#emphasis on the wolf part | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

senseandaccountability · 8 months ago

Text

the narrative that could have been

Having mulled over the game for a couple of days I have realised that the main problem for me is that Veilguard is good based on the premises they ultimately choose, but not based on the set up and promise of what was there before. I know this isn’t a unique take by any means and yes it’s all about the Evanuris and the Veil and Solas.

Replaying really emphasises how incredibly little the game convinces me of its original main quest - to prevent Solas from doing his ritual. This is a problem as a long-term player because for three games we’ve had build up for a great crescendo tackling the overarching themes of the (restrictions and oppression of) magic, of tears in the Veil, of religious tyranny and oppression based on myths about the Black City and the temptations of flawed humans, we’ve seen and deconstructed the elves quite a bit, we got started on the dwarves and in DAI your Inquisitor can openly ask Solas if it wouldn’t be better if the Veil came down because then spirits wouldn’t be separated from the living and risk becoming demons. Cole, whose function is to reflect the plot, talks endlessly about the old songs wanting to be sung again, about how it hurts to be cut off from part of yourself, how the templars feel it, how the mages feel it, how the elves and the dwarves feel it. The Veil as a prerequisite for life has been deconstructed, the Fade demystified, the gods have mostly fallen. The Veil as an actual wound inflicted on this earth has been presented as a theory and not been convincingly rejected by the narrative.

The game actually gives no explanation whatsoever as to why the Veil coming down would be worse than what Rook causes in the beginning and what the escaped gods then do to the entire Thedas. The entire south falls to the Blight because Elgar’nan and Ghilan'nain are let loose. The Wardens are more or less wiped out. There’s enormous political turmoil. The game gives us Solas saying “thousands” would die when he brought the Veil down, but that he had a host of spirits there to help. (Yes, I know, his sole function in this game is to Trick and Deceive so who is to say if he’s lying, HUH, but even so, THE ENTIRE SOUTH FALLS TO THE BLIGHT IN ROOK’S VERSION OF THINGS.)

The game puts emphasis on Solas's questionable methods and past horrors but it doesn't ever explain why his goals are despicable here and now. It doesn't convince us that tearing down the Veil with lots of safety measures in place and after considerations is a bad result, all things considered - save for Varric’s initial yelling about demons. (We even learned in DAI that the Veil itself creates demons because it restricts the passage of spirits, come on.) Because three games have suggested it's not, not ultimately. Trespasser especially nuances this, just as it nuances Solas’s view of this current world state. Right after his long nap he would have nuked it all, I’m sure, but the whole point of character arcs is that things happen in them and what happened to him is that he was shown layers and angles he had not considered and adjusted his mindset and ultimately his plan accordingly. That is where DAV should have picked it up. That's where the build up was headed. But, now he must serve the narrative solely as the God of Treachery and Lies which means that previous build up is washed away for the most part. (In no way do I think he is OOC in DAV, I just want to point that out so nobody thinks I’m a sappy fangirl or whatever. I think he is perfectly in tune with his inner Dread Wolf, but that is also all he gets to be, because of the narrative, and I’m always much more interested in when roles and personas clash.) Again. The main problem is that the narrative cannot explain why bringing down the Veil would be the worse option than the shit we see unfold on screen. Instead it gets a bit lost in the past. And I have Issues with that, as well. Like, the dumbing down of the war against the Evanuris. The war that started because the leaders of the rebellion - who previously had to carry out terrible orders so the Evanuris, the upper crust of the Elvhenan, could play gods - decided that the Evanuris was a threat to them all. And the game gives us what, a depiction of how the rebellion ended up crossing lines, too? No shit.

Like, I am fully on board with the individual theme of regret on Solas’s part and he ought to be wrecked with guilt but I wish the game could be less all over the place with what sort of things he ought to be wrecked with guilt over. Saying fuck you to the Evanuris is the best and brightest of his character, I suppose I just don't want it dragged down to the same level as him breaking the Titans. I suppose I would have wished for a narrative that also worked on a systemic level when depicting things like, you know, war and revolutions and subjugation. But we don't have that, because DAV is only about personal choices. The Lighthouse crew flippantly writing the hierarchical and violent power struggle off as being about love and betrayal is on my shitlist forever.

No, Taash et al, it was not about pussy, it was about feeling compelled by superiors to commit heinous war crimes and being lied to about the actual purposes of your damn war in the first place. The elves shouting at Elgar’nan and Mythal in this painting aren’t driven by love and sex they have been lied to by their ruling class. It was never about freedom or ending the wars, it was always about Elgar’nan jerking off to ultimate godhood. The writing even suggests betrayal here is to be understood as Netflix drama betrayal, maybe some juicy porny plot but it’s ABOUT THE BETRAYAL OF THE ELVES BY THEIR OWN KIN. ((ETA: I would have wanted my Dalish mage to be allowed to be furious, NOT WITH SOLAS, but with the fucking Evanuris for betraying her people and being so fucking vile that the only option that remained was to create a world where she's a second-class citizen. I would have wanted the game to recognize that not all causes are equal and that Elgar'nan's cause for godhood was objectively more vile than Solas's cause for freedom because as it stands now, there are some really iffy vibes of "both sides are equally bad" and other things authorities tend to say when comparing destructive regimes with uprisings.)) I’m sorry, this shit hits me on a personal and political rage level.

I also can’t help but mourn a game where the Trickster God fulfilled his trope’s duty and shook the stagnation apart with his actions - for good or ill, the way trickster gods are wont to do - and where Rook was tricked into helping and then, a more complex game about its consequences could have unfolded. The Evanuris could still have been the bad guys, if they wanted big villains frothing at the mouth. There could still have been numerous unplanned consequences, like all of Solas's plans have. Maybe other ancients awake as well. Maybe ancient evils who aren’t elves, who knows. Point is - the Veil should have come down, at least in some form, at least in some outcome. THAT is what they've been building up to. In this game that never was, Rook could be an actual interesting character where we could mold her as either accepting of this trickster role (which fits perfectly for a blank slate with no ties) or set to overturn it and enforce status quo, with some vanilla option in the middle. Maybe the Veil doesn’t come down until the very end of the game, ancient magic takes time after all, maybe a lot has happened by then. But ultimately, Rook’s choice in the end should not have been about siding against Solas because he’s lying to you or because he did horrible things in the past or siding with him because you want him redeemed. The narrative should have provided those options either way. The narrative should have been brave enough to suggest that hey, maybe Solas isn't wrong at all - his methods maybe, but his goal, no. If they truly wanted mirrors between Rook and Solas, Rook should have tackled the issue of actively bringing down the Veil herself, not because it's a roses and sunshine-outcome but because it might very well be the lesser of two evils. Gods, that would have been interesting. It should have been a choice about what sort of world Rook and the Veilguard wants to see in the future. It should have been about the people, the world, not how angry Rook is that an ancient elf has tricked her.

That would have been the game I wanted to play. This story doesn't really give anything new to the world of Thedas, which a world without the Veil would have. It accomplishes closure for our favourite trickster god and bless them for that, but as for the plot and the world-building it ends on a meh because the narrative isn't about the people unless they're brought up as being endangered. This is why I can feel satisfaction regarding the thematic conclusion to certain character arcs, the trickster becomes the healer with the bloodiest hands, the wolf submits willingly to his trap and so on and so forth, and I can have fun with the characters and their arcs but also really mourn the game that was there, in subtext and build up over three previous games and in several tie-ins.

#salty on main #datv #datv spoilers #solas dragon age #datv critical

433 notes · View notes

renee-minkowskis-therapist · 5 days ago

Text

Minkowski vs. Kepler: Middle Management Foils

I wasn't about to let Podcast Girls Week pass me by without Minkowskiposting, so here I am (wanted to do the Minkowski immigration post tonight because that one's more fully about Her, but that one's going to require more effort and might be closer to a full-out essay, so it'll have to wait) (make no mistake, though, this is a Minkowski post in spirit, I do not care about Warren Kepler outside of his connections to her)

So, Minkowski and Kepler are pretty obvious narrative foils. For starters, Gabriel Urbina has pointed out in AMAs that the SI5 are meant to be an "evil" parallel to the early-season Hephaestus crew, with Maxwell as the Hilbert parallel, Jacobi as the Eiffel parallel, and Kepler as the Minkowski parallel. Their speech patterns are also really similar in a way that I'm pretty sure was intentional: for example, they both use the phrase "Right the hell now!" quite a bit. There's some deeper similarities, too, which say interesting things about both of their characters, including:

Their positions. As Hilbert points out to Minkowski in episode 15, she's middle management and always has been: she loves being a leader, but is ultimately doomed by her insecurity and inability to function without her own rules and orders, so she's stuck basically shuttling orders constantly from point A to point B with very little will of her own. Cutter pretty clearly takes advantage of this tendency in her, exploiting her desire to lead (which is, in turn, a surface-level manifestation of her desire to matter and to have agency over her life) to get her onto the Hephaestus. Kepler seems to have more power than she does at first: when we meet him in season 3, he answers to no one, orders Maxwell and Jacobi around, and effortlessly subjugates the Hephaestus crew, Minkowski especially. His asserting his power over her is part of what makes her desperate to act out and prove her agency and power in season 3: he denies her access to the weather reports, doesn't consult her on any decisions, throws her in the brig, and incessantly refers to her as "Lieutenant" rather than "Commander". Then season 4 rolls around, and suddenly we see that Kepler is middle management too: he's powerless against Cutter and the aliens, both of which delight in denying him the little power they allowed him just as Kepler did to Minkowski: the aliens remove his hand and belittle him as a "violent troll", while Cutter denigrates his leadership and gives him orders constantly. The pig joke Kepler tells in episode 34 always sticks out to me, because it clearly applies to the Hephaestus crew, but Minkowski especially: Goddard took advantage of her skills and let her believe she was in charge, but they never intended to let her keep that power (or even her life: Hilbert's original order was to kill her!) Then we get to season 4, and we see that above all, the person it applies to is Kepler himself: whether he likes it or not, he's in the same boat as Minkowski, because under capitalism there's a whole lot of people who think they have power and very few who actually do.

