#I’d potentially kill myself from how I was already feeling on top of everything else | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

spunkpunx · 4 years ago

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I Don’t Share - Kai Anderson

Plot: Reader is the only person who Kai Anderson ever really listened to.

Word count: 1899

Warnings: SMUT, Manipulative reader, Smoking, Blood, Aggressive Sex, Mocking, It’s AHS Cult so it’s gonna be dark, Misogyny

I walked down the steps, into the basement. The place he dwelled. The dark web was a strange place, full of internet trolls, but something about Kai Anderson was different. Something in his words garnered attention, and now, it was time to find out.

“Hello?” I called out confidently. At this point in my life, nothing scared me, not even death, but my survival was important. After all, what could I achieve from beyond the grave? To be without fear is to be dangerous.

“Who are you?” a voice called out from the sofa. The man sat there was not the man I expected to see, and I was pleasantly surprised.

“Kai Anderson?” I queried, and he nodded. I had expected someone much less attractive, but Kai’s dark eyes, handsome face and fit body were all things that played into my hands. His eyes bore into me as I walked into the room and sat opposite him. he wore sweatpants, and his shoulder length hair was dyed blue.

“Answer my question, bitch,” he snapped at me, but I just looked at him disapprovingly, taking a cigarette from my pocket and lighting it. He glared at my lack of response, but I made sure to take my time before I replied.

“When a dog bites it’s master, they take it into the yard and put a bullet in its head,” I calmly spoke, resisting a smile at the taken aback expression on his face. The surprise soon turned into rage, and he stood up and grabbed me by the collar of my t-shirt, making me jump.

“I don’t even know you! No bitch will be the master of me!” Kai yelled, and I met his eyes with a level gaze. I gave him a look, a look of indifference, and he released me from his grasp. He stood above me.

“Sit down Kai, I’m not speaking to you until you sit.”

“Fuck off.”

I met his eye with a steely glare, and reluctantly, he took a seat the other side of the coffee table.

“Now, I’m (y/n) (l/n), and I came to see you because I need you,” I began to explain. Kai raised an eyebrow. “There’s something about you Kai, that shocks people, that commands attention, but you’re wasting it away sat sweating in this shitty basement.”

He leant foreword in his seat, starting to listen more attentively. It was almost too easy.

“Now I have a proposal, because I need you to realise your potential,” I continued, and he was captivated.

•

The cult had been running for just over a month. Of course, no one had identified it as what it was yet, but it was coming together as intended. When I first met Kai, I wanted to rile him up and let him lose to wreak havoc on the world, to scare people into action, but after speaking to him, I realised an intelligence more than I had initially thought. It was a waste not to push him forward into something on a national level. Of course, he had been harder to break than I first thought, but eventually I had had him wrapped around my finger using the only weapon women had against men, the weapon that sat between my legs.

Within the ring I took the position of Kai’s right hand and lover, his assistant, and it was widely assumed that I was abused and too love struck by our “Divine Ruler” to realise. As much as they admired him, they feared him. In reality, I was in control. Everything Kai had become was because of me.

I knew I had control at the first “pinky ritual”. As soon as our fingers made contact he dived into the first questions, but by that point I’d already won. He was angry, emotional, irrational. I’d got under his skin. It didn’t take long for me to turn the questioning round onto him, and soon he was spilling his guts to me. Everything about his parents, his brother and sister, every fear, hate, love and regret in his life he gave to me. We had sex and with that he’d given me all of his power.

Despite the impression that the rest of the cult held, Kai was ready to lick the shit off of my shoe if I asked. Of course, that didn’t mean I had absolute control. His ideas were his own, I just gave him a push in the right direction. After the killing of Bob Thompson and his gimp, I had pulled Kai’s mask off and kissed him, hard, to show my appreciation. He pulled our bodies closer together and when he brushed his finger across my lip I could taste the blood on it. From that point on, there was no better sight for me than a bloodied Kai Anderson.

•

“I don’t share Kai,” I stated, coldly, as he walked down into the basement. I had been sat on the sofa, waiting for him to return.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t lie to me,” I spat. “You’ve been upstairs fucking Mrs. Lavender,” I pointed out, referring to Meadow.

“There’s a reason,” he defended himself simply. “She needed to think I loved her so she’ll be willing to die for me. It’s exactly what you asked.”

“I don’t think you understand,” I replied slowly, opening my legs to reveal no underwear on beneath my skirt, and I noticed Kai’s next words catch in his throat. “You belong to me. To this.” I gestured my womanhood. He knelt in front of me on the floor, tracing his hands along my thighs, temptation in his eyes.

“No, I don’t,” Kai spat. I snapped my thighs shut and he pulled his hands away sharply. “I am the Divine Ruler,” he announced, standing to lean over me, taking my throat in his hand and squeezing slightly. I looked him back in his dark eyes coolly, daring him to do what he was threatening to do. Kai didn’t have the strength in him to kill me.

“I made you what you are.” I felt his grip tighten. “You’re nothing without me,” I croaked, my voice hoarse as he cut off my breath. His grip tightened more, and for a moment I almost considered he might go through with it. I saw a tear run down his face and then he let go. He dropped his head, tears running down his face, and I opened my arms to him. He dropped down to the sofa, next to me, falling into my embrace. He buried his head into my shoulder and sobbed, while I stroked his hair, shushing him.

“I’m sorry,” he almost whimpered. I pushed him down of the sofa, back on his knees in front of me, opening my legs. He sighed in appreciation, his eyes darkening with lust. As he reached his hand towards my leg I smacked it away.

“No, you have to beg,” I instructed. He looked up to meet my eye. There’s nothing more dangerous than a humiliated man, he had once said, but here he was, willing to get down on his knees in front of me and beg for my attention.

“Please, forgive me, (y/n). Let me touch you,” he pleaded pathetically. I leant forward and took his jaw in my hand, guiding his lips up to meet my own. He desperately leaned into the kiss, sitting up on his knees to pull us closer. His hand ran along my thigh and brushed across my heat, and when I didn’t pull away he rubbed the rough pad of his thumb against my clit before pushing a finger inside of me. I let myself moan against his kiss. He added another finger and curled them inside of me, swallowing my noises up with his lips. I pulled away from the kiss, panting.

“I want you to show me how much you hate me Kai,” I told him, and he removed his fingers from me, confused. I continued, pulling my shirt over my head leaving me in my bra. “Oh, I know you do. The way I make you feel confused, the way I treat you. I let you know how much of a piece of shit you are and you let me tell you that. What kind of man are you? You hate the way I make your prick harder than anyone else could,” I tease, reaching to grab his erect cock through his trousers. I pull my knees back, showing my full pussy out in front of him and that’s all he takes to snap. He stands up and pushes me down on the couch, kneeling himself between my knees before pulling his shirt over his head. It’s hard not to admire his muscular body. It’s no wonder he could get people to believe he was their god, he looked exactly like one. He unzipped his jeans and pulled them down, freeing his cock from his boxers and stroking it while looking at me.

“You’re right,” he told me harshly, grabbing my jaw and resting his thumb in my mouth so I kept it open. “I do fucking hate you.” With that he leant forward towards me and spat directly into my mouth. His harsh words were making me drip with lust. Without any warning he plunged his cock into my warmth, grunting and dropping his hands to my grip onto my waist and the flesh of my stomach. He pounded into me relentlessly, letting out small moans of pleasure. I panted, and when he hit a spot inside of me I let out a breathy moan. I felt a sting across my face, realising that he’d slapped me. He moved a hand to my thigh, pressing it back toward my chest. He growled as he hit my cervix, his hands heavy and his grip tight. Kai grabbed my throat and leant over my body to give the most bruising kiss, and as he pushed my legs back, his cock hit even deeper in me. I even whimpered as he mercilessly pounded into me, harder and harder. His kiss travelled, down my neck, and I felt him take the skin between his teeth, leaving bite marks. I took his head in my hands, fingers tangled in his hair, and I connected our mouths once more, tongues and teeth colliding. He let out another desperate moan. Even when he hated me I still controlled him. The room was filled with the sound of wet kisses and skin slapping. I felt the pleasure build and reached down to rub myself, reaching a shuddering climax and clenching around Kai. He let out a groan and swore, pounding into me faster, his thrusts sloppy. He pulled my bra down and grabbed onto my tits, desperately panting and he brought himself closer to finish. I could do nothing but moan and tremble as his thrusting overstimulated me. His breathy moans brought me to finish a second time, a wave of pleasure hitting me and making me shake again. Kai groaned, pushing himself balls deep inside me and spilling hot cum. He collapsed down on top of me and I let him rest his head on my chest, wrapping my legs around his waist and kissing the top of his head.

“I do think I could love you, Kai,” I murmured against his hair, and I had no reason to say it, but I truly meant it.

#kai anderson #kai anderson x reader #ahs cult #ahs imagine #evan peters #evan peters x reader #ahs x reader #kai anderson smut #ahs smut #american horror story #tate langdon #kit walker #jimmy darling #rory monahan #james patrick march #kyle spencer

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dbgdbw · 3 years ago

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203화

시선 (1)

Gaze (1)

“Conduct is exemplary, and has a strong sense of responsibility. Diligent. Exemplary. Self-collected and diligent. Has a strong sense of responsibility.”

The contents were all roughly the same. Outstanding grades, and an absence of delinquent behavior. He’d been a splendid model student. Song Taewon had.

“Isn’t all of this a bit too out in the open.”

I hadn’t thought to look for it for a while since it was still technically personal information, but I’d ended up calling up Do Hamin to ask if there was any way he could look into one more person. When I’d told him the person in question was Song Taewon, he’d told me to run an internet search, so I had complied. And everything had actually been listed there.

From basic personal information to assets--was this something that was usually revealed?--and public records, his alma mater, hometown, family relationships, and assorted evaluation histories. It was detailed enough that I wondered if it was really okay. It seemed that things had become subject to open scrutiny as the S-rank Hunter had risen in public office.

“So he was similar to how he is now, even back in high school.”

He’d been super tall back then too, huh. Of course, he still looked a lot younger than he did now, but the expression in the picture and the atmosphere around him seemed to be about the same. …but shouldn’t that not be the case. The high school version seemed to be a bit more relaxed, but still.

“There’s really nothing that seems to be a problem. Not that it’s a bad thing, but……”

Considering the person I was up against, even that aspect increased the feeling of aversion somewhat. An upstanding way of living, devoid of any deviations.

Parents and a younger brother had made up his immediate family. It seemed that he’d lived with his grandparents as well. His mother and dongsaeng had been killed in an accident, and his father had died as collateral during a Dungeon break. I’d been aware that he had no family left. Since he was fairly young, I’d already guessed at the causes being due to accident or illness.

“That probably influenced his upbringing as well.”

Detailed information about the accident wasn’t available. His romantic and personal relationships were unlisted, too. I ran a search, just in case--but since there was so much information to begin with when it came to Song Taewon’s involvement with other Hunters, I found it impossible to parse through the results. I may have also just been bad at searching. It’s not like I would’ve had the prior experience to know how to go about it.

“...it’s not like I’m a mental health counselor.”

It felt like he’d be better off receiving some actual counseling services. Tossing my phone aside, I draped myself on top of the sofa. Chirpie and Velare were riding around and around in circles on top of the roomba. What cuties.

“How troublesome, really.”

It was impossible for me to deal with Song Taewon the way I’d done before, now. Not out of concern for my own safety, but because Song Taewon’s own life was on the line.

If I accidentally provoked him, and then, in order to protect me… Ah, hell.

“...didn’t I just end up looping a leash around my own neck, while being preoccupied about someone else’s.”

I really didn’t know what to do. But I still didn’t want to give up. The same ending, or even a similar one--I didn’t want to see either of them.

“Would it be better if the System, and being Awakened just went away. But it feels like it probably wouldn’t be that simple, either.”

I kind of wondered what would happen if I let him know, that outside of our world, there’s an even greater monster! But I couldn’t imagine his response. I see, so the real monster was somewhere else all along, and even S-ranks are normal humans compared to that! seemed to be too optimistic, probably.

‘Since Choi Seokwon would’ve been an outlier by current standards, maybe I should try leveraging that incident. Would I potentially be stepping on a minefield, if I did.’

If I was going to ask, I was definitely doing it over a call. After holding my head for a while, I picked up my phone again. Ah, right, Section Chief Song. Maybe I’d look up some of his acquaintances. Like from when he was in college, or……

“...uh.”

I’d unconsciously ended up searching for ‘Section Chief Song college.’ ‘Section Chief Song’ would probably return more irrelevant results than ‘Song Taewon.’ I was about to re-do the search with ‘Song Taewon college’ instead, but I caught a glimpse of a familiar face in the image results list.

It was a picture of Song Taewon with a bunch of young children. When I clicked into the relevant post, there was a description explaining that it was from when Section Chief Song had been volunteering while in university.

→ look at the size difference b/w chief song’s and that baby’s hand, it’s wrecking me

→ omg where’d u get this pic??

↳ my friend’s oppa was in section chief-nim’s graduating class(1), so he v graciously supplied it

→ section chief-nim looks more carefree back thenㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Like the comment said, it was a face that seemed a great deal more relaxed. But what was this place. Everything on the message board was either about Section Chief Song or related to Section Chief-nim. On top of all the text threads about Song Taewon, there were a bunch of pictures as well. And they all seemed to be saturated in expressions of affection……

Ah, was this what they called a ‘fansite.’

I saw some crying comments, saying things like ‘isn’t he being overworked’ and ‘I saw him carpooling.’ Going a bit further back, I saw that there were posts on every page from people that were weeping over the compact car. When I went into an archived thread that seemed to have a lot of comments, it was filled with a sea of crying emoticons over the fact that he’d become a complete pedestrian now.

Reading all of that, I’d become saddened as well.

“Really, why does he have to live like that.”

He could at least get a new car. A big one. Even if he had one for office use at the Awakening Center, having to carpool to and from work just wasn’t it. And when he had to commute in his personal time… There probably weren’t very many instances of that to begin with, but still.

In heartfelt commiseration with a faceless, nameless mass, I heaved a sigh and added the site to my favorites list before clicking back out.

“A pet, hmm.”

Among the posts on the site, there was a picture of Song Taewon with a police dog. It seemed to be from some kind of event? Or something, but he still had on a fairly soft expression. Thanks to that, both ‘Section Chief Song, can’t you please raise a pet’ and ‘how could he, when he’s already so busy’ were busy fighting it out in the comments. I abruptly turned to look at Chirpie and Velare.

- 삐약!

Chirpie lifted one wing. How adorable. Your mood and mindset improved when there were cute kids around, no doubt about it. Wasn’t ‘animal therapy’ a thing or something.

Maybe I should procure a mount for Section Chief Song. A monster that could shrink down to a miniature form, and had cute and fluffy fur to pet.

‘It might be possible if I pose it as a donation to the country. Maybe I’ll look into it.’

A dog seemed alright, or a cat… It felt like a rabbit might unexpectedly suit him as well. Though it’d be iffy as a mount. Addressing it as a mount for the nation’s use should also lessen any feelings of apprehension.

…but in that case, Yoohyunie probably had a website like that too, right. Section Chief Song’s fanpage seemed to have a good vibe, so maybe I’d try to look up his, too. Since I hadn’t been caught up in anything lately that would send curses flying at me, it should be fine so long as I avoided looking at the archived threads. Broadcasts had been stressing our improved relationship.

A place where only the people who liked our Yoohyunie were gathered. I hadn’t given it much thought before, but after seeing Chief Song’s own site, I became seized by curiosity. Worrying about him like that, and cherishing him… Wasn’t that really great.

“Would it come up if I searched for ‘Han Yoohyun fansite’?”

Well… No site was coming up. Then, ‘Han Yoohyun fanclub.’ That still wasn’t it. ‘Haeyeon Guild Leader Fansite’ didn’t exist, either.

It couldn’t be, that there wasn’t one? There was no way that would be the case. Our Yoohyunie was handsome, adorable, and outstanding in a variety of ways. If even Sung Hyunjae had fans that would put out a birthday ad for him(2), then there was no way Yoohyunie wouldn’t.

While I was pondering over which search terms to use, I received a call. It was Yerimie.

[ Ahjussi! I’ll be heading straight to the rooftop garden. ]

“Ah, yeah. I’ll head out too.”

As I got up from my seat to depart, Chirpie floated up after me. Velare crawled over as well. If I left the two of them alone while Peace was gone, then they’d probably end up causing a mess again. Collecting them both, I headed up towards the rooftop garden.

Harsh sunlight, a bit too intense to be an autumnal sun yet, shone down. In a moment, it became obscured. Wide-spread wings swooped down soundlessly, with ease. What stood in front of me was a massive griffin.

A griffin whose head, legs, and tail tip were milky white, and a body and wings that gleamed with a golden light. The beak, a strikingly deep gold color, opened wide.

- 꺄아우!

Having vigorously cried out, Blue looked down at me with sparkling blue eyes. Even all grown up, the mischievous light in her eyes remained just the same.

After seeing Yoohyunie off yesterday afternoon, I’d used my Skill on Blue before we started our last training session. Thanks to having played well with her on a regular basis, after one all-nighter, she’d finished maturing completely.

[ Rank 2 Griffin-type ? Golden Griffin Blue

Current Stat Rank S

Possible Advancement Stat Rank A~S

Optimized Initial Skill

바람의 지배자(S) Acquired

황금 화살(A) Acquired

바람 저항(A) Acquired

날카로운 포효(B) Acquired ]

On top of being stat rank S, she’d acquired all of her initial Skills. She’d grown up very handsomely.

- 삐약.

Chirpie, who’d been in my embrace, opened its beak after seeing Blue as if it was shocked. I thought it might’ve been taken aback because she’d suddenly gotten so big, but spreading both its wings wide, it gave a (relatively) loud cry.

- 삐야악!

…was that supposed to be an imitation of Blue. Velare, who had been watching Chirpie while wrapped around my wrist, telescoped upwards and stiffened her body.

- 시이익!

Kids, what are you doing. Blue, no. Don’t you start. Papa’s eardrums are gonna burst.

“Blue really did finish growing!”

Yerimie said, having just flown down from the Haeyeon Guild building. While hopping up to gladly greet her, Blue’s tail movements splintered a small tree. …just in case, I should keep Eunhae activated just a bit. B-rank should be fine.

“That’s right, Blue-yah! You’re super handsome!”

- 꺄아 꺅!

The two eagerly clung onto each other, jumping excitedly. Just be a bit more mindful, please. The floor tiles of the garden were already developing cracks.

“It must be nice for Blue. Getting to grow up that fast! Why can’t I grow fast too? Even though Myungwoo oppa managed to get way bigger in just three months.”

Dissatisfied, Yerimie disclosed that her height had gone up a bit, but that it didn’t amount to much.

“You’re still a minor. If you Awaken before you’re twenty, then it’s only to the point of growing a bit faster than you would’ve while going through puberty normally. And besides, Myungwoo is a special case.”

Hunters with mid- to high-rank Stats tended to be above-average in physique, even before Awakening. Moon Hyuna had originally been close to 180cm, and I remembered Choi Seokwon’s height being listed as over 180cm on his profile. Even when you grew a bit after Awakening, the difference was typically 5cm or less. But for defense-types, it’d been said that there had been instances where they’d grown 10cm or more.

It wasn’t that there weren’t cases of low Stats appearing for those in good physical shape, but most professional athletes tended to warrant at least E-rank or above. As a result, the professional sports scene worldwide had been left in shambles. Though an Awakened league had popped up soon enough.

On the other hand, Myungwoo had started off with F-rank Stats. Since he’d already finished growing, I assumed that his growth rate had been accelerated to match his Stats. Though I didn’t know for certain, since nothing like this had happened even prior to regressing. There had been cases where someone’s Stats had advanced by a level or so, but that advancement in itself had taken years. Noah had, too.

“Blue-yah, we’re going together to a Dungeon today.”

- 꺄우.

“But you said you guys were up all night training. Will it be alright?”

“No sweat. A single night isn’t a problem for you, either. She would’ve slept during the morning, too, and if it’s an A-rank Dungeon, she’ll be able to rest in the middle if she gets sleepy.”

As she’d finished maturing just in time for Yerimie’s Dungeon raid, it was decided that Blue would tag along. Until a suitable partner appeared, Blue would be participating in Dungeon raids with Yerimie or Moon Hyuna as primaries. I’d already talked things over with Moon Hyuna yesterday, too.

As she was one of my wards, I’d also be receiving a portion of the rewards coming out from the Dungeon raid’s profits. At first, I’d wondered if it was really necessary, but Moon Hyuna had assured me that it would definitely be in my best interest, so I’d even drawn up a contract.

“Your raid preparations are all finished?”

“I’ve got everything well packed. There shouldn’t be anything dangerous anyway, since we’re only practicing our teamwork.”

Asking what I was worried about with two S-ranks on the team, Yerimie laughed.

“The container truck Blue’s gonna ride in is ready, too. Half of the container’s roof can open up. There’s a grate in place, though.”

Even if the grate was there, it only amounted to a signpost asking please don’t go outside. Since Blue would be able to break it apart very easily.

After checking on Blue’s condition, we crossed over to Haeyeon Guild. I could see the container truck Yerimie had mentioned parked in the Guild-use parking lot. When I handed the Owner’s Mark over to Yerimie, Blue cocked her head quizzically.

“Blue-yah, please take good care of me!”

As Yerimie’s hand shot up in the air, Blue’s beak met her lightly. She didn’t appear to have any reservations, so that was a relief.

The team still numbered very few. With one healer, two buffers and tankers each, and one DPS, they were six in total. Ha Eunha, who I’d seen in the previous ranking battles, was here too. All of them were older than Yerimie.

“Aside from the healer, everyone recruited was done so under recommendation of Hunter Bak Yerim.”

Seok Shimyoung said, having approached me. Since rank-compatible healers were so few, it was a given that the choice would be out of their hands.

“Though, I did at least recommend that she give preference to female Hunters when deciding on the configuration.”

I suddenly remembered what Moon Hyuna had mentioned before.

“I believe that to be the preferred case, as well.”

“As a matter of course. And as Hunter Bak Yerim is especially young, it is easy for others to look down on her. Even when they appear to be deferential in front of others, there are many cases where it turns out that they were plotting otherwise behind their backs. Our Guild also had to weed out many such characters at the beginning.”

Seok Shimyoung smiled bitterly, saying that there had been many who had been laboring under the misapprehension that they would be able to control Yoohyunie, just because he was young and they were an adult.

“We’re still in the transitional period. Once a bit more time passes, the Hunter world will care less about age or gender, and rank will start taking precedence. Though that will likely give rise to a different set of problems in rank-based discrimination. Even now, rank and partisanship-based discrimination runs fairly rampant.”

Saying that achieving perfection was a difficult endeavor, he continued.

“Is that not the reason for the existence of law and due process. Even when there is inequality, inequity should be reduced where possible.”

I’d thought so even back when he intervened in that situation with Kim Minnie, but Seok Shimyoung seemed to hold a keen interest in Hunter discrimination cases. …though, as someone who’d suffered at his hands before, it was something that made me feel oddly.

