#did for merc which is a pity but i kinda get where they came from

[rosegasly]

q1's 20 mins and somehow mclaren strategised and unlucked out enough to set not one competitive lap with norris????

[dinogoofy]

Kabal × reader

Flowers for broken hearts

It's an angsty one boys

Ok, just for reference, this is gonna be a really weird timeline, and we're gonna pretend that revenent kabal was revived with Jax, but went straight back to the black dragons, ok? Ok.

Like normal, sexual scenes are implied but not explicit.

TW for violence.

----

You had always loved mornings, but honestly it was only because of the man you woke up next to each day. 

The birds were tweeting softly from outside the window, and you tried to stretch in the warm, early morning sun, only to find out that you were stuck. 

Your fiancé's warm body was curled around you loosely, still asleep. You smiled, he definitely deserved the rest, especially after last night. You snuggled into Kabal's bare chest, breathing in the scented remnants of the awful Axe cologne he still used. 

Kabal hummed at the movement, holding onto you a bit tighter and nuzzling into your hair. 

"Good 'morning, sunshine." He groggily spoke, rubbing your back up and down as you cuddled close to him. That early morning voice of his never failed to make your heart flutter.

"Good morning, handsome." Kabal smiled, kissing your head. You sighed, content in the warm bed. The fuzzy, happy feeling in your chest blooming as you pressed your face into his neck, lightly kissing his smooth skin. You could feel the rumble in his chest as he faintly chuckled, somehow pulling you even closer to him.

"Tryin' to get me going this early in the morning huh? Such a naughty girl…" You gasped, fake offended as you slapped his chest.

"Kabal!"

"What? You and I both know you find me irresistible-" You laughed, covering his mouth with your hand and pressing your forehead to his. 

"Oh, shut up! Stop being such a cocky bastard, or I might just stop kissing you all together!" You could feel his smile from underneath your fingers. Before you knew it he had flipped you over on the bed, your back pressed into the cushion as he leaned over you. His loose, long black hair falling around the two of you like a curtain.

"If that's the case, I guess I'll have to start stealing them from you, Dear~" The bubbling laughter in the room was infectious as Kabal pressed kisses to your forehead, nose, cheeks, eyelids, anywhere where he could get really. The fuzzy feeling bloomed once again, and for a moment you were reminded that this was indeed your happy place. You caught his face in your hands with some effort, and pulled him into a soft kiss. 

Kabal eagerly pressed into you, sliding one of his hands up your arm to gently lace with your own hand. What a wonderful way to wake up.

Unfortunately, the soft moment was cut short as His phone started to ring. Kabal broke this kiss for a moment, and heavily sighed. Pressing one last quick kiss to your lips before getting out of bed. You frown at the loss of contact, but didn't refrain from ogling his butt as he stood. 

"My eyes are up here, Babe." Kabal jokes, not even turning back to look at you as he picks up his phone, opening his dresser in the process and grabbing some pants.

"Stryker, whatcha got for me?" It felt like your heart sunk into your stomach upon hearing the name. It was supposed to be Kabal's off-day! The whole reason the two of you had moved to the country just outside of New York City was so Stryker would stop calling kabal into duty so randomly.

You knew how important this job was to Kabal, so you never protested when he did leave. You put up with him during the awful, random merc jobs that he had while working with the black dragon. You couldn't be mad at him for working an extra shift for the station every once in a while.

At least you don't have to worry about that Kano asshole and the black dragon showing up unannounced. You thought. At least there's that.

Kabal let out another heavy sigh as he hung up the phone, running around the room to gather his things in a hurry. He looked worried.

"Is everything alright?" Kabal shook his head as he threw a shirt on. Rushing over to press a kiss to your head.

"Something weird is going on in the city. He mentioned something about Outworld fusing with earthrealm… or something like that. Said I needed to get my ass over there right away." Kabal cupped your face in his hand, running his thumb along your cheekbones in a soothing manner as you frowned.

"Just come back in one piece, ok?" You tried not to let your voice waver as you spoke. Kabal chuckled, leaning down to give you a hug.

"I'll do my best, sweetheart." Your chest tightened as he let go of you to rush out the door.

"I love you." He turned around with a bright smile on his face.

"I love you too." And just like that, he was gone.

It kinda felt like he took your heart with him.

It's been a long time since Kabal walked out on you. It's been rough. The tears, the heartbreak. He hadn't contacted you. No voice-mail, no messages, nothing. You had started to wish that Stryker hadn't even told you that he was alive. But he did. And now all that's left to do is get over him.

That wasn't quite as easy as you thought it would be. 

"Hey kabal, I'm just...calling to check in on you. Call me back soon, alright?"

"It's me again. I know I've been calling your work phone a lot, but I'm really worried."

"Could you please, just- just pick up the phone? Just once? I miss you."

