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kiwikipedia · 3 years

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Cin Drallig didn’t have Clones under his command. We know this, he wasn’t a General, he was the Battlemaster and head of the Temple Guard Security. But I propose an AU.

It starts with a small choice. After a long day of standing and doing quite literally nothing for hours on end, the Temple Guards who were on the day shift disperse into Coruscant. Technically not against the Jedi Way but going to get inebriated or just bar hopping for the fun of it— or worse, getting into the semi-illegal, underground, lower level fighting rings— wasn’t exactly something that the Jedi looked favorably upon.

But the Jedi Temple Guard get restless after standing still for so long, especially the newer Guards, and Cin pretends he doesn’t see when a group of his kids Guards come stumbling back in the early morning hours with credits won from a gambling match and wide grins.

Anyhow, like any other Jedi, the Guard do have friends among the rest of the Temple, so they know of the Clones and have obviously seen them when Jedi arrive and leave the temple with their Battalions, Companies, Platoons— you know, the usual. After a while, the Guards just... start showing up at 79s and interact with the Clones while there. Which is weird because, first of all, when dressed in civvie clothing, the Guard are practically unrecognizable as very few see their faces, but secondly these are just random Jedi coming up to Clones and buying them drinks, playing card games with them, or thanking them for their efforts on the Front.

Several ask for stories about the time on the Front because “We’re stuck on Coruscant and sure, the duty to protect the Temple is really important but we were all trained by Master Drallig beyond our own Padawan training. I’m pretty sure Master Drallig is just as restless as we are too” and they want to know about what they’re not allowed to go and see themselves. Of course, War is horrible, and more than one Guard is horrified about whats going on— especially when a certain Jedi’s battalion gets back Krell you bitc h im talking about you— and they all learn about the casualty numbers.

The Guard does talk in their free time, their masks have coms built into them— and Cin has an earpiece to keep in contact with the Guard as well. Though they seem to forget that he’s on their group link and they all start talking during shifts while they stand outside the doors or in the halls about the War and the Clones and, whoops, one of them lets it slip that they cant believe that the Clones are supposed to fight Darksiders without Lightsabers. Like sure, Blasters do damage, and certainly more than one Jedi has been gunned down ( “Rest in the Force, Master Di” is echoed through the link ) but really! Theres only so much their Armor can do for them! A lightsaber would cut through it like flimsi.

Cin, of course, startles them all by asking for confirmation that the Clones— who he had been told were all trained to be very skilled in combat— had no Saber training because remember, Cin and the Temple Guard knew very little about the Clones because they were told that “it’s not I mportant to tell you all, as you won’t be working with the Clones”

Once he has confirmation that no, the Clones didn’t have any Saber training and were expected to go up against Darksiders like Ventress and Dooku with just blasters and their bodies, he just sighs.

The next day he brings three of the Guard and also Bene with him down to the Barracks— and a shit ton of practice Sabers. And who else was there but the Clone Dad ™ we all know and love? That’s right, and guess who thinks training the Clones to use lightsabers is a great idea and “Well, now I wonder why I hadn’t thought of it first, Master Drallig”?

Plo fucking Koon.

So of course, the 104th is put through what the Padawans had called “Training Hell”— especially since the Clones don’t have years between deployments like the Initiates had before becoming padawans. The Six forms are taught, Cin brings in more of the Guard who have mastered their respective Forms and Bene has fun with the Boys ™ as well because she goes through katas with them, wipes the floor in practice duels with others, and now the Guard has to compete with the 104th (and Plo) spoiling Bene.

( ”You’re spoiling my Padawan, Master Koon” “[laughter] your padawan? I think you mean ours” “If that’s the case then our men should know not to spoil her so much. The Guard do a fantastic job on their own.” )

( This is, of course, without even bothering to ask the Council or the GAR’s higher ups, this is all on his and the Guard’s own actions— its easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. But hey, if Plo Koon was on board than Cin has a leg up if it get brought to the Council anyways. )

When the 104th leaves for the Front again, guess whose Clones are next— the 501st. This time the rumors are going around that the 104th is suddenly more vicious than before and the 501st is eager to know what happened while they were on shore-leave. They soon regret it, because Training Hell is— well— Hell. Anakin and Ahsoka have flashbacks to when they went through Training Hell and Bene laughs at them.

Slowly, each Clone battalion, platoon, company and so on are being trained by a near constant rotation of the Temple Guard, Bene, and Cin— and their own Jedi as well. A few knights that Cin personally trained— like Serra Keto— as well join in when they can. Cin puts in a request to go to Illum and gather more Kyber Crystals for more “training sabers” but half the Council who know and approve of Cin’s actions already know— the man’s planning on making at least a thousand lightsabers for the Vode to pass around.

The Temple Guard have a Lightsaber Building Night where they assemble the “training sabers” together and talk about their Clones because the Vode might have their Jedi Generals, but the Guard have claimed all of the ones they’ve trained as theirs too. Especially the Coruscant Guard.

Bene happily gives Fox, Thorn, Thire, Stone, and Hound their lightsabers first, having assembled all of them with Serra.

(And now for the angst)

It’s all well and good— the GAR starts gaining more ground, less Clones are dying.

And then Operation Knightfall and Order 66 hit.

The Jedi on the ground cannot possibly raise their sabers to these men that they helped train, cant possibly defend from blaster shots while also blocking lightsaber strikes that were taught under the Battlemaster’s strict teaching because he taught them to keep them alive—

And in the Temple?

Well, after Grand Inquisitor murdered all the Guard he could find, even after everything, those that remain are just horrified as they are forced into battle with their vode. Certainly, Cin’s job of protecting the Temple from the Clones is much harder than before, now that they’re armed with Lightsabers and it hurts because “by gods what have I done, I’ve given them the means to kill us all—” but also “I trained these men, they were like the Guard, like my sons—”

Instead of Vader, Cin’s murdered by six lightsaber wielding clones after a split second of faltering because gods he can’t.

And for a split second, when the sabers enter his body, the Clones behind them jolt awake— horrified as they realize that it’s Teacher Drallig on the other end, face twisted in pain as he falls and it’s little Bene’s choking gasps that are behind them as Vader strangles her to death.

But that split second is over too soon, and the Sabers are removed and the Clones move on— good soldiers follow orders, after all, and Teacher Drallig and Little Bene the Jedi Battlemaster and his student were just Traitors, after all. Good soldiers follow orders.

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kookiepredictions · 3 years

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Jungkook Twin Flame Reading

A little post in honour of Jungkook’s birthday after which I’ll be taking a break :)

Jungkook Twin Flame Reading

The relationship dynamic between Jungkook and his TF is so interesting to me. To say that they are made for each other is a huge understatement. If human beings have several layers and levels to their being, then it is safe to say that Jungkook and his TF are compatible at every level; that’s how “destined” they are. Even if you take away the spiritual aspect of their connection and just focus on the earthly, physical dimension, they are the type of people who would be instantly drawn to each other. It’s not enough said that they are each other’s type. They could walk into a room full of people and instantly pick the other. Each has the physical appearance that the other finds attractive, the personality that the other admires, and their overall goals and ambitions in life too are very compatible. Whether they hit each other up at the bar, met in a park, hooked up on Tinder, or had an arranged marriage, it doesn’t matter— they would end up together. It’s like in the movie ‘The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, where the protagonists erase each other’s memories repeatedly but still end up falling in love every time they meet again. Now you would say, how nice for them, that must make their TF journey so much easier than others’, but (very) interestingly, no, it makes it just the more difficult.

Since they are so obviously compatible, picking each other is an obvious option. It’s like, I don’t need to be divinely guided to pick you; I’d do it anyway. And this is what makes the connection so confusing because there are literally 2 Levels in this connection: 1, where they can just be together as partners or spouses or whatever other earthly relationship term they want to subscribe to, and 2, where they can show up as the Divine Masculine and Feminine and hence have a higher dimensional connection. The difference between these 2 options is that the 1st, while not terrible, would be a mere earthly connection wherein both operate from their wounded selves and therefore their love has conditions, projections, and therefore hurts and problems. This type of relationships is not very uncommon to find and one might even argue that what’s so bad with that? Every relationship has problems. That’s normal. But then I urge you to ask yourselves, is it normal or it is normalized? Also, it might be commonly seen, but with their potential to be Twin Flames, Jungkook and his DF are not here to have a “normal” connection. And they are definitely not here to subscribe to the normalized version of love as it exists in the world right now. As TF counterparts, they have been given a choice to opt for more, also known in the TF community as creating new relationship templates. This is why I had mentioned in one of my previous posts that simply being born and then meeting your TF counterpart does not automatically make you each other’s Twin Flames— it only makes you “potential” TFs. It’s only when you show up as your most authentic or Divine self that you are actually “being” TFs. This is not a very simple phenomenon to understand and a lot of times, TF counterparts meet each other and are caught up in the earthly, or lower chakra attraction that they feel for each other. This looks like intense sexual attraction, daydreaming and overthinking about each other, and being almost addicted to each other. Is this a very bad thing? No, definitely not. Understand that the lower chakras represent our earthly existence and as such, all experiences stemming from them ground us onto that aspect of life and done right, it’s a beautiful experience. Also, one thing I disagree with a lot of people about is that the TF connection is not romantic. Oh but it is! The TF connection is not a fairytale. Heck yeah it is! But I also understand where they are coming from. I think the problem is in the way the words “romance” and “fairytale” are perceived these days. I don’t know about you, but fairytales to me are all about boy meets girl, fall in love, want to be together but problems arise, misunderstandings happen, third parties interfere, sorrows and tears, breakthrough, problem-solving, maybe even some fights, songs and dances, and finally, union. This don’t look like the TF connection to you? Of course, the TF journey is not so oversimplified, linear or one-dimensional, and doesn’t end in like 1 ½ hours. But that’s still the gist though. As for romance, again, I earnestly think the meaning of romance is so skewed right now, it makes me sad. As far as I have lived (and loved), romance has never been just about wining and dining, flowers and chocolates, singing and dancing (although they are a part of that and a very fun one at that). For me, the TF connection is romance at its peak. If romance is defined as the expression of love and affection, then there can be absolutely nothing more romantic than a person who would stop at NOTHING to be with you, to the point that they would take an axe and strike down their own ego, burn and destroy themselves over and over again to be their most authentic self because they see you and think, you’re worth it. So many people in the world right now would rather replace you with someone else simply because they are too proud to look into themselves and heal their wounds that are stopping them from experiencing true love, and continue living with their masks on. Masked people bringing flowers and diamonds and basically everything else other than their heart has never been a romantic notion for me. But yes, the skewed definition of romance these days does not accommodate such depth of the emotion and expression of love, so it’s limited to being perceived (and executed) as materialistic and surface-level exhibition.

TFs, upon meeting each other for the first time, experience all of these earthly tendencies. In itself, it’s not a bad thing at all. It’s sweet, spicy and exciting because seldom do you find a person that gets your heart racing like that. The “relationship” too, seems within your reach. But just when you reach out for them, the tower moments happen. This is when TFs realize that there is much more than what appears on the surface and you got to dig deeper. With Jungkook and his DF, it just was even more confusing because them being so compatible and an “obvious choice” for each other, the delays and the “ifs” and “buts” just did not make sense. This was especially Jungkook’s energy where he was more focused on the earthly manifestation of this connection because that’s what made sense to him— boy meets girl, fall in love, together bam! (Lol I had to make that joke cuz it’s a special day). He was also focused more on the external manifestations of problems in the connection, for example, he would think, I cannot be with the DF because of X, Y, Z. But the TF journey, like any other spiritual journey, will always teach you to look inward. Any problem and situation in life is always the external manifestation of something that is wrong inside, and therefore that’s where all solutions lie. On the other hand, as DFs are usually initiated into the spiritual journey first and are more concerned with that aspect of the connection (explained in detail in a previous post), his DF kept running away from him because Jungkook’s state of mind was not supportive of her spiritual quests. It’s important to understand that neither of them was consciously doing this; both did what they did because that’s what made sense to them at their level of healing. As the “lead” in this journey though, somehow it all started with the DF. She felt the call to opt for that higher dimension in their connection and to move away from him when he wasn’t in the ready state to even understand, let alone, support that spiritual aspect, which is what is known as the Separation— the part where both parties need to focus on their own healing. However, it’s one thing to know what to do, and quite another to embody that knowledge and act on it with the trust that everything will ultimately work out. So for a while, she too was caught up in her lower dimensional cravings. It’s safe to say that just like Jungkook, she was terrified of losing him because like I said, even in a non-TF way, they seemed so perfect for each other, you just do not want to miss the chance to at least give it a shot. But her soul would be tugging at her to complete the tasks that she had undertaken prior to incarnation, in other words, her soul contract, so she wouldn’t be able to be fully present in this connection either. And so she would do this thing where she would take a step forward towards her destiny and then look back at Jungkook where he was in his journey to see if he would join her. Repeatedly. But this connection IS about your soul journey, her indecision and mental to and fro would energetically keep Jungkook in an indecisive and back and forth state too. It’s like everytime she would look back to see if she was making a mistake, Jungkook would look back to see if he was making a mistake. This was keeping him attached to his karmic situations, which would then drain him, which would make him want his DF more to fill him up, which would create energy drainage for the DF which would ultimately repel the DF and she would want to run far, far away from him. This pushing him away in turn would hurt and confuse Jungkook and he would start doubting the connection and his self worth and start thinking that he doesn’t deserve her and that she is staying away from him because she isn’t interested in him and it’s all in his head, and so he would think of walking away from her before she leaves him. This is the push and pull dynamic in this connection and this was the loop that they were stuck in for a while.

Over time though, his DF has been inching closer and closer to her destined path, trying to find faith in herself, in the connection and in Jungkook and has been looking back less. Recognizing her role as the lead, she has had to make the difficult decision to solely focus on herself and put Jungkook out of her mind— a “whatever happens, happens, I’m not abandoning myself for anyone anymore” kind of a decision. This has been difficult for her because she has always naturally been someone who puts other people’s needs before her own. When she likes someone, it has always made sense for her to almost sacrifice all her needs and wants for the other person’s. However, this energy has never been reciprocated to her in her previous connections, and her life would always eventually turn out to be one where her needs were always in the backburner. As I had said in a previous post, when she first meets Jungkook, the way he treated her was quite different from others. While other men would make these big show of love while ignoring the smallest, most basic things about her, Jungkook was observant of the little subtle things about her and more importantly, always willing and even seeking to do things that felt tailormade for her. While other people made their moves with agenda, Jungkook had this energy of just vibing in the moment, doing little things, making her smile. It was like he had even forgotten to set a purpose or intention of interacting with her; he just did what he did because it made him so happy. This caused her to put down her guard and a connection was made. However, this connection, or specifically, the happiness and bliss in the connection did not last long because both were interacting from a co-dependent place— they were both doing things trying to seek happiness from the other, to fill an empty void in themselves. But as I discussed earlier, when you seek something outside of yourself, it is never enough because that void can only be filled by you. So, what started as a beautiful and fun connection started morphing into a confusing, draining and hurtful one. This was very the signal to start levelling up into a higher dimension of the connection— the connection in itself wasn’t wrong; it was just that it was established in a lower, 3D dimension that was keeping it embroiled in pain and struggle. The DF was the first to recognize this and felt it in her heart to first, individually level up. But as said earlier, she was constantly looking back in doubt, afraid she might just lose him, which, true to the TF connection, kept Jungkook stuck in a fear of losing her. When Jungkook is stuck in the energy of this fear for long enough, external problems would manifest to reflect and amplify that fear, which then, as I said, would make him want to leave her first before she could leave him, because he felt that he loved her too much to ever be able to bear the pain of his heart being broken by her.

In present times, his DF has been a lot more confident in herself and in this connection. This has happened because she has spent considerable amount of time healing her trauma patterns which has immensely increased her faith in the Divine and she is able to see this connection clearly, not just from a knowledge point of view, but also from a deep feeling. In the past, she was stuck in the confusion of “if he is right for me, then how does it make sense to leave him behind?”, the same confusion that Jungkook had. But then again, when she stayed behind, there would be all these differences of opinions between them and problems and hurt would ensue. Both saw each other as their destination and yet, the path each proposed to take was different. Jungkook took the more rational, practical path while his DF was inclined to the more spiritual, “listen to the Divine, have faith and let go” path. Incidentally, the spiritual path is not irrational either. The real, practical problems in their connection did not go unnoticed by the DF. She noticed the co-dependency, the fact that she was constantly putting her own needs behind to try to address his needs and also the fact that even after that, Jungkook was still stuck in fear, doubt, confusion and misery. But more than anything else, she saw the once-beautiful connection deteriorate every day. This was painful to her because from the moment she saw Jungkook, as an intuitive and foresighted woman, she knew he was the one, and that this would be a beautiful and fulfilling connection, and the start had even been that way. The intense attraction, waiting for each other everyday, daydreaming when they were alone, every love song finally making sense— stuff straight out of a movie or a romance novel. But this reality kept slipping off, and it hurt her to see it all go down the drain. So when she realized that this connection needed to be anchored to a higher frequency, she had to make the choice of walking away from him to work on herself. She knew that she wasn’t being her most authentic, divine self, and as such, wouldn’t be able to create an authentic and divine connection. While in the past she was afraid of being judged by him for the choices and decisions she made, more recently she has stepped into the confidence that living her life from her heart is not something she should ever be afraid of, and if Jungkook is the divinely destined partner that she thought he was, he would never stand in the way of her living a life that made her happy. She also knew that unless she heals herself from her own trauma and wounds, she would not be able to love him right either. She isn’t perfect and in the past she has done many a hurtful things to people she loved and she is afraid unhealed, she would do the same to Jungkook. In this energy, she foresees the connection to become riddled with problems and trauma bonding and she would rather leave him and this connection right this instant where it is still relatively peaceful, than create a reality where they hurt each other that much. It’s funny that in her past relationships, whenever she hurt her partner, she would feel guilty for behaving that way more because she feels it was beneath who she is, but on hindsight she will be like, well they still deserved it for being complete jerks to me. But with Jungkook, she feels like she wouldn’t be able to ever willingly hurt him because she believes he doesn’t deserve to ever be treated that way, so it could only mean that in such a state, she would only hurt herself each time and she didn’t want that for herself either, so she feels like she’d rather stay away from him and the connection than cause all that. This is similar to how Jungkook feels about her as well, which is why no matter how tough it gets for him to go on without her, he always reminds himself that he couldn’t possibly with her until he became capable enough to give her all the happiness that she deserves, so that’s where they would mirror each other. And yet, everytime he feels empty, he wants to reach out to her. However, as the DF has started becoming confident in the connection, and stopped looking back in doubt, Jungkook has been feeling confident too. The more she heals, he heals. Now, they are both on their adventures of finding themselves while still recognizing the presence and impact of this connection in their lives. I think they’ve both realized that trying to escape this connection is a lost war. Instead they are embracing it and letting it guide them while still learning to put themselves first. Even after all the doubts and fears, their destination still remains the same, and the path seems to be aligning as well because they are both trying to meet each other halfway. Will there be anymore problems, confusion, doubts, fears, anger, frustration? Maybe, maybe not. But like I always say, that’s not the point of life at all. Nor is that the point of relationships. Problems might still arise but unlike in the past, they won’t be swept into co-dependency. The DF has learnt to listen to her heart every time, even if Jungkook does not agree with her and will address Jungkook’s needs only when she has ensured that her own needs are met first. In return, Jungkook has learnt to trust that his DF’s path will never be separate from his— time and time again, he has seen his DF return to him, never ceasing to love him and he has learnt to trust more in the Divine to give him what he believes belongs to him. Soon enough, they will be whole, complete and happy enough on their own accord and this will create a harmonious and blissful interdependent connection between them with the earthly intense attraction as well as the divine peaceful stability.

Just to avoid an abrupt end, let me share one of my favourite quotes that aptly defines this journey (except add “vice versa”):

“A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”

― Maya Angelou

Happy 24th birthday Jungkook, I hope you always know and remember that you are well loved, not because the person or the people who love you are good people, but because you deserve to be loved always. What is yours will never pass you by and what you seek, seeks you I promise. You will see, in time. Every single thing in this connection and in this journey might not make sense and it might seem long and dragged out, but if you want the other person to consider your needs, you must consider theirs too. That is true love. And it is yours. You’ve worked for it and you’ve earned it. Your DF wants you as much as you want her. But she won’t give herself to you unless she deems herself as someone you deserve and you deserve the best. She knows you already think she’s perfect but she also knows that you have the biggest, the kindest and the most accommodating heart and you would never make anyone feel lesser than. But she’s adamant lol. She says, Jungkook deserves the best and he will have the best. Please allow her the time and space to do this not just for you but also for herself— allow her to heal her insecurities so she never feels small and insignificant anywhere she goes. Don’t forget that your destination is the same. Allow her to take a different path once in a while if she so pleases, and don’t be afraid to do the same. Do what YOU want to do and what is best for you. Always. If it hurts her ego, best believe that it is HER problem to take care of. If you are meant to be, mistakes and slip ups will never get in the way of that. If you are meant to be, neither of you should ever have to hide any part of yourselves. Trust that being your most authentic selves, no matter how odd, shameful and unforgiving it might seem to you, will always bring you closer. That’s just what unconditional love is. That’s what you are divinely created to have. If you have to hide, pretend and suppress any part of you to please the other, it’s just not love, and believe you me, your connection won’t last that way. I know it’s scary, to show those parts of yourself to another, parts that even you haven’t been able to accept, embrace or forgive, then how are they going to do that? She knows and she fears the same about herself. But know that you both have to show up as who you are, otherwise this connection remains a daydream and an illusion, the bubble of which will burst sooner or later. You both have been given the opportunity to create something that is not just missing but is needed in this world right now. Take it and make the best out of it. At the end of your lives, as you sit on your porch, watching the sunset together, you will get to look back in triumph and gratitude for one hell of an adventure. Happy birthday once again! May this day be the start to the best, happiest, most fun, most exciting, most exotic, most peaceful, most authentic and most soul-ly fulfilling life you have ever wanted.

