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ineffable-endearments · 11 months

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Deep dive into The Coffee

The following is primarily about the symbolism of the Metatron's coffee.

Once I started thinking about it, there's a lot of cool stuff going on there (depending on whether you think, you know, symbolism is "cool," but I do!).

I think it points toward certain interpretations of what the characters are feeling and what their motivations are, but it isn't about the coffee itself affecting the plot beyond the obvious (it's a love-bomb the Metatron is using to seem friendly).

I was thinking about The Coffee as a sort of shadow version of the Fruit of Knowledge and wondering: why the heck would you choose coffee for this symbolism? It's obviously a very common, non-suspicious beverage in Soho, but surely they could come up with some creative reason for the Metatron to come bearing pretty much any edible item. Out of all the foods and beverages in the world, why coffee? Why not, for example, fruit, or Eccles cakes, or meat - or, for that matter, tea, or cocoa, which we already know Aziraphale enjoys?

But it does make sense. And it also makes sense that it's not just a cup of coffee, it's an oat milk latte with a dash/hefty jigger of almond syrup.

Here, I'll be making the big assumption that the Fruit of Knowledge is relevant to Aziraphale as a metaphor - as something he would consider desirable but forbidden. He was supposed to be guarding it in Eden ("technically, I was on apple tree duty"). And Crowley, with his red hair like the apple, has spent the past 6000 years trying to impart the knowledge of "good" and "evil" to Aziraphale, who in turn has desperately wanted Crowley and also considered him off-limits. Crowley is Aziraphale's Apple of Eden.

Here are a few observations about The Coffee, contrasted with the Fruit of Knowledge and, in some cases, the ox ribs.

The coffee is heavily processed - Fruits, including the apple in Eden, exist straight from the natural world in a form that you can pluck from a tree and eat almost whole. Meanwhile, coffee has to go through a lot of processing between the time it's a coffee berry (also a fruit!) and the moment it's recognizable as the beverage so many people immediately reach for every morning. There's a long, often-unethical production chain there, involving many people.

The oat milk latte with almond syrup is further complicated. The apple is plain and straightforward - it simply is Knowledge in fruit form. It's "pure." The coffee was already heavily processed to become coffee, and now multiple other ingredients have been added. A fancy latte beverage involves the preparation of the milk and the syrup in addition to the coffee beans.

There's a lot going on behind the scenes here. There may, as Crowley pointed out, have been a lot going on behind the scenes in Eden with the Apple purposely placed for the humans to see, but it still feels like there's significance to the difference between a thing that springs from the ground as a food item and a thing that has to be processed over and over before it's ready to consume.

Maybe the point is that the Apple of Eden did exactly what it was said to do from the beginning - gave Adam and Eve Knowledge one way or another - whereas the coffee is a heavily-altered, almost unrecognizable version of the truth.

The coffee is heavily sweetened with additives - This is the real important part for me. Fruit is, broadly speaking, naturally sweet. This obviously varies from piece to piece, as anyone who's sorted through a pile of fruit at the supermarket would know, but the most widely-understood appeal of fruit as a concept is its sweetness. Without any other input, we could guess the Fruit of Knowledge was pretty sweet, too.

Meat, ox ribs, are very different from fruit, obviously. Savory and a bit salty. But they are another food item with broad appeal.

Coffee, particularly espresso, is naturally bitter, to the point where drinking it black is often an acquired taste. The Metatron picked a particularly sweet type of milk and a sweet-flavored syrup.

He had to sweeten his deal a lot to make it palatable to Aziraphale.

The coffee is not "of the flesh" - There are no animal products listed in the ingredients to the Metatron's latte. It's vegan. Oat milk is plant-based. Almond syrup is a plant flavor, likely made with sugar, also a plant. Coffee is a plant.

Aziraphale's other major culinary experience this season? The one where he become more worldly, more of-the-flesh? Yeah, the ox ribs. Meat. The latte is, I suspect, the Metatron's subtle rejection of that worldly pleasure.

The coffee is not Aziraphale's usual preference - We've never seen Aziraphale drink coffee before. We've seen him drink wine and tea and hot cocoa and champagne and sherry, but never coffee; in fact, Crowley's espresso order seems to be set up in contrast to Aziraphale's taste. And when the Metatron brings it to him, Aziraphale initially hesitates. To be fair, I do read his enjoyment of the latte as genuine. I don't think he was lying when he said it tasted good. But he only drinks it after an awkward push from the Metatron.

The coffee contrasts with Crowley's espresso - Season 2 is bookended by espresso beverages. At the beginning, Crowley enthusiastically downs an absurdly hype-inducing, bitter concoction of six espresso shots all in one gulp to prepare for whatever weirdness is waiting for him in the bookshop. He doesn't seem to care either way about the taste. At the end, Aziraphale hesitantly sips his heavily-diluted, sweetened espresso under social pressure. He does admit he likes the taste.

Give Me Coffee Or Give Me Death - The Metatron points out the name of the coffee shop, which possibly sets us up to consider that a choice between anything and death isn't really a choice at all. He also muses that people are very predictable for always choosing coffee over death. This is all done outside of Aziraphale's awareness. Maybe that's because the coffee vs death thing is more about the Metatron's underlying motivations - to coerce and force Aziraphale to accept his role in Heaven no matter what - than about something Aziraphale is consciously aware of.

So, since I'm theorizing that the coffee is a metaphor for the Metatron's offer, here's what I think it's hinting toward.

Aziraphale's emotions and motivations:

Aziraphale didn't start that conversation with any interest in what the Metatron was saying. Coffee's not his order. This didn't start out as a successful temptation, per se. It was a coercion that appeared harmless on the surface (drink the coffee/entertain the conversation to be polite).

Now that they've had their conversation, Aziraphale did like some aspects of the Metatron's offer. That part is a successful temptation.

If we assume Aziraphale really liked the coffee and then run a parallel to the Metatron's offer, it's not hard to see what sufficiently "sweetened the deal" for him: the offer to bring Crowley to Heaven. The Apple of Eden, Crowley, gave Aziraphale the knowledge of good and evil; the sweetened coffee - the suggestion that Heaven could change its mind about Crowley - once again obscured it.

All that stuff about Heaven being the side of Truth and Light and Good came out because Heaven appeared to be changing its mind about Crowley. Crowley is kind of symbolic of everything on Earth for Aziraphale, so presumably, if it can change its mind about Crowley, then it could do things better for Earth, right? Heaven's good intentions must have been sincere after all.

The Metatron's offer and underlying plan:

The Metatron has a complex plan. He's manipulating a lot of people, not just Aziraphale.

The Metatron is using sweetness to conceal a bitter plan that he knows Aziraphale will find unpalatable (separating him from Crowley).

The Metatron is going to present going to Heaven as a choice, but it isn't really one.

For some reason, the Metatron does need Aziraphale back in Heaven, and it's easier if he comes willingly, perhaps if he believes it's his own choice. They're not going to send a bunch of disguised Archangels to abduct him this time.

The Aftermath

So, Aziraphale has been taken in by the coffee, the Foisted Fruit, although the Metatron was not actually giving him a choice at all. Aziraphale botched the philosophical talk, but his choice has probably put off something worse.

Note that in the Final Fifteen, Aziraphale essentially tries to present the same temptation he fell for to Crowley: we can be together in Heaven.

But unlike what Adam did with Eve, Crowley rejects it, because he sees right through it. Instead, he counters with the truth about Heaven and the truth about his own feelings, both in verbal form and with a kiss, once again reprising his role as the Serpent of Eden and the Apple of Knowledge.

Aziraphale, having already swallowed the belief that Heaven is capable of changing, feels Crowley's attempt to disillusion him is a betrayal, an attempt to stop him from doing Good. Notice how when Aziraphale touches his lips longingly after the kiss, he finishes by looking angry and wiping, as if to dismiss what's been shared with him. But you can't un-eat fruit. And you can't be un-kissed.

The Metatron comes back while Aziraphale is clearly having a crisis of conscience. Try as he might to wipe the kiss away, it happened. And he heard the things Crowley said. And he keeps glancing toward Crowley.

This is a tricky moment in the Metatron's plan, because the sweetener he used to get Aziraphale to "drink the coffee"/accept Heaven is no longer in there with Crowley out of the picture. He rushes in and pushes Aziraphale to start his new job, dismissing Aziraphale's excuses. The fact that the Metatron needed Aziraphale without Crowley was the bitterness in the plan that he had to disguise with sweeteners.

Aziraphale, left without sufficient time to think, resolves to simply not think about his first choice, the choice that just walked out the door.

And then, at the last second, to ensure Aziraphale gets in that elevator, the Metatron reveals that the next step in the Great Plan is the Second Coming. Why reveal it at the last second, when Aziraphale is going to get on the elevator anyway?

Because it's the clincher. The Metatron knows Aziraphale won't be able to resist trying to make a difference.

He needed to divide Aziraphale and Crowley. He needed to get Aziraphale's hopes up about being able to make a difference with Crowley first. Then he needed those hopes dashed harshly so that Aziraphale would be at a loss, susceptible to joining Heaven to find a purpose again, now that Crowley is out of his life and the bookshop is being looked after.

And now, by emphasizing Aziraphale's knowledge of Earth and telling him the plan to destroy it at the same time, the Metatron gives Aziraphale a whole new purpose: thwart the Second Coming.

This has been the "predictable" part that the Metatron was scoffing about in the coffee shop. He knew that chain of events would happen. He knew Crowley would reject any suggestion of returning to Heaven, and he knew that would leave Aziraphale upset and vulnerable enough to be swept away, and he knew saving Earth would matter to Aziraphale.

THIS is the moment Aziraphale realizes he's choosing between coffee and death. He has to choose the coffee, of course.

But Crowley has rejected Heaven. He hasn't rejected Aziraphale. He's still there.

And Aziraphale looks back at Crowley the instant he's told Earth is in danger again. You can be confused, but you can't un-eat the Apple of Knowledge. He hasn't forgotten.

There is an alternate reading here: Aziraphale lied about enjoying the coffee, and he is also lying about his beliefs about Heaven being genuinely good, and he recognized that he was choosing between coffee and death way earlier, during the conversation when the Metatron brought up Crowley. I like that reading, too, and it would indeed change the flavor of some of the things that happen afterward.

But either way, we reach the same point at the end of the episode. That grin in the elevator? Maybe that's Aziraphale realizing he's going to have to be unpredictable, just as Crowley said he could.

#good omens #go s2 #good omens 2 #good omens 2 spoilers #good omens spoilers #go s2 spoilers

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centrally-unplanned · 10 months

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Okay so since we did Chinggis, how about the other Big Conqueror Generals? Alexander of Macedon, Attila, Timur, Napoleon?

(Several asked for some of these in other asks)

Alexander the Pretty Good: So at this point I think everyone knows that his father Phillip was the "state builder", who created the new systems of Macedonian drill and mobilization infrastructure, handing Alexander a strong army he did not build. And Greece really was hitting a nadir of power, the post-Spartan era fragmenting alliances and exhausting the stronger city states. So it is fair to say that Alexander is overvalued, any Macedon king probably could have taken over Greece at that time. Additionally, when you study his "vast" conquests, its actually really just Greece & then Persia like five times, its him beating one opponent and then mopping up, and having the material advantage most of the time once you get rid of the hagiography.

But starting from Alexander the Great's height gives you an extremely long way to fall; he is overvalued, but still incredibly high VOR. He has the irreplaceable synergistic value of ambition & charisma; he decided to conquer the world, and got a huge list of allies, often ones he had himself fought in battle, to help him do it. Most people never conceive of that as actually being possible - in particular Alexander was not provoked or forced into his confrontations with Persia (establishing hegemony over Greece was more of a coincidence, but I think he would have found an excuse). And while his military achievements are exaggerated he obviously was talented, particularly at logistics - projecting power that wide is a nearly unparalleled feat in his time, and not something Macedonia was built to do before him. So I will go with A+

Atilla is discussed here, weak, C-/D+

Timur - never studied him actually! Its my issue being a Europe & East Asia guy, I know Gengis/Temujin because he is tied up with the Jin, but Timur never quite got around to the Ming conquest

Napoleon: Very complicated, provisional opinions. The Napoleonic wars scope is in fact quite contingent; its a constant back and forth of revolutionary ambition from France to spread itself, reactionary forces in the monarchies to fight back, rebellions and opportunities. Napoleon was not someone who engineered the whole thing by any means, he was given a chance to shine and he took it. Revolutionary France, constantly at war, was pretty much always going to arrive at something like a military leadership.

Additionally, he often gets too much credit for civil reforms of things like the Napoleonic Code; the process for formulating the Code started in the first National Assemblies in 1791, and multiple drafts of a new, universal code had been made when Napoleon was in power. He ordered it to stop dillydallying and make it happen, don't get me wrong, that is points. But its also the kind of thing dictators can do, right? So its a bit of a question of how likely a military ruler centralizing authority at all in France was. I think kind of high? I don't view Napoleon as an Augustus figure. So I think his VOR would have had kind of similar power. Napoleon did not have grand insights into what the legal code should, from what I know. On things like these I think he is getting credit for the fact that his name in in the title that maybe he shouldn't.

But there is a reason he became Emperor of France - he is a grade A military genius. His rep here is deserved - of course he was taking advantage of smart officers, existing innovations, etc, dude ain't forging cannons himself. But he put it all together, truly did push the use of artillery forward, and he was tirelessly creative on the battlefield. He was a famous workaholic, memorizing every map and coordinating every part of the battle himself, in ways that just put him ahead of the curve of his opponents. He is a classic OODA loop guy - he is getting information, putting a plan forward, getting new information, and pivoting the plan faster than everyone else, and he keeps winning on the back of it.

And then the rep you get from that string of wins inspired morale, commitment, diligence, and more from his men and officers that compounds. That last part is important - making an army takes time, its about relationships. You couldn't just slot the Duke of Wellington in as commander of the French and expect it to work the same. Due to that, the VOR for having Napoleon leading your armies in 1805 is literally irreplaceable. There is not single other person in existence who can deliver greater value, and I think that is very clear - and at margins that are very rare.

But of course he has his share of mistakes, particularly in naval affairs, over time his enemies internalize his innovations, and his reach exceeds his grasp. In particular he had multiple opportunities to "settle" for gains where France is first amoung equals, and he doesn't take it, and it all comes undone. He could have been S tier if he learned that. But alas, I think it puts him at A.

#vor debates

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archer3-13 · 5 months

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for fun, thoughts on each of the original gotei 13's captains and lieutenants in relation to the soul society arc

yamamoto: for the kind of character he is, i've always rather liked him. he hits the kubo sweet spot of a sympathetic monster, and overall he serves as an effective symbol of the calcification thats gripped soul society for thousands of years but without being completely unreasonable in the process. ontop of that i do appreciate the suprise of the tybw noting how the original gotei 13 were far stronger then the modern gotei, but because of the intervening centuries they lost the blood thirsty edge of warlords that made them so terrifying, because it adds an interesting dimensionality to the sentimentality yamamoto often displays to that modern gotei 13 and what distinguishes him from ywach despite being similarly brutal, overpowering authoritarian figures. which can be further complicated by reading into yamamoto and his history as a stand in figure for japan and its history as a whole, though obviously thats just reading into things.

sasakibe: like so many figures in bleach, more a plot device then a man. i like his design, i like his power, i like his relation to yamamoto and the grief that his death inspires in the resolute head captain. but hes otherwise such a non entity that theres not much else to say.

soifon: shes cute and i find it absolutely adorable how shes a murder simp for yoroichi. aside from that serves as a pretty fun minor antagonist in the soul society arc, and i enjoy how shes very a 'do as i say not as i do' kinda person who cares waaaay to much for her subordinates despite being the head of the gotei black ops murder squad. which arguably ties into her complicated feelings regarding yoroichi and the feeling of being abandoned when yoroichi had to go into exile [which makes it all the cuter that they patch things up, albeit off screen].

omaeda: not a fan as i think he can be a bit too annoying compared to his moments of competence, and the joke of 'big goofball is actually an elite assassin' does wear thin for me. i do appreciate how hes genuinely devoted to his captain and how that feeds back into soifon being more willing to do stupid things to keep his ass alive due to her own history.

gin: gin saaaaaan! always been a fan of the shit stirrer and his grins and constantly closed eyes. gin is one of the characters kubo used to best effect in all of bleach i'll go out and say, serving as an excellent red herring in the soul society arc, and a strong third party looking for the right opportunity in the winter war ontop of his tragic and well presented death. plus hes just a fun unnerving dude who can easily go from goofy to terrifying looking at the drop of a hat and for whatever kubo needed him to do.

kira: hes okay, helping to make the soul society arc and its mysteries all the more intriguing, and his power is neat. plus his gloomy demeanour does well at hiding how intelligent and decisive he is in a fight which is nice. as it stands however hes one of many characters that feels unfulfilled in terms of potential, not helped by whatever the fuck was going on with him in the tybw.

unohana: theres a reason everyone liked her even before the tybw and kenpachi 'mc fucking losing it' unohana became realized. kubo just did a really good job at giving a character with such a non threatening design overall the atmosphere of such a potential dangerous person well still overall acting in a kind and mothering way in most of her interactions. i still find her shikai kinda confusing in relation to her bankai though, but thats retroactive writing for ya.

isane: i get why she ended up being pushed into the role of fourth division captain at the end of the series as there really wasn't any other option for it that would make sense. but at the same time it does frustrate me because i feel like with that end in mind it would have been amazing to see kotetsu develop the confidence or display the combat skills that speak of potential captaincy over the course of the series, but she ultimately just kinda white mages it up well deferring to her captain. which is even more of a shame because i love her personality and her design.

aizen: aizen is amazing in the soul society arc, because hes an incredibly successful twist villain whos plan makes sense and is intimidating not because of its complexity but because of its simplicity. hes unnerving because of how he combines the captain aizen qualities we briefly glimpse of affability and politeness, even kindness, with casual and monstrous cruelty and overwhelming power once the mask comes off. aizen is fantastic in the soul society arc. that all goes out the window following the soul society arc, where after he just walks around preening like any other peacock chess master villainous overlord about how everything is going according to keikaku, not helped by his plans and what influence hes had on things becoming progressively more complex, far reaching, and stupid as the series progresses. its really not surprising why hes such a contentious villain for so many people.

