#it makes more sense that the infected went after them

[paruparuparuparu]

*It is not as different as I: For it seeks knowledge beyond what it already possesses, devouring all those who come into contact for answers to soothe its own troubled mind.*

-GORE AND DISTURBING IMAGERY WARNING-

Ok I know it isn’t Halloween, but since I’m seeing apocalyptic stuff (cough cough mlp infection cough cough) on my fyp, I decided to have a try at it. The only thing bad about this idea is that I might take a while to post actual art of it.😔

This was originally a concept sketch for another Au based on the Bishops’ purged forms, but I decided that I enjoyed the design for Shamura way too much to scrap it

Now, this Au first takes place in the Goat’s universe, specifically pre-betrayal where Shamura is assisting Narinder with expanding his domain. Since Narinder is still quite new to resurrection, the occasional cursed follower appears; which is similar to the cursed followers in the Lamb’s cult.

After the first couple of cursed followers appear, Shamura decides to look further into the cause of this disease. And who else to look to for information than the Plague God himself?

So, with along with Kallamar, they research into the potential cause of this phenomenon over the course of 70 years, reading through their old scrolls and ancient texts dating back to the War of Gods. So much information was known about it, so many puzzles, so much proof of its existence yet so little reason for it to exist.

They kept the infected in a dungeon, serving as an easy way to experiment on the undead(and a cruel method to punish dissenters). The infected soon went from 1 to 13 in the span of 14 years, and one that that was apparent was the odd way the disease grew in intelligence with each victim. So more were sacrificed to feed the infection, making Shamura’s curiosity grow more and more whilst Kallamar’s concern was at an all time high.

Eventually, after sacrificing a dissenter who had tried to free chained followers to the horde of infected, Kallamar had decided it was enough, saying the whole experiment was a mistake, and the disappearance of many followers was causing much trouble and doubt to appear in their cults. Shamura was reluctant, yet understanding of Kallamar’s concerns, suggesting to take a break for a few decades before returning back to their research.

Yet, before either of them could come to a decision, the dungeon containing the infected had been broken, leaving the two no choice but to defend themselves. Within the chaos in such a small corridor, Shamura had managed to get bit.

After the gory fight, was then and there Kallamar had decided to forcibly shut the project down for good to attend to Shamura. Within the first 2 weeks, Shamura had felt off, but overall they behaved quite normally. Next thing they knew, memories they held dear began to fade, being replaced by an unbearable feeling of emptiness. On the third week, they had the sudden urge to lash out at their siblings, and it was at this point they knew something was terribly wrong.

They go to visit Kallamar, demanding that he chain them in his dungeons. In shock, Kallamar declines their demand only to be met with a menacing glare, causing him to reluctantly agree in the end.

Within the dungeons, Shamura’s mind could make sense of the groans and cries of the infected, going into one of the cells as they use the power of their crown to chain themselves to the ground. They then order Kallamar to keep the experiment going, at his dismay.

And over the course of 2 months, Shamura documented their process of the infection and how unburdened their mind was becoming, while Kallamar was forced to watch his beloved sibling decay in front of his very eyes. And finally, Shamura had given in, no longer responding to any outside stimulus. And at this point, as pictured in the drawing, they are both trapped in the cell by their own chains and trapped inside of their own mind.

[enfinizatics]

NO BECAUSE LIVE ACTION CLICKERS ARE SCARY AF????? 

[maddieandangel]

Had a weird Hollow Knight-related dream a couple days ago, so I decided to draw a major scene I remembered from it dgsgshf

More context will be in the tags, for those interested!

[autistichalsin]

I hate that I have to give this PSA at all- that I do is a failure on the part of multiple governmental organizations. But it is important.

COVID damages a lot more than you think. It damages more than your lungs, and does more than give you digestive issues. And sometimes, those issues can last well after you get better, even if you're not a person you would otherwise think of as being sick with long COVID.

If you only remember these two things, please just remember that:

COVID can and does damage your heart.

COVID can and does damage your nervous system, particularly your brain.

If you have had COVID in the last 18 months, you are at a highly elevated risk of sudden cardiac death compared to someone who hasn't. In the first three weeks after getting sick, your odds of dying from a heart-related event are 81 times that of an uninfected person, and five times higher in the following 18 months. You are also at a higher risk of of developing nonfatal heart disease; 40% likelier. (Source for all claims in this paragraph)

If you develop ANY cardiac symptoms at all after getting COVID- heart palpitations, blood pressure issues, fatigue, fainting, getting out of breath easier than is normal for you- you need to see a doctor as soon as possible, and you need to tell them you've recently had COVID. You have long COVID until proven otherwise.

Similarly, your risk of neurological disorders remains heightened over a year after getting COVID; approximately 40% higher. (Source) This manifests in more ways than I have time to list, but includes a vastly higher risk of dementia of all types (doctors are particularly seeing this with the under-45 group that was previously extremely rare), memory disorders, sensory issues (like persisting loss or distortion of taste and smell), mental health issues like anxiety or depression, and even more.

These can manifest in a lot of ways. But if you experience new anxiety or depression, new behavioral issues (particularly for those under the age of 18), if you suddenly can't focus anymore or can't remember things anymore (ESPECIALLY words, COVID has been noted to cause extreme difficulty with word recall), if you have tremors, if you're tired all the time, if you have "brain fog", if you have trouble sleeping, I could go on... again. You have long COVID until proven otherwise. EVEN IF you aren't "that sick". Even if you have energy to do things and can mostly function but you just aren't doing well in school/at work anymore because you can't remember the things your teacher/professor is talking about/the new work protocols your boss went over with you.

If you hop over to the subreddits for teachers or professors, you will notice a lot of them noting their students don't remember basic things the teachers have been pressing for an entire semester, or that students can't sit long enough to focus through a movie. And sure, some of that is cell phones reducing attention span, or students just not paying attention- but they just can't seem to pick up the pieces there that they are seeing long-term sequelae (that is, a different illness arising from COVID infection) in their students. It is everywhere, but few people are connecting the dots.

Similarly, there is a huge wave of pilots being unable to pass their physicals and losing their licenses, or making mistakes due to brain fog (in some cases even leading to crashes) or falling victim to sudden cardiac death in the middle of a flight.

EVERYONE is at risk from this. No one is talking about this. I don't kn- well, actually, no, I do know exactly why, I just don't like it. People want to make COVID the new flu, but it just isn't. It is not and never will be the flu. And we are willingly inflicting cardiomyopathy and dementia and all sorts of awful things on people in the name of regaining a sense of normalcy that is gone, but ironically would be closer to returning if we had accepted for a while that things WEREN'T normal and acted accordingly. But that chance is gone now, COVID is never going away because people couldn't bother, but they still can't admit it, they can't face the consequences of their actions, so instead we're getting this attempted coverup of the real long-terms dangers of COVID that even "young and healthy" people have.

But pretending things are normal doesn't make sick people healthy. So instead, try to educate folks, because there is a very high chance you or someone you know is sick right now, due to COVID infections they had months ago, and doesn't know it because people are pretending COVID is just the flu but with tummy upset and a disrupted sense of taste/smell.

People NEED to know what the actual dangers are.

ALSO, sidenote: if you are masking, and ask your medical team to mask, and they respond by starting to suggest you are experiencing "COVID anxiety", find a new provider. Immediately. Don't even continue the appointment. They are not interested in helping you.

Signed, your friendly neighborhood epidemiologist.

[beardedjoel]

indebted

dark!joel x f!reader. one shot.

main masterlist | ao3 | kofi

summary: you're having a bad day. one you think is getting better once a rough around the edges man comes to your rescue. you didn't expect it would takes such a sharp turn for the worse. first person pov reader. 9.2k words.

warnings: 18+ MDNI! DEAD DOVE: DO NOT EAT! NON CONSENUAL SEXUAL ACTS, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION, pervy, sleazy, and foul mouthed joel. degradation, sexual favors, forced oral and piv, virgin reader, corruption, innocence, and daddy kinks featured. biiig ol' age gap (reader's age not mentioned other than "young" but i imagine her as 18-20 as she has a relatively immature attitude, imagining joel 50-55), this is not for everyone and that's okay. i'm not responsible for the content you consume.

a/n: i had some hormonal induced insanity and came up with this. i had a great time trying out a new pov for writing fic! enjoy him as much as i did, friends 🖤 and thanks @joelstummy for the amazing freaky beta work!

I’ll be the first person to admit now that what I’ve been doing is stupid. Dangerous. Idiotic. The list goes on. I can hear my father’s stern, militant voice in the back of my head, telling me as much. Except now he likely won’t get the chance to relish in it because I’m going to die here. Way out here where nobody will find my body, and I’ll be just another person that went missing in the QZ, never to be seen again. But this time, it’s not some sleazy FEDRA scheme and coverup or a smuggling deal gone wrong.

It’s utterly and completely my fault.

Sneaking out wasn’t meant to become a habit, but after the first few times, I lost the fear and adrenaline that had burned hot through my veins at those first steps of freedom. I craved it again, so I kept going further. And further. Away from civilization as I knew it, until the cluster of buildings known as the Quarantine Zone became a tiny speck in the distance. Out here was desolation, nothingness, only abandoned buildings to explore. The infected were another story, but I started to learn routes that helped me avoid encounters with them.

It helped clear my mind after a while, this newly found sense of adventure. All I’d ever known was a cage, a walled city that had become so mundane I felt my insides starting to rot from the listlessness of it all. My father was important - top in the rankings - I knew that, and it was all the more reason to keep me safely locked away while the city stirred with chatter of an uprising against FEDRA. 

He never bothered to check on me much, anyways, making my little forays quite easy. Once I’d persuaded enough people with ration cards, they’d shown me the tunnel leading to freedom. Well, that tunnel, then another, a ladder to climb back up to the surface, and only then could I go through a precarious hole in a chain link fence. That was the smuggler’s route, they said, an easy ticket to getting in and out without being noticed. 

I’d been abusing it, staying out for days at a time, never able to drink in enough of this quiet solitude that was of my own choosing, not my father’s. I couldn’t quite figure out what hole inside of me I was trying to fill, but I’d be damned if I stopped trying.

However, today seemed to be my last chance to try at all. His footsteps had been quiet - so quiet - approaching behind me. An old store, full of half decayed plushies, molded candies, and other adorable things from lives long put in the past, had called to me, distracted me. The arm around my throat, constricting, the other coming up to put a hand over my mouth. A dirty, putrid smell encompassing everything as I sputtered against him. This is it, I’d thought. What a waste.

I scream and fight against the strong hold he has on me, a nasty sneer right against my skin. “What’s some fresh meat like you doing waaaay out here, huh?” a dark voice rattles into my ear.

I scream behind his dirty palm in response, kicking my legs back at him. I should have learned more self defense, but who needs it when you’ve spent most of your life safely tucked away with your family name as your biggest protector?

“You smell good… real good…” The creep’s voice buzzes by me as he takes a deep breath in, making me shudder. One swift kick and I’m sure this is it, the one to knock him senseless and let me escape. He’s smart for how distracted he seems to be by my scent, and he’s one step ahead of me. My legs are kicked out from underneath me as I rear one back, and I fall to the ground, the man coming down with me to sit on my back, straddling my body in a fluid motion. He grips my hands behind my back, leaving me helpless in my fight, kicking and screaming. I’m ice and heat all at once, my body burning in a frozen blaze, my fight or flight quickly turning to fawn as his weight presses down on me.

“You can have anything in my backpack, anything! Please, let me go! I - I don’t want any trouble,” I choke out pathetically, hating how my voice comes out in shaky waves. This isn’t how to appeal to people like this, people who have lost their sense of humanity, evident by the way he’s now grinding himself down onto my jean clad asscheeks. 

A laugh comes out of him that would haunt me as evil incarnate for the rest of my days if I wasn’t so sure that I was going to die at the hands of this man after he was done with me. “We both know I don’t give a fuck about any damn backpack of yours. I don’t want any trouble either, sweet cheeks, I just think you’d have a lot of fun with me and my friends. But mostly me,” he replies with the hint of a wink in his voice. 

My stomach clenches, sickness rolling in that is only furthered as the man leans down, cloaking me with his large form. I can’t turn enough to see him, to even know what this violation of a man looks like, but his energy is beyond hideous as I catch a glimpse of his yellowing teeth in a grin before he pushes my head down to the cracked linoleum tiles. My hair tangled in his fingers, he holds me down hard, and I struggle to breathe as he crushes me beneath him.

“Now, are you gonna come easily, or do I need to do things the hard way? Either way is fine with me, for a fine piece of ass like this. In fact, I might prefer it the hard way, but we’d hate to ruin this pretty skin of yours, wouldn’t we?” He says slowly, pressing the cold blade of a knife to my throat.

“O-okay, okay,” I acquiesce, stopping my squirming, just needing a bit of room to breathe, my lungs heavy inside my chest. My panic only makes my chest tighter, even when the man leans back the tiniest bit. I had hoped that my sudden compliance would get that knife off my throat, but it hasn’t. “Just don’t hurt me… please…” I whimper.

He lets out a long, ragged sigh. “Afraid I can’t promise that.” 

I’ve never felt fear like this, such certainty that I was about to be ruined, my life as I know it changing without a chance to even look back. I squeeze my eyes shut and brace for it, for anything he’s about to do next, finally accepting that there isn’t any appealing to scummy men in a scummy world. But nothing comes except for a muffled crack ringing through the air, and then a thud as the entire weight of my adversary falls on top of me, crushing. Something warm has splattered on my skin, my face, then starts to coat my jacket, seeping through. I shake violently, begging my body to catch a full breath under the weight of him. 

Then as suddenly as it happened, it stops, the body yanked off of me and tossed to the side with ease. The deafening thud of his entire weight onto the ground is stark. I flip over and scramble backwards, grabbing the knife that had fallen from the man’s hand in his swift, final moment. Holding up a shaky hand, I grip the knife tightly, looking up to face a brutish, tall man with overgrown hair of chestnut and gray. A trim beard with the same coloring wraps around his tightly set jaw. He’s all wide shoulders, thick arms, broad chest, and my senses go on high alert again. His gun is practically still smoking as it hangs at his side, an active threat.

“Y’alright?” he drawls, thick and deep, echoing through the abandoned shop. One step closer to me has the knife practically flailing as I struggle to calm my hands, a strained hum alongside my shaky breathing the only sound I seem capable of making.

“Put that thing down,” he says calmly, almost exasperated. His stance slackens, one knee pushed out as he sizes me up. I’m likely the most miserable looking thing he’s seen in a while, I’m sure. “You’re harmless.”

“H-how do I know you’re not with him?” I blurt out.

My gruff savior lifts his brows incredulously. “That guy?” he asks, motioning impatiently to the dead body only a foot away. “Think I’d be puttin’ a bullet right in his skull if he was my best buddy?”

My eyes dance over him as I think. He has a point, and he did just save me from whatever debauched things that stranger’s mind had been conjuring up.

“Y-yeah, you have a point,” I finally say. He steps closer, and this time, I let him, putting the knife down. He motions with an authoritarian air for me to push it away, and I obey immediately, flinging it across the room. 

“Poor fucker died with a hard on, didn’t he?” The man muses as his boots thud on the way over to the body, kicking it slightly as if to check, letting it roll back before turning his attention on me. “Now, are you usually this stupid, comin’ into hunter territory, or what?” he asks, reaching a hand down to me, presumably to help me up.

“I didn’t know…” I mumble, letting his hand hang there. He doesn’t snatch it back right away, although I can tell he wants to, that he’s already beyond exasperated by his day and the last thing he’d wanted was a damsel in distress like me. I hate that he’s proving all the things I’d been trying to disprove about myself by coming out on these solo trips into the great, big outside. I’m weak. Dependent. Needy. It makes my skin crawl with self loathing and frustration.

“Didn’t know, huh? So just clueless, then?” the man spits out, staring down at me with darkened eyes that make me turn my head away in shame. At my sullen silence, he seems to soften a little. “I’m Joel,” he says, an offering to go along with his outstretched hand.

I sigh, taking it and telling him my own name. I’m up on my feet, dusting myself off and looking at him shyly now. I don’t know what people are supposed to say when someone saves their life, so I just mumble, “Thank you.”

Joel snorts, nodding in acknowledgment as he crouches to pat down the body, seeming to come up short of anything interesting. “Don’t thank me yet,” he says, standing back to his full, towering height, glancing around with sharp eyes. “We should move.”

I might be as stupid as he says, because I wordlessly start to follow him towards the door. His hand stretches out behind him, open and inviting me in as he checks outside the door with a careful peek, his gun held tightly in the other. I stare down at it in disbelief. “C’mon, I don’t bite,” he sighs, that perpetual vexation in his tone again as he twitches his brows at me. “Need you close by. An’ it seems you have a tendency to go where you shouldn’t.”

My cheeks grow hot at the harsh truth of it, and I grasp his hand without any further objections, marveling for a moment at the way it envelops mine. All calloused and hard, mine soft and unused for labor of any kind. 

“I’ve got a safehouse not too far from here.”

“A safehouse?”

“It’s already gettin’ dark. There ain’t no way we’re making it back to the QZ today, princess,” he retorts quickly, the pet name mocking on his tongue.

“How’d you know?” I ask softly, disappointment pressing in on my shoulders.

He chuckles out more of a snort, pulling me around a bend, slowly leaving behind the dangerous territory that I’d unknowingly encroached on. “You’re a FEDRA princess if I’ve ever seen one,” he tells me, and my heart sinks that I was so easy to read. I’d seen how capable this man Joel was, but damn was he was astute, more than I’d given him credit for. 

