miss. When you've lived at The Mannor for a year or the adoption papers get finalized, I give my children this..."
He pulled a Poke'ball out of his poket and handed to Damian. "Go on son, let them out."
He did
Staring at him was his own Eevee.
---
AN: All of Damian's Pokemon (sans maybe Omni, I'm thinking of leaving her as an Eevee) will eventually evolve. Eventually.
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pocketramblr · 3 years
Text
other main character meta- Ochako, pt 1
<part 2>
“Could you send me there?” you ask, while i blink, confused. “The world where someone else is the main character? not because i have any hypocritical biases against the one i got, just curious how the fandom meta changes.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” I nod, thinking, before tapping my wand against your forehead. “Let’s start with Ochako.”
"I'm going to warn you now- I will have to slightly adjust the plot like I did with Mirio, just to actually let her be the main character."
"Yeah, that checks out." You nod, thinking about certain arcs where the female fighting teams get no coverage while the dudes get four different backstory reveals and full fight focus.
"Very well."
The show begins with a brief narration by the girl of quirks and super hero fights- all flashy. Then it zooms out to show the destruction, and a small construction team moving in as Ochako explains that just as there are new careers in society for heroes, there's also a bigger market for construction companies, one of which her own family runs.
"I've always wanted to help them with it, and my quirk would be useful"- a tiny, adorable Ochako finally appears, making rocks in a park float- "but to get a work license like that is expensive and selective- you've got to make a lot of court appearances and convince them why is a good idea and won't destroy the economy. It's much easier to get a hero license."
Then she explains: "Of course, once you have a hero license, you can make a lot more money than just by helping the company. Especially if... Your family company isn't doing very well." A series of tired but loving parents are shown working all hours to make ends meet.
"I want to help them- my parents. They've done everything for me, and they deserve a break. So that's why I'm going to be a hero- their hero."
The training montage is quick, using her quirk during school in training, after school in secret, around the house. She saves up money too, and studies, aiming for a scholarship.
She applies and tests for many hero schools, and the exams all vary widely.
The first episode ends with her looking up at UA, her final one, the one she really hopes to get into.
"Oh, that's nice." You nod. "And we even get to know her parents' quirks here."
"Yep." I agree. "In general, there's a lot more of a look at the financial side. It's pretty interesting."
"And the fandom?"
"Well, certain people get praised for the bare minimum, but I'll admit having a female lead is super uncommon for shonen jump." It's an improvement, though it's up in the air how much of one it will be. "There's also, because we saw a lot more hero schools, a ton of "students at different school" fics, either because they were expelled or because of the danger UA gets into."
"I do kinda feel like this universe is lucky for that sort of world building." You nod.
"It's very cool to see the takes on the aus. But, I will say there's a cost for this world building- the AfO stuff reeeeally comes out of nowhere and tends to not be popular with fans."
The next episode starts, and Ochako helps a boy from falling. "Love interest alert!" The fans notice quickly when the cute boy blushes and doesn't manage to say much before she walks away.
"They caught on quick." You note.
"And they aren't wrong." Not that it's any real feat to be right.
The exam starts, and Ochako is off in a flash. You see a few glimpses of future classmates- Iida, Aoyama, Kirishima.
She does well, racking up villain points and rescue points, until she's a little too ambitious and falls into the rubble. Her nausea is well established by now, everyone knows she's at her limit.
She can't get up.
The green haired boy comes back and stops the zero pointer.
And breaks every bone in the process.
Ochako saves him in return, lifting up the rubble and stopping his fall.
And then vomits violently afterwards.
"You know, I think quirks suck, actually." The fandom tends to agree on this after that episode/chapter. "But it is interesting that there's such a price for the powers, balances it really well."
"Ha." You shake your head. "They caught onto that, quicker."
"Yep." I can't even say it's more highlighted here, it's the exact same way it was shown in our universe- down to the sparkling rainbow puke.
"Though..." You can't quite imagine that's the only thing the fandom is saying isn't actually that great.
