#I know that someone showed this to Vale and he's cracking up | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

seospicybin · 10 months ago

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TOO HOT TO HANDLE.

PART II

Seungmin x reader. (s)

Too Hot To Handle Masterlist

Synopsis: You and Seungmin become contestants in a reality dating show, Too Hot To Handle. (13,8k words)

Author's note: Enjoy this one too and let me know what you think about it :)

SEUNGMIN: I may be an athlete, but I don't compete to get girls. I attract what I want and oftentimes, I get what I want [smiles] I'm a pretty straightforward person. Am I wild? [Laughs] Guess we'll find out?

In his profession, Seungmin relies a lot on his instincts.

If Seungmin thinks the pitcher is going to throw a four-seam fastball, he would want to get the ball down in the zone. If it's a tow-seam fastball, he should raise his bat about thigh high and if he notices any different type of motion or slowing of arm speed, he'd better expect a change-up.

When Seungmin first sees you, his instinct tells him that he should choose you.

People always talk about physical attraction, well, yes, how can Seungmin is not attracted to you? You're pleasing to the eyes. Your eyes, your lips, your sparkling eyes, and your sonorous laugh, they're all attractive.

What interests him more is still there hiding inside you. He wants to talk more to you, know your thoughts and ideas, if he's lucky enough, he wants to know your hopes and dreams too.

For now, permission and a kiss would suffice.

The kiss, oh... it's like fireworks are going off from inside his chest and exploding in his head, filling it with sparks.

"That was good," You shyly mutter while trying to hold his gaze.

"Well, you can have more if you want," he coyly says.

The two of you are looking into each other eyes, still reeling from what he thought was the nicest first kiss you both shared.

Seungmin is aware that someone is appearing behind him as you look past his shoulder, looking like you just got caught doing something.

"Hey, guys," Issa says.

"Hey, babes," you reply with a smile.

Seungmin sees the curiosity filling her eyes as Issa looks at you and then looks at him. She seems to have figured it out as her lips curl into a sly smile.

"Lana called," Issa informs.

"Oh, okay, we're coming," you tell her.

After Issa left, you start fixing your hair and dress even though the two of you only kissed once, nothing else. You repeatedly tuck your hair behind your ear.

"Do I look alright?" You ask him, smacking your lips together to gain what's left on your lipsticks.

He helps you put a strand of hair away from your lips, "You look perfect," he answers.

You crack a smile and do it once more with your eyes closed, it's adorable to him.

Seungmin gets up first then he holds his hand out at you because he knows you can't freely move in such a tight dress.

SEUNGMIN: I didn't plan on breaking the rule this fast but she's just irresistible and the moment was right.

Never in his life, had Seungmin thought that he would sit and hear a cone talking. Well, there's a first to everything.

What he doesn't get is how nervous everyone is. He knows that Lana is going to announce the rule breaks and anyone who broke the rules should be aware of the consequences.

Seungmin knows what he did, therefore, he's ready to face what's coming to him.

He gets a little startled when the cone chimes as it sits in the middle of the long, wooden table.

"Good evening!" Lana greets.

Tom reclines on the single sofa and asks, "What's good, Lana?"

"I must regretfully inform you of a breach of the rules," she informs.

Seungmin knows better that it's better to immediately come forward. He doesn't wait for anyone to get suspicious of each other and clears his throat.

"I'm just going to tell you guys right away—"

Adriana's gasp cuts him off, "Wait, what?"

Everyone is either not expecting that it's him or that he'd rule break when he's only been here for a day.

"With who?" Vale asks but his eyes already looking at the answer.

Seungmin turns his head at you, finding you sheepishly smiling and then he holds your hand, showing everyone who he kissed with.

"You..." Lili teasingly says, pointing her small index finger at you while everyone is cooing at you both.

"I initiated the kiss, the moment was right so..." Seungmin explains, ignoring how awkward it is to tell everyone why he kissed a girl.

Tom blinks his eyes a few times then says, "I didn't see this one coming."

"I wanted to do it and I... want to see where things go with her," Seungmin furtherly explains, not caring if anyone trusts him or not.

"This kiss has cost the group $6,000," Lana announces.

Okay, now Seungmin gets it why everyone is so nervous? It's not so much about the rule break, it's losing the money.

SEUNGMIN: Well, at the end of the day, what's done is done [shrugs]

It's endearing how Seungmin admitted everything and the way he openly tells everyone that he wants to take things further with you, oh! you get butterflies in your stomach.

That $6,000 deduction hurts less when you did it with the right person and it's worth it, you know you can trust Seungmin enough to see where things take you.

You lean into his side and lowly mutter into his ear, "That's so nice of you."

Seungmin looks at you to return your compliment with a soft smile that makes him look a thousand times cuter and these butterflies won't stop flying in your stomach any sooner.

"There's another breach of the rules," Lana announces.

You feel less nervous now the rule break thing has gone out of the way but hearing someone else did a rule break, you start to be concerned about the money.

"Oh, no!" Lili gasps.

A kiss or two is excusable because sometimes, a little physical affection is necessary in getting to know someone but other than that, you're not sure you can tolerate it.

"It's either you or you guys," Lili points at Issa and Jeff and Devon and Elliott.

"Or them," Jeff adds, pointing at Adriana and Tom.

Adriana subtly rolls her eyes, "I can promise you, we're innocent," she assures.

It's safe to assume that it's the couple who has spent the most money on the retreat so far. You lean forward and look at them with eyes full of suspicion, "Do you have something to say, Elliott?"

"No," Elliott immediately answers with a slow head shake.

While Devon is busy fixing her hair even though it's safely tucked into a neat bun on the back of her head. If Devon acting antsy is not enough answer, it's the awkward silence that gives it away.

"Uh-oh!" Adriana mutters, spotting the culprit with her siren eyes.

She has another strategy to make them confess, "Do you want to explain, Devon?"

Devon tries to stay calm and suddenly, she bursts into laughter then says, "I'm sorry."

Everyone reacts almost the same way, groaning in disbelief and also disappointed that they keep being selfish by rulebreaking.

Tom aggressively rakes his hair to the back and groans, "God, bro? Why did you keep lying to us?"

"We didn't lie. We choose to say nothing," he defends himself.

"Well, that's a lie," Vale corrects him.

It's kind of ballsy of Elliott to keep defending his wrongdoings instead of simply admitting it and apologizing. He makes it hard for himself and only makes everyone else lose their respect for him.

Devon tries to take control of the situation, "Okay, guys, let me explain, the first kiss we did in the bedroom—"

"What? You kissed more than once?" Issa asks with eyes widening.

"Oh, my..." Lili mutters in despair.

"Are you serious?" Tom is almost losing his shit knowing that he'll lose more money tonight.

Devon only realizes what she did a while later and quietly sighs, "Oh, shit..."

It seems like you're the only one with any patience left in you. You take a deep breath and try to assess the damage to prepare everyone.

"Did you guys do something else?"

Devon's subtle smile says so much and you believe you have just lost your patience as well. You lean back and just want to get it over with.

"Look, it-it..." Elliott is stuttering and ends up laughing.

Devon yanks the sleeve of his shirt, "Stop laughing," she scolds him.

"Take that grin off your face!" Adriana scolds him more.

Elliott pulls himself together and says, "I think there was a uh... heavy petting too."

No one is having it, if anything everyone has for them is a disappointment. The more everyone hears about it, the worse it gets so everyone sort of gives up talking altogether.

"These three rule breaks have cost the group an additional $16,000."

There's a dead silence hanging in the air after Lana announces the money deduction and what everyone is going to hear next will feel like a slap to the face.

"The prize fund now stands at $154,000."

Tom lets out a heavy, stressful sigh, "At the end of the day, we're just playing with money," he grumbles.

"Elliott and Devon, although you are displaying early signs of a deeper bond, you are spending too much energy concentrating on a physical connection rather than an emotional one," Lana says.

You're not the one who committed the act but you shake a little to hear Lana saying she's not pleased with what she witnessed.

"And as you have cost the group the most money, I am setting you an additional test."

Whatever coming to Devon and Elliott, It's not going to be a good one.

"You will spend the night in the suite," Lana announces.

YOU: Oh, hell no! We're going to be in debt, for real.

Okay, now, Seungmin gets why everyone was so nervous at the beginning, we just don't know what will happen and how it's going to turn out.

Another thing he learned is that he shouldn't be underestimating the cone, Lana is the one with power in here.

"This is your chance to show the group that your connection is more than just physical."

Lana warns Elliott and Devon, but mostly, Elliott since he's the one who's not only wrong but provoking everyone with his answers while at it.

Seungmin has been biting his tongue, he's only been here for a day so he's not sure if he can have a say on it but seeing that everyone seems to be at a loss for words, he feels the urge to say something.

"You did lie to everyone," Seungmin points out the main thing that angers everyone the most.

"This is your only chance to earn everyone's trust back," he tells him.

"Okay," Elliott accepts his words well.

"You may now leave to the private suite," Lana orders.

Everyone has no trust in them as they watch them leave to the private suite, letting them go with the thought that they'll fail the test.

Everyone is ready to leave the cabana and sleep this misery away when Lana starts talking again.

"That is not all."

"Oh, my days!" Vale gasps, sensing that it's not a good sign.

"Good judgment and in particular, knowing who can and can't be trusted is an essential skill for developing healthy long-lasting relationships."

Seungmin is in awe at how well Lana on keeping everyone on their toes, not letting everyone know what her next move is.

"That's why Elliott and Devon are not the only ones being tested tonight. If you do not trust them, you can choose to forfeit $10,000 which will cover all potential rule breaks in the suite."

Everyone is gasping to hear that Lana is asking everyone to involuntarily gamble with the prize money.

"However, if you choose to put your faith in them and they fail, you will be charged for every single rule break. With fines now doubled, that could be a very expensive lapse of judgment."

Seungmin turns his head to the side to see your mouth is hanging open. He reckons you're slightly shocked by everything you hear.

"So, will you have faith or will you forfeit?" Lana asks the big question.

Then Seungmin looks the other way, looking at Tom who's getting more stressed in each passing second.

"How much do we trust them?" Adriana opens the debatable question.

"I don't have trust in them. Nothing, none," Tom immediately answers like he's one hundred percent sure he's right.

You scoot to the edge of your seat to speak up, "Elliott is a rebel. He's most likely to break a rule and I think they're going to do something in there," you give your opinion.

Now that puts you in the same team with Tom which he gladly welcomes with a strong argument.

"They're going to be alone in the suite," he adds.

Adriana puts it simply for everyone, "Should we take a risk or should we play it safe?"

Everyone starts speaking up as well, giving their insights on this whole trust thing and Seungmin is intently listening to each opinion to take into consideration.

"If they're serious about the relationship, they won't do anything," Issa says.

Jeff agrees with her, "I back them."

"They have something to prove and it'll look bad for us not trusting them, actually," Vale gives his opinion.

You're nodding to his words and that seems to change your mind as well, Seungmin only recently learned that the person you’re closest with is him, Vale.

"He made a promise that he wasn't going to do anything," Blake says.

"He said the same thing last time," Adriana breaks his conviction.

"I got no faith," Tom remarks, period on point.

"Vale, I agree with you but if they disappoint us, I will not trust them again," you make a firm statement.

Against the doubts that slip through everyone's mind, everyone has voted to trust them, except that Tom is doing it unwillingly.

"I have noted your decision to put your faith in Elliott and Devon," Lana accepted the decision.

SEUNGMIN: Everyone puts their neck out for them so I hope Elliott keeps his promise.

Thankfully, Lili is very understanding when you tell her that you're sharing the bed with Seungmin and she has to sleep with someone else, you entrusted her to Vale.

A part of you wants to test yourself on how well can you handle temptations but another part of you tells you that you'd most likely fail because Seungmin is low-key too hot to handle.

Seungmin comes to the bed with his hair tousled and somehow, it only makes him more attractive. He gets on the bed, putting a pillow behind him before resting his back against it.

"Did you just dry your hair?" You ask.

He gives it a ruffle, "Yeah, is it messy?"

You softly laugh and help him, brushing his hair with your fingers to make it less messy.

"Your hair is so fluffy," you compliment.

He looks at you as you use both of your hands to brush the hair on each side of his head, "You like it?"

"Mm-hm," you answer with a smile.

"I missed a month of haircut," he informs, putting away the hair out of his eyes.

Your hand goes through the hair on the back of his head and let your hand rest on the nape of his neck for a moment.

"You look like a puppy," you playfully tell him.

Seungmin smiles in reaction and it only proves your words, he has that golden retriever energy, bright and playful. To put it simply, it's impossible to not like him.

There's a conversation going on in the room about whether Devon and Elliott will pass the test or everyone is going to lose more money tomorrow morning. You're listening but your eyes are focusing on the space on the bed between you and him, you hesitate to just scoot closer to him, he seems like the type of person who respects someone's personal space.

It's only when the lights are out that you lie on your side facing him and then ask, "Do you like to cuddle?"

Seungmin turns to lay on his side to face you, "Not really," he answers.

So your guess is right, he's not a cuddly person and you shouldn't be disappointed, it's just a preference, it's nothing personal.

"Are you?" Seungmin asks back.

You tuck a hand under your head and focus on looking at his gleaming eyes in the dark of the room, "Well, I would love a cuddle or two from you," you honestly answer.

He catches your hand lying on the space between the two of you, "I can do a cuddle or two," he says.

"How about more than two?" You jokingly ask.

Even in the dark, you can see his cute smile as he slips his fingers into the spaces between your fingers, "I can do that too," he murmurs.

You hold his hand back and smile, "Okay, great."

You and Seungmin are lying facing each other with hands intertwined, enjoying the quiet that slowly takes over the space as everyone else starts to drift into sleep.

However, you can no longer fight the drowsiness, "I'm sleepy," you sheepishly tell him.

He brings your hand close to his mouth and places a soft kiss on your knuckle, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," you murmur back with a smile.

You close your eyes feeling incredibly relaxed as Seungmin places gentle rubs on your back until you fall asleep.

YOU: Oh, my God! I think I like Seungmin. Seungmin, the baseball player.

The room is dark but he can see through the curtain that the sun has risen, Seungmin wakes up earlier than anyone else, including you.

Seeing that your hair covering your face, Seungmin gently put the stray hair away to the side and to the back. You look so beautiful peacefully sleeping on your pillow that he's afraid that he'll wake you up.

Seungmin then rests his hand on the dip of your waist, following the rise and fall of your body as you breathe. He gets closer so he can hold you, gently putting his arm around you without waking you up.

He feels snug, he feels like he can go back to sleep but as he's about to close his eyes, the room lights up.

Everyone is groaning as light floods the room and blinds their eyes which are still heavy with sleep.

"Morning everyone," Adriana croaks as she pulls herself out of the duvet.

Turning his head to the side and seeing you still sleeping, Seungmin can't find it in him to wake you up but he begins by softly rubbing your shoulder to not startle you awake. Then he moves his hand to your face, using his knuckle to caress your cheek and your eyes are fluttering open like butterflies batting their wings.

"Still sleepy?" He asks with his hand cupping your jaw.

You nod and instead of getting up, you snuggle to him and rest your head on his chest.

As everyone slowly gains their senses back and is ready to start another day in the retreat, Lana chimes in for her morning greeting.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Morning," you reply with a sleepy voice.

"After putting your prize fund on the line last night and deciding to trust repeat offenders, Devon and Elliott," Lana reminds everyone of the doom looming over everyone's heads since last night.

Everyone turns their heads to see Devon and Elliott's empty bed and is hit by the realization of their grim, uncertain fate.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

Lili sighs and says, "Nervous."

"Scared," Issa honestly answers.

"And on edge," Jeff adds.

Cara the new girl who has been quiet since last night, finally gives her opinion, "I don't think they'd be stupid enough to put themselves in a situation where they would spend money more than they have lost."

However, Adriana is the only one not accepting her opinion well, "I disagree. Their track record is so shit."

Tom who is adamant about protecting the money supports her argument, "$10,000 would have been a lot safer in my opinion."

What they said seems to sway everyone's faith in Devon and Elliott. Seungmin can see that everyone starts to doubt their decision to trust them and put so much money on the line.

Whether they lose money or not, this is not how Seungmin wants to start the day.

SEUNGMIN: We put our trust in them... well, some of us. Let's hope they prove themselves to be worthy of our trust.

As a baseball player, Seungmin has a rigorous workout routine and he usually starts the day with a morning run. Since it's impossible to do here, he decides to do some simple exercises in the makeshift gym by the beach.

Before he gets back to the villa, he goes for a swim in the sea and walks back with water dripping from his swimming trunks.

In the bathroom, he finds Blake standing by the sink, his big body almost covers the whole mirror. Hearing that someone else entered the room, he looks over his shoulder.

"Hey, man," he greets him with dollops of sunscreen on both of his cheeks.

Seungmin hangs his towel at the handle of the shower door, "Hey," he replies.

He goes to the sink to retrieve his toiletry bag from the drawer.

"I see that you picked a bird, huh?" Blake says.

Seungmin has to take a moment to process his words and what he meant by a bird is a girl, he got himself a girl, you.

"Yeah..." Seungmin awkwardly replies, he heads to the shower thinking that Blake is done talking.

"You got a wild one, bro," Blake is applying the sunscreen all over his face as he speaks.

"What are you trying to say?" Seungmin asks and wonders if he's taunting him or trying to make a joke here.

Blake lets out a chuckle as he washes his hands under the running water, "She broke a rule with Elliott once."

Is that supposed to make him mad? Well, if it happened recently then it would be a problem but he obviously came here after that happened so Seungmin has no idea what he has to do with that information.

He decides to ignore him and goes into the shower, not wanting to continue the talk that shouldn't be his business in the first place.

Also, it shouldn't be Blake's either.

SEUNGMIN: I don't know what Blake's intention is but this is something that I don't want to hear from someone else.

All you need is a few sprays of hairspray to keep the hairstyle intact for the next few hours, you carefully apply it to your hair with your eyes closed.

When you open your eyes, you catch Seungmin's reflection in the mirror. Half-naked with his hair wet, Seungmin is walking to his closet that is located right behind your chair. You turn around on your chair and use the opportunity to ogle him, admiring his lean body with muscles in the right places and they're just in perfect sizes.

Imagine looking that hot yet so unaware of it.

"Hey, baby," you sweetly say, holding your hand out at him.

Instead of taking your hand, he reaches for your chin and gives your cheek a quick caress.

You smile in reaction and ask, "How do I look?"

"Perfect," he shortly says.

You take his hand and hold it as he looks for something inside his closet, "Let me dry your hair for you," you offer.

"Okay. Give me a minute," he gladly accepts the offer by letting go of your hand so he can put his shirt on.

Unlike most women, you like treating your partner with simple things like this.

Seungmin is sitting still as you work on his hair, drying it with a hairdryer. You don't have to put a lot of effort into it since he has short hair, finish it by applying a hair oil with your fingers slipping through his fine, dark hair.

He does the rest, brushing his hair with a comb and styling it how he wants it to be.

You rest your hands on his square shoulders and ask, "Did I do a good job?"

He fixes the hair falling over his head, "Not bad," he responds.

You bravely cup his chin while looking at his face through the elliptical-shaped mirror, "You're so gorgeous," you compliment.

He takes your hands and brings it close to his mouth. When you think he's going to kiss it like last night, he bites at your fingers instead.

"Ouch!" You yelp in pain.

He laughs in satisfaction and hurriedly makes up for it by placing a kiss on your inner wrist. He then drops his head to the back to look at you, seeing you eye-to-eye.

"Thank you," he sweetly murmurs.

You gently tap his cheek, "You're very welcome."

You like attractive men but you like it more when they act like true gentlemen and a true gentleman is rare. But it seems like you're lucky to have found one.

The only way Lana knows how to have fun is by interrupting a sweet moment like this. You both stop moving and talking altogether to hear what the cone has to say.

"Please assemble everyone in the cabana," Lana orders.

"Got it, boss," you reply, reluctantly letting your hands go from around Seungmin's neck.

It's not hard to gather everyone as most of them are chilling by the pool, you can tell them about Lana's order on the way to the cabana.

The stress from last night continues once everyone realizes that Elliott and Devon will be returning from the private suite soon.

Speak of the devil, here they come, looking so happy like they're coming back from a honeymoon instead of a test. They take the small sofa on the side of the room while ignoring the death stares directed at them.

Jeff is the first one breaking the silence, "Anything you want to share?"

Here comes Elliott's grin and it's not a good sign, "It was very enjoyable," he answers.

Devon is smiling next to him and letting him do all the talk.

"There are roses on the bed, champagne, bathtub," Elliott continues, giving everyone the wrong ideas.

Next to Seungmin, Vale lowly sighs and mutters through his gritted teeth, "They're fucking breaking rules."

YOU: We're fucked if they fucked!

Lana finally comes in and goes straight to business, "Devon and Elliott, last night I gave you the opportunity to show the group your genuine connection without surrendering to your physical desires. However, your connection wasn't the only thing I was testing."

Elliott's grin wavers for a second at the revelation that Lana did something behind their backs.

"While you were away I gave your fellow guests a test of trust in you. If they didn't trust you, they could forfeit $10,000 to cover all your potential rule breaks in the suite."

Now it's Devon's smile that gradually fades from her face and into a panic expression.

"Or they could choose to have faith in you, meaning that any rule breaks would receive the appropriate financial penalties."

Devon and Elliott exchange a look and turn rigid on their seats, it's enough to tell everyone that they did something.

"I can now reveal the group chose to trust you," Lana informs.

Tom hurriedly comments on it, "Not me. I don't have a lot of faith in you guys," he audaciously tells them.

Elliott sadly smiles, "I understand," he says.

You hear Lili sighing next to you and when you look at her, she leans in and whispers, "Seriously though, they're not looking hopeful."

One thing you know for sure is that Tom is ready to give a long I-told-you-so speech right at everyone's faces.

"Devon and Elliot I must now tell the group that you..."

For an AI, Lana knows how to build the suspense.

"...did not break any rules!"

You feel like you can finally breathe at ease while everyone else is cheering and applauding Devon and Elliott for proving that everyone was right to trust them.

"Even though you were very close to breaking the rules last night, I can confirm the prize fund still stands at $154,000."

Your head is turned to see Tom and Adriana who have the least faith in them and they're smiling, you can see a bit of regret on their faces for being too negative about the decision to trust them.

YOU: So they do know how to keep it in their pants, huh?

Despite the most spending couple in retreat has succeeded in passing Lana's test, that doesn't stop Tom from keeping everyone on his watch to make sure the money stays at $154,000.

You and Seungmin are having wine in the firepit, sitting close next to each other with your legs over his lap and enjoying the warmth of the fire swaying with the night breeze.

Seeing him up close is almost surreal because of how handsome he is, you trail down his jaw with your finger and gently tap his chin after.

"You have a very sharp jaw," you emphasize every word in awe.

Seungmin takes a sip of his drink before speaking, "Don't cut yourself then," he says with a sly smile.

You playfully slap his chest in reaction and burst into laughter almost at the same time.

You fix your hair and look at him, "It's your turn to compliment me," you demand.

He puts his drink away and licks his lips, "I didn't know that I have to compliment you back."

You dramatically roll your eyes, "Just say something nice about me, please?"

He laughs and puts his arm around you, drawing you closer to him as he thinks of something to say. He looks at you, trying to find something he can compliment on but you end up being drowned in his eyes.

"Your eyes, nose, lips..." he starts.

You stare back into his eyes, "Yeah?"

"They're parked perfectly," he finishes his words.

Once what he said registered in your head, you burst into laughter, "Parked?"

He nods while foolishly grinning, proud at his creative way of saying you're beautiful, "You got 100 points for parking them perfectly," he compliments again.

Flustered and amused, you put your arms around his neck and hug him, sharing laughter until the sex cop comes crashing.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

You both abruptly stop laughing and turn your head to look at Tom, standing at the top of the steps that lead down to the firepit.

"Are we being safe?" He asks you both, looking at you like a parent seeing his child having her boyfriend over.

And you act like you've been caught doing things with your boyfriend, reluctantly taking your hands away from Seungmin.

"Yes, Dad!" You jokingly respond.

Tom nods in approval and turns to leave, before he walks away, he turns around to say, "Keep your hands to yourself, 'kay?"

"Got it, Dad!" You shout at him.

You may have taken your hands off of Seungmin but you use it as a chance to change position, you make him sit on the end of the long sofa and you sit between his legs with your back resting against his chest so he can take his turns to put his hands around you.

