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meiliarotten · 1 year

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Team Fortress 2 Kinktober Time Two: Electric Boogaloo

Day 30: Just What You Need (Jealous Sex)

🔞MINORS DNI🔞

Pairings: Sniper x Fem!Reader

Summary: Sniper seems to be getting a little jealous of your interactions with the other mercs, so you decide to remind him just how much you need him

Tags: Jealousy, insecurity, talking things through, marking, biting, scratching, praise, possessiveness, dirty talk, aftercare, reassurance

Word Count: 2.3k

The Masterlist

It was dinner time at the base, and Sniper was absent. This usually wouldn’t be so odd. Everyone knew that he was a man who enjoyed being alone. That van of his was practically his own personal sanctuary, and skipping meals to hide out in it was a fairly regular occurrence, but today seemed different for a number of reasons.

For one, it was Engie’s night to cook, and no one ever dared to miss a rare chance at some of the Texan’s home cooked food. He was undeniably the best cook among the mercs. Second, while the daily battles had ended in a loss, Sniper still seemed uncharacteristically annoyed. His temper was significantly shortened, especially when dealing with his fellow mercenaries. The next thing you knew, he was nowhere to be found.

Something was definitely off, you decided. So, after just a few bites of some casserole- you hadn’t bothered to ask what kind it was, and honestly it tasted so good you couldn’t be bothered to- you decided to tell Engie to save your plate and went straight to Sniper’s van. It was there that you found him vigorously cleaning his rifle, arranging and rearranging his supplies in an almost frantic manner. His expression was screwed up into a scowl. He looked deep in thought, albeit very unpleasant thoughts.

“Sniper?” Your presence startled him, but thankfully his gaze seemed to soften when it fell on you.

“Oh, it’s just you, doll.” He placed his gun to the side, pulling you into an embrace and placing a gentle kiss on your forehead. “Finished with dinner already?”

“I didn’t eat much. I wasn’t feeling very hungry,” you said, letting yourself lean against the gunman, feeling the gentle rise and fall of his breathing. “But really I just wanted to see you.”

“Oh?” Sniper tilted his head inquisitively.

“I know you enjoy your isolation, but it’s not like you to completely disappear for an entire afternoon,” you said, finally just asking the burning question outright. “What’s wrong?”

You felt him tense up immediately, taking a few steps back and looking around, as if searching for anything he could possibly use to redirect this conversation. You waited patiently for him to answer you, making it clear you weren’t going to just let this go. When he finally did respond, he wouldn’t look you in the eye. He almost looked ashamed.

“‘Medic sure did compliment you a lot during the post battle check ups today,” he muttered.

You squinted at him, trying to understand what exactly that had to do with what was bothering him. “Uh, yeah. He said I had ‘great bone structure,’” you said, recalling the encounter. “Honestly, given his track record with skeletons, I would consider that more of a threat than a compliment.”

“And you seem to have caught Spy’s eye as of late too,” Sniper went on, barely acknowledging your response. “I can see the way he looks at you, even on the battlefield.”

“I hadn’t really noticed…” you trailed off, still just as confused as ever. How had these seemingly small incidents contributed to Sniper’s mood? They hadn’t even involved him. These were all interactions that other teammates had with you exclusively.

And that was when realization finally hit.

“Oh, Sniper,” you said, eyes widening. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous!”

The immediate flush that washed over his face confirmed your suspicions. Even he seemed to know deep down that his feelings were unfounded. You were still quick to soothe him before he started to ramble. He always had a tendency to do that when he was caught off guard.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to be embarrassed. I’m glad you told me.” Sniper was facing away from you, unwilling to look you in the eye. You wrapped your arms around him, hugging him close from behind. You felt his posture begin to relax.

“I’m sorry doll,” he finally said. “It’s just, when it comes to looks I ain’t much compared to those two. I wouldn’t blame you if you preferred…” he trailed off, as if the very thought was too painful to say aloud. Still, you got the message.

Part of you was hurt that he would think you would be so quick to leave, but you remained calm. You knew that these thoughts were coming from a place of self consciousness. However, you weren’t sure how much reassurance you could offer beyond promising you wouldn’t leave. Sniper could be stubborn, and that translated into his insecurities as well. You thought it out, eventually realizing that an actions over words approach may be more effective, and much more enjoyable.

“You know what,” you began, walking over to the bed where you laid back with a mischievous grin. “If you’re so worried about me running off, how about you come over here and remind me how much I need you.”

Sniper was flustered in an instant, stammering out a one word response. “What?”

You lazily stripped off your shirt, tossing it aside. “Do I need to repeat myself?” You asked, watching as Sniper’s gaze trailed downward, his eyes widening. You hadn’t bothered to wear a bra today. “I want you , Mundy.”

The use of his real name was always bound to get him riled up, and sure enough, he didn’t hesitate to climb into bed with you. Deft fingers made quick work of your pants, nearly tearing them off. There was the wild man you knew and loved! This rough treatment was already turning you on, your soft whines being quickly muffled by Sniper’s lips pressing against yours.

His kisses were desperate, almost ravenous in their intensity, slowly moving from your lips to your jawline. You felt his hands wandering your body, feeling every curve and edge, taking the time to make sure no part of you was left uncaressed. After years of working a job that often necessitated staying in one spot for long periods of time, Sniper had become a very patient man. Plus, he loved the foreplay anyway. He loved the way he could slowly work you up into an eager mess, watching you warm up, listening to your soft sighs turn into moans until you were outright begging for his cock. It was like a game that Sniper alone had the privilege to play, a sight just for him and no one else.

That jealousy flared up a bit, not entirely forgotten despite his arousal. Sniper bared his teeth against your neck, which he had begun gently suckling at just moments before. He didn’t miss the way you arched against him at the sensation of his teeth grazing your skin. Curiously and cautiously, he went a bit further, placing a bite on your collar, not hard enough to break the skin, but definitely firm enough to hurt a little. You moaned , and the noise went right to his core.

You quite liked this possessive side of your lover. With the addition of biting, it almost felt like you were being claimed. “Are you trying to mark me up?” you asked, breathless. “Are you going to make sure everyone knows who I belong to, Mundy?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Sniper said, chuckling as he descended upon your breasts, sucking roughly at the soft flesh until hickeys bloomed in all shades of red. He watched them darken into blue and violet hues, joyfully decorating your skin with his marks. Your hips bucked upward, grinding against his clothed erection until he pulled his lips away from your chest with a gasp. “Bloody hell, doll. Don’t you have any patience?”

He pushed your hips down, squeezing hard before letting go. It was all the warning you needed to keep still. Although it was quite difficult, especially when you saw him begin to unfasten his belt. You watched eagerly as he freed his cock, precum already beading at the tip. Your gaze was pulled away from it when your chin was tilted upward, being met with Sniper’s smug, grinning face.

“Spread those legs for me, love.” He pushed at your thighs and you let them fall open. “That’s it, nice and wide.” He kneaded the soft flesh of your inner thighs, feeling it give beneath his fingers. Sniper’s mouth nearly watered at the sight of you submitting so eagerly. You really were all his, sometimes he just needed to remind himself of that, and he couldn’t think of a better way to do that than fucking your brains out.

With little warning, he thrust into you. You gasped at the sudden intrusion, clenching around him and taking a moment to be thankful that you were wet enough to take him in one thrust. He wasted little time setting a steady pace. Any semblance of kisses were now full on bites as he continued to mark you up, now moving to your collar. If Sniper had been willing to tease you more, he may have taken the time to descend further down your body, leaving hickeys along your inner thighs, but for now, the long, stinging scratches that his nails left along that supple skin would have to be enough.

“You take all of this so well. Good girl. My good girl.” The possessive tone was very obvious now. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling him close to you before he could bury his face in the crook of your neck again. His eyes were half lidded, teeth clenched with concentration as he thrust into you.

“You’re so hot like this. So fucking handsome.” You felt him shudder slightly and his expression softened, giving in to your praise for just a moment. He rarely let it show, but he loved it when you let him know just how desirable he was.

“You’re mine, doll.” He began to speed up. “Tell me, please, fucking say that you’re mine!”

“I’m yours!” You cried before he could even finish his sentence, already repeating the words like a mantra. “Yours, all yours.”

“Spy couldn’t fuck you like this. Medic couldn’t. No one else could. Only me.” His words were growing frenzied and his hips stuttered. You knew he was close. “I’m the one making you feel this good. Only I can give you what you need.”

“Fuck, yes!”

“ Say it.” Snipers fist closed around your throat. He didn’t squeeze. You still breathed easy, but the action alone still sent a shiver up your spine.

“Only you can fuck me like this, Mundy!”

“That’s right. Keep screaming my name, doll. I want you to scream it until you come.” He released your neck, taking your hand and guiding it down to your clit, “Go on, make yourself come on my cock.”

You chanted his name, your voice heightening in pitch, cutting yourself off with breathy moans until the tight coiling within you reached its limit. You cried out for him one last time before your orgasm hit you like a wave. Had anyone been passing by outside, they would surely know exactly who you belonged to. Sniper reached his peak just as you were coming down from yours, the feeling of you tightening around him pushing him over the edge. You watched him come undone, throwing his head back with a shuddering groan. When he regained some composure he was breathing heavily, looking over your body and taking stock of every bruise and bite mark that had bloomed on your skin. The sight nearly made him reel back.

“Fuck, that was really rough,” he muttered, his expression pinched with worry. “Did I hurt you?”

You shook your head. “No, it’s just a bit of bruising, nothing that wouldn’t usually come from sex.” You tried to reassure him, but Sniper looked terribly guilty. You sat up, doing your best to hide a wince as you did so. “Hey, I’m serious. I’m not hurt. Come here.”

You pulled him forward and down onto the bed with you, letting him rest his head in your chest. You ran your fingers through his hair, feeling the tension melt away from him as he relaxed into your touch. Sniper hummed contentedly, almost ready to let the worry melt away, ‘almost’ being the key word there.

“You know I would never think you’d run off with someone else,” Sniper said. “Those were just stupid, overblown emotions talking-”

“Your feelings aren’t stupid,” you said, cutting him off before he could start to ramble. “They may be a bit irrational, but never stupid. We all have thoughts like that sometimes.”

Sniper chuckled, tilting his head up to look at you. “Even you, love?”

A soft blush settled in your cheeks as you recalled a few times you had gotten a little defensive during some nights out with the team. “You’re an attractive man with a sexy voice. Let’s just say women notice you when we’re out celebrating a win at a club or bar.” You said, frowning slightly. “The drunk ones can be especially bold.”

“Really?” Sniper asked, sounding incredulous. “I guess I’ve never noticed. I only got eyes for you.”

You smiled down at him and he mirrored you with his own grin, looking perfectly happy to use your chest as his own personal pillow. “I know,” you said. “Still, it makes me want to mark you up sometimes too, cover your neck with love bites so that everyone knows you’re taken.”

“Well, given what I just did to you, it’s only fair that you get to have your way with me,” Sniper said. That immediately piqued your interest.

“Is that an offer?” you asked. The only answer you got was a sudden kiss, which you quickly moved to deepen with a bite to Sniper’s lower lip. He moaned softly as you slipped your tongue into his mouth, and if your lips weren’t otherwise occupied you would be smirking. It was your turn to show off your possessive side.

#tf2 x reader #fanfic #fanfiction #merc x reader #minors dni #smut #tf2 smut #team fortress 2 #cross posted on ao3 #tf2 #tf2 fanfiction #sniper x reader #sniper tf2 #sniper team fortress 2 #tf2 sniper #mick mundy #tf2 mundy #kinktober

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rarityroo · 4 months

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ok this is me just like losing it and i need some type of comfort but.. mizu x reader who got banned from tiktok for NONREASON 😭

Content comfort

(Modern!Mizu x Gn! Reader)

I’m so sorry but when I first read this giggled a bit. Hopefully you like this, I made it into more of a funny cute fic because I didn’t quite understand the tone of what you wanted that’s probably my fault though. I clearly love writing for Mizu so please do request for her more she’s my actual GF, she’ll always have two pics instead of one whenever I write for her, anyway, Enjoy!🫶🏻

You stared at your phone in disbelief, you looked at the notification, again, and again. It seemed to not fully compute in your head.

As you sat on the couch staring at your phone completely lost, Mizu walked from the kitchen to where you were, the living room, Mizu looked at you with a concerned expression.

“Uh, my love?” Her voice breaks you out of your shock-induced trance. “…yeah?” You slowly said, not fully able to respond coherently. “Are you alright?” Mizu asks cautiously. You look up from your phone and turn your attention to her, “I-I don’t know?” You say disbelief very evident in your voice.

You had no way to explain this, not just the situation to Mizu but why you got banned in the first place. This definitely caught you off guard, Mizu moves closer to you, sitting next to you on the couch. “Tell me.” Mizu softly demands, she’s not one to dance around serious matters especially when they came to you. You look back down at your phone still shocked.

She puts her hand under your chin, making you look up at her when your eyes meet her beautiful blue ones, you take a deep breath, and you finally explain what happened. "So, remember that silly video I posted yesterday with our cat, Vinnie? Well, apparently TikTok didn't appreciate Vinnies moves as much as we did," you confess, trying to lighten the mood with a small chuckle. "They banned me for no reason!” You exclaimed exasperated.

Mizu's eyes widen in surprise, her expression softening into a mischievous grin. "You know…TikTok's loss is our gain," she quips, trying to humor you. "Now we have more time for our own little dance parties with Vinnie without worrying about those silly algorithms." She chuckles softly, nudging you playfully. "Who needs TikTok anyway when we've got our own private entertainment right here?" She gestures to Vinnie rolling on the floor in a crazed manner.

