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rachalixie · 3 years ago

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cat and mouse for a month (or two or three)

enemies to lovers with kim seungmin but make it ~university flavored~

warnings: food mention, seungmin x gender neutral reader

genre: enemies to lovers, fluff

word count: 2250+

you don’t even know when your hatred of kim seungmin began.

before today, you’d only really interacted with him a handful of times. him and his group of noisy friends sat next to you in your psychology lecture last semester, and with every day you found yourself liking him less and less. you can’t even pinpoint why, it just happened that way. every time he answered a question right in class grated on your nerves. every interaction with him ended in an argument with one of you walking away in a huff. you’ve accepted your role as mortal enemies and that’s just the way the world works.

so you know today’s going to be a bad day when you get a glimpse of the back of kim seungmin’s head walking into your intro to biology lab. you resolve to sit on the other side of the room for the entire semester and not look in his direction once, but your plan is thwarted when you walk through the door to see that every seat has been taken except for one.

seated right next to kim seungmin.

you grit your teeth so hard they squeak as you walk to the table, placing your bag pointedly between the two of you and turning away from him. neither of you say a word or acknowledge each other’s presence, which is exactly what you wanted. you just need to make it through today, and for the next class you need to come in 10 minutes earlier to make sure you secure a seat somewhere that kim seungmin isn’t.

you let out a breath once the lecture finishes, and you quickly start to pack up your notes, hoping to leave as quickly as possible.

“hey!” kim seungmin chirps, making you freeze as he drums his fingers on the table. so much for not acknowledging each other. “didn’t expect to see you here, didn’t seem like your kind of subject.”

“it’s a general education requirement,” you respond slowly, overly polite. “not all of us have the privilege of placing out of all intro classes. speaking of, what are you doing here? i would have thought 100 level classes were beneath you.”

“they are.” he says matter-of-factly. “but my advisor says i need to take this class if i want to be the teaching assistant for it next semester so. here i am.”

“you’re a fucking nerd, kim seungmin.” you deadpan, turning to finish packing up your bag.

“says you!” he sputters indignantly. “you’re a history major! that’s the nerdiest major!”

you turn to offer a rebuttal, anything to make sure he doesn’t get the upper hand, and-

“oh, before i forget!” you’re interrupted by the teaching assistant. “your assigned lab partners for the semester is whoever was sitting next to you! i have the seating chart written down already so we won’t have any substitutions or trades. okay, have a good rest of your day!”

you pinch your wrist, hoping this was a dream. you can’t possibly spend the entire semester being paired with kim seungmin.

“looks like you’re stuck with me,” he says teasingly, making you let out a growl and hastily leave the room which was echoing with his laughter.

—

you don’t know when your hatred of kim seungmin began, but you don’t think it’s going away any time soon.

you’re sitting in the student center when kim seungmin jogs up to you, wearing a ridiculous combo of a baby blue sweater and gray slacks.

“there you are!” he says, out of breath. he stops at your table and puts his hands on his knees, huffing in breaths.

“it hasn’t been nearly enough time since i last saw you,” you say flatly, raising an eyebrow as you look down to meet his eyes. “to what do i owe this extreme displeasure?”

“you ran away yesterday before i could get your number,” he says, straightening up and widening his eyes. “for our assignments! since we’re partners. no other reason.” he states firmly. oh, right. kim seungmin was going to need your number. he is going to have a way of contacting you on a daily basis. the world really was going to hell.

he holds out his phone to you, open on the contacts app like he had planned this mission beforehand. he probably had. you tap to create your contact, forgoing a picture (he doesn’t need to perceive you any more than is strictly necessary, thank you very much). you try to ignore how he’s watching you intently as you type, and you type a little slower just to test his patience. as you go to save it, his phone lights up with an incoming call from his mother, and you hastily hand it back to him.

of course he talks to his mom, the bitter and angry inner voice of yours says.

“hi, omma!” he says brightly into the phone, sitting on the chair across from you. you scowl to express your displeasure, but he doesn’t notice and makes himself comfortable by taking off his scarf and leaning back in the chair. his happy demeanor is ruined a second later as his face falls in disappointment. “oh, father. hello, sir.” his voice is dull, and you can’t help but frown deeper at the contrast.

you busy yourself with your own phone, trying to give him some privacy. although, if he wanted privacy he could have sat at any other table so. eavesdropping wouldn’t give you too much bad karma under this circumstance, right?

“yes, father, i applied to join the honors pre-med fraternity. yes, my GPA is high enough for it, i have a 4.0. no. it’s the highest possible GPA, i physically cannot get anything higher than that.” he huffs into the phone. “no, i wasn’t giving you attitude, sorry. yes, sir. i’m studying right now. its noisy because i’m in the student center. i’m not in the library because, uh, i’m with my biology lab partner and we wanted to quiz each other.” he lies and glances at you, meeting your eyes, and you quickly turn back towards your phone, ears burning at getting caught listening. he hangs up a minute later, and you see a text from him pop up on your phone just saying his name.

“you should have my number now.” he says, no trace of his earlier brightness in his eyes. you almost miss his annoying smile. wait, miss? no. you’d just rather have that than the drowned puppy look he’s donning now. no missing of kim seungmin smiles happening here.

“thanks,” you said, awkward. “so, uh, that sounded kind of intense. he expects you to be studying on the first week of class?”

“something like that,” he sighs, lacking the spark his voice usually has when he talks to you. he gets up off the table and pockets his phone. “i’ll see you later.”

you can’t explain why you feel disappointed with every step he takes away from you.

—

you don’t know when your hatred of kim seungmin began. but you’re starting to think you don’t actually hate him anymore.

kim seungmin is actually a kind of okay person. he’s impossibly kind most of the time but still snarky and sassy and he bounds around like a puppy when he’s excited and his smile could probably cure world hunger.

whoa. take a step back.

you’re on your fifth meeting as biology lab partners, and your partnership is going significantly better than you thought it would. he met you today in the library and brought you your favorite iced coffee (how did he know?). he doesn’t mind doing a bulk of the work today since he knows you have a big history paper due tomorrow (he remembered?). he grins at you over his lab notebook whenever you playfully banter with him (when did arguing turn into banter?).

the list of reasons why you don’t like him dwindle down until you really can’t remember any of them. he’s annoyingly smart? sure, but he’s weighed down by the crippling expectations his father sets so it’s not really something to be mad about. he’s rude? maybe, but rudeness and sarcasm are often mistaken for one another. he’s a nerd? well, you can’t really judge when you have the entire box set of doctor who hidden under your bed, saved for bad days.

your 180 degree turn-around regarding seungmin gives you whiplash sometimes. every time you catch yourself laughing at the joke he tells you under his breathe during class you almost choke. every time you catch yourself smiling at him when you see him walking across the street you want to slap the smile off your face. every time you catch yourself thinking about him when he’s not in the room you put your headphones in and blast heavy metal to drown him out.

but hey, at least you’re going to pass your biology lab at this rate.

“i’ll see you after spring break,” he says as he packs up his bags. you’ve finished your lab project, which was technically due after the break but you both agreed to get it done before so you could enjoy the time off. you smile at him in response, you muscles still not used to doing anything other than frowning at him.

“have a good break, seungmin,” you say, ignoring the way his face lights up at your words.

—

you don’t know when your hatred of kim seungmin began. but maybe it was never hatred that you felt for him at all.

you’re sitting on the floor of your dorm room, a variety of take-out containers spread between you and your lab notebooks completely forgotten on the desk. it’s the last week of class, and you’ve just finished up the final biology project you’ll ever have to do with him. despite this, you’re surprised at how quickly you agreed to have him over, how much you were looking forward to him being in your space.

you’re both looking at his laptop at a video of seungmin’s roommate jisung and his friends chan and changbin performing at the student center last week.

“they’re really good!” you say around a mouthful of egg roll, doing a little dance to the beat of their song. you turn your head to look at him to see if he’s enjoying it too, but your eyes immediately meet his, which were watching you instead. there’s something shimmering in his gaze, a mesmerizing fondness that takes your breath away. before you can blink, he’s leaning over, placing a warm hand on your waist, and is pressing his lips to yours quickly. he stays in your space a little even as your mouth gapes open, egg roll still present.

“swallow,” he says with a cute smile, using his other hand to push your jaw closed and you swallow the mushed up egg roll quickly. wait, cute? seungmin is not cute. or, maybe he is? since when was he seungmin, not kim seungmin?

“wha?” you ask intelligently. your mouth now clear of egg roll, he takes the opportunity to kiss you properly, making you drop your chopsticks and leaving you feeling lightheaded.

“can i make a confession?” he says, breaking the kiss and out of breath. he moves his hand from your jaw to your shoulder, one thumb curled possessively near you neck; you’re suddenly made aware of just how fast your heart is beating and you feel your blood rush to your face. you nod dumbly, too shocked by the events that just unfolded to do anything else. “it’s my fault we became lab partners.”

