#and the captain never chooses him (they don't know they never knew he wanted them with him until the universe imploded)

[radiantmists]

i didn't want to add this to the post because it would add a bit too much seriousness to a good meme, but i do think it raised an interesting point. because obviously kaladin didn't forget that racism existed in that moment, he was confronting one of his primary oppressors, the guy who betrayed him multiple times over specifically because he was darkeyed.

what kaladin does forget in that moment is the pervasiveness of racism, and the extent to which it's baked into his society's institutions. and i think it makes a lot of sense for kaladin specifically to forget that (even though he absolutely knows it intellectually)!

because kaladin has always been an 'exception'. his father was a doctor, much higher nahn than anyone else in the town. kaladin is as close to literate as an alethi man is allowed to be-- more literate than adolin, presumably than elhokar. marrying the child of the citylord and having lighteyed children-- theoretically 'escaping racism', though of course that wouldn't have worked out too well in practice-- was not only thinkable but likely, unlike the false hope of defeating a shardbearer that others cling to.

before roshone, kaladin did suffer from racism-- but less than others, and in a way where he was led to believe that it was escapable and conditional.

and many of the worst things that happened to him went against the rules of alethi society. roshone was corrupt, and should never have been promoted. kaladin was immune to the draft due to his apprenticeship, and tien was young enough that choosing him was taboo if not forbidden.

similarly, tien being sent to the front lines was the sort of tactic that 'honorable' alethi norms like the codes of war would have considered reprehensible.

and of course when he saved amaram and defeated the shardbearer, the rules of society dictated that he be rewarded; i imagine choosing to give the shard to amaram should, from an honorable man, have been rewarded with pay and retirement for his men or something similar.

kaladin's enslavement was not just dishonorable by alethi social norms, but illegal.

and the kholins, up to this point, have signaled commitment both to the law and to those alethi social honor codes. and while they (especially elhokar) have been casually prejudiced, they've also welcomed the idea of kaladin as the captain of the cobalt guard, suggesting that they aren't so racist that they can't sometimes see reason.

kaladin not realizing the boon was only for lighteyes was a little naive of him, but him expecting the legal system to work for him-- when he took the issue directly to someone who knew him, respected him, and owed him the lives of his whole family-- is very understandable in the light of his experiences.

kaladin is the kind of person from a minority who was raised genuinely thinking that if they behave well, they might experience some prejudice, but no door is truly, systemically closed to them. he's had some knocks to that belief (and is kind of a suspicious person), but in the first part of words of radiance the world seems to be trying to reassure him that not all lighteyes are (too) racist, that the system is not (inherently) unjust, that he's simply been the victim of some of the more prejudiced fringes of lighteyed society.

and then the rug gets pulled out from under him.

because no amount of familiarity or respect will make elhokar side with him over one of the good old boys, no accomplishment will allow a darkeyes to challenge a lighteyes, and no amount of good behavior or education will make kaladin white lighteyed.

but a shardblade would.

...right?

i think this and the immediate aftermath, with adolin giving kaladin a blade and him giving it to moash, could have been a really interesting examination of that idea, because i don't think that lighteyed society would have smoothly accepted either of them. even by rhythm of war, we get hints that kaladin occupies a weird social place where he technically has a lighteyed rank but he seems to have a complicated relationship with 'other' lighteyes (obviously made particularly weird by him being a radiant and because most of the lighteyes he interacts with heavily are also royalty, but he doesn't quite seem to be equals with most of them).

but i don't think sanderson quite understood the experience he was writing about with kaladin, and he set out to write a series about an apocalypse. and so kaladin's complicated-- but not unrealistic-- perspective on alethi casteism will go unexamined.

[killergee]

Not that Bad

Hoshina x delinquent reader

Just a vice captain who's tired but also slightly charmed by the reader. A crack fic of a mischievous reader bantering with Hoshina.

Tagslist: @alwaysalilconfused

---------------------------------------------------

"Are you smoking?" A voice called out from above where you were seated on the ground.

Looking up, you saw Hoshina's head popping out of the window, his arms resting on the window sill. "No?"

"I can clearly see the cigarette in your mouth."

"Then why'd you ask, genius?" You chuckled as you pulled the bud out of your mouth to exhale. The sunlight was warm, the weather light and breezy, and the sky blue and cloudless—the perfect conditions for a cigarette and a nap. Too bad you were interrupted.

"God, do you want me to add more pages to your disciplinary folder." Hoshina heaved out a heavy sigh as he sinked into his arms, resting his head on them. With his head turned towards you, you could see him trying to stiffle a yawn. Maybe even he felt today was a lazy day. "It's already so thick."

Humming in acknowledgment, you nonetheless continued your smoke unperturbed. "Want a drag?" You asked with a small smirk.

Hoshina lets out a scoff to hide his amusement. "Put it out and give me 20 laps around this building."

"God damn," you huffed out, smothering your cigarette on the ground. "And here I was being all considerate and smoking somewhere with no people," you murmured as you got up and did a long and lazy stretch.

Hoshina smiled at your antics. "How kind of you, but you should've picked a better hiding spot."

"Duly noted."

Glancing over at him, you realized he had no intention of leaving his comfortable position on the window sill. Eyes closed and relaxed, he looked like a lazy cat basking in the sunlight.

"Aren't you gonna leaving?"

"I gotta make sure you do all 20. Now, pick up the pace." He peaked one eye open at you. "We wouldn't want to waste such a beautiful day."

---------------------------------------------------

Hoshina knew you were trouble the moment you joined his unit. As amusing as you were, he knew he wouldn't accept you if you couldn't take your job seriously. But that never ended up being a problem.

You were the grade A example of a delinquent, but never on the field. No, on the field, you listened to orders and worked flawlessly with everyone. You were a dependable, essential officer, and the force was lucky to have you.

The reason why they haven't kicked you out yet was because you were damn good at your job. The reason why they haven't promoted you? You were a terrible soldier in every other sense.

The day you lead a platoon of your own, hoshina will be rolling in his grave. He could already imagine you leading a platoon full of officers holding cigars in their mouths and firing guns aimeslessly and chaotically at the sky. The poor rookies that might fall into your care. He was shaking at the thought.

He really should try to reign in your rowdiness and train away your laziness.

"Fix your posture."

"Eh? Who are we trying to impress? The queen?"

"Can you stop slacking off?"

"Can you give me more breaks?"

"I told you to throw these damn cigarettes away."

"I did! I threw them away into my closet instead of the drawers you searched."

An impossible and laughable task, he fears.

--------------------------------------------------

"You're out past curfew." Hoshina started immediately, already waiting in the hallway as he watched you climb in through the window.

"What am I, a child?" You rebutted, but mentally you were scolding yourself for choosing the wrong window. Well, it probably didn't matter, anyways, he would've known. Stupid cameras and high-tech defense systems.

"No, you're an officer and a rookie at that. Back in my day, rookies respect-"

"Good God, 'back in my day,' don't act like you're not only a few years older. I'm also not a rookie, and you know that." You interuppted him, shutting the window.

"Then why are you still the same rank as the other rookies?"

"Hey, that's an uppermanagement issue. It's their own fault for not promoting me." You said cheekily with a smile.

Hoshina leaned against the wall, arms crossed as he looked at you with what he hoped was a scolding look. "Well, that's because you keep going off and doing things like this."

The laughter that responded made it difficult for him to keep up his dissaproving front. You leaned back against the window sill. "If there's a chance imma keel over and die on the field, then why shouldn't I live my life to the fullest?"

The truthfulness of your statement surprised him. He expected you to deflect like you always did. With how carefree and reckless you acted, he never expected you to be the type to think such heavy thoughts, let alone share them with him. It made him feel a bit somber.

"Hmmm... what were you doing?" Hoshina asked, finally letting himself give into your whims. Maybe it was because it was a long day, or maybe it was the calmness of the night. Whatever it was, he let his shoulders sag and his body relax a little. "Only midly curious."

"Went to a bar," you responded proudly as you looked overly content—downright smug— at your successful escapade.

Hoshina couldn't help but bark out a laugh in disbelief. "Should've known," he spoke almost too fondly with the shake of his head.

Grinning from ear to ear, you felt warm at his reaction. "Sorry, I lied, I was actually saving orphans from trees."

His incredulous laughter was like music to your ears. Who knew such a beautiful sound existed?

"You should've seen how hard those trees fought. I'm lucky to have made it out alive."

The way he looked at you made your heart skip a beat. "Yeah, yeah, what a hero. You're under house arrest. No leaving the base past curfew or I'm gonna report you for real."

You groan overexaggeratedly at his statement, but you knew he was letting you off easy. Hell, could this even be considered a punishment when he's just asking you to follow curfew?

You wondered why. Why wasn't he making you do a billion push-ups or clean the latrines? Why wasn't he scolding you and writing you up? Why did his eyes look so soft?

You wanted to chase this high you were feeling around him.

"Finneee. But say," you spoke, feigning disinterest in his answer, "if you were to come with me, can I go out? You know, since it'd be a supervised outing and all..." You shrugged, experimenting with his new leniency. Though, with the way he was sighing exasperatedly, it seems like you will be doing some push-ups tonight.

"Maybe."

"Wait, what?" You didn't bother hiding your disbelief or your excitement. "Really?"

"Go to bed, officer," Hoshina said, turning and making his way to his own room.

"Wanna make sure I get into my bed properly?" You yelled at his retreating figure.

"Unbelievable."

[oblique-lane]

idk if youve done it yet but i would actually lose my mind if you did an analysis for demo

Aye aye captain 🫡 Time to overdramatize again!

Let's address Demo's wounds

(Demo's backstory was changed through the years but I'm sticking to the older version because I find it more grounded)

Demoman's story is easily one of the most tragic of all the mercs. Imagine you have been abandoned from birth, your parents simply rejected you for what you are. But luckily you have been adopted by some good people who replaced your parents and made you a relatively happy child.

And then you accidentally kill them. You're 6 years old. How does that feel?

I can't even imagine how a child's brain can't comprehend the idea of being a murderer. It was an accident, of course, they were blown up by a big explosion he created (genius kid found out how to do that, huh?) but still. His parents were dead and he knew it was his own fault. He learned he was dangerous as he is.

How was it like pondering about it in the orphanage?.. "I didn't want this! I want to go back and fix it, I'm so sorry", something like that. But he couldn't go back in time, so being covered in such an avalanche of guilt, he learned he needs to repress himself.

Demo have always had an explosive temper (no pun intended), it was his true nature, pure emotion: if he's happy, it's 100%; if he's angry, it's a full blown storm. If he loves, he loves with all of his heart, and he has a big one.

Living on the impulse, all or nothing, that crucial accident revealed that letting his true nature go will only end up as destruction in the end. Irreparable damage.

We don't know what exactly was happening to him during his orphanage years, but if I'm to guess, repressing everything about him: his interests, his character, his whole nature, was a thing to choose. He thought that he had to become still and quiet as to not to repeat that kind of tragedy ever again. He probably didn't have people to be friends with either, either because people rejected him for his past, or he avoided them himself due to his internalized shame, at least that's a guess.

But everything repressed returns to the surface sooner or later. As a child, living for so long under overwhelming guilt, grief, hate, pain and sadness, under the skies that are almost never sunny in a all-year-long damp and coldness of the Ullapool. Incomprehensibly grey. It was depriving.

He was always fascinated with explosions. He didn't touch it for a long time, but maybe something like seeing fireworks again one day made something inside him tremble... And to remember.

Explosions. Launch... Acceleration... Release. And every time the release happens, his soul fills with excitement, the body feels lighter and shivers go up the spine. Release happens inside his head too, for the explosions make his worries and pain go away for a moment.

He couldn't find another way to release his bottled up emotions, so gradually he returned to make explosives again.

It was something like an addiction. Similar to pyromania, except no one bothered to research this one. At the moment of explosion he could let his anger out, he could scream, he could run around freely, he could sense heat in his chest; he could be himself. As he once was.

Everything was cold. But the explosions were hot.

He thought it was under control, just a little bit of KABOOM after school, but he craved more and more every time, more vivid, more violent...