I chew at my lip. “Fair enough,” I mumble under my breath, letting him take his well earned win. The longer I hang onto Joel’s hand, letting him expertly weave me through the barren streets, the safer I start to feel. He knows where he’s going, a practiced route he’s taken countless times, and it hits me then that this man is a smuggler. He has to be.

“Are you a smuggler?” I ask pointedly. “I’ve heard that people like that come in and out of the QZ.”

Joel falters for just a brief second, giving me a wily grin. “Look who’s readin’ who now,” he says with a dry chuckle. “Ain’t gonna run and tell your daddy, are you?”

I shake my head, pressing my lips together in a smile. “I can keep a secret.” In fact, I like keeping secrets from my father, hence the sneaking out, so Joel can count on me to never rat him out.

His amused grin in response lights a little flame akin to friendship inside of me. This grumpy old bastard could smile after all. “Just through here,” he says, letting the smile drop, taking a sharp left down a street just as a sprinkle of rain starts to fall on us. It’s a less urban area - more like a neighborhood - sprouted with apartment buildings and abandoned, vine covered cars. It’s my favorite thing about all the exploration I’ve been doing, seeing the way nature can reclaim anything and make it her own. 

The cracked street below us makes me tread carefully, lagging behind as Joel’s hand tugs me along urgently. We turn down an alley, Joel whipping his head left to right before dragging me behind him, finally dropping my hand to open a door that leads right into a tiny lobby and a stairwell. He runs a hand through his damp hair, slicking it back some - a rather handsome look for him, now that I’m thinking about it. I try to ignore that thought as his voice booms through the empty room.

“Up,” he commands, gripping my hand again and leading us up the stairs. 

My stomach sinks a little when he takes out a key, unlocking a padlock on one of the apartments numbered 405 and pushing the old, chipped door inwards. I have no reason not to trust Joel, he saved my life afterall, but I can’t shake the nerves I feel from being in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar man. It’s quiet here, likely nobody in the vicinity but the two of us.

“Home sweet home,” he grunts out, dropping his backpack and gun holster near the door and shrugging off his damp jacket, leaving him in a plain tee shirt that hugs his muscular frame. It’s a small, cramped apartment with a living room and kitchen directly next to it, a little window cut into the wall, peering in on the living room from above the stove. It looks as if it’s left exactly as it was years ago, full of furniture and clutter, only a vessel for Joel to use without making it his own at all. I peer past to see a small hallway I can only assume leads to a bedroom and bathroom.

“Know it ain’t the palace you’re probably used to, but we’ll be safe an’ dry here,” he say, and I roll my eyes behind his back. If Joel thinks that I live in a palace, he’s clearly misunderstood the state that the QZ is in. My father’s house is spacious, sure, but it’s just as dilapidated as the rest of the city. The only difference is the level of protection afforded to our homes.

He ambles into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets with a clatter, then comes back moments later with an open can of beans and two forks. I’m still standing in the entryway, unsure of what to do with myself.

“Hungry?” he asks gruffly, and I shake my head, wide eyed. I’d lost my appetite the minute that man had grabbed me earlier, and I couldn’t seem to get it back. Joel shrugs, digging in with a messy forkful of from the can. “Your funeral,” he says, chewing.

Joel sinks down onto the couch with a tiny groan, setting down the can on the side table next to his armrest, giving the other cushion an expectant look. “Well, you gonna sit your ass on down an’ tell me why the hell I had to save it today, or what? Why the hell you’re wanderin’ around like it’s a free for all out there?”

I flinch slightly at his harsh tone, but gingerly step my way into the room, unzipping my jacket and shedding it. For the chill outside, the temperature inside the apartment is more comfortable than I’d expect, my skin welcoming the change. Joel eyes my thin tee shirt, and I feel a flash of heat sweep my skin before I feel the prickle of goosebumps, knowing my nipples are poking through the fabric. His eyes catch there before he promptly averts them.

I sit precariously next to Joel on the loveseat, pressed as far away as I can from him, not wanting to cramp his personal space. But he seems to have no problem with that anyways, his legs spread wide open in a comfortable stance, leaned back against the cushions. He pinches the bridge of his nose, eyes shut for a moment as he awaits my answer. 

“I was… exploring,” I say simply, cringing at how ridiculous it sounds coming out of my mouth. Who leaves perfect safety to wander around in a dangerous world on purpose? For no other reason than curiosity and a sudden, rebellious sense of defiance?

His eyes snap open, head pulling up from the couch, turning my way. “Explorin’…” He mulls on the word, slowly licking his lips before pursing them. “You’re tellin’ me I had to save a FEDRA brat today ‘cause she was explorin’? You really are stupid. ‘Course you are, look how young y’are. Look how fuckin’... sheltered.” Joel throws his hands up, landing them on his thighs with a soft thud, sighing. “Can’t even blame ya.”

I pluck up every bit of courage I have, glaring at him with narrowed eyes. “Look, it was really nice of you to save me and everything, and I do thank you for it. I’m sorry if I messed up whatever… smuggling stuff you had going on today, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me… stupid.” The last word is quiet, mousy, and I turn my head down, eyes shining with unshed tears that I silently curse myself for. My father’s voice rings through my head - you stupid girl! - making me shudder.

Joel sucks at his teeth. “Hit a nerve, I see,” he says passively. “Alright, I’m sorry kiddo. I just mean, you’re puttin’ yourself at risk doin’ what you’re doin’, and it ain’t a smart idea. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I sigh out, relaxing a little. “I just needed to get away.”

“From your dear old daddy?” he teases, picking up the can, shoveling several more bites into his mouth. I go silent, picking at a thread on the couch rather than answer him. “Ah, another nerve, I see. Daddy issues. Could’ve guessed that one.”

“I don’t have -”

“Sweetheart…” Joel interrupts, looking at me from under his brows, pulling his lip between his teeth, seeming to look at me in a fresh light. It sends my skin tingling, the way he eyes me, a glint in his stare. It seems to prove his point, the way a pet name from a middle aged man seems to immobilize me against my will. I want to slap the smug look off his face, but I have no grounds to do so, only grumbling quietly with my cheeks blazing in embarrassment. A prickle of something else works its way deep into my belly, something warm at how his scrutinizing eyes flick over my body, the lines in his face set, showing his age, his experience. 

“Take a piece of advice from a man probably as old as your daddy, then. Trust me when I say that outside those walls ain’t the place to find what you’re lookin’ for. The sooner you let go of that notion, the better off you’ll be.” 

Frustration blooms hot in my chest, overpowering whatever the hell that sudden, unwanted feeling was. I’m tired of people dictating what I can and can’t do, what I’m capable of. “People do it all the time - smugglers - you would know,” I retort. “I’ve been doing it for months. Never had a problem until today. It was just some bad luck.”

“Bad luck? Really? You’d be that man’s newest little cock sleeve if it weren’t for me savin’ your ass,” Joel growls, standing up off the couch. I wince at his vulgar language, the picture it paints in my mind of what life might have been like if Joel hadn’t happened to be in the right place at the right time.

“I - I know - I’m sorry,” I blurt out, feeling my hands start to go shaky. “Thank you, Joel, I really - I really do owe you. Everything.”

“Like I said, don’t thank me yet.” He steps over so that he’s in front of me, using his boot to part my legs, scooting them apart and standing between them. “Think I did all this out of the kindness of my heart, did you? Didn’t think that maybe I was after the same damn thing as buddy boy earlier?”

I’m like a fish out of water, the way my lips move with no sound coming out. “Joel…” I breathe out in warning, in questioning. I see his arms strain in his t-shirt, hands flexing open and closed.

“I can’t say the thought ain’t crossin’ my mind now. You are mighty pretty. And you do owe me a favor. One big ol’ gigantic favor, for savin’ your backside.” He brushes his fingers along his jeans, palming his crotch for a brief second before leaning forward, caging me in on the couch with hands on either side of me, pressing into the cushions. My heart hammers in my chest so loud I expect Joel can hear it, can feel the fear taking hold of me. He bares his teeth above me like a wild animal, and now I’m certain he can smell my fear too, that he thrives on it. 

“You know what? Maybe you were bound to find what you were lookin’ for outside those walls. Maybe that’s what you needed, is it? Couldn’t find any love from daddy back home, so you wanted to find someone to turn you into their own personal little play thing. Poor baby just needed some attention, did she? Sad, really.”

My hands tremble, my words lost as I can only breathe in shaky little breaths, shaking my head violently. How can this god forsaken day keep getting worse? 

“Please -” I mumble out, bringing a jittery hand up to my mouth. Joel slaps it away, gripping my chin harshly at first, inspecting me before his thumb brushes over my bottom lip. I’d think it was gentle, caring, even, if not for the nasty look spreading across his face, the grin that darkens it along with his eyes.

“Time to put this pretty thing to better use and show how grateful you are to ol’ daddy Joel,” he says, using his free hand to deftly unbuckle his belt, the jangling sound like a death knell, making my throat go dry. “Promise I’ll be much better than he would’ve been earlier. People say I’m… a generous lover.” His drawl is slow and calculated, voice deep with lust, the sly smirk turning to a triumphant grin as he chuckles, amusing himself.

He grips the top of my head, pushing me to slide down the couch cushions into a slump as I struggle, powerless against a man of his strength. He positions himself higher up to bring the giant denim bulge right in my view. I wince, trying to turn my head away as his zipper comes undone, his hand grasping deep into the fly of his jeans, yanking his cock out. When it springs free, I gasp as he lets it slap me in the face. Hot, throbbing, and massive, leaking a shiny bead of precum that had ended up somewhere on my cheek. I sit stunned and held in place by his rough hand. 

The cold hard fact hits me that this is the first time I’m ever going to experience intimacy of any kind. Hell, I’ve only had one kiss before, and it was when I was ten years old, with a boy belonging to one of my father’s friends, a name I can’t even remember now. The first penis I’m ever seeing is right here, right now, in a context I have had zero control over. It’s thicker than I’d imagined one could be, softer too as I look at the skin of it. Veins run along the sides and bottom, all leading up to an imposing, angry pink head at the tip, practically bursting as it awaits me. It’s magnificent and terrifying at the same time, nothing like what I’d expected based on the half-assed health classes provided by schooling in the QZ. Sex has always had a shroud of mystery for me, and I never imagined that all those secrets, long awaited, would be uncovered like this. A dingy bedroom, a man likely almost three times my age, and me as an unwilling participant. Desperation swiftly grips my chest as I realize I actually have no clue what goes on behind closed doors between two people, and I have a feeling I’m about to find out in the crudest of ways.

The fearful innocence I know is about to be stolen from me causes tears to sting at my eyes, fat little droplets that instantly start to roll down my cheeks, leaking onto Joel’s large fingers still gripped around my chin. I start to struggle, my body seeming to catch up with my mind, loud warning sirens of DANGER! DANGER! finally blaring out in a panic. When I squirm, Joel plants one of his knees into my body, keeping himself balanced while still being able to hold me down. 

“Don’t cry now, honey, it’ll only make him harder.” He sneers as he strokes his cock, slapping the head against my closed lips a few times. He wrenches my jaw down, forcing it open. “Nice ‘n wide for this big boy, there we go,” he says, not waiting a moment longer to barge his cock past the opening while he has it. 

He groans loudly as he shoves several inches in right from the get go, his eyes nearly rolling back in his head. The hand that had been holding my jaw presses in on my shoulder, holding me in place. I’d have nowhere to go, anyways, with his knee on my thighs, his entire body caging me in, the cushions giving me no leeway to the way his cock is forcefully intruding, inch by inch down my throat. The taste is all consuming - a little salty, a little ripe, tasting like days of Joel’s old sweat, but it’s not completely bad, not what I’d have expected. It’s heady in a strange way, clouding my mind as I try to cope with the fullness in my mouth. 

The next moment I sputter, my eyes popping open wide, flooded with tears as he hits the back of my throat. I try to gasp for air and I find that I can’t. This is torture of some form, it must be. Full panic follows, where I try to move, but every avenue is pinned down in some way by Joel’s massive body. I weakly flap at him with my hands but it barely even deters him from rocking his hips in and out, choking me again on the thrust inwards as the back of my throat tightens, gagging around his thick girth. 

“Open up, relax your goddamn throat,” Joel hisses at me, keeping his cock pressed fully to the back of my throat, constricting any airflow I was hoping to have. I finally breathe shakily out of my nose when he pulls back just enough, only to slide it in slowly, his eyes carefully watching me. I glance up for the first time at him from below, hoping to find any shred of humanity he might have for me, but I’m met with an icy, dark gaze clouded with lust, power. 

“Gonna fuck your face now, like the dumb little slut you are. This is what stupid girls get for wanderin’ around by themselves. This is what they ask for.” He punctuates the last words with a sharp thrust inwards, my entire body convulsing with the gag I sputter out around him, drool pooling around my stretched lips. I would whimper if I could, if I even had the air to do so. 

Joel is relentless for the next few moments, rapid thrusts in and out of my mouth, my head held conveniently in place against the couch cushions for him. He groans deeply, his pleasure evident while I’m just trying to get my next breath in. I time them expertly, learning as I go, letting him continue to take from me to gain his own pleasure. 

“That’s it, that’s right, you’re turnin’ into quite the good girl,” Joel mutters above me, rolling his hips with vigor and making me gag again. I can feel drool dribbling down my chin, my neck, landing on my chest, and it makes me feel ashamed, embarrassed, and a twinge of something else. I can’t tell as Joel grunts, pumping himself in and out of my gruesomely contorted jaw, if the fact that it’s something even remotely sexual has me feeling things I shouldn’t. My cheeks burn hot as my eyes continue to water - how much of it is crying and how much of it is just my body’s response to him hitting the back of my throat, I don’t know.

Then he surprises me by slowing down, languid strokes of his cock in and out with sloppy sounds, a soft hand landing on my head, stroking before bundling my hair in his fist tightly. “Knew you’d have such a filthy little mouth for daddy,” he coos, rolling his hips forward a little further, touching the back of my throat with his cock. 

My body spasms a little when he keeps pushing, grumbling quiet groans of approval. My eyes squeeze shut, leaking out an onslaught of tears. I don’t want to see the aftermath if it ends up that it’s one gag too many and the inevitable happens. But to my surprise, he keeps slipping down, intruding on my throat. I try to keep my trembling body still, wanting to keep my throat relaxed, terrified of what might happen if I fight this. Can a person die this way? Could I really choke to death on this man’s dick? 

“Jesus fuck. Lord have fuckin’ mercy…” Joel breathes out as he pushes even further. “Swallowin’ him down, aren’t ya? Feel me right in here, I bet.” I flinch when he touches his hand to the column of my throat, wrapping his fingers softly around the flesh. When he starts to retreat, the choking is back in a second, but Joel holds me by the throat, keeping my neck craned back, returning to the brutal way he’d been abusing my mouth. I groan and sputter and try to cough through all of it, my mouth stuffed full over and over again before I can get a breath in. 

He’s relentless, and then it stops all at once, his cock popping out from between my lips with a wet, lewd sound. A stream of drool follows, a gush that dribbles down onto my already soaked shirt, and I cough violently, my hands flailing to clutch at my chest. 

As soon as the pressure of Joel’s body lifts off of me, I’m scrambling to somewhere, anywhere else, my limbs stiff and achy, my jaw panging with a soreness I’ve never felt before. He stands in front of me, one hand shooting out to grab the collar of my shirt before I can even get fully off the couch, pulling me close.

“Does it look like you’re done showin’ your gratitude yet?” he growls out, gripping the back of my head and forcing me to look down at his cock, still standing at full attention, shiny and dripping with saliva. I swallow hard, the lump painful on the way down. Joel shakes my head for me, the burn at my scalp making me wince. He presses his hips flush with mine, forcing his erection against my thigh before slipping it between them. He leans in close, hot breath ghosting over my face before his lips brush mine.

“You do make a pretty cocksleeve, y’know. Suckin’ cock like a cheap whore, wonder if you take it the same way in your cunt.”

I whimper, shaking my head, the tears non-stop as they roll down my cheeks. “Please… don’t. You don’t have to do this…”

Joel scoffs. “If I put my hand down your pants to that pretty little snatch, tell me I wouldn’t find you wet right now.” He punctuates the words with a sharp pull on my scalp. I cry out, lip quivering, trying to shake my head. “Don’t lie t’me after I’ve been so, so generous t’you today.”

I’m spinning around, a dizzying sensation, Joel’s strong bicep brought across my chest as his other hand delves below my waistline, plunging deep, right to my cotton panties, bypassing the waistband of those, too. Without care, without any sense of boundaries, his fingers explore, slipping through my sensitive slit with ease. I yelp, squirming at the intrusion, and Joel’s deep chuckle behind me confirms what I already knew, what I was beyond confused by.

“Thought so,” he says gruffly, then he cups my entire mound, giving an almost comforting sensation, holding his hand tightly pressed to it. “Nothin’ to be upset about, we’re just havin’ a little fun, payin’ off your debt to dear ol’ Joel, okay?”

I shake my head. “I - I shouldn't be here… it shouldn’t be like this,” I whisper in a cracking voice, hanging my head low as the tears just keep coming, damn them. 

Joel’s fingers start to move slowly, just starting with one, stroking gently up my lips, spreading my slickness around. I’m surprised that it feels good, a pleasant little tingle zipping right to my core that I quickly lament, hating myself for it. “What shouldn’t be like this, hm? That you shouldn’t like my cock down your throat? It’s perfectly natural, doll,” he says, somehow soft and condescending in the same breath.