You can't help but smile at her attempt to inject humor into the situation, grateful for her humorous approach. "Yeah, you're right," you say, with a small laugh. "Maybe this is a sign that we should start our own rival app, 'MizuTok' or something." Mizu says in a serious tone, you stop and look at her, you stare a each other for a long moment, then burst out laughing at the idea, imagining the ridiculous videos that would fill that virtual space.

With a small grin on your face and Mizu’s supportive humor, you couldn’t help but feel a bit better.

#mizu bes #bes mizu x reader #bes x reader #bes mizu #mizu blue eye samurai #mizu x reader #mizu x fem!reader

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meow-town · 2 years

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Okay I really like the Dee x Girly girl concept. So how about a oneshot on Y/N, Glam, and Vicky’s first meeting? How did Vicky act towards Y/N? I’m so invested O_O

Thanks for this request, I’m glad ur invested! And I’m sorry I haven’t been posting as much, personal projects and works keep coming and I barely have the time to write for tumblr anymore. Plus, I prefer to take my time with these posts as I believe in quality over quantity.

But I’ve found the time and motivation to write here, so let’s get into it!

Dee x Girly!Fem!Reader Pt.2

-You arrived with Dee at his house, super nervous. I mean, you were meeting his folks. Most people get nervous.

-You made sure to wear your nicest skirt with a cute blouse and natural makeup. Didn’t want to cake yourself up like other times.

-Once you arrived at the door, arm hooking around Dee’s, you were practically trembling. Shaking in your damn sneakers.

-He reassured you, of course, and insisted that they would love you no matter what. And that if they didn’t, they could take it up with him. You two walked in the house to find no one there.

-Dee called for his parents, Glam was changing the strings on ‘Gibson’ and Victoria was working on a motorcycle. She came to you with gloves covered in motor oil. Glam arrived with perfect hair, perfect makeup and perfect nails, as always.

-Dee introduced you as his girlfriend and you went around shaking hands shyly, telling them how nice it was to meet them. Glam hesitated a bit, and Victoria grumbled under her breath with a light scowl. You just brushed it off and introduced yourself in more depth. Your name, what class you were in, etc…

-It took Glam maybe 5 seconds to get accustomed to you. He was kind of shocked at first. Hair all done up, with a mainly pink outfit. You looked like the polar opposite of his son. But then he noticed you were nice, and loosened up.

-Victoria however…

-She stared. Hard. Like she was wondering what this thing was doing in her house with her son. She was made fun of as a kid by ‘girly girls’ , so she’s very distant at first. That, and she’s very protective of her children, like a mama bear. Was very condescending and passive-aggressive for the entire time.

-‘So, (f/n), what do you do for… fun?’

‘Oh! Well, going shopping, trying new looks, getting my nails done… As well as the standard stuff, like watching TV and listening to music.’

‘Of course you do…’

-‘And, uh, how did you two meet?’

‘I was paired up with him for a science project, and we just hit it off.’

‘Yeah, ma. She’s real smart.’

‘Oh, is she? Wouldn’t have expected that…’

-You definitely noticed this behavior and clinged to Dee most of the time, in a very closed manner. Glam was just happy to be there, but also picked up on Victoria’s ways.

-Dee had to keep hyping you up, because you were too intimidated by Vicky to speak up about the way she spoke to you. It wasn’t aggressive, but definitely rude.

-Yeah, she was kind of an asshole at first.

-Glam cleared his throat every time Vicky was mean, as a way to tell her to stop, but she wouldn’t.

-Heavy was overhearing from his room, and figured he should go down so he could chat with you, but he quickly became intrigued. Just chose to listen to his mother’s comments, brows furrowing further each time.

-By the time she’s done interrogating and making you feel small, you decide it’s time for you to leave. Glam expresses his feelings of gratitude, saying he’s joyful Dee is happy with such a lovely young woman :)

-Vicky grumbles.

-Dee offers to walk you home, like a good boyfriend, but you deny his help, claiming you’re fine on your own. You wanted to show his mother you didn’t need Dee for everything, even if he was glad to give it to you.

-The second the door closed behind you, Heavy trampled down the stairs to join his brother and father in a group frown. They stared at Vicky for a good while, until Dee burst.

‘Ma, what the hell!?! What do you have against (f/n)?!?’

‘Yeah, you were mean to her for no reason!’

‘Vicky, you were excessively harsh with her.’

‘What, you’re defending that bimbo?’

-Dee would never cuss out his parents, but he came damn close. -Absolutely raging, he raised his voice to tell her off, only to trudge off to his room and slam the door. Heavy followed him into his room, also expressing his disappointment.

-She got super defensive, yelled , stood up, and left for the garage. Glam followed her after he apologized to Dee and gave him a talk on why his mother was acting this way.

-Glam knows Vicky, and he makes sure to not press any buttons and tread carefully. If she tells him to leave her alone, he will, and he’ll try again in 5 minutes.

-Once she’s taken her anger out on a punching bag, she allows Glam to speak with her.

-He explains how she was rude to their son’s girlfriend, giving multiple examples, and asks why. Even if he already knows why. He also adds how she seems to be upset about their son’s girlfriend being feminine, but she certainly doesn’t mind it when he’s feminine.

-Glam knows about Vicky’s struggles in the past with girly girls. Girls who looked just like you. She was left to the side, left out of everything, made fun of, avoided. She was bullied.

-He quickly explained that was no reason to make fun of someone who happened to look like those girls, and made sure she agreed to be nicer the next time.

-You were invited to dinner the next week. Of course, you were nervous regarding last week’s events with Vicky, but Dee said the whole family insisted. And so you agreed.

-You arrived with a casual dress and the nicest purse you could find, having spent extra time on your hair that day. Maybe she thought you weren’t classy enough? No, I mean, she came to you covered in motor oil… You were incredibly scared to ring the doorbell, and had to weigh out how to make the afternoon go perfectly, but thankfully someone came to your aid.

-Heavy was supposed to be helping out with the dinner and setting up the tables, but he had gotten detention that Friday and came home late. He saw you at the door and offered to walk inside with you.

-Dee stood up from leaning on a pillar, and greeted you with a small peck. Glam came out in a black apron with glittery pink accents, carrying a big pot of pasta. He couldn’t wave, but greeted you warmly all the same. Ches was on the kitchen counter, with his guitar, and waved to you. Victoria actually came to you and asked to speak in private.

-She apologized about the events that had happened and said they were uncalled for, and then said she was happy her son was dating someone like you :)

-When she pulled you away to a corner, you were lowkey scared 💀

-Like, ‘omg is she going to cuss me out and/or beat me up?’

-But you were pleasantly surprised with the outcome and told her it was okay.

-Then, you joined your Glam, Victoria, Heavy, Dee and their crackhead uncle in a lovely dinner, where you got to meet everyone a little better.

-And Heavy didn’t eat his vegetables and gave them to the stray cats, attracting a huge pack of them at the window.

-Also, Ches said he thought Dee would be one of those guys that ends up a virgin at the age of 40.

-You can’t have a normal time when they’re around, but nevertheless, lovely.

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spectralstitions · 6 months

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THERE'S A MAP FINALLY LOL (EXPLODES)

Hey, it's Cas! In my last post about mapmaking, I wrote that the next time I posted about it, I hoped it'd be because my map was finished. Well, guess what? I FINISHED IT! It only took me, like... uh... half a year to get around to it. Well, here it is! Two versions: one plain, one labeled.

It's such a relief to have this finished. Finally, after a thousand years of just thinking about it, I have something resembling a visual resource! Yay! That said, it's not perfect, and definitely more of an approximation than anything. There are touch-ups to be made, many touch-ups, but I might just save that for an end-of-year progress check. For now, it's good enough!

The lack of labels has nothing to do with minimalism and everything to do with the fact that I really hate naming things. V-shaped icons point to major settlements. Dot icons mark settlements that are smaller, but subject to show up often for whatever reason. Those ones in particular I'm sure will get edited or shifted around over time.

Now, to meticulously explore each and every region!

I'll work from top to bottom!

Surprise, I'm starting with the name! I find myself drawn to names that sound simple but have lots of interesting connotations. In this case, I'd been searching for a name that captured the feeling of a far off, enigmatic place, something vast and always just beyond reach. Then, while I was searching, and in a manner not unlike that one Overwatch meme, the word "Hinterlands" played in the Lord Huron song I was listening to and I had my HOLY SHIT moment. There's no way a name this whimsical hasn't already been snagged by some cartoon or something, but I can live with that.

As an aside, if I were to pick just one piece of media that encapsulated what I'm going for with this project, it'd be the album Strange Trails by Lord Huron. Of all my many inspirations, it's the one that's had the most profound impact. So the name also works as a homage!

Starting off spooky with our first region, the Old Waythrough. It's a place most people don't like to talk or even think about, but it's always there, looming just under the surface. It has remarkably little presence even in local folklore, and what little there is has been cut into pieces and scattered about through generations of oral storytelling. That said, there are a couple surviving records of Parthans attempting flyovers, eager to prove their courage. None of them get very far, but interestingly, even across the centuries, their recounts have all been similar, describing endless, desolate lands that are empty save for random objects and footprints in the snow.

One famous story, and the tale behind the region's common name, recounts the miraculous journey of the first partha who made contact with the mainland using the Waythrough as a guide. If true, this partha is the only known creature to have crossed the Waythrough in its entirety—and in doing so, gave the fasa who saw them quite a scare!

Our next region is Parthesa, or the parthan homelands! Yeah, get ready for some confusing naming conventions. I'll try to break it down:

The species itself, singular and plural, is known as "partha". Its descriptive form is "parthan".

Partha born on Parthesa, as well as any outsider accepted into their flocks, are known as "Parthans" with a capital P.

All partha born on Parthesa are also called skyborn, while their mainland cousins are called wildborn.

It's a bit much, but I promise, so are they. Parthesa itself is frequently described as a paradise, mostly for the fact that there seems to be a strange lack of spirit activity on the islands themselves. Is that the full story, though? Who knows — Parthans aren't exactly scrambling to brag about how UNbetter-than-everyone-else they and their homeland are. On that note, did Parthans name themselves after their homeland, or did they name their homelands after themselves? Mysteries upon mysteries...

Famously, the islands are beautiful — flower fields, waterfalls, seaside cliffs, mountains and valleys to dip and dive through, and that wonderful ocean breeze! Plus, as long as you've got parthan feather insulation and love storms, the weather's great! Infamously, getting to Parthesa is incredibly dangerous without a Parthan guide, something that's hard to come by. Without one, travelers don't have a great track record of being seen again.

On the opposite side of the Waythrough, we've got the fasan homelands! This dashing, idyllic little landscape is defined by mountains, rivers, lakes, colorful flower fields, and forests of towering boreal trees. Also, ignore that green mountain I forgot to recolor.

Fasa like to incorporate waterways into their architecture in interesting ways, building settlements that trace the length of rivers. Despite their homeland's cutesy appearance, their deep forests harbor all sorts of dangers. Uniquely, this danger doesn't just concern spirits, but entire swathes of dangerous, predatory animals. Still, as long as you take the proper safety precautions, it's a lovely place to live. Their main city can be found by following the paths of the rivers into the mountains. Their harbor town is much newer but has quickly become prosperous!

Okay, you see this gigantic piece of land with almost zero markers in it? This one's my sandbox. Why does nobody seem to want to live here? Well, they tried. They really tried, judging by all the bizarre artifacts poking out of the ground everywhere. The place is a mass graveyard, with evidence of ancient raswa, fasa, and who knows what else engaged in constant territory spats going back centuries. However, these battles seemed to have stopped very suddenly. It's assumed that the appearance of spirits was the last straw that pushed people back into their homelands, finally convincing them the place was just not worth it, something that countless deaths couldn't accomplish. But it's been thousands of years, and people are making tentative attempts to settle again, this time in unity—and hey, so far so good! The few settlements that exist here are characterized by the diversity of their people.

If you follow the trails, you're sure to come across fellow travelers, traders, and the like, but the vast majority of the land is void of people. You could walk for weeks or longer and not come across a single soul! There's a lot to discover, but it's a bit lonely...

Down south, you'll find the Underbelly! The Underbelly is the common name given to this region of wetland and swamp. It's one of the deadliest—and in many people's opinions, the grossest—places in the Hinterlands. Miraculously, there are a hardy people who've managed to make a living in the deep swamp, their treehouse cities literal lights in the darkness. They trade with and have close relations to raswa!

Nearly done! Now we've come to the raswan homelands. Not to be an edgelord, but this region is one defined by utter darkness. Well, okay, it's supposed to be a little edgy, but that part of it comes second. On the left half sleeps an incredibly dense roofed forest, such that light rarely grazes the forest floor. Mushrooms spawn like wildfire, and only those with the grace of raswa are going to have much luck navigating it. On the other side of the mountains lies the raswan desert, a place where sandblood raswans lead nomadic lifestyles. It's also a place many go to get in touch with their spirituality. Sandblood raswa wander the depths of the desert, traveling by night, when sand in the air lights up like stars. With their unique skin colors and plain dark clothes, raswa disguise themselves as part of the night sky to avoid deadly desert spirits. The spirits are a pain in the forests, too—raswa have devised safe pathways for travelers, but all they can really do is hand you a charm and beg you not to stray. Due to the regions' conditions, the settlements here remain mostly raswa, save for their newer harbor town.

We're onto the last area! This island is in a weird spot, and it's kind of just weird in general, so I saved it for last. It's even weird in the formatting of this blog post! What is wrong with you, fae homelands? This island was created very recently by one of the gods, although they are all credited for it. "Homelands" is a strange word for fae to use, though, because most fae do not come from this land at all. In fact, there are barely any trees here! In any case, This island is what connects all people, encouraging unity in times of despair. From edge to edge, the place is a gigantic market space, full to bursting with different kinds of people, vivid colors, and overwhelming sounds and smells.

