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plaid-shirtsandvibranium-arms · 3 years

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Nemesis: Retribution (5)

Summary: 10 years after the Avengers had left you for dead during a mission gone wrong, you unexpectedly re-enter their lives. Wholly unrecognizable from the person they used to know and now with a new team behind you, they ask for your help to stop a chain of syndicates who were manufacturing and peddling the super soldier serum. You were determined to say no until the chance at the vengeance you had been chasing for years was added to the offer.

Fandoms: Avengers, Marvel, MCU, The Punisher, Daredevil

Pairings: Female Reader x (Frank Castle, Billy Russo, Matt Murdock, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Pietro Maximoff)

Warnings: EXPLICIT SMUT. SHAMELESS SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR (18+ ONLY. I WILL BLOCK YOU), human rights violations, polyamorous relationships, reverse harem, blatant disregard for canon timelines and events, angst, Punisher canon level of violence and gore, strong language, mentions of trauma, mentions of character death, fluff if you squint,

A/N: Okay okay. I’m finally happy with how this turned out. Goddamn that’s a lot of words. I’ll see you all in the party in the comments and reblogs! I love reading what you think. Don’t be shy. Jump in!

No permission is granted to repost, steal, or translate my work. Not even a credit makes it okay. Tumblr is the only place I post my writing. If you see it anywhere else please report it.

[gif not mine. credit to: this glorious gif post.]

Series Masterlist | Full Masterlist

1:5 Lemons

2 missions.

A 50/50 chance of getting Salvacion.

Your heart was pounding in your chest and you were on the verge of getting lightheaded from the anticipation. A decade of chasing this bastard and this was the closest you had ever gotten to him. The man was not only deadly in skill, but always seemed to manage to give you the slip every single time. Forcing yourself to face the life you left was worth it if it meant finally avenging Lily.

The briefings the past week had been long, but they were important to make sure everyone was prepared to end this. You were minutes away now from shipping off to the mission and your whole body was buzzing.

This was it.

There were two locations that you had to hit at the same time. Two locations with large shipments that you had to stop from reaching its destination. The teams needed to be split.

"Let's go over this one more time," Steve started, fully suited up in black that was truly a far cry from his old blue and red ensemble. "I'll be leading a team into the shipment yards with Bucky and Nem at the front. Sam will be on air support. Billy will manage a team of snipers in the surrounding area."

This was the smaller of locations, but with the larger shipment. The location itself entailed a more strategic approach. You weren't happy that there was a chance that Salvacion would be at the other location, but having Frank on that team put you somewhat at ease. He understood more than anyone how important this was to you and he promised he would take Salvacion alive. He was yours to kill.

Frank always kept his promises.

"I'll be leading the other team into the industrial district," Frank continued, his signature vest strapped tight across his chest. "Pietro and Matt will cover the perimeter and I'll be charging in with Nat and Wanda."

Their location was more complicated. It was too close to the residential district and the warehouses there ran 24/7. There was a high risk of civilian casualty if they weren't careful which was why almost everyone who was powered was assigned to that group. They needed every capability they could pull to make sure no innocent blood was spilled.

"Good," Steve nodded. "We'll both have a group of agents with us too. They've been briefed and are prepping transport as we speak. We leave in 20 minutes."

Everyone nodded their understanding, grabbing their gear and heading down to the transport docks. There was a fleet of cars standing by that would be used, gassed up and ready to go. Your hands were drumming repeatedly on your vest, itching to just get on the road. Frank and Matt lingered with you before they joined the rest of their group.

The towering marine stepped up close to you and tightened the buckles of your bulletproof vest, wishing you would have accepted the offer of better gear from the Avengers but also knowing it was hypocritical of him when he declined as well.

It just wasn't your style.

It was his own damn fault for training you in his own combat style. He had no doubt of your capability, but still he worried about you. He always worried about you and he felt a sense of responsibility toward you after finding you tortured within an inch of your life.

"Stay close to Steve, sweetheart."

You snorted, but a glance back at Steve who was already looking at you with a raised eyebrow made you grumble and relent. "Fine."

"Good girl," Frank chuckled, before leaning in to press a firm kiss on your lips as he held you by the buckles of your vest. You smiled into the kiss, feeling the steady protection and reassurance that he always brings.

He stepped away for Matt to get his turn. This was a tradition that just developed naturally between the four of you. A kiss before danger. A promise to keep safe. A promise to come home.

Matt took your face in both hands and kissed the breath out of you as if he was trying to outdo Frank. It wasn't uncommon. He was always more aggressive with his affections, always as if he was scared you might suddenly slip away from his life and you were happy to reassure him every time that you weren't going anywhere. He chuckled when you bit his lip, beating him to it. He gave you one more peck before stepping aside.

Billy came closer to your side and slung his arm around your shoulders, chuckling as he nuzzled his nose against the side of your face. It was amusing him to no end at how easily you were folding for Steve. It was a nice change of pace from the three of them never being able to deny you anything.

Most especially Billy.

"We're definitely keeping Steve around. I think I like you compliant," he snickered, turning your head toward him with a finger under your chin. He planted a quick chaste peck on your lips. Your eyebrows quirked at the unusual behavior.

"What you're not gonna try to outdo me too?" Frank teased.

"Nem knows I do my best kissing elsewhere. Don't you, pretty girl?" Billy winked at you and you rolled your eyes. You smacked him in the chest but didn’t comment further. He wasn't wrong, but he was smug enough as it is.

You were about to turn toward the cars when you were knocked back slightly to the side by a sudden peck to your cheek. You couldn't stop the laugh when you caught Pietro's grin before he vanished again, a subtle warmth spreading in your chest. You were still smiling when you took your seat beside Steve who intertwined your hand with his and raised it to his lips, smiling that soft boyish smile against your skin that now made your stomach flip. He didn't let go of your hand throughout the ride, even as he caught Bucky's yearning gaze in the rearview mirror.

You were greeted by an ambush.

Somehow the syndicates knew that you would be coming, setting up a small army as your welcome party. A quick distress call through the comms from Frank confirmed that they were facing the same in their location.

But you couldn't focus on that.

You were too busy tearing through the goons that kept coming at you. Having two super soldiers and Sam in the thick of it with you was a blessing, but even with the other agents and Billy's sniper support you were severely overrun. You would just have to trust that the other team can handle their own.

You emptied the clips of your pistols as you trudged your way deeper into the fray, not bothering to duck or take cover from the onslaught of angry men. You tossed your empty guns to the side and drew out another, catching a few bullets in your vest.

No time to reload.

"I got you, Hedwig. Give 'em hell," Billy said in your ear.

The deadly smirk on your lips was the only warning the men in front of you got. You charged again as the adrenaline coursed through your body, bullets flying precisely into their skulls.

One. Two. Three. Four men down.

When your bullets ran out, you dropped the gun and pulled out two daggers. Your eyes narrowed as you took off into a sprint toward the closest target, weaving effortlessly through the oncoming fire.

A slice to the forearm to disarm.

A dagger up the chin.

Dead.

He dropped to the ground spluttering on his blood as you took the other dagger and sent it flying toward another's chest.

Dead.

Rough muscular arms caught you by surprise and gripped you from behind, caging you as you struggled. You saw the gun in his hand and reacted.

Break the wrist to disarm.

You smirked at the loud pop of his bones. You grabbed the gun before it dropped to the ground as you slipped a knife from your vest. The pain in his wrist caused him to loosen his hold on you, allowing you to turn to face him.

Blade to the gut.

Bullet to the face. Point blank.

Dead.

You didn't even flinch when his blood splattered across your face, joining the explosion of red already painting your figure. You could make out two more in your peripheral who dropped to the ground before they could advance on you, care of your guardian angel with a sniper rifle.

"Thank you, Blackbird," you said sweetly.

"Goddamn, doll," Bucky said, Steve stood beside him mirroring the same look of equal awe and fear.

This was the first time they had seen you in action. Hearsay and that little demo with Kim did nothing to prepare them for the sheer brutality you had when given the clear purpose to kill. You didn't hesitate. You didn't waste time. You didn't care that you were drenched in blood. You had a goal and you were going to meet it every time with ruthless violence.

This was who you were now.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Steve came up to you looking worried after seeing you charging headlong at open gunfire.

He didn't like it. At least he had a shield. Skilled as you were, he didn't like that you were running every mission like you had a death wish. There was so much blood on you that it was difficult for him to tell if any of it was yours.

"None of the blood is mine," you dismissed, wiping your face with what was the only clean part of your sleeve. "Let's go. I hear more up ahead and Sam said that's where the shipment is."

Rounding the corner, you were faced with another cluster of goons with weapons aimed at your small group. They stood a good distance away in front of two shipping containers that were being readied for transport. Sam landed beside you along with a group of agents. Bucky pushed you behind him and Steve raised his shield to cover you both. Billy chirped in the comms that the snipers had repositioned and were ready. All of that barely registered with you, white noise against the rage that was brewing, because behind enemy lines was the goal you've been chasing for a decade.

Salvacion.

"I have to say," he drawled. His voice, the first you're hearing of now, sending a chill down your spine. "I expected more from the Avengers. You didn't even bring Iron Man. I'm disappointed."

"Give up the serum," Steve growled.

"No. I don't think I will," he answered. "Kill them all."

All hell broke loose once more; fists, bullets, knives, and a shield flying in every direction. Bucky and Steve kept close to you, shielding you from most of the shots as you advanced. You gunned down every bastard you saw but your eyes never strayed from Salvacion who was just standing there watching the clash.

Taunting you.

Something nagged at the back of your head as you fought. It was unusual for the syndicates to be deploying this many people to a single location even if it was for the serum. While you were thanking every god you knew for luckily drawing Salvacion on this mission, his presence was also peculiar. Something else was going on.

Something else was here.

The syndicates were pushing back on your team hard, but you were making a dent in their numbers. When you saw Salvacion start walking away, that was when you felt the panic stir in your mind.

"I can't let him get away, Steve!"

You ignored his and Bucky's calls for you as you made a mad dash straight through the fight, efficiently shooting and stabbing anyone who dared get in your path. You were consumed with the purpose of reaching him, of finally being able to end it all.

You left the larger fight behind you in favor of this more personal one, the noise receding as you chased him farther. You caught a glimpse of him making his way up stacked containers and you sped up your run. You didn't even think twice about climbing the height. Nevermind potential broken bones. Nevermind getting cornered. Nevermind that you had no backup.

Salvacion would die today.

When you reached the top, you were surprised to see him standing there waiting for you but also that he wasn't alone. You raised your gun to match the one he was aiming at you, but he merely tutted and smirked. His other hand also had a gun, this one aimed up the chin of the person he was holding captive in front of him.

Kim.

The amount of irritation this woman was bringing into your life was starting to get on your nerves. She was delegated on your team for this mission and you stifled the aggravated groan as you noticed that she was bleeding heavily from both shoulders causing her to not be able to fight back.

Top agent my ass.

"Hello, Nemesis," Salvacion grinned at you. "Or should I call you Y/N? Much more personal given our history, don't you think?"

Your name on his lips caused a wave of nausea and a sneer to grace your lips. You raised your gun higher, narrowing your eyes as his own pressed harder against Kim's skin. It wasn't an idle threat.

"Nice of you to show up for once. Was beginning to think you were avoiding me."

"Come now. Don't you enjoy our little game of cat and mouse?"

A game.

This was all a game to him and the malevolent smile on his face confirmed that. The fury in you burned, almost making you physically shake. Killing Lily was nothing to him while it had completely consumed your life. It had become your driving force while to him you were merely entertainment.

"You're going to let me go," he declared, fully confident.

"Is that so?"

"Yes," he dragged out. "Or else your teammate here will die."

"What makes you think I give a shit?" you scoffed. "Go ahead."

The way Kim's eyes widened in terror brought a sick sense of pleasure in you that you shouldn't be proud of. Salvacion let out a low laugh, amusement clear in his tone.

"Oh, dear child. No matter how much spite you wrap yourself with, you are the same naive hero wannabe you always were," he snickered. "Self-sacrificing. Even at the expense of your sister."

"You don't talk about Lily, you bastard!" you screamed, your grip shaking slightly on your weapon.

All of a sudden it was hard to breathe and your heartbeat was hammering in your ears. You didn't expect that finally facing him, hearing him talk about Lily like she was inconsequential, would shake you to your core. This was what you have been waiting for. This was what you have been building up to for the past decade. This was your purpose for living.

What were you waiting for?

"I am feeling generous today. Consider it my gift to commemorate our first official meeting," he said.

"What the fuck are you on?" you growled.

"Open the containers," he smiled. "See you soon, Y/N."

He abruptly tossed Kim to the side, pushing her off the ledge of the containers you were on and bolted away with a mad cackle. You shot at his retreating figure, desperately trying to aim through the turbulent emotions he inspired in you. You were going to chase after him when a yelp of pain caught your attention.

Kim was hanging by one hand off the edge, obviously struggling to hold herself up with her busted shoulders. You were too high up for her to survive the fall and she was too injured to help herself. Her grip was slipping.

"Y/N! Help me please!"

A dark shadow passed through your features. Saving her would mean Salvacion would definitely escape. Again. You didn't know if you would ever get another chance at him or when that would be.

You didn't like this woman. You never did. She tormented your youth, took joy in it even and as you reunited nothing changed. She was the same egotistic bully she always was. This was a dangerous mission. People die in the line of fire.

It happens. No one would blame you.

"Please!"

"Fuck!"

You dropped your weapon and clasped both hands on hers to pull her up. You strained with the effort, Kim being a deadweight adding to the struggle. You let go when half her body was safely on top, her legs swinging up to roll herself flat onto the surface. She was crying and whimpering from the fear and pain. You couldn't help the anger that bubbled to the surface.

You slapped her face.

"Get your goddamn shit together," you roared at her. "I don't have time for this. Call for evac, princess."

You ran toward the sound of helicopter blades, jumping onto crates and jolting your bones at the impact. You didn't care. The renewed rage had steadied you, calmed you almost to the point that the only thing you could see in your mind was taking him out. You had faltered and you would beat yourself up about that later, but you couldn't let him slip away again.

The helicopter was already starting to take off, Salvacion clearly visible through the open door. You cocked your gun and fired away. Empty. You slipped another gun out and fired. Empty. You kept running toward him, drawing and firing every last bullet you had as you screamed your frustration with every shot that missed.

You noticed that you managed to get a few through him by the way his body jerked. You were feeling optimistic until he reached around and pulled out a rocket launcher. You saw the sinister grin before he fired.

"Nem!" You heard your name being called, but you were too stunned by the horrible realization that you had failed today. You watched the helicopter slowly make it's way farther and farther behind the rocket that was hurtling toward you.

Even if you ran, the area of impact would still tear right through you. You were frozen in place, unable to process that this was how it would end. That it would end in you dying by his hand as well. That it would end without you making it up to Lily.

Your internal struggle was interrupted by a large body completely engulfing yours. The impact of the rocket threw you both to the ground and the loud explosion accompanied by ripping metal deafened your ears.

You struggled with your vision, the ringing in your head was painful and your body sore from crashing down. Oddly, your skull itself didn't feel injured. All of the pain seemed to be concentrated on your torso. You blinked a few times to focus the blur of your eyes as the repeated chanting of your name became louder.

"Are you okay, doll? Answer me, Nem! Come on."

"Bucky?"

Your sight finally focused to find that it was the brunette super soldier on top of you, covering you from what would have certainly been your death. The dread on his face gave way to a tired relief at you finally responding.

He pressed his forehead to yours and closed his eyes, taking deep steadying breaths. You noticed now that he was wincing and that his flesh arm was underneath you, supporting your back and cradling your head. His metal arm was detached, a mangled mess of forcibly severed wires and metal plates sticking out from his shoulder. Your eyes widened in realization.

"Bucky, your arm," you started to struggle underneath him, knowing he must be in a world of pain.

He shushed you by rubbing the tip of his nose against yours. Your eyes met icy blue ones and you saw him smile weakly, as if telling you it was worth it. He wouldn't hesitate to catch a missile with his arm again if it meant protecting you.

The rest of the boys reached you shortly after, Sam took Bucky and informed you that evac and medics were here. You were still in shock from what just happened. Billy took you gingerly in his arms, endlessly fussing at you and apologizing for not being able to do more even if you understood it was impossible for him to have tracked you through the chaos. Steve stood to the side, obviously furious at himself for not going to you even if you understood it was only right that he led the main fight.

Your body felt like it had gone through a war and you were too emotionally distressed to address anything else. You felt defeated. You felt at a loss. You failed Lily again today. Suddenly, you remembered what he told you.

His gift.

"Steve, Salvacion told me to open the shipments. He said it was a gift from him."

You didn't wait for them to respond, dragging your battered body limping across the yard to the crates. Billy recovered first, quickly jogging up to support your battered body straight with his. Steve followed closely behind, the uneasiness clouding the three of you. The locks were easily broken by Steve's shield and soon your gift was revealed.

What you saw drained the blood from all of you and caused your skin to immediately chill. It was the most sickening thing any of you have ever seen in your lives and that was saying something. How anyone could do this was beyond comprehension.

People. Dozens of people.

Crammed inside the steel box were dozens of people in various states of distress. All of them had barely any life left in them, barely sustained by the various IV bags hooked on their bodies. They hardly reacted when the doors were opened, too spent by what they had been made to go through to even blink. You suspected that a good portion of those who were not moving at all were dead. The smell was horrendous and this was coming from people who were about to be shipped to god knows where.

The horror you felt heightened to epic levels when you noticed that some of the drip bags held a different colored fluid, the distinct color of the super soldier serum. Then it clicked and the nausea finally overcame you. You poured your guts out onto the pavement, your stomach heaving violently as the truth made your vision spin.

Human testing.

Human experimentation.

And you had let the bastard escape.

Steve was going to approach you, clueless as he was on how to help you at that moment, but you had scrambled out of reach and ran out of the shipment yard. He called after you readying himself to go to you, but Billy's grip on his forearm stilled him.

"We're not who she needs right now, Cap," Billy shook his head. "Right now these people need us more."

"Where's she going?" Steve asked, swallowing hard on the lump in his throat and reluctantly agreeing.

"She'll be fine. Matt will find her."

Matt found you hours later. He had returned badly beaten and bruised from their own mission, but upon receiving word from Billy he pushed aside every painful injury he felt and rushed to where he knew he would find you. His chest tightened when he was told what you had seen. It was bad enough that you were carrying the guilt of your sister's death, but now you had the weight of all the lives that were victimized by these sick people too. It was too much for one person to bear.

He found you in the confession booth of the church on the corner of a quiet street and he couldn't see the broken look on your face when he opened the door, but he could feel it. He heard it in your unusually slow heartbeat, as if your organs were trying to give up. He heard it in the shallow breaths you took, as if the act of living was a betrayal in itself. He heard it in the cry that was begging to break through you throat. He could almost taste your despair.

He slowly knelt in front of you and pulled you urgently into his arms, squeezing himself into the tight space. He held you against him, clutching you tight and rocking you gently back and forth. This was an open secret shared between the two of you. When the darkness was overwhelming, you turned to each other and confessed. He pulled away after a long moment, cradling your face firmly in his palms. His thumbs brushed against your dry cheeks. Of course you hadn't been crying.

