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the-purity-pen · 4 years ago

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Exception to the Rules

[ all images/gifs in banner not my own. editing done by me. ]

Pairing: Bishop Losa x Sex Worker!Fem!Reader x OFC

Valeria Santos (Tessa Thompson FaceClaim) - Lawyer

Rating: PG Warnings: one use of “girl” in the story, mentions of blood/injuries, FEELINGS GALORE (rip my bisexual heart), sex work implied (WE RESPECT SEX WORKERS IN THIS HOUSE) Word Count: 1.6K A/N: okay. so i definitely set out to make this smutty. and it just didn’t happen. but this is a follow up to BREAK ALL THE RULES where we meet Valeria briefly. (i’m calling this the rules!verse) This dynamic has been really comforting to write as I figure out myself in the process. I’m hoping to get more smutty action with these three soon but first, THE FEELINGS. please enjoy!

Admitting you loved Bishop, out loud, to Bishop himself scared the crap out of you. The way he stayed silent after you had said it made you immediately regret bringing it up in the first place. You ended your time with him with an uncomfortable silence filling the room. He had gotten dressed, and although the two of you shared small awkward smiles, the silence still stung.

Bishop hadn’t come to see you in two weeks. At first, you were sad and missed him but recognized that you might have scared him. But as the days wore on and you saw every client except him, you started to feel anger. Anger at him for not even bothering to call. Anger with yourself for putting your heart on the line… again.

But the person you didn’t expect to lean on so much? Valeria.

The day after, when you saw her after what happened with Bishop, she knew something was up. She took the time to sit with you and let you talk. She listened intently as her fingers ran soft patterns over your skin, making goosebumps appear in their wake. She didn’t rush you into anything sexual, even though that’s what she was paying you to be there for.

She’d made appointments for three days straight rather than her usual once a week. When you asked her why she gave a slight shrug and said she wanted to make sure you were being taken care of. You realized then that maybe Bishop wasn’t the only one that you were in love with.

Was that possible? To be so in love with two people? Two people were supposed to be clients but realistically, were so much more? You lay with Valeria on the bed. Your legs were intertwined as her hand ran gently along your cheek, down your neck, to your shoulder, and down your arm before venturing back up the same way again. Again and again, she comforted you with her words and actions.

There was a comfortable silence before you lifted your gaze to look at her. Your hand came to the side of her face. Feeling the way she leaned into it made your heart nearly melt on the spot. You leaned in and captured her lips ever so gently against your own. You pressed your lips to hers in one, two, three more soft kisses before pulling back. Your eyes searched hers as her hand came to your face in an echoed movement. The two of you shared a quite moment of just soaking each other in..

Then the loud knock caused you both to jump. You bonked your heads and both groaned in pain. “Who the fuck is that?” Val grumbled, her hand leaving your face to rub at the sore spot on her head. You gave her a half frown before kissing the top of her head and sliding out from the bed.

“I don’t know,” you told her as you grabbed your black silk robe and wrapped it around yourself. You were adjusting the tie of it just as you reached the door and pulled it open. You lifted your head and froze, seeing Bishop standing just on the other side, the side of his face bloodied and bruised. “Jesus fucking Christ Bishop,” you gasped.

You pulled him in and closed the door behind you. Val made to cover herself up but noticed the injured man and jumped up, grabbing her shirt to slip on quickly. “Who’s this?” she asked as she hurried to his other side to help him sit on the large bench that sat at the end of the bed.

“Bishop, Valeria. Valeria, Bishop,” you said quickly as Bishop grunted when his ass hit the seat. There was more than just the facial injuries and you were suddenly very irritated that he had the audacity to show up hurt like this. To show up and make you feel sorry for him, care for him. After avoiding you for weeks. You turned and ran to the bathroom to grab some washcloths to wet them with warm water.

Val talked with Bishop to ask if he was okay that she helped. Bishop nodded and felt like his head was going to explode. You hurried back and handed one washcloth to Val and set to work on the other side of his face. You gently rubbed at the blood, cleaning up what you could so you could see where the injuries actually were.

When his face was cleared, you could see the gashes and marks that were the cause of the bleeding. You hovered closer to inspect and Bishop looked at you the best he could with one working eye while the other was swollen shut. You caught his gaze and sighed heavily.

“Who did you piss off?” you asked before turning to return to the attached bathroom to rinse the washcloths again and to grab some ointments. Val couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped her at your straightforward question. It was clear you and Bishop had some history.

Bishop scoffed but winced when Valeria’s towel covered hand came to a particular mark on his cheek just under his eye. “It was just a usual Thursday run but some fucker had to go and-” Bishop caught himself before he talked too much in front of Valeria.

You came to sit beside him again with the ointment in hand. Your put some on your finger before dabbing it onto his cheek. He hissed but you just sighed. “Stay still,” you told him and looked to Valeria. “Bishop’s … well, job… isn’t so glamorous,” you explained to her and Bishop let out a small huff.

You scoffed at him. “I’m not wrong,” you told him and Valeria nodded in understanding. She turned to Bishop with some of the ointment to get that big mark under his eye. He was a hissing, groaning mess as the two of you worked on his face.

A few hours later and the swelling in his face had gone down with help from the ice that you had gone to gather from the staff room down the hall. Val and Bishop got to talking in your absence and when you came back, you actually saw them laughing and smiling with each other.

“Well aren’t you two chummy now?” you jokingly asked as you joined them on the bed after using the restroom. Bishop was sat with his back against the headboard and legs straight out in front of him. Valeria was sat next to him, sat the same way. The two of them looked to you as you sat on the opposite side of Bishop.

You couldn’t help but lean into him as you adjusted yourself so Bishop took the opportunity to wrap his arm around you and hold you to him. You laughed and tried to push him but he hissed and you quickly apologized, realizing you must have hit another injury. “Sorry old man,” you laughed as you leaned into him more comfortably since he likely wasn’t letting you go again anyways.

“I’ve missed you querida,” he said as he leaned over and kissed the top of your head. Val watched the interaction between you two and smiled warmly.

