#*aggressively points at Ambrose*

[theindescribable1]

Have some Nightmare before Christmas costumes, catching up on my last prompts.

I had to. I love Ebrose so very much. This is beyond perfect. And yes I posted this at 1am my time. Help.

[yourlocalmysticalvoid]

Adamandi fandom I made a thing of how I think the adamandi characters would sign their name

[buzzbuzzwhs]

Lauren after the Save the Triplex event last night.

[ziptiesnfries]

i am Thinking about roux and ambrose tonight. i'm not sure what i want to Do with them but i am Thinking.

tbh it was kind of a mistake to make ambrose a mad scientist. he was pretty terrible at it, which was kind of the point, but i feel like it's not really his style. what i'm more interested in is him being a villain, or some other brand of Guy With Lots of Power, who is absolutely fascinated and delighted by this pint-sized redhead who hates his guts.

like... i'm not exactly sure what types of roles to put the two of them in, if i bring them back, but i know the dynamic will stay pretty much the same. ambrose is still like "uwu you're such a sweet little buddy who i want to care for and protect (as long as you don't actually upset me)" and roux is still like "shut the FUCK up i'll kill you"

i have somewhat of a scenario in mind, and i'm worried it's too similar to another major project i'm writing, but it goes something like this: ambrose is some type of mob boss or villain, and roux and their team get caught trying to fuck with his plans, and all of them are captured and tortured for information. ambrose hadn't planned on being very involved with the whole process - he's not usually one to get his hands dirty; he pays people for that. but he finds himself fascinated by this tiny little redhead who still has the nerve to swear at him and spit in his face, even after being waterboarded and beaten. he just has to know more about them - whether roux likes it or not. (and they very decidedly do not.)

[mundoperla]

Vincent Sinclair with a shy S/O

One day a bunch of teenage boys come and there openly flirting with her, while she did the job for Bo since there was no females to flirt with.

She came back to Vincent aggressively painting nude paintings of her in explicit positions something he’d never do because he was too shy. Catching her watching him, he finally did what he wanted to do out of anger

Sorry if it’s too much you don’t have to do nsfw if you don’t want too <3

HEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEGI

𝙁𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.🔞

Vincent Sinclair x shy Fem!Reader

•

— Despite your reserved shy nature, you’ve got someone who’s the exact same eating that act up behind the scenes.

⚠️‼️tws;; creepy ass dudes saying creepy ass things, brief mentions of violence, vinny boy having indecent thoughts abt you, p in v SEX👺, fingering kind of??, overstimulation, basement sex too ig u could call it

i want him so bad

Lester hand already let you and his brothers know another group was being directed to Ambrose so guests were expected at some point in the day. Bo had asked you to stay at the station while he went back to the house to retrieve a few things, you understood what to do and what to say, how to be even just the smallest bit comforting despite being aware of what was to come to the unfortunate few who were to step foot into the town.

The loud honking of a car horn had startled you from the mindless scrolling you were doing on your phone, looking up through the glass doors to see a group of boys roughly around college age in the vehicle. Two of them had gotten out and walked into the shop, the usual ask of a fan belt was brought up and you got to your fake search for one.

“ Are all the girls around here as fine as you are? “ one of them whistled at you, you could feel your stomach drop in disgust but you merely laughed it off and continued to stay on the subject of the fan belt they needed. Reluctantly trying to swerve into a different conversation just so that the comment could be forgotten.

“ Hey come on now, he asked you a question and you’re not gonna answer ? How ‘bout once we finish up fixin’ our car you come out with us ? ” The second one stood straight behind you, his eyes were glued to you which made your anxiety worse.

“ I don’t think so. There isn’t a fan belt here it looks like.. try the house further up the road, not that far of a walk from down here. Bo should have spares up there. ” at this point you just said fuck it to trying to remain calm, you were screaming on the inside looking for every excuse in the book to get these fuckers to piss off.

Despite your efforts, they kept insisting that you leave the town with them to go who knows where. The last three guys in the vehicle outside poking their heads out to gawk at you like the pair inside. You were exhausted, tired, and you wanted more than anything for them to leave.

But most importantly, you wanted to see Vincent.

You weren’t too sure where he was or what he was doing, you naturally felt too afraid to bother him whilst he could be working. But god damn did you need to see him right now.

Luckily for your sake, Bo had came back. He could tell by your body language that you were uncomfortable, giving you a look of what could almost be described as worried.

“ You can head out, Vincent’s probably in his lil’ cave. I’ll take it from here.”

• • •

Vincent’s hands trembled as he hastily sketched onto the sketchbook he had flat on his desk. He felt sick at the thought of any of those men eyeing you down.

He wasn’t upset at you for anything that had transpired, he was upset that your timidness was turning him in at the most inconvenient time.

Bo had buzzed in to let Vincent know what had happened, to which Vincent was furious for but he also wanted to be there for you while it happened.

But of course, his mind wandered.

Would you cower if he made a bold comment towards you? Would you stutter on your words if he called you gorgeous? Would you do all of these while he made you writhe on his-

This was dirty.

Your shyness was always adorable to him, one of his favorite things about you to be exact. He couldn’t bring himself to tell you any of these raunchy thoughts so instead he uses his own abilities to get as close as possible to seeing you in your most vulnerable.

His head could only be filled with mental images of you in positions he couldn’t even name. His hands merely transfering it onto the paper in front of him, ripping each page of his sketchbook out onto the floor to later shove in a folder somewhere where nobody could ever see but him.

For fucks sake, now was an inappropriate time to be aroused. Yet his own desires persisted leaving him more frustrated than before. HE deserves you, HE’S the only one who should make you flustered and leave you stuttering. You understand this too dont you?

Would you still be shy if he had you stripped entirely for him on his bed? when he had you bent over his lap as he curled his fingers inside of you? Jesus the mess you’d make on him would drive him bat shit crazy. He’d completely shatter you in fromt of all of those men to show who you belonged to. He can’t stop this, god he needs you so terribly bad it hurts. Won’t you-

“ Vincent? ”

His head snapped to his left where you were standing. He didn’t hear you come down.

You picked up some of the sketches from the floor and stared at them, the same familiar blush creeping up on your cheeks the more you looked as well as scanning the page he was almost completed with. Vincent was relatively open with you about many things, but never with sexual topics out of fear you’d be disgusted.

All he could do was look at you, unsure of how to react by being caught drawing his own set of ‘material’ of just you. You’re equally as flustered as he is, however you’d be lying if you said you weren’t as turned on as he was.

You open your mouth to speak again but you’re immediately cut off as Vincent slams his sketchbook onto the floor and tosses you up on his table, hurrily moving his mask up to reveal only his lips to clash into your own. His calloused fingers are roaming your legs and all along your torso, everything is moving so fast you’re completely left with no room to cower. His mouth moves down from your jawline to your neck, further down as he begins to practically rip apart the shirt you were wearing, coincidentally it being one of his own.

“ Hey- H-hey Vincent! ”

Your words go through one of his ears and out the other one, he needs you now and he’s tired of waiting. He’s still pissed off from earlier, he needs to mark you, leave your brain scrambled so you can only think of him, let you and everyone else know who exactly it is you belong to. His long black hair drapes over his masked face, pooling through your fingers as you grab a handful of it whilst he continues to rip apart your clothing, leaving you completely bare on his table.

He’s struggling with his jeans to get them off him all whilst trying to scoot you closer to the edge. Once he’s fully put of his own garments he wastes no time inserting himself into you.

Vincent wont wait for you to adjust to his size, he’s rutting into you like a man possessed. His hands are squeezing your hips tightly, leaving deep purple bruises in their place. The mask still left his lips uncovered, enough for him to bite and kiss at your chest and shoulders.

It felt like the tip was battering the inside of your cervix, with every thrust it felt as if he was fucking all the air out of your lungs. There was only so much you could do in this position — let out one pathetic whine after the other as your boyfriend completely obliterated you.

Where can he cum first? your face? your stomach? your back? in your mouth? keep squeezing him the way you’re doing now and he’ll fill up your cunt with his load until he’s completely run dry.

Vincent purposely edges himself, he won’t let himself have his own release until he feels like you’ve had enough of your own.

You’ve came for him more times than you can count, your pussy feels so sensitive the more he rips another orgasm out of you. You’re well aware he’s enjoying the sight of his pelvis and his thighs covered in your juices.

All the pretty sounds you let out are his notion to keep going, flipping you on your stomach to have you bent over for him, one hand still firm on your hip whilst the other lands occasional slaps onto your ass. You’re gonna stay down here until he’s done.

Or at least until another buzz of the radio comes in.

“ Three on their way to you, last two’re at the house with me now. Be ready. ”

You can feel Vincent squeeze you ince more before pulling himself out of you begrudgingly. The sudden feeling of emptiness causing you to whine.

He wasn’t done yet. He had more to do with you.

Your hands manage to reach out to grab the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him in for another kiss. Despite his previous behavior this is what flustered him the most.

Putting your semi-torn clothing back onto you, he carries you over to the mattress he had settled in the corner of his workspace. He began to walk to tbe stairs to handle the guests that would be arriving soon, just before leaving he hears the ting of your voice;

“ When you get back let’s continue where we left off! ”

•••

[saibug1022]

No Longer You

Word Count: 2k Characters/Relationship(s): Asterin Nightbloom, Tyril Starfury, Tyril x MC, Mal Volari x MC, Aerin Valleros x MC, Mal Volari x Tyril Starfury Genre/Tags: Angst, Hurt no comfort (yet), aggressive parallels A/N: This miniseries is very heavily inspired by Epic the Musical and therefore the Odyssey. This part is inspired by, shockingly, the song No Longer You. The series should be three parts so stay tuned.

Part 2, Part 3

“How could we have left him?!” Imtura exclaimed.

“We didn’t leave him,” Nia said, seeming just as angry as the warrior. “She kept him there.”

“Who is ‘she’?” Mal asked, his grip on Tyril’s shoulder tightening.

Tyril sighed, looking up from where he’d been sitting on a large boulder with his head clutched in his hands. As soon as the light had faded and they realized Asterin wasn’t with them, the whole group had fallen into a panic. None of them seemed to express fear nor grief in the same way which only sent them into a downward spiral thanks to the chaos seeded among them.

Tyril had fallen back into the same methods and emotions he’d used when Asterin disappeared: desperation. His mind was already shuffling through every story, legend, and even rumor he’d ever heard. Unfortunately, only one fit the situation.

“’She’ is Asin,” Tyril answered. Nia and Aerin must have came to the same conclusion seeing as Nia stared firmly at the ground and Aerin crossed his arms. “A rarely spoken of goddess. Scholars have always been conflicted as to why, but she was sentenced to fall in love with any who arrived on her island, which is also its own realm. Those she falls in love with are trapped there until Nilfira decides to intervene. It could have been any of us, but Asterin must have been the one she fell in love with.”

“Maybe you didn’t notice but none of us can realmwalk,” Aerin pointed out. He glared at Tyril like it was his fault they were in this situation and Tyril barely resisted the urge to leave him in a ravine. “How are we supposed to get to him?”

“Even if we could realmwalk, it’s impossible to find Asin’s realm,” Tyril retorted.

“So what, he’s just trapped there?” Mal asked. Tyril put his hand over Mal’s. The other man was clearly holding back tears and Tyril was in the same sitution.

“No, no way, I refuse to accept that,” Imtura scoffed. “There’s nothing you can’t find as long as you look for it. There’s always a course to plot, we just need a map.”

“You can’t plot a course through realms,” Tyril said.

“She may be right,” Aerin realized.

“Really?” Imtura replied.

“Maybe we can’t plot a course, but we could if we knew where it was,” Aerin said. “There is one man who may be able to find it for us. The Seer of Andreas.”

“Speaking to the Seer of Andreas drives people insane,” Tyril argued.

“Unless you have the proper motivation,” Nia added. “Think about it. Every story where people survived speaking to the Seer they were motivated by something other than power: Agnarr the Red wanted to protect his clan, Lianna was there with another only to fulfill her oath and uphold her honor, Perin was there for duty, and Ambrose for love. We’d be there because we love Asterin, not for power or glory.”

“Would that be enough?” Aerin questioned.

“It has to be,” Tyril replied.

It was an awful plan. But it was no worse than some of the other plans they’d had, including charging into the Shadow Realm headfirst while missing a member of their party. That plan had resulted in saving Morella. Perhaps this one could save Asterin, a task infinitely more valuable.

“I need you to stop talking myths and start talking facts,” Imtura spoke up.

“The Seer of Andreas can see everything,” Nia explained. “He doesn’t just see the future he sees every possibility of the future and the past. Most people who talk to him are driven insane under the weight of what he says assuming he even speaks to them. But a few have survived.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mal nodded and squeezed Tyril’s hand, standing up from the log. “Where is this Seer?”

“…another realm,” Nia admitted.

“So we’re back on the Realmwalking problem,” Imtura sighed. “Does anyone know where Valax went off to?”

