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americasmarauders · 4 years

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ivy--Jason ToddxFem!Reader

author’s note: once upon a time there was a tiny Luíza who thought it was a good idea to wirite a royal!au. She spent 3 months working on it, but she couldn’t make justice to the words in her head so she gave up on it. Then she watched Bridgerton and decided to give the draft another chance;

so yeah this is a royal!au. this is also my first mature work. nothing explicit just a mention of the devil’s tango.

BEWARE: minors: there is nothing explicit, but there is a mention of sex towards the end, so read it with discretion. I would classify this as a 16+

words: 11,071

the link to my masterlist is here and the link to my jason playlist is here

This was a business transaction, she kept reminding herself.

There were lives on the line, lives she had sworn to protect. It was her duty as the princess to guarantee the continuity and longevity of her bloodline and, above all else, her subjects. And the proposition presented to her guaranteed both of those.

She saw it coming. Her Father’s lavish spending sprees, buying fights with people he shouldn’t. The vault had emptied—not completely, although it wasn’t nowhere near the same state it once was—and the people had suffered. She inherited the mess.

Her kingdom, her prized kingdom, so brilliant, so beautiful, was in ruins. Because of an ego too big. She wasn't going to let that happen again.

The Wayne’s presented as the exit. The kingdom of Gotham neighbored her own, it would be convenient for them to incorporate hers. But above all else, king Bruce wasn’t looking for lands, he wanted knowledge, something her kingdom had plenty to spare.

He wanted the kingdom of scholars to be his own. He wanted to stop the gangs, the barbaric gangs that destroyed her precious land, and he needed help from her scholars. Bruce gave her a business offer too hard to refuse. But there’s always a catch.

‘She’ll marry into the family,’ he wrote in his letter to the Queen, her mother. ‘My second son, he’s the Captain of the Royal Guards, he’s the one to take my throne. She’ll be a fine Queen, and with her knowledge, Y/N will help defeat this evil lurking in our shadows’.

At first, she refused. She wanted to do it, but not at the cost of her future, not at the cost of her love. But she cooled her head. She couldn’t let her selfishness get in the way of the kingdom’s prosperity. So, she sent a letter to King Bruce. She accepted, at the condition they would do whatever it takes to preserve her tradition of knowledge. If to preserve her kingdom and give her people a relief she had to sell herself, then she would gladly do it

Gotham was nowhere near as beautiful as her kingdom. It had its charm, she could see why someone would like it, but it didn’t have the same ethereal air to it. On the contrary, it was quite gray and moody.

She guessed it went along with the family running it. The Wayne’s were famous for being an overly serious, and, quite honestly, incredibly brooding family. King Bruce adopted 6 children—and rumors went around that only one of them was biological; a bastard—and all of them had varying levels of moodiness. She was to marry the second one: Prince Jason, Prince of Park Row.

For a long time, he was the cautionary tale that was told to the children of the royal families. The Prince gone wrong, he snapped, rebelled, and, to many, he had fallen from grace. It was only a few years back he had resurfaced to the public attention as the one who was to be the next king. What happened between being the fallen Prince to being the heir was a mystery, one she wasn't sure she wanted to unveil.

She looked at the windows, seeing the tiny rock houses and the calm villagers walking around under the daylight. She knew that once the night fell, things would change and the streets would be filled with those she yearned to eradicate.

“You do not have to go through with this, my daughter,” her Mother started, once again trying to convince you of backing out of the deal. “We can find another way.”

“There isn’t,” she answered. Her Mother opened her mouth to try to argue. “Don’t, Mother. You raised me to do what was right by my kingdom and its people and continuing by ourselves isn’t the answer.”

“You are not sure about that,” Mother said, condescending in her words.

“Don’t patronize me, Mother,” she shot back, her tone controlled. “I know this isn’t the ideal situation, but our situation wasn’t ideal to begin with,” she inhaled, her gaze shifting to the window of the carriage. “If Father hadn’t been so careless, we wouldn’t be here, and I would have turned down King Bruce’s proposal.”

“I know,” Mother agreed quietly. “I feel for our loss of freedom, that’s all.”

“This isn’t a loss of freedom. This is a new beginning. This is our chance to right our wrongs. Is there more freedom than that?” she responded, putting an end to this conversation as the carriage approached the castle.

It was incredible and grandiose, far more than her family’s castle. It was fitting, she’d heard once from Elizabeth, one of the ladies in her court, that the Waynes vault was enormous. She didn’t know how she knew but seeing the castle alone she believed it.

The carriage pulled to a stop, the door opening for her exit. Mother went first accepting the help from the coachman. She got out gracefully next, and the coachman closed the door behind her. She saw two men standing approaching. The older one had an austere air to him, but as he got nearer, she saw the crinkles next to his eyes, indications of years of smiling. The younger one had mischief in his eyes, and she couldn’t deny that he was incredibly handsome.

“Your Majesty,” the older man bowed to her Mother. He then turned to her and bowed, “Your Highness, it is an absolute pleasure to have you in our kingdom.”

She smiled politely. “The pleasure is all mine, Sir.”

He smiled back. “I’m Alfred Pennyworth, I run the Wayne estate,” he turned once again to Mother. “Your Majesty, if you please I’ll show you to your quarters.”

“Yes, thank you, Sir Pennyworth,” Mother answered, following him into the castle.

The other man cleared his throat. “Your Highness, I’m Prince Dick, Duke of Blüdhaven,” he bowed, and she offered her hand. He kissed it politely, quickly releasing it and standing straight. “I’m the one escorting you today.”

“Thank you, Prince Dick,” she said politely.

“Shall we?” he offered his arm, and she couldn’t miss the golden glimmer of his wedding band on his hand.

“We shall,” she said, controlled.

Both of them walked calmly, as he showed her around the castle. She noticed the extravagant décor, paintings of generations of Wayne’s before adorning the walls, amongst other priceless pieces of art she was sure were worth more than the entire treasure she had in her kingdom. She quietly observed as he showed the corridor to her quarters for the month—he gracefully omitted the fact that she was marrying a stranger by the end of it and this wasn’t going to be her room any longer than that.

She heard Prince Dick sigh next to her. “I’m sorry it has come to this,” he stated. “I’m sure I can speak for my Father when I say we all wished for a different outcome.”

She offered him a tight smile. “Yes, well, I believe what we have agreed on is what’s right for both of our kingdoms,” she noted. “And while I wonder what would have been like if I didn’t come to this decision, if I may be candid, I do not regret making it.”

He chuckled. “Yes, I’m glad you do not have any regrets, Your Highness,” he said. “And I’m glad you were candid about it. I’m positive you’ll do great in our family.”

He stopped in front of a large and sturdy double door. He knocked 3 times. “The King awaits you,” he stated to her. “You shall wait here.”

“Yes, thank you, Your Highness,” she bowed slightly. “Thank you for escorting me.”

“I will not marry her, for fucks sake,” Jason growled, slamming his hands on his guardian’s imponent desk. “I will not be a fucking bargain coin for your politics, Bruce.”

Bruce didn’t even flinch with his son’s outburst. “It is your duty.”

“Shove the duty up your ass, then. I have too many things to worry about, I don’t want another.”

Bruce continued to look at the map sprawled out on his desk, “The L/N’s are incredibly smart and their kingdom holds a lot of the knowledge that we need to defeat the Joker’s gang and the others. This is very much your concern, isn’t it?”

Jason shuddered at the mention of Joker. “It is,” he said, defiant.

“Then marry her and do your job,” he stood up, leaning menacingly over the desk to look Jason in the eye. “You are the main responsible for our safety, and although I disagree with your methods, you are doing a good job. You need to start thinking of the future, Jason. This is bigger than you.”

Jason huffed in annoyance. “I know of that,” he muttered. Then he smirked and said: “But you didn’t marry and had biological kids, Bruce,” he taunted. “Why should I do it the traditional way?”

“Because I know what it’s like to not go down that path, son,” he answered, raising his voice slightly, but still composed. “I don’t want you to be like me, I want you to be better.”

Jason was speechless. He tried to mutter a word but his brain couldn’t think of any of it. “I still don't want to marry her.”

“You will, though,” his Father answered, opening his drawer and pulling the contract out of it. “And all I ask of you is to not push her away. You’ll need her, more than she’ll need you.”

Jason wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that. And he hated to admit—he and Bruce were constantly fighting over everything, especially after… after—but his Father was right. He wished it didn’t come at the cost of his liberty. He wasn’t looking for a wife. He found that it would only hold him back. But the prospect of the crown loomed in his horizon, and if he wanted to do right by his people, marrying was one of the requirements. It was too late to turn back.

Three sturdy knocks sounded. Jason quickly recomposed himself.

She had seen King Bruce once, when she was younger. Her Mother threw a gala for whatever reason and he attended. She didn’t remember seeing any of his kids there, or maybe she was too occupied with her own thoughts to notice.

She remembered him being charming and handsome. A lot of the ladies of the court wanted to marry him, but somehow none of them had managed to. She recalled the color of his eyes so vividly, not because it was beautiful—it was—but because it revealed something deeper about himself that left her guessing. She could never discover it, though. Some things are better left unsaid and unknown.

Looking at him now felt like she had entered a time machine. He had stayed the same, save a couple of wrinkles of worry—totally comprehensible for someone with his position.

She curtsied. “Your Majesty, it’s an honor to meet you once again,” she said.

“Princess Y/N, please come in,” he motioned for her to come in. She straightened up and calmly walked into the room. “I believe you haven’t acquainted yourself with Prince Jason,” he nodded towards the direction of the man standing angrily in the corner.

“No, I haven’t,” she smiled politely and turned to the man. She curtsied, “Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She could feel him rolling his eyes, even if she couldn’t see him. “The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness,” he answered sarcastically.

She uncurled and crossed her hands in front of her body. She glanced one last time at her suitor, studying him.

He was beautiful.

Jason had the prettiest eyes she had ever seen. They were the perfect shade of blue, and she never thought there was a perfect shade of color. His hair had a streak of white, that made him look even more rugged than he already was. His hair was swept, messy in the perfect way. He was pretty in the way a bounty hunter or a thief would be, not the way a prince would. Princes were known for being pristine and soft around the edges: Jason was nothing like that.

She turned her eyes to the king. “I believe we have arrangements to make,” she said calmly.

“Yes, we do,” the king replied. He picked up a stack of papers on top of his desk. “I took the liberty of assembling a contract for the annexation,” his hand rested on top of it. “Your input will be valuable.”

King Bruce handed her the papers. “Thank you very much, your Majesty. I imagine this needs to be signed by the end of the week?”

“Yes, but I’d rather it was signed today. Forgive me for the rush, but we need your scholars’ help as soon as possible.”

“I understand,” she replied. “By the end of the day we can sign then.”

“That’s perfect, Princess Y/N. Jason, escort her to the library so she can read in peace,” Bruce commanded.

“Yes, Father,” he gritted through his teeth. She could feel his body shaking with anger and resentment and she knew she was the source of it.

He strode towards the door and flung it open for her. She curtsied to the king one last time, before turning and accompanying her suitor towards the library.

Jason’s hands were crossed behind his back, his feet heavily stomping the ground. She kept up with him, walking side by side, lifting her dress slightly.

The walk was filled with strained silence. She started to feel uneasy about the waves of anger coming off Jason, she felt the need to address it.

He stopped abruptly and opened the double door standing in front of them, revealing the most beautiful library she had ever laid eyes on. Bookshelves adorned all of the walls, from the ceiling to the floor. The stairs to the mezzanine—once again filled with full bookshelves—were of sculpted wood and she considered them pieces of art. The ceiling had the most beautiful paintings on it, and she wondered who had the patience to paint such a huge canvas. It was all breathtaking.

“Well, this is the library. If you need anything don’t hesitate on calling one of the help,” Jason said mechanically, snapping her back to reality.

“Thank you, your Highness,” she muttered, still quite perplexed at the sight. She inhaled deeply and said: “I know this situation isn’t ideal and that you might feel cornered. But, truly, I’m not here to get in your way. I just want what’s best for my people.”

Jason hummed, his anger somewhat subsiding but still very much present. “Yes, well,” he said, “I think you should get to reading that contract. Wouldn’t want to keep his Majesty waiting,” he finished, voice laced with sarcastic undertones. He turned around and left her alone with the papers.

It was late at night. The sun was long gone. Her stomach rumbled in hunger; the last thing she ate was at lunch, when she was about halfway through the papers.

It wasn’t even that long, she just wanted to be thorough. She had read every single line for what it was and all the possible meaning behind it. Kudos to King Bruce for making such a complete and meaningful contract, she had been entertained the entire day.

She rubbed her eyes, exhausted. She had managed to reorganize the contract after pulling it apart, the small piece of paper with her suggestions resting on top of it. With her hands stained with ink, she picked the papers up and headed towards the door, when it opened.

“Sir Pennyworth,” she said in surprise, “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Your Highness, his Majesty has sent me to escort you to his office. I believe you’ve settled on the final details of the papers?” he announced politely.

“Yes, I did. King Bruce did a superb job on it,” she complimented. He guided the way towards the office.

“I’m afraid it wasn’t him who wrote it,” Sir Pennyworth pondered.

“No?” she replied.

“I’m sure it was Prince Tim, he’s the one with an aptitude for these endeavors,” he said.

“Oh, I’m afraid I haven’t met Prince Tim, yet. I’ll be sure to compliment him when I do.”

“He’ll be excited, your Highness,” he commented. “What did you think of Gotham so far?”

She smiled sweetly at the older man. “I haven’t seen the city yet, but I found the part I have seen completely charming,” it wasn’t completely a lie. It was charming. Just not as charming as her own kingdom. “The castle, though, I’m mesmerized by it. You have done an incredible job maintaining it, Sir Pennyworth.”

“Please, your Highness, call me Alfred. Thank you for your kind words,” he smiled warmly.

“Well, Alfred,” she stressed his name, respecting his wishes, “thank you for escorting me.”

She stopped as she saw the familiar door, holding the papers tightly. “It’s been my pleasure, your Highness,” he bowed, and left.

She knocked on the door, calmly. A muffled come in came through and she turned the doorknob. Walking in, she saw King Bruce and three of his sons gathered around a round desk in the corner, a map sprawled out. She curtsied. “Your Majesties, I’m here with the contract and my notes.”

She saw one of the Princes mouth ‘notes?’ to Prince Dick, (who shrug it off, just as confused) as Prince Jason rolled his eyes at her once more. “Please, Princess, sit down so we can further discuss it,” he motioned to his desk. “Dick, Tim, we will continue debating this tomorrow. Dick, you are dismissed. Tim, stay in case we need to change the composition.”

Both Princes furrowed their eyebrows. As Dick left the room without a word or bow—which she was sure broke some kind of protocol—Tim decided to sit on an armchair next to the table they were standing before. The door closed with a click and she sat down, the papers resting on her lap gently.

“I heard you said you have some notes on the text?” King Bruce initiated politely.

“I mean no disrespect, your Majesty. The redaction was splendid,” she complimented, “I just mean there could be a couple of points added to make it more complete.”

“Yes, yes,” he agreed, “please make your points.”

“I agreed to this proposition on the condition of preserving my kingdom’s tradition in academia. While there was a clause in page 5 that stated that clearly, I thought it would be to everyone’s benefit if it was expanded into specifics,” she handed him the contract and the notes.

He glanced over the notes, Jason reading it too, behind his Father. “I think these are all fair requests.”

She smiled. A much needed win for her kingdom. “Thank you,” she said.

“Tim, grab a pen and paper and add these to the text,” Bruce ordered. “We sign this tonight.”

Tim jumped up from his seat, quickly opening a drawer for the pen and paper, and grabbing her notes. He scribbled furiously and within minutes the new page of the contract was finished, both parties agreeing to it.

“Now, all there’s left to do is sign,” Tim announced handing a pen to Jason.

She noticed Jason’s eyes filled with something indescribable, a mix of what she assumed was anger and grief. She wished both of them had a choice, but this was bigger than both. She prayed to the stars that both could make the best of this bad situation.

He signed, handing the pen to her. Her fingers brushed for a mere second, and she felt heat rising to her cheeks. She quickly recomposed herself and swiftly signed out her name, her kingdom.

It was done. It was easier than she thought it would be. She hoped she hadn’t made the wrong decision, and there was all that was left to do.

King Bruce dismissed Tim, leaving just her and Jason in the room. “There’s the matter of the engagement ball,” he stated. “We hope to announce your engagement by the end of next week.”

“Of course,” she stated clearly. Jason only grunted.

“Should I expect both of you to be involved in the planning?” the King asked. It sounded more like an order and she knew Jason knew about that.

Jason nodded stiffly. She then turned to the King and opened a polite smile. “Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” she agreed.

King Bruce dismissed both of them and Jason ran out of the room.

She ran to catch up to him, his long strides almost besting her in a long gown and high heels. “Prince Jason, wait!” she shouted.

He stopped and turned. “What?”

If she was taken aback by his rudeness she was sure to not show it. “Since now it’s official, I was wondering if I could tag along to one of your strategy meetings. I might have some knowledge to share or point the way to help.”

“Aren’t you going to be too busy planning the ball?” he taunted.

“I’m perfectly capable of focusing on more than one thing,” she replied dryly. “Gotham is my kingdom now, I want it to prosper. And I want to be a part of it.”

His face didn’t leave any indications on whether or not he was to grant her permission to participate, so she was surprised when she heard him agreeing. “I’ll arrange for you to participate in one. I’ll send Alfred to tell you details,” he dismissed and turned around once again intended to walk to wherever he was headed.

“Thank you,” she shouted after him.

He hesitated before walking. He turned to her slightly and gave her a smile--and she felt like it was an honest one. He turned back and disappeared.

A gentle breeze blew as she walked down the busy streets of Gotham. Her dress—which she felt was too light for this occasion—blended in with the crowd splendidly. Jason walked beside her calmly, his hands behind his back.

His face was serene and calm, as if he was truly where he belonged. She thought it as a good quality: it meant he was empathic, not on a pedestal like most heirs. He came from the people and he would serve his people. Her heart fluttered involuntarily. She struggled to contain it.

The people of the city were quite vivacious and charming. The city in itself was gloomy and, quite honestly, a touch depressing, but the people colored the streets and made it feel almost as if the city was breathing.

“This is so different,” she said, perplexed by the movement around her. No one as they passed by her noticed who she was, or better, what she was. “They don’t care.”

Jason smiled. “No, they don’t.”

“It’s quite magical,” she concluded.

“It may be to us, but to other people,” he pointed to a couple, both very dirty and very thin sitting on the floor. They tried to get people’s attention, but they just didn’t care, “well, it can be quite awful.”

She wished she was just as cold as those other people. It would save her a whole lot of suffering but she wasn’t. People’s pains found a way to her heart and became her own. She pushed through the crowd, muttering a few ‘excuse me’s along the way. She took off the only jewelry—a necklace, so simple and delicate; it was one of her favorites—she was wearing and left it in the can the old couple had in front of them.

She knelt to be at eye level with them and said, looking at their shocked faces: “Sell it, please. It’s worth some money and you’ll be able to buy some food and clothes.”

Their faces lit up and they thanked her enthusiastically. She smiled at them before getting up and rejoining Jason and continuing her walk. He had the same shock the couple had. He offered his arm, out of politeness she was sure, and her hand rested on the crook of his elbow.

“Out of all the things I thought you would do, I—” he trailed off.

“You think so little of me,” she said. “I’m not heartless, you know?”

“I never assumed that,” he muttered.

She looked him dead in the eye. His eyes twinkled in the sunlight and once again she had to fight the fluttering feeling in her stomach. “Good.”

A few beats went by before either of them spoke again. She was the one to break the silence. “Does Gotham have any social programs to help the poor? It would greatly benefit the people,” she added kindly. “If there isn’t, I’m sure I can think of something to help.”

Jason fought to contain a smile creeping on his face. “I think His Majesty deals with this type of project. You’d have to talk to him,” he said, guiding her back to the carriage.

“I’ll discuss it with him then,” she said, impassive, her lips quirking up at the end. “Have you arranged for me to participate in the meeting?”

Jason sobered up quickly. He couldn’t show her that he found her amusing. He couldn’t be so transparent. He didn’t want a wife, he repeated to himself. He didn’t need a wife, he tried to convince himself. This girl was not for him, she was too good. “I did.”

She smiled. “Great. I’ll catch up on studies so I can understand everything.”

He hoped he had remained impassive, because he couldn’t control the plethora of feelings inside his heart. Fuck.

Jason paced in his office. Tim watched him closely, studying his brother.

“Why are you so exasperated?” Tim questioned. “I’m glad you like her, otherwise you would have led a horrible life.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Jason said, running his hands through his hair. “I don’t want to like her, Tim. She’s too good for me.”

“How do you know that? You’ve barely even met her,” Tim leaned forward, his elbows resting on his thighs.

“I just fucking know it, Tim,” he snapped, yelling at his brother. “It’s bullshit, that’s what it is. I wasn’t supposed to be in this situation, I’m not supposed to fall in love and get married and have a white picket fence life, goddammit. Look at me” he motioned to himself, looking straight into Tim’s eyes, “I’m a fucking disgrace. I’m a monster who kills people without remorse, I’m—”

“Enough with the self-pity, Jason!” Tim got up abruptly, matching Jason’s volume. Jason’s mouth promptly shut. “Stop it. You’ve wallowed in it since Bruce told you about the arrangement, I won’t allow it anymore,” he added quietly. “You know none of what you said is true, you know it,” Tim walked to his brother and rested his hands on his shoulder. “Fuck what you think, Jay. Fuck what everybody else thinks, okay? You’re already getting married to her no matter what, let yourself like her. It’s the least you could do.”

“I can’t—” Jason inhaled sharply recomposing himself. “I don’t know if I can like her the way she deserves.”

“Then try. Isn’t it what you’ve spent your life doing? Trying? Try this too. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“She hates me and I have to be married for the rest of my life with someone who hates me,” he didn’t say that that was his greatest fear. That he never wanted to be like his parents, fighting and bickering and beating each other. Showing their worst to the world. Having a kid and traumatizing him to the point he’d hardly trust someone.

“So, you’d be just like another royal,” Tim tried to lighten up the mood. He noticed Jason’s somber expression and quickly sobered up. “She doesn’t hate you. She’s trying so hard to please you, to prove to you she’s a worthy addition to the family, can’t you see?”

“She’s not doing it for me,” Jason got out of Tim’s hold, turning his back to his brother.

“She may not, but she’s trying hard, when most wouldn’t even bother. That’s something, Jay,” Tim completed.

Jason didn’t complement Tim. He had enough with the talking and the convincing. Tim sighed sadly, and left the room, leaving Jason to sulk alone.