"Our wedding date is- was supposed to be next week. I...I won't be mad if you come back this late… just please, come home."

"It's… *hic* it's me again um… we um… went out tonight. They told me to give it a rest. Heh, but I know this line's still active! Stryker *hic* told me so. He wouldn't lie right?"

"..."

"I'm going to stop calling this phone soon. If you can hear this...I… *sigh* nevermind. This is useless. I'm sorry."

----

After Kabal left, you saved your money and quit your job. Turning the land around your home into a flower farm, you had already lost so much, why not give back to yourself? Your favorite hobby became your favorite job, and soon enough you had made enough money to build a little shop on the property just a little closer to the road. And my oh my, was business booming.

"Hey Mrs.Cameron! How've you been?" Mrs. Lissy Cameron and her wife were once your wedding planners, and then they became your #1 customers when you opened up shop. She smiled at you, and you carefully took the premade bouquet of flowers from her to ring it up on the register. 

"I've been wonderful! Sarah's been asking to come here all week, so I figured we might as well stop by on our way back home." Her wife scoffed, playfully swatting at her.

"Please, we both wanted to drop by. Lissy has been obsessed with your hyacinth bouquets since you did the floral arrangements for Janet's wedding." You giggled sweetly, telling them their total and carefully bagging their flowers. When you looked up to take Lissy's card however, the two of them looked worried.

"Is everything ok?" Sarah sighed at the question, reaching out to take your left hand. Your chest started to squeeze up. 

"You're wearing it again." You solemnly looked down at the ring on your finger. Letting out a curt, sad laugh. You hadn't noticed that you had put it on this morning. You were kinda on autopilot when you woke up after sleeping through your alarm, and had to rush to open up shop. It must've been simply out of habit. It had taken a while to stop wearing it, as it partly carried the hope that he would be back. But he wouldn't be, and you knew that. But every once in a while… 

"I hadn't even realized. Thanks for letting me know." They gave you a pitiful look as you slipped the ring off your finger and set it next to the register. Lissy gave you a soft smile when you finished ringing them up. 

"Hey, Sarah and I were going to get drinks tonight with a few friends. You could tag along if you'd like? I'm sure you'll meet some interesting people." Lissy wiggled her eyebrows at you, and you laughed when Sarah slapped her arm for it. Sarah turned and gave you a soft look.

"You don't have to Honey," She paused. "But it might be good for you to get out of the shop sometime. We barely even see you outside this place." You tried your best to smile at them, but it came out sorta lopsided.

"I'll think about it." Lissy gave your hand a reassuring pat, taking the flowers and waving goodbye as she and Sarah went out the door.

"Take it easy!" You smiled sadly at the words. 

"I'll try." 

----

Today had been the busiest day you've had in a while, but it felt worth it in the end as you closed up shop. The setting sun casting a warm glow through the many windows. Creating a perfect, calm setting to close everything up. You tidied the flowers that were left over from the day, replaced the water in the vases, even swept. 

You had gone out and turned on the sprinklers for the bushes and blooms outside, coming back inside to mop before you had to run back out again to turn it off and finally, finally turn in for the night. 

The water sloshed around as you set the bucket down to start mopping near the counter. When you stood, your eyes caught on the ring again. 

That stupid, beautiful, ring that never failed to put a damper on you mood. You slowly staggered toward it, gently picking it up in your hands to examine it.

It had always been the most beautiful piece of jewelry you owned, it was a shame that it wasn't used for some other couple. Preferably one that actually worked out in the end. As you traced the outline of it you started to wonder where Kabal was right now. Was he ok? Was he married so soon? Did he have kids? Or maybe he was just dead. You didn't know which one hurt worse.

You sighed. You couldn't keep doing this. You couldn't keep finding it, and thinking about him, and bringing the pain all back to the surface again. You just couldn't. You set the ring back down. Maybe you should take Lissy's offer up. Drink your woes away.

A noise caught your attention, kicking you out of your thoughts. A clay pot rolled across the floor as you looked up.

"Hello?" You called out. No response. You slowly grabbed the bat you kept underneath your counter, and started to creep over to the other end of the shop, walking through the giant, open doorway that separated the sunroom, where the flowers are kept, from the shop.

There didn't appear to be anyone there when you got over that way, and you sighed, relaxing for a second. You leaned down to pick up the pot.

"Gotcha!" Suddenly a pair of arms forcibly wrapped around you. You screamed, and one of the arms suddenly moved from your waist and clutched your throat.

"Keep it down, or I'll fucking kill you." Still panicked, you managed to wrench an arm out of the man's grip and sharply elbow him in the side. He groaned in pain, and the split second he loosened his grip was enough for you to break from his hold and slam the pot down in his head.

He yelped in pain this time. Holding his now bleeding head. You held the bat in both hands now, ready to swing again. 