Their identity struggles. Kepler's are most obvious: in episode 34, he calls himself "the artist formerly known as Warren Kepler" and asserts that whatever he was before is gone, replaced by his job. But the parallels between Minkowski and Kepler lead us to wonder... could the same apply to her? Since she was a child, she's been forced to deny parts of her identity in order to "make it" and prove herself": she speaks English perfectly despite it being her third language, and worked so hard to get rid of her Polish accent that we only ever hear it once. And the emphasis on titles in Wolf 359 shows exactly how much of her identity she gave up to become "Commander Minkowski": the only times we hear anyone call her by her first name, other than Cutter, are in season 4. We also see her attempt to hide aspects of her identity that don't fit with the "commander" persona. Until the later seasons, she only expresses her love for musicals in a context she sees as safe, i.e, the talent show, which she can get away with expressing herself at because she can pass it off as "building crew morale". She actively tries to hide the existence of her husband from Eiffel, only admitting it hesitantly in episode 17. And when she's feeling the very non-commander-like emotions of fear and guilt in episode 53, she doesn't confide in Eiffel or Lovelace: only in the construct of Hilbert she made up in her head (which I talked about more in this post). While Kepler has been the leader of the SI5 so long he's successfully repressed all aspects of his identity, Minkowski's is still very much there, despite her attempts at erasing it to better fit the commander persona she desperately clings to. I almost wonder if in some ways, Minkowski wishes she were Kepler: she wants to be the consummate commander in control of her crew, and I wonder if she looks at him, having given up his identity fully for that kind of control, and feels envious. At any rate, in season 4, both of them are in a nebulous space regarding their identities and personas: Kepler is losing his confidence in his mission and has already lost his place as prime authority on the Hephaestus, and is starting to feel a sense of morality that he thought he'd lost, and Minkowski knows she isn't Commander Minkowski anymore and maybe never was, but she doesn't know what that makes her now. Which brings me to:

Their endings. Both Kepler and Minkowski's endings involve reassertion of their identities outside of any roles given to them by Goddard, but that ends very differently for each of them. Kepler sacrifices himself to help the Hephaestus crew on the grounds that "he's still human", which I think of in the sense of "human vs. emotionless capitalist automaton following orders": despite his best attempts at stamping out his identity, he's still a full and complete person beneath all of it. It's also really interesting that he says he's betraying Rachel because he's "on Minkowski and Jacobi's side": while you could argue that he names them specifically because he doesn't see Lovelace and Hera as human, that still doesn't explain Eiffel. I think he mentions Jacobi because Jacobi is the one who triggered him to think about his morality more, and he mentions Minkowski because she represents what he's turning towards: a reassertion of full, complete identity over capitalistic roles. Because in the very same episode, Minkowski's arc resolves when she asserts her identity: the infamous "I am Renee Minkowski, and that is more than enough to kick your ass" comes to mind. She doesn't call herself Commander, because she's more than that. She can't beat Goddard with its own tools and she never will, but she can beat them with her own strength and power: she just has to stop relying on an externally-assigned role to get it. And in the end, Minkowski lives because she was able to fully reassert that identity, while Kepler dies because he can't: he wants to turn away from his capitalism-assigned role, but he's defined himself fully around it, so once he takes that away, there's nothing left of him. (I have mixed feelings about the death itself, because I think it would have been really powerful to see him build himself back up from the ground and reclaim who he is, but I understand what Urbina and Shachat were going for.)

So, there we have it - there's probably even deeper I could go into this, but that's all for now. Maybe if I have time I'll do a deep dive into all their interactions in the show, but that's the basics. Peace and love on planet Minkowski, and war and hate on planet Kepler. Len out.

#len posts #wolf 359 #wolf 359 spoilers #renee minkowski #warren kepler #minkowskiposting #reminder to self to do a follow-up on this post regarding each of their interactions w/jacobi

88 notes · View notes

negotiumcrucis · 17 days ago

Text

TDE: What are the biggest changes or evolutions that audiences can expect from your characters going into this sequel?

Marwan Kenzari: Now, I think that Joe likes to keep the wolf pack together and therefore maybe makes some good moves or not so good moves and that sort puts his relationship with Nicky on a fragile platform so to say, maybe?

[...]

TDE: Marwan, we briefly touched upon this, but Joe and Nicky's love story, it's one for the ages. It's a fan favorite element of these movies, but this sequel kind of explores a whole new side of it. What more can you tease about that and how their love story will blossom?

MK: I mean, in the first movie obviously the emphasis was on how symbiotic and how passionate they loved each other. I think the other side of the coin, for the second one, it would be to tease or to flirt with the idea "could these two also be in a heated argument?" or in a situation where they would, you know, where you would even think they could, would they ever be- could they separate from each other or how would it look like if one would not be immortal or, you know, it's stuff like that we sort of would play around with and try to, in an improvisation, try to get to a conflict instead of to "hey, I love you, I love you, yeah, we are so happy". You know, that's the other part, or the other side of the coin that we sort of try to flirt with.

The Old Guard 2 Cast on Their Character Evolutions & Immortal Relationship Troubles

#the old guard #the old guard 2 #joe x nicky #yusuf x nicolo #kaysanova #immortal husbands #marwan kenzari #tog2 spoilers

135 notes · View notes

kitkatkitzune · 7 months ago

Text

NO ONE SHOULD BE ALONE ON CHRISTMAS

Pairing: Theo Raeken x Fem!reader

Summary: You can’t get into the holiday spirit, not with a certain Chimera on your mind.

Warnings: Fluff, One use of Y/N, Inconsistencies in the tense it’s written in (my bad)

Notes: Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!!

Word Count: 991

MASTER POST , TEEN WOLF MASTERLIST

———————

You knew that he was the bad guy. Emphasis on ‘was’. Theo Raeken was different after coming back from hell and anyone with eyes could see that.

The pack still didn’t trust him and you couldn’t blame them but you still felt sympathy for the chimera.

You couldn’t shake the thought of him from your head as you sat in Derek’s flat. Everyone was there. Everyone except for him. Even Peter was there! It didn’t make sense to you how they could forgive Peter after he repeatedly screwed you all over but couldn’t even give Theo a chance to redeem himself.

The worst part was that Theo was actively trying to be better, Peter never changed. Theo had helped you all fight the Ghostriders, he had fought the hunters, and now that everything had calmed down, he was still trying to be good. Trying to unlearn all the bad he was taught.

Your thoughts are interrupted when Kira waves her hand in front of your face, “Are you okay?”

“Hm?” you hum, looking up to see everyone looking at you, “Oh, I’m just wondering when we’re going to open the secret santa gifts…”

Liam and Stiles both cheer at the mention of presents, dashing towards the large Christmas tree you had bullied Derek into putting up. You laugh a bit at their antics as they pass out the gifts, not noticing the way Kira glances at Scott to see if he also noticed your behavior. He nods and mouths, ‘I’ll talk to her’.

Everyone begins to open their gifts, you had Stiles for secret santa and had gotten him a Darth Vader action figure that you knew he wanted. He practically squeals like a child when he sees the collectible and you let out a little laugh at his reaction.

Malia had you for secret santa, something you already knew because she didn’t understand the concept of it and immediately told you. She got you a large bag of Hershey’s Kisses, she said she remembered you eating them once and that food was the best gift. Malia failed to hide her annoyance when the gift she received wasn’t food related.

After opening your gift, you began to get lost in your head. You were trying to be happy but you couldn’t be when you knew a certain chimera was out there, all alone on Christmas.

Scott sets a hand on your shoulder, making you nearly jump out of your seat.

“What’s on your mind?”

You shrug, not wanting to admit the truth, knowing he won’t like it, “Nothing… just zoned out.”

“You know I can tell when you’re lying.”

You groan, cursing him and his werewolf abilities, “It’s fine, Scott.”

He sighs, “Listen, if you need to leave… or just want to go home… you can. No one is going to be upset, just don’t leave without telling someone, we don’t need to be trying to hunt you down only for you to be curled up on your couch.”

You laugh a bit, considering the idea before you tilt your head, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Then I’m going to head out… I’m not feeling well,” it wasn’t a complete lie, “tell everyone I went home?”

Scott nods, pulling you into a hug before walking you to the door.

That’s how you got here, driving around Beacon Hills, looking for Theo’s truck. You had seen it parked all around town in different spots and you had a sinking feeling that he was staying in it.

It didn’t take you long to find him, he was pulled off the road, near the woods. You slowly approach the truck and peek in the back window. There’s Theo, curled up and crammed in his back seat. You knock on the window of the truck and he jumps awake, his eyes go wide at the sight of you.

He reaches into the front of the truck and unlocks the door so he can roll down the window, “Y/N?” he calls out.

“Hey Theo…”

He rubs the sleep from his eyes, “What are you doing here? Is everyone alright?”

You nod, “Everyone’s fine…” you glance at the blankets he has piled around him to try and keep warm, “Do you wanna come sit in my car? The heats on.”

Theo stares at you for a moment, trying to figure out what you’re getting at, what ulterior motive you could have. He thinks of many but decides that it doesn’t matter, he’d do near anything right now to get warm.

So he agrees, this is how you end up with Theo Raeken in the passenger seat of your car, sitting in silence. You stare ahead as he stares at the side of your head. You had been thinking of this moment all night and now that you were here, you had no idea what to say.

You decide to reach for the bag of kisses and silently tilt the bag towards him to offer him some of the chocolate. Theo takes one, popping the kiss into his mouth all while keeping his gaze locked on you.

After another moment, he breaks the silence, “Why are you doing this?”

You turn to him, “What do you mean?”

“Being nice to me,” Theo clarifies, “after everything I’ve done, to you and your friends.”