“what?” you stammer, head clearing up instantly. “you want to talk about this now? when you almost just had your tongue down my throat? wait, hold on, what?” your mind was running at a million miles per hour.

“yeah,” he chucked nervously, the hand he has on your waist tightens and the hand on your shoulder feels like a dead weight preventing you from moving. “i know the teaching assistant for our class. she’s my best friend’s sister. i texted her once you sat next to me and asked for her to assign partners.”

“why would you do that? you hate me-hated me.” you question, impossibly confused.

“i never hated you. i’ve had a thing for you ever since i first saw you and you were lecturing some guy in the student center about something or the other. i don’t even remember what you were saying, just that i was entranced by you,” he says gently, pushing your hair behind your ear. “you just hated me from the start, for some reason. and it was easier to pretend to hate you back then be upset over it so, here we are.” he looked so nervous that you wanted to kiss him. or pet him. or tell him how much you’ve grown to care about him in these past couple months. something embarrassing, basically.

“seungmin, i don’t think i ever actually hated you. i was jealous,” you say, finally able to claw your true feelings out of your heart now that you accepted that the two of you were not, in fact, mortal enemies. “you’re so smart, you’re handsome, you have loads of friends, you’re always smiling. you always looked like you had your life put together so tightly and i just didn’t know what to do with myself.”

“i’m kind of a mess,” he admits, ducking his head. “but i appreciate that. these last couple months have been amazing, getting to know you more, and i just-“

“i feel the same,” you cut him off, beaming at him.

you don’t know when your hatred of kim seungmin began. but you do know when your love for him began.

—

sequel

masterlist

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its-not-a-pen · 4 years ago

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Star Wars Movie Trivia Schmoedown - Sam Witwer & Freddie Prinze Jr. Vs. ... was ANYONE going to tell me that sam witwer was a...

#10/10 entertainment is this why old ppl like quiz shows so much?#star wars #sam witwer #freddie prinze jr #since this day i have not known peace i have to share this with ppl

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lichfucker · 4 years ago

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Answer with 3 random facts about yourself. Let’s get to know the person behind the blog! tagged by @beatricexbenedick thx abby!!

1. I can solve a rubik’s cube. I learned in the nerdiest way possible, which is that I really liked my homeroom teacher in 6th grade and he ran a rubik’s cube club so I would stay after school on wednesdays to hang out w him and practice. it usually takes me abt two minutes (my cube is really old so it doesn’t slide very smoothly) but my record is closer to 90 seconds. still have no fucking clue how ppl do it w their eyes closed though

2. in high school I submitted a piece of homestuck fanfiction for a writing scholarship and I won. if you don’t know anything about homestuck then the piece is an allegory for depression and if you do know anything about homestuck it’s a modern cosmic horror au that has nothing to do with homestuck at all. literally the only connection to homestuck is that I was thinking abt rose while I was writing it. I reread it recently and it’s still good lmao

3. whenever I get a letter or a card or some piece of writing where people have said nice things about me I pin it up on the bulletin board above my desk 🥺 I almost never go back and read them, I’m just really comforted knowing they’re there

hmm whomst shall I tag... how abt @lesbeauan @kallistoi @army-of-bee-assassins @dadnetos and @travismatagot !! and of course anyone else who wants to can feel free to say I tagged them lmao

#bluh bluh #gpoy #it me #anyone who rbs will be blocked on sight #thanks hollis

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whats-rambled-rambled · 4 years ago

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Long Nights - part 4

Neil x Reader

Chapter 4: World gone mad

(see chapter 3, 2, 1)

summary: inverted heist calls for inverted training

warnings: 18+, explicit language, gun mention, crackheadery, and possible whiplash

author’s note: Hi, yes, I know, took me ages, but hey, I hope it's worth the wait! 5.2k words, how even--

Anyway.

The song for this part is Bastille - World Gone Mad

Enjoy! All feedback is greatly appreciated, let me know what you think?

——————

Tag list: @cxnnienikas @neutron-stars-collision @ergunbilge @invertedneil @wanderedaway @mellifluous-cosmos @wonderwoman292 @buckysgoldenheart @townmoondaltwistle @theriverbeneaththeriver (please let me know if you want to be added/removed from the list)

-----

The fact that you knew how to handle guns wasn’t equal to you being very good at it. Or enjoying it, for that matter. Sure, you could more or less hit the target, especially with some useful tips you got from Neil regarding a trigger finger discipline, but still - you’d rather avoid reaching for a pistol altogether.

You put back the weapon you’d been training with and Neil handed you another one. You couldn’t really tell the difference, at least until you checked the magazine. The lack of ammo meant you finally got to the fun bit that Neil teased in The Protagonist’s office and you smiled, looking back at your companion. He grinned at you, the gaze sparkling behind yellow-tinted safety glasses as he pointed at the wall next to the targets you used for practice.

“Just aim and pull the trigger. ” Seeing your nod, he added, “Okay now, be careful, it might feel--”

The bullet whizzed back into the chamber of your pistol and your eyes widened.

“Oh fuck me sideways,” you hissed under your breath.

“-- a bit weird, yeah.” Neil chuckled at the shock painted on your face. “All right?”

“Yeah, just processing.” Trying to blink the consternation away, you asked, “How do you make these? You put it into that...turnstile and voilà?”

Neil shook his head. “No, it’s not that simple. We receive a stash every now and then, we don’t know how to manufacture those,” - he smirked - “at least not yet. I do have a few theories I’m working on in my spare time, but...” hesitating for a moment, he raked a hand through his hair and sent you a nervous smile. “Wouldn’t want to bore you to death, though.”

“Dude, come on, with that smooth and soothing voice of yours? You could read the yellow pages to me and I’d still listen like that--” you mocked a dreamy heart-eyes expression, watching with satisfaction as that remark pushed Neil further into a flustered state.

Apparently, when explicit teasing got a little-to-no reaction now, you could still make him blush with a more wholesome compliment. As you started laughing, he rolled his eyes and scrunched the nose slightly, joining you with a stifled giggle. Grinning, you continued a little softer, “I’m not gonna lie - I probably wouldn’t understand a majority of the physics jargon, but I’d still want to hear all about that.”

A thankful look you got in return made your chest clench painfully, and your mind wandered off to those breaks near the river, and Neil’s animated rants. You knew one thing. Anyone who had ever ridiculed him for his passion for even the nerdiest things could rot in hell, and you’d gladly see to it personally.

A disgruntled huff coming from behind made you both snap out of the moment.

“Oi, lovebirds, I’d appreciate it if you could leave all that to after I prep you for the mission.”

Bottling down your annoyance, you batted your lashes at the commander, who’d just come back with keys to one of the conference rooms near the range.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, you have my full attention now.”

Ives nodded, waving at you to follow him. Meanwhile, Neil’s small smirk let you know that he noticed that faint undertone in your voice, but he said nothing, patiently waiting for the events to unfold.

Another person was waiting for you at the door. You recognized the woman who’d driven you to that abandoned factory on your very first day - you’d never gotten properly introduced, but you remember asking Neil about her once and he called her Wheeler. To be honest, with these guys you never knew if they used their real names, nicknames, codenames, or whatever. Not that you cared, quite used to it in your own line of business. You exchanged a court nod with her and went into the room.

As you sat down at the big table and Ives booted a projector, your eyes bore into the man. Definitely one of those types who enjoyed his beret and the paramilitary structure of the field branch of the organization. Probably a bit too much. You bit back a smug grin.

Those were particularly fun to mess with.

Ives caught your piercing stare and stopped the brief of the location.

“What?”

“Nothing,” you said, propping the chin on your palm, a polite smile on your lips. “It’s fascinating.”

He furrowed his brows, perplexed.

“What is?”

“How your commanding presence literally adds you inches,” you said, using all your willpower to keep a serious face. “I wonder if it works only for your height or--”

Neil’d futile attempts at masking an amused snort with a cough didn’t go unnoticed. Ives shot him daggers and then glared at you. “For fuck’s sake, would you focus?”

Your eyes flared up at the threat in his voice and you pouted, taunting him further.

“Or what, you’re gonna spank me?”

“No, I’m gonna shoot you,” he deadpanned.

You raised a brow.

“Kinky.”

Ives groaned, turning to Neil.

“How you survived this long without choking her is beyond me.”

Neil puffed his cheeks and gestured vaguely, but as he opened the mouth to answer, you chimed in, with a shit-eating grin plastered on your face.

“Oh, he very much did so, all right.”

The awkward silence that followed was pretty satisfying.

“Can we keep her?” asked Wheeler casually, leaned back in her chair, fiddling with a bullpen.

Ives gaped at you all, then slumped his shoulders in defeat, sliding a hand through his features. He was so done you could almost hear The Sound of Silence playing in the distance, but apparently, his sense of duty was stronger than the urge to leave you without finishing the briefing, so he just drew a deep breath and continued.