P.S. I really wanted to make a small and compact post but for some reason I rambled on and also I feel so tired after this I want to go to sleep immediately. I don’t have the energy to see what I’ve written anymore so I hope it all made sense. See you after my break! PPS. :) :) :)

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scorsoneamelia · 3 years

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hey hope you’re having a good day!

prompt: amelias sisters come to visit after scouts born and and find out about scout.

thank you so much i hope you’re having a good day too!!! <333

ALSO shoutout to @afsalta for helping me with this one!!

There was resentment, or maybe it was just pure hatred. Ever since she was old enough to form memories, there was always absolute disgust on her sister’s faces when it came to Amelia, or it could have also been disappointment, maybe even embarrassment. Embarrassed that their little sister wasn’t like them, instead they thought she was a mess; a mess that they convinced themselves she was going to be for as long as they lived. No matter how many years were under her belt for sobriety, she will always be that young girl that had shadows casting over face, pale skin and heavy eyes, sitting on the edge of a sidewalk, across from a bar with her head spinning and a handful of orange pills laying flat in her palm. A girl that stole the prescription pad of her older brother, crashing his white Mustang because she was too fucked up to drive. The same girl that used her own prescription pad to write doses for her and her boyfriend, him overdosing in the process. For as long as she could remember, they will always see her as a drunk or as a junkie who didn’t have her life together and never will.

A shadow, Derek always had a shadow and most would argue that it was her; following in her brothers foot steps but never being able to be successful. There was always competition, more so with her older brother and there was always a weight on her chest, a pressure into being as great as him; as great as her sisters. Success and failure didn’t come together as they believed he was successful and she wasn’t; rather she was a failure. The weight that sat on her shoulders was always pulling her down, making her believe that she’ll never be Amelia Shepherd, never her own person, instead she’ll forever be that girl screaming at her friends during an intervention about how much she wants drugs; needs drugs. Amelia believes that she’s just as great as he is and she can truly say that she’s proud of herself, proud of who she became and how far she’s come. The competition of her not being as successful, as normal as her family, has and always will be weighing her down because in their eyes she will always be the messy little sister who cannot be trusted.

She didn’t talk to her family, didn’t call, didn’t visit, Derek was the only exception and even then, they didn’t communicate as much as she would have hoped. Usually she calls her mom, keeping in touch as much as she could but the resentment and pain she has still lingered, since her own mom left her alone on her wedding day. Her big day, one of the most important days of her life and her mom refused to go despite her own daughter begging for her to attend. It was unbearable pain, a pain that wasn’t worth for her to continue to put herself through so instead she found her true family, her friends back in Los Angeles and her sisters, her children and her nieces and nephew. Amelia was content, her sisters words that used to haunt her no longer lingered in the back of her head because she knew she was better than the Amelia that her family decided to create.

At least that’s what she thought; being content and happy. She realized she was mistaken when a chill was being sent down her spine, a shiver that made goosebumps form on her arms, enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“Kathleen?” Amelia breathed, her sister was stood outside the front door, the other sister standing not too far behind. “Nancy?”

“Amelia? Where have you been?” Nancy turned so she was facing Amelia and both girls had disgusted looks on their face, a look that was so familiar to her.

“I live in Seattle, I have since Derek gave me this job,” she started, a confused look on her face and her sisters were giving it back, probably because there was a toddler in her arms and he was propped up on her hip. “What are you doing here?”

“We talked to Meredith,” Kathleen stated. “We’re here to visit her and the kids.” They might as well just stabbed her right in the chest and twisted, because she felt something in her chest, pain; they weren’t there to see her. Amelia shouldn’t be surprised though, she didn’t visit either.

So instead of making it a big deal, not allowing to show that it bothered her, she stepped aside to allow her two sisters into the house. After all, it was Meredith’s house, not hers. The part that Amelia dreaded was that Meredith wasn’t here yet, the kids had just been getting off of school, so in the entire house it was her, Link and their baby; a baby they had no idea she had. “I didn’t know Meredith had another one.” And there was a light in Nancy’s eyes, some kind of love and affection that was beaming through her facial features, a finger being lifted to brush softly across the toddler’s face.

“She didn’t,” Link had come around the corner, thankfully he noticed that they showed up; her cruel sisters that he had met once, not ever wanting to be caught in another situation with them. But here he was, standing behind Amelia, a hand brushing softly across her lower back. “This is Scout. Ours.”

The love and affection that had previously been coming through her eyes was replaced with disappointment, and there was a shudder that came from Kathleen. “You had a secret baby?”

She brushes off their reactions, trying not to let it phase her because that part of her life was over; the part where she let her sisters control how she feels about herself. “This is Scout, he’s a year now,”

“Does Mom know?” Nancy asked, her eyes wide, similar to Link’s although he was shocked for opposite reasons. “How could you keep this from us? We’re family.”

Amelia’s eyes were rolling and she was irritated. “You guys lost the privilege of knowing what goes on in my life when mom chose not to come to my wedding and the last time I tried to visit you, I was humiliated.”

Nancy’s arms were being crossed in front of her chest, her eyebrow raised and she was glancing at Link, a nod in his direction. “You’ve managed not to scare him off. Aren’t we all surprised? After all, he might just be the best one yet.”

This time Link rolled his eyes, his body was tense from behind her and Amelia knew he was forcing himself from speaking up. “Forget it,” Amelia hummed, passing Scout off to Link and she was making her way to the kitchen. This conversation was over because she decided it was.

“So, Scout?” Nancy asked, now suddenly both of them had an interest in meeting her son; their nephew. Amelia doesn’t care though, she didn’t love them the same way she loved Maggie, or Meredith, she never loved them the same way she loved Derek. To her, they were just people she grew up with, people she knew, biology is utter crap and they weren’t her sisters, not to her at least.

Once Meredith arrives, she’ll let her take the matter into her own hands considering they weren’t there for her and they most definitely weren’t there for Scout. They were there for Meredith. “I’ve gotta say, I’m surprised with you, Amy.”

“It’s Amelia.” She corrected Nancy, which resulted in the older sister waving her hand off in dismissal, her attention only drawn to the baby and Link, who was being friendly as always. She wishes she was more like him, was able to put up with this kind of shit. There was a sound of a car engine coming closer before it came to a stop, meaning Meredith and the kids were home. This meant she could wander, go somewhere else in the house to hide because frankly, seeing her sisters was the last thing on her list to do for the day.

So that’s what she did, made her way up the set of stairs while Meredith greeted them, offering them coffee, tea, water, literally anything. They all agreed on coffee, but Kathleen was talking loud enough for Amelia to hear. “Is there no alcohol in this house?”

#stories #SORRY ITS SO SHORT I WAS STUCK #amelia and link #amelia x link #amelia shepherd #ameliafics #amelinkfics #link and amelia #amelia #greys anatomy #greysanatomyfics #atticus link #amelink

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azucanela · 4 years

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Okay so i'm feeling pretty bad atm because my best friend replaced me and i need some fluffy rn. How about hcs for the reader being coldly abandoned by their previous best friend. Believing she is alone, she falls to her knees and cries outside in the middle of the rain. A moment later, she glances over to see Bakugou, Kirishima and Shinsou behind them trying their best to cover her from the rain with their jacket. Thank you♡

COMFORTING YOU AFTER A FRIENDSHIP ENDS HEADCANNONS + SCENARIOS

[ft. bakugo katuski, kirishima ejirou, shinsou hitoshi]

SUMMARY: In which you are abandoned by your closest friend and are found by the boys.

WORD COUNT: 2.7k

WARNINGS: mentions of murder, mean friends, me being violent, y/n has those main character moments in the rain its nice,

A/N: bb im so sorry that they did that,,, please know that im here if you need anything and i will fight this person :D with your permission of course.

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

your so called friend ended up ditching you

im going to throw hands literally

you end up leaving the café you have been waiting for her in, near tears, and as if it can’t get any worse, you have no ride home, so naturally, you are now walking whilst trying to keep from crying

you’re about half a mile from UA, the hill is visible in the distance and you are very relieved because you just wanna cry in your bed

then it starts to rain

so yeah it did get worse

out of frustration and the built up sadness, you just kinda start crying, coming to a stop and falling to a seat at the side of the road

you felt so alone, the one person you thought would always be around he replaced you

clearly they didn’t feel the same

meanwhile, katuski is running with his jacket above his head, cursing out the skies

and then he spots someone crying in the rain, he initially thinks nothing of it, until he realizes its you

the girl who he “begrudgingly” helped study on weekends, the one who he was up until 2AM with, even though he slept like a grandpa

now he’s cursing for a different reason, he comes over to you

he is gonna wanna kill someone when he finds out and tbh you should let him but thats just me

in the past, people have abandoned him due to his personality, and though it hurt in the moment, he got over it pretty quickly

and tbh, most of the time he had a little squad of jerks following him around so he didn’t really care abt anyone else.

Staring at the text she’d just recieved, Y/N let out a shaky breath, trying to compose herself. Her so called best friend wasn’t coming, and would never be coming again. Apparently she had better things to do than hangout with some wannabe hero. Blinking away the tears, Y/N stood making her way to the exit of the shop, she stepped outside.

She was beginning to regret ever leaving the UA campus, because at this point she’d much rather be crying in bed rather than in public. Y/N was suddenly grateful that the café was relatively close as she speedily walked down the sidewalk.

The one person she thought would be there for her through everything, through all the pain and joy and anything in between, was gone. Great.

At least it couldn’t get worse than this, she decided as she saw the UA Campus in the distance, relief flooding her as her pace quickened.

Then she saw lightning in the distance, thunder rattling in the sky, Y/N couldn’t help but wince. As water began to poor over her she paused her steps, exhaling deeply as she looked up at the sky.

Then the tears began to fall, a hand coming to her mouth to quiet the sobs escaping her as she fell to the ground, seating herself at the side of the road, Y/N felt her body shake as she tried to force herself to even out her breathing.

Meanwhile, Katsuki was cursing out the skies, he’ been on his way back from visiting his parents when it began to pour. Immediately bringing his jacket over his body to try and shield himself from the brunt of the rain as he ran through the now empty streets. Save for one shaking person on the side of the road, causing him to raise a brow at, it was pouring rain and they were just sitting there?

He slowed temporarily to try and get a better understanding of what was going on, only to realize he recognized the person. Y/N. His classmate, the one he begrudgingly tutored on the weekend, the one he cursed out when she forgot to eat, the one who kept him up until 2AM even though his bedtime was normally 9PM.

Katsuki grimaced, coming up behind her with his jacket overhead to try and shield her from the rain as he spoke, “what the hell are you doing out right now? You’re gonna get sick.”

Y/N jumped at the sudden voice behind her, though she knew it was Katsuki, she turned to see he was holding his jacket over the two of them, the red of her eyes a dead giveaway that she’d been crying. She couldn’t bring herself to speak as she looked up at him in shock. What was he doing here?

Katsuki’s face fell as his eyes scanned her for injuries, “who did this to you?” He wasn’t the best when it came to comfort, and he feared that would show as he began to interrogate her.

Blinking Y/N realized what she must’ve looked like, trying to shake off the feelings she was experiencing she spoke, “we should go.” Wiping the water from her face, she moved to stand, and Katuski moved with her, his eyes still on her face.

“Hold this side of the jacket.” He ordered, and she did as she was told, bringing one hand up to the left side of the jacket, which was now soaked in water and doing little to help. This action provided Katsuki with a freehand to put on the small of her back and push her forward rather aggressively. He lead them to a small grocery store on the street, pushing the door open.

They were dripping wet, and looking up at Katsuki, who had returned to interrogating her, Y/N couldn’t help it when more tears leaked out of her eyes and she lunged forwards to tackle him in a hug.

He quickly shut up, body stiffening momentarily before he allowed his hands to wrap around her waist and return the hug. “Thank you,” she mumbled, burying her head in his chest.

Brows furrowed, Katsuki scoffed, “yeah, yeah. Whatever.” He turned to the view the rest of the store, “pick out some food, I’ll cook you something when we get back.”

Looking up at him, her mouth gaped open, “are you serious?”

“Did I stutter, you idiot?”

kirishima ejirou

okay so

kirishima definitely is gonna hound you with questions when he finds you crying

like he cannot allow his bb to cry

not that you know you are his bb but like

it would be unmanly of him to just leave you in such a state so he does his best to comfort you.

has likely never experienced something like this so he can’t really empathize with you but he’ll try

basically tries to make you smile and laugh the entire time you are upset

contemplates talking to the girls for help, but he doesn’t know if you want others involved

instead texts them how girls like to be treated when sad but in a very vague way and tries to pass it off as some obscure tik tok trend

they go along with it, thankfully, mina has a major obsesssion though so shes upset she didn’t know about this trend

thats how kirishima accidentally started a tik tok trend

will respectfully commit a murder

respectfully

i’ll help

least likely to acc go through with murder tho

he’s going to try his best

also goes the food route, based off his studies via the “tik tok trend” and he will gladly hold you

Exiting the convenience store with a plastic bag of candy in hand, Kirishima sighed. He’d been out longer than anticipated, and it was already getting dark. The grey clouds above signaling the possibility of rain, Kirishima grimaced, he needed to get back to UA quickly.

He’d intended to have a movie night with the rest of the Bakusquad that night, and maybe even invite Y/N. He’d been trying to work up the courage to finally ask her out, but it hadn’t been going well. He didn’t feel very manly each time he chickened out, and Kaminari’s teasing didn’t help at all, escaping him was the main reason Kirishima agreed to pick up the candy that day.

Sighing, Kirishima continued to walk, though the rain came faster, pouring down onto him as he groaned in annoyance, hoping that it wouldn’t damage his snacks as he pulled his jacket off to provide himself with some cover. Though it wasn’t very helpful, it was better than nothing.

He begins to speed up, jogging slightly when he notices someone on the curb, seated. Kirishima frowns, moving behind them and bringing his jacket over them, “hey, what are you doing?” Considering how much it was raining now, and the sound of the thunder overhead, he figured the storm that was coming would only get worse. Being outside was the worst idea. And as a hero in training, he simply couldn’t allow this action.

The mysterious person turns around, and Kirishima suddenly realizes its his classmate, his frown only deepening when he sees her swollen eyes. “Kirishima? She says, confusion clear in her tone as she looks up at him, eyes wide. They knew each other fairly well, though he could be shy at times, he was fun, and nice. And of course, rather respectful during all their interactions, she liked him.

Kirishima pauses before finding himself sitting beside her in the pouring rain and allowing the water to hit him as he lowered his jacket, pulling a candy bar from his bag. “What’s wrong?” He asked, extending the candy to her. Though it would likely react poorly should she open it and the candy came in contact with the rain, it was the thought that counted.

Y/N’s mouth gaped open as she smiled sadly at him, taking the candy bar from him, “thank you.” She whispered, “it doesn’t really matter anymore, though.” She looks up at the sky, water cascading down her face as she inahles deeply.

Suddenly, Kirishima’s hand is in hers, “it’s bothering you, so obviously it matters.” He tugs her hand to get her to stand up alongside him, “and it wouldn’t be very manly of me to leave a pretty lady out in the rain.”

A laugh escaped Y/N at this, “and I could never force a handsome man like yourself to stay out in rain.” Comes her reply, “let’s go.”

She wasn’t alone. Not while she had him.

shinsou hitoshi

WELL

definitely the best at comforting someone especially with something like this

feeds you sweets because food makes everything better, will be affectionate just for this instance because he knows you just want some love during this time

the best to talk to about it tbh, he’s very good at giving advice and listening to your problems

i feel like shinsou has probably experienced something similar in the past and he’s gonna understand what you are feeling

won’t try to make you open up but you’ll want to, he has a comforting presence

very calm about it, gently speaks with you and guides your actions, makes sure you take care of yourself if you are in a really bad place

once you’ve stopped crying he’ll ask you what happened and should you tell him he’ll honestly be VERY mad

like why would someone do that to an ANGEL like YOU???

is genuinely confused and potentially in a murderous mood

and he has the quirk to get away with it

wants to go off on this person though, desperately, and should he ever run into them they are going to get a piece of his mind

a really really mean piece of his mind

Shinsou frowned as he felt a droplet of water fall onto his head, realizing that rain would likely come soon, he picked up the pace of his walk. He’d been out at the bookstore, and was suddenly grateful that he hadn’t bought anything as he watched everyone in the shopping center begin to retreat to their cars and into shops.

He watched a lightning flashed in the distance, brows furrowing at the realization that a storm was coming when thunder accompanied the sight and pouring rain soon followed. UA wasn’t far, but he didn’t really want to have to run in the rain up the hill the school had been built upon.

Turning a corner, his eyes scanned the area in search of a shop he could wait out the storm in when they fell on the figure of someone seated in the rain, no umbrella or hood to protect them from the downfall, and their body shaking.

Then he recognized the hoodie. It was his actually, and he knew exactly who he’d lent it to.

Y/N L/N. The pretty girl in the hero course who’d threatened anyone who spoke poorly of him, defending his honor even though he never asked. She was always kind to him, even when they weren’t the closest of friends. Though that had changed, the pair now talking almost daily about a variety of things, something Shinsou was grateful for.

Questions flood his mind as he removes his jacket and brings it above him, going over to her, and when he’s close enough he can hear her small sobs, barely muffled by the palm of her hand. Shinsou can’t help but feel concerned as he brings his jacket above her to shield her from the rain, “hey, let’s go.” He mumbles gently.

Y/N looks up at him, her eyes red and puffy, and if it weren’t pouring Shinsou would’ve hugged her right there. “What are you doing?” When she’d simply collapsed in the rain, her emotions overwhelming her, she hadn’t assumed Shinsou would randomly appear.

“Getting you out of the rain.” Came his response, “come on, we can wait out the storm in the café.” Shinsou would’ve extended a hand had he not be preoccupied by holding up his jacket, which was now soaking through.

Sniffing, she nodded, “yeah, you’re right.” She stands, and he follows her movements, jacket never leaving her figure as the pair makes their way to the door of the café. Y/N pushes the door open, and they both enter, allowing him to finally put the jacket above his head down, though it started soaking onto the floor.

He threw it outside, much to Y/N’s shock, “I don’t wanna dirty the floor.” Shinsou explained nonchalantly, his purple hair sticking to his forehead. “Have you eaten?”

“Sorry about your hoodie.” She mumbled, at they moved out of the way of the entrance.

Raising a brow, he extended a hand, “that didn’t answer my question.”

Y/N’s brows furrowed as she looked to his hand, tilting her head in confusion as she placed her hand into his, Shinsou gave her a small smile before leading her to the line of the café as she replied, “no. I didn’t.”

His brows draw together as she looks at her, she seems resigned, quieter than normal. “How about a muffin then? Or maybe a cupcake?” He peers into the display window, squinting at the variety of foods. “I say cupcakes,” In his experience, sugary foods always made things better, to an extent at least.

Giving him a tight lipped smile, she nodded, “sure.” He was trying. It was better than nothing if she was honest. Considering the fact that her best friend had abandoned her today, it was a nice reminder, that she wasn’t alone. She had other people, regardless of what had happened.

Shinsou’s eyes met hers as he sighed, bringing his free hand to the back of his neck, “you wanna talk about it?” He knew they’d have to address it at some point, there was no denying that she had clearly been crying, something had upset her.

Shaking her head, Y/N pulled him closer using their joined hands and brought him into a hug, “not right now.” It was an oddly intimate moment, despite the fact that they were in public.

Regardless, he pulls her tightly against him, wrapping his arms around her protectively as he responds, “alright.

A/N: if anyone ever needs to talk or anything pls know im here! my dms are always open to anyone for anything :D

anyways, remember to sleep well, eat food, and drink water!

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juminly · 3 years

Text

Moonlight (Arthur Conan Doyle x Reader)

Summary: On a night where you thought Arthur was simply sweeping you off your feet as he always did, he wanted to do much more than that. He had so much to be thankful for. All of those reasons were... you. Word Count: 2.1 K. (This was supposed to be a drabble...) Tags: Pre-relationship fluff, Mutual Pining, Canon Divergent (in a way?), Not Beta Read. –♥– You thought it was just one of those times when one of the residents, one of which was Arthur, would try to occupy your time somehow, distracting you from the fact that you were away from home, far from the reality that you knew, grew up in and loved. It didn’t bother you that much, especially since you were in good company yet getting used to different customs, being surrounded by people who didn’t even speak a language you understood wasn’t really the easiest. After breakfast was over, Arthur was one of the first to leave, creeping up slowly to stand behind your chair at the dining table and slipping a small note in your hand as he leaned down to whisper something in your ear, low and sweet: “Don’t be late, pretty dove. I’ll be waiting for you.” You were not one to be easily swayed with sweet words and flirtations, very much able to throw some back and exude the same playfulness back at whoever it is that was trying to woo you yet when it came to the mystery writer, the heat that crept up your cheek was involuntary, accompanied by the smile that he always managed to draw on those lips of yours. Hearing his voice and the smile in it was plenty to have you filled with happiness and the prospect of spending more time with him, alone, was so much better. Reading the note while you were on the way to your room, you grinned at his cheeky message, inviting you to a day out with him where he can flaunt you before all of the skirts in Paris and show them how beautiful your wings were, the prettiest dove he has ever laid eyes upon. Shaking your head at this, knowing that it was just some prelude to what he really wanted to say. Reaching a small note at the end, your lower lip caught between your teeth as you gazed at the intricately written words on the piece of paper, a dreamy sigh escaping you as you wondered how such a wonderful man is often disregarded and even scorned by those who surround him. You had absolutely no idea what he was up to and you didn’t even care. “I would love for you to accompany me to an occasion that I cannot bring myself to attend on my own. Lend me your hand for the evening, love and I promise I’ll make it worth your while. Also, tonight will be quite chilly so do make sure to bring a shawl with you, unless you would rather be warmed in my arms. A much more agreeable option, if I may say so.”

