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vazelbeak · 1 year

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Thoughts on season 2 episode 4

Okay this episode I feel has a lot worth nothing so im taking notes and transferring them into a post. Apologies if this posts messy this episode had a lot to touch upon.

Worldbuilding

-First lets touch upon world building. This episode presented things that were really inconsistent. Was Andre there go facilitate the divorce? He didn't have paperwork or anything and he didn't know about Striker. If that was why he was there was it some plot to trick Stolas into going somewhere she could kill him. Stolas doesn't appear to go many places or have a job what's stopping Striker from sneaking into his castle? I think this needed more research and set up. Does Stolas have too much security around his castle?

Maybe have Stella mention "apologies brother, I couldn't tell you about Stiker and risk Stolas catching onto my plan by you anticipating him showing up. It takes a lot to get him to go somewhere outside his castle without Blitz or Octavia."

- There is also Andre implies Goetia live forever if not incredibly long by saying "eternity". I think this somewhat contradicts Stolas's need to have an heir when its implied Stolas's family has a habit of dying young last I recalled. Wouldn't there be more urgency for them because the whole point of a precautionary heir was incase Stolas died? Eternity could apply to everyone else, but did they forget the whole point was Stolas might not live as long as everyone else? Or is it that Stolas is now in the clear and doesn't have to worry once Octavia hits 18?

-If goetia live so long what do you mean none have ever behaved this way before? Certainly someone has to. On top of that you would think then that Andre would have an arranged marriage to right?

-If Stolas dies and everything goes to Octaiva, but Stolas hates Stella so much he wouldn't willingly give her anything I would think logically the solution is if Octaiva is under 18 (or maybe 15 because people can get jobs at 16) and Stolas is dead that Stella would have that control until Octavia hits 18 years of age A Series of Unfortunate Events style. So does Stella want Stolas's power or just straight up hate him and want him miserable? Whats the point here? Her plan to get this should've been over the moment they divorced.

-If hellbies shots are things hellhounds need every year on the surface it would make sense it takes so long to book an appointment. However if hellhounds are lower class and seen as so not valuable presumably wouldnt many be too poor to afford one or have people who dont care to book appointments for their hellhounds making it somewhat easier to book one? On top of that if so many hell hounds need and get appointments wouldn't the doctors be more prepared to handle Loona being afraid she far from the strongest if her build tells us anything? In veterinarian clinics if your pets are too scared to have their teeth cleaned, claws trimmed, or bathed, its common practice to sedate them to minimize injury to the doctors and pets. Is it because sloth is the only place with this type of doctors office? Why? (Personally id say maybe make it Hellfever to sound like hayfever? But thats personal taste)

-Why did they try to inject Loona in the neck and then go for the butt? Its common in injecting dogs to my knowledge you do it in the scruff, but if injecting Loona in the butt is fine it brings to question why they tried to go for the neck when it seemed initially that area would've been more reasonable to begin with when she was first pinned.

-Why do hellhounds need a cone for a shot?

Now lets talk characters!

Moxxie

-Blitzø mentions they used to kill other demons and prior i mentioned with S2E3 it would potentially make sense if Moxxie had a problem killing other demons and not humans due to his mom and knowing humans die and go to hell so its not killing in his eyes, but he had no problem killing people in wrath. If they wanted it consistent they shouldve made a joke that Moxxie forgot about the guy he had the gas pump wrapped around the neck of and drove away unknowingly killing him, no explosion or have it a bit delayed so Moxxie doesnt connect the two and have him mention "Huh i feel like I'm forgetting something."

-Why are demons thinking Moxxie stole their hat? Or that hats are their thing? I think this would be funnier if they weren't wearing a hat and presumed Moxxie stole it somehow.

Blitzø

-Speaking of Blitzø I don't find him as funny as they want him to be. Him being mean to a kid would be funnier if the kid seemed intentionally a jerk and not played as a kid who doesn't know better and parrots what his mom is saying. Because of that it seems like any anger directed towards the kid should be towards the mom.

"Reeeeeally cant say that word anymore." You were cool with it until very recently Viv so this just sounds like trying to backpedal when people have been discussing your history of ablesim. It also looks bad that you were fine with him saying that but censoring him calling someone a cunt.

-Why is Stolas being able to be hurt new to Blitzø? This feels like it belonged sooner as episode 2 than Seeing Stars where Blitzø didnt care on part because of the terms they were last on and assumed Stolas was capable of helping himself only to be wrong. On top of that in Seeing Stars they introduced Stolas having limited abilities without his book so it feels like having Seeing Stars first would mean Blitzø should already have been introduced to the concept Stolas is not invincible.

Stolas

-Stolas seems painfully oblivious in this episode. Why didn't he recognize himself as in danger earlier? Striker had angelic rope and tried to shoot him. Wouldn't that indicate he's in danger before Blitzo couldn't arrive? Why didn't he try using his ability to turn people to stone before being captured? If he was scared I could see that maybe he didn't think of it in the moment but even then it doesn't make a lot if sense.

-if breaking Stolas's leg isn't that bad bc Blitzo's been rougher then i think the "harder" joke used by Moxxie would've fit better for Stolas to use than anything. Make it a joke akin to Klaus in umbrella academy where he's stabbed and starts moaning and itd ruining Strikers attempts to torture him so he has a painful drawn out death.

-Why does it matter if Blitzo doesnt say anything when Stolas told him he could visit? It feels like theyre bouncing back and fourth between whether S1E7 had any significance. Stolas was hitting on him in Seeing Stars are we sure this is supposed to come before that?

Striker

- This is the second time we've seen Striker and the disconnect between what he says and what the team says about him is massive. If Strikers talk of hating what the goetia took away from him was all talk to convince Blitzo to turn on Stolas, I didn't follow the logic but might be able to run with it if kept consistent. The fact Striker talks about it to Stolas too doesn't make sense unless true. If they wanted him to be a bigot and embody toxic masculinity it would make more sense if he hated Stolas for divorcing Stella because "that's not how you treat a lady".

-On top of that Stolas pointing out he works for Stella is pointing out their own inconsistencies in my eyes because it highlights that Striker is contradicting his presented motives. If for example it was for money Stolas saying this would insinuate Striker is a hypocrite for being swayed by money to work for a goetia. This would explain it by implying Stolas is trying to make Striker turn on Stella by implying he should go after someone who only cares for money. Im not sure if I'm making sense but they're not presenting a train if thought here.

- Why would he even care about Octavia when he wasn't paid to kill her.

Stella and Andre

- Adding incest feels like a cheap attempt to make Stella more cartoonishly evil to backpedal on Stolas being bad for cheating. It doesn't feel like a planned idea or as though it has significance beyond "ew Andre is attracted to her! Look how bad they are!" And Andre has no other real significance in the episode.

Overall lacks research, the plot doesn't feel like it progresses naturally. I don't see why Loona getting a shot needed its own separate plot outside of to justify Blitzø not being there and it feels like following Blitzø getting her vaccinated just lacked any substance beyond Vivs need to cut away from anything sincere to comedy.

If they wanted Loona to get vaccinated I feel like the better plot to give some significance to it would be Loona not wanting a Hellbies shot but after seeing how much she's hurting Blitzø to avoid it (to a point he gives up) she realizes she needs to try to do it for him because he did go through the effort to book this appointment and look out for her and when she does she either realizes its not that bad or at least has the sense to be remorseful for how she treated him.

I think I touched base with most things. If Viv wants to brag that her episodes were the most liked and throw the rest of her team under the bus she can have fun with that, however to me it looks like she's thrown out her own established character and world building details again and its disappointing.

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the-bjd-community-confess · 2 years

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*Me eating popcorn watching a bunch of grown-ass adults fighting over supporting or hating on Harry Potter* 🍿 Honestly, both ya'lls sides sound fucking unhinged, and I'm genuinely of the opinion that some of ya'll should maybe try going to a psych of therapist before you get a conniption. I mean, be the politics of it be as it may. But some of you are more upset by this fucking book series and the stupid dolls, than actual transphobia. It's like the politics you're claiming it to be about, are less important, than feeling like you're in the right, and better than the other side.

And I get that some of you folks are gonna be like "It's easier" or just more close to home to focus on that. Like, whatever. But I'm legit wondering if some of ya'll get how absolute parody it just looks on the outside. Like I see people ignore honest to God issues being brought up, just so they can have a petty little pissbaby fight about fucking HP, but shut down when you bring up shit like laws or the likes, or things that actually need a bit of research put into it to understand. Is this the fucking politics ya'll always wanna fight about? Because that explains so much, you don't actually wanna talk politics or whatever, ya wanna have a weirdass fandom fight with minimal risk. On EITHER SIDE.

That honestly would explain so much. Also explains why ppl in this hobby talk loud, but then don't do shit. It's like unless it's tied to something like a fandom, or some little hobby, you have no idea how to actually build any kind of argument using the laws, social and political systems. Because the way this has been playing out, you are basically putting the fandom ABOVE the actual judicial/social/political issue.

Again: ON EITHER SIDE. It's like something that constantly happens, not just about fucking Harry Potter. One side completely ignores the political issue, closing their eyes to the issue because they don't wanna confront the issues with something they like. The other side considers the political point, but focuses almost completely on the fandom and their personal feelings, to the point they bury the political part under all their personal fandom hatred. Also, no I don't give a shit what your gender identity is, if that's cis, trans, non-binary or an ageless angelic entity with no concept of human's perception of existing in a mere mortal flesh suit. Ya'll all got an issue with staying consistent, and it always seems to fluctuate based on what fandom or hobby ya'll like, not actual convictions you have. (Yes, I expect someone is gonna be pointing fingers at this confession and have some kinda opinion, but I legit don't get the fucking point anymore, do you wanna talk politics, or do you just wanna talk fandom and be angry at the other side? Because most of the time, it seems like the latter, with any political or social issue.)

~Anonymous

#BJD #ABJD #BJD Confessions #Community Confessions #Fandoms #Politics #BJD Characters

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superspunarticle · 2 years

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Curated Content: How to Hand-pick Content Your Audience Will Love

Tutorials & tips about Content & Video Marketing.

If you often feel like there’s nothing new under the moon, you might be right. And it might actually be a good thing.

Instead of struggling to come up with new ideas, you can share existing content assets from other sources. Use someone else’s expertise and creative potential to draw attention to your brand — that’s what curated content is for.

Yes, you can curate content without running the risk of making a competing brand the star of the show. Let’s find out how to do that and what kinds of tools you’ll need.

What Is the Difference Between Created and Curated Content?

Firstly, let’s compare these two types of content side by side to spot the main differences.

Original content is tough to produce, while curation-worthy content is difficult to discover. However, you can minimize your efforts without sacrificing the quality of the content that you share — you just need to use content research tools (more on them in the following sections).

As you may have noticed, curated content also requires some fact-checking. But here’s a good rule of thumb: high-quality articles and reports usually already contain all the necessary links and citations, so going through them won’t take much of your time.

If the content piece that you’ve discovered doesn’t have any links, think twice before reposting it because it might contain outdated or inaccurate information.

7 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Curated Content

Successful marketers allocate at least 30% of their marketing budget to content creation. More companies are embracing long-form video content. 86% of consumers say that they prefer authentic, authoritative content, but 57% point out that brands aren’t doing enough in that direction.

Chances are, you’re bombarded with similar stats. Of course, they ring true, but not every company has a huge in-house content creation team to tick all the boxes.

What if you’re a small-business owner or a solo entrepreneur? What if you don’t have that kind of money or energy to spend on video content production, eBook editing, and podcast recording?

Having to create unique, fresh, and valuable content weekly can be exhausting, especially if you have another full-time job. It’s also costly — you’ll need to invest in gear and professional editing software, work with a presentation coach, and so on.

With content curation, you don’t need to worry about any of that. And sharing someone else’s content has many other advantages, too.

By linking to other experts in your industry, you show that you recognize their authority, pay attention to what they have to say, and don’t shy away from healthy competition. Also, that demonstrates that you care about your audience and want to provide them with the latest facts and insights.

Content curation allows you to try out new content formats and see what your subscribers react to. It’s also great to use for the times when you don’t have anything exciting to post about but want to keep your audience engaged.

Now that you have enough reasons to make room for carefully selected content in your content map, let’s talk practice.

How To Curate Content Without Drawing Attention Away From Your Brand

A typical content curation strategy includes five steps.

Look for high-quality publications on social media platforms and expert blogs

Sift through them to find the most relevant content pieces

Share them on your resource

Add your own commentary

Link to the source to help your subscribers find the full version

Reposting someone else’s publications does sound risky, especially when you’re just starting to build your own social media presence. To retain your readership while sharing content, you need to follow these ground rules.

Do thorough research and find reliable content sources on a scale (avoid your direct competitors). Create your own collection of thought leaders and companies who succeed at social media content creation and blogging, and go back to that list whenever you need new pieces of content.

Use curated articles, reports, studies, podcasts, or interviews from different sources. It’ll help you make your content strategy more diverse and avoid focusing too much on a single indirect competitor.

Avoid boring reposting. Create lists, collections, and in-depth stories out of already existing content pieces and turn them into your own assets as well.

Use small chunks of curated content to strengthen your own brand voice. Add expert quotes, stats, takeaways, or even Twitter threads to illustrate your point.

Schedule your curated content in advance. Doing that allows you to fill potential gaps in your strategy and spread curated posts more evenly across your feed or blog.

Share projects and initiatives that you support. Help your partners get more exposure by showcasing their content on your channels.

Add a personal touch to the content pieces you’re curating. Express your own opinion and add it as a comment to make curated content pieces align with your tone of voice and brand personality.

Tag the author, thank them for their work, and encourage them to link to your resources as well. This gesture of appreciation will help you get more backlinks in the future because the authors of the content that you’re reposting might find value in your publications as well.

10 Curated Content Examples

Twitter is a fantastic platform for understanding how curated content works and what you should be sharing with your audience. You can see what industry moguls are sharing with their subscribers and how their audience is reacting.

Here are some ideas that you can also apply to your website, blog, or any other platform that you use.

#1. Surprise your audience

Share mind-blowing facts, shocking stats, or bold ideas with your audience to spark their curiosity and make them stop scrolling. You don’t have to be too formal about it, either. In fact, a brief but catchy comment would be way more useful here.

Don’t forget to link to the original source and express your appreciation of their work. In this example, using URL shorteners makes it easier to tag a few sources in a single tweet.

#2. Inspire your subscribers

It’s not enough to just find an interesting piece of content and repost it, saying, “here’s the link.” You need to motivate your audience to click on that link and pay genuine attention to the content that you’ve picked.

Visuals can be extremely helpful — you can even add custom images to the content that you’re sharing to make it a bit more on-brand without stealing the spotlight completely.

#3. Give your followers some food for thought

Use curated content to share your opinion on emerging trends or global events and spark discussions with your audience. Just make sure that you’re expressing your company’s true beliefs and not just jumping on the bandwagon — 56% of consumers say that too many brands are using societal issues just to attract conscious customers and boost sales.

If you do want to comment on some hot-button topics, double-check your sources to make sure that you aren’t spreading misinformation or presenting a one-sided view. Even though it’s someone else’s content, posting it on behalf of your brand may hurt your reputation.

#4. Make it personal

When curating content, always explain why you’ve decided to share this exact piece and how it can be useful to your audience. Reference your own previous or upcoming publications to build a more coherent conversation with your followers.

Although curated content isn’t about your brand, you can draw connections between it and your own blog posts or email newsletters. It’ll also help your new subscribers discover your social media accounts or other resources related to your business.

#5. Tie curated content to your own product

Use content curation to show how your customers can make the most of your offer. Reading about someone else’s experience with your product or service will help your potential buyers make the right choice.

This type of content also works as social proof since your audience can see how other experts or opinion leaders successfully interact with you or your company and achieve their goals.

#6. Collaborate

You can also curate content created by the brands or opinion leaders you’re partnering with. It will give your reputation a boost because your audience will see that your business has real influence and can be trusted.

This is a great way to feature someone else’s content without drawing attention away from your brand. Collaborations can positively influence the image of your brand and attract a new audience.

#7. Share customer success stories

Curated content can also include user-generated content (UGC) featuring your products or services or mentioning your brand in any other positive way. Customer success stories can inspire other users and increase their loyalty to and interest in your brand.

If you’re sharing a long-form article, make sure to add a brief summary to explain what it’s about and why your followers should read it.

#8. Share content from like-minded creators

Use content curation to show that your brand encourages creativity and is on the lookout for new collaborations and partnerships with creators who share the same values. This type of curated content can also help your audience discover new faces and names in the industry.

If you already have a sizable audience on social media, encourage your subscribers to share their work and get featured on your channels. In that case, you won’t even have to curate content yourself — it’s a win-win situation.

