#i did that cuz i was planning a second set with all women

[godeaterazathoth]

Issues I have with ikevamp

That I’m venting here because they won’t leave my skull

*Content warning, we’re talking about men in the past, they did some bad stuff*

Part 1, historical inaccuracies

I’m I history nut so this really gets to me, since I know the deep details of these peoples lives.

The timeline, ok so the game takes place in 18th France, correct me if I’m wrong but I think it is in the second empire (1852-1870) considered there is a noble class, yet you can clearly see the Eiffel Tower which was completed in 1889, there is no mention of the 1889 exposition, so it must be after the tower had become permanent, by then the 3rd republic was around, if we are in the republic the Count wouldn’t be called that by the npcs at all the parties he goes to, no matter which we’re in, NOBODY mentions Napoleon III at, NOT EVAN HIS UNCLE (WHOSE SOMEHOW BECAME CASS CONSCIOUS!)

How does the time travel work, example, Dazai died in 1948, his plan was seemingly to wait until he’s born in 1909 then kill himself as a baby, but then he decides to use the magic door, what are the consequences of 2 Dazais existing at once or him erasing himself from history, he’s a pretty important literary figure, does someone else replace him or does the space time continuum collapse?? Is the future Vlad sees set in stone or can it be changed, just copy someone else’s time travel bit!!!

So straight up these guys aren’t who they say they are, we’ll go through 1 by 1

Napoleon- doesn’t mention he left the love of his life to marry a girl 20 years his junior (like think how interesting it would be if he’s conflicted about love cuz he had to give it up for political reasons) -that scene where MC talks about all the ‘good’ that he did in Europe, like committing war crimes against the Spanish and Portuguese and Eastern Europeans, being a coloniser, killing the slaves he freed when they asked for more rights, killing thousands of men in a meaningless war (ligit H*tler vibes)

Arthur- goofy irl, literally believed in fairies, had 5 children and married twice but he never mentions any of this, he cheated on his first wife while she was dying of TB, he was a liberal unionist (tldr didn’t like Irish people) he was anti-immigration, might have committed fraud. We’ll get to the other issues I have with him.

Leonardo- fruity as hell, vegetarian

Mozart- they got his character completely wrong, the guy was a complete man child, vain, broke, by the end of his life his career fell off (Beethoven better composer), in love with his cousin 🤢, had a s*at fetish 🤢🤢🤢. The hole Salieri thing didn’t happen.

Vincent- they made him too mentally stable, I’m all for him being meek, but the guy had serious issues that they ignore, he ate paint thinner, was rejected by his both crushes, WHY DOES HE HAVE BOTH EARS, DID IT GROW BACK, THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT HIM WITH ONLY ONE, also he should be ginger smh. Oh yeah and they never mentioned the s*ecide attempt.

Theo- doesn’t mention his wife, or son, WHO HE NAMED AFTER VINCENT, his wife is the person responsible for Vincent’s work not being completely forgotten, was way nicer irl.

Issac- tbh hotter irl, low key ace, maybe a fruit, kinda mean, the only thing they got right was the major virgin vibes.

Jean- WHY MAN!??!! Even if the didn’t want a lesbian route, they could have gone with any other guy from the 100 years war, Edward black prince, idk WHY GENDER BEND ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT WOMEN IN HISTORY, I’m fine with the delusional trans dude lie, but they say that he was a guy all along, THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF HIM BEING BURNT AT THE STAKE IF HE WASN’T CROSS DRESSING???!!! was he double cross dressing??? This is the worst of them all, give me the girl boss we deserve (revers fate)

Dazai- not depressed enough imo, he was a leftist, again missing wife, their were two su*ecide attempts, guy lived through fire bombing, had a few children that he is fine to erase from existence.

Shakespeare- probably a fruit, again never mentioned his wife and kids, btw the way he talks is annoying, some people don’t think he’s real.

Faust- NOT A REAL PERSON.

Sanson- too young, this guys is 67, really liked the guillotine, just saw execution as his job didn’t really care, had a wife and kids.

Vlad- Ok is he supposed to be Vlad THE impaler? Cuz he’s not evil enough, or is he a Dracula reference, cuz he can’t dance that dance either, why did they call him Vlad if he isn’t a blood thirsty war criminal.

Count- not enough history to work with.

Part 2, problematic moments

So I ha have seen some posts on the low key misogynistic way the MC is written and treated and there are a lot of issues wit white washing history so another trigger warning ⚠️

Misogyny- the MC of this game is not the best, I know she’s a self insert but she has no backbone at all. She lacks agency I’m most of the routes, like the MC getting kidnapped is a troupe in all these games, but Emma can escape on her own, Kate has ⚽️, even Alice had more depth to her, seems the only thing MC can do is cry and wait to be saved, I swear she gets kidnapped once in every route, I think they could have given her more character to work with. Another thing, but Jean being a man is bad, really bad, she’s a feminist icon but they made her a man, it’s sought of saying that women aren’t capable of this so she had to have actually been a man.

Handling of SA, important one here, I’m ok with the flirty guy, but I really hate Arthur, he doesn’t just flirt with her in chapter 1 he assaults her and acts like he did her a service, and she just forgives him!?! I’m fine with a guy that sleeps around, I like Jin and Nokto fine, but the way Arthur talks about women, always calling them Birds (if they were going for English slang it doesn’t work cuz he doesn’t have a cockney accent) or worse Skirts, it’s dehumanising, and shows that to him women are vehicles for sexual pleasure and aren’t on an equal level of understanding. There are smaller parts to, Leo kisses her without consent, the Count hides the truth from her, idk but Theo calling her a ‘hound’ sounds like he’s calling her something else…

Minor points on classism, I’m not expecting the communist manifesto, but all these games aren’t very good at dealing with class deviation. In Vlad’s route, the orphan boy thinks he can impress the rich girl, this is the 19th century, capitalism is on the rise, but there’s no comment about how it’s impossible. The little school Napoleons runs is strange, considering he was in a position where benefited from poor people existing and staying poor, ( side note, he’s teaching them swordsmanship when ww1 is right around the corner, just saying they won’t need it in the military) called MC out as a social climber, these games sought of depict the past through rosé tinted glasses, there’s only passing reference to how fucked people were in the past, Also all the historical inaccuracies above tie to this.

Anyway love to hear some other opinions, (I started playing this game before my transition and have always thought it it was wired, it’s my personal least favourite just cuz I couldn’t really get into any of the guys, my OC ended up as a Carmilla reference so….)

I have seen a post talking about some of the issues before so that’s what got me to write this out, if you disagree or want to add anything I’m all ears 👂

Thanks for reading 💗💖💖💕💓💝💗🥰🥰🥰❤️✨✨✨✨❤️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[dollarbin]

Shakey Sundays #35:

Hitchhiker (plus A Snapshot in Time)

Six months is a century in Shakeytown.

These days Neil will summon the Stop Shopping Choir for a whistle stop tour, release 4-5 new Archive records, reroute 6 barns worth of toy trains, publish a Greenville zine or two, respond to 4,672 fan emails on his forever Beta-version website, each in 7 words or less and each response featuring the words "peace," "love" and "Al Gore", write 36 new songs, all of them with the working title Love Earth (Or Else), and publish yet another memoir, this one dedicated to his penchant for hip hop, all in a six month window.

Case in point: Archives 3 is about ten minutes old and he's already promoting a forthcoming and utterly unrelated live record from his first tour with Cranky, Silly, and Gnash. Apparently Joni was at the show, gnashing her own teeth in anguish while Graham "Honey Baked" Hash debuted Our House; by the end of the show Mitchell surely instructed Grahamcracker to retitle his song My House (Cuz Joni Just Slipped Out The Back, Jack). Nash, apparently, refused to make the change.

All of Neil's productivity is cool; it's a great time to be a Shakey fan. But these days he lives beside a Colorado lake with Daryl, her dogs, 64 of his cars and the grinning ghosts of David Briggs and Ben Keith; 48 years ago he lived utterly alone in a psychedelic tepee of his very own design.

After all, just try and get your mind around all he accomplished between August 76 and March 77:

He got high as a kite and recorded the primary subject of this week's post in a single night.

He wrote an entirely different record (this week's secondary subject) and taught it to Nicolette Larson and Linda Ronstadt in one sitting.

He recorded 1/2 of that second album with a full band, eventually releasing it as the Side A of American Stars and Bars.

He wrote the highlight of that album - Will To Love, which is arguably the single greatest song of his entire career - and then spent another single night in the studio layering up instruments for it in front of his signature crackling fire - and he has not played the track again a single time since in any setting of any kind, ever. Guess he's had too much else to do.

He released a mixed-at-best record he'd made in the previous six months with Stephen Stills and Joe Freakin' Lala.

He began a full tour with those dopes, playing a month's worth of shows before making new plans Stan and telling them in writing to eat a peach and finish up without him.

He played a full US tour with Crazy Horse instead.

He performed at The Last Waltz.

He found the time to do a lot of cocaine, which is apparently obvious in Scorsese's footage. I've never been able to see the rock in question, however. My working knowledge of Belushidust is clearly negligible.

He continued to write songs about his recent breakup with Carrie Snodgress while starting to romance both the aforementioned Larson and his future beleaguered wife, Pegi. (Plus he surely probably slept with countless other women in this period; Neil was quoted at the time as "really enjoying the bachelor life," which sounds even sleazier than the reality television show of that moniker, which, by the way, should totally feature Neil in its next Golden iteration; after all, he's already demonstrated that he is perfectly willing to ditch his current wife so as to play the field.) Okay, that was just mean. Sorry Neil!

And, right around the moment those six months were up, Young joined yet another band - The Ducks - which was entirely unrelated to all the other bands listed above, and began the process of learning 20+ of their songs.

Plus he chewed a whole lot of Bubblicous and guzzled a whole lot of Natty Light throughout it all.

Yeah, he did all that - except #12: fooled you there! Both delectable items were introduced in the following six months, during which time Young, you guessed it, recorded yet another album of unrelated songs with entirely new musicians.

So, I gotta ask: what the hell did you accomplish between the late summer of 76 and the Spring of 77? I'll bet you can't compete with me or Neil. After all, I crapped my diaper, repeatedly. My mother reports that I "looked just like a frog." I'll bet your lazy ass wasn't even born yet.

Anyway, I stand before you on this very Shakey Sunday prepared to argue that the greatest thing Neil did in that incredibly crammed six months, except for Will To Love, is Hitchiker, the done-in-a-single-altered-night acoustic record which he waited a mere 40 years to release rather than waiting the full 48 so as to include it on Archives 3.

Let's drop the needle already and talk about Hitchhiker's shimmering greatness.

First of all, the whole thing is a poetic work of art. I'm serious. Pocahontas and Powderfinger set the table: both are dreamscape anthems, chock full of heartbreak, guns and waterfowl. And Campaigner may well be Neil's lyrical high-water mark. When roads stretch out like healthy veins and wild gift horses strain the rains I kinda freak out.

Note the previously edited out second verse featured on Hitchhiker: you know a song is lyrically exceptional when a line like "traffic cops are all color blind and people steal from their own kind" submits to the editor's ax.

Plus, beauty has rarely been draped in such stark and hopeless wonder. Indeed, the only record I can think of with a tone to match Hitchhiker is Pink Moon - and what higher praise can you think of than comparing anything to Nick Drake's unadorned-by-anything-or-anyone-else Pink Moon? Neil and Nick had both had it, at least for the moment, with arranging records. So instead they just took the Plastic Ono Band approach and upped Lennon's ante by laying all the songs down in a single take, every last bit of their armor set aside so as to reveal their very souls.

Just compare Give Me Strength and Which Will. Hear two men who could not have been more fundamentally different both asking the kind of fundamental and elemental questions which males are still instructed to avoid out of false courage and idiocy.

Yeah, I know: Neil's song coulda' used one more take as he loses track of the chord structure and melody altogether for parts of the closing. But I still say my comparison is apt even if Shakey and Drake couldn't be further apart on the sobriety and perfectionist spectrums.

Hitchhiker's tone could not be more different than its newly surfaced companion, the here, let-me-show-you-how-our-record-is-gonna-sound session Neil concocted for Linda and Nicolette six months later and which Neil has titled A Snapshot In Time for Archives 3. Snapshot replaces the earlier record's stark and trembling poetics with a big dose of what Ronstadt instantly recognizes on tape as "obnoxiousness."

On the one hand you have the songs Linda was directly referring to: check out, if you can get your hands on it (Neil seems to be clutching many of the tracks from Archives 3 in his self-appointed greedy hands rather than posting them for free on the internet) Young posing as a randy, grinning and stumbling creeper in Saddle Up the Palomino.

Here's the eventual band track.

Neil's mood had clearly shifted a great deal in the intervening six months. Lines like, "it's a cold bowl of chili when life lets you down but to it's the neighbor's wife I'm after" would have had no place whatsoever on Hitchhiker. Nor would the song's attempt at an arena rock riff.

On the other hand, even Snapshot's non-boneheaded songs are a bit obnoxious. Imagine inviting Linda Ronstadt over and then asking her to sing along with lyrics like "hey babe, say your mine all mine" over and over again. She'll do it - if you're Neil Young. But don't fool yourself; she'd rather have been taught Give Me Stength.

Look: I love every moment of A Snapshot in Time, not to mention the first half of the classic record it spawned. But it sure ain't high art.

Hitchhiker though? It'd take me a solid six months just to shout all its transcendent praises.

[random-lil-illing]

Okay so I just got an ide for a ROTTMNT/TMNT 2012 crossover fanfic but I'm shit at writing so uhm here's the idea if anyone wants to write it. If you do write it please credit me/tag me/message me lol. You don't have to ask for permission just like, make sure I know about it/can read it thamks

Anyway, the actual idea is as follows:

Okay okay so it's set post-movie (like a few months later ) and everyone's recovering and healing their trauma and all that right? So they're all doing pretty ok but Leo's doing like worse than the others ptsd/mentally-wise and is very wary about like the concept of time/dimension travel.

So, Raph, Mikey and Donnie, being the good brothers they are, don't being up the topic around him, but they talk about it when he's not around cuz Donnie's making a multi-dimensional gun because since he's proved time travel, he also wants to prove dimensional travel.

Anyway so he finishes the gun, right? And so he takes his brothers (minus Leo) to test it out somewhere secluded. And it works!! And alternate veraions of him, his brothers, April, Splinter and even Casey (all 2012 mind you) come through the portal!! And everyones confused and excited so they introduce themselves and clear everything up and all that. So then the 2012 gang turn around to go home but the portal closed and the gun's not working for whatever reason. Shit.

Raph offers they stay with them, and then Mikey reminds them of Leo and everyone (-2012) is like 'Oh shit what are we gonna do'

And so they decide on a plan. The 2012 gang are going to stay in their lair until they find a way to send them back and tell Rise! Splinter about it, but make sure Rise! Leo, under NO CIRCUMSTANCE, finds out.

And the whole fanfic is them trying to navigate life while keeping the 2012 gang a secret from Rise Leo

In the end (think like a month more or less later) Leo finds out and freaks out but like a week later Rise Donnie sends them back to their universe so yeah. The Rise gang did get the 2012 gang's phone numbers tho so possible chatfic about that too??? Idk

Alyo since we're here basic headcannons about the Rise and 2012 gang!!

Rise:

Raph: -Oldest at 16 (I like to think the movie happened a year after the show)

-Genderqueer, He/She pronouns, any terms (Fem, Masc, GN), AMAB

-Likes women (technically not straight)

-anywhere between 6'10 and 7'5

-ADHD and Anxiety

-Mom friend/sibling

Donn: -Second oldest at 15

-Nonbinary, They/It/Tech, GN/Masc terms, AMAB

-Aroace or nblw (Non-Binary love women) can't decide

-6'4

-Autism and Social Anxiety

-Very sarcastic

Leon: -Second youngest at 15 (He's the younger twin)

-Transmasc, He/They and possibly Star/Starself, GN/Masc terms, AFAB

-Gay, the closet is made of glass (dating Usagi)

-6'2

-ADHD and Insomnia

-Flamboyant af

Mike: -Youngest at 14

-Genderfluid, if you don't know then use They/Pizza/Sparkle/Brush, terms depend on what they feel like that day but if you don't know use GN terms, AMAB

-Panromantic Ace

-5'10

-ADHD and a bit of Autism

-Therapist friend but at the same time unhinged friend

April: -19 y.o

-Female, She/They, Fem and GN terms, can’t decide whether AFAB or AMAB

-Lesbian, there was never a closet in the first place (dating Sunita and Cass)

-5’6

-Probably ADHD lol

-Chaotic big sister energy

Cass: -19

-Demigirl, Any pronouns, any terms, AFAB

-Lesbian (dating April and Sunita)

-5’8

-OCD and ADHD

-Unhinged and throws hands any chance she gets

Casey Jr: -14

-Questioning but definitely Masc, He/Him pronouns as of now, Masc/GN terms, AMAB

-Questioning but definitely Ace

-5’9

-ADHD and Anxiety

-Has like 3 moms and 2 dads

2012

Raphael: -Second oldest at 19

-Transmasc, He/Him, Masc terms, AFAB

-Straight (dating Mona Lisa)

-5’0

-Anger Issues with a side of OCD

-Angry tiny

Donnie: -Second youngest at 19 (they’re quadruplets)

-Non-Binary, They/He, GN terms, AMAB

-Bisexual (dating his Casey)

-5’6

-ADHD and OCD

-Wants to be unhinged but his Leo wont let him

Leo: -Oldest at 19

-Bigender, He/She/They, Any terms, AFAB

-Bisexual (And does NOT have a crush on Karai, it was gender envy)

-5’1

-ADHD

-Acts all serious infront of his Splinter but when he’s gone he’s more silly

Mikey: -Youngest at 19

-Genderfluid, if you dont know then They/Pizza pronouns and GN terms, AMAB

-Aroace

-4’9

-ADHD and Autism

-Chaotic af

April: -19

-Girl, She/Her and sometimes They/Them, Fem terms, AFAB

-Bisexual

-5’2

-Bit of Autism

-She’s either done with the Turtles’ shenanagins or she’s doing the shenanagins no inbetween

Casey: -20

-Transmasc, He/Him, Masc/GN terms, AFAB

-Bisexual (dating his Donnie)

-5’8

-ADHD

-Super chaotic lmao

I don’t have enough headcannons for the Splinters for them to have their own category but basically:

Gender/Pronouns: -Rise! Splinter - Man, He/Him, AMAB

2012! Splinter - Man, He/Him, AMAB

Sexualities: -Rise! Splinter - Bisexual

2012! Splinter - Straight

Heights: -Rise! Splinter - 3’5

2012! Splinter - 6’1

Anyway thats it lol, make sure to tell me where I can find your fic of this if you decide to write it (or any animations/drawings of it either) <3

peace y’all

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

anextrapart replied to your post: why do people leave complaints on fandom gifsets?...

who is it I’ll kick their ass

just some stranger who decided to wander by and complain, idk. my west wing sets tend to attract more complaints than any other fandom i play in (besides ship hate from tbl, i don’t miss that). ilu though thanks for this it helped <3

[hwajin]

𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐱 — !# : scb

genre: smut, fluff, au

pairing: barista!changbin x fem!reader

synopsis: you didn't expect a barista working in your favourite coffee to blow you off your shoes. you'd only later see how fate would bring you together.

warnings: very slow burnish smut, lots and lots of teasing, unprotected sex, rlly kinda soft tho <3

wc: 6k

note: this is my contribution to my own collab LMAO. i did try smth new with this one so don't mind this being slightly out of place ksdfh, i hope you like it nevertheless tho! thanks to everyone who's participating in this, it truly means so much that some ppl wanted to be part of this hehe, i'll tag all the participants CUZ YOU GOTTA CHECK THEM OUT OR ELSE 😤🔪

@spookybias @seo--changbin @sunnyville36 @jenna-skzooma @aliceoracleollormusic @es-kay-zee @joonszn @freckledwinterfalls @kookthief @yunkiwii @chans-starlight

not my pics, credits to owner

"Shit, shit, shit..."

Your legs had a mind of their own making their hurried steps through the packed station - men and women in suits and blazers, students with worn faces and the one or other stray dog meeting your way - and you still registered the faint whistle of the train that you had left just seconds ago, though the small buds in your ears were offing outside noises almost entirely.

You didn't plan to oversleep on the first day back to college, after two calm weeks of enjoying some free time during the winter holidays. Since you were lucky with your professors this semester - none of them expectant of their students to work and study their asses off during Christmas - you have gotten comfortable over the past 14 days, your mind blocking out the fact that you were supposed to get back to setting alarms every morning, causing you to sleep in and missing the last possible train that would have gotten you to your destination on time. You cussed yourself out some more internally, calves already aching some due to the fast tempo you have set for yourself, passing by strangers hastily. Strangers that all looked the same to you, with their same black suitcases, the same frowns on their faces. Talking on the phone, seemingly distressed, head and thoughts far up in their jobs. You wondered, sometimes, when you inspected them like this, on your way to college and back, if you'll end up like one of them. If you'll ever lose yourself and decide for a path that was convenient, rather than going after your plans, your dream you might say.