As he had instructed, you were a pretty dress that Sebastian had gotten you, one of many that he populated your wardrobe with, to make sure that you didn't feel completely out of place, having to always wear the same clothes or go to town, every single damn time you felt like you wanted to wear something different. You absolutely added your own touches to it, making it a bit more modern, a little more you which always earned you a wide knowing smile from Arthur, especially now that you were all dressed up to go out with him... Wishful thinking as it was, he told himself that you were all dolled up for him, your lips painted in a bloody shade of crimson that made him wish that he could sink his fangs in your neck and kiss you, so he could share the sweet taste of you, a wonder that you could both enjoy together. Before his daydreams could fly even further away from any sort of reality that could never happen, he took your hand and kissed the back of your hand, leading you out of the grand door of the mansion and into the cities of Paris, just a little before sunset. The skies were a beautiful shade of pink, a colour that tinted both of your faces while you both laughed together at whatever ridiculous story Arthur had recounted to you, the man never failing to find any sort of avenue to entertain you. Just hearing that boyishness resonate from him, the way his eyes crinkled and his lips spread widely and freely across his handsome face, letting go of any sort of restraint that he might have to uphold some sort of image or composure before you. This was just him. The Arthur that you got was the real Arthur and it was the little things that you noticed, the things that were just slightly different when he was with you that made you want to be even closer to him. Literally speaking, Arthur had wound his arm around you, keeping your side flush against his while you walked to wherever your destination was, the simple gesture was left unquestioned since you had caught the reason why he did so. Man thought he was so smooth but you did see how many of the men passing by were looking at you, especially that it was getting darker, the crowd that you would find lurking around were much different and you would know, especially after your many trips to the bar with Arthur and Theo. But now that you were much closer, the rich smell that wafted from Arthur was even stronger, intoxicating as you always found it, making your mind swirl as you inhaled it and sighed happily as discretely as you could. On another end, the mystery writer was doing the same, a satisfied smile playing on the corner of his pink lips, the small beauty mark by his lips appeared to be a bit higher, lifting even more as you both turned to look into each other's eyes at the same moment, a round of shy chuckles ensuing as your story-filled stroll had finally come to an end. Entering through a door to some establishment that you've never been to before, slowly the sound of a crowd filled your ears as you found yourself in a room filled with people. Groups talking animatedly and excitedly in French, you obviously having absolutely no idea what they were talking about but one thing you couldn't miss, they were all holding a book in their hands. Throwing a curious glance in Arthur's direction, his leathered fingers gave yours a tight squeeze. Whether it was a conscious or unconscious gesture, the man had no clue as he gave you a wistful smile, a heavy sigh escaping his lips when he finally leaned down, inching closer to you so you could hear him better. Sweet man, he thought he needed to do that when the moment he parted his lips and his sweet voice came from them, every other sound in the damn world was blocked and he was the only thing you could hear. "Remember when you had to tear me away from writing a few days ago, forcing me to rest as I couldn't bring myself to do so. Well, love, this is the result of your kindness to me. It was exactly what I needed yet, something I never bring myself to ask for." He lifted a leathered index, circling it around, a gesture ushering you to gaze around you, take in your surroundings before you brought your eyes back to him, his tone oozing with gratitude and an atypical solemness that he only exuded when he was serious and speaking from the heart. "I've known about these gatherings even since I began writing again. The moment one of my writings is published, these people flock together to celebrate it, for a reason that I could never comprehend." With a sheepish yet derisive chuckle, Arthur turned his eyes down and at your linked hands, squeezing them tighter, expecting an onslaught that he had become accustomed to, when you began reprimanding him for not valuing or showing any love to his work. The warmth that painted his cheeks and filled his chest was not what he was expecting as you pulled on his hand so your lips could press gently over that mark of his that you really loved, while you went on the tip of your toes to grace him with the soft touch of your crimson lips. "Thank you for choosing me to be with you today." You murmured softly before resting back down on your heels, basking in his soft gaze, his expression tender and heartfelt. He was one step closer to his journey of self-acceptance and you were happy that he even considered keeping you close, not even knowing that he borrowed strength from you. Strength that he needed to turn his back on his past and look forward. Even if it was just a baby step, you were going to cut him some slack and refrain from giving him a piece of your mind. Just seeing him radiate ease, the comfort of a man that had just found light at the end of a dreary and dark tunnel. Shaking his head lightly, he brought your linked hands up to his lips and kissed your hand once again before placing them right over your heart "I would never fathom anyone other than yourself accompanying me on a day like this, my lovely dove." You sighed at the softness of his voice, if only he knew that you really wanted to be 'his' dove and you still had yet to know that he felt the same. Pressing a soft kiss upon your knuckles, a grin stretched on his handsome face, an unmistakable playful glint in his eyes as he simply said "Let's go" and pulled you through the crowds and out of the building you were in. As usual, the man was unpredictable and you never knew what he was up to. When you stood your ground, furrowing your eyes at him and asking him why you even left that small party, he clicked his tongue as you told him that he should enjoy being 'the man of the hour'. That was the last thing that he really wanted. Because he was now truly where he wanted to be and if you were going to fight him on it, then he would have to do it the hard way. Swiftly leaning down, he threw you over his shoulders as he strutted the streets, the resounding click of his oxfords on the pavement joined by the sound of your useless cries. If there was anything that was true, Arthur was able to match you when it came to stubbornness. When you began to kick your legs, whining for him to let you down, you yelped as he tapped your bottom, a sudden cheeky (literally too) gesture and chuckled in response to your mock offended tone. "I thought you were a gentleman!" Feeling him shrug under you, he replied in between his laughter."A small correction, love. I am a playful gentleman." You've finally found your true rival when it came to that but he was the best opponent that you could ever wish for. Finally halting in a quiet corner by La Seine river, Arthur finally let you down on soft grass and comfortably sat by your side, his head falling on your shoulder while his hand sought yours once again, his thumb brushing softly on your skin as he cut through the silence before you could ask, knowing what was on your mind. "As selfish as it may be, I wanted to be the one you watch the full moon with during your time here, love." Lifting his head so he could kiss your temple, turning his body so he could lay his back on the ground, with his head nestled on your thighs. This was a sight that he prayed that he would never lose, seeing you smile down at him with your fingers threaded through his soft unruly waves, eventually lulling his eyes shut as the slumber that he tried to chase away caught up to him. Blinded by his own love for you, he couldn't see the yearning in your eyes as you watched the man you were irrevocably in love with, melt under your touch. Unable to help yourself, you brushed your lips against his forehead, happy to see Arthur at peace, his breathing growing steady as he slowly fell asleep with a smile on his face. You had no idea that he was awake all along, trying to give himself a reason to keep you all to himself before he had to escort you back to the mansion, in the late hours of the night. Still... While you both bathed in the moonlight, your love began to simmer, the glowing embers burning brighter as time went by. –♥– A/N: I know the some elements in this fic might not be as per what’s in the game but this is how I believe Arthur’s character development would slowly but surely happen. Tagging: @nafeary @kisara-16 @delicateikemenmemes @theweebrises if anyone wants to be tagged or untagged, let me know <3 Please feel free to leave some love in the comments or some feedback!💜 You can also check out my Masterlist !

#ikevamp arthur #ikemen vampire #arthur conan doyle #ikemen vampire fanfiction

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putschki1969 · 3 years

Photo

KEIKO Message Movie Vol.55 Fan Club Exclusive Content

❗ Please support KEIKO ❗ ❗ JOIN HER FAN CLUB ❗ ❗ Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

I want to motivate people to join Keiko’s fan club. She is providing so many lovely videos so you really get a lot of bang for your buck!!! The annual fee for her fan club is ONLY 4.000 yen (which is really nothing considering you get so much regular content). She is finally doing a long-awaited cooking video💕

I will not share the content publicly. However, I really don’t like withholding content so I will resort to the following plan 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

👉LIKE and REBLOG my posts about KEIKO’s fan club content 👉Leave a REPLY explaining why you currently cannot join the fan club / If you have already done this, just say that you would like to receive a link 👉I will send you a Google Drive link via direct message 👉DO NOT SHARE the link or its content anywhere

Find a detailed summary below the cut

As you can probably tell from the picture, she picked something very adventurous for this video, yup, she is cooking eggs XD One of her favourite things to eat. In the background you can hear the water simmering, KEIKO apologises for all the noise. She wants us to show how she prefers to cook her eggs. She bought two brands of eggs and wants to try them out in order to find out which one is better. She always uses a particular type of salt to dip her eggs, a so called “snow salt” which literally looks like powdered sugar?

The water has finally started boiling so she puts in the eggs and lowers the heat a bit but not too much. She will let her eggs simmer for exactly 7 minutes and 15 seconds. On a side note, we get a closer look at the inside of her Louis Vuitton iphone case. Ahhhh, she got it personalised with a “KEI”, how cute!!! I have been trying to find this case in good condition forever but all the cases I can find are pretty hideous-looking (and the sellers are still charging a fortune for them!). She is using an induction stove for this video so she thinks that 7 minutes might be enough.

She is still going through all the questions she got in her survey. Many people were asking for recipes and what she eats in a day. But there is really not much to share for KEIKO. She mostly eats boiled eggs which she tends to buy at the convenience store. When she cooks them herself she prefers half-boiled eggs.

She mentioned it before but her meals are always the same. She only has one meal with solids a day (in the evening). The rest of the day she drinks water, takes her supplements and maybe busy a latte somewhere. If she has to sing or talk or do something that requires a lot of brainwork, she will have a protein bar or an egg. In the evening she always goes for meat, preferably beef. She likes it tender and in small pieces because she is too lazy to chew. She generally likes soft and fluffy things (the reason she is such a big fan of marshmallows XD). She likes her meat with salt, soy sauce, vinegar, wasabi, mustard, oil and cheese etc.

She hasn’t really cooked or baked anything recently so she has no pictures to share. Whenever she is on tour she eats what the catering is providing. But she would like to make a few things in the future and she will definitely share pictures of that in her fan club magazine.

Time is up, she is cool the eggs in cold water and even adds some sort of frozen package to the pot to make the eggs cool down faster. THEN comes the most hilarious moment of the video. KEIKO realises that even though she put two types of eggs in the pot, she has no way of telling which is which so she cannot really make a proper comparison. MAJOR FAIL. XD

KEIKO usually adds vinegar to the water which apparently makes the eggs easier to peel but today she forgot so she is having a hard time peeling them. She finally shows us the peeled egg which feels soft and bouncy, just perfect. She breaks it apart with her fingers but the yolk is so soft that it starts running down her fingers. It’s obviously still super hot so she needs to get some cold water on her hand. Now she cuts the egg properly in half and shows us the inside. It turned out perfectly. She adds a bit of salt and eats it. Yummy!! Too bad she will never find out which brand she just ate :P

#kalafina #keiko #video #fan club exclusive content #meat and chocolate #niku to chocolate #肉とチョコレート #🍖🍫#summary #my summary

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relapseprevention · 3 years

Text

Why Do Addicts Relapse? Know the Triggers

Between 40 and 60 percent of addicts relapse while in recovery from drug addiction, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This means that, for every two people who seek drug addiction treatment or abstain from substance abuse for a period of time, one will relapse. The thought that an addict will still relapse even after treatment makes some people continue with their substance abuse. They feel that there is no need trying to get sober as they might still end up failing. In most cases, though, the brain of an addict convinces them that they are doing the right thing. When one takes drugs, the brain produces dopamine, which controls pleasure. After a long period of use, the brain re-prioritize essential activities such as eating, going to work, and taking a shower, among others. So during recovery, individuals take on a whole new experience of re-training their brain to see healthy living as the new standard for survival. Instead of getting high or using drugs, now it’s time to stay sober and take on a new lifestyle. Doing this can bring up quite an inner conflict for a lot of us. So it’s extremely wise to equip ourselves with understanding: why do addicts relapse, what is it, and how does it happen?

How Does Relapse Happen?

During recovery, an addict might relapse more than once. Sometimes, an addict might remain sober (or think they have recovered fully) but then relapse after many years. A good example is when actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York apartment in 2014 after mixing heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and amphetamine. Before his death, Seymour claimed he had been sober for 23 years.

Like other chronic diseases that recur after treatment, addiction (as well as mental health disorders) take a lifelong health “management” role. Put simply, addiction is considered a brain disorder where an individual convinces themselves to engage in compulsive drug use despite knowing the harmful effects. It’s not always so realistic to say to an addict, “just stop using”. Several factors can cause a relapse. Most of these factors might be extrinsic, but in most cases, the motivation to go back to substance abuse stems from within.

What Causes an Addict’s Relapse?

After going through treatment programs, people expect to go back to their normal lives free of drugs. But that is not always the case seeing as sobriety is not guaranteed. The end of rehab sometimes means going back to an environment where an addict once used drugs. The reality of this environment, along with certain people, or things can evoke emotions and memories that bring the urge to abuse drugs. The duration of addiction influences an addict’s likelihood of relapse. For instance, an addict recovering from a lifetime of alcohol use is likely to relapse than one recovering from a year or two of frequent binge drinking. The factors that contribute to relapse rates, triggers, and recovery vary. When an addict yields to triggers, relapse is more prone to happen. To manage these triggers, an addict needs to seek aftercare services.

What Are Triggers?

Triggers are feelings, thoughts, emotions, situations, things, places, or relationships that literally “trigger” an urge to go back to drug use. Triggers can happen randomly, without expectation, even after so many years of abstinence.

For instance, running into someone from your drug days who is still using the drugs can bring up unwanted memories that inspire intense drug craving. Or driving past your favorite bar while visiting your hometown can result in the curios temptation to check it out “one more time”.

To avoid the most common relapse triggers, many people use the acronym: HALT:

Hungry

Angry

Lonely

Tired

People in recovery need to avoid extreme hunger, anger, loneliness, and tiredness.

Other relapse triggers include:

stress

insomnia

anxiety or depression

physical illness

certain social events

friends who negatively impact your recovery

peers, coworkers, or unfavorable individuals

life crisis

emotional events

anger issues

major life changes, such as moving

Being aware of your biggest triggers is crucial in recovery. Addicts relapse generally when they feel an aspect of life is out of their control and they close off to the support in their lives. Therefore, it’s incredibly helpful to understand where to turn to if any of these things feel extra heavy on your process.

Maintaining Treatment Plans After Rehab

Treatment does not stop after rehab. A patient needs to continue with withdrawal relief medication if necessary, and attend therapy once in a while. Many years after treatment, the patient still needs to avoid triggers, like staying away from friends who do drugs and building their social lives around other sources of fun. When an addict takes the right conscious steps towards recovery, they increase their chances of maintaining sobriety for a lifetime. A treatment plan after rehab provides the care a patient needs to prevent a relapse. The plans include cognitive behavioral therapy and 12-step education, both of which ensure the addict avoid triggers that will result in relapse. Many addiction treatment centers have an aftercare service and follow up with their patients to ensure they do not relapse.

Sober Living and Supportive Community

Sober homes are effective in helping addicts deal with life after rehab. According to research published on the US National Library of Medicine Journal, Oxford House in Illinois has found great success in handling patients after rehab. Oxford House operates as a non-profit organization that runs sober homes in different parts of the US, among other countries. Those recovering from substance use disorders run the homes – they help each other like in AA meetings. After six months, new officers get elected to run the homes. According to the study, patients who completed their treatment at Oxford House were less likely to relapse compared to those who used conventional aftercare services. The patients in the study were tracked for 24 months, after which they showed significantly lower rates of substance abuse. After treatment, a patient needs a strong support system while staying sober. Immediate assistance needs to come from family members, friends, peer mentors, work colleagues, support groups, and recovering coaches. This group of people helps the addict in challenging times, and they are there to prevent triggers.

Other Warning Signs and Triggers

Several internal and external triggers can lead to an addict’s relapse. Any circumstance that recreates a situation that leads to addiction is likely to cause a relapse. Other factors that can cause a relapse to include: Fatigue: When one is stressed mentally or physically, they feel fatigued, and this can affect their everyday tasks. When the stress is too much, one feels the urge to numb the fatigue with alcohol or drugs. Depression: Depression will likely occur with or after addiction. During a period of depression, a person tends to oversleep, they lose interest in activities they once thought were fun, and they have difficulties focusing. If an addict recovering from substance abuse experiences depression, they will likely try drugs to find relief. Physical Pain: Alcohol numbs the pain. According to studies, reduction in physical pain reduces the chances of relapse after alcohol treatment. Dishonesty: Failure to express feelings such as anger and resentment can lead to relapse. People recovering fail to express their feelings and instead make excuses for tasks not accomplished and when they are frustrated by other people. As a result, these feelings trigger a relapse. Self-Pity: When one is recovering from substance abuse, they might pity themselves since they cannot attend some social events or go to the bar with friends. When an addict feels sorry for themselves, or they dwell on the negative impacts of fighting addiction, they might re-seek comfort in drugs. Idleness: If one is unemployed, lack hobbies, or feels bored, they have no money and spend most of their days idle at home, they might relapse to drugs. Research found that risky drinking is more prevalent among the unemployed.

Conscious Commitment and Mindful Activities Help Prevent a Relapse

In most cases, recovery takes years. While an addict can go to rehab and come out after six months, the recovery process does not stop there. To achieve lifetime sobriety, an addict needs to stay committed to the process consciously. During recovery, the patient needs to attend counseling and meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. According to a 2014 study published in JAMA Psychiatry, mindfulness-based programs such as meditation help reduce the chances of a relapse. When combined with traditional mindfulness prevention programs, such as recognizing triggers, these methods are more effective in keeping an addict sober.

Addiction Relapse and Social Stigma

To an addict, addiction is a private affair, especially among celebrities. Generally, addiction is stigmatized, and this stems from the fact that most people misunderstand addition. When someone is addicted, the brain prioritizes drug use to survival. When the need to use drugs supersedes a person’s survival instincts, a person risks their life just to use drugs. While people will see using drugs as a way to express problems in the family and at work, addiction is a disease that most people want to get out of but can’t.

Preventing Relapse

Addiction is irrational. An addict might lose their physical health, mental health, their job, family, friends, and everyone they care about, but the drug will still pull them back. The drug does not care about the consequences. As such, besides the addict doing everything to prevent a relapse, those around them need to offer a strong support system to help them avoid triggers and find them a replacement for the drugs. An addict may not handle a relapse on their own, seeing that their addiction works against their efforts. If you need help with addiction, get help today. Or if you feel a desire to relapse, reach out to a professional in your community.

Call Opus Health today at 949-264-0191.

#relapse prevention #drug addiction #alcohol addiction #addiction treatment

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writer-k-pop · 3 years

Text

The Dancer (k.h.s) - Waning Crescent Hotel

Please read this (W.C.Hotel) if you this is the first post of this series that you see. Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of death Genre: Angst, Hotel Del Luna AU, Choose your own adventure, SVT x Fem! Reader Staff: Yong (Spirit General Manager) / Jiwoo (Human General Manager) / Soon Bok (Room Manager) / Mun Hee (Front Desk Receptionist) / Shin (Grim Reaper assigned to Waning Crescent) Word Count: Ending A - 3.2k / Ending B - 3.3k

W.C.Hotel | Seventeen Masterlist | Masterlists

"For the last time, Mun Hee." I cross my arms and give him a stern look, "No, we cannot bring a puppy into the hotel."

"But it would brighten up the entire place." Mun Hee pouts.

"The animal world is run through a different building and I'm pretty sure if we brought a puppy from the living world, the Gods would have my head on a silver platter." I declare, definitively ending the conversation.

Mun Hee continues to pout as we walk across the lobby.

"Why are you so pouty?" Jiwoo asks him walking up to us.

I look at Mun Hee in boredom, "He's upset that we can't have a resident puppy in the hotel."

"Excuse me." A soft voice asks from behind me.

We all turn our attention to the guest and Mun Hee immediately replaces his pout with a smile.

"How can we help you?" Jiwoo takes the lead. I stay silent, as always.

"How do I reach the sky patio?" The guest asks.

"I'll show you." Jiwoo gestures the guest towards the elevators, "It can be confusing the first time."

"He's always so busy showing people around." Mun Hee comments, shaking his head and crosses his arms in concern.

"Can you help me?" A male asks Mun Hee and he immediately puts on his helpful face.

"Yes! What can I do for you, sir?" Mun Hee dives into a conversation with the guest.

As they walk away, I scoff at Mun Hee's mood swings and head for the elevators.

"Excuse me?" A male voice makes me pause and look around for the source.

A few feet away, a young adult male stands sheepishly with a book in his hands. I shakily nod my head, his appearance taking my breath with it. He's not Hoshi, no. But he looks extremely like a student Hoshi was once close with: Samuel was his name.

"What time does the cafeteria close?" He asks.

It takes me a second to register his question. "Uh, uhm, it closes at 8am." I answer him.

"And it's downstairs, correct?" He continues.

I nod, "Yeah, you uhm, you just turn down that hall way and take the stairs."

The boy nods and thanks me before walking away. I watch in awe as he disappears around the corner.

"I'm impressed." Yong's voice suddenly appears next to me.

"Jesus!" I exclaim, holding both hands over my heart.

"Is one of the most important figures in Christianity, a religion you have no interest in." Yong says with bored sarcasm.

I straighten up, slightly upset that she would use such sarcasm after scaring me like that. "Why were you impressed?" I question, changing the topic.

Yong nods towards the corner where the boy disappeared. "I think that was the first time I've seen you help a guest in like 400 years."

I cross my arms in defiance, "He was special."

"I don't think he's one of the thirteen, is he?" Yong asks.

I shake my head, "No, he just looks extremely like Samuel."

"The one that Hoshi cared for like he was his son?" Yong questions.

I nod, "Speaking of Hoshi." I start.

"Checked in for 8 days." Yong reads off her list of guests, "And Soon Bok put him in room 156."

"(y/n)! (y/n)!" Mun Hee's screams echo through the lobby as he comes running from the outdoor beach entrance.

"What's going on, Mun Hee?" Yong asks for me.