“A-all of this,” I whimper, “Please, j-just let me go. I w-won’t say anything, I won’t do anything. I just…”

Joel quietly shushes me, letting his finger do the talking for a moment. It drags up to my clit, rubbing tiny, enticing little circles. I bite my lip hard, enough to taste copper, trying to suppress the moan climbing its way up from my chest. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay that it feels good. It’s ‘sposed to. Good little sluts like you don’t know any better, don’t care what it is that’s gettin’ their panties wet. Desperate,” he growls, fingers sliding through the slick mess that’s now drooling onto the cotton. “Just relax, let it happen…” I feel his breath, hot on my ear, before he nibbles, biting down hard on the earlobe, tugging it with his teeth. It bursts out, the whimpering moan I’d been holding back, just as he pinches my clit at the same time as the bite.

He laughs. He has the nerve to laugh and it sends a shiver down my spine, my brain muddled and confused and turned on by the eroticism at play here. He soothes me by nuzzling my neck, taking a long, deep breath in. I squirm as Joel’s hand retreats, and I wonder for just a moment, a brief, all consuming moment, if maybe he’s seen reason. When his fingers find the buttons of my jeans, my heart plummets to depths previously unknown as he unbuttons them, pulling the zipper down slowly, the only sound in the room his harsh breathing right on my neck.

“Please, I gave you what you want already,” I beg once more, feeling it fall on deaf ears as Joel tugs my jeans down, revealing my pink cotton panties. They’re my favorite pair - were my favorite pair - a rare find in a world like this. Pretty pale pink with a nice lacy trim and a little bow at the front. Only now, they’d belong to Joel.

Joel clicks his tongue in approval of the sight, pulling his head back to peer at my underwear from the back before his hand grips my ass, jiggling it roughly. “Oh, you’re jus’not getting it, are you? You feel this?” he asks angrily, letting me feel the hard length of his cock pressed to my ass cheeks, threatening to slip between my thighs. “This means you didn’t give me nearly half of what I want yet. He’s still achin’ for ya, princess.” 

I grit my teeth, hating the pet name, the way he’s using who I am to mock me. It’s a low blow. I hated everything to do with being associated with my father - I knew he wasn’t a good man - and I hated most that it was so obvious to a stranger which echelon of society I belonged to. If I was so important, where were they now, huh? I want to scream those words at him, but instead I just feel my legs tremble underneath me, my knees feeling like jelly as they almost give out on me.

“Please!” I struggle against his hold, but it only makes him grip my ass tighter, hard enough to bruise. “I-I’m a virgin,” I suddenly squeak out, unsure of why I say it other than some last ditch effort to deter him. My heart pounds as he stills, dead silent with his hand grasping my ass like it’s his next meal, like he owns it. 

“Well ain’t it my lucky day. Shit, that’s why you were sputterin’ all over my damn cock, ain’t it?” he says as the epiphany dawns on him, laughing. My cheeks blaze hotter and hotter, hating that I’m even embarrassed at my lack of experience and skills, like I have some sick need to impress him. He notices my tension, my head hanging low as I cry new tears, and says, “Hey, hey, nothin’ to be ashamed for. In fact…” His hand fists in my underwear, tight and unrelenting. I feel his cock press against my ass again, harder than ever before it slips between my thighs. “Makes me awful excited,” he purrs, bringing his mouth to my ear again.

I only give him a timid whimper in reply, squeezing my eyes shut as I realize there is nothing I can do to stop this man. He thinks I’m a cheap whore, and he loves it. I’m a pure virgin, and he loves it even more.

He squeezes me tighter to his chest, my back starting to sweat through my thin tee shirt. “The hell were you savin’ yourself for anyways? Marriage? A sweet pussy like this?” At my silence, he cups my pussy hard, letting the dampness of my underwear soak into his palm. “Answer me!” he barks out.

“I - I wasn’t! I don’t know!” I cry out, trembling.

“Well,” he says, fisting my panties again, starting to pull them down. “M’honored you’d let me be your first, sweetheart,” he drawls, and I nearly scream at the insinuation. I’m not letting him do anything. 

I start to put up more of a fight, useless against his thick arms holding me so tightly. Cool air touches my ass and the space between my thighs as he manages to shimmy my panties further down even in my struggle. I clamp my legs shut in defiance, roaring out a strained grunt as I keep trying to squirm out of his grasp. He huffs in anger, trying to subdue my writhing body before he pushes it towards the couch. I land hard, banging my knee on the hard edge that supports the cushion, wincing and trying to catch my breath. I’m practically in position for him already, ass pressed out towards him, on my hands and knees.

“Gonna make me do things the hard way, are you?” He scowls, his free hand fisting in my hair again, pulling me close.  His breath is hot over my shoulder, the sensation vile against the skin of my cheek, stained with tears. “Been too long since I found a pretty virgin like you. An’ ruinin’ this perfect, pure little cunt is jus’ the cherry on top of a perfect day f’me.” 

I feel his hard cock twitch against me, a reminder of what’s to come. The movements are quick for how bulky Joel’s body is, let alone his age, as he exchanges the hold across my chest for my wrists, bundling them behind my back. I cry out at the strain, the awkward angle he’d twisted them to, fighting him again until a hard smack lands on my ass. I scream through gritted teeth, not giving up the fight, but another thwap! rings out through the apartment, making me falter. My tender flesh screams at me in agony when he lands another spank, even harder this time, then another, until I’m crying unrelenting, fat tears.

With me rendered motionless, Joel presses down, bending me over, my balance tricky with my hands behind my back. My face nearly touches the couch, but I’m precariously held up by the wrists, the strain already making them ache. The warmth dripping between my thighs betrays me as my ass stings in residual little pulses, so raw and sore but spreading a pleasure through me that I’ve never known before. 

I don’t have time to dwell on it before Joel is grasping one hand on my hip, notching himself at my entrance. “Promise you’re gonna like this, that you’ll never be able to think of anyone else’s cock but daddy Joel’s,” he spews gruffly in my ear before he thrusts hard, one swift motion to bury himself inside of me. I scream out, the searing pain between my thighs making me wonder if I’m being split open for good, if it’s possible that some things are just too big to fit in certain places of the body. 

“Fuuuuuuck,” Joel hisses through his teeth, making the tiniest thrusting motions to ensure he’s buried deep. Every movement pierces me with a new sting as my body desperately tries to adjust, to accommodate the horrible, overwhelming intrusion. “You were not kiddin’, sweetheart. Tightest fuckin’ pussy I’ve ever been in.”

I sob, unable to speak, unable to move as Joel thrusts brutally from the get go, his hips snapping with force, crashing into mine hard enough to bruise. The lewd sounds we make disgust me, because I know I’m part of those sounds, my body enjoying the filthy things he’s saying, the way he’s taking me without remorse. He pulls himself out, clicking his tongue as he peers down between our bodies. “Christ, you are one sexy little bird. Poor little virgin bleedin’ on daddy’s cock.”

The thought horrifies me, making my stomach turn. “Please,” I cry out, my body rocking with the motions as he starts to fuck me again, the strain on my wrists as Joel uses them to help thrust himself inside of me starting to gnaw deeper into them. I’m like a ragdoll with the way he’s jerking me by my wrists, my body having no choice but to flail in time with the movements so that he can press himself deep on each cruel thrust inwards.

“You want more? You beggin’ already?” Joel grunts between his heavy breaths, sounding so cocky it makes me want to spin around and punch him. I settle for gritting my teeth instead, feeling my body slowly but surely melding into his. When Joel presses me down further, forcing an arch in my back, I whimper when his cock hits something sensitive, deep, primal. Fuck, is it something. 

“Oh, that’s it. We got her now, don’t we?” he says from above, continuing to stroke his cock along that spot repeatedly. I feel myself losing my will to fight, hating the pleasure but feeling myself lean into it slightly, my hips pressing back to meet his nearly against my will. “You ever come before, sweetheart?” He leans in a little closer to ask the question, the pistoning of his hips slowing the slightest bit.

I refuse to answer, tears pooling in my eyes. I don’t want him to take this from me, I don’t want him to know anything about me. He jerks my wrists at the same time he slams his hips into me, and I whimper loudly, feeling the way he’s surely bruising my insides. 

“If you ain’t figured it out yet, the rules are that you answer me when I’m askin’ you a question if you know what’s good for ya,” he spits out, and I shake my head, letting it hang limply.

“Use your words. Say ‘no, daddy’,”  he says with sinister condescension, stroking his own ego.

“N-no… daddy…” I say, my tongue revolting against the words, bile climbing up my throat.

He moves his hand to my head, stroking carefully and softly. “Oh, that’s a shame. That’s a daaaamn shame. All pent up, y’are. But daddy will make it all better.” He sounds deranged, sick, like he truly believes that I’m thankful to him for what he’s doing to me. I can’t answer, my mouth gaping open just as he releases my wrists, letting me fall to the couch with a thud. My open mouth gets a mouthful of the cushions, making me sick over the fact that it’s probably full of god knows what due to its age and whatever things Joel seems to get up to in this apartment of his.

I blink as Joel grips tightly at my hips, wondering why he suddenly trusts my hands to be free, when it happens. He thrusts into that spot again, harsh and unforgiving, and I nearly see stars behind my eyes as the head of his cock punches against things I didn’t even know were there. That’s why. I’m incapacitated at this angle, brutally forced to enjoy the pleasure washing over my body as Joel takes from me, actually giving in return this time.

I bite my tongue hard, not wanting to give him any satisfaction for the tiny moans that are growing louder in my throat, desperate to be let out.

“Let me hear you, princess. Daddy doesn’t do with quiet girls. I can feel you clampin’ down on my cock, know you’re lovin’ how I use you up like you were meant for it.”

I shake my head in protest, but a strangled sound escapes past my tight lips when Joel slams into me harder than he has yet, puffing hard as he fucks me like a greedy animal. He chuckles through heavy breaths, little whispers of that’s it, come on, take it, flow freely from his nasty mouth. 

I feel myself slip away, further gone from reality as the warmth spreads from my pelvis into my belly, coiling tight. Everything tingles, set on fire, the spot where Joel handles my hips with his fat fingers practically burning with a constant mix of pleasure and pain. I cry out when Joel’s cock pulls that feeling out from deep inside of me again, half a sob and half a moan as it crescendos, waves of pleasure crashing over me.

Joel’s grunts of approval, so brutish and debauched, sends a new wave of arousal through me. I tremble, eyes squeezed shut with my body completely out of my control, taken over by this boundless bliss. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before: heavenly warmth worlds above any of the pleasures I’ve known. This had to be what Joel was referring to, urging me towards, telling me he wanted to make me come. This had to be what I was missing out on all these years, hiding myself away. Was this the reason sex was so coveted, so sought after? Was this feeling… the reason he’s doing what he is to me right now?  

It feels like it’s never ending, my body so rigid as it spasms yet pliant as he fucks into me harder and harder. I loathe the noises I’m making that intermingle with his as I squeeze my eyes shut, enjoying it.

“Fuck, fuck - that’s it - f-fuck knew you’d love it. Come on my cock, baby, that’s right.” Joel’s string of praises reach my ears as I come down from my high, limp and yielding to whatever it is he wants to do to me now. I have no fight - my bones turned to jelly, my body sore all over, my throat scratchy from the way he’d assaulted it earlier. I only have it in me to give the rest of myself over, whether I like it or not. 

“S-so fuckin’ tight, lettin’ me take your virginity like a good little whore,” he punches out, pounding into my sensitive cunt like it’s saving his soul, like it’s the only thing he could ever care about. I’m on the precipice of coming again, my nerves still frayed and on edge from the last one. A smaller but still powerful climax takes over, my body shuddering and tight, milking every last second of the pleasure. 

“Gonna blow my load into this pure little pussy, make it mine - fuck - gonna fill you up like the cocksleeve you are. P-probably never want to be without my fuckin’ load drippin’ out of you again. I-I’m close, fuck -” Joel rambles as he ruts his hips deep, one final thrust and a grunt, and I feel him stall, pulsing into me. 

It’s all suddenly very still, an eerie quiet settling over the room. My entire body burns hot, the only thing keeping me from collapsing is Joel’s hands still anchored on my hips as he leaves his cock inside of me, plugging me up. I want to cry again at the sudden, overwhelming shame I feel, but I can’t give him the satisfaction. I can’t.

Joel pats my ass a few times, pulling out. I tremble hard, falling forward onto the couch without his hold, instantly curling in on myself. I resent the way I’d noticed how empty I felt the second he was gone, how cold my body was without his warmth pressed into it. I dare to peer up at the sick man who stands above me, catching his breath, watching just as the last bit of his softening cock gets tucked back into his jeans. He swipes a hand across his forehead, gathering sweat, staring down at me with a darkened expression, grinning cockily.

When he plops down on the couch next to me, picking up the can of beans he’d been eating before, my mouth hangs open in surprise at how casual he’s acting. I watch his face shine with sweat, his breathing still labored, but everything else about his attitude would indicate he didn’t just force himself on me. 

I try to keep my expression neutral for my own safety as I feel something leak out of me, not even wanting to give him the smug satisfaction of having to confirm my suspicions about what it is. I do my best to position my body so he can’t see between my legs as I try to pull my underwear up from where they sit near my knees, my jeans following. Joel only gives me a knowing glance as he takes a bite, conscious of the fact that a part of him sits inside my now soiled underwear, and a part of me now sits inside of his soul. 

He shoves the can my way and I shrink back at his sudden motion, not taking it from him. “Eat. I ain’t havin’ you all weak and despondent for the next time.”

I feel my heart sink down past my ass, my stomach plummeting along with it as nausea overtakes me, a dizzying sensation clouding my vision. He couldn’t have said what I think he did. I - I’d paid my debt, whatever it was he thought I owed him for saving me when I didn’t even ask him to. For saving me and then doing exactly what that man had planned to do anyways under the guise of a caring, noble rescuer.

“N-next time…?” I manage to make my mouth move, my throat to produce a sound, pushing the question out in a voice that doesn’t sound like my own.

“Know you said not to call you stupid but my house, my rules, an’ sweetheart…” He looks at me under his raised, expectant brows. “My stupid, stupid girl. Did you really think that would be enough? That I’d get an opportunity every man dreams of - an untouched, perfect pussy like yours, to keep all for m’self, and throw it all away?” He’s creeping closer as he speaks, shrouding me on the couch with his huge frame, caging in where I lay, my body wound as tightly as it can to itself to block whatever he’s thinking of doing next. “Now you don’t think daddy is that dumb to let you go knowin’ all that, do you?”

I sit stunned silent underneath him, wide eyes fixed in a tortured gaze on his rugged face, but his hand squeezing my thigh is warning enough for me to shake my head, stuttering out an answer. “N-no. No…” I whisper. 

Two approving pats on my cheek send Joel slinking back slightly, his dark, unhinged eyes staring holes into me as they roam over my body. Despite nothing even visible - my chest hidden underneath my arms and legs clamped tightly - I feel violated, objectified. 

Terror rips through my chest as reality settles in slowly but surely. I look at the man I’d trusted once, who’d shown himself to be a friend, or at the least an ally, currently feasting his eyes on me like I’m a product. Which now, I suppose I am. A whore. His whore.

“Now,” he says, licking his lips, that hungry gaze already returning, a bulge appearing in his jeans and stretching the fabric. “All I’ve got to do is decide just how long I’ll keep ya for.”

dividers by @/saradika-graphics!

[rockrosethistle]

If there's one thing TGWDLM fans are gonna do, it's think about the implications. And the implications of the opening number are crazy.

So. We know that the show isn't completely chronological since the opening number takes place before the meteor hits. So that song is a sort of "flash forward" moment. But when you think about it, we don't really know how far in the future it takes place.

What we do know is that by the time it's happening, Emma is infected. She has a little solo in it singing about how Paul is pining over a barista

And we know that this is meant to be an infected Emma specifically. Lauren had other characters in the show, if they wanted to avoid the Emma implication they would've just dressed her as one of those.

So we know this is meant to be Emma.

And Emma isn't infected until the very end of the show. She's dragged off stage during the credits. So since she's infected in the opening number, we know the number takes place after the events of the show.

Another important detail is that Paul is infected before Emma. He's the one that passes it on to her.

So back to the opening number, Emma is infected. Which means by just following a simple timeline, Paul must also be infected. He should be singing and dancing, right?

But that's not what happens. Paul misses his entrance.

If Paul is infected, then there's no reason he should be missing his entrance. Furthermore, if he's a part of a hive mind, there's no reason other members of the same hive mind shouldn't know where he is. They are literally all connected by one brain, and yet both Mr. Davidson and Bill express they have no clue where he went.

What I'm saying is that Paul is not infected. He was infected (again, we know that because Emma is infected and he was infected before her) but now he's not anymore.

I'm saying there's a way out of the hive, and Paul found it. That's the only explanation that makes sense given the facts of the situation. Sometime after the events of tgwdlm, Paul is able not only to break out the hive mind, but to hide from it.

And if he broke out, others could do the same. Maybe even Emma.

Edit because a countertheory has emerged: Yes it's possible that everyone is infected the entire time and the show itself is just Pokey replaying the events for the fun of it. But it seems unlikely to me. First of all, each of the Lords in Black has a distinct personality. They all are evil, but within that they seems to fall somewhere on a spectrum of "silly billy" to "prick." For example, Tinky is more of a silly billy. He toys with humans without much of a motive and more for just shits and giggles. But in every instance, Pokey's more on the extreme side of prick.

He's one of the few with an actual motive behind what he does. In Yellowjacket, it's confirmed that Pokotho hates the sound of anyone's voice except for his own. The events of TGWDLM don't happen because Pokey is bored, they happen because he is executing a plan. So I don't think that he would just have them play out their little scenario just to entertain him, especially just one small island? I just feel like he'd be more focused on world domination.

If the theory is that all this is happening after Pokey's already taken over the whole world, no one was successful in stopping him, then yes it's plausible, but still weird. There are a strange amount of things in that show you just think an eldritch god wouldn't include.