There were no more left to shed.

"Talk to me," he muttered, pressing his lips softly against yours.

"He experimented on a lot of people," you muttered. "And I let him go, Matty. I've been letting him carry on for ten years."

Your tone was almost a hoarse whisper, devoid of much emotion apart from a cold defeat. This worried him, but at least you were talking. You had known when you were being tortured that they Hydra hadn't perfected the serum. They kept torturing you in the hopes that they could get you to reveal anything about the formula, Steve and Bucky's abilities, or where samples of their blood were stored. You didn't talk.

Maybe you should have talked.

When the syndicates got their hands on the incomplete formula, they were faced with the same problem. A problem they apparently decided to solve by trial and error on actual people. You knew this. At the back of your mind you knew this, but it didn't register until you saw it for yourself tonight. Somehow you had ignored that fact because you had only been focused on your own grief.

"I let him go. I did this, Matty," you breathed, the guilt clear in your voice.

"No! You did not let him go. The bastard got away," he insisted. "And this is not your fault. I won’t let you think that this is your fault."

"No," you argued weakly. "I let him go. I had a shot at stopping him tonight and I didn't take it."

"Steve told me. You stopped to save Kim." The movement of his thumbs on your cheeks changed to soothing circles. "You stopped to save a teammate. That was a good thing."

You scoffed. "I wanted her to die."

"What?"

"For a solid moment as she was hanging on for her life, I wanted to let her die."

"She's alive now because of you, Nem. You fought it. You're strong. You didn't give into it."

"But what if that's what I need to do? If I did I could have ended Salvacion tonight."

You could have ended it all tonight.

Salvacion's words tonight plagued you. if you didn't try to play the hero then this whole twisted operation could have been stopped. If you didn't try to play the hero then you would have gotten your revenge for Lily. If you didn't play the hero then Lily wouldn't even be dead. You had wanted to save people so much, make a difference in the world, that you didn't stop and think about how that would impact the people you held most dear.

"You don't honestly believe that, do you?" Matt asked cautiously, he knew more than anyone the struggle you faced. All of you were just a bad day away from completely snapping.

"I don't know," you admitted in defeat. You sounded so tired and confused that it broke his heart.

He held you for a moment more, waiting for your heart and breathing to return to normal. He didn't know what else to do or what else to tell you. He didn't know how to help you this time. Just then, he sensed the arrival of a Maximoff twin.

"Pietro's outside. I'll ask him to take you away for a while," he shook his head when he felt you were about to protest. "You need a break and you need some peace."

He led you outside, his pace slower than normal as your shoulders slumped lower to the ground in resignation. He exchanged a few words with Pietro before he pressed a kiss to your temple and pushed you toward the other man.

"Come with me, little star. I'll take care of you."

The next thing you knew, Pietro had lifted you into his arms and asked you to close your eyes. You buried your face into his neck as you felt the world around you dissolve in a blur, your hair whipped around but you weren't scared. The steady grip he had on you assured you that you would be safe. When he told you to open your eyes, you had no idea where you were or how long you had been traveling.

"Where are we?"

He gently set you on your feet as you looked around the area. It was beautiful. A dense lush forest that opened up to a lake with a small cabin. Isolated. Quiet.

Peaceful.

Immediately you felt your body relax in the new environment. It was so far removed from anything and everything that it allowed you to let go of the tight hold you had on your life. It allowed you to let go of the rage for a moment.

"Sokovia," he answered. "This is mine. When Wanda and I were little, even before the enhancements, our connection was strong and can be overwhelming. I needed a place that was only my own."

"Wanda doesn't know about this?"

"No, it is the only secret I have ever kept from her. I've never brought anyone else here."

Turning to him, you could see the shy smile on his face. There was a reluctance there, as if he was nervous that his little hideaway would not be good enough for you. You were quick to shoot that thought down.

"It's beautiful, Pietro. Thank you for sharing this with me."

His smile brightened as he approached you and held both your hands in his. "We can stay for as long as you want to. I can go into town and get us more supplies. We can swim in the lake if you like and I can cook you paprikash. You'll love it."

He was so excited. So happy to be able to spend time with you. Elated to be able to share this sentimental place with someone else, but he saw the sadness in your eyes and it made him force himself to slow down. The smile on his face dimmed.

"Do you want to go somewhere else? I can take you anywhere you like."

The heartbreak and disappointment in his voice alerted you. You hurriedly wound your arms around his shoulders and forced his eyes to meet yours. You recognized the way he looked at you, but it was only now that you really noticed that he has always looked at you that way. He was so pure. So honest. So good.

He was too good for you.

"No, Pietro. This is perfect. You're perfect." You tried to smile up at him. "I don't deserve you."

Just like that he understood you. He drew you closer by the waist and pressed a soft kiss at the corner of your mouth. When he drew back, his smile lit up his face again.

"Why do you need to deserve me, little star?" he chuckled at the puzzled look on your face, finding it adorable. "Can I not just choose to love you?"

You frowned and he just laughed more. He shushed your protests by pulling you flush against his body, lowering his head to hover his lips mere inches from yours. He left this small distance as your choice to make just as he has made his.

"Let me choose to love you."

You could feel his breath on your face at this distance, see the sparkle of anticipation in his eyes, and his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

You made your choice.

Kissing Pietro has to be the most comforting experience that you had ever felt. He tasted like hot chocolate on a rainy day and you felt your body melt when he returned the gesture. You were sighing against his lips when the now familiar feeling of him dashing turned it into a surprised squeal. You blinked and you were lying down on a soft mattress with Pietro grinning down at you.

You laughed as you shared more kisses, hands giddily exploring each other and tearing away pieces of clothing until nothing lay between you. For the first time in a long time, you felt insecure about your scars. For the first time, you were reluctant for someone to see them. Again, just like that he understood you.

"You're beautiful, little star. You have always been beautiful to me."

He kissed you again, deeply and full of emotion that you melted into the bed. His lips traveled down your neck, your chest, your stomach. He stopped to nip and suck at the inside of your thighs causing you to involuntarily moan his name. Lower he went until his mouth was working gentle swirls on your sensitive bud. Your hips grinded against his tongue, desperately seeking more.

He pressed his mouth fully on you then, adding a finger much to your delight. He ate you like he worshipped you. Like he was blessed with the opportunity to bring you pleasure. Your body sang his praises, reacting with equal enthusiasm by soon reaching your orgasm. You shook beneath him as he allowed you to ride out your high, soothing you with gentle hands rubbing circles on your hips. He was smirking at you when he crawled up, satisfied that he had made you cum but clearly aiming for more.

He kissed you again as he lined himself up against your core, sliding it against your slit to coat it with your slick. He wasn't even inside you yet and you already felt like you were ready to cum. He held your gaze, silently asking for permission that this was still what you wanted. Instead of answering, you moved your hips to slip his length inside causing him to drag out a hiss and capture your mouth again. The groan you both let out when he bottomed out vibrated through your fused lips.

"You feel incredible," he whispered. "You feel so good wrapped around me. Just like I always thought you would."

"Pietro, please."

His strokes were slow and deep, hitting that special spot inside you that had you panting with want. The smooth roll of his hips was quickly driving you higher and higher toward another orgasm. It was so gentle. So sensual. So personal.

"Tell me what you want, little star."

Everything about Pietro's life had been one big event after another. Rushed decisions. Angry fighting. Missions. Even his very enhancement relied on speed.

He didn't want that with you.

With you he wanted to slow everything down. He wanted to savor every moment. He wanted to stop time if he could, keep you in his arms for as long as possible. Freeze you in this exact moment when all you felt was pleasure.

"More," you pleaded.

Maybe he could speed up just a little bit.

His strokes gradually hastened and he glowed with satisfaction at seeing you delirious with desire because of him. He palmed at your breasts, nipped at your neck, and bucked his hips just a bit harder.

"More."

He smiled. How could he deny you? He lifted you up until you were seated on him, holding you firmly with an arm up your back with his hand fisting in your hair. The other hand he slipped between the two of you to rub against your clit. You saw the wicked glint in his eyes before he dipped his head to lave at your breasts.

You felt like you were going to explode from the different sensations. That was until he decided to move your body to bounce on his cock, his own hips thrusting up to meet you and his hand on your back guiding you to wind your hips as you came down. Your clit hit his pelvis each time and another wave was added onto your building climax. You whined, moaned, and pleaded his name. Begging him to grant you release.

“Let go for me. I have you. Let go.“

He growled against your breast and pounded up into you until you screamed and shook above him, clenching him so hard you pulled his own orgasm out of him. He spilled into you, crushing you against him as you continued to flutter around him.

You fought to catch your breath and when you caught each other's eyes, still hazy from lust, you laughed. You felt free. You felt renewed. You kissed him then.

"I love you too, Pietro."

He looked at you with unrestrained adoration. He had been chasing after you for so long that he could hardly believe that he had finally caught you. That he was finally yours.

"What? You didn't see that coming?" you teased.

He chuckled and pulled you in for another lingering kiss. You felt so good in his arms that he has completely forgotten how it felt to not have you in them.

"I meant what I said earlier," he murmured against the skin of your shoulder. "If you want to we can runaway. I can take you away from all of this. We can stay here or we can go anywhere else."

He smiled warmly at you and pecked your lips when he saw the internal conflict flash through your features. Again, without a word he understood you.

"But I know that is not what you want," he reassured you. "I just wanted you to know that you have that choice if you should want it."

Tempting as his offer was, you knew you couldn't let go of Lily's memory. You would never truly be at peace until Salvacion was rotting six feet under and his whole operation was blown to bits. You couldn't leave your mission unfinished. And you couldn't bear to leave four other men behind. Looking back at the events of the past night, it felt more accurate to say five. Still, there was a sense of security from knowing you had that option.

"Let's go home."

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

A/N: Okay let’s take a vote. Should we forgive Bucky now?

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ontheoddoccasioniwritestuff · 3 years

Text

Kisses and Near Misses (Riff x Reader) Part 4

Summary: A date can never be as effortlessly romantic as the movies portray them.

AN: Idk this is an addition to my last author’s note - and follows on with what my pal @inkandpen22 has said. I reblogged the post earlier but tl;dr Tony was a racist Jet until he decided to change before killing an Egyptian King member and Maria looked past that to give him a chance. Riff and Bernardo don’t get that chance because the moment of realisation comes when Bernardo stabs Riff - and David Alvarez says that Bernardo didn’t even want to do it. Then Tony kills Bernardo.

In this fic, Riff, Bernardo, and Y/N will get that moment. More so for Riff and Y/N since Bernardo and the Sharks are only defending themselves against the Jets, with a sprinkling of xenophobia on top. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna gloss over what they do before they decide to change.

Chapter content warnings: Canon-typical attitudes towards gay folks (aka the lads and the lasses can’t be open with their love because its the 50s)

Previous Part // Masterlist // Next Part

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The Outing

The streets during the day were so much different to the air held at night time. Arrogant drivers forced all the city’s citizens into the cramped pavements, selling wares, playing chase, power walking. Sunlight glared down and bounced off the blocks into everyone’s eyes.

Bit less jaunty, a lot more sober, but still in high spirits, Riff held the door open for Y/N as they entered the all-American diner. Vermillion and yellow neon lighting was a bit obnoxious but it was routine now. Another booth, they sat opposite one another, this time a burger each with fries to share, plus Riff in a neater outfit than he was often seen in.

As thick as the mustard Y/N squirted over his patty, the young men’s yearning to hold hands across the table was mirrored in a couple opposite them. Tale as old as time, boy and girl, hands clasped together as they shared laughter and nose nuzzles. Y/N didn’t want the latter of those affectionate exchanges, and Riff didn’t want the girl aspect, but they wished to show some love without the risk of ruining their reputations – and that was without considering the homosexual facet.

That didn’t mean their date went without flirtatious exchange. Cheeky as he was, Riff initiated a game of footsie under the table’s shadow and sent Y/N into a flushed frenzy. This naturally egged him on more, but Y/N would never object to seeing Riff so pleased with himself. Besides, he could always get him back later.

Feet became planted firmly on the floor as A-Rab, Tiger, and Baby John entered the diner. The three Jets made straight for Riff and Y/N’s table, one behind the other like three ducklings looking for their mother duck. Once they stood before Riff, with only a swift glimpse in Y/N’s direction, they began relaying information about an incident that was only an hour old of Shark origin.

Instead of replying, Riff extended an open palm across the table, “You guys remember Y/N?” He waited for each Jet to reply (either with a “yeah” or a mumbled greeting at Y/N) before he continued, “Anyway, we’re busy right now. I’ll meet ya later to discuss that further.”

Rolling his eyes when his men refused to roll out, Riff sat himself up forward with his hands elaborately helping to explain why they were asked to go: “Give me some time to think of how we’re going to get ‘em back.”

A little more understanding, the trio of Jets shipped themselves off with their leader’s orders, the same leader who had his elbows on the table wrapped his lips around the straw. He stopped slurping to frown at a staring Y/N.

“What?” He asked, knocking the straw away with his question.

Y/N hid his mouth behind his hand while he spoke, “I like seeing you act all bossy.”

In response, Riff’s foot tapped his shin as his smirk returned, combined with a quirk of his right eyebrow.

Their leftovers were wrapped in greasy papers to continue such playful banter alone. Upon entering Y/N’s apartment, his shoes removed and bundle tossed on the table, Riff swiped up Y/N’s hand and unceremoniously spun him into him. A squeak escaped Y/N as he collided with Riff’s chest, causing them both to wobble.

“See? I can be romantic,” Riff squeezed the hand he held.

“Never said you couldn’t be.”

Reality would argue Riff could not be romantic and its first exhibit proving its argument came in the form of the apartment’s front door opening. The speed with which Riff snatched himself away from his boyfriend was as fast as their first kiss, only this time he managed to get two feet between them before Roisin even stepped into sight. Y/N’s arms remained around his body, hands hollow where their partner’s had been, and they dropped only when Roisin pecked him on the cheek.

“Hey baby,” She beamed at him.

“Hi,” He returned, sounding as far away as he felt, “Good day?”

“Shite, thanks for asking,” She left her shopping bag on the table, her voice dropping its cheeriness and picking up formality, “Hello Riff.”

“Roisin,” He dipped his head respectfully to Y/N’s roommate.

Just as the front door was about to close, it bounced open again. Graziella appeared, just as sunny as her blonde hair bundled up in a loose knot. Her greetings were akin to Roisin’s, and they both disappeared into Roisin’s room. Every so often, a pair of giggles and reciprocated compliments would be heard - perhaps a kiss or two1. Riff stayed rooted to the spot. Therefore Y/N did too, besides his toying with the paper bag his leftovers occupied.

When the two women re-emerged, Roisin with a different bag that she’d prepped that morning, arm in arm, it was hard not to feel inspired by jealousy at their comfort.

“See you boys later!” Grazie called out, her voice’s timbre dropping behind the door and teetering out into nothing.

A mournful sigh came from Riff, “I wish I could just kiss you like how she kissed you.”

His head was still turned to where Roisin had vanished. Y/N couldn’t see the vulnerability in Riff’s face; his body still held him taut as the leader of the Jets. As subtle as he could, he slipped in front of the source of their wistfulness.

“Me too. But at least, here, we can.”

A downturned smile emerged on his lips before Y/N could see him sad and his hands found Y/N’s waist, “I was joking about being brought home on the first date.”

“And it was hilarious,” Y/N traced his thumb over the nape of Riff’s neck. It was tickled by the overgrown baby hairs before it slid away. He took off his Claddagh ring and flipped it around, so that now it sat on the same finger but with the heart pointing inwards.2

A rosy shine came across Riff’s cheeks, “You slick bastard.”

“I prefer ‘romantic bastard’.”

---> ---> ---> ---> --->

1 Yes, Grazie and Roisin are in a relationship in this fic. Idk it makes sense to me to have Riff and Y/N be their frocks while in this relationship, and vice versa as their beards.

2 When a Claddagh ring is positioned on the right hand with the heart pointing to the fingertips, this means the wearer is single. When a Claddagh ring is positioned on the right hand with the heart pointing to the wrist, this means the wearer is in a relationship.

---> ---> ---> ---> --->

Riff tag: @that1fanficwriter

#west side story fanfic #riff x reader #riff fanfic #wss 2021 #riff wss #riff imagine #west side story imagine #my writing #wc: >1k #r: male #series

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firstofficerwiggles · 4 years

Text

Chapter 4: A Rather Indecent Proposal

Links to other chapters: Chpt. 1, Chpt. 2, Chpt. 3 Chpt. 5

Pairing: The Mandalorian x female reader

Rating: T

Warnings: Jealous!Din, a little bit of canonical violence

Word Count: ~9900 (I know it’s long, but it felt better as one chapter instead of split into two.)

Author’s note: Happy Mando Monday! I hope you enjoy this new chapter! First though, I need to apologize if the man you love or you yourself are called Eugene, but please don’t hate me for thinking it’s an unsexy name. Also, apologies to skinny men everywhere, you might not be my type, but I’m sure someone is into you.

“Do you think you could come with me for a business meeting? I could use your language skills.” Mando surprises you with his request. So far, he’s always conducted any business on his own, and except for a few weeks ago when you asked him about his bounty, he hasn’t shared any details of his work with you. But as always, you’re eager to help him if you can.

“Of course, I can. What do you need?” You’re actually kind of excited at the chance to accompany him.

“The client comes from the Unknown Regions and I hear he prefers to use Sy Bisti when possible,” Mando explains, “He’s also known to be very particular, so anything that can impress him would be helpful.”

“Absolutely, I can be your interpreter,” you agree, “When is this meeting?”

“As soon as we get to Canto Bight in a couple of hours.” He tells you. Oh, you look down at your lounging-on-the-ship comfy clothes; you’ll need to get yourself pulled together for a business meeting.

“I better go get changed into something more presentable then. Can you watch the little guy?” You ask him.

“Why? You look fine.” Mando is such a guy sometimes. You just give him an incredulous look with a small raise of your eyebrow as if to say really? “I mean, sure, I’ll watch the kid if you want to change.”

“Thanks. But, yes, I definitely need to change before we meet your client,” you reply and head down to the hull; you’re almost out of earshot when you hear him mutter to the child, “Don’t get it, she always looks fine to me.” It makes you smile to yourself that he thinks that, yet there’s a part of you that’s eager for him to see you dressed a little nicer for once.

For about the millionth time you tell yourself that you shouldn’t have a crush on Mando, but that voice is getting drowned out more and more by another one that keeps telling you to enjoy it. After your trip to Crucival, you know that he finds you attractive at least. And Maker knows you’re even more attracted to him now that you know him even better. Plus seeing him almost naked was hard to ignore! So what if he considers you just a friend, as long as you don’t let things get out of hand, or say something stupid to him, you might as well have fun with your silly little fantasies.

