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#less than a week left before I log out of this account for good!
winxwannabe · 2 years
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First 900 words of Roll Here In Our Ashes Chapter 6 under the cut because it’s been too long since I updated and I crave instant gratification
Three hours before they were supposed to be at the main square in Littus, Bloom received a text on her burner phone with an email address and password. She had just gotten back from another shopping trip, and while these clothes were still a far cry from her normal wardrobe, she wouldn’t be tugging her shorts down all night. Baltor had retreated to his own room, and Bloom waited until she heard water running to grab her datapad and log into the account.
It was empty aside from a single message in the drafts folder with several attached, unnamed documents. They were reports, much like the ones the Council had first given her in Magix, on various stars. This grouping was around Solaria, including the second and third suns.
Bloom stared at it in shock, then closed and opened the document again in hopes the numbers were some datapad malfunction. They weren’t.
“What has you in a twist?” Baltor asked in an offhand tone, glancing Bloom’s way as he headed for the kitchen. His hair was wet and he wore no shirt, likely to try and startle her.
She was already too startled to care. “Readouts on stars from Solaria’s system. The Council sent it.”
While Baltor rummaged around for the alcohol of the day Bloom brought the documents up on a holographic readout. He wandered in a minute later, and she watched his eyes scan over the readings, looking confused before going wide with understanding. He set his glass down before going over to rearrange the holo, grouping certain points of data together on one side. “How recent is this?”
“This morning.”
He gave a long sigh. “If these numbers are correct, Solaria’s second sun will fail in -”
“Sixty hours. But there’s been a steady decrease in its output since Monday, so probably less than that.” Bloom leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. “I don’t suppose you told your higher-ups how to do this?”
“They’re certainly responsible, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. Nor do I know how to do it. When I acquired the Second Sun, I merely used its power to bolster my own. This isn’t redirecting energy. It’s more…snuffing it out.”
“Which could kill the royal family. Radius and Luna and…” Bloom trailed off, too nervous to say the last name out loud. She opened her eyes to look at Baltor. “What happens now?”
It was a stupid thing to ask, and she realized it as soon as the words left her mouth. But instead of mocking her, Baltor waved his hand. The readouts disappeared, allowing Bloom to see him on the other side of the coffee table. He picked up his drink, swirling the dark liquid in the lowball glass. “Now… we are going to get dressed, go down to the main square, and meet with whoever it is we’re supposed to. There is time to fix this.”
God, she was tired of hearing that. Once upon a time people in the Magic Dimension had to sacrifice when evil came to call. It meant working with political opponents, using hoarded resources, and putting the good of the universe ahead of a single planet. Now it was the Winx’s job to fix things. They were the ones who needed to be resourceful, who needed to outsmart the bad guys and save the day. And everyone - from Faragonda to the toddlers who would wave at her in the streets of Magix - expected Bloom to lead them in the right direction. It didn’t matter if she was tired or if the rulers of a planet had called her incompetent, she was expected to save the day with a smile on her face, expecting nothing in return.
There were safeguards for the Suns of Solaria, Bloom knew that. Other planets with similar magic could help sustain the royal family’s powers for at least a few weeks, at no cost to their own world. The Council could force it, if they needed to. But they wouldn’t anymore. It would be her job to fix it. Just like it always was.
“I know.” was all Bloom said.
He raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his drink. “Don’t let this get in your head. As far as these people know, nothing is even in your head right now.”
“Except thoughts of pleasing you?” Bloom gave him a dry smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be good.”
Baltor didn’t look like he believed her for a second, but didn’t say anything. Instead he came around the table and held out his hand with the drink in a silent offering. Bloom didn’t think nearly as long as she should have before taking it. She shuddered as the flavor hit her tongue. “Is this…apple infused?”
The disgusted tone earned her a laugh, and a smirk that was a touch playful. “Serves you right for limiting purchases to clothing today. Supplies are running low.”
“Shocking, considering how little you drink.” Bloom handed the glass back and stood, shutting the data pad off. “Now go put a shirt on. It’d be nice to get food before this starts.”
“I think Ayin had a bar menu.” Baltor winked, jumping back before Bloom’s fist could make contact with his shoulder!
“Shirt! Now!”
Baltor disappeared down the hall, and it wasn’t until the bedroom door shut that Bloom realized he had been laughing.
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luthienmpl · 1 year
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Watching/Rewatching/Planning to Watch List
I was tagged for this weeks and weeks ago by @mellens but I kept not doing it because I was stuck in a MUST!FINISH!STICHING PROJECTS!!!! phase and was watching quite literally nothing at all except Critical Role (no need to read subtitles or even look at the video footage most of the time with that one), so my list would have been very uninteresting for readers and frustrating for me personally. However I have now FINISHED THE PROJECTS (YAAAAY!!!) and am trying to coax my brain out of hyper fixation mode and back into watching some stuff. I'm partially doing this post now to hold myself accountable, lest I end up just aimlessly scrolling through tumblr still not watching anything instead.
Watching:
Between Us: I'm uhhhh *checks Wabi Sabi page* in ep 4. I watched 4 1/4 probably like.... 3 weeks ago? I will start this ep over this week probably. I'm enjoying it so far and like many others, it gives me an urge to rewatch UWMA.
My Tooth Your Love: I had to log back into Viki to check where I was, that's how long it's been. Apparently I have watched eps 1-4. I watched this more casually while I was still keeping up with it but I do wanna know where they're going with bar-owner's trauma induced anxiety issues (literally I can't remember what anybody is called in this, it's been so long) so I'll probs pick it up again at some point.
Big Dragon: Gaga tells me the last ep I watched was ep 5. I did quite enjoy that one while it was going even though it's ridiculous, the problem is that I've been spoiled a lot with this one so there's less of an urgency to pick it up again. On the other hand there's only 3 episodes left so it still shouldn't be much of a problem to finish.
My School President: This is the first show I have picked up to get myself back into watching mode, I started it Friday night and caught up with it yesterday evening. It's very cute, and surprisingly I'm enjoying all of the singing so far.
Dropping: I was watching Remember Me and Eternal Yesterday before the big break but from what I've heard Remember Me has gone off the rails hard and Eternal Yesterday ended about as you'd expect so I think won't bother with either of them.
Re-watching: Bad Buddy. I ran out of Critical Role and I was obsessed with BBS enough while it was first released that I can just let that one run in the background without looking at it a lot and still follow what's happening. Ngl though, the evening that I hit the Rooftop Kiss not a lot of stitching got done.
Planning to Watch:
Those coffee shop shorts that Vibie is putting out: I loved GHGH and am not averse to seeing more of Boy and Tod (also i hear there's a GL ep!)
GAP: I WILL START IT TODAY. I WILL OKAY. LISTEN THE SHOW IS JUST.... !!GAP!! IN MY MIND OKAY IT'S LIKE A BIG DEAL SO THAT TRANSLATES INTO ME BEING RELUCTANT TO START IT FOR SOME REASON? I DON'T UNDERSTAND EITHER BUT I'M STRUGGLING UGH IT'S LIKE
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Never Let Me Go: I hated FUTS and dropped it halfway through but it's not like the bad writing was the actors' fault and I hear good things about this one so far, so yes.
609 Bedtime Stories: I'd like to see OhmFluke in something other than UWMA but the Sunshine Night one certainly Wasn't It so I'm hoping this one is at least a little better. It's low priority though, I'll get to it when (if) I'll get to it.
History 5: I was not impressed with H4 At All but, well. It's still History. I hear there's time travel involved somehow? At least that's creative.
I'm vaguely aware there's a couple Korean office ones floating about, I'll probs watch those ones eventually, but the Korean stuff is so short that half the ones I've watched had no emotional impact on me at all, so they're also low priority currently.
Feel free to leave recommendations in the notes, I'm pretty out of the loop and unaware of release dates atm.
As I feel like I'm the Last Fucking Person to do this and I know quite a lot of my long time mutuals have done their lists already, let's take this as an opportunity to get to know some newer follows a little better. So I'm tagging @boosnbugs, @aliceisathome and @chimerasinourskyline. Feel free to ignore if you don't wanna and sorry if you made a list already that I'm unaware of.
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pattwtf · 10 days
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After these weeks, even if I didn't log in so often as I used to due to work and family stuff so I really don't know exactly who has been harassed and how, I've kept reading how many people feel so disconnected and distant from this site that used to be a refuge and a place where we all agreed on the love for Pedro/Pedro boys and other fandoms... I always felt safe, I saw the love we all had for each other through comments, supporting the work of artists that have been around for more than a year in general (some more, some less), friendly asks, etc. Love was in the air... And suddenly (although there are always a bunch of stupid people everywhere, not just here, like that's nothing new), something has happened and everything has become uncomfortable for many people, who feel singled out and judged for different reasons by a group of some jerks with bad intentions, prejudices and lots of free time.
... I understand (for what I could find randomly) that they have destructively criticized authors and their writings for random reasons, like age gap and other things ... Others were directly plagiarized, others left months ago after suffering bullying because people hiding behind fake accounts made up that they were mean behind the backs of people who appreciated them... Yeah, well, many many creepy things.
In short, what used to be, at least for me, a place to enjoy the work of other users and support everyone I could so they could continue doing what they are passionate about... Now feels like a place where those artists want to run away from and even stop creating for a while...
It breaks my heart and since I don't know exactly who this has happened to, I send all my support and love to everyone who has been affected. And I encourage them to always go ahead with what makes them happy. Take the time you need, post wherever you feel safe, but never stop creating cause of some rude, cowardly, unempathetic cowards. Most of us, 99% of your audience love you, enjoy your work and, if they don't, they understand that not everything is made for everybody, and that's perfect.
The other 1%... Please, PLEASE, quit. It's not just about this site, it's a about how you make other people feel, about how you can be so evil you do this shit and don't even think twice before. Everyone here is a human being behind a screen. With their lifes, jobs, families, studies and everything in between... You don't know who's struggling and enters here to feel a bit better doing whatever they love, creating or enjoying other's creations. Maybe someone isnt having the best time of their lifes... Maybe they are having the worst ever, and you guys go and give hell to them... Before you reach to anyone here, think if what you're gonna say will help them grow, improve, feel good...
Or if, on the contrary, whatever happens to you has only to do with you, with whether you like or dislike something that you could have stopped reading... With your preferences, which you should not impose on others, with your prejudices or with your vital dissatisfaction, in need of confrontation and people having a hard time to improve your mood.
IN THAT CASE, SHUT THE FUCK UP. Please and thank you. LET PEOPLE BE. You win NOTHING AT ALL doing those things and the one you annoy with all that crap can lose motivation, inspiration, you can hurt their feelings... Is it necessary to write 828119k words to tell you this as if you were toddlers? REALLY?
Sorry for writing such a superlong post, and im sure i might've maaany mistakes there. But im sure all of you understand what I mean and feel as sick of this as I do, with all these great people dealing with this who knows why...😒
Once again, we all appreciate your efforts, hard work and creativity. Y'all are so incredibly talented... It'd be a shame to lose any of you cause of these assholes.
LOVE YOU
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Promise I won't be this intense in a while but... Yeah.
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skorchinq · 14 days
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Bows Only: WE'RE SO BACK!!!!!!!
[Image IDs in alt text]
Ok so apparently the last time I updated was in August? And it's April now... um. Sorry about that? I didn't realize it's been so long TTOTT there hasn't been much to talk about honestly
Actually uhhh scratch that. I didn't update in so long ON PURPOSE. Totally. The reason I didn't was because I didn't want to update again until the curse of Jean was broken. And guess what finally happened B)
But before we get to that, let's start where we left off with our last post... way back in August of 2023...
As we waited with bated breath for the release of Version 4.0, I did manage to get a few more notable acomplishments. Namely...
Childe friendship level 10!
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And clearing floor 9 with all 9 stars! (I still cannot do this consistently on this account as I type this btw ._.)
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When 4.0 finally dropped, I fist went to wish on Yelan's banner. Things were off to a great start:
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We got another stringless! I already had two built up, so I used this one as refinement for one of them.
And then... the shooting star lit up gold, and... well, you know how that went.
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Try as I may, and Try as I might, Yelan would not come home. And, in this account's most humiliating L to date...
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The banner cycle ended with no Yelan and no Lyney.
Still, I could not afford to simply give up. I still worked hard throughout September, earning primogems and building my characters...
I got this really satisfying set of Daily Commissions once
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So like. That kinda makes up for not having Yelan. sure
Also! I decided to test Childe's limits!
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Look at that damage. All Tartagles babyyyyyyy
And uhhh the date on that one is in September and the date on this next one is in January so. I suppose nothing of interest happened in those months. Makes sense honestly, I had enough to gurantee a 5 star on here so I wasn't quite as desperate for primos and therefore wasn't logging on much... Plus with all the new content that comes with a major version update I was spending more time than usual on my main, leaving less time for this account. But anyway!
In the second half of 4.3 came two very important banners, one for each of my accounts:
On my main, My Raiden went from C1 to C2!
And, here on Bows Only, that 50/50 gurantee from the Yelan disaster finally came in use:
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After dodging us countless times... in 2.8... in 3.2... in 3.7... Finally... FINALLY!!! We've obtained the most elusive fireworks maker!
Our quest to max ascend all our characters also continues:
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And uhhh here's some event scores:
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I also did Klee's story quest, and something they mentioned at the end really stuck out to me:
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...They talk a lot about Ludi Harpastum in this quest, but we still haven't gotten to see that festival in game... Not once...
And it was soon after this that... my computer broke .-. I downloaded genshin on my phone while I waited for the repairs on it to be complete, but mobile genshin fricking sucks so I was only logging onto my main account to do limited time events and that's IT. I wasn't even doing my dailies on there and I was barely even touching Bows Only at all...
And it was only supposed to be a couple of weeks, but things kept getting delayed (They ordered the part they needed. they were sent the wrong one. they sent it back. they got the right part but it was broken. they sent it back. they got the wrong part again--) and my computer was gone for like two months TTOTT So I was stuck on mobile for the entirety of 4.4 and the better part of 4.5...
But eventually my dear puter came back to me (and I deleted genshin off my phone immediately) and I was able to consistently play on both accounts once more! It's a good thing, too, because coming up in 4.6 was a Lyney rerun...
I decided to do the Ararycan quest on this account because there's a follow-up to it I still haven't done on my main and I wanted to replay the first as a refresher. And uh
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How do I still keep forgetting this is my name. Genshin characters talking about David Bowie still throws me through a loop.
We garnered up primogems upon primogems... by the time the 4.6 update day came around, I had 94 fates at hand. But I also had 0 pity, and no 50/50 gurantee...
I knew what was coming. I knew exactly what to expect. When that shooting star turned to gold, it would be C5 Jean coming to greet me. But even so, I had plenty of savings, and 3 weeks to get even more. As long as I was a little lucky with how many fates it took for each 5 star, getting Lyney afterwards wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
At the 5th 10 pull, it turned gold. "Good," I thought. "That's early. I could get back up to soft pity before the banner ends."
And then, on 52 pity, the impossible happened...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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BOWS ONLY HAS OFFICIALLY WON OUR FIRST EVER 50/50!!!!!!!
Ever since this account first came to be, nearly 2 years ago now, we've lost ever single 50/50, and to the same character no less. But finally, after L after L, right when I least expected it, we've finally taken the W. And it's all thanks to this wonderful, amazing, magical catboy. Thank you, Lyney. I love you
I... did not prefarm for him like at all but that's okay, I had over 100 fragile resin saved up. I fought that crab countless times, and in only a day:
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It's what he deserves <3
He's not the only one who got to be ascended that day, either. After him, there was only one character left who was still on ascension 5, but not for much longer:
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Now that all of our characters are max ascended, we have three main goals for this account:
Continue to build our characters in other ways. This includes ascending and/or replacing weapons, leveling up talents, and of course, the artifact grind... and also I might level the characters up to 90. We'll see. Pretty sure I have the books for it tbh
Gather primogems. Because of how early we got Lyney, we've got a good head start on our savings for the next 5 star bow to release or rerun (though the only character we still need to rerun is Yelan). But it's always better to be safe than sorry. Just because the curse of Jean has been lifted doesn't mean we can't still lose 50/50s (though if we lost a 50/50 to Tighnari I'd be quite amenable to that). And finally...
Advance the main story. Cyno's Act II story quest is being added this version, so I'd like to replay Act I on this account first before playing the new one on my main. In order to do that though, I first must complete Act IV of the Sumeru Archon Quest-- and I haven't even done the Chasm Archon quest on here... Still, I think it's about time we did the Sumeru Archon quest. Actually, assuming there's another Traveler Archon Quest coming before Natlan, which there ought to be, I should play Caribert on this account too. So, that will be our goal. We play up to Caribert, and then give archon quests a rest for another while.
With those goals in mind, I think this series may be seeing more frequent updates for a while... maybe. Don't @ me if that ends up being wrong.
As always, feel free to send a friend request if you're on Europe server:
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And if you're on America server, here's my main:
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sailorsharky · 2 months
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⚓️Journal of a Sailor⚓️
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-= Log: 14 =-
-= Time of writing: 1920 =-
-= Weather conditions: Sunny and mostly clear. =-
-= Relative windspeed: 20 knots. =-
-= Duties done: Chipping rust, grinding, painting, unmooring, tug duties. =-
Good evening, dear logbook.
We turned in late last night on account of some tug duties at around 0100. It completely slipped my mind to set an alarm clock for today. Still, I was up and at 'em after lunchtime to take care of the deck crane as well as the rescue boat davit.
I did have to be rather quick, however. I had two hours to tackle the most obvious spots of rust by chipping, grinding, washing, and finally painting. But with a little bit of help from the chief mate, I managed to get it finished in time for dinner.
Almost immediately after dinner we got the task to take on a barge with another tugboat. We're currently sailing down the coast together, with our vessel aft of the barge.
It'll be a little while before we arrive where we need to bring it to, so I'm taking this time to write here in the meantime.
As for the big job regarding a rig I mentioned on previous occasion? We're still not entirely sure if that goes ahead, but if and when it does, we'll be heading out tomorrow evening. Should that be the case, know that I won't be able to post these logs, but rest assured; I will write one for each day and post them whenever possible.
And with that said, there's not much time left for us aboard. Just a little less than a week.
As much as I've enjoyed my stay, I am looking forward to returning to the fields and forests of my old hometown.
With that, I bid you a good night.