That's how he lost his eye. (...Was it a subconscious act of selfharm?)

The missing eye was a forever reminder of how deviated he actually was. He learned that he couldn't repress or change what he truly is - a monster. A Black Scottish Cyclops, wether it were his peers who called him like that or he himself, out of misery. There was indeed something seriously wrong with him.

It seemed like the only thing he was capable of is destruction. Destruction is the only environment he's comfortable with. Peace was always so anxious and depriving, and breaking things felt calming, so he figured it must be right.

And then his birth mother came and took him back, "now that's he's a worthy DeGroot". It was unexpected but... Pleasant. So he wasn't THAT worthless after all, huh? Turns out, it was really familial, the destruction thing. At least he found out that there was a reason behind all of this.

His new mom was, saying honestly, pretty cruel with words. She was not at all gentle, she was very strict, demanding and straight up abusive. It was never enough for her no matter what Demo did. She didn't want results from his work, she's just always wanted to mess with his brain.

And for whatever reason... This setup felt right for him. To be thrown around like that, to be humiliated harshly, it felt fitting, it wasn't causing anxiety or anything. He has to be a scapegoat, he had to forget about being a child and to start working as an adult, at the same time somehow replacing a father he still didn't have, but it felt good enough. Confusing relationships felt good enough.

Destruction was his habitat, and his heart could no longer accept anything else.

Cruelty wasn't warm though, just familiar, just an environment to not to go insane. But he craved warmness so badly... Yet every time he would get close to someone and receive a little gentleness and care, it would feel sickening. It felt unnatural, it reminded him of his lost parents and of everything that's wrong about him.

The only warmness his body could accept was alcohol, making him bubbly and comfortable and relaxed. He almost felt normal, happy even. Alcohol heat made him melt, and he felt so fulfilled as if he was in paradise, back to the womb.

Yet after the effect wears off, he feels lonely as ever. Quickly, existing without alcohol becomes pain. Existing at all. He became an addict.

Not that everyone he met rejected him, rather, he subconsciously reached out to those who would be cruel to him. Again, gentleness hurts wether he knows it or not. He's only good in destruction.

Lonely and clingy, ready to overshare, overall mess yet carrying a big baggage of love that has no one to give it to. Maybe because he can't give it to himself in the first place. There's so many issues unresolved because he can't handle them alone, yet there's no one to help since he was already trapped in a closed circuit of self sabotage.

He will keep acting like a party beast, always crazily emotional and overdone upbeat, a simple drunken man who will not be taken seriously that way. Maybe that's what he wanted, to not be seen as deep by anyone for not be reminded of his misery once again.

Seems like we bought that too.

...

The enemy Soldier might be an exception though. The man he really treasures his friendship with turned out to be an enemy; repeating the rule again: it's only acceptable when dangerous. Soldier deeply cares for Demo, however he's not gentle or pitying, he's as destructive and explosive as Demo is, and these two are a very rare perfect combination of destructing each other in the act of love. Both broken beyond repair, soul on soul, forever to be misunderstood by the outsiders. This is something about this relationship that looks like a golden lining.

They will not fix each other, but they sure are going to have a good time!

[kymerawrites]

you turned her against me.

“You turned her against me..” he said in a dangerous voice to price its like ghosts dynamic changed, like he was going to choose the bad side, all because of her.

"You have done that yourself!" Price said, standing in front of Ghost with a firm look on his face.

"Shut up! Both of you! You have no right!" Ghost was shaking with anger. His gaze was fixated on the two men.

Gaz could feel the heat of the situation, but he didn't say anything. As for Roach.. He wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

"You both think you're entitled to decide how I feel, how I think... You're just a bunch of idiots, thinking you know what's best for me." Ghost clenched his fists tight.

Price and Roach were taken aback. They had never seen Ghost so angry before.

Gaz tried to speak up but thought it best to stay quiet. Roach also remained silent. He could sense ghost was boiling with anger.

Ghost's shoulders tremble from the sheer force of his rage. "You, especially, soap. You think you're my best friend, don't you?

Soap swallowed hard. "What are you talking about, ghost?" He tried to speak softly, but Ghost's rage didn't calm down.

"Don't bullshit me, soap. You think I don't know you and roach tried to set me up? I'm not an idiot, you know. I know everything. I have eyes everywhere." Ghost barked.

“You know I’d burn the world for her. And now she’s gone from my life. All because you..” he screamed

Price was the first to speak up. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't do anything!" he protested. Gaz and Roach could sense the tension growing thicker.

Ghost's eyes widened with anger. He took a step toward Price, looking like he was ready to pummel him into the ground.

“You’ve done more than you think captain.” He snarled

"And I think that was enough" Ghost said in a low voice. His fists were clenched tight and Ghost looked ready to swing at Price's face.

Gaz and Roach had no doubts that Ghost would fight Price. The way Ghost stared him down made it clear. Price was shaking from Ghost's intense stare.

“Where is she. Where is she?..” he repeated himself

Price stared at Ghost in horror, knowing full well who he was talking about. Gaz and Roach stared in horror as they realized that Ghost knew what had happened.

"She's dead" Price finally replied, his eyes never leaving Ghost. He felt like Ghost was going to kill him right then and there.

Ghost's face twisted in rage. "You.. You let her die?" He seethed. "You watched her die, didn't you? You... You just let it happen..." Ghost's voice was low and full of anger.

Price was speechless. He didn't say anything. He just looked at Ghost with a mixture of fear and guilt. Gaz and Roach watched silently.

Ghost's fists tightened. He wanted nothing more than to kill Price, right where he stood. He wanted to end his life so he could pay for what he had done.

He shook his head “you’re hiding her from me.” He said firmly

"Ghost, just listen. She's really dead" Price said, raising his hands to try to calm Ghost down. Ghost's eyes were fixated on him, like a wolf about to pounce on its prey.

Gaz and Roach watched in silent terror. They were watching a massacre about to happen right before their very eyes.

And it happened he fought them all blinded by rage, leaving them on the ground.

Not dead, yet.

He left the building and was considered MIA and intractable.

(Wanted to make a little anakin Skywalker inspired shot)

[fluentmoviequoter]

Rook Book

Requested Here!

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!metro!reader

Summary: When you return to the Mid-Wilshire station for a Metro inspection, you don't expect to run into your former TO, Tim Bradford.

Warnings: fluff, brief angst, incorrect police procedures

Word Count: 2.4k+ words

Masterlist Directory | Tim Bradford Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

“Boot, let’s go!” Tim urges. “You can talk to your friends later.”

“Good morning to you, too, Officer Bradford,” Lucy replies. “How’d you-“

“Shop.”

“I just-“

“Shop.”

Lucy sighs before walking away from Tim. She’s used to his grumpiness by now, but she can tell by his attitude that there will be a few Tim Tests today. The war bags are already in the trunk, so Lucy isn’t sure what the rush is.

✯✯✯✯✯

“It’s been a while,” Wade says as he shakes your hand.

“Too long,” you reply with a smile. “When my captain mentioned this, I knew I had to take the assignment.”

“So, what does Metro want with a station review? Isn’t that usually IA’s thing?”

“Typically, yes. I think my role here is best described as a scout. Cap wants some new blood and we’ve got a couple of Metro openings. We need the best, and for some reason, I get to choose them.”

“You’ve already chosen one, I’m sure.”

Wade smiles as you furrow your brows. He shakes his head and reaches for something on his desk.

“Who?” you ask.

“If you don’t know, I’m not telling you.”

Someone knocks on the door, and you turn around as Smitty steps inside.

“I thought you quit,” he says when he sees you.

“I think I know who I won’t be choosing,” you tell Wade.

He tosses you a set of keys and waves. You leave his office and glance around. The station hasn’t changed much since the last time you were there, but you’re sure the people have. As you walk through the bullpen, you see someone you recognize.

“Bradford?” you call.

Tim freezes at the sound of your voice. He hasn’t seen you in years, yet hearing his last name come out of your mouth takes him back to when he was a rookie. Walking several steps ahead of him, Lucy stops and turns at the call of Bradford’s name. She’s expecting to be held up for a minute or two, but when she sees Tim turn slowly toward you, she knows that it’s more than that.

“Hey,” Tim says.

When he sees your smile, he relaxes and steps toward you. You don’t miss his initial reaction, though, and it makes your smile grow.

“I did not think you’d still be here,” you begin. “Maybe I should’ve done a better job.”

Tim nods, and Lucy rushes to his side. She smiles and extends her hand toward you before she speaks.

“Hi, I’m Lucy, uh, Officer Chen. How do you know Officer Bradford?” she asks.

“Nice to meet you,” you reply before telling her your name. “And you are?”

“Oh, I’m Tim’s rookie.”

“You’re a TO?” you ask incredulously as you turn to look at Tim. “Seriously?”

“Lucy,” Tim begins, “this is my TO.”

Lucy’s jaw drops and you chuckle. Wade calls your name, and you look over your shoulder at him. After he beckons you to return to his office, you turn back to Tim.

“I’ll see you around,” you say.

“Why?” he inquires.

“Metro’s recruiting.”

Tim watches you go and doesn’t move until you’re out of his sight. His shoulders are tense, but there’s a small smile on his face that Lucy hasn’t seen before.

“You never mentioned her!” Lucy exclaims.

“Because she was my TO, not yours,” Tim argues.

“She doesn’t seem that much older than you.”

“I’m not that much older than you.”

Lucy raises her brows but remains silent this time.

“Our ages don’t matter. Aren’t you supposed to be in the shop?” Tim argues.

“Aren’t you?”

Tim tilts his head to the side, and Lucy decides this isn’t a battle worth fighting. She’ll ask about you later, anyway. After Lucy walks away, Tim glances towards Wade’s office once more. He remembers every moment he spent with you, and the memories are making it hard to focus.

“You drive,” Tim tells Lucy as he enters the garage area.

“Are you serious?”

“Am I ever unserious?”

Lucy nods and takes the keys from him. As she climbs into the driver’s seat, she realizes why he doesn’t want to drive. He can’t, for some reason.

“You had a crush on your TO,” she accuses quietly.

“Do you want me to quiz you on everything in the rook book?” Tim replies. “Because if you keep this up, that’s what you have to look forward to.”

“You don’t have one.”

“No, because I actually know everything in it. Now, you can pick. Be quiet and drive or I start asking questions about cavity search procedures.”

“I will be quiet and drive,” Lucy decides. “For now.”

Tim takes a deep breath as he remembers the rook book you kept with you when he was a boot. Every memory he has of you is good, and now he’s concerned that Lucy is right. Not that he did have a crush on you, he knows he did, but that he still does.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Bradford,” Wade calls over the radio. “I need you and Chen to return to the station.”

“Copy that,” Tim responds.

“What do you think that’s about?” Lucy asks.

“The Metro inspection.”

“I didn’t know about a Metro inspection.”

“I can tell you’re about to burst, so you can ask one question before we get back to the station,” Tim offers.

“Ooh! Wait, just one? How am I supposed to choose? Because I want to know about what kind of TO she was, but I also need to ask if she knows that you liked her.”

“Choose one.”

Lucy taps her fingers on the steering wheel for a moment before smiling. “Did she test you like you test me?”

“Are you asking if she had a version of Tim Tests?”

“Yes.”

Tim nods as he answers, “Yeah. She gave me tests. It’s one of the reasons I started doing Tim Tests. Practical knowledge and experience are important, but she’s the one who taught me that.”

“That’s so cute! You based your teaching style on your teacher crush.”

“Chen,” Tim warns.

“Okay, okay. Then did she quiz you on the rook book, too?”

Lucy knows she is pressing her luck with asking another question. Tim doesn’t answer, and as she nears the station, Lucy expects he’ll make her do pushups later.

“Yeah, she did. Always had a copy of the rook book with her. Sometimes, she’d read it while I drove around and would only talk to me to ask me questions.”

Lucy smiles to herself, now completely convinced that Tim had a crush on you. The way he talks about you and remembers you, though, makes her think those feelings may still be alive. Once the shop is parked at the station, Lucy decides to get to the bottom of Tim’s relationship with you, and if there isn’t one, she needs to make something happen.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Bradford, thanks for coming back so quickly,” Wade says. “Head into my office. Chen, I’ve got an assignment for you.”