hinamori: man she gets the shit kicked out of her, to the point that it gets really cruel and sad. and the worst part is that theres never really a sense of pay off for all that suffering either, she gets the shit kicked out of her and then fades into the background of relevancy. i feel it woulda been cool if instead she got to be a captain following the timeskip into the fullbringer arc, get some satisfying sense of karmic self actualization following all the shit she gets pushed through. woulda been more interesting then just dumping the visored into the empty spots anyways.

byakuya: pretty boy pretty man. an effective rival antagonist for ichigo to match up against in the soul society arc, and i find his development from cold and ruthless to finally displaying the buried emotions and affections he has for others in his life to be some strongly compelling stuff given the heartbreak and tragedy in his life, as well as an effective commentary on class, position and the stifling effect that rules and the expectations of conformity and propriety can have on individuals.

renji: he deserves to be one of the main characters i'd say. overall solid stuff.

komamura: big fluffy dog man ruff ruff. theres a lot to unpack with komamura that i feel bleach never really did, but what was done with him was at least compelling and interesting to see. plus he fights far more intelligently then his broiling blood and brute force powers might suggest he would which is fun to watch. plus hes a big dog man! whos a good boy? he is!

iba: well an easily likeable character, being a gruff exterior dude with a surprisingly insightful mind on people and their character, like isane he doesn't really... do much outside of accompanying his captain. and well hes a total devoted bro, it is frustrating the he ends the series in a captains seat without being allowed to showcase the kind of potential that would inspire that positioning.

kyoraku: an effective captain jack sparrow type, who gets more compelling but also scarier the more insight we get into the tragedies that have befallen his own life which tend to scale with how viscous he can be in proportion during combat.

nanao: i feel like her fight in the tybw really helped salvage her as a character, because well she was perfectly acceptable until then she was also kinda just background noise as kyorakus secretary like lieutenant who freaked out hard to show off how powerful yamamoto is. her fight with the chicken god angel however opened a lot more compelling aspects of her character and the ending involving gaining courage from kyoraku assuring her he'll always support her is sweet in relation to how their character dynamic is a lot more give and take equally between the two.

tosen: i feel like kubo ran into the problem of what to do with tosen when it came to how aizens power works, and so he just kinda gave up and made tosen a surprise third bad guy as a character. i say this because he gets his ass handed to him quite brutally by zaraki and has a whole little character thing during that fight, and then the betrayal happens and he suddenly feels like a completly different character acting like he shouldn't be keeled over/nearly dead from being almost killed by kenpachi like ten minutes ago. doesnt help that his contributions during the winter war are mostly just to fuel komamura and hisagis own angst by being as villainously despicable as possible in the brief ten minutes he has showing off weird new powers that never really get expanded on again and then unceremoniously killed off in an abrupt and cruel fashion to have aizen be a cheeky bastard.

hisagi: i feel like kubo wanted hisagi to be more of a thing then he ended up being, but what is there is a solid character nonetheless who ends the series getting a bit of a yamcha treatment unfortunately. which is rather frustrating.

hitsuyaga: theres a lot more anger and impatience in him when we first meet him compared to later, which could arguably be said as character development or could be called out as inconsistent but im not gonna split hairs. hes the kind of character the inevitably gets popular and in his particular case i do rather like him so thats a plus.

rangiku: like gin shes great though for different reasons, and like a lot of characters like her i feel her more interesting qualities, the ruthlessness she often displays in combat, her intelligence and master of social situations, often get lost in favour of people slobbering over her sex appeal. shes a real fun character overall though.

zaraki: a bit overhyped if im being honest, but as far as battle maniac intense bloodlust dudes go hes a solid 8/10. it helps that hes a lot more emotionally vulnerable and complex in that regard then shonen battle maniac bloodlust dudes can often be.

yachiru: adorable murder girl is an adorable murder girl mascot. the stuff in regards to her relation to kenpachi not just as a girl he takes care off but a manifestation of his inner desire for companionship and the sword spirit stuff are i feel more interesting then she herself is.

mayuri: if his first appearance hadn't been so harrowing i feel he would have ended up being more popular then he is. he serves as a personal demon for uryu to fight very effectively, but as others have pointed out he quite obviously gets reconnected to be more charming and goofy then he originally was in later appearances. i actually find his tybw role to be the most interesting however, as it often feels hes at something of a crossroads there still embodying the older gotei mindset of peace at any cost, that older darkness, thats coming into conflict with the newer ideals and gentleness the gotei is starting to move towards thanks to figures like ichigo, a conflict he only resolves on a personal level upon nemu's death by not so much repenting as resolving that hes not gonna wallow in the old darkness and change with the times instead. that's the way i interpretted it anyways, which i feel gels with how he seems far more gentle with hachigo nemuri then he was with nemu from what little of them we see. also, i do find it interesting how he seems genuinely taken aback to some extent by ikkaku genuinely thanking him for saving zaraki, which when combing through what details we have of his past suggests some desire to actually connect with the people around him that he tends to bury due to his research and troubles with interpersonal relations in the past. which is all fascinating in its own way, but also as noted before, all comes from his post uryu fight soft character retcon where he becomes goofy murder scientist as opposed to horrific murder scientist.

nemu: eh. in her first appearence shes more so there to remind us that mayuris a monster. and in later appearances shes just kinda there to be weird fetish bait for villain powers, and unnaturally strong. and then she blows up. point being i feel like she never really finds solid footing as a character, which makes it difficult for me to really care all that much. it kinda happens at the very end, but again... she blows up pretty quickly after. essentially needed more time to cook as it were.

ukitake: less developed kyoraku but instead of being a jack sparrow type hes a sickly man whos secretly a bad ass. i dont dislike him, i just kinda wish we got to see more of him before he croaked.

kaien: is black haired ichigo. effective in relation to rukia and her character journey and story, but i dont personally have much interest in him.

#bleach

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entering--hyperspace · 1 year

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Emperor and Págos dynamic rambling

I being a sort of "My Tav's core romance is with the emperor" vibe that Normal baldurs gate players really dont like

Anyway. I feel like i've gone through all stages of grief and have temporarily arrived at acceptance for this brief period of time, lets get it.

I'm going to ramble abt Págos individually. and their dynamic as that progresses.

Págos may not initially be aware that he's a dragon, but he sure does act like one. He cannot shake the core of who he is, personality shaped by being the truth of his origins.

He is Stubborn, he sees the world in hard rights and wrongs but not in the sense of morality but rather what he deems to make sense. And yet he carries with him the patience of a being that can live for centuries, a sort of stillness to conflict. Inherently intense but not negatively so. Half of who he is, half of what it took for when he became tired of war and conquest. And he is also alien to it, in his life he was always both the mighty and the meek, and with his lost memories in the present he can sense something missing about himself and his relations to others but isn't able to fully grasp it.

So. The dream visitor. Of course he does not trust him, why would he? It is obvious to him, he knows war, he knows tactics and manipulation, he knows when he is being lied to. And yet, the sincerity is what gives him pause, the half truths, the small slips of the mask.

Their conversations are tip toeing on ice, smiles even though they are both aware a game is being played. So after the initial first icebreaker conversations, they start treating each visit like a game of chess. Embrace the power of the tadpoles, the confidence it isn't needed, why follow the instructions when the person giving them is obviously wearing a mask.

I think the emperor initially found him frustrating, and vice versa, but there was a realization that they were equally matched and what was frustration became begrudging Admiration. Dare I say another shared trait was loneliness. As much as they both needed an ally, the dream visitor needed a friend though he would probably think he was above such sentiment. Págos was surrounded by people he was growing closer to, but at the same time no one was able to engage him quite like his mysterious ally could.

Págos got him to reveal more of his true feelings than he would like to admit. And then the climax of it all: the dream visitor a mindflayer. And more surprising: Págos did not care. I mean, he cared for an explanation, but he does not hold the same knowledge of mindflayers, its not above him of there being a possibility that in the evilness of their faction, one could be good. The same way chromatic dragons and their followers were infamous for their own "evil" ambitions, while he decided to break free of it.

I think their thin friendship grew into an actual one after more truths were revealed. Págos valued his opinion more than he did beforehand, and The Emperor was willing to briefly put aside his own arrogance for the one person who could actually challenge him. You need me, I need you.

It was only natural it would evolve into something further, I think it was only elevated by the way Págos treated him as an individual rather than a presumptuous idea of what a mindflayer is, not out of sympathy really, but more out of like, facts. I think the idea of them being equally matched in the "games" they play with each other is kinda attractive to him (the emperor). Someone who could match him move for move.

For Págos…

But what is more tempting to a dragon than gold and glory? Devotion to a cause. to a person, to a feeling.

I do want to clarify that Págos do grow to care deeply about him, I just meant like, to Págos it was much less complicated on his part. I feel like the emperor had a whole thing he had to process before he came to the conclusion he was growing fond of Págos, whereas Págos that's just simply what it was. There was no questioning it.

Anyway, Ough. The wyrm trials, the "there is no war in ba sing se" moment. Págos has almost always been able to tell when he was lying, and it became even more obvious after sharing their minds together that one night, he can read him so much easier. So of course he knew he was lying again

And so the reveal of Ansur, the reveal of his past life as Balduran, and Págos' memories flooding back about who HE is.

The only reason Págos and the emperor were not aware of the fact he's a dragon is because the emperor didn't Dig for his memories, he merely studied what was given and there in the moment.

When Ansur possesses him its stated in the game he quite literally Forces himself into your mind, he searches through every inch of it. And I think at first he is too distracted by Balduran's presence. It's not until he gets to the part where he calls Págos Balduran's "thrall" that he hesitates. He searches deeper, and it makes him Angrier.

Him digging deeper into Págos' mind causes Págos to remember. His mother, his clan in its entirety, his nature as a white dragon, But Págos doesn't get to swallow this until later. Ansur gets angrier. He accuses Balduran of replacing him with another Dragon, of making a dragon his thrall, it disgusts him further. And before anyone can get answers the fight begins as it does in game.

The afterwards conversation feels like more of a confrontation, pointed sharp questions. "Why did you keep this from me" "why did you never speak of him" "Why did you kill him" Págos' emotions slipping through due to the revelations about himself also. Ansur was his friend, and yet the emperor probably knew him better than he did. And yet there is that one inexplicable truth. Ansur inspired him to break free of the oath, and it was Ansur's oath that killed him. The cruel irony of it all.

The emperor answers this less defensive than he does in game. I feel like he is a little more sincere in this canon with the fact that he and Págos are...something.

And Págos cannot deny his logic. Its true he was an adventurer, ansur was never mentioned and he never asked, it's true Págos knows what survival can do to someone. He's seen it, he has lived it, he has been the hand that twisted back the knife many times. "You would have done the same." A statement the emperor knows is true. But it's the withholding of more information that angers Págos, rightfully of course. And then the final sting of, "Will you kill me too?" Because Págos cannot devote himself to something that will once again lead him to a cliff's edge, not again.

I think the emperor is more vulnerable there, he tells him how he still mourns his previous companions, he tells him how much he lost, and he tells him of course not, Págos is different, he Trusts him, it was for his own survival, a last resort. At the same time, he is trying to do and say anything that will keep Págos at his side, because just this once he found an ally,a partner that accepts him as he is (and is powerful at that) the idea of losing that…he would avoid it by any means necessary.

#págos #bg3 tav #bg3 emperor #thats all im tagging this as bc this is legit just shit abt my tav

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hereforyourdispleasure · 1 year

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🙈, 🍩, 🌏, ⚙️, 🪤 - Darian

📎, 💧, 💗 - Alir

☄️, ☁️, 🎭 - Mark

💡, 🔥, ✏️ - Adrian

🌌, 👑 - Celeste

Cut off because good lord, long post

Darian

Side of him he doesn't like to show?- Literally all the dodgy stuff he does. While he knows that a threatening reputation is useful, he just doesn't really like it. There are some cases, obviously with people that have/are likely to try to pull shit with him, where he's more than happy to be seen as a threat. Takes a bit of sadistic joy in it even. But, especially with his friends, he doesn't really want to be seen as serious, violent and threatening. Plus he thinks it's fun to threaten people then have them search him up to try and dig up dirt, only to find he keeps posting memes. He is/can easily be a threat and he knows it, he just doesn't like other people knowing it or taking him too seriously/not trusting him because of it

Favourite sweet treat?- Ridiculously elaborate ice cream. Give that guy candyfloss bubblegum marshmallow ice cream with pieces of meringue and honeycomb? He's fucking overjoyed

Will he give up the world for someone they love?- Depends on how many people he loves are still in the world. Most likely no, he'd see it as unfair to screw over so many people just for one. But if he was feeling particularly devoted that day, maybe

Thoughts on science and art?- He sees both as important. Science important for factual knowledge and progression towards understanding of the world around us, art for understanding internal processes and the ability to connect/communicate/co-operate with others

What will always lure him into danger?- Chances are he's aware of the danger, so it's whether or not he sees it as worth it. Loved ones? Yes absolutely, he literally jumps at, has a lovely conversation with and a coffee with said danger most of the time. Him running into danger for the chance of getting something he wants out of it? Wouldn't really happen. He'd just find 20 alternative methods, he could get what he wants anytime, why endanger himself for it. Has he done so in the past? 😶 Yes of course

Alir

A random fact- Actually has a good relationship with their family and stays in contact with them, visiting regularly

Random angst headcanon- They've gotten to the point where they just emotionally shut down if anything really bad happens. They've faced a lot of bad things and just usually just try to avoid the whole thing. As much as they try to talk things out, like they've suggested and advised Darian to do, it usually doesn't work well (both in the past and in their own current friend group). Darian and Mark know this, and try to either get them as far away from shit as possible, or make sure they constantly check in

What happens when they have a crush?- Yes, pretty noticeable. If they like someone, they want the person to know. Why not, if you're seeking a relationship, make it clear. They'd probably be just very themself- very bright and enthusiastic. Would definitely try to impress the person. Like with their radical dirtbiking skills B)

Mark

What do people assume about him, are they right?- I'd say the assumption about him is that he's just Darian's work partner, helps when asked to, doesn't really do anything besides that. But nope, he does play quite a few crucial roles, to the point that he was a higher up himself way before Darian. But that assumption about him is exactly what both Mark and Darian are aiming for

Soft headcanon- Talks about the machines he makes as if they're conscious brings. He's not mental I promise it's just that he takes a lot of pride in what he creates

Does he act differently around different people?- Sort of? In his career he's just serious, wants to get things done without making things complicated with social stuff. When he does have to be social, if its with people he needs to be on the good side of, he'll be smiley, making polite sarcastic jokes. To people he doesn't particularly need to please, he's fine with being his generally serious self along with making jokes and comments. It's slightly different between Alir and Darian. He doesn't really make comments/jests at Alir, that's just not what their friendship is. But with Darian? This man can and will meet Darian's sarcastic humour, meet his jokes with comments and jests of his own. He's comfortable with not being completely serious around him (unless the situation calls for it), while knowing that he and Darian both deeply care for each other. His family, though? He's just plain serious with them- short responses, blunt and to the point, would never try to make jokes with them

Adrian

Is he a planner?- When he needs to be. If there's a mission that has to go a specific way (he's working directly under Handler at this point so lets face it, everything has to be perfect) then he'll plan stuff out. It's more of a loose plan, in comparison to Darian's whole "I MUST MAKE 70 PLANS AND THEN 300 BACK UP PLANS". Just as long as he knows what he's doing and what the alternatives are, he's fine. He absolutely will just abandon all plans if he thinks it's necessary

Self destructive tendencies?- Ohohoho buddy. This man is purely self destructive tendencies. After losing the second of the two people that have actually been decent to you, the person you saw as your chance at some kind of normal life, in exactly the same way as the first time mind you? Yeah, not doing too good. Darian was willing to put his life on the line because he knew his death date so knew that he'd probably be fine, he easily endangers himself for the people around him. Adrian has basically nobody, the closest thing being Mark who he's only recently met, no guarantee of when he'll die, he just expects he's going to die as part of his job some day and doesn't care. Puts his life on the line just because he can. He'll do it over the smallest things, usually to prove a point, look threatening, or because of pride. In the non canon rp when he was daring Fable to shoot him, he was moreso shocked at his own reaction of avoiding the bullet. He basically just starts chatting up random people in timelines just to drop them soon after. Aftereffects of mixing grief with the sudden knowledge of the multiverse and that everything is meaningless 😔. He has a few others which I won't go into detail with because frankly I don't want to. He's just very self destructive, self loathing but at the same time is being given zero time to recover and is being encouraged towards a mini god complex while being prepared as an intercosmic sacrifice, while trying to get as much useful (blackmail) material about Commission and Handler as he can. So yeah, not a good time

Particular quote/lyric I associate with him- I honestly don't associate songs with him. There's obvious ones like Girl Anachronism by Dresden Dolls (Amanda Palmer yikes 😬), Noel's Lament from that roller coaster musical (💀 ik but it makes sense), because I associate them with his lack of self preservation and just lack of care. Then You're not welcome by Nathan Apollo specifically for this part:

But the last 2 lines can be applied to Darian in main reality at most ages. But I don't really associate much with him, especially not any more positive toned songs. I'm sure there are positive toned songs that can be linked to him but idk haven't found them yet

Celeste

Inspiration behind her- I haven't even watched Steven Universe, but Blue Diamond. Celeste is a creator being, to completely oppose Hyra, aka L'appel Du Vide. (Hyra hasn't really been mentioned in canon because Darian would never willingly talk about her. All you need to know is if Adrian is the lamb being led to slaughter, Hyra is the slaughterhouse. She's also the being that AvExp!Darian is basically an avatar for)