The night is warm, the wind is softly blowing and the sky is full of stars.

Maybe it's because you haven't been with a man for a while or it's because of him, either way, you feel incredibly at ease.

You softly rub his forearm and delightfully sigh with your eyes closed, "This is nice."

Seungmin places his hand on yours and slips his fingers in, "I heard that you have broken the rules before," he says.

That comes out of the blue and you don't expect him to address this matter since it happened way before he came to the villa.

Yet you find yourself stammering in answer, "Y-yeah, I did."

"Oh," Seungmin simply responds.

That 'oh' sounds harmless but you start overanalyzing it, mostly because you don't want Seungmin to get the wrong idea, thinking that you're trying to hide it from him.

"Okay, now I feel bad for not telling you," you sadly mutter.

"It's okay. You don't need to tell me," he assures you.

Regardless of how he obtained this information, he deserves to know why you did it and whether you still have involvement whatsoever with the person you committed the rule break with.

"I didn't feel like I needed to tell you about it because the kiss that I did with Elliot... I was bored, I did it for fun," you explain.

You hold his hand back and tip your head to the side so you can look at him as you speak, "But the kiss that I did with you is not, it was personal."

You take a deep breath before ending it with a sincere apology, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Seungmin has been so quiet for a moment that you doubt he's accepting it well. You squeeze his hand to gain a reaction from him and ask, "How do you feel though?"

He inhales air and leans in to look at you, "I don't like to play games or in competition with someone else," he begins.

You don't want to overthink but you fear that he'll change his mind because of how you keep things to yourself.

"I know my worth I respect myself. I feel that if someone else can't see that, then that's on them but I don't hang around for that," he remarks.

You always know that Seungmin is very forthright, he says what's in his head, knows what he wants, and goes for it. Ultimately, he doesn't waste time on someone who doesn't acknowledge his worth and you fear that you're that someone.

You need to assure him that you do know his worth and you want to keep building connections with him. You mull things over in your head and try to fathom them into words.

"I do want to get to know you. I feel drawn to you and it's genuine and honestly, I feel more connected with you than I did with anyone else," you tell him how you feel as best as you can.

Seungmin repeatedly rubs his hand up and down your arm to keep you warm and comfort you. He then rests his hand on top of your clasped hands, "I just want to move forward and be open, there's so much more of you that I want to get to know," he says.

It's rare to find someone who's as wise and as gentle as he is. You really are lucky to have found and met him, and lucky that he chose you too. You want to get to know him more as well and risk falling deeper into him. As if you mind.

"Me too," you tell him with a grateful smile.

You bury your head in the crook of his neck and let out a breath of relief, trying to suppress the urge to kiss him.

"I want to kiss you but we can't," you mutter.

"Actually, we can," he corrects you.

You softly chuckle and raise your eyebrow at him, "We can but we can't."

YOU: I'm so grateful for Seungmin and I feel more confident about taking this further with him.

It takes time for Seungmin to get comfortable around someone.

He likes you, yes but he likes being in his personal space so much it's hard to let someone in. It's nothing personal, it's just who he is.

However, he looks forward to bedtimes the most because then you'd be lying close next to him.

A smile rises on your face as you get on the bed, crawl over to him and adorably ask, "Can we have a cuddle or two?"

He notices the anticipation on your face but what he likes seeing are the sparkles in your eyes as you wait for his answer.

Seungmin doesn't say anything but spreads his arms out, letting you dive into his warm embrace.

"Guys, guys," Tom claps his hands to get everyone's attention.

You keep your head rested on his chest while Seungmin pays attention to what Tom is about to say.

"I think we're all in agreement that we will not rule break and I just want to know if that stays true right?" He asks.

He can't speak for everyone but Seungmin can't remember when he did agree to this. However, everyone is half-heartedly replying to Tom.

"I love you guys but be good," he concludes.

Seungmin has a good restraint, but when he gets told to not do something, he wants to do it more. Plus, you're snuggling up to him and your body starts to mold to him, he would be lying if he didn't get the urge to kiss or touch you or do more than that.

When he looks down and sees your face this close, your eyes closed and your lower lip is jutting out, oh... he wants to kiss you bad.

Even after the lights are out, Tom looks at everyone in the room to say one last thing, "I'll be watching," he says.

After a few minutes though, he fails his task as he falls asleep next to Adriana. It would be hard to fall asleep with Tom's snores filling the room yet cuddling you makes him relaxed that his eyes are drooping.

As he slowly descends into slumber, you shift on the bed and plant a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Goodnight, baby," you murmur, then you turn over and lay on your side of the bed with your back facing him.

Now Seungmin finds it hard to sleep without your warm body lying close to him so he closes the gap between your bodies and puts his arm around you.

A while later, you let your body mold into him once more and hold the hand resting on your waist. Without looking, he can hear you smiling as he holds you close.

Seungmin lands a caress on your head and kisses your temple, now he can finally murmur back to you, "Goodnight."

SEUNGMIN: The talk that we had reassures me that I was right to choose her.

A few days have passed and you enjoy getting to know Seungmin more.

He told you a lot about him that besides baseball, he likes music, he likes playing piano, he likes to write in his journal and he doesn't like watching movies without knowing the ending first.

Everything about him is one of a kind but that's what makes him special. The two of you got closer the more you shared things about each other.

And today, you'll get a lot more closer to him.

All of the guests are being gathered in the garden for a workshop and someone has been waiting there, you assume she's going to be leading the workshop.

You take the mat in the back with Seungmin and sit cross-legged as the instructor introduces herself as Haley, a sex expert.

Her profession surely intrigues everyone and whether it's going to help them suppress their sexual urges.

"First, I want to ask you guys what is your version of a perfect partner?" Haley opens the workshop with a question.

"Nice body?" Jeff answers.

"Okay," Haley says with a nod, accepting Jeff's answer.

"Anyone else?" She invites everyone to share their answers.

"I like girls with skinny model bodies," Vale honestly shares.

"I don't want to be with someone who doesn't look as good," Cara gives a way too honest answer.

Everyone is laughing except Blake who is her partner for today's workshop. Hearing everyone's answers, you can see how people can be so shallow with what they want, they only see the surface, the superficial and that's including you.

Haley moves on to explain what the workshop will be about, "In today's workshop, we're going to release any perfectionism. We're just going to let ourselves get a bit... messy."

She pauses hearing everyone get excited for it, "Are you guys into that?"

You turn your head to the side at Seungmin, wanting to check whether he's as excited as anyone else.

The answer is no, he's not that excited.

"You guys can start!" Haley announces.

There are bowls of body paints prepared for the workshop and the two of you can paint each other's bodies with it. You get up and stand facing each other, then suddenly, have no idea how to start.

"I don't like getting messy," Seungmin says.

As expected, body painting is not something that Seungmin would do to have fun. You pick up a bowl of pink paint and dip your finger into the thick, pigmented texture of the paint.

"Well then I'll be the one having the most fun," you say as you rub the paint onto his nose.

And before he can complain, you smear the paint onto his cheek, laughing at how his face is covered in pink paint.

Eventually, Seungmin starts painting your body as well, he uses the green one while you use the yellow one, drawing a heart on his chest.

"See if you can just let go a bit. Let go of control, let go of inhibitions," Haley encourages everyone to stop being so careful and just be free.

You see everyone is only using their fingers to paint each other's bodies, not willing to get any other parts of their body to get dirty.

"Stop thinking! Stop worrying about what you look like. Let yourself just go free, get wild!" Haley encourages more.

It gives you an idea, instead of dipping your fingers into the bowl of paint, you pour it onto Seungmin's shoulder and lather it all over him.

"What are you doing?" Seungmin asks.

"I'm having fun," you simply answer.

You want Seungmin to not be afraid of getting wild or making a fool of himself, you want to have fun with him so first, you have to show him how.

"And you should too," you add, taking his hand and dipping his whole hand into the bowl.

Then you turn around, presenting your butt cheeks at him, and shamelessly request, "Make a handprint on my buttcheeks."

Seungmin stands rigidly with his hand tainted blue, "What?"

"Slap my butt!" You make it simpler for him.

It takes him a while to understand your request and once he did, he lands a good slap on your left buttcheek, creating a print of his big hand on it.

Haley notices what the two of you are doing and likes what she's seeing, "Love it! More of that!"

That seems to motivate Seungmin to make another handprint on your other buttcheek, he lands a harder slap which makes it even better.

Soon, everyone starts to loosen up, playing with both the paints and bodies, investing in the workshop, or merely using it as an excuse to feel each other's bodies.

"Catch them off guard!" Haley says as she supervises everyone.

After picking up a bowl of paint, you turn around to get greeted by a dollop of orange paint Seungmin throws at you. You scoop some green and get back at him, splashing it all over his back.

The next thing you know, you both are having fun, and as a matter of fact, the two of you are the only ones having the most fun out of everyone.

"You're not drawing penises on my back, right?" Seungmin jokingly asks as you draw more stars on his back.

"Nope," you reply, "Just some boobies."

You're running out of paints and to make it all worth it, you scoop the last of the red paint, then rub it all over your chest.

"Baby, look over here!" You tell him.

Seungmin obeys you, looking at you with his face covered in pink, green, and yellow.

Catching him off guard, you bring his head close and bury it between your breasts, lathering the red paint all over his face.

Instead of complaining, Seungmin pulls away laughing with fresh red paint on his face and you laugh along, seeing how much he enjoys it.

"Notice if you feel embarrassed to just see each other, now that you've stopped worrying what you look like," Haley remarks.

Seungmin wipes the remaining paint onto his stomach and pulls you into a hug, you can feel the paint getting all over your front too.

You both just stand there and have a laugh looking at each other looking silly in colorful paints, you see your mess on him and he sees his mess on you yet you both still look perfect to each other.

"You guys did amazing in today's workshop. I hope that you let go, you got a bit more free, you find some joy, laughter in being imperfect," Haley concludes at the end of the workshop.

Now that the workshop has ended, all you can think about is how Seungmin's hands were all over you.

YOU: We had so much fun. I don't think I'd be having that much fun if I did it with someone else [smiles]

Unfortunately, the fun doesn't last long.

You were straightening your hair when the cone in the dressing room chimes, you abruptly stop moving and so is everyone else, it's like the world pauses for a second to hear what Lana has to say.

"Everyone," Lana says.

No greeting whatsoever, she's addressing everyone in the room and you sense that she's not pleased with something.

"Hi, Lana!" Lili weakly replies as she's busy braiding her hair.

"You must all gather in the cabana immediately!"

Uh-oh! Lana is pissed but why? Everyone's been good.

Or that's just how they seemed to you, you never know with these people, especially Devon and Elliott. Lana never urges everyone like this before so it's safe to assume that someone messed up.

"What the fuck is going to happen?" Tom mutters, looking so stressed already.

All the eyes in the room are suspiciously glancing at each other as you get too anxious to even bother straightening the rest of your hair.

Even though you and Seungmin struggling to keep your hands off of each other, you managed to not break any rules. But still... in here you'll get penalized for something you didn't even do.

"Good evening," Lana greets.

"What's good, Lana?" Tom asks with a thin smile.

You can only hope that Lana is playing with our minds and actually gathered everyone to deliver good news, for instance, she feels generous tonight and drops $10,000 into the prize fund. Oh well, that's just your wishful thinking.

"I must regretfully inform you that there has been a breach of the rules."

And here we go again, everyone is once again playing the game of "whodunit" that sadly costs money.

Adriana looks around, "Who is it?"

"Who did it?" Issa says with a threatening voice.

You can only hope that this is not the time you find out that one is stupid enough to commit serious rule breaks.

"Elliott?" Tom asks him since he's grinning like a guilty man.

Elliott shrugs his accusation away and coyly says, "Nah.

He may be putting on a good poker face but Devon? Not so much. She keeps hiding her face behind Elliott's shoulder and avoiding suspicious eyes.

"You're awfully quiet right now, Devon," Vale says with suspicion.

"Did you break another rule?" Lili asks with a soft tone like an understanding mother.

Ever slowly, Elliott's grin is getting wider and wider, exposing the truth he's hiding behind it.

"Ugh! No!" Tom groans, raking his hair with his fingers.

"I can't believe you guys kissed again!" Adriana says, her voice tinted with jealousy as they extravagantly spend money when she can't even get her man to do a single rule break.

Judging from their silence, you sense that it's not just a kiss, "or it wasn't just a kiss...?"

Your question only heightens the tension and everyone's heads are turning in at Devon and Elliott as they occupying the single sofa on the other end of the room.

"Spit it out!" Tom impatiently demands.

Devon only keeps on sighing while Elliott is looking like he has his life flashes before his eyes.

"Just tell us what you did!" Adriana urges them.

Elliott is foolishly grinning his stress away and finally answers, "Coitus."

"What the hell is coitus?" Lili innocently asks.

"Sex," Issa shortly replies.

"Oh, fuck!" The profanity automatically falls out of Lili's mouth.

It's unfair that you were having a good day until two people decided to make your worst fear come true. A kiss is already $6,000 and you don't want to guess how much for sex.

YOU: I mean… Seungmin and I have been resisting temptations.

"I must inform you that sex was not the only thing that took place in the bathroom," Lana continues.

You nervously bite at your thumb, thinking how stupid can they be to break so many rules all at once. Have they always been thinking about themselves?

"That's so stupid!" Adriana doesn't hold back.

Elliott lets out a dry chuckle, "It's not that bad," he calmly says.

From his answer, you can see how stupid he is. What makes him think that answer would make everyone feel better?

"No, Elliott, you're being stupid and selfish," Vale points out, stealing the words out of your mouth.

"Are you aware that what you did got the whole team penalized?" Adriana scolds them more, putting some sense into their heads.

Tom holds Adriana down by putting his hands on her hands. It's the first time he is being the reasonable one out of him and Adriana.

"Let's just hear how much money we've lost," he says.

Lana continues with the announcement, delivering bad news one after the other.

"Elliott and Devon, the fact that the fines were recently doubled does not seem to have deterred you from breaking the rules of the retreat. Today's multiple indiscretions have cost the group..."

You know you wouldn't like what you're going to hear but to soften the blow, you prepare yourself by taking a few deep breaths.

"... $50,000."

Your jaws drop open but nothing comes out of your mouth, you're just at a loss for words. $50,000? You could have paid months' worth of bills and rent with that much money.

"What the hell?"

"That's so expensive!"

Tom is in utter shock that it takes him a few minutes to respond to it, "That's crazy!"

Elliott comes with another ignorant-sounding response, "Our bad. Alright, okay."

Tom claps his hands together and leans forward on his seat, "Do you guys even have respect for us?"

Elliott starts to blabbering around as Devon only sits next to him, saying nothing.

"It's just th-that we have feelings for each other and—"

Adriana cuts right through his words, "So you guys are going to keep doing it?"

"No, no," Elliott hurriedly denies, "That's it."

Everyone is turning on them no matter how hard Elliott is defending himself, he should know by now that he's in the wrong.

"You guys are right. I'm very sorry," he concludes with a regretful tone.

"The prize fund now stands at $104,000," Lana updates the current amount of money in the pot.

Everyone is too tired to even react to five sacks of money lost in one day. At this rate, everyone is going to be in debt.

"May I remind you that you are here to form deeper emotional connections," Lana ends, letting everyone go with a warning.

YOU: I'm upset about Devon and Elliott's rule break but now I'm just thinking maybe... it's my turn now [smirks]

It's exceptionally quiet in the room tonight.

Everyone is upset about losing half of the prize money when the retreat is nowhere close to finished. At this point, everyone will come home with nothing.

And everyone is simply too tired to even deal with things.

"Goodnight, beautiful people!" Issa sweetly says into the dark room.

A few are replying to her and not long after that, the room turns quiet again.

Seungmin is getting used to cuddling you, your head is nestled in the crook of his neck and his arm is around you. This is what he needs after an eventful day, a relaxing time with you and just enjoying each other's warmth.

He knows you're still awake from the way your thumb softly rubs his jaw, he turns his head to the side to plant a kiss on the top of your head.

"You're not tired?" He asks, keeping his voice low to not disturb everyone else in the room.

You take a low breath and answer, "I don't want to sleep."

Seungmin senses that you're up to no good but he's going to have some fun trying to resist you.

"What do you want to do then?"

"Mmh..." you hum and tip your head upward to look at him.

You hold his jaw to make him look back at you, "We can do more than a cuddle or two tonight," you answer with a smile.

His guess is right and he grins at you, suddenly feeling conflicted that a part of him wants to kiss you but another part of him doesn't want to anger everyone.

"No?" You ask.

"No," he answers.

"So... is that a yes?" You ask again with your thumb now swiping his lips.

Seungmin lets out a low chuckle and just can't find it in him to resist you, you're so alluring, so relentless, and just undeniably beautiful.

"We can do more than a cuddle or two, yeah," he caves in to the temptation.

Seungmin takes his arm away just so he can hover above you but before he can lean in, you stop him. You look around to make sure the coast is clear, checking Tom's bed to see if he's sleeping soundly before pulling the duvet to cover both of you.

Even in the dark, Seungmin knows where your lips are because he's drawn to them and when they touched, he feels like something has sets his body alight. He feels warm all over, he feels the flutter in his stomach and the softness of your lips that are in contrast to how hard you return his kiss.

It's only fair that Seungmin reciprocate that energy, he uses his tongue to pry open your mouth and kisses you deeper, harder, and at the same time, trying to keep the smooching sound at the minimum.

Your hands are around him and keep pulling him closer until he collapses on top of you, he has to plant his elbow against the mattress to not put his whole weight on you.

Seungmin doesn't know how much time has passed because, to him, it feels like time stops when he kisses you.

As much as he would love to continue, he decides to end it with a long peck on your lips and pulls open the duvet covering both of you.

With your hands still around his neck, you easily bring his head close to plant a soft kiss on his cheek and smile when you pull away.

"Goodnight," you quietly mutter.

He gives your cheek a gentle caress before placing a kiss on it, then murmurs back, "Goodnight."

The two of you return to your sides of the beds with your backs against each other like nothing just happened.

SEUNGMIN: She is making it hard for me right now but I know that people will be mad about it so I didn't go all the way.

The morning starts with a heartfelt apology from Elliott.

If only the apology brings back the $50,000 they have lost, they would have easily accepted it but well, the damage has been done, there's just no undoing it.

"I'm not the type to dwell on the past but I don't forget and forgive either," Tom says, showing where his stance is on this matter.

Devon brushes her brown hair to the back and draws a breath before talking, "We do not plan to spend any more money. You can believe that or not, but I'll show you," she says with a determination.

"You are repeat offenders!" Tom states a fact that everyone can vouch for it.

"Fair enough," Elliott meekly responds.

Everyone turns quiet as they watch the talk between Tom and Elliott on the sideline, including him and you. You link your arm around his and rest your head on his shoulder.

Tom looks around as he asks the same question every other morning, "Did anyone break the rules last night?"

Not going to lie, Seungmin's heart drops a little but he knows how to put on a poker face. He remains calm, holding your hand if not rubbing the sleep of his eyes.

Another moment passes and no one answers Tom except for the silence that hangs in the room. Admitting it won't do him good, he knows Tom is going to be fuming.

"Let's start the day, shall we?" Issa says, breaking the silence in the room.

Seungmin must admit that you put on a good poker face too, no one is suspecting anything and he hopes it stays like that.

But on the other hand, the rule break last night only makes him want to break more rules and you seem to have the same thing in mind.

"What are we doing today?" You ask, your hand making its way across the sink to grab at his hips.

Seungmin is too busy brushing his teeth to answer you, he wants to do a lot of things with you but most of them are against the rules. He takes your hand and pulls you close to his side which you gladly do, clinging to his side.

You both agreed on swimming in the pool instead of working out, and going to the dressing room to change into swimwear.

Seungmin is already waiting in his swimming trunk and drinking out of his water tumbler when you come out of the changing room without your bikini top.

You're slyly grinning and stand by the full-length mirror to put the bikini top on while he watches in the back.

"Do you like what you see?" You playfully ask as you tie the straps on your back.

Seungmin manages to swallow his water alright even though you suddenly decided to flash him.

"The question is can I touch them?"

You laugh at that and come up to him, putting your hands around his neck, "You can touch them whenever you want."

He gives you a piggyback ride to the swimming pool and standing on the edge of the pool, "Are you ready?"

Before you can answer, he jumps into the pool with you still on his back, catching you off guard. You're gasping for air once you break through the water's surface.

Seungmin has a good laugh watching you fumbling to plant your feet on the bottom of the pool and he hurriedly helps putting your hair away from covering your face.

"You prick!" You say as you hit his chest.

He can't stop laughing, but he tries to console you by hugging you.

"Having a good laugh, huh?" You sneer, all pout and adorable.

"I did ask you if you were ready," he says just to annoy you more.

"Ha-ha," you dryly laugh in response, wiping the water from around your eyes.

"Okay, I'm sorry," He quickly apologizes, putting your hands around his neck and holding you close.

But he is having fun teasing you so while you're holding onto him, he lets himself fall into the water and brings you along with him, fooling you once again.

"Stop following me!" You jokingly say as he trails behind you as you both make your way back to the villa.

He puts his hands on your shoulders and you quickly shrug them off, "Don't touch me!"

That only makes him want to tease you more, he slips his arms under and around you, hugging you from the back.

"You're annoying. Go away!" You grumble, trying to get away but he won't let you.

Seungmin keeps laughing and tightening his hold around you, ignoring that the two of you are dripping wet and forming puddles of water on the floor of the dressing room.

He buries his head in your neck and kisses you there and you whine in complaint but you tip your head to the side, giving him the access to your neck.

"Stop it!" You tell him, half laughing but mostly enjoying his neck kisses.

He knows you can't resist him and that's why you keep letting him kiss your neck with his hands roaming around your wet body.

Then you drop your head on his shoulder, tantalizing him with your lips only inches away from him and you know what, he can worry about the money later.

Seungmin crashes his lips on yours, placing an intense kiss on your soft lips, and gives you a moment to return his kiss before taking it further.

You know what he wants and you give it to him, opening your mouth for him so he can kiss you deeper and harder.

While his lips are busy kissing yours, his hands freely wandering your body, he traces the sides of your body, then bravely cups your breasts in his hands.

A moan slips out of your mouth as he fondles your soft mounds, feeling the nipples hardening under your bikini top. The more he touches you, the more he loses himself in the kiss.

If it wasn't for the footsteps you both hearing coming to the dressing room, Seungmin wouldn't have stopped. He steps away to avoid suspicion, grabbing a towel to start drying himself.

You crane your neck to see who's coming from the hallway but it seems like whoever that is, they're heading for the bedroom, not here.

The moment your eyes meet, you both let out a laugh knowing that no one caught you rulebreaking.

SEUNGMIN: I need to do something because if we keep going down this path... I think we're going to keep breaking more rules.

The dress you're wearing has cute frills on the hem and you're swaying your body side to side in front of the mirror to see how it's going to look.

"It looks like one of those Barbie dresses," Adriana comments.

"I'm not wearing underwear under my dress," you shamelessly share.

"She's not wearing underwear under her skirt," Adriana points at Issa which she confirms with a nod.

"I hardly wear underwear," Devon innocently adds, holding a glass of juice in her hand.

You check one more time in the mirror and Vale happens to walk past you, you grab his elbow to stop him.

"How do I look?"

He ties his long hair into a small bun as he looks at you, "Stunning!"

"Thank you, babes," you mutter with a big smile, holding your hand up for a high five.

"And how do I look?" Vale asks, giving you a spin to show the whole look.

He's wearing blue jeans and a gray knitted sweater which doesn't fit the Caribbean sea weather but he looks good nonetheless.

"Divine!" You answer with a bright smile.

He puts his arm around your shoulder and looks at both of your reflections in the mirror as he says, "Perfect!"

After putting on a fresh coat of lip gloss, you're ready to step out of the villa and find Seungmin, he's the only one you want to show yourself off to.

You can easily spot him from his baseball jacket and his broad shoulders, he's talking to Jeff by the pool. Once you're close enough, you surprise him with a back hug.

Seungmin looks over his shoulder at you and smiles, sharing a moment with him until you realize that Jeff is still there.

"Nice shirt, Jeff," you compliment.

Jeff looks down at his striped shirt, "Thanks!"

Since Seungmin is still engaged in a conversation with him, you decide to let them continue and excuse yourself.

"I'm going to get a drink," you tell Seungmin.