“Yes, sir,” Lucy replies.

“There’s a Metro inspection happening today, and I need you to take the Metro officer around, show her everything she needs to see, make introductions, whatever she asks.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lucy tries to hide her smile because she suspects that you are the Metro officer she’s about to spend a bunch of time with. Maybe you’ll be more open than Tim. When you approach her with a smile, Lucy knows that her investigation of your relationships will be more fun than your inspection of the station.

“Officer Chen, sorry to pull you from patrol, but Sergeant Grey said you were one of the best,” you greet.

“No problem,” Lucy says. “And you can call me Lucy if you want.”

“Okay, Lucy, I would love a tour of Mid-Wilshire station. It’s been a long time since I was here, so walk me through like it’s my first time.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lucy turns and leads you toward the front desk, to start the tour as she would with a visitor.

“Lucy?” you ask. “What’s Tim like as a TO?”

“He’s great. I mean, he’s grumpy and has a ton of Tim Tests, but I like riding with him.”

“Tim Tests,” you murmur under your breath. “Cute.”

Lucy smiles at your reaction before she begins the tour. You don’t mention Tim again for a while, and Lucy thinks that you are too focused on your inspection to think about him. As you near the bullpen at the end of the tour, Tim is exiting Wade’s office.

“You abducted my boot for a personalized tour?” Tim asks you.

“Lucy mentioned Tim Tests,” you say, changing the subject. “Don’t tell me copied my rook book move, too.”

Tim rubs his thumb across his jaw before answering, “I didn’t.”

“He told me that you used to carry a rook book around and would ask him questions,” Lucy interjects. “I’m really glad he didn’t take that idea.”

You look at Tim with a smile as you ask, “That’s all you told her?”

Lucy looks back and forth between you and Tim, but neither of you seems to remember she’s there.

“The rook book wasn’t a rook book,” Tim says after a moment. “It was just a book that she put the cover on. Those days that she didn’t want to talk to me, she’d just read through our shift and ask me random questions to make it look like she was doing her job.”

“Yeah. Because I’m the one who had trouble doing my job,” you reply with a laugh.

Tim shakes his head, and Lucy suddenly feels the urge to interrupt before he says something out of line.

“How’s the inspection going?” he asks instead.

“How’d your meeting go?” you counter. “Because the inspection is just a cover and we both know it.”

“Cover for what?” Lucy asks.

“She’s recruiting for Metro,” Tim explains. “Looking for the best talent in our station to move to a new team.”

“We’ve got three openings,” you remind him. “Just think about it, okay?”

Tim looks toward Lucy, but you give him a knowing nod. Lucy feels lost like a kid listening to her parents talk about something she hasn’t experienced yet.

“Thanks for the tour, Officer Chen,” you say. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

You say bye to Tim before walking past him. His fingers flex at his side as you pass, close enough to touch. Tim closes his eyes for a moment before turning to Lucy.

“Let’s go. Patrol isn’t over yet,” he says.

“Are you sure you don’t want to grab a book first?” she responds. “I know, shop. I’m going.”

✯✯✯✯✯

After the day of your inspection, Lucy doesn’t hear your name again. Tim returns to his high-stress tests, driving, and random procedural questions. You clearly made an impact on Tim just by being near him, and as Lucy’s rookie exam gets closer, she wonders if Tim pushed you away.

“Can I ask a question?” Lucy asks.

“Depends. Is it about the exam? Because that’s all you should be concerned about,” Tim says.

“No. Well, sort of. Did your TO help you study?”

“Are we talking about my experience as a rookie or about my TO?”

“Your TO,” Lucy answers softly.

“Fine. Ask away.”

“Why hasn’t she been back?”

“She has a job. Metro is busy, so she doesn’t have a lot of time to make personal visits.”

“Did she offer you one of the positions?”

“She did.”

“And you didn’t take it? Why not?”

“Because you’re still a rookie. I have to get you through this.”

“You could’ve handed me off, that happens all the time. Did you say no because of her?”

“I didn’t say no, Chen. I said not yet.”

“Metro positions don’t open every day! You can’t throw away your career to drive me around for a few more months!”

“Lucy!” Tim yells. “Drop it.”

Lucy sits back and presses her lips together to stay quiet. Tim’s cell phone rings, and he glances at it before raising it to his ear.

“Hello?” Tim answers.

Lucy looks over in shock. Tim has never answered a personal call in the time they’ve been riding together. Whoever is on the other end speaks for a moment, and Tim listens intently.

“Got it… Yep, see you then.”

Tim ends the call and drops his phone to continue driving.

“Who was that?” Lucy asks.

Tim looks over but doesn’t answer. He says, “Read your rook book,” and keeps driving.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Officer Bradford,” you call as he and Lucy enter the station.

Tim leaves Lucy and walks to you. He stops beside Wade’s office and waits for you to begin. You told him on the phone to come straight to the station when his shift ended and he’s ready to know why. Nolan and Jackson enter behind Lucy and silence as they watch Tim talk to you.

“Who is that?” Nolan whispers.

“Tim’s TO,” Lucy answers.

“My captain wanted to call you, but I thought it would be better to tell you in person,” you begin. “You passed the Metro test, and your spot is waiting for you.”

Tim smiles, glad he has his back to the rookies. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything I haven’t done before.”

“Which is?”

“See potential in you.”

Tim nods and thanks you again. You look over his shoulder and the rookies look away quickly, but they’re less than stealthy and it is obvious they’re trying to listen in.

“Has Lucy been asking about me?” you ask.

“Nonstop. Don’t look so happy about it, though.”

“What kind of questions?”

“Mostly if I had a crush on you.”

“We both know you did,” you say.

Tim doesn’t argue, and your smile grows.

“I know you told her about my tests and the rookie book, but what else does she know?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s interesting. Because I don’t know any more than that and I’ve known you a whole lot longer.” You glance down at your Metro uniform before adding, “Oh, and my captain also said that Metro officers are allowed to have interpersonal relationships as long as they don’t interfere with work.”

Tim looks up quickly with wide eyes. You stifle a laugh, and he rolls his eyes.

“So… are you ready to admit you had a crush on me?” you ask.

“Something like that.”

You wave at Lucy and step away from Tim. He reaches an arm out to stop you, but you only wink at him before you continue walking.

“Are you going to do something this time?” Wade asks as he exits his office.

“We’ll see,” Tim answers. “Lucy has to pass the rookie exam first.”

“It looks like she just got herself a tutor.”

Tim turns and finds you and Lucy talking excitedly. You smile at him, and Tim feels like a boot again.

“This is gonna be fun,” Wade and Lucy say simultaneously.

Neither you nor Tim hear them, too busy looking at one another.

> part 2: Rook Book to Remember Me By

[moonydustx]

So I have this thing...

I need more Law x Reader fics pleeeaassee (；ＴДＴ)

Anyway...

May I ask a reader (up to you what gender) reacting to law proposing to her? Which I doubt canon law would even do but I guess since it's fanfiction, who cares if it's Canon, right???

OMG, this is incredible, hold my hand and I'm with you on this, thank you so much for the request. In my HCs on the Law (I will still post them) I think if it was important for him to do it without even blinking. Surely it would be something more discreet, a small ceremony between just two? I don't know, I might be rambling too much.

Apologies because I didn't have much time to review and maybe I got carried away writing it. I hope you enjoy!

Important: italics are for flashbacks and character readings aloud.

The proposal - favorite moment (part 01)

Part 02 - Part 03

Law counted the minutes until night arrived, it was one of his favorite moments. That was when you would sneak around the submarine and end up knocking on the door on it. In most of these situations, you didn't get out anytime soon. He's not much of a follower on the calendar, celebrating each month together - and come to think of it, everything happened so naturally that it was decided on which day it started to be difficult for you to be a boyfriend.

Like so many other nights, you found yourself doing what was one of the only things Law could name as a hobby. You were nestled between his legs, your body resting on his chest as you attentively read another book. He found himself leaning against the wall, one of his hands resting on his body while with the other he tried to leaf through one of the new editions of Sora comics that he had picked up on the last island he visited.

He had already lost count of how many times the two of you had wasted hours tangled up in his bed reading and something else he was used to hearing you sniffle at something, like you were doing this time. His eyes looked away from the painting and went straight to where you were reading, just out of curiosity. The other times you were sniffling, he had found you reading about some character who died, some reunion, some couple who got together. This time, from what he could see, it was a marriage proposal.

He already knew it was an important topic for you. He also knew that if he had to choose to spend his entire life with someone, it would be you. Law had thought about the hypothesis a few times and when reading the small excerpt from the book, he let himself think about the idea.

"Wow." your feet were planted in front of an immense showcase. Dresses were stacked side by side in various sizes and textures, some with huge trains and others full of silk.

"Don't tell me you're one of those marriage freaks." Ikkaku planted himself next to you, next to Bepo.

"They are beautiful." the bear confirmed, touching the glass.

"Not freak…" you tried to find the words, you really didn't want to sound like a crazy person. "I mean, marriages are two people coming out in love to the world, to the government, to whatever god they may believe in or to no god at all, as if nothing could intervene or separate them."

"Okay, insane then." Shachi appeared behind you, mumbling.

"Actually, that's a nice way of thinking." Ikkaku replied to him, watching you just shrug. "And I won't deny it, they are beautiful dresses."

"Time to go." The captain's voice echoed closer than you imagined, as if he had been there the whole time listening.

Seeing the crew members move forward, agreeing to the captain's request, Law took a few seconds to evaluate the display that had distracted everyone. He could just be daydreaming, but one day you would look incredible wearing a dress like that along with the new name you would carry. Ms. Trafalgar.

From that day on, the idea of ​​proposing to you never left his mind, Law just needed to find the perfect opportunity and it appeared before his eyes.

"Okay…" your choked voice took him out of his reverie. "That's enough tears for today and I'm getting sleepy." you closed the book, turning towards him and snuggling even closer against Law's body.

"Do you mind if I keep reading some more?" he asked and you just mumbled no. His hand got tangled in your strands of hair and it didn't take long for unconsciousness to take you away.

Law gave himself a week to put the plan into practice. The small room at Polar Tang was tidier than usual however you could notice Law more tense than usual behind his back.

"Everything is fine?" you asked, quickly turning to face him. Law seemed distracted from the book in his hands.

"Everything amazing." his lips quickly touched the top of your head. It was now. All the other battles he had faced had not even come close to the anxiety he felt at that moment. "That book you were reading last week?"

"Ah, it's this one. I'm almost done. It's a period romance, princess, knight and all the little things that involves." you laughed, knowing that from your description he would hate the book. "There's no point trying to convince me to read Sora, this one is much cooler."

"So cool you were crying the last time you read it." he said in a teasing tone.

In a casually planned way, even if it went unnoticed in your eyes, he placed the comic he was reading on the bed.

"It's because he was so sweet to her, made an amazing statement."

"Really? Let me see." He moved even closer to your back, looking for space on your shoulder to follow the written words and find the perfect cue.

"Here. Can I read it?"

"Please." he asked, feeling his hands sweat cold.

"Of all the countries I've visited, I don't think I've ever found a home except in you. You've been my home, my safe haven." You started reading, already feeling yourself melting with those words. At the same time, Law took out a small box hidden behind one of the pillows. "So let me be the sword that protects you, the heart that loves you infinitely. I thought happiness would only find me in the next life until I found myself lost in you. What do you mean by that, my love? So, the The knight fell to his knees, the wounds of the battle he faced seemed not to bother him, not when Annya's eyes rested on him. Annya then heard the four words that carried a lifetime of promises…"

"Would you marry me?" Law's voice echoed alongside yours.

Before you could ask what he thought, a small black box appeared in your field of vision. Inside it, a golden ring with a small heart symbol glittered. The book fell from your hands, finding your lap, as you turned to your boyfriend.

"Law?" at that moment, your voice was not the most reliable. As shaky as she was, your vision was blurred by what you suspected were tears. Your hands covered your lips, still not believing what you were seeing.