Between setting everything up for the ball, arranging the wedding ceremony, learning everything she could about Gotham recent history, and everything else she had taken upon, she was completely and utterly occupied.

It was for the better though. The more she was doing, the less she stayed inside her head, thinking about herself and letting her anxiety and doubt eat her inside. She had done the right thing, she kept reminding herself. She had done the best thing for her people, they would prosper, they would not suffer anymore.

And yet, there was always a little voice telling her that she had signed her people’s death sentence. The more she learned about Gotham, the more she read about its history and its horrors and its corruption, the more she thought she had condemned her people to a life in misery. Look at the amount of homeless, she thought, why did Gotham have so many homeless people, so many kids?

No. No. No. She wouldn’t allow herself to get nervous. She was sure in her decision, and Prince Jason had proven himself to be reliable, even if he was distant. When she asked him a favor, he did it. When she asked him a question about his lands--Park Row--he would answer it truthfully. It was more than she could have expected in an arranged marriage. Most of those ended up in misery, both parties unfaithful to their spouses. She knew Prince Jason wouldn’t seek pleasure and comfort elsewhere. She felt it.

As soon as she stopped in front of Jason’s improvised study in Gotham’s main castle, Prince Tim opened the door. She could see Jason gazing through the window, his back turned to the door.

“Princess Y/N!” Prince Tim exclaimed, surprised. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”

She saw Jason tense and turn to them. She smiled. “I have a couple of things to discuss with Prince Jason,” she explained.

Tim chuckled. “Yes, yes, of course,” he shook his head and said with an airy smile on his face. He turned to Jason and shared a look. Jason looked like he could kill his brother. Tim stepped out of the way and let her enter the room. She entered and Tim left closing the door behind him.

She stared at him. He looked tired, the bags under his eyes casting shadows over his face. But somehow, his eyes looked brighter than she had ever seen it before. She has trouble breathing and her heart beated faster inside her chest. She swallowed dryly, her hands gripping tightly the papers she carried. She curtsied to him. Follow protocol. Protocol is safe, it doesn’t make anyone nervous.

“You wanted to see me?” he asked, his voice strained.

“Yes, well,” she snapped out of her daze, “there’s still a few details to be decided for the ball.”

He sighed and sat on his chair, his body looking exhausted. “Can’t you decide?”

“It’s not only my ball,” she said. “I can’t decide for you, Your Highness.”

“Don’t call me Your Highness,” he muttered, annoyed. “It’s weird. We’re going to be married,” he explained. “I don’t want to have protocol in the middle of it.”

She looked down at her feet and back up at him. There went her comfort, the line she drew to not get too close. It was a business transaction after all, no need to get personal. Well, she figured, it got personal when she promised herself as a bargain coin for politics. “Yes, of course,” she whispered. “It won’t happen again,” she finished.

He sighed. He mentioned for her to sit in front of her and she sat. “We need to establish some rules before we embark in this...journey together,” he stated.

“Of course,” she agreed.

“I don’t want you to be restrained by protocols and etiquette when speaking to me,” he said softly. “We’re going to rule a kingdom together, one that just got bigger, we’re going to have to trust each other.”

“I agree,” she said, hesitant. “What is your point?”

“Call me Jason,” he said. “I never really liked my title all that much and I don’t want my future wife using it when talking to me,” he stated. It was the first time she heard him referring to her as his future wife, and he said it like it didn’t bother him. It sent butterflies to her stomach.

“Yes, you’re right,” she shook her head. Of course he was. Her parents never called each other by their titles when they were alone. “I suppose you’d want to form a friendship too?”

His mouth quirked up. “That would be preferable, yes,” he said.

“Okay, then, Jason,” she stressed his name. “Then we should start this partnership deciding which colors do you want the napkins to be.”

“Actually,” Jason started, “I have something to give you first.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You do?”

“Yes,” he breathed. “I wanted to start this on the right foot,” he pulled out a little velvet box from a drawer behind the desk and walked to be beside her. “Since we’re engaged, I thought it was only appropriate to give you an engagement ring.”

She looked up at him, surprised. “You didn’t have to,” she shook her head. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

He smiled at her. “Open it,” he urged her.

She picked up the box and opened. Resting inside it, she noticed, was the prettiest ring she had ever seen. There was a single ruby, sided with two simple diamonds. It wasn’t the flashiest and biggest engagement ring she ever saw--one of the ladies of her court married a rich duke from a far away kingdom and he had given her a diamond ring that almost covered her entire finger. “It’s beautiful,” she said, staring at it.

“Allow me,” he said, picking the box, and slipping the ring on her finger. His hands lingered on hers longer than it should have. “There.”

She stared at it for a bit longer. “I have no words, Jason.”

He smirked and walked to his chair. “How about we decide the color of the napkins?”

He knew he shouldn’t have done that. He was getting involved, he was cultivating feelings for her, feelings he had refused to have just mere minutes ago when he was talking with Tim. But when he was with her, he couldn’t help it, he was just swept away by her. Suddenly, around her, Jason wanted to do everything to please her, to make her happy and satisfied.

Jason knew he was in deep shit. Jason knew he was falling for her, and he wanted, consciously, to stop that. But he couldn’t: his heart spoke louder.

He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

They had walked side by side the entirety of the ball. Her hand rested in a variety of places, the crook of his elbow, his hand, or the skirt of her dress. It didn’t need any saying that her favorite place for her hand to be was in his.

Nevertheless, the fluttering it sent to her stomach every time he would smile at her--albeit she knew the smile was only for show--it didn’t diminish the anger she felt at him.

They walked side by side all night, him telling a fantasious story about how they met. It was love at first sight, he’d tell. They’d met under the moonlight, a sky full of stars, he looked at her and knew she was meant for him. She wore a blue dress, according to him. She smiled at him and it was like a whole new world opened up to him, a world full of love. According to him.

The worst part was that she couldn’t say anything. Because she didn’t know anything about the lie he had constructed, what he had told other people when she was talking to his brothers while he was talking to Kings of other kingdoms. And that was what made her angry. He had reduced her, at least for the night, as a mere accessory for him.

He had been so sweet with her, so charming and loving. And then he did what he did. It could have been worse, she thought. He could have been invasive, he could have ignored her ‘no’. In that way, he was an angel. But he was still shitty with her that night. And it didn’t matter that it could have been a million times worse, Jason had reduced her to an arm candy. She still felt like an object. That would never be acceptable to her.

He took her to the dance floor, as the orchestra played a slow song.

“It was a charming story you told our guests,” she said, her voice impassive.

“I figured it would be better for them to think we’re marrying for love instead of what actually is,” he explained, his hand resting on her lower back and the other holding her hand. She ignored the feeling his touch sent through her body.

“I wish you would have told me,” she said, her voice strained. She tried to control her anger.

“What do you mean?” he asked, confused.

“I discovered you had concocted a story for us at the same time all the others did, Jason,” she said. “And I couldn’t say anything, in risk of exposing the lie you’ve built.”

He looked at her confused for a mere second, before recognizing what he did. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t think--”

“You didn’t,” she interrupted him. “I’m not an accessory, Jason. I’m far too smart for that role,” she said. “I can’t stand by your side and smile and wave as if it’s just all I can do. I came to Gotham expecting not to be numbed by antique expectations of women of royalty. And you forced me to fit that box tonight. I hate it.”

“I’m truly sorry,” he said sincerely.

“Yes,” she nodded. “Next time you decide to lie, at least tell me what you’re planning. After all this is a partnership, we agreed on that. We can’t act behind each other's back.”

“You’re absolutely right,” he agreed, squeezing the hand he was holding more tightly and bringing her closer to him. “It won’t ever happen again.”

“Good,” she nodded.

She knew he was trying to charm her with his tight hold on her. She tried to stay mad at him, tried to remain impassive, but she found that she felt safe with his arms around her like that. She broke a shy smile at him. He smiled at her too, his eyes bright with something unrecognizable.

She sat quietly in the corner, a notebook resting in her lap. Her fingers twiddled with the pen, as she listened attentively to what the council members had to say.

It was refreshing to be intellectually stimulated when she’d spent the entire week deciding dumb details about the wedding. It didn’t matter what flower arrangement the church was going to be decorated with, or which color the napkins were. She really didn’t care about it. If it were up to her she’d be married in a tiny room with no party. But it wasn’t, so she complied.

“—we need to send humanitarian help to the Bowery, the people are starving!” Lady Helena exclaimed, cutting Tim in his long rant about something overly complicated.

“We can send help after we eliminate Scarecrow!” Tim replied just as loudly. “If we send food, the gang will intercept and the situation will get worse, Helena. Don’t you get it?”

“What I get, Tim,” she said annoyed, “is that you are so entangled in your overly complicated plan to dismantle their operation that you are blind to the suffering of your people.”

Tim got up abruptly from the table, angry at Lady Helena, his fists balled up like he was going to punch her. Dick rested a hand in his brother's arms, calmly guiding him down for him to sit. Tim sat with a thud, his eyes flaming with rage, his face red.

Jason, who was awfully quiet the entire meeting, sighed and rubbed his hands on his face. He leaned forward on the table, looking defeated. “And here I thought we’d make a good first impression,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay, your Highness,” she said respectfully, thinking it would be better to use his title in front of the committee instead of his name. “In fact, I think I might have the solution to the Bowery problem.”

Tim scoffed. “Good luck with that. I’ve been trying for the past year to solve it and I’m nowhere near to the solution.”

She ignored his comment. “Anyway, I remember reading something about Scarecrow in my dad’s files. I’d need to reread to be sure, but I know there’s a safe way to provide supplies for those in need.”

Jason clasped his hands together. “Great! We’ll discuss details at the next meeting after we get those files.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather pick those up myself,” she said

“Sure, I’ll ask Alfred to arrange the trip,” he dismissed. “Well if there’s nothing else to discuss, this meeting is finished.”

The council members disbanded leaving only her and Jason in the council room.

“What did you think?” Jason asked, his voice tired.

“They mean well,” she started, “but I can see that they’re desperate for results. And desperation in these situations isn’t a good thing.”

“I know,” he sighed, his hands running through his hair. “I know, I’ve tried telling them but it never works in the long run.”

She smiled. “Good thing I know how to help,” she said.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “It’s good that you’re here.”

He knew it was coming. He thought he was prepared for it. He thought he wouldn’t feel anything when he saw her walking down the long aisle, he hoped he wouldn’t. But when Jason saw her in her white dress, walking towards him, his heart stopped for a second and the world stopped turning.

She chose to walk down the aisle by herself. She wanted to show she wasn’t led into any decisions. She was doing this by her own accord, her own judgement. Jason thought it showed a lot of her character. She stood by her decisions and its consequences. She was strong. He admired her, more than he cared to admit.

Jason could barely remember the ceremony. He couldn’t stop looking at her, memorizing every detail of her in the light of the Gotham Cathedral, the crown she was wearing, the embroidery in her dress. But most importantly, the look in her eyes. It was everything to Jason.

He couldn’t exactly place what it was yet, but it was there and it meant more to him than he realized it ever could.

He floated through the ball after the ceremony. It was weird to call someone his wife, he never thought he would see the day he could call someone that. But Jason found that it didn’t repulse him like it would have before he met her. He was left with a tingly sensation of joy inside him.

It scared the daylight out of him.

He kept a tight grip on her, walking side by side. She was enchanting. She talked smartly with Kings of neighboring kingdoms. He heard King Clark of Metropolis commenting to Bruce how perceptive the new princess was. How intelligent she was.

Jason knew all of that, but it still didn’t stop him from being mesmerized.

“Who’s that gentleman?” she nodded towards an old man on the corner of the room.

Jason hummed looking at the man. “That’s Oswald Cobblepot. He is a part of one of the oldest families of Gotham.”

“He has been staring intensely at me for the entire ball,” she looked at Jason, whispering to him.

“Well, you are the future Queen,” he commented. “People will stare at you more.”

“No,” she shook her head, her hand resting on the crook of his elbow. He guided her through the ballroom. “This is different. He looks at me like he hates me.”

“Oh,” he said. “He has a…quarrel, if you will, with the Waynes. His family was one of the few that founded Gotham. The Cobblepots almost ruled the land, but the Waynes got the kingdom. They have hated our family since then.”

“Now that I’m a Wayne, he hates me?” she asked. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“Well, technically you’re a Todd-Wayne, but yes.”

She hummed. “He seems suspicious, Jason,” she whispered. “I think he’s planning something.”

“Cobblepot is a coward, he would never hurt you,” Jason reassured. “But he would pay for someone to do so.”

“You think he has?” a twinge of panic rising in her voice.

“He has done that before,” Jason said. “He wasn’t supposed to be invited, but Bruce insisted, and I had to dislocate more guards to the ballroom because of him.”

“Can you keep an eye on him?” she asked. “I have a bad feeling about him.”

“We always keep an eye on him, Y/N” he whispered. “He’s a criminal.”

“What?” she said, shocked. He guided her to the dance floor, as a soft song played through the room.

“We have undercover guards track him everywhere,” he stated quietly, as if no one was supposed to know. “We have to every criminal mastermind this city has ever had the pleasure to meet.”

“That’s a lot of guards then,” she commented.

“It’s a fucking nightmare,” he laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone get to you, love.”

She looked at his eyes and smiled. “Thank you, Jason.”

“I’m your husband now, Y/N. It’s my duty,” he said.

She smiled shyly at him and glanced at their feet for a second before looking back at him. “I never thought…”

He smiled at her. “What?”

She shook her head, smiling at him, completely lost for words. “Nevermind.”

He sighed and tightened his hold on her. “I didn’t say this yet, but you look breathtaking today,” he stated, clearly.

“You look beautiful too,” she replied.

He gaped at her, like he wasn’t expecting the compliment. He quickly recomposed himself. “Well, I guess we make a breathtakingly beautiful couple then,” he joked.

“I guess we do,” she looked deeply into his eyes, smiling softly. Her eyes glinted with something different, something familiar and warm. But something he couldn’t quite name yet.

He found that he looked forward to the day when he could.

She had dismissed the maid that would help her get rid of the dress. She was too nervous to deal with anyone else. She paced in front of her vanity, waiting for Jason to come in their room.

It was so weird to think that now there was a ‘they’. They were a couple, they were a unit. It was a first for her, and she hadn’t had the time to think about it until all of the whirlwind of the wedding had passed.

“I thought you would have been out of that uncomfortable dress by now,” she heard him. She turned to see him. His shirt was unbuttoned, his tie hanging untied on his neck. He carried his jacket over his shoulder. He looked relaxed and comfortable, and she got even more nervous looking at him.

“I was nervous so I sent Claire away,” she shrugged.

He took a step in her direction. “What are you nervous about?”

She sighed and pressed her hands together over the skirt of her dress. “About us,” she whispered. “I didn’t think of the after. I didn’t have the time.”

He smiled and took another step towards her, finally close enough to her. She could see perfectly the sincerity in his eyes. She could see the scar above his eyebrow and the tiny freckles on his nose. “You don’t have to be nervous about anything,” he reassured her. “I won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”

“It’s not only that,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve never done this before. This…” she hesitated, “partnership. I know things are different for men.”

“I don’t see how,” he furrowed his eyebrows.

“You know how,” she snapped. “Men are praised for their sexual endeavours. Women are expected to remain pure until marriage,” she explained calmly. “And it’s not fair to either of us, you have an unfair advantage over me and I--,” she stopped herself.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “You can say it, I won’t be hurt.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know how to do this, Jason,” she admitted. “I’ve never even been kissed before.”

He smirked. “That’s easy to resolve,” he stated. His hands cradled her face and he leaned in, stopping just before their lips met. “If you want, of course,” he whispered, his breath mixing with hers.

Her breath got caught up in her throat. She wasn’t expecting him to be that direct. She thought he would seduce her first, like in the romance novel she had read. She’d rather his directness. “Yes,” she whispered.

He smirked and clashed his lips with hers. She closed her eyes and grabbed his shoulders tightly. His lips were surprisingly soft on hers, and she wondered what would happen if he decided to kiss with more passion instead of holding back.

She decided to, then, take the first step towards that direction. Her hands moved to his hair and she brought his lips closer to hers--which she thought it was impossible. She responded with more passion and more eagerness and he was shocked for a second before complying.

One of his hands moved to her waist and pressed her body closer to his. She opened her mouth just a little and his tongue licked her lips, entering her mouth slightly. She felt a wave of heat invade her, and she let it in pleasurably. His mouth started to make way down her neck, his fingers on her back, fumbling with the buttons of her dress.

She felt panicked at the intimacy of the act and tensed. Jason felt her nervousness and stopped. “We don’t have to go further if you don’t want to,” he whispered.

“It’s too much,” she replied, her voice strained. “It’s not you, Jay, I’m just not ready.”

He cradled her head, and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I’d wait forever for you,” he said. “I can wait until you’re ready.”

She gave him a shy smile. “Thank you,” she said softly.

“You’re welcome,” he said. “Now, let me undo those buttons and get some sleep,” he said. “It’s been a long day.”

The carriage shook as they rode through the country towards her kingdom. She looked out of the tiny window at the horizon, admiring the view.

“Did you miss home?” Jason asked.

She looked at him. “I did miss my Mother, and my friends,” she said, “But I don’t know if it’s my home anymore.”

“What is home then?” he asked, curious.

She searched in his eyes any indication of his intentions with that question. She found nothing but admiration and warmth and--if she’d be so bold--love. “I’m not sure yet,” she said. “When I found out, I’ll tell you.”

“Please do, I’d like to visit that place,” he laughed.

Now that they were officially married, they had moved back to Jason’s residence in Park Row. They were almost completely disconnected from the Wayne Castle in the outskirts of the city. Park Row was in a part of the city called Old Gotham, some would say it’s the heart of the city, right in the center, the most populous part. Others would say it’s the cancer of the mechanism of the town, littered with homeless and thieves.

Jason was born in Park Row. His parents were simple people. He didn’t give her much detail on who they were, and she could feel it hurt to talk about that subject so she didn’t push him to say anything. All he would tell was that his Father died first, and he was left as a child to help his sick Mother and him survive.

He became a pickpocket at age 8. His Mother died when he was 9. He lived on the streets up until he was 13. That was when King Bruce found him and took him in. Jason said he was trying to steal one of the wheels of his carriage when Bruce arrived and offered him shelter and food. Next day, he was already adopted and enrolled in classes. Next day he became a prince. She wondered what it was like for him to have gone through such a radical change in the span of a day.

He disappeared when he was 17. He was especially cagey about his time away. No matter what questions she asked he wouldn’t answer any of them. She wanted to attribute it to mystique, but she knew it was because of trauma.

When he came back he was a changed man, a stronger one, a more traumatised one. That was when he started to disagree with his Father more. He would question the methods Bruce would use in his hunt for justice in Gotham. He would question everything Bruce did, in Jason’s exact words. He didn’t detail anything and she started to notice a trend in his behavior: when something hurt him too deeply, he would barely talk about it.

Next thing he knew, he agreed to be the heir, he accepted the role his older brother left for him. He said it was because he knew better than any of his siblings how it was to be on the streets and suffer like most in Gotham. He would do better by them, and she believed in him. Wholeheartedly.

“So, what’s the plan of attack here?” he asked.

“We go in, say hello to my Mother and go to my Father’s study and look for the files,” she said. “It’s a dangerous mission, be careful,” she joked.

“We should have called for backup,” he said, seriously, embarking on her joke. “Maybe 1,000 soldiers would have sufficed.”

“More like 10,000,” she laughed. “Seriously, we’ll just spend the afternoon going through dusty paperwork,” she said. “It’s going to be quite boring.”

He smiled. “Nothing’s boring with you,” he stated.

She smiled back. “I quite disagree, but I appreciate the compliment.”

The carriage halted to a stop. Jason opened the door for her and offered his hand for her to come down the steps. She accepted it and stood proudly by his side. He offered his arm and she took it. He led her towards the staircase that led to the main entrance of her castle. She could see her Mother standing there waiting for her.

She had her problems with her Mother, but she still loved her. She left Jason’s hold and ran up the stairs to meet her Mother. She panted when she finally got up the stairs, but nevertheless, she held her Mother in a tight embrace. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

“You shouldn’t have run,” her Mother said in her ear, her voice humorous. “What would Prince Jason think?”

“Jason would think I love my Mother and I’ve missed her,” she stated. “How have you been?” she said, breaking the hug.

“I’ve been okay,” Mother answered. She looked behind her daughter and her expression became impassive. “Your Highness,” her Mother said. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

Jason smiled at her mother. “The pleasure is all mine.”

She smiled at her husband and at her Mother. “Shall we get inside?”she suggested. “Jason and I have to go through Father’s files.”

“Oh, those things?” her Mother said. “Good luck, I know he left those completely disorganized.”

“I remember,” she muttered. “It’s going to be a nightmare,” she said to Jason.

“I don’t mind,” Jason stated. “We can spend as long as we want here,” he gripped her hand. “This is important for us back in Gotham, it’s important to be thorough.”

“Well,” her Mother started, “I’ll leave you two to work then. I’ll send in some tea for you.”

“Thank you Mother,” she said, watching her Mother disappear into the corridor. She turned to Jason and smiled. “Shall we?”

He bowed slightly and said: “Lead the way, My Lady.”

She smiled and started getting up the stairs, Jason right beside her.

It was charming how much Jason’s behavior towards her had changed so much in a relatively small amount of time. When she had first met him, she feared a loveless marriage, with a husband cold towards her. But, slowly--or as slow as it felt--he had shifted. He started being less sarcastic and more truthful. He would still make sarcastic remarks, but never directed towards her. Jason started being soft and understanding. It was weird to think of a man so big and rough as him as soft and gentle, but it was how she saw him.

She knew he had his insecurities. He had told her once. He had told her he was reluctant to trust her, that he thought he didn’t deserve her. She said he was selling himself short. He replied that she didn’t know most things that he had done. She thought that it didn’t matter because she was falling in love with him.

Love. What a strange feeling. What an overwhelmingly dangerous feeling. It had changed her entire view of the world. She was much more willing to happiness, to the tiny beautiful things of the world. She saw things colored pink. She knew this effect would pass, but she would enjoy it while she could.

She felt his hand brush hers. She looked down at their hands, barely touching and then looked at him with a smile. He looked forward, his face impassive, like he had no idea what he was doing. She held his hand and he squeezed it. Her mouth quirked up slightly.

She led him right to a giant double door. She released his hand and opened the door, revealing her Father’s office.

It was considerably smaller than King Bruce’s office, but it still held an air of authority. Behind the main desk there was a big window that had a view of the castle entrance. Both side walls were bookcases, from the ceiling to the ground. In the middle of the room was the King’s desk, untouched.

“Nobody has come in here since he died,” she said quietly. “Except me.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he replied.

“It’s fine, it’s been a long time,” she sniffed. “I just miss him.”