#9. Share expert advice

In some areas, you may not be fully equipped to give your followers expert tips, but it doesn’t mean that you have to stick to generic publications. Share helpful articles written by accomplished professionals, doctors, and practitioners to boost your brand trust.

This is a clever way to showcase your expertise without poaching on someone else’s territory. This type of curated content is especially relevant to skincare, supplement, and beauty brands that aren’t always authorized to speak from a scientific standpoint.

#10. Be playful

Take a break from being serious and share content that has something to do with your brand that you personally find amusing. In this example, we see how a fruit snack brand jokingly points out that one of Harry Styles’ songs is about their grape juice.

Funny curated content allows you to inject some novelty into your feed and makes your brand more humane, authentic, and approachable. In other words, that’s your key to “keeping it real.”

How To Curate Content Using Social Listening and Content Research Tools

Content creation doesn’t happen in a vacuum — first, you need to run a competitor analysis, see what’s currently trending, and which channels your target audience is using. Content curation also requires you to do similar research, although to a lesser extent.

The good news is that you can easily automate your content discovery process and focus on the most interesting part — selecting pure gems and adding them to your content plan.

Here’s how you can achieve that:

Set up Google Alerts to monitor keywords, brand names, industry events, competitors, and so on.

Use social listening tools like Mention, Awario, or Brand24 to get notified whenever someone publishes a new piece of content you would like to link to.

Monitor Twitter trends to see what’s on everyone’s mind and what type of content you should be curating to cater to the needs of your audience.

Use Google Trends to see trending searches at local and global levels.

How To Make Your Own Content Shareworthy

The main point of this post is that producing high-quality content at scale doesn’t have to be painful or overly complicated. If you don’t want to bore yourself with content research, try HOTH Blogger to cut every corner.

Here’s how it works. You reach out to us, and we find industry-specific keywords and topics for your business. Then, we match you with an expert blog writer who writes and formats the whole post for you. We offer unlimited edits and a 100% satisfaction guarantee to make sure that you get amazing content for your blog every time.

The above article “Curated Content: How to Hand-pick Content Your Audience Will Love” was 1st published on this site.

I trust that you found the post above useful and/or of interest. Similar content can be found on our main site: superspunarticle.com/blog Let me have your feedback below in the comments section. Let us know what subjects we should cover for you in future.

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echoalyssa · 3 years

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Phantom | Dick Grayson

Authors Note: There’s some light language in this, but thats about all!

“Phantom to Nightwing, entering dead zone now. Start the clock and come in if I’m late. I love you.”

You now had an hour inside the base, unable to contact anyone. You were collecting intel and because you were the stealthiest and smallest, (Damian was too young for this particular mission) Bruce had sent you in.

Your boyfriend, Dick Grayson had wanted to come with you but Bruce had rejected the idea because two people was more risky than one.

Dick had been livid, it was more risky for your life for you to go alone. He was your partner even though you were all a team. Ever since childhood, the two of you fought together and somewhat seemed to share the same mind.

You push a vine our of your dace. Your black masks shows the digital map of the quietest places to step. Your hood is pulled up to disguise your features and skin tone that obviously didn't fit in with the darkness of the air around you.

You had left your mottled cloak behind, opting to only have to worry about your body and where you place it.

Joker was extremely active underground lately, he’d evolved and Bruce had only your mission as a lead.

Your mask displays your one hour timer on the left hand side of your vision. Fifty minutes to get into the compound and back to safety.

The compound comes into view, a flat stone building that just didn’t fit in with the forest that surrounded it. You creep forward, staying in the shadows and hugging the walls of the building until you reach the only vent.

The stone was practically flat but years of training allowed you to look your gloved fingers into a crevice and wedge a booted foot into the building.

You begin climbing, scaling upwards twenty feet. The screws of the vent are all different and you have to pull away from the wall, your body straining so you can unscrew the bottom two.

You’re small enough that you can pry the vent open enough that you can squeeze yourself in. Forty minutes your clock reads. You were going too slow. You crawl forward on your elbows, you trek forward, you should have asked for two hours. Shit.

You hit the record button on your wrist panel and pull the microphone out.

It’s a tiny one but the quality is amazing. You’re peering through a small vent above a research lab now and you thread the microphone and it’s wire through the vent. The audio feeds into your ear piece and also saves to the hard drive in your panel.

You’re holding your breath, only breathing when you have to to minimize any chance of getting caught.

“We need to move in now! He’s only getting more recruits and it’s only a matter of time before they find us again.” Says a voice.

“If they haven’t already! I say we try the new weapon on some unsuspecting crowd of bystanders now. Then they’ll be too busy trying to save those silly citizens to deal with us.”

“Yes but is it ready..?”

“It needs to be tested again and we need to find a more powerful energy source eventually.”

And then the joker walks into view of the vent. He’s holding a blueprint and he spreads it on one of the tables. It’s the paint schematic for the weapon because of course, the joker being the joker meant that everything needed to be green, purple, and white.

You raise a hand to your mask and tap twice. It takes a screenshot of your view of the blueprint and sends it to the bat hard drive.

“Did you have any luck with batons inner circle? Would anyone snitch?”

“A couple...” the speaker listens. It’s valuable intel and now Bruce would be able to feed false information to the rats.

You begin to tap their names away into the panel and then attempt to wirelessly hack into the mainframes. The firewall were strong and plentiful but eventually they all fall victim to you. Sixteen minutes your timer reads. Shit. The data downloading from their computers and into your drive is only halfway done.

It won’t be very detailed. Just minuscule bits of information because you couldn't connect physically to the computers. It’s a line of script here and there that didn't make much sense to you because you weren't super tech-y. Though every line counted and that you knew. Several addresses also pop up.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, your panel signals that the download is complete. Seven minutes reads the timer. Double shit.

You scramble backwards knowing that you’ve done all that you can. Somehow managing to turn yourself around in the small space. You’re almost at the vent when you foot clangs against the side of the vent.

You freeze, no alarms go off, but then again why would they? The timer is still ticking and you continue on, sliding out of the vent. You fumble with the screws, attempting to get them back in in case your cover hadn't already been blown. You then plant your feet, push off and flip down to the ground. You land nimbly in a rolling crouch and then pop to your feet and take off, sprinting for the tree line.

They come from the shadows. Dozens of them. All focused in on you.

You suck in a breath and draw your longswords.

“Bring it on Goonies!” You call and they surge forward all at once. Some with guns, electric batons, and swords.

You stalk forward, meeting them in the middle. You begin slashing immediately at arms, legs, torsos, anywhere that wasn’t too lethal. You weren't a killer.

Except there were just so many, the sword in your left hand falls from your grip and you pull out a disc, throwing it into the incomers. It explodes, blinding some and wounding others.

You yank s taser out from your belt and stab it into an attackers neck while blocking an attack with your sword. And then it happens. A baton smacks into the back of your head and you stumble forward, dizzy. A blade slashes your thigh, splitting skin and muscle. A cry comes fro, your lips and you lash out desperately with your one remaining longsword. You're able to down the foe who had slashed you.

Two more take his place and then a dagger rips through your abdomen from behind. You scream, falling to your knees. Just as it gets put through your thigh, followed by your shoulder. You land in the grass face first and the world goes dark, sound fading out.

‘Dick.’ Is your last thought.

~~~

Dick is staring at the timer that is displayed by his make. 00:00:05. 00:00:04. 00:00:03. 00:00:02. 00:00:01. And the dreaded number... 00:00:00. It blares red and he stares at the forest, fists clenched. Where was she?

Tim steps forward and places a hand on his shoulder. “Give her five minutes okay? She’s smart. You know how these missions sometimes go overtime. She’s got this.”

“We never should have sent her in alone. It was too risky. Damn it!”

His fist rockets into a tree. He considers going after Bruce, giving him a piece of his mind. Then decides that it isn’t worth it and begins to prepare to go in after his love.

He makes sure to grab the miniature cauterizer and some other emergency medical supplies, stuffing them into the pouches on his belt.

“Wait, Nightwing, we’ll go together. We need a plan!” Damian calls.

His heart is pounding out of his chest and he can’t breathe. ‘What if he was too late? What if she was already gone?’

He doesn’t want to wait for a plan, time was ticking. He pushes past his adoptive brother.

“Dick wait!” Jason calls trying to grab his arm. But he keeps going, breaking for the trees to find her.

Jason and Tim look at each other, then they both look at Damian. “Stay here.” They say simultaneously/

“No way!” He yells back at his brothers.

The three of them take them off after Nightwing. And Bruce, having watched all his children run into danger, follows them in.

Nightwing is pushing through vines and branches, not caring if he makes noise or not. He knows the rest of his family will follow him, but quietly.

His mail enhances his vision in the darkness. He draws a thumb over his own panel and it activates the heat censor on his mask. Dick Grayson pushes forward quickly, scanning frantically for her heat signature.

And then he sees it. She’s always run cold. Her fingers and limbs always frozen. A small prone figure, running colder than the other surrounding bodies. He kicks up his pace, heading for her because he just knows.

“Phantom!” he yells, followed by, “Robin! I think I found her!”

He skids to a halt and falls to his knees, he can see the stab wounds. The way her blood has soared into the ground beneath her.

Nightwing rolls her over, jamming his fingers under her neck to find a pulse. It’s there. But weak.

He rips the cauterizer out of his belt and drapes her body over him just as Jason appears.

“Is she..?”

“Alive.” He grunts, “Not for much longer I need to..”

Jason helps him rip the uniform away enough so Dick has enough room to maneuver.

“Hold her down!”

Jason does as he’s told and Dick places the cauterizer to her skin.

“Only do what you have to, we need to get out of here. And soon.”

He pushes the two flaps of skin together and places the sparking tool to it. The heat melds the skin together. She’d need to be pumped full of antibiotics in case any of the blades were dirty and risked infection.

She only stirs slightly, too disoriented from her loss of blood. He talks to her the whole time he works on her.

He only does her abdomen, knowing that it’s her most serious injury. It might not even hold from the jolting and jostling that would occur in the journey back. Dick stabs a painkiller into her thigh, just in case she were to awaken.

He motions to Tim and Damian, who had been standing guard, to take up the rear. Grayson then scoops up his girlfriend, cradling her to his chest.

“Jason. Take point. Let’s get her home.”

~~~

He sits by her bedside. His hands are covered in her dry blood, along with his suit. He hadn’t bothered to change.

Y/N had needed a blood transfusion and he had offered immediately, hence why there was a needle in his arm funneling blood into girlfriend. Alfred had stitched do her wounds and hooked her up to an IV for hydration and anti-infection purposes.

She’d been changed out of her uniform after she was stable for cleanliness reasons and was now wearing one of his black shirts.

He’s holding her hand, his thumb tracing over the pulse point of her wrist occasionally.

It would be a long road to recovery for her though they all knew that she would bounce back and attempt to get back in to the field as soon as she could walk.

It’s days later when she finally wakes, her eyelids fluttering.

“Dick.” She whispers.

He’s right there, just like he had been, he’d only left briefly to shower but he ate and slept at her side. Jason had covered both of your patrols, with Bruce helping out.

“I’m okay. You’re okay, babygirl.” He places a hand on her face and she leans her head into his touch.

#nightwing #dick grayson #Tim drake #jason todd #Damian wayne #batfam #bat fam #bat family #dick Grayson x reader #nightwing x reader

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9layerdevilfoodcake · 3 years

Text

Some Of A Kind

Chapter 1: Virgin in the Chapel

(Michael Langdon x reader)

Summary: When you accompany your friend to a black mass at the Church of Satan. You pick the wrong time and place to let him in on the fact that you’re a virgin, garnering the attention of the ‘chosen one’ himself.

Warnings: murder, mentions of drug use, poorly represented Satanism

Word count: 3,666 (that’s right)

It was a typical Wednesday night when you got a text from your friend Tyler.

‘So what do you say? Is tonight the night?’

He had been bugging you for weeks to come see a sacrifice at the satanic church. And since the first time he asked, the conversation always went the same way.

“I’m telling you, just one slice and then you can have whatever you want”

“You mean I can have powers beyond compare?”

“Yes” he answered back, in a hopeful tone. Clearly he hadn’t picked up on the sarcasm in your voice.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at the excitement in his voice.

“I’m sorry, you do whatever you want over there with your edgelords but I’m perfectly happy in my boring powerless existence”

“First of all we aren’t edgelords, we're satanists. We just see the world for what it is. A dreadful place full of selfish people.”

“Well I can’t say I argue with that”

“Exactly, so give in to being selfish, and start doing what you want. You work so hard, and for what a one bedroom apartment you can barely afford and bags under your eyes that are only getting bigger by the day?”

“Hey” you interrupt, slightly offended. Which only earns a laugh on his end.

“I’m just saying, you put in so much effort for no pay off, when you could do this one thing and have everything you deserve”

“What a cable package and a ‘skip the line’ pass at Disneyland?”

“I also get unlimited snacks!”

“Oh sorry how could I forget, well if one soul is all it takes to get a free waffle cone then what are we still doing here?!” You ask back, your tone full of mockery.

“Have you ever wondered why I can snort as much coke as I want and have never OD’d? Or why every girl I bring home is a certified 10?”

Actually you had, the two of you had met the year prior in a religious studies class when you were partnered to write a paper on whether morality was dependent on a god. He could barely get through a sentence without tripping over his words or looking away in embarrassment. It was sweet really, and by the end of the class you two had basically become best friends.

But about 2 months ago things started to change. There was almost always a girl leaving his house when you would come over.

You swore at least two of them you recognized from Victoria Secret runways.

One night you even saw a man leaving whose resemblance to Ryan Reynolds was suspiciously uncanny.

He got a new car without any explanation as to where he got the money, and he had so much coke in his living room you assumed he started dealing, before he told you it was just his stash for the weekend.

At first he was vague about everything, but eventually he told you the truth, or at least what you assumed was a version of it.

For his final project he wrote a research paper on the church of Satan.

You went with him to a couple of services when he was writing it, him being too nervous to go alone.

You both thought they seemed a little kooky, but relatively harmless.

Yet what you didn’t know was that he kept going back after the class ended and had gotten himself sworn in, and eventually given the honor of participating in a black mass.

Where he had sacrificed a school teacher in order to get these new “gifts”.

Now you weren’t naive enough to think he actually killed someone!

You were sure his new lifestyle was a part of some religious Ponzi scheme, and one day the debt collector would come calling.

You’ve watched enough documentaries to know better than to get involved with this.

But he is still your friend so you take it upon yourself to be supportive and let him have his moment, while simultaneously letting him know you’ll be here for him if the day comes that he gets excommunicated.

“I love you and I am so happy for all you’ve gotten, especially when you share it with me, but I’m good, really. I’ll let you know if I ever change my mind”

That dropped the subject for a while.

That is until a few days ago when you lost your job.

Well actually when your job was stolen from underneath you by your boss's son.

All it took was one night of bitching to your best friend for the talks of satanism to start up again.

So here you were bored on a Wednesday night actually considering his offer to watch a black mass.

‘Well…’

He texted back after a few minutes of no response on your part

‘Fine’

It’s not like he’s ever going to let up, you might as well go see what all the hubbub was about.

After he picked you up, you made your way to the church.

More precisely the back alley with a hidden door. Not at all unsettling.

And the rain pelting down on the robe he gave you just adds a nice ominese touch to what you're sure is going to be a long night.

Now inside you sit in a pew in the back. While the choir above you sings as the others file in.

They actually sound pretty good if you’re being honest. Maybe on your way out you’ll pick up the album you saw for sale in the lobby (for $6.66 no less).

You haven’t been sitting more than 10 minutes before the mass begins.

And in that time Tyler roughly explained what you were about to see.

You weren’t paying too much attention though. More enamored with the atmosphere.

It was a sea of red cloaks and black pentagrams. And the thunder outside appeared to clap along in sync with the crescendo or the choir.

This place seems vastly different from the shabby collection of misfits you encountered when you visited the first time. Who spent most of the service complaining and handed you a stale donut on your way out the door.

“...Y/n are your listening?!”

“Hmm Yea”

“Really?”

“Yea the guy’s gonna sacrifice some ‘innocent soul’ say a few hail satans and voilà he gets his hair back and starts getting laid again” you answer back, waving him off. You’re more interested in watching two Satanists in the front of the room give each other the “sign of the cross” gesture in reverse order.

“This is serious, the things you see might shock you but you can not react! If they think you’re some sort of threat to our secrets or even just afraid of them, it won’t end well. I’m kind of taking a risk by bringing you here”

That brings your attention back to your friend.

“So you hound me for weeks to come with you, but I’m not even allowed to be here?” You ask back, starting to wonder why you actually said yes to this.