“...anyway…”

You caught Neil’s glance and you couldn’t help but poke the tip of your tongue out at him. The mischievous sparks in his eyes reflected your own as he shook his head, tugging the bottom lip between the teeth. Wheeler’s curious gaze flitted between you two, and as you didn’t feel like drawing too much unnecessary attention to yourself anymore, you focused on the plan that Ives was persistently going through.

Time frames. Blueprints. Entry points. Exit routes (you spotted at least one additional way he left out, but you weren’t sure if you could drag Neil through there, judging by that alley performance, so you didn’t bother to mention it out loud). Everything seemed clear enough. You still had no idea how being inverted would affect the lockpicking, but when you voiced that, Ives promised you some time to figure it out before the mission.

The mission. Huh. It wasn’t that much different from your usual assignments - at least if you forgot about that tiny insignificant detail like moving backwards in time - but something in this paramilitary and/or espionage vibe made your heart beat faster with excitement.

It had been quite a long time since you had company at the job. Working alone had its perks, but you wouldn’t mind a trusted partner in crime having your six for a change.

Another thing that you certainly wouldn’t mind - seeing Neil in tactical gear. Not that either of you would need one, but the image got planted in your head and suddenly you wished you’d had a bottle of water.

You realized that everyone was looking at you expectantly. Shit, was there a question or…?

“I’m good,” you said, shooting in the dark, hoping that would be enough to cover your distracted ass.

Ives squinted, but fortunately, that was an acceptable answer.

“Well, as you two can proceed straight from here - Wheeler, they’re all yours.’

“Okay,” - she smiled and stood up - “we don’t have any turnstiles on-site, but there’s one in the base outside the city, I’ll talk you through the basics on the way.”

So that little daydream cost you a chance to come back home to prepare? Grand. The problem was - you needed your heavy-duty tools, but you’d rather eat rocks than back away in front of Ives. Luckily, he called on Neil to wait for a moment, so that was your chance.

“Umm, Wheeler?” you asked quietly, following her outside.

She glanced at you curiously.

“What’s up?”

“I know I said I’m good, but could we stop by my apartment for a second, please?” An awkward grimace ran through your face. “I gotta pick up my tools. You know, just in case.”

She wasn’t surprised by your request. Moreover, she sent you a knowing smile.

“Sure thing,” she said and winked, and then it was your turn to present a slightly flushed face. “I’ve got you.”

----

You didn’t know what to expect from the whole inversion process.

The first time your brain stuttered was when Wheeler pointed at something she called the proving window, just in time for you to see the three of you coming out on the other side. You caught inverted-you glancing back at your present self; the schooled expression, but with the gaze shining with anticipation.

The second time was when it was you on the other side, looking at your wide-eyed past self. Feeling the incoming headache, you took a deep breath and followed Wheeler and Neil to the stand with oxygen masks.

“How are you feeling?” asked Neil, handing you the equipment.

“Weirdly normal.” You shrugged. “Or maybe not more backwards than usual, if that makes any sense.”

He smiled lightly.

“It’s the airlock. When you see the outside, you’ll get a whole new perspective.”

Wheeler nodded. “What he said. And to recap: you’re inverted, the world is not - all forces will be pushing back on you. Besides gravity.” She double-checked the oxygen bottle secured to your belt. “Just mind things that might be rising instead of falling.”

You furrowed the brows.

“Wait, didn’t Ives mention the rain?”

Neil smirked from behind the mask.

“Afraid of getting wet?”

“Never.” You grinned, meeting the sparkling blue eyes. “Should know that by now.”

Wheeler snorted and shook her head, walking to the panel near the exit.

“You’ll have plenty of time to finish the job before you move far enough to catch up on that. Although, if you ever find yourself in the inverted rain, here’s a tip: pop your collar.”

“Why would you--” Oh. The sole thought of the water going up from the ground to the sky made you nauseous. You swallowed with effort, leveling your breath in the mask. “...right.”

Wheeler opened the door and you almost gasped at the view. The golden rays of sunset (...or was it technically a sunrise now?) flickered on the training grounds’ equipment as the sky painted the scarce pools of muddy water with greyish violets and reddening oranges. Leaves shuffled in the wind, their dance almost satirical with that inverted spin.

Wheeler’s voice stopped your mind from wandering further into the landscape.

“Okay, ready? Ives asked me to remind you not to try any cowboy shit, you need to be in one piece at the end of the training.”

“Yes ma’am,” you mocked a salute and stepped outside, stretching your limbs, readjusting to the reality being slightly off. Neil stood right beside you watching you warming up, ready to take you to the obstacles section.

But as soon as the airlock’s doors closed behind you, you spun around, tapping his shoulder - “Tag, you’re it!” - and without waiting for his reaction, you leaped towards the assault course.

Surely that turned out overly optimistic. You counted on the element of surprise and a head start, but Neil had an experience with running while being inverted, while you… well. You tried.

“B+ for effort,” laughed Neil, catching up on you even before you reached the first obstacle and tapping you back. “But you can do better than that.”

“Just you wait!” you retorted and vaulted over a low hurdle, the mild confusion caused by the dumbfounded senses slowly eased up as you tuned out the brain and let the muscle memory guide your movements. Because hey, in the end? Yes, the natural forces were acting up against you. Yes, Neil had years of inverted training behind him. But you’d been challenging different obstacles your whole life, and courses like this one were your favourite playgrounds.

You caught on him by the next wall, playing dirty and tugging at his leg, pulling him down before he could jump to the other side. The exasperated huff he gave you in protest got lost in the squelch of mud under your feet, the sound more like a suction instead of the much-expected splash. Shuddering with disgust at such abomination, you rushed to the set of monkey bars, hearing Neil following up closely. You gritted your teeth, swinging your body to help yourself get through the part, and that’s when you felt a light tap on your foot.

You glared to your left, where Neil was gaining an advantage over you.

“Damn you and your infinite legs, man! It doesn’t count!”

“Losing looks good on you,” he said, landing and then instantly ducking under your reached out hand.

“Too bad it’s not gonna stick,” you scoffed as you ran after him to jump on one of the parallel logs. Balancing was easy enough, even with inversion; it gave you the perfect opportunity to plan ahead, while Neil had to maintain full focus. “Must say - all that sass definitely makes you like... ten percent hotter.”

But you’d taught him well, apparently, and instead of losing his pace, he only shot you a quick glance accompanied by an arched brow.

“Only ten?”

“Dunno, come over here and let me take a closer look,” you teased, getting a short chuckle in response. “No?” - you sighed - “Alrighty then.” And you leaped to the side straight into Neil, pushing him off the log. He yelped and grabbed you by the shirt, the momentum sending you both straight into the mud. You landed on top of Neil, collapsing into his arms for a moment to catch a breath and to stop laughing.

You leaned back to look him in the eyes.

“Okay, maaaybe fifteen,” you panted, booping his mask as you would do to his nose.

Neil snickered and nodded.

“I’ll take it.”

When your gazes met, his features softened, and he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear gently. You smiled behind the mask and sat up, straddling his waist. Neil was studying you closely, his hands grazed your sides and rested on your hips. Nibbling at your bottom lip, you leaned over him again and slowly reached out, and--

“Simba…” you choked out with reverence, brushing a muddy thumb across his forehead.

Tears from the held-back laughter threatened to spill any second as you observed Neil blanking out in utter confusion. The five stages of grief ran through his expression and then he closed his eyes and sighed theatrically.

“The fate of the world is in the hands of a complete madwoman.”

...the what now?

You tilted your head, grinning.

“Aren’t you a little dramatic?”

Then, without a warning, Neil shifted under you, rolling you off him and pinning you down.

“Birds of a feather and all that,” he said, clearly enjoying the way you squealed and squirmed as the mud got under your shirt. “You think you got a hang of the inverted movement already?”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged. Neil realized your intentions a second too late. A handful of mud splashed on his face and you chuckled with satisfaction. “Yeah, now I think I’m ready to go.”

You turned up at the airlock soon after, looking like something that cat dragged in, but beaming widely. Dreaming of a hot shower and a clean set of clothes, you put down the mask and the oxygen container and headed to the turnstile.

Wheeler was waiting for you near the machine, and seeing the state you were in, she just gaped at you both, trying to come up with an adequate question.

As you noticed her quizzical look, you gave her a thumbs up and smiled.

“If you ain't dirty, you ain't here to party! Wooo!” you whooped, throwing your hands up and trotting past her straight into the turnstile.

Right before reverting yourself back to your original state, you heard Wheeler’s hushed question.

“You two all right?”

And then Neil’s answer.

“Don’t worry, we’re good.”

--------

The truck’s engine hummed steadily, which could only mean you were on some sort of highway. At least the container stopped wobbling, so you could practice in peace.

No wobbles meant no excuses, though. You sighed, readjusting your grip on the tools.

Neil had fallen asleep some time ago, after making sure you figured out the locks and hearing your solemn promise that you would follow him soon.