Since I wouldn’t have had a reason to run into Seok Shimyoung before Awakening, it might be that he’d already been aware of Yoohyunie’s situation, back when things had really been hard pre-regression. So he might’ve been intentionally cold in his approach to me because of that. …I hoped that was the case. I couldn’t be sure, since I’d only received portions of Yoohyunie’s memories.

“Shall we go now! No, I mean—let’s go!”

Saying that it felt awkward to speak using commanding language, Yerimie smiled cheekily. In case Blue suddenly became anxious after going into the container, I followed her inside as well.

“Yerim-ah, why are you coming in too?”

“It might be temporary, but she’s my mount. Of course I have to pay special attention to her.”

What a commendable thing you’ve said. If we met up with the Newcomer this time, I’d have to make sure not to forget to ask about both Yerimie and Song Taewon’s mounts. Then, the container’s entrance closing, the car departed.

-----

(1) 동기 = contemporary/cohort, important social concept & different kinds, but in this instance it’s for ‘university year/graduating class peer’ (i.e. ‘class of x’) with the context. other ways it can be used is for ‘입사동기’ -> ‘entry contemporary’ for work, when u get hired in the same batch, or army service, etc.

(2) kr fandom tradition of buying subway advertisement space for anniversaries, notably birthdays, for their respective idol/celebrity/etc. usually organized by fansites/fanclubs as a collective gesture

#203화 #the s classes that i raised

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headheartbellarke · 4 years ago

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I Wish You Would | CHARLIE GILLESPIE

Requested by anon: “hello🌼 could u please write a charlie x reader imagine when he posts a picture on his instagram story with a girl to makes his crush jealous, but she end up distancing herself from him bc she's hurt and respect what she thinks is his relationship” PAIRING(s): Charlie Gillespie x fem!reader WORDS: 2,445 WARNING(s): angst w a happy ending, some language SUMMARY: “I wish you knew that I'd never forget you as long as I'd live."

A/N: hi, everyone!! really, really sorry that this took so long. haven’t had the best march tbh, and writer’s block is a bitch. && this isn’t very good, either, but i had to get something done. love u <3

TEN HOURS EARLIER

“And… post!” Charlie taps his phone, grinning brightly.

Owen cheers from behind him, his voice meshing into the humdrum of the bar they’re currently at. “I’m so proud of you!”

His friend laughs, spinning around in the bar stool to face him. “She’ll finally understand what it feels like!”

Owen nods frantically, taking another sip of the drink in his hand.

Charlie copies his movement – a part of him knows that he is absolutely hammered, but the bigger part of him doesn’t care. He’s had a long day, and he deserves this.

Besides, how else would he and his best friend have thought of this wonderful plan if they didn’t have a billion drinks in their system?

PRESENT

A knock on the door pulls Y/N from her thoughts. “Come in!” She yells, but her voice comes out feeble and hoarse, probably from all the crying she’s been doing for the past hour.

As the door swings open, her best friend, Savannah, pokes her head in. “Hey, babe. You all right?”

Y/N sniffs. “M’fine.”

Savannah enters the room, closing the door softly behind her. She walks to the window, opening the curtains, and Y/N groans when light floods into the previously dark room.

She sits on the bed beside Y/N, and Y/N rests her head on her shoulder as she pulls the covers up to cover their bodies.

“I’m sure that they’re not dating.” Savannah says, wrapping an arm around her best friend.

Y/N chuckles sadly. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better, Sav. I mean, in the photo, he was kissing her cheek. Literally. And he put a heart between them.”

Savannah sighs. “That’s so not Charlie, you know… kissing random girls in bars and posting pictures with them.”

“Yeah, that’s so not Charlie, because she’s not a random girl. Her name’s Francesca and she went to high school with him, so, technically, she’s known him longer, and probably better than me.”

“I – I had no idea.”

“Yeah.”

“Y/N, babe, just tell him about how you feel. I’m sure that he likes you too.”

“If he liked me, then he wouldn’t be kissing Francesca!”

Y/N exhales, as Savannah gulps, not knowing what to respond. “Y/N, I – I swear, he’s crazy about you. I don’t know what happened between last Friday and today, but I swear – the Charlie that I know – has eyes for no one but you.”

Y/N rolls her eyes, feeling a pang in her heart at Savannah’s words. “Savannah, we kissed and then he ghosted me for a day and now he’s posting pictures of him kissing another girl! I think he has eyes for everyone!”

Savannah bites her lower lip, not knowing what to respond, again. Her best friend feels tears prick at the back of her eyes when she says, “Maybe I’m a bad kisser.”

Savannah’s eyes widen, and she sits up, straight. “No. No. Babe, no. Don’t say that, ever. You’re a great kisser, okay! You’re an amazing kisser. Your lips are fine as hell, believe me. He’s the one with crusty ass lips. They’re not even lips, they look like… like… peanuts.”

Y/N stares at her best friend for a moment, before saying, “Peanuts, Sav? Really?”

“It’s the first thing that came into my mind!” She says defensively, before the girls break into a fit of laughter.

“I’m never talking to him again, ever.” Y/N says after they’ve calmed down. “I’m never even gonna look in his direction. Fucking asshole.”

Charlie sighs, taking another sip of his coffee. It’s eight in the morning, and he’s normally a morning person – he loves the mornings, the peace, the quiet, and the feeling that comes along with it more than anything, but right now, he just feels… sad.

On regular days, he would be talking to his best friend, Y/N, about everything that’s on his mind. But today’s different.

Last Friday, Y/N kissed him, and long story sort, it was the best thing that’s ever happened to him. After work that day, they went to get some food at a drive through, like they usually do. All throughout the ride, they made plans to go hiking once the production for season two finishes. She drove the car to a lookout, and oh, god, it was so pretty. The midnight sky was littered with stars, and since they were at the edge of town, there was less pollution, and they could see bits of the galaxy, too.

But, for some reason, the girl next to him seemed more beautiful than anything he’s ever seen, and after they finished eating, he just sat and stared at her talk about the last book that she’d read, for a while. He knows that it was terrible that he wasn’t listening – but how could he pay attention to anything when she looked like that, especially with passion illuminating her face like times square on New Year’s Eve?

She had looked at him as if he’d just grown a third head. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Li – like what?” He’d asked, embarrassed to be blatantly caught.

“Like that…” She’d said and kissed him, and it felt like he was seeing colour for the first time. Although, the next day, everything turned to shit.

Now, it’s Monday, and she’s nowhere to be seen. He desperately wants to know if his and Owen’s plan actually worked (no reason that it wouldn’t), and he feels so impatient right now, and he misses her. Also, his massive hangover isn’t helping, either.

He hears his name being called, and sees Kenny smiling at him.

“Hey, so we’re gonna do a different scene today, since Y/N and Savannah are out, is that okay with you?”

His heart races. “What happened to them?”

“Y/N’s sick, and Savannah’s taking care of her.”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s okay with me.” He says, feeling his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach.

“This is the last time I’m asking you this…” Y/N sings, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her sweater.

“Put my name at the top of your list!” Savannah sings, using Y/N’s straightener as a mic.

“This is the last time I’m asking you why!” Madison joins.

“You break my heart in the blink of an eye, eye, eye!” Jadah sings, jumping on the bed.

As the second verse comes on, the girls sit on Y/N’s bed, huddled close to each other.

“You know, I’m feeling better now than I did when I woke up.” Y/N says, resting her chin on her knees.

“Taylor Swift can fix anything.” Madison says, leaning her head on Y/N’s shoulder.

She nods. “And y’all. Thanks for being here.”

Jadah grins, wrapping an arm around her. “We couldn’t let you have a pity party all alone!”

Savannah laughs. “I’m gonna kill him, I swear.”

“As relieving as that would be, don’t. I’ve decided what I should do.”

Madison quirks a brow. “You’re gonna kill him yourself?”

“Madi! No. I’m gonna distance myself.”

Savannah tilts her head. “I think that maybe you two should talk it out.”

“I don’t think so. I need space, time to figure it out. My head feels like a mess. And I respect him and Francesca, and I’m not gonna dip my toes between them.”

The other girls solemnly nod their head.

“You do realize that that’s not actually the saying?” Jadah says, after a while.

“Don’t embarrass me, kid.”

Charlie exhales, watching his breath crystallize to tiny ice particles in front of him. Even though, he’s a Canadian, he still feels cold. Although maybe it’s not due to the weather, but due to the coldness in Y/N’s eyes.

He watches her chat with Jeremy a few feet away, both of them discussing something that is out of bounds to him. He knows that it’s probably decisions regarding their characters, considering Y/N’s character is Jeremy’s character, Reggie’s love interest, but a part of him feels like it’s shit about him.

He has no reason to feel that way, of course. He hasn’t spoken to Y/N in four days, and this morning, when he saw her after for what feels to be eternity, he was blatantly ignored. He had only watched helplessly as Y/N exited the room the moment he entered and had sunk into his chair feeling like absolute shit, especially with everyone’s pitiful stares.

Charlie’s mind keeps replaying each moment, torturing over every tiny detail, wondering what he did wrong.

And that’s when it hits him: she really doesn’t want him anymore.

Last Saturday, he had hopelessly watched her with her long-term boyfriend of god-knows-how-long – he had come to surprise her on set, and it was Charlie that was more surprised. Because he thought that they were over, for good. And it wasn’t like they seemed like they weren’t dating. They were acting just like they used to when they were dating, and he was too close to her for his comfort. They still laughed the same, joked around the same, and were just as inseparable as they used to be.

A question kept rising in Charlie’s mind, like an icicle to his heart: why would she kiss him when she already had someone else? Why would she give him hope, and then take it all away? Why would she dangle his hurt in front of him?

So, he decided to give her a taste of her own medicine, and posted a picture with Francesca, his high school friend, who he had run into that night.

Owen sinks into the chair beside Charlie. “You okay?”

“I’m starting to believe that our plan didn’t work.”

“Hey, uh, Y/N?”

The girl in question hears Charlie’s voice, and turns around, avoiding looking into his eyes.

“Can we talk?” He says, and for a moment, her defences are down again. He looks so… tired, almost like he’s going through the same things that she is. Almost like there’s an explanation as to why he broke her heart, why he ruined something that had the potential to be extraordinary, why he made her feel so bad about herself.

And she almost believes it, too. Like the fool she is.

She presses her lips into a thin line, and says, “Nothing to talk about.”

As Charlie opens his mouth to protest, she smiles and walks away.

“Okay, Charlie, you two need to talk it out. This is too much. Both of you are obviously hurting, and there’s obviously some serious miscommunication here.”

Charlie shakes his head at Savannah’s words. “She hates me.”

“No. She could never hate you.” She says, thrusting her phone in Charlie’s face. His eyes squint to read the text on the screen – from Y/N.

Sorry – forgot to leave a note. Drove down to Dad’s, gonna stay here for a while. It’s too painful – honestly, you know what? I’m still very, very, very mad at him. But I’m also missing him very, very, very much. So, I need to flush it out. Flush him out. He might be a jerk, but he’s still one of the best people that I’ve ever met. Love you, okay? Will return when the time is right.

Charlie’s eyes widen, and he stares at Savannah’s face for a while. “There – there is still hope!”

She nods frantically. “You should call her –”

“I’m gonna drive down to her dad’s house, too!”

“That works, too.”

A frantic knock on the front door pulls Y/N from her thoughts. She stops typing on her keyboard, and flips the lid shut, keeping it on the dining table in front of her.

She runs to her dad’s door, knowing that it’s him, back from his shopping. She opens the door, saying, “Let me take those for – Charlie?!”

Y/N’s heart swells at his sight as he grins sheepishly.

“So, there’s been some misunderstandings… can I come in?” He asks, and Y/N pauses, considering.

He sighs, and adds, “Please?”

She stares at him.

He juts his bottom lip out. “Pretty please?”

“Fine, come in.”

He closes the door behind him, wordlessly following Y/N, who feels like she might hurl right now. They sit on the couch, and it’s really, really awkward for a few seconds.

Y/N sighs. “You said you –”

“Yes. Yes, yeah. OK, so – I, uh, I –”

She couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Why would you do that to me? Do I really mean that little to you?”

“I could say the same about you!”

“Really?”

“Yes! I saw you with Shahid that day, I know that you two are back together –”

“Shahid?!”

“Yes!”

She stares at him, baffled.

“So…so… Francesca….”

“I only posted the picture to make you jealous! She asked me if I wanted to go out with her and the rest of my high school friends, and of course I went, and she saw that I was being a little… unsocial. So, I told her about how the girl that I’m completely crazy about has a boyfriend! And a long term one at that, too! And then Owen came up with a brilliant plan, and I guess you know what it was. Now, I’m realizing that it might not have worked.”

She stares at him for a moment, before she bursts out laughing. Charlie throws her a confused look.

“You – you thought that Shahid – Shahid, my best friend since we were in nappies, Shahid who is married to this amazing man, and at whose wedding I was the maid of honour – you thought that I was dating him?”

“He’s gay?!”

“Bisexual. Oh my god, I have to tell him. This is hilarious.”

Charlie bites the corner of his lower lip, feeling his cheeks heat up. “This is really embarrassing. But you two act like you’re dating!”

“No, we don’t. You’re just being insecure and jealous. I’ve known him forever, and yes, I am the most comfortable around him. Because he’s my family. He’s my brother. Oh, god, I can’t believe that you were jealous of him – wait, have you thought that we were dating this whole time?”

“Kind of. I thought you guys broke up when he didn’t visit you on set during the first two months of production.”

“He was helping feed kids in Somali.”

“Oh. Oh. God, I feel so –”

“Dumb? That’s because you are.”

He grins sheepishly, his cheeks crimson.

Y/N smiles. “But I forgive you. And I wouldn’t mind if you took me on a proper date this time.”

“Deal. Also, promise that we’ll always talk it out before… you know… doing anything?”

She laughs, and nods. He wraps his pinkie finger around hers.

“Well, Owen’s plan did kind of work, though.”

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despairing-disaster · 3 years ago

Note

ask game for veronika? :] and/or arturo HEH

YES!!! Gonna do em both so dw

Veronika

Favorite thing about them

Veronika does the same thing I have a habit of doing and that's just completely infodumping everything she knows about her interests, regardless of how socially inappropriate it may be, the second she is given an opportunity to. Honestly, she's just really relatable in that regard and considering this is something I'm extremely self-conscious about, it's really comforting to see characters who are kinda like me in that regard.

Least favorite thing about them

Honestly, I got nothing so far. She's one of my faves, what else can I say.

Favorite line

"Watching someone lose their sanity as they desperately claw towards an ever-dwindling hope for survival... It's so much better than any story I could've ever read."

I think it is a quote that's pretty telling, but also made so much better by the voice acting in that moment

brOTP

This might be a weird thing to say, but I actually think her and Ace could make a good duo. He's obviously scared shitless of... most things, but I could see Veronika trying to ease him out of his comfort zone and him getting a little less jumpy over time because of that

OTP

I get the impression you already know the answer to this, lol.

Man, idk what it was, but I feel like I and every other verturo shipper collectively saw her interaction with Arturo in episode 4 and was like "omg... what if they went on movie dates together" and ran with it. I do really feel like they have a nice dynamic though, what with her being so unrelenting in her high energy and Arturo having big tsundere potential.

nOTP

I feel like I've been saying this a lot, but I don't really have any.

Random headcanon

People joke about celebrating holidays too soon, but Veronika literally never puts away her Halloween decorations. You can go to her house in January and there will be giant fuzzy spider animatronics in her front yard wearing scarves and mittens (on all 8 legs, might I add). HOA doesn't find this nearly as entertaining as she does.

Unpopular opinion

I'm pretty sure I got an ask about this previously and I explained it before, but you can't convince me that she's going to kill someone. Or that she's the mastermind. Maybe if she lives past chapter 3, then we can start talking mastermind theories, but outside of that, I seriously don't think she's gonna kill anybody.

Song I associate with them

Living Dead Girl- Rob Zombie

It's literally just a fun Halloween song that kinda gives off Veronika vibes (although I probably could've chosen almost any Rob Zombie song for that)

Favorite picture of them

I honestly just think her expression in this sprite is really cute

Arturo

Favorite thing about them

Arturo is incredibly entertaining just because his ideals are so out-there to me. He was kind of hard to like at first, but honestly, he’s the kind of person I look at and think “I want to study you.”

Least favorite thing about them

His world view honestly makes him difficult to like and impossible to write. Have you tried writing fanfic from his POV? I did and I got about two paragraphs in before I realized what I was working with.

Favorite line

(in response to MonoTV) “On the contrary, I believe that there is a lot wrong with you”

Idk. Arturo really didn’t have a lot of lines that particularly stood out to me other than one particular rant about beautiful people that I’m too lazy to write out.

brOTP

Maybe this is a weird one, but after thinking about it a bit, I could kinda see him being friends with Whit. It’d certainly be amusing to see Whit pestering him, at the very least.

OTP

See response for Veronika.

nOTP

To contrast with Veronika, outside of her, I can’t really see myself shipping him with anyone, so I suppose most Arturo ships would fall into this category for me.

Random headcanon

Outside of work, the way he normally dresses is very extra. He’s not necessarily an expert in haute couture, but his wardrobe is probably worth more than my liver on the black market.

Unpopular opinion

I’d let him do my top surgery. There’s no way he’d do it, but I’d let him.

Song I associate with them

Around the Fur- Deftones

A bit of an odd choice in a way, but I guess the best thing to say is that this song is sort of the inverse of Arturo, being a critique of beauty standards and celebrity culture. I’m still counting it as an association, though.

Favorite picture of them

This is literally my discord pfp right now.

#from the ask box #danganronpa despair time #veronika grebenshchikova #arturo giles

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kittyprincessofcats · 4 years ago

Text

I finished RWBY Volume 5!!

Loved it!! After volume 4 was (understandably) a bit slower-paced, I didn’t expect things to get intense and serious this quickly, but I’m glad they did! I have so many thoughts I wanted to write down, so here we go:

[There will be spoilers for RWBY up to Volume 5 in this post (duh). Please don’t leave spoilers for anything after Volume 5 on this post, otherwise I will block you.]

- I have to say, I definitely liked Cinder more when she wasn’t talking. During Volume 4, I kind of started feeling bad for her on some level, but then she got better and started being her old condescending, power-hungry self and I was like… nevermind, I hate you again.

- Qrow being super drunk when he first brings Oscar home was absolutely hilarious.

- Yang is SO COOL. Have I mentioned that she’s so cool? Like wow, I wish I was that cool! The bike, the new (amazing) outfit, the way she just punched that creepy guy and walked right up to her mom’s bandit camp making demands of her – she’s so cool and I’m here for it.

- Yang and Weiss’ reunion was so sweet! 😭 I was waiting for literally any of Team RWBY’s members to reunite and that got me right in the feels! (Also, I loved the whole “Wait, your mom kidnapped me?” “Wait, you kidnapped her?” exchange - brilliant 😂.)

- Ruby’s reunion with Yang and Weiss was so sweet, too! 😭 Tears were definitely shed over reunions in this volume! And it was so nice to finally have most of Team RWBY and what’s left of Team JNPR back together and see them bond and catch up with each other 😭. Found family back together! It’s what they deserve!

- Yang being so angry at Blake for leaving makes perfect sense, imo, especially considering her own abandonment issues. And even more so considering that she lost that arm while protecting Blake. Also, I don’t think it’s reading too much into it to say that Yang and Blake’s interactions and their storyline together have had romantic undertones since volume 2. (And no, I’m not just saying that because I ship Bumbleby; it’s the other way around – I ship Bumbleby because those romantic undertones were there in the first place.) So yeah, Yang always tried to help and support Blake, lost an arm protecting her from her abusive ex, and then Blake just left – I get why Yang’s hurt and angry. And that moment where she goes from complaining about how she just wants to be there for Blake, before finally admitting “What if I needed her there for me?” - that’s a really good moment for Yang, even beyond the romantic subtext. It’s nice to see Yang admit that she also wants someone else to be there for her, that she wants to receive that same love and care in return.

- I also want to point out that it’s nice to see how far Weiss has come since volume one. She really took a level in kindness and became a lot more mature, to the point where she’s now giving Yang relationship advice. It’s really nice to see.

- Ruby’s talk with Oscar about Penny and Pyrrha really got me teary eyed.

- I wasn’t that fond of Sun at first, but he had some really great moments in this volume, so he’s starting to grow on me now. I still don’t ship him with Blake, but their friendship is sweet.

- And now, let’s talk about THE standout character of the whole volume for me: ILIA!! Holy hell, I love everything about her! You know how some characters grow on you over time, and then there are those characters that you see one episode with and they just become instant favourites? That second one was Ilia for me. I watched Blake’s character short before Volume 5 and the moment I heard her backstory she jumped right to the top of my favourite character list without question AND I started shipping her and Blake right away. (Yes, I love Bumbleby and all, but I’m a multishipper. I’m perfectly capable of equally loving two ships that contradict each other.)

- It’s just – Ilia and Blake’s dynamic got me hooked! Not to compare everything to my OTP (Catra and Adora from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), but let me quickly make this comparison: Two girls who grew up together, were both members of a certain evil organization until one of them left it and the other didn’t, now they’re on opposing sides and have to fight each other, but they still clearly care about each other. Plus, there are confirmed romantic feelings from at least one side there. I know many people (including myself) have compared Bumbleby to Catradora before – because you’ve got one blonde jock and one catgirl – but when it comes to the dynamic and the backstory, Blake and Ilia (what’s that ship called? Catmeleon, I think?) resemble Catradora even more. And it’s just the kind of dynamic I’m weak for.

(Honestly, it’s kind of funny how predictable I am both when it comes to favourite characters and favourite ships. My sister, who got me into both She-Ra and RWBY, took one look at Catra years ago and immediately predicted that I would love her. And when she first saw Ilia, she also immediately knew she’d be one of my favourites. Basically, my sister once described my “type” of favourite characters as “troubled, cute and gay” and that pretty much sums it up.)

- Speaking of troubled, cute, and gay: I’m glad RWBY finally has some CANON LGBT representation! Hell yes for that! Honestly, I interpreted Ilia’s feelings for Blake as romantic right away, but I wondered if it was just bait or my usual tendency to see romantic undertones in any interaction between two girls. But then that “I wanted you to look at me that way” line happened and… WOW. Yes. Amazing, talented, brilliant, never been done before, showstopping, incredible. I’m 100% sold on both the ship and Ilia as a character.

(One more thing before I change topics: I try to keep these posts positive and not get into discourse too much (since I’ve heard there was (is?) a lot of discourse in the RWBY fandom – but I took just one look into the tag for Volume 5 and immediately saw people arguing that Ilia’s not good representation because she’s a villain. And I just want to quickly address why that’s nonsense, in my opinion (and before you ask, yes I am a lesbian myself): First of all, she’s not even a full-blown villain. She’s clearly shown as confused and misguided from the beginning. And her feelings for Blake are never portrayed as a negative thing. She also has a redemption literally two episodes after being revealed to be queer. And in general, I don’t think queer villains are necessarily a bad thing and I’m tired of queer characters not being allowed to be flawed. How come straight characters get to just exist, but any queer character better be a shining beacon of morality or else they’re bad representation? I agree that RWBY should introduce more queer characters to balance things out a bit, but I wouldn’t say Ilia was bad representation by herself, since she’s a character I think we’re meant to have sympathy for.

