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thismoleculeisacomedian · 3 years

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WWI and PTSD in “Downton Abbey”

PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) is portrayed in some way for each character in DA who served during World War I. I’m going to break down each character’s mental status portrayal. (See tags for content warnings before proceeding; we’re talking about WWI here, so be forewarned: it is grim.)

Mr. Lang:

Here was the most obvious portrayal of PTSD, or shell-shock as it was known in this time period, as it was actually named as such. (Shell-shock, of course; it was not known as PTSD yet, nor would it be until after the Vietnam War.) Mr. Lang is not someone we see prior to the war/his military service, but can still certainly see the impact on his mental state. He had the following: flashbacks, night terrors, startle responses, moments where he seemed to hear artillery fire and other war noises, short attention span, feeling of being profoundly different from those around him, panic attacks....I felt so bad for him. If someone has incapacitating panic attacks and breaks with reality, they should be in a hospital. He was very sick. He is portrayed in a sensitive way, and gets some degree of compassion from the other characters (even Mr. Carson who isn’t...usually very sympathetic to anyone). It also showed his helplessness to handle his mental illness, which is the most accurate thing it could have done: no one can ‘fix’ themselves all by themselves, but the stigma around PTSD/mental illness at the time period meant that most of those people had to suffer in silence in a way that no one should have had to. The people around him respond in ways that often betray their discomfort, which likely stemmed from lack of understanding.

Matthew:

Matthew had one of the more subtle portrayals of PTSD among these characters; he didn’t convey a great deal of fear in battle or immediately after; however, those who know the signs and symptoms of PTSD know that the brief moments when he goes silent, and appears almost frozen with memory, that is a sign that he may be having slight episodes of dissociation. The cessation of sound and appearance of him being almost not in himself is a trademark sign of dissociation, or ‘floating above it’ as people often describe this sensation. There are times when it seems that he is the stereotypical war hero who is never thrown by the horrors, and who carries on as before, but anyone who can spot the subtler signs of PTSD can probably pick up on the fact that although he is alright, he is not okay.

Thomas:

Thomas, it conveyed had PTSD through both his actions, and through some stylistic techniques. Like Matthew, it conveys that he dissociated when the man he was trying to get to safety bleeds out in front of him and, more jarringly, his comrade gets abruptly shot through the head, within seconds of each other. Thomas was the character with whom we saw the most sudden, horrific kind of death that was characteristic of the western front. This makes sense, as he was a medic, and thus probably more than anyone else would probably feel responsible for the wellbeing of those around him. It’s easy to imagine that he felt a specific kind of guilt as a result; the guilt of perhaps feeling he’d failed those he was supposed to help. His trauma is also portrayed through his actions: namely, the blind fear of death (”when will my luck run out?”) and also likely exhaustion being why he intentionally got himself shot. (That scene...God. I felt a literal chill go down my neck as I imagined the blind terror that would be both behind and a result of such an awful choice.) He didn’t want to die, but he easily could have, but more than that: he needed to get out before his mind was totally gone. He must have seen many, many soldiers with PTSD and may have been self-aware enough to know that he wasn’t far behind them, and just needed to get out. (To put some things in perspective here: the average tour of duty modern day is ~12 months because you literally cannot ask more of a human being. Thomas had been in the Somme for somewhere between 24 and 30 months.)

Edward Courtenay:

It never expressly says he had PTSD, but rather that his blindness as a result of a gas attack at (I assume?) the Somme was the root cause of his depression and ultimately committing suicide.

Mrs. Patmore’s nephew:

Archie is never an on-screen character, but he is referenced throughout the season and then later on in the series with the war memorial. Mrs. Patmore was clearly (understandably) destroyed by the news that Archie was essentially executed by his fellow soldiers for ‘cowardice’ which we are meant to take means mental illness. (It was usually associated with a certain action, like running away or intentional injury, but really, nobody does those things when they aren’t, as Mrs. Patmore said, “out of their minds with fear”.) So Archie is treated as a sympathetic character by the narrative, and by Mrs. Patmore and the one person she felt was trustworthy in context, Mr. Lang. (Later on, however, Mr. Carson makes a snippy comment about how it would be insulting to the ones who “did their duty” to remember him along with them, though he fortunately gets upstaged by Robert when Robert gets a war memorial for him out of kindness to Mrs. Patmore.) Overall, he is remember by the characters in a way that was deservedly very sympathetic, though it shows how unfair the wider world was at the time.

In short: it shows why people born from 1885-1900 were referred to as the “Lost Generation”.

#cw: war #cw: mental illness #cw: suicide #cw: violence #cw: ptsd #maybe should do another one for non-war related ptsd #downton abbey #downton abbey (2010-2015)#thomas barrow #matthew crawley #mrs. patmore #edward courtenay #mr. lang #long post #wrote it in one go #will edit later

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floating-in-the-blue · 3 years

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So about the whole Anti-Willie thing ...

This is going to be long but it’s been stewing in me and wants out...

Okay, not gonna lie, the very idea of Willie-antis gets me enraged. I came across this post in the willex tag and because I didn’t want to hijack it or object OP to potentially negative reactions, I decided to make my own post but quote the anon message they responded to:

The JATP fandom is so toxic only because you guys support a toxic relationship and hate on everyone who points out the falls of the relationship it’s not racist to say that Willie takes advantage of Alex’s anxiety

And the longer I look at this anon’s message ... I’m not only completely baffled at how they could arrive at this reading but also seriously concerned?

Because, let’s assume for a minute here that they aren’t being racist and truly, completely believe that this relationship is toxic ... then what does that mean?

It means purity culture has turned this person’s head so much that they see a caring relationship between two people and label it toxic because one of them made a mistake. It means that they are so far into the rabbit hole that a real relationship will never be achievable because how do you hold up this ideal of never making mistakes, of staying “pure” without crashing and burning?

I may no longer be in academia and it’s been a while but during my time there, I did engage with reader response theories and fandom theories and Death of the Author and textual analysis and deconstructive readings etc. and basically have been very interested in how people read texts and derive meaning from them.

So I’m really curious how people like this anon arrive at a notion of a toxic relationship and one where “Willie takes advantage of Alex’s anxiety” when they watch the show.

And I’m trying, really trying to understand it and so I’m trying to play devil’s advocate for a minute. So let’s look at the scenes they have and see the pro and con Willie arguments that could be made out of them (though I admit, I really have to stretch my imagination with some of those cons!).

This is gonna be long so (also I’m making it up as I go so ...) stuffing this under a cut.

But also, let me preface this with: Willex is my main ship but I do not hate Lalex! I like them in the past, I like them as exes (it’s not my reading of canon, but whatever, ship what you like) and don’t think liking them and shipping them automatically means you’re racist or a bad person or anything like that. Maybe you just like best friends to lovers as a trope more. Or are really into Luke. Maybe that accidental hand-holding scene sparked something. Or whatever. So, me doing this analysis is not because I want to shame you for shipping Lalex. I’m trying to have an open conversation because anon is right in saying that the Willie defense squad is quick to hate on anyone not of their opinion and we’re not getting anywhere if both sides just keep yelling at each other.

Anyway, on we go.

First meeting - Sunset Boulevard

pro: Alex tells Willie about his “minor afterlife crisis” and tags on a joke; Willie makes a joke in return. Reverts back to the topic of the “minor afterlife crisis”, getting serious again when he picks up on Alex’s unease = quickly tuned in to Alex’s emotional needs

con: he skates off, counting on Alex to follow him because he has more questions to ask = establishing a hierarchy based on knowledge and possibly his own attractiveness

After First Meeting

pro: Alex looks happy when he returns to the boys and tells them about Willie, being all excited; Willie has answered a ton of questions (so more than we see, because we never get to see the “woke” thing being taught either = Willie makes time for Alex)

con: - (it could be construed that Alex is more excited about his questions having been answered than Willie himself but that’s a big stretch)

Second Meeting - Museum

pro: initiating physical contact (e.g. hand-holding) that Alex clearly responds to in an amazed but positive way (no signs of discomfort at being touched);

finds out about Alex having trouble with moving things and immediately offers to help him (sucessfully), teaching him ‘how to ghost by showing him how to ghost’;

finds out about Alex’s anxiety and shares his own way of de-stressing with him. Skating probably helps Willie, too, but screaming is something Alex can share and try as well

con: spends half their date (?) “showing off” on his skateboard; drags Alex out of his comfort zone by “breaking into” the museum (however, Alex does go with him willingly)

After Second Meeting

pro: Alex can show off his new-learned ghost skills and sounds happy about the time they shared

con: -

Third Meeting - Park/Promenade (?)

pro: Willie is happy to meet Alex’s friends; looks proud and fond when Alex explains “lifers” to the others, validating his “ghost progress”; immediately ready to help them; offers to introduce them to someone more powerful than him to help them when he sees how disappointed they are when Willie can’t help them

con: offers to introduce them to Caleb while knowing that the whole stamp thing exists (as evidenced later, “you know what that will do to them”)

This is, I guess, where the two readings of Willie’s character and complicitness diverge. I would argue that, had he wanted to get the boys to the club, he would have told Alex about it earlier, would have asked him to meet his friends (though he might have wanted to establish his relationship to Alex first, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on that) but most importantly he would have immediately brought up Caleb and the HGC when they asked for help since it is the perfect opportunity.

Instead, he just brings it up when they’re all clearly disappointed. It would make sense in a different context, with different people to hold that back a little, if he were conning them. But you can’t tell me Alex, Luke, and Reggie wouldn’t have immediately jumped on the HGC if he’d told them about it ealier. He could have mentioned it when he first meets Alex and the boys would have come running. Instead he seems to have wanted to keep Alex to himself for as long as he could.

Fourth Meeting - HGC

pro: he is clearly startled by the interest Caleb shows in the boys with the “special table” reserved for them; excited to share the club with the boys and all the cool things about it; makes sure to ease Alex’s nerves by looks and touch and checking in with him;

he is upset and confused when Caleb orders him away at the dancing; he “confronts” Caleb after the stamp incident even though he is clearly wary of him at this point and Caleb has a certain power over him (though it’s not completely clear what that is);

the moment of “there’s a lot to, uhm, like here” shows Willie abandoning his flirty act and instead being serious and then immediately running off instead of trying to coerce Alex to stay

con: he brings them to the club although he knows the stamps are a thing that Caleb does; doesn’t ignore Caleb’s order to disappear during the dance; doesn’t stop Caleb from using his stamps

This is where it gets interesting. Clearly, Willie knows about the stamps. Clearly, he has a certain awe of Caleb and respect for him so he knows he’s not all good. And clearly, he obeyed him rather than intervening.

I would argue that it’s been made clear that he did not anticipate the outcome and as such cannot be intentionally complicit in what happened. His relationship to Caleb is shown as ambivalent. He’s clearly impressed by him (”the guy’s got skills”) and clearly intimidated by him (shown when he checks in with him if it’s still cool he brought the guys). And until he’s shood off the dance-floor, I think his admiration for Caleb outweighs the misgivings he might have (consciously or unconsciously). He’s introduced as someone who doesn’t worry too much; he’s not worried about his unfinished business. He likes to have fun and be free. He does not overthink things (like Alex, for example), so while he may have felt some unease and hesitation at introducing the guys to Caleb (hence why he hasn’t mentioned him sooner), he shrugged it off because Caleb was the only one able to help the guys.

Plus, he’s not exactly introduced as being super smart. He may be more experienced as a ghost but someone truly smart would not think selling his soul is not a big deal. So when Caleb waves him off during the dance, he might be just confused about what is going on. Uneasy and confused but not immediately clued in that the boys are in serious danger.

And when the stamps happen: we don’t know how far away he was. The stamping went really quickly, so there probably wasn’t much chance, if any, to intervene. Willie is still trying to comprehend what just happened when he confronts Caleb about it, shocked when he realises that Caleb did it very intentionally and clearly upset at realising that he brought the guys to Caleb.

Fifth “Meeting” - Coffee shop and Alley

pro: Willie wants to check on the boys even though he clearly isn’t supposed to and he now knows what Caleb is capable off

con: he hasn’t told them yet what’s going on, leaving them in the dark and he doesn’t confront Caleb again when he runs into him but plays it off like he was doing Caleb a favour by checking on the boys

Now, should Willie have acted sooner? Possibly. But from what we’ve seen, his entire world just rearranged itself. He underestimated Caleb, he’s clearly afraid of him now (trying to appease him, the strained smile) because he now realises not only the position the boys are in but also his own precarious position and he needs some time to process all of this and come to terms with everything. Which is a human response! He is a human teenager, after all, albeit a dead one. Just like Alex, he doesn’t handle change well. That may be a personality flaw but it’s a realistic one.

Sixth Meeting - Garage

pro: Willie still checks on the boys even after his run in with Caleb; is still clearly upset (a mixture of guilt and concern, probably) and wishes he’d rather not have met Alex than bring him (and his friends) into this situation, apologises

con: still doesn’t tell them and wants to avoid the confrontation; runs off even though it’s clearly upsetting Alex

So he still hasn’t found the courage to tell the boys about the stamps, which is bad. It could be due to fear about having to own up to his own mistake or because of his fear of Caleb or because he has no idea how to remedy the situation and hasn’t thought of a way out yet so doesn’t see the point.

But it’s clearly weighing on him and he’s even more upset than we’ve seen him previously so this is taking its toll on him. Plus he’s obviously very close to tearing up when he runs off. Being overwhelmed and unable to handle a situation like this is lamentable but very understandable.

Seventh Meeting - Sunset Boulevard

pro: he finally tells the boys though even talking to them puts himself in danger; he apologises and tells Alex that he cares about him; he offers a solution and possible way out even though it’s grasping at straws

con: he makes excuses for how he acted by alluding to Caleb owning his soul (which is a valid reason, though)

I would argue that Willie not urging them to just accept Caleb’s offer speaks volumes here. Now he knows what Caleb is really like, he’d rather the boys be free and move on to a hopefully better place than be tied to him like he is. He’d rather lose Alex (whom he cares about) than see him in Caleb’s clutches. It’s the total reverse of the hope he expressed in the HGC with “there’s a lot to like here”. If he were selfish, he’d nudge the guys to accept so he can spend eternity with Alex in the club. But he doesn’t even mention it. Doesn’t suggest it.

It takes a while for him to owning up to his mistake and the fucked up situation the guys are now in but he does own up to it and apologises for it.

Eight Meeting - Orpheum

pro: still feels guilty about everything; still checks in with Alex even though it puts himself in danger

con: -

I think the way his demenour changes and how he hesitates to touch Alex when he’s previously initiated physical contact all the time, says how guilty he feels. Like he has no right to comfort Alex when he hurts because he’s the one responsible for him hurting. It clearly upsets him though and he has a hard time accepting Alex’s forgiveness.

Ninth Meeting- Sunset Boulevard

pro: has taken a great personal risk in carnapping the Downslide tour bus (being absent from the HGC for a long time); would do anything for Alex; clearly values the hug

con: appears to be fine with saying goodbye

Luke being the one to “arm-bump” (??) Willie is very important, I think. Not only has Alex forgiven Willie (who is in love with him and so more likely to forgive him) but so have Luke and Reggie; showing no animosity and giving Alex and him some space to say goodbye.

The Hug! It clearly means so much to both of them and the way Willie sinks into it, caught off guard says this is nothing casual for him.

Yes, he jokes and seems unruffled at the actual goodbye but I would argue that it’s a front he puts on for Alex’s sake, to show that he will be fine and that Alex shouldn’t worry about him. It’s a far cry from the vulnerable and emotional expression we see during the hug.

So where does this leave us? In my opinion, with a character that cares deeply about Alex and tries his best to make him feel safe and relaxed (1st meeting, museum, first half HGC), who ultimately puts his own life on the line when it comes to saving Alex and the boys, who apologises for his mistakes and feels guilty about them.

That doesn’t mean he isn’t flawed, maybe a bit of a coward, not the brightest candle on the cake, and not as quick to adapt to a new, threatening situation as might be desirable. Someone who needs comfort himself but apparently rarely gets it (see his sudden change to comfortable jumpers in the emotional scenes as opposed to his more “open” clothes beforehand).

I do not see someone who “takes advantage of Alex’s anxiety“ in any way but mostly tries his best to help him with it. Luke and Reggie clearly don’t see him that way.

Willie is flawed but ultimately human.

A “toxic relationship“ boils down to selfishness because it means one partner puts their own needs and wants above the other, even though they’re detrimental to that other partner (whether this happens consciously or unconsciously - because a relationship can be toxic without malicious intent).

In all of his scenes Willie only starts to act “selfishly“ when his own life is at stake. And that only means a certain amount of hesitation before he acts, because ultimately, he does risk his own life!

So, for the life of me, I cannot see the toxicity in Willie and Alex’s relationship unless you come at it with the premise that everyone who makes a mistake is a bad person and toxic, which brings me back to purity culture and “your fave is problematic.”

The whole topic honestly drives me up the wall with how mad it makes me but in the end, I mostly feel really sorry for and worry about those entrenched in this cultish way of thinking. How stressful must it be when mistakes cannot be forgiven. When there’s no compassion and no understanding but only vitriolic hate and crusades. How terrifying must it be to live a life like that! The pressure of perfection intensified by a million because now it’s a moral obligation.

I do feel sorry for you if that is the life you live out of fear of retribution. But let me tell you: nobody is without fault. Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, hesitates, doubts. And is still worthy of love.

So: it’s okay to prefer the Lalex ship. Whatever floats your boat. But there is no obligation to make a moral argument out of it where the canon love interest has to be torn down first.