“Well yea, I just really want you to see what I’ve seen, I want what’s best for you”

That was actually really sweet of him.

Now you felt a little bad for making fun of this so much.

That is until you see a man in the next row pull out a flask with “unholy water” written on it and rub it on his chest like Vick’s.

But before you get the chance to ask Tyler where he keeps his flask(which you're certain he has). The choir stops singing and the Priestess has the room's attention.

Everything goes as Tyler explains at first.

The “sacrifices” are brought in in their underwear. (They couldn’t even keep their clothes on, what does the devil give them a level up if the victims are humiliated before they die?) and tonight's chosen one, Phil, is about to take his position, before you hear a voice behind you.

“Wait!”

You turn your head to see an older woman rushing in, but it’s not her that steals your focus it’s who walks in behind her.

He is quite possibly the most attractive person you have ever seen. With cheekbones that could slice butter and soft blonde hair falling around icy blue eyes.

She says his name is Michael and this honor belongs to him.

You look over to Tyler to see what’s going on. He didn’t explain what part of the performance this was, was this some sort of second act surprise?

You were expecting this night to follow like a church service, watching Phil take his vows and minimal audience participation. Now you wonder if this is all rehearsed, or if the Satanist’s are partial to improv?

But Tyler pays you no mind, he can’t take his eyes off the blonde either.

It’s not until the Priestess mentions the “mark of the beast” and that he is the chosen one, that you get why Tyler is looking at him like he’s some sort of god.

Because to him he is, this guy is supposed to be the Antichrist.

Tyler says nothing only glances in your direction when he sees you’re the only one still standing, before he pulls you down to your knee like everyone else.

The rest of the performance is really top notch.

The flickering of the lights was a nice touch, but you can’t help but feel a little uneasy wondering how they keep getting the thunder to time up with everything they do.

Plus the bodies of the sacrifices fell to the ground almost too well.

How did they manage to get their bodies to look that lifeless, and why did those cuts look so deep?

But you try not to focus too much on it as you walk to the ceremonial Wednesday night potluck.

After the Antichrist has dismissed his followers from fawning all over him, you sit with Tyler at the end of the table and dig into your lasagna.

“So does the antichrist part happen at every sacrifice or is this one special? Is it some Satanic holiday I wasn’t aware of?” You ask, breaking Tyler out of whatever trance he appears to be stuck in.

“What?”

“I gotta say the dramatics were very entertaining, but if you really wanted to get me here all you had to do was tell me the guy who plays the Antichrist is really hot” you snicker under your breath.

“Play? Y/n your don’t understand he IS the Antichrist” he explains in a hushed voice before continuing

“That doesn’t happen every time, he really has come. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Don’t you see?! I think it was fate you came here on this night!”

“Ha, why do you need a virgin to sacrifice or something?” You laugh and take another bite before you look over and see Tyler staring at you with wide eyes.

“What?”

“You’re not serious are you?”

“Well yea, what’s the big deal, I didn’t realize you were so caught up on a social construct”

“I’m not, but you can’t say things like that around here” he looks around the room nervously and you follow his path of vision until your eyes land on Michael, who’s own gaze is locked on you.

There’s no way he heard you, you were across the room and you were whispering.

Still he continues to stare with eyes that speak only of intensity. No smile, no nod, no hint emotion whatsoever.

It’s only after you raise your brows and mouth a “What?” That he looks back down at his plate with a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Oh Satan, I think he heard you. You should go” Tyler’s tone becoming more erratic by the second.

“What?” You’re sure he's joking, but when he looks at you there is nothing but worry in his eyes.

Now you’re starting to get nervous, this is too far.

He actually thinks these people are going to do something?

He’s practically shaking with fear, and because of the man in the turtleneck? Who barely knows how to hold a spoon?

Okay you’ll play along for tonight, but tomorrow you are having a serious talk, he might need professional help.

“Alright let's go then” you huff out as you start to grab your belongings.

“I can’t just leave, especially since our savior is here, but I’ll make sure everything is good and you’re not followed or anything”

“Okay, is there some sort of satanic shuttle bus that can take me home? Or should I call an Uber? Does this place have an address or should I just send them an inverted cross?”

Still unamused by your inability to grasp the gravity of the situation, he just shakes his head and hands you his keys.

“Here just take my car, I’ll get a ride later, in fact stay at my house incase you’re followed”

He’s basically pushing you out of your seat and nodding to the door.

“Okay...bye I guess”

And with that you take off down the hall.

You know you’re supposed to go straight to the car. You’ve never seen Tyler look so serious in his life.

But when you walk past the chapel you can’t help but stop. You can still see the bodies up at the altar.

Why are they still there? Was there a trap door you missed and these were just doubles?

Or were these people so committed to the role and as crazy as your friend that they had to stay in the character of “dead sacrifice” all night?

Curiosity got the better of you, the car could wait, you had to see for yourself.

Closer inspection did nothing to stifle your suspicions.

It looked so real.

They weren’t breathing, so there was no way they were still the two actors, but you had never seen fake bodies look so real.

You're reminded of an anatomy class you took last semester.

Those cadavers looked suspiciously close to these.

Just colder and with less life left in their faces.

And there was so much blood, the iron was thick in the air.

But that couldn’t be true. Your friend wouldn’t kill someone would he?

He didn’t actually think they would kill you?

If you got a closer look, if you just swiped some of the “blood” with your pointer finger it would surely taste like corn syrup and not like…

“Are you afraid?”

You whip your head around, blood still staining your finger and beginning to drip onto the linoleum. To see Michael walking in the same way he had an hour earlier. Only this time without the cloak, but with some newly added confidence.

“They’re really dead aren’t they?” You know it’s true, but you still wait for his confirmation.

“Yes, that tends to happen when you slice someone’s throat” He acts as if this shouldn’t be a shock to you. It didn’t shock any of the other members of the congregation. Yet you know without him saying it, that he’s well aware you’re not like the others. That you don’t belong here.

“So you really sacrifice people, just to get stuff” you blurt out. Still trying to wrap your head around the fact that everything you witnessed tonight was real. Perhaps you shouldn’t have taken that last crescent roll you’d seen another satanist eyeing at dinner, you definitely have a curse coming your way. That is if you live through the night.

“Well not me” Michael says, pulling you out of your thoughts and back to the present.

“Oh of course, you’re the one they do it for”

“Well my father more specifically”

“Does that upset you?” You know you should be more careful about how you proceed with this conversation, but the words leave your mouth before your mind can stop them.

The question seems to catch him by surprise as he ruffles his brow, you’re not sure if it’s in anger or just shock at your brazenness. But he doesn’t answer. Just goes on to question you.

“Have you ever witnessed a murder before?”

“No”

“How did you feel watching it before your eyes?”

“Well I didn’t feel much, considering I thought it was all fake” That earns you a smile from him.

“And how do you feel now?”

“Curious”

“Really? Not scared?”

“No. Why should I be?” You’re really digging your own grave here. But your mouth seems to have a mind of its own.

“It seems your friend would say otherwise”

“Ah so you did hear.” You say, seeing his smile grow wider. “These aren't the days of the Old Testament, virginity doesn’t equally purity. Just ask sacrifice number one over there, with a body like that I doubt she was a virgin” you laugh, partially at your joke and partially out of sheer uncomfortableness. Michael doesn’t even spare the bodies a glance, eyes latched onto you, you go on to add

“I’m no saint. Despite my sexual history, or lack thereof”

“No, I’m sure you’re not” he emphasizes by swiping some of the liquid from your finger with his own, before taking it into his mouth. Making a show of it by closing his eyes as he releases it from his lips, slow as molasses. Smiling when he opens his eyes and sees you’re practically drooling.

Before his little show can go any further, you continue with your own questions.

“Have you killed people before?”

“Yes”

“How many?”

“You don’t have the time”

He’s looking at you waiting for your response. Waiting for the shock to subside and the shrieks of terror to take over.

Instead you just pause thinking everything over.

You should be scared, you know you should.

In one night you have watched two people die, found out your friend is a murderer, and that the Antichrist is not only NOT a myth, but is standing in front of you, conversing with you like he’s nothing more than your new neighbor.

Yet you search and search in your mind for any hint of fear and come up empty. All you feel is curiosity. You must be losing it too, you feel bad for judging Tyler so harshly. Maybe it’s his youthful face and the little outburst in the dining hall earlier, but Michael seems like more than simply the ‘incarnation of evil’. He seems so...human.

And more than anything he just seems confused and dare you say, lost.

“Do you like killing people? Or do you do it because it’s expected?”

“It depends”

“Would you like to kill me?”

Now it’s his turn to take pause, looking like he’s trying to decide if he’s “in the mood” to take your life.

“Not right now”

You can’t help but laugh at that (yea you’re definitely in shock). Soon enough he joins in too, and the mood feels lighter than it has all night. You might even say you feel comfortable.

That is until the laughter subsides and you meet his eyes. He’s now staring at you with the same intensity you’d met earlier at dinner.

It’s like he’s looking right through you, into your soul. You feel on display and more than anything afraid of what he might find.

“Stop that”

“Stop what?” He says with a playful tone and a tilt of his head.

“You’re..well..I don’t know what you’re doing but I don’t like it. You’re trying to get a read on me or something.”

He just smiles at that, because of course he does.

You know there is no avoiding playing into his hand. He wants to get a rise out of you, in one way or another.

“And what do yo-”

“Y/N!”

At the mention of your name you both turn to see Tyler standing in the doorway.

Antichrist or not, the look Michael gives him is enough to send a wave of fear up your spine.

He appears as though he’s about to snap his neck through just a look(and you're afraid to find out if he could).

Noticing his anger, Tyler stops and bows before Michael, apologizing incessantly for interrupting him.

You don’t miss the twitch of Michael’s lips. He’s clearly loving the effects he has on his followers.

You just roll your eyes at your friend.

“Calm down Tyler, get up”

He just let’s your words pass over him as if you hadn’t even spoken. If he hadn’t been the one to call your name a moment ago, you wouldn’t be sure he even knew you were in the room.

Every sense he had was aimed at Michael, and it was only when his precious dark lord gave him a nod that he got up and looked your way again.

“What are you doing? I thought you were going home?” He says through clenched teeth.

If he weren’t so worried about keeping you alive he would be pissed at you for not listening.

“I was. I am” you reassure him turning to Michael.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Michael, I’ll see myself out”

You are scurrying out of the room, grabbing a frozen Tyler and tugging him along with you, when Michael calls after you.

“No y/n, the pleasure was all mine.”

You’re at the end of the hall, and in the middle of Tyler’s scolding session, when you realize there is still blood on your finger.

It feels like it’s vibrating where Michael touched you, begging you to take notice.

Just wipe it on your jeans, you tell yourself.

Wait until you get to the car and find a napkin.

Do anything rational other than what you're thinking.

As you pass through the exit door, you cave and take a taste of the crimson on your finger.

Although you can’t see him, you know Michael is smiling. You can feel his smugness in the air around you and you're sure he knows what you just did.

This started out just as me wanting to make some jokes about Michael and the Satanists and has somehow turned into a multi-chapter fic. I still don’t really know where it’s going I’m just letting it take on a mind of it’s own. If it looks familiar it’s cuz it’s been on ao3 for a little bit now, so sorry it’s not a “new” new story! If you liked it that makes me very happy, and if not I hope it was at least entertaining! Either way thank you for reading!

(I wasn’t sure who wanted to be tagged just in my Xavier fic and who did in general so I didn’t add a tag list to this one)

#Michael langdon x reader #Michael langdon #ahs apocalypse #far too much sarcasm

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firebrands · 4 years

Text

the square root of infinity | stevetony

2.7k, established relationship, first fight angst | on ao3 | for @maguna-stxrk

***

Tony finds out with his hands deep in JARVIS’ code. Former-JARVIS, actual-JARVIS, he hasn’t really decided on what to refer to the mess of numbers of letters that formed his former AI, and now, well—Vision, too. It’s all a mess, really, and Tony wanted something simple to do with his hands, minimal focus, low-risk.

He should have known better, really. Nothing about him, his work, his life, has ever been low-risk.

It’s a command from Steve with a privacy protocol. Search, identify, and surveil Sergeant James “Bucky” Barnes, also known as The Winter Soldier. Missing, found, and missing again as of six months ago. Tony frowns at the monitor. He knows he hasn’t read it wrong, but can’t believe it; he reads it again.

Somehow, in the span of time of Steve coming back from Washington, of them settling in together, he’d done this. He’d asked JARVIS to do this for him, and keep it from Tony.

Tony leans back against his chair. “FRI,” he says.

His new AI chirps to life. “Boss?”

“Gimme everything JARVIS found on this.”

“It’s on your phone now, boss.” In front of him, a hologram materializes as well, displaying hundreds of photos, grainy and filtered, and copies of reports on sightings. Tony stands up, takes a step back and frowns some more. He opens his mouth a few times, borne of his need to verbalize even without anyone listening; he’s angry. He’s more shocked than angry, but the anger is there, low and simmering.

Beneath it, though, is a grain of doubt: Why? Why did he keep it hidden? Especially now—after all the truth came spilling out of them, crystallizing into something Tony held dear. And after all Steve had said, about keeping secrets, about trust. He briefly considers asking FRIDAY to print it all out, just so he can throw the sheaf of paper in front of Steve and demand: what the fuck, but he’s better now, more mature. Or so he likes to tell himself.

So instead, he walks to the penthouse and finds Steve reading.

Tony clears his throat.

Steve looks up. “Hey,” he says, setting his book down. “You done working?”

Tony smiles, pained and tight. “So,” he says, sitting at the foot of the bed. “Bucky.”

Steve’s eyebrows meet, looking concerned. “What about him?”

Tony shuts his eyes and counts backward from five. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Steve inches closer to him and rests his hand on Tony’s knee. Tony doesn’t open his eyes.

“I didn’t want to worry you,” Steve says very quietly.

Tony’s eyes fly open, the anger now boiling over. “Oh is that it?” He asks sarcastically. “So you decided to use JARVIS—without my permission, to look for him?”

Steve’s mouth works, and he looks genuinely shocked. “You said I could talk to JARVIS.”

“That’s not the point!” He pushes Steve’s hand off him and stands. “Why would you keep that a secret?”

“I—I didn’t,” Steve says haltingly. “I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to know if JARVIS could find him, but I knew it was almost impossible anyway, so there was no real point—”

“If there was no point,” Tony says, voice lowering, “then why’d you do it?”

“Tony,” Steve stands now, too, tries to reach out and touch Tony’s elbow, to disentangle Tony’s arms that have crossed over his chest on their own volition. “He’s my best friend. I’m worried about him. I just thought it was something I should do myself.”

Tony nods, not really listening. His head is swimming with what he thinks could be actual reasons why Steve had kept this from him. A tangled mess of fear and insecurity, then shock at his ability to be aware of it. Is this maturity? He doesn’t like it much. Better if it stayed Steve’s fault—and it is Steve’s fault, it is. But maybe Tony doesn’t need to work himself up like this. But then again, Tony’s already worked up. “Stop,” Tony grinds out.

So Steve stops, a foot away from Tony, looking more scared than Tony’s ever seen him.

“I’m going to go.”

“Don’t.”

Tony looks up at Steve. He hadn’t even realized he’d looked away. Steve takes a deep breath, closes the space between them, and takes Tony’s hands in his.

Tony sighs.

Steve threads their fingers together, squeezes Tony’s palms. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Want to say more than one syllable, maybe?”

A joke? Now? Tony feels his frown deepen.

“No.”

“Is this a fight?”

Tony looks up at him. “A fight means you don’t think you should be sorry.”

“Now, hold on a second,” Steve says, a small frown beginning to form on his face. Barely perceptible, if you didn’t know the signs. “I already explained why—”

“And that’s supposed to make it okay?”

“Where is this coming from?” Steve asks, letting go of Tony’s hands, which means he’s mad too, which drives Tony insane.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“There’s no need to raise your tone—”

“Don’t fucking use your de-escalation tactics on me.” Tony hisses, turns on his heel, and walks out the door. He gives himself the satisfaction of slamming it shut.

***

The next few days are filled with small acts of penitence: a cup of coffee on the bedside table when Tony wakes, a sandwich in the workshop, a completed report for a day-old mishap. It’s on Thursday that Tony’s heart finally softens. Over nothing, really, just a small doodle on his desk. He realizes, in that moment, that of all his achievements, perhaps learning to understand Steve Rogers should rank highest. Right up there with being understood by him, too.

Tony’s lying in bed, reading a report on his tablet, when Steve peeks in.

“Hey.” He sounds tentative.

Tony sighs, sets his tablet aside, and takes off his glasses. “Well, come in.”