"There's a fight!" Mun Hee frantically points towards the entrance.

I wave a dismissive hand at him, "They'll figure it out. I'm not getting involved."

"It's pretty bad." Mun Hee cringes, "Jiwoo's tried to stop it but he got knocked back!"

Annoyed anger courses through my body and my fists clench.

"Should I get the ax or the bat?" Yong simply asks me as we start to walk towards Mun Hee.

"Hurry!" Mun Hee waves his hands, motioning us clsoer.

"I haven't had a good swing in a while." I give Yong my answer without saying the word.

"Bat it is." Yong nods in understanding.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry." Mun Hee says quickly. He rushes behind us and pushes us to get us to go faster.

~The Eighth Day~

"Why do I look like a chicken and you look so good?" Mun Hee's voice echoes down the hallway.

"You do not look like a chicken," Hoshi's voice laughs at his comment, "You just need more practice, and a bit more flexibility."

"Do you think it'll actually work?" Mun Hee wonders, a little out of breath.

"Oh yeah, show her that and she'll let you get a puppy in no time." Hoshi responds and the smile on my face is wiped away.

I round the corner and find the two of them facing each other. Hoshi's got his hands shoved into his pockets but his attention is solely on Mun Hee who is excitedly talking and moving his hands about.

"I'm so gonn- oh." Mun Hee finally notices me leaning against one of the pillars. My arms are crossed and I hope from my eyes he can tell I'm not all that happy. "Heh. Hi, (y/n)." He nervously laughs and gives a small wave.

Hoshi turns and he smiles when his eyes land on me.

"Did you tell him I had already told you no to the puppy?" I question Mun Hee with a raised eyebrow.

Mun Hee lowers his head and pouts, "No." He says similar to the way a child would when they get caught between two parents.

Hoshi pats him on the back, "Don't worry. Maybe you could show it to Yong and have her take you to go see puppies instead." He suggests and I shoot him a glare.

Mun Hee, however, brightens up slightly, "Good idea." He says before running off.

Pushing off from the pillar, I walk over to Hoshi, "Stop giving him ideas. He knows we have rules."

Hoshi smirks, "I see you're still the same strict lady."

I roll my eyes and sit on the bench, legs and arms crossed. "And I see you're still the same carefree man."

"Come on, (y/n)." Hoshi coos and plops himself down next to me but I shake my head, "You weren't this strict with Samuel."

"Samuel was different." I explain simply.

"Oh, uh huh, sure." Hoshi quickly raises his eyebrows, not believing me. "How did you come across Mun Hee anyway?" He wonders.

"The same way you came across Samuel." I say, playing with my hair.

Hoshi nods. "Did he also come to your door in a basket?" He jokes.

I slap his shoulder but can't stop the laugh that comes out. "You threw that joke out so much, I'm pretty sure he believed it."

Hoshi shakes his head, "No, he never believed it."

"How do you know?" I ask.

"He told me." He tells me. "I saw him."

"Here?" I wonder.

Hoshi nods, "It was a couple days ago. He found me at the bar and told me that I may not remember him but I would and that he was thankful and that he always knew he wasn't brought to me in a basket."

I quickly rise to my feet, "He could still be here, we could find hi-"

Hoshi grabs my hand and sadly shakes his head. "He left yesterday. I saw him walking out with the Jiwoo guy." I slowly lower myself back down, hand still in Hoshi's. "By the time I had asked someone what it was all about, he'd already left."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hoshi." I give his hand a squeeze.

"You don't have to be." Hoshi counters, "It was part of the plan so there's no one to blame. I'm just glad we were able to be in the same place for at least a little bit."

I lean my head on his shoulder, "He was a good kid." I reminisce about Samuel and my time with him.

"He was." Hoshi says quietly, "But seriously, how did Mun Hee get here?"

"You're really that curious?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Yeah, because I never expected you to have someone with his personality around." Hoshi explains.

I sigh and point towards the sky, "They did it."

"The Gods?" Hoshi clarifies.

"Yupp," I confirm, "It was a few years after I was placed here. Yong and Soon Bok were asking for help because they were running short on staff. So I had to bargain with the Gods to give me someone. They only said they would if they got to choose the soul. I had no option but to agree. Then three days later, Mun Hee showed up with Shin and that was that."

"That is not how Samuel showed up to me." Hoshi emphasizes 'not.'

"No but life gave the exact opposite from what you were expecting." I reason. "Samuel was way younger than you had hoped. Mun Hee's personality was the exact opposite of what I thought I needed in this hotel." I shrug, "Same thing."

Hoshi chuckles, "You're definition of same is vastly different from the rest of the world."

"I don't exist in that world." I remind him.

Hoshi hums in agreement then falls silent. We sit there for a couple minutes, just soaking in each other's presence with our hands interlocked. But not long after, I can feel Hoshi's buzzing energy return. Nothing different from how we were. I was the quiet one but he kept my days buzzing with energy and conversations.

"What is it?" I ask him to keep him from quite literally vibrating off the bench.

"Can I ask you a question?" He glances over at me.

I nod, "Ask me any question you want."

"What have you been doing since you left?" Hoshi asks, sincerity laced in his voice.

"Me? I mean, I haven't been doing much." I answer his question, "I've been running this hotel and waiting for life to pass by."

"No exciting stories?" He wonders, like he doesn't believe I've told him the entire truth.

"Not really." I try to think of anything interesting that has happened at my hotel but nothing comes to mind. "Honestly, nothing interesting happens when I sit and wait for years."

We fall into a silence again and this time it takes only seconds for Hoshi to start itching to ask a question.

"Spit it out." I chuckle.

"Do you want to know what happened after you left?" He asks and I mentally facepalm for forgetting to ask about him.

I turn my head to look at his side profile, "Only if you want to tell me." I smile lazily.

"If I wan- woman, of course I want to tell you. There was so much you missed that you should know about." Hoshi says as if I'd gone crazy for thinking he wouldn't want to tell me.

I sit up properly and smile, happy to know that he wants me to know. "Then tell me."

Hoshi giggles, "Alright, first off, you actually leaving was shitty. And that hurt." He starts but quickly diverts to happier things, "Samuel, though, man that kid was something. You know he went off to college. He didn't study dance even though I had asked him to think about it. But he graduated in the four years with a degree in like psychology or something."

I raise my eyebrows, "You don't even remember?"

"Hey," Hoshi points a finger at me, "It was a long time ago."

"Hey," I point a finger back at him, "You should remember what your son majored in."

"He was only a few years younger than me. He was more like a little brother than a son." Hoshi defends himself. "A son would've been cool to have, though." He says thoughtfully.

"Did you ever have any?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.

Hoshi shakes his head, "I was graced with the drama of two daughters." Then he chuckles, "You know, it was probably better that I didn't have any sons."

"Why?" I ask, amused.

"Let's just say there were moments when I was the one more interested in their interests than they were." Hoshi laughs, pulling a laugh from me.

"Did they grow up well?" I wonder, tucking a foot under my leg.

Hoshi nods, "My oldest had some health issues when she was young but they went away after a few years. My younger was a rambunctious child but had no major problems. They grew up well. They went to good schools, got good degrees, married good men. My oldest gave me three grandchildren and my younger gave me two. I was happy."

"What was your wife like?" I ask, too busy imagining his life to really think about what I was asking.

Hoshi pauses, "You want to know about her too?" He asks, giving me a skeptical look.

I shrug, "She's the one who ultimately stole your heart and gave you children and a life." I explain.

"Well, she wasn't you. But then again, no one is like you." Hoshi starts, "She was beautiful. The perfect height for me to smother her in a cuddle when she wasn't feeling great. She was always making a fuss about the mess I'd leave in the house which she passed onto our daughters. I never got a break from the nagging.

"We traveled around after our daughters moved out and started their own lives. She enjoyed the trips but I don't think she really truly understood what I loved about it all. The inspiration I pulled from the world." Hoshi continues, playing with my hand. "You always understood that part. She never did. But she let me do what I needed to do so I was thankful for that."

I smile softly knowing that he was loved after I left. He deserved it. After all he did to raise and care for Samuel and after suffering from the effects of my punishment, he deserved to be loved.

Hoshi quiets down and just stares ahead at the bare tree in front of us.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask, his gaze set on the thoughts rolling through his mind.

"Just what to tell you next." Hoshi ponders.

I smile, "Hoshi, tell me everything."

He smiles brightly before starting the story about Samuel's dating life and how it was one of the most exhausting things he'd gone through.

We sit there for hours. Hoshi telling me every detail he can remember about his life and me listening and soaking up every word he says. The sound of his voice soothes some of my rough edges that had reappeared in the time I had been away from him. Like the way water tames the wild stray hairs after a sleepless night of tossing and turning in bed.

That was Hoshi. The water with energy to flow for days but with the ability to soothe my rough edges. That was my Hoshi.

"Do you think I'll remember how to dance when I cross over?" Hoshi suddenly asks as the sun dips lower.

I raise myself from my previous laying position and look at Hoshi with worry. "The Gods wouldn't take away something like that." I offer but am unsure of the answer myself.

Hoshi gives me a small side smile, "You don't even know the answer, do you?" He asks.

I shake my head, "I don't. I've never crossed so I can't say for sure what is kept and what is washed away."

"Well," Hoshi looks up towards the ceiling, "I hope you won't take away that." He says as if he's talking directly to the Gods. And I pray that they hear him.

He lowers his gaze to the west windows, "Sunset means it's time to go, right?"

I purse my lips, not wanting him to leave just yet. But Hoshi always had an equal amount of practicality to offset his amount of energy. He knew when things needed to be taken seriously.

"Your silence is telling me it is." Hoshi says after I stay silent, locked away in my own selfish thoughts.

"It is." I say quietly in confirmation. "But I don't want it to be."

Hoshi lowly chuckles, "That's not for us to decide now it is? Plus, you have others that are coming. You gotta be ready for them so when Mr. I-got-to-love-(y/n)-first arrives, you'll be able to leave this place with a peaceful heart."

I giggle at his nickname for the one who will release me from my punishment. Hoshi rises to his feet and dramatically bows while holding out a hand.

"My lady." He says, lifting his head to wink at me.

I smile at his silliness and grab his hand. Lifting me up, he suddenly pulls me into his chest, wraps the other arm around my waist and rests his nose against mine.

"What are you doing?" I whisper, relaxing into him.

Hoshi smiles lazily, "Enjoying my time with you." He says before kissing me lightly.

Before he can pull away, I press my lips onto his, giving him another kiss, this time harder. I feel him smile before he attacks my cheeks with kisses. Giggling, I try to pull away but his grip on me is like iron, unbreakable. Hoshi presses a final soft kiss onto the tip of my nose before pulling back.

"We should go." He says, unwrapping his arm from my waist. "I don't want that creepy Grim Reaper to be hunting me."

I laugh at the version of Shin that Hoshi is imagining. He smiles at my laughter and we begin to walk out of the garden. Hoshi swings our arms back and forth but his face is thinking, trying to cover up the sad thoughts with happy actions.

I'm so focused on watching Hoshi's face, that I don't realize we've exited the hotel until my heels sink into the soft dirt.

"Careful." Hoshi steadies me. He then glances at Shin and the car waiting to take him over. "Does he always just wait there?"

"Only when someone is leaving." I answer him as we resume walking towards Shin. "The dead are great at being punctual."

Hoshi releases a breathy laugh at my attempted joke. "I guess I shouldn't be the one that's not then."

I wrap him in a hug as Shin opens the car door. Hoshi squeezes my body tightly and I breathe in his familiar scent one last time.

"I'm going to remember you." Hoshi declares quietly, "Even if I don't remember, I'm going to remember."

I choke out a laugh through the tears that line my eyes, "That's not even possible."

We pull apart as I sniffle. Hoshi wears a smile but his eyes are clouded with sadness. "Just you watch. I'm going to do it, love. I'm going to remember you."

I smile a nod, "I love you." I tell him.

"I love you, (y/n)." Hoshi smiles sadly before turning and walking to the car. He pauses for a second just before he's in the car and turns around, "Does he ever smile?" Hoshi points a thumb at Shin.

I laugh as a tear slides down my cheek and Hoshi, satisfied that he got me laughing, ducks into the car. Shin shuts the door behind him and soon the car is on its way.

As I watch the car take my dancer away, tears slowly fall from my eyes. When the car is fully swallowed by the forest fog, one chrysanthemum in my garden loses its bright white petals and withers away.

After my tears have been spent, I dry my cheeks and sniffle on the way back inside the hotel to continue my waiting.

Return to the Navigation Page (Waning Crescent Hotel) to choose the next guest.

"Hey, (y/n)," Hoshi grabs my attention as the sun sets, "Do you think we'll remember how to dance when we cross over?" He asks.

"You mean will you remember how to dance and will I remember how to look like a toddler learning how to walk." I correct him with a smile.

"You could dance." Hoshi reassures me.

I give him a look of 'really?' "If Mun Hee looked like a chicken trying to learn your dances, then I looked like baby giraffe trying to stand up."

Hoshi barks out laughing, "I find that hard to believe. I thought you were pretty graceful."

I hum in amusement, "That was when I was younger. My knees are older than you remember."

"Do your knees still work to walk?" He asks, standing up, and shoving his hands in his pockets, waiting expectantly.

I jump up to prove they work, "If they didn't, would you have carried me?" I question.

"In a heartbeat." Hoshi dramatically places a hand over his heart and closes his eyes.

I giggle, "Come on. I wanna say good bye to my staff before we leave."

"Happy to be leaving?" Hoshi asks as we leave the bare tree behind.

"I'm happy that my punishment is over," I answer, "But part of me is kind of sad to be leaving Soon Bok, Jiwoo, Yong, Mun Hee, and Shin."

"That's natural." Hoshi says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

As we get closer to the lobby, Hoshi drops his arm and grabs my hand. In the lobby, Yong, Mun Hee, Soon Bok, and Jiwoo stand solemnly.

"So this is it?" Mun Hee asks with tears in his eyes. "This is the day you leave us?"

I wrap him up in a hug, only a tiny bit annoyed that he's being so sappy. "Maybe I'll get punished again and be back here by the end of the year." I try to joke but Mun Hee abruptly pushes back from me.

"Don't you dare say that. You better not return here." He says angrily through his tears.

I chuckle, "I won't come back. I promise." Then I hold out my pinky to him, "And no puppies."

Mun Hee links his pinky with mine, "No puppies." He promises.

Turning to Soon Bok, I thank her for her service and her amazing work. Something I never did and should've done more.

Next onto Jiwoo. I also thank him for his and his entire family's service then I unclip the bracelet that has held him to this place.

"When you leave today, you won't be able to find this place again." I inform him, "I hope that you'll be able to go and live your life happily."

Jiwoo nods, "Thank you for letting me work with you. I won't ever forget you."

I smile sadly, "You will. But thank you."

Finally I reach Yong who is sniffling and trying so very hard not cry.

"You'd think after all these years of waiting that I'd be prepared for this day." She says through sniffles.

"Thank you, Yong." I rests my hands on her shoulders, "For everything. Thank you."

With lips pursed together, she leans forward and wraps me in an unexpected hug. But I soon wrap my arms around her and squeeze her tightly.

We pull apart after a couple seconds and I wipe the few tears that have escaped from her eyes.

"Keep this hotel running beautifully." I tell her before Hoshi grabs my hand again.

With final waves of goodbye, Hoshi and I walk out to the foggy forest that will take us to our resting place.

At the edge of the forest, Shin stands next to an idling car, a somber look on his face.

"(y/n)." He says when we reach him, "It has been an honor working with you. I wish you both a peaceful rest." Shin bows his head and I pat his arm.

"The honor was mine." I tell him with a smile. Now the tears start to line my eyes as the realization fully sets in.

I'm free. I served my years of punishment and now I'm free to let my soul rest.

I turn back towards the hotel and look up to the top where the rooftop patio is outlined with bright string lights. Then to the mid floors where random room lights are turned on, some guests staying in while others opting to experience the hotel's many services. Then to grand base where guests would be milling around, waiting their turns to leave this world.

"(y/n)?" Hoshi softly asks pulling my attention to where he sits just inside the car, "Are you ready?"

I take one last quick look at the hotel before turning away from it. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go."

I lower myself into the car and Shin securely closes the door after I am completely inside. As the car begins to drive forward, Hoshi securely grabs my hand and I let his warmth guide me towards our final destination.

In the garden, the final chrysanthemum withers and dies so that no more stand at the base of the bare tree.

#kpop #kpop imagines #seventeen #seventeen imagine #seventeen hoshi imagine #seventeen soonyoung imagine #hoshi imagine #soonyoung imagine #kwon soonyoung imagine #kwon soonyoung #hoshi #writer-k-pop #waning crescent hotel #seventeen hoshi #seventeen soonyoung

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cottage-babe · 4 years

Text

Burning Scars part I (zuko x reader)

Chapter 1 | Next

Masterlist

So this idea has been stuck in my head for a while now... I think I've been watching too much Netflix :(

This is gonna be a slow burn I think, but bare with me guys. I've literally planned everything out already and we're gonna have lots of Uncle Iroh moments :) Who wouldn't want to hang out with him?

Summary: Y/n, a werewolf from a hidden village, comes across Zuko and Iroh after being exiled. How has fate intertwined the wolf's life into the avatar's destiny?

***This chapter takes place on Season 2 Episode 8, just after their fight with Azula.

___

Pain.

Pain is all Y/n felt.

It spiked into the soles of her feet, burned through her calves, and crept up into one of her thighs. Oh yeah, her thigh.

She glanced down at it and saw dark red gushing from it. The large animal bite that adorned it spread from her pelvis to her knee. The scar was going to be so very deep.

Despite her bodily pain, she kept running. She stepped on rocks, twigs, anything that layed on her unplanned path. She could feel bruises on her arms and stomach, but absolutely nothing would stop her. She had to leave this forest now.

It's kind of crazy how the place that was once her home could convert to something so terrifying. She used to feel at peace here; comforted by the trees that shielded her from the blind eye. But now, she feared what was lurking behind each branch; paranoid that someone was following her, but why would they? They had no use for her anymore.

A loud crack rumbled through the silent forest.

A storm was coming.

Oh, just my luck.

Fate, however, was on her side. She finally reached the edge of the forest, but stopped before her foot passed the border. She glanced around until she was met with the sight of two men. They seemed to be doing a weird dance; synchronized all the way down to their crouched knees. They wore deep brown clothes and the older one seemed to be injured as his shoulder was wrapped tightly with white bandages.

Y/n gazed down at her body. Spirits....

She forgot that she wasn't wearing any clothes. These human traditions seem to constantly slip her mind.

The old, wooden house a few feet across the sand was going to be her place to rest, but it seemed that the two men were camping there. And she definitely cannot confront them naked.

Maybe she could steal some clothes and find somewhere else to rest?

Yes, that would have to do.

While the boy's backs were turned, Y/n rushed into the cottage and tiptoed on the wooden floors. If they creaked, that'd be it for her. She grabbed the first bag she saw and ruffled through it. There was a pouch of money... a blue mask... Aha! A shirt! It was the same shade of brown that the two men wore and was extremely long.

When she threw the shirt over her head, she didn't notice how crowded her area was. Her foot moved slightly and knocked over a tea cup. It's shrill clinking made Y/n pause in fear. Maybe they didn't hear it...?

She was so so so wrong.

The two men made it inside the house at an astonishing speed. They held their arms at a threatening angle and had fierce looks on their faces. On the left was the old, injured one from earlier. He was chubby and shorter than the other man, and looked as if he was analyzing her whole life.

The one on the right was young and angry. He had a scar etched into the skin around his left eye. Y/n could only picture the pain he had gone through before it healed.

Well, the injury on her leg didn't really leave much of it to the imagination. But still.

Luckily, the shirt was long enough to cover most of her; it ended at around the middle of her thigh. She kept glancing between the two men, waiting for them to say something or attack her. The young one looked like he was going to kill her if she even twitched, so Y/n decided to keep still and wait for their first move.

The older one finally seemed to notice her blood covered leg and lowered his arms.

"You are hurt," he declared as he looked at the boy. "We must help her."

"No! She's trying to steal our stuff." Then the boy looked at the girl straight in the eyes. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"Now now, you never ask a traveler for their story, nephew. It'll come with time." The old man took a step toward Y/n and she flinched, trying to decide if she could make a run for it. "I'm just going to go through my bag to find my bandages, so I can wrap your wounds... and make you some tea!"

His bright, welcoming smile calmed Y/n and she walked backwards until her back hit the wall. The boy was still glaring at her while his uncle put a kettle on the fire.

Wait, was that fire always there? I swear it wasn't...

She didn't have much time to dwell on it as the old man patted the floor next to him; a signal for her to sit.

Y/n slowly walked over and sat down. She tried to bend her legs, but only managed to do so with the non injured one. The boy's uncle hummed as he took in her injuries.

"Lee, can you go and fetch me a bucket of water?"

The boy, Lee, presumably, was still watching the girls every movement. It almost seemed like he never blinked.

"Lee... LEE!"

Finally, he looked at his uncle in confusion.

"What?"

"Can you get me some water? I need to wash all this blood."

It seemed like Lee finally took in the severity of the girl's injury. He looked pale at the sight of the blood dripping onto the floor. He nodded his head and ran out to get his uncle's request.

"I'm terribly sorry for my nephew, he doesn't take too kindly to strangers." The old man smiled again. "I'm Mushi and that was Lee."

Y/n nodded her head in acknowledgement. "I'm Y/n."

"Hmm... I've never heard that name before, but it's beautiful nonetheless!"

Y/n cursed herself silently. How could she forget that her name wasn't... normal here with the humans. She could've made up one on the spot, like Jin or something.

Finally, Lee came back with a bucket of water. He hauled it over to his uncle, who had a cloth ready to be drenched. Mushi started to clean the blood around and on the wound; an action that made Y/n hiss out in pain. She bit tightly onto her hand to make sure no other noises would escape her. Mushi had an apologetic look on his face as he grabbed the white bandages off the floor. Knowing that the worst was over, she took a deep breath to relax.