If you want to discuss this with me further: I’m here and you can message me on anon or off and we can have an open conversation

#I really hope we get over this one day #willex #willie jatp #lalex #(I know not everyone shipping lalex is a willie-anti but still)#cw: anti-willie #jatp #purity culture #cancel culture #please cancel cancel culture #phantomfloat #yeo has a lot of thoughts #will anybody even read all of this? who knows #I /meant/ to be spending my evening writing ... just didn't think it would be this essay eating up my evening ...ah well #long post #seriously very long post

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drowningbydegrees · 3 years

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Fanfic Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @lokibus! <3 <3 <3

How many works do you have on Ao3?

54. I've written quite a bit more, but I just can't be bothered to carry over most of the fics from my LJ days. Also, once upon a time I had a super insecure streak and I went on an orphaning spree, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What’s your total Ao3 word count?

Apparently 457,241! Kinda same as above.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Though I Try Not To (The Witcher)

I'm so weirdly pleased about this. I fell into Witcher fandom totally by accident. I don't usually do fixit fics, but I couldn't help myself. This is, I think, the only fic to date where I've started posting as a WIP and actually followed through and finished.

Where All Roads Lead (MCU)

If there is one plot device I'm just eternally a sucker for, it's time travel shenanigans. This was one of the two time travely fics I wrote for Stucky fandom.

For The Space of a Heartbeat (The Witcher)

I'm honestly really surprised by this? This was totally just a self indulgent spur of the moment kinda thing, and it's only a couple thousand words.

Even in the Dark I Know You (The Witcher)

Okay, I lied. There were two WIPs I actually followed through and finished. This started as a random oneshot for a whump week thing, and then the prompt for the next day fit so well with a follow up chapter that this just turned into a whole story. I really enjoy subverting tropes and with witcher biology I see a lot of sensory overload kinds of fics, so I decided to play with the idea in reverse.

Even if it Hurts (Even if it Makes Me Bleed) (The Witcher)

So, most of the time when I settle into a fandom, there's one fic idea that I feel like I cannot leave without writing. For Witcher fandom, this was that fic. I have a lot of complicated thoughts about soulmates as a romantic concept, even more so when you're involving characters like Geralt, for whom fate is so often a double edged sword. This story was very much an excuse to dig into what soulmates mean for personal agency under the guise of a narrative. XD

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Admittedly, I do this with embarrassing inconsistency. Basically, what happens is: * Something gets a good response. * I respond to a few comments and then find myself overwhelmed (mentally, not as in there are a truly overwhelming number of comments). * I step away for a bit. * A month later I realize I still haven't replied. Cue paralyzing indecision about whether it's too late to reply. * Rinse and repeat.

I do want to! And I'm working on it. I've gotten a little better about it, but my apologies to anyone who I haven't responded to. Please know I'm not intentionally ignoring you. ;_;

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Oh hmm. I had a reputation for a really long time as primarily an angst writer, but pretty much all my stories have a happy ending for some given quantity of happy. I guess it kind of depends on how one qualifies that.

Noonwraiths and Other Woodland Forest Creatures maybe. It's got a got a pretty fluffy ending.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

It's a tossup.

I, The Paradox, which is my other time travel fic from my Stucky fandom days, with a paradox (shocking) that lands Steve with two versions of Bucky. For plot purposes even! It's not a particularly smutty story. It ends sort of ambiguously. There's a sequel outlined that was meant to resolve said ambiguity, but alas, it's still sitting in my WIP folder.

Truth in the Periphery. It's a psychological horror story I wrote for an event. I think it's the only fanfic I've ever written that was really intended as a hurt/no comfort kind of story.

Do you write crossovers?

I haven't, but not because I specifically don't. I've just never had an idea that felt compelling enough to follow through on.

have you ever received hate on a fic?

Maaaaybe once or twice a long, long, long time ago, back when FFN was still the best option for posting outside of LiveJournal. I don't think it was even about the writing. I think it was someone was mad that my much younger self tried to sneak smut onto FFN.

Do you write smut? if so, what kind?

I have such a love/hate relationship with smut in my own work. I used to write it a lot because I felt like I had to. It was until I came to terms with being more or less ace irl that it occurred to me why I didn't enjoy writing it. Weirdly, I like reading it just fine.

The thing is, while I don't really care for the physical aspect of it, I like the emotional touchpoints of it, so I do still write smut sometimes. It just tends to be a little cursory in terms of action details and heavy on character dynamics.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. But I used to RP a lot, and it's always been a lot of fun, so I wouldn't be opposed to the idea!

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Oh shoot. From a romantic standpoint that varies so much depending on what fandom I'm currently feeling enthusiastic about. It's pretty much always a specific character that draws me to a fandom, so I think the most consistent ship I have is favorite character/unconditional love and support. XD

What’s a wip that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

The sequel to I, The Paradox I mentioned earlier.

What are your writing strengths?

If there's one thing I feel like I have a consistently good handle on, it's emotional impact. I put a lot of thought into why people make the choices they do and how they relate to each other, and I would like to think I'm reasonably adept at leading readers to the emotional response I'm going for.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions. I'm just forever in awe of people who can just write settings/action naturally. It's a constant effort for me, and it's the thing I always feel like I fall short on. I can write navel gazing in my sleep, but an action scene? Pfftttt.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Very situational. Kind of like in movies and television. I don't have any kind of always x or y opinion on it though.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Inuyasha. It was back when I didn't have a computer of my own and would write at the library, so the only record of it was the site I used to draft and post to that is now defunct. No one is happier about this than I am. 😂

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

I think I'm genuinely pretty proud of everything I've written in the last couple of years, but if I had to pick right now, it'd be It Doesn't Break But it Bends. It's a time loop fic. Someone left "Recommended but you will sob." as their bookmark note for it and I think that might be my crowning achievement in fandom.

Tagging (if you want!): @mikkeneko @goodheavensgwen @writinglizards @plotdesigner And anyone else who wants to <3

#things I'm tagged in #my fic #about me

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thatoneticklewriter · 3 years

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Chongyun’s Predicament

(Lee! Chongyun)

“Ugh, I hate these food delivery missions.” Aether pouts at the sticky notes placed on the Adventurer’s guild bulletin board.

“Ew, all of the missions are for food deliveries.” Chongyun makes a face skimming each note one by one.

“You guys are a bunch of babies! I delivered food way under three minutes.” Venti teases his friends grabbing a sticky note.

“Says the one with an anemo element.” Xingqiu rolls his eyes at the other. “All you have to do is glide with the wind.”

“But Aether is an Anemo too.” Chongyun points at the blonde.

“I’m nothing like Venti.” Aether sighs in response.

“Let’s make a deal! We each take a food delivery mission and when we’re done we meet up at Chongyun’s apartment. The last one there gets punishment tickles.” Venti holds up a hand and everyone raises an eyebrow wondering if they heard him right.

“What does this even prove?” Chongyun questions the other crossing his arms against his chest.

“That I’m better than all of you losers! See ya later!” Venti launches himself up in the air with the wind leaving the others astonished, the harsh air blowing their hair in their faces.

“We better get going!” Aether follows after the bi color haired boy and Xingqiu nods his head in agreement.

Chongyun lets out a sigh having no other choice but to tag along.

Ten minutes later Xingqiu reaches Chongyun’s apartment finding Aether and Venti inside on the couch.

“Just in time!” Venti raises his hands in the air.

“Where’s Chongyun?” Xingqiu’s scans his amber eyes around the living room.

“He’s not here.” Aether elicits a chuckle. Poor boy.

“Xiao lets us in. He said not to bother him, as always.” Venti says before getting up to raid the blue haired boy’s pantry.

“Don’t steal all of their food.” Aether makes a face judging the multiple bags of snacks Venti had laid out in the kitchen.

“They’ll appreciate that I’m cleaning out their pantry.” Venti giggles before opening a bag of chips.

“I don’t think that’s what they mean.” Aether says before stealing a handful of chips.

The door slams revealing the panting blunette.

“Looks like we got a loser!” Venti claps his hands as if he were proud of Chongyun.

“Let’s not do this.” Chongyun says to the bi color haired boy who jogs into his personal space. With his congenital positivity, there wasn’t much things he could do. He didn’t want the risk of immersing his body in such heat being surrounded by all of his friends. It’s gotten to the point where he could only cuddle his boyfriend Xiao for a limited amount of time before he grew too warm.

“You’ll be fine. Tickling won’t make you hot, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Venti shrugs him off.

“I just don’t want anything to happen.” Chongyun says throwing off his jacket.

“Oooo! That sounds like a fun experiment if tickling can affect your congenital positivity.” Venti expresses with excitement jumping up and down. “Plus you’re in a safe place, if things were to go wrong.”

“And you lost the deal.” Xingqiu adds earning a frown from Chongyun.

“Maybe we should do this another night.” The blunette shifts to the other side of the room though his friends continued to creep towards him.

“The loser has to accept the punishment.” Aether refuses his suggestion taking off his gloves.

“Charge!” Venti shouts as the three of them pounce on Chongyun at once as if he were a piece of meat.

The boys collapse onto the couch and Aether grabs Chongyun by his arms holding him back.

“Let me go.” The blunette states in a firm tone trying to escape Aether’s grasp. He would shout but there’s a slight chance it’ll get him fired up and waking Xiao from slumber.

“Oh we will, once we’re done with you.” Venti teases the other trailing his finger down his chest.

“I’ve endured for this kind of thing so you’re wasting your time.” The blunette couldn’t help but lie hoping it’ll change Xingqiu’s and Venti’s minds.

“Let’s prove that.” The bi color haired boy doesn’t back down rolling up Chongyun’s shirt.

Aether playfully scratches at the other’s armpits hoping to earn a reaction though it backfires when all he hears is silence.

“You’re not laughing.” The blonde frowns speeding up on his scratches failing to tickle the stoic blunette.

“What about here?” Xingqiu grabs Chongyun’s leg setting it on his lap poking in between his toes.

“Heh, a little.” The blunette gasps holding back a smile.

“You just hold him, Aether. We’ll do all the tickling.” Venti orders to the blonde before clawing at Chongyun’s bare tummy.

Another gasp escapes the blunette’s lips however he still remains pretty calm focusing on his breathing.

“You can’t hold it in for long, we will break you one way or another.” A smirk falls into Xingqiu’s face knowing that they’re getting close. He continues to trail his fingers along the arch of Chongyun’s foot and the blunette jerks from his touch, his knee jamming Venti on the back.

“Okay, just for that I’m not going easy on you anymore.” The bi color haired boy pulls up his sleeves ready to torture his best friend.

“I didn’t mean to hit you intentionally!” Chongyun unexpectedly raises his voice as if he knew where Venti was going to target him next.

The bi color haired boy squeezes his sides and Chongyun lets out a high pitch squeal arching his back.

Aether tightens his grip on the blunette’s wrists who begins to struggle and writhe as Venti assaults his exposed sides.

“Ahahahaahahaha!” The blunette couldn’t hold in his emotions inside any longer bursting into fits of laughter. “Get off! Ah!”

“Oh no, we’re just getting started now that we cracked you.” Venti chuckles at the flustered exorcist before him.

The fingers roaming all across his abdomen and feet had the blunette overwhelmed not knowing which tickled the worst. He couldn’t retaliate with Aether holding his arms, Venti on top of him, and Xingqiu sitting on his legs. Though that changes when Xingqiu realizes the blunette’s feet weren’t as sensitive as his abdomen.

He gives up sitting beside Venti lending him a hand on his other side.

“Hahahaaha, please!” Chongyun cries out flinching at Xingqiu’s cold fingers against his bare skin.

“Please what? Please keep going? Alright!” Venti jokes around rearranging Chongyun’s words.

“Eeeek! I didn’t say that!” The giggling blunette squeals as Venti kneads at the sides of his tummy.

“Don’t be shy, we know you like this.” Aether joins in with the teasing watching the bi color haired boy plant his face in Chongyun’s tummy blowing a raspberry.

The blunette squeals and shrieks from the ticklish sensation, his struggles growing more vigorous startling Aether. Damn, he was burning up.

“Hahaahahha! No! Don’t!” Chongyun throws his head back in laughter feeling Xingqiu wiggle a finger in his navel.

Venti sneaks his fingers up Chongyun’s shirt playfully scribbling at his upper ribs and the blunette had no choice but to nip at Aether’s hands gripping his wrists.

“Ow! I can’t believe you just bit me!” The blonde shrieks releasing Chongyun.

The laughing blunette crawls away from the couch however both Xingqiu and Venti dive on top of the other rolling onto the floor.

“Guys, I think he’s had enough.” Aether says feeling guilty for the blunette who wasn’t gaining any mercy. Plus the fact his cheeks were coated with a bright red hue and tears forming the corner of his eyes.

Xingqiu and Venti give Chongyun a break though the boy couldn’t seem to stop laughing.

“Chong, we’re not touching you anymore. Stop laughing.” Xingqiu raises an eyebrow at his friend.

“Heheheehehehe!” The blunette continues to giggle holding his abdomen curling into a ball.

“Are you crying!?!” Venti widens his eyes at the tears steaming down Chongyun’s cheeks.

“Hahahaahah! I’m so happy! I can’t stop! Ha!” He babbles with laughter, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

“Can you stand?” Aether pulls Chongyun up to his feet and the blunette abruptly gets up on the coffee table.

“Careful. What’re you doing now?” Xingqiu holds onto Chongyun’s leg as he tries to balance his weight.

“Hahahahaaha! I wanna dance!” The blunette shouts moving his body side to side, hands in the air.

“You guys created a monster.” Aether gestures to the dancing Chongyun glaring at Xingqiu and Venti.

“I wanna dance too!” Venti jumps up on the coffee table as well, swaying his butt.

The laughter and screaming of the two boys was enough to wake up a moody Xiao with bed hair.

“What is going on?” Xiao grumbles rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Xingqiu and Venti awakened Chongyun’s congenital positivity and we can’t get him to calm down.” Aether explains to the other’s boyfriend who lets out a yawn.

Only Xiao knew how to handle these moments when Chongyun grew crazy and Unpredictable.

“Hehehehehehe! I missed you!” The blunette hops off of the coffee table wrapping his arms around Xiao’s shoulders.

“I missed you too but it’s late and you should get some sleep.” Xiao removes Chongyun’s arms off of him holding his hands.

“No! My friends are here, I can’t leave them alone.” Chongyun glances at Aether and the others with a sympathetic look on his face.

“They’ll understand.” Xiao assures applying pressure to his outer wrist hoping to soothe his mind.

Shortly, the blunette grows drowsy and Xiao orders Aether to carry them to their bedroom.

“Why is it whenever Chongyun congenital positivity is released, it’s always with you two?” Xiao points a finger at the smirking Venti and Xingqiu.

“Well uh we’re gonna leave.” Xingqiu starts to say heading to the door.

“No, you’re not. You’re going to clean this place up.” The raven demands gesturing to their disheveled living room.

Chongyun needs a better choice in friends. Xiao thought to himself before heading back to bed.

#tickling #fanfic #tickle fic #fluff #platonic #genshin impact #chongyun #Venti Genshin impact #aether genshin impact #xingqiu genshin impact #writing

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eidetictelekinetic · 3 years

Text

Fic Interview Meme

Thanks for the tag, @rubickk7 !

How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 115 fics.

What’s your total AO3 wordcount?

1,553,954

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

On AO3:

The Magicians (TV) (28)

A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin (21)

Inception (2010) (20)

Suits (US TV) (17)

Game of Thrones (TV) (12)

Black Sails (7)

Supernatural (6)

The Avengers (Marvel Movies) (5)

A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms (5)

The Tudors (TV) (3)

The Hobbit - All Media Types (2)

X-Men (Movieverse) (2)

Marvel Cinematic Universe (2)

The Hobbit (Jackson Movies) (2)

Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies) (2)

X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies) (2)

American Gods - Neil Gaiman (1)

Conviction (TV 2006) (1)

16th Century CE RPF (1)

Star Wars Legends - All Media Types (1)

Star Wars - All Media Types (1)

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy (1)

Whitechapel (TV) (1)

Chronicles of Narnia (Movies) (1)

Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett (1)

Here’s the list from my fanfiction.net days (some overlap here):

Song of the Lioness

Star Wars

Stargate: SG-1

Harry Potter

In The Forests of the Night

X-Men: The Movie

Circle of Magic

Doctor Who

House, M.D.

Wicked

Law and Order: SVU

Torchwood

Charmed

Primeval

NCIS

Tudors

Inception

Supernatural

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Lady of Rivers and Storms [ASOIAF]: When Lysa miscarries Petyr's child before anyone learns of her pregnancy, her father negotiates a different marriage for her instead. Married to the second Baratheon son, will the future be any easier for either of them?

In the Middle (Before I Knew I Had Begun) [Suits]: It's an accident, when Mike touches Lyla. But everything follows from there. (Or maybe everything follows from the moment Rhi saw the golden tiger and all she could think was how beautiful she was.)

Skyfall Is Where We Start [ASOIAF]: 'At least Stannis won't laugh at Renly if the boy tries to follow him around when he's a bit older and takes a tumble on the flagstones. It's not much, not much at all, but perhaps it's enough to be going on with.'

Robert never loved his brothers, but this is not a story about Robert. This is about Stannis, and Renly, and glimpses of how they might have been different, had they let themselves love each other as brothers usually do.

Breakin’ Out the Institution [Suits]: “OK, so, before we start, a few things you should know about me. My name’s Mike Ross, not Rick Sorkin. I am a lawyer, I just didn’t go to Harvard. But you should hear me out anyway.”