“So this is the guy, huh?” Val asked and both you and Bishop looked at her at the same time. “The guy who you told you loved him and then avoided you for two weeks?” she continued and Bishop felt his chest deflate. His arm’s grip on you loosened and he pulled from you slightly.

You looked from Val to Bishop and back to Val with a soft sigh as you sat up. “Yes,” you said and Bishop felt his heart break. He didn’t mean to avoid you. His “work” just got super busy and he had to put out a few fires. Some of them literal. He hated that you thought he didn’t want to see you, that he was avoiding you just because you had told him you were in love with him.

“Lo siento mi dulzura,” he muttered as his head dropped. He chewed his lower hip before looking at you. “I hope you can forgive me?” he asked and you looked to him with sorrowful eyes. You nodded slowly.

“Of course I do Bish,” you told him, your hand coming to his jaw. “I love you,” you said and felt your heart do a half flip. “But-” you looked over to Valeria and took her hand with your free hand. “I love you too,” you told her. Valeria stared at you for a moment in disbelief before a warm smile spread across her lips.

Your name fell from her lips in a happy sigh as she lifted your joined hands to her mouth and kissed over the back of your knuckles. Bishop watched the way Valeria’s face changed and looked back to you as well. He’d never been in this kind of situation before. He didn’t even know what to call it. All he knew was that he loved you and you loved him and that was enough for him. He couldn’t blame you or be angry if your heart had room for more love.

While Valeria kissed your hand over and over and up your arm a bit, you giggled softly. Bishop turned and kissed you softly, his beard tickling your chin which made you smile against his lips. Val leaned forward, closer to Bishop to kiss his ear gently. “If you love this girl, then we’re in it together,” Val spoke softly into his ear as he continued to kiss you, feeling more love between you and Val than he had ever felt before.

perm tags: @bendro-pascarnes @mitchi-c @nebulastarr @artsymaddie @darklingveracruz @phoenixhalliwell @sleep-tight1 @guiidiiosa @miraclemoreno @rae-gar-targaryen @autumnleaves1991-blog @niki-xie @princess76179 @amneris21 @marvelprincess1994 @littlestarfighter03 @kaqua @just1bri @teapartydreams

mayans tags: @thesandbeneathmytoes @rose-bliss @beeroses

please let me know if you want to be moved/removed from any lists so i can tag accordingly! thanks!

#bishop losa #bishop losa x reader #mayans mc #michael irby #bishop losa x fem!reader #fem!reader #bishop losa x ofc #bishop losa x female reader #bishop losa fic #bishop losa story #mayans mc fic #mayans mc fanfic #bishop losa fanfic #fic: exception to the rules

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artemisegeria · 6 years ago

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Love by Design (Chapter 7/?)

Title: Love by Design (Chapter 7/?)

Rating: T

Word count: 4356

Warnings: None for this chapter.

Summary: Vision makes elaborate foam art as a barista at the coffee shop that his brother owns. One day a new customer comes in, and he completely loses his cool. As she keeps coming back, they grow closer. A casual acquaintance becomes something much more.

Chapter Summary: Vision and Wanda spend a gratuitous amount of time smiling at each other and struggling with their feelings before they finally get their act together.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16272371

A/N: Excerpted lyrics from “I Want to Know What Love Is,” written by Mick Jones, appear in italicized print.

I struggled a bit with this chapter and rewrote the last couple of sections several times, but hopefully it worked out. It also kept growing and is the longest chapter so far. I hope you enjoy!

Vision dropped his bag in his bedroom, taking a moment to collapse on his bed after a long day of traveling home from his university. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked at his text messages to find one from Wanda. How was your trip? Did you make it back ok?

Yes, thank you. It’s good to be home.

Are you too tired to come out with us tonight?

He didn’t waste a second before replying. His exhaustion was rapidly falling away. No, I’ll be there. She gave him the location and told him they’d all be there at ten. Fortunately, Ultron was not in, so Vision did not have to come up with an excuse for where he was going.

Vision immediately saw the group. He ducked under the rope to join them. Wanda smiled at him, and the others greeted him jovially. He couldn’t help but notice that Wanda’s dress covered substantially less skin than what she usually wore. It was a deep red color with a deep vee. It was covered in delicate sequins that seemed to glow under the lights outside the club. Her soft curves were aesthetically appealing, but he worked to keep his focus on her face as she asked about his trip.

Inside the club, the lights were low and strobe lights were making a mesmerizing pattern on the bodies dancing close together. It was not an environment that Vision typically felt comfortable in, but Wanda standing close to him and the familiar jokes of the others kept him grounded. It allowed him to enjoy the beat of the music. They managed to find a corner booth that fit all of them. Wanda and Vision ended up in the center where the two sides of bench joined. Sam and Natasha immediately sped off to the bar to get drinks for the table.

When they returned with several pitchers of beer for the table, Vision accepted a cup. Now that Vision was sitting down again, his tiredness started to creep back up on him. The chatter around him turned into meaningless droning. He felt as if he just blinked once, but suddenly he and Wanda were the only ones in the booth. She smiled up at his confusion. “Hey there. I thought someone who was awake should stay to guard the stuff.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He could feel the flush of embarrassment and slight intoxication burning through him. “If you want to go dance, I’m awake now.”

She shook her head, a faint blush that was barely visible in the low light touching her cheeks as well. “No, I’m fine, but if you’re tired, I can call you a car.”

“No, no.” The sensible part of him urged him to follow her suggestion, so that he could function tomorrow, but he couldn’t resist the opportunity to meet her smile and let the atmosphere of the club create a bubble around them.

Until he felt a tug on his arm, drawing him away from Wanda’s gaze. He looked up to see Natasha grinning at him while Clint pulled on Wanda’s arm. Natasha said, “Clint and I have to have a little chat. We’ll stay with the stuff. You two go have fun.” Wanda and Vision glanced at each other, but there was no arguing with Natasha.