You rummage through your clothing and pull out a nice black dress. It’s stylish but without being too fussy and you think, it will be perfect for a meeting with a client. Besides, if you’re going to Canto Bight, you know most of the women there will be dressed to the nines so you want to make sure you’re helping Mando give off a good impression. You take the time to style your hair and put on some make-up too. You give yourself a once-over in the small mirror in the fresher and, even in the harsh industrial light, you have to say that you look pretty nice. You knew that being a nanny to a toddler was never going to be a glamorous job, but the chance to clean up like this is fun every once in a while.

“We’re landing soon, you need to come sit down!” You hear Mando calling to you, so you quickly make your way back up to the cockpit.

“Thanks,” you say as you get back to your seat, but before you sit down, you turn to Mando with a little flourish and say, “See, much more presentable for your client now.”

Din stares at you in the elegant dress; you’re literally taking his breath away and he can’t even speak for a few seconds. Finally all he can think to say is, “You look good.” And he immediately chides himself for not being able to come up with a better compliment. Thankfully, you seem pleased with his pathetic words and just give him a happy smile before buckling yourself in. He’s still staring at you, taking in the pretty hairstyle you’ve created and looking at whatever it is that you’ve done to make your lips seem redder and fuller. It isn’t until a sensor on the control panel starts beeping loudly that Din snaps back to reality and focuses on landing the Crest.

“Wait, what about the child, do we bring him with us?” In your excitement, you’ve forgotten your primary job, as you’re getting ready to head out into the hustle and bustle of this flashy city. You look at the little one’s big eyes and like his father, he also seems to be fascinated with your done-up appearance.

“Sure, I have a satchel he can ride along in. And he’s plenty old enough to get into the casino; the age to get in is 18.” Mando chuckles as he maneuvers his 50-year-old toddler into a small brown shoulder bag. Mando’s cape partially obscures the little one making him less noticeable. You suppose he’ll be all right, it’s only a meeting in the restaurant of a casino; it’s not as if you’re taking the little one to the gaming tables. Although if you’re honest, you wouldn’t be surprised if Mando said that was perfectly ok too, so long as he’s safe. You give his tiny hand a squeeze and he coos back at you seemingly eager for your little adventure.

You follow Mando off the ship and through the throngs of men in sharply tailored evening jackets and women beautifully attired in chic gowns. Everyone looks very cosmopolitan especially against the stunning background of the decadent casino. You have to admit that you were expecting something a little more garish based on the descriptions you’ve heard of Canto Bight, but this particular establishment is quite nice with marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and unique modern art pieces strategically placed throughout the large lobby. With Mando in his beautiful beskar armor and you in your fashionable dress, you make a dashing pair as you pass by the colorful lights of the gaming machines.

Din leads you to a restaurant entrance and tells the maître d’ that he is here to meet a Mr. Omseki. The man seems slightly taken aback by the presence of a Mandalorian but when his gaze lands on you, his face softens and in a crisp accent he says, “Right this way, Madam” and then he barely glances at Din, as he says, “Sir”. It’s not surprising that the man would rather keep his eyes on you with your eyes shining in delight as you take in the scene around you. Din’s never cared much for Canto Bight and its rather pompous atmosphere, but he’s finding some charm in this place as he watches your reaction to it all. Not to mention, Din knows he would have received a much frostier welcome here without you by his side and he’s very glad you came with him. As you reach the client’s table, this feeling is renewed, as Mr. Omseki is all smiles as you greet him in the unusual language. Despite not understanding the words, Din can tell by the man’s animated speech, that he is positively delighted at the prospect of meeting with a beautiful woman and not just a Mandalorian bounty hunter. The man also seems happy to see the child and he gives him the flower from his lapel to play with as a small gift. Din listens as you interpret the client’s words and you all begin to exchange some welcoming small talk. Greef Karga had been the one to pass on this client to Din as a lucrative off-the-books bounty, but the man he described was temperamental and moody. Mr. Omseki is anything but moody tonight and if Din didn’t know better, he’d swear the man was flirting with you. He doesn’t love that idea, but if it helps this meeting go smoothly, it will be worth it.

Mr. Omseki is a charmer and he is thrilled to be speaking to you; he’s told you several times how pleasant it is to talk business in an ‘appropriate’ language and how overjoyed he is to speak to you. You suppose it must have been a while since he’s had the opportunity to speak Sy Bisti and perhaps that’s why he’s enjoying himself so much now. You’ve felt a little abashed at times, as you’ve interpreted his rather flowery praise of you to Mando although at least some of it has also extended to him. However, this client seems more interested in just chatting with you than he is in talking business with Mando. You try to steer the conversation back to Mando’s work, but each time you do, Mr. Omseki manages to ask you another question about yourself. Mando must sense your worry that you aren’t doing a good enough job and he drops his hand down to cover yours where it is sitting on the table. He gives you a reassuring squeeze and you continue making polite conversation with the client. You figure this must be part of his business negotiations.

Din leaves his hand covering yours in a clear message to the client that you belong with him. It’s a subtle gesture, but one that Mr. Omseki is shrewd enough to understand as shortly afterwards he shifts the conversation to the bounty that he wants Din to capture. He listens carefully as you interpret the details and he begins to formulate a plan for the hunt. Din almost has all the pertinent information, when a sudden commotion interrupts the conversation. He immediately pulls his blaster and shields you behind him. A man in a disheveled suit is pushing past the maître d’ and several waiters as he stumbles towards your table. Din realizes disappointedly that this man looks exactly like the quarry that was just described by Mr. Omseki.

“Mr. O-Omseki, I have it, I have all your m-money and the in-interest,” the man stutters out as he begins pulling out bags of credits from his coat.

“Well, well, Mr. Sanditore, looks like this is your lucky day,” Mr. Omseki drawls out, “I was just about to send this Mandalorian off to kill you.”

“Th- thank you Mr. Omseki, thank you, I promise you won’t have any trouble from me again.” The disheveled man is practically shaking with gratitude.

“Well, I am sorry Mr. Mandalorian, it was delightful to meet you and your most lovely interpreter, but I am afraid I no longer have need of your services.” Mr. Omseki says to Din. Then he turns to you and speaks in Sy Bisti in a soft voice. Din obviously can’t know what he’s saying but the mild look of surprise on your face is enough to raise his concern. Whatever it is though, you handle it gracefully and end the conversation with a pleasant tone before shifting back to Basic to say good-bye. As you exit the table, you reach for Din’s arm, threading your hand around his elbow. He is surprised by your touch but says nothing as you walk towards the large bar near the center of the restaurant.

“What did he say to you?” Din wants to know.

“He asked me if we were romantically involved, because if we weren’t he wanted to know if I was free for the rest of the evening.” You reply looking a little embarrassed.

“What did you tell him?” He really wants to hear this answer.

“I lied and said that we were. It seemed like the best solution.” You’re slightly looking away from him as you say this as if you’re worried about making eye contact.

“Good.” Din’s pleased you lied, and it’s petty, but he likes the idea of that rich man thinking that Din has something that he wants and can’t have.

“I’m sorry about the job though,” you’re saying to him now, “I know you must be disappointed.”

“It’s alright,” Din sighs a little though, “these things happen.” He sees you look around the bar area with a wistful look and realizes that you’re not ready to leave. “Besides, now we have time to stay and have a drink, just the two of us, well, us and our little sleeping bundle here.” The baby has curled up and is napping in his little satchel.

“Really?” You look so pleased that it makes Din smile to himself. You settle into one of the stools at the bar and Din motions to the bartender to order your drinks. He orders one for himself too, asking for a straw in his.

“Wait, so you do use straws?” You ask with a small laugh.

“Sure, it’s the easiest way to drink in public.” He shrugs matter-of-factly, but that just seems to make you giggle more. “What’s so funny?”

“I don’t know,” you say between giggles, “but there’s something so cute about you using a straw.”

“Cute?” He says, sounding slightly insulted.

“Oh stop, I mean it in a good way,” you say and light push his shoulder in a playful fashion, “It’s probably just because I’ve never seen you use a straw before.”

“So when you see me do something new, it’s cute to you?” Din is playing up his affront to the word cute because he’s enjoying teasing you.

“No, not everything new.” You roll your eyes at him. “It’s just when you do something ordinary, I guess, because I tend to think of you as extraordinary.” You let your lashes flutter a little as you say that last word, flirting with him.

“Extraordinary, huh?” He cocks his helmet to the side as he looks at you, “I like that better than cute.”

“Whatever, you’re still cute too.” You give him a wink and then turn to the bartender who has your drinks. Both glasses have a straw and you make quite a show of using yours, so much so that Din can’t help but let out a laugh. You’re both enjoying the moment so much that neither of you notice a thin, lanky man approach you.

“Ex-excuse me?” The man is trying to get your attention. Mando shifts back into alert mode almost instantly as he says, “Yes?”

The man is about as tall as Mando with very fair hair and pale skin. He looks to be in his mid-thirties and seems a little out of place here in a casino. Although, like the other men here, he’s wearing an expensive suit, but everything about him looks slightly uncomfortable and it’s as if he doesn’t quite know what to do with his body, like the way he holds his shoulders and moves his hands looks anxious.

“I’d like to hire you for an evening,” the man says, but weirdly he looks at you instead of Mando, but you figure that’s because he’s probably too intimidated to look directly at the Mandalorian.

“What sort of work do you need?” Mando asks in an even tone.

“Oh?” The man turns and looks at Mando directly, “I- I didn’t mean you. I want to hire her for an evening.”

Mando’s reaction to this statement is so swift you almost miss it. He instantly pulls his fist back and punches the man square in the face, knocking him to the floor. Mando looks down at him and grits out in an angry voice, “She’s not for sale.”

Well, this is a first. You thought you looked pretty nice tonight, but apparently, you look like a prostitute.

“Wait, wait, I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” The man cowers on the ground but tries to explain himself, “I didn’t mean to insult her, or you.”

“So what did you mean?” Your curiosity has gotten the best of you.

“I just need a beautiful woman to pretend to be my girlfriend for an evening, that’s all.” He says.

“Exactly how is that different?” Mando is still towering over the man in a very threatening manner.

“Just to attend a party with me, and help me look good,” the man says quickly, “I promise nothing s-sex related at all.” He holds his hands up in a defensive posture. He looks back to you with pleading eyes, “I can pay you really well, and all you need to do is go to a party and wear a pretty dress.”

You admit you’re intrigued by the idea and you know that with Mando losing out on this latest bounty, any extra funds would be helpful. You put your hand on Mando’s bicep in what you hope is a calming motion as you say, “It can’t hurt to hear him out, Mando.”

“Are you serious?” Mando asks you in a low voice.

You shrug, “If we don’t like what he has to say, you can punch him again.” The man on the floor lets out a little whimper at that, but Mando gives you a small nod and backs away from the man.

Tentatively, the man picks himself up off the floor and extends a hand out to you, “I’m Eugene DeWitt, I own a company that creates high-end gaming machines and I develop algorithms for those machines.”

You shake his hand briefly, and give him your first name. “So, Mr. DeWitt, why do you need a pretend girlfriend to go to a party?”

“Please, call me Eugene. It’s the annual celebration for the casino owners and it’s my best chance to network with them. I’ve been to the party the last three years, but I haven’t been able to barely get a word with any of the important owners.” He explains.

“What makes you think I’d be able to change that?” You’re not sure what effect your presence would have on his ability to do business.

“I need to find a way to catch their interest and impress them, and I think a woman like you would be the best way to do that.” He tells you.

“I’m flattered, but I think you might be overestimating my appeal,” you reply, “besides, why don’t you just ask out a woman you want to date?”

“I’ve tried,” Eugene admits, “but honestly, even if they’d said yes, I know they wouldn’t have the same effect as you; you’re drop dead gorgeous.”

“He’s right,” Mando says softly, almost under his breath. Your head snaps to the side to look at him after that comment. You don’t have any time to process it however because Eugene is still speaking.

“I’ll pay you 20,000 credits just to go to the party with me and pretend to be my girlfriend.” He offers.

What?!? Is he serious? Suddenly this job has real potential. But you’re still skeptical that he wants you to just attend the party, it feels like that amount of money would come with additional stipulations.

“Let me get this straight, you want me to just go to the party with you and pretend to be your girlfriend, but you’re not expecting sex or any other sexual favors?” You state this outright because you need everything to be clear.

“Yes,” he confirms, “I would need you to be affectionate towards me, but only in an appropriate way in public.”

“Define what you mean by affectionate.” You want to make sure you know precisely what he wants.

“Hold my hand or arm, let me put my arm around you, dance with me, maybe let me give you a small kiss?” He suggests.

“No kissing.” Mando interjects all of a sudden.

“O-Ok, no kissing,” Eugene agrees, “But would you be alright with the rest of that?”

“Yes, I can do that.” His terms seem reasonable and honestly, that much money to just attend a party? You’ve had way worse jobs.

“I’m going too,” Mando states and from his tone of voice this is not up for debate, “I’ll be your bodyguard for the evening.”

“That’s a good idea,” Eugene is intrigued by the prospect; “A Mandalorian bodyguard would also be impressive.”

“Good, then you can pay us 40,000 credits for the evening,” you counter-offer. You know it’s ballsy to ask, but truthfully Mando’s skills are worth a lot and he should be paid as well.

“That was uh more than I was hoping to spend,” Eugene says.

“Maybe so, but now you’re getting both of us to help you impress these future clients,” you smile flirtatiously and look him right in the eye holding his gaze.

“I can do 35,000,” Eugene offers.

“Alright, 35,000 and you buy me a new dress and shoes for this party.” That last part is really only because you don’t own any other dresses that would be suitable for his event, but also part of you wants to see if you can get him to give in to you.

“Can the dress be red?” Eugene asks.

“Sure, I’ll get a red dress, if that’s what you’d like,” You’re totally fine with that.

“We have a deal.” He says.

“One more thing,” Mando speaks up again, “Pay her half the credits now.”

“How do I know you won’t just take my money and leave?” Eugene asks.

“You have my word as a Mandalorian.” His tone is serious and just intimidating enough that Eugene capitulates. He takes out a holopad and asks for your information and just like that, 17,500 credits are in your account. It’s more money than you’ve ever had.

You finalize all the arrangements for tomorrow, with Eugene offering to have his mother watch the child for the evening. Mando is a bit reluctant at first to have someone else watch the kid but he realizes it will be hard to pull off looking like a bodyguard with a baby in tow. Likewise, you can hardly play the role of trophy girlfriend if you have the little guy. You wait until Eugene takes his leave of you for the night before you turn to Mando to exclaim over this crazy turn of events.

“Oh my, Mando, can you believe it? 17,500 credits for each of us, just for one night of going to a party?” You can’t help the excitement in your voice.

“Hmm, yes, it’s a lot,” he says, with a lot less enthusiasm, “but it’s all your money.”

“What?” He catches you by surprise, “No, Mando, I’m going to split it with you.”

“He only wanted to hire you,” he states firmly.

“Yes, but I was never going to do this without you. I was going to suggest you come too but you beat me to it.” You explain to him.

“Were you really?” He sounds a little skeptical, but there’s a small note of hope in his voice too.

“Absolutely. I’m not so naïve that I would agree to go to a party with a total stranger without you there to protect me.” It feels so natural to you now that of course he would be there to watch over you. “Besides, I know that you being there will keep Eugene from getting too handsy.”

Mando makes a little snorting sound, “Yeah, I could do without the affectionate part.”

“Don’t worry, I can do just enough to make it look believable without letting it get out of hand.” You link your arm through his and lean a little onto his shoulder, “C’mon, Mando, be a little happy about the money with me.”

He reaches up and pats your hand where it holds onto him. “Alright, since it means that much to you, I’m happy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day you are in a swanky boutique recommended by Eugene where you are on a mission to find a red evening gown for tonight. You tried to tell Mando that his presence was not necessary for this, but he insisted on coming along with the child in tow. It’s been an adventure already because as you were looking over possible dress choices with the saleswoman, the mischievous toddler managed to climb out of his satchel and onto a table in the lingerie section. When you caught him, he was playing in a pile of lace thongs with one pair dangling off his ear. Even more amusing was Mando who was trying to extract the kiddo from his panty pile while trying hard not to touch any of the thongs. Thankfully, the saleswoman thought it was all utterly charming and laughed right along with you. Now Mando and the little guy are sitting together looking only slightly out of place on an elegant velvet sofa while they wait for you to try on dresses.

It’s been so long since you’ve shopped for anything this fancy, you were feeling a little intimidated at first. Yet the more you viewed the beautiful gowns, the more excited you became at the prospect of wearing one for the evening. The selection in this shop is lovely and since you know Eugene is paying, for once you’re not worried about the price. You slip on the first dress and can’t help but smile at your stylish reflection. This first one is a slinky satin gown that hugs your curves. You step out into the main area of the dressing rooms where Mando is waiting and where there is also a large three-sided mirror.

“Oh that looks very nice on you,” the saleswoman says.

You turn to look at yourself in the multiple angles offered from the mirror, “I’m not sure, what do you think, Mando?”

“It’s fine,” he says flatly. Well, with that lack of enthusiasm, you know this dress is out.

The next dress is more of a ball gown style and it’s kind of a lot with a beaded bodice and a full tulle skirt. Still you figure you should see it in the better mirror for the full effect.

“Oh no, I look like a red powder puff!” You say in dismay.

“I like it better,” Mando says, and then under his breath you just barely hear him say, “You’re more covered up.”

“I can’t wear this and be taken seriously.” It’s on to dress number three.

As you adjust the straps for the third dress, you find your face heating up at your reflection. This dress screams trophy girlfriend as it is super sexy. The deep sweetheart neckline shows off a lot of cleavage and there are thigh-high slits on both sides of the skirt.

You’re barely out of the dressing room when you hear, “Absolutely not.”

You can see Mando’s visor trained on you and it feels like that black T is boring a hole into your body.

“I don’t know, I think I look really good in this one.” Wow, when you turn around you can see that this dress is practically backless.

“You look fabulous! Very hot!” the saleswoman coos at you.

“Go change.” Mando’s voice sounds deeper somehow and he’s using his this-is-not-a-request voice. A little naughty part of you wants to argue back with his demand, but you did tell him that you didn’t want Eugene to get too liberal with his definition of affection, so you figure Mando’s probably right.

When you head back to the dressing room, you’re down to just one more dress and as you slip it over your head, you know that this is the one. It’s made of a soft, floaty chiffon with a bodice that accentuates your bust and your waistline. The skirt flows down your hips and legs gracefully and while there’s a slit in this dress too, it’s more hidden and only offers a glimpse of leg as you move. When you step out of the dressing room this time all you hear is a soft murmur of approval from the saleswoman.

You smile at your reflection as you twirl a little in the mirror and imagine how nice you will look with your hair styled and with your evening makeup.

“This has to be the one,” the saleswoman is saying to you now, “Doesn’t she look enchanting?” and she turns to Mando for his approval.

Mando nods his helmet slightly, but remains quiet. You didn’t really expect him to say much, but you were hoping for a bit more than that. At least he isn’t disapproving of this gown though.

“I have the perfect shoes to go with this dress. I’ll be right back!” The saleswoman tells you.