Where Mike is actually a lawyer, a Brooklyn ADA looking for a change of pace, and gatecrashes Harvey's interviews entirely on purpose.

Lay Me Down (Pockets Full of Stones) [The Magicians]: The world spins, and Quentin doesn’t even feel his knees buckle, or how his head hits the wall on the way down. All he knows is the fall into the quiet dark.

In which Quentin survives the events of 4.13 by taking such bad care of himself he never actually makes it to the Mirror Realm. Also in which everyone loses him for a day, and Eliot is Not Happy about this.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yeah; I like getting responses to my comments so I do my best to reply to comments I get.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I had to go back to fanfiction.net for this because I never crossposted these to AO3, but Kiss My Eyes for The Tudors. It was Anne of Cleves/Cromwell, which was tragic mostly because it was historically compliant so a deathfic. Honorable mention, same fandom, was And In That Hour, Charles Brandon/Margaret Tudor and Charles Brandon/Henry VIII, unrequited love for the latter.

Fun fact about the latter, it was the first m/m fic I ever wrote; the deal was I’d write a slash fic if one of my forum friends did a femslash one.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Ha. Hahahahahaha. So, back when I was 17-18 I was working on a verse titled A Moment To Be Real, and it was a crossover verse that, taking all the relevant fics into account, included Charmed, Primeval, the Whoniverse, and NCIS in major capacities. In more minor capacities, the plans for the verse also included Fringe, Supernatural, Stargate SG1/Atlantis, and Warehouse 13. Oh, and there were two main timelines and two minor ones the stories spent time in. Heh. Yeah, that was a thing, yes it was way too big a project and I didn’t finish it, but I truly think that working to juggle all that was very helpful to my later work.

I don’t write a lot of major crossovers anymore, but I tend to just... live in the idea that certain canons can feasibly coexist so when I can do little crossover cameos I like to do them. One recent exception is return to the sunlit lands, which is a Magicians/Narnia crossover.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not recently; a long time ago back on ff.net, I left a comment that was misunderstood as hate (I said something was bad, meaning the characters’ situation, but the author thought I meant her writing) and the author of that fic responded in kind. Once I clarified, they were nicer in a subsequent review. I’ve been very lucky in that regard; I’ve had friends who have had to deal with a lot of drama in that sense.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I didn’t for a long time, but recently I’ve begun to! So far, it’s been m/m and f/f, though there was an intentionally-vague m/m/f scene and I’m... currently avoiding writing a more detailed one because I’m nervous as hell about it, lol.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, actually! Two of my older ASOIAF fics, All the Traveled Roads and I Will Not Fall, I Will Not Break have translations, which is just really neat to me.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

About ten years ago I was working on a joint project about modern day Tudors; never did get posted, alas. I’m not sure I’d be very well suited to co-writing a single story; co-writing a verse where different authors do different stories might work, though.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

God, I have no idea, but I still and always have strong feelings about Sam/Jack from Stargate SG1, so let’s go with that for longevity?

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

A Moment To Be Real, actually; it’s not so much that I want to finish it as that I know I won’t and I regret it. I have another verse that I probably won’t finish but one of these days I’ll at least post an outline of where I saw it going so that there will be some degree of closure. Pretty much every other fic has at least a faint chance I might go back to it, or I genuinely don’t want to.

What are your writing strengths?

Worldbuilding and handling the moving pieces of a canon divergent AU. I’ve also been told I’m pretty good with ensembles.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes, which is unfortunate when I find myself definitely needing to write a battle, and I suspect is part of my smut hang-ups too.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I have done it occasionally, but honestly I feel it’s usually easier to italicize English dialogue and put the other language in the narration - I think it’s probably easier to read, too.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Stargate SG1

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I couldn’t possibly pick one, really.

Tagging @theemightypen @cosmonauthill @jayneladybright @ofthedirewolves @portraitofemmy @nellie-elizabeth @mihrsuri

#kate writes fic #this took a while!

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argylemnwrites · 4 years

Text

Fight or Flight - Chapter 5: Judgement

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Heir (canon divergent from the end of book 2)

Word Count: ~3800

Rating: PG

Summary: Three hours since The Walker Absconding

Author’s Note: Remember in TRR3 when Hana planned to move in to Valtoria, even if not romanced? Well, even though canon seems to have forgotten this fact, I still remember it. Thus, in this series, Hana lives permanently at Valtoria, just in a separate wing from the Walkers.

This series follows the Walkers, their friends, and Cordonia as a whole after they flee the country with their daughter during Barthelemy Beaumont’s attempted coup. To catch up on this series, check out it’s masterlist. (link can be found via my bio - sorry, Tumblr is once again not putting my posts with links in tag searches)

“I’m sorry. But we aren’t risking coming back.”

Hana glanced up from the phone as Drake’s words cut through the room. She’d been preparing for this, mentally steeling herself for the confirmation. It still was shocking, though. How quickly everything was changing… for all of them.

She tried to read Olivia’s expression. She was expecting more fire and rage than she witnessed across her face, but instead she mainly saw exhaustion as her eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment and she let out a heavy breath through her nose. Certainly, some anger was visible. Her jaw was clenched and her red fingernails clutched the edge of Liam’s desk so tightly that Hana was concerned that she would damage the finish.

Seeing Olivia’s manicure prompted Hana to glance down at her own fingernails, painted a pale gold with just a bit of sparkle. She and Riley had watched a few rom coms last night as they did their fingers and toes, a tradition that had started back during Liam’s engagement tour. Riley had selected a shocking neon lime green this time, telling Hana she liked to keep the other nobles on their toes. Well, she had certainly done that today.

“I suppose you aren’t interested in hearing how terrible of an idea this is,” Olivia sighed out, interrupting Hana’s thoughts.

“Not really.”

“Well, I won’t be able to stop the treason charges. And you’ll be clearly guilty of the kidnapping, so I don’t know how you see this panning out here, Walker.”

There was a slight pause before Drake responded, “Uhhh… do we know who will be charging us with kidnapping yet?”

“You mean, are you going to force the hand of the man who has been with you through everything, who considers you his closest friend, or rather, who considers you to be his brother, to be the one who calls for your arrest?” Olivia’s voice was thick with malice and judgement, but her face was calm and calculated. Hana realized she wasn’t actually experiencing the emotions she was attempting to convey, at least nowhere near that intensely. She was trying to intentionally guilt Drake into agreeing to her original plan.

There was no response for several tense seconds. Hana began to wonder if Drake had hung up on them, but eventually, his voice came through the speaker of Olivia’s phone. “Yeah, that’s what I’m asking.”

Olivia grimaced slightly before answering, “We don’t know yet. A High Court justice will have to set up an emergency hearing to see who will hold power going forward. That hasn’t happened yet.”

“Okay… How’s… how’s Liam doing?”

“He’s fairly stressed, Drake. It’s a lot to handle - fighting a surprise coup, particularly when your allies start abandoning you and making a run for it.”

“Olivia… I…. I’m sorry. Can you tell him that?”

Olivia’s eyes rolled up in her head. She clearly wasn’t swaying him like she’d hoped she’d be able to do. “Tell me, Drake. Was this your brilliant plan, or was it your wife’s?”

“No.” Drake’s voice took on a sudden edge, clear even over speaker phone. “You are not going to try and divide us here. This is our family. You don’t get to judge the decisions we’ve made.”

“Okay, so obviously this was Riley’s idea. Put her on the phone.”

“No. She doesn’t have to listen to this shit.”

“She’s a grown woman. She doesn’t need you to play big, strong protector here. So hand her your damn phone.”

Hana wasn’t sure what tactics Olivia was planning to use to sway Riley, but if they were anything like the ones she’d tried on Drake, she knew it could turn ugly. Drake was more likely to internalize the pain Olivia threw at him, but Riley had a tendency to lash out. The last thing that needed to happen was to have Riley and Olivia devolve into bitter screaming.

“Wait!” Hana said, “Let me talk to Riley, Drake.”

Olivia raised an eyebrow, but didn’t object as a muffled, “Hana wants to talk to you,” drifted through the phone. There were a few seconds of rustling before Riley’s voice came across loud and clear.

“Hana?” She sounded a bit frail, almost as if she’d been crying. Hana couldn’t recall ever having seen her cry.

“Hi, Riley. How are you?”

“Not gonna lie; things have been better.”

Well, at least she still had some of her humor. “Look, sweetie. I just want to make sure you and Drake and Bridget are doing what’s best, okay? I want to be able to help you, in whatever ways you need.”

“Hana, I’m sorry. But we can’t come back. If Barthelemy comes out of this with the power of the Crown, there might not be a way to stop him from taking my daughter, and I can’t take that chance.”

Olivia opened her mouth to retort, but Hana shook her head vigorously. Riley fought back when she felt backed into a corner. It was essential to keep her from going on the defensive.

“Okay. Well, I don’t know how much help I’ll be able to provide you if you’re on the run. Are you sure you can’t come back and we can fight this together, like we always have done?”

She heard a little sniffle before Riley spoke again, “No… Hana, I’m sorry. She’s not your kid, and I just… I need to keep her away from all the assholes trying to take her from me.”

Hana closed her eyes and swallowed. It was obvious that Riley was not willing to consider alternatives, and she was stubborn enough that Hana knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere. With her last hope of being able to reunite their little found family completely shattered, Hana switched the focus of her conversation.

“I understand, Riley. You and Drake focus on keeping your little girl safe, okay? I’ll take care of the corgis and anything else you need me to handle at the estate.”

“Thank you, Hana,” Riley sighed, the relief evident in her voice.

“Well, I guess there’s nothing left for us to discuss at this point,” Olivia said, massaging her forehead with one hand. “Only answer your phones for either Hana or me at this point. We have to figure out how much to tell Liam, okay?”

“Why wouldn’t you tell him-”

“Riley, do you want to get charged with treason and have extradition orders sent out across the EU for your kidnapping today, or would you like a little time before that happens?”

Riley gave no response, but Olivia took her silence as agreement. “That is why Liam can’t know right now. But Hana and I will be in touch. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Do not answer your phones for anyone other than the two of us. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“Excellent. Goodbye.”

“Bye, Ol-” but Olivia ended the call before Riley could even finish saying goodbye. She let out a sigh and tipped her head back in her chair.

“Well… That was about what I expected,” she breathed out before looking at Hana. “Obviously, not a word of any of this to anyone until we get through the judicial hearing and figure out how much power Liam holds here.”

Hana nodded. She understood the need for secrecy at this point. What she didn’t understand was why Olivia was including her so fully in the entire process. “Why me?”

“Hmmm?”

“Why did you want me here for this?”

“Because two of us should know. This isn’t the sort of thing that goes well with only one person scrambling to keep things covered up. It makes that person look very guilty and shady. So, I needed someone here. Liam would be obligated to act, and Maxwell is a shitty liar, so that left you.”

The implications of her statement raced through Hana’s mind. “You think I’m a good liar?”

Olivia shrugged, “I think you can keep your cool better than Maxwell, that’s for sure. And maybe a few years ago I would have said ‘no,’ but now… I think you can probably keep up a convincing enough poker face.” And at that, she picked up her phone and started typing quickly.

“What are you doing?”

Olivia didn’t take her eyes off the screen as she kept typing. “I’m telling Ray he should buy them some basic supplies, you know, clothing, food, toiletries, that sort of thing, before he heads back. I’m letting him know I’ll reimburse those expenses.”

“Seriously?”

She gave another little shrug. “You heard them. I think they are being idiots, but there’s not going to be any way to change their minds at this point. So it’s time to move on to planning next stages. Once their disappearance is fully noticed, it’ll be a lot harder to help them. But for now, we just have to do what we can.”

Hana smiled at Olivia’s generosity. She knew she was right. Going forward - if Barthelemy succeeded - their group would likely be subject to increased surveillance due to their known close connections with Drake and Riley. And while Hana hoped that Liam’s lawyers might be able to put a stop to things, waiting to find out if that was the case would likely be too late. There were steps that needed to be taken now.

“I need to get to Valtoria, don’t I?” she asked. Olivia had an employee with them now, but Hana knew that her permanent residence at Valtoria would grant her opportunities to act without much suspicion, at least at the moment.

Olivia raised an eyebrow at her. “You up for that?”

Hana gave her a crisp nod. “It will go better if I can get things taken care of before anyone official comes looking for them there, won’t it?”

“Absolutely. You have a way to get there?”

She shook her head. “I mean, I know how to drive, but I don’t have a vehicle here.”

Olivia was silent for a few seconds, her eyes rolling up and darting back and forth. “You guys came via limo, right?”

She nodded. Given that it was the start of the Social Season, they’d used a limo service, even with Drake grumbling that they should have just taken their own car. He probably wanted that car even more at the moment.

“Right,” Olivia continued, “Call up the company you used and tell them someone from the Valtoria party is ill and that you’d like to move up the pick up to as soon as possible. Make sure you act like you have a migraine or something for the ride so you don’t cause immediate suspicion with that story.

“When you get home, be subtle where you can. Don’t hide routine documents that center around Valtoria’s day to day functioning. Just grab their personal documents. And only gather up a small chunk of their personal belongings. Obviously, it’s a judgement call on what to pack away, but try not to make it obvious that items are missing - leave their quarters looking lived in. Will the staff question your presence in their private rooms?”

Hana shook her head. “The staff are all gone. Drake and Riley hate having them there, so they pretty much always give them the day off if they are coming to the capital.”

“I never thought I would say this, but god bless Drake Walker and his unrefined ways. Do you have somewhere you can stash their things where they won’t be found until we figure out how to get them to them quietly?”

“I think so.”

“No, Hana. You need to know so. Because Liam can’t afford to have any more of his allies clearly committing criminal activity today, and if you are found to have been aiding them in their ‘kidnapping,’ well then…”

“I understand, Olivia. I’ll make sure things aren’t found.”

“Good. Well, we both have jobs to do, I guess.”

Hana took that as a dismissal. She stood, smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress as she walked out of Liam’s office. “Good luck, Olivia.”

“Same to you, Hana. Same to you.”

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

By the time a justice of the High Court had been summoned, legal briefs submitted, and an emergency session called, it was nearly 10:30 pm. Liam was hungry and more than ready for this day to be over, but he sat still at the prosecution desk in the courtroom, dressed in his regalia. He hoped it sent a clear message that this title was still his.

The courthouse was eerily quiet at this hour, and both teams had brought limited personnel. At each desk were two lawyers, plus the official named parties on the case - Barthelemy and Liam himself. The gallery was nearly empty as well, with only Olivia, Bertrand, and Maxwell seated on Liam’s side of the courtroom and Adelaide and Landon on the other. Kiara was not in attendance. He wondered where she was and what she might be doing instead of coming to this hearing. He also wondered if Barthelemy’s team had noticed the absence of Drake and Riley in a similar fashion. All he could hope was that they assumed that it was too late for them to be here with Bridget.

The case was being heard by Lilith Questa, a woman in her late 60s and the second longest serving of the five justices on the High Court. High Justice Questa wasn’t the most favorable justice from Liam’s perspective, but she wasn’t the least favorable either. She had served on the High Court since Liam was a teenager, and she often took a no-nonsense stance in the decisions she wrote. She usually erred on the side of strict adherence to the letter of the law, which should help them, but had little patience for bureaucratic red tape and nobility that tried to squirm through loopholes. He wasn’t sure if that would hurt his side or Barthelemy’s side more. Realistically, it probably meant she would have limited patience for both camps.

“Please stand for High Justice Lilith Questa, Representative of Our King’s Court.”

In spite of the usher’s instructions, Liam remained firmly seated in his chair as the justice walked in, clearly still shrugging on her robes over jeans and a sweatshirt, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail instead of her usual bun. This might be her court, but all the courts were technically his. All justices represented him and his law. Reigning monarchs were in fact the only ones not required to rise in Cordonian courtrooms, and he was not going to give so clear a visual signal that his power was in question by standing for the justice. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the defense desk. Barthelemy also remained in his chair.

“This is an emergency hearing of the High Court in the matter of His Majesty, King Liam, versus Lord Barthelemy Beaumont. All parties have been sworn in, Your Honor,” said the court’s usher.

The justice nodded as she sank into her seat, the rest of the room returning to their chairs a moment later. “Alright, let’s get things started here. It’s late, and someone needs to be running this country,” she quipped, fanning out a stack of papers on the bench in front of her. “I’ve read your briefings. His Majesty is arguing that the vote conducted by the Conventus Nobilis is invalid because it was called by an improper party, is that correct?”

Liam felt a little jolt of relief. The fact that she still referred to him as “His Majesty” was a likely indication that she was siding with him. He could tell Diana, the head of his legal team, had noticed that as well as tension fell from her shoulders as she stood to address the justice. He didn’t want to count his apples before they ripened, but this was a very good sign.

“Yes, Your Honor. The statutes pertaining to the Conventus Nobilis clearly state that only the head of a major noble house may call such a session. Lord Barthelemy Beaumont does not hold that title.”

“I’m inclined to agree with His Majesty’s lawyers here,” High Justice Questa said with a little nod, her eyes roving over papers as she spoke. “Lord Beaumont, doesn’t the fact that I am addressing you a ‘lord’ and not ‘duke’ tend to indicate that you are not the head of House Beaumont?”

“Your Honor,” said Charles, the lawyer representing Barthelemy, as he stood, “Barthelemy has been gradually resuming duties as head of House Beaumont as he has recovered his health over the past year. In fact, Duke Beaumont is set to travel to the States to visit his in-laws for the entire Social Season, and he signed documentation handing over all daily duties to my client here. I’ve included that document in my briefing.”