“Actually,” Mal hesitated. Then he pulled a small cloth from his belt, that when unwrapped revealed a small vial of something red.

“Is that blood?” Tyril asked. He stood up to examine it closely and came to the conlusion Mal was indeed carrying around a vial of blood.

“It's Asterin's blood,” Mal clarified. Each of them stared at him in silence. “What? He gave it to me in case of an emergency!”

“He didn't tell me that,” Tyril said, looking at the vial over Mal's shoulder.

“Nor I,” Aerin agreed. “Why would neither of you say anything?”

“He made me swear to secrecy,” Mal explained.

“And thats the promise you keep?”

“Okay you know what you little sh-”

“Would you two stop bickering and focus?” Nia snapped. “Your jealousy issues come later, we need to find the Seer.”

“Can you use the blood to open a portal?” Imtura asked. Nia took the blood from Mal and clutched it in her hands like she could feel Asterin within it.

“I suppose we’ll find out,” Nia said

Not a day later their entire party spilled onto the ground of a cavernous temple. The entire inner chamber they’d fallen into was carved into the stone of whatever realm they were in. The ceiling was held up by stone columns, the stretches between them made of a white crystal that reminded Tyril of the archive in Undermount. There was not even a hint of light other than the teal fire in the braziers lining a walkway.

The walkway extended halfway over a pit so deep it seemed to be a void, a void with more turquoise light curling in tendrils, all arcing toward one figure. At the end was a figure partially obscured by shadow. He was tall but incredibly frail, wrapped in simple hooded robes.

“You made it after all,” The Seer hummed as they all scrambled to their feet. The seer turned around and Tyril felt a shiver run down his spine. It was an entirely involuntary reaction to something Tyril couldn’t quite name. Maybe it was how the Seer’s face was obscured by his hood, washing his face in shadows. It almost looked like he had no face, if not for his eyes glowing green. “I suppose I should welcome you to Andreas.”

This was it. If they failed here either Asterin would be lost or they’d be too mad to look for him.

“Great Seer,” Nia stepped to the front of the group and held out her hands in a gesture both placating and awed. “We humbly request your guidance, we desperately need help fin-”

“I know of whom you seek,” The Seer replied. Every word he spoke was completely flat and emotionless. It wasn’t apathetic, something more like tired. “I only wonder if you do.”

“What does that mean?” Imtura asked.

“This is not the first time your party has made it to Andreas in search of your friend,” The Seer told them. They all exchanged glances of varying confusion, alarm, and curiosity. “I only wonder which friend it is you seek.”

“Asterin?” The Seer continued. “Yet which version of Asterin? Asterin of Riverbend? Asterin Nightbloom? Asterin Volari? Asterin of the Great House Nightbloom? Asterin Starfury? Consort and Prince Asterin Valleros? Asterin, Avatar of the Dreadlord? Asterin of the Ash Empire?”

Each name felt like a punch to the gut. Many he could not pinpoint but of course he could a few. Asterin Volari. Asterin Starfury. Mal was breathless beside him and Tyril’s mind was spinning. Asterin Valleros. Aerin was wide eyed and conflicted. His eyes sparkled with hope and fear all at once. Avatar of the Dreadlord. Nia looked sick, Aerin along with her.

“Maybe it is not Asterin at all. Is it Raine? Aurelian? Va'or? Odette? Maiele? Myrdan? Aemyraithe?”

“Great Seer, we do not know these names,” Nia claimed.

“You do,” The Seer replied. “Though perhaps not you. Tell me then? Which name do you want to find?”

“Asterin,” Aerin said. His voice was tinged with desperation that for once aligned his interests with Tyril’s. Even Mal looked the same.

“Which Asterin?”

Each of them hesitated. Asterin used the name Asterin of Riverbend and Asterin Nightbloom interchangeably. The wrong name could lead them to man they didn’t know.

“You do not even know yourselves,” The Seer realized. “I cannot blame you. There are more Asterins than you could fathom.”

“Right, and you can see them all?” Mal snarked.

“I see everything, Mal Volari,” The Seer tilted his head. “I see your desperation, I see you recklessly offering your life to save your friends, I see Mal Starfury and Mal Nightbloom, I see how you look at Asterin, I see the light leave your mother’s eyes and I see your fear that one day you will be in that bed yourself with your loves standing over you with faces unchanged.”

Mal looked like he’d been slapped as his legs nearly gave out. Tyril found it difficult to breathe as he stared at him. Mal had spoken of his mother and how he’d sacrifice himself for Tyril and Asterin in a heartbeat. He’d even tried before. But the last piece was something Tyril had never even guessed.

“Mal…?” Tyril’s voice was barely a whisper but Mal still looked at him with an apology clearly on his lips.

“I see you Tyril Starfury,” The Seer continued. “I see blue turning to gray, I see you alone in a cold palace, I see you at a warm hearth with family by your side, I see your Dinvalir’s fear as she is frozen, I see you standing alone against the shadows, I see Tyril Volari, I see your Uluvalir screaming for you in chains, I see your dread as your failure strikes and cuts down those you love.”

His failure. Kaya. Alone and with family. Asterin tortured in that dungeon. Tyril had to tense his muscles to keep from shaking where he stood. He felt empty, as if his mind had fallen over the edge of the walkway and into the void.

“I see you, Aerin Valleros,” The Seer said. “I see how badly you wish to choose a name of your own, I see how you cling to your beloved, I see how badly you want to change but I see your fear you cannot, I see your eyes turning black, I see you standing over your silver haired elf with red staining your hands, I see your father’s grief, I see you watching a wedding you will never experience.”

For the first time in his life Tyril saw tears in Aerin’s eyes. He stumbled back but his knees still gave out, leaving him kneeling in defeat.

“I see Asterin Nightbloom cradling his brother in his arms,” The Seer warned. “I see his eyes turn black as he sits upon a throne of shadows, I see him scream as he lays waste to Morella, I see him burning with light from the inside out, I see him blessed in a home with the men he loves, I see a flaming sword in his chest, I see him bleeding on a dungeon floor, I see him on the edge of a cliff as a woman pleads with him to return.”

Tyril’s sword fell from his hand onto the stone. He absorbed every word but could not fathom any of it. Nearly every road for Asterin ends in tragedy. Why him? Asterin deserved to have everything he wanted and more. Not only had he saved the realms, but he saved the people around him. He brought light to shadows, literal and metaphorical. How could the Light not repay him in kind?

“I see every one of these worlds,” The Seer. “I will begin your journey by leading you to Asterin Nightbloom. But I will not tell you which path you are on. The world you live you must choose. Pray you choose correctly. Pray that at the end of the path, you are the same person who stepped onto it.”

[stat1cstarz]

“You drive me crazy”

Vincent Sinclair X Fem! Reader

Description:During the summer months,many families and couples would camp outside of Ambrose. And because of Vincent’s risky behavior,that gave him an idea

Credits to @xslashers

They are a great writer,and I’m very grateful they allowed me to write this. This post was inspired off of their NSFW alphabet for Vincent Sinclair. They are a great writer,so please shoot them a follow,and check out their posts! ���️

Includes: p in v, exhibition kink,oral( f receiving ),soft ending,soft smut,romantic Vincent,possessiveness mentioned

Minors do not interact

Vincent had a duality to him,he was an overly possessive lover.Never daring to let you around his brother Bo,in fear of you leaving him in favor of the more attractive twin,the twin that didn’t have horrific scars. But he was also risky,a major turn on for him was taking you in public area. He lusted not only over you,but the idea of people knowing you belong to him,and they couldn’t touch you. Which is what lead to todays events…

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

You and Vincent were walking side by side,hands clasped tightly together. The moon waxing above your bodies,the pearly brightness creating a satiny affect on Vincent’s smooth black hair. You were walking through the deep woods outside of Ambrose, you two were caught up in each other.Your aroma was intoxicating to Vincent, forming a ball of desire inside of him.

“It’s so pretty out here Vinny” you said,trying to sound as innocent as possible,while trying to flirt as well, the prettiest view was of course him..

After a while of staring at each other, your hand cradled in his strong grip,you came across a small wooden sign. It pointed to a small camping area, it was littered with cabins,tents,and RV’s. It was a hotspot for families,and a lot of people. Vincent removed his mask, underneath the wax prosthetic he had a look on him,way different than any other. That looks was way more prominent than ever before,his blue eye holding a piercing gaze,cutting through you like a sharp blade.

After the amount of time you guys spent together, you knew what he wanted,you gave him a nod,signaling you knew what he wanted, and you wanted it to in fact. That nod alone made the bulge in his pants grow bigger,it now straining against his black overalls. He pulled you down the gravely trail of the camping area,it was sectioned off based on where certain stuff was allowed. He took you to the tents only area, there was a small car parked out front,and two tents.

Toys were strewn about the land,suspecting their to be a sleeping family. Vincent stopped in his tracks,slipping his hand underneath your jaw,craning your head to look at hm. He softly caressed your cheek,laying gentle kisses on your lips. In response,you did the same, but more aggressive than him. You locked your arms around his shoulder,giving him rough kisses on his scared lips.

It didn’t take long for you to end up on the hood of a strangers car,his strong hand digging into your soft thighs, the other slowly rubbing your clitoris. “I need you Vinny” you whispered. Those words alone was all he needed to hear from you,he unclipped the overalls,letting the rough fabric drop to the ground,with his boxers. He grabbed your ankles,pulling you to the edge of the car,working your pants off as well.

He held your pants and underwear over his broad shoulder,as he kissed your bare pelvis and hips. After laying loving kisses to his muse,he slowly slipped himself inside of you. No matter how slow he was going,it took you a while to get used to his size. He was more long than anything,but still had some girth to him.

He felt your wet walls massaging him,as he gripped your thighs, thrusting inside of you at a rough pace. His balls being placed snuggly between your asscheeks,before leaving once again,in a pattern. Unholy sounds erupted from both of you,heavy groans coming from his mouth,his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

He signed to you ‘I can’t believe I get to have you all to myself, I love you so fucking much’ his singing made your heart swell,as he continued his pace. You heard rustling coming from a tent,but Vincent held onto your head with his hand,making sure you only looked at him. After a while,it was finally quiet,only some quiet talking coming from a tent.

That encouraged you guys to keep going, this time he pulled out of you,stuffing himself back into his boxers. Just when you thought you were done,he lowered himself to your clitoris,licking long stripes over your puffy clit,shoving four fingers inside your hole, more than what you were used to. The pleasure made your toes curl,your lips turning a deep rose color.

After a while,he retracted his tongue,afterwards you seemed tired as hell,he put his clothes back on, as well as yours. He carried you to a nearby lake,setting you on his lap,your legs dangling off a wooden dock. He gently massaged your inner thighs with his cold hands,calming the burning redness.

[multi-lefaiye]

OC CUDDLING SCALE TAG GAME

Rules: Rate your OCs based on how they handle cuddling/being cuddled.

i had to do this right away immediately :3 ty @vacantgodling for the tag <3

with no pressure to any of y'all, i tagggg: @albatris @skitzo-kero @void-botanist @anexor @astral-runic @vampiresdrinkfruitjuice @drawnecromancy and anyone else who'd like to do this :D!

i decided to do this with the Modern Ghost Story crew, because they're on the brain.

on a scale from 0 (prickly cactus lookin ass) to 10 (god of cuddles), we have:

Roach: 4/10. Roach would be cuddlier if they weren't so deeply uncomfortable with being held or touched by most people. A lifetime of neglect and a history of abuse has made Roach... prickly, let's say. They're just not comfortable letting people that close to them, and would say no on principle id you asked. If you did cuddle with Roach, they would have to be lying on top of you or spooned up behind you, so they don't feel trapped. I think it could be a nice experience... if they were willing to try it.

Syd Ambrose: 6/10. Syd is a cuddler, but they're an anxious one. They're a very self conscious person in general and worry so much about the other person's comfort that it makes it hard for either of them to relax. If you can reassure Syd and calm them down, they're a fantastic cuddle partner, and they make an excellent, cozy pillow. If they're not totally calm, though, expect a looooot of fidgeting.

Oliver Cox: 7/10. Oliver is a great cuddler, I'm not sure what else to tell ya. He loves giving and receiving hugs, and his hugz feel fantastic. And if you're cold, he'll let you borrow his sweater. Really, he only loses points because he runs very hot temperature wise, and it might get too warm very quickly. Also if you're allergic to cats, good luck, all of his clothes have cat hair on them.

Yara Key: 8/10. Yara is a fantastic cuddler. Practically award-winning. She's super physically affectionate with those she cares about and not afraid to show it. And when it comes to cuddles, she's a champ: warm, cozy, and comfortable. She's also more than happy to let you be the big spoon if you want, but she's also happy to do so instead. She only loses points because she will not stop talking to you during it, so if you're looking to nap together... that's not happening. Chatter with the hot girl snuggling you.