Din waits until she is out of earshot and then says softly, “You look beautiful.” He watches as your face lights up with his compliment and you thank him, reaching out to grasp his arm briefly as you do. That seems to be a thing you do now when you’re particularly pleased with something he’s done. You turn back to the mirror to inspect the dress more and he lets his gaze roam over you.

The truth is Din thought you looked beautiful in all of the dresses, even in the silly puffy one. He didn’t want to encourage you too much with the first dress because although you looked great it in, the style was fairly revealing and he disliked the idea of Eugene seeing you in it. But then, that third dress, Maker, he almost had a heart attack when he saw you in that. It was so sexy he wanted to rip it off you right there in the middle of the store. There was no way in hell any other man was going to see you in that. This dress you’re wearing now is more sophisticated and gives off more of a sensual elegance than outright sexiness. He still hates the idea of Eugene seeing you in it and what’s more thinking that you chose the dress special for him. This whole job is stupid, but he can’t deny the money is too good to pass up. Still he doesn’t trust Eugene to have such pure intentions as he claims and he knows he won’t let the man have a single moment alone with you if he can help it.

You’ve finished choosing the shoes and now you’re heading back into the dressing room to put on your regular clothes. Din breathes a sigh of relief at seeing your normal self again and he feels himself relax a bit. He follows the saleswoman to the register station and watches as she carefully places the gown in a garment bag. You’re about to give the woman Eugene’s account information, when Din hands over his own credit chip to pay for the dress and shoes.

“Mando, what are you doing? Eugene is going to cover the cost of this.” You voice conveys your confusion at his actions.

“I’m not letting another man buy you a dress,” Din mutters.

“Why not? It’s only to wear for this party tonight.” You’re looking at him completely perplexed.

“Because I want to buy it for you,” he says more firmly this time. Din sees a flash of something in your eyes that he likes; it’s a mixture of respect and awe, and perhaps a touch of desire too if he’s not being too hopeful.

“Well, if you’re certain,” you reply softly still looking at him in that new way.

“I am.” Din takes the garment bag from the saleswoman and motions for her to charge everything to his chip. “You’re sure you didn’t want the big puffy dress, though?” And even though you can’t see the smirk on his face, he’s fairly confident you can hear it in his tone.

“Thank you, Mando, but I think this is the best choice.” You let out a light laugh and give him that beaming smile again that he loves to see. You follow him out of the store and then grasp his arm again as you say, “I really do love that dress, thank you for buying it for me.”

“You’re welcome,” Din tells you, wishing that it would just be the two of you going out tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re sure you want to do this? We could still turn around and leave.” This is the second time Mando has asked you that. The first was when you came out of the fresher after finishing your make-up and he saw your completed look for the evening. He didn’t compliment you again, but the long pause he took to look at you and the way he tilted his helmet to the side made your insides flutter nonetheless. Now you’re standing outside Eugene’s door and it seems he’s still having second thoughts.

“It will be fine, Mando. Just remember that this money means you can take a break from hunting and spend some extra time on finding the Jedi for the little guy here.” He sighs in response and knocks on the door.

You shift the toddler in your arms and you look down at him. He’s been having fun playing with the soft material of your dress and he’s got a big handful of your skirt in his little claws right now. The only worry you have is about leaving him with a stranger tonight. Eugene’s mother will probably be fine, but you’ve grown so attached to the child you’re feeling more anxious about being away from him that you anticipated.

“You’ll be a good boy tonight, won’t you, buddy?” You say to the child as you carefully extricate your dress from his little hand. “Mando and I will miss you but we won’t be too late.”

The door opens to reveal Eugene in a tuxedo with a red flower on his lapel and next to him, a cheerful looking older woman.

“Good evening, you look spectacular,” Eugene greets you enthusiastically.

“Thank you, you look dashing yourself,” you respond with a slight flirtiness to your tone. You figure you might as well get used to your role now.

“Oooh! Is this the sweet little baby I get to watch tonight?” The woman seems kind and the child coos at her with interest.

“Yes, thank you for doing this,” you respond pleasantly. You give the little guy a hug and a kiss on his forehead before handling him over to her.

“What a little charmer! You don’t have to worry about a thing, my dear. I’ll take good care of your baby and you take good care of mine.” She says with a wink towards Eugene.

“Th- thank you, mother.” Eugene sounds embarrassed and you try your best not to snicker. “We should get going.” He extends his arm to you and you lightly thread your hand around his elbow.

This whole time Mando hasn’t made a sound and is standing so still you’d almost think he was a suit of armor on display. But when you take Eugene’s arm, Mando lets out a little grunt that sounds like disapproval. You turn to look at him and mouth, “It will be OK” and give him as encouraging a smile as you can. The nod of his helmet to you is slight, but you know he understood.

Eugene leads you out onto the city walkway with Mando following close behind. The party is being held in the largest casino and it’s a short walk from Eugene’s home. Once again, the streets are filled with fashionable people ready for a night on the town. You feel the soft swish of your skirt against your legs and smile again at how nice it feels to be dressed up like this. You make small talk with Eugene, getting comfortable with him so you can make this look like a real date. You resist the urge to turn back and look at Mando though because you know if you do, your feigned interest in Eugene will falter.

By the time you reach your destination, you’ve managed to perfect a nice light laugh at Eugene’s jokes and you feel comfortable enough to lean into him in an affectionate way. As you enter the opulent ballroom of the casino, you paste a brilliant smile onto your face as if you’re simply delighted to be there. Eugene has told you he wants you to help draw the attention of various men in attendance so you figure you’ll sort of openly flirt with the room and see who notices. You catch the eye of a well-dressed older gentleman, and your technique works wonderfully as he comes right over.

“Good evening, I’m Mr. Belvers, the owner of this casino; it’s so very nice to have you here, my dear.” He greets you with a small bow and flourish of his hand.

“Why, thank you!” You respond warmly, “It was so nice of my boyfriend to bring me here tonight. You must know him, Mr. Eugene DeWitt of Advanced Gaming Enterprises?” You introduce Eugene with a smile.

“Oh yes, of course, Mr. DeWitt, how nice to see you again.” With the introductions made, Eugene launches into conversation with Mr. Belvers. You listen as best you can to the business talk and smile and nod like the perfect trophy girlfriend. It’s boring, but really easy when you realize that not much more is expected of you. Finally, with a promise to dance with Mr. Belvers later, the conversation ends and you breathe a small sigh of relief that if anything at least you got Eugene a few minutes with the owner of this place.

“That was incredible!” Eugene is saying excitedly, “I’ve never even met the man before but he acted like we were old friends. You are fantastic!” He gives your hand a squeeze and pulls you a little closer to him. He steers you deeper into the ballroom, eager to make another contact. You turn your head to look at Mando and give him a smile and a subtle nod, which he returns.

The pattern continues throughout the party, you spy an older man, make eyes at him, and reel him in for Eugene. When you’re between conversations, Mando has taken to checking in with you to make sure everything is going well. All in all, it’s about what you expected and you have to admit that Eugene was right; apparently, these men are all easily swayed by the look of a pretty face. You’re please to see that Mando’s presence is having a good effect too. These bigshots are very impressed that Eugene has a Mandalorian for his private security. Several of them have even asked Mando if he’s available for future security jobs too. Who knows, maybe Mando will come away with some business contacts of his own at the end of tonight.

As the evening continues, Eugene seems to be growing more confident, and you’ve noticed he’s taken to placing his arm around your waist. It doesn’t bother you, but occasionally his hand does seem to be a touch low. He also leaned in just a moment ago and let his lips brush your cheek. It wasn’t really much, but still you’re surprised he dared to try it.

“I said no kissing.” Mando’s voice is hard and direct, causing Eugene to flinch and instantly put more space between the two of you. “Keep your hands above her waist too.” Your heartbeat stutters at Mando’s protectiveness and you look at him with a grateful smile. When you’re sure no one else is looking, you give him the flirtatious look you’ve been using all evening and then top it off with a wink. You notice that he clenches his fists as you do this and then gives you a deeper nod in response.

I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. Din’s mantra for tonight is not a pleasant one. He’d much rather be hunting down a bounty right now than having to watch you flirt and simper to every man in the room. He’d rather be slogging through a swamp or crossing a frozen tundra to catch a quarry than have to watch yet another man ogling you or touching you. And then, there’s Eugene; Din would like to punch him in the face again. The man keeps getting bolder as the night progresses. Din’s caught him staring at your breasts and your ass several times, and he’s clearly getting too handsy. The only thing making this night remotely bearable is the way you keep looking over to him with such sweet glances, as if you’re sharing a secret with him. Although the way you looked at him just now made him want to sweep you up in his arms and haul you out of here as fast as he could. If you do that again, he doesn’t know if he can be responsible for his actions.

Din groans to himself, and prepares for this night to get worse because Eugene is leading you out onto the dance floor. There’s no way for him to follow close to you while you’re dancing and he’s willing to bet that Eugene takes advantage of that opportunity. In an attempt to stay in Eugene’s eye line as much as possible, Din stalks around the dance floor following your swaying movements. He can’t help but watch the graceful way you move as you dance, noticing the soft arch of your back and the delicate glide of your feet across the floor. As he sees Eugene’s arms pull you in closer, Din feels a deep burning anger in his stomach and once again thinks about breaking Eugene’s nose with his fist. This is the worst job ever.

Dancing with Eugene isn’t so bad you decide. It’s a nice break from all the forced flirting and extremely dull conversations you’ve had to put up with all evening. And despite the fact that you’d much rather be dancing with someone else, it’s still a pleasant activity. Moreover, after Mando’s warning, Eugene is back to being a gentleman and keeping his hands in polite territory. He does seem to be enjoying the dancing himself, quite a lot by the expression on his face, although every once in a while his confidence seems to fade for a moment.

“May I ask you a personal question?” Eugene looks at you quizzically.

“Alright,” you agree, curious.

“Are you and the Mandalorian involved? Romantically, I mean?” He looks nervous as he asks this.

“Do you think I would have agreed to this date if we were?” You deflect his question somewhat because you find that you don’t really want to admit that there’s nothing between you and Mando. Especially because it feels like you’ve been growing closer. You think about when he insisted on buying you the dress earlier today, and how special that felt, definitely not something a friend would do. Even tonight, there is this energy between you and Mando that you can’t deny, nevermind that you’re technically on a date with Eugene.

“He seems extremely protective of you.” Eugene replies.

You shrug lightly, “He is.”

“You know, if you wanted something else, a different life, I could make that happen for you,” Eugene looks at your earnestly, “After tonight, I’m going to be an even wealthier man. I would treat you like a princess.”

“Eugene,” you sigh, “I appreciate the offer, but-”

“Don’t answer yet,” he insists, “Think about it. Please.” He pulls you in closer to him so that you’re dancing cheek to cheek. You know he means it to be romantic but you feel nothing. There’s nothing to think about.

When the music ends, you feel relieved that you can put some space between the two of you. You’re turning to look for Mando when unexpectedly you hear a loud crash followed by blaster fire. As if he materialized out of nowhere, Mando is at your side pulling you to the floor and covering you with his body.

“I’ve got you,” Mando says, holding you close with one arm as the other holds his blaster. Your heart is racing and you hear the commotion of many people shouting, rushing feet, and general mayhem. You pull yourself tighter under Mando, squeeze your eyes shut, and try to keep as still as you can. Suddenly, Mando lifts off you slightly and fires three shots in rapid succession.

“It’s alright,” He tells you, “I took care of them. Everything is alright.”

“You’re sure?” Your voice comes out shaky and high-pitched.

“Hey, look at me, come on, look at me” Mando’s voice is soft and comforting, and you tip your head up and open your eyes to look at his visor. “You’re safe, no one will hurt you.”

“Thank you, Mando,” you breathe, feeling relief flood your body. Even though you can’t see his eyes, you know he’s looking back at you and it’s soothing.

“You have to let go of me now, cyar’ika, so I can help you up off this floor.” His voice is still soft and you can hear a lightness to it now. You hadn’t realized but you have a death grip on the material of his thick protective shirt on the side of his body. Chuckling weakly at yourself, you release him and he climbs off you before reaching down to pull you back to your feet.

“That was incredible shooting, Mando!” Eugene can’t hide how impressed and excited he.

“I’ll say it was!” the casino owner from before, Mr. Belvers, is coming over to offer his praise to Mando too. He gives Mando’s hand a hearty shake and then raises his voice to address the party, “Folks! Everything looks to be all safe now, thanks to this heroic Mandalorian!”

The partygoers erupt in applause and for the next several minutes, people are coming up to thank Mando personally. You’re glad to see Mando get appreciation he deserves for saving everyone, but from his body language, you think he seems a bit embarrassed by all the attention.

“Who were they?” You turn and ask Mr. Belvers.

“Some thugs who have been plaguing the casinos for weeks now. I think they came here tonight trying to rob people of their valuables. By the way, there is a reward for their capture and I’ll see to it that those credits are yours, sir.” He says this last part directly to Mando.

Din thanks the man and gives him a small card with his guild information, explaining how best to pay him. Now that the danger in the room has cleared, quite literally by casino workers who’ve come to take away the bodies of the dead men, people are starting to go back to the party. These people are so wealthy and spoiled that these violent men and the Mandalorian who dispatched them are already just an amusing anecdote to be shared over cocktails. He is so ready to leave this place. Din looks over to you and sees that while you’re calmer now, you are still visibly shaken from the intrusion of the would-be robbers. He wonders sheepishly if maybe he scared you a little too by yanking you to the ground so quickly, but it was pure instinct to protect you. Nitwit Eugene is rambling on about what an exciting evening it’s been to whoever will listen, completely oblivious to your discomfort. Din decides Eugene’s gotten more than his money’s worth and he’s taking you home right now.

“It’s time for us to leave.” Din’s voice is stern as he steps closer to you and Eugene, not caring that he’s interrupting the man.

“So soon, the party is still going-” Eugene tries to protest, but when he sees Din’s rigid posture, he trails off.

“I am rather tired, Eugene,” you say, and then lower your voice “Besides, it will be better to leave them wanting more.” Din watches as you bat your eyelashes at the man and give him a soft smile, and then like magic, Eugene is agreeing to leave. Din does have to admire your skill at using your feminine wiles to get men to do your bidding. He also knows that if you ever choose to try that with him, he’ll be putty in your hands. He smiles at the thought, but it’s short-lived as soon as he sees Eugene slide his arm around your waist again as he steers you towards the exit. Din tromps after the two of you, at least this stupid job is almost over.

You’re close to Eugene’s place and you’re feeling quite glad that this fake date is almost over. You just want to get the child and hurry back to the Crest so Mando can fly you away from here. Eugene is wittering on telling you how great you were and what a wonderful pair you make, but you’re only barely listening to him. Blessedly when you get to Eugene’s door, Mando is all business.

“It’s time to make the final transfer of credits,” Mando tells Eugene.

“Of course,” Eugene replies, taking out his holopad and completing the necessary functions. “Thank you again, you were both very impressive.”

Eugene opens the door and you and Mando wait for a few minutes until he returns with the little one who is sound asleep. He hands the child to Mando and then turns to you, “I’d like a moment alone to speak to you before we say goodnight.”

“Eugene, I think I did everything you wanted tonight, but our fake date is over.” You say pointedly.

“Please, it will only take a moment.” He looks at Mando, “Please.”

“Fine,” you say and give Mando a small nod. He doesn’t exactly give you any privacy, but Mando does take a few steps away and turns his body slightly so he’s no longer facing you head on.

Eugene takes your hand in his and says in a soft voice, “Please, tell me that you’ve thought about my offer?”

“There’s nothing for me to think about; I belong with them,” you tell him as you pull your hand from his grasp and gesture towards Mando and the child.

“But there’s so much more I can do for you, I can give you more than he can. I can give you a safe home, beautiful clothes and jewelry, you’ll never want for anything.” Eugene must think you’re completely shallow and nothing but a gold digger. “And, I would worship you.” He’s really piling it on thick now.

“Eugene, you don’t even know me, and if you did, you would know that I’m not interested in that life,” you state firmly, “I think it’s time to say goodbye. I wish you all the best with your business.” You turn to go but Eugene reaches out for your arm. Fortunately Mando is already back at your side and he brushes Eugene’s arm away roughly as he says,

“She said no.” Din turns to escort you away, placing his arm around your waist, mimicking Eugene’s earlier touch. It means he’s holding you much closer to his body than he has before when he usually just places a palm on the small of your back. He feels you relax into his touch and for the first time this evening, he feels a sense of rightness. Still though, Eugene’s words I can give you more than he can are ringing in his ears and his self-doubt makes him sigh.

He waits until you are far enough away so that Eugene cannot hear him and in a small voice, Din forces himself to ask you, “You’re certain you don’t want to stay? He did make you a good offer.”

“What? No, I absolutely don’t want to stay with Eugene.” Your answer is swift and a bit shocked.

“I would understand if you did.” Din says, his voice still soft and trying to hide his emotion.

“Mando, do you want me to stay?” You stop and turn to face him so you can look directly at his visor, your face openly displaying your displeasure at his words.

“No,” he says strongly, “I don’t. Not at all. But it would be wrong of me to hold you back if you wanted to leave.”

You slip your hand into his and look at him with soft eyes as you say, “Mando, I don’t want to leave you, or the child. I’m happy with you both, happier than I’ve been in a long time. Eugene is wrong; he doesn’t know what you can give me.”

Din’s heart pounds at your words, as he says, “I’m glad,” he pauses just for a second before he tells you, “I don’t want you to leave us.” He gives your hand a small squeeze and turns to continue walking.

“Besides, there’s no way I could stay with a man I’m not attracted to in the slightest.” Your voice has a lighter tone to it and it breaks a bit of the tension.

“He wasn’t that ugly,” Din shrugs and you laugh in response.

“No, it wasn’t really about his looks, just the overall way he carried himself. I prefer a man with more confidence.” You say.

“Confidence is attractive.” Din agrees with you.

“Yeah, it is. I like a man who can walk into a room and earn everyone’s respect just by the way he holds himself. That’s incredibly attractive.” You give him a slight side-glance as you say this. “But if we’re being shallow, then I also wasn’t physically attracted to Eugene either.”

“Why not?” Din’s curiosity is peaked.

“He was much too skinny.” You wrinkle your nose a bit as you say this.

“You like chubby men?” Din chuckles, and while he’s not chubby, he thinks of his own stomach which isn’t quite as flat as it used to be when he was younger.

“I like bigger men,” you clarify, “Men who are broader, more muscular. Although chubby is cute too. When I cuddle with a guy, I want something to cuddle in to.”

“Is that so?” It’s not lost on Din that what you’ve just described is essentially him and he can’t deny how much he likes hearing that. Plus, now he’s imagining what it would be like to cuddle with you. He doesn’t have time to dwell on that thought however, because you’re giggling at something.

“Well and then there was the worst part, his name,” you say rather playfully.

“What was wrong with his name?” Din’s never thought about a name being part of someone’s attractiveness.

“Honestly, I don’t think I could seriously moan out Eugene in a moment of passion.” You’re consumed by giggles at the idea.