"I was... bit by an animal." Y/n whispered.

Both of the men looked up in surprise; they probably weren't expecting her to answer a question they hadn't even asked.

"There's no animals around here that would leave a bite that harsh," Lee said with mistrust dripping from his words.

...there actually is. Like a lot.

Before she could correct him, Mushi intervened.

"What my nephew meant to say was: we're terribly sorry you had to go through that. Please, rest here for the night. A storm is coming and it's not best for travel."

Y/n paused. Stay here?

Well, this would give her time to process everything.

"Thank you so much. I hope that I can repay your kindness one day." Y/n bowed her head slightly.

Lee looked like he wanted to protest this, but one look from Mushi shut him up.

"No need. Your company is payment enough!" Mushi laughed as he waved his hand.

Y/n smiled back at the old man gratefully as he finished wrapping her wound. She is fortunate to have come across this pair. Well, one of them at least.

"Mushi, may I talk to you? Outside?" Lee whispered to his uncle.

Mushi and Lee walked out of the cabin and talked quietly. Y/n tried to listen in, but the sound of the pouring rain drowned out their voices. Huh, it's raining.

Y/n crawled to the corner of the room farthest from the fire and supplies. She hadn't realized it, but she was exhausted from today. Soon she found herself drifting slowly off to sleep, but her mind was still restless.

___

Y/n leaned on all four of her legs. Her fur was slicked back from the mud on the ground. The entire pack was surrounding her and her opponent; a tight circle being formed.

She looked at her brothers who were at the edge of the circle. They were equally as wounded as her, covered in mud, blood, and cuts. She met one of their eyes and he looked away; what was he shameful of? He's safe.

Y/n didn't even bother to glance at her parents. She already knew the disappointment and anger that would leak from their expression into her soul. She instead decided to focus on her opponent.

It was her sister. Born from the same litter, carried by the same mother, Ayano was her blood through and through. They grew up together, played together, and broke rules together. They were almost inseparable before this moment.

But oh, this moment had changed everything.

Ayano's eyes were dark. They held murder inside of them and seemed to bleed into the snarl that adorned her mouth. Her gray fur was just as matted as the rest of the fighters, but she was still Y/n's beautiful, compassionate sister. How, oh how, could these traditions put sisters against one another?

Their father howled and it caused the whole pack to follow his lead.

The signal to begin the duel.

Y/n could not fight her sister. She wasn't exactly sure if she could win, but she definitely didn't want to find out. This was her blood.

So instead of jumping at Ayano, she bowed her head. Her front arms bent to show her surrender.

She half expected Ayano to do the same, or show at least a sliver of mercy. But she didn't. Instead, she released a low growl that said: fight me, you coward.

Then, Ayano pounced with her teeth barred and her claws -

"Hey... Hey, wake up."

She opened her eyes and shot up in panic. Unfortunately, Lee was way closer than she thought and her head slammed into his. They both groaned out in pain and Y/n laid back on the floor to sooth her pounding head.

"Sorry, you just scared me," she groaned out.

Lee had a hand to his forehead and one eye was closed. "Whatever, just put these pants on and then come outside. Uncle wants to talk."

He through to trousers at her face then walked out the door, grumbling slightly.

Y/n was still catching her breath from the memory. It seemed like such a long time ago, yet it was only yesterday. Her hand drifted to her bandages; the blood had peeked through slightly, but nothing major. Who would've known that yesterday's Y/n would be so different from today's?

She slipped on the brown pants that Lee gave her and rolled up the bottom of them. It was obviously Lee's clothes and they were far too big for her. Then she saw a clean bucket of water a few feet away with a cloth on the side. They must've left it for her.

Y/n cleaned up her face and arms to her best ability. She didn't feel the best, but she felt better.

Then she walked outside to meet the fresh air and welcoming rays of sun. They beamed down on her skin; warming her flesh and a small part of her soul. Was this going to be the happiest she could be? Hopefully not.

Y/n looked off to the right and saw the two men sitting around a fire. They probably moved it out here so she could sleep better. The ground was still a little soggy as she walked towards the duo, but it still beat the pebbles she walked on before.

Mushi greeted her with a smile and a soft "good morning." Lee, on the other hand, was staring at her very attentively. When she met his gaze, his eyes formed a glare and a light blush spread across his cheeks. He looked away sharply towards the fire.

"I've made some more tea, since you didn't get to drink any last night," Mushi said as he poured her some.

Y/n bowed her head and accepted the cup. She took a seat near Mushi and sipped her tea.

Mmm this is so good!

She just about chugged the rest of her beverage; an action that would been embarrassing if she wasn't so thirsty. Mushi kindly gave her more and watched as she drank it slower.

"So," the uncle started, "Lee and I talked and we decided to offer you a ride to the nearest town."

Y/n's eyes widened as she heard his words.

"No, please, it's fine! You've already done so much for me, I can't accept this."

"Of course you can!" Mushi exclaimed. Then, he leaned close to Y/n to whisper, "and maybe we can think of a way to get Lee to smile on the way there."

She giggled and looked at Lee, who was glaring at the two of them with his tea cup gripped tightly in his hand.

Ok, maybe she'll stay with them just a little bit longer. Just a little.

___

I'm not a furry I'm not a furry I'm not a furry

Things will make more sense in the next chapter!

I'm probably gonna update once a week, so let me know if you wanna be tagged or something <3

Chapter 1 | Next

Masterlist

#zuko x reader #zuko #atla zuko #atla #atla fanfic #sokka x reader #sokka fanfic #x reader #avatar #poor zuko #prince zuko #zuko imagine #avatar gaang #gaang #gaang x reader #gaang kids

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shreddedparchment · 5 years

Text

Pseudo Princess Pt.02

A New Princess

09/27/2019

Pairing: King!Steve x Reader Word Count: 5,910

Warnings: a smidge of abuse, language?, floral baths

A/N: I literally worked on this all day. Haven’t edited much. Did one quick pass through but I probably missed a whole bunch of stuff. Pardon my typos. I was just so eager to get this out. Again, I will not tag you if you ask to be tagged in the comments. Only tag requests sent in ASKS will be answered. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Please let me know what you enjoyed. If you happen to reblog, thanks for helping me spread my work. xoxo

Baths have never been anything that you’ve particularly hated. You don’t mind getting clean, in fact, you like feeling like you’re new after a bath.

However, until today, your experience with baths has been one of need rather than want.

You always had to bathe in cold water from the river. You nearly always bathed without soap. And you only ever came out smelling slightly better than when you went in.

But today...

You sigh with contentment as your body sinks into the large copper basin. Fresh flower petals, peony and jasmine have been spread across the water. Scented oils are still being added as you settle in.

Technically this is your second bath.

You'd been doused in water before, over the a different smaller tub to scrub the layers of mud that had caked onto your skin.

Now, since your skin is mostly clean, you’re lowered into this one.

Your lady in waiting adds the oils to your bath, having shooed the bath preppers—two stocky young men that had taken to staring at your barely covered naked body as they poured cauldron after cauldron of hot steaming water into the tub—she’s taken it upon herself to make everything just right.

Now that you’re seated, you watch her as she calculates the oil before stopping the amber bottle and setting it on the table where your food had been a few hours ago.

Your lady has long straight hair the color of rubies and sunset. Her skin is silken cream. She’s clearly a beauty but you can’t tell if she’s a noblewoman or lucky, like you.

“Natasha?” You ask, tentative as she fetches a maroon bar of soap. It smells like pomegranate and more jasmine.

She smiles at you. “Yes.”

It’s a kind smile but you also saw her eyeing you suspiciously when she came in at first. She also seems to know that you’re checking to see if you remembered her name correctly.

She sits beside you on a slightly lower stool so that she still sits above you but low enough to help you.

“Lean forward, your Highness.” She asks, and your neck flares with heat.

Butterflies erupt in your stomach making you queasy and your chest begins to hollow.

“Your high-?” You probably lose most of the color in your face because Natasha’s eyes flash with concern.

“Are you alright, your Highness?” She wonders, genuine in her concern.

“I…” You look to the shut doorway and know that there’s a guard sitting out in the room entryway between the main doors and the doors to your bedroom.

Natasha leans in closer as you finally lean forward and give her access to your back.

When you speak again, you whisper as Natasha smiles conspiratorially.

“I’m not really a princess, Natasha. The king plucked me from the side of a road, covered in mud. I’m nobody.” You worry, chewing your lip harshly.

Natasha frowns and reaches up to run her thumb across your lip, stopping your biting.

“Don’t do that. Princess do not chew on their lip. And I know.” She assures you. “Tony, that is to say, the King cannot hide much from me. I was the one that gave him the idea to look for a peasant.”

“You?” You lean back, slightly shocked as she really goes at your skin with the smaller towel she'd lathered up.

“I have worked as his Majesty's assistant for many years now. Too many. He’s like a brother to me and Pepper, that is, the Queen, is like a sister.

“His Majesty figured you might find it a little difficult to acclimate which is why he’s entrusted your care to me. Don’t worry, your Highness, I’ve got your back.” She smiles reassuringly but you know she has no loyalty for you yet.

Her loyalty, like yours, is to the crown. You agreed for the sake of your kingdom.

“So, we have a day full of things for you to do. You won’t get much rest today. Or for several days. Maybe weeks, depending on when King Rogers decides he wants to get married.” She informs you.

“What’s he like?” You ask eagerly, desperate for information on the widower. “Have you met him?”

“I have. He’s very upright. Upstanding. Noble. Honorable. A little serious but very sweet. He’s gentle when he isn’t angry but when he is angry he has been known to lash out.” She explains.

You blanch again, feel queasy once more. “Is he violent? Will he hit me?”

“No.” Nat answers, reassuring you with the tough spark in her emerald eyes. “Like I said, he’s honorable, and even if he were inclined to hit you I wouldn’t let him. It’s my job to protect you.”

When she says that it almost sounds like she’s willing to fight. Physically. With punches and kicks.

“What is it that you did for his Majesty, Natasha?” You wonder, suspicious now.

She smirks down at you, pleased with how observant you are. Sharp.

“Never you mind, Highness. Sit back, I’ll scrub your tummy.” She asks but as you sit back you reach up and take the cloth from her.

“I can do it.” You watch her until she releases it.

“Very well. Make sure you get all your nooks and crannies. We need you shining like new.” She says, getting up to rifle through your wardrobe.

“What things will we do today?” You wonder, attempting to mimic the correct way she speaks. Most of your word choices are fine but there’s a posh little tone to her words that you’ll need to learn to mimic.

Right now you sound too much like the country bumpkin you are.

“These dresses will need to be altered to your specific body type. You'll also start training in etiquette and we need to attempt to teach you a little to write and read.

“I’m hoping King Rogers will take his time in accepting you as his wife. It’ll give us time to get you trained a little.” She picks a floor length gown with no hoop which you like. It has an latticework of lace along the bodice and the sleeves over a beige underskirt made of voile and organza.

It’s pretty but more expensive than all of the money you've ever earned sewing up patches and fixing shirts and pants.

“This looks the closest to your size. It might sit a little loose but it'll work until we can get you a proper wardrobe.” She turns towards the bed to lay out your dress and you wonder if she did that on purpose to show off the flowing fabric of the dress.

She proceeds to pull out several undergarments, a long and thin white shirt, and a corset with back lacing to put over it.

Your own well worn undergarments had been discarded, along with your dress.

“Okay.” She says, moving to you and holding out her hand. “Give me that. You’re too slow. I need to get you scrubbed and changed within the hour. We still have to wash your hair.”

“I can do it.” You protest and make to dip under the water.

“No!” Natasha almost shouts. “Not in there. We will wash your hair separately and when we are done with your bath.”

“Why?” You frown, looking down at the now slightly murky water with its flowers and oils.

“Because, you haven bathed in a while and that water is already rife with dirt.” Natasha explains.

“I’ve done it before.” You complain.

“You weren’t a princess before.”

“This is stupid.”

“Stupid as it might be, doesn’t change the fact that you were filthy when I got you. Please, your Highness, let’s do it my way at least a few times. Then after a few washes, when you’ve used soap and I’m sure your body is clean enough, then you may wash your hair at the same time. Alright?”

You consider Natasha for a moment, still standing with her hand outstretched, long red hair braided and pinned up on the top of her head. She doesn’t look upset though and is genuinely pleading with you.

You give in and hand her the cloth then lean back as she pulls her stool over and takes to scrubbing your legs hard.

“You don’t think I deserve to be here, do you?” You ask, feeling shameful for being so dirty.

Nat stops her scrubbing and looks up at you. She blinks, thinking for a moment before shrugging her left shoulder.

“It doesn’t matter what I think.” She says. “What you’re doing is going to be hard. I don’t know if you’re prepared for what taking this on means.

“I don’t know if you’re good at lying which you will have to do on a daily basis, to everyone but myself, the King, and the Queen and often it will have to be spur of the moment.

“Can you do that?” She asks, brow furrowed with worry and curiosity.

“I…I dunno.” You admit. “I’ve lied before but not about something this important.”

She nods. “And we'll have to fix your speech. You don’t sound too bad but sometimes you can really tell you’re not of noble birth.”

More shame draws your eyes down as Nat goes back to scrubbing.

“But you are very brave. You’re choosing to do this from the kingdom when you are not obligated to. You’re giving up your freedom for a life in service of the crown. And it won’t even be our crown.” She says in astonished admiration. “Have you even considered that?”

“I have no one, Natasha. I don’t even own my own home. True, at least I could go out and do what I liked but my life was meaningless. I would grow old, if I was lucky, and I would die alone. At least this way, I might serve a purpose.”

“Didn’t you have parents? Or maybe a beau?” She’s scrubbing between your toes and it takes all of your willpower not to squirm.

“Um…” Your voice shakes, itching to laugh. “No.”

She looks at you and you can’t help it, you burst into laughter.

You throw your head back and the water sloshes around you as she hurries to finish your other toes, smiling wide as you laugh. Your finished leg lifted and bent against your chest as you wiggle.

When she’s done she drops her hands, leaning against the side of the tub, a look of fondness in her eyes.

You chuckle a little more as you settle in the water again. It’s still warm. Will she let you soak a bit longer?

“What?” You chuckle. “Why do you look at me like that?”

“Because now that you’re all cleaned up, with laughter in your eyes, I think you just might make King Rogers fall for you. Genuinely.” She gets up and moves to hold open the thin white robe for you.

Ears burning, neck flaring once again, you rise. The water sloshes around you and several petals stick to your wet skin as you step out onto a small carpet placed by the tub so that you don’t slip.

She wraps the robe around you, and it sticks to you, growing sheer as the wet is soaked up.

You can see everything. You shiver and Steve closer to the fire, but Natasha reaches for you and pulls you to the stool she'd been sitting in.

“Here. Sit.” She moves to fetch a brass pitcher and holds it, waiting for you.

You sit, then naturally lean back on instinct.

“Do you really think he might like me?” You ask her. Eyes wide, heart pounding. “What does he look like?”

Now that you know that he isn’t abusive and is in fact a true gentleman by all accounts, you’re eager to see this possible future husband.

“He’s very handsome. I’ll show you his portrait when we’re done. As far as his liking you, it may be better if you don’t expect too much.” She says sadly.

“Why?” You ask, worried.

“Well, as you know, King Rogers lost his first wife.”

“Yes.” You nod.

“Queen Margaret was the love of his life. I have never known anyone to love someone that much, except perhaps Tony and Pepper.” She explains. “When he lost her, I heard he went into seclusion.”

“How did she die?” You wonder, watching as much of Natasha's face as you can while she works her hands through your long hair, pouring warm water from the pitcher’s until it’s soaked.

She gets the soap and begins to lather it up, pitcher set aside.

“An accident, I think. I don’t know the details but I heard she had to get surgery done and she passed from complications.”

“Oh.” You’ve never heard of anyone actually getting surgery but the rich can afford it so it’s probably more common here. “So you’re saying he may not like me?”

“He might not. He needs to remarry and he needs an heir so, whether he likes you or not, he will tolerate you. Perhaps even grow fond of you? It think that may be the best we can expect but I hope he can see you laugh as you just did.

“Perhaps it will sway his heart.” She smiles.

Grabbing the pitcher, she rinses your hair and you stare at her beautiful face.

“Why do you care? I mean, whether he likes me?”

She looks down at you in slight shock. “You are under my care, your Highness. I want you to he as happy as possible in this new life you are choosing especially because you are doing it for the kingdom.