“Because I think you deserve a second chance regardless of what Scott and my friends think.”

“I tried to kill Scott.”

You roll your eyes, “Everyone has tried to kill Scott, Peter tries to kill him every other day and we keep him around.” you smile at him, “Now, how about we go watch some cheesy Christmas films while drinking hot chocolate in a nice warm house?”

Theo stays silent, observing you and how you seem so genuine towards him. He had never met someone who was so kind to him.

You put your car in drive, “Besides, no one should be alone on Christmas.”

#kit kat writes <3 #theo raeken x reader #theo raeken #teen wolf #fluff #christmas #theo raeken x you #theo raeken x y/n #scott mccall #stiles stilinski #kira yukimura #malia tate #derek hale #peter hale

217 notes · View notes

thegnomelord · 1 year ago

Text

Okay fuck after reading @killerkillerkillher 's fic with demon Soap and Price, and angel Ghost and Gaz, it got my own brain worms multiplying (as if I don't have enough going on lol) so here's the au draft that's been rotting for a while lol.

So here's an idea for an au:

Reader is part of a small group of friends that are Ghost hunters/DIY exorcists (read: They're all drop out college students and the ghost hunting youtube channel's putting food on the table). Reader doesn't believe in the supernatural but the friends keep reader around because you're the group's 'ghost deterrent' because spirits GTFO when reader's near and reader thinks the friends are just bullshitting you.

Anyway the group are moving to a bumfuck town in the middle of nowhere where an old haunted house the reader's grandmother left is. Then their pos car breaks down an hour away from town. 'Luckily' the town's mechanic, Johnny, was just driving by and helps you lot out. And ain't he a handsome devil (emphasis on devil) thinking he can con a couple of young and dumb humans out of their souls. Soap's all hooded eyes and husky voice as he lures you away like a lamb to a supply closet, oil darkened hands sliding under your shirt and lips sucking dark hickeys into your throat.

He pulls away when you tug on his mohawk, raising his head until his lips are just inches from your own and you don't even notice him mutter a verbal contract, nor do you understand you've agreed to one when his lips crash on yours like he's drowning.

And Johnny's grinning into the kiss like a loon as he tries to take the soul of the stupid but hot mortal he's just met only to find out he... he can't. No matter how consuming his kisses are or how aroused both of you get your soul sits stubbornly in your chest and doesn't even budge.

When your friend bangs on the door and yells for you to "stop shagging every guy you meet!" you're forced to give an awkward goodbye and scurry away. And Soap's left completely bewildered and confused as fuck wondering what just happened and thinks he needs to tell Price.

Meanwhile, while your car's being fixed up, your friends drag you to the town's only pub that's run by a Simon Riley. He's an intimidating man without trying to be, but he doesn't immediately chase you out like some bar owners. He's quiet, listening to your friends chatter while cleaning a glass rough scarred hands, but the way he looks at you is... odd. Like you're an interesting bauble he's found on his gran's shelf.

He's there to catch you when you trip on a raised floorboard you swear wasn't there before. "Thanks, I owe you one." You say with a small awkward laugh, though for some reason it feels like him catching you had been an excuse to touch you.

"That so?" His thumb traces the dark hickeys across your throat, surprisingly soft, and you can feel your cheeks getting hot. "You let Johnny have fun with you?" His chuckle is rich like aged wine, fingers gently pressing down on a hickey; it feels possessive. "You'd let any old thing like me take from you, yeah?" There's something in his words that has a shiver running down your spine, though from apprehension or arousal you're not sure.

"Ye- eh, yeah." You don't know which question you're agreeing with, and you understand the weight of your words, quickly walking away from him before your friends can embarrass you by wolf whistling at you and him. And you completely forget to ask on how he knows it was the mechanic who gave you the hickeys.

With still some time to burn before sun sets you decide to visit the radio station in town, mainly because your friend swears on his life that those are always haunted or have some decrepit old host that knows all the gossip in town. And when you meet the man you had heard softly yet confidently talking on the radio? He's handsome, pretty brown eyes as enticing as his voice, and you're starting to sense a theme with you meeting all these very nice looking men.

But Kyle, or Gaz as he asks you to call him, is a wealth of knowledge to the point you're not sure where the gossip stops and some crumb of truth begins. He talks all the way into the night with you and your gang of amateur ghost hunters, and you see why he is the radio host because his voice is like the song of angels, silk soft on your ears and you feel like you could fall into the best sleep of your life from listening to him.

And all he wants from you in return for his knowledge? "Nothing much mate, just a small favor, I'm sure you'll manage." Kyle leans in and pecks your lips like he's sealing a promise, or a bargain, but that's just you being stupid after getting kissed by the second hot guy today, surely. Gaz already knows he can't just nab your soul, he has ears in every wall in this town, but at least he can put his own claim on you.

Day, for the most part, well spent you and your friends go to the house for a good night's rest. It isn't any good as you're woken up numerous times and by morning you have several broken vases and an exploded lightbulb — everything you explain away as the house being old as fuck, but your friends claim it to be the work of spirits — your friends drag you to the church on the hill at the asscrack of dawn.

And that's how you meet Father Johnathan Price. (Insert devil in church joke here)

He listens to your friends explain the situation, calm and collected, but you swear his eyes stay on you the entire time. "That's quite a predicament." Price hums, offering to bless you and your friends in hopes of protecting you from evil spirits.

You're the last to go, nearly jumping out of your skin when he grips your chin. "Relax my boy." Those words frazzle your brain enough for him to easily pull on your jaw until your mouth opens, his thumb almost playing with your bottom lip. The look in his eyes is dark, the air between you far heavier than it should be between you and a bloody priest. But Price doesn't see anything wrong with this, pressing a thumb down on your tongue and then putting a wafer on your tongue. "There you go, you are now blessed in the name of a lord. Now consume it, my boy."

You obey automatically. You're not quite sure if a communion wafer is supposed to taste so... weird, it has a coppery and peppery taste to it. Almost like spicy blood or something but that's just you being stupid again, especially as you can feel heat burning between your legs.

Sufficiently embarrassed about getting hard at a priest you give an awkward goodbye and leave, trying to fix your pants before your friends see your... problem.

Johnny appears by Price's side in a small flicker of flames and brimstone when you leave, confident smirk on his face. "Ooh, couldn't resist claiming a piece of him fer yourself?" He smirks, nudging Price on his side.

"I suppose he is more interesting than the usual rabble." Price hums, already imagining of how handsome you'd look laying naked on the altar, and how to get you to that point.

Congrats! Now you've got 4 hot dudes trying to take your soul :D

479 notes · View notes

dannydoesthisthing27 · 3 months ago

Text

Angel headcanons and how I think they acted/felt in (almost?) Every audio

Angel that never felt like they did enough growing up even though they did so much more than any child/teenager should be expected to

Angel that was working 2 jobs and had a younger sibling at home they needed to take care of (their parents were around but were unreliable and had reactive personalities)

Angel that hit their growth spurt in early high school, resulting in them being taller than most of their peers

Angel who wanted to pursue an art degree but was told it would never lead them anywhere, so they studied medicine when they went to college

Angel who spent most of their life walking on eggshells when it came to anything serious (especially friendships and relationships. They're bold on the outside but keep their real feelings locked down)

Angel that tried to make themselves seem smaller for a long time because they didn't want to intimidate their friends

Angels who's first serious relationship was with Micheal. He wasn't bad to them persay, but he didn't set a great baseline for their standards

Angel who was so sad they had to leave their cat behind, but they knew at the time it was the best decision because they wouldn't be able to care for her

Angel who moved into a 2 bedroom flat and experienced real independence for the first time

Angel who noticed a guy at the grocery store staring at them and couldn't help being a little intimidated, even if he was only an inch or two taller than them....and was covered in muscle...and a tight shi- groceries they're getting groceries

Angel that went to a local park to see the stray dogs and cats that hand around and give them some food. Just to notice someone who looked eerily similar to thar guy from the store, but surely it was just coincidence or they live in the same area...right?

Angel who saw a new sandwich place opened near them recently and decided to try it out

Angel barely getting to choose their table when there's a body in front of them and intense eyes staring them down, it's that man from the grocery store? Questioning why they're stalking him...

Angel that couldn't help snickering at the thought of actually stalking someone and proposing that maybe he was the one stalking them and then inviting him to sit so they could actually talk

Angel that was playing up being sour about losing smash when David said he actually saw a future with them, and all of a sudden, it wasn't just them hoping anymore

Angel who wasn't phased by the fact that magic was real because they'd always believed in some kind of magic even loosely. They believed there was more than what they were seeing when they went to the far side of town (wards)

Angel who wanted to see David's wolf not because they felt like they needed the proof, but because they wanted to give him a way of sharing every part of himself, in the same way they were starting to

Angel that was nervous to ask so close to an anniversary, but did it anyways because they thought it might be a good way to put some emphasis on it

Angel that actually got a little scared when they first saw Davey shift because it almost looked like it should be painful. Their hands shaking when they first reached out to pet him, pausing just before so that he could have space to pull away if he really wanted to

Angel that jumped out of their skin when he shook his head to stop them scratching because they weren't expecting it

Angel who's heart dropped when he accused them of cheating because they never wanted him to think of them like that (their father cheated on their mother once and they swore they would never be like him)

Angel that was more open with everything, even the big stuff, after that moment

Angel who was scared to sleep the first few weeks in their new house, especially when a violent storm woke them up from an already uneasy rest. Them waking up Davey only to immediately regret it because they're a grown adult that should be able to handle it themselves, but then his arms are around them and his legs are over theirs

Angel feeling their heart shatter when their first solstice living together happened and David broke down. Angel that had never seen that side of him and them scared to think that they were the only thing he had to lean on

Angel that held their breath when Davey said his father would've liked them because they couldn't cry yet, not while he was still awake