"Ding ding ding." I nod. "Did our own main character get treated just like a damsel in distress? Sure, she saved him back, but that just meant she could have floated away on her own in that time, even if it made her sick. Better that than dead. Is it the sexism?" I shrug. "Most decide to wait and see a bit, and by the time they work together in the first battle exercise figure it's a pretty even split between them saving each other."
"So no sexism?" You get happy at that thought.
I cough. "Ah, no. Both in the show and the fandom. You wouldn't believe how many grown men complain about the lady mc, even as they keep watching."
"And have her body pillow."
"Please don't make me think about that." I cover my eyes, but don't deny that it's true. "Anyway, yeah. Get ready for a lot of people to point out that even though the main character is a girl, every single other girl is flat as cardboard so far and that she only has developed friends that are guys."
"Hey, they aren't flat-"
"In the first season? Yeah they are. Unless you meant, physically, in which case..."
"I didn't." You protest. "But I guess I can see your point, at the start."
"Right. Let's continue on."
Uraraka goes to Present Mic to offer her points. The man pats her on the head, and skyrockets to the position of fandom dad.
"It's all about Dadmic and then Dadzawa here," I explain. "The fans were very disappointed to learn Mic wasn't her homeroom teacher, but yeah... He got a huge head start before Dadzawa fics got going."
"Nice. And it's all fanon?"
"Yeah, it may be a good thing he's not actually in it much, or they might realize how much they just made up on their own."
Then she gets accepted in, on hero and rescue points- she's third place overall, and she gets the scholarship.
On the first day of school, she actually gets to know her love interest's name- Midoriya!
There's also the quirk assessment, which really leads to the "expelled to another school" au and the "fire Aizawa and replace him with better Mic" aus, the first of which lasts much longer in the fandom use, but the second one was just as passionate for a while.
Iida becomes the second friend, and gives her the "Infinity Girl" nickname- which actually is the fandom assumption of what her hero name will be for quite a while, a la 'ground zero'.
Then it's time for All Might's first appearance on screen, to much applause of the students, and the announcement that they get their costumes.
During the first battle exercise, there's a lot more lingering camera work in the changing rooms. Ochako gets to expand a lot more on how she didn't want her costume to be that tight. It's uncomfortable, especially when she thinks about wearing it in front of everyone.
"Oh, I forgot she didn't like it at first... Does she just, get used to it here?" It sounds horrible for the plot to just say 'get used to it' to the main character being sexualized by costume makers outside of her control, especially as a child.
"Not on my watch." I mumble, waving the wand. "Don't worry, she'll actually get more costume changes each time, like some other characters."
"Oh good."
Mineta, regrettably, still exists. You find the fandom manages to be even more violent in his removal.
The battle does even out the opinions on Midoriya, as well as lead to a boost in Iida's with his charming little attempt at thinking villainously.
And cements Bakugo as rather hated. No one has really liked him, when the first thing he did was blow up at Midoriya, then get revealed to have called him a cruel nickname all this time. And then specifically hunt him down because all he cares about it beating him up.
"Yeah he's not gonna get a lot of fans here huh."
"He sure never gets first place in the popularity poll." I agree. "Most consider him the subversion of the rival trope to show is just stupid and violent and in real life, people like that don't go anywhere."
"Most?"
I look away. "How dumb of a discourse do you think you could see today?"
"Oh please, show me." You lean in. "It's nice to not have to deal with it in my universe, so I don't care."
The discourse is such.
Bakugo is gay-coded for Midoriya, the violence is a result of him being shoved off for a girl's love interest when she should be single and independent, and the homophobic creator is vilifying all gay people by saying they are predatory to poor straight boys with refused.
"They............... What."
"If it makes you feel better, that's a very brief minority of the fandom. My favorite response to it was "he's not gay-coded, he's bully coded you sanctimonious sumph of a shmuck.""
"Oh good," you sigh. "I'm glad we don't have to deal with actual queerphobic tropes like that."