"Maybe my sword heals you more than defends you, but that doesn't mean I'll let anyone hurt you in this world. You're my home, my safe haven and I can't wait for you to be my wife. I'd even kneel, but It's a little complicated." he smiled, seeing you still paralyzed on top of him. "So, would you marry me?"

"Yes." the first time came out as a whisper. "Yes Yes Yes!" with each new time the word left your lips, you allowed euphoria to take over your body.

Law took your hand, placing a small kiss before putting on the ring and repeating the gesture, as soon as the jewel was in the place where it belonged. His hands pulled you so your legs were around his waist.

"That's…" you even tried to speak, but it was impossible to put everything you felt at the moment into so few words. You saw him pull out a ring that was the same color as yours, without all the details. "Let me do it."

Before he could put it on his own finger, you took it from his hand and repeated the same thing he had done to you. He placed a small kiss between the tattooed fingers and let the jewelry take its rightful place.

"I don't believe." You looked at your hand and then at him. "Law, that was so amazing."

"You're incredible. I can't wait to see you become Mrs. Trafalgar. My beautiful, smart, a little crybaby…" he wiped away your tears, bringing a laugh from your lips. "My dear wife."

"I love you so much." you cupped his face, taking his lips to yours.

Even though it was full of emotions and promises, it was a calm kiss. Law, like you, wanted to record every second of that moment, every inch of skin kissed, every touch.

In the end, Law was also a marriage nut - just with his dear Lady Trafalgar.

----

Little extra:

Law was never a big fan of public displays of affection, but that morning he had made an exception. Seeing you happy, showing off your new ring and the promise of marriage, ideas of what to do on the date, honeymoon suggestions. He couldn’t deny it, it was amazing to see how happy you were with the whole situation.

His happiness was short-lived when he saw three sullen faces - one of them looking like a bear - sitting in front of him.

"So Law, my friend." Penguin began.

"Shut up, it's me."

"But I'm his best friend." Bepo grumbled.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to understand what the three were discussing so much

"Which of the three of us will be the best man?" Shachi warned and Law watched the three in front of him cross their arms and wait for a response.

Before he could respond, Law felt two arms slide and lock around him.

"We haven't decided that yet guys. We can talk about it later." you asked and watched them begin to argue among themselves who would be what.

"Thanks." Law muttered, making you laugh. You bent down to his ear level.

"And you, I'll be waiting for you in the room. I got someone to cover my duties today, now I want to continue feeling what my dear fiancé can do for me." In contrast to the whispered and sexy voice that left your lips, you left a chaste kiss on Law's cheek and left towards the dorms.

[reguluskeys]

jegulus snippet - 1036 words - i’m a very amateur writer </3

cw: self hatred (im projecting)

cody if you see this no u don’t

The moment James saw Regulus in the astronomy tower that night, he knew something was off. He had his legs to his chest and was resting his head on top, staring at the stars. James slowly walked towards him, and sat down with one leg dangling over the edge.

Regulus either didn’t notice him or was simply choosing to ignore him, so James tried again to get his attention.

“Reg? You ok?” James nudged the boy's shoulder. When Regulus finally looked over, James saw the face he’d seen a million times from Sirius, only- well it was different. While James could read every signal on Sirius’ face to know exactly how he was feeling, Regulus seemed to have a wall up. His lips were pressed into a line and his eyebrows were knit together into almost a scowl, but his eyes… His eyes were filled with a deep sadness that James wished he could pluck from Regulus and give to himself, just to never see it on the boy again.

Regulus’ eyes flickered, looking James over, before turning back to the night sky. “I’m fine,” he mumbled. James let the silence sit between them for a minute as he too stared at the Stars. He wondered if Regulus or Sirius were out tonight.

“Well… Something’s definitely wrong… but you don’t have to talk about it! I’ll be your ‘shoulder to cry on or whatever they say!” James gave Regulus a smile that could melt anyone’s heart.

Regulus tried to hide the small smile but James caught it immediately and laughed. “Oh! Is that a smile? Did Regulus Black just smile?” Regulus rolled his eyes but the smile didn’t fall. “Well this must go in the history books. Wizards for generations must learn of the- dare I say gorgeous - smile that you have. Personally, I feel blessed-!” Regulus cut him off with an elbow to the stomach but James just kept laughing.

“Shut up!” Regulus said, laughter in his voice. “My smile isn't- it's not ‘gorgeous.’” He let one of his legs fall and dangle over the edge, mirroring James.

“Uhm, yes it is! You even give Sirius a run for his money! Don't tell Remus I said that. Or Sirius.” At the mention of his brothers name, the smile on Regulus’ face faltered. James immediately noticed.

“Hey, you ok? Did I say something wrong?” James leaned towards Regulus and lightly put his hand on the boys shoulder. Regulus tensed and went slightly red, though James barely noticed.

“I’m fine,” he paused for a moment. “Merlin it’s just, why does Sirius treat me like I'm still 9?!” Regulus let out a frustrated groan and let the other leg fall over the edge. “Yes, I love Sirius and I want to make amends but I can fight my own battles, I can make my own decisions! He acts like I'm still the crybaby who would sneak into his room at night because I was scared a bogart was in my room, or the kid who never spoke to anyone but him because I was scared to embarrass myself.”

Though it was probably not the best moment, James was enchanted by Regulus. He’d never heard the boy speak that many words at once, let alone the amount of passion and emotion.

“I love him but sometimes I just want to strangle him or drown him in the lake!” Regulus made a vague gesture, strangling the air in front of him as though it was Sirius’ neck. James let out a small snort that Regulus thought sounded weirdly similar to that of a stag, but the thought was overtaken by the sudden embarrassment. His face was suddenly bright red.

“Well now that someone has heard my incoherent ramblings about my brother I must either kill you or myself, and right now I'd rather it be me, so goodbye James. Tell Barty he can’t have my money.” Regulus said in a completely monotone voice and began to stand up on the ledge.

“Hey wait! If you kill yourself now you’ll never be able to beat gryffindor at the quidditch match- well not that you would, i’m the best captain the schools ever seen, but you wouldn’t even get to try!” James scrambled to pull Regulus back down next to him. Regulus huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Fine, i won’t kill myself. But in exchange for you hearing that… I need to hear one of your secrets now. Not that James Potter would have much to hide.” Regulus rolled his eyes and James let out a chuckle.

James had never been a private person, everyone knew when he liked a girl or if he hated a class. Everyone could tell when a marauders prank was about to be in motion because James simply did not have a poker face.

There was one thing though. Something not even Sirius knew. His small smile didn’t falter as he looked straight ahead and spoke.

“Sometimes, I really, really hate myself.” James spoke in a calm voice, as if he’d just stated his favorite color, and not something that had just shattered Regulus’ view of the entire world. The boy just stared at James, and when he finally realized Regulus wasn’t going to say anything, he continued.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don't think I'm a bad person… I have great parents, great friends, I get good marks, I'm a quidditch captain, and if I tried hard enough I could get almost any girl I wanted, but…” James moved his glasses off his face and held them infront of him. “I don’t know I guess, sometimes there’s just something in the back of my brain telling me i’m a terrible person- that everything I do is wrong or that i’m not doing enough. Then I think about all the things i’m lucky enough to have and I hate myself even more for even having those feelings in the first place.”

Regulus took a moment to truly look at James. Not the dumb-jock facade he showed the school, no he looked at the James who despite being the embodiment of sunshine, was burning inside. The James who had bad days and the James who sometimes hated himself.

[dootznbootz]

Hot take: Eurylochus' death is sadder than Polites' death in Epic.

For one thing, we got to "know" him longer. He is in more songs. We got to see this friendship as it was and how it soured. There's a REASON why Eurylochus was his 2nd in command. He was smart and knew what he was most of the time. Most likely, they were fine in the war but the monsters and everything else in the Odyssey are very different from a battle among mortal men.

Odysseus calls him his brother. I don't know if Jay plans to have Eurylochus be Odysseus' brother-in-law like he is in the Odyssey, but regardless, that does add to it.

We get to see the fear Eurylochus has, we get to see his doubt. His struggle to believe that Odysseus, his captain and "brother", actually knew what he was doing. As Odysseus WAS attempting very scary things that they've never really done before. Was he wrong most of the time? Yes. But can you blame him if you look through his point of view?

In some ways, I think Eurylochus almost KNEW his fate. Someone has mentioned it on tumblr but the fact that Eurylochus was so skeptical about Aeolus' island but was suddenly fine with eating Helios' cattle, shows that he just...didn't really care anymore.

Maybe he hasn't since he opened the bag tbh. Odysseus never says he "forgives him" after he admits to doing it. Odysseus was always the one to go back for their friends, the fact that he's changed so dramatically probably terrified him. As they were friends, and what happened with Scylla is now how he "treats" his friends, what does that mean for Eurylochus? Odysseus never said that he forgives Eurylochus, especially after what happened with Scylla.

The crew's "you relied on wit, and then we died on it" is almost a "prophecy" as these men are still alive but they DO die very soon after this. Odysseus "relied on wit" in how he chose himself over them. It's a reach, but I think you could even say that Penelope is his "wit" in this decision. She is the reason why he chose himself over them because "I have to see her." me too, Ody

His "But we'll die" doesn't even sound too desperate. I think it was one last try despite him knowing that "You will never choose us" because Odysseus would choose Penelope over anyone and everyone (Telemachus being the only other person who he'd possibly choose over her. I mean she'd be pissed if he put her before their son.). He already knew that Odysseus would choose her, I think he wanted some sort of answer or response from Odysseus. Maybe even an "I'm sorry" or something but Odysseus understands what this means but that doesn't matter as he has to see Penelope again.

Whether Eurylochus' and by proxy, the crews', deaths were already fated like in the actual Odyssey or not, there's just something so sad about seeing this bond go sour and how it'll never get the chance for forgiveness or resolution. It's done.

[dreamtuna]

Laid Bare By Moonlight

It's finally done, I've slain the beast. And I'm pretty happy with it. This is a piece I've been working on for a while now and I just kept editing it over and over. But I'm finally letting it out. I'm a bit nervous about this one lmao but I enjoyed writing this a lot and I hope you guys enjoy it too! And yeah I'll probably write a sequel because I want to know what happens next. Attack on Titan - Levi x fem!Reader, Levi x Unknown Woman smut, afab!Reader, listening through wall (without their knowledge), masturbation, jealousy, slight obsession tbh, walked in on/caught in the act, but okay with it! pretty enthusiastic about it honestly, shame, praise, begging, oral (fem receiving), Reader is a bit of a subby mess and she loves it, very brief mentions of threesome and cum eating fantasies Word Count: 4.9k On a sleepless moonlit night you don't expect to be kept awake by your Captain, but this is what happens when you forget to lock your door.

The darkness wrapped around you but sleep refused to come. No matter how hard you tossed and turned, there was no comfort and there was no rest, that much was clear. The frustration pooled in your body. You were exhausted, body weary from pushing extra hard in training lately. It was tough these days to think of much else except for your chronic underperformance. And now the stress of it all was eating away at your sleep. It seemed to have become a self feeding monster.

You threw your legs out of bed and walked across the room to the window. The moonlight had been bleeding through the thin curtains anyway, so you felt you might as well enjoy it fully if sleep wasn’t going to come and take you away. You pulled them back to bathe the room in it.

You returned to your bed, eyes drifting across the room at the empty one directly opposite. Most people envied you, having a room to yourself. You had the freedom to make a mess, the freedom to stay up late if needed, the freedom to have night time visits. But your room was spotless, you were usually in bed at a decent time and you hadn’t had a single partner since you joined the regiment. You’d just been too busy, too preoccupied with putting everything into this and proving you could do it.

Now look where that had landed you: alone in the middle of the night, insomnia gripping you by the throat and refusing to let go.

You heard a door open as the occupant of the next room returned for the night. It was rare to hear considering he would usually choose to sleep at his desk instead of in his bed. But sleep was never the purpose.

A light, floaty giggle travelled through the walls. Yeah, there it was. The stress relief. Captain Levi was not alone.