It's when you're done with your first glass of drink and deep in the talk about skincare products with Lili and Adriana that Seungmin looks for you.

"Can I borrow her for a minute?" He asks the girls.

"Uh... No," Adriana jokes.

Nevertheless, he's offering his hand at you to help you get up from the sofa and take you to the firepit which has become you and Seungmin's favorite spot.

You carefully sit on the sofa with your hand keeping the hem of your dress down to not let it ride up your thighs and accidentally expose your private part to the camera.

"I love the jacket," you compliment, grabbing at the collar of it.

"I love the dress," he compliments back, touching the frilly hem, then rests his hand on your thigh.

His hair is brushed to the back, showcasing his beautiful face shape and strong jaws. Something about him that makes it seem like he's getting sexier and sexier each time you look at him.

And your mind is about to wander far off but thankfully, Seungmin grabs your hand and reels you back.

"I think we need to talk," he says.

Those words have such negative connotations and you get a little nervous, "Yeah?"

He puts his arm around you and his fingers are playing with the end of your hair, "We broke the rules twice already. I think it's just too much physical," he says.

Facing Lana's wrath is scary but there are far scarier things than that, for example, Seungmin has a change of heart. Thank God that's not the case so you let out a low sigh of relief.

"And I'm not just talking about people going to be mad at us. I think we should work on our emotional connection too," he seems to pick his words carefully, probably not wanting you to get the wrong idea.

You know exactly what he's talking about, there just too much physical stuff lately and you can't think of anything other than that.

But if you would rather do that than have to talk about emotions, feelings... it's just too scary for you.

"I'm just bad at talking about my feelings, that scares me so much," you honestly tell him.

Seungmin repeatedly nods as he takes your answer and pats your head, "Okay then, for now, let's put a brake on the physical stuff," he suggests.

Not sure if that's also what you want, you hate the idea but Seungmin is right, you should start to think of the group and stop acting selfishly.

The only thing that gets in the way is that it's not an easy thing to do.

"You know on the first few days in this retreat, I kind of forgot about sex," you share.

You pull the lapel of his jacket and slyly smile as you glance at him, "But now that I'm sharing a bed with a hot guy... all I'm thinking is just sex, sex, and sex," you openly admit, purposely dropping your voice lower and lower.

Seungmin is holding himself from smiling and you see that he profusely blushing from your words which makes him even cuter.

He clears his throat before speaking, "Surely, we can control our impulses, we can try—"

You cut him off as you stare into his eyes, "And when you're looking me in the eyes like that I just get so... fired up," you tell him.

He draws a sharp breath and throws his head back, failing to try to make you stop thinking about sexual stuff to only hear you talk more about sexual stuff.

You laugh as he looks so defeated and you hug him, feeling bad for him.

"We should stop spending the money, mmh!" He tries again.

"I'll try," you say while continuously laughing.

Hopeless, he buries his head and threatens you with tickling kisses, sending you into a laughing fit. Once you calmed down, you carefully dab the tears pooling in the corner of your eyes from laughing.

"If we can't kiss then I want cuddles," you demand.

Seungmin knows what to do, sitting on the end of the sofa so you can rest on his chest. You keep the hem of your dress down as you get in between his legs.

"I'm not wearing underwear," you tell him.

He hurriedly takes his jacket off, offering it to you to cover your legs, then puts his arms around you.

"Why are you not wearing an underwear?" He curiously asks.

"To seduce you, of course!" You mischievously reply with a smirk.

He groans at the night sky and hisses, "Fuck..."

YOU: What can I say? I love teasing him [laughs]

Should you be suspicious or relieved to know that Lana is letting the two of you off tonight?

She didn't announce any rule breaks tonight and everyone stays oblivious about your rulebreaks. Well, you should be thankful that you can go to sleep at ease tonight.

"Goodnight, fam!" Jeff mutters to everyone in the room once the lights are off.

In the dark, Seungmin gets bold with his touches, you wonder if he's going to keep his word to not spend any more money.

You still remember how he said he didn't like cuddles that much but he's the only one spooning you right now with his big, warm hand resting on your stomach.

To put it simply, he's not that much of a man who sticks to his words.

It's obvious that he wants it as much as you do as he keeps placing kisses all over your shoulder and neck, his hand goes under your night dress, squishing on the flesh of your stomach.

"We can kiss, you know," you whisper.

He presses a kiss on the skin behind your ear and whispers back, "But we can't."

You let him do as he pleases and try to not make any noises as his hand climbs up your chest, his fingers teasing your underboob.

You turn your head to the back and lowly mutter, "You know what they say?"

He detaches his mouth off your neck, "What?"

"Third time is a charm," you answer.

Seungmin gets it right away and he decides that he's going against his plan to not act selfishly. He kisses you and lets his hand roam all over you, fondling at your breast and pinching at your nipple, making you yelp against his lips.

You see that he's smiling as he kisses you and he slides his hand down your stomach, easing down to where you want him the most.

He lets go of the kiss to ask, "Are you wearing underwear?"

"Sadly, yes," you answer.

That doesn't stop him from continuing, cupping your clothed sex as he plants his mouth on you again and without warning, lands a gentle slap at it.

You take his hand away in reflex and put it back on your waist, holding it down to not let it wander again.

"You can't do that, baby," you whine.

It's a surprise that you find yourself becoming the one with more senses and reminding him about the plan. Probably because it only hits you now that you've spent quite a lot of money already with three kisses and that's only what you know.

You don't want to know how Lana is going to calculate these rule breaks, thinking about it is enough to make you shudder.

Seungmin takes a deep breath to calm himself down, he needs it as you can feel his member poking your backside. You turn around to sleep facing him and putting a little space between your bodies, resting your hand on his chest as you look at his face in the dark.

"We should save some for tomorrow," you jokingly say.

Seungmin softly chuckles and takes your hand to kiss it, "Goodnight," he mutters.

You lean in to kiss his cheek and give his fluffy hair a ruffle, "Goodnight, baby."

YOU: I hope Lana dozed off during her night shift or was updating her software or something [laughs]

This morning, people started getting suspicious of you.

As soon as the lights are on and morning greetings are being thrown around the room, Tom asks the usual question, "Were there any rule breaks last night?"

You put on an act and you don't have to worry about Seungmin, he mastered the innocent until proven guilty face.

Issa shakes her head while twisting her hair and secures it with a hair claw, "Nothing here."

"That's good," Tom says, impressed.

Then Devon with her bare face and naturally rosy cheeks, gestures her hand in your direction, "I definitely heard something from there," she says.

Your heart drops but you keep reminding yourself to not act on it, putting on an angelic smile to ward the suspicion away.

"Why are you smiling?" Jeff asks.

"Because I'm feeling good," You simply answer, ignoring how your heart starts beating out of control inside your chest.

Thankfully, Vale chimes in and puts all of the attention away from you, "Yo Jeff, I dreamed that you stole one of the cones in the villa," he says.

Jeff cracks a laugh at this random information, "You mean, I stole Lana?"

Now that the suspicious eyes are nowhere on you, you look at Seungmin and exchange a knowing glance.

"What are we doing today?"

"Stop following me," he says, getting back at you with what you said to him yesterday.

You rest your head on his shoulder, "Want to work out together?"

He pushes you away by the shoulder, "You're annoying. Go away!"

You put your hand across his chest and hug him, annoying him more by nuzzling your head into his neck.

"Stop it!" He plainly says.

It's for the best that you maintain a safe space with Seungmin for now. You join Vale sunbathing, taking the lounger next to him, and put sunglasses on to shield you from the sun.

"It's weird not seeing you all over your boy," Vale pokes fun at you.

"Gee! Thanks," you sneer with a thin smile.

Vale chuckles and puts his bottle of suntan away, "So, you like this boy so much, huh?"

"Yes," you confidently reply.

"That much, huh?"

"Yes."

He chuckles again and reclines on his lounger, "How far are you in the relationship?"

You get a little anxious at the mention of the word "relationship" but it is a relationship, what you have with Seungmin is not just a fling.

With Vale, you can openly tell him about things because you know he will try to help you find an answer. He's a good friend who you can seek advice from.

"I'm just afraid that I might get scared and just fall back, I'm like... caught between two things at this moment," you honestly tell him.

Vale understands your problem, he's brushing his facial hair as he thinks about what to say to you.

"I think you should follow your heart," he says.

"If he feels right to you, then you should go for it," he continues, looking at you through the lenses of your sunglasses.

Seungmin feels right but that doesn't mean that one day, he won't walk away from your life. That's what you fear: being abandoned.

"I know but... it's just..." You don't know how to fathom it into words but you can feel the fear creeping up inside you.

Vale grabs your hand and gives it a squeeze, "It's okay. You'll figure it out," he comforts you with a smile.

This is what makes Vale a good friend, he's not judgmental and knows how to provide comfort. You place your hand on top of his and smile back at him.

After a moment, he lets go and then sits back on his lounger, "What else is on your mind though?"

"Sex?" You shamelessly answer.

He bursts out laughing and puts his hands behind his head, "You did break the rules with him last night, didn't you?"

He knows you better than anyone so there's no use in denying it, you nod to confirm.

"How bad?"

You skip on answering and he gets the meaning of it, cracking another laugh at you.

"How mad everyone will be when they find out?" You foolishly ask even though you don't want to know the answer.

"Depends..." Vale answers, sparing his detailed opinion on it.

He knows you know how bad it would be since you're the one who committed the crimes. If you have to guess how bad, well, it's bad enough that it sends a chill down your spine.

You shake the thought away and turn the conversation elsewhere, "Enough about me. How about you?"

"What about me?" Vale asks in confusion.

"Are you still on the hunt or...?" You wonder if Vale is having his eyes on someone or if he wants to continue this journey on his own.

"I don't know," he answers.

"I don't think I... I think I learned enough here," he cryptically adds, hinting that he wants to stop progressing in this retreat.

But it could also mean something else entirely.

"If it's about the girls, I think Lana will bring more guests into the villa," you try to console him.

Vale awkwardly chuckles and lets your words vanish into thin air, unanswered.

YOU: I want to open up, I do and I know it's something that I need to do but that's just too scary for me.

It's time to face the music.

When Devon lets everyone know that Lana wants everyone in the cabana, Seungmin knows that she's going to announce the rule breaks.

Lana has been quiet lately but that doesn't mean she's not keeping tabs on what's happening in the villa. He sees that you look a little nervous as you walk next to him.

Everyone is cheering once they enter the cabana and Seungmin wonders what triggers it, it's the first time everyone is happy coming into the cabana.

Then he notices the small gift boxes, twelve of them on the table which means everyone gets one.

"I hope it's one of those mini vibrators," Cara cheekily remarks.

Next to him, you're sighing and awkwardly muttering, "That's interesting."

Not long after, Lana chimes to answer everyone's curiosity, "Hello, everyone. As you can see, I have a treat for you all."

More cheering erupts in the cabana and Tom is excitedly whooping, probably because Lana finally delivers good news.

"The purpose of this gift will further enhance your relationships going forward. You may now open your gifts."

Everyone takes each box onto their laps and impatiently opens them to find out what's inside. Seungmin takes one for him too and gets yours for you.

"When I observe two people forming a genuine connection, they will be given a green light, like this."

While everyone else is enjoying their watches and Lana explains about the green light, Seungmin is left confounded as he finds nothing inside his box.

And so are you.

"You don't get one?" Elliott asks.

Devon dramatically gasps, "What does that mean?"

Seungmin looks at you and you look back at him, nervously laughing at the same time. He knows you both fucked up and it's time to let everyone knows.

"Do you guys know why you don't get one?" Adriana asks.

It's better to come clean and not make it worse for both of you. Seungmin learns the hard way not to underestimate Lana and if he did again, she'd punish him more.

"Uhm... so..." You're fiddling with the cuff of Seungmin's shirt, anxious.

Seungmin decides to speak for both of you, "Last night, we kissed and did a little heavy petting," he confesses.

He thought that it would be like taking a bandaid off all at once but as everyone is exclaiming, groaning, and complaining, he realizes that the sting lingers.

"I knew it," Devon says, knowing that she was right about the noises she heard last night.

"You have not only broken the rules once, but three times in 36 hours," Lana reveals.

And hearing that, he must agree that it's that bad.

"What are you doing?" Elliott asks in disbelief as if he didn't spend 50 grand on himself a few days ago.

"These rule breaks have cost the group a total of $30,000."

Everyone is at a loss for words, including Tom and that's a bad sign. Seungmin would rather Tom to scold him than get nothing from him.

"The prize fund now stands at $74,000," Lana updates.

SEUNGMIN: [Groans] I clearly underestimated Lana.

When you think the nightmare is over, Lana calls you and Seungmin. You sit up straighter and hold Seungmin's hand tighter on his lap.

"Everyone here has struggled to combat their physical urges, but you two have shown a blatant disregard for my rules of late."

Lana is mad, you get it and you believe you're not going to like what she says next. But what can you do? You have to pay for what you did.

"Therefore, to prove you are committed to the process, I'm setting you an additional test."

Oh? A test? But you're never good at tests and everyone seems to have guessed what kind of test Lana will put you into.

"You will both spend the night in the suite," Lana continues.

You and Seungmin immediately turn to look at each other, muttering two different curses at the same time.

"Fuck!"

"Damn it!"

"You are encouraged to use your time to further your connection and prove that you do, in fact, respect the rules of my retreat," Lana warns.

Everyone is already pessimistic about it, they probably think that the two of you will fail which only makes you want to prove them wrong.

"If successful you will earn your watches," Lana announces.

Seungmin looks at everyone and says, "To me, this is not a problem."

This is not a problem to him but everyone knows that the problem is you, you're the one who keeps leading him into temptations.

"You may now leave," Lana orders.

YOU: Oh, my God! How are we going to survive this?

Support my blog by kindly reblog, comment or tip me on my ko-fi!

taglist: @svintsandghosts @abiaswreck @ppiri-bahng @drhsthl @idkluvutellme @biribarabiribbaem @skz-streamer @biancaness @hanjisunginc @elizalabs3 @laylasbunbunny @kpopformylife @caitlyn98s @hann1bee @darkypooo @mamieishere @is2cb97 @marvelous-llama @bluenights1899 @sherryblossom @toplinehyunjin @hanjisbeloved @yourmomscuntis2tighy @sunnyseungup @skzhoe4life @stellasays45 @severeanxietyissues @avyskai @imseungminsgf @silentreadersthings @army-stay-noel @rylea08 @simeonswhore @jebetwo @yubinism @devilsmatches @septicrebel @rairacha @cutiespaghetti @ven-fic-recs

#stray kids smut #skz smut #seungmin smut #kim seungmin smut #skz x reader #seungmin x reader #stray kids imagines #skz imagines #stray kids scenarios #skz scenarios #skz fics #skz fanfics #kpop smut #kpop fics #kpop fanfics #seospicy smut #too hot to handle series

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artanticaa · 6 months ago

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Tattoo Shop Au HAHA

Okay, picture this (this is not like a fic it is just my ideas):

Marc crams himself in his shop late at night, long after he flipped the "open" sign to "close", and he hunches over in his chair, frantically scribbling design idea, the thoughts in his head moving much faster than what he can do with the pen, but he tries to keep up as to not let any idea slip through the cracks.

He loves that people want to get tattoos from him, but late at night he bites his nails, wondering how he is going to top himself with the next tattoo. Álex knows this, knows that if he wants to find Marc at midnight on a Friday, he should start with the shop. So that is exactly what he does. He has a spare key so he lets himself in and walks to the back to grab Marc.

He throws a shirt at Marc and tells him to get up, that there's a new club in the city and he thinks it would be good for Marc to get out and let loose a little. Marc agrees but very reluctantly, putting on the tank top Álex brought for him.

Little does Marc know, this new club's little theme is UV/black lights. When the two of them get to the little sign outside a small door tucked into a busy street labeled "Neon" Marc is already like, oh no absolutely not, but Álex pushes him in, already seeing the tattoos that cover Marc's arms, legs, neck, and face start to glow.

Marc doesn't like to respond to people when they give him shit for being "a tattoo artist with no tattoos" because, why get into that argument. In reality he is actually covered from head to toe in UV tattoos, which don't show up under normal light, they only show up under black light. So he just lets people believe he has no tattoos.

However, when he gets into this club, he lights up like a glowstick LOL. What he doesn't know is that earlier that night, Valentino's two little gremlin children convinced him to go out with them to a :new club" in the city as well. Pecco and Bez spot someone turned away from them from across the room and they notice all the glowing tattoos decorating his body and tap Vale on the shoulder and tell him to look.

*cue dramatic turn around*

Marc turns around to look at the scene and Pecco, Bez, and Vale are able to see that it is him, the bottom half of his face covered in what looks to be a realistic skull tattoo, from his nose down it almost looks like those x-rays you get at a dentist office.

And like after that, ya know, whole big shock factor, people are looking blah blah. IDK MAN I wanna make a comic of that.

also shout out my beloved best friend @vanillow for yelling with me abt it

#tattoo shop au #marc marquez #pecco bagnaia #marco bezzecchi #alex marquez #motogp #yapping

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pralinesims · 4 months ago

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// Character asks

Tagged by @changingplumbob, thanks so much <3

Which OC is the first at a movie theater opening night for a movie they've been excited for?

LMAO this question cracked me up when I first read it bc it immediately made me think of my cinema storyline, truth is out of that particular bunch, besides that specific setting without any obligations, I can only see Luca wanting to show up immediately at an opening night? He's a huge movie buff and always waits for new releases. Emilio wouldn't immediately need to see a movie, same with Aaron. Though it does depend per case. And for Vale, especially not. He usually rather waits for it to arrive on streaming services than to be cramped in a stuffy cinema, even if he does enjoy the movie theater soundscape. Outside of the cinema squad, I can see Gina and Devyn being really excited for new movie releases and wanting to see them as soon as possible.

Which OC is the pickiest?

Definitely Vale, he is REALLY picky with most food and usually not up for new adventures, with exception when it comes to beverages, but yeah. He simply does not eat most fruit for example, and generally if possible, sticks to his safe foods. Besides him, Kaia is kinda picky aswell, not with her palate, but rather textures. She needs her meals buttery soft and/or smushed.

Which OC is the most stubborn?

Aaron, I'd say. A lot of them are quite a stubborn bunch, but he definitely takes the crown. He does NOT budge on like, anything ever, if he's decided something has to be in a specific way, do not attempt to sway his opinions or change him. I'd also consider Emilio and Sharon the next contenders when it comes to stubbornness. If you'd put these 3 in a room and let them try to sort out an argument, you'd see the scenario of all of them wanting to have the upper hand and win lol.

Which OC looks like a pushover, but could actually kick someone's butt?

Baby Maggie! She is surprisingly strong for being so tiny. Amazing at lifting weights, too. Amazing at crushing things. Usually accidentally, but she can build up quite some power.

Which OC is most likely to excitedly talk about hobbies?

Absolutely Gina. A lot of things interest her, and she loves to share what makes her adore the things she does. If she's played a new game she's become hyperfixated on? Must tell her friends. Read a newly discovered manga that's considered niche? Must tell everyone so they know just how damn good and underrated it is. Drawn one of her friends? Mail that piece of artwork to them. In addition to Gina, Maggie and Emilio are probably the chattiest about their hobbies. Also while not on their level, you can easily lure Kaia out of her woodworks if you want her to read a birth chart, or simply talk about the beauty of some constellations.

I'm sooo behind tags and dunno who's done which ones, so I'm tagging everyone who's in mood to do this and also blabber some more about their OC's <3

#tag game #oc facts #my sims #emilio #vale #luca #sharon #aaron #gina #devyn #kaia #maggie #might swap some pics out later bc the majority of these have been used SO often for oc fact posts now

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itstheval · 28 days ago

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Vale Vs Odile

A @livesworthlivingau Side Story

"An old Ka Bue tradition says that you can feel the shape of someone's soul in their Craft. Did you know that?"

Odile's question had come out of nowhere, and Vale felt like it. They'd been relaxing after a well-enjoyed lunch, with Nille off teaching Bonnie something, and Isabeau and Siffrin off…well, the less said about that the better. That left Vale, Mirabelle, and Odile sitting together.

It had been nice, simply sitting in the presence of other people, but…The tone Odile had used demanded an answer, and it clearly wasn't aimed at Mirabelle. So. Them.

"I…Didn't?"

Vale cursed the way their voice sounded. So long spent trying to get used to Stardust's family, and the Researcher still terrified them with how observant she could be. It was that feeling that settled in the pit of their stomach now.

"It's one of the traditions I've come to agree with." The Researcher continued, closing her book - oh, the Housemaiden had done the same now, sitting at rapt attention. This wasn't good. "Just watching how someone fights can give you a much deeper understanding of them. It's also harder for them to keep a mask up, if they're worried about the fight in front of them."

"Why, how delightful to know!" Vale managed to gather their composure - or at least the mask of it - enough to give a bright smile, charming and defenseless. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever go back to Ka Bue!"

"No, Vale. If you've changed so much from the Siffrin I knew, I'd like to know how." Odile's hand went to the log under her, and with slow effort, she pushed herself to stand. "Don't worry. I'll keep my findings to myself. Even if it goes against what I stand for as a Researcher."

Oh, she was teasing them now. She knew the nicknames…and she had to know the why. She's Odile. She's the Researcher. She knew everything. With all the grace of a prisoner on the way to the executioner's block, he stood up and followed her, out onto the road. Not that there was anywhere better to fight…The clearing they'd found was barely large enough for their extended party, and certainly not enough to fight without destroying something or another.

Vale's whip fell to hand easily, and curled against the ground, as Odile's book fell open in her hand. "I may be an old lady," Odile said, by way of starting, "But I'm still one of the Saviors of Vaugarde, so there's no need to hold back-"

"[And The Curtains Open…]"

Vale proved Odile's comments unnecessary as their whip shot out, the gem-ended tip of it flicking at Odile's guard as she winced. That was it, then. Snapping of the whip, the shock of it…still scissors? No, a flat hand, a difference. Her own hand remained flat against her book, as her other twisted in the air, marking out a diamond with the path of two fingers.

"[Scissors III.]"

The diamond of cutting Craft shot out, and Vale's eyes widened slightly as they remembered just how the Madam fought. All three types…This wasn't going to be great, was it? The feeling of Craft scything through clothing and flesh alike answered that in a moment. No, the third of his health that vanished answered. No it was not.

The two watched each other for a moment, circling around slightly, before Odile's hand raised in a flat palm, a symbol for 'stop', and Craft radiated from it.

"[Slow IV]. Come on, I won't pretend I'm the fastest opponent in the world."

"[Give Them A Show.] Just waiting for the opening!" Vale's sing-song response was juxtaposed with their own Craft, canceling the power of the pseudo-Time Craft with their own, and leaving them with more than enough time to strike. This time, they settled for just attacking, their whip dancing in midair and coming in with a sharp CRACK when Odile wasn't expecting it, the constant, flowing motion of it obscuring when an attack would come. Odile flinched back with each attack, letting her craft build, until-

"[Paper Alpha V]" Wait, she shouldn't have-!

Vale flinched back from the powerful attack, only to discover it was nothing of the sort. A basic attack impacted their body, and they stared in confusion.

"What, an old lady can't keep a few tricks? Siffrin and I did talk, you know." She said it with a laugh, as Vale's face went through a truly fascinating series of emotions before eventually settling on amusement.

"What did you even gain from that?" Vale managed to laugh out, shaking their head and feeling where the attack hit, barely impacting enough to damage.

"Think it through, Vale. How do I win this fight? How do you?" Odile answered with a mysterious smile, and then another diamond-shaped burst of Craft shot out, leaving Vale little time to think as they dodged. They kept turning it over in their head, keeping a close eye on the crafty Researcher while they thought about it, whip hanging loosely in their hand…

Whip…hanging loosely…

"Oh you cr-!" Vale's realization was cut off by another burst of basic Papercraft, and the light in Odile's eyes was bright and proud, looking at Vale like a star student! Or…a bright student. Best avoid the S-word.

"Stalling, Vale! The longer you're lost in your own head, the more time I have to rebuild my Craft!" Her words were laced with laughter, and Vale's mind ran through the course of the battle. Blind it, she was right! They'd stopped attacking after that gambit, and she'd taken every turn she could!

"[Scissors III!]" "[That's A Wrap!]"