- Now I just hope that future volumes of RWBY don’t pull a Bury Your Gays and kill Ilia off... I’d really hate that. (No spoilers on this post, please!)

- The entire fight at the Belladonnas’ house had me so on edge the whole time. I thought someone (most likely one or both of Blake’s parents) was going to die any second. Basically, the ending of volume 3 burned me and now I constantly expect characters to die. I’m glad it all (mostly) turned out well!

- Blake’s speech to the Faunus might have made me a bit emotional. That was a really great moment for her.

- And then there were those final episodes… WOW. Like I said, I really didn’t expect everything to go down so quickly (or for the ending to be that happy – like I said, volume 3 burned me.)

- Jaune unlocking his semblance was nice! And I’m proud of myself for having correctly predicted that he’d have some sort of healing powers. (I was waiting for him to unlock some healing semblance back when Qrow got injured in Volume 4 – I’m glad it finally happened!)

- I was worried about Weiss for a second, then I realized there’s no way she can die since I’ve already seen pictures of her outfit in later volumes. (Plus, I’m pretty sure if a main character had died, I’d have been unable to completely avoid spoilers about it. So those 4 are pretty much the only ones I’m not that worried about.)

- Raven is a really cool and interesting character, but an awful person. (I got so angry at her when she blasted Ruby after Ruby was just so nice to her*. How dare you, lady?) I love her design, though!

[*EDIT: I just rewatched it and realized that it was Cinder who blasted Ruby, Raven just created the portal. Point still stands, tough.]

- The plot twist of who the Spring Maiden really is was EPIC. Really loved that reveal! (And I honestly didn’t see it coming.) Though I have to say, I feel really bad for Vernal, and for the previous Spring Maiden.

- The Cinder VS Raven fight was absolutely epic and just stunning to watch visually. I was wondering if we’d ever get a maiden vs maiden battle, and that scene more than delivered! And while I don’t particularly like either of them, I was definitely rooting for Raven in that fight.

- I’m not sure if Cinder really died there. If so, I’m honestly not too sad about it, but I would be disappointed because I kind of expected her to become a more interesting character later on. After Volume 4, I expected at least a bit of growth there or something that would make her more interesting. And I’m not talking about a redemption, just to be clear! I just think the potential to make her more interesting as a villain was there, and if they just killed her off it’s kind of wasted now and she stayed a very flat character until the end. But I guess we’ll see.

- Raven and Yang’s confrontation was pretty intense. I liked that Raven finally had to admit that she’s afraid and doing all of this just to protect herself, and the contrast to Yang, who is also scared but still does what she thinks is right. And the fact that Raven was willing to let Yang have the relic despite the danger that would put her in – mom of the year indeed 🙄.

- Blake and the other Faunus are the real MVPs of the battle, tbh. The fact that they just completely stopped Adam and the White Fang by sheer numbers and didn’t even give them the chance to attack anyone? God tier stuff. And when Blake’s mom came in with the police? 10/10, we stan.

- Also, Blake telling Adam she’s not there for him? Hell yes, girl! I love how she’s taking power away from her abuser by showing she isn’t doing any of this for him. Really nice.

- Yang and Blake’s reunion in the last episode was super nice. I like how there was so much attention on that reunion in particular. And while I’m glad Yang wasn’t too angry at Blake and it makes for a nice happy ending, I still hope there’s a scene next volume where Blake properly apologizes to Yang for leaving and explains her side of things. And then, they should get together and live happily ever after and have lots of kittens. I mean, what?

- And finally, all of Team RWBY is back together! And they’ll have a lot to catch each other up on. Blake doesn’t even know about the maidens, the relics and Salem yet, while the rest didn’t even know about the White Fang attack. Also, I want Blake to introduce the others to Ilia and to her parents.

I really loved this volume. Lots of action, lots of really sweet moments, lots of epic fights and cool plot twists. I find it hard to rank them, but this might have been my favourite volume yet (volume 3 was also really good, though).

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darkredehmption · 4 years ago

Text

Class Is In

#SL #ClassIsIn

Written by @DamagedBrother and @OfFeatherNFang

****

Mal:

I shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t even the first time, but thank fuck, none of my new ‘students’ seemed to notice. As each of the Brothers filed in, taking various seats at the front of the room, I resisted the urge to up and fucking leave. Instead I clenched the black dry erase marker, my eyes straying to Zsadist, who watched me with a small, reassuring smile. My free hand absently brushed over the new scar beneath my shirt, reminding me of what I was doing, and why.

My most recent hospital stay had ended only a few days earlier, and while I’d been approved to teach a classroom full of muscle clad, would-kick-the-shit-out-of-satan killers, I was still black listed from actually leaving the manse to go on rotation. So I had to take what I could get I guess.

As silence crept in with everyone settling the fuck down, I felt the even more uncomfortable weight of eyes on me, waiting for how I was going to wow them. I mean, this wasn’t a class on explosives, firearms, or the 52 ways you could kill a guy with your thumb. This was on the supernatural. Or, I guess, everything ELSE that was supernatural other than… well, us.

“Right, shit, well… here we go. Never been a public speaker, so bear the fuck with me while I figure this shit out,” I mutter, tapping the marker against my free hand. Rhage, helpfully, grinned and said ‘here, here’.

“Well, let’s start by cutting straight to the why’s of being here,” I say firmly, looking to Zsadist and giving a small nod. “Z had a demon hitch a ride. He was possessed,” I say flatly. “And demons gossip around the lava water cooler worse than chicks in a high school. If we don’t start taking precautions now, we could be seeing more of them. Or more of what happened…”

I managed to keep myself from brushing the scar this time, but nothing could quell the furious fire burning in me to ensure Zsadist would never, ever have to go through that shit again.

Zsadist:

I couldn’t help but keep my eyes locked onto my male. I mean let’s face it, I always wanted my eyes on him. But even more lately with what had gone down recently. I could have lost him. Lost the most important person in life at the hands of myself. Well technically not myself, but still, this meeting was important. It was important for the Brotherhood to learn some knowledge on a new threat we had.

Demons.

Shaking the thought from my head as I give my male an encouraging smile. He looked nervous as hell to be in front of the Brotherhood right now, about to teach them a thing or two of his enemies. Though I wanted to believe that my Brothers would behave and give them his full attention.

I couldn’t help but notice Mal’s hand as it crept closer to the new scar that I helped make on his body. Yes, this wasn’t my doing completely, but my hand was the one wielding the dagger. I had to stop letting myself believe this was all my fault, because it wasn’t.

The demons were another enemy that we needed to take down. So I made sure everyone was paying attention before my eyes landed on Mal once again.

Mal:

“I can honestly say I’ve never dealt with a demon possessing a vampire before, but then again, I don’t think the regular vampires they’re used to quite cut it…”

I frowned at that thought, but shrugged and kept going.

“Anyway, we’ll deal with the other breeds of vampires in another lesson,” I say absently, shaking my head. “And ghouls… werewolves… wendigos… poltergeists… well, you get the idea.” I waved my hand as if it would dismiss all the other breeds of supernatural beasties I’d just thrown out there. “Demons are our most pressing issue. How to identify one…”

Turning to the white board, I popped the top on my marker and started to write as I spoke.

“Flickering lights. While also a sign of a malevolent spirit, it can be an indicator that a strong demon is nearby. In their raw form, they look like dark black smoke. That smoke will seek access to your body through your nose and mouth,” I instruct, turning to look back at the Brothers.

All of whom were staring at me, wide eyed and… damn, I wasn’t sure. Angry? Disbelieving? Incredulous? I couldn’t pin it. But this shit was definitely not what they were used to dealing with, and I was going to need to give them a minute to absorb.

“Uh… ask questions, if you want. If it… makes it easier.”

Zsadist:

Whoa okay. That was a lot of knowledge my male just spilled. I was just accepting the fact that demons had entered our world, but all those other things? Hell no.

As I looked around the room I couldn’t help but notice my Brothers with the same blank look on their faces. Vishous was the first one to recover. I watched carefully as he lit a blunt then leaned across his desk.

“Well shit. Always figured there was more to life than just us and the humans.” Vishous said with a shrug.

Rhage’s brows drew in as he raised his hand. I couldn’t help but laugh as he played the role as a student. Once called on, by the very sexy teacher, he drops his hand and unwraps a lollipop.

“So...like all those things you are saying is bad? But how can that be true? I mean...Hadrian is a shifter and he isn’t bad. Used for bad things, sure, but that isn’t his fault. I guess what I’m saying is, what is trying to come for us currently? Do the demons work with the other parties that were mentioned?”

Ah yes, Hadrian.

Even though we were connected, I had a weird feeling that Rhage was tight with the male as well. Rhage once told me that he can relate to Hadrian in some way and hopes that they would get the chance to spend more time together.

Speaking of, I needed to check in with the shifter and make sure he was doing alright. We did manage to be on rotation together every now and then, but rarely did we have the time to chit chat. Maybe next time Mal was out fighting and I was at home I could see if Hadrian wanted to grab a beer. Couldn’t hurt.

Mal:

“Not all shifters are bad the way not all vampires are bad,” I conceded, nodding my head. “Hadrian is a special example too. Even in his world, being able to shift into more than one creature is rare. Most shifters, like werewolves, are bound to one animal.”

Pausing, I took in a breath, trying not to let myself be distracted by thoughts of Hadrian. The shifter being metaphysically bound to my mate was still a raw point for me, but I was working through it. Y’know. Slowly.

“But back to demons…” Lifting a hand to my shirt, I tugged down the collar just enough to reveal the pentacle tattoo across my chest. I also tried to ignore the quick way Z’s golden eyes narrowed at my potentially showing skin to his Brothers, but in this instance he was definitely going to have to breathe. “There are ways of ensuring a demon can’t possess you,” I explain. “This symbol is a protective one that repels demons. They can’t possess me. You can also wear the symbol, or other various amulets and protective talismans, to prevent it.”

Letting go of the shirt, I start a list.

“So, symbols. Talismans. Holy water,” I add, my tone rueful as I figured some of them were, undoubtedly, rolling their eyes. After all, holy water was also a mythical vampire repellent. “If a demon has already possessed a body, you can sometimes provoke them into revealing themselves by saying the name of God in latin.” I glance back at all of them. “Their eyes will turn a complete and glossy black with no iris at all. If they turn any other colour… well. Run like hell while screaming my name,” I say dryly.

Zsadist:

My eyes narrowed dangerously low when I watched Mal reveal his chest to my Brothers. Sure, they’ve seen his bare torso, but that doesn’t mean I wanted them sneaking a peek.

Quickly my head snaps in Vishous’s direction when he starts sketching in the notebook he brought to Mal’s class. Leaning over my desk to look over his shoulder only to reveal a drawing of the tattoo my male wore on his chest. Vishous continued to underline the shape as I leaned back into my seat. He probably had a plan of making some amulets for us to wear while out on rotation.

Everything Mal described sounded...insane. But I knew first hand that this was serious, and everything that he was saying was true.

“I can’t believe we are going to turn into demon hunters!” Rhage chimes in with a goofy smile.

I hold back a snort, turning my attention towards Tohrment as he clears his throat. All heads turn towards his direction.

“So...do these demons have a main purpose? Or do they just run around trying to find people to possess. Like we know what the lessers want...I was just wondering if these demons had an end goal.” Tohr murmurs as he crosses his arms.

Mal:

“Woah, hold your horses dragon boy,” I snort, shaking my head. “I don’t want to turn the Brotherhood into hunters. Believe it or not, there are hunters out there ready to track down demons and the like when they pop up and send them back to Hell. The ‘only’ reason I am teaching ‘anything’ right now is because… well, me being here could bring more of the nasties into our radar, and I want everyone at least prepared to handle it.”

Yeah. Fuck. I ‘so’ did not need to lead these leather clad killers into metaphysical battles. They were all about the bang bang motherfuckers, and you couldn’t waste a ghost or half the things I’d fought with just lead and blades alone.

“Case in point,” I continue, arching a brow. “Half the shit I deal with can’t be snuffed out with a few bullets or a well placed knife to the heart cavity, yeah? Banishing demons requires the seal of solomon and exorcism chants and a whole whack of shit. In the case of possession? Prevention is so much better than cure, so I just want everyone able to avoid it. Depending on who excels at these classes, I may go further to teach exorcisms.”

My eyes flicked to Zsadist, then to Vishous, the two I’d already pegged as most likely to be taught an exorcism. If Vishous didn’t go ahead and research the latin for it without me I’d be shocked.

“As far as a demon’s purpose…” I trailed off, sighed then shrugged. “Really, they want mayhem. They want souls. They don’t want to be in hell. So, all of the above and then some. The better their vessel, the more situated they are to get other demons up and included. So, a breed of rich, powerful vampires with all manner of weapons at their disposal would be ‘very’ appealing,” I add dryly. “So, to reiterate… demons flinch at the latin name of God, burn at the touch of holy water, have dark eyes and look like dark clouds of smoke when they come at you in raw form. Any questions?”

Zsadist:

Everyone kinda stayed quiet, some shook their heads as Mal asked if anyone had questions. Which honestly I was a little relieved at. That means that my Brothers were taking this seriously. Then again after they discovered Hadrian, and learned about shifters, they must believe that anything is possible at this point.

“Think this is a good starting point. We need to continue on and train to be able to handle the demons. Mal is right in a sense where we don’t need to go out and look for demons to destroy, but more so be equipped to handle them if they get in the way from our main goal.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle slightly as Rhage’s face fell. Maybe one day Rhage could go on a mission if any of Mal’s hunter friends ever needs a hand. Then again Hollywood actually might cause more damage.

Snorting at the thought as I look up to watch them file out slowly. Vishous stops in front of my mate to show him some things he wrote down then bumps his shoulder before following out after Butch. Figures V would be all about this. I’m sure he would be up all night doing research.

I lean back in my desk, keeping my eyes on my mate as a private smile slowly forms on my face. Something that my Brothers wouldn’t get to see. Slowly I move to get up, the wooden chair creaking beneath me as I shift my weight off of it.

“Well, that went...well.” I rumbled as I made my way over to the very handsome teacher. “What do you think?” My arms cross over my broad chest.

Mal:

With everyone getting the basics down and with no further questions, class seemed to be dismissed. As Vishous stopped to show me his mockup of the tattoo on my chest, I nodded, agreeing with his ideas of necklaces and arm bands bearing the symbol to protect the Brothers. They needed things that were easy to put on or keep close that wouldn’t get in the way of the fight.

Waiting for Z to come up, I felt myself relaxing the closer he got, until he was right there and I was leaning over to steal a kiss.

“You think it went well?” I murmur, grateful to hear it. “Could you tell I was nervous? Teaching classes is not really my schtick, but everyone seemed to… take it well.”

Sighing, I leant against the desk at the front and gestured backward at the board and the notes I’d made.

“I know this is new to everyone, but… I appreciate the enthusiasm.” Pausing, I looked my male over and felt a familiar and welcome rush of affection. “You okay?”

Zsadist:

The kiss was soft and I welcomed it by sliding my arms around Mal’s waist. Holding my mate against me as my hand lifted to graze his cheek.

“Yeah, now that everything's okay and you are healed.” I murmur as I avoid his gaze for a moment. Trying not to picture the moment I stabbed my own mate in the chest.

Clears my throat. “This is good. We needed this done in case we came in contact with another demon. It seems like everyone took it serious for the most part.” I snort thinking of Rhage then shrugs. “Do you feel good about continuing the lessons? I want to make sure every Brother is well equipped to take care of a demon if we come across one. Scribe, don’t need anyone else getting possessed and stabbing people in the manse.”

Mal could have died. So we needed to take this seriously and make sure everyone in the mansion was safe at all times. To think that we let a threat in, that I let a threat in, was unsettling.

Mal:

Nodding, I rubbed a hand down my mate’s arm reassuringly, looking at the empty classroom. I’d already started to take precautions of my own. The second I’d been released from the med wing I’d sought out, of all people, Fritz, asking for a layout of the grounds and every entrance. From there, I’d gone to each one and set up holy seals - wards to keep out demons and trap any that tried to enter.

“I’ve spoken with Vishous,” I murmur, still thinking about the wards. “I let him know about the wards I put near the entrances - asked him to figure out more permanent solutions to my chalk and salt displays. I think Fritz almost had a coronary when I drew on everything, threw salt everywhere, and told him he couldn’t clean it,” I add ruefully, flashing Z a smile. “But at least that’s a start. I should’ve thought of that when I moved in…”

The admission tasted sour on my tongue, and I looked away from the intensity of that golden gaze to better process my guilt. If I’d had devil’s traps set when I moved in, Zsadist and the demon hitching a ride wouldn’t have got past the door. He’d have been trapped, but performing an exorcism at that point would’ve been a lot fucking easier. But instead I’d been naive, thinking the demons and all the beasties I’d hunted would never find me in Caldwell. And Z had almost paid the price.

“I’m good with continuing lessons, not just on demons,” I said finally, letting out a breath. “And while I was honest when I said I don’t want the Brothers going hunting if I can help it, there is a perk to knowing I have back up if something goes down in our backyard.”

Zsadist:

“Don’t beat yourself up about that. Hell, I’m surprised this is the first time we have come in contact with them. With all the shit we dabble in you would have thought we would have seen them before” I shrug before reaching for my male. My hand cups his nape, forcing his gaze back to mine.

“Hey. You can’t beat yourself up over this, just like you told me that I can’t even though I do.” I snorted. “It’s done and you are safe in my arms.” My voice cracks slightly at that, holding him a little tighter in my arms.

“Everything is going well, and I’m grateful to have you teach us how to handle these demons.” I nod before slowly pulling away.

“Now...come on, let’s head back upstairs…”

My scarred lips turn up into a playful smirk as I start down the hallway. I couldn’t wait to have my male in our bed and to know that he was safe with me.

#EndSL #ClassIsIn

#SLS BlackDaggerBrotherhood

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mudhorn-djarin19 · 4 years ago

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Mission: I Do - Chp. 2 (Agent Whiskey x f!reader)

Summary: A new mission has come up and you are sent off on it with Agent Whiskey as your partner. However, you have to go undercover as his fiancee. What will this mission mean for you and your harboring crush on him? This chapter is the set up to the mission. This chapter's not the most entertaining and I apologize for that. It's basically a build up/keep the flow going chapter lol. Rating: Teen Warnings: Language, alcohol usage (tipsy), poisoning, mutual pining (please let me know if I missed any) AO3 Link | Masterlist | Join my taglist here! Chp. 1 - more chapters to come! (Will be added here and in taglist) You awake the next morning to yourself being enveloped in warmth. It was comforting but definitely something new to you. You shot your eyes open to find yourself snuggled into Jack’s chest. You nervously panicked and slid back, waking him up in the process.

“Mhm. What’s wrong?” He groans, his voice raspy with sleep. He then notices his hand placed on your hip. You both look up and eye each other before he removes it. “Well… not sure how we got like that. But my apologies.” He chuckles lightly, removing his hand. “It’s okay. I uh.. I somehow moved in my sleep as well.” You chuckle nervously. “I’m um...going to go get dressed for the day.” You say as you spring up from the bed.

Jack rolls over and looks at the clock to see it’s 10am “Yea better we get dressed, head down for some breakfast and then make our way down to the convention. Get this show on the road.”

You crawl from the bed and head over to the closet where you had stored your clothes for the trip, going over what you think would be best to wear. You wanted to look nice but nothing too over the top. “I’m going to change in the bathroom and put my makeup on.” You as you step in and shut the door behind you. “Alright, I’ll get dressed out here a while. Jack replies.

Several minutes past before you return from the bathroom. You decided on a simple white sundress with some sandals. You find Jack laying back on the bed. Fully dressed in his normal attire he wears when off duty. Jeans, a plain white t-shirt, boots and his favorite black cowboy hat. He sits up and whistles when he sees you.

“Well don’t you just look gorgeous. All dolled up.” He smirks, eyeing you over.

You blush slightly, looking down to try to hide it. You didn’t think you had done anything too crazy. You were just wearing simple casual clothes in your opinion. But, apparently to him you looked amazing. “Thank you Jack.” You respond, blushing lightly.

“I’ve ordered us room service breakfast so it should be here any minute now. We can go over the case a bit more while we eat.” He says.

Not long after breakfast arrives, you two sit at the little table in the foyer of the room and go over the mission. Jack pulls out his file from his suitcase, going over pictures of the main culprit and anyone else Statesman had pulled files on that are working with the culprit.

“So we need to find the main guy, what company or companies he controls and any of his crew. Take them all down and prevent anymore kidnappings or bombings. The other agents were sent out to spots designated where anyone kidnapped previously been noted to do rescues.” He says, closing the file. “Shouldn’t be too hard. Champ said we have a few locations to keep in our peruse. The convention, a local restaurant, the hotel here itself and a local club. We have a week to complete the mission which is more than enough.”

You nod listening to him explain as you sip your coffee. This is going to be a long and interesting weekend. Surely is going to be pulling all sorts of ways at your heartstrings. Looking at wedding stuff, sharing a bed and who knows what else for a potential week. You two finish your breakfast and gear up for the day. Jack tucks his whip and lasso to his belt so they’re hidden, while you strap a pistol and knife to your thigh. Always got to be prepared for any potential danger.

Arriving at the venue, you see it’s a large warehouse building full of tables and tables of business to help you plan your wedding. From venues, catering, clothing and more. You hope someday you can actually experience this for real, and hope even more than it could be with Jack who stands beside you. As you take everything in, you feel Jack��s hand grip yours gently, sliding the ring onto your finger. “Forgot that this mornin’. Might need it to keep the cover.” He says. “Oh. Right, sorry. Thank you for remembering.” You respond.

“Of course darlin’. What else is a future husband for?” He smirks, sliding his hand into yours. Interlocking his fingers with yours.

Lord have mercy… this mission might actually kill you if Jack keeps up his flirtiness on top of everything else.

“Shall we get to perusing?” He says, motioning his hand to the venue. You pull him through the aisles, stopping at a few tables to look at things to seem like actually wedding planning. You decide to stop at a dress stand to look over some dresses for the lady running the booth seemed to match the description of one of the crewmates. “Honey, come look at these!” You shout to him, waving your hand. Jack looks in your direction, noticing why you called him to that booth. He slips on his glasses and hits the button to activate the hidden camera before coming over. Making sure while he made his way over to get the lady’s face in frame and the name of the supposed company. “What do you think of this one?” You ask. Pulling out a long lace sleeved, off the shoulder dress. “Would you like to try it on?” The lady asks.

“Oh uh… I-” You start to say.