One day after that eventful night, then inverting and going straight back without proper sleep. You knew he was right and you needed at least a nap. But you couldn’t. Not before you were absolutely sure you got it. The usual locks weren’t that bad. The inverted ones were a whole other story.

It’d taken you long enough to crack them in the safety of your own apartment, without the weird physics, ever-present even within the air-locked container. Without the pressure.

The fate of the world.

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

You didn’t even know what was that thing you were supposed to retrieve soon. It was okay, you didn’t need to. It was a quite common situation in your work history. That kind of knowledge could be dangerous, after all.

The pin clicked and you sighed again, squeezing your eyes shut to stop the burning sensation even for a moment.

Besides, you were doing it for Neil. The memory of that panicked look on his face when he’d seen the documents was enough to keep you going.

But did he have to say that?

You had to do it. Not only because you felt responsible for him, in a way. What you’d told the boss was true and you weren’t the only one at fault for Neil not being fully ready for that assignment. He was your friend, wasn’t he? And there was no way you’d leave a friend in need.

You pressed your lips together, forcing yourself to breathe.

Probably a stupid joke, nothing more.

But what if he was being serious? What if that thing out there was really that important? And you were about to fuck everything up because you couldn’t get your shit together fast enough to figure out the bloody inverted mechanism again. And with every minute wasted and not spent on resting there was a higher chance of messing up at the actual location.

Hell of a locksmith you were, huh?

The feedback from the tools came with a final warning like a sobering slap. If you were to continue, they would snap any second now.

You let out a shaky breath and retraced from the lock, hiding your face in the palms.

A gentle touch on your shoulder almost made you flinch. Of course, he had to wake up in the middle of your breakdown.

“Go back to sleep, we still have a few hours left,” you muttered into your hands, trying to collect yourself.

“Not before you talk to me,” said Neil as his fingers slid down your arm. He was crouching right beside you, the blue eyes boring into you with concern. “What is it?”

You sighed and shifted in your seat to face him.

“Wanna make sure I got it, that’s all.”

Neil’s brows knitted together.

“But I saw you open that lock once, why--”

“Once! And that’s exactly the problem!” you fumed and glared at the table. “I can’t crack it again, I--” your voice wavered and you gritted the teeth in frustration. “What if it was a stroke of dumb luck? Should I start praying for another one to happen there?”

Another delicate touch, this time on your knees, was enough to make you look back at Neil. A shade of smile tainted his lips as he searched your gaze.

“Someone used to tell me all the time that if you did it once, you can do it again.”

You hung your head and huffed, “Maybe that someone was full of shit.’

“I know for a fact that she wasn’t,” he chuckled, taking the tools out of your clenched fists and putting them back at the table. “She was utterly brilliant,” he continued, reaching for your cramping, trembling hands and taking them in his, ”and always reminded me to take a break instead of agonizing over a stubborn lock.”

That you did, all right. Your laugh sounded awfully close to a sob. God, if you weren’t exhausted.

Mustering enough strength to look him in the eyes, you squeezed his hands, trying to convey all the gratitude in the gesture. And hide that bit of embarrassment, too.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he said and his thumbs brushed over your knuckles. “Scoot over.”

You moved back on the provisional bench, making enough space for him to sit next to you. And so he did, not letting go of your hands even for a second. He started rubbing small circles into them and you grunted softly. Neil gave you a knowing smile and soon enough, his fingers glided between your forearms and fingertips, applying pressure to the tensest places, careful strokes and precise moves bringing a much-needed release. You couldn’t help small groans escaping your mouth, every one of them adding to the self-satisfied grin hiding in the corner of Neil’s mouth. But then, instead of teasing you, his features softened and you caught his glance, warm and sheepish.

“I don’t think I properly thanked you for offering to help me with this mission.”

“I couldn’t let you have all the fun,” you laughed and winced as Neil’s thumbs worked on your wrists. “Don’t thank me yet, we still need to pull it off first.”

“Well, maybe we already have, from the typical point of view,” - he pondered, lighting up - “seeing that we are moving back--”

“Neil, please, I’m all for discussing it later, but right now it’s about to give me a pounding headache.”

When you met his eyes, you noted with relief that he didn’t mind you cutting him off like that. He knew that you were tired, nothing more.

“Right, sorry.” Then he looked at you with determination, suddenly serious. “Whatever happens… thank you. It means a lot.”

“Of course,” you said quietly as your heart ached with unexpected fondness.

Neil smiled, shaking off the sentimental moment. His hands cupped yours and gave them a light squeeze.

“Now would you please get some rest?”

“Will you tuck me in?” you grinned and batted your lashes at him, earning an amused snort in return.

“I can even sing you a lullaby if that means you’ll fall asleep faster,” he said, standing up and tugging at your hand.

“Ah, I’m afraid I’m gonna crash too fast to properly appreciate it,” you giggled as he kited you all the way to the resting area at the front of the container. “But I’m definitely taking a rain check on that.”

“Sure.” One final brush of his thumb over your fingers and he let go of your hand, smirking. “Now sleep, I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

-------

Neil proved to be an excellent companion.

You disabled the alarms simultaneously, paying attention to all the possible silent traps. Forcing the main locks went smoothly, almost surprisingly so. For having something of such importance hidden there, the owners of the place seemed strangely old-fashioned; it shone through the antique decor of the lofty apartment as well as the security choices. Too easy. Tuning out an intrusive thought rattling in the back of your head, you scouted the dark rooms, careful not to leave any traces of your presence.

There.

The office you saw in the photos.

...but they’d redecorated.

“That’s one fancy safe they got there,” you said nonchalantly, eyeing the ornament piece of metal lit by your flashlight, “Too bad it somehow got left out at the briefing.”

Neil’s face dropped when he followed you inside the room.

“Christ, and what now?”

Good question. You’d worked with safes before, hell, you’d cracked a fair share of them using simply manipulation. But never going bloody backwards in time. How would that even work? Was it normal or inverted?

Well, there was only one way to find out.

“I’ve got this.” And that’s how you felt, despite the initial panic. There was a method to it, and you had most of the things you needed with you. Perks of overpreparing. The only issue was-- ... “It might take a while, though.”

Neil nodded.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“Keep an eye on the time for me, I gotta focus,” you said, reaching into your backpack and accidentally pulling on the thin tube. Right. “...and maybe on the oxygen levels as well?”

“Will do.”

Your brain switched into the challenge mode, and your fingers tingled to give it a try. Armed with a sound amplifier and a little notepad, you sat down next to the safe and got to work.

Figuring out your way in was meant to be a hit and miss, doubly so with the goddamn inversion. But minute after minute, click by click, you determined the first contact points, and the years of experience took you from there. You scribbled numbers and variations in the notepad, fully focused on the task. Almost there.

Another combination. Inhale. Exhale. Pull.

Gotcha.

“Neil?” you called out in the hushed voice as the beam from the flashlight landed on a small metal box of a peculiar shape.

He was next to you in no time.

“That’s it,” he said, kneeling down. He reached inside and took out the box, then carefully placed it inside his backpack. The blue eyes glimmered in the dim light. “Good job!”

“Thanks,” you smiled and closed the safe. “Now let’s get out of here.”

You gathered and packed all your stuff, double-checking for any leftover signs of your entry.

Then you heard it. A faint, slightly off patter against the huge windows. You froze in place as your mind tried to grasp the view of trickles of rain coming up the glass.

Neil glanced outside, not mindful of the absolutely bonkers scene that wiped any coherent thought from your head. Although judging from how quickly his face lost all the colours, the view he got was even more disturbing.

“Christ…” he uttered, shooting you a panicked look. “We’ve got company.”

You dashed to the window to see for yourself. A group of people was crossing the empty street, moving pretty much normally, and that only meant...

Fuck.

“The owners?”

Neil shook his head. “Impossible. The third party, probably.” With his hand already on the holster, he hesitated, considering the options.

But there were only two: fight or flight. The problem was - the numbers didn’t look good for you to try pushing through the crew downstairs. And as for the second one, your initial exit routes seemed to be cut off already.

Although, there was still one path left. You almost smiled to yourself. He was not going to like it.

“Let’s go through the roofs.”

Neil’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?” he asked, scanning your face for any sign of doubt.

There was none.

“Yes, but we have to leave right now.”

He swallowed with effort and nodded.

As soon as you bolted out of the apartment and rushed up the stairs, the footsteps coming from the lower levels quickened. Time was running out.

You were about to barge outside when Neil grabbed your hand as if he sensed what was going to happen next. The doors opened and you lost the momentum, startled by the view. Heavy showers replaced the drizzle you saw through the window, intensifying the nauseating effect.

The last strands of sanity threatened to leave you, but Neil’s touch was like an anchor, grounding you and keeping you from spiraling further.

“Which way?” he shouted through the hammering, almost deafening rain.

You blinked rapidly and looked around to match the data from the brief to the actual location.