“If I can make him love you. I will.” She promises and finishes with your hair.

~~~~~~~~~~

You’re exhausted.

The day has been endless, and it all began with a fitting for your dresses.

All of the gowns in your closet had to be altered. Then your head was measured for a new tiara and several others to take with you.

The one you are given to use with your dress is silver with a gold inlay, a large ruby at the front surrounded by smaller yellow diamonds.

It belongs to the Princess Morgana and you’re really nervous about wearing her tiara when she isn’t home. What if you lose it?

“It only until your own is made. You’ll have it tomorrow. Were you satisfied with the design you chose?” Natasha asks.

You'd chosen a simple tiara with silver leaf designs that run along the entire front and the center should be two large gems.

You’re not sure what they’re supposed to be as the design was just a sketch but you’re sure that his Majesty will choose the stone.

“Yeah.” You answer.

Natasha frowns at you. “Yes.” She corrects.

“Right, sorry. Yes.”

“Come on. We need to get you to the speech tutor.”

This is the moment that Princess lessons takeover your day. You do indeed begin with your speech. You’re corrected often but after a few hours you begin to understand what the tutor wants, and you deliver.

He’s impressed and you leave the lesson feeling more confident. Etiquette is much more different.

You slouch often, and the new tutor, a stern middle-aged woman slaps the center of tour back several times to make you remember as she teaches you how to hand things to others. How to sit. Stand. Bow. Curtsy. And all the other intricacies of life in the castle.

The long and carefully crafted waves of your hair provide a little cushion, but the smack still stings.

On the sixth hit, you hiss in pain and Natasha’s hand is suddenly there, grabbing the rod she’d been hitting you with.

“Hit the Princess again and I will personally make sure this rod ends up somewhere unpleasant.” She threatens, death in her eyes and a sneer stretching her red tinted lips.

The woman pales but she looks at you as you reach behind you to try and rub at the spot on your back.

“Negative reinforcement works better to create a memory for her to remember.” The woman argues but she’s just barely enthusiastic about it.

She’s eyeing Natasha with fear.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to use negative reinforcement so that you remember not to hit the Princess. Do it again, and I’ll have you sacked. Got it?” And Natasha waits, eyes narrowed at the woman.

“Y-Yes, my lady.” The woman nods then moves on to sitting at the dinner table.

You’re taught how to walk. How to sit with a book. How to relax when you’re told to though really, it’s still just sitting up straight and it’s not a very relaxing position.

You’re taught how to walk in your dresses and how to lift and adjust them when you climb stairs and sit down or stand up. When you asked them what you do before running, Natasha had smiled and looked at the middle-aged woman.

“A Princess does not run. You never run.” She insists.

“Never?” You ask again.

“Never.”

“What if-?”

“A Princess does not run. I think we will end our lessons here. I will see you tomorrow to see what you have retained. Good day, your Highness.” She curtsies and leaves.

You eat in your room and then return to the empty school room you’ve been using to find a new tutor waiting for you.

The alphabet is written across several sheets of parchment paper, and with a quill provided, you are given the task of copying their shapes.

“Once you can write them, we’ll learn what their names are and how to sound them out.” The man says before watching you copy the letters.

This is how you spend your day and soon, darkness takes over the castle once more. Natasha hasn’t left your side all day and with your fingers cramping and your eyes burning, you turn to look at her, massaging your hand.

“I think that’s enough for today, Master Rymond. Thank you for your hard work. We will see you again tomorrow.” Natasha tells him.

“My lady.” He says, nodding to her then he bows to you. “Your Highness. Good work today.”

When he’s gone you really want to sit back and slouch and really relax but the center of your back is still stinging, and you realize that the etiquette woman was right. The smacks are a good way to ensure you remember.

“I don’t think I will ever slouch again.” You whine, reaching up again to rub the sore spot. You’re probably bruised up.

“That’s good news.” Natasha teases. “Are you hungry or would you prefer to go to bed?”

As she stands beside you, hand on your shoulder, you look up at her and think.

“Both?” Are you being greedy?

Natasha however nods. “Okay. Do you know your way back to your room?”

“I will escort her, Lady Romanoff, madam.” A young male voice pipes up from the doorway and you lean around Natasha to get a look.

The young man is wearing a more relaxed suit of armor. Where the majority of the Knights are decked out in full gear, this young man seems to be wearing shoulder guards, knee guards, and sturdy boots all much lower profile than regular armor.

He has wavy brown hair, smooth and light. Peach white skin, sweet and bright hazel eyes, and a thin but tight muscular build. He looks lithe. Like he could outrun anyone simply because he’s lighter.

“Peter,” Natasha says fondly. “I didn’t know that his Majesty was going to give you to us.”

“Yes, Ma��am. He thinks it might be better to have someone like me with you at all times, in case something should happen.”

“Good.” She beams. “I’m going to go get the Princess some food, will you show her to her room for me? I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“Of course.” He nods, giving you a sweet smile too.

“I’ll be back.” Natasha gives your head a gentle caress and your heart soars at the affection.

Why are they all so nice to you? You’ve never been this loved before. Is it really them loving you or are they just appreciative of what you’re doing? You don’t want to question it, but it all seems to good to be true.

She leaves you, sweeping out of the room in her stunning black gown.

“Shall we, your Highness?” Peter gestures towards the door and you nod with a smile.

There’s silence between you and Peter for a few minutes as he leads you back up the stairs to the floor above. You watch his easy gait and the smile he seems to wear at all times.

“Peter?” You check, afraid to make a mistake in decorum.

“Yes, Princess?” He says, turning to walk slightly sideways but just long enough to give you an expectant look.

“Is it okay that I call you that?”

“Of course.” He smiles at you then faces the front again. “I’m at your service.”

“Why are you at my service?” You check, so confused by everything here in the castle.

“His Majesty, King Stark, thought that it might be good to have me by your side. You’ll need a protective detail and he thought one knight would be better than four.” He explains, beaming with pride at the job assignment.

Why only one of him though? Doesn’t this leave you and him more vulnerable?

“Why you?” You ask, “Not to be rude…I don’t mean to be rude if that was rude, but I’m a little confused as to why his Majesty would send only one guard instead of four and why Lady Romanoff would be so keen to have you with us.”

“Oh.” Peter says, nodding with a knowing smile. “That’s because I’m different from the other Knights. I’m stronger.”

“Stronger how?”

“Well,” He reaches up to scratch the back of his head. “Since we’re going to be spending so much time together, maybe it’s best if I let you know. I would hate to scare you.

“A few years ago, I got lost in the woods. I wandered away from my school group and found myself right smack in the middle of a witch’s hut. See, my uncle died, and my aunt was so sad about it that I thought, maybe, if I can find a good witch, she might help me get my uncle back. I found a spider instead and…well, it must have had a spell on it or something because it bit me and when I woke up the next day I was…different.”

It all suddenly falls into place, making sense in a way that you weren’t expecting.

“Oh my God, you’re the Spiderling.” You realize, looking him up and down again and for the first time noticing the red of his uniform beneath the navy painted armor plates. There’s a hood around his neck which you assume he uses to hid his identity.

“Actually, I go by Spider-Man now, but yes. That’s me. Please don’t tell anyone.” He begs, looking at you with worry.

“I won’t.” You promise, overcome with subtle pride that His Majesty would assign someone so skilled to be your protector.

“Wonderful.” He smiles at you, and you can’t help it. You stare a little as he leads you to your room.

Once you’re there, he hurries forward and opens the doors for you.

“Thank you.” You beam at him and he nods.

“Of course.”

The sight of your bed prompts your exhaustion to catch up with your body. It’s been twenty-six hours since you’ve slept, and you know you’ll have to get up early in the morning for more lessons.

“I’ll leave you to get changed.” Peter says. “Goodnight, your Highness, it was such an honor meeting you. I hope we get along really well together.”

Sweet. He’s really very sweet.

“I’m sure we will, Peter.”

He leaves you on your own, shutting the doors as he leaves but you know he’s probably stationed himself in that entryway.

You want to change. You want out of this dress and this too tight corset, but you know that you can’t take it off on your own, so your best bet is to wait for your lady in waiting to come back.

It takes her only twenty minutes. When she walks in, you sit up from truly relaxing in the chair by the fire, shooting up into your perfect posture.

“Good.” She praises you. “You’re practicing.”

She’s carrying a tray of some cold meats, cheese, and grapes.

“But you can relax when it’s just us, your Highness. I won’t tell on you.” She looks up at you as he places the tray on the table by your chair and gives you a quick wink.

You smile up at her and dive into the food she’s brought you. She pours you a glass of wine and you take a drink to wash the gritty cheese from your teeth.

“If that’s the case, I insist that you call me by name when we’re alone.”

“Your Highness…” Natasha begins to protest.

“Please? This all too much already. I’ve been called Princess and your Highness since I arrived. I’m starting to forget it. Please?” You’re begging wears her down and her gaze softens.

“Very well. Y/N.” She says, her cheeks flushing from the enjoyment of using your name.

You eat in semi-silence, Natasha munching on her own plate of food at your insistence.

“Tomorrow will be just as long.” She warns. “Are you sure you still want to do this?”

“Yes.” You nod. Certain that you can do this for them. All of them. Your entire kingdom.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Natasha begins, taking a drink of her own wine before setting her empty plate aside. “His Majesty has sent for a painter.”

“Why?” You wonder, finishing up your grapes.

“Well, they’ll need to paint you into the family portrait and King Rogers has replied to his Majesty’s letter.” She smiles at you, teasing you.

“Already?!” You gasp, nervous, heart pounding.

“Yes. He seems very eager which can be both good and bad.” She explains and as you eat your last grape, she gets up and takes your plate and empty goblet.

“Why? Why is it both?” You demand, terrified suddenly.

“Well, for one, it means that he’s accepted you. Mostly. He has requested a portrait of you be sent so that he might know what you look like. So, he seems able to overlook the strangeness of why you’ve been hidden away for so many years.” She seems more satisfied by this than you are.

“What if he doesn’t like the way I look?” You worry.

“You’re beautiful, your High-Y/N. He’ll love your looks.” She promises.

“You don’t know that.” You say under your breath, fiddling with the skirt of your dress.

“Come.” Natasha urges. “Let’s get you changed for your bath.”

“Another one?” You get up and move to her though you don’t understand why you need another bath.

“Yes.” She laughs. “Another one. You will bathe once a day until you are married and then you will bathe as often as they require you to in Broklin. There’s a kingdom in the south where they bathe almost three times a day. It’s ridiculous.”

She helps you out of your dress and begins to undo your corset.

“So, why is it bad?”

“Hm?”

“King Rogers’s eagerness. Why is it bad?” You clarify.

“Oh!” She shakes her head, glancing at you through the ornate mirror before you. “Well, once he gets your portrait, if he’s satisfied with you and calls for you, then our time here is finished. We have tomorrow, then the painter arrives the day after. He’ll paint your portrait in a few hours and then send it to Broklin. That will take a day and if the King likes it, we should hear back from him the day after that.

“That gives us only five days in which to get you ready for him. We may have to make excuses for why you cannot read or write.” She’s already brainstorming, and you feel shame once again for not being educated. “I’ll get with his Majesty and we’ll work something out.”

“I’m sorry.” You nearly whisper.

“For what, your Highness?” Natasha asks, finally pulling you free of your corset.

“For not being better. For not knowing how to read or write.” You keep your eyes down, suddenly hating your upbringing and orphaned state.

“Oh, no.” Natasha gasps. “No, Princess. Don’t say that.”

She turns you around slowly and ducks down to grab your under shirt and lift it up over your head. With it off, she pulls the same thin white robe you’d worn before and after your bath last night and helps you slip it on.

“Never forget that you are doing us a favor by agreeing to this foolhardy scheme. I told his Majesty that it would never work but when I met you, I suddenly realized that maybe, with the right girl, it might actually be something we can pull off.

“You gave me the confidence to take this post without fear. If anyone can marry King Steven Rogers and keep war at bay, it’s you.” She chafes your arms, more affection. “Trust me, Princess. I know what I’m talking about.”

A look into her emerald eyes tells you that she does indeed feel confident in you and it eases your worries a bit.

“I’ll work really hard.” You promise her, and she smiles.

“I know you will.

You fall asleep in the bath, the lavender and jasmine concoction along with the pomegranate soap and rose oils make you sleepy.

The heat from the fire, the hot water, it all lulls you into a truly relaxed state and you don’t even feel Natasha as she scrubs you down.

Suddenly she’s shaking your shoulder gently and your eyes pop open.

“Wake up, your Highness. Just a quick brush of your hair and you can go to sleep.” She says sweetly.

You lick your lips and get to your feet, stepping out as she wraps you up in a warm towel, then proceeds to brush your hair.

You very nearly fall asleep again on the edge of your bed but then she’s finished, and she helps you put on your nightgown.

It’s long and white and almost as sheer as your robe with puffed sleeves and a scoop neck that ties just along your clavicle to keep it shut.

“Um…” Natasha suddenly worries as she pulls the bottom of your nightdress down.

“What is it?” You ask her sleepily.

“I have something for you, but I forgot it in my room. Don’t fall asleep, alright? Lay down but try and stay awake. I will return in just a few moments.”

She bounds from the room, her black dress sweeping behind her majestically.

You slide back along your super soft and plush mattress, your body almost melting into it as your head finds your mountain of pillows.

For a few minutes, you wonder how it is you got so lucky. Sure, as Nat had said, you are giving up a lot of freedoms for this, but you’ve never slept in a bed this comfortable. You’ve never eaten food as delicious as you’ve eaten today. You’ve never fallen asleep in a bath of sweet floral water or smelled this good afterwards. You’ve never gone to bed with a full belly and you’ve never worn silks and jewels worth more than any amount of money you might have made in your lifetime.

You are truly blessed, and you vow to work hard to make certain that his Majesty did not make a mistake in choosing you and that Natasha’s hard work will not go to waste.

Despite your trying, you do end up dozing off. The bed is too comfortable and the fire too warm.

The door opening is what snaps you out of your slumber and you blink away the sleep before sitting up to watch your lady come in wearing her own nightdress and a thick red robe around it to keep her modest.

“Here you go.” Natasha says happily, the tease of a wily smirk on her lips.

“What is it?” You ask, staring down at the small silver compact case she’s holding out for you.

“Open it.” She urges, sits on the side of your bed and lets you take it.

You search for the small clasp at front and flip the lid slowly.

For a moment you forget how to breathe. The man inside, this small portrait, robs you of all rational thought.

He’s beautiful.

“He has blonde hair.” You say breathlessly.

“Yes.” Natasha nods, sounding amused. “It’s shorter in that photo. He’s grown it out some now. He also has a beard now. Very kingly.”

His strong jaw angles sharply. He has a long straight nose. Full rose-pink lips. Stunning storm blue almost gray eyes. His brow is slightly severe in the portrait. Stern. But it only makes him more handsome.

“I…” You begin, worried suddenly. “What if he doesn’t like me? I’m not at his level.”

With a frantic heart, you look at Natasha and she smiles with more amusement.

“I told you, you are beautiful. You are more than a match for him. In four days’ time, we won’t have to worry about that because he will have written about how beautiful you are and how much he can’t wait to marry you.” She lies.

You look back down at him and try to calm your heart.

“I want him to like me.” You admit, admiring his beauty.

“Most women do.” Natasha teases. “I knew you’d like him.”

“I hope he’s as kind as he looks.” You sigh, wishing you could know him already but also scared to disappoint his own expectations.

“He is. He may just need some coaxing. He was very saddened by his wife’s death.” She nods.

“I will do everything that I can to not only ensure the safety of our kingdom, but also to make him happy.” You gush. “I want to make him happy, Natasha.”

Natasha chuckles. “Of course, you do. And I’m sure you will. Now, get some sleep. I’ll be back in here in a few hours.”

Her warning falls on deaf ears however because you’re engrossed in his portrait.

“Can I keep this?” You ask her as she rises to her feet and pulls the blanket out to get you underneath it.

“It’s yours. I had one made for you. If you want a more recent one, you’ll have to get one from him once you’re married.”

Could this Adonis really marry you? Live his life with you? Be your husband? Your King?

“Goodnight, Princess.” Natasha whispers as she shuts the doors, knowing that as you lay down with your eyes glued to that portrait, nothing will break your concentration.

And she’s right. You stare at King Rogers’s portrait until his image is burned into your retinas. You blink and his face is there.

Soft golden hair. Piercing blue eyes. Perfect pink lips.

You fall asleep stroking his face, wondering if you’re foolish to get quite so enamored with his looks when you don’t know him one bit.

But…he’s to be your husband. Better to love him than to not.

All you can hope is that when he sees your own face in paint, that he will not be too disappointed.

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depreshroom · 3 years

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Analyzing Krel: Episode 4

I’m back, this took a lot longer than I wanted it to. It may be short but I feel like this was significant! So, here it is I guess.

At the beginning of the episode, they are interrogating Stuart when skeltegs fly into the ship. Krel immediately blames Aja by telling her that she was the one obsessed with sketleg fighting on akiridion-5. Granted, it was her fault but it still took him only all of two seconds to blame her. He was eager to say it, and to point out that she did something wrong.

Side note: Aja said skelteg fighting was easy money...Aja gambled. Aja, you’re a royal, why did you need that money? More relevant question: Did you ever get in trouble for gambling ma’am?

Later, at school after leaving Stuart’s shop, Mary and Darci inform Aja that she is popular now for kicking Steve in the face. Poor Krel is simply ignored and left behind with his boombox which he had brought to school. During the day, the skeltegs invade the school and as they are running, this scene happens between Krel, Aja, Darci, and at the end Shannon.

Krel: “Just remember sister, you were the one who brought them here.”

Darci: “Aja, you really did this?”

Krel: “Finally, you made a mistake!” ~~Senor Uhl cancels school over the announcements~~

Darci: “Yes! Aja you just saved my butt, I was gonna fail that quiz!”

Shannon: “Oh man! She even makes infestations look cool.”

Krel: “You literally cannot lose.”

“Just remember sister, you were the one who brought them here.”

First of all, it seems significant that Krel once again reminds Aja that this is her fault. She did this, everything going wrong right now (within the school) is because of her. He says that as if to prove a point, to put the spotlight on her.

This would simply seem like he’s just blaming her for fun, but then he says “Finally, you made a mistake!”

So yes, he’s happy his sister made a mistake, but the thing about this line is not only that he’s happy but he said finally. He says it as if his sister is perfect all the time--he has been waiting for this, for the moment that his “perfect” sister showed a taste of imperfection. Nothing serious has happened yet, there haven’t been any big mistakes for any of them, so this conclusion that his sister is perfect would have to come from akiridion-5 where we once again talk about their parents. He has been set to a lower bar and belittled in comparison to Aja. He also sees himself that way as in his mind without Aja, he’s doomed. Or as he puts it, back in episode 2, “That’s why I’m not afraid. Because I have you.” Another thing is that in the episode before this, Aja was able to use the mind reader and Krel wasn’t. He didn’t necessarily make a mistake, but he didn’t succeed like Aja and that was his field of expertise so it did leave him upset.

What can be assumed by not only the line itself, but his excitement is that being taught to think, and thinking that his sister is better than him did take its toll on him. Seeing his happiness about this break into Aja’s nonexistent facade gives insight into his insecurities. It’s probably the more selfish side of him, but wanting Aja to mess up lets Krel believe that he isn’t a failure.

Unfortunately, school gets canceled so the others instead cheer Aja on. In disappointment, frustration, and annoyance, Krel says “You literally cannot lose.”

So Krel is finally able to catch Aja in the act of making a mistake which leaves him ecstatic because it broke her---once again nonexistent--facade. That was only for him to quickly be slapped in the face when her mistake is actually praised.

I feel like it might be important to acknowledge the fact that Aja never does act like she’s perfect, Krel built this illusion for himself and while it was likely that it was influenced by his parents the idea that she’s flawless is something that he has come to truly believe. If he believes that she’s faultless, and also views his parents on a higher level than him, then that leaves him at the bottom.

Skipping all the way to the end, after they find out the boombox brought the skeltegs to the school, and they have fixed the infestations, Krel comes to apologize to Aja, and they reconcile. Then she asks about building a daxial array.

Aja: “Hey, how many akiridions does it take to build a daxial array?”

Krel: “It’s impossible.”

Aja: We exploded skeltegs with a music machine little brother. Nothing is impossible on this planet.”

Krel: “In that case, it will take two akiridions.”

There’s not much to point out about this, but I did want to talk about the fact that while I’m sure Aja’s optimism is somewhat helpful, Krel is the only one who’s really that good at technology. So when he says that “it’s impossible”, he’s simply referencing himself, and saying that he’s the one who can’t do it. In turn, Aja does an uno reverse by saying that it’s entirely possible and encourages him. She’s a good sister, and it’s likely that they both knew Aja would be more helpful in terms of blending keeping in mind her newfound popularity rather than technology. In a sense, she is simply letting Krel know she believes in him. After that he does admit that he does need help by saying that it will take “two akiridions”.

To sum it up, considering the idea that Krel’s family are the closest people to him in his life, and he has always seen himself as lesser in comparison, I would argue that has led him to have always felt like he’s the “flaw” in his family for lack of a better explanation. Aja is also a good older sister, and is willing to encourage her brother despite whatever argument they had before which is nice and brings out how good their relationship is! Finally, this took long and thank you for reading it! Have a nice day, night, or afternoon!

#onto episode 5 #hopefully out by next week at the latest #thank you sm if you read it!#tales of arcadia #3below #krel tarron #aja tarron #analyzing krel

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mirrorfalls · 3 years

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Lego Liveblogs ST: TOS, part 25 (of who-the-hell-knows-how-many?)

Depending on how far you want to stretch the term, so far we’ve seen the Enterprise crew visit anywhere from one to a half-dozen self-proclaimed “Paradises” - none of which really lived up to the name. Will This Side of Paradise be any different? Let’s find out.