🌟May Polaris guide you always🌟
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102773906 · 5 months
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Week 11 Global Social Media "China": How Does China's Firewall Influence Online Communication, Information Flow, and Global Connectivity?
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As an avid traveller, travelling has always been an exciting affair that has always been more or less hassle free. It was only when I visited China for the first time that I was stressed out. In China, most social media platforms are blocked because of The Great Firewall. In order to bypass it, a good VPN was needed. Before flying off, I had to buy a good VPN that could last the entire duration of the trip which set me back a few hundred bucks. Other than that once we arrived in China, I had to make sure that I did not accidentally log out of my VPN account if not there was no way of logging back in, and I would be cut of from my family and friends back home and most importantly cut off from the rest of the world. Can you imagine the stress I had to go through just to access the internet? At that point in time I was thinking, “Wow, The Great Firewall might be as great as they say.”
China is a singular entity in the wide digital realm where information transcends all boundaries thanks to its strong Great Firewall. The Golden Shield Project, as this technical infrastructure is officially called, has come to represent internet governance in China. In this blog article, we explore the complex network that is the Great Firewall and its far-reaching effects on global connection, information flow, and online communication (Dreamer, 2020).
Impact on Online Communication
In the digital era, open discussion and debate are essential components of communication. On the other hand, the internet communication environment is very different inside the Great Firewall. Popular international platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google are no longer available; in their stead are local equivalents like WeChat, Baidu, and Weibo (Kiely, 2023). People's platforms of choice as well as the material they may access and distribute are impacted by this segmentation.
 Instant messaging platforms are also part of the censoring machinery, which has an impact on how people privately express themselves. Government-designated sensitive keywords are tracked, which may result in material banning or even user monitoring. Because of the chilling impact this surveillance has on free expression, users are forced to self-censor their opinions in order to avoid possible consequences (Chen, 2022).
Based on personal experience, when I visited China even texting my cousin who was traveling with me was risky business. So what happened was, my cousin was resting in the hotel because she was feeling under the weather, while I was out shopping. I remember she was using a Winnie The Pooh pajamas when I left the hotel, so I jokingly told her to change because it was a sensitive topic in China regarding their president. I immediately realised my mistake and deleted the text but I still could not rest easy fearing that the police might show up at the hotel at any time.
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Information Flow and Media Landscape
China's information environment is significantly impacted by the Great Firewall. Websites, social media accounts, and news sources from other countries are frequently restricted or prohibited. Public opinion and perception are shaped by this control over the flow of information, which results in a well curated digital environment that supports the narrative of the government. On a domestic level, the firewall helps control information that can be seen as politically sensitive or a possible danger to social order. Content pertaining to human rights concerns, political opposition, and events deemed problematic by the government are all filtered in this way. As a result, some issues are either completely removed from public conversation or kept sanitised in the digital sphere (Lu et al., 2022).
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Looking Ahead & Navigating the Future of the Great Firewall
The Great Firewall's future continues to be a topic of discussion and conjecture as technology develops and the globe grows more linked. Will China maintain its strict control over the digital environment or will it gradually open up to the international internet? The future course of global connectedness, information flow, and online communication will surely be influenced by the responses to these concerns (Edward, 2023). Another question is, would I still be interested in visiting China again with all these hassles and limitation? Yes, yes I would but not anytime soon.
China's Great Firewall is more than just a technical impediment; it represents the complex relationship between national security interests, political control, and the rapidly changing digital landscape. We learn more about the challenges of navigating a digital world when state censorship limits the free flow of information. We do this by examining its effects on online communication, information flow, and global connection. We get a peek of the wider ramifications for the internet's future as a global, linked environment by comprehending these processes.
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References
Chen, L.Y. (2022) Wechat is China’s beloved surveillance tool, Bloomberg.com. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-07-12/wechat-is-china-s-beloved-surveillance-tool#xj4y7vzkg (Accessed: 27 November 2023).
Dreamer, S. (2020) The impact of the ‘great firewall’: China’s online censorship system, Medium. Available at: https://moderngazelle.medium.com/the-impact-of-the-great-firewall-china-s-online-censorship-system-41da711fc393 (Accessed: 27 November 2023).
Edward, D. (2023) The ‘great firewall’ grows: China toughens censorship in wake of protests, ITV News. Available at: https://www.itv.com/news/2023-01-23/the-great-firewall-grows-china-toughens-censorship-in-wake-of-protests (Accessed: 27 November 2023).
Kiely, T. (2023) The 8 top Chinese social media apps, Sites &amp; Platforms 2023, Meltwater. Available at: https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/top-chinese-social-media-apps-sites (Accessed: 27 November 2023).
Lu, Y., Schaefer, J. and Pan, J. (2022) How information flows from the world to China - sage journals, SageJournals. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/19401612221117470 (Accessed: 27 November 2023).
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tarosin · 3 years
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the great adventures of y/n tommy tubbo jack and ranboo - how y/n made friends with everyone
this is an extra to the great adventures series
requested: yes/no
warnings: cursing
tommy
you were actually friends with tommy when he was streaming to a few viewers, and you even watched as his channel grew. eventually he asked you to mod for him, as he knew he could trust you and because had experience being a twitch mod. he was also the reason you began streaming. as for how you met, you were in the same classes as him in highschool, and since you were the ‘quiet’ person in the class, they sat tommy next to you. honestly, you hated him when you first met him and the feeling was mutual. you didn’t want to sit next to the rather loud teenager and he had no one to talk to anymore as his friends were on the other side of the room.
“do you ever talk?”
“heh?”
“i said do you ever talk...do you always do that”
“do what”
“that fucking HeH.”
“are you mocking me simons?”
“noooo why would i do that...”
“it’s y/n.”
“right, yeah, yeah, i totally knew that.”
“great now please leave me alone i’m trying to work.”
“loser.”
“the fuck did you just say?”
“nothing.”
it was that moment tommy decided he was going to make you just like him, and a few years later that’s exactly what he did. by year 11 you and tommy had grown extremely close. the last day of school arrived a lot earlier than expected, everyone was extremely stressed, no one knew what to expect or what was going to happen. you found yourself hanging around with tommy a lot more as you had no idea if you would both be going to the same college, in september you received a text message that made your night:
tommy: college sent out emails telling you if you were accepted go check
*2 minutes later*
tommy: well?
y/n: i got accepted
tommy: me too
y/n: call me right now
tommy: i’m about to stream..have you ever considered streaming?
y/n: absolutely not
tommy: make an account and stream after me i’ll raid you..make me mod you know how people can be
once college started up, you were slightly nervous the two of you would drift away from each other. however this was far from the case, although you both did different subjects and he was only in on wednesdays, the pair of you would hang out together a lot more. he would be in your streams and vice versa, you would either be in his tiktoks, or you would be the one filming them.
“y/n make a tiktok we can be mutuals.”
“please god no.”
you spent so much time at his house either talking about random things, playing whatever game you could find, or streaming. he dragged you to every meet up he went on, allowing you to meet people such as niki, phil, and, wilbur. you didn’t know this, but he would constantly bring you up in conversations with dream, which eventually lead to you joining the smp in october where you would later be able to meet the likes of jack, technoblade and jschlatt. the only person you didn’t seem to see on the server was his other friend tubbo.
ranboo
you had become friends with scott after being his first twitch mod and when he noticed you started streaming, he was extremely supportive, always raiding your stream once he ended his. today you found yourself bickering with scott because he wouldn’t let you in mcc despite the fact you were ‘the best minecraft player.’
“y/n, i watched you die in minecraft 7 times last night within 5 minutes.”
“oh i’m sorry mr perfect, let me in mcc.”
“no.”
“fine i’ll make my own.”
and that’s exactly what you did..well you tried your best.
you started your stream as soon as scott ended and had him call you on discord after explaining to your chat what you were about to do.
“scott final chance let me in mcc, i’ll settle for access to the practice server.”
“fine.”
“REALLY?!”
“absolutely not!”
“fuck you, ill be in it one day!”
you left the call telling chat you didn’t need that negative energy in your life.
you really have scott to thank for you making friends with ranboo, scott made a tweet explaining what you were doing on stream which caught ranboos eye.
Smajor1995: after not making it into mcc again my good friend @y/n has decided to take it upon themselves to make their own on stream!! ill also be in the stream (if they answer my calls) *twitch link*
ranboo joined your stream and was instantly met with you yelling at scott (again) to let you in mcc.
“IM YOUR TWITCH MOD!”
“i will ban you from mcc!”
“you don’t have the nerve... so he left the call this is bullshit watch me land this water bucket clutch down this ravine so we can find axolotls and build an army.”
*you died*
you pulled your hood over your face before sinking down your chair taking a deep breath.
“FUCK!”
you calmly got back up and looked into your camera.
“i was so close, so very close.. HEY CHAT SCOTT SENT ME A LINK TO THE SERVER!”
a few minutes later you were able to get onto the server, only to be kicked less than a minute later. the reason you were banned being ‘i watched you fail the water bucket clutch down a ravine.’
you continued your build on your server and just spent the rest of the stream talking about anything that crossed your mind, that was until you decided to copy ace race. once finished, you looked into your camera and pulled your microphone closer to you.
“so this is race ace, so scott doesn’t sue me, and basically it’s going to be this course, but i’m going to change a random section practice it every day, not tell anyone it changed. of course i’m going to tell my team we have to win, oh fuck i forgot scott was watching my stream..it’s okay he didn’t hear me he’s too busy planning how he can rig the next mcc.”
ranboo found himself enjoying your content and even noticed you in his chat multiple times.
“just a minute chat i’m just sending an important dm to my mods.”
that’s when you noticed chat paused for a minute after you sent a message, it confused you for a minute before realising ranboo made you a vip on his channel and you decided to do the same for him on your channel, from there you added each other on discord. the pair of you made friends extremely quickly, you were constantly part of his streams as you would call him on discord not realising that he was streaming.
“hi y/n, by the way i’m streaming”
“i just wanted to ask if you knew how to break into a house?”
“....why”
“i locked myself out by accident and my parents are asleep come help me.”
“you are in the uk.”
“okay? catch a flight.”
chat honestly loved you and your friendship with ranboo. the pair of you only met a few weeks ago and you were already acting as though you had known each other for years.
jack
you and jack met for the first time on the smp, which would have been fine, however you met during lore and your characters weren’t exactly the best of friends. once lore had ended, everyone said their goodbyes and left the call. a few moments later you received a discord message from jack asking if you were available to call any time soon. since you were back in lockdown, you had plenty of free time. you arranged a time and date a few days later you called jack, where you had your first proper interaction out of character.
“hello jack!!”
“oh hi y/n i just thought it may be a good idea to get to know each other, well you know considering we’re both on the dream smp.”
“yeah, yeah, i understand what you mean.”
the pair of you ended up getting along with each other, it was slightly awkward for the first 5 minutes of the call, but that was expected since you hadn’t really met jack before and were anxious to call him. however, after that the conversation started to flow and you found out the pair of you had a lot in common making it easy to come up with things to talk about. it ended up feeling as though you were catching up with a friend you hadn’t spoken to for a while.
“has anyone told you your accent is really strong.”
“so is yours, y/n, what the fuck is that supposed to mean.”
“it means your accent is strong, duh.”
jack asked if you’d like to stay in call and join him on the smp whilst he streamed, and you gladly accepted the offer as you really didn’t want to do your college work, and you were enjoying your time with him. a few minutes into the stream jack had killed you several times.
“JACK STOP KILLING ME!”
rather than answering you he just sat laughing. he then went on to attempt to mute him microphone, he failed. however he didn’t realise this, so you sat listening to his plan on how he was going to kill you again. this time you were prepared, you sent a message to tommy telling him to log on along with your location. few minutes later tommy was by your side and helped you kill jack several times for revenge.
“Y/N...TOMMY!!”
“you didn’t mute your mic, so i told tommy you were bullying me.”
“im gonna go...BYE JACK, BYE Y/N, ILL SEE YOU SOON!”
“i can’t believe you.”
“hey you’re the one who didn’t turn your mic off.”
“how did you know?”
“i had your stream on my other monitor.”
“ayeee you watch my streams?”
“...i’ve been a sub for 4 months.”
the two of you stayed chatting and playing for another hour. the pair of you were already so close and you had only met each other the other day. this was just the start of your friendship, soon enough you were in a laugh and the stream ends challenge on his stream, however due to lockdown rules this was done over discord leading to you accidentally leaving the call several times.
“and they’re gone again!”
*4 minutes later*
“SORRY JACK IM BACK!”
“stop leaving y/n!”
“oh i’m sorry, let me just go yell at my wifi to stop cutting out!”
a few seconds later you could be heard faintly in the background screaming at your wifi as it would continue to buffer. as soon as restrictions were over one of the first things you decided to do was go to jacks and stream a laugh you lose where there was a punishment if you were responsible for losing the last heart. however everything was apparently hilarious in person as you would constantly laugh, meaning you were responsible for losing the last heart.
“y/n give me your phone.”
“no.”
“you lost let me tweet from your account”
“fine..”
soon enough your fans and friends with your notifications on received this twitter notification
“y/n: jack is so cool and funny he is also really tall i am not”
tubbo
tubbo was actually the last person you met and made friends with, your community were convinced for some reason that you both didn’t like each other and that’s why the pair of you didn’t talk to each other. this was far from the case you were both waiting for the right time, tubbo was an extremely busy teenager and you didn’t want to interrupt him, and tubbo knew you were currently in a stressful position since you had recently joined the dream smp, also you were still meeting people so he didn’t want to stress you out. this doesn’t mean he didn’t want to be your friend, he actually asked tommy since he had been your friend for at least 4 years what would be the best way of getting to know you.
“mate they hated me when we first met, just talk to them or something. you could have met them the last time i went up to visit you, but they ended up not feeling too good and went back to the hotel room.”
“when are you next coming up?”
“how about next week, and i’ll bring y/n, i really don’t understand why you’re nervous tubbo, it’s y/n they wouldn’t hurt a fly..well hmm.”
“see you next week then!”
a week later tommy dragged you to the train station.
“uh tommy where are we going?”
“...on a train.”
“no way, really? oh my god!”
a few hours later you finally got off the train.
“ill go with my dad to check into the hotel room, do you want to come with us or?”
“i think i’ll go for a walk and stretch my legs.”
“right okay, meet you at the beach later”
you spent a few minutes walking around the beach picking up any rocks and shells that caught your eye, little did you know it would result in you meeting tubbo. once you finished putting your new collection in your pockets you noticed a small crowd of people walk up to someone asking for pictures assuming it was tommy you walked over to the boy, it wasn’t tommy it was in fact tubbo. at first you stayed silent not wanting to really cause attention to yourself. you only spoke up when some people started to make inappropriate comments towards him.
“oh sorry to be a pain guys me and tubbo have plans with tommy in a few minutes, we should go so we’re not late. bye guys.”
you smiled and waved as they walked away. you looked over to tubbo, you could tell he was still pretty anxious about what just happened and honestly if you was in his position, you would react the same way.
“we should probably move from here incase they come back and see you’re still here, are you okay?”
“im feeling better now it’s over..thank you”
“oh it’s no problem i’m, y/n btw.”
“wait you and tommy were still meant to be on the train.”
“the train was actually on time, tommy went to check into the hotel i wanted to stretch my legs, i also wanted to collect some rocks.”
“did you collect enough or did you want more?”
“im not going to say no if you wanna go collect some with me.”
the pair of you walked around keeping each other close incase the people from before returned. half an hour later, the pair of you sat on a bench close to the beach so you could show tubbo everything you decided to pick up, he ended up keeping a rock he liked to have as a memory. tubbo wrapped an arm around you as it was getting cold whilst you watched the sunset.
“tubbo i think tommy forgot about me.”
“you can spend the night at mine, i’ll send him a message to let him know.”
“are you sure?”
“of course!”
“this has to be the most unsafe thing either of us will ever do, we hardly know each other and now i’m staying at yours.”
tommy sent you a message explaining that he didn’t forget, there was a problem at the other hotel and they had to go find another one, but you’ll be fine to stay at tubbos for the night. the pair of you spent the entire night learning as much as you can about the other person. it had only been an evening but you already knew the pair of you would be great friends.
taglist:
@dumb-chaotic-bi-energy @uselesssapphickitten @l0ver0fj0y @etheriaaly @xx-smiley-xx @hawarun @kylobensgirl @cawcaw-pretty-thing @reverse-iak @renleicrashed @c1loudee
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star-puff · 2 years
Text
announcement !
i've been drafting this post in my head for months tbh but i'm just gonna start it off & get straight to the point: i'm leaving tumblr!
well, i (meg, of tumblr user star-puff acclaim) am leaving tumblr, more specifically, haikyuu fic tumblr. this probably does not come as a surprise to a lot of you considering my past activity over the past few months (or lack thereof), but like i said before i'd been thinking about leaving tumblr ever since june of last year. the original plan was to leave at the end of summer 2021 because i'd Assumed i would have finished at least One of my series by then but . but well :") turns out it was more difficult than i thought to meet that deadline :"")
(skip the end of the post to get the important @s and links to where i'll be next :) )
why i'm leaving:
there were a lot of reasons why i wanted to leave back then, and i won't really get into it in This post; i feel like what i felt back then was a common sentiment in the community and digging into that can of worms unwarranted is a bit . yknow, lmao. but if someone is still curious i'll still answer, because to a certain degree what i felt back then is a reason of why i'm leaving Now. the real reason i'm actually leaving though is because i've just lost all motivation for writing haikyuu fic. call it the loss of hyperfixation or me just becoming too busy to write and be online like i used to, or just me being tired of it all, but at some point writing for this blog started to feel less of an outlet and more like an obligation or a chore. it didn't really help that a good chunk of my friends & mutuals on this corner of hqblr had already left and my interaction as a whole was just looking a little ... 🤕, and it didn't really show signs of getting any better with all my time offline either. i'm saying this as objectively as possible, but i feel like there just isn't really a place for me here anymore, at least a place that anyone would really care to visit or stay at anymore, so i'm just going to cut my losses and not overstay my welcome more than i already have :) /gen
what about strawberry marmalade?
i really am sorry for those who were looking forward to seeing me finish strawmarm, but the way things are looking ... </3 i'll probably be uploading all of my long fics over to my ao3 and see if i ever come back to writing and finishing strawmarm, because i really Did have it all planned out,,, but well . you know where we are now :") long story short, strawmarm is discontinued unless i miraculously get hyperfixated on haikyuu and that embarrassingly stupid strawberry man again
okay? what now 🤨🤨:
i'll be leaving this blog up as an archive! i honestly thought about deleting it but after thinking it over i think i'd end up missing and regretting it if i did, so i'm leaving it up for the memories (i'm sentimental and sappy like that ... cringe ik :/). i'll probably leave another post before i leave giving the same links in an easier to read format without all this ... [gestures above] LMAO but you can find my new tumblr @togeqii and my ao3 @/togeqi :) if any mutuals want my discord feel free to ask too!
in any case, this was star-puff's meg!
i'll stay until next week to say my goodbyes and answering any asks that get sent in (if they get sent in 🤕🤕) before i log out of this account for good but yeah! thank you for indulging in my brainrot and word vomit for a year and a half, thank you for those who stuck with me since the beginning and thank you to those who joined along the way. you all really did make me smile through the toughest times <3 thank you to all of my mutuals, those who were stayed Friends On Dash and those who became more than that :) and this is sappy but yuren if you end up reading this, thank you for writing fic that inspired me to make this blog in the first place :) you're a real one for that <3
lots of love, always, even till the end <3
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Text
CTRL+ALT+DECEIT
Warnings: non-consent sex and rape; oral, fucking, stalking, hacking, threats, implied violence.