I stare at you.
"What?"
I sigh. "Nothing, put a pin in that until I bring up the predatory bi thing with Toga."
Your eyes widen, and you start to have some regrets.
"Anyway, we can talk shipping later. Time for more."
The 'exit sign Iida' gives him a boost in being shipped with Ochako, (as well as Yaoyorozu) and also the general idea that "Ochako has two hands."
That one hand can have a boyfriend with a lot of cash to spare for her and the other is also played with.
"I missed the main trio, like this." You smile as they walk off into the sunset after school.
"Yeah." I agree. "Anyway, time for some near death experiences."
The USJ marks the start of the gradual, gradual growth of Dadzawa fics. It also focuses far more on Ochako, Mina, Sero, and Iida having to think strategically to get around Kurogiri. It's only after Iida escapes that we cut back to a slightly abridged version of how Midoriya was doing, then the other kids, before help arrives.
He does still through his first non bone breaking punch though, which makes the audience happy.
All Might saves the day. Aizawa is battered afterwards. Many fans start out by saying they were disappointed, since this was supposed to be the first big fight, and the kids didn't do much. Many others say in response that's the point- we're looking at first years, they had to think and help each other, but in the end they had to rely on adults.
And then the sports festival is announced. They want to do well, because this is how they get work-week placements, which could become internship offers.
Ochako thinks about Hado Nejire, the only intern of a top ten hero, and senior at UA, along with a few others who are on the up and up. She's determined.
"Really? You're bringing in the big three early?" You ask, glancing at my wand.
It's not sparkling.
I cross my arms with a huff. "Look. Nejire is at this point the only intern in the top ten, she would have been recognizable to the students for that, even if they didn't recognize the big three (which really means that they aren't actually called the Big Three by everyone, or at least not a wide enough group for it to be as big a deal as it's treated. Anyway.) But she wasn't, even if she should have been the most famous of the bunch, considering the coverage the first years got in just their first night. That's because a certain someone doesn't actually think of his female characters much, but he has to in this universe, so."
"Ok, yeah, that's fair. So does that change the sports festival?"
"Not... Much." I admit.
“What?”
“Well, keep in mind in the first universe, our main character didn’t make it past the second round in the one-on-one’s. So she’s not exactly guaranteed a win here either.”
You have to nod, admitting that is true.
“And the conflict isn’t so much about having to live up to any predecessor or breaking down some people’s walls via breaking bones.” I tap my wand against my chin, thinking. “There really is two- one about Midoriya, and one about Ochako’s parents.”
“Oh?”
“One, there’s been the Uraraka’s not happy about how much danger Ochako’s been in. Its been hinted at in the phone calls, but really shows up when we get to see them at home before the SF for the first time since she moved for school. They aren’t sure if she can stay there herself, or if the right thing to do would be to pull her out and maybe try a smaller school.”
“I suppose that's fair, if they haven't been able to actually see her or her progress.”
“Right. The second one is- well. in this, Izuku’s win of the first round, and then breaking out of brainwashing, is more about really piling on how good his mind is- all that brain power. This adds more pressure when we see Ochako being offered a plan from him to beat Bakugo.”
“Oh that does sound neat.”
“Yep- but of course, she still refuses. It’s held up as a worse thing, strategically, initially- but then she comes up with a plan that Midoriya confirms in the stands is better than his, and proves to her parents that she’s smart and skilled enough to handle continuing at the school.”
You smile. “That is a cool arc to do, i guess, if very not traditional. But what about all the character setup and growth with Shinsou and Todoroki?”
“Oh, Shinsou’s largely gets delegated all the way later for the joint training arc, where Ochako’s team is directly against him. Todoroki...” I begin to giggle.
You wait for me to answer, getting more concerned the longer i laugh.
“Pocket?”