A slight shake to your head tore you out of your never ending thoughts, quickly deciding that now surely wasn't the appropriate time to let your mind get clouded with worries about your long term future, the nervousness of reaching class as soon as it was currently possible occupying you enough already. You meandered your way through the packed crowds while you passed one store after another, "open" and "closed" signs in windows passing your peripheral vision, the smell of coffee suddenly infiltrating your nosestrills.

Coffee. While the reasonable part of your brain started calculating how many minutes you'd lose waiting in line to get one cup of hot, refreshing coffee, your feet already dragged you towards one of your favourite coffee shops, the familiar jingling from the bells at the top of the entrance door ringing in your ears, a smile automatically forming on your lips. You loved how welcoming this place was, large windows on every side letting sunshine flood the warm, ebony wood with its shimmery rays, the sweet aroma of baked goods and freshly brewed drinks giving a homely feeling. The café wasn't all too big, only a couple of tables and chairs standing around neatly, though you barely ever saw other customers around this place.

You walked up to the counter, already expecting to greet the barista you knew was working the morning shifts on weekdays, the poor girl always looking tired and exhausted, yet never skipping on initiating small talk with you, their most regular guest. But you were taken by surprise when you locked eyes with a to you unknown employee, one that you've never seen around before. He gave you an inviting smile, his cheeks cutely puffing up in the process. His messy hair fell around his sharp face, bangs just short enough to not cover his eyes.

"Morning, what can i get for you?"

He was attractive, you couldn't lie. His voice was low, a raspy undertone lying in it, and you needed a couple of seconds before you remembered what you were here for, before you could process his question. It was unusual for you to be this taken aback by a complete stranger, and yet it couldn't be held against you, not with the way this man was looking at you, expectantly, questioning eyes laced with curiosity. You converted your eyes off his, looking at the big menu boards behind him - as unnecessary as it was since you never changed you order here, but you needed somewhere else to look at to be able to sort your thoughts - and you took a quick second to clear your throat before answering.

"Oh, uhm- just a coffee to go, please, and..."

You inspected the bakings that were laid out in the glass showcase, the fancy names and goldish-brown pastries filled with strawberries or chocolate making your mouth water. You didn't get the time to have a proper breakfast, so you decided a quick snack to eat in uni wasn't that bad of an idea. You decided for something that looked close to a baked apple turnover, pointing towards it.

"...and one of those, please."

You gave the man in front of you a smile which he returned, once again making your heart skip a beat. He continued to give you a small nod as to silently tell you he understood and got your order, proceeding to take a pair of tongs and a paper bag to prepare one half of what you have told him moments prior, and while he leaned forward you took the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the name tag clipped to his white shirt. 'Changbin'. A simple yet pretty name, you thought. You'd imagine it sounding nice coming from your mouth, rolling over your tongue before escaping your lips and for a second you debated whether or not to actually, call him by his name, point it out, maybe, or somehow sprinkle it in for when you'll say goodbye. A really bad shot at flirting, yes, but after all he sparked something in you you'd never expected, and letting him know of your interest might after all be the only shot you got with the barista.

"You want a large, medium or small one?"

His voice ended your strain of thoughts, the words making little sense to you, though. You gave the man behind the counter questioning eyes, the early hours not necessarily making you understand nor process things at hand any bit faster. He smirked at you, glancing down for just a moment before his eyes found yours again, and you weren't fully sure but you found something new in his expression. Mischief, maybe.

"The coffee, I mean. Which size do you want?"

The smirk never leaving his face it only now clicked what he was referring to - directly and indirectly -, and you felt your skin growing hotter, a deep blush painting your cheeks and your nose bridge, up to your ears. You gave yourself a mental slap across the face, hurrying to finally answer his question to save some of the awkwardness you had to bear out at this point.

"Oh I'm sorry uh- a large one. Please. Thank you."

You heard the barista huff out air through his nose, as if amused, an eyebrow raised and his narrow eyes subtly but surely running up and down your figure for just a second - you'd had missed it, almost - before he nodded, speaking a quick "alright" before turning around to get your order done. Your scrunched your nose up in embarrassment while his back was facing you, the coffee machine drowning out nearly ever other sound, allowing you to breathe in and out somewhat heavily, the man behind the counter making you a flustered mess. You used the time to check your phone quickly, a wave of shock running through your bones seeing how late you were running. Honestly, you have given up at this point; considering you were late anyways, no matter how fast you'd run or walk, you saw no use in hurrying anymore. You let out a defeated, long breath, stuffing your phone back into your pocket and converting your eyes back to the dripping deep black liquid, able to tase the bitterness on your tongue already.

"What, having a hard morning?"

Upon hearing your sigh Changbin must have figured your distress, and you shrugged your shoulders slightly when the man gave you a quick look.

"Ahh, I'm just running late to classes, that's it."

While the barista broke out into a fit of giggles, back still facing you as he poured the hot drink into a beige paper cup, hands working quickly and confidently, you noticed how build he was, lines of muscles and veins visible underneath his thin white shirt. Another blush covered your features, and you gave yourself another mental slap across the face.

"And yet you take time to get some coffee? You know, you should be more responsible about your studies."

Changbin turned around with the finished cup, eyebrows raised and a teasing seriousness lacing his tone as he said those words, eliciting a chuckle from you. You were unsure as to how you should be continuing the conversation, his eyes piercing through you as he simply smiled, prepping your ready order on top of the counter. It seemed like he didn't expect an answer from you, though, your chuckle apparently enough for him as he let you know how much you owed him, waiting for you to clumsily fiddle after your wallet in the way to heavy bag you were carrying. You didn't take notice, but his eyes were on you the whole time, smile not fading for one second - as if painted onto his face - as he took in your whole, the way you moved, a bit helpless but so easily, carelessly almost that he couldn't help but wanting to know you closer. Finally, you had the money in your hands, apologizing that you'd had only brought cash with you, but tipping him a good amount in return before you took the paper bag and cup, smiling a last goodbye, exchanging a last quick look until you disappeared through the entrance door, eventually vanishing in between crowds in far distance, Changbin's smile fading slowly the further you moved. You, on the other hand, couldn't shine any brighter, the corners of your lips reaching from one ear to the other as you continued making your way to school, already anticipating another visit at the café.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Though you finally reached class – a sea of eyes skimming you for just seconds when you entered the room much too late, but neither the professor nor the students bothered enough to not pick up where they were interrupted straight away – but you’d lie saying you were concentrated in the slightest. You knew you’d be daydreaming nevertheless after the encounter at the coffee shop, but apparently the man behind the counter had even more charm and interest in you then you would have guessed at first; because on your cup that now had rests of lukewarm coffee in it you could read the words “text (or call) me if you… want some more coffee. or want to talk more. or… anything else ;)”, with his phone number written right below in neat handwriting, one that you’d imagine him to have. And yet you were indecisive. Wouldn’t texting him right away come off as desperate? Shouldn’t you wait a bit at least, until your day in school ended and you were home again? On the other hand, he must be anticipating a text, given he was the one asking for further contact.

It took you a little more internal debating until the lesson was done and over within seconds, it felt like, and sitting in the train that was destined to bring you home your mind did not give you a break, the constant back and forth between wanting to seem hard to get, at least, or not occupying your thoughts. You should have just somehow slipped your number onto the café’s counter, you thought, so the decision, the anxiety of sending a very first text to someone you knew basically nothing about, wouldn’t have to lay on you right this moment. Your shook yourself back to reality, letting your phone slide into the pocket of your slightly big jacket, figuring that simply holding and staring at it any longer wouldn’t help you out necessarily. You wiped your hands on your jeans for a second, trying to get rid of the film of sweat that has formed on them, before ruffling through your hair, trying to keep yourself distracted. You knew it was for nothing, though, you knew yourself well enough to figure out that you’d have a sleepless night ahead of you if you didn’t decide what to do with the number on the cup as soon as possible, if you didn’t make up your mind on what the smartest and least awkward message would be.

You looked to your left, being taken aback for just a second at the speed the landscapes – trees, bushes, the one or other stray animal on a farm – was moving past you, but soon finding peace in the view. You allowed it to distract you for a while, your eyes skimming over houses and cars and vast fields hurriedly, before suddenly, a part of your brain as though switched on a light bulb, your phone already in your hands again while you rummaged around in your bag, in hopes of finding the empty cup. A smile danced around your lips as you typed in his number with quick hands, setting a simple “changbin” as his name, and sending a simple “hey :)” for a message.

⋆ .. ✦ .. ⋆

…delivered

…read

…typing

⋆ .. ✦ .. ⋆

changbin: ahhh, so you’re not from here?

you: nope, sadly

changbin: sadly? might there… be a reason you’d wanna be from here for 👀

You almost didn’t want to admit to how well the conversation with Changbin was going. He was cracking so many bad jokes that you almost forgot you were still sitting on a public train, trying to refrain yourself from simply giggling at his texts, like some teenager in love. And yet you couldn’t help yourself, nor did you really care with how sweet he was, how simple it felt talking to him.

And he was witty, too. He truly had a way with words that you didn’t quite expect, somehow masked behind his boyish and cutely awkward-ish persona, making you smirk, blush almost before you brainstormed a possible, just as witty response, though being taken aback.

you: hmmm well… the coffee there’s pretty good ig :)

You smiled slightly to yourself upon seeing the small …typing right under his name appear and disappear over and over again, before another of his messages finally reached you.

changbin: mhh i see, so it’s the coffee for you. if you like it that much how about we meet up and drink one together? i know this RLLY nice place, one of their baristas makes out of this world coffee i swear

changbin: maybe you’ll end up liking him more than the coffee tho :))

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯���⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

When Changbin mentioned this, as he called it, REALLY nice place you imagined meeting him in the café he works at, where you have met the first time, grabbing a drink together and talking for a while, getting to know each other while the turmoil outside, passengers and kids and dogs and cars, would barely be noticeable, for neither of you. You soon figured out that with the REALLY nice place Changbin, in fact, meant his very own four walls, the apartment he lived in. And, he did not lie, the place was nice. It was quite spacey, but you noticed it was the bright and minimalized interior that made the place look bigger than it was. It was welcoming, soft, neutral colours of beige and hints of olive-green painting walls and carpets that shone beautifully when rays of sunshine hit them, every corner clean, but not to a point of weirdness. You could, throughout all the rooms he’s showed you, still sense that hint of personality that you see in other people’s houses, could still build this idea around him, seeing the way he was living.

“So uhm- what do you think?”

You couldn’t hold back the laughter upon the sight in front of you, seeing the man pout almost immediately when he heard your giggles. You had figured it would be nice to bring him some sort of present when you went to meet him – though you’d debated day and night whether or not it would seem out of place – but you had decided to go for an apron, the cheap ones you see in supermarkets, that have terrible designs on them that it’s almost funny again. And you were right with your decision, striking Changbin as the humorous guy who definitely would catch onto the joke wasn’t a bad guess after all, the man laughing at the cloth you had given him when you entered his place.

Your laughter only continued with Changbin pretending to be deeply hurt, his back facing you as he was preparing the coffee he has promised you over text, looking over his shoulder from time to time only to give you a salty look, so you don’t dare forget that he doesn’t like to be made fun of. Every time his face went back to his kitchen counter, though, you saw a little smirk playing around the edges of his lips, one that he tried to hide while jokingly nagging and playing around. He enjoyed teasing you.

It was getting slightly harder to keep joking around with Changbin, was getting a bit more difficult to laugh at him for his scoffs or comments he made. Not because you lost the fun, not because you were getting bored, whatsoever. You simply, physically, could barely concentrate on anything but this particular smirk of his, his eyes squinting at you, one corner of his mouth raising, before he turned back around. And even then, your eyes had a mind of their own when they went on their journey up and down his body, the very back you have already had checked out in the café a couple of days back, that you have already mustered once still setting off a fluttery feeling in your stomach, just like on the first day you saw him. It was especially when he moved, muscles flexing and relaxing naturally, that you thought you’d lose your composure, or when his shoulders, broad and large, perked up through the shirt from time to time. But it was also when he turned around fully, the hot drinks finally ready, and your eyes landed on his chest for an embarrassing moment before locking eyes with him again. And it was only a second, a second of him catching you unprepared and shamelessly staring, and yet he noticed. He noticed and he liked it. He enjoyed the way you stuttered at him with your ears turning red involuntarily, he enjoyed how you found your cool so quickly again, taking the cup he had reached out to you as if nothing really happened, as if you genuinely believed he hasn’t seen how your yes converted right when he faced you. And he debated if he wanted to make a comment about it. He so badly would want to risk it, would want to blur out his thoughts and see if you’d go with it, if you’d play along and see where things could end. And yet it was a risk after all, and he didn’t know you enough to surely figure out how you ticked, yet. While, at the same time, also in thoughts, you were wondering where this would lead, this somehow odd situation.

There was this tension both of you felt, though both of you were afraid to cut through it. And yet, both of you knew that the other sensed it as well; it was impossible not to. You sipped away at your coffee, almost never breaking eye contact with Changbin as he took off his apron, shirt underneath creased up, hair messy. He hung it up on a rack that was screwed to a shelf, the cloth somehow fitting so well into the little kitchen that he had, belonging right there next to various pans and bowls and fruits and tableware. Changbin was soon back at having his attention on you, his arm reaching out to grab his own cup of freshly brewed coffee, his veins and muscles and dips too prominent for your liking, once again.

“Is the coffee good?”

The only sound breaking the silence besides Changbins words were some curtains sliding across the wooden floor as the wind hit the window Changbin has opened prior, the fresh air cooling your heated face, if only little.

“Mhm, it’s really good. But uh-“

Your heart pounded as you started your sentence, watching as the man’s expression changed to a questioning one, anticipating your next words, scared you somehow didn’t like it, that something was missing. You took another sip before continuing, foot tapping against the chair in a nervous manner.

“You uh- were right. I did end up liking the barista more.”

You were a sucker at flirting, so naturally, you could only wish away the blush that crept up on your face, and it needed all your willpower to keep the steady eye contact with Changbin, to not shy away now, when you were the guilty one for finally breaking the tension. While you silently wished he understood the hint, that he knew what you meant, a smug grin already overplayed Changbins features, his eyes travelling down to the floor, for a short while only, until connecting with yours again. But this time he looked at you differently, expression in his eyes fitting his teasing smirk, and you hoped, repeated it in your head as if praying, that he has caught onto you. Changbin took a step closer to you, closing the distance between the both of you scarcely any, his cup of coffee standing behind him as though abandoned.

“Hmm, don’t you think that barista deserves some kind of- tip then? When you liked him that much?”, he whispered, almost.

It was strange, truly, how calm you could present yourself although you felt shakier than a nervous wreck internally. Knowing yourself you would fold shortly with the stare the man had on you, lustful, but not the amount that would scare you, and interest, curiosity, just the right portion to anticipate him as much as he did. And yet you set there on his kitchen stool, gaze never missing to match his, back straight, seemingly keeping your cool.

“Well, I don’t have money with me…”

You watched as he continued stepping closer to you, and you finally set down your own cup that you have forgotten to drink out of with the atmosphere getting tighter, and you stood up, finally meeting his height.

“…but I’d know another way to pay you.”

Damn it. Flirting simply wasn’t your strong point, and you only now heard how your words sounded, almost desperate and awkwardly out of place, but you couldn’t take them back, not after blurting them out into the room like this. All the calmness and composure you had started to fade out of you, and the well know blush of yours painted your face once again. You were ready to stutter out an apology, were ready to say that you didn’t mean to come off as someone looking to prostitute yourself, but your brain shut down at Changbins sudden chuckling. It was teasing, a tinge of amusement lacing his voice. He was now as close as he could be without rudely invading your personal space, but near enough to get your body to shiver a bit, for your nerves to tickle.

“Another way to pay me? Now that sounds interesting, don’t you think?”, he tsked at you, head cocked to the sight, and he let out another fit of chuckles when your face only reddened further. And, anew, you were taken aback by him. He didn’t have the reaction you expected, a raised brow maybe with a look of confusion, a harsh change of subject followed by embarrassment by your miserable try to be seductive. And, anew- it seemed like he enjoyed it. Enjoyed teasing you, enjoyed having caught you in a state of flusteredness, no matter how bad you wanted to overplay it.

“Don’t you wanna show me what you meant by it, hm? I’d love to see.”

His voice was dark, the natural raspiness thicker than it was moments prior, and yet you heard a sense of softness in it, sending you into orbit. You wished, almost prayed internally, that he would blow off the whole thing with his playfully smart demeanour, that he’d simply leave you hot and bothered. Hell, after all you weren’t sure what you meant with your words; a simple kiss, something more? His attractiveness got to you, you couldn’t lie, his smirking and teasing and subtle flirting making you think he may be wanting the same thing you wanted. And after all, what if he didn’t? What if you thought and acted all too quickly, misinterpreting him entirely? You were strangers, only met recently, you might have gotten it all wrong, from the very beginning.

But Changbin took just one step closer to you, the intimacy almost uncomfortably tangible now. Almost. You saw his nearly fully black eyes wander across your face, skimming your features before resting at your lips. His own ones were so neatly formed, as if someone has sculptured them on their very own, that it was hard for you to not stare them down. One of his hands almost reached your cheek, stopping just right before touching you. He looked up at you with eyes pleading, lips opening to ask a short “Can I?”, orbs travelling down to your lips again, anticipating an answer. You breathed out a “Yes, please.” and it weren’t seconds, even, when you finally felt his warmth against you, hand on your face and lips on yours. It was slow at first, your movements and actions, as if both of you needed to adjust to each other, to somehow get to know the other better, with time. But you soon got closer, your hand slowly sneaking to rest by his shoulder, squeezing the muscles whenever he bit down on your lower lip experimentally, his own hand drawing circles onto your waist while holding you steadily, letting you melt into him. The wind from outside set into action as if purposefully, breathing a fresh, late-wintery breeze your direction, your heated bodies cooling, if only externally.

Changbin leaned back, revealing puffed lips, redder than before, and he breathed against you heavily. You gave him a quick, almost unnoticeable peck, catching him off guard just before a giggle rolled past his mouth. His demeanour has shifted, shyness drawing his body now as well, and it was impossible for you to not soften at the sight. Though you weren’t any better, having him this close to you, seeing Changbin looking at you the way he was; you felt giddy all over, like a child on Christmas.

“You wanna take this to the bedroom?” A whisper only, and it took him a nod and smile from you to have him picking you up, your legs wrapping around his torso, while he reached said room with every quick step, until you finally felt steadiness underneath you again, the soft mattress of his bed pressing against your back. You surely knew why Changbin picked this room to sleep in when first moving into his apartment; the way the windows were placed on the walls allowed natural light to flood the four walls nearly all hours of the day, the current sunset looking especially breathtaking. You only imagined how the sunrises looked from his bed every morning. Though you might find out.

You watched as the man took of his shirt, and not even the tight apron from before could have prepared you for what you were blessed to see that moment. His body was buff, a direct consequence of his many workouts he has told you about, and yet had an elegant swing to it, curved at just the right places, dipping perfectly for your hands to start tingling, at the thought of touching him alone. God, how badly you wanted to touch him. And it’s as if he knew, moving towards you to get rid of the distance between the both of you once again, connecting his lips with yours just like he did the first time around, more secure and steady this time, though, pressing you only further into the softness of the sheets. They smelled like him, the subtle sniff you have sensed ever since meeting him intensified now, intoxicating your mind. Your hands settled on his shoulder first, initially afraid to move them farther down his body, but soon finding the confidence to slide them across his arms, only to find out they were quite the sensitive part of his. Changbin grunted out quietly at your nails dragging at his defined proportions, and he let his own hands explore you, your body, the way they wanted. And your lips never once disconnected from the other, the first shyness and unsureness you held, the first feeling of having to getting to know each other was long gone now, seemingly, as you moved in perfect sync, as if you knew the other for decades. It was until Changbin reached your waist, fingertips dancing to get under your shirt, that he leaned back again, that he let the both of you breathe, even if for seconds. It was a silent question, his eyes telling you enough to have you nodding, arching your back against him while he took of your shirt, lips immediately finding your collarbones. You whined out quietly, wanting to hold back your desperateness but failing as Changbin kept nibbling away, at you neck and shoulders and ears, covering your most sensitive parts with purple and red and blueish love bites, your nails dragging up and down his back, possible to leave scratches the next day. Changbin only pulled back to let his lips find yours again, for his hands to travel further south your body, delicate fingers grazing over your elicited skin, drawing shivers out of you with every touch. You let your hands travel over his abs, tracing every dipping line on your way, making him breathe out heavily against you, making him visibly lose his composure. And you touched down, and further down, loving to see the way Changbin pulled away from you, how he looked at you with eyes big and wanting, until you got a hold of his belt accentuating his hips, your gaze piercing through him.

“Can I?”