* A surprise group of survivors on a mission that was supposed to have ended in disaster? Now where have we seen that before...? * And the Head Colonist instantly brushes off the slightest concerns! Another strike. * “We have harmony here. Complete peace.” Aaaaand strike three, you’re out. Tell me you have an interesting Purge Night, at least. * So this is the show’s first Spock’s-old-flame story - and with Pon Farr still months from being dreamed up. Expectations suitably lowered. * “There seems to be a total absence of life on the planet, with the exception of the colonists and various types of flora.” Like with Shore Leave, I’d like to ask what’s pollinating all the flora, but I get a feeling I’m going to regret finding out. ** “There's enough [crops] to sustain the colony, but very little more.” I’m not sure this works all that well as a red flag, though - these colonies are all supposed to be self-sustaining, it’s not like they have a market to take their surplus to. * Nono, wait, don’t tell me, there’s a giant Evil Computer keeping them all healthy in exchange for monthly sacrifices, isn’t there? * “What you're describing was once known in the vernacular as a happiness pill.” Maybe on Vulcan, but I believe Earth calls it drugs, Spock. * Okay now I remember what Tumblr imageset I first saw this episode through and I cannot wait to get to that scene * You know, I don’t think Kirk ever got this angry at Spock when he was committing literal, death penalty-tier treason with the entire ship. * Huh, Kirk can resist the LSD flowers for... some reason. Okay, I guess we need someone to carry the back half of the plot. ** All the same, dude, might’ve been a good idea to pack a Phaser. * Uhura does a damn fine HAL 9000 * Anyway - this is Kirk well and truly alone, and even if Tumblr’s already spoiled me on how he wins the day, it still comes off as a bigger challenge than even Khan or all the God-Aliens the ship’s run into so far. Extra points for the worldbuilding behind it all, which actually stands up to more than five seconds of scrutiny. * “Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is.” Okay, this is a decent slice of the Kirk we saw in Space Seed, with all the y’know-was-the-abusive-megalomaniac-really-that-bad? bits thankfully shown the door. * Unironically: this is the closest the show’s come so far to making me cry. ** (Even if some small, South Park-addled bit of my brain can’t stop thinking of this as a Hard-Hitting Metaphor for Shatner driving away all his costars in real life.) * And our big counteractant to the LSD flowers is... Strong Emotion! In other words, this whole ep is another fucking remake of The Cage! ** (There are also the Implications of Kirk’s all-important emotion trigger being a Starfleet medal, which I’ll leave you to decide for yourselves.) * “Aroused, his great physical strength could kill.” Hurhurhurs to your left, folks. ** But seriously - I think Kirk could’ve gotten some quicker mileage out of talking Uhura into putting the ship’s comms back so he can radio Starfleet HQ for backup. Tell her you’re recruiting more settlers if you have to! ** Or just punch out Spock’s lady-friend to trigger his “ThE WoMeN!” instincts * Oh, well - a pipe worked well enough against Khan, Spock shouldn’t be that differ- ** I WAS WRONG I WAS HORRIBLY WRONG * Okay, I know there’s no way they’re actually going to kill Kirk, but couldn’t they have waited more than two seconds after the ad break to deflate all that tension? ** (Also left for you to decide yourselves: whether this episode is out to teach the, er, moral of “It’s okay to be racist for a good cause!”) * Miss, this is Very Sad and everything, but have you considered that maybe Spock just doesn’t like you without drugs fucking him up? ** In all seriousness, though - I do have some sympathy for her. Of all the planets Kirk and co. have visited and “fixed”, this is probably the most innocent one yet; no, it wasn’t nice of the settlers to drug the crew and induct them into the commune, but it’s not like staying on the planet poses any actual danger to them. If Kirk was willing to give Khan a slap on the wrist and leave him to his own planet last ep, the least he could do is the same for these guys. * Aaaanyways... let’s watch this idyllic little co-op meet the fate all co-ops meet within six months. Tops. ** (If all it took to break the LSD flowers’ hold was an annoying noise, couldn’t Kirk have just played a tape of Lieutenant Riley’s singing for everyone?) * And here’s the Bones scene. Somehow I didn’t realize ‘til now it’s not Kirk who gives him the “we don’t need you, not as a doctor” talk. * Welp, for better or worse it’s all ended now. Ended with an extra dose of Sunday School on top. And these guys didn’t even walk out with astounding new knowledge about the Universe, so I’d say Adam and Eve got the better deal. ** ... so you guys did take a sample of those flowers along to research all their miraculous health benefits, right? Right?

As a suspense/thriller exercise it ain’t half-bad, and I stick to my opinion that Kirk strolling a completely empty Enterprise at the halfway point is quite possibly the most haunting scene we’ve gotten out of the show so far, but like so many other promising eps, the back half doesn’t quite deliver on the setup. Instead of building to a moral or theme in any satisfactory way, we get a quick Deus ex Machina punctuated with a big Kirk-Spock punchup that - if sources are to be believed - Season Two will do better, anyway. Evens out to a maybe-watch on a rainy day.

Next: The Best Episode, according to at least three VIPS on this show... after a week's intermission, because your humble rewatcher is about to get mutilated by the Bar. Later.

#Lego Liveblogs Star Trek #Star Trek: The Original Series

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cmescapade · 4 years

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my long overview/review of ‘Star Wars: Journey to Batuu’ after forcing myself to play it almost nonstop

so i said i was going to amend what i said in response to this ask after playing to min/max shit so here is a tldr version of my opinion after playing:

I consider this pack to be a 2/10; It's enough to kill time as a temporary distraction, but not for long. There’s absolutely no replay value after going through all those missions as each outcome is ultimately the same by faction. There also doesn’t seem to be any negative outcomes for each prompt in the little “choose your adventure” pop ups--And if there is, it is extremely low since I have never gotten a negative outcome.

The aspirations are fair, and are the only things I found in this pack that’s anyway redeemable since I believe the rewards can be used well in conjunction with general solo/super-sim gameplay.

kinda sat on this for a while bc i wasn’t sure if i should post something so lengthy but then i remembered this is my blog n i can post my left toe if i wanted to

even tho i would never post a pic of my left toe anyway

.......at least for free. With the right price, however....

anyway more details under the cut if you’re interested bc i like to ramble :))

I decided to split this into 5 sections to organize my thoughts a little better. I’ll be separating my thoughts on each faction, the ships as a rabbit hole, the faction missions, the star wars aspirations, and then the breakdown of my 2/10 rating.

1. Factions

When you travel to Batuu, the game gives you a starting “mission” or quest to get you acclimated to the areas, and each area has a specific Faction associated with it.

And yes, you cannot live anywhere, nor are there any lots, as was already stated.

Every area has a similar makeup which has:

Control Panels

Supply Crates

1 non-rabbit hole area

1 interactable ship

The Black Spire Outpost is the biggest area and has:

Two places to grab food, three if you count the Cantina

Aside from the Cantina, the other areas are rabbit holes

The two eateries are:

Docking Bay 7

this one has the most food options

you’ll never go hungry in batuu because the cheapest items on the menu are Outpost Popcorn Mix and Water at 0 credits lmao

the other two foods not shown in the screenshot above are Yobshrimp Noodle Salad and Braised Shaak Roast

Ronto Roasters

This food place has two of the same options Docking Bay 7 has as well as two additional food items

Oga’s Cantina

The only area that you see the inside of

yea the bar serves batuu-only drinks too

also where you find the guy who would give you Scoundrel missions, Hondo Ohnaka.

You can essentially max your Scoundrel reputation without it hindering whichever side you wanna take, and you can keep it when you essentially max out your rep on either the Resistance or the First Order.

There aren’t any real pros to being a Scoundrel aside from some socialization interactions. It doesn’t do anything for initial Batuu gameplay aside from unlocking Scoundrel outfits in CAS and some upgrades for your droids, but this goes for all of your options (Resistance, First Order, & Scoundrel).

The Dwelling

This is a rabbit hole where your sim goes to sleep, pee, or shower… If not the closest bench.

It’s located opposite to the Cantina.

If you’re ever lost, there’s a spire you can sit/nap on right in front of it–or you can just wait till your sim wants to pee.

they’ll automatically run there

that’s… how i found it, tbh

Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities

Another rabbithole

This place sells items you can use to complete missions, like Dataspikes and a couple of Lightsaber parts

Majority of the inventory are decorative stuff to bring back with you

Savi’s Workshop

Right behind the antique shop is the lightsaber place where you can find more hilts, kyber crystals, and display cases for your lightsabers.

You can also click on the shop to start a lightsaber challenge.

Outside this area, you have the First Order District which has more supply crates and control panels than the other two neighborhoods, and a lot more activity–Makes sense since this is basically the hub for the First Order in general.

There’s only the Droid Depot in this area, and the only real shop that has use for credits. Food wise, there’s a food stall, and if your sim is stinky or tired, they’d basically disappear for a few minutes to recharge and come back.

Droid Depot

Each faction has specific Droid personality traits

Aside from “voices,” these personalities don’t do much

I guess the First Order one is a lot more zap-happy though

The Resistance Camp is even smaller. Like the other areas, it’s littered with supply crates, but only has one control panel and no shops. However, there’s a rabbit hole toward the back in the Caves.

This doesn’t lead you to anywhere interesting, and it’s just another ‘choose your own adventure’ kind of thing.

2. Ships

In the Black Spire Outpost, you’ll find the iconic Millennium Falcon. You can do kessel runs and explore in the Millennium Falcon with Chewbacca if you have a high Scoundrel reputation.

However, although I said you get to ride with Chewbacca, you don’t ever see him come out

He just kinda……………..stays there

and the prompts tell u he’s there

n ur gonna have to go with it and use the power of your imagination to believe he really do be there

In the First Order District, there’s the TIE Echelon, which functions the same way as the Millennium Falcon… But, you can’t do anything outside of exploring or using it for missions. This is how the X-Wing Starfighter in the Resistance Camp functions as well.

It’s all pretty copy and paste, but w/e, that’s how EA does it

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3. Missions

There may be several different missions per faction, but to no one’s surprise, they’re all literally the same one but worded differently.

Regular missions only have one plus (+) and one negative (-) icon

Regular Scoundrel missions only have one plus icon and no negatives since they don’t impact other factions

Each faction has a regular mission that pertains to:

Obtaining information

Exploring with the faction’s designated ship

Stealing from Supply Crates

Hacking a Control Panel

Yes………………….They’re very repetitive

You don’t have to do all of them though

You can spam the same one over and over as long as it fits the time slot

For example, the Resistance’s ship exploration mission is limited to only the day time and seems to disappear when it gets late in game

also there’s an error with the TIE Echelon where it’s missing a whole ass prompt

……As you can see, the options make no sense because the prompt is the same one that came before it 🥴

anyway…

Story Missions are the only missions that seem to differentiate from each faction.

All missions that pertain to the “story” are indicated with prerequisites of higher ranks within the faction

All of them give a double boost toward your faction

If it’s a Resistance story quest, it’ll always increase hostility from First Order members

Vice versa for the First Order faction

The Scoundrels are neutral, and do not impact any faction

It’s only the Resistance and First Order factions that have very similar plot lines

but I’m guessing it’s only like that since they’re supposed to follow the vague cause/effect the two of them have?

4. Aspirations

The initial Aspiration you get when you pick the Star Wars umbrella in CAS (or in game) is “Hope VS Order.” After completing this one aspiration, you unlock the 3 that pertain to each faction.

Paragon of Hope

Resistance aspiration

Reward trait gives a boost to Charisma skill building

This is probably nice for those careers that need Charisma to be high, like the Political and Business branches

Enforcer of Order

First Order aspiration

Lowers chances of “Death from Anger”

Since I like killing my sims, I think this aspiration is pointless lmao

Galactic Privateer

Scoundrel aspiration

“Sleight of Hand” reward trait

Unlocks pickpocketing outside of Criminal branch usage

Best one here tbh

Works outside of Batuu, you’ll steal simoleons instead of credits

Also you can cheat whenever u play Sabaac and no one will notice

5. Reevaluation of Initial Opinions

I’ll be going through my initial list from my Response to the Ask I got before. I originally stated that it seemed promising and it was a 3.5~4/10.

Aesthetics/Visual: my opinion is unchanged, it still made me sad i can’t have a little shanty house out there or rent a garbo lot, 0.5/5

The longer I played, the more I didn’t find any new animations

The lightsaber sparring slowly began to look like a mash between GF and RoM duels after a while

I still hate that the areas were beautiful (+0.5) but the interactive places forced cutaway

why do you wanna ruin my screenshots like this, man

CAS/BB still is hard to integrate–Unless your sim is a geek with figurines, the ship models might be nice to add to their collections

Otherwise……

….

I don’t have a follow up for that, sry

Gameplay: uhhh at least i found something i could use outside of Batuu, 1.5/5

I think that playing 3984729847 repetitive missions for a long period time really orientated me to the whole map

…but the fact that i had trouble the first time around still makes it not-user friendly

the issue I had with the resistance members not having an icon? It’s a thing, I guess

The resistance quests take you on a weird trip to “prove” yourself so i guess the icons are supposed to show that they’re “not” resistance members or something idk

they’re supposed to be the sneaky underdogs who wanna do good or w/e

I guess that’s immersive…….. +0.5

sry im first order trash

they also have “Ignite the Spark” and “Ask about Missions” both leading to the same mission screen……………….

convenience?? i guess??

missions are still confusing, made worse when the game itself glitches up a storm

there was one mission where i had to go to the cantina to find someone

and they wouldn’t spawn within the time frame………….

i had to go in and out for like 3 days until they actually spawned

i only knew this bc i arrested half the people in the cantina while i was bored

so anyone without a red bar was probably them lmfaoo

also, as i stated above……. there’s some mission errors in the prompts

Currency is still worthless.

Everything can be done by purely stealing from supply crates

Credits are only worth to blow it off on sabaac!

The only real need for credits is to have 1,000 so u can buy a droid

Then slam the rest of those credits on the table to bet bajillions on a game of sabaac!

Aspirations………. Useful +1

Despite them being sorta niche, they’re pretty decent

Can abuse the rewards for optimal gameplay for a super sim

Honestly i just love the pickpocketing reward off the Scoundrel aspiration, just because it works outside of Batuu (and that he didn’t have to be in the Criminal career for it either)

In total, my personal rating for this pack is 2/10.

It was nice, but I don’t really see this pack being replayable, considering that i did everything there was to do on Batuu in a single trip. Sure I could’ve taken my time, but since everything would end up the same anyway, it felt like it was set up to be a one-time gig.

At least with JA you’re moderately forced to return so you can collect treasures that are RNG–In JtB, you can snatch up all that you need on Batuu from grinding everything like a nutcase. There’s also chances of failure in JA, but on Batuu that percentage is almost little to none. The most you’ll ever get is a dazed moodlet that barely lasts, a negative relationship, and being escorted to a loading screen.

I feel like this pack could be a little better if there were more risks involved, but there are barely any that I encountered. It’s just another weird, rehashed cash grab by EA.

#star wars: journey to batuu #star wars #journey to batuu #SW: JtB #sims expansion review #i could just say its a disappointment #but tbh the whole game is a disappointment #if you're gonna ask why i still play ts4 if i find it disappointing #i'll have to answer that w:#the games i play are a reflection of me #and I'M a disappointment #😎

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singeramg · 4 years

Text

Midnight: Chapter 15

Pairing: Clark Kent/ Metahuman! Black! OFC!

Rating: E or M, NC-17 whatever just not for under 18

Warnings: Smut! ( Finally what I promised right?)

A/n: Okay as as mentioned above this chapter does contain smut, if its not your thing skip to the end. I give a brief summary in my ending author’s note. Please don’t blow me up talking about you weren’t warned.

Catch up HERE!

Midnight: Chapter 15

*Flashback*

“Come on Clark you gotta tighten up my dude. This shit is not cute.”

I was standing in the bedroom to his room at his mother's house, in jeans, yellow t-shirt 70′s writing of the words BOSS, across the chest, my silver hoop earrings and freshly applied cherry carmex. Mrs. Martha had called to to come drag Clark from his self imposed shut down, so instead of a quick mall trip by my lonesome, I was here. He and Lois broke up two weeks ago and he went from optimistic to wanting to follow her to the assignment she picked up overseas (and I told him that might be a bad idea if Superman got a rep for stalking women) he was now in the depression stage. Martha has enough of him not coming out of his room (he also couldn’t go back to the apartment he shared with Lois.) and requests for chocolate and junk food.

Apparently I was the big guns, and I had no clue how bad it was until just now standing in the doorway to the room. It literally had enough empty bottles to become a recycling plant. He was giving me teenage boy vibes and this was a grown ass man.

The part of me that wanted Clark for myself was kind of happy that he and Lois weren’t together but a bigger part of me was crushed for my best friend. I knew how much he loved her, how he planned on proposing to her next month on their anniversary. I could feel how upset he was and I wanted him to feel better.

“Gia what are you doing here?”

“I came to figure out why my best friend has been dodging my phone calls for two days the. I find out he is back at home with his mother and is doing his best to become part of the furniture.”

“I’m sick Gia.”

I stare at him pointedly.

“Kiss my ass your sick....That would work if you were human Clark. You can’t catch a goddamn virus. Now if you had told me a stomach ache I might have believed you. Get your lying ass up dude!”

I walked into the room, and sat at the foot of his bed. He had the covers pulled over his face. He had reached the grief stage and it was not good. I started pulling on the covers trying to inch it down and it worked for the whole of two seconds before he put a stop to that.

“Gia I just want to be left alone.”

I raise an eyebrow and look around in the chaos.

“If this room is any indication to go by you cannot be trusted to be left to your own devices.”

“Giaaaaa.” He groans out and I stifle a giggle, because I know he is in pain but the whine he did was kinda hilarious.

“Kaaaal.”

I copy his tone and then he sighs and pulls the cover tighter. It was my turn to sigh. I kick off my shoes, and walk over to the opposite side of the bed that Clark was laying on.

I focus all my energy into my hand and yank at his cover, having just enough force to pull it away, however I don’t yank it completely off of him, choosing to slide in next to him.

Clark’s big blue eyes look about as sad as I had ever seen him and his hair looked slightly overgrown and he was growing a beard, only clothed in a pair of shorts. Laying down next to him, I reached up to his face, because the face of the strongest man in the world did not look like the strongest.

“Clark you have got to come face the world sometime.”

“Does it have to be today? The world is probably the reason she left. I was so busy saving it that I bet she didn’t want to stay around.”

“Yes boo it has to be today. You can’t sit in here day after day, it won’t make her come back. I’m not saying it isn’t hard to get over something like this but the first step is to try.”

“What if I don’t want to try?”

“Well I guess we could lay here all day? I mean I may or may not start doing my Britney Spears impressions, then maybe I’ll move on to Miley Cyrus, because I know just how much you love that Party in the USA song, then maybe a little “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys....”

He doesn’t move

“ Ooh baby, baby, ohh Baby baby”

“Okay okay. I’ll get up just please no singing.”

I start laughing as Clark flips the covers back, and gets up. I knew he absolutely could not stand those songs and/or artists. I couldn’t help but look him over, his body just as fit as ever, slightly jealous that he could spend multiple days eating and drinking nothing but crap and still look like you could grate cheese on his abs.

-“Stop it Gia.”- I told myself because I knew I couldn’t go down that road of thinking.

“So now that you got me out of bed what do you want me to do.”

-‘Get back in.-’ Says my inner-thoughts. Outwardly I say

“I think you need a day out. Get dressed Kent. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

I pull myself from his bed and start walking, slightly tripping over something on the floor.

“Oh and you need to clean up this mess before we leave, Ms. Martha is not about to chew me out for your mess. No sir.”

“M’am yes M’am.” He says with a look that didn’t scream America Golden boy, but something that was up to no good.

He says cheekily and half ass salutes in my direction. I toss up my middle finger in his direction and start singing, ‘She’s just a girl, but she’s on fire...’, much to his annoyance, and close the door to his room on the way out, knowing he can hear me all the way down the stairs and even is whisper, which annoys him even worse...

*Later that night*

“Clark you are such a cockblocker!”

We were standing near the exit outside of a bar in Metropolis. We had been there about an hour and a half, Clark had a couple of beers while I sipped on a drink. I left him at the table to get us another round and some shots when a good looking guy walked over to me. He was tall, fit and looked like he kept himself together with a neat fade all waved out and a swagger about himself. Also his emotions were quite even keeled. Which was nice and rare for a change of guys coming up to radiating all the emotions of someone only looking to bone. He introduced himself as Terrance, and I gave him my name. We were talking for all of 10 minutes when Clark walked over to where we were standing, and I had just finished laughing at something Terrance had said, Clark puts his hand on my lower back and says

“Gia darling I’ve been looking for you. Did you get the drinks? Oh who is your friend?”

I glared at him and then said “This is Terrence, Terrence this is my friend Clark.”

Clark shakes his hand but I can tell he puts just a little too much force behind it because the guy winces ever so slightly and Clark emotions go from protective, jealous to pleased.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes and instead look at Terrence.

“It was cool to meet you both, I’ve got to get back to my friends.”

He was scurrying away before I could even say goodbye. It was then that I dragged Clark outside.

“What do you mean Gia?”

“Don’t play dumb with me Alien boy.” I say the last part in a whisper and poke him in his chest.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“So you are going to act like you didn’t just almost break ole’ boys hand in there?”

At this he laughs slightly, but it was at least more of a genuine laugh than I had gotten from him in a few weeks.

“I wasn’t going to break it. I just wanted to see how he held up. If he even wants the potential to be in your life he’s got to pass muster.”

“Your muster. He passed mine just fine.”

“You would have chewed him up and spit him back out Gia. Besides he wasn’t worthy I mean he didn’t even have his pants pulled up all the way.”

“I told you if it’s done right is called swagger. Anyway. Like I said you are a cockblocker.”

“Sure, you will be thanking me later from saving you from a bad decision.”

I did some kind of cross between a growl and groan and turned away starting to go back inside realizing Clark wasn’t going to get it. He stops me by gently grabbing my arm.

“Gia wait.”

He pulls me backward to him again, I end squarely folded into his arms, with his front pressed to my back, face in the curls I left down for the night. I ignore how good this feels, the smell of him, the strength corded through his arms as he holds me tightly.

“I am sorry Gia. I guess I just don’t want you to leave me. Tonight was supposed to be about the two of hanging out, helping me get over a heartbreak. I just didn’t want my best friend to leave me to drink alone.”

He says next to my ear and I fight off a shutter. I respond by taking a deep breath and saying.

“I wasn’t going to leave you Clark, what kind of best friend would I be if I let you drink alone?”

I did my best to be mad, but with the way he wrapped his arms around me, the small yet sweet words he used, I was putty. He didn’t have to know how turned on I got by the sound of his voice and honestly I didn’t want to figure out why my heart was racing. If I stayed like this any longer he would figure out it wasn’t from anger.

So I pulled away from him and turned back faux mad and said

“Come on Kent bring your ass, next round is on you...”

One hour later:

We walked into my apartment, glad that I hadn’t left it a mess before heading over to see Clark. He trailed behind me, holding the box of cookies from the late night cookie place not far from my house.

“I still can’t believe we stopped for cookies at 12 in the morning.”

“Come on Clark you know there is nothing better than a warm cookie late at night. How many times have you snuck one of your mom’s cookies at night when she was sleeping.”

He ponders

“Touché. I didn’t even know that place existed.”

“Yes, it’s fairly new but still awesome. My coworker told me about it and I went one night.”

I didn’t tell him my first time going was the night he showed me the ring he got for Lois and I ate way too many cookies and some vanilla ice cream then had a pity party I threw for myself.

He shakes off his jacket and I cut on a lamp in the living room. He goes over to my couch and plops down, carefully as not to break it. He opens the box of treats and starts to eat one. One of the types I picked out, even though he didn’t ask for that one when specifically asked.

I came back with bottles of water from my kitchen to find the travesty in my living room.

“Oh hell naw! You are seriously about to get put the fuck out dude! I know you are not eating my peanut butter chocolate chip cookie.”

“There’s like 3 in here.” He shrugs not giving a care in the world and looking down at his phone.

“Yep and all three were mine Kal-El. Now I’ve got to fight you...”

At this he looks up and notices I have red energy balled up on my fingertips. He has half of the cookie left and offers it to me sheepishly, I almost knock it out his hand but that would be too much of a waste so I grab it and eat the rest and wave my hand at the tv.

“It is so easy to forget you have powers Gia. That you are like me in some ways, but then you do little things like cut a tv on with a wave of your hand or try to kill me and I remember.”

“I’ve been trying to tamper my use but honestly I just don’t want to look for the remote.”

“Good reason. Now since I’m not ready to go home yet and you promised me a movie. What’s on?”

I flicked through Netflix, choosing to cast some action flick I’d been meaning to watch, knowing that anything sappy would just make Clark sad again. I put my feet on the coffee table in front of me, relaxing into the cushions finally. Honestly I wanted to put on pajamas but currently they all consisted of Clark’s shirts and short-shorts (if I even wore those) it wouldn’t be appropriate to wear around him, nor did I want him to take them back. So I stayed in my clothes and Clark had come out of his shoes, socks and the glasses he didn’t need. In a surprise move however instead of sitting straight up on his end of the couch, he lays down, head in my lap.