Edit 2: New evidence has emerged???

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is loosely based off of Invasion of The Body Snatchers. Paul's last name is even a nod to the main character, Matthew. At the end of the film, Matthew survives, and continues living among the infected, pretending to be one of them. And wouldn't that be just such a fun little parallel...

Obviously it doesn't prove anything but the source material doesn't lie folks.

[cherryredstars]

Oh lord wonderful. My love for you has just doubled, you have no idea. May I please request a exes to lovers mid apocalypse sex with Ellie Williams?? Make it hateful I love it when that girl is mean ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ love you lots

Pairing: Ellie Williams x fem!reader

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, Fingering, "Public" Sex

A/N: Been wanting to write this but didn't have time :(

Unedited

You hate this place.

You never understood why Ellie was so obsessed with the abandoned mall. Everywhere you went, it felt like something was lurking in the dark corners of a trashed store. It made you overly paranoid, and your hand constantly twitched towards your weapon.

"Boo."

You whip around, hand coming up before being grasped firmly by a warm hand. You freeze up, an annoyed exhale parting from your lips as you come face to face with Ellie's freckled face.

"What the fuck, Ellie." You scoff, roughly tugging your hand away from her grip.

Ellie only chuckles, walking past you to scope out a store. "Not my fault you're so fidgety."

You roll your eyes, reluctantly following after her. Trash and random objects thrown to the floor during raiding and panicked evacuations crumble under your shoes. The sound echoes in the hollow area, and you wearily glance over your shoulder. Nothing looks amiss, but it never hurts to be careful.

"God, could you relax? The place is cleared out." Ellie calls back to you.

She's preoccupied with scanning what's left on the shelves. They're remnants of what was popular before the outbreak, all covered with dust and rotted. Sometimes, when you and Ellie were paired on outings together, the two of you would theorize what they were used for or why they were so popular. When clothes were in good enough condition, Ellie would sneak some back for you and have you model them for her. Now, you'd rather get infected before dressing up for her again.

"You never know." You defend, looking back one more time before venturing deeper into the store.

Most of the things here don't catch your interest, all too decayed to really decipher what they were. You walk out from a row of shelves at the same time as Ellie, and you swiftly look away when you make eye contact.

"What are we even doing here, anyways?" You sigh, just loud enough for Ellie to hear as you browse through another aisle. "This place has been raided too many times to have anything good."

"Do you always have to ruin the fun?" Ellie calls back, the sound of her picking up and placing something down reaching your ears.

You make a face at the rusty metal shelves, rolling your eyes as you silently mock her words. You almost bump into Ellie when you exit to the main walkway, and she quickly grabs your elbow to stop you from falling into the shelf. You grumble, shaking her off again as you walk over to a counter with an empty register. You hoist yourself up, wiping the dust sticking to your hands on your pants.

"I don't understand why you like this place so much," You remark, tilting your head at Ellie as she makes her way over to you.

You expect her to sit besides you if anything, but her hands find their way to either side of your body as she cages you in. The position is intimate, and it reminds you of all the other times your quests were delayed due to stolen moments reserved for just you two. Your eyes trail to her chapped lips, and you hold your breath for a moment before meeting her eyes again.

She has that annoying know-it-all look in her eyes, and you've always been stuck in a limbo of wanting to punch her in the face and kissing her every time she flashes you with it. As if sensing your thoughts, Ellie leans her face closer to yours. You can feel the suffocating warmth of her exhales ghost over your skin, and your lips part slightly as you continue to hold eye contact.

"Sentimental value." Ellie whispers in response to your question.

You can feel her hand creeping closer to your thigh, her pinkie brushing against the covered skin. You try to hide the way your breath hitches and your leg tenses, your thighs pressing closer together to escape her touch. You start to lean your head back, desperate for some personal space, but Ellie's other hand quickly grabs the back of your neck to keep you in place.

"Careful, you might fall back." Ellie jokes, pulling your head back towards her.

You can feel her lips brushing against your own with each of her words. The dry skin catches on your lips, and your eyes fall to them. Ellie seems to be doing the same, a small smile twitching at the side of her lips as your tongue brushes against her mouth as you go to lick your lips. Her thumb brushes over the pulse point in your neck, and you know she can feel the way it jumps.

"What's got you so nervous?" She teases, "Scared a monster will getcha?"

Before you can respond, Ellie silences you with a slow kiss. Your eyes flutter shut, exhaling through your nose as you slowly move your lips to match hers. You can practically feel the way her brows furrow, her tongue licking at the seams of your lips as her hand near your thigh slowly brushes up the side of it. She swallows the gasp you let out effortlessly as she squeezes the fat of it, grasp firm as she slowly pulls it away to part your legs. Despite the buzzing bliss swarming in your head, your hands land on her shoulders and you roughly pull her away.

"We can't-" You choke, locking your elbows when she tries to push against your hold. "There might be Infected-"

Ellie groans, pushing hard enough against your hands that they break away. She almost topples into you from the force she extorts, but she's quick to catch herself.

"I told you the coast was clear." She scoffs, roughly tugging you back into a kiss. It's messier than the earlier one, clearly fueled with annoyance. "You never fucking listen when I speak."

You moan against her lips, melting into her as she continues where she left off. Her fingers skim over the seam running down your crotch, and your body bucks into it. Ellie huffs against your lips, a proud smirk disrupting your kiss. Her fingers trail higher up until they reach the button of your jeans, fingers skilled as they flick it open and reach for your zipper. The sound of the zipper scraping against the teeth echoes in the small space between the two of you. Ellie groans when she feels you place all your weight against the counter, making it impossible to pull your pants down.

"It's gross here." You comment, breathing heavily. Your lips are puffy from her kissing, and saliva makes them shiny.

"So is everywhere else in the world." Ellie tsks, tugging at your pants. "Want me to take you against a wall instead?"

You huff, lifting your hips as Ellie begins to pull them down just far enough to get access to your underwear. Her fingers skim over the dampening fabric, eyes trained on it. You shiver when the cold air brushes against your skin, and you exhale slowly when Ellie's fingers ghost over your inner thigh. Your eyes fall to watch her, but you quickly scrunch up your nose.

"Ellie, you're hands are disgusting." You sneer, catching sight of the dirt clinging under her nails and crusting over her palms.

Ellie groans, slapping the hand from around your neck over her mouth. An annoyed tick scrunches the space between her brows and she glares at you. "Don't you ever shut up? If you care so much, you can lick them clean."

She rolls her eyes at the disgusted look that casts over your eyes, and she pinches your cheeks together and gives them a small wag. "Then be quiet."

Your breath hitches under her hand as her fingers slowly pull your underwear to the side. Your cunt is dripping and glossy despite all the lame excuses you've used to delay her. Ellie admires it for a second, watching the way you pulse from her attention before running a finger over your slick. She can feel the warmth of your gasp against the crevices of her palm, mimicking the warmth of your wet folds. Your hips buckle into her touch, and Ellie chuckles at your desperation. Her finger dips into your small hole, moaning at the way you instantly suck her in.

"God," Ellie mumbles, eyes trained on the arousal dribbling down her finger. "So needy."

You mumble something against her palm, closely resembling the tone of a rebuttal. Ellie quickly shuts it up by forcing another finger inside of you, your walls clenching quickly around the new thickness. Her fingers curl into you, pressing into the gummy walls of your cunt. They squelch from the wetness, the sound echoing in the quietness of the mall. Your moans escalate in volume despite being muffled, and Ellie groans as your walls flutter violently against her fingers.

"That's it, let it out." She coos, her fingers spearing into your soft spot until you spasm.

You fall slack against her, her hand falling away to cradle you as you mewl into her shoulder. Your body shakes against her, and Ellie pets your hair as you come down from your high. When your muscles finally feel solid again, you slowly push yourself off of her and take a deep breath. Your face scrunches as Ellie takes her wet fingers into her mouth, cleaning them off. You turn your head away, sliding off of the counter and pulling your pants back up.

"You're fucking disgusting."

[ohraicodoll]

DESPERATELY NEED FERAL READER WITH EP 8 WITH AN INJURED JOEL AND KIDNAPPED ELLIE…….. I KNOW OUR CRAZY QUEEN WOULD KILL EVERYONE ♥️♥️♥️♥️

Yall asked for it lol

Violent Delights Joel Miller x f!Reader The Last of Us 6.7k Words/ 3rd POV Feral Reader Masterlist Summary: They took her kid and she was getting her back. Warning: Graphic depictions of violence and torture

She woke up with a start, having drifted off unknowingly after trying to keep watch, a sense of disorientation as she tried to figure out where she was and what was happening. The basement. They were still in the basement, the cold leeching any warmth from the walls and floors, the haggard breathing of her companion her only company. It’d been over 48 hours since she last slept, since Joel was hurt and they’d had to drag him into the house and patch him up. He wasn’t in good shape. Joel was so close to death’s door, it terrified her. They were so close to losing him and she had never felt more helpless.

She could still hear his pained groans, the glazed and blank look in his eyes, as she put pressure on the bleeding hole in his stomach just a couple days before. “Don’t you dare die, Joel. You still have to make shit up to me and you can’t do that dead. You can’t leave us again.” He’d tried to tell them to leave him. To go back to Tommy’s and leave him behind, the stubborn asshole. But Ellie managed to find the first aid kit and they’d sewn up the hole, wrapping it best they could with the little supplies they had. She knew it wasn’t enough. There could be shards left from the baseball bat, they weren’t the cleanest, nothing was sterile. She didn’t even know if something internal had been damaged. But it was all they could do. They’d been so focused on getting to Colorado they’d been using their food storage rather than hunting over the past week. Now it was biting them in the ass, their supplies dwindled. She’d managed to briefly go out and hunt down a rabbit, but game seemed scarce and leaving meant leaving Ellie and Joel alone. Without Joel, it was hard to sleep, look after Ellie, look after him and keep him stable, look after the fucking horses, and hunt. She was overwhelmed. So sleep went out the window. She took watch when Ellie was asleep, went and tried to hunt and scavenge the nearby houses when she was awake, and kept an eye on Joel in between taking care of the two horses in the garage. But at some point she’d fallen asleep finally, fallen deep and hard enough that she hadn’t noticed Ellie slipping the rifle from her hands and leaving the two adults alone.  A small scribbled note was placed on her lap on a piece of what looked like newspaper, “Be back soon -E.” She scrambled to her feet, looking around and cursed herself. Joel was still breathing steadily but his brow was covered with sweat from the infection he was staving off. Both their packs were against the wall but Ellie’s was gone and the panic that took hold was like a lightning bolt. It stole the breath from her lungs. Ellie was gone, Ellie was gone, Ellie was gone- it was a racing thought that circulated over and over again. Her main purpose, main job, and she’d fucking fallen asleep.

Her heart jumped further at hearing footsteps above her head, the slight creak and shift in the old wood, a door slamming…then it all came out in deep relief as she recognized the light shuffling.

Ellie raced down the steps, cheeks pink from cold and wind, and breath huffing out in a rush as she entered the basement.

She grabbed the girl immediately, shaking her by the shoulders with the vestiges of panic still in her blood, “Where did you go, Ellie? You weren’t supposed to leave!”

The teenager paused, eyes frantic and a little wild, but a tough set to her lips as she shook her head, “I went hunting and you needed sleep! I had to, but look! I got Joel medicine!” Ellie took the bottles out of their wrap, quickly moving away from her and kneeling down to Joel, beginning to lift up his shirt before she could even get a good look at what she had. The wound was ugly and discolored and she could hear him groan at the small touches. Her mind was still caught up in the panic of discovering the girl was gone and she quickly snatched the bottles away before the syringe was inserted. “Where did you get this?” she asked, turning it over in her hands. Penicillin. Two whole bottles of penicillin, practically liquid gold in their world, and Ellie had managed to get it while she slept. The teen looked nervous and tried to snatch it back, but she was quick even if she was exhausted and pulled her hand away, “Please, can we give it to him first and then I’ll explain?” Her eyes were so big for her face, cheeks pink. Her desperation to help Joel was evident. Ellie knew how bad he was doing and believed she held the cure to it all in her hands. She could only sigh and hand it back over, instructing her to give just a fourth of the bottle and to tap the syringe. Joel would probably have a heart attack if he knew she was letting the kid give it to him, but she knew Ellie had to do this herself. It was her win and she had to feel like she was the one saving him so she let her. But then they both stared, her knowledge only getting them that far. “Where the fuck am I suppose to put this?” Ellie cursed, looking at the wound and Joel’s arm, eyes switching between hers and his closed ones, “Fuck, how are we supposed to do this?” She cursed herself. Her medical knowledge was mediocre. Stitching, cleaning wounds, pulling out bullets, the basics they needed. Infections and medicine she had no clue about, “Just give it to him in his stomach. As long as it enters his blood stream, it should be fine.” At least, that’s what she thought. Ellie winced and inserted the needle, Joel giving out pained groans as it sunk into the sensitive area. They both watched the plunger empty the contents and then she pulled it out, trying to clean the needle the best she could. They only had one syringe and would have to reuse it. “And now we wait,” the teen commented and looked at his face as if at any second he would be magically better. He would wake up and smile and tell her good job. But he didn’t, staying silent on the small makeshift bed. “No, now you tell me where you went and how you got that,” she bit out, sitting on the other side of Joel to face her. Ellie winced and looked down at the small glass bottles in her hand, “You needed to sleep and we needed food. I know you think you can take care of all of us, but you can’t and I wanted to help by trying to hunt.” “That’s not your responsibility-” “It doesn’t matter. I wanted to help,” Ellie cut her off but then sighed, “And I did manage to actually get a deer…but I ran into these guys...” Instantly, she was on high alert, eyes searching everything that was visible and checking her for any wounds, “You ran into people and you’re barely telling me!” “I know!” the young girl argued back, hand resting on top of Joel’s, “They found my deer before me and said they were from a group with starving women and children. They offered to trade for half the deer and said they had medicine. I did everything I was supposed to! Got them to drop their guns, unloaded their rifles, and had them back away. One went to get the medicine and I kept the gun on the other.”

“So you gave them half the deer and they gave you the medicine then just let you go?” she asked and clenched and unclenched her fists. Ellie wouldn’t look so nervous if  that was the whole story and she wasn’t nearly tired enough to have been dragging half a deer carcass back. Shrugging, Ellie grimaced and refused to meet her eyes, “That was the deal…but they knew who we were. The people that attacked us at the university belonged to their group and this guy started talking about how one of theirs had been killed by a crazy man with two girls. He knows that was Joel. I don’t know why he let me go, but I think they’re looking for us.” With a curse, she quickly stood, hands on her hips and pacing in a tight circle, “Fuck. Fuck. And they didn’t come after you?”

“No, I think they let me go because I was a kid.” She doubted that. People rarely were that charitable, even to children in this world. Especially a child with a gun and an attitude like Ellie’s. The unspoken words were there though. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t come for her and Joel though. Ellie may be deemed innocent but the two of them were problems and only one of them was in commission currently. But what could they do? They couldn’t move Joel in his state. They couldn’t leave him behind either. They were stuck. “Okay. Maybe if they let you go they don’t plan on coming. Maybe they think both of us are injured if you were out on your own and won’t come,” she lied comfortingly and tried to speak the words into existence, knowing the kid was probably feeling guilty and needed some hope. They needed rest, needed to breathe for a second, and panicking now wouldn’t help.  It took a while to relax enough to let the adrenaline fade away.

Ellie laid down, exhausted, tucking into Joel’s side as she had the past couple nights and resting her head on his shoulder. He subconsciously leaned into her, still alive for now. Her heart ached at the sight, the way they held each other in their own ways. She didn’t have the strength to get after the girl more or uproot them out of precaution. They were all exhausted and Ellie had somehow managed to bring hope even if there was a cost.

She sat down by the stairs, flipped her knife between her fingers to keep her awake and focused, and watched the two sleep with her heart in her throat.

The men would come. Now that they knew they were in the area, they would come and they were stuck in this spot until Joel was better. There was no way they could get him on a horse and move him now without undoing all the healing he’d done. A thousand scenarios went through her head, sleep now a distant memory in the face of the panic and anxiety plaguing her. How was she supposed to fight off a group and keep them both safe?

She couldn’t. That was the reality of the situation.

The thought hit her over and over again like a blow to the chest, the knife turning between her fingers. _________________________________________ Morning came and she could see Ellie’s disappointment that the medicine hadn’t instantly woken Joel up and made him all better. To ease her mind, they gave him another dose, trying to make the bottles last before shoving the remainder in their bags. They were out of food, the rabbit she had caught two days ago long gone without a way to store it. Joel still wasn’t eating or drinking and she worried that even if they got the infection under control, his body wouldn’t be strong enough to get better. Things were bad. The possibility of Joel dying was a constant chime in her head. It felt like a mockery that he had left and came back only to be almost taken from them permanently. She was angry. He wasn’t supposed to be the one that took the hit. It had been meant for her but he’d pushed her out the way as the bat swung, breaking on the tree, and then tackled the guy. If it had been her, Joel would know what to do. He could take care of them both or at least would have the strength to leave her behind if necessary. She wasn’t sure she could. She was failing him. Failing them both. The basement was suffocating, pressing in on her, and she took the opportunity to go tend to the horses, leaving the girl and her unconscious companion to the pressing weight of disappointment. Her body was beginning to ache from the lack of sleep and food, joints protesting her movement, but she reached down and scooped snow into the small metal bucket for them to get some water. Soon the horses would starve too or be too weak to carry them. Death was creeping up on them. Looking over the neighborhood they were held up in, she sighed at the obvious foot steps leading up through the streets before beginning to methodically cover what she could. Ellie knew better than to leave a trail but she guessed in her hurry to get the medicine back to Joel and get away from the men she had forgotten. And as birds took off in a rush further down the road towards the wooded outskirts, she froze and her heart thundered in her ears. 