And screw it, you couldn’t have imagined that the response he gave you would weaken you oh so much, his breathy voice, the words “Yes, fuck- please, yes.” almost drawing out a whine out of you. Never had you had anyone begging for you. Not someone you just met.

Your impatient fingers unbuckled his belt, the bulge in his jeans looking so painful you wanted nothing more than relieving him from it. Changbin helped you remove the belt while you worked at his buttons, and he shuffled down the restrains while you got rid off your own clothes, only your bra keeping you from full nudeness. And it was almost as if you were addicted to the other, as if neither of you could control themselves with the way your lips clashed together again, impatiently, giddily almost, hungry hands back to roaming the others body. You felt Changbins careful fingers dragging down your stomach, reaching your stomach, squeezing down at your thighs. Teasing at everything expect where he knew you needed him, knew you wanted him so badly. You whined out, not thinking that words would come out even remotely understandable out of your mouth, so you pushed your hips against him to make him understand, to hint at him that you craved his touch, that you were dying to feel him, finally. But you only felt him smirking against you while pushing your legs apart, only for him to tease you yet closer to your core, digging his short nails into your inner thighs.

“You want something, baby?”

God, he knew what he was doing. And he loved it, too. Loved how your back arched again at his words, how you looked up at him with your brows scrunched together just slightly, how you tried keeping your sounds to yourself, not wanting him to hear you. You sensed that if you didn’t answer him, though, you wouldn’t get what you wanted, figured that with the tease he was- he wanted to hear you, hear you begging and pleading for him.

“Touch me, please. I need it- need you.”

And you were right, predicted him correctly since his fingers dipped into your wetness just moments after, a content hum leaving his throat while he watched you intently, fingers sliding against you, in hopes of finding that one spot, that had you moaning out and pleading for more. And he knew he found it when your back raised off the mattress, when your hands, always wrapping around his arms, or laying on his shoulders, squeezed him tightly, leaving crescent moons on his skin. And yet he only shortly circled at your clit, only enough to get you worked up that bit more, before his fingers dipped southwards, prodding at your entrance teasingly, watching your face, in case your expression changed. But the plead you let roll off your tongue gave him the get go, and he inserted one of his fingers into you, your walls snugging against him so perfectly he couldn’t help but whine out, wishing for so much more. The sun outside set further with every passing second, painting the room in vividly colours and it didn’t take long before a second and third finger entered you, and Changbin made sure to move them just the right way, to curve them up against you just perfectly to prepare you for him, to have you as comfortable as possible.

Because when his tip teased at your entrance, before slowly moving inside of you, you could feel how girthy he would be. How painfully good the stretch would feel when he bottomed out, finally - and you were right. You weren’t able to hold back the moan that rolled off your tongue when Changbin finally settled inside you fully, his own sounds right next to your year not helping your neediness in any way while he gave you time to adjust to his length. Only when you tapped his shoulder, nodding at him silently he started moving, pulling out until you only felt his tip inside you, before sliding in fully again, bottoming out a second time, only to repeat the same movements over and over. And with every slow stroke that hit your deepest spot every time, with every light nibble he left here and there on your skin, stars covered your vision more and more, and you felt yourself so much closer to fall off the edge with every passing second, as bad as you wanted to keep this moment lasting. But you felt how Changbin wasn’t any better, though his hips stayed the same rhythm his movements grew faster, and his sounds – although quiet – grew more frequent, the one or other praise leaving his lips, making you pull him closer to you. You were moving in sync, both your minds so clouded in the pleasure, in each other, or in wanting to reach that high together, you weren’t sure yourself. The deep reds and oranges and yellows that painted the sky hit the bedroom, the last rays of sunshine of the day illuminating your sweat-glistening skin, while your hands grabbed at each other with want, with lust, while you moved and moved, back and forth, hips and legs tired but chasing nevertheless, until finally, with a couple of last precise strokes into you, both of you almost simultaneously let go, let the orgasm wash over your bodies in a harsh wave, making you collapse against the other. And soon the room was filled with shyness again, the post pleasure state getting to you and making you giggle and chuckle at the other, while the sun finally set behind the clouds, setting the world to darkness.

tagging: @etherealeeknow @linoskitty @unexceptional-h @rseanne @diue @es-kay-zee @urcracksisx @jeyelleohe @yunkiwii @meloohmel @nyrasneedy @seochhj @imagineinnie

let me know if you wanna be removed or added to taglist!

[13uswntimagines]

We’ve Got Your Back (Alpha!Christen x Reader)

Request: Alpha christen press fic😍 and does it make me a horrible person cuz I want to see what christen would do to Hinkle? (Not to mention broon, uncle, ash....) 

Pt. 1

Author’s Note: So this turned out a touch different than i had planned. Let me know what you think! 

It was strange being back here. Back in the city, the stadium, that had almost been the sight of your demise. At least they had stuck the team in the visitor’s locker room. You didn’t know if you could have handled being back in that room. 

You rolled your shoulders and tapped the ball back towards Lindsey, sending the alpha a tight smile and trying to drown out the sea of unpleasant emotions threatening to pull you under. 

It was a stupid idea for Us soccer to have the team face off against the NWSL Allstars. You were part of the NWSL for goodness sake, it wasn’t like you didn’t play against these people already. It also meant you had to play against Her in the stadium she tortured you in. 

“How you holding up?” Christen asked, suddenly coming up behind you. She grabbed your clenched hand, coaxing your fingers open and intertwining them with her own. She let out a wave of her calming scent, trying to soothe you as much as she could with minimal contact. 

Though the two of you had… consummated your matting, and despite your normal cocky flirting, the two of you really weren’t into public displays of affection and there were thousands of eyes on you right now. 

You hadn’t even realized you were digging your fingernails into your palms. 

“Great now that you’re here hot stuff,” You tried to smile convincingly back at your mate, squeezing her hand tightly. She let out another wave of her calming scent, her eyes flickering around your face. 

One of the first lessons she had learned from Rose was that you never said when you were uncomfortable, but your tells always gave you away. 

“Always the charmer,” Christen said, a light blush covering her cheeks. 

You smirked at the alpha, shrugging. “It’s hard not to be when you always come out here looking like that”

She rolled her eyes at you, entirely used to your flirting. It hadn’t taken her long to realize that it was a coping mechanism for you. Whenever you were stressed or uncomfortable, your flirting intensified. 

It was a way for you to avoid your true emotions. 

“I’m literally wearing the same outfit as the rest of the team,”

You pulled your blushing alpha closer to you by your connected hands. You ran your nose over her cheek  “Hmm, but the rest of the team doesn’t have the-,”

The comment died on your lips when you caught sight of a certain alpha. You tensed even though she was stuck on her half of the field, separated from you by nearly the entire squad and the team of “Allstars”. But none of that had mattered last time. It hadn’t mattered that you were in a room full of people (nearly half of which were your national team teammates) or that the coaching staff knew what she was doing. 

Christen’s eyes followed yours, and she couldn’t suppress her growl (both for the other player being included in this game and the unpleasant emotions fluttering through your bond). 

“Vlatko swapped us, so you can stay on the left today. I’ll take the right and Alex will stay center,”

“You guys don’t need to do that. I can handle it,” You mumbled, suddenly finding the way your cleats ran through the grass incredibly interesting. 

Christen sighed, running a finger under your chin, grazing your scent gland as she tilted your chin up. “We know you can, just let us be a little protective over you, alright?”

You nodded biting your lip. You weren’t a weak omega, and you knew that the second you hit the field whatever grand plan they had was going to go right out the window. 

Well, part of it at least. You were sure that a certain alpha’s very white uniform was about to be stained very very green. 

****

You launched yourself across the pitch towards your mate, barely stopping to watch as your shot sailed past Jane Campbells outstretched fingers. You were having a blast skirting past the all-star defender, and fielding through passes and crosses from the Mewis’ and The great Horan. 

“Good goal baby,” Christen said, smiling wildly as she scooped you up in her arms and pressed a kiss to your neck, just above your mating mark. 

You pulled back, smiling at the alpha and flicking her lightly on the nose. “Good? That was fucking amazing! Did you see me put Stanton on her ass?”

Christen nodded, setting you back on your feet with a wide smile. “Yeah, and Kling. But I think I’ve seen Tobin do the same footwork before. I call plagiarism,”

You pouted, flicking the side of your alphas head again. “That’s not fair, I deserve a reward,” 

Christen grabbed your wrist as it migrated down her waist with an eye roll. “Behave little one,” 

She growled playful at you, about to lean up and nip your neck again, but the presence behind her stopped her. You whined loudly, displeased that she had stopped. 

“Get your omega under control Press,” You tensed at the alpha’s voice, burying your face in Christen’s neck, afraid that even the scent of Hinkle would make you lose your composure altogether. 

Christen's growl turned low and dangerous and was echoed by several of the teammates beginning to crowd around you. When your alpha promised the team would have your back, she meant it. 

“Come on Y/n,” Mal said, cautiously breaking from the group to approach you. Her hand carefully touched your back, avoiding any skin. No one wanted to test your alpha's control any more than the asshat on the field was. 

Christen made eye contact with the omega inching towards you, tearing her gaze from Hinkle. She nodded at Mal, coaxing you out of her neck and kissing your cheek. “go babydoll,” raising her eyebrow when you wined, but still pushing you towards Mal. You poured as Mal dragged you across the field, away from the brewing storm. 

You didn’t need to be in the middle of an alpha battle. You wouldn’t tell anyone, but you were fragile and she didn’t want you to have to feel her dominance when she put Hinkle in her place. 

She didn’t want to risk accidentally forcing you to submit. She would die before she did that. 

“that one needs a firmer hand,” Hinkle scoffed, as Christen walked back towards her position, waiting for Sheridan to put the ball back into play. 

“Why don’t you mind your own business?” Christen growled lowly, her eyes following you as you grossed the field with Mal. Lindsey sent her a stiff not. The entire team was behind you. 

“Just saying that I could give you some pointers if you wanted them,” Hinkle shrugged as though she didn’t feel the insane tension on the pitch. Christen scoffed catching her arm, spinning the alpha to look at her. She didn’t need any advice on how to deal with you. You were a handful, but you were her handful, and she was glad you were comfortable enough with her to show her your playful side. 

“Don’t waste your breath,” Christen said, letting out her dominant scent. 

*****

The Women’s national team was known for its impeccable control. With so many strong alphas in one place, it was imperative for the team's functionality and their commitment to equality.

But tonight that control was nowhere to be found, and it wasn’t just the alphas that were going a little crazy. The pitch was total chaos and at the epicenter was Hinkle. 

From the crazy tackles Lindsey, Becky, and Christen herself were committing, to the lengths Rose, Mal, and Alex all went to keep you as far from the Alpha as possible while still letting you put balls on goal. Vlatko’s tactics had gone out the window and the team was operating like a disaster (a very successful disaster as you had already scored 4 times against the all-stars, but a disaster nonetheless). All teeth and growls. 

You were just thankful that the game was over, and that you could finally escape the place with so many bad memories. And the mix of dominant pheromones that hung in the air, putting you even more on edge. 

You headed back towards the tunnel, uncharacteristically ignoring the opposing team trying to approach you for handshakes, and the fans screaming for your attention. It was unnerving to have your typically dosel alpha acting so aggressive. 

It pulled your inner omega so close to the surface, and you weren’t sure how you felt about that. 

“You know it’s wrong to ignore your superiors little omega,” The voice stopped you in your tracks. Your shoulders hunched and you seemed to almost fold in on yourself. 

An arm wrapped around your waist, shielding you from Hinkle. You relaxed a little at the scent of your best friend's mate. “Just ignore her,” Mal said softly, pulling you into her. 

Hinkle snarled at the two of you, rushing forwards to stand right in your path. You took in a sharp breath, your nose twitching at the press of Hinkle’s pheromones. You fought the urge to submit, the urge she had drilled into your skull from the time you joined the Courage to the time you finally made your escape. 

“What, your alpha didn’t teach you any manners either,” 

Mal tensed around you. You squeezed your eyes shut tight, waiting for the next blast of her potent scent. The one that would bring both of you to your knees. The one from your memories. 

“You need to back the fuck off,” Ashlyn’s protective growls were suddenly separating you from Hinkle, shortly joined by Becky, Alex, Rose, and Lindsey. 

“Or what?” She challenged, stepping up so she was eye to eye with the much taller alpha. 

“Come on girlies, let’s get you to the back, they can handle this,” Ali said softly, trying to pull you and Mal around the wall of alphas and the dominant cloud of pheromones beginning to form. You let her pull you around the alphas, trying to keep your head down. 

“No, she stays,” Hinkle sneered, catching your wrist as you passed. 

The reaction of the team was instant, but none was more prominent than your own alpha’s (who had been caught up singing posters with Tobin). It was a big No-no to touch someone else’s mate. 

“Take your hand off of her. NOW,” Christen growled, sending a wave of very dominant and very terrifying pheromones directly towards Hinkle. Even the little edge that caught you made you freeze and sent a shiver down your spine. The alpha immediately released you and whimpered as she fell to her knees. 

Christen smirked viciously (her typical kind-hearted ness nowhere to be found). She was the stronger alpha, and she wanted Hinkle to know how it felt to be forced to submit. She wanted her to feel the humiliation of being surrounded by people who wouldn’t help her. She wanted her to know what she put you through. 

Mal and Ali both tucked you into them and started directing you towards the locker room. Emily stepped in behind you, shielding you from where your alpha was towering over the shaking Hinkle. 

They were right, you didn’t need to see this. 

*****

The walk back to the locker room was short, but it felt like forever. The omegas spent it emitting their soothing scents, trying to calm your frayed nerves (which were only amplified by the emotions fluttering down your bond with Christen). 

If the little edges of Christen's dominant pheromones were that strong, you could only imagine what it felt like to be caught in a full blast. That thought alone terrified you. She was always so careful with you, but what if she lost control. 

“Shh, kid you’re ok,” An arm wrapped around you and gentle hands guided your shaking form to sit on the bench. 

You shook your head rapidly. You were a lot of things right now, but ok wasn’t one of them. 

You opened and closed your mouth several times, but no sound would come out. What if you upset your alpha and made her lose control? You loved to push her buttons. 

“Hey, You gotta breath y/n,” Mal said, suddenly appearing crouched in front of you. She grabbed your hands, flattening out your palms to prevent your nails from digging further into your arms. She bit her lips at the stressful pheromones pouting off of you, she had only seen you like this once. A very long time ago (ironically in the same place you were now). 

“Em, go get Rose,” She said, not taking her eyes off of you. Your best friend was probably the only person who could help you. 

Emily’s eyes widened. There was a reason why most of the team’s omegas were in the locker room instead of hanging out in the field with their mates. It was one thing to put an arrogant alpha in their place, and another to risk accidentally forcing an omega to submit. 

The team was insanely protective, and going out there while their instincts were on edge wasn’t a good idea. 

“I think she’s got her-...” Emily started softly, lightly touching Mal’s shoulder. 

“Wasn’t a question,” Mal growled, cutting her off, and finally taking her eyes off of you. You whimpered at the tone, your head tilting slightly and Emily nodded rapidly. 

“Right, I’ll go right now,”  

She exited the room at a near run. She didn’t quite understand what was wrong, but she knew you desperately needed someone. 

****

Emily wasn’t sure what she expected when she exited the tunnel, but it wasn’t Rose and Christen standing over a shaking Hinkle (she would have pegged Ashlyn and Becky as way more likely to get themselves into this situation). 

As she approached the group (and the insane cloud of pheromones, seriously they were going to need to fumigate the place)she caught the tail end of Christen's deep rumble. “That’s a despicable excuse for-...”

“I’m sorry to interrupt this-...” Emily said slowly coming up behind her alpha. She kept her eyes down and her hands out, very careful not to provoke the angry hoard any further. 

Lindsey whipped around, gulping to try and restrain her instincts. She lightly grabbed her omega’s wrist to prevent her from getting closer to the scene. All hell would break loose if one of the omega’s accidentally got hurt. “Go back to the locker room. We’ll be there after we finish,”

Emily shook her head, finally looking into her alphas eyes. “No. You don’t-“ 

Lindsey’s eyes hardened as she cut her omega off. “I’m serious Em,”

Emily glared at her alpha, ripping her arm from her grasp. “So am I. I need Rose or Chris because y/n is like having a panic attack,” She practically spat. 

She hadn’t known you for as long as Mal had, but she still felt the omega bond with you. The overwhelming urge to protect one of their own when they were in distress. If they needed an alpha to help you, then an alpha she would get, come hell or high water. 

Christen and Rose both looked up at the mention of your name, as did the alpha on her knees.  The alphas seemed to blink back to themselves, letting up on their emission of pheromones. 

“Pathetic,” the woman on the ground mumbled.

The answering growl from the group was instant, low, and very dangerous. “Don’t you start,” Ashlyn said, her voice deadly soft before looking back up at the two struggling alphas. “Go, we can finish this,” 

Rose and Christen nodded, sending one last snarl towards Hinkle before following Emily down the tunnel. 

****

Christen took in a sharp breath at your distinct scent, freezing in the doorway. The locker room air was saturated with stressed and terrified pheromones. Any remaining anger she may have felt for the asshole out on the field disappeared and was replaced by worry for you. 

Rose moved first, pushing past your frozen mate and joining her omega on the floor in front of you, crouching down to your level. If you noticed newcomers to the room, you didn’t show it. You were stiffly sitting on the bench in the corner, staring off into space. 

Rose gently rubbed your knee, trying to bring you back to yourself. “Hey Kitkat, what’s going on?”

You blinked down at the alpha, your head tilting automatically. “Nothing. I’m fine,” you said robotically and Rose’s eyebrows furrowed. 

She had only seen you like this once, and that was after-... it was too horrible to even consider. 

“Yeah, no one believes that,” She mumbled, using a finger to stop you from showing off your neck. 

“I -...” you started, but the words got stuck in your throat, caught between an answer and a sob. 

“Did all the pheromones bring back bad memories?” Christen asked, finally taking a step inside the room. She had gotten very good at reading you since you had mated and she knew you better than you knew yourself sometimes. 

You nodded, finally looking up at the alpha. Your alpha. You took her in, how she seemed more relaxed (minus the worried lines in her forehead) and her scent was its usual cinnamon and spice. 

The heavy dominance was gone. It wasn’t the terrifying figure that had confronted a monster from your past, no this was your Chris. 

She took another few slow steps towards you. Rose and Mal moved out of the way to give your alpha room in front of you. 

“You’re just so strong. What happens if I push too far?” You asked quietly. 

And finally, the pieces clicked in everyone’s heads. Christen shook her head and took your hands. “I would never baby. What you saw-. It’s different with other alphas,” 

It was embedded in the fabric of the team (and the countries) culture. You never ever forced an omega to submit, but submission had a different effect on alphas. It wasn’t uncommon for them to assert dominance over each other, and forcing full submission was a way to show an errant alpha bow off base they were. Alphas didn’t experience the emotional distress that came with full-blown submission. 

“Promise?” You asked, your voice small. 

“With everything I am. You can poke and prod and make me blush, but I will never do what she did to you,” Christen said, kissing the back of your hand and looking you in the eyes to show you just how serious she was. 

She waited for your shoulders to relax before releasing a wave of her soothing scent and pulling you into her. You trusted her, and you felt comfortable that she would keep her promise. 

If she didn’t you knew about 22 people who would have your back. 

[vincememes]

banana fish starters

WARNINGS: IMPLIED SA, VIOLENCE MENT, DRUGS MENT spoiler warning .    to make it less long, the rest is under a cut.

feel free to adjust pronouns / names as needed !