"Get out of my shop! NOW!" You barked at him. He chuckled in a creepy, unhinged way. Smiling up at you with disgusting yellow teeth and spitting on the floor.

"I'll be damned if any of Kano's bitches tell me what to do!" You couldn't even process the words before he lunged at you again, you tried to dodge swiftly. Unfortunately, he was still able to grab one end of the bat. He used it to yank you closer and knock you to the ground. You desperately tried to push him off as he wrapped his cold, dirty hands around your throat, pushing all of his body weight there. 

You tried to kick at him, but he wouldn't budge. Your nails clawed deep into the skin of his wrist, and even lashing out at his face had no effect. Your eyes started to get teary as you struggled to breath. 

All you could feel was a rush of wind, and the man had been knocked off of you. He was launched into one of your tables of flowers, breaking it in half as he landed. You coughed, gasping for air. Thankful that you could breathe again. You felt so sore, but you still sat up, baffled by the events. 

A new man was standing in between you and the attacker. He was clothed head to toe in frightening, thick gear, fists clenched. You wouldn't have known who it was. Especially not with the mask on his face, but when your eyes settled on the hook swords on his back… 

It couldn't be… 

A scream interrupted your thoughts. The new man holding your attacker up by his neck. He was screaming for forgiveness, for a chance to run. You stood, and the masked man stiffened, dropping the other into the mess once again.

"You've got two minutes to run." The attacker didn't even spare a glance at you before trying to bolt out the front door, slamming into it hard before frantically popping the lock open.

The masked man hadn't looked at you, but you, however, couldn't take your eyes off of him. He started to walk away when you called out for him.

"Kabal?" Your voice broke. He didn't turn back. He kept walking. Fury started to build up in your chest. You stormed over to him, grabbing him by the sheaths on his back. 

"Where do you think you're going?! You come back for two fucking seconds and plan to leave just like that? Without an explanation? Fuck you!" Tears were running down your face now. He stops in his tracks, but doesn't turn around. He calls your name. 

"That guy's gotta grudge against the black dragons-understandably. 'Managed to hack into some old files. He's been hunting down family and friends and killing them on the spot. Had a few 'mercs quit on us Kano gave me the order to kill him." He pauses. "That's the only reason I came back." You didn't flinch at the info that he was back with the dragons, but It felt like your heart shattered a second time when he spoke the last few words. This fucking asshole. you refused to back down. 

"You know that's not the explanation I'm asking for." He didn't respond. But he didn't move either. You stepped in front of him. Looking straight into the eyes of his mask. Tears were still streaming down your face, your hands were shaking, you were so fucking mad, and sad, and destroyed. You almost wished he had been dead. 

"Kabal. Where. The. Fuck. have you been." He sighed, and you couldn't tell if he was making eye contact- or even trying to, through his mask.

"Don't worry about it." You were clenching your hands so hard your nails started to bite into the skin of your palm.

"I swear to God, Kabal. You fucking left me without so much as a note. You're going to tell me why!" 

"I don't have to tell you anything." He pushed past you forcefully, making his way to the door. For a moment you just stood there in shock. What was wrong with him?!

"Excuse me?!" He sighed, walking over to your counter.

"I'm not doing this with you today." You were bubbling with rage, not able to even swallow your sobs. Kabal had stopped at the register, frozen for a moment, and you took that chance to reach out and grab him by the shoulder, forcibly turning him around.

"In case you fucking forgot, our wedding was supposed to be two months after you disappeared on me. Do you know how much that Fucking hurt?! Do you have any idea how much it hurts now, you piece of shit! God just- at least just TELL me why!" Kabal stiffened, and you knew he was starting to become angry. Or maybe he was sad. You couldn't tell. No one spoke for a long moment as you tried to wait for him to respond. He didn't. 

Your watery, angry eyes were glaring at him, and he watched as you walked behind the counter. In a moment of uncontrollable anger, you snatched the ring up and forced it into his hands. His shoulders slumped immediately when he realized what it was.

"Get the fuck out of my shop." Your hands were shaking, your face was still flushed, eyes red from the tears, but you didn't look away from him. He started to call your name, but you interrupted him.

"GET OUT!" Your voice had gone hoarse. Kabal didn't budge. Slowly, very slowly, he reached up to his mask. As he took it off. Your guarded expression immediately faltered.

His face was horribly scarred. You sucked in a breath from pure horror for a second. Burn scars all over his face. You looked at his hands, his neck. He was scarred everywhere. His face twisted in disgust as he analyzed your face.

"You really wanted to know that bad, huh? I left you because I already knew what you would think, what you would say if I came home to you like this." You were almost in shock, tears running down once again as you gently reached over the counter to touch Kabal's face. He flinched for a moment, but let you touch him. 

"What happened?" Your voice shook, horror evident on your face. His face fell for a moment as you touched him, so terribly gently. He hard look in his eye softened.