Now you were alone with your thoughts and the hushed excitement of some girl next door, muffled sounds drifting through the wall. Was that his boots being removed? Was that her body on the bed? Was that his on top of her? You couldn’t help it, your mind began to wander. Sitting with your back against the wall, you closed your eyes and listened.

Maybe you should’ve picked the other bed when you took this room.

You knew this was wrong. Only a wall separated you. You couldn’t hear much, but you could hear enough. You could hear the bed strain under their joint weight as they moved into positions you could only imagine. You could hear her moan loud and sudden as he, most likely, inserted himself into her, wasting no time. You could hear Levi hush her harshly, cutting off the objections which followed in what you could only imagine must be a rough kiss. And you could feel your hands drifting down your body as your lips opened in a silent gasp, your back arching slightly off the wall, imagining him slick with her excitement as he thrust in and out of her, as your fingertips danced over your light sleepwear.

You knew this was wrong. He was your Captain. But you had been attracted to him for as long as you knew of his existence, overflowing with excitement when you were picked to train under him. And as you heard the bed groan rhythmically under his thrusts you couldn’t help but crave being under him right now, a toxin beginning to flow through your veins. Jealousy clouded your judgement and your fingers worked their way under the waistband of your shorts.

You gingerly reached for your warmth, almost scared of what you might find, as if you weren’t already aware of how turned on you were. Your clothing did nothing to muffle the obscene noises your fingers made as you ran them up and down your slit, playing with your wetness before swirling them over your clit. Your back arched further as you touched the bundle of nerves, your desire and jealousy intertwining dangerously as you heard this faceless girl taking what you wanted. Biting down to suppress the building dark pleasure that wanted to rise out of your throat, you listened intently as the object of your desires gave her everything that should have been yours.

You almost scoffed. You were just another cadet to him. A promising one, sure, that’s why you had been picked to work under him, but just a cadet in his eyes nonetheless. He didn’t seem the type to mix business and pleasure, instead opting for these infrequent meetings with nameless women he likely never thought about again.

You wanted to be one of them so badly.

The cool night air caressed you, a much welcome feeling as your body began to heat up. Your free hand snaked up your stomach, pushing your t-shirt up to expose your breasts. You squeezed, pinching your nipple as you heard her cry out next door. She was getting close. Even to you it was obvious. The Captain had given up on hushing her but she seemed muffled. You thought about his firm hand clamped over her mouth, scowling down at her as he drove her closer and closer to climax.

It was too much. You needed more.

In a sudden movement you pulled your shorts off completely. Desperation overtook you, throwing yourself down on the bed, imagining his hands pushing you down, holding you in place. He would grab your legs, pushing your knees into your chest and exposing you completely… all for him. Much like she probably was right now. You pinched your nipple harshly, your pussy tingling as the dark wave of envy consumed you. Finally, you pressed first one finger, then a second, into your eager hole.

You had barely inserted the second when you realised the loud groan of pleasure you were hearing was actually coming from you.

You froze. Surely you hadn’t been that loud. It just seemed loud because you were the one who did it, right? The bed continued slamming into the wall separating you and you let out the breath you didn’t realise you had been holding. Deciding you were safe, you began to move your fingers in and out. Slowly, you savoured the feeling, the pleasant intrusion taking but a moment to get used to. You tried to match the rhythm of the bed next door, but it felt entirely insufficient. All you could think about was Levi’s cock driving in and out of her, coated in her wetness. A desperate part of you wanted so badly to be on your knees, watching them up close. You would wait patiently, mouth open like he expected of you, tongue ready to clean them both up. You wouldn’t resist when he’d pull out and push your face into her, commanding you to lick every last drop of his cum from inside of her. You wanted to do anything to please him.

The moonlight covered your body, your most intimate places only just shadowed by your knees pressed to your chest. It felt good, like you were in some kind of spotlight just for him. You writhed and you could no longer control your moans as they rose above your audible wetness. Sure, you had heard the Captain fuck once or twice before. It was a rare occurrence and you couldn’t begrudge a man under that much stress for indulging in his desires. You would usually just roll over and try to ignore the noises and the growing damp spot in your underwear. You’d spend the whole night dreaming of him and all the things he could do to you. But you never gave into your feelings like this.

Maybe the moon is affecting me, you thought, mind wandering hazily to the idea the full moon could affect your mental state. Through clouded eyes you stared out the window into the night sky, fingers never slowing. The only thing on your mind was how your Captain would look above you in that pale light, hair stuck gently to his brow with sweat, eyes an almost ghostly silver. In that moment you were convinced there could not be anything more magnificent.

Suddenly you snapped back to reality. The room next door was quiet now. Had you missed the end of the show? Whatever the case was, you still had your own needs to attend to. Unlike her, you didn’t have anyone to deliver you an orgasm on a silver platter. The more you thought about how you’d missed out on him slamming deep inside her, releasing with a grunt as her insides pulsed and milked him, the closer you got to falling off the edge of that cliff.

A moan tore from your throat, masking a faint sound you couldn’t quite place in the back of your mind. That was until you heard your door close a moment later. You gasped, freezing in place, vulnerable and exposed on your back with your legs in the air, fingers curled inside your entrance, hand barely covering your chest.

“You should really lock the door.”

Your body went ice cold. That voice. No, it couldn’t be. You were too anxious to move or cover yourself. You were too anxious to even look towards the door and confirm your fears. You didn’t understand what was going on. Blushing a furious shade of red - thankfully not very visible in the moonlight - you reluctantly tore your eyes away from the window, slowly turning to gaze across the room.

After a moment, the voice spoke again. “Do you want me to leave?” No, your mind pleaded, don’t leave. But you couldn’t respond. “I can leave and we pretend this never happened.”

Finally your eyes fell directly on him. Levi stood there, face unreadable in the shadows. But he was clearly staring straight at you. Embarrassment flooded your entire being at the thought of being seen like this, especially by him. You could no longer even form words in your panicked mind.

“Do you want me to leave?” he asked again. His voice was gentle, wrapping around you seductively.

Your voice shook, but you managed to get out a quiet “no”. You cleared your throat and repeated yourself as strongly as you could. “Stay,” you pleaded, voice thick with desire, knowing it was your lust speaking but it didn’t change the fact that this was something you craved so deeply.

He seemed satisfied with this and walked slowly across the room until he stood above you. He placed one hand softly on your knee, stroking back and forth across your bare skin as he stared down at you. You couldn’t see his expression like this, but he could see almost all of you. Ironically, only your lewd position saved you from exposing everything to him.

“Don’t stop,” he told you.

You blinked up at him. “W-what?”

Levi leaned forwards, placing his hands on the bed either side of your face. Your breath caught in your throat.

“I said don’t stop.”

With a start you realised what he meant. Inhaling sharply, you began working your fingers inside you again. You felt your cheeks heat up instantly at the sound of your fingers plunging into you. You wanted to look away from him, but he was watching you so intently it felt wrong not to hold his gaze. He’d caught you at your most vulnerable, and your desperation was clawing at you to get out. You wanted to please him. Your mouth opened slightly as your breathing picked up and the slightest smirk appeared on his features.

“You think I didn’t hear you moan before?” he said quietly. His voice held something in it that you couldn’t quite identify now, but it wasn’t malicious or menacing. It was stern, the type of voice that demanded respect, but yet it had that same warm edge to it as you’d heard when he first came in. “Can’t believe you’ve been lying here getting off listening to me fuck.”

You gasped at hearing it said out loud, the way he practically spat the word at you, your face flushing even deeper. You had to look away from him now. You couldn’t handle the shame as it washed over you as you felt yourself getting wetter with every word. You were even beginning to whimper now, the feelings intensifying with his warmth just above you.

He grabbed your chin, turning you to face him once again. Your eyes locked. There was a power in that gaze that you couldn’t resist, one that had you tumbling down and down into him, ready to give him everything as you had dreamed of for so long. And you knew, when you were consumed by those eyes, that he would gladly take everything you had to offer.

“What do you want?” he asked you, but you had no way of answering that. Your mind was going blank again as the pleasure rose. You knew if you opened your mouth now it would be an incoherent pleading. You had just enough dignity left to want to avoid that. Barely.

He pulled back, his hand returning to your knee to stroke it softly. You moaned at the sudden contact, fingers jerking inside you. You couldn’t believe you were behaving this way at even the lightest of touches. It was pathetic. Your insides squeezed tightly around your fingers. Your skin was on fire, desperate to feel him against you.

“Tell me what you want.”

It was no longer a question. It was not a request.

With great difficulty, you swallowed hard. Closing your eyes you took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself. Everything felt crazy, like this was just some super vivid dream. It had to be. But his touch felt so real. His skin was rough against yours, neatly trimmed nails barely grazing against you from time to time.

Eventually, you managed to answer him in the smallest voice. “Please touch me.”

He didn’t need telling twice. Instantly he shifted, moving to sit on the bed between your legs, angling himself so he could appreciate your body in the light. Instincts kicked in and you began to squeeze your legs shut, shame threatening to overcome you, but his hands gripped your knees, firmly. Levi spread your legs and gazed down at your half naked body, eyes roaming you hungrily from your breasts right down to where your fingers still toyed with your juices.

In the moonlight you could see now his hair was mussed, the tips lightly dampened from the sweat of his previous exertions. The sheen of sweat was mostly gone, but you felt that bitter jealousy rising throughout you at the way his skin glistened, making him look ethereal. He’d pulled a shirt on, the top few buttons undone, his collarbones enticing you. You didn’t even notice as your tongue darted out to wet your lips at the sight of them, your hunger to cover them with a bouquet of nips and kisses growing.

You realised he must have literally finished with her, dressed and come straight through to you. The thought made your stomach flutter, an odd mixture between indignation and a deep dark pride at being next on his list tonight. Vaguely, your mind wandered to thinking about whether this was something he regularly did.

Levi ran his hands over your legs, jolting you out of your thoughts, holding them open so he could enjoy the show you were putting on for him. There was something intoxicating about the way he watched your fingers work. He stared intently at the glistening digits as they withdrew from within you, the light barely catching them now your knees were being held out of the way. He sat quietly like this for a moment. The only sound between you was your light panting and your own juices, almost deafening in the silence.

He leaned forward between your legs, sliding his hands up your thighs and onto your stomach before cupping your breasts. He squeezed gently, a warm strength wrapping around you, toying with your nipple ever so lightly. He worked his way down, planting the lightest kiss on your stomach. His body intermittently touched against your hand. You wondered if that was deliberate, your fingers pushing deeper inside you whenever he did.

You couldn’t hold back your thoughts any longer. “What happened with her?” you asked in a hoarse voice.

Levi paused, face hovering above your stomach. He looked up at you, sharp eyes connecting with yours. His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“I told her to leave.”

He said it like it was so simple, so obvious. Is that why you hadn’t heard anything? He’d just stopped? Or did he mean he had finished and immediately dismissed her? He watched you, eyes narrowing as he realised you were still digesting his words.

He sighed. “After I heard you she just didn’t feel the same to me anymore.” After a long pause he asked, “Does that make you uncomfortable?”

You shook your head. You felt weird, but you weren’t exactly uncomfortable with it. Had you somehow stolen him away from her? All you were doing was masturbating to the sound of your Captain slamming his hips into a mystery woman without his knowledge when you may have let out a loud moan - what was so wrong with that? Well, it sounded kinda messed up when you put it that way. The whole thing was messed up, what with him appearing in your door. Your head was still reeling from it. A part of you said you should’ve shooed him away instantly, but the way his hands played with your tits was melting away any lingering doubt you may have had. You had wanted him so much, and now here he was. Were you really going to squander this chance? His lips pressing against your stomach again had you forgetting all about what was okay and what wasn’t. You pushed your stomach up towards him, craving more, moaning lightly for him.

“Ah, yeah, that’s the sound,” he whispered into your skin.

His voice sounded strained. He gave your nipple a sharp pinch, eliciting a gasp from you, and then did it again for good measure. Your nipples were starting to get so sensitive from both his pinching and the attention you had given them earlier. His weight shifted on the bed and suddenly he was leaning right over you. He pushed his body gently down onto you, staring into your eyes as he did so. You could feel his bulge through his pants as he pressed into your hand slightly.

