#i can't get my boss to focus on or follow through with anything

[monstermoviedean]

feelin a little at the end of my rope!!!

[heavenbarnes]

Um hi! I saw your reblog with Spencer in his FBI bulletproof vest and in the tags how you said you'd fuck him with it on!! Do you think you could write something about that??

I'm thinking like Reader is on the team with him.. sees him in it one day and can't stop gawking over him. So, one case they're on they ride together in the Suburban and Reader makes him pull off somewhere because they can't wait any longer for him to fuck them. Like semi-public sex, riding him in the suburban. Or like, if you didn't want it to be semi-public, Reader and him could be at the hotel they're staying at and she makes him keep it on to have sex..

A lot of hard work

Spencer Reid x reader

Warnings/contains: no mention of reader’s gender, objectification (of one Spencer Reid), mentions of an unsub, Spencer is confident in this, inappropriate use of the FBI vest, swearing, dirty talk, humping, making out, semi-public, almostttt at the good stuff

I LOVE that you see my tags and I love even more you asked me to write from them! I hope you enjoy this! I did cut off right before the good parts so maybe, maaaaybe we could give it a p2

The adrenaline should’ve been wearing off.

It probably was, it was probably something entirely different twisting at the pit of your stomach.

Unsub shut in the back of the police car, SWAT retreating back in their trucks, the team were gathered around the hood of the suburban for a debrief.

A debrief you should’ve been listening to.

It was no use, as if you could hear anything over the blood rushing in your ears.

Hotch had his usual stern expression as he spoke, but the more you tried to focus on what he was saying- the more your eyes kept drifting just over his left shoulder.

This was fucking obscene.

All he was doing, all he was doing, was listening to your boss (like you should’ve been). His sunglasses were pushed up his nose, he had a few perfect curls falling across his forehead, as usual.

The sleeves of his shirt were rolled to his elbows and the high sun was glinting off the large watch on his wrist. Your eyes followed his, frankly perfect, forearms up to his hands.

Veins running just below the surface leading you to long fingers, all wrapped around the thick shoulder straps of his bullet-proof vest. The one that was spanned across his chest and sitting up on his waist.

Spencer Reid looked insanely fuckable with the vest on.

You were lucky Hotch had split you up when you’d arrived on scene. If you’d had to watch Spencer running before you in that vest, you think you might’ve had to ask the unsub to kill you next.

The sight was nearly obscene.

You’d managed, just and only managed to support your team and get the job done- putting your own debauched thoughts away long enough to be serious for a second.

But as everyone was dispersing from the scene, under orders to meet back in the bullpen for paperwork, you had a feeling it wasn’t over for you yet.

That feeling came with Spencer calling your name, simply gesturing towards an empty suburban as he flashed the keys.

When nobody else joined you in the back of the car, you knew there was no way it’d ever be over. Especially not when he sat in the driver seat, vest still firmly secured around him.

Dropping yourself into the passenger seat, you resorted to pressing one very warm cheek to the window in attempt to find some relief.

There was none to be found, not when Spencer was reaching one long arm behind your seat to reverse out of the spot- Lord have mercy.

You’d both managed to get some ten minutes into the trip before he’d piped up, before he’d acknowledged the obvious change in your behaviour.

“What’s going on with you?”

His eyes flickered off the road for a moment, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on his thigh as he moved through the streets.

You shifted, uncomfortably shifted as you tried to play it off. “Nothing, I’m-“

“And I’m me, so don’t try lie.”

Rolling your eyes like a petulant child, you crossed your arms as you sunk further into the seat. It was easy done, you’d discarded your vest the minute you got in the car, unable to cope with the way it was suffocating you.

“Spencer, just leave it.”

It was his turn to roll his eyes, you couldn’t see it through his sunglasses but you could tell by the way his face rose and fell. He sucked in a deep breath before deciding someone needed to go first.

“You were too quick to get away from me as soon as we arrived and then spent the whole debrief staring at me like you either wanted me under you or dead- so what is it?”

That might’ve been the quickest anyone’s ever been profiled.

All part of the ordeal of being known, being so well known.

You shifted your gaze just enough to check if he was letting it go, sure enough, he was still switching between you and the road. It’s never over.

Absolutely you could tell him, you could just lay it all out and absolutely he’d be fine with it. But there was still such a sick knot in your stomach about having to fess up.

Weighing up your options (one of which included throwing open the car door) you saw movement out the corner of your eye.

Spencer’s free hand left his thigh and came to rest on the top of his vest, pulling it down slightly as he did it and drawing even more attention to the definition of his forearm.

“It’s the vest,” The words literally fell out of your mouth. “I want- need to fuck you with the vest on.”

You half expected him to crash the car. It would’ve made sense if he’d slammed on the breaks or even swerved a little. But he didn’t.

Spencer kept the car straight, eyes steadily moving to your face as he slowly raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah?”

Everything had gone quiet, like the world had stopped spinning. All you could hear was his simple question and maybe the odd voice in your head telling you this was a bad idea.

Thankfully, his voice was louder.

The moment his eyes went back on the road, his hand came off the vest to use his turn signal. He was pulling off down a trail road, industrial with an old factory at the base of it.

You knew it was abandoned, nobody had been there for years- it was on the map he’d annotated for the team at the beginning of this case.

Without a word, Spencer pulled up beside the building and the long grass. He put the car into park and removed his sunglasses before he ran a steady hand through his hair.

You’d been watching it all, slightly turned in your seat and studying his every move. There was no way you could help it. There was no way God could give you a man that looked like that and expect you to be normal about it.

All of a sudden, you saw Spencer reach beneath his seat. It rolled back slowly until he had a significant space between himself and the steering wheel.

Still, with no words exchanged, he brought his hand back to his thigh to pat it once- then twice. It was like a natural reaction for you, picking yourself up and scrambling across the centre console until you were situated in his lap.

Your fingers immediately closed around the straps of the vest, pulling him into you so your lips could meet with his. Spencer wasted no time in having his tongue in your mouth, immediately establishing his place.

It should’ve been embarrassing, pathetic really, the way your hips began to roll into his the minute he touched you. Large hands ran up your back, under your shirt and igniting your skin.

The vest was firm against your chest, almost keeping him from you but giving you exactly what you wanted. Pressing your forehead to his, you opened your eyes to get a good look at him under you.

He’d said you wanted one or the other.

You felt Spencer’s lips working up the front of your throat, teeth gently nipping at the skin as his hands worked down to the waistband of your pants.

You weren’t sure if he’d been as impatient as you- it was more likely you could give him a look any time of day and he’d be dropping to whatever position you needed him in. He was good that way.

As your hands splayed against the front of his vest, slowing inching down further as you continued to hump his lap- feeling him somehow getting even harder beneath you.

“Spencer-“ Your voice sounded breathy, desperate for him. “They’re gonna’ be back at the office soon.”

You heard him chuckle, the sound leaving his lips and reverberating off your throat. He nodded, just a little as his fingers began to work on the front of your pants.

He shuffled his hips forward, sinking down a bit further and giving you better access to his belt- the one you immediately began to undo.

“This is all for you, baby,” He sighed, feeling your hand reach into his pants. “You take whatever you need.”

[bluecollarmcandtf]

Total Customer Service

My hotel famously caters to the whims of each and every guest, so I thought I'd highlight the insights of some of my staff. My "unique" recruitment process has helped me acquire an army of hard-working uniforms who are guaranteed to serve! Hopefully, this glimpse will make you want to book a visit...

(Josh) The Bellhop

I love this job, but sometimes it kills my back! Who would've thought that being a porter would wear down my body more than hard labor ever did? Don't get me wrong: I'll gladly work here forever, but most of my days aren't a walk in the park. Honestly, none of them are.

When I was a construction worker, I got paid to be outside and occasionally hammer in a nail or two. My crew was pretty notorious for just standing around all day. We were doing that when my current boss approached us. I don't remember exactly what he said, but before I knew it, we were dropping our tool belts and hardhats and following him back to the hotel!

He hired me as a bellboy, so now I offer any guest the service of lugging their suitcases up to their rooms. Since I'm just staff, I obviously can't use the elevators, (those are reserved for the guests) so I carry their things up the service stairs in the back of the building. The temperature in the stairwell is always hot as hell, so I rarely end a shift without sweating through the pits of my uniform jacket. It sucks, but the AC is saved for spaces that make guests more comfortable.

Most of the customers are pleased to see me working so hard anyway. I'm usually panting by the time I deliver their luggage to their rooms. I'll always offer to unpack their things: it's a part of the hotel's five-star service.

Then I wait and see if they need anything else from me. A lot of times, I'm the first employee the guests are able to interact with, so they're usually pretty excited to take advantage of the "all-inclusive" service our hotel is famous for.

Some of them are shy about it at first and some of them are demanding from the get-go, but I'm always happy to do whatever they ask. Even if I don't particularly like what I have to do: it's just a part of the job...I love this job...I love my boss...I love that this work is my life...

(Bill) The Housekeeper

Part of me cringes every time I get a look of myself in a mirror. Sure, I'm proud to be a housekeeper, but it's a real change of pace from back when I was a financial advisor. Part of me is nervous to think I could run into someone from my old life: a former colleague or an old customer perhaps. I'd still clean their room the same of course, but I can't help but wonder what they'd think of me while I did it.

I used to manage the hotel owner's finances. That's how we met. He persuaded me to grow his hotel as much as I could. It became an obsession of mine, and I'll have to admit that I tossed all my other customers to the side to focus on him. It was a bit out of character for me. I'm not really sure why I did that. Anyway, I was spending so much time at his hotel instead of my office that he offered me a job.

I can't recall his pitch, but it must have been a convincing one, because I dialed up my old former boss and quit. I just didn't want it anymore! It didn't even bother me that the only vacant position was in housekeeping!

I took it immediately.

I love cleaning up the messes our guests leave behind. Thinking about that is what gets me out of bed everyday, which is no easy feat since my shift starts at four in the morning. No matter how messy, gross, or bizarrely sticky a room is, I just love to get on my hands and knees and scrub every inch for them.

The best part is when a guest comes back to their room to find me making their bed or cleaning their shower. I can tell they're always pleasantly surprised to find me there.

I just keep my head lowered submissively like I'm supposed to and wait for them to take charge. They always do. Here at the hotel, us employees are completely at the customer's whim. I'll do anything they tell me to...I want to make them happy...I want to serve them...I want to obey.

(Donavon) The Waiter

Who knew waiting could create such awful migraines. I work in the hotel bar, and every day is a new storm of hungry and entitled mouths. Each table has someone who isn't happy with their meal, and they love to express their discontent in the most ridiculous ways. Sometimes it's a glass of water in my face. Sometimes it's a slap on the ass, but it's always followed by a roar of laughter!

Usually, every guest in the restaurant joins in like it's all one sick joke.

I'm not used to being treated this way. I used co-own a nearby gym, and I always made it my mission to foster a welcoming culture of respect and familiarity. I know "the customer is always right," but sometimes it is a hard fact to swallow.

The hotel's owner helped me learn that. He approached me one night at the gym and pulled out this weird swinging medallion...

I don't remember much of what he said, but I knew I had to abandon my gym. I left my wife too. We were happy, but I couldn't work here and have other commitments.

That's how I got started waiting tables. I'd never done it before, but it's not hard when I'm constantly being told what to do. Between the customers and the boss, I spend the entire day running around fulfilling orders; table six wants more wine, table nine wants their food cut for them, table twelve wants a foot rub... you get the picture.

It's all pretty typical stuff for a restaurant, I think. The customers get full control over me and the rest of the wait staff. However, it does make serving food a little difficult at times. Last night, we had to work overtime because this one guy kept making full use of us waiters. A good chunk of my evening was spent under his table, so I had to sprint afterwards to catch up on everyone's food.

It might stress me out, but I try not to let it bother me. I'll put up with their abuse and treat them with the utmost respect like a good waiter should. I don't mind being groped and fondled by virtually every customer as I pass. Part of our service is complete access to the staff. They can do whatever they want to me...they can have me do whatever they want...they deserve that treatment...I'm meant to give them that treatment...

(Ricardo) The Kitchen Staff

This job sucks. It's the truth, but I don't think I'll ever leave. The kitchens are so steamy and uncomfortable that I constantly think about walking out and getting a breath of fresh air. Still, my hands keep scrubbing countertops and chopping vegetables.

Sometimes I think of my life before I worked at this hotel, back when I was just an aimless twenty year old hanging out at the gas station. I had so much free time then. Now, I spend every waking moment in this sauna of a kitchen getting splashed with grease and oil.

Everything changed when that stranger came up to me and my buds one day. He talked really slow and dangled this weird necklace in front of our eyes. If I didn't know any better, I might think he was trying to hypnotize us!

Obviously, that's not what happened.

He was just offering us work. He made me realize how much I needed to work. I have to do this job! I need it! All my buddies agreed too. Some of them had jobs, but they didn't mind. It's been awhile since I saw them since I'm stuck down here in the kitchen. I think one of them might be a pool boy or something? I don't remember. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's more enjoyable than washing dishes down here.

The only break we get is when a customer comes in the kitchen.

One of them burst through the doors last night. We could all tell he'd had too much to drink, but that didn't change how we treated him. Like always, me and the rest of the staff stopped what we were doing and straightened our backs out of respect. He stumbled around, licking his lips as he looked us up and down. He wasn't afraid of groping us, which any guest is more than entitled to do.

Eventually, he got to me, burping in my face before covering my mouth with his slobbery lips. I'm not gay and he had a rank odor of beer on his breath, but I wasn't going to tell a customer no!

Before long, he was ordering me on the floor and crawling on top of me. The other chefs and kitchen staff got back to work, but I was left with the responsibility of keeping the guest entertained. I'd describe it as gross more than anything. I think he might've even pissed himself, but an order is an order.

His demands were the ridiculous kind only a drunk ass would make. Still, I did everything: no matter how uncomfortable, sick, or degrading they were. That's just the expectation for employees at this hotel...we are here to serve them... I'm here to serve them...I am at their whim.

...so now you understand.

My hotel is famous for its "uniquely unlimited" customer service. Stay here and you'll always be right. You'll always have someone to pick on, laugh at, play with, or use.

Get familiar with anyone that catches your eye. I can assure you that all of my employees are handsome and thoroughly conditioned. Order the waiter to pour your food over his head; tell the housekeeper to do a little dance; command the bellhop turn around and bend over. They'll do it all, and they'll thank you for it.

So what are you waiting for. Book your next vacation with us! I promise you'll enjoy meeting the rest of my staff...

[tealvenetianmask]

Some thoughts on Blitz having combined type ADHD and why it matters to me . . .

First, I'm not negating other neurodivergences that he might have or other roots of his issues. I do think he also has dyslexia, and I also think his father didn't bother to get him much of an education. And yes, a lot of the traits I'm about to write about overlap too with ASD and various trauma responses. Comorbidity is real, and we're talking about fiction and only have so much to go on. Your interpretations/ways of diagnosing him are valid even if they don't match mine. Cool? Okay, let's go.

Inattentive symptoms. Blitz's plans come off as disorganized/chaotic, he doesn't do paperwork, doesn't know what insurance is, and visibly zones out during some conversations. He also hyperfocuses when something strikes an emotional cord, i.e. following M&M and looking for his sister, and can't focus on anything else. Random tangents and doodles seem to be a regular part of his workday. He can do fucking somersaults in midair but falls on his cute little face when he's not paying attention to where he's walking.