“Yes, I saw that. However, the fact that the Conventus Nobilis hasn’t been called in several hundred years would indicate to me that it doesn’t exactly fall under ‘daily duties,’ Charles.”

“Be that as it may, Your Honor, Cordonia has a long established precedent of dividing official duties of the noble houses between members of that house as they see fit, and that document we provided does afford Barthelemy Beaumont the powers of head of household while Duke Beaumont is unavailable.”

The justice looked up from her papers at that, eyes staring down the occupants of the defense desk with a withering intensity. “Charles, can you tell me who is the man seated behind His Majesty?” she asked, gesturing to the gallery seating behind Liam.

Charles turned and looked, pausing for a moment before he responded, “That would be Duke Beaumont, Your Honor.”

“So, he’s clearly not unavailable,” she said, raising her eyebrows and shaking her head, “but nice try.”

Liam kept his face neutral, but he wanted to grin so badly. He heard a tiny little snort behind him, likely Olivia revelling in High Justice Questa’s snide little exercise. It was becoming painfully clear that she viewed this whole endeavor as a waste of her time and resented having to appear for this emergency session at all.

“Lord Beaumont recused himself from the vote!” Charles cried out in obvious frustration with the way this hearing was proceeding.

“Yes, but the vote was never proper and should not have occurred. And in fact, Lord Beaumont wasn’t the only one who did not have the right to be there. The records submitted by both parties indicate that Lady Kiara Theron voted for House Theron, and while Duke Theron may have relinquished some of his duties to his daughter to facilitate an upcoming formal transition of power, participation in the Conventus Nobilis cannot be assigned to anyone other than the proper head of house.

“As far as I can see it, this is a clear case of an improper summoning of the Conventus Nobilis. Therefore, any actions taken by that body are not recognized by the High Court of Cordonia. I find in favor of His Majesty. This matter is now closed.” And with a bang of her gavel, High Justice Questa rose from her bench, gathered up her papers, and swept out of the courtroom. This time, Barthelemy stood with the rest of the room.

Diana turned to face Liam once the door swung shut behind the justice. “Congratulations, Your Majesty!”

He gave her a gentle smile. “It’s you and your team who deserve the congratulations. You compiled all the briefs in record time.”

She bowed her head slightly as she accepted the compliment. “Is there anything else you require from my team tonight?”

Liam glanced over to the defense team. Barthelemy was conferring with Adelaide, frantic whispers being exchanged between the two. After a moment, he gestured towards Landon, who stood up and joined them.

Liam felt a tap on his arm, so he turned his attention towards Olivia. Her eyes were locked on the same brewing conversation. “He’s still scheming,” she said, a scowl etched across her face. “I bet he’s convincing one of them to call the Conventus Nobilis again for another vote since he can’t.”

He knew she was probably right. It was unlikely, after all, that a coup would be halted this easily. “I’m inclined to agree. Bertrand, I’m afraid I’m going to ask you to postpone your trip to Texas. I need your vote.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Bertrand said with a solemn nod.

“It’ll be Hakim instead of Kiara voting. Maybe we could flip him?” mused Olivia.

Liam shook his head. “Maybe, but it seems unlikely Lady Kiara and him didn’t discuss how she would be voting for their house. It may be worth a chance, but contacting him should wait until morning at this point.”

Olivia nodded in agreement, but at that moment, Landon came over and approached Bertrand and Olivia. “Duke Beaumont, Duchess Nevrakis, I’m calling a meeting of the Conventus Nobilis tomorrow at the palace. This is your formal notification. Do you understand?”

“I do,” said Bertrand, hesitating for just a moment before shaking Landon’s offered hand.

“Oh, I’ll be there,” said Olivia, merely raising an eyebrow when Landon reached out to shake her hand, forcing him to awkwardly drop his arm and turn away after a few moments.

Liam let out a sigh. “I’m afraid I’ll still be requiring your team this evening, Diana.”

She gave him a small little smile and nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty. We’ll reconvene in Lady Olivia’s quarters?”

“Sounds perfect. How about I bring some late night sustenance for your lawyers?”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that-”

“I insist. I know I’m starving, and I’m guessing your team feels similarly.”

As Diana thanked him and left to return to the palace, Liam turned to Olivia tilting his head to the side. She stepped a few meters away from Bertrand and Maxwell, watching to see if they were paying attention out of the corner of her eye, but as far as Liam could tell, they were wrapped up in their own conversation.

“Did you speak to Drake and Riley?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

“I did,” she replied, but her tone and her expression revealed nothing else.

“And?”

“They are safe.”

Liam’s heart sank. The fact that she was refusing to divulge more information was essentially proof that Drake had fled the country with Riley and Bridget. A wave of loneliness and isolation washed over him, but he quickly tried to squash it down. He still had Olivia and Maxwell and Bertrand and Hana. He needed to handle this rationally. “Anything else I should know from your conversation?”

There was a brief pause before Olivia answered, “Not at this point, I don’t think. You should just focus on working with your lawyers to prepare a case for tomorrow, when the no confidence vote will likely be legitimate.”

He swallowed roughly, and she must have noticed, because she reached out and squeezed his hand while giving him a sad little smile. Taking a deep breath, he nodded at her. “Come on; we need to return to the palace. We have a Crown to save.”

Permatag: @walkerswhiskeygirl @riley--walker @bebepac @ravenpuff02 @oofchoices @octobereighth @drakewalker04 @kimmiedoo5 @mfackenthal @thequeenofcronuts

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @ao719 @mskaneko @katedrakeohd @jovialyouthmusic @marshmallowsandfire @axwalker @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie

Drake x MC: @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @notoriouscs @drakesensworld @drake-colt-lover-99

Fight or Flight: @masterofbluff @burnsoslow @bobasheebaby @shz256 @iaminlovewithtrr

#drake walker #drake x mc #trr fanfic #trr au #trh fanfic #trh au #trr au fanfic #trh au fanfic #king liam #hana lee #olivia nevrakis #choices fanfiction

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gojira007 · 4 years

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MORE SONSAL HEADCANONS! MOOOOORE!!!

Once again, @ninjakasuga wrote up a series of SonSal Headcanon Prompts, and once again I’ve been tagged to contribute. And also once again, I’ve decided to go whole-hog with it, so enjoy some more SonSal 8D

1.) What would a normal non-eventful evening at home for the two be like?

The sun sets. Sonic decides to take one last run around the village; Sally watches. She doesn’t exactly know why she finds it as soothing as she does; maybe it’s just familiarity (or after a certain point nostalgia). Whatever the reason, though, it’s always a comfort. He comes back in after a while; she’s picked out a book the two of them can read together. He always gets really into it when they read together, snuggled up on the couch; he starts up whole conversations about details he finds especially funny or Dramatic. They’ll have something simple to eat (”something” meaning Chili Dogs for Sonic, like, 99% of the time, but he does like to at least occasionally try out whatever it is Sally’s having), maybe discuss plans for the following day...and then, eventually, without even entirely realizing it, they’ve fallen asleep on top of each other.

2.) Adoption! Yes/No, Why?

We talked about this a little bit last time, but I do think, if Sonic and Sally were going to have another kid, they’d lean toward Adoption. Partially because it’s what they know; they effectively did the same thing with Tails, after all, so they have a good sense of what it looks like. But also, it would in fact be their way of Giving Back, so to speak, of making sure that a kid who lost their family the same way they did would get to have the same kind of support that they did, and that they provided for Tails when he was growing up. Their hearts, to my mind, would just very naturally go out to a kid in that kind of situation.

3.) Their Anniversary approaches! What would each do?

It eventually becomes a bit of a tradition for Sonic to write Sally a song as his anniversary present; the first time through, it is, of course, A Big Deal, but he eventually realizes it means just that little bit more to make it something private, something small and special that the two of them get to share just for themselves. Sally, meanwhile, uses NICOLE to create a new holographic Racing Course for Sonic that she makes sure is loaded with tricks and tough turns; she knows how much he loves a challenge, and agrees to time him on each one. And every year, at the end of the day, they go to the Lake of Rings and just...sit together, watching the water and the stars.

4.) Favorite Vacation they took as a couple?

Angel Island, absolutely. Partially because it meant sweet-talking Knuckles into letting them do so in the first place, which they both found way, way too fun. But mostly because they so often visited Angel Island in the past only during times of Crisis; they’d never gotten the chance to just...be there before. And as it turns out, the gigantic tropical paradise that also gives you a bird’s eye view of the entire planet makes for a gorgeous location. Besides which, there is so much to do there that they both just love; discovering new mysterious kinds of plants (Sally started up a whole journal just for them!), racing through the jungle, watching all the unique sorts of wild animals that live there...the whole place really is just wonderful, and they’re only sad that they don’t get to see it like that more often.

5.) A special gift they gave the other that really touched their heart.

* Once, while venturing into Robotropolis, Sally wound up having to hide out in Uncle Chuck’s old laboratory. Robotnik had unsurprisingly stripped the place bare of any potentially useful equipment or data a long time ago...but there was one thing he hadn’t noticed: a small lock-box. Upon investigating it, Sally discovered something she’d never seen before: a faded photograph of Sonic as a child (even younger than when they’d first met!) with Chuck at the future site of the Lake of Rings. Sally managed to take the box and photo with her back to Knothole without Sonic knowing. The photo’s colors had faded all but completely, likewise the film it was printed on was so fragile that even the slightest upset could break the whole thing. So she secretly worked with NICOLE to create a restored version of the picture, which she then gifted to Sonic alongside an explanation of where it had come from.

* Sonic remembered once when he and Sally were kids, she showed him “the Acorn Royal Family Tree”: literally, a small, unique kind of tree planted in the palace gardens. It used to be a tradition each year for the Royal Family to visit the tree together and see what new blossoms had managed to spring up on it. Unsurprisingly, the tree was destroyed when Robotnik took over...but as it happened, Sonic was able to discover the seeds during one of his globe-hopping adventures. He thus privately planted and nurtured it, and once it had begun to fully mature, he made sure to show Sally, promising her that she could visit the tree with her Knothole family the way she had with her father.

6.) Sally’s pregnant, how do they handle the pregnancy ups and downs

Ironically, it becomes something like an Inversion of their usual selves: Sonic goes full Worrywart, freaking out every time Sally’s stomach feels funny or she gets a bit too sweaty or Literally Whatever. Sally, by contrast, becomes much more impulsive; if she wants to eat, she’ll eat. If she feels like taking a nap, boom, nap time. They both love trying to think up names together, too; indeed, they take to brainstorming them almost once every week (and one suspects it takes them as long as it does because they enjoy the Game of it too much to let it go; seeing how absurd their suggestions can go before they can get the other to laugh is a particular favorite).

7.) Parenting, how do they tackle it together?

You would think much the same way they did with Tails, and indeed if there’s any one thing they do take away from that, it’s their ability to work together in making sure the kid get support, attention, protection, and love. But, assuming this new kid comes after the end of the War (which I choose to believe, because I absolutely don’t think they would intentionally have a kid during the War), the truth is, much like with the pregnancy, it plays out almost like the reverse: Sonic is a very protective Dad, and wants to make sure his kid doesn’t have to learn about the harshness of the world until they absolutely have to. Sally, meanwhile, works very hard to give the kid access to new ideas and experiences; she is very eager to give her kid the kind of childhood she’d always wanted. Still, while this occasionally leads to disagreements on How Much Is Too Much/Too Soon, at the end of the day they are every bit as much a Team as parents as they were as Freedom Fighters, and as such they do a really good job of delegating and sharing responsibilities.

8.) Which of them is the parent to freak out most when their kid/s get into the dating age?

Honestly? They both take it pretty well. Assuming their kid ends up showing much interest in dating to begin with, by that point they’ve both learned to trust their kid enough that while they will absolutely be mindful for signs of unhappiness or Cause For Alarm, they’re also not going to interfere too much; even Sonic The Protective Dad knows well enough how important it is to give kids space to make their own choices on this front.

9.) Who starfishes the most?

Sally, absolutely and without question. Like...Sonic can get tuckered out sometimes, but not much, and when he does it’s an easy enough thing for him to nap off. But when Sally gets exhausted? She gets EXHAUSTED. And that means a good, long Starfishing is in order. Sonic does like teasing her about this sometimes, but for the most part he honestly finds it adorable.

10.) Oh no, one of them is sick, how do they handle tending to their loved one?

Here, at last, we see them very much in the Modes we would expect: Sally goes Full Doctor, checking every bit of medical data she can find, comparing symptoms, preparing five gajillion different treatments (in descending order of Back-Up In Case The Previous Treatment Doesn’t Work), that sort of thing. Sonic, meanwhile, is more reactive; whatever Sally needs, she just has to ask and he’ll do it in a flash. Hot soup? Cold press? Another blanket? Name it, it’s done.

#sonic the hedgehog #satam sonic #archie sonic #sally acorn #sonsal #headcanon #gojira007

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yodawgiheardyoulikeponies-racism · 4 years

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Yodawgiheardyoulikeponies is Anti-Native

the blog @.yodawgiheardyoulikeponies has shown recently that they do not respect native people by continuing to refuse to acknowledge that the pony Wigwam is a racist caricature of the indigenous people of the great plains. Trigger warning for Anti-Native racism.

This started when they posted a picture of the gen 1 pony in response to an ask:

[I.D. A generation 1 orange pony with half lidded eyes and wearing a plastic approximation of a war bonnet posed for a photo.]

As you can see the pony has a Plains war bonnet used as decoration despite being named after a type of lodging called Wigwam by North-Eastern tribes. This demonstrates a lack of care or understanding by the creators about native cultures and as a result makes it a racist caricature of native people. When this was pointed out to them they responded as such:

[I.D. An ask by anonymous reading "you know that wigwam pony is based on a racist caricature, right? it's pretty insensitive to post, especially without any criticism..." in response user Yodawgiheardyoulikeponies says "None of my posts are ever intentionally offensive, and I'm sorry you feel this way. Unfortunately, this toy was made at a different time. However to ignore or to avoid that this pony ever existed would be wrong, as if we do not reflect on our mistakes we cannot learn from them. The lack of criticism I believe comes from the fact that the collector community is aware of this, but does not intend to offend anyone by owning or taking photos of this toy."]

They ignored the fact that the anon is asking for the pony to not be posted without criticism of the anti-native caricature and instead deflects by saying that the collector community is simply not intending to offend anyone by owning or taking pictures of this toy, since the toy was made at a different time when this kind of racism was more commonplace or more acceptable.

A different anon came to the blog’s defense:

[ID: An anonymous ask reading “wigwam may be based off an outdated racist caricature but he says native rights” with the response from yodawgiheardyoulikeponies being “THAT’S RIGHT!!” with the tags “leave wigwam alone, he did nothing wrong”]

This shows that the blog owner doesn’t take this racism seriously, instead treating it like the toy is being “flamed” or made fun of for being strange or unconventional. Additionally, the blog owner has not indicated in any way that they are native themselves, even though, arguably, this has brought ample opportunities to do so, yet they (and by extension this anon) feel that they have the authority to speak on what anti-native caricatures can be reclaimed.

Further, in response to at least this anonymous ask (provided by a blogger who will remain unnamed), the blog owner chose to make this post:

[ID: A post by yodawgiheardyoulikeponies that reads “To the anon who keeps giving me hate mail over G1 Wigwam: Can you not. I just got assaulted badly by a patient and I have better to do. It’s a toy. No one else has a problem with it at all in the collecting community.]

This guilt tripping behavior in the face of being called out for racism is immature and shows little compassion for the native people who do, in fact, care about this caricature.

This is the aforementioned ask:

[ID: a screenshot of a saved ask through xkit’s outbox that reads: “unless you are native, you don’t get to decide whether or not a racist caricature of native people “says native rights” or not. that’s a really childish way to approach this issue. just because the toy was made when this was more appropriate doesn’t mean it isn’t offensive and harmful, and again, you don’t to decide that’s true or not unless you are native. and the opinion of one native being that it’s fine doesn’t make it fine for every native person. this is very disappointing.]

The final part of that ask is in reference to some supportive anons the blog received:

[ID: An anonymous message that reads “I’m native and have been active in my community since I was a child, i’ve shown him to my husband and a few of my cousins all of native descent and all 6 of us agree that he is not racist” with the response by yodawgiheardyoulikeponies being three hearts.]

As the ask provided states, the opinion of one native person that this is okay does not outweigh the opinion of another that it is-- both the person posting this callout and the anonymous provider are native. Even if it were not racist, which is an opinion a native person can hold for themselves, all that was being asked of the blog owner was to post it critically. It is objectively better for everyone if the concerns of the few are listened to, especially in a situation like this, anyway.

To conclude this issue, yodawgiheardyoulikeponies made this uncouth post:

[ID: A post by yodawgiheardyoulikeponies that reads “I’m gonna solve the whole controversial pony thing right now” followed by a photo of Wigwam and a second G1 pony, Gypsy, whose name is a racial slur used against the Rromani people, standing together. The next photo shows the two ponies with their noses touching like they are kissing. The text beneath reads “Problem solved” and the tags include “wigwam, gypsy, valentine’s day, love”]

Once again, the problem of racism is ignored instead of simply acknowledged. It hardly needs to be said that making a racist caricature love another racist caricature removes the problem of racism.

This callout is NOT a call for harassment, it is simply shining light on a sensitive issue that was handled exceptionally poorly by a fairly popular blogger in the MLP collectors’ circles here.