Levi kissed you. Delicate at first, your lips touching for only a second, but it didn’t take long before you had both devolved to desperately pushing against each other. His tongue worked its way into your willing mouth, claiming you as his own. You moaned into his mouth and you swear you could feel him twitch against the back of your hand.

A thought crossed your mind. Carefully you pulled your fingers out of yourself, shifting your arm enough to grab your Captain’s cock through his pants. You stroked him gently. He nipped at your bottom lip. He was straining against his pants, his hips thrusting erratically into your hand almost as if it were a subconscious reaction to your touch. You could feel the change in his breathing as he kissed you.

Your fingers fumbled to undo his pants but with only one hand it was difficult. You started to reach down but he grasped your wrist. He promptly found your other wrist and brought them together above your head, pinning you to the bed. You whimpered. This was starting to feel a lot like your fantasies.

He pulled back from your lips for a moment. In the moonlight you could just see the glint of his steely eyes as he looked at you. Without a word he lifted himself off you, but before you could whine about losing contact you found his lips descending on your sensitive buds. Working first one nipple, then the other, lathering them with sloppy attention until his teeth lightly nipped. Levi kissed and licked your breasts, smothering them with soft, sweet sensations before adding in more sharp little bites. You moaned for him, arching your back to push your breast into his mouth. But he pushed you back down. With a loud wet kiss to each breast, he began to work his way further down your body.

You were in heaven. No one had ever made you feel this way before. No one had ever shown your body so much consideration. You’d been with others before, and some of them had attempted foreplay, but the keyword there was “attempted”. After a while it all just devolved into grunting into one another and hoping their motions would be enough to satisfy you. They never were. But this was different. Levi hadn’t even taken his clothes off yet and you felt close to the edge of something huge that had you gripping the covers in anticipation as you moaned for him. You knew the second his lips made their way lower there was a good chance you would just shatter into pieces underneath him.

His lips trailed soft kisses along your hips. You were still in disbelief at what was happening, but oh God did you believe it when you threw your head back and moaned his name as his lips descended on your clit. He immediately felt the way you were quivering and pulled back.

“Not yet,” he told you, firmly squeezing your thighs where his hands had come to rest, holding you open for him.

You whimpered, but that stern warmth of his voice had you willing to do your best for him, wrapping around and pulling you into submission.

You glanced up from your pillow. You could see his eyes looking up at you, awaiting confirmation of your obedience. You nodded in understanding and he kissed your mound.

“Good girl,” he whispered, sending jolts of electricity up through your body until they pierced your soul.

Knowing how sensitive you were, Levi was very careful with his touch. He pressed his forearm under your thighs, pressing your knees into your chest. You’d had your legs in the air so long they were beginning to ache, but there wasn’t a chance in hell you were about to complain. Especially not as his other hand made its way to take over for your earlier incomplete job. His fingers ran up and down your slit, admiring the way they would glide over you with how wet you were for him. Not messing around, he inserted two fingers straight into you and was instantly rewarded with you tightening around them, a whimper escaping you.

His lips came back down on your clit, sucking and licking at the bundle of nerves as his fingers began to pump in and out of you. He wasn’t gentle, but there was a certain care in his actions that made you feel safe. Maybe it was just your desire to orgasm tricking you into feeling that way. It really didn’t matter all that much to you what it was, it just felt good.

Levi enjoyed the way you whimpered for him. He wanted more of it until he was drowning in the sweet sounds you were making for him. But he could feel you reaching your limit. You were trying so hard to hold on for him. He could feel it in the way you tensed. He could hear it in how obnoxiously loud your pussy was. He pulled his fingers out of you slowly, savouring the way they glistened with your juices in the moonlight. He licked them clean, eyes closing as your flavour engulfed him.

When he was done his lips were wet with the taste of you.

“You’re being such a good girl for me,” he praised you, fingers working their way back inside. This time he got to feel that jolt of electricity those two words sent through you as you clenched around him. “Yeah, you want more of that?”

You whimpered louder now. The desperation was clear. You didn’t need to nod for him to know, but seeing the way you frantically bobbed your head up and down had a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The control he had over your pleasure was intoxicating.

“I can’t hear you. Do you want to cum or not?”

He lightly swatted at your ass. You groaned loudly, feeling your dignity slipping away with each second. You felt yourself almost lose it and immediately, despite the fog of arousal, it was clear in your head what you wanted.

You mumbled something.

“Hmm?”

“Please… Want to cum…”

“Tch, that’s no way to ask for what you want.” His fingers arched up inside you briefly, hitting that sensitive spot for the first time. It felt like your whole body jerked upwards as you cried out.

“Please, Captain…” You sobbed slightly now, your dignity all but gone now. If you could only actually get the words out.

He seemed pleased with your efforts, stroking that sweet spot again as a reward. It was too much. You were going to cum either way, you might as well please him at the same time.

“Please, Captain, oh fuck. Please let me cum.” You choked back a sob. “Please, I can’t hold it. Please.”

A low groan rolled out of him. For a second the rhythm of his fingers faltered in you. He wasn’t expecting your begging to be that sweet, but oh how he adored it. He placed a sloppy kiss on your clit, enjoying the sharp gasp it drew from you.

“Cum for me,” he whispered, words ghosting over the bundle of nerves. “Cum for your Captain.”

His tongue danced around you, fingers now pressing relentlessly into that sweet spot no one else had ever found. He sucked noisily on you, alternating between suction and sweet kisses and lapping tongue. It was driving you insane and within seconds of this assault you were falling apart beneath him, your moans so loud, so beautiful, that there was no way half the barracks hadn’t heard you this time. You pulsated around his fingers as they found their home deep inside you, playing with the nerves inside that made your body tremble beneath him.

When you had finally reduced to a whimpering mess he withdrew from you. He sat back and looked at his hand, covered in your love.

“Oi, look at me and open your mouth,” he ordered and through your hazy brain you obeyed without question.

Levi shoved his hand at your face. You got the message and eagerly took his fingers into your mouth, sucking and licking him clean almost hungrily in a way that made his cock throb in his pants. You were so far gone at this point, your inner desires carrying you now. You would do so much for this man if he only asked it of you. He made you weak, and after that you knew he could make you feel better than anything else in this world.

You so desperately wanted to hear him call you a good girl again.

He pulled his hand back and, much to your surprise, he lay down next to you. He pulled you into his arms, resting your head against his chest. You were stunned, letting him manipulate your body however he wanted.

“You did so well,” he whispered into your ear, kissing your hair gently. “Rest.”

“But you haven’t cum,” you blurted out, fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt not really knowing what to think or feel right now.

His sweet chuckle only made you more confused. A noise you never thought you’d hear from him of all people. But there it was, followed by yet another brief kiss to your hair.

“Rest,” he repeated. “You can look after me when you get your breath back.”

After a moment the tensions in your body eased and you let yourself get comfortable in his arms. You couldn’t get it out of your mind how uncomfortable he must be having had no relief, but his thumb was making soothing sweeps across your bare back, your top still pulled up above your breasts so that your nipples grazed against the fabric of his shirt. Your hips were gently touching. His warmth was engulfing you.

The more he held you and gently pet you the more you found yourself sinking into that sleep you so desperately desired before all this started. You were a complete mess, heart only just coming under control, head swirling with endless thoughts about what had just happened. You decided to take up his offer of rest for just a while longer, trying desperately to remove all those doubts that were creeping back up from your mind.

Because in that moment, none of that mattered. The only things that mattered were his warmth and his gentle breathing beside you. The way his thumbs continued rubbing your bare back, soothing you endlessly. The way his bulge rubbed gently against you. It wouldn’t take long before he’d have you on your knees taking care of him, you were sure of it, but for now you could just melt into his body. His lips grazed against your hair again and you gripped onto his shirt a little tighter, sighing happily, stress and anxiety easing in your heart, even if just for a little while.

[tirsynni]

There's a popular mindset that I'm seeing within fandoms right now, and it's the type of mindset which destroys fandoms and makes enjoying any type of storytelling difficult.

"Well, I don't understand why the character just didn't do this."

"If I was in that person's shoes, I wouldn't have done that dumb action."

"OBVIOUSLY, the character just should have done this."

One, if the character did all of that stuff, there wouldn't be a story to tell. Two, if the character had such a godly, clear perspective of everything and the emotional detachment to complete all of the actions, it would be a boring story. Three, that's not how shit works. That's not how stories work, and that's not how real life works.

"Why did that character run up the stairs? That was stupid of them."

Do you think they knew what genre they were in? How many horror characters know they're in a horror story? Many of them think that if they're in any genre, it's romance or something.

In that specific moment, with the known options available and no information beyond what is immediately in front of them, what option will the character take? The viewer or reader is outside the action. They can pause the movie. They can put down the book. The character doesn't have that option.

Characters within a story are also bound by the laws within that story. If they have the time and ability to think on their options, that still doesn't give them complete freedom of choice. They are still bound by specific options, with each set of options having possible positive and negative consequences.

This character has concerns about his current military operation? What makes more sense? Dramatically going AWOL with all of its possible complications and consequences or staying in line? More often than not, the latter makes the most sense to the character at the time. They think that they have the time and ability to figure everything out. They don't have the information to know just how bad the situation is.

The tragedy within stories and what often makes them fascinating to us is all of the things which binds the characters to their negative choices. A story where a character realizes they're in a horror genre and are completely willing to get the hell out of there... except they can't. Because they can't leave their friends behind. Someone who knows their actions will probably lead to their own death but truly believes that it will benefit their loved ones. Someone who keeps making awful choice after awful choice for all the best reasons and can't back out now: they've gone too far and they're confident that the next choice will make everything better again.

The best characters are the ones whose positives are balanced by their negatives. Their strengths become their weaknesses. A character's confidence becomes arrogance which leads to their doom. Someone's love becomes obsession.

And sometimes, within the frame of the story, the character can make all the right decisions and still fail. As Captain Picard says, that's life, and that also makes for an intriguing story.

I love my fix-its. I love writing how something could have changed to make a happy ending. I rarely want the canon to change unless the writer made that awful ending for stupid reasons, though, like laziness or just going for stupid shock value. Even then, the best fix-its work with the tragedy inherent in the original story.

Darth Vader survives! Now what? It's never implied within the narrative that he thought the bad guys were wrong, after all: he just chose his son over the emperor, chose love and family over the Empire. Him surviving by a change in circumstances doesn't mean happily ever after. It opens a whole new can of worms.

And honestly? Sometimes the characters having two equal choices and choosing the bad, lethal choice is what makes the story that much more heart wrenching, because they were so close to that happy ending, and it was their lack of godly perspective and their mortal limitations which led to their tragic end. That's not a bad thing!

If every character made every proper choice and had no flaws which would impair their decision making, it would lead to a boring story. It would also be jarring within the context of the story and separate the characters from their own universe, elevate them above the narrative instead of allowing them to flourish or wilt within it. It's more fun to dissect what led to those choices than to just say, "Well I would have just done this!"

[sonicblueartist]

Rayman x Reader

A/N: I know I said I won't write for Rayman until I post all of your Bullfrog requests but I couldn't help myself. This idea suddenly come to my mind.

He is either the Rayman from the games or from Captain Laserhawk but before he was choosen to be Eden's poster boi~ You can choose whichever. You can even think this either romantic or platonic too :)

AND SO SORRY FOR THE TYPO MISTAKES AAAA

Summery: Pure fluff no warnings, wholesome moments, a bit cursing, and Rayman worries about something...

Masterlist

Taglist: @blorbostation @eateableworm @livelaughluvvfaithyy @darkchanx @astoraa

Btw does anyone want to be in the tag list?

Dear anons; I would really appreciate it if you could choose an emoji while sending your asks and requests (and stick with it) so I can tell you apart. Thank you~

Stary Night

You somewhat sharply expressed in surprise breaking the short moment of silence, "You are over one hundred?"