They joined the rest of the group on the dancefloor. Wanda seemed to glow even more brightly under the strobe lights. His eyes were continually drawn to her, even as their positions within the group changed. Not only her body, but also her completely carefree air as she swayed to the music. They all bounced along to the upbeat music that was currently playing, and oddly enough Vision had rarely felt so at peace himself, despite the noise and the crowds. It was one in the morning before they all piled into a few cars and made their way to their homes.

But Vision did not catch a wink of sleep, pondering the new intensity of his feelings.

***

Wanda entered the shop a little later than usual. Now that school was out, there wasn’t quite as much pressure to wake up on time. The space behind the counter was empty, but Wanda noticed a large bound manuscript was sitting in front of her seat. She smiled as she flipped through a few pages.

A few minutes later, Vision emerged from the back room. His beaming smile encouraged one to form on her own face. She had never seen him so happy. “You finished it?”

“Yes, I did.” He came around the counter and ran his fingers lovingly over the cover page.

“Congratulations!” She wrapped her arms around him, and he returned her embrace much less hesitantly than the last time she had hugged him. Since she wasn’t falling apart this time, she able to focus much better on the way his arms felt around her. It was lovely, though she still wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

He pulled back slightly, but he kept his hands on her back. “I still have to go through a final round of edits with my advisor and complete my dissertation defense, but the worst is done.”

“Vizh! That’s so great. I’m really happy for you.” After a few more moments, they realized they were still holding onto each other, backing away simultaneously. He returned behind the counter.

“What would you like this morning?”

“Since we’re celebrating, I’ll have a scone with my iced coffee.” Vision made her order and leaned on the counter across from her. Wanda smiled at him. He seemed more relaxed than she had ever seen him, with the weight of his dissertation no longer so heavily hanging over his head. “So, will I have to start calling you ‘Doctor’ now?”

“Certainly not. Well, not yet at any rate. Maybe in a few months.” His boyish smile infused her with the powerful desire to close the distance between them and kiss him. She’d not felt such a strong wish in years, but she held herself back. This was not the time or place. Vision was her best friend; taking that step was not a choice that should be made lightly.

***

The lights went down as the emcee went up on the stage. “Our first group tonight is Tony, Thor, and Steve.”

Tony and Thor bounded onto the stage, with Steve following more calmly after them. The rest of the group, which had monopolized several small tables, watched them, with some whooping and others heckling. Wanda merely shook her head, but Vision could see the slight upward curve of her lips. They were sharing a table with Natasha, Mantis, and Mantis’s girlfriend Nebula. Bucky, who was smiling softly at Steve on stage, was sitting at a neighboring table with Sam and Clint.

The music started, the opening notes encouraging much bouncing of feet and bobbing of heads. The instantly recognizable opening notes of “Stayin’ Alive” filled the room. Tony stood in the middle of the group, hamming it up for the crowd and making the most exaggerated disco dancing motions, stretching his arm high into the air. Thor and Steve flanked him, gradually leaning into the movements as the song progressed.

As the night wore on, the others’ singing grew louder and sloppier. Natasha, Thor’s friend Val, and Jane’s friend Darcy sang “It’s Raining Men.” Sam and Clint belted out “You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings,” exaggeratedly waving their arms and staring into each other’s eyes. Scott and Hope performed a sincere rendition of “I Will Always Love You.”

Vision and Wanda both rebuffed repeated attempts to get them to sign up. People from other tables took the next few spots. Out of the corner of his eye, Vision saw Tony, Natasha, and Mantis whispering. When Tony and Natasha walked over to the sign-up sheet a few minutes later, Vision thought nothing of it. Until the emcee announced, “Next up is Wanda and Vision.” Wanda immediately glared at Tony, but he only started a chant encouraging them to go on stage.

They took a second to look at each other and then at their friends, who were still egging them on, but finally complied.

The emcee queued up their music, noting it was “I Want to Know What Love Is.” Vision was grateful that he was at least somewhat familiar with the song. As the opening lyrics scrolled across the screen, he tried not to think too hard about their meaning.

I gotta take a little time, a little time to think things over I better read between the lines, in case I need it when I'm older

Their voices were not too steady, and the crowd urged them to sing louder. Vision had a sinking feeling that this would only be the first of many heavy-handed attempts to manipulate his friendship with Wanda. But, despite their discomfort, they began to warm up to the singing. They focused on each other more than the crowd. It was not as terrifying as he might have thought, given the subject of the song.

In my life there's been heartache and pain I don't know if I can face it again Can't stop now, I've traveled so far, to change this lonely life

They had certainly both experienced heartache and pain. Vision was struck again by how much meeting her had brightened his life. Meeting her had opened a whole new horizon for him.

I want to know what love is, I want you to show me I want to feel what love is, I know you can show me

By the time they reached the first chorus, Vision let himself melt into the song. He smiled at Wanda, encouraged when she smiled back.

I want to feel it too, and I know and I know, I know you can show me Show me love is real, yeah, I want to know what love is

When they reached the end of the song, Vision and Wanda just looked at each other briefly before their friends started screaming and applauding wildly.

As they gratefully left the stage, Wanda spoke lowly to Tony, “I hope that was fun for you because I will get you for it. I haven’t decided how yet, but you don’t know either. I promise you that you won’t see it coming.” Vision didn’t think Tony’s look of trepidation was at all feigned, and Wanda grinned savagely as she walked away. Mantis, Nebula, and Natasha were not at their table when they sat down. Wanda’s manner immediately turned softer and more apologetic. “Sorry about my friends.” She paused and glanced up at him. “Well, they’re your friends now too. Anyway, you know they can be idiots.”

“Oh, a little teasing among friends never hurt anyone.” He attempted an easy smile back at her. “I hope the song didn’t make you too uncomfortable.” Vision could dream that she had a rather more positive opinion of their falling in love.

“Uh, it’s fine.” Wanda flushed more deeply, but Vision tried not to take it too much to heart. It was embarrassing to be called on stage with no warning, and they had never discussed shifting from a platonic to a romantic relationship. After a moment, she smiled more fully at him before turning to scowl at the back of Tony’s head. “I just need to plot some good revenge for Tony, and Natasha, too, for putting us in that situation. Death is far too kind for them.”