#yodawgiheardyoulikeponies #mlp collector #mlp g1 #anti native racism #my little pony #g1 wigwam #g1 gypsy

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77marvelimagines · 5 years

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Focus, Please? Part Two

Stephen Strange X Female!Reader

Prompt(s): Reader is retired from the Avengers and has married Dr. Stephen Strange. When the events of Infinity War occurred she was dragged back into the throes of fighting. What happened after Thanos snapped and after the Avengers brought everyone back?

Note(s): Whoo, July has been one busy month for me! Sorry about the weird upload schedule. I’m back now though, and I’ve brought a much-requested sequel, now with celebration, sarcasm, and victory! I hope y’all enjoy! :D Warning(s): Language.

Word Count: 861.

“Did we do it?!”

“We won?”

“Holy shit, we won!”

“FUCK YOU, GRAPE MAN!”

Cheers and whoops of celebration rang out from the destroyed clearing. (y/n) had only been to the new compound once but she knew that nothing was salvageable. Laying in the dirt and debris, body thrumming with the familiar pain of having fought a stupidly hard-fought battle, she lifted her head and gazed over at Tony. She still had a death-grip on his forearm, much like everyone else in their dogpile.

That was another reason why her body hurt; the Infinity Stones were some tough bitches! If someone had told her that the first thing she was going to do after dying for five years was to try and corral the force of six incredibly dangerous stones, well, she would have laughed in their face. Now though, she almost wished she’d known beforehand. Holding them things felt like she’d intentionally submerged herself five miles under the ocean surface without any sort of protection.

In short: it felt like hell.

“Tony?” She groaned and tapped his shoulder, just inches from where Steve’s hand still rested. “Hey, Tony, you still with us?”

“Regrettably, yes,” came his garbled response. A rough bout of laughter went around the dogpile. “You know, (y/n), I haven’t once had any good interactions with your husband? He could have at least warned me I was about to get slapped around by the paperweights of destiny.”

“Oh my God,” (y/n) snorted, “you know exactly why he didn’t tell you.”

“He doesn’t treat you this way, right? Not telling you shit?”

“Tony.”

“Listen, I know Thor and Carol probably took the brunt of the stones, and I can’t feel my arm and my vision is blurry as fuck, also my ears are kinda ringing, but it’s important to me that Merlin the Magician over here wasn’t treating you like shit in the soul stone-”

“Oh my God, Tony, please, shut up,” (y/n) laughed, pushing herself up so she could see the extent of the damage Tony mentioned. She couldn’t help the surprised “Euuuuu” she gave at the sight. “As much as you hate Stephen, you’re gonna need a doctor for that, Tones.”

“Not him, I swear not him-”

A certain somebody staggered onto his knees beside them at that exact moment. “You’ve had five years to get over this shit,” Stephen gasped, “and no, I don’t treat (y/n) like this, only superheroes named Iron Man who are too self-sacrificing for their own good. Now hold still and let me see your arm- Wong, can you bring me something for the stones? We gotta get ‘em out of here!”

The magicians around the clearing made way for Wong, who came and collected the Infinity Stones and left again. The entire time Stephen checked over Tony’s arm, eyes, and ears while the two endlessly bickered. For once (y/n) didn’t try and stop them; neither did her old (and new) teammates, who watched both because they were too tired to move and because the sight was enrapturing. This was as great as post-battle entertainment got.

“Oh, speaking of wives, can someone go tell mine that I’m not dead? And that we’re totally celebrating the fact that I defeated the Mad Testicle Man of Destiny?”

Stephen pulled a face in both annoyance and disgust. “TMI, Stark. Could you hold still? Do you want to save your arm or not?”

“One, get your head out of the gutter, and two, prosthetics are a thing for a reason, Gandolf. Also, speaking of TMI, if you go back home and start macking on my teammate just because I’m not there to protect her-”

“Boys!” (y/n) laughed. She hit Tony on his good shoulder, ignored his whine, and purposely leaned forward to steal a kiss from her surprised and focused husband. “As much as I appreciate all the bantering over my wellbeing, I’m perfectly fine, thank you Tony. Besides, maybe I want to celebrate with my husband. It appears we’ve missed five years, after all.”

Stephen grinned and purposefully did something that made Tony glare through his wince of discomfort. “Yes, Stark, perhaps my wife wants to celebrate with me.”

“You’re disgusting, Doctor! Steve, take (y/n) and run, keep her safe! I’ll handle the madman!”

“I’m not doing that,” Steve snorted. He was too busy catching his breath and laying in the dirt not even two feet above Tony’s head. (y/n) snickered as she brushed Tony’s hair back from his head. Beside them, Stephen got up and activated his sling ring. The sparks casted an orange glow over Tony’s features.

“You did good, Tony.”

He smiled. “Thanks, (y/n). But seriously, the moment David Copperfield over here says or does anything across the line you let me know-”

“Stark, how many times do we have to have this conversation-”

(y/n) laughed as Stephen levitated Tony and brought him into an infirmary probably somewhere in New York. Pepper had materialized beside her at some point to watch the ‘show.’ The two wives shared a look of complete understanding and adoration as they followed their husbands in.

“Men.”

Tag list:

@princess76179 @kalechipps @a-confused-blogger @agent-valkyrie-romanoff @bad-black-angel @pieceofsupersoldiertrash @chari-a @bambamwolf87

#Stephen Strange #Stephen Strange X Reader #Stephen Strange Imagine #Doctor Strange #Doctor Strange X Reader #Doctor Strange Imagine #The Avengers #The Avengers X Reader #The Avengers Imagine #Avengers X Reader #Avengers Imagine #Marvel #Marvel X Reader #Marvel Imagine #Avengers Endgame #Avengers Endgame X Reader #Avengers Endgame Imagine

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yourpharma360 · 4 years

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How Ambien Works ?

The Ambien defense was also utilized in the event of Julie Ann Bronson, a flight attendant from Texas. Bronson took a few Ambien to help her sleep. She went to bed early, and was drinking wine earlier in the afternoon. She awakened in jail, still in her pajamas, barefoot and terrified. She was horrified when she had been told that she had run such as an 18-month-old woman who suffered severe brain damage as a result of the mess. "It was surreal. It was just like a bad dream." In May of 2012, Bronson pleaded guilty to the felonies of intoxication assault and failure to stop and render aid. "I did the crime but I never planned to do it," she testified. "I wouldn't hurt a flea. And if I would have hit on somebody, I'd have stopped and helped. Ten decades bronson faced, but as a result of this Ambien defense, she will serve six months in prison and have ten years of probation.

What is Ambien 10mg

It was only in Patrick Kennedy's 2006 middle-of-the-night vehicle accident and explanation to arriving officers that he had been running late to get a vote the eccentric side effects of Ambien began to receive national attention. Kennedy claimed the sleeping aid had been obtained by him and had no recollection of those events and Buy Ambien Online Overnight .

On March 29, 2009, 45, Robert Stewart, stormed to the Pinelake Health and Rehab nursing home in Carthage, North Carolina and opened fire, killing eight people and wounding two. Stewart target was his estranged wife, who was employed as a nurse. She hid in a bathroom and was unharmed. Though there was evidence that Stewart's actions were premeditated (he allegedly had a target), Stewart's defense team successfully argued that since he was under the effect of Ambien, a sleep aid, at the time of the shooting, he was not in control of his activities. Instead of the fees Stewart was convicted on eight counts of second-degree murder. 142 -- 179 years was received by him.

Ambien Overdose

As a result of this Schweigert verdict, an attorney used the Ambien defense by asserting his client's arrest had been shifted six months following by the drug's labeling to overturn a 2006 DWI conviction for a New Jersey woman. The court agreed, stating it would be an"injustice to hold her accountable for the side effects of a popular and readily available medication that she was lawfully prescribed and properly handled." Not many prosecutors will consider the Ambien defense, and its position within criminal rules that are established is tenuous. It doesn't actually fall under"voluntary intoxication," in which somebody is responsible for their intoxication and some other events that happen as a consequence of that intoxication. The Ambien defendants took the medication, but they weren't aware they were drugging themselves in a means that could produce anything other. The defendants knowingly took the medicine, because they're recorded as potential side effects in the information, and also the responses weren't unpredictable. In the end, there's the"unconsciousness/sleepwalking" defense, where the individual is not responsible for the crime if he did not intentionally cause the sleepwalking or unconsciousness. So that this defense does not really apply the whole motivation for taking Ambien at the first area is to create unconsciousness.

Ambien 5mg vs Ambien 10mg

After its approval, Ambien Dose rose to dominance in the sleep aid industry. Travelers declared by it to fight jet lag, and girls, who suffer more insomnia purchased it. Sanofi, the French manufacturer of Ambien, made $2 billion in earnings in its summit. In 2007 Ambien's generic version was published, Zolpidem, and in less than $2 a tablet, it remains among the most prescribed medications in the usa, outselling painkillers such as prescription and Percocet strength ibuprofen. Not everyone who engages in bizarre behavior of accepting Ambien as a result ends up in trouble. And a few people today enjoy the large they get from the drug so much they are willing to miss the blackouts and effects that result. Recreational users started out taking the drug to treat insomnia, but discovered that if they fought the sleep-inducing effect of the drug, they could get really high. "It's like having that drink in the pub when you realize you need to go home -- I would combat the pill's effects and stay up, often telling my friends mad things like how to turn the light inside the room in energy, or the way that paintings of forest scenes in their walls were actually drawings of mermaids bathing themselves into blood," writes one young woman whose dependence on Ambien caused increasingly bizarre and alienating behavior. She continued staying awake regularly until one morning she awakened with a cut and two black eyes across her nose and taking the pill. Her cushions were bloody, and a stranger was, wrapped in a rug, on her floor and naked. This situation jarring, was not sufficient to get her to give Ambien up; the high was too good. It wasn't until she was discovered wandering the Brooklyn streets in the middle of the night, almost nude, that she managed to give it up.

Guideline For Ambien 10mg

Ironically, you are likely to succeed with the Ambien defense should you injure or kill someone than if you crash into a car or a tree. DWI laws just need the prosecution to show that the defendant got and was loaded into a vehicle to drive. There's no requirement. When someone is hurt, nevertheless, it is up to the prosecutor to demonstrate that the suspect was conscious enough to become guilty of the crime. It's hard to claim that they have knowledge of their actions, if people on Ambien are behaving in an automatic, or unconscious state. That's why people prefer Lindsey Schweigert get permits while Donna Neely, that was sleep-driving on Ambien and murdered a mother of 11, was acquitted of vehicular manslaughter. Tiger Woods was also famously associated with Ambien when one of his mistresses claimed that she and the golfer could have"crazy Ambien sex" Ambien reduces inhibitions and erases memories, an perfect combination for someone who's cheating on his spouse. The buzz created by the drug seems to boost sex. One girl described feeling"quite relaxed and sensuous" when she had sex on Ambien. "I suddenly have floaty energy. . I am tired, but lively. It's almost like I'm at a state. I could compare it somewhat to weed, but nothing I've done really contrasts, in all honesty."

Ambien is one of the best dose

Lindsey Schweigert took one Ambien Sleeping Pills prior to getting into bed at 6pm. She woke up with no idea how she'd gotten there. In the following weeks, Schweigert pieced together the events of the night. She'd gotten out of bed, drawn a tub, and left the house. After leaving her house she began driving to a local restaurant but crashed shortly. She was explained by police as glassy-eyed and swaying. The flipside to Ambien's supposed attributes is the fact that it's becoming increasingly used as a date rape drug. Actually, the single case of"sleep-sex" that appeared at an 2008 medical journal review of case reports on Ambien-related sleep behaviors involved the Ambien taker being raped. The identical absence of inhibition together with amnesia which makes it possible for people indulge in behavior that is dishonest, to commit offenses, and also have sex on Ambien is an ideal formulation for a sexual predator. Ambien is also readily accessible and more widely accessible than rohypnol, the drug related to date rape.

Ambien Overnight

Schweigert had. She had never been in trouble with the law and was scared of losing her job and having a criminal record. Prosecutors initially wanted to inflict a six month jail sentence as well as other punishments, but Schweigert's lawyer contended that Lindsey's bizarre behaviour on the night in question was a result of a drug which cautioned right on the tag that"After taking AMBIEN, you may get up from bed whilst not being completely awake and perform an activity that you do not understand you are doing. In fact, the attorney argued, Schweigert must have been taken to jail, not to a hospital. Prosecutors dropped the charges and enabled Lindsey to plead to the lesser charge.

Shortly Ambien users resisted Sanofi because of eccentric behaviours while. Based on attorney for the class action suit, Susan Chana Lask, folks were eating things like buttered eggs and cigarettes, complete with all the shells, while under the sway of Ambien. He blames Ambien, but for lapses in his memory within five decades and an extended period of writer's block. "...a great deal of my memory is gone. If you've ever taken Ambien, I don't know, but it's kind of a memory-eraser. This shit wiped out five decades of my life. People might tell me stories, and it's like,"I did that?" Eminem has maintained a few of his writing from this period, confessing to Rolling Stone that"It fucking out me...Letters all down the page -- it was like my hands weighed 400 pounds. I have that shit. As a reminder that I don't ever wish to go back."

Final Words

A part of the category of drugs known as hypnotics, ambien, was accepted by the FDA in 1992. It was designed for short-term use to fight insomnia and was a welcome change in the prevailing sleep aid at the moment, Halcion, which had been implicated in psychosis, suicide, and addiction and had been banned in half a dozen countries. Ambien works by activating the neurotransmitter GABA and binding it at precisely the exact same place as the benzodiazepines such as Xanax and Valium. The extra GABA action triggered by the drug inhibits. To put it differently, the brain is slowed down by it. Ambien is effective at initiating sleep working within 20 minutes. Unless it's taken in the release type, it does not, however, have an impact on sustaining sleep.

#ambien amb amb10mg

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pleasurextreasure · 5 years

Text

❜cutlass (14/?)

genre: Aristocrat!reader x Pirate!Jeno, ft. NCT Dream

warnings: all nct Dream members are above 18+, multi-chapter, swear words here and there throughout fic

word count: 1.2k

prompts: in which Jeno is cursed to live for three more years and only loving someone and expecting nothing in return can break it

a/n: hi how are you ➵admin kiki

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Current

Ξ r e q u e s t Ξ

“How unmannered have you become over the mere months you were with those criminals?” he sneers, watching your handmaiden broom the shattered pieces of your mirror into a pile. “How rebellious will you continue to act?”

“Until my days of living come to an end,” you mumble, purposely allowing your voice to carry over to his ears.

“That can be arranged if you are to continue with this behavior.” Your father snarls in return. He eyes the ragged tears and fallen cloths of your dress, “Prepare yourself for guests this afternoon.”

You make no indication of replying back to him, and instead watch the maid continue her endeavor of carefully picking up the glass. You glance down towards your hands, paying no mind to the scattered, shallow cuts that marked your skin. Upon ripping your dress, you had been careless when handling the sharp pieces and nicked yourself one too many times.

“Despicable.” Your father mutters, shaking his head. “God knows how much I wanted a son, but instead, he’s gifted me a devil-child and a wife who is incapable of producing anymore children.” The maid finishes her duty and cautiously exits the room, your father following behind. He swiftly shuts the door and demands your attendance in the living room no later than one.

You fall onto your bed, gingerly bringing your thighs up and against your chest. You stifle a whimper against your clothed knees, squeezing your eyes shut. “Jeno, you selfish man.”

⚓⚓

The living area felt stiff, and the silence was nearly deafening to be surrounded in. Your parents were intentionally leaving you out of their conversation as they went over the news of some politician’s re-election. It wasn’t as though you’d participate in it, anyway.

Your focus was on the grandfather clock that was stowed to the side of the room, watching its hands move at a steady pace, switching the time to 1:04.

“It is nothing but disrespectful to be this tardy,” your father claims, also checking the time. “How do they expect us to allow their son to wed our only daughter if they are unable to maintain a proper sense of time?”

“Maybe the family had second thoughts, after finding out what kind of a man you are.” You whisper, unaware that his attention shifted towards you.

“Dare you repeat yourself?” he threatened, rising from his seat to tower over your seated figure. His hand was raised, and you flinched at the action he was intending to do. “Your mouth is so smart, that it should easily find its way of repeating your words.”

“Darling, please…” your mother calls out softly, trying to ease her husband outrage.

Your breathing hitches when his hand comes down, your cheek being its target. You involuntarily close your eyes, awaiting his impact. Yet, it never comes. Instead, the knocking of your visitors’ is your saving grace, and you relax in your chair over the pardoning act.

“We will discuss another means of punishment once we establish this deal.” Your father strides out of the room.

Your mother stands from her spot on the loveseat, and you hesitantly follow suit. You smoothen out the wrinkles in your dress - a soft, pink one was your mother’s choice of today - and fold your hands over your waist, an act you’ve been taught all your life. You allowed yourself to ease your lips into a smile, preparing yourself for your visitors.

It was one thing to disrespect your father, but to do so in front of another gentleman could call for the Navy guards whisking you away to house for the mentally-illed. You had no choice but to act as refined as they fibbed you to be.

“Right this way, if you will.” Your father is the first to enter the room, guiding the Nakamotos who were trailing behind him.

“Ah, is this the fine, young lady we’ve heard so much of?” The older gentleman questions, offering you a polite grin.

Your attention was not on him, but on his son instead. Your parents did not lie about their son’s handsome features, you had to admit. But as much as you willed yourself not to think of it, he didn’t compare to Jeno. No one ever could, you found yourself thinking. Your smile turns rueful due to the pang in your chest and you distract yourself by the introductions going around.

“I hope you have been relieved of your illness.” Mr. Nakamoto says with concern.

“Yes, I apologize for the delay in our meetings because of this.” You softly reply.