Din is stunned by what you’ve just said and all he can think about is what your voice might sound like if you were to moan out his name, his real name. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to need to respond to you as you’re still wracked with laughter.

“Oh no!” You stop laughing and gasp, “I didn’t think.”

“What?” He has no idea what could be bothering you.

“Your name isn’t Eugene, is it?” Your eyes are wide as you look at him.

Din lets out a loud laugh at how comically horrified you look at the prospect. He’s still chuckling as he tells you, “Hell no.”

“Thank the Maker,” you mutter under your breath, making Din laugh again.

You’ve made your way back to the Razor Crest now and it isn’t until you have to let go of him so that he can open the ramp, that you realize you’ve been holding Mando’s hand this entire time. It felt so natural and easy to walk holding his hand, and you hope he felt the same way. You watch as he tucks the child into his pram for the night. You should probably go get yourself ready for bed, but you want to keep talking to Mando.

“May I ask you a question?” You say as he turns back towards you.

“Of course.” He nods to you.

“Why were you so adamant about no kissing tonight? I mean not that I wanted to kiss Eugene,” you make a face at the idea, “But, it seemed to really bother you?”

“Oh” Is all that he says and then he looks away slightly. You wait patiently but for a while it seems as though that might be the only answer you get, until he finally says, “I didn’t want to see him kiss you. I don’t want to see any man kiss you.”

The air between you feels suddenly charged, and you look into his visor where you think his eyes are, and you can’t help yourself from asking, “Why not?”

“Because I can’t kiss you.” Mando admits.

“Do- do you want to kiss me?” You can’t believe you’re daring to ask him that but you need to know.

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” he says and you can hear frustration in his tone, “I shouldn’t and I can’t.”

“I would like to kiss you, but only if it’s something you want too,” you admit to him softly.

“I do want to kiss you,” Mando sighs and he moves towards you slightly but then holds himself in check.

“So Mandalorians don’t kiss? I just want to understand, I don’t want to pressure you to do anything you don’t want to do or that goes against your beliefs,” you explain, wanting him to understand that you respect his creed. You can’t deny how much you want to feel closer to him and show him how you feel, but the last thing you want is to make him uncomfortable or do something he’ll regret.

“They do, there are… loopholes, but I- I’ve never-, I want to, but-” Mando shifts his feet and looks down.

“It’s ok, I understand.” You’re quiet for a moment and you think perhaps you should just drop this. But then you can’t stop yourself from asking, “What about the Keldabe Kiss? Didn’t you say there was something softer?” Your face heats up as you remember that moment well; you’ve thought about it often.

“You remembered that?” Mando says in a low voice.

“It was pretty unforgettable, Mando,” you reply with a smile.

“There is a softer version. I could show you. If you’d let me.” His voice sounds hopeful.

“I’d like that.”

He steps closer to you then and seems to stare at your face for a long moment until you decide to close the distance between you two. You’re so close you can hear him breathing. He reaches up and places his large hands on either side of your face, holding you still, as he slowly brings his helmet down to touch your forehead. When he finally makes contact, you hear him let out a shaky breath. You bring your hands to his waist and pull him in a little closer to you as you maintain contact with him. While this isn’t what you pictured when you thought of kissing him, you can’t deny how intimate and special it feels. Just from the deliberate way that Mando is holding you, tells you how important this is for him. You stay like that holding each other and feeling suspended in time.

“I know this isn’t the same as real kissing,” Mando says, “but I like holding you like this. I’ve thought about doing this a lot.” His voice is so soft you almost feel like you imagined his confession.

“I like it too,” you tell him. You’re about to tell him how much you’ve thought about being held by him as well, when suddenly the child’s cries fill the air. Just like that, the moment between you and Mando is gone and you hurry over to pick up the little one and soothe him.

“I guess I should go get us on our way. Besides, he always sleeps better when we’re in hyperspace.” Din takes a step towards the ladder, but then pauses before coming over to you and dropping his helmet down onto your forehead again for just a few seconds. It’s a small gesture, but his heart soars at being able to do it. He gives the child a comforting pat on the back before turning away and heading to the cockpit, his head full of thoughts of you.

P.S. Don’t think that you missed hearing him call you cyar’ika, you’ll be sure to ask him about it later ;)

--------‐------------------------------------Thank you for reading! Here's the link to Chapter 5 Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in later chapters.

Tag list: @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @theravenreads @nicotinebirds @boomtownboy @nova646 @wandering-storm-lost-shadow @becks-things @sleepwithacommunist @mackycat11 @som3thingcr3ative @punkdalek @pinkninja200 @s-unflowxr @ladyjenny19 @peppywitch @haley7242

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian fanfic #din djarin x reader #din djarin fanfic #the mandalorian x female reader #din djarin x female reader #the mandalorian fanfiction #din djarin fanfiction

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n7viper · 2 years

Note

5, 8, 13 Shakarian & 22, 30, 37, 43 & 50 Mihren for OTP asks please 🥰

Random OTP Askerinos

This ended up being a longer post than intended, so I'm putting it under a cut :)

5. Who is louder in bed?

Lia! You'd think she would learn to be a little quieter after serving on ships for so long but... no. But that's fine because it gives him a chance to cover her mouth and keep her quiet :)

8. Who causes the tomfoolery and who has to try and stop the tomfoolery?

Oho! You're subverting expectations to ask about the other ship, I see. (Because you know the Mihren answer) For Lia and Garrus, I'd say they're equally as likely to cause tomfoolery that requires a third party to stop it. Lia is normally pretty straight-laced and doesn't tend to get into trouble, but they're both just horrible influences on each other.

13. Would they hate-fuck if they were mad at one another? If they had a falling out?

Honestly, I don't think so. I could see Lia being tempted to, but Garrus doesn't seem like the type to me.

Mihren (is that then canon name now? lol):

22. Who would be a lovey dovey drunk?

I really immediately thought of Cullen, but this might actually be Mihri too now that I think about it some more. So both of them? She wouldn't consistently be more lovey dovey, she's definitely usually just even hornier than normal.

But when they're drunk and alone? More than a few times, she thinks about everything that has happened to them and has to take a moment before she gets teary-eyed about it all. She's settling down. It feels... comforting. They make such an odd couple, but it doesn't matter. They're in love. (Gross 🤮)

30. Who is older, and who makes the ‘older’ jokes?

Cullen is older by about 5 years but acts like it's by 20. Mihri only really teases him about it when he's being especially grumpy and knows that it'll annoy him.

37. When the person who doesn’t normally have nightmares, has a nightmare, how does the other comfort them?

In general, Mihri doesn’t really start getting severe nightmares until after In Hushed Whispers. Even before then, she and Cullen don’t get together until early Skyhold and don’t sleep together until after Halamshiral (done before Adamant).

This isn’t an OTP answer, but let’s take a quick intermission. This reminded me of a hc I’ve had for a while, so I’ll let you have it. Mihri and Cassandra usually share a tent while traveling. There are many times where Cass has to comfort Mihri after a nightmare. Cass is kinda awkward about it, but she does try. It takes several occurrences before Mihri finally breaks down and admits that she’s haunted by what happened in that dark future and watching Cass and the others die to save her. Ok, back to our regularly scheduled OTP hours now.

Cullen usually pulls Mihri closer to his chest, and she usually turns to face him. Even if she doesn’t, he massages her scalp and runs his fingers through her hair the way she likes it. If it’s a nightmare that causes the anchor to flare, he holds her hand. He always asks if she’d like to talk about it, but she usually declines. It’s pretty much always a lot of bear hugging, forehead kisses, and fingers through her hair.

43. How do they say ‘I love you’ without actually saying it? Ex “Have you drank any water today?”

Honestly, Cullen just strikes me as a words of affirmation kind of guy. He's the type to drive you bonkers because he's just constantly saying it, to the point where it feels like it's lost its meaning. So not much to say on that front.

For Mihri, she shows her love through gifts; little trinkets that she picks up on her travels that she says reminds her of him. She shows love with meals sent to his office, through pulling him away from his desk late in the night so that he can finally sleep. Most of all, she says it by being honest with him and not putting up a front like she does with everyone else.

50. Who is more likely to cling to the other while they sleep?

I already answered this here, but I'm obsessed with the fact that three separate people asked me this. I am so soft 🥺

#supply chain is really wild rn huh #even the lead times on ask answers is delayed #also I answered half of these in the middle of a concert so just picture that #I had to sit through a Hated Band to get to a Beloved Band #enjoy your Shakarian tasties :)#they need an OTP tag soon #lia tag #mihri tag #long post #whoops #ask game answers #mihren

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fandom-star · 3 years

Text

Writer’s Tag

@its-all-ineffable tagged me to do this, but it’s a long one so I’m doing it in a different post! Thank you very much! I love doing these so much!

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How many works do you have on AO3?

164 (possibly 165 by the weekend if I post the Witcher one I finished the other day)

What's your total AO3 word count?

181468

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

It’s Okay (Merlin: Merthur) - 569 Kudos Pulchra (Night At The Museum: Jedtavius) [NSFW] - 286 Kudos A Father’s Wisdom (Merlin: Merthur: Uther-centric) - 270 Kudos Crush (MCU Spider-Man: PeterNed) - 262 Kudos Comfort Blankets For Sleepy Gods (MCU Loki Series: Lokius) - 245

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Sometimes. I try to if I’m not in a non-social mood. Mostly, if I start off on my page before reading any fic and see that I have something in my inbox and it turns out to be a comment on my fic, then I’m more likely to reply to it. Idk why it works like that. Otherwise, it’s kinda touch and go whether or not I’ll reply to something, you’ve got a 50/50 chance, but I always read and appreciate every one that I get.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

*Looks at my abundance of angst fics* There’s... a surprising amount of angst without happy endings in my repertoire. Um. I’ll give you three that I vividly remember. (All of these are Star Trek and Spones) Written In The Stars - This is one of my really early works, and was gonna have a sequel that made it have a less angsty ending, but I could never get into the rhythm of writing it. I won’t spoil it, but this is probably the only fic I’ve written where Sarek is a straight-up dick. Battlefield - As the title suggests, there’s war with no real context. And major character death. It’s sad. I genuinely made people cry with this. I am both proud and apologetic of that. Unreal - This is probably one of my more complex concepts, and I’m really proud of it. Features ooc Spock with contextual reasons I won’t spoil, defensive/protective McCoy and major character death of a sort.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending

This is kind of difficult, bc while I have excessively written angsty endings (see: above answer) I do usually write happy endings, and I can’t remember all 160 fic endings left over, and even then it’s difficult to rank them by happiest. I like Nutcase {Murdoch Mysteries: Watts-centric) a lot, oh and also Blame It On Me (Star Trek Pricard: Hughnor) which is angst with a happy ending (and has amazing art accompanying it). There are many others with happy endings, but like I said I have no idea how to rank them by “happiest”.

Do you write crossovers? If so, What is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

I don’t really, but I have written one as a request that I really really enjoyed. A Good Day is ThorBruce and is set in the DS9 era of Star Trek, in which Thor is a captain and Bruce is his chief science officer. It’s really adorable and features sleepy, over-worked Bruce and a very characteristically happy Thor.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, I don’t think so, unless you count unsolicited advice I felt I couldn’t turn down on ff.net when I was struggling to write Uhura. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t tbh (not that I’m complaining) since I do write for some very popular fandoms and ships (although, conversely, also some very niche fandoms and ships).

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I write it but have only ever posted it thee, four times if you count the exploratory one I posted under a pseudonym that wasn’t really that smutty. I’m hoping to get the confidence up to post some of what I’ve written tho, bc I do really like hat I’ve managed to do with some of it.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I’m aware.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, I have! A lovely person found my fic 1967, which is probably one of my favourite Spones fics I’ve written, based around the UK’s decriminalisation (well, partial) of homosexuality, and traslated it into Hungarian here. I’ve not been able to check it out, due to not knowing a thing in the language (tho I could probably ask my friend to) but the translator seemed really lovely, so I trust them to have done a good job.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not something I posted, but before I even started posting fanfic, me and my best friend really randomly started writing a Star Trek TNG x Star Wars crossover whenever they were at my house. We gave up on it after about a year and never wrote much for it, but it was... it was something.

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

This changes all the time with my hyperfixations! One that will always be in my heart is obviously Spones, my og ship and within my special interest. Currently I’m obsessed with The Witcher so I’ve got Geraskier on the mind but who knows when that might change!

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

In terms of fanfic I don’t really have any that I don’t think I’ll ever finish. I have an original script that I started writing months ago but only got about three scenes into and haven’t touched since bc I don’t actually have a plot for it.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue; Is situations one? That sounds like a good and fancy way of saying AUs; Finding synonyms should be one, that’s like half my search history

What are your writing weaknesses?

Description; Despite my talent of finding synonyms I feel like I do repeat words a lot; Planning and outlining, I just don’t do it - it works for me tho.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’m pretty sure the only times I’ve really done it is for Jedtavius (having Oct speak in Latin occasionally) and I might have done it once or twice with Spock speaking Vulcan, both times it’s mostly terms of endearment or Oct wanting to be romantic. Idk, I don’t really care about reading dialogue in other languages as long as there’s a translation somewhere in the work or I can easily pick it up or search it. Just do whatever, it’s your writing. As long as you do it well and it makes contextual sense, I don’t really care.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Unposted: Star Trek: The Next Gen Posted: Sherlock (I actually recently reread my first ever posted fic, it’s a long haul (just over 45k), but if anyone ever wants to see a work where my writing visibly improves lemme know and I’ll email the pdf to you)

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Why would you do this to me??? I love most of my fics!!! I’m just gonna link a few here cause I’ve been doing this for an hour now and it would definitely take me an hour to choose just one! The Relationship Series - modern AU, autistic Spock (written by a self-projecting autistic writer), there’s angst spattered about but is especially prominent in part 6, I just really love this series Promises You Can’t Keep - Loki spoilers, I love this bc it’s based on “what if my finale theory was right instead of being debunked three minutes into the episode”, definitely angst with a hopeful ending I love all of my Charite At War fics, but I’m gonna link my 20 years post-canon fic Grow Old With Me and my modern AU You Give Me Your Light - both have some heavy topics (post-canon is set in 1960s East Germany, modern AU topics are tagged) but I adore both with my entire heart You’ll Never Burn - Merlin/Merthur, again kinda heavy (not as heavy as the Charite ones in my opinion) but short and everything is tagged I love all of my Babylon 5 fics but Secret Rendezvous will always have a special place in my heart. It’s very sweet and essentially follows Vir and Lennier trying to navigate coming out about their relationship to their ambassadors I also recommend all the of the fics I’ve already linked in the post ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now for the hard part - tagging!

@esperata @tallysgreatestfan @iwritesometimes @marlinspirkhall and any other writer mutuals I’ve likely forgotten but I’ve already spent WAY too long writing this post asfdhdskjdgha So I apologise, but if you wanna do it, absolutely go for it, this was so much fun and really made me realise how much I’ve achieved in 4.5 years.

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aquariusshadow · 4 years

Text

My thoughts about the 'age thing' being announced for the Netflix Live Action ATLA: as a Zutara shipper.

First I want to discuss Katara being 16 and Sokka being 14 (without any talks of any ships. No Zutara talk, no Zukka talk, no Kataang talk) and how I feel it could potentially scuff with their character developments.

Katara being 14 in the original series and the younger sister makes the 'growing up too fast too young' part in her character more impactful. In the OG Katara was already seen as the mom friend (among other badass character traits she also showed. Yes, I recognize Katara was more than the mom-friend. She's my favorite ATLA character because of how diverse she is) and it affected her character more because she's still a kid. A kid that desperately needs to let loose and have fun and that’s what the Gaang can provide for her. Her being 14 emphasizes that part of her personality.

Her being 16, while still conveys that same purpose of her being the mom-friend...instead of it being one aspect of her character she can learn and grow from, there's a risk of her becoming just the mom-friend and we lose all the stuff in the OG that reminded the viewer that 'yes, Katara is still a kid.'

That being said. I can still see the writers not keeping Katara as "just the mom-friend" despite her being aged up. But because she is older, and I don't trust the Netflix writers (I mainly don't trust any sort of reboot writing as I personally haven't seen any successful reboots??? but I degress...) to keep Katara as complex of a character as she was/is in the OG. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt but remain skeptical.

I'll be completely honest here. I wouldn't have too much of an issue with Katara being 16...if Sokka wasn't aged down. In my opinion, that's where the decision to change the ages is scuffed the worst.

Sokka being the younger brother changes the entire dynamic he has with the Gaang as well as his own character growth. An in turn, ultimately messes with Katara's dynamic with him and the concerns I mentioned above with her being reduced to "just the mom-friend." Sokka's arc is the protective older brother figure of the group and a lot of that stems from how he wanted to step up and be the man of his village, and in turn, Katara. Sokka being younger than Katara changes that because, while he would still want to be the 'man of the group' (and the village) that same desire to step up for Katara wouldn't be there in the same way??? Yes, he would still be the older-brother figure to Aang and Toph, but ultimately, Katara would be the one taking care of him completely.

Because of that, Sokka and Katara's relationship would ultimately be different from the OG and Sokka's character is more at risk of being potentially unrecognizable or simply reduced to comic relief.

Now, onto the part I think everyone cares about the most. The shipping.

This is where I think I'm about to be really controversial.

Basically, I think aging up Katara screws up the legitimate arguments Zutarians have when criticizing Kataang. I've seen pretty much every argument against Kataang and I've agreed with most of them. But aging up Katara to "show" that Kataang doesn't work because of the age thing (and whatever else) delegitimizes the legitimate claim that Katara being 14 and Aang being 12 is still a problem by itself for their relationship.

Katara being 14 and mothering 12 year old Aang, etc etc, has so much merit for conversation and claim as to why Kataang isn't a good pairing. Especially since a 14 year old girl and a 12 year old boy are so different in maturity and you add in Katara's "having to grow up too fast" character development just further adds to the argument of the 2 year age difference being a legitimate critique. It's impactful. It has merit.

Especially since throughout the seasons...we lost the whole "Aang lets Katara be a kid" theme that the show was trying to show in early season 1. Again, this is just my observations from watching the show many many many times throughout my life since I was like 8 to now 21. That theme was lost because we see more scenes of Katara mothing Aang than Aang and Katara treating each other like equals.

Aging up Katara to 16 takes that away. It more or less says "well we want to prove that the age difference is an issue so lets age up Katara more" when, in my opinion, the show does a good job showing why the 14 and 12 year old age difference is already an issue.

I don't think aging up Katara hurts the Zutara pairing at all. It just hurts the legitimate critiques people had against the Kataang pairing...which leads me to my third and final point.

Should Zutara be canon...and Katara is aged up to 16. The fandom is going to attack anyone that does ship Zutara even more than I've seen the past year or two since being more active on social media sites. On tumblr you have your set tags that you keep to when having discussions. I personally haven't seen a lot of zutarians on tumblr go into the kataang tag and shit on kataang for the hell of it. Sure there might be strays but its not the overwhelming majority of Zutara shippers, from what I have seen.