The cutting craft hurt, but Vale knew that already. What was important was that they didn't flinch in landing their own attack. Creative Craft guided their whip, and they stepped a step closer to the Researcher as the tip began coiling around her arms, the craft thrumming in a constant, slow drain of health. Vale was bleeding, but Odile hung her head, giving a smile.

"They were right, you know. About learning. I Yield." And with that, the Craft fled from Vale's whip, and the fight was ended. Odile rubbed her arms where the whip had squeezed, and smirked as she saw Mirabelle running up to heal the pair.

"Does Petronille know you can do that?"

"Go blind yourself."

Odile was still laughing when Mirabelle healed her.

#lwlau #isat fanfic #isat nille #in stars and time spoilers #in stars and time au #lives worth living au #behind the vale #btvau #lwl odile

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bridgyrose · 3 months ago

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Weiss slowly brought a dress up in front of her as she looked over her reflection in the mirror, fingers clutching the fabric tightly. A small smile crossed her lips as she held the dress close to her body, glad that she had found one that Winter was throwing away. And for the first time in a long time, she felt like herself. Even if she had to hide who she was at home, this was enough to tell her that this was who she was.

Her smile dropped as she heard a few footsteps on the other side of her bedroom door, quickly stashing the dress under her bed and moving the covers to keep it from being seen. Weiss turned around as she heard a knock on the door, voice cracking as she answered. “W-who’s there?”

“Klein, Master Weiss,” Klein said from behind the door. “I have lunch for you.”

“Come in.” Weiss gave a half smile as she watched Klein walk into the room pushing a tray. She was grateful it was just Klein and that her father wasnt following behind. She sat down on her bed and adjusted her tie as Klein made sure lunch was served. “You know you dont have to call me Master Weiss when Father isnt around.”

Klein nodded and moved the tray to Weiss’s beside. “But you never know who he has watching you. After he found that skirt you purchased, I’m sure he has more of the servants around here watching to make sure you’re a model son for him.”

Weiss’s smile dropped as she let out a soft sigh and ran her fingers through her short hair. “Dont remind me. Though I’d wish he’d understand I’m not his son.”

“I’m she he’ll understand it once you have the chance to leave home. You are still planning to go to Beacon in a couple years, yes?”

“As long as I can pass the entrance exam and continue to convince Father that its in our family’s best interest that his heir also be a huntsman.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to.”

“I can hope,” Weiss said quietly as Klein left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts again. She waited until she couldnt hear footsteps near her door before pulling out a sketchbook with a few designs she had made for the huntress gear she wanted to wear once she started at Beacon. A combat skirt to allow her to move freely, a nice top and jacket to match in order to show her status as one of Atlas’ elite.

A smile crossed her lips again as she ran her fingers over the sketch, already glad she was that much closer to making this a reality. The real challenge would be to place the order without her father knowing, Most of the tailors and dressmakers in Atlas reported any orders the Schnees made straight to Jacques, and trying to order anything like this from Vale or Mistral seemed out of the question without coming up with some sort of an excuse. Waiting until she could get to Beacon sounded like a better option, though explaining any of this to a roommate or even any future teammates felt like a bigger hassle than she wanted to.

Weiss closed the sketchbook and tossed it to the floor as she laid down on her bed. With quiet words, she looked up at the ceiling above her. “I know this is what I want, but father… he’d never understand and I wish there was a way I could get him to.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for just a moment, only to open them when she felt someone take her hand. In front of her was an older woman who gave her a smile, and her room had seemed to disappear in a realm of light.

“Please take care of this gift.”

The woman and the room of light disappeared just as quickly as they came and Weiss fell out of bed as she felt a warmth in her chest as her heart pounded. Her eyes burned in a warm stinging no matter how many times she blinked to try to get whatever was in them out. And then she went still as she saw the floor under her start to freeze with a sheet of ice that almost seemed to grow on its own. She finally caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, catching a blue fire in her eyes.

She finally caught her breath as she watched the fire disappear and she slowly stood up, nearly slipping on the ice on her floor as she heard a knock on her door.

“Weiss?” Klein called out. “Is everything okay?”

“E-everything is fine!” Weiss said as held her bed to stabilize herself. “I uh… I scared myself… with… with a book! A horror story! Nothing more!”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am!” Weiss created a few glyphs to walk over the ice on the floor so she could make it to the door. She opened it just wide enough for her to slip out and nearly slammed the door when she closed it. “Though I think now might be a good time for me to take a walk. I know father keeps you busy, but… would you come with me?”

Klein nodded. “Of course, Master Weiss. Where did you want to go?”

“Through the menagerie that mother has,” Weiss answered as she started to walk down the hall. “Just need to clear my head and looking at the animals will help.”

“Then I’ll follow your lead.”

Weiss gave a soft smile as she started to make her way through the manor and to the menagerie. She slowed her steps as she walked by each portrait, her eyes lingering at how much like a boy they made her look. Even with her hair slowly growing out, she still looked enough like the son Jacques had wanted no matter how much she tried to change that.

She stopped at one of the few portraits that had her whole family smiling, back before Winter left to be a huntress and Whitley had just been born. She reached out for it, her fingertips lingering against the frame for just a moment as she wished it all could go back to then. Weiss pulled back as soon as she saw a bit of frost start to run up the frame and quickly pulled out her scroll to look at her eyes.

“Is everything okay-”

“I-I’m fine!” Weiss said as she swatted Klein’s hand away from her shoulder. She took a breath as the flames in her eyes died down and adjusted her vest. “I’m sorry I pulled you along, but I’ve decided to go for my walk alone.”

Klein nodded and gave a small bow to Weiss. “You know where to find me if you need me.”

“Thank you, Klein,” Weiss said.

She waited until Klein had left her sight before she started to walk again, taking her way out towards the front door instead of to the menagerie like she had wanted to originally. At least, until she passed by a painting of her, Jacques, and Whitlley. She stared at the painting, a reminder of how her father had wanted a picture of the men of his family together, the reminder of how her father and others would see her.

Weiss didnt realize she had placed a hand on the painting or that it had caught fire, and she didnt care when she caught a reflection of herself in metal of a suit of armor as the fire in her eyes died down. She took a step back to watch the painting burn for a few seconds before rushing away from it.

“F-fire!” she called out. “There’s a fire!”

#rwby #weiss schnee #klein sieben #drabbles #maiden!Weiss #trans!Weiss #maiden weiss au #maiden weiss

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formulapookie · 4 months ago

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rosquez 5!!!!!

aaah yes

5. a kiss where it hurts

It's not been long since he finished the race, he won it, a truly amazing come back from Marc after his surgery.

and his arm hurts, a lot.

It's a burning sensation, he feels the need to cry, to curl up in a ball and beg for the pain to go away.

and when he gets to his motorhome he just wants to do that, but there's someone waiting for him.

Vale, a shiny smile painted on his face but a layer of worry in his eyes, a layer that becomes really thick once he sees Marc, he knows he's hurting, he can see it behind the mask he puts on for the media.

Marc goes to hug him, wants to be cuddled until he falls asleep and can be in a reality where his whole body doesn't feel like it's cracking under pressure.

"It hurts I know amore I know, let's go on the couch here, sit here let me help you"

Marc follows vale's directions blindly, curling up on thecouch holding his arm.

Vale removes his hand from the scar, tracing it with his fingers instead, passing him the painnkillers he knows Marc tries not to take to show he's strong enough to resist.

"Amore come on take the meds I need you to sleep well, you need to rest, I am here"

Since they mended bridges Vale has been extremely careful, especially regarding his scar, because he knows Marc wants to act like it doesn't bother him, but also knows it does bother him a lot.

"Where does it hurt the most amore?" Marc wants to tell him nothing, to seem tough, but Vale sees right through him, so he points at his arm, the huge scar present and pink a reminder of how much he's willing to suffer to win.

He feels Vale's lips on his scar, a soft kiss placed right where he can feel the burning taking over his rationality. He lets Vale kiss all over his scar, painkillers numbing his brain, making him feel sleepy, as Vale keeps slowly leaving kisses everywhere it hurts.

It's a beautiful way to fall asleep, reassured Vale is there, for him, even after eveything.

And Vale doesn't stop his kisses until he's sure Marc is asleep, pulling a blanket over him and making sure there's other painkillers right on hand if MArc needs more, moving him slighlty so he can curl around him, keeping him in his arms.

He falls asleep too, a hand on Marc's arm, stroking his scar gently.

Send me a ship name and a number and I'll write a kiss <3

#alice journal of asks #anon🩷#ASK GAMESSSS

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bycalililies · 5 months ago

Text

Love In Distance, a Cloud x Aerith story by Cali Lilies

Aerith Gainsborough peered through the dancing Gold Saucer crowd, sliding a hand across her brow to improve her focus.

“Why does everyone split up whenever we come here?”

In the corner of the group she saw Cid, the jovial pilot, attempt to cut a rug. She grinned.

“At least he’s giving it a go.”

She had little interest in speaking with Cid, at least at the moment. To solve this particular dilemma, she needed someone specific. Someone who really knew her.

Her fingers nervously quaked. The first time the party arrived at the Saucer from Corel Village, it blew by in an instant. She got to know the lay of the place thanks to traveling around with Cloud that night. Wonderment Square, the Chocobo Races, the photo of Jessie outside the theater. Her eyes were still recovering from the visual overstimulation.

Yet, none of those places were her fondest memory; it was the sound of his voice instead, the feeling of that barrier between them starting to crack. She felt her heart beat increasingly faster but as Cait Sith turned up with bad news, she knew their night was over. In the hours that followed, she questioned everything when it came to her heart: Where she stood, what she wanted. Just as she was doing again now.

It was why she needed help. Help that only a four-legged Watcher of the Vale could provide.

“Now if I were Red, where would I be…”

She listed off the possibilities in her head. She was willing to traverse the entire Saucer if need be, but why not try to narrow it down? She knew he wouldn’t be at the Event Square or back at the Hotel…

Soon, her mind settled on a singular spot: The races. Red joked back in Gongaga that he’d love to run against the birds with Cait as his jockey, if they’d ever let him. He liked to watch regardless. He was fascinated by chocobos; she stifled a laugh whenever she’d see him riding one out in the wild.

As she took the conveyor up into the racing lobby, her hands trembled more. Why was she more nervous about this than the fiends out at Mt. Nibel, or the impending journey to the Temple?

She knew her answer; she just wasn’t sure it was right.

“How are the birds?”

She smiled at him as she spoke. He sat facing a throng of chocobos being shown off to a group of eager tourists.

“So energetic,” he exclaimed, voice full of wonder. “I wish we could harness some of it.”

The sound of Red’s natural voice still slightly unnerved her. It was silly, but there was something about his previous manner of speaking that felt so wise. Like there was intention and weight behind every word.

“Do you have a minute? I could go for some of your advice.”

He nodded.

“Wanna go somewhere not as noisy?”

“Is there a place not as noisy here?”

Red laughed, and the two settled on an area a good twenty feet away, straddling the left wall of the room. There was no escaping the constant chatter, but they were separate enough from the louder patrons and the occasional “kwehs” of a bird desperate for attention.

She took a seat, and he rested on his hind quarters to face her intently.

“So it’s about Cloud…” she said with hesitation still in her voice.

His left eyebrow raised a centimeter.

“Is something wrong? I can run and find the others.”

“No. Don’t. The thing is, I think I like him.”

“Really? Consider me shocked!”

She didn’t know how to read sarcasm on his face; luckily, she didn’t need to in order to figure this one out.

“It’s that obvious?”

“You do ask to fight next to him a lot.”

“Yeah,” she blushed. “I guess I can’t help it. Even though I should. Let someone else have a turn, you know?”

He chuckled but remained quiet. He had learned through the journey so far that if he gave his companions room to breathe, they’d eventually speak their mind.

“I wanna go out with him tonight. There’s a showing of Loveless in a couple of hours, and we didn’t get to ride the Skywheel last time.”

“Go for it! You don’t need my help for that.”

“It’s just that … I’m afraid.”

The very thought of that caused Red’s ears to inch back on his skull. Aerith, afraid?

“He won’t say no if you ask.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about…”

–

“You can’t fall in love with me. Even if you think you have … It’s not real.”

When she said it, she meant it. It didn’t matter if she loved Cloud or was starting to love Cloud.

At first, she thought he was someone else. She knew from the moment he fell from the sky that the memories would come flooding back. Did she like Cloud, or did she like him?

Then, they traveled through Sector 5. Sure, he was moody, but there was a charm underneath the scowls. She loved it when he laughed or tried to flirt, rare as it was. She saw how he looked at her when she walked up in that gaudy red dress for Corneo.

But he couldn’t fall in love with her and no, he shouldn’t get a say in it. She had to keep it at bay. She smiled, thanked him for all his help and vowed to cherish every moment they had. They could love each other, but in another way.

She reiterated it to herself like a mantra when he arrived at the Shinra Building to rescue her, or when they wrestled with fate on their way out of Midgar. Eventually, the reminders turned to lies.

When she saw him standing below the clock tower, she felt the butterflies she tried to deny. He tried to keep his own feelings low-key, but she knew they were there, slowly bubbling underneath the steely-eyed surface. His feelings. Not someone else’s. What she so vividly feared.

The illusions and the lies flickered away. A reality remained she could no longer ignore.

–

“I’ve tried to distract myself from how I feel, I really have. I know what we’re fighting against. How important it is.”

Aerith and Red XIII had made their way back out into Park Central, desperate to avoid a slowly-brewing shouting match between bird-betters in the lobby. They ventured up multiple flights of stairs, close to the entrance to Speed Square. From there, they ducked down quietly under a massive decorative palm tree.

“But why deny yourself entirely? You should feel however you feel.”

“It’s just not that simple.” She looked down despondently, her radiant eyes feeling a sudden shade darker.

“It's like I'm drowning in guilt. That I shouldn’t get to feel this way. That I’m selfish.”

“I know I haven’t known you that long, but you seem like the least selfish person I know. Remember when you stayed up with me after I got sick from eating that meat in the Grasslands?”

“Oh, how could I forget,” she said with a laugh, before turning serious again in a matter of seconds.

“I just know my actions could hurt other people, even if I don't mean to.”

Zack.

She used to think about him by the hour. Now, it varied. He’d done nothing wrong and here she was, thinking of someone else with a buster sword. Someone wearing similar clothes. How hurt would he be?

At first, she thought it’d be a lot, but with every footstep out of Midgar she started to know more and more of the real Cloud, as hard as he was at times to find. He wasn’t Zack, and she wasn’t replacing him with some carbon copy of his personality.

Zack would understand. He wanted her to be happy. Time passes, and people evolve. That’s okay.

Tifa.

She knew there were feelings there dating all the way to when she was little. Tifa told her as much! She already felt bad enough saying what she did about the clock-tower date in front of her. (Sure, it was barely a date, and they were so rudely interrupted.)

Tifa was wonderful: Strong and powerful, but with a delicate and kind interior. She was shy, quiet. A surprising contradiction. Any guy would be lucky to have her. Aerith saw the way Rude from the Turks looked at her, not that Tifa would be interested … or that it would be a good match at all.

She never wanted Tifa to think she was openly pursuing someone she cared about. Fate had already placed the party in dozens of dire situations; this was among the most cruel. She never expected to have these feelings. It started fun, and maybe a little flirty. But now? She thought about him the moment she opened her eyes to the moment her head hit the pillow. Tifa often slept in the same room, mere feet away; Aerith wondered if her ritual was the same.

The Planet. Sephiroth.

Sometimes it felt like there were two choices put before her: Save everyone, or follow her heart. She would never choose the second; she couldn’t. But why couldn’t she have both? Why not at least try?

–

“And then there’s the biggest problem of all…”

Red started up at Aerith intently, working to process not just her dilemma, but all of its various complications. She had put far more thought into this already than he’d ever considered.

“I don’t even have to say his name, do I?”

“No.”

“I want him to know how I feel, but I know what comes with it.”

“Him feeling the same?”

“Yeah, and if he does, all of it could hurt so much worse.”

Aerith looked past the tree and around the corner, just in case anyone was closing in on their vicinity.

“Have you felt any memories come back since we left Midgar? Any visions?”

“No. Can’t say that I have.”

“Something bad is going to happen. The Whispers can’t take that feeling from me, no matter how hard they try.”

She took a deep breath, summoning the courage to continue her thought.

“The closer Cloud and I get, the worse it will be if I go. If something happens to me.”

“Well, does something have to happen to you?”

She nodded.

“It might, and then what? Cloud may need to save the planet, and if he’s spending his time thinking of me, will he be able to?”

Red rose up on all fours, and paced in a half-circle around her as she crouched down.

“You have immersed yourself in quite the quagmire,” he said in his serious voice, giving her a playful grin at the end. She responded with a faint smile, knowing he was trying to make her feel better.

“Gramps used to tell me that there can be love in distance. That you can be thousands of miles away and still feel them at your side. It’s how he cared for me while still focusing on his work. I think it’s how he cared for a lot of people.”

He stopped pacing and faced her head-on.

“We’re going to be here overnight, so why not take advantage? If you don’t, Cloud may never know what that love feels like at all.”

“And if I go…”

“He’ll still feel you at his side. He may even feel you more than if you were here and still quiet.”

He then spoke as softly and sincerely as he could muster.

“You’ve talked about embracing moments as long as I’ve known you. I think it’s time you take your own advice. It’s one date. Tomorrow, we can all be heroes and save the Planet.”

“And tonight, I can just be Aerith with Cloud.”

He grinned, accidentally exposing his sharp front teeth.

“Out of everyone, why did you come to me for advice? I’m hardly the most experienced.”

She patted him softly on the back.

“Because you know what I was, and I know who you were. We’re both searching for the parts of us that we forgot.”

–

Aerith never spent much time thinking too far ahead. Back in Midgar, there was always the risk that someday, Shinra would take her back. Now, there was Sephiroth and a sinking feeling of doom she could not escape.

One night at the inn in Cosmo Canyon, Tifa asked her what she wanted to do when all of this was over, before explaining her dream of re-opening Seventh Heaven with new cocktails inspired by her adventures. Aerith said she’d visit, but when it came to plans of her own, she found herself drawing a blank.

“I … I don’t know. I’ll figure it out when I get there, I guess.”

In the days since she ruminated on an answer. She saw Sector 5, she saw Cloud, and she saw the church. Did she see another date? A kiss? A wedding? How far did she want to take this? In her heart of hearts she wanted all of those things someday, with a fancy dress and flowers as far as the eye could see.

When was that day? Where was that day? Sealed away within the corner of her mind, entertained by a version of her who was not always around to share in the morning.

If I can’t have those things, what do I have? I have now. I know what I want. Why let Dream Aerith have all the fun?

She eagerly hopped down the stairs from Speed Square, waving to Barrett as he walked up towards the arena.

“Where are you goin’?” he bellowed.

“You’ll see! Working on a surprise.” She hurried along, and she could hear Barrett yell “well, don’t let me stop you!” from behind. She could have used the Fast-Travel Moogle, but she still embraced the lights and sounds humming in all directions. The commotion reminded her of the slums and she welcomed it.

Maybe he’ll remember me no matter what happens, but I want him to remember all of me. Not just the smiles on the surface.

She made a beeline to the entrance of Event Square and hopped on the conveyor.

I keep saying I’ll tell him someday. Sure, I could promise myself to tell him how I feel tomorrow or next week. But if I do it now? There is no reason to look for tomorrow, and there are no promises to keep. I won’t need them.

“Two tickets to Loveless, please!”

She practically shouted it to the counter attendant, who, as he pulled out the tickets, came to a startling revelation based on her physical description.

“Oh! I have been instructed to give these to you for free, along with a message from Dio: ‘A friend of the Saucer is a friend to me! Relax, and enjoy some of the Saucer’s finest entertainment before your battle in the morning.’”

As she walked away, another attendant standing to the side beckoned her over.

“Miss! Did you know? There’s a songwriting competition tonight. You can have your moment in the spotlight, as your song will be heard by all in attendance at tonight’s show.”

“Wow.” Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Absolutely! Entries close in an hour and a half, so you better get to work.”

“Ok! I’m on it.” Almost instinctively, she bolted out of the Event Square, tickets in hand. She’d never written a song before, let alone in such a terrifyingly-short amount of time; luckily, she thought she had an idea…

–

The upside-down receptionist at the Ghost Hotel was kind enough to offer a pen; Vincent tracked down a sheet of paper in seconds. He liked him; he didn’t ask many questions. Maybe he didn’t care for answers.

Now, where to write a song…

Could she go up to her room? Maybe, but there was no time to waste.

As she took a seat near the stairwell and uncapped her pen, messages echoed through her mind. There can be love in great distance, just as there can be miles between those mere inches away. Her words were the catalyst to hold them together.

Aerith felt all of her fears relax as she clenched onto the parchment, and began to lovingly write the first words.

#aerith #aerith gainsborough #fanfiction #final fantasy #final fantasy vii #final fantasy fanfiction #final fantasy rebirth #clerith #final fantasy 7 rebirth #final fantasy 7 remake #ff7r #cloud strife #cloud and aerith

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toni-peperoni · 7 months ago

Text

1.001 words of pure crack, treated not nearly as seriously as I intended, prompted by @yeastinfectionvale with 'Uccio and Checo being twins, but make it dramatic'. Here it goes:

He couldn't quite remember who had suggested to do that 23 and me test, but the entire academy came together and Vale was doing it too. So Uccio couldn't just opt out. He wanted to be cool after all. And really, what spoke against it. Being from such a little place like Tavullia meant that everyone knew everyone and the only thing that Uccio really hoped to find out was the he and Vale might be related at least in someway?

One after the other, they opened their results and all seemed normal and right, they even got the Brasilian part of Franky right, but then when they got to his results, something was weird. It said he was half Mexican. Mexican? How could that be with how much he despised the Spanish language and anything associated with it.

But when it was right with Franky and Brasil, that had to mean it was right with him and Mexico too right? Everyone was confused and Uccio wanted to call his mother. Naturally everyone else wanted to hear the explanation too, so he was forced to stay and call his mother on speaker.

"Hello Alessio, my baby, what is up? Why are you calling me so late?", his mother asked him.

Bez and Cele were giggling he was still called 'my baby' by his mother. That got them a death glare.

"We all took DNA tests and it turned out I'm half Mexican. Any comment on that", he asked with spite in this voice, that usually only came out when he defended his family, Vale, against the great evil, Marc.

"Oh what, that must be a mistake. Neither I nor your father are Mexican!", his mother tried to play it down. But Uccio saw right through her, like he always saw the malicious intent of people.

"But is my father even my father?", Uccio shot back. And his mother's defence crumbled.

She was sobbing, tears rolling. Her son had never been supposed to find out. Nobody was supposed to know what happened when that hot shot from Mexico had suddenly showed up one day and like a whirlwind threw her world upside down.

"I never wanted you to find out. Of course your father is your father, he raised you, but your biological dad is someone else. His name is Antonio. He was charming, he was sweet and just everything I missed in your father. I am so sorry I never told you, but it was for the better. I didn't want to start a whole identity crisis for you. You know, because Salucci is not your biological father's last name. My one motto has always been: The main thing is that Alessio is well"

He swallowed hard. "Salucci isn't my right last name. I'm not actually Uccio. But who am I? What is my last name supposed to be?"

"It's Perez", his mother sobbed out.

"That's so Spanish. That's so typical in the Spanish language it's even in the Spanish Duolingo course as a standard example name", Pecco threw in from the side, not being helpful or considering of the crisis he was currently going through.

"Wait Antonio Perez as in the father of Checo Perez?", Valentino was the first to make the connection.

"That's exactly him. I can't watch Formula 1 without thinking about him. And your twin brother."

"My twin? I have a twin?", Uccio - was he even Uccio anymore, or was he now Rezo and needed to dye is hair blue because of an identity crisis - asked.

"His name is Sergio. He was so weak as a baby, he passed as a lot younger than he actually is. It's a miracle he actually made it. And look at him now, sometimes winning races in F1 of Max isn't able. Or Carlos", she wept.

"Checo Perez is my twin? But isn't he ten years younger than me give or take?", the half Mexican asked.

"Like I said, he was very week as a baby, it was easy to pass him as younger."

"So what you are saying is that not Fernando, but Checo is the oldest driver on the grid?", Valentino double checked.

"He is. My sweet little angel. I haven't seen him in so long."

Uccio ended the call with his mother after that. He always thought he was her only sweet angel, but now that.

"I need to get in contact with him. How, how can I do that?"