"What does it matter? I'm horrific." You let out a sad, snarky laugh. Cupping his face with both your hands, caressing his cheekbones just as gently as he did yours the morning he left.

"Don't you remember the night you proposed?" He sucked in a breath, and your hands gently pushed his short hair out of his face before you reeled yourself in. You wouldn't touch him like this. It didn't matter why he left you, he still did it. But even then, your heart ached for him. Damn, you needed to see a therapist.

"I had quit the black dragon. I was asking what you thought of me joining the NYPD." 

"And?" Your voice broke as you struggled to maintain a strict tone.

"...and?" You nodded tearfully, sniffling from all the crying. Kabal kept going. "We talked about my tendency to join violent fields. I… I had asked you if you'd still love me if I came home with bruises every night, just like I had used to." His face started to shift. You already knew he remembered what you were about to say. That flicker of anger started up in your chest as you spoke bitter words.

"I told you that I'd love you no matter how many scars, or bullet holes, or bruises you came home with, as long as you were coming home." Kabal's realization left a devastated look on his face, and no matter how bitter you felt, you couldn't help but reach for his hand. He held your hand back limply.

"...I kinda fucked that one up. Didn't I?" You laughed, a pitiful, angry noise.

"You did." You stopped for a moment. "You did." You felt numb as the words fell into a whisper.

"-But no matter how fucking angry I am, I don't think that statement ever changed, Kabal." He ran his thumbs over your knuckles, avoiding eye contact with you by looking down at them.

"... You'd really still love me after all this? After all the scars, all the time…" You pressed your lips into a line, sighing before squeezing his hand. His eyes started to water as your own began to dry.

"I..." It was difficult to say this. It really was. But you wanted him back. You really did. You wanted to give him that second chance. You wanted those sleepy mornings and the pillow talk and the awful food he cooks. You missed him so fucking much.

"It's gonna take a while, and certainly some couple's therapy, but Kabal…" You held his cheek again, lifting his head to look at you. You looked into his eyes and bit back what you were originally going to say. Letting out a pitiful laugh at yourself before doing your best to wipe that look from his face. You didn't owe him anything, but you saw an opportunity and took it.

"... I wouldn't mind seeing that ass in the morning again." Kabal was taken off guard for a moment, and you felt triumphant. He erupted in wonderful, happy laughter. Pulling you close from across the counter and kissing your forehead.

"How could I say no to that?"

.

.

.

"Kabal, weren't you supposed to take care of that one guy?" 

"Shit."

[tf2-hellhole]

Can i get some hcs of an s/o kissing the mercs scars and just an really emotional moment overall🥺

I’m sorry this is so so long, I got carried away and I still have like seven requests to finish up-

Ok so I only wrote the characters who canonically have scars and those who I head canon have scars.

Note: Scout’s head canon is kind of based on another I read somewhere, and I kinda accepted it as a headcanon for Scout because I think it makes sense. I just thought it’d be important to establish.

Warning: Self-harm, trauma

Scout:

Growing up was really hard for Scout. He was always really small and was often bullied and beaten by his classmates, and some of his brothers weren’t too nice to him either. He also didn’t receive a lot of attention from his mother. Like I said in the past, his mother wasn’t bad by any means, but it was hard to give all of her boys the attention they needed and hold down multiple jobs to support them all. But even then, sometimes there wasn’t enough food and the table and they would all still be hungry when they went to bed.

All of these things culminated in Scout having an extremely stressful childhood. School was a nightmare for him and he dropped out as soon as he could. The stress, insults, and abuse he received regularly had a horrible effect on his mental health that led to him often harming himself to feel better. The way he would do this is often hiding and harshly biting his hands when he got really stressed. He started bandaging his hands to hide them from his family, and he was careful enough that they didn’t realize what he was doing to himself. He stopped after he became a merc and built a healthy friendship with some of the other mercs, but he doesn’t want anyone to ever find out what he did to himself.

But one day, Scout had just come out of the shower and was already dressed, and he was sitting on his bed, wrapping his hands. His head shot up when his S/O called from outside and started opening the door. He called out, “Wait, babe, I-“ but it was too late. His S/O’s eyes were on his hands, following the lines of the short, pale scars dotting his fingers and palms.

He turned to hide his face and hands from them, but they hurried over to sit next to him and put a hand on his back. He didn’t look up at them; he couldn’t work up the courage to. He was horrified and panicking. He wanted to get up and run away, but he couldn’t move. What were they going to think of him now? Were they going to think he’s weak? Were they going to tease him too? Were they going t-

He almost gasped when they took his hand in theirs. They looked at his hand closely, making sure there were no new red marks, and sighed shakily when they found none. Scout’s head snapped up when his S/O lifted his hand and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it. They looked up at him and were surprised to find him on the verge of crying; His face was bright red and tears were welling up in his eyes. “Babe…” his S/O started, “I’m not gonna make you talk about this if you don’t want to, but I’m just letting you know that you don’t have to hide your past from me. I love you, and I’m here for you.”