She felt fear run through her as her thoughts from the night resurfaced and became reality, a living nightmare. They were coming. They had waited for daylight to search them out and were coming now. She knew it, could feel it, and they were out of time. Quickly covering what she could and making false tracks from the other houses, she ran back inside and flew down the stairs to the basement taking two at a time. No time, there was no time.  Ellie startled at her rushed appearance and the way she flew across the room to the rifle and her own pack, “What’s happening?”

“Those men you saw are coming,” she huffed out, grabbing the rifle and checking it was loaded before looking around the room as if she could find the answer there.

Turning to Joel, Ellie began to shake his shoulders as if he were merely sleeping and not borderline in a coma, “Fuck. Joel! You have to wake up, Joel. Joel, wake up! Wake the fuck up, Joel!” But he only gasped, pained whimpers leaving his lips, eyelids fluttering.

She bent down and grabbed Ellie by the shoulders, forcing her to look into her eyes, “Ellie, I need you to listen to me. I need you to take the horse and run.”

“What? No, what about-”

“You run and I’ll follow behind and try to pick them off,” she interrupted, voice adamant, “They’re going to search every house and they will find us eventually. I can’t hold them off like this. I need to know you’re good first and if we’re away from here then it will take the focus off Joel.”

“You want me to go without you?” Ellie’s eyes were wide with fear and her heart ached at the sight, but there was no time.

“I’ll find you,” she promised and dug her fingers tightly into her shoulders as if she could sink the words into her skin, “I will. But you have to go now. We’ll block the entrance to down here, give Joel some time.”

Ellie pressed her lips together and nodded, running to grab her backpack and last minute grabbed one of the larger knives they had. Running back over to Joel, the teen knelt down and placed it on his chest, forcing his hand to grab it. She let her while grabbing the rest of her stuff and placed Joel’s pack into a small cubby under the steps to make it less noticeable.

“Okay, look at me,” Ellie whispered to him while he only groaned in reply, “There are men coming, okay? I’m gonna lead them away from you, Red is going to help get rid of them. But if anybody makes it down here, you fucking kill them. You got it?”

“Ellie, hurry,” she bit out, peeking out the small window along the top of the wall. “Joel, do not fall asleep,” the teenager pleaded desperately, squeezing his hand around the knife. She could see his eyes partially open, see his lips trying to move and his fingers twitching trying to grasp the knife. But Ellie finally got up quickly and rushed up the stairs. She went to follow after her and paused, staring back at the unconscious man on the floor. A part of her whispered that this could be the last time she saw him alive. One or both of them could be dead if this didn’t go right. Heart in her throat, she ran back to him and kneeled, kissing his forehead and grasping his hand. “Stay alive for us, please, Joel,” she whispered, squeezing the hand around the knife, but getting back up and running up the stairs. She tried not to look back. Both of them moved the tall kitchen cabinet over the door entryway to the basement, trying to shuffle things around to not make the spot obvious before heading to the garage. They got both horses out, grabbing what she needed from hers and sending silent apologies to Tommy before forcing it to gallop away in the opposite direction with a sharp smack. The other she saved for Ellie to ride, closing the garage door behind them. They’d figure out transportation later when they were out of this mess, but they needed the guys off their trail and two different horse tracks would help. With quick hands, she helped Ellie climb up onto its back. 

Shakily, she bit out, “You ride hard and fast and loud. They’re going to come after you but if you go fast they won’t catch you and I’ll hit them from behind. They only know for sure about you right now. Do not look back, Ellie. I’ll find you once it’s safe, I promise.” Ellie was shaking but tried to put on a brave face, nodding and holding onto the reins. She wanted to hug the girl, tell her it was going to be okay, but she wouldn’t lie to her. Not now. The men were close, she knew that. She patted the rear of the horse and nodded a final goodbye, beckoning her to go forward. Her heart screamed to not let her go, that it was safer with her than alone, but they were backed into a corner and she had no choice. They wouldn’t win in a shootout and losing meant Ellie would die. So she watched as the girl rode away down the street away from her, turning until she was completely out of sight, and tried not to flinch at the gunshots that came soon after and the yells of men. She tried to shut off the part of her that wanted to panic, to react and worry. That wasn’t the part she needed to listen to at the moment. Running as far as she could, crossing over fences and staying against the walls of the house, she followed the sound of loud hoof beats and chased after them as they chased after Ellie. Her ears caught on one of them screaming that she was to be left alive, but that didn’t ease the worry in her. Being captured alive wasn’t always a good thing. One of the slower men chasing Ellie fell the furthest behind, wheezing in the cold and trying to clamber in the dense snow. Her own knife in hand, she ran and jumped onto his back, using both their weight to send them forward onto his front behind the cover of some of the shrubs. 

He hadn’t been expecting to be attacked from behind and it took him a moment to try and struggle, to lift his face out of the snow to breathe, and she took advantage of that by stabbing deep into the back of his neck. He groaned, the sound muffled, and she pulled the blade out and sunk it in again and again with a growl. The snow was staining red around them. He stopped moving. One down. She stood and took off, the cold biting into her lungs and stealing her breath. The terrain was hard and the one kill had put her farther behind the group, forcing her to cut across more backyards to catch up, but she could only hope Ellie had done what she asked and was out of range. She could catch the rest of them once they scattered. But then a gunshot rang out close by. The sound of a horse’s cry ripped through her, tore her soul to shreds, and she knew if she lived beyond the day she would hear that sound forever in her nightmares.

She ran. She left all care of stealth behind and ran fast and hard, dodging trees and fallen branches and then ran faster when another gun shot rang out. The chest felt like it was being cleaved open by the panic, fear gripping her tightly. They wouldn’t have shot her. They wouldn’t have killed her. She was a kid, they wouldn’t-

And then she watched from the trees as the group surrounded Ellie who was on the ground, her horse unmoving not far away, and a tall skinny man picked her up and began to walk away with her. She raised the rifle, looking down the scope, and cursed as the men separated and began to head back into the neighborhood. No doubt to continue their search for Joel and her.

She could see Ellie’s face through the scope, the loll of her head, but she was gripped too closely to the man’s body. He was walking further and further away. Two sides of her screamed. Leaving to go after them meant abandoning Joel, but staying behind meant leaving Ellie. She wanted to press the trigger, shoot, but knew it was too risky with Ellie in the man’s arms. She could so easily accidentally kill the girl if she was one inch off and her hands were too shaky from exhaustion to be precise. Only some of the group was going back, the others looking like they were continuing to scout the area.

She knew what she had to do, what Joel would tell her to do, but the reality of it felt impossible. If they found Joel, he’d die for sure. But she wasn’t sure she could live with leaving Ellie.

The men with the girl were getting farther away and a choice had to be made.

So she swallowed the sob in her throat and let the rage she felt consume her completely, push her forward, and followed behind the group to where they would take her kid.  __________________________ It was getting harder and harder to follow along as the wind began to kick up a notch. She needed to see where they were taking Ellie, but she was tired and the cold was sinking in, her body struggling to keep going. And as they entered the town, it was getting difficult to avoid being seen. Too many buildings, too many open areas, and she didn’t know who could be watching. She knew they had entered one of the nearby buildings, but wasn’t sure which. The clock was ticking in her mind, Ellie’s life on one hand and Joel’s on the other. What good was she if she couldn’t save her people? Blood crusted on her fingers as she entered the first of the buildings quietly, finding a back entrance. It was dark but she could hear voices nearby as she found herself in some kind of storage room, the cold still reaching her through the walls. She wasn’t used to carrying the rifle. It had always been Joel’s weapon thanks to its weight, her preferring knives or a small pistol or even a bow when she could find one. So when she crouched down to ease her way over to the swinging door leading further inside, she winced when it thudded and scraped against the floor, the sound so loud in her ears. The voices paused and she froze, eyes wide and watching the door. There was shuffling and she quickly backed away into a darkened corner, pulling her knife out. Steps came closer and she held her breath, trying to calm her racing heart. The door swung open and she could see a man enter, beard a little rough and looking a little ragged, cheeks red from the cold. He frowned, looking around, gaze shifting over what he could. He turned to look at the back door, back facing her, and only then did she realize she had tracked snow inside and it hadn’t quite melted. Lunging, she stuck the blade deep into his lower back with all her might and threw her arm around his neck, choking him hard. A cry of pain tried to leave his lips, breath cut off, and he struggled wildly. She twisted the knife, feeling blood coat her hand. “Where is the girl?” she hissed, jerking the blade deeper. He sobbed and made pathetic mewling sounds of pain, voice wispy from lack of air, “Please, I don’t know-” She twisted, hearing the squelch of flesh tearing, “The teenage girl your buddy grabbed, where is she?” The distinct smell of piss lingered in the air and he sobbed out, “I don’t know! Oh god.” Steps were coming close again and she growled, keeping her grip on the knife buried in his body and shifting her arm away from his neck to hold the back of his collar. He wheezed in air, blood starting to bubble from his lips. The door burst open and the distinct sound of a gun rising echoed in the tiny room, only to pause as she held the man in front of her like a shield, mostly hidden by his body. “Howard-” A woman’s voice. All the people who had attacked them had been men. 

She wouldn’t have the information she needed. With a growl of frustration, she shoved the body at her, letting his dead weight hit her and trap the woman against the wall. She let out a startled cry and the delay gave her just enough time to unholster her pistol and shoot her in the head. The numbness that was a twin to her rage had sunk into her skin, blanketing her all over. She’d search the buildings, one by one, and kill whoever she had to to find her kid. She didn’t care. Stepping over the bodies, she moved into the area they had been in before she drew their attention and paused, icy horror filling her. A leg was in the process of being cut apart, small chunks set aside and being wrapped up as if to store for later. It was a kitchen, most likely used to prepare food for stage, large makeshift smokers and pits along the back unused. The ticking clock in her mind sped up as the reality of what she’d uncovered hit her. Cannibals. These people that had taken Ellie were cannibals. A strong hit to her back sent her stumbling forward and clattering to her knees. She grunted and scrambled forward as a stomp missed her, hitting the ground instead. There’d been someone still in the room and she’d been too distracted to notice. 

Rolling onto her back, gun still in her hand, she aimed and managed to shoot the knee out of her assailant as he raised a butcher knife. He crumpled to the ground with a cry and she got to her feet slowly, gun raised and trained on him. 

The guy was younger, but thin and haggard looking. His bravado hadn’t fully left him though as he stared her down, anger in his eyes, “You fucking bitch. You blew out my fucking knee.” He tried to get up but she aimed at his head, making him freeze. “I’ll shoot the other one too if you don’t shut up and tell me where the girl you kidnapped is,” she snarled, adrenaline helping to keep the firearm steady on him. His nose wrinkled and he spit at her, brow furrowed.

Stubborn. Younger guys were so stubborn.

She pulled the trigger and watched his other knee explode as the bullet met his target. The man screamed and she quickly knelt down, shoving her hand over his mouth and placing the still warm barrel against his forehead. Tears leaked out his eyes, making little dirt tracks through the grime on his skin.

“Where the fuck is she?” she screamed into his face and the sound was almost inhuman, gravel and fury warping it almost into a howl.

But he only shook his head, eyes defiant. Frustrated, she stood, looking at the meat cleaver in his hand and the human leg on the table. She didn’t have time for this. Ellie was out there and the situation was worse than she thought. Not even meeting his eyes, she raised the gun and shot him in the head. He wasn’t going to give her any information.

She raced back outside through the back door she had entered, heart in her throat and a panicked scream wanting to leave her lips.

The storm was picking up as an idea hit her. If she searched each building, there was no guarantee she’d find someone with information in time. She had to draw their attention. Maybe lure them out. They had wanted Ellie alive for the moment. If she could distract them, it may buy her time.

Chewing her lip, she kneeled behind the building and swung her pack around to dig through it. Her hand wrapped around a small glass bottle that had been carefully secured in the middle of her clothes and yanked it out along with one of her old shirts. They’d been saving it for emergencies, using it to sterilize what they could, but she needed it for something else now. Her face stung from the cold wind and her hands shook, but she managed to tear cloth and shove it into the liquor bottle, saturating the fabric, before she put her pack back on and stood.

Time to make a big fucking distraction.

Blocking the wind with her hands, she lit a match and watched as the tip of the cloth burned bright with flames.

With a snarl, she tossed the molotov through the window of the next building, ducking down and watching as the flames exploded inside. Screams and shouts followed, telling her there had been people inside, and she waited for more voices to join them. Someone would investigate or come outside.

Like clockwork, a man rushed out into the cold and she gripped her bloody knife at the familiar face. One of the men that had come back with Ellie. He cursed and ran through the snow, yelling that he was going to grab the fire extinguisher next door while the others scrambled to put the flames out. She followed, quiet, lava flowing through her and teeth bared. She couldn’t even feel the cold anymore. 

The wind blocked any sound she made as she rushed after him into the alley and lunged, shoving him into the cold brick wall with a loud crack. She growled and grabbed his hair, gripping it tightly and smashing it into the bricks once then twice. He tried to push away and turn, but she kneed him hard in the spine, driving him to his knees. “Where is the girl?” she snarled into his ear, knife to his throat. Blood poured down an open wound on his forehead, one eye blinded by red, as he finally took in who had grabbed him, “fuck you,” “Wrong answer,” she yanked his hair and slammed it into the wall again. When he went to raise his hand to fight her, she stabbed the blade through his hand and into the ground. His screams were carried away by the wind and snow, the shouts of his group telling her they were still distracted by the fire. “The girl your group grabbed,” the words were all razors and broken glass, almost the sound of an animal snarl, “Where did you take her?” He sneered at her, trying to put on a strong front through the pain, “That bitch is probably soup by now.” She stepped on the knife, the blade so far in his hand the hilt was pressing against the back, “I can make this last a fucking lifetime. Your choice. Where-” “Please, don’t-” Frustrated, she ripped the knife out and placed the tip just inside his mouth, “Last chance. Where is she?” The tip clinked against his teeth and he hung his mouth open to avoid being cut, his beard a mess of blood and spit and green eyes wide with fear finally. She tried not to feel satisfaction as seeing that, understanding setting in for him. He lifted his bloody hand and tried to point across the street, stuttering out, “Steakhouse. The fucking steakhouse. David has her in there.” She looked at him, eye swollen, and blood coating the front of his face, clearly terrified.

Slowly, she took the blade away, watching his lips wobble with sobs and slight relief. Then she slit his throat, continuing to move behind the buildings even as his blood sprayed out and soaked her clothes and his pleas gurgled and quieted.

The steakhouse was a few more buildings down across the street, “Todd’s Steakhouse” still written on the sign out front. The storm was a blizzard now, sharp stinging snow hitting her skin and turning the blood on her into patches of ice. There were yells, panicked screams, and she wondered if they had found the bodies. If they had found the blood and chaos she had left in her wake.

But with a destination in sight, she had let her guard down and she cursed herself later on for it. Arms wrapped around her torso, crushing the rifle into her back, and she kicked at the air as she was dragged back against a brick wall.

“You fucking bitch!” Screamed into her ear and she was tossed to the ground, teeth clattering from the impact.

A kick landed in her stomach and she grunted, the air leaving her lungs, but she had enough sense to grab onto the leg and cling to it. The move caught the man off balance and he tripped, falling to the ground next to her. Her blade was somewhere in the snow and she struggled to dig around for it, sharp steel nicking her fingers as she found it only to be thrown onto her back.

The man climbed on top of her, straddling her waist, his weight so heavy and her pack on her back making the move crushing. She grit her teeth and bucked, thrashing to try and get him off of her. But he only grinned, pulling back and decking her in the face. Stars lit up behind her eyes, a high pitch ringing all she could hear as pain exploded through her head.

He pulled back to punch again and her fingers found the cold metal in the snow. She wrapped her hand around it, feeling the sharp steel cut into her palm as she grabbed it by the blade instead of the hilt, and stabbed it into his lower throat. She didn’t stop, only switching to pull it out by its handle this time, and stabbed again and again, blood reigning down onto her.

With a howl, she shoved him off of her and sent a final stab into his face, snow soaking into her and pain a radiating heat. Everything hurt and it was an effort to get up and roll onto her side, staring at the decimated body next to her. 

She spit blood on him and stood. There was smoke coming from all around her, the fire having caught from the molotov and moving on building to building. Across the way, smoke could be seen from the steakhouse and she swallowed her pain, letting adrenaline carry her to the front doors. Her hands shook as she tried the handles, pulling again and again but they stayed locked and shut. Growling, she threw her shoulder into it. She was so close. She had found the place and was so close and a locked fucking door was all that was keeping her away. Her breathing was quick and frantic as she looked over the front and tried to reason that there had to be a back door or an employee entrance. Her hands skimmed the wall to try and keep upright, knowing soon the exhaustion and pain would take over, but she tried to push it back. Ellie had to be close. She needed to keep going a little bit further and then she’d get her kid and they’d go get Joel. 

Her steps stumbled and she pushed off the wall, screaming at herself to stay steady. There, she could see the back door. Plain and wooden, easy enough to shoot the lock off and get inside. With shaky fingers, she unhooked the rifle from her shoulder, the weight of it almost unbearable, and took two shots to get the lock blown off. Her legs were shaky as she climbed the few steps and opened the door, smoke pouring out. She coughed and tried to wave it away, stepping inside and feeling the heat. She had taken only a few steps into the building and stopped, hearing a familiar voice. “Red?” Relief flooded her, eyes instantly filling with tears, as Ellie emerged from the smoke not too far in front of her. Ellie was there, hair a mess and half tumbling out of her ponytail, blood splattered and smeared all over her face and clothes. It took her a while to realize she was standing there, actually standing there, watching as the girl stumbled forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. 