And that's that! I'll be real, I had way more fun just writing all that than I did even making the map, so I hope that even 1 person skimmed it and got something out of it. But if not, this'll be a good resource for me, too, so, I guess it's win-win.

I'm not really sure what's next for me! I kinda want to work on more visual development for the fauna, spirits, and gods, but the other, realer, and more boring side of me thinks I should probably figure out the extremely basic information like fasan & raswan government styles first. Cause, you know, the fundamental structure of their society is kind of important...

I've made progress in other areas as well, so I may make a separate post for that! But for now I need a short break. Hope you enjoyed. Yay!

#worldbuilding #fantasy #fantasy map #fantasy worldbuilding #my ocs #dear drifter #lore

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buckybarnesthehotshot · 2 years

Text

Everyone’s Favorite Interview Crasher (Daniel Ricciardo x Ferrari Driver! Reader)

|main masterlist|

summary: daniel crashes y/n’s post-race interview

word count: 848

a/n: i feel like this man was just all over the place this weekend, i love it sm

“Daniel Ricciardo, you pulled off climbing to P5 from P16, how do you feel about that?” y/n questioned, turning to Daniel with the mic she was initially being interviewed with. The camera crew laughed at the two drivers as they watched the antics unfold.

Both their press officers shared a look, already aware of how unproductive things were bound to be whenever the two were put together.

“Oh, uh,” he chuckled as y/n pushed the mic to his mouth, “It was great, you know. The team did really well, and the conditions were a bit tricky, but we managed to push through. I mean you did great as well! You were literally on the podium earlier.”

“We aren’t talking about me, Daniel Ricciardo,” she tried her best to deadpan her voice, unable to keep her giggles in.

“You know you don’t have to keep saying my name, right?” Daniel laughed. They probably looked ridiculous at that point. A Ferrari and a McLaren driver, both laughing as they derailed their interview.

“I like saying your name,” she shrugged, “Just rolls right off the tongue. Don’t you think, Daniel Ricciardo.”

Daniel shook his head with a chuckle before continuing, “I think I’m going to agree with you there, y/n l/n.”

“What message do you think you finishing this high up in the points sends to your team, Daniel Ricciardo,” she questioned jokingly, poking at the corner of his lip with her microphone.

“Ah, mate, are you trying to get us both in trouble here?” he chuckled before feigning going for a bite from the microphone.

“We’re already in trouble, you’re crashing my interview,” she reminded him, “Wait, Charles told me you did the same with him this weekend as well.”

“Ah, that’s me. Daniel Ricciardo, everyone’s favorite interview crasher,” he smiled proudly, “This is probably the fourth or fifth interview I’ve crashed this week, honestly. I don’t know how it keeps happening.”

“Far better than crashing your car, I guess,” y/n shrugged nonchalantly as both she and Daniel broke out in another fit of laughter, “Here’s to finishing today’s race. May every race after not be as tricky as this one was.”

“I second that.”

“Also, whose interviews have you disrupted this weekend? I’m curious about your kill count now.”

“Well, there was Charles, obviously. Russell George as well, then there was Max, and uh, Pierre and Yuki, I think.”

“You’ve been busy this weekend.”

“I have! Do you know how hard it is to find interviews to crash?” he stated sarcastically, though they were both aware it was almost a guarantee that there’d be a driver interview ongoing at any given moment on the track.

“Right, I respect the hustle,” y/n nodded, almost completely forgetting about the fact that she was meant to be in an interview.

“Since you’re both here already, how do you both feel after the race?” the interviewer questioned, a frail attempt of salvaging what had been left of y/n’s post-race interview.

“Tired,” y/n admitted bluntly, “But um, I know I could have done better out there, but I’m pretty happy with the outcome.”

“Oh, uh, I’m definitely very happy with the result earlier. It’s been a while since my last top 5, so the team’s pretty happy about that as well,” Daniel smiled.

“Been a long time coming as well,” y/n nodded along with Daniel, a genuine smile on her face at the thought of Daniel finally getting a good race result again.

“Right? My last top 5, I think, was about a year ago?”

“Oh, really long time coming then,” y/n nodded, plastering a smile onto her face, “You deserve it, though. Maybe next time we can go wheel-to-wheel for a podium.”

“You’ve got the faster car anyways,” Daniel reminded her.

“Maybe I’ll get a bit of floor damage?” she suggested in a joking manner, “Really, though, I’m looking forward to seeing you in the points more.”

“So demanding, this one,” Daniel shook his head jokingly, hand motioning to y/n, “But uh, yeah, definitely would like to be in the points more. Let’s just hope some of your Ferrari luck rubs off on me.”

“What luck?” y/n quipped.

“At the rate you’re going, we’re both going to end up unemployed by the end of the year.”

“Right, wouldn’t want that,” y/n shook her head, correcting her statement, “Ferrari is very lucky…”

She then muttered something incoherent, making Daniel burst out in a fit of laughter, confusing the interviewers.

“She just said that Ferrari was lucky to have her,” Daniel explained, gazing fondly upon her, “You know, I think you’ve been spending way too much time with me already.”

“Right, you should probably go get your own interview for me to crash,” she nodded, as he made his way towards where he was meant to be interviewed, she paused for a moment, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“What was that for?”

“I’m proud of you,” she smiled as he walked away, a wide grin on his face, “Congrats again, Daniel!”

Bonus gifs i almost used for this post:

F1 TAGS: @errrrrat (taglist open)

DANIEL RICCIARDO TAGS: @a-distantdreamer (taglist open)

#daniel ricciardo fanfiction #daniel ricciardo fanfic #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo x y/n #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo #F1 #f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #f1 fanfiction #f1 x you #Formula 1 #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 fanfiction #formula 1 x you

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mrsbrookemunson · 2 years

Text

Spider-Man | Andrew!Peter x Fem!Reader

Prompt: This is when Peter Parker gets his powers in the movie, except you're right there with him as his best friend.

Genre: Fluff with underlying angst

Warnings: Swearing, canon fighting, mentions of injuries (Reader gets hit in the face with a skateboard, and whacked in the stomach with a pole), Peter's low key kind of mean to the reader (but cares), arguments, Peter likes Gwen, implied chubby!reader, it is the subway, and aftermath scene from the movie. Definitely a few typos

Word Count: 3445

A/N: I actually wrote a whole bestfriend!reader x Peter Parker series and never posted it, so let me know if you want part two.

| Part One | Part Two |

It all happened when Peter Parker said he was going to try to find some Dr. Conners that knew his dad back in the day, plain and simple. And me being the bestest friend I am, I waited at a coffee shop—did all my homework, not to brag… it’s a process!—so that he didn’t have to go home—which happens to be next to mine—on the subway alone. Plain. And. Simple.

“There you are!” I exclaimed, happily. “You know when someone says they’re five minutes away, I’d like to believe they are indeed… five minutes away.” I stood up, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my coat, the chill air having not gone away in the city of New York for a while.

Peter gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry! I just… have a lot on my mind, and I’m tired,” he explained, sounding distant.

I narrowed my eyes at him in question. He definitely seems off. “Ah, it’s okay, you know I can’t stay mad at you.” I widely smiled, slapping him on the arm which causes him to jolt. “So, how was it?” Did you find Dr. Conners?”

He nodded, “I did.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, “And?”

“And–what? We didn’t talk, I couldn’t get him alone.”

I frowned. “Next time then…” I assured. “Anything else that happened that I should know about?”

He shook his head. “Nothing of importance.” His lips twitched up for a second afterwards. “But… Gwen Stacy was there.”

My heart hammered, “That girl you’re madly in love with?”

He laughed my statement off, awkwardly. “I’m not in love with her,” he protested weakly. “Just interested is all.”

I let out an absentminded hum.

At that moment the train came hustling in with an abrupt stop.

Saved by the subway.

“Shall we?” I tilted my head towards it.

“We shall,” he replied.

If I knew that Peter would’ve fallen asleep on the train, I also wouldn’t have drifted off… but I did… honestly… kind of worth it.

His feet were elevated, resting against the wall beside my head in his lying down position. I, on the other hand, was sitting upright, my neck craned back in a very uncomfortable manner. I was surprised we both dozed with the group of drunks beside us causing a ruckus. The group, stupidly, danced and laughed, the smell of cigarettes and beer burned my nostrils.

Suddenly I was woken up when Peter made a harsh movement up.

What I didn’t expect to see was him attached to the roof of the transport. “P–Peter?” I rubbed my eyes in the slight chance I was dreaming.

Everyone stared at him in a tense silence, including me.

Peter looked at his hands which stuck onto the metal, hesitantly letting go, sending him down to the ground. “Are you okay?” I asked, concerned, kneeling down beside him to help him up.

“Yeah,” he answered, unsure. “You did see that right?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but get cut off by one of the girls present, “Disgusting, now I smell my beer.”

I had to resist the strong urge to roll my eyes. Because that’s what’s important.

Peter, being Peter, looked at her in alarm, and guilt. “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I didn’t mean to…” His voice dragged when he tried to pull his hand away.

“Peter?” I eyed him, weirded out at the turn of events that took place

“I didn’t–I didn’t,” he stuttered, still struggling his hand away.

An older man walked up to Peter, a tough persona displayed. “Get your hand off her!” he commanded.

Peter looked at the man, fearfully.

“I’m trying to get my—”

“Can’t you see he’s trying!” I shouted.

The guy, now angry, pushed Peter away from the girl, his hand took her shirt along with him. A couple of the surrounding guys laughed, staring.

“Well, that’s one way of getting your hand off of her,” I joked, but Peter didn’t react.

The man that pushed Peter gets more riled up from this action, “Are you kidding?”

Peter held onto one of the hand bars that he was previously rammed into, looking away from the girl, respectfully. “I’m sorry.” He raised a hand back, her shirt still latched onto the palm of his hand.

“Are you freakin’ kidding me?!” the man shouted.

“Hey! It’s not his fault,” I argued in his defense. “Can’t you see he was trying to? Technically you were the one that pushed him, which led to the accidental taking off of this… lady’s shirt, so–technically–it’s your fault.”

I noticed in the corner of my eye Peter trying to pull his hand away from the hand bar just as I heard, “Hey, get him, Rudy, I got the girl.”

“What?!” I raised my hands up in defense. “Isn’t this whole thing about sticking up for women?”

“Hey!” Ignoring my words the man threw a punch towards Peter who raised a swift leg, kicking the man past me and onto another bench. The man groaned in pain.

“Woah,” I let out, breathless as the man fell to the ground.

“Man, I’m sorry! Oh, man, are you all right?” Peter rambled, turning to look at him.

As if he knew, Peter pushes up kicking another guy that had just about lunged at him, the momentum of it ended with him on his back.

“Take him down! Come on,” a woman shouted.

“Woah hold on–ah!”

I was about to step in when another guy charged towards Peter who kicked up at the guy, doing a kip up, effortlessly landing on his feet. All with still holding onto the hand rail. “Get him, man! Get him!”

There was only one guy left standing, his head whipping to the skateboard on the ground, Peter ever-so-slightly shook his head, eyeing it upsettingly. “No, man, no. Not my board,” he pleaded.

I was just about to grab it when the guy got it first in a flash, winding it back.

“Please, dude, don’t—” Peter didn’t finish his sentence as it was about to hit him, but the impact never came. “Y/n—You!”

Of course, during this part all I saw was pitch black darkness, Peter–thankfully–filled me in on what happened after I was ejected from existence… I can still feel the pain.

The guy with the skateboard still in hand, attempted to swing at Peter for a second time, but Peter manages to kick up once again, and swung around to straddle his own arms in a bent position. Much to Peter’s dismay, the pole broke from the ground, nearly hitting me…

Oh wait—

First he hit the guy who started it all right where the sun didn't shine. “Sorry. Sorry.” Then another guy in the jaw. “Oh.” He turns to look at all the guys lifeless on the ground. “I am so sorry.” And then—

“I’m alive–UGH!” I crouched down, holding my stomach.

Peter finally gained the ability to drop the pole, staring down at his hand in shock.

Coney Island, next stop, the conductor’s voice resonated through the poorly made speakers, repeating it.

“A little help down here,” I squeaked.

Peter snapped his attention to me who was… in a lot of pain. “Oh my—” he cut himself off, rushing to me. “Oh my God, I am so sorry, are you okay? Does it hurt? Of course it hurts, you were hit with a skateboard. Can you remember things? What’s your name? What is my name?” He took my face into his hands, inspecting it carefully. “Why the Hell did you do that? You definitely have a concussion.”

“Peter! Everyone is staring.” I covered his hands which have yet to pull away from my cheeks that felt as though they were on fire.

Peter opened his mouth, but no words came out, shutting it. “Do you think your aunt would be okay if you spent the night?”

“As long as we use protection,” I teased.

Peter’s eyes widened in embarrassment.

“Oh–I didn’t mean–it’s just my aunt always says to… nevermind.”

It was a long ride to the Parker residence from there.

Peter practically sprinted off of the train when we arrived. “Peter!” I screamed due to the amount of distance he put between us.

“Oh, right!” He ran back, not wasting anymore time. “Hop on my back!”

I blinked a few times, “Wh-What?”

“Hop on… my back.” He set his backpack on the ground. “I literally just ripped a metal pole out of the ground, I can carry you.”

I hesitated. “You’ve never been able to carry me before,” I pointed out, sadly. “Not to mention I have a backpack that weighs at least 50 pounds.