“Sorry, sorry, yeah. He actually tells her himself in this canon, a bit after stain. Oh! right, i forgot- the cheerleader incident.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes. of course they need this merch opportunity! But yes, it happens. The... shall we say, non-body-pillow portion of the fandom, generally saw it as the end of any goodwill to Kaminari, who had previously been seen as a tertiary possible love interest, since he’d flirted with her on the first day. Flirt, but harmless, and unlikely to be important. Then there was that breach of trust and international embarrassment, and anyway he’s basically the second least likely in 1a to be shipped with her now.”
“Wow. So none of that changed?”
“Well, the setup wasn’t under narration from Todoroki about how his mother was bought for her body and how much that sucked and impacted her and the family while on screen we see multiple girls tricked into barring their bodies and its treated as a laugh instead?”
You stare at me. “I’m not sure if that’s better or worse.”
“Neither am I.”
“So, the Todoroki reveal?”
“Right. So, first you need to know the Stain thing- the claims he has against ‘false’ heroes focusing on money is better spotlighted. After Stain’s arrest, Ochako hears a couple of sidekicks at Gunhead’s agency-”
“Wait!” you interrupt. “She still interned with Gunhead? Then what was the point of showing Nejire and Ryukyuu earlier?”
I try not to massage my forehead. “To build up to it. She only made it to the first of the final round, she couldn’t get an internship with a top tenner yet. She’s also got to learn how to disarm someone who fights with a knife. These things build up over more time, small steps.”
“Ah.” You’re satisfied, and let me continue.
“Right, so, Overhears a couple of them talking about Stain’s philosophy and ends up just feeling really bad about it for a bit, trying to figure out if she’s actually being selfish or a bad hero for, you know, wanting her family to not be crushed due to capitalism.”
“Poor girl.” You shake your head in sympathy, the freeze. “Oh. did not intend that pun.”
“It’s alright, i know what you mean. And yeah, she bottles it up for a bit, until the second day back at school. Then Iida reminds her that him bottling things up last week got several kids in mortal danger, and she begrudgingly admits that he has a point and tells them about what has been bugging her.”
“And they comfort her?”
“Well, Todoroki also offers to tell off Kaminari because at this point his mention of stain upset both her and iida, but yes, A lot of reassurances.”
You squint. “I feel like shippers.”
“You’re learning! Yes, Todoroki is just a bit behind Iida in terms of popularity shipping with her. and she does basically get shipped A Lot with each girl in her class too, like imagine double to triple the amount with each girl now, and for the minor guys- but yeah. There’s a lottttt of ships. This was basically called ‘todoroki’s introduction into ochako’s harem’ in the fandom.”
Shipping. fandom just can’t escape it.
“So, then she learns about Todoroki’s past? oh, and what about Hosu? Does she- and everyone else- actually think Endeavor saved the three??”
I snort. “Oh, no. Todoroki’s flat ‘yeah my father totally helped us, as you read on the official report’ basically tipped the fandom off that something else had. But nothing confirmed either, you know? Filling in the hosu gap is another trope in fics that is pretty common.”
“Neat.”
“Yep. But yeah Todoroki tells her his backstory a bit after his introduction into her ‘harem’ of friends. It’s really played up more to caution Ochako- its alright for her to want to help her family, and to work for money to do that. But Rei accepted the marriage offer for money for her family too, and it ended up breaking her. Ochako has to accept a balance- she can work to help her family, and its good, but there are some things she cannot morally do to help them, and other things that she shouldn’t do because she has to take care of her own health first.”
“Ohhhh.” You hadn’t quite expected that, but you sorta liked it, now that you thought about it.
I smile. “It is pretty neat, yeah.” I glance at my watch. “Look, i hate to cut you off, but this post is gonna end up thrice the length of Mirio’s and i think tumblr might stop me, so we’re gonna have to do a two-parter.”
“That’s fine.” You are gracious for what you’ve gotten so far, and do have questions that you’re excited to see answered for the rest of the series. “It’s been fun.”
“It has been.” I agree. “Lets take a break, but you can ask me any questions too, before I return for part two.”
<part 2>
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