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anasui-at-disneyland · 10 months

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Chelsea Van Der Zee - Villain Re-Write

Chelsea is probably the one thing that makes me feel conflicted the most about this movie:

I love her chemistry with Ruby and the scenes where is just them hanging out is by far the most entertaining parts of the movie

I hate her as a villain because she´s on the level of "I´m evil because the plot needs a villain" (and her twist being Nerissa downright sucked).

With that in mind, this is a bit of my "re-write" of her as a villain to give her a bit more depth:

*Most of the events of the movie remains the same, just modifying the bits with Chelsea

Make her Nerissa´s actual daughter (because that twist was dumb, came out of nowhere and I´m dying on that hill).

2. After her mother´s death on her battle against Agatha, she´s raised by the Mermaid kingdom´s courtiers basically her entire childhood.

3. She´s indoctrinated into believing Krakens aren´t these so called protectors of the sea, but rather they heavily police the rest of the kingdoms so they can´t expand their reach and keep that territory all for themselves (That way, just like Ruby, she´s being told the other side is in the wrong).

4. Through her life she develops a passion for all kinds sea creatures, and isn´t to fond of the idea she was taugth about Krakens controlling how much other sea kingdoms can expand.

5. The courtiers tell her there´s a way to bring her mother back AND to lower Kraken´s power so the sea territories can be balanced, and it´s by spell/ritual that involves the trident and Kraken´s blood.

6. She meets Ruby, and upon realising she´s a Kraken, at first sticks with her to manipulate her so she can retrieve the trident and take her blood to bring back her mother.

7. Over time, she actually starts bonding with Ruby over their shared interest over sea creatures and get to know each other backgrounds, so propose to her to get the trident as a peace sign between both kingdoms to reach balance (By this point, it plays a lot like in the actual movie, only that Chelsea still omitts the Kraken´s blood part because she believes Ruby would not accept if she knew that detail).

8. Ruby brings back the trident, and when Chelsea is preparing the spell, she stabs Ruby´s arm-tentacle, a weakened Ruby is baffled by this and Chelsea tells her it was necessary for the plan and she has to understand.

9. The trident reacts to Kraken´s blood and manifests Nerissa´s soul, to which Chelsea greets her mother as is the first time she sees her since she was a child.

10. Chelsea explains she learnt eveything about her and the courtier´s plan to balance the sea territories, and she even convinced Ruby, the heir of the Kraken´s throne to the plan.

11. When Chelsea asks how the trident could do all of that, Nerissa says that the trident never was intended as a peace sign, but rather a weapon with enough power to kill a Kraken, and when the Krakens are gone, all sea creatures would unite and obey the Mermaid kingdom as the supreme sea kingdom, and the ones to no comply would run into the same fate as Krakens.

12. By this point both Ruby and Chelsea see both of them got played, Ruby by accepting to the spell and Chelsea by trusting the courtier´s plan, now not only Ruby´s family is at risk, but pretty much every other creature on the sea.

13. Chelsea tells Nerissa that the plan is complete madness, and as heir of the throne of her kingdom, she wouldn´t let it happen, to which Nerissa says that she no longer has a voice on it since she was back as queen, and the role she plays on her plan is being her avatar to wield the trident, and that for starters, she was going to get rid of Ruby.

14. Chelsea refuses, Nerissa tells her how dissappointed she is that her daughter is so weak, but she got a contingency plan for that, if Chelsea doesn´t do it herself, then she would.

15. Nerissa´s souls enters Chelsea´s body to control her, but while Chelsea still has some control she struggles against the possesion, tells Ruby to escape and pushes her to give her a headstart, letting Ruby to get into a sea current, pushing her away while she sees Chelsea falling to her mother´s control and starting to grow.

16. Ruby gets to the Kraken´s palace and tells her mom and grandma everything that happened (the big kaiju fight takes place as normal).

17. Once the trident is shattered, Nerissa´s soul vanishes and Chelsea shrinks back to her normal size several meters mid air, to which Ruby rushes to catch her, saving her from the fall.

18. Upon waking up and staring at Ruby´s giant eyes, Chelsea breaks down after realising how she almost doomed the entire sea AND hurting Ruby (This way we can see Chelsea on a phase we never saw her before, instead of being bossy and self-confident, she´s now doubtful of herself and the things she did).

19. Ruby´s grandma tell Ruby to bring Chelsea to her so she can fry her, to which Ruby refuses (Just like in the actual movie, despite everything that went down, Ruby still advocates for Chelsea´s life).

20. There´s a talk between the 3 royal Krakens (Grandmamah, Agatha and Ruby) about what they should do with the trident´s shards, since it´s too dangerous if it´s assembled back.

21. Ruby has an idea and says they could scatter all parts across the sea, so there´s no way someone could find all of them, to which Grandmamah and Agatha recognise it might be a good idea, with the issue that they being as big as they are, that would draw to much attention and would risk to spot the shards.

22. Chelsea still shocked by everything that just went down, overhears their talk and says that she could scatter all the shard, since being smaller she would pass on as a regular fish.

23. Grandmamah and Agatha immediatly turns down her initiative after all that happened and how she backstabed Ruby, to which, Ruby stands up for Chelsea and tells her mom and grandma that she would be dead and couldn´t be able to alert them about Nerissa´s return not being that Chelsea fought back against her mother.

24. After some time pondering about it, they accept the initiative, under 2 conditions, those being that Chelsea must hide the shard where they tell her too being escorted by a guard, even if that includes land as well, AND, once she´s done with it, she must stay at the palace, since they don´t want to risk another betrayal (by doing this, Chelsea is given the chance to redeem herself, without immediatly being forgiven so she can work on her character for a possible sequel).

25. Chelsea accepts her new duty, and after they give her the map and her designated guard to start her journey, she goes to Ruby to say her farewells, hoping that Ruby will forgive her, to which Ruby says it may take some time, but she is grateful that she once gave her the determination to embrace her Kraken self and becoming better, so she will be waiting for her to comeback.

I know that this re-write may come as a long, dramatic and a bit corny (because it´s all of that, I recognize that), but that´s because I wanted to write both Ruby and Chelsea as 2 sides of the same coin:

Both of them were taught about the dangers of another sea creatures.

Both of them had good intentions at heart wanting to make the sea a better place.

Both of them got their trust played with and in consecuence got hurt by it.

I just really like Chelsea´s character and design that much that I don´t want her to go to waste to not be seen again.

___

But sadly, things are set in stone now, and unless they decide to do some crazy retconing for a sequel/series, we will be stuck with Nerissa "NO Chelsea" Van Der Zee.

But hey, not everything is doomed, in the words of Luz Noceda:

...

Hey, if you´re still reading this actual wall of text, you deserve a pat on the back, I knew this was LOOOOONG.

#ruby gillman teenage kraken #Ruby Gillman #Chelsea Van Der Zee #Dreamworks

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mon-mothmas-collar · 13 days

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she’s so brocedes coded let’s talk for a second:

The Passenger (Nico) knows the relationship is doomed. The Passenger suffers a rude awakening, sudden and shocking

…you can’t focus on the road when I’m in your car

…and I can finally see//you’d rather die than take your eyes off me

Now the above to me represents Nico’s realization that them being in Mercedes (The Car) together will ultimately destroy them

Lewis (The Reckless Driver) joining Mercedes is the beginning of the end. Because now he has Nico to compete with. It’s all he focuses on. How he and his best friend are now in the car together. Teammates for the first time in years.

Nico, the one who’d been in Merc already, sees this before Lewis does. How Lewis and him fighting will kill them both

and one day it’ll kill us if I don’t let go

If Nico doesn’t let go of their friendship, focus all in on winning the championship in 2016, it’ll destroy both of them. He, as The Passenger, the one along for the ride even when he got in the car (Mercedes) first, must be the one to instigate leaving because that’s the only way The Reckless Driver will realize that they are barreling towards a tree.

Lewis again, is The Reckless Driver. He’s the one in the fast lane, the world famous. Getting in The Car ultimately raises the pressure of the team. But his best friend is there, and he’s so excited, that he just can’t be bothered to pay attention to the tree coming ahead of them.

But there’s also a lot of doubt in their friendship, The Reckless Driver isn’t stupid. He knows something isn’t exactly right. For Nico and Lewis, they are both acutely aware of several key differences in them. Lewis’s ease of winning, their different childhood backgrounds, things like that that make Lewis ask questions he might not want the answer to:

But would you hold me when we crash or would you let me go?

Would Nico still be there for him? Ultimately we know the answer. No. Nico, as The Passenger doesn’t want to. He wants to beat Lewis. Not save their friendship. He wants to leave F1, not risk ruining his own life more than he already has.

Now, we shift back to The Passenger. Who—in the bridge—you realize is actually already out of the car when the crash finally happens. When everything falls apart. They don’t even want to be there, watching anymore.

Dont want to watch it as it happens//see the crowds reaction//I can’t be your savior

This to me, can mean two things, it could mean that Nico was already gone and checked out when the 2016 season ended, or on a more physical level, when 2021 happened.

The Passenger is no longer a passenger. They’re not in The Car anymore. They’re in with the crowd they are The Spectator, watching the crash as it happens whether they like it or not. The Spectator can’t stop it.

Nico, he leaves. He watches Lewis from a distance, unable to do anything about it anymore but stand by and watch. He chose to leave the car, and now he watches while Lewis’s eyes shift to a new sight. The Eighth. He’s hellbent on getting it. And Nico, by leaving the car and ending their friendship, ruined any chance of stopping him from doing whatever it takes to get that eighth championship.

If i don’t let go

Nico had to be the one to let go. He doesn’t have the desire like Lewis does. That mentality of doing whatever it takes to win. He tried that and it broke him.

Does this make sense? probably not. Could i make a case for Lewis as The Passenger? Oh absolutely. Will I? Maybe.

Anyway someone should make a web weave of them. It might be me.

#f1 #formula 1 #brocedes #nico rosberg #lewis hamilton #lizzy mcalpine

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queen-of-deans-booty · 8 months

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World Domination

Pairing: Apocalypse World!Michael x Daughter!Reader

Word Count: ~1.9k

Warnings: angst, hating humanity

Request by anon: Hey can i request a one shot where au Michael have a daughter (reader) her mother was choose to have a kid we Michael because she is descendant of Gods and some supernatural creatures but before the reader born where mother escaped from the apocalypse world and came to main universe for protect the reader but in the end the reader met au Michael and she is a female copy of him (want to destroy the world, etc)?

Summary: Michael impregnates a woman so he can have a Nephilim by his side while he rules over humanity. She won't let that happen, but she doesn't know how persistent you will become once you're born.

Square Filled: free space (2022) for @spnaubingo

Author’s Note: i appreciate any and all comments! <3

Keep running, Maeve. Keep running and don’t stop. The woman’s chest starts to close the more she runs without a break, her heart is hammering so fast that she thinks it’s gonna burst out of her chest, and her legs feel like jelly but she has one thought in her mind that keeps her running.

Don’t stop or he’s gonna catch you.

Trees whiz by her, her feet step on every branch in her way, and nothing can be heard for miles but her ragged breathing and heaving panting. She is three months pregnant, she shouldn’t be running like this. She should be at home in bed eating her favorite foods. She should be shopping for baby items to decorate the nursery with. She should be doing this with anyone but him.

She looks back to see if he’s chasing her and almost falls on her face. She can’t put her baby at risk, not after she’s come so far. She doesn’t know where she’s going, who she’s gonna encounter, or what she’s gonna do, but she knows she needs to get away from him.

Just a few more minutes.

Something is bound to come up in these woods. This entire place has been overtaken by angels who love to hide things in plain sight, and they love manipulating the Earth to fit their needs. Something magical is likely to show up, she just doesn’t know what.

After what seems like hours, she comes to a clearing where there is a strip of gold hovering in mid-air. She doesn’t know what this is or what it’ll do to her, but anything is better than being his captive. Even if it kills her and the baby, they’ll both be free from his pain.

She closes her eyes and runs right into the gold stripe. Gone are the trees and dead land only to be replaced by bright lights, bookshelves, and wooden tables. She gasps and stumbles into what looks like a library and right into the arms of a tall and muscular man.

“Whoa, what is going on?” the man gasps and catches her.

“Close it,” she gasps and points to the gold stripe. “Close it before he comes!”

“Whoa, calm down. What is going on?”

“Whatever that is, close it before he comes and kills us all,” she cries.

“Cas, close it,” another tall man orders a man in a trench coat.

“Jack! Close the portal!”

A younger blonde man walks into view and closes the “portal” with his mind. Maeve doesn’t care who these guys are or what they’re capable of. Anyone is better than Michael.

“You’re safe. Take a deep breath,” the man who caught you says.

Maeve collapses to the ground and just cries. In relief? In fear? Because she can finally stop running? She has been going through nothing but stress these last three months because of Michael; She’s not worried about herself, she’s worried about her baby.

“Please…” She pants. “My baby…” She coughs. “Is my baby alright?”

“You’re pregnant?” the tall man asks. She nods and places a hand on her growing stomach. “Cas, do you mind checking?”

The man in the trench coat, Cas, walks over to her and kneels so that he’s on her level. He reaches his hand out to her just as his eyes glow a familiar blue.

“You’re an angel?” she gasps.

“Yes.”

“Don’t touch me!” Cas jumps back and raises his hands in confusion. “You’re just as bad as he is. I hate angels.”

“Okay, why don’t you take a minute to yourself? My name is Sam and this is my brother Dean. Yes, Cas is an angel, but I can promise you we’re a lot better than whoever you’re running from. Cas is one of the good angels.”

This place is different than Maeve has ever seen before. The portal has closed so she can’t get back to her world right now, so she has no choice but to trust these men. This is for the good of her child.

“Okay, fine,” she whispers.

Cas kneels next to her and he places his hand over her stomach. He uses his angelic powers to check how your child is doing, and he pulls his hand away with a smile.

“She is doing well.”

“She?” Maeve gasps.

“I’m sorry, were you not wanting to know that?”

“No, I just didn’t know she is a she.”

“Why don’t you get cleaned up? I’ll show you where the bathroom is.”

Sam helps her to her feet and escorts her to the big bathroom. He allows her to take as much time as she news while the four men talk inside the library.

“Where the hell did she come from?” Dean asks.

“I don’t know. That portal led to the Apocalypse World. Who do you think she was talking about?”

“It could be anyone,” Cas sighs. Maeve takes thirty minutes to herself before joining the four men inside the library. “Are you okay?”

“I’m better than when I arrived.”

“Can you explain who you are and what’s going on?” Sam asks.

“My name is Maeve and I come from a small town in what used to be Florida. After the big war, everything became ruined. People were forced to travel in groups because the angels screwed up Earth too much to be alone. One of the men who was in my group got close to me… I thought he was normal,” she whispers painfully.

“What happened?”

“He got me pregnant. That’s when I found out his name: Michael. He was the archangel who destroyed Earth. He’s the reason I ran. I ran and didn’t stop because I knew he would have killed me after my baby was born. He caught me a couple of months ago but I escaped and have been running ever since. He’s dangerous, he hates humanity, and he wants to destroy them all. He wants a Nephilim to help him with his plans but I refuse to give him what he wants. I can’t let my baby girl be part of whatever plans he has.”

“Yeah, we know more about Michael than we should. Our Michael is locked inside the cage with Lucifer, so you won’t have to worry about him. We can protect you,” Sam says.

“Without a portal, he can’t come here. You’re safe here.”