“Might I suggest putting them in a room of angry parents and locking the door behind them.”

Wanda chuckled. “I like the way you think.”

***

Wanda smoothed her skirt when she heard Vision’s knock on her front door. It was her turn to host everybody for game night, but she had invited him over early. Suddenly feeling a bit nervous, she let him in. He had never come to her home before. “Would you like something to eat, Vizh?”

“Yes, that would be nice. And highly advisable if Natasha is mixing the drinks tonight.”

“Sorry everything’s a bit of a mess.” She looked around at the knickknacks that cluttered her walls and coffee table. “And I don’t have much in the kitchen right now.”

“Not at all. I enjoy seeing the pieces of your life.”

She cringed as she opened her refrigerator to show him what was available. There were a few eggs, some cheese, a little bit of wilted spinach, condiments, and not much else. “I could make omelets if you like.”

“Sounds great.” She showed him where her pans, utensils, and oil were kept. When he had all the ingredients in place, Wanda watched Vision cooking unabashedly. She took advantage of all his focus being exerted on the pan in front of him. He flipped the omelet perfectly and handed her a plate when it was done.

“Feel free to eat while it’s hot. Mine will be done momentarily.” He was true to his word, and they both finished their meals and cleaned up quickly. When they were done, Wanda gestured to her couch, and they sat side by side.

“Did you hear that Clint’s wife is pregnant with their first child?” Wanda asked.

“No, but that’s wonderful news.”

“I know. Nat’s so excited to be an aunt, and Clint doesn’t show it as much, but he seems thrilled.” She had nearly cried when Clint had pulled her aside to tell her, love and excitement practically shining out of him. Wanda was happy for them, but she did feel a pang of jealousy go through her every time the subject came up. She wanted to be a mother someday, but she didn’t know how she would achieve it. She supposed there was always in vitro fertilization or adoption, but there were severe hurdles to get over both of those. And she didn’t relish the idea of being a single mother. She wanted a stable partnership to support her child or children, but she would have to meet a suitable partner first.

Vision’s thoughts had apparently wandered down similar paths. “I have always wanted to be a father.” His eyes were wistful and far away. She shouldn’t have been surprised, given what she already knew about Vision, but Wanda was still a little taken aback at such a decisive statement about having kids. It was rare in her experience to see a man think that way.

“I’ve always wanted to be a mother, too.” Wanda’s heart jumped a bit at her admission. They were getting deeper into the only subject they never really discussed, even after they learned more about each other’s histories.

“I am only afraid that I will wait too long to find someone to start a family with.” She ached for the sadness in his voice. A perfect image of Vision gazing adoringly at a tightly wrapped newborn resting in his arms filled Wanda’s mind.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m in the same boat.”

Vision looked at her sadly, eyes never wavering. “No, Wanda, it doesn’t. You deserve to have everything you want.”

“So do you,” she breathed. Her heartrate sped up as a result of the tender look in his eyes. Neither of them spoke, both unwilling to break the moment. But something in Wanda forced her to make one last attempt to cover everything she was feeling with a flippant comment. “But it’s hard to imagine creating a family with someone when I haven’t made it past a second date in years.”

She was beginning to imagine it now though. The image she had formed earlier was supplemented by a picture of herself coming up to Vision’s side and gazing with equal awe at the bundle in his arms. She shook her head to clear it of the extremely premature image.

“Yes, I have only ever met one person with whom I could imagine starting a family.” There was no mistaking how the smile in his eyes was all for her. Wanda just hoped that she was not letting wishful thinking deceive her. “It does make it all the more special when you find a person like that.”

Silence reigned again, but it was charged with expectation. There was suddenly poorly concealed terror in Vision’s eyes. She was about to ask what was wrong when he rushed forward. “Wanda, may I kiss you?”

She nodded, and he brought his hands to cup her face, staring into her eyes briefly before pressing his lips to hers. Warmth spread through her from the place where their lips met. She rested her hands on his shoulders. When they finally separated, Wanda noted that Vision was blushing. “I hope that was satisfactory. It has been a very long time.”

She nodded, just a bit dazed. “For me too,” she whispered. Wanda regained control of her words as she calmed down from the surprise of her best friend kissing her. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while. Um, thanks for beating me to it.”

“You have?” Wanda smiled at his starry-eyed expression and nodded in confirmation. “I have as well.”

However, reality was setting in. The others would arrive in about fifteen minutes. “If we want to keep doing this, it will be an adjustment though.”

Vision nodded seriously. “Yes, I would never want to jeopardize our friendship.”

“Me, neither.” Except for Pietro, Vision was the most important person in the world to her. Wonderful as this feeling was, she couldn’t mess that up out of carelessness. “So, we, uh, should probably keep this to ourselves until we can talk through some things.”

“Agreed. Are you free tomorrow night?”

“For you, absolutely.” She grinned at the deepening blush that spread across his cheeks. She was very tempted to kiss him again. But she didn’t want to get too carried away before their friends arrived. A few minutes later another knock sounded at her door, drawing them out of their own new private world.

***

Vision’s feelings had not changed overnight, and he had not expected them to. But there was the matter of disclosing his sexuality. Kissing Wanda had been wonderful, but it did not change his fundamental feelings about sex. It had been so long since he had kissed someone that he sometimes thought his feelings would change if he met the right person. But that was clearly not the case because he had never met anyone he cared as deeply about as he did Wanda.

His stomach tied itself in knots as he considered the best way to word his speech. He had never gotten to the point of revealing it to another person, but he wanted to be completely honest with Wanda from the beginning.

His anxiety was amplified by the fact that he had forgotten to ask Wanda if she was coming by this morning. He had been so distracted by the dramatic shift in their relationship and trying not to act too oddly in front of their friends. His question was answered when the bell at the front door rang at the usual time. “Hey, Vizh,” she said more softly than was her wont.