“Over there!”

Wishing you’d had a goddamn collar to pop, you leaped to the side, guiding Neil through your only escape route. You let go of his hand to vault over the vents, and just as your feet touched the surface again, you heard distant yells behind you. Shit.

The high density of the area was working in your favor, but only for so long. There was meant to be a gap between the buildings sooner or later, and one of them was coming right up. The jump was doable, even for Neil - all you needed was speed and a decent launch.

But when your companion noticed the edge of the roof, he slowed down and stopped by a low parapet wall, cursing.

“No fucking way!”

“Yes fucking way, Neil, come on! We don’t have time!” you urged him as the voices behind you grew louder.

He swallowed with effort, too transfixed on the gap. You bit back an impatient groan and grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at you.

“Neil, listen to me. You can do this. All you need is a run-up.”

He didn’t seem convinced. You gritted your teeth, trying to keep your own rising panic in check.

“Do you trust me? Yes or no?”

He met your eyes and his features hardened. There.

“I do.”

And when you opened the mouth again, the first bullet whizzed past you. You flinched, but maintained the eye contact, afraid to lose Neil’s newfound confidence. “Then go first, I’m right behind you.”

Neil nodded and backed away quickly. Watching him jump, your heart skipped a beat, but he landed on the other side without too much trouble. Good. Your turn.

You dashed towards the rim and another bullet missed your legs by a hair’s breadth, hitting the parapet wall right ahead of you. A little close to the top, as you noted, jumping on it to leap across the gap.

But the realization came a moment too late. The wall crumbled under your feet.

Enough for you to not make it to the other side.

Someone screamed.

Was it you?

It didn’t matter.

The world dissolved in a flash of agonizing pain.

And darkness.

----

Static beeping. The smell of disinfectants. And your every particle throbbing in dull pain.

Somebody was having a quiet conversation nearby. The Protagonist… and Neil?

A wave of relief flooded over you. He’d made it.

Grunting, you opened your eyes and squinted, waiting for your sight to readjust to the poor light. Weird. Why would they keep you in such a pitch-black room?

“Gents?” you called out, carefully shifting upwards, wincing. “Would you mind getting the lights?”

The conversation stopped and you heard a gasp.

“Lights? But it’s the middle of the day?” said The Protagonist, but Neil cut him off.

“You’re awake!” Footsteps and a sudden touch on your hand. Neil’s voice trembled slightly, as well as his fingers. “Are you okay?”

You bored into darkness, hoping to see the familiar face.

To see anything.

To see.

(next chapter ->)

#neil tenet #neil tenet x reader #neil x reader #tenet #robert pattinson #neil tenet fanfiction #tenet fanfiction #neil tenet imagine #the protagonist tenet #ives tenet #wheeler tenet #long nights

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izukusjuicythighs · 4 years ago

Text

bkdk fics that [insert creative title]

I've been in a rlly fluffy mood lately so these are all just izu n kat in love

ALSO all of these fics are from the 'snail has bkdk brainriot' series on ao3 cuz snail's works are perfection itself <4

remember to check tags and warnings!!

pretty boy ;D

summary: “Is it morally reprehensible to ask out a guy you hit with your car?” Katsuki blurts as all four of them just stare at him.

After a long pause of silence, Kaminari says, “Is he cute?”

“Duh,” Katsuki answers, thinking back to all those stupid freckles and smiles. Then he thinks about ‘pretty boy’. “And possibly interested.”

words: 14304

chapters: 1

notes: flirty izuku is a grade A level danger to simp katsuki lolol I was grinning so hard while reading this

sticky note crushes

summary: Katsuki hates his roommate. The green-haired, freckled, artsy son of a bitch with his dumb pun t-shirts and paint-stained hands he can’t fucking keep to himself. Katsuki can’t leave a single assignment or paper out in his room because that idiot will just grab anything to draw on it. He’s like a shark that can’t stop swimming else it’ll die – he can’t stop drawing. Ever.

words: 3239

chapters: 1

notes: I was not joking when I said snail wrote the best fics because this. literally god's gift I'm not even joking

are u dating???

summary: Izuku's life is going amazingly well, with his Twitch channel where he streams himself playing video games and discussing the nerdiest things imaginable hitting 3 million followers, his best friend as his roommate, and his other close friends as tight-knit as they've been since high school. The only possible road bump is his viewer's continuous demands to know who "Kacchan" is - thanks to Katsuki often coming into his room during streams and Izuku's repeated attempts to pull him into video game competitions - and, more importantly, if they're dating. Which is crazy.

words: 26372

chapters: 6

notes: streamer au, two dorks in love but they're oblivious and somehow I find it adorable,, also the fans thirsting is such a mood lmaodhszh

#ao3 #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #mha #bnha bkdk #bnha #bnha fics #bnha fic rec #bakudeku #izuku midoriya #bakugou katsuki #katsudeku

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flightlessangelwings · 5 years ago

Text

Yours

One dose of pure smut coming your way @itsjammin!

Obviously this is 18+ only. Fem reader.

It wasn’t an easy life to travel with the Mandalorian. Bounty hunting was a dangerous profession, and the planets you went to weren’t always the most inviting to say the least. But, it was a way to make a living, and you were lucky that he let you come along with him. He helped you hone your skills with a blaster and vibroblade, and you were also a mechanic, which came in handy more times than he could count.

But, the worst part for you was how badly you wanted him. You weren't even sure when the feelings started, but you unconsciously bit your lip as you watched Mando finish off a bounty on some rainy planet. The way he just threw the unconscious body over his shoulder and slammed it into carbon freeze shouldn’t have turned you on as much as it did.

From that day on, you tried to control yourself, but you couldn’t help the way your gaze lingered on his silhouette. Or the way you listened extra close when he spoke. Or the way his hands moved over his weapons. Even though you couldn’t see any more than the beskar, you found yourself inexplicably attracted to him.

And it just got worse when the child came into your lives. Mando showed a softness towards the little green baby that you had never seen much of before. Of course, he was always kind to you, and always looked out for you, but when it came to watching him with a child, it felt different. Maybe because you watched from the outside.

You didn’t think the Mandalorian would reciprocate your feelings, so you tried to keep your eyes under control. He had tucked the child in for the night and closed the door to his little cubby when he came over to stand next to you. You tried your best to keep your eyes on the weapon rack in front of where you stood, but you could feel his gaze on you, even if you couldn’t see his eyes through the helmet.

“We need to talk,” he said bluntly.

You swallowed hard as you set the blaster you held down, “Something wrong?” you asked nervously.

His body language softened, “No, no. Nothing like that.”

“What is it?” your eyes darted around the room before you met his visor.

“I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking,” Mando said in a soft voice.

Your eyes went wide and you froze in your spot, “Wh--What… I-”

He cut you off with your name as he moved closer to you, “It’s ok,” he cupped your face with his gloved hand and you let out a breath you didn’t realize you held. Mando’s thumb brushed your cheek tenderly as you felt yourself melt at just the simple touch.

“Mando…” you whispered as you backed yourself up against the wall.

“Do you want this?” he spoke in a low voice that made your face heat up.

You bit your lip and nodded, “Do you?” you barely got the words out.

“I do,” the Mandalorian answered before he covered your eyes with his hand, “Don’t move,” he said before you felt him shift in front of you. You heard a soft thud and almost right away, you felt his breath against the skin of your face.

“Mando,” you repeated before he captured your lips with his in a soft but heated kiss. Your hands moved up to grab onto the back of his neck as you parted your lips for him. He eagerly deepened the kiss and your tongues tangled together in a passionate dance. If it wasn’t for his strong body, you could have collapsed onto the floor, but Mando used his legs and his free arm to pin you against the wall.

When you broke away for air, you could barely catch your breath before he kissed you again. It was a rougher kiss this time, but you could feel the emotion behind it. It was then that you realized that Mando was just as desperate for you as you were for him, and his kiss said more to you than he could with his words.

“Keep your eyes closed,” Mando’s voice left no room for argument when he broke away the second time. Not trusting your voice, you nodded and covered your eyes with your hand for extra assurance. You heard shuffling around the room and before you knew it, the Mandalorian was in front of you again, “Move your hand,” his words were more of a command, and you willingly obeyed. You dropped your hand but kept your eyes firmly shut.

He gently placed a piece of cloth across your eyes and tied it tightly around your head, “That ok?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you whispered, and his lips were immediately on yours again.

This time, however, he let his hands roam all over your body. You let your own hands brush across his shoulders before you held on to the fabric there. You moaned into the kiss when you felt his hands brush under your shirt and touch your bare skin. That was when you realized he took his gloves off as well.

You broke away to let him take your shirt off and you used the opportunity to tug at his clothing as well. He let out a soft laugh before you heard rustling in front of you. Since you had the moment, you decided to push your pants down to your ankles, and you smirked when you heard a gasp in front of you.

“Like what you see?” you asked as you reached out for him.