Vincent Cruz: 9.5/10. The only reason he doesn't get a 10 is because no one is perfect. You wouldn't know looking at this grumpy, repressed farm boy, but he's a fucking amazing cuddler. He's a bit less openly touchy after his sister's passing, but he's always happy to give hugs to those who need them, and he's the, like, epitome of Physical Touch as a love language. If you're down, Vincent's giving you a hug.

and as a bonus:

Vulture: 1/10. Do not cuddle Vulture. And not even because he's a ghost, but because he's a creep and an asshole. He's the kind of guy who'll make a lot of snide passive aggressive comments about your weight and appearance while snuggling with you, making it clear his fatphobic ass is doing you a ~favor~ in his eyes. He still gets one point in case someone might be into the whole undead bad boy thing, but his unpleasant personality works against him I think.

[its-monster-mash]

Alright so, there’s been a sleep between me and the House of Wax rewatch, so I’m going to TRY to organize my feelings by Chronological order of the movie. This is going to get long, so there will be a cut so I don’t take up too much dash-space for people who want to scroll past.

Basics of it: Bo Sinclair apologism and Let Vincent Have Agency over his own actions. Also people are DICKS to rural people for no reason, like seriously FUCK Wade. Wade Deserved It.

So RIGHT off the bat, with Bo’s first appearance in the woods with his truck—Bo did NOTHING wrong here. I live in a very rural area(I grew up in the middle of the woods, but now I live a ten minute walk from where I used to—there are so many cows). Where I’m from, if the landowner catches you in his woods you’re as likely to get SHOT AT as not. Showing up in a truck and staring at you is kind of a universal POLITE, gun free, warning—most people WILL scramble when someone shows up if they’re trespassing in the woods.

Now, what I think Bo was doing here was taking a headcount—deciding whether or not he wanted to deal with them, and I actually think he decided AGAINST killing them.

Despite the fact that they treated him aggressively and fucked up his truck, I feel like it cannot be stressed enough that BO DID GET THE FAN BELT.

Again, as a person from the middle of nowhere, it made ME fucking furious the way Wade came into town and just started breaking into places and LITERALLY breaking things. And, without prior knowledge that the church was full of wax victims, Wade was so impatient that he just couldn’t wait for Bo to FINISH UP AT THE FUNERAL, and decided to just let himself into Bo’s shop and take a fanbelt—leaving a “This is probably enough” amount of money. The entire time ripping on rural people and how they live(not to mention how he treated LESTER. Lester 100% acted like a normal guy around here. 10/10 girls I knew growing up would have LOVED to see his knife. That was an EXTREMELY normal interaction where I’m from.).

ANYWAY BO.

Bo straight up told them they could wait for him while he went ALONE to his house to get the part(also Wade questioning that a MECHANIC has some of his stock at home?? Fuck you man), and it was Wade that insisted on going along.

I do not think Bo intended for Vincent to go Snip Snip through the floorboards. (On top of that, Wade made the DUMBEST little noises after getting sliced—Bo getting changed upstairs probably 1000% thought “Jesus Christ the fucker is blowing up my goddamn bathroom”. He may not have even known yet that Vincent got him; depending on whether or not he noticed the signs of struggle in the already kind of messy house.

(On THAT note, I got pissed as hell the way Wade was judging the Sinclair Home—like bitch you are the reason moms in the early 2000s went berserk about the house needing to be spotless when guests come.)

Bo was genuinely surprised when Carly LOCKED HIM OUT OF HIS OWN TRUCK. I feel like THAT was the point where Bo decided “Fuck it.”

I think that, up until then, Bo WAS going to fix up their car and get them on their way, because he KNEW they had a whole lot of friends who were coming back for them—Bo may not be the brightest, but I feel like he was smart enough to know that that could have got them caught or hurt.

My best friend and I joked that we would have survived our trip to Ambrose because we simply would not have been assholes. (And we would been HUGE nerds in the Wax Museum, and well, NOT took a lighter to the pieces??? Vincent probably would NOT have shanked us. Tbh we would not have gone into the Sinclair home because when Bo said “You can wait here if you want” we would have simply said “Thank you.”. Well, we wouldn’t have broken into the Museum AT ALL, but given who we are we may have ASKED Bo if we could see it.)

Now, I’m not saying Bo ISN’T a bad guy, like, he very much definitely DID lock Carly in a basement and glue her mouth shut, but I didn’t really see a whole lot of like?? Gratuitous Sadism?? Is there more in a novelization or something?? Like, he threatened her to keep her quiet—but since he and his twin are literally serial killers I think that’s pretty standard?

The fact that Carly was able to so EASILY dismantle the chair makes me kind of feel like it wasn’t really used much? I mean, Bo is a mechanic, you’d think if that were a thing he made a habit of it would be in better repair. I didn’t really get the feeling that this was like, an average Tuesday Night for Bo or anything.

(On that note, I would have been the worst victim because the MINUTE he turned the music on I would have been like “Oh shit dude I like your taste” and he would just “???” Of course, I may have met a completely DIFFERENT fate because I simply would not have locked him out of his truck. There would have been no chase.)

AND VINCENT.

I don’t get where the “Uwu Soft Boy” “Bo’s Victim” thing comes from unless people were just taking Carly’s late-movie assumptions at face value??

Like, Vincent DID very much get in a truck and go into the woods just to hunt Blake and Paige. Like, he had no reason to do that, and Bo was straight up mad about it until he settled down and told Vincent he did good and they’d fit the set. Like, Bo is the one who imprisoned Carly, but Vincent VERY MUCH WAS THE ONE WHO DID THE KILLINGS. Bo did not tell him to do any of that. It kind of makes me mad because it feels like Vincent’s agency is downplayed a lot in the fandom and that it’s just because of Bo snapping on him One(1) Time, and Carly’s assumption in the final chase.

And as far as Bo snapping on him goes!!

Bo had AN ARROW IN HIS CHEST AT THE TIME(Also Bo, I love you, but FUCK WHY DID YOU PULL THE FINS OF THE ARROW THROUGH YOUR ARM??? He should have just?? Cut the arrowhead off and pulled the SMOOTH part through?? This man). I think most people are prone to snapping when they’re in severe pain(and I think the way Vincent IMMEDIATELY rushed in to survey Bo’s wounds shows a lot about how they DO care about each other, like very clearly Vincent is not AFRIAD of Bo—considering even after he snapped Vincent was just like “Whatever, go ahead and bleed, I’m going back to fixing up my mask.”). The sibling of mine I actually KNOW is significantly younger than me, so we didn’t have any kind of antagonism with each other—largely because I was a Parentified Sibling—but every close in age pair of siblings I know can be pretty mean to each other, but always in an “ONLY I CAN PICK ON MY SIBLING” kind of way. Bo calling Vincent a “Freak” and then IMMEDIATELY taking on a softer voice and telling him how great his art is had HUGE “I’m sorry, you can hit me back, don’t tell Mom.” Energy. I really don’t think Bo abuses Vincent.

I mean, he said “You’re not supposed to go anywhere WITHOUT ME”, which implies that they DO go places together; and given how easily Vincent killed everyone he killed in the movie, it makes a LOT of sense that Bo wouldn’t want him going out alone. Especially if(and this is my own speculation) Bo is used to always being around to “Protect” Vincent from people who would make fun of him.

>Inserting this here because I forgot to mention it: I genuinely think all the killing started while Trudy was still alive, because Bo talks about how he and Vincent can “Finish what she started”. Additionally, in the beginning of the movie, Lester gives that little speech about how people can “get used to a lot”. That makes me feel like the brothers were probably RAISED to do the things that they do(supported by the fact that the fucked up machinery Vincent puts his victims in looks OLD, so it’s not unlikely that Trudy used it first). That doesn’t absolve Bo and Vincent, of course, but it does make them ALSO victims.

Moving on to Carly’s speculation at the end—she CLEARLY pissed Vincent off. I mean, she just BEAT HIS BROTHER TO DEATH and then called BO a freak and suggested that BO was behind everything. Not only did she kill HIS twin(and she and Nick would know better than anyone how much pain Vincent must have been feeling in that moment) but she called BO a Freak too. Given the amount of abuse Vincent watched his parents hurl at Bo, that was probably a rehashing of how he felt when his parents would bind and beat Bo and yell horrible things at him. (Also like, FUCK, the fact that Bo’s high chair STILL has fucking blood on it??? Like their father was a DOCTOR, and he just made Bo sit and eat with his Rotting Old Blood right there??? FUCK.)

And finally, Lester sitting on the back of his truck at the end of the movie, Jonesy sitting with him—he was probably waiting around for some sign of what happened to his brothers, and THAT breaks my goddamn heart.

But like, bottom line, I don’t think Bo was the “Evil Twin” much in the same way that Nick wasn’t actually that bad of a guy. The Sinclairs are obviously the result of a very fucked up upbringing, but aside from the whole wax thing and the locking Carly in the basement, Bo actually feels like a pretty normal dude??? By slasher standards??? I definitely don’t get any kind of a “Bo is the mastermind” vibes from the movie—it feels very much more like this is just the life that’s been NORMAL to Bo and Vincent for so long.

Yeah, they should have just left Ambrose and NOT kept killing, but Bo is CLEARLY still trying to get his mother’s love, and I don’t think Vincent even WANTS to stop. I don’t think Bo would have ever left Vincent even if HE wanted to stop.

[melrose012]

Favourite moments / segments masterlist: Part 2

Rolleigns

1. Actual children

2. Seth tapping that ass tagging himself in 

3. Seth dry humping Roman in the middle of the ring

4. Seth thrusting his hips towards Roman during a match

5. A heated moment

6. Hold my hand

7. Bratty Seth. Daddy Roman

8. Roman is gorgeous. Seth is affected

9. A sweet moment

10. Finding strength in each other

11. Title be damned. Roman is hurt

12. Teamwork

13. Friends stick together

14. Handle with care

15. Roman likes to go commando and Seth is shook

16. Seth thinks he's the man. Roman wants him to prove it

17. The messiah meets The tribal chief

18. Roman blushes as Seth points out how good looking he is

19. Aggressive compliments

20. The honeymoon phase

21. Carpool karaoke

22. Roman announces he is in remission

23. The way they look at each other

24. The audacity!!!

25. No words needed

26. You'll always be my little brother

27. Seth plays with Roman's emotions on SmackDown

28. Oh...OH!

29. Royal Rumble 2022

30. Roman eliminates Seth from the 2018 Royal Rumble Match

The Shield

1. Dean ‘mobile phone dispenser’ Ambrose

2. Reunited

3. I hate to see you go but i love to watch you leave

4. Dean Ambrose issues an open challenge for his United States Championship. Mark Henry answers it

5. Dean is being over-dramatic, Roman's eye is hurting and Seth's just annoyed

6. Dean and Seth celebrate with Roman after he wins the Intercontinental Championship

7. The Erik Rowan mask debate

8. Dean sings 'The ballad of Ziggler' while Roman tries his best to keep a straight face

9. Arriving in style

10. First WrestleMania

11. Dean...DEAN!!

12. What's my name?

13. Roman and his boys

14. Debut

15. Double-Triple Powerbomb

16. Nah

17. Dean's dance and Roman and Seth's hug

18. Dean was just trying to help

19. What are you gonna do Vickie, spank us?

20. The Shield are NOT PONIES!!

21. The Shield get arrested

22. The Shield show Brad Maddox who's boss

23. The Shield powerbomb Braun Strowman through the announce table

24. Temporary reunion

25. Seth's going grey, Dean's going bald and Roman doesn't want to accept it

26. Dean's little dance when Roman riders him a drink

27. Dean's ninja roll out of the car

28. Survivor Series 2017

29. This whole segment

30. Dean disscusses his chest hair

31. TLC 2012

32. Royal Rumble 2014

33. The Shield arrive in a tank

34. Slammy Awards 2013

35. Dean headbanging to Braun Strowman’s entrance theme while Roman and Seth just act like nothing is happening

36. Seth's impressive move set during their match against The Wyatt Family

37. Roman’s hurt, Dean is worried and Seth is trying to keep Dean calm

38. The Shield reunite [temporarily] to Triple Power Bomb Randy Orton through the announce table

39. The Shield re-group after their match against Evolution

40. The Shield celebrated Dean's United States Championship win

41. The Shield celebrate Roman and Seth's Tag Team Championship win

42. Three man pin

[redwolf17]

sorry to be a bother but do you think you could refresh my memory on who the ladies-in-waiting for arya, rhaenys, cersei, margaery were/are? the recent chapter where we got more info on sansas ladies got me thinking

Oh boy, this is going to get messy. For the sake of time, I'm just going to copy paste the notes that I have for each set of ladies.