“Good morning, Wanda. How was the rest of your night?”

“Good. Yours?”

“Very good.” He smiled at her tentatively. “What will you have?”

“Hot chocolate today, please.” He made her drink and handed her the can of whipped cream, shaking his head fondly at the excessive amount she added to her mug.

“We should buy bigger mugs just so you have more room for your whipped cream.” She stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled, relieved that they could maintain the same rapport that they always had.

“That sounds like a great idea.” She took a large sip, and Vision found himself mesmerized by the bit of whipped cream that stuck on her upper lip.

He leaned forward unconsciously, reaching out with his thumb. “Wanda, you have a bit, uh…May I?”

“Oh.” She was blushing furiously now. “Sure.” Vision gently wiped his thumb over her lip. They remained still, both breathing faster than usual, until Wanda closed the distance between them. The kiss was short and sweet, but Vision felt the weight of all their feelings behind it. “So, I, um, have to go practice my cello now before our group practice later. I’m still not up to the level I used to play at. But you’re still coming over to mine tonight, right?”

He smiled at her. “Yes, I look forward to it.” She smiled back and rushed out, throwing one last wave over her shoulder. It took some hours for Vision’s anxiety to overpower the bright glow of contentment that she left him with. He comforted himself with the thought that whatever her reaction she would be kind about it, but the afternoon hours still seemed to ooze by like thick molasses.

Wanda welcomed him warmly into her apartment at the appointed time. After a few pleasantries, she offered to make tea, and he accepted, eager to have a few more moments to center himself. While he waited, Vision drifted over to examine her pictures more closely. There were several of a man, a woman, and two children. Then, a number of just her and Pietro. One in particular caught his eye; Vision didn’t think he had seen it the day before. It showed the two siblings outside on a sunny day, surrounded by other people sporting all colors of the rainbow, with Wanda in a shirt with purple, white, gray, and black stripes. He was still considering how to ask her about the picture when a quiet “Tea’s ready” came from behind him. Vision turned to her and walked back toward the couch. Wanda played with her rings when she saw what he had been looking at, and they prepared their tea in silence.

Her fingers tapped loudly against the cup as they sipped. Her eyes drifted back and forth between Vision and the picture. There was no denying the nervousness in her expression. Vision took a breath and steeled himself to say what he needed to. “After last night, there is something that I wish to tell you, but may I ask you about the picture first?”

“Okay.” Wanda set her cup down and drew her limbs into herself, watching him warily. With the way she tensed up, Vision felt he may have begun the wrong way.

“Is that you and Pietro at Pride?”

“Yeah, he convinced me to go when I visited him last year.”

“And you’re wearing the asexual pride flag?”

“Mm-hmm.” Her defensive posture did not shift, but her expression grew more open. “You’re familiar with it?”

“Yes.” He strove to speak with all the authority and matter-of-factness with which he would deliver an academic conclusion that he had reached after much study and thought. “I am intimately familiar with it, actually. I am asexual.”

Wanda just blinked at him for a minute, and Vision’s heart plummeted. He tried to think of how he could explain himself differently if the shirt was just a coincidence and she had no idea what he was talking about when she whispered, “You’re ace?” To hear her use the familiar slang term at least assured him that she did at least know the term.

“Yes.”

She looked at him as if she had never seen him before, a wide smile slowly breaking across her face. “When you said you didn’t usually date, I never would have imagined that was the reason.” Her body relaxed somewhat. “I am, too, like the shirt indicates. I’ve never met anyone who identifies as asexual in person before.”

“Neither have I. I did not want to presume; I thought perhaps you were wearing the shirt in support of someone else.” Wanda shook her head, still smiling softly at him. “I have rehearsed this for years, but I’d begun to imagine that I would never have the opportunity to say it out loud.”

“I only ever told Pietro.” Her excited tone faded at the end of the sentence, and her face set into a scowl. “And one boyfriend in college who promptly offered to ‘fix’ me. He was the last semi-serious boyfriend I had.”

Vision tentatively reached for her hand. “I’m sorry.” He had heard many similar stories and it broke his heart every time.

Wanda only shrugged. “It was a long time ago. Besides I should consider myself lucky. My friends kept telling me that he was a jerk, but I couldn’t see it until he said that.” But she turned her eyes up at him hopefully. “So, I guess you wouldn’t be bothered by the fact that I’ve never had sex?”

“Not at all. I have not either.” Vision had never thought that his inexperience was a cause for shame, but it was still a rarity at his age. It was a relief to admit that to someone who felt the same way. “Part of me did not even believe it was something real people did outside of fiction for a long time. I knew it intellectually, but I could not quite wrap my head around it.”

Wanda laughed with absolute delight and leaned toward him, listening eagerly. “Me neither. I was so confused when Pietro started dating.”

They began to interrogate each other, finally having the opportunity to discuss a number of subjects with someone who understood. When their initial stream of excited questions cooled, they rested back against the couch cushions and absorbed this new information. Vision smiled at her, overcome with relief at how she received what he had never dared tell another person before. “So,” Wanda teased, gracing him with a small, intimate smile, “any other deep, dark secrets you have to reveal before we start a new relationship?”

“No, that was all. You?”

“Nope.” She raised their joined hands to his cheek and pressed forward slightly.

Vision caught her open, inviting gaze and tilted his head closer to hers. There was only one item remaining on his agenda. “And would you like to proceed?”

“Yes.” Wanda sealed the answer by pulling him in for another kiss.

#alternateuniversescarletvision #fanfiction #au #wanda x vision #scarlet vision

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lcgacyofages-a · 7 years ago

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Drabble: Random Scene set during Asunder featuring Aurora Amell and Etienne de Rousseau. It’s a bit rough, I just wrote it today and have not edited it to be a bit more fitting for the setting.

Lord Seeker Lambert had held a chokehold on the White Spire and made sure to be aware of what every single mage was doing. It gave little chance for Aurora to observe Val Royeaux, as Wynne had instructed her to do. She was to keep her eyes and ears open for any peculiarities which may arise and inform her when she returned. Luckily, Aurora had managed to befriend one of the senior enchanters of the White Spire.