But back on track, Celeste is a creator. Creating realities, saving them. The whole lightning theme is a haha funny on my part because it's just "spark of creativity!". But yeah, Blue Diamond inspired, creativity, energy transferrals in the form of sparks

What does she want to be remembered as?- I don't really think Celeste cares how she's remembered. She's kind, yes, but you also have to remember what she is. She doesn't care about how she's known or if she's known at all. Fame isn't her thing

#DONE #loved doing this #But good lord it took a bit #darian talk #mark talk #alir talk #alt darian talk #celeste talk #how many tags can lamp do challenge

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bonesandthebees · 2 years

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chapter 8 ending got me in my feels

when it comes to tommy finding and using wilburs name, he obviously isn't doing it the best way and we see wilbur hate it a lot, but in their situation there's not many other options, tommy does what he believes is best and he does it in good faith

obviously not the right moral way, but when do get to you be absolutely moral and do everything perfectly fine even irl, much more in their situation, tommy also definitely isn't an expert or even knows much about what to do

tommy knows/suspects that wil tried to escape bc of a vision so he might think he's working on bit of a tight time here before wil gets another vision (and he might very well be right a vision is gonna be the reason if wilbur tries to escape again)

honestly it's better than not doing anything, being sitting ducks and waiting is the worst in their case, they don't have the space, especially mental space, to do it the right way, things need moving even if it's a bit pushy

if being a bit pushy and going against wilburs uncomfort is the way forward in this scenario, than it counts

for wilbur to accept he is his own person and all that means he first has to realize just how badly he was treated (he thinks he knows but oh boy does he have no idea) and there's not really a way to do this gently, it's going to have to go the hard and painful way, his coping will have to come crashing down for him to be able to build himself, his opinions, discover his personality etc

and it's going to be ugly, very ugly, its most likely going to hurt his relationships with others, whatever little trust or at least acceptance there might be, but it has to happen

also wil realizing he's an actual person doesn't erase his powers and connection as the pythia and even being treated nice and all this won't erase the fact that he's a prisoner and there isn't an easy reason for him to suddenly switch side and stuff like this, there's still the whole different religion stuff

(this makes me a bit scared, bc considering how most of the deathlings join, there might be a near death experience involved and yeah no one there needs more trauma, especially wilbur)

they're not perfect, they make mistakes, hurt each other, they don't know much better and it's messy and complicated and I think thats very crimeboys of them but also it's just very human and I love it so much

when they fuck up and are human and it's messy and they hurt, it makes any progress feel so much more deserved and fought out and good

i love this fic so much, they're so unapologetically human and messy

yuppp it's not the best option but it's what tommy can do. he has the best intentions and honestly, for something as complicated as this, maybe the messy brute force way is the best way to do it. even if it's not morally great.

the visions are definitely adding a bit of pressure. tommy wants to help wilbur and he wants to do it fast before he gets another vision telling him to escape. because he has no idea where wilbur's head is currently at regarding any future escape plans at the moment.

also: discomfort isn't automatically a bad thing. sometimes you have to be uncomfortable to grow. wilbur HAS to be made uncomfortable be pushed past some of his boundaries if he's going to heal.

you get it exactly. there's no way to do this gently. he has to realize how horribly he's been treated by the institution for the past 10 years for him to make any sort of progress, and that's going to be an ugly, painful process.

this is a messy thing! humans are messy, these relationships are messy, and this situation is messy. that's okay! people are going to get hurt and then heal, relationships will develop and they might not be the healthiest but they'll be built on love.

I'm so glad you're enjoying how complicated this all is because that's what makes it so fun for me to write :)

#ask #jiksvokrat #through a glass divine

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yamiiwaii · 2 years

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thinking about how comforting mk would feel if he came out to mac and wukong and found out that mac is also trans and wukong is genderqueer, it makes mk feel a lot better about how he identifies and would make him feel a little more connected to his parents

#🏮#squashed apricots #trans mk and trans mac hold a very special place in my heart #i like the idea of mk being grateful and appreciating how supportive his parents are while also being able to use them both as #a place for resources #especially since mac is a doctor. a licensed one. so he could get hormones from him #obviously its a whole complicated process before he can but still #he has that security blanket and he also just loves learning new things esp about his dads #and it would make sense as to why mac and wukong wouldnt really make a big deal about mk coming out at all #lmk wukong #lmk mk #lmk macaque #lego monkie kid #shadowpeach

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favefandomimagines · 3 years

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Give Me A Reason to Stay (b.b.)

Summary: the battle is over, you can finally breathe. but will bucky give you a reason to stay with him in Louisiana?

AN: inspired by the finale of tfaws! so potential spoilers and obvs i’m gonna include some angst (stark!reader)

You finally caught a moment to breathe after what felt like years of fighting. After so long of going from one disaster to the next, you could finally stop and pause. Actually enjoy life for once.

Since your father died, you never stopped moving. Being CFO of Stark Industries, helping Wanda escape the authorities after her grief induced episode and then Sam and Bucky called you for help. It never seemed to stop.

But, after Karli died and the rest of the Flag Smashers gone, you could take your well deserved pause. At least for a little while before your inherited work called.

Sam invited you to come to his home town in Louisiana for a celebration of sorts and you couldn’t say no. Him telling you that Bucky was going to be there was also a selling point.

You and Bucky had a complicated history. You helped Sam and Steve stop him and HYDRA and then went on the manhunt for him. Even after finding out he killed your grandparents, you were still there. You understood that it wasn’t Bucky’s mind, just his body. You were there in Wakanda and helped set him free from his trigger words.

But nothing ever progressed from the stolen looks, the longing glances and the quick touches. The amount of times Bucky Barnes saved your life and threatened others who tried to hurt you, you thought he felt something for you. But the nagging feeling in the back of your head told you that you were wrong.

At the celebration, the many neighborhood kids were gathered around you as you created stars in your hands, almost like your own personal galaxy. The kids thought it was magic and you rather liked that perspective on your powers.

Bucky and Sam were talking with Sarah and some other neighbors but Bucky couldn’t focus on the conversation when he was too busy watching you.

Your smile was so wide that he thought it could light up a city block. You looked genuinely happy, a look he hadn’t seen on you in a long time. It was refreshing and your happiness made him happy.

“You’re being creepy.” Sam commented, nudging the super soldier. “What?” Bucky asked. “You’re staring.” Sam said. “I-I was not staring.” He stammered. “You so were. Just tell her how you feel already. I can assure you she feels the same way.” Sam told him. “I can’t just tell her.” Bucky rebutted. “Yes, yes you can. What are you afraid of?” Sam asked.

The 106 year-old man paused for a moment as he continued to stare at you. “I can’t be the one that causes her more pain.” He said. Sam furrowed his eyebrows at Bucky’s answer. “She’s been through too much already. Losing Natasha, watching her father die, the nightmares she has. I’m not back to myself yet and I can’t cause her anymore pain.” Bucky explained.

The conversation was cut short when you approached the two men. “I’m so sorry, Sam. Pepper just called and said the donors are pulling out of the eco-friendly power source project we’re working on. She needs my help fixing it.” You told them.

“Do you really have to go?” Sam asked. “Unfortunately. Pepper says she can do it on her own, she did it before I was old enough but since my name is still attached to the company, I have to go. Board meeting at 9 tomorrow.” You explained. “I’ll go grab Sarah, she’s going to insist on giving you leftovers to take.” Sam said, giving you a nice smile.

You turned to Bucky who was very quiet since you walked over. “So, you’re really going back?” He asked you. “Yeah. Unless you give me a reason to stay.” You answered honestly. And rather boldly.

Bucky wanted to say something so bad. He wanted to tell you that he loved you and wanted you to stay with him there but the words didn’t come out. And if he was already feeling bad before, the look on your face broke his heart.

You gave him a tight lipped smile, a small head nod before you walked away from him. He watched as you slapped a fake smile on, say goodbye to Sarah and Sam before leaving the party rather quickly.

“What the happened with Y/N?” Sarah asked approaching Bucky. “Nothing. She just had to go.” Bucky lied. Sam saw right through it obviously. Something had happened between you and Bucky and he was determined to find out and play cupid.

“What really happened?” Sam asked. “She asked me to give her a reason to stay. And I didn’t say anything.” Bucky answered. “Come on, man. You love her, she loves you. Y/N wouldn’t give you the time of day if she couldn’t handle your baggage. You need each other more than you want to admit, Buck.” Sam said.

Bucky sighed and cursed himself for letting you go. “Okay, what do I do?” He asked. “Go to New York. Pull a rom-com move and crash that board meeting and tell her that you love her.” Sam answered.

And Bucky did just that. He got on the first flight to New York and came up with a whole speech in his head for what he was going to say to you.

He made it at the nick of time and was surprised he still had security clearance to the building. When he arrived to the correct floor, he saw Pepper standing in the hallway.

“Bucky, I didn’t expect to see you here.” She said to him. “Where’s Y/N? I need to talk to her.” Bucky said. “She’s in the conference room, preparing for the meeting.” Pepper answered.

Bucky practically ran to the conference room and almost broke down the door.

“B-Bucky?” You questioned. “I love you, Y/N. You asked me to give you a reason to stay and I was scared. Scared that I’d cause you more pain and you don’t deserve that after what you’ve been through. But I can’t deny that I love you anymore.” Bucky confessed.

You were at a loss for words, not really expecting a love confession from Bucky Barnes. “You love me?” You questioned quietly. “Yes. I love you.” He said. “Come back to Louisiana with me. We can start over, have the life we both deserve. Or, I can come back here and you can still help Pepper run Stark Industries. I don’t care as long as I get a chance at a life with you.” Bucky added.

“You really mean that?” You asked. “I really do mean that.” He answered. He watched you intently as you processed everything Bucky had just told you.

You looked down at your presentation notes before you picked them up and folded the papers in half. “Friday, can you bring Pepper into the conference room please?” You asked the AI. “Of course, Ms. Stark.” It said.

You and Bucky waited in a tension filled silence when the door opened. “What’s going on?” Pepper asked. “I think it’s time I sign those papers.” You told her.

Pepper smiled widely at you, happy that you were choosing yourself over the company for once. “It’s about time.” She commented. “I’ll go get them drawn up.” She added before leaving the room.

“Wait what papers?” Bucky asked. “I’m giving every aspect of the company to Pepper. I’ll no longer be listed as an executive for Stark Industries. Which means, I can go anywhere I want for as long as I want.” You explained.

“You mean-“ Bucky started. “I’m going to Louisiana with you. For however long you’ll have me.” You interjected. Bucky laughed lightly as he made his way over to you, cupped your face in his hands and kissed you deeply.

It was a feeling you both had been waiting for and it was one that was definitely worth the wait. You had been putting off your personal life out of fear it wouldn’t work but now you just wanted to be with each other. No matter what happens down the line.

“And if it wasn’t obvious, I love you too.” You said once you parted. “I’d hope so, doll.” Bucky replied.

—

You and Bucky approached the large gathering of people with food in your hands, saying your hellos and giving out hugs and handshakes.

“There you two are! I was wondering if you’d ever show!” Sam scolded you two. “What do you expect? We’re newlyweds.” You laughed. “And it’s about damn time it happened too.” Sarah commented.

You sat down at the picnic table, Bucky resting his flesh hand on your thigh. You stared down at the ring on your finger quite fondly and thought of your dad. Hoping he’d be proud of letting the company go three years ago and living your life to its fullest.

“Aunt Y/N! Can we see the stars again?” Cass asked with all of his friends behind him. “Can’t say no to a future leading astronomer now can I?” You teased the boy. You got up from the table and stood a few feet away, creating the stars with your hands like you had years prior.

Again, Bucky watched you fondly but this time he wasn’t pining after you, hoping he’d build the courage to tell you how he felt. He was watching you as his wife and as his future.

“You really do love her, don’t you?” Sam asked. “Yeah. I really do.” Bucky answered, a smile adorning his face. “You’re going to be amazing parents.” Sarah added. “Parents?” Bucky questioned. “Oh no she hasn’t told you yet.” Sarah said, standing up from the table.

“Is Y/N,” Bucky started. “Am I what?” You asked. Bucky turned to you and rose from his seat so he could stand eye to eye with you. “Are you pregnant?” He asked.

You looked behind him and glared at Sarah before staring back at Bucky. “Yeah, yeah I am. You’re gonna be dad James Bucky Barnes.” You told him with a watery smile.

Just the thought of bringing a child into the world with Bucky made you more emotional than you thought possible.

“I’m gonna be a dad?” Bucky questioned. You nodded your head and Bucky scooped you up in his arms and if felt like everything was falling into place.

After 109 years of not having an ounce of peace or feeling as if he was a monster and a burden, he was getting the life he had always dreamed of. And he got to do it all with you.

#imagine #imagines #marvel imagine #marvel #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x reader #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan #tony stark #sam wilson

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fortuositywritings · 3 years

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Collide pt 2

Wanda x R

Summary: Trying to do the right thing gets very awkward and complicated.

The elevator was taking its sweet time to get to the 87th floor. It’s like it knows you are anxious and annoyed and oh yeah, naked.

“Come on!”

Bruce is annoyed. He’s been running tests on tests and has come up empty.

“It’s okay, Bruce,” Wanda tries to calm him down, seeing the irritation on his face. She knows the feeling all too well. For crying out loud, these tests with no real results are being run on her. She’s grateful to have people who care so much, like Bruce who is simply mad he can’t give her an answer for why her powers basically seem to have vanished.

“It’s not okay, Wanda. We don’t have the slightest idea why this is happening. I mean, your magic gone, just like that. It doesn’t make any sense,” he sighs. Then he straightens out his posture and gives her a determined smile. “But don’t worry. We’ll run more tests and we’ll figure this out. For now, why don’t we take a break. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

She returns his smile but less enthusiastically. Truth be told, she’s been kind of enjoying not having her powers. Don’t get her wrong, of course it is worrying not having them and she needs them to get back to doing her job, but for once in a very long time, she felt relaxed almost.

Her powers are incredible and amazing, but what’s not so amazing is the weight she carried because of them. These last three months, she felt unburdened. She felt lighter, but she couldn’t tell her teammates that, not when they’re doing all they can to help her get them back.

Her powers are important to have for the team. She knows that. It’s why she sucks it up and is doing everything she can to get them back. People count on her.

She hops off the stool and makes her way to the elevator. She notices Bruce isn’t following behind her. “Are you coming?”

“I’m just going to clean up here. I’ll meet you down in a few,” he replies. Wanda goes to press the button for the elevator. The doors open not two seconds after.

“That was fast,” she mumbles. She steps into the cart and waves goodbye to Bruce. “See you.”

The elevator’s doors close. You gulp nervously. This could have worked out better for you but you got what you wanted. You came to see Wanda and here she was in the elevator with you. Maybe you should wait to talk to her when you find some clothes. You hope wherever she’s going has something for you to cover up with.

Happy with your decision to pretend you’re not even there, you stay quiet and keep to the corner. Suddenly the elevator stops.

“Shit,” Wanda says exactly what you were thinking. She begins pressing buttons trying to get the elevator to go but it’s of no use. She uses the emergency call button.

“Hello, this is Wanda Maximoff. The elevator seems to be stuck,” she says into the intercom.

“Yes, Miss Maximoff. The elevators have been stopped for security purposes, but do not worry, they are taking care of the situation. The elevators should be operational in just a few minutes,” the voice over the intercom says.

If you weren’t so nervous, you could laugh at the situation. They’re taking care of the situation all right. Here you are, the situation, in the elevator with Wanda Maximoff. You hope this doesn’t take too long. You’re feeling very uncomfortable in the state you’re in, especially enclosed in such a small space with someone else.

Five minutes go by and nothing happens. Wanda has been playing games on her phone to distract herself. You’ve been standing in the corner, hands covering yourself even though technically you’re invisible. It made you feel more decent in a way.

Wanda’s game chimes and she celebrates winning whatever level of whatever game she’s playing. You smile, finding it cute. She’s been trying to pass that level this whole time.

Before she can get into the next level, her phone rings. Natasha is calling her. She’s been made aware of the situation and is passing the information to Wanda. “There’s been a security breach. Some girl was asking for you saying it was urgent and forcibly made her way into the building. They still haven’t found her. Where are you?”

Wanda frowns. “I’m stuck in the elevator. They stopped them.”

“Okay, I’ll get yours to work. I’ll wait for you on the 71st,” Nat says.

“Okay,” Wanda responds. Nat rushes, “Oh, and Wanda be careful. She seems to have powers like yours.”

Wanda wants to ask about that but Nat hangs up before she has the chance. Wanda chews on her bottom lip as do you. Both of you are anxious. Your heart is beating out of its chest right now. You do your best not to let your breathing get out of control. You couldn’t have Wanda hear you.

The elevator begins to move and you stupidly let out a sigh in relief at the same time Wanda does. You pray she didn’t hear it and thinks it was all her. For a moment you think someone heard your prayers, but you are oh so wrong.

When the elevator stops at the 71st floor, you follow Wanda out the elevator. Unknown to you, she did hear your sigh from before and just needed to reassure herself she wasn’t hearing things. She keeps her ears attentive and when you follow her out, she hears the scuffle of your feet behind her.

In a quick move, she grabs you and flips you over. Suddenly, she’s got you pinned down and in your shock, you don’t realize you let up on the invisibility. You look at Wanda in shock and fear, thinking she’s about to punch you in the face or something. She looks at you in shock, your face suddenly becoming visible. Natasha is in shock as well, wondering what the hell she’s looking at.

“Please don’t hurt me! I can explain!” you beg.

“You! The one from the grocery store,” Wanda recalls.

“Yes! You remember me?” you ask, surprised she would recognize your face after one interaction.

“Who is the naked lady on my floor?” The three of you turn to see Tony Stark walk up to you snacking on some food.

“Hi, I’m Y/N,” you greet him with an awkward smile and cheeks bright red. “I’m going to turn invisible now. Please don’t freak out.”

Wanda looks down and freaks out. She’s about to get off of you but Nat yells at her to stay put.

“She’s naked!” Wanda argues, but stays on you.