Smoke and fire was all around them, but she couldn’t care because she had Ellie and they were both alive and safe now. With shaky hands, she managed to direct them back out of the building and into the cold, fresh air. Her promise rang in her ears and she whispered them out loud as she clung to the girl, “I found you. I found you. I’ll always find you.” And she had, but not quick enough. She knew that something awful had happened, that Ellie was now one step closer to being what her and Joel were. The tough exterior had crumbled away and all that was left was a shocked girl who’d had a piece of her soul cleaved away. Her nose was busted and she knew that look in her eyes, the horror and pain at doing something ugly but necessary. Ellie’s lips were shaking as she looked her over and she was so focused on the girl she almost didn’t see Joel coming around the corner. Joel, standing and whole and alive, coming towards them like Ellie was a gravity well pulling both of them towards her. His eyes met hers and the relief was bright, even if she was dripping in blood. But Ellie hadn’t noticed the shift in attention, hadn’t heard his steps, and when he went to grab her she bucked and thrashed in his arms in sheer desperation. So much like her, a wild animal fighting not to be caged. Her heart tore apart, shredded to pieces, at the painful screams then broken sobs as she realized who was holding on to her. 

Joel only kept whispering, “It’s me, it’s me, I’m here.” “He- I-” she stuttered, eyes glazed and searching both of theirs. Joel held on with all his might, trying to ease her, gentle words soothing. And the girl crumbled, falling into his arms and clinging to him tightly as much as he was clinging to her. His eyes met hers and she let the exhaustion hit her and carry her towards them, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around them both. All three of them, blood soaked, finally home with each other.

______________ Feral Reader Taglist: @alouise20 @faceache111

[diejager]

Hello, i see that you're now taking requests, if i may ask, could you continued your human reader x hybrid COD men, please? I dont have any specific idea about the lore, i just want to see more of their interactions. If you're not mind or bussy of course, regardless, thank you!

Only Human pt.4

Pairing: Monster TF141 + Horangi & König x reader

Cw: wound/injury, fussing, overprotective behaviour, sneaking out, drinking, hangover, tell me if I missed any. Wc: 2,9k Note: I wrote this on and off so some parts might not make any sense… just uh.. sorry in advance. And I’m sorry for taking so long!!

Only Human masterlist

You were ashamed to admit it, but you liked their attention, the fussing and careful scurrying around you. You liked having them put their best into caring for you, big hands gentle and small hands meticulous for you, every aspect that made them so big and dangerous mellowed down to the danger of a small pup, harmless and adorable —they clung to you like bright-eyed and lost pups anyway, especially Soap, tapping into his inner wolf and acting as one more often than he did as a man when you got soft and cuddly. They were careful around you when you were wounded, you were human while they were hybrids with strength rivaling an army. You were slightly bothered that you couldn’t treat yourself, having a fellow medic patch you up with skilful and steady hands. 

You shot her a pained smile, bordering on a wince, and she laughed, her whole body wracked with laughter when you told her your supposed embarrassing story about how you got shot by sheer chance from people who didn’t even know how to hold a gun correctly. She was like an older sister to you, more experienced and face wrinkled from exhaustion and stress, long nights in the infirmary did little for the complexion. She talked you through the process despite you adamantly swearing that you knew it by heart from reciting it over and over for the men you worked with (she knew, but who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth when the occasion to tease her younger coworker?).

König sat you through all the hissing and teeth grinding you did, biting your lip until it bled to stop yourself from making too much sound, it graced König with little whimpers and groans that he wished were from another occasion. He held your hand, feeling your smaller one wrapped around his palm, fingers slipping between his and your dull nails sink into his knuckles, the skin dried and cracked from his lack of care. And when you started grumbling lowly about knowing how to care for the few stitches she gave you and making sure you didn’t get an infection or pull them, but she pushed on, ignoring both your annoyed grumbling and König’s amusement. 

When she was done, you were free to leave when the drip emptied it’s saline into your body, a little boost or recharge depending on how you looked at it until you showered and went to bed. Saline might help tide the nausea and confusion, but without true rest, you wouldn’t heal properly. You gave it half an hour or so until it stopped, giving you ample time to relax into König’s broad figure, his body moulding to fit yours. You slumped into his chest, back melting into the warm arms that wrapped a round your, careful about the needle and your freshly-wrapped thigh. He was warm and tender, a hand smoothing circles on your good thigh, coaxing you to close your eyes in exhaustion and pain. Your body burned despite the numbness and heaviness in your limbs, your nerves fried by the lingering effect of adrenaline, hungover from it and a throbbing wound.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to rest your eyes a bit, seeing that König had no intention of moving from his spot as your big, big teddy bear. Afterwards, you’d get something to eat after a relaxing and cleansing shower, it was well deserved at this point. You wondered if Horangi or Rudy cooked you something, they’ve always had such a meticulous hand in cooking, your rumbling stomach agreed with your thoughts, mouth almost salivating at the though of food. 

“We’ll get you something to eat after, ja?” You felt his shoulders shaken with quiet laughter, hearing your stomach growl embarrassingly loudly for a room without any audience.

“I’d like that.”

Price gave you the next few days off, letting you spend your hours of rest doing whatever you liked, be it read, laze around or sleep. You couldn’t do too many physical activities without affecting your wound, too much pressure or movement could aggravate it, break your stitches and force you into a longer down time when you could get fixed up faster and get back in action much faster if you didn’t play with it. 

You used your first day following whoever you stumbled into first, limping your way around the base until you found them running drills, once through an obstacle course with it’s walls, car tires, mud-covered crawls, the ropes and the many poles they had to scale or slide. It was a separate course built for hybrids, who’s bodies were more resilient that any of their parents, built for battle and triumph, but it was placed away from the others, the instilled fear of hybrids still so present in modern days. Despite being human, you liked training with them, passing the same course they did, you did so in need of being thought trustworthy, reliable and strong. 

And since you sat out on the drill, they got competitive, snarling and growling at one another, teeth snapping and butting heads in a show of strength. It reminded you of bucks showing off their broadness, the strength and power they had over other bucks —competitors to breed. You couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer hilarity of seeing them hiss and snap at each other without touching or sabotaging, like little puppies fighting for one toy, which you figured would be you at the end of this squabble. 

You couldn’t remember who bested the rest, but it was amusing to watch them run through the obstacle twice, sweating, panting and gasping, knowing full well that there were other things to do after this course. You limped along them, Gaz’sarm wrapped around your waist on the way to the shooting range where you’d - once more - watch them train their aiming and work out the kinks of a new rifle. He sat you against the wall and left you to the others while he got his rifle from the armoury, asking for a second pair of earmuffs to cover your ears. 

You watched on in amusement as they scramble to best the others, testing the new rifle they were given. The knock back on the weapon was worlds stronger than the usual one, but the shot was proportional to it, stronger and packing more power that dented the cement behind it with each blow. It was a powerful gun that would be used by hybrids and monsters operators like TF141 and KorTac, used as powerful breaching weapons or in higher case scenarios. To balance the strength of it, the sound was as loud as an explosion, a booming sound that rang in your ear despite the plugs that sat protectively over your ears. Fortunately, this session lasted much shorter than the prior one and you were left to do whatever you wanted while they did their weights.

Every day was a repetitive cycle, watching them train and doing something to spend your time. On the first day, you spent the time resting, body lagging behind the others and sloppily limping around the base with your eyes drooping on occasions and your body heavy with exhaustion. You figured that you’d watch any show on the rec room’s flat screen, mindlessly watching scene fly by without absorbing it in and hoping you’d fall asleep after a while. And you did, your lids closing when you felt something heavy cover you and warm bodies wrapped around you in a strong and comforting hold.

When König went to search for you, he found you cuddling up with Ghost and Alejandro, their bigger bodies slumped into you to cover you in their warmth. Alejandro had his arm over your shoulder, wrapping around Ghost’s back, and Ghost gripped his waist, arm slipping under you to touch Alejandro, one man pulling the other closer to squeeze you between them. It looked so cozy that König was almost jealous that he couldn’t join in, but he wouldn’t wake you up from your slumber, the dark bags beneath your eyes screaming your exhaustion. 

You had more energy the next day after spending many hours sleeping and catching up on it. You were practically on your toes the moment König knocked on your door, here to pick you up before breakfast. He stared at your wide smile and jovial expression, slightly confused about your unending mirth. While he wanted to stay with you, he had to leave you under Gaz and Rudy’s care, hoping that the two could help you spend that accumulated energy. 

There weren’t many things you could do with a limp, anything labourous or physically draining was impossible wihtouthurting your leg. That left them watching you play around with Rudy’s cadejos after you begged so prettily, flashing him an adorable pout and big, doe eyes until he caved. You were rolling on the carpeted floor, laughing and cackling at the dogs, fingers carding through the white cadejo’s mane, scratching the sensitive spot behind his floppy ears. You switched between the black and white dogs, giving them an equal amount of affection, making kissing faces and ridiculous sounds that had Gaz and Rudy chuckling softly, smiles bright on their lips. 

König was glad to see you less animated, resting your head on Gaz’s lap, nuzzling against his warm hand, nosing the calloused crease of his palm, and your feet crossed over Rudy, toes occasionally curling when his fingers skimmed over a sensitive patch of skin. You grumbled in your sleep, falling in and out of consciousness, lashes fluttering until they settled, arms swung around Rudy’s cadejos like you would with plushies, but with big and dangerous monsters. König thanked them for watching you, eyes softly admiring the trio before him, petting the dogs’ perked up heads, running over their ears and ruffling their fur. When he went to pick you up, you let out the smallest whine, unhappy about being moved from your comfortable spot between everyone. 

The next two days were spent cuddling in a restless pile of wolf and tiger, stuck between two attention seeking shifters, Soap loudly whining and demanding attention, his tongue lolled out and panting loudly, unlike Horangi’s calm and subtle way of getting your affection, rubbing his body against yours and wrapping his tail around your forearm. It was a push and pull, one bark here and one hiss there, two big bodies pushing and backing up around you while they rubbed heads and pawed at your good leg. König and you got a good laugh out of it before he had to leave, his desk calling his name and the mounting load of paperwork needing his signature. 

You eventually found yourself unable to move, limbs locked between those of striped and brown paws, their tensing and flexing arms, thick cords of sinewy muscle locked together in a mess they called a cuddle pile. Pulled from whatever you could have done and stuck in a warm and soft pile that shook and shuddered, Horangi’s soft purring and Soap’s low growls coaxing you to sleep. Eyes closing under the gentle vibration and watchful gaze, you dozed off without, blissfully unaware of two big, blinking pair of eyes that glared at anyone who made too much noise (poor Rudy got the scare of his life) when they wanted to get a drink or a quick snack from the room.

You woke up on someone’s back, slumped shoulders moving in a slow trot, furred paws choking out every step to your room with a Tiger beside you and König right behind you, his blue eyes squinted gleefully. It was all you could see of the smile that certainly curled the corners of his lips beautifully, a tender curl of scarred and jagged tissue to show his affection. You snuggled further into the mass of warm bodies, slept comfortably under caring and protective gazes that kept you safe - safer - that night.

Finally, seemingly missing the guiding presence of your captain, you had cheekily convoluted a day to sit in Price’s room with König’s help, leading you with a hand on your lower back after you insisted on walking. You were adamant that you could walk, frustrated and bored out of your mind that you couldn’t even walk around the base when all that you felt was a harsh pinch, stretch and ache of the stitched wound, the skin around it swollen and tender, and a bit of numbness in both your legs from the lack of use, being swiped off your feet and carried around for days. You limped your way into Price’s office, wearing a grin so wide it almost hurt before you thanked König with a hug, wrapping your arms around his and struggling to the couch pushed against the wall, all under Price’s arched brow and inquisitive gleam. 

“Company for the old man,” was all you’d given him, trying your luck with the grouchy captain that was often glued to his desk signing papers and pushing plans through.

While he made calls here and there, you helped read through the many reports he received from this base and the others working alongside him for the international ground, summarising them in shorter and informative pieces, a quick read of a few dozens of pages down to one or two. While working all day, you both managed to shrink the pile to half it’s original size, leaving him things only he had jurisdiction to sign and write up and you the more trivial affairs. König helped you around the base to supper, a solid arm for you to lean on when your thigh pained you too much to keep going, hissing under your breath at the stinging pain. He fussed about it, quick to pick you up and rush you to the infirmary to have it check despite it being mild and dry, stitch still intact and swelling smaller. 

Then you got sick of it, tired even, of all the fussing and overprotective behaviour. The constant looming over your shoulder, the fretting tone when they spoke to you and the constant strain on their face to not frown or wince at your grunts and hisses, it all annoyed you to the point of exhaustion. You felt as if the tables were turned, where you used to chase after them, med kit clipped to your hip and reminding them of their weekly checkups with you, you were now on the receiving end, stuck limping away from eight big and very worried hybrids. 

It almost made you feel bad for being so insistent as their medic, but they had this horrid habit of hiding away to lick their wounds despite the need of sutures or cleaning, seemingly gaslighting themselves about the severity of it. You took it better, letting them pamper and spoil you until the end of the third week: being picked up rather than walking, being fed rather than eating and being entertained rather than left alone. You were always - always - under watch in case you —what? Reopened the now closed wound? Ripped yourself a new hole when the skin had nearly closed completely? 

It was sore and sensitive, it was neither bleeding nor gaping. While you understood their concerns - as the medic of the TF- you hated the ceaseless surveillance. You’d ranted about it with your nurses, other medics that stayed on base and worked under you as aids and spare hands, and they listened feverishly whenever you were left alone, trusted by the hybrids who were acquainted by the many visits to keep you company on their own times. 

And their solution to your plight? To sneak you off base and into the familiar pub you spent your days. The girls helped you move around without your crutch, all huddled around the back of the pub with drinks and fries, chatting and laughing loudly in your drunken haze. The first round went down as easily as the second and third one, jumping from one subject to the other, random quips here and funny remarks there. You were a chatty crowd, and it didn’t help that most of you were drunk, already having your fifth or sixth beer, stumbling around and slurring your words. 

Their quickly made escape hadn’t lasted long though, perhaps an hour or two before any of the men started worrying and launched a search for you; and eventually, they did. They found you fumbling with your stuttered words, lids heavy as you stared back at Price’s exasperated frown. He sighed and mumbled lowly, the crowd around you parting as he moved in, his hands pulling you against him to leave. His hands were warm, soft despite the coarseness of his pads, lulling you to twist and turn against his chest, arms wrapping around the corded muscles of his back and nuzzled the ashy scent that lingered under his jaw with a sleepy groan.

You swore and damned the world. The lights were too bright, every sound too loud and your body too sluggish to do anything but slump against the soft couch of the TF’s rec room, stomach down and face buried between your arms. Someone was laughing - two or three voices - at your spitting words, hungover from last night and mind feeling heavy. Price was berating your for your reckless act, mindful of the loudness of his voice, keeping it low and quiet, nearly a whisper to your clogged ears. 

“Never doing that again,” you groaned, eyes squinted to keep any light out of your pulsing eyes, “Fuck.”

Price sighed. You somewhat regretted sneaking off, the guilt adding pain to your headache for worrying them so much.

“Sorry, Cap. I’ll just- ask next time.”

“If there’s a next time.”

He was angry.

“Yes, sir.”

Taglist: @craxy-person @crowbird @dead-cipher @iwannabealocalcryptid @iizx7y @mxtokko @capricorn-anon @perfectus-in-morte @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @angelcakes-22 @ramadiiiisme @ramblingsofachaoticthinker @im-making-an-effort @love-dove-noora @jinxxangel13 @daisychainsinknots @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @mul-pi @danielle143 @beau-min @makayla-666 @urfavsunkissedleo @notspiders @brokenpieces-72 @luvecarson @petwifed @randominstake @heartelysia @jggykhug09090 @hayleybarnesx @shironasumi @sparky--bunny @bloobewy @call-me-nyxx @sans-chara @cod-z @sweetnanah @aldis-nuts @thigh-o-saur @evolutionarry @kaoyamamegami @cassiecasluciluce @sobbingnshtting

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Mission Control 17

Warnings: non/dubcon, violence, blood, stalking, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Character: Captain Hydra

Summary: a man marches into your life on a mission

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

When you come too, the pain is dull. Yet, the pulsing in your foot and leg is near excruciating. You whimper and clutch the blankets. The smell of your sweat clings to you and the bed. 

The bed shifts subtly and you look down to the end. He sits with his back to you. He raises his head and turns it as he hears you. He brings his hands up to rub his eyes then rises. He struts up to peer down at you. 

You groan as your head lolls to the side. You don’t have the strength left to do anything but languish in the agony. You grit your teeth and squeeze your eyes shut. You just want to keep sleeping. 

His weight creaks in the floor and his steps scuff around the room. He returns and looms over you as you flatten yourself to the mattress. He pokes your shoulder and grunts. You open your eyes as he holds up the notebook. 

‘You need?’ 

You would be annoyed if you weren’t in so much pain. What you need is for him to take you home and leave you alone. That’s not going to happen. As it is, you’re certain you’ll be dead of infection soon enough. 

He taps the page impatiently. 

You sigh and let out a shaky breath. “Hurts...” you murmur. “Something to... make it less.” 

His eyes search you and his blond lashes flutter. He turns and grabs a bottle from the side of the bed. He shows you the label. You squint at the small letters. 

“That’s an antibiotic,” you mutter. “Still...” you suck in air sharply, “pain.” 