Most of the time it was Lois he laid on like this or I fell asleep on his shoulder on accident, never fully intentional. I didn't jump up, instead my hands flew up to his hair and pushed it back. He emits relaxed energy and settles further in my lap. I briefly wondered how long had it been since he allowed himself to be cared for?

We watched the movie and I polished off two cookies and we were about halfway through when an intimate scene came on in the film. My heart rate picks up slightly as the faces on scene blur slightly and I let my mind wonder to what it would be like if that was me and Clark.

“You know I can hear your heartbeat right?”

I push at his head playfully and he sits up, but he is much closer than before because of how he had moved to put his head in my lap. He is smiling one of those megawatt smiles and I Want to punch him kinda but I also want to kiss him. The thought only arouses me further and I want to disappear into the couch.

“It’s a perfectly natural reaction to the movie.”

“Sure, this isn’t because you find Sebastian Stan attractive or anything. Sure.”

He takes a large slip of his water, smug.

“Hey I’ve got to take my kicks where I can get them. Since someone that shall remain nameless kept scaring the guys away from me all night.”

“All of them were looking at you like a piece of meat.”

“ Did you ever think that I wanted them too. I mean come on, a girl has her needs.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to sleep with some guy you barely know because he shows you some attention.”

I look at him hurt. He had no clue I was still a virgin but that didn’t give him the right to imply I was whoring myself out to any and everyone. Even if I did he still had no right to judge me.

“Do you really think that low of me Clark? That I sleep with everyone?”

He immediately radiates guilt and regret.

“No I didn’t say that.”

“You implied it. I..I think I’m going to head to bed. You can let yourself out now Kal.”

I say and realize maybe that was one of the reasons he could never see me the way I saw him. This whole time he thought I was a hoe. I get up from my position on the couch, and as my face and eyes burn from embarrassment and sadness I walk to my room, but Clark is faster, stopping in front of me to keep me from the entrance to my bedroom.

“Clark move.”

I say, moving very quickly to the anger stage.

“Gia wait. Please I’m sorry. I swear I wasn’t thinking of you like that. It was bad wording...”

“If it came out that easy then you were already thinking it.”

“I wasn’t! Honest!”

I roll my eyes and focus my energy into my hand again, having practiced just enough strength to move Clark even if he wasn’t willing. I was proud of myself when he actually moved and I had enough time to get into my room, close and lock the door.

“Fucking Jackass.” I whisper to the empty room.

I don’t wait to hear the door close, settling on a hot shower to get all the grime and dirt off of me from sitting in a smoky , sweaty bar half the night. I chastised myself the entire time I was in the shower looking back on all the times we laughed together, me possibly making a sex related joke or dirty throw away comment and realizing he had been thinking that of me the entire time. I grabbed an old shirt and shorts for bed, glad that bras were not required for being in your own home. I cut off the light to en-suite bathroom and jumped nearly a foot finding Clark sitting in my accent chair next to the now open window.

“Goddamnit Kal-El you scared the shit out of me. How did you get in here?”

“You should really keep your windows locked, I mean there are so many weird folks out here that could want to hurt you. Trust me I hear most of them.”

“Well I can deal with most creepers just like I thought I had dealt with the one standing in my room right now.”

I say, waving my hand toward the lamp next to my bed that comes on to illuminate his face. I can feel that he’s sorry and then desire comes right behind the sorry emotions.

“Are you wearing my shirt?”

Clark asks me suddenly, with his head turned slightly, almost in confusion and I take note as I looked down, that it was one of his royals shirts and it fell about mid-thigh, which regrettably hid my shorts.

“I may or may not have borrowed it a while ago, but anyway that is off topic. Why are you still here?”

He comes from the other side of my bed rather quickly, but his gait is not relaxed, it is more of a proud quickstep. I called it his ‘determination’ look, and now I was nervous. Was he mad for me borrowing...stealing the shirt? His emotions didn’t read mad however. In fact they were the exact opposite, the intensity of them made me rub my thighs together slightly.

“I was here to make you listen to my apology because you are being stubborn again and you know exactly how much I hate you being mad at me so I was going to volunteer servitude and grovel shamelessly but now I am not so sure.”

I could feel the tension in the room and I was sure I was just making it awkward for myself. So I crossed the room, away from him, and headed to my dresser, going to a drawer where I kept other nightwear that didn’t belong to Clark. I didn’t have many options but I certainly didn’t want to look at him. I bent down to get a new shirt from the drawer, quickly skipping over the other 6 shirts that belonged to him.

“So what aren’t you sure about Clark? I don’t give apologies for stealing a comfy shirt. Like you want it back or something? I mean at least let me toss it in the wash first.”

Grabbing a purple tank top that I hardly wore, I stood back up, jumping at the slight of Clark directly behind me in the mirror.

“Oh I think I want it back but not after you’ve washed it.”

I haven’t turned around, choosing to stare at him from the mirror. Our eyes are locked and my face feels warm again, I fiddle with the shirt in my hand as lust begins to roll off of Clark in waves. In direct reaction to both of our emotions swirling around I feel myself grow wet.

“You know I’ve been looking for this shirt all over.”

Clark steps close enough that I feel the warmth he radiates on my back. He doesn’t break eye contact as he pulls me backwards, I gasp feeling his hardness poke me in my back, seeing as he was quite a bit taller than me. He leans down his hand still on his waist, and sniffs, I let myself melt closer to him, so unsure of myself or what exactly was happening but unable to stop it. He pulls away from my hair and sniffs again.

�� “You know Gia, one of the perks of being an ‘Alien boy’ as you like to call me, is that my sense of smell is fantastic. Do you have any clue what I smell now?”

I shake my head, too nervous to say the wrong thing and ruin whatever was happening.

“I smell nothing but you. I can smell how aroused you are and it’s driving me crazy. Usually it’s faint, covered by your clothes and body washes, I can ignore it, chalk it up to you thinking of someone else. This time I can’t.”

“Clark I am...”

“Please don’t say you are sorry Gia. I don’t want you to be. What I want is my shirt back, now are you going to take it off or should I rip it? Although I have to say I’m partial to the first because I want more opportunities to take it off of you in the future.”

I feel my breath leave my lungs and it is almost embarrassing how quick I reach down to the hem of the shirt and pull it upwards. We were still standing in the mirror with my back to him, but with the shirt off and no bra, everything was on display.

Clark delicately runs his fingers down my bare arms, then leans down and his lips meet my shoulders, kissing toward my neck where the junction of my shoulder and neck meet. His hands move to the front of my body, a light touch to my stomach and upwards. The mirror reflects as his large hands grip my breasts and squeeze. I moan out as my eyes drift shut, and my head falls back into his shoulder. I grind myself backward against his hardness and he releases his own moan against my ear. His fingers from one hand drifts over a darkened nipple and then down space between my breasts, trailing down my stomach.

“I could leave as you requested Gia, but I know you don’t want that do you?”

“No. Please stay.” I say and I free myself from his grasp as I turn around. He was still wearing the glasses so I pulled them off, sitting them on the dresser without breaking eye contact with his blue eyes that are blown so wide they are almost black. I reach up, and pull him down by the collar of his shirt, finally kissing him the way I had been dreaming about forever.

He doesn’t break the kiss, only leans down to pick me up and my legs automatically wrap around his waist. He walks over to my bed, laying me down and following with him on top, my legs automatically opening to make space for him between them. He stops kissing me to pull his shirt off revealing the glorious chest I had seen more times than I could count, but never in this context. I reach down to pull at my own shorts, but he stops me.

“Allow me.”

I nod at him still nervous to speak much. I watch him pull my shorts and panties off and he stares at the glistening mound between my legs.

“So wet, I bet you would leave a puddle if I picked you up.”

“A..aaand what will you do about that Kent?”

I taunt him nervously, but it’s not as clear as it would be normally. The smirk he sends in my direction would have melted my panties if I had been wearing them, it screamed dirty.

“Guess I’ll have to clean it up won’t I?”

He says and leans down to kiss me again, my hands fly up into his curls, and meanwhile his hands drifts from my hips downwards to my thighs, his hands are warm and they skim up my thighs teasingly. His fingers don’t stop at my thighs and they finally land at my center., meanwhile he stops kissing my lips and his kisses begin to drift down my body. Warmth soon encloses one of my nipples, teasing me until it is taunt with his wet tongue, and one of his long digits enters me slowly.

“Oh Clark”

I groan and shift to look down. He takes it as encouragement and moves over to my other nipple and after a few more minutes he adds another finger, stretching me. My hips arch into his hand and as he moves them in and out I can feel myself shuttering around his fingers. I want more inside of me than just his fingers but I was still nervous about all of this. I had fooled around before, made it this far with exactly one guy before him but everything felt new with Clark. Before I had always been in control of how I felt and what was being done, but I felt like I had none of that with Clark. He doesn’t stop kissing my chest, down my stomach, his lips meeting his fingers.

This was new to me and as his lips made contact my hips lifted off the bed. My thighs try to drift shut, but of course Clark doesn’t allow that to happen, now using both hands to hold my thighs open, and my hands move back to his head again, desperately wanting to keep him there, with his tongue dancing around my clit.

“Oh my god Clark!”

“You taste so good Gia. I could stay down here and worship at the fountain of you forever.”

My eyes roll shut again, his words making my juice flow even more, which he drinks up with a chuckle against me, the vibrations only driving me further into my pleasure. When he stops eating me out I glare at him like he’s gone mad, I had been so close. Did he not just say he wanted to drink from me forever?

I glare at him, probably more like a pout I figured since he only laughs again.

“Such an attitude for someone who wants to cum.”

“Clark, where are you going?”

I am afraid he’s finally changed his mind about all of this.

“I am not going anywhere beautiful. Everything I need is right here in this room.” He begins unbuckling his jeans, I watch as they slide down his thick thighs revealing his length which I immediately get intimidated by. He is long and thick and I wonder how that plans to fit inside of me? Clark’s eyes follow my eyes to where I had been staring.

“Where is the famous Gia courage? Don’t think you can handle me?”

I can’t meet his eyes and look around the room. I was actually nervous about this moment.

“Actually...I don’t know if I can...I..”

Clark’s eyebrows furrow as he notices that I am no longer looking like I am going to pounce on him, but instead looks like I’m ready to bolt. Instead of climbing on top of me he lays next to me.

“Gia why are you so nervous? You know I would never hurt you right?”

I nod and pull one hand across my chest covering myself, feeling more self conscious the longer he looks at me. I am staring at the wall opposite him.

“I am just nervous that’s all. I’ve ne--- I have never done THIS before okay?”

He doesn’t say much for a moment and I just know he is about to get up and get dressed because somebody that looks like Clark doesn’t want someone inexperienced like me. Why would they? He had to notice all of the women at the bar staring him down all night. He had his pick and those women probably knew what to do and could give him a lot more pleasure than I could.

Clark’s hand comes up to my face, fingers delicately touching, turning it so that I could look at him.

“Gia. Are you saying you are a virgin?”

“Fresh as the fallen snow on a mountain top. Kinda blows your “Gia is hoe” theory doesn’t it?”

I joke, trying to relieve the awkwardness of the room, but Clark doesn’t laugh with me.

“ I’ve never thought that about you and please don’t deflect this... seriously. Are you sure about this? I mean that you want to do this with me?”

I nod. My mouth was too dry to speak, but Clark wasn’t letting that slide.

“I need words from you Gia.”

The command is simple and direct but a turn on nonetheless. I don’t let it show outwardly however.

“Yes Clark. I’m sure. I trust you with this part of me.”

He searched my eyes for a lie, but I knew he wouldn’t find any. His demeanor changes as he kisses me, and his fingers find my opening again. He spends more time opening me up, and he swallows almost every gasp and moan from my lips, then drops back down creating a suction with his lips around my clit that send me soaring.I begin to cum around the fingers tapping that spot inside of me that make me writhe about on the bed.

Once I come down from the high of my orgasm, I find him staring at me again, if I could I’d blush over the intensity of his gaze.

“You are breathtaking Gia.”

He turns and grabs his wallet from the jeans that had been unceremoniously dropped to the floor, producing a condom from inside. I can’t watch him put it on, and I know he can hear how fast my heart is racing again. Clark glides over my body and my legs open wider to make space for him again.

“I promise I will never intentionally hurt you, but this may hurt slightly based off of what I’ve been told love.”

I brace my hands on his strong shoulders.

“ It’s okay. Like I said I trust you.”

I feel his length slide in between my folds gathering the wetness there, before slowly guiding himself inside of my welcoming body. At least I thought it was welcoming, it felt like I was trying to push him out, and it felt like forever before he came to a stop. He stares at me and kisses me again, full engagement of his lips and tongue as he pushes forward, which makes me break the kiss to gasp into his mouth and whimper through the pain. I don’t even realize my face is wet until Clark wipes my face with the hand that is not holding him upwards.

“Breathe please Gia baby.”

I feel my chest rattle as I settle into the pain. Clark is whispering sweet nothings in my ear, and as the pain abates I cue him to move.

He moves out again slowly and as he sets a pace, the pain drifts into pleasure and my nails can’t dig into his back, as his skin doesn’t allow it, so they glide across his back. His hands glide down my body touching every part he could find.

“Ugh Clark Faster.”

The overwhelming sensation builds and I flutter around the hard flesh as it moves in and out of me. Clark is definitely holding back and I can tell as he thrusts me through my orgasm. The second one of the night for me and none for him. I start to feel that maybe this is a penance for him, maybe it me, or maybe even a mistake to him. His desire hadn’t gone away, as he was still hard inside of me.

“Clark, is there a reason you haven’t… you know.”

His face is hovering above mine, his smile is wide following my question. I feel embarrassed considering I couldn’t even use the right words, despite him being inside of me at the current moment.

“I’ve already asked you to use your words Gia.”

He pushes forward suddenly and I make some cross between as gasp and moan.

“ Fuck.”

“ Well that's a word. A dirty word, but word nonetheless.I’ll give you what you want.”

He teases me.

“I didn’t think anything else expressed that properly.”

“No? I think I can get a few more words out of you tonight. Then again as long as my name is one of them you can say whatever you want baby.”

His hands slide up the back of my thighs, ending behind my knees. He pulls them up and thrust downwards, deeply into me. My arms lock behind his neck and he obliges me to pull him down into a kiss. He thrusts harder and faster, his lips swallowing my groans and cries as we both hear how wet he is inside of me. He was so deep inside of me and I relished in the groans into my ears.

I gave completely into the feelings of the moment, feeling Clark inside of me transcending the moment. As I flutter around him again, and he moves us higher and faster, I realize that us ...like this was what I had been waiting on…

*End flashback*

That night had been one of magic, at least at the time. Clark had taken his time and thoroughly taken me apart, and put me back together. Despite my later ramblings I never regretted that it had been him, and not just because of our son. I haven’t asked Clark if the condom broke and if it did he never told me. I never regretted it because at the time it had been everything I didn’t know I needed and I seriously doubted it would have been that good with anyone else.

The drive back to the manor was long but it gave me time to think. I needed to think about what I could say to Clark. How do you admit to someone that you’ve loved them like forever? One could guess you would just say it, but I didn’t know it would be that simple. I was about halfway home when a shadowy figure appeared in the middle of the road. It causes me to slam my breaks and I find myself spinning in a circle, then I was rolling, where it came to rest against a tree.

I cough roughly looking around for my phone and I am grateful that I was wearing a seat belt. I can feel that I am in extreme pain, blood dripping from my face, but with the smell of gasoline in the air. I can’t stay in this car or I will die. I use heat energy to create a blade to cut my seat belt since it jammed from the impact. I crawl myself from the driver's seat, ignoring the searing in my hands as the broken glass digs into them.

“Fuck.”

I say, noting that my ankle feels like it’s on fire again indicating some sort of injury. Coughing I try to see my way to the road for help as the car begins to smoke. My heart clenches as the shadowy figure walks toward me with nothing but hatred and determination on its heart.

I try to scramble away and try to toss a hasty shield but I’m too weak to manage it.

The figure grows closer and closer, it laughs. Surprising me by being light and feminine.

It comes close enough as the car, that I had moved away from explodes. It pulls off the hood to reveal a familiar face.

“Waa...Tracy?”

“Long Time no see Gia. It’s time to come home.”

And with that she punches me in the face, and everything fades to black...

A/n: Boom.

No but really I truthfully need feedback on this one, because I like reading smut, but hate writing it. Had to get that Superababy here somehow huh?

SUMMARY: Flashback of the night Kalen was conceived! Gia is forced to crash her car and is taken by someone by the name of Tracy who is familiar to Gia.

As always thnk you for reading, commenting and reblogging! You all rock! The taglist is open!

Taglist:

@romyr4 @bloodyinspiredfuck @p3nny4urth0ught5

#Henry Cavill #SUPERMAN X OFC #Superman #Clark Kent xOFC #Clark Kent #henry cavill smut #Clark Kent Smut #fanifiction #dc universe

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thepartyresponsible · 5 years

Text

here’s another whumptober fic, for the prompt gunpoint. here’s what happens when someone tries to mug bruce banner and clint barton objects.

there’s a bit of violence, but mostly this one is just sweet.

Anyone else on the team would’ve identified the threat before the man got within reaching distance. If any other Avenger were out here, this would-be mugger would’ve been tossed flat on his back before he even went for his gun.

But it’s Bruce, and he’s alone, so he isn’t even really monitoring the man’s approach until the gun is pointed directly at him and the guy is demanding Bruce’s wallet.

“Wow,” Bruce says. “Uh. Listen. You’ve made a bit of a tactical error.”

“Oh, did I, asshole?” The man thunks the front part of the gun between Bruce’s eyes, and Bruce can’t even remember what it’s called for a moment.

Barrel, he thinks. But no, that’s not precise enough.

Muzzle, he decides, a half-second later. Well, he’s always been better at vocabulary than self-preservation.

“Your wallet,” the man repeats. The metal is almost warm, and Bruce grimaces at the idea that it’s been shoved down the front of this guy’s pants. “Hey, shithead. Give me your fucking wallet.”

“I don’t have one,” Bruce says. Which is a ludicrous thing to say, but he really doesn’t. He doesn’t carry his ID anymore, and he got sick of cancelling credit cards after the fifth time the Hulk’s casual approach to public nudity had left the contents of his wallet scattered over a random street in some city he could never go back to.

All of that stuff – his ID, his credit cards, his cash – is back in the bar, with Tony.

But before Bruce can elucidate the finer points of his personal financial situation, the mugger seems to run low on his already limited supply of patience.

“Bullshit,” he says, and pistol-whips Bruce across the face like this is some kind of terrible TV police procedural.

“Hey,” Bruce says. He works his jaw; he can taste blood in his mouth. “First of all, I really need you to not do that again. This whole block needs you to not do that again. The entire city needs you to exercise some self--”

The guy does it again, but Bruce manages to duck out of the way this time.

“Jesus,” Bruce says. “Stop it.”

The man grabs the front of Bruce’s shirt and drags him farther up the alley, behind the dive bar that Tony wanted to visit because allegedly Daredevil hangs around sometimes, and Bruce honestly cannot believe that this is happening. He’s about to Hulk out because some bully in Hell’s Kitchen made a series of unsound strategic decisions, and Daredevil is absolutely going to show up, but it’s going to be to help dig out survivors.

“Listen,” the man says. In another life, Bruce would be scared of him. He’s bigger than Bruce, taller and heavier, and he’s meaner. His breath smells strongly of cheap whiskey, and it mixes unpleasantly with the taste of blood still coating Bruce’s tongue.

“Hey,” Bruce says. He can feel the Hulk stirring, all that reflexive anger like bloody bait calling a shark. “Hey, stop. Listen. You’ve gotta stop.”

“Give me,” the man says, crowding forward, hand closing around Bruce’s throat, “your fucking wallet.”

And Bruce can see, in a second, how this is going to play out. He’s going to say he doesn’t have a wallet, or the mugger’s going to check his pockets, and maybe he’ll be appeased by the phone Tony gave him, but maybe he won’t. And either way, he’s probably going to hit Bruce again, and Bruce won’t be able to stop the reaction, won’t be able to hold the Hulk back, and it’s just Tony and Clint and Steve in the bar, no Thor who can almost counter him.

He’s going to wreck Hell’s Kitchen. He’s going to get people killed.

Again. It’s going to happen again.

“I don’t,” Bruce says, closing his eyes, feeling green spreading in his blood, vining up from his throat, where that man’s hand is crushing in. “I don’t have--”

There’s a sudden shift of movement, a yelp, and then a shout that’s cut off sharp with a heavy, meaty twack. When Bruce blinks his eyes open, the mugger is on the ground, stunned, blood already streaming from a badly broken nose, and Clint Barton is standing over him, looking baffled and incredulous.

“Are you kidding?” Clint asks the unconscious man lying sprawled on the pavement. “We’re trying to have a nice Thursday night, and you gotta be an asshole? It’s not even a weekend. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Bruce clears his throat and then takes a few quick steps away, dragging some deep breaths into his lungs. The Hulk fades, a once-clear signal dimming toward static, and Bruce rubs at his face, closes his eyes.

“Thanks,” he says. “Sorry.”

“What’re you sorry for?” Clint asks. He draws up beside Bruce and sends him a curious sideways look. He has the mugger’s gun in his hands, and he’s taking it apart. Releasing the magazine, pulling back the slide to check the chamber.

Bruce thinks it’s incredibly obnoxious that all of his gun vocabulary is returning now that he no longer needs it.

“I don’t know,” he says, with a shrug. “I’m an Avenger. I almost got mugged behind a dive bar in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s embarrassing.”

Clint grins at him. His smile is wide and friendly, and he’s looking at Bruce like he’s endearing instead of pathetic. “I got mugged in Bed-Stuy once,” he confides. “No shit. Two blocks from home.”

Bruce stares at him. “I don’t--- I don’t actually believe you.”

But Clint just grins wider. “I did,” he says. “Kid with a letter opener. She looked pretty hungry, you know? And, anyway, you gotta file a report if you get into a fight with civilians. So I gave her my wallet.”

Bruce tries to decide if he even wants to get into the difference between I chose to let a teenager with a letter opener have my money and I couldn��t stop a drunk from nearly setting off the Hulk and breaking Hell’s Kitchen. He’s still working through that particular dilemma when Clint sighs, almost wistful, and tucks the disarmed gun into the small of his back, flashing the lower half of a set of unnecessarily distracting abs as he does so.

“I had a loyalty card in that wallet,” he says. “I was halfway to a free pizza.”

Bruce blinks at him. “I’ll buy you a pizza,” he says.

Clint’s eyebrows pull together. The wattage of the smile that follows could light Manhattan for months. “Yeah?”

“I mean,” Bruce says, gesturing back toward the still-unconscious mugger lying on the ground. “I feel like I owe you one.”

“Oh,” Clint says. The smile dims. “I thought you meant— well.”

Bruce raises his eyebrows. “Meant what?”

Clint clears his throat. There is, Bruce is startled to find, an actual, honest-to-God blush settling over the arch of his cheekbones. “Nothing,” he says, fast. And then, just as fast, like he has to rush to beat the end of his courage. “I thought you meant a date. With me. A pizza date.”

Bruce’s mouth falls open.

Farther up the alley, the mugger groans and then rolls over. A second late, he vomits blood all over the pavement.

“Oh, come on,” Clint says, turning to face him. “You’re the absolute worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m trying—we’re trying – to have a romantic moment, and you gotta do that? I mean, first you try to mug the Hulk, and then you literally puke blood when I finally--”

“Yes,” Bruce says, possibly at a bit of an ill-timed moment. “I mean,” he amends, when Clint swivels his way, “yes to everything you’re saying. I agree on every point. And, also, yes to the date. The one with pizza. The—yes. What you mentioned. Yes.”

That blinding sunshiney grin makes a sudden re-appearance. Clint beams at him. “Really?” he asks, like he doesn’t know he’s the Amazing Hawkeye. Like he doesn’t know he’s funny and kind and always the first one to notice whenever any of them is in any kind of trouble. Like he has never once had an opportunity to look in a single reflective surface.

“Yes,” Bruce says. The mugger makes an awful retching sound, and Bruce grimaces. “In fact, maybe we should go right now.”

#whumptober2019 #no. 5 #writing #fic

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