“Good. I’m very grateful for your help. I’d like to have the baby here where it’s safe if that’s okay. I need the first thing she sees to be her mother.”

“Of course. Jack, would you mind talking to her?” Sam asks.

“Talk to me about what?”

“I’m a Nephilim,” he says. “My mother got pregnant by Lucifer. Your baby is going to grow very quickly. The only thing is that the human body can’t handle the birth of a Nephilim. You won’t survive the birth.”

“What?”

“My mother died giving birth to me. I’m sorry this happened to you, but something that helped me was the videos she took of herself so I could watch them over and over again.” Tears brim Maeve’s eyes at the thought of never seeing her daughter. “I’ll help you communicate with her. She’s listening to everything.”

“As long as she’s protected, I don’t care what happens to me. I’ve suffered from Michael for far too long. I won’t do it anymore.”

The following month went by faster than Maeve thought it would go. She should be four months pregnant but she feels and looks like she is six. Her baby girl is growing too quickly for her to catch up. Sam and Dean have been nothing but kind to her, Castiel has been taking care of her, and Jack has been interacting with her child.

Another month of taking videos, talking to her baby, and forming relationships goes by as quickly as the first. Maeve has gotten too big to move about on her own, so she’s bedridden for the last couple of weeks of her pregnancy. She rubs her hand over her big bump and leans her head back on the pillow.

“Listen to me, Y/N,” she talks to her child. “I just want you to know how much I love you. When you’re born, you’re not going to meet me. You’ll have Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Jack to take care of you. You remember Jack, right? He’s like you. Just remember that humans are better than the angels. Michael is bad and dangerous and doesn't care about you.”

Maeve has been dreading this day, but it’s time to give birth. She’s proud of the woman and mother she’s become over the course of the pregnancy, but all good things must come to an end. Sam and Dean are on either side of her holding her hands, Cas is at the end of the bed, and Jack is watching from the bedroom door.

“Promise me Y/N will be taken care of,” Maeve cries. “Promise me she’s gonna be okay.”

“We promise,” Sam says.

She gets a sharp pain in her side that tells her it’s time to start pushing. Birthing a Nephilim is nothing like birthing a human child. For one, the baby doesn’t help by wiggling their way out, and a bright white light doesn’t shine when they come out. Maeve tips her head back and screams as loud as she could.

The bright white light shoots out of her and to the corner of the room where you stand to your full height. Much like Jack, you grew up to be a teenager instead of an infant. You need to be at this age for what your father has planned. Your mother lays limp on the bed with blood running down her legs. You look at everyone in the room who has become on high alert.

“Y/N, is it?” Sam asks.

“Where is my father? Where’s Michael?”

“Jack, you want to take the lead on this one?” Dean asks.

“Y/N, I know what you’re feeling right now. I get it. You’re scared. We can help you.”

“I want Michael!”

Power explodes out of you which blasts all four men back into the wall behind them so hard they crack the walls. The power that comes from the birth of a Nephilim is enough to open a rift into another universe. Your power comes from the Apocalypse World so that’s where the rift opens to.

You run out of the bedroom to where the power is coming from, and you jump through the portal without a second thought. Gone are the bright lights, bookshelves, and wooden tables only to be replaced by trees and dead land. You look around the place and use your power to close the rift so they can’t get to you.

Jack is a Nephilim like you so he’ll be able to create a portal to here but closing it buys you some time.

“Y/N?”

You turn to see a black man with his arms stretched out.

“Dad!”

You run into his arms and bury your head in his chest.

“Welcome home, my angel.”

“I’m eager to get started.” For the past six months, you’ve heard nothing but what everyone else was saying. Humans are good. Sam and Dean are good people. Castiel is a good angel. Michael is a bad angel. Sam and Dean can protect you. Nothing they said is true because the only good person in this world is Michael, and he’s going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe. “Humans need to be destroyed.”

“That’s my girl,” he grins.

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

#dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #jack kline #dean winchster fanfiction #sam winchester fanfiction #castiel fanfiction #jack kline fanfiction #supernatural fic #supernatural fiction #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fan fiction #supernatural fanfic #supernatural fan fic #supernatural angst

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l0ves1ckf0ol · 2 years

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OXYTOCIN : 001 (cancelled)

— in which, miguel wants y/n to have fun, get some oxytocin (possibly a fic).

— before you read, this post will use "y/n" to refer to you, 2nd pov, sorry for some inaccuracies i dont live in the us or how prices work there.

you hadn't remembered the time you felt alive every moment feels like a boring dream. you were living in a weird town- with karate freaks and stuck up creepy men. you say karate freaks because you were old friends with tory nichols, tory nichols is part of the freaks. she went berserk on her boyfriend's ex, and for what? kissing the guy. this whole karate rivalry thing has made you annoyed, at first you thought the worst thing that could happen to you is everyday feeling like a schedule because of school. school makes life boring. but when the rivalry came you didn't know what you hated more. the bore or the stupid rivalry that put your friend at risk. you tried doing karate but it wasn't your style, you also tried miyagi-do but y'know you got lazy. and well here you are, at a conviniece store.

"how much for the beer?" right in front of you stood kyler, a well known bully. you were sitting behind the counter, nose stuck in a book. you dropped your book to the counter and raised an eyebrow, "you know damn well you're not legal for it?" you scoff. kyler frowned, "what you say?"

"i said you're not even legal for it, i know you from school." you repeat this time with more attitude, 'asshole' almost slipping out of your mouth. then a blonde woman appeared behind him "hey cut us off some slack, y/n" tory reasons before kyler could pounce on you.

"whatever, its $17." kyler wasn't too happy about it, "what the fuck? you taking advantage of me or something?" he argued, "inflation happens, brawns with no brains. now give it or no beer for you."

kyler glares at you as he slaps the money down on the counter, you counted it and nod off to them. "just get out of here before one of y'all's next victims walk through the door and trash the place." you say eyeing tory as the pair walked out.

you sat back down on your chair, "they're gone now." you say with a yawn as you grabbed your pocket book and got back to reading. "i wasn't scared of them y'know?" he told you as he gets out of the storage closet from behind you. "do i look like i care? i don't want you to start a fight inside a store. i'll get fired." you mutter.

"hawk is having a party at the beach after school tomorrow. wanna come?" he asks you. miguel squats down to you on the floor. "no thanks, having an ample amount of time to read rather than going to the beach."

"you just said you loved the beach."

"i hate parties."

miguel sighs, "you're scared aren't you?" you frown at his assumption, "i'm just avoiding trouble, unlike you and those snakes next door love to think with yall's fists." you say to him, facing him this time as you place your book on the desk. "please?" miguel pleads "i want you there, besides its gonna be fun!" he says. "i want you to let loose"

you hated that statement, you hated that with every fiber of your being. people can't seem to get over the stereotype of teenagers of going out and partying while you like where you are right now, working a job, reading books, analyzing films- what was there not to like? if miguel was one of your family members you would've dashed into your room and plot pointless revenge for hours.

but he wasn't, he looked sincere. "i want you to have fun, get you some oxytocin." you laugh aloud "what a nerd." miguel's jaw drops, "you know that word?" he asks as you nodded, "the feel-good hormone, different from serotonin on many levels." you say knowledgeably.

"look, just think about it. alright? i don't want to force you." miguel reassures you, patting your shoulder as he leaves the convenience store "see you at school!"

#cobra kai #cobra kai netflix #miguel diaz #miguel diaz x gnreader #miguel diaz x reader #miguel diaz fanfiction #xu's fics #oxytocin

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feminismisstillahatemovement · 1 year

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About that last post (the 'why men no longer try harder after we criminalized sexual advances'). Tbh this makes me sad that apparently majority of society DOES play this game because I legit, honestly don't want relationship any time soon, I don't play hard to get :s So I feel like feminists that antagonized men "trying harder" kept women like me in mind (or were like me themselves). Those who LEGIT want to be left alone, whatever is the reason. It could be somethig impossible to change with persuasion too, like being asexual/lesbian but not trusting this man enough to say, or having life-changing bad experience. In retrospective I feel like what happened was emotional reaction of protecting the minority (and projecting *individual* experiences on humanity in general cough cough) at the cost of messing up majority. Like majority liked that "game" but now men are scared and women who don't know of feminist stuff feel unwanted and unattractive. And say that 'real' men went extinct xD I notice the 'saviors' make this same mistake not even first time - start with good intentions and descent into vigilantes. And it is ALWAYS trade of 'minority for majority' even though majority MAKES the society truly function. I wonder what could have gone differently in this situation if at all? Like... how *to* cover people who do NOT play hard to get? Like, was there a way to go less destructive? Or it is one of those things you just let people solve themselves via properly communicating?

The pickup artists call it the "shit test": women being evolutionarily hardwired to want to make potential mates jump through hoops to see how committed they are to sticking around, so that when they choose to go make the beast with two backs and a baby pops out, they're hopefully less likely to be either stuck raising it alone or eaten by a tiger while 8 months pregnant and unable to run away very fast.

So on that level it's understandable. The problem is, with the arrival of feminism and women's ever-increasing political influence the past hundred years (along with other things, such as the introduction of cinema and TV and celebrity culture and social media as something to continually compare one's own life to), the hoops that women are putting up for the men to jump through have been getting more and more dangerous and impossible to achieve.

Women in their tens of millions hungrily guzzle up the fantasy of a Rhett Butler or a Christian Grey, all while at the same time marching and voting for harsher and harsher penalties for any man who actually behaves like the man of their dreams: It's the ultimate shit test, in which any man who attempts to live up to the female fantasy will in all likelihood have his life utterly destroyed on the whims of the same women who request it.

An ever-increasing number of men have decided that price is just too insanely high to risk everything on - especially since the quality of what women are offering in return has been continually worsening - and are just dropping out and walking away, choosing the quiet life of VR goggles and endless porn.

So, through this mix of politics and shit tests (and hypergamy), we've essentially reached the point in which women as a group, for the first time ever, have collectively priced themselves out of the sexual marketplace.

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angorwhosebabyisthis · 3 months

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currently working on an OtM horror hack where you're having to protect your town from a Supernatural Miasma that's started to descend over it, and you have to do various things each in-game week/month/etc to keep it from getting worse; setting up defenses, building relationships, finding items, fighting off miasma encounters, clearing dungeons, and so on.

if you meet your base quota for miasma fought off by the end of each period, things stay as they are; if you meet an extra quota, they'll improve by one level; if you fail to meet your base quota, they get worse by one level. the higher your town's miasma level, the harder it is to keep locations, homes, and neighbors safe, the more unique and dangerous twists and events you're going to start seeing, and the more fucked up stuff is going to start happening in general. You Want to Keep Shit Under Control, is what i'm saying.

the thing is that it's supposed to be a horror hack. if you're playing the game with the sole aim, strategy-wise, of avoiding the horror elements as much as possible, that means that if you're doing well you're going to miss out on those horror elements when they're half the fun of the game.

a lot of horror games handle this by just making it nigh if not outright impossible to succeed at what you're doing, which is valid if people want to play that way, and there are some brilliant games that follow that design philosophy, but i think for a lot of people that just... isn't fun. failing over and over can be discouraging on its own regardless of other factors, and lack of player agency and ability to use skill to influence the outcome can leave people feeling like there's no actual point to playing. one person's poignant reflection on futility, tragedy, and struggle and perseverance for its own sake is another person's 'well fuck me for trying i guess, god damn.' there's a reason fromsoft games, fear and hunger, and super meat boy among others are (or were) wildly popular masterpieces while not by a long shot being for everyone.

other horror rpgs handle this by making success a lot more feasible--with or without strategy or skill--with the caveat that no matter what you do you will be deep in the horror, it's just a matter of whether you make it out alive. those are a ton of fun and tend to be a lot more up my alley, but that approach doesn't work super well for a game where, again, success means avoiding the horror elements. and even moreso when successes in those games tend to solely involve ramping up the risks, when a lot of the successes the player is aiming for in this hack mitigate the risks.

depending on how the balancing works out and what the player chooses, you might end up with a town that self-sustains at the minimum level of miasma with very little effort on your part. you're left without any real reason to dip back into the horror elements except 'ehhh might as well just not bother with actually, y'know, playing the game until things have gone to shit enough to be interesting. 🤷‍♂️' which might be fun for some people, but others... not so much. especially when that method involves actively distancing yourself from engaging with the game. i want to encourage players to interact and have fun, not make them sit back and disconnect.

so.... hm. right now i'm thinking i'm going to try to encourage getting into the horror elements of this hack by:

option to raise the difficulty, so the player can experience higher levels of miasma through plain old success or failure.

gain certain advantages by intentionally increasing the town's miasma.

certain quests, events, equipment, dungeons, and so on can only be found at certain levels of miasma; possibly neighbors who you've failed to protect might have to be rescued from the level they're lost in before you can get them back.

anyway i've been having a lot of fun with this hack so far, and it's been giving me a lot of things to consider. watch this space etc

#whosebaby makes things #whosebaby does game dev #ttrpg tag #hacks #miasma mountain hack #i want people to get to see the doppelgangers and Really Hard Dungeons and corrupted neighbors who can escalate into bossfights!#by god!#(also i say 'or were' because SMB was extremely popular when it came out but i don't know if that's continued to be the case)

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viennen · 8 months

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Sibling Rivalry

May not be the best title for this, but it's the best I could think of atm.

I am very new to Tumblr. I have read many of my friends' swtor fics, but this is my first fic post.

Liv is my Imperial Agent, part of group legacy shenanigans with @tiredassmage / @space-unicorn-dot, @jbnonsensework, and @commander-krios. She is Leo's (@tiredassmage)' younger sister. Leo is the only one of her siblings she really ever got along with.

This story came from thinking about some of the things that may have happened when they were younger, sometime before Leo left and defected to the Republic. This story is a little over 10 years before the game starts, as Liv is 13, Leo is 15, and Vivian is 17/18 in this story, and Liv is about 25 when the game story starts.

This is a version of the various fights Leo had with his older sister Vivian about Liv. Only this time, Liv listens in on some of it.

Content warning for talk of slaves/slavery.

I don't think there is anything else that needs a warning? Plz let me know if you believe there is.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Inside the Ashold home on Ziost

Liv made her way through the house towards the library. It was after dinner, and she was heading to the library to meet her elder brother Leo for the planning of one of their nightly adventures. It had something that became a regular thing for the two of them.

They would meet in the library after dinner, and as far as anyone else knew, Leo was helping her with her studies, even though he usually ignored his own. What they were really doing was planning the crazy stunt they were going to try to pull that night. Often, their nights included Liv heading to bed, only to have Leo waiting outside her window an hour later. Their parents never checked on them once they had gone to bed unless they had a reason. They usually left that kind of stuff to the servants, most of whom were slaves. And for as often as they snuck out, they didn’t usually get caught, but when they did, Leo had been able to keep all the blame on him, and keep Liv from getting caught with him. A number of the slaves helped them, too, taking on a lot of unnecessary risk in allowing the siblings to get away with things, rather than tell their parents what they were getting up to.

On her way to the library, Liv heard lightly raised voices, so she did her best to slowly and quietly approach the door. She came upon a door that was ever so slightly ajar, enough that she could see in and listen, while those inside couldn’t really see her unless they actually looked at the door. Liv looked into the room and saw both of her older siblings arguing with each other.

“And how many more times is this going to happen, Leonth? How much longer are you going to do this before you both get caught?!” Vivian stated sharply. She wasn’t yelling yet; the level of her voice was normal for the moment, but her tone was not.