This is dark!Jake Jensen x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.
Synopsis: You find your pictures on someone else’s Insta but that’s not the only thing he’s stolen.
Note: Yay, another Jensen fic at last. I’m probably gonna try to work in more one shots between my series. I’m looking at Andy Barber, Ransom Drysdale, or Lee Bodecker right now for next week but we’ll see.
Thanks to everyone for sticking around and putting up with me and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)
I really hope you enjoy. 💋
<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!
Tumblr media
The chirp of the chat pierced your eardrum once more as you ignored it for the spreadsheet of dates on your other monitor. Working from home could be both peaceful and distracting but the third bing had you muting and pushing your headset to your neck with a grumble. You switched windows as the chat box blinked.
‘So why didn’t u tell me u had a bf?’ Zia’s bubble blipped up followed by impatient emojis.
“Wat r u talking bout?’ you typed back and clicked back to the spreadsheet to update the status of each course. That noise came again and you flipped back.
‘I’m not stupid! Come on. He’s far away but he’s cute.’
You frowned and tapped the space bar lightly. You were utterly confused. The only activity in your daily life were the general notifications from Tindr. You repeated the question and she sent an emoji rolling its eyes.
‘I’m serious.’ you replied.
She sent a link and then a laughing GIF attached to another bubbled response, ‘I’m not buyin it.’
You clicked on the hyperlink and a new tab opened. You scrolled down on the Insta as the air was knocked out of you at the sight of your own face. Not only were their pics taken from your public profile but several you’d never even posted. Your skin crawled and the bing sounded again.
‘So… an online thing huh.’ Zia pressed on.
‘I gotta work.’ you closed out of the window entirely but stayed on the Insta.
You scrolled through about a dozen or so selfies of you, each labeled as ‘missing my lady’ or ‘she’s so sweet, sending me pics to keep me company’. Your stomached roiled with mortification and the unsettling sensation of intrusion. It was easy enough to guess you’d been hacked but to think this was what the creep did with it was even more startling.
You changed the password on your Insta and went through the process of doing so with all of your accounts and ran a scan on your PC. You would likely have to file a ticket for a proper inspection with a specialist. You couldn’t help but shake as you went back to the profile after checking your bank account and PayPal to make sure it wasn’t worse than just pics.
You went back to the profile and found photos of the culprit. His spiky blond hair and glasses were unsurprising and his comic book tee shirt was even less. Your disgust was quickly replaced with anger as you hit the chat icon above his info.
‘Hey, jackass, care to tell me how you have my photos on your profile?!’
The read icon appeared almost and you saw him typing. It stopped and then started again.
‘You’re so beautiful, I wanted to share it with everyone.’
You scoffed at the message and cringed at the screen. ‘Are you nuts? Like actually. You stole my photos! You hacked me. Creep.’
You blocked him immediately after hitting send and logged out. You opened Excel again and tried to focus on the coloured cells. You could hardly process what you were doing as your phone began to vibe on the corner of your desk. It didn’t let up and you couldn’t focus past the incessant buzzing.
You snatched it up and several messages covered the screen as you unlocked it. ‘You really think that’s gonna work’; ‘You can’t block me’... several in a similar vein that you deleted before blocking the number. You silenced your phone and turned back to your monitor.
Suddenly the screen went black and you blinked. You hit the keyboard and clicked, assuming it fell asleep. It lit up again but all you saw was yourself staring back. Your mouth fell open and you ripped the clip-on cam from atop your monitor. You disconnected it as the notepad opened and typing flicked up across the white space.
‘I didn’t want it to be like this.’
You could move the mouse or backspace. All control was lost and you sat there helplessly watching the scrawl.
‘I think we’d be really good together if you only gave me a chance. Can’t you see I worship you?’
Your phone began to shake constantly and a private number flashed. You picked it up and hollered into the speaker, “leave me alone”. You hung up but it kept on and your screen turned to black once more. Your PC was still on but there was no reaction from the machine.
Fuck, you sat back and looked at your phone. You couldn’t even call work to tell them because the damn thing wouldn’t stop ringing. You put your head in your hands and grunted in frustration. How the fuck did all this happen?
🖱️
After your initial panic died down, you disconnected your tower and shut off your phone. You left your cell behind as it was just as useless. You hauled the PC down to IT at your work and filled out the ticket without giving intricate details on everything the weirdo had taken.
You left with a borrowed laptop. You wouldn’t sign into your personal accounts and stick to the company portal. You were embarrassed but happy to have a temporary solution. You got home and set up the new computer and reconfigured your wi-fi. You finished the last of the day’s work and ended the day with a glass of wine.
When you dared to turn your phone on again the next morning, it was filled with notifications from all platforms but each one you clicked on errored and prompted you to sign-in. All your new passwords were wrong and you knew it was him. 
You checked the Insta and found a screenshot on his profile from the day before, your mouth agape in horror that could easily mistaken for surprise.
‘Her face when you pop the question on the call’. The caption made your stomach curdle and you nearly flung the phone away. You couldn’t comment without logging in or message. So you created a shell account with a throwaway email you used on Reddit.
‘Why won’t you stop?’ you sent the message through as you waited for your coffee to brew.
‘Stop what?’ he added a winky face with his reply and you growled.
‘You know who this is! Why are you doing this?’
‘Hmmm…’ he let the message hang there and you sat down with your mug and listened to the birds outside. ‘Imagine what someone else would do with everything I have.’
‘Look at what you’re doing. You’re ruining my life.’
‘Ruining? Sweetie, I’m watching over you. Protecting you.’
Your nostrils flared and you burnt your tongue on the coffee and planted it on the table so it sloshed over the sides.
‘Love you, sweetie. See ya soon.’
The chat box turned grey as you realised he blocked you. That pissed you off more than anything and you lobbed your phone away with a shout of anguish. This guy was fucked!  
You were shaking so much you couldn’t even drink your coffee. You got up and paced until you could think straight. You dialed into work and told them you were taking the day off for a personal emergency and shut down your phone. You were too afraid he would find a way onto your work laptop and you didn’t want to have to explain that to IT too.
🖱️
Zia showed up on Saturday and she wasn’t happy. She buzzed up and banged on your door impatiently. You let her in and she crossed her arms over the strap of her purse as she crooked her hip.
“I know I shouldn’t have snooped but if you’re mad at me, you should’ve just said so. I would’ve backed off,” she scowled.
“I’m not mad,” you said as you backed into the front room and dragged your feet over the rug.
“Sure, you’re just ignoring all my messages by accident,” she stayed at the other side of the room.
“Not exactly, no,” you shrugged, “it’s a long story.”
“And you couldn’t shoot me a message to say that at least?”
“Look, I’m stressed the fuck out. I’m sorry but the only reason I didn’t answer you is because I can’t.” 
“You can’t?”
“I can’t even turn my phone on anymore.”
“What--”
“Just--” you touched your temples, “I don’t even know how to explain--”
“Jesus, are you okay?” her anger slaked away as her voice softened.
“No, I’m not,” you sniffed, “I’ve been trapped in this apartment and I can’t think straight and I can’t even talk to anyone because my phone and my life is totally fucked.”
“How about we get a coffee and you can tell me once you’ve calmed down,” she said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so worked up.”
“You don’t know how bad it is. I really fucked up,” you whined, “I don’t even know how it happened.”
“Is this about the boyfriend?”
You huffed and shook your head, “I told you, he’s not my boyfriend-- Let me get dressed.”
After you felt presentable enough to leave the apartment, the thought of getting away ushered you down the winding stairwell and onto the sidewalk. You and Zia walked down to the cafe on the corner where you always overspent on their specialty drink and caught up.
You ordered but when you tried to use your card, the machine beeped in rejection. You tried again but still no luck. Zia offered to pay and you promised you’d pay her back. Anxiety pitted deep in your stomach as you sat. You’d have to call the bank and figure out why eight dollars would bounce.
“So,” Zia said as she shaded her eyes against the sunlight streaming onto the open patio, “he’s not your boyfriend?”
“I don’t even know the dude,” you hissed as you almost overturned your cup, “Zee, those pictures, they were all on my phone. I never sent them to anyone. I don’t even know his real name and when I confronted him, he crashed my whole system and blew up my phone. I haven’t been able to log into anything because of him.”
“You’re shitting me,” she chuckled.
“Zee, I’m not fucking kidding,” you blinked, “don’t you think if I was dating some dude out in who knows where, you’d be the first to know? You think I’m wasting my time with the idiots on Tindr for fun?”
“No way,” she scoffed.
“Zia, look me in the eye,” you said as you gave her a stern look, “I’m freaking the fuck out.”
“Did you call the police?” she asked.
You sat back and closed your eyes. You were so swept up in the panic, you hadn’t even thought. You could report it to the police, just get a record of it even if they didn’t do anything else. You heard horror stories of hackers and how little could be done but you had to at least try.
“I guess I should go down to the station today,” you ran your fingertips along your chin, “I don’t know, I felt so alone, I thought--”
“And call your bank right now,” she slid her phone over, “figure out what’s going on with your accounts.”
You took her cell and dialed the number on the back of the card. You dragged your finger down the side of your cup as you listened to the automated message and hit the buttons to direct you to customer service. The hold song bubbled in your head and finally picked up as you finished the last of your mocha.
You explained the issue after giving your information as Zia sat patiently across from you. She watched the other patrons and looked out across the street as you waited on the representative on the other end.
“Looks like your account has been locked. Your savings and checking have been placed on hold citing possible fraud,” the woman explained.
“Well, can’t you unlock them? Why would they be flagged?”
“Hmm, well I see no suspicious spending so possibly… it could be due to an external lock, not us.”
“What does that mean?”
“I can’t speak to that. Have you received any communications from the Revenue service?”
“Revenue service? I don’t--no,” you gulped.
“I’m sorry, there’s nothing else I can tell you,” she said, “you should consider contacting federal services.”
You hung up and handed Zia her phone back. “Apparently, I’m under investigation for fraud? I don’t know.”
“Shit,” she took her cell, “are you sure?”
“It sounded like it but-- I gotta check my credit card,” you stood and grabbed your empty cup and your purse.
You stormed down the street to the ATM at the corner and inserted your card. LOCKED the machine made a hideous noise and you pulled out your card in irritation. You put your wallet and touched the sides of your neck as the heat swelled through you.
“I don’t understand--”
“Um, you should see this,” Zia said.
Zia turned her screen towards you and your heart dropped to your toes. There was a picture softened by a blush Insta filter and the caption read, ‘just got into town, surprising bae with flowers’. Over the cluster of petals at the bottom of the image were you and Zia sitting at the cafe patio.
You spun and searched around for any sign of the man and the bouquet. You could hardly breath as it felt like you were being squished between invisible walls. You clapped your hand against the wall and steadied yourself as Zia gently rubbed your arm.
“Let’s go to the station,” you croaked as tears welled in your eyes, “please.”
🖱️
The police told you everything you expected. Even as you showed them the photos and explained how you never met that man in your life, they only offered you words on a piece of paper. They’d file the report and follow-up in case of any further escalation. It was a non-answer, a cold shrug.
Zia went home with you as she offered to stay the night. You gladly accepted and the two of you cozied up on your bed and spent the night watching early 00s rom coms. You found it hard to relax even with her there. You couldn’t stop thinking about how close he’d been without you even knowing.
You at last began to doze off as Reese Witherspoon triumphed and exhausted by the endless maelstrom of dread, you slipped into a deep but perilous sleep. You were locked in limbo between waking and slumber, almost as if you could hear everything around you but remained blind and unknowing all the same.
You woke with a start as you felt like you were falling. You sat up and reached to the other side of the bed. Zia was gone. She must have got up to get water or use the bathroom. You took a breath and turned your legs over the edge. You got up groggily and lumbered across the room, your mouth dry and head aching. Some tylenol and water would do you well.
You hesitated as you noticed the bloom of light just around the corner from your doorway. Zia must be having trouble sleeping, you guessed as you kept on. As you came in sight of the front room, you heard a whimper and you backed up against the wall as tall figure stood before the coffee table. The flowers laid across the wood, slightly crumpled from a struggle.
As Zia whined, he jabbed her with his foot and she grunted around the rag tied around her mouth. Her arms and legs were bound behind her as the man loomed over her. You recognized his blond hair and glasses, the menacing blue eyes as he raised his chin and crossed his arms.
“Been waiting on you,” he stepped over her, “I was disappointed when I realised it was her. Good friend though, hanging around…”
“Don’t hurt her, please. What do you want?”
“You can’t figure that out?” he taunted, “huh, I’m sure you can guess what it will take for me to leave her in one piece.”
Zia wiggled and received another boot. You pushed yourself forward and he stepped closer, predatory as he dropped his arms and clenched then unclenched his fists. He chuckled as you stopped short and gaped up at him.
“She’s cute,” he said, “she can join us if that makes it easier for you.”
“You’re disgusting,” you snarled and winced as he reached out to touch your cheek. You fought not to shove him away, your eyes on Zia’s bound figure.
“Play nice and I will,” he warned, “every time I hurt her, that’s on you. I wish I didn’t have to do this to show you how much I love you.”
You shook your head as your lip trembled. He pressed his palms to your cheek and ran his thumb along your lips. He leaned in and you cowered as you realised how big he was. You didn’t expect that looking at him from the other side of a screen.
“Do we put on a show for her or did you want a little privacy?”
“You won’t get away with this,” you hissed.
“Oh yeah? I locked you out of your social media, your pc, your bank… do you really want to see how far I can take this?”
He smothered your murmured answer with his mouth and kissed you gruffly. He pulled away and looked you in the eye. He bit his lip and hummed.
“So, do we do this here?”
“You’re sick,” you grabbed his hand and wrenched it away from your face. You yanked him and directed him to the bedroom, “you monster.”
“Now come on,” he twisted his wrist around and grabbed your elbow, “I could’ve killed her. Don’t think I won’t.”
You quivered as he forced you back into your bedroom, the street lights casting shadows between your curtains. He flung you ahead of him, as strong as his thick arms would suggest. You stumbled and caught yourself on the side of the bed. You turned as the door slammed and he prowled towards you like a wild cat.
“Well,” he threw his hands up and you caught a glint of light against the lens of his glasses, “you want me to undress you or you think you can handle that, sweetie?”
You puffed in repulsion and looked away from him. Even in the dark, you could feel his eyes on you. You jittered as you reached to the neck of your loose tee and slowly raised it over your head. You dropped it to crumple on the floor and you touched the top of your shorts. You heard him moving around and shied away as he flipped the switch and light shone across the room.
You pushed down your shorts as you heard a thump from the next room. His jaw twitched as his eyes lingered on you and he reluctantly glanced away. He swung the door open and stormed out into the front room. You went to the door and heard his snarl.
“Stop fucking moving,” he rasped, “every time I have to tell you, I’ll pop another out.”
Zia gave a muffled sob as you heard a sickly crack and you hurried to look around the wall into the room. He blocked your sight with his broad chest and pointed you back to the room.
“I didn’t say you could leave the room,” he spun you and slapped your bare ass, “fast, fast, fast… before I lose my patience.”
Your skin stung from the strike and you tripped through the doorway as he followed quickly. Another slam and he poked you further into the room with his knuckle. You stepped away from him and tried to cover yourself as you faced him in horror.
He quickly swooped his shirt over his head and revealed a buff chest thick with blond hair. He kicked off his shoes and fumbled to undo his fly. He tilted his head as he looked you over and groped himself through his jeans.
“You know what to do,” he said, “I’ve seen the way you touch yourself… cyber security 101, cover your webcam.”
You shuddered as he beckoned you closer. He stopped you and put your hands on the waist of his jeans. He leaned in and nuzzled your temple as his hot breath seeped into your goosebumped skin.
“My turn,” he pushed on your hands until you pulled down the denim on your own strength.
He stepped out of his jeans and snapped the elastic of his boxers. You stood and latched onto those shakily. He ran his fingers along your arms as you pulled them past his erection and they fell to the floor with a whisper. You didn’t look down, instead staring past him as his hand swept up to cup your tits.
His fingers crawled up your chest and his hands wrapped around your neck. He squeezed and turned you so that your back was to the bed. He marched you backwards as you felt his dick bobbing between your bodies. You gasped as he pushed you down onto your mattress, your legs dangling over the edge as he came up to straddle you.
“Such a good girl,” he taunted, “look at you… I bet you’re wet already.”
He pulled a hand away and stroked his length as he raised himself on his knees. He clung to your neck as he leaned over you and planted his hand on the bed above you. He hovered his dick over your head and you closed your eyes.
“Put it in your mouth,” he ordered, “now, or I’m putting it in your ass.”
You reached up blindly and angled his tip against your lips. He dipped his hips down and you choked as he prodded at your throat. Your legs twitched as he forced his cock past your gag reflex and your whole body tensed at the intrusion.
He balanced on the hand above your head and the one on your neck. He thrust harder and harder as sloppy sucking reverberated around the room between his dark groans.
“That’s it,” he purred, “look at you taking my cock. I can only imagine how tight that cunt of yours is.”