He tilts the bottle to examine then puts it back. He shakes the notebook at you again. You sniff and cross your arms over the top of the blanket. You can’t really ignore him or tell him to go away. You could die without him and you hate that you have to live with him, but you’re scared. 

“Anything.” You say. “Just... something to do. There’s nothing here.” 

He makes another noise. Almost like a hum. You bring your hands up and rub your temples. 

“Why don’t you talk?” You hiss. 

He dips his chin down and turns the notebook around. He slides out the pen and scratches onto the paper. He shows you. 

‘No.’ 

“No? You won’t, or you can’t?” You huff. 

His brow furrow, he holds up two fingers.  

“You can’t,” you say. 

He nods. 

You don’t know if that makes it better. You thought it was a game. That he wanted to terrify you with his silence. He could be lying but what’s the point in that? 

He flips the notebook again. He writes slowly. You read his scrawl; ‘food’. 

You look at the ceiling and swallow, “yeah, I should eat.” 

He’s already moving as finish your first syllable. He puts the notebook down and marches out. You stare after him, slightly agitated and just as much perplexed. He set the trap, he can’t be surprised that it went off. 

You put your arms straight and as you try to sit up, the tug in the muscles of your leg throttles you. You have to smother a scream as you stop yourself. You press your hands to the bed and force your leg limp. You drag yourself up to sit with your upper body alone. 

Your tears leak out and you mop them away. You look down at the white nightgown, much like the one you wore the first night there. You reach behind you and move the pillow then lean back. Your foot is on fire. 

You can hear him through the open door. You look over at the notebook and reach for it. You drag it off the night stand and examine his jagged writing. You flip the page back. It’s a list of all the things he brought back before. It’s crooked and all over the page. 

You shuffle back through the pages and stop at the cross hatching of ink. Your likeness stares back at you. It’s you on the bus, watching through the window, looking almost peaceful. You frown. There’s a word sliced through the scene; ALONE. 

You don’t understand it but you’re starting to wonder if he does. There’s something not connected in him. He’s fractured. You should feel bad for him but you can’t. Not after all the pain he’s caused you. 

You close the notebook and drop it back on the night table. You slump and your vision hazes. You gaze endlessly at the wall. 

He returns, his shadow breaking through the blur. He has a plate in hand. He stops beside the bed and offers it. You take it and without thinking, you thank him. You could cringe. Thank you... for what? 

The sandwich is in one piece, meat and cheese juts out from beneath the crusts, and the bread isn’t aligned. You guess it’s the effort that counts. You rest the plate on your lap and brace yourself to sit up higher. He’s quick to bend over you and help pull you upright. 

You groan and let out a whine. He retracts and stands over you, watching. You try to ignore his ominous presence and focus on the food. You’re hungry even if it doesn’t look the most appetizing. 

You take the sandwich and bite into the crust. The rye is rich and the filling isn’t too bad. He even added mayo. A small thing but you can’t help but be relieved it isn’t just dry bread and meat. You chew and look up at him. You hover your hands over the plate. 

“What about you?” You ask. 

His eyes round and he blinks. He looks down at his chest then lifts his chin again. He doesn’t offer any response. 

“Right,” you nod and take another bite. 

His fingers twiddle at his side and he moves his weight back and forth on his feet. You eat in silence, hunched over the plate. When you finish, he scoops up the plate. Before you can react, he’s stomping out. 

Jesus. He’s so damn abrupt. He returns. He had a glass of water. You accept it and drink deeply. The coolness is a relief. 

He grabs the notebook and opens it. He angles the tip of the pen then writes again. He shows you as you sip from the glass. 

‘Not for you.’ 

You shake your head, “not... the food?” You asked confused. 

His mouth slants and he turns the book up. He puts the pen to the paper but doesn’t move it. Not right away. He finally scratches into the paper then turns it back to you. He’s drawn the spike. Your foot thrums at the memory of flailing on the cold ground. 

“The trap isn’t for me,” you say. His eyes cling to yours. “But you didn’t tell me.” 

His gaze drops and his cheeks tauten. He scribbles another word. ‘Stay’. 

You puff out and nod. “I’m supposed to stay. Got it. My fault.” 

He clucks and frowns. He points to himself. He hits his chest hard then wags his finger at you. He thumps his chest again. You stare and he stretches his hand wide, staring at it. You gasp as he smacks himself hard across the face. He brings up his other hand and lays another strike across his other cheek. He starts to beat himself frantically. 

“Stop! Stop!” You squeal, horrified. He doesn’t seem to hear you. You don’t know what to do. You grip the glass and splash what’s left of the water onto him and holler again, “stop!” 

He stills and drops his arms. He looks at you, his cheeks red and scratches, a cut around his eye socket. You shudder up at him. 

“I can’t do anything. Not like this,” you gesture to your foot. “So I need you... to do it which means you can’t beat yourself up.”  

You sigh and suck your teeth. It’s exactly what he wants. You are stuck with him. You need him. 

[gor3-hound]

i apologise if you feel something

ft. leon kennedy x fem!reader

cw: 18+ content, dead dove, domestic abuse, possessive leon, toxic behaviour, heavy non-con, choking, p in v, improper prep, blood as lube, creampie, physical assault, crying, BRIEF murder threat, guilt, very brief praise n degradation mixed in

a/n: hiii! this is written w re2 leon in mind!! pls be aware there are quite graphic depictions of co-dependency n abuse in this one. it's late, so pls ignore typos !! title from bmth song of the same name

word count: 1.8k words

Leon wasn't the same man you knew before Raccoon City. When he first came home after his first day, he was clingy. He wouldn't leave you alone, following you around like a lost puppy. You didn't know the extent of what he went through at the beginning, but he slowly began to open up about the horrors he saw.

You were there for him. Of course you were. You let him stay at your place now his new apartment was left in ruins after the bomb hit. Not that he could stay in that godforsaken city, anyway. He still dreamt of the infected most nights, waking up in a cold sweat.

You could have handled that, if it was all it was. You wanted to be there for him, help him recover as best he could. You loved him, and you wanted him to be okay more than anything.

But he started changing. You couldn't so much as try and leave for the store without him crowding you against the wall, demanding to know exactly what you needed. If you were out and didn't answer his texts, he'd make sure to let you know you fucked up.

He wasn't above hitting you, gripping your throat until you almost passed out. Anything to keep you under his thumb, to make sure you wouldn't leave him. He'd seen too much death so early in his life.

He wasn't going to lose you, too.

You couldn't take it anymore. He controlled every aspect of your life. It was getting to the point that you'd flinch anytime he moved too fast. You hated being scared in your own apartment.

You tried bringing it up gently, tell him it just wasn't working out for you. After all, he'd be leaving for military training soon, and you needed to finish up your college studies and think about building a career.

You regretted it as soon as the words came out of your mouth.

“You think you get to leave me?” He says with a dry, humourless laugh. He stalks towards you like a lion cornering its prey, backing you up against the wall. He cages you in with his larger frame, looking down at you with a dark glint in his eyes.

“That's cute, baby. Really. You think you get a fucking choice?” The words are punctuated with a harsh grip on your throat, squeezing you so hard that your airflow is instantly cut off. You can feel the blood rushing to your face as you try and suck in a breath, your hands clawing at his wrists to try and get them off.

Your nails draw blood, and that just pisses him off even more. He yanks you towards him slightly by your neck before slamming you back against the wall, your head hitting it with a loud thud.

Pain shoots across your system, your vision blurry with the unshed tears forming. He lets go of your throat after another minute, watching with a sadistic glee as you crumple to the floor at his feet. He squats down, watching as you choke in air to fill your burning lungs.

“You're the only good thing left in my life, baby. You don't get to leave me.”

“You're crazy…” You gasp out, pushing on the floor to attempt to stand up again. He was dangerous. You needed to get out before he killed you.

His eye twitches at your words, and a foot goes flying for your stomach before you can even register it. You fall to the floor once more, sobbing as you curl in on yourself in a pathetic attempt to protect your body from more hits.

“I'm crazy?” He says quietly, an eerie sense of calm in his voice. He stands over you, placing his foot on your wrist before grinding the sole of his boot into your wrist, making you cry out in pain.

“I'm crazy?” He repeats louder this time, almost yelling at you. He yanks you up by your hair, dragging you into the bedroom and throwing you onto the bed. “You're the crazy one! You think this is bad, sweetheart? I can make you disappear.”

"You want to leave me, huh?" His breathing is hard and fast. "I'm crazy, huh?" The veins in his neck are bulging out, his hands fiddling with the buckle of his belt.

"I'll show you crazy."

Your entire body is shaking, but you have to get out. You have to get to your phone. You look at the door, and that was your worst mistake. In a flash, he's slapping you across the face hard enough that your ears ring, blood filling your mouth.

“Cute. Real fucking cute.” He hisses, grabbing your jaw roughly so you're facing him. He seems to get even angrier when he sees how terrified you look.

“Aww… baby. You're scared?” He coos, a mocking pout making its way to his lips. “You should be grateful. I'm keeping you safe. You have no right to be scared. If you knew what I've seen, what I've been through-”

He pauses to suck in a shaky breath through his teeth, images of the horrors he'd endured during Raccoon City flashing through his mind and making him feel nauseous.

“You should consider yourself lucky.” He says in a low tone, his expression hardening as he looks down at you. “You haven't been exposed to anything worth being scared of, princess.”

“Don't worry, though. I understand. I'll just have to fuck some sense back into you, hmm? Remind you of who's been by your side since day fucking one, keeping you safe.”

Your eyes widen at his words, and it seems to renew your fight. You struggle against him all over again, crying as you push and kick at his torso, thrashing as he pins you down on the bed. “Leon… Leon, no, wait… babe, fuck I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, m'so sorry, just…”

He shoves three fingers into your mouth, the tips jarring your throat and making you sputter and choke. There's a steady stream of tears running down your face at his point, your breaths heavy through your nose.

“Do you ever shut up?” He grunts, tugging down your pyjama pants and underwear, frowning when he sees you're not wet for him. That's new. Oh well. Wasn't gonna stop him.

He pulls his fingers out of your mouth, coated with a mix of your blood and spit. He uses that to ease his way into you, pushing two fingers in straight away and spreading them inside of you to stretch you out for him.

“Leon, stop… that hurts.” You whimper, squeezing your eyes shut and kicking your legs out weakly. He's not doing this for you. Doesn't try to hit your sweet spot or rub your clit to ease the discomfort like he usually does.

“One more word from you, and I swear to god, I'm going to break your pretty fucking neck.” He grunts, yanking his fingers out of your pussy to free his cock from his jeans.

You're nowhere near prepared enough to take him. You cry out in pain as he bottoms out in one thrust. He doesn't give you a second to adjust, nothing. He just starts thrusting, chasing his own high as he fucks into you.

Either you're getting wet, or you're bleeding. Whichever one it is, slick lines your pussy and makes his thrusts easier. He groans as he continues to rock his fat cock into your cunt, his head thrown back in pleasure.

His hands grip your thighs as you try and close them, holding them wide apart so he has full access to fuck you as much as he wants. You give up, going limp as he takes what he wants from you.

“There we go… shit, you feel so fucking good. Even when you say no, she sucks me right in.” He moans, his hips rabbiting even faster against you, the sounds of slapping skin filling the room.

“Such a… god.” He sucks in a breath through his teeth, his eyes fluttering shut for a moment. “Perfect little slut for me… pussy always squeezes me so good…”

His eyes flutter open, and he tilts his head down to take you in. He finally looks at your face and sees how much you're sobbing, the pure terror in your face. His brows furrow, and he frowns. He looks down further, trailing your body and noticing the bruise forming on your stomach. When his gaze reaches his cock and he sees the blood coating it, a look of panic flashes across his face for a second.

He seems to realise what he's doing, his expression switching to one of worry in an instant. His hips stutter, but don't stop. He pulls out just enough to spit on his dick, trying to make it hurt less for you. He starts to sob, his hands cupping your cheeks and caressing them softly.

"Fuck, baby. I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me." He says quietly, voice cracking halfway through the sentence. He feels sick when he sees your blood coating his length and has to swallow down the bile that rises in his throat. Doesn't make him stop, though. What the fuck is wrong with him?

"I didn't mean it. I swear. I just love you so, so much. I have nobody. Can't lose you, too." He breathes out, dropping his head against your shoulder as he ruts shallowly into you. “My pretty baby. Such a good girl. Don't wanna hurt you… hate seein’ you cry.”

You don't know how you end up comforting him, promising him it's okay even as your whole body aches and your insides burn with every thrust. It hurts to see him hurting. You'd rather take a beating than see him this broken. All it takes for him to cum is for you to say you love him, too.

He pulls out carefully, pressing kisses down your neck. You don't move. Don't speak. You couldn't, even if you wanted to. You're limp in his arms as he picks you up, cradling you carefully against his chest.

He runs you a bath, gently placing you into the hot, soapy water. He peppers kisses all over your face as the water washes away the blood and cum, soothing your aching muscles.

He keeps saying he's sorry, his eyes filled with remorse. He promises he won't do it again, but you know he will. As soon as you step a toe out of line, he'll snap again. You know you should leave. You'd be dead if he kept this up. But seeing that pain on his face, the way he trembles as he washes your hair tenderly…

You'd stay one more day. Just one more day…

[toxicanonymity]

fires (prologue)

1650, Joel Miller x f!reader

A/N: optionally before: Aches, Thoughts, and ✨Needs. started as lore, thanks for asking @thesummerpetrichor 🖤 POV changes. SUMMARY: You meet Joel, start traveling with him, and sexual tension ebbs and flows before you lose your sleeping bag. WARNINGS: I8+, fluff, sexual tension, arousal, brief jacking off.

You were the last of your group, trying to make your way to Jackson to find a family member. When Joel first found you trying to read a map, you were skittish and didn't want to tell him where you were trying to go. He asked if you needed anything and you said no, even though you couldn't sleep at night because you were so scared, and you were starving. You declined his help and quickly went on your way. You ran into him a couple more times after that, and he was polite but kept a respectful distance.

One night when you were trying and failing to make a fire, he came up and offered his help. You initially told him it was fine, no thank you. Then he spared your pride by saying, "No sense in both of us makin' a fire if we can share one." He felt bad for you. You didn't tell him much about yourself, but when he told you even the dryest, shortest version of his story--lost a daughter, nothing left here, headed west--your walls came down. You camped together that night, kind of, like 20 ft apart. You felt a strange mix of comfort and nervousness having him close by. You left early in the morning so you wouldn't have to talk to him. You were feeling shy.

The next day, you stumbled on infected. Joel showed up out of nowhere and barked orders at you, telling you to "get down!" then "behind me, now!" He sniped them off like it was nothing before they got close enough to touch you. You were shaken of course.  He got you somewhere safe, then said it'd be safer if the two of you traveled together. He was disturbed that you didn’t even have any weapons left. That night, you didn't know if it was just the effect of everything that happened (his yelling echoed in your head), but you had a feeling in your tummy whenever he spoke, whenever the fire would catch the silver of his beard. You couldn’t take your eyes off his biceps, either. You didn’t register it as attraction right away. It never occurred to you that you could be attracted to someone that old. 

The daily dynamic was outwardly platonic but that effect of his voice, his face, his muscles, that never went away. It only got stronger. He was strong, and handsome, he looked out for you. You didn’t talk much, but you got to know a little more about each other like your shared destination and the relatives you were hoping to find. 

–

The turning point was when you encountered infected together one evening around dusk, and it was a much closer call than the first incident.  After sniping them off, Joel hugged you and quickly got you to safety, reassuring you, “you’re okay, sweetie, i got you.”  He made a fire as soon as you found a good place. He felt guilty that he hadn't already set up camp for the night before this happened. It was too dark to still be walking.

By the fire light, he examined you for bites, and continued to reassure you. “Shhhh, it’s okay, you’re safe.”  He seemed to be reassuring himself, too. He looked at your arms and the back of your neck. Then he glanced at your torso and got awkward.

“ I don’t–i don't gotta look, but if ya want– if ya wanna look at yourself," he gestured toward his own torso, "uh, it might be a good idea.” 

“Do you mind doing it?” You tearfully asked him.

“Oh, uh. . . darlin’, I–” He wouldn’t meet your eyes. 

“Please? I wanna know I’m okay.” 

After a long pause, he said “Okay, sweetie.” 

You wanted to be sure you weren’t bit, so you could have peace of mind and get to sleep.  He was hesitant about it, gently lifting your shirt, which gave you butterflies.  Then you started to take it off entirely, and he swallowed and looked away for a moment. You didn’t miss the way his eyes lingered on your breasts with a different gaze. He turned you around by curling his thick fingers around your back and nudging you toward him to rotate. "Turn around a sec," he murmured lowly. That was the spark. The gentle nudge of his fingers made your skin feel ten degrees hotter. The crackle of the fire loudly filled the heated silence of the moment as he checked out the skin on your back. 

You asked him to look at your legs. He pulled up your pants legs one at a time as far as they would go to check your calves and ankles. Your heart raced as his fingers skimmed your skin when he rolled each pants legs up. In the fire light you watched his face and it was the closest you seen him. His facial lines and marks made him look like an action hero. His eyes were deep and thoughtful. 

He rolled down your pants legs and said beyond that you were probably okay, since your pants weren't ripped. There was a new heartbeat between your legs. The buzz of his innocent touch lingered on your skin all night. That's when you admitted to yourself that you had a crush on him. You caught yourself feeling a little disappointed he didn't take down your pants earlier.

—--

At first, Joel saw you as just a girl. The injustice of you having to make it on your own dominated his view of you. He also saw you as a liability. The fact that you wouldn't accept his help at first meant he had to keep track of you as well as any danger.  If you perished and he could've done something to stop it, it would eat him up. He didn't know how many more deaths he could carry with him. 