Jason remained quiet, examining the room. “Anyways,” she said. “I’ll get those files, and we’ll start looking.”

She pulled a book in the middle of a bookcase. The bookcase retreated and it revealed a big safe. She opened the safe and revealed piles and piles of papers, untouched for years. “Will you help me?” she asked, picking a pile.

He picked up another big pile. He rested it on the floor. “We can pick more up after we go through these,” she said, sitting on the floor. “We’ll be entertained for a while.”

They spent hours reading. She started a system to organize the files into topics. Those that treated about economic affairs were separated into one corner of the room, those of the political affairs into the other. The political affairs were separated into topics: internal politics, external, and finally security. Those were the ones they had to nitpick through. She catalogued it in criminals: Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, Scarecrow, the lot.

She had through those files at least once in her life. It was interesting to read through once, and she could see Jason was fascinated about the operations her Father had led once. But she found it a bit boring, like she had predicted. Nevertheless she persisted. It was more important than her entertainment.

“Y/N” he called for her, “look at this.”

She got up from the ground and walked towards him. She had discarded her shoes long ago and was almost tempted to change into some pants. “Yes?” she asked.

“Is this the file you talked about?” He gave her the document.

She scanned through the document. It detailed how they had managed to successfully cut off supplies for the fabrication of the fear gas in her kingdom and how, with that, they had managed to ban Scarecrow from there. “It is,” she said. “I can’t believe you found it, I thought we would spend another day looking for it.”

“We already did that,” he said. “We already tried stopping the production of the gas, we discovered an antidote for it, it didn’t stop Crane.”

She smiled. “It’s not only that,” she explained, turning her back and going to the internal affairs pile. “You can’t stop only Crane, you have to redirect his soldiers to a more positive occupation,” she found the file and gave it to him. “See?”

He read through the document quickly. “But we have social programs in Gotham, it still--”

“You have and those social programs are great,” she said. “But it’s not enough for you to take care of the children and the homeless, you have to take care of the poor, those who struggle to get a job and do whatever it takes to not be helped by those social programs.

“You have to direct those men and women to better jobs, give them better chances, educate them and then you’ll defeat Scarecrow fully,” she finished

“Because then they’ll know better than to join him,” he whispered. “It’s brilliant.”

“It’s how you stop them,” she smiled and sat on his lap. “This is the beginning of the end, Jason. We’re on the right path.”

“How didn’t we think of it?” he asked himself. Her hands found his cheeks, caressing it gently.

“You were too focused on the short term solution, and it’s okay,” she assured. “Now, you can do better.”

“I will,” he looked into her eyes and he said. “Thank you.”

“For what?” she asked, confused.

“For everything,” he whispered. “For agreeing to give up being the sole sovereign of a land to joining Gotham and be its Queen, for being so wonderfully smart, for being patient with me for umm--”

She interrupted him, kissing him with passion. She stopped the kiss and rested her forehead on his. “You don’t need to thank me, Jay,” she said. “I’m doing what’s right.”

“For that I love you,” he responded. She tensed at those words. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to--”

“I love you,” she said. “I love you,” she kissed him with a passion.

“Is it too soon?” he mumbled on her lips. “Is it too soon to say that we love each other?”

“I feel like I’ve waited all my life for you,” she mumbled back. “So, no.”

“Great,” he whispered.

Then he kissed her like his life depended on it. His kiss was filled with a fiery passion she had never felt before. Granted she hadn’t kissed much in her life, but nevertheless this was a new first for her.

His tongue made an entrance in her mouth and she felt a fire run through her. She returned his passion, gripping the base of his hair. He moaned against her mouth, bringing her closer to him. He gripped her waist with determination as his lips moved swiftly against hers.

He tilted her head upwards and his mouth kissed its way to her neck. She hummed and as he bit a sensitive part of her skin. “Jay,” she moaned.

“If you want me to stop, I will,” he replied, his mouth still on her neck pecking where he had just bitten.

“Don’t stop,” she said.

“You shall have your wish, then, My Princess,” he smirked and kissed the corner of her mouth.

She got impatient and grabbed his face, smashing his lips on hers. She kept on kissing him, running her hands through his hair. He fumbled with the buttons of her dress and she didn’t feel like tensing and running away. She wanted him to continue to fumble with the buttons, she wanted him to open those buttons and take off her dress.

“Jason,” she mumbled.

He hummed in response, his lips leaving hers. He kissed all over her face and she giggled delighted.

“How about we take this elsewhere?” she suggested, trying to be seductive.

He smirked and looked at her softly. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” she affirmed. “I’m ready.”

He smiled and kissed her lovingly. “I love you,” he whispered, he got up and started carrying her towards the door of the office. He couldn’t stop kissing her even if he tried.

“No!” she exclaimed. “There’s a secret bedroom next to here.”

“Is this castle full of secret passages?” he mumbled, his lips trying to find hers like a magnet.

“Yes,” she breathed out. “Pull that book,” she pointed to a book in the top corner of the last shelf of the last bookcase.

He pulled the book and the bookcase retreated revealing a simple wooden door. He opened it and it revealed a King’s bedroom.

“My Father slept here after he pulled all nighters,” she kissed his neck gently. “After he got sick he barely came into the office so it’s been unused for years.”

He smiled and lifted her chin. He looked in her eyes lovingly. “Are you really sure?” he asked once again. “I don’t want you to regret anything.”

“How can I, Jason?” she said. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”

He smiled at her. He closed the door behind him and they laid together.

To think one day he had questioned how he could want a wife. He hadn’t met her before. He hadn’t known he was destined to meet such a wonderful person, determined and strong. He hadn’t known he was meant to love her.

He had been too naïve to think he wouldn’t need her. He needed her more than he needed air, water, food. And he knew she needed him. It was a partnership after all. They needed each other, they trusted each other, and they loved each other.

author’s note: don’t forget to reblog if you’ve liked to make sure more people see it. also, the link to my jason playlist is here

#jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n #jason todd x you #jason todd fanfiction #Jason Todd #red hood x reader #Red Hood X y/n #red hood #royal!au #prince!jason #king!bruce #princess!reader #my masterlist #royalty!jason todd #royal!jason todd

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todourouki · 4 years

Note

A Class 1A x reader where she is a new student and she is like toph from atla. Like she is blind, has a quirk that allows her to control the earth, never backs down from a fight, independent and she's brutally honest. Love your Writing🥰

AHHHH good choice anon! I fucking love toph and her bad bitch energy is >>> I’ll try my hardest with this, and I think I’ll make it a hc bc it’s the best option LOL | also thank you so fucking MUCHHH ily and I hope this is good enough for you! xx 🤎

TITLE: Reader w. A Quirk Like Toph (ATLA)

PAIRING: Class 1-A & Reader

WARNINGS: Explicit Language

when you first stepped into class 1-a, you were kinda scared

besides the fact that you couldn’t see anyone

you didn’t know what to expect from the people around you

would they be nice? Would they taunt you for your impairment like others have?

if they did you’d fuck them up—

the minute you walked into the class, everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of you

your pupils were an extremely blueish white hue, almost appearing as if they were glowing

aizawa told you he already alerted the class of your ““condition”” so there was nothing to worry about

the first person to talk to you was Mina

even though most of the reason was that you were seated behind her, she was happy there was finally another girl in the class

she introduced you to a girl name hagakure who you learned was invisible

immediately they started describing everyone in class to you

“uraraka is like... the sweetest girl ever”

“yea and asui and jirou are so cool”

“also, todoroki is like.... the prettiest boy in this school”

“not like i’d be able to tell”

“....”

“you can laugh...”

your sense of humor really threw everyone off cause it’s like..

damn can i laugh or is that disrespectful??

the only person to not give a fuck and would laugh out loud was someone you learned to be bakugou

a lot of conversations btwn you and some classmates would be a bit... humorous once they realized you joked around about being blind

“are you deaf? we’re taking—”

“no, i’m blind.”

“.......(sigh)”

when everyone first saw your quirk though, they were amazed

even bakugou thought it was pretty convenient he’d never admit it out loud though

what really impressed them though

was when school’s asshole monoma found out there was a blind new girl in 1-a

he thought it would be a good idea to sneak up on her & give her the run around

it was not a good idea

the vibrations of his feet were ones you could tell were trying to be undetected and you thought this was someone trying to attack you

you heard about the damn mess UA has with villains so you were always on guard

without a blink of a blind eye, your feet stomped across the ground and sent a ripple of dirt collapsing in his direction

monoma was now stuck into the ground with dirt around his entire lower body and had the inability to move

kirishima said that ever since then, you are now the manliest person he knows

bakugou didn’t like that

You never asked any of your classmates for help no matter how much they tried to assist you

Momo was always telling you she could create this one thing that writes down what it hears for you

“That’s really sweet yaoyorozu but seriously I’m okay”

“No Y/N you don’t understand, you don’t have to struggle to see anymore because this can help—”

“I’ll still be blind—”

The one who never really laughed 100% at your jokes though would be midoriya and iida

Midoriya being that he always got so flustered and felt bad for even raising his lips at the thought of one of your jokes

and iida because he thought laughing at someone’s disability was “beyond unheroic and uncalled for”

you couldn’t see them but you knew they were just that guy in class

“The desk is a place to do your work, not sit”

you soon learned that midoriya didn’t care about his life at all though, which shocked you bc he seemed so well mannered and careful

one time mineta tried to look up your skirt and ojiro smacked him with his tail and that’s how you became close friends with “the guy that’s not half monkey but he’s pretty much half monkey”

all in all, everyone in class 1-A adores you, even those who act like they don’t *cough ykw*

you all defend each other, and manage to work really well with one another during quirk battle practices

they’ll defend you to the death bc of you being blind even though you constantly tell them you can handle them

“you can’t see so let me electrify them for making that joke about your blindness”

“please y/n, let me ice their bodies so they are unable to attack you. i refuse to let a comrade of mine go injured if i can protect them”

“guys i can handle it”

“yeah but you can’t see so how are you supposed to attack them if you don’t know where they are???”

“......”

“can you please get this dirt coffin thing off me”

“i just wanted to freeze the bad guy—”

we stan class 1-A and earth bender!reader & that’s just that on that!

#class 1a #1a headcanons #class 1a x reader #class 1a x y/n #class 1 a x reader #mha #my hero academia #bnha #boku no hero academia #boku no hero canons #my hero academia canon #my hero canons #boku no hero academia canons #heillysreqs

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lonestarbabe · 4 years

Text

What It Takes to Be a Dad

[AO3]

There are so many words about his dad that TK needs to get off his chest.

“I’m going to be a dad,” Owen said, and it’s a slight that Owen didn’t even know he was making, which was the worst kind of slight because Owen wasn’t trying to hurt T.K. He wasn’t thinking of T.K. at all. He was thinking of the new kid he might have in a few months, one who wasn’t tarnished by mistakes of the past. T.K. got the appeal of a fresh start. Sometimes, no matter how hard he tried to be happy, he wondered if he’d always be in the way-- a reminder of old haunts.

Some reminders were better off dead. T.K. tried that. He’d tried killing himself. He’d tried destroying the parts of himself that he didn’t like with pills and booze. He’d nearly died. He’d gotten better. He’d fought to be sober. He’d fought to not ruin the good things that he’d started in Austin. It was hard fighting all the time. It took so much energy, and sometimes T.K. didn’t know what the point was. For all the fighting he did, did anything ever change? Would he ever stop feeling like a seven-year-old who wanted his hero to put him first?

The words didn’t leave T.K.’s head. If he told his dad about how he felt, his dad would think that he was being silly. Owen would tell T.K. that nothing was going to change and that T.K. would always be his son, but the issue was that nothing was going to change. T.K. had held out hope all his life that something would be different, but every time he thought that he and his dad were making progress, they slid back into the same bad patterns that agonized T.K. and made him feel like he’d never have the love he deserved.

T.K. had gone over a lot of scenarios in his head. He’d imagined being able to spit everything he was unable to say out. He’d collected the words he wanted to say for so many years, stuffed them into the back of his brain. They were all in mint condition, untouched and looking just as new as they did when he first gathered them. It was a museum of artifacts that he didn’t want to have anymore. But he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t let them go because they were precious to him, even if they were underappreciated.

“You left me,” he wanted to scream. “You left me and you never came back. I had to be the one to force my way into your life. My whole future was wanting to be close to you, and I was never able to get what I wanted because it doesn’t serve you.”

He wanted to say, “You only love me as far as it’s convenient for you.” Because he’d driven himself crazy trying to figure out what his relationship with his father really was, but he knew that was how it felt.

T.K. imagined his father saying, “Son, that’s not true.” Son, sometimes the word made him feel special, but other times, it made him feel like shit.

Without holding back, T.K. would say, “It is true. You’ve always put your career ahead of me. Ahead of mom. You’re going to put it ahead of this baby too. Because you refuse to admit that you’re still fucked up. You play hero, but you run away like a fucking coward when things get too hard with the people you should fight hardest for.” He wanted to yell so that Owen had no choice but hear him because it drove him crazy as he kept trying to say the same thing but it never came out in a way that Owen understood.

Owen would probably try to brush T.K.’s words off, but T.K. wouldn’t let him. For once, he would get the words he was dying to say out. “I’ve lived my whole life trying to be like you. I thought if I could model myself after the man that everyone kept saying was so great, I would be that great too. But I’ve become like you in all the wrong ways. I’ve become self-absorbed and reckless. I do things that aren’t like me because I’ve trained myself to be just like you.” He would tell Owen, “I’m tired of trying to force a relationship with you while you only give an effort when I’m on death’s door.”

T.K. wanted to ask, “What will it take for me to be enough for you?” The answer, he knew, would never satisfy him because whatever Owen said, T.K. would never feel like enough. The words didn’t matter. They were pennies being thrown into empty wells. Owen could say he loved T.K. all he wanted, but until he decided to start acting like a dad, T.K. would always have his doubts. There’d always be a part of him that would think it was too late to be the son his dad needed him to be. He couldn’t help but feel like the mistake that Owen had to love just because he was a mistake that Owen had created.

With a voice that never wavered, he would say, “I’m not the problem here. I’ve done what I could. I haven’t been perfect, but I’ve fought to keep you in my life, and at what cost?”

He wanted to look his dad in the eyes and say, “You don’t get to be a father just when it makes you feel good or like father of the year. You have to my dad all the time. You have to put the effort in, even when you don’t get anything out of it. Real dad’s don’t have shifts. They don’t just take their world’s best dads hats off at the end of the day. When you make the decision to have a kid, they don’t stop being your kid.” He knew that he could never say all that, not if he wanted a semblance of security with his dad, but it would feel so good to take the shiny film off all those words he kept in mint condition.

Most of all, T.K. longed to say, “You say that you’re going to be a dad, but don’t forget that you could’ve been mine.” His voice would shake as he said, “You still can.”

#text #911 lone star #911 lone star fic #My writing #Elise Writes #My Fics #1000 - 3000 words

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ary-se · 4 years

Text

Mankai with a cat

a few months ago, our cat scratched me right on my cheek and my first thought out of all things was "what if mankai had a cat" pls get me out of this brainrot 😣

on a side note, this got way TOO LONG so i'm putting it under the cut!! this also works as an apology since i was gone for too long without notice 🙇‍♀️ as always, thank you for reading!

🐾 having a pet for the dorm was a subject mankai always brought up. it definitely sounds like a good idea for a domestic setting, but actually getting a pet is out of the question. sakyo didn't allow it due to obvious reasons, and of course it involved the company's budget.

🐾 there was one time however when muku and yuki went back to the dorms with a white stray cat that had a sprain. that time, sakyo would've given them a lecture like usual, but he gave in anyways and told them that they can foster the cat and they'll let it go after its leg gets better.

🐾 unfortunately for sakyo, everyone got way too attached to the cat before its sprain healed, and sakyo also adored the cat but of course he wouldn't openly admit that. after a week, when the cat got better, it only took a few buttons to push before sakyo agreed to finally keeping the cat, under the condition that they are not getting another pet again.

🐾 no one knew who started calling the cat koko, though it just seemed so natural that everybody else started to follow suit, which was pretty convenient because they didn't have to fight over the cat's name when mankai will finally keep her as a pet. (fun fact coco is the name of our cat)

🐾 that week, tenma deadass acted like an expecting father having his very first child, it was really unnerving to see. taichi and juza would often join tenma in shopping for random cat toys after school, which usually lasts longer than girls shopping for a singular pair of heels and that already says a lot

🐾 the conversation usually goes like this

tenma: "what's the best color for this toy mouse?"

taichi: "i like the red one!"

juza: "that's fine too."

tenma, after 10 minutes: "i see, i'll just buy all 7 colors"

🐾 tenma spoiled koko a LOT. teasers? balls? lasers? plushies? you name it, and tenma literally had them in ALL available colors. he did not really care if some of the toys remained untouched, as long as koko had something to be busy with. tenma had a huge ass box of cat toys that he could open up his own damn store and he'd get a lot of profit

🐾 tasuku literally had no idea why, but koko never scratched anywhere but his legs. is there some sort of magic on his legs?? if there was, it wasn't something tasuku is aware of, and he isn't sure if he wants to know what it is either.

🐾 it actually didn't hurt or anything, it just annoyed him when he needs to go somewhere else and the cat would just pounce to his direction to scratch his legs. tasuku feels bad on walking away, so all he does is stand up and wait until koko is done scratching his leg so he can finally move on.

🐾 when a scratching post was delivered to the dorm, koko has been all over it ever since. when tasuku noticed that koko never scratched on his legs anymore, it then just occurred to him that koko used his legs as a temporary scratching post. if he was being conpletely honest, he doesn't know how to feel about this.

🐾 know the meme of people making their babies choose their pokemon starter? that's what itaru did to koko, except he used the figurines of his waifus instead of pokemon plushies. he'd carry koko to the table, and the figurine koko will knock over would determine who her best girl supposedly is.

🐾 what he didn't know was that koko wouldn't knock one figurine over, but ALL FIVE OF THEM, and they all went rolling from the table and fell down to the floor. he swore that one of the figurines easily gets broken since its glasses came off at some point, and until that moment his trust towards animals has never been tested so bad. gladly, none of the figurines broke so koko is not yet in itaru's hit list.

🐾 even with all the toys tenma showered her with, koko finds itaru's hair on a ponytail very entertaining. itaru doesn't really mind koko messing with his hair as long as his gaming stays uninterrupted, though he gets annoyed when koko pulls a part of his hair too hard. he also somehow gets pissed whenever his hairtie falls off during a crucial moment, but he doesn't have the heart to get mad at koko so he lets her off the hook for so many times.

🐾 if omi is already such a mom to mankai, he is even more of a mom to koko. there is a sack of cat kibbles stored away for weeks, but it still remains untouched up to this day because omi always whip up homemade meals for her.

🐾 there was a time when omi cooked up turkey, mashed potatoes and corn for koko's dinner, but he didn't prepare anything for the actual human beings in mankai. omi was just like, "oh haha, there is leftover curry in the fridge. we probably should finish that first"

🐾 in other words, koko isn't subjected to curry hell. never. cats actually aren't supposed to eat curry or else something would happen. even if cats were allowed to eat curry though, it is highly doubtful that omi will make koko eat curry on a daily basis. if omi is an actual mom, everyone would collectively agree that the favorite child is koko. no buts, no questions asked, that's it.

🐾 it was a given that cats don't like water, so everyone was really surprised when they learned that koko LOVES water. the first time they learned it was when sakuya went to wash the dishes like usual, only for koko to literally pounce by the sink. she waits for sakuya to turn on the faucet and everytime sakuya does, she just sticks her paw out to the water until he turns it off. it was an adorable sight.

🐾 it definitely made sakuya slower on washing the dishes, but he does not really mind one bit, he actually enjoys the company. he opted to use a bit more dishwashing soap after he noticed that koko also liked to play with the excessive foam and bubbles on the sink whenever he finishes doing the dishes.

🐾 everyone in mankai, especially sakuya, already made it a habit to call out to koko whenever they're about to do the dishes so koko wouldn't have to wait for the sound of the faucet before running to the sink. it already is a routine every after mealtime.

🐾 was it already mentioned that koko likes water? yes. whenever the boys get in the bath, koko also joins in the damn tub and REFUSES to leave. after some time, the boys already accepted it and just let the cat stay in the tub, losing their sense of privacy in the process. they also bought little rubber duckies and those bubble bath products so koko can play around with the excessive amount of bubbles and the rubber duckies in the tub.

🐾 there was one time when omi woke up super early to prepare breakfast, though he went to the bathroom first and nearly shit on his pants when he saw koko in the empty tub. no koko, he isn't going to fill the tub with water if you just stay there. get out of there and sleep in your own damn bed.

🐾 koko also follows anyone who is on their way to the bathroom, ALWAYS assuming that they'll fill up the tub every time they do get in the bathroom. sorry to break this to you koko, but taichi wouldn't get in the bathroom 8 times a day to take a bath every single time, he just really wants to pee... please give him a break

🐾 koko always joins tsumugi when he is in the garden, though it was only because she wants to drink on the water coming out of tsumugi's watering can. when there are water droplets on the leaves, she climbs up and licks them off. unfortunately, it is one of the reasons why tsumugi started to yell on a daily basis, "KOKO NO THAT PLANT IS POISONOUS DON'T LICK THAT—"

🐾 tsumugi wouldn't have to warn koko forever though, since she'd eventually memorize what plants are poisonous and what are not. sometimes, after tsumugi is done watering the plants, he'd fill the watering can with water again just so koko would get in the can and chill for who knows how long.

🐾 koko is attached to muku for obvious reasons (he picked her up when she was injured!!) so koko is often in their shared room with kazunari. sadly, there was a time when muku took a break from reading the shoujo manga to grab some water, and when he got back, koko was already tearing it into pieces.

🐾 muku did not get angry at koko, but the cat knew something was wrong when muku was trying to stop himself from crying that koko already knew not to tear any of muku's books in the future. koko still felt really bad about it even after muku bought a new copy of that specific volume.

🐾 whenever kazunari is rushing an art project that is to be passed the next day, muku holds koko close to him so koko wouldn't be able to somehow ruin the painting. there has already been an instance wherein koko stepped all over the painting when muku and kazunari wasn't in the room, and that better not happen ever again.

🐾 gladly, kazunari was calm about it and found a way to fix the blue pawprints all over the white paint, but only god knows what will happen once koko messes up the painting again when kazunari is getting SO close to breaking down because of the deadline.

🐾 there are times when kazunari prefers to eat bread with charcoal and drink his paint water than having koko step all over his artwork, and muku better make sure kazunari does none of that

🐾 banri is unfortunately one of those people who pretends to be a dick around their pets. more often than he would admit, he'd act like he is about to throw a punch to koko, only to actually give it gentle pats on the head. banri throwing the cat mid-air and catching her is already a common sight, too.