ASH LYNX

❛   even if i did know something, what good would it do?  ❜  

❛   even a stupid street punk like me knows that  ❜  

❛   i envy you … being able to jump like that.  ❜  

❛   what could be more relaxing than three days away from these guys?  ❜  

❛   i wish i could hate you. i need someone to hate.  ❜  

❛   someone is dead. not that you’d give a damn one way or the other.  ❜  

❛   treating him like you’re giving the pope a bath isn’t going to help.  ❜  

❛   aren’t there any decent parents in this world?  ❜  

❛   that guy always regarded me as a human being with a real heart, not some sort of tool.  ❜  

❛   this little act of charity, you’re going to regret this.  ❜  

❛   i tried to forget.  ❜  

❛   stay with me... i won’t ask "forever". just for now.  ❜  

❛   well, i already know you’re a sick man.  ❜  

❛   ready to lose your life over a pizza?  ❜  

❛   my name... has become the signal for a massacre.  ❜  

❛   what on earth... have i become?  ❜  

❛   what do you think i am...? i’m a murderer... okay?  ❜  

❛   i told you before. i kill people.  ❜

❛   they paid the price for their decisions— that’s all.  ❜  

❛   what the hell do you know?!  ❜  

❛   let‘s say i am ‘exceptional’. the problem is, i never, ever, my whole life wanted to be.  ❜  

❛   you said i am not like ordinary people.  ❜  

❛   there’ve been countless times in my life when i thought i’d be better off dead.  ❜  

❛   that nothing could be worse than what was happening to me right then.  ❜  

❛   at times like that...death looks sweet and peaceful, and unbearably enticing.  ❜  

❛   war is always good business for those in power.  ❜  

❛   sorry to destroy your youthful innocence.  ❜  

❛   you have any idea what those guys made us do?  ❜  

❛   don’t tell me you still believe the pen is mightier than the sword.  ❜  

❛   if you ask me, the white house can go screw itself.  ❜  

❛   i wonder if i’m dying somewhere.  ❜  

❛   i wasn’t expecting the law to protect me.  ❜  

❛   i’ve ignored it all my life... i sure as hell don’t plan on hiding behind it now.  ❜  

❛   just keep them away from me— please!  ❜

❛   this town’s my backyard, remember?  ❜  

❛   sunrise and sunset are about the only times this junkyard of a city looks good.  ❜  

❛   even if i said no, you wouldn’t go back anyway.  ❜  

❛   if you went home i’d probably worry if something happened to you.  ❜  

❛   so it’s better you’re right here, where i can keep an eye on you  ❜  

❛   some people never change.  ❜  

❛   vulture got together with the viper. you make a great pair.  ❜  

❛   why now after all this time— does it have to be you, of all people...?  ❜  

❛   i don’t stand a chance. i’m dust against him.  ❜  

❛   over my dead body. if anybody hurts you... it’ll be over my dead body—  ❜  

❛   i don’t care who it is. i am not letting anybody hurt you.  ❜  

❛   do i scare you?  ❜  

❛   dont give me your stupid advice.  ❜  

❛   i’m happy, goddammit!    ❜  

❛   i know there’s at least one person in this world who cares about me. who doesn’t want anything from me.  ❜  

❛   do you have any idea what that’s like? i never did... not once in my entire life—until now.  ❜  

❛   and that’s worth more to me than anything else.  ❜  

❛   go back home! don’t look at me!  ❜  

❛   i don’t want you seeing me like this!  ❜  

❛   my hands are dirty with other people's blood.  ❜  

❛   i don't even know how many people i've killed.  ❜  

❛   i'm bad news.  ❜  

❛   i wish i could’ve been like you.  ❜  

❛   it’s just that… i always picture the worst-case scenario, that’s all.  ❜  

❛   guess it’s because i’m a coward.  ❜  

❛   i just can’t relax. it’s turned into a habit.  ❜  

❛   i was so scared i couldn’t speak, i couldn’t cry, and i screamed in my head, but... nothing came out.   ❜

EIJI OKUMURA

❛   if i ever lose you too... i'll go crazy.  ❜  

❛   come back safely. i'll be waiting for you, forever.  ❜  

❛   if you feel responsible, the same goes for me.  ❜  

❛  my words might not mean anything now, but just remember one thing.  ❜  

❛   even if the world turns on you, i'll always be on your side.  ❜  

❛   humans can change their destiny.  ❜  

❛   if i'm going to die anyways, at least i'll die trying!  ❜  

❛   don't apologize. that's something for people like me to do.  ❜  

❛   i'd do anything for you.  ❜  

❛   i know we'll meet again, no matter how far apart we are.  ❜  

❛   you're the greatest friend i'll ever have.  ❜  

❛   you're not alone. i'm by your side. my soul is always with you.  ❜  

❛   you asked me over and over if you scared me. but i never feared you. not once.  ❜  

❛   i'm really glad i came here.  ❜  

❛   i met lots of people. and more than anything, i met you.  ❜  

❛   that’s when i decided. i would always believe in you, no matter what.  ❜  

❛   no matter what happened, he would always have at least one person...  ❜

❛   i am very worried because i haven’t seen you and i don’t know if you are okay.  ❜  

❛   but so what? we are friends. isn’t that enough? what else do we need?  ❜  

❛   actually, i always felt that you are hurt, much more than me - that your spirit is wounded.  ❜  

❛   i know you are much smarter than me, and bigger, and stronger - but even so.. i always wanted to protect you.  ❜  

❛   but what did i want to protect you from?  ❜  

❛    i think i wanted to protect you from your future.  ❜  

❛   because your fate was sweeping you away, like a flood.  ❜  

❛   but i’m not saying “goodbye” to you... because this isn’t goodbye.  ❜

❛   are you going off on your own again?  ❜

❛   somewhere far away.. without a word?  ❜

❛   i want to see you. i wish i was with you right now.  ❜ 

YUT-LUNG

❛   a bloody history is inevitable when you are the one ruling.  ❜  

❛   what's wrong? you hated him, right? guess what? so do i.  ❜  

❛   no need to glare. i won't eat you up.  ❜  

❛   there's nothing you can do to help.  ❜  

❛   and what can you do to help?  ❜  

❛   you really irritate me.  ❜  

❛   you make people want to protect you or make them want to tear you apart and crush you.  ❜  

❛   so, what to do with you now.  ❜  

❛   i heard you tried to escape again. you have some spunk.  ❜  

❛   we have hired him, his target is your friend.  ❜  

❛   i have other things for you to do for me.  ❜  

❛   we still have two more scorpions.  ❜  

❛   i am a monster, too.  ❜  

❛   i'm not hearing any good news.  ❜  

❛   you become all tame when you’re around them.  ❜  

❛   you’ve degraded from a lone lynx to a content pet cat.  ❜  

❛   depending on your answer, i may not forgive you.  ❜

OTHER CHARACTERS (shorter, max, sing, shunichi, etc.)

❛   his face when he laughed was cute, and childlike, and totally angelic.  ❜  

❛   it's my problem too! if you go alone, you'll just be killed.  ❜  

❛   you'll die for nothing!  ❜  

❛   i won't let you go alone.  ❜  

❛   i'm sorry, but believe me when i say this: i'll die before i let them lay a finger on you.  ❜  

❛   i can't anymore. set me free. i'm in so much pain.  ❜

 ❛   we need to stay apart so at least one of us survives  ❜   

❛   if the former boss gets hit then it's the duty of the new boss to make the drop.  ❜   

❛   if we don't fight back now, we'll forever be expendable tools. ❜  

❛   you asked me to look after them.  ❜  

❛   yes, honey.    ❜  

❛   that’s for you to decide for yourself..  ❜  

❛   what’s wrong? you can’t punch me from that far back.  ❜  

❛   this will be the last time i give you a word of advice.  ❜  

❛   time is an ironic thing. for us, it means to age. but for people like him, it means to grow.  ❜  

❛   i love all women. they're beautiful and strong. like life itself.  ❜  

❛   it would only be making another one of us. ❜  

❛   one more wretched being, unloved and unloving, whose only sustenance is hatred and nihilism.  ❜  

❛   don’t fight your memories, cuz you’re never going to win.  ❜  

❛   i guess home isn’t something you want to remember if you ran away from it.  ❜  

❛   in one second i knew he could read everything on my mind.  ❜  

❛   i wondered when this boy had started to watch out for his soul, then i knew how much he had suffered.  ❜  

❛   you are the most beautiful and the most dangerous, of all the beasts i have ever known.  ❜  

❛   rather than hate and be triumphant, you chose to love and be destroyed.  ❜  

❛   i staked my life on that choice. please try to accept it.  ❜  

❛   one who does not love cannot be loved, either.  ❜  

❛   you at the very least knows what it is to love.  ❜  

❛   how can you expect someone who suffered so much to have any respect for authority? ❜  

❛   fine line between offender and victim it’s hard to know where to draw it.  ❜  

❛   there’s something about you that i just can’t hate.  ❜  

❛   'cause you’re hurt your soul’s bleeding-even now.  ❜  

❛   you’re just like me that way.  ❜

[misterewrites]

Masked Intentions (Solider, Poet, King. Genshin Impact)

Hey E here with a very special gift for my bestie MAE over at @hains-mae ! IT'S HER BIRTHDAY YAY! and naturally I had to write her a gift cuz she’s awesome and she makes epic art (Seriously go check it out it’s awesome!). This year, however, she chose Genshin Impact and I am honor bound to write it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAE WHEN YOU READ THIS! 

Okay some author notes actually. Singing. I'm doing it again. So if it's Italics it's a single singer, Bold and Italics is a group of people singing. the song is Celtic Women's teir abhaile riu. It's a fast pace fun song I felt fit the setting of Genshin. I mean I don't play but still I know a strange amount of it based on second hand accounts. Anyway i hope it's not too confusing but I guess we'll find out haha.

Okay that's it for me. Be safe, take care of yourself and your loved ones. Wear a mask. Clean the mask. replace the mask if you've used yours forever (paper not cloth is better) get vaccinated if you can, push for world wide vaccination cuz fucking hell this is getting old. Keep an eye on Ukraine if you can mentally handle it. They're fighting tooth and nail for their home and they need everything they can get. Watch for misinformation since the Russian psyops are acting up again, double check sources, double check groups in case they're secretly shady and just watch. It's not okay what's happening and if you can't handle it and need to avoid, i understand. Have a great week and take care of yourselves please.

Here’s the chapter on the much more writer friendly https://archiveofourown.org/works/35657500/chapters/93514921

Here’s the first chapter I wrote for mae for Christmas! https://archiveofourown.org/works/35657500/chapters/88904083

And what’s this? my other works which include Arcane, Owl House, Soul Eater and, for lack of my usual modesty, a pretty decent original work? Whaaaaa 

https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrE42/pseuds/MrE42

Here’s a link to one of the version of the song because tumblr probably already shadowbanned me so why the fuck not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-fFx-Edj2U

Here’s the keep reading sign, have a good one!

Summary:  It's been dead end after dead end and Venti is no closer to discovering the machinations of Childe and Signora's plans. Left with little choice, Venti decides to get evidence right at the source: Childe. Attending a masquerade Venti attempts to slip the clue he needs right under Childe's nose.

-----

The sounds of laughter and music filled the air as the Windblume festival began proper. The streets were alive as people from all walks of life took to the streets to partake in the celebrations with nary a care for status or power. Beautiful wreathes of white flowers hung from every building with tender love and care as the festival colors blanketed the city like an endless ocean: Armbands, flags, flower crowns of varying shades of whites, blues and green as far as the eye could see and worn by any and everyone.

Venti had to admit it was nice to see the festival in person after being gone for so long. The Windblume festival was one of his favorite events and unfortunately did not hold the same weight outside Mondstadt. The smaller festivities he’d participated in were decent enough but nothing could compare to the majestic revelry only the city of freedom could muster.

He shook his head, shaking the carefree thoughts from within. As much as he would love to enjoy the festival in classic Venti fashion, there were work to be done.

He hated work.

Venti pulled his riding cloak over his frame, carefully making himself appear as small and harmless as he could manage. The guard glanced his way, a faint curiosity twinkling in his eyes as the bard drew closer.

Venit pulled his lips into a playful smile “Yes my good sir, is there an issue?”

“Sorry m’lord.” the guard gave a sheepish grin “I hadn’t expected you to stop. Most folks rather hurry inside instead to enjoy the show than make small talk with a humble guard such as myself.”

“I find everyone fascinating. As bard you never pass up a chance for a good story. Or better yet good gossip.”

“True that sir. Pardon my staring.”

The bard let a cherry laugh.

“Not at all my good fellow but I am curious. What catches your gaze?”

The guard mumbled awkwardly under his breath “Your mask.”

Venti couldn’t help but give a cheeky grin as he removed his mask and held it closer for the man to see. It was a white domino mask with two outstretched blue wings framing either side of the face. Unlike his Sprite mask, however, this mask was a poorer quality: The white was more egg shell than marble. The blue wings were less fairy and more avian in nature with a shade of blue that was just off enough to raise questions and of course minus one feather.

“Your local folktale!” he beamed proudly “The Windsprite that fought for the freedom of the great land of Mondstadt!”

The guard gave a polite nod “Well close enough m’lord. It’s...not quite correct if you pardon my saying.”

Venti frowned for a moment before putting the mask back on “Forgive me I am but a humble traveler to your lovely city. By the time I found out this event was a masquerade I had little choice for attire.”

As if to make a point, Venti pushed his dark green cloak open to reveal his choice of outfit for the evening. Unlike his usual elegance the bard had opted for a more modest appearance: A fine yet humble white tunic with a flowery pattern embroidered on its surface. A small dark green cape hung off his shoulder as his earthen brown dress pants were tucked into a pair of equally brown loafers.

“You look fine sir.”

“Thank you!” Venti gave a humble bow as he hid his frame beneath the cloak once more “I best be off. Have a good night kind sir.”

The guard nodded in response “You as well.”

------

The theater was as magnificent as last Venti laid eyes upon it.

It was an odd building forgoing tradition and sense for the sake of enjoyment: The building itself was circular in design and for a particular reason. The outer ring of the establishment was constructed of the finest wood with counters built into the railings angled just so for everyone to face the performers on the stage built into the far wall. Four floors tall meant plenty of people could sit back with a drink and join in the merriment. The inner ring, however, lay the smooth tile floor meant for the feet of happy dancing folks. Certainly not for the shy and easily embarrassed given how much the inner ring was exposed.

Venti currently sat upon a stool on the second floor, one hand clasped tightly around his cup of cider. He emptied his drink within seconds and slammed the mug onto the counter. Cheers rose from nearby patrons.

“TO YOUR HEALTH!” one boomed.

“TO YOUR JOY!” another yelled in response.

“MAY THE WINDS OF FREEDOM GUIDE YOU!” Venti shouted.

A fresh round of cheers went up as the clanking of mugs filled the air.

Venti’s bright smile did not match his eyes as he stared upon the inner ring: Aside from a pair of solitary figures having a rather hushed conversation not a soul could be seen. The band was set to take the stage in a few minutes yet Venti was no closer to a plan.

It had been years since last he saw Childe yet somehow the man looked the same as he did all those years ago: Tall with a lanky frame though toned with muscles. His orange hair was still short and choppy as ever. Though it was impossible to tell with that tacky and rather in poor taste red Fatui mask covering his face, Venti could still see those dull blue eyes in his memory.

Childe wore an outfit fit for a ruler which he pretended to be: A jacket darker than night with fine sliver threaded in refined patterns upon its surface. Black dress pants tucked into equally dark boots. He wore dark red collared shirt though he left the top unbuttoned and tieless. A blood red cape hung off him and made him as look as imposing as Venti knew him to be. Childe was one of the fieriest fighters he’d ever known with an unquenchable lust for battle.

His cloaked companion could’ve been any number of his underlings or even Signora herself yet from this distance Venti couldn’t be sure.

Not that it mattered. He was here for one thing and one thing only tonight.

Venti focused on his objective for the night: Hidden within Childe’s right pocket lay a notebook filled with the impostor's operations. It was neigh impossible to tail him given his status and Signora still hid in the shadows. Blindly groping in the dark led to only dead ends and frustration. If Venti was to have an idea how deeply entrenched Childe’s corruption lay in Mondstadt’s foundation he would have to be far more daring.

It wasn’t an ideal plan: Once picked no doubt Childe would note the disappearance of the item and run his operations to ground. He would be more guarded and less likely to make a mistake openly but it would give Venti the start he so desperately needed.

Of course that was under the assumption he could take the item without its owner’s notice. Each time a server approached from any direction, the orange haired brat had already raised a hand of dismissal.

What to do…..

Venti snapped out of his thoughts as a familiar sight graced his gaze.

The beautiful blonde haired princess entered and the bard could feel his heart skip a beat upon the sight of her.

Somehow she had been modest in their first meeting: Tonight she wore a gorgeous white strapless dress that went down to her ankles. A shimmering sliver sheer material covered her bare shoulders and neck while white leggings and flats completed the look.

She was beauty, she was grace! She was a seriously unneeded distraction. It took everything the bard had to pry his eyes away from her and not stare a moment longer.

“Though.” Venti murmured to himself as he noticed Childe’s eyes wandered for a moment as well “it seems like I’m not the only one who wishes to catch the princess’s eye.”

A thought occurred to him. An idea so daring and reckless that a wise man would’ve called the bard an utter fool for even thinking it.

Of course you were only a fool if it failed and as Venti wrote down instructions and handed the paper to a nearby waitress to pass along to the band, the bard had placed his gamble.

-----

Venti took his place near the steps to the inner ring when the steady, rhythmic beat of a drum began to fill the air. A moment later a violin joined with a shrill yet bouncy pulsing melody.

A pretty woman took the stage, her fellow singers standing behind at the ready. She took a deep breath as she waited for her cue from the instrumentation.

“Look how the lights of the town, the light of the town are shining now. Tonight I’ll be dancing around, I’m off on the road to Galway now!”

The others joined in. They took a step forward to take their place alongside with the pretty girl and singing their chorus in hush gossiping tones.

“Look how she’s off on the town, she’s off on the search for sailors though. There’s fine fellows here to be found, she’s never been one to stay at home.”

The chorus surrounded the pretty one, their voices teasing yet without malicious intent.

“Home you’ll go and it’s there you’ll stay, and you’ve work to do in the morning. Give up your dream of going away, forget your sailors in Galway.”

The group began to chanting the next lyrics in a language Venti didn’t recognize. They sang in the unknown language for a few phrases then the violin player took up the melody once more. They repeated the opening melodic line with more force and excitement.

Venti took it as his cue.

He grabbed around a pair of persons by their wrists, dragging them into the inner ring without warning. They protested but Venti paid them no mind.

“Come now and follow me down, down to the lights of Galway, where there’s fine sailors walking the town and waiting to meet the ladies there.”

“What’s the big idea?” One huffed in annoyance.

“I rather not like being manhandled!” The other spoke with equal irritation.

“Either you dance with her or I will.” Venti gave an impish grin.

Before either could argue he vanished into the crowd looking for another victim.

“Watch now he’ll soon be along. He’s finer than any sailor so, come on pick up your spoons, he’s waiting to hear you play them! WOO!”

Venti noticed the longing gaze of a young wife. She sighed expectantly as her husband he chattered to some stranger to the side.

Venti paused for a moment, listening carefully for the man’s cadence.

“Honey!” the bard muttered with close impersonation of a husky voice “Would you grace me with a dance?”

The young woman shrieked with excitement “Yes my love!”

Venti watched with amusement as, with a grip unexpected of her size, the wife grabbed her husband by the collar and dragged him to the dance floor, completely ignoring his confused ramblings.

“Here today and she’s gone tomorrow and next she’s going to Galway. Jiggin around and off to town, and won’t be back till morning.”

The singers broke into the familiar unfamiliar chanting once more but Venti was far too focused on the task at hand. By the time the violin stepped up for their extensive solo Venti had tricked, coerced and otherwise encouraged more and more people onto the dance floor. What was once nothing more than Childe and his mysterious guest was now a dozen or so couples dancing without a care in the world.

Venti caught the grimace of annoyance on Childe’s smile. He muttered something to the cloaked figure and the pair began to make their away from the gathering crowd.

Venti followed suit, ignoring the pounding of his heart as the shrill shrieks of the violin grew more and more frantic. He drew closer, careful enough to not arouse suspicion yet not so fast to draw attention. He held his breath as he braced himself for impact.

Venti crashed against Childe with as much force as he could muster but also with the grace of a drunken buffoon. He pulled his hood down to ensure he couldn’t see his masked face.

“Sorry m’lord!” He apologized with a lisp “many apologies."

”Venti pivoted on his feet awkwardly as to get away when a hand clasped down on his shoulder, holding a firm grip on the bard.

The violin finished their solo, their strings now playing a soft thrum that cut through the playfulness of the room.

Venti glanced backwards to find the tasteless Fatui mask staring blankly at him. Childe held him tight and simply stared.

“M’lord?” Venti asked, letting some real unease into his voice.

Childe said nothing.

“Let him go.” the cloaked figure whispered as they realized some of the couples were starting to notice the commotion “Don’t make a scene. Not here.”

A moment paused yet Childe did not release his grip on the bard.

Another moment passed and as the singers took their place to resume the song Childe let go of Venti.

“Don’t do it again.” his voice was sharp with the promise of a threat.

Venti gave hurried nod and vanished into a crowd, clutching the notebook for dear life. It had worked! His half baked, poorly thought out plan had succeed! He was no fool, he was Venti and he was a gen…

“IT’S GONE! HE TOOK IT!” Childe’s voice boomed above the jovial sounds.

Venti could feel his heart slow to a crawl. Well turns out he was foolish after all.

He was tempted to burst into a wild sprint but such an idea would be terrible. Not only would he leave an obvious trail, the guards would respond to their lord’s wishes and it was a matter of time before Venti was caught without a place to run.

“Off with a spring in my step the sailors are searching Galway for, a young lady such as myself for reels and jigs and maybe more.”

Venti cut between a nearby couple, ducking out of sight before Childe could catch sight of him but he could hear the stomping of his pursuer close at hand.

It was a tense few moments of a wild chase between prey and predator: Venti would zig and zag, pivot around dancing couples and squeezed into any space no matter how narrow. He would double back and circle around and did everything he could to prevent Childe from pinning him down.

Childe, on the other hand, was relentless. Every time Venti thought he’d evaded the lord, he appeared without warning and barely gave the bard enough time to switch tactics. Even the slightest swish of his cloak would betray his position to the dull eyed hunter who inched closer and closer to his quarry with each passing drumbeat.