Hyperactive symptoms. He's bursting with energy and almost always seems ready to get up and go. He's randomly climbing things/sitting weird in chairs all the time, even as an adult. I thought this was an imp trait. Other imps don't do this. It's a Blitz trait. He speaks without thinking a lot and seems to process things out loud.

Strengths. He's calm and strategic in a crisis. He's creative and excited about his own ideas. He's at home in chaos and makes chaos WORK for him. He improvises. He's always wanted to be the boss of his own company and do things his own way. I love him so much. I love that being different/original/chaotic is portrayed so positively.

RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria). Without going into Blitz's everything, the gist is that behind the front that he doesn't care, Blitz is super sensitive to being rejected and spends a lot of time scared that rejection is going to happen. Look at him at the end of Ozzie's. Listen. This can be caused by A LOT of things, but it's super common with ADHD too, mostly because we have a ton of experience with being rejected and trouble predicting when it's going to happen. Among everything that's happened to him, Blitz had lots of "not good enough" moments as a kid.

There's a lot more. I was going to do screenshots but got overwhelmed by how many episodes I'd have to sift through.

Why I care:

I'm feeling well represented of course. So often, the person with ADHD in a piece of media is a kid, or if they're an adult, they're the primarily inattentive type. I'm still hyperactive in adulthood, and when I'm not masking enough, my behavior gets misunderstood a lot (some of this also comes from being a woman, but since I'm talking about a male character here . . . another time). It's fun and affirming to see a character in fiction who's not masking his ADHD much (because he really isn't good at that lol) and has a ton of issues but kind of rocks at being himself anyway.

[roxy-writes]

GIRLY DO MAFIA BAKUGOU AND KIRISHIMA X READ AND MAKE IT SMUTTY!!!!!! It's fine if you don't want to😅 BUT IF YOU CAN THAT WOULD BE GREATTTTT!!! LOVE YOU BESTIEEEEEEE 🥰

OK IM DOING IT. also i've lowkey been putting off my asks so if i haven't responded i'll get there soon lol <3 sorry

warnings: not proofread, smut, reader sits on bakugo's lap, reader uses she/her pronouns, reader has a pussy, extreme dubcon, biting, reader gets spanked, noncon creampies, reader cries, dead dove: do not eat

You sat tied to a chair in Katsuki Bakugo's office. You didn't know a lot about what was happening, just that he was a fairly well-known mafia boss and this was very very bad for you. He sat in a comfortable looking chair on the other side of his desk, his right hand man standing tall beside him. Kirishima Eijiro, who appeared way less threatening than his counterpart. But you figured he's probably just as bad as Bakugo, if not worse. You knew pretty much why you were here.

You were taking a walk somewhere, you can't remember where. The alleyway you saw was a nice shortcut, sure, but you probably should've just gone the long way. You didn't really expect to see someone being brutally murdered when you turned the corner, of course. As Bakugo turned to face you, the unknown body slumped to the ground at his feet. You sprinted away in the opposite direction, but you weren't fast enough, and that's how you ended up here.

"I was going to just kill you, but my partner here convinced me otherwise. How lucky you are. Well, I don't really know about that. You'll probably think you're better off dead once we're done with you." Bakugo says. You wonder what the fuck that might mean. "We obviously can't let you go though. You'll have to be of use to us in some other way." You're pretty sure you know what that means, based on Kirishima's hungry look. "Untie her," Bakugo commands, "not like she'll be able to escape." Kirishima moves to follow Bakugo's orders and only then do you notice his teeth. They're razor sharp, and they look dangerous. You figure things can't get any worse from here.

But of course they do. Bakugo makes you sit on his lap, the bump that you feel from under his nice dress pants rubbing against your thigh. He's changed since you first saw him, thank God, so there's no blood on him. You're frozen in place, his hands planted on your ass. There was no denying he was attractive, but this was not a situation you wanted to be in. "Kirishima, what do you say we get he used to how it's gonna be here?" Bakugo says, and fear rushes through your body. You're bent over the table in seconds, your dress being torn off your body. You want to struggle, but you know it won't do anything except anger him. He rips off your bra and panties, and your nipples harden at the cold. He beckons Kirishima over, and the red-haired man crouches down so he's face-to-face with your cunt. You're scared of those teeth being so close to your pussy, but Bakugo keeps you from being able to tilt your head to look at Kirishima. Kirishima's first long lick up your slit has you holding back a moan. "Make some noise, bitch." Bakugo spits, so you stop holding back as Kirishima sucks on your clit.

His tongue enters your hole, making you clench and keen. You're nearly forgetting about what's really happening and starting to focus only on how he's tongue-fucking you. Then his tongue's gone and his teeth are sinking into your thigh. You cry out in pain and squirm, which only seems to egg Kirishima on as he marks your thighs up. One of his big fingers slips inside of you and curls, pressing against your special spot. You cum with a cry as Kirishima licks up the blood dripping down your legs. Fuck, it aches. You hate to admit you're sort of turned on by it, but it still fucking hurts. Bakugo's already pressing his dick to your entrance and pushing in. You're still sensitive and you moan. He's bigger than you thought he would be, but he doesn't give you any time to adjust to the stretch as you expected. He immediately begins pounding into you. He shakes the desk with every thrust, and the edge of it digs into your hips.

Bakugo slams into your cervix. You make a noise of discomfort, and he raises his hand. He brings it down hard on your ass, the sting making tears form in your eyes. He does it again on your other asscheek, and you try not to make too loud of a noise in fear of what he'll do. You just whimper quietly as he fucks you. He's gonna cum soon, you can tell by how much he's twitching inside you. Oh shit, you think, he can't cum inside. You're not on birth control, oh shit, oh fuck, you think. He's definitely not wearing a condom. "No, fuck, don't cum inside, please!" you yell, but he just spanks you again. You feel hot ropes of cum coat your walls and tears stream down your face. You can almost feel him smirk. Kirishima shoots you a sympathetic look from where he was watching. You press your face into the desk and sob.

this is my 100th post lol

[summertimemusician]

Linktober (Shadow) 2023, Day 11

Monsters (Dead Hand)

Summer Stop Giving Reader/PoV Character and the Chain a Hard Time and Trauma Challenge (impossible) /j. But really I'll probably write something lighter for Linktober or Linktober Shadow later to compensate for this one lol. Probably a sequel to this one that has Reader actually having a nice time with the Links for once.

Technically since unfortunately studying for future exam season in like a couple of days has been kicking me in the ribs and thus my time was highly cut and unfortunately I don't have an Ocarina to give me more, this is actually a mix of prompts! The ones in the title, Keese, Wolfos, Wizzrobe, Lizalfos, Redead, and Boss, although they are not the focus here, mostly just mentioned but technically checking out the boxes, maybe next time I'll go more in deep on that (Like the original idea that basically was Reader taming a pet Wolfos as a guard hound that I will not elaborate on at least not this year), instead y'all get this with the boss that gave a lot of people childhood trauma and was never seeing again since because we really don't talk about just why Dead Hands are terrifying much, just that they are, really missed opportunity to use them more in an LU context lol.

As always any relationship between Reader and any of the Chain can be interpreted as romantic or platonic, and Reader is Gender Neutral on Purpose. And First is here because again, this would have been longer if exam season wasn't kicking me in the ribs and I have some really evil ideas involving First, Reader and Time bonding over having trauma of enclosed spaces, but thankfully y'all don't get that today lol, or not, it would be a really fluffy scene so up to y'all if it's a win or a loss.

TW:

Don't think there's anything too heavy-ish? But I'm a horror fan so I'm not someone who can accurately judge that. I'd say graphic descriptions of violence and gore, and being restrained/pinned in place and the entire deal that is the Dead Hand's existing, so please don't read if you're squeamish or uncomfortable. Health is important and specially mental health and I always leave these warnings on Linktober Shadow related prompts or heavier stories, so just a heads up so no one is caught by surprise.

Anyway, enjoy reading!

It was an almost unanimous agreement that no hero liked to pass through a cemetery in Hyrule.

From the restless Gibdo, to the mischievous yet usually cruel Poes and the lost Ghini, to the ever wandering Stalfos and the ghastly agonized Redead and ever determined ghoulish Garo, nothing good ever came from entering in areas where dead things roam. You can't be sure if it's because of the magic in Hyrule, the living force of light and shadow and the divinity coursing through the land, or simply the will of the undead or the consequences of Demise attempting to claim the Triforce, graveyards and desolated fields meant silence, they should be where those who are gone should finally acquire their final catharsis, not to roam endlessly without release, solemn as these places are they are still places for a peaceful end and to be denied such due to the whims of the Shadow... You can think of very few awful fates that can compare.

('Terrible fates, you could say.' The grimly bemused part of your mind whispers, as you walk alongside Time further down into the crypt that you and the Chain had followed the shadow into, silver, prisitne armor briefly blends with old, rusted, bloody gold and you think you hear the rattling of bones in the distance, the draw of a rusted, but still serviceable sword. You shut it away with a snarl as you cut down the Stalfos attempting to ambush Wild from the rear, and it goes down and back into the darkness with a screech alongside the chilling knowleged and the sick cracking of broken bones, not on your watch, never on your watch, you refuse.)

"Of all places why did it have to be a bloody crypt?" Grimaced Warriors, casting a weary glance towards the skulls decorating the walls, their empty sockets empty but silently cutting, as if sneering at the fact you lot had dared disturb the dead, as if it wasn't the Shadow's mere presence making what would otherwise be a place for rest into a possible death trap.

Legend smirked, though you could tell he wasn't anymore pleased from the way he marched through the cold, cracked stone floor, steps flighty and eyes darting around corners, "What, a bit too much for you, soldier boy?"

"No," came the prim answer, although the twitch of the hand near his scabbard as you stepped into an open chamber gave him away, as well as Wind being kept at his side rather than near the wall, "Just don't generally like fighting the undead in closed spaces. It's a recipe for disaster."

"On that I believe we all can agree on." Came Time's voice, cutting through the banter, tense as a drawn bowstring, you knew being back in a crypt wasn't easy for him, with the way his jaw tensed, you both had the same awful memories of a similarly buried, abandoned place where dead things roamed without cease, frantic, hungry for the warmth of the living, "Keep your guard up, and stay close together."

Almost as if on cue came the monsters from the open corridors, you didn't hesitate in drawing your blade to cut through the enemy, keese were easily dispatched by Four and Legend's swords, you spun to slit the throat of a growling Wolfos from Twilight's era going for Sky's back just as he mercilessly chased down the Black Lizalfos, the beast clearly avoiding the glow from the Sword of Evil's Bane. Time's back to yours as you cleared the path for him and blocked the Shadow's exit through the left corridor, it had already proven that it would not matter if you did or not, but you refused to not let it work for survival.

The jolt of magic being used crawling up your spine was your first warning. Like the build up of lightning in a storm, the taste of rust and a feeling like tar  slithers up your throat.

The second was Wild's warning shout as the chamber shook with the grating, chilling, blood curdling howl of the Redeads, Time lunging away from your side to slash the beasts away from Wind and Warriors with all of the fury of a wolf defending it's pack, before you had to throw yourself back, slamming your back against the arch on the right as it caved in, lest you be crushed alongside the Wolfos coming for your neck the second the older hero moved.

You were separated.

You were alone.

A really, really bad spot to be when in Hyrule's catacombs.

"Are you alright?!", Came muffled from the other side of the stones, the hint of an actual wolf's growl and the distinctive Ordonian cadence, Twilight.

"I'm fine! Keep fighting, I'll find my way to you guys!", You yell back, heart racing, trying not to think about what you could find on your way back, you didn't have any bombs on you, it wasn't feasible to use them in a place as old as this, not without risk bringing down the ceiling on you and the Chain. But most catacombs have interconnected hallways, if you moved quickly, you might just avoid finding anything that you won't be able to handle on your own.

You think Twilight replies, but it's muffled by another Redead's yowl, you wince, your muscles lock up and you feel something warm drip from your ears, but thankfully you are not rendered immobile due to the involuntary wall, you swallow your trepidation and get moving.

The further you get away from the fallen stones, the more silent the catacombs extending from the crypt you were dropped in became, shadows twist oddly by the torches upon the wall with only your breathing and the cold, unfeeling remains of the dead to keep you company, the lowly burning flames bringing you no warmth. The corridors blended together in the darkness cast by the faint light, the shades contorting themselves in the crevices of your paranoia the longer you went on with only your own hurried footsteps to make any true sound.

Not one monster had found it's way to you thus far, though, and according to the copy of the map Legend had made the second you had acquired the original from a very unfortunate Wizzrobe from Wild's era. You just needed to pass one more open chamber to find the corridor leading to your boys, You couldn't keep them waiting, who knew how long it would take for the fight to finish if Redead's were involved? And staying still when the Shadow could turn itself intangible was practically begging it to switch it's attention, it usually didn't pay you as much mind as it did the heroes, Time specially (it seemed to hold a grudge against him more than any of your boys, you noted bitterly), but it would occasionally target you if it meant getting a rise from any of the Link's or if it felt you were too  secure in your safety, it was better if you found your way back first to the hunt before you became hunted.

You grit your teeth, by Hylia's dripping gash, you were so. darn. tired. of. being. hunted.

Of watching your friends being led into a wild hunt with no end in sight, dragged by the noose by a remnant that refused to stay dead, you never thought you could burn with so much anger, with the desire to see if fire would scare it sober into ceasing in it's infection of all of Hyrule's Eras. But unfortunately you knew it didn't work like that, so you had to survive, you would survive, because someone had to protect the heroes when the heroes protected everyone else and if no one was going to step up to the job, you'd just have to do it yourself.

Shaking yourself from your thoughts, lest you end up drowning in them, you breath in relief as soon as you come upon the metal door with the symbol of the royal family, faded and rusted with age, there. You just needed to pass through this chamber and the corridor next to it, and you'd be back with Link, all of them, and hopefully out of here. You push it open, grip tightening on your long dagger, almost a sword, good enough to cut and hide. The thick and pungent combination of old, congealed blood, sick and decaying flesh, something like rotten eggs dipped in alcohol and withered flowers hits your nose, making you nauseous but you press on, the chamber is circular and dimly lit, with a long cracked, soft stone from a leak in the walls. You studiously do not look at the far corner of the dungeon or the pillory's and shackles scattered around near the cells,  there's a second door to the other side, as soon as you pass through it you'll be in another corridor.

... It's silent, too quiet. Unease slithers and twists around you like vines, but you can't delay, you won't, so you keep walking-

Until you can't.

Something has grabbed a hold of your leg. You look down, and your blood freezes, spotting a long, sickly, pale arm and a bright crimson, elongated nails, claw-like, digging into your ankle, having dug itself up from the fragile ground.