"We could get in contact with Marc, he was good ties to the RedBull F1 team."

"No, not Marquez. I have a reputation to loose here, not you. I can't ask him."

"Well alternatively, we could try Lewis. See if Checo is in the WhatsApp group with all drivers."

"That, let's do that."

Valentino and Uccio went somewhere more private to call Lewis Hamilton and not even 10 minutes later, they had the phone number of the mexican and apparently also half-italian driver.

It took a few rings until Checo picked up, confused as to who was calling him.

"Hi, this is Alessio. The best friend of Valentino Rossi. We got your number from Hamilton. I'm calling because. Because I just found out I'm your brother. Your twin brother."

"My. My what?"

"I'm your twin. We were separated shortly after birth. Your father took you back to Mexico, away from my mother and away from me. I can't believe I finally found out."

"But what does that mean? How old does that make me? I have to be 40-something."

"Yeah, you are. I am so happy to have finally found you. I always felt like a part of me was missing. Like my family wasn't complete. But now you are there and it all makes sense."

"I know what you mean. How could they have never told us? We could have met so much sooner!"

"It doesn't matter", Uccio said, voice strong, though the emotion in it was clear. "Because we have found eachother now, brother."

_________________

I formally want to apologize to anyone. Especially to anyone who understood the accidental Rezo reference (for context, there is a very, very well known German YouTuber, with blue hair, which is basically his trademark), this was not done on purpose, I typed out Rezo, before realising what I had actually just typed.

Let me end this with another quote two quotes with great German popculture relevance:

1. Hauptsache Alessio geht es gut (The main thing is that Alessio is well) said by a famous German rapper over the child of a very bad German musician.

2. Weil mein Ruf kaputt geht, ned deina! (I have a reputation to loose here, not you!) Quote fro the father of said Alessio, the very bad German musician Piedro Lombardi.

And I think that sums up this entire experience quite well. Because whatever repution I had, I have probably now lost. Thanks for indulging in my crack

#motogp rpf #idk if I should even tag it like that #uccio salucci #cp11 #slander of both of them really #please don't read if you like either 🫶🫶

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fluentmoviequoter · 1 year ago

Note

hey I have another request since you asked to keep them coming. how about academic rivals with victor vale (lockland era) turned to allies (*cough* lovers) fighting against eli? it would be also awesome for reader to be an EO <33

I am so so so sorry about the long wait, but thank you for being patient! This request is amazing and I hope I did it justice; it's my first time writing rivals to lovers allies, so I hope it's okay! Please feel free to leave feedback and let me know what you think. Thanks again for the great requests!🤍

Warnings: angst, fluff, discussions of death and EOs, reader's ability is discussed (it's controlling vehicles), reader and Victor call each other stupid/just are generally mean to each other, spoilers for Vicious. I think that's all?

Word Count: ~4.6k words

A/N: We need more Victor Vale gifs.

10 Years Ago - Lockland

You’re sitting in the quiet library, tapping your pen against your lower lip as you look back and forth between the open textbook and your nearly full notebook. The Comprehensive Science Seminar is ending, and it’s time to declare a thesis. You’ve been fighting through this course and are struggling to find the perfect topic. An idea pops into your head, and you scribble it on the last page of your notebook. As you pull the pen away, someone drops a paper onto your book.

“Wow, 95. You must be so proud,” you say emotionlessly, pushing the paper across the table as the owner, Victor Vale, sits across from you.

“It’s alright. What’d you get?” Victor asks, and you swear you see the hint of a smile.

“I don’t know, I haven’t been in to see Professor Lyne yet. No doubt it’s a 96 or higher.” You send him a fake smile before looking back at your notes.

“Hmm. And your thesis?”

“Yours?”

Victor stares at you before shrugging. “Coming along nicely.”

“Mine too. Now if you don’t mind.”

“Right, right. I wouldn’t want to bother Lockland’s number 2 student. See you tomorrow.”

“Not if there’s any hope in the world.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose and groan quietly. I need a better thesis if I want to beat him, you think, and open a different textbook.

14 Years Ago - Lockland

“Mr. Vale, you will be paired with… your neighbor, nice planning,” the professor announces.

He continues down the list as you look over at Mr. Vale.

“I’ll handle it,” he mutters, reaching for the worksheet.

You slap a hand onto it, stopping him as you argue, “That’s not gonna work for me. I don’t really need the fate of my GPA in… those hands.”

The corner of his lip twitches up for just a moment. “Well these hands happen to have a better GPA than you. So, if it works for you, I’ll give yours a little boost. They love charity work here, it’s like an extracurricular.”

“Well, as much as I appreciate that,” you bite out, “I don’t trust you or your high GPA hands. So we do it together, or I take the A and tell everyone that you didn’t demonstrate the signature ‘Lockland Teamwork.’”

Victor cracks his neck before pushing the paper toward your side of the lab table. “Fine. But if we don’t do well on this I will make sure you never show your face at Lockland again.”

“Yeah, we’ll see how you feel after you lose your title of highest GPA, Vale.”

10 Years Ago - Lockland

“All right. It’s time to declare your thesis,” Professor Lyne announces.

You stare at the back of Victor’s head, two thesis options on a notecard on your desk. Are you waiting to see what he picks? Maybe. But you’re one or two higher grades away from taking Victor’s class ranking, and you will do it. If it’s the last thing you do.

Professor Lyne goes through his warnings about what makes a good thesis, and then you drown everything out. Bouncing your leg, you hope this goes well.

“And you, Mr. Vale?” Professor Lyne asks, pulling you from your thoughts.

You see Victor look at Eli, then he turns and glances at you. Your brows furrow as he answers, “Adrenal inducers.”

Professor Lyne begins to argue, and Victor adds, “Adrenaline and its physical and emotional inducers and consequences. Biochemical thresholds. Fight or flight, That kind of thing.”

Watching with bated breath, you’re surprised when Professor Lyne nods and says, “Don’t make me regret it.”

You can practically feel the victory radiating off Victor as Professor Lyne turns his attention to you, sitting between Eli and Victor, a row behind. You state your first thesis idea, and Professor Lyne tilts his head as he nods.

“Excellent choice,” he says. “Eli Cardale.”

You take a deep breath, a small smile on your face. This smile, however, falls as Eli answers.

“EOs,” Eli says calmly.

You don’t hear the rest of the conversation until the end when Professor Lyne concedes with a simple: “Fine.”

Fine? you think. He’s going to kill someone; he’s insane.

Victor follows Eli outside, and for a brief moment, you’re concerned, then you realize that his concern for his psycho friend may give you the advantage you need.

You can win even after sacrificing a pawn, after all.

With your entire focus on beating Victor, you hardly notice that you haven’t seen him around as much. At least until you learn he tried to kill himself. After an internal war, wondering if you should visit him, you get in your car and drive to the hospital where he is.

When you find his room, you knock on the door. “Hey.”

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“Wow. Great to see you too, oh, it was no problem to come down and see you,” you respond.

Victor shakes his head. “Thanks, I guess. Why are you here?”

You shrug. “I figured I could apologize, since my amazing thesis drove you to such lengths.”

Victor barks out a harsh laugh. “You wish this was about you.”

“Then what’s it about?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Right, because I’m just a stupid girl whose GPA isn’t as high as yours and my mommy and daddy don’t write self-help books that end up with cryptic, messed-up messages.”

“See? Don’t understand.”

“Well, then, in that case, I’ll get going. I’ve got an ‘excellent’ thesis to work on. See ya, Vale, unless they finally see that it’s not just smart up there.”

You walk out, fuming. Victor is a lot of things, and infuriating is at the top of the list. He thinks you’re too stupid to understand? You’d bet money you know what happened.

In your car, you look down at your phone and find Eli’s number, prepared to check your hypothesis that he was involved. It rings as you drive, and you hear Eli answer just before you see a truck swerve into your lane.

10 Years Ago - Lockland Medical Center

You gasp for air when you wake up. Doctors and nurses are surrounding you; one pulls an adrenaline shot away as the others keep you still to tend to your wounds. Losing control is something you don’t usually feel, and you don’t like it. Their voices fade as your blinks grow slower, control slipping from your grasp.

The light in the hospital room is not helpful in your battle to open your eyes. When your surroundings become clear, you see the date on the wall. Your thesis is due tomorrow.

“Um, excuse me?” you ask a passing nurse. “I really need to get going, I have a thesis due.”

“Someone is on their way to talk with you,” she says kindly before hurrying out.

Professor Lyne’s assistant knocks on the door a few minutes later, sorrow and hurt in his eyes. “I was sorry to hear about your accident, but I’m glad you’re doing better. Modern medicine is something to behold.”

“Right,” you mumble. “And my thesis?”

“You’ll receive full credit for the course and have an indefinite extension. Professor Lyne…” His voice catches, and he clears his throat before continuing, “Professor Lyne had an accident at the school. He passed away yesterday.”

“He’s gone?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I reviewed your thesis draft with him the previous day and he was very impressed, so when you are able to submit it, I have no doubt you will receive praise.”

A tear rolls down his cheek, and he hastily excuses himself. Professor Lyne was impressed; you wonder if he reviewed Victor’s work. Or if Victor even did any work after his “accident.”

“Hello?” you ask, answering your phone.

“Hey, it’s Eli. Victor tried to kill me,” Eli says quickly.

“Eli?” you ask after a moment. “How did you get my number?”

“Focus! Vic. Tried. To. Kill. Me,” he repeats slowly.

You probably deserved it, you think. Instead of saying that, you ask, “But you’re okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Victor is messed up though.”

“Eli, why are you telling me this?”

“Think about it. He tolerates me, but he hates you. Just be careful.”

Eli ends the call, and you decide he’s crazier than you thought. You glance around the hospital room, stopping to look out the window and feel a strange buzzing sensation as a truck passes outside. It swerves onto the curb, then the buzzing fades, and the driver corrects his mistake and keeps driving. Weird.

“Ma’am, I have the paperwork here if you’re ready to leave,” a nurse informs you.

“Oh, I am,” you answer, reaching for the pen.

9 Years Ago - Lockland

You walk the stage and accept your degree. The small class in your Comprehensive Science Seminar receives a special ceremony. Except for the two who didn’t submit their theses: Victor Vale and Eli Cardale. You thought that if either of them went to jail, it would be Eli. After hearing what Victor did to Angie Knight, you realize that maybe your academic hatred for him stemmed from a deeper understanding of his character.

It happens again when you leave the ceremony to enter the next part of your life and start a new job with your new degree. You look at a truck and feel a buzzing before it swerves. You step back, and it doesn’t stop; at the last second before impact, you flip your hand to the side, and the truck rolls over, stopping in the middle of the road.

You look between your hand and the truck, and worry fills your mind as you realize Eli was right.

Two Weeks Ago - Wrighton Penitentiary

“Who’re you here to see?”

“Victor Vale,” you answer.

The disinterested guard taps a few keys on a computer. “He was in solitary for a long time. Folks like that don’t usually get visitors.”

You nod. “It’s been a long time. He’s not in solitary anymore, so I can see him, right?”

The guard huffs before pushing a clipboard through the small opening in the bulletproof glass. “Sign these, then go through the metal detectors. They’ll show you where to go.”

“Thank you.”

You rush through the paperwork and then through the security checkpoint. Sitting in front of the bulletproof divider, you tap your fingers on the metal table, glancing between the phone and the door. When Victor enters, his eyes land on you, as cold and hateful as ever.

“Hey,” you say into the phone after he picks the other side up.

“What do you want?”

“That’s your go-to line, isn’t it?”

“It’s been years,” Victor spits out your last name, “why now?”

You look around before lowering your voice to say, “He was right and you know something.”

“Who?”

“Eli. Who else, Victor? The guy you… injured.”

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“Answers! And don’t tell me that I won’t understand, I’m the one with a college degree and you’re in a jail cell,” you snap.

“Top of the class?” You nod, and Victor mumbles, “Just because I dropped out.”

“I would’ve beat your little ‘flight or fight’ thesis and you know it. Now tell me what happened.”

“Nothing happened and nothing is going to happen. My time’s up. Bye.”

He slams the phone and storms out, not sparing a glance over his shoulder. The ache you refused to acknowledge disappears as he does. That’s what I thought, you think.

You spend the next few days trying to figure out what power Eli has. If Victor attempted to kill him and failed, then Eli must be invincible. There’s a way around that; there has to be. Staying near the prison wasn’t a conscious choice, but you’re less than a mile away, just in case.

One Week Ago - Wrighton Penitentiary

Reading on your porch, you don’t expect to witness someone trying to steal your car. Focusing, you rev the engine and flash the headlights as you walk toward them.

“I knew I was smarter than you, but I didn’t think you were this much of an idiot,” you tell Victor.

“How did you do that?” he asks.

“I already told you, I know more than you think.”

“We need your car,” Victor says.

“Not without me. You can take it, on the condition I go with it.”

“Absolutely not. Give me the keys or we’ll take it another way,” Victor threatens.

You square your shoulders and look into his eyes with the same tenacity and stubbornness he hated in college.

“How? Gonna hurt me again; use the pain to distract me? Is that your thing?”

The man with him looks back and forth between you.

“You don’t know half as much as you think you do.”

You rev the engine and watch Victor’s eyes move to the car. “I know that you and Eli are EOs. And I know that you’re both crazy, but you’re not quite as crazy. Now, do you want to stand here until you get caught or take me up on the offer and get out of here?”

“I don’t want you coming with us,” he snaps.

You see a police car approaching and direct it into a U-turn to send it in the other direction.

“You’re-”

“An EO? Thought you were smart enough to notice, Vale. Last chance: car or no car?”

“Fine,” he concedes as sirens grow louder. “But I’m driving.”

“Not a chance. Besides, I can control it from the passenger seat, idiot.”

Victor rolls his eyes as he rushes to the passenger side, sitting low in the seat as his (friend? acquaintance?) lays down in the backseat. You introduce yourself quickly.

“Mitch,” he answers. “Thanks for covering for us.”

“Mostly you, Mitch.”

“So I’ve heard,” he mumbles.

“Where are we going?” you ask.

“We can go to my parents’ house. They’re on a book tour,” Victor answers.

“Of course they are. Then what?”

“We find him.”

You nod, directing police cars past you as you turn off of the main road.

“And kill him, I presume? Since you failed last time,” you add.

“How do you know about that?”

“He called me. Warned me that since you hated me more than him, I was probably next.”

“And you didn’t care?”

“I was in the hospital, so yeah, it wasn’t really a top priority.”

“How’d you die?” Mitch asks. “Sorry, is that insensitive? I’m new to the Extra-Ordinary thing.”

“It should be insensitive, but it’s fine,” you answer gently. Softer than you’ve ever talked to Victor. “I was in a car accident after I visited Prince Vale over here after his overdose. A failed attempt at getting superpowers, I realize now.”

“You were in a wreck? I didn’t know,” Victor says, pulling himself up into the seat.

“I’m shocked,” you answer sarcastically, “because you always cared so much about me. We hate each other, Victor, I didn’t expect flowers.”

Victor nods and tells you how to get to his parents’ house. Mitch sighs after each of his hurtful comments, but you’re immune to them.

10 Days Ago - On the Road

“They’re back,” Mitch says, looking at the armored truck out the back window.

“I can get them off our trail, for good, but it will put a target on our back,” you offer.

“Not alone, you can’t,” Victor argues.

You nod. “Then what do we do?”

“Stop the car.”

You do as he says, telling Mitch to get down as you and Victor get out of the car.

“I am smart enough to do this by myself,” you whisper.

“Sure you are,” Victor replies. “Flip it and I’ll finish them off.”

“Okay,” you breathe out before focusing on flipping the vehicle end over end into a roadside ditch.

You watch as Victor approaches the cracked windshield. Closing your eyes as if it will protect you against the pained screams, you hear the last officer take his final breath before Victor returns to the car.

“Let’s go,” he hurries you. “If it helps your conscience, you didn’t kill any of them, just hurt them.”

If only you could believe that.

One Week Ago - Vale House

“Is that who I think it is?” you ask, looking over Mitch’s shoulder.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him,” Mitch answers. “Is it? This just says ‘Civilian Hero Saves Bank.’”

“Yeah, that’s Eli Cardale. He hasn’t aged a day, though.”

You’re leaning over onto the table, reading the article when Victor enters.

“What’s so interesting?” Victor asks.

“Mitch found Eli,” you answer.

“Where?”

He joins you, his arm brushing against yours, and for once, you don’t immediately pull away.

“Merit,” Mitch says. “He’s some kind of vigilante.”

You and Victor make the same sound: muted amusement covered by exasperation. Mitch looks at you, then back to the screen.

“The article doesn’t say his name? I thought he’d want the fame,” you add.

“He doesn’t. He thinks God sent him back to take care of EOs.”

“Eli Cardale thinks he’s God? That makes sense.”

“Ever. He changed his name to Eli Ever.”

“Someone was jealous of someone else’s alliteration, Peter Parker,” you point out, smiling as Victor sighs.

The night before you leave for Merit, you ask Mitch to find Victor’s records, reading the reports of both deaths - his overdose and the one he caused. After his overdose, no one told you he died, and you had no idea about what happened with Angie.

“What are you doing?” Victor asks, suddenly behind you.

“Getting answers,” you reply, turning the computer off and walking away.

Victor follows you through the large glass doors onto the deck.

“So it’s okay for you to go digging around in my past when you won’t answer a single question about yours?” Victor snaps.

“What do you want to know? That I got hit by a truck and brought back to life two times? That I put everything I had left into that thesis? That the first time I realized I had a power was because of you?”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone? You knew Eli and I were looking into EOs.”

“This isn’t my fault, Victor!”

“You were being reckless! Still are!”

“And you’re still stupid! Who in their right mind kills themselves, not once, but twice, just to get superpowers?” you yell, stepping closer to Victor.

“You have powers too! And we both know I’m not the stupid one here.”

“Are we seriously arguing over who’s smarter? We just killed several people, Victor!”

“We? There was no we when we had that group project and you deleted my work to replace it with your own.”

“You were wrong and you know it,” you reply, rolling your eyes and crossing your arms.

“My GPA begs to differ.”

“You didn’t even graduate and you’re still infuriating.”

“And you’re smarter than you think, just won’t apply yourself like I do!”

“Shut up, Victor.”

“Make me.”

You grab his coat and pull him in, crashing your lips against his. His hands meet your waist, and he slows the kiss, moving his lips against yours. When you realize what you’re doing, you pull back.

“We- uh- we can’t stay here forever, your parents have to come back eventually,” you say quietly, Victor’s coat still in your hands.

“I know, but I don’t think we can do this alone. I can turn myself in and get another guy. Someone who can kill the unkillable.”

“That’s an incredibly stupid idea, Victor.”

“Do you have a better one?” Victor asks sharply.

“A few, actually. And they don’t require you to go back to prison and leave me here.”

“I’m not pulling you into this, too. If Eli kills me....”

“That’s not your decision, Vic.”

He takes a few deep breaths before nodding. “Okay,” he whispers.

Six Days Ago - Merit

You and Victor walk out of a store with several supplies, including Mitch’s chocolate milk and a first aid kit for Sydney’s gunshot wound. She’s only been with you for a few hours since you drove into Merit, but you feel attached to her already. Suddenly, you drop the bags as an intense pain overwhelms your senses.

“Vic?” you ask, looking up at him.

You watch, helpless, as he calls the police with an anonymous tip that escaped convict Victor Vale was seen in Merit.

“You lied to me!” you accuse through your tears. “Don’t do this!”

He kneels before you, brushing his finger over your cheekbone and kissing your forehead. “I’ll find you when I get out.”

“I’ll find you if you don’t. Please don’t be stupid about this,” you beg.

“See you around. Maybe study biology to pass the time and we can have a rematch test,” Victor says before standing and approaching the curb.

He raises his hands and falls to his knees as the police descend upon him and handcuff him. Even though you could stop it all with the wave of a hand, you watch, vowing to keep your promise or die trying. And you would have done better in that biology class if your teacher had been a fair grader.

You return to the room at the Esquire, tears still running down your face.

“What happened?” Sydney asks, rushing to your side when you enter.

“That idiot got himself arrested just to break out again with more help,” you answer, no emotion in your voice. “So we have to do something.”

“Okay, this is when Victor would tell you not to be stupid,” Mitch interjects.

“Well, Victor thinks I’m stupid all the time. Let’s prove him right,” you reply, shrugging.

“How?” Mitch asks.

“Sydney Vale here is going to visit her big brother, I’m going to crash a truck into a wall and we’re going to make sure Eli is ready for the taking as soon as Victor is out. Maybe not in that order.”

“Meaning?” Mitch asks carefully.

“No time for questions. You stay here and send me layouts of the jail and Sydney and I will bring Victor back soon.”

Sydney wordlessly follows you, more than happy to help you get Victor back.

Five Days Ago - Merit Police Department

The time and place have been set: Midnight at Falcon Price. Now, to get the last member of your team back.

You and Sydney sit across from Victor, pretending to be checking on him until you create an excuse to leave.

“Is she okay?” Victor asks.

“Cover your head,” Sydney whispers.

Victor’s eyes widen when he hears brakes squeal and horns blowing, but he covers his head like Sydney asks. When the front end of a semi breaks through the wall before reversing out, Victor turns up the pain around him to distract everyone as he gets Sydney over the bulletproof divider and outside.

You rev the engine of the car you’re in and smile as Victor and Sydney climb in.

“I told you to wait,” Victor admonishes.

“We found him and we have a meeting. Four days, so find a new partner.”

“We need to figure out how Eli is finding them,” Victor mumbles.

“Mitch is working on it,” you reply.

“You know that was stupid, right?” Victor asks, changing the subject.

“Isn’t everything I do?”

“Maybe not everything,” Victor answers slowly, thinking about what happened at his parents’ house.

“Maybe not,” you agree, smiling.

10 Hours to Midnight - Merit

“You’re not going,” Victor repeats.

“Yes, I am. You need backup and I’m not just going to sit here,” you argue. You lower your voice to add, “Sydney may buy your promise that you’re coming back, but I’m not stupid enough to trust you again. At least not yet. So I go, or no one goes.”

“This is prison break day all over again,” Victor mumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Is that a yes?”

“It’s a hesitant yes.”

“Perfect. Then let’s finish this, Victor.”

“And then what?”

“Biology test then a shot at freedom,” you answer. “In that order.”

Midnight - Falcon Price

You promised you wouldn’t interfere until you had to, but you can’t watch Eli touch Victor again. The building isn’t solid, yet you stand as you hear a large truck nearby. Directing it toward the building, you hope it doesn’t hurt Victor any more than he already is. Angling it so it affects the side where Eli is pacing more than where Victor is kneeling, bloody and bruised, you increase the speed and run it straight into the south corner of the Falcon Price project.

The building tilts and drops several feet as the load shifts onto the truck wedge in the load-bearing beams. Eli stumbles backward as you rush toward Victor.

“I should have known,” Eli says with a dark chuckle. “Although I wish I’d thought to recruit you before you two realized the line between hate and tolerance is so thin.”

“You would know,” you snap, wrapping an arm around Victor.

“But you see,” Eli continues, moving to the edge and looking over. “A truck isn’t enough to stop me. I’m invincible because God isn’t finished with me.”

“And when He is?” you ask.

“He’ll find a way.”

“How do you think you get to heaven, Cardale?” you ask, stalling.

The light of a plane catches your attention.

“It’s Ever,” he nearly growls.

“I’ve always wondered if it’s a plane that takes you to heaven,” you continue, willing yourself to control more than just trucks.

“You are as stupid as Victor said,” Eli mutters before raising his voice to ask, “What’s with the heaven questions? Didn't get an answer when you died at Lockand?”

“Yes or no on the plane, Eli?” you yell over the growing noise of the plane engine. “Because I think it’s time to board!”

You toss yourself over Victor as the plane crashes into the edge of the building, pulling Eli out of sight. Holding onto the chair bolted to the ground, you keep Victor from sliding over the edge as he tries to remain conscious.

“Was that a plane? I thought it was just trucks,” he mumbles as he pulls himself up.

“Apparently not. Now we need to get out of here before all those cops get here.”

“Didn’t think of that when I killed Serena.”

“Don’t think about that, Vic. Let’s focus on getting back to Sydney and Mitch; you have a promise to keep.”

After Midnight - Vale House

“Hey,” you call as you walk onto the deck and close the door behind you. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Eli survived, but Snell took him in for murder. Serena was really powerful," he answers, turning to face you.