“It’s well worth the wait,” he nods, earning an agreement from his wife. He turns to your father, “Shall we discuss matters in another room?”

“Certainly.” The smile on your father’s face churns your stomach in an uncomfortable bellyache. It was so fake, you wondered how it was able to pass. “Yuta, please do us the honor of socializing with our daughter as we occupy ourselves in the dining room.”

With that, the adults make a swift exit, leaving behind the two main attractions of the afternoon.

“Lady Y/N, was it?” Yuta asks, trying to start a conversation you were surely going to let die down soon enough. You simply smile in response. He sits down on the loveseat, motioning for you to do the same. “Please, sit with me, won’t you?”

“Of course.”

He leans back, fingers stroking against the pattern of the fabric. “You can drop the act, you know.” You’re surprised by his words but he offers a closed-lip smile in response. “I am no willing participant in this as much as you are.”

“I apologize if my actions make you think this way.” You respond.

“They don’t. This is of my own avail. You’re as lovely as they say, yes. But I cannot bring myself to marry a woman who is unwilling to do. I want a bride, not a prisoner.”

You couldn’t help but feel reassured by his words. You were hearing something that finally made sense around here, and it was from him, of all people.

“I’m able to call the engagement off, if you so much as wish it.” He continues on, your interest reaching its peak. “But in exchange for something else, of course.”

You should have known such a thing would come with a cost. “What would that be?”

“Your happiness.”

“Huh?”

“You see, you are not the first woman my parents have dragged me out to be. The ones before you were in similar situations, not wanting to be whisked away by a stranger. I sympathize with you, understanding how wronged you must be for such a thing to be beared upon your shoulders with no say to the matter.”

You’re lost for words, unable to comprehend that such a thing was happening. You wondered if you actually woke up this morning, or if you were trapped in a cruel dream.

“Yuta, I-”

Your sentence halts when another round of knocking echoes throughout the house. From your knowledge, there wasn’t any other guests who were to come by other than the Nakamoto’s. Maybe a relative or peer of theirs?

You step out into the hallway, curiously looking towards the main entrance as your father’s head servant opens the door. You’re thrown into disbelief and your breathing halts as the door reveals the unexpected visitor.

“Good afternoon, sir. Is this the residence of a Miss Y/N Y/L/N?”

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wrestlingisfake · 5 years

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Double or Nothing preview

Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho - The winner of this match will face the winner of the Casino Battle Royale at a later date to determine the first AEW world champion. Interestingly, Jericho is scheduled to challenge for the IWGP heavyweight championship on June 9, and this match may indirectly affect that one.

This is a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 12, where Jericho began his sudden shift from “I’ll never wrestle anywhere besides WWE” to “I can be the Brock Lesnar of New Japan.” Neither man has had a match since Wrestle Kingdom 13 earlier this year, where Omega lost the IWGP heavyweight title in the main event, and Jericho lost the IWGP intercontinental title in the semi-main.

Jericho’s character outside of WWE has been a leathery weirdo brawler, whose services are highly valued by promoters even though he’s totally uncontrollable. He’s randomly ambushed several top names in New Japan, and he seems to be gunning for Cody Rhodes down the line, but his recurring nemesis is Omega. The general idea is that Omega entered the “greatest of all time” conversation with his six-star performances in 2017, and that puts a target on him for legends like Jericho that want to make a statement. Omega defeated Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12, then Jericho shockingly attacked him at All In, then Omega’s team defeated Jericho’s team during Jericho’s wrestling cruise, and then Jericho attacked Omega again at AEW’s February 7 media event.

This is basically the biggest match AEW can present at this point. It’s a rematch from the Tokyo Dome, featuring the biggest current star who’s never been to WWE and the biggest ex-WWE star they could sign. In some ways it’s a coup they could put this together in a US show, but in other ways I’m disappointed that AEW couldn’t come up with something hotter. 18 months after his first NJPW vignette, the challenge for AEW is to prove Jericho still has mileage as a 48-year-old resident legend, and not just as an occasional special attraction. Luckily, Jericho is keenly aware of this stuff and pretty good at finding ways to keep himself over, so hopefully this match will set up a good direction for him.

I tend to think Omega should win here, but Jericho is coming in with a pretty shitty win-loss record, considering he’s been set up as the top heel in the company. A win for Jericho would add momentum to the angle that he thinks he’s singlehandedly put AEW on the map, and set up more matches down the line. Then again, Omega is the actual ace of the promotion, and needs to be protected as such. So I’m expecting a creative finish, but I don’t know which guy will win.

Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson vs. Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix - The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt) are defending the AAA tag team championship. This feud started with the Lucha Bros. showing up at an AEW press conference, taking exception to the Bucks calling themselves the greatest tag team. This led to the Bucks flying all over the place to ambush the Lucha Bros. at various indie shows. Finally, when the Lucha Bros. won the AAA tag title at Rey de Reyes, the Bucks suddenly showed up for an impromptu title match and won the belts.

It’s worth noting that a rematch for the title has already been booked for AAA’s Verano de Escándalo on June 16. So the outcome of this match won’t have much impact on which team ends up with the belts in the long run. With that in mind, the logical outcome is for the Bucks to win to establish them as the benchmark for the strong tag team division they’ve been promising. Penta and Fenix aren’t enhancement talent by any means, though, so I could see them scoring a win on the Bucks’ turf. But until the Lucha Bros. put a ring on it and sign with AEW, it would be risky to put them over. I’m leaning towards the Bucks retaining.

Cody Rhodes vs. Dustin Rhodes - Dustin, 50, is the son of wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes and his first wife, Sandra; Cody, 33, is Dusty’s son by his second wife, Michelle. This is virtually a direct follow-up to their match at WWE Fast Lane 2015 (as Stardust and Goldust), which had been the closest they’d come to their dream of doing the match at a Wrestlemania. A year later, Cody left WWE to begin a meteoric rise in the non-WWE scene, leading to his leadership role in AEW. Once it became clear Dustin was leaving WWE, it was obvious he would end up here.

Dustin delivered a strong video package about needing to prove he’s still got it, and wanting to settle old scores with Cody. Cody cut an intense promo likening Dustin and his era with Old Yeller, suggesting he has to put Dustin down because he loves him. You can debate the wisdom of indulging in this storyline at a pivotal point in AEW’s beginnings, but you cannot argue that both men as fully committed to proving it can work. Hopefully that results in some killer storytelling and a good match. I have to think Cody wins here, and the brothers hug and Dustin ends up with a backstage job or something.

PAC vs. Hangman Page - ...already happened, so I guess you can watch that here. The match on this card had to be cancelled. The angle is that Page was so hype to fight Pac that he went to an indie show in England to do the match a week early. Pac intentionally got disqualified and then pillmanized Page’s knee; he claimed he only wanted the Double or Nothing match to injure Page, but since he’d already succeeded with that he wouldn’t be coming to this show. I suspect this match was intended to determine a participant in the match to crown the first AEW world champion, since Page has been talking about wanting that spot for months.

As of this writing, AEW hasn’t announced what Page will be doing on this show, or even if he’s kayfabe recovered enough from the knee attack to have a match This could be trouble, because it leaves fans to imagine all sorts of crazy surprise opponents that the company may not be able to deliver. Already people have been actively speculating about CM Punk (the Dave Chappelle of wrestling), Jon Moxley (formerly WWE’s Dean Ambrose), and Joey Ryan (who had a farcical feud with Page last year). How AEW handles this mess will leave a lasting first impression with fans, particularly fans like me who’ve seen all the stupid things WWE would do in this situation.

Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae - This is a three-way match, so the first woman to score a fall over either opponent will be declared the winner. Baker is probably best known as the wrestling dentist from the four-way match at All In last year. Rose made headlines as the first trans woman signed to a major wrestling company, and I’ve just learned she starred in a Canadian sitcom a few years ago, playing a computer programmer, which is an interesting contrast from her “Native Beast” wrestling persona. Rae is relatively less known, but she’s a smiley happy character in the vein of Bayley, and she’s from Chicago so I know who I’m rooting for.

Unfortunately I think the big story in this match is whether the live audience will accept Nyla, or if a bunch of jerks try to start transphobic chants or something. I think the hardcore AEW audience is cool about it, but there’s just no way to know until she goes through the curtain.

Of these three, Baker seems to be the one they’re pushing as the face of the division, which may make her the favorite. But the fact it’s a three-way with nothing tangible at stake makes this one hard to call.

Christopher Daniels & Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian vs. CIMA & T-Hawk & El Lindaman - Daniels’s team is SoCal Uncensored, which has become something of an underground sensation via their sing-along catchphrases and Being the Elite skits. Cima’s team represents a faction called Strong Hearts, consisting of the wrestlers who joined him in leaving Dragon Gate to found Oriental Wrestling Entertainment in Shanghai.

OWE is one of several attempts to expand the wrestling industry into the lucrative Chinese market--AEW is clearly partnering with them to cultivate Chinese talent and a Chinese audience. Note, however, that Cima, T-Hawk, and Lindaman are Japanese, not Chinese; the Chinese wrestlers they’ve been training will presumably appear in the future. This match seems to be less about China than about getting OWE over with the AEW audience, and acknowledging the influence Cima has had in the careers of wrestlers like Daniels and the Young Bucks.

If you weren’t paying attention to ROH last year, you might be surprised how hot SCU has become with the kind of fans that’ll be at this show. When I went to All In I was prepared for the sea of Bullet Club shirts and constant Elite chants, but the response to anything SCU did was far more intense. They really should win here, although there may be a plan to use them to establish the Strong Hearts as a force to be reckoned with. It’ll really depend on how often Cima and the OWE guys are planning on flying out to do these shows.

Aja Kong & Yuka Sakazaki & Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida & Riho & Ryo Mizunami - Kong is legendary monster heel, whose career goes back over 30 years. As for the others, I don’t have much info on them. My impression is that this match is designed to help introduce joshi (Japanese women’s wrestling) to the west, which would suggest the younger participants in this match (Sakazaki, Shida, Riho, and Mizunami) will be groomed for long-term roles in the company. From what I’ve heard, Kenny Omega wants AEW to spotlight Japanese women as a unique attraction, similar to how WCW used cruiserweights and luchadors back in the day. It’s a clever move, since the other US promotions have male Japanese stars, but joshi is still rather obscure in the west. On Being the Elite they’ve played up Kenny Omega’s history with Riho, so I guess I have to pick her team to win.

Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta vs. Jack Evans & Angelico - Chuck and Trent are the Best Friends, who were on the verge of breaking up when we last saw them in New Japan. Evans is one of the original big names from the super-indy days in the early 2000s. Angelico has been teaming with Evans in AAA, Lucha Underground, PWG, and elsewhere. The Young Bucks have talked a big game about making the tag team division more important in AEW than in other promotions, but matches like this one will determine if they’re really serious about any tag teams but themselves. I can’t decide which team should win, but I’ve got a soft spot for the Best Friends so I’m rooting for ‘em.

Casino Battle Royale - This is a 21-person gauntlet battle royal match, scheduled for the pre-show, where the winner will qualify to for a future match to determine the first AEW world champion. Typically this kind of match starts with two participants in the ring, and each additional participant enters every 90 seconds or so. The twist here is that five participants will start, and every three minutes another five enter the match. The final entrant, being “lucky 21,” gets to enter alone, meaning only one person will have that “freshest person in the match” advantage.

The rules for elimination have not been specified, so I assume it’ll be the standard rules for most battle royales. After entering the match, a participant will be eliminated if they exit the ring over the top rope and both of their feet touch the floor. Participants can avoid elimination by stalling their entry into the ring, or by exiting the ring under the top rope, or by going over the top and keeping one foot off the floor until they can re-enter. Eliminations can occur at any point in the match, before and after the last participant has entered. The last person left in the match after everyone else has been eliminated is declared the winner.

Confirmed entrants for the match include:

Ace Romero (the big fat dude from MLW)

Billy Gunn (he’s an ass man, womp womp)

Brandon Cutler (the Young Bucks’ old buddy from PWG)

Brian Pillman, Jr. (the son of the “loose cannon” from WCW/WWF)

Dustin Thomas (a guy with no legs who impressed everyone at Joey Janela’s Spring Break recently)

Glacier (the Mortal Kombat guy from WCW...yes, that Glacier)

Isiah Kassidy (one half of the tag team Private Party)

Jimmy Havoc (an edgelord from the British indie scene)

Joey Janela (sleazy guy from GCW that does the Spring Break shows)

Jungle Boy (Luke Perry’s son doing a Tarzan gimmick)

Luchasaurus (a guy who seems to be neither a luchador nor a dinosaur)

Marq Quen (the other half of Private Party)

Michael Nakazawa (Kenny Omega’s old buddy from DDT)

MJF (obnoxious preppie douchebag from MLW)

Shawn Spears (WWE’s Tye Dillinger/Cody’s old buddy from OVW)

Sonny Kiss (formerly XO Lishus in Lucha Underground)

Sunny Daze (scary weird guy that makes Bray Wyatt look like Mr. Rogers...okay, I’ll admit that’s not a very helpful comparison right now, but you get the drift)

???

That leaves four spots remaining as of this writing. Knowing AEW, those spots could go to some of the guys who are signed but not booked (like Darby Allin or Peter Avalon) or to total unknowns, or to giant surprise stars. It is entirely possible some women could be added to the match.

Obviously that “lucky 21” spot is perfectly suited for a big surprise entrant to shockingly debut, run wild, and win the whole thing. However, since this match is for the pre-show, I don’t see them blowing their wad on a really big surprise. On the other hand, the winner of this match has to be a credible contender for their world championship, so they can’t just give it to Joey Ryan or whoever. This is where you really start wondering if Jon Moxley is available.

Sammy Guevera vs. Kip Sabian - The opening match, to air on the pre-show. Guevera is a former AAA crusierweight champion. Sabian has held the IPW:UK championship, and based on the limited data I can find for that title, he may well still be the champion. Considering how much of this card consists of wrestlers I literally never heard of until they were booked for this show, it says something that these two are so obscure they’re in the opener. But that’s to be expected when starting a promotion from scratch. Hopefully they both give us a reason to care who they are.

#aew #double or nothing #kenny omega #the young bucks #cody rhodes

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hookaroo · 5 years

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Vocivore, Ltd. (21 of ?)

A OUAT WINTER WHUMP FIC

Also on FFN and AO3 (ListerofTardis)

Tagging @ouatwinterwhump, @killian-whump, @sancocnutclub, @killianjonesownsmyheart1, and @courtorderedcake <3

***THE MOST WONDERFUL COVER ART BY @cocohook38 HERE!!!!!******

***Chapter 12 animation and art that will absolutely astound you!!!**********

***NEW!!!!!!! LETHAL Chapter 19 art in all of its BLOODSTAINED GLORY!!!! AAAAAAHHHH!!! THANK YOU MY WONDERFUL COCONUT FRIEND!!!!!!***

5 weeks ago...

“So… we’re really doing this?”

Emma and Killian were both red-eyed and exhausted, having spent most of the night fleshing out their plot and the remainder in the grip of anxious nightmares that weren’t fully driven away by the morning sun. Fresh off of an emotional farewell to their achingly oblivious daughter, it was no wonder that they battled second thoughts now.

Leaning against a tree trunk, his shirt unbuttoned down to the navel, Killian fidgeted with his hook. “I don’t see that we’ve many alternatives. The monster must be stopped; this may be our only chance. Even the bloody Crocodile thinks so.”

“You know we’re desperate when we start turning to him for opinions,” sighed Emma. Killian could only roll his eyes in agreement.

“Believe me, Swan; I’m well aware.”

“This is such an idiotic plan,” she groaned. “They’re all gonna kill us when they find out.”

“Well, by that time, the abductions will have stopped, so they’ll be obligated to thank us while killing us. There’s that, at least.” Killian smirked suggestively. “And if I’m going to be sharing the proverbial dog house with someone, I’m most pleased that it will be with you.”

Emma gave him an assessing once-over. “There’s generally not a lot of room in those things. Do you really think we could still…”

“Oh, most assuredly. Limited space is no obstacle for the determined. And you, lass, are the most determined of them all.”

Drawing closer, Emma ran her hand up his exposed chest hair, grinning. “Damn right.”

She tugged briefly and Killian pounced, trapping her in a tight embrace and locking his lips over hers. She pushed back, inching him backwards until he was sandwiched between her and the tree. They shared the kiss of the desperate, knowing it may be one of their last in a very long time.

Annoyingly, Rumplestiltskin popped up nearby only seconds--minutes?--into the kiss. He cleared his throat to announce his presence, but neither Killian nor Emma would allow him to dictate the length of their contact. And when they did break apart, it was only by inches. Face to face, they soaked in each other’s gazes, communicating wordlessly their love, their fears and promises. Emma broke the silence first.

“In case we don’t get another minute alone before you… go… just... I wanted to say…” Her voice wavered and she trailed off. Killian reached up to wipe away a tear from her cheek, and she leaned into the touch, sniffling. “Sorry. I… I don’t know if I can go through with this.”

“It’s okay, love,” he murmured, continuing to caress her face. He fixed her with his most earnest expression as he offered the words of encouragement that, in all honesty, he needed as much as she did. “I have faith in you, Emma. You can. And if you can… then so can I.”

She still looked stricken, devastated at the thought of what lay ahead. But somehow, she managed to compose herself, gathering the determined courage that Killian so loved in her, focusing on the practical, the present moment, what her husband needed from her right now. What she could give him… while he was there in front of her. Finally, after one more shaky, centering breath, Emma echoed the words she’d said to Henry all those years ago.

“I’ll miss the hell out of you.”