“Don’t say it like that, please, you’re probably lighter than air, it’s my fault I’m so weak,” he begs. “Let’s just try.”

“I hate trying.”

“I know you do,” he dismissed, turning around, and kneeling.

“If this goes poorly…” I dragged.

Peter didn't respond, as I cautiously wrapped my legs to straddle his back.

“Okay I–woah!” I gasped when he stood upright. “Okay, okay, okay, you’re holding me up, that’s…”

“Just hold on tight.”

I do as he said, wrapping my arms around his neck, and intertwining my legs around his torso. “Why? You aren’t going to—No!” I shrieked when he starts to sprint again. “Peter!” I tighten edmy grip around him, my face nestled into the crook of his neck. “How are you doing this right now?” I asked, hinting at the fact he’s running with me on his back, with my backpack on, while carrying his backpack, and skateboard, which apparently broke at the second hit at him. It broke off of him.

Can’t deny all of it was attractive, well… what I saw before I was knocked out.

“How did I do any of that stuff?”

I opened my mouth to reply with something clever, but nothing formed.

“See?” he laughed.

I noticed that his face was starting to break out into a cold sweat. “Peter? You’re sweating. I knew this would be too much for you—”

“No! I think it’s the shock, the reaction. You know…” He began to slow down. “I am not beginning to feel too well,” he admitted, starting to stumble a little.

“Okay, you need to let me go. “

“It’s not you, I swear!”

“I’m not saying it is, we’re almost at your house Peter, we can walk from here.”

Giving in, he let me go. And looking at him… he didn’t look too good. Well, he always looks good, but I mean like… he looks ill. “It wasn’t you…” he reassured, shaking his head, spastically.

“Let’s just… get you home, okay?”

I go to grab his hand, but he jerked away. What is happening right now?

We arrived at his house. I opened the door, and ushered Peter inside whilst closing the door behind us. “Uh, hey,” Peter greeted. “Hey, hey.” He walked off without me.

I scrambled to keep up with his long strides as he met up with Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

“Sorry. I’m late–and–uh Y/n's here too.” He gestured toward me as I peak my head around the corner. “We got—”

“We’ve been so worried.” Aunt May stood to block him with a stern expression. “Your aunt too, Y/n!” She pointed to me who sported a sheepish smile.

My eyes looked down at my phone which I had yet to pull out tonight, cringing at the number of voicemails and messages. I sent her a quick one back that I was safe and would be staying the night at Peter’s. “Use protection,” I read my Aunt Yelena’s text in a hushed tone.

“I know. I’m sorry. Watch out!”

I looked up in alarm to see Peter catch something about the size of a fingernail, if not smaller. My feet got the better of me as I made my way towards Peter’s raised hand that rested in front of May’s face to get a better look. My body pushed up just beside Peter’s… I don’t think he noticed.

The fly buzzed as a beat of silence went by, Peter not being able to look at anything besides the insect just in between the pads of his thumb and pointer finger.

“That’s a fly, Peter,” Aunt May commented, her hands pressed against her chest, scared.

Peter, for sure out of it, let go, waving his hand in the air. “Yeah,” he responded, carelessly.

It flew around his head, his eyes following it carefully. “Nice catch,” I whispered. He jumped, dramatically, looking at me as if I was a ghost before looking back at Aunt May.

He wiped his bottom lip, preparing as if to say something, “I’m so sorry I kept you guys up,” he paused. “I’m insensitive, I’m irresponsible, and I’m hungry.” He goes to push past Aunt May, pressing a kiss on her cheek, and handing her half his broken board in the process.

Aunt May and Uncle Ben looked at me for answers, but I could only supply them a weak chuckle. Ben stood up to position himself next to May in the doorway of the kitchen, fitting myself right in between them.

The three of us watched as Peter dug out a yellow plate of what looked to be May’s meatloaf, unwrapping it, then proceeding to eat as if he hasn’t eaten anything in days, letting out breaths of relief. Was I somehow finding this attractive? Yes. “Drinking?” May questioned, eyes glancing at me as a quick analysis to see if I was in the same shape.

Ben, grasped the concept, and looked at me as well. I gave him a helpless shrug.

“What’s this?” Peter asked.

“I don’t think so,” Ben answered to May.

“This is your meat loaf,” Peter concluded chuckling, continuing to lean against the opened fridge door. “This beats all other meat loafs.”

Ben and I gave each other pointed looks of acknowledgement of his words.

“Something is very wrong,” May observed

“Yeah,” Ben started.

“Nobody likes your meat loaf,” Ben and I finished at the same time.

May looked at us both in slight irritation, her previous concerned expression dropping.

I don’t even know how it happened but the next time I saw Peter he was carrying at least seven courses, including ice cream and–is that frozen mac n’ cheese?

Peter slid past the three of us, nearly dropping one of the containers which May immediately reached out to catch, but the crook of Peter’s elbow did the job for her. “I got it,” he affirmed.

“He took the frozen macaroni and cheese,” May voiced.

“I noticed that,” Ben responded.

Ben and May looked at me with another interrogative gaze.

I sucked on my teeth for a moment, “I really can’t answer that for you.”

May looked at Ben and I with a more threatening appearance. “Why didn’t you guys tell me you didn’t like my meat loaf? Especially you Ben!”

“Um…” He gaped at her.

“You could have said that to me 37 years ago—”

“Y/n!” Peter called out from his room.

“You’re on your own Uncle Ben.” I saluted him, making a haste exit away from the conversation.

When I got to Peter’s room I didn’t find him. “Peter?”

“In here,” a muffled voice says.

I went to the bathroom, opening and closing the door to see him splashing water on his face. “Peter, what the hell was that all about?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed.

He stared at his reflection, his hand reaching up at the collar of his shirt, connecting his fingers to something.

“What’s that?” I took a step toward him to inspect. “It looks like—like a string.”

He pulled at it, my eyes meeting what looked to be, “a bite.”

He pulled on the string, a groan of pain escaping past his lips. He goes to look at it, a mixture of emotions flashing across his eyes as it now appear to resemble more of a web than a string. His eyebrows twitched up, as his eyes followed the trail that lead from his right hand to his left. He shuddered a couple of times. I didn’t dare to speak a word, rather just watched, but when I saw the dead spider at the end I nearly screamed.

He looked away from it, blinking twice until they fully close.

“Peter,” I breathed. “You need to go to a hospital, that spider could’ve been deadly.”

He shook his head now looking at me. I traced out his eyes that were bloodshot, a dark shadow casting underneath them. “No, we do not speak of this. I just–I just need some rest. You–you should go home.”

I look at him taken aback. “Yeah. Right. Like I would ever leave you alone knowing this. What if you have a seizure or something? What if your skin starts burning holes? What if—”

“I get it!” he snapped. “Fine. You can stay.”

I gave him a proud smile. “Cool, see you in your room.” I smoothly winked at him, skipping off to allow him a second to himself. What a twist of events.

Beep—

I jumped up when Peter abruptly slammed his fist down on his alarm clock, the whole thing blowing up into bits. “Holy—my God, Peter, you—” My eyes set on the broken pieces of the poor alarm clock that got a taste of his newfound strength, coughing a little from the smoke

His head burrowed into the pillow he had laying on the ground.

Despite having slept in the same bed multiple times, with said new strength Peter argued against it this time, claiming he'd accidentally hurt me in his sleep. With that said, he refused to have me sleep on the floor with my obvious concussion. “How are you feeling?” I asked.

Groggily he got up, storming out, and to the bathroom.

It was less than a minute later when I heard him let out a small cry. “Peter?” I opened the door to see water shooting out from the faucet. “What did you do?” I closed the door in case either May or Ben decided to walk by.

“Do you really need me to answer that?!” he replied, angry. He reached for the towel beside the sink, when the holder for it ripped off the wall.

“Peter, just calm down!” I attempted to ease, as he frantically spun around.

He tried to cover the broken faucet with the piece that he ripped off, eventually throwing the towel over it. His hand went toward the doorknob to the cabinet only to have that also be broken off. In defeat he looked at me.

“How about you try to open this door—” I knock edon the wood behind me, “—as carefully as possible?”

He hesitated, but when I moved out of the way for him to obey, he walked up, only the tips of his fingers holding the doorknob, delicately turning it. Not without another look at me he left, slamming the door. “Thanks Peter,” I huffed, walking out of the bathroom.

When I went into Peter’s room I found him sitting on his bed, toothbrush in one hand, and the doorknob in the other.

“Peter…?” I took soft steps toward him.

He jolted up, turning his head to the side, frantically. He stared at something in horror. He jolted again, moving his whole body to turn toward his window, the blinds were down, the room dim. He held his toothbrush out in front of him as some form of defense. Realizing what he’s doing, he stood up. “I have to get to the bottom of this,” he told me.

“You can say that again,” I laughed, going to his computer.

His foot connected to a piece of paper which he struggled to get off. “You–you don’t have to—” he stammered when I offered to get it for him. “Thanks,” he muttered, sitting on his desk chair.

His typing was faster than lightning, looking up every possible thing about spiders and their bites. Nothing matching his problem. He lightly touches the bite on the back of his neck, a sudden impulse going through him as he typed, ‘Richard parker spider’, but it seemed to fade into random letters.

Peter and I both looked down at his hands which he lifts. Some of the keys, including the spacebar, stuck to his fingers. “Sticky like a spider,” I thought out loud. “You’re like a spider, but a man,” I paused, my tongue darting out to swipe over my lips in concentration. “A Spider-Man.”

Comment to be added to the taglist !!

For those who used to be on my taglist and see this, please comment if you want to be on it again, as I have not written in a while and don't know what you're into now. Thank you.

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thegoldencontracts · 4 months

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why do you think having an eating disorder is a weakness without sounding ableist quick

Okayyy I guess this was my , I was saying it impeded hin in some manner - an ed impedes his well-being. As in, things you're weak to rather than flaws of character, which is why the list in question never mentions anything like being selfish or greedy.

also it is worth noting that eds are a bit different from other disabilities because recovery from them is a. Possible b. Desirable (as in unlike an autistic person who definitely does not want to to try "curing" themselves for a variety of reasons)

Anyways all in all I would never want to judge people with eds and I'm sorry if that post made it seem like it but uh I have to share this

The way I talk about Azul's eating disorder is admittedly somewhat projection, and I don't even know why I hide that I really don't think people would judge (ill never forget this one ed fic I posted on AO3 where I was like 'hope I don't disrespect eds >< I've never had one' like a goddamned liar). The reason I talked about it like that in the post is because I was kind of projecting my own feelings about my restrictive ed, how so many times I feel like crap no matter what I do, I feel sick if I don't eat and guilty if I do, and I will admit I definitely tend to overly reference my own experiences while talking about Azul's ed, because I'll admit it was nice seeing my own crappy experiences in his own

Anyways in what sense of having a restrictive ed not hold you back? Sure, you can still be successful, but You're constantly running on empty. It's not a character flaw, but it's definitely something that needs to be overcome. And also I write Azul addressing it and recovering slowly but surely because... Yeah projection I wish I could do that so bad T_T

yeah sorry I derailed my answer to this with what's kinda just my own tangent

#tina rambles #azul ashengrotto #tw: eating disorder #Okay I'm assuming good faith #But ngl I can't help but feel like you're just looking for a reason to get mad at me #If that's the case I'm sorry for whatever I did T_T

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progmetol · 1 year

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So, you know that one post you made here (https://www.tumblr.com/cringineer-gaming/696420948878000128?source=share)? I was just wondering what exactly you would consider good characterization of engineer.

(Sorry if this comes off as rude, I'm just curious.)

Well first let me talk about what I think is bad characterization. A lot of people seem to portray him as very submissive and soft, which I don’t think is the case. He’s polite, and he may be short, but what we see of him in game and in the comics is that he is very comfortable in his own skin, enough to make threats with confidence (not to say he doesn’t have insecurities, mind you. He’s just used to it). Basically what I’m saying is that he is much more assertive than I see people portray him as. He is designed as a traditionally masculine character, and while I’m not saying he can’t have insecurities, I prefer when authors respect that. There isn’t enough writing where masculine characters deal with problems in a healthy manner either and Engineer, being a calm and collected character, would be a perfect canvas for that.

Another thing: a lot of time writers will take one aspect of his personality (usually the robotics stuff) and make it all he cares and thinks about. That’s… not how most people function. Yeah he may like to build stuff for his job, he definitely does, he enjoys it. But the man’s allowed to have other hobbies, and he does (he’s a talented musician, going off his taunts). But even beyond that, say his only interest truly was robotics: there’s still other things outside of hobbies that people enjoy if that makes sense. Sorry I think this point was a little confusing.

And this point is also somewhat related to the last but not really. It is very obvious when the writer has no idea what an engineer actually does or how we think/work. Dell is an engineer, he’s going to think like one- rational, practical, logical, etc. and oftentimes this doesn’t come through in writing at all when it should, because ffs this is a character’s core thought processes. Even outside of engineering this would be apparent. If there’s anything you are going to apply to his whole personality, this is it. But even aside from thought processes, people will also equate being an engineer to a mechanic or similar trade, which is uh. Far from the truth. Otherwise we wouldn’t have to go through four-five years of school to get our degrees. Engineering is not simply physically fixing things, it is applying math and science to solve problems. Most of it is designing things to do such. It is a very elaborate field and frankly reducing it to something akin to a trade is a missed opportunity. That being said Engineer clearly has a lot of real world experience so he probably knows how to fix a good amount of things and can intuitively know how they might work. But don’t make this the focus. It shouldn’t be.

There’s probably more that I missed but these are the three major ones for now.