Steve’s barely able to hide his grin, and nearly bowls Tony over when he hugs him. “Hi,” Steve says, burying his nose against Tony’s neck.

“Hello to you too, you overgrown labrador,” Tony laughs, pushing Steve away a little lest he be crushed under all combined weight of supersoldier and three bowls of pasta that Clint prepared for dinner.

“I missed you,” Steve says, hugging Tony closer to him. He looks up at Tony, resting his chin right on Tony’s sternum. “Was that our first fight?”

Tony snorts. “Unlikely to be our last,” he says.

“Hey,” Steve chides, leaning up and brushing Tony’s nose with his. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true. Anyway,” Tony leans closer, brushes their lips together. “Make it up to me.”

Steve arches an eyebrow.

“Don’t start,” Tony warns.

Steve huffs out a laugh, tips them over until they’re lying down, and makes it up to him.

***

As a man of science, it behooves Tony to conduct experiments and to test hypotheses.

First, identify the problem.

Second, conduct research.

Third, develop a hypothesis: follow if / then structure.

Fourth, test through experiments: ensure factors are varied one at a time.

Fifth and final, draw a conclusion.

Tony’s tapping the tip of a screwdriver against his bottom lip as he thinks, and then two strong arms wrap around his waist and just like that, the problem has identified itself.

(One frustrating blind spot in Tony’s life: relationships. Which isn’t to say he hasn’t tried to make sense of them, sped read through self-help books and trawled through Reddit. Unlike everything else, research pales in comparison to experience, and there’s only so much he can do to make sure this one precious thing in his life is perfect.)

“Busy?” Steve presses a small kiss on the back of Tony’s neck. Tony can barely suppress a shiver.

He wants to say, I was, until you showed up. It doesn’t just apply to this moment. That fact shouldn’t hurt.

Instead, Tony says: “Yeah, kinda.”

“Okay,” Steve says easily, pulling away. He comes back to press a quick kiss to Tony’s cheek. “See you later?”

“Yup,” Tony says, and okay. Maybe he needs to spend a day or two really figuring out who the problem is, here. (It’s him. He knows this. He’s always the problem.)

Two days later, Tony settles on having to review related literature. In this case, this means sitting alone in the workshop as he relives every moment when Steve was distracted. Was that a sign? In a brief moment of clarity, Tony asks: “Fri, am I crazy?”

“Signs point to no, boss. But I can pull up recent results on the search engines?”

“I’d rather not hear what the general public thinks, thanks,” Tony says, sighing. He rests his face in his hands. It’s not like he meant to think of this—what is wrong with his brain, that the intrusive thoughts come in the form of the few moments he’d asked Steve what was on his mind, only to be brushed off?

What did that mean?

Did it matter?

Step three: if that was a sign, then there was a problem.

If that wasn’t a sign, then there wasn’t a problem.

If Tony didn’t figure this out, then there would definitely be a problem.

This isn’t how a hypothesis is meant to sound. Tony’s a terrible scientist.

“Fri, call Bruce.”

“Tony?” Bruce’s voice is rough. He sounds annoyed.

“Hey, seven PhDs, how do I form a proper hypothesis?”

“Fuck you, Stark.” The line clicks off.

Tony turns his wrist, checks his watch. Three AM? Figures.

He stretches out his back. “Friday,” he says, standing up. “The search functions for Barnes.”

“On it, boss.”

“Atta girl.”

***

Try as Tony might—and he’s trying, which in itself feels like a failure, because Tony stark does or does not and there is no need to attempt—he feels like something has shifted between them, and he doesn’t know how to fix it.

Maybe he’s just making it all up in his head. That’s the easy solution, isn’t it? And that’s usually the answer: start with the easiest answer and work your way up. He can already see Natasha rolling her eyes at him. Maybe the solution is to stop treating your relationship like it’s quantum theory.

Steve’s hand is on his lower back, steering him inside a restaurant. He thinks only of what Steve said, all those weeks ago: I had to do it myself.

Tony wants to argue, right this moment. But how can he? It’s awful that they can be so alike. The only reason he keeps his mouth shut is because he knows that Tony’s used that argument before. Maybe this is growth, to know when to back down from a fight. Or to avoid one totally.

Steve reaches over the table, brushes his fingers over Tony’s wrist. “You okay?”

There are a lot of answers to that. Tony settles on the truth. “Not really.”

Steve’s brow creases with worry. “What’s wrong?”

Again: an infinite multiverse of answers to answer a question that simple. With this, Tony does struggle for a moment, and the next words are much harder to say—they almost feel caught in his throat, like a lump of meat. “I don’t know.”

“You can tell me anything, you know,” Steve says gently. So gentle, it almost breaks him; Tony doesn’t deserve this. Steve doesn’t deserve this.

“I know,” Tony says, and this is him lying through his teeth, and this is what he’s good at, and maybe this is why he’ll never know how relationships are. It’s a trust issue, probably. He doesn’t know if the issue is with Steve, or with himself. “Don’t worry about it.”

Tony tries harder, now: smiles more, eats with gusto. He knocks Steve’s thigh with his knee, looks up at him from under his lashes. This is what life is like for Tony Stark: it’s acting. He knows the approximations to get his point across. As their evening goes on, the small wrinkle on Steve’s forehead smooths out, and maybe Tony wishes he wasn’t so good at pretending.

Maybe he wishes that Steve read him better.

***

The moment of epiphany is often described as transcendental.

This one hits like a ton of bricks—literally, because Tony does know what that feels like, and the suit is shock proof, sure, but that shit still fucking hurts, and even in moments of epiphany, somehow he still manages to go off on a tangent. The point remains: Steve’s hand is on his hip, and they’re in bed, and epiphanies usually equate clarity, peace.

Tony freezes up.

“Tony?” Steve murmurs, sliding his hand up Tony’s side.

“I’m sorry,” Tony says, sitting up. “I know I’m being difficult.”

“I didn’t say you were.” Steve sits up beside him, rests his hand on Tony’s shoulder, and turns Tony to look at him. “Who said you were being difficult?”

“Me, I’m saying it,” Tony says. Panic is beginning to bubble in his belly, slowly rising up his throat. Typical of him to mistake a eureka moment with a panic attack. Par for the fucking course for Tony Stark. “I’m being difficult right now.”

“No you’re not,” Steve says, rubbing up and down his arms. “Tony. Look at me.”

Tony breathes out through his mouth, then in through his nose. Steve tips his chin up and meets his gaze.

“Here are the variables,” Tony breathes out, is afraid of what he’ll say next, his brain is fogged over and full of static. “I love you, and I don’t know what to do with that.”

Steve takes a deep breath, takes Tony’s face in his hands. “Here’s a constant,” he whispers, breath warm on Tony’s cheek. “I love you. I love you. You, Tony Stark. I love you.” He kisses Tony, hard and close lipped, more aggressive reminder than affection.

“Okay,” Tony says, because there’s a wild part of him that still thinks—there was a problem, there was a problem and if this is love, then what comes next? If this is constant, then what variable will arrive to change all of that?

Steve kisses Tony again, almost desperate, this time. “Is this about Bucky?” Tony sucks in a breath at the question, horrified at being discovered. Steve hums, then he runs one hand down Tony’s back, up his arm, down his side. A reminder of his presence. Tony is suddenly grateful for it.

“And if it is?” he murmurs.

“Tony,” and somehow, Steve sounds fond, which throws a wrench in this whole debacle, and deep in the recesses of Tony’s brain, rationality begins to take root. “He’s my best friend. You’re the love of my life.”

Tony breathes.

“Did you hear me? You. You’re the love of my life. Please don’t make me compare,” Steve huffs out a small laugh, and it warms Tony all over, like sunshine peeking through the clouds after a strong rain. “And maybe you don’t believe me just yet,” Steve touches their foreheads together, then rubs his nose against Tony’s, the affection plain and chaste. It makes Tony feel more loved than he’s ever felt in his life—not that there were many moments to compare against, but still.

“I feel a little crazy,” Tony says, finding it in himself to smile up at Steve.

“A little crazy in love?” Steve asks, grinning.

“I can’t believe you just made a Beyonce reference. In the middle of my panic attack.”

Steve bites his bottom lip, a poor attempt at stopping himself from laughing. Tony flicks his forehead. “Say it again,” Tony says, and his smile still feels a little wobbly, but it’s a step.

“Crazy in Love?” Steve asks, pulling Tony close and wrapping his arms around Tony’s waist.

It’s an odd angle, and eventually Steve shifts to lift Tony up onto his lap. “Ass,” Tony says. “You know what I meant.”

Steve smiles again, right before pressing a kiss to Tony’s shoulder. “Step one,” he says. “The problem is you’re afraid I don’t love you. Step two: find out how to show you that I do.” He pauses, and Tony feels breathless as he presses another kiss to Tony’s bare skin. “Step three. Hypothesis? If I show Tony I love him all the time, then eventually he’ll believe me.”

“Sounds like a shaky hypothesis,” Tony says, but his voice quivers a little as he says it. He can’t explain how he feels, other than warm in Steve’s embrace.

Steve tuts. “Step four, experimentation. Small gestures, date nights.” Steve rubs Tony’s back as he speaks, and stops to tilt Tony’s head up to face him. “Am I getting this right?”

Tony smiles. “I don’t know, what’s the conclusion?”

Steve wraps his arms around Tony’s waist once more. “You’re here. I’m here. I love you.” He leans up, brushes their lips together. “Is that enough?”

#stony #steve rogers #tony stark #stevetony #(well hello) (sometimes you just want to write something warm and familiar. i thought i'd forgotten how.)#things i write

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missmentelle · 4 years

Text

What To Do When a Loved One is Dating an Abuser

There are few things as frustrating and as heartbreaking as watching someone you care about stay in a long-term abusive relationship. The red flags may be obvious to everyone in your loved one’s life - blinding, even - but for some reason, your loved one just can’t or won’t see them for what they are. There are always excuses for bad behaviour, always unconvincing explanations for suspicious injuries, always hollow assurances that things aren’t as bad as they seem.

When someone we care about is in an abusive relationship, our first instinct is often to try to rescue them. We want to finally break through to them and make them see that their relationship is terrible and that they deserve so much better. If all else fails, we want to throw them in our car and drive them so far away that their abuser can never find them again. Or we may have no idea how to bring up the situation with our friend - talking about abuse is uncomfortable, and you may have no idea how to even begin that conversation. Being a third party to an abusive relationship is a horrible situation to be in, and you may find yourself overwhelmed with anxiety, fear, uncertainty and concern for your friend.

Fortunately, there are some important steps that you can take to support your loved one and help them to build a safer life for themselves, like:

Don’t try to force them to leave. The first thing that most people want to say when they hear about an abusive relationship is “Leave! Dump them! Break up with them right now!”. But coming on that strong is a mistake. The victim has to be the one to make the decision to leave, and they need to be completely committed to leaving - when a victim caves into pressure from family and friends and leaves an abusive relationship before they’re ready, they are at extremely high risk of returning to the relationship, and repeatedly leaving and getting back together with an abusive partner is very dangerous. And if your friend isn’t ready to leave yet, you telling them to leave may push them away from you, leaving them with less support. There are steps you can take to help them reach the conclusion that leaving is necessary - and I’ll explain what those steps are - but pestering or commanding them to leave is not helpful.

Emphasize that they are capable of making their own choices and that you will be there for them no matter what they decide to do. One of the biggest barriers that victims face in leaving abusive relationships is that their partner has destroyed their confidence in their own decision-making abilities. They are used to being told that they are irrational, stupid, incompetent, and that they can’t be trusted to make the right choices. They may not trust their own judgement, and believe that they are “overreacting” to their partner’s mistreatment - after all, they are used to being harshly criticized and having to second-guess themselves. One of the best things you can do for a victim of domestic violence is to restore their confidence in their ability to make decisions for themselves and feel good about those decisions. Remind your friend that they are smart and capable, and that you wholeheartedly support their ability to make their own choices. True recovery from abuse does not mean that the victim stops taking orders from their abuser and starts taking orders from their friends - true recovery means regaining the autonomy to decide for themselves.

Avoid bashing their partner. I know it’s tempting to want to let your friend know what a horrible, lazy, abusive piece of shit their partner is. Don’t. People tend to view their partners as an extension of themselves - when you tell someone that their partner is garbage, what they hear is “I think you’re the kind of person who chooses to date garbage”. It puts them in a position where they feel like they need to defend their partner and their dating choices, and ultimately pushes them closer to their partner and further away from you.

Focus on feelings, not labels. A lot of victims struggle with the word “abusive”. They don’t want to think of themselves as someone ended up in an abusive relationship - there’s a lot of stigma attached to that idea - and so they might push back hard if you try to force that idea on them, making them more defensive and less likely to leave. Don’t worry about the word “abuse” for now - your loved one doesn’t actually need to acknowledge that the relationship is abusive in order to leave it. They just need to realize that they aren’t happy. When a friend brings up something potentially (or definitely) abusive that their partner did to them, don’t rush to label it - instead, ask them about how that incident made them feel. Validate those feelings. When they say “it really scares me when my partner starts throwing things around”, don’t say “throwing things is on the abuse checklist” - say “Oh wow, that does sound really scary. Do they do that a lot? How are you coping with that? That doesn’t sound like something that should happen in a relationship at all. Are there any other times that your partner scares you?”. Encourage your friend to think critically about the relationship, their feelings, and what they want in a partner - help them contextualize their relationship and recognize that their experiences aren’t “normal”, and they can arrive at the conclusion that it’s abusive in their own time.

Keep your relationship with them positive. Having conversations about the abuse you’re experiencing is exhausting, and if every interaction you have with your friend turns into a long lecture about how they need to leave the relationship, they might grow distant from you. If they want to talk about the relationship every time they see you, that’s great, but don’t try to drag information out of them if they don’t feel up to talking. Even if you’re having heavy conversations with them, it’s okay to try to keep things positive - compliment them, remind them of their strengths, remind them how much you care about them. Keep your tone thoughtful and concerned, but not preachy. There may be times when they just want lighthearted distractions from their situation, and that’s okay too.

Remind them that this is not their fault, and that they deserve better. Victims often stay in abusive relationships because they feel that they are causing their partner’s abuse or bringing it on themselves - something along the lines of “they wouldn’t have to get so angry with me if I didn’t screw up so much”. Let your friend know that the abuse isn’t their fault and that they didn’t do anything to cause it. Remind them that adults are expected to behave like adults even when they are upset, and that there are no excuses for their partner’s behaviour - they deserve to be with someone who treats them with respect and can manage their emotions like a rational, mature adult.

Avoid shaming and blaming. Sometimes friends and family members will try to take on a “tough love” approach to getting their loved one out of the abusive relationship, and it’s profoundly unhelpful. They’ll say things like “if you stay, you’re choosing to be treated this way” and “I can’t watch you mess up your own life like this”, or even “your partner is going to kill you one day, is that what you want?”. It’s meant to try to shock or scare the victim into leaving - in reality, though, it just makes the victim feel even more worthless, and it makes them feel like a burden to the people who should be their greatest source of support.

Encourage safety planning. It could take months or even years for a victim to decide that they are ready to escape - instead of trying to rush that timeline, start by simply encouraging the victim to start thinking about their physical safety. A safety plan is not necessarily a plan to leave the relationship; it’s a plan to prevent or minimize violence and protect yourself from physical harm, so that you’ll have the option to leave the relationship when you’re ready. Let your friend know that you’re worried about their safety, and that you’d really like to help them brainstorm some ways that they can keep themselves out of harm’s way. Offer assistance if you can. A safety plan should always be tailored to the victim’s individual situation, and should involve planning for common triggers and early warning signs of violence. If your friend knows that violence is likely when their partner comes home drunk, for instance, you could make a plan for your friend to leave their home whenever that happens and come stay at your place until their partner sobers up. Work with them to plan for their unique circumstances, and check the internet for online safety planning resources.

Offer resources, but don’t push them. Almost every city and town has some form of help available for victims of domestic violence - there are hotlines, shelters, victim services agencies, counselling centres, etc. Resources are great, but not if you’re dumping a bunch of unwanted pamphlets in your friend’s lap that they didn’t ask for. Again, survivor autonomy is key here - your friend is the expert in their own situation, and they get to make the decision about when (or whether) to access resources. You also need to remember that accessing resources - or even getting caught researching resources - could be very dangerous for your friend, and it’s important that you let them take the lead on deciding what is safe for them to access. If you want to offer resources, do it gently - if you’re having a conversation where they seem to be acknowledging that things in their relationship aren’t great, you can say, “hey, would it be okay if we researched some resources together? What do you think would be helpful for you? What are you comfortable with, and how can I support you?”