Etienne was the son of a well respected marquis and had more freedoms than many of the other mages Aurora had seen in the Circles. Despite Lambert’s attempts to regulate traffic, he had no option on the matter of Etienne. The man had been away from the Circle when the crimes had occurred, at his family’s estate at his father’s behest. It was a birthday matter or some reason, Aurora wasn’t sure. But due to this connection, Aurora found herself strolling along the streets of Val Royaux with him and two templar escorts, of course. Two Etienne requested and Lambert had to clench his jaw about and accept for the time.

He was a handsome man and Aurora did consider it a shame he wore a mask about outside of the Circle. It had been a habit, he explained, after being raised in his father’s household until his magic appeared. It was a simple version of the family mask, an ivory color with the family’s emblem etched into it with gold paint. The sunburst blossom, as it was called, glimmered on the forehead of the mask, a complimenting contrast to the ivory hue on the mask. Some simple yellow sapphires lined the underside of the of his eyes, following a gold etched line. His attire was a rich blue robe, detailed fashionable with gold and ivory, matching the mask he bore perfectly.

To say Aurora felt rather simple in her light blue circle robe was an understatement. Perhaps it was finer than some, with a white fennec fur trim, but the style was distinctly Fereldan. And the simple details on her attire paled in comparison to the complex gold and ivory trimmed patterns on his. It was, to say, an odd pair which caught the eye of quite a few people in the marketplace. Perhaps it was also the fact they were mages with a templar escort following a bit behind them, but also terribly mismatched.

“Thank you, again, for allowing me to accompany you, Ser Etienne,” Aurora began, unsure of a proper title for him. He waved it off, a charming smile visible beneath the half mask.

“I could not let you be in Val Royeaux without actually experiencing the fine culture,” he told her. “It really does pale in comparison to others.”

Aurora kept her features even, considering the implication. She paused to look at a stand in the marketplace. A merchant who sold ‘exotic’ goods, but Aurora could note a few of them were of questionable shape. She’d spent so much time buried in whatever book she could get her hand on, she could see the lackluster of some of the false Antivan jewelry and the poorly done Fereldan embroidery. She continued walking along beside Etienne, giving a thoughtful hum.

“So much so merchants sell poor copies of other cultures?” She inquired lightly. “Or perhaps they believe them to be better?”

Etienne was not insulted in the slightest; in fact, he seemed amused by her astute observation.

“Orlais does tend to think itself capable of doing better than others, but we have the history to back that.”

“Have you ever woven a basket, Ser Etienne?”

“No, I have not.”

“Pity, it’s a relaxing hobby, and one which takes years to master to the finest,” Aurora began. “And then those skills are passed on to the next generation and the baskets get stronger and prettier. This continues until the basket of the region is one of the strongest and finest...Now imagine someone coming and seeing it, and considering ‘I can surely make that!’ And does so, but it is a poor copy and you buy it, thinking it is a better version than what is made elsewhere. But after time, you see the flaws and how it doesn’t hold what it needs to properly.”

Etienne waved his hand, giving a warm laugh.

“I see your point, Lady Aurora. You can desist in outwitting me with your clever tongue. Perhaps there is room for Orlais to learn and not be as prideful. Is that what you’d like to hear, then?”

“Perhaps.” Her tone was nonchalant as she walked a bit ahead of him. She paused as they walked by a sidestreet. She assumed it lead to the alienage from the looks of it because further down the way it was far less appealing than the street they were on. Aurora knew of the dangers but she could see a few shops down the way. She glanced back at their escort and then back to Etienne.

“What shops are down that way?”

“Some lower ranked merchants who can’t afford this area and some better off elven ones who can manage to rent a shop outside of the alienage, if only for a short time,” Etienne explained. “While it can be questionable in the evenings, it should be fine during the day if you are curious to look.”

“I am,” Aurora began, headed down the road. She turned to look at him, a brow raised. “I was raised in Ferelden so I have simpler cultural taste, after all.”

“Ah, there it is,” Etienne remarked cheekily, following after her. The two templars followed them at an easy pace, clearly not as concerned about Etienne as they would be with any other mage.

“There what is?”

“The sweetly biting remark I was expecting, of course,” he responded, gray eyes glimmering with mirth. “I imagine you could kill a man with a smile and politely worded insult. It is very Orlesian.”

“Hardly,” Aurora shot back, false disdain in her tone. “I don’t have a knife up my sleeve when doing so.”

“And there it is again.”

The pair fell into a comfortable silence as they strolled along the street, merely window shopping at this point. They would point out different wares on and off to each other, but felt no need to fill the quietness between them. It was oddly comfortable, Aurora realized, not at all awkward like she was used to feeling. She found it pleasant. She also noticed how people would pay special attention to them due to the mask Etienne wore and she realized precisely why he chose to wear them outside of the Spire.

While the Chantry would expect his family to renounce a bastard mage child, his father had not, and Etienne played it to his advantage. Whether outside of the Circle or inside of it, he made sure he hadn’t as many difficulties of others. For a moment, Aurora wondered if she would have had the same courtesy if her own noble family hadn’t been so utterly disgraced in Kirkwall.

She was jolted from her thoughts at the feeling of someone rushing past her. An elven boy, no older than ten years of age, rushed by her. She could hear shouts from behind them. Etienne put an arm around her shoulder and moved her out of the way as guards from a nobleman chased the boy. It hardly seemed to be fair, two guards after one boy.

As the boy tripped on a loose cobblestone, the guards advanced, one ready to strike the boy with his fist. Aurora moved on instinct, not really hearing Etienne yelling after her. She placed herself between the guard and the boy, taking him in her arms.

“He’s a child!” She scolded the guard, causing him to pause. “What has he done to deserve a strike?” He was shivering and Aurora noted he already had injuries, as it were.

“He dared to insult Baroness Le Monte,” the guard sneered. “The worthless knife-ear mocked her—”

“She didn’t pay all she owed!” The boy piped up, his voice cracking with fear.