You don't hesitate, slashing down violently at the offending limb, frantic terror spreads through your blood, you knew what was here. It featured in your nightmares for a long, long time, you knew it still haunted Time's, the limb goes slack as it is severed, and you barely note the way it starts bleeding black and green at the stump, thankful for Four's expert craftsmanship and maintenance hints as you dive to the exit. You don't make it far, it's companion limbs  bursting in front of your path like a snake emerging from the ground, it makes a solid grab for your  arms, one of them grabs you by the scalp, firmly digging as you dodge and weave between, a stabbing pain upon your skull from the indomitable grip of something fueled by fury, twisted magic and rigor mortis and makes you cry out, your slight moment of hesitation allowing two more hands to latch onto your legs and arms, nails slicing through your flesh like easily and digging, tearing like a rabid hunting dog's teeth upon an unfortunate deer, leaving deep gashes upon your arms and ankles, it's not unlike being pinned and held to a torture rack, in hindsight, ironic given just where in the crypt you ended up.

Your hear the ground below shifting below you, a groan carrying through the air, awfully monstrous, coldly human. You struggle harder like a desperate butterfly upon a dissection board, from your peripheral, you see the form of the thing unhurriedly dragging itself over, it uses the sharp and bloody ends of where bone was broken to slice it's hands off to shuffle out of the grave, using it's stubs as support. Long long neck barely supporting it's elongated head, the scent of rot intensifies and you feel like gagging as it settles it's empty, frigid, hungry eye sockets on your bound form; it's broken jaw contorting itself in a mockery of a human smile over rotten gums and exposed teeth, stretching unnaturally and bringing emphasis to it's rotting, bloodied sunken features. From behind it's bloated, putrid shape, barely obscured by the bloodied white cloth and the grotesque vision of the undead you swear the crimson eyes of the shadow, watching you coldly, the hint of a knife sharp, serpentine smile as the sound of wet meat slamming across the ground rings in the chamber.

Fury mixes with your panic as you snarl, trying to twist the dagger in your grip as best as you can to drive it into the arms, pain and blood drips from the open wound but you don't care; you need to get away from the Dead Hand. A monster like that feels no pain when struck for it is not human, not any longer, and you couldn't hope to face an infected one alone, it shuffles over the floor, unhurriedly shuffling like a predator that knows it's prey can't run away, it moans and groans with hunger as it approaches and you have no intention of giving it a meal, you grit your teeth as the nails sink deeply into your shoulders and arms, using your blade to saw through rotting flesh and hopefully break bone with every single inch of strenght you have, the blade is slick in your hand with your own blood and the poison-tar of the Shadow's infection burning through you but you do not mind, can't. You need to get away-

The undead's teeth sink into the hollow of your collarbone, blunt, human teeth that shouldn't have half the strenght it does to rip through flesh, blood and crack bone, and you caterwaul with pain, skin crawling and numbing and set aflame with curses sent from the dark reflection of the hero, darkening, veins blackening, your eardrums vibrate with the force of your own agony and you are sure you could rival a Redead on pitch alone of your tortured howl. Struggling even more ferociously, attempting to disloged it, kick it off, your blade sucessfully slashes through the arm from your reverse grip, pushing away from it with the savegery off a cornered predator you sink your long dagger into the undead's eye sockets, tearing through it's cheek with animal ferocity, it keens high and chilling, you're losing blood quickly and it (for it's not a human, not anymore, you can't feel sympathy for it, won't. You can't hesitate.) knows, for it tries to chomp down onto your vulnerable neck, your arm being the only thing keeping it from biting it out as you growl with pain, although you can't be sure it just won't bite through, it's teeth are bared, the pitch of it's blank eyes locked onto yours in stalemate, you have the advantage of not being weakened by hunger and decay, not sluggish like it but that will not help for long, the clammy being determined to bleed you dry and feast on your corpse and you are drowning drowning drowningDROWNINGWITHWRETCHEDTORMENT MAKE.THE.PAIN.STOP-

A scream of your name, sword calloused hands yank you away from claws and fangs (because nothing with blunt teeth and nails should be able to wound someone so throughly), you waver on your feet, swaying, supported by a warm, strong body and pulled away. A sword slashes the foul being away from you and you go lax, numb with pain.

First, First was supporting you. Keeping you steady, stopping you from falling, snarling at the corpse with a lion's fury, holding you protectively. Time tears by him like a man possessed, frenzied with the look of a man looking at his worst nightmare and growling in denial. The Links, wounded but alive, the Chain had met you halfway.

The last thing you remember before losing conciousness as adrenaline leaves your body and everything goes dark, is wishing that they'll burn it to be sure it's gone for good. It's the kindest thing that can be done for a such a wretched existence.

You'd be okay.

[prettyniji]

Hello! i love your works omg ‹3 ... may I request for Luxiem with their s/o who has the love language of physical touch? Fluff of course. But, if you uncomfortable with it, I'm very sorry, you can just ignore it. Thank you so much ‹3

authors note: thank you for the request !! i'm not uncomfortable at all my love language is physical touch hehe, i hope i did your request justice and you enjoy (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ♡

all writing is mine and mine only !! no reposting ,,, this isnt proofread very well sorry for any mistakes or typos !

characters: vox akuma; mysta rias; ike eveland; luca kaneshiro; shu yamino

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ luxiem with a cuddly s/o ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

ʚɞ vox akuma ʚɞ

his love language is also physical touch so he would drown in the affection you show him!! after he finishes up his streams he would want nothing more than to be cuddled up with you and chat away the night he has mentioned how much he loves surprise cheek kisses, so make sure you catch him by surprise and plant a kiss on his cheek whenever you want to see his blushy flustered face he looks like this: ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝) has his hands on you a lot no matter what he's doing, so if you want his hand to dance along your thigh mindlessly make sure you sit next to him while he works if you do the same and always have your hands on him while working, even if you don't realise what you are doing he can't help but let your touch consume his mind and he finds he can't focus on his own work because your hands are playing with his hair oh so nicely ଘ( ≧▽≦ )ଓ

more under the cut !

ʚɞ mysta rias ʚɞ

i think he is a closeted touchy person... he didn't realise how much he loves your affection until he hasn't gotten it while you're at work or out for the day

so as soon as you get home you find your perky boyfriend standing at the door waiting for you to thread your hands through his hair and give him your usual affection ( ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ഒ

as your hands find themselves brushing all over his body; his arms, shoulders, neck and hips, he sighs and leans into every touch you give him as he listens to you talk about your day.

whenever you are both out with your friends together, often he finds himself struggling to speak and focus on his words as your hand plays with his fingers or your arm locks with his, trying his hardest to focus but how can he when your touch makes his skin tingle (❀´ ˘ `❀)

ʚɞ ike eveland ʚɞ

our novelist is more than often lost in his books, so it's very easy for both of you guys to idly show affection to each other, you playing with his hair and reading along with him (as much as you can, i imagine he reads very fast..)

sometimes he reads his novels or his own works out loud to you, his arm around you drawing shapes into your shoulder

his hands would only leave your skin to go to the next page of his book, in which they immediately find rest on your thigh, continuing his invisible doodles on your leg ଘ(੭´꒳`)°* ੈ‧₊˚

however, when he is too tired to read he asks you to read to him, drowning in your love and affection like a cat nuzzling into your side, your voice and hands bringing more comfort to him than anything else in the world

it's fascinating how fast ike can fall asleep when your hands are on him, the slightest kiss on his cheek or forehead will have him feeling soft and cozy enough to nap with you

definitely tries to pretend your touch doesn't affect him as much as it does, but its very clear that as soon as you peck your boyfriend's lips he is putty in your hands /ᐠﹷ ‸ ﹷ ᐟ\ﾉ

ʚɞ luca kaneshiro ʚɞ

i think we all can agree that when our 'big and scary' mafia boss discovers you are just as touchy as him, he is delighted and starts to act like a puppy, following you everywhere and telling you good things he did so you will pat his head, cup his cheeks and kiss all over his cute face

honestly the line between luca and dog starts to blur with how much he wants you to play with his hair and scratch his head, to the point that if he had a tail, it would be wagging so hard he'd fly away..

but we can both agree that he wouldn't have to do anything to gain your affection because, who can resist giving him all the kisses in the world? if you can then you have the same power as god ;;;;;

i imagine if you yourself are streaming or in a call with someone, he would be sitting so close to you, practically on your lap, and grabbing your wrist to pat his head, holding his cheek close to yours

luca would love for you to be chatting away at him while kissing him in between your words, cupping his cheeks and looking in his eyes, all while telling him about an annoying coworker or annoying work

he would easily solve that annoying work or coworker in the blink of an eye with how you kiss him, just say the word !!

ʚɞ shu yamino ʚɞ

we all know this sorcerer is up at ungodly hours streaming or doing... sorcerer things...?

so, in protest, you must sit beside him while he streams and run your hands all over his body, while doing work of your own

he would go crazy, wondering how you can have your full attention on him but also have no attention on him at all ;;;;

may end his stream earlier than usual just so he can feel you stroke his cheeks and sit on his lap, making sure that you aren't paying attention to anything in the room other than him!! because he loves drowning in your affection and being the centre of your attention hehe (｡˃ ᵕ ˂ *) ｳﾝ

would die for you to sit on his lap even when he streams, letting you play with his hands in between valorant rounds or as he talks to his genmates

but also wouldn't let you because he knows he would get shy and embarrassed and struggle to get his words out on stream ........... ૮(˶˃ᆺ˂˶)

when he tries his hardest to silently get in bed next to you, thinking you're asleep, he strokes your face and gives you a soft kiss, telling you how much he loves you and your affection, even if he gets embarrassed easily

thank you for requesting, i hope you enjoyed and have a good day honey ₍₍ (̨̡⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)̧̢ ₎₎

[roo-bastmoon]

"I can't stand your kumbaya OT7 fake cheeriness. Be ffr."

First and foremost, I will always advocate that you police your own experience. PLEASE mute / block / unfollow me if my posts (and just my personality in general) are causing you distress. I never wish to be the source of problems in the world. So go with my blessing.

But second...

I hope you know there are some really good REASONS why I'm so "kumbaya" right now.

In my 44 years living on this space rock, I have:

--had a vicious abusive alcoholic parent who broke my nose when I was a kid

--been through my parents' nasty divorce that left us so poor we lived out of a car and ate one meal a day so our cats could have cat food

--developed disordered binge eating because I believed it was necessary during my semi-pro ballet days

--was sexually assaulted by a partner who professed to love me

--had not one but TWO diagnosed narcissistic bosses who made my beloved workplaces hell for years

--survived (so far) uterine cancer which took away my ability to ever be a bio-mom, something I'd always wanted for myself

I look at this laundry list of trauma (for which I am seeing a WONDERFUL therapist) and think to myself:

"Even so, I've lived such a cushy, privileged, safe and happy life. I've got four higher degrees; I've traveled the US and through Europe; I've worked on creative and charitable projects that I'm proud of; I've got a small band of wonderful real-life friends who stuck by me for the past 30+ years. It's been a good and meaningful life."

But I am TIRED of drama and I've had a lifetime supply of harsh words and meanspirited discourse. I'm just so fed up with it. I'm allergic to it now.

I'm not saying we should allow hate and harmful behavior to slide. But here on the internet, we have the power to block and remove anything we don't want to see or be a part of. I WISH we could do that in real life, where the stakes are so much higher.

So for my part, after being in all kinds of internet fandoms since 1999, I've come to the conclusion that I will not hang with mean girls, I will not feed trolls, I will not fight with antis, and I will TRY not to pop off on people who upset me (sometimes menopause gets the better of me, I admit it). Rather, I will just redirect my focus to what brings me joy, I will follow my bliss, I will take revenge by living happily.

And keep in mind... People are human. Fans and members alike are going to have bad takes, bad attitudes, bad days, bad habits. The question is: are they willfully causing harm? If yes, intervention is necessary. If no, then a little grace might be more useful.

I come from three generations of teachers and one of the most important things they've said to me is: Shame is not a teaching tool. It might temporarily change someone's behavior, but more often than not they double down in order to counteract embarrassment. If you want good results, thank a person for trying their best, acknowledge they are likely struggling, and invite them to be the better version of themselves you absolutely know they can be. Sometimes that works.

With ruiners, it doesn't. They just want to ruin things. Ruining things makes them feel powerful, because they cannot create; they can only destroy. It is their only talent. Ruiners invade a space and absolutely delight in ruining it for everyone else. It's a disease and I don't know the cure. The only way I know to counteract a ruiner is to stay in your space and LOUDLY be joyful, be cheerful, focus on what you love, and drown out their vitriol and hate with compassion and love.

So THAT is why I'm so "kumbaya cheerful OT7." Even on days when I would love nothing more than to thrash and whine, I'm trying my best to be a good little oyster and filter out the toxins, so this place remains focused on what matters: supporting BTS and enjoying ARMY.

If after knowing all that, I'm still not your cup of tea? I totally understand and I really don't mind if you need to mute me. This blog is just a hobby, just a place I come to escape the stress of work deadlines and house renovations and sick kitties and my own health issues and real life problems. Probably that's why you're here too. It's meant to be fun and enjoyable. I'm sorry if you don't like me, but... I'll never change all my colors for you.

So go follow your joy and find like-minded blogs. You have my blessing. And maybe we'll meet each other again on down the road, and we'll both be in better places, and we can walk together by then. Either way, you deserve to be happy.

Love, Roo

[crazyunsexycool]

Is it a crime?

Chapter 4

Pairing: Mob boss Bucky Barnes x Mob boss Reader

word count: 5.9k

Warning: gun shots, blood, physical assault, reader is a bad bitch and very overprotective, Bucky!!!!!!!, Dot, mentions of domestic abuse, cheating, death threats, implied smut if I forgot to add something please let me know.

A/N: It's hereeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really hope you enjoy this chapter as we get to see a glimpse of reader's relationship with Winnie and Becca Barnes!

Series Masterlist

Ch. 3

“So what is happening with you and Bucky?” Sarah asks as she hugs you, a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

“Nice to see you too Sarah.” you ignore her question, instead you focus on the warehouse in front of you. 

“You know we are going to talk about it. I don’t care that you’re some big scary mob boss now, we’re having a girls night.” 

You laugh as the door opens and Sam steps out. 

“Hey trouble come on in.” He calls out. 

Sarah throws her arm around your shoulder as you head in while Roque and Aisha inspect the area and Peter stays by the car. The warehouse looks like any other warehouse if you don’t know what you’re looking for. It looks smaller on the inside due to the hidden rooms. Some of them are even soundproofed. Sam shows you around and tells you everything you need to know. After a few minutes you finish working out a deal with Sam. 

“So what was going on with you and Bucky yesterday?”

“You’ll have to be specific Sam.”

“Oh you know the whole sitting on the desk makeout session you had going on.” he grins as you roll your eyes.

“I knew it!” 

“I’m going to kick Steve’s ass.” you mutter. “Nothing happened I swear. If anything Steve interrupted.” 

The siblings had a knowing look in their eyes as you spoke. You had become friends with the pair a few months after you and Bucky started dating so they had seen your relationship grow. When you were forced out of New York you begged them to keep Bucky safe and they did as much as they could. 

“You know he still doesn’t know.” Sam says with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“And he’s never going to Sammy you promised, remember?”

“I remember.” He said as you started heading toward the door. “It’s just that for a long time he was so heart broken and he wasn’t the Bucky we knew. We haven’t seen that Bucky until you came back and even then it’s just little moments. If he would have known-”

“He would have come looking for me.” you cut him off. “We know what would have happened if Bucky had come after me.”

“What about now? What are you going to do about him being engaged, he’s still in love with you and you’re still in love with him.” Sarah asks.