“You did it.”

“You did most of it. Without the truck and plane, he would have killed me.”

“Maybe. What now?”

“I don’t think this will ever be over,” he says, sighing. “But for now…”

He leans in, and you lay your hands on his chest as you ask, “Biology test?”

“Depends. What does the winner get?”

“Hmm. Two days without the loser calling them stupid,” you suggest.

“That’s it? A make or break biology test and that’s the prize?”

“The title, bragging rights, what more do you need, Vale?”

He gets closer before answering, “I think you know.”

“Ah, you want to read my thesis. Well, I’m sure we can work something out.”

Victor presses his forehead against yours. “I’m going to win, so how about I pick the prize?”

“At the rate you’re going, softie, it’ll probably be a prize for me too. If you win.”

“We’ll see.”

Victor steps back, and you take his hand to lead him inside. He watches you and mumbles, “I’m not sure there is a punishment with you, stupid.”

“Heard that!”

#victor vale x reader #victor vale #vicious #vicious ve schwab #requests #academic rivals

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1islessthan3books · 7 months ago

Text

Fourth Ring reread

Some qutes that piqued my interest or just resonated with me (Spoilers for Iron Flame)

They’re also the most cunning. There’s no such thing as outsmarting a black dragon. This one is a little over a hundred, which makes him about middle-aged. He’s revered as a battle dragon among their kind, and if not for him, we probably would have lost during the Tyrrish rebellion. Add to it that he’s a morningstartail, and he’s one of the deadliest dragons in Navarre.” Isn't it funny how a dragon "without of whom the revolution would probably win" is now one of the main dragons in revolution?

Do you think he could be plotting against Navarre and still have bonded Sgaeyl?” I ask, my cheek against his blanket.

“I did at first.” His hands move down my spine, pressing into the knots that made lifting my arms almost impossible that last half hour of training tonight. “But then I bonded Cath, and I realized that dragons would do anything to protect the Vale and their sacred hatching grounds. There’s no way any dragon would have bonded Riorson or any of the separatists if they weren’t honest about protecting Navarre. This bit didn't age well 😅 Or do we think Jacks intenions changed after the Treshing?

"And you know feathertails are useless in combat. They refuse to fight."

No one knows anything about feathertails, so I don’t know where Jack is getting his information, but I don’t have time to focus on his assumptions right now. Where did Jack get all the information about feathertails?

You’re making us look bad. Stop it.”

I’m clasped in Tairn’s claws. He’s actually…caught me instead of finding me unworthy and letting me fall to my death. “It’s not like it’s easy to stay on your back when you’re doing acrobatics!” I shout up. I love them! 🥺

I know exactly who and what you are, Violet Sorrengail.” 🤔🥺

The sun is close to setting behind the peaks, but there’s plenty of light to see the golden dragon up ahead, hovering as though it’s waiting. Maybe it didn’t choose a rider, but it will live to decide again next year, and that’s all that matters.

Or maybe it will see that we humans aren’t so great after all. Violet being overprotective of the golden dragon 🥺 "Humans aren't so great after all" 👀

"So if you fall, if you fail, there’s a good chance your dragon might let you if it thinks the unbonded will be a better choice.” I can't understand why a dragon would bond someone and then just change their mind

"Remind me to spend some time at temple so I can make multiple appeals to Dunne.” I keep my focus on Kaori, watching for when the maneuvers will start.

“The goddess of strength and war?” Tairn clearly scoffs this time.

“What, dragons don’t think we need the gods on our side?” Shit, it’s cold up here. My gloved hands tighten on the pommel.

“Dragons pay no heed to your puny gods.” This is really interesting to me. Who are the Gods? Are they from before they bonded with dragons? I have a feeling the Gods will be important in the next book/s.

There is nothing more sacred than the Archives. Even temples can be rebuilt, but books cannot be rewritten.

—Colonel Daxton’s Guide to Excelling in the Scribe Quadrant *cough cough except when you rewrite them on purpose*

I abhor the rituals and customs of the scribes. There would be nothing wrong with pulling my friend into a hug, but she’d be chastised for a loss of composure. After all, how could we know how earnest the scribes are about their work, how dedicated they remain, if they were to crack a smile? So only healers an infantry are allowed to show all/most emotions?

But in Navarre’s six-hundred-year history of unification, I’ve never read of a single rider losing their soul to their powers. The dragons keep us from that. I am sorry, but they don't keep you from that. 😥

“You are sad?” Andarna asks, her voice soft.

“Just visiting the Archives. No need to worry,” I tell her.

“It’s hard to love a second home as much as the first.” What is Andarna first home? If she was aware of the outside world even before she was hatched - which I believe she implys in the Iron Flame - she had a different home before the unification right?

“She’s a wingleader, Vi. I’m not about to question her integrity!” And that is the problem with society.

"And you!” Jeremiah turns, his gaze locking on Garrick. “Damn it all to hell. He’ll know about—” The shadows around Jeremiah’s feet snake up his legs in a heartbeat, winding around his chest until they cover his mouth in bands of black. This should have told me that Garrick and Xaden had some secrets!

We’re just correcting a mistake.”

“Dragons don’t make mistakes.” It's funny how on one hand dragons and riders can just kill other riders, but at the same time "Dragons don't make mistakes" 😆

Do not dare to try and read me, human, or you’ll regret it.” Tairn’s mouth opens, his tongue curling in a motion I know all too well. How could he read him? After Iron Flame we know he can read intentions, but Tairn also didn't know that? Or just in their mind bridge? Idk.

"Nature likes all things in balance,” Andarna says like she’s reciting facts, just like I do when I’m nervous. “That’s the first thing we’re taught.” ...

"Well not the first thing. The first thing is we shouldn’t bond until we’re full-grown.” She cocks her head to the side. “Or maybe the first is where the sheep are? I like goats better, though.” I love her. But I am also interested in how the balance works.

Sgaeyl answers. “A signet is a combination of our power with your own ability to channel. It reflects who you are at the core of your being.” But Violet was able to use power from Andarna to channel the lighting once in Iron Flames, right?

A mind reader is a capital offense. What happend to the dragon doesn't make mistakes? And why is that the capital offense, when most of grown-ups can shield? And from when is this the capital offense? My guess would be from when they changed history.

A memory has never been shared outside of a mating bond. It’s considered a violation.” And yet it Tairn has done it twice for Violet!

He has that effect on people, especially women. They either despise him for what his father did or want to fuck him for the same reason, just depends on where we are.” This should ring the alarm bells as well. Because now I think "depends on where we are" is Navarre vs Poromiel.

But he wasn’t a part of the rebellion.” I shake my head, trying to make sense of it. “He isn’t on the death roll of the executions from Calldyr.”

He was executed at our family’s house.” His features tighten. “Before it was given to another noble, of course. And yes, I watched as they did it that time, too. I already had the rebellion relic by then, but the pain was the same." Why did the execute him seperately?

“It was one of the final battles where gryphons and dragons actually worked alongside each other to annihilate the army of the Barrens,” the second-year continues. And now they are doing it again. I guess this was before the wards went up?

"No throwing!” Emetterio shouts from the sidelines, but Jack is already moving, barreling toward me with a series of kicks and punches that I’m not ready for. His fist slams into my cheek, and I feel the skin split. Someone broke one of few rules of challanges and everything he teacher does is short shout??

His sadistic grin and a red rim around his eyes are all I can see. I really should pay more attention to the physical descriptions.

I remember your father doing a bit of research about the second Krovlan uprising, and he mentioned something about feathertails, but we can’t seem to find that tome.” He scratches his forehead. ...

I know exactly where his notes are—in the one location he spent the majority of his after-hours time. Please recover all his research in next book and find out if he has useful notes about venin?

These are the thoughts families keep behind their doors so they can wear their polished, perfect reputations like armor when in public. Sounds too familiar 😅

It looks considerably smaller than the one he arrived with, and I don’t want to even think about what he’s left behind in order to force me out faster. Or did he smuggle some of the weapons? And Violet is feeling bad without of real reason?

Winning the War Games isn’t about strength. It’s about cunning. To know how to strike, you have to understand where your enemies—your friends—are most vulnerable. No one stays friends forever, Mira. Eventually those closest to us become our enemies in some way, even if it’s through well-intentioned love or apathy, or if we live long enough to become their villains.

—Page eighty, the Book of Brennan

The first time I read this I was like I want Rhi and Violet to stay friends for ever. And on the reread the last part - about become their villains - breaks my heart.

He stares at his coffee.

“You were—” I pause. “I don’t even know how old you are now.” Mira was right. I know almost nothing about him. And yet…I feel like I know who he is in the very marrow of his bones. Could my emotions be any more scattered when it comes to him?

“Twenty-three,” he answers. “My birthday was in March. Don't they all conscribe at age 20? Or was it more a question if he already had birthday thos year?

All because I didn’t want to be a killer. 💔💔

Everyone has a signet that isn’t just useful for battle. They’re tools for good in the world. And what the hell am I, Xaden? I’m a fucking weapon. 😥💔

And I can’t help but wonder if somewhere, on some plane of existence, Malek sits on his throne, angry that I stole a soul from his grasp. And here the many mentions of Malek/stealing from him start.

I’ll never understand why mind-reading is a death sentence.” I place my hand on Tairn’s leg like I can absorb his strength, even though I already feel it flowing through me.

“Because knowledge is power. As a general’s daughter, you should know that. We can’t have someone walking around with unfettered access to classified material. They’re a security risk to the entire kingdom.”

And yet Dain is living.

“Because Aetos will be useful to them as long as they can keep him under their control.” Tairn blasts a puff of steam over my head. My point exactly!

I miss the look on his face when he watched me come undone. But I miss the feeling of him curled around me in sleep more. 🥺

“Brennan would hate all of this.” I gesture to the crowd. “He was more about getting the work done than celebrating its completion.”

“Yeah, sounds like—” His words die, and I squeeze his arm tighter as I note the separating crowd before us. HE WANTED TO SAY "SOUNDS LIKE HIM" DIDN'T HE? Were they able to leave where they were fostered? Or how would Liam know Brennan?

By making me leave instead of staying to help, but still, he deserves the credit for me not distracting Mira and getting her, myself, and Tairn killed. Xaden’s done more than save me. He believed me when I told him Amber led the unbondeds to my room. He had an entire arsenal of daggers crafted just for me. He designed a saddle for Tairn so I can ride into battle with my peers. He’d protected me when I needed and taught me to defend myself so I wouldn’t require protection forever. 🥰🥰

"You have everything I have to give.” Does she tho?

I’m so far gone, I didn’t even realize I said the words out loud, and then I remember that I don’t have to. That is because she didn't say them out loud, but he read the intentions, right?

"It’s not that.” Liam grimaces. “It’s just that I know his priorities.” Liam also tried to tell us 😥

"When we make it to the outpost, I want you to rest after we get our scenario objective. Liam will stay while I most likely take the third-years out to patrol.” What a pretty lie that is not technically a lie!

In his last days of interrogation, Fen Riorson lost touch with reality, railing against the kingdom of Navarre. He accused King Tauri, and all who came before him, of a conspiracy so vast, so unspeakable, that it does not bear repeating by this historian. The execution was swift and merciful for a madman who cost untold lives.

—Navarre, an Unedited History by Colonel Lewis Markham Unedited yeah

"One brother bonded to gryphon, one to dragon, and when the third grew jealous, he drew directly from the source, losing his soul and waging war on the other two.” Can all people channel from the source? Or only fliers and riders? I don't really get it.

"Lies are comforting. Truth is painful.” yeah

You love me, and—”

“Loved,” I correct him, sidestepping so I can get some fucking space and then taking it.

“Love!” he shouts, stopping me in my tracks and earning us a glance from every rider within hearing distance. “You love me.” 💔💔

Because magic corrupts their blood as they lose their souls,” I murmur, looking up at Xaden, wondering if he remembers what Andarna said the night we took the tunnel to the flight field. “Nature likes everything in balance.” When excatly do they lose their soules?

"Watch out. Deigh says that building on the other side of the road has a crate of something marked with Liam’s family crest,” Why Liam's family crest tho?

How can all this power be so fucking useless? She really wants a power to resurrect or stop the time, doesn't she?

But it was the third brother, who commanded the sky to surrender its greatest power, who finally vanquished his jealous sibling at a great and terrible price.—“The Origin,” The Fables of the Barren Or was the third brother only the light wielder like Violet? Because it is similar wording as what a venin tells Violet:

Such untapped power. No wonder we were called here. You could command the sky to surrender all its power, and I bet you don’t know what to do with it, do you? Riders never do. I’m going to split you open and see where all that astonishing lightning comes from.” She waves the other dagger at me, and I realize she’s playing with me. “Or maybe I’ll let him do it. You’ll wish for death if I hand you over to my Sage.”

I will not watch another rider die because they do not know their own limitations. One more strike could be your last. 😥

In the event that you come across a poison you do not recognize, it is best to treat with any and every antidote. Either way, the patient will die, but at least this way you would have learned something. —Major Frederick’s Modern Guide for Healers I have never thought of this, but is sounds very reasonable 😂

Maybe it’s better if I die. But then Xaden might die.

Whatever is wedged between us right now, I don’t want him dead. I’ll never want that. I really hope that stays true!

"Xaden?” a familiar voice calls out, but I can’t place it. Bodhi, maybe? One of the second years? So many strangers. And no friends.

Liam is dead.

“You have to save her.” The first time I read this I thought it will be her father!

She chose me for the scars on my back and the simple fact that I am the grandson of her second rider—the one who didn’t make it through the quadrant. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY HE DIDN'T MAKE IT. And was he dad of Xaden mum or dad? And that means that his grandfather already fathered a baby when he was still at collage, right?

"Now, Riorson.”

I can’t keep from wincing. She never uses my last name. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t like to remember that I’m Fen Riorson’s son, and all my father cost her, but I’ve always been Xaden to her. I never thought of that 😭

Funny how people rename everything that makes them feel uncomfortable. We lost faith that our king would ever do the right thing. And they call us traitors.

Bodhi wrinkles his nose. It kind a makes sense, but I never put much thought into it in the real life.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know and everything you don’t. I’ll spend every single day of my life earning back your trust.” This didn't age well 😅

#fourth wing #fourth wing spoilers #long post #my post #personal #iron flame spoilers

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waitingforwinterwinds · 2 years ago

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ASOS; Steel and Snow: 12 TYRION II (pages 161-172)

Tyrion visits Varys to arrange a date with Shae, then sics Bronn on a bard.

The eunuch was humming tunelessly to himself as he came through the door, dressed in flowing robes of peach-colored silk and smelling of lemons.

lemon(s) = 🥛

also I have just had the best mental image of Modern Day AU Varys as a Drag Queen. Probably runs a club with all the best gossip.

"I am full of surprises. Are you cross with me for abandoning you after the battle?" "It made me think of you as one of my family."

Ha! that is both a sick burn, and also really sad.

... damn. Maegor: 3 x Grand Maesters by Axe Aegon II: 1 x Grand Maester by Dragon Digestion

That "maesters wrecked the Targaryens actually" theory sounding more and more likely. Look at all this extra motive.

Bronn had turned up all he could on Ser mandon, but no doubt Varys knew a great deal more... should he choose to share it. "The man seems to have been quite friendless," Tyrion said carefully. "Sadly," said Varys, "oh, sadly. You might find some kin if you turned over enough stones back in the Vale, but here... Lord Arryn brought him to King's Landing and Robert gave him his white cloak, but neither loved him much, I fear. (...) Ser Barristan was once heard to say he had no friend but his sword and no life but duty... but you know, I do not think Selmy meant it altogether as praise.-"

OOOHHHH!!!! I just had a conspiracy theory.

Cersei didn't hire Moore to kill Tyrion, Moore was taking a chance to kill who he believed was responsible for Jon Arryn's death after getting news from the Vale from on old friend who still lives there re: the very rigged Trial and Lysa's (very loud and false) claims. Moore was taking the first opportunity for vengeance that he thought he could get away with.

What do you think? Feasible? Too much crack?

One day, I am going to come up with a conspiracy theory that contains so much pure crack, the cops will break down the door for a drug bust.

But also, given how this series uses perceptions and assumptions, even if we're in some one's POV, we don't always get the full story, but it is the best way to be sure someone actually did something for realsies.

... You know, I'm actually kind of surprised they let Lollys keep the foetus (or are forcing her to keep the foetus) to term. You'd think, given how they treat bastards and such, that they'd remove 'such a stain' before it became a problem.

(Or at the very least they wouldn't force a young woman who's been violated to carry a baby she never asked for. But then again this series does not care very much for the female members of the cast. The kind ongoing of trauma and dysphoria that is probably giving her, whether it looks that way or not in her current mental state...)

"To guard the king's life, you surrender your own. You give up your lands and titles, give up hope of marriage, children..." "House Tyrell continues through my brothers," Ser Loras said. "It is not necessary, for a third son to wed, or breed." "Not necessary, but some find it pleasant. What of love?" "When the sun has set, no candle can replace it."

D&D suck at their job = 🥛

I'm sorry, but can we just take a moment and appreciate the depth of Loras' grief? Like, I have no trouble believing Book!Loras loved Renly for real. Truly, honestly loved him first and foremost before he saw him as a pawn to get at the throne.

Show!Loras and Renly? I forgot they even fucked.

Loras being gay in the show felt like a background joke. "LoL, Sansa has a crush on a gay boy," or "LOL, Cersei is getting married to the gay boy."

Even between Loras and Renly, in the show, the first time we really saw them together, Loras was talking Renly into vying for the crown and Robert wasn't even dead yet. It was manipulation and titillation. Were they in love or was Loras just using him? Who knows, but after Renly died no one really cared, and I forgot they fucked, forgot Loras was even gay until it was shoved back in my face like a poor tasting joke.

Book!verse though? I can believe those two were in love, I can believe Loras is grieving that loss so quietly because he can't say what he's lost, what he feels, he can't express the depth of it and he has to listen to everyone around him belittle that affection and connection, and oh my gosh that poor boy.

A woman sidled into the light; plump, soft, matronly, with a round pink moon of a face and heavy dark curls. Tyrion recoiled. "Is something amiss?" she asked. Varys, he realized with annoyance.

Drag Queen!Varys is canon. Pry it from my cold dead hands. Just cross-dressing, I know, shhhh, let me have this.

"He's gone," Shae said. Tyrion turned to look. It was true. the eunuch had vanished, shirts and all. The hidden doors are here somewhere, they have to be.

You wanna bet they're under the giant stone slab of a bed? You know, that thing that our attention was directed to the last time he was talking about hidden doors?

(also, it made me think of that scene from the animated Secret Garden, with the secret door under the window seat when they were talking about it earlier, but it probably slides like that giant coffin door from... oh gish, what's the movie... it's going to come to me right as I'm drifting off to sleep. It's like an entire trope to be fair, "giant stone altar/coffin is actually a sliding door" so I'm probably thinking of several movies.)

Her cunt gave him a little squeeze, and he started to stiffen again inside her.

'cunt' = 🥛

... you know, the longer Shae talks about Lollys, the more I prefer Show!Shae to Book!Shae, just for the fact that the show version has some level of empathy for other people. I understand it's probably a coping mechanism for some kind of hidden backstory trauma (no one in this series is without), but damn the way book!Shae treats sexual assault is icky AF.

Then he made a round of the walls, tapping on each in turn, searching for the hidden door. Shae sat with her legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around them, watching him. Finally she said, "They're under the bed. the secret steps." He looked at her, incredulous. "The bed? the bed is solid ston. It weighs half a ton." "There's a place where Varys pushes, and it floats right up. I asked him how, and he said it was magic." "Yes." Tyrion had to grin. "A counterweight spell."

Ha-ha! I was right... about the location. Not the door type, though. The magic in this series is so low key or background I tend to forget it's a thing.

This does explain how he got out of the room without being heard. half-ton stones are not quietly moved, even if they have mechanisms to help them.

!! Alayaya made it back to her mother's brothel! Phew, I was low key worried something had happened to her on the walk back. you know, after she was whipped and kicked out the Keep naked?

"There is a singer who calls himself Symon Silver Tongue," Tyrion said wearily, pushing his guilt aside. "He plays for Lady Tanda's daughter sometimes. "What of him?" Kill him, he might had said, but damn the man had done nothing but sing a few songs.

You'd think Bards would do better in life, what with being a Charisma class, but no, no one likes Bards here.

And fill Shae's head with thoughts of doves and dancing bears.

... well now I have "Once Upon a December" from Anastasia (1997) stuck in my head.

Dancing Bears Painted Wings Things I almost remember. And a song someone sings Once upon a December.

#a storm of swords #steel and snow #a song of ice and fire #tyrion lannister #a chapter a day reading #asos #asoiaf

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murderbirds · 2 years ago

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Here is my reason for shipping each of them:

Mario Falcone X Vicki Vale

Both Mario and Vicki were done incredibly dirty in season 3 of Gotham since they were just used for the awful drama that is Lee and Jim's love life. They are also girlboss X malewife which is one of my favorite ship dynamics. There are a couple of ways I can see them happening, one is where Mario doesn't die after he gets infected, and breaks up with Lee after realizing that she is still in love with Jim. I can see Vicki thinking that he is secretly a part of the mafia like his dad, only to realize he is a genuinely nice guy who wants nothing to do with the criminal lide for that sweet sweet enemies to lovers. Another way is if someone (court of owls or league of shadows) were to bring Mario back to life so he take over his father's empire since Sofia is too volatile and untrustworthy. Through her investigations, Vicki learns about this and saves him before they can mindwash him. I can also see Sofia mocking Mario for being weak only for Vicki to tell her off. That would be great.

Victor Zsasz X Lucius Fox

So, for starters, these two are opposites. Zsasz is a very carefree guy who really doesn't seem to care about much at all while Lucius is someone who cares too much, a true anxious mess. I honestly think that they could be very good for each other, with Victor helping him relax while Lucius shows Victor that somethings are worth fighting for, not for money, but because it is the right thing to do. I also love the image of Zsasz showing up all bloodied and injured in Lucius' home to then smile at him and pass out on the floor. Lucius taking care of Zsasz and Zsasz protecting Lucius from other criminals despite him being a "good guy" is ched's kiss. I actually headcamon that they were dating up until season 4 without anyone in the GCPD noticing (Oswald totally knew it though and was happy for his assassin,) up until when Zsasz betrayed Penguin. I think that Victor starting to work for Sofia would be what broke them up, because as bad as Penguin is, he at least has morals. Sofia was hunting cops down. That is too much for Lucius. They break up, but hey, who knows. Maybe now that Zsasz isn't really working for anyone they could get back together :)

Sofia Falcone X Harvey Dent

This relationship is defined by "I can make him worse." Two Face was done so dirty in Gotham and it is such a shame because he was a great character in seasons one and two. I kind of have this headcanon that he only goes for bad girls without realizing that they are bad and Sofia is the epitome of this. She is the baddest bitch of them all and Harvey, while he loves her, he is a fair and just man, albeit one who has a hard time making decisions. After being rejected by Jim, Sofia decides to go for the next hot good guy in the room, that being Dent. Dent falls in love with her almost immediately, much for Jim's horror who tries to break them up without telling Harvey the truth about his crimes and Sofia's. It doesn't work. Harvey realizes who Sofia is too late. He tries to get away, but drunk in power and her own ego, Sofia refuses to let him go and burns half of his face in acid, so that no one will ever love him again. If she can't have him, no one can. That is how Two Face is born. After that, Dent essentially becomes a vigilante, one who hunt those who had any connection with the Falcones and those who stand in his way. This one is a classic lovers to enemies that likely ends with both parties killing each other like a reverse romeo and juliet. They are so obsessed with each other and their hatred that while either of them could technically try to move on, neither is truly able to.

Gertrude Kappelput X Fish Mooney

At first, I started shipping this because I liked the idea of Oswald having two moms (which he kinda does) and them being married, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Fish Mooney is a strong woman, a member of the mafia who was taught from a young age that kindness gets you killed. She loves no one besides herself and her mother, and even then it might be too much as few people know her mother is still alive. Gertrude is the opposite. This woman finds herself in the harshest, most cruel environment possible, and she still values kindness and love above all else, no matter how bad things may get. She adores her son, and she refuses to hide her love, which can cause her to be blinded by it. They just fit in so well together with Gertrude being Fish's heart and Fish being Gertrude's protector of sorts, bonus points that Gertrude is a single mother, someyhing very familiar to Fish. I can see Gertrude starting to work in Mooney's while Oswald is a child and their relationship blossoming from there. Fish and Oswald don't always see eye to eye, but she does genuinely love, even if he doesn't realize it. Fish wouldn't have been the one to order Oswald's execution here, but I can see Falcone ordering Fish to break his leg to show her loyalty. She does it out of fear he might do something worse for all three of them, but Oswald never forgives her for it. Their story is an absolute tragedy that ends with Penguin losing not one, but both of his mothers while being too late to tell them how much he loved them.