“Go on. Try it on. I like it very much. Why you do so, I’ll discuss things with the lady here.” Jack smiles.

You nod and head into the little changing rooms the lady has while Jack talks to her, hopefully getting some good information out of her. After a few minutes and working to get the dress on you step out from the changing booth to stand in front of Jack and the booth lady. Jack's eyes widen and he about drops his jaw to the floor before he quickly straightens himself out and clears his throat. “Wow darlin’, you look… beautiful.” He smiles, eyeing you over.

“Th-thank you.” You blush, looking down.

“That dress suits you very much! Allow me to give you my business card for future fittings if you’re interested in the dress.” The lady smiles, handing you the card. You gladly take it. Solid, got a location of where potential kidnappings could be happening. You smile and look yourself over one more time before heading back into the changing booth to change back into the clothes you arrived in. You exit the booth and make your way around to some other booths, seeing if any of the runners catch your eyes as crewmates or the main culprit. You go down a few aisles until Jack pulls you into a venue booth. “You know darlin’ I always dreamed of a barn wedding. Something about them is just so simple but elegant all the same. What do you think?” He asks.

As you enter the booth the host greets you and you instantly recognize him to be the main culprit. Thank god Jack still has his glasses on and is recording the whole thing so you can send it back to Ginger later tonight and inform her you found him.

“Hello sir. Ma'am.” He nods his head to you. “I see you are interested in our venue?” He asks.

“Yes sir. Always found myself fond of a rustic barn wedding. But, the decision of the venue is ultimately up to my fine lady here.” He says turning to you.

“I think a barn wedding sounds very nice honey.” You smile. “I’d love to get more information on the venue if we could.”

“Certainly.” The guy smiles, handing you two some pamphlets on the venue, going over information with you and etc. “The venue is my own family's barn. It’s a 200 year old property but we keep it well maintained and we have a bed and breakfast on the property for you and your family to stay at the day and night before.”

“Sounds lovely to me.” Jack smiles. “We shall take this information and discuss but I think I’m hooked already.” You nod in agreement and part your ways from the guy. Jack leans down to whisper in your ear as you walk away, but hiding it so it looks like he’s kissing you instead.

“That’s definitely him. Hopefully we can run into him again later to corner him and take him down. Good job on finding the other lady. Let me know if you spot anything else and I will do the same for you.” He states.

You nod in response and continue to work your way through the aisles. Looking around to some venues, not really seeing any other people you recognize to be suspicious. But to keep your cover you do pull each other into some booths. Jack pulls you into a catering booth when he sees some good looking food to try. You chuckle as he tastes just about everything there is, handing you pieces to try as well. You manage to pull him into a few booths too, one being a ring booth that caught your eye. You don’t notice him watching you as you eye over your favorites.

Once you two have perused most of the aisles, not finding anything else and realizing it’s getting pretty late in the day you decide to call it a day for the convention. “It’s getting close to dinner time. I’m hungry. How about you?” He asks.

“Definitely. Those little bites of food here and there didn’t stick with me much.” You chuckle.

“Come on, I know of a good place you should try.” He says, leading you to the car.

Jack decided to treat you to a local fast food favorite, Whataburger. Being a man from the south he knew of all the popular joints. You were raised in the big city of New York, only ever having traveled to new places once joined the Statesman. So any chance you could get to check out a regional thing when on a trip you took the opportunity. You two sat in the pickup truck that was rented for the weekend, chowing down on your food in silence.

“See I told you it was some good shit.” He chuckles.

“Mhm” Is all you can make out as you continue to devour your food.

Once finished eating and back at the hotel you scramble around trying to figure out what to wear. You were to go to the local club up the street tonight to see if you could catch the culprit or anyone there by chance. You’ve been to clubs before on many missions but, you always have a hard time deciding what to wear. You want to fit in but also don’t want to stand out too much. Jack layed back on the bed, sending the information from today over to Champ as you paced back and forth in the room from the dresser to the bathroom. He had already changed as soon as you got back. And by changed, he swapped his white t-shirt for an army green t-shirt and threw on his go to black leather jacket. You finally settled on another dress and slipped into the bathroom for the final time to slip it on and fix your makeup some.

“Um Jack?” You step out of the bathroom.

He sits up on his elbow from his spot on the bed and about drops his jaw at the sight of you, for the second time today. Whistling at you once again.

“Damn darlin’... You keep shocking me with your looks. Everytime I think you can’t get more beautiful you do.” He smirks, eyeing you over.

You chose to wear a silky and almost skin tight all black dress that stopped about mid thigh and had thin spaghetti straps. You blush at his compliment.

“Thank you. Um, do you mind helping me zip the rest of it up?” You say as you step closer and turn your back towards him.

“Not at all.” He says standing and helping you zip the rest of your dress up, knuckles brushing lightly against your skin as he does which sends shivers through your body.

“Thank you. Ready to go?” You ask and you walk over to the door to slip on your pair of heels.

“Yup. Got your weapons just in case?” He asks as he pats his torso then back knowing his are secured in a hidden pocket of his jacket and belt.

You point to your purse where you had your weapons stowed away as they wouldn’t be hidden too well on your person right now.. “Yup. All set.”

“Alrighty, well then let’s goin’!” He says and you both step out to head to the club up the street.

You two walk into the club, Jack has his arm around your waist and leads you over to a free table where you both sit and take a look over of your location. So far no culprit or crew members to be seen. Hopefully they’ll show up eventually.

“I’m going to get a drink. Want anything?” He asks.

“Um sure. A cocktail please. Anything.” You smile.

He nods and heads off to the bar, leaving you at the table. As you wait you see some of the crew members walk in. Recognizing them from the pictures. Two males and one female. Jack returns shortly with a margarita for you and a glass of his namesake for himself.

“Jack, three arrived.” You nod your head towards them. The guys standing at the bar and the girl making her way to dance on the dance floor. “I’m going to try to talk to the girl. I’ll be back.”

You down your drink in one sitting and make your way to the dance floor. This will surely bite you in the ass later but for now who cares. He watches as you make your way over and then focuses his attention back to the two men. You find your groove to the music and work your way over to the girl and start to strike up a conversation with her as you dance.

“Hey! I like your moves.” You smile at her, starting off friendly.

“Thanks, you got some good ones too. And your dress is very pretty.” She smiles back. “Not from around here are you?” “No. I’m here for the bridal convention with my fiancee.” You nod your head over to Jack sitting at the table, sipping at his drink.

As she turns her head to look in his direction, you quickly drop some poison provided to you and Whiskey both by the agency into her drink. She seems so nice and you hate to do it to her but she is working for the enemy and you need to weed them all out one by one no matter the means.

“Well congrats girl.” She smiles back. “Welcome to town. Hope the planning is going well.”

“Thank you. What’s your name?” You ask, giving her yours.”

“I’m Nicole. Nice to meet you.” She smiles.

“Are you from around here?” You ask and start to delve into a conversation with her, getting to know her, slowly picking her brain and getting some useful information out of her that she slips up on about the culprit and other crew members.

Once you wrap up your conversation you make your way back over to Jack who has now moved himself over to the bar.

“Okay. Got some information out of her and dropped the poison in. Did you get any information from the guys?” You ask.

“Yup. We can compare notes when we get back to the room.” He says, sipping his new glass of whiskey the bartender hands him.

He slides another margarita over to you as well, having ordered one for you in your absence for when you return. You smile and nod in a way to thank him for it but as you start to sip on it you realize the mistake you made. You can already feel the last one you downed far too quickly hitting you, this one is surely to knock you off your feet. But, you shake it off and continue to sip on it as Jack does his.

“We can probably head out of here whenever you are ready. The poison will kick into them within an hour. No more action needed to be done to them and between the both of us we probably got more than enough information until we come across their boss or other crew members.” He says.

As he says this you really feel the alcohol kicking into your system. Your sensibility going out the door as the buzzed feeling takes over you.

“Jack, I wanna dance.” You state.

“Okay? So then go dance. Ain’t nothing stoppin’ ya. I said we can leave whenever you want to. If you want to stay and dance some go for it.” He says.

“No. I wanna dance with you.” You say smiling at him.

“Well now I’m not much of a dancer darlin’. I ain’t got no rhythm.”

You pout at him, and finish off the rest of your drink. You grab his hand and tug at him a bit, trying to get him to change his mind and budge off the stool. He sighs deeply and finally stands, giving into your needs.

“Fine fine. I’ll join ya. But don’t complain at how bad I am.” He chuckles, waving his hands at you.

You grab his hands and drag him to the dance floor, wrapping your arms around his neck and swaying to the music. He places his hands on your hips and sways with you as best as he can. He doesn’t have much rhythm but he’s not as bad as he made himself sound out to be. You two sway and dance to the music for a while until you start to feel sick. Man you knew you were a lightweight but you didn’t know it was this bad. How strong were those margaritas?! You stop dancing and look up at Jack.

“I feel sick. Can we go?” You pout.

“Certainly. Going to be okay to make it the short walk back?” He asks.

You make your way back to the hotel and as soon as you get back you crash onto the bed and pass out. Whatever was in the drink was strong and was killing your head. Taglist: @sarahjkl82-blog @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange @blackberries45 @hailmary-yramliah @prideandpascal

#agent whiskey x reader #agent whiskey x you #jack daniels x reader #jack daniels x you #agent whiskey #jack daniels #kingsman #kingsman golden circle #fanfic #pedro pascal #ao3

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stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale · 4 years ago

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Top 5 Characters in ANF Who Would’ve Made Better Love Interests Than Kate

There are a lot of mixed opinions on TWDG: A New Frontier. Some people like it, some don’t, and some people hate it so much that they refuse to accept as canon in the series. Extreme? Yeah, but hey, to each their own.

One thing that always bothers me when I do my replay of the series and this game is how much Kate is forced on us and even kinda punishes us for not romancing her. Like, no offense, but I’m not really interested in dating my sister-in-law, especially when her husband is actually alive, and even if she wasn’t my brother’s wife, she’s still not a character I have chemistry with, y’know?

And every time I play, I can’t help but think that almost anyone else in ANF would’ve been a better romantic interest for Javi over Kate, so I decided to make that the list for this week.

I would’ve loved more choices and for the game to actually show Javi’s canon bisexuality outside of a flirty line with Jesus that most players didn’t even pick. Just sayin’.

I do want to note that if you enjoy the romance with Kate and the relationship between her and Javi, that’s totally cool. Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean you can’t ship them, y’know? I’m not here to try to change your mind or tell you you’re bad for shipping something I don’t because I’m not a dingus. You do what makes you happy, friend. :)

Besides, going off the stats, a majority of players romanced her so if anything, I’m the weirdo. This list is just for fun!

Before we start, just wanna say a big thank you to @pi-creates for helping out with this one! Really appreciate it! Now, here are my top 5 characters who, in my opinion, would’ve made better love interests for Javier than Kate.

5. Jane if the writers didn’t turn her into a dead potato

Oh man, you should see your face right now.

Wait, wait, stop! Before you click outta here in a huff with your “Kenny good Jane bad” grunts and come yell at me, just hear me out-- this entry is mostly a joke and the other four on this list are serious, okay?

I needed someone to put at #5 and after talking over some options and going back and forth.... Jane came up as a joke and then kind of made the list. Because really, I thought about it. I was like, “Would I really rather have dingdong “whatever happens stay out of it” potato face Jane as a love interest over Kate? Do I dislike Kate as an option that much?” and Pi and I talked about this for a while and yeah.... yeah I would actually.

When I said anyone but Kate, I guess I really meant anyone.

Trust me, I know, I’m just as surprised. I guess this really says a lot about my feelings for Kate. I didn’t know I disliked her this much either.

But for fun, let’s entertain this idea of the writers NOT pulling the ol’ character assassination on Jane and she made it to Richmond with Clementine and AJ because--

Jane: "One time I ate glass because I was drunk and thought it was sugar."

Javier: "I gambled on my own baseball matches and disgraced myself for money."

Jane: “Well, I dragged my little sister around with me after everything went to shit until I finally gave her what she wanted and left her to die.”

Javier: “I wasn’t there when my dad was fighting cancer and when I finally showed up, I was too late and he was already dead, then he turned and I bashed his skull in with a piece of wood.”

Jane: “I shot a dude’s dick off once.”

Javier: “Oof. I insulted an old lady’s cake and then shot her eye out.”

Jane: “I screwed a guy when I was supposed to be securing a place for some lady to have her baby and it resulted in the death of a teenage girl.”

Javier: “I screwed my brother’s wife.”

Jane: “...”

Javier: “In my defense, I thought he was dead.”

Jane: “That’s fair.”

Clementine, exasperated and emo: “Oh my god.”

....I mean... we might be onto something here, c’mon--

Okay, now onto the more legit entries.

4. Conrad

Now listen... I know, okay? I know. I know this one can be seen as a bit problematic considering the fact that Conrad, in his grief and anger over Francine’s death, held a gun to Gabe��s head and threatened Javi and Clementine.... plus Javi can literally murder him.

...and if you don’t do anything, Conrad with murder both Gabe and Javi and you’ll get a “YOU ARE DEAD” screen...

But we don’t talk about that because it’s not canon.

I know, but listen... I’m allowed to have ships that are difficult, as are you, and this is my list so... there.

If Conrad was a love interest that’s the route I’d take because I love him and I think a relationship between him and Javi could’ve been so damn good if properly done.

I just find Conrad to be an interesting character with a great arc that you only get to see if you don’t shoot him... which is what most people did, so they missed out. And like, I get it, I get why y’all shot him but maybe next time you play, you could consider not doing that?

So here’s the thing, Javi and Conrad share something-- they both lost loved ones because of shithead Badger. Javi is heartbroken after Mariana’s death, Conrad is devastated after Francine’s death, and they both handle that in different ways. Conrad becomes so focused on revenge and getting into Richmond, that he’s willing to threaten two kids in order to get what he wants but the thing is... that’s not him.

He even says so himself when you keep him alive-- he genuinely apologizes for what happened and will end up coming back to save Javi’s life in ep4. The potential for this to work as a relationship? It’s there... the only problem is that my confidence in the writers handling something like this is low, but let’s pretend they used their time and brains wisely-- ya got yourself a classic slow-burn friends to enemies to friends again to lovers romance and I’m here for it.

3. Paul “Jesus” Monroe

A lot of people really like the idea of Javi and Jesus and wanted him to be a romantic option, and I don’t blame them. They have chemistry in the scenes they share, and Javi can straight up flirt with him at the end of the season, and it’s super cute... of course, I wish we had more but Telltale was too scared to actually show Javi’s bisexuality outside of that one line, I guess.

But, anyway, this ship has a lot of sweet fanart that we love to see.

The only real reason he isn’t higher on the list is that Jesus is apparently already in a relationship at this point? I guess? From what I’ve been told? Listen, I don’t read the comics, I don’t watch the show, I just go off what y’all tell me. Plus, I believe Kent joked about Jesus having someone in each community during the commentaries so like... that’s a thing?

But let’s pretend that we throw that all out and Jesus is single and ready to be in a committed relationship with our boy Javier here. Like I mentioned above, these characters have a believable chemistry from the moment they meet and I think that has a lot to do with how charming they are by themselves. Those different charms work well together.

I also enjoy how much of a badass Jesus is when it comes to fighting off walkers. Javi has a lot of force that you feel with each hit, while Jesus almost has a lighter but just as impactful hit? I dunno if I’m explaining that well-- basically, Javi strong but Jesus can bounce off walls and do cool shit with weapons that feels effortless.

It’s a combo of fighting styles that I love, so these two fighting together? *chef kiss*

There’s also Jesus’ morality and how he wants to see Javier make “good” decisions, y’know? Sure, he gets pissy if you murder the shit outta Badger, which is mostly just Telltale showing you consequences, but I get it. He sees a lot of potential in Javi, more than Javi himself sees. And unlike certain characters, Jesus doesn’t completely hate you for doing something he doesn’t agree with to a frustrating degree.

If the game gave us the option to pursue Jesus as a love interest, he and Javier would’ve been such a badass couple with a sweet romance.

2. Eleanor

This one might come as a surprise to those of you who know my feelings about Eleanor... as in, I don’t like her. I never forgave her for the shit she pulled in ep4/ep5, and now every time I replay ANF and she shows up? Well, all I really hear is the hissing of a snake.

But, putting those feelings aside and looking at her from a different perspective, I do believe that she would’ve made for a better love interest than Kate assuming that if you romanced her, she wouldn’t rat everyone out to Joan, y’know?

Hell, most people believed that Eleanor was going to be the second option with Kate back when the episodes were coming out, and for good reason. The chemistry is there in the flirting, and their relationship could’ve been super cute.

Of course, Eleanor being a love interest also comes with things becoming awkward with Tripp, but c’mon-- as awkward as pursuing a relationship with your sister-in-law and never telling your brother after finding out he’s alive? Nah, I don’t think so.

Plus, for the first three episodes, Eleanor’s not a bad character. In fact, she’s pretty damn likable, she deeply cares for the group and wants to use her medical skills for good.

And you can tell through the dialogue that she and Javi are fond of one another... well, I guess until they shove the Kate thing in our faces and suddenly Eleanor’s like “oh, I thought you two were a thing??” like... Eleanor, we were flirting and I totally rejected all of Kate’s advances last episode I mean??

If she were a love interest, instead of turning on us, she would... y’know, not do that and instead help us out. We have a couple cute moments like back in ep1 where she’s patching Javi up but this time with a smooch? Super cute.

1. Tripp

Okay but seriously, why wasn’t Tripp a love interest?

He’s the perfect option. I just-- uuuughhhhh.

They already have a great believable bromance, so why not take it a step further and make it an official romance? Oh wait, that’s right, ya gotta kill off 95% of your determinant characters, I forgot. Sorry Tripp.

Well, fuck that. Out of all the other adult characters, Javi has the most chemistry with this man. I believe them more than I believe him and Kate. Sure, they got off to a rocky start the progression of their relationship felt natural with every episode.

That scene where Tripp is confiding in Javi about his feelings for Eleanor? And in turn, Javi can confide in him about Kate? One of my favorite scenes. I only wish there was an option to tell Tripp he can do much better and set the path for the romance.

Seriously, I’d probably feel more okay about the romance with Kate if Tripp were the second option. That way, Kate wouldn’t be so forced onto the player, the writers confirming Javi’s bisexuality on Twitter or whatever wouldn’t feel like they were trying to earn points without actually showing representation, and we would’ve gotten the beauty that is Javier and Tripp.

Also, then Tripp could make it to the end without dying that dumb death of his that no one likes.

And if I haven’t convinced you yet, then look at these swaps Pi did--

--and tell me they aren’t fucking perfect?? You can’t, because look at them.

Where’s my Tripp route, Telltale??

---

Honorable Mentions

-If I wasn’t sticking to just ANF characters, Luke probably would’ve made the list because that’s apparently a popular combo and I dig it. -Pudding... because Javi fucking loves pudding. -Honestly Max probably would’ve been a better love interest than Kate oof--

---

So, whattya think? Do you agree with this top 5 or nah? Do you have a favorite Javi ship? Let me know, I’d love to hear from you. :D

Next week’s T5F Top 5 Times Lee was the Absolute Best

#twdg t5f #twdg javi #twdg javier #twdg kate #twdg gabe #twdg mariana #twdg clementine #twdg tripp #twdg conrad #twdg eleanor #twdg jane #twdg kenny #twdg jesus

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twifeordeath · 4 years ago

Text

Twife or Death: Lesbian Twilight Chapter 22

Updated as of (3-31-2021) (previous) (all chapters)

All rights belong to Stephenie Meyer, and this project is non-profit and fan entertainment.

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22. HIDE AND SEEK

“What was it?” I’d lost control of my voice — it was flat, uncaring.

Jasper stared at me. I kept my expression vacant and waited. Her eyes flickered between Alice’s face and mine, feeling the chaos. I knew what Alice had seen.

A peaceful atmosphere settled around me. I didn’t fight it. I used it to keep my emotions under control.

Alice recovered, too. Her face snapped back to its normal expression.

“Nothing,” she said, her voice amazingly calm and convincing. “Just the same room as before.” She looked at me, focusing for the first time. “Did you want breakfast?”

“I’ll eat at the airport.” I was calm, too. Almost like I was borrowing Jasper’s extra sense, I could feel Alice’s well-concealed desperation to get me out of the room, so that she could be alone with her. So she could tell her that they were doing something wrong, that they were going to fail.

Alice was still focused on me.

“Is your mother all right?”

I had to swallow back a throatful of bile. I could only follow the script I’d planned earlier.

“My mom was worried,” I said in a monotone voice. “She wanted to come home. It’s okay. I convinced her to stay in Florida for now.”

“That’s good.”

“Yes,” I agreed robotically.

I turned and walked slowly to the bedroom, feeling their eyes following the whole way. I shut the door behind me, and then I did what I could. I showered and got dressed in clothes that fit me. I dug through the duffel bag until I found my sock full of money—I emptied it into my pocket.

I stood there for a minute, staring at nothing, trying to think of things I was allowed to think about. I came up with one idea.

I knelt by the little bedside table and opened the top drawer. Underneath the complimentary copy of the Bible, there was a stash of stationery and a pen. I took a sheet of paper and an envelope out of the drawer.

“Edythe,” My hand was shaking.

I love you.

Sorry—again. So sorry.

She has my mom, and I have to try. I know it may not work. I am so very, very sorry.

Don’t be mad at Alice and Jasper. If I get away from them it will be a miracle. Tell them thank you for me. Alice especially.

And please, please don’t come after her. That’s what she wants. I can’t stand it if anyone else has to be hurt because of me, especially you. Please, this is the only thing I can ask you now. For me.

I’m not sorry that I met you. I’ll never be sorry that I love you.

Forgive me.

Bella.

But before I could put any of those words on the page, I felt a scream bubble up in my throat. All the emotions I’d been trying to repress- I tried to smother it with my hands but in the quiet hotel room it was like a gunshot. Alice was instantly by my side.

“Bella, what’s wrong?” Her eyes were wild, darting around the room, like she was trying to find both the danger present in this moment as well as the potential dangers in the future. Jasper stood at the door, hesitating.

And then it all came out. The threats, the fact that I never even got to talk to my mom at all, Jamie threatening to kill her if I didn’t come alone- Jasper was on my other side now, a steady presence. I tried to focus on her hand on my shoulder, tried to tie my attention to my body and not my anxieties- but it was just too much.

The room started to darken- I couldn’t get enough breath- my heart was beating so hard I was surprised it hadn’t given out yet- I just couldn’t breathe-

A wave of darkness dragged me under, and I knew no more.

I resurfaced in fits and starts, my whole body aching. It felt like I’d been run over by a truck. No, a train. It hurt to breathe, but I was breathing. So that was a start. I felt a cool hand in mine, a soft stream of steady comfort flowing into my chest. Jasper.

“How-” I croaked, then started coughing. A strong arm was around my shoulders, holding me up, and someone held a bottle of water to my lips. I drank, gratefully, then finally opened my eyes. We were in a car.

I tried again. “How long was I out?” This time at least I made it through the whole sentence.