“My priority is Pierce. I can't focus on anything else right now. He’ll just use it against me and I can’t have that.”

“Well you better get rid of Pierce soon because that wedding is in a few months and by then it might be too late.” 

“If anyone deserves happiness it’s you and Bucky, you’ve already gone through too much. But whatever it is you decide we’ve got your back.” Sam says. 

“Thank you, I owe you so much.” 

“It’s what family is for.” Sarah says as she wraps you in a hug, followed by Sam. 

“Oh what was the emergency yesterday at Barnes’ house?” 

Sam and Sarah look at each other, concerned before they look at you.

“Y/N, Winnie and Becca are missing.”

18 years old

Prom was a few short weeks away and you weren’t sure if you would even go. By now you and Bucky had been together almost three years but you had also started to get involved in your father’s business dealings and so was Bucky. With all the work you had outside of school neither of you talked about it but then Steve, Sam and Sarah all insisted you go. So here you were alone at a dress shop trying to find a dress. You kept playing with the pendant of your necklace, a habit you had since you got it and something you did when you missed your mom, while the shop attendants showed you what felt like a dozen dresses. None of them were what you wanted and you were about ready to give up and tell Bucky you weren’t going. 

“Y/N is that you?” you turn upon hearing your name to see Mrs. Barnes and Becca walk towards you and they each give you a hug. “What are you doing here sweetheart?” 

“Hi Winnie, I was looking for a dress for prom but I can’t find anything I like.” 

“Oh, have you tried any other stores yet?”

You nod. “I think I might tell Bucky I’m not going.” 

“Oh nonsense, we’ll help you out right Becs?” 

“Yeah, I’m here to get a dress too, we can do it together.” 

You smile at the youngest Barnes, who was practically Bucky’s twin, same dark hair and bright blue eyes. Except hers still held the innocence you both had lost by being involved in the mob. Both you and Bucky had promised to keep her away from all of that for as long as you could. 

“What do you need a dress for Becs?” You ask as an attendant comes to talk with Winnie. 

“My friend is throwing a masquerade ball for her birthday. I already know what I want. How about you?”

“I have no idea. I just want to feel pretty like a…”

“Princess?” Winnie says as she returns to the conversation.

You look at the floor but nod. 

“Oh sweetheart there is nothing to be embarrassed about wanting to look pretty for your prom. I know we’ll find something for you here. Now go into the dressing rooms, both of you, I’ve already asked for some dresses to be pulled.” She said as she made herself comfortable on the couch and waited for you and Becca to come out with the first dress. That was how the morning was spent until you found the dress. The Barnes women invited you to lunch and the three of you made plans to go to the hairdresser and get your makeup done on the day of prom. 

“Thank you for everything Winnie, I honestly don’t know what I would do without you.” you said before hugging her, the action causing her to hiss. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt you.” you pulled back to look at the pained expression on her face.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t hurt me.” 

You looked down to see that your arms were just about her waist and resting over her ribcage. “How did you get hurt?” 

“It’s nothing you have to worry about sweetheart.” Winnie looked between you and Becca who was on the phone with a friend.

“Was it him? Was it Mr. Barnes?”

She looked away, but you saw the sadness in her eyes. She grabbed your hands and squeezed.

“This is something you don’t have to worry about ok?”

“If Bucky knew he would-”

“His father would hurt him worse, we both know that. Let me handle this ok? He promised he would stop.”

“Just remember I’m more than willing to at least chop off his hands if he touches you again.” you said with a scowl, Winnie, along with Rosie, were the only mother figures in your life and you were willing to go to hell and back to protect them.

She laughs as she holds your face softly in her hands, her thumbs caressing your cheeks. “You are so much like your mother.” She places a kiss on your forehead. “Never forget how strong you are.” 

When prom night came you felt beautiful. Winnie had spent the day with you getting ready. With her there you didn’t feel the absence of your own mother as much. When Bucky came to pick you up she made sure to take pictures and fawn over both of you, and all though Bucky was slightly embarrassed by her antics you were still grateful. 

The phone went unanswered again as you tried to find out any more information on Winnie and Becca. You already had Jake trying to track their phones or find anything on them but there was nothing. Although everyone thought they had been kidnapped you thought that maybe, just maybe, they had finally got the courage to leave George Barnes. If that were the case you would offer them the help they needed. But at the moment Jake couldn’t find anything and Bucky and Steve weren’t answering their phones. If it wasn’t because you had another appointment and Clay was waiting you would have shown up at the Barnes’ residence to get answers.

 Clay opened the passenger’s side door so that you could get out. It was still early in the afternoon when you arrived at the closed down club. Your first possible business, although it seemed like a small step it was an important one. It’s where your business would be worked out of and it was just on the edge of Hydra territory. This was a message to Pierce that you were coming for him. 

One of the double doors opens revealing a tall and muscular man. He had on black sunglasses on as well as an all black outfit. Silently he motioned for you to come in. Clay entered first with Roque following close behind. 

“Well, will you look at this?” a voice with an Italian accent cuts through the silence of the club, Tommy. He was still as short as you remember him, lost some more hair and he now had a scar running up his neck toward his left cheek. There were a few more wrinkles and he smelled like an ashtray and aqua velva. Somehow the tracksuit he wore was wrinkled  and the gold chain he wore was tangled in the small patch of chest hair peeking out from under the barely zipped up jacket. “Little Y/L/N is really back in the big apple and here to start some trouble.” he laughs.

“Tommy, I’ve seen you’ve gotten more disgusting with age.” 

He chuckles as he points at you, a cigarette between his fingers. “I like to think of it as my charm, but enough about me, look at you. Just as beautiful as your mother may she rest in peace. Come on, I'll show you around.”

You raise your eyebrows in Clay and Roque’s direction as they try to hide their amusement. The entrance of the club is simple, a coat room with a counter to the left, a small table and chair to the right. Through a short hallway you make it further into the building and the space opens to the main area. The decor is outdated and you’ll definitely have to complete some renovations but overall the layout is pleasing. The dance floor is right at the center of the room and the DJ booth is at the opposite end of where you’re standing. To the right is a bar that runs all along the wall. On either side of the entrance to the room there are some booths, the tables scratched and seats needing to be replaced. On the left hand side are a few high tables where people can either stand or sit on stools. On either side of the DJ booth are two sets of stairs leading up to the second floor.

“That right there is the VIP area.” Tommy points out to the second floor. 

“What’s that room?” you point to the area right above the DJ booth, it’s completely closed off with floor to ceiling glass, although you can’t see into it from here you’re sure you would be able to see down to the main floor if you were in there.

“That is a private room. You can use it for private parties but mostly I use it for myself and my business. Come I’ll show you how to get up there.” 

You walk a few steps down to the dance floor and cross it. Following Tommy towards the left staircase. There is a space between the stairs and the wall which leads back to the bathrooms and you’re sure the other side mirrors this one. Once you’re up the stairs you see the path that leads to the VIP area on the second floor but Tommy heads to a section of the wall with a card reader and swipes a keycard. A door opens and he pushes it open before allowing you to walk in first. Just as you had suspected there is a full view of the club from this area. There are a few couches and armchairs arranged toward the glass and a bar that sits against the wall. 

“What do you think little Y/L/N?” 

“I’m impressed.” 

“This isn’t even the best part, come look I even have a surprise for you.” 

He walks behind the bar and opens the door to reveal another hallway. This one side has brighter lighting and looks dull, the business side of the club. There are a few doors on either side big enough to be offices. You continue to walk behind Tommy as Clay and Roque stay close behind. There is another set of stairs that lead to a darker area and that has both men with their hands on their weapons ready to draw when they see two of Tommy’s men. 

“Now this is my pride and joy, for when the real business gets too… loud. This is a soundproof room.” 

“Is this the surprise Tommy? No wonder your wifes left you.” you mutter. 

He laughs again. “No little Y/L/N, this is your surprise.” 

He opens the door and your stomach drops. Sitting in the middle of the room are Winnie and Becca, their arms and feet bound so that they can’t try to escape and tape over their mouths. You see the wave of relief wash over Winnie but Becca is still completely terrified and fighting against the ropes. While Winnie had a cut to her cheek, you could see that Becca’s shirt had been ripped and the thought of someone having tried to touch her makes your blood boil. There is some bruising both old and new as well as a split lip. You clench and unclench your fist as you look over your shoulder at Roque. Quietly letting him know things could go sideways quickly.

Tommy, oblivious to why you’re so angry, claps his hand once as he makes his way into the room. He circles the women and stops behind Becca. 

“What do you think? Great surprise yeah?” He grabs Becca’s chin and forces her to look up at you. His mouth on the shell of her ear. “I think we would be great business partners and as my first gift to you, I will let you do whatever you want to the Barnes’ women. You know as payback for turning their backs on you.” 

“You really shouldn’t have done this Tommy.” 

“What can I say? I am a thoughtful man. And if you don’t want this one I already have a buyer lined up. I’m sure that sweet pussy of hers could make a lot of money.”  he laughs as Becca tries to pull away from his touch.

“That won’t be necessary. I have a plan for both of them.”

“Good, good. Just as ruthless as big Y/L/N. I like it.”

“So is this place really soundproof?” 

“Of course, how about we stay in here and your own men can stand outside to test it.” 

“Great idea, Tommy.” you turn around, Roque and Clay already standing in the hallway. Silent communication between you and them as you close the door.

“This is like a welcome home gift for you.” Tommy says as he moves around the women again, keeping his eyes on Becca. You definitely don’t like the way he’s looking at her. “Who should we make scream first? I’ll let you pick first since it’s your gift.”  

“Like I said Tommy, you really shouldn’t have done this.” you pull your gun from the holster you keep hidden under your jacket and shoot him in both knees. He screams a slew of curses in Italian. You’re blinded by rage as you walk over and grab him by the front of his shirt connecting your fist with his face several times before he’s unconscious. Just as quickly you turn again to both women and you take out the small knife you keep on you and cut them free of their bindings. 

“I am so glad to see you sweetheart.” Winnie says as she hugs you. 

“I want you to know that I had nothing to do with this. I would never hurt either of you.” 

“We know. Could you take us home? Bucky has to be so worried.” she says with teary eyes. 

Becca clings to you when you move to hug her. Her silent sobs make you want to kill Tommy on the spot but you know you can’t do that, you have to question him first and get him to sign the papers for the club and then you’ll offer him up to Bucky.

You open the door to see Clay and Roque leaning against the wall and both of Tommy’s men lying at their feet. 

“At least we know it’s soundproof.” Clay says as he looks into the room, seeing the blood pooling around Tommy’s legs.

“We’re going to the Barnes residence. Get him to sign the club over and then tie him up and leave him in here.” you nod toward the room. “And get rid of them. I’ll send Peter in, Roque, I want you with me.”

You lead both women back outside and to the waiting car, you go to the back as they get in and grab the small first aid kit Mantis had insisted you keep in all of the cars. You tell Peter to go help Clay as Roque offers Becca his jacket before taking the wheel with Aisha in the front passenger’s seat. In the back seat you start to tend to the cut on Winnie’s cheek and making sure there were no other injuries. She had been calming Becca down when you took her hand to check the marks left behind by the restraints. You pull up her sleeves and notice the faded bruises on her arms, realizing what you’ve seen Winnie pulls her arm away and she won’t meet your gaze but Becca does.

“He still hurts her.” she says on a shaky breath.

“Does he hurt you?” She nods.

“Y/N, it’s nothing to worry about, I can handle it. He said…”

“That he would stop? Not the first time I’ve heard that Winnie. And now he’s hurting Becca, which means that Bucky still has no idea because I know he wouldn’t let this happen.” 

“Yeah well this isn’t your problem.” She snaps, you sit up straighter, studying her face as she tries to look away.

“Ma, it’s not her fault dad is a piece of shit.”

“I know I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to react like that.” 

“It’s ok Winnie, I just want to know you’re safe.”

There were extra men on the grounds of the Barnes’ residence as you finally pulled in. Roque parked the car near the front entrance and you exited the vehicle with Winnie and Becca leading the way. It had been ten years since you’ve been in this house, when the last part of your life fell apart and crumbled. Not much had changed, just some of the decor but most of the home was untouched, everything was in its perfect place. Bucky’s voice could be heard shouting out orders that no one would rest until his mother and sister were brought back. 

“James.” Winnie calls out as she gets closer to the living room. 

The whole room went quiet as they heard her. Bucky turned in time to see both women walk in. He rushed to embrace his mother and sister before checking them for any injuries just like you had. 

“We’re fine, really.” 

You had been looking around the room, noticing the absence of George Barnes. Of course he wouldn’t be there. It was obvious he didn’t care for his wife and daughter. You did notice that Nat and Yelena were there with some of their own people trying to help Bucky. 

“Where did you find them?” Bucky had turned to look at you. 

“I think it would be better if we talked in private.” You say before movement on the doorway caught your attention. 

George Barnes stood at the door, scowl etched on his face as he looked at the women of his family with disgust. His eyes moved around the room until they landed on you. You could see how he shifted from surprise to anger. He opened his mouth to speak but you stopped him before he could.

“George a word, in private.” You didn’t wait for him to respond, instead you walked past him. Aisha discreetly handed you some brass knuckles and you headed toward his study. He could be heard yelling both at his men and his family something along the lines of getting out of his sight. When George finally walked back into his office and closed the door behind it he found you leaning against his desk. Your expression is unreadable as you sized him up. It was obvious he was older but seeing him in person let you know that he hasn't aged well. He walked with a slight limp and his overall movements were slower. When you were younger George was pure strength but he had let himself go and his stern gaze provoked fear but it did nothing now. Maybe you just weren’t scared anymore and saw him for who he truly was. A coward.

“What do you want?” he spat.

“I’m here to make it clear to you that if you put your hands on Winnie or Becca again I will kill you.”

He laughed as he walked closer to you. “You think I’m scared of some pathetic little bitch wanna be? You don’t scare me and if you threaten me again I’ll show what I can really do.” 

You smirked, “The only reason you are still breathing is because Bucky doesn’t know about it and I’m pretty sure you want to keep it that way. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you get away with it anymore. I’ll be keeping an eye on you. If I know that they are hurt in any way I will end you.” 

The older man caged you in, his hand on either side of you on the desk. He towered over you but it was a tactic to try and intimidate you. One that you had seen multiple times but you weren’t scared by it. Quite the opposite you had expected it because as soon as he was close enough for you to smell the alcohol on his breath you punched him right in his ribcage. He doubled over as he lost his breath for a moment before trying to reach for the gun he kept holstered under his suit, before he could you punched him again. The brass knuckles Aisha had given you helping to deliver another powerful blow. You only stopped when you heard the unmistakable noise of bone breaking, George now was on his knees panting and groaning due to the pain. 

“You little fucking cunt, I’m going to kill you!” 

You grab him by his hair and yank his head back so that he’s looking at you.

“I would like to see you try. Take this as your only warning Georgie, if you ever hurt them again I will do far worse.”

“Please, you’re a little girl in a world made for men, you won’t last and when I get my hands on you, you’ll wish I turned you into Pierce back then.”

“I’m not the girl that fled New York 10 years ago. I’m not scared of Pierce and I’m not scared of you. I’ve done things far worse than what your little brain could ever comprehend. So I’ll tell you one last time, if Winnie or Becca are ever hurt because of you or an order you gave I will have you begging for death, understood?”