Angel who knew how to cook, but it'd been so long since they had opportunity to that they wanted to relearn cooking with Davey

Angel that answered the call from Ash because they wanted to say hi, only to be caught off guard by his concern for his friend. Reassuring Asher that he didn't mess up and that Davey really appreciated the jacket

Angel who was thrilled when they finally got Davey to sit down and play minecraft because it was another way to connect with him through something they liked (as opposed to connecting through cooking which was something David liked)

Angel finding out that they like doing yard work with Davey because it gives them both an opportunity to slow down. Angel who bought themselves and Davey matching work gloves and grinning when he smiled at them after they gave the gloves to him

Angel that was having a shitty week at work and wanted to come home one night and just go to bed when Davey pulled them in and asked if they wanted to go swimming with him. Angel who was thinking about a dozen different things at once, never staying on one thought long enough to find a solution. Just letting themselves loop in the thoughts till he pulled them back down into his arms, floating in their pool, joking about the lights he'd picked for the patio

Angel who had to work late almost every night for a week, even the night of the first day Davey had off in weeks. Them frustrated and exaughsted not sure if they wanted to scream, cry, bury their face in his chest(tits) or lap, a mix of all three, or just pass out

Angel letting themselves collapse into his arms and decompress while he plays Destiny 2 and rambles

Angel figuring out that they can actually get him to ramble, despite him saying "I don't ramble. I'm just explaining the game '...' No that is not the same thing you snot, now shut up and lay your head down. Let me hold you"

Angel that was actually excited to go camping for once, surprise themselves because they usually hate stuff like camping. Them listening quietly to Davey recount stories of himself and his dad. Their chest filling with tingling warmth when he asks them to scratch the lottery ticket with him, recognizing that it was something far more special than just a scratcher

Angel waking up a few hours earlier than they usually do so they can call Asher and Milo to make a plan that will force their mate to relax. Them smirking like the cat that caught the cannery when he listens to the voice-mail, only faltering a little bit when they take a second to confirm he's not upset

Angel that took the time to make pancakes (raspberry and chocolate chip his favorite), eggs, bacon, and fresh orange juice, because he deserves to get taken care of too. They secretly love the moments that they get to be the one in control or the one that's providing care

Angel who had one of the worst days of their professional life and coming home only staying in the living area of the house long enough to take off their shoes. They couldn't track mud in David hates mud. They just need to get to the bedroom. They need to calm down. They need to shower. They need to get their smile back on their face, David needs them to be strong. They need to be strong for him

Angel who felt so ashamed of the fact that they were struggling with something like work after everything that he went through. Him telling them that life doesn't stop just because he's struggling and that they're still allowed to come to him when they have a bad day. "You're my mate Angel, you don't need to be anything more than that. Being with me is all I will ever ask of you. I'm never going to ask you to be more than you're ready to be. That wouldn't be fair, and you deserve to feel seen too"

Angel that wasn't expecting Davey to ask them to come meet Gregory Keaton. Angel realizing in that meeting just how much David actually matters in the empowered society, even though it was just a conversation between two alphas. Angel noticing how much Greg respects their mate, and feeling even more proud that they're the one he trusts with everything because of it

Angel who doesn't go to bed without Davey, even if he tells them he'll be late

Angel taking his hoodie from the clothes hamper, since it was just resting on top, and going out to the couch to watch Star Trek till he was back in their arms. Them waking up just enough to notice he was back, but still asleep enough that he needed to rouse them

Angel who hates getting sick because not being able to do the things that are their responsibility makes them incredibly anxious, which is what leads them to still do the dishes when they're sick

Angel letting Davey convince them back to bed without much protest because they really were exaughsted. Crass jokes still falling from their lips as they watched him get changed, a little surprised that he wants to cuddle them when they're sick, when he's so adamantly against cuddles when he's the sick one

Angel that was excited about the smash tournament because it was the first time they'd been able to be around the other mates and shifters since getting engaged (Sweetheart and Sam hype them, baaabe, and their rings up big time)

Angel who loves watching Davey workout for a multitude of reasons, the main one being that they adore how much he loves when they watch him. The other reason is that it actually motivates them to want to workout as well...sometimes...when they're at home...and it's not the crack of dawn...

Angel that never watches scary movies asking Davey if there's any he likes that he thinks would be fun for them to watch. Only to immediately regret this when an hour in he starts messing with them (they're not the only menace in the relationship and get mock offended when David tries to deny that he is, in fact, a menace)

(Audio headcanons/actions angel takes are done now. Below here is just misc headcanons)

Angels lockscreen is a .05 picture of David in his wolf form

Angel hates tight clothes (on the upper half more so they'll suffer through tight pants to make their ass look good)

Angel keeps tampons, pads, pain medication, bandaids, and various other hygene/medical supplies in their bag/car/house as a precaution for anyone that needs it (Davey already had a menstruation crustation(crab shaped basket) in his guest bathroom for the pack members who get periods) so they just added to it

Angel has .05 pictures of all the shifters, but their favorites are the ones of Darlin because they're impossible to make sit still when shifted (unless Sam is present) so all the pictures are blurry or look like Angel was jumping out of the way

Angel and Milo go to lunch together sometimes

Angel bites and pokes David for absolutely no reason they just get affectionately aggressive towards him (he does it to them too)

Angel likes when Davey lays on top of them because they can feel his heartbeat against them, and it let's them know he's there and they're both ok

(I chose not to talk about the inversion or proposal/marriage audios because those are topics that I don't have a good way of explaining how Angel felt during them. There's just a lot more going on than just them and David or them and the other pack members, and I don't think I could properly single their emotions out)

#this got way longer than i meant it to (i think i spent almost 3 hours total writing 😭)#i love angel though #theyre one of my favorite listeners #they just have this way of being confident without being cocky and theyre still sweet/silly but capable of having serious conversations #also i should mention in my head angel is 6'2 amab nonbinary androgynous presenting #and theyre jacked #redacted asmr #redacted audio #redactedverse #redacted fandom #redacted angel #redacted david #redacted darlin #redacted sam #redacted asher #redacted milo #redacted sweetheart #redacted baaabe

133 notes · View notes

thepeaklegendoffirstgen · 2 months ago

Text

LOOKISM AS LOVERBOYS PART 4

JINRANG GANG

1. JINRANG - GUTS from Beserk

I know, I know… 😭😭😭😭 This hits way too close to home. And honestly, I’m kind of glad he wasn’t given a love interest, because if he had one…😭😭

But let’s remember—he’s a wolf. Like Guts, he’d be a one-woman man. The most loyal, protective kind of man. But never the type to suffocate you. He’d want both of you to grow and flourish together. 🌸❤️

2. SANG BAEK - TOMOE from Kamisama Kiss

Another great manga I dropped halfway… 😭😭Still, they both share that same aesthetic✨️💖

And then there’s Sang Baek, like Tomoe, he won’t give a damn about you at first. But due to circumstances—emphasis on circumstances—his heart would melt. Sure, it’d melt at the pace of nuclear decay, but hey…It’s the journey that matters.He’ll tease you endlessly, push your limits, keep you on your toes but he likes your company.

The sense of warmth and quiet comfort you give him?Immaculate. He wouldn’t trade it for anything.

3.JEONGSEOK HWANG - TANJIRO from Demon Slayer

I know, weird choice again. But hear me out.

He’s a protector at heart.

Would do anything for the people he considers family.

And remember? He even offered to buy Choco Pies for that guy who used to show up with that disgusting woman🤢🤢

So cute

Romance might always take the backseat for him…But when peace finally comes knocking at the door, and you look like the most beautiful flower in full bloom, he’ll reconsider his priorities. And now you are the one he guards his heart with💕🦋

SPECIAL MENTION

JERRY KNOW - GOUDA TAKEO from My Love Story !

Gentle giants!!!

Wrath for the world, but teddy bears for you. The kind you desperately want to cuddle💖💖

They’ll treat you so gently. They’re kind of shy, so please, be patient with them.

They’ll never let anyone speak ill of you, so make sure you take a stand for your man too, just as fiercely.

Very cute

Very wholesome

Very real

Jake will give you two, his blessings 💕😂

#lookism #lookism x reader #jinrang gang #lookism jinrang #sang baek #Jeongseok hwang #jerry kwon

82 notes · View notes

karasukarei · 9 months ago

Text

Wind Breaker Special Stage Event - Tonpuu-machi Halloween Matsuri Afternoon Show Special Reading Drama (part 2)

Part 1 here!

You can check out the rest of my translations here!

Kaji: To the east, right now, it’s all clear.

💙Umemiya 💙: Aight, good work Kaji!

Hiiragi: Thanks for patrolling.

Kaji: Is there anything else I can help with?

💙Umemiya 💙: Nope, thanks! It’s all good for now.

Suo: Thanks for waiting!

Nirei: Kaji-san! Thanks for the hard work!

Kaji: Oh. (t/n: this is more like a nod of acknowledgement)

Nirei: That costume is really cool! Um, is that a… kabocha dracula? (t/n: see the next t/n for explanation)

Kaji: Pumpkin hakushaku. (t/n: Nirei says kabocha (Japanese for pumpkin) dracula (in English), but Kaji says pumpkin (in English) hakushaku (Japanese for count). These two phrases essentially mean the same thing, Kaji is just being pedantic www. It’s the equivalent of me saying “I’m drinking boba” and someone correcting me that it should be “tapioca milk tea”.)

Nirei: Eh?

Kaji: Pumpkin hakushaku. That’s what my class told me.

Nirei: Pumpkin hakushaku?

Suo: It’s probably a jack o’ lantern?

Hiiragi: Nirei looks good too, doesn’t he.

Nirei: Thank you very much! It’s a bit of a tall order to be cool like everyone else…

Suo: If it suits Nirei-kun, I think it’s great.

Nirei: Hehe, I’m actually digging it myself!

💙Umemiya 💙: Speaking of, Suo’s costume really suits him!