My point is, there's going to be a lot more hate and anyone who ships Zutara is probably gonna be immediately discredited in the fandom because of the toxicity. This isn't a fandom where all opinions and thoughts are treated with respect. If it was, then I wouldn't be making this post.

Furthermore, I also don't trust the writers to write Zutara properly. Yes, I did see that the new head writer is known for well-written enemies-to-lovers which does give Zutara a chance at being canon on screen so I'm a tiny bit hopeful? That being said, because of the changes already being made, the likelihood of it being good seems 50/50. If they do Zutara the justice it deserves then I wouldn't be as concerned about the toxicity I mentioned above. But. If they scuff the Zutara pairing in the live action. Then. Re:toxicity.

When people want a reboot/live action of something, they don't want the core fundamentals of the story changed. If there is significant change then theres extra pressure to do it right. If it's not done right then all hell breaks loose.

My point, as a Zutara shipper, I'm concerned that the aging changes + Zutara being canon would divide the fandom even more and Zutara shippers getting the brunt of a lot of hate that is unjustified.

I don't speak for all Zutara shippers. For all I know they probably aren't concerned about any of the points I presented and honestly? Good on them lmao. I'm proud if that's the case. I guess, I'm trying to look out for a fandom and a community I am very fond of and plays a huge role in my life.

#zutara #atla #atla live action #thoughtful discussion #let me hear your opinion

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trashcatsnark · 4 years

Text

Questions For An Author

Tagged by the always lovely @shallow-gravy

Tagging: @enchantedbythebidders @tender-wounds @rosyibby

Name: Mariah

Top 5 Fandoms Written: Far Cry 5, Kissed By The Baddest Bidder, Cyberpunk 2077, Boyfriend To Death, uhhhh Mystic Messenger? That feels like a cheat.

Top 5 Fandoms You Want To Write For/More: Mystic Messenger, I really loved that otome, and wrote for it but never finished anyting for some reason. Fallout 4, I fell in love with Danse but struggled to fall in love with the lore (i hate the 50’s aesthetic shit ngl, but thats just me) so nothing ever took off. Supernatural, ironically most popular fic on AO3 is for Supernatural but I never sunk my teeth into writing for it like I thought I would. Boyfriend to Death, I actually have like lots of my one shots and some series ideas for BtD, but never really have found the time or energy to write them. Stardew Valley is a big one too, I adore Shane, but for some reason that fic has yet to catch it’s vibe.

Stories You Wish More People Knew About: Granted, Can You Feel The Sun? My cyberpunk 2077 fic is still very much in it’s infancy, so it’s understandable but I still sometimes am like wahhh i wish it was doing better. But, I know its just a time thing, i mean, it took about a year for This Is Love to do as well as it is rn.

Ship(s) Written The Most: Dahlia x Polyseed, Tsuneko x hinted with all bidders, Aidan x Johnny. Im an oc simp, what do you want from me.

Character(s) Written The Most: Dahlia at this point. As far as canon characters, maybe Pratt since he’s her shit head sidekick.

How Many OCs Do You Have: An amount. Dahlia for FC5, Tsuneko for KBTBB, Aidan or CP2077, Regan for SPN, Scout for FO4, Haejin for Mystic Messenger, Jude for SDV. Unnamed ocs for BtD and Monster Prom. And if you go far enough back i had like a billion shitty ocs for OHSHC, Fruits Basket, Naruto, YYH, One Piece, Digimon, Pokemon, etc etc.

How Many Series Do You Have: Publicly; I have 3. This Is Love (FC5), Black Market Wonderland (KBTBB), and Can You Feel The Sun? (CP2077). Though, unfinished, I did have Blossoming which was gonna be my Mystic Messenger fic and Mad To Live which was gonna be my supernatural fic. And I never named them but I was gonna do one for SDV and FO4, maybe someday, or not at all.

What Do You Do With Fics You’re No Longer Interested In?: I don’t really like to like abandon fics, but like it is a struggle especially when I lose interest in the fandom it’s for. Black Market Wonderland has been on a very long hiatus, but I definitely do wanna come back to it whenever my love for KBTBB is back and Im less frustrated with Voltage as well as some shit that went down in the fandom. I know drama and personal shit shoudn’t impact feelings on a game, but its hard for it not to for me.And what happened in voltage stuff was like, the most personal I’ve ever been involved in stuff so, its hard. But i still love the characters, so hopefully I’ll rekindle that flame. So, i guess I just wait and pray for my energy to return.

Coming Soon: The next update I do, that I have planned for next month is chapter 11 for This Is Love.

Line From A WIP: From Can You Feel The Sun? Chapter 2. (accidentally wrote can you feel the love, smashing fic titles together omg) Also, spoilers for Jackie's backstory in Cyberpunk 2077, so skip over if you don't want.

“I meant what I said before, Night City ain’t the kind of place to let you get by without family, but…” He trails off and chews his lip as he considers his next words. Then they seem to die in his throat.

“But…?” She prompts, trying to encourage him to finish his thought. Jackie then grabs a belt from his nightstand table, stretching worn leather over his fingers.

“Do you know what this is?”

It’s clear it has some significant value to him, but she has no way of knowing what, to her it’s just a belt. So, she merely shakes her head no, deciding not to be a smartass and allow him the chance to get the weight off his chest.

“This belt belonged to my dad, if you can call him that, Raul Welles. He, uh, use it to beat on us.. Go to school overed in welts, have to watch like a coward when he’d go after my ma.”

“You weren’t a coward,” V signs and gets up from her chair, sitting next to him, touching his shoulders, “you were a child.”

“Yeah…well, one day I ripped the belt right out of his hand and showed him what it felt like, turns out he couldn’t take his own medicine. Haven’t seen him since, but keep it on hand, just in case.”

V squeezes his shoulder, not sure what to say or do, how to comfort someone after that. The pains of a shitty dad is one she knows all too well, even when her own wasn’t trying to kill her, he was fixated on making her and her sister strong; training them. She knows all too well that you can’t take away the memories or the pain, but she hopes, being here can be enough. That the comfort of touch can act as a temporary salve for the heart, even if it’s all she can offer.

“Look, chica,” he takes a deep breath, “I don’t know your story, when and if you tell it is up to you. But, my point is. You need a family to get along in Night City, but family don’t end or start with blood. My old man will never be family to me. But, I got…people… who don’t share a drop of blood of with me and I’d take a bullet for ‘em”

“I think…I get what you mean, family you choose is what matters most.”

She agrees, but choosing her family is it’s own beast. Letting people in, breaking down walls, finding a family that chooses her as much as she chooses them. It’s all a terrifying prospect, being alone is easier, more convenient, less effort… Though it has a cost too, of course.

“So, make a choice.”

“What?”

“Work with me, V.”

Do You Accept Prompts?: I accept questions and ideas; I’m always open to talking about my oc’s and their bullsit. But as far as prompts go, if I'm in a mood which is rare and don’t really take requests. I just personally have always found that if I accept requests or prompts; writing because a duty/obligation and not a hobby which drains a lot of the fun for me.

How Do You Feel About Kudos?: They’re nice and I really appreciate them. Comments and bookmarks will make me the happiest!~ That being said I’m really bad about doing that myself so I get it.

Do You Read Fic As Well?: Not that much actually, I’m very particular with what I read regularly and even then, maybe once a week I go on a reading binge. I love fanfic, greatly, but I’m someone who’s like I need to write

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #far cry 5 #fc5 #about me #thanks for the tag

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unforth · 4 years

Note

So I have no idea what The Untamed is, but I keep seeing it show up on my dash. So I kinda want to check it out. Can you tell me if there's actual queer representation in it? Or is it more of a destiel kind of situation right now? (Love your fanfic btw)

ALRIGHT ANON I hope you’re ready to listen to me go the fuck off cause I’m so gonna because I fucking love this show!

Right off the bat, to answer the “is it more of a destiel kind of situation” the answer is absolutely fucking not, nor will it ever be, because The Untamed is 50 episodes long and complete, so where it is now is where it will always be. And where it is now...okay, so The Untamed is based on a novel called Modao Zushi (variously translated but the most commonly accepted is “Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation”). MDZS exists in five different versions - the original novel (complete), an animation (in progress), a comic (in progress), a radio drama (...actually I have no idea if it’s done...) and The Untamed (the live action TV show).

What it is...it’s originally a Chinese BL danmei (a novel, in this case published serially on a subscription website) by an author who writes under the pseudonym Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It’s xianxia, which is a genre of Chinese fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology, religion, martial arts, and all kinds of other stuff...as a Westerner coming in with no experience, it’s been a LOT to learn the genre tropes and I’m still getting the hang of it, but you don’t need to know anything to appreciate the show - I didn’t, and nor did many of my friends, and we’ve all loved it. It has a wonderful ensemble cast (...okay, well, full disclosure, it has a wonderful male ensemble cast, the women in the novel leave something to be desired, they’re much better fleshed out in The Untamed but I could still wish for more in that regard...) with tons of side shipping potential...like, my favorite character isn’t even one of the two in the main ship, and I’d honestly be hard pressed to even name a top five because I love them all so much, and there’s a side ship I love almost as much as the main ship, and is also so close to canon as makes no difference, at least imo. The plot is pretty well fleshed out (or at least the points that are nonsensical are surprisingly easy to ignore...if you’ve seen Jupiter Ascending it had some of the same feel in that regard, like “parts of this writing are a trash fire but I’m enjoying the overall effect so much that I don’t even care any more”). The sets and the costumes are absolutely fucking gorgeous and if the CGI for some of the monsters made me want to weep it was so bad...well, I was a fan of Hercules the Legendary Journeys in the 90s so I’m prepared to forgive a lot to watch hot guys kick some ass, and speaking of the hot guys...

The main ship is composed of this guy, Wei Wuxian...

He is a quintessential disaster bi and I love him and would die for him. The novel is told primarily from his PoV and even The Untamed tends to focus more on his angle than others.

His other half is this guy, Lan Wangji...

(okay the glasses are NOT canon but how am I supposed to resist that line??). He is rule-following, law-abiding, and I totally didn’t get him at first and now I adore him.

This is full enemies to lovers in the best possible way.

From a Destiel PoV, I basically write Wei Wuxian the same way I write Dean, and I basically write Lan Wangji the same way I write Castiel, and people tell me pretty often that they love my characterizations so...the personality parallels, they are strong.

Their ship is most commonly called WangXian. Are they canon? In the novel, yes. They are canon. They are literally married. They have actual explicit sex that you can read in all its glorious detail (actually I shouldn’t talk it up that much I didn’t personally enjoy the canon sex all that much but that’s a totally different topic). They are the most canon of canon, no holds barred, mano-a-mano, god I wish they’d use lube, I can tell you who canonically tops and bottoms and what their main kinks are, and they are so in love and there are ridiculous declarations at the worst possible moments and there’s a wedding...it’s canon.

Now, China has some pretty crazy censorship laws that include making it an arrestable, punishable offense to make the queer explicit in the TV show. Thus, there is no explicit moment where, in The Untamed, they say, “yes we are a couple and we are in love.” However, the following things are canon:

-they are soulmates (link to gif set by @ohsesuns - the source for these two gifs, I hope you can forgive me just embedding them but someone asked me for a guide and I think just linking might not get the point across/require too much expectation of people clicking through...)

-they have their own theme song...which is called the portmanteau of their ship name (link to gif set by @wangxiians, with two used for demonstration purposes...again, my apologies for embedding them like this, I’ll pull them if you’d prefer) And mind you, in this scene, Lan Wangji just sang their song out loud while a montage played of important moments in their relationship with each other it is the gayest most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.

-THIS IS LITERALLY HOW THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER

-neither has a female love interest or any other romantic subplot or any kind of “fake out” and this is the way Lan Wangji looks every time Wei Wuxian is like, “you’re never gonna get a girlfriend with that attitude” (labeled as by someone named mabomanji on a website called tenor that I’ve never used before...)

-DID I MENTION THIS IS HOW THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER

-oh and they have a son...sort of...close enough...okay it’s way more complicated than that but whatevs I don’t want to spoil all the fun...

-OH MY GOD I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION THE HANDFASTING? Lan Wangji constantly lets Wei Wuxian touch the “sacred headband that only family members and loved ones can touch” and at one point to protect Wei Wuxian he wraps it around each of their wrists (source for this screen cap is a set on twitter by krayziewes)

I’m sure at least three people will look at this and be like HOW DID YOU LEAVE OUT THIS OTHER THING and all three things they name will be DIFFERENT because the show is just that fucking gay.

So you ask me, is it like Destiel?

With Supernatural, with Destiel, the show writers, producers, everyone, strings us along, giving us just enough to think we’ve got a chance. The only risk they face in making it canon would be a drop in rating and alienation of some of the fanbase and yet they refuse to do it. I do not believe and have never believed that Destiel will be canon, and my reaction is constant disappointment, because seriously, what would it cost them to show it? Absolutely fucking nothing, especially now that it’s ending now, but they won’t. (okay, that’s just my opinion, I guess the last few episodes will show...but I at least have zero hope.)

With The Untamed...with Wangxian...literally everyone involved in The Untamed risked being disappeared by the Chinese government and actual imprisonment to make the show as gay as humanly possible without quiiiiiiiiiiite crossing the line into explicit queerness. Behind the scenes footage makes it clear that the entire cast and production crew have read the novel. The crew jokingly refers to Wei Wuxian as Lan Wangji’s wife (yeah, sorry, there’s some splashes of misogyny especially in the novel) and the looks on any of the actors’ faces when they’re interviewed and asked about (female) love interests are honestly fucking priceless...but no one can say it out loud, no one can make it explicit in the purest sense, because they risk their livelihoods, their families, their futures, their lives, if they say in reply to that interviewer, “um are you a fucking moron didn’t you realize there WAS a romance in the show and it was between two men?” But everyone with a half a brain knows. It’s not subtle. It’s not a secret. My straight cis male friend who is watching keeps screaming at me about how gay it is and he’s only on like episode 10.

Would I kill for a canon kiss or an actual traditional love declaration?

Yes, of course, I’d love that.

But do I think WangXian isn’t canon in The Untamed just because it isn’t shown in those most simplistic terms?

Oh my god it is so canon WangXian are husbands and they are in love and they live for each other and it’s amazing and I adore theeeeeeeeeeeem.

Wangxian. Are. Canon.

#unforth rambles #the untamed #wangxian #i don't even know how to tag this #i hope you're prepared for my love letter to canon anon #because I seriously could not love these two more #Anonymous

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bumblebee-moreno · 4 years

Text

Droids

Request: “Hey, what about reader being close to one droid, and Din being paranoic because he has a trauma with them, and he’s baby and love y/n so much and he’s protective.” From anon

Pairing: Din x Gender Neutral Reader

Word Count: 1004

Warnings: swearing, angst, brief mentions of canon-typical violence

A/N: Join my taglists! Here’s what’s coming next! Send in a request!

You giggle at the droid’s shrill squeaks and beeps. You’re quite glad you’re the only one on the ship who can understand the angry strings of curses every time she runs into something in the tiny ship.

She backs into another crate, cursing rather loudly at the inanimate object.

The droid, know to you as “Lou”, is much older than you. In fact, she practically raised you. She’s so old and used that it’s impossible to tell what kind of droid she began as. Parts over the years have been replaced so many times that she has almost none of her original pieces, her coding tampered with so many times, it’s impossible to tell what she was originally programmed to do.

By now her ID number has been so rubbed off, there is only the ghost of an ‘L”, a ‘0’, and a ‘U’ left on her chest plate; hence, her name.

A sharp clatter follows Lou when she finally makes her way over to you, grasping a canteen of water. Lou has always had a way of knowing exactly what you need before you even know you need it. And now that you think about it, some water probably would be a good idea; Din might have a heart attack if he finds out you haven’t been drinking as much water as you should.

The ground between you and Lou vibrates from a blaster expertly aimed about two inches away from Lou’s treads, scaring her off into a far corner of the Razor Crest.

“Stay away from that, Y/N,” Din warns.

“She’s not hurting anything, leave her alone,” you protest.

“I’ll leave her alone if she leaves you alone.” Din places his blaster back in its holster.

“Don’t be a dick, Din, she was just getting me some water.”

“This time,” Din mutters his breath, turning back towards the cockpit.

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Din doesn’t respond. “Din!” you chase after him. “Are you trying to imply that Lou is planning against us?” you accuse, struggling not to scream at Din.

“It’s a droid, Y/N!” Din whirls around to face you. “How are we supposed to know what it’s thinking?”

“She practically raised me, Din! I think I know her pretty well by now.”

“You said it yourself, Y/N, you don’t know where she came from!” Din is yelling louder than you’ve ever heard him raise his voice outside of necessity. “What if someone programmed her to hurt people before she got to you?”

“She’s been with my family for over 50 years, Din! I think if she was going to hurt me, she’d have done it by now!”

“Fine.” Din sighs. “I’m not going to fight with you about this. Just—Just stay away from her.”

“No.” you scowl at him. “I’m not “staying away from her”, she’s my friend.”

“She’s a droid,” Din argues.

“And? I can’t be friends with a droid?”

“No,” Din replies simply.

“Why the fuck not? And don’t you dare say ‘it’s because she’s a droid’. That excuse is bullshit and you know it.”

Din doesn’t answer. You turn to leave the cockpit to find Lou and make sure she hasn’t hurt herself on any of the ship’s clutter, but Din catches your wrist in a grip just firm enough to stop you in your tracks.

“Don’t,” he insists, his voice barely a whisper.

“Give me one real reason not to.” You’re met with silence. For a moment, it seems as though he’s trying to gather his words. But when it becomes clear Din has no answer for you, you tear your wrist free from his grip.

“Please,” Din calls after you, his voice breaking. You stop, your heart aching at the sound of his desperation; you’ve only heard his voice waiver once before: you’d been shot in the abdomen, and it looked like you wouldn’t make it.

“I’m…” Din takes a shaky breath before continuing, his voice barely audible above the sound of the ship’s engine. “I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“What if…” Din pauses, glad you can’t see his lip quivering under his helmet. “What if she hurts you and I can’t stop it?”

Slowly, you turn around to face the not-so-fierce bounty hunter. He’s shrunk in on himself, trying to take up as little space as possible, shifting his weight back and forth from foot-to-foot. You’ve never seen him looking so small.

“She’s not going to hurt me.” You reassure Din softly, stepping closer to him.

“How do you know?”

“She’s practically ancient. Her newest part is at least 50 years old. She doesn’t even reach my knees. The worst she could do is run over my toes. And even that would tip her over.” You rest your hands on Din’s helmet where his cheeks would be. His hands lift to gently cover yours. “Do you trust me?” you ask.

“…yes…”

“Then trust my judgement.”

Din pulls you closer, resting his forehead against yours, the cool beskar of his helmet making you shiver. “I can’t lose you,” he murmurs.

“Din, eating your cooking is more of a hazard than spending time with Lou. I’ll be fine,” you giggle. “You won’t lose me,” you assure him.

“Promise?”

“Promise,” you confirm, knowing full and well that, to Din, your promise didn’t just apply to spending time with Lou.