In response, Scout’s face scrunched up and the tears finally spilled down his face and he yanked his S/O into a hug and cried into their shoulder. Scout absolutely fell apart, and to comfort him his S/O ordered some food and spent the rest of the day cuddling him and kissing his fingers and the back of his palms. He was so grateful to have them there and he’s so happy that he can talk to them when he needs to, even though emotionally he’s not ready for that. Just knowing that he can pull them close without the expectation of opening up yet makes him feel so much better.

Pyro:

(I tried to describe Pyro’s appearance or gender as little as possible so the reader can imagine them however they want, so sorry if this is a little short or vague). 

No one knows about Pyro’s background, not even their closest friend Engie or their S/O. Because of this, no one knows who they are or where they’re from. Because of this, they can’t even guess anything about Pyro’s appearance, not even their gender. Pyro really doesn’t want to ever show their face, but after a few years with their S/O, they finally worked up the courage to show them. They pulled their S/O into their shared bedroom and sat them down. They sighed softly before reaching up to pull the mask off of their face.

Their S/O took in the features of Pyro’s face. Their hair, their nose, their gorgeous eyes… but then their eyes settled on the scarred skin on their cheek, chin, and nose. They were burn scars.

For a few moments, Pyro’s S/O could only stare and take in the scars. Pyro whimpered and softly called their name. Why were they staring? They think their scars are ugly, don’t they?

Their S/O quickly snapped back to reality when they realized they were making Pyro feel self-conscious. “No, Pyro, I…” they couldn’t continue. They reached out and pulled Pyro close to show them they weren’t disgusted by their appearance. They quickly pulled back and pressed a kiss to their cheek. It took Pyro a few seconds to process the affection, but once they did, they threw their arms around their S/O’s neck and began bawling into their shoulder. Their S/O pulled them as close as they could and pressed more kisses to Pyro’s face.

They spent the rest of the night cuddled together and watching cartoons on the couch. Their S/O made sure to press a kiss to their skin at least every few minutes, which always made Pyro giggle softly and sniffle.

It took a little while longer for Pyro to work up the courage to take off their suit, though. Even though they knew their S/O couldn’t care less about what their body looked like, they couldn’t help but be a little nervous about showing the scars that covered their arm and parts of their back and stomach. They pulled off the suit so they were only in a t-shirt and shorts and looked up at their S/O. They smiled weakly and reached out for them, and their S/O giggled and pulled them into a gentle hug. This time it really wasn’t a big deal, but it was still a very loving and intimate moment for them.

Pyro never explains to their S/O where the burns came from, but his S/O never pushes for them to share and it never causes any tension between them.

Demo:

Demo can be really, really self-conscious about himself because of the constant beratement he receives from his mother and the BLUs. Hearing over and over that he’s not good enough made him feel horrible about himself, which is most of the reason he started drinking. But one of the things he’s most self-conscious about is his missing eye. Other people often make fun of him for only having one, and his mother always tells him that he needs to lose the other. It makes him feel a little torn sometimes because he really wishes he had two eyes but his mother’s made it almost a taboo in his mind to have either of them.

Because of all the abuse he’s received over it, he refuses to talk about it with his S/O or show him what’s under the eye patch. He never takes it off unless they go to bed, and even then he always makes sure the left half of his face is on the pillow so his S/O still can’t see and won’t move until the lights are off. This goes on for several months, and it worries his S/O because they want him to trust them.

His S/O eventually gets to see his eye, but it’s completely by accident. They walk into the bedroom to clean some things up but find Demo passed out on the bed from drinking. He was laying on his back and was facing up, and his eyepatch was tossed aside. His S/O turned to continue cleaning, but their curiosity got the best of them and they turned back to lean over his face.

It was true, what he’d reluctantly told them about his eye in the past; there really was no eyeball. His eyelid was slightly open, showing that there was nothing inside, just a small empty space. His S/O couldn’t help but laugh. This is what all the fuss was about? It was certainly strange, but Demo had acted like they would dump him in disgust if they saw.

They almost jumped when Demo opened his eye and looked up at them, obviously groggy from the hangover. After taking a second to process, his eye went wide. He quickly sat up and clapped a hand over his eye socket to hide it from them, then hissed at the sharp pain from his sudden headache. He angrily questions why they were looking while he picked up and put on his eyepatch. His S/O apologized and reached out to touch his shoulder, but he pushed their hand away. “I don’t need your pity… I know what you think about it!” he hissed.

His S/O sat down next to him and exclaimed that they weren’t pitying him. They apologized, saying that they should’ve respected the fact that he wanted to hide his missing eye from them, but they aren’t grossed out by it at all. Demo shook his head and spoke, his voice breaking, “I don’t believe you.”