“Stay here and never you mind the lights of the town are blinding you”

He couldn’t keep this up. People were starting to question what exactly was going on and he’d soon lose the crowd’s cover as curiosity would bring all dancing to a halt. He needed to be bold once more or this would be for naught.

“The sailors they come and go”

Once he was certain he broke line of sight of Childe, he removed his cloak and threw it onto a nearby gentleman.

The gentleman was confused but before he could question what was going on, Venti had slipped into the crowd once more.

“but listen to what’s reminding you.”

Venti could hear the stomping of Childe nearby, his voice stiff yet held with barely contained violence. He questioned where the man had gotten the cloak. Within a moment or two the man would no doubt point him in Venti’s direction.

“Handsome men surrounding you.”

Venti glanced about. Nothing but quizzically faces wondering what exactly was happening.

He could feel the sweat run down the back of his neck as Childe’s footsteps thundered closer and closer. If he stayed here no doubt the gossiping eyes would give him away.

“Dancing a reel around you!”

“Then let’s give them something else to gossip about.” Venti muttered to himself.

He reached into the crowd with wild abandon and the moment his hand managed to find another, he pulled them in closer.

His eyes widened as instead of a random person like he was hoping for, he found himself staring face to face with the beautiful blonde haired princes. Her golden eyes narrowed with furious confusion.

“Beg your pardon?” she couldn’t keep the edge out of her voice.

“Pardoned.” He said with a cheeky grin.

“Home you’ll go, and it’s there you’ll stay, and you’ve work to do in the morning. Give up your dream of going away, forget your sailors in Galway.”

Venti quickly (but respectfully) placed his hand on her waist, drawing her closer. He began bouncing back and forth in an attempt to get the young woman to dance with him.

Lumine was not impressed by the brazen act by this stranger but before she could pull away from him, something caught her eye.

A figure, tall with refined black clothing appeared from the crowd wearing a red Fatui mask. Despite its smooth featureless surface she could tell he was looking for something.

Or rather someone.

“Listen to the music flow”

Lumine glanced back at the stranger who had grabbed her so rudely. Despite her unwilling to dance with him, the stranger wasn’t particularly forceful about it. While he did sway in an attempt to get her to move, he was very gentle and his hands did not wander.

“I’m falling for the flow of home”

She had no idea what she was thinking but just as the masked figure glanced their way, she began to dance. She swayed to and fro with the stranger and allowed him take control of their movements though she did not lower her guard.

“I’m home to dance till dawning”

Lumine was amazed how light on his feet this stranger was. She’d accidentally been swept up towards the inner ring when someone gripped her wrist and pulled in. Before she could utter a single world he gave a polite bow and disappeared into the gathering crowd. She was actually trying to escape out of the ring when this man had grabbed her for a dance.

“Forgive me princess.” the man muttered softly “I’m afraid I have other motives for this dance.”

Lumine paused. Something about his voice was so familiar yet it eluded her memory.

“Princess?” The man asked, unsure if he’d step too far “Miss?”

Lumine shook herself out of her stupor and she replied with a mocking tone “Oh really? I suppose men have other things on their mind than dancing with beautiful young women?”

The man let out a cheery laugh “So you are aware of your beauty princess.”

“Lumine.” She corrected him “And I have been told of my beauty. How much is truth and how much is desire remains to be seen.”

“Sharp mind and sharper tongue. Be still my beating heart.”

Lumine tilted her head curiously “What did you just say?”

Venti coughed “Nothing of importance.”

“Stay awhile and we’ll dance together, now as the light is falling. We’ll reel away till the break of day and dance together till morning.”

The music grew as the singers began to fervently chant louder and louder, the violin’s frantic yet joyful shrill growing with them.

Despite how this situation began, Lumine found herself enjoying the man’s presence: His step was graceful like she was dancing with the wind itself. His hands were firm yet gentle and they remained affixed to her hand and waist respectively. As they swayed back and forth lost in the melodic thundering of voices and instruments, she could feel her heart begin quicken at the sight of his carefree grin and quicker still with his wit.

“Dazed by my grace my fair Lumine?”

Lumine could feel her cheeks blush “I would give you an honest answer yet you do not need a bigger ego.”

“Your words wound me my fair Lumine.” The man let go of her for a moment to clutch at his chest.

“Dramatic to the last good sir?”

“Venti.” He replied with a cocky smirk “And I am nothing if not dramatic.”

“Venti?” she’d had heard the name before realization struck her “Wait! I know you! You’re the bard! The one who sang when you entered town.”

Venti let some of the surprise spill onto his face, his cheeks reddening as his voice dropped to a whisper “So you’ve heard of me fair Lumine.”

“W-well.” Lumine stammered cutely “It’s much less heard of you and heard you belting out at the top of your lungs.

Venti chuckled “I am a bard. If a bard does not sing, what use is he?”

“Well he could also tell a good story.” Lumine offered before letting a snicker escape her lips “Though I imagine your stories would be at best altered truths and at worst completely egotistical.”

Venti gave a bright grin “Wound me again yet still I remain.”

“You are rather daring or utterly foolish and I cannot hazard a guess as to which.”

“Foolishly daring I’d suppose.” he bit his lip thoughtfully “Or daringly foolish.”

Lumine giggled “Is there a difference?”

“I suppose not.” Venti answered honestly.

The song ended. The singers and instruments bowed to thunderous applause yet were lost to the pair as they still dance to an unheard song.

Venti was the first noticed excited chatter all around them.

“Fair Lumine, they have stopped.”

Lumine blinked questioningly. She looked to one side then another and when she found no one dancing, she turned a lovely shade of red.

“Ah.” She cleared her throat “I suppose your dance was not as horrible as I feared.”

Venti smiled yet did not release his hold on her “That was a compliment.”

“Do not push your luck.” Lumine threatened with a huff “No matter how silvered your tongue, you will mind your manners.”

“As you wish my lady.”

“Quite the dance you two.”

Venti and Lumine jumped in surprise at the new voice that joined them. They whirled around to find Childe standing there, the smooth featureless Fatui mask staring at them both.

“Do I know you?” steel entered Lumine’s voice.

“Of course you do!” Childe’s muffled voice replied.

Lumine blinked in confusion “Lord Childe?”

“That is I! Or rather me underneath this mask. You look quite beautiful. I take it the dress was to your liking?”

“Umm.” Lumine rubbed her arm awkwardly “It is nice my lord but I fear I cannot keep it.”

Childe chuckled “A gift is a gift. It would be rude to reject it. And whose your friend in the sprite mask?”

“Sprite mask?” Lumine answered but Venti paid her no mind. He released his hand from her waist and bowed respectfully.

“I am Venti! A wandering minstrel who seeks only the finest songs and finer cider.”

“I see.”

Lumine could feel the tension between the two, the air growing thick and cold as Childe’s voice took an empty tone.

“You are familiar to me.”

Venti gave a nervous laugh “I get that alot my good sir. Perhaps all us bards look the same.”

“No. You are familiar.” His voice replied darkly.

Silence fell over the trio and despite the happy chatter and lively noises filled throughout the room, Lumine could only feel the odd sense of dread.

Lumine sighed in relief as Childe took on his usual carefree tone “My guards will bring you back to the palace Lumine. Feel free to stay as long as you like or explore the town.”

He turned to Venti “You have the stance of a solider.”

Venti did his best to keep his face as straight as he could even though he wore a mask “I am but a humble bard.”

“Hmm. Do you carry a mighty sword o’humble bard?”

“Afraid I’ll tear your city down?” Venti couldn’t keep the threat out of his voice.

“No.” Childe answered truthfully “It’s not my city you’ll be tearing down.”

Childe left without another word, leaving Venti to stew over his words.

“Do you two know each other?”

Venti snapped out of his thoughts “No…no I don’t think so. He reminds me of someone I knew but I suspect he’s not around anymore.”

Lumine was not convinced by that answer but decided not to press the issue. She raised her hand still entwined with his “You may release my hand now if you please.”

“Oh my apologies fair Lumine. I just wanted to enjoy your touch for a moment longer but I shall never deny a lady a request.”

And with a dramatic flourish, he lets go of her hand and slips into a bow.

“By your leave.”

“Denied.”

Venti teetered uneasily, too off caught guard “Denied?”

Lumine nodded her head “Yes. I’m rather bored and you’re the first interesting thing that has happened to me all night.”

“I sense a but coming up.”

“I rather not turn in so soon. I’ve never been to a Windblume festival. You mentioned you were a bard yes?”

Venti gave quick nod, sensing a trap in her words.

“Then surely you’ve been to plenty of festivals. I can think of no better guide.”

“I’m being kidnapped.” Venti sad “This is an odd one for me I’ll admit.”

Lumine looped his arm in hers and leaned against his shoulder “Think of it as payment for me saving you from Lord Childe.”

“My dear that is how rumors start.”

Venti could feel his heart race at the sight of Lumine’s Chesire smile.

“Then let’s give the town something to gossip over.”

Oh boy was Venti in trouble. But he always liked a little trouble now and then.

[wesimpforxiao]

Inception Chapter 2

"Excuse me, may I have your mask?"

It's a strange question to ask an off-duty Fatui agent who was just hoping to go home and get a good-night's rest.  You'd have to admit if it weren't for the fact that he was Fatui, you'd feel bad for the tired expression that was so blatantly obvious through his slouched posture as he walked to his apartment.

It was late at night and since it takes you forever to feel the call of sleep even as you lay in bed, it was the perfect opportunity to put that leftover energy to use.  What better way than to inconvenience the Fatui as their shifts end?

"Excuse me? Why do you wan-" The man turned around, and the familiar voice had your blood boiling.

"Oh, so it's you," you cooed, half mockingly, and half threatening.  This was the man Zhongli had talked about awhile back, and he was more than rude to Zhongli and Aether (who you only met once).  This guy's the perfect target for tonight's mischief.  "Good evening, Kliment.  Let me ask you again.  May I have your mask?"

"What the hell are you on about?  No, you can't 'have' it.  Get lost lady, it's dangerous for small things like you to be walking around alone this late."  He would've turned on his heel and storm away, but hesitated since the petite girl before him was dressed in black and not an inch of your skin or significant features could be seen.  "Wait a second.  You're that bitch that's been--"

"I'd prefer a cooler name than that," you interjected calmly despite the growing heat on your skin.  "Can't you guys come up with better nicknames?  Not all of you lack creativity from what I've seen.  Mask, now."

"Screw off, brat."  Kliment unhooked his mask from his hip and put it on in preparation for a brawl.  "I don't hold back against chicks like you."

"Generic. Cliché.  Uninspiring," you rolled your eyes with a lack of interest.  "Seriously, you have the audacity to be rude towards the people you hire, yet you lack enough common decency to resort to these awful nicknames? Honestly," the clink of your minute dagger unsheathing caught the man's attention.  You had never really needed to use it against anyone, but you displayed it nonetheless--just in case you felt a tad threatened, and you never were.  "All I'm after is your mask."

"You've more than pissed all of us off with your antics.  Go to hell!"  Kliment charged at you with his fist.  You sidestepped and let him fall forward.  Then your elbow landed at the base of his skull, and he crumpled to all fours.

"For a Fatui agent, you're pretty weak," you whispered as you tore the mask from his face.

"You stupid little-!"  Kliment pushed himself to his feet and spun around to swing at you, but he was met with empty space and silence.  How did she even disappear like that?!  Annoyed that his night was ruined, he stormed back the way he came--back to Northland Bank.

Childe was listening to his agent's report in the bank's lobby when someone loudly burst through the doors with such a force, he thought someone had finally become brave enough to pick a fight with him.  But to his disappointment, he was met with yet another pissed-off agent.  He'd seen this guys before...what was his name again? Clyde? Cliff?  

"Master Childe!"  The man stomped towards the harbinger with a reddened face.  "That bi-"

"If you're going to greet me, I suggest you do it properly," the stern look in Childe's eyes was enough to snap Kliment back to his senses and realize just who he was talking to.  The agent that was relaying her report immediately silenced herself.

"M-my apologies, sir."  Kliment bowed--a bit rushed-- before resuming his rant.  "That...That vigilante is still here.  Why aren't you doing anything about her?  We thought you were going to deal with this--"

Another glare, this time enough to silence the entire room.  "Does anyone here have objections to the way I'm choosing to deal with this matter?"

Silence. And it was tense.

Childe slowly scanned the room and made a point to hold eye contact with each agent present.  "You've seem to forgotten that this matter was supposed to be taken care of by your lot.  If it weren't for the disappearances that may or may not be linked, I wouldn't be wasting my time here helping you."

Kliment scoffed, "You've been back for three months and we still haven't made any progress, even with you!"  He half-expected to have angered the harbinger, but to his horror, the man chuckled.

"Is that so?"  Childe walked towards him, head held high and eyes downcast in a condescending manner.  The air around him could've crackled with electricity from how frightening the sight was.  He was eerily calm, steady, balanced--yet the deadly spark in his eyes and the upward twitch of his lips dared Kliment to test him.  "If you truly wish to settle this matter then by all means, come at me.  Fight me man-to-man, and I'll show you a bit of respect.  Your words mean nothing to me unless you've proven yourself in battle."  His hand slapped onto Kliment's shoulder a little too hard, and the man flinched.  

If a pin dropped, everyone would hear it right now.

Childe took it a step further and leaned forward until he was at Kliment's ear.  "But considering you got your ass handed to you by a woman with no proper training or fighting skills, it might be wise to stand back and let me handle the load."

Kliment shrugged the hand off his shoulder and bit his tongue.  As much as he hated it, his superior was right.  He was so tired after a long day, he let a girl get the best out of him.  "Mark my words, I'll catch her."

"Hahaha! I'm sure you will."

.......................

"Annnnnd another one bite's the dust."  The mask was tossed into a bag the second you entered your studio apartment.  Then the bag was lazily kicked back under your bed before you threw yourself onto the mattress.  "Ugh, I'm tired now."

You absently stare at the ceiling as your lids steadily grew heavier.  'Kliment,' huh?  From Zhongli's story, he probably deserved more than an elbow to the back of his head.  Or his mask stolen.  That would be a task for another night. Until then, you'll surrender to the melodies of the crickets outside your window.

....................

"Ajax!"  A high-pitched voice made him look to his right only to be confronted by you.  A wary survey of his surroundings confirmed none of the Fatui were nearby.

He plastered a smile on his face as usual.  "Greetings, Reed!"  The two of you had run into each other a few times by now, occasionally inviting the other on a short walk or to the nearest café before returning to work.  He knew the drill by now.  You'd ask about his day, and he would lie.  You'd ask how his business was going, and he would lie.  You'd ask for stories after you had parted from Snezhnaya, and he would lie.  Slowly but surely digging himself a deeper grave while simultaneously beginning to feel a familiar warmth in his heart for you.

Make no mistake, he constantly reminded himself, this is just a temporary attraction.  It wouldn't work between us.  Yet he still heard that small voice at the back of his that wondered what would happen if he did catch feelings for an old friend, and caught himself looking forward to when he'd see you next.

"How's your week been going?  I've been pushed over the edge with the workload.  Apparently there was an accident west of here and there was a lot of casualties."  Despite the warm smile on you lips, the grief from your eyes bled into it.  

"Oh? I'm sorry to hear that."  Wait.  A lightbulb went off in his head.  Why didn't he think of asking you this sooner?  "Did they happen to be Fatui?"

He caught the subtle twitch in your brow, and your lips curled downward.  "Fatui? No, they're rare customers.  It was a mining accident; a lot of people were injured."  Childe could almost feel your gaze crawl over him, and he couldn't help but think you finally connected the dots.  Had he covered his trail thoroughly enough?  "Why did you suddenly ask about them?"

Surely it wouldn't hurt to test your reaction.  "Hm?  Well, word on the street is some Fatui agents have gone missing recently.  I was just curious if any had turned up dead."

"Really? I haven't heard anything," you shifted your weight and leaned against a wall, lost in deep thought.  I'm usually really good at overhearing these things.  How did I miss such a huge deal?  Maybe Ajax has resources I can use?  "Who told you these things?"

"A few customers of mine have mentioned it off-hand."  Childe watched for any tell on your movements, but he couldn't read you.  Your lying skills were usually terrible from what he remembered, but now you're giving mixed signals.  "Well, that's enough Fatui talk.  I know you hate them."

"Aww, I'm glad you remember that detail about me," you replied with voice dripping in sarcasm.  "Is that the only memorable thing about my presence?"

"Hm, dunno," a cheeky smile prompted you to scrunch your brows.  "If you really want to know my answer, you'll have to fight me for it."

"Ha, yeah right.  Your opinion of me has yet to have any emotional impact on me.  I don't need to waste my energy to serve your...violent tendencies."

"Ouch," Childe grabbed at his chest and feigned offense.  "Are you challenging me?  'Cuz if you are, I'm more than confident in my abilities to make women fall head-over-heels for me."

He had expected you to blush at his remark, but you instead rolled your eyes.  "As if I'd fall for you now."

"'Now?'"  He moved to block your exit with a hand against the wall.  Childe practically towered over you, but then again, who didn't?  You're so petite--  "Well well well, what does that mean, girlie?"

Feeling your face flush, you lightly pushed him out of the way before he could pick up on your fluster.  "Nothing.  Can we change the subject now?"

There was your readable nature; you'd never fool him for long.  "As you wish," he obliged, seemingly satisfied with your supposed lack of an answer.  "So, do you have any plans for the evening?"

"Tonight?"  Your brows and nose scrunched up as you looked up at him.  You had always met up during the day, and even then, it wouldn't be for long.  It'd more or less be set up like Zhongli's meeting with Ajax the day you happened to tag along.  "Not really...Why?"

"How 'bout a dinner date?"

"We're still on this train of thought?  Enough with the jokes, Ajax!"

"Hey now, I'm serious."

It was a bit difficult to avert your eyes when he stared at you with such determination.  "A 'date' sounds premature, don't you think? We've only recently reconnected and even then, we don't know each other very well.  For all I know you could be planning to kill me in my apartment or something."

"Have it your way, then.  How 'bout dinner without the date?"

"Now that, I can agree to."

...............................

Despite your initial hesitance, you were the one that insisted on cooking and eating at your apartment with Ajax.  The two of you met at Liuli Pavilion before walking back to your place that evening, with Childe being sure he was not recognized by the Fatui; they would surely come up to him and his cover would be blown.  He couldn't afford to let you know he was a harbinger or at least, not until after he finds out where his missing men are and learns more about this hobby of yours according to Zhongli.

That was the excuse, anyway.  Deep down he didn't want to lose the girl he called his best friend in his childhood years.  You were the one that were in his precious memories, before he had fallen into the Abyss, when his innocence was in it's prime.  Sure, you were both different now.  Those childish antics were a thing of the past, and a grown woman stood in little Reed's place while a war-thirsty harbinger stood in his.  You were a stranger to him now and it made him all the more determined to learn more about you--outside of his Fatui duties, of course.  But what if you were involved with his men's disappearances?  He'd have no choice but to take you out.  These thoughts turmoiled his mind until you reached the door of your apartment.

"After you," you gestured before following him in.  

"Nice place you got here."  Childe eyed your small but tidy living quarters with care.  A small kitchen lined the left wall, and a couch separated the kitchen area from the living space.  Your bed cuddled the far wall next to the window that overlooked the main street of Liyue from the second floor.  You shouldn't be letting strangers in so easily.

"It's small and cheap, but it gets the job done."  You rummaged through the fridge and brought out a plethora of ingredients.  Carrots, broth, chicken, potatoes--you'd start off with these first.  Despite Childe's insistence that he'd do the cooking, you managed to compromise and cook side-by-side with him.  That said, you weren't nearly as good of a cook as he was; that was probably the reason why he pushed so hard to be the sole chef tonight.  This would be your chance to show how much you've changed over the years.

Childe joined your right and took a knife out from one of your drawers as if he had lived in your apartment with you all your life.  After handing him a cutting board, he began to chop away at the carrots before placing them in a pot on the island counter behind you.  He was secretly making a mental map of this place, trying to figure out where any clues would be hiding about his men.  You spent your time peeling the potatoes before tossing them in with the carrots.  It was quiet with your occasional humming of some tune Childe hadn't heard before and the clacking of knives against cutting boards.

Once the ingredients were set and everything was ready to be cooked, Childe turned to the stove.  "Oh...You don't have any wood?"  Something like this wouldn't do.  How are you supposed to have a meal if you don't have a fire?

"Nope," you answered as if it was the obvious choice.

"Let me get this straight girlie," he moved next to you with his forearm resting on the cupboard above you.  "You invite me over for a homecooked meal, and your stove isn't even functional?  You really haven't changed all these years."  His teasing attitude was almost immediately wiped off his face when he was met with your snarky expression.

"Like I said earlier, we're still getting to know one another."  Your hand drifted down to your cardigan, and for a second, Childe misread what you were planning to do.  You pulled the fabric away from your blouse and a pyro vision glinted from within it's inner pocket.