You press a kiss to his helmet where you think his lips would be before being pulled into a bone-crushing embrace.

“Din, if you’re not careful, you’ll suffocate me before Lou even has a chance to viciously run over my toes,” you laugh into his chest.

“Maybe you deserve it,” Din teases back, loosening his grip enough for you to look up at him.

“Oh, you can suffocate me, but Lou’s not allowed to bring me water?” you joke.

“Exactly,” Din chuckles.

“You’re a dork,” you press your forehead against his again.

“I love you,” Din murmurs just loud enough for you to hear.

“Love you too, tin can.” You lovingly tease, earning a playful shove.

Tags: @trashbin2 @fioccodineveautunnale @pascalisthepunkest @ah-callie

Mando Only Tags: @spookyold-saintjm

#pedro pascal #din djarin #mandalorian #mandalorian x reader #din djarin x reader

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hansoulo · 5 years

Text

The Girl Part 8

Pairings - The Mandalorian/Reader

Warnings - cursing, descriptions of canon-typical violence and blood

Word Count - 1,627 words

Tag List - @baar-ur @bruithel @jarrendyn @gothtechie@maryan028@aethersghoulette@hellobinayxo @guineapigzwei @random922929 @iamwarrenspeace @deputy-videogamer @littleevilme03 @ah-callie @sunkissed-winter @ashjustlikesthings @claynarwale @spottedlekkudancer @sabi615 @waddles03 @greatfandomsgalore @missnightingale97 @delectablyvaliantmentality @backontheolebullshit @a-hopeless-fan @crushingonmando @superfluffy92 @thirstyforvenom @stxriss @ababysupernova @biolo-tea @londelle @pisss-offf-ghostt

“Put the baby in your bag,” he whispered to her. (Y/N) nodded mutely and reached to place the child inside the canvas, shushing it quietly when it began to protest. Whoever this man was, it couldn’t be good.

She saw the Mandalorian’s hand that was around her shoulders go to his blaster and she started to panic. Turning towards him with worried eyes, (Y/N) drew in a shaky breath, the air knocking hollow in her chest.

The Mandalorian got up slowly as he faced the man, drawing himself wide, and kriff, have his shoulders always been that broad? She suddenly remembered just how intimidating he was, reminding herself that this was the same man that let her place flowers on his helmet so her legs wouldn’t quiver as she stood.

“Dorrick,” he acknowledged with a nod, seemingly calm. If it was an act, it was damn convincing.

Half-hiding herself behind the Mandalorian’s back, she eyed the man, apparently named Dorrick, standing a few feet in front of them. The setting sun backlit the weapons holstered to his hips in a bright, burning orange, and she noticed the strap of a rifle digging into the meat of his shoulder. A bounty hunter, she thought, her eyes widening. She noticed that the rifle wasn’t blaster-modified like most, instead, it looked like it held metal bullets. Old fashioned, too.

“Do you have any idea the price on your head? They’ve got half the galaxy looking for you and here you are, sight-seeing,” he chortled, his head thrown back.

The Mandalorian said nothing at this, drawing (Y/N) closer behind him with a protective hand.

“Ah-ah ah,” Dorrick tutted as he came close, “Don’t hide her from me.” He laid a grimy finger on her face, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. The Mandalorian’s shoulders tensed at this, hand clenching against the trigger of his blaster. She wrenched her face away from the man’s touch, shivering.

“She’s a pretty little thing,” the man mused, stepping back from them, “I might just keep her for myself.”

The Mandalorian lunged forward at this, metal scraping against metal. She could hear the faint sound of him shooting, but the blaster missed and everything descended into chaos, blurry and deafening.

Suddenly, all (Y/N) could see and hear and feel was red. White-hot fire licked at her skin, burning her from the inside. She grimaced in pain as a rough hand gripped her arm and hoisted her to her feet. She hadn’t even known she had fallen.

It took her hand coming away sticky from her side for her to realize Dorrick had shot her, grabbing her after the fact. He covered her mouth with his free hand, muffling her gasp as he spoke.

“It’s a shame y’know,” he smiled down at her, breath rotting of something alcoholic, “I don’t make a habit of shooting ladies, especially not ones so beautiful, but it seems like you’re not gonna give in easy. My employers want you alive, so play nice.”

(Y/N) squeezed her eyes shut, trying to move her face away from him as he spoke. The thin fabric of her shirt was quickly becoming soaked in crimson, and her head felt light. The only thing she could compare it to was when she had snuck champagne from the palace kitchens as a young girl, making her head foggy and her stomach feel like it was floating. Only this was much, much worse.

“Let her go,” the Mandalorian said, stepping closer and aiming a blaster to the man’s head.

She felt the muzzle of the rifle jam against her temple and she resisted the urge to bite down on his hand. Right now, her chances of getting shot again were about 50/50. If she startled him, the odds wouldn’t be so favorable.

“Take another step and the next one goes in her head,” Dorrick seethed, pushing the gun further into her head, finger on the trigger. She looked over at the Mandalorian with wide eyes, silently hoping he had some sort of plan before she bled out. Dorrick shifted his hand down to grip near her shoulder. To her surprise, the Mandalorian set down his blaster, leaving it on the ground with his hands up. What was he doing?

“I’ll go with you,” the Mandalorian began hesitant, “If, and only if,” he turned to look at her and suddenly (Y/N) realized what he was about to say. She mouthed a silent no, desperate and wide-eyed, but she could do nothing to change his next words.

“You let her go,” he finished firmly.

Dorrick smiled, practically purring. He let the hand around her upper arm go limp, but kept the gun to her head. She could already feel the bruises from his grip forming atop the old ones that never healed, creating a patchwork of sickly yellow and lilac.

“See, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?” the man teased, reaching into his pockets for what (Y/N) assumed were shock-cuffs. Reminded of the ones that used to bind her, she let out a shiver, and then promptly winced when the movement reignited the pain in her abdomen. She hadn’t realized getting shot hurt so much. Sure, she was a medic, she had seen men get their limbs blown off and didn’t even blink at the sight of a blaster wound anymore, but that was a lot different than getting shot yourself. Remembering how many times she had stitched the Mandalorian up after a busted hunt, she vowed that, if they got out, she would try to be more gentle with him.

(Y/N) heard the Mandalorian sigh through the modulator of his helmet as he crossed over to Dorrick. She hoped it was for show. She hoped he had some secret, elaborate escape plan, like he always did, and they would get off Naboo alive. Seeing the way his head dropped, though, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

Dorrick grabbed the Mandalorian’s wrists with his free hand, pushing (Y/N) down with a forceful shove. She landed on her side, elbows scraping on the scraggly ground, and her eyes caught sight of the canvas bag still laying on the blanket. The baby, she gasped quietly. Dorrick hadn’t seen it peeking its head through the flap, too busy threatening their lives to notice. But she noticed.

Whispering a quiet plea, she locked eyes with the child and hoped it understood. If not, she didn’t know what else to do.

Turning to where Dorrick now stood, she watched, body too broken to do anything else, as he began to cuff the man that had once seemed invincible. Now, he just seemed resigned. Before Dorrick could place the shackles around the Mandalorian’s wrists, however, he let out a haggard cough, sputtering as his neck turned red around his collar. He grasped at himself with shaking fingers, eyes bulging when he realized there was no hands around his throat. (Y/N) let out a relieved laugh, turning to the child who was holding its small hands out, eyes shut in concentration. Coughing into her hand, she tried to ignore the specks of blood that dotted her palm.

A heavy thud let her know that Dorrick had dropped the cuffs, and another thud let her know that the Mandalorian had grabbed the rifle, shoving the tail-end of it upside his head with a crack so loud it made her wince. The man crumpled to the dirt, eyes rolling to the back of his head, but the Mandalorian didn’t even glance at him as he rushed over, crouching to sit where (Y/N) lay on the ground. She could see the child, hands now at its sides, slumping over, exhausted.

He lifted up her tunic and the cool evening air stung against her raw skin. He cursed under his breath and let her clothes fall back down, brushing away the sweat that beaded at her temple.

Reaching underneath her arms, the Mandalorian pulled her to sit up, her chest facing his. (Y/N) whimpered at the movement, holding in a choked cry when his hands brushed against the wound at her side. No bullet was lodged, at least, not that she could feel, so that meant it had gone straight through. An inch more or so and it would have missed entirely, but fate had never been kind to her.

When the fireworks began, (Y/N) let out the sob that had been bubbling in her throat, the sound turning into a laugh. She rested her forehead on his armour, and could make out the reflection of the lights now bursting above their heads on the polished metal.

They were giving her a headache, but she would live. The shot hurt like a bitch, she was close to fainting, and she had lost at least a pint of blood, but she would live. She would live and he was there with her, his gloved hands rubbing soft circles into her back as she hiccuped into his chest. (Y/N) could hear him whisper phrases in Mando’a, but all she caught was the word “cyar'ika.” She couldn’t for the life of her remember what it meant.

“Can you stand?” the Mandalorian asked softly after a few moments, careful not to jostle her. He didn’t wait for her to answer before getting up from the ground, setting the canvas bag over his shoulder and reaching down to take her in his arms.

It wasn’t until they had made it back to the ship, after she had reminded him to stitch evenly through pained gasps, and after he had set her down on his cot (It’s bigger, he had said, not letting her argue), that (Y/N) finally had a minute to think.

Wracking her brain in the halfway state of dreaming and being awake, her whole face flushed pink when she remembered that “cyar'ika” meant sweetheart.

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nancysgillians · 4 years

Note

17-29 for Glee ask meme!! 💜

Oh wow ok thank you! I hope this is not too annoying to answer all of these in one go. You indulge me so @gorgxoxus 💖

17) Favorite canon couple? I mean obviously Wemma. KIDDING. It’s Klaine.

18) Favorite noncanon couple? I answered with Pezberry for this earlier but I am also going to say that a very strong contender lately has been Quinntina and I blame @kuiinncedes and @personalgarbagepile for this burgeoning obsession. I want some collegiate Ivy League whirlwind romance story for them thank you. Where’s the fic?

19) Least favorite couple? You know what my absolute least fave couple was Wemma. Emma deserves better. Bring back Carl or make Holly/Emma happen. Hemma?

20) Best friendship duo? I think Blam’s friendship duo was the most fleshed out and I adore them but Kurtcedes will remain near and dear to my heart. 21) Best friendship trio? Kurtcheltana - we really could have had it all with them but we had to get a stupid subplot of funny girl understudy shenanigans to ruin everything. If you’ve followed me you know I reblog everything kurtcheltana. I think I have at least 15 posts with them in my drafts right now.

22) Least favorite friendship? Puck and Finn (enter your preferred mashup of their names here), they really only had a friendship when it was used for a plot device and I dunno I think they both deserved a better friend.

23) What ship is totally overrated? Hmmm an overrated ship is interesting, I answered underrated earlier (and below) and followed the underrated canon ships only rule so for this one I am doing the reverse. An overrated noncanon ship that I adore but can admit is a lot would be Faberry.

24) What ship is completely underrated? I answered this one earlier with Tike so I’ll say another ship that is canon and underrated is Wildebrams. They had something sweet that I liked and though I love Jenna and Kevin’s friendship I would have preferred a Tike and Wildebrams endgame if everyone has to follow the unrealistic you-must-fall-in-love-with-someone-from-highschool trope Glee loved so much.

25) Ship you used to like but now dislike? I genuinely used to like Quick and honestly I don’t know what flipped but rewatching the series this year twice I just found them blah and want Quinn to live her best life at Yale and not be tied down by her past. Plus as we know from above I am digging Quinntina Ivy League vibes.

26) Ship you used to dislike but now like? Hmm I am mostly an equal opportunity shipper but I used to dislike Samcedes bc the show ruined Sam so much and I think Mercedes deserves the world. Now I like the idea of them growing up and living these awesome lives in LA and Lima and then eventually getting together later in life. I don’t want them to have Finchel’s original endgame story but I wouldn’t be opposed to something where they are endgame but have really happy midgame romances, lives, and experiences.

27) Favorite family relationship? Is there any other answer but the Hudmels?!?! Burt and Carole are everyone’s parents and Finn and Kurt are a brother duo comedy goldmine.

28) Favorite mentor relationship? Listen, I loved Isabelle and Vogue.com as much as the next Kurt stan but I have to say that Isabelle wouldn’t challenge Kurt to soar. I think Carmen and Kurt would have been a kickass mentor relationship that the foundation was laid out for in the show but instead we have to give Rachel (523981738) chances and make me resent Carmen a little.

29) Best vocal duo? Darn this one is difficult because I think when Klaine get a good song or a line I am overjoyed at how they sound but its like 50/50 on if their vocals will be perfect. Meanwhile Artie and Mercedes (Artcedes?) are like everyone’s back up vocals and when they have a song or a section together it is PERFECTION. If you aren’t listening to Amber Riley’s or Kevin Mchale’s music you are sleeping on them. This was way too much fun, thank you! Send me a number/question!

#glee ask meme #glee #asks #gorgxoxus

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couch-house · 5 years

Note

Do you have a comprehensive list of fic recs for invader zim? bc I’ve been looking for fics w/o zadr and you seem like you have good taste

hmmm not especially comprehensive, but I have a couple. Most all of these are in my “fic art” or “fic rec” tags (im apparently very bad at tagging consistently, F) but I’ll list them out here too. Some of these have both ffnet and ao3 postings so i try to include both. I will also try to not be bad at summarizing + reccing these

GEN

Ward (ao3 link) [COMPLETE] is a really fun action story with WONDERFUL in-character writing. Zim is tasked with raising a smeet to be like a Next Gen invader (it’s a trap) and as apprehensive as I usually am about babyfics, this one does everything Right for me and I couldn’t stop reading once I started. The characters are great, the story builds to an exciting climax, and it’s all just great fun!!

Dib and Squee Down In The Deeps (ao3 link) (ffnet link) [COMPLETE] is an IZ/Squee! crossover that oh h hh h is SO GOOD!! Like I really don’t want to spoil anything, but it starts as a DELIGHTFULLY fun crossover with dib becoming a mentor and friend to squee and the two getting in light shenanigans with zim (UGH i love zim’s characterization in this) and sneakily twists into WONDERFULLY FRIGHTENING psychological horror. The writing is a bit denser than most fics, but it works very well (as opposed to like. writing that is dense for the sake of being dense you know?). Like it’s really such a great fic, I’d recommend trying to read it all in one sitting so once the horror starts, you don’t get a break.

Parade of Indignities (ao3 link) (ffnet link) [IN PROGRESS] is a thrilling plot-driven story that i’ve had so much fun reading! The tallest and other invaders hatch a plan to kill Zim with a slowly spreading toxin, but fuck up and now Zim is only mostly dead. Dib learns the truth of the situation and begrudgingly makes it his duty to save Zim as the clock ticks down. I really need to give this one a reread to give a better rec for it but the characterizations are great, the writing is fun, the plot is EXCITING!! and it makes great use of otherwise minor characters (larb plays a big role, it’s really great to see!).

Curious Dib (ao3 link) (ffnet link) [IN PROGRESS] is essentially just a nice collection of headcanons told through dib asking zim questions about himself. There’s bits of plot arcs that drive the character development and are pretty enjoyable but overall it’s mostly just headcanons. I honestly love that bc sometimes my favorite part of fancontent is just seeing people’s ideas about irkens and zim in particular. It’s also nice because they’re friends :)

SHIP

Bacon in the Soap (ao3 link) [COMPLETE] is just human!au zim’s life from 5-50. There’s a whole buncha zim ships in here tbh but it also has zasr which I still think about Constantly. I’m kind of mixed about reccing this fic bc although I really enjoyed it by the end, this is not a feel-good fic. it’s upsetting. they give zim a very rough life, but there’s ultimately some nice payoffs and a happy ending. I really enjoy how certain bits of canon were interpreted but do feel at some times the fic is just a little too heavy-handed with the suffering. definitely DEFINITELY read the content warnings and heed them (I think there’s an ffnet link too but I’m only including the ao3 one bc it most clearly lists those warnings).

In Short Supply (ffnet link) [HIATUS] ok ok ok ok THIS FIC IS MY FAVORITE… of all time.. .every fandom everywhere. But. I cannot rec it by telling you the plot. bc at least for ME, the plot made me want to not read it. what i CAN tell you, is that the characterizations are DELICIOUS, the worldbuilding is EXTENSIVE AND COOL and really matches the tone of the worldbuilding in the show, the story is TENSE AND EXCITING and does that great thing where it slowly, without you noticing, collects dozens of plot threads all going at once so you get REALLY EXCITED for all of their payoffs. It makes use of minor characters, it makes use of some great details from canon, and i gotta re-emphasize this, it EXPANDS on all of them. it takes and it ADDS and its SO MUCH FUN. I read this fic in one sitting in middle school from 8pm to 6am and ruined my sleep schedule for the rest of the week. I used to quote this fic with my sibling on the regular. I reread this fic like every year or two and fall in love again every time. my friendgroup discord server is named after this fic. like i LOVE IT please give it a chance. honestly… please read the recs for it on tvtrops bc thats what got me to read it and there’s not much I can say that they don’t say there. also it’s zapr.

There’s more but those are the ones that I remember off the top of my head/are in my tag already lol

#Anonymous #fic rec #theres another cool space adventure one i keep forgetting to track down #ill prob make a post abt it eventually #nonart #long post

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peepingtoad · 4 years

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THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO / 50-50 (There’s a lot of love and a lot of hate, but I think many are actually pretty neutral on him too!)

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / 50-50 (I’d say he may be an... acquired taste? Of course a lot of people I know here find him sexie so it’s hard to say for certain, heh. We may just be the weirdos of the fandom :P )

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO

Are they underrated? YES / NO (Not in terms of ability, but underrated for just how complex and multi-layered he is, I’d say)

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO /

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO.

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL (I honestly think he’s a man of many reputations, both in canon and in fandom :’D)

How strictly do you follow canon? — I’m very much a ‘use the bones of what we got in canon and do my best to flesh them out’ kinda roleplayer. There are some things that can be taken too easily at face value that I see fit to build upon. For example, I think Jiraiya’s feelings on the prophecy and his relationship with Konoha is something that could be too easily played off as simplistic, or like they were immovable constants. But that’s unrealistic for a man of his years and many experiences, so I try to put myself in his emotional setting at various points in his life, and trace how his feelings and behaviours change, if that makes sense?

I try to avoid saying that any of the writing was straight up wrong because it’s disrespectful to the creator. But especially for Jiraiya, who had such a significant role to play in the narrative that it sometimes took precedence over his actual character, I do find some of his actions, and the way some interactions were handled in the canon to be a little OOC... so I’ll work with it and try to spin it in a way that I feel fits how he was characterised.