His S/O sighed and put a hand to his face to pull him closer, and pressed a soft kiss just below his eyebrow, then another to his lips. “I wish I could prove it to you,” they said softly. When they pulled away, Demo stared at them in surprise. He practically broke when he saw the sincerity and the hurt in his S/O’s eyes as they stared back at him. He pulled them close and pressed another soft kiss to their lips. 

After this, he becomes comfortable with the idea of not wearing his eyepatch when they’re in private. It’s also a bit of a confidence boost for him. Kissing just below the eyebrow becomes a greeting for the two of them.

Sniper:

Sniper isn’t really self-conscious about the scar on his face; he thinks it looks badass. He will never mention the fact that he got it in a fight with a Spy that he lost.

It’s the scars on his torso and arms that he’s really self-conscious about. They’re closely tied to such a traumatic part of his life. They remind him of the feeling of quickly drifting away while he bled to death in New Zealand, the shock of losing the only people he had, his parents. Then there’s the additional shock of learning he was actually adopted then learning that his birth parents didn’t care about him at all. He’s reminded of all the pain and emotion he felt during that time in his life when he looks at the bumpy scars across his chest, to the point sometimes he feels a little sick when he looks down at them.

One night, he and his S/O were in his camper trying to fall sleep. It was ridiculously hot outside, so they had a small fan going inside, and his S/O was only in their undergarments. He was only wearing his boxers and a loose t-shirt. His S/O shifted to look at him and scowled when they saw how sweaty his shirt was. “Babe, aren’t you hot? Take your shirt off.” Sniper declined, saying that he was perfectly comfortable, and they jokingly told him that the smell of his sweat was absolutely disgusting and he needed to take the shirt off so they didn’t have to smell that the whole night (in reality, they just wanted to see him with his shirt off).

He awkwardly reminded them of the time he died and his S/O responded, “Oh… is it the scars? I’m sorry, Mick. I wish I could make you feel better about that. If you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

Mick frowned for a second, but then he sat up and pulled his shirt off and laid back down, and stared at his S/O, who was starting back in surprise. He took their hands and asked them if he really could tell them about what he was feeling, and they nodded. He had realized that bottling everything up could ruin his relationship with his S/O, and he can’t be alone. Not again. He can’t hide from this.

It was finally cooling down, so his S/O cuddled close to him and pressed kisses to where the scars stretched across his collarbones. Sniper was already emotional, but feeling his S/O’s arms around him and their lips lightly brush across the thing he hated most about himself made tears slip down his cheeks. Once they finished and buried their head in his shoulder, he wrapped his arms around them and kissed their forehead and temple. He cried softly until he fell asleep.

The next morning also mostly consisted of Sniper and his S/O cuddling and kissing each other, though it was much less emotional and more just content affection. After that, Sniper was much more comfortable with himself now that he had unloaded the weight from his shoulders. Of course, that didn’t fix everything completely, but it was certainly a step in the right direction.

Spy:

Spy, like I said, has scars that he hates more than anything. They’re thin, pale scars across his nose and left cheek, and down that side of his neck. He got them when he was young and had just started working as an assassin. At the time, he was bold, confident, and very, very reckless. He would never admit it now, but his confidence often made him extremely sloppy in his performance. One day, he was stuck in a melee fight with a very skilled nemesis. His lackluster performance got him pinned to the ground underneath them as they beat him until he almost passed out. The enemy was particularly sadistic, so they decided to ruin the handsome face that Spy was so proud of. They started with many light cuts to hurt him as much as possible. They were about to try to tear his cheek when Spy managed to grab their knife and use it to kill them. 

Even though they were very light cuts and healed nicely, Spy was still extremely self-conscious about his face and believed it was ruined forever. That’s one of the reasons he began to hide his face, though the main reason was to hide his identity. So he vowed he would never show it to his beloved S/O in fear that they would leave him and he would never find someone that would accept someone like him.

One night, Spy found himself standing in front of the mirror with his mask off. He put his hands on the sides of the sink and leaned forward to stare sadly at his face. He had high, sharp cheekbones, bright blue eyes, and beautiful, thick brown hair that greyed slightly at his sideburns. He really was a handsome and elegant-looking man, but he could only focus on the scars on his face, which had slightly blended into his skin with time. He hung his head and allowed himself to cry in silence. They would never find him attractive, they’d be disgusted with his face, and they’d leave him…

He was interrupted by hearing his S/O call his name behind him. Merde, he had never closed the door!

He turned his head in an attempt to hide his face, but his S/O could see his reflection in the mirror. He choked, “Get out, now.” His S/O approached them, saying his name softly and reaching out to him, but he only loudly demand that they leave again.