#gotham #batman #dc comics #dc #shipping #two face #polls

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sekhisadventures · 1 year ago

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Dissonantia

Pandaria, The Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Year 30 After First War

The cave lay open in the ruined, sha-blighted lands of the Vale. Abandoned by the Horde after Garrosh found the prize he sought. The heart of the old god Y’shaarj, torn from the voidspawn’s breast by the titan Aman’thul when they first came to Azeroth to order the world. All around it were the remnants of his breath, the sha, scurrying this way and that driven by the darker impulses of the minds of mortals, seeking one to corrupt.

The one that came to the Vale however they seemed to instinctively avoid. Shadows will try to flee from a bonfire after all, and this woman’s mind and soul were a blaze of demonic flames.

Dissonantia walked into the abandoned mine, her erstwhile companion Az’arad stomping along next to her. “Quzgup said ta be bleedin’ careful with this shite… but I want an ace up me sleeve. Yez never know when power like this could come in handy.” she grinned, looking around the tunnel. Goblin and peon corpses lay everywhere, killed by their fellows (and in some cases, themselves) as the dreaded power of the sha overcame their minds.

She had attempted to use a sha-corrupted soul recently, one of the mantid twisted and driven mad by the Sha of Fear. The result was that the Void had consumed part of her mortality and the fel had swooped in to fill in the gap, leaving her with a pair of curling demonic horns growing from her forehead. Her imp had warned her that it was a terrible risk, however. The Void might well consume all of her, leaving nothing but an empty husk. If nothing else, she figured that making someone else suffer that fate could be useful.

As they strode past the carnage she paused, her ears perking up. “Hm?” she mumbled, unsheathing her dagger. “Oi, Azzy. Yez hear that?” she grunted.

The Wrathguard nodded, glancing into the corner as she walked forward, conjuring a handful of felfire to act as a torch.

Huddled there was a goblin miner, the sole survivor of the carnage. His body was chalky white, his eyes wide as he whimpered, biting down on his nails. “I touched it I touched it why why why did I touch it why…” he stammered.

“Eh, touched wot?” she grunted, holding her dagger ready incase he transformed into a sha.

The goblin wailed and clawed at his ears, “NO! Nonononono! Don’t make me say it! I don’t wanna remember! The voices! The darkness! TOO MUCH!”

The worgen cocked her eyebrow, then smirked and stepped forward, “Oh I’ll make yez remember boyo… you’ll tell me, or me mate Azzy will break fingers till yez do.” she grinned widely, showing her fangs as Az’arad sneered, cracking his knuckles. He did so enjoy the fingers, they screamed great when he did that.

The goblin, however, laughed. “FINGERS?! Fingers… hehehe…” then his head snapped around and he stared at her, his eyes like saucers. “FINGERS DON’T FUCKING MATTER!” he snapped, “Nothing matters… I saw him, I saw his mind… I know what he wants…” his teeth chattered. “He’s not dead… he can’t die… you can’t kill a fuckin’ GOD…” he whimpered, covering his eyes with his hands.

Dissonantia and Az’arad glanced at each other, then back at him. “Bleedin’ fel this gobbo’s completely barmy…” she muttered, “Right then, out wiv it. What’d yez touch!”

The goblin giggled hysterically, then gasped out, “His heaaaaaaaaaaaaaart!”

A moment later the cavern erupted with purple light and his body fell, dead and soulless, to the floor. “Aye, that’ll do.” she grinned.

The Twisting Nether, Present Day

Dissonantia snarled and stomped through her lair. Her attempt to use Malgum had ended in utter failure. She’d watched them fight him back until his felfury ran out through her cauldron, the witch cursing at the top of her lungs. “A BLOODY BEER GIANT?! WOT THE FECK!” she snapped, “Ugh, first that pandaren git saves Sekhi, now he can do that?!” she shook her head, storming towards her throne and falling into it with a grimace. “At this rate I may as well just stay hidin’ out until they all die of old feckin’ age…” she grumbled.

After a moment she heard a faint chuckling sound. A muffled one, as if the person who was laughing couldn’t use their mouth properly.

She glanced around, then glared up at the wall. Hanging there was the disembodied head of Fel Master Aartox, the former owner of her lair. She’d kept him alive after Az’arad decapitated him, sewing his lips shut out of spite. “Wot’re yez laughin’ at?” she growled.

The eredar’s head glanced away with a smirk… and Dissonantia narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong, she could feel it. She stood up and snapped her fingers, the threads sealing his mouth burning away in a flash of felfire. “You… wot did yez fuckin’ do?!” she demanded.

The eredar grinned maliciously at her. “You should have left me dead witch. We man’ari are able to speak telepathically to others of our kind. I told Malgum all the secrets of your protections, and now he lives and is back with his allies.” he taunted her, a triumphant expression on his face. “They will come for you, and they will end you! Even in death, Fel Master Aartox is victorious!” he cackled.

Dissonantia’s expression was a sight to behold. The witch roared in fury and gestured, the decapitated head of Aartox erupting into felfire as she channeled her power and rage into it, the demon laughing all the while even as he was consumed.

The members of Unlimited Sin watched their leader, able to tell how furious she was. This wasn’t just bad for them, it was downright apocalyptic. They had relied on the protections Aartox had established to keep the members of Avalon and Savage United out of their base. Especially after Guzzle had managed to follow Dissonantia once, the imp getting in only because the protections ignored something that small.

Dissonantia seethed, staring at the now blackened man’ari skull hanging there as Aartox finally died completely… then she spun around and snapped. “WOT TH’ FECK ARE YEZ STANDIN’ THERE FOR! THEY COULD BE ON US AT ANY MOMENT!” she shouted, “AZZY, GREMORI! REINFORCE THE FRONT GATES! CENOON, XELKEK! SET UP SOME EXTRA SPELL DEFENSES!” she snapped, the worgen walking towards the shelves that held the treasures she’d plundered from Aartox when she took the lair.

It also held one other thing.

A small, locked chest. Her ‘ace up her sleeve.’ She opened it and looked inside the chest, seeing the soul shard of the goblin she’d found in the vale that day, the pathetic wretch having come into direct contact with part of one of the Old Gods themselves. Rather than the normal purple of a soul shard this one swirled with black and white, showing the signs of sha corruption on a nearly unprecedented scale.

“As for me… I got some brewin’ ta do.” she growled, closing the chest and picking it up, then walking through her portal to the Shadowlands. She hadn’t told Quzgup about it. The chest had always been locked and resisted any attempts her imp had made to open it. As far as he knew what was in there was just some bauble of his Mistress’s that she didn’t want him meddling with. There was no time to redo the main defenses now that her enemies knew the way to bypass them, she needed something, even something this dangerous.

The Dragon Isles, near the Obsidian Citadel.

On one of the fields of hardened lava rock near the waters west of the Citadel, the members of Avalon and Savage United were preparing for battle. It had taken some time to find a good fallback spot, but finally Nitika had come up with an idea and contacted one of Dissonantia’s former victims outside their circle.

As Edwood set up a massive demon gate with Malgum’s help, Nelen went over his notes on her defenses. “We have to assume that Dissonantia knows we’re coming guys. Somehow she was able to spy on us before, and if she finds out that Malgum revealed her lair’s location and defenses to us…” warned the magus.

Nitika nodded, looking over a wooden table they’d set up with a rough sketch of the lair itself that had been drawn by Aziguni with help from her brother. “Yeah, but this is it. We’ll never get another chance like this.” replied the seer.

“Ah, if only I could come with you…” sighed a newcomer on the far end. Standing there was a mag’har orc with glowing ember-like eyes, wearing a set of black-scaled robes. The visage form of Iridikron, the dragon that Dissonantia had enslaved to serve as her steed on the Dragon Isles until Nitika had broken the spell controlling him. “I suppose I’ll have to content myself in having played a part in the witch’s downfall…” he grinned, his teeth still rather fang-like even in this form (for some of the younger drakes, their visages still showed hints of their true nature.)

Nitika smirked, “Don’t worry Iridikron. We’ll give her a few extra for you.” she chuckled. “Really though, thank you for this. We need to know we have a safe fallback point incase we need to flee.”

The dragon shook his head, “It is a small thing in exchange for my freedom Nitika. When you told me that she had enslaved another…” he snarled, smoke leaking from the corners of his mouth as he remembered the humiliation of being dominated by her fel magic… then he shook himself and stood straight, nodding to her, “Fear not, the black dragonflight will guard your flank until your return!”

Well, some of the younger members of the flight at least. Iridikron’s clutch-mates. Standing nearby were what appeared, at first glance, to be a dark iron dwarf and a zandalari troll… though in the same black robes as Iridikron, marking them as two more dragons. Still, even young dragons would be more than a match for most of Dissonantia’s tricks.

Nearby the rest of Avalon and Savage United made ready. Zhan-min refilled his maces with fresh unbrewed beer base, then sighed. “Now, that trick I pulled back in th’ Dream… can’t do it without proper ale in these, ‘n that was the last I had back there. So no alemental.” he warned, nodding to the others.

Shalandrae sighed, “Likewise. As powerful as I was back there, I was able to transform like that because we were in the Emerald Dream.” she shrugged, “I think I might be able to do it on Azeroth, as long as we’re near a portal like the one in Duskwood or Feralas, but nowhere else.”

Jaie smirked, “Well… we do at least have one more trick Dissonantia won’t expect…” she nodded, reaching into her pouch and pulling out a small wooden flask.

Sekhi looked at it, then yipped and pointed at it. “That’s th’ same stuff from th’ Azure Span! Th’ one that almost blew ya up!” she shouted, able to hear the elemental song coming from it. It sang of storms, and danger, and power…

Jaie winced, “Its okay! Zhan-min and I worked out a safer version of it. I won’t be near as powerful as I was that day, but it doesn’t have any of Raszageth’s scales in it.” she nodded firmly.

Sekhi’s ears flicked, “Huh… yeah okay. It sounds close, but yeah…” she murmured, still sounding worried.

Dareley nodded, “Hmph… aye, we dunnae want a repeat o’ THAT mess. As good as it was ta stop Dissonantia that day, we thought we were gonna lose ye lass.” he sighed.

Jaie nodded, “Yeah, I don’t want to go through that again either. Worst hangover of my life…” she grinned apologetically.

Shalandrae glanced at the aging paladin but said nothing. She was concerned for her friend though. Dareley had been really showing his age lately, but like many dwarves he was stubborn as a rock. Add onto this that he was a Paladin of the Holy Light and he’d hardly miss a chance to finish off a threat as horrible as Dissonantia.

Next to her and Aziguni stood Laurelgosa, the Dracthyr already having shed her mortal guise in preparation for the upcoming battle. “Well, if we are fortunate it will not come to that Jaie. Perhaps we can take Dissonantia by surprise before she can mount a proper defense. As Malgum told us, the secrets of her defenses were imparted to him through telepathy from another of her victims. She may not even be aware we know how to reach her now.” nodded the evoker.

Samantha grinned at her. “Damn right Laurelgosa.” replied the rogue, then glanced to her side and cocked her head. "Hm... Annulus says that she can sense something odd in our future, but its hard to get a fix on what exactly…” she muttered.

Galdia just shrugged, the mag’har woman standing nearby with her eyes locked onto the portal, her only thoughts on the fight ahead as her massive undead worg Nightpelt sat near her. “Mm.” she grunted. She was a Warsong after all, either they would win or they would lose. One way or another Dissonantia needed to die.

Finally, three more were nearby. They wouldn’t come with them, but they had insisted on at least helping Iridikron to guard the gateway. The two vulpera Leza and Jeemjazo, and Jeem’s companion Murgly Jim, were sitting close to the water as the murloc splashed about in the river.

Jeemjazo glanced at him, then back towards the group. “Oi, Sekhi. Just… come back aye?” he asked.

Sekhi smiled at him and nodded, her tail wagging. “Yeah.” she replied. She and Jeem weren’t like that, but they were as close to family as two vulpera could be without actually being family like she and Leza were.

Leza nodded, the young mage trying to focus on her spellbook to prepare anything she could before the group set off. She was silent, but it was more because she was trying not to think about what could happen to her teacher or sister.

Finally however those magically inclined felt a woosh of energy behind them as Edwood finished inscribing the last rune upon the gateway, a swirl of fel energies tearing a hole through to the Twisting Nether. “OI! Time ta set sail mateys!” called the forsaken to the others.

Grimo cocked his rifle and stubbed out his cigar on the table. “You heard Ed! Lock ‘n load ya mooks!” he shouted as the group began advancing towards the portal.

Malgum glared into it, then stood aside. “I will remain and help Iridikron. Dissonantia was able to capture me as she could bind demonic beings, I can’t risk her doing it.” he explained, though the irritation in his voice was clear. He truly wished to be able to end her for what she’d done, but the risk of being turned against his sister again was too great.

Aziguni however gave him a smile and a pat on the arm as she passed. “Do not worry brother, we’ll see she cannot ever again.”

Even Shalandrae gave him a small nod, the druid then turning her focus to the portal as the swirling energies showed a huge rocky mountain floating on an island in empty space. A cave in the front had a huge door set into it, sturdy and reinforced… but no door survived Grimo Blamstick if he didn’t want it to be there.

Nelen took a breath, then nodded, “Right then. Avalon!”

Grimo grinned, holding his rifle ready, “… and Savage Untied!”

Then in a woosh the magus transformed into his worgen form as Grimo pressed the buttons on his gauntlet, his robotic dog L.U.P.E. barking in acknowledgement. “CHARGE!” shouted Nelen!

“FUCK HER UP!” shouted Grimo at the same time, and with that mis-matched battle cry the members of Avalon and Savage United disappeared through the portal and left Azeroth altogether for the Twisting Nether, to face down the Witch of Blackwald Forest.

Dissonantia’s Lair

The worgen stepped back through from the Shadowlands, tucking something into her pouch. The soul was a real mess, she hadn’t gotten a lot of anima out of it, but hopefully it’d be enough. It was potent, that much she could tell… and the moment she picked it up she’d heard whispering, but she ignored it for now.

Then her head jerked up as she felt several of the defenses outside popping like soap bubbles. Misdirection spells, curses set into the path to the cave like landmines, and the like disappeared one after another as their countercurses were invoked. She growled and glared at the door. “THEY’Z HERE! GET YER ARSES READY!” she roared, moving to the back of the cave.

Her demons and Gremori took up positions between her and the door, Az’arad brandishing his axe as Cenoon readied his whip, Xelkek hissed, his tentacles glowing with shadows as Quzgup hopped onto a table, readying a blast of felfire. In the middle of them all Gremori stood ready, her body swelling as she transformed into her demonic form once more.

For a moment there was nothing… then a sudden rapid beeping before the door to the entrance blew inwards off it’s hinges! Gremori snarled and let fly with her eyes, a gout of felfire incinerating the debris before it could reach them as Grimo’s voice came through the haze of smoke.

“Hah! Seaforium! Never leave home without it!” cackled the goblin, “GET ‘EM!”

Through the smoke burst Galdia, Jaie, Samantha, Zhan-min, and Mola’raum. “LOK’TAR OGAR!” roared the mag’har woman as she made a beeline straight for Az’arad, her shield and sword already raised as Nightpelt howled along with his orcish partner.

Jaie ran for Gremori, Zhan-min and Mola’raum backing her up as she dodged the felsworn’s fist, then countered with her own punch to her middle. Gremori’s eyes bulged as electricity shot through her body, the pandaren having already taken a drink of Zhan’s new brew. The final form of Xuen’s Fangs had been less than the original, but enough to break through the fel-elf’s resilience! She snarled and shook her head, then lashed out again as Zhan-min thrust his hand out and a blast of flames shot forth from his mace, the pure fire cutting through her felfire.

Cenoon looked around the group, then saw a blur as Samantha appeared infront of him and slammed her foot home into his face, the incubus stumbling backwards. “OH NOW REALLY!” he huffed, then looked at her and grinned, “Darling, do you truly wish to fight someone like me?” he chuckled, wiping the felblood from his mouth as he gestured, focusing his powers up on Samantha… then reeling back in revulsion! He’d reached out to influence her mind and found what was living there, coming face to face with Annulus!

“DO NOT EVEN TRY DEMON! THIS ONE IS MINE!” shouted Annulus, the connection allowing Cenoon to hear her as he stumbled as if struck, and in that moment Sam darted forward and slashed across his chest with her daggers! He screamed in pain as the void-crystals bit into his flesh, the power in them so cold it burned him!

Samantha grinned then glanced to her left. ‘This one is mine? Well Annulus, I didn’t know you cared.’ she thought.

“Do not lose focus Samantha. I sense a presence… Dissonantia has something here… something very dangerous.” she warned.

Sam was about to ask what, then she yelped and vanished in a swirl of shadows as Cenoon’s whip bit through the air where she’d been moments before as a blast of sunlight and several arrows cut through, the ranged attackers of the group beginning their offensive.

Xelkek and Quzup returned fire, shooting bolts of darkness and felfire, as Dissonantia snarled and flexed her claws. She didn’t need to cut holes in reality here, she already was in the Nether! “This time yez is in MY home turf! KILL ‘EM ALL!” she roared as twin portals opened and a gigantic swarm of bilescourge shot forward only to be blocked by a shield of pure Light! Both Nitika and Dareley were channeling the Light through themselves, the Seer and the Paladin protecting their allies from Dissonantia’s minions as Nelen roared and summoned his mirror images, a huge slavo of arcane bolts soaring through the air towards the warlock!

She snarled and dodged to the side as they struck home, destroying the bookshelf behind her! Dissonantia grimaced in fury, she had been planning to use the relics there to defend herself, but the full force of Nelen’s arcane power had wrecked most of them! She stood up and glared as she heard a clicking sound, then saw something roll under the table next to her cauldron. Her eyes went wide, “BOMB!” she shouted.

The demons looked around as their opponents fell back, then Grimo’s grenade went off!

When the smoke cleared the cauldron was upside down, its contents leaking onto the floor. Xelkek was on the ground with splinters piercing through him, felblood leaking everywhere, and Quzgup… she growled, the imp was a stain on the ceiling. She could bring them back, they were bound to her… but for now they were very very much dead.

As they tried to recover Jaie suddenly shot forward again, her body still sparking with lightning, and she slammed home into Gremori once again, landing blow after blow against the stunned Felsworn as Az’arad’s axe came up just in time to block Galdia’s sword and Mola’raum’s spear, the two tag-teaming the Wrathguard.

Cenoon coughed, retreating back towards Dissonantia. “Er… this seems to be going against us Mistress Dissonantia… if you have anything planned, now would be an excellent time…” he warned.

She growled, reaching into her pouch, and taking something out of it. It was a small crystal vial, barely more than a mouthful, and it was filled with anima that swirled black and white like ink and oil mixed together. “I was hopin’ ta avoid this…” she growled.

As soon as it came out Sam stumbled, clutching at her head.

“SAMANTHA!” screamed Annulus in her mind, “Dissonantia! The thing in her hand! YOU MUST NOT LET HER USE IT!”

Sam looked up, then shouted to the others, “GUYS! DISSONANTIA IS DOING SOMETHING! STOP HER!”

But it wasn’t heard over the sounds of combat. Spells were cutting through the air, Sekhi’s flute was piping to summon bolts of lighting to rain upon Az’arad and Gremori, and the sound was simply too much!

Dissonantia uncorked the vial, then upended it into her mouth and swallowed.

A moment later she screamed, clutching at her stomach as she staggered backwards.

The surviving members of Unlimited Sin risked a look at their mistress as she braced herself against the wall, and slowly her eyes turned dark as polished jet and rivulets of black ink-like liquid began to pour from her mouth. Her fur turned ashen, the air around her seeming to darken…

As she did Nitika stumbled, gasping and clutching at her shoulders. “W-what? Here?!” she stammered, then she looked up. At her height she was able to see over Gremori and Az’arad, and she saw what was happening. “Oh no… EVERYONE! GET DOWN!” she cried out in warning!

Suddenly, darkness erupted outwards from the body of the Witch of Blackwald Forest, and the cavern was blown apart from the inside out!

The Waking Shore, the Dragon Isles

Malgum stood before the portal, the two vulpera and the black dragons behind him. Without warning, the portal trembled as if struck and an explosion echoed through the area!

He grimaced, drawing his axes as one by one the runes on the portal went dark like lightbulbs blowing out, and the swirling energies dissipated. Soon nothing was visible through it but the coast ahead of them.

Malgum swore in demonic, glaring at where the portal had been in horror...

“What happened?!” exclaimed Iridikron, the dragon pointing at the now dead portal.

“Aye! Sekhi was on th’ other side o’ that! Whats goin’ on Malgum?!” demanded Jeemjazo.

The man’ari growled. “Something has gone wrong. The portal connects to Dissonantia’s Lair in the Nether… but for it to close in such a way, that place would have to stop existing at all.”

The group turned to stare at the portal, then Leza spoke up, “S-stop existing?! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER?!” she yipped in a panicked voice.

Malgum gritted his teeth, “I… do not know…” he admitted.

Somewhere else…

The sky was visible now, but it was no sky they knew. Rather than the rolling chaos of the Nether it was inky black with millions of stars all around them. The dust was still settling from where they’d all landed, the demons and Gremori gathering themselves first. “Ugh… hey Dis? The fel was that?” she asked, looking behind her, then her jaw fell open.

Where Dissonantia had been was a swirling mass of pure black and white, and from inside it came a hissing like thousands of voices all at once.

Nitika gasped and clutched her shoulder as she stood up, the scars she’d gotten in Pandaria suddenly feeling like they were on fire! “G-guys… its… agh… she… she’s…” she stammered, but even trying to talk hurt!

Suddenly, a crackling sound filled the air as a ball of dark energy formed infront of the boiling mass that had been Dissonantia, and it erupted outwards towards the others, including her demons!

Cenoon, Az’arad, and Gremori fled as fast as they could, but the rest were still stunned by the sudden explosion. Nitika tried to focus, tried to call upon An’she’s power, but the Sun God felt so distant here… A few motes of light danced around her fingers, then died.

Then there was a clatter of metal and Dareley scrambled infront of the blast, raised his shield, and roared out “FOR TH’ LIGHT!” as golden wings erupted from his back, a wall of holy energy appearing between them and the wave of shadows!

The beam hit it and pushed him back several feet, leaving deep furrows in the ground, but he held on. “RUN! GET OUT O’ TH’ WAY DAMMIT!” he shouted as the others shook themselves and scrambled to the sides.

“DARELEY!” shouted Shalandrae, but there was nothing she could use to pull him away that wouldn’t put her in range of the blast.

Dareley gritted his teeth, the paladin holding on… then suddenly the wall began to crack. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he focused as hard as he could… and then with a crash his spell broke and the shadows swept over him!

The others cried out as the dwarf screamed in pain, the blast engulfing him for a long moment before dissipating. He was barely protected, a thin shell of light just visible around him, but he was not unscathed.

Slowly, painfully slowly, he fell to his knees. The paladin's sword and shield fell from his numb arms onto the ground next to him, and Dareley Steelhammer collapsed in a heap.

“NO!” cried Shalandrae as she raced over to him and knelt down, feeling his neck and gasping. “He’s still breathing! Sekhi! Nitika! HELP!” she shouted to her allies, “Jaie, Zhan-min, anyone who can heal! I need your help! NOW!”

“Hey! What happened?! Dis! Are you in there?!” shouted Gremori as Cenoon and Az’arad looked into the shadowy mass where their leader had been.

Then they all heard it… a laugh coming from inside it. A mad cackling sound. Dissonantia’s voice, but wrong. Distorted and warped, as if coming from a new mouth.

“Well, I didn’t bleedin’ expect THIS, but I ain’t exactly complainin’…” came the reply, the shadows spreading to reveal the Witch of Blackwald Forest, but not as they knew her. Her body swirled with black and white, her wings now big enough to cover her entire form, and her hands had elongated and warped into misshapen claws… but that was nothing compared to her face.