Your eyes welled and you flicked your lashes as you tried to bat them away. You kept your hand at the base of his dick as you tried to ease his motion. He ignored your reluctance and only delved deeper as he brought himself to his limit, your lips touching the fuzz along his pelvis.
When you couldn’t breath, you slapped his hard stomach and he reared out of you abruptly. You coughed up spit as he sat back on his heels and released you. He huffed as he looked down at his glistening dick and climbed off of you.
“Stand up, turn around,” he snarled as his eyes flashed. 
His glasses were low on his nose and he slipped them off entirely and folded them up on your night table. He squinted as he watched you stand and turn stiffly. He smacked his hand in the middle of your back and pushed you over impatiently. He stepped closer and tapped his tip against your cunt as you were exposed to him.
He bent his legs and poked along your slick folds. You were wet enough for him to glide in and fill you up completely. He was so big it was painful and you arched your back as you tried to take it. He pulled back and slammed into you harshly. You let out a garble and he repeated the motion, taking you off your feet.
He leaned over you and grabbed your knees, lifting them on the bed as he urged you forward. His hand brushed up over your ass and he pressed between your shoulder blades until your face was flush to the mattress, your arms bent around you like a broken doll.
He thrust again and the loud slap made you wince. He jerked his hips roughly until he found his motion, rutting into you with hissy breaths as his other hand groped your ass. He hummed as your body shook before him, ruled by his touch as your walls clenched him.
He pushed his thumb down between your cheeks and circled your asshole. You strained and lifted your head in alarm. His other hand quickly stretched over your crown and pinned your face to the bed. He felt along your cunt and slickened his thumb before trailing back to your puckered ring.
He pushed lightly at first and as he broke through you gasped and whined. You gripped the blankets as he moved his thumb in and out of you, his hips still rocking steadily into you. He slid his thumb out entirely and prodded with two fingers instead. Before you could react, he forced them inside and you cried out in surprise and pain.
“I know you want it, sweetheart,” he groaned, “I can feel…” he kept fucking you, “I can fucking hear it.”
Your holes tightened around you as he carried the pace. A new pressure began to bloom inside of you, unlike anything you’d felt before. The burning in your ass and the stretching of your cunt mingled to an agonized bliss. You sobbed into the blankets as you came uncontrollably around him, shamed by the unwanted release.
“Fuck,” he drew out the word as both his hand and his hips sped up, “look at you cumming for me. Cumming for this creep.”
You moaned and curled your fingers around the duvet tighter. You felt the same knotting deep inside and you came again as he reached a tantamount. This time, you gushed around his cock and felt the deluge down your thighs as the noise grew wetter and louder.
“Look at you, sweetheart, you can’t handle it, can you?” He snorted as he sucked in a breath suddenly and his hips staggered.
He pushed his fingers deeper and kept them there as he fucked you as hard as he could. He slammed into your cunt over and over. Your hips throbbed with each tilt of his pelvis and you smothered your cries as you felt him coat your walls in his release. 
He stopped just as suddenly and dragged his fingers out of your ass. He leaned against you until your legs collapsed and fell onto you with a sigh. He covered your body with his as his shallow breaths hazed around you. 
Your own heart raced as you stretched your arms out stiffly and quivered. You tried to pull yourself from beneath him. He kept you pinned under his weight and jolted you with a cruel thrust.
“Oh, we’re not done, sweetheart,” he muttered along the shell of your ear, “not even close.”
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buck-nialled · 3 years
Text
3:1 - B. Barnes Imagine
NOTE: this is my first time writing for bucky or sebastian stan in general so feedback is appreciated! please let me know if you like this and if you'd like to see more. THIS DOES CONTAIN SMUTTY UNDERTONES TOWARDS THE END, MINORS DNI
TAGLIST: I just added sebastian stan/characters to my taglist form so if you already filled it out before just message me and I'll add you to this one.
three times bucky was clueless with technology and the one time he used it right
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Despite spending most of his less-than-average life inside of a giant freezer and aging up to triple digits—if we’re speaking technically, your boyfriend still gained many physical benefits compared to most men his age. For one thing, he is still alive and breathing—a huge accomplishment, if anything, maybe even a record. The physical appearance and athletic ability he still maintained were not a downside either. As far as anybody is concerned, James Buchanan Barnes appears like any other millennial/super-soldier/metal arm-bearing person.
With exception to the fact that the man himself can’t even call you on your phone without needing assistance. That sentence is way less sad when taking into account that he was not alive for the upbringing of touch screens and AI’s, which happened to be waiting everywhere around the complex to aid him and his various, enigmatic asks, such as:
“My phone died. How do I revive it?”
“What did I win a free iPad for?”
“Friday, what does the word ‘bih’ mean?”
Once speaking the last one, he is left unanswered, and Friday is alerting you in the living area moments later.
“Y/N, Mr. Barnes is needing your assistance with a text you sent. He would like a definition of the word ‘bih’ but I cannot find it in my dictionary.” The AI asking for your help in babysitting Bucky on his phone earns a snort from you.
“Thanks, Friday. I’ll go help him.” You heave yourself up from the couch cushion and march towards his bedroom--technically, it is both of yours now. After reaching the entrance, a smile crawls onto your lips at the sight before you. The hefty Miriam-Webster English dictionary splayed open on your lover’s lap as he flips through pages, reciting miscellaneous words his eyes land on in search of the one from your message.
“Big, bin, bio…” Seconds later, he is slamming the book shut and tossing it aside. A loud thud resounds across the room as you watch it land on the hardwood floor. When you glance back up to announce your presence to Bucky, you see his gaze already transfixed on you. A quiet huff comes from him, and his eyes avert from your figure in the doorway, his cheeks becoming tinged with an opaque red. It was no puzzle that the sergeant despised calling for help, even on the minuscule tasks, like how to turn the flash of his camera off or define a slang term unbeknownst to him until your message was delivered to his phone.
“A little birdy told me you needed help.” You cross your arms over your chest, leaning against the doorframe with a satisfied smirk. You were one of the few and trusted Bucky had learned to open up to in the time that you have come to know him. No matter the issue, or how long it took for you to wear down the stubbornness on his tongue, the plea would sound eventually.
“I just don’t know what this word means.” He grunts. “Is it a typo?”
A line of giggles fall from you at his hopelessly confused expression--eyebrows furrowed, pupils appearing lost in thought at this simple “code word” he couldn’t crack. It made you want to swaddle him in the softest blanket and cuddle him until eternity.
“That’s because it’s not a real word,” you begin through laughs. The scrunch on his face only deepens in its perplexity. “‘Bih’ is short for...it’s short for bitch.” You shrug. His mouth parts in revelation.
“So you...you think I’m a…” he turns his eyes down to the pixelated string of messages…”thick female dog?” You snicker.
“‘Thick bih’ is a compliment, Buck. It just means I like your body a lot.”
“Oh...thank you?” He casts his eyes up at you once more, quirking a brow.
“You’re welcome.”
“Anyways...now that you’re here. I emailed you a photo.” He shoots a wink in your direction. Almost as though you two had traded faces, the confused look transferred over to your wrinkled forehead and tilted head.
“Oh...okay. I’ll check it later.”
You thought nothing of it, and let his statement slip your mind. It was not until later that you decided to scan through your emails with Wanda, who mentioned something mission-related in your inbox that she demanded the two of you look at and study. As you skimmed through to find it, you deleted several junk emails and starred some important ones. When you landed on the electronic mail your boyfriend mentioned earlier and clicked on it, your breath left you at the large photo of his considerably-sized girth.
“Woah! Woah!” Wanda squeals, reaching her hand up to shield her eyes now tainted with the sight of your man’s junk. The early afternoon comes back into your mind, with you against the doorframe, Bucky throwing the dictionary and demanding a translation of your text, and the wink he threw at you.
Of course, the wink. It should have been obvious what the intentions behind his email were at that point, but then again it really shouldn’t have. Because who sends nude photos over email?
“Oh my god,” you breathe out, now wearing red cheeks. You turn to face Wanda who is already out of her seat and facing away from the computer screen, calling back to you in a desperate scurry to her room, “We’ll just talk later!”
“Bucky,” you enter the bedroom with a growl minutes later, a rather great contrast to what you were feeling earlier in the day.
“Hey, doll. Did you ever open my email?” He was seated on the edge of the bed, eyeing something on his phone. He quickly pockets it, allowing you his undivided attention.
“Yeah, and Wanda had something to say about it too.” The comment came out through gritted teeth, but he deciphered every word. His blue eyes enlarged, petrified.
“She was with you? Wh-why’d you let her see it?” He almost squeals in his fit of mortification. Serves him right, you think to yourself. He won’t have to face Wanda and apologize to her later.
“I didn’t know when you said “picture” earlier you meant a nude! Who sends a dick pic over email, Bucky?” Silence follows your outcry until his deep voice pipes up moments later.
“Is that not normal?” He is fiddling with his fingers, clenching his teeth in anticipation of your answer. Which is an expected:
“No.” The man in front of you turns feeble, wearing a humiliated face that turns your insides to mush. The twenty-plus minutes of lashing you were practicing in your head on your walk to the room disappeared as he turns his face down.
“I’m sorry, doll. You know...you know I’m not good with this stuff.” A sigh exits your lips as Bucky is approached by your consoling figure. You take a seat beside him on the bed and a comforting hand takes place on his metal shoulder, with you leaning your head down on the flesh one, closest to you.
“I know, Buck. Just warn a girl next time...with more than a wink.”
“In 1943 that was considered a warning.” The two of you chuckle.
“You know what, better yet...” your hands are flying to his pocket before he can stop them. He barely utters the question before you’re fingertips are tapping across the screen.
“Hey, what’re you--”
“You should really put a lock on this thing.” You chuckle. “A thumbprint, passcode...something.”
“You can do that?” His ludicrous question has you fighting a roll of your eyes. Shaking your head, you wait a few moments for the application to install on the device, and smile triumphantly when the neon yellow square pops up on his home screen. The white ghost in the middle of the icon stares back at him when you place the phone back in his hands.
“There you go.”
“What is this?” He clicks the app to find out for himself, only to be met with the options of logging in or creating an account.
“An app that’s appropriate for sending nudes.” Shivers trail down his spine from your whisper against the shell of his ear. He hums, admiring the screen for a few seconds and taking no further action to make an account.
“You need help, don’t you?”
“It’d be appreciated.”
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Since that encounter, your significant other has learned the basics of social platforms and how to properly exploit each one for his needs. Ignoring the one week where he discovered Snapchat filters and send photos of himself in every single one nonstop, the most common one you two have grown to use is the messaging application. It was efficient and easy for him to understand.
Until he, much like when he used Snapchat, discovered something new. And that something new was emojis. After receiving a Snapchat notification from him, which could no doubt be holding either a photo of him with the dancing weiner or his actual one, he shot you a text message from across the compound.
did you see my chatsnap? 🌚
You chose to disregard the blatant, incorrect name and reply:
yes, buck. I get notifications
and WHY THE HELL DID YOU SEND THAT EMOJI??? 😫
what? it’s just a moon 🌚🌚🌚 see?
I can see it’s a moon Bucky. Why did you choose that one?
It’s nighttime. and I’m smiling. It fits.
It’s creepy is what it is
It’s just a moon! 🌚
STOP SENDING IT! 😖😖
fine.
🌝
🤦‍♀️ that’s not what I meant
it’s not my fault you’re scared of the moon, y/n 💅
You chose to change the subject then, no longer holding the desire to stare at the infamous “molester moon” or bucky’s new use of emojis in a sassy manner
please tell me the snap you sent isn’t of the dancing hot dog again
I could tell you that
but I’d be lying if I did.
🙄
🌝 I think this one's my favorite
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The third time Bucky struggled with the new-age doodads surrounding him, his rage was at an all-time high. But his reaction is justifiable after discovering it was purely out of fear.
“Do you know what the weather’s gonna be like tomorrow?” He mumbles as the two of you were longing on the bed, his head resting comfortably in the crook of your neck and shoulder.
“Not sure, why?”
“Was thinkin’ we could go to that café. The one with the jukebox.” His head bounces with your body as you let out a few light laughs.
“Because it’s the one piece of technology you can actually use?” He pulls away from you defensively, a frown smeared on his face.
He whines out. “I am not that bad with technology?” You roll your eyes and reach for your phone on the bedside table, clicking the button on the side.
“Hey Siri, what’s the weather look like tomorrow?” You ask aloud, cueing Bucky to furrow his eyebrows.
“Let’s see...the weather tomorrow—“ you were unable to hear the rest of the AI’s sentence due to the sight of Bucky springing out of bed and tugging the set of sharpened knives from his pants.
“Whose there? Who the hell said that?”
“Bucky—“
“I think the complex may have been hacked. Come on, let’s go get Bruce o-or somebody.” He stutters out in a panic, tugging your body behind him in a protective manner. Siri was still activated on your phone, which was now lying on the bed.
“I’m not quite sure I understand—“
“Who the hell are you?!” He demands in a loud voice.
“Bucky, Bucky…” you rest your hands on both his shoulders, urging him to calm down. “It’s just my phone.” After the quick reassurance, he feels his shoulders slump.
“Oh...oh…I knew that.” He puts his knives away, following you as you crawled back into bed. Before fully getting beneath the covers, he sheathes himself of his trousers and top, leaving him only in a pair of boxers.
“Sure you did.” You reply.
“I did.” He insists, before covering both of you with your comforter. Before succumbing to a much-needed rest though, he reaches over and grabs a knife left on the floor, tucking it beneath his pillow.
Just in case.
The following morning, Bucky is no longer paranoid that the complex was hijacked and broken into. Rather, his mind was on a package he ordered online (AND ALL BY HIMSELF, a large victory if you ask him) that, according to the tracker, is one stop away. When you peeked your eyes open to admire him beneath the covers basking in the morning glow, his mischievous smile lit something warm inside you.
“What’s got you so smiley?” You yawn through languid blinks. He only responds with a shrug, aiming to keep the box a secret.
“Big day ahead, why don’t you go start us a shower. I’ll meet you there.” He smirks, blue eyes flashing with something cunning. At this point, you were even more curious.
“Big day? I thought we were just going for coffee?”
“When I’m with you, it’s always a big day.” His raspy voice is sly, metal hand even slyer as it glides up and down your hip.
“Alright Barnes, you win. See you in a minute.” You press your lips to his for a short few seconds and heave your body up from the bed to venture to the connected bathroom. As soon as you crack the door behind you, Bucky leaps from his spot in the sheets and nearly stumbles to the ground, his foot getting tangled in part of the bedding. He wastes no time scurrying to the front door, nearly nude and praying to God nobody would cross paths with him. Seeing the package laying on the doormat in all its glory--Bucky swore he heard angels singing hymns from above. Taking it into his grip and hustling back to his room took little-to-no time. When he slipped inside of the bathroom, he found you removing your hair from the messy knot you threw it up in the night prior, the rest of you bare.
He dropped his boxers and followed you inside the transparent cube, soon to become fogged with the warm steam and your panting breaths if he is lucky enough to pull another round from you.
Spoiler alert, he got lucky. Twice.
Whilst getting dressed, he halts your attempt at wiggling on a pair of leggings.
"I have a surprise for you." He says, waltzing over to the package he haphazardly threw on the bed in his eagerness to join you in the shower. The package lies in your hands seconds later, Bucky delivering you a nod as permission to tear it open. Once you do, your jaw unhinges at the packaging.
The small, pink sex toy stared back at you in all its glory. You could only muster a few blinks at it, wondering how your boyfriend managed to deliver this to himself all on his own yet still strains himself in trying to change his profile picture.
"Wha--how..." you are at a loss of words, to say the least. His piercing blue eyes grow dark at the sight of you holding his surprise.
"It's a big day today, because..." he snatches the packaged toy from you, beginning to open it, "you're gonna wear this out for me today. And I'm gonna control it." Your eyes grow big at his explanation before they dart to the now unpackaged vibrator.
"There's no remote." You point out, and gasp as Bucky holds up his phone for your eyes to see. The application which connects the controls of the vibrator to his phone stares back at you dauntingly.
"Figured I'd give this wifi-powered one a try. But, you know how I am with technology so...it may take awhile for me to get the hang of it," his tone is sultry as he mumbles, and it sends chills through you that directly target your privates. His eyes bore into yours, still holding that look of playfulness from earlier.
"Finish getting ready, doll. I'm ready to take this thing for a test drive."
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johnsamericano · 3 years
Text
𝔖𝔲𝔤𝔞𝔯 ℜ𝔲𝔰𝔥 𝔧.𝔧.𝔥
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Hi everyone! As promised, here’s one of the two most voted fic continuations. There will be more chapters to this story though I'm not sure how many yet. Thank you for reading!
warnings: sugar daddy jae, mentions of injuries and hospitals, language.
taglist: @thoreeo @trustmahluv
Sugar rush m.list.
The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the quiet hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?
The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the quiet hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?
The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the quiet hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?
The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?
The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?
Where did everything go wrong?
Your string of thoughts was cut off by a call from your aunt.
Your string of thoughts was cut off by a call from your aunt.
“Hello?” Your voice was raspy from not using it. There was no one to talk to in the quiet, hospital room but the nurses, who weren't especially keen on chatting.
“How’s your dad, sweetie?”
“They let him out of ICU, but he doesn't look good to me.” Your fingers traced the cuts in his chiseled cheeks that would soon turn into scars, ruining his perfect skin. Your eyes then diverted to his head, thoroughly covered in bandages to protect his damaged skull.
“Honey, I've got bad news...”
“They rejected the case, didn't they?”
“Not precisely.” She deeply inhaled before continuing. “It’s a tough case, almost impossible to win, nonetheless, they're willing to take it. But their fee is a little...”
“Expensive.”
“Yes.”
As expected from the best firm in town, they wouldn't take less than $8,000. Your bank account didn't have enough money to even cover half of it, and with your job at the convenience store, you'd only earn so much to cover your expenses.
“We can take the lawyer that the government provides us with, it would be free.”
“But then I'm sure we’d lose.” You groaned in frustration, using your free hand to rub your forehead. “Don’t worry, I'll find a way to get the money.”
“Why don't we just accept the compensation they're offering? It could pay for the hospital bills and you'd still have some left to pay for your tuition.”