#MP talks #MP answers

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bruggle · 8 months

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Ya know what? Here's a master post with everything in chronological order (including some works in progress)

In Which X Adopts A Feral Child

This outbreak of Mavericks was by no means anywhere close to what Marino had dealt with in the past, but it was still a pain in the ass. Massimo was currently fighting off three of them,

“Think that was it?” Massimo asked. Marino shrugged. “Can’t say for sure, but it seems like it,” she said.

“Are you guys ok?” Cinnamon fretted, milling around them. “Yeah, we’re okay,” Marino assured her. Out of the corner of her eye, Marino spotted a reploid getting up to his feet. She was about to call out and ask if he was okay when she noticed him raising a buster.

Right at Cinnamon.

Before she could even push Cinnamon out of the way, a shot rang out in the air; and the Maverick fell back to the ground. “Where did that come from?” demanded Massimo, tensing up for another round of fighting. Marino looked around, but she couldn’t see anything. “Not sure, but I’m pretty sure they’re not an enemy,” she assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “What makes you so sure?” he asked. “Well, given that we’re not dead, I’d say it’s a pretty good bet,” Marino deadpanned. “They’ve had ample opportunities.” Massimo mulled it over a bit before relaxing his stance. “Up there!” Cinnamon suddenly called out. Marino looked to where she was pointing and saw a figure standing on top of one of the higher buildings. “Hey!” she called out. The figure tensed, as though not expecting to have been seen before slowly turning towards them. “Who are you?” Massimo demanded. Marino snorted, always the blunt one. The figure hesitated, giving Marino more time to analyze them. Fitted in silver armor, Marino could tell that they were a female model. Her helmet was fitted with a visor, shielding her eyes from view; and Marino couldn’t see any visible hair. She carried a sniper buster, although it wasn’t any model Marino was used to seeing. Perhaps they just had different makes out here in the States.

“We just want to properly thank you for saving our teammate,” Marino called out when the reploid still hadn’t given an answer. Rather than replying, the stranger seemingly gave a sigh of defeat and held up a finger before disappearing out of view. “What does that mean?” snorted Massimo. “Probably that they’re coming down here so that we don’t have to yell everything,” Marino exasperated. Really, he could be so dense sometimes. “So who are you?” Massimo demanded as soon as the reploid reappeared. Marino elbowed him as hard as she could. It wasn’t very effective due to his armor, but seriously. “Don’t mind him,” she assured the stranger. “He forgot his manners at home. Like I said, we just wanted to thank you for saving Cinnamon here.” The reploid hesitated for a second before quietly muttering an answer. “Minnow,”

“It’s nice to meet you, Minnow,” Cinnamon greeted excitedly. She always enjoyed meeting new friends. “This is Marino, and that’s Massimo.” Minnow didn’t give a response, preferring to give a nod in greeting. “So I gotta ask,” Marino interjected. “What are you doing out here? You apart of the Guild?” Minnow shook her head. “Uh… no,” she answered quietly. “I’m just a merc. The Maverick I was tracking made his way out here; and while I can’t get the bounty on him now, I uh… I hate doing nothing so I stuck around to help.”

“At least let us buy you an E-tank,” Marino insisted. “No, no,” Minnow refused, avidly shaking her head. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad to help. Thank you for the offer though.” She quickly made her way out of the town.

“That was… weird,” Massimo mused once Minnow was out of sight. Marino nodded in agreement. “I think she’s just shy,” Cinnamon argued. “Maybe, but I don’t know,” Marino sighed. “There is definitely something off about her. She said she was a mercenary, right?” Massimo nodded. “One that seems to be working by herself,” he mused. “Not very reassuring."

“What are you implying?” Cinnamon bristled. “Easy there, Cinna,” Marino soothed, placing a hand on her shoulder. “She saved me!” Cinnamon exclaimed, shrugging off Marino’s hand. “She’s not a Maverick!” Marino held her hands up in surrender. “Nobody is saying she is,” she assured Cinnamon. “I am,” butted in Massimo. Marino glared at him. “You’re not helping,” she hissed. He shrugged. “Don’t care,” he said. “We need to report this to HQ.”

“What?!” exclaimed Cinnamon. “That’s a little rash don’t you think?” exasperated Marino. Massimo gave them a hard look. “If she’s a Maverick, she needs to be taken care of as quickly as possible,” he maintained. “She’s dangerous.” Marino rolled her eyes. “Massimo, I agree that there’s something weird about Minnow,” she started. “But I really don’t think she’s a Maverick. It doesn’t make sense. Who knows how long she’s been in the area; she could have easily taken all of us out. She would have taken us all out if she were.”

“Maybe, or maybe she’s just not a very smart one,” Massimo snorted. Marino put her head in her hands. She was so glad she didn’t have the capacity to get a headache; she definitely would be dealing with one this very moment if she could. “Call X,” Cinnamon suddenly demanded. “What?!” Marino exclaimed. “Cinnamon, X is isn’t in active duty right now. We can’t just call him.” Cinnamon folded her arms, a determined look on her face. “Call X,” she maintained. “He’ll know if she’s a Maverick or not.” Marino let out a long suffering sigh. “Cinnamon, we can not call X,” she exasperated.---

How had he lost her? Granted, this was a forest; the trees obscured his vision pretty well. But surely he wasn't so out of practice that one single Maverick would be able to escape him? Suddenly, the sound of a branch snapping alerted him to look up. He only got a glance at the falling figure, but it was enough to tell him that he needed to move. Why hadn't he thought to look up? It made sense that Minnow would use the height to her advantage.

The sound of her body hitting the forest floor made him wince, especially once he realized she had definitely not been planning for it. Minnow was laying on her back, a soft groan escaping her lips as he steadied his weapon at her. "Don't move," he hissed, before taking a better look at her.

And what he saw made his systems freeze.

Minnow's helmet had fallen off in the fall, revealing her young face, brown hair braided up into a crown,

And two very human ears on the side of her head.

Oh shit.

"How is she?" X asked.

The doctor regarded him for a second before sighing. "Technically speaking, I shouldn't be telling you anything; doctor-patient confidentiality and all that," he said. "However, given that she's a minor, we have zero idea who she is, where she's from, or if she even has any parents, I'm going to tell you anyways. Don't let it bite me in the ass later, okay?

"Asides from the broken arm and three broken ribs from the fall, she's in surprisingly good shape. Worst thing she's facing is some acute anemia and minor dehydration. Well, that and she's pretty underweight, but that's nothing being back in society can't fix." X nodded. "And we really have no idea what her name is? At all?" The doctor shook his head. "'Fraid not," he replied. "She has no form of I.D. Anything in her phone that could lead to her identity is under 'Minnow', no social security number, nothing. She's a near perfect Jane Doe." The doctor let out a snort. "Unless, of course, her name is actually Minnow, but I highly doubt that," he added.

X let out a groan. "How on Earth did she manage to go this long without getting caught?" he grumbled out loud. "There are so many checks she was supposed to go through." The doctor let out a chuckle. "Welcome to the boonies, city boy," he said, clapping X on the shoulder. "We don't do things quite as 'by the book' out here. Kinda impossible. I've seen kids build bombs on their parent's land and the worst that happened was the Sheriff telling them not to do it again." X gave him an incredulous look.

"'If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so,'" she quoted. "Do NOT quote your American founding fathers to me!" X growled. "That was over five hundred years ago, and I highly doubt they would have approved of a sixteen year old girl risking her life hunting Mavericks! Especially over petty revenge!" Brook glared at him. "This had nothing to do revenge!" she spat. "The Maverick that killed my parents has been dead for years! Don't you dare act like you know why I did this!"

"Then why did you break all manner of laws specifically to hunt Mavericks?" he argued. "Because it seems quite clear that this is all about revenge." In lieu of answering, she glared at the wall. X sighed and rubbed his face. He was far too old for this.

"And what were you planning on doing when winter came around?" X asked, frustrated by her short-sightedness. "There were caves," Brook argued. "I could have lived in one of them. People have done it before."

"Yes, when they were born in those conditions!" he exasperated. "You don't seem to understand how far removed you are from nature! Determined as you may be, it wouldn't make up for the fact that you had done zero preparation!"

She huffed and turned away from him before wincing as the movement aggravated her ribs.

"With all due respect, mister...?" the woman looked expectantly at him. "Just X is fine," he said curtly. She nodded. "Right. With all due respect, X, your services are no longer required," the woman said. "We appreciate the help, but this has long since moved past any sort of Maverick business."

X regarded her for a second. "It is my understanding that minors should have some sort of guardianship present for any sort of legalities," he said. "Last I checked, her case worker and previous foster parents are in an entirely different state." The woman made a sigh of frustration. "We are well aware," she huffed. "But we have alerted them to her whereabouts, so again, your services are no longer necessary."

"Until they are physically present, I am not leaving," X maintained. The woman rolled her eyes. "Surely you have something better to do," she insisted. "Perhaps saving another city from a Maverick outbreak?" Ah. So that's what it was. He had been wondering why this woman had such a chip on her shoulder. "If I were needed, I would be called," X said. "As such, until Ms. Longsdale's guardians arrive I will remain right here." The woman simply chose to glare at him.

"Excuse me, sorry for bothering you uh..." X turned to see a young woman carrying a folder full of documents. "Just X is fine," he assured her. "Right, right. Sorry, uh..." the woman straightened her back. "My name is Emily Reed. I'm Ms. Longsdale's case worker." She held out her hand, which X took, shaking it. "Nice to meet you," he said. "Likewise," she answered. "It is my understanding that you have taken an... unofficial guardianship of Ms. Longsdale?"

X sighed. "It appears that I have," he wryly stated. Ms. Reed sighed as well, shaking her head. "I'll admit it's definitely not something I've encountered, " she said. "But I am grateful for it. Her previous foster parents have... well... let's just say they're not coming any time soon." X winced at that. "They're good people!" she assured. "Promise. They've had several kids in their care, all happy and healthy. But... I mean... this is sort of a last second thing that they were completely unprepared for."

"No, I suppose they wouldn't," X chuckled. "Not every day a kid runs off to fight Mavericks." Ms. Reed rolled her eyes, putting a hand to her forehead. "Oh, do not remind me," she grumbled. "This girl has had me at my wits ends."

"That bad?" X asked with a raised brow. She shook her head. "That's not... well, that's kind of what I mean," she sighed. "She's a good kid, very quiet and tends to keep to herself." X did not believe that for a second. At least, not what he'd seen of her temper. "She's just... it's been hard for her. The teenage years are already a pain to go through, but losing your parents when it starts isn't something I'd wish on anybody."

"How old was she?" he asked. "Fourteen," Ms. Reed replied. X nodded, looking over at the room Brook was in. Two years really wasn't that long ago,

"Well, you've certainly caused quite a stir," X told her, his tone sounding amused. "What do you mean?" grumbled Brook. "Have you not been watching the news?" he asked, gesturing to the TV in the hospital room. "God no," she snorted, lifting her lip in disgust. "Nothing but bullshit anyways." X rolled his eyes at her choice of words. "Well, you probably should," he sighed, grabbing the remote. "Oh please, don't make me watch that shit," Brook groaned. "I really don't want to hear it."

"Brook, you need to hear this," he argued. "Then why can't you just tell me?" she snapped back. "Because it's a lot bigger than what I can put into words," he replied. With that, he turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until he found a news station. Luckily, they were still talking about it; the screen showing a woman in front of a large crowd of people. She was talking briefly about the protest before singling out a man for an interview.

"And why are you out here today?" the newscaster asked, holding her microphone out to the man. "We're out here because we're tired of being ignored," he told her, gesturing to the crowd of people behind him. "Hunters never get sent out here, mercenaries never pick up the bounties out here, we're basically told to figure it out ourselves. That girl was proving a point and it needs to be fixed." The woman nodded, taking the microphone back. "And how would you propose it be fixed?" she questioned, handing it back.

The man took off his hat and rubbed his head. "Can't say I know for sure, but government needs to do it's job before we stop doing ours," he answered. "Get more people out here. Or offer higher bounties on Mavericks out here instead of forcing the communities to offer their own. Either way, they shouldn't punish that girl for trying to help. The world runs on farmer's handiwork, we deserve the same amount of protection cities get." X glanced over at Brook; she looked pale as a ghost, a horrified expression on her face. "They... They're threatening strikes?" she bleated. "Looks like it," he told her. "All over the U.S." She slowly shook her head. "I didn't want this," she whispered, slowly curling into as much of a ball as her ribs would allow. "How the fuck do they even know about this?"

"Brook, you broke every manner of law possible to hunt Mavericks," X reminded her. "Of course that's going to make national headlines." Brook didn't respond, seemingly hyperventilating instead.

A knock at the door seemingly caught X by suprise. Guess he wasn't expecting any visitors. "Brook, would you please get the door while I take care of this?" he asked. Brook sighed, placing her bag of groceries on the counter. "Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, making her way to the entrance. Upon opening the door, she was greeted by another reploid; one in black armor with red and yellow accents. An 'x' shaped scar went across the bridge of his nose and his red hair was spiked up behind his helmet. He looked absolutely bewildered upon seeing Brook, quickly checking the number on the door. "Am... am I in the wrong building?" he wondered outloud. "Oh, Axl," X called from the kitchen. "I didn't know you were stopping by."

'Axl', as he was now introduced, looked over towards where X was; having still not entered the apartment. "X, what the hell?!" he yelled. Brook snorted, and opened the door wider, allowing him to enter. "No seriously," Axl said as he walked inside. "What the hell is with the kid?" X sighed as he walked into the living room. "Axl, this is Brook," he introduced her. "I'm keeping an eye on her until further notice."

"He kidnapped me," Brook interjected. Axl let out a snort of amusement as X sent her a look. "Very funny," X deadpanned. "No seriously," she insisted. "I very much am here against my will. He kidnapped me out of America." Axl laughed at that. "Ooo this is going to be a good story," he grinned.