He heard their voice soften to the volume of a whisper as they said OK and stepped out. After a moment, he looked up at the mirror again. His face was red from embarrassment, and more hot tears were rolling down his cheeks. He stayed there for a while, replaying the moment in his head again and again. He eventually got up and straightened his suit out. He knew his amour would never stay with him now, but he still owed them an apology.

He arrived at their room and knocked lightly. His S/O opened the door and looked up at him, obviously upset and annoyed. He asked if he could come in, and they stepped aside for him to step inside. He turned to them as soon as the door was closed and apologized awkwardly. He wasn’t used to being the bigger person and apologizing, so at first his S/O wasn’t sure that he meant it, but he pulled off his mask to show he was being sincere. They stared up at his handsome face, their eyes following the length of his scars, which made him shift uncomfortably. He acknowledged that they probably didn’t want him any more, but at that his S/O threw their arms around him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. At this, he teared up and pulled them into a soft, long kiss and wrapped his arms around their waist. His S/O could feel the warmth radiating from his bright red face.

After that, his S/O always makes sure to pull his mask up and press a kiss to his face in private whenever Spy is feeling down. No matter how stressed or upset he is, it never fails to make him smile softly.

[huntsman-ash]

LiveThoughts: RWBY V8E6

Second attempt at this since last time Chrome just DIED for no reason...

Im going to put literally the entire thing with Cinder under one note; Called it.

Its a great set of stuff, sure, but it doesnt relaly tell us anything we didnt already know about Cinder, and I personally feel it doesnt really explain why she turned out the way she did. I feel like we’ve had another weird twist of the situation again...M+K? Coronas fault? Who knows. Either way, this section isnt great by my taste and I kinda skipped most of it. 

Few things to note though; Apperently in Mistral scrubbing by hand is still more viable floor cleaning tech than using Dust.

The wind vane on the roof has the Rooster Teeth symbols rooster on it. 

The hotel Cinder is bought by is named the Glass Unicorn, fittingly enough for...several reasons. 

The coffees behind the stepsisters when we first see them are the animated versions of the real life stuff RT put out just before this season went live. 

No one seems to notice the fact cinder has orange eyes. I wonder if weird eye colors are just a THING in Remnant?

The control collar/shock thing is incredibly inefficient in design, since it doesnt actually hold on to her very well. A more effective brace/choker design would have worked better.

The song that goes on during all of this is...kind of obvious and a little bland? Fitting for younger Cinder I guess. 

Mmm. Random greasy huntsman. 

I guess in Atlas its fine to laugh at struggling teenagers?

Im going to assume there’s a 3+ year gap here where she gets older, cause she stops being smol and gets closer to how we see her now.

Also even here, in Atlas...really? The most effective way to clean these carpeted floors is to have a TEENAGER SCRUB THEM BY HAND?

How do you scrub...I assume its carpet anyway?

And how you tell civilians are lame in Atlas; they are impressed...by a sword.  Just a sword. A boring, half-cut sword. Losers.

I assume this would be Cinder’s semblance manifesting. Also note on the desk; “we do not serve faunus”. Well THAT doesnt surprise me.

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHE. Get fucked Cinder. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

I dont even feel pity for her, this is funny to me.  Also the fact that this kind of shit aCTUALLY EXISTS is...amusing to me. Like, really? So I guess indentured servitude is a thing in Remnant too. 

And this is why Cinder likes to use swords. Really. Wow. LAMEO.

Huh. Dual maces. Interesting. Thats a prety cool weapon.  Looks like they open up too. Bet he could bash some skulls with that.

“Hurting them isnt going to make your life any better”. Um, excuse me? I think hurting them is the very best thing to do in this situation. At least, for the moment anyway. 

Huh. So she’s ten at this point? Even as a child, shes older than she looks. 

And training montage. Huh. Or at least I assume it is. I get the feeling being able to go where you want too and do what you want too is the main reason Hunters exist. There must be crazy tight immigration laws...or, maybe, its just that traveling between kingdoms is stupid dangerous cause of Grimm. I think the latter is most likely considering every form of public transit extra-kingdom we’ve seen (even between cities, see Argus Limited) has some kind of defensive weaponry. Limited and ineffective, for th emost part oddly.

So you can take the exam at 18. Okay cool. Pre-that must be prep school. Wonder what happens if you wash out? Also I like how this dude is just “yeah, 7 years of training, we got this.”

I think this is the first time we’ve seen the other side of the moon. Or at least, the proper other side...bloody hell I STILL dont know how all those piesces are still held in place, the thing looks like it should start yeeting bolides at Remnant. 

Better still we see it MOVE, rotate in time to the passing of years. So it literally does rotate on its own axis, and more importantly, unlike OUR moon, its NOT tidally locked. We only ever see the same side of our moon. REmnants rotates MUCH faster. Also it doesnt seem to have phases like ours does. I’ll check on why that is. 

Well at least we have an explanation for why Cinders so damn good at fighting people. Trained by an Atlas Huntsman.