“Yes,” Mando growled before he crashed his entire body against yours. His skin felt soft and warm against yours, and you wrapped yourself around him as much as you could, desperate for as much contact with him as possible.

Mando’s hands traced down your body as his lips moved to your neck. You whined softly as he licked and bit up and down the muscle there as his hands landed on your hips. Without even thinking about it, you bucked your hips against his and grinded against his half-hard length. Mando used one hand to push your body back against the wall, and held you there so you couldn’t move.

The hand that wasn’t holding you up ghosted across your lower abdomen and thigh. He smiled when you tried to shift in his grasp in a wordless plea to touch you between your legs. Mando groaned your name as he gave in to your request and gently caressed your folds. You let out a loud moan at the initial contact and your hands dug into his shoulders as he stroked you up and down the length of your pussy.

“Mando… please…” you begged, and he was weak against you.

A finger entered your body, and you threw your head back with a sigh. You were already so wet from Mando’s teasing, so he immediately added a second one. He pumped his fingers in and out of you while his thumb circled your clit. Mando’s mouth latched onto your collarbone and he sucked hard on the skin there. One of your hands found its way to his hair and you held on as if your life depended on it.

Without warning, Mando pulled away, which caused you to whine. You weren’t disappointed for long, because he picked you up with his strong arms and pinned you against the wall. Your hips rested on one of his thighs as he lined himself up at your entrance.

“You ready?”

“Yes,” you breathed out right away as you wrapped your legs around his waist.

Mando pushed himself into you, and you both let out moans and cries of pleasure. He took it slow and savored everything about this moment. And you savored every inch of him. Once Mando was fully inside you, he paused to study your face, and he had never seen anything more beautiful and delectable in the entire galaxy.

Slowly, he thrust in and out of you. Your back hit the wall every time Mando pushed himself back into you, but you didn’t care. All you wanted was this connection the two of you had right in that moment. And you never felt pleasure like that ever before in your life. His thrusts became faster and your moans became louder.

“Mando… Mando...I’m yours...” you cried out as he pounded into you.

He groaned your name as he could feel his orgasm start to build. Mando slowed his movement for a few moments before he sped back up again, which made you cry out even louder. Your legs tightened around his waist, and Mando knew your climax was also close.

“Fuck… Mando… I…”

“I know,” he grunted, “Me too…”

Your orgasm hit first as you came with a scream. You threw your head back against the wall, and didn’t even care about how hard you hit it. All you cared about was Mando’s length inside you as you came around him. Your muscles clenched down hard, which triggered his orgasm and he came inside you as your name dripped from his lips.

Your entire body shook as you lost all your strength from your powerful orgasm. It was easy for you to put your entire trust in Mando as you let him hold you. He quickly pulled out of you, which caused you to whimper, but he wanted to keep you from falling.

The room was quiet save for the heavy breaths from both of you. Mando leaned forward as he kept his arms around your waist and buried his face in the crook of your neck. You placed soft kisses on the side of his head wherever you could reach as you gently stroked his back. Without warning, Mando scooped you up into his arms and carried you to his small bedroom. He laid you down in the cot and covered you with the blanket, and you immediately felt sleepy.

“Mando…”

“Hmm?”

“Stay with me.”

He smiled down at you, the blindfold still securely in place, yet you somehow seemed to meet his gaze regardless, “Of course,” he whispered your name as he laid down beside you. You immediately nuzzled into his chest and let out a content sigh when he wrapped an arm around you. Mando placed a kiss to the top of your head as you drifted off to sleep. That night, both of you slept better than you had in a very long time.

Everything taglist: @thirsty-flygirl

Mando taglist: @ugly-wall-flower @spottedlekkudancer @smolashie @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @soapjay @ispilledmyink @bva14 @iamakindprincess @pascalisthepunkest @astronomyturtle @amazingiam00 @sinnamon-bunn @weirdowithnobeardo @sylvanas-lover @spaghetti-666 @hollandhiddles @lustriix @suuuckonmyballs @bi-readytobakepie-cry-and-die @catsandbats13 @benakenalove @lunarstarknight @ollypopp @yodaboo

Pedro characters taglist: @tintinwrites @starwarswh0re

#the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x y/n #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian fic #the mandalorian #the mandalorian smut #mando x reader #mando #mando x you #mando x y/n #din djarin x reader #din djarin imagine #din djarin smut #din djarin #the mandalorian imagine #mando imagine #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character fanfiction #mando smut

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recurring-polynya · 4 years ago

Note

soul reapers to get paid and their salaries are even quite high! if i remember correctly, lieutenants make around $7k while a captain’s salary is almost triple(nearly $19k)

(cont) that is if my conversion was right, in a JET interview kubo said captains make 2million yen, lieutenants - 700 000yen and an unseated officer - 200 000yen. but then again, i think the living cost in ss is much higher, i remember matsumoto mentioning that clothes in the living world are much cheaper

I have to say this is one of the liveliest discussions on Bleach meta that I have ever participated in on this website. I feel like I can definitively report that is is both fanon consensus and supported by the creator himself that Soul Reapers do, in fact, get paid. For the record, my husband, who started this, conceded days ago and I am sure has not thought about it since.

In any case-- I was very surprised by these numbers, and at first I thought that maybe they were in kan, the fictional currency used in Soul Society, rather than yen. I mean, $19k/year is a terrible salary (for those of you who are not American it is roughly minimum wage). I attempted to figure out the conversion rate between kan and yen once, and at the time, came to the conclusion that kan were worth somewhat more than yen, but I no longer have my scratch pad, so I cannot show my work. Looking at it again, they seem pretty close.

Then, just to get an idea, I googled the salary of a four-star general in the American military, which I thought should be a rough equivalent, and the article I found reported all its numbers in monthly salaries, which I am not used to seeing, but maybe they are more common in other countries. In any case, according to the article I found, the highest salary you can make in the US military is $15,800/month ($189,600/year), which is pretty close to what a Gotei captain makes. I realize that is a lot of money on an absolute scale, but that actually seemed shockingly low to me, in the sense that there have only ever been 246 four-star generals in the history of the U.S., but this is the sort of salary that, say, a C-suite executive might make. A president of even a public university can make 2-5 times this. Now, a career in the military comes with a lot of other perks-- free room and board, free healthcare, etc, but I think this is going to make a much bigger difference to the people in the lower ranks.

The more I thought about it, I do think this tracks, though. Gotei captains are immeasurably valuable and basically impossible to replace. One of the more chilling moments leading up to the Winter War was the part where Hitsugaya is basically like “we don’t know how many Arrancar Aizen has, but if it’s more than 10, we’re screwed” and then it cuts to Hueco Mundo, and Aizen is just surrounded by guys. So, yeah, it honestly makes perfect sense to me that captains are paid a “good living” but it’s insulting compared to the wealth of the nobles that live around them. I don’t usually have a lot of nice things to say about Byakuya, but I do want to emphasize that this has to be chump change for him. This guy definitely works out of a sense of duty, he is not in it for the Benjamins.

The vice-captain salary (~$84k/yr) comes closest to an O-4, which corresponds to a major or a lieutenant colonel, and usually entails about 10 years of service. I guess years count for less when you’re immortal, so I guess that works out. One thing that doesn’t fit is that in another interview, Kubo states that Renji’s sunglasses cost half a year’s salary, but their price is listed in the Bleach Bootleg as 84,700 kan. If a kan is roughly equal to a yen, this is wildly off. I will get back to this later. In WDKALY, there was some mention of vice-captains and captains being given “mansions” to live in (if they chose to). I absolutely cannot accept this fact as canon. I can’t. I mean, there are numerous omake about Hisagi trying to score free food out of Omaeda, yet this man lives in a mansion? And do not tell me he (or Matsumoto or Iba) would pass up living in a mansion if they had the option, even if the commute were an absolute nightmare. Maybe he can’t afford the cost of utilities and furnishings. I don’t know. Please, someone write me a sitcom of Hisagi and Kira living in giant mansions next door to each other, but it’s just like the Bluths living in the sample house in Arrested Development. [Aside: Renji would take the mansion, but he would turn it into an indoor soccer field and continue to sleep in the barracks search your heart you know it’s true]

Back on topic! The unseated officer salary of 200k yen/mo works out to an E-3, which is what an enlisted service member makes after a year. Everyone in the Gotei is considered an officer, and unseating people are awful, so, once again, this seems fine. Well, it seems shitty, tbh, but consistently shitty.