“That would be like putting a price on my father's life. I don't want their money, I want them to make themselves responsible for what they've caused.” The sound of wheels approached the door of your father's room, signaling the nurse was outside with his meds. “It’s okay, Auntie, I'll take care of everything. You can go back home, I know my uncle isn't doing so well.”
“Are you sure, darling?” It was undeniable that she wanted to head back to her little ranch fat away from the hectic city life to take care of her sick husband, but still, her brother was laying down on a hospital bed, fighting for his life.
“Yes, I'm an adult, I'll find a way.”
“Take care of yourself, and don't hesitate to call me if you're having any difficulties. I'll be there in the blink of an eye.” She said before sending a kiss into the speaker, proceeding to hang up.
You sighed. It was never usual for you to ask for help, as you were an extremely prideful and independent person, and you doubted this time would be different.
“Don’t worry, dad. Everything will be alright.”
Three failed job interviews and one more to go. Your feet were killing you, the high heels covering them already worn out from walking to avoid taking the bus. Every penny counted, and as long as your legs worked, you weren't spending any more money than what was necessary.
You sat down in the waiting room of the company, massaging your neck to relieve some tension. College was becoming a burden. Maybe you'd take a semester off to focus on working, that is if someone wanted to hire an inexperienced student.
“Y/n, Y/l/n?”
“Here.” You darted up, gathering your belongings to enter the room on which your life almost literally depended.
You gave all the right answers, earning a polite ‘we’ll contact you’ in return. But you could see that they weren't convinced with your lack of experience, no company in their right mind would be.
As soon as you arrived at your apartment, you slid out of the uncomfortable pencil skirt, tucking yourself under the covers with your phone screen almost hitting your nose.
To take your mind off things, you decided to watch some videos. Halfway in, an ad popped up, interrupting the interior deco video you were watching.
A picture of a girl about your age hugging an older man was right in the middle of your screen. Written with fancy letters, the words ‘make your life simpler’ could be read, followed by what you guessed was the title of the app. Sugar rush.
Out of pure curiosity, your finger tapped at the small icon that led to the app store, absentmindedly clicking the download button. A few seconds later, an icon with the letters ‘SR’ was added to your home screen.
“Log in?” You murmured out loud, squinting your eyes to adjust your eyes to the bright, white homepage.
Just as you were about to click out, the phrase from the ad reappeared, stopping your finger from moving any further.
You could always delete your account if something went wrong, right? Nonetheless, you decided to use a false name, and that's how Melanie Kim’s profile was created. You left the circle of your profile picture empty for now, only filling the spaces that asked about your likes, dislikes, age, and all that stuff that people care about so much.
You knew what the app was for, but that didn't stop you from being surprised when a list of men and women of different ages greeted you. Right then, a small rectangle obstructed your sight, two buttons offering opposite things.
‘Pick the role you'd like to develop.’
Sugar daddy/mommy / Sugar baby.
Clearly, you didn’t have nor the money or the years to be the first, so you clicked the opposite button without giving it more thought.
‘Welcome. You've been registered as a sugar baby at Sugar rush. Meet thousands of men and women willing to finance you for free!’
You hummed.
‘As we're always looking to make our users’ experience better, we've developed Sugar Rush premium, a membership to meet the richest and hottest people in your surroundings. Get the premium version for only $5.95 a month. Click here to get Sugar Rush premium.’
Your finger pad was dangerously close to the blue button, almost grazing the screen of the phone. It was then when you were pulled out of your trance, blinking as if just then you'd realized what you were doing.
“I must be crazy.” You turned off your phone, not bothering to turn on an alarm for the next day. You had no interviews left. You had nowhere to go.
Waking up was getting harder with every passing day. Not being able to call your dad to go out for breakfast or even sending a simple good morning message hurt you deeply. You missed him. But seeing him laying down on a hospital bed, unable to do anything by himself, was even worse.
Ding
A notification filled the silence in your room.
‘Come back, you haven't finished setting up your account yet!’
You scoffed at your past self. What were you even thinking when you downloaded the app?
You simply turned off the phone before standing up to take a relaxing shower. As the water soaked up your tense body, your mind started wandering off back to the app. A million what-ifs filled your head, nonetheless, there was one that remained the most persistent.
‘What if this can pay for a lawyer?’
Your part-time job surely couldn't, and you had no one to assist you financially speaking. The whole idea of paying that ridiculous membership seemed more tempting as your fingers started getting wrinkly under the showerhead.
You decided to take some time to consider it, after all, you still had a week to give the lawyers an answer.
Hot soup seemed like a good option to comfort you, and thankfully, there was a store right in front of your place that claimed to sell the best soups in town.
It wasn't bad, but not nearly as good as the one your dad cooked when you were a kid. You sighed, wondering if you'd ever be able to eat it again. Just then, a woman about your age came into the shop, carrying a couple of bags where names of popular brands could be read. A pinch of jealousy made your heart stir as you glanced at yourself through the reflection in the glass at your side. You looked devastated, your skin pale and your cheekbones slightly sunken, a sign of the lack of rest and food you'd been getting.
Out of pure impulse, you pulled out your phone, clicked on the app you'd recently downloaded, and finally accepted the charges for a premium membership.
‘Welcome, new member of our wide community, click ok to get started!’
Well, no turning back now.
Right after pressing the blue letters with your thumb, you were presented with a list of potential prospects, some of them including pictures, some of them only including name and a brief description of what they were looking for. The minority included their ages, but most left the space blank.
A bunch of old men looking for a youthful, pretty woman to be by their sides, some of them even went as far as writing the weight and height their ideal partner should have. Of course, there were also some women in the look for young meat, but the number of men overpassed them.
About to exit the app in defeat, a profile caught your eye. His pale pink hair was parted, allowing his thick eyebrows to stand out. His high cheekbones made him look like a statue, the details in his face almost too perfect for a mere human. He must be the incarnation of a Greek God, you thought.
‘Jung Yoonoh. 41 years old. Owner of N & C.’
“Should I...?” You asked yourself in a voice lower than a whisper.
He has probably gotten hundreds of messages, so what would be the point of sending one yourself? Your eyes scanned the picture over and over again as the remains of your soup started getting cold.
He was probably the only acceptable man in the whole app, so why not give it a try?
You already spent five whole dollars on it, might as well make it worth the money.
‘Hi.’ Sent.
“Holy crap.” You breathed out, regretting every single action that led you to take such a stupid decision. “Ah!” You squeaked as three small dots appeared beside his profile picture, signaling he was writing a reply.
What if he rejected you right from the beginning? God, that would be so humiliating. His message stopped your train of thought.
‘Hi!’
Followed by:
‘How are you?’
Sweating like a pig, thank you for asking.
‘Fine. You?’ Read.
‘Thrilled. No one had messaged me since I created my account two weeks ago.’
‘How is that possible?’ You imprinted your thoughts on a message.
‘It’s hard to trust people nowadays. I guess people might think either my picture is photoshopped or I'm lying about my job.’
‘Their loss, ig.’ Read.
He was taking some time to answer. Had you said something inappropriate?
‘Hahaha.’
The conversation stopped there, as you didn't know how exactly to answer his message. But a few minutes later, another text from him popped up at your chat.
‘If you're okay with it, we can start talking about a possible arrangement.’
Already? You've known each other for like five minutes. But then again, arrangements were the whole purpose of the app.
‘Sure.’
‘May I ask your reasons for joining the app?’
‘I need urgent money, but my job doesn't pay nearly enough.’ You omitted the part of your agonizing father, he didn't need to know that. ‘And you?’
‘I need someone to be my partner at public spaces.’
‘Alright.’ Read.
‘Do you happen to have some free time tomorrow at lunchtime? I think it’d be better to meet first before making any decisions.’
‘Yeah, I'm free.’
‘Great, I’ll send you the address.’
You thought a day would be enough to prepare yourself, but time passed by quicker than usual, and soon enough, it was time to get ready for your meeting with Mr. Jung. He was only a few years younger than your father, and calling him by his first name wouldn't feel right.
Unsure if you should wear something formal, you threw on a beige (the color you'd agreed on wearing so it’d be easier to recognize each other) summer dress, pairing it with the gold hoops you'd inherited from your grandma to make it look more elegant.
The hardest part of your routine was makeup. Your sunken cheeks couldn't be covered, and only after a few layers of blush and highlighter, you could bring your skin back to life.
On your way to the cafe, you went through the things you'd say when you met him. It was your chance to get your father what he needed.
You stood at the entrance with wide, scared eyes, shyly scanning through the place to look for your date.
“Melanie?” A hand on your shoulder had you jolting. “I’m Jung Yoonoh, nice to meet you.”
What you saw after turning around was breathtaking. A handsome, healthy man, with the most beautiful pair of dimples.
“Nice to meet you.” You managed to blurt out without stuttering, extending your hand to make the greeting more formal. The fake name didn’t seem necessary anymore. “It’s actually y/n, I didn't want to use my real name.”
“I understand. Let’s take a seat.” He offered with a kind smile.
He left you seating at the terrace while he made your order, a latte, and a chocolate cookie. Your fingers played with your hoops anxiously, trying to regulate your breath.
“They’ll bring our food in just a sec.” He offered a warm smile. “Your dress is pretty.” Yoonoh said out of nowhere.
“Thank you.”
“I see you're not a chatty person.” You were about to object, but he started speaking again. “It's not a bad thing! I usually talk a lot, so it’s a nice way to balance things.”
You nodded, seemingly uncomfortable with the man sitting in front of you.
“So, uhm, this is my first time doing this, so I'm not really sure where to begin.” He pulled out a folded paper from the front pocket of his dressing pants. “It’s a bit creased, but I can always print another one. I brought it so you could take a look and let me know if you wanted to change anything. I don't mean to pressure you, but you said it was urgent, so...”
You read the paper under his attentive gaze, making sure not to miss a single word. Everything seemed correct, except...
“Six months?”
“Is that too much?” A small wrinkle formed between his eyebrows, a sign of deep concentration. “Okay, so let's do this instead.”
He took back the contract, pulling out a pen from the pocket in his dressing shirt to correct the original stipulations.
“Four months, and if by the end of them you don't absolutely hate me, we can extend the time. Deal?”
“Just one more thing.”
You cleared your throat, conscious that your following words might jeopardize the whole arrangement.
“Are you sure you want to make it official already?” You had to stop for a moment as the waiter left your orders on top of the wooden table. “I mean, it's not that I have a problem with it, but it's your money and maybe you'd like to give it a better thought.” You resumed.
“The fact that you're concerned about me proves I'm making the right choice. Now, tell me, how much would you like to receive as a weekly allowance?”
Would it be too reckless to ask him straight up for the $8,000?
“H-how much are you willing to give me?” You felt dirty, accepting a stranger’s money like that.
“Whatever you need.” His hand suddenly reached forward to yours, causing every ounce of blood in your body to rush to your face. “There’s no need to be embarrassed, I'm here to help you.” His voice tone dropped, acquiring an almost soothing feeling.
“I need eight thousand by Thursday, next week.” His eyes were wide open, mouth having difficulties remaining closed. “I-I know it's too much, but...”
“I can find a way to give you that money, but I'd like to know the reason why you need it. Just to make sure it's nothing illegal.”
You puffed your cheeks, trying to find an excuse good enough to justify the amount of money you were asking for.
“It isn’t illegal, is it?”
“No!” You retrieved your hand from below his, now embarrassed at the possibility of him having a bad image of you. “I need it for my father.”
“I suppose you don't want to talk about it.” He started at his palm, lips pressed in a thin life. “But when it comes to arrangements like this, we need to trust each other, alright?” You barely knew each other, yet, he demanded to know a very personal detail of your life. Not that he didn't have a good reason for wanting to know, it wasn't a particularly small amount of money.
“He had an accident at work...” You started, fearful of looking up to find pity in his eyes. “I need a lawyer to make his company legally responsible. They intend to throw it under the rug and pay a somewhat decent amount of money to make it go away. The firm I intend to hire is supposedly the best in town, probably my only chance of getting justice.”
“And why don't you just accept it? There's no guarantee that your lawyer will win the case.” You fisted the delicate fabric of your dress, eyes watering as you tried to hold back your anger.
“My father’s life is priceless, and if you think what I'm doing is a waste of money, then fine, we can both look for someone else to help us.” It sounded more aggressive than you'd first intended, but you meant every word that came out of your mouth.
Before you could even stand up, his slim fingers had already wrapped themselves around your wrist.
“I never said that.” He whispered with an almost sad tone. “Come on, sit down.”
He tugged at your arm the slightest, showing off his charming dimples once again.
“I’ll give you the money on one condition...” He raised one of his thick eyebrows. “I’ll go with you to see the lawyer.”
“Why...?”
“That’s my condition, take it or leave it.”
“Okay.”
The days before your meeting with your potential lawyer were nerve-wracking. You'd seen Yoonoh another time to sign the contract, which finally made your arrangement official.
You’d visit your father every day, always hoping he'd be sitting with his arms wide open, ready to hug you. But nothing had changed ever since he first came into that room.
“I’m here to see Mr. Kim.” The secretary's gaze lingered on Jaehyun a few seconds before he finally snapped out of it. “Y/n Y/l/n.”
“Just a second.” He opened his agenda and quickly found your appointment. With a warm smile, he guided you through the corridors of the building, all the way to the elevator. “It’s the only office on the last floor, I'll be at my desk if you need anything.”
Once again, he shot Jae an uneasy glance before the metal doors slid close.
“What was all that?” To be honest, you couldn't care less. But a small chat might calm your nerves and prevent you from throwing up all over the place.
“What do you mean?” He grinned, pressing the button to the top floor.
“You know what I mean.” You scoffed, annoyed at his evasive behavior.
“We just happen to know each other, nothing special.” Before the conversation could continue, a loud ding resonated through the metal cubicle. “Let’s go.” His hand found its place at the small of your back, pushing you towards the glass door. Through it, you could see a black-haired man reading a pile of documents, occasionally raising a photo to examine it with his gold-rimmed glasses supported at the bridge of his elegant nose.
Jaehyun extended his arm over your shoulder to knock on the door, earning an almost annoyed ‘come in’ from the man inside.
“Let’s go.” Once again invading your personal space, he reached for the doorknob with you trapped between his arms.
As soon as the door opened, the man raised his eyes from the documents he was checking.
“What are you doing here, Jung?”
“I knew something was off...” You murmured, loud enough for the man at your side to chuckle.
“I brought you a client, you should be happy.”
“Miss y/n, I suppose. Have a seat.” His demeanor completely changed while speaking directly to you. “I spoke with your aunt last week, she explained the details of the lawsuit, but I must say, it isn't an easy case.”
“I know that, but I've been told you're the best firm in town, I know I'll have more possibilities of winning if you're my lawyer.”
“Best firm in town my ass.”
“Be silent or I’ll kick you out of the building.”
That was enough for Yoonoh to zip his mouth. For a while at least.
“I suppose she also told you about our fee.” He pushed his glasses up using his thumb. “We’d also keep 25% of the lawsuit money assuming we win the case, is that okay with you?”
“Yes-”
“Okay, stop.”
“I’ll call security, Jung.”
“Look at me, y/n.” He squeezed your arms. “This clown is trying to scam you...” He pointed his finger at the lawyer without breaking eye contact. “You’d be spending loads of money for someone who isn't even confident in his abilities. It isn't worth it.”
“And I suppose you'd do better than me, then.” The black-haired man scoffed. “If that's the case, then you can both leave. I'm quite busy at the moment.” With a turn of his wrist, he signaled you to leave the room.
You were fuming, stomping out of the building with Jaehyun right behind you.
“I found a great restaurant nearby, we can go there and-”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Calm down-”
“Don’t tell me to calm down when you just fucked up my only chance to give those bastards what they deserve.” The sun was starting to set, yellow light casting shadows over his tender cheeks.
“Can you listen to me for a second?”
“Are you laughing right now?” You bit your lip, hard, trying to hold back the tsunami of tears threatening to come out of your eyes. “Asshole.”
“Ouch.” He furrowed his eyebrows mockingly. Oh, how close you were to punch that pretty face of his. “Can I explain now?”
You remained silent, staring at the ground with the smallest frown between your eyebrows.
“How do you think I know Kim Doyoung?” Before even giving you a chance to answer, he continued. “That son of a bitch has been stealing my clients for ages.”
“Your clients...?”
“He isn't even that good of a lawyer compared to me.” He scoffed with fake arrogance.
“You're a lawyer?!” You slammed your palms into your face, whining at the newly acquired information. “Why didn't you tell me from the beginning?”
“Just wanted to swing by and annoy him a bit. Don't worry, I wasn't gonna let you accept his deal.” He winked playfully.
The sun was now hidden, the sky darkening as the moon rose to take its shift.
“Though I gotta say, I'm kinda offended I wasn't even an option. I'm a pretty great lawyer, you know?”
“Sorry.”
“I’ll forgive you if you join me for dinner. What do you say?”
As you walked into the darkness of the streets, his shoulder occasionally bumping yours, you wondered if meeting him was a casualty. Maybe the world was finally smiling at you.
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human-do-a-worm · 3 years
Text
Ramblings of an Old Soldier Part 3/3
Sorry about the wait. The second dose of COVID vaccine drains you a lot more than the first dose. Anyways here’s part 3, part 1 and part 2 can be found here.
Admiral Sturm sat on the park bench as he always did. Sipping on his coffee and reading the latest news from his datapad. Once again, the Unkall boy approached him and sat beside him on the bench. He noticed that the aging Terran was wearing a strange uniform, with the image of a furred beast embroidered on the chest and upper right arm.
“Good afternoon Mr. Sturm.” “Ah, hello there son. Back for story time again?” “Yes sir. I was wondering what happened after the summit. Almost all traces of you vanished from records 8 cycles ago, and the only mentions of you after that were how the Terran Navy wanted you back.”
“Well, as I said the other day, I became a merc. My crew and I were the best. We took contracts from the Segmentum Norrus, all the way down to the Serectan Void. We didn’t work like most mercenary groups. We sought out our clients, and saw a lot of business. Everything from running escort duty on supply runs to desperate worlds, to taking down entire groups of bandits and pirates. Wherever we went, outlaws and tyrants alike feared the sight of The Wolf’s Den.”