“As many times as she wants, Viv! You don’t control what she does and doesn’t do.” Leo retorted back. This wasn’t the first time he had fought with her about what happened when he spent time with their younger sister.

“Well, maybe I should, Leo!” Vivian shot back, her voice increasing in volume just a touch. “Or maybe I should just tell Father that she’s been sneaking out with you,” Vivian suggested in a threatening tone. Leo threw up his hands in protest.

“No, Viv, you don’t need to do that,” Leo stated. “You really don’t need to do that,” Leo said calmly. Liv held her breath, hoping they didn't hear her. Having their Father learn that she had been going with Leo on some of his nightly adventures would not end well. For either one of them.

“Then get her to stop going with you!” Vivian pleaded. “She shouldn’t be sneaking out with you and taking part in your crazy shenanigans. She should be focusing on her studies, practicing her etiquette skills, and learning how to be a proper lady, so she learns her place in society, and Father can find her a good match!” Vivian argued. Liv made a face at Vivian’s comment. She hated the etiquette classes that Viv and their mother, Aurelia, gave her. She usually paid attention, but she was always bored.

“And what if she doesn't want that, Viv?” Leo asked. He knew that Liv hated most of that stuff, because she had told him. She was afraid to tell their parents, because she didn't think they would understand, or they wouldn't let her choose another topic to study.

“There's been more than once where I've walked in on those sessions to talk to you or Mother, and Liv is asleep or is close to it,” Leo stated. “I really don't think she shares your mentality for that stuff.” He added. Vivian momentarily looked like she had been insulted.

“That's nonsense, Leo; of course she does,” Vivian stated. Leo was correct, in that Liv fell asleep quite a bit during her etiquette lesson with herself and their mother, but she couldn't fathom why her little sister wouldn't like this stuff. “She just doesn't know it yet; she's still a child,” she added.

“Yeah, and what are you?” Leo asked in a sarcastic tone. Liv was so engrossed in listening to their conversation that she hadn't heard the footsteps behind her.

“Olivia Marie Ashold! Just what do you think you're doing?!” A voice behind her whispered. Liv jumped at her name and turned to see who it was. She let out a sigh when she saw it was Celinya and not one of her parents. Liv remained silent as she couldn't actually say anything; what she had been doing was obvious.

“Come away from there before your parents see you.” the Twi'lek stated. Liv quietly came away from the door, letting her siblings continue to argue over her.

“Sorry, Celinya,” Liv whispered, once she came over to the Twi’lek. Celinya was one of her parents' various alien slaves, and had been with them as long as Liv could remember. Despite that fact, Liv liked her and liked talking to her. Liv had told Celinya many things she’d never openly say to her parents. “I heard raised voices.” she stated.

“Come on,” Celinya said, gesturing down the hall. She started walking down the hall towards the library. Liv followed. “I heard them arguing, too. But just because you hear voices, doesn’t mean you need to investigate it.” Celinya stated. “How do you think your siblings would feel if they knew you had been eavesdropping on them?” she asked. Liv shrugged. She didn’t think Leo would mind. Viv, she wasn’t sure.

“I imagine your sister would say it’s not very lady-like,” Celinya stated. Liv rolled her eyes at the comment. Celinya smiled. She stopped and turned to Liv.

“You’ll find your calling, Liv. It may take a while, but I know you’ll find it.” Celinya stated.

“Thanks, Celinya,” Liv stated, smiling. “Really.” Celinya paused for a moment, then turned back to the library. “Let’s go see what you’re reading tonight.” she stated, and started walking down the hall. Liv smiled and continued to follow her down the hall, unaware that Leo had peaked around the door to see what voices he had heard. He smiled to himself as he watched them walk down the hall for a moment before returning to his argument with his elder sister.

#ch: leo ashold #ch: liv ashold #swtor #siblings #swtor oc #swtor fic #friends ocs #Yes I suddenly gave her a middle name cause it worked with the scene. Do her siblings have middle names? Probably. What are they? No idea.

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your-dietician · 2 years

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Stock Market Could Fall Another 20% As Recession Looms

New Post has been published on https://medianwire.com/stock-market-could-fall-another-20-as-recession-looms/

Stock Market Could Fall Another 20% As Recession Looms

The stock market could fall another 20% as a recession is likely to hit the US economy over the next six to nine months, according to Jamie Dimon.

He said higher inflation, interest rates, and war uncertainty are all contributing to volatile markets.

“The far more serious thing is this war,” Dimon told CNBC on Monday.

The stock market could get a lot more painful as a recession is likely to hit the US economy over the next six to nine months, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told CNBC on Monday.

He said he sees the stock market falling another “easy 20%” from current levels, which would put the S&P 500 right around 2,900.

“It really depends” if the economy sees a soft or hard landing, but “it could be another easy 20% and I think the next 20% will be much more painful than the first,” Dimon said. The S&P 500 has fallen 25% year-to-date as investors grapple with elevated inflation and fast rising interest rates.

But as many bullish investors would point out, US consumers and most companies are in great shape from a balance sheet perspective, so that could be sending mixed messages to investors given the plunging stock and bond markets.

“Currently right now, the US economy is actually still doing well. Consumers have money, they’re spending 10% more than last year, their balance sheets are in great shape. Yes, debts gone up a little bit, but not near pre-COVID levels. Therefore, even if we go into a recession, they’re going to be in much better shape than 2008 and 2009. Companies are in good shape, credit is very good,” Dimon said.

But you can’t talk about the economy without talking about the future, “and this is serious stuff,” he added.

Specifically, Dimon is concerned about elevated inflation, fast-rising interest rates, and quantitative tightening, which represents the Fed’s reduction of its $9 trillion balance sheet. But most importantly, it’s Russia’s war against Ukraine that is most unsettling to markets and poses a great risk.

“It’s the war. And these are very, very serious things, which I think are likely to put the US in some kind of recession six to nine months from now,” Dimon said.

There are early signs of distress building in markets, and while they’ve been orderly in recent months, they can quickly grow disorderly.

“This is really typical. Markets go down… The IPO market closes first, that’s kind of happened. High yield closes second, and structured credit. That’s kind of happened for the most part. And then it starts to affect other credit. You saw with the gilt markets here, you see the lack of liquidity in a lot of markets,” Dimon said.

The ultimate panic and financial cracks to the system are likely to be found in credit markets, according to the bank CEO.

“It might be ETFs, it might be a country, it might be something we don’t suspect… I would be very cautious. If you need money, go raise it,” Dimon said.

While he did leave room for the possibility of a soft landing if the Fed makes the right decisions and consumers remain strong, Dimon said, “the one guarantee is you’re going to have volatile markets.”

Read the full article here

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yesimwriting · 3 years

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The Promise of Rain

A/n finally writing that Kaz Brekker x reader angsty-fluff where the reader is all sunshine-y and Kaz is dramatic as always lol

Might make this a blurb series bc i like this dynamic so much lol

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x sunshine-y reader

Summary: After a mission gone wrong, Kaz has a conversation with the reader (who’s a runaway princess) about what happens to people who stay near him.

He once said that he didn’t believe in Saints. A moment later he conceded that perhaps they existed in order to appease Inej, but he was quick to tact on that if Saints existed they didn’t care about him. Inej and I had exchanged a look, she pleaded with me in silence to let him be. I opened my mouth despite the look in her eyes, but he had walked away before I could get any words out.

He believes that the Saints don’t care about him, but as soon as he was dragged in by Jesper, bleeding and more broken than usual, it had started to rain. The rain is a promise. The rain is a sign that he will wake up.

I tap a finger against the forgotten book on my lap, ignoring the dried blood I’ve been too anxious to wash off. When Kaz wakes up he’ll either scold me or partially tease me for waiting here by his bedside. The rain continues, cascading down invisible hope.

“Save your prayers, even for you the Saints won’t regard me.” Kaz. His voice is raspier than it should be and his slight condescension is blighted by the tired flatness of it. But it’s him. He’s speaking.

I tear my gaze away from the window, almost forgetting to tamper down my relief before finally looking at him. I haven’t known him long enough to see him in any level of defeat, but I’ve heard enough stories. The fictional exaggeration of those that fear him have made him seem so immortal. Some part of me must have internalized that because to see him like this, to see him so human is too intimate.

“Don’t be so narcissistic.” Something about Kaz always leaves me feeling challenged, like each comment is some kind of dare. I adjust my posture. “I wasn’t praying because I knew you’d be okay.”

His expression is unchanging. “So much faith in me?”

There’s a soft edge to his words, an attempt to twist some kind of awkward denial out of me. Some days I don’t think Kaz enjoys anything and then other days I think he enjoys any misstep in my words.

I shrug, pushing down the flood of relief still attempting to crawl out of my chest. “You’re always okay.” I scratch the back of my wrist idly. “It seems the safe bet.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been taking gambling advice from Jesper.”

I half roll my eyes. “No--Jesper and I don’t play together anymore.” I let out an easy sigh. “Last time I beat him he bordered on a hissy fit.” There’s the slightest hint of upturning at the corners of his lips. “I should go tell Jesper and Inej you’re awake.”

“I think you should change out of that dress first.”

He was more likable when I thought he might die at any second. “Wow--Kaz Brekker the professional stylist.” He has no right to judge the formal gown I’m in. Yes, my outfit is ridiculous, but I’m only wearing it because the Crows needed someone they knew at a merchant’s party for a part of some scheme they wouldn’t share the details of with me. “Yes, I’m aware that this dress is more tulle than anything else, but I’m only wearing it because I was helping you.”

I wait for some retort about how he could have managed without my assistance or some kind of comment about how I didn’t need such a large dress to flirt and distract the guards as the Crows snuck into the merchant’s private office. “You fit in there more than you said you would.”

From anyone else, I’d consider this an insult. “I was making an effort for the sake of your plans.”

“I saw you before I went into the office, you knew the dances, the man took your hand.”

That’s the weirdest observation I’ve ever witnessed someone reflect on. “That’s how those dances tend to work.” I don’t hide the confusion in my expression. “How much blood did you lose?”

Kaz’s piercing gaze drops to the blanket on his lap. “Not a concerning amount.”

“Why do I feel like we have different definitions of ‘concerning’?”

His eyes flit upwards, a partial smirk playing at his lips. “We define a lot of things differently.” He pauses, “You defined the life you slipped into so easily tonight as something you could never do.”

“I can’t.” What is his problem? “One dance is different than an eternity of planning teas and marrying some man who only keeps me so I can rear his children.”

“You’d end up marrying someone who could give you things.”

He better not be implying I should be having children. I’m seriously starting to hope he did lose a significant amount of blood because that would be some kind of explanation. “I don’t want anyone to be giving me children right now, but I guess your concern is ni--”

“No, no,” he screws his eyes shut for a long second, “You know what I meant.” I stay silent. “You’re technically a princess, y/n, you could have more than the Barrel.” There’s an odd silence as he pauses. “Someone like you should have more than the Barrel.”

He speaks like his word is law. That’s the one habit of his I can never seem to forgive. Is Kaz telling me to go home? To go back to a mother who dreams of marrying me off and a father with a temper that often leads to violence? He may be Dirtyhands, but he is no one to tell me who to go back to. Not after I risked my anonymity to get him into that merchant’s office.

I shut my book and stand in one swift motion. “I’m going to tell Jesper and Inej that you’re awake.”

“Y/n.” I ignore him. “Y/n.” Again, I ignore him, approaching the doorway. The rustling of sheets leaves me frozen, hand on the doorknob. “Y/n.”

Without thinking, I turn on my heels while glaring. There’s no way he’s proud enough to have climbed out of bed wi--and he’s standing. Standing almost directly behind me.

“Kaz Brekker, I am going to say this one time and one time only.” I keep my words measured and my tone flat. No room for argument. “You just had nine stitches put in near your heart, get your ass back in bed before that is no longer your only injury.”

He pauses, lips pressed together into a tight white line. And then his mouth opens, pried open by an oddly light sound. Did he just--Did Kaz Brekker just laugh? He doesn’t laugh. I didn’t think he was physically capable, and now he laughs while I’m threatening him? I should hit him on principle alone and damn the consequences.

“Did you--” I’m gaping at him with a rage I am not accustomed to. “Did you just laugh?”

Kaz is quick to shut his mouth. “You did swear you’d get me to laugh one day.”

Saints--now he chooses to have some kind of sense of humor. “Not while I was threatening you for being an idiot after saying my lineage means that I’m meant to be trapped in the life I desire least.”

“I didn’t say that.” I raise an eyebrow. “You don’t deserve more than this because of your family, you deserve more than this because--” He cuts himself off with a sharp sigh. “Do you remember what happened the day we met?”

He had wanted to return me to my father for the money. I had managed to convince him I could be more useful working for him without profit. The first day had been tense, I had sworn to myself that I would hate him forever.

“I remember really hating you.” I remember thinking him beautiful despite his darkness. “I remember it started raining on our way here.”

“You had a hood, but you pushed it off your head to feel the rain.” I don’t remember that because indulging in the rain is instinctual to me. “You looked at the rain, and you smiled--and then you saw a woman with a child and you took off your hood and gave it to them.”

“What does that have to d--”

“Watching that felt like intruding on an intimate moment I had no business knowing about, but it wasn’t that to you. That moment was nothing to you because that moment was who you are.”

I don’t understand what he sees in something I can barely remember. “Kaz, what does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m the monster that children believe live under their beds, I’m the bastard of the Barrel, I’m someone who gets blood on everything near them.” His gaze is harsher than I’ve ever seen it as he focuses on the dried blood splotched across my hands and arms. “And then I can’t even help you wash it off.”

Those last words are the closest to broken I’ve ever heard him sound. “Kaz--”

“And you’re the girl who looks at the rain like it’s a gift from the Saints.”

Is he implying what I think he’s implying? Even if I believed him such a source of evil, even if I felt like touch mattered that much--why would he care? I keep the much more frightening implication at bay as I exhale. Clarity will only make this conversation worse. “That doesn’t matter.” The words leave me in a low whisper.

I stare at the ground until his silence is something I can no longer bear. Looking up as cautiously as possible, I take in his expression. I’ve never seen him look so--so enraged. “It doesn’t matter?!” He doesn’t bother hiding the fact that he’s practically seething. “I’ve viewed your presence here as temporary since you first came and despite that, when I saw you there…” The breath he lets out is practically pained. “When I saw what your life is meant to be--I didn’t want you to go.”

The admission breaks something hard in my chest. “I never wanted to go.” My eyeline drops to the ground. “I didn’t want to go when you were trying to make me, I didn’t want to go when it was only for that evening.” I swallow a lump of emotion restricting my throat. “When you were bleeding out and Jesper had to carry you back here I let myself imagine what it’d be like if you died. And it hurt. It hurt so badly I asked myself if I would rather never know you than feel that pain.”

“Would you?” His voice has gone hollow.

I finally look up again. “No.” That word leaves me more bare than any physical touch ever could.

“I stain everything that stays with me,” his voice has seamlessly shifted back to a tone meant for business, “Me wanting you to stay is more than enough reason for you to leave.”

My chest aches as emotions I’ll never be able to place a name to pound against my chest. “I’m a princess that ran away from her family and tried to befriend her kidnapper--you can’t possibly be narcissistic enough to believe that you’re what’s corrupted me.”

“Y/n,” his voice is gravely again, the way it was when he first woke up.

“No. What could you possibly think I’d say to that?” He’s insane--I’m not even sure I understand what he’s implying. “You know I’ll never agree with what you’re saying, so I have no idea what kind of reaction you’re looking for.”

“Maybe a genuine one.”