“Only an hour. We’re halfway to your mother’s house.” Alice replied, looking distracted.

“But-”

“We will get out ten blocks away. Just in case someone’s watching the house.” Jasper says, squeezing my hand.

“The others will be arriving soon, as soon as they can.” I didn’t know if she was keeping it vague for my sake or because she wasn’t sure herself.

Jasper looked over at Alice when she didn’t continue, then back at me. “We have a plan. We just need to make sure Jamie suspects as little as possible. I won’t sugar coat this Bella. You might get hurt. But neither you or your mom will be in serious danger. Here.”

She handed me one of the slim silver phones. “Before you enter the house, call Alice. She’s on speed dial one. She will add Carine to the call, and you can tuck the phone into the inside pocket of this jacket.”

She patted the front of an unfamiliar jacket I was now wearing. I nodded numbly. “That way we can hear everything that’s happening, and we know when to make our move. We will be right behind you Bella, I swear. We won’t let you or your mother get hurt. Do you believe me?”

“I- I believe you.” It came out shaky and not very confident, but it seemed to be enough.

“The Black pack and Esme are keeping an eye on Charlie. Julie insisted on coming with Edythe and the others on the flight.”

“Julie’s coming?” I felt a strange kind of lightness in my chest, like the aftershock of me finding out I would see Edythe soon. I missed Julie. I hadn’t gotten to see her in too long.

“Yes.” There was an unfamiliar undertone to Jasper’s voice, almost- amusement? No, pride? I didn’t know.

“They’ve landed.” Alice said, her eyes still focused on something neither one of us could see. “They’ll be ten minutes behind us. They’re going directly to the studio.”

“Jasper, you can let go now.” She turned to me with a question in her eyes. I just took a deep breath and nodded. She let go of my hand and slowly, the distant buzz of panic started to turn into a dull roar.

We turned onto a familiar street. One of them must’ve been keeping an eye on the road because Alice takes out her phone and Jasper looks down at mine. I’m sure holding down one number isn’t hard, but my hands are shaking so much I barely trust myself to do even that.

There’s a small crunch and then Jasper tucks the phone into the hidden pocket of the jacket. When I look up at her, confused, she gives me a small, slightly feral smile.

“Broke the end call button. So you can’t accidentally hang up on us.”

I feel my lips tug into what is no doubt a very bad imitation of her smile. She pats my head, but it doesn’t feel condescending. It feels comforting. I guess this is her way of saying she cares.

And then, too soon, they both stepped out of the car. Alice leaned forward to press a kiss to my forehead. I tried not to cry.

“You are strong Bella. And remember, we are right behind you.” Something in her eyes blazed, and I felt it light a spark deep inside of me. I could do this. I had to do this. Then the doors closed and I was alone again.

“Hey, what was the number?”

The cabbie’s question startled me so hard I flinched. The fear I’d tamped down for a few minutes took control again.

“Fifty-eight twenty-one.” My voice sounded strangled. The cabbie looked at me like she was nervous.

“Here we are, then.” She was anxious to get me out of her car, probably hoping I wouldn’t ask for change.

“Thank you,” I whispered. There was no need to be afraid, I reminded myself. I knew the house was empty. I had to hurry; my mom was waiting for me, terrified, maybe hurt already, in pain, depending on me.

I ran to the door, reaching up automatically to grab the key under the eave. It was dark inside, empty, normal. The smell was so familiar, it almost incapacitated me. It felt like my mother must be close, just in the other room, but I knew that wasn’t true.

I ran to the phone, turning on the kitchen light on my way. There, on the whiteboard, was a ten-digit number written in a small, neat hand. My fingers stumbled over the keypad, making mistakes. I had to hang up and start again. I concentrated on just the buttons this time, carefully pressing each one in turn. I was successful. I held the phone to my ear with a shaking hand. It rang only once.

“Hello, Bella,” that easy voice answered. “That was very quick. I’m impressed.”

“Is my mom okay?”

“She’s perfectly fine. Don’t worry, Bella, I have no quarrel with her. Unless you didn’t come alone, of course.” Light, amused.

“I’m alone.” I wasn’t lying. There was nobody else in the house.

“Very good. Now, do you know the ballet studio just around the corner from your home?”

“Yeah. I know how to get there.”

“Well, then, I’ll see you very soon.”

I hung up.

I ran from the room, through the door, out into the morning heat.

From the corner of my eye, I could almost see my mother standing in the shade of the big eucalyptus tree where I’d played as a kid. Or kneeling by the little plot of dirt around the mailbox, the cemetery of all the flowers she’d tried to grow. The memories were better than any reality I would see today. But I raced away from them.

I felt so slow, like I was running through wet sand—I couldn’t seem to get enough purchase from the concrete. I tripped over my feet several times, once falling, catching myself with my hands, scraping them on the sidewalk, and then lurching up to plunge forward again. At last I made it to the corner. Just another street now; I ran, sweat pouring down my face, gasping. The sun was hot on my skin, too bright as it bounced off the white concrete and blinded me.

When I rounded the last corner, onto Cactus, I could see the studio, looking just as I remembered it. The parking lot in front was empty, the vertical blinds in all the windows drawn. I couldn’t run anymore—I couldn’t breathe; fear had gotten the best of me. I thought of my mother to keep my feet moving, one in front of the other.

As I got closer, I could see the sign taped inside the door. It was handwritten on bright pink paper; it said the dance studio was closed for spring break. I touched the handle, tugged on it cautiously. It was unlocked. I fought to catch my breath, and opened the door.

The lobby was dark and empty, cool, the air conditioner thrumming. The plastic molded chairs were stacked along the walls, and the carpet was damp. The west dance floor was dark, I could see through the open viewing window. The east dance floor, the bigger room, the one from Alice’s vision, was lit. But the blinds were closed on the window.

Terror seized me so strongly that I was literally trapped by it. I couldn’t make my feet move forward.

And then my mom’s voice called for me.

“Bella? Bella?” That same tone of hysterical panic. I sprinted to the door, to the sound of her voice.

“Bella, you scared me! Don’t you ever do that to me again!” Her voice continued as I ran into the long, high-ceilinged room.

I stared around me, trying to find where her voice was coming from. I heard her laugh, and I spun toward the sound.

There she was, on the TV screen, mussing my hair in relief. It was Thanksgiving, and I was twelve. We’d gone to see my grandmother in California, the last year before she died. We went to the beach one day, and I’d leaned too far over the edge of the pier. Mom had seen my feet flailing, trying to reclaim my balance. “Bella? Bella?” she’d cried out in panic.

And then the TV screen was blue.

I turned slowly. The tracker was standing very still by the back exit, so still I hadn’t noticed her at first. In her hand was a remote control. We stared at each other for a long moment, and then she smiled.

She walked toward me, got just a few feet away, and then passed me to put the remote down next to the VCR. I pivoted carefully to watch her.

“Sorry about that, Bella, but isn’t it better that your mother didn’t really have to be involved in all this?” Her voice was kind.

And suddenly it hit me. My mom was safe. She was still in Florida. She’d never gotten my message. She’d never been terrified by the dark red eyes staring at me now. She wasn’t in pain. She was safe.

“Yes,” I answered, my voice breaking with relief.

“You don’t sound angry that I tricked you.”

“I’m not.” My sudden high made me brave. What did it matter now? It would be over soon. Charlie and Mom would never be hurt, would never have to be afraid. I felt almost dizzy from the relief. Some analytical part of my mind warned me that I was close to snapping from the stress, but then, losing my mind sounded like a decent option right now.

“How odd. You really mean it.” Her dark eyes looked me up and down. The irises were nearly black, just a hint of ruby around the edges. Thirsty. “I will give your strange coven this much, you humans can be quite interesting. I guess I can see the draw of observing you more closely. It’s amazing—some of you seem to have no sense of your own self-interest at all.”

"What do you want from me?" My voice was calm, indifferent. Dangerously so.

I attempted to get my heart rate up again by thinking of all the ways they could kill me. Nothing worked, not after the relief of discovering my mother's safety. At least Jamie hadn't noticed yet.

Jamie raised an eyebrow. "From you? Nothing."

I was confused for a moment, then it hit me. My eyes widened.

"No," I hissed. "You're not touching her."

"Why are you so worried, sweet bird?" Jamie crooned. "I heard that Edythe Cullen could read minds -- she can protect herself just fine. But you..." She reached out with a finger to trace my cheeks. Instantly I jerked away.

"I've always wanted to try my luck against a mind reader," she continued. "Don't we all?"

I became aware of four pairs of glistening teeth, their fangs protruding horribly out of their mouths.

"And not just a mind reader --" she counted on her hand, "-- a seer and a emotion-manipulator as well. You saw what they can do at that meeting, no?"

"Stop it," I said.

"It would be a marvelous hunt," she sighed. "Six of us against seven weak, pitiful, pacifists. The Volturi had limits on killing humans, but not so for our own kind." Her red eyes focused on mine. "I wonder how long those pretty ambers of theirs keep their color. A day? Two weeks, three after I plucked them out?"

"Stop." I couldn’t even stop to wonder where the other vampires had come from. I just stared at her, hoping against all hope that the phone was still on, that they could hear, that they were coming, that Alice had seen. That they would be ready for five vampires instead of one.

"And the first step had already been done for us, too. Bait has dropped itself into our very laps." Rigidly, I sat as she circled about me.

"Now it's time to set the trap."

My blood went cold. Murmurs echoed through the room, agreeing with her. So that's why they hadn't killed me yet, when they could have done so easily before.

I felt her touch like spiders in my hair. She paused in front of me and reached down, gripping both of the chair handles to peer straight into my face.

"So, Bella, do you have any ideas you'd like to volunteer?"

I kept my mouth shut, unmoving.

"You know perfectly what we could do." All eyes turned to a man in the corner. Despite an attractive countenance, he had hungry eyes and flexing, hungrier hands. "We could take her and leave her body for them to find."

Jamie's smile was cold. "Take her?"

I shuddered.

He didn't get the hint. "You know, we -- "

"The next time you say something like that again," Jamie snarled, "I'll nail your fucking body to the sea floor and let the fish take you. Are we clear?"

The man's mouth was open and he closed it. Jamie turned sharply away from him, hissing.

"You know, Bella," she said, ignoring the previous conversation. "I have an idea."

I stared at her, waiting.

"It always struck me strange how your lover is so willing to let you age away and die right before her eyes when the solution was right there. Your poor, cowardly beloved Edythe."

"Would you like to become a vampire, Bella?"

Something clattered outside. Jamie whipped her head around. Instantly all the vampires crouched, stances ready to kill.

"They're here," cried Jamie, her eyes glinting with delighted ferocity. She grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked it like a leash. I gasped in pain.

"You'll be staying with me. Edythe is mine to kill."

The vampires blurred as they moved. One reached for the handle and twisted it, breaking the lock with ease. They opened it.

In stepped a vampire I hadn’t seen before. She must’ve been keeping watch outside. Dark liquid was seeping through a raw wound on her neck, like something had tore a chunk out of it. She gasped, his eyes wide with terror.

"Wolves," she screamed. "Wol--!"

Something large and furry closed its maw about his head with a sickening crunch and wrenched him from the door. Windows shattered as bodies collided with it.

I closed my eyes.

"No." I heard Jamie. "It can't be!"

I reached under my shirt. My hands found the pocket knife nestled in my sports bra. Quickly snapping out the blade, I slashed Jamie's hand. She yelped and let go. Snarling, she made a grab for me. I dodged and fell to the floor.

Something leaped between us, and I heard her crash into the wall.

"Bella?!" A tinny voice yelled from inside my jacket. I slowly crawled to the corner of the room, ignoring the chaos happening around me, and hoisted myself against the wall, struggling to get the phone out of the secret pocket.

"Bella!"

"I'm fine, I'm okay," I said quickly, but my voice still shook. “Is everyone okay?"

I heard a sigh of relief on the other side.

"Yep, never better," Quil replied. Quil. I was surprised I recognized her voice in all the chaos.

I took a sharp breath and wrapped my arms around myself, relief tenth-fold.

“By the way, did you know that one of the blood-suckers’ got electricity powers? They shut down your Mom's whole city; that's why we couldn't contact her using email or phone. Giant disaster."

"Really?"

I was beginning to notice a crackling sound. Puzzled, I held the phone out before me. It was throwing sparks. I hurriedly dropped it on the ground. Nearby, the light bulb shattered, throwing the room into darkness. A bright flash hissed through the air. I lifted my eyes. One of the vampires had lightning zapping from her fingertips, throwing sparks wildly at anything that moved.

Time to leave.

I knew I couldn't do anything. I had known this; that was why I chose to be bait. There was only one way to make sure of Mom's safety while the rest of them arrived, and that was it.

But now my role was over. I had to trust the others, to trust Julie and Edythe to fight well and remain safe. I resigned to slowly crawl out of the room. Keeping myself low and in the dark, I let my hands feel the wall as a guide. And as I made my painful progress, I watched.

The room was a mess. The windows were shattered, and what had been the doorway was now a splintered hole. One vampire was already torn to pieces, her arms and torso scattered on the floor. I couldn't see Carine or Jasper with the speed at which they moved, but Eleanor was wrestling with a brawny man, their long, large fangs bared at each other. Eleanor had scratches and cuts on her arms. Her opponent had more.

A werewolf, who I recognized as Julie, was limping. She whined, backing into the wall. I gasped as two vampires closed in on her.

"No," I moaned.

They leaped, fangs bared. Her head snapped up. She swerved, avoiding them, and closed her jaw onto one's arm. She shook him like Hulk shook a toy, and threw him into the air. The other roared, and slammed against her side. They tumbled, and I tore my gaze from them, searching for others.

I spied the hungry man from before facing off against Rosalie. Her expression, usually indifferent, was now contorted with rage. She must have listened in on the conversation through the phone. I watched, almost in fascination, as she easily dodged his flexing fingers and rammed her foot into his stomach. It came out his back, caked with black viscera. Her hands gripped his head and twisted. Once. Twice. Three times, then wrenched it off, spurting black blood everywhere. I reminded myself to thank her later.

My eyes roved over again and I spotted them. I let out a gasp.

Jamie was dodging about the center of the room, her once-calm face now twisted with rage. Opposite her was my Edythe, teeth bared, and a large, red-furred wolf. Julie! My heart rose to my throat at the sight of them. I never thought I'd see her again. Either of them.

They were fighting viciously against Jamie, who was barely holding out her own. Already her right arm hung limp at her side. I could see a large, black bruise where her collarbone was; Edythe must have snapped it. Her side and shirt was mottled with dark liquid. She had precision and speed, one of an experienced hunter. From her words before, this hadn't been the first time she'd hunted vampires. Against any other opponent, she would have won.

Not with my Edythe and Julie. Julie, who I was startled to see, fought like she was reading Edythe’s mind. Or Edythe hers. But no, it was too fluid. Julie, Julie. It’s like I’d never seen her before. She looked so fierce, so beautiful.

Edythe moved with the agility of any immortal seventeen years old girl; youthful, graceful, merciless. Her lunges were wild and unpredictable. Julie moved like one used to fighting to protect. Her motions were clean-cut and calculated, a pack leader's mentality. The both of them moved like partners in a dance, filling in where the other left open. They clicked like lock and key, thrust and parry, sword and shield. Jamie was a goner.

They almost had her, and she knew it. A break to the leg or a bite to the neck and she would be gone. Her head snapped about, taking in the scene around her, searching for help. Her allies were falling one by one, and those that didn't had ran. Outside, I heard two distinct, victorious howls. It was a matter of time. She was going to lose.

I had reached the door and was just about to ease myself out when her eyes found me.

Edythe must have read her mind, because she cried out, "NO!"

In one movement, Jamie lunged. As if in slow motion, I saw her coming towards me, mouth open wide, white fangs glinting in the moonlight. I shoved myself out the doorway but it was too late. My arms flew up to shield myself, and her teeth found my wrist.

Two sharp points pierced my flesh. A second later her entire jaw closed about my wrist like a metal trap snapping shut. I could hear the crunch of bone.

"NO!"

Daggers of pain erupted at my wrist like wildfire.

I screamed.

A/N: I had to change so much here, dear god. There was no way I was having Bella run off on her own without telling anyone, so I had to rewrite that whole scene after the letter. Then I took Bly’s lovely rough draft rewrite of this chapter and tweaked it so it made a little more sense with the way the story was now. Basically, there were a lot of changes that I’m sure I’ve forgotten about and let slip through the cracks, but since I’m the only one of the old group left, and have the memory of a broken colander, I don’t think y’all will hold it against me (also I decided to stick with the old technology, cause I like that). I might go back and add some scenes with Julie. I really enjoy the ot3 but I don’t want it to seem like it came out of left field.

#chapter #twife or death #twife or death update #lesbian twilight #lesbian twilight update #Twilight rewrite #gay twilight #twilight #twilight renaissance #gay twilight renaissance #lesbian vampires #twilight lesbians #twilight lesbian vampires #ive only looked over this once after i added all the things #its eight o'clock i rly should go eat

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peachykindalovesyou · 4 years ago

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L'erreur Du Fou

Rook Hunt x assassin! fem! reader

Word count:: 2k+

Warnings:: gore, character death, blood mentions, weapon/knife mentions

Author’s note:: god damn am i proud of this

---

I was the fool who had made the mistake. I was the madman who had thought I could do this. It was an assignment from my boss, I couldn’t decline. Just one more wipeout, and I am in his favor. I was his greatest, one of the best. I honored him; I was a mascot to our team.

He always said he would leave the best for last, but my victim, my prey, he was one unlike the others. Fast, diligent, flexible, astounding, he was the ideal target for pride. I was all of those things as well, yes, but the way he portrays his ability is simply magnificent. Fast yet delicate strides, quiet graceful gazes, however he did it, I must know as well.

This was the night I would strike him. Tonight, I will have the power others have dreamed of, I could have the power no one else could have; Something of unimaginable potential. With those abilities, I will be different from the rest, superior, even. This is all I’ve ever wanted and craved, to be the favored by my peers.

The corridor was dark, moonlight shown through the glass stained with the seven sins. Chandeliers with stunning crystals decorated the ceiling. The floor was marbled and etched with strokes of grey and blue, with every step I took, it echoed in a symphonic way. The light sound of ballroom music could be heard faintly.

Even if this is the night I charge, I still had my doubts. I blocked them out as well as I could, hiding them away in the deepest depths of my thoughts. Everything I seemed to do never worked, it always shot me like a bullet. I must do it; I need to get this job finished. But my heart, my heart desires him. ‘The heart wants what it wants’ is what they always told me; they were all right.

For my victim, my target, my prey, he drew me in, just as some simple prey like him should. I felt as if he could see right through me, he isn’t supposed to. ‘The Hunter Of Love’ he proclaimed himself, for it seems he was right as well. All of his romantic gestures and enchanting features had me head deep in passion.

He should be attending the ball soon; I have come here to this corridor to ready myself for what’s to come. Just beyond this hallway, is an astonishing, breathtaking event. The walls and floors painted in gold. The décor was miraculous, it all seemed unrealistic. The food and beverages prepared for the ball were so aesthetically placed, you wouldn’t dare to take a bite.

The people who attended were only invited of the utmost honor of the headmaster of Night Raven College, the most prestige and powerful academy of this world. Only the most phenomenal wizards and magicians were ever enrolled. All regions from all over Twisted Wonderland were welcomed to this event; That would mean, The Rose Kingdom, The Coral Sea, The Land Of Pyroxene, Jubilee Port, The Land Of Hot Sands, Afterglow Savanna, Valley Of Thorns, Village Of Harvest, and The Isle Of Lamentation.

I continued walking, keeping an eye out for the hunter. The music only got louder and louder the further I walked, as expected. Sound of piano and violin could be heard through the door, it was so beautiful. My long dress cascaded down my hips, long black cloth drug across the shiny and clean marbled floor, the sleeves and sheer outer coat were scattered with silver sequins and small diamond studs.

As the giant door had finally opened, I saw a large amount of people gathered together in the ballroom. I held the invitation in my hands; readying myself for what’s to come. The ghost guards stood in front of the entrance, ordering me to hand in my invitation. I nodded, placing the black and gold envelope in their gas like hands. Stepping in, I had finally spotted him. There he stood, black suit, shiny blonde hair, piercing green eyes, to top it off; his smile was like none of the others, it stood out in the crowd of magicians.

He glanced in my direction, waving goodbye to the other guests, and walking towards me. I kept my composer, standing straight and giving him a thick silence. “Good evening, Mademoiselle (Y/n). Are you enjoying yourself?” He bowed down, taking my hand, and pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles. “I cannot say, for I’ve just arrived.” He gave me a wider smile, standing upright and tilting his head to the side. “That’s a shame, Ma Cherie. Well, the dance is starting soon, would you like to join me?” He held out his gloved hand, waiting for my response. “I would be honored, Monsieur Hunt.” With that, he led me to the middle of the ballroom where the main event began. I waited; it would take me a while to get him where I need him.

“Ma Cherie, is there a specific reason you’ve decided to join us today? Of course, other than the fact that all students and instructors were invited.” His breath fanned my neck and we swayed in sync. “No, I just thought I’d enjoy myself for once. I’ve been very stressed lately, work outside of school is difficult catching up with.”

He slid his hand down my waist, pulling me in closer; Just as he always does. “What kind of work do you do? I’m curious. Writing? Photography? Modeling? Mayhap, hunting-“ He’s onto me. “-For a new one already?” Or not. I chuckled at him, trying to brush off his last comment. “No no, I’d rather keep my private like private, thank you very much.” My feet moved with his, swirling around the ballroom in smooth circles. “And why is that? Are you afraid of me catching you red handed?” My brain froze, avoiding his questions smoothly. “Well, Mr. Hunt, I like to keep my life private for the same reason we close doors when using the restroom.”

“My, Ma Cherie, what a brave soul you are for speaking such a thing out loud; What have you to hide?” He laughed at my last comment, but I am not a comedian for say. “Well, for starters, I have been keeping quiet about how charming you look this evening.” My boss always said the key to conversating with a hunter is bravery, keep them on their toes. “Oh mon! Thank you Ma Lapin, how very kind of you~” His voice enticed me even further, it was smooth, deep.

“Oh? Ma Cherie, you seem to have lost track.” He tapped my shoulder and I snapped out of my daze; I was far too deep in his spell. His masculine features and charming touches were absolutely captivating. The way he drew me in was no laughing matter, his praises had me above the clouds, and his smile; his smile is what had me shamelessly spellbinded to him. The moment he had flashed me that heavenly grin is when I knew he would be the end of my career; he would be the end of me.

“Ma Cherie, if you could, I would like to have a talk with you.” He spoke in a serious tone, and I couldn’t help but follow along. “Of course, is there anything specific you would like to discuss?” I followed along side him down the corridor. “Yes. You seem to be a bit out of it lately, is something on your mind?” Did he know? “No, it seems I’m just a little charmed by you tonight.” Would praise get me out of this? “Mademoiselle (Y/n), I am by far endured by your praise, but please, do not avoid the question. I am a hunter, studying someone is what I do best. I know there is something picking at you.”