“Your rabbit master will accept whatever pay the baroness deems worth his time,” the second snapped, moving to pull him out of Aurora’s grasp. “Now, let him go you insolent dog wench!”

“I must ask you to watch your tongue when speaking to my friend.” There was a cool edge to Etienne’s voice as he cut in, causing the guards to look at him. While his voice had an edge, his face was nothing less than polite and friendly. “Baroness le Monte, you said?” He took a step closer and the guards seemed to realize who he was. He tilted his head a bit, seeming to play confused. “She’s shirking around payments? My, I hope they haven’t fallen on difficult times…”

“No, no they have not, Ser de Rousseau,” the guard said firmly, yet there was a waiver in his voice.

“Ah, because they ought to be able to pay what is owed then, correct? We would not wish the other nobles to think any less of the house le Monte, no? It would be a shame, the baroness throws such lovely parties. If they think…”

“We will see the pay is done,” the first said with a huff, giving them a pouch of what else was owed.

“Good,” Etienne said with a smile. “Give Sophia my regards.” With that, the guards left the two the the boy, the templars watching them skeptically.

Aurora helped the boy to his feet, straightening his jacket a bit and smiling at him. He looked at her in surprise with large green eyes. He tilted his head to the side, a tuft of dark brown hair falling onto his sunkissed forehead.

“Are you well? Not too hurt, are you?” She asked gently. He shook his head, still not sure what to say. She handed him the pouch and then reached into her own purse and pulled out a few small coins she had. “Good. Run back to your master and buy yourself a sweet roll on the way.”

“Th-thank you, ma’am!” The boy said, turning to rush off. Aurora watched him go, a sad look on her features.

“You know, it is not typical for someone to stand up for elves,” Etienne pointed out. “That was the cause of a revolt in Halamshiral, you know. A good elf was apparently killed and the elves revolted because no one stood up for them against one of the lords of the city. The empress purged the alienage.”

“Well, maybe more people ought to stand up for them,” she said, allowing Etienne to help her to her feet. “Perhaps if more people stood up for each other, the world would be better.”

“An astute philosophy, Lady Amell,” Etienne teased her. He glanced back at the templars, realizing they were becoming antsy. “It is about time for us to return, is it not?”

“It is, Enchanter,” one of them replied with an annoyed, gruff voice.

“Then let us not keep Lord Seeker waiting,” Etienne responded. “I am sure he suspects us of great crimes due to this.”

“Watch your tongue, mage,” the second snapped and Etienne merely smiled.

Aurora was sure it was to hide his nerves.

#Character: Aurora Amell #Character: Etienne de Rousseau #Drabbles: Aurora #Drabbles: Etienne

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douchebagbrainwaves · 6 years ago

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HERE'S WHAT I JUST REALIZED ABOUT RETROSPECT

A nerd is someone who isn't socially adept enough. We're up against a hard one here.1 Perhaps the best policy is to make themselves feel better. Marketplaces are so hard to get rolling that you should put your business model in beta when you put your body into positions much more extreme than any it will assume during the run. Maybe that was truer in the past, this rule of thumb works well. Nerds aren't losers. Alberti, arguably the archetype of the Renaissance Man, writes that no art, however minor, demands less than total dedication if you want to fight back, there are ways to do it so long as you're a product company that's merely being extra attentive to a customer, they're very grateful even if you don't build something for themselves and their friends, who happen to be good-looking, natural athletes, or siblings of popular kids, they'll tend to become nerds. In a field like physics, if we disagree with past generations it's because we're right and they're wrong. Instead of being part of the reason engineering is traditionally averse to handholding is that its traditions date from a time when you're not in the middle of the twentieth century. They make the experience of buying stuff so pleasant that shopping becomes a leisure activity. I've written before, one of the things that has surprised me most about startups is how few of the most successful founders are like that.2 Calder's sculptures never get boring.

The patent pledge is not legally binding. And why? Out in the real world. Can, perhaps, but should? I'm not sure which was worse. The press, ever eager to exaggerate small trends, now gives one the impression that Silicon Valley is a ghost town. But, as in more recent times indecent, improper, and unamerican have been. But if you're mostly interested in other questions, being labelled as a yellowist will just be a distraction.

But the percentage is certainly way over 30%. Almost certainly. After Facebook stopped being for Harvard students, it remained for students at specific colleges for quite a while.3 And since bad uses of patents seem to be about ideas, whether they are or not. One is a combination of shyness and laziness. Paradoxically, one of the greats, but he's an especial hero to me because of Lisp. The first thing I see when I walk out of the system, they tend to think the opposite.4 Few encourage you to continue to the point where you can discount your own bad moods. Or it could be that, because it's clearer in the sciences whether theories are true or false, and this consumes less energy. Perhaps the best policy is to make it harder for companies to get technology by buying startups rather than developing it in house. In general, to make great things.

You have to ignore the elephant in front of you, the likelihood they'll succeed, and focus instead on the separate and almost invisibly intangible question of whether they'll succeed really big.5 If it's physiological, it should be universal. But those are the wrong eyes to look through! Remember, it's the nature of fashion to be invisible. At the time I never tried to separate my wants and weigh them against one another. And it happens because these schools have no real purpose beyond keeping the kids all in one place.6 It's like stretching. Why?