Hiiragi: Or rather, isn’t it too creepy?

Suo: Is that so?

Nirei: Suo’s costume is…?

Suo: It’s a jiangshi! Put simply, it’s a Chinese zombie.

Kaji: The yellow talisman is controlling it, isn’t it?

Suo: Yes! But rather than being controlled, I’m better at controlling people. (t/n: at this point, Zakki gives a shrug and looks at the audience. It is very scary that he is channeling he Suo energy so much (･_･;)) Ahaha!

Hiiragi: That smile is super scary.

Suo: It’s just a joke!

💙Umemiya 💙: Yahahaha! How reliable!

Nirei: Eh? By the way, where’s Sakura-san?

Hiiragi: Oh yeah, he’s not back yet.

Suo: Ahaha! If we’re talking about Sakura-kun, he’s over there.

Hiiragi: That guy, what’s he doing while wearing that?

Sakura: Shit… why am I the one wearing this costume… (blushing very hard)

💙Umemiya 💙: Oiiii Sakura!!! If you’ve changed, come over!

Sakura: *Gasps of shock and surprise*

Suo: Sakura-kun! Don’t be shy and just come out!

Sakura: N-n-no way I’m shy or anything! (t/n: yes you are)

Nirei: Sakura-san, are you a werewolf?! It’s so cool!

Hiiragi: You’ve even slicked your hair back, huh?

Sakura: T-t-this?! The guys in the shopping street just did it! Speaking of, what’s with these ears?! And tail too?!

Suo: Wah, it’s so fluffy!

Sakura: Don’t touch me! Don’t pet me! (very blushily) Anyway, you can’t get excited with this costume! (t/n: this might be wrong, but there’s a couple of contractions here and I didn’t manage to catch the full thing x_x)

💙Umemiya 💙: I think it’s plenty to get excited over!

Suo: Hmm, Sakura-kun, I’ll teach you a simple way to hype things up. Sakura-kun, could you do it for me?

Sakura: Eh? Me?

Suo: Don’t worry don’t worry! Sakura-kun just needs to follow my actions!

Sakura: Ahh… If it’s just that… I can do it…

Suo: It’s a deal! Alright, Sakura-kun, I’m going to do the action, and you’ll follow, alright?

Sakura: Ok.

Suo: First, hold your right hand like this! (Zakki holds his right hand open with fingers slightly curved, palm side facing the audience)

Sakura: Like this?

Suo: Yes yes! Next, hold your left hand like this! (mirroring his right hand)

Sakura: Like this…

Suo: Well done! Finally, tilt your head…

Sakura: Tilt my head…

Suo: Alright, and you say, “Gaooooo”! (t/n: this is the onomatopoeia for a cute wolf howling. Emphasis on “cute”)

Sakura: Gao… – AAAAH (much blushy sputtering)

Hiiragi: Isn’t the sound “Aroooooooo” (really REALLY good wolf impression) for a wolf? (t/n: I broke this sentence up on purpose cos Hiiragi just goes back to his usual stoic self after the very impressive howl, the character gap is THE BEST)

💙Umemiya 💙: Hiiragi, you’re really good…!

Nirei: I don’t think that’s the problem…

Sakura: Stop messing around with me! I can’t do that!

Suo: You can do it! Because Sakura-kun, you’re a werewolf now!

Sakura: I didn’t say anything like that!

Suo: Sakura-kun, look around you! Everyone (he looks at the audience here) is looking at you with such anticipation. (t/n: you sly fox www) (edit: I just watched some of the commentary after the drama, Zakki was the culprit who started ad-libbing, and I believe it started from here wwww)

Sakura: Eh… (the audience starts clapping for him a lot at this point) Who is “everyone”?!

Suo: Of course, it’s everyone who has gathered here for the party! (Zakki spreads his arms out to the audience as he says this) (there is a lot of clapping at this blackmail)

💙Umemiya 💙: There’s a lot of ghosts here, you know? (t/n: I think this is where the ad-libbing starts wwww)

Sakura: (Many many grunts of pain and anguish) What is this… If you want me to do it I’ll do it!!! (takes a deep breath) (takes another deep breath) (Yuuma raises his arms wide) G… Gao. (in a very deep and manly voice)

Suo: (Laughs a lot with the audience)

💙Umemiya 💙: Hmmmmm, I’d like you to do it with a little more energy! Sakura!

Sakura: Tch…! C-Can someone give me an example?!

💙Umemiya 💙: Who’s good at this? Hiiragi? (t/n: I think most of this section is ad-libbed LMAO this is what happens when you let a chaos demon like NakaYuu run free)

Hiiragi: Eh, me?

Nirei: Hiiragi-san? Can you really do it?

Hiiragi: I’ll be doing it like the real thing. (He broke character slightly here www)

💙Umemiya 💙: Hiiragi, you’re doing it like the real thing?

Hiiragi: Yup.

💙Umemiya 💙: That’s different.

Hiiragi: Yeah, that’s different.

Choji (from off-stage LMAO): I want Ume-chan.

💙Umemiya 💙: Ume-chan- Ume-chan? You’re referring to me? (t/n: cos Togame’s seiyuu is also Ume-chan (Umehara Yuuichiro) - this was the butt of many jokes during the event wwww) Then I guess, Ume-chan is gonna do it right?

Nirei: Really??

Hiiragi: Oi Umemiya, show us.

💙Umemiya 💙: Alright, I’m gonna do it. (Takes a deep breath) GAOOOOOOUEH (very very manly howl) HHHUUUEEEE. (Stares very intently like he’s going to bite someone’s throat)

Nirei: Ohh!!! As expected!

💙Umemiya 💙: I took notice of the cameras too.

Suo: Alright next, (trying very hard to not laugh) it’s Sakura’s turn right?

Sakura: How did it turn out like this… (also starts laughing; I think he started ad-libbing when asking for an example, and now it has come back to bite him ^_^)

💙Umemiya 💙: Sakura, if you don’t do it quickly, you’re gonna get more embarrassed! (t/n: the second part might be wrong, feel free to correct me!)

Sakura: Yosh I’m gonna do it, you guys better be watching!!! Rnaaghhg, GAOOOO!!! (Very manly and not cute at all, with a lot of echoing)

💙Umemiya 💙: Ohhh, everyone’s so excited now!

Suo: As expected of Sakura-kun!

Sakura: Hyaaaaaaaaaa (very very high-pitched)

Suo: Alright Sakura-kun, next can you do a “nyan nyan”?

Sakura: DAAAAA!!! I’M NOT GONNA DO THAT!

Nirei: Sakura-san! (t/n: he says “どうどう” here which means “how how”, but I don’t think this is correct in context. If anyone knows what he’s saying, feel free to let me know!)

💙Umemiya 💙: Ahahaha, the first years are so interesting!

#wind breaker #wind breaker (satoru nii)#wind breaker anime #windbreaker #wbktimely #wbk #the joke i was talking about in part 1 will be in the next part wwww #WinBreTLs

169 notes · View notes

kayakiki · 4 months ago

Text

ANIMAL LOVER | John Marston x reader

Summary: John Marston has to deal with you bringing an animal back to camp. (Again)

Warning(s): Author tried to be funny

Genre: Fluff

It was no secret ‘round these parts that you had a habit of collecting animals—stray dogs, half-blind cats, a hawk with a busted wing, and even, god help us, a coyote pup you swore was harmless. But it weren’t just the small, pitiful creatures you took in. No, you had a heart big enough for the beasts most folks wouldn’t dare go near. A half-wild mustang with a temper worse than the devil’s, a wolf-dog that had sent more than one man scrambling for his rifle, and—if you can believe it—even a damn mountain lion cub you raised right under our noses.

You had a way with ‘em, though. Animals folks called killers would come to you like you were somethin’ holy, eyes wary but hopeful, drawn to the soft words and steady hands that never flinched. A man could come at you with a gun, and you’d sooner shoot him dead than take a step back—but an injured rattlesnake? You’d scoop it up like a newborn babe, muttering ‘easy now’ while everyone else took ten steps back. More than once, the camp woke up to find some new creature lurking ‘round camp, sniffing at their boots, or you sitting in front of your tent and scratching behind its ears like it was a house pet.

Today, was one of those days when you decided to rescue an animal.

Marching right into camp, cradling a rather scruffy-looking raccoon in your arms like it was some kind of long-lost child, you stopped right in front of John, beaming up at him with those wide, excited eyes that had an uncanny ability to disarm even the gruffest of outlaws.

You held up the raccoon for emphasis. “Look what I found!”

John looked down at you and the animal in your arms with an expression that could only be described as sheer exhaustion. He slowly blinked, then glanced around as if searching for some hidden camera that might reveal this to be an elaborate joke.

“Sweetheart” he drawled, voice dripping with amused disbelief. “Is there a reason you’re holdin’ a goddamn raccoon like it’s a newborn baby?”

You gasped, clutching the raccoon protectively. “His name is Bandit, and he has no one. So now he has us.”

Silence stretched between you as he just stared. Then, finally, he exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face. “Of course he does” he muttered. “Because God forbid we just live like normal people without adoptin’ every wild animal in the damn country.”

Nearby, a few gang members had overheard and began chiming in.

“Is that—?”

“You didn’t.”

“Are we seriously keepin’ a raccoon now?”

The camps cook, Pearson, crossed his arms and shook his head. “Darlin’, I hate to break it to ya, but raccoons ain’t exactly the best company. They got little hands, y’know. Real sneaky bastards. Gonna steal everything we own.”

You huffed, holding Bandit closer as if shielding him from such blasphemy. “He would never. He’s just misunderstood.”

Your partner snorted, crossing his arms. “Oh, so he’s just misunderstood, huh? Kinda like that coyote you tried to keep last month?”

“That was different.”

“And the crocodile?”

“She was injured!”

“The snake?”

You pouted. “He was friendly.”