"So exactly how many laws did you wind up breaking?" Axl grinned. "Uh..." Brook looked over at X with a pleading look. "I didn't quite pay attention to the charges being read off." X sighed before rattling them off. "Impersonation of a reploid, 15 counts of purgery and identity fraud, one count of illegal firearm possession, 3 counts of illegal firearm modification, hunting without a license, and fishing without a license,"

Axl was silent for a minute, before slowly looking at Brook with awe written on his face. "Yeah," said Brook. "You know, just a couple." At this, he let out a howl of laughter, and not even X could keep the wry smile off his face.

"You'll have to throw higher than that," Brook called, a bored tone to her voice. "Shut up, you bitch!" yelled the jock, she couldn't remember his name. Brook rolled her eyes. Although, she was suprised he hadn't given up yet. Seventeen rocks, all falling short of her perch up in the tree, and he was still at it.

"Let me have a go," said one of his friends. Again, Brook couldn't remember his name. "You a baseball player?" she called down. "Bitch, I might be," he snapped. She grinned, "Have at it then," Brook snarked. She watched as he brought the hand holding the rock back, and then he threw it.

And Brook felt a sharp pain right above her left eye.

Well that stung.

"Take that, you stuck up shit!" the boy jeered, as all his friends clapped him on the back. Brook looked back down at them, her head at an angle so the blood wouldn't get into her eye. Yeah, that had definitely given them a boost of confidence, the assholes. She smirked. "Alright boys," she said. "Playtime's over."

She then launched herself right on top of the boy that had succeeded in hitting her with a rock.

Brook sighed as she sank in the chair right outside the principals office. She knew it had been a bad idea to instigate those boys into a fight, yet she made a point to do so anyways. Now X was here, and that was garnering more attention that she had been trying to avoid. At least she made it to the end of the day.

The sound of the door opening made her freeze. Brook glanced out of the corner of her eye to see X looking disappointedly at her. That was probably the worst part of it all. She really hadn't wanted to be a problem. He sighed, "You need to put pressure on that," X said, pointing to the wound on her forehead. It was still bleeding, she hadn't realized the guy had gotten her that good. In lieu of answering, Brook just used the cloth she had been given by the school nurse to try and staunch the bleeding.

X was quiet for a minute. "What were you thinking?" he finally asked. Brook didn't answer him, which made him sigh again. "Come on," he placed a hand on her shoulder and lead her out of the building. As much as he wanted to yell at her right then and there, X knew causing a scene would just make it worse. As they left the office, the secretary gave him a sympathetic look.

"Brook, you bit somebody!" X exasperated. "

"You ignore them!" X hissed. "Or you tell your instructors what's going on!" Brook rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, so they can say 'I'll keep an eye on it!' And then do nothing," she spat. "Gee, sure wonder if I've ever done that before!" X narrowed his eyes. "It is still not up to you to try and handle it!" he said. "That is what the adults are for!"

"Oh yes, and they have been just great at that!" she snorted. "One of the kids literally called me a bitch right in the middle of class and all the teacher did was threaten detention! Ooooh that'll get them to listen!"

"That doesn't mean you goad people into fighting you!"

"Then what does it mean?" Brook yelled. "It means you talk to me about it if it continues!" X exasperated. "Right! Right," she snarked. "And what happens then? You go to the headmaster, say something, and still nothing happens! Man, it's almost like this isn't the first time I've been through this!"

"You don't know that for sure!" X challenged

"Oh, I don't?" she snarled. "You think I fucking don't?"

"Do NOT use that language on me!"

"Nobody. Does. ANYTHING!" Brook screamed. "Not at fucking school! Not in the fucking country! And NOT WHEN MY PARENTS DIED!" She sat there panting for a minute, until she felt the familiar pin-prick of tears at the corner of her eyes. She angrily scrubbed at her face, as if that would stop them (it never did.) X to his credit, was seemingly stunned by her outburst. She couldn't quite read the look on his face, but she could definitely see the pity.

She was so fucking sick of pity.

Turning away, Brook made her way to her room. "Brook-" X started, but she was done. Maybe now he'd figure out that giving her a 'normal' childhood was a worthless endeavor. It was gone the moment she was called to the principal's office that day. He'd be much better off if he would just let her go. Let her sell her soul to the Guild like she was supposed to.

Upon reaching her room, Brook hurriedly opened the door; she could hear X following after her. But, as angry as she was, and as desperate as she was to be alone, she couldn't slam it shut. It was something her mother had drilled into her head: doors were not for slamming. So she gently but firmly closed it, locking it for good measure.

And then collapsed onto the floor.

"Brook, open the door," she heard X gently call, there wasn't anymore anger in his voice.

But that just made it worse. Brook could no longer hold back her tears. "Go away," she pleaded.

"I'm fine," Brook assured X. "It's fine." He didn't look quite convinced. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Yep," she replied. "Wasn't big enough for any real damage." X sighed. "It bled a lot," he fretted. Brook waved him off. "Eh, that's just head wounds in general," she explained. "Lots of blood vessels up there."

"Did you put the ointment on it?" X asked, pointing to the antibacterial ointment he had bought. Man, he sure was paranoid. "You're lucky I put a bandaid on it," Brook chuckled. "It's fine." X looked incredulously at her. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. "What, you think I could afford bandaids while I was out in the woods?" she asked, a smile pulling at her lips. "Psh no."

X gave her an unreadable look before slowly shaking his head with a wry smile. "How are you still alive," he deadpanned. "All you need is peroxide," Brook smirked. "So you bought peroxide but not bandaids," he exasperated. She shrugged. "Peroxide mixed with vinegar is a good gun cleaner," she replied. "Wound cleaning is just an added benefit." He didn't give a reply to that, choosing to instead place his face in his hands.

"You should see the scar I got on my leg from the time I caught myself with a fishing hook," Brook chuckled. "That was a fun time." X chuckled with her. "Why do you sound so proud of that?" he asked.

"What are you doing here, Rabies?" asked Lynn. Brook rolled her eyes at the nickname. She kinda asked for it, biting that one kid. "Well," she started. "I have a bow, some arrows, and there are some targets behind you. Sure wonder what it is I'm doing." Now Lynn rolled her eyes. "Have you ever even shot a bow?" she challenged. Brook shrugged. "Once, when I was like eight," she answered. "You do realize this isn't a beginners course, right?" Lynn scoffed. "Like, we have competitions and stuff. You don't just pick this up. Hell, why are you even bothering?"

"Well that's none'ya," said Brook. "But I'll let you know if that changes." Lynn narrowed her eyes at Brook. "That's enough girls," said Mrs. Ren as she walked up. "Lynn, get out of the firing range. Start practicing if you're not going to help." The girl scoffed as she got out of the way. "Now Brook," Mrs. Ren started, turning to her. "Lynn is correct about this not being a beginners course. I'm not going to give you much grace just because this is your first time."

"I understand," Brook grumbled. She really wished X would just let her tag along with Axl to the shooting range. It'd be so much easier. After a crash course on how to hold the bow and strings so as not to take the skin off her forearm, Brook was ready to take her first shot.

Drawing back the arrow, she focused on the target in front of her.

And completely missed.

She heard Lynn snickering from her left and resisted the urge to glare at her. She knew this was a bad idea. "Try again," ordered Mrs. Ren. Nocking another arrow, she took aim.

And just barely avoided dry firing the bow.

"Fuck," Brook seethed. "Language, " Mrs. Ren barked. "Try again." Sighing, Brook made one last effort to correctly nock and draw the arrow. She had to do this. It would kill her if she got rusty. Taking a deep breath, she once again focused on the target.

And hit it.

It was by no means a bullseye, but at least she had hit it. Mrs. Ren nodded approvingly. "You'll definitely need practice," she stated. "But you've got some instincts for this. Keep it up, and maybe you'll make the team."

As Brook entered the house, she noticed X sitting in the living room. She let out a small sigh. Just great. Maybe if she hurried he wouldn't-

"How was school?"

Dammit.

"It was fine, X," Brook answered. He quirked a brow, most likely due to her tone. A twinge of guilt went through her, but she quickly pushed it away. It was his own fault for being nosy. "Anything happen?" X asked. "No, just another day," she replied. "You're home later than usual," he observed.

It took everything in her not to immediately snap at him. It wasn't his freaking business what she did. "Yeah, I know," she ground out, making her way to her room. "Brook," he called after her. "What?" she hissed. Today had already been a mess. She didn't want to add another fight onto it. But if X wanted one, she'd be fine giving him one. X held up his hands in surrender. "I just want to know if something happened," he said. "Nothing happened," Brook growled. "I just took a longer route home."

Now X narrowed his eyes. That... was a terrible lie. Brook mentally kicked herself for such a stupid thing. "Brook, what did you do?" he demanded. She rolled her eyes. "If I did anything, I'm sure you would have gotten a call," Brook snarked. "Then why are you home late?" X argued. "What does it matter to you?" she threw back. "I'm here, nothing happened at school, or afterwards! I just didn't come home immediately!"

"It matters to me because you're young and have already proven to not have the best ideas!" he exasperated. "Excuse me?" Brook bristled. X sighed and rubbed at his face. "That... came out wrong," he admitted. "Look, I don't want to get into another fight. I'm just worried about you."

"Well don't," Brook seethed. "You're not my dad. It's none of your business what I do." X closed his eyes and seemingly counted to ten mentally. Why was she dragging this out? Rather than waiting for a response, Brook stormed to her room.

"Yes, hello. My name is Kaya Ren, I'm one of Brook's teachers." X sighed. "What did she do now?" he asked. The woman over the phone let out a laugh. "Nothing bad, I promise," she assured. "I just wanted you to be aware that she's joined the archery club. She's been trying out for it the past few days, surely she's told you?"

X closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. "She hadn't," he replied. Mrs. Ren sighed. "My apologies; had I known, I would have sent a note home with her the first day," she replied. X let out a mirthless chuckle. "Even if you had, I'm sure she would have 'conveniently' lost it," he said. "That bad, hmm?" she deadpanned. "You have no idea," X groaned.

"Well, forgive me for sounding biased," Mrs. Ren started. "But I think archery would be a good outlet for all that anger of hers."

"Or just another weapon," X sighed. "Yes, we have talked extensively about that," she said. "Brook is very aware of the fact that if she makes any sort threat towards someone, she is off the team. I do not tolerate that sort of behavior here."

"I'm glad to hear that," X said. "But... I don't know. I'm not sure how much she actually wants to do this." Mrs. Ren chuckled. "She was quite adamant about it," she assured him. "I've had a lot of girls try out for archery, and I've never seen one as determined to get in as her. Especially with how little experience she has." X let out his own chuckle at that. "I can imagine," he said, before letting out another sigh. "I will discuss it with Brook tonight when she gets home. If we decide this is what she wants to do, I will send a note with her saying as much."

"Understood," agreed Mrs. Ren. "I won't keep you any longer, thank you for considering it."

"Of course," X replied. "Have a good evening."

"You as well,"

"I didn't have to worry about calculus in the woods," Brook growled. "Brook, that was not Japanese," X reminded her, speaking in Japanese himself. She sent a half-hearted glare his way before quietly muttering "For fuck's sake" to herself in English. "That was definitely not Japanese either," he told her as he continued with his task. Brook gave him an unreadable look. "Kuso sake," she replied loudly; and despite himself, X could not stop the laugh that came out of him.

"You're horrible, you know that?" X chuckled. "You may said so one or two," Brook replied in broken Japanese. She was still struggling with certain words and phrases, but she was slowly getting there.

"You could just use napalm," said Brook. Axl gave a snort. "And how exactly am I supposed to get ahold of some napalm?" he asked. "You could make some," she answered. Both he and X gave her an incredulous look. "D-do you know how to make napalm?"

Brook looked over his head at X, who was currently giving her a death glare. "My lawyer advises me that I should say no," she said. Axl let out a burst of laughter at that. "Oh, you have got to show me now," he insisted. "You are NOT making napalm in this house!" X yelled. "Well of course not," said Brook, looking offended. "That'd be irresponsible. Napalm is best made in a garage; especially if it's detached. "

"BROOK!"

As Brook got ice from the fridge door, one chunk fell onto the floor. She quickly picked it up and was about to throw it in the sink when an idea came to her. It was a terrible idea, but it'd really, really funny too. Looking over at X, he had seemingly not noticed that she was currently holding a piece of ice in her hand.

Perfect.

"Hey, X," Brook called. "Yes? What is it?" he asked, still looking at the electronic screen in his hand. She smirked. "'Ice' to see you," she said, slipping the piece of ice into his shirt collar. "BROOK!" X hollered, but she had already taken off."Get back here!"

Ooh, he sounded angry. Brook snickered to herself as she ran into the living room. X quickly caught up to her; but she had already ran around the coffee table, keeping just out of reach. He had an angry look on his face, which made Brook laugh harder. "You're terrible," he said, darting to the left of the table. "Especially that pun. I cannot believe you." Brook barely managed to escape him again, still laughing. "Now that's just cold," she joked. "Really?!" X exclaimed. "Keep it up, see what happens."

"I'm just doing this for the hail of it," Brook grinned. Unfortunately, however, she moved a little too slow and X managed to grab her arm. "Gotcha!" he said, pulling her into a hug as she let out a squeak. "I should have left you out in the woods."

"But'cha didn't!"