He glared up at you without saying a word. You took a deep breath before sucker punching him in the stomach and pulling on his hair again so that he had no choice but to look at you again.

“I asked you a question.”

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth.

You let go of his hair and fixed it, tugged on the lapels of the jacket and smoothed out some wrinkles before patting his cheek harshly twice. “Good. I’m glad we could come to an understanding.” 

A smirk appears on your lips as you walk out and head back towards the living room. Aisha is still in the hallway, she smiles when you hand her the brass knuckles back. 

“Where were your bodyguards Ma? You know that you shouldn’t go anywhere without them?” You heard Bucky questioning as you got closer to the sitting area.

“She doesn’t have them anymore.” Dot supplied. You rolled your eyes when you heard her voice.

“And why wouldn’t she have her bodyguards that I assigned to her and Becca?” 

“Well they were moved to be my security by your father. I’m going to be your wife soon and you don’t even care if someone took me.” she finished as you entered the room. Dot sees you and glares. “What is she doing here?” 

“None of your business. Can we talk Buck?” you nod toward the entrance of the house and he moves to get up from his spot next to his mother. Dot puts her arm around his shoulder and holds him down.

“I’m sure that whatever you have to say you can say it in front of me. I mean I am his fiancee. Right honey?” 

“Actually it’s business so your presence isn’t needed or wanted.” 

Bucky shrugs off her arm and gets up before helping Winnie to stand. He tells her to go get cleaned up and that he’ll make sure to get her new guards. Winnie walks towards you giving you one final hug. 

“Thank you.” she whispers.

“I’ll always look out for both of you.”  

She gives you a small smile as she fights back the tears before disappearing up the stairs. You look over at Bucky who was watching the interaction with a smile of his own. He heads towards the entrance and you look at Dot one more time winking at her while she glares at you with her arms crossed over her chest. 

“What the fuck is going on Y/N?” he asks once you step outside. “First the warehouse and now my ma and my sister?”

“I’m handling the warehouse situation, I have two of my best guys tracking that idiot down. As for Winnie and Becs I can explain.” 

A car door slams shut and Steve walks over to you both. His eyes bounce from Bucky to you and back.

“You found them?” He asked when he finally stopped in front of you.

“Something like that. You remember Tommy right?” you ask them both.

“Dreykov’s associate?”

You nod. 

“Yeah, what about him?” 

“He took them as a welcome home gift for me. Thought that I would use them to get revenge on you for turning your back on me back then. Someone must have told him that I went to your house first.” 

You could see Bucky clenched his jaw at what you just told him and Steve’s eyes darken. The need to exact revenge was mutual.

“What did you do with him?” Bucky asked.

“Thought you might want to deal with him yourself so I’m holding him.” 

“Where is he?”

“My new club. Why don’t you follow us.”

Both men nod their heads before climbing into Steve’s car. Just as you got into the back seat and told Roque to head back to the club you received a text.

Cougar: Found him. 

You: Good follow him for tonight and let me know if he meets up with anyone. I want him in the warehouse tomorrow morning.

Cougar: You got it boss. 

Clay stood at the door to the club with a manila folder in his hands. Roque pulled up to the front to drop you off while Steve parked his car close by.

“Did he sign?” You asked as you walked up to him.

“Had to persuade him a little bit but yeah he did.” He hands you the folder and a pen, “this is the contract Walters wrote up for you.”

You hummed in response as you looked it over before holding it against the wall and signing it. By the time you were handing it back Steve and Bucky had approached you both. Bucky’s jaw was clenched as he waited to get inside and deal with Tommy. 

“You must be the infamous Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers, I’ve heard a lot about you.” Clay stuck out his hand, shaking Steve’s first and moving toward Bucky who reluctantly greeted him. “I’m Clay, nice to finally meet you.”

“Wish I could say the same.” Bucky mutters which earns a smirk from Clay. He opens the door to let you in before following in and closing the door.

“So you bought Tommy’s old place, very close to hydra territory isn’t it?” Steve asks as you make it to the main room.

“I was going to buy it but then he did what he did and so I just took it. As for it being close to hydra territory, it was done on purpose Stevie.”

“You’re gonna get yourself into some trouble.”

“No, I’m going to cause it.” You smile at him as you walk up the stairs. “I’ll make sure you get an invite to the grand opening, just make sure you save me a dance.”

“Absolutely, I’ll even save you two.” 

“Just like prom.” 

Clay hands you the card so that you could swipe it and the door would open. Quietly you lead the men down the hall and toward the soundproof room Tommy was being held in, being met first with Peter in the hallway dancing along to whatever song he was listening to on his phone. He jumps when he turns and sees the four of you standing there and quickly takes off his headphones.

“Hey boss. Didn’t see you there.”

“Obviously. We’ve talked about this before.”

“Yeah I know. No dancing on the job.”

You hum and nod towards the door and he hurries to open it. Tommy was strapped to a chair in the middle of the room, there was a table that wasn’t there before with a few tools for you to use on him if needed. Though with the anger Bucky was feeling you doubted any of it was necessary. You heard Clay tell you to let him know if you needed anything before he took Peter to look at the club and start making a plan for repairs. That left you with Steve and Bucky staring down at the unconscious man before you. It was obvious that blood loss played a part but you were sure Clay had gotten a few hits. 

Bucky wastes no time as he walks over and puts pressure on one of Tommy’s knees. The pain starts to make him stir until he’s screaming and trying to move his leg away.

“Wha-what the fuck?” He looks around, finding you standing in front of him. “You stupid bitch, I’m going to kill you.” A fists connects to his jaw.

“How are you gonna do that Tommy, you’re not gonna have any hands.” 

The injured man looks to the side to find Bucky and Steve looking down on him. He panics and tries to move away only for the chair to tip over. Steve pulls him back up before delivering a hit of his own.

“Who told you to take the Barnes women?” You asked as you leaned against the closed door.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Punch to the face.

“Who told you?”

“I’m not saying anything you stupid cunt.”

Punch to the ribs. 

“I hope you’re comfortable Tommy, it’s going to be a long night for you.” 

George Barnes sat in his study looking down at his already bruised skin. Seething at the thought of you. He was so lost in thought he didn’t hear the door open until a gasp filled the silence.

“What happened to you?” 

“Dot you know the rules. You can’t be in my study while-“

“Your wife and daughter are upstairs and Bucky left with that bitch.” She says as locks the door and she walks further into the room.

“He what?” 

“Who did this to you?” 

She ignored his question as she reached out and lightly grazed one of the bruises. He hissed, any type of contact hurt.

“Y/N. I should have her killed.” 

“You really should, maybe as a wedding gift for me.” 

“I can do that, It won’t be easy though.” He says as he catches Dot’s wrist as she moves away from him. “Enough about her for now. Why don’t you make me feel better baby.” 

She smiles as she kneels down between his spread legs and reaches for his belt. 

Hours had passed before Tommy cracked and told you what you wanted to know. 

“So Rumlow apparently has a bigger role in Pierce’s organization than I thought.” You said as you wiped your hands clean. “Shit, I loved these shoes.” You added when you noticed the blood on your favorite pair of boots. 

“I’ll get you new ones.” Bucky says as he cleans his own hands, focusing on his left hand. He looks up to find you looking at it before your eyes find his. “I-Um I did a lot of stupid shit when you were gone.”

You nod in acknowledgment, of course you knew everything that had happened. Jake had set alerts so that if Bucky, Steve, Sam or Sarah’s names were ever mentioned in certain databases you would know. The night you received the one about him being in the hospital your world stopped. 

“Y/N?” Bucky called your name with slight concern.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” 

“I asked if you’re ok after what happened in there.” 

“Yeah I am. It’s what we do right?” You get up and walk towards Bucky. Standing between his legs, you look into his eyes finding the same adoration he used to look at you with when you were teenagers. Bringing your hand up to his cheek, the stubble of his beard pricks your hand as you study his face. Somehow he’s still your Bucky but at the same time so different. The weight of the world rests on his shoulders as he walks the delicate line between still being the son of a mob boss and taking over. Neither of you have talked about the engagement yet but you’ve heard through the grapevine that George Barnes won’t step down and give him full control until he marries Dot. For now he does all the work and barely sees the benefits.

You sit on his lap and Bucky’s arms wrap around you while you rest your head on his shoulder. He places a kiss on your forehead as his left hand squeezes your thigh. For a few minutes you enjoy the silence and the closeness. It was reminiscent of how you spent a lot of your time when you were younger after starting to get involved more with the mob side of things. It was comforting not needing to explain how you were feeling to someone because Bucky understood it.

“I want in. We’ll bring Pierce down together.”

Ch. 5

@pono-pura-vida

Permanent taglist: @kunaikunari @rebekahdawkins @cjand10 @nalny5 @oliviafc15 @sturchling @angywritesstuff @seitmai @writing-for-marvel @goldylions @darkhairedmenrule @little--baby--bear @pono-pura-vida

series taglist: @snufflet @impala1967666 @justlovelifeblog @teambarnes72

[sirjuggles]

Worm Reading - Part 1, Insinuation 2.6

So I've heard the series Worm thrown around peripherally over the years but I've never sat down and read it. Lately some folks I follow on Tumblr have been talking about it more, and I do love me a good web serial (shoutout to Astielle and Velveteen Vs. and, uh... Tales of MU but we don't talk about that). With that in mind, I figure I'll dive in and share my experience reading Worm for the first time.

Up front, what I know about Worm before beginning: I know it's yet another take on the reality of a world where some people have superhuman powers. I know the initial main character has bug powers. I'm pretty sure that somewhere along the way there's a massive spike in power level, where we go from dealing with street fights to dealing with civilization-level threats. I think there's some investigation of how people get powers, and experiments with trying to give people powers (that, inevitably for the genre, probably go awry). I also think there might be some shenanigans with the focus of the story, like a primary viewpoint character dies or becomes someone else? I'm hazy on that part.

With that in mind, I began reading this morning. I'm currently up to Insinuation 2.6. I will admit it's a little bit of a struggle to not skim over the school bullying portions. I know this is a story written twelve years ago by an amateur author, but the initial descriptions of all the pretty popular girl bullies and the focus on what they wear and what their hair looks like is definitely the weakest part. Not that this isn't sadly a legitimate depiction of how awful high school can be for many people, but at least for me it's the least interesting thing to read about.

So far it seems that Taylor hasn't really fully thought through how reality on the streets might differ from the Good Superhero VS. Evil Supervillain narrative put out by an organization with a name like THE PROTECTORATE. We've gotten some interesting glimpses into the street-level struggle between gangs led by powered individuals, I'm a little fascinated by this idea of non-powered mooks as basically gang members who rally around a powered leader. I'm gonna slide right over the characterization of the gang led by Lung and chalk that one up 2011 being a different time.

I am SO INTRUIGED by the Undersiders. Specifically it has been established that they have a somewhat diverse mix of powers and have been able to take on or shake off any attempts at suppression from officially authorized teams.

Hellhound: Seems to be general muscle for the team. We have yet to actually speak to her, but I kinda like her? Seems like she looked after herself while homeless for many years, and I can't really begrudge her for being standoffish or abrasive.

Grue: "Darkness Generation" is such a vague power, but I suspect it could be very handy in battlefield control and breaking contact after a fight, which makes their crew substantially more slippery. Deeper implications to how this could be weaponized?

Regent: Vague hero name doesn't seem to indicate any particular power, I'm curious what his deal is.

Tattletale: I'm sorry, I've only known this character for five minutes and I already LOVE her. Her power seems to be information-related, something like she knows the answer to any question asked? If her power is anything like what I think it is, she is CRAZY powerful and is absolutely being underestimated by the narrative at the moment. Can't wait to find out what her deal is.

Only other character we've met so far has been Armsmaster. He seems... fine. Generic corporate superhero. Nifty iconic weapon, not clear what actual powers he might have. He seems nice enough, I was a little surprised that he didn't put more pressure on Taylor to get registered and go legit in their initial interaction. I did feel a brief pang of "oh god I'm old" when the clearly Responsible Adult-coded character is estimated to be about my age or younger.

I'm curious to meet this elusive "Boss" the Undersiders have mentioned, that seems to be a critical part to this story that I suspect will be a central part of which way this story goes. Onward from here!

[imfluentinfangirlandgay]

Casting Pearls Before Time - Ch 4

Six months after suddenly reappearing, Ingo encounters someone he thinks he remembers. Only problem is, he can't remember anything before he returned to Unova, so it's hard to say

Words: ~2000

Emmet was beginning to feel bad dragging Pearl around the entire region. The poor thing was looking exhausted and confused all the time now. 

Her language lessons had yielded tiny results! She was able to ask simple questions and make small statements like her age and ask where the bathroom was. Now, she'd look at anything and everything, pointing and asking "What is that?" like a small child in a museum. Ingo usually responded in Sinnohan and then Galarian, and she would do her best to copy. 

This time, they were taking a smaller train to Nacrene City. Less people came out this way, and that seemed to have a positive effect on Pearl. Emmet hoped she wasn't going to be too exhausted after this. 

The train ride was smooth, getting off and leaving the station went as well as it could have, and getting to the museum was a piece of cake. They went inside and informed the receptionist they were there to see Lenora, who directed them to the back of the building. Pearl gazed in awe at the fossilized skeletons mounted in the museum. Ingo tugged her along to the back of the museum, through the door and into the laboratory. 

A blue-haired woman stood in the lab, wearing a coat and leaning over a desk,  peering through a microscope as she scribbled onto a piece of paper. 

Emmet cleared his throat to get her attention. She whirled around, goggles resting over her eyes. Once seeing who it was, she put down the pen and removed her goggles, smiling. "My my, the famed Subway Bosses! And what might I do for you this fine afternoon?" She shed her lab coat and walked forward, her hands on her hips. 

"Hello again, Lenora!" Emmet smiled at her. 

"Good morning, Lenora!" Ingo greeted. "We have a question for you." 

"Oh? And what might that be?" She tossed her hair out of her face. There were red marks on her face where the goggles had sat. 

"We have a friend here with amnesia. She only speaks some form Sinnohan that Clay says is a dead language. We were wondering if you had some kind of book or something that might describe more about it." Ingo translated all of Emmet's words to Pearl. 

"Hmm��� Sinnoh, you say? I have plenty of books about Unovan languages- wait a second." She bustled off through another door. Emmet immediately went to follow her, even though he was not invited. 

It was a library. Books stretched from floor to ceiling, easily two stories high. Lenora was up on a ladder, hurriedly looking through the books. She selected one, flipped to a page, scrunched up her nose, and reshelved it. This happened a few more times before she kept the book she held, climbing back down the ladder with it under her arm. Back on the ground, she flipped a couple pages, and then stared. "I always thought this form of Sinnohan was weird. Here, little lady, can you read this?" 

Though she did not fully understand the question, Pearl looked at the text and her eyes lit up with recognition. She began to read the text aloud - or so Emmet presumed. She could have just made it up for all he knew. 

His twin also looked at the page. "Yes, this looks familiar. It's a book talking about ancient battle strategies-" He abruptly stopped, staring at the page. 

"Ingo?" 

"I remember this." 

"Hm?" Emmet peeked over the blue spine of the book and saw a bunch of scribbles on the page with a diagram. 