The corners of Killian’s mouth twitched and he gave thanks for her presence, both now and in the days to come. He may not always be in receipt of such direct support from her, but he knew he would never stop sensing her well-wishes, no matter what happened. “Likewise. But with any luck, we’ll immediately hear something useful, and you can come rescue me within the day.”

“You won’t be hearing anything unless we get this done,” Rumple broke in, and both Killian and Emma rolled their eyes in irritation.

“Would it kill you to wait a few minutes, Gold?” Emma growled.

“Not me. I could probably endure a moment more of your PDA. Not sure the same could be said of the Vocivore’s current victims, though. I can’t imagine they’d be thrilled about your groping each other while they're having their brains shriveled.”

As intentionally inflammatory as his statements were, they did bear a kernel of truth, and reluctantly, the couple pulled apart. Emma pivoted to face Rumple as she took Killian’s hand. Finally tearing his eyes from his wife’s face, Killian shot a cold look at his former foe. He caught sight of a plastic contraption, shaped like a pistol but bigger and with a longer barrel. Rumple held it up obligingly, and Killian raised a defiant eyebrow.

“That’s it, then?”

He managed to sound casual, scornful even, but his finely honed self-preservation instincts were jolting a warning: do not let that bastard anywhere near you with that bloody thing!

Rumple was wearing a bland smile. “As I mentioned, just a little something I picked up on my travels. May I?”

Killian nodded permission, trying to regain control of his pounding heart. Emma squeezed his hand in reassurance.

“It’s normally used to implant tracking devices in wild beasts, I’m told. I made some… slight modifications, to suit our needs.” He held up a small metallic shape, similar to a medicine capsule but thicker and longer, with sharply tapered ends. “Your transmitter. It has a battery life of 2 weeks but can recharge itself using the electrical energy of your body cells.”

“I’m not convinced you’ve handled it enough, Crocodile; why don’t you go ahead and give it a lick, for good measure?”

Rumple sneered. “Listen to that; the pirate’s up to speed on his germ theory.” He opened a hidden chamber in the back of the device and dropped the transmitter into the slot. After sliding the tiny door closed with a click, he waved his hand over the whole implant gun, presumably sterilizing the transmitter within. “Satisfied?”

Killian glared at the gun, not saying anything. But Emma cocked her head.

“Why not just use magic to implant it, too?”

Killian half expected the imp to say, Where would be the fun in that? Instead, Rumple explained,

“If this monster truly can influence magic, we wouldn't want him to be able to sense its presence, now would we? Magical insertion leaves a trace, no matter how carefully done. Best not take the chance.”

“More importantly, Swan, the number of times I've had his hand inside of me is more than enough for three lifetimes.”

Emma snorted a laugh, running her fingers along his arm soothingly. “What about healing it afterward? Wouldn’t that leave a trace as well?”

“It may, but the Vocivore won’t be able to discern what’s been magically healed. For all it knows, the pirate is simply clumsy and prone to injuring himself.” Rumple flashed a nasty grin. “Now then. Do you need to be sitting down for this? Wouldn't want you to pass out on me.”

“Just get on with it, Crocodile.”

The Dark One hefted the implant gun, pulled back on some sort of spring mechanism, and then waved vaguely toward Killian’s shoulder. “If you would be so kind…”

With a short-tempered huff, Killian disengaged his hand from Emma’s grip and pushed aside the gaping collar of his shirt to expose his left chest and shoulder. He patiently held the fabric in place in order to give a clear field for the procedure. Rumple produced an alcohol wipe out of thin air and scrubbed roughly at a patch of skin just below the collarbone as a wary Killian watched for any sign of duplicity. Using one hand to stretch the skin taut, Rumple positioned the gun at an angle, its specially-designed guard at the tip of the barrel guiding him as to the proper placement.

Killian wasn’t expecting a warning, and he didn’t get one either. A loud snap preceded what felt like a very hard and focused punch to the area, then a sharp, hot lance of pain immediately followed. It spread into a bright throb as startled nerves scrambled to react. A tightening of his jaw and a slow breath were Killian’s only concession to the discomfort; he certainly didn’t want to give Rumplestiltskin the satisfaction of a wince, not if he could help it.

The absurd image of a cartoon he’d watched with Hope flashed into his mind: a dog is guarding a sleeping bear and keeps injuring himself, but in order to avoid waking the bear, he runs miles away before letting loose with a torrent of reactionary howls. Not that this relatively minor pain merited such an extreme response… but Killian was grateful for the brief distraction all the same.

Rumple pulled the gun away and exposed a dark hole with a diameter somewhat larger than a pencil. A faint, diagonal purple line tapered in the direction of the shoulder joint. Milliseconds later, blood welled from the puncture and dripped down Killian’s chest. The first of many droplets to be shed, came the morbid thought unbidden. Emma spread her fingers, obviously intent on healing the small wound, but the Dark One stopped her.

“I wouldn’t. Not yet.”

Gingerly, Killian pressed a finger over the hole and raised an annoyed eyebrow. With strained patience, Rumple explained,

“We haven't tested it yet. We need to make sure no… adjustments are necessary.”

As Killian massaged the ache, he could feel an irritating shift of the foreign object embedded in his flesh. Emma lowered her hand, impatient.

“Okay… ready when you are.”

Rumple stepped back calmly, addressing Killian with his usual aloofness. “We’ll need to travel to a distance equivalent to that which separates Storybrooke and the monster’s lair, to be sure we can hear clearly through the transmitter. So keep talking, Captain. Impress us with your… nautical knowledge, or something.”

The pair of magic users vanished in an abrupt swirl of smoke, leaving Killian alone among the trees. With a roguish smirk that was entirely wasted on the empty forest, he began to speak.

“It’s a damn shame, the fate of the Wish Realm’s Dark One. That can’t have been a pleasant way to go. Still, one could make a very strong argument for why he deserved it.” He allowed a pair of heartbeats to elapse, then added, “Swan, I’m not entirely sure I haven’t gotten the tales mixed up with all the time that’s gone by. If I remember correctly, both Crocodiles had their own brand of suffering to endure, but was it this version or the other who--”

As anticipated, Emma winked back into existence just in front of him, her arms crossed and a look of staged exasperation on her face. “You know you can’t get into that, right? He can’t know that stuff until he experiences it for himself.”

Killian winked at her. “Oh, but darling, wouldn’t it be loads more fun to give him just a hint of what awaits him in his future?”

“You wanna risk changing something, go right ahead.” She reached forward and gently pulled his hand away from the irritated flesh of his shoulder. “He needs you to stop rubbing at it. It’s making it hard to do the sound check.”

Ignoring the small amount of blood dribbling from the puncture, Killian scoffed.

“What’s that, love? I’m making what hard by rubbing?”

Emma simply rolled her eyes and poofed back to wherever Rumple was. Killian took a moment’s pleasure in imagining the sour frown that had hopefully crossed the Dark One’s face as he listened; otherwise, what was the point of winding him up? Sighing, Killian tucked his thumb into his belt and then, in the driest monotone he could summon, he began to list crew and cargo capacities for every type of ship in the Royal Navy.

His two companions were back in short order; without the threat of punishment hanging over their heads for failing to learn all of the details, they must have found the trivia to be mind-numbingly boring. Killian raised an eyebrow at his wife.

“Well?”

She answered by resting her hand over the streak of blood near his collarbone. As she sealed the break in the skin--this time without the protests of a disinterested Rumple--she confirmed,

“It seems to be working. For the next five minutes, I could tell you how many standard-sized crates fit in the hold of a schooner. Just don’t ask me after ten.”

The majority of the pain had vanished with the puncture wound, and no visible trace remained to mark the presence of the implant. But Killian could still feel a strange hardness within his shoulder, the smallest hint of inflammation where tissues were compressed by the new metallic structure trapped inside.

“I may have failed to mention: it won’t transmit across realms,” the Dark One pointed out. “So best not fall through any portals along the way.”

Emma adjusted her husband’s shirt, not bothering to do up any buttons, and Killian’s own emotions were reflected in her eyes. In a way, the success of Rumple’s device felt like some kind of death knell. One final obstacle to the plan surmounted; they were out of practicality-based excuses, and it was now down to courage alone.

Going for nonchalant--Rumple was watching, after all--Killian caught Emma’s hand and gave it a brief squeeze.

“Well then, love. I’ll see you back in Storybrooke.”

She mimicked his act. “Yep. Sheriff station, right?”

“Aye.”

He pulled her close for one more quick embrace. Then Emma produced her magic bean, tossed it toward an empty patch of forest floor, and disappeared through the resulting portal without looking back.

Perhaps she feared, as he did, that any hesitation would cause their tenuous resolve to come crumbling down around their ears.

#ouat fanfiction #killian jones #emma swan #ouat rumple #microchip gun #or something #transmitter #implantation #pain #blood #angst #bravado #goodbyes #annoying the Dark One #i was gonna write the bye bye hope scene #but yeah i don't really write kids #guess you'll just have to imagine #Vocivore ltd

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moonlit-seren · 5 years

Text

For Dispatch || Heo Hyunjoon

Summary: Dispatch reporters have always been well known for their diligence and persistence no matter the situation. So when y/n gets thrown a potentially dangerous lead to follow, she finds herself face to face with Seoul’s biggest mob boss and a savory Inkigayo sandwich.

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4.3k

A/N: This is my very first The Boyz fanfic, so I hope it’s alright. I feel like the Dispatch workers in the story were more like secret agents than reporters lol.

Credits to fall-out-bangtan for inspiring the plot~ <3

꧁Masterlist꧂

“Y/n L/n reporting for duty sir,” I stated, voice loud and proud as any reporter’s should be. My hands were planted firmly by my sides, with a clipboard wedged under one arm as I bowed to my superior respectfully.

“Yes, sit,” said my boss calmly, gesturing to the empty chair in front of his desk. I sat down, watching as he leaned forward so that his clasped hands rested on the polished wood.

A mischievous glint flickered in his eyes, sparkling brighter than it usually does when he finds a new story to cover.

Sangyeon had only been my boss for a couple of months, but our friendship had grown to the point where we could read each other like an open book.

And from what I could tell from his demeanor, I should be very, very concerned for my well being right now.

“So you know how I sent Sunwoo after that one fishy looking guy in the alley two days ago?” Asked Sangyeon, guilt flashing across his face at the harsh glare I sent him.

“Yes, and I distinctly remember seeing the handle of a knife on the person Sunwoo was pursuing, and advising you to call him off,” I replied coldly, not seeing the benefit of having risked the life of one of my coworkers just to follow a potential story.

Sangyeon dismissed my comment, waving it off as if it were nothing more than a bothersome fly. Both of us knew that Sunwoo was one of most diligent reporters at Dispatch, but I couldn’t help but worry about him.

“Don’t worry, he came back alive yesterday, with something that could completely blow our audience off of their feet,” exclaimed Sangyeon, eyes widening as he made overly excited hand gestures.

I rose an eyebrow at him, opening my mouth to ask what it was but he cut me to the chase. He slid a photo across the table, explaining that Sunwoo had taken it.

In the image was a blurry shot of three men. One had his hair dyed a dark orange, with soft doe eyes in contrast to a sharp gaze. The second had dark caramel colored hair, a slightly sturdier build than the first, and a cocky stance. But it was the third male who truly caught my attention.

He was a couple of centimeters shorter than the other two, but had beautifully striking fox eyes. Framing them was a curtain of sleek black bangs styled up in a quiff, giving him more of haughty, arrogant look.

Though his milky white skin didn’t appear to be marred with any tattoos, several piercing lined the cuffs of his ears including a dangling cross and he had on an long, expensive looking fur jacket. It didn’t take much to guess that the third person was the leader of the group, as he stood at a slightly larger distance from the other two.

“You’re ogling,” whispered Sangyeon, amused by how my eyes remained fixated on the gorgeous male.

I stuck my tongue out at him, crossing my arms defensively as a blush spread across the apples of my cheeks. “Whatever, I don’t believe that I came to your office to get teased.”

Sangyeon smiled knowingly, before shaking his head. Sinking back in his armchair, he launched into an animated explanation as he began to explain his findings.

“He’s probably the last person you’d want to date unless you want your head blown off,” started Sangyeon, causing you to raise your eyebrow once more. “I don’t recognize any of these people so I asked around the office and what do you know, Kevin came back with a report from last week saying that he had stumbled upon some underground meeting.”

“Apparently some sort of money exchange was made between the person he was following and another male with a black coat. Both were flanked with two companions. I think that the second party may have been these three,” Sangyeon pointed at the photo once more and you nodded along, unsure of what else to do.

“So you’re saying that this guy is some sort of gang leader?” I asked, pointing at guy who had caught my eye in the picture.

Sangyeon shrugged a little in a carefree response, taking a sip out of the beige mug on his desk before delving back into his story.

“Better actually. I went through our old records and that was when it hit me. I’m surprised I hadn’t recognized him right away,” Sangyeon continued, purposely pausing because he knew that the suspense was killing me on the inside.

“And?” I prompted, a little impatient as he intentionally reached over to straighten an already neat stack of papers resting on the corner of his desk.

“Several months ago, before I got promoted, our last boss sent me to go check out what was said to be a power switch ceremony. I managed to sneak in under the cover of a gang member and the CK was there,” narrated Sangyeon, pride swelling in his chest at the shocked expression on my face.

“CK? As in Seoul’s biggest mob boss in recorded history?” I asked, my eyes widening into large saucers. Anyone who has ever watched the news would know that CK was Seoul’s most notorious criminal in the entire city. Back in his day the police never stood a chance, always being a solid ten steps behind. In fact, he was a renowned criminal all over the world and not just in South Korea.

Sangyeon nodded in affirmation. “Well not anymore apparently. He stepped down and passed his power onto his son who appeared to be around four years younger than me. At that time the boy had his hair dyed a steel gray, which was why I didn’t recognize him at first… But that piercing gaze and cold brown eyes are unforgettable.”

The two pieces clicked together in my mind the moment Sangyeon finished his last sentence. My eyes drifting down to the photo once more at the three people conversing in it.

“He goes by the name Hwall, no one except those incredibly close to him know his real name. As for the other two, I remember seeing them at the ceremony too, so I’m assuming that they’ve grown up together,” said Sangyeon.

“Isn’t it a little curious that the current biggest mob boss didn’t even realize he was getting tagged by a news reporter?” I wondered aloud, curious as to how that ‘Hwall’ guy was still alive in the business he’s in when he couldn’t even notice he was being followed.

Sangyeon shrugged halfheartedly, “Who knows, maybe he did notice Sunwoo but let him follow him around. Just to let the word know that he was still out there and at large.”

I nodded, seeing the logic behind his guess. The net was probably the easiest way for one underworld leader to let his or her competition know of their presence.

After all, news spreads like fire on the internet and it’s far safer than coming out in the open waving an ‘I’m alive’ banner in front of all of your enemies.

“Alright, so now that I know the backstory, can you tell me why exactly you called me of all people rather than Sunwoo down here?” I asked, still a little confused over my presence here.

Sangyeon held up a finger, indicating that he wanted me to wait a second, as a sweet smile spreading over his face. My eyes narrowed, immediately recognizing his expression. He only ever used that smile when asking a difficult request, and more often than not, I always end up regretting agreeing to it.

“You see, not every news outlet gets such a rare chance to cover a giant story like this. If we get this scoop, Dispatch’s name will be known world wide and our division will become famous for obtaining it. It would be risky to send Sunwoo out again so we both agreed that you’d be the best one for this job,” explained Sangyeon, pulling out a file from his desk draw. From what I could see, it looked like it contained all the information we currently had on this particular case. “Besides, I only want you on the field for a day, there’s a slim chance that you’ll get caught.”

“I shouldn’t seen this coming,” I thought, sighing deeply. On one hand my cover could get blown and I could get killed, but on another… If my work gets recognized I could get a huge pay raise and never have to worry again next time I go binge in a expensively delicious dessert cafe. Besides… life isn’t worth living if you’re still knee deep in student loan debts.

Much to both of our surprises I agreed without much hesitation, reaching forward to take the file out of a gawking Sangyeon’s hands. “Sure, what do I have to lose?”

•

The fated day came a week later, with Sunwoo guiding me to the right place at the right time and hanging around to see if I could overhear or sneak a peek at anything.

“He’s going to a meeting with the leader of another gang from Jeju. They’ll be on the second floor of the Park Enterprise building, 2nd door to the right from the elevators. You should have a clear visual from the roof of the karaoke bar next door,” informed Sunwoo, before hanging up to let me do my thing.

“Okay,” I whispered to myself, pulling on a baby blue snapback and matching face mask. I slipped my phone into my bag before beginning the trek up the stairs of the building Sunwoo told me to go to.

The door to the roof was unlocked for whatever reason, but I wedged a small stone in the doorway to keep it cracked open just in case.

“Let’s get to work,” I thought, placing my bag onto the ground as I pulled out my binoculars to peer through the window of the room my target was supposed to be in.

The blinds were nearly pulled all the way down and at most I could only see a sliver of the ebony table in the center of the room.

The only windows to that particular room that were exposed were the ones facing the large office building across the street, which I’d have extreme difficulty sneaking into.

Spotting the horizontal flag poles lining the edge of the building, the corners of my lips slipped into a smirk and I pulled off my hat in order to tie my hair up into a ponytail.

“For Dispatch,” I whispered, bravely crawling onto one before dangling upside down on the pole. It extended above the sidewalk below, the building only being four floors up.

Bringing the binoculars up to my eyes, I sighed in content realizing that I could see perfectly into the room now.

There was a total of nine people in the room, three of which being Hwall and his ever present duo of right hand men.