The night, beckoned by the stars under the glow of a full moon. As the colours of the day rest, the hillside becomes its monochrome beauty. The moon and stars shine above the passing clouds of ink. The night was a special kind of blackness, the kind that wants only to hold the stars and help them to shine all the brighter. It was a warm black that hugged you no matter what, and give you a nice kind of serenity, within it's safety you could feel your own soul all the more clearly.

You were lying on one of the branches of a giant tree, big enough for both of your bodies to fit, and watching away this peaceful night slowly circle around your bodies.

A short stuffed snort come from him, it sounded forced and mockery. Or maybe it's just your tired mind playing with you.

His hands behind his head, he never once looked anywhere other then the stars. He hissed, "Eh, who knows? I stop counting a long time ago." He chuckled and made a shrugging like effort. After all he had no shoulders to shrug...

You teased with a smirk, never giving him a glance, "Heh, good to know... grandpa~"

He hit your shoulder playfully with an annoyed groan, "I knew telling you this wasn't a good idea..." he grumbled with a pout.

You coad and sit up patting his hand, "Aww, don't worry. I find it really cool. Wait. Are you immortal or just age different? Omg, if you are aging backwards that would be so cool."

He give you a glance causing you to freeze. That wasn't his usual annoyed or playfull stares.

He swallowed and sit up, glancing away.

"...I age slowly..." He simply answered your teasing question.

You pressed your lips. Have you step on a sensitive topic?

You try to ease him up, "Hey... Nothing wrong with aging slowly you know. You will going to stay and look young for quite a while and--"

"It's not as awesome as you think it is. What do you think going to happen after one hundered years later?"

You actually pondered about it, "Well I think you could look young for two thousands years--"

He give you a glare and cut you off, "You will not be there." He scoffed giving an answer to his own question. He shook his head in disbelief and look away.

You frowned. Of course... this was what he have been worrying about. Before you can even open your mouth to speak, he suck a sharp breath and speak up again.

"One hundered years... I lost some people, yeah I did make new ones in the way but... it never stop hurting... and it never will. I thought about just build walls around myself at some point but... I know who I am and I will never stop meeting new ones and help people around." He smiled to himself but it's fade as quick. He heavied a sigh, "I just don't wanna lose anyone I guess." He quickly muttered. He scratched his cheek, seems like ashamed to admit all this, "S-sorry. Didn't mean to lay it all off on you." He chuckled.

You smiled and slide next to him, hitting his side the way he did to you, "Hey, I don't care about age or what the future holds for us. I care about right now. And what's happening right now? We are both sitting together on a giant tree swarmed by the peacfullness of the night." He smiled at that.

You continued, "Age doesn't matter, it does not choose who you are, you do. What makes you you is your experiences and your... pleasures? Wait- No- I fucked it up."

He snorted at that. A real laugh. His fist of laughs caused you to start laughing along with him. He couldn't hold back himself and drop down on his back. He snickered and gasped for breath.

"My pleasures?" He choked out.

You snickered, "I said what I said." You shrugged proudly, "Now, tell me, What gives you pleasure in this world?"

His hands slipped back behind his head as he closed his eyes with a thoughtfull expression, "Hmm... I guess... adventures. Without them I would probably go insane by now." He chuckled.

You lay back aslo, "Yeah, adventures are fun."

"What about you?" He glanced at you.

You grinned at that and poked his nose, "You will never know."

He quickly sit up with the the most arrogant, playfull grin you ever saw him wearing, "Ahhh, I know. I get it. It's me isn't it?"

You burst into laughing, "Holy shit what?! You?! No way!"

He nudges your sides, "Come oooon, come on, come on, admit it!"

You try to push his floating hands away, and to stop your laughing but his tickling making it much worse, "S-stop it! Hahaha Y-you're gonna kill meee!!" You wheezed out.

He pouted playfully, "Fineee. You are no fun." He drop down on his back again, a peacfull smile on his lips.

You gasp for air and sighed, "God, I'm exhusted." You groaned and send a playfull glear in his way which he grinned at.

You two continued to lay down on the branch observing the stars. Your tired mind and body wouldn't let you even move an inch, your eyelids get heaver and heavier. It was so hard for you to try to make them stay open. After your little war with him made you even more exhausted than you were already is. Your mind felt heavy and sturggle to graps reality.

"Hey... uh... before you fall asleep or something... I want to say... thank you... for being here." He sounded content.

You smiled with his soft voice.

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 2, Unspeakable - Pt. 4

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, Steve Rogers (he is not my favorite, okay?), Emotional discussions, Explosions!

Word Count: 868

Previously On...: You celebrated Bucky's new arm by watching the Hobbit movie. When you mentioned that one of your friends would let him do "unspeakable things" to their body, he immediately thought of Natasha. Why did that make you feel icky inside?

A/N: I'm posting this from a coffee shop, which makes me feel very much like a "legit" writer, when, in reality, I'm just waiting for my dog to get out of the groomer, and the coffee shop is a Dunkin' lol.

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917

Taglist: (Please let me know if you’d like to be added!)  @blackhawkfanatic @les-sel @marcswife21 @buckybarnessimpp

"I've been meaning to thank you," Steve said as he stood over your shoulder. It was about a week after your movie night with Bucky, and you and Steve were working a mission together in Eastern Latvia. He'd already cleared the facility of hostile agents, allowing you the time you needed to infiltrate the site's computer systems and copy all necessary files for extraction back to the US government’s counter-terrorism task force. It was something you'd done a hundred times before, and could probably do with your eyes closed.

"Thank me for what? We've done this dance plenty of times." Your eyes narrowed as you concentrated on the computer code, fingers moving almost too fast for your own eyes to follow. You had nearly done it- the breach was wide open, and the terrorists' files were all laid out before you. The hard part was over, now it was just a matter of copying them over securely.

"Not the mission," he clarified, clearing his throat. "I wanted to thank you for what you've done for Bucky, for being there for him. I... I know you don't like me and things between us haven't been the same since Berlin, but it means a lot to me, knowing that he can call you a friend."

You paused, fingers hovering over the keyboard, and stared blankly at the screen, not able to look at him in the moment. "I never disliked you, Steve," you began, slowly, choosing your words with care, "but you broke us. You had your reasons, I get that, and maybe, to you, they seemed like good ones, but you fractured our family instead of trying to find a way for all of us to work through it, together. The only reason we're even in this room right now is because, by some grace of God, Tony was able to put his ego aside and offer you an olive branch to come home. We might look whole on the outside, but the cracks are still there. And they're always going to be. They'll never fully heal.

"So, it's not that I don't like you anymore. It's that I can't trust you. Not right now. Because I don't know if you're going to break us again." Your voice cracked by the end, but you felt surprisingly lightened, as though a massive weight had been lifted from your shoulders, and you realized just how desperately you had needed Steve to know how his actions had affected, not just you, but the others, as well. None of you had wanted to be forced to take sides in the civil war between Iron Man and Captain America; it had felt like burning down your own house, but in the end they had left you no choice. You'd already had it out with Tony. He'd apologized in the only way a man like him knew how-- with a brand new Ferrari that you were too anxious to drive and an obscene raise to your salary, but you'd never spoken about it with Steve. He'd seemed too content to act as though nothing had changed, like he hadn’t upended your entire existence.

You heard him clear his throat above you and you looked up. He was looking away from you, his face impassive, save for a tic in jaw. You'd known him long enough to see he was working on holding back his emotions.

"That's fair," he said softly. "That's entirely valid, and fair. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I was so caught up in trying to bring back my best friend that I didn't realize I was throwing away my family." He stole a glance down at you and caught your gaze; you could see his eyes shining. "I'll do better, Pocket. I'll do better for all of us, and I’ll especially do better for you."

His words didn't heal the wounds on your heart, but they did make them hurt a little less. You flashed him a small smile of gratitude, amazed that just his acknowledgement of the pain he'd caused you could be such a soothing balm to your anger. "Thanks, Cap. I appreciate it." He smiled at your use of the nickname; you hadn't called him anything but Rogers in forever. “And, for what it's worth," you added as the computer began beeping, signaling the transfer of files was complete and your objective had been reached, "I'm grateful you brought Bucky back with you. I can't imagine not having him in my life now." You stood up and pocketed the flash drive that now contained 18 months worth of terrorist plans. "Now, what do you say we blow this fucking Popsicle stand?" You gave him a cheeky grin as you deposited a small detonator on top of the computer server.

Steve returned your smile and offered a flourished "After you" as the two of you made your way out of the facility. Once you had cleared the perimeter, he gave you the all clear, signaling you to set off the detonators. You watched together as the building imploded into a spectacular fireball. Your relationship may not have been fully cured, but it had finally begun the process of healing.

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[cerealboxlore]

ok so just imagine one of the younger jl members or yjl members decide to ask the older members why they decided to become a hero/their origin story and some of the members are answering, some preferring not to, giving different sorts of answers but they all chose to use their circumstances to become a hero

and then they get to marvel

of course marvel has the nature? i guess? of a hero with his whole “do good and good will follow” thing but he never really wanted to be a hero in a fair few versions (i think, don’t source me), he was chosen but didn’t do the choosing

when he was “offered” (in quotation marks because he was basically forced into it anyways, his consent was dubious at best) he basically said ‘no, i’m not the right guy for this’ but was pressured into it anyways

rather than deciding to be a hero, it was more like he decided to do good with what he had, and what he had were superpowers

so just imagine them asking marvel why he chose to be a hero and marvel saying “i didn’t”

(depending on the age you depict him as getting his powers could make some difference, my automatic age for him being chosen is like 9 for some reason)

High time I answered this amazing ask, holy cow it's been cooking in here for some time

I really love the idea of a younger JL/YJL member going around and coordinating interviews with the older superheroes and getting their origin stories and asking questions on why they decided to become who they are today. Perhaps after all the news and stories they've heard from a certain popular radio host, Whiz Kid, they wanted to be like them a little with this personal project of theirs.

Every hero they ask either gives them a simple answer of "it was what I was meant to do", or, "I want to help people", or "eh, I had free time, why not". There are some that refuse to answer (batman), but that only makes the interviews become more fun and exciting. The young hero is learning so much from their elders, and once they get to Captain Marvel, they think his answer is going to be a delightful and sunny one, as expected from a cheerful guy like him.

They expected his answer to be simple, maybe even adding some humor to it. Like, "Well, someone had to compete with superman" or "it was my biggested dream to become a hero just like my heroes".

But.

They don't get that kind of answer from him.

"Hm? Oh, I didn't."

"...Huh? I'm sorry, excuse me, but, what? What do you mean you didn't choose to become a hero? Why are you a hero now when you didn't want to be?"

"Oh gosh, I didn't expect this kind of question, but I guess...well it's because it wasn't exactly planned. There was never really any chance for me to have a choice in the matter. I didn't choose to be a hero, I just chose to do good with what I had all of sudden, you know? I never thought of becoming a hero until it actually happened, and I didn't know I WAS a hero until people starting calling me one. Ha, can you believe that? Really blew me away hearing people of my city call me their hero. Me, of all people."

"...huh. That's...really incredible, Captain Marvel. But, what do you mean, you didn't have a choice in the matter?"

"ha...well, let's just say that some things are just meant to happen, and they can't be avoided, no matter what....yeah...."

The younger superhero then sees what they swore was a split second melancholy emotion drown Captain Marvel's eyes, then just as quickly disappear when the man excuses himself to leave.

Gosh that got a little angsty there for a moment, but I really enjoy the idea of Captain Marvel initially refusing his powers and not believing himself in being worthy. He really was pressured into those powers, and he deserved to know what he was in for before being made Champion of Magic. A warning, before Billy entered a world of his heroes, and his worst nightmares.

Maybe the wizard knew that if the child knew what dangers were to come, perhaps he would have refused. Or. Maybe it was pointless to tell Billy, because the soul of a bright hero and a pure heart, radiated that much within Billy, that the wizard knew he would be a hero no matter what in the end.

[itstheghostofmypast]

03.20

J.Yunho x (F)Reader

Genre: Fluff

Summary: She didn't know that he knew, what she didn't think he'd know, and he knew she didn't know he knew- knew she had a dirty little secret.