As X entered the threshold of his home, he heard music coming from the kitchen. Curious, he quietly made his way through the house; where he found Brook hand washing dishes as she sang along to the song currently playing. Chuckling to himself, he spoke up. "I do have a dishwasher, you know,"

Brook immediately let out a squeak of suprise, tossing the plate she had been washing into the air; it was only due to X's quick reflexes that it didn't fall on the floor and break. As he placed the dish back into the sink, he watched Brook hurriedly running over to the speaker that had been playing the music, turning it off. "Sorry! Sorry!" she yelped. "I didn't hear you come in!"

"Hey, I don't mind," he soothed. "So long as I'm not in a call and you're not blaring it as loud as possible, it's fine. Not sure I know that band, though."

"It's uh... it's an old band," she said. "Sorry, I know it's weird. I just... I'm used to doing it by hand. Gives me a chance to think and-." X held up a hand before she could ramble on any further. "It's alright Brook," he said. "You don't have to explain yourself to me." She visibly relaxed at that. "Sorry," Brook muttered. X sighed, before shaking his head with a fond smile. "C'mon," he said. "Let's finish the dishes. Turn that racket back on." It was Brook's turn to let out a sigh as she walked over to the speaker. "You sounded good, by the way," X told her as she passed him. Her face immediately turned red, as she muttered a thanks.

"Put on some clothes you don't care about," said Axl. Brook let out a snort. "Why?" she asked. "It's a suprise," he answered with a grin. "Don't worry, I think you'll enjoy it." Brook rolled her eyes, but went into her room anyways. Honestly, there wasn't much in her closet that she cared about in the first place, but she would at least make sure it wasn't something fancy or important. After deciding on a plain grey shirt and some jeans, she made her way to the door.

The sight of her coat made her hesitate.

Axl wouldn't tell her where they were going, but she had a suspicion that it was going to get messy if he was telling her to put on something she didn't care about. Biting her lip, she debated on how much she wanted to risk it. The idea of leaving it behind sort of hurt, but... did she want to risk ruining it? Eventually, she opened the door, her coat tucked safely behind it. She refused to take that gamble.

"Took ya long enough, short stuff," Axl teased. "Oh shush," Brook grinned. "You'd take this long if you could look half as good." He let out a laugh. "Ouch," Axl responded, holding a hand to the left side of his chest. "Hit me right where it hurts why don't you?" Brook laughed as well, grabbing a water bottle out of the fridge. "So how'd you convince X to let you take me somewhere?" she asked. Axl sighed. "He's got a lot of paperwork piled up, what with Neo Arcadia getting ready to launch and all that, and he didn't want you being left alone," he explained. "So, I offered to keep an eye on you, and he must just be under a lot of stress because he agreed."

"A horrible decision," Brook mused. "That's right, kid," Axl grinned. "So let's get going!"

"Oh, that's X," said Axl, seeming to hear something Brook couldn't. She figured reploids just had telecommunication devices built in, but seeing it in real time was kind of weird. "Hey what's up," he answered. "Yeah, she's with me." Hearing only one side of the conversation, Brook could only guess what X was saying. "Did you seriously not tell him you were taking me somewhere?" Brook asked. Axl glanced at her. "...It may have slipped my mind," he told her. "No, I was talking to Brook." She let out a laugh. "If I get in trouble because of you, I get three free hits the next time we do this," Brook threatened. Axl held up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright," he conceded. "You both are ganging up on me. We'll be there in a minute. Yeah, okay, okay. Bye."

Axl let out a sigh as the call seemed to end. He then turned to Brook. "You ready to go, kid?" he asked. "Yeah, don't want to give X a heart attack," she replied. "Or... whatever it is you guys have." Axl let out a laugh at that.

X was looking over some data Layer had sent when he heard the door opening. Looking up, he saw Brook and Axl entering the house. Both were an absolute mess, covered in what seemed to be paint. "Where the hell did you take her?!" X exclaimed. "Paintball," Axl grinned. "It was fun!" Brook added. X sighed, putting his face in his hand. "Yes, but now you're a mess!" he argued, gesturing to her clothes. "That's never going to come out! And it'll make a mess of the washer!" Brook shrugged. "I can hand wash," she pointed out. "That doesn't bother me."

"Well, that's all fine and dandy, but what about your hair?" he exasperated. "Eh, it'll come out," Axl said, waving his hand. "Probably." Brook laughed as X glared at him. "And even if it doesn't," she started. "Hey, free hair dye." X gave her an exasperated look before shaking his head. "Go take a shower," he told her, pushing her towards her room. "Fine, fine," she laughed. "And you," he pointed at Axl. "We are going to have a talk." Axl sighed.

As soon as X heard the door close, he gave Axl a hard look. "Why did you take her paintballing?" he asked. Axl shrugged. "It seemed like something she'd enjoy," he said. "And she did. Quite a bit, actually." X closed his eyes, feeling irritation bubbling up. "I understand that," he grumbled. "But she needs to seperate herself from that sort of activity. It's bad enough she's picked up archery." Axl let out a snort. "Why? Tons of kids have an interest in paintball," he argued. "Heck, there were four other kids at the facility tonight. Besides, I thought humans need to keep up on skills otherwise they get worse."

"They do, but-"

"Then why are you so adamant she stay away from it?" Axl asked. "X, that's going to get her killed." X glared at Axl. "I am trying to get her away from that," he hissed. "From all of that. She should have never been fighting Mavericks in the first place, and I'm trying to get her to understand she shouldn't be fighting them at all." Axl sighed. "Look, dude, I understand that, but Brook's not a little kid," he reasoned. "She's old enough to figure things out for herself, but stubborn enough that you trying to force her out of it is not going to work. All that's doing is making her feel like she has to find other ways around it behind your back. Why else do you think she never told you about the archery thing?"

X opened his mouth before closing it again. Axl... made a fair point, surprisingly. He sighed, putting a hand up to his head. "I just... I don't know what to do with her," X admitted. "She's already been through so much. The last thing I want for her is to live, breathe, and eat Maverick fighting like we do." Axl gave him a sympathetic look. "I get it, man," he said, clapping X on the shoulder. "But she kind of has to figure that out for herself. How does that saying go? You can lead a horse to drink...? No, that's not it..."

X let out a chuckle. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink," he corrected. "Right!" Axl grinned. "You can't make Brook change her mind. You can only lead her to the things that might. Trying to force her is only going to make her dig a deeper hole about it." X sighed again. He knew Axl was right. He just wished Brook would stop being so stubborn.

The sound of the door opening caught the two reploid's attention, as did the hurried footsteps accompanying it. "Where is my coat?!" Brook demanded as she rounded the corner. "It's just in the washer," X told her, caught off guard by her tone. "It's what?!" she shrieked. "Don't touch it without telling me!"

"Brook, it's been months since you've washed that thing," X exasperated. "Now knock it off, we have a guest." Brook glared at him. "Then don't touch my shit without telling me!" she spat. X gave her an incredulous look. He could not for the life of him figure out why she was so angry about this. "Hey, easy there, kid," Axl soothed, trying to defuse the situation. "Why is that coat so important?"

"None of your fucking business!" Brook seethed. "BROOK LONGSDALE!" X barked. "We do NOT speak to guests like that!" He glowered down at her, but she seemed just as suprised as Axl was by her own outburst. His glare slowly turned into a look of concern as she started shaking. Suddenly, without another word, Brook ran off; back into her room. "Damn, what was that about?" asked Axl, bewildered. X sighed. "I have no idea," he admitted. "In any case, it's getting late. You probably ought to head home." Axl nodded. "Right, see ya later X," he said, heading towards the door. "Lemme know how she is, yeah?"

"Yeah, I will," X said. As Axl opened the door, he turned to X one more time. "Good luck," he joked. X rolled his eyes, "I certainly need it," he chuckled. "Hey, all in all, she's a good kid," Axl reassured. "It's just like you said, she's been through a lot." X nodded. "I know," he maintained. "We'll talk about it. And I'll make sure she apologizes." Axl waved one last time as he left the apartment, closing the door behind him. Now, the fun began, X thought sarcastically to himself. Gearing himself up for another verbal spat, he made his way to Brook's room.

Knocking on the door, X waited for a response. When one wasn't given, he slowly opened the door. "Brook?" he called, looking around the room. She wasn't on the bed, and he couldn't see her anywhere. "Brook?" he called again. "Go away," he heard a muffled reply coming from the closet. X sighed. "Brook, come out of there," he gently coaxed. When he didn't hear any sort of movement, X walked closer towards it. "Come on," he sighed. "Aren't you a little old for this?" Still no sign that she was moving. "I'm not leaving until we talk about it," he maintained. Finally, he heard a sigh from within the closet; followed by shuffling as Brook emerged from it. She looked sullen, refusing to meet his eyes.

"So what was that about?" X asked, sitting on the bed. Brook still refused to say anything, focusing on the floor. "Brook, we need to talk about this," he told her. "Come on, sit down." Huffing, Brook slowly moved to sit next to him on the bed, still refusing to look at him. "So?" X prompted.

It took a minute, but finally Brook responded. "I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know why I did that. Axl's been nothing but nice to me, so... So I don't know why I said that to him."

"I think it would help if you would explain why you were so angry about your coat," X told her. Brook swallowed thickly, seeming to fold in on herself. She opened her mouth a couple of times, much like a fish out of water. "It was my dad's coat," she finally whispered. "And it was the last thing he gave me." X's eyes softened. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Brook didn't give an answer, but she took in a deep, shuddering breath before sighing. "He was taking me to school that day," she started. "And it was still pretty early in spring, so... ya know, the temperature goes all over the place. Especially in the mountains. I uh... I forgot my coat at home, and it was supposed to be colder when I got out of school that day. Didn't realize until it was too late to turn back.

"So I didn't say anything until we got there when my dad asked if I had it," Brook took another shuddering breath in, wiping harshly at the corner of her eye. "I told him no, but I'd be fine. Wasn't like I was going to be outside all that much anyway. But... he insisted I take his. Just in case something happened. So..." She finally looked up, and X could see a trail of tears on her cheeks. "So I took it," she said. "And then it happened. And I know it had nothing to do with it, but..." she finally broke down, and X pulled her into a hug. "I miss him!" she cried. "I miss both of them! I want them back!"

Yep. Just another day.

"Class please settle in so we can start," called Ms. Suzuki. Brook sighed, lots of kids still weren't listening. Something must be up, but she sure as heck wasn't in the know. "Class, do not make me-" the teacher was suddenly interrupted by the door slamming open. The culprit being another kid, a look of urgency on his face. "There's been another Maverick attack!" he yelled. That caught Brook's attention. "Here?!" the teacher bleated.

"No, no," he said hurriedly. "Somewhere else. But it's bad." Well, that would explain all the excitement. Brook did her best to shove the anxiety from the news away. It wasn't here, so she wasn't a sitting duck. She was fine. Worrying wasn't going to help anything. "The Maverick Hunters have been called in," the boy continued. "Even X has been seen!"

A snap sounded through the classroom, and it took Brook a second to realize that it came from her (now broken in half) pencil. "Ms. Longsdale? Are you alright?" came the concerned voice of her teacher. "I-" Brook swallowed thickly, she then noticed her hands shaking. "I need to use the restroom. Right now. Please." Ms. Suzuki quickly offered her the pass.

Taking it, Brook pushed past the kid at the door. Everything was a blurr. She didn't even know where she was going at this point, but she quickly figured that she wasn't lying when she said she needed the restroom. Luckily, she had been unconsciously heading that way. Shoving open the door, she barely managed to run into the largest stall before dry heaving into the toilet. Now she really wished she had listened to X about eating breakfast. Nothing but bile was coming up, and it didn't take long for her stomach to settle itself.

Still not the best thing to go through, though. Brook spit what little remaining saliva she had in her mouth into the toilet. Then realized the shaking of her hands had now become full body shivers. She sat down in the corner of the stall, not caring about how dirty it may or may not be. This... this shouldn't effect her this much. Yet... all she could think about was the fact that X was now in the middle of what seemed to be a major Maverick attack. Surely he'd be fine, she reasoned. He's been doing this for years! Literally his job.

"Brook?" A voice called out. It was the secretary, Mrs. Stewart. "Brook sweety? Are you alright?" Brook didn't trust herself to say anything. Maybe if she kept quiet, Mrs. Stewart would leave. That'd be for the best. Unfortunately, the silence did not stop the older woman from checking all the stalls. And she soon found Brook huddled up on the floor. "Oh, sweetheart," she soothed. "'M fine," Brook whispered. "'M fine... just..." The tears came unbidden.

Unlocking the door as quietly as he could, X wearily entered the apartment and immediately noticed three things:

One, many of the lights had been left on. Two, the TV was on, and (still) talking about news from the latest Maverick attack. And three, Brook was asleep on the couch; huddled up under her coat in a way that made her seem smaller than she actually was, gripping the remote like a life-line. The position she was in made it clear that she certainly hadn't meant to nod off. X let out a quiet sigh as he gently wrestled the remote from her grasp. Turning off the TV (he was sick of hearing about it, thank you), he regarded Brook for a second. She had obviously been worried, the thought making him a little guilty. Giving another soft sigh, he gently picked her up. He knew enough about humans to know that sleeping in awkward positions was not kind on them.

Turning lights off as he made his way to Brook's room (he didnt need them), X made sure to not to move her around too much. Waking her was the last thing he wanted to do. She'd had enough of a long day, much like him. Entering the room, he gently set Brook into her bed. Unfortunately, as X was covering her with the blanket, she began stirring. Blearily blinking open her eyes, she looked confused for a second until she noticed him standing over her. "X!" she exclaimed.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" X asked. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"I just... I needed to be by myself," Brook muttered, clutching the bundle she had brought with her to her chest. Taking a closer look at it, he noticed that it was a bouquet. A white and yellow bouquet filled with lilies and... chrysanthemums. His eyes softened. "Brook..."