To really answer the question of “is this shitty?” though, we need to consider buying power. Earlier, I mentioned that Gotei service includes free room and board, and that alone is equivalent to a lifetime of wealth for someone from the lower Rukon. I mentioned earlier that I once tried to calculate the exchange rate between kan and yen using a variety of prices for various items. I wish I had kept better notes, because my main takeaway was that prices for things were not very consistent. A copy of the Seireitei Bulletin is 380 kan. Using a straight kan to yen to dollar conversion, that’s $2.80 (I am using 100 yen = $1 because it’s close enough, in case anyone was wondering). Sexy photo books of the captains cost ~$25. The budget of the Shinigami Women’s Association is $2500/year, and the Men’s is $900/year, which is roughly the cost of one pair of sunglasses. I think it must have been the sunglasses that threw me, because I kept trying to peg the cost of a pair of sunglasses to a half year’s salary. The club budgets are just honestly confusing because I have no idea what a calligraphy club budget should look like. It seemed... fine... that a club budget should be equivalent to half a year’s salary? To be honest, I think a kan should be roughly equal to a yen and the sunglasses are just priced too low. (Not a statement I ever thought I would be making).

The comment about clothes being cheaper in the World of the Living makes a lot of sense! Cloth in Soul Society is probably hand-dyed, rather than mass printed, and sewed by hand, rather than by machine. On the other hand, if you wanted goods made in traditional ways, it would be a lot cheaper to get in Soul Society. A chusen-dyed kimono is a luxury good in 2021, because you have to option to order a cheap t-shirt and sweatpants from Amazon. Everyone wears hand-made kimono in Soul Society because that’s what there is, so the price is going to be relatively lower. I do think that cost-of-living jumps sharply inside the walls of the Seireitei, and that it’s very common to do your shopping in the upper districts of Rukongai, where there are lot of highly skilled artisans making goods for the city-dwelling market. I figure that one of the few opportunities for upward mobility, aside from selling your soul to the military is to make enough money to buy your way inside the gates (either through overpriced business licenses, getting a noble patron, or by arranging a marriage to someone who already lives inside)

That being said, I have thought a lot about importing items from the WotL--shinigami usually travel through senkaimon, which do not allow for matter conversion, so they wouldn’t normally be able to bring anything with them. I imagine that it’s sort of a perk of the job that when you go on a mission where you have to go through a matter converter (which would include any time you are bringing a gigai over) you could smuggle back whatever you can fit in your kosode. It’s very strange which technology is adapted from the World of the Living (washing machines, treadmills, urinals) and what isn’t (coffee). In fanfic, it’s common to see shinigami wearing Living World clothing in their off-hours, but I don’t think that’s supported by canon or filler in any way. For my own fanfiction, because it’s fun and world-buildy, I like to pretend that Ichigo is a very popular figure after the Winter War and that World of the Living fashion, music, etc becomes popular, starting during the two-year timeskip, particularly among the younger denizens of the Seireitei, and that there are special bars and such that specialize in that kind of thing. Shinigami who have done extensive stints in the Living World are considered cool for their knowledge of such esoteric subjects as “rice cookers.”

I am done now! I swear! Thank you, everyone for reading all the way down to the bottom of possibly the nerdiest and most boring post I have ever made on this website! (wait, no, I just remembered the one on senkaimon transfer protocols. Second most boring.)

#soul society #bleach worldbuilding #weirdly enough i have just been talking about a number of these topics in my latest chapters of a little in love #i took exactly (1) economics class and it made me a monster

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rh3ar1pl3y · 3 years ago

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me: *watching old episodes of a certain sketch comedy show* don't fall in love with any characters

THE NERDIEST CHARACTER POSSIBLE: hi hello how are you?

me: OH GOD OH FUCK OH NO HE'S CUTE

(you may ask whomst it is but i might not answer publicly because I'm embarrassed as FUCK)

#help me he's such a nerd #and i don't really know if i'll add him to the list #but like...HE'S CUTE ok #god i hate myself.

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imaginesmai · 5 years ago

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Peter Parker - No more fondue on my watch

This got a little out of hand... Hope you like it @peterwandaparker!

Plot: Peter and you have been together for a while now, but nothing can go past Captain America eagle’s eyes.

Warnings (or notes): SMUT or nearly smut, but there is a dick. And this is Peter Parker x Rogers!reader. Let’s be honest, there is a bit of Stony

You bit your lip, uncrossing your legs and doing it again just by pure nervousness. Or boredom, that worked too. There was a ray of sun that had moved since you had arrived the length of the table. If you fixed your eyes there for a long time, just like you had been doing, you could see it moving; and it was the most entertaining thing you had done since you had woken up. And you had woken up really, really early.

But that’s what you got when you lived in another district, you wanted to look presentable for him, and your father was Captain America, who could have a heart attack if you were late once more. Who wasn’t as punctual as your father was Tony, the engineer who still was in his lab for sure.

You weren’t uncomfortable in the tower, but you had places to be instead of the living room. Like, your boyfriend’s room.

“Hey dad” you tried.

Steve was wearing what you called ‘I’m gonna meet my crush’ attire. Tight grey shirt, black jeans and a fairly big amount of hair gel. He was reading a book of his list of ‘things I missed under ice’, which in your opinion was too long and boring. But he insisted in completing it, maybe just for the sake of Tony, who wrote it.

He raised a brow at you, his eyes not leaving the book but letting you know that he was aware. You coughed to make you sound as casual as possible, because sneaking out on Captain America wasn’t easy.

“How… much longer?”

“I don’t know” he gave you the same answer for the fifth time. “Whenever Tony finishes what he’s doing. It’s not like you have anything better to do, Y/N”

You bit your remark about your plans; any plan, actually, was better than waiting in the compound in silence since seven in the morning.

“But I’m hungry” you said, and Steve raised his head finally. You contained the proud smirk.

“Didn’t you have breakfast at your mother’s?”

Steve Rogers was a man of a diet. He didn’t have chocolate, sweets, fried stuff or anything that could be bad for health, and he forced anyone who lived with him to have 5 meals per day. The thing was that you were still a minor, and you didn’t always live with him.

Your mother and Steve didn’t have the perfect relationship, you could say. They were both wonderful people, but too stubborn to get along. So it pained you to lie about her, but that was the only way to get around your dad.

“Not really, since you woke me up at five” you almost barked, still hurt that he had blasted your phone away. “But mom wasn’t awake and there was no milk”

“I can’t believe that’s how she raise a child” Steve tightened his jaw. “What’s next? Telling me you had pizza for dinner?”

With extra cheese, actually

“No, dad” you lied again, salivating at the thought of pizza. “Can I eat something or should I starve to death?”

Steve was quiet for a while. He was against every type of snack; and if he ever pardoned one, was that tasteless rice pancake without fats, sugar or salt. It felt like eating cotton. He looked at the clock of his wrist, and sighed, going back to reading the book.

“Try not to raze Tony’s pantry, please” he gave up. “And don’t eat anything that has … just try to avoid eating Nutella from the jar”

You chuckled and hoped off the sofa, speeding to the kitchen. Closing the door behind you, you marvelled at the huge space in front of you. It was probably bigger than your father’s and mother’s apartment. Without wasting another beat, you walked to the fridge and enjoyed the opportunity of the free card of food.

The fridge was full of things that you couldn’t even name, but you were more than aware that that’s who Tony was. You contented yourself with a ham and turkey sandwich. Knowing you weren’t going to go back to your father, you made another one and reached for the bag of chips in the top counter.

You were just putting everything in the tray along with two juices when your phone sounded.

Petey-pie [9:39]: i’m getting up early 4 u

Petey-pie [9:39]: hurt not to wake up by u smashing a pillow on my head

Petey-pie [9:39]: where are u

You sent a quick reply, telling him to stop being so needy and that you would be there in a minute. His room was on the other side of the compound, so you weren’t worried about running into your father; besides, luck seemed to smile at you, because you heard Tony’s voice from the living room greeting him.

And you knew that Tony was enough to keep your father busy for a few hours; after all, he didn’t put the ‘I’m gonna meet my crush’ attire for nothing.

You picked up the tray and tiptoed toward the other end of the kitchen, where the door for the main hallway was. You ran past your ‘room’, the one you used when Steve went on a mission with the Avengers and didn’t want you to stay alone, or with your mother. That he wasn’t living there anymore didn’t mean he wasn’t a part of the team, much to your mother dislike.

There weren’t many things there, but you quickly changed from your boots to soft padded socks with small cute bears decorating. Once you were comfortable enough to spend the whole morning there, you closed the door of your room and skipped to his.

Peter wasn’t facing you when you opened the door, but rather looking out of the window daydreaming. He turned around once you were in, and gave you the most beautiful smile you had ever seen. He still had his eyes swollen by sleep, and his pyjamas were on. But he seemed awake enough to pick up the tray from your hands and set it aside, cornering you in the bathroom’s door and locking your lips.

You smiled into the kiss and raised your hand behind his neck. Peter’s room smelt a lot like Axe, a bad habit in your opinion that he had gotten from his dad mentor. The window was half open and his bed was still undone, which gave you a sense of home that you hadn’t felt in a while.

Peter’s lips against yours weren’t nice, but demanding. He pressed himself against your body and cradled your head with his hand, tilting it so that he had better access. When you ran out of air, he teared away and looked at you with a lovestruck gaze.