We stood in front of the stained glass, the blue moonlight hitting his angelic features so perfectly. The tinted glass was painted with something, the sin of lust and love. ‘Eros’ as some would call it, ‘Aphrodite’ the people said, ‘Asmodeus’ is lesser known. But to me, the sin, the décor, it’s all nothing but a joke. A sick and twisted joke to get everyone to believe that what they do matters, but we all die in the end. There is no use in doing what you love, there is no use finding love, there is no use following the belief that love is real.

“Well, nothing in particular has been itching at me. I guess I am just a bit…distracted tonight.” Tonight…tonight…TONIGHT! He drew me in too far, I was supposed to be the one drawing him in. I fell for his charm, I fell for his dirty tricks, I fell for…him. Because of him, I will fail my mission. My pride, my honor, it will all be torn down to pieces once my boss sees me in the hands of ‘The Hunter Of Love’. I stayed quiet, waiting for an answer from him, but it never seemed to come.

“…Rook Hunt, The Hunter Of Love, a beauty of the Pomefiore dorm, the assistant of Vil Schoenheit himself, it seems I have…” I ran away from my statement, this isn’t supposed to be happening, this cannot be true. “…Fallen for me?” He finished my sentence and I hold back a cry. I stayed quiet, but I have yet to leave myself vulnerable in front of him. “Well?” He took a step forward, tilting my head up with his thumb and pointer finger.

Normally people would try to deny their love for someone. “Yes, I have fallen for you. But for that, I despise you as well. You’ve ruined me, you’ve stolen my pride, I’m only a toy for someone to play around with. But as the adults have always said ‘Put your toys away when you’re done with them.’ And it seems you’ve forgotten to.

His eyes widened; a look of shock painted over his face. “Ma Cherie, you could not really mean that, could you? Falling for me? Hating me?” He seemed heartbroken. Had I got through him? It’s hard to tell, he’s never like this. “I-…” I paused my answer, letting my tears glide down my rosy cheeks. He let out a gasp, now was my chance. I quickly turn us around, stepping forward until he was backed up against the wall. “Rook Hunt, you are the only thing holding me back from what I truly want, I’m sorry for thi-”

I didn’t get a chance to finished before he turned the tables, he had his hand to my throat and a hunting knife to my neck. “Ma Cherie, if you are really planning on assassinating me for power, that is truly a shame. I understand how you feel, killing someone you love is the hardest part of that life.” He pressed the knife into my neck with more pressure, small droplets of blood painted my skin. “I- R-Rook, P-pleas-e-“ I put my hand on his wrist, only for him to more pressure.

“Mademoiselle (Y/n), it is time for your career to end. You’ve wanted this for the longest time, right? But I won’t let you go without a proper goodbye.” The weapon fully slid through my throat, choking on the crimson liquid, and coughing it up, Rook pressed his lips to mine. He held me with such passion, as I slowly lost breath in his arms. He pulled away, blood staining his lips and clothing. “Ma Cherie, I love you.”

I reached my hand out to him, but it was too late. The knife had been slit through my throat, and I shut my eyes for good. His words echoed in my head as I the last glance I got of him was him pressing his lips to my dying body, a tragedy, Night Raven College’s best assassin, defeated by Rook Hunt.

#twst rook #rook hunt x reader #rook hunt x mc #rook Hunt #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x mc #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x mc #twst x reader #tw character death #tw blood #tw weapon #tw knife #twst #pomefiore x reader #pomefiore

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ohgodmyeyes · 4 years ago

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hi! I was curious as to what are both your fav and least fav versions of anakin? (like aotc, rots, old force ghost, clone wars, etc)

This is such an exciting question, but I'll try to be succinct instead of long-winded and boring. (My stories are already there for that.) Here's a quick rundown of a few different Anakins, from my most treasured to the one (and only one) I tend to side-eye:

ROTJ Anakin / Force Ghost Anakin - I'm grouping these guys together, because I love them all for the same reason, and that reason is that they DID it. ROTJ Anakin is the Anakin who finds himself again; who takes responsibility for his family, and a huge step toward atoning for the things he's done. He spends ROTJ slowly changing; we see it in how he regards the Emperor, and the way he regards Luke. The closest thing he’s ever going to do to getting his wife back, realistically, is saving his son and finally openly defying Palpatine. It doesn’t matter that anyone else knows Vader has been rescued from himself, or that he was really a good man all along. Luke knows, and that’s enough; it’s part of why their relationship is so special to me. Luke is the only living person who says a proper goodbye to Anakin: He knew all along that it was worth it to try to know him. That’s beautiful.

His journey isn't finished at this stage, exactly, but his he's in a better place than he's ever been, and I love him for it. He's hope personified, even for the very worst of us.

As an aside— physicality isn't a barrier to any of this; I love him all busted up and dying, I love him as a fully-healed Sebastian Shaw, and as a pretty, young Hayden Christensen.

Padawan Anakin / AOTC Anakin / Jedi Quest Anakin - In second place is a much younger iteration of him— a sad, lonely kid who's easily excitable, and dangerous, somehow, without being at all frightening. He's a mixed-up kid who's had a less-than-ideal upbringing, bound to an ancient prophecy no one knows enough about. He cries out constantly to be held and loved; he's got his heart in his hand, and he's always ready to give it away to the next person who shows him kindness— or who even just needs him.

He's still so compassionate and well-intentioned at this point in his life, even when it doesn't benefit him. He can be petty and sensitive, although anyone would be, if they had to bear the kind of weight Anakin carries on his own shoulders at that age. His emotions sometimes run amok, but his heart is still so good... and more importantly than that, he knows it. He still has hope, for himself and for others, despite the overwhelming sense of 'otherness' he tends to feel. That's what sets him apart from Vader for me, even though I think AOTC Ani resembles the ultimate, 'suited' Darth Vader a lot more than the Anakin we meet at the beginning of ROTS.

Plus— although this is fairly irrelevant— AOTC Anakin happens to be Anakin at peak hotness. No damn wig is going to change that, nor is the sad fact of my own rapidly-advancing age. :)

Little Kid Anakin / TPM Anakin - The sweet baby version of Anakin comes in next for me. The altruism he struggles to hang onto until he finally falls is front-and-centre at this stage. He's tough by necessity (obviously, he's a fucking slave), but he isn't jaded yet— largely owing to his mother. Even when he loses Qui-Gon and gets to the Temple and struggles to integrate, his heart just stays enormous. God knows what he's already been through, but he never stops trying, and there's nothing fake about his confidence at this stage in his life. I love that; I think we could all stand to be a bit more like nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker.

There's an Anakin & Reader story on ao3 by @itohan called 'Kuebiko', and it's a beautiful depiction of what it might be like to be a caregiver for a very young Anakin. It's headed for some pretty sad places, to be sure, but there's a lot of sweetness and lovely (sometimes chilling) little insights into his character that I don't otherwise get to see very often. Anyone else with a soft spot for child Ani should go and read it.

'Classic' Vader, between the end of ROTS and the end of ANH - This is an enormous chunk of time, but again, I think it's more helpful than not if I just group these iterations of him together, at least for the purpose of compiling this list. It's horrific and tragic and a devastating waste of potential, but Anakin really does spend a huge amount of time mired in a thick, dark cloud of grief and anger. He convinces himself of a lot of stupid shit during this period in his life: 'Anakin is dead, I'm fulfilling my destiny, I can get Padmé back, she'd love all this ORDER I'm bringing, blah blah blah'. Every ounce of his extraordinary control is purely surface-level; he's a raging wildfire inside for a longer period of time than I think nearly anyone else could realistically sustain (as in, Kylo Ren was always going to die at 30, and I'm surprised I didn't, too lol).

He's empowered by his shitstain of a 'Master' to hurt and kill people against everything that once made him who he was, and no one can know he suffers for it (or for the loss of his wife, or the family he wishes he could have raised with her). No one can know anything about him; he's a man playing a part who can't ever take off his costume. Everything hurts him, and the only places he can turn to for comfort are the battlefield, and the inside of his own head. He has profound disabilities of every imaginable nature, and receives no more than the most cursory physical maintenance to remedy them. He escapes into his missions, but every one of those is a slight against his own better nature. His personal pursuits don't benefit him either; for basically twenty years of his life, he's living in an emotional storm— it ebbs and flows, but it never lets up, and his entire existence is set up specifically to reward the most despicable of his behaviour.

He doesn't make very many genuine emotional breakthroughs, because he's not allowed— just tricked and lied to and manipulated and taken advantage of, even when he's the one ostensibly in 'control'. His life only starts again when Luke comes into it; again, one more reason their connection is so special to me.

I'm going to go ahead and recommend another Anakin/Reader story by a different author; it's called 'mrfiveohone' by DarthDoritos, and it's on ao3. It's a brilliant exploration of what a strange, budding relationship with a youngish Vader might look like, and just an overall beautiful portrait of escalating intimacy on top of that. Another one I would highly recommend (completion status notwithstanding) is called 'Afterimage', and it is by garnettrees, also on ao3. It's a very dark Vaderdala story that gets right inside Anakin's head in the most wonderful ways. He never stops loving Padmé, and in that, he never truly stops being who he is.

This is the Vader I (admittedly somewhat dramatically) see the most of myself in. It puts us at-odds sometimes, but my urge to get up underneath that mask and make him feel worthy of his own name is insurmountable. I love him because if I didn't, I'd be in trouble.��

Which brings us to TCW Anakin… who is, perhaps, the only version of Anakin I can honestly say I don't care for. Which is fine, because the show itself really isn't my kind of thing. Suffice to say, that particular depiction of him departs so dramatically from any of the other ones I've known (or listed here) that I just can't get into it, no matter how hard I try.

I'm going to end this with a shout-out to Lego Anakin! I've never seen a shitty version of Lego Anakin, whether in a cartoon or on my desk at home. :)

Thank you for asking, anon. That was fun to write out!

#anakin skywalker #thanks anon #fanfiction #headcanon #boring to everyone but me #i am trying to answer all of my asks #the nice ones anyway #late #too long

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tragedybunny · 4 years ago

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Wise Men Say, Only Fools Rush In - Chapter 1: Welcome to the Jungle

What I had expected was an interview, a proper face-to-face with the chance to prove my suitability to my potential superiors. What I had was maybe twenty minutes on the phone with the notorious CEO before he cut me off abruptly. “That will be enough for today, Ms. Du Couteau. I’m perfectly convinced your Father is correct and you will be more than sufficient for the role here.” From the moment he spoke I’d noticed that while rich and cultured, his voice carried a certain quality to it, a sense of superiority, as though he held himself above those around him. It seemed to me that it was genuine confidence though, unlike Father’s smugness, which always seemed to be from a place of compensating for whatever. As rich and powerful as he, I could only think he had short man syndrome with his insecurities. There was something dark as well in the tone of this Mr. Swain, he was not a man to be trifled with. “Provided you do not prove to be inept in some way I can’t predict.”

It was probably unwise that I gave in as I felt my temper flare at the unnecessary condescension. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Swain. I can’t wait to prove myself sufficiently competent for my future with Noxus Holdings.” The sarcasm rolled off my tongue before I could catch myself, my eyes going wide and a hand moving to cover my mouth as though that could undo what I’d said.

There was a long pause on his end and I held my breath, sure that I’d just burned this whole thing to the ground. “Very well, we’ll expect you in two weeks. I’ll have all the details forwarded to you.” I could’ve sworn he sounded almost amused and I died a little bit inside.

Hanging up, I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, and was thankful I was alone so no one could see their crimson hue. Had I really just snapped at the most important person at my new employer, the CEO of the company that my whole future hinged on? And he hadn’t said anything. Either this was one of those “I like her moxie” types of situations or there would be hell to pay later. The latter was usually the case for me anyway.

It was with that peculiar encounter in mind that I found myself waiting in the lobby of Noxus Holdings wearing a subdued gray suit, hoping to look less like the hot-head I’d proven to be over the phone. I swallowed a nervous exhale and glanced around, a carefully constructed fantasy of an industrial office space from a century ago surrounded me, all glass, and iron, and deco style windows. An escort from my department should arrive at any moment, and I wanted to be damn sure I looked as cool and confident as possible. It wasn’t as if the job itself would be a challenge, contracts and fending off lawsuits from angry ex-employees and investors, nothing I hadn’t done before.

“Red!” A richly accented, yet horrifyingly familiar and obnoxious voice broke the quiet ambiance of the lobby. The pair of receptionists on duty shot furtive glances toward the source in unison before returning to what they were doing. Standing just in front of the elevator, a black suit with a yellow blouse perfectly accenting her bronze skin, was a woman I’d hoped I’d left behind on graduation day, Samira.

How had I missed that this was where she’d ended up? I’d stayed in touch with some of our old sorority sisters, and they kept me in the loop on a lot of the gossip about everyone. It made a lot of sense though, she had a truly vicious nature, there was no way she wasn’t thriving here. I inhaled, feeling a slight twitch in my eye at even this small interaction, and walked toward her. “Hello Samira, it’s been a while.” My voice remained level and surprisingly pleasant, I just needed to treat her like every troublesome, idiotic client I’d ever been assigned, even if I felt irritation clawing at every one of my nerves. It had always been like that, something about her just grated on me.

“A while!? We haven’t talked since the Phi Sigma Tau farewell party.” The wind was suddenly knocked out of me as I found myself in a very unwelcome embrace. “Not that anybody saw much of you that night, well except Garen. Not that I blame you, a moonlit beach, a few good drinks, perfect romantic atmosphere.” I was freed only to be nudged harshly with an elbow as Samira leered at me in a teasing manner. “And I heard he saw quite a bit of you out there on the sand.” The laugh that followed was at least quiet enough that we didn’t instantly become the center of attention.

An involuntary snort escaped me and I felt irritation starting to give way to outright anger, my mind buzzing and my vision starting to tunnel. “I’m surprised anyone noticed with the other incident that happened that night.” My pleasant mask remained in place but reminding her I wasn’t the only one with a story from that night filled me with a sense of petty satisfaction, especially since hers ended with the wail of police sirens.

“What can I say, it was a wild night all around.” Her arm looped through mine and she began to drag me toward the elevator. “See, it’s just like old times.” For a moment I wondered if she could truly be this oblivious to my intended insult. That was answered a moment later she leaned in and violently whispered in my ear. “Don’t think you can fuck with me Red. Your Daddy’s name isn’t going to get everything just handed to you here.” I’d just made horrifying mistake number two. There was no way she hadn’t been baiting me to see what reaction I’d have. With reckless force, she jabbed the elevator button and spoke in a more audible and warm tone. “I’m sure we’ll find ourselves to be best friends all over again.”

I nodded silently, not wanting to give her a response that would encourage her further. These last few moments had brought my new reality into stark clarity. I hadn’t expected to waltz in and find myself in a top position with no work on my part, but I hadn’t anticipated that I’d be met with outright hostility. If it was just Samira that would be one thing, but were there others lurking in the shadows that I’d have to wary of? Maybe deep down I had still had some delusion about the family name being a shield of sorts, those were just entirely shattered. It would get me no further than it already had.

A vintage styled, cage-like elevator came to a stop before us. An insistent tugging on my arm pulled me into it after her, her pleasant smile frozen into place. The doors closed, a cheery ding sounded, and we dropped all semblance of civility to glare at one another. “My dear,” my eyes rolled reflexively at the honeyed tone, “we are going to be working very closely. Try not to lash out every time I make a harmless joke. I know you are used to things being smoothed along in the family business.” Nails dug into my palm, there was no way she could know the truth, but still, I fought an urge the physically quiet her.

I know a powerplay when I see one, this whole scene had been staged to give Samira a sense of dominance in our new arrangement. And there was no way I could retaliate with her seniority over me. At least not yet. I could feel bile creeping its way up my throat as I realized that if I was going to succeed and build my life of independence, there was nothing I could do about it right now but live with it. There was the small consolation that I gleaned something else from this encounter, if Samira was taking direct action it was because she was threatened. I’d always been the better lawyer, all throughout school and our intern days. It was likely I wouldn’t end up having to live with her antics for long. To that end, I released a breath and relaxed my shoulders. “You’re right. Let’s start this whole thing over. It’s good to see you again Samira.”

A small noise of approval escaped her and she turned away to face the elevator doors, clearly satisfied with my conciliatory act. Well, even if she had won the battle for today, there was still a war to be fought. Another high-pitched ding and the cage stopped at one of the upper floors. The same aesthetic carried through here, exposed venting ran along the ceiling, gray carpet accented the dark wood and iron-finished metal of the walls, artfully uncovered “antique” light bulbs illuminated anywhere the natural light from those same intricate windows from the lobby didn’t reach. “We should really track down Darius and I’ll introduce you.” There was an implication she was doing me a favor. Another small irritation, the whole department reported to him, it was expected we’d meet. “He’s the VP and also head’s up the acquisition team along with lega-Ah!”

Samira had turned to speak over her shoulder at me and midspeech was physically halted by a collision with a figure appearing from around a corner. I stifled the laugh that bubbled up, she’d desperately deserved that little impact. “Sorry Sam, don’t kill me. Well hello there new and gorgeous.” His tone shifted from apologetic to a practiced arrogance somehow in perfect harmony with the goatee he sported, one that I can only imagine he believed was attractive. The obvious leering that accompanied his words left me with the urge to bury my knee in his groin.

“Draven, this is Katarina, she’s just starting with us in legal. Should I let your brother know what a warm welcome you’re giving his new employee?” The newcomer’s face visibly became several shades paler. Interesting, it would seem that Noxus was also a place of family ties. “Kat, this is Draven, head of marketing.” For once, I couldn’t blame her for the annoyance coloring her words.

A hesitant hand reached out toward me and I made sure to lock my grip on it firmly. Years of martial arts as a hobby had left me with deceptive strength in my small frame. Pale blue eyes widened at the sudden pressure as I smiled sweetly. “Very pleased to meet you Draven.”

Shockingly, he returned my smile when I released his hand. “You’ve got a bit of a spark, I’ll bet you fit in just fine. Lookin’ forward to working with ya.” Wordlessly, Samira led on as Draven waved pleasantly behind us. “Be nice to this one Sam!”

An irritated sigh escaped her, but she waited until we were out of earshot to speak again. “Nicely done,” a compliment, he must really rub her the wrong way, “he’s harmless, but it’s good to keep him on a short leash.”

The hallways we passed through lacked the small cubicle farms you would find on the lower floors, instead, there were plenty of offices, conference rooms, and occasionally open-plan shared workspaces for teams who worked closely together. It was in one of those workspaces, bordered by offices, that Samira finally stopped. The buzz of those gathered in the area halted, and all eyes turned toward us. Silence reigned even as the curious examination of the newcomer was evident. “Everyone, this is Katarina, our new team member I told you about.” Murmurs welcoming me to the group responded, they were subdued though, as if they were afraid to be too excitable in front of Samira.

Despite the outwardly friendly moment, I kept my face neutral, and voice aloof as I returned their greetings. Any group within a company this high profile would be extremely competitive, and I’d be damned if I was going to start by giving off an air of weakness. They were probably already appraising me, deciding if I was any real threat to their positions.

“I see I’m right on time.” A deep voice cut through the subdued chatter and a massive figure approached us. Clad in a simple, but clearly expensive suit, his presence seemed to fill the entire space as he exuded a calm confidence. There was also something familiar about him, I was sure he had been at the family firm before.

“You couldn’t give me an hour before checking in, could you?” Indignation caused her voice to go up an octave in pitch, an effect that was quite satisfying for me.

The newcomer’s eyes narrowed dangerously, my first taste of the office hierarchy in action. Impatiently he gestured for us to follow, and not wanting to seem daunted by the sparks, I cut in front of Sam, following to an office that was nearby. Once the door was slammed behind us, I realized it was her office, the degree proudly displayed on the wall bearing her name. Tension enveloped the three of us. “Don’t start Sam. I’m not trying to babysit you.”

She clicked her tongue and muttered in defeat. “Fine, just make it quick.”

The full attention of the room fell on me. “Darius Basilich, pleased to finally meet my newest team member.” He held out a hand for a much more dignified handshake than the one I gave his brother. “Sorry we haven’t had a chance to talk before now, Jericho doesn’t always give us a head’s up when he’s decided something.” The gruff words had a frankness and sense of honesty about them that was refreshing. I took note of the use of Mr. Swain’s first name, it was good to know who he was that comfortable with.

Releasing his hand, I could recognize that he’d be my first ally here and one that I needed on all fronts. “I believe we’ve met previously, while I was interning for my father.”

In answer, he offered a small, but genuine smile. “Thought you looked a bit familiar. Must have been when I was wrangling Draven out of that mess.”

Sam, who had sat behind her desk and started furiously typing, snorted. “Your brother is always into something.”

My expression must have faltered because he let out a weary sigh. “I see you’ve met. Anyway, great to have you on board. It was a shock that Marcus was willing to let one of the kids go.”

My stomach crawled as I recalled the last two weeks of verbal abuse I’d gone through, not just from Father, but Cassie as well. All because I dared to leave them. I was never more grateful for my apartment, that space that was mine alone, and no one could spoil it. Leaving the family manor was one of the best decisions I’d ever made. Of course, I couldn’t get into any of that, so I just shrugged nonchalantly. “Who would’ve guessed.”

“I’ll let you get settled in, we’ll talk again soon. Sam, play nice.” They glared at each other one last time before he exited.

“You two have a problem?” I ventured. Knowledge was power, so I needed to get the lay of the land quickly.

Laughter met my words. “Nah, Darius and I just have an endless pissing contest. He’s alright, but I am going to replace him as the boss’s favorite eventually.” No surprise it was some obnoxious game of hers. “Anyway, let’s get you settled in the office, I’m sure it’s not the posh corner you had a Daddy’s, but you weren’t expecting that anyway.” If the thought of returning to him defeated didn’t make my stomach heave, I would’ve knocked her out cold. Instead, I shot her a cold look and followed to my new office; small, windowless, and suspiciously right across from hers. A few seconds later we were joined by a short, pale woman with tight pinned brown hair and ice-blue eyes, about our age. “This is Alyssa, she’ll get you set up.”

Several hours, and an aching back later, my mind was completely overloaded with passwords, computer systems, and file paths. Stretching, I felt the siren call of the cozy little cafe I’d spied in the lobby. Turning to Alyssa, I could read in her expression she was in the same mind frame I was. She’d proven to be easy enough to get on with, that was one victory for the day. Our backgrounds intersected in a way, she’d come from a family business as well. However, she’d sold her share of the ownership of Ironspike Industries to Noxus on her way through the door. It had been a nice payday and guaranteed her a stable career no matter what. Most would consider it a cold-blooded move, but I could get the perspective that family wasn’t always sacred. Besides, she laughed easily enough and had a comeback for every bit of banter. “Hey…”

The door flew open with a sudden violence, Samira standing behind it. “You’ve been summoned Red.” A hefty binder dropped from her arms onto my desk with a resounding thud. “It’s been requested that you escort this up to the top floor for Mr. Swain. He wants to read through it before it’s presented to the board and he has a hard-on for physical copies.”