Make open-ended offers of support. Make it very clear to your friend that your door is always open to them, and that they can call you anytime they need help. They need to know that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t spoken in six months and it’s the middle of the night - you will come pick them up, give them a place to stay, take them to the hospital, or give them any other kinds of support you’re able to offer. Abusers often succeed at keeping their victims trapped through isolation; they will prevent their victim from seeing or speaking to friends for so long that the friendship deteriorates, so by the time the victim is ready to leave, they have nowhere to go and no one to offer the kinds of material or moral support that they need to leave the relationship. Make sure your friend knows that you’ll still be there for them even if you lose contact for months or a couple of years, and that they never need to feel weird about turning to you for help whenever they need it.

Be patient. It often takes several dozen instances of abuse before a victim acknowledges that the relationship is abusive, and the average abused woman (there are currently no statistics on men) attempts to leave seven times before successfully escaping the relationship. Leaving is a process, and victims need friends and family members in their lives who understand this. Many victims end up losing their support system when loved ones become frustrated with how long it’s taking for them to leave; if you are supporting a domestic violence victim, it’s important to have a realistic sense of how long it can take to safely and permanently exit an abusive relationship, and manage your expectations accordingly.

If you are supporting a loved one in an abusive relationship, it’s also important that you take good care of yourself. The feelings of fear, worry and powerlessness that you experience when you watch a loved one struggle with abuse can be overwhelming, and you need to make sure that you are maintaining your own mental health while you are helping someone else. Take breaks. Talk to friends. Spend time on your hobbies. Eat good food and get exercise. If you’re feeling frustrated with the situation - and it’s absolutely valid to be frustrated - channel your feelings into art, journalling or anything else that helps you work through it. If you are feeling lost, you can contact a domestic violence resource center or hotline - they can give you tips for how to help your friend.

If your friend is okay with it, it would also be helpful if you joined forces with at least one of their other friends or family members to help support them. Knowing that there’s at least one other person who can be there for your loved one and pick up the phone if you’re unavailable can take a huge amount of stress off your shoulders. Feeling like you are the only thing standing between a loved one and serious harm at the hands of their partner is a hugely stressful situation to be in - when you build a team of supportive people around the abused person, that person has a lot more support at their disposal, and you get to avoid burning out.

It’s not easy to leave an abusive relationship. It’s not easy to help someone leave. But with the right support, you can help your loved one achieve a safe, abuse-free future.

#askmissmentelle #missmentelle #domestic violence #relationships #abusive relationship #abuse #mental health #escaping violence #tw abuse #abusive #abuser #abuse recovery #intimate partner violence

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shenanigans-and-imagines · 4 years

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Oo oo could u do a thrawn nsfw head cannon? If u haven't already?

A/N: You’re actually the first. Let’s see what we can do for my favorite Grand Admiral.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Thrawn is always so careful with you. His voice becomes low and soft, praising you as he helps clean you up. He doesn’t want you anywhere else, but by his side. He doesn’t care if you’re room is just down the hall, you’re staying with him for the rest of the night.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He loves your eyes. He loves catching every stray emotion. He loves the way they shine when you smile and gloss over in want when he fucks you. He could cum just by looking in your eyes alone.

As for himself, he likes his arms. He knows they’re strong and he loves how easily he can lift you into them. He knows how you watch them while he trains and you cling to them as he takes you. He has every reason in the galaxy to appreciate them.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He loves to cum inside you more than anything. For one, he doesn’t like leaving a mess and prefers an unimpeded view of your skin. But, more importantly he feels it’s a way of truly prooving you’re his. He’s the one making you feel this way. It’s your body clenching around him, begging for his seed. And don’t even get him started on the sight of his cum leaking out of you pussy when he finally pulls out. It’s enough to get him going all over again.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Thrawn takes great pride of having control over himself and his body. The one time he fully lost control wasn’t long after meeting you. You had gotten close too him. He could smell the sent of your hair and detected the infrared glow of heat from your cheeks. You had spoken formally, but softly in a tone that was leaving him reeling.

He all but ran to his quarters at the first opportunity and ran a cold shower. But, even that couldn’t stop the different scenarios of your legs wrapped around his waist. He had to take care of himself then and there or else he was going to burst.

He felt some shame at that, not from his thoughts of you, but his lack of reserve.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He actually has a rather limited experience. My personal headcanon is that the Chiss are pretty culturally strict when it comes to sex. So, having sexual relations outside of marriage is a bigger deal. He’s had only one or two partners before you. But, he doesn’t go into anything without doing at least some research.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Any position where he can see your eyes. Even if he takes you from behind, he’ll make you turn your head to look at him. He wants to know what you’re feeling even if you can’t voice it. He wants to see what he’s doing to you.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Thrawn is always serious when it comes to your pleasure. His full concentration is on you. He’s not going to be the one to break the tension. Although, he’s not one to pass up an opportunity at a smug dry remark.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Hair is kept to a minimal, manageable level. And yes, the carpet does match the drapes; all dark blue black down there.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

As I’ve said in previous headcanons, Thrawn has an extremely difficult time being vulnerable around people. Sex is by it’s nature a vulnerable act, it leaves you exposed. So, the fact Thrawn even wants to have sex with you is a huge sign of trust, and he wants to show you how much it means to him. He makes love to you every time you’re together, plain and simple.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

As I’ve said before, Thrawn takes pride in having control over his body and impulses. So, he keeps the jacking off to a minimum. Even after years of not having a partner, he doesn’t really feel the urge to. And when he’s with a partner, he wants to save his lust for them, not his hand.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Mirror Sex. It has everything he loves with the added benefit of you being able to see yourself as well. He loves watching your eyes widen at the sight of his cock disappearing into your pussy. God, the sounds he makes.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

His quarters on The Chimera. It’s a place where he feels most comfortable and in control. It’s where his own power comes from with the added benefit of no interruptions short of imminent attack. Nobody is going to disturb a Grand Admiral unless someone was literally dying.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Competency. Any time you can prove just how capable you are, whether it be intellectually or physically, sends a thrill down his spine. He cannot wait to get you back into his bed to show you just how awe-inspiring you truly are.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Verbal humiliation, from either him or you. Insults to him and his capabilities are only going to get him frustrated and not in a sexy way. And he cannot bring himself to humiliate you. He’ll tie you up if you like it. Spank you if you ask, but he’s not going to degrade you in anyway. He doesn’t get it and he doesn’t like it.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He loves giving. If I haven’t made it clear, he takes pride in your pleasure. He can get off just at the sounds you make under him, knowing he’s the one making you feel this way. He’ll stay between your legs for hours, making you cum again and again until your trembling and begging him to stop. He might not have much experience, but he learns fast.

That all being said, there’s something about you on your knees, looking up with him, praising him for all that he’s given you and asking if you can give him something in return.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Slow and sensual is his general M.O. He wants to make the experience last for as long as possible. But, if you ask, he’ll take you as roughly as you like. It’s all a matter of what will give you the most satisfaction.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Not his thing. Like, really not his thing. He doesn’t want to risk a quick escapade in his office and he’s not going to degrade himself to a supply closet. It’s either your room or his, and if you’re already there, you might as well take your time.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Thrawn is willing to try different things, so long as he’s given the time to prepare and read up on whatever it is you want to try. And so long as it’s not anything degrading either for you or for him. And if it’s private. He has a reputation with his crew he needs to uphold. His private life is private for a reason.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

This man has amazing stamina. He might only get off once or twice, but he can go for hours, holding off his own climax while he gets you off an average of three to five times between his tongue, fingers, and cock, if not more. You’re not sure if it’s a Chiss thing or a Thrawn thing. Either way, he’s not done with you until you either beg him to stop or pass out.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

No toys unless you explicitly talk about it before hand as part of an experiment. Call it pride, but Thrawn wants to do all the work himself.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He tries to tease you. He really does. He tries to keep you on edge, but as soon as your moans and pleads leave your lips, he’s gone. He has to give you what you want.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

He’s not that noisy, unless his whispering praises in your ear in a mix of basic and Cheunh. Mostly it’s heavy breathing broken up by grunts and soft curses.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Thrawn never really thought of having children before you. His mind was always focused on what the Ascendeny required of him and then the Empire. The idea of having something for his own never occurred to him. But, there are times after you make love with you in his arms he wonders what might happen if you got pregnant. The thought of you carrying his child is almost enough for him to wake you up and try for one in earnest.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

The man is hung and you cannot convince me otherwise. Again, unsure if it’s a Chiss thing or a Thrawn thing, but he’s certainly longer and thicker than the average human. Not to mention completely blue with his cock turning a kind of purple at the tip when aroused. It’s going to be nearly impossible to go back to humans after him.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Not very high. He’s able to keep his more erotic thoughts to a minimum and even if he can’t help it, he’s able to put them safely away until later. However, when he does get in the mood, you better clear your schedule.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

It takes him a while to fall asleep. He doesn’t need that much sleep period and sex doesn’t exhaust him the way it does for others. You’re more likely to dose off first before his eyes are even heavy.

#grand admiral thrawn #thrawn #grand admiral thrawn x reader #thrawn x reader #star wars #sw rebels #timothy zahn #lemon

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castlevania-afterdark-imagines · 4 years

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Gotta go a tiny bit dark for a moment, how would trevor, godbrand, sypha, drac, and the forgemasters handle an s/o who's libido fluctuates wildly and struggles a lot with her body image? I'm sorry if that's too many characters, I just really really love them..

Gonna lean more into the body image part of this ask. Bonus Alucard cause I mean, we got the rest of the crew, might as well.

Trevor

General attitude about it is - Why though? (Trevor, please)

Is very much the sort of person who stands by if your body works then there's nothing wrong with it, so it's a bit hard for him to understand.

Okay, maybe he's a little self conscious about the sheer number of scars he has, but that's just because they bring up a lot of questions.

But he likes your body, and what you do to him with said body. So when you have moments where you pull away and look at yourself with disappointment he just can't quite wrap his head around it.

He'll try to be more careful with his comments towards the parts you don't like, cause god knows he'll fuck up trying to compliment them in a way that doesn't sound overbaked.

But when he's making love to you he makes sure to touch everywhere.

Words are hard, but he knows how to work with his hands.

He tries to utter soft praises, but most of it comes out as single word grunts like “perfect” and “ god-yes”

Oh, he'll also remove the eyes of anyone who makes a jab at what you're sensitive about.

Alucard

A bit of genuine confusion about it.

He just genuinely thinks you're the most sublime creature on the Earth so how could you not see that in yourself?

He certainly won't stop you from working on things you want to change, he will train with you if you want to change your body composition or he'll offer to research skin treatments if you have complexion concerns.

But only if you ask, he's never the one to suggest it. As far as he sees it he's just helping you achieve something you want to accomplish, not "improving" you.

However he does know that change doesn't happen overnight, so he gets sad when you express frustration over not being there yet because he can't really fix time.

So he stays close, lets you vent while he gently traces your face with his fingers.

He gets a bit drapey with his affection when you're down. Never pressing sexually, he just sort of stimulates a cocoon of limbs wanting to hold all of you close.

You might also notice more little gifts showing up where you can find them. Flowers by your bedside, pastries by your favorite chair, tokens of affection to assure you he is just as enamored with you when you aren't feeling your best.

Sypha

Is visibly upset when she sees you mentally tearing into yourself, but that's just because she couldn't hide an expression if she tried.

Wants to talk with you about it, to find out if it was something somebody said or a result of something someone did.

If it's something that is changeable, she'll offer to help you with your goals, keep you motivated while also insisting you do NOT have to do any of this for her.

If it's not something that can be changed she'll try her best to listen, let you vent when you feel frustrated.

She gets conflicted between either wanting to give the parts of yourself that you don’t like *more* attention or trying to make sure to compliment the other parts of your body she loves (aka, the rest)

She might admit to you some of the spots she doesn’t like much either, like the scars on her shoulder, or the stretch marks around her knees.

Regardless she’ll always match your mood, throwing herself at you with gusto when the lust strikes, or being very gentle and soothing when you aren’t feeling up for it.

Gets up in the face of anybody who might make a rude remark, even if it might risk escalating the argument to melting the offender’s face off.

Dracula

Has seen many many many bodies in his lifetime (won't tell you how many of those were no longer living), he sees the variety as a staple of humanity.

So yeah, it distresses him to see you dislike anything about yourself.

But he also knows that’s not something he can just tell you you’re incorrect over and be done with. It’s not something he can actually control.

So he simply makes himself available, however you need him.

You in the mood to get dicked down? Yup, he can do that and mend the bedframe afterwards.

You need a few slow days with minimal touching? Okay, he’s got all the time in the world. He’ll stay within earshot until you call him, then he’ll cater to whatever you need.

He’s not super keen on trying to use any sort of magic to alter your body, even if you ask. Unless it’s life threatening of course.

He also makes it a mental note to be exceedingly clear that each time he has you bare before him he regards you like a devout cardinal would his holy texts.

Divine.

Godbrand

(Why, why ya’ll gotta pick the hard one for sensitive topics)

He thinks you’re hot, all the time, any time of day. So when he notices you going from a sexual high to a sexual dry, he honestly thinks it’s his fault.

Starts apologizing about whatever the fuck pops into his head (though this is a Godbrand apology so it’s stuff like “I’m sorry I dropped your favorite mug three months ago but I told you not to leave it on the edge of the counter like that”)

When you first explained to him what was actually up he’s...confused.

To behonest probably first went to his favored huntsmen and asked them what the fuck to do

Which was met with equally confused shrugs and panicked “Why the fuck would we know better?”

In the end he sort of resorts to brute forcing through it.

He sees you take a little too long in the mirror looking at yourself. Nope, no, nu uh, he hauls you up and finds something to distract you with.

He’ll try to offer ideas of how to help if it’s something you can change, if not he’ll just be six times as loud when he’s boasting about how perfect his partner is to the village.

Hector

Oh nooooooooo this gentle man, he’s so concern

He can pick up on your mood shifts as if he could hear them announce their presence.

He’s just as good at silently reading into what you want him to do next.

Sometimes it’s just to lie with you, touching your hair and face, murmuring sweet nothings into the space between you two. How lovely he finds you, how happy you make him.

He knows how cruel the world can be, especially over something as fickle as appearance. He hates that anyone could ever have instilled in you a disliking of your own body.

He’s never pushy about his more carnal wants, and never makes it about your attraction towards him. He trusts that you’re still interested, you just need time here and there.

Sometimes he will get a little flare of adoration when he sees you, when he remembers the areas you told him you aren’t fond of, and will absent mindedly want to touch them. Gentle brushes of fingertips, a soft smile resting on his lips until you bring him back to reality.

He might not be verbose in his support, but you’ll never shake him from it.

Isaac

Is honestly the one mostly likely to get frustrated over what in his mind is a baseless insecurity. Never shows it, but internally has trouble understanding it.

He gets the social troubles, humans being vain and cruel creatures, but to him a body is like a well-worn tool. What you don’t like you work to either change or adapt to.

But he also knows that mindset does not arrive overnight, and though internally he might feel a tug of irritation when he can feel you pull away he is very careful to not show it.

He’s never going to convince you of his adoration for the temple that is your body if he gives in to his temper and tries to force the change for you.

So he will be patient, offer you guidance when you ask for it, remain silent when you don’t and you simply need to speak your insecurities.

Though you might see a flash of bewilderment in his eyes when you mention something new that upsets you about your body he is quick to bury it and return to attending you.

He’s always delighted when your mood lifts again and he can resume touching you as he likes, fingertips digging into your skin and humming softly with satisfaction.

Carnal pleasure might be a more primal vice, but he doesn’t mind giving in to it when he can use it to show you exactly how much he likes the “tools” you were given.

-Mod Soviet

#trevor belmont #godbrand #sypha belnades #vlad dracula tepes #hector #isaac #adrian tepes #gender neutral reader #mod soviet #imagines #Castlevania

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mellometal · 3 years

Text

Here are the last few things I want to say about Dhar Mann. Because he's not a good person to support and I cannot believe people support him unironically.

I was misguided to an extent in my first response to him on the video he made about ASD. The whole complimenting him thing in my comments was only to ensure that my comments would not be deleted and that I wouldn't get blocked. That's why it sounded like I was sucking up to him in some parts of my comments. I actually WANT people to see them. I would hope at least SOMEONE would resonate with them in some way. I want people to see how videos about subjects he knows NOTHING about and probably will NEVER know about can and do affect people. I don't think he's a good person. At all.

Dhar Mann's videos reek of wannabe superiority. There are some things that people have brought up about him having a savior complex on Reddit, but I don't want to go into the entire psychological aspect of him...if such a thing exists. I may find psychology interesting, but he's not worth going into a whole psychological analysis over. I'm not licensed to do any kind of diagnoses on him anyway.