The comment is so frustrating I can’t help but roll my eyes. The irony of Kaz Brekker asking for a genuine reaction to an emotionally heavy comment is almost laughable. “My genuine reaction is that you’re acting like an idiot because I don’t agree with anything you’re saying, but calling someone an idiot after they’ve been stabbed in the chest is a little insensitive so I can’t give you my genuine reaction.”

Kaz half-scoffs, “You don’t agree? Y/n--are you hearing me!? I want--I want you to stay.” Even angry, the admission warms me. He lets out a frustrated sigh. “More than that I want--”

“What?”

He shakes his head once. “I want something that can never be because I can’t give what needs to be given to get it.”

“Kaz, if it involves me staying you don’t need to give anything for that because I don’t want to go.”

“I-want-you-to-stay-with-me.” The admission is pried from him by some invisible force. He speaks so fiercely the sentence comes out as one angry word.

He speaks so quickly a part of me is convinced that I misheard him. I watch him as he moves back to the bed, sitting down in a way so resigned I wonder if I blurted something out on instinct.

“Kaz,” this is embarrassing, “I wanted to stay with you even when I wanted to hate you.”

I take in his measured expression, the only thing implying any kind of reaction is the way his eyebrows draw together. “Don’t say that, you don’t understand what that means.”

“Why? Because you’re convinced you’ll ruin me?”

“Y/n, we’d be together with a wall between us, keeping us from ever touching.”

“I will tolerate any amount of damage you’re so convinced staying with you will bring, I will stay with you and never touch you and think nothing of it--but I will not stay with you just to stand in front of a wall.” I let out a tired breath. “I will stay with you but my one condition will be that you have to let me know you.”

Kaz’s intense gaze wavers. “The first thing you’ll know is that me allowing you to stay is a testament to my greed.”

I give him a sharp look, “It’s not greed if I want to be here.”

He half sighs, leaning against a pillow as he turns to look out the window. “It’s raining,” he muses, “The Saints must have done that for you.”

The sentiment is so soft my heart feels like it’s constricting. “I thought you didn’t believe in the Saints.”

“If they exist, they do so for people like you.”

I push past the emotion in my chest as I move to sit in the same chair I was in earlier. “I was honest when I said I didn’t pray for you.” I scratch the back of my arm, a coldness passing over me. “I didn’t pray because I knew you would be okay because you had to be.”

“They wouldn’t have saved me,” he mumbles, “Or maybe they would have for you.”

I shake my head once, staring at the rain with more fascination than before.

General Taglist: @theincredibledeadlyviper @grishaverse7 @lonelystarship

#kaz brekker #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x you #kaz brekker imagine #six of crows #six of crows x reader #six of crows x you #six of crows imagine #six of crows netflix #six of crows show #soc #soc imagine #shadow and bone #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone show #grishaverse #grisha #grishavers x reader #grishaverse imagine

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atlas-of-a-human-soul · 3 years

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Draw your swords, pt.9

Summary: Darkling’s secrets are soon to be unveiled, just in time for a trip to the Fold.

Warnings: angst, swearing, mentions of alcohol, implied sexual content

Part one // Part two // Part three // Part four // Part five // Part six // Part seven // Part eight

=================================

The Darkling walked with a spring in his step. Residents of Little Palace have gotten used to his skulking in black keftas he wore like second skin. Never before had they seen him smile as much as he did on this particular day – as if he found the secret to happiness.

In truth, the Darkling refused to let himself hope for much. He simply hoped she’d allow him to kiss her now without receiving a death threat for it. It felt incredibly dangerous how foolishly addicted he is to his fickle wife. He never wanted anyone as much as he wanted her.

“General”, Fedyor joined him on his right, while Ivan silently took his left side. They both kept a reasonable distance from Kirigan, two steps behind at all times.

“What reason did you have to knock on my door this morning?” Kirigan’s voice is leveled, but his words are a death trap. There’s nothing more the general hates than his Grisha interrupting his private time – regardless if Y/N is with him or not. Unless there’s a burning issue at hand, he disliked being bothered unnecessarily.

“We’ve intercepted a few interesting stories you might like”, Ivan responds calmly, unafraid of his temperamental general. After all the years they’ve known each other, Ivan could read Kirigan’s mood easily. Despite his discontent, Kirigan is chipper for the first time in a long time. In fact, Ivan can’t even remember the last time his general was this happy...or happy at all.

“What kind?” Darkling asked, but his attention was undeniably divided as he caught sight of Y/N.

She walked across the hallway with a purpose – determined to raise hell and he found it incredibly sexy. She paused for a moment, her gaze meeting his briefly. When she pursed her lips, his twitched at the corners – a smile starting to form.

“Sun Summoner kind”, Fedyor spoke in a hushed voice.

Kirigan’s smile falters, his eyes leaving Y/N’s. “Follow me”, he barked on order before walking in the opposite direction.

All his life, the Darkling had been searching for the Sun Summoner. Every whisper of their existence turned out to be nothing but a fabrication, but something felt different now.

Once inside the map room, he leaned with his palms on the table. Kirigan didn’t say anything for a moment or ask for more information, but then his mouth moved on their own accord.

“Is it true?”

Glancing at each other, Ivan and Fedyor silently argued who should deliver the news.

“I asked you a question”, the general growled out, looking at them over his shoulder and the intensity of his glare had erased his earlier happiness.

“Nothing is confirmed yet, but we have quite a lot of accounts from the people surrounding the forest.” Ivan replied.

The Darkling made a sort of a grunting noise that Ivan didn’t know what to make of. The shadows covered the windows swiftly, engulfing the room in darkness as his left eye narrowed ever so slightly.

“The forest?”

Fedyor clears his throat, “Near the border.”

“Near the fold”, Ivan adds.

“I want”, he paused. Running his fingers through his hair, his shadows killed every source of outside light. “We need to prepare for a trip to the armies stationed at the fold.”

Nodding, Ivan looked to Fedyor and his deep-set frown.

“Are we to cross?” Fedyor asks.

The Darkling’s face is stone, his eyes unblinking. “Would it be a problem for you?”

Breath caught in his throat, Fedyor’s heart started to race. “No.”

“Good”, Kirigan remarked. “Prepare everything for departure in no more than a week.”

Sending them off, the Darkling sat in his chair. He wants so many things. His fingers graze his chin as he sighs – there would be no leaving without Y/N following. It’s not in her nature to do nothing and if she learns of the reasons behind his departure, he might lose her. The path of less resistance is to convince her the trip is to prove he’s honored his promise to her. He had sent the instructions yesterday and while she did force his hand on it, he didn’t hate her for it. If he’s bound for hell, at least it’s not a false one. She hates him, but she’s honest with him. He appreciated that.

Finding the Sun Summoner will change everything – for once, he will have a partner who can understand the weight of his past choices. He regrets too many things he’s done, but he was rarely given a choice. They broke the wrong parts of him, in the end, he showed them what happens when they laid a hand on those he cares for. That included Y/N now. If anything, she was a priority. Y/N is the only one he has left in this world.

While the Darkling pondered on the possibility of a Sun Summoner being true, Y/N sat in the library with a pile of books at each side.

The lingering effect of Aleksander’s gaze upon her and his devilish smirk had warmed her up in a way she least expected. For a moment, she couldn’t tell if time stopped or her heart did.

Shaking her head, she flipped the page in frustration. Her skin still burned bright from where he touched her. No amount of bathing can erase the fact she belonged to him now.

Swallowing thickly, she groaned. In all the books she had found, barely few had any information on the shadow summoner. Aside from Morozova creatures that serve as amplifiers, Y/N found mere mentions of a black heretic and the creation of the fold.

Her neck hurt, her eyes felt like they’re being pierced with needles and there was no saving her mind from all the theories she concocted. Leaning back in her chair, she huffed. Rubbing her eyes, she slammed the book closed before standing in frustration.

She didn’t want to love Aleksander, to risk her heart and life. She didn’t want to lay in bed, always afraid of what he might do if one day she’s not careful enough and he learns the truth. Naively, she hoped he’d either stand with her or just walk away but that’s not the Kirigan she knows. He wouldn’t forgive, it’s not in his nature.

Placing the books where she can find them in the morning, she headed to her room. Genya was kind enough to send a servant with lunch, but Y/N missed dinner entirely. Engrossed in books all day, she hardly felt any hunger.

At least not the kind of hunger food could satisfy.

Walking into the room, she hadn’t expected to find Aleksander sat at the bottom of their bed….shirtless.

Standing, he narrowed his eyes at her. “You weren’t at dinner.”

She raised a brow, “Wasn’t hungry.”

Kirigan crossed his arms over his bare chest, the movement making the muscles in his stomach flicker.

“Get dressed”, she quipped.

He smiled, “Do I make you uncomfortable?”

“I’m surprised you don’t have a mirror in every corner of this Palace, since you love yourself so much.”

He laughed wholeheartedly as she just turned away, clamping a hand over her mouth. She couldn’t let herself laugh with him. Every moment like this feels like the world is spinning, making her resolution fragile. She’s aching to let him in, but it would be a mistake. She feels it in his bones, he’s not honest with her.

Caring for a man like him is dangerous, like standing in the eye of a hurricane.

“We’ll leave Little Palace in a week”, Aleksander speaks, “Just as you asked of me.”

She stares at him, disbelief and joy colliding. And it’s the look in his eyes, the hopeful, terrified look in those dark skies that disarms her.

“Why do I feel like there’s a catch?”

Running the tip of his tongue along his lower lip, Aleksander takes a step closer. “You’ll ride with me.”

Pursing her lips, she nods without ever breaking eye contact. “And?”

A breathless chuckle passes his lips, “You’ll have to wear a special kefta. One that won’t let you get hurt easily.”

Taking a deep breath, she tilts her head up, “And?”

Suppressing a smile, he raises an eyebrow. “You’ll be equipped with a weapon of choice. I believe you’re more than familiar with guns as a soldier of the First army.”

Raising both eyebrows in response, she takes a step closer to him. “Swords”, she notes.

Humming, his eyes widen ever so slightly as he waits for her to continue.

“I prefer swords”, she touched his face gently with the back of her hand.

“Of course”, he breathes out. A soft smile spreads across his lips, “Draw your swords if you see an enemy in sight.”

“Even if it’s my husband?” Her lips remain parted, her eyes flickering to his chest where she raised her hand to.

“I don’t care, as long as you keep yourself safe.”

She held her breath as his words resonated with her mind. How can he be so callous one day and then offer up his life for her to take. No game had ever made her question every single word that left someone’s lips before. Sometimes she’d look at him and see through the mask he shows the world and other times she couldn’t see anything other than her own reflection in his eyes as if his soul didn’t exist at all.

“Since when do you care?” She frowns, gnawing on the inside of her cheek.

Letting out a heavy sigh, his eyes flicker to the hand she splayed against his bare chest. Just the simple touch of her hand made him want more. It was becoming too hard to pretend he hates her. What he truly hates is how human she is – what is he supposed to do when her hair turns grey and he’s still young? How will he survive when someone takes her to exact vengeance against him? Will he be too late to save her then?

When your world comes to a stop and the value of life is amplified by those dead before their time in gruesome ways, it feels like an earthquake shakes the very foundations life is built on. But when the walls start falling, past and future no longer exist, only the moment you’re in and the first person that comes to mind when those walls are gone is what your life is all about. For Aleksander, that person is Y/N.

Looking into her eyes, his hands cup her face, “Since I had to spend five days believing you’re dead.”

He wanted to wrap Y/N in his arms and tell her he would never let her walk away, not after he had a taste of what it means to be with her. He wanted to tell her his love is unconditional and that his soul is hers, even if she didn’t want to give him hers. He would wait, as patiently and as stubbornly as he did by now and that she will never lose him because even if he wished, he can’t scrub his heart clean of her. And he never wanted to.

“I thought you’d protect me?” She raised an eyebrow, teasing him.

She had become his heart, his reason to live. She lit a fire within, something he had lost over time and while she’s completely unaware of it, if the world tried to take her from him, the Darkling would wage war to make sure she remains by his side.

Blinking slow, a faint smile upon his lips, the Darkling tilts his head slightly to the left. “Would you allow it?”

There is nothing in the world he wanted more than to kiss her again, but this time around Aleksander decided to let her make the move. She is tender, but fierce. To understand a woman like her, one must realize that the former is who she is and the latter is what life demanded of her.

“Not likely”, she remarks and he throws his head back, chuckling.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she wets her lips in thought and he can’t help but think this is a well-designed trap for him to say the wrong thing and for her to use it as excuse to put distance between them rather than face her own desires and he was almost certain those desires included him.

“You want me”, he whispers in her ear as his fingertips slide up her spine and to the back of her neck, “And it’s killing you.”

“Physical attraction means nothing”, her voice is low, but unwavering.

Aleksander bites the inside of his lower lip in anticipation of her pushing him away and storming off, but even as he waits, he feels her hips press closer to him as if she’s telling him he won’t be left alone. Not again.

“Yet you’re here”, he grins. Tucking her hair behind her left ear, he admired how firm she stands in her opposition.

“So are you”, she quipped,.

A cocky smile appears on his lips, tiny wrinkles forming around his dark eyes as he holds her gaze bravely, unwavering even when her gaze becomes a glare.

Biting her lower lip, contemplating the right move, Y/N could hardly fight her desire for him. Her head knew he it would be unwise, but her heart screamed at her to kiss him and those butterflies in her stomach felt more like killer bees as the need to feel him inside her had taken over every rational thought she generated.

One hand caressing his lean cheek, she gave into her primal instincts as she slammed her lips against his and Aleksander’s own heart leapt inside his chest.

Their need for each other was urgent. Y/N grabbed a handful of flesh and muscle on Aleksander’s back. He gasped and laughed throatily at her haste. When her hands clawed at him again, he grasped both hands in one of his and held them over her head. She struggled to free herself, but he was too strong. When he entered her, she gasped, then moved her hips up to meet his.

He released her hands and she pulled him closer and closer to her. They made love quickly, almost harshly, before they found the sweet release they longed for. Aleksander collapsed on top of her, their bodies still joined as one when their minds gave in, slowly drifting to sleep.

Just like the previous morning, he remained in the bed, his arms wrapped around her tightly.

She barely saw him during the day as the week progressed, but their nights were spent together – entangled mess of limbs, desperate moans and needy pleas neither held back. She’d close her eyes in his embrace and begin her day the same way.

“You don’t have much time”, Genya warned as Y/N dressed in haste. She decided to dress for the trip, it was the only way she could fit in a few hours in the library.

“I won’t be long”, she smiled at her friend.

Licking her lips, Genya took her by the hand. “What is it that you’re looking for?”

Y/N clenched her teeth, wondering if she should tell Genya. Something inside her warned against it – she didn’t tell anyone his name is Aleksander, feeling privileged to know such information. If she’s wrong and she can trust him, she didn’t want to poison anyone else with her doubt beforehand. A single book remained unread on her pile of very thick books she went through.

“Just trying to learn”, Y/N shrugged.

Nodding, Genya smiles, “In case we don’t see each other before you leave, I have to implore you to reconsider David as an ally.”

“I will”, Y/N promised and she would. Someone in Aleksander’s inner circle could be of use to her.

Going through the pages, she felt exhausted. Spending all her time in ancient books didn’t seem to be of use, but for once the text made sense. It spoke of the black heretic and the many names he’s been called in history.