“The Wolf’s Den? I think we heard about a group of people using that ship last cycle in our Galactic History class. Something about taking part in the Gingral war, only a few cycles ago.” “Ah yes, the Gingral war. Some of the bloodiest fighting I’ve ever seen. That was the last contract my crew and I took. We started off in a small role; mostly just escorting supply freighters to the border colonies since most of the supply lines had been cut and the colonists were starving. Our last supply run had been going well, until 6 light cruisers decloaked and opened fire. We did the best we could, but the supply freighter carrying food and civilians was destroyed in only a few minutes.”
“We could have escaped after that. Made a jump to the nearest Unkall station and gotten reinforcements, but My crew and I all knew what had to be done. We knew that the Gingral had to pay. They may have outnumbered us 6 to 1, and they may have had us outgunned, but they didn’t account for us having a mark 7 jump core. We warped around behind them and took down 2 of the light cruisers rather easily, but then we took a hit. The jump core cut out, and we were relying only on engine power.”
“But The Wolf’s Den must have survived somehow. The history logs said that it served through the entirety of the Gingral War.”
“That’s almost right. We knew that we wouldn’t be able to keep her together much longer, so we did what all Terrans do in situations like this. We became unpredictable. We gave all power to weapons and blasted the furthest ship from us, then mustered to the airlocks. We put on EVA gear and as soon as we were close enough to the next ship, we boarded.” “Wasn’t ship boarding added to the prohibited activities of War after the Terran war?” “It was, but targeting civilians has always been among the prohibited activities of War, so we were still committing a lesser infraction. We blasted open the port hangar with a plasma charge, and cleared the first room. Then we cleared the rest of the ship up to the bridge and took out the last remaining light cruiser. Changed the comms channels to the ones we had on The Wolf’s Den, then modified the IFF tag accordingly. When we arrived at the Unkall station we had just left, they demanded an explanation, so we told them what happened.” “And you weren't reprimanded?”
“Oh, we were. There was even a small tribunal held to determine if we could still fight. That’s when the call came in. Rakthis had been attacked, with only a handful of survivors. I immediately got up and started heading to my ship. The Unkall admiral demanded to know where I was going. After calmly telling him that there was now a full scale war, we had work to do. I went to the hangar and got the light cruiser repaired and ready for combat, but not before renaming it. The Wolf’s Den was never destroyed, it just became another ship.”
“What happened next?” the Unkall boy asked. “Weren’t the forces around Rakthis said to be uncounted?”
“They were, that’s why we didn’t go to Rakthis. We went to Waalon instead. Then to Rek’lon, and finally to Scrurros. Everywhere we went, we pushed back the Gingral horde. My first mate, Sarah Callingham, had family on the outer colonies back in the Vrumoid war. Saw most of them killed in front of her when their shuttle was shot down leaving atmosphere on Vrall VII. Scrurros was a tough nut to crack, and she had more crafty ideas than I did. We landed The Wolf’s Den on the uninhabited side of the planet, then bought a grav truck from one of the farmers. It was hard to weld the armor plates on it at the right angle, but mounting the lasguns and mortar was rather simple. I stood in the back, manning two of the lasguns and the mortar while she and two other soldiers were up front in the cab. We got almost to the planetary capital before we faced any resistance.”
“But the history logs said that Scrurros didn’t fall until the later end of the war.” “That’s right. We couldn’t take the planet as easily as we’d taken the others. When the first mortar hit the shield on the planetary governance center, we knew we were in for a fight. We got the truck away with only a few shots on the armor, but we were pursued by the planetary militia. One of the armored gun trucks fired their heavy las gun and took out the rear grav drive. With the back end of the truck along the ground, our speed tanked to a crawl. I was able to keep the militia back for a while by pinning them down with the lasguns, but then another shot hit us, dead center mass.”
“How bad was it? Were you alright?”
“I made it out with only a few scratches, scrapes, and bruises, but Sarah and the others up front weren't so lucky. The shot penetrated the cab and blew up at the steering linkage. Only Sarah, myself, and the one crewman in the back with me made it out of that. We ducked into a nearby building for cover, only to find that it was a school. Not wanting to put the civilians in danger, we lightly dressed Sarah’s wounds and went on into the forest surrounding the city. We came to a cave at the foot of a mountain, and made camp inside.” “Who was the other crewman that was with you? I notice that you haven’t said his name yet.”
“His name was Richard Grumman. He was the newest addition to The Wolfpack, joining us less than a cycle ago. We hadn’t had much time to get to know each other. The Militia found us in the first week, and he was shot to death on the night they raided the cave. Sarah and I managed to get away, but we were far from being safe. The next night we got a transmission from The Wolf’s Den; They had been found, and were wondering what to do. Sarah and I were at least four days away from the ship, so I made the call and told them to leave while they had the chance, to keep fighting and never forget about us.” “So you willingly stranded yourself and an injured crewmate on a hostile planet just to save your crewmates? The stories about the Terrans must be true.” “You’ll learn that those stories don’t even tell half the story if you stick on a Terran ship for even half a cycle. Anyways, there we were, just me and Sarah on Scrurros. I treated her wounds the best I could, but she wasn’t getting much better. Eventually she died, less than half a cycle into our time on that world. I retired with her body to the farmer who sold us the truck, and paid him to let me bury Sarah on his property. Much like with the freighter, the Gingral would pay. I took stock of what I had. Two lasguns, three fragmentation grenades, an energy grenade, and a plasma charge. Not nearly enough to take on the forces of the planet, but maybe enough to make it possible.”
“So what did you do? The Gingral don’t just let prisoners get away. Especially not in the middle of a war.” “Well, I couldn't just storm the Planetary Governance Center. That would accomplish nothing but my own death. Instead I went for something better. Three grids away from the Governance Center was the Defense Center. The plan was simple. Get inside, break as much stuff as I could, and hope that was enough to take down their defenses. It took me ten days to reach the capital again, and another three to figure out how to get inside. Turns out the Gringal didn’t make their roof as secure as they should have. I opened up the ventilation system and got inside. From there it was a short trip to the bunker exterior.”
“Aren’t Gingral bunkers some of the hardest to break open in the entire galaxy? How did you get inside?” “Simple; I didn’t break in; I snuck in. I kicked out the vent and got inside the bunker, then closed and locked the door behind me and smashed the controls. There were only technicians and a few soldiers inside, who were easy enough to dispatch. The harder part was accessing the communications room. Aside from the door of the bunker itself, the communications room was the most secure place in the facility. The door was half a meter thick, and barred at six points. That would prove to be a great challenge, so I left it for later. I quickly found the controls to the weapons system, and took it down. The planet was now mostly defenseless against ships in orbit and low atmosphere.”
“So you took down the guns, but how did you get in?”
“The door was too hard to get through, so I made my own instead. I went above the room and opened up the three fragmentation grenades. Terrna frag grenades use a pressure sensitive explosive to detonate, so I poured it out above the room, then placed the plasma charge on top of it. I ducked out of the room and waited for the explosion. When that charge went off, it was as if the whole planet shook. When I went in to check on the hole, the charge had only just broken through the floor. It took hours for me to get the hole wide enough for me to wriggle inside, but it was worth it. I contacted the Unkall fleet, and they were there within the week. The planet fell and I was pulled from the bunker before the food and water stores were even dented.”
“So that’s why taking Scrurros was so easy for the fleet. There wasn’t as much resistance as the planet originally had. And you were the one to take it down?”
“That’s right. After the war, I was broken. My knees were all but useless for fighting, and I could barely stand without swaying. The Unkall empire never forgot what my crew and I did. We were paid many times more than what was written in our contract, and they even got me a home right here on Unkall Prime. Now I sit here, enjoying retirement in my old age. Though the Terran lifespan is almost 50 cycles, we’re usually out of our working years after only 30 cycles. Our bodies are too old and weak to do most of the hard tasks that we normally would.”
“So what do you do now? Surely after a life like yours you want to do something just as exciting after you’re done working.”
“I mostly just read now. When you spend your life as a soldier, you miss out on so much. I never settled down and had kids, and my time for that is even drawing to a close. I did take up a few hobbies here and there, but nothing really stuck. I still work part time for the Unkall empire, training their soldiers in virtual reality simulations is about all I can do, but I’ve given the Unkall the strength to protect their planets, and given their generals and admirals the knowledge not to go on any missions they will regret. I’m happy with the contributions I’ve made in my life, and if I had the chance, I’d do it all over again. By the way, I never did catch your name.”
“My name is Ruthal Nerzak, and I’m slotted to be a soldier in the Unkall Defense Force.”
“Well Ruthal, I hope we will meet again someday.”
With that, Ruthal stopped recording and went home, finishing his final report.
A few days later, Ukall prime came under attack. A colonial independence group made numerous strikes around the city, and Ruthal had been caught outside on his way home from class. He tried to run away, but was chased by one of the insurgents down an alleyway, when suddenly two lasgun shots rang out. Ruthal though he was dead, but he slowly opened his four eyes and saw that the terrorist was dead on the ground in front of him. Looking up, he was me with a familiar face
“Thank you Mr. Sturm, I thought I was surely dead.”
“Don’t thank me yet, we’re seven grids away from the nearest shelter, and there’s enemies all around us. You said you wanted to be a soldier, well your training just started early.”
Sturm handed Ruthal the lasgun from the dead insurgent, and after showing him how to fire and teaching him how to make sure it doesn’t overheat, he led the Unkall boy out of the alley and down the street. Two blocks later, Sturm pulled the Unkall boy into an alley.
“Alright son, listen up. There’s about fifty armed and angry people between us and shelter. Our espace routes have been mostly cut off, so I need you to listen to me and listen well. When I tell you to run, you run as fast as you can. We should be able to get past most of them by taking the alleys across the street. I picked up some kit off one of these guys. The flashbang should buy us enough time to cross the street, but I’ll have to think of something after we get to our next crossing.”
Sturm threw the flashbang far into the crowd of terrorists, blinding a dozen of them and allowing them to cross the street. After seeing how many insurgents were at their crossing point, Sturm and Ruthal entered a tall residence building across from a big shootout between the insurgent and Unkall forces.
“Alright, we don’t stand a chance of crossing that. Here’s the plan. We’ll get up high, and then open fire on them. If nothing else, we’ll draw their attention away from the defense forces and allow them to break through.”
“I can’t. They’re people, just like us.” “Look around you kid. There’s men, women, and children all gunned down by these guys. I’m not sure what that makes them in Unkall society, but to us Terrans, they’re no longer people; they’re monsters. As a soldier, our job is to get rid of the monsters, so that everyone can sleep soundly at night knowing they’re safe. Taking a life isn’t something one does lightly, but it’s still something that has to be done. It’s better that we take them out, because if we don’t, who knows how many more people they’ll kill. We don’t do this because we like killing, we do this because we love the people we protect, and we’d give anything to keep them safe.”
“But I don’t want to hurt them.”
“I understand. I’m not sure if the Unkall have a saying like this, but Terrans sure do. You have a big heart. You want to keep people safe, not put them in the ground. But sometimes the best way to keep people safe is to put bad people in the ground. We’re between a rock and a hard place. If we sit here and do nothing, they will continue to hold this street, but if we can take them down, even just one or two of them, we can make them fight on two sides, which is the easiest way to break through an enemy line. I recognize a few of the soldiers I can see from up here. I trained them myself. They’ll realize what’s going on and they’ll do the heavy lifting; we just need to give them a helping hand. So, are you ready?”
The young Unkall nodded, then Sturm and Ruthal braced their lasguns on the windowsill, and opened fire on the street below. As Sturm said, the insurgents shifted their position, attempting to defend against incoming fire from two directions. As the Unkall defense forces broke the lines, a single shot came from the street and hit Sturm in the neck
Bleeding badly, Sturm stumbled back, Ruthall catching him in his arms. As he was losing his grasp on consciousness, Sturm held Ruthalls hand
“Never forget what happened here. Never forget the atrocities you saw with your own eyes, and never be afraid to rise up against the monsters who make things like this happen.”
With that, Sturm closed his eyes. Unkall security forces soon burst into the room, seeing the state of the old Terran, they gave him the best aid they could, and sent him off to the hospital, with Ruthall at his side.
After a lengthy surgery and two pints of blood, Sturm woke up in his hospital room, Ruthall asleep on his lap. Colonel Rengar, a soldier in the Unkall defense forces entered the room.
“So Admiral, I see your retirement is going well.”
“Can the crap Colonel. How many did we lose?”
“Casualties are still being counted, but even one is too many.”
“And what about the boy, Ruthall. Why is he still here?"
"His family were among those killed in the attack. We haven’t told him yet, just that we’re still looking for them.”
“So what will happen to him?”
“We don’t know. He doesn’t have any living family, and in our culture friend’s do not step in for situations like these. He will likely be left to become an adoptee for some family here, but after this, I’m not sure who would adopt him.”
“I will.”
“What? You can’t be serious. The looks he would get, especially here in the capital. I’m not sure if he can take it.”
“He knows my story. He knows that I take care of the ones I call family. He didn’t hesitate to pick up a rifle and follow me through the streets today, and he only barely hesitated to fight beside me. He’ll make a fine soldier, and he’ll make a damn good son. Get me the documents dammit.”
“Very well.”
Ruthall woke up, and was told about what happened. He didn’t take his family dying too well, but was glad that he would not be alone. The next day that school was in session, Admiral Sturm put on his old Terran uniform, and walked his son into class. It was not easy adjusting to caring for a young Unkall child, but it was a change that Sturm was happy to make. He had known what it was like to be alone, and now he could keep Ruthall from knowing that pain.
The End
Let me know if you guys want a follow up series about Sturm and Ruthall on Unkall Prime, and how they live their lives together.
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realcube · 3 years
Text
haikyuu boys with a professional volleyball player! s/o 🏆
characters: kuroo, bokuto, kita, oikawa & sakusa 
tw// swearing
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thank you anon for this awesome request!
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Tetsurō Kuroo
he’d tell all his teammates about you and none of them would care
well, lev would care - he’d be so excited and asking for kuroo to get him your autograph but yaku would just be like ‘you don’t actually believe him, do you? 🙄’
so yeah, yaku would convince lev and yamamoto that you were just a figment of kuroo’s imagination
even thoUGH YAKU KNEW YOU WERE A REAL PERSON BC HE HAD MET YOU BEFORE AND  HE KNEW THAT YOU WERE DATING KUROO AIREBVKZGA he just loved annoying kuroo <3
and he did the job well bc kuroo was definitely annoyed
he’d be waving his phone around, desperately trying to show lev and yamamoto the selfies he took with you but they’d just be like 😑
then he finally convinced you to come visit him at practise to put an end to his humiliation
so you appeared one day and kuroo was so hyped
but not as hyped as yamamoto
he has hot-ppl senses which tingled when you entered the room so he was the first to greet you while kuroo was sitting setting up the nets
he was literally all over you
‘woah 😍 your thigh are so toned’
‘uh thank you ???’
and kuroo was not here for it
‘AYE GET YOUR DIRTY PAWS AWAY FROM THEM!!’
yamamoto fkn shits himself and runs ✌🏃‍♂️💨
then kuroo picks you up bridal style and parades you around the gym, rubbing it in everyone’s face - especially yaku and lev
‘guys, do you see this? my totally REAL s/o! who’s been to NATIONALS!! uhuh. all mine, y’all.’
yaku is so ticked off and definitely goes to snitch him out to Nekomata
and lev is just so awed, ‘(y/n) is real???’
for a moment he thought he was dreaming too until kenma purposefully hit him with a ball
‘put me down, tetsurō.’ you groaned, folding your arms over your chest
he obeyed, gently setting you down on your feet before pecking your lips, ‘ok, well, i should probably get back to practise now - train hard so hopefully one day i can be as good as you.’ he joked, teasingly emphasising the ‘you’.
you playfully punched his arm before turning on your heels to head out, ‘you wish!’
although he’ll always joke about how amazing you are in comparison to him but he genuinely admires you 🤩
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Kōtarō Bokuto
he hypes you up to his team constantly
they’ve literally never even met you and they are being asked all these questions from bokuto lol
‘hey onaga, did you see (y/n) at their nationals game the other day?’
onage flinched upon being jump-scared by his captain, then choked out a little white lie, ‘uh yeahhh.’
bokuto’s face lit up, ‘great! they were so amazing during the third set, weren’t they? what was your favourite part?’
onaga froze, ‘uhh- oh, i think i hear anahori calling me to help him practise his sets! gotta go.’ then he proceeded to bolt off
bokuto shrugged it  off at first as he shouldn’t complain bc a teammate dropped a conversation to continue training with anahori - i mean, onaga came to volleyball club to practise so he wasn’t obligated to make conversation with bokuto
but while he was saying his goodbyes to everyone as they left the gym to go home, it hit him-
‘bye, komi! buh-bye, washio! and goooodbyeeee, konoha.’ bokuto let out a relived sigh as he had now finished saying his partings which meant he could lock the gym then go home, ‘wait-- ANAHORI DIDN’T EVEN COME TO PRACTISE TODAY! ONAGA!’
bokuto was deeply disheartened that his own teammate would lie to him - to get out of a conversation about you, no less
he just wanted them all to love you as much as he does
like..he’s your biggest fan!!!