🐾 he finds it funny scaring koko in all sorts of ways, especially when it comes to heights. banri would carry koko up high, and pretend to drop her just to catch the cat again. sakyo has reprimanded him a lot of times regarding this situation, but he brushes it off.

🐾 there was one time however when banri just carries koko up high and stays that way. the cat was literally scared shitless of being high up on mid-air unmoving, she literally had no choice but to piss right on banri's face. ever since that time, banri toned down his tendencies of teasing the cat

🐾 koko ALWAYS sleeps with hisoka. it doesn't matter where, will it on top of the sink? on the tree? below the table of the living room? you name it, and you see koko and hisoka stuck to each other like glue. somehow it feels like koko became a replacement of penpen. the poor stuffed toy probably got messed up by the cat, waiting to finally get fixed in yuki's room

🐾 koko got hisoka's habit of sleeping literally everywhere that it became really concerning. there was a time when tsuzuru noticed that koko was nowhere to be found, and everyone went batshit looking at her all over the city. even sakyo got mad at everyone because they weren't keeping an eye out of the cat while everybody else is gone. after how many hours of searching, turns out the cat was just sleeping inside the fucking washing machine

🐾 funny enough, taichi and koko have the SAME eyes. like, actual striking blue. taichi usually carries her and parades around the dorm, announcing the news to everyone even though he has said it for like the 83rd time that day. nobody really minds though, the coincidence is still too unreal. the quote "like pet, like owner" doesn't really apply to koko and taichi though, because if anything, it feels more like comparing a cat to a puppy

🐾 taichi is also the one who plays with koko the most, which solely meant that he also used the cat toys tenma bought as much as the cat herself did. at this point, it wouldn't be wrong if they said that the toys were bought for BOTH koko and taichi because even taichi sometimes finds entertainment in using the teaser by himself whenever the cat is being held by somebody else.

🐾 as much as yuki refuses to admit it, he actually gets concerned when koko climbs up in all sorts of countertops, because that would mean koko would also NOT hesitate to climb up to his sewing machine. he is already meticulous when it comes to his materials for sewing, but even moreso now.

🐾 every after yuki finishes sewing, he tightly encloses the sewing machine with a case so that the cat wouldn't get to touch it and potentially get hurt. yuki also used to just leave his sewing materials on the desk, but nowadays he actually keeps them into somewhere secure so as to not harm anybody. he can't have koko's paws bleeding just because of some damn pin that rolled on the floor

🐾 yuki also somehow feels bad when he drives the cat away from him by force every time he is working on the costumes for the next play. he doesn't know what the cat is thinking, but he hopes that koko knows he is just trying not to actually make her bleed over some needles. as a repayment, yuki lets koko bother him all she wants whenever he does his homework with muku.

🐾 since masumi always used to be alone at home, he always thought of the possibility of adopting a pet cat that would keep him company. that constant thought he had already dissipated when he started living in the mankai dorm, so when they decided to take koko in, he remembered the specific reasons why he wanted to own a cat.

🐾 he never let anyone willingly in his personal bubble except for the cat, which he accepted pretty easily. masumi also found it kind of amusing to blast songs on shuffle from his phone because koko had her own way of showing if she likes the song or not. if she likes it, she doesn't do anything. if koko doesn't, she taps her paw on his phone a lot of times as if telling him to change the song. most of the time, masumi obliges.

🐾 every time tsuzuru opens the fridge really late at night, he has to double check if koko is inside the fridge or not before he closes it. there was one time when he didn't notice koko get in the fridge while getting energy drinks. the cat pretty much stayed in there for hours and hours until omi opened the fridge to make breakfast. tsuzuru was lectured by sakyo that morning because he would be ultimately responsible if the cat died in the fridge from freezing her ass off

🐾 whenever tsuzuru gets in a writing frenzy, koko keeps him company late at night. unfortunately for tsuzuru, if he stops typing for at least 10 seconds, koko takes that as a sign to pounce on his keyboard and just lay down there. tsuzuru already knew better than to carry her away from his keyboard since the cat will be insistent enough to return to his keyboard, so he usually gives up and goes to bed, saving the ideas in his head for the next time he wakes up.

🐾 because of that, every time tsuzuru finishes a script for the next play, his tendencies of passing out right after handing the script to somebody else significantly lessens. tsuzuru doesn't know if the cat is just trying to be annoying or if she just wants him to get some sleep, but either way he doesn't really mind because he gets to stop himself from overworking. well sorta

🐾 juza almost never approaches koko. like never. it feels like he is openly avoiding the cat for some apparent reason, and nobody knows why, but in reality he is just scared as shit of the damn cat. what if koko gets mad at him? what if she suddenly gets aggressive and scratches him? honey you're way bigger than her, and koko wouldn't hurt you... really it's okay

🐾 juza's way of offering affection to the cat is to give her some portions of his meal during dinner, sometimes breakfast. he tries to be sneaky about it, but he legitimately has no idea that everyone knows. it becomes more obvious when koko already made it a habit to sit on the chair behind juza every meal time to get more food. that still happens even after omi just filled up her fucking bowl. nobody comments about it though, they find it hilarious

🐾 koko always tries to test homare's patience, but for some reason homare literally doesn't give a single fuck. every time he is writing something down, high chances are koko would spread the ink all over his paper. sometimes she'd try to crawl her way in his coat sleeve, and homare, he just....... doesn't mind.

🐾 if homare is actually busy however, he'd take out his necktie from his vest if koko doesn't want to leave his lap. most of the time, she actually plays with it like it's a teaser. homare is fine if the necktie gets destroyed, he has a lot of neckties in his closet and some of them are specifically for the purpose of koko messing with them

🐾 not to mention that he also finds it really amusing that koko gets overly excited when it comes to lasers. homare is curious why this would be the case, so he usually uses the laser to play with koko when he has free time. he doesn't think of where he points the laser though, so his wooden desk ends up having a lot of scratches. again, he knows and he doesn't care in the slightest.

🐾 misumi adores koko so much. her ears are triangles, her paws are triangle, her nose is triangle. she is a fucking triangle. with the help of kazunari, he already has a whole album of koko's best pictures in polaroid films. most of them are in a photo book so that everyone has a physical copy to look at, while some of them are taped on misumi's wall. the ones on misumi's room are particularly the ones where her ears are especially prominent.

🐾 at least twice or thrice a week, misumi brings koko out of the dorm and brings her to other groups of stray cats that misumi deems trustworthy. nothing bad happens to koko gladly, because only god knows what would happen once misumi's instincts tell him something horrible is about to happen to their pet cat, and they're always spot on

🐾 citron has ZERO sense of personal space when it comes to koko. citron would literally touch koko anywhere, thinking she is fine with it. unfortunately, there are times when citron pets koko on parts she doesn't want to be touched, particularly the tail and the area around it. citron's hands always end up covered in scratches. over time, he memorized where he should and shouldn't touch like the back of his hand

🐾 citron made a koko jr. which was completely intended to be for display purposes. the cat saw it as a new mouse toy however, so it didn't take a whole day for koko jr. to look like a ball of messed up wool. it doesn't look like a damn cat anymore, though it passes as an extremely fluffy and distorted alpaca

🐾 sakyo never shows affection to the cat. no pets, no strokes, nothing. the most he does to koko is spare her a glance, and sometimes he even glares at her from a distance when sakyo gets too absorbed in his thoughts... despite that, everyone wonders why every time sakyo comes home, she gets more energetic greeting him compared to how she'd greet the rest of the boys when they come back to the dorm

🐾 azuma knows. he would sometimes stay up for late night talks with sakyo, and through their conversations that's when azuma learns how much sakyo cares. azuma often helps sakyo out on trimming koko's nails when they're getting kind of long, trying to be as careful as possible so as to not hurt her.

🐾 azuma is also amused at the fact that sakyo tries to ignore koko resting on his lap, or when he pretends not to notice the cat trying to slip in the pockets of his coat. knowing sakyo, he'll definitely complain about the white fur on his black coat later on. as funny as it is, azuma knows better than to say a word about it.

🐾 before kazunari realized it, his camera roll is pretty much filled with random pictures of koko. most of them are just derp pictures, though... kazunari captures her weird quirks, like how she likes to fall asleep with all fours spread out like a starfish, or how she constantly make noises on the door stopper if she wants to get in the room. the picture with koko's most horrified face on it was when banri threw her high up mid-air, and that is never going to get deleted.

🐾 they find everything the cat does very adorable, even though she is just drinking water from her bowl. or when her tongue gets stuck on the ice tray omi brought out from the fridge. or when she yawns and taichi sticks a finger in her mouth and she doesn't know what to do next. or when she squints her eyes at homare when he gets in a blabbering rampage. literally everything.

🐾 at some point, kazunari thought it'd be a good idea to have those cat tunnels mounted on walls so there will be more room for koko to play. he just said it out of nowhere, but everyone agreed on that idea. after a week or two, the whole dorm is basically a cat playground with a crapton of shelves, slides, and tunnels on the walls, save for the practice room, bathroom, and the bedrooms.

🐾 did sakyo said that they are never, ever getting another pet after koko? yeah right, there's no way that's actually happening. high chances are they got more cats so that the cat playground they all built together will get utilized. the more, the merrier!! even though sakyo complains a lot about the expenses, they all know he isn't against the idea, though they better not tease him for it or sakyo will definitely take it back

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prettyinpymtech · 4 years

Text

Did I Mention

Part 6

Series Masterlist

Poe Dameron x Princess!Reader

Summary: Poe refuses to agree with General Organa’s decision when she invites royalty to advise the Resistance. Despite his protests, Leia trusts him with her safety during an undercover mission. Maybe there’s a chance to change his misgivings of their new guest.

A/N: I’m so sorry about the wait! This chapter proved to be quite tricky and I wanted to make sure I got it right. As always, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!

Stories of handsome pirates and their adventures had been somewhat of a guilty pleasure during your teenage years. You had spent countless hours at the local spaceport, much to your parents’ dismay, and listened intently as strangers recounted their many escapades.

The royal guards would then have to accommodate your pleas to teach you the same combat techniques the pirates often demonstrated, though you were careful not to do so in your parents’ presence. All of their teachings, unfortunately, had hardly been necessary to exercise. The forthcoming days as princess, and later as an advisor to General Organa, did not require you to engage in such combat.

You had been careful to avoid any such struggles, but this particular mission had disrupted your intents. Your eyes had closed when the sound of blaster fire echoed in the dining room, and the loud screams that followed only intensified your fear.

It was only when you heard the clatter of metal falling to the floor that you opened your eyes. Turning around, you found the body of the waiter on the ground with his blaster now out of his reach and a fatal wound between his shoulders.

Behind his still form stood Poe, his own blaster no longer concealed. His cold stare disappeared when he met your gaze and a comforting smile appeared on his lips. He rushed to your side, searching your face for any signs of harm.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

You nodded, unable to find your voice through the sheer panic that plagued the dining room. It would have been much more sensible to walk away and leave before Leif seized his chance to blame your fiancé for the waiter’s death, but Poe refused to renounce the senator without punishment.

He immediately pointed his blaster in Leif’s direction, eager to pull the trigger in response to his murderous attempt, but stopped when he met the senator’s gaze. A faint smirk haunted Leif’s features, leaving Poe completely dumbfounded.

It was your gentle voice calling his name that suddenly compelled him to consider the senator’s complacency.

Looking around, he found an entire crowd staring back at him. Many patrons remained in their seats with a similar look of disgust while others crouched behind any cover they could find, terrified by the very notion that they would soon meet the same fate as their waiter. It was only then that Poe realized he had unwillingly produced a criminal standing for the Resistance, providing Leif with the pretense he had sought to create.

The senator regarded the guests of the Golden Crescent, his elegant persona now emphasized by the chaos around him. “My friends, please do not be alarmed by their presence. I will not allow these traitors to carry out the violence that is celebrated by the Resistance.”

“No, please!” You cried, already aware that your protests would fall on deaf ears. “You don’t understand! The Resistance-”

“The Resistance is nothing more than a collection of cruel individuals, intent on destroying the very calm and order we stand for.”

It was his remarks that encouraged even more disorder. Many men stood up, no doubt hoping to impress their dates, and moved forward to restrain Poe. You watched in horror as his objections were met with a cruel beating.

“Enough!”

Your protest managed to subdue some of the commotion, though Poe was still detained with a powerful grasp. Men and women proceeded to share whispers, undeniably recognizing your face from the various stories so many holojournalists had fashioned. You had read a few of their rumors, discouraged by the accounts of a princess who had abandoned her people to pursue some outrageous fantasy. It must have been quite a scene, and you would not let their attention be overlooked.

“The Resistance does not engage in violence,” you said, “nor does it condone such atrocities. General Organa has seen the First Order’s destruction, the ruin of our home planets and the devastation they have brought to our villages. You’ve seen it too. This fight has plagued every planet in the galaxy and it will not end until we stand up to them.”

Silence resonated throughout the dining room and with it came a moment of sympathy. No one dared to move, but their faces revealed memories of the families they had lost to the evil of the First Order. You took their stillness as an opportunity to look at Poe. He met your gaze with a rather gentle softness, almost the same one he had shared in the elevator.

With your stare focused on Poe, however, you had failed to notice Leif come up behind you. The senator immediately seized your arms and held you tightly against his chest, ignoring your struggle.

“Don’t listen to her!” He shouted. “She spreads nothing but lies! The New Republic will not stand for this!”

As the dining room returned to its former state of disarray, Leif leaned in with a harsh whisper. “I must say, your speech was quite inspiring. But it’s a shame you allowed your fiancé to seduce you to such a pathetic cause.”

His comment was met with a sharp jab to his stomach and he constricted his grasp.

“The Resistance will win this fight,” you whispered. “And this entire lie you created will be exposed. You will have nothing.”

Your struggle allowed a momentary glance at the absolute fear in Leif’s eyes. It was certainly odd to witness the senator’s terror up close, but you were satisfied to disclose the truth he wished to ignore.

In spite of your certainty, Leif forced himself to regain his composure. Your discomfort was intensified when his hold returned to its unforgiving condition.

“This little rebellion of yours will disappear and it will be your doing. You should have let me proceed with my previous strategy. It would have been much more simpler to frame the waiter for your murder and brand him an extremist of the Resistance, but this,” he added with a cruel chuckle, “This is far more convenient.”

He pressed you to focus your attention outside. You were suddenly met with a number of camera droids, all lined up outside the windows. Their photoreceptors were directly focused on Leif and his so-called heroic attempts to protect the patrons of the Golden Crescent. It would only be a matter of time before the most recognizable newsnets took advantage of such a scene to establish the Resistance as mere aggressors.

Their presence compelled you to recall Leif’s countless attempts to discourage your generosity. He had constantly sabotaged any of your efforts and forced you to abandon your ideas. It wasn’t until you met Leia that you realized how wrong he was. She showed you an entire alliance that was determined to rid the galaxy of evil.

The Resistance was compromised of brave individuals, including Poe, though you would never admit it out loud. Their endeavors would not be disrupted by Leif’s self-regard and, while you recognized this mission was far from victorious, you knew you had to at least try. For Leia’s sake.

Fueled by your commitment, you immediately stepped on Leif’s foot and the senator cursed under his breath as he released his hold. You grabbed the waiter’s blaster from the floor, firing at Leif’s shoulder. He collapsed with a scream of agony, clutching his wound.

Ignoring his profanities, you pointed the blaster at the group of men restraining Poe and they released him without a fight. Poe watched in awe as you hurried away from the scene, allowing you to grab his hand.

Your departure was monitored by additional camera droids and, despite Poe’s reassurance that you would be safe, you forced yourself to acknowledge the reality of what had transpired.

You had failed General Organa.

#poe dameron x reader #poe dameron imagine #poe dameron #star wars imagine

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real-jaune-isms · 4 years

Text

RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 4 Review/Remix

A pretty good episode this time, and only 30% pain and despair so things are looking up! But when it goes mean it goes real strong with the mean. Lots to think about here, and boy oh boy do I wonder what we’ll see next week!

For a nice touch of levity, we open on Robyn telling a funny story about a time Joanna lost a fight to try and pass the time. Maybe she’s trying to cheer Qrow up too, but as someone who gets very bored at work pretty often I get the appeal of talking just to keep sane. She sees Qrow is too lost in his brooding about Clover’s pin to listen to the story, and Jacques is too busy fussing over a fly buzzing around his head (the Pence jokes write themselves). Tough crowd indeed, though her joke about Ironwood needing to pay for cell block entertainment does get a smile and a chuckle from the sad old bird. She takes this chance to apologize, possibly again and we’re just seeing this conversation now, for what happened with Clover. Many would argue it is really her fault for getting trigger happy back in the airship when Qrow was the one under arrest, but that’s an argument not worth having because the blame soup was being stirred by way too many cooks to make a clear verdict. Qrow, however, blames himself for deciding to team up with Tyrian, which was certainly a bad move. It was a heat of the moment thing, and he makes it clear he really would have preferred working with Clover to re-detain Tyrian again, but Clover just wouldn’t let up on his arrest orders. The real pain though, he admits, is that he had really started to let his guard down around this guy and thought her could actually make a partnership work again without his Semblance tossing 1,000 monkey wrenches into the mix. Feels like a fairy tale dream, vanishing like a rose petal on the wind, like every other friend. I of course added the part about rose petals, because you know he meant Summer and the unity of STRQ she probably represents in his mind. Robyn knows a thing or two about having a Semblance that impairs your relationships. Not many people like being around someone they can’t keep anything private from, and she can call out and mistruthing with a touch of the hand. Qrow has to admit he hadn’t considered someone else having that kind of personal trouble like he does, but their conversation is ended by Harriet coming in to toss Watts back in his cell. She’s pissy at Qrow and says he shouldn’t have Clover’s pin, but he retorts he has no reason not to have it since he’s not Clover’s killer. She still has a hard time believing that since Harbinger was the murder weapon, but Robyn finally raises a very good point. Miss Hill is a literal walking polygraph and all they would need to do to prove Qrow’s innocence is let her out of her cell and take her hand. But they won’t do that because they don’t want to prove what’s really true here, they want to cling to a convenient story so they don’t have to admit what really happened. Cuz if they put those glasses back on and face the facts, that means reevaluating what side their on if Clover died because he refused to help detain a serial killer before arresting a former colleague and that’s the real problem. Hare had already threatened that if she was gonna open the cell she wouldn’t use her hands for a friendly shake, and the dig at her allegiances and her ignorance towards Ironwood’s sins almost riles her up to the point of taking Robyn’s bait. But Marrow calls her back down to sensibility and she leaves in a huff. Robyn lays back and sighs at how there was almost something exciting happening.

Cutting to an actually exciting scene, Yang Jaune and Ren are outside the city chasing the Hound through a mountainous canyon on their bikes. It can fly while they have to navigate the rocks, and their bikes aren’t handling the cold terribly well. Yang laments that none of them can fly, but that inspires Jaune to pull out his shield and get closer to Ren. He’s gonna get his teammate up there, and Ren immediately understands how. Leaping off his bike and onto Jaune’s shield, he’s launched through the air by the burst of Gravity Dust in the crest and uses his grapple line blade to wrap around the Hound’s leg... and get dragged through the air like Curious George at the end of a bunch of balloons. Still, he’s weighing it down some and can climb up the line to get in close... when he’s not getting swung around against the cliffside. To further slow it down, he shoots his other line around a big rock that gets dragged behind them for about 5 seconds before the Hound flies higher up and the line comes loose. Ren gets knocked around even more while Yang finds an inclined path that gives her enough height to start shooting at the Grimm. It handles this fairly well, by dropping Oscar from its mouth into its hands and flying ahead of her with a loud roar. Apparently one of its Grimm for all Seasons abilities is to call for backup, because dozens of Centinels suddenly burrow up out of the rocks and ground around them and several Teryx swoop in above. Navigating becomes that much more difficult for the blondes, especially when one Centinel spits acid and hits the thruster of Jaune’s bike. He thinks fast and leaps off his bike to launch off another Grimm in front of him and flip onto a rocky overpass where he almost loses his balance and falls back down. Luckily Yang instead zooms by and pulls him onto her bike where they continue their pursuit. She does a great job of bobbing and weaving around the insects, but a Teryx lands in their path. Jaune tosses his shield grenade in front of a large rock and they drive onto it to tilt it into a ramp, launching over the avian foe into a spin between two more big bugs. They bump on a rock, but the Grimm cannot touch them with Yang’s driving. Unfortunately, they have a far more dangerous problem: They’re heading towards the edge of a massive cliff. Yang tries to make a quick turn but instead flips the bike over and launches both of them off to go tumbling off the precipice. Jaune tries to plant his sword in the ground as an anchor, but he doesn’t keep hold of it with their momentum and they both fall with a very believable scream. Big props to Miles and Barbara for this and the dramatic performances soon to come. Ren comes swooping in for a massive save and grapples Jaune’s sword with one weapon and the poor guy’s leg with the other. Jaune grabbed Yang by the hand so she’s fine too, but an incoming Teryx might soon negate it all. Luckily, Ren instead negates all their emotions with his Semblance and the Teryx passes them by. Less lucky, Ren being here means he’s not hanging from the Hound. He let it get away with Oscar to save his friends, and you know he’s kicking himself for it.

Shifting scenes from that tense gloom, we see Weiss decided the safest place to take Nora for the time being is her own damn mansion. Whitley answers the door and is about to try and berate Weiss for this but she is having none of it. She holds him at swordpoint and insists that they are coming inside. Whitley is very against the idea of harboring fugitives after the hit the Schnee family’s reputation has taken in the wake of its patriarch’s arrest for war crimes, and Blake is quite frustrated that this is what he chooses to complain about. The staff is all gone, Willow has retreated to her room and assumable to the bottle, you gotta admit Whitley probably feels more alone now than ever and is... coping in less than ideal ways. Weiss still seemingly carries a chip on her shoulder of wanting to prove that she is doing something actually important and she made the right move by leaving home to be a Huntress, so she insists that Whitley has no right to nag them because they are saving the Kingdom here. At least, that’s what my 2 semesters of psychology classes would tell me. Ruby plays intermediary between the Schneeblings and lays down their very minimal terms. Let them stay here a little while so Nora can rest and recover, and then they will leave him to his sulking and riches. Whitley begrudgingly accepts and asks what he has to do, and Weiss seems to relish this chance to tell him to go to his room. Finally flexing her big sister authority without Papa around to veto her in favor of his adoring son. But like Willow said last Volume, Whitley has been stuck in this house just like Weiss and Winter, and they could certainly try to treat him with a bit more fairness and sympathy. I’m sure it hurt him a little inside to have yet another authority figure bossing him around without a care for his desires. Still, he’s not giving much reason to make us sympathize so I say wait a little bit to see if he’s got any softer moments to come. Weiss directs May on where to carry Nora, and Blake checks on Ruby while they have this quieter moment. Possibly because she wants the chance to talk to her too, Blake suggests Ruby should try calling Yang to make sure things are okay, both between the sisters and in general. But that’s just it. She did it 35 minutes ago. Okay not really, but I wanted to toss a Watchmen joke in. Still, as much as Ruby worries how that half of the team is doing, she’s already trying to call them and it’s not going through.