"These moves… I remember this. Battling with different types of moves."

"Like normal or fighting? Physical or special?" Lenora asked. 

"No, not like that. For each move, there is an option to use it in the 'agile style' or the 'strong style'. Agile style would use more focus and delivered smaller blows, but it always made the user move faster. Strong style used quite a bit of focus as well and moved slowly, but it was an all-out attack." Ingo looked at the page again. "The text is describing what these attacks are and how pokemon use them. The pages are very faded and it seems quite old…"

"I believe the first version of that text was written in the 1700s," Lenora supplied. "That's odd though. Those battle styles have been unheard of for centuries. When did you say you used them?" 

"Sometime during my absence." Ingo shook his head, handing the book to Pearl, who was still reading. "I wish I could just remember." 

"We are on the trail, brother," Emmet soothed. "Hopefully soon you will." 

"I hope so. I am so tired of not remembering." 

—------

Another night in with pizza. Pearl's sickness did not seem to he affecting her so much as she grew used to their diet in Nimbasa. Was she vegan before now? He hoped she wasn't sacrificing her preferences just for them. 

He mulled over the information from that day. Lenora had been kind enough to lend them the book from their personal collection. Pearl was currently pouring over it, eyes flicking over the pages. 

Ancient battle techniques… dead language… Clay's hat… it felt like he was just missing one piece of the puzzle that would make everything make sense. What was he missing? 

He sat on the couch with Ingo, watching a rerun on Jeopardy. Emmet was lost in thought, not even listening to the show. 

Perhaps Pearl was older than she seemed? That was unlikely, she had admitted she was nineteen. It was a little ironic she could remember her age but not her name, but Emmet would not judge. 

Maybe she was from an older village in Sinnoh that followed tradition? But then how did she end up in Nimbasa with no memory? 

He opened his internet app on his phone and looked up 'oldest locations in sinnoh'. 

The top one was some ruins on Mount Coronet. Then was a town with some ruins in a cave… maybe that was something? 

He walked over to Pearl and tapped her shoulder, making her look up. He showed her the phone. "Do you recognize this?" 

She scrolled the website. She looked at the photos of the buildings and shook her head. He was about to take the photo away when she suddenly grabbed his arm again, swiping back to a particular photo. 

It was of a mural in a cave, of three small creatures floating in a triangle around some object. She furrowed her brows as she studied the photo.  She pointed at it, but did not say anything. Did she recognize it? 

He tapped on the photo for the description. 

[A mural depicting three pokemon surrounding a chain-like object. It is hypothesized that this is marking the event of the three Spirits Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie creating the human spirit thousands of years ago.]

"Hey, Ingo, come look at this." Ingo jerked from his thoughts and stood, walking over to Pearl's other side to look at the photo. "It seems like Pearl recognized it." 

He scrutinized the photo and read the description. "Something about that seems familiar, but not that painting. Perhaps I saw another like it at some point." 

Emmet shrugged and went back to the couch, scrolling still. Next on the list was Mount Coronet. Nothing else seemed right. Emmet sighed, annoyed. 

Next, he looked up 'sinnoh history' and clicked on the first website. 

It had a long description of wars between two native groups, the immigration of settlers in the middle 17th century, and the development of modern technology. 

One fact caught his eye. Something about the deity of the ancient peoples, being referred to as 'Almighty Sinnoh'. Emmet's eyes widened as he got hit with a memory he'd forgotten he had.

He and Ingo lazed on the couch, flipping through channels. It landed on Jeopardy. Just to annoy his brother, Emmet flicked the channel again, only to be met with a hand in his face and the remote being removed from his hand. “Hey! I like that show!” Emmet grinned behind his brother’s scolding but did not comment as the show changed back. Ingo’s hand retracted as he tucked the remote safely away from Emmet’s grasp as they listened to the show. It was nothing astounding. One fact did make him nod satisfactorily, though. 

“For 300 points!” the host shouted obnoxiously, “What was the region of Sinnoh named after?” 

A buzzer sounded. The accompanying contestant asked, “What is the founder of Sinnoh?” 

Two blips overhead, signaling an incorrect answer. “That is incorrect, unfortunately,” the host said, shaking his head in mock sympathy. “The real answer is…” The card flipped on the screen. “The ancient deity that the natives worshiped.” 

“Interesting,” Ingo said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “It normally is some settler’s name or other important figure, but I suppose that is as good a reason to name a region as any.” 

Emmet nodded, sneakily grabbing the remote from behind his brother and flicking the channel again. “Yes it is.” 

Well now he was curious. What was it called before Sinnoh? He typed the question into the search bar-

Wait. 

[The region we know as Sinnoh today was not always called this. In fact, it was only renamed about 150 years ago after the feudal clans stopped warring and unified. Before this, it was called 'Hisui' by the locals. It is said they renamed the region to signify a new beginning with the settlers that had been moving into the region to escape economic and political instability in other regions.]

"Ingo," Emmet breathed, "what was the name of the region you say you came from?" 

"Hisui," Ingo answered without hesitation. "Why?" 

Emmet did not answer as he continued scrolling down the page. The article went on to talk about how the first pokedex was filled and he stopped paying attention. 

"Emmet?"

He opened a new tab and researched 'agile strong style' and clicked the first link. 

[The agile and strong styles of pokemon moves were a popular way to end pokemon battles quickly or to make them more fun for those involved. It reached the peak of its popularity between the 1750s-1858 in Sinnoh, and was all but completely forgotten by the year 1900.]

"Emmet? What are you doing?"

He opened a third tab and typed in 'ancient sinnoh people'. 

[For many generations, two groups made up the entire population of Sinnoh, the Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan. For centuries, the two Clans' opposing religious views placed them at odds with one another, commonly resulting in battles and sometimes wars between the two. Both Clans were only united in one thing: their fear of the wild pokemon that roamed the wilds.]

"Emmet, talk to me. What is going on?" Emmet looked up to see Ingo above him, both of his brother's hands on his shoulders. His eyes were flicking back and forth between Emmet's, worry clouding his gaze. Pearl was watching them from the dining room table, her brow pinched. 

"Ingo," Emmet drawled, "I think… I think I found out where you went." 

His eyes widened and he released Emmet as if burned. "Emmet?"

His voice was shaking as he showed him the phone screen. "Hisui," he said, his hand barely able to hold the device, "was the original name for the region of Sinnoh given by the natives. That was changed over a hundred and fifty years ago." Ingo's eyebrows knit together as he watched Emmet. 

"Ingo, how the hell did you end up two hundred years in the past? And how in Arceus's name did you get back?"

[First] - [Previous] - [Next]

[thevelria]

Consigliere (LevixReader) Chapter 1

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

Author's note: Guys I think I did something... I just started the story yesterday on wattpad...but I'm already in love with the idea of Levi being in the mafia as a consigliere. Like omg... I do hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing this!

summary: 2532words; Levi Ackerman is the consigliere of the Jaeger family. Y/N has the same job at the Reiss family. It's a slow burning enemies to lovers story. Speaking of the mafia it's going to contain a lot of mature contant.

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

When the wind softly brushes his silky, raven hair against his face, he fixes it with ease right away. His Adam's apple bobs slightly as he glues his stare at Bastien. -So? -he pokes his tongue against his inner cheek.

Bastien can't hold his gaze and chooses to look rather away from the man, who seemingly gets impatient second by second.

Levi Ackerman is known for being able to persuade people, to convince them at all cost. The easier or the harder way, it doesn't matter. Is he cold? Maybe. Emotionless? Probably. Ruthless? Definitely. But there is one more thing, which describes him more than anything...loyalty. Loyal to the Jaeger family.

Grisha chose him as his Consigliere years before and Levi never made him regret it. Not even once. And it's not going to be different today either.

Levi knows his conversation partner is getting nervous. A slight line of sweat covers his forehead, his knees can't stop jumping up and down under the table. He finds it kind of funny. After all Bastien is the head of a mafia family and still anytime they meet the man looks...terrified.

The glass of wine on the table shakes as Levi slams his palm against it. -Bastien, focus! -his gaze burns a hole into the man's skull, his cold voice makes him shiver. -I'm going to ask one more time -Levi clears his throat, while grabbing the glass from the table and slightly spilling the wine around. -Please, sign the document.

Bastien loosens the tie around his neck and bites his lower. -Levi -he pulls a fake, nervous smile- You know as well as I do that I cannot do this. And now please leave my house!

-Hmm... -Levi hums as he closes his eyes and lets the fresh spring air enter his lungs. Deep breath, filling his insides, before he shuts his eyes wide open once again. -Alright -he pushes the chair back, slowly standing up, gathering the folder and the documents from the table.

-Yeah, Ackerman. You heard him -one of Bastien's people feels the urge to show off- Better be going right now, otherwise you might not be able to leave anymore.

Instantaneously Bastien pushes his chair back as well, clenching his jaw, staring with a vicious glare. The act of a weak, nervous niemand disappeared in a heartbeat. -That's your last call? -Levi stands straight before the man. -Just fuck off for God's shake! -Bastien feels the gut to yell.

Levi clicks his tongue. The hard way it is then. -he thinks to himself as walking out of the balcony, following the path through the garden, which leads to the gate of the mansion. The wind keeps blowing, moving the branches of the trees with elegance. The second the voice of the airplane hits his ear a tiny smirk appears in the corner of his mouth. He slightly bites his bottom lip, speeding up his steps.

-What the fuck does this airplane? -Bastien turns to his people, but no one can answer his question. The mansion is surrounded with a huge grape plantation, thousands and thousands of plants until the sun sets down. -It shouldn't fertilize until next week -he frowns. And as the plan flies high above the mansion, still realizing the stinky fluid, Bastien gets uneasy. -Boss? -one of the men asks confused- Is it...is it petrol?

-Fucking hell! -Bastien gasps- Ackerman! -he yells from the top of his lungs.

Levi pulls a satisfied smirk as he hears them scream in fear. He's searching through his pocket...for a lighter. As soon as he grabs and clicks it he keeps walking forward. He doesn't even look back, when he drops the lighter behind his shoulder to the ground. The flames rushes through the grass without mercy, eating everything and everyone between.

***

The gate opens automatically and he drives his car through. He feels quite tired despite the fact he already knows he won't be able to sleep too much anyway. After he parks the vehicle, walks in the house.

-Where is he? -Levi asks the maid with a bored tone.

-In his office room, sir -she bows deep immediately.

Eren sits behind an enormous desk loaded with tons of folders, documents and things he doesn't really care about. Holding an ice cold beer in his hand, daydreaming about being free. Free of everything he has to deal with since his father, Grisha passed away. Surprisingly it was a natural cause, which is pretty rare considering the way of life they all live. A slight knock on the door snaps him back to reality. -Come in -he sighs frustrated, but eases the second he realizes it's Levi standing there.

-How was it? -he yawns big, turning around in his chair.

-It's done, boss -he says, clenching his jaw. Levi has been loyal since the day the Jaeger family took him in and gave him the opportunity to prove his place. And even if he hates the fact Grisha is no more, he knows he has to protect the reckless boy in the chair. Eren isn't the oldest son of Grisha, but Zeke is just not capable of controlling a family business like that. Zeke and his world savior theories.

The night before his former boss passed he made Levi vow of protecting his sons, his family. And he might be a heartless murderer, but he is true to his words that's for sure.

-Boss -Levi sighs deeply, taking a seat across Eren- Bastien is not a threat anymore, but we need to be focused. Since your father passed away the other families see us as a weakend, wounded dog, which could be killed easily. We need to be prepared!

-Yeah, yeah. I know -Eren waved- But you can control this shit, can't you? -he raises one of his eyebrows.

-I can -he presses out the words from his mouth and tries his best not to slap the boy in front of him. He has seemingly no idea how important it is to keep things in hand. They could be easily wiped out and it seems he doesn't even care about it. Or probably he's just too stupid to see it. But even if he would love to walk up to Eren, grab his head and smash it into the desk he sighs deeply and leaves his office.

-I miss you, old man -he murmurs under his nose as he closes the door behind him.

***

People in white, long coats are walking around in a room. As the door shuts open almost all of them jump in fear. They already know what's going to happen. Control, reckoning, threatening.

-How's it going? - Reiner asks impatiently.

-It's going fine, sir -one of the men answers with a shaking voice- But we need some more time. It is...it is not entirely finished yet.

-Excuses, excuses all the fucking time -Reiner hums, while circling around in the room- What if I say you don't have any more time, huh? -he grabs one of the men randomly, pressing the lands of the rifle against his temple.

-Stop it! -Paul, the leader of the researchers shouts- Stop this madness for fuck's shake!

-Look at him! -Reiner grins, pushing the man in his grip to the ground, walking slowly up to Paul- Did you hear that Bertolt? He thinks he has the right to yell at me. AT ME?! Do you have any idea who I am, you piece of shit?

-We...we need more time. It's not finished yet. If you realize it in this state, it will kill innocent people. I can't ...I can't let it happen -he straightens himself up.

Reiner smirks, clicking his tongue, because he knows he's going to kill this man no matter what. But first he wants to tease him just a tiny bit.

-So, what do you say how much time you need? -Reiner bites his lower lip.

-Well, maybe 2-3 wee...-Paul gets cut in mid sentence by a loud bang. Reiner looks entertained as he watches the man collapsing dead to the ground.

***

You are asked to the office room. Rod Reiss wants to see you, as one of the servants informs you. Thoughts rushing through your mind, trying to figure out what's the case. He doesn't really ask for you in the late hours of the night, like this.

-Did you want to see me, boss? -you fix your clothes, stepping into the room.

-Y/N, please sit down -he offers a seat in front of him.

-What's wrong? -you frown, finding his act suspicious.

-It's about your father -he sighs deeply- I was informed he suffered a deadly accident in the labor today.

-WHAT? -you yell, eyes widening in disbelief.

-I'm sorry, dear. I don't know what went wrong. Reiner came back and filled me with this information. But believe me, I'm going to find out! -lies dripping from his mouth. Reiner told him exactly everything about the evening, he was more than aware of the situation, but decided to lie to you.

***

A week later:

You can't accept the fact everyone tells you about that accident. No one can actually confirm what happened that evening, not even his coworkers. All of them look terrified and it makes your blood boil even more.

The night of the funeral you walk back and forth in your living room, then suddenly grab your jacket and rush out of the house. Speeding to one of his friends, who worked with your father for years. You don't care what you have to do...but you will get the truth out of him. The harder or the easier way, it's totally up to the man.

-Y/N, please -he's begging, blood running down his jaw as he watches you pointing the gun exactly to the temple of his wife.

-Tell me the truth, Steve -you hiss- Or swear to God she's going to sleep with the fishes.

-Stop! -he screams- Let her go for fuck's sake.

-You have 10 seconds to answer me...-you clench your jaw- 9...8...7- you start to count down.

The man looks desperate, making a decision, which he knows is going to be his death warrant. But he's ready to die, if he can save the life of his wife.

-It was Reiner -he finally gives in.

-What? -you turn your face to him, fire burning in your eyes.

-He killed your father, because -he stops for a second- Paul didn't want to let them sell the medicine yet. It is not finished, it's poisonous and probably will kill thousands of people once it gets to the market.

-What about Rod? -you clench your jaw- Does he know what happened to my father?

-Yes -he whispers.