Basically, I’d say that I follow canon, but I like to enrich it in areas that were lacking detail or a nuanced view that took in all the surrounding events of the time. After Jiraiya’s canon death, of course, that’s when more divergence comes in to my portrayal... otherwise I wouldn’t be able to play any post-war scenarios! But the essence of his character is the same, which I try to keep as close to canon as possible.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. — A man of many experiences! You can bet that any topic that comes up, he’ll have some sort of amusing anecdote to share, or be able simply to talk shit about it. He's seen so much, and has a sensitive soul enough that he’ll give anyone a chance; he’s very open-minded and non-judgemental, and honestly is a humanitarian that wants to help those in need. Might leave your muse a little baffled as to how he could hold the status of ‘legend’, only to show it when they least expect it. You never quite know what you’re going to get with him: he’s generous and selfless, yet has many vices that seem selfish at times; he’s both a lover and a fearsome fighter; he’s immensely resilient at the same time as incredibly vulerable and damaged; he’s a himbo and a bit of a jock with the soul of a poet. Love him with no restraint and invite his love in return, and you’ll get not only a lover, but a devotee. Wears his heart on his sleeve... or does he? Chip away at him and find out!

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?). — The pervy, flirty, jokey schtick could get grating, or come across as disingenuous. In romantic situations, he’ll keep quiet about putting a label on whatever it is, and beneath his overall sweetness and devotion there may be an underlying reek of commitment issues and a fear of admitting he is afraid. He also has a habit of deflecting negativity in general, and playing things off as if they don’t matter or they’re a joke, making him actually rather a difficult person to get to know the heart of. One might feel as if they’re getting nowhere with him...

... Either that, or they get the complete opposite. Yes, as equally as he can be guarded, he can overshare like crazy, and has a tendency to become codependent with those he gets attached to, which is inconsistent with his free-spirited nature, and how adept he is at keeping others at arm’s length from his less sunny side. This inconsistency might make him seem unreliable—if the fact he’s always off who-knows-where doesn’t do the trick already.

What inspired you to rp your muse? — I’ve been a big fan of the Sannin ever since I first read the Deadlock, but being a very young person at the time I perhaps couldn’t relate enough to people who had experienced so much to do them justice in my teenage fic-writing endeavours, so I remained on the sidelines enjoying content by other people (there may also have been a little bit of ‘what the fuck, why do I dig the old dude so much’ denial in there haha). I’ve picked up and dropped my obsession with the series several times over the years, and my love for those three seemed to grow each time. They really are ‘the lost generation’, and as the sole survivors—alongside having a huge impact on the plot, how the shinobi world is shaped, and the three main protagonists—there’s a lot of juicy material there, a lot of emotional background, along with decades of history that basically goes untapped in the canon.

Anyway, I digress. Coming to the Naruto RPC for the first time around this time 2 years ago at the age of 25, I made this blog and my Deidara one on a whim, but focused on the latter at first. Villains were always comfortable territory for me in my other RP experiences, and I think it made me doubt that I could possibly do someone who is frankly a lovely guy any justice, no matter how much I loved him. I even had the intention of making him fully Akatsuki/Missing-Nin AU at first. Yeah. That’s how stuck in my villain/anti-hero zone I was! But, I think in the end, the fact he actually isn’t a two-dimensional typical ‘hero’ was something I chewed over and realised would be incredibly enriching to write, worth stepping out of my comfort zone for. And being a little more mature and less angst-ridden myself by that point, I found I could resonate with his feelings and ideals in a way that I know I couldn’t have as a teen... but I was still tentative.

Anyway, after leaving his blog empty for a bit (with its placeholder URL ‘frogdaddy’, which sadly got hoarded by someone else), I cosplayed the old bastard, along with my partner as Orochimaru. We’d been stanning that particular ship and talking about how great the Sannin are in general for quite some time by that point, but being casually in character for fun while drunk off my tits at a boat party, was a bit of an epiphanic moment. Not long after that, I threw myself right into writing this chaotic-good old bastard with gusto, and here I still am :’)

What keeps your inspiration going? — Taking breaks to recharge as and when I need to. Seriously. The death of all my other blogs has been pressure (mostly from myself) to be there and force myself to put out regular content, so I went into this not thinking that way and it’s really helped!

Of course, there’s also the fact that there simply seems to be no shortage of areas I can delve into with this guy. Again, it’s his age and all the missing years in canon... but I think it’s also how much love he has and his genuine eagerness to engage with others that makes him one of the most naturally bountiful muses I’ve played. Because honestly? Most of my villain muses wanted people to just fuck off :’D this guy is open to everything.

That aside, I guess I just gel with him more than I ever expected to. I’ve changed a lot as a person and gained more confidence since various areas of my life got better, and I really just vibed with this chill, funny, romantic, pervy, big-hearted energy. I enjoy angst, but my real love is peppering the serious and heartbreaking with romance and comedy—and isn’t that just befitting of him? Writing through his eyes also helps to keep my outlook positive, so that keeps me stuck on him as much as the seemingly limitless content potential.

And this is without even going into my cross-fandom AU ideas I have on the back-burner. Honestly, they’re there but I want to put a real effort into them while keeping his essence the same, which for some, involves brushing up on my lore!

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO.

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO / RARELY. (depends on whether I get a flash of inspiration—which mostly comes with random asks that happen to stir up an idea for a scene, such as this one (NSFW warning))

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person? YES / 50-50 /NO. (I tend not to take things personally but am also very passionate—call it my innate Leo-ness!)

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal? — Hmmm. I haven’t actually had any critique on my portrayal, so I’m not sure haha! I’d say if it’s constructive, then I’ll take it into account and consider it, especially if it’s a case where it helps me realise I’ve perhaps not gotten across what I intended to very well. But I’m also quite fond of my portrayal in its essence, so I may end up just thanking the person for their opinion and carry on as usual :P

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character? — Absolutely! I’ve had some wonderful ones recently and it’s exactly the kick I need to get ideas out, some of which I’ve had on the back-burner but not had a framework within which to write it without it getting derailed. I definitely appreciate a question that will keep me at least a little on-topic, otherwise if I go off on my own volition I really tend to... well, go off! Even if a question is a similar topic to something I’ve already done, it’s a good exercise for me to go back to the similar headcanon and see if I can build further on it, deviate, and link it to show what past thoughts I’ve been working with. A great way of keeping some consistency in my portrayal while making improvements, I find! And then of course I’ve had some questions that are entirely new morsels for thought, and it leads me to something new and fresh, which I greatly appreciate.

Basically, any questions at all, fire away! I may take a while but I will get to them eventually!

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? — Yeah. I mean I think it’s just polite to present a reason as to why not, instead of just being like ‘this is wrong/a bad take’ or whatever. Source material is down to personal interpretation, so if I draw different ideas from it to another person after discussion, then we can simply agree to disagree on it.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? — They are welcome to disagree with me I guess? So long as they’re respectful and don’t then treat me as if my interpretation is ‘AU’ or talk about ‘canon Jiraiya’ as if he’s obviously a different entity to my own, then disagree away. But if prompted enough, know that I will most likely defend my portrayal with what I consider to be justification from the source material :P I did pay close attention to it, after all, and I do consider my portrayal to align well with it.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? — Depends on the nature of it and the conduct, really? Like, people are allowed to dislike characters. I myself find a couple of characters pretty annoying or don’t particularly care for them (granted, usually it’s in a love-to-hate or simply a ‘this character doesn’t interest me’ way), but that doesn’t affect how I behave towards the RPer of a character. It’s just manners, really. People tend to RP characters because they like them, so why would you take negativity right to their doorstep, in this space they’ve made as an expression of enjoyment for, and to develop said character?

There’s been some people who admitted to me that they didn’t care much for Jiraiya, but then began to like him more with my portrayal and that’s more than fine; I take it as the highest compliment in fact. It’s also the kind of open-minded attitude I like to have with portrayals of characters I don’t necessarily like or have much interest in, because by and large, people do tend to add more depth and nuance than the busy and character-packed canon allowed.

However, if it’s the type of hate that’s got its own devoted circle of bitter bitches, who seem to use so much energy hating a character... then please, don’t engage me. Doesn’t matter who the character is, don’t expect me to follow/keep following your negative ass if it’s constant on the dash—and if the target character is any of the Sannin then frankly I’ll have probably blocked/blacklisted in a heartbeat. The ‘critical’ views of them tend to diminish them as humans, diminish the context and events that surrounded their choices, and in a way that I find is a gross double standard compared to what people will allow other (read: young, attractive, fandom faves, ‘babies’ or ‘beans’) to get away with and excuse the behaviours of. I don’t need that kinda negative energy sullying my hobby, nor do I need moral superiority that isn’t applied consistently across the board.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? — Absolutely! I meticulously fret and check, and cringe when I get a reply and happen to spot errors while rereading what I wrote before it! I edit a lot but don’t always pick up on errors, so I’m more than happy to have it pointed out. Chances are, I’ll be far more brutal to myself about it than anyone else would be!

Do you think you are easy going as a mun? — Overall, yeah. I’m not possessive or clingy (I don’t think) and don’t expect the world from people, nor for them to focus on or favour me or be super fast. I just expect the same respect in return. Having said that, I will express it when I don’t like something or it makes me uncomfortable, provided we’re familiar enough, because if we’re strangers I’d feel like I was coming across as entitled to your energy and emotional labour. I do my best to be diplomatic about it though, and rest assured it doesn’t mean I’m forever mad at you or turned off in any way just because I have a small grievance. I just find that being honest with each other rather than letting things pile up and fester makes a friendship more solid, and basically more genuine and long-lasting.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by: @dokuhebi Tagging: Whoever hasn’t done this yet!

#this got super long yikes #{dash games}#{ooc}#{long post}

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mobius-prime · 5 years

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78. Sonic the Hedgehog #50/Sonic Super Special #6 - Director’s Cut

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Endgame Part 4 of 4 (For Whom the Bell Tolls!)

Writers: Ken Penders, Michael Gallagher, Karl Bollers, and Kent Taylor Pencils: Patrick Spaziante, Manny Galan, Nelson Ortega, Sam Maxwell, Dave Manak, Ken Penders, and Art Mawhinney Colors: Karl Bollers

Oh, yeah! I told you this was a landmark issue! Not only was it the big 5-0, but this issue was in fact rewritten and touched up some time later by Penders himself, into a "Director's Cut" printed in one of the series' Super Special issues! Hence why two issues are listed in this slot, and two covers shown. They got absolutely everyone on board for this one, because remember, they were uncertain if this would be the comic's final issue, so makes sense to go out with a bang, right? I consider the revised version to be "true" canon, since it fixes some issues to align with later continuity as well as expanding on some things that were poorly explained in the original, but for the sake of the analysis I decided to read both side by side and comment on the differences. Some changes are simply minor dialogue alterations and recoloring of certain panels, while others are massive additions and rewrites of entire sections. Let's do it to it!

The original's intro page is once again a recap of previous events, while the Director's Cut contains an opening statement from Penders expressing his excitement to be able to go back and perfect the original story. Say what you will, but I agree, the revision is far better, and I have to give him credit and recognize that yeah, him getting to do something like this for one of his stories really is a treat, both for the writer and for any fans reading it.

We open with a flashback. Julian (referred to as "son of Ivo" in the original and "of the house of Ivo" in the Director's Cut) is running through a swampy landscape, attempting to escape his pursuers, an indistinct bunch of shadows firing lasers at him. He falls into water and passes out, with his pursuers losing track of him… and two spiny figures find him facedown in the mud.

That’s right, Sonic's uncle and father were the ones originally responsible for finding ol' Julian and bringing him back to the king. Jules' kind heart wins out over Charles' more suspicious tendencies, noting that "his kind" - Overlanders, as he calls them - have apparently done some pretty awful things in the past. Well this is all very interesting stuff, isn't it? After all, the comics never went into Robotnik and Snively's species before now. The entire planet has always been shown to be populated with anthropomorphic animals, and yet these two random humans stick out like a sore thumb. Guess we're finally getting some information on how exactly that came to be.

The king gives Julian shelter after Julian reveals how much he knows about his own people, and thus quickly finds himself appointed King Acorn's warlord, commanding his troops in a battle against the Overlanders. How fascinating! Apparently the kingdom, shortly before Julian's coup, was locked in a different war, the Great War (which I think has been mentioned once or twice before now but never elaborated on), which is how Julian rose to power so quickly.

Anyway, all of this turns out to be a dream that Robotnik is experiencing while he sleeps in some kind of weird upright pod. I guess he's just too crazy for normal beds. In the original, swatbots merely wake him up to go about his day, but the Director's Cut elaborates on what exactly his morning entails. Apparently, the swatbots have captured an Overlander for him, and the poor victim's awaiting some "tests."

So wherever these Overlanders are residing (considering we've only ever seen Mobians so far), they knew Julian, but believed him to be dead, and they're familiar with the terrifying figure of "Robotnik." Robotnik is merely mildly amused at the Overlander's confusion and terror, and tests some kind of beam on him, causing him to disintegrate and disappear… oh, boy.

Back on the Floating Island, things begin to break into a fight again, only for Dulcy to get fed up and break things up.

Oh, so now not only can dragons sense truth, but they can't even lie themselves? Again with the eleventh hour superpowers, Kenders! With Dulcy's testimony, Geoffrey is finally convinced of Sonic's innocence, having really no choice, and together they make haste back to Knothole, where the situation has gotten dire. Everyone has been rounded up by swatbots and are being shuffled along to be roboticized. Tails and Rotor make an attempt to sneak away, but no dice with Drago overseeing operations.

In the original, we get a quick cutaway for one page where Crocbot is called by Robotnik and reports that he's dealing with a sudden prison uprising, but the Director's Cut gives us a lot more detail. Somehow, Bunnie and Antoine have gotten free of their collars and detonated Antoine's from a safe distance, making their guard think they've all been obliterated. (How this all went down is actually explained in a future issue - none of these escape from Downunda sequences were included in the original, so a later issue actually went out of its way to explain the whole thing. As a result, even though some detail is revealed here in the Director's Cut about the escape, there are still some blanks waiting to be filled in further on.) The freed prisoners soon find the other three members of the Downunda Freedom Fighters, and they head to the loading docks where Crocbot is overseeing the transport of the ore to Robotropolis. The Downunda Freedom Fighters cause a distraction, ready to get some much-needed payback on Crocbot, while Bunnie and Antoine make their way onto one of the shipping airbuses headed back to their own continent.

Meanwhile, Sonic, Knuckles, and Geoffrey and all his troops have arrived at Knothole, and well, cheers love, the cavalry's here!

While Drago attempts to make his getaway, the Director's Cut cuts away for one page to show Bunnie and Antoine stumbling upon a very interesting video log on board their airbus, in which Robotnik happily rambles on about his new "Ultimate Annihilator, " with which he intends to erase Knothole from existence entirely, followed by conquering the rest of the world unopposed.

Sonic pursues Drago, and in the original, he's knocked out not very far from the commotion by a rock thrown by an angry Hershey. However, the Director's Cut goes a little further. She lures him in by flirting, telling him that "What girl wouldn't want a winner…"

She basically straight up attempts to murder his ass in a screaming rage, which honestly, I don't blame her for one bit. She does indeed end up knocking him out with the rock, at which point Sonic arrives to observe the scene. She sobs and reveals her part in Sally's supposed death, to which Sonic merely replies that she shouldn't blame herself, because "we were all duped." While by now Bunnie and Antoine have arrived on scene (and thus so has the ore Robotnik needs to complete his Ultimate Annihilator), Sonic races toward his final destination - Robotnik himself.

He barely even stops to kick Snively out of his way, with Snively apparently quite determined to stop him from reaching his destination. Hey, what's up Snively? Didn't you want your uncle's plans to fail?

From here, I'll basically just be using the Director's Cut, since the ending sequence was so drastically changed for the better that the original isn't even worth our time. Sonic runs into Antoine and Bunnie in the halls, where they inform him of their plan to attempt to detonate Robotnik's weapon before it can fire. Sonic races to buy them time, but as the pair reach the cannon…

There's still a chance! That was only the initial activation! Come on Sonic, you can get there in time! He races into Robotnik's room with seconds on the clock…

Unfortunately, sometimes, even Sonic's speed isn't enough.

I feel like if there was any moment that Sonic would have let out a precision F-bomb, it would be now. First this kid lost his girlfriend, then everyone he ever loved was wiped out in an instant. Damn, dude…

Things aren't over, though. Bunnie and Antoine plant their bomb anyway, and as Sonic races for Robotnik, an alert announces a catastrophic system crash, with the Annihilator set to explode and hit the war room directly - right where Sonic and Robotnik are standing. Both stand facing each other. Surprisingly, Robotnik isn't even angry. He merely states that he's gotten to see his plans finally come to fruition, and that the only thing he wants now before he dies is to finally kill his most hated nemesis.

And so, as the Annihilator fires, they fight - and the explosion hits them.

We get a full blank white page after this. Just empty nothingness.

Then, a hand shattering through. A torso. Somehow, incredibly, Sonic is alive, and has broken back through oblivion to collapse in the rubble of the war room. As he loses consciousness, voices call out, noticing him and racing to get him immediate medical attention.

He wakes up several hours later in bed, and to his shock, Dr. Quack is there - as well as Rotor. He's in Knothole. Knothole! The Ultimate Annihilator did indeed hit the village, but it didn't destroy it as monitors seemed to indicate - rather, strangely, it catapulted the place three hours into the future, in its own little pocket zone. New zones have begun to emerge all over Mobius as a result of the Annihilator's explosion, in fact. Dr. Quack explains how this happened - as it turns out, Snively was indeed plotting his treachery from the beginning of this adventure, and Robotnik was so caught up in his success that he had no idea. Dr. Quack had watched, as he looked after the crystallized king in captivity, as Snively had made his own little "adjustments" to the Annihilator - causing it to target only the organic matter of Robotnik himself, leaving the rest of the inhabitants of the world unharmed.

And, oh, right, almost forgot. Sally's alive.

Sonic races out of the medical ward to see her, finding her memorial "coffin" in a field, lying undisturbed. He opens it and kisses her cheek, quietly begging her to come back, admitting that he loves her. And her eyes open. The original merely moves on to the final page from here, but in the Director's Cut, we finally get what we shippers have been waiting for this whole time - the Big Damn Kiss.

*wipes tear from eye* And that's it! We've reached the end of Endgame, and thus the end of the comic! Well it's been a wild ride, everyone, but I guess we're - wait, what? There's more? 289 issues more, you say? Well, I guess it's a relief the comic didn’t end here after all! There're so many more loose ends to tie up and explore, new worlds to see… and a new era of the comic to enter!

Seriously though guys, let's hear it for this arc. I know some people who dislike it, but I honestly love it - I think it's one of the most epic, pulse-pounding, action-packed stories so far, and it's really the arc that finally took the comic from still hanging onto its goofy, episodic roots into something really special. Next issue, we enter the third era of the comics, where we get to see everyone explore a freed world, and an end to the war that's plagued them for eleven years. Our Brave New World awaits!

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sth 50 #sonic super special 6 #era 2 the freedom fight #writer: ken penders #writer: michael gallagher #writer: karl bollers #writer: kent taylor #pencils: pat spaziante #pencils: manny galan #pencils: nelson ortega #pencils: sam maxwell #pencils: dave manak #pencils: ken penders #pencils: art mawhinney #colors: karl bollers

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