“She’s invisible. We can’t have her leave without us knowing,” Nat reasons.

“I won’t leave,” you promise. “I’ll show myself but I would appreciate some clothes.”

“Stop talking!” Wanda demands, glaring at you. She thinks she’s glaring at you but you are invisible so she can’t know for sure if she’s looking you in the eyes.

“Who are you yelling at?” Bruce makes his way out of the elevator car that no one noticed arrived.

“Me. Hi, I’m Y/N,” you blurt out, making Bruce jump, obviously not having seen you.

“Who said that?” he asks, looking around the room trying to find you.

“Down here. Under Wanda,” your voice appears again. Wanda tightens her grip on you.

“I thought I told you to stop talking. It’s unsettling,” she explains.

“Well, so is being naked in front of all of you, so,” you retort. Bruce looks shocked but he finally pinpoints your voice where you said you were.

“Can someone please get her some clothes?” Wanda asks for you, finally. “This is not a position I thought I’d find myself in today and would really like to get off.”

“Not the first time I heard that,” you joke trying to alleviate the tension. You think you do, making both Tony Stark and the redhead in the room snort. Wanda blushes. Bruce comes to the rescue, taking off his lab coat and laying it next to Wanda, assuming you are there to grab it.

It looks odd, watching the lab coat move seemingly on its own. Wanda gets off of you as you put it on and finally reveal yourself after securing it around your body.

“Who are you?” The redhead asks, narrowing her eyes at you. Her tone means serious business.

Finding her intimidating, you try to reassure her, “I’m no one. I don’t mean any harm. I promise.”

“Who cleared you? Why are you here?” She continues her questions.

“No one. I made my way past security. I really needed to see Wanda. I have something that belongs to you,” you direct the last part at Wanda.

“And this was so important you made your snuck into my building? How did you do that, by the way? Turning invisible. Neat trick,” Tony comments.

“They wouldn’t let me in. I’ve been trying to get someone to let me see her for the past week. I’m sorry for the dramatics but it can’t wait another day,” you explain. “You’re probably having trouble with accessing your abilities, right?”

“How do you know that?” Suddenly everyone is on the offense. You shouldn’t know that, not even the media is guessing that’s what was going on with Wanda and her not being on missions.

“Tony, you have to see this! Someone has abilities like Wanda and they’re in the building,” Captain Steve Rogers rushes into the room with a tablet in his hand. The security tape of you blasting the guard off his feet with red magic plays on the tablet for everyone to see. Steve notices the stranger in the room. “It’s you!”

Everyone turns from looking at the tablet to looking at you in confusion. Everyone but Wanda who looks upset.

“I can explain,” you try but Wanda cuts you off, stepping right in front of you, pointing a finger in your face. “You stole my powers!”

“I didn’t steal your powers. It’s not that simple.”

“Then explain how my powers seemed to have disappeared when we met and now there’s a video of you using my abilities,” Wanda demands.

“I-I mean, may-maybe it is that simple,” you stutter.

She moves forward almost as if to attack you. Steve is on her in a millisecond, holding her back as you put your arms out in defense. You rush to explain, “But I didn’t mean to. It’s just something that happens when I touch people with special abilities.”

“What do you mean? Do you mean to say that you can take anyone’s abilities away? How many abilities do you have? Is there a limit to how many you can hold? If so, how many and can you choose which you keep?” Bruce Banner throws a slew of questions at you that you can’t really process while there is an angry Sokovian ready to throw hands with you.

“I’m just here to return them to you,” you say, trying to calm her down. That trips her anger. Everyone and her look at you confused once more. Wanda asks, “You can do that?”

“It’s what I’ve been trying to do all week, but no one would let me see you,” you sigh in frustration.

Steve feels Wanda relax at the new information and lets her go. He also notices that because you moved your arms up when Wanda was going for you, you released your grip around the lab coat and were now exposed again. He clears his throat and looks away, “Miss, the coat.”

You look at him confused and then realize he’s referring to the lab coat you’re wearing. You and Wanda both look at it and then blush. You quickly wrap yourself up again.

“Oh my god, can someone please get, what’s your name?” the redhead in the room inquires and continues once you stutter out your name, “Wanda can you please lend Y/N some clothes? We’ll wait for you on 87. I’ll inform security that the problem has been dealt with.”

It isn’t really a request, both you and Wanda know this. Wanda tells you to follow her and she leads you to what you assume is her bedroom. It’s pretty nice. You note that she keeps it tidy.

“Here, these will fit.” She leaves you sweats, a hoodie, socks, and some sandals on the bed. “You can change in the restroom.”

She points at a door on the other side of the room. You smile awkwardly in appreciation and head over to change. While Wanda waits for you to come out, she tries to understand everything that has happened and everything that you told her.

If you are to be trusted and it’s true what you said, including not doing this on purpose, then she supposes she owes you an apology. Are you to be trusted though? This would be so much easier if she had her powers. Then she would be able to figure it out in a wink.

Her powers made things so much easier but also they were a pain in the ass. She is grateful for them of course. She knows all the good she does and could do with them, but sometimes they were too much and she didn’t realize this until she was without them.

It was odd being without them. She had grown accustomed to them. They were a part of her now and not having them was weird but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was just different and for a moment she felt lighter. The only real stress of not having them was wondering what happened to them, but now here they are.

You have come to return them to her. She should feel relieved, right?

You step out of the restroom in her clothes. You thank her, “I’ll give them back once I get my clothes back. You don’t happen to have a ‘lost and found’ in the building, do you?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask Steve or Nat,” she replies. After an awkward moment of standing there, neither of you speaking, you break the silence, “So, should we go now?”

Wanda hesitates to lead you out, so you assume there’s something else she wants to say. You wait. “Before we do, I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that when all you were trying to do is help.”

You smile and nod. “Yeah, that was scary, but I understand. It’s a weird situation to be in, but luckily we have everything cleared up and soon you’ll have your powers and you can get back to doing what you do.”

“Yes, lucky me,” she mutters, unconvincingly. She doesn’t know why, but going back to the regular schedule seems daunting.

She finds you staring at her oddly. It makes her uncomfortable so she makes her way towards the door, motioning for you to follow. You make conversation on your way to the lab.

“My friend loved the meal by the way. Thank you for all the helpful tips. It was delicious, if I do say so myself,” you tell her, using her phrasing when she described Sokovian meals. She smiles, catching it as well.

“I told you so,” she says, chuckling as you both wait for the elevator to reach the 87th floor. She thinks back to that day and based on what you said earlier, she asks you, “So is that how it happened? When we touched hands? That was how you got my powers?”

“Yep.”

“And to get them back, we do the same thing?” she ponders. “It’s that simple.”

“Yeah. It’s simple and annoying,” you complain. “I graze anyone’s skin and if by chance they can do something no regular person can, suddenly they can’t and I’m the one who can do it, but the most annoying part is when I don’t know who they come from since I have to touch them again to give their powers back.”

“That does sound frustrating,” Wanda agrees.

“No, what’s frustrating is when they won’t take their powers back,” you whine. “And then I’m stuck with them.”

“What do you mean? Can’t you just touch them and give them back?”

“They have to want their powers back for me to return them. It’s actually how I got the invisibility one. They couldn’t really control it at the time and I guess they got tired of it, so when they had the opportunity, they didn’t want it back. Those were weird first months with that power. Floating clothes spooks a lot of people. Luckily, a little practice and I could do this on command.”

You show her the way you could turn invisible. She looks startled so you appear again and apologize. “Sorry, I guess it’s still scary to people.”

“No, it’s cool. It just surprised me,” she reassures you. You give her a grateful smile in return.

“Why did it take so long for you to find me?” Wanda asks and it is a reasonable question seeing as you can turn on the news station and probably find her easily.

“Sorry about that. Truth is, I don’t follow the Avengers and what they do, so I had no idea who you were. I actually staked out the grocery store for weeks hoping I would catch you there,” you admit.

“They didn’t kick you out for loitering?” Wanda giggles and then lets out a full laugh when you say, “Actually, they almost made me employee of the month, despite not working there.”

A ring in the elevator signals that you have arrived on the 87th floor. Wanda leads the way through the lab.

“There they are,” Bruce announces your presence. He motions both of you front and center of the group. “So, how does this work?”

“I just touch her and give them back,” you shrug. “It’s not too complicated.”

“Okay, then,” Bruce accepts your answer.

You hold out your hand for Wanda to take. “Ready?”

She nods her head and places her hand in yours. You smile, giving her hand a squeeze before letting go.

“That’s it?” Tony asks. You turn to him and nod. “Well, that was anti-climactic.”

“Alright, Wanda. Why don’t you go ahead and try to use your powers now,” Steve inputs more helpfully.

You all direct your attention to Wanda who shakes herself in preparation to show off her powers. She holds her hands up and clenches and unclenches her hands into fists repeatedly.

“Any time now,” the redhead whose name you assume is Nat hurries Wanda along.

Wanda begins to shake her head. “I’m trying. It’s not working.”

“Maybe Y/N still has them,” Steve says. You turn your hand over and sure enough you do still have them, a red energy forming in your hand.

“That doesn’t make any sense. It should be working.” You make the energy dissipate and move towards Wanda again. You grab her hand for longer than before. Then you release her and she tries again without any success. You still have them.

“Are you sure you’re doing it right?” Bruce asks. “Has this ever happened before?”

“Yes, I’m doing it like I always do. There shouldn’t be any reason why it doesn’t work,” you insist. The only reason why it wouldn’t be working is if the other person… You look at Wanda’s face and she wears a guilty expression on her face but something else catches your attention. A very loud thought from the woman in front of you makes its way to your head.

Please don’t say anything.

The thought is followed by her looking right into your eyes, practically begging you to keep quiet. So you do.

“I don’t know what’s wrong. This hasn’t happened before,” you lie for her. You turn your head to look at Bruce and shake your head hoping to convince him. You feel Wanda’s hand on your forearm, giving you a gentle squeeze.

Thank you.

Now what are you supposed to do?

________________________________________________________

taglist: @dandelions4us @sapphic-girl

let me know if i missed anyone in the taglist or if you wish to be on it

thank you for reading :)

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maximoff x you

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panharmonium · 3 years

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the other thing that i keep thinking about, especially now that i’ve been knee-deep in conversation about kakashi’s father for the last couple days, is the amount of politically/socially-charged context kakashi must be constantly navigating as a leaf shinobi, even though we don’t get to see much of it.

the transformation of the hidden leaf village is obviously still a work in progress, and society never changes overnight. we’ve heard at various points in shippuden about the still-present divide between hardliners like danzo and the (somewhat) more moderate senju line, and it’s clear that there are still plenty of reactionary/conservative forces at work in the shinobi world, which means there are absolutely still segments of the population who would view the kind of challenge that kakashi and his students pose to traditional shinobi values as a threat. and back when kakashi first chose to reaffirm his father’s principles, i’m sure it was much worse - the way minato tells it, the entire village and the land of fire turned on sakumo, and it’s not like all those people just disappeared when kakashi finally allowed himself to recognize that all of them were doing something wrong. they were still there. they were his neighbors. they were his colleagues. he had to live with them. he had to work with them - he had to work FOR them, even. to this day, he still does.

like. i am FASCINATED by the complexities of this situation, even though we barely see any of it. just...thinking about thirteen year-old kakashi being a member of the Jonin Assembly alongside all of these grown adults who persecuted his father until the “great man who everyone looked up to” couldn’t survive it any longer. thinking about teenage kakashi lost and “waiting to die” in the anbu black ops, but still breaking every rule to rescue little tenzo from a hardline conservative who tried to have kakashi assassinated. thinking about adult kakashi, still a member of that same Jonin Assembly, still working alongside people he can clearly remember harassing and attacking his father for saving their lives, being asked to serve as a clandestine hokage under danzo’s nose, because foreign nations trust kakashi where they don’t trust the actual nominee, and then being nominated for real when danzo turns up dead (and having his nomination approved, i might add, by the land of fire, whose government officially blamed kakashi’s father for the damage that resulted from that abandoned mission years before).

we only get hints about the lingering controversy surrounding kakashi and his family via danzo and, occasionally, the village elders, but like. kakashi occupies such a complex place in the hidden leaf village, because he’s become incredibly respected and renowned by many (if not most) of its residents, but he also spends every day of his life moving within a community where many (if not most) of the older people around him participated in a campaign of vicious harassment against his father, one that ultimately led to his death. some of them may have had changes of heart after sakumo’s suicide - that seems like the kind of thing that might have shocked some people into reevaluating their positions, particularly given how respected sakumo was prior to that time - and some of them probably died later in the war, but we know there’s still a conservative faction active in the hidden leaf village, and some of those people are always going to be who they are. and even the people who aren’t - even the ones who regret how they acted - it’s still so complicated! how do you continue to live and work in that environment? how do you navigate a history of being harmed in that way, when you still have to collaborate with and/or serve the same people who did the harming, some of whom likely view you with the exact same disdain they had for your father?

kakashi manages it, somehow, though i’ll bet he has complicated feelings about it, even if he keeps them to himself. and that’s yet another reason why (if i can just take these thoughts on a slight detour to the present) i think kakashi’s relationship with sasuke is so vitally important, especially moving forward. sasuke’s family was wronged by the village too, in horrific, unforgivable ways - the shinobi system swallowed itachi whole and sacrificed the entire uchiha clan on the altar of a mission, in exactly the kind of evil, inhuman decision-making process that sakumo and obito and kakashi said could never be justified. the uchiha were victims of the same shinobi system that drove kakashi’s father to his death - the one that said “everything is acceptable as long as the task at hand is accomplished. people are disposable in service to a mission.” both sasuke and kakashi’s families fell to a cultural context that refused to acknowledge that it is never okay to sacrifice your comrades for a mission, a cultural context that embraced this belief to the point where even literal genocide became excusable.

if sasuke is ever going to really and truly Come Home, he’s going to need to learn how to navigate this situation. not to excuse the wrong that was done, and certainly not to give up on getting justice for himself and his clan, but also to figure out, in conjunction with these important tasks, how to continue existing in an environment where so much officially-sanctioned harm was done to his person, and where so many people around him have at least a little bit of history of being suspicious of or uncharitable towards the uchiha clan, even though they obviously didn’t know about the impending coup or danzo’s extermination order.

it’s an incredibly complicated situation, and even if kakashi doesn’t have all the answers, he can at least understand what it feels like to be in that kind of position. he’s been navigating something like this for many, many years. he’s the precedent, someone who can help sasuke wrestle with the perhaps unanswerable questions of how am i supposed to dedicate myself to a place that wronged me like this? why should i protect people who hurt me so badly? is there even a way for me to move forward here, if i can’t forgive the ones who took my family away from me? can this actually be my home again, when i know what it did to my people?

kakashi has obviously managed to come up with answers to these questions that enable him to stay integrated in his community and keep building a future he believes in, though I doubt any of his answers are simple, and i’m sure there are some things that he’s just had to accept will never be fully settled in his heart. it’s like what he says to obito in an episode i watched recently: “i don’t know anything for sure, either...i’ve thought that this world is hell, too...but...” it’s the but that matters. even in the face of confusion and complexity, kakashi has found a way to keep moving. he’s learned to co-exist with the uncertainty and discomfort surrounding him, and to make his own meaning out of this life, regardless of how complicated his internal relationship with the village might be. he’s found a way to keep his eyes trained on the light, whatever that light might look like for him, and even if said light is only, as gaara says, “the faintest glimmer.” he has so much to teach someone like sasuke, who up until recently was responding to that same plea of gaara’s with a fatalistic “i shut my eyes a long time ago. the things i seek now lie only in the darkness.”

anyway. i am just having Many Thoughts currently about the intricacies of the political and social context that kakashi is always navigating, even though he never says a word about it. and i’m curious whether this family history will ever come up again in the last fifth of this show. if i were going on instinct alone, i’d suspect that we weren’t quite done with sakumo yet - i feel like we barely even started with him, to be honest (and also - whatever happened to kakashi’s mother???) - but i should know better at this point than to try and predict what this show is going to do, so i’ll just wait and see.

#naruto #meta #pan watches naruto #i got lost on the path of life #this is something i've always kind of wondered about in the back of my mind #but i started really focusing on it recently because of the conversations i've been having with dreamersscape about shikamaru and kakashi #because the other thing i think about in conjunction with this topic is how the kids have absolutely zero clue about any of this #sakumo's story seems to be - at least from what i've seen so far -#something that the entire leaf village just decided to never discuss again immediately after it reached its horrifying conclusion #whether out of shame or whatever else #it's buried history #even in the immediate aftermath - obito only knows the white fang as 'that hero who died protecting the village'#the rest of the story seems to have become That Of Which We Do Not Speak #and naruto's generation is even further removed from the history than obito was; so they just have no idea #like - naruto once asked kakashi who lady chio meant by 'the white fang'; and when kakashi uncomfortably answered 'my father'#naruto was so shocked by the concept of kakashi having parents that he never even asked any follow-up questions XD XD XD #so anyway i'm just thinking about how much the younger kids are going to start learning after they come home and start climbing the ranks #eg shikamaru shadowing kakashi in jonin circles and starting to pick up on dynamics he hasn't been exposed to before #bc i'm sure kakashi's philosophy for preparing jonin aspirants will be just as stubbornly renegade as his process for genin #and i can imagine there are certain tasks he'll set or standards he'll outline that might stir up some muttering #at least among the old guard #anyway. i think about this stuff a lot #the kids starting to learn all of the things that everybody else already knows about kakashi but nobody ever talks about #including kakashi himself #sasuke got the cliffsnotes version the day he left the leaf village; but there is still SO MUCH he and the other kids aren't aware of #they know nothing about kakashi's history with obito or rin or yamato or itachi; or what happened to his father; or how he got his sharingan #or that he was targeted for assassination by danzo as a teenager #they have no idea what his life was like AT ALL; and honestly i think kakashi wanted it to be that way #but that bubble has to pop eventually; and i can only imagine the kids' faces when they start to discover just how much they never knew.