My heart lurched as I rose from my seat. I hadn’t expected it to come this soon, meeting the CEO I’d had the gall to snap at. “Well, wish me luck Alyssa.” My voice was deadpan flat and Samira gave me an odd look. Maybe the incident hadn’t become common knowledge as I’d feared.

The elevator ride was not nearly long enough as the gilded cage ascended the final few floors to the very top of the building. I stepped out, binder held in front of me like a shield, only to realize that Samira hadn’t given directions beyond the floor. An empty receptionist’s desk stood sentinel, the occupant clearly out to lunch. Beyond it was a foyer with branching hallways. Hesitantly, I stepped forward to glance down them. “End of the center hall.”

The deep voice from nowhere caused me to jump a little. Darius, of course his office was up here too. “Thanks,” I ordered my voice to remain cool and collected.

“Let me guess, Sam neglected that bit?” He chuckled slightly. “She really wants to assert herself with you.”

“It seems a certain level of ruthlessness is the Noxian way.” Some of the tension faded. Despite the fact that he was very nearly a literal giant, Darius was much less intimidating than you would think. In fact, there was almost a warmth to him.

He shrugged. “We buy and sell other companies. We have the whole of another person’s world in our hands. It helps to keep an edge about you. Although I imagine it’s not a problem with your background.”

It would seem that everywhere I went, the Du Couteau name would haunt me. If I wasn’t outright reviled for it, I was at the very least, notorious. Father had a reputation for ruthlessness, a reputation that had been handed down the generations with the firm starting with my great-grandfather. “You’re not wrong.” Even if I was shadowed by the name, the lessons I’d been taught in the cause of that reputation ensured I could be cut-throat when necessary. His words reassured me that even if the name itself couldn’t, the legacy of it could definitely serve me here. “Catch you around Darius.” I gave him a confident smile and a wave as he headed toward the elevator.

The walk down the hall was short with no other offices present and ended in an impressively large door made of dark stained wood. Before I could give it any more thought, I quickly knocked. “Enter.” The voice from the other side sent a shiver down my spine with the combination of confidence and callousness that I recognized from the interview. Again, I couldn’t hesitate, so I obeyed the order as quickly as possible. Afternoon sun streamed in from a wall of windows across from the door, throwing the massive desk to the right into shadow. Contrary to the sleek, artistic industrial look of the rest of the building, this office had the look of a cozy personal study. High-backed chairs surrounded a table to the left, bookshelves lined the walls. The L-shaped desk was made of warm cherry wood with brass embellishments and looked like a genuine antique. “Ah, Ms. Du Couteau, we meet at last.” Looking up from his computer screen as I approached, he fixed me with a piercing gaze that I would swear could read my thoughts.

My breath rushed from my lungs. That cultured and captivating voice I knew, but the physical reality of him I hadn’t been prepared for. Elegant cheekbones and a proud nose gave him a regal bearing, but his high arched eyebrows and deep-set, midnight eyes put it under a pall of severity. The long mane of silken looking, white hair that flowed down his back could’ve offset it, if not for the scowl he was currently giving me. Overall though, his attractiveness took me by surprise, the elegant silver-fox not the visage I’d been imagining since our call. That fact critically distracted me, leaving me frozen where I was at the edge of his desk far too long. “Well, I don’t have all day.” Inwardly I cringed, what the hell was wrong with me.He motioned to the binder that I still clutched with a hand that gleamed bronze in an errant ray of sunlight that had fallen over us.

“Right.” I passed the burden into that outstretched, lustrous hand.

He all but snatched it from me. “Yes, it’s prosthetic. You could ask instead of staring.”

My eyes went wide with horror, I hadn’t realized that I had been. “My apologies, Mr. Swain.” My father’s triumphant laugh as I begged to return rang in my ears.

Turning his chair from his monitor, he dropped the binder with violence on the desk and began to thumb through it. The pace was such that it gave the impression it wasn’t the first time he’d seen it. “Did you have the opportunity to read through this?” He asked without glancing back up at me.

“No, I hadn’t.” Mercifully, my voice remained steady.

Turning it toward me, he tapped a fingernail on a paragraph. “Tell me what is wrong with this?”

Leaning down, I skimmed through it quickly, my mind translating the legal jargon without effort. At first glance, it was a contract for our purchase of yet another company. What had he seen in it? What was I looking for? Ah, it wasn’t a sentence, it was the whole paragraph. “There’s no commitment for the transition from the current leadership. They can dump and run, leaving us without support.”

“Very astute.” Well, he didn’t lose the scowl but there was a subtle note of approval in his voice. It felt like I could inhale again finally, I might still be able to salvage this. “Take it back down to Samira and tell her it will not make it to the Board this week. I want Darius to answer how that was overlooked.”

Warily, I gathered back up the binder as he sat back in his chair, on guard as though he were somehow dangerous. “Will that be all?”

“For now.” His eyes were drawn back to his monitor, and I began to turn away, sensing dismissal. “Fine enough job for the first day, Ms. Du Couteau.” The small compliment halted me mid-pivot, a small touch of warmth blooming in my stomach and a smile tugging my lips with the unexpected approval. I opened my mouth to answer, but was cut off. “Hmm, you know, this should be further reviewed. Samira already has a lot on her plate. Let her know that you’ll be taking the lead on this for the department. Darius will bring you up to speed.”

The world around me spun. Take that Father, I’m already getting the recognition I had to scrape and fight for every day with you, even when I’d accomplished something. “Will do, Mr. Swain.”

I strode from his office, feeling at the summit of the world, but a curious sensation of butterflies filled my stomach. As the door shut behind me, I let myself smile wide. I’d done it, sufficiently impressed him, the CEO with the ruthless reputation, the known hardass, the man with...with those captivating dark eyes. “Reign it in Kat.” Furiously I whispered to myself. “You’re engaged and you’ve seen attractive men before.” My mind betrayed me though, flooding me with the sensation of having those eyes focused on me as I walked.

Silently lecturing myself, I headed back to the elevator. The sudden vibration of my phone from my jacket pocket shook me from the cycle of my thoughts. Pulling it out, the notification seemed there just to judge me, Garen’s smiling face poised next to it. “Hey dear, how’s that first day going?”

#swain #jericho swain #swain x katarina #katarina du couteau #league of legends #league of legends fanfiction #modern au #wise men say only fools rush in

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mostlycompetentwriter · 4 years ago

Text

You can STAY- Part Three

F/M Pairing: Y/N x Lee Felix (side pairing: Y/N x Stray Kids)

Word Count: 5.2K

Warnings: Language

Genre: Fantasy AU; Scarlet Heart AU; OT8 SKZ

Previous Parts: Part One, Part Two

Summary: Y/N has another unexpected confrontation with Prince Felix. But he’s also not her biggest problem, especially when she uncovers a potentially devastating plot that could completely unravel the royal hierarchy.

Taglist: @angelphantomlove @moonlightracha @staycarat0801 @jjabbur @pinkchcn @smolchild-lol @straykidbaby @moonnstars90 @choisaemi @dru-shadow @skzooyeet

It was still early that morning when I woke-up to the sound of someone knocking on the door to my bedroom. For a moment, I was too disoriented to respond, but the sound grew louder with the force of whoever was insistent about coming inside. Finally, I gave in and walked over to answer the door with a nonchalance that I’m sure reflected my drowsiness.

“Jeongin?” I questioned, surprised to see the younger standing on the other side.

“Hi, Y/N,” he said, and it was a timid greeting as he shuffled anxiously in the doorway.

“Did you need something?” I asked, wondering why one of the King’s sons had went out of his way to visit me in my small dungeon bedroom.

“I, uh, wanted to make sure you weren’t busy today,” Jeongin said. “I'd like to visit the market again and try to sell my paintings.”

The request took me off-guard, and I didn’t know which I was more surprised to hear: that Jeongin wanted me to accompany him, or that the King’s youngest son made trips to the market to sell his artwork like he didn’t already have enough money. “I guess I can go with you,” I said.

“It’s mostly for protection,” Jeongin said. “Cuz’ of your powers and stuff...”

I grinned at his awkward conversation because it was strangely adorable to hear him stumble over his request. “I’d love to, Jeongin,” I said. “Let me get dressed and I’ll meet you outside on the bridge.”

Jeongin nodded in agreement and I gently closed the door to prepare myself for an impromptu trip into town.

It certainly sounded like a better prospect than resigning myself to another day of medicinal experimentation - searching for the cure that would alleviate Ella’s suffering. Ever since my encounter with Chan’s wife, I had been relentlessly searching my manuals and the records kept neatly arranged in the Castle’s library. However, despite my efforts, I was no closer to finding the answers than I had been during our first meeting.

Yet, I could never give-up on something that might help someone else in need, so I maintained my confidence that I just needed to look harder. But one day out of the confines of my bedroom couldn’t possibly hurt, especially since I had experienced an excruciating headache during the previous night after spending all afternoon hunched over my desk.

I nodded in self-determination, swiping my brush through my hair one more time before I left my room, walking upstairs alone with the company of my thoughts as I tried to focus on the task at hand. If Jeongin trusted me enough for protection, then I would do my best not to disappoint him. I had worked hard to fine-tune my powers for any case that might arise while I served the royal family, and I considered my fighting skills to be an enormous source of pride.

“You should feel privileged to walk so freely without care.”

I paused at the top of the staircase at the sound of an all-too familiar voice, and I frowned when Felix came into view while wearing an arrogant smile. “Forgive me, miss,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of a proper introduction.”

“Then what do you consider our last meeting?” I asked him. “If I recall correctly, you insinuated that I would bring ruin to this Castle.”

“Of course not,” Felix said. “It was rather premature of me to base my opinion on a foolish disagreement with Seungmin.”

“I agree,” I said, keeping my tone neutral as I watched him come even closer. “Do you not believe such things anymore?”

“I find you perfectly elegant, Y/N,” Felix said. “You seem to prioritize your morals above everything else, and I can sense a profound loyalty for my family despite only just arriving a few nights ago.”

“Not so much your family,” I corrected him. “I serve the kingdom, and that means honoring those who lead it.”

“How righteous,” Felix said. “Consider me impressed by your character.”

“I wish I could the say the same,” I said, and I was pleased when Felix’s smile vanished.

“Have I done something to offend you?” Felix asked. “I apologized for my actions. Please don’t tell me that you intend to hold a grudge?”

“Consider it more of a casual suspicion,” I said, watching his green eyes narrow. “I’ve learned a lot about you since my arrival.”

“Is that so?” Felix asked, and I could tell that he was not appreciative of my comment.

I nodded as I remembered my conversation with Chan on the same afternoon when I met his wife - how he willingly opened up to me about his red-haired brother in exchange for a tentative promise to help his wife.

“I know that you aren’t wanted here,” I said. “I was told that your own mother tried to kill you when you were merely a child.”

“Where did you hear this?” Felix asked, but his tone wasn’t angry like I had been expecting; instead, he seemed unusually morose while he looked at me with sad green eyes.

“Does it matter?” I asked him. “How else should I look upon someone whose own father hated him so much that he sent him away to another kingdom?”

My words triggered a brief silence between us, and it seemed like they had a great affect on Felix, but I was still stunned when he reached out to grab my wrist - directing my hand over his heart. “Do you feel that?” he asked, and I slowly nodded. “I’m human, Y/N,” he continued. “This opinion you have of me matters because it’s made you forget that I’m flesh and blood like you. And I expected someone with your moral integrity to know better than to treat an equal as lesser, or to believe nasty rumors without understanding the whole story.”

I could feel my mouth fall open in shock, and I looked at Felix for the first time without a single ounce of judgment. But I still couldn’t help but remain stuck on one word in particular: “Equal,” I repeated.

“Do you not consider that accurate?” Felix asked. “As far as I’m concerned, we both live and breath and share the same experiences. And to address your other offense against me, I’d like you to understand that my mother is a wicked woman who has always favored her eldest son. She held him to the utmost regard while I was nothing but a mistake that she always regretted...Yes, my mother did try to kill me, but it wasn’t out of a sense of righteousness to rid this world of a perceived evil. And when she wasn’t successful, she gave me this scar that I hide from the rest of the world.”

I swallowed hard when Felix removed the black mask obscuring the left side of his face to reveal a diagonal line of jagged edges. “In actuality, she would’ve done anything to ensure that Chan had no competition to stand in his way of the throne. But look at how well that worked out for them both. Chan decided to marry a peasant girl and defy our father, and he deserves his lowered status because he needs to finally understand that his actions have consequences that can last for a lifetime.”

He finished his tirade with a heavy exhale before securing his mask back into place. “Look at us, Y/N. We’ve both decreed presumptive judgments of one another, and they’re entirely inaccurate.” He then lowered his gaze when he infiltrated my personal space - far closer than what might be considered appropriate. “Forgive me for all that I’ve done that forced you to seek these lies. Perhaps in the future, we can hold a civil conversation together.”

I closed my eyes, reeling from the onslaught of his confession. “Why are so insistent on defending these perceptions, Felix?”

“Because you came here with no outside bias against me,” Felix replied. “I refuse to see these royals feed you misinformation just for you to turn against me as well.”

“I suppose it almost worked,” I said. “But I’m still confused after listening to an entirely different side.”

“It’s my side,” Felix insisted. “Seek the truth for yourself, but keep in mind that the people in this Castle are all looking out for their best interests.”

“Aren’t you doing the same?”

“Yes, but you’ll hopefully come to find that I never speak untruths,” he said. “My mother is an insane liar, and her clever tongue managed to keep Chan in this castle after his marriage, even though the king decided to deny him the opportunity to take the throne. I’ve seen her behave this way for my entire life, and I once vowed to never be anything like her.”

He finally stepped away, and I was able to inhale without restriction. His grin returned as he observed me. “Despite what you’re thinking, my return to the castle was not predicated on ill-conceived intentions. There’s no reason to doubt me, Y/N, and for the record, I’d like you to know that you’ve fascinated me from the moment I saw you at the choosing ceremony.”

His final declaration rendered me speechless, and I found myself trembling when he offered me a discreet wink before returning in the direction from which he had arrived.

By the time the sun was at its highest point in the sky, Jeongin and I were carefully walking around the outskirts of the market - searching for the perfect place to set up his paintings. “I do this all the time,” Jeongin reassured me with a cute smile that was impossible to deny.

“Okay,” I agreed, admiring the usual bustle of the market as eager patrons searched for the best prices on the goods they required.

“Over there,” Jeongin suggested, pointing to an empty stall, and I followed him with a selection of his paintings secured under my arm. “Let’s organize them,” Jeongin said, and I carefully followed his instructions while also admiring the beautiful creations that he had crafted.

“These are gorgeous,” I said, and he brightened at the compliment.

“Really?”

“Of course,” I said, tracing my fingertips across the texture of an oil painting. “They look so real.”

“My mother thinks it’s a waste of time,” Jeongin scoffed, gaze hardening for a moment as he stepped back to admire our efforts.

“I think it’s creative,” I said. “It makes you stand out from the others.”

“Exactly,” Jeongin agreed. “Everyone else already has something that makes them unique, and I wanted my own thing.”

“Well, you certainly found it,” I said, pausing when I noticed an elderly woman approaching our collection.

“How much for this one?” she inquired, indicating a rather gorgeous recreation of the surrounding mountain range.

While Jeongin started negotiations, I took my time perusing the remaining pieces that he had brought with him. I could tell that he had put his heart and soul into faithful adaptations of the most random subject matter: everything from scenic portraits to little drawings of his family members. It was a fascinating dynamic to his character, and I wondered how long the prince had been painting because these looked far too advanced considering his young age.

“Are you serious!?” a hostile voice growled, interrupting my musings with a tone that alerted me to possibility of an impending confrontation.

“What’s going on?” I asked, coming to stand next to a fuming Jeongin as he glared at the man who was holding one of his paintings.

“This little brat thinks he can swindle me out of my money!” the man said. “The cost of this shit is worth more than my house!”

“Oh, I’m sure he’d reconsider the price,” I said, stepping closer when I sensed an opportunity to appease the tension.

“I won’t!” Jeongin declared. “That piece is incredibly valuable!”

“Of course, the bastard thinks that his royal blood makes everything he touches turn to gold.”

“That’s enough,” I said, lowering my tone. “You can look elsewhere if you can’t afford his price.”

“For your information, bitch, I’m looking in exactly the right place,” the man said, and I noticed him reaching for the sword secured at his side.

I took a deep breath when I noticed that the men he had traveled with were also advancing on the two of us - raising their own weapons into the air. I narrowed my eyes and willed their swords to fly out of their hands - shocking both of his partners. “You might want to reconsider your stance,” I said to the first man, but his accompanying smirk caught me off-guard - like he wasn’t intimidated in the slightest by my magic.

“Maybe you need a lesson in manners too,” the man said, and I could barely formulate a response before I heard Jeongin shriek my name while a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I could feel the breath escape my lungs, and then there was a hand over my eyes, preventing me from seeing what was happening, and I started thrashing around in the limbs holding me hostage. “Let me gut this stupid girl first,” the man said, and I could hear Jeongin calling for help as the sharp point of a sword teased the side of my throat.

But the man never followed through on his promise, and I only realized a moment later that he had been compromised when I fell to the ground with a grunt. My hand went to my throat because I could still feel the phantom effects of the sword’s blade, and my eyes blinked rapidly as I saw two figures standing at the front of our stall - waving their swords with impressive skill and growling out insults. Apparently, Jeongin’s call for help had actually been answered, and I was relieved to see both Prince Chan and Prince Felix warding off the opposition.

“Your business here is done,” Felix said, appearing nothing short of intimidating with his mask and sword.

“They should be so lucky,” the first man snarled, but he knew better than to continue a fight that he was destined to lose.

I watched him walk away before I realized that Felix and Chan were both hovering over me with matching expressions of concern. “Y/N?” Chan asked with a gentle tone.

“Thank you,” I managed to respond, flushing when I noticed that both Felix and Chan had outstretched their hands for me to take. But instead of forcing myself to make that decision, I rose at my own autonomy, glaring at Felix when he chuckled.

“They might not be so lucky next time,” one of the men called back, and he must’ve still been riding the waves of adrenaline when he chanced a step back in our direction.

“Get the hell out of here,” Chan snapped at the burly man who had helped attack us, and he grumbled in complaint but obeyed nonetheless. “Y/N,” Chan repeated, shoving Felix out of the way as he came closer. “Are you okay?”

I nodded while Felix scoffed. “What the hell were the two of you doing causing trouble like that?”

“We weren’t causing trouble,” I said, and Felix smirked.

“Good,” he said in response. “After our conversation earlier, I would hate to discover that you had lied to me, Y/N.”

Chan frowned at that - glancing between me and Felix with a curious expression. “Let’s just get everyone back to the castle,” he said, and I agreed with one last glare in Felix’s direction.

The next morning, Anna woke me up early with a bright smile. “Good news,” she said, starting for my wardrobe. “The King has requested your presence at the tea ceremony today! They’re honoring Minho for his selection.”

I groaned around the exhaustion holding me captive. “Is this a request or a demand?”

Anna hesitated as she laid a dress across my bed. “Well, I wouldn’t ignore the King.”

“Of course,” I said, forcing myself to abandon the comforts of my mattress. “When will it take place?”

“This afternoon,” Anna said. “You should hurry and get dressed.”

I nodded quietly in easy compliance, watching Anna leave me to my own volition as I forced myself to put on the dress that she had left behind for me. It was fairly modest, but the sleeves had a very delicate lace lining them. I also spent a few moments in front of the mirror to check my appearance, which I never normally allowed, before I left my room to walk upstairs.

It was suspiciously quiet in the corridors, and I found it strange because I remembered that the King’s wives lived in this area of the Castle. But it was pointless to assume anything, and perhaps they were already waiting at the ceremony with their sons.

However, my senses went on high alert when I heard two voices intermingling towards the end of the passage, and I pinpointed the noise coming from a single bedroom. Subsequently, I paused outside the room, glancing through the space between the door and the entryway to see Changbin and Queen Seo speaking together in low voices.

“You’ll be next to the King,” Queen Seo said, and she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she examined Changbin’s outfit. “Do you remember the plan?”

“Of course,” Changbin replied. “I shall look for the handmaiden.”

“I’ll have her deliver the tea,” Queen Seo explained. “Once Minho drinks it...” She trailed off with a maniacal grin, reaching out to adjust Changbin’s hanbok. “My son looks so handsome,” she remarked. “Like a true leader.”

Changbin sneered at her words. “He thinks that Minho could possibly do better than me?”

Queen Seo shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it either. “Don’t trouble your mind. Tonight, we shall change his perception after we kill that little bastard.”

The promise held dangerous implications, and I stumbled backwards from the door in surprise. It was my sworn duty to protect the rulers of this Castle, and I had barely given the plot any further consideration before I was returning to my quarters.

Because I would ensure Minho’s well-being, even at the cost of my own position.

I was late to the tea ceremony as a result of my efforts, but I only received a stern reprimand from Ms. White before she escorted me to my seat next to Seungmin and Jisung. It also offered me an appropriate vantage point of Minho who I kept within my sights as everyone spoke around me with joyful tones. I had nearly forgotten that it was a celebration, and I found myself narrowing my eyes at Queen Seo and Changbin as they laughed together with the King like there was nothing wrong.

“You seem distracted.”

I slid my gaze away from Changbin - locating Seungmin as he leaned in closer to be make himself heard over the noise. “What did you say?”

“You know, Y/N,” Seungmin said, propping his chin against his hand. “I happen to like this color on you.”

I was surprised by his strangely flirtatious tone. “Excuse, me?”

But instead of replying to my query, Seungmin shot me a discreet wink and turned to Jeongin who offered his brother a friendly smile. The whole encounter was decidedly unusual, and I wondered if everyone in this Castle was startling to lose their minds.

“Don’t concern yourself with him,” Jisung said while nodding at his brother. “He’s a rare breed.”

I found myself smiling at the jest in spite of my concerns. “What can you possibly mean by that, Prince Jisung?”

“It’s his way of impressing you,” Jisung said.

“Impressing me?”

“He’s convinced himself that you only fight with him to hide your true feelings,” Jisung revealed. “Seungmin thinks you’re harboring secret affections.”

“I might’ve helped,” Hyunjin added from across the table, and I grimaced at the idea before reclining back in my chair.

“How remarkable,” I said. “He didn’t seem to like me.”

“Seungmin always acts that way around strangers,” Jisung said. “But he warms up to them eventually.”

“Don’t take it personally,” Hyunjin said. “And try not to hold it against him. He really does like you.”

“But why shouldn’t he?” a new voice contributed, and both Jisung and Hyunjin flinched when Felix suddenly entered the room - pausing at the end of the table. “Y/N is very interesting.”

I turned away from him, fanning my hand across my chest because my heart was doing something peculiar inside my chest.