~ even post-timeskip ~
he’d show up to all of your games wearing your jersey and some of the eagle-eyed press would try talk to him
they’d interview him about his own affair or about the MSBY Black Jackals but he genuinely has no interest in talking about that bc today is your day and he is here to support you
‘are you and your team hopeful to attend Olympics despite player Miya’s rumoured injury? and disclose whether these rumours are factual?’
sakusa decked atsumu after he joked about having covid-
the interview shoved and waved a microphone in bokuto’s face while he just stared at them blankly like ◉_◉
after a while bokuto stuffed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and chuckled, ‘don’t know! but the game is about to begin, shhh!-’ he hushed the interviewer, instinctively swatting the microphone away as he stood up in the stands to cheer for you, ‘WOOOO! GO, (Y/N)!’  
then he turned to the interviewer who stood frozen with a dumbfounded look on his face, ‘THAT’S MY LOVERRRR!’ he screamed into the microphone so loudly that all the press naturally backed off
and please do the same for him when the press approach you at his games 🙏
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Shinsuke Kita
ofc he dates a volleyball player player-
he is such an ushijima
he is ushijima if he wasn’t left-handed
he doesn’t really brag about you too often at practise but he feels so proud when you win a game then he comes to practise the next day and his teammates tell him to pass on a congratulations
also he always comes to your games
no matter how minor or how large
you’d think you could both bond a lot over volleyball and you did that in the beginning
but over time - especially when you started playing volleyball professionally - you found other things to bond over and saved volleyball for work
he probably runs a (y/n) stan page AEIVBARTBV
AND YOU’D NEVER GUESS
like he is literally a rice farmer- you are under the impression that he doesn’t even know what facebook is
and he’s good at selling the act too
‘did you see the picture of us i posted on my instagram?--’ you asked, taking another spoonful of your cereal
‘insta what?’ kita inquired without hesitation
then as soon as you exit the room, he’ll log onto his (y/n) twitter stan account
ok ok sorry i’ll stop now
anyway he ALWAYS tries to ensure that the first thing you eat after a big game is something that he cooks
and if you go out with your team to eat after a game to celebrate a victory, he’ll try at act sweet but he’s lowkey shady tbh
‘congratulations on your victory, (y/n). and to many more’ he lifted his glass and so did you
but just as you were about to take a sip, kita interjected, ‘but that is going to be difficult if you keep filling your body with junk rather than healthy, organi--’
‘kita-’
‘ok.’ he took a sip of his drink in your honour
HE JUST CARES ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING HE’S NOT TRYING TO BE RUDE 😭
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Tōru Oikawa
again, when you and oikawa first started dating, volleyball was one of the only things y’all talked about
but now that you were both doing it professionally, it was basically banned in your home
well, the the game itself wasn’t banned but i mean, why would you do something all day then come back to talk about it more?
you both might adore volleyball but everything has it’s limits lol
anyway, oikawa is another one that is extra af when they come to your games
he probably makes a sign and paints his face in your team colours
and when you come out onto the court, he’ll blow you a kiss and if you don’t blow one back he’ll be so offended lmao
bc he always makes a big deal out blowing you a kiss or winking at you as soon as he steps out onto the court
it’s basically a thing he does for good luck at this point
also, if there are ever ppl trying to take pictures of y’all in public- oikawa is the first to make a big show for them
like he’s all up on you 
he’ll dip you then push his lips against you for a passionate kiss, in front of the ppl and they always go fkn crazy
he thinks he is like..Beyoncé famous...which he is not
please humble him 
but nicely 
but y’all only get attention around summertime when you are frequently playing big games 
like if oikawa leaves the house a week you competed in a big game- he’ll literally get swamped with ppl asking about you 
but contrarily, if you both leave the house in winter literally no one would even spare you a glance
on a RARE occasion, someone might sneakily snap a photo but that’s it
so you get the best of both worlds :))
also, if you’re an ace and he’s ever feeling down, if you ask him to set for you for a bit and you compliment one/all of his sets, he’ll literally feel so much better 
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Kiyoomi Sakusa 
sometimes you both come back from a rough day at work, slump on the couch and watch TV together
after showering, changing, dinner etc
he’s not nna come anywhere near you if he thinks there is a chance he might be stinky from practise 
he turned on the TV and it just so happened to be on an Live volleyball game in some language that neither of you understood
he’d snake his arms around your shoulders and pull you close to his chest, satisfied by your synced breathing 
he’d press a single kiss against your jaw before shifting his attention onto the channel
you’d lay there in his arms, both of you seeming content in each other’s presence while watching the game
in reality though, neither of you were actually absorbing anything that was happening on the court - you were just staring blankly at the TV
the TV simply served as background noise to your cuddling
tbh he was way more interested in hearing the sound of your heart beat peacefully against his chest 
after a while, if he gets bored, he might finally break the silence by inquiring about your day
but if he doesn’t, you’d probably end up falling asleep in his arms, forcing him to sleep on the couch bc he’s doesn’t want to risk moving and waking you up 🥺
anyway, he’s another one that likes to save volleyball for work then leave it by the door as soon as you step inside the house 
but he’s not as uptight about it as oikawa or kita
like he’ll happily put on a volleyball match for you guys to watch if he thinks the player’s techniques are impressive
also, if the weather is nice, if you ask him to come out and practise with you for a bit and he’ll say yes 🤠
but actually 🤔 now that is think about it, if you guys had a pool in your back garden sakusa would definitely make the most of it
you’ll humbly ask him spike for you on a nice sunny day and he’ll be like
‘volleyball? really? we bought this expensive ass house with a pool which we can only use 4 out the 365.25 days of the year and you want to play volleyball? don’t you do that like..every work day.’
what can i say? man likes getting his moneys worth 🤷‍♂️
‘so is that a no to volleyball?’ you’d ask
*cue sakusa picking you up bridal style and dropping you into the pool*
then you play pool volleyball 👍
as for your games, he turns up in casual wear 😔
disappointed but not surprised
you’ll jokingly be like ‘hey! why aren’t you wearing my team colours? how are people gonna know who you’re cheering for?’ which is fair bc you turn up to all his games with his MSBY black jackals jersey with one of those foam pointy fingers with his number on it
MANS WOULD POINT TO HIS FKN WEDDING RING LIKE ‘our team colours right here.’
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studyjournalblr · 2 years
Note
this is a semi rant, feel free to delete if ur uncomfortable
I'm in icse 10th grade, sem1 results were very very bad it was only 85% and i really expected 90 atleast. these were mcqs and I had studied super duper hard for these exams.
sem 2 are even harder and I need atleast 95 (so 37/40 in most subjects and 40 in atleast 3 subjects) but exams are on 25th April, my prelims are in 3 days and i couldn't do anything these past few days. ive only finished like 4 chapters and these exams have no leaves and God, I just... my anxiety is killing me, I don't know what to do..
i just wanna ask.. how do u motivate yourself? how do u stay focused and not get distracted...
First of all, I'd like to say: This is exactly what I (still) do before every exam. I waste my time. Panic a lot while wasting time. Complete very little over the huge chunk of time I had and end up with 70-80% of the portions still left. Most of the time, I haven't even done the first learning of the chapter: The day before the exam is the first time that I even read it.
I actually have severe focus problems, more than I let people see, but there are some things that I do to get things done.
I don't know about what you have in 10th grade ICSE, but from my 8 years in an ICSE School, I'm assuming that the large amount and detail does make it harder to keep track of everything. And not spreading your learning over a week or so before exams will account to losing out marks here and there because you haven't revised those points.
What I've been doing so far is basically prioritizing important portions and marking stuff that I feel would be asked. If it's too gruelling to read, either find a video (ik ICSE vids aren't as common as CBSE vids, but there are definitely gonna be some of them) or read it out aloud to listen to yourself.
Most importantly: do as many sample Question Papers as possible. Familiarize yourself with it's pattern. This is a Board Exam, so it's pattern is gonna be recurring, and once you know what type of questions are asked where and for how much, you'll be able to prioritize better. Eg: Question 7 is always a numerical from a chapter that you aren't good at. Learn how to solve those kind of questions. This will save you a lot of time you'd spend on revising less important things, and increase the probability of scoring marks.
Preparing according to the paper is like training in combat to fight one particular enemy, rather than just doing a bunch of exercises. You're spying on their moves by seeing the sample papers. And when you start covering it like that, it's easier to remain motivated and feel some movement and progress.
I've also recently found out that doing aesthetic notes and romanticising my work gets my ADHD brain to hyperfixate on the right stuff, so if that helps you get at least something done, then it's great! 👍👍 (it doesn't necessarily apply to everyone, so don't worry if this doesn't work for you)
Also, don't feel disheartened if you still procrastinate. It's not easy to get over it, so what you gotta do is work around it. Forgive yourself for what is happening, and face the fact that your brain works in a different way.
Sorry for replying a little late... and don't hesitate to ask me stuff!
I hope this helps you, and one more thing-
Note down/ log your preparation in the preps, compare it with the result and plan your board preparation. That's also gonna help.
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rjhpandapaws · 3 years
Text
Technical Difficulties
Ch 2: A Change in Luck
Three and a half months in and Daniel was still baffled as to how he had not only managed to land the accounting internship at AME, but keep it given his luck when it came to computers. He was an accountant, he had an understanding of computers; sort of; they just hated him. AME was almost entirely paperless. So given the fact that the intern terminal almost always had problems when he used it and the coffee machine in the break room had decided he was the devil; he was a little surprised he that he had been brought on as well. It wasn’t just computers if he was honest, he just wasn’t very technologically inclined. His phone was an older model, but he understood how it worked for the most part, and it hadn’t crashed yet so he hadn’t bought a new one. The issue was, that as an accountant there was an unspoken expectation that he understood computers. He didn’t. He could use the internet and more or less guess his way around a basic accounting program, but he had gone into this for the math. Given that AME was a science and technologies company, and Silas wrote all of their programs, the accounting software was not anything close to basic. Daniel felt like he was on the verge of drowning.
He honestly thought he was going to be let go within his first week after what happened with the coffee machine. Richard had said that Silas would be up to fix it when he had the time, and then recommended a cafe close to the office. He had treated it like something that happened every day. Silas had been thoroughly entertained. When the terminal had crashed on his shift the first time, he had thought that would be it. He was definitely done for this time. Richard had explained that three different people used the terminal and it was bound to happen eventually. Daniel had just been unlucky. Silas was up within the hour to fix the issue. He had been annoyed, more at the interruption than at Daniel it seemed. In the coming weeks he became familiar with the head of the IT department. He would email or call down whenever there was an issue that he couldn’t solve on his own. Silas would either walk him through it if it was an easy fix, or come up to fix it if it was a bigger issue. He always seemed a little frustrated, and Daniel always felt guilty even though he knew Silas wasn’t necessarily upset with him.
This was it, today was the day he would finally lose his internship. All he had done was log into the terminal then the screen went blue and it made a digital screech that was nearly painful. He might not have been the greatest when it came to computers, or even good really, but they knew they weren’t supposed to make that kind of noise. He had barely clocked in and it was already time to call Silas. He picked up his phone and dialed the extension for the labs since that’s where he normally was in the morning. He hoped that he wouldn’t wake him this time, Silas didn’t take too kindly to that. “You got Silas.” Came through after two or maybe three rings. “It’s Daniel.” He replied meekly and a quiet but sharp sigh came from the other end of the call. He flinched but continued, “The intern terminal blue screened and it’s making a god awful noise that I can’t get to stop.” Daniel heard something get set down, “I’ll be up in a few Daniel.” Silas hung up and Daniel looked back at the computer. He didn’t want to make things any worse so he made his way to the elevators. Maybe if he put some distance between himself and it the thing might decide to behave. He knew that wasn’t how computers worked, but he could hope. It was probably his last day here anyway, it wasn’t like things could get any worse.
Should he have stayed at the desk? Gotten his things together maybe? There was no way he was going to be keeping the internship after this. Richard had been understanding so far, but even he had to have his limits. Speaking of limits, Silas was probably at his when it came to Daniel. The elevator chimed and brought him out of his head. Silas stepped out of the elevator pushing a cart in front of him. When he saw Daniel he gave a friendly smile. He was definitely getting terminated. “Hey Daniel.” He greeted lightly, “Wanna take me to the problem child? I’ll see if I can fix it up here without having to take it apart, then you’ll be good to go. No worries, okay?” He was definitely all worries at the moment, but he found himself agreeing anyway. “Alright.” He said and tried his best to keep those same worries out of his voice, “I know I break things pretty badly a lot of the time, so I’m sorry about that.” “I don’t think this one is your fault.” Silas said as he walked with Daniel back to the bullpen, “You aren’t the only one that uses that terminal. You were just unlucky today. Just like with the coffee machine.” Daniel let out an embarrassed laugh. That had been one of his worst first impressions yet, “Oh god, don’t remind me.”
“We had a good laugh about it though.” Silas said and Daniel could hear the smile in his voice. When they got back to what was his desk in the morning there was white writing on the deep blue screen. That had not been there when he had left and he had no idea what it meant. He was relatively sure that it wasn’t anything good though. He was definitely going to lose this internship before the day was out. He was certain of that now. It had been good while it lasted, but it was time to concede that a tech company was not the place for him. “The writing wasn’t there when I left.” Daniel was on the verge of panicking again, “That’s pretty bad isn’t it?” He heard Silas sigh. It was that same annoyed sharp sound from the phone and Daniel withered a little. He was done for, “Yeah. I’m going to have to take it apart and see what the issue is.” He moved to start disconnecting the terminal from the monitor and the wall, “”It’s gonna take me a few days probably. Is there anything you can do here while the computer is down?” Get fired, he thought bitterly. “Paperwork I suppose.” He said as he moved out of Silas’s way, “I’d have to see if there is anything backed up. If not there won’t be anything for the interns to do.”
“How would you like to learn about computers?” Silas asked once he finished situating the computer on the cart and stood, “If Richard says it’s okay of course.” “That sounds interesting.” Daniel liked the idea, but he was wary. It wasn’t like this could make him any worse with computers, “Maybe I won’t have as many issues with them then.” That was of course operating under the assumption that he hadn’t lost the internship. “Just talk to Richard.” He said as he pulled the cart away from the desk. “Then if you’re able to, come down to floor six. I might have this taken apart by then, so I’ll see you in a bit.” Daniel nodded absently. Talking to Richard was the thing that he was dreading the most. His luck, if it could be called that, with him had to be running out by now. He had unintentionally messed so many things up by now that he had to be on thin ice. People were only so forgiving. This was a big company and there was no doubt that they could find someone better. He was still confused as to why Richard had picked him at all. He took a deep breath to find something that could pass as collected if he tried hard enough, and made his way to Richard’s office. This was the moment of truth. He would either be packing his things or going down to see Silas.
He hesitated outside of the door. Was he was ready for this? Richard was overly rational to the point of being a little too blunt. Did he want to face that on top of the possibility of losing his internship? When it came down to it, did he really have a choice? He made a last ditch effort to compose himself and then knocked. “Come in.” Richard said after a moment. Daniel opened the door and stepped inside, there was nothing else he could do. He closed it quietly behind him. Richard looked up and several things passed through his eyes though his expression was still carefully neutral. The concern that came to rest in his eyes didn’t do anything to help his anxiety. If anything, see it so blatantly made things worse. “Daniel is everything okay?” Richard asked as he set aside what he was working on. He leaned back against the office door and then the floodgates opened. “I didn’t mean to. I logged in then it went blue - and - and it started screaming.” Daniel was distantly aware that he was in tears and that it wasn’t professional to cry in front of your boss. He liked this place though and he wasn’t ready to lose the internship, “I called Silas and he said he could probably fix it. I don’t know what I did to it, but please don’t fire me.” “Hey, breathe.” Richard said with a gentle sternness to his voice, “Computers break all of the time. It’s nothing to get fired over Daniel.”
Daniel nodded and scrambled to get himself together, “I’ve just - it’s - everything I touch here seems to break.” “That’s how technology is sometimes.” Richard replied in that same tone, it was comforting, “It breaks. That computer was giving us trouble for a while even before you were brought on. It would be unfair to fire you just because you happened to be the one who was logged in when it decided to finally quit.” Daniel nodded and wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his sweater. It was a bad habit that he still carried with him from when he was a kid, “Is there anything I can do until it’s back up?” “The paperwork is all caught up. Echo finished the last of it yesterday.” He said, “So the day is yours. If you want to head home and decompress I don’t blame you.” Richard leaned onto his desk, “You’re good at what you do Daniel. So don’t worry, alright?” “Right.” Daniel agreed, “Okay. I’m sorry about... this.” “You’re alright Daniel. Take tomorrow as well since there’s nothing to do until the computer is back up.” His panic came back almost full force at that, “I’ll let the other interns know too. Maybe you guys could do something together.”  Daniel flinched internally at that idea, “Maybe.”
He stopped on his way to the elevators to clock out. He should have been relieved; but what he was feeling in the wake of his panic attack was the emotional equivalent of tv static. Learning what was wrong with the computer would help him to feel less guilty. He just wasn’t sure he was ready to spend who knows how long around another person. It would be rude to leave him hanging though, so with a deep breath he hit the call button. He was blissfully alone on his ride down to the sixth floor. Daniel hadn’t really interacted with his coworkers, even the ones in his department, so he was glad for the empty elevator. His luck had made him rather familiar with the IT department. Namely Silas and Josh; he didn’t know who the two lab techs were and the thought of meeting one or both of them made his stomach turn unpleasantly. Maybe spending the rest of the day in the lab wasn’t the best Idea. Daniel shook that thought away as the elevator doors opened. He was met with the sudden sound of loud techno metal music. Something he hadn’t been ready for, but wasn’t all that surprised to learn that Silas listened to. He was leaned against a table with what Daniel assumed were computer parts scattered over it and he was bobbing his head to the music as he looked over something on the tablet he was holding.
Silas looked like he was about to jump out of his skin when Daniel approached. “Holy fuck.” He breathed, then continued once he had collected himself, “I was busy. I didn’t hear you come in, sorry about that.” “Sorry for scaring you.” He replied as he looked over the table. The sudden silence was almost jarring when Silas finally paused the music, “What were you working on?” “Product specs.” Silas replied, and he looked excited if Daniel had to pick a word, “I can’t show you unfortunately because it’s got private information.” He had said it with a shrug but almost sounded disappointed, “I figured I could get more work done while I waited. Your department is all caught up?” Daniel gave a nod as he came to lean against the table beside Silas, “Yesterday’s intern apparently did the last of it. So I’m free until the computer is back to normal.” Silas glanced at the screen that was at the end of the table.  There was a loading progress bar on it, though Daniel had no idea what it was for. Silas seemed to understand it just fine though, “We’ve still got about a ten minute wait.” Daniel didn’t know how he gathered that from the progress bar, but he was impressed. Silas continued, “Is there anything you want to do to pass the time?”
“Talk, I guess. There isn’t much else for us to do.” He replied, “Do you enjoy doing all of this? It seems like a lot of work for just four people.” “It’s definitely a lot of work, but it’s worth it.” Silas said with a slight shrug, but the smile from before was back, “As far as liking it, that really depends on the day. The days I’m not able to get anything else done, not so much; but on the days I’m able to get more research done are pretty nice.” “So you don’t like IT work all that much?” He found himself asking, “Why do it then?” “Because I do actually like it, and I’m good at it.” He replied a little dryly, “It’s what got me through college. What about you, why accounting?” “I like working with numbers.” He started, “They are like little puzzles for me to solve, which is fun. It’s simple most days, but technology tends to give me trouble and that makes things difficult.” Silas gave him a friendly smile, “Let’s see about fixing that last part.” He said, “On the days you have time, I can teach you about computers. Then maybe you’ll have better luck with them.” Daniel liked that idea, after all, it wasn’t like his luck could get any worse when it came to computers, “Only if you have the time. You have a lot to do already.” “We can start with this little problem child.” Silas said as he moved to get to work, “You can even come over here to see what I’m working on if you would like.”