“Friendly. Right.” His lips twitched as if he was resisting the urge to smile. Instead, he let out a long, suffering sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright, fine. But I ain’t takin’ responsibility for it.”

“You won’t have to.” You grinned triumphantly, scratching Bandit’s chin, the raccoon letting out a pleased little chitter. A few of the gang members shook their heads in amusement before returning to whatever they had been doing, leaving you and John to deal with your new ‘family member’ in peace.

Bandit, of course, decided that this was the perfect moment to wriggle out of your arms, scampering up onto your partner’s shoulder before perching there like he belonged. Your partner stiffened immediately, glaring at the raccoon now making itself comfortable on him. Bandit, in return, stared at him with the beady-eyed confidence of a creature that feared absolutely nothing.

John exhaled sharply. “I swear, you’re lucky you’re cute” he grumbled, shooting you a look that, despite his best efforts, was more fond than annoyed.

"I know right? Just look at him" You smiled, watching the racoon chewing at John's hair.

"I was talkin' about you, sweetheart, not the racoon."

Your smile widened, heart warming at John's words, as you asked hopefully. “So he can stay?”

Your partner scowled. “Like I got a choice.”

You squealed in delight, throwing your arms around him, which resulted in Bandit scrambling up onto his head like some kind of crown. He muttered something under his breath, staring off into the distance as if wondering where exactly his life had gone so wrong.

“Well, hell” he muttered. “Guess we got a raccoon now.”

And just like that, Bandit became a permanent fixture in camp. He stole food, knocked over bottles, and developed a particular fondness for perching on your partner whenever he was trying to be serious. Your partner complained (constantly), but he never actually made an effort to get rid of Bandit.

Because at the end of the day, no matter how many times he sighed, how many sarcastic comments he made, how many bewildered looks he shot you when you brought back yet another ‘poor abandoned creature’—he couldn’t say no to you.

And really, what was one more stray in a camp full of outlaws?

#red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption #rdr2 #rdr #john marston #john marston x reader #rdr fanfiction #short story

89 notes · View notes

jinx-xxed · 4 months ago

Text

Beautiful Thing Caged

Chapter 4; If you hear my voice

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ .。.:*

A/N; Tell me the difference between the first two images. You can’t. Anyway, I’m so so sorry this took so long 😭😭 I’m praying to god that it won’t be this much of a wait next time, my writing block beat my ass 🫠 it is my promise that the next chapter is gonna actually have the good stuff in it <3

⇦ Part 3

Part 5 ⇨

Summary; Nobody told you how stressful being on the run was going to be.

Content; Werewolf AU, modern AU, werewolf Kylo Ren, human reader, or are they, scientist reader, soulmates, angst, being on the run, government fugitives, modern version of a Force bond?, mind communication, Target shopping trip woohoo, possessive Kylo, needy Kylo, brief scenting mentions, transformation, Kylo’s wolf form, Kylo knows more than he’s letting on

[Every chapter has specific content warnings]

Wc; 5.9k

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ .。.:*

“You look tense.”

You glance to your right. “Who, me? No, I’m fine. I’m so fine. We’re just on the run from the government. That’s fine. I’m just hiding a beast man in my car. Yes, yeah, this is fine.”

There’s an awkward sort of silence that stretches between you afterwards. You can’t stand it, it leaves you alone with your thoughts for too long. You manage to unhook your hand from white-knuckling the steering wheel to crank the radio, some pop song from the 80s pouring through your speakers. You barely comprehend whatever words the guy is singing, but it helps give you a raft amidst the ocean of your mind. Something else to focus on besides Kylo hunched uncomfortably in the passenger seat and the possibility of being followed.

There’s been nothing so far, which you’re more than grateful for. Your eyes flick between the road and rearview mirror every two seconds, expecting some black van to pop up over the horizon’s edge to chase you down like in the spy movies you’ve seen. But it hasn’t happened and it honestly only makes you more uneasy. The rational part of your brain—which has been fighting for its life nonstop—keeps trying to tell you that it’s the dead of night and Kylo killed most of the security in the facility; you have some breathing room. It doesn’t keep your palms from sweating and your heart from threatening to beat out of your chest though.

The world around your car passes in a blur because of you going way over the speed limit—about thirty over in fact. The impossibly tall trees of the surrounding forest are illuminated by your passing headlights and you can only hope there’s not a cop car nestled among them somewhere. You brush that thought away in case it finally causes you to have a stress-induced heart attack.

At least Kylo seems calm. He hasn’t said much to you, probably because he can see how fast your brain is turning. There’s a million plans going through your mind, and he doesn’t want to be the one to disturb you. He instead keeps himself busy by studying your car, fascinated by the piece of machinery. He doesn’t touch anything since he still has blood smeared all over his hands, something you’ll have to clean ASAP. His shirt is stained too. So are his pants. And his feet. And his face. God, he’s a bloody mess. His eyes consistently stay locked on the window, on the trees that pass by in brown and green smudges. You know he wants to go back out there, but it’s too dangerous and… you can’t lose him like that. You grip the wheel a little tighter.

You manage to cut your drive time in half, your small neighborhood coming up faster than you would’ve thought. Your car trembles as you haphazardly veer into your driveway, barely managing to turn it off before you’re halfway out of the door. You run to the passenger side, undoing Kylo’s seatbelt and urging him out. “Come on! C’mon, c’mon!” You say desperately, tugging his arm for emphasis. He doesn’t fight against you, he wouldn’t dream of it. He merely follows your lead, seemingly eager to do so.

You almost drop your house key with the way your hands shake but you manage to jam it in and unlock your front door, shoving it open so harshly that it slams against the wall on the other side. If it left a dent, you don’t care. You’ll never be coming back here again anyway.

You bolt upstairs, taking them two at a time and not bothering with the lights. It should unnerve you how well you can suddenly see in the dark, but you can’t spare a thought towards it. You bolt into your bedroom, immediately grabbing the big duffel bag from your closet and stuffing things inside. Only the essentials; comfortable and flexible shirts and pants, socks, underwear. As you tear your room apart, Kylo stands obediently behind you, head turning to take it all in. You wouldn’t be able to tell, but he’s overjoyed that you’ve welcomed him into your space. It’s a step you aren’t even aware you’re taking with him, but that’s okay. He’s more than happy to wait there breathing in the abundance of your scent and looking over all of your things.

Until you’re shoving him out and towards the bathroom. “You need to get all that blood off.” You mutter, pulling back your shower door and turning on the faucet. You let it run for a moment before deeming it hot enough. You give the bottom of his shirt a single tug. “Take these off.”

You find that you can’t even acknowledge the fact he’s stripping right in front of you, every toned muscle and scar and freckle in perfect visibility. You only have the energy to spare a single glance that you use to look over his abs, but refusing to go any lower than that. The way he’s so unashamed, the way he just stands there like it’s normal, is new to you. It makes you glance away and clear your throat. You motion for him to get under the water and it immediately turns red when it hits him, running down the drain in bloody streams. You hand him a washcloth. “Use this to scrub all that off. You can use my soap if you want to, I don’t care. Just don’t take too long.”

He glances at you, trying to hold your gaze but you look away. “Okay.” His voice sends electricity jolting through you, the sound having been so rare throughout all of this that it still manages to shock you.

You hurry out of the bathroom, missing the way Kylo takes a long inhale of your shampoo, practically ingraining the smell into his mind.

You go back into your bedroom, dropping to your knees to dig around under your bed until you can find the old box you’re looking for. You call it your “disappearing in a hurry” emergency kit. Working for the government did not help your paranoia, but at least it ended up preparing you for a situation you never thought would actually happen. Inside there’s a burner phone, a first aid kit, a small utility kit, roughly a thousand dollars, a flash light, batteries, a hunters knife your dad gave you for your birthday, and a contact list. You take it all and sort it into either your duffel bag or the backpack you decided to also grab.

After changing out of your lab clothes, you check your watch—2:58 AM. Almost two hours since everything changed and yet none of it feels real. You almost wish you’d simply wake up in your bed at any moment and brush all this off as a crazy dream. You know that won’t happen though, the blood crusting the undersides of your fingernails is proof enough. With that thought, you force yourself to stand despite how weary you feel. You turn and can’t help the screech that leaves you when you find Kylo standing naked in the doorway, water still dripping off his body. “Jesus!” You exclaim, putting a hand to your chest to try and calm your constantly racing heart. You’re seriously going to have a heart attack; you can feel the silver hairs starting to take root.

Kylo’s head tilts. “Did I scare you?”

“Fucking- yeah, you scared me!” You brush past him and grab a towel from the bathroom before throwing it at him. It doesn’t do anything of course, but it makes you feel a little better. “Now dry off!”

You sigh, looking down at his clothes that were left in a heap on the floor. You definitely don’t have anything of his size in your house to replace them. The material is black and there’s not that much blood on them… You decide they’ll work until you can find something else.

Kylo pulls his clothes back on, the black t-shirt straining against his muscles in the way you remember. His ears stand alert and ruffled at the top of his damp hair, his equally damp tail protruding from the base of his spine. Right. That. You hum in thought, rifling through your closet again until finding an old baseball cap from Bass Pro Shop. “Here.” You say, standing on the very tips of your toes to reach up and secure the hat over his head. He winces as you shove his ears under the cap. The thing just barely fits him but it does the job.

Then you hand him a pair of flip flops that are at least three or four sizes too small. “Also wear these. Until I can get you something else.” He wrinkles his nose at them but doesn’t object, making a valiant attempt to fit his feet into the flip flops. His heels hang off the back but it’s better than nothing. It still looks ridiculous though and you both know it.

“Is there something we can do about this?” You ask, lightly holding his tail in your palms. Even with it being wet from the shower, it still feels remarkably soft and thick. It twitches in your grasp, like he wants to pull away but refrains from doing so.

“If you’re asking if I can make it disappear, then no.” Kylo says roughly, like he’s struggling to contain himself. The muscles in his jaw visibly work beneath his skin.