We fade back to our three battered teens as Yang collects what scattered pieces she can from her bike, the only one they still have. But like I said, it crashed into a rock after they tumbled off and it’s in no condition to run anymore. So Jaune is trying to call for help and transport back to Mantle, but either Ironwood shut down all communication in the lower districts or they’re just so far out in the tundra that a signal just won’t reach. The latter would make sense, and explain why Ruby couldn’t reach Yang. Giving up on the call, the three instead trudge through the snow in the light of the setting sun back more or less the way they came. Jaune is dragging the bike along while Ren leads the way to an outpost he saw while getting dragged by the Hound. Yang notes how low their auras have been drained due to protecting them from the cold this long, and like a kid on a car trip asks how much longer it will be. Ren has no immediate answer so she asks again and he gives a snippy “I don’t know”. She can tell there’s something more bugging him and tries to coax it out of him after sensing the hostility in his explanation that he only got a glimpse of their intended destination before he had to abandon Oscar in favor of saving them. He refuses to discuss his deeper feelings because he thinks it’ll just waste time. This riles Yang up and she demands to know what his deal is, to which he insists she not worry about it. The argument keeps escalating from there. Things aren’t going smoothly enough for Ren? No, they’re not going smoothly at all, but boohoo Ren, that’s part of the job as a Huntsman. He doesn’t think it’s a job they should have at all, they weren’t ready for it or to make the incredibly damming decisions they’ve had to since taking that position. Sure, they had a few lucky breaks and near miss successes, but then they entered this losing streak that they can’t seem to recover from because the losses are too drastic and every choice they’ve made has been the wrong one. Yang refuses to accept such pessimism and insists that even if they haven’t done everything perfectly they still had to do something because inaction would have made things worse. But how could they be worse than they are now, Ren demands to know as they freeze to death out here. Salem has the Lamp and Oscar, and they have nothing but the cold winds. They may not have an army but they have the Maiden, Yang tries to counter, but because they haven’t let her to open the vault for Ironwood all of Atlas is just a buffet waiting to be chowed down on and it will all be their fault when that happens. Yang rightfully asks him if he seriously thinks letting Ironwood try and float Atlas away to safety will work out for him or for the people of Mantle he’s abandoning, but he argues that they shouldn’t even be the ones asked to make that call. He’s trying to spit the hard truths no one else wanted to face, but this is way too harsh and mean, especially for Ren. What are these hard truths, you ask? That Ruby is still too young to be a leader, that he himself is an orphan from a town that doesn’t exist anymore (which I guess shows how unimportant he is for someone thrust into this decision making role), and that Jaune, who by the way has been trying in vain to get the two to cut the shit and quiet down this whole time, cheated his way into Beacon. A damn low blow there, bro. Bringing back the deep wound from Volume 1. And you can tell he regrets it immediately, but to say that would mean backing down from his point. Jaune doesn’t even address the personal callout and just says alright, you don’t think we should have the job, good for you. I’m still gonna keep walking and get out of the cold because like it or not we were given a goddamn job to do. Maybe not in those words, but the meaning was there. Ren and Yang silently let him take the lead, probably feeling the hot wash of shame distracting them from the arctic chill. Yang still takes one last dig at Ren though by asking if it’s his goal to push everyone away, implying he’s being an asshole and not even Nora is sticking by him. Well... in so many words anyway.

We get another change of scenery with a dramatic violin stroke like something out of a murder mystery movie. Oscar is regaining consciousness, and he hears Ozpin try to reassure him to stay calm and that it’s gonna be okay. When he looks up, however, he sees Salem leaning in a shadowy doorframe staring at a smoky apparition in her hand and welcoming back her long lost Ozma. Judging by the childlike laughter and general shape of her smoke display, I think she was manifesting a memory of her and Oz’s dead daughters to try and reminisce about the days when they were still lovers. Oscar realizes he’s being held in the air from the Hound’s mouth and tries to struggle free as Salem notes how young and weak this new vessel is. She’s not even acknowledging Oscar, just talking through him to Ozma. It’s been what may have truly been centuries or even a millennium since they’ve last met, and dear Oz has nothing to say to his wife? Oscar does his best Ozpin impression to try and fake it till he makes it, but Salem knows her man better than anyone and sees through it to grab him by the face and call his bluff. But he really is still a separate person from Oz, so maybe he can be more cooperative to her requests than that old wizard. She still wants to know where the Relic of Choice is, since Oz clearly must have used an extra layer of deception to hide it opposed to the others, and she wants Oscar to reveal the trick. But that’s not a memory he has access to, and he tells her plainly that he doesn’t know. She believes him, knows Oz would hold that one close to the chest longest of all, so she asks an easier question. How does she go about asking the Lamp questions? She gets the standard coverup answer, the Lamp is out of questions so it’s futile to even try, but she refuses to believe that one. Instead she blasts the poor kid with an evil magic rainbow laser and lets him scream himself hoarse for a bit. His chest has scorch marks, or at least his clothes do, and he fearfully tries to pull away from her “loving” touch. Lying so easily about these things, he truly was reincarnated into a like-minded soul... but sooner or later one of the two in this battered body will break and Salem will learn what she wishes to know. He tries to insist he won’t tell her anything, but that’s why she has backup. Hazel comes in to literally gut punch this 14 year old until he coughs up his guts or the truth, whichever comes first. And he justifies it all by saying this is revenge for his defeat at Haven and from the still unforgiven death of his sister.

Salem doesn’t stay to watch the savage beating, instead walking the halls of Monstra with her lovely new pet. Cinder has been waiting in this hallway for a chance to speak with her Mistress, but is distracted by her immediate discomfort in the face of the Hound. Salem claims it is an experiment that she is quite happy with the results of thus far, and wants Cinder to get on with whatever point she had so she can get out of the way. Cinder wants to search for Penny, she thinks she can make up for the past blunder and claim the Winter powers for herself. But Salem just laughs at this. “She thinks, she wants!” It’s like hearing a cockroach tell you about its hopes and dreams. Mommy Salami does not give a fuck what Cinder wants to do, she has done nothing to earn Salem caring about that. Cinder, to her credit, does not take this dismissal lying down and tries to argue that they are doing nothing to further their plans when Cinder could be achieving a great victory for her Mistress by securing their way into the Atlas vault. Salem does not slow her pace, and says when it is time to act she will tell Miss Fall what she needs her to do. Cinder tries to argue, and is met by the snarling maw of the Hound turning on its heels to send her shrinking back. Salem has been pretty damn patient with this bratty girl, but she will not repeat herself again. You are not going the the ball, Cinderella, you are staying here and doing what your godmother tells you to because if you don’t you will learn just how easily you can be replaced and forgotten. Cinder gives up her case and assumes the position of submission, which is to say taking a knee and repeating her self-depreciating mantra that without Salem she is nothing. This satisfies Salem and she walks away with her dog in tow, leaving Neo to glare at Cinder as if wondering who is really the domesticated little pet in this place.

Cut to Cinder immediately rebelling against her given orders and heading for the airship insisting she just wants to go check on something and then they’ll come right back before anyone knows they left. Neo just floats along behind her because like hell she’s staying in the Satan whale when it’s this bitch’s fault she’s here at all. We get the last unseen shot from the trailer as Cinder looks out over Atlas and rationalizes that Salem doesn’t know Team RWBY like she does, she wouldn’t understand how determined they would be to try and save the world, and so it falls to her to check out Amity Colosseum again and see if they’re up to something. Neo seems annoyed and disinterested at Cinder’s petty little scheme, but they’re both caught off guard by Emerald arriving behind them and offering to tag along to help. She’s been getting better with her Semblance and asserts that she would be very useful. Poor misguided lass, searching so desperately for acknowledgement and praise you’re never gonna get... Cinder seems pissed that she was eavesdropping, but she’s not gonna turn down the assist. Time for an evil girls’ night out~

Back on the ground, night has fallen as JRY have found the outpost at last. Jaune hits a heater to get it running and prevent their freezing to death as Ren broods out the window and Yang is outside working on her bike. The leader takes this time to address the tension with his teammate. Yes, he did make a bad decision and cheat his way into the Academy. But when he found himself in that bad situation he realized he needed help and he asked for it. He turned his situation around and got better, became the strong person he is now. Holding onto this ideal that being strong means doing everything on your own? That was literally the issue Jaune faced in his mini character arc back in Volume 1, and he came out of it humbled and ready to accept support from his team. From Pyrrha. But she’s not here anymore, and Jaune is. Nora is, team RWBY is here for Ren. So Ren needs to understand that he can let them in, because the more he hides from how he feels the worse it’s gonna feel and hurt him inside. Ren goes outside to sulk under a streetlight, but Yang has come inside now to say that she’s found the part she needs to fix the bike so with a little more tinkering they can get it working and ride back into the city once they’ve got some R&R. Yang does take the time to say she’s sorry Ren said what he did because of her argument with him, but Jaune dismisses it for the time being as all three of them being under a hellish amount of stress. He’s been where Ren was before, he knows how much it hurts. Yang turns back to the tool bench to work on the thruster, but she’s got some inner turmoil of her own to vent about. She wants to know if Jaune thinks “She” thinks less of Yang for making the choice she did and staying to help Mantle instead of going to help fix Amity. Playing the pronoun game like this can be tricky, and Jaune fairly assumes she means Ruby since the two of them did have the verbal disagreement before splitting off, and Yang did question her leader’s decision making and leadership. He assures Yang that her sister will always love and believe in her even if they have squabbles like this. But it would seem Vomit Boy lost the pronoun game, and Yang was not actually asking about Ruby. Judging by the purple cannister she’s wrenching into the battered thruster, she was asking if Blake would think less of her because of these recent actions.

A lot of people seem rather torn about this choice in priorities for Yang, but allow me to explain why I think it’s not that bad of a writing decision. If there is one thing that has been consistent in this Volume it has been the confidence of other characters that Yang and Ruby will endure this clash of ideals and remain loving sisters. Usually these sentiments have been given by characters who are siblings themselves and know the strength of that bond, like Weiss and now Jaune. We’ve never actually heard either sister personally express any anguish or regrets over that argument, but we can assume they’re both still a little sour about it. But they have been there for each other to a depth that few siblings have, as evident by Yang’s story in Volume 2 about how she had to step up in raising Ruby in a lot of ways after Tai went into grieving for Summer. They’ve been each other’s best friend and closest confidant for so long, I truly believe their bond is clad in iron and they know it too. Meanwhile, a lot of Yang’s recovery arc in Volumes 4 and 5 was dealing with being abandoned by Blake in a time of need and it continued into 6 as learning to accept her back into her life and find a way to make their partnership work again. Shipping or not, they do have a strong bond that has been renewed by dealing with their combined trauma and killing Adam. And when that happened they both promised they would stick together and back each other up, but now Yang has been the one to decide she wants to split paths and do something else. She has good reason to worry this might have upset Blake, and we the audience know Blake is worried about how she’s doing. So, when faced with a color that reminds her of her partner, it makes some sense that Yang would try and get an outside perspective of if she’s fractured their bond. And if you ship them, that more magnifies the interpersonal concerns than really changes the problems.

Regardless, Jaune realizes this is a problem he’s not quite equipped to deal with and decides he’s going to get some rest in one of the beds in the outpost. He gets the strong feeling he’s gonna need it cuz it feels like things will only get worse before they get any better. As we pan out past Ren, whom Yang promises she won’t let brood himself to death out in the snow, we see cracks start to form out on the ice. That can only bode poorly for these poor kids. Many folks think this is a frozen over lake with some scary aquatic Grimm waiting in the depths like a megalodon Grimm shark or the sulfur fish Grimm that apparently were the winners of a fan design contest this past year. Personally, I’m taking a note from the opening and saying it might be a cloister of Apathy since their gross grabby hands wrapped around Team RWBY when they fell through the ice at the end of the intro. But we will have to wait and see. Thanks for reading, hope to see you and your notes soon!~

Edit: this came out a week late and we did indeed see what it really was. Boy were we not ready for the truth...

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astridhunter · 4 years

Text

BASICS.

full name: astrid rhian hunter

nicknames (if any): tri (pronounced tree)

age & birthday: twenty-nine & september 29th

gender / pronouns: cis female & she/her

occupation: member of parliament & minister in ministry of defence (defence procurement)

AESTHETIC.

double strength coffee in a environmentally friendly to-go mug. over stuffed diary, crammed with meetings you’ll never have the time to make. late night twitter rants. over acquaintance with the block function. experimenting with your mother’s family recipes. rainbow pins on blazers. saturday morning yoga classes. sunday morning brunches. satin slip nightgowns. flowers from your mother’s garden. a laugh for every occasion. annotated speeches. a rebuttal for every argument. pigheaded, refusing to admit you could ever be wrong. the revolution will not be televised.

BRIEF HISTORY.

full application | pinterest board.

born and raised in an industrial town in caephilly (wales), astrid was born in the midst of personal and societal crises. the two were interlinked: her community was suffering the repercussions of margaret thatcher’s policies, leaving many - including her own family - unemployed and living hand to mouth.

an active trade unionist and former miner who led the strikes in the 1980s, astrid’s fathers installed a core set of values and beliefs in her which have remained to this day. the fight to realise justice and economic equality was the struggle of her father’s life. soon, it would become hers.

very much an outsider to elite and upper class culture, astrid’s first taste of privilege was at university, when she expanded her universe by befriending non-traditional individuals. it was from them that she learnt how to integrate herself into the elite, realising that the quickest way to gut them could be to speak and act like them.

unafraid to challenge power where ever she perceives it. as an adult, she cut her teeth first negotiating for better wages and working conditions for public servants before challenging a thirty year old incumbent in her local community. against all the odds, she ousted him and has gone on to serve as an MP for three years.

got involved with bellum nova by way of a corrupt MP who was being blackmailed by war over his tax evasion. approached juno and threatened to expose the company’s political influence if bellum nova didn’t give into her demands (moving their factory to her local constituency and creating jobs). bellum nova agreed to provide the economic stimulus her community desperately needed in return for astrid becoming their pawn/angel and sacrificing her ideals for the exercise of power. she agreed.

she’s been working for war for about eighteen months and is in complete denial about war’s more illicit activities, point blank refusing to have anything to do with it, believing it would be a step too far.

recently was promoted to minister of defence, cementing her position in government. astrid actually wanted to go work for the department of education, but gabrielle found out and threatened her into taking the defence position. we love a cooperative mother in law!!

her involvement with bellum nova is only known to war. everyone else knows her as juno’s girlfriend #powercouple.

personality wise: she’s quick as a flash in an argument, can hold grudges like no one else’s business, but is fiercely protective if someone earns her trust. she believes passionately in equal justice, economic parity and protecting the climate - a brash progressive. she’s also a massive hypocrite but likes to conveniently ignore that part of herself?

#about #the condensing of this bio i did....#this is the bare bare facts im not sure you need to know much more!

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itsclydebitches · 5 years

Note

Hello! I’d like to request a Good Omens analysis. Why did Aziraphale react so much (I’d like to say violently, but it wasn’t violent) in the scene with the knights during Arthurian times after Crowley said ‘every now and again’? There was a little pause before he said that, and it seemed like Aziraphale was just dropping the conversation, but after Crowley said that it was like he was cutting it off entirely. Why did he react like that? What was Crowley referring to? Just the Arrangement?

An analysis request! Oh that’s fun :D

Personally, I think it’s because Crowley is making a lot of sense right now (yes, regarding the first seeds of the Arrangement) and Aziraphale is panicking over the fact that he’s actually being persuaded. Real quick, there are two key things we need to remember about Aziraphale’s characterization:

1. He changes, but very, very slowly. Generations later we’ll see an Aziraphale who, contrary to this moment, is willing to stay sequestered in his bookshop and pretend like he’s fulfilling his duty as Crowley’s arch-nemesis. Undermining the plots of a crafty old serpent and all that. Definitely not spending his time on three hour lunches. Modern day Aziraphale is an angel who only provides the lightest of reprimands when reminding Crowley that he lied about starting the Spanish Inquisition and the Second World War. That’s an Aziraphale who himself lies to Gabriel… but he’s nowhere near that version of himself yet.

2. Aziraphale is also someone who, when faced with an ethical crisis, gets emotional and lashes out.

So picture the scene: You’re an angel. You’re trying to abide by what you think that means. But just like on top of Eden’s wall, this demon is proving to be rather persuasive. Surprisingly logical for someone who is supposedly only Darkness and Deception and all that jazz. The conversation they have basically boils down to:

C: I’m fomenting discord.

A: Huh. I’m fomenting peace. Look at that connection between us…

C: So we’re just canceling each other out? That’s annoying. Working in all this damp for nothing.

A: Omg it is damp isn’t it?

C: Right? We should just tell our bosses we’re working but then, you know. Not do that.

A: What?!? But that would be lying (゜ロ゜)

C: So? Does it matter if the end result is the same? Cancel each other out or not do anything at all. Same difference

A: Well we… we can’t do that because Michael would find out. And Gabriel. Definitely Gabriel

C: I don’t think they will. Not provided they still get some kind of paperwork. You have anymore comebacks?

A: [who does not] LA LA I SUDDENLY CAN’T HEAR YOU END OF DISCUSSION CONVERSATION OVER

C: …alright. Ciao

Sheen, as has been pointed out with the use of this delightful GIF

is a master of micro expressions and if you watch the scene in question, you can see how nervous he gets when Crowley rejects his worries about Gabriel. His eyes keep darting to the side and his mouth works like he’s desperate to interrupt. Up until then Aziraphale was actually agreeing and slowly coming around to Crowley’s suggestion. These working conditions do suck, don’t they? It would be nice not to keep doing this, especially when the end result is the same… He pulls back though because he suddenly remembers that it’s (supposedly) an impossible thing. They’d get caught. Aziraphale now has a super convenient excuse for why he doesn’t need to challenge his current belief system. It’s like if someone invited you to a party and you kinda want to go, but you also know it’s gonna be one of those crazy nights where everyone is doing things they’re Not Supposed to Do, and you’re really torn about it, but then you remember Mom expects you home by 10:00. Wow. So sorry, but I just can’t do it. This moral dilemma is totally out of my hands… up until your sibling barges in with, “No. Mom and Dad are away for the weekend, remember? You can go without getting caught” and then you have no excuse anymore and you start internally screaming.

I think Aziraphale honestly believed that the threat of their bosses would end this enticing fantasy—remember that, death by holy water aside, heaven comes across as way scarier than hell. You can literally see Aziraphale’s horror at the idea of Gabriel catching him in a lie—and so he’s blindsided when Crowley challenges that assumption instead of ending the whole thing. He doesn’t know how to keep refusing him, but he’s also not ready to take that risk, so he reacts emotionally and falls back on what he “knows” about their relationship to straight up shut the conversation down. I’m the good guy. You’re the bad guy. How dare you tempt me like this. Aziraphale has a very strong pattern throughout the series of reacting like an Angel™, then Aziraphale the individual, then an Angel™ again if things get too dicey.

You created this horrible revolution, didn’t you, foul demon! Oh, you didn’t? Right. …lunch?

I knew it! These Nazis are working for you! It all makes sense now. …Ah no, wait, it doesn’t because you’re actually just rescuing me. Oops

We are destined to fight this war! Mortal enemies to the last! …hmm. No bookshops, you say? Well, I guess we can try to change things. Except now it’s all gone horribly wrong again—WE’RE ON OPPOSITE SIDES! I NEVER EVEN LIKED YOU!

Here we’ve got the pattern in the form of:

“What the hell are you playing at?” morphing into “It is damp, isn’t it?” back to “No! Absolutely not! I am shocked that you would even imply such a thing.”

When everyone says Aziraphale is a bastard it really is 100% true. Because he’s so wound up in his own anxiety over what’s right and what’s wrong that he’ll chuck his lover friend under the bus to spare himself the horror of fully challenging his own beliefs. “I am shocked that you would even imply such a thing”? Aziraphale is not shocked. He was very open to the possibility up until it was real enough that he might actually have to, you know, do it. Aziraphale’s the guy who will talk to the outcast in high school, but then when the popular kids challenge him on that he’s all, “Me? Talk to him? I’m offended that you would suggest it.” He wants to talk to him. He does talk to him. He just can’t admit it yet. So he lies and puts on very exaggerated airs. I’m still a perfect angel who was definitely never tempted by this proposition that we’ll end up starting in a few hundred years anyway. I’m going to shout at you now to sell this.

And Crowley, in his infinite wisdom, is just

That’s not the face of a demon at all hurt by this reaction. He knows damn well by now that this is their pattern and he’s actually quite happy to let Aziraphale maintain it. Because it’s what he needs emotionally; that very slow progression across thousands of years. Crowley is willing to play the long game. It’s only when the very fate of the world rests on them not just working together, but admitting that they like one another that Crowley starts giving Aziraphale ultimatums. Help me stop Armageddon or don’t. Admit we’re on our own side or don’t. Come to Alpha Centauri or don’t. We no longer have the luxury of this game, angel.

For now though they’ve got plenty of time. In 537 AD Aziraphale can still afford to be lightly tempted by things, then panic about it, and finally make a big production of the fact that he’s still a goodie-goodie angel.

#Good Omens #Aziraphale #Crowley #mymetas #Anonymous

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neonlights92 · 5 years

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CHANGE: Chapter I

When the feud between EXO and Bangtan escalates beyond control Bangtan’s leader Kim Taehyung sees only one solution: a marriage of convenience between a member of Bangtan and a member of EXO. Park Jimin was not born into Bangtan but has slowly become an intrinsic part of Taehyung’s trusted inner circle.

And that is how Jimin finds himself married to you; EXO leader Xiumin’s little sister. You’re not like any other woman he’s ever met before; fierce, angry and talented with a switchblade. When you first meet Jimin you’re left angry and disappointed.

Except slowly, things change. And despite yourself, you find your heart warming to the idea of falling in love.

A/N: HERE IT IS FOLKS!!! The first chapter of Jimin’s story... ready for consumption :) Please tell me what you think!!!!! I’m so excited.....

Warnings: Violence, language and eventual smut

Thank you to @aestheticallydestruction for the banner!!!!

You glared at your brother from across the mahogany desk of his office.

You were pissed.

So pissed.

“This is fucking dumb,” You growled to your brother Xiumin, eyes narrowed into slits, “I’m not doing it.”