There's a blank moment. You freeze in your action, slowly lowering the gun, closing your eyes. Rod betrayed you after everything you've done for him, for the family. Being his consigliere was never an easy job to do, but you were always loyal. Always...and what do you get in return? Lies...You feel as you lose your mind, cannot think straight anymore. Steve isn't brave enough to move, he knows...he knows you would be able to kill both of them in a blink of an eye. But you don't care about these two people anymore. Only one thing flashes in your mind. You are going to kill Rod Reiss, the head of the richest mafia family in the town.

As you step outside of the house it starts to rain without mercy. You drive your car in silence, gripping the steering wheel, staring strictly forward. When you slow down in front of the gate you take a deep breath before stretching your neck left and right.

You hear the click through the device on the wall.

-I want to talk with Mr. Jaeger -you say with an ice cold tone.

-Who are you? - the voice asks impatiently.

-Y/N L/N -you stop for a moment- Consigliere of the Reiss family.

There's no answer for long minutes before you see the gate slowly open and you drive through. Several men in gear are waiting for you in front of the house. You slide out of the car, holding your hands up, showing them you are unarmed.

-Move! -one of the men steps behind you, pushing you forward and you let him. Walking through a long corridor you feel your heart pounding in your throat. Suddenly feeling weak and nauseous, but you don't have the luxury of falling apart at this moment.

The second you make eye contact with the boss you feel uneasy. The fact you've never met him before makes everything even more uncomfortable. A tall, well-built, young man with a quiet handsome face and fiery emerald green eyes. At first you don't even recognise the another man in the room, a shorter one with raven hair sitting in a corner, legs crossed. His eyes could kill you without hesitation. Levi -you imaginary rolling your eyes. You hate that rat from the bottom of your heart.

-So -Eren clears his throat- I happened to hear you have something to tell me, Ms. L/N.

-I'm here to bargain -you force the words out of your mouth.

-Please enlighten me! -Eren pokes his tongue against his inner cheek.

-Do you want to take down the Reiss family? -you ask with so much ease in your voice as it would be the most natural thing to ask in the middle of the night.

-What's the trick? -Eren hums suspiciously- You are his consigliere, aren't you?

-Not anymore.

-Since when? -Levi looks at you with pierced eyes.

-Since he betrayed me and killed my father -you tilt your head slightly.

Long minutes pass in silence, Eren eying you up and down, frowning his brows in disbelief. Levi doesn't say anything either, once rolling his eyes in annoyance and that's it. He acts like you are not even in the room anymore.

-And you expect me to believe you?

-Ask me anything to prove I'm not lying -you straighten up confident.

-Give me something, because I'm sorry, but your words mean nothing to me -Eren yawns big.

-In district Maria there's a building...Under that building there's a secret room with a high class safe, which contains a lot of compromising dates about the Reiss family.

-And how do you know about it? -Eren keeps being skeptical.

-With all due respect, sir. Don't you trust your consigliere with every secret you have? -you pull a slight smirk in the corner of your mouth.

Eren turns to Levi immediately and that one move tells more than thousands words could.

-Alright -he nods- Bring me those files, everything and then I'll help you wipe that family out.

-Thank you, sir -you sigh in relief.

-But only with one condition -Eren holds up his index finger- Levi -he turns to the man in the corner- you have to go with her.

-Boss... -Levi growls.

-I said what I said, and now get the fuck out of my office.

Levi would love to punch Eren in the face really hard...with a fucking chair. But he can't do that. As he slowly stands up he's aware not to look at you at all. On purpose he walks too close to you, bumping his shoulder into yours. He hates you and the feeling is mutual that's for sure. 

[shera-dnd]

I just woke up and I guess my head is far up my ass enough that I decided that I want to do media analysis of the themes of RWBY Volume 9, so you chuckle fucks are coming with me on this stupid trip

I am also pretty much stealing a lot of what I'm saying from @ohnoitstbskyen 's fantastic Boss Designs of Dark Souls 2 series, his recent analysis of Cloud Strife, and his short on the Throne of Want

(Go fucking watch his stuff if you haven't. It's really good and it helped me learn a lot about character design and media analysis)

Alright buckle up!

I think everyone at this point knows that the core theme of RWBY Volume 9 is identity and purpose, what with the afterans being unable to stop talking about purpose for more than 8 seconds

So I wanted to talk specifically about the parallels between Ruby, Neo, and Jaune's arcs, the Cat's pseudo-possession magic, and the concept of Ascension

We've been following Ruby's POV closely this entire season, with very few cut aways to any other characters. So most of us already got what the deal is with her.

Ruby believes she has failed her purpose and has lost her sense of self. She spent the last 8 seasons believing she's supposed to be the hero of the stories she grew up with.

Fight monsters, lead her team to victory, and save the day with a bright smile on her face

But things haven't been working out all that well for her. No matter how hard she tries she can't save everyone, she can't be the invincible hero she believes she should be, and the weight of the world on her shoulders is starting to take its toll

(Funny how heroism burnout seems to be a recurring theme in media nowadays)

Ruby has failed her perceived purpose, and since she has no clue who Ruby Rose IS, only who Ruby Rose SHOULD BE, she's left aimless and ripe for being manipulated into taking the ego death juice from the tree

Especially with Neo's illusions constantly reinforcing all of Ruby's worst fears. The fear that the world would be better without her. That who Ruby Rose actually is is a failure and a danger to those around her

So we can get back to Ruby's "suicide" later, for now let's focus on Neopolitan herself

Because Neo shows a different take on this issue. The loss of self not through failing your perceived purpose, but through completely fulfilling it

Ever since Roman's death Neo's sole motivation for doing anything has been taking revenge on those she perceived as being responsible for it. Namely Cinder and Ruby.

Every action she took since her reintroduction in Volume 6 has been motivated by this drive for revenge and nothing else.

And once she lands in the Ever After she decides that death isn't enough. This isn't just killing Ruby like she killed Roman. This is about destroying Ruby's identity, about erasing everything that makes her Ruby, just like Roman's death threatened to erase everything that made her Neo

And so she does. Ruby drinks the tea and is taken by the tree to Ascend, and now Neo has nothing

Her purpose is fulfilled, her mission is over, and now she's left with the question she's been avoiding since the Fall of Beacon

"Who is she without Roman?"

And she cannot answer. Without Roman and without her revenge to drive her, Neopolitan has nothing.

And an empty heart is the perfect vessel for someone else's intent.

But we'll put a pin on that for now and move on to the third character in this mess

Jaune

Oh this poor man. He is the proof that sticking to your identity and sticking to your purpose is maybe not super healthy either.

Jaune's arc (hah!) had always been that of accepting that he was not the protagonist. He isn't the hero, he isn't the badass, and this isn't his story.

And by the time we reach Volume 8 he has accepted that, he has taken up his new role as the support. His equipment and his semblance are geared towards helping other people excel and be better. He makes everyone else the protagonist.

Hell when he lands in the Ever After the world just hands him that role again by making him a supporting character in Alyx's story, but well... we know how that went

So now Jaune is left alone for DECADES! And for all those years all he has to keep him even remotely sane is that purpose. Help others!

Decades of helping the paper pleasers every day, decades of waiting for team RWBY because THEY are the real protagonists, decades of refusing to change and refusing to let anything around him change

It destroys him in the end, but at least his heart stays strong through most of it. Strong enough to resist the cat's power.

And here we are back at the Curious fucking Cat, or Kyuubey 2.0 as I like to call them.

Throughout the season we see our favorite shit cat "help" other afterans by (in their words) giving them a piece of their heart. In hindsight it's obvious what it is they were doing

It was manipulation masquerading as kindness.

They see people who struggle with a lack of purpose and intercedes by forcing their will upon them.

They do all they can to exhaust Ruby's sense of self, to shatter her heart so theirs can take over

And when that fails they turn to Neo, who is now an empty shell of who she used to be. Perfect to be filled by their will.

(god I so hope Neo is actually dead now, because if this really is possession I'm gonna be feeling sick for a while. Fucking hate this trigger, man)

(Also if you played FFVII you probably know now why I mentioned Cloud Strife at the start)

So that's all their arcs in a nutshell, but what exactly is the parallel I mentioned before?

It's change... or well, a lack of it

Not Ruby, nor Neo, nor Jaune, are capable of changing and moving on.

Ruby finds it easier to erase herself completely than to move on from her failures

Neo doesn't even consider the idea of moving on a possibility, and vehemently refuses to until her very last moments

And Jaune clings to this groundhog day that is his life, because this is the only thing keeping him going

They either refuse to change or cannot comprehend changing as an option

And that brings us to the last topic I wanted to touch on (god I really don't wanna see what the word count for this looks like)

Ascension

When an afteran loses sight of their purpose they ascend. The tree erases their memories, gives them a new purpose, and a new self to fulfill it.

This process seems to be tied to two entities: The Curious Cat AND the Blacksmith

But most importantly this is tied to CHANGE! And much like change it can be both a beneficial and dangerous force.

When we see CC using their powers it is now obvious that they're just influencing the people around them to become whatever they want them to become.

Herb is no longer useful to their plans? Off to the tree with him

They need cannon fodder to protect Ruby? Time to change that one Hawker's identity completely.

It's not about the person changing, it's always about them. They're change as manipulation and destruction. The Curious Cat is ego death, the loss of identity to the heart of another.

Then there's the Blacksmith. She seems to take a more comforting approach to change and ascension. She asks Ruby to settle down her burdens and tells her to pick a new weapon, a new her that she can be

And of course from Ruby's perspective the options she sees are those she thinks she should see. Is she supposed to be like Penny? The greatest warrior to have ever lived. Is she supposed to be Alyx? The protagonist who made her way out of this hellhole by herself. Or is she supposed to be her mother? The heroic ideal she could never live up to.

That's the thing, right? She isn't supposed to be any of them. Ruby Rose is only meant to be Ruby Rose, and I think she'll finally get to decide who that is.

As much as I have called this suicide or ego death, I don't think that that's what awaits Ruby

I think the Paper Pleasers had the right idea. They finished their job, they did what they set out to do, they were satisfied and it was time for them to move on to something else

Change won't be the end for them, it will just be a new beginning

And that's what I think Ruby needs. A clean slate and a chance to forge a new self with the help of the blacksmith

Hell that is what all three of them need

Maybe Jaune will be able to change and move on, finally letting go of the purpose he has been torturing himself with

Maybe Neo is still alive in there and will be able to kick the Curious Cat out of her body by finding something new to drive her (I would be very happy for her once I recovered from the panic and nausea)

I know this Volume has not given us much reason to be hopeful, but I also don't think CRWBY is writing angst for angst's sake. All of this has a purpose and a message

That change can be a scary thing, but it's also what you need to be able to grow

[swampbangle]

Tears Of The Kingdom Spoilers Ahead

Nothing story related or anything, but more spoilers for a place you can go in game. I wanna talk to the devs that made this place for taking about 10 years off of my lifespan.

So, there's treasure maps that you can find in Totk. They lead to places down in the Depths where you can find cool armour in chests (Or at least armour is all I've found so far). I had found a treasure map awhile ago, can't remember where or when but all I knew is that I had put off following it for a while, so I went to the X it left on my map in hopes of finding a cool item.

I get there and climb up the wall, and I can see the chest inside of this very large Coliseum, and I'm like "Oh there's gonna be a boss fight here, like maybe a Lynel, Gleok, or maybe even a Flux Construct." I saved my game and went down, where not to my surprise, a gate opened revealing a Red Lynel covered in gloom. I take it down, not too much hassle, it was only a Red Lynel right. Wrong. To my absolute horror another gate opens, and I now have to fight a Blue Lynel.

At this point I'm like "I did not bring enough supplies for this, and there's no way it's gonna end on just a blue Lynel." Which I was right about. After I beat the Blue Lynel, a Black Lynel appears ready to cave my skull in.

I'm getting a little sweaty and my hands are shaking from all the focus so I'm getting sloppy and I'm getting hit more, further draining my rather limited supply of Gloom Healing food. Against all odds however I defeated the Black Lynel, at which point my final opponent arrives, a White Lynel.

I'm losing most of my best weapons by now, and the weapons the other Lynels are dropping are not as useful as I'd like them to be. So by the time I take this White Lynel down, I have about one meal with Gloom Heal left, a few meals that restore me to full health (Not very useful when your hearts are afflicted with Gloom) and 2 good weapons left.

I didn't think that'd matter, as the White Lynel is the strongest level of Lynel in BotW, outside of Master Mode as far as I'm aware. However some devious developer decided in TotK they where going to add enemies with Armour, which provides a smaller, yellow, healthbar on top of their normal health, which can only be depleted by hard hitting weapons, like any DIY hammers you've made, or bombs.

I do not have any bombs.

I do however have a Royal Claymore with a rock on the end, a perfect tool to break it's armour. At least it would be if it wasn't badly damaged, so it broke about halfway through its yellow healthbar.

Now I have to resort to using my god awful Royal Broadsword with a basic Stone Talus Heart on the end of it. Just barely destroying it's armour, at which point I have NO Gloom healing items left, and an entire White Lynel left to fight, which I've neglected to mention has a ROYAL CLAYMORE, WITH A MASSIVE SPIKED BALL ON THE END, ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF A GORON!

And yet despite all odds, I managed to kill it, with four hearts left to my name, out of my 21 (at least I think it's twenty one I'm bad at counting). Now what do I get as my reward for this gauntlet, this horrific trial constructed by a sadistic madman?

Well apparently, Majora's Mask. Which sounds nice but it only gives 1 defense so I'm not too sure of the use here. The description says it makes monsters have a harder time noticing you? So that's cool, maybe not worth my entire supply of weapons and healing items, but it's nice.

Sorry for the long post, I just had to get this out of my system some where. Just be warned if you're ever going around the Depths, the place is called the Floating Coliseum, if you want to avoid it. It's surprisingly close to the center of the map.

[imonawholedifferentlevel]

𝗪𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗲 (𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝟭𝟴+)

⇚ 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙? ⇛

𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗣𝗢𝗩 ‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

As Me and Willa entered the library, I turned to my left and saw Addison with Bree doing some homework.

I quickly looked away and tried to usher Willa and me away but was stopped by Addison's voice "Moon!" Willa's head snapped to Addison and I looked over to see her smiling at me and giving me a wave.

I saw Willa in the corner of my eye look at me and then her and she glared at Addison with a small growl before tugging me away with her into the lanes of history books

I leaned against the shelf and watched her scan through the books and collect some in her hands.

"I don't like her" Willa bluntly stated about Addison.

"You don't like anybody" I said smirking at her and she gave me a side eye.

"Correct but I don't like her" she said emphasizing the last word.

"Ohhh I get it you're jealous" I said.

"Of her never"

"I never said that you were jealous of her" I said and she shot me a glare.

"Shut up Moon"

"One thing about me Wils is that I don't take too kindly to the word shut up especially when it's directed to me"

I replied leaning up and walking towards her placing both of my hands beside her head. She quickly turned around and looked at me with wide eyes.

my eyes scanned down her body and I smirked seeing as her dress hugged her curves and frame perfectly.

"What are you doing?" She asked, squinting her eyes.

"Nothing...just admiring your beauty can't I do so?" I said, giving her a slick grin.

She gave me a small smile and rolled her eyes "whatever" she said turning around but I grabbed her waist and turned her right back around pressing her body against the shelf.