His morals are extremely watered down with quotes that even kids in preschool can understand. It honestly feels like he's talking down to his audience. (Why does he have an audience? The world may never know.) Dude, NOBODY appreciates being talked down to like they're stupid.

While sometimes, it's obvious that he's trying to come from a good place, it still doesn't change the fact that he doesn't go into WHY the events that happen in the videos are bad, what we can do to change it, nothing. I don't recall him putting down any reputable resources for anything he makes. If he has, it must be like finding Atlantis. For example, in his videos that are supposed to be tackling homelessness, he only goes into the whole narrative that we gotta be nice to homeless people. He never goes into the factors that cause homelessness. He never goes into any statistics. He doesn't share any reputable resources for the homeless population. Just goes into, "Be kind to homeless people!" and nothing else.

Another big example would have to be the videos he has made about disabilities. He seemed to KINDA tackle physical disabilities, but here's the thing. Physically disabled people aren't all helpless victims. Yes, some physically disabled people do require full support doing things. There are other physically disabled people who require moderate support, or even minimal support. Treating physically disabled people like they're just all helpless victims who you should feel bad for isn't helping them at all. They're not subhuman. They're human beings.

The video he made about Autism Spectrum Disorder is personally insulting. Treating ASD like it's a superpower harms autistic people and it honestly sounds like autistic people aren't being taken seriously. Calling ASD a "different ability" instead of calling it a disability (which is what ASD is) treats being autistic like it's a bad thing. (For anyone who found me through my first Dhar Mann post about his video on ASD, y'all already know my feelings about this. For anyone who's new here, doesn't know what's going on, and wants to know where I stand on that video in particular, please refer to that post.)

Like an anonymous person mentioned in the ask they sent earlier, Dhar Mann also made a video that was pro-cop. I knew about the video he made about a bunch of cops in training being sexist towards the only woman, which obviously ain't great either. I've seen that one and it made absolutely no sense to me. Dhar Mann, defeating sexism? *GASP!* We did it, feminists! We can go home now! Not.

Anyways, back to the pro-cop video. I didn't know that he made a video like that, so I searched for it. It was a pretty recent video too...and it's gross. The lady protesting in an alley really shouted in eight point font to "fire all cops". It took some guy stealing her purse for her to "change her mind" about cops.

The "cop" in the video really went into his whole life story about how he risks his life every day for people, fighting bad people (they even had a black man as the assailant trying to threaten a white woman, which is a disgusting racist stereotype and does nothing to help stop police brutality), and basically told this lady "Before you judge me, get to know ME!"

MOTHERFUCKER. FIREFIGHTERS, PARAMEDICS, AND THE ENTIRE MEDICAL FIELD, TO NAME A FEW, RISK THEIR LIVES EVERY DAY TOO. But you don't see a song that says "Fuck the fire department!" or "Fuck paramedics!", do you? (I have some choice words for parts of the medical field because of how some think it's okay to refuse to help people for being LGBT, not taking BIPOC seriously when they seek medical attention, refusing to help people for the religion they practice or lack thereof, the fatphobia, etc. I won't dive completely into it, but if you choose to be in the medical field and you refuse to help people for the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their gender identity, their religious beliefs or lack thereof, their weight, or ANYTHING along those lines, FIND A DIFFERENT CAREER.)

Police brutality towards black people is the highest out of every race. Not to mention that black people are the number one target for the police. The amount of black people being killed by the police will only keep increasing unless we all do something to put an end to police brutality towards black people. Black lives matter, and they ALWAYS will.

Can we also talk about how the police aren't equipped to deal with anything related to mental health or disabilities? Because the way they handle people having mental health crises, disabled people, and mentally ill people as a whole is heartless and ableist. AND THEY HAVE THE NERVE TO PUT ON THEIR VEHICLES THAT THEY'RE SAFE FOR DISABLED PEOPLE AND SHIT IN CERTAIN PLACES IN THE UNITED STATES.

Just because there are good cops, it doesn't make ALL cops good. It doesn't change the fact that ACAB. It doesn't change the fact that the police has way too much funding. It doesn't change the fact that the police need to be reformed. Honestly, in this day and age, there are way too many corrupt cops who want to be all superior and treat people like they're subhuman to see any good cops among them.

I did a little research on Dhar Mann's history before he decided to do all these fucking cringe videos. He was sentenced to five years of probation back in 2014 for five felony counts related to a scheme to defraud the City [Oakland, California] by submitting false claims and receipts in order to receive redevelopment grant money. He pleaded no contest to the five felony counts of fraud. Not a good look!

His voice is ear grating and crusty and he has a very punchable face. Every time I hear his voice, it triggers my fight or flight response.

HEEEEYYYY, DHAR MANN FAM! SO YOU SEE, HE MAKES ALL THESE CRINGE ASS VIDEOS WITH WATERED DOWN MORALS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TOPICS OF ANY OF THE VIDEOS AND REEK OF WANNABE SUPERIORITY! I hope you learned something from this message! He's not telling stories. He's not changing lives. He's a cringe ass nae-nae baby who can't bother to do actual research on topics he knows NOTHING about. He's ruining lives! Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time!

TL;DR: Dhar Mann is a piece of shit human being. Please stop supporting him.

#mello speaks #dhar mann talk #dhar mann will live to regret his decision to make these fucked up cringe videos #tw police brutality #tw murder mention #black lives matter and will always matter #all cops are bastards #tw racial violence mention #please stop supporting dhar mann #dhar mann #dhar mann is a piece of human garbage #tw dhar mann

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poisonheadcrabsalesman · 4 years

Text

More therapy thoughts part 1/?

Behavior Theory Frameworks/Conditioning and What the fuck does Master Chief talk about in therapy?

Ramblings below - like a lot, like I spent too much time writing this and you should not read this

Behavioral Theory could work well as a framework with rehabilitating Spartan IIs if the case worker focused on Operant Conditioning Theory and Cognitive Social Learning Theory, which I talked about in this ask because I think I’m funny and this blog is an archive of me applying human behavior theories to video games.

Spartans have always been taught the mission comes first! Always! The 2s are indoctrinated from age 6-14 and then have that reinforced the rest of their lives. From the beginning they are taught to push themselves to the limits, earn their food by winning, form bonds with teammates but be ready to sacrifice them for the mission. The whole lives wasted vs spent conversation between John and Mendez after the augmentation surgery!

What the UNSC/ONI wants comes before their lives, the lives of other soldiers, civilians, AI etc. This constant conditioning of expectations and rewards has created the norms cemented in their minds. This becomes standard operating procedure.

Spartans are also an entirely separated social group, other people have made really great posts on how they are Othered and have their own way of communicating with body language. ODSTs hate Spartans, marines see them as cyborgs or saviors, and while they’re allies, Spartans are not seen or treated as human, by literally everyone. They are a means to an end, with the original goal being to maintain the UNSC’s position of power and crush the insurrectionists in the outer colonies, but uh oh Aliens!

Maybe the 2s aren’t as expendable as the 3s but the mindset and reinforcement of “mission first, people second” being repeated their entire lives is going to stick. So is the constant mistreatment and abuse from their fellow soldiers and handlers.

Addressing the cognitive distortions that come from their upbringing while also balancing the fact that Spartans are so fundamentally different from the way they developed to survive would be so much work, especially considering how much information on them is given to their therapist. The main distortion I would apply is minimization, making large problems small and not properly dealing with them, and specifically for John, personification, accepting blame for negative events without sufficient evidence.

Like these are grown ass super soldiers who can kill you in less than a second and calculate the amount of gravity in a room on the fly but then also can flounder when trying to comfort civilians or make small talk because their experiences and values are so alien to adults who had more developmentally “normal” lives.

Literally applying therapy to Spartans would be like, what was done to you was wrong, the ends do not justify the means, you were children and the adults in your life failed to protect you. You are a human person who is fallible and did the best you could with what you had. And the Spartan would say, “sounds fake but okay, can I pass my psych eval and go back to war now please?”

Jumping back to Behavior Theory

Different approaches to therapy under the Behavior Theory umbrella help modify negative behaviors with treatments like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical behavior therapy that teach individuals adaptive coping like emotional regulation, distress tolerance, cognitive distortions, and interpersonal communication. And that’s just one framework under the umbrella of human behavior theories.

Social work therapy is different from psych as it approaches individuals with heavily researched, evidence-based theories and frameworks in a holistic viewing of person-in-environment, instead of a strong focus on internal psychology.

Social work looks at all the interacting systems, environment, history, and internal and external factors affecting an individual. One of the most useful frameworks is the Biopsychosocial-Spiritual Frameworks (BPSS) when helping a client. It helps with identifying all the intersecting factors, both risk and protective, that shapes a client’s lived experiences. The most important thing to remember is that the individual is an expert in their own life, they know their experiences best.

The hardest part is applying this to Spartans because they Are So Fucked, their lived experiences, their environments and systems and institutions interacting with them, and the amount of their personal information that is probably so classified.

BPSS is a tool to help social workers assess individuals and their situations by collecting info that is related to the presenting issues and current and past circumstances. Info like medical history, hospitalizations, substance abuse, mental illness, personal relationships, family history and background, culture and norms, education, legal history, spirituality and participation etc. is all under this framework.

For Spartan 2s most of this info is lost or classified and helping someone who has repressed every negative emotion they've had for the sake of the mission would be so much to unpack but that’s also why you’re reading the mad ramblings over an over caffeinated nerd on the internet.

Life Course Theory which looks at developmental milestones and the individual’s experiences versus the socially expected markers, how do you apply that to children who were taken and have lived such different lives?

While early adolescence is when “normal” development of thoughts of self and identity take place alongside the physical changes of puberty, Spartans were being turned into emotionless calculating weapons. Sorry John, no forming a sense of identity and peer bonds for you, go kill that Watts guy who betrayed us and joined the insurrectionists.

And now that I’ve gone this insane and opened 2 whole textbooks up, let’s get to Master Chief thoughts. If you’ve read this far thank you, I swear I’m normal, 2020 has just been a weird year.

Why the fuck did I think I could write a therapy fic on a guy with 20 minutes of actual dialogue across almost 2 decades of games?

I make fun of him and call him a himbo, but he’s smart, he knows he’s being used and there is resentment there that’s been building for years.

There’s also decades of trauma and combat experience, physical, and emotional abuse, the lack of a support network, lack of an identity, the biological factors and aftermath of the augmentations and injuries he’s received, a whole lot of grief and self-inflicted guilt.

The loss of a third of his peer group with the augmentation surgery, Sam’s death, the loss of Reach (the only place he’s considered home), Keyes, the Pillar of Autumn crew, Miranda Keyes, Johnson, Cortana. He cares about the marines who fight with him!!!

He just stands there and takes it and rarely snaps, and even then it’s just small cracks on the surface with fissures running deep. The few details I will pull from Halo 5 are Blue Team’s reactions to John pushing himself so hard from the beginning of the game, and the literal crack in his armor from the fight with Locke. Like dude.

John’s a leader and will get the mission done but he tugs on the leash. He’s earned enough of a reputation and uses it to get his way.

Halo 2’s “Permission to leave the station” with Mr. “I’m going to hand deliver a bomb to the fusion reactor of a covenant supercarrier and hope my friends catch me”.

Halo 4 is when we see him say no to a superior officer and then 5 is him going AWOL. Palmer literally points out that no one is going to stop him.

Halo 5 kills me for many reasons but John bringing up Halsey and what she did to him and also pointing out that he knows Halo 5 Cortana is trying to manipulate him with psychological tactics hurts.

He knows what’s been done to him!

I cannot remember which book it was but John isn’t used to working alone. He literally takes fire because he was expecting someone to have his back!

He’s lost without Cortana! She was in his brain! Y’all! I played Halo Combat Evolved on the original xbox when I was like 8 and I knew these two were meant to be together. From the moment they met they had great chemistry and relied on each other! Cortana literally goes after people who have it out for John! John wants her approval and shows off for her in one of the books.

I’ve already written too much here but like all of the games have John showing off for Cortana, making dry jokes, jumping out of things he shouldn’t.

The whole point of this rambling is to try and get my thoughts about how to approach John’s character under control.

And that’s the thing. He’s lost control. He’s lost people, he’s losing his position and being phased out as an aging spartan, a relic. John’s used to following orders and making some decisions on the battlefield but it was always short term.

He has no identity beyond being a weapon. Complete the mission, clear the LZ, get put in cryo. Rinse, repeat.

The timeline of the games are what I'm most familiar with but with the comics and books too it’s one long run from Halo 2 to Halo 4. Cairo station to the Dreadnought to the crash landing to Forward Unto Dawn to Requiem to “The Didact is Dead but not really but we’ll deal with him off-screen”.

I know Hood apparently gave John R&R orders before Halo 5 that he ignored and kept running himself into the ground. This is a man who has to keep moving and keep being useful.

I imagine him giving in and seeking help as a last resort to fix any problems he has with performing his duties rather than helping himself be healthier.

Any professional he sees is going to have to approach him like they’re approaching a self sacrificing feral cat, with lunch meat and quiet. This man needs to have his support network closer, set up long term goals, and do some serious, and most likely incredibly painful, self reflection on where he’s come from and where he wants to go. Get him out of that tin can and into therapy. I don’t have a nice neat ending because this was a ramble and also therapy is not neat and tidy. Thanks for reading my words about mr halo

#this is not coherent but it needs out of my brain #John - has different characterizations based on what media he's in #Me - my writing must be in character or I Will Die #also me - we don't talk about halo 5 but i will loot its corpse for bits of lore I like #im sorry for being like this #my writing #Therapy time #John 117 #this is not a halo blog #haha this was peer reviewed nonsense #thanks yall for enabling me #i have even more ideas for the infinity sitcom folder now

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nerdesilindoestuff · 4 years

Text

worth the risk (All Might x Reader)

So, I’ve started watching MHA last week and here we are. I wrote this ficlet to procrastinate while studying for my term finals because my man Toshinori deserves some more love. I had originally thought of a whole fic about him, however, given the load of work I have to do, I don’t think I’ll have the time to write that much (at the exception of some scenes).

Here is some context: You are a 30-ish-year-old doctor, you started working at UA as a part time school doctor to continue your research about quirks. Your alter is creating force-field projections (kind of like Violet from the Incredibles). Toshinori and you got close and have kissed once but you don’t know about his weak form.

word count: +2,5k

The evening had been pretty ordinary. You had had your dinner and was now laying on your couch, reading the latest article about gene therapy while lazily taking notes. Your hair was up in a messy bun and had opted for some comfy clothing, wearing a way too large t-shirt that went down to your thighs and some worn-out shorts. You had your TV on with minimal sound as background noise to your night-time study.

However, your peaceful night was cut short when someone pounded forcefully on your door.

You frowned; you weren’t excepting anyone. You went to look through the peephole and was dismayed to see All Might, in his civilian clothes, his right hand clenched on his left side in visible pain, while his left hand was planted next to the door in support. You quickly undid the locks on the door to let the hero come in, but as soon as you opened the door, Toshinori start falling clearly losing consciousness. Instinctively, you created a force fielding around him, avoiding him crashing on the floor. You felt a sharp pain in your wrists as you struggled to keep him in levitation. It had been some time since you’d used your quirk at full force like this and the weight of the man didn’t help. You somehow managed to float his body to your couch and fell to your knees next to him.

“All Might? Can you hear me?” you asked breathlessly, trying to think rationally and not give in the panic that was slowly creeping in your chest.

Suddenly, he coughed, spitting blood on himself and your furnishers. It was the first time you saw the hero in such a state. His eyes were closed but you could sense him fighting to stay awake. His face was covered in sweat, which was never a good sign, but what preoccupied you was the smoke that was coming off him. Your eyes widened as his body morphed.

What’s going on? You thought, panic clawing more and more in your chest.

Once the smoke dissipated, the frail stature of his true self replaced the muscular figure of All Might.

“T-this wasn’t how I wanted you to find out,” he breathed out raggedly, “I’ll explain everything, but I need you to…”

The end of it was lost in a violent coughing fit, resulting in more blood on his clothes and probably on yours too. However, he managed to lift his shirt to reveal a scar that stretched on most of his abdomen. Your breathing hitched as you saw the central scar tissue, red, hot, and throbbing. Pushing aside your shock of his startling transformation, you started inspecting his body; it seemed that it had been infected somehow, even though the outer parts of the scar hinted that the wound was probably years old. After thinking about it for a moment, a cocktail of antibiotics with some painkillers seemed to be the best way out.

“I’ll be back in a second,” you said as you rushed to your bathroom cabinet.

You always had some extra medication at home, as well as some medical supplies, just in case. You grabbed a bunch of pills and an IV kit before almost running at your couch, where you hoped Toshinori was still conscious.

“Hey, you there?” you asked kneeling next to him.