Margaery's ladies at Winterfell

Alla Tyrell: likes to sing, shy, plays woodharp, fond of Ser Tallad the Tall, but unlikely he'll win her... still, her parents are giving him time to prove himself before arranging a betrothal to someone else; age is same as Sansa roughly

Meredyth Crane: always has a funny tale, likes hawking; a few years older than Margaery

Wynafryd and Wylla Manderly

Alys Karstark

Catelyn Bracken

Arya's Ladies up North (ages as of tourney of Winterfell August 301)

Catelyn Bracken- age 19, betrothed killed in WotFK???????? Rides horses and LOVES prayer

Wynafryd Manderly- 20 in 301, 23 in 304 (baby Wyman born mid March 303; got pregnant early January 303, due at end of September 304)

Wylla Manderly- age 13 (Davos guessed her age wrong in canon; thin high voice; likes poetry and sewing albeit with bright colors)

Cornel Umber (girl, age 16, named for mountain flower; betrothed to a Burley (clans); likes sewing and trad fem stuff? Hint that Hoarfrost will expect same when Arya flowers and puts away her wildling nonsense?)

Alys Karstark (16, a tall, skinny, coltish girl. She weaves her brown hair into a braid and has a small bosom. The pale girl has a long face, a pointy chin, blue-grey eyes, and small ears... stubborn, determined, pushy! But likes to sing and excited for marriage/kids/running a keep)

Rhea Royce- 20 in 301; lost her husband to a tourney accident not two years after they were wed (no kids)

Rhaenys's ladies

Obella Sand -> Uller, 16, betrothed to Bors Gargalen; will serve Rhaenys for a few years before she weds. loves poetry (also writes it), Reach chivalry = YES!!!! Catnip for her! She's middling at cyvasse, daydreams, prefers to sleep late, despite her betrothed, still crushing on every handsome youth her age in sight, but smart enough to only flirt, stay chaste

Elinor Tyrell: willowy, witty, likes to read, newly married to Alyn Ambrose, heir of his house; age 18; has Elinor read aloud often; she's good at it; used to serve Margaery

Megga Tyrell: fat, loud, enjoys kissing games, sewing, bad singing voice, betrothed to a Bulwer cousin; she's 17; used to serve Margaery

Cersei's ladies

I don't have notes for them, partially because they mostly came up earlier, partially because Cersei really doesn't give a crap about them as human beings versus as servants and pawns

But here's their introduction in the fic:

Jocelyn Swyft was meek as a mouse, and gullible besides. She'd told Sansa quite sincerely that the recent rains were the gods weeping for Lord Tywin. Cerissa Brax did needlework in a haze, when she wasn't reading from The Seven-Pointed Star. The War of Five Kings had taken her father and two of her brothers, and she was deep in mourning. Melesa Crakehall and Darlessa Marbrand were more shrewd, but if they saw the queen's odd behavior, they refused to acknowledge it.

Melesa was a brisk, big-boned woman, the wife of Ser Lyonel Frey. How on earth old Lord Walder Frey had managed to wed his son Emmon to Genna Lannister, Lord Tywin's only sister, Sansa did not know. However the marriage happened, Lady Genna had never left Casterly Rock, though she had given her Frey husband four sons, including Lyonel. Melesa had quite coldly told Sansa that she was lucky to serve the queen, considering her brother's treachery against the crown and her own disrespect.

"Madness is no excuse for such vile behavior," the lady told her, aggressively stabbing her needle through the brindled boar she was stitching. "The laws of the Seven do not apply to traitors."

Darlessa Marbrand was even more ill-tempered, with her constant jibes about the barbarity of northerners and their demon gods. Despite her hostility, Sansa pitied her. Lady Darlessa was the widow of Tygett Lannister, one of Lord Tywin's younger brothers. Her husband had died of a pox years ago, and she had lost her only son in the bread riots. Nor did she seem to enjoy serving Queen Cersei, who was demanding and gracious by turns. So Sansa let the cruel words pass over her, and focused on her stitches.

I think I gave her a couple of other ladies later on, Taena Merryweather after Meria left and a few others who came/went pretty quickly. 

[beauzos]

I haven't talked about it too extensively, but here's some dynamics Vincent has back home:

Mimi Augustus - his wife, whom he tries to forget about all the time back in Texas. They're actually good friends-- or were, until Vincent came back. He tries to perform being the same guy he's always been for her, but they've been married for like, 14 years, and she can read him like a book sometimes. But the more she tries to prod into why he's acting and feeling so off, the more closed off and aggressive he becomes. Part of that also stems from influence the stag has on the both of them, but it's fine. He constantly regrets how he treats her, but can't stop himself, either. It's a constantly pendulum of snapping and aggression, then kindness and gentleness to compensate for what he's done. He needs her help but he refuses to accept it. By the end, he thinks he'll deserve whatever happens to him.

Ava Augustus - his daughter. Yeah, it's easy to forget he has a whole child but he does KRKFN and honestly they were very close prior to him leaving for Texas. Ava has always been a bit of a daddy's girl and Vincent absolutely adores her, but I get the feeling Ava is going to be an afterthought for him and Mimi once the plot takes off no matter how much she tries to understand what's happening. There's so much shit to worry about and neither of them want to get her involved, and eventually it's better to just remove her from their household entirely until things get better or something finally gives. Whatever comes first.

Elizabeth Augustus Montgomery - his older sister. I never thought about it but Vincent's life is dominated by women back home. She's sharp-tongued and has quite the spine compared to Vincent, and though she teases him a lot, they get along exceptionally well. Liz is also best friends with Mimi, so she's a staple of their home. The Augustus home (which, coincidentally, was her and Vincent's childhood home to begin with) is practically a second home for Liz to the point she and her husband lived with Mimi while Vincent was gone. She's really tough on him when she has to be; she keeps Vincent in check, basically, and although he's a prideful man, he does listen to her, or tries to. Eventually, it'll be the thing that drives a huge wedge between herself and Vincent. The more she pushes on how he treats Mimi (very poorly by the end of SDTA) or his secretiveness, the more he hates her.

Ambrose Montgomery - his brother-in-law. This probably won't be a very relevant dynamic at all, but I may as well mention him. Vincent has never really gotten along with Ambrose. Ambrose is extremely arrogant, rude, and snarky, and he's never liked Vincent in return. He thinks Vincent is spineless and soft, and Vincent thinks he's rude and overly critical. Neither is necessarily wrong about the other. It's hard to tell whether Ambrose and Liz even get along, but Liz is the only person who can rein him in at all because she's equally snarky and outspoken. He's pretty indifferent to things, and honestly the more time goes on, wants less and less to do with his wife's family, but he'll probably be stuck helping Liz raise Ava in the end.

Salmon & Hiram Wilson - his bosses & uncles. The Wilson brothers aren't actually related to Vincent's family at all, but they've always been like family to Vincent and Liz, but Vincent especially (though I think Salmon's got a soft spot for Liz, he loves that she's a tough bitch lol). Hiram is very quiet and serious, and tries to steer Vincent in the right direction. He has no children of his own and is terribly paternal towards the Augustus children, even well into their 30s and 40s. Salmon is kind of a complete cunt, but a loving one, at least. He teases and jabs at Vincent constantly and finds him a little lame, but wants the best for him. Hiram gives constructive critiques, but Salmon will go hard onto Vincent if he thinks Vincent is doing the wrong thing or if he's just pissing Salmon off. Another bridge to be burned by Vincent in the end.

Nicholas Pierce - his childhood best friend. I'm not certain when they met in childhood exactly, but probably as pre-teens. Vincent and Nick were always extremely close, and I think Vincent was in love with him for as long as they knew each other (and probably similar for Nick) but neither ever acted on it. They lived together in college and did everything together for a time. Nick ended up finding a wife first and Vincent probably sobbed his eyes out for months leading up to and including at Nick's wedding. He's always been very clingy to Nick, though it lessened as they both got married and matured. Vincent stopped being so emotional (or at least began suppressing that part of himself) and they grew apart, though they stayed friendly. By the time Vincent gets back from Texas, they probably haven't spoken in a couple of years. Vincent tries to rekindle their friendship out of sheer loneliness and desperation, but I don't think it'll work out. He'll try to force their romance again even though neither loves the other in that way anymore and then he'll shut Nick out out of fear of destroying him. Nick will never know what Vincent was going through, and he'll be left feeling sick for the rest of his life every time he remembers his old friend.

[tiredspacedragon]

For that ask game thing you reblogged:

31 and 32. Three favorite male names and 3 favorite female names. I like hearing people's opinions on this.

Oof, these are both hard but for opposite reasons. There are so many women's names I think are gorgeous, so it's hard to narrow it down to 3 I like the most. Meanwhile men's names are just really, aggressively bland 95% of the time. I can't think up enough for them! Here we go though!

31: a) Conor. I like Conner and Connor as well, but I favour the Irish spelling in particular. I'm fond of the sound of this one in general, but part of why I like it is because it was almost my name. It didn't make the final cut of course (no actual name of mine will be appearing on this list for privacy reasons, but I do quite like my actual name), but in some alternate universe out there, my name is Conor, and I think that's neat.

b) Ambrose. This one has a long, complicated history that I honestly don't particularly want to get into, but suffice to say it's the name of an OC I've been carrying around for more than a few years now :P

c) Cal, or any variation thereupon. So Callum, Calvin, etc. I'm not crazy about this one, but it's one that I keep coming back to as one I solidly like. I'm just a sucker for hard C's I guess.

32: a) Forsythia, shortened to Thia or Thea. I don't honestly know why I like this name so much. The Forsythia bush is a very pretty plant, but I have no special connection to it outside my fondness for the name. I just really like the sound. If at any point in my life I have a daughter, this is what I would like to name her. I would love a little Thea.

b) Kira. Yet another where I can't articulate exactly why I like, but this one has always stuck with me since I first heard it. It has a good balance of elegance and sharpness to it, I suppose. And yeah, another hard C/K name, big surprise.

c) Any variant of Sab, so Sabrina, Sabine, Sabina, Sabryn, etc. Something about these is just striking to me. Maybe it's that it almost sounds like they were derived from saber, which I'm fairly certain they were not, but the point stands. I feel like they stand out.

[artwithoutblood]

[holding u at wax-point] Who does everyone main in Mario Kart and how would yoy describe their playstyles?

AUHGHGHGHGHGH

erebus mains shy guy. keeps a shell on him 24/7. kart user.

genesis mains bowser jr. stays in the back places on purpose for item boosts. bike user.

aeron mains rosalina. tokyo drift king. lots of flips. bike user.

dorian mains the female villager. doesn't really get it but he has a good time. lets his loved ones win. bike user.

adonis mains daisy. very quiet player. always ends up at the top. kart user.

ambrose mains inkling boy. falls off a lot. says it's a strategy to get the little guy to take you up further. kart user.

kayn mains dry bones. very aggressive actually. freak. bike user.

[tricobicoart]

su half agate si au 3: amnesiac chaos trio mae aka i need a shorter name for the tf2 mae au that still emphasizes that she got amnesia

summary & ramblings between me & atlas under the cut!

Basically mae takes a big hit to her head & a little to her gem (which may or may not be related to Medic fiddling w it when they find her & stopping immediately when it starts to crack like "oopsie", haven't decided yet), loses all her memories past landing in the danvs universe & giving less shits/relapsing into depression self-destructive habits, is taken in by the mercenaries, and then is super suspicious when apollo & dan show up to rescue zer

ath: SHE GETS IT ALL BACK EVENTUALLY BUT NOT BEFORE WHEN THEY COME FIND HER & ARE AGGRESSIVE TOWARDS/OPPOSE THE MERCS SHE GETS SUSPICIOUS & AGGRESSIVE AND THEN SHE HAS A NIGHTMARE ABT THE TWO GROUPS HURTING/KILLING EACH OTHER PERMANENTLY & IS LIKE "WHY WAS THAT UPSETTING I DIDN'T EVEN KNO--HMMMMM"

atlas: EVIL!!! ABSOLUTELY DETESTABLE/LH YOU KNOW APOLLO FUCKS THE MERCS UP A FEW TIMES BEFORE THEY GIVE UP ON KILLING HIM AND MAE IS LIKE "STOP HURTING MY FRIENDS!!!" AND DAN IS LIKE "YEAH! STOP HURTING US!" "WHO TF ARE YOU TWO?? YOU'RE NOT MY FRIENDS, I DONT EVEN KNOW YOU!!"

ath: KJFSDGFKLJG YEAH EXACTLY!!!! LSDJGK MAE, WELL-VERSED IN STORY CLICHES AND HOW MANY OF THEM HAVE APPLIED TO HER LIFE(COUGH COUGH ENTIRE SU SERIES COUGH COUGH): NICE FUCKING BRAINWASHING TRY, PEOPLE WHO ARE CLEARLY MY ENEMIES JUST TRYING TO GET ME ON THEIR SIDE!!

and then later back at the base she's like "that scrungly guy was kinda cute tho" engineer: what adjective did you just use to describe him??????

atlas: JDSFHJKSDFGHJKHSDGJHSDGSDHFGSHJDFG apollo, leaning towards dan and whispering: should i tell her that i can actually control minds? JKHGDFJHGSDFJHGSDFHGFS ENGIE JUST "what in tarnation"

ath: JFJDSLKJGLKJH Dan: Don't see why not SPY JUST WALKING BY GOING "what horrid ""tumblr"" phrase did you spew at him this time"

atlas: SLAJKDHJUKASDFGJHDFGGHJDFGHGJDFGHSJDFGGHSDF Apollo, just boosting up his 'charm', walking towards Mae with a cocky grin: oh sweetheart, if i wanted to mind control you, i already would've done it. <3 KJHDSFKJHSDGFJHSGFDJFGSDJHDGF "i just said the scrungly guy was cute!!!" ".....which one is that supposed to be?"

ath: Mae, finger and thumb on her chin: As terrifying at that statement is, it is true. *grins rudely* You especially coulda done it when i was beating your ass earlier.