The King, however, was furious. He stood and glared down at Felix with narrowed eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Why shouldn’t I come?” Felix returned. “I’d like to celebrate Minho’s ascension to the throne. It’s what a good brother should do.”

“It’s alright, father,” Minho said, and I’m sure his words were shocking to most of the people at the table. “He can sit with us.”

“Very well,” the King relented, but he never took his eyes away from Felix as he sat down next to Hyunjin. “We shall begin.”

The King’s command summoned several handmaidens who brought inside the ceremonial tea for our consumption. Because of what I had discovered earlier, I kept a close eye on the handmaiden who served Minho - it was poisoned tea, and I had taken a potion earlier that should stop its effects. Since the potion contained a powerful chemical that was effective against all the traditional poisons I had studied, everything should be fine.

But there was a small risk that the queen had chosen a poison that could defy my potion, but I doubted that she would go to such great lengths.

“In honor of my son, Minho,” the King announced. “We shall drink to his health and vitality.”

I held my breath when everyone lifted a tea cup into the air, and I chose that precise moment to make my move.

“Your highness,” I intervened, coming around the table to grab Minho’s cup - ignoring the gasps of horror that echoed from the queens. “Shall I try it first?”

Minho blinked in surprise, looking at me like he couldn’t believe that I was standing over him. “I-I suppose.”

“In your honor, of course,” I added hastily before lifting the rim of the delicate cup to my lips.

I could taste the poison as it slid down my throat, but I emptied most of the glass before wiping the remnants with the back of my hand. I sat the cup back on the table, swallowing hard when I felt the effects swim through my system. Thankfully, they were quickly assuaged by the potion that still lingered in my bloodstream. It worked just as I had imagined, and I reached out for Minho’s chair to overcome a brief bout of dizziness.

Everything was silent around me, but I forced a smile as I bowed to the King who was regarding me with a peculiar look. In the meantime, I was determined to finish the rest of the tea so that I could pour Minho something untainted. But I never anticipated further interruptions:

“I’d like to have the honor as well,” Felix said with a smirk, and I glared at him when he rose from his seat.

“It’s not necessary,” I insisted, but Felix jerked the cup away from me with an acute speed.

“But I insist,” Felix said, and he gave me a knowing look - one that said he was aware of the situation.

“Felix-” I tried again, but he had already lifted the rim to his lips - downing the rest of its contents with a sigh.

“Is this funny to you?” the King growled, and Felix simply chuckled.

“I’ve caused enough mischief for one afternoon,” he said, and he stumbled on his way to the exit.

“Fool,” I whispered because I knew that Felix could potentially die without treatment. Thus, I bowed once again to the king before running out of the room in search of him.

It didn’t take me long to find him - collapsed in the remote corridor outside of the room.

“Prince Felix!” I gasped, and I ran the remaining steps before dropping down next to his crumbled form. “Are you insane?”

Felix rolled over onto his back, chest heaving, as he fixed me with a familiar smirk. “How is it fair that you get to have all the fun?

“You knew,” I hissed, cradling his head on my lap as I reached into my robes for the extra potion. “Drink this,” I insisted, holding the vile up to his pale lips.

Felix obeyed, consuming the potion before grinning up at me. “Are you furious with me, Y/N?”

“You absolute fool,” I said, resisting the urge to jostle the prince too much while he still fought to recover. “Why would you do something like that? It was poisoned.”

“But nobody would’ve ever known,” Felix said. “I do admire you, Y/N, but is it wise to stop the efforts of one plot when the same person might conceive of a dozen others?”

I sighed when I realized the wisdom of his words. “It’s a complicated matter,” I said, and the Prince narrowed his eyes.

I didn’t like the suspicious gleam in his gaze, especially when he leaned most of his weight against me for a closer examination. “You know who it is?” he asked, and his nose brushed against mine.

“Don’t do this,” I pleaded with him because I knew that we were teetering precariously over dangerous ground with consequences that went beyond what either of us were prepared to face. It was a personal mattered that involved one of the King’s wives and her son - an issue that would lead to radical conflict.

“You won’t tell me,” Felix stated simply, and I thought I was in the clear until the prince opened his mouth again. “It must be very sinister. I’ll have to assume that it involved someone in that room.”

I swallowed hard and Felix smiled because I had just inadvertently given him the confirmation that he was seeking. “You shouldn’t meddle,” I warned him, shivering when his fingers traced along my lips.

“What I wouldn’t give to see inside that beautiful head of yours,” Felix said, and we both continued to stare at one another in awe.

But the moment was broken by the sounds of approaching footsteps, and I moved away from Felix just in time to see several guards running in our direction. “What’s wrong with him?” one of the guards demanded, and I hesitated because I had also noticed that most of the princes were arriving on the scene.

There was every opportunity to stick to my original plan and keep everything incognito, but then Felix gave me a meaningful look, and I reluctantly relented. “He’s been poisoned.”

“Poisoned!” one of the guards exclaimed, and there was only chaos that followed. Just as I had suspected. But there were also Felix’s green eyes, and they managed to anchor me to the moment, even amidst all the noise and screaming.

They were somehow reassuring, and I clung to them desperately when the King demanded my presence in the Throne Room.

It was an intimidating sight: kneeling before the King as he leered down at me from his throne. “Do you understand that you have no right to decide the fate of this Castle?”

I shivered at the underlying threat in his tone. “Your highness,” I said. “Forgive me. I thought it was best to solve this issue on my own as deemed by my duties.”

“Is this an admission of guilt?” The King asked. “Did you know what would happen before stepping inside that room?”

“Yes,” I said, closing my eyes and wondering if this would be my last day in the Castle.

“You knew of this plot but refused to speak up?” the King growled, and I lowered my head before him.

“Forgive me,” I once again requested softly. “I was afraid that revealing the complexities would cause the perpetrator to act out far more rashly.”

“My son almost died,” the King said, and I could see Minho shift in his seat from my peripheral vision.

“My intention was to save him,” I said. “I wanted to let the assailant know that their plots will never work while I’m around to protect the royal family.”

The King was silent for a moment after my confession, and he considered me with a strange look. “I see,” he finally said. “I cannot punish you mage because your efforts saved Minho, but I must also give you a warning: the next time you learn of something so consequential, you will come to me and reveal everything.”

“Yes, your majesty,” I said, and I stood once more at his command. “I shall remember your words.”

“Very well,” the King said with a dismissive hand. “You may retire to your quarters.”

I made sure to offer him a polite bow before I was rapidly making my way out of the Throne Room - mind working a mile a minute. The brief intervention had allowed the the rare chance to speak to the King without his wives - one of which remained guilty of the plot to kill Minho. I could’ve spoken out against her, but there were far more complications to such an innocuous action.

Who would really believe me over the word of the Queen?

More importantly, would Felix say something about my hidden knowledge? Because he had somehow figured out that I was aware of the guilty party involved, and I had no doubt that he would question me in the future.

Yet, there were also more pressing matters to consider, such as the unexpected arrival of Minho who had somehow escaped the King’s notice. “Mage,” Minho interrupted, stopping me outside the throne room. “Could I have a word?”

“Of course, your highness,” I said, and I followed Minho as he led me further down the corridor to a quiet enclave.

“This is more private for our conversation,” Minho explained, and I was struck by the smile he gave me.

“I’m all ears, your grace,” I said, but Minho surprised me further by laughing, and he crowded me against the wall.

“I know you drank the tea to save me,” Minho said, and I startled when he reached out to touch the side of my face.

“Your highness,” I said, flushing at the unexpected contact. “W-what do you mean?”

“You don’t have to be coy with me, Y/N,” Minho said, and I gasped because it was the first time that he had ever used my real name. “I may not understand love, but I can tell when someone is trying hard to catch my attention.”

I nearly spluttered around my words when I caught onto his implication. “Y-you misunderstand-”

“Please don’t hide anymore,” Minho said, and I faltered at the desperation in his tone. “Perhaps when we get to know one another, I’ll consider bringing the prospect of marriage before my father.”

Marriage!?

“You’re serious,” I said, and I struggled to form a single coherent sentence following Minho’s passionate declaration.

“Shall we start tonight?” Minho continued as if I had never spoken, and his fingers burned a trail down the side of my face.

It was obvious that he was lost to whatever perception he held of me, but I glanced to the side when I heard a noise that had not originated from myself or Minho. My eyes scanned the darkness, and I froze when I found myself caught in the snare of an intimate gaze. But I hesitated when I realized that those green irises belonged to Felix, and the look in his stare was impossible to discern.

#skzwriternet #stayverse #skz fanfic #stray kids fanfic #skz imagines #stray kids imagines #skz scenarios #stray kids scenarios #stray kids series #skz fantasy au #scarlet heart au #lee felix fanfic #slow burn #felix fanfic #mostlycompetent

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raiseyourcups · 4 years ago

Text

Cabur

Chapter Seventeen

Pairing: Din Djarin x OFC (Aili Verdella) Warnings: mentions of sex (but not explicit at all), teasing Word Count: 3.1k Also on AO3

Masterlist

Summary: Cara figures out what happened between Aili and Mando in no time and starts teasing but it backfires a little on her. They make it to Arvala-7 without anymore trouble from little green children and Mando is reintroduced to someone he left behind when he first rescued Little Green.

Cara couldn’t stop herself from staring, trying to figure out what exactly had changed since the last time she had seen Aili and Mando. They were all down in the cargo hold again, Aili with the kid in her arms to keep him out of trouble. She watched the way Aili slowly rocked the kid to sleep which was normal before her eyes wandered over to where Mando was.

If she were anyone else, she probably wouldn’t have noticed anything out of place. Maybe she wouldn’t have noticed the way Mando’s helmet was slightly tilted towards Aili and the kid so he could watch them. Or she wouldn’t have noticed the way Aili kept glancing at Mando with only half the amount of annoyance in her eyes as she had back on Sorgan. That was probably the thing that had really given it away for her.

“Oh, I see now,” Cara suddenly laughed loudly. It didn’t take a genius, just someone that had spent weeks around them to notice the difference between the way they acted around each other. It wasn’t even anything obvious and she doubted either of them noticed.

“What?” Aili asked, raising an eyebrow at the laughing woman. Mando stayed quiet, simply tilting his helmet to the other side wondering what Cara was talking about.

“You two. You two finally fu-”

“I’d suggest you don’t finish that sentence. Besides I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Aili placed Little Green onto the cot and shut the hatch. They still had no idea just how much he understood and she wasn’t about to have this conversation when he could overhear it.

“Uh-huh, sure you don’t. Just let me know what parts of the ship to avoid touching.” Cara didn’t want to accidentally touch anything that had seen any action between the two people she called friends. She looked over at the closed cot hatch and winced when she realized that Aili had just put the kid in there. “You two didn’t...in there, did you?”

“If what you think happened, happened, I’d tell you that cot is too small and it’s too late because you’re already leaning against it,” Aili fake-whispered, a large, innocent smile on her face. Cara let out a disgusted groan and moved from where she was leaning, moving towards another section of wall.

“Actually I think it was that wall,” Mando said from his spot against the ladder. Cara tossed a rude hand-gesture his way and wondered when he had decided to get a sense of humor.

“Was it? I was drinking and it was dark,” Aili questioned before shrugging her shoulders. She was a little surprised that he was joking about it too since it hadn’t been something either of them had brought up since it happened. It was mainly her avoiding the subject every time it seemed like Mando was about to say something because she didn’t want to talk feelings. Ever.

“You slept with her while she was drunk?” Cara asked, turning to Mando with surprise on her face. She knew they had to be messing with her now. No way Mando would sleep with Aili if she was drunk. He had more honor than that given how he had always tried to stop himself from looking for too long whenever Aili walked around Sorgan in a tank top. Cara and half the other people in the village didn’t have as much self-control so she had commended Mando for that at the very least.

"Cara, I drank you under the table back on Sorgan. You think I had that much alcohol on this ship, with that kid on board?" Aili questioned, raising a single eyebrow. There was no way to store that much alcohol on the Crest because there was nowhere to store it where Little Green couldn’t accidentally get into it. Her single bottle had been hard enough to keep from his reach.

"Fair point but still.”

"I wasn't even tipsy besides I came onto him and wouldn't take no for an answer,” Aili wasn’t going to apologize for it now even if she and Mando weren’t declaring their undying love for each other. She mentally laughed at the image because even if that happened, it would never be so dramatic. One of them would have to literally be dying to get her to say anything and even then she wouldn’t admit to anything if it was her doing the dying.

Cara paused for a moment before nodding and shrugging a shoulder, "That sounds more accurate. Surprising but accurate.”

The ship gave a small lurch as it dropped out of hyperspace and Mando let out a barely noticeable sigh as he now had a good reason to leave before Cara could keep teasing. He already knew she would focus on him because Aili would just join in rather than start blushing the way Cara would want her too.

“So how was...?” Cara didn’t even try to keep her voice down as she asked.

“I was great, thanks,” Aili said rather than seriously answer Cara’s question. It took until Mando was out of sight and standing in front of the cockpit to realize that Aili had actually given Cara a straight answer, giving the same answer as when he had asked. He shook his head knowing that Cara wouldn’t get the comment and he wondered if Aili had purposely said it or was deflecting like usual.

He brought them down onto Arvala-7, landing just outside the Ugnaught’s moisture farm. Aili opened the hatch, not even a little surprised to see Little Green was awake. “Come on, womp rat. You can show me where all the best rocks are.” She placed him in the other floating cradle they had even though she actually couldn’t remember where they had picked it up.

Mando came back down the ladder and made sure that the cradle was set to follow behind him. They all walked down the gangway, Mando in front while Aili chose to walk beside the floating cradle while Cara brought up the rear. Arvala-7 was only slightly better than Tatooine in Aili’s opinion and that had everything to do with the fact that it only had one sun.

Aili couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped her when Mando had to almost bend over almost completely to enter the Ugnaught’s home. She assumed Cara would have to duck as well while she entered. “Tall people problems.”

“Better than needing help getting food down from the top shelf,” Mando muttered low enough that only she heard him.

“So you did do that on purpose,” Aili said bluntly before shoving at Mando’s shoulder and rolling her eyes. She knew she hadn’t put the snacks she had bought for herself that high up. No matter how much she wanted to keep them out of Little Green’s reach, she would never put them out of her own reach. Having to deal with Mando asking if she needed help as she tried to climb anything in order to get them down had almost been enough to make her smack him.

They settled around the home, Little Green’s cradle to the side while Aili stood next to it, Cara and Mando leaning against a wall. The Ugnaught came close to the cradle and Aili knew it was dumb but she tensed up a little before relaxing. Obviously this was someone she could potentially trust otherwise Mando wouldn’t have brought them here but it was a reaction she couldn’t stop herself from having.

“It hasn’t grown much,” the Ugnaught that Mando still hadn’t introduced them to said as he looked over the child in the cradle.

“I think it might be a Strand-Cast,” Mando replied.

“Mando, really? You could have mentioned that before and I would’ve told you that you were wrong,” Aili said, looking over at him with her face scrunched up wondering where he really got that idea. Logically she understood why he would think that but she’d seen Strand-Casts before. Little Green wasn’t one for multiple reasons.

The Ugnaught nodded his head, “Your friend is right. I don’t think it was engineered. I’ve worked the gene farms, this one looks evolved. Too ugly.

“These two on the other hand, that one looks like she was farmed on the Cytocaves of Nora while this one looks like she could be from any number of facilities.”

“Is that a compliment? I’m gonna take that as a compliment,” Aili said, a small smile on her face. She saw an almost matching one on Cara’s face, a little confused but mostly appreciative.

“This is Cara Dune, she was a shock trooper and this is Aili Verdella,she’s... another hunter from the Guild.” Mando introduced them, something he probably should have done when they first walked in. But he hadn’t really been given the chance. Aili and Cara both raised an eyebrow over Mando stumbling over how to introduce Aili.

The Ugnaught looked like he wanted to say something to Aili but he turned to Cara instead. “You were a Dropper?”

“Did you serve?” Cara asked, noticing the way his eyes had lingered on the tattoo on her arm. It was no surprise when people recognized it but it was usually others who had also served during the war.

“On the other side, I’m afraid. But I’m proud to say that I paid out my clan’s debt and now I serve no one but myself.”

That was the moment a droid ducked into the home, an IG unit with a tray of what looked like tea in its hands. Aili didn’t know what to make of it because IG units were usually not used for serving tea but she wasn’t about to pull a blaster out unlike Cara and Mando who immediately did so.

“Tea, it’s literally holding a tray of tea. What do you think it’s going to kill us with poison rather than a blaster?” Aili muttered to Cara and Mando who didn’t so much as lower their weapons in the slightest. She knew Mando hated droids but this was a little ridiculous, more so than when he shot at pit droids.

“That thing is programmed to kill the baby,” Mando said knowing that was all he would have to say to get Aili to take the threat seriously. He felt a little bad even as he said it because he didn’t actually know how Aili would react.

“What?” Aili questioned, slowly shifting her feet to move quickly if she had to be it towards the droid or to protect Little Green. She was cursing herself in her head for never getting the whole story from Mando on exactly how he had wound up with Little Green in the first place. Now she wished she had asked.

“Not anymore,” the Ugnaught said gently. “Please lower your blasters.”

“Why do you have it?” Aili asked, glancing over at him for a brief moment before looking back up at the droid who was still just standing there with the tray of tea. She didn’t see any weapons attached to it but that didn’t mean much when it came to droids. But she had a feeling that the Ugnaught didn’t make it a habit of letting the IG unit have weapons at all times.

He let out a sigh before launching into his explanation, if only to ease the Mandalorian’s stiff posture and convince him to lower his blaster. “It was left behind in the wake of the Mandalorian’s destruction. I found it laying where it fell, devoid of all life. I recovered the flotsam and stated it as my own in accordance with the Charter of the New Republic.

“Little remained of its neural harness. Reconstruction was quite difficult...but not impossible. It had to relearn everything from scratch, this is not something that can be taught with the twist of a spanner. It requires patience and repetition.

“I spent day after day reinforcing its development with patience and affirmation. It developed a personality as its experiences grew.”

“Is it still a hunter?” Mando asked stiffly, blaster still in hand although he had lowered it a little. Cara had put hers away midway through the explanation but she didn’t have half the issues with droids as Mando did.

“No but it will protect.”

The IG unit kept its ocular receptors trained on Mando for a long time as the Mandalorian stared at it as well. Until the droid held up a steaming cup, “Tea?”

Cara took the cup after half a second, slowly drinking the tea without question and Mando let out a sigh knowing there wasn’t much else that he could say or do about the droid. The droid handed out tea to everyone else, save for Mando who refused the drink. Aili couldn’t tell if it was because of the helmet or droid itself.

Eventually the Ugnaught had to go outside to tend to the blurrg and Mando made to follow after him before hesitating when he came closer to the droid. Aili came up beside him, placing a hand on his arm right under his pauldron, she waited for him to glance down at her. “I’ll stay here with Little Green, you go talk to him.”

Mando gave her a short nod before he left, the last thing he heard was Cara laughing. “Little Green?”

“He’s little and green, you got a problem with that?” Aili bit back, her tone only jokingly harsh.

He walked over to where the Ugnaught was feeding one of the blurrgs. “I’ve run into some problems.”

“I figured as much, why else would you return?”

“I want to hire your services.”

“I’m retired from service.”

“I can pay you handsomely, Ugnaught,” Mando said, trying to keep his tone steady. They didn’t exactly have very much time before Karga just decided that they weren’t coming. He didn’t want to know what would happen after that. How many more hunters would be after them if the Imps weren’t taken out.

“I have a name, it is Kuiil.”

“I need someone to protect the little one, Kuiil.” Mando said, immediately using the Ugnaught’s name and wondering why he had never asked before. He winced, glad that Aili had stayed back in Kuiil’s home because he knew she would comment on his manners again.

“I’m not suited for such work and it seems like your companion can do so on her own,” Kuiil replied, referring to Aili and how she had immediately moved to protect the Child when Mando referred to IG-11 as a potential threat.

Mando shook his head even though he wished that were the case with Aili. Karga wouldn’t accept only him showing up, not when Aili betrayed the Guild too at the request of the Armorer for a reason neither of them understood. “She...I dragged her into this trouble as well.”

“I see,” Kuiil said. “I can reprogram IG-11 for nursing and protocol.”

“I don’t want that droid anywhere near him,” Mando quickly refused.

“Why are you so distrustful of droids?”

“Yes, Mando, please enlighten us.”

“I thought you said you were going to stay with the kid,” Mando let out a sigh as he turned to look at Aili who simply shrugged her shoulders.

“Relax, the IG unit had to shut down to charge and Cara is watching Little Green who is asleep. But I believe he asked you a question and I’ve been curious since Tatooine,” Aili said, a single eyebrow raised as she waited for him to answer. It wasn’t like she didn’t have the right to ask when she had shared pretty much everything about her own childhood, or lack thereof.

“It tried to kill the child,” Mando said as if that answered either of their questions.

“That’s not an answer,” Aili said before rolling her eyes. But it was fine, if he wanted to continue keeping his secrets then it was his choice. She wasn’t going to hold a grudge against him for that or bring it up later. Maybe.

“It was programmed to do so. Droids are not good or bad, they are neutral reflections of those who imprint them,” Kuiil explained and Aili actually couldn’t come up with a decent argument for that one. She’d seen droids take on the personalities of their owners, some ending up with very colorful language.

“I’ve seen otherwise,” Mando said shortly. Once again Aili wondered where his hatred of droids had started because it was deep seated. An old grudge like hers when it came to the Empire.

“Do you trust me?” Kuiil asked. Aili looked up at Mando and waited for his answer. Either they had Kuiil and the IG unit join them or they took off without either of them, which would mean reworking the plan for how Nevarro went down. Someone would need to be tasked with getting Little Green out of there if things went sideways and as much as Aili would say she could do it...

“From what I can tell, yes.”

Kuiil gave a short nod. “Then you will trust my work. IG-11 will join me and we do it not for payment, but to protect the child from Imperial slavery. None will be free until the old ways are gone forever.”

“Anyone against Imps is good with me, even if it’s a reprogrammed droid,” Aili said when Mando stayed quiet.

“And the blurrgs will join me as well,” Kuiil said simply as he turned to walk away without further explanation.

“The blurrgs?” Both Aili and Mando questioned at the same time.

“I have spoken.” Kuiil said as he kept walking away, going back into his home without giving them time to argue with him.

“Do we have room for blurrgs?” Aili asked, looking from the blurrg they were standing next to and then over to the Razor Crest. She also assumed that Kuiil would want to take at least two as well. That would make space on the ship tighter than it already was.

“It’ll-”

“Please don’t say it will be fine,” Aili interrupted Mando before he could keep talking. Every time he said that everything went wrong in more than one way. Either she ended up with a concussion or she literally screwed up the mostly friendly rapport that had formed between the two of them. She was still avoiding that one as best as she could despite Mando trying to subtly bring it up at times.

Mando let out a deep sigh, “I was going to say it’ll be a tight fit but we should have the room.”

“Doubtful but we’ll see.”

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x original character #din djarin imagine #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x oc

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