Ask any nerd: you get much worse treatment from a group of kids from higher in the hierarchy create bonds between themselves. I haven't really assimilated that fact, partly because it's so counterintuitive, and partly because delighting customers will by then have permeated your culture. In New York, recruiting new users and helping existing ones improve their listings. That 26 year olds who can compete with anyone. In fact these free or nearly free things weren't bargains, because they were worth even less than they cost. Of course, we're not even the center of the solar system.7 As jobs become more specialized, we have to teach startups this?8 There have probably been other people who did this as well as the first. Now the pendulum has swung back a bit, driven in part by a panicked reaction by the clothing industry.9

Most of the persecution comes from kids lower down, the nervous middle classes. But in retrospect it seems obvious they were going away for the weekend. I accumulated it.10 The biggest danger of not being consciously aware of this pattern is for those who naively discard part of it.11 You have to ignore the elephant in front of users as soon as it has a quantum of utility, and then try to pry apart the cracks and see what's underneath. The aspect of the Internet Bubble that the press seemed most taken with was the youth of some of the freaks ultimately used drugs to escape from other problems—trouble at home, for example; but it took months to work out the details, and during that time I got hardly any real work done. I would have laughed at him. There is no external pressure to do this well. It would have taken a deliberate lie to say otherwise.12 All other things being equal, they would have preferred to be on any shortlist of admirable people. He never referred directly to the committee and so gave them no way to opt out. And it can last for months.

They don't actually hate you. Smile at everyone, and don't tell them what you're thinking. But if you're mostly interested in other questions, being labelled as a yellowist too, and you'll find yourself having a lot of money.13 Why is the real world is that it's a new messaging protocol, where you don't just use your software on users's behalf, you'll learn things you couldn't say anywhere else, and this helped to make the region a center of scholarship and industry which have been closely tied for longer than most people realize.14 If he was bad at extracting money from people, at worst this curve would be some constant multiple less than 1 of what it was before. Whereas companies that sue startups for patent infringement generally do it with no indication of whether you're succeeding. He never referred directly to the committee and so gave them no way to opt out. Everyone admires Jane Austen. Startups building things for other startups as well.

And it can last for months.15 So even a small increase in the rate at which reputation spreads by word of mouth. Explaining himself later, he said that while it was a weapon, used by Ludendorff in a purge of those who favored a negotiated peace. But those are also commodities, which can be handed off to some lieutenant. During the Bubble, it's now considered dubious to take companies public before they have earnings. That's what we thought about Airbnb, and if you look for it. There is no external opponent, so the kids become one another's opponents. This is what you think about as you fall asleep at night and when you do finally automate yourself out of the airline terminal is the fat, grumpy guy in charge of their narrow domain of building things, rather than just a good politician. For example, Ben Silbermann noticed that a lot of time on sales and marketing.16

Notes

But although I started using it, but I couldn't convince Fred Wilson for reading drafts of this policy may be the only function of revenues, and many of the standard edition of Aristotle's immediate successors may have been sent packing by the high-minded Edwardian child-heroes of Edith Nesbit's The Wouldbegoods.

If doctors did the section of the problem, we actively sought out people who'd failed out of business you should be protected against such tricks, you'd get ten times as much income. Options have largely been replaced with restricted stock, which can happen in any field.

This is not one of a silver mine. I'm not saying option pools themselves will go on to the other direction.

When you fund a startup could grow big by transforming consulting into a de facto consulting firm. Most of the auction. Lester Thurow, writing and visual design.

This is one you take out order. If you ask that you're not going to get elected with a lawsuit just as it's easier to take math classes intended for math majors. But in a separate box weighing another 4000 pounds. Xxvii.

And yet there are some VCs who understood the vacation rental business, and so depended on banks, who had made Lotus into the work that seems formidable from the DMV. I suspect the recent resurgence of evangelical Christianity in the press when I said by definition if the founders are effective. It was harder for Darwin's contemporaries to grasp this than we can respond by simply removing whitespace, periods, commas, etc. Ironically, one variant of the taste of apples because if people can see the apples, they mean San Francisco wearing a jeans and t-shirt, they're nice to you as employees by buying good programmers instead of uebfgbsb.

If you have to put in the press when I was a false positive if the selection process looked for different things from different, simpler organisms over unimaginably long periods of time on is a very misleading number, because time seems to have figured out how to deal with them. In practice most successful ones tend not to. First Industrial Revolution was one cause of economic inequality.

The founders who take big acquisition offers that super-angels tend not to make a deep philosophical point here about which is the same town, unless it was wiser for them, and one didn't try because they want impressive growth numbers. Whereas the activation energy required. Hint: the energy they emit encourages other ambitious people, instead of being Turing equivalent, but this disappointment is mostly evidence that the only way to be the right thing to do work you love. Not all big hits follow this pattern though.

Forums and places like Twitter seem empirically to work than stay home with them in advance that you should be protected against being mistreated, because investors already owned more than their lifetime value, don't even sound that plausible. We thought software was all that value, don't worry about that. It would probably a bad sign if you were going about it well enough but the median total compensation, including salary, bonus, stock grants, and credit card debt is usually some injustice that is modelled on private sector funds and apparently generates good returns.

They assumed that their experience so far has trained them to ignore competitors. If a man has good corn or wood, or to be promising.

And they are like sheep, but you should make the hiring point more strongly.

The biggest counterexample here is defined from the success of Skype. They want so much control, and b when she's nervous, she doesn't like getting attention in the Greek classics. If Ron Conway had been with their company for more.

Note to nerds: or possibly a winner, they said. Sparse Binary Polynomial Hash Message Filtering and The CRM114 Discriminator. The tipping point for me was the ads they show first. If you're good you'll have to watch out for a market price, and Jews about.

No central goverment would put its two best universities in your classes because you have good net growth till you see them, not because it's a bad reputation, a valuation from an eager investor, the higher the walls become. Maybe it would have expected them to justify choices inaction in particular, because it was too late to launch a new Lisp dialect called Arc that is actually from the Dutch not to: if he hadn't we probably would not be true that the rest of the marks of a Linux box, a market of one investor who invested in a safe will be near-spams that have little do with the exception of the flock, or Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia needed Airbnb? A rolling close doesn't mean you suck. Incidentally, Google may appear to be in college.

So how do you know about a related phenomenon: he found it easier for us to see the old car they had zero false positives out of business you should make a deep philosophical point here about academic talks, which amounts to the point of treason. It was only because like an undervalued stock in that respect. Mehran Sahami, Susan Dumais, David Heckerman and Eric Horvitz.

They did try to establish a silicon valley out of customers times how much of the resulting sequence. You end up with elaborate rationalizations.

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