"bsdf--wha--THE SCRUNGLY ONE OBVIOUSLY!! WITH THE SCRUFF AND SCRUNGLE!!"

atlas: APOLLO JUST WHEEZING AND SPUTTERING BC GDI, HE LOVES THIS ASSHOLE/POS "OHHH, the short, irate one with bad facial hair?" "HES CUTE!! IN A SCRUNGLY WAYYYY!"

ath: SDL;GKHSGH YEAH AND HER GRIN'S LIKE. BARELY MENACING BC SHE'S CLEARLY SO PROUD OF HERSELF FOR THE ROAST/POS JSHGKLJSF LKMAOOOO MAE GETS HARASSED FOR AHVING MEDIOCRE TASTE/J/LH

atlas: APOLLO KNOWS HER TOO WELL!!!!!!!!/LH/HJ ADHKDDJKDDHJDF MAE POINTING AT A PICTURE OF AMBROSE: if my taste is bad, what does it make yours?

ath: YEAH!!!!

KDGJNJFGKFDSLJGKFG SPY JUST SPUTTERS

atlas: SPY CAUGHT IN 4K

So basically Mae gets taken in by the blu mercs, they become fond of each other, she graduates from on-base intern to in-battle backup to a scout(they nickname her Flanker or Midfielder to tell the two scouts apart), sometime along the way they meet Apollo & Dan, and then the events of the comics happen after the chaos trio gets separated again by some plot device or another. Also zhe definitely fuses with Scout at one or more points, and maybe some other mercs.

[majesticwren]

The Hanging Tree (Dean Ambrose | Jon Moxley x OFC)

Summary: Are you, are you comin' to the tree? Where they strung up a man, they say, who murdered three — She is on a path looking for war as her fate foretold. And he has war within him. Both, thirsty for vengeance, justice and blood.

Words: 11k. Trigger Warning/s: Mention of a Fight, Mention of Past Trauma, Mention of PTSD, Toxic Working Out as a Coping Mechanism, Mention of Eating Disorder if you squint, Mention of Injuries, Mention of Paganism, Mention of Dissociation, Mention of Sex, Interminable Lift Rides are canon in this universe thanks. Tags: my lovely @hirunoka and honorary mention to @literaryuppsala, thank you both for all the support 💕Let me know if you'd like to be added 🌻

← Previous Chapter | Next Chapter  →  Masterpost Playlist

Chapter 6 - Excape.

Part I.

“So, the problem is taken care of?”

The nod that Valkyrie offered to Sylvia was quick and cold. Her sharp gaze lacked interest or warmth as she looked around the room. She was completely detached. Her chest was still aching, her emotions were still all over the place, and her nerves were so sore and uncovered, as she was doing everything in her power to deny her pain and that tremendous longing that made her feel so cold inside. The only feeling she allowed herself to feel was anger. It was so easy to ignore how lonely, scared and desperate she felt when she was furious. Nothing mattered much to her but the idea of fighting.

And she was so ready for a fight. A big one. Where blood would be drawn and people would have gotten injured, she didn’t even care if that was her or her opponent, as soon as she would get to hurt someone.

Naturally, the perfect occasion was served right in her lap when Randy Orton decided to be so vocal about his desire for a rematch. He was one of the reasons for her despair. He was the reason why her path crossed Dean’s in the first place. And now, he was her chosen victim.

She knew, deep down, that he wasn't completely guilty. If anyone was at fault, it was her. And if she had to choose anyone to be her villain, that was Wyatt. But, at the same time, she didn't care enough for specifics. Randy wanted to fight her. So, she would have given him the fight of his fucking life.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“So, can you guarantee there won’t be any sudden appearances by a certain someone that we don’t want to associate with?”

When Sylvia spoke again, trying to get her attention, Valkyrie shot her a dangerous look. “I said yes.”

She wasn’t only livid; she was straight scary. Her serious features seemed to instil the right emotion into the woman sitting next to her, making her shiver.

Valkyrie hoped she bit her tongue and learned her place.

The wound pushing Dean away left inside of her was too deep and too painful, still gushing with fresh, raw emotion, for her to even consider being anything but protective or straightforward aggressive about it.

Sylvia was another Valkyrie considered guilty. She may have risen a valid point and she may have had her interests at heart, but she was also so clearly not a fan of Dean. That, Valkyrie didn’t like.

"OK, OK. Sorry."

Releasing a frustrated sigh, Valkyrie did her best to appear like she was relaxing on the sofa in the corner of the office room they were called to a meeting, but she was a bad liar. And she really struggled to sit still.

Her eyes fell on her lawyer, who was preparing some kind of paperwork on the table right in front of them.

That was the moment that the door was rudely opened as a group of men barged in. Between them stood tall and proud Orton. Sylvia immediately stood up, welcoming them with words Valkyrie didn’t listen to, her eyes moved on the Viper like a predator would do looking at her next meal. He matched her gaze with a sharp look, not taking his attention off her for a second regardless of what was happening around him.

Valkyrie pulled a satisfied, cold smile, stretching forward and resting her elbows on her knees, manspreading on purpose. Extreme confidence and dangerous determination poured out of her as she looked through the room.

“I trust this will be a short one. My client is a busy man.” As one of the men around Randy spoke, he exchanged looks with everyone around him, as if he was looking to get their support.

Valkyrie pulled a disgusted, unimpressed pout. Sometimes she hated men so much.

Regardless of the high horse, they all appeared to be sitting on, none had enough decency to know manners. And surely, they didn’t care enough to try and remember what it meant to introduce themselves. Not that Valkyrie cared. As much as she wasn’t interested in the fact that, so far, none of Randy’s followers ever acknowledged her.

So, as everyone around them moved to grab a seat, she stayed right where she was, letting Sylvia do the talking. At least for that, she trusted her manager knew exactly what to do.

“It will be. We do not want to keep Mr Orton from losing any more- Time.” The pause was intended and Valkyrie loved it almost as much as she loved the group of men's reaction. Especially Randy’s. It was as if an uncovered nerve was struck.

“So,” Sylvia began, “we went through your request and Valkyrie will accept the rematch.”

“She doesn’t have a choice. The board had reviewed her case-”

“Ah-ah,” Sylvia raised her hand, waving her finger into the man’s face, “I wasn’t done talking, darling. As I said, Valkyrie accepted the request for a rematch. The only condition my client requires is that it may be a last man standing, no rules match.”

Despite the fact that the men surrounding Randy uncertainly looked at each other, he seemed to miss their queue and started laughing so loud the walls trembled.

“You’ve got some fucking nerve.” He hissed, looking right at her. And finally, his little group turned their attention towards her too.

Valkyrie's smile was as sweet as poison. “Are you scared?”

His expression suddenly changed, froze by hatred. “No rules except one,” his attention only moved on Sylvia briefly, “no tag team action. No interferences. I know how this gig works. If she is down the bell goes off, and I’ll be the winner. No fucking saviour act from no one. Hear me?”

One of Randy’s lawyers moved a hand in front of him trying to appease him. “I believe what my client is trying to say,”

“Oh, we understand what your client is trying to say. This will be a last-man-standing, no-rules match. In case of external intermission to the support of any party, then the match will be automatically interrupted.” Sylvia was so accommodating and professional. If it had been left to Valkyrie, she would have solved it so easily, slamming Orton’s face right on the table.

“No.” Randy didn’t even blink, not lifting his attention from Valkyrie for a second. “This won’t involve both of us. I work alone, I have no allies. I am not known to do this shit.” He pointed a finger towards her. “You will agree on not pulling any shit like that.”

“You are the one who’s asking for a rematch. I set the rules.” Valkyrie lifted her chin, only to be corrected by one of Randy’s lawyers.

“That is not entirely correct, you are invited to a rematch but if you refuse you would still have to respond to the board. The case has been reviewed and your actions were against the rules.”

“And chocking a man in his own blood wasn’t?” She snapped without even thinking about the fact that her interest in the matter was personal and it was written all over her face.

“Not according to Mr Ambrose's concern, no.”

Valkyrie did her best not to react in any way to that name, at least on the surface. Inside a shiver crossed her from head to toe – as if she needed a physical reminder of her connection to Dean.

Of course, it wasn’t his concern. He was a man that fed on chaos and loved violence, spreading it or receiving it didn’t much matter, it didn’t mean that Dean was always right and especially it didn’t mean that what was done to him was morally correct. She had to force herself with every fibre of her being not to roll her eyes.

Her eyes slowly rolled back on Randy. “I’ll get you your match, be sure of that.”

Part II

Another day, another empty, sterile hotel room.

As soon as Valkyrie checked in, she dropped her bag in the corner, as usual, not even interested in unpacking. Not when she was supposed to be on the move again the following day.

Her unimpressed gaze crossed the big room, not finding anything in particular that caught her attention. This one had colourful pieces of art hanging on the walls, and yet, none had a personality.

The smell of pristine cleanliness made her nauseous.

She redirected her attention to the window, looking outside searching for something that caught her interest. The view over some tall buildings, with their cement and steel skeletons and curtains of glass or stone, growing from asphalted streets so busy she could hear the noise of traffic even being quite high up, didn’t impress her.

She knew they were in a big city, but to her, it was only another place and never home.

Nothing interested her.

The buildings, streets and corners of every city were similar to the next. Everything was grey and black, shaped with hard corners. Every piece of green land was confined. Every monument and statue represented a history far from her origin. It was all the same, just as much as every arena was the same, and every fight was just another fight.

Such was her life.

With a heavy sigh, she decided she could have gone for a run. It wasn’t that she needed it, and surely it wasn't because she wanted an excuse to explore her surroundings. She needed to keep moving if she wanted to survive.

She needed to move because standing still only made her think about the dreadful feeling breaking through her, freezing her heart. The idea of being passive, even if only for a second, made her torn chest ache as the echo of everything she had lost roared through her tired bones.

Nothing ever interested Valkyrie but getting her revenge and going home. Except for Dean.

He interested her. He moved her. He alone became a reason for her to want to notice the world around her, to want to feel what being human meant.

But she couldn't have him.

Forcing herself to dissociate and forget about all of her burning feelings and pain, Valkyrie changed in her gear and left.

Running helped her turn her brain off. Focusing on her breathing and movements forced her mind to be quiet and that's what she wanted.

And she ran.

She ran until she wasn't sure how far she had gone. Until her muscles burned so much, she thought she wouldn't be able to go any further. That was the moment she turned and ran some more, tracing the same distance backwards, pushing her body on the edge of exhaustion.

When she arrived at the hotel even breathing was difficult, let alone moving. Every muscle in her body painfully burned and ached, every step made her feel discomfort, and yet, a tired smile curved her lips. It was impossible to think about anything else when she was in those conditions, and her physical pain covered up her emotional dread pretty well.

But her inner peace was only an illusion, just as fleeting as the memory of a feeling in a dream.

As soon as she stepped into the lobby, still trying to catch her breath, getting rid of the fingerless, leather gloves she wore for her run, her attention was caught by the dark shadow of a big frame she knew well. 

“Hello Roman,” she tiredly said, acknowledging the man siding her with a quick nod.

She shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, they had been spending time together, becoming somewhat close to being friends. That, at least, until she broke things off with Dean.

“I’ve tried reaching you.”

“Yeah- sorry, I’ve been busy.”

“Ok.” She could so easily pick the annoyed tone in his deep voice. “Make time for me then, will you?”

“This is not a good time, Roman.” She sighed tiredly, heading for the lift.

The man didn’t appear to be interested in excuses and, not caring for appearances either, pulled rudely on her arm, imposing her to stop and look up at him. “We need to talk.”

As she tried to wiggle her way out of his hold, Roman’s grab became tighter, just as much as his gaze became colder.

“You are hurting me.” She tried to plea, only to see the man’s features change from detached to furious.

She had always known Roman to be a patient, calm, sweet big guy. But now he was straightforward scary, which, automatically, set her into a fight or flight response state. And she was all for the fight.

Valkyrie gave him a strong push pulling her arm off his clutch. “What the fuck Roman?!”

“You hurt him.” A few words that hit her right in the chest.

Roman didn’t give in and didn’t intend to back off. His expression was serious and inquisitive. And she should have imagined he would have come for her, sooner or later.