"I didn't get my answer?" I asked her cocking my head.

"Ugh yes you can" she groaned.

"Why so hostile Wils, hey I know what can make you feel better"

"What?" She asked.

"A kiss" I said, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Were in the library somebody can see us?!" She whispered in a startled tone.

"Don't tell me you're a chicken?" I said backing up with a small snicker.

"I'm not a chicken I'm an alpha" she stated her voice slightly raising and I smirked wider knowing I was close to getting under her skin.

One thing I knew about Willa is that she had a time ticking temper that was one thing we can both relate on since my temper is pretty big too.

"And I'm a great alpha but you don't see me being scared of kissing in public" I said.

She gave me a sharp glare and tossed her books onto the ground before pulling me in by the collar of my shirt and smashing her lips onto mine.

A low growl left my throat as our kiss started to get more rough. I slammed her against the shelf and grabbed the back of her neck roughly making her tilt her head back as I started to focus my attention on her neck, planning to mark her as mine.

She let out a soft moan as she dug her claws into my shoulders.

That sound sent all the blood rushing down below.

"So I'm not the boss of you right?" I whispered in her neck.

"Shut up" she growled and pressed her lips back to mine.

I let her slide with that one since we were busy basically eating each other's faces off.

I slowly inched my hand up her thigh and into her dress but before I could do anything we heard someone clear their throat.

We quickly jumped away from each other and saw Wynter and Wyatt standing there and looking at us.

Wynter had a huge mischievous grin on her face while Wyatt's eyes were popped wide open.

"Well you guys certainly made up for lost time" Wynter chuckled out and walked away while Wyatt quickly followed behind her.

"Wow ok umm...the books!"

Willa exclaimed as she quickly fixed her hair and picked up the books she took one and gave the rest to me as she read through each page her expression turned into full on rage.

"These people are such liars?!" She growled her eyes turning gold as I quickly took the book from her before she was able to split the book into two.

I read where she was at and anger started to flow in my veins. They were making it seem like we were the bad guys while trying to make it seem like they were good people.

Me and Willa looked at each other and stormed over towards Addison's table just in time to see Wynter eating Bree's homework with a smirk.

"Lies!" Willa said as I slammed the books onto the table startling the two cheerleaders.

"These history books claim werewolves attacked Seabrook settlers. But they struck first and stole our moonstone" she said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that" Addison said with a sympathetic look that made me roll my eyes.

"Hate to break it to you Addison but there's a lot you don't know come on Willa" I said taking her hand and leading her out of the library while she grabbed the books.

"I know the alarm's going to go off if you don't check out those books" Addison called out Willa rolled her eyes and took off her necklace launching it at the alarm making it malfunction and break.

I smirked and wrapped my arm around her shoulders as she grabbed her necklace and placed it back on her neck before wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Wyatt, Wynter come on!" I called out to my siblings.

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

"Oh yeah about what happened in the library-" I was gonna say but was cut off by her.

"It's ok I liked it" she said.

"And maybe after we find this moonstone, we can finish what we started" she said, giving me a wink and walking off with an extra sway in her hips.

"Man she knows what she's doing" I mumbled to myself watching her turn the corner.

I looked down when I felt my pants tighten a little and blushed seeing my little friend was active "shit dammit Willa" I mumbled under my breath and ran into the bathroom to fix my uh problem.

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

"What's going on between that wolf girl and Moon?" Addison asked Bree who shrugged her shoulders but Wynter heard it as she was walking away.

Wynter stopped in her tracks and turned back to them "none of your business and don't try to interfere with their relationship or I'll personally hunt you down" she growled her eyes turning gold before she walked out of the library behind Wyatt.

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

"Useless. None of these history books say where the moonstone is hidden" Willa said, tossing another book onto the table.

"Did you find anything M?" Wyatt asked me as I scanned through the same page multiple times trying to find at least a damn hint but nothing.

"No" I groaned, putting the book down.

"What's the point in making a damn history book if it doesn't give you locations to lost things!" I grumbled out as some of the pack nodded in agreement.

"Hello wolves, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Zed, Moon's brother, zombie, football star, presidential hopeful" he said expecting a handshake but just got glares.

I turned and saw Wyatt was basically staring into Zed's soul when he heard the word "brother".

"Hey Wy calm down" I whispered to him and he nodded.

"Oh hey Moon I didn't know you were here" Zed said finally noticing me.

"I was here the whole time" I said, giving him a deadpanned look.

"When zombies first came to Seabrook, we were outsiders, too. Which is why you need a great president like Zed to represent you. We'd be honored if you guys joined us" Eliza explained with a smile.

"Our pack is our pack. We don't need anyone else, so..." Wynter said in an obvious tone.

"Well what about Moon?" Zed asked.

"She's our-"

"Wynter" I cut her off, she turned to me and I gave her a look she gave a look of realization and nodded before turning back to the zombies "she's different" she finished.

I didn't want Zed to find out about them being my real siblings yet I wanted to tell him myself.

"Who doesn't want more friends? Underneath all that fluffy hair, I bet you're a real softie just like Moon" Zoey pointed out and I quickly hid my face in embarrassment as I heard some of the pack let out some snickers.

"I am a mean, mean werewolf, kid. I am tough and rough" Wynter tried saying in a convincing tone but it wasn't enough to scare Zoey.

"Wynter I'd stop if I were you" I mumbled knowing exactly what Zoey was gonna do she did it to me on multiple occasions.

"Aww, you said "ruff." Like a sweet little puppy dog. Ruff, ruff!"

"We are beasts of the forest, we will never be tamed" wynter said but was cut off when Zoey started scratching the spot right behind her ear.

"Oh boy. Oh wow, that's great. Oh wow. Sorry" she said when she saw the look Willa gave her.

"We're nothing like you zombies" Willa said standing up and me and Wyatt stood up with her.

"You sort of are. Your necklace is powered, right? Kind of like an organic Z-band" Eliza pointed out which was right.

"You're smarter than he looks" Willa said while Zed looked offended.

"Thanks," Eliza said with a smile.

I let out a low growl and pulled Willa towards me. Wyatt was quick to nudge me before Eliza and Zed could notice like I love Eliza and all but that expression was a little too friendly for my liking.

"That necklace keeps you from fully wolfing out?" Zed asked, reaching for Willa's necklace ok that's it.

"Alright back up" I said with a glare smacking his hand away and he let out a small yelp giving me a little pout.

"The opposite.Our moonstones make us our true werewolf selves" Willa explained.

"So without it you'd be human?" Zed asked.

"No, Zed, we'd die. We'd be nothing" I spoke up.

"Imagine how alive you'd feel if you didn't have to tamp things down.Hold back your true selves" Wyatt explained from the other side of me.

"Actually, I've got this theory that zombies might've evolved beyond their need for Z-bands" Eliza was gonna say but Zed cut her off.

"Z-bands are great. They help you fit in. And I think you guys would have a much better time at Seabrook if you just followed in our footsteps. Join a club, play football like Moon, she'll even teach you how to tackle." Zed pointed to Wynter while Wyatt looked at me confused.

"You play football?" He asked and I nodded with a smirk

"Yep" I said

"Just lighten up. Be more like us" Zed said and I rolled my eyes.

"Here we go," I mumbled.

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

(Zed) Do it like the zombies do

(Zed) Brush your fangs when you wake up Comb your hair, do your make up Sleep at night, don't stay up Do it like the zombies do Don't stand out when you're fittin' in When in doubt, do the opposite

(Wyatt) Don't listen to him

(Willa) He's a hypocrite

(Everyone) Do it like the zombies do

(Everyone) All you got do is give an inch, then we gon' take it to the top Do it like the zombies do

(Willa) When the moon is full, no howling (awoo)

(Wyatt) Don't run in the halls, no growling (grr)

(Moon) Let's go to the mall, start styling (yeah)

(Everyone) Do it like the zombies do (do it)

(Moon) Trim your claws, get a manicure

(Wyatt) Cut your bangs, leave it on the floor (woo)

(Wynter) Now wag your tail like a labrador

(Everyone) Do it like zombies do

(Everyone) All you got do is give an inch then we gon' take it to the top Do it like the zombies do, don't stop (do it)

Stand up, stand up, stand up straight, do your homework Smile a lot when you network Did I mention no one gets hurt? (No, no, no) Do it like the zombies do I hope you're open to my advice

(Wyatt) Oh, it's invaluable to us, right?

(Willa) Huh, sounds like this could be a paradise

(Everyone) Do it like the zombies do

(Moon) Why should we change? They should be like us

(Willa) Yeah, he may eat brains, but he's got no guts

(Wyatt) He's gone insane, yeah, he's acting nuts Come on, we've got moves to bust (woah)

(Everyone) Do it, do it, do it like the zombies do Do it, do it, do it like the zombies do Do it, do it, do it (do what you wanna do) Do it like the zombies do (do it like the zombies do)

(Everyone) All you got do is give an inch then we gon' take it to the top Do it like the zombies do, don't stop Do it like the zombies do

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

Me and Wynter saw the ball and our natural instincts kicked in as we both ran towards Zed and tackled him to the floor as our pack laughed behind us.

I got up and helped Wynter and I let out a howl with my pack following right after me.

As they started to leave, I quickly ran to Zed and helped him up "Sorry Zed natural instincts" I said with a laugh, and he gave me a pout.

"I know it just hurts everytime" he said, and I laughed harder.

"M! Come on!" Willa called out to me.

"Coming!" I said and was gonna walk towards her but Zed stopped me.

"Hey? What's going on with you two?" He asked with a raised brow.

"I'll tell you later, ok?" I said and he nodded before letting me go.

I walked over to Willa, and she extended her hand out to me which I took.

[theslowesthnery]

spent several hours playing tekken 8 again, so here's a list of good things and bad things, as well as random neutral thoughts

good things:

the gameplay is as good and solid as ever as far as i can tell as a very casual mostly-offline player, literally no complaints there. i'm not fond of these new-fangled power up special modes like heat and rage but whatever, they're apparently a thing now so i'm just gonna have to learn to live with them lol

the game is beautiful, and i'm especially genuinely impressed by character's faces and facial animations, doubly so for the less pretty characters who are actually allowed to emote properly, like i can't help but smile everytime i see paul smiling for the camera in one of his pre-battle animations because it just looks like such a genuine human smile

yoshimitsu my beloved is beautiful and i would like to kiss him approximately a million times

tekken ball!!!

bad things:

like i complained before, the fact that so much content has been so obviously left out of the base game just so it can be sold later as DLC. namely, a lot of staple characters that many players main (so if these people want to play with their main character, they're forced to buy the DLC), and customization options. the customization mode is so threadbare - there are so few options, and they're all incredibly basic and boring - it's actually kinda gross, especially once you realize that what you see is what you get, that you can't unlock any more

speaking of the customization mode, a lot of the items you do get need to be unlocked with in-game currency you get from playing, which is perfectly fine and good. what isn't is that you have to unlock every single of those items separately for each character, even though for the most part they're the same goddamn items across all characters!

the game showers you with in-game currency but besides the few uninteresting customization items, there isn't really anything to spend it on

no fun game mode a la tekken 6's scenario campaign that you can keep playing with a character of your choice and unlock new stuff and gain in-game currency. if you're a mostly offline player like me, once you do the big main story mode and all of the shorter character episodes, there isn't really that much left to do

speaking of the character episodes, most of them are...really meh. all of them are really short, only five battles, and all five matches of most of the characters take place in the iron fist tournament stage, which gets super fucking boring to see super fucking fast. and idk i just miss the old story/arcade modes from the older games where it was like...five random battles, one specific encounter unique to each character, followed by the semi-final boss and then the final boss which were the same for all characters. it really feels like these days the tekken team puts all of their focus on the big story mode (that you have to beat with specific characters, you can't even choose the character you play, and there really is no reason to play through it more than once) and the other modes are an just afterthought

kind of a small complaint but tekken ball doesn't have a mode where you can just endlessly go against randomized cpu opponents or even an arcade mode, after each match you have to go back to character selection and choose random again and it's kinda annoying

also do the different balls in tekken ball even have any differences besides visual? my sister and i played with all the balls that were available to us (so all except one) and they all felt the same, where as back in tekken 3 the difference between the regular beach ball and the iron ball was HUGE. kinda dumb if the balls don't have any actual meaningful differences, and it makes unlocking new ones completely pointless

a lot of non-white characters are looking suspiciously pale 🤨

(my having more negative than positive things on my list does not mean the game is bad, far from it, good gameplay is pretty much all a tekken game needs to be good)

random neutral observations:

some of the characters' outfits are ridiculously overdone, like there's so much going on in them that they look like they're from another game, especially when you compare to the rest of the characters who wear at least somewhat realistic and practical clothes, or at least clothes that look like they could actually exist in the real world. lars, alisa, claudio, feng wei, jun and zafina are the worst offenders, so it's not even the newly added characters - no, reina, victor and azucena look fine to me (if anything, victor looks a little bland)

the story keeps pushing lars, alisa and claudio to the forefront and i just could not give a less of a damn about them. no offense to anyone who really likes them, but they come across as such deviantART-level "OC do not steal" characters to me, and the fact that the games insist on making these new characters (instead of the old regulars) super crucial and important and central to everything makes me like them even less

it's not like the characters' stories in the past games have been super deep and great but the fact that azucena's story - and in fact entire personality - is literally just that she likes coffee is...wow. her design is great and fighting style wise i think she's a great addition to the game, but there is literally nothing else to her character besides "i love coffee" and it makes me feel like i'm taking crazy pills

i kinda like reina? specifically when she puts down her genki girl act and acts basically like heihachi, that's very cool to me, especially paired up with her sort of powerhouse-type fighting style. i just wish she was older, i hate that all female characters in the game need to be (or at least need to look like they are) in their early twenties at most. as cool as the heihachi-like "stay down like the dog you are" attitude coming from a woman is, it is a little silly coming from what looks like a skinny teenager

some characters can wear their rival character's clothing and it is probably The Gayest Thing i have seen in these games lmao my sister and i fucking screamed when we saw that hwoarang can wear jin's outfit and vice versa

i need to replay tekken 7 because i seriously cannot remember any of the things tekken 8 claims have happened. kazuya killed heihachi? jun is alive? all i remember is leo kneeing poor yoshimitsu in the groin (in his own ending, no less!) and the cute little ghost accessory you could get lol

i want heihachi back

king needs some meat on his bones, or more specifically some fat over his muscles

i like how the game goes out of its way to not use any pronouns for leo

kazuya's character scenario ending is...surprisingly adorable. i'm surprised the games are going with him and jun actually loving each other, but i like it, it's cute :3

the moment we saw true devil kazuya for the first time in the big story mode my sister went "TOGETHAAAA" and i fucking lost it

i'm so goddamn sad that i'm not good with yoshimitsu anymore :'< i used to be actually pretty fuckin' decent with him once upon a time, but then namco gave his fighting style an overhaul and i just could never learn his new stuff. i still don't understand why they felt he needed an overhaul in the first place, it's not like he was anywhere near being too strong, so the way some of his staple moves got changed for the worse (you now turn your back to the opponent after fubuki! you can only do knee cap in the swordless stance! door knocker can now only be done while rising!) is still absolutely baffling to me, like literally why would you do this

i can't remember any of the music