Something akin to delight lit up in his eyes.  "So you do have a vision.  Do you--"

"--'Do I fight?' No," you slid by him and put your hand against the metal pot.  "I...choose to use it when it comes to food.  Fire isn't something I want to play with."  Childe was quick to notice the pain that flashed in your eyes but you had blinked it away the moment he recognized it.  Your lips curled upward.  "Funny though, isn't it?  We have visions that are the opposite of each other! What're the odds of that?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, watching as the pot came to a boil within seconds of your hand touching it.  You didn't so much as summon a flame.

"It'll be done in a few minutes.  Feel free to make yourself at home."

Will do.  Childe silently slid into the living room portion of your studio apartment, hands in his pockets and eyes narrowed like an eagle searching for its prey. His steps were light but firm, and he'd occasionally tap the hardwood floor with the toe-end of his boots to check for loose floorboards that might be hiding something--anything, really.  Any dirt he can gather on you, he'd have to find it now.  This might be his only chance, but seeing as how friendly and insistent you were to bring him over and show hospitality, it wouldn't be unlikely to be invited again.

He eyed an empty fireplace that sat opposite of the couch.  It was empty and spotless; it's never been used, and you could go without it thanks to your pyro vision.  A couple paintings were leaned up against the wall on top of the fireplace; they were no larger than his hand in size, but whoever the artist was possessed true talent.  Three figures stood in the image: you, your mother whom he remembered meeting at some point, and your father.

If my memory serves me correctly, he died some point after I met Reed, Childe recalled as his fingers lightly trailed over the image.  He doesn't remember you mentioning the man at all, even all those years ago...

Something drew his eyes to your neatly-made bed.  You were an amateur just as Zhongli and the Fatui agents were able to gather.  You wouldn't be hiding something under your bed, would you? He drew closer--

"Alright, dinner's ready."

Guess I'll check later.  Childe smacked his signature smirk onto his face and blinded you with it.

[moral-turpitudes]

College Headcanons: Modern!Peaky Blinders Edition

Part 1 | Part 2

A/N: This came to me in a dream. Enjoy. 

Thomas Shelby:

Double Major: Political Science and Business Management (bc he likes to work himself to death) Minor: Military Sciences/ROTC

Likes debating and trying to outsmart the professor.

Often seen on campus with bloody knuckles from rocking someone’s jaw.

Would 100% punch a motherfucker for being mean to someone he cares about.

Doesn’t need to be in a fraternity to be known around campus, just don’t mess with him and you’ll be fine.

All the girls whisper as he walks by but he don’t give a fuck cuz he has to go to his lectures.

He’s on time for every class and pulls out his pocket watch if the professor is more than 5 minutes late. If the professor can’t bother showing up then he dips out.

Almost got suspended for one too many fist fights.

Has a “thing” for the barista at the campus Starbucks. He learned after frequent visits, that her name was Grace and that she liked black coffee just like him.

Mysterious and moody af. No one knows if they’ve ever seen him smile, except when chatting up Grace.

Tries his best to study, but ends up getting dragged into his siblings shenanigans or into his head about the family business.

Keeps to himself for the most part, except for having a few close friends.

Hates technology so he uses a typewriter and prefers receiving letters/mail over emails.

Can’t figure out how to use Grace the baristas phone when typing in his number and tells her to write it down instead.

Often tells her to meet him after her shift. 😏

Professors hate him because of his reliance on paper. Totes not eco-friendly but he doesn’t care. Tommy always gets his way.

Grace always gives him a cookie for free cuz she knows he forgets to eat.

Always seen smoking or sneaking drinks of whiskey in a flask, even at 7am lectures.

Binge drinks on weekends with his bros, and drunk calls barista Grace when he has maybe 3 working brain cells left for the night. On other weekends when he’s coherent, he meets with Polly and tries to discuss business plans since their dad dipped out like a bitch.

To make matters worse, after dating for a while, Grace just leaves him. He thinks his aunt Polly may have been too hard on her, but he didn’t know until later that she lied when she said she didn’t know about the business. But barista bitch knew everything, and was gonna expose them to her higher-ups in the criminal justice department before long.

Arthur Shelby:

Major: Agriculture Minor: Military Science/ROTC

Graduated just barely.

Ended up in some trouble with his peeps in the military science department, probs for cussing someone out.

Angry, loud, and emotional af.

Loved drinking with John and his frat boy friends.

No one messed with him if they valued their life.

Started one too many fights and got suspended for reals. Almost beat a man to death but we don’t talk about that.

He gets stressed really easily so in his free time he draws horses.

When he gets real mad he takes it to the campus boxing ring and punches to his hearts content.

On his way back to his dorm one night he saw a girl who was in his agriculture class. She was cute and also in a “Christian” ministry group on campus. He decided to chat her up when she was preaching, just to see what it was about.

They later dated but then she cheated around with a fellow churchy man and just went off the rails. When he found out it wasn’t pretty.

Her friends and pastor most likely shamed her cuz she be ✨sinning✨. Therefore not helping her mental state.

Her name was Linda. Never trust a Linda.

Everyone tried to console Arthur but only boxing and drinking at Johns frat house did the trick.

Tommy often had to run to his dorm in the middle of the night to talk him out his mental breakdowns. College is hard.

In the end, he was glad he did agriculture even if his crazy ex would constantly stare at him during lectures, probably plotting his demise.

Some days he’d take out his frustrations by chopping wood and helping out on the farm where he worked and studied most days.

But you bet your ass fuckin’ Linda showed up to his dorm one time though with a gun and tried to shoot him, but she didn’t know his brothers and aunt were there too. Polly may have shot her in the arm tho. But when the campus PD showed up shit really went down.

We don’t know where Linda is now, but that’s probs for the best.

John Shelby:

Major: Music (idk I felt like he’s a musical boi) Minor: Military Science/ROTC

He’s a frat boy through and through. He drops it low on the dance floor and is known to dive onto beer pong tables.

Constantly going to parties and hooking up with sorority girls, that is until he meets a girl named Esme who’d been dragged to the party by her friends.

Suddenly he ain’t no hoe no more, he’s head over boots in love with her and she loves him too.

They be sneaking around in various buildings, often having to make a run for it to escape security.

He’d play her songs after hard training days with his military buds cuz it helps him calm down.

He’s not as violent as his older brothers, but he’ll fuck a person up if needed.

His fraternity is the second most important thing to him besides his girl. He loves the energy of the fraternity, the partying, and acting a whole fool with his friends, but Esme has him whipped.

His studies are struggling though cuz he loves to get turnt. He hates the studying aspect of college.

Always getting his brothers into trouble.

Snorts coke off Esme’s tits on occasion at the frat parties. It’s a wild time.

Has the mouth of a sailor but a heart of gold.

Talks of kids with Esme after dating for a year. Can’t afford a ring yet tho, but their bud Jeremiah marries them anyway on a whim.

After Arthur and the Grace fiasco ensues, he drops out of college because Esme falls pregnant. In the end, she ends up getting the chickens and wild cottage!core house she’d always wanted. They both decide to raise their kids there, living their best lives until Tommy drags them into more family matters later on.

Ada Shelby:

Major: English Minor: Gender & Women’s Studies

Always seen in the most stylish clothes.

She’s quiet most times but can be very knowledgeable on various subjects.

She’s constantly going off on her older brothers and trying to smack some sense into them.

Feels like something is off with the barista Tommy’s been seeing, but it’s not her problem.

Can 100% find her chilling in the back of Starbucks reading old novels or writing literature reviews.

When she’s not there, she’s holed up in the library where she works part time, studying and practicing for debates.

10/10 would fuck in the library cuz she knows all the best secret places to go to. 😏

Organizes meetings with different campus associations and demands equality for students.

Spends her free time surfing the net for clothes or keeping an eye out for a potential new bae.

Is probably the best at studying. She earns the best grades let’s be honest.

Will not hesitate to call a bitch out. She may not throw hands but she’ll throw words that can cut you like a knife.

Works for the campus paper, spilling all the tea on campus life. Her brothers often reluctantly agree to be her mock interview subjects for a range of assignments.

She breaks necks when walking around campus, everyone moves out of their way for her.

She’s a bad bitch.

Finn Shelby:

Major: Photography Minor: English

He hates how violent his brothers are but would 10/10 back them up if needed.

Often asks Ada for advice on studying and girls.

Doesn’t like the frat boy scene like John, but goes to the parties anyways with his best friends Isiah and Bonnie.

He’s a freshman and you can tell. He still has a glimmer of life in his eyes and a pep in his step as he walks around campus.

When he’s not taking pictures for class, he’s taking pictures of his girlfriend.

She’s his muse even when doing the simplest of things like sitting in a chair or reading one of his English books.

Each week he’d surprise her with a picture he took when she wasn’t looking, telling her how beautiful she is.

He may not look strong, but after many nights at the boxing ring with Arthur, he knew how to throw a punch.

He almost flunked his studies a couple times, getting too caught up in partying or being with his girl, but Ada and his Aunt Polly set him straight.

Voted by his family as most likely to not get arrested or suspended from college.

He’d have deep conversations with his friends, often confusing them because it was just that deep.

In his spare time he’d go boxing with Arthur or would try to help Tommy with his essays, but Tommy would get frustrated and tell him to fuck off within the first 10 minutes.

Polly Gray:

Profession: Business Management Professor Side Job: Managing the blinder business with Tommy

When she’s not teaching class, she’s managing the blinder business that was left to her and Tommy to tackle. This also means covering up any suspicions that arise on campus. She has her hands full.

She’s Tommy’s only shred of common sense some days when he gets too stressed out from his 10,000 majors and minors, or wants to plan to overthrow the university.

Will not hesitate to slap someone, preferably her unruly nephews.

Anyone can lie to her but the truth always falls through the cracks, and when she finds out, you’d pray you faced the devil instead.

In her spare time she reads tea leaves and prays for the corrupt souls of her son and his cousins. She really just begs to god that they can come together for once to get the business in line, but even that may be asking too much.

Knows a snake when she sees one. *cough* *cough* Grace the barista.

She’s the first one to tell someone I told ya so, especially her students when they flunk her tests because they decided to get drunk the night before.

When she’s not yelling at her nephews or grading papers, she can be seen at the local bar chatting up coworkers and old flames, hoping to find “the one” eventually. She ends up having a “thing” for the quirky Philosophy professor though. He’s kind of shady cuz she finds out he’s in a similar business on the side, but it only makes her like him more. She craves the danger.

They later end up in a whirlwind romance similar to John and Esme, and everyone loves that for them.

She can also be seen with her head in her hands when trying to persuade Tommy to use technology.

“What is copy and paste Pol? Can’t I just write it down? What’s up with all these gadgets aye?”

“If you want your hand to fall off and to make me lose my mind, then yes, write it down. Grading is bloody hard enough as it is, let alone grading your papers. You’re just like your father ya know, always doing things the hard way.”

Tells Gina off when she gets the chance just like she did Grace. She didn’t shoot her like Linda though, she just hurt some feelings.

May have aided in Grace’s “sudden” departure…maybe…just a little bit.

Secretly ships Tommy with a woman named Lizzie who had been her assistant at her office. She knew she could trust her more, at least.

Despite her harshness, she’s just trying to keep her family from completely fucking up their lives.

Michael Gray:

Major: Accounting Minor: Business Management

Like Tommy, he doesn’t get the hype of fraternities so he just hangs out with his cousins or his small circle of friends, they aren’t saints though.

His mom, Polly is his business management professor. She always calls on him and gives him a hard time when he spaces out in class.

Is often seen around campus with a few friends or his girlfriend Gina who he met in business class. They’re sickening and it was like a whirlwind romance tbh.

He usually finds himself cleaning up his cousin’s messes when it comes to fighting, but if he has to throw some punches he will.

He’s not as impulsive when it comes to matters of business, but where matters of the heart are concerned that’s another story.

When the blinders and Polly were all at her house for dinner one night he announced he was going to marry Gina. Arthur and John laughed and Tommy smirked slightly, still butt-hurt after his Grace left him for little-to-no reason. Ada grinned and bared the news whilst Polly nearly smacked him on the head.

People didn’t dare mess with him, and that went for all his cousins as well.

He spent a majority of his days in class crunching numbers, and most his nights out with the boys getting drunk or fuckin’ with Gina.

Because his mom held him accountable, his grades rivaled Ada’s causing them to get into some friendly competition at times.

He’s cunning like Tommy though. He got into many a screaming match with the older blinder after trying to take over his position in the family business. It ended in some black eyes and Polly smacking both of them with her newspaper. He knew better than to mess with the devil himself.

Despite the tensions between the cousins at times, he’s always the one they go to when they can’t figure out their math homework, and he’d always have to meet one of them in the library at 3 am to smuggle in some cocaine and a drink to keep them studying.

[mc-critical]

your analysis of selim? i think he's hated way more than he deserves. hating him for valid reasons is fine but telling that he's gonna be such a bad sultan is really stupid [and especially because only now do they bring out history & say selim was bad which is historically inaccurate as well]. out of all of suleyman's sons, it was only mustafa who was loved by all & talented [show only cuz apparently mehmet was also extremely talented & selim wasn't a bad sultan] enough for the throne. bayezid was extremely hotheaded and you can't tell me that a prince who can't control his emotions, especially in front of state officials, will be a good sultan. everyone tells selim was extremely selfish & the instigator of all their fights, when they were younger & older. siblings are always like that?? mustafa obviously wasn't like that because he was way older than mehmet, mihrimah, selim, bayezid & cihangir to get into stupid fights w/ them. mehmet & mihrimah had frequent & annoying arguments because they were closer in age. selim & bayezid had frequent fights because they were closer in age. this is a thing with many siblings; the elder provoking the younger & the younger disrespecting the elder. why do people point out their sibling fights as evidence for selim's personality? i feel sorry for bayezid as a kid but i feel less remorse for him as he's older. i don't say he deserves execution, especially at the hands of his own father, but he did rebel against his father's order & then proceeded to flee to another empire; like, the punishment for that is execution, what did he expect after rebelling? i feel extremely sorry for all his sons though, they didn't deserve this fate when they were just victims of their father's rebellion. also, unpopular opinion but bayezid is lowkey overrated pls don't cancel me i love him but he's annoying at times like all characters & no one really acknowledges it back to selim, he was honestly very underrated. he was really slandered in the series and he didn't have any real support w/ him until nurbanu & sokollu. although hurrem did vouch for him to go to manisa, it was literally only because he was 'peaceful' [we can read that as untalented as well] and no harm would reach him because he wasn't a threat [i actually really liked this plan of hurrem's, tough & clever; only if she was actually supported in this]. even mihrimah, till the end, is quite unfair to him. he had a problem w/ alcohol & people telling him to just stop? like, it doesn't work that way? people have to suffer so much in order to stop their addictions & they're actually restricted from their addictions; selim was a prince, no one around him could restrict him [his parents could but they weren't w/ him in his provinces]. he did become politically active w/ nurbanu's growing ambitions & he took smarter, more cunning & dirtier measures than bayezid to win the throne. the battle for the throne was bloody; resorting to honour like mustafa did was obviously not the best decision & people insult selim for being cunning enough [or being influenced by cunning people] to win the throne. let's also keep in mind that selim didn't even have much of an interest for the throne until manisa & nurbanu. i also like his relationship w/ nurbanu. it paralleled suleyman & hurrem's w/ the concubine arcs but selim did end up being monogamous to her in the show. their chemistry was fantastic [props to engin & merve for their acting] and although i don't really enjoy the 'a woman makes a man strong & influences him in everything; good or evil' kind of take, i did enjoy their relationship [he also sometimes looked at her like she was this ethereal type miracle, appropriately so w/ her courage]. i like what the show did w/ bayezid's execution a lot, the whole scene was such a wonderful cinematic experience; the music, bayezid's agonizing screams, his sons falling one by one, selim crying because he didn't want it to end up this way, bayezid falling & his screams ceasing, selim's heartbroken face because he was always a soft person & he always loved bayezid;

ahh, what a scene, so much love for it. anyway, that's just my opinion; i think he's hated way more than he deserves, especially in comparison to other characters & he's actually one of my most favourite characters from s4 [but i honestly love all characters w/ their good & bad, mc has many complex characters & i live for it]. what do you think about selim? sorry if you got annoyed at the long ask, i can get really heated when talking about selim [especially in reference to his historical figure], hope you don't mind if❤ [if it is annoying i'll stop it]

(okay, I'll talk strictly about the show, since I don't feel like delving deep into historical waters. There is still stuff we don't know for sure and I do want to keep the line between show and history in my head, except for the similar themes.)

While he isn't particularly my favorite character, I appreciate MC Selim and he is a very interesting subject when it comes to analyzing him. I'm actually amazed with what the show did with him in the span of a season (and something, counting some S02B and S03B moments) - he was one of the most fleshed out characters in S04 and we could get a clear picture as to why he does what he does.

Some people consider his debut to be an insult, for it immediately showed some of his weaknesses, putting him in a bad light right out of the gate. But all I can see in this debut is a showcase of his predicament of the prince no one sees as a capable heir of the throne. It’s as if he sleeps with women and drinks as a coping mechanism he’s delved into, with Mihrimah having to do effort to snap him out of it. The Selim we see in the beginning of S04 is a hopeless person. He doesn’t have dreams and ambitions, it’s as if he’s a already a lost cause and he has no one to truly support him. Even Hürrem wanted to send him to Manisa not because she deemed him as worthy, but to use him as a shield in order to deceive her enemies and protect the actual favorite. That may seem like a clever plan, but in actuality, it failed spectacularly - not only did her enemies not get confused for a second and didn’t attack Selim at all, but she forgot to tell Bayezid why she did it and made Selim confused to the point of demotivation, because none of his brothers were truly happy with this decision and they were all opposing it, directly and indirectly. And while he may not show it that much, because of his more composed and pragmatic nature, Selim is sensitive to the opinions of his brothers and the people around him and their prevailing disapproval may be a part of why he became so different than the rest. It’s like no one wanted to get to know him.

Nurbanu’s entrance in Selim’s life is very cathartic in this aspect, for she actually worked with him and gave him the needed motivation and ambition to fight, awaking sides of him that were dormant for a long time. And yes, I do think that Selim’s pragmatism is something he always had, if the whole arrow incident in S03B where he sabotaged Bayezid’s arrow, which caused him to lose is any indication. 

{I don’t think that the quarrels Selim and Bayezid had when they were little are so much indicators of Selim’s personality as they are foreshadowing of their future conflict. Right, these quarrels are normal for siblings and Mehmet and Mihrimah also fought like that (heck, even little Mehmet and Mustafa had a fight once in S01 and that fight was used as the conflict of the remainder of that one episode), but they weren’t as frequent as the ones of Selim and Bayezid. I don’t know, it’s just the atmosphere of these scenes was different and hinted at something more. It could be because we know the historical events and we could see every tiniest bit of early sibling rivalry between them as build-up, but still, I always felt there just was something else. Like the whole arrow incident I mentioned, a presumably harmless little situation gains a whole other meaning later on. It sets up neatly Süleiman’s opinions of both of them (his reaction to apparent disobedience and the making of a scene by someone he doesn’t expect to, by which I mean Bayezid), Hürrem’s retroactive ignorance of a possible bigger enmity and the roots of the whole conflict. It’s not Selim deciding to sabotage Bayezid’s performance as a last resort, maybe knowing that he surely won’t do better than his brother (doing a pretty typical ,,prank’’ for a little, naughty kid) that is exemplary of his cunning later, it’s his validation and him getting away with it that eventually becomes it, just like how he ends up getting away with stuff in the next season. Selim definetly isn’t the instigator of all the fights, especially because Bayezid, thanks to his more impulsive nature, is much more likely to start a fight in the first place and contrasts to Selim’s overall better composure. Provokations among them were mutual and both were consistently throwing darts at each other, one after another. Their conflict is a very nuanced issue: while people try to play right and wrong, both sides were at fault one way or another. The conflict between them is mostly caused by insensitivity, favoritism and ignorance and the desperation of both to try to prove themselves to their parents and win their support, at the end of the day. Why did they always calm down in front of their mother? Not only because of their joint respect for her, but also because of these same attempts to earn her support. Even Bayezid, who obviously had to be sure of her support, wasn’t completely certain of it after Hurrem turned it on Selim for a while. Selim, on the other hand, obviously never felt her support, it’s like something was missing right from the start. Combine that with their completely opposing personalities and the whole system encouraging competition for the throne and there you have the inevitable ultimate conclusion. That’s why I also love the set-up, the pay-off and the aftermath of Bayezid’s execution. It may be historically inaccurate that Selim, not Süleiman, executed Bayezid, but when you think about it, it was the most logical thing that could’ve happened, ending their conflict with a heart-wrenching bow. I love the scene of the execution itself, too - the action, the dialogue, the direction, the character moments, the themes... I don’t know whether Selim loved Bayezid by that point, per say, after all they went through, but it was clear that he knew that he had to do it, that it couldn’t have ended any other way, but he was broken over it. He was aware that it was, ultimately, a sin, which would continue haunting him. He couldn’t catch a break afterwards, he couldn’t stop. All was solved, but at what cost?}

I love his dynamic with Nurbanu - they balanced each other off so well, their chemistry was amazing, such a power couple. Nurbanu’s biggest contribution is hiding some of his flaws and mobilizing him to fight. Her cold pragmatism ,,grounds’’ Selim’s softer side, she’s there to always remind him of the stakes of the game and to shut off the last ounces of his vulnerabilities after Hurrem died. He sure is influenced by her, but that doesn’t mean that he blindly takes her word for everything - he is always ready to call her out when necessary and assure her that there are lines she shouldn’t cross. Despite of her pleas, he kept having affairs with other women (that is honestly a trend with all the men of the show, but still..), he got mad at her after what happened to Huricihan and most notably, after he found out that she possibly stole his mother’s ring. A part of why their dynamic works so well is precisely this strenght of character and their awesome compatibility. 