He was right.

He was right about being pissed off at her behaviour. And he had every right to be as protective of Dean as he was. She did hurt him. She deserved to be called out for it. Yet, even if she knew better, it didn’t mean she was willing to accept it. Being proud and angry was much easier than being sorry.

So, she pointed a finger right into Roman’s face, seemingly making him even angrier. “Stay out of it. It’s none of your business.”

He moved closer to her, towering over her in a threatening way, absolutely unconcerned about her warning. “He is my business. You are damn stupid if you think otherwise. What the fuck is wrong with you?! I would have never encouraged you if I knew you only wanted to toy with him this way.”

His words struke a nerve inside of her. Valkyrie so visibly froze as Roman words crossed her mind. She had to bite hard into her tongue not to reply in an aggressive or defensive type of way. She hated to be known as the one who had played with Dean’s feelings because that wasn’t at all what had happened. And it wasn’t reflecting how she felt at all. She cared about him more than she was allowed to admit. Not being by his side was painful. Every second she spent away from him made her body and spirit ache deeply.

But she couldn’t explain that. It was her burden alone to carry. And maybe it was better that way. Maybe, if Roman was angry at her, resenting her for what she did to Dean, then it would have been another step that would make it easier to stay away.

“He is a grown man. And he wouldn’t like to know you are babysitting him.”

Roman growled. “I’ve broke people’s arms for way less than this.”

“Yeah?! Do you want to fight me, big guy?”

The answer to her question was so easily read in the way he stood, with his tensed shoulders and clenched fists. Roman seemed to need a second to collect his thoughts before he shook his head. “The only reason why I am giving you so much time to explain yourself is because of him.”

The attention of a few people around them fell on them for a while now, but she noticed only as one of the receptionists moved closer.

“Ma’am, are you ok?” He asked, ignoring Roman and looking right at Valkyrie.

Her breathing was laboured, but it wasn’t fear. She was trying to control her anger. She didn’t want to make a scene. And especially, she didn’t want to hurt Roman, even if he was swinging so close to pushing her over the edge, risking unleashing her wrath.

It was wrong. And it was backward. But it was certainly easier than accepting she did, in fact, hurt Dean. She didn’t need any more reasons to drop everything and ran back to him to find refuge in his arms for the rest of her life.

Valkyrie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and everyone around her. Raising a hand in front of Roman, hoping to appease him, she nodded towards the receptionist. “Yes, sorry about this, my friend and I are just having a misunderstanding.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing. Shall I call security, Ma’am?”

Roman rolled his eyes to the ceiling, releasing a chuckle. “Kid,” he began, looking at the guy, “do you know this woman would totally fuck me up in a fight, don’t you? You should call security to protect me.”

“Uh-”

“Please, don’t call security, I am fine.” She reassured the receptionist just before sending Roman a crossed look. His words weren’t at all helpful. “And you, stop it.”

The receptionist sent them a confused look, to which both of them responded with an awkward smile. When he left, shaking his head, definitely judging them, Valkyrie turned, calling a lift with a deep sigh.

Roman didn’t leave her side and she suspected that as soon as the lift bell would ding, he would have followed her. And just as she imagined, it happened.

Once inside she pressed the button on her floor. Roman didn’t. He just moved to the back of the lift, leaning against the sparkly cleaned mirror. Valkyrie did her best to ignore his presence, fidgeting with the leather gloves she carried and moving her weight from one foot to the other. Her eyes were planted on the lift doors.

That must have been the slowest lift ever built.

“He cares about you.” Roman finally said after interminable seconds. He gave his anger up just as easily as she did. He was only tired and worried, now. "Whatever happened, you pushed him over the edge and he doesn't have control now. He is out of his mind."

Trying to pretend she didn’t care was so fucking exhausting.

“I can’t do this right now.” She broke her cover-up act with a tired sigh. Maybe, she wasn’t all about the fight. For the first time, she rathered run away.

“You owe me an explanation.”

“I don’t owe you anything.”

“You hurt him. And you know it,” Roman didn’t back down, ignoring how his words, “I won’t let you get away with it. Your only option is to tell me what happened.”

“Nothing happened, Roman. There’s nothing to say.”

“No? I call bullshit.”

The bell in the lift dinged, signalling they had arrived on her floor. To that point, she didn't even bother to check, she knew Roman was following her, being stubborn and relentless as usual.

"It's better this way, trust me."

"Why? How is it better? Why did you hide from me as well?"

"I thought it would be a conflict of interests for you."

"Fuck that, you know you're feeding me crap."

Valkyrie sighed, leaning against the door. "Roman-" She raised her eyes at him, letting a silent plea escape her gaze. "I'm tired and I need a shower."

"I am happy to wait."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "I've got a match tonight I need to get ready and get going I-" another sigh broke her words, "I can't think about this now."

"Well, you are going to have to. This is the consequence. I won't leave this floor until you tell me what the fuck is going on and then maybe I can consider not disliking you."

"Save yourself some time then."

"I can't. I liked you too much to just hate you for what you did to him. Now, out with it."

She could have lied. She could have so easily found a stupid excuse to make Roman hate her and get rid of the problem. Maybe forever, if she was smart enough. But she wasn't smart.

She couldn’t lie.

Not when it was about that.

Not when it concerned Dean. Because everything she felt about that man was too pure and too strong to be polluted in any way.

Valkyrie opened the door to her room and stepped in, leaving it open so Roman could follow her.

"Just find yourself somewhere to sit." She tiredly pointed towards the inside. "I'll have a shower if you'd allow me that much."

"As I said, I'm happy to wait." His voice was grave but calm again. It was as if he trusted the small crack she allowed him to notice in her strong spirit.

She just nodded, after which point, she couldn't care less about what Roman decided to do around her room. He was just like any piece of furniture; she barely noticed him and was too exhausted to care enough about his presence.

It bothered her that he forced himself into her space and it was annoying that he was pushing her to face him. She felt like she was pushed against a corner and she couldn’t fight her way out of it, for once. It’s not like she couldn’t do it, it was simply that she didn’t want to.

Roman was a friend. If not hers, then Dean’s. Basically, a brother to him. So, she didn’t have the heart to ruin her reputation in front of him. Maybe she was a coward. Maybe she just wasn’t as tough as she thought she was. And if that was the case, then so be it.

Valkyrie picked up a change of clean clothes without paying too much attention to it. As soon as it was comfortable stuff, she was happy. Her closet wasn’t at all complicated, mostly she wore gym wear regardless. Jeans were occasional but her second favourite thing; was very easy to maintain and put together in an outfit. And the palette of colours she wore was mostly black. Occasionally grey stuff. Again, easy to match and wear without requiring her to lose time thinking about that stuff.  Then, she headed to the bathroom.

Behind the door she found herself being grateful for the loneliness and quiet that space granted her. Valkyrie took a deep breath. Then another. Oxygen seemed to be cleared in there. Funny how she felt like the cage she was trapped in every breathing second she spent on that Earth was becoming smaller and smaller.

It took a while for her to finish her shower. Mostly because she hid under the hot water jet for a very long time. Her eyes closed, arms solidly wrapped around her own body, water sliding across her figure, isolating her senses and quietening down her mind.

It wasn’t good. She wasn’t ok. But it was so easy to pretend when she had broad shoulders and the heart of a fighter.

When she finally re-emerged from the bathroom the dense steam she left behind followed her into the room like thin clouds. The air carried a soft smell of oranges and sweet blossom as, for once, that hotel offered a different shower gel and shampoo flavour.

Valkyrie wrapped her hair in a towel and, at first, looked around. She didn’t find Roman. The room was empty. For only a moment she thought maybe he had left – but almost a second later her hope was shattered, as soon as she heard his soft chuckle coming from the door of her room.

Before she could pay attention to whatever he was saying, mumbling with his low voice to a girl that, by the sound of her giggles, seemed to be more than flattered, her attention got caught. In the corner of the room now was placed a small iron trolley covered in soft, pristine white cloth and carrying a few dishes. There was a bowl of fruit and a couple of plates filled with unknown foods she didn’t recognise, plus two huge glasses filled to the brim with ice, water and frozen red berries.

She frowned, full of mistrust and slight annoyance, directing her inquisitive look to Roman by the door.

“What’s this?”

Her voice distracted them both. The girl jumped, whereas Roman didn’t even bother looking back. The gasp and widened eyes the girl gave off, though, as she looked over Roman’s shoulder towards Valkyrie, made her look like she was caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. Judging by her ironed uniform and nametag, Valkyrie had to guess that must be flirting with the guests.

She was extremely pretty and, by the googly eyes Roman was giving her, it was difficult not to imagine he was into it. Valkyrie should have guessed. She looked exactly like his type. Petit, with soft curves and the sweetest, biggest black eyes.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“You are not,” Roman reassured her, his voice tone was completely different the moment he rolled his attention to Valkyrie. “I’ll be there in a second. Start eating something.”

As if she was the one disturbing him. Valkyrie crossed her arms to her chest, clearing her voice. “Am I not invited to this party?”

How did they call it in those parts? Cockblocking?

As Roman sighed, visibly annoyed, a mischievous smile crossed her face as she moved closer.

The girl crossed her entire figure from head to toe with wondrous eyes. “Wow, you really are a big woman,” she whispered in awe, “and so beautiful.”

Despite her blunt words, Valkyrie appreciated her candid talk enough to offer her a truly amused, slightly cocky smirk. “Yes, I am. I am blessed by the Gods.” She winked at the girl just as she heavily patted a hand on Roman’s shoulder. “Now, if you excuse us, sweetheart, me and my friend here have some business to sort out,” She shook Roman, “right?”

“Right.” He huffed, rolling his eyes. “Can I just finish-”

“Nope. You wanted to talk. We are going to talk. No fun for Romrom.” She looked back at the girl, offering her another smile. “Sorry, darling, it’s business.”

She nodded quickly as if she understood perfectly that serious business was about to go down. Though, still, Roman didn’t give up.

“How will I find you?” He dared to ask before she left.

“Just ask about Vera at the reception. Ask Ashley, she’ll know.”

They exchanged a nod and as Roman smiled, the girl, Vera, blushed.

Valkyrie forced her to leave closing the door in her face, mimicking a sorry with her mouth, just so she could direct an amused smirk to Roman as soon as they were alone.

“Why would you do that?!” The fact that he was truly annoyed gave her more joy.

“You called it upon yourself, big guy.”

He shook his head, deciding only to grumble at her as he started to pace along the length of her room.

“She is very pretty I give you that,” Valkyrie was only teasing him by that point. Again, hearing him mumbling grumpily made her very happy. “Now, are you gonna tell me why you ordered room service?”

“Because you need to eat something.”

“Do I now?”

“Yep. Don’t think I’ve missed noticing the kind of run you went for. I’ve waited for you for over an hour in the lobby.”

“Someone is committed borderline obsessed, uh?”

He ignored her. “And everyone knows that you eat like a rabbit.”

“I don’t.”

Roman rolled his eyes. “Just fucking eat something.”

To shut him up, Valkyrie tried a piece of mango even if she wasn’t entirely convinced about eating more than that, and he seemed to know her well enough. Eyeing the rest of the stuff on the tray, he tried to encourage her. “One of the two dishes is a grilled salmon chunk served with asparagus. The other is a peppers, onion, mushrooms, spinach and goat cheese omelette. You pick the one you like and I’ll have the other.”

Valkyrie frowned, looking down at the trolley. She had to admit that the food smelled delicious. And also, realising that it was freshly cooked, she realised she must have been in the shower for longer than she expected. It looked good too, though her stomach was clutched closed.

She didn’t trust the food of that part of the world. It was so different from what she was used to eating. It wasn’t only the fact that she was used to supping among her Gods, it was that the meat of both animals or fish never tasted as fresh – it had a weird spoiled consistency and flavour no one else around her seemed to notice. The same went for the vegetables and fruit, but it was easier for her to accept that slight chemical flavour on raw, fresh food than on anything else.

Even the water tasted weird. Somewhat denser, chalky.

So, no, she wasn’t ecstatic about eating. Even if she knew she was hungry. But it was easy to forget about it. She was just particularly welcoming of her hunger cramps just as much as she was with muscle soreness after her extreme workouts.

So, just because Roman seemed too stubborn to be convinced otherwise and she was done arguing with him for the day, she grabbed the plate with the omelette, deciding to avoid the fish.

Valkyrie climbed on the bed and nested in the centre, legs crossed with a pillow on it to function as a table and, under Roman attentive look, she took a bite out of the omelette. Just then, he followed her and, placing the trolley at the foot of the bed, he sat in the corner, starting to eat with her.

They dined in silence.

She pushed herself to finish her food only because she felt like she didn’t want to disappoint him, in a way. And also, because she would have hated to waste it.

Throughout the meal, Roman pushed the tall glass of fruity-flavoured water in her hands, inviting her to drink it. And, again, she was truly too tired of everything to even try to tell him she hated how he was imposing himself and his care on her.