“Stuff it under your shirt.” You say.

“What?”

You don’t repeat yourself before your grabbing his tail, lifting up the back of his shirt, and trying to stuff it inside. His entire body tenses and then he whirls on you faster than you could ever hope to react. The tips of his claws threaten to dig into your wrists. “Knock it off.” He snarls at you, his fangs in perfect view.

“Why? You need to hide that thing.” You snap right back, glaring. “Unless you want to get caught again and killed. Your choice.”

He releases you with a huff, turning his back and reaching to try and fix his tail himself. “It’s sensitive.” He mutters.

“Oh.” You say. Then you pause, now realizing you really shouldn’t have just grabbed it out of nowhere. “Ohh. Sorry.” He grunts—a perfectly noncommittal response.

You grab your bags, slinging them over your shoulders and huffing at the weight. You give your room one last look—all your posters and tiny collectibles, your few stuffed animals, the books on your bookshelves… all of it is getting left behind. You’ll never see it again. You’ll miss your bed most of all, you think. It always managed to hug your body in all the right ways. You swallow thickly and turn away from it, instead leading Kylo back downstairs.

You grab the family photo on your tv stand, finding yourself unable to leave it behind. You try not to linger too long on the faces of your mother and father. Then you rummage through your kitchen, taking a miscellaneous haul of canned foods and a few water bottles. Kylo offers to take some of the things from you and you don’t object, your arms having quickly become too full. “Alright, let’s keep moving. I doubt time will continue being so generous.” You say, looking at the clock on your stove. 3:27 AM.

Back outside, you throw everything in the trunk of your Nissan and clamber into the front once more. You quickly back out of your driveway, your headlights illuminating your house for a final time. It’ll probably be swarming with agents soon. It fills you with remorse, but you have to shake it off. You should be glad to leave that empty place where you locked yourself inside day in and day out, too afraid to interact with anyone because of your job. This’ll be good for you. Or at least that’s what you keep telling yourself.

You glance towards the glove compartment, remembering that you’d stuffed the gun you’d taken in there. A much safer alternative to carrying it on your person. It’ll be good to have in case you ever need it, although when you have Kylo with you, you doubt that you will. Precautions and what not.

You follow the familiar roads towards the gas station that sits at the edge of your small town. Most things in this place are within walking distance, nothing straying too far except for the government facility that sits about an hours drive away. The town is full of rumors because of it, and that’s part of the reason you stayed away from the residents. You didn’t want any questions. It left you alone for the last five years of your life and for some reason you’re just now realizing that. Maybe it’s because you finally have someone with you after all that time.

You don’t get a chance to think on it anymore as you pull into the 24-hour gas station. You step out to get gas first, filling your tank to the brim. You’ll need it. Then, after you parked closer to the store, you motion for Kylo to get out. You refuse to leave him outside by himself, hence why you put so much effort in trying to hide his wolf attributes. The tail sticking up his shirt definitely looks awkward, but it seems he flattened it enough to where it doesn’t look… horrible. It’ll be a mercy when you can get him new clothes.

You use the ATM attached to the side of the gas station, taking out as much as possible from your account. That turns out to be 2.3 thousand. Added to your thousand from your emergency kit, you think it should be enough for the time being. Once you leave the area you won’t be able to use your card anymore though. What a pain in the ass. You sigh as you pull open the door, that familiar gas station smell hitting you and filling your nostrils.

You don’t need much, just a map and a few extra snacks you can tear into in the car plus an energy drink or two. You tell Kylo to get anything he wants and it comes at no shock that he takes a bag of beef jerky, the meaty smell probably calling to him even through the plastic. You head to the register with your haul, haphazardly laying it all in front of the cashier.

The young guy says your name with familiarity and a smile. You have to look at his name tag to jog your memory. Mason. “Oh, hey! I haven’t seen you around for a while. Let alone at this hour.” He says. His brows crease. “Is everything okay? You look… awful.”

You try and laugh it off. “Yeah, yeah. Everything’s fine. Just a lot of… research lately. Needed some late night fuel.”

He nods. “Totally, totally. You sure, though? Don’t forget it’s always important to take a-“

Mason’s words trail off from a growl that comes rumbling out of Kylo, his sharp teeth just barely showing between his lips. His eyes with their slitted pupils look downright scary in the harsh lighting. You quickly smack him on the chest, making him shut the hell up as a blush creeps up your neck. “Just check me out, please, Mason.” You say, fumbling to get your card out.

“Woah-kay. Sorry.” He mumbles, now doing a very good job of avoiding looking at you or Kylo as he puts everything in a bag. He tells you your total, you pay, and then you’re grabbing your stuff. “Hey, if you need anything..” A fierce glare from Kylo cuts Mason off again and has you rushing from the gas station, tugging the beast man out behind you.

“I need you to not growl at everyone else you meet so we don’t raise suspicion.” You hiss as soon as you’re back in the car.

“He was asking too many questions.” Kylo retorts while tearing open the bag of beef jerky with his teeth.

You roll your eyes. “My point still stands. He’s going to get interrogated about that. Just- keep it in check.” He only huffs at you. Another noncommittal response from him, but you’ll take it.

Once you’re back on the road, you take your phone out of where it was resting in the cup holder. “Can you break this?” You ask Kylo, handing it over to him. He was in the middle of eating his jerky but puts it down to take your phone. “Like, in half.”

His face scrunches in concentration for just a second before there’s a resounding snapping sound. “Like that?” He asks, holding up the now two halves of your phone.

You will admit you’re unnerved by how quickly he did that and with such ease too. But he did shatter that seemingly impenetrable glass back at the facility so really you don’t know what you expected. “Yes… like that. Thanks.” You take the two pieces, seeing how he broke the SIM card as well from where he decided to cleave it. Very nice. You roll down your window and use all the strength you can to chuck it into the trees beyond. You’ll make that up to Mother Nature sometime later, but for now you’re just glad to have that glorified tracking device out of your car. You can relax just the slightest bit.

Kylo opens one of your chip bags for you, setting it up on your console so you can multitask eating and driving. You have no set destination yet, your only goal for now being to get as far away from the facility as possible. They have to have people deployed by now, someone would’ve reported the alarm. The thought makes your palms clammy.

You steel yourself with a deep breath. You have a long journey ahead of you.

» ☆ «

You pull into the Target parking lot as the sun rises over the building’s edge, washing everything in that peaceful, orange glow. You wish you could mimic that feeling for yourself but it feels impossible as you usher Kylo out of the car and hurry across the asphalt with him right on your heels. He’s looking around at everything, utterly fascinated by the shopping center, and you have to keep a hold on him to make sure he doesn’t wander in front of a car.

The baseball caps you both wear hide the upper halves of your faces for which you’re grateful when you pass under security cameras, the things making your skin crawl. You drove straight through the night, only stopping for the occasional and necessary pee break—more than a few ended up being in the middle of the woods. You made it across state lines hours ago, but you still felt the tension in your shoulders. For all you knew, there was some nationwide alert to be looking out for people matching your descriptions and a government agent would tackle you to the ground as soon as you step foot in the Target.

That in fact did not happen as you walked through the sliding glass doors.

You go straight towards the clothing section since Kylo’s bloodstained, singular outfit with horribly small flip flops can only last him so much longer. His tail threatens to slip from the back of his shirt every two seconds despite his best efforts to keep it in place. You begin to look through the selection of men’s clothing, seeking out anything black or dark colored. Thankfully with it turning to colder seasons, that’s most of what’s out. Kylo clearly has no inclination towards what he wears so you have to take charge and pick things out for him.

You’re lucky that a large size in most apparel seems to fit him. There’s some strain here and there but you have to admit you like the way his muscles push against the fabric. You manage to get three shirts, two pairs of pants, an extra large hoodie, socks, boxers, and a different cap just so he has one that doesn’t grate so much on his ears. It was all fairly easy but shoes on the other hand…

You groan as you look through the boxes, trying to find the right size. “Why do you have to be so massive?”

“You say that like I chose to be this way.” He says, pulling off another pair that didn’t fit him right.

“Well, it definitely feels like your fault.” You mutter. You take out a few pairs in size 12 that you managed to find, laying them down haphazardly next to where he sits. You’ve been looking for shoes for thirty minutes already, with you going back and forth whenever another pair doesn’t work out. You’re getting antsy. You don’t want to stay in one spot too long, not when you’re still too close to where you came from. You breathe a sigh of relief when a pair of black Nike’s seems suitable for him.

“Alright, we’ll check out all your clothes first and then go get some extra food.” You say, both of you carrying large bundles of items between you.

You go to the self-checkout, feeling far too wound taut to interact with another human being. Kylo hovers over your shoulder like an imposing wall as you scan everything, throwing them into the too-small bags. The total wasn’t as much as you thought it would be, but it was still enough to make you huff in disbelief. You stuffed the mile long receipt into your back pocket, then hurrying to the bathrooms.

You dig out a shirt, pants, the boxers and socks, the hat and the hoodie, forcing them towards him with the shoe box. “Here, find the biggest stall and go change. Throw out your old clothes when you’re done.” He stands there looking at you expectantly and it takes you a second to realize before you scoff. “Kylo, I can’t follow you in there. I’ll be right here.”

He gives you the saddest expression he’s been able to muster since you’ve known him, reminding you exactly of a lonely puppy. If you aren’t mistaken, there’s even a whine that comes from him and it threatens to break your resolve. No. You can’t go into a men’s restroom. You give him a shove towards the door. “Kylo, go. You’ll be fine.” He finally listens to you and disappears inside but he’s definitely not happy about it.

As you wait outside, you almost wish you actually had gone in with him. You don’t know if it’s because of what little sleep you’ve gotten or whatever it is between you that bonds you both together, but your anxiety without him next to you skyrockets. You tap your foot, you bite at your nails, your heart feels like it’s about to beat out of your chest, scenarios play in your head of something bad happening in a simple bathroom.