“He walks the earth with a power only the saints could possess. They call him The Black Heretic, The Shadow King, The Starless Saint, Staski, Eryk, Leonid – numerous names that he exchanged for each lifetime he was given and by now it must be at least a few hundred lifetimes of darkness. His name – true name was lost throughout the centuries, occasionally heard as a whisper carried in the wind.”

Wide eyed, she read through the text of a scholar who described the Black Heretic and his powers, his entire lineage being his mother who remained unnamed and…him.

“He has no descendants?” Y/N’s lips quiver. If he has no descendants and his line begins and ends with him, how would Aleksander even exist?

Unless…

No.

It would be impossible, would it not?

“Numerous names that he exchanged for each lifetime he was given”, she reads aloud only to cover her own mouth in face of a startling epiphany. It was as she noticed the dark connection between the great mystery, the horrific realization set in.

“Pardon me, miss, but General Kirigan has sent for you”, a servant frightened her.

Taking the book in haste, Y/N stood on her shaky legs. Mouth dry, she pressed her lips in a thin line.

“Thank you”, she walked out so quickly, barely containing her quick and shallow breaths. Sweating profusely, she felt as if the black kefta she wore weighed down on her like battle armor.

Was it not her armor? Was this not a constant war she’s struggled with?

Aleksander…Kirigan…The Darkling…who is he?

“Are you ready?” Aleksander is waiting by the door with a small smile on his lips. His hand is opened for her to take, but she ignores it. If she took his hand, he’d feel the shakiness she’s trying so hard to steady.

Mounting his black stallion, she tucked the book safely inside her inner pocket.

“I’ll take the reins”, she informed him as he took his place behind her.

She heard him scoff, “I’m the general.”

Is Aleksander even his real name?

Are the stories about him true?

“On this side of the fold, so am I”, she gripped the reins and the stallion obeyed.

Riding a horse always helped her clear her mind, but this time it seemed impossible.

When she married Kirigan, she believed she would marry an old, unattractive man…As it turns out, she got the old part right.

=============================

A/N - I’m not quite happy with this chapter, but I wanted to post today to keep my streak going. Also, i suck at writing a summary, like WHY IS THAT?! xD It’s Eid, so I’m tired and sleepy, forgive my grammar and prepare for things to heat up in the next chapters. Thank you all for sticking with the story and all the feedback, it honestly gives me life and will to keep writing. I also finally found the books in my native tongue, at least the Grisha trilogy and Six of crows duology and I’m really excited to dive into it and further my understanding of Darkling as a brilliantly written villain that is a multi-dimensional being with, let’s be honest, actually good points. I may not be happy about his willingness to commit mass murder, but I kinda see where he’s coming from and I really can’t wait to know more about the situation as it is in the books.

Tags: @bruxa0007 @rangotangomango @kaitlyn2907 @thestoryofmylife9 @shelivesindaydreamswme @hxrgreeves @safetyhtom @kaqua @savannah-elliott @all-art-is-quite-useless @azure23x @girlmadeofavocados @ashdab2611 @acciorudolphx @ladyblablabla @wckedheart @xceafh @sanna2020 @tarkanelima-blog @takethee @mellifluous-cosmos @marvel-ousnesss @tea-effect @starlightofsolaria @p3nny4urth0ught5 @blackbirddaredevil23 @sarcastic-and-cool @slytherinsbiggestproblem @within-thehollowcrown @notthatchhavi @musicconversedance @freakytillthemoon @lgkoval @honeyofthegods @queenmalhinewahine @misselsbells06 @whatthefluffrichard @aami98 @britriestbr @itsfangirlmendes @padme-parker @readingsssssssss @runawayolives @thehighladyofasgard @emlynblack @keithseabrook27 @dailydoseofchoices @deceivedeer @olympiacosplay @pansysgirlfriend @extrakyloren @daybleedsintonightfa11 @thoughts-and-funnies @weirdowithnobeardo @folkloresworld

PART 10

#the darkling x reader #the darkling fanfiction #aleksander morozova x reader #aleksander morozova #general kirigan #general kirigan x reader #shadown and bone

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thran-duils · 3 years

Text

Learn Her Place

Title: Learn Her Place Summary: Fem!Omega!Reader x Alpha!Tony Stark x Alpha!Steve Rogers x Alpha!Bucky Barnes. The reader works for S.H.I.E.L.D. and is on suppressants. In this universe, we obviously are working with multiple Alphas being able to share an Omega. The reader has had sex before but it has been with Betas. She is very distracting to the Alphas and they’re tired of not being able to focus on their work, so they decide to make sure her suppressants no longer work and she is where they think she belongs. Without the suppressants, the reader succumbs to her hormones very quickly. Words: 4,894 Warnings (for the fic in entirety): Non-con, ABO dynamics, smut, breeding, brief mention of infidelity, multiple partners, angst. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! Author’s Note: Kudos to whoever picks up on the movie line reference

Masterpost

Steve hated it.

Watching her come back from one-night stands with Betas and not feel any remorse about it.

She was an Omega and was granted freedom by the suppressants given to her. She was wasting her fertile cycles away on frivolous orgasms with random strangers. She was able to infiltrate regular society, mainly hide herself away into the crowd. It was not foolproof though.

There was still something there during what her cycle should be. If one did not know she was Omega, they would not attribute the feeling of arousal to her. But he – along with every other high ranking agent – knew she was and it was that much easier to pinpoint it. He could pick up on it and it made him clench his fists every time she was in close proximity, her infiltrating all his senses. He saw the other Alphas in the room tense too at those times, having a difficult time focusing on the mission briefs with her sitting so close. And one of those times was right the hell now. Tony was staring at her abashedly across the table, his fingers at his lips, his jaw clenched. His stare could be excused, he was an intense person. Bucky, next to Steve, chewed on his cheeks while he tried avoiding looking over at her.

It was selfish.

And foolish because the suppressants only did so much, and they acted like it was a solve all. S.H.I.E.L.D was trying so hard to be inclusive and it was only serving to bring down focus and morale when all they wanted to do was mount one of their team members who was acting above her Omega rank.

She had raised her hand and was answering a question. She was smart, there was no doubt about that. She had worked really hard to get up to this level and she continued to go above and beyond.

But…

Steve’s eyes raked down her clavicle to where the top of her breasts were exposed above her shirt. She most certainly had a push up on. His thoughts trailed to what they looked like bare. How they would look at different angles… when she was riding him, below him, from the side… all the different positions he could get her in. His favorite: cradled in his arms, his hand on her round stomach…

He snapped to attention when Wanda literally snapped her fingers in front of his face. He had been spacing out.

“You alright?” she snorted.

“Yeah, fine,” he said rubbing the back of his neck. He gathered up his file and got up from the table without another word, walking towards the door.

He spotted her down the hall, speaking with Thor. Thor was enthralled, looking at whatever she was showing him in her file. He was a huge teddy bear, just like Bruce.

Steve caught sight of Tony and Bucky coming to stand next to him, their eyes fixated on her too down the hallway.

“Anyone else not catch a single thing that was said in that meeting?” Bucky half joked.

“She’s distracting,” Steve snapped in hushed tones. “How do they not notice the affect she has? Has no one said anything?”

“Oh, I’ve already brought it up,” Tony told Steve and Bucky, rolling his eyes. “They’re marking it up to me not being able to ‘control myself’ and shaming me for it.” He added scornfully, “Were you forced to watch that goddamn video—”

“Where they were described as ‘delicate flowers’? Yeah, I did. And was that supposed to make us feel any better about thinking about them being put in harm’s way?” Bucky muttered, shaking his head. “They shouldn’t be putting her out in the field. Here in the office is one thing. But they shouldn’t be putting any position outside. They’re too susceptible to persuasion.”

Tony said, “That’s why it’s supposed to be secret about their Omega status.”

“I don’t like them out there,” Bucky repeated. “Not just for them but for the rest of our safety too.”

Thor was so close to her, laughing at whatever she had said. He was not affected at all. Steve ground his teeth watching that in front of him. She was comfortable around him, her hand coming to rest on his arm. He felt jealously scratching away at his insides, knowing she was in a cycle.

“It’s gonna drive me insane if I don’t leave,” Tony grated, tearing his eyes away from her to focus on the other two. “You going to the party tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Bucky and Steve said in unison, still staring down the hall.

Tony snorted, “Who the hell planned it on a Thursday, anyhow? Don’t get too worked up if she takes a random person home. I for one won’t be there to witness that. That is unless…” He pulled a syringe out of his pocket, holding it up and Bucky swiped it in the blink of an eye, making it disappear again. Tony threw him a wry smile and said, “I think it’s about time. Don’t hesitate too long now since she’s just gone into the cycle. It’ll take a day or two though to work, remember! And don’t let Banner catch you with that.”

He clapped Bucky on the shoulder before turning on his heel, leaving the other two Alphas to stew.

<><><>

Bucky and Steve walked into the loud club, finding everyone in disarray already in the VIP area. They had been on last minute mission and had returned late and the party was already well underway. The upper space of the club was packed of S.H.I.E.L.D agents at all varying stages of intoxication. Some had set up tables to play poker – something normally illegal in clubs but no one was bothering them – as well as varying card games.

Of course both of their attention was drawn in towards Y/N. Clint was laughing at the fact she had walked back from up the stairs with a sandwich shoved halfway in her mouth. “Y/N! The food is on the way! You remember? That we ordered?”

“But I’m hungry now,” she whined, her mouth full. “And Wanda asked for half of it!”

“You’re such a baby,” Clint laughed barely keeping it together.

Wanda was in stitches, her head thrown back against her chair. Vision was laughing in tandem with Wanda, following her movement. She only laughed harder when Y/N held out the untouched part of the sandwich that was supposed to be for her.

“Thank you,” Wanda said, taking deep breaths as she tried to stifle her laughter.

Natasha appeared at Bucky and Steve’s sides, raising her eyebrows. “They are drunk,” Natasha hissed at them over the music.

And she smirked then, an unfamiliar kind of smirk. And Steve cocked his head.

“Are you drunk?”

She shrugged sheepishly which was all the answer they needed.

You grasped onto Steve’s arm, startling him. “Have you guys done shots yet?”

Steve’s eyes flicked down to her hand only for a moment and he could feel every press of her hand into his bicep. He looked back up at her and told her, “I can’t get drunk, Y/N.”

“Oh, right,” she said looking immediately pitying of him. She rubbed his arm excessively in her drunk state and he stiffened, his jaw clicking. “I’m sorry. I forgot!” She laughed, noticing how stiff he was and poked him in the chest. “You need to loosen up, Steve.”

“I’ll try,” he said forcing a smile.

“You too, Bucky,” she commented eyeing his stoic expression. She touched the side of his face and he inhaled sharply. She giggled at the response and said, “Maybe you’ll feel better after a drink? You can get drunk right?”

Before he could respond, her attention was drawn elsewhere by Wanda. As soon as she was gone, Steve let out a frustrated sigh and Bucky mirrored his state.

“She’s not taking care of herself,” Bucky murmured, shaking his head. “Anyone could take her home. Anyone!”

“Yeah, well, we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” Steve returned firmly. Bucky frowned and Steve rolled his eyes, “You can have some drinks. I’ll just be the sober eyes.”

“Thanks for that leeway, but this has gone on long enough hasn’t it?” Bucky asked.

“It has,” Steve exhaled heavily. Y/N was holding Clint’s hand as they danced their way down the staircase from the VIP section, away from where him and Bucky were standing.

Steve was close to her all night, especially on the dance floor. At one point, he grabbed a female Alpha who had started grinding on Y/N and yanked her away. The other Alpha had started to get buck until she realized who exactly she was trying to fight. He was not a hard man to mistake, not with all the press conferences and his mere presence on top of that. She gritted her teeth before leaving seeing his icy stare, taking the hint. Y/N was oblivious, dancing to the techno music, hands in the air still with Clint and Wanda.

Y/N fanned herself and her hands came to the hem of her shirt. Steve’s eyes almost bugged out of his head as she began to tear it off. Steve was at her side immediately, grabbing the shirt before she could remove it completely, yanking it back down.

She focused in on him, confused, and he demanded inches from her face, “What are you doing?”

“It’s hot,” she yelled at him over the music, as if that was a reasonable explanation for her behavior. He imagined all the eyes on her now, his blood pumping in his ears.

Steve shook his head and grasped her arm, pulling her through the crowd.

“Steve!” he heard Clint call from behind him, but it went ignored.

Bucky knew when Steve walked by with Y/N it was time. He got up, following Steve’s movement away from the VIP section towards a more isolated part of the club. Y/N was asking Steve where he was taking her before Bucky snuck up and administered the shot before Y/N could even react to his presence.

She began to ask, “What the hell…” but her eyes were already drooping.

Steve caught her before her knees gave out from beneath her. She was conscious but she was far past coherent. She groaned in his arms and he picked her up, hushing her.

“Wish I could have gotten even two drinks in before that,” Bucky said, eyes searching the club. He looked towards the hall and said, “Should try to take her out a back way or…?”

“She was reckless,” Steve grumbled in his ear as she slumped into his side. “Let’s take her home. She shouldn’t remember any of this. But no, let’s take her back by so everyone can see how ‘drunk’ she is.”

“Right, good idea,” Bucky agreed.

<><><>

Tony walked in, seeing Y/N at the break room table already, at 7:00am. But, her head was resting on her forearms, a large cup of coffee next to her. He looked over his shoulder, seeing people were walking by in the hallway. Slowly, he closed the door, the handle clicking into place when it was fully closed. She did not stir, and he cocked his head. She must really be out.

He tapped her shoulder and she grumbled, sitting back uncomfortably. She was squinting at him and recognized him, before rubbing at her eyes.

“You alright?” he asked, feigning concern.

“Yeah, just… not feeling great,” she told him.

Hungover. Every clue of it clear as day to everyone else. But Tony was not everyone else. He knew this was not a withdrawal from alcohol but another drug entirely. Her body was correcting itself from that nasty medication, right at the height of her heat.

“You should be drinking water instead of coffee,” Tony told her, his Alpha peaking in his tone.

It was an easy way to worm himself in. He was not supposed to do this – but they had also not been supposed to administer that drug without her consent –, it was against protocol. But he just had to know. He had to see if she would respond.

Simultaneously to his surprise and not, she made eye contact with him. He saw… doe eyes. She quickly averted her gaze and looked at her cup.

“You’re right,” she told him.

Tony watched her with arousal as she got up and tossed the coffee in the sink. She went towards the fridge, but Tony was already there, opening it up to grab a water bottle for her.

“Let me,” he told her, and she stopped, looking at him patiently as he held it out to her.

She took it from him, taking a drink. “Thanks. I… I really don’t feel great.”

Tony pointed at her and said, “You probably need oxygen. And a lot of water.”

“Oxygen?”

“Clears a hangover pretty quickly.”

“Oh, I’m not—” she began to stammer, and he could not help his lip twitching in amusement at her looking embarrassed.

Tony chuckled, “It’s alright. The party was last night. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Y/N looked unsure if she should relax or not for a few moments before she relented, nodding. “Yeah, what idiot decided tequila shots was the way to start off the night?”

“Probably the same idiot who planned it to be on a Thursday.”

“Thirsty Thursday,” she mumbled, taking another drink.

“Thirsty Thursday,” Tony agreed lightly. “Eat something too. Something healthy. Fruit, maybe.” She grumbled in response but nodded as she sat back down at the table. She swiped an apple from the center of the table and took a large bite. Tony watched her for a few more seconds, anticipation nipping at his heels before he parted with, “Feel better.”

He needed to tell Bucky and Steve she should be ready by tonight if she was already reacting to him like that.