Her mouth was too long, full of huge fangs, and her eyes… the two red ones were still there, burning like coals against her new monochrome fur, but there were five new ones. Two on each side, and one massive one on her forehead between her horns, all of them glowing a deep acidic yellow.

As they saw her transformed Samantha suddenly shrieked and clutched at her head, her temples throbbing as visions swam in her mind.

A half forgotten nightmare... Darkmoon Island… a twisted forest… Sekhi and Nitika corrupted and mad…

Say their name…

SAY THEIR NAME…

SAY THEIR NAME!!!

The void elf looked up and gasped, realizing what Dissonantia had done to herself, even if she didn’t know how.

Dissonantia had consumed anima wrung from a soul of a poor wretch who had come into direct contact with the Heart of Y’shaarj. What she had consumed hadn’t been the soul of the goblin however. It was the purified essence of the heart itself, what remained of the dreaded deity torn limb from limb by Aman’thul.

“G-guys… this is BAD! That’s not just Dissonantia anymore!” she shouted to the others. “I don’t know how, but thats Y'shaarj! We have to kill her! If we don't he'll use her body to return to Azeroth!”

The others readied their weapons almost immediately, Shalandrae giving a pained look at Dareley before shifting into a bear and growling at Dissonantia.

Gremori’s mouth became a thin line. “Nope. Nooooooope. I did not sign up for void shit.” she nodded firmly, then pulled a crystal out of her pouch, wrapped her fingers tight around it, and slammed her fist into the air next to her! The air seemed to shatter and a swirling mass of felfire appeared, a portal back to the Twisting Nether! “Cenoon! Az’arad! This way!” she shouted.

The incubus immediately chased after her, eager to get away from the monstrosity that Dissonantia had become, and Az’arad gave one last glare at the assembled adventurers before following. He was no fool, he knew when to cut his losses.

“Tch…” snarled Dissonantia. “Fine then! I don’t bleedin’ need yez!” she turned back to the members of Avalon and Savage United, then raised her claws and barked several syllables in Shath’yar! The air trembled as great rents appeared in the ground, and from them emerged wave after wave of the sha! Dissonantia flexed her wings, then flapped and shot up into the air. “KILL ‘EM! IF I GOTTA SHAKE HANDS WIV AN OLD GOD, THEN I’LL TAKE IT IF IT JUST MEANS I CAN FINALLY BE RID OF YEZ!”

The sha roared, a wave of dark emotions echoing outwards as they surged towards the group, who retaliated as best they could. Galdia, Jaie, Shalandrae, Zhan-min, and Mola’raum took up positions infront to face the onrushing horrors as behind them Nelen, Sekhi, Edwood, Aziguni, Grimo, and Laurelgosa aimed their spells onwards.

Sekhi whined, channeling the elements into the encroaching horde of monsters, blasting several apart with a bolt of lightning... but that was all she could do! Even if she wanted to risk unleashing the Singing Sands upon the mob, she couldn’t!

Wherever they were now didn’t have a song! She couldn’t hear anything at all! In Ardenweald she knew the song was there, she had just lost the connection until it broke through when she first manifested her power… but here it simply didn’t exist!

Nitika tried to focus, but her head was swimming. It was impossible to focus here. “Dammit… D-darkhoof, what do we do?” she hissed.

‘Running would be a damn good idea, but the portal is closed and I don’t even know if our hearthstones will work from here!’ came the reply, ‘Look around us! This isn’t the Nether! When she merged with Y’shaarj she dragged her entire lair to the Void!’

Nitika shook her head and stood, then gripped her staff, “No wonder I can’t feel An’she’s presence…” she whispered, “Fine then… we’re in your element, YOU deal with it!” she snapped as she blinked her eyes.

When they opened again they’d changed from yellow to purple, “Eh, whatever…” she shrugged, then slammed her hand outwards as darkness slammed into darkness, the tauren’s darker side lashing out against the sha with their own weapons!

But they were in the Void now, and with every second Dissonantia’s transformation intensified and more and more sha appeared! Finally their line was broken and they scattered. All over island the dark children of Y'shaarj swarmed. Mola’raum’s ghoul was already in pieces, but there were no bodies to raise new ones here! The death knight’s spear glowed like a grim beacon as it’s runes ignited, stabbing into the voidspawn over and over. “DIS BE BAD! WE GONNA GET OVERRUN!” he shouted to the others.

“Yeah yeah! Tell me somethin’ I don’t fuckin kno-OH SHIT!” hollered Grimo as a massive sha surged towards him and slammed into the goblin! He growled and shoved a grenade into it’s mouth, but the creature had him in it’s claws! He couldn’t get away in time! “FUCK FUCK FUCK!” he smashed the butt of his rifle against what passed for the creature’s face, then suddenly the bomb exploded and the creature was blasted apart! Grimo let out a cry of alarm as the explosion sent him flying over the edge!

“GRIMO!” shouted Nitika, racing to the edge of the platform.

“I HAVE HIM!” replied Laurelgosa, spreading her wings and shooting off after the goblin as he plummeted, a small series of rocky islands floating in the Void below them.

Grimo landed with a sudden thud on the ground, coughing and rubbing his arm. “Ow fuck ow ow…” he hissed, standing up as the dracthyr landed next to him. “Ah, good… knew it was a good idea to hire ya…” he grinned, then paused.

He looked down at a small beeping sound coming from his gauntlet. “Huh? Signal located? What sig..." he started as he raised his arm and looked at the display, then his jaw dropped, “No fuckin’ way…” he looked around, then spotted another island nearby, with something metal glinting in the rocks on it. “It can’t be… Hey! Laurelgosa! Get me over there! FAST!” he shouted, pointing towards it.

Laurelgosa looked at him, then where he was pointing. “Grimo, we need to aid the others! Why do you want to go there?” she asked.

He gave her a toothy grin. “If that’s what I think it is… Dissonantia ain’t gonna know what HIT her!”

The dracthyr looked back to the platform above, seeing flashes of light and hearing the cries of battle. “… against my better judgement…” she mumbled, then she lifted the goblin into her arms, spread her wings, and took to the skies once more.

Back on the platform the battle was going badly. No matter how many sha they killed more and more came! They were in the Void, the literal heart of darkness that spawned the dreaded old gods. Here, the fragment of Y'shaarj that Dissonantia had allowed into her could summon an endless tide of the horrors!

Dissonantia cackled above them, now more sha than worgen. Her body had doubled in size, her wings flapping to hold her aloft as she conjured another fountain of darkness. “Hah! Oh this is so feckin’ satisfyin’! How long will yez last against THESE ones?” she sneered down at her foes, barely noticing as Laurelgosa landed back onto the island with Grimo, the goblin running towards Zhan-min as the dracthyr exhaled a gout of dragon fire to drive the sha back long enough to reach him.

“HEY! Zhan! Those scales! The ones that ya used ta make th’ beer that almost blew Jaie up! You still got any?!” he asked.

Zhan-min snarled and slammed his maces home onto a monstrosity’s head, causing it’s body to shatter into motes of darkness. “Yeah! Why? Ya’ll wanna last drink?” he snapped, the pandaren man breathing heavily.

“Nope! Just give ‘em!” he insisted, showing the shaman what he had as Laurelgosa flew infront of him and flapped her wings hard, sending the sha infront of them flying backwards!

“Oh… oh shit I getcha… I heard ‘bout that thing! They don’t have a ton of power left after we freed Raszageth’s spirit, but if ya’ll use all of ‘em…” he grinned, digging in his pouch and pulling out a bag of dragonscales that seemed to crackle with electricity.

Grimo grinned back, snatching them. “Right, keep those bastards back while I install ‘em!” he nodded, getting out a spanner and working frantically as his L.U.P.E. robot let out a mechanical snarl and tore into another sha!

Dissonantia laughed, watching the chaos below her, hearing the whispering fill her mind. She was reveling in her power, and as soon as she returned to Azeroth she could unleash it everywhere. She wouldn’t just be a warlock, hiding in the Nether and seducing halfwits for their souls to extend her life and youth. She’d be an immortal demigod! She’d RULE Azeroth! Any who refused her would be turned into sha-corrupted monsters at her beck and call!

Then she heard something…

“HEY BITCH!” came Grimo’s voice.

Dissonantia snarled, her head snapping around, then she saw what he was holding. She didn’t recognize it though. She never really talked much to her former allies. She hadn’t heard about this...

Grimo was grinning ear to ear, taking aim with a rather unusual rifle. It had a long barrel ending in a wide mouth, was made of blue-tinted metal, and attached to where the ammo cartridge would normally be was a tesla ball packed to bursting with the scales of the now deceased Storm Eater! “SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!” he laughed as Zhan-min and Laurelgosa stood behind him, bracing him by the shoulders.

“Th’ feck is that?” she growled.

The members of Avalon and Savage United however, they knew what it was!

Nitika stared at it, her jaw falling open as her eye twitched, then she gripped her head and grimaced. “HOW?! HOW THE… I THREW IT… HOW… THE ODDS OF IT…” she babbled as Mola’raum ran past her, slapping her shoulder firmly.

“FREAK OUT LATER SISTAH! GET BEHIND ‘IM!” he shouted as the taureness shook herself out of her shock and raced after him, the others moving to get out of the line of fire, fighting their way past the sha as Grimo took aim at Dissonantia… then pulled the trigger.

There was a roar like a massive primal dragon and a beam of pure lightning exploded out of the barrel, aimed directly at Dissonantia!

She growled, then held her hands out as a shield of darkness formed over her, and the beam slammed home! Dissonantia gritted her new fangs, but she was channeling the power of an old god! No mere gun could get through that, right?!

Maybe not a normal gun… but this wasn’t just any gun. Call it fate, call it predestination, call it sheer blind insane luck… but in Grimo’s hands was none other than the legendary rifle forged by the Keeper Mimiron, Titanstrike! Modified by the goblin, thrown into the Void by Nitika after the chaos he’d caused last Winter’s Veil. Somehow, they had wound up in the same part of the Void that the rifle had landed in! Grimo had recovered it, filled it with the remaining scales of Raszageth, and now the Incarnate’s power was exploding forth into the transformed witch!

She snarled in fury, channeling Y'shaarj's essence infront of her, but her transformation was far from complete. She wasn’t even as powerful as the greater sha that had plagued Pandaria yet! The shield began to crack, then Dissonantia’s eyes, all seven of them, widened in shock as the barrier fell and a blinding flash of lightning filled her vision!

What the beam struck was the infamous Witch of Blackwald Forest, the soul-stealing warlock responsible for countless deaths, who had sacrificed others without a second thought in her pursuit of immortality.

What landed on the island was a blackened and scorched worgen skull with two curling demonic horns. All around them the sha screamed, then one by one they vanished in bursts of darkness. With his host's death their master's remaining essence had been scattered across the Void, and without Y’shaarj’s presence they couldn’t exist.

Slowly the beam dissipated, and Grimo lowered the rifle. “Nitika. You do not. EVER. Touch this thing again. Capiche?” he glared over his shoulder at the tauren.

Nitika, her eyes still purple, glared back, then snorted and looked away. Just this once, she’d let him have that.

Then they all looked up at a rattling cough from across the arena.

“Dareley!” gasped Shalandrae, “He’s still alive! C’mon!” she shouted, racing to him as she fell to her knees, channeling what little energy she could draw upon in this realm into him. “W-we need to get him back to Azeroth! I can’t heal him here!”

Nelen nodded, running forward. “Right! Hang on!” he replied, taking his stave out and making a circle in the air with the tip. He was almost spent after that, but Dareley had saved his life when the Twilight’s Hammer attacked Wyrmrest Temple, he’d be damned if he didn’t at least try!

The air shimmered, then sputtered, and Nelen swore and did it again, then again, then another time… “Dammit…” he growled… then he paused, “Hm?”

The others looked at him, “What?” asked Samantha.

“I thought I felt…” he whispered. Then he focused, a moment later he grinned, “Sekhi, when we get back… we need to do something really nice for your sister.”

Sekhi cocked her head. “Huh?”

The Waking Shore

Leza had set out her spellbook and wand infront of her, along with her glasses folded over them, and as an afterthought her bracers, the vulpera focusing on them as hard as she could, channeling arcane energy into them.

It was a desperate plan, but the only one they had. The objects before her had been crafted, in part, by Nelen. She hoped that by using her own magic on them that he could use them as a beacon of sorts to find his way back.

“Are ye sure this’ll work?” asked Jeemjazo, sitting next to her. Nearby Murgly Jim watched with wide, curious eyes. He could feel the magic, even if he didn’t understand what he was seeing.

Malgum nodded, stroking his chin. “The theory is sound… but as she is the only one of us who can channel the arcane… we will simply have to hope.” he mused.

Iridikron frowned, “I could fly to Valdrakken, enlist the help of some of my friends in the Blue Dragonflight…” he pointed out.

Malgum shook his head, “That could take hours. We may not even have minutes. Whatever happened, that part of the Twisting Nether is no more. This may well be our only hope of seeing them again.” he frowned.

Leza growled, “C’mon Nelen… sense this… I’m puttin’ everything I got into it…” she whined, “Ya made my book, ya helped make my wand ‘n my bracers ‘n glasses… they’re connected to ya…” she focused as hard as she could, screwing up her eyes… then she gasped as her fur stood on end. “I-I think I felt something!” she shouted.

The air infront of them rippled, then shimmered, and in a burst of arcane light a massive portal opened and through it came the assembled members of Avalon and Savage United!

“HOT SANDS IT WORKED!” exclaimed Jeemjazo as Murgly Jim let out a cheerful gurgle, waving his fins.

“SEKHI!” shouted Leza, scrambling to her feet as she jumped over the pile of objects and raced towards her sister, almost tackling the shaman off her feet as she hugged her tight!

Malgum gave a satisfied nod, then asked, “Well?”

Nelen looked back at him and nodded, “Its over. Dissonantia will never trouble anyone again, ever.” he grinned widely.

Valdrakken, later that evening.

It was true that the war against Fyrakk’s forces was still ongoing, but even the greatest of heroes need a chance to recover after a major battle, and for these fourteen this was perhaps not as great as the Incarnate of Flame, but very personal.

Everyone was there. The members of Avalon and Savage United, Sekhi’s family, Jeemjazo and his mother Neidhari (and of course Murgly Jim,) Malgum, even Iridikron had found an excuse to get away from the citadel to join in the celebration.

Grimo lowered his mug and sighed, “Just sayin’ it’s a shame is all. After all th’ fuckin’ work I put into those things, we don’t need ‘em now!” he sighed, gesturing to his wrist where the demon detection tool sat.

Nelen shrugged, “Oh I don’t know Grimo. It could come in handy for other things. Tracking down rare artifacts, maybe even seeking out other foes. I’m simply saying that we shouldn’t discount it just because its main purpose is settled.” replied the mage as he sipped from a mug of moonberry wine. He normally didn’t drink, but today was special.

Grimo shrugged, “Eh fair ‘nuff… just hope we don’t gotta deal with something like HER for a long fuckin’ time.” he said with a smirk, raising his mug.

Nelen chuckled, then tapped his mug against Grimo’s. “Well said.” he replied, the two of them taking a deep gulp of their drinks.

Nitika watched them, then sighed and leaned back against a wall. “I’m beginning to think that rifle is cursed. I mean… I threw it into the Void.” she frowned, “Even after what Dissonantia did, the odds of us winding up in that specific spot…” she trailed off as Mola’raum chuckled.

“Ya be overthinkin’ it sistah. We won. Dissonantia be gone. Just be happy.” laughed the troll, leaning against the wall next to her with his hands folded behind his head, his runespear resting next to him.

She felt a tap on her arm and saw Laura Brightflame standing there, the dracthyr holding out a large mug of tauren-brewed beer. “Mola’raum has the right of it Nitika. We should not question co-incidences. After all, it was by accident that Raszageth’s escape freed my own people from our prison in the Forbidden Reach. Simply accept that the outcome was in our favor.”

Nitika sighed, then accepted the mug from Laura and took a big drink, “… fine.” she shrugged, “Just… gah… I’m afraid to ask what he’ll blow up with it next!”

The three of them looked up at the sound of a cheer as Galdia stumbled past, an empty bottle of ale in each hand. “PARTY! HAHA! THE WITCH IS DEAD AND WE’RE NOT! LOK’TAR!” she hollered, drunkenly stomping her way across the inn as two of the barmaids chased after her.

“… where did her shirt go?” sighed Nitika as Mola’raum started to laugh, his shoulders shaking.

“I believe that it is hanging from the chandelier up there, Nitika.” grinned Laurelgosa, pointing upwards.

Nitika rolled her eyes, “Yep, that’s it.”

Across the bar Jaie and Zhan-min were talking with another few pandaren, sharing tales of what they had just done with the other adventurers, who would in turn share them with others they met in their travels. Because all pandaren love a good story. Perhaps it would even make it’s way back to Pandaria and the Lorewalkers would record it as an exciting adventure to tell to children.

A bit further away Shalandrae sat with Aziguni, the two sharing a bottle of moonberry wine, holding hands at the table. After all that had happened their relationship was pretty much past the ‘trying it out’ stage, though Shalandrae kept giving worried glances to another table.

Dareley sat there, looking tired, but otherwise well. He gave a nod to her, raising his mug, and took a drink. Thunderbrew, but a lower proof ale. No point in taking risks after his brush with death. He seemed fine, but Shalandrae had an odd feeling that there was something he wasn’t telling her…

Seated at the bar proper was Samantha, wearing a long and deep purple velvet dress. She didn’t want to go to a party in her ‘work clothes’ after all, and after years of having to pretend to be something she wasn’t she never passed up an opportunity to dress up.

Next to her was Edwood, the two swapping tales of pirates. Edwood from the stories he was told as a child of great Kul Tirian naval victories, Samantha the… less embellished ones she’d gotten from the pirates themselves with her time running with the Uncrowned.

Even Malgum was there, though he was keeping out of the way of the others. This was their victory, he was just pleased that Dissonantia had been dealt with and his sister had returned safely. As one of the man’ari, he had to take those small pleasures where he could get them. He didn’t expect thanks, nor did he ask for it. He just accepted that he had done his part.

Lastly, seated around a big table were the vulpera. Sekhi, Leeza, Jeemjazo, Neidhari, Atu, Risala, and the twins Zato and Eeda. The latter two were chattering excitedly, peppering their older sisters and Jeemjazo with questions, though Sekhi was reluctant to tell all of what happened when they passed through the portal.

“Look kits…” piped up Jeemjazo, “Th’ important bit is th’ Witch is gone. Savvy?” he said, gesturing to them as Murgly Jim messily devoured a plate of crab meat next to him. “Ye don’t need ta know the details.”

“BUT WE WAAAAAAAAANNA!” shouted Zato, flailing his arms.

“Yeah! We wanna beat up bad guys like Sekhi ‘n Leza!” grinned Eeda, her tail wagging excitedly.

Jeemjazo raised his eyebrow, “… and me?” he asked.

The twins looked at each other, then shrugged. “I mean… do ya?” asked Zato.

Jeemjazo snorted as Leza bit back a laugh, “AYE! Why just a few months back I saw to a buncha bloodthirsty pirates in th' Azure span! Ask Laura! She was there too!” he barked, pointing across the room.

Laura looked up and nodded, “I saw him personally defeat two of them myself. One of them was an orc infact.” she confirmed.

The twins turned back to him, their eyes wide. “Woaaaaaaaaaah! You took down an orc?!” yipped Zato.

“HOW?! They’re yippin’ huge!” shouted Eeda.

Jeemjazo grinned, puffing out his chest. Sure the recognition of young kits may be easy, but he’d take it. “Okay, so me ‘n Jim got hired by Brenna, Iskaara’s Chief, ta find out who was stealin’ their grub…” he began.

Neidhari chuckled, listening as well. She’d heard Jeemjazo’s story before, but it still made her feel better to know that her son could handle himself in a battle and had friends who would help if things got out of hand (she’d gotten the full story from Laurelgosa afterwards.)

Leza giggled, then glanced over at Sekhi, who seemed to be lost in thought, her ears flicking back and forth. “Ya okay sis?” she asked.

Sekhi blinked, then shrugged, “Just… kinda yippin’ nuts Leza. We were so worried about Dissonantia for so long, ‘n now she’s gone. Just… doesn’t feel really real yet…” she replied.

Leza nodded, then grinned, “Hey, maybe once Nelen thinks I’m good enough, I can come with ya and we can beat up the next one together.”

Sekhi giggled, then smiled back at her sister. “Hehehe… sounds good!” she yipped.

The party continued on into the night. Jeemjazo told his tale to Sekhi’s siblings, Grimo and Nelen discussed possible uses for the now-defunct demon detection tools, and eventually Galdia blacked out over the bar table and Nitika carried the unconscious orc up to her room after retrieving her shirt from the rafters.

But this tale is not yet over. Azeroth is a wide world, and adventures can happen every day. Today’s battle was won, but who knows what tomorrow’s would bring?

However... there was one person for whom the adventures had ended…

Somewhere…

Dissonantia awoke with a jerk, looking around. “Wot… where th’ feck am I?” she growled, trying to step forward, only for a sudden pull on her wrists and the rattle of chains to alert her to the fact that she was shackled to a wall.

As her vision cleared she saw a cell like one would find in a prison or dungeon. The walls and floor made from rough cut stones and all around her she heard the moans and wails of other prisoners.

It was then that she became aware of something else. She wasn’t in her worgen form! She was human again! Whats more, she wasn’t young anymore either! She saw her hands, veined and sporting liver spots, then felt her face and grimaced as she felt the wrinkles that had vanished after she’d managed to steal Theotar’s secret of brewing anima into tea…

… anima… then it clicked in her head.

“Oh bugger…” she whispered as a door opened at the far end and a figure approached her, hidden in shadow until she drew within a circle of torchlight.

She was a tall statuesque woman in an elegant black and red gown, her face a pale grey and her ears long and pointed. She had two dark eyes and fang-like teeth, and in her hands she held a freshly carved tablet of stone.

“Well well, Dissonantia… or should I say ‘Camillei Theodore?’” she nodded, reading it off the stone. “My my my… we have been naughty haven’t we? Took the dredgers a while to get your sinstone carved I must say.”

Dissonantia growled, “Accuser…” It wasn’t an insult but rather it was her name and her title. The reality of her situation hit her like a led weight. Grimo’s insane gun, the blast of lightning, the sudden cessation of everything.

She was dead, and this could only be Revendreth. This time, however, she was not here as a Maw Walker to save the realm.

“Mmm… we were not expecting to see you again so soon, but I have to say we certainly have our work cut out for us with you.” replied the Venthyr woman. “Murder, theft, infanticide, soul-cannibalism… dear dear…” she shook her head.

“Were it the old days we would have cast you into the Maw and been done with it... but our new Arbiter has decreed that all souls, no matter how irredeemable, are given at least the opportunity to absolve themselves.” she sighed, clicking her tongue in an annoyed way, “One wonders if Pelagos realizes just how much he has increased our workload." she shrugged, "No matter, it is our duty and we will carry it out, and besides…” she smirked, leaning in.

“After you left, Theotar worked up the courage to tell Renethal what you had done. He asked me personally to see to your ‘rehabilitation’ when your time came…” she grinned, “I do not normally take pleasure in the punishments I give souls, but this time I may make an exception.”

Dissonantia grimaced, flexing her fingers. She wanted to summon a swarm of bilescourge, she wanted to call Az’arad and set him loose upon her, she wanted to rain felfire and death upon all who stood between her and the exit to this realm… but she was a disembodied soul now. Her powers were gone!

The Accuser smirked, recognizing what she was doing. It was hardly the first time a newly arrived soul had instinctively tried to fight back. “However… as I said, we are extremely busy under Pelagos’ new rules, so I am afraid I have prior engagements I must attend to…” she turned to leave, “We must schedule our next session for… oh… twenty, thirty years from now should do it. So many souls to see to…” she shook her head, “But plenty of time for you to think about what you’ve done.” she chuckled.

Dissonantia snarled, tugging on her chains as she roared in fury, however it was not the furious howl of a worgen but the angry scream of an old woman. No felfire, no demons, not even the power to shapeshift. She would sit, and wait, until the Accuser returned to administer her ‘penance,’ whether she liked it or not.

That was the end of the Wicked Witch of Blackwald Forest.

#adventures in azeroth #world of warcraft #warcraft fanfiction #warcraft roleplay #dragonflight #original characters

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