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phoenixyfriend · 3 years

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Vader Tries to Help

People encouraged me to share the dead dove concept! Yay! It’s a horrible concept with an undertone of comedic absurdity in the sense that you keep waiting to see what awful, incredibly stupid thing Vader is going to do next. Like it’s horrifying but it’s also very dumb.

By moving forward into the fic, you acknowledge that this is intended to be dark and liable to be upsetting, and that you are taking responsibility for your own engagement with the material.

This AU was helped along on discord by several parties but tbh I’m not sure how many of them actually want to be named.

Warnings: Mutual Extremely Dubious Consent (forced by a third party), drugging, irrational behavior (Vader), nonconsensual body modification, forced pregnancy, imprisonment, threatened torture of a child (not followed through on)

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Vader captures Obi-Wan a few years into the Empire. Because Vader is Anakin, but even worse on the emotional bullshit, he decides that he needs to keep Obi-Wan safe but harmless. Vader also got Luke in the whole 'capturing Kenobi' situation, so part of what Vader's thinking about all this is that Obi-Wan tried to protect The Baby and so Vader kind of owes him, obviously.

Palpatine lets him keep Obi-Wan "safe," because threatening Obi-Wan is a convenient way to make Vader shut up and do what he's told. Palpatine can kind of tell that threatening the toddler would make Vader lose his shit and attempt to kill good ol' Palps, so threatening the middle-aged depressed alcoholic being kept in Vader's guest room with Force-nullifying cuffs is pretty good. It's an additional layer of emotional torture on top of the electrocution of Vader himself!

Vader has Obi-Wan taking care of Luke, mostly, because Vader has Obligations and A Job, and Obi-Wan wouldn't hurt Luke, duh. He might try to escape with the kid, but he won't be successful, and Obi-Wan will definitely put Luke's safety first, so that probably won't happen.

This is all fairly normal for a variety of AUs, granted, and not very dark.

But see, Obi-Wan behaves. He's aware of how tenuous the situation is for him and his charge, so he plays nice. And Vader decides to reward that.

By giving him Cody.

There's an implied thought process there that Obi-Wan was fond of Cody, and Cody was fond back, and now that the Jedi aren't around, they can follow through instead of worrying about some silly Code. Vader's nullified the orders to kill all the Jedi, of course, possibly dosed their food with an aphrodisiac so they don't try to talk themselves out of What They Obviously Want.

Now, we’re going to make it a little darker, because why not make things worse by having Vader try to make things better?

Vader somehow twisted himself around to encouraging them to have a baby. This is accomplished through a combination of Sith Magic and nonconsensual surgery, and lots of questionable drugs.

Obi-Wan just wakes up in a hospital bed with a womb one morning, and is informed of the surgery then and there, after it’s already happened. The droid telling him about it is just like "in the Lord Vader's infinite kindness--" and Obi-Wan just.

Anakin.

What the fuck.

What in the actual fuck made you think this was a good idea.

(The Sith Chemicals, probably.)

I feel like Palpatine would maybe even order the pregnancy induction just to torture them by proxy because that's like eight levels of Fuck No and he barely has to do anything except tell Vader that he'd like to see what kind of children a Jedi Master like Obi-Wan has.

Luke needs friends, doesn't he?

Obi-Wan is having some very complicated emotions about all of this because Vader is, in his own absolutely insane way, trying to help.

Anakin wanted babies and Padme wanted babies so clearly, if Obi-Wan and Cody are in love, then they also want babies!

Cody and Obi-Wan very well might not be in love. Anakin definitely could have misinterpreted. It’s probably more angsty if they're just friends who ended up in this bullshit together.

(He's taking baby fever to new and somewhat horrifying heights, because... he would adore Obi's kids.)

(His family button is suprisingly large for a mass murderer.)

Vader Kindly Informs Bail That Obi-Wan Is Alive And Unharmed. Bail was a friend of Obi-Wan's, telling him this is only helpful and will keep Alderaan from getting more rebellious out of personal insult. Obviously.

Vader is almost offended when Bail implies he might hurt Obi-Wan. He kept his son safe, he owes him. Speaking of, don’t you have a child? How old is she, again? It would be Good for her to make friends, wouldn’t it? :)

Palpatine is just like... sitting back and eating evil popcorn as Vader runs around, ruining people's lives by trying to be less of The Worst than before.

Palps barely has to do anything, Anakin's fucking it up on his own!

Could have been just a sly "Kenobi is so attached to young Luke, but now that you've been reunited with your son, perhaps he'd be happier with a child of his own?" Come at it from both "make Obi-Wan happy" and "protect your relationship with Luke" angles.

Vader: I can't have babies anymore due to what you did to me on Mustafar. Obi-Wan: So you're punishing me by forcing me to have them instead? Vader: No! Children are a gift that you have been cruelly denied by the Order that held us in its chains! Obi-Wan: ...oh, right, you're insane. Forgot about that. Somehow.

Big dramatic speech about how the Jedi Order spent so long making them take lives, he’s giving Obi-Wan a chance to create it! To put something good and bright into the world!

Poor Cody is like. "General, I am very fond of you but I'm having a million panic attacks at the same time because of the mind control, and also Vader is under the impression that we're in love and I need to be your stud? I wasn't aware you could have children--" "I can't. Or at least, I couldn't, but Anakin is... creative." "...what."

I don't want to actually objectify Cody in the narrative past the point that Obi-Wan himself is, because nnnnngh racism and clone stuff, so I'm going to say Cody was in love with Obi-Wan, and would have been okay with at least discussing the whole baby schtick if not for the absolutely horrible circumstances.

Like if the war had ended normally, and Obi-Wan had expressed a desire to retire, unlikely as that was, then Cody may have suggested a dinner, and they could have gotten married and then eventually adoption...

(Cody had a lot of fantasies he didn’t let himself think about too hard.)

But no. It's this... weird Vader-inspired bullshit.

I'm just so invested in Vader trying to help but making things legitimately a million times worse.

He wants to help :) Oh god, he wants to help.

Why aren't people more appreciative of how hard I'm helping them? - the Anakin Skywalker story

With less time to stew and also getting handed what he wants, Vader could absolutely flip on a dime the second he saw Luke being protected, and go from “I hate you” to remembering that Obi-Wan said he loved him, and now he must keep Obi-Wan safe out of debt and he just... he’s playing house.

Vader throws Obi-Wan a baby shower after the pregnancy is confirmed. Bail is invited, because Obi-Wan doesn't have a lot of friends still alive. Vader decides Bail is top of the Obi-Wan’s Friends List.

This is the first time they've seen each other in two years. Obi-Wan is heavily pregnant despite Bail knowing full well he didn't have the plumbing for that before the Empire rose. Cody is there and emotionally exhausted but more lucid than most troopers. Luke is running up to Leia because New Friend!!!

....there may be MORE of the 212th and 501st at the baby shower, with “kill all Jedi” orders revoked, of course. But it will keep the children safe!! And Cody and Obi-Wan can see their surviving friends!!

Cody: I'd be much happier to see my surviving troopers if they didn't all still have chips in their heads. Obi-Wan: I feel much the same. Vader: [404 error]

Bail and his family might be there at blaster point, but aren't you happy to see them, Obi-Wan??

Obi-Wan's endless trauma is honestly somewhat curtailed by the incessant need to facepalm at Vader’s bullshit

Obi-Wan and Cody both outwardly have a very "there are much worse people I could be stuck with in this situation but obviously I wish I'd had a choice, no hard feelings" attitude at each other.

Internally, Cody is suffering because this is NOT how he wanted his crush to be realized, and Obi-Wan is just suffering, period.

Cody: How did he even choose which of us ends up pregnant? Obi-Wan: He thinks I need to be protected, and that he needs to keep me safe. Cody: ...he does realize that you're better at-- Obi-Wan: Cody, he's completely lost it. No! He doesn't realize!

I feel like over the course of the year or two this plot unravels towards Palpatine getting murder-deposed and Anakin getting locked down, part of the driving force to Vader not being Vader anymore is that Luke actually really loves Uncle Obi and always starts fussing and going "Ben's sad" whenever Vader dismisses what Obi-Wan wants in favor of what Vader thinks Obi-Wan wants, and Vader can't deny his child anything.

Luke cries because Palpatine Feels Wrong like, once or twice, and Anakin goes “oh, okay, assassination time.”

#Obi Wan Kenobi #Anakin Skywalker #Luke Skywalker #Commander Cody #Codywan #Darth Vader #Bail Organa #star wars #dubcon #situational dubcon #nonconsensual surgery #medical abuse tw #forced pregnancy tw #nonconsensual body modification #Vader Tries to Help AU #Phoenix Posts #dead dove do not read #dead dove

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lostinthewiind · 3 years

Note

I don’t know if you write for them as well, but could I request a poly fic for Reki, Langa and the reader and maybe them explaining them explaining their relationship to Langas and/or Rekis mom after being caught cuddling together? Thank you in advance and sorry, if you don’t write for them.

Polyamorous Relationship w/ Reki & Langa: Three's a Crowd

A/N: my first request for Reki and Langa! I'm so excited because I love those boys with my whole heart; they deserve the world! So excited to write this!

Rating: PG13

Warnings: use of the term "slut", complex teenage relationships/sexuality discussed

Flopping over onto your back on the bed, you stretched your arms and legs out and let out a loud yawn. You, Reki, and Langa had been working on homework ever since the three of you had arrived at Langa's house after school and you were starting to get mentally exhausted.

"I'm done!" you exclaimed, shutting your eyes and exhaling.

Peeking at you from where he was lying on the floor, Reki cocked a brow at you. "You finished all of it?"

"No." You shook your head. "I'm just done. My brain hurts. If I do any more I think I might die."

"Good enough for me!" Reki closed his textbook as well and stopped doing his homework too.

Sighing from his spot at his desk, Langa turned in his desk chair to face the two of you. "We have to have this done for tomorrow. You do know that, right?"

"Yes, obviously." You rolled your eyes. "I'm going to do the rest later. I just need a break."

"Exactly. Break time!" Reki stood up from the floor and promptly fell down on top of you on Langa's bed, crushing you and pushing the air out of your lungs in the process. "I'll finish later too."

Langa scoffed. "Y/N I believe . . . but Reki, we all know you'll forget about it tonight and end up scrambling to finish as the teacher goes around collecting it tomorrow morning."

"He does have a point," you wheezed out, trying your hardest to push Reki off of your stomach.

Reki frowned and stuck his bottom lip out dramatically. "You guys are so mean to me." He adjusted himself on top of you so his face was hovering right above yours. "I expected this from Langa, but you, Y/N? I thought you loved me."

You forced out a laugh as you cupped his face with your hands. "I do love you, but that doesn't mean you don't have faults, Reki. I love you despite your faults, and one of your faults is procrastination."

He furrowed his brows, his face scrunching up in thought. "I can't tell if that was a compliment or not."

"The gist was that you're loved," Langa muttered as he continued working away at the homework one question at a time, trying his best to ignore the two of you.

Reki's eyes lit up at that. "Well, good!" He smiled as he cupped your face with his hands in return and pressed a soft kiss to your lips.

Immediately, your cheeks turned red and you averted his gaze. Things between the three of you were still relatively new and you were still working out how a relationship with three people worked, exactly. The fact that neither one of you had ever really had a serious relationship before only made things more complicated.

Noticing your reaction, Reki brushed the pads of his thumbs over your cheeks. "Sorry," he apologized. "I should have asked before I kissed you."

"No, it's okay," you assured him, a soft smile on your face as you did so. "I'm just not used to it yet, especially since our relationship isn't exactly . . . normal."

"I know." Reki hugged you tight and buried his face in your neck, pressing a soft kiss to the skin there. "Did you tell your parents yet?"

You shook your head as your heart began to pound nervously. "No. Did you?"

"Not yet," he mumbled into your neck. "Every time I try to, one of my siblings is around and I abort mission."

Craning your neck, you looked over at Langa. "Did you tell your mom yet, Langa?"

Only half-listening to the conversation, Langa perked at his name but tilted his head quizzically at the inquiry. "Did I tell my mom what?"

"About us," Reki clarified. "The three of us being together."

"Oh." He seemed to grow nervous about the topic as well. "Not yet. Soon."

Finally rolling off of you, Reki laid on his back and pulled you into his side, his arm wrapped around you and your head resting on his chest. "If only we were adults and didn't have to worry about the approval of our parents."

"Yeah," Langa agreed, thoroughly distracted from his homework now, his mind running a mile a minute while he thought about the current predicament. The three of you had to be careful when you went over to each others' houses, trying your best to convince everyone that you were just close friends and nothing more.

Cuddling and kissing were usually reserved for late nights when the sun went down, the lights were turned off, and the three of you hid behind the excuse of watching a movie together. Funnily enough, watching a movie together and cuddling had been how the three of you had discovered your feelings for one another.

"Speaking of that, you two should be careful." Langa gestured to the way you and Reki were holding each other on his bed. "What if my mom walks in?"

"Yeah, you're right," Reki sighed. "I just feel like we never get to be together how we want . . . we're worried about what our parents will think at home and worried about what everyone else will think at school. Nevermind the fact that Langa and I are gay, or, bisexual I guess . . . but polyamory? We'd never hear the end of it."

You exhaled slowly, cuddling closer to Reki. "They'd probably call me a slut for having two boyfriends."

Standing from his chair, Langa walked over to the bed and laid down with you and Reki, forgetting about all of his usual paranoid worries for the time being. "You're not a slut," he told you, wrapping his arms around you as well. "And who cares what anyone else thinks anyway, right? As long as we're happy and we're not hurting anyone else, that's all that matters."

Relishing in the feeling of having your two favourite people on either side of you, you started feeling the stress fade away and your body relax from its usual tense state. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

Before either Reki or Langa had the chance to respond, the bedroom door suddenly swung open and Langa's mom poked her head into the room. "Langa, are you friends staying for dinner or-" She stopped talking as soon as she saw the three of you tangled up in one another on the bed.

Immediately, the three of you jumped away from each other, the stress that had just left filling your body once more. Completely caught off guard since Langa's mom usually knocked first before opening the door, neither one of you knew how to explain away what she had just seen.

"M-mom!" Langa was standing on the opposite side of the room now while you and Reki stood on either side of the bed. "Why didn't you knock?"

Langa's mom eyed the three of you, quickly noticing the flushed faces and obvious nerves radiating off of you. Even if she hadn't thought anything of what she had seen at first, she definitely suspected something now with how the three of you were acting.

"I apologize," she said, pushing the door open all the way and standing in the doorway. "Langa, dear, do you have something you want to tell me?"

Fiddling nervously with his fingers, Langa turned to look at you and Reki, trying to gauge your reactions and decide whether he should tell the truth or try to pull off some sort of lie; but both you and Reki were completely useless as you stared down at the floor and shifted anxiously.

"Langa?" His mom prompted once more.

Finally meeting his mother's gaze, Langa drew in a deep breath. "Can you promise not to be mad?"

Langa's mother quirked a brow quizzically. "You're starting to worry me, honey. Just tell me what's got you so flustered."

"Well . . . u-um," Langa stumbled over his words, completely unsure how he was supposed to just come out and say it. "Well, Mom . . . Reki, Y/N, and I aren't . . . aren't just friends."

Langa's mother folded her arms over her chest and took a minute to process what she had just heard. "I'm sorry, I don't think I understand what you're trying to tell me."

Deciding to rescue Langa from having to ride solo on this, you stepped over to him and took his hand in yours. "Mrs. Hasegawa, Langa and I are dating," you told her.

"Oh, I see." Langa's mom's face flashed with understanding, but then she looked over at Reki, no doubt wondering how he fit into all of this.

"And I'm dating Y/N." Reki stood on the other side of you.

Langa nodded. "And I'm also dating Reki."

The understanding that had once been visible on Langa's mom's face had completely vanished after the three of you had elaborated. "S-so . . ." She paused as she tried to fit all the pieces together in her head. "So the three of you are all dating each other? Is that right?"

"Y-yes," Langa confirmed. "We know people will think it's weird but it's just what makes us happy and I just . . . just please don't be mad."

"Mad?" Langa's mother seemed offended at the insinuation that she could ever be mad at her son for, for lack of a better term, coming out to her more or less. "Oh, dear, I could never be mad at you for who you love."

Before either of you had the chance to process how well that conversation had just gone, Langa's mother was striding over to the three of you and pulling you all into a hug. "All that matters is that you're happy and healthy," she told Langa before looking to you and Reki. "And the same goes for the two of you. I don't know what your parents have said about this, but just remember that being happy and healthy is all that matters."

"Y-you're really okay with this?" Happy tears began to well in Langa's eyes. It was clear that he was overjoyed and shocked that his mother had been so accepting so easily.

Placing her hands on her son's face, Langa's mother smiled at him. "Of course, I am. Is it a little confusing for me? Sure. Do I know much about being in a polyamorous relationship? No. But if the three of you have discovered that this is what makes you happy, as I'm sure you have since you're all old enough to make your own decisions and know what's best for you, then I'm happy as well."

"Thank you!" Langa hugged his mom tightly, silent sobs escaping him as all the worry he had been carrying around for weeks dissipated and he was flooded with relief.

"I'll always love you, no matter what," Langa's mom told him as she glanced at you and Reki, who were starting to tear up as well. "Do your parents know as well?"

You and Reki shook your heads. "No, not yet," you said in unison.

"Well, I hope they are understanding," she told you. "And just know that the three of you are always welcome here."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hasegawa." Reki wrapped his arms around you and held you tight as you cried as well. "Really, thank you so much. We were all scared that everyone would think we were weird or gross."

"People are often scared of things that they think are different," Langa's mom explained to the three of you. "But that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with being different. I won't lie and say that everyone will be understanding, but the world is changing . . . don't assume the worst from people just yet; they might surprise you."

With that, Langa let go of his mother and engulfed you and Reki in a hug. Finally, the three of you had safe space where you could be together and not worry about judgmental people looking in on your relationship.