<><><>

Y/N was the last one in her office, the other two had gone home already. She looked up at Tony walking into the office, carrying a bag. Her stomach growled at the smell coming from the bag, her eyes falling to it. Tony only stalled for a moment, the smell of her coming to him. She was tumbling fast, she looked flushed.

Tony approached her desk, a friendly glint in his eye. “Ah, you are still here. Here, we ordered some food. I always go for greasy at some point after drinking and I’m sure it’ll help.” She looked past him to where Bucky and Steve were in the hallway.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Y/N told him timidly.

Tony loved the sight: she was tying to avoid direct eye contact, speaking in soft tones.

“Just thought we’d be nice.”

“Thank you.” She would not grab it from him. “Today has been… I don’t know. I can’t focus. I need to finish this before I leave. I just… I don’t feel great,” she said her voice getting smaller as her eyes were dragged back to her computer screen.

Tony ordered, “Press save and close the laptop. Eat.” He placed the bag on her desk. “It’ll help.”

He turned to leave, and she blurted, “Where are you going?”

Tony came to a stop, his gaze locked with Steve and Bucky, his back to her. To them, he gave them a sly, knowing smile that only lasted a few seconds before he turned back to her.

“I mean, you don’t have to leave and go eat somewhere else if you already have your food too. You don’t want it to get cold. I promise I’m not throwing up or anything. I just feel off. Like a headache… a little hot.”

She wanted them to stay, that was obvious. She needed something from them and even if she could not figure out what it was just yet, her body was telling her they were needed.

“Sure,” Tony chirped. “If it won’t bother you.”

She shook her head and he started walking back towards the desk beside hers. His suit jacket came off, and he swung it around the back of the chair. Steve and Bucky had come into the room as well, purposely leaving the door open. Bucky sat across from Y/N, his eyes following her movements as she opened the bag Tony had placed in front of her. He watched the way her hands shook ever so slightly, her tongue running across her bottom lip as she opened the container of food.

Y/N made a satisfied sound as she tasted it. “God, thank you. This is delicious. I needed it. I feel… shaky.”

The three of them around her was making it difficult for her to focus though. She kept stealing glances at them, being met with blatant stares back as they slowly ate. Steve adjusted, trying to hide his length that was starting to grow at her being so damn close and smelling so damn good.

Tony spilled some on the desk and said, “Shit!”

Before she could offer he was leaning over her, reaching across the grab a kleenex from the other side of her desk. He heard her inhale and he forced himself to not react, sitting back down, dabbing at the food he had spilled. His jaw was clenched; he should not have done that because now he was working himself up quickly.

The three of them noticed her chewing slowed to a stop and her eyes moved between the three of them. Something was starting to click… the tense silence in the room getting under her skin. The off feeling no doubt growing ever stronger.

Swallowing, she cleared her throat. Her voice was higher pitched than normal, “Do you guys want a cookie? To go with it for after, I mean? I… there’s some over here.”

She pushed her chair back quickly and moved away from her desk. Along the wall, she fumbled with the drawers, looking for these mysterious cookies. She was getting squirrelly, nervous, like she wanted some air. They could all sense it and they wanted to get ahead of her stressing out while they could. All three were out of their seats: Bucky strode across the room away from her, closing the door while Tony and Steve came closer towards her.

Y/N turned around startled at them all having moved so quickly, holding a handful of fortune cookies. Bucky leaned against the doorframe, staring directly back at her. She gave a small laugh, “Are people still working out there? Were we being too loud, do you think?”

Tony and Steve said nothing and her smile faltered, a frown growing. “Can…Can I just… get by,” she said trying to skirt around them but each time, one of them blocked her way. She tried to brush it off, holding the cookie out. “Do you just want it now?”

She asked, so innocently. Sweetly. Steve shuddered at it. She could not hide her true nature even in her tone. And the phrasing, the three of them smirked.

Bucky was still by the door, leaning against the frame. He popped a chocolate in his mouth, watching the scene unfold.

“Well, I would really like to get eat—” She said, trying again to break through their rank and being unsuccessful. She frowned visibly now, worry lines showing up on her face. She chuckled nervously, “Did I do something wrong?”

Steve noticed the spiral coming. He could hear the increase in her heartrate. She knew she was surrounded by Alphas and was growing uncomfortable. Especially since she was alone, it was late, and they were encroaching. His hand came up to slap over her mouth and she yelled frightened, the sound muffled. He pulled her away from the counter, dragging her back towards the third desk. Tony was ready, grabbing her arms and twisting them behind her back, slipping the retractable cuffs around her wrists. The cookies tumbled to the floor and he paid them no mind, stepping on them as he passed her to Steve solely. Her arms were bound at the small of her back and she fell face first against the table. All three of them were growing hard at the sight.

As soon as Steve removed his hand she began to scream, and he clamped back down.

“Omega,” Steve purred in her ear and she whimpered behind his hand. He laced his tone, his Alpha rumbling, “You’re going to be quiet aren’t you?” She said nothing, her chest just rapidly moving up and down. “Omega… are you gonna be quiet? Nod for me if you are gonna be good.” She nodded frantically against his hand and he slowly removed it.

Tearfully, she said, “Can you let me go?”

“Oh, no. No, we can’t, beautiful,” Steve said, his finger running down her exposed neck, causing her to squirm. He pulled away, turning his attention to Tony.

“But… I… I didn’t do anything wrong,” she tried to plead, looking at Bucky across the desk to where he was standing at the door. “I followed all the rules. I—” Tony’s hands lifted up underneath her dress and she let out a choked noise, craning her neck to look back at him. “Alpha, please!”

Tony audibly groaned at her slipping up and giving in to calling him by his title. He yanked her leggings and underwear down to her ankles. He freed himself from his slacks and his fingers pressed at her pussy. She buried her face in the desk, trying to squeeze her legs together.

“Oh, come now. None of that,” Tony ordered, and she loosened. His fingers pressed in, stroking her slowly. She was already wet, probably had been for the better part of the day. It is why the three of them had stayed away, they could have lost control before now and ruined it all otherwise.

“You’re not being punished, Omega,” he told her. “Rewarded actually…” She whimpered and he cooed as he continued stroking her gently, “Oh, sweetpea… beautiful Omega. You’re going to be just fine. You’re in the perfect hands. You feel sick for a reason and we are going to help you.”

The more he spoke, the more he watched her body relax against his hand and his tone. The smell of her was driving him insane – he could only imagine Steve and Bucky not being able to touch her at all. He should not stall for long, wouldn’t want to start a fight.

“You’re going to feel so much better,” Tony promised as she tried to push back on his fingers, and he bit his lip at the sight. His fingers were gone, and she let out a disappointed noise. Tony rubbed his cock up and down her ass, slowly. “God, this is gonna feel so fucking good.”

Tony’s head pressed in and she gasped, adjusting to his width. He gave a strangled laugh, relishing in how tight her walls were. She was squirming beneath him and he gave her a rapt smack on the ass.

“I know you haven’t had an Alpha cock before but relax, Omega,” Tony ordered gruffly.

“It’s too much,” she said pitifully.

“You’ll adjust. You’ll adjust,” Tony moaned, pressing in further. “You’ll be able to take all of me. All of us. It’s what you were built for.”

Bucky was becoming shifty, chewing on his thumb nail, his eyes boring into Y/N. He had stepped away from the door, coming closer to where she was. His dick was outlined in his jeans but he had refrained from releasing himself just yet. Steve on the other hand had taken his cock out and was stroking himself, needing some type of contact. Both of their eyes were blown wide.

“Oh. Tony,” Bucky said, aroused. “You would love this sight.”

Y/N’s eyes were glazed over as Tony thrusts grew deeper and quicker. Looking the perfect example of a subservient Omega, impaled on an Alpha’s cock.

“I love the feeling,” Tony choked back, holding tight to her wrists to drive himself deeper.

Soon, they came tumbling down. Tony came with loud grunts, emptying inside of her and he left a claim mark on her shoulder. Tony only took a moment to kiss at her neck, whispering something sweet into her ear before he backed off. His pants were buttoned back up and he collapsed in one of the chairs, his eyes falling on her.

Steve wasted no time coming behind her and entering her with ease. She whimpered at the intrusion, still so sensitive. His thrusts were unbridled, worked up into a frenzy. Y/N’s hips bounced off the desk.

“Alpha,” she whined.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” Steve panted, his fingers digging into the skin at her hips. “You feel so goddamn good, Omega. You’re doing so well. So, so well. Everything I dreamed.”

The room was filled with skin slapping skin and the aroused moans leaving Y/N.

“Alpha,” she whined again, and Steve groaned, knowing she was getting close. He could feel her clenching around him.

And when she did, shaking and whimpering, Steve thrusted quickly as she tightened. He finished with a shout unable to help himself, coating her walls. He left another distinct claim bite at the base of her neck. His fingers traced it gently before he noticed Bucky standing there.

“You know, for an Alpha. Buck, you sure as hell are patient,” Steve joked.

Bucky gave a curt smirk before shoving Steve out of the way. Steve held his hands up in surrender, turning away and letting Bucky have his way with her. Y/N was doing so well still, behaving and letting Bucky rut her into the desk without pushback. Bucky had been right, Tony thought to himself. He loved that look in her eyes. She was lost to her arousal.

“P-p-please, alpha,” she begged moments before she cried out again.

Bucky grunted loudly, his thrusts becoming more erratic, chasing his high. He shook as he emptied himself and went to the opposite shoulder to leave another claim mark. She was exhausted, breathing heavily having not one but three Alphas imprinting themselves on her and using her.

The door opened and all three of them froze, Bucky still buried in Y/N, his large hands at her hips.

Clint was standing there, his mouth fallen open in disbelief at the scene. There were a few seconds of suspended shock before he asked them disgusted, “You couldn’t even lock it?”

“Didn’t think about it,” Tony admitted.

“You? You didn’t think? That’s rich,” Clint spat back at him. He noticed Y/N was handcuffed and realization dawned on him. He glared daggers at the three of them and snapped, “You’re going to get sidelined for this!”

“No, I don’t think so. More like chewed out… I’ve been chewed out before,” Steve said. Impatiently he added, “Now, will you close the damn door?”

His request went ignored by Clint, who pressed on furiously, “No, seriously. You guys know that right? Compromising an agent like this! Especially one they’re trying to keep up because they’re in such big demand to even out the ranks! She’s only going to respond to your Alpha commands now! That compromises her!”

“And why is anyone complaining about that? She should be answering to her superiors,” Tony remarked, watching her intently. She was so lost, trying to figure out what was going on. She had no purpose without feeling a cock being driven into her when she was this worked up into her heat. Tony almost felt bad for her…

“Barton, are you going to let Barnes pull out so we can untie her or what? She’s got to be getting sore by now. Wouldn’t want to hurt our ‘delicate flower’.” Clint stood his ground and Tony lost his humor, snapping, “Get the fuck out, Barton. It’s already been done. Now. Before I lose my goddamn temper.”

Clint’s jaw was clenched as he turned away from the three Alphas, slamming the door behind him so loudly it shook the wall.

“Speaking of that,” Bucky said, clearing his throat. He leaned in, catching her attention. “Darling… do you want Alpha to finish inside you?” She nodded fervently and Bucky grunted in response, rutting against her backside even as he pulled away from her. He pulled her up and she stood on shaky legs. In her ear, he asked, “Do you want to always be finished inside of?” She nodded again, biting her bottom lip. “Hmm… you want to please us? That’s what I thought. So. How about after you take in that feeling of that warm seed inside you, you go up to the director and tell her you want to resign? Tell her you wanna be a good little housewife for us? How does that sound?”

“Okay,” she agreed.

Steve’s fingers pressed her cheeks in, pressing her lips out and he smiled. “You wanna be an asset to the team in your best way. Such a team player.” He shot Tony a look at the end of the desk, an aroused gleam in his eye. “I’m sure we can get you a proper collar.”

“I’ve already got it built. I’ve been waiting for her to learn her place.” Tony then added, “But she can’t live with me. Pepper will kill me.”

“I’ve got it,” Steve said.