Daniel joined him on the fair side of the table. Silas spent hours explaining the parts and what they do to him. He watched Silas slowly slip into his element and Daniel found himself pulled in. He didn’t know what he had done to get Silas to thank him, but apparently rattling things off to Daniel had helped him solve the problem. He even explained the process to Daniel as he fixed it. He asked questions and Silas answered them. Talking to Silas was easy and Daniel found himself hoping they could do this more often. He sat down and rested his head on his arms, content to listen to him for the rest of the night.
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queensdivas · 3 years
Text
Peonies Chapter 8
It has been a while since I've posted about Grigor or The Great. Y'all I have been busy with finals and another fic on archive that has been my favorite thing to write. If you've ever watched The Terror from AMC then you'll enjoy this.
But I haven't forgot about one of my favorite fics. Never.
Other than that! Here we go after weeks of not writing.
Previous Chapter
Masterlist
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The idea of falling asleep after today just sounds nauseating. Seeing the horrors in front of me then coming back to my apartment for Peter wanting to kill me. Then for Grigor to storm off due to the fact that he thought I would lay with my own cousin by marriage. Yes I’m well aware that’s still a common practice amongst the Monarchs of the world but not in my book!
Turning my head to watch the flames slowly begin to die down before my eyes. The room was beginning to spiral into that infamous Russian cold. I didn’t feel like throwing another log on since part of me thinks I deserve to be in the wintry world that I have chosen to live in.
This plan for making Catherine the ruler of all Russia is becoming stale. What have we done that’s been achievable anyhow! Go to the front to feed a bunch of soldiers! You saw what happened when I alone tried to help Peter! Catherine influenced a new Patriarch yet the women of the court still find Catherine to be an annoyance. There has been absolutely no effort or somewhat change Catherine has done to make things more in her favor. God she is a child thrown into a world that she has no idea what she's doing. Although I should be guiding...but...
What good am I doing here! I feel as if I’m just now a fuck toy for Grigor to feel a womens touch since his wife is with the Emporer on a daily basis! Throwing the blanket off me to march over to the nearest vase and chuck it across the room!
A screech left my body as I cleared everything off the vanity onto the floor. I could feel the blood rushing through me for this anger to spiral out of control! This stupid country! Grabbing a book to throw it against the wall!
THIS STUPID COUNTRY!
HOW CAN ONE FUCKING BELONG TO THIS COURT!
HOW CAN ONE SINGLE HUMAN BE SUCH AN ABSOLUTE MORON! AND YES THAT HUMAN IS ME!
WHY DOESN’T HE TRUST ME!
I’M NOT HIS WIFE!
THIS STUPID GOD DAMN COUNTRY!
IT’S MAKING ME QUESTION EVERY SINGLE THREAD OF INSANITY I HAVE BECAUSE THE MAN I’M BEGINNING TO FALL FOR HAS MAJOR TRUST ISSUES! CAN’T HE SEE THAT I AM A ONE MAN ONE WOMEN SORT OF WOMAN!
YES I’M A WHORE TO A MAR….
Huh...would you look at that Chiara? All because he lit a fire under your own ass because everyone else around you stays clear of it.
I…..
I feel nothing….
Maybe the cold will make me feel something in this empty body. Grabbing the handles of the window to pull them out. They smacked against the walls for the wind to soar through my room. It flew through my hair for the first few seconds for it to stop. The cold swaddled me up but I didn’t move from the window.
I do not deserve the things I have been given in life. For I am a cold hearted bitch with almost no remorse in my actions. I could possibly kill a hundred people and proclaim it to be for the greater good. No sense of remorse or sadness.
How could Grigor want to love someone as vile as me..I am cold..evil. Someone like me doesn’t deserve the warm embrace of what love is. This lust is beginning to form into the most dangerous tool one can have in their life. For it can bring life and destroy it in a matter of seconds.
I miss his touch..the way his fingers would glide across my arm as we snuggled together on the bed. The way he kissed my forehead after a long time of making love. Him showing me his drawings and I know he’s drawing me in my sleep! It hurts to feel this sort of way! I don’t want to feel anything! This feeling is almost heart wrenching and...beautiful.
My breathing began to choke till the only warmth that was on my body was the singular tear that had escaped my eye. I’m not a crier. Though we Italians embrace our emotions and turn it into something beautiful, I think this tear is a sense of relief. If I didn’t feel anything. I wouldn’t be whimpering in front of an open window.
A gentle beat from the door echoed through my room as I didn’t even move. If Peter was sending his soldiers to kill me I get the feeling there would be no knock. Please let it be Grigor. I need to feel his touch and tell him the truth. Not all of it but at least enough that I don’t spoil my plans for Catherine.
I closed the window to hurry over to the fire and toss a log in. If it’s Grigor then he probably would prefer something a little warmer. Please him please. Grabbing my robe to put it on as I opened the door. My eyes expanded from the confusion of who was standing before me in my bed robes.
“Elizabeth?” Well if she was coming to kill me I imagine my room has some sort of secret entrance and would’ve done it in my sleep.
“I hope I didn't disturb you. I think we need to have a little chat.”
“We do?” Dear God if Peter opened his mouth about what he started and what I finished I’m going to go kill him myself!
“Yes. May I come in?” Taking a step back for the door to open. She was in her bed clothes as she noticed the mess I had made in my room.
“The work of Peter no less?” I kept my mouth shut for once waiting for her to say something more. She’s going to defend Peter as much as she can. Probably for his own father who I imagine she secretly loved. From my understanding Peter the Great was also quite promiscuous just like his mother. A family of harlots.
“I heard from Peter what happened here early today. I highly doubt that you called him a bastard since he can be quite over dramatic.” So she’s aware that he’s a sniffling bastard whose inability to rule is quite prominent.
“Not talking much tonight are you? Usually you have a comment to say if I were in here talking about Peter.”
“For once Elizabeth. I could truly give a shit about Peter and his antics. I’m not here to please him and make him happy. I’m here for Catherine and making her more comfortable with her new station.” Try not to think that we might kill her own Nephew in a good amount of time. If not by Catherine then by the military.
“You’re not angry that he was in here and wanted to kill you?” She sat down in front of the fire in the love seat for me to stand before here.
“Your nephew. My cousin by marriage is a harmless little bug in my life Elizabeth. His actions were not even worth a single drop of sweat from my brow.”
“Did the stabbing of a major General not scare you? As an outsider I thought it would have scared you horribly.”
“Not scared. More gasping which then leads to utter annoyance. I am more than capable of handling Peter when he’s in a state of anger trying to kill me. What do you even want because I would like some sort of rest.”
“Be more gentle when it comes..
“Just because his mother was a horrid woman does not excuse his actions Elizabeth! That’s saying Zeus should be considered a kind man even though he raped Leda because of his own mental state. Peter thinks of him as Zeus when in reality he is worse than Hades himself! Life is horrid Elizabeth and constantly blaming his issues on his mother is disgusting and you standing here trying to defend him holds you accountable for his actions.”
“What an interesting comparison. You are a very bright woman and that wicked tongue is able to strike anyone down.”
“I can strike down anyone with tongue and steel.” Taking in a sharp breath to walk over to a full bottle of sweet red wine.
“Would you like a glass?” Asking for her to nod. Popping off the court to grab two glasses then bringing two glasses over for us. Sitting down across from here to begin pouring her a glass. She motioned for me to stop for me to pour myself some as well.
“I apologise dear Aunt Elizabeth. I sometimes forget to catch my tongue before it falls out of my head.” We both took a long drink to the point when we were done I had to pour a little more between us.
“It’s quite alright. I’m just grateful you didn’t kill my beloved Nephew before it was too late.” Before I could answer the doors bursted open.
“Excuse me mam?” Turning to see a serf was standing by the door of my world. Did something happen to Fernanda?
“Zasha? What is it?” Elizabeth stood up from my chair to approach her.
“It’s the Emperor. He’s fallen gravely ill.” Well. That is going to solve our problems much faster than I thought it was going to happen. She wrapped herself around her robe as we began walking out of my bedroom.
“Why are you coming? I thought you despised him” She asked for me to nod but was still walking.
“We’re family by marriage. He is now my cousin whether I like it or not.” Turning the corner to see that Orlo, George...and Grigor were waiting outside the room. Splendid. I imagine his wife was ready to lay in bed yet stumbled into that mess.
“From what I’ve seen and heard it sounds bad. A lot of vomit and blood.” Orlo told us to stand next to Orlo. One of the priests that was in the room came out with the black mask on his face to then take it off before us.
“You may not enter the room. For it might be contagious till the doctor tells you differently. For he’s running a high fever, a lot of vomiting, and has been seeing strange visions. The Archbishop is there with him now. He’ll tell you more once he comes out.” Is...Is that vomit on his mask? Or...dear god. He walked past us heading down the hall towards the apartments.
“How is he?” Catherine came in with a very well detailed look of uneasiness.
“Very ill.” Elizabeth told Catherine for my eyes to drift over to Grigor. He was holding onto George but staring directly at me. Stupid man. Stupid man!
“Can we go in?” Catherine asked Orlo but I’m assuming not.
“Well everyones being kept out here.”
“In fear of contagion.” Finally looking at Grigor again for us to lock eyes for a brief instant till I turned to Catherine.
“He’s been vomiting continuously throughout the night, and he runs a high fever, and he has fits of wild delirium.”
“The Doctor and Archbishop are with him.” I told her to place my hands on her shoulder to give some comfort to this poor wife and my cousin. The door opened for a child to come out with a bowl filled with blood and vomit. Not to mention his entire body was covered head to toe in Peters upchuck...and from the smell..the back door was also used as well.
“Excuse me.” Oh the smell! Covering my nose for Grigor and I to look at one another again. He doesn’t look concerned. Is that a smile?
We all leaned into the doorway to see what was happening in there since we could only hear the sound of Peter vomiting and coughing more and more. I did the sign of the cross to hold onto my cross necklace. I don’t pray for Peter. But I pray for the Doctor inside the room that he stays safe from whatever disease has fallen upon Peter. Peter could go to hell for all I care, but I have to keep up appearances.
The Archbishop popped in the doorway for us to straighten our backs. He came out of his bedroom to close the door behind him. Grigor inched a little closer to me to the point I could sense the warmth radiating off him.
“How is he?” Grigor asked for the Archbishop to stare directly at us.
“Extremely ill. The fear is that it may be Cholera.”
“Cholera?” That’s a rough sickness. Even I wouldn’t wish that sort of death on my enemy.
“Which I suspect he will have caught from a possessed, nocturnal animal. Probably a badger.” If I ever get sick in this country I would rather just endure the ride home and die in a carriage. These doctors are not touching me with a ten foot pole!
“Where would he have come across a possessed badger?” Catherine asked thankfully. That sounds absolutely unrealistic and not how you even got Cholera. Not that I don’t know how you get Cholera but I imagine it’s not from a possessed badger.
“If it is Cholera, he will die, will he not?” Holding her a little tighter as a cue to sound a lot more concerned. You have to make it believable that you’re distraught that he might die!
“It’s a strong possibility that we must face.” Looking at Orlo who kept the same straight face he usually has.
“Oh my little man.” THE POOR BABY! I WILL WEEP WITH A BOTTLE OF WINE AND GLORIOUS MUSIC!
“The Doctor is working hard on cures. It may be something else.”
“Has he said anything? Is he talking?” Why would he be concerned if he’s talking? Grigor might as well give a shit if he truly dies or not.
“He speaks intermittently. Much of it is deranged. Said he was a wolf, and wanted to eat Swedish children for breakfast. And there was some talk of what he’d like to do to Chiara and with various ladies of the court. I’ll spare you the details.” My body ran cold for Catherine to turn and face me. The blood in my body felt as if it dried up as I wanted to vomit. Looking at Grigor as I felt so disgusted with myself.
“Before more bouts of diarrhea and vomiting.” The Archbishop went back in for Grigor to take in a deep breath.
“I will go in to see him.” Say what?
“Do not risk your life.” Elizabeth told him as he stopped in the doorway.
“I want to be there for my friend.” Bullshit! He could give an absolute shit about Peter at this point!
“I had no idea your husband was so brave, Georgina.”
“Oh yes famously so.”
“In more ways than one.” Adding into the conversation for George to turn and face me.
“Just being honest.” An angry snake she is when I add my own little comments. Settle down hypocrites.
Orlo, Catherine, and I huddled into our own group to see the expression of Catherines face change from the fake grieving widow to an excited future ruler. Must admit this is a little exciting for me as well.
“If this is Cholera, he could be dead within the day.” Orlo told us as Catherine was beginning to smile slightly but trying to control herself.
“Right. That means..”
“Yes. Yes it will be yours. You will rule Russia.” By God it’s going to actually happen.
“After all our planning..it just..”
“Falls right into your lap.” Orlo finished as the doors opened back up. The ArchBishop came out of the room to take off his mask. Remember when I said that this planning became stale? I stand corrected and I was completely wrong. This just made everything better.
“In light of this terrible situation, a meeting is being called to deal with the possible transition of power.”
“To me.” Easy Catherine. That’s a little too exciting for someone who's losing their husband.
“Indeed. It seems so. You are the next...should the worst happen.” Seems like the worst is about to happen right before them. If it’s going this quickly then I might be going home soon! Finally an end to this horrid nightmare and cesspool!
“Prepare with prayer, and the senate will be called.”
“I look forward to it.” Damn it Catherine!
“Not him dying. That is bad. And sad. And we hope for the best and a speedy recovery.” If I could slap my own face I would without making this seem like we’re excited that Peter is dying.
“God will be with us. He always is.” The Archbishop left the hall for Catherine and Orlo to talk amongst themselves. I need to talk to Grigor. I can’t stand being apart from him at nights for it is his warmth I believe that is keeping me sane. I don’t think I can tell him that I think I’m starting to love him but atleast telling him I need him is a good start.
*Grigors P.O.V.*
DIE! DIE YOU HORRIBLE HUMAN! YOU THINK YOU CAN SLEEP WITH MY OWN LOVE BECAUSE YOU’RE THE EMPEROR! DIE DIE DIE! I WILL KILL YOU AND WILL LIVE PEACEFULLY IN MY OWN LIFE!
Removing the pillow to see that he was still breathing! Bastard! Slamming the pillow back onto him to push down even further in hopes that I might finish the job! Just die! How hard is it to kill someone who's already dying! Talking about Chiara as if she’s just a common peasant!
“What are you doing!?” George yelled as I continued to push down harder and harder.
“What is right and you know it George! I have to do something!”
“Fuck!” George pulled me back as we stopped to see Peter was still breathing. Dragging me from his bed towards the middle of his room.
“I was given the choice to be a man or a child! I’ve decided to become a man for the sake of my sanity!”
“You poisoned him?”
“Arsenic. From the wall in his borscht!” Feeling the cold slap from George as she was in full rage of my actions.
“What happens to us when he’s dead? Think what Peter provides for us!”
“You...you..”
“You’re a stupid fool Grigor!” She took a deep breath to calm herself down.
“Our situation is complex. Yet also simple! We have a safe life with Peter! Luxury, security, a place in court. Who’s he gonna be replaced by? Catherine!? We’re nothing to her! What happens to us then? Not to mention Chiara is making it much more difficult to handle this situation. No thanks to you!”
“So you may have a lover but I may not!” I love Chiara and this marriage is non-existent!
“Grigor?” Peter called for me as I turned to see him barely awake and moving. Say something George! You hypocritical bitch say something!
“We’re here.” George, like a mother goose, flew to Peter's aid. Well. It’s very clear now on where my life stands now. George has made her bed and it is time for me to make my own with a Duchess who isn’t afraid to get the job done when it needs to be done.
Letting go of the pillow to march out of the room and slamming the doors shut. Taking in a few deep breaths to calm myself before scampering off to Chiara. Chiara? Where is she? Perhaps in her chambers!
It was like seeing a light at the end of the tunnel heading to her apartment! The outline of the room was glowing before my eyes. Chiara..my love. The only woman in this world that can make my knees buckle to bow at her feet. That fire is intoxicating to the point that I might die of happiness.
Slamming the door open to see Chiara was in front of the flames looking directly into them. Her head slowly turned to face me with a somber look. A bottle of wine sitting next to her looked thoroughly used. Oh my precious flame. Closing the door to sit down next to her as she went back into looking into the fire.
“I placed my blade against his neck threatening to take his life away. Why didn’t I slice it open? Tell me why I didn’t Grigor?” She asked for me to place my hand on her cheek.
“What happened before I came in?”
“He was mad that I helped Velementov at the front for strategy. He drew a sword on me and I fought back. I won and threatened him that if he were to ever draw his sword on me that I would win. I...I should’ve sliced his throat open and strung him up as if he was game to place on my wall.” I feel like I should tell her that I’m the one that poisoned him. That he is dying in his own bed because the world would be better without him! She was literally going to kill him before I even came into the room!
“Chiara. I’m the one who caused him to become ill. I poisoned him in the borscht while he was eating dinner.” Her expression was the same as before till it clicked in her mind. Her entire face went from a beautiful red to a ghostly white in a matter of seconds.
“Holy shit..” She whispered to turn her attention to the fire. Is she going to tell Catherine? Not that Catherine might care much but what if she does? Would she tell the court? No...no what have I done!
“I would ask why but that..oh my god.” Turning her head to face me as I gulped.
“If it helps, I did it for you. For us..for everyone in the court that his idiocy will go away.” Her lips were slightly open with her breathing beginning to rise.
That lovely color began returning to her cheek as she climbed on top of me and wrapped herself around me. Those entrancing lips striked against mine as my hands traveled up her back to pull her shirt. She stopped to place her index finger on my lips.
“For you committing such a horrendous act. Allow me.” Removing her finger to place a kiss on my lips, to my cheek, then right underneath my jaw line. I could see the stars from how well she was working those luscious lips. Her hand gripped my cock to start playing it through my pants. God her touch. It’s almost too delicious to even allow. My eyes rolled back for me to lay down on the rug for her kisses to start moving down my body.
I love her...I hope that she knows that I would kill an army for her without regret...
~~~
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