Xiumin sighed heavily, rolling his eyes, “You have no choice, Y/N. I’ve already told Taehyung the plan is going forward.”

You shook your head feeling something angry bubble in the pit of your stomach, “I thought we made decisions together.”

“They’re agreeing to give us fifty percent of Gangnam. That’s an offer I can’t refuse.”

“So you roll over like a bitch?” You snorted, “And now I have to fucking marry one of them?”

Your brother tugged a hand through his hair, pinching the bridge of his nose, the way he always did when he was angry. You waited for his reproach; some kind of biting remark intended to force you to crawl back into yourself.

But it didn’t come. Instead his eyes seared straight through you.

“Y/N. Things haven’t been going as smoothly as I’d like since my transition to capo. An alliance with Bangtan could be just what we need.” “Min Yoongi killed Chanyeol.” You spat out bitterly, trying to remind your brother of the kind of people he wanted to deal with, “They’re monsters.” “So are we. We’ve all killed in cold blood. And according to Yoongi, Chanyeol was planning on raping his wife. I would have done the same thing.”

You couldn’t believe what your brother was saying. Chanyeol had been his best friend. Was he willing to forgive his death so easily, just for a measly fifty percent of Gangnam?

“Xiumin-” “All’s fair in love and war, Y/N. They did what they had to do. As did we.” His eyes were like steel - cold and frosty. You knew this conversation was over, “And now we must move on to the next chapter.”

There was a long beat of silence. You stared at your brother, trying to collect your thoughts.

He’d raised you to despise Bangtan, the same way your father had raised him to hate everything Bangtan stood for.

You’d always viewed them as the enemy and you thought Xiumin had shared that sentiment. Now it seemed, things were different.

“So what do you want me to do?” You asked eventually. There was no room for argument - when Xiumin was like this, that was how things were.

As much as you liked to view yourself as a team, the truth was Xiumin was the boss. He was the capo of EXO and as vital as you were to him, when it came to it, his decision was final. It was something you’d hated growing up, but it couldn’t be helped.

“You’re to be married to Park Jimin.” Xiumin answered, passing a manila file to you, “The wedding will take place at the end of this month. But Taehyung and I have set up a meeting prior to that, so you can officiate your engagement.”

“Park Jimin.” You knew exactly who that was before opening up the file.

Park Jimin was Bangtan’s silver tongue. He dealt with the rich and elite. He was the best in the business.

Everybody who was anybody knew who Jimin was.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” You flicked through the photos Xiumin had given you, “Isn’t Jimin one of the ‘special seven?’”

The special seven was the term you used to describe Bangtan’s innermost circle of members. It was the people Taehyung trusted with his life.

“He is, that’s why this is important Y/N. I’m giving him one of my own, and he’s doing the same.” Xiumin assessed you carefully, “I need you to make this work, okay?”

You knew what your brother was insinuating. Xiumin had tried to marry you off in the past, but every time had failed. You had reminded him time and time again that you were not to be trifled with; most women in the mafia were used to a life of being told what to do. But you refused to be that way.

You hated to admit it, but you knew that the fact you were Xiumin’s sister had a lot to do with the way you lived your life. But you refused to be a wilting wallflower, despite what others expected of you.

“Isn’t it enough that I’m agreeing to this marriage?” You answered gruffly, shoving the file on Jimin back to Xiumin, “What else do you want me to say?” “You’re not agreeing to anything, Y/N. I’m the Capo, and my word is law.” You glared at him for a moment, and then decided it wasn’t worth it.

“I’ll make it work.” You told him eventually, “But you better warn him that I’m not a welcome mat to be walked all over, and I will not be treated as such.” Xiumin nodded, and sighed heavily, “This is the right thing for EXO.”

You stood up quickly, throwing your leather jacket back over your shoulders and clicking your tongue, “I sure as hell hope so Xiumin. You better be right about this.” “The meeting is set for next Monday. Wear something nice.” You rolled your eyes.

This was going to be anything but easy.

The first time you met Park Jimin you were surprised.

In the photos you’d seen of him, he seemed softer than anything you could have imagined, and yet now there was a hardness to him that seemed to emanate from his skin. His eyes were dark and stoney, and he was almost inhumanly handsome. Something about him seemed to be dangerous, but you couldn’t put your finger on what.

“Jimin. This is my sister, Y/N.” You were sat at a restaurant, awkwardly staring at each other from across the table. Taehyung seemed to be observing the situation carefully, and your brother was no better.

“Hello Y/N,” Jimin spoke after a moment. His voice was smooth like honey, “It’s nice to meet you.” “The pleasure is all mine,” You answered, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

Taehyung’s eyes narrowed at you, and your brother nudged you painfully.

He’d warned you on your mouth before today’s meeting, but it seemed you couldn’t help it. Jimin didn’t seem upset or surprised by your contempt.

“Are we happy with the deal, then?” Taehyung spoke after a moment, directing his question to your brother.

You bit your tongue. You weren’t happy, how could you be? It wasn’t that you wanted to marry for love; it was that you didn’t want to marry at all. Least of all to someone like Park Jimin. He seemed about as willing to fight as you were to love.

“Fifty percent of Gangnam.” Xiumin took on his business voice, “And an heir for Park Jimin.” You wanted to pull a face at that part, but decided against it. The truth was Jimin was attractive, and you imagined sex with him wouldn’t be utterly repulsive.

You could give him a child.

“Then it’s agreed.” Taehyung turned to Jimin and nodded, “The wedding will happen at the end of the month.”

You watched Jimin carefully from across the table. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking, despite how hard you tried to read him. It was something you had always prided yourself in; your ability to figure people out, and yet Jimin was like a puzzle to you.

“Do I have a say in anything?” The question slipped out of your mouth almost unintentionally, but you weren’t embarrassed or mad at yourself.

Taehyung turned to you, and despite yourself you had to admit his glare was intimidating. He rose a dark brow.

“Excuse me?”

You tried to calm your hammering heartbeat. It didn’t matter how strong you thought you were, this was the capo of Bangtan you were dealing with. Kim Taehyung was one of the most nefarious criminals in Korea. His nickname V came from the fact that he enjoyed carving the letter into the chests of his enemies.

“Isn’t the bride supposed to have a say in her own wedding?” The words tasted like acid on your tongue, “Or am I expected to just let everyone else do it for me?”

Your brother glare was burning into the side of your face, but you set your jaw determinedly. You’d told him you would make it work, but that didn’t mean you weren’t going to raise at least a little hell.

“Sure.” This came from Jimin, surprisingly. You turned to him and he shrugged, “If you want to organise it then it’s all yours. But that’s less than a month, you know. Weddings are stressful affairs, believe me.” When he smiled, you cursed him for how attractive he looked. It was like he was glowing.

“I want to choose my own dress.” This was the condition you had set yourself when you’d agreed to Xiumin’s proposition, “I don’t care about anything else.”

Taehyung’s eyes were dark and brooding, and you avoided his stare. He was probably angry at you, but you wanted to show that you weren’t a walkover. You wanted to show you had at least some strength.

After a moment, Jimin nodded, “Alright. You can choose your own dress.”

There was a long stretch of silence. You felt uncomfortable, but your eyes wouldn’t move from your future husbands face.

“There will be an engagement party at the end of this week.” Xiumin stated, and your gaze moved to connect with his, “At the Hilton.”

“Great,” You smiled sarcastically, and bit your tongue when you brother kicked you under the table, “Can’t wait.”

But despite the anger you felt boiling in the pit of your stomach, there was something undeniably attractive to you about Jimin. You convinced yourself it was because you can’t read him; you couldn’t place him, and therefore he was interesting to you.

Like a plaything.

You couldn’t look at him any other way. Feelings were dangerous in your world, and you knew this better than most.

And things would only get a whole lot more complicated.

The evening of your engagement party, you found yourself locked up in your bedroom, hoping against all hope that things would fall through. You’d had a few days to get used to the idea of being Mrs Park Jimin, but nothing seemed to soothe your wild imagination.

You didn’t want to marry him. You didn’t want to marry anyone let alone your sworn enemy.

Xiumin had told you countless times that this was the way things were. You couldn’t argue with him, and you hated that. So what if he was the capo? Wasn’t he your brother first?

But it didn’t matter how many times you tried to convince him out of it, your marriage to Park Jimin was going forward whether you liked it or not. And tonight you would have to parade around on his arm, and allow yourself to be treated like a fucking trophy, just so his ego could be inflated.

That was what men in the mob were like; angry, cold and above all egotistical.

You knew men like Jimin. Despite what he might have wanted you to think - that was hard to read, that he was different - you knew that ultimately they were all the same. Callous and indifferent.

But you refused to get burned.

“Are you ready?” Xiumin asked from the other side of your bedroom door.

You stared at yourself in the full length mirror, rolling your eyes at the make-up your brother had insisted you wear.

Your maid, Rose, had wrapped you up in a tight, blue dress and you felt almost like you couldn’t breathe. The skyscraper heels on your feet were uncomfortable to say the least, and you had complained that you weren’t used to this kind of thing - you were much more comfortable in jeans and combat boots - but Xiumin wouldn’t listen.

You had to look every part the doting fucking wife, whether you wanted it or not.

“Yes.” You grumbled, tugging a hand through your sleek hair, “Coming.”

You unlocked your bedroom door and stepped out, watching as your brother appraised you. He smiled when he met your eyes.

“You look good. Rose did a good job.” He gestured towards the front door, “Now let’s go.”

The ride to the party was quiet. Your brother drove and you sat yourself in the passenger’s seat, trying to ignore how your dress kept riding up your thigh.

“This is stupid.” You grated out after a moment, “Why do I have to dress like this?” Xiumin rolled his eyes, as if he had been waiting for your complaints, “Because you are going to be the wife of a very important man, Y/N. You need to look the part.” You hated how backwards the mafia was. How they expected you to look and act a certain way, even though that wasn’t who you were.

“Couldn’t I have at least worn sneakers?” He chuckled at that, “C’mon. You look nice, Y/N. Honestly. It’s a posh party, we’ve all had to dress up.” You had to admit, he had a point there. Xiumin himself was in a tux, and the guards escorting you to the party had been in suits as well.

“I’m going to miss you,” You said after a moment, feeling a lump in your throat form at the genuine affection that rushed towards you. Despite your bickering, you loved Xiumin. He was the only person in your life who had ever shown you anything close to love.

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably, “Me too.” “Everything’s going to change.” He shot you a quick look, “For the better Y/N. Believe me.”

You weren;t convinced, but the car pulled up to the Hilton, and you didn’t have time to discuss things any further. You climbed out of the car, and tucked some of your hair behind your ears.

“This is it,” Xiumin whispered to you as he moved to stand beside you, “Let’s do this.” You slid your arm through his, and let him guide you up the marble staircase, trying to calm your sizzling nerves. You didn’t know why you were so nervous. You’d killed men before, stared them in the eye before plunging knives and bullets into their hearts. You were ruthless when it came to EXO, you took no prisoners.

And yet now with the prospect of an engagement party looming over your head, it seemed you couldn’t calm yourself down.

As you passed through the double doors of the hotel, you were surprised to see another member of the special seven waiting in the lobby, a very pregnant woman holding onto his outstretched arm.

Jung Hoseok’s bright smile was not something to be trifled with. His innocent demeanor hid deeper rivers, and you had heard the horror stories about the kind of man he was. The rumors of his dishonourable discharge from the Korean army had not fallen on deaf ears.

And yet, stood in front of you, helping the pregnant woman climb the ornate staircase towards the conference room, you had to admit he didn’t look very scary at all.

“Hoseok,” The woman grunted, “This is your fault you know. You put this fucking child in me.” Hoseok laughed at her grumbling, “You weren’t complaining about this nine months ago, baby.”

The woman, who you now recognised as his wife, rolled her eyes, “You’re an idiot.”

“I told you not to wear heels.” He pointed at the contraptions on her feet, “Take them off baby. I’ll carry you.” “Don’t be stupid.” She shook her head, “Just help me up these fucking stairs.” Hoseok laughed again, and after a moment his wife started giggling too, when the two of them spotted you and your brother. The laughter cut short, and Hoseok’s glare darkened.

“Xiumin.” He grunted, and then his gaze moved over to you, “Y/N.”

“Hoseok.” Xiumin nodded stiffly, “It’s a pleasure to see you again. Good evening, Mrs Jung.” His wife smiled wryly, and you watched as she tightened her hold on her husband’s arm.

“We’ll see you in there.” Hoseok said shortly, shuffling his wife up the stairs quickly.

Your heart dropped. That woman had been frightened of you. Not just of Xiumin, of you too. You didn’t know why you cared. You were a cold-hearted killer after all. And yet… the look in her eyes - the way she’d frozen at your entrance… something in your chest caught uncomfortably.

“Let’s get this over with,” Your breathed out heavily.

The two of you entered the conference room, and immediately you felt the divide between the members of EXO and the members of Bangtan. It was like an invisible line had been drawn right through the middle of the room and neither side dared to cross over.

“Xiumin,”You recognised Baekhyun’s voice - one of your brother’s most trusted friends, and a high ranking member of EXO - and looked up to find him travelling across the room, “Y/N.” He smiled at you and you returned the gesture.

“Well this isn’t awkward at all,” You quipped, eyes scanning your surroundings quickly.

Baekhyun laughed and rolled his eyes, “Right? It’s kind of frosty in here.” You chuckled as well, but your brother seemed less than amused.

“Jimin is over there,” He nodded towards your fiance, who was stood by two doors that led out into the balcony, scrolling through his phone, “I think you should go talk to him. It’s proper etiquette.” You wanted to tell your brother where to shove his proper etiquette but decided against it. The truth was, he was probably right, and you could tell he wanted some time alone with Baekhyun. Probably to discuss your upcoming nuptials.

“Fine.” You answered shortly, whipping away from them and making your way across the room. You ignored the way other members of Bangtan watched you critically, and kept your eyes locked on Jimin.

He didn’t notice you until you were right in front of him.

“Hi.” He cocked his head to one side, “I didn’t see you come in.” “Well that would be because your more interested in your phone,” You replied shortly, crossing your arms.

Jimin smirked and quirked a brow, before slipping his phone into the pocket of his jacket. He shrugged.

“Do you want to join me on the balcony?” You grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing waitress and then turned back to Jimin. He was waiting for an answer, and you rolled your eyes, “Fine. Let’s go then.”

Jimin pushed one of the glass double doors open and waited for you to pass through. You hated that he was so polite - it didn’t really suit his mafia persona - and scoffed.

“What, is it the 1800’s? You know women can hold their own doors open.” “Well that’s the last time I do anything nice for you,” You couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, but you didn’t care.

Perhaps your attitude was a bad idea - after all, you were going to have to spend the rest of your life around this man, it probably wouldn’t hurt to try and be nice to him. And yet, you resented everything he stood for. You resented the fact that you’d had no say in this marriage.

“You know I don’t want to do this,” You turned towards him sharply, and gestured between the two of you, “Get married. I never wanted to marry anyone, certainly not a member of Bangtan.” Jimin raised a brow. He licked his lips, and despite yourself, you couldn’t help but notice how plush they were. You shook those thoughts away.

“This is what is best for both of our families, Y/N. Are you going to spend the entirety of our marriage making my life a living hell?” You shrugged, and knocked back the glass of champagne you were holding, shoving it into his hands, “Probably.”

The air was fresh on your face, as you stared at him, waiting for a barbed response; something that would fight the fire you felt burning so strongly in your chest.

“So what, is this a part of your whole ‘act’?”

You clicked your tongue, “Act?” “Yeah. Your tough girl act. Don’t think I haven’t noticed,” He tugged a hand through his platinum blonde hair and sighed heavily, “You think this will somehow scare me away? Make me not want to marry you? Have you forgotten who I am, and the kind of people I deal with on a daily basis?”

The knowing look on his face pissed you off so much. Why was he pretending that he knew anything about you at all? You were strangers.

“So you’ve got me figured out, is that what you’re trying to say?” You snorted, shaking your head, “Typical.” “Excuse me?” “Mob men - you think you know everything.” You felt your throat clamp up - not from sadness, from anger - and you had to bite it back almost viciously, “You think I haven’t had to fight for my right to anything, my entire life? I don’t want to be another Bangtan wife… or EXO wife… I want to be a free fucking agent. I want to live my life the way I like, without having some egotistical prick lording over my every movement.”

“I see you’ve already decided you know everything about me,” Jimin was cool and collected and you hated that, “Guilty of the same crime.”

“You don’t know what it’s like to be a woman in this world.” He nodded, and you saw a flash of softness in his eyes - but it was gone before you even properly registered it.

“You’re right, I don’t know.” He fixed the lapels of his suit jacket and shrugged, “But that is how it is in our world. I didn’t have much choice in this matter either, Y/N. Taehyung didn’t ask me if I wanted to marry you - he told me I was going to do it.” You hadn’t thought about that before. You bit your bottom lip.

“I hate this,” You said honestly, “I really do. This whole fucking thing’s a joke.” Jimin’s face was unreadable, and it annoyed you. Why couldn’t he show you something… Anything that would make you feel less crazy? Why were you the only one getting upset?

“Well that doesn’t matter, unfortunately.” He told you honestly, “We’re getting married at the end of the month, whether you like it or not. And you will have to provide me with an heir.” You glared at him.

“Doesn’t mean I have to fucking like it though.” You answered bitterly, sweeping away from him angrily, and stepping back into the conference room.

You felt something angry catch in your chest. You knew you’d probably fucked up - after all, your brother needed this, and you’d promised him you’d make it work. And yet… something about your inability to understand Park Jimin had pissed you off.

How dare he stand there and act like he was better than you! As if you were acting like an insolent child…

You hated feeling powerless.

“Y/N.”

You turned at the sound of your name, and rolled your eyes when you noticed it was Jimin.

“What do you want?”

He smiled - so sweetly you knew it was fake - and passed you the empty champagne flute you had tried to leave him with, “You left this behind.”

Despite the anger you felt fizzing in your veins, you didn’t want to make a scene - not in here, not with your brother watching. So you took the glass without a word, glaring at him hotly.

Before you could say anything else, Jimin reached a hand up to your face and tucked some of your hair behind one of your ears. You felt yourself freeze at the action.

What the hell was he doing? “Relax,” He whispered, smirking, “It’s all a part of the show. Right?” You wanted to push him away and tell him to leave you alone. Who the hell did he think he was?

And yet… his eyes were so warm. And his hands were soft against your cheek. You hated yourself for it, but were you enjoying this?

“I’ll see you soon… Fiance.”

And then, without another word, he pressed a kiss against your forehead. You tried to ignore the thumping of your heart as he pulled away and winked.

“You’re going to regret this,” You grunted, when he turned away from you and floated towards Taehyung, who had apparently been watching your interaction very carefully.

It was at that very moment you decided that you hated Park Jimin.

God.

This was going to be fucking tough.

#reader x jimin #slow burn #enemies to lovers #mafia au #jimin #park jimin #kim taehyung #hoseok #readerxjimin #jungkook #namjoon #fanfiction #bts #bangtan #fanfic #kpop #fluff #angst

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talthorn-sylvoran · 4 years

Text

Becoming Better

Day 12: Escape

Part Three:

The young man was so grateful that this instructor of his took care of all the details concerning this apprenticeship. She wrote to the Academy and his family both about the circumstances, so he was free to embark on this journey with no real stress. Talthorn had written a letter of his own to his parents, explaining in his own words what he meant to accomplish when he was here sometime later.

Weeks melded into months already for Talthorn under this Archmage's tutelage. And what an exciting few months it had been. It was if someone had taken off the chains for him to actually do so much more with what he had learned! And to not be hindered by age or rank to delve into much more advanced works too.

Archmage Starsinger was very encouraging. She required him to do a great deal of work, and it did not seem to have an end. However, it was all in that Talthorn wanted to study into and from. Exercises to look over advanced theories and correct the mistakes was very common. He was not always correct, but he was allowed to fail and try again. It was quite liberating for someone that had spent his days within rules and regulations of an institution for what thought was a very long time.

He was required to watch and aid his instructor often, to learn from her examples. Before long, Talthorn was very proud about finding her mistakes and not only pointing them out, but improving on her execution of the incantation he saw. It was all a puzzle and a test to pass. He would be given new weaves of spells to figure out and experiment with. In short? There was no reason he could think of to go back to the Academy! Not with all the progress he had seen in just a few months.

During one of their days together, the Archmage is reading over a letter and speaking rather simply to her apprentice. "Talthorn? Did you send your parents a letter at some point?"

"Of course. Just a few days ago. Giving them an update on my time here." the young man tells her as he continues to briskly write more of his work down. When finished, he looks up and flashes a bright smile at her. "Is that a letter from them?"

She stares at him with an unmoving gaze, the smile slowly coming to her lips. "Yes. It is. They are coming to see you."

"Oh? Hm." Talthorn wonders if they had calmed down since knowing of his suspension. He figured they were very upset at him still.

"Well, we'll make time for that later. I think it is time we finish up your telemancy applications." she stands slowly, leaving the letter on the table.

His eyes widened with anticipation. "Of course!" He rushes over to accompany her.

When they both settle in what was designated as a safe area in which to conduct these sorts of spells, she waves him over to the beacon. "Right here. Just as you practiced." her eyes glimmer in watching him. "I'll be able to communicate with you right after you reach the other side."

Talthorn felt the thrill of this, and with his skilled hands began to weave around the orb like beacon. He would open up this doorway and arrive at a junction point just as expected! He was there, until he was not any longer and found himself floating down from a high distance up! There was a rush of excitement, but also concern. This was certainly not where he had planned on being. The Archmage had described something much different.

"Talthorn...?" her voice crackles through.

"Archmage! I think something was wrong in your calculations. I seemed to have ended up in an anomaly of sorts. It's very....distorting."

"Mm, I see. Well those pockets of space are rather unpredictable. Are you alright?"

"I am well right now. Are you ready to receive me on the other side?" he asks as his feet touch ground.

"Not this time, Talthorn. I'm sorry."

The younger man blinks. "What do you mean?

"I mean, you broke our agreement. No friends or family, I'm afraid."

"I don't understand. How did I.....? You wrote both the Academy and my parents about me staying with you while I was studying with you."

Laughter comes through. "Oh, you sweet thing. I am afraid not. While your trust was very darling, there was no such correspondence. Our relationship here was one quite out of convenience. But it seems it has to come to an end early. A shame, really. You are exceptionally talented for one of your lineage."

Shock takes him over and Talthorn looks over this area of nothingness. "You sent me here, to dispose of me? But....I can still be of use to you." he attempts to bargain.

"You sent yourself there, actually. And I cannot be uncovered. Not with all of these beautiful discoveries I have been signing off as my own. It's better that you disappear. Everyone thought you ran away, most likely. Well that is until you sent that letter to your parents. We are both going our separate ways now."