Steve rubbed her stomach and said, “Regardless, she’s gonna be serving her real purpose soon.”

~~~

Forever tags: @coconutqueen21

#abo marvel #steve rogers x reader #tony stark x reader #bucky barnes x reader #alpha steve rogers #alpha tony stark #alpha bucky barnes #my shit #dark smut

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nastybuckybarnes · 3 years

Text

Of Kings and Beasts - Ten

Pairing: King!Bucky X Princess!Reader X King!Steve

Summary: Born a bastard of the King of Orlen, you’re thrust to the West to marry the Kings. However, the greeting you get is anything but warm, and your life with the King is far from enjoyable. He knows it isn’t your fault his husband is gone, but that fact alone won’t prevent him from taking it out on you.

Warnings: Angst, Injuries, Fluff, Language, Violence,

Word Count: 2K

A/n: Okay y’all THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH FOR 10K FOLLOWERS IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MCUH OMG Anyway ahem here is part 10 and I hope you enjoy! We’re gonna have a more intense part coming next but until then, enjoy!

THIS SERIES CONTAINS SMUT AND DARK THEMES THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOME AUDIENCES!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Series Masterlist

“We make for Asgard.”

~*~

“You look lovely. The colours of Asgard suit you well,” Thor says, his eyes raking over your figure from behind.

Adorning your body is a soft linen gown, the colour of cream. It is cut low in the front, a style Thor assured you is common in his kingdom, and has many different folds and layers to it, making it flow with every step you take.

The fabric itself is lightweight, and the straps lie thinly on your shoulders. The waistline is decorated with gleaming golden gems and is cinched rather tightly.

Over your shoulders is a dark red cape, the same colour as Thor’s.

Your hair is tied up away from your face intricately and elegantly, and a dainty diamond necklace rests around your neck.

You turn to face him, a deep feeling of unease settling in your stomach.

“What is to happen now?” You wonder aloud, eyes fluttering past his face and around the chambers that he’s deemed to be yours for the time being.

“Now we wait. The kings should be here soon, and then we will inform them of the letter you received. I promise you’ll be safe here, Petal.” He cups your cheeks and you swallow hard, nervous about the change in his attitude towards you.

“Thor?” You ask softly, taking a half-step backward in an attempt at removing yourself from his grip.

He surges forward, one hand dropping from your face to wrap around your waist as his lips crash against yours in a fierce and dominating kiss.

Your heart races in your chest and you shove against his face, trying to force him away from you.

Helplessness fills you as you realize that you’ll never be able to overpower him, and dread settles in your gut as he pushes you back until you’re pressed against the wall.

Your muffled cries for help, for him to stop, fall on deaf ears as his lips continue their assault against yours, prying yours open to give his tongue access to your mouth.

Thinking quick, you grip his bottom lip and bite down as hard as you can, drawing blood and successfully making him pull away from you.

He jumps back, one hand coming up to his mouth while you scramble back and away from him, chest heaving and eyes full of betrayal.

His jaw clenches and he takes a step towards you, only to stop when the doors to your chambers burst open.

“(Y/n)!” A familiar voice calls, two men rushing into the room and searching for you.

The tension in the room is palpable and the two Kings pick up on it instantly, their guards raising as they see the way you’re cowering from the blond King before you.

“Are we interrupting something?” Steve asks, his voice ringing with authority.

“No,” you say quickly, regaining your composure and squaring your shoulders as the words of the Valkyrie ring in your ears.

“Thor was just taking his leave,” you say pointedly, staring the King down for a long moment until he nods, bows then spins on his heel and leaves without a word.

You take a deep breath, power and fear chasing each other through your veins while your heart races in your chest.

“(Y/n), are you alright?” Steve asks softly, taking a step towards you and reaching for your hand. You yank it back towards your body, levelling him with a glare.

“If my purpose was solely to bear children, then why are you here if I failed?” The blond glances over at his husband, unsure of how he should address this.

“It is obviously not a secret. I have been threatened even since my departure, and the truth has been brought to my attention. So I ask again, why are you here?” James takes a careful step towards you, and then another, and another until he is standing just directly in front of you.

You keep your shoulders squared and your head held high, refusing to back down.

“(Y/n), there are things we must tell you... things we have not been completely honest about... things that involve our union, and our actions towards you. Will you allow us time to be honest with you?” You swallow hard but nod, wanting nothing more than the truth after all this time in the dark.

James takes your hand delicately in both of his and ushers you to the bed, sitting down beside you while Steve sits on your other side.

The brunet speaks first.

“We were told... by our council that we needed to find a wife. When they heard of our plans to join the two kingdoms of the North and wed each other... they tried to find any way to stop it. But upon seeing our power they relented until they realized that our reign would end if we did not have a queen.

“They gave us a timeframe to find a queen. One that could give us heirs and continue the lineage of both of us. We were presented with many women but you... you stood out from the many faces we saw.”

You frown, brows drawn together tightly as you ponder this.

“My purpose... right from the beginning was nothing more than what you had told me. What you said was true. What I was told is nothing but the truth,” you whisper to James, fighting back the tears that prick at your eyes.

Steve shakes his head, leaning closer to engage in the conversation. “No. Your purpose was... is to be our wife. A queen to our people and the mother of our children. You are meant to rule alongside us, not be behind or beneath us. You are our equal, although we have not treated you as such.”

You sniffle, shaking your head as if trying to shake your feelings away.

“Why have you treated me the way that you have? Why? What have I done to deserve such hostility?”

The two exchange long glances before James sighs and takes your hand, leading it to the thin scar at the base of his skull.

“Someone has operated on me. Altered me in a way that makes me hostile towards you and Steven. We do not know who, but we know that they are close enough to be near me without raising suspicion. I will never be able to apologize enough for my actions. I have hurt you far more than I ever could have imagined myself capable of. But with the help of doctor Banner, we were hoping to have more clues as to who is responsible for this. However, he is still in quite an unstable condition.”

You swallow hard, this new information having you beyond overwhelmed.

“Who would conspire against you in such a way? Who would have such hatred in their heart for the two of you that they would take it out on me?” The two kings sigh, their hearts heavy and their eyes filled with sadness.

“We do not know. But one thing is certain: we will not rest until we figure out who it is and until they are brought to justice.”

~*~

The two Kings settle in the guest chambers for the night, having insisted that you get your own space and that you are welcome to join them if you feel so inclined.

Your mind is still in shambles, thoughts scattered and emotions all over the continent as you prepare for bed.

A knock on your door pulls you from your thoughts and you softly call for them to enter, your guard raising in an instant.

“How may I help you, Your Majesty?” You ask, jaw clenched tightly.

Thor takes a deep breath then lets it out, pacing slowly around your chambers.

“I stepped very far out of line, (Y/n). I let my emotions get the better of me and I was foolish. I apologize sincerely for my actions.” You watch him with furrowed brows, not sure if you should trust him.

“You have... entranced me. Bewitched me. Your husbands have not treated you fairly and, even in the short time that I've known you, I can tell that you are a woman deserving of the world. And if the world cannot be given to you then you deserve everything in it. And yet here you are, cowering from your own kingdom because they failed to protect you.” You want to interrupt. To tell him that he is not aware of the extent of the trauma that the Kings themselves have faced, but you hold your tongue instead.

“I can only hope that one day you will be able to forgive what has transpired today. For I value your company and your companionship and I would be devastated to lose it in any way. However, I will not blame you if you were to push me away. I was out of line and I allowed myself to be weak in a moment when I should have been strong. You needn’t give me an answer tonight, but I am offering my sincerest apologies. While you are here the Palace is yours. Anything you require will be brought to you promptly.”

He’s quiet for a moment before clearing his throat, his eyes on the ground.

“I bid thee goodnight, and I hope pleasant dreams find you tonight.” He turns to leave and you sigh, shaking your head.

“Thor, wait.” He does, turning back to look at you with those soft blue eyes of his.

“I appreciate and accept your apology. I do not look at you any differently because of what transpired, and I am grateful that you came to explain it. I appreciate your friendship and I am glad to have found solace in you, and it would be a shame to squander it over something so trivial.” He smiles, relief and happiness plain as day on his face.

“Good. Thank you for your understanding, (Y/n). Goodnight.” He leaves without another word and you put your head in your hands, beyond confused and frustrated with the feelings stirring inside of you.

You would be lying if you said that the Asgardian King wasn’t attractive. And he has been a friend in times when you’ve otherwise had none.

Shaking the intrusive thoughts out of your head, you exit your chambers and pad softly down the hall, stopping in front of the chambers that have been set aside for your husbands.

You knock twice, butterflies finding a home in your belly as you wait for one of them to allow you entrance.

The door gets pulled open and James stands in front of you, the formal look on his face dropping to give way to a soft smile.

“May I join the two of you tonight?” You ask quietly, looking between him and Steve. The blond looks on eagerly from his spot on the bed, nodding his head quickly.

“Of course, My love.” You bow your head in thanks and enter the room, oblivious to the eyes following your every move from a dark corner of the hallway.

The door shuts behind you but you continue to the bed, crawling on next to Steve while James extinguishes the lanterns lighting the room.

Steve makes room for you in the centre of the bed, pushing the blankets aside to allow you to get comfortable. James climbs on behind you, waiting until you’re settled to get comfortable himself.

Neither of the Kings touch you. No, they stay a respectable distance away.

“I am not so angry that I will not allow my husbands to embrace me,” you say softly, eyes closed as the events of the day catch up to you.

You’re then being held on either side by strong arms and right then and there, in that very moment, you feel the safest you have ever felt in your life.

#dark!bucky x reader x dark!steve #Stucky x reader #stucky x reader royal au #bucky x reader royal au #Steve Rogers x reader royal au #dark royal au #dark fic #tw dark fic #tw dark content #stucky/reader #Stucky x reader dark fic #stucky x reader dark au

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theseerasures · 3 years

Text

god but there is something so Xiao Long about Ruby's breakdown in Risk

granted: we don't know Summer, we don't know how Summer would react situations like this, part of the REASON why Ruby's so upset right now is because she doesn't know either, but:

the same resentment to comfort, the same muted emotional devastation, the same walling-off, and, oh--Ruby is literally the same age now that Yang had been. given what we know about how Tai reacted after Summer's death, i think they both got it from their dad.

and Ruby "i'm seventeen we sent out a message 24 hours ago EVERYBODY DIDN'T IMMEDIATELY TELEPORT IN EVERYTHING IS A FAILURE" Rose isn't ready to recognize it yet, but i certainly take heart in it, regardless of how the Summer stuff ultimately shakes out.

on one level it's just that Yang has been depressed before, and she can help Ruby through it now, but even beyond that: what Yang went through after Beacon and what Ruby is going through right now parallel each other at a core level. it's about experiencing intense loss and alienation, focalized through the actual/potential loss of a part of the body. Yang lost her arm, but she also lost Blake, lost Weiss, lost Raven, lost Summer, even lost Tai for a while, and the despair comes from the fact that it's start to feel inevitable--that everyone leaves her behind. a piece of me is gone. and it's never coming back. there's a horrible fatalism to it.

Ruby's eyes have marked her and isolated her since the very beginning of the show, long before she even knew why, and the more she finds out, the more awful it gets. and now she's learned something that feels like the final piece for the puzzle of her life: that her mother might not have died heroically, or died at all, and the loss isn't better but much worse, because now Ruby might meet her, and have to destroy her, WITH her eyes. the eyes that are her link to Summer, that also caused whatever happened to Summer, that are part of why everyone is suffering now; the eyes that made her special, and placed so much responsibility on her, and it's all just too much. she'd said to Yang it's not pointless, and look where it got her. we shouldn't lie to ourselves. she's just one more person on the same inevitable trajectory, and things only get worse.

so much of Ruby's identity has always been wrapped up in how much she wants to live up to Summer, and she is neck deep in that crisis right now, but...i'm suddenly thinking of End of the Beginning, when Qrow was first telling Ruby about her eyes: you're special, Ruby. and not in the Daddy loves his special angel kind of way. that's always raised my hackles, because...well, because it's just a shitty thing to say to a fifteen year old who just came out of a COMA AND THE MOST TRAUMATIC NIGHT OF HER LIFE, but also: Ruby is special because her father loves her. it's been hammered home repeatedly in the show that not everyone gets that. the fact that she is echoing the mannerisms of her sister and father even in the depths of her Summer-related horror means something. it means she has her father, even if he's not physically with her right now. it means she has her sister, who is. it means she has her team, her friends, her...Penny--hell, it means she has the whole world, because she got the message out using Amity, and she said: my name is Ruby Rose. i'm a Huntress. everyone knows who she is.

and she might not feel it right now, but with all of that, the weight of the world can be eased. the weight of her mother, which feels even heavier--that can be eased, too.

it is, after all, just a part of her.

#rwby #ruby rose #yang xiao long #helen writes meta #blake staring stonily at her friends: everyone's just gonna keep stealing my sleep drunk galaxy brain rambles huh #anyway. not to be 'britta the needlessly defiant' about it but thank god for taiyang xiao long #the man is imperfect but can you IMAGINE if yang was more like raven and ruby more like summer #i guess it's possible that summer was just nice and normal but...lmao #weird archfey summer rose or bust tbh

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delimeful · 3 years

Text

you cant go back (3)

warnings: panic, miscommunication, trafficking, non-consensual drug use, suicidal thoughts, food, mentions of torture, cliffhanger, these tags make it sound worse than it is tbh

When Virgil first opened his eyes, jerked out of sleep by sharp instinctual alarm, he’d thought for a moment that he was still dreaming.

It was the same face, after all, even with how frighteningly close it was, even with a vastly different expression painted across it. He’d been confused, almost relieved-- had they gotten away after all?-- and then he’d realized just what the Deathworlder had in their arms.

He’d lunged and come up short, forced to watch as the Human kept their arms locked around Patch even as the creature made unhappy little noises he’d never heard from it before.

It was so small compared to the Human, easily tucked under an arm and managed regardless of protests. Did they have no respect for the deadly grace of the other creatures on this planet?

They’d circled him from a distance, ignoring his warning twitches and outright hisses as thoroughly as they ignored Patch, and all he could do was watch, locked in place, hoping that Human prey drive wasn’t as high as all the rumors said.

And then the Human had left, taking Patch with them, and Virgil had been left to watch their fading heat signature and pray to Seryl that whatever the Human did would be quick. For both of them.

It wasn’t that easy, of course. The Human wanted something from him, badly.

He thought he had a fair idea of what-- or rather, who-- it was.

After all, he’d seen a near-perfect mirror of them, sitting bound and muzzled in their transfer ship’s holding cell where a Human absolutely shouldn’t be. Leond and her Second had been unnaturally gleeful for rotations before Virgil finally found out about the ‘successful pickup’, namely through stumbling across it by doing the routine security and safety checks that he didn’t trust the rest of these idiots to do themselves.

They’d cut him off before he could get to a comm to tell Janus, cornered him in the tight cell block hall, and offered him a deal: his silence for a cut of the immense earnings they would make from renting out a Human to any and all fighting rings.

He remembered the way the Human’s gaze had flickered between him and the others curiously as he argued, the way they’d struggled to bare their teeth derisively at Leond, even through the bars of their muzzle and the haze of whatever they’d been drugged with. It was one of the last things he’d seen before he’d ‘made a fuss’ big enough that his own crew had tranq’d him and ditched him on-planet to die.

“You’re right,” Leond had said, face smooth in the way that meant smug satisfaction for her species. “We haven’t fulfilled our half of the exchange, have we? We took an alien from that planet, so it’s only fair that we leave one behind.”

His limbs had been defensively raised since the beginning of the argument, but Virgil had fought side by side with these people before. They knew how to guard his blind spots, which meant that they knew his blind spots.

The Human had tried to speak through the muzzle, just before he’d heard the discharge sound of a tranq gun too close to dodge. He thought it might have been an attempted warning.

It hadn’t changed anything. He’d been the only one on that ship who’d opposed the Human’s abduction, and as a reward, he was going to be slowly interrogated to death by one of their clutchmates. The level of cruel irony was like something from one of Jan’s stupid operas.

Virgil felt another shudder of exhaustion. Stars, he hoped Janus would get out of there once he realized what they’d brought back. His best friend knew better than to fuck with Humans, and the crew clearly wasn’t going to listen to any interplanetary ethics lectures, so the best thing he could do was skip town. Better to rebuild than fall with the nest.

He hadn’t slept after the Human had left, flipping to his heat sensor vision and watching all night for their return, unable to relax after one of the most unpleasant awakenings of his life. And if it meant he didn’t dream about what could have happened to Patches, all the better.

The next day had come, and the Human returned, wielding that dull stick and asking more angry questions that Virgil couldn’t understand, let alone respond to.

The thing was, given enough time and exposure, he actually would be able to understand the specifics of what was wanted from him.

Like most long-term interstellar travelers, he had a Lator implant, and the more the Human talked at him, the more linguistic patterns and trends would be picked up and catalogued, making it much easier for him to put the pieces together.

Unfortunately, time wasn’t something he had an excess of.