It all disappears when Kylo comes back out a few minutes later. He beelines to you, immediately pressing himself against you and nuzzling into your neck like he needs your scent to be able to calm himself. “Alright, alright.” You mutter affectionately, gently pushing him off you so you stop getting weird looks from people coming into the store. He relents, slipping his hand into yours instead. You certainly don’t mind, his large hand is warm and calloused and an instant comfort.

Looking him over, you see that the new clothes fit him remarkably well. He looks normal… or at least as normal as he can be with the huge scar on his face and an unnerving aura surrounding him. The extra large hoodie was a smart choice, the thing doing a much better job of hiding his tail beneath it.

Hand in hand, you lead him towards the grocery aisle, also taking a basket on your way. You grab mostly canned or boxed goods since you had no idea when you’re going to be able to find someplace to rest. You throw in some fruits and simple vegetables like carrots and also two packages of steaks after Kylo wouldn’t stop staring at them. You know his tail would be wagging if it was freed of its cotton confines. You get toiletries while you’re at it, replacing a lot of the things you had to leave behind at your house and adding new things for Kylo.

You feel like you can finally breathe when you at last leave the Target, the multitude of white bags split between the both of you. They get stuffed into your backseat and then you’re back on the road.

“That wasn’t too bad, right? I’m just glad I could get you some clothes.” You say, casting a sideways glance at Kylo. He looks far more comfortable. You’re glad.

He looks down at himself, his tail now freed and tucked across his legs, his hat removed to show his ears. He plucks absently at the cuffs on his hoodie, running his thumb along the ribbed texture. “They’re nice.” He says, voice softened with something you can’t quite name. He’s silent for a moment, his jaw working and left ear flicking once as he debates on his words before swallowing. “Thank you.”

Your fingers tighten briefly around the wheel, your nod small. He sounded so unsure, like he’s never had a proper reason to thank someone before. “Mhm.”

» ☆ «

The day passes in a crawl.

You drive, and drive, and drive.

The only things you know are the leather of the steering wheel and the droning of the radio.

You’ve gotten through another state, leaving the facility further and further behind. You can feel the burning beneath your eyes, the way your muscles bunch and quiver. You’re past the point of energy drinks or old gas station coffee being able to help you so you instead stay awake using your urge for survival. Adrenaline has brought you this far, surely it can bring you a little farther.

But where are you even going?

God, you really didn’t think this through, huh?

All of this is crazy, something you’ve had to come to terms with multiple times over. Breaking a werewolf out of a government facility, making an enemy of said government, driving to god knows where without sufficient preparation. And for what? Just because you “felt a connection” to some beast man you barely know? You realize that you’re insane and you probably should’ve checked yourself into a hospital before going through with any of this.

But instead here you are, exhaustion making everything feel heavier as the sun sinks below the mountains in the distance. You realize then how much your body aches despite your stretches, how your stomach is twisting around itself in its hunger. You haven’t paid much attention to anything besides Kylo, Kylo, Kylo—and you’ve paid the price. Darkness threatens the edges of your vision, your neck feeling too weak to hold up your own head. Your frayed mind tells you how they’re right behind you, that you’ll be captured and this was all for nothing. You’ll die in the same place this all started.

“Stop the car.”

The sudden voice startles you, snapping you out of your spiral and forcing you to wake the fuck back up. “What?”

Kylo’s looking at you. “Pull over.”

You blink, shaking your head. “Wh- What? Why?”

“You need to take a break. You’re going to collapse.” He says simply, though there’s the tone of demand behind his words.

You’re embarrassed he was able to tell the state of your mind but you can’t disagree with him. You slowly ease your car to a stop along the small road that cuts through a lush forest, only wide enough to fit one car going either direction. You find a flatter strip and veer off the road, tucking your car as far into the trees as it would allow without you getting stuck. It’s not much, but it’ll keep it hidden in the dark and keep people from getting curious.

You open your door and step out. You find that your legs shake uncontrollably and can barely support your weight, making you brace a hand on the warm hood of your car. Kylo is by your side in a second, looking at you with concern and trying to offer support. You brush him off again like you did at the facility and you can see the frustration on his features. “I’m fine. I just need a minute outside of the damn car.” You mutter.

You dig a few things out of the backseat including the map, a bottle of water, and an apple. You then traipse through the woods while trying not to trip and fall in the dark with Kylo right on your heels, who’s navigating the rough and uneven terrain with the ease of someone who’s lived in it his entire life. You find a small clearing with a felled log and promptly prop yourself up against it, the slightly damp, cool bark a balm on your back.

You spread the map out on the grass before you, using rocks to hold down the corners. While drinking your water and practically inhaling the apple, you try to look at where you are and where you plan on going. However, all the different tiny and multicolored lines keep blurring together into one giant, incomprehensible mess. You can’t keep your thoughts straight—or your body for that matter. You keep teetering off to the side when you lose focus, your limbs too worn out to keep you upright.

You groan, resting your face in your palms and digging your fingers into your eyes, trying to push away the burning exhaustion. It feels like your eyes are closed for only a second but when you open them again, there’s a massive black wolf standing in front of you with Kylo nowhere in sight. An involuntary, startled scream erupts from you before you recognize the large scar bisecting the fur on its face.

“Kylo? Holy fuck, is that you?” You breathe, eyes wide and body frozen until the creature nods his head. “Oh my god.” You don’t know what else to say besides that, so you repeat the statement a couple times over.

His wolf form is huge and a little terrifying. You know that if you were standing at full height, he would still be a head or more taller than you, similar to how he was as a human. His fur is sleek and full, stretching nicely along his powerful, muscled body and only being interrupted by whatever scars he holds. His brown eyes shine brighter than they did before, his pupils narrowed to slits. An apex predator standing in front of you so calmly like this is a little unnerving, like it shouldn’t be real. Like he should be ripping your throat out any second.

I would never harm you.

His deep voice reverberates inside your head, echoing across your brain and making you jump. You’re sure it looks like your eyes are about to pop out from how wide they are as you gape at him. The wolf’s mouth hadn’t moved and yet you could hear him clear as day. It was weird and otherworldly, sending a shiver down your spine. “How in the hell are you doing that?” You demand, voice barely above a whisper in worry that you’d ruin this moment.

We’re connected, you and I. It allows me inside your head. You could do the same if you were in your proper form.

Your brows furrow. “What do you mean by that?”

His big head shakes. We can discuss it later. You’re far too exhausted for that now. You need to rest, it’s been nearly two days.

You scoff. “Out here? In the woods?”

He tilts his head, ears flopping with the movement. You’ve always loved wolves—they’re so cute. The woods are a safe place for someone trying to hide. Nothing will happen to you out here.

“How very reassuring.” You say, even as a yawn interrupts your words. He’s right, it’s been almost two days with no sleep and very little nutrition. You’re exhausted and on the brink of passing out. You don’t even have the energy to argue, because what else would you do? Find a hotel? Your nerves wouldn’t possibly allow for something like that.

So you oblige him. You find a little spot cushioned with moss and thicker grass, easing yourself down onto the forest floor. It’s not the most comfortable thing in the world, a little chilly from the October weather, but that’s quickly remedied when Kylo settles in behind you. He curves himself perfectly along your body, putting one big paw over you to pull you into him even further. His form practically engulfs yours, his soft fur warming you like a fire. His tail curls up around you and then all you know is him. He smells like pine trees with an undercurrent of comforting campfire smoke, filling your senses and releasing the tension from your muscles. You feel the rise and fall of his breaths with the way you’re pressed into him, the air from his nose tickling the hairs on top of your head.

But even with all that, sleep still seems too far from your grasp. You stare out into the woods, your paranoia eating away at you and making you think you see dark figures amongst the trees. Making you think that any noise along the road is a vehicle full of government agents primed to take you away. The cold moss does little to soothe the anxiety-induced flush in your face, your body trembling from your self-sabotage and imaginary enemies.

I hate to see you like this. Because of me. Kylo’s voice is quiet in your head, full of remorse. Please, sleep. You need it.

Your fingers dig into the grass, your teeth grinding together almost painfully. What if something happens when you close your eyes? What if they find you? You move a hand up to cover your face, the freezing cold of your palm soothing against your cheeks burning from your anxiety and stress. “I- I know… but I just-“

His form presses closer to you, which you didn’t think was possible. If something passed by, you doubt you’d even be visible within his dark fur. His head dips down to nuzzle against your head, trying so desperately to soothe you in the only ways he knows how. I will protect you. Go to sleep. I can’t feel you when you’re like this.

“Feel me?” You mumble, the question slurred by your exhaustion.

Your emotions, your thoughts. It’s all muddled because you can barely think straight. He explains, annoyance biting into his last words. He’s actually upset you haven’t been looking after yourself. The idea of someone caring about you that much seems utterly ridiculous. Rest. I’ll keep you safe. His words sound so sincere with such a deadly threat to them that you can’t help but believe him. You saw what he did back in the facility, you watched him wash off the blood.

Your eyes finally close, unable to resist any longer as the dark of night consumes the forest. Your sleep is uneasy, but you consider yourself lucky to have fallen asleep at all. You know it’s only because Kylo is there and you fully trust in his promise to keep you from harm.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ .。.:*

Tags (comment if you’d like to be tagged next time!); @coldheartedmar @hazydespair @bullet-clubs-bitch @paristheonewhoreads @s1eepy-bear @takeyour-pants-off @toraar @witchywannabe3263

⇦ Part 3

Part 5 ⇨

#I fall to the floor #I looked at the last chapters date and died ajshshksk #forgive me 🧎🧎#star wars #star wars fanfic #star wars x reader #kylo ren #kylo ren fanfic #kylo #kylo ren x reader #kylo x reader #kylo x you #kylo fanfic #werewolf Kylo ren #werewolf au #werewolf fanfic

109 notes · View notes