He jerked his head in a stiff nod, his face contorted in pain. You prepared the IV solution, as you continued talking to him:

“Ok, I need you to stay awake for a moment, alright?”

Another nod. You felt his fingers curl around the crook of your elbow; he looked focused on calming his erratic breathing. You felt a pang of sadness at the sight of his struggle, wanting to comfort him and run your hand through his hair. But you had to finish this.

“This should work, so hang in there. I don’t really know what’s going on, but we will talk about it later. Don’t worry about it,” you said, unsure if you were trying to reassure him or yourself.

You put the prepared IV bag on the side and quickly started assembling the line. When all was set, you looked towards the hero.

“Ok, here we go.”

You punctured a vein that wasn’t too superficial and successfully placed the catheter before opening the IV line. It took few minutes before the tension started slowly lifting off Toshinori’s face. You let out a sigh in relief. However, you were far from done yet. Going back to your bathroom, you grabbed your first aid kit. You still had to disinfect the wound. You went back to your living room where the laying man had seemed to calm down, his breathing now even and steady. He looked exhausted and was probably going to fall asleep at any second now. You sat on the floor next to him, intertwining your fingers with his and cupping half of his face with your other hand, running your thumb across his cheek.

“Hey, I’ve got you. You can rest, now,” You whispered.

As he drifted off to sleep, you sterilized your material and got to work. After minutes of meticulous disinfection, you closed the wound with a clean bandage. Letting out a sigh, you leaned back against your coffee table, feeling a wave of exhaustion take over your body. Even though, you had tried to avoid thinking about it while taking care of him, you had to face the reality of All Might’s frail and weakened form. Was it a result of an attack of a villain? A poison maybe? He said that he didn’t want to you to find it out like this. What did he mean by that? How long had he been in this condition? Was this why he was avoiding your so much these last few days? The more questions popped in your mind, the more this whole situation seemed incomprehensible.

You decided to drop it for tonight; you wouldn’t get any answers while Toshinori was asleep. Plus, your own fatigue was quickly catching up on your, as your eyelids got heavier by the second. In a last effort, you went to your bathroom to sloppily wrap some bandages on the own wrists which started bruising because of the previous strain. Then, you gathered some pillows and blankets from bedroom and brought them to your living room. You covered the sleeping hero with a light blanket and settle on the floor next to him. You checked one last time on the IV drip that you had awkwardly balanced on your floor lamp, before finally giving into your exhaustion.

___

The first thing Toshinori felt as he woke up was the uncomfortable tinge on his right arm. He opened his eyes and was met with an unfamiliar ceiling. Slowly, the memories of last night came crashing in: he was sleeping in your couch, the uncomfortable tinge was the IV you had scrambled to put together to save him. As on cue, he noticed the stable breathing of someone sleeping nearby. He turned his head to locate where the breathing was coming from and was surprised to see you curled up between the couch and a coffee table on the floor, with only a pillow and a blanket. Your bandaged hands made him suspect that you probably hurt yourself while trying to get him to lay down. The hero swore softly as he passed a hand on his face guiltily. He didn’t want to put this burden on you.

It came to him that you hadn’t really reacted to his true form yesterday. Well, mostly because you had other pressing issues at hand. He was tempted to leave now and not deal with the repercussions. But that’ll just exacerbate everything and if you didn’t already hate him by now, you with no doubt would then. So, he stayed still, his eyes closed, feeling the anxiety weighing on this chest.

At some point, he heard you stirring awake. You let out an unhappy groan as got up to your feet.

“Hey,” Toshinori said tentatively in a hoarse voice.

Your head turned sharply at the hero, still laying on your couch.

“Oh, I didn’t think you’d be awake already,” you stammered surprised, “how are you feeling?”

“Better,” he began as he dragged himself to sit up, his legs still stretched across your couch, “all thanks to you. I owe you one.”

“Right.”

An awkward silence settled in. Hesitation flickered across your face; you looked like you were about to say something but ended up advising against it. Toshinori figured you’d probably bring the subject of his weakened form at your own pace. You pressed your lips into a thin line and drew near to sit next to him. Toshinori froze at the sudden proximity, as you began checking on the drip. When you were satisfied with everything, you got up.

“Are you hungry?” You inquired as you headed toward your kitchen which was opened to your living room.

The hero was about to say no but his stomach – what’s left of it anyway – growled loudly.

“Well yes, actually” he responded, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

Your lips quirked up in a faint smile. Toshinori observed as you were messing around your kitchen, almost mechanically turning on your coffee machine and gathering some ingredients from your fridge to cook what seemed to be an omelette. At some point, you brought him a glass of water and a filled plate, before sitting in front of him on the coffee table with your own food and coffee.

“Thanks,” he whispered, moving his legs off the couch to face you.

They started eating in silence for a moment, before you spoke up:

“So, are we going to keep ignoring the elephant in the room?”

Toshinori sighed as he put his barely touched plate on the table. He couldn’t eat more than a few bites anyway. He examined the woman for a second before answering; your tone was controlled, not letting through any accusation but still firm enough to let him know that you were probably pissed.

“Yeah, I figured you might want some answers.”

You let out a dry laugh. Yeah, you were definitely pissed. You didn’t say anything for a moment, most likely unsure of what to ask first.

“How did it happen?”

It made sense that that would be what you’d wanted to know.

“A fight against a villain. It happened years ago, and I had barely made it. They had to remove a part of my respiratory and digestive systems, which is why I look like this now,” he said bitterly pointing at himself before continuing, “I have to stick to a ton of medication, including recently to some immunosuppressants which was probably what kicked started this whole thing.”

You listened carefully; your face was awfully difficult to read.

“Were you going to tell me at some point?” You asked.

Toshinori felt a sharp pang of guilt at your betrayed tone.

“I-I don’t know,” he answered honestly, “I didn’t expect whatever we had to get to this point–”

“–I thought you trusted me.”

“I did and I-I do, I swear–”

“–is this why you have been ignoring me for days?” You interrupted again.

“I-I… It’s complicated. I didn’t think you’d feel the same way about me. And when you kissed me, I panicked. I just felt like I was catfishing you.”

“Catfishing?” You repeated incredulously rolling your eyes.

“You know what I mean. That night you were with All Might. The hero, not… me.”

“That’s bullshit,” you said adamantly.

“It’s true, I’m not…,” he paused taking a long breath, “I’m not him anymore.”

“I can’t believe after all that talk about Midoriya, you would still say that.”

“What?” He asked confused.

“Your quirk doesn’t define you. That’s not what makes you a hero. Isn’t that what you said to me that night you walked me home?”

When he didn’t answer, you continued frustrated:

“I kissed you because… I don’t know. I like you, I guess… As a person.” You felt your cheeks burn but reminded yourself to stay composed; you were still mad after all. “I’d hope you didn’t have as low esteem of me that you would think I’d feel any different of you because of your quirk or your looks. At your core, you’re still All Might.”

Toshinori wanted to say something, anything. That he had feelings for your too, for once. That he was sorry for not telling you the truth sooner. That he trusted your and the only reason he hadn’t say anything was because he believed you deserved better. But he stayed silent, causing you to throw your hands up in a huff.

“Never mind,” you mumbled, standing up and bringing your plate to your sink. “I’m going to take a shower, I’ll come back to remove the IV line, then…,” you sighed before turning back, “you can do whatever you want.”

Then, you went into your bathroom, closing the door with a little more force than needed. Toshinori laid back into the couch and let out a hopeless sigh, pulling his hair back. This wasn’t the direction he thought this was going to take. Well, he hadn’t expected any of this actually. Those damned immunosuppressants.

The hero waited patiently for you to return, trying to figure out how he could turn this situation around. He hated seeing you upset because of him.

Finally, you came back, in fresh clothes and with some first aid materials. The anger and frustration from earlier seemed to have faded a bit, leaving a more tired and saddened version of you. Toshinori didn’t fail to notice that your eyes were red, probably from crying in the shower. He felt another pang of guilty striking yet again. He watched your work around his arm in silence and he rehearsed his apology.

When you had applied a last piece of tape on his bandage, you let go of his arm. They were close enough their legs were touching. You were about to stand up when his hands held you still. Your eyes went from his hands on your wrists to his face.

“I’m sorry.” He blurted out, keeping his head low. “I don’t want to hurt you, Y/N. I just… I don’t want to be a burden to you.”

“Toshi…” You said as you shifted slightly to better face him.

He didn’t let your protest and continued, knowing he had to get it out:

“I should’ve been more honest with you. And the truth is that when you’re with me, you bring me a peace that I haven’t felt in years. Which is kind of ironic if you ask me,” he said with a short rueful laugh, “I’ve dedicated most of life trying to be the symbol of peace. But now that I can’t no longer be that person, you came in, telling me all the things I wanted to hear, showering me with care and gentleness. And the last thing I want is for you to feel rejected…”

A moment passed before he lifted his hand and gently brushed his fingers against your cheekbone. He caught between his fingers a lock of hair, placing it behind your ear in a swift movement cupping the left side of your face.

“…when in reality all I want is you.”

You breathed out shakily as you leaned into his touch, your eyes fluttering close. Your heart was beating so loud in your ears that you almost missed him whispering your name. After a second, he closed the few inches between them as you felt his lips pressing against yours. It only took a second before you kissed back, as he brought his hand up to the nape of your neck and weaving his fingers into your hair. They parted for an instant as they looked into each other’s eyes. Toshinori brought his hand down and spread it in the small of your back, bringing your closer as he kissed your again deeply. You wanted to close any distance between them; but he was still recovering you reminded yourself. That didn’t stop you from responding with the same intensity to his kiss, as you gripped his t-shirt front, kissing him slowly, taking the time to breathe him in.

Toshinori wasn’t sure where this was going to go but as he was holding your warm and soft body against him, he decided it was worth any risk.

#toshinori x reader #toshinori yagi x you #toshinori x you #toshinori yagi x reader #reposting this as a self insert cuz it didn't work well with an oc lmao #which should have been my first choice to begin with tbh

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dangan-happy · 3 years

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(I want Mikan to have wheelies to escape her feelies. | I've never really done this before, but uhm.. I'd like a little comfort from Izuru, Rantaro or Nagito if that's okay.. also tw for s/h and a little self deprecating, though nothing too explicit. Sorry.)

I just.. accidentally triggered myself, I guess? A few years ago I stole my fathers swiss army knife and tried something stupid for the first time. I felt like a worthless whore and I know I did it for attention...I did it to be like a few people close to me. The thing is, I couldn't look at swiss army knives without thinking about it after that, but I thought I was over it. It's like how cheap plastic sharpeners made me think about it, but now it rarely happens. It's not like I did it many times, either. It's not like I enjoyed it or needed it. Maybe once or twice it wasn't so bad, and maybe I liked watching the color run down a little but it was punishment, and even if I feel like I hate myself I know I don't need to do that anymore. I just used that same swiss army knife to open a package and.. having it in my hand, all I could think about were my ankles. I'm safe, I'm not doing that again. But it just won't leave my head. I want to cry and hold on to someone but I don't.. want to talk about it with anyone. I feel disgusting for having done that and one time I tried again after a breakdown and I'm scared it'll happen again. I can't really say I'm working hard or doing my best, but I'm trying a little. I don't think I'll ever really do it again, and I know I can hold back if I just walk away for a bit, but I'm still scared that I'll stay and.. be awful again. I want to do better, for my friends. I don't want them to have to deal with me, I want to help them. So I guess..I should try helping myself, right?

Hey anon, don't worry about it. I'm a little more self deprecating than I'd like to be myself, and while those feelings aren't good, they're nothing to apologize for. Don't ever call yourself a whore, got it? You told me exactly why you did it, and that's sadly a really common reason that people try those things. You just wanted to fit in with the people around you, and that doesn't make you a whore at all. It was a bad choice yeah, but you know that and I'm proud of you for that. Yeah, I get it. That's the thing with habits like this. Sometimes you think you're over it, and then out of nowhere you jump back into it out of the blue. It sounds like some of the objects you mentioned are visual triggers for those urges, so that might be something to keep in mind. I really am glad to hear that you didn't do it often. Yeah, I think you might have some psychological thing linked to doing it. Something like this always happens for a reason, it's not an action people do for no reason. Even if it's not the typical reason for it, it doesn't discredit that you did do it for a reason, and that you were driven to that point. I'm real sorry you were, but again I'm glad to hear that you didn't do it too much. Hey, it's perfectly understandable that you were thinking that way ok? That knife is linked to the action, it's a thought pattern. It's a natural, very real thing sadly, and it doesn't make you disgusting in the least. I'm really happy to hear that you said you're safe for the time being.

Hey, trying at all is amazing ok? You're strong in your resolve to not do it again, and that's real admirable. That's still a huge step forward, even if you aren't giving it your all yet. I'm really proud that you can hold back. Seriously, that's so, so amazing. So many people get sucked into the pattern, and knowing that you have the strength to walk away even if there is still a possibility of it happening again. Yeah, you should always want to do better for your friends, but mainly for yourself. You deserve to be as happy and as pain free as possible. You matter, no matter how many self deprecating thoughts you have. You're a person too, and you deserve to be happy. Since there is still a minimal risk, there's no shame in avoiding blades or that specific blade if you want to. Treat yourself gently, even if yours is a more minimal case on the grand scheme of things, you're still recovering, and you can take all the time you need. I know you really don't want to talk to someone, but honestly I think it might be a good idea to. Reach out to a counselor or therapist. These people are literally trained to help with problems like this for their job, and they won't find you disgusting. Honestly, no one should because you're not. I know you can use your full effort to do better. I know you want to do better, even if it's not for yourself right now. I think the first step is reaching out to a professional.

I know it's scary, but trust me, I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't think it would help. That'll make it easier for you to use your full effort to get better, and it might even start to let you see what an amazing person you are. You're strong and brave and really kindhearted for wanting to get better for your friends. But you should want to get better for yourself too, ok? Don't discredit yourself. I know you can't see how many amazing things there are about you right now, but hopefully with some time you will. You're not a whore and you're not disgusting. You're strong and amazing and you deserve all the happiness in the world. Good luck ok? If you can do this much with little effort, I can't wait to see what you can do with all of it.

Not to toot my sad little horn. But I feel as if I’m the king of self deprecation Anon. First of all; you aren’t a worthless whore. That’s wrong in so many ways. As far as I’ve seen you’ve done nothing to exhibit such a thing. No need to put yourself down as well, you were just following a trend, it happens when you’re younger, and they aren’t always for the best. I’m glad that you didn’t continue it even further. It’s normal that that would trigger something. Going through a traumatic moment like that is not easy. I know it sounds silly. But try and stay away from some of the things that you’ve found that may trigger you. For your mental health. And I’m sorry for getting stern. But you deserve no punishment whatsoever. Nobody ever deserves such a thing; unless they’re into Despair.

Hating yourself is something I’m all to familiar with. But Anon, I don’t know what’s happened in your past, but I assure you, you surely don’t deserve to hate yourself. Hopefully you’ve learned to love yourself. It’s a hard thing to learn, but that’s the best step you can ever take in reaching Hope and happiness. I recommend honestly throwing the knife away. Unless your grandpa gave it to you for sentimental reasons of some sort, perhaps hiding it away somewhere that you won’t consider looking for it. Maybe have someone hide it away. Getting that item out of your life seems like a good step to me in this recovery. I recommend actually talking to someone however. I know you don’t want to; but that’s always a good option. Talking about things like this is always good; helps you get things off your chest and have another shoulder to lean on, someone to help you through this Despair. Specifically a therapist if you’re comfortable with that. A trained person who knows how to handle and help people with these sort of things are always the best. For relapsing; you shouldn’t feel disgusting about doing it again. You know it’s not healthy and that’s all that matters. Sometimes people relapse, and that’s ok. As long as they seek help in the end is what matters. When this feeling returns, I beg of you to what you can to stop yourself; take a walk or go talk to a friend to distract yourself. That’s what friends are for; to help you during your hard times. If they don’t; can you truly call them friends? I urge you to talk, at least a little bit with them. You and your friends are together so you can help each other grow! I believe in you Anon, try getting in contact with a therapist as soon as you’re able to, perhaps look up things as well to help with triggers? Do a bit of research.

#danganronpa #danganronpa roleplay blog #ask #rantaro amami #mod rantaro #nagito komaeda #mod nagito

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jovialyouthmusic · 3 years

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Double Trouble 1

This piece was originally part of a chapter of ‘Two’s Company’ but I’ve decided to take Bastien and Sophia out on their own series as they start their new family. It could fit into any of my AU fics - Two’s Company, Charlotte’s Choice and Protect and Serve. In each case, the ruling monarch is different.