"Wait! There had to be some sort of...!" Talthorn closes his eyes as he is subjected to the silence. As much as he wanted to be livid with the woman he put trust in, he needed to get back to where he belonged. His snaps open his eyes and snatches out his small pouch of things. He begins to conjure up new idea and concepts in trying to get out of this prison he inadvertently locked himself into! It was not going to end like this.

Weaving his hands in agile form, he starts with his first recall spell only to watch it fizzle and die. He had to make it back. What if his parents were in danger?!

Each spell brought him a little closer. Closer to the world he knew. He had lost his semblance of time here. Nothing started, nothing truly ended. It all felt weightless, and wild in this place.

Again. Again. AGAIN. AGAIN!!

Every concept that he attempted to bring to practice, kept failing but he did not give up. There was something that would work! Folding in his understanding and finally! There was a spark. Something he could work with. A tether he could use! He just needed to give the spell a bit more mana, a bit more essence!

Hoping that vantage point, he was able to finally envision where he needed his spell to be. Using the rest of what he could through his rune, it begins to crackle away as he shakily channels all he had left into the small opening back to his reality. A final fight, and battle cry he thrust it open for just enough time to dive through and hit the ground roughly.

The room spun and he could barely breathe, but he was back! He could hear the rushing of footsteps in the background and his name on the air. It was his parents. Huddling down, they inspect their son and his rather pale and dismal looking condition.

"Talthorn! What happened?!"

Snapping up entirely too quickly, the young man spat out passionate words."She thought she could make me disappear! But I won't let her get away with this. I'll report her...somewhere! No one should be allowed to do this, let alone an Archmage!"

"Son, there's no Archmage. We rushed here as soon as we got your letter because you listed a location. But there is no title with that name attached." he father looks over at him, very concerned.

The young man stares at his parents. "What? What do you mean there is no...."

His mother presses her lips together, trying not to get too emotional. "We thought you had run away because of your expulsion!"

Talthorn stares at them and feels his head throb. It finally all settled in him, about how naive he had been. And yet, he did not have hate that burned, only determination. Everything she offered was a lie. Except his training. He would get better, and one day he would find this person that tried to get rid of him.

@daily-writing-challenge

(( This came out longer than expected! Youthful Talthorn feelings are intense. And still, he still does not think in hate. Ever determined, ever striving. He refuses to admit if anything has ever fully broken him, even now ))

#talthorn #dwc2020 #day122020 #escape #naive #starsinger

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k-s-morgan · 5 years

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Hannibal Is Not a Psychopath: Criteria and Examples

The question of whether Hannibal is a psychopath often comes up. I'd like to start right with TL;DR: no, Hannibal is not a psychopath. It's confirmed in the show textually, with it being said that he's something that can't be defined and that doctors are confused as to what to label him with.

Evidence: E8 of S3.

ALANA: You've long been regarded by your peers in psychiatry as something entirely Other. For convenience, they term you a monster.

HANNIBAL: What do you term me?

ALANA: I don't. You defy categorization.

That's the point of the show. It happens in a heightened reality where labels don't really exist (which is why I think there is no point in such analysis as this, but like I said, it’s for people who keep calling him a psychopath). Both Will and Hannibal are deeply unique, they do have some psychopathic traits, but all in all, their profiles are entirely fictional. You can also see this thread for what Bryan Fuller and Mads Mikkelsen say about this topic. Here are some highlights.

Bryan Fuller: Hannibal Lecter is unique in his crazy. He’s not a psychopath, because he experiences regret. And he’s not a sociopath, because he experiences empathy. So he is unique in his crazy, and that gives him a higher sensibility than just a mortal man ... one of the things that we talked about in our first meeting was not so much about playing Hannibal as the cannibal psychiatrist, as previously portrayed by other actors, but more like Lucifer and how he was a dark angel who had this affinity for mankind and a fascination with the human condition.

Now, let's move on to the actual practical examples from the show as related to two most common models devised for assessing a person with a possible psychopathy.

DSM-5 Criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder

A. Significant impairments in personality functioning manifest by:

1. Impairments in self functioning (a or b):

a.Identity: Ego-centrism; self-esteem derived from personal gain, power, or pleasure.

Ego-centrism.

Standard definition of ego-centrism is an "excessive interest in oneself and concern for one's own welfare or advantage at the expense of others". From S1, Hannibal is doing what he thinks is best to help people he finds interesting at the expense of his own safety and peace. Will is the brightest example (he always is). Hannibal senses a killer in him, understands Will subdues his true self, and he does everything in his power to help him Become. Here's what he says to Bedelia about it in E12 of S1, explaining what he wants to do with Will:

Hannibal: "Madness can be a medicine for the modern world. You take it in moderation, it's beneficial. ... Side effects can be temporary. They can be a boost to our psychological immune systems to help fight the existential crises..." Translation: Hannibal is using Will's illness in S1 to blur his self-control and get him to admit who he is so that Will could free himself of his self-acceptance crisis.

He says the same to Will in E1 of S2: "Our conversations, Will, were only ever about you opening your eyes to the truth of who you are."

Bedelia confirms it to Will in E2 of S2: "It may be small comfort, but I am convinced Hannibal has done what he believes is best for you."

Finally, Will admits it's true many times. One of them happens in S3 during his conversation with Chiyoh: "I've never known myself as well as I know myself when I'm with him."

Conclusion: Hannibal is really trying to help Will be himself and he succeeds in it. Furthermore, he does it at the expense of his safety.

Hannibal endangers himself from S1 the closer he gets to Will. In E9 of S1, Will learns that he helped Abigail bury the body of Nick Boyle. Hannibal's first instinct is to protect himself, so he reaches for the scalpel. But he immediately changes his mind. He takes a risk, choosing to explain his reasoning to Will. He places himself in danger - he did it back when he helped Abigail with the body (because he wanted to help her, too, and he wanted her to be a part of his and Will's family). He protects Will to the point where Jack grows suspicious and comes to talk to Bedelia about it. When Bedelia tells Hannibal that he should take a step back because he's getting too personal and endangers himself, Hannibal downright refuses.

He risks his life in an attempt to make Will free himself, too. He nearly dies after Will sends Matthew to attack him in E5 of S2 and he doesn't press charges - on the contrary, he's happy and he frees Will from the prison for that. He makes a conscious effort not to react in E7 of S2 when Will points a gun at him (just as what he did in E13 of S1). Will could shoot him any time but Hannibal places the need to help him Become above his safety. He's ready to dismantle his good life and run away with Will in the second half of S2. He gives up his freedom literally in S3 to prove to Will that he places him above himself. He proves it again by showing that he's willing to die for him: first, he agrees to Will's plan with the Dragon, knowing Will is planning something but not caring what it results in, perfectly willing to give Will all the control. He shields Will from the bullet at the expense of his safety again, talking about sacrifice and love. He lets Will push them off the cliff.

Conclusion: All this actions show that Hannibal is not overly ego-centric. He's capable of putting other people's needs above himself. Will is far from being the only example. Abigail, Bella, Margot, and Bedelia also fit here. Some could say that Hannibal does all this for Will just because he's in love with him. Yes, he wants to be family with Will in the end of this whole process, but it means that his final goal is their mutual happiness, not something just for his benefit. He knows Will is lonely (Will admits it himself several times in all seasons). He knows Will is going to be much happier after Becoming. Will's words (including those above) prove it.

Self-esteem.

Hannibal has a high self-esteem but it's not derived from the mentioned superficial elements. He has every reason to think highly of himself: he's extremely educated, he helped many people make their lives better (from common patients to people like Randall, who accepted themselves and became happy in their way), he is talented (he plays different instruments, he's an excellent and creative cook, he's fluet in several languages), he has excellent manners, etc. So, his self-esteem does not depend on gain, power, or pleasure.

b.Self-direction: Goal-setting based on personal gratification; absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful or culturally normative ethical behavior.

Hannibal's plan are as self-motivated as every person's. For instance, he wants a family with Will. Many people want to have families. But like it was said above, Hannibal doesn't focus only on himself here. He risks to protect Will's interests and he's willing to be put away so Will could be free to make his own decision, even if it doesn't include him. That's love, not personal gratification. He works with patients not just to tell himself what a clever man he is, he's genuinely concerned about them. He shares his worries about making Franklyn feel powerless in S1 with Bedelia. He tries to protect Franklyn and asks Tobias not to kill him. So, his goals are not aimed at his own gratification excessively.

Hannibal has a complex philosophy that doesn't fit the above criteria about prosocial internal standards. He doesn't have a lack of the desire to meet them: on the contrary, he wants to make this world beautiful. As he tells Will in S2, "Discourtesy is unspeakably ugly to me." He doesn't kill random people. He kills rude people that ruin the norms of ethical behavior. Hannibal is very active in being prosocial in his way: for instance, he kills a politician who ruined the forest where rare birds nested to build a parking lot. He killed a homophobic doctor. Hannibal has solid prosocial principles that aim to restore beauty and harmony in this world. He's a monster for sure, but he has principles that make everyone question themselves. Even cannibalism: people act all horrified when they learn they ate other people, but everyone is so joyful about eating animals who can think, feel, and who are smarter than many actual people. Double-standards provide for endless discussions.

Conclusion: Hannibal doesn't meet any of the above two major criteria. It already means he's not a clinical psychopath. But let's move forward.

2. Impairments in interpersonal functioning (a or b):

a.Empathy. Lack of concern for feelings, needs, or suffering of others; lack of remorse after hurting or mistreating another.

This doesn't fit Hannibal either. Like Bryan Fuller's quote above confirms, he does experience empathy and regret. It's obvious in the show as well: for instance, in E7 of S3, he writes formulas to reverse time (which is the embodiment of regret). He regrets hurting Will and he asks him if maybe the tea-cup can still be mended. In E8 of S2, he himself says: "A life without regret would be no life at all." He's almost crying in E11 of S2 when he and Will discuss Abigail. Will expresses his pain at the loss and Hannibal says: "I'm sorry I took that from you. I wish I could give it back." Note that he does intend to give Abigail back to Will: he left her to live because he wants them to reunite. He also tries to soothe Will's pain by hinting at the truth: "Occasionally, I drop a teacup to shatter on the floor on purpose. I'm not satisfied when it doesn't gather itself up again. Someday, perhaps, that cup will come together."

In E13 of S2, Hannibal is devastated to learn of Will's betrayal, but he understands his conflict. He gives him another chance, telling him, "I don't need a sacrifice." When he tells Will he forgives him later, he asks: "Will you forgive me?" This shows that he understands regret intimately. These (just a few out of many) examples prove that he cares about Will's feelings.

He's crying as he walks in the rain, leaving people he loved bleeding. He regrets the ruined plans and he accepts he's to blame to an extent. When in E3 of S3 Bedelia asks him whether Will betrayed him or vice versa, Hannibal replies: "I'm vague on these details." It means that after some time passed, he analyzed the situation and he's no longer sure he did the right thing. This is regret, too. Furthermore, he becomes self-destructive, which Bedelia notices and calls him out on. He doesn't fight against Jack, letting him beat him up, torture him, and almost kill him. Hannibal is an emotional wreck at that point: he agonizes over what happened with Will, he regrets what he did, and he clearly hates himself enough for it to torture himself like this.

I already described the risks Hannibal took to take care of Will's needs in the first section. In addition, he tells Will in S3 finale: "My compassion for you is inconvenient." Despite being hurt after covering him from the bullet, he tries to protect Will again and again. He cares about his suffering and he can't watch him be hurt.

Hannibal also empathizes with Bella, sometimes looking moved to tears. He gives her a chance to die as she wishes by tossing a coin, even though it could lead him to numerous problems with Jack. It's terrible for every normal therapist to have a patient who committed suicide. It's even worse when it happened right in their office, and it's 100 times worse for a serial killer who's one step away from being suspected. The fact that he even gives her a chance tells a lot. He's crying as he sends a grieving letter to Jack after Bella's death.

Hannibal understood Abigail's feelings and suffering and he cared about them, too. He tried to alleviate them. He was annoyed with her in E9 of S1 because she endangered him by digging up Nick's body. Instead of getting rid of her or protecting himself, he just gave her a warning. He tried to defend her in Will's eyes later in this episode. The only explanation for his actions is that he understood where she was coming from despite not liking it. He knew she wasn't just thoughtless or malicious - he understood her turmoil.

Hannibal also understands killers like Will, which proves he has empathy. As Will said about James Grey in E of S2, "Whoever he is, this second killer understood the Muralist well enough to find his canvas. Well enough to convince him to be part of it." Same goes to Randall and Francis, both of whom admit Hannibal understood them better than anyone else. There are many, many more other examples proving that Hannibal has empathy and cares about feelings of some people very deeply.

b.Intimacy. Incapacity for mutually intimate relationships, as exploitation is a primary means of relating to others, including by deceit and coercion; use of dominance or intimidation to control others.

I don't think much is needed to be said here since many examples were already covered. Hannibal and Will have an absolutely mutual relationship that's incredibly deep on all levels. As Will says in E4 of S3: "We have a mutually-unspoken pact to ignore the worst in one another in order to continue enjoying the best." Will chooses Hannibal every time. Hannibal's whole life revolves around Will. He's ready to go to prison for him, he;s ready to die for him, and he's ready to do all possible sacrifices.

Hannibal used deception with Will in S1 to a degree, but this had its own goal (to make WiLL feel better in the end), and the deception was gone for the majority of S2 and S3. Bedelia says in E12 of S2: "What he does is not coercion, it is persuasion." Hannibal tries to get people to see why they should be themselves instead of forcing them to do anything (and he does that since he can relate to them, which proves his empathy once again). Will had darkness in him from the start (which is proven in E2 of S1), so he did find comfort in Hannibal's words. For the majority of time, and all the time emotionally, Hannibal is honest with Will.

He doesn't try to dominate or control Will. He admires how unpredictable Will is in E8 of S2: "With all my knowledge and intrusion, I could never entirely predict you." He admits that Will has power over him in E8 of S3: "I discovered you [in my Mind Palace]... victorious." He doesn't exploitate him either as he truly wants what's best for him. He admits he's in love with him and says he loves him two different times. So Hannibal is capable of love, and his feelings are returned because Will finds his own unique equal in him. He tells Jack that he wants to run with Hannibal twice in S3, he keeps seeking him out, and he chooses him over everyone and everything. The last scene of the show with them eating Bedelia together shows that they're now in comfortable dark companionship where they hunt together.

Conclusion: Hannibal doesn't meet any of these two criteria, never mind both of them.

Now, the standard Hare Psychopathy Checklist. I'll list only those traits pointed here that have relevance (for instance, I'll ignore such points as "Previous diagnosis as psychopath", "Frequent marital relationships", "Poor probation or parole risk", etc.)

1. Glibness/superﬁcial charm: yes. Hannibal is charming for sure and he talks very, very smoothly.

2. Egocentricity/grandiose sense of self-worth: not really. It was already discussed above. Hannibal does like to "defy God", as Will says in E2 of S3, but his beliefs are fully supported by his actions. He's also not self-absorbed and can put others above himself.

3. Proneness to boredom/low frustration tolerance: no. Hannibal enjoys life deeply, always finding something to do, and he's extremely patient even in most aggravating situations. It ranges form annoying patients like Franklyn to Will, whose hypocrisy and self-doubt Hannibal tolerates lovingly till the very end.

4. Pathological lying and deception: no. Hannibal lies when he must, for good reasons. On the contrary, he tends to be funnily honest with his cannibal puns people choose to ignore. For example, when Alana asks what's in her beer, he tells her he can answer only with "yes" or "no" questions, implying he'd tell her the truth if she guessed it. Same thing happens in E11 of S3:

ALANA: I called him. To confirm that he hasn't called you. Not since you've been declared insane.

HANNIBAL: I could have told you that.

ALANA BLOOM: If only I'd known to ask.

HANNIBAL: If only.

ALANA BLOOM: Would you have told me the truth?

HANNIBAL: In my own way, I always have.

5. Conning/lack of sincerity: yes and no. Obviously, being a murderer, Hannibal smoothly misleads many people. At the same time, both Bryan and Mads confirmed Hannibal tends to be emotionally honest, and it's evident in the show as well. He's sincere about loving Will, caring about Abigail and Margot, respecting Alana and finding her physically attractive, respecting Jack and Bella, etc.

6. Lack of remorse or guilt: no. It was already discussed.

7. Lack of affect and emotional depth: no. Many examples were given to show Hannibal's emotional depth. Also, he cries in the opera in E7 of S1. It proves that he has enough “depth” to feel moved and touched by the song. He cries when writing down the poem about loss to Jack in E5 of S3. He cries because of Will several times, falls into deep depression in S3, and so on. Psychopaths can't do all that, especially crying genuinely for such reasons.

8. Callous/lack of empathy: no. It was already discussed. Hannibal can be very cruel, true, but he does have empathy and motivation.

9. Parasitic lifestyle: no. I don't think I should explain that) Hannibal is entirely financially independent.

10. Short-tempered/poor behavioral controls: no. Hannibal can indeed be emotional and impulsive, but he's patient and in perfect control in the majority of instances. He flew into rage after Will broke his heart, but it's natural in such circumstances (of course, killing and maiming people is not normal, but I'm talking about short temper in general. Hannibal doesn't have one. Examples of his patience are above.).

11. Promiscuous sexual relations: no. He slept with Alana for a while, who he knew and respected. He flirted with Anthony and seemed ready to sleep with him, but that's it. Hannibal isn't shown as overly caring about sex and he's focused on Will entirely.

12. Early behavior problems. Difficult to say since his backstory is a mystery in the show for the most part. He did seem to start killing early, so most likely it's a yes.

13. Lack of realistic, long-term plans: no. Hannibal's plans are meticulous and realistic, and he's fighting hard to achieve them (see Hannibal's attempt to make a family with Will). Another example: he's a very prolific killer who stayed hidden for ages and gave himself up in the end only for the man he loves, not because he was caught. So he makes and executes long-term plans perfectly.

14. Impulsivity: no. Hannibal can be impulsive as any other person, it's not excessive.

15. Irresponsible behavior as parent: not really... he tried to protect Abigail at all costs. He encouraged her killing, but I'm not sure if it can be classified as irresponsible, considering who Hannibal and Abigail are and what this show is about.

16. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions: no. Hannibal understands when he's wrong and he accepts the consequences. He takes pride in most of his kills, he admits to Bedelia that he made mistakes, he understands Will struggles to forgive him and apologizes for his actions, etc.

17. Many types of offense: yes.

18. Drug or alcohol abuse: no.

Out of 18 items, we have only 3 hard yes. That's a very low score.

Major conclusion: Hannibal does have some psychopathic traits. He's also cruel and he shows some sadistic tendencies, but he's not a psychopath at all. He can feel deeply and he forms extremely strong emotional bonds. I doubt such people actually exist, but that makes him even more fascinating as a character.

#hannibal #hannigram #will graham

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idkwhoiamanymorebutwtf · 5 years

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Imagine Sasha and Max being friends tho.

(i’ll be real this whole thing took multiple hours to type please somebody actually read this or I might die tbh-)

Like I know they had one episode together but think about them a c t u a l l y being friends.

(below are a ton of headcanons for a friendship between them)

- Obviously they have a bit of respect for one another because of their alliance of convenience, but their friendship would probably be forged on laughing at someone else. Whether it's their friends fucking up or Pikeman's general incompetence or whatever else. I can imagine now their camps are competing or something but the stakes don't matter to them, so Sasha and Max just end up shit talking everyone else and watching the show.

- Since their friendship was forged on calling people out they'd kinda just start hanging out specifically to rant and gossip about the shit that goes down around camp. Like Max'll get fed up with how idiotic the campbell campers are and come to vent to Sasha and she'll be here for it, because of course she is or Sasha ends up getting ditched by Tabii and Erin again and just kinda goes to Max to talk about how annoyed she is.

- Sasha keeps pointing out things like the circled under Max's eyes and other facial discrepancies and eventually he'll just be like "well how do you look perfect all the time?!?" because it's not fair. Sasha gasps super loud and immediately goes full makeover mode. She immediately shoves a ton of makeup onto him and prescribes him a skincare routine and Max isn't sure about it but he's actually kinda self-conscious and Sasha's like "do you wanna end up looking like Pikeman?" so Max follows her instructions to the letter and he looks amazing.

- After that they kinda just end up doing each other's makeup all the time and stuff like that. Max usually just uses like concealer and stuff because he doesn't want it to look like he's trying, but occasionally Max'll give Sasha permission to put some eyeliner on him or something and he'll never admit it but he l o v e s the way it looks. They start hanging out even more of course because it's not like Max can go to anyone else about the whole skincare/makeup thing and honestly Sasha loves her other friends but it's relieving to hang out with someone more willing to gossip with her (even if she's slightly salty that Max doesn't have enough hair for her to mess with like Erin and Tabii do)

- Sasha forces Max to watch a ton of shitty highschool movies and Max doesn't really like most of them but he'll put up with it because he (although he'll never admit it) cares about Sasha (and is a little intimidated by her when she's upset). He doesn't like them but occasionally Max can also coerce her into watching a horror movie with him so they're even in his books (even if the poor thing has to watch way more of her movies than he makes her watch)

- They actually end up being r e a l l y protective of each other. Like most of the time, they'll let people fuck with their friends (so long as no real harm is done), yknow? But if anyone says a word about Max and it gets back to Sasha they'll literally end up the laughing stock of Lake Lilac by the end of the day because Sasha's a bitch who can spread a rumor like wildfire. Alternatively, Max'll sick Nikki and Neil on anyone who fucks with Sasha (which won't end up pretty). And that's if they're lucky because that kid could do so much worse if he's got the right motivation. They try to hide the fact that they're acting in defense of one another and justify why they're screwing over whoever it is they're screwing over, but it's honestly just vengeance for their friend.

- All the gossiping makes the two more unstoppable than they were before tbh. Like Max always had other Camp Campbell camper's secrets tucked away for blackmail purposes and Sasha needs to know everything going on in her turf so of course she's got dirt on all the Flower Scouts. And it's not exactly hard to figure out the Woodscout's. So with their swapping info constantly both of them end up knowing everything about everyone and being able to screw them over in a heartbeat. Basically, hanging out together makes those two terrifying.

- They're also more confident as a duo than most other times. Like don't get me wrong, they're both pretty sure of their capabilities, and they trust their individual friend groups to have their back, but they know that the other person is competent in manipulation and incredibly cunning and they value each other's skillsets because they're super similar. When you're confident in yourself, having somebody who's like you around only makes you doubly confident. They feel super badass whenever they team up in something and it's great.