She didn’t need to be looked after. She was a Valkyrie. She was feared. A deity, for fucks sake. And yet, Roman didn’t appear to give a shit about it. His concern was soft though, warm, annoying but gentle, like the one of an older sibling.

“Tell me what happened with Dean.” Roman finally said as he cleaned his mouth with the napkin.

Valkyrie played with a piece of tomato on her plate, trying to escape his gaze.

“Do you know how I came into this world?” She wondered still not looking at him. Her mind and senses too were detached from that moment.

“No.”

“Even to this day the faith in my Gods is strong, therefore we still exist. As a Valkyrie, we look after strong warriors. I am one of the youngest ones, I was born in the more recent centuries,”

“How old are you?”

She welcomed his interruption with a smile, shrugging. “How can you date the age of a sequoia? Or of a mountain? Or a river?” Looking at his confused face, she decided riddles weren’t for Roman. “I guess in your culture, I’d be close to a couple of hundred.”

“Fuck-” he gasped, “you sure look good for your age.”

Even if he was trying to make a joke, she didn’t catch his sarcasm and only looked blankly at him. “We don’t age we embody beauty and strength.”

“Sorry,” Roman respectfully bowed at her, “please continue.”

“My nature and purpose are to aid. I am the pacifier, I bring solace. I was known to have healing powers. I helped my sisters to fill the halls of Valhalla with valorous warriors to follow the All-Father into battle when Ragnarök will come. And I did it with pride. Until one day I was ripped from my world.”

“What do you mean?”

“A single, stupid, ignorant, little man found the knowledge to make a ritual. Though, he wasn’t a sorcerer nor a skilled witch of any kind, even if he likes to believe he is, so he made a few mistakes along the way. He was trying to imprison the goddess Freyja, to spellbind her to this Earth and to himself. Instead, he imprisoned me.”

“Is it true?”

“Yes.” Valkyrie lowered her gaze, focusing on her mostly empty plate, unable to hold eye contact with Roman not because she feared he could see the pain and rage burning through her eyes, but because she didn’t want to see how sorry he felt for her. “I was his prisoner for a time. And I am spellbound to be on Earth. Because of him, I cannot make return home. But I am not tied to his service as he wanted. Eventually, I escaped his tortures-”

“You were hurt?”

She couldn’t even control the sarcastic, nervous burst of laughter that followed his question. No other words were needed as an answer. And Roman knew it. Suddenly, the visible scars she had crossing her exposed skin attracted his close attention.

She kept her head hanging low, feeling the sudden need to start moving or breaking things. It was one or the other. “I’ve only found out later that my only way home is to break the seal that bounds me to this place. He has that seal branded on his skin. So, my only chance to escape is, eventually, to find him.”

Just then Valkyrie raised her eyes at him. She watched Roman’s expression change from curious and gentle to frozen serious. His gaze became hard, bloodthirsty, as his full lips bent under the pressure of anger. “Who did such a thing to you?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Valkyrie-”

“Roman. Don’t. This is a sad pitiful story. This is my battle and I fight alone. And this is why I had to push Dean away. If he knew, there wouldn’t be stopping him. You know it. I know it.”

Roman hesitated a second, holding his breath. His eyes moved into nothing in particular, as he thought about her words. Just after a moment that seemed to last an eternity, he shot her a look as recognition brightened his worried gaze. “He is one of us. He works for the company, doesn’t he?”

Valkyrie froze and the longer she waited to respond, the more Roman seemed to understand the situation better.

“That’s why you do what you do here. He is here.”

“Not exactly,” she finally said, releasing a sigh, finding herself to curse the sudden wave of intellect that blessed Roman and his intuition, “he is not with WWE at the moment.” Her words rolled out as heavy as boulders. “He is hiding somewhere; I don’t know where. And before I do, I would rather be the one who’s a step ahead, instead of giving him any reason to know how to hurt me. Dean is my collateral damage. He is my weak link. I can’t afford to risk him getting in the middle of it.”

Roman remained silent. For a very long moment, he just looked at her and Valkyrie didn’t have the strength to hide from him. She just looked into his eyes, chin raised and heart shattered and exposed.

“You are protecting him,” Roman whispered as that thought suddenly brightened his ideas. Everything seemed to make sense, he didn’t need her to confirm to know it was true. “You are pushing him away only to keep him safe.”

“Yes.”

“He knows this?”

“He knows some of it. He knows why I can’t be with him. I tried to push him away otherwise but he is almost as stubborn as you.”

“That’s Dean for you.”

“Staying away from him is the hardest thing I had to do. It’s as hard as not being able to go home,” she confessed, for the first time admitting to the depth of her feelings for Dean out loud. “But it’s the only way or he is going to get himself killed or worse.”

“I am sorry for judging the situation. I did you wrong.”

“No. Don’t be sorry. I didn’t help it, did I?”

“Yeah, but I should have imagined that you weren’t just playing with him.”

“You should have. But then again, we don’t know each other that well.”

“It’s just Dean is difficult to read, sometimes. And every time I talked about you, he would just shut down and either lose his mind or get lost in his head. Either are pretty bad things.”

“How is he?”

“Well, I won’t lie to you, he is not ok. He took it as badly as he did when Seth betrayed us. So-” Roman passed his hand through his hair in a nervous stroke, “I was pretty angry at you.”

“I am so sorry. I wish-” Even thinking about it was painful, let alone talking. Her voice was tied up and hurt just as much as having a razor wire bundle crossing her throat. “I wish there was something I could do.”

“Are you ok?”

His question hit her like receiving a spear to the chest, trespassing her from side to side at full force, leaving her gasping for fresh air as a new wave of pain she didn’t allow herself to feel up to that moment gashed through her. Valkyrie wasn’t ready for that question and surely, she didn’t want the attention. She couldn’t bare it. But before she could try and stuff her pain away, hiding it from Roman, or anyone, or even herself, he caught her.

“Oh, sweetheart,” he started, sweetly grabbing her hand giving her a squeeze.

Valkyrie hated to be seen in such a way. She felt so small and weak. And still, even being so proudly strong as she liked to be, Roman’s words managed to bring her to cave under pressure.

Tears started to trace down her cheeks, burning everything she suffered. That was the moment Roman swooped her between his arms. Getting rid of the plate and pillow she had in the way, he grabbed her like she weighed nothing and dragged her to his chest, holding her tightly. Not caring if she wanted it or not. She was getting squeezed until she had no breath. Until all her pain was compressed away by his warm support.

“I am so sorry. You don’t deserve any of it.”

Valkyrie was only able to shake her head, suffocating her cry into his chest, unable to stop.

“I miss him.” She let that thought slip her lips and as her chest ached only thinking about it, it seemed to reduce some pressure of it. Still, she couldn’t stop crying. “I miss him so much-”

“I know sweetheart. I can see that now. I am sorry. I didn’t know. I would have tried to help.” Roman continued, stroking her back and cradling her like she was only a child.

“Almost no one knows.” She whispered.

“Who does?”

“My team. Daniel Bryan. Sheamus. You.”

“Why would you tell them and not Dean?”

“Because they are my allies. Both Daniel and Sheamus accepted blindly to come to my aid when I’d say the word, so I thought I owed them as much as letting them know they’d be facing Wyatt. But with Dean, it started off differently. He never was my ally. And now he is so much more than that. I just can’t-”

Valkyrie gave herself a push, wiggling her way off Roman’s hug. She quickly dried her tears, trying to appear as strong and proud as ever even in between sniffles and with red, puffy eyes. “You must keep the secret.”

“I didn’t intend to do otherwise.”

“I mean it, Roman. Whatever happens, Dean is not allowed to know.”

“Not from my lips anyway. But can I give you the opinion of a friend?” He wondered placing a hand on his chest, shuffling closer to her. “You should tell him.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not gonna happen,” Valkyrie hid behind a sardonic smile, “he will stay in the dark and I’ll fight my battle alone. And when I am done, I’ll go home.”

“That’s it? That’s all he gets?”

“That’s all he can get.”

Valkyrie hopped off the bed and gathered the plates and empty glasses, placing them on the trolley that she proceeded to move to the door. Anything to busy herself up so she could pretend she didn’t have to think about the deeper, more rooted consequences of her bond with Dean.

She found herself in front of a problem, but a clean, painful break wasn’t the worst of it. For how long would she have missed him? Would going home be the final answer to solve all her problems? Would that be her actual, final, aim? Or would she end up feeling just as lonely and cold even between her beloved Gods, sisters and friends?

Because she was starting to doubt that anywhere would feel warm and familiar as much as it did when he was around.

A loud sigh rolled out of her chest as she nervously started pacing around her room.

“It’s better this way.” She wasn’t sure if she said that to convince herself or Roman more.

“Are you sure about that?”

Part III.

Valkyrie left the conference room with a weight pressing on her chest.

She had just declared to the press the terms and conditions of the contract binding her to the obligation of a rematch with Orton. As soon as the communication was made, the crowd of journalists roared and flashes blinded her. The questions that stormed them were many and, of course, both she and Randy didn’t miss the opportunity to make sure everyone in the room knew just how much they both looked forward to hurting each other in the ring.

Part of it was true and part of it was a spectacle to hype up the crowd and the expectations towards their match happening the next day.

Sometimes she felt like she was only a show horse, acclaimed and adored only to give the audience a good fight. And a crowd that enjoyed itself would always bring more money to the company. Valkyrie was generally detached from such thoughts. She didn’t care enough to get into the fabric of the show business that surrounded her. Yet, that day, somehow, it disturbed her.

Maybe it was because she was starting to notice how things worked, or maybe it was just because she was particularly sensitive that day, with all the emotions that had just poured out of her and having her nerves tensed and exposed.

She made sure to leave the room as quickly as possible, deciding she had no more time to offer the press other than their ten minutes slot and, definitely, doing all in her power to avoid spending time with her team. Valkyrie had still to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t being treated like a person, but exclusively like a brand. And she didn’t like it.

Walking through the crowded lobby she didn’t pay attention to any of the present wrestlers and teams waiting for their turns to get into the conference room. She decided she was done with people for that day.

And just when she thought she had enough, of course, fate had to mock her.

Her gaze crossed the reception counter, where she found Roman bent over the desk, chattering with the cute girl she recognised from earlier. That made her roll her eyes jokingly as a tiny smile crossed her lips. She thought briefly that she could have teased him about it later. But that wasn’t the problem. The reason why she cursed the Norns was that Dean stood by his side.

She froze on her feet, looking directly at him for the first time in days. And it felt like it’s been centuries. Up to that point, she did great to avoid him, knowing that seeing him would have been impossible to bear. Her luck had run out, though.

And he looked spectacular. She couldn’t think of anything else to describe his appearance. He looked illegally good with his blue jeans and leather jacket fitting his frame perfectly. Not to talk about how much she liked his pissed-off look.

Her throat was suddenly dry as she struggled to breathe.

He looked angry and dangerous, so full of pride in the way he carried himself and so clearly famished for chaos.

A girl sided the one talking to Roman, and she was talking to Dean. Even if it was so clear he wasn’t paying much attention, Valkyrie still felt the vicious flames of jealousy grow under her skin, bringing her to clutch her fists.

She had no right to be jealous when she was the one who pushed him away – and yet, he was still unrightfully and unashamedly hers.

Gods, the visceral need to just get over there and mark her territory for no reason whatsoever, only because a random girl was smiling at him, maybe only out of kindness, was close to impossible to fight.

The magnetism between them worked like magic, even when she wished it didn’t. She only looked at him for a couple of seconds – knowing how forbidden and dangerous that game was – but that was more than enough to make him feel her gaze, catching his attention.

As soon as Dean recognised her, his blue eyes glimmered with new interest. Valkyrie fidgeted, feeling somehow naked under his gaze as he slowly looked at her entire figure, head to toe. It was sweet as if he was trying to memorise every detail about her, studying everything that might be different, making sure she was ok. And it was primal because he looked at her like she was his prey and he was ready to jump on her.

She couldn’t breathe.

It only got worse when he started moving, unconcerned about the room full of people surrounding them or their current situation.

Dean gave Roman a quick, self-explanatory pat on the shoulder, only briefly attracting his attention, just enough to point towards Valkyrie, stating silently his intentions. Both girls behind the counter were forgotten without even the courtesy of a goodbye as he walked over to her.

Valkyrie was hypnotised by his swagger.

He stood at a distance – a smart move, and yet, it was still too close. Valkyrie was barely holding back.

“So, you are having a rematch with Orton.” He stated. His words were hesitant and clumsy in his attempt to initiate small talk, so different from the way he arrogantly stood, like he owned the place.

“Yeah. He is very bitter about me kicking his ass the other night.”

They both smiled. The soft curve that crossed Dean’s lips, making his dimples pop, drove her insane.

Her hand twitched as an unsatisfied tingle spread under her palms. She needed to touch him so badly. Even if it was only a brush. She felt like holding back would push her towards true madness. Not feeling his skin or warmth under her fingertips was pure torture.