"I can't visit their grave, okay?!" she spat, her eyes tearing up. "S-so I came to the next best place. They liked the forests. They took me hiking every summer."

"I think they'd be proud of you," X said quietly. Brook shook her head, "I can't believe that," she replied. He gave her a concerned look, "Why do you think that?" he asked. Brook heaved a sigh, softly shaking her head and refused to look at him. "I've been... I've been so angry" she confessed. "They wouldn't have wanted that for me. But I just... I kept taking it out on everyone. Especially you."

X was quiet for a minute. "You have been," he agreed. "But you've also been through a lot. And you haven't given yourself the chance to truly grieve. But I also know you don't want to stay that way." Brook refused to meet his eyes, and he could hear her take that deep, sniffling breath that signaled tears. His gaze softened. "It's going to take time," he reminded her. "And that's alright. Take all the time you need. I'm here for you."

"You shouldn't be" she whispered. "I've been awful." X sighed. "I figured you would be," he gently teased. "But anything worth doing is going to be hard. And taking care of you has been one of the most worthwhile things I've done in a long time." Brook finally looked at him. "How?" she demanded. "How have I been anything other than a worthless problem?"

Elf Wars AU

"I don't know if anyone has told you," Brook started. "But rule number one of the battlefield is 'do not look for your sniper'. That's how you wind up with dead snipers." Omega huffed. "Why exactly should I care about that?" he asked coldly. "I mean... fair," she replied. "But you might care a little more if a beam weapon or couple of buster shots wind up in your back."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Me? Oh no," Brook smirked. "I'm too much a coward for that. If I'm going to backstab somebody, it's going to be from six hundred meters with a sniper shot to the back of the head. And I definitely wouldn't say anything about it beforehand.

"A Maverick, on the other hand? While you're already fighting off five or six of them at your front? They might take a couple of pot shots where they can. I certainly wouldn't stop them."

Omega glared down at her. But Brook shrugged at him. "It's a simple matter of 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine'," she explained. "You stop looking for me when we're on the battlefield, I make sure nothing can sneak up on you." Scoffing, he turned away. "As if I need your help," Omega sneered. "A'ight," said Brook. "Next mission, I won't clock a single head for you."

"Did ya have fun?" smirked Brook, causing Omega to bristle. "Brook!" X chastised, causing her to roll her eyes. "Oh, fine," she sighed. "Sorry." She did not look sorry at all. "You should have asked if he was winning," Axl grinned, to which Brook let out a wheeze of laughter. "AXL!" X barked. "Do NOT encourage her!" Now Axl rolled his eyes.

"Forgot this was a no fun zone," he complained. "I say we start a coup," Brook grinned. "Great idea!" Axl agreed. "I'll build a guillotine."

"Viva la revolution!"

The two ran off, causing X to shake his head with a half fond, half annoyed smile as he trailed after them. Omega was left by himself, where he narrowed his eyes.

Absolutely pathetic.

"This is boring," Omega growled. "And a waste of skills." Brook rolled her eyes. "Is it?" she asked in a bored tone. He glared at her. "Do not make me repeat myself," he sneered. "This is pointless." She made a non-committal hum. "So saving people is pointless," she said. "Got it. Some messiah you are."

"Excuse me?" Omega hissed. Brook glared right back at him. "What do you think this job is?" she snarled. "What do you think I've been doing when I'm not on a team with X or Axl? This is part of my agreement for working with the Maverick Hunters. This is what I did before I was an official Maverick Hunter."

"I thought you said you've been a Maverick Hunter your whole life," Omega smirked. Brook smirked right back at him, "I have," she said. "Just haven't been official my whole life. You'll have to ask X about that." He pulled a face.

"A clockwork god is still clockwork," Brook sneered. Omega narrowed his eyes.

Something was wrong.

Brook had awoken with a start, instantly feeling ill at ease. Was something in her house? She slowly, subtlety, turned her head to try and see if she could notice anything off. And ope. Yep. There was definitely something. A pair of red eyes glowing in the dark, glaring down on her. Great.

A part of her knew it was stupid to continue to feign sleep. This was obviously a reploid. And a Maverick to top it off. She wasn't going to fool it any time soon. But hell if she wasn't going to try and catch it off guard anyways. Slowly, Brook slid her right hand underneath her pillow (X hated that she kept it there, but hey. Like hell she was going to get caught without it.) Gripping the buster pistol, she slowed her breathing. Not to try and fool the idiot who decided to break into her house, but so she could focus on the sudden movements she was about to make.

The Maverick hadn't made a move yet.

She really didn't like that.

Brook pulled the buster out from beneath her pillow and aimed it at the Maverick, but immediately froze upon feeling the heat of a blade right next to her neck. Well shit. All she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears. Yet, the Maverick didn't make another move, seemingly content to simply hold her at sword point. This was... definitely odd. Every instinct told her to get far the heck away from this situation, but she was not about to push her luck so soon. Instead, Brook relaxed her grip on the pistol. It wasn't much use in this impasse.

The Maverick regarded her curiously; she still couldn't see much, even with it much closer now. The light from its eyes and sword were not enough to make out many details, just enough to tell that it was a humanoid reploid. The only sound being made was her own heavy breathing, adding to the unsettling situation. Mavericks usually dont play with their victims like this.

Eventually, Brook felt the sword slowly being pulled back. She didn't know if it was to make a proper stab, or what, but she was not going to find out. As soon as there was enough room to not immediately impale herself, she kicked out her legs as hard as she could. Kicking metal was /never/ her favorite pass time, but few reploids were ever prepared for it. This Maverick was no exception. It wasn't pain that caused it to move back, but surprise. Ignoring the pain in her legs, she immediately dove off the bed; running out the door.

She didn't make it far.

Pain exploded in her back as the Maverick caught up to her, pinning her down to the floor. It then grabbed the hand that still held her pistol, crushing it until she let go with a scream. That was pinned down as well. Useless as it was, Brook still made every effort to try and throw the Maverick off. If she was going down, she was going to make sure it wasn't without a fight. Eventually, she heard a huff of annoyance from above. "Enough," she heard (now identifiable) him growl. "I'm not here to harm you."

"Is that what the sword is for?" Brook snarled. "What the fuck are you doing in my house, Omega?!"

"It seems I have caught a fish," Omega smirked. "Oh fuck right off," Brook snarled. "And let go of me. Now." Had she been in a better mood, she probably would have found that funny; but as it stood now, she has had it up to here with his bull. "No, I don't think I will," he said. Brook sighed. Of course not. "Who even told you about that?" she snapped.

"Cinnamon,"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Brook deadpanned.

Omega turned to see her standing in the middle of her kitchen, a mug in hand. He was slightly surprised to see her still up, but regardless, he smirked and took a step towards her. "Uh, no," she held up a hand. "Stay right fucking there. You are soaked."

"Well yes, that tends to happen when it rains," he said. Brook rolled her eyes. "Thanks Captain Obvious," she snarked. "But I just mopped this morning; so again, stay right fucking there." Omega let out a snort of amusement. "And if I don't?" he challenged. "If you don't, I swear I'm going to shoot you," she slammed her mug on the counter and turned to go further into a hallway. Muttering all the while about "feral fucking robots."

Omega was half tempted to follow her, just to see how she'd react, but ultimately decided against it. He didn't feel like having to explain to Weil why there would be buster shots in his armor when he was supposedly just wandering around. In any case, he was curious about what her solution to the water dripping off of him was.

The sound of the storm outside grabbed his attention, and he found himself watching the rain fall down the window. Distracted as he was, Omega didn't hear Brook come back until she was at the doorway. Turning his head towards her, he was caught off guard by a towel being thrown right at his face. "Dry yourself off, jackass," Brook smirked. He snarled and ripped the towel off, but she remained unfazed; simply lifting an eyebrow at his dramatics. Miffed, Omega turned away from her and instead began drying himself off. Not because she had told him to, of course, he just has had enough of the water dripping off him.

He caught her rolling her eyes out of the corner of his own, as she made her way towards him with another towel. Omega stopped what he was doing to regard her. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Dude, one towel is not going to handle all that hair," she insisted. He narrowed his eyes. "Give it here then," Omega said. "Really?" Brook deadpanned. "Just come here."

She ignored any and all of his protests, beginning to gently squeeze all the water out of his hair with the towel.

"Shut the fuck up," Brook growled, causing Omega to snicker. Really, this was the last freaking thing she needed. Grumbling to herself, she wondered how the hell things spiraled so far out of control. First, he threatens her life, then he starts stalking her, and now... this. She had no idea how to piece it all together. Maybe Weil was just really shit at programming. That had to be it. As Brook turned to leave, she noticed far too late the Maverick that had managed to climb it's way up to where they've been standing.

And it's buster was aimed right at her.

Before she could blink, Omega had pulled Brook flush against him; the arm that wasn’t holding his beam saber wrapped firmly around her chest, hand gripping her right shoulder in almost bruising strength. Said saber was held in front of the two of them, which explained why Brook wasn't currently bleeding out. Her head was tucked firmly underneath his chin, and she could feel rather than hear the low rumbling that was going through his chest. She didn't think reploids could growl. Before she could blink again, Omega had already let go and was ripping (literally ripping) the Maverick apart. Brook stumbled back, her legs shaking.

She blamed it on the adrenaline from almost dying.

"What do you want?" Brook asked. "I want what's best for humanity," Omega replied simply. "That's not -" Brook groaned. "Okay, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Where do you start, and where does Weil end?" He turned away from her. Brook hated when they got on this subject. It always became a fight. She opened and then quickly closed her mouth. But she had to ask. "What do you want for yourself?"

Omega never gave her a verbal answer, but the look he sent was loud enough. A shiver that had nothing to do with the cooling air went down her spine, causing her to duck her head.

It scared her how little she minded.

God, she really did need therapy. Didn't she?

It took Brook a minute to register that she hadn't been crushed under thousands of pounds of debris. Although, the same couldn't be said about her poor rifle. She had definitely dropped that at some point. (Fair thee well, old friend.) Opening her eyes, she was faced with the crimson vest of... Zero? No, wait. Looking up, she saw Omega's red eyes staring down at her.

Swallowing thickly, Brook made to step away, but his arms were locked around her. This... definitely wasn't good. The only thing she could hear at this point was her heart racing in her ears. Eventually, Omega smirked (oh great.) "In the future, I suggest you stay away from falling buildings," he told her. "They tend to be a bit unstable."

Brook was stunned for a second. Had he just... he did. Fighting the smile that was threatening to show on her face, Brook did her best to glare at him. "Don't tell me what to do," she snarked. Omega simply chuckled at that. What was she doing? Finally, he allowed her to step away from him, albeit on somewhat unsteady legs. (She's fine. She's fine. She is not going to fall on her face.)

Once Brook had created a... decent amount of distance, (at least enough to where he couldn't grab her easily,) she searched his face cautiously. Why had Omega saved her? If she tried asking him, she had a feeling he wouldn't answer her. Suddenly, Omega turned with a snarl, drawing his O-Saber while his hair bristled. Brook looked to see Zero standing where the floor began to slope. How much had he seen? His expression was unreadable as he kept his focus on Omega. "Brook, get out of here," Zero ordered. She hesitated, but a glance at Omega spurred her on. She did not want to be anywhere near when these two chose to start fighting.

"You didn't take the shot," X accused. "Why?" Brook looked away from him. He was right to be angry, but how could she explain it? "Look, I'm only human," she attempted. "Misses happen."

"Brook, that was deliberate," X chastised. "You hit him just enough that the Dark Elf was able to escape, but not to where it would have decommissioned him. You did not 'miss'." Brook bit her lip, she should have known that wouldn't have worked. "Why did you keep him alive?" X growled. Shit, he was really pissed. Brook sighed, lying was not going to get her out of this. "Because it's not his fault," she pleaded. "Weil is the one who put all of this in motion. Omega... he's just as much a victim as anyone else. He didn't-"

"He didn't choose any of this?" X finished, an accusatory tone to his voice. "Brook, he has been choosing this every second since he was put online. He is not some hapless victim. Regardless of how Weil programmed him, he has had every bit of agency to decide whether to do so or not."

It felt like forever until Signas and X finally allowed Brook to leave the room, thoroughly lectured about how she needed to put her own safety and mission above whatever feelings she 'definitely doesn't have' for Omega. It was definitely the absolute worst conversation she has ever had in her life. All she wanted to do now was go to her room and sleep for a thousand years. However, upon turning the corner of the hallway, her heart gave a start. That was until she realized disappointed it was just Zero. He turned to look at her, but she really didn't feel like another lecture. "Whatever it is you're going to say," Brook grumbled. "I assure you; X and Signas have probably already said it." Zero gave her a look that was somewhere between sympathy and 'I'm sure they did'.

"Even if they have," he said, following her as she began towards her room. "I'm still going to say it." Ah, great. Just what she needed. "It shouldn't have come down to you."

She stopped walking. That... that was not what she expected him to say. "What do you -"

"You shouldn't have been the one who was supposed to take him out," Zero said, continuing to walk. "If you had taken that shot, you would have regretted it for the rest of your life."

"Are you speaking from experience?" she asked in a half joking tone. He paused. "Yes,"

Oh.

"Zero?" Brook called, as he had resumed walking. He turned back to her. "...Thank you," she said quietly. She knew he didn't approve. Nobody in their right mind would. But it helped that he at least understood. Zero nodded, then continued walking. Finally, Brook was left alone with her thoughts.

She didn't sleep much that night.

And it had nothing to do with how terrible the beds were.

#be quiet bruggle #mmx oc #writing #in which x adopts a feral child #elf wars au #this will be added to as i go along #spoilers

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