- Most of their arguments are probably petty tbh. Max calls one of Sasha's favorite movies dumb (she bases her life around highschool stereotypes and dumb cliche movies, of course, she gets pissed when he insults them) or Sasha makes one too many comments about Max's physical appearance (the girl is obsessed with looking good and as much as Max is willing to listen to her advice, it gets to him when she comments on his weight or how he needs to sleep more because the circles under his eyes are getting harder to cover up. Like, he has depression, do you not realize that weight changes and bad sleeping habits are a symptom of that?!?). A common source of disagreement is how used to being in charge they each are. Like yeah, they know they don't always have to take the lead, but it's so ingrained into them that they struggle with it. Max watches Sasha's dumb movies all the time and took her advice on skincare and stuff so she occasionally forgets that she's not his boss like she's in charge of her other friend's and of course he's willing to compromise on some things but he doesn't take well to being treated like a lackey and she's too stubborn to admit she's wrong half the time.

- Their fights get bad. Despite normally being over small things and the person who's in the wrong normally realizing they're the one who's wrong, both Max and Sasha are very stubborn people and they will die on this hill no matter how petty the whole thing is honestly. They'll scream and throw things and once or twice they've even wound up physically fighting. Usually, if it comes to an actual physical altercation they'll stop there because actually injuring your friend is super fucked up. Once Max threw a book at Sasha without thinking and it gave her a black eye. Another time Sasha literally slapped him and it left a bruise for like a week. They both felt like shit after. When Sasha gave Max a bruise she literally cried and he forgave her on the condition that she help him cover the bruise with makeup (He said he'd dealt with worse and something about the way he said it made her uneasy. She can't place why). The time that Max hit Sasha with a book he froze up completely and refused to even look at her for like an hour. Partially because he felt guilty and couldn't verbalize his regret but it was honestly more than that. You don't shut down and practically disassociate for an hour because you don't know what to say. There was absolutely something wrong with the way he shut down after the whole thing but she didn't push for answers and he apologized and they just decided to forget it ever happened. They never aim to actually hurt one another, they just don't have many ways to actually get out their frustrations. They never once actually physically hurt the other more than once each. It's just not something either of them wants to go through again, honestly. If their arguments don't end with one of them going too far and the two felt like shit and making up within seconds one of them will eventually storm off and they'll both get super petty. Making sarcastic remarks at one another whenever they see each other, pointedly ignoring the other, the occasional mean prank. Usually, they forget all about it within a week, though, because as stubborn as they are something dumb happens to one of them and they'll need to vent. None of their fights are ever serious, as nasty as they are, so it's easy to get over and never gets mentioned again.

- They had one serious fight that actually put their friendship in danger. Tabii had ended up crying to Sasha because she was devastated over being rejected by Neil. Like, she was super broken up about how he doesn't love her and it's probably because she's ugly even though Erin told her she wasn't. Sasha wasn't happy about it. At all. Like, she normally just rolls her eyes and brushes it off whenever she sees Tabii going after him, but she watched so many stupid cliche high school movies where the girl got the guy if he was good and anyone who rejects the protagonist is an asshole. So Sasha, going by movie logic, was pretty sure that Neil was insulting Tabii by rejecting her and was a terrible person. She also failed to realize that Tabii's whole attitude towards pursuing Neil was kinda creepy and stalkerish to begin with and she already had a low opinion of him since he's a nerd who called her a cunt and hangs out with Nikki, who she also hates. She did not like seeing one of her best friends in the world (who's basically like a sister to her tbh) cry. So Sasha, with a burning rage towards Neil, wound up spilling the whole thing to Max. And he wasn't happy with her for insulting his friend either. Max basically cussed Sasha out because Tabii's behavior was creepy and it was making Neil super uncomfortable, which he was not cool with. He told her she was a moron if she saw nothing wrong with how Tabii acted but thought that Neil was out of line for rejecting her. Sasha didn't take well to being called a moron or to her friend being accused of being creepy, and she said something along the lines of "It's not my fault you hang out with a retarded nerd and a girl who can't even be a girl properly". Max basically called her an ignorant bitch and told her to go fuck herself, then he left. Normally their arguments are long and wordy and even violent but this time he just cut it short and stormed out. Sasha still thought she was right, of course, because that boy who Max was friends with had made Tabii cry and he was a moron for not liking her! And yeah maybe the insults to Nikki weren't exactly called for but every word was true, right? She just kinda expected Max to get over it eventually but a few weeks passed and he never really did. The fact that Max had called her ignorant kinda stuck out to her more than anything. That's the same thing Neil had called her, isn't it? Why would they both use the same insult? It's not like that was a go-to thing to call somebody. The whole thing drove her crazy and eventually when she confronted him about it she got a long lecture about how romantic relationships work, the fact that bullying a girl over dressing or acting slightly differently from her is a shitty thing to do, and that calling Neil 'retarded' is offensive because he's actually mentally ill and even if he weren't, the word's still terrible. She didn't quite understand all of it but she got enough to feel guilty and she apologized. Sasha still doesn't really like Nikki and Neil much and it's not like she's stopped shit-talking them, but she's eased up a bit because she doesn't want Max that angry at her again, and in a way she can see how she maybe...was a tiny bit wrong.

- They don't normally get super sad or deep on each other. Neither really likes to be emotional or open up so they wouldn't exactly initiate any sort of depressing dialogue. However, they are both observant people so they notice things anyway. Max notices how Sasha talks a little too much about her weight and thinks anything over one hundred pounds is horrifically obese to the point where she diets incessantly. He notices that she cares too much about looking young and pretty too. Damned highschool movies. Sasha, on the other hand, notices that Max doesn't trust adults at all and that he flinches when she gets too loud (even if he tries to cover it up) and that he either doesn't sleep at all or sleeps way too often...amoung other things of course. They don't talk about these things out loud but they've both deduced that the other isn't healthy.

- Max practically forces Sasha to eat every time they see each other and refuses to watch a single movie with her that even mentions dieting in a positive light because she is ten years old and shouldn't be counting calories and refusing absolutely all fat. He'll insist on doing her makeup and will make sure to do it lighter and lighter every time because as much as he himself appreciates makeup and uses it to cover parts of his skin he doesn't like, she needs to be more confident and he can't in good conscience let her go on the way she's been going on. Sasha, on the other hand, if she ever notices he's having a bad day and isn't functioning well, will let him hide out with her all day even if she has other things to do and he should be at camp. Occasionally she'll even let Nikki or Neil in her room if she or they feel Max really needs their support (he can't just stay at his own camp, he'd never be allowed out of activities all day). She doesn't exactly understand why he's sad and tired and angry and has a hard time with sleep but she won't ask. Sasha has some theories on why he doesn't trust any adult and flinches when she yells but she doesn't like thinking on that one too long (his comment when she slapped him 'i've had worse' comes to mind). They're not always great at it and they don't always understand but they try to help each other even if they have an unspoken rule not to ask questions.

- While they normally spend their hang-out time watching movies or doing each other's makeup/hair/nails or talking crap about other's behind their backs, they've occasionally had adventures of their own. They typically leave Lake Lilac for these, honestly. Sasha couldn't care less about anything going on at Camp Campbell and Max isn't about to get involved in Flower Scout politics so if they're ever inclined to go on an adventure it's in town or even the big city. And usually involves crime one way or another tbh. Once they accidentally managed to get Max elected mayor of the whole town and Sasha as treasurer. Money was embezzled, fires were set, and they're now banned from muffin tops for life. That's the kind of adventure those two have whenever they're compelled to do anything at all. Go big or go home, basically.

- They're actually super honest with each other. The general light-hearted nature of their friendship and the fact that they gossip and chatter about pretty much everything that pops into their heads means they don't exactly stress about getting judged or anything like that as long as they aren't confessing to horrific sins or anything.

- They love to fuck with Pikeman. Like they normally just sit around at the Flower Scout's camp or out in town or the city or something like that but occasionally they'll screw him over because they both can agree he's an incompetent asshole who deserves it.

- Sasha flipped her shit when she realized that Max knows how to bake, cook, sew, and knit (he definitely can knit and sew we’ve seen him do it in the show and I headcanon he’d have to learn to cook and stuff cause his parents don’t feel like doing it for him) She nearly died and made him sew/knit her a bunch of stuff for her and decided they had to bake together and she was just super happy about it. Once upon a time, she would've judged him for it because of gender roles and stuff and she wasn't used to guys doing any of those things, but after the whole incident where he called her an ignorant bitch she wasn't gonna push it and besides, she was happy to have her gossip and makeup buddy also be able to do those other things with her. Like she can do those things with Tabii and Erin too but Max kinda gets her and she needs a break from the two sometimes.

- Most people don't actually know they're friends. Nikki and Neil are vaguely aware they hang out but they don't see much besides the occasional banter when the Flower Scouts and Camp Campbell interact as a group. Max doesn't talk about Sasha much around them since he knows they don't exactly like her. Sasha doesn't dare mention their friendship around Tabii and Erin because they'd freak out completely and probably assume they're dating since those two don't realize guys and girls can actually have platonic friendships. She doesn't want that drama. Their friendship is kinda a secret, which is surprising since they may not talk about it but they visit each other and chat enough when they cross paths that you'd think people would realize. But they're kinda glad. Lake Lilac is a chaotic place and when they're hanging out it's one of the only times they even have the option of just relaxing.

(imma be real I literally came up with the idea of those two being really close friends because I watched the episode where Nikki hung out with Dolph and Nerris and I thought 'Max have other friend too? :0')

Literally, ANY input is welcome. I spent multiple hours on this so if you have anything to say you know I'm down for a conversation about it

#camp camp #cc sasha #cc max #sasha and max

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khhunniewriting · 5 years

Text

The Others (12)

[ Mafia/Gang AU ]

Everyone went back inside the home where they could keep maters more discreet. Not everyone knew what was going on yet. The boss having a second son was big news. Everyone had to know in order to protect and serve him accordingly. What they didn’t know was that you were Leo’s mother.

He hadn’t spoken a word about you to anyone other than Beenz who carried out the investigation. He didn’t need word getting out to Kylie. That was something he would deal with after he managed to secure his son.

Dok2 had Ash and Zene look after Ji-hoon while he took you and Leo upstairs to where his new home office was located. It was one of the first rooms to be fully furnished and set to look exactly like the one in the condo.

From one office to another... you were starting to think Joonkyung saw Leo as some sort of business transaction. He kept seating you formally, showing documents, and masking selfish demands as parental negotiations.

Leo stared blankly at his so-called father. Nothing about him felt familiar. As far as he was concerned blood was all they shared. The man was otherwise a stranger and would be treated as such.

His eyes only softened when you held his hand.

You were sitting beside him acting as a moderator between father and son to make sure things didn’ get out of hand. Neither seemed to blink as if they were in an intense stare-off.

“Now,” Dok2 sat down eager to hear his son’s thoughts on the matter. “If you have something to say I will listen.”

Leo didn’t hesitate, “I don’t want to live here.”

It hurt to see your son so opposed to the idea. Although you too were also opposed in the beginning, you now knew this was the best option. Should anyone try to harm your son-

“Mom is worried about my safety but I’ll be fine.” He turned to you in a more hushed tone. “We’ve always been fine.”

“That’s true but...” you pushed his hair back to get a good look at your teenage son. He was so handsome despite his cold expressions. It resembled the current Joonkyung that demanded you convince Leo to stay.

“I understand.” Words were convenient but never necessary with you two. One look and Leo knew this decision was hurting you more than it hurt him. The last thing he wanted was for you to suffer. “But I have a condition.”

When Joonkyung found out Leo was his son he was full of resentment towards you. All he thought about was exposing the truth. He never thought about what you had gone through all these years raising a son on your own.

Clearly, you had done well. It was to the point that Leo both loved and respected you even when you made hard decisions on his behalf.

“What is the condition?”

“My mother stays too.”

He didn’t know.

Leo didn’t know that Dok2 had already extended the offer to you. He didn’t know that you had just had this same conversation as it pertained to you. That you couldn’t fathom the idea of being under the same roof as his father because you were denying decades-old feelings.

“Leo-” you tried to stop him but Joonkyung took advantage of the situation.

“Done.”

Like mother like son, Joonkyung thought.

“I can’t stay here.” This house was too far from your job, it would take hours to get there by bus. But when you tried explaining the situation to your son it was like you were negotiating with Joonkyung.

“He has money,” Leo tilted his head towards Dok2.

Your eyes widened at his suggestion. When was your son so blatant about using people for personal gain?

Joonkyung chuckled garnering both your attention. It was the first time in a long time that he genuinely laughed. It was also the first time you managed to see such an expression from him since you left.

“You really are my son.”

Although the situation wasn’t ideal, Leo knew the only way this situation could be better was if he could somehow help you. He knew you worked hard to give him everything on your own- to protect and care for him.

“Mom worked hard for me.”

Joonkyung nodded in agreement. He understood what Leo was trying to say. You alone had provided for him his entire life and now he felt the need to step in.

Both father and son were in agreement. They wanted to be the ones to provide for you, to care for you, to protect you.

“If someone is after me then I want mom to be safe.”

“That’s what I want too.” Joonkyung met your eyes with a look of determination. You were adamantly refusing his assistance before but in front of Leo, you were powerless. “What do you say Y/N?”

“If that’s what Leo wants...”

\\\

It took a few days for you and Leo to get settled into your new living arrangments. Dok2 had ordered a group of his guys to accompany you and Leo to your apartment. Only essentials and things that could not be replaced were taken. Some things you gave to Haru and Kai who had a hard time saying goodbye to Leo.

They had grown attached to him and promised to keep in touch now that Leo had a cellphone, courtesy of his father.

Dok2 made sure to get your apartment rented out this time. He didn’t want a repetition of last time.

In your new home you were given the master bedroom on the east side of the second floor while Leo’s room was at the end of the corridor on the west side, next to Ji-hoon’s.

Every day you tried to familiarize yourself with the house but it was hard when maids continued to offer to do everything for you. All you could do was watch them as they neatly put away your clothes.

“Lady Y/N where would you like the jewelry box?”

“Jewelry box?” You didn’t have a jewelry box or any jewelry for that matter.

She presented you with a familiar-looking jewelry box. It was yours years ago when you and Joonkyung were together. You had left it behind when you resolved yourself to leave with nothing but your clothes.

You opened it to see the various gifts he had given you throughout your short-lived relationship. One stood out the most, the very first gift he had given you. A necklace you had already forgotten about.

Joonkyung stood by the open door watching as you held the necklace in your hand with a look of confusion.

“So they brought those too...” Dok2 took a couple steps into your bedroom but stayed close to the door not wishing to push his luck. “When I asked that guy to bring your stuff here I guess he thought I meant all of this stuff too.”

You took your eyes off the necklace for a second to see a couple of the maids were rummaging through some older looking boxes, pulling out clothes you hadn’t seen in years. Everything you had left behind was there.

“Why did you keep all this?”

For the past three days that you had been moving Dok2 had disappeared. This was the first time you were seeing him since agreeing to fulfill Leo’s wish.

He didn’t want to out and admit he had hoped you would come back. “Should I have gotten rid of it?”

“I never thought of you as the sentimental type. Keeping this might send the wrong signal to Kylie.”

Joonkyung was glad you brought up his wife. He had been looking into her and the guards that were on duty during her meeting with you.

“Are you ready to talk about her now?”

You had put off the discussion about your meeting with Kylie. It would involve you admitting you had left because deep down you were disappointed and jealous of Joonkyung and Kylie’s marriage.

\\\

Outside Ji-hoon and Leo, accompanied by Ash and Zene, took turns tossing the ball to each other to practice some shots. Among the many commodities Dok2 made to the house for you and Leo, the basketball court in the backyard was what got to Ji-hoon.

“Honestly I’m jealous of you little bro. You’ve been his kid for days now while I’ve been here for years and he never got me one of these.” In all honesty, Ji-hoon never asked for one. He liked basketball but he wasn’t into it as much as Leo was. Even now he was only practicing because of Leo.

After being absent from school and practice these days Leo felt the need to practice on his own so he could stay in peak physical condition for his return.

“Don’t call me that-” Leo jumped to make the layup with his right hand. Unlike Ji-hoon, Leo needed time to warm up to others. Although he had come to think of Ji-hoon as a friend, there was something that kept him from embracing him as a sibling. “We’re the same age.”

Ji-hoon smirked, “Yeah but I was born in July.”

The unruly teen had been relieved to see his friend/brother return to normal. It was a rough few days but now that they were playing together he felt like they could go forward with their lives as siblings.

“You sure seem happy for someone who just found out his dad cheated on his mom.”

“Well...” Ji-hoon sighed rubbing the back of his neck in contemplation. He wondered if he should be telling Leo about his parents’ marriage.”I already have a half-sister so a half-brother isn’t too bad- ya know?”

Leo stopped dribbling to look up at the guy that had just been smirking at him. He seemed to have a lot on his mind.

By now Leo had been told only the important facts about the organization his father had. He knew of the dangers but he didn’t know much about the rules the families involved live by. Ji-hoon wondered if it was okay to tell him about the rules of marriage.

“My dad married my mom for the sake of an alliance between Illionaire and Ambition. It was more like a business deal where my mom promised to hand over Ambition to my dad while he promised to hand down the entire operation to the future heir they would produce aka me.”

Leo’s stoic features softened understanding of why Ji-hoon acted out. “I don’t know what’s better- being born a bastard or out of a contract.”

Ji-hoon beamed at the “younger” male. “Are you trying to cheer me up?”

“Never.” Leo went back to dribbling up and down the court avoiding Ji-hoon.

“Leo you’re a cute little bro-” Ji-hoon groaned as he caught a fast pass from Leo that nearly knocked him back.

Ash and Zene were confused. “Are they fighting or getting along?” Ash asked but the other couldn’t answer.

As they cooled down Ji-hoon couldn’t help but wonder what lead to Leo being born a secret. He kept his eyes on him watching that never-changing expression of his.

“Aren’t you curious about what happened?”

It was a vague question but judging by the pretext Leo knew what Ji-hoon was referring to. Truthfully there was some curiosity. Mainly there were questions he wanted to ask Joonkyung.

“No.”

Ji-hoon smirked, “You can’t fool me.” The long silence was enough for him to know there was something on his “little” brother’s mind. “Why don’t you just ask?”

Silence.

Ji-hoon decided he had pried enough for one day and didn’t push him to answer. “Well, you can always ask me anything.”

“Back then...” Leo though of the aggression Ji-hoon displayed in their younger years when he was on the opposing team. “Why were you like that?”

Now it was Ji-hoon who became silent. Back then the anger won him over. He resented his mother for having his sister. His father often disappeared. No one gave him any attention when he was only beginning to truly understand what it meant to be born out of duty rather than love. Even when he took up smoking as a cry for attention no one responded.

”There was so much to be angry about.”

He didn’t know how it happened but one day that anger seemed to fluctuate when he played basketball. In the midst of his hobby, he managed to find something or rather, someone interesting.

From there he somehow got to here.

“Anyway, we should probably discuss about tomorrow.”

Leo’s head tilted in question.

“What exactly are we going to tell people now? If I suddenly start calling you little brother I’m sure Cjamm is going to have questions.”

“Don’t call me that!”

\\\

After ordering the maids to leave the room only you and Dok2 remained. It was starting to get easier being around him. Enough for you to speak to him like you used to, without fear of offending him or restrain.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything, tell me what she told you that day.”

You didn’t disclose the fact that she seemed to be lost and in pain when she was looking for you, only that you had gone to talk at a nearby cafe.

“I let her know that I had no intention of getting between you two. That I stopped meeting you after finding out she was pregnant.” You sighed recalling the turn in her demeanor. “Then she threatened me and let me know who you really were.”

Joonkyung’s brow furrowed with worry for an event of the past. “How did she threaten you?”

“She told me about how it was expected for you to have multiple women.

His jaw tightened realizing she was making it seem like there were countless others than just you. She was sowing the seeds of deceit.

“She told me about your code of conduct and how she was able to do as she saw fit to the mistresses of her husband.”��You chose to skip over the memory of her belittling your relationship with Joonkyung when she found out you knew nothing of him being a mafia boss.

“I assume it is but taking into consideration you willingly left… either you are a good girl full of guilt and remorse- obviously unfit for someone like Dok2 who is the head of Illionaire. Or you also maintained multiple relationships resulting in you not knowing the paternity of your child.” (((This happened in part one)))

You cleared your throat of the lump that had begun to form. “I was heavily pregnant with Leo so the entire time I braced myself for her scrutiny. When she finally asked I was more relieved that she gave me a way out than anything. All I wanted was for Leo to be safe so I made her believe he wasn’t yours. That I left you because I was seeing someone else.”

Joonkyung remained silent for a moment, taking in the entirety of your confrontation. Now he knew why Kylie never mentioned your pregnancy. Kylie was a smart woman, she knew if there was a chance of your child being his then it would be another potential heir.

She had no intention of sharing.

Surely Kylie was able to sense your sincerity as he was. You always spoke with conviction making it easy to trust you. She must have known your apology was sincere.

Yet, Joonkyung was not satisfied.

“Why did you lie?”

“I was trying to protect my son.”

Joonkyung shook his head, he didn’t mean to ask why you lied to Kylie. He wanted to know why you lied to him all these years.

“You said you were doing the right thing remember?”

“I was,” you defended. “I left so you could live your life with your family. You always complained about Kylie but I know you love her.”

“I don’t love her.”

“Even if you deny it.” Once again you felt the tightness in your chest. It was always hard for you to face the truth of Joonkyung’s feelings. “You can’t live and sleep with a woman without having any feelings for her.”

“I can and I did.” He knew this wouldn’t help his case with you but he had to make it clear that Kylie is only his wife on paper. “Ji-hoon was a means to an end. After him, there was no need to be with her. I fulfilled my end of the deal, now we live our lives separately.”

You were taken aback by how cold Joonkyung sounded. “I never knew you were so heartless.”

“I wish I was as heartless as you think I am.” Then Joonkyung wouldn’t have to worry about the way he felt now as he stood before you. “Do you know Kylie has a daughter? She’s not mine, I don’t know who the father is. Her name is Moon Jia.”

“What?”

You were genuinely shocked to hear that his wife had gotten into the same position as you.

“I don’t know who it is and I don’t care.”

The fact that he let Jia live meant Kylie had no reason to go after Leo. It was an eye for an eye. However, he knew she might try to threaten you.

Dok2 took a few steps closer to you but kept a decent distance. “I never cared about Kylie. But I’ll make sure to find that man. If she ever threatens you I’ll use him against her.”

Your heart raced wondering if he meant those words the way they came out. “Why do you always make it sound like you care about me?”

This was Joonkyung’s chance to say it, to admit that he had feelings for you.

-end-

A/N: How many of you are ready to accept your baby daddy? And how many are ready for Kylie’s reaction???

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