“Do I have to wish you good luck, angel?”

A shiver crossed her back. “No need. I am blessed by luck.” Even if she didn’t feel so lucky right there and then.

Dean nodded quietly and then he looked around a moment, avoiding eye contact. He puffed his chest up, filling his lungs with a big breath. “And how are you holding up?”

The way his gentle concern caressed her made her feel wrapped in a warm blanket.

He was still avoiding eye contact as if he was trying to appear as detached as he could. But, deep down, by then, she knew he tended to look away when he was devoured by strong emotions he couldn’t handle.

She wanted to pull him into a hug so badly, to softly cradle him and whisper to his ear everything was ok and they were ok. But that was only a fantasy.

She cleared her voice but before she could reply she noticed, from the corner of her eye, that Orton’s team was starting to clear from the conference room, which meant her team was following. So, acting out of pure instinct, she grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the lifts with her, thinking it would have been a smart idea to hide.

She couldn’t risk being seen interacting with Dean. Even despite the fact they just did that in front of a room full of people. But instead of just leaving, like she should have done, she didn’t even think about taking Dean with her twice. It felt essential that he stayed with her.

It clearly didn’t come to her that being trapped in a quiet, small lift space with the man she desired the most on planet Earth, could be even riskier than just being seen exchanging a few friendly words.

By the time she realised what mistake she had made it was too late. The door sealed shut in front of them.

Valkyrie stood in front of the lift, frozen, holding her breath. Even thinking was hard at that point. The only thing she could do to distract her from her wild fantasies to just turn and take what she wanted there and then, was to press the button to her floor and just wait.

Dean didn’t seem so inclined to follow her queue, though. On the contrary, he seemed more than intending to give her exactly what she secretly desired so badly. He moved closer, pressing his chest on her back. The warmth he gave off washed over her shoulders, roaming through her skin, making her feel somewhat comfortable and at ease. Her nerves relaxed for the first time in over a week. Yet, she still jerked, fighting against the need to just abandon herself against him.

“You could have said you wanted to be alone with me,” she could feel the smirk he had on his lips, “you know I wouldn’t have objected.”

“Dean-” She choked on her own breath, without finding the strength to get away from him. His scent carried the notes of his cologne mixed with the strong smell of cigarettes and bourbon and it went straight to her head.

Dean pressed his nose against the side of her head, stroking it against her temple as he inhaled deeply, just as if their thoughts were synchronised. “Told you I wouldn’t have left.” He whispered dangerously close to her ear. His tone sounded like a sweet threat.

“Gods,” It was a prayer, and it was a curse to whoever was listening. She gave in.

She pressed herself against him, letting go. Both released a satisfied sigh. Her hands found his until that moment abandoned around her figure as if he didn’t have the courage to touch her. She crossed her fingers to his, at first only to hold onto something, because she felt like she was ruinously falling into a void made of all the feelings she wasn’t allowed to have for that man. But then, she full-on wrapped herself in his arms.

Bending her neck, letting her head fall on his shoulder was enough of a signal for Dean to brush his lips on her neck. A shiver of pure electricity crossed her, reaching right to her lower abdomen. Her body was already violently reacting to him.

Everything that connected her to that man was betraying her self-control and determination. She was only pure, flowing emotion right now. And she wanted nothing but selfishly damn them both.

“I missed you.” She whispered, turning her face to the side only enough to brush her lips gently on his firm jaw.

Dean’s warm chuckle melted through her, giving her another shiver that crossed her right to her core. “Oh, angel-” his tongue flicked on her skin making her eyes roll, “you don’t even know how insane you drove me.”

With what audacity she thought to have a chance to stay away from him?

The lift bell dinged.

Valkyrie barely had the time to freeze and, looking up, she realised they hadn’t arrived on her floor yet. Though, by the time the doors opened, Dean had already moved away from her, flattening himself in the back of the lift.

From the reflection in the mirror, she saw him leaning in the corner, facing away from her, doing his best to appear as detached as possible. He was a better actor than her because she was so clearly flustered.

“Well, well,” she was so lost in her own thoughts, trying her best to appear normal, that she hadn’t even recognised the familiar face of the man stepping into the lift, “look how cosy this picture is!”

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling wondering how much of her Gods' mockery she had to endure for one day.

“Hi, Daniel.” She blandly welcomed him making space for him next to her but not looking directly at him and, especially, ignoring his massive, amused, dorky smile as he looked through the lift.

Daniel Bryan was an ally and a friend and besides being one of the few people knowing the truth about her in that shitshow, he was one of the few people knowing her, period. She was even in good relationship with his wife, to the point they would happily bring her out with them for dinners on occasion.

So, he knew about Dean. Besides the fact that she couldn’t have hidden it even willingly, he saw her getting into the steam room after not so sneakily getting through the men's locker room, only to re-emerge from it not even trying to hide her conquest.

As he leaned across to press the button to his destination, just one floor above, Valkyrie found herself sighing, wondering why he had to decide to be lazy and not get the stairs.

He gave her a good look and then dared to turn to Dean. “This is awkward, uh?” He wondered, trying to make a joke, not getting a reaction from any of them. His smile didn’t disappear though. “Too soon?” He wondered lightly bumping his shoulder against hers.

Valkyrie sighed, feeling an awkward, uncomfortable feeling slither under her skin. “Maybe.”

“Sorry.” He still didn’t try to hide his amused smile.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you joining the press conference?”

“Yeah, in a bit. I’m just hopping in between floors. Was sent from my Missus to get something from her sister’s room.”

“Oh- I see.” She agreed, even if she didn’t much care.

That must have been the slowest fucking lift in the world.

When the bell finally dinged signalling Daniel’s stop, Valkyrie found herself sighing in relief.

He hopped off, sending them both a quick look and then a quick wink at her directly. “I’ll see you later, Val.”

“Bye.” She mumbled uncomfortably.

Just now an alarming thought crossed her mind. There was only one button pressed on the pad. To her floor. And Daniel must have noticed it. She knew he did. Gods, she really wanted to bang her head against the wall.

She generally prided herself on being sharp-minded. That was true only when Dean wasn’t around. When he was around she wasn’t at all smart any longer, he gave her the stupids.

Though, before she could torment herself with that thought any longer, as soon as the lift doors closed, Dean was on her again, moving so quickly she didn’t even have time to react.

He grabbed her and pushed her against the mirror, only to cover her with his body. Their lips found each other even before she could hope to remember all the reasons why kissing him was wrong. And by then it was already too late. Her arms were already wrapped around his shoulders and both her hands were lost in his ginger hair, as she pulled it.

Their kiss was desperate and rude, as they were both so famished for each other.

Dean’s arms wrapped around her figure as he pressed her against himself so tightly she couldn’t breathe. But then again, she needed that contact more than oxygen.

Before they could get too lost in it, Dean, surprisingly, pushed her away.

With laboured breath and languid eyes, he looked at her features, studying her face and stopping on the edges of her tumid lips. One of his hands softly wrapped around her neck as he caressed her skin, tracing his fingertips to her jaw.

“You are so beautiful, angel. I need you to know I haven’t thought about anything else every day. Every second.”

She smiled softly, pressing a kiss against his palm. “Baby-”

He rolled his eyes, releasing a pleasureful sigh in approval, but then, his expression changed and seriousness froze his features. His hold around her throat became slightly tighter, but she didn’t oppose him. “I need to know if you intend to stop and push me away.”

“It would probably be the smart thing to do.”

“But would you? If I told you how much I need you right now if I begged you to fuck me, would you have the guts to give me what I need and take what you want?”

Valkyrie was already purring by then and as his words made her whimper, giving her flashes of vivid images of what his intentions were, Dean flattened himself against her, burying his face into her neck. She couldn’t think. There was no common sense left in her.

“I don’t know.” She admitted in a soft whisper, grabbing on his figure, again, only trying to find something to hold onto.

“What if I told you I’ll have no problem forgetting about it later? What if I told you I won’t hesitate to leave you alone? I promise I won’t resist your wish.”

“That’s not the problem.”

“What is?”

“If I let you fuck me again,” she willingly used the same rude language he did just because she knew it was a tease that drove him insane, “I won’t be able to let you go, baby.”

“Damn it, Eir.” Even if the frustration was as sharp as razorblades through his voice, Dean still stepped back, letting her go.

She wasn’t sure why, but the fact that he respected her will, leaving her the space she needed based on what she had clearly stated when she had to push him away, instead of pushing her into a corner with no way out, enraged her.

She wanted to be pushed. She wanted to be thrown over the edge. Gods, she was so tired of acting responsible. If he had forced his desire just a bit more, if he hadn’t acted so respectfully, she would have happily accepted to lose her battle and be ruined forever.

Deep down, she knew that thought was only selfish, driven by her blind desire. Valkyrie was aware that she would have wanted that for a brief period of time, after which she would have only tormented herself with the pain of the knowledge of what she did to the both of them.

She couldn’t allow it to happen. Now or never. The problem was that she couldn’t promise anything. She could think it. She could do her best to put her will into it. And she could hope to be strong enough. But Dean had a way with her that just made her melt. He spoke directly to her soul and had a key to her heart, and nothing else mattered when he whispered into her ear.

She watched as he backed off to the other end of the lift, catching his breath, rolling his shoulders and neck trying to ease some tension. The sudden distance between them made her feel exposed and empty. Being that far from him, especially when steam just raised so quickly and violently between them, felt unnatural.

She looked at him for a moment, before pushing herself to pay attention to something else, anything else, that wasn’t him. Because she had just dodged making one of the biggest mistakes of their life. Fixing her clothes, and taking in a deep breath, she looked at the floor screen, noticing with pleasure they were reaching her floor.

Finally.

Valkyrie closed her eyes, welcoming the ding of the doors with a quick blessing to it.

The air was becoming too heavy and her thoughts too fogged up for her to think clearly about what was best to be done for her, but mostly towards Dean’s interests.

She stepped out quickly, not looking back until she was at a safe distance on the corridor of her floor.

“I’ll be seeing you later?” The hope filling Dean’s voice made her heart tremble.

She knew better. She was aware that they weren’t allowed to interact, specifically with what had just happened in the lift. Being close to each other and alone was too risky. And yet, she still nodded.

The relieved sigh he released made her stomach vibrate.

Maybe she was lying. Maybe she did that only to give him false hope, so he would leave her alone. But the worst was probably the fact that she was the delusional one if she thought she could avoid him again. She knew that if they had a next time, then he would have won. As much as she knew she would have sought it.

Valkyrie turned on her feet, forcing herself to take steps away from Dean even when every particle of her being still pushed her towards him. It was as hard as fighting against gravity. An invisible hand still pulled her towards him and she suspected that pull would have never disappeared.

She retrieved to her room, deciding hiding was her best chance.

Pacing around her room, Valkyrie did her best to make a plan to survive that night.

Done that, then tomorrow would have been only another day.

A cold shower was definitely in order. But maybe just after she decided to forget her shame, trying to rub off her frustration until she whimpered Dean’s name. Even if she was alone, feeding her desire with fantasies and memories, generally helped, for a bit.

And then she could have just hid in her room, trying her best to find ways to stay entertained until she would eventually get so tired or so bored to fall asleep. Unconsciousness was a blessing most of the time. If she would get to sleep at all, that was, of course.

A knock on her door distracted her.

Valkyrie stood in the middle of the room, looking petrified to the door for a very long, interminable second. Inside of her exploded a shot of adrenaline, firing up her blood. Her stomach started to vibrate in anticipation. She knew she wasn’t allowed to even dream about it, but Gods how much she hoped Dean didn’t let her go and decided to find her and finish what they started.

Clearing her voice and raising her chin proudly, she decided to be fierce and strong about it. She couldn’t hide forever, after all, she needed to face him.

“What?” She opened her door barking towards the other side, deciding that maybe the best course of action was to appear unapproachable.

Though, as soon as she looked outside, all her hopes were crushed.

“You are your usual ray of sunshine, I see.”

Valkyrie dropped her arms along her sides, loudly releasing a frustrated grumble, not trying to hide her annoyance. “What can I do for you, Sylvia?”

“The perfect mood to get you ready for a gala event.”

Valkyrie immediately appeared disgusted and outraged as if her manager had just personally offended her. “What are you talking about?”

Sylvia's smile transformed into a smirk as she winked at her. “Of course, you forgot. Tonight will be hosted the charity event to raise funds for cancer research and the entire WWE Universe is participating.”

“I don’t do galas.”

“You do tonight. Every champion is required to participate. It’s publicity for the charity and it’s good for the brand.”

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “I-”

Sylvia shushed her. “This is not negotiable, Val. You will be there. You will be pleasant and you will enjoy yourself.”

Again, as Valkyrie tried to object, Sylvia shooshed her waving her hand in front of her face. “And since you’ve been unapproachable for weeks now, I will enjoy feeding you to the makeup artist, the hairdresser and the stylist.”