Janus would have figured out at least the basics by now; in addition to being better with words, he’d gotten a more recent, effective upgrade to the implant’s software. Virgil had turned the offer down for himself, knowing that they needed to save money where they could, and figuring that he didn’t really need it. His job was to defend Janus. His First could handle the talking part of their missions on his own with ease, the chatterbox that he was.

It had seemed obvious at the time. A lot of good that logic was doing him now.

The Human said something at him, flashing his bone-white teeth as he spoke. Humans didn’t have guard plates over their mouths at all, and so every time this one turned to him, he felt as though they were either acting sickeningly overfamiliar or that they might lunge forward and try to bite him at any moment. He’d carefully kept his own plates locked, not willing to expose any teeth and have it mistaken for a challenge.

The Human was waiting expectantly. Virgil took a deep breath and replied, the same as he had every time he could, though he doubted Humans had access to translator implants.

“I am not here to harm anyone. I was abandoned here against my will. I can’t understand what you’re saying,” he recited in Guard-tongue, keeping the sentences brief and repetitive for easy translation pattern recognition.

The Human wasn’t extending him the same courtesy, his own sentences long-winded and full of unfamiliar concepts that kept tripping up the Lator programming. References, probably.

There was one Human word that he’d figured out fairly early on: Brother.

Clutchmate, family, the lookalike that was probably long gone by now.

He was almost glad that he couldn’t speak coherently. As it was, he didn’t have to be the one to break the news.

Almost, because the Human was stubbornly finding new and creative ways to freak him the hell out with each visit.

First, they’d figured out fairly quickly that he was slowly starving.

Virgil had flooded his plates right to pitch on their first meeting, and hadn’t been calm enough to stop the defensive reaction since, which had quickly drained what little hydration stores he’d had left. Between the drying out of his plates and the fact that he’d gotten too worked up and blacked out for a moment during an interrogation, his fading health wasn’t exactly subtle.

He’d panicked, because any enemy knowing his weakness was generally pretty fucking bad, let alone an enemy with personal motive and ability to twist that weakness like a knife in the spine.

The Human had verbally freaked out (a regular occurrence) and vanished for a while, before returning to the barn with an entire array of items (not a regular occurrence). They’d set the items out on flat fiber ‘plates’ and then slid them into range with that stupid stick.

Virgil had stabbed a few of them on principle before realizing that this was food, aided by the Human rolling his eyes pointedly-- a derisive gesture, he’d gathered-- and eating something from a plate of their own.

At that point, Virgil had been willing to risk poison. The way he saw it, he either died, or he ate something, and either way it meant stopping the slow, aching pain eating away at the pit of his stomach.

He’d even been willing to tolerate the Human staring at him, since apparently they didn’t have the manners to not watch a stranger eat. Or that wasn’t a thing on this planet. It didn’t really matter.

After a significant amount of time spent using his auxiliary limbs to delicately maneuver Human produce and meats into inspection range, he settled for what smelled the least concerning, avoiding any that smelled or looked too bright to be safe.

(The scrunched-up look the Human had given him after he’d crunched an egg in his throat had been hard to interpret, though.)

Anything he could safely ingest, he’d eaten. After the Human left, he’d even attempted the indignity of trying to lift the bowl of water in range with wobbly limbs, though he’d almost immediately spilled the majority of it all over himself. It didn’t matter, he could pull any and all hydration from what he’d eaten, though he didn’t dare get used to it.

This wasn’t his first time above the nest, and he hadn’t fooled himself into believing that this shocking show of generosity would last. The Human had only done it to make sure that their hostage wouldn’t keel over.

Starvation and dehydration were more-than-effective methods of hands-off torture, after all, and the Human really only needed to give him enough to keep him alive.

The impending mistreatment shouldn’t have shaken him as much as it did. He had the advantage of the Human’s ignorance on how much Chelcerae ate, and his own resilience, developed from years of scraping by on the barest of rations. He was lucky, really, to be one of the species with a water-storing organ.

Still, he spent the night wondering if it was worth it to keep fighting. There was no escape, so wouldn’t it be better to go out on his own terms, before anything truly horrendous could happen to him?

Probably. The real question was: would he have the fortitude to turn down food all the way to a slow and painful death-via-starvation?

He wasn’t sure, and he continued to be resentful of the fact that he even had to make such a choice all the way up until the next day, when the Human walked in with a plate covered in everything he’d eaten yesterday and slid it over to him, simple as anything.

“What?” the Human snapped after a moment of Virgil watching them for any indication of what to do, and he’d hurriedly flickered his heat sensor eyes in hopes of placating any offense. The Human had grumbled indistinctly, but didn’t attempt to remove the plate or even threaten to do so.

The next day was the same. Though the Human continued to try and interrogate and occasionally intimidate him, the food and drink was provided without stipulation or hesitation. It was… strange.

Virgil refused to read into it. Perhaps Humans just had meals so frequently that skipping a single day would be as barbaric as weeks of starvation for Chelcerae. Maybe once the Human had enough of his noncompliance, they were going to feast on his flesh and didn’t want a stringy meal. It was impossible to know.

The generous feeding schedule was nothing, though, compared to some of the other questionable tendencies the Human had.

They traversed the grounds in and around the barn with little wariness, apparently quite confident in their ability to defend themself on the Deathworld they’d grown up on. They brushed insects and plant matter alike off their person with little care for poisons or bites.

Their body language seemed to consist of every threat display in the wayfarer guidebook, and worse, only a quarter of these threat displays seemed intentional. Virgil was constantly tense, attempting to figure out which were intended to cow him, and how to keep his own body language from worsening the damage. Any signal of terrified compliance, even the obvious tremor of his auxiliary limbs, only seemed to prompt wariness and confusion from the Human.

They’d found his helmet and immediately put it on, which had made his fuzz prickle with hope for a moment, before remembering that the reserve battery of the headset was well and truly dead. No emergency translators for the Human, and no upturns in luck for Virgil.

Maybe it was better. Even if the Human could talk to him, he would seem just as guilty for their brother’s disappearance in their eyes. It wasn’t even an accusation he could reasonably defend against; if things had gone differently, if he’d made smarter choices, maybe he could have gotten the captured Human free.

Janus would have managed it. He’d always been a quicker mind than Virgil.

It’d been three days since the Human had found him, and Virgil had barely managed to parse a handful of imperatives and nouns from someone who was basically just yelling the same things at him over and over.

“You can’t ---- the ---- ---------, you ----- --------! I ---- what I ---- and --- ----- to it!” the Human yelled, essentially proving his point. Virgil resisted the urge to let his chin drop down to his collar in exhausted resignation.

It was difficult to focus past the old pains from the fight with Leond, and the new pains from being strapped upright for days on end. Even if he could bring himself to pay closer attention, it wouldn’t make it easier to parse words he had no context for. Lator technology worked best when both parties were exchanging words, or at the very least, when there was more than one native speaker prattling on at you!

The Human inhaled to continue and then froze, prompting Virgil to slink his shoulders up slightly, something that had worked to show his non-aggression once or twice before. The Human wasn’t focused on him, though, whirling around to face the barn doors with their body rigid.

Because he’d never been good at uncertainty, Virgil flicked his heat-sensor eyes open just as another Human-sized mass reached the doors, moving in a predator’s stalk.

Well, he thought as the door creaked open, I’m screwed.

#sanders sides #sanders sides fic #alien au #humans are space orcs #ts virgil #ts roman #ycgb #you cant go back #my writing #writing #space au #sorry for the late posting my nap ran long #food tw

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redorich · 3 years

Note

Eventually the Hermits get their hands on the one shulker box. They give it back a day later, filled with goodies as an apology for stealing, because they just needed it briefly so Doc could set up a shulker box duplicator.

(2/2) To expand on the shulker box ask I sent: It's cheating. They know it's cheating. They debate for a while over wether or not they should build it. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and dammit they need shulkers. Mules and Llamas can only get them so far.

---

(this takes place before the fic where puffy finds zedaph.)

---

The Hermits put up with mule highways and caravans of spitting llamas because they think they have no choice. At least one person complains about the lack of sophisticated storage transportation daily. Mumbo tries to create a system which will ferry items between bases, but it turns out to be more of a Rube Goldberg machine than anything, considering the items only travel at the speed of the water which carries them. Zedaph creates an actual Rube Goldberg machine for item transportation, but the only people who use it are himself and his neighbors, Impulse, False, and Tango. It’s more for prank transportation and snail mail anyway.

Things change when Stress, on a covert surface run, comes a bit too close to other humans on accident and catches sight of a blond man in a hoodie furtively checking his surroundings. Stress immediately does as she’s been trained, hiding herself behind tree cover and checking how long her invisibility potion will be in effect for. It says four minutes. As long as he leaves soon, she won’t have an issue.

The man surveys the muddy clearing with a keen eye, keeping watch for any evildoing interlopers. He places down an Ender chest, reaches his hands into it, then looks around once again to make sure no one’s there. Stress’s heart beats like a drum-- not the style of drums she usually plays, but rather the percussion of one of Xisuma’s favorite black metal bands. As the man’s gaze passes right over her, she feels the machine gun fire of her heart against her chest peak, breath catching in her throat.

He doesn’t see her. Quickly, he pulls something out of the Ender chest. A shulker box!

Stress’s breath stops for an entirely different reason. The things the Hermits could do with even one shulker box..! Item dupers are a thing, right? If anyone knows how to make an item duplication machine, it would be Doc. And a shulker box might be useful for an item duping machine!

She’s getting ahead of herself. Should she steal from this person? Can she steal from this person? Even disregarding the moral dilemma, the members of the Dream SMP are fighters through and through. She’s got the advantage of surprise because she’s invisible and this man doesn’t know she’s here, but how long will that last? Even if she manages to take it, what if the blond man (Punz, she thinks is his name) kills her and takes the shulker box back from her?

As Stress weighs the risks and the rewards, she knows she’s running out of time. Punz breaks the shulker box. Right as he’s about to put it back in his Ender chest, Stress, who can see the window of opportunity closing, springs into panicked action.

She sprints right past Punz, hoping with every fiber of her being that her invisibility potion will be enough to save her. Snatching the box right out of Punz’s hands, Stress takes off running. Punz shouts, swinging his sword wildly at the air. He’s so close that a few strands of hair, just barely the tips, get sheared off of Stress’s fluffy mane and become visible as they flutter to the ground.

Punz’s eyes narrow, tracking the potion particles that he can just barely see. Unfortunately for him, the invisible thief takes off into the mob-infested forest. He gives chase, but the thief gains on him every time he has to stop to fight a mob.

Stress knows she can’t outrun Punz. She’s not bad, but he’s really good. Stress absolutely cannot lead this man back to the canyon. Allowing the hostile mobs of the forest to buy her time by slowing Punz down, Stress looks around rapidly, searching for something, anything she can do to lose the hunter on her trail.

A lone cow catches her eye. Thinking fast, she bites her lip as she dumps her only water bucket out into a nearby pond where it won’t be noticed, then milks the cow. In the distance, a zombie groans as Punz takes it out. Stress hyperventilates, frantically digging at the ground beneath her feet with a silk touch shovel. Once she’s created a hole just barely big enough for her to hide in, she hops in and puts the grassy dirt she dug up just seconds ago above her head and immediately downs the milk, so that there won’t be any potion particles to track her by.

Slowly, carefully, and as quiet as she possibly can, she digs up the dirt beneath her feet in absolute darkness. Logically, Stress knows that Punz won’t be able to see the light from her torch, but she’s too terrified to think logically. What has she done?!

Her shovel stills as angry feet stomp above her. Dirt crumbles into her hair when Punz walks directly above her. Caustic mutters faintly reach her ears through the loamy earth, fading farther and farther away as Punz searches in vain for the invisible thief. Stress waits with bated breath for minutes on end, hands shaking like leaves in a hurricane.

Tentatively, she digs up the diorite block below her with a pickaxe. A mob shifts aboveground and Stress, paralyzed with the paranoia that it might be Punz, spends another five minutes in immobile silence. Burying her face in her hands, she sucks in a breath and continues digging. Once she hits a decently low y-level, she digs forward, taking care to place all her blocks behind her exactly as they were before she mined them.

After a solid three hundred blocks, she begins to staircase back up. On one unfortunate swing of her pick, water floods into her staircase. She must be under a lake or a sea. She can make out some kelp, though, so hopefully that’ll be enough cover for her to go up and check her surroundings.

Stress takes a deep breath and plunges into the cold water. Swimming up, she catches sight of wood-- no way. There is no way she’s made it to the docks just outside of the canyon. Eagerly, she swims back down into her staircase for a breath of air and the chance to down an invisibility potion, then back up to the surface.

On the entire journey from the bottom of the sea to the elevator on the other side of the canyon, she expects someone to catch her, to notice the water she’s dripping on the ground, to somehow sense the guilt emanating off her in waves. It doesn’t happen. Stress makes it to the elevator and pushes the down button eagerly. Every foot the elevator descends down is another thousand pounds of weight off her shoulders. She’s exhausted, and so close to home base. If she can just make it into the Atrium, she’ll have succeeded.

The elevator dings, rousing Stress from her daydreaming. “I really am dead on my feet, ain’t I?” she murmurs to herself.

She makes her way into one of the village houses, avoiding the pressure plates and tripwires which she knows like the back of her hand by now. In the house, she presses a button, which opens a door which leads to a tunnel. Sagging in relief, Stress practically melts across the floor as she traverses the short tunnel and finally makes it into Atrium 1-- a large circular room with a rounded ceiling and plenty of light.

“Woah, Stress!” Ren exclaims, running to support her. The dark circles under his eyes make him look as exhausted as she feels. He’s been working round the clock at the tree farm to churn out enough wood to meet the demands of twenty-four Hermits.

“Stress?” Ren asks with concern in his eyes, gently shaking Stress’s shoulders.

She laughs, high-pitched and wild. She’s done it. She’s really gone and done it!

“I got a shulker box,” she breathes.

Ren gasps. “What?! No way, they’re not even a thing on this server!”

“Yes they are,” Stress sing-songs, “because I have one.”

She tosses him the cyan shulker box with a look of pride on her face. Ren looks at the box in his hands, then back up at Stress with wide eyes.

“We gotta go show Xisuma, my dude.”

---

The Hermits convene in the small meeting room in the residential district, then realize that the room is in fact small and twenty-four Hermits aren’t going to fit in it. Xisuma’s having a good day, so he decides to hold the meeting in Atrium 1.

There are many different opinions on the acquisition of the shulker box, which sits innocently in the center of the room. Some people like Wels believe that even if it’s a great boon, it was stolen and therefore the Hermits don’t have the right to use it. Things were different when they first arrived in the canyon; they stole small things in order to survive. A shulker is nice to have, but the Hermits won’t die without it. On the other hand, there are people who side with Grian, who believes that since the Hermits already have the shulker box, they might as well use it.

Doc rumbles a deep hm, indicating that he’s debating with himself whether he should say something or not. Finally, it seems that the side of him which wants to tell his fellow Hermits wins out.

“Have you guys considered shulker box duping?” he says. Immediately, there is a clamor of outcries, both for and against, as well as just plain disbelieving.

Tango speaks up: absolutely not. It’s cheating. False tentatively rebuts, though, that sometimes cheating is acceptable when it's for a good cause. After all, part of her season 7 base was dug out using TNT dupers. Mumbo awkwardly raises his hand and waits for someone to acknowledge him, which Grian does.

“Er… what if we give it back after we’re done with it?” Mumbo says. Tango still looks unhappy, but the idea seems to appease Wels.

“Friends,” Xisuma says softly. Everyone quiets down immediately. “Should we have a civil vote, or shall I decide?”

Immediately, everyone gets shamed into behaving. “We can vote,” Bdubs says. “Everyone in favor of not cheating?”

“Wait, what are our options?” Grian asks.

“Er,” Scar speaks up. “Keeping the box but not duping it, giving the box back, duping it then giving it back, or duping it and not giving the original back. Is that right?”

Bdubs nods. “Yeah! So, all in favor of keeping the one original box?” A few hands go up, maybe five or six.

“Giving the box back?” More hands go up.

“Duplicating the box, then giving it back?” Nearly a dozen hands go up.

“Well then,” Bdubs says, “I guess I don’t have to finish the options; dupe-and-return wins.”

Doc strides into the center of the room and mines up the shulker box before anyone can change their mind; Tango grumbles good-naturedly at having lost the vote. Meanwhile, while everyone discusses the vote, Joe ferries Xisuma off to his quarters.

“So who’s going to give the shulker box back when we’re done with it, my dudes?” Ren asks the room at large.

“I will,” Stress says immediately. “I stole it; it’s only right that I give it back.”

---

Two days later, Punz wakes up to a noise in his house. He reaches for a knife under his pillow; just because there is no one to be seen doesn’t mean that no one’s there, as Punz is well aware given the theft of his shulker box, which he is still smarting over.

He gets out of bed, treading softly. Right there, in the doorway, is the same shulker box he lost! He looks around. This has to be a trap. No one is around… Punz might as well spring this trap.

He opens the box. Nothing is missing. In fact, there are more items inside than there were when it was stolen from him! A totem of undying, four diamond blocks, two ingots of netherite, and a note which reads, Sorry I stole your box! I only needed to borrow it, but I felt bad so I left some extra goodies in. xoxo

“...Huh?” Punz says to himself. This is the weirdest prank ever.

He puts the box back into his Ender chest and resolves to think about it in the morning.

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