Overjoyed and unable to control his excitement, Reki planted kisses on both you and Langa—marking the first time either of you had dared show affection in front of someone outside of the relationship.

Hopefully, the first of many.

#sk8 the infinity #SK8 #lostinthewiind #fluff #polyamorous relationship with reki and langa #kyan reki #hasegawa langa #langa #reki #reader insert #fic request #x reader #polyamory #polyamorous relationships

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hxt1b · 4 years

Text

Why Can’t We? - Extended

Masterlist

Jaehyun x Reader

WC: 4.2k

Genre: Angst (YouTuber Reader x Idol Jaehyun)

Warning: Smut and Swearing

Original Post: Why Can’t We?

A/N: Hey thank you so much for the love on the original little blurb I wrote. I decided to write an extended version of it for you guys. I hope you like it! If you haven’t read the original I’ve linked it. This is sort of a part two but you could read this without reading the blurb as well hence why I don’t think it fits to call it a part two. Again the grammar may be iffy, I tried my best but things probably still slipped through, regardless I hope you guys like this. Let me know your thoughts. And if anyone wants to send me any requests you can go do that here. I appreciate them and will get to them as soon as I can!

You were slumped over your desk, staring at the work you had in front of you. Your business partner/ best friend was expecting this to be done by the end of the night. The video needed to be out by eight pm. It was already seven, you couldn’t focus though and you knew that if you called her and just explained to her that you fucked up. That you did the one thing you shouldn’t have. That you slept with Jaehyun. She’d help you. But you couldn’t process the fact yourself, you couldn’t process the emotions that were still running through you. You couldn’t believe that you ran. Yet you knew there was no other option. You knew how you felt about him, and Jaehyun never made any move to hide his feelings. Not from you.

But it wouldn’t work and you knew that, you were so wrapped up in your YouTube channel and all the other opportunities that were coming your way, and he was… well he was Jung Jaehyun. You couldn’t see yourself by his side. Not with how much you’d have to hide it, not with all his fans. They’d find out, your whole life was on the internet, his was too. It wouldn’t work, it would only lead to more heartbreak. Heartbreak at a greater scale one that you could not take.

You held yourself back as much as you could but last night you couldn’t. Not with the way he looked at you, his eyes showing every emotion he had inside him, not with the way his mouth felt against yours, the way his hands moved against your skin. You could still feel his breath on your skin.

A shiver ran down your spine and you were brought back to the computer in front of you. A video of you and your best friend staring back at you. You’d only edited the first four minutes, there was two hours' worth of footage waiting for you.

Sighing you grabbed your phone, biting your lip you kept yourself from looking at the missed calls you had from him and messages he had sent you. You ignored the burning in you to open them, to reply, to call him back. Instead, you called your friend.

Her happy voice coming through after the first ring.

“Hey, dude what’s up?”

“So listen, I uh I’m gonna need another hour to edit that video it’ll be a little late is that okay?” You said, your voice slightly shaking.

“Yeah yeah, that's fine.” Her voice fell to a concerned tone, “Is everything okay?”

“Sorry, yeah I just haven’t been having the best day ya know.” You ran your finger along the side of your desk as you spoke to her. Your mind wandering back to Jaehyun.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” She asked.

“No there’s nothing to talk about just one of those slow and tiring days.” You lied. She hummed on the other side of the line dropping the topic.

“Take your time with the video’s its fine if it goes up late we can put it up tomorrow too. Just send out a tweet.” You nodded even though she couldn’t see you.

“Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you.”

Hanging up you opened your Twitter app. Quickly typing out the tweet. You scrolled through your feed as your tweet blew up, you weren’t huge on YouTube but you had a decent amount of subscribers that your posting schedule mattered.

Minutes ticked by as you liked and replied to some tweets that came your way. But scrolling came to be a mistake. A thread about Jaehyun appeared on your feed and you couldn’t help but open it, your heart aching as the thread appreciated Jaehyun dimples. You loved his dimples as much as anyone else. The difference was that you had a front seat to him. You’d poked your finger into those dimples so many times over the span of time that you and Jaehyun had known each other.

Quickly closing the app you came face to face again with all the notifications regarding him. Blinking as your eyes stung you bit your lip again. There was only one option in your head again, you couldn’t handle the ache that your heart felt right now imagine if it was on a grander scale. You had to stop this now.

Opening his contact information on your phone you blocked his number, and on Instagram and every other platform he could contact you. Your vision blurred and your headached as you put your phone back down on your desk.

You couldn’t edit the video today anyway. Getting up from your desk chair you made your way to your bed and buried yourself under your blankets as a few tears slipped down your cheek.

Two weeks passed and Jaehyun was a mess, his head was somewhere else constantly, he couldn’t focus on his work. He couldn’t think straight. He just moved from day to day as he became more and more numb. He’d called you, texted you but you hadn’t returned anything. Short of going to your apartment, he’d done everything he could, and that was something he wasn’t going to do. Not after you blocked him.

He dropped his head into the palms of his hands, the bitter pain of the action hitting him again. You’d actually blocked him. The tears gathered in the corners of his eyes again but he blinked them away. But it all hurt, everything hurt. His head hurt from the anger he felt towards you, yet his heart ached for you. The fight in him tired him out daily. The other boys were noticing, Johnny had tried to talk to him about it but Jaehyun didn’t know what to say.

She fucked me and left, oh and while she left she ripped my heart out and stomped on it because there is no way she doesn’t know that I love her.

Jaehyun knew you were cautious, he could sense your fear. But when you slept together that day he’d hoped you’d forget it, that you’d understand that it could work. That with you he’d make it work. He’d hoped that you’d see it. But clearly, you hadn’t.

You hadn’t even given it a chance.

You saw him everywhere all of sudden. You blocked him but you still saw him everywhere. It had been a month since you’d last seen him and noting was easier. You’d lied to yourself then and you would lie to yourself now. Because this was for the best.

You sighed again as another clip of Jaehyun popped up in your Instagram feed. They’d just had another comeback and it was shaping into your biggest nightmare very fast. Scrolling again you came across a clip from a recent interview. He was smiling and laughing with Jungwoo. His dimples showing up as he threw his head back and laughed at something Jungwoo had said to him. Another sigh slipped out your lips as you scrolled again.

“Oh, my fuck. I swear Y/N if you fucking sigh again I’ll knock you out into next week.” Your best friend was staring at you from where she stood setting up the camera for today's shoot.

“What is even wrong with you. For the past month, you’ve been sad and angry and you constantly don’t want to talk about it and I respected that but today I’ve had enough.” Her hands had moved to her hips as she glared down at you.

Looking away from her you ran your tongue over your drying lips.

“Talk to me Y/N.” She demanded and before you knew it everything spilled out. From the day you met Jaehyun nine months ago, to all the flirting. You told her about all the dates you’d gone on, you even told her how you insisted on calling them friend dates. Watched movies in his room, kicking Jungwoo out so that it would be just the two of you. Making cakes in his kitchen and doing the most cliche things while making them. You told her all of it, how you slept with him and blocked him because you were scared. Obviously, she knew of Jaehyun she’d even met him on many occasions but she didn’t know the details, because for some reason your brain had told you that if your best friend knew them. That if you spoke of the events that the feelings would become real, that it would all become real.

“You're scared?” She questioned her face contorting into an expression bordering on disgust. “Scared. You?” She was sitting beside you a scowl embedded into her face.

“Dude, we don’t scare. We meet shit head-on. Our channel is thriving because we didn’t give in to the fear that we would fail. We got where we are with that practice. We don’t fear shit. Especially not the complicated shit because we always make it work we always try.”

She didn’t even blink as she spoke, you knew she was right, but it was easier said than done wasn’t it? But she was right you didn’t fear failure with your work and it paid off and you loved it.

“But it’s so much more complicated now. I don’t think I can fix this.”

“You have to try. Because I can’t stand this behaviour anymore. Fix it, babe, at least try and if it doesn’t work I’ll be here and we’ll move past it.” You nodded as she spoke. Glad that she was your best friend.

“So I should go talk to him? Apologize? Tell him what was going on in my head?”

“Yeah, dude just talk to him.” She looked at you expectantly as she got up and went back to fixing the camera angle.

“Okay can you set up the mic’s now, you can talk to him after we film. Now help me.”

Three hours later you were dragging your feet towards his dorm. You’d planned out what to say and how to say it, after you filmed, in your mirror. Your best friend giving you the thumbs up when you left.

Looking up as you neared the dorm, the air left your lungs. There he was walking towards you, smiling down at a beautiful girl. He looked happy. You watched them as they walked slowly talking about god knows what, your hands fisted at your side as she laughed at something he said. Your insides turned and you felt like you were gonna puke. But you had no right. You were the one who left, you uncurled your hand as your eyes began to sting.

What did you think was going to happen? That you’d leave him and he’d sit around waiting for you. That when you walked into his dorm today he’d take you back with open arms like you hadn’t left his bed and then blocked him on everything. You shook your head blinking back the tears.

You bit your lip and looked away from them. There was no way back into his life and it was clear and it was your fault., but you had to look at him again. Just one last time. Just to see that smile, those dimples one last time in person even if you weren’t the one he was smiling at.

Turning your head back to him your entire body froze. He was already looking at you. Stopped a few feet back from the entrance of the dorm. The girl digging around her bag for something. Your heart thumped in your chest, your blood flowing fast, the rush of it the only sound in your ears.

Your eyes stung again, you couldn’t cry. Not here. Turning away from him you walked away quickly. You needed to get away fast, he shouldn’t have seen you. You felt selfish that you’d stood there that long, that you’d tried to steal that last glance. You should have walked away sooner. The tears slipped down your cheeks, leaving cold wet trails in their wake.

A hand grabbed your wrist, whipping you around. You didn’t look at him, you couldn’t. His hand tightened around your wrist.

“So you’re gonna run away again?” You didn’t say anything back. What would you even say because the truth was yes. Yes, you were. He scoffed and dropped your hand, taking a step away from you.

“You're with a girl, you’re happy I don’t want to intrude.” You still weren’t looking at him, keeping your eyes trained on the ground to your left.

“Look at me.” He said his voice even. You refused.

“Look at me!” His tone was harsher, slowly you turned your head to him your eyes taking in his face, from far he had looked like the perfect Jaehyun you always saw, but up close you could see the slight darkness under his eyes, the paleness of his skin, the sadness in his eyes as yours finally locked onto them. “Do I look happy to you? That girl is my cousin.” You stayed silent not knowing what to say.

He let out a humourless laugh, “You don’t have anything to say. Why am I shocked?” He ran his hand through his hair and took a step towards you.

“Fine then let me talk. Let me tell you about how you fucked me up, how for the past month I’ve been trying to figure out what I did wrong to have you block me, to have you kick me out of your life so easily. What did I do that was so wrong.” His voice broke on the last word as tears began to trail down his face. You were frozen in your spot, your hands shaking at your side.

Everything that you’d wanted to say, everything you’d thought to say out your head. You watched as he broke down in front of you, your heartbreaking with each tear that ran down his cheek. Slowly you raised your hand taking a step closer to him, you hesitated only for a second before pulling him to you.

“Nothing. You did nothing wrong. I'm the one that fucked up. I'm the one that ran away, and I’m the one that is so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything Jaehyun.” His arms wrapped around your body pulling you into him, his hands fisting at the back fabric of your coat.

“I was scared, scared about everything. Scared that it would all only hurt us more in the end. I was trying to make it easier.” This time your voice cracked as you began to cry. His arms tightened around you.

“I'm so sorry, I’m so stupid. I ran away and I’m so sorry.” It was hard for you to talk through your tears. You tried to calm down by taking in breaths of air. You needed to stop crying. “Please forgive me.”

You looked up at him, his eyes were red from his tears that had stopped. His eyes softened as they took in your face. He didn’t say anything to you just moved his face to yours, softly pressing his lips against yours.

“Let me make it up to you.” You said pulling away from his lips.

You pulled him into your apartment, taking your coat off and throwing it onto your couch. Prompting him to do the same. You grabbed his hand once his coat was off and pulled him into your bedroom. Your mouth returning to his as soon as you closed the door. The kiss was slow and soft, both of you taking each other in. Pulling away from him you looked at his face, his brown eyes dark you were sure you reflected the same desire back to him that you saw. Pressing your lips back to his you let your hands trail down his chest as his stayed planted on your waist. Weaving your hand under his shirt you raked your cold fingers ups his abs earning a shiver from him. You smiled pulling away from him and pulled his shirt up over his head and tossed it aside.

Your breath hitched as you took in the sight of his bare torso, pressing yourself back to him you pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his jaw, softly sinking your teeth into the same spot before sucking the skin into your mouth. Jaehyun moaned, his hands moving up the back of your t-shirt pulling you against him. You could feel his member hard and pressed against you in-between the both of you.

Licking the spot to soothe the sting you pressed a kiss to the slowly darkening mark, before moving further down. You kissed down his chest, softly pressing your lips against his hot skin. You marvelled in the way his breathing became shallow as you moved onto your knees. Hooking your fingers into the buttons of his jeans you undid them pulled them down along with his boxers. You pushed him back towards your bed letting him step out the articles of clothing and sit down as you slowly wrapped your hand around his throbbing cock. He was already so hard. You looked up at him as you slowly moved your hand down before licking the tip, wiping away the moisture that had gathered there.

He groaned at your action, his eyes locked with yours as you made your way down his dick kissing down the underside towards his balls before sticking your tongue out and licking back up to his tip. His cock twitched in your hand as you wrapped your lips around his head. One of his hands twisted into the back of your hair softly grabbing your locks.

Jaehyun’s head fell back as you moved him further into your mouth, you went slow letting yourself feel each vein with your tongue as you fit him into your mouth. Soft moans spilled from him, flowing towards you as you begin to move him in and out of your mouth, using your hand to massage the rest of him that you couldn’t fit into your mouth.

A soft growl fell from his lips as he pulled you off him.

“You can finish that some other time.” He said, yanking you up into his lap you straddled him, as he kissed you roughly his tongue entering your mouth and quickly meeting yours. You moaned into him as his hands moved under your shirt one hand unclasping your bra.

“Fuck.” he cursed pulling away from you before pulling your shirt off and throwing it across the room. He tangled his hand in the hair at the back of your head again pulling you towards him to press his mouth to yours as you let your bra fall off and tossed it onto the ground. The thumb of his other hand drawing circles at your hip.

He stood up taking you with him, not breaking the kiss as he did. You groaned as his dick pressed against your clothed core, causing heat to rush through you. He tossed you onto the bed before quickly following you.

“I’m so fucked.” He said before pressing his lips into your neck, sucking the skin as you had done before on him. You moaned letting your hand fly to the back of his head as he moved down towards your chest, leaving open-mouthed kissed until he got your breast.

He lifted his head from you and stared at you, his eyes almost black with lust. Your breathing was laboured as he smirked at you before returning his mouth to your nipple. He harshly sucked it into his mouth pulling it up between his teeth. You let out a breathy moan, his name flowing out of your mouth, as your chest arched off the bed following his mouth. He laughed before letting your nipple pop out of his mouth and pushed up you back into the mattress before kissing over to your other breast copying his action before moving his kisses down your stomach.

You writhed under him as his mouth got closer to where you wanted him. Hooking his fingers into your legging he pulled them down leaving you in only your panties. He looked up at you before looking back down at your covered core. Your cheeks reddened as he smiled.

“Your so wet baby, you soaked through your panties.” His voice was thick with lust, his face showing on full display his desire for you.

“For you,” you panted back, as he pressed a finger to you over your panties.

“For me.” He whispered to himself before pulling your underwear down. He hovered his face over your clit, you could feel his breath teasing you. Bucking your hips towards him wanting him to do something already. You snaked your hand down to his hair.

“Please.” You whined pushing yourself up towards him again. He chuckled, taking your hand from his hair. He held it at your stomach pushing you down back to the bed before he ran his tongue up your slit. Your eyes closed shut as your loud moans filled the room. He repeated the action before taking your clit into his mouth sucking on the swollen nub.

“Jaehyun.” You whined moving your other hand to his hair only for him to grab it and hold it down next to your other one. You whined trying to move your hips but being unable to as he held you down. You couldn’t take it anymore. You needed him now.

“Baby please, you can finish that some other time.” You said stealing his words from earlier. “I need you.” He pulled back from you, his mouth covered in you. He let go of your hands letting you loop them around his neck as you pulled him back up to you. Immediately pressing your lips against his in a heated kiss, you tasted yourself on his tongue.

A deep moan fell from your lips as he slipped his cock between your folds slowly moving so that the tip was hitting your clit. His hand wrapped around your head weaving into the hair at the top as the other one knotted into the sheets next to your head.

He pressed his forehead against yours closing his eyes as he continued to repeat his action savouring the breathy moans that fell from your open mouth.

“Please.” You whined when you had as much as you could take, “I need you. Please.” You begged.

His breathing mirrored your own, harsh shared breaths as he lined himself up at your entrance, slowly pushing himself in. Your eyes fell shut at the stretch, you clenched around him as he took his time sliding into you taking in the feeling of your tight walls around him.

“Fuck,” He muttered against your mouth followed by a soft moan as he bottomed out. You both breathed heavily as he stayed still, agonizing seconds passed before he pulled back again before spanning his hips back to you. Your head twisted to the side as he picked up his pace. He bit into the soft skin of your jaw as he moved in and out of you.

The sound of his skin slapping against yours filled the room along with your moans, overwhelming your mind as he fucked you into a daze. You drowned in your head with every snap of his hips, you could feel him hitting your g-spot with each thrust pushing you closer you climax.

Sweat dotted his forehead as his thrusts sped up, throwing you off the edge into the depths. Your back arched off the bed, your chest pressing against his as he took your lips up with his swiping his tongue against yours mirroring the action of his hips as he thrust into you harsher chasing after his release. You moaned his name but it sounded far off to your ears as you shook underneath him. Your walls clenching around his cock, finally his dick twitched and he came spilling himself into you. A loud moan leaving him followed by heavy breathing as he looked down at you. He let his head fall into the crook of your neck as you both came down from your highs.