Word Count 3184

A/N No warnings, all fluff unless you have issues with fertility, pregnancy, childbirth or medical settings.

The Twins Arrive

In the staff wing of the Palace in Cordonia, the sounds of the ball were a distant whisper of sound, unheard as the TV showed Sophia’s current bingeworthy period drama. She had stopped nitpicking the historical inaccuracies and dozed, the voices murmuring in the background. She smiled as the scene cut to a Regency ball in full swing.

‘Go on, admit you love her’ she mumbled, briefly surfacing to berate the male lead for not seeing what was under his nose. The female lead smiled, gazing into his eyes as they twirled and dipped. ‘So romantic’ she sniffled and reached for a tissue to dab at her eyes.

‘Hmmm?’ Bastien rumbled as he stirred in his easy chair, leg propped on a footstool as he sat vigil by his very pregnant wife’s side. Sophia laboured to sit up a little, and he got to his feet to help her, leg stiff from inaction.

‘Simon won’t admit he’s madly in love with Daphne’ she told him ‘and she’s so innocent she doesn’t realise he’s the man for her’ she sighed ‘I know, sentimental rubbish, but I can’t get enough’

‘Whatever makes you happy, theà mou’ Bastien smiled. He knelt by her side ‘May I?’ he asked, hand hovering over her bump. She nodded.

‘You had a large part to play in my current state.’ she grumbled ‘One of the tiddlers is using my bladder as a trampoline’ Bastien smiled, smoothing his hand over her belly. A little bump rose to meet his palm.

‘Not long till we meet them in person’ He stroked it, identifying it as a foot. ‘Come on little ones, Papa’s waiting and Mama’s tired’ He looked up at her ‘Shall I help you to the bathroom?’

‘Yes please, just let me pause this’ She pressed the button on the TV remote, and Bastien helped her to her feet. She groaned, hand in her lower back. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again’ she grumbled ‘Remind me not to do this again’ Bastien decided not to comment, as pregnancy hormones made his beloved somewhat cranky and he couldn’t think of an answer that she wouldn’t turn against him right now. She paused, grimacing with pain

‘Damn these Braxton Hicks’ she muttered, and he stroked her belly, feeling it harden under his hand, waiting until it softened again. She had been having contractions for a couple of days but the midwife had assured them it was nothing to worry about.

‘It’s fine, just practice for the real thing’ she had said briskly ‘Even with twins it’s quite normal. If they don’t subside within 48 hours, let me know’ They reached the door of the bathroom, where Sophia waved him away.

‘I can manage from here’ she snapped. He had removed the lock on the door in case of emergencies, and watched anxiously as she closed it behind her. ‘A little privacy please’ she called testily ‘I can hear you breathing’ He sighed and moved a little further away, the faint sound of her urination reaching him still. He knew he shouldn’t be so fearful about her wellbeing, but years of service on the Guard brought back memories of various emergencies involving impending childbirth. The Guard were the first line of assistance before medical staff could get to the Palace, and many other mansions he had served at were some distance from maternity facilities.

One notable example was seared into his brain when a noble lady had gone into labour miles out to sea on the Royal Yacht. He hadn’t been the only one to advise against the trip, but arrogance had won out over prudence and she had almost given birth before the air ambulance had winched her off the yacht. He was thankful the weather had been fair at the time.

He snapped back to the moment as he heard a little gasp. He stood up straight, straining his ears as a wail followed it.

‘Bas’ his wife called out, a hint of panic in her voice ‘Call the hospital – my waters just broke’

——-

At the hospital, Sophia was whisked away to be examined. Bastien was curtly told to wait, and paced the waiting room anxiously, massaging his hand from the pain of his wife clutching it fiercely on the drive over. Drake and Hana arrived to find him muttering curses against the doctors.

‘Calm down, Bas’ Drake had soothed ‘She’s in the best of hands’ Bastien glowered at him and straightened his shoulders.

‘She was supposed to see the midwife in the morning’ he growled ‘The risk with twins is elevated. I knew I should have insisted on an earlier appointment’

‘What exactly happened?’ Hana said, trying to ground him. He paused and ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling it out of its usual neat quiff.

‘Her waters broke’ he said ‘The babies each have their own sac but share a placenta and need to be delivered at the same time. If they’re both head down it’s possible to do it without a caesarean’ Before anyone could ask anything else, a nurse appeared.

‘Mr Lykel?’ He stepped forward, placing his hand on her arm.

‘How is she? Can I see her?’

‘She’s very well, considering’ she said, removing his hand ‘You really should have come in earlier. With twins…’ She paled at Bastien’s expression as he glared at her.

‘Our midwife told us all was fine’ he ground out.

‘Well, no matter. She’s in labour and things seem to be moving quickly. Do you have a birth plan?’

‘We do’ he said, massaging his forehead and taking a deep breath ‘it’s filed here. Do you not have it?’ She looked flustered.

‘I think perhaps you should come through, if it’s what you’d planned’

‘It is. Take me to her now…’

Bastien entered the delivery room with trepidation. Sophia was flushed and sweaty, laying back in the bed in a loose hospital gown, her knees drawn up and a sheet covering her modesty. A midwife stood next to her and turned directly to meet him. Sophia lowered her knees and he could see the sensor strapped to the swell of her belly. A machine next to the bed monitored the babies’ heartbeats, and emitted a low whooshing noise.

‘Is this the babies’ father?’ the midwife asked brightly.

‘I am.’ He said curtly, going to Sophia’s side, taking her hand and kissing it.

‘I’m Sandy, and I’ll be looking after Mum and baby – that is, babies’ she smiled

‘Bas’ Sophia said faintly ‘Wherever have you been? You need to call Mum, let her know.’

‘I came in as soon as they said I could. There’s no need to call Edith just yet, she’ll only worry.’ Sophia gasped in pain, squeezing his hand with a deathlike grip and Sandy swiftly handed her a breathing tube.

‘Gas and air – entonox. It’s quite safe’ the midwife assured Bastien. By the time Bastien had nodded, the contraction was almost over, and Sophia collapsed back onto the pillows, her eyes a little glazed.

‘You do realise this is twins?’ Bastien queried ‘Shouldn’t there be more staff?’

‘We are very busy tonight, Mr Lykel. As soon as it’s necessary I’ll call for help’ She went to the end of the bed to examine Sophia.

‘You’re dilating nicely, Mrs Lykel. Not long and we’ll be asking you to push. Babies are doing fine and getting ready to come out and say hello.’

‘How are they positioned?’ Bastien asked.

‘Both are head down, so you can deliver naturally if you’d like, Mrs Lykel’

‘Sophia’ she said testily ‘my name’s Sophia. I’ll do my best but I’m not against pain relief’

‘Of course, Sophia. Do you know the sexes?’

‘Yes’ she smiled, and looked up at Bastien. ‘One of each’

‘Well, it’s hard to tell which one will be making an appearance first, but baby number two won’t be far behind’

‘Bas, can Hana come in?’ Sophia asked ‘We’re may need an extra pair of hands’ He looked at the midwife.

‘As it’s twins, two helpers are allowed in the delivery room as long as all is going smoothly’ At that moment a doctor entered with a clipboard.

‘Mr Lykel – apologies for the delay in finding your birth plan’ she said as Sandy ducked out of the room to fetch Hana. She looked down at the papers she held, scanning swiftly ‘I see you’ve opted for a natural birth if it’s possible, with minimal pain relief’. Sophia made a little moan in answer.

‘Do I have to do this twice?’

‘Don’t worry Mrs Lykel, the first delivery paves the way for the second. You’ll hardly notice baby number two’ Another contraction hit her, and she grabbed the breathing tube, gulping at it greedily. Her head rolled back onto the pillow as the contraction faded and she gazed up at Bastien, eyes glassy from the anaesthetic.

‘I’d like some Ben and Jerry’s right now. Phish food.’ He couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘Maybe later, theà mou’ He lifted her hand and kissed it. Hana entered with the midwife and went to her side.

‘Hana, you came’ She smiled beatifically ‘You’ll be Auntie soon’

‘I can’t wait to meet your little ones’ Hana beamed excitedly.

‘Oh Hana, that’s so sweet of you’ Sophia winced as the midwife examined her again.

‘Once we get started, things might happen quite quickly’ she warned ‘After all, baby number two is going to want to catch up. At this point it’s too late for an epidural, but as things are going smoothly, Entonox should be sufficient’ Lucy looked startled

‘No epidural?’ she asked ‘Oh, fuck. Bas, what if it gets worse?’

‘Sophia, gas and air will be fine. Remember, it’s what we discussed, it’s safer in the majority of cases’ he soothed, earning a quizzical look.

‘Stop mansplaining, Bas. I’m thirsty’ she snapped, and the midwife took Bastien aside as Hana handed Sophia a cup of ice chips.

‘Don’t worry, Mr Lykel, Lucy’s going through transition. She’ll get very emotional. She may even get abusive. She’s fully dilated, so I’m going to call for assistance.’ He nodded knowingly. He’d done his research and was fully prepared for her to swear and curse and berate him for ever touching her. He knew it would be the hormones talking. He braced himself and went back to the bedside as the room suddenly became very busy with hospital staff. He focussed on Lucy as another contraction hit and she took great gulps of the gas and air again. This was a long one, and she lay back once it had ebbed away, moaning.

‘Whose idea was this?’ she moaned ‘It’s not natural’ Bastien bit his tongue, desperate to point out that it was in fact the most natural thing in the world to give birth – but he wasn’t the one suffering on the hospital bed. ‘I’m never doing this again’ she panted ‘you can forget sex, I’m staying celibate’ Bastien grinned uncomfortably, trying to avoid eye contact with any of the staff. Hana sniggered behind her hand ‘Is it time to push yet?’

‘Not just yet, Sophia’ Sandra assured her. ‘You’ll know when, but I’m here to help’ Sophia gasped as another contraction hit, and took the anaesthetic again. Bastien worried that she was taking too much as she collapsed back on the pillow, but kept his mouth shut, trusting the medical staff. Sophia turned to speak to him.

‘Bas, do you think we’re having twins because of your enormous – you know?’ she hissed, pointing to his groin in a stage whisper that carried right across the room. Hana giggled and reddened, and Sandy looked amused. Bastien coloured and cleared his throat, his smile turning to a grimace. ‘He does, you know, Sandra’ she said, motioning her closer ‘He’s – you know, very big down there. The sex is great. He’s got fantastic stamina.’ Sandra made a strangled noise.

‘I’ve never come across any correlation in size and fecundity or multiple births, Mrs Lykel’ she assured her, when she was able to speak. She took a calming breath, looking at the monitors. ‘Now, I want you to remember your birthing classes and prepare yourself to push’.

As promised, thing happened very quickly after that. Her next contraction hit hard, and Bastien lead her through her breathing, both elated and scared at the intensity of her experience. She was told to push, and he stayed with her, enduring her tight grip and murmuring words of encouragement. After each bout of pushing she lay back on the pillows, flushed and sweating, swearing that he’d never touch her again.

‘Mr Lykel, would you like to welcome baby? It’s very close now.’ Sandra said at last. He looked briefly at Sophia, torn between staying at her side and being the first to hold their child, but she nodded at him before the next onslaught. He moved down the bed as she strained and cried out with pain and effort, and was just in time to see the baby’s head emerge, followed by its shoulders. Sandra guided his hands so that he caught the warm slippery bundle. He was afraid of letting it slip, but managed to get a firm grip, and the midwife smiled triumphantly. Gazing down at the screwed up indignant face of his child, he felt an overwhelming wave of pure love and adoration unlike anything he had felt before. Time slowed and stopped as he held his own flesh and blood, his face softening into a broad smile. The little mouth opened and let out a roar of protest and rage, limbs flailing.

‘Papa has you, little one’ he crooned soothingly, knowing that first breath showed health and vigour.

‘Congratulations Mr and Mrs Lykel, your first baby is a healthy baby boy’ Sandra announced before handing him the instrument to cut the umbilical cord, and he carefully severed the connection. Briefly she wiped him clean as Bastien maintained his hold, the baby’s yell changing to wails in the unfamiliar environment. He shushed, and the little creature shuddered and quietened a little.

Sophia held out her arms eagerly and Bastien hurried to hand him over to place on her chest, wondering how long she would have before their little girl followed.

‘My little one’ she whispered, tenderly cradling him ‘We’re so thrilled to meet you at last’ She gazed down as the baby fell silent, arms folding over his chest and knees drawing up to meet them, face peaceful and enquiring. Hana sniffled beside her, and Sophia turned to the side. ‘Meet your Aunty Hana’ she breathed, before wincing in pain again. ‘I think your sister wants out’ she gasped, and a nurse swiftly took the baby and whisked him away.

‘Don’t worry, we just need to check him over, but I think he’s absolutely fine’ she assured Bastien.

‘Here’s your little girl’ Sandra called ‘Not long now’, and he went to stand ready, his hands trembling as a second head emerged, Sophia crying out again. She slipped out swiftly, but was safe in her father’s hands in an instant. He was hit by another wave of love and adoration just as intense as the last one, his heart full to bursting. Her cry was reedy and full of complaint and she wailed as he cut the cord, Sandra steadying it for Bastien to juggle his tasks. Both of the babies had seemed tiny in his large hands, both roomy and clumsy all at once.

‘Here, Papa has you safe’ he murmured ‘Come and meet your Mama’ Carefully he relayed her to Sophia. Her face glowed with happiness at holding her daughter, eyes fixed on her as she fussed at the bright light and unfamiliar surroundings.

‘My sweet one’ she crooned, and the baby quietened just as her brother had. ‘You’re perfect’. She looked up at her husband ‘Look what we did’ she whispered. He placed his hand on her shoulder and looked down at the newest arrival, tiny fingers waving like starfish, little mouth opening and closing. He kissed the top of Sophia’s head.

‘Theà mou, I love you so much. I’m blessed’ his voice caught, and the nurse returned with the little boy, now wrapped up warmly, and took his sister away to be cleaned and checked. Sophia held her finger out and the baby gaped, little mouth gurning in a half yawn, half smile. Soon his sister was handed back and Sophia cradled one baby in each arm, looking from one to the other in awe. The boy had a shock of black hair like his father’s and his eyes were pale grey. His sister’s hair was black but not as abundant, her pale eyes a shade bluer.

‘How can I ever spend a single second not loving these two?’ she whispered ‘How can I feel so much love for them – and for you?’ Bastien squeezed her shoulder, unable to speak for the lump in his throat. He had never felt so deliriously happy – and scared.

‘Do you have names?’ the nurse asked ‘The babies’ tags just say boy and girl for now. There’s no hurry’ Sophia looked up at Bastien.

‘Theodore?’ she asked. They had a few names picked out but didn’t want to fix them until the babies were born. He nodded in approval, as they had also decided that she should finalise the boy’s name, and he the girl’s.

‘And Beatrice’ he replied, getting a little tilt of his wife’s head in response. He cleared his throat

‘Theodore Costa Lykel and Beatrice Edith Lykel’ he said clearly, the names floating up into the air like a declaration of existence, an acceptance into the world for the two babes. The boy’s second name was that of his foster father’s, the girl’s was Sophia’s mother’s. They could have been Theodore Robert and Beatrice Althea, or the first names might have been different, but as soon as he spoke them aloud they sounded right, and he knew Sophia agreed. She lay propped up, beaming with exhausted happiness as she held her new arrivals. She had never looked more beautiful, her damp hair curling to frame her face, cheeks rosy, and an expression of pure love and joy in her eyes. Sandra cleared her throat.

‘Sophia, we just have to check the placenta, clean you up and make sure all’s well. Perhaps Mr Lykel could take the babies, or we could put them in the cots.’

‘I can help’ Hana piped up, and Sophia nodded. Little Beatrice was closest to Hana, and carefully she took the little bundle, utterly entranced. Bastien took Theodore, making soothing noises as they awkwardly changed over.

‘Can we take them out to the waiting room?’ he asked ‘We’ll come straight back in when you’re ready’

‘Yes, but don’t hand them around’ the midwife answered. ‘New babies are still developing their immune systems, so the less contact with other people outside the family the better’

‘Take care’ Sophia urged ‘I’m not going anywhere’

‘We’ll be back soon, theà mou’ Bastien promised, and he and Hana walked out to the waiting room with his new family

@sirbeepsalot @drakesensworld @katedrakeohd @texaskitten30 @be-still-my-aching-heart @hopefulmoonobject @dcbbw @classylady1234 @fluffyfirewhiskey @rainbowsinthestorm @kimmiedoo5 @bascmve01 @ibldw-main @addictedtodrakefanfic @trappedinfandoms @kingliam2019 @nomadics-stuff

#bastien lykel #Bastien x OC #trr bastien #sophia x bastien #bastien x sophia #double trouble

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