I have heard affirmations that Selim doesn’t care about Mustafa, which... simply isn’t true? While they have the least scenes together and Selim is the one that considers him most as a rival and his most dangerous competitor for the throne (which would explain his startled reaction after Musti saved him from the janissary), it’s precisely Mustafa’s death that is the turning point of his character arc. He was upping his game slowly but surely and before then, but he didn’t do much in terms of attacks. Neither Selim, nor Nurbanu once considered attacking Mustafa, the supposed biggest danger to them, which I find respectable and admirable. The bomb with the death drops and then every hope about a fair game is abandoned. Selim gets the realization that being honorable won’t work. The only way to win is bend the system and play dirty. There’s no time for sitting around or looking nice. And even though Nurbanu realized this, too, as well as Selim, Nurbanu was always more inclined to act this way than him and now the righteousness of her methods were only getting confirmed. It was Selim that had to reach this end. Discovering that he is no longer allowed to show any kind of weakness. Every chance that appears on the horizon, he’ll take it. That brings him to his first true dirty plan - the trap he set through the fake Mustafa rebellion.

Speaking of which, the worst deed of Selim’s for me is connected to that rebellion. I know I may be very biased in this regard, since it affects my personal favorite character and isn’t as recalled as others, but I hated when, in Selim and Sokollu’s attempts to wash their hands from the pulled off stunt, Sokollu, his man, told SS that Mahidevran was giving money to the rebellion. Okay, it’s not said outright whether is this directly tied to Selim or it was something Sokollu himself came up with out of desperation or something (though it was hinted that both thought something through in a scene where both were saying that they should come clean out of this all somehow) and it’s not outrightly confirmed whether Mahidevran gave the money or not (I highly doubt she did it; not only because it would destroy her whole S04 arc and she would become, well... MCK Gulbahar, but also because after the messenger told her of her alleged blame in E129, her eyes widened in surprise.), but all it does is be the only explicit case where Selim indeed looks bad, for his proposal to return Mahidevran in the castle doesn’t seem to stem from genuine guilt and remorse, but rather a late and empty attempt to placate his own conscience. Oh, not to mention (for the upteenth time, sorry in advance) how the scene back in E58 where Hurrem tells Mahidevran that her kids will be there taking care for her when she’s alone, which was treated as some big foreshadowing in the show, as well, by both the voice of the S02B narrative and the fandom alike, loses its value even more with that framing, because Selim and Sokollu themselves brought her to this state in the first place!!! Despite it making sense anyway, it’s still such a disservice to Selim as a person both inside and outside of the writing. 

One aspect of Selim’s pragmatism I find most interesting is his ability to turn his enemies into allies, knowing exactly how to amass them and get them on his side, be it through giving them more money and promising them the world. These alliances are all opportunistic in nature and may not be as loyal as those of Mustafa’s or of Mustafa’s people (like Atmaca) with Bayezid, but I think Selim knows this and wants to keep them steady enough for the common goal. As for what kind of a padisah he’ll be.... I believe that state matters would be the least of his concerns, since he was shown to not care so much about them, compared to his other brothers (but then again, the show itself doesn’t put the political capability of the princes at center stage - their personal virtues are always the determining factor of what makes a good padisah and what doesn’t, more of a psychological outlook, if you will.) and he perhaps won’t plan as many campaigns or conquer as many territories, maybe he won’t be that successful at all, but his cunning would bring him advantage in front of his people, he will be at least a bit careful of who he’s choosing and won’t simply lose it in front of everyone, compared to Bayezid’s impulsive temper.

[I love Bayezid as a character, but the shadier aspects of his personality sure tend to be overlooked. While his anger is directed mainly at Selim and Suleiman, it often reaches such extremes to the point it becomes destructive and affects everyone. He doesn’t deserve his execution at all and most of his actions stem from a very sympathetic place, given how SS never truly gave him a chance and he went on the inevitable path, because he, just like Selim, realized that honor won’t work in this war, but took the opposite approach from Mustafa, direct rebellion. And predictably, both approaches didn’t work since Bayezid, too, was taken advantage of. While he didn’t get justice, the lead-up to his execution is a character arc of his and there are many reasons and events linking it all together and showing us why it took place the way it did.]

Selim’s dynamic with Suleiman is proof of how you can be presumably favored, but you have to work to get there. The reasons Suleiman favored him are very telling and sad and we see that he also doesn’t favor him because of any and all capabilities he may have, but because of his self-imposed distorted view of loyalty Selim has to do a lot to preserve, actually. He constantly has to make it so it looks like he’s loyal and obedient and doesn’t work behind his back. He doesn’t get the fullest appreciation from his father, as well, and I certainly feel it impacts him, in a way.

I agree that Mihrimah could be unfair to Selim. They weren’t that close and she had this open preference to Bayezid. Most annoyingly is when, in their confrontation in E139, which highlights even more their parallel sins, Mihrimah doesn’t seem to face that sin of hers when Selim calls her out on it. She has a reason to deeply resent him after what he did to Bayezid, but was offended when he reminded her of the crime she also committed. More solidarity on that front would be a bit better, at least a hint of like recognizing like even for a moment. (but maybe then her scene with Mahidevran later wouldn’t be as impactful? Huh.)

And lastly, about his drinking - Nurbanu tried to restrict him, but it’s true that such habits aren’t easy to give up on, especially knowing how his drinking is a coping mechanism as much as it is something he enjoys. He knows he shouldn’t do it, he’s told he shouldn’t do it, but he can’t help it. He doesn’t drink when he’s planning or scheming, but he keeps on doing it more and more with every problematic action of his. It’s an attempt to supress his otherwise strong conscience to the max, seeing how after his brother’s execution he apparently always took a drink when he was alone at night, fighting an inner conflict with himself. I don’t think there was a way he could stop doing it permanently in the show. It was a part of who he was, unfortunately or not. 

[missusk]

The Rhythm of Your Heartbeat (OC x Piers) Commissioned by @danni-dollarsign Commission info

~~

“What’re you fidgeting so much for?” Marnie asked as she languidly sprawled on the couch, her legs dangling over the arm. “Yer as ornery as Morpeko.”

“Huh?” her brother grunted, again pacing the length of their living room. “Nothin’, nothin’…”

“Yea, ‘mkay,” she said with a roll of her eyes as she returned to brushing the Morpeko sitting on her lap.

Piers grumbled a response that was intelligible to both of them. Truthfully, he had been wearing a rut in their carpet this entire week, pacing back and forth as he racked his brain for conversation topics to have with that woman he had seen around recently. Her name was Nora, she had a Misdreavous, and she had a booth set up sometimes in Spikemuth, sometimes in Hammerlocke, and sometimes he didn’t see her for days. That was all he knew about her. The frustrating part, however, was that he wanted to know more about her than just those three things. Like, if she was single, for one, and for two if she would bother wanting to hang out with a bloke like him.

The Gym Leader was unfortunately getting to the point where he would keep an eye out for her whenever he left town, and even to where he would purposefully trek to Hammerlocke after the sun had set, just to see if that booth was lining any of the streets in his town or the neighboring’s.

“’m goin’ out,” Piers said as he pulled on his jacket. He was met with an ‘aye’ from his sister, and soon stepped into the smoky air of Spikemuth in the night.

Neon lights buzzed as his shoes crunched along the streets, littered with empty bottles and cans and unfortunately no occult booths with beautiful women inside. Piers huffed, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and scolding himself for how he was acting. It wasn’t like him to take evening strolls, nor was it like him to be pining after some stranger… and yet, here he was, his eyes scanning the streets and his feet moving forward despite himself.

This was stupid… if he got to the Pokémon Center with no sight of her, then he’d turn right around and give up on all this rubbish. He offered nods of greetings to the handful of fans he passed at the local bars and tourist spots – as touristy as Spikemuth could be, at least – and soon he saw the only greenery of Spikemuth flowering beside the doors of the Pokémon Center.

Alright, time to go back home and forget all this. Piers motioned to turn, only for his gaze to catch on someone stepping into town. His heart dropped, then thundered in his chest as he stood staring at Nora walking towards him. Long legs, graceful gait, mysterious eyes – Piers was suddenly finding it challenging to swallow, and yet he kept moving forward while both his thoughts and heart skipped.

She set down the bundle she was carrying, unfurling the tent as her Misdreavous flittered around her. Piers nearly jumped when her eyes met his, as apparently he had stepped right up to her without realizing.

“Oh, hello. I’m not open yet,” she said with a light smile. “Give me just a moment to set up and I’ll be right with you.”

It was like Piers’ brain was left in the rut in his living room carpet because all he offered as a response was a blank stare.

“…sir?”

“’chu, um, help?” Piers stammered. Apparently, he left his vocabulary at home too.

“Um,” Nora said quietly. “Pardon?”

“D-D’you, uh, want some help?” Piers corrected, shaking his head into focus. “Hanging ou-, er, hanging up? Hanging that up? Hanging your tent up?”

Nora blinked a few times, as did Piers, as they both processed what the hell he just stuttered out. He wished he wasn’t so pale because he could practically feel his face burning with embarrassment. His mouth was as dry as a Cottonee so he didn’t risk saying anything after that monstrosity of a sentence.

“I usually do it myse-“

“Aye, right, right,” Piers blurted. “Sorry to be a bother, then, I’ll leave ya be.”

And with that, Piers turned on his heel and was immediately marching back home. His thoughts were whirring and thus he didn’t hear Nora finish her sentence.

“…but I wouldn’t mind some help,” she finished, her eyebrows pulling together as Piers escaped. She glanced to Misdreavous, who simply shrugged in response, and Nora went back to setting up her tent.

Before Piers knew it, he was stepping through his front door, grunting a greeting to Marnie who said ‘that was fast’, and then he flopped onto his mattress with a wumph.

So much for that.

--

Piers wasn’t too pleasant to be around the next few days according to Marnie, as all he would do was rotate between his angsty, moody, and sadboy playlists. When he finally emerged from his room to eat, Marnie cornered him.

“When was the last time ya went outside?” she huffed, hands on her hips. “Don’t you like, have to do your job?”

“’s fine,” Piers said as he brushed past her. “Challenge season ain’t here yet anyway.”

“Yer getting’ paler, Piers,” Marnie said. “Go outside today. Go train with Raihan or somethin’, your Pokémon shouldn’t suffer just ‘cuz you want to sulk.”

“Fine,” he said, deciding that his little sister was more than right about how he shouldn’t ignore his Pokémon. “I’ll text ‘im.”

It didn’t take long for the sun to set and for Piers to be on his way out again, this time passing the Pokémon Center, the Route 9 tunnel, and the gates of Hammerlocke. He forced himself to keep his gaze forward, and not drift along the roadside for sight of that familiar tent. All was going according to plan as he stepped into the city, past the Pokémon Center, and past the train station. It wasn’t until he reached the bottom of the staircase beside the station that he paused.

A whimsical noise was wafting through the air, almost ethereal in how it made the hair on his neck stand on end. Piers’ focus immediately rerouted from his upcoming training with Raihan to whatever that noise was, because he was certain it was coming from up the steps. He took them two at a time, now mesmerized by the ghostly music. He arrived at what looked to be a church – it was certainly a building he had never been in before – and his heart started pounding harder the closer he got, as the music was spilling out of the stained-glass windows. It was haunting, operatic, and one of the most beautiful things Piers had ever heard. He pulled open the doors to the church, craving for the song to be closer, closer, close enough to dwell in his bones. Who did that voice belong to? The building was dark, uninhabited, and when the doors rattled opened, the music stopped.

“Hello?” Piers called after a moment, his voice resounding off the domed ceilings. He waited a moment, then a moment more, before turning again to the doors. He suddenly heard the faint sound of shuffling, then the echo of a door closing. When he glanced up, he caught a brief glimpse of a purple figure wisping away.

No other sounds echoed, no other music played, so when the only noise in the church was his own breathing, Piers turned and left through the heavy double doors. When he was greeted by the night air again, a shuffling to his right caught his attention. It was that same wispy, purple figure, but beside that was the outline of a woman.

“Hey, wait!” Piers called suddenly, rushing up to her. “Was that you singing?”

The woman turned, her dark hair cascading over her shoulder. Yet again Piers’ breath caught, as those were the same mysterious eyes that had been occupying his mind for so long.

“Yes,” Nora said quietly. Piers had never noticed how her voice was almost a melody in itself. “I didn’t realize how much my voice was carrying, I apologize.”

“You’re amazing,” Piers breathed out. When Nora made no response, it was as if Piers’ entire consciousness finally caught up to him and he quickly shifted from an awe-struck gaze into one that was a bit like a Deerling in headlights “I-I mean, you, you uh, you gotta nice set of pipes. Not bad, I mean. Not that you’d be bad, I just, I-I didn’t realize you sang too. I sing, y’know. I’m in a band. Would you wanna duet sometime?”

“…pardon?” Nora asked, gray eyes quizzical.

“O-or ‘sthat weird? Sorry, I’ll jus-“

“Wait!” Nora blurted, reaching out to Piers. Her fingers curled around his wrist for only a second before she yanked her hand back again, but the touch still seemed to linger. “Yes, I would like to. That sounds nice.”

“Foreal?” Piers asked, blinking in surprise. “I-I mean great, that’s great. I’m Piers, by the way.”

“I know,” Nora said, her gaze bashfully flicking downward. The sight drew a bashful smile from Piers as well. “I’m Nora.”

“I know,” Piers repeated, his cheeks again staining pink. “I’ve noticed you in Spikemuth sometimes.”

A sweet anticipation filled the space between them, at least until Piers’ phone started vibrating madly in his pocket. Ah, shit, that’s right… Raihan.

“How about tomorrow? You can come to my place in Spikemuth?” Piers started. “I’d say let’s go now but I’m late for training and he won’t let me hear the end of it if I don’t show.”

“Tomorrow sounds good,” Nora said, offering Piers a soft smile. “Can I get your number in case I get lost?”

Piers nodded quick enough for his ponytail to threaten to come undone, and the two eagerly traded numbers. With a bashful goodbye from them both, Piers made his way to Raihan’s gym with a subtle spring in his step, humming a sweet song to himself.

--

Piers and Nora’s first song session went well, as did their second, third, fourth, and all of the rest until they lost count. Although they were no longer strangers to one another, Piers’ heart still seemed to rattle in his chest whenever Nora was close. She snuggled next to him, tucking her head under his chin in the exact way that made him melt. Marnie was off with some of her new friends, so it was just Piers and Nora left in the house, and even though they had plenty of space, they seemed to want to occupy as little as possible as they curled around each other.

“Piers?” Nora whispered, her breath warming his neck and yet sending shivers down his spine.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you came into the church that day.”

“Me too.”

Nothing else needed to be said, as their bodies both spoke volumes as they lay under the covers together. She was his song, he was her melody, and the rhythm of their hearts beat in tandem as they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

[shakespeareintellectualbadass]

@dailydestieldose and @casismymrdarcy have got me on a roll with Shakespeare destiel parallels so here's another one:

Beatrice & Benedick and Dean & Cas

In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick spend 99% of their time bantering and bickering and generally pulling each other's pigtails but with an undercurrent of real hurt. They have a lot of mutual friends, they move in the same circle, and despite having just spent some time apart (the men were all off at war) they immediately go right back to bickering. And they seem to know exactly what to say to push each others buttons - they know each other reeeaaally well.

And that's the thing!! They're exes!! They have history!! Something romantic happened between them in the past, and then something went wrong. The divorce arc parallels! But they have to be around each other because they have all these mutual friends - mutual friends who decide they're going to trick them into falling in love with each other. Their friend group splits in half, and they stage conversations for Beatrice and Benedick to overhear in which they loudly proclaim that the other is in love with them (side note: these are some of the funniest scenes in the play, I highly recommend David Tennant as Benedick, it goes on and off youtube but if it's up he's top notch in that scene. Equally, Kenny Leon's 2016 production of the play for Shakespeare in the Park is fucking stellar. It used to be on PBS but if you can find it anywhere it is Thee Much Ado).

And both Beatrice and Benedick, the moment they hear the other is in love with them, go "oh they love me! well guess I'd better love them back! I'm gonna love them back with my whole fucking soul."

"Love me! Why, it must be requited. I hear how I am censured: they say I will bear myself proudly, if I perceive the love come from her; they say too that she will rather die than give any sign of affection. I did never think to marry: I must not seem proud: happy are they that hear their detractions and can put them to mending. They say the lady is fair; tis a truth, I can bear them witness; and virtuous; tis so, i cannot reprove it; and wise, but for loving me; by my troth, it is no addition to her wit, nor no great argument of her folly, for I will be horribly in love with her. I may chance have some odd quirks and remnants of wit broken on me, because I have railed so long against marriage: but doth not the appetite alter? a man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age. Shall quips and sentences and these paper bullets of the brain awe a man from the career of his humor? No, the world must be peopled. When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married."

"My friends think if I find out she loves me I'll lord it over her", "she would rather die than give any sign she loves me" (literally Cas), "I've never expected I'd get married", the fucking LIST of "beautiful and good and wise, except for falling in love with me cuz I'm not good enough for her", "I already love her back so much", "I'm gonna get a lot of shit when my friends see me in love buuuut it's worth it for her" - try and tell me these aren't Dean about Cas.

Benedick never really shuts up - he's a talkative guy (much like Dean), and once he gets started about how great Beatrice is he is really on a roll. He loves so strongly and completely (and he doesn't have Dean's self worth issues) so he jumps right to being all in.

Beatrice's reaction is, in fact, an incomplete sonnet (sonnets are Thee language of love in Shakespeare; they're 14 line poems with a specific rhyme scheme that are in iambic pentameter, which we think of as Shakespeare's signature style - 10 syllables in a line, divided into sets of 2, the first unstressed and the second stressed). It is also one of the only times she speaks in verse (poetry) rather than prose (like a novel) during the play - this is important because people in Shakespeare's plays speak in verse during significant moments or very emotional moments.

What fire is in mine ears? Can this be true?

Stand I condemn'd for pride and scorn so much?

Contempt, farewell! and maiden pride, adieu!

No glory lives behind the back of such.

And, Benedick, love on; I will requite thee,

Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand:

If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee

To bind our loves up in a holy band;

For others say thou dost deserve, and I

Believe it better than reportingly.

"The idea he's in love with me too has shocked me to my core", "I will never again be too proud or petty to admit I love him", "please please keep loving me, because I love you too", "I have been a wild untameable thing, but for you I'll be happy to stay at home and live a simple life", "we aren't even together yet but please marry me", "you're the best man I know" - hi this is Thee Castiel about Dean Winchester.

Beatrice is a very independent woman; especially for the time the play is written, she's still single at an age when most women were already married, and she refuses to marry because she loves her independence and doesn't want just anyone to tie her down. Until she learns Benedick loves her, she never expects to find anyone who will make her want to settle down. Benedick is much the same - he plans to live and die a bachelor.

Aaaand then they learn they're both head over heels for each other, and suddenly there's a whole lot more they want out of life. Suddenly all the stuff in their past, all the things that drove them apart, it all doesn't matter in the face of their love for each other.

In conclusion:

Banter as expressions of affection and also to cover up hurt over something that happened to drive them apart

The love for each other didn't go away though they're both just feeling unloved and lashing out

They always come back to each other, even if it takes a little outside interference

This has been another Shakespeare destiel parallel, thank you and goodnight

[normal-thoughts-official]

When/how do you think Ragnor and Catrina realized camille was being abusive towards Magnus?