A/N: I needed to get this out of my system. If you like this, please reblog and comment! Also, feel free to dm me if you want to be part of my Ateez taglist. 💕✨

Masterlist

Warm.

Warm is what she felt, extremely warm, almost suffocating, this warmth engulfing her forced her eyes to snap open, squinting at the darkness that surrounded her, her brain took a full minute to register the presence of someone next to her, as she instinctively gasped, flinching away, only to be pulled closer- Oh, Yunho.

Wait, what?

She tried to turn in this death choke of an embrace, trying to face him, only to fail horribly when she felt him shuffle and pull her even closer, pressing her back flush against his chest. Why exactly was she in this position? Glancing at the opposite wall she noted the illuminated numbers, 03:20- great, at 3 in the morning she was in her boyfriend's bed- trapped, hungry, extremely warm, and possibly developing the urge to pee.

How had she ended up like this?

Oh yeah.

"10 more minutes, love, I'll be done," he mumbled, staring at the screen, not even registering her hum in response. She was seated beside him, watching him play, only she hadn't been staring at the screen, no, she had shamelessly been ogling at her boyfriend's hands, watching the way his slender fingers pressed the buttons, the veins on his hands pulsating every time he'd move a finger. She had always adored his hands, not that she'd tell him, no, that was her dirty little secret.

The original plan was for them to snuggle up and watch a movie, then she could head home, only because sleeping over at the dorm meant lack of privacy- not that the boys would intrude, but she was one to not show affection in front of anyone else- keeping her secret little moments of clinginess and gooey love enclosed from the rest of the world. 

Though since he had an early morning schedule, he couldn't possibly make it to her apartment, after which he had urged her to drop by, rather dramatically,

"Lovely, I'll literally pass onto the next life from all this stress, if you don't show up."

Now, as dramatic as that was, she had gotten off work, snorting at the audio he had sent her. Choosing to buy something for him and the rest, probably some jjajangmyeon, as she made her way to the dorm. It wasn't unusual for her to drop by, nor was it strange for her to bring food, which is why as soon as Hongjoong had let her in, Wooyoung and Mingi had oh so helpfully taken the bags from her, ignoring her calling them over with a "Two servings are reserved!" and running into the kitchen.

"Here." She smiled and thanked San who had salvaged their parcel, handing it to her as he pursed his lips, "Yunho's in his room, kicked me out of the team."

"Aww... I'll talk to him about that." she pouted with him, hearing Hongjoong scoff, "Make sure he sleeps on time please, he's been at it since we came home."

"Will do, captain!" She saluted before marching to her boyfriend's room, food in hand.

With the food left cold on the small coffee table, she sat there, had been for the past hour, waiting for him to finish. Would've stopped him sooner, but she did get distracted by the way his skillful fingers were at work. He was even wearing the rings she had gotten him for his last birthday- again, never explained why she got them, only said "felt like getting you something shiny too."

Due to this very reason, she too had forgotten why they had planned to meet up, only after those 10 minutes turned into an hour, followed by her stomach growling at her forced her to get up and eat her cold food, without him- well, next to him, for she had returned with the bowl and sat there, eating and watching "him" play.

Little happened after that, with a full tummy she had ended up laying on the bed, closing her eyes to rest, not knowing when she had dozed off.

Now, here she lay on her side, on his bed, head on his other arm like a pillow,  the little spoon to his giant form, unsure how this position wasn't going to cause him back pain in the morning. "Oh..." whispering to herself she reached down to where his arm was resting on her form, trailing her fingers down his bare arm, how was he this warm in a T-shirt? Finally reaching their destination, her fingers traced the map of his hand, feathery touches, feeling the soft warmth underneath the pads of her fingers.

The low buzz of the air conditioning and the giant-sized heater of a boyfriend had her almost dozing off, fingers now gently working on his, slowly massaging them, absentmindedly, trying to ease the tension in his knuckles. 

"You keep that up and I might not be able to control myself, love." his warm breath tickled her ear.

Shivering at the feeling, her breath hitched, as he laced his fingers with hers, the cool rings burning against her warm skin, "How long have you been up for?" she whispered, not wanting to change the tranquil atmosphere. 

"Don't know." mumbling he buried his face in her hair, letting the fading scent of her shampoo engulf his senses. 

"When did you come to bed?" 

"At 2- you knocked out as soon as you hit the bed." he hummed, kissing the top of her head, "Didn't know staring at my hands could tire my poor baby out so much."

"Mhmm..." she hummed only to stop and realize what he had just said, instantly covering her face with her hands, trying to hide her evident blush.

His laugh boomed across the silent dorm as he flipped them over, hovering over her, trying to peel her hands away, cooing at her whines, "Aww come on pretty, let me see those innocent eyes of yours- I won't tell how you use them to imagine naughty things."

"I imagined nothing!" protesting she glared up at him, as he pinned her wrists beside her head, "I was j-just admiring them." mumbling as she averted her gaze, trying her best to not let it show, wasn't going to let him have all the fun.

"Don't worry, I liked it." leaning closer his nose brushed against hers, "Makes me feel loved." Their gaze locked for a moment, lips barely touching as he whispered against hers, "Wanna get matching rings?"

Tilting her head upwards she gave him a quick peck, catching him off guard, his eyes going wide, face resembling the same flush she had minutes ago. That's what she loved about him, he could go from a sexy, dominating beast to a puddle of flustered fluff in seconds.

"Sure." she hummed before shoving him off her, which was easy because he was distracted, and getting off the bed. Sitting up straight he frowned, watching her stretch, "Where are you- You can't go home at this hour." he stated, as a matter of fact.

"Can I go pee, though?" she chimed, walking over to the full-length mirror to check herself, turning to him, earning a nod, "Better come back here quick though."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Gonna show you what else I can do with these hands."

To say that made her run to and back from the washroom was an understatement, the only problem was, upon her arrival, she was greeted with a knocked-out Yunho. She wasn't per se disappointed, just surprised, by how only a few minutes ago he had invited her for some real intimacy, only to succumb to sleep before anything. Well, at least he was getting the rest he deserved, she thought to herself as she slipped into bed, staring up at the ceiling, his scent and warmth lulling her senses to a dull buzz. She was almost asleep when he pulled her closer, burying his face in her hair, causing her to smile with her eyes closed, her hand reaching for the one that rested on her hip, thinking of which ring to get them. Perhaps simple bands, or something shiny and expensive, who knows she wondered, slowly slipping into a comfortable sleep, enveloped in his arms, knowing that whatever it is, the matching rings may just be the start of something stronger, something longer.

[baohanhanesel]

Father TF141 and GN Reader.

Summary: You tell them you have a long-term boyfriend.

Mentioned: Simon Ghost Riley, John Soap Mactavish, Captain John Price, Kyle Gaz Garrick.

Simon Ghost Riley acted like he didn't hear you at first. You were silent for a good few minutes, waiting for him to tell you what he was thinking about. He never spoke. So you told him again, just to make sure he heard you. Of course he did, he was just acting like he hadn't. This time he did raise his head to look up at you but kept his silence. "No." was all he said. You were confused but you wouldn't push it. Seeing as he was dead silent unsettled you. You chose to ignore the conversation you both just had. You left the room just like that, confused and equally worried.

You tried to talk about your boyfriend again, given your father would have to see him sooner or later. What you got back as an answer was for you to make a promise that you wouldn't move in with him. For Ghost, you were the most important thing in his life. You were his baby, even though he didn't like to baby you most of the time. He wouldn't let you forget you had a brick of a father behind you in your every decision even if he didn't like them.

John Soap Mactavish felt betrayed at first. You were his little bundle of joy and you had another man in your life. How did he never notice the changes in you? He would think about it and feel sad that his little bird finally found a partner. As much as he was a bit bitter about it he trusted your judgement since the relationship was long-term. You must have been serious about whoever that was. But just to have everything safe he requested (very gently) that you call your boyfriend and tell him he'll meet your father tomorrow. He also specifically told you he wants to be alone with the lad.

So you did as you were told, you wouldn't stop your own father from protecting you from a guy he didn't know.

Captain John Price listened to you intently. He didn't find anything wrong with having a boyfriend at that age. You needed experience one way or another after all. He wouldn't control you, but he sure would keep an eye on you. He wanted to meet the dude as soon as possible and left the date up to you. He reminded you that he was right here if things went south. That he did not care about your boyfriend and that you always came first. He also specifically told you if he didn't like the boy you would break up with him.

He did trust your judgement but for Price it didn't matter if you knew someone for seven years or for one. Betrayal didn't have requirements. You understood what he said. He wanted to protect you from harm, you knew. You wouldn't reap him out of that right. He grew you into the person you are now, you had no right to tell him his opinion didn't matter. If Price didn't like someone he had a reason. If he didn't like the person you've been dating that would mean he knew something. You knew that Price would like your lover just fine anyways. You of course already thought about his opinion before starting a relationship this serious after all.

Kyle Gaz Garrick was a bit bitter at first. Hearing a man's name from your mouth. He had never thought that this day could come. He didn't say much, he only told you that he trusted your judgement and that you could tell him about anything. He'd allow it. Be knew you wouldn't choose someone who wouldn't treat you right. Inside? He'd pray you don't bring that man into your family.

He wouldn't like him even if he was the most perfect man to live in this world. Nothing could have him like that guy. Not even if you married him. You were his only priority. And if he had done you a wrong, Gaz would be quick to put him in his place if you wouldn't.

[akwolfgrl]

How sweet it is to be loved by them part 10

“What are you?” Zoro found himself asking his new captain.

“I am a rubber man!” Luffy stated pourdly his leg was still lifted.

“So you can't swim?” His husband asked with sadness in his voice. The seas and everything in it was one of Sanji's favorite things in the world. That man would never willingly choose to eat a devil fruit.

“Never learned how! Soooo can't miss what cha never knew!”

Zoro could hear the marines muttering to themselves on the ground, but he paid them no mind. They were all weak and no match for any of them.

“Get a gun and kill yourselves!! I don't need useless soldiers!! That's an order!” The asshole who ruled over this town with an iron ax shouted his orders. Zoro watches in horror as the soldiers turn their guns on themselves.

“What the hell do these Marines think they're doing?!” Zoro shouted in alarm.

“Stop! It's not worth your lives!” He heard Sanji join in the alarm.

“I am the marines worst nightmare! IF YOU HAVE THE GUTS, THEN EXECUTE ME!!” Luffy yelled as he ran for Axe hand Morgan, his fist raised.

The man blocked Luffy's attacks with his ax hand. “People like you without any status have no right to oppose me! I am marine lieutenant axe-hand Morgan!” The Marine yelled.

“I'm Luffy. Nice meet you, I'm still gonna kick your ass,”

<>

Koby watched as Luffy beat up the marine Lieutenant, and Luffy was winning! They were all saved! Then he heard the click of a gun. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other blonde omega, Helempo, pointing a gun at his head.

“Wait!” Helempo screamed as Luffy continued to beat up Axe-hand Morgan. “You idiot I told you to wait!” Luffy finally turned to look. “if you want this shrimp boy to live, then don't move a muscle! If anyone moves, I'll shoot!”

“Luffy! I…I don't want to be a burden! I don't wana get in your way…I not afraid of death!” Koby conffased to Luffy the one who had saved him, the ome who had given him the courage to stand up to Alivda. He had already been shot and lived. He wouldn't be that lucky again…would he?

“Okay..I know!” Luffy smiled at him. If that was the last this Koby ever saw, he'd die a happy man.

Everything seemed to happen at once, yet still in slow motion. Luffy readied himself to hit Hellempo just as Axe-hand Morgan made his move. Zoro headed for Morgan, all the while Hellempo screamed his ear when it all stopped. Before Luffys fist could connect, before Morgan could hurt Luffy. The married couple srung into action. Zoro had cut Morgan while Sanji had kicked Helempo in the face.

“That's for throwing a child over a wall,” Sanji kicked him again, Koby swore he heard bones break. “That's for hurting and tormenting MY husband!” Koby watched as blue petals contuied to rain down from Sanji. He was an avenging angel come to save him once again.