I watched as the people conversed, unable to make out much from the silent conversion besides the words “money” and “guns”.

Sure enough, a few minutes later two silver briefcases were brought to the table containing whatever goods that were about to be exchanged.

A few distant yells disrupted my focus, as I pulled my binoculars away from my eyes and glanced down at the mini crowd that gathered below.

“Get down from there suicidal idiot!” Shouted a boy from the sidewalk, frantically gesturing his arms to signify that I should plant my feet back on a solid surface.

He appeared my age but other than that I couldn’t distinguish much from my vantage point besides a mop of dark blue hair partially hidden by a denim cap.

Similar cries erupted from around him as many concerned faces peered up at me from the ground.

I smiled at his concern, touching my pointer finger to my lips in a shushing gesture before bringing the binoculars back to my eyes. “For Dispatch.”

The meeting concluded as quickly as it began, only lasting for a mere ten minutes.

It seems that it’s dangerous for men like them to stay in one place for too long, especially in broad daylight where everyday businessmen rather than shifty drug dealers roamed the streets.

I finally climbed off the flagpole I had been dangling from, nearly toppling the moment my feet met the cement of the roof from the severe headrush I experienced.

Not wasting any time, I quickly gathered my belongings before running down the stairs of the building I was in.

The moment my feet hit the first step, I pulled my phone out again, speed dialing Sunwoo to ask if he knew where to go next.

“You know the beach where we went last month with Kevin and Sangyeon?” He asked, picking up nearly instantaneously.

I racked my brain projecting the memory in the forefront of my mind. Indeed we had gone to a public beach for a mini vacation and as expected, a series of embarrassing events occured under Sunwoo’s influence.

“How could I forget?” I snapped with a huff, climbing down the second fleet of stairs. “You intentionally pushed me into Kevin, hoping for some cliche k-drama moment!”

“Well it kind of worked,” Sunwoo mused, snickering at the angry tone I was using. Of course he was amused at the mortifying predicament he put me in.

I gasped, appalled at his statement. “We ended up falling on top of some poor kid’s sandcastle! You should’ve seen the little girl’s face, she looked like she was about to cry! And to this day Kevin still thinks I intentionally fell on him! Do you know how embarrassing it was? I can’t even talk to him nowadays!”

Sunwoo burst into a loud bout of laughter, accompanied by the sounds of a couple items getting knocked over. “Not my fault your love life is a joke.”

“Kim Sunwoo!” I exclaimed, feeling a deep sense of hurt at his jesting antics. A quiet ding resonated from my phone, signifying that it was at two percent. “Crap my phone is about to die.”

“Kidding, kidding. Anyways, I gave you an earpiece yesterday, you can just use that instead of your phone to talk to me later. Remember, go to that beach!”

“Alright, bye,” I hung up, tucking my phone away as I exited the building I was in.

Seeing as I arrived via one of the city’s commute buses, I looked around, quickly scanning my surroundings for a taxi of sorts.

Unfortunately, the only vehicle around was a small white cargo truck across the street and I realized with a sigh that it’d have to suffice.

“One hundred thousand won,” I offered, waving the bills in front of the truck driver. His beady eyes absentmindedly followed my hand, clearly itching to claim money as his own yet hesitating. “All I need is for you to drive me to Eurwangni Beach.”

“I don’t have any space in my truck to, there are only two seats and my coworker’s occupying the second,” he began, but I quickly cut him off with a simple shake of head.

“Don’t worry about that,” I replied, walking over to the flower shop beside us. Spotting the ladder propped up against the wall, I moved it so it was right beside the cargo truck before clambering onto the top of it.

“I’m going to get in trouble with the police,” sighed out the truck driver, taking the wad of cash out my hand as I leaned over the edge of the truck’s roof.

“Not if I have a seat belt,” I assured, pulling out a detached lap belt and a role of neon orange duck tape from my bag.

“Kids nowadays…”

I ignored his exasperated comment, taping the seat belt down before patting the roof of the truck to indicate that I was secure.

As requested, the driver drove to the aforementioned beach, which was a short drive from where I was in Incheon.

I’ve never actually visited Incheon before today, as the meeting I was just observing took place here. The Dispatch office I worked in was located in Seoul, a few blocks away from my apartment.

To be honest, the ride wasn’t unpleasant at all. The roads were fairly smooth and the luscious scenery on the way looked like it came straight out of a photocard.

Once we arrived, I hopped off the truck, allowing the soft sand to cushion my fall. Due to the sunny weather, the beach was already occupied by several different parties.

I went to go sit on one of the public use lounge chairs, sighing as my skin hit the shade of the large red beach umbrella.

Remembering Sunwoo’s words, I rummaged through my bag for the small device he had given me. There were only two buttons on it, one being call and the other being end call.

It must’ve been linked to the one in Sunwoo’s possession as there was no way for me to enter in a number, so I pressed the dial button before slipping the black earpiece in my ear.

“Sunwoo, is this really necessary?” I whispered, hearing him pick up after the second ring.

“No, but it makes it feel like we’re secret agents so why not?” Rang Sunwoo’s voice from the tiny device. “Besides, stop speaking. You’ll look stupid and suspicious talking to yourself. Not that you don’t already look stupid lounging on the beach alone.”

I glared as he chuckled, despite knowing that he couldn’t see me. It was like Sunwoo’s second nature to tease me for whatever miniscule reason he could find and if karma didn’t get him back one day then I would.

“Alright prick, now tell me what I’m doing lounging on a beach chair in eighty degree weather,” I demanded, taking my hat out of my bag to fan myself with it.

My efforts proved fruitless as it generated no more than a tiny gust of air from each swing, so I pulled it on instead in defeat.

I heard a few shuffling sounds from the other end of the line, waiting for a response from my coworker.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting there. And here I was thinking you’d appreciate an impromptu vacation” Sunwoo replied after a few seconds, taking a long drag of what I assumed to be coffee. I rolled my eyes, unafraid to do so in public as I had on a dark pair of sunglasses. “ According to our sources, Hwall is supposed to arrive in a few minutes with his two goons. Most likely taking a break from the whole criminal thing.”

“He literally just came out of a meeting-” I began, eyebrows furrowing in skepticism before being startled out of finishing my sentence.

“WHAAAAAAAHOOOOOO-” cried a frenzied, dark haired male are he charged into the ocean like a stampeding rhinoceros, eyes bulging and mouth stretched open into a wide smile before snapping shut right as the waves swallowed his body.

Shortly after yet another person charged after the first, kicking up fist fulls of dirt into the air as he clumsily dove head first into the glistening blue waters with a loud splash.

My eyes widened at the strange occurrence, still trying to comprehend the rare sight of men my age acting like eight year olds on a sugar high the moment they spot the ocean.

“Why do I even bother with them?” Asked a soft voice a few yards away from me, a third figure appearing from the same direction the other two came.

Curious, I turned my head to peer at the mysterious voice, jaw dropping as I took in the sight.

There, in all his glory, stood the very person I had been tasked to follow, his dark hair billowing in gentle waves like the ocean before him.

Having changed out of his suit, Hwall only had on a pair of swim shorts, forgoing a top and opting for a simple shark tooth necklace in its stead.

Cheeks darkening in a dangerous shade of red, I quickly averted my eyes before they drifted further than the pale skin of his collarbones, reaching up to tip my hat further done my face. “Oh my sweet california oranges.”

“What?” Asked Sunwoo, startling me out of my reverie. I had completely forgotten his presence, unknowingly relishing in the silence from his end. Dealing with him could be quite a handful at times, though I wouldn’t trade our friendship for the world.

“Nothing, I thought I saw a shark,” I responded casually, trying to play off the nervous titter in my voice. Much to my horror, my voice carried over the wind catching the attention of the fine specimen to my left.

Before Hwall had the chance to turn his head fully, I tilted my head downwards to better hide my face as I furtively pressed my phone against my right ear to pretend I was in the middle of a phone call.

“Was that shark hot? I can hear your blush from here y/n,” Sunwoo stated teasingly, making a loud kissing noise. I silently cursed at how well he knew me, realizing how transparent I must be considering how easily my friends could read my emotions.

“Shut up,” I whispered sharply, turning off the earpiece in my ear in annoyance. “Why do I even bother with you.”

Directing my gaze back on the ocean, I watched with mild interest as the two males continued to splash around, hyper aware of how Hwall hadn’t moved from his spot.

The moment I had spotted him the two dots connected together and I realized who exactly the two childlike strangers were. It was a little surprising, seeing two supposed mob members actually like normal teenagers if not younger.

“HYUNJAE,” shouted the tall male with dark orange hair. He had on a distinct look of disgust and betrayal as his companion had managed to nail him right in his face with a handful of water.

“Suck it up Younghoon,” Hyunjae replied, sticking out his tongue as he scrambled out of the range of his angered friend. He burst into a bout of strangled laughter, as Younghoon pounced on him bringing the both of them beneath the surface of the waves.

It was only then that Hwall shifted, strolling towards the ocean in a carefree manner. My eyes caught onto his movement, shifting to his back as he leisurely swam towards Hyunjae and Younghoon.

Much to my surprise, rather than splitting the playful fight, he laid down on Younghoon’s back as the latter was still attempting to throttle Hyunjae.

Younghoon gasped, swimming away in surprise which caused Hwall to roll back into the water.

Yet another water fight broke out as their laughter carried all the way to the beach, or rather, all the way to my ears.

I smiled unknowingly, finding the sight strangely endearing. For whatever reason, I had half expected the group to go shark hunting or some other dangerous activity when I heard they’d be coming. This was the last thing I expected in all honesty.

Seeing the trio like this made me feel a little more at ease, as if I were at less of a risk of dying due to following them, though it would still be a little early to make that assumption.

The next few hours continued on in a similar fashion until Hwall, Hyunjae, and Younghoon wore themselves out.

“I need food,” whined Hyunjae, collapsing on his back on a beach towel that I presumed was his.

Younghoon plopped down next to him, nodding a little as if to say ‘me too’.

Hwall glanced down at them, shaking his head in exasperation. “I’ll go buy something from the cafe down the street.”

He walked away to a chorus of thanks you’s, pulling on a shirt and a pair of sandals from the bag laying beside his two friends.

Inconspicuously gathering my own belongings, I waited for five minutes before leaving, already knowing which cafe he meant as there was only one within walking distance.

By the time I arrived, Hwall had already ordered and was situated at a table by one of the floor length windows that lined the shop. His head was resting on his palm, as he stared out through the glass only breaking out of his pensive trance when a waiter brought over his mug of coffee.

Not wanting to be caught staring, I walked towards the counter to order something to nibble on since I was already here.

But to my surprise, the male working the cashier flashed me a cheery smile as he slid a sandwich across the counter. “One Inkigayo sandwich right? It’s already been paid for, so enjoy!”

I didn’t have the chance to ask him if he had made a mistake as to who to give the sandwich to or even who paid for it, as he was already talking to the next customer in line.

Walking to the nearest empty table, which was coincidentally beside Hwall’s, I sat down and slowly peeled open the plastic wrap covering the sandwich.

A small beige notecard fell out of the wrapping, fluttering delicately on the table. I picked it up, flipping it over as the side that had been facing me was blank.

There, in messy black handwriting, was a short message that seemingly caused my heart to stop for a solid few seconds.

“I probably would’ve killed you by now if you weren’t so cute.”

My cheeks flared scarlet red, feeling absolutely mortified as I knew that it was foolish of me to think that someone of his profession wouldn’t notice that they’re being followed.

Dropping the card back on the table, my gaze nervously trailed forward, before stopping on Hwall who was already looking at me.

The afternoon sun cast a beautiful aura of light on his face, illuminating his features with an ethereal glow as he winked at me, the corners of his lips quirking up into a smirk.

“What’s up girl?”

#the boyz #hwall #hyunjoon #heo hyunjoon #fanfiction #imagine #oneshot #romance #fluff #the boyz hwall imagine #the boyz hwall oneshot #the boyz hwall fanfic

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inspirited-goddess · 6 years

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10 Questions Tag

Tagged by the super sweet and amazing @lady-redshield-writes probably a week ago and I’m just now getting to it? I’m such a procrastinator ugh but here I go!

Rules: Answer these ten questions, create ten of your own, then tag ten people.

1. Do you like to mix genres when you write?

Honestly I don’t really pay attention to this? I mean the main genre I’m currently writing for is fantasy action/adventure but I guess sub genres could be romance and suspense/mystery. As far as “mixing”, I don’t do it intentionally, so I don’t have an opinion.

2. Do you set aside specific time for writing, or just write whenever you can?

Uhh...I try to write every night (because the night is the only time I’m guaranteed peace and quiet and privacy) but sometimes I get too sleepy. For the most part I “write whenever I can” (which is always, but I’m a procrastinator sadly and I haven’t got a handle on my laziness yet)

3. Would you ever want your WIP to become a TV show or movie?

This might end up sounding crazy, but too often I imagine it becoming one. I like to fantasize me being successful off my writing and having a fanbase, etc, and that often leads me to imagine movies for my entire series, and then a spinoff TV show series. I think about it a lot, and I imagine scenes in my head in the “movie” format. It’s really cool imo and in my head

4. What’s your favorite OC relationship? (Doesn’t have to be romantic!)

Thinking about my response to this question while listening to music is overwhelming me with lovey feels, omg. But anyway...

My favorite OC relationship (and you have no idea how hard it is for me to choose one) has to be between Bruce and Vanessa, otherwise known as Ness. They’ve known each other since they were little kids and they’re married in my series, and thinking about them makes me so happy because as friends, lovers, and warriors, they’ve been through so much together and alone. They were the first real relationship I remember thinking of for my series, and it makes it even better that they have a healthy relationship. (Not that i would EVER write anything unhealthy, ew.) I just love them so much. And their bond with their best friends Phil and Elise is literally the greatest, oh my god.

5. Read anything good recently?

Yes! EVE: The Awakening by Jenna Moreci is currently my second favorite book is the world, topped only by The Savior’s Champion by the same author, which is released April 24th! I’m so excited, b/c Jenna is a super talented author and vlogger I look up to :)

6. Which character is on your mind right now?

This question is the devil because I usually have more than one character on my mind at all times, BUT I’m listening to some really great music right now and at the same time I read this question, the beat dropped in the song and made me think of my OC Elizabeth, a badass Warrior Princess who wields the Four Seasons Claymores, weapons molded to harness the powers of water, earth, fire and air. The song I’m listening to currently has me imagining her in a really epic battle, and I love her <3

7. Are there any settings you like to write about? (Forests, oceans, deserts, etc.)

The eventual main setting of my series is the kingdom of Enchancia, and honestly I find that whenever I think of it and when I’m writing about it I get really happy. There’s ten cities in the entirety of the kingdom and they all have their own unique trait that make them stand out and I just love writing about them and the special warriors who live in each city. So yeah, basically Enchancia.

8. Would you want to live in the world(s) you’ve written about?

Hell yes, especially in Enchancia! It’s far more technologically advanced then us and much more prosperous, plus it’s super beautiful. Of the ten cities, I’d want to specifically live in Olympia, Enchancia, because my favorite characters live there and Olympia is known as the “Wondrous Warrior Wasteland”. It’s based off Ancient Greek and Rome and is the largest city in Enchancia.

9. How do you decide when you’re done planning and just have to start writing?

As of right now, I don’t plan/outline; I just open a document and start writing. This method has proven futile for me, though, so after I finish my current WIP, I will try my hand in various forms of outlining so I can better plan and pace my books.

10. Which character is most similar to you? Most different?

This is really tough, b/c I try to make my characters not like me, you know? The most different, though, would have to be Snowella, because she’s a strong individual who knows what she’s going to do with her life and how she’s going to get from point A to point B. She stands up firmly for what she believes in and never lets anyone sway her opinion or bring her down, and she’s confident in herself. She has several other great qualities I could list, but alas, let’s keep this short. I lack a lot of her attributes, but I’m slowly trying to work on fixing that.

Most like me, though? ...I’ll say Elizabeth. While she is more like Snowella in more ways than one, we also both have a desire to explore and see what the world has to offer. We both yearn to get wrapped up in crazy adventures with the hope of meeting some really great people along the way, and we're both in love with swords (lol). Elizabeth is one of my favorites and doing this made me realize we have some similarities! And now I’m getting some random urge to travel the world and meet new people...

I liked this activity a lot because it made me think, so thank you, @lady-redshield-writes!

Here are my questions:

1. Are you looking forward to reading/trying out any new books this year?

2. When was the last time you tried to write something outside your comfort zone?

3. What is your least favorite genre to read and/or write?

4. What is the craziest idea for a story you’ve ever gotten?

5. Besides writing stories, do you write anything else? (Like poetry, songs, etc.)

6. Are you a writer who hopes your works may one day be turned into a TV show or movie?

7. What would you say are your strengths in writing? Your weaknesses?

8. Do you have an OC(s) that makes you smile whenever you think of them?

9. What’s your favorite part of the writing process, besides writing?

10. What first inspired you to write, if you remember?

Tagging: @kclenhartnovels @dragonscanbeplantstoo @oheoo @writingguardian @quillwritten @writebruh @brynwrites @merigreenleaf @beefragment and @l-a-v-ender. I’m aware that some of you may not know me (but I tagged you because I thought you were a cool person and writeblr that i follow!) so don’t feel obligated to do this! We may only be acquaintances after all. And I don’t know who has or hasn’t done it so obviously don’t do it again if you don’t want to, but still feel free! Enjoy!

#writing tag #about me #ten questions tag #ten questions #tag game #writers on tumblr #writer friends #writeblr #writer tag

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