Btw, I love u❤

fantastic question anon, i love YOU! i think that depends on a couple of factors. i think people who have already been or know people who have been in an abusive relationship are more likely to notice the warning signs, and/or to interpret stuff like the person pulling away as a sign of abuse. whereas people who haven't lived through it and aren't informed on it might not even realize what's going on until before it's over, and even be angry

so because we live in a hell world and catarina is a black woman, i think she is more likely to notice the warning signs than ragnor is, because black women are more likely to be in abusive relationships than white men. i'm not saying catarina herself has been in an abusive relationship necessarily but presumably her family has plenty of black women and she's also more likely to also be friends with other woc and marginalized ppl than ragnor is because again, hell world. so she has a higher chance of having been in a similar position before, although of course that's no set in stone rule and ragnor's circle of friends does seem to have a lot of marginalized ppl (and i hc him as aroace which makes him queer which puts him in an entirely different position than a straight white man and probably means something about the relationships he builds, but anyway) BUT my point is, i think catarina is more likely to notice earlier

i think ragnor is pretty perceptive tho, and also that they are pretty close and talk a lot, so i think once catarina noticed she would have talked to ragnor, and it wouldn't take ragnor long to realize that she was right

so okay when would they notice? i think that's always a slow process but i'm pretty sure their suspicions would first arise when magnus started to ditch them and stuff like parties and outings because of camille. first of all, i don't think that's like magnus at all, and second of all, there is an obvious difference between "i'm in the honeymoon phase" and "sorry, i don't think it's a good idea, my partner might not like it" or even "yeah! that sounds great!... just let me ask my partner about it". big difference

so that already has catarina in particular very wary of her because magnus is not the kind to ditch his friends because of a partner and the way he's acting about this is weird. so, she decides to keep an eye and maybe even put this to the test by making a surprise visit and invite him to a party like, right then doijadiosaj and she takes him out and she notices that magnus is Out Of It and he seems even a little... tense and scared and almost paranoid. and like, this is relatively at the beginning of their relationship so she wouldn't have been Horrible about it yet but at the beginning the person expresses enough control and discomfort with these things for you to be kind of uncomfortable even if you don't really realize that it's because you're Scared Of Hurting Your Parner

so THAT gets catarina really worried, because if magnus can't relax because he's afraid of camille's reaction, and worse, if he doesn't REALIZE that's why, that's the reddest a flag can get in such an early stage of their relationship. she tries to talk to magnus about it but magnus is the king of deflecting and basically waves her worries off. which just makes her more worried, but what is she supposed to do? she knows that pushing will only makes things worse and make it easier for camille to turn magnus against her and cut their ties. so, she lets it go and pretends that she buys his excuses. that's probably when she also talks to ragnor. ragnor probably had noticed that something was off but he hadn't really thought that it would be something super bad, and i think he'd still have his doubts about it, but well, he has that on the back of his mind now. and besides, he trusts catarina's judgement and he can admit when she is more qualified than him to assess something. it's why their relationship works

the first time they say anything is probably when magnus tells him about some fight they've had. probably because magnus told camille that he was upset about something she did - like idk, making fun of him in public about a topic that's sensitive to him. and like magnus wasn't even mad at her, he had never mentioned that whatever joke she made was off limits or related to a sensitive topic, he just wanted to communicate and let her know that it had hurt him, and she pretty much Exploded at him. and somehow turned it all around so it was magnus' fault for accusing her of trying to hurt him on purpose when that's not what magnus did, and now magnus pretty much wanted advice on how to apologize and let her know that he loves her

so catarina and ragnor try to subtly poke holes in her logic and show him that he has nothing to apologize for, without straight up being like "she's manipulating you" because Kids, That Does Not Go Well. and it makes magnus... heartbreakingly confused in that way abused people get when the logic they have been being shoved under shows cracks that would mean something too awful to even imagine

and catarina is a fucking wreck because at this point, she is sure of it and it makes her relive... so much trauma of other people she's seen go through that and lost and/or her own relationships if you want to go with that. and she doesn't want to lose magnus or have magnus go through that but she doesn't know what to do and she KNOWS that next step is magnus pulling away from her and ragnor no matter how careful she is

she probably gets the rare Comforting Hug from ragnor once magnus leaves and she also talks to dot and maybe elias? you know, their other friends. and they have a Catarina Comforting Day and hear her stories and cuddle and you know, try to make her feel better. and eventually they try to devise some kind of game plan so they can try to help magnus get out of this

it all goes to shit of course when they have the rare outing with camille, and camille is Obviously Refusing To Interact With Them If She Can Avoid It which is classic abuse thing - sure, i'll go see your friends, but you have to choose between interacting with them and me, so really you don't actually get to see with your friends because you'll feel bad that i'm isolated and eventually seeing your friends will feel either pointless or nervewracking cuz it feels like juggling your relationships. and if you want to see them without me i am going to act like you have something to hide and i'm a victim

anyway! so they notice that and they try to undermine that tactic by, you know, interacting with her a lot. so camille switches it up and tries to pick up a fight, and lo and behold, she succeeds - i know ragnor doesn't look like the kind of guy who loses his temper easily but i think when you push his buttons he is VERY bad at hiding it and half a snappy comment is all camille needs to lash out at him and play the victim. she's good

so that's when their plan gets fucked and everything goes to hell because then it's just too easy for camille to isolate magnus from his friends with really just a few tweaks to the previous tactic i mentioned - "are you really picking them over me, magnus? you're gonna keep hanging out with them when they are so rude to me, probably tell you all sorts of things about me, try to get you to break up with me? can't you see how manipulative they are? how they're trying to turn you against me? why do you insist so much on seeing them when you know how much that hurts me?"

and done

catarina and ragnor probably fight after that because god DAMN it, she fucking tOLD him that they had to be careful! and she's been swallowing all kinds of shitty comments from her but ragnor just had to fucking lose it at the first provocation, didn't he? and god knows how long it'd take for them to reach him after that, because camille is already preemptively making him think that they are trying to manipulate him to break up with her out of jealousy so he won't listen to anything they say directly. and she's right, of course, and ragnor is out of his depth and doesn't UNDERSTAND how these things go and how much this slip up will affect them in the future

i like to think that ragnor apologizes to her and catarina probably... has a breakdown because fuck she is worried and she is reliving way too many nightmares here. and ragnor is actually very tender and hugs her and apologizes and kisses her forehead and tells her that he's going to fix it. and he actually swallows his pride and apologizes to camille just to try and turn this thing around, but, well. the damage is done. and really, there is only so much friends can do when dealing with something like this. at the end of the day, they did all they could

and from then on they try their best to be there for him and pull magnus out of the camille-created isolation, but there's only so much they can do, and it's up to magnus to notice and get help to get rid with her. they'll always try to be his support system, but well. it's hard

and of course eventually magnus does get rid of her claws and catarina, ragnor, dot, elias etc., are all there for him when he does. and he probably feels guilty because he pushed them away but really they are just so RELIEVED that he's finally free of her. and him and catarina probably get a teary hug full of apologies for things that aren't their fault, and they try to make up for lost time by spending as much time as possible together now. especially because i think that it also hurts catarina to have her friends pull away - she obviously yearns for family, for closeness, i don't think she does well with people pulling away from her, she wants the kind of closeness that comes from routine and she used to have that with magnus and the rest of the immortal squad, you know? and magnus knows that, so, he tries to compensate

and eventually they start to heal their relationships, but magnus still has a long way to heal himself, but well. he'll get there. they are together and all

[pinkykitten]

oncoming traffic

synopsis: you wander in the middle of the street and almost get hit by a car. but ben pushes you out of the way. did a ghost just save your life?

pairing: Ben Hargreeves x female! reader words: 1,013 genre: comedy, fluff, not requested 

a/n:  Afjakckskfknf I love Ben sm he is so cute and like such a prince and so adorable. I love umbrella academy season 1 more than the second one for obv reasons but it’s whatever 🤷🏻‍♀️ I saw a prompt with something similar like this and I knew I had to write this esp for Ben cuz I’m on a Ben obsession atm cuz he is just too cute I can’ttttt 😊😊😊

You checked your phone for the millionth time that night. Why couldn’t time pass faster? It seemed so slow. 

It was 1:00 in the morning. Your back, neck and definitely head were hurting as if someone punched those areas. Exhaustion was setting in as your head drooped down. Sleep was right around the corner and you were ready to greet it. 

You closed your Biology books for college and rubbed your tired eyes. At that moment it didn’t matter if you were fully, 100% ready for that exam, you needed rest. You needed to go back to your apartment. 

You downed the rest of the caffeine as it nestled snuggly in your stomach. You threw your books in your bag as you slugged it over your shoulder. 

You raced to the sidewalk and waited for your time to cross the traffic. Arms stretched up high, you heaved a big yawn. Your vision was a bit blurry so you didn’t realize it wasn’t time to cross yet. 

One foot in front of the other, you went forward to get to the other side. But oncoming your path was a big pickup truck. It’s light became brighter and brighter as it closened up on you. You stood there frozen. It seemed as if you were watching yourself at that moment. Your brain was telling you to move but all you did was stood there in fear. 

The horn of the truck blared loudly to get you to move because it couldn’t slow down. Almost about to hit you, somebody pushed you out of the way, rolling you on the green patch of grass near the woods. 

Your head pounded and your ears rung. Eyes closed you heard what your savior was saying. 

“Oh my God, it worked! How in the world was I able to touch her?” He laughed, proudly. 

“Ugh,” you moaned, “my head.” You opened your eyes to see a cute boy hovering above you. You punched his right eye as he fell back. 

“What the heck?” He touched his eye. “You can see me? You can touch me?”

“Yeah dude I can! What the heck is wrong with you?” You scooted back as you believed he was trying to steal your wallet. “You thief!”

“Thief? I just saved your life!”

You scoffed, “Was this your little plan? Save me and then rob me?!”

“No, of course not. I saw you from a few blocks away and you were not moving. You were about to get run over. I’m just trying to see if you’re okay or if you need the ambulance.”

“Oh,” was all you could say. You felt terribly bad for hurting this stranger even when he was trying to be kind and save you. “I’m sorry about your eye. Does it hurt?”

He chuckled, “a little. You got a good right hook.”

You moved his arm down and looked to see he was starting to get a black eye. “Not looking too good. How about we go to the restaurant right by here. Let me get you a coke.”

“Can I have a coke as a can please? It’s for my friend...” You looked back at him and raised your brows, for his name. 

“Ben, Ben Hargreeves.”

“For my friend Ben please.”

The waiter looked at you with an odd look as if you were psycho. “Crazy woman.” He muttered under his breath. 

“What’s wrong with this guy?” You rolled your eyes. 

The waiter gave you the cold coke can, you payed and thanked. 

“Here Ben.” You placed the freezing can on his black eye to help with swelling. 

“Thanks...”

“Y/N L/N.”

Ben smiled cutely as he walked beside you as you two talked. 

“So Y/N, why are you out here so late?”

“To be honest I am so close to being a college drop out. It’s getting crazy.”

“I wish I could of gone to college.”

You pushed your hands into your pockets as you gazed at Ben like you knew him. “I feel like I know you somewhere. Where have I heard of Hargreeves?”

Ben paused walking and he looked scared. “I can explain.”

That’s when the pieces came together. You gasped, “no way! No way! I’m crazy, I must be dreaming. You were part of the Umbrella Academy!”

“I wanted to tell you but I didn’t want you to run away weirded out. That’s why it was crazy that I can touch you and save you! I can’t ever touch no one and the fact you can see me is crazy! You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“No, no, no, you’re dead mister. Like dead dead. Like dead as in not supposed to be here.”

Ben held your hand and stopped your jabbering, “I am never going to get used to this. Let me talk, please. I am a ghost.”

Minutes passed by and you laughed, clutching your stomach. “No way! Who are you really? There is no such things as ghosts.”

“You don’t believe me?” He placed his hand on his hip, annoyed. 

“Nope.” You tried to stifle your giggles as you held onto Ben’s shoulder so you wouldn’t topple over from laughter. 

“Can a human do this?” Ben suddenly went through a bus station and came through to the other side. 

You were shocked. His little stunt left you with your mouth open. Ben smirked as he crossed his arms like he blew you away. 

“Wow, I’m now friends with a ghost. This is crazy. Wait I have one question!”

Ben cornered you against the wall and caged you between his arms. “Ask away.” He smirked as if he had so much experience with women. He just knew what not to do because of Klaus. 

“Can ghosts poop?”

Ben dropped his arms, sighed and tried walking away from you. 

“It’s a legit question Ben! Ben!” You raced after him. 

Who knew this new start to your life would entail you being close to a ghost? This just proved to you that anything could happen.

Especially a cute ghost boy saving your life. 

a/n:  Omg can I have a cute ghost bf,,, this is too cute I can’t like u lucky y/n y/n is supppper lucky. Bens little scene in the dirt was too cute like he is just a cinnamon roll 👉🏼👈🏼

[tuhbanbuv]

Bathtime (MRL Oneshot)

Bathtime

Madrat has some things to get used to in his new life as a pet.

Can’t get more cliché than a bath fanfiction. If just being held made him break down, I don’t expect bathtime to be that fun for Madrat. Also, I’ve been wanting to do some more stuff with Caroline being autistic cuz she’s my neurodivergent comfort character. Did you know that autism in women is commonly misdiagnosed or overlooked? Food for thought…

TW: Death mention, paranoia, panic attack, drug mention, depression, bullying, swearing, zalgo text.

_____________________________________________________________

It had been raining nonstop for the past week, and cabin fever had set in by the second day.

Alice had locked the cat doors, which Heart could’ve cared less for, but that simple gesture made Madrat silently furious. By the third day, he had already chewed up the bottom corner of the door until he was no longer allowed to be in the living room unless he was in his playpen.

He chewed a hole through one of the walls out of spite.

Eventually, on the eighth day, it was bright and sunny. Madrat pawed at the door with excitement as Alice unlocked the cat door.

“Fucking finally. What was taking you so long, woman?” He snarked.

“Don’t be rude-!” Heart hissed, smacking Madrat with his declawed paw.

“Hey-!”

His focus shifted as the lock clicked, opening the cat door.

“Be careful, Caroline. It’s really slick out there with all the mud—”

“Freedom-!” Madrat squealed with joy as he bolted out the door.

“Madrat, wait up!” Caroline giggled, running after him with Heart at her side. Madrat scurried along the back porch, claws scraping at the wooden planks as he excitedly ran towards the yard.

That was, until he fell off the back steps, and into a puddle of mud.

“ACK—”

With a swift splat, he disappeared into a thick pile of mud.

“Madrat—” Heart ran after him, slowing down as he walked down the steps, watching as the rat slowly emerged out of the mud. Once he saw his eyes open, looking up at him, his fear was flushed away with loud, bellowing laughter.

“Quiet, you.” He hissed. “Pleugh—what is this?!”

“Aw, Madrat!” Caroline sighed. “You got all muddy!” She threw her hands up and down with enough force that Madrat was surprised she didn’t lose her balance. “You’re gonna need a bath now!”

“…bath?”

_____________________________________________________________

Caroline closed the door behind her.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

“I’m gonna give you a bath!” Caroline replied.

“I’m gonna need a little bit more context, kid.” Madrat growled. He looked over as Caroline set him in the sink. Caroline pulled a stepping stool in front of the sink, stepping up until she was tall enough to see above the counter. She pushed down the metal piece in the middle, blocking the drain.

Caroline reached over to the bath, pulling a tub of shampoo onto the sink counter.

“Uncle Van says that rats can clean themselves with their tongues!” Caroline explained. “But if mom won’t let me eat mud, I don’t think she wants you to eat mud, so I’m gonna wash it all off!”

Caroline turned on the faucet. As the water level slowly rose, Madrat felt his heart pound harder and harder. He felt tense. What was she planning? It was rising quicker now, almost past his legs.

Why was it rising? Why wasn’t Caroline pulling the drain? W̵a̶s̸ ̵s̸h̶e̶ ̴g̶o̶i̷n̷g̸ ̷t̶o̵ ̵d̵r̵o̶w̴n̷ ̸h̸i̵m̵?̷

“No…no…” Madrat began to claw at the walls of the sink, struggling to climb out. His paws could barely reach the edge. No. He was going to d̵̗̉ḭ̷̑ė̸͓. He was going to drown and the w̶a̴t̵e̴r̴ ̸l̴e̶v̸e̷l̸s̵ ̵w̴e̷r̴e̶ ̸g̸e̸t̸t̶i̴n̷g̵ ̷t̶o̴o̸ ̸h̴i̶g̶h̶ w̸̰̓h̴͔̊y̷̬͗ ̴̻͊ḭ̴̏s̴̰̀ ̴̯̿C̵̣͠a̴̙͒r̷͉̉ő̴̤l̶͖̓í̴̥n̵̘͒ė̵̻ ̶̘̂ẅ̸͕ȧ̷͚t̴̯͋c̷̞͛ḥ̴͊ȉ̵͈n̶̹͒g̶͕͌ w̸͔͒̿h̸̯̦͝y̸͇͐̆ ̷̜̏͂ḯ̴͙̋s̶̰͆͘ṅ̷̹͜’̷̛͎́t̸͚͉̋̈ ̶̗̅͑s̴͕̣̀̈́h̶͈̏ȇ̶̘̾—̴͇̎̐

She turned the faucet off, the water flow stopping instantly. It was still too high, it was around his waist now. He wanted out of the sink. He wanted out. His vision was growing blurry, his heart pounding in his ears.

“Caroline…Caroline—” He whimpered. He felt something wet grazing against his side, startling him. He flinched, nearly falling down into the water. He scrambled frantically as Caroline caught him.

“Don’t be scared, Madrat!” Caroline giggled. “It’s just a bath!” Madrat tightly clung to her hand, digging his claws into her fingers. He felt out of breath, shaking violently. Why wasn’t she hurting him? She could easily drown him, why wasn’t she doing it already?

He felt one of the hands go away for a few seconds, only for something cold and wet to fall on his back. He opened his eyes, looking up as Caroline poured something onto him. She began to stroke his fur, brushing her fingers along her back as she rubbed the shampoo into his fur. Madrat stared up, looking up at her with a look of absolute fear in his eyes. He shook violently, even if the water was warm. He could feel his heart beating like a machine gun against the palms of her hands.

“It’s okay, Madrat!” Caroline said. “I hate baths, too. Mommy gets the soap in my eyes and it hurts really, really bad, but I’m gonna try not to get the soap in your eyes so it won’t hurt.”

“Mmh…” He was too scared to speak, only being able to let out murmurs and whimpers. He flinched as he felt a sponge pressing against his side. She gently began to stroke his back, brushing it along his back over and over. As time went by, the chance that she’d hurt him went down significantly. He could trust her.

Madrat felt so weak after panicking so much. He couldn’t stop trembling, even if his anxiety was going down. He laid in her hands, looking up at her with resignation in his eyes.

He was going to be okay.

The more Caroline stroked his fur, the more he wanted her to pet him. He was gravitated towards her, almost magnetized towards her hand. He brushed his head along her palm, leaning into her hand.

In between every faint whimper, he began to chatter, weakly bruxing. Caroline giggled in response, stroking his fur some more.

“Hfff…tchtchtch…hhf…” He bruxed, trying to crawl up her arms.

“All done!” Caroline giggled, gently grabbing Madrat. She pulled him out of the sink, resting him on a towel she set on the counter before draining the sink.

She came back to him, pulling the corners of the towel up around him. She brushed the towel around him, rubbing it against his fur. It felt so warm and soft. She was so gentle with him, hardly pulling on his fur. He felt so tired, more relaxed. He looked up at her. She was smiling so happily.

Madrat felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

_____________________________________________________________

“Caroline?” Ben asked, opening the door to the bathroom. He saw his daughter, standing on a stool peering over a slightly muddy sink drenched in bubbles, holding one of her pet rats in a towel. “What are you doing, sweetie? You going for a world record for hand washing?”

“No!” Caroline puffed up her cheeks in frustration. “I had to give Madrat a bath because he got really muddy outside, see?” Ben looked down, peering over her shoulder as he looked at the rat wrapped in the towel. It was Madrat, his eyes closed as he sleepily pawed at the towel.

“Oh, that’s precious.” He muttered, gently petting his head with his thumb. “Little guy looks tuckered out. You must’ve had to chase him around the bathroom, can’t imagine getting him in the bath was easy.”

“No, he stayed really still!” Caroline replied. “He got really scared at first, but I helped him feel unscared!” Ben smiled, patting his daughter on the head. “He was bruxing, but when I dried him off he fell asleep!”

“He must really trust you, then.” He chuckled. He continued to scratch Madrat behind his ear, causing the gray rex to brux in his sleep. He smiled, stroking him on the head. He almost felt his eyes well up with tears. He couldn’t remember a day before they adopted Madrat and Heart where she was happy for so long. Most days began and ended with a meltdown, having to be pulled out of class almost daily. Seeing her cry almost every day broke his heart, the Mondays she struggled to find the courage to get out of bed destroyed him.

“You ready for tomorrow, sweetie?”

“No…” She muttered. “I don’t wanna get a shot…”

“No, sweetie.” Ben shook his head. “You’re not getting a shot. This is a different kind of doctor.”

“But doctors always give you shots!” Caroline exclaimed. “You’re not making any sense, daddy…” She whimpered.

“It’s okay. The doctor will just wanna talk to you and see how you’re doing. It’ll be just like writing in your diary, but talking out loud.” She bit her lip, looking down as she cradled Madrat in her arms. “This doctor will make you feel better by talking to you, no needles.”

“Or yucky medicine?”

“Maybe. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure it’s the right medicine this time. Medicine that isn’t yucky.”

“Okay, daddy…”