“I’m so fucked,” He whispered to you. “Don’t run away from me again Y/N. I won’t be able to take it again.” He said and pressed a kiss to your shoulder.

“I’m not going anywhere Jaehyun.” You said stroking his back with your hand.

“Good because, Y/N, I really like you.” You turned your head to him, his eyes meeting yours as you did. You could see the emotion in his eyes, you could see the truth behind his words, the real words he’d wanted to say.

“I really like you too, Jaehyun.” You said, also keeping the grander emotion with you. For now. You had plenty of time to say it to him. To hear it from him, because you weren’t going anywhere, but the three words rattled around your brain, your heart your entire being as you looked at him before pressing your lips against his.

I love you.

492 notes · View notes

gb-patch · 3 years

Text

Ask Answers: July 10th

I really let asks get away from me lately. I was super focused on working on that Patreon Moment. With that done I can finally think about doing other things, so here’s a new collection of answers!

Thank you for sending in questions everyone ^^.

For the new Patreon moment, will you be able to reference it in step 4? Or just like a tiny nod to it if you pick certain choices?

There won’t be. I’m sorry if you were hoping for that! The Patreon moment is meant to be entirely optional, it’s not something that gets you extra content in the main game.

Is the new CG artist the main one now? :0 I’ve noticed theres been a difference in the art style recently. Is the old CG artist still going to make art for the game? :0

The original artist still makes CGs for the game sometimes, but he mainly focuses on character sprites.

Are you going to put the NSFW our life moment on a website other than patreon? I would love to get it but I can't use patreon atm.

I don’t know. I'm afraid we can't release the Patreon Moment on a normal game storefront because we can't mix 18+ content with our family friendly game. If there's some other place similar to Patreon where it's not the normal type of full-scale public content releases we'd consider using that, but I’m not sure if there is another site that’s better than Patreon in that regard. I'm sorry.

Out of curiosity, in all of your games so far, which characters in each were the most fun to write? They obviously don't have to be your favorite characters!

Buffalo Seer in AFA, really everyone in XOD/XOBD is pretty equally entertaining to write, The Guide in LoV, and Cove in OL!

idk if you accept "personal" questions, but is there anything you've been watching/ listening to lately

Mostly, I’ve been watching/listening to Authortube videos as of late! It’s people who talk generally about the process of how books become traditionally published and/or share their own experience as they attempt to be published. I don’t have an interest in writing normal text based books, but it’s really interesting to hear about that world. I’m listening to a video about royalties right now as I answer these asks.

Will one of the desserts we get to pick be fudge? That'd be such a cute reference!

Haha, yeah, it should. Unless I completely blank on it and forget when trying to include the various referential food options.

I don't know if this has been asked previously but what would be the approximate heights for the presets MC can choose from Step 2 ~ 4? Are there any measurement you had in mind? Sorry if I didn't make myself clear kk I've been struggling with my English lately 💀

I don’t know, ahah. I didn’t have any numbers in mind for that. So it’s whatever you imagine it is!

I noticed a bug with the Patreon moment when it comes to what your character wears. When Jamie and Cove are kissing while my character only had dresses selected, I had both the option to remove the dress or to remove the shirt... Picking one of the options to interact with Cove, after he removed his shirt, it had Jamie remove their shirt followed by ther pants despite only having dresses picked.

Thank you for reporting ^^

I keep refreshing steam to see when the new doc for xobd will be released. I noticed you haven't posted anything about it in quite some time. Would it be possible to ask about a timeline/potential date? (If it's even this year—) I know you and your team are probably working super hard, I'm just super curious! ~Thank you!~

There are more stories done, I just haven’t gotten around to publicly releasing them. Hopefully I will have a chance to spend the time on that sooner rather than later!

hello!! i’m not sure if it’s an update but i’ve just replayed our life and at the end i can’t propose to cove anymore? :(( i’ve actually tried playing twice but the options are not there anymore, did you guys remove the options? i’m sorry if you’ve answered this before!! thank you and have a good one :)

I’m afraid things haven’t been changed or removed, so I think you might’ve accidentally picked the wrong things somewhere along the way and locked yourself out of being able to propose by mistake. Sometimes you meant to say you want to get married but instead you mis-click and have it so the MC isn’t thinking about marriage or something. All I can suggest is starting from the beginning of Step 3 and making sure to follow the steps listed in the FAQ. I’m sorry for that.

Did yall remove some of the options for when youre making out with Cove in the charity moment? I could've sworn you could grab his bonkadonk and its not there anymore

This is the same situation as the above. We didn’t remove things and you’re not wrong that there are sometimes those options. But there are various choices you have to make to get those options and it sounds like you accidentally missed something. If your relationship isn’t long-term, you can’t do it for example.

HI IM SO EXCITED I CAN FINALLY GET THE STEP 3 DLC

Thank you for getting it!

Is Shiloh super totally straight bc I’m very gay and a huge Shiloh fan, would my man make an exception?😩

Sadly, he is one of our super straight characters. I’m sorry.

Hi, I have a very dumb question. In Step 2 does Cove not wanna share his drink with us at the mall (or rather why he stops drinking it) because it's an indirect kiss? Or is it like ...weird to him to share? Because if I remember right he eats off our spoon in the birthday scene right?

Yeah, he’s awkward about it because he likes the MC and it feels very personal to share a straw with his crush.

Hi! If you don't mind me asking, who is the artist for OL2? Their style is so pretty!

Thank you for saying so! This is her Twitter- https://twitter.com/redridingheart

Do Beginnings & Always and Now & Forever exist in the same universe?

Yep! XOXO Droplets also exists in the same universe. It’s one big GB Patch world, haha.

Do Pran's parents regret the way they raised him? Do they feel ashamed of it?

No. They’re the type of people best cut out because they’re not gonna change. Which is why Pran does go very limited contact when he’s an adult.

Hi! I just wrapped up my second playthrough of Our Life, and I absolutely adore it, but I had a question. I went to the gallery and found I was missing 2 CGS (specifically Step 1-3 and 2-3) and I had no clue where they would've shown up. Which moments are those found in?

You get it by telling Cove about his dad offering you money to be his friend in Step 1 and Step 2. You can’t get both in one playthrough, since you can only tell Cove the truth once. I’m really glad you liked it!

Hi hi! Please, how tall is Baxter and Derek? Love the game so much and I can't wait to see more!

I don’t know, aha. I think Baxter was around 5′10 and Derek was like 5′8/5′9, maybe. I really am not one who has specific heights for things in mind.

is adult cove a bottom, top, or switch?

A switch, though would choose the top if he had to pick.

I was wondering if there is a way to transfer save data? Even if through the game files. I wanted to be able to transfer my save data from my desktop over to my laptop so that I could continue playing right where I left off from but I'm not entirely sure how to go about that.

If you save the save folder/persistent data of the game from your desktop and put it into the game folder on your other device, that could work.

Hi! Is it possible for us to know the date when our life: now and forever comes out on steam? Sorry if you've mentioned it before but I haven't seen it and I'm looking foward to that happening and just wanted to know :)

It’s gonna be a long time, I’m afraid. There’s no estimate right now.

I started playing Our Life with my sister a while ago, and I think you guys should know that we discovered your secret. >:)

L from death note and Cove are clearly the same person, and this whole game is just an origin story!!

I’ve never seen that show so I’m sorry to say I don’t understand the connection/reference you’re trying to make. I’m pretty out of the loop when it comes to media. I don’t watch movies or TV.

Will OL2 have options for disabled MCs?

I understand if it's too complicated, just curious

Unfortunately, it’s not really something we have a plan for. We couldn’t finish the game if we tried to include every disability and have it be meaningful. It’d just be too much content to create. But if we decide to only include a few, how would we choose which disabilities get to be represented and which are left out? I don’t know. It’ll probably have to be something we don’t include as an option again, sadly. I’m sorry.

playing our life > anything else

Haha, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.

Honestly, I would like to thank Our Life for helping me come to terms with my sexuality. Before, I never would've actually thought that it was possible to like boys romantically and still be asexual. Almost all of the BL visual novels I've read had unskippable sexual content in them and it honestly just didn't click with what I feel. I'm glad I found Our Life. I love the game, the developers, and this fandom so much. Now, I can safely come out as homoromantic AND asexual (at least anonymously here anyway; my parents are still huge homophobes 😂).

Aw, it’s great to hear you felt comfortable being yourself in the game! That’s wonderful. I’m really sorry about your parents, though.

Will the demo for OL2 be on android? Really not sure if I could wait any longer than I have to aha

Yeah, it’ll be available for Android once we eventually release a demo!

Do all these reveals perhaps mean development is progressing ahead of schedule? Please let that be the case I'm already obsessed with Qiu

No, sorry, aha. Art comes along much faster than script/programming-work for us. It’s gonna be a long time before the game is a finished thing you can actually play. But at least we can look at the beautiful images.

Hey! First of all I wanna say I reallllllyyyyy loooovvveeee Our Life and XOXO Droplets! I have over 300 hours of playtime on Our Life… Anyways, I was just wondering, are the Derek and Baxter DLCs going to come out at the same time? If not, which one do you plan to release first? :3

They will come out separately and Derek will be first! Glad you like the game.

I keep replaying Our Life to get every possible iteration and I am loving it <3 I was wondering if Cove gets locked out of his confession because MC was talking to Lee, would it be possible to confess to him in step 4?

Yeah, you can avoid the confession in Step 3 and then get it in Step 4.

Hi, my Cove wears bracelets through step 2 and 3 but I still don't get an option to give him a bracelet? I didn't even know that was possible until I seen someone else ask about it lol

Hm, did you use the Cove creator? Maybe there’s a bug where using the creator to add bracelets doesn’t fulfill the requirement to give Cove a bracelet in Step 3.

Wait, I'm dense, when does Baxter appear in step 2? Is it from big park firework? I feel so bad since i really love Baxter and waiting to buy his dlc.

It’s in the Soiree Moment. You have to be just friends with Cove, indifferent, or crushing but not ask Cove to the dance at all. Then while there you can find someone new to dance with. But if you bring Cove to the dance while crushing, the MC won’t wanna dance with anyone else so you can’t get the scene.

In step 2 when we go to the soiree I made my mc go alone and baxter chooses the mc to dance, i'm curious, why did he pick the mc? sorry if this has been asked before!

Because the MC looked to be around his age, seemed to also be searching for a partner, and had nice legs. A perfect option for him.

I read some of the FAQs, and I saw that we could tell Baxter about the condo that he rented there was previously the mean old grandparents. how do we get the mc to tell him that?

It happens in the DLC Moment “Late Shift”. If you don’t have a job you instead get a longer scene with Baxter.

I don’t know if you’ve addressed this or not, but are you planning on paying voice actors for our life: now and forever?

Yeah, we pay our VAs in all our projects.

hey can i ask how you did the moments thing in ol? im trying to get into making visual novels and while im VERY sure its out of my comfort zone and all that atm i kinda wanna know just for the future, bc im p sure it would work well for something i wanna do :O but its also fine if you cant say for other reasons :>

I’m afraid I’m not sure what you mean. Are you asking how we programmed the screen or something script related? Adding Moments like that is pretty straightforward, though. You just have buttons that open to different labels and then the scripts are essentially individual short stories/vignettes. Good luck with your VN!

Since Autumn becomes gender fluid later in the game, will there be a character who remains as he/him to romance in game?

OL1 has the he/him LIs, OL2 is all about other genders.

I don't want to impose on your creative plans, but a parrot could possibly make a good pet in an OL-type game? They're pretty long-lived and likely to still be thriving by the end even if the MC got them back in step 1.

I do appreciate the suggestion, but I’m afraid it’s not likely going to happen. I understand there are technically some animals that could theoretically live long enough to last the whole game that or we could have the MC only get a pet after some years have already passed. But the many things that would have to be considered/accommodated for makes it just something we probably can’t manage adding. I’m sorry.

As time passes will we be able to see Qiu and Tamarack's other stage arts as well?

They are both so cute i can't wait to be friends with them!

Yeah, we’ll show content from other Steps in the future. It’ll be a little while from now, though.

Can you date Cove and still have your family comfort you in the car?

You can’t get Cove’s Step 3 confession scene if you have the family comfort you in the car. But that’s not the only way to date him. You can get together with him earlier in the game or later on in Step 4.

Is Mc always going to be the one walking down the aisle or could Cove do it? Also could you choose to have one of your moms walk you?

No. Cove wouldn’t want to walk down the aisle like that and the MC automatically respects that. And the MC also gets to have their preferences respected, so it’s up to you whether they want to do an aisle walk or not. You also can pick who, if anyone, walks with you.

Once step 4 is out, will you be able to go the whole game on crush/love without either of you confessing?

Yes, as long as you tell the game you don’t want to progress the relationship. Even in Step 4 it won’t force you to officially get together.

Howdy, so in Step 4, there will be any Romance with Derek that is not part of any dlc?

He’s only a friend unless you get his romance story.

Will the step 4 in OL2 be one big step or are you considering moments?

Step 4 is just an epilogue in both games.

hi kind of a weird question but!! we know tht cliff doesn't start dating again but. wht abt flings? like does he ever do 1 night stands or anything? thank u!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nope. Cliff has a very small interest in sex. If he’s not in a real relationship with a partner he’s crazy about it simply isn’t something he feels a need for, so one night stands wouldn’t even cross his mind.

sorry if you've already answered this, but i was wondering if there were plans for there to be bonus love interests in OL2 like how we have derek and baxter in OL1.

Maybe! There are side characters who could be given romance stories, but whether or not it will happen depends on funding and how long everything else takes to finish.

I don't know if i'm allowed to ask about ol2 here yet, if not u can ignore this or answer it later. My question is can you date one of them and be good friends with the other? I don't want to be strangers with the other bcs i love them both a lot :<

Yes you can!

what patreon level do i have to be to unlock the nsfw moment? im on the $5 one right now, will that give me access to the moment, or just access to the moment progress?

That’ll give you access! Tier 2 and anything higher allows the player to download it.

#our life #ask #gb patch #gb patch games #all projects #Our Life Beginnings & Always #Our Life: Now & Forever

160 notes · View notes

luimagines · 3 years

Note

the boys with a merperson s/o (or crushing on them) scenarios or headcannons?

Masterlist

MERMAIDS!! OCTMERS!! Crustacean mers? Shark mers?

...It's not mermay... It’s belated mermay since I’m sure I actually got this request by the end of it.

BUT I can do this regardless!

The possibilities are endless.

These are when they’re in their own Hyrule. Without the group, so to speak.

Headcanon time! but also like half scenario?

Content under the cut!

Legend

You are a mermaid or merman

Just a typical mer

Obviously you meet when he’s exploring with his mermaid tail.

You thought he was from far away because you’ve never seen him before nor was his accent similar with pods across the reef.

You ask your friends and neighbors if they knew him but no one could say where he was from.

And he wasn’t exactly forthcoming with any answers, always telling you something else to change the subject.

But regardless of his secrecy you enjoyed his company and his stories.

Sometimes you would find things from the surface and give them to him

You noticed he liked to collect things from above and thought it would make him happy

You were always trying to find things that would make him happy

He seemed to be full of hurt and bitterness

But you knew him to be a kind and sincere soul so you didn’t want him to hurt anymore than he already has.

But you get curious one day.

“Link, where do you live?”

“In land.”

“But if you’re a fresh water mer, how can be out here in the ocean?”

He stalls and blinks at you.

“I’m not a mer.”

That’s throws you for a loop.

“But... you’re tail....???”

You ask more questions

And Legend complies because he totally thought you knew he was Hylian.

That would explain why no one knew where he was from.

He was one of the dry dwellers.

You’re quick to ask him about his travels and he tells you

He finds comfort in someone else knowing what he’s been through and being able to talk everything out.

He also finds more comfort in the water and finds himself thinking about you even when he’s by rivers and lakes

But you wouldn’t survive in fresh water

He begins to bring over some of his more water worthy items to show you

And impress you

But he’s not being honest with himself

So he tries to keep you as close as he can and visit you as often as he can when his blacksmithing apprenticeship lets him get away from time to time

His feelings are slow going

But they’re there.

But he’s pretending they’re not there

Your feelings are also slow going

You confuse them with admiration and curiosity

So of course nothing is actually happening

You’re both being idiots

But your feelings are requited.

Everyone who’s witnessing this is in agony.

Hyrule

You are a fresh water mer!

Hyrule can’t swim so he’s got inclined to go out into the ocean any time soon.

Or into any lakes for that matter.

But he does spend a lot of time near rivers when he has to chance to relax for a change.

It’s where you see him first actually

You were swimming up river from your home to check out what may have been left behind.

You were intrigued by him

But he saw you and ran, not wanting to interact with you incase you were about to attack him

It hurt to see that but you were determined to get to know him

It took months

Mostly because he didn’t go back to that spot for a long time

Next time he appeared you were farther back and raised your hand, waving to him slowly

He stared at you like a deer in headlights

But you stayed your distance

It a reoccurring process.

Each time you’d get a little closer but try to be as non-confrontational as possible

When Hyrule felt at ease enough with your pretense that you could be right next to him, you finally told him your name

He told you his.

Your friendship was grow at a quicker rate than before and you thought he was incredibly interesting

With even more time, you manage to get him into the water and try to teach him how to swim.

You have to take a while to get around how his limbs work verses how you typically swim but somehow you both make it work

Hyrule is a little less afraid of the water now that you’ve been by his side but he still avoids it when you’re not with him

One day you get a little bold and take him to your lake

He’s quick to join you but he won’t go to where the water goes above his head.

It’s a little frustrating to you because you weren’t going to hurt him

You want to show him your home

Even if it was under water

You tell him such

And you can see him consider the option and the possibilities.

“You’ll lead the way?”

You grin and take his hand.

“It’s not like you’d know the way.”

“I can’t breath under water though.”

“I can help with that.”

There’s a magical ability your people possess that when gifted willingly will grant to recipient the ability to breath underwater.

You tell him such with a small blush on your face

It’s something you’ve been wanting to give him for awhile but...