“Hi” you managed to say, out of breath. It came out a little high-pitched.

“I missed you” he whined, and pouted like a puppy. Your heard literally broke with his look, so you leaned forward and kissed him again.

The spring break was hard for everyone. There was no highschool, and even if it was good news for every teenager, for you wasn’t. It meant you couldn’t see Peter every day, that you lived with your mother during the week, and that you could only sneak around your father some weekends. Peter was probably who felt it the worse, since he was a rather clingy boy, and had made it known in the three months you had been together.

Peter broke away to keep pressing kissing on your cheek, nose and forehead. They were light kisses, so fast that you ended up giggling and tossing between his arms. When he felt like he could let you go, he gave you a final peck and stepped back.

“Breakfast in bed” he said, giving a side glance to the trail of food. “Is it any special service?”

“Only for the best” you chuckled, and walked to the bed.

Peter’s bed was probably the softest one. When him and May had moved over, Tony had made sure he spoiled Peter rotten. With May’s help, they bought him the comfiest cushion, the nerdiest stuff and the best computer. He didn’t accept half of it, but the bed was different. You let yourself be drowned in it, pale blue sheets surrounding you and making you feel like in a cloud. You closed your eyes and rested your head on his pillow, that smelt like him and made it ten times better.

He followed you close, and you felt the bed dipping under his weight. Slowly, he crawled until his head was resting in the space between your neck and shoulder, and you could caress his hair. His body was covering yours, and when Peter threw the covers over the both if you, it felt like you were in your own perfect little world.

The tray laid forgotten on the desk as Peter curled into a ball by your side, hugging your body as if it was his personal pillow. He tangled your legs together and intertwined his fingers with yours. When he was comfortable enough, he talked, and his hot breath hit the side of your face.

“I missed you” he repeated.

“I missed you too” you answered, turning your head so that your noses were touching.

“You know what I missed the most?” Peter asked, and by the smirk on his face, you knew that shy-Peter wasn’t making an appearance. “This”

Peter’s hand rested on your bare belly, and from there he kept going down. He was met with the hem of your trousers, a baggy sweaters that you had snitched from your mom before leaving that morning. Peter’s skilled fingers started undoing the knot of the front, and his body rocked against yours slowly.

“I hope you know what you’re doing” you teased.

By any answer, Peter shifted so that he was hovering over you, his hand still placed between your bodies and his eyes boring into you with burning love. He gave you a lazy, lopsided smirk and finished with the knot of your trousers.

He didn’t bother in tugging them down, but sneaked his hand down and his thumb touched the lace of your panties. He didn’t have to look to know they were the purple one, because he knew your wardrobe by heart; and because with the spider bite, came a constant flood of teenager’s hormones.

Your skin was soft and warm against his finger’s pad, and he gifted you with a soft grunt that made you clench your thighs and trap his hand in between. Peter chuckled.

“I don’t think I can stand another two weeks without seeing you” Peter said.

“Let’s just enjoy the moment”

And that’s exactly what you did.

Peter kicked off the covers and let his lips be lost against your neck. They nipped, kissed, licked and bit your whole neck, never leaving any mark but testing your limits. He knew where to touch you to make those noise, and he spent his time there. His hot breath hoovering over you was enough to make you come on your panties.

But he didn’t have enough, so he ended up tugging your pants down and off the bed and letting his hand be lost in your pussy. He ran one lazy finger up and down your lips, parting them and creating a delicious friction against your clit.

“Peter – Peter, oh – wait – stop, Peter!” you cried out an pushed his hand away.

Peter’s eyes almost got out of their socket and you saw panic filling his features. He was off you in a second, and what a sight. His hair was messy from tugging too much, t-shirt gone and pyjamas pants holding a tent of its own. You bit your lip and squeezed your eyes, begging to yourself to last a big longer.

“Get inside” you moaned, opening your legs again. “Please – please, I need – I need –“

You hadn’t seen Peter move so fast in his life. He was standing in front of you when you blinked, fighting with his pants and boxers at the same time. His erection bobbed up and down until it almost touched his stomach, and you were sure he was as turned on as you.

You were about to take off your t-shirt and mount him yourself when the door was kicked open and both Peter and you screamed.

“Y/N!”

“Peter!”

“Dad!”

“Mr. Stark!”

You didn’t think the mood after not seeing your boyfriend for two weeks could go down so fast, but it did when a very flushed Tony Stark and a totally mortified Steve Rogers opened the door of Peter’s room. You covered yourself the best that you could with Peter’s sheets, and he took the pillow to hide his dick.

“What the hell were you doing?!” Steve screamed, and you had to remind yourself that it wasn’t a good moment to say ‘language’. “What – why are you – Y/N Rogers, you’re so grounded!”

Your father’s face was as red as his shield, only discerning from an apple by the blue and white of his eyes. Tony’s shock seemed to be wearing off, and he was simply leaning against a the wall with a hand covering his evident smile.

“Haven’t you heard of knocking, dad?” you asked, your voice still too high for your liking. “You can’t just burst into someone’s room”

“I can’t – I can’t?!” wrong answer, you guessed. “You can’t do… that! And with him!”

“Mr. Rogers, I – “ Peter tried to talk.

“Shut up” Steve growled, and Peter’s Adam apple bobbed up and down. “Listen to me, you end this right now. And don’t ever expect to see him again.”

“What?!” you let the sheets fall to your lap, exposing your thankfully still covered front. “You can’t do that!”

“You don’t get to say what I can and can’t do!”

“Steve –“ Tony tried.

“I can! You only see me on weekends, I live with mom! You can’t say who I can and I can’t see!”

“Then maybe you will come and live with me” Steve said, and your jaw dropped. “Get dressed. I’ll – “

“Just because mom and you don’t love each other anymore doesn’t mean I can’t love someone!” you screamed out.

The room got silent, and Steve actually paled. The thing about him was that he wasn’t a bad father at all. Your mother had thrown you at him when you were younger, and even if she loved you, you knew that most of the arguments came because she loved to make his life impossible. Steve was patient, loving, funny and cared for you like no one.

But he was also afraid. Afraid of you going to parties, afraid of you getting a sleepover, and afraid of you having a boyfriend. The man had lost so much, that it terrified him that he could lose you too.

For the first time since he had heard the noises in Peter’s room, he got to finally look at you. You had tears in your eyes, your cheeks red and your lips pursed as if when you were going to cry. He knew what a bratty teenager was, and what he saw in your eyes wasn’t the tantrum you throw sometimes when he didn’t let you go somewhere.

He looked at Peter, then. The boy looked even more devastated than you. With just a pillow covering his lower half, Peter was chewing on his lip and looking at Steve lacking all the respect he always had. There was only desperation, and Steve felt bad.

“It’s not about that” Steve whispered, and sighed. Even if he didn’t age like normal people, he felt like greys hair coming out. “How… for how long, you know? This?”

“Three months” you whispered back, and a tear rolled down your cheek. You quickly caught it with your finger, and rubbed a furious fist against your eye.

Steve slumped against the wall, and closed his eyes tightly. There was a headache coming his way, and at full speed. His daughter with Tony’s son protegee, his daughter doing… that with Peter, and his daughter growing up and him being left behind.

“Just – just be careful” Steve made a small grimace and coughed it away. “Say goodbye, we’re leaving. And please… next time lock the door, Parker”

You knew you had to talk about it with your father, that he wasn’t done, but for the moment, he muttered a quick goodbye and left the room. You felt like your heart was beating again. Tony had a smug smile on his face, and rose up from his leaning position too.

“And here I thought you didn’t bring girls home because you were a shy boy” Tony teased, and Peter felt like dying. “We’re talking about this later too, Pete”

With that, Tony left and the door was left ajar behind him. It was silent for a while, until Peter’s knees gave away and he sat beside you in the bed. The pillow fell to the ground and he put his elbows on his knees, covering his face with his hands. The decision of not saying anything was for the sake of your father, because you wanted to wait until he had everything figured with his feelings for Tony in case he felt obligated to stay away for you.

You raised a hand and placed it on Peter’s shoulder, and you swore he gave a small relief sob. Your suspicious were proven when he finally said something.

“I can’t believe that just happened” he whispered. “I thought I was gonna die”

“We’re not off the hook yet” you joked, and kneeling in bed, pressed a small kiss to his neck. “But for now we’re okay”

“Yeah”

Peter gripped your hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He looked at you sideways, and attempted to smile. It was shaky and hesitant, but it was enough for you. Even if you hadn’t been dating for long, you had known the boy for your whole life, and you didn’t want to think what to do without him.

“I should get going” you muttered, and crawled out of bed. “I don’t want him any angrier”

Peter stood up too, and even if the mood had been killed and felt more like throwing himself off a window, he pressed his lips against yours one last time. Not a second after you had moved your hand to cradle his cheek, a barking voice came from the hallway.

“No more fondue when I’m around!”

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