Also as a note the device is quite literally just an electrical Dust crystal attached to a necklace. Things the most inefficent torture device Ive ever fucking seen. 

Wonder how often they have to change the crystal.

And there goes the moon rotating again.

I like how NO ONE comment on the blade going missing and that guy never came back for it. I guess he must have just bought a new one.

I get the very distinct feeling they wont just let her go honestly, permission or not. 

AWWW WE DONT EVEN GET TO SEE CINDER MURDER THE SISTERS. Also no blood. Odd.  Good kill on the  stepmother though. Oh, that NECK CRACK.  I like how all the bitch can do is try and shock Cinder, like, uh...adrenaline up? SHE HAS A SWORD? MAYBE FIGHT BACK?

Hah. Weak ass fuckin Atlas people.  Also the clock going off in the back ground twelve times. How fitting. Welcome to midnight. 

Also shes kind of glowing here cause the room is dark, and I find it amusing this is probably the last time she wears white.

And THERES the Cinder we know

Sick ass music, cool. Also THAT is an interesting semblance...I guess he turns himself to metal? Also DAMN his aura broke after THAT? Hes a Huntsman...ah who cares. Again probably in Cinders memory more than anything. Which at this point is probably about as reliable as a coked up hookers.

SHANKED. Sucker. You shoulda seen THAT one coming.

And thats all it took to get the shock collar off. Lol. 

So what happened to the hotel? Did they just...write it off? I mean four people got murdered in there...

And now we’re back on the whale. HOW THE SCREAMING FUCK DID CINDER JUST...

Wow. She just got up after eating that blast. Fucking plot armor.

Merc making the hard calls honestly.  Im actually gonna watch all of this now which is nice because I want to know whats happening in the real world. PITY MORE THAN HALF THE EPISODE WAS THIS FUCKING FILLER.

I like how Cinder just...goes quiet the moment she realizes shes lost Mercury. Not that he was USEFUL mind you but if I had to guess she liked being the boss. But now shes...basically back where she started. 

So the whale is basically a ship. It has a bridge. Probably Salems throne room.

Man, Oscars literally just RTs punching bag this season isnt he? Literally in this case. 

His clothes are still scortched too which I find interesting.  The black eyes also staying. Auras not back up then? Aura repair and regen seems...werid half the time. Like RT does what they want with it.

Ah so someone finally says it...but at the same time what exactly does Salem have to fear? If she cant fight the whole world...what could they do? Maybe overwhelming her? It...Im having a hard time putting the “she cant be stopped” with “shes afraid of fighting all of Remnant”. 

Somethings missing here. I know it.

The sound of the “door” opening reminds me of the Flood doors in High Charity in Halo 3s Cortana. Fleshy twisting.

Mention from Hazel, but AGAIN...no details. I guess if you nail down how she can do stuff its harder to write? 

Glad someone made a comment on the futility of the Hunter academies. 

I really hate how Salems giving us creepy mommy shades. 

Hmm. So yeah the bridge IS the throne room/command deck. I like how Neo doesnt give a fuck is just casually kneeling. 

Ah okay THATS why he grabbed the scroll. 

Heh. Interesting. How exactly does this work I wonder. 

...Why does Salem have a ring. Has she always had that ring?

Neo looking at the Hound like “oh, I could ride this thing”. 

Oh cool the Ace Ops. And they’re arguing, shocker. Sounds like Elm doesnt trust tech either. No shock there.  Idiot.

Atlas elite. Yeah, right.

Huh, is this a Manta with landing gear? I guess they do have them...seems kind of silly to have them so high up though. I guess thats what the thing under the door is for, so they can deploy a ramp. Man, I really dont like Atlas’s airship design.

Hare needs some fuckin suppresants. 

Annnnddd...here we go, things go straight to hell. I was warned of this. I am going to try and not be mad...but from what Ive heard the incomptence of the military in this particular section is astronomical.

Huh. So...Grimm can be convirted into a rock-punching liquid? Interesting. Has that always been a thing or... Also why the fuck are you jsut standing there in awe, go kill the fucking thing! Fucking Specialists.

...that is all it took to get through Atlas’s shield? THAT?

I also love how no one does anything. Ironwoods like “wait what the fuck”. Come on bro. 

And...thats the Atlas navy. Everyone. Two lasers. One of which missed. Remind me again what exactly these things are used to shoot?

Wait, no, that took down part of it, and then the rest is, surprise, hitting the soft rock on the outside. 

THERE goes the shield. 

Hang on a second, how long have those giant squid things been there?

And...what. The whale just approaches, nothing happens? You’ve got 12 fucking ships there, shoot the fucking thing.

Again, WHY IS NO ONE DOING ANYTHING?

Oh, it just beach-headed. Okay fine, whatever. 

Im not really worried.

Lets see how RT makes this WORSE though...

And thats this weeks episode.