You could see how long it took for Link to warm up to you

And you’d hate to ruin what you have

But your boldness speaks ahead of you.

“What is it?”

“We call it the Stolen Breath.”

“But what is it?”

“...”

You gulp and float on your back to avoid eye contact.

“A kiss.”

You can feel him stare at you in silence for a hot second before he takes a breath.

“Ok.”

Four

You were a river dolphin mer!

Because of Four’s job he’s mostly landlocked so he’s not exactly going to be going to the ocean any time soon.

But there’s plenty of rivers nearby for him to visit in whatever free time he can buy for himself.

When he first meets you it’s not because of those times though.

He actually heard about you through the minish first.

They talked about how you helped them and what you do to keep the place safe, and occasionally you let them ride on your back for a small fee.

The fee is stories of the land beyond.

Intrigued, Four visited your river in hopes of finding you

And he did.

As a minish.

He kept visiting you both out of curiosity and because well...

He thought you were cool.

That being said, you thought he was just another minish and had adored your new found little friend who always seemed so happy to see you.

When Four heard about your fee, he gladly told you about all his adventures, his friends and how he saved the world time and time again

You didn’t believe him at first but loved a good story when you could hear one so you let him talk

Some of the details seemed familiar, when the minish would talk about their savior and friend- The Hero of the Four Sword or The Hero of Men

You asked him about it- why he knew some details that the other minish left out

He stalls and hesitates to let you know the truth

With a small breath, he promises you that when he comes back, he’ll let you know why

You expect him to come back in a week or two like usual but he comes back the next day and leads you to one of the minish doors.

Before your eyes you see him hop through it and come back as a hylian

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Four winces and begins to nervously wring his hands together.

“Does that mean you’re the hero?” You grin and jump out of your river.

“Yes.”

That means all of his stories are true!

You stare at him and begin to feel a little giddy.

“Tell me everything!”

Four smiles a little to himself as he relaxes.

“What else haven’t I told you yet?”

“Well... What do you do when you’re not the hero?”

Four grins wider and sits down on the wet rock next to you.

“Not a whole lot.”

“Tell me anyway.”

Time

You were a hermit crab mer!

Time, similar to Four, is mostly landlocked and as such doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to go to the ocean

But Lake Hylia is definitely within his reach

And considering that you had your shell to keep you from drying out completely on dry land, you had the ability to travel on land for a day or two before you had to return

You were still chained to the water but so much as the others you knew to exist

Time had met you when he was younger, exploring the lake in its entirety with his Zora mask

That being said, he thought he was initially a zora

Your relationship was a little shaky at first.

He had attacked you at first, not knowing what you were or whether you proposed a threat or not

And you had attacked him in turn because the zora were never really welcome near your home- they looked down on you for claiming to be a superior species and they could keep that attitude away from you, thank you very much

When you disengaged, you yelled at him for being a prick and attacking you when you did nothing wrong- even throwing in some less than welcome zora stereotypes of the era toward his face

Later on you grow to really hate that moment- and it embarrasses you every time you think about it but Link laughs

Mostly because in his mind and how he remembers it- he deserved it 100%

It was weeks after when Link had enough of the guessing games and faced you head on to explain himself and apologize.

However you were in the water this time around and he was once again wearing the mask

It took nearly three years of your friendship for you to even learn that he was actually hylian

Which complicated your feelings somewhat

Because as a zora, he was quick to put down your inner prejudice against them by just being himself

Enough so that you thought that maybe there was something happening between you two

But knowing that he was hylian- and could not actually breath under water or spend any more time with you than his life expectancy would allow- hurt you a lot

You had distanced yourself from him for a while as you digested this

Link obviously took it wrong way entirely

He thought you had cut him off from your life and had nothing else to do with him

He wasn’t entirely sure of his feelings at the time

But thought of you cutting him off was painful

He wasn’t sure how to fix it- or even if he could

In the time you were stewing and trying to figure out if this actually changes anything in your relationship, Link was trying to find anything little thing he could get to impress you and express how much he cares for you

Coincidentally, you both look for each to make up on the same day

Link with something shiny and obnoxious for you to add to your steadily growing collection of nick nacks

And you with a confession on your tongue and your heart on your sleeve

Naturally, nothing goes to plan and you don’t confess

Link for his part feels infinitely better about you not shunning him in disgust or heartbreak

You’re glad that he still wants to spend time with you, even if you will eventually out live him

But you’re both young and tenderly feeling this out

There’s still a chance for you two, you think.

There’s still time to let him think about it and for you to try again

Keep going.

Warrior

You were a squid mer

The bioluminescent kind

Warrior actually thought that you were a weird type of zora

From an area that he had yet to see or experience

He was shocked at first when you made your appearance at the surface and screamed

A very manly scream

You shot back down into the water and kept only your eyes above the water

He stared with child like interest after the initial scare when you stared to glow

You stared at each other for a really long time

He was the first Hylian that you’ve seen

You thought that he was cute

Like newly hatched guppies or a jellyfish

You pulled yourself up onto the dock, your extra limbs carrying you with easy strength until you were face to face with him

He was smaller than you thought he would be and you thought that he was missing a few necessary limbs

Your arms caress him with piqued curiosity

He’s tense and panicked but you’ve shown no sign of hostility so he’s refraining from reaching for his weapon.

You pull back after a few tense minutes and plop yourself back into the water.

It’s warmer than you’re accustomed to so you’re uncomfortable and the sun is beginning to rise on the horizon, making it a little brighter than your eyes can handle

You have to leave

But you hope that you can see him again

And you do

He’s a on ship during a storm

And he falls into the water

You’re quick to push through the warmer waters and grab him before the current can

You swim as fast as you can to the surface and hold his head above the water

He’s a coughing mess and tries to swim away from you in his efforts

You hold him close, not trusting his personal strength to fight the ocean

After a brief moment, he notices you and calms down

You’re quick to try and find some land

But you’re too far out into the water and it would take a while

You frown, holding him securely and pick a direction to go.

You force this smaller creature onto your back as you swim

It takes all night and you’re sure would have blinded yourself if you had to stay out any longer than you did

Warrior lets go when land comes, and begins to swim the rest of the way

He says something in his native tongue that you don’t understand but he salutes you

You copy the move and duck under the waves once more

Over multiple weeks afterwards you try to find him again. Continuously resurfacing to try and find him but you’re low on luck.

Until one day

He finds you

You were caught up by some deep sea fisherman, the zora working hard to keep you from destroying their net.

He’s on the docks where they bring you.

The light is killer and blinding and the heat starts to dry your skin.

He saves you in your vulnerability and says, “You save me. I save you. My name is Link. What’s yours?”

It’s your language

You reply before you can question how he speaks it

It’s a special necklace that he had Lana make

You’re back in the water before you know it

Relief comes over you like a tidal wave and you say your thanks to your new friend

Warrior then finds you after that again

And again

You think you like him

He’s not so sure why he likes being around just yet

But he’ll get there

Twilight

You were a crayfish mer!

Here’s the thing, Twilight is also pretty landlocked himself

He’s not exactly going to be by the ocean any time soon and he’s more inclined to relax by a lake than on a riverbank.

That being said, you meet at Lake Hylia.

Since you had a shell, it protected you from the sun and from drying out too fast on land.

Twilight’s first inclination is to freeze up on the spot because he thought you were an aquatic version of the Oocca.

And he wasn’t happy about it.

But you seemed friendly and he wasn’t raised by wolves, so he makes polite conversation with you

He thought it would stop there but nope

You somehow found him no matter where by the lake he was sitting

After awhile he got used to you and even welcomed your presence.

You were none the wiser about his discomfort and just thought he was a nice guy you could talk to to get the news from the land beyond.

You crushed on him first

Your home was buried by a strong storm one day and he wasted no time in helping you dig it out and get it back in working order

That was a love arrow straight through your heart and you were smitten ever since

Twilight had just begun his process wanting to be by your side

At this point he would visit Lake Hylia- not to see you (he wasn’t there yet)- but he would hope you would come and spend some time with him

You knew that you two were from very different words so you tried your hardest to keep your feelings to yourself

Your friendship actually lasted years before Twilight had to come to terms with himself and the thought he might like you

He doesn’t like the idea of falling in love only to have it ripped away from him again

But you can wait for him just as long as he needs to

With time he brings you little gifts

Small things made of glass and stone- things that would survive underwater that he thought you would like

You keep them in a special place inside your burrow

Another storm struck

Late at night when everyone was still asleep, and your burrow collapsed with you inside of it

It was hard for you to move and dig yourself out

You could reach your little treasures that Link would give you

But that was about it.

Link, for his part, was coming to visit you

Not the lake

You

But what he found sunk his heart

A mudslide covered at least half of the shore line and went into the lake

He ran all the way to where he knew your burrow was but he couldn’t find the opening

He didn’t even think that calling your name would have worked

Link swallowed hard, concern and worry latching onto his whole being.

He ran all the way back to his house, getting his shovel and zora armor to go underwater.

Knowing that he was running low on time and you were running out of oxygen, he hitched up Epona and rode all the way back to the lake.

He jumped right into the thick of it and began to dig

Epona wasn’t sure what got Link all up in a tizzy but she pounded the ground by the shoreline nervously

It was hard work

All that would be moved away was replaced by by more mud that would slide over it.

Link was determined though

And terrified

He kept digging until he was able to make some progress with it and eventually he found you huddled where you would normally sleep, clutching your little nick nacks that he gave you.

The fresh water seemed heaven sent and you gulped down what you could, reaching for him to pull you out.

Link grabbed your hand swam with you to the surface, pulling you to the shoreline and washing off all the mud from your shell and your hair

His feelings had to take a step on the backburner for a moment

He had to see that you were ok first.

It may have been the first moment that you could see how much he cared about you

You were starting to suspect where his feelings were before he did

But you’d wait for him.

Sky

You were an Octomer!

But since it’s Hyrule, I’m saying that your have the immortality of a jellyfish. Like how Zora’s can live hundreds of years compared to hylians but longer.

The first time you meet, it’s when he’s exploring more of what the surface has to offer.

Now Sky isn’t like the others.

He doesn’t have the same perception of the others

So while the others would have perceived you as a threat- Sky is mostly confused by your lack of action toward him and the fact that he’s never seen something like you before

So if your species is new to him- and you’re not attacking him-

Then maybe you’re friendly?

You grin and he’s a little taken aback by your teeth.

Slowly you crawl to where he is, each arm pulling you toward him.

You greet him in an ancient language

It has been a while since you’ve seen his kind and you want to know where they’ve gone and what kind of lives they live now.

Unfortunately he doesn’t understand you

You frown and try again, reaching out your hand for him to take

He does take it and replies in a language you’re unfamiliar with

Maybe in the time they’ve been gone the language has evolved.

This can be a problem

While you’re contemplating this, you dip back into the water somewhat and fish out (no pun intended) a stick and begin to draw on the supple sand beneath the both of you

He’s quick to catch on to what you’re doing and uses the tip of his sword to draw in the sand next to you

Slowly but surely, you both come up with some degree of communication.

You learn that the literary aspect of their language has changed somewhat as well but it’s still comprehensible to your mind

He comes back

Time and time again

He begins to slowly teach you his language as it is now

And you answer his question of the world long past

Link is actually the first to fall between the two of you

You can’t seem to take whatever hint he gives you

When he finally gives up with gift giving and subtle sweet nothings, he tells you directly

Now before this, you hadn’t considered him in such a way

You didn’t think it was even an option

Link is quick to tell you what he’ll do if you give him a chance.

He’ll live out in the ocean.

He’ll learn how to man a boat

He can find an underwater cave to be there instead if you’d prefer

He’ll leave his people behind

You think this one in particular goes a little too far and you’re quick to tell him so

You turn him down

At first

Link comes back again and again because he still enjoys your company and he can get past his emotions to not make it awkward between you two

But now that you know it’s an option

You don’t stop thinking about him

Link is on your mind day and night with all sorts of possibilities and struggles you two would have together and how to get around them

Weeks go by

And the somehow, you talk away your sensible side- the idea of what you could be becoming more and appealing each day

You confess randomly on a sunny afternoon and it takes the both of you by surprise

It’s not what you wanted to say at all.

Link is ecstatic!

He had pretty much given up hope that you two could be an item but his feelings were giving him more trouble than he thought they would

But you liked him back!

So maybe this time things can go a little smoother.

Wild

You are a shark mer!

Because Wild has a type.

Now, you live just beyond Lurelin’s borders

Wild meets you when he’s pushing the limits of a deku leaf before it breaks on him and he’s forced to turn around with his second one because he doesn’t want to be stranded in the middle of the ocean with his dinky little raft.

You’re closer to the surface than you’re usually willing to be.

Seeing the raft was a new thing for you and you swim closer to it to inspect it.

Wild actually managed, somehow to throw himself over board and into the ocean

Coming face to face

with you!

Both of you shoot away from each other in shock and he scrambles to get back onboard the wood planks

For your part, you stall for a moment not used to seeing his king so far out into the deep waters.

Intrigued at this anomaly you break the surface and place your hands on the side of the raft, watching him as he catches his breath.

He begins speaking in a rapid fire language that you don’t understand and tell him as much

He jumps and spins over to you, pointing a finger in your direction and even growling

You tilt your head- not at all feeling intimidated by this smaller creature

You tell him your name and ask him for his

But he doesn’t understand you

He then makes a few hand gestures and you brighten

You know that!

Some sailors use that to communicate between each other when the storms get really bad

You recognize some of them but you don’t know the rest of it

You try to sign back to the best of your ability trying to tell him you don’t know that much and once again introducing yourself

He smiles and tells you his name is Link

It starts from there.

You find yourself swimming and spending more time in the shallows than you used to do

He visits regularly

Link is quick to even bring some of his friends over

You are quickly introduced to the Prince of the Zora, named Sidon and he’s been more or less a translator between you two since you speak similar languages from birth.

He visits you as well and teaches you sign on the side to help you communicate with Link without his help.

Link does not know this is happening

You wanted to surprise your friend and Sidon had his full approval of the plan

Because of Sidon’s duties however, there wasn’t a definitive schedule and you were learning at a snails pace

But progress is progress

Link is having some kind of crisis while he’s at home

Because he wants to show it to you but it’s too far inland

He’d also like to know what your home looks like, if you have one, or if you have a family or a community like the zora

There’s so many things he wants to know about you and he thinks he’s beginning to crush

And crush hard

On someone he can’t even communicate properly with no less.

He then asks Sidon to give him lessons on the language you speak

As if that would help in anyway shape or form

Sidon agrees- fully supportive of this idea

So he begins to teach Link on the side as well in order for you two to be able to talk to each other with ease

You do not know this is happening

Sidon knows what’s happening is waiting for the day for this to blow up in both of your faces

It’s a train wreck waiting to happen

Sidon is glad Link met you

This is the most excitement he’s had since Link showed up in the domain

He really hopes this ends well for the both of you

Wind

You were a stingray mer!

You meet when he goes flying overboard from a storm.

He goes deep

You find him unconscious and try your hardest to swim to the surface and to the nearest beach.

It’s hard for you to get a grip on him and swim at the same time but somehow- by someone’s grace and mercy, you manage

You have to get him away from the water without beaching yourself and that’s another challenge all together.

You think about leaving him there and hoping for the best but a strong waves comes through and nearly drags him out to sea again

You resolve to stay by his side until he wakes up

The sun feels nice and warm, but the problem is that you dry out incredibly fast compared to other mers and it’s very quickly an uncomfortable experience

Luckily- or unluckily if you ask Wind- there was a ship coming by and seemingly coming to whatever island this is.

You take your cue and push yourself backwards into the ocean, watching the ship and the boy you found and trying to see if they were actually going to come to his aid.

The ship does eventually come to the island and you think that the boy would be fine.

But out of curiosity, you do come up to the surface every now and then when you think there’s a ship going back- hoping to see him again- trying to see if he was actually ok.

You see him on what has to be a pirate ship.

You try to get close enough to see him but somehow get yourself caught up in a net and pulled up into the boat.

“Wait! Wait!” The boy calls out and runs over to help you out. “Put it back in the water!”

“What are you doing Link?” Someone from the crew yells. “This is the catch of the century!”

“This thing saved my life! It has to be in the water!”

“What if we don’t?”

“It’ll get sick!”

The boy begins to frantically cutting away the rope from you, throwing it to the side and lessening the pressure around you.

You sigh in relief and try to make your way to the side of the boat.

It’s not easy.

The boy lifts you up from one side but he can’t get a grip on you.

Someone else comes in and helps him, getting on your other side and together they throw you over board.

The relief is immeasurable.

The boy jumps over quickly and splashes next to you.

You grin and wave at him.

He waves back and swims up to the surface.

“Hi! I’m Link!”

You tell him your name in reply and swim around him.

“I’m glad you’re ok! I didn’t think you saw me when I saved you.”

“I woke up right as you got into the water. I saw you swim and dive away as I got back onto the boat.”

“Are you two friends or something?” Someone calls from the ship.

“I’d like to be.” You admit with a smile

“I’m Link.” He smiles. “I’d like to be your friend to.”

Your friendship skyrockets from there.

Wind was already on the ship to travel the great sea, so it was easy for you to spend time with him and get to know the rest of the crew and the pirate captain Tetra as well.

Everything about their stories of land excited you so much.

It was a world so different than yours.

In return you told them stories of everything under the water, of all the places you’ve seen and been to.

Every part of you wanted to impress Link and you cherished him.

You don’t have any one to tell you want your feelings but what you do know is that you like him. He’s a good friend and he cares deeply about his people.

You hope that maybe you can be someone he cares about too.

Link for his part wanted to find pretty things for you and show his home, his family, everything that is important to him.

Tetra figures out what’s going on before he does.

She waits a bit before telling Link to his face what’s up with him, wanting to see if you’ll make a move or if he’ll come to his senses.

Neither happens.

So she tells Link and he’s quick to talk to you and confess.

He cares about you more than you’d ever realize.

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader

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