Then he got to know you, and you were the first person to make him smile in... he didn't know how long. Despite the world around you, you still delighted in the smallest things and it was infectious. He began to smile to himself if he saw something he thought you might like. Your face lit up at certain plants and flowers. You were someone special to protect at all costs. As you opened up, hearing about your life who you lost started to make you seem a little older, like someone he could actually relate to.  

Then, that night when he was checking your skin by the fire, he was faced with the hard evidence of what it meant for him that you were a woman, or what it could mean. What what men and women often became together, and what could become of your duo. It wasn't just the curves of your body in the flickering fire light, it was the way you looked at him darkly as your tears faded. He knew that look well, but hadn't seen it in a long time. He started getting hard and discreetly adjusted himself. You probably weren't even aware of what he could see on your face, so he didn't want to read anything into it in terms of intent. But that look... He couldn't get that look out of his head, and the feeling of your soft skin wouldn't leave his rough fingertips.

-

He talked to you a little differently after that night.  No more asking you what you learned and liked in school. Long silences were more frequent but remained comfortable. During certain silences, he found himself thinking more about whether you had boyfriends and what you did with them. He tried not to pry, but one day he asked.

You told him you didn't have much of a chance to experience any of that, and a long silence ensued. He was afraid anything he said (“sorry”? “that's too bad"?) might sound perverted, and he didn't want you to shut down on him.  His heart swelled at a passing thought that he could be your first everything, and he pushed it away, feeling strange about your age and embarrassed at the thought.  But that same night, by the fire he saw that look in your eyes again.  And then, after saying good night, his thoughts returned. 

He thought about the possibilities, and his heart swelled again, and his cock swelled, too, and it wouldn't go away. He held his stiff manhood, and it throbbed in his hand. Soon enough he was quietly spitting in the same hand, trying to make small movements and control his breathing.  He forced himself to think of other women, past experiences, but his mind always returned to you with your hands on it, or your mouth, or just the way you smiled, but mostly that look, burned in his eyes. When he came with the softest grunt, he imagined your chest all shiny with his cum. 

Something in him was waking up from a long slumber, and he didn't like it. It was a distraction. He knew if he fed the beast it wouldn't leave, so he put it out of his mind and tried not to indulge the urge again. 

Just a few days later, you encountered a hostile group and lost your sleeping bag. He slept on the dirt and let you have his bag to yourself, but the whole time, you felt cold and weird.  After a couple nights of that, you told him there was no sense in him being on the dirt when there was room in the bag and you were cold.

The first time he got hard against you, you didn’t flinch or move away.  He did, but you didn't. You didn't flinch the next time either, although you did take a deep breath. He said sorry and asked if you were okay, and you said yes. He figured it didn’t bother you, and there was no need to further address it.

There was nothing he could do about it anyway. 

------

Continue to smut: Aches, Thoughts, and Needs.

Thank you for reading, love you guys.

------

[mountkennedie]

Mint and Maple

Diaval x reader

Summary: you went exploring in the moors one night. You are met with a strange man

warnings: none

A.N. I know this fandom is probably dead, but not to me

Life in the moors were beautiful through and through. You frequented the river most of all, the life blooming there was what you would consider the most beautiful you had ever seen. Especially when the sun had laid down for the evening.

You should be in your home long past asleep like any respectable lady. And yet here you were in the late hours of the night, out for a stroll. No one could say it was unsafe really ever in the moors. Everyone knew to respect others and so that the same respect could be shared back with them. But none were perfect, and those who distinctly stayed from the good intentions of the community were dealt with.

You had seen her before. Maleficent. However, I never approached, simply bowed, and continued on your way. Though disappointed with the prickly wall blocking your world inside the barriers of the moors, you understood their purpose. That "King" Stefan was such a danger do you all, a wall is a reasonable response.

You would sometimes wander near the wall. Never touching it, though, you had been told it was cursed if someone laid a finger on it. Most nights, you would never touch the roots. However, tonight was one you were feeling more adventurous.

The walk to the wall was a difficult one. Many trees and other plants had overgrown on the path, whispers go around that she made the overgrowth. You would counter the argument by a question, "Has anyone actually tried to tame the path?" It ended in silence.

You did make it through the tough greenery and were able to approach the wall of roots. It felt like it grew every time you looked at it. A raven flew down near you. It landed on a branch of the wall and peered at you. You thought, since the raven landed and nothing happened to it, you should be fine. And tonight, there was one branch that looked like it was begging you to reach out and feel its bark. Like anyone would, you caved.

When you reached your arm out, the raven chirped at you. But it did not stop your hand as it reached the bark of the limb. You were flung backward in a flash of green light and hit a tree behind you. The hit wasn't that hard at all, but still ripped the air out of you. After hitting the grassy floor below you, you looked up. It took a moment for you to realize the great pain your hand was in. Your eyes trailed down and saw the gash now painted on the skin.

Looking up, the raven was gone. In its place, a man approached you. He reached forward for your non-wounded hand. You placed yours in his, and he helped you back up. "All you alright, miss?"

"Yes, yes I am," you hid your hand behind your back. He didn't need to see the river of red sprouting from your palm. You bowed your head for a moment, "Thank you, sir." When you turned to leave, you felt a gentle grip on your wrist.

"You are hurt." He turned your hand up, showcasing the fresh wound. Before you could say it was nothing, he was ushering you away. "Let me bind that. You don't want it to grow infected." He led you past some brush of trees. You were trying to memorize the route, knowing you had to come back this way to return home.

"Forgive me," he began, "I haven't asked you your name."

"Call me, Y/n, and yours?"

"Diaval. Y/n is a beautiful name. It suits you."

You were led to a very strange looking tree. Its leaves were very long and curly. It emitted a strange aroma, a mix of mint and maple. The syrup running behind the bark must be very rich, you thought. The tree itself was very tall, as if it had been growing for centuries. But if it had, it makes no sense as to why you seem to be finding it now.

Diaval placed one of his hands on the bark. The tree at first remained in its place, and you wondered what the gesture was for. But then the eyes of the great oak opened and looked down at its disturber.

"Apologies for waking you, good friend. But I need your assistance." He reached for your injured hand. He showed the gash to the gentletree. The tree nodded and extended an arm full of curly leaves to Diaval. He plucked one of a branch, "Thank you."

The tree's attention came to you. You bowed your head and thanked him as well. He returned the gesture and went back to resting. Diaval turned to you and began to really inspect the gash. "Not too deep, that's good."

He took the leaf and began to wrap the would with a gentle hand. The leaf carried the same mint and maple scent of the tree, but not as strong. The smell filling your senses was really calming. After some time, you let your curiosity win. "I didn't see you when I was...um," you trailed off. You probably shouldn't bring up what you were doing at the gate.

"When you were getting too close to the wall," he finished. "Well, I have my ways of blending into the shadows." He smiled gently, so you knew he meant no real harm.

You pursed your lips before continuing. "Yes, that's good to know." You sucked in a breath, "This may sound strange and forgive me if I'm foolish, but... did you see a raven on one of the branches at the gate?"

He smiled in response, "I was aware of a raven, yes."

"Oh good! I didn't understand how it managed to rest on the branch. That was why I decided to try my luck," you chuckled a bit after finishing your confession. He finished wrapping your hand. You could already feel the healing beginning to take place underneath the bandage.

"I believe that raven has some magic capabilities. Or knows someone who does." He hadn't dropped your hand yet. His hands were warm, and you enjoyed them holding yours.

"How is that possible?" Your voice was a bit airy. The subject of magic was always something you wish to expand on. No amount of books or stories could quench your thirst for knowledge of it.

"What isn't possible here?" He responded in the same tone. You smiled at him and shook your head. He was right. The moors still surprised you, even if you've lived here your whole life.

"I should head home. I know my mother would not approve of me being out at this time." You turned to leave. His hand remained on yours. Holding you in place.

"Let me walk you," he said quickly. "I would hate for you to get lost," he said, recovered some composure. He stood next to you and offered his arm. You took him up on his offer, and you both began the walk home. When you both reached the place near the wall, you offered to guide him the rest of the way there. "Thank you, but I believe I know a shorter way," he whispered.

You allowed him to guide you on a different way to your home. Surprisingly, he was right about the shortcut. "I appreciate your kindness."

"And I you," he responded. He faced you, looking deeply into your eyes.

"But all I've done tonight is cause trouble," you nervously smiled.

"You offered a very interesting evening. I don't have those often, especially with a very beautiful woman." You flushed a bit when he complimented you.

"Goodnight, Diaval," you smiled and bowed your head one last time.

"Goodnight, Y/n." He brought your hand to his lips and placed a kiss on one of your knuckles. "Until we meet again."

After returning to your house, you ran upstairs to your bedroom. The window faced the front, and you knew you'd be able to see him as he left. You were right. His back was turned to you. He seemed to be walking towards someone. In a moment, he was turned into a raven. The same raven you had seen on the branch at the gate.

[painted-flag]

OF FLOWERS AND DEATH - aemond targaryen

Chapter 8: Marked Flesh

☾⋆⁺₊✧ dark elf!Aemond Targaryen x f!human!reader series. ✧₊⁺⋆☾ series masterlist. ☾⋆⁺₊✧ word count: 3.8k ✧₊⁺⋆☾ series warnings: 18+ depictions of violence/gore, eventual smut, warfare, sickness/disease, some moments of misogyny, and mentions of alcohol consumption. ☾⋆⁺₊✧ Mysterious markings appear on the bodies of infected patients that leave you stumped in your research. In another turn of events, drunk words draw you into the enigma that is the royal family.

It was another day in the elven kingdom. You were dressed that morning by Amara and Liriel - who did not speak about the stunt you had pulled. Surprisingly so, your venture in the woods was not spread around. You wondered if Aemond was keeping it secret for his own sake. It would be embarrassing to admit a human was able to sneak past his guards and escape the castle. It could be just as easy to sneak in as opposed to sneaking out. 

You were glad he kept it secret regardless, for you wished not for the trust built between you and some elves to be broken. Revealing it to everyone would hurt not just your reputation, but Aemonds. It was, in a slight sense, relieving to have a mutual standing with the king. A draw was more like it. 

A smile made its way on your face as you approached your first patient visit of the day. Lyra was sitting in bed, staring up at the vaulted ceiling that spanned the length of the hall with intricately carved stone. The chandeliers glittered with light, casting the hall in a yellow warmth. 

“And how is my favourite elf?” You asked as you placed her food on the small wood table beside her bed. You snuck a bit of peach slices into the meal, as they were her favourite. 

Lyra’s wide and glistening eyes turned to you. Despite her obvious pain, she was still chock-full of wonder, “I have a question.” 

“And what is it, sweet girl?” You sat on the edge of the bed. She rolled up the sleeve of her white flowing dress. She exposed the upper portion of her bicep and revealed the inner area by her armpit. On the delicate skin were dark lines. They each moved in succession to one another, like scratches. 

“May I?” You questioned with your hand reaching out and she nodded to permit you. The pads of your fingers traced the markings gently. This was not something you had noticed in the other patients, nor was it in anything you read. They were gnarly and ridged, composed of rough marks.

You brought out your notes and wrote about it. You went through the standard questions you ask all the patients each morning - how are their symptoms, has anything changed, how much sleep did they get, and a few others to gauge how bad the taint has infected them. 

“I’m scared.” Lyra’s voice broke you from your focus. You looked up at her to see a faraway look in her eyes. 

“Of what?” 

Lyra then made eye contact with you and spoke plainly, “Death.” 

You were left unable to answer. What could be said to comfort a dying child? What possible words could be used to cover that void of fear? You put down your notebook and reached to grab both of her hands and rubbed the knuckles gently. 

“I want to say you are brave - and you are - but darling I wish you did not ever have to be. The healers and I are working tirelessly for a cure, just hold on. Can you promise me that? After I will take you wherever you wish to go, our little adventure.” Your smile was forced as you tried to keep your composure around her.

Lyra’s face lit up at your words, “Wherever I wish?” 

“Of course,” You ruffled her hair gently and got up from the bed. You stayed to make sure she broke her fast and then went about the rest of your rounds. 

For each patient you visited, you inspected their inner upper bicep and found the same strange markings that were on Lyra. You took note of each of the markings and asked the same questions, hoping that you could find a connection between everyone. After collecting that information, you rushed to the laboratory. 

Daeron was already there as he looked through a pile of books on one of the tables. He muttered to himself - a frequent habit of his to organize his thoughts. You coughed to catch his attention and not startle him. 

Daeron turned to see you, “Ah, how is the adventurer today?” He teased about your recent venture into the woods. 

“You know?” You sighed loudly. Daeron laughed and picked up the book he was looking for. 

“Helaena was told, so naturally, she told me.” Daeron gave you a mischievous smirk. You were not entirely surprised by that. The royal siblings seemed close, especially Daeron and Helaena. 

“Please, let's move on from this. I have some new findings.” At those words, Daeron perked up and approached you. You handed him your notebook to read what you wrote about the markings. “This came to my attention this morning.” 

You waited as Daeron flipped through the few pages. Occasionally he would look up at you and then back down. You could tell he was taking it all in and searching all the previous knowledge he had. 

“Curious,” He muttered, “Peculiar…” Daeron handed you the journal back and paced the laboratory. One of his hands gripped his chin in thought. You watched the elf contemplate for a few moments as he went back and forth. In a quick moment, Daeron snapped his fingers. He glided across the room and reached for a dusty old book. He opened it and started to frantically flip through the pages with determination on his face. 

“They almost look like…” He trailed off as the parchment pages turned. He stopped at a page and let out a hum of approval, “Like these.” He placed the book on a table in front of you and double-tapped the drawings on the page. You leaned in to take what he was presenting you. 

You saw similar markings, but these lines had been inflicted by a knife to the skin, not randomly appearing on them like the patients. You scanned the words and became even more confused.

“Casting marks?” You questioned. 

Daeron brushed a strand of silver hair out of his face, “Blood magic. When you cast strong enough enchantments, it demands a sacrifice of your blood.” 

“But the marks on the patients were not carved… they appeared.” Your brows furrowed. 

“It is only what they looked like to me,” Daeron spoke, “That is all.” Both of you stood in contemplative silence. You placed your sketchings next to the book and looked back and forth. They were exact, except for the fact that one was cut into skin and the other were black lines. 

A dull throbbing emerged in your head. Prior to this, you were confused, now even more so. It seemed that every time you made good headway, something came to stop it. There was almost intentionality in the changing of the taint. A change brought about by its wish to survive and destroy everything. 

“More information to keep you up at night.” Daeron broke the silence. You glanced towards him. 

“I just wish I brought all of my supplies with me. There might be something there.” You wondered about the possibility of something in your home helping. It was cluttered with items, ingredients, books, and trinkets you had collected in your years of research. While the laboratory and library here had surpassed expectations, you longed for the small room of your home. The quiet peace you got there and your ability to work for longer periods - not having to speak to people and just focus on what you needed to get done. 

Daeron patted you on the back, “I’m going to see what the marks look like on the patients.” He stepped back from you and approached the door to the hall. You were left to think, though mostly you just stared.  Frustration built up in you. A phrase you had gotten used to floated through your mind. One step forward, two steps back.

The bustling hall of elves was filled with merry music and chatter. It marked another week since the last dance. In that time, the bridge between you and other elves strengthened - particularly your relationships with Helaena and Daeron. They had been rocks in your stay in the kingdom, always aiding when needed. Amara and Liriel were not relaying your talks to the king, as Daeron reassured you. After, you allowed yourself to get closer to them and spoke on more personal topics. Truly, it had been a long time since you had others to call friends. 

You had yet to get close to Aegon, as he was often about on some adventure and never in the castle. However, he made it a goal to be present at all of the celebrations. He had stalked in to see you, Daeron, Amara, and Liriel at one of the tables. You wished Helaena was there, but understood her aversion to large crowds and loud noises. As Aegon approached, you saw that he carried a sack in his hands. 

“Lovely ladies!” While not drunk, there was an air of aloofness to him. He noticed his brother at the table, “Ah, you as well.” 

Daeron rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, “Should we be worried about whatever you are carrying in that bag?” 

Aegon feigned offence, “It burns me that you think lowly of me. In fact, it is good.” He reached in and pulled out a brooch. It was gold and embedded with jewels to resemble a honeybee. He handed it off to Amara. 

“One for you,” He said with his voice pitched up slightly. Aegon pulled another one out, this time it was silver and blue in the shape of a butterfly. “One for you.” He gave it to Liriel. 

Aegon reached you, “And for the lovely human that pissed off my brother and gave me a great laugh,” He pulled out a brooch that was made of silver. It was a beetle with their wings out. The wings were made of emeralds with the base of the bug being a large sapphire. He passed it to you and you felt the weight in your hands. Cool and surprisingly heavy for such a small object. 

“And you stole these from where?” Daeron interjected. 

“Not theft, brother. I won them in a gamble at some pub… uh, ‘the Merry Maiden’ no, that wasn’t it. Uh, ‘the Gilded Goblet’... no not that.” Aegon’s brows furrowed as he tried to recall the pub's name, but you understood he was likely too inebriated to remember where he was. “Helaena picked the dragonfly one, but I thought the others could make some fine gifts for my friends.” 

Liriel placed her brooch down on the table, “You simply wanted to give them to us?” 

“Alright,” Aegon sighed, “I was hoping one of you could make sure I reach my room tonight and not end up passed out in some room or field. I need to wake up early tomorrow.” You exchanged a look with Daeron, him hiding his smile behind his goblet. 

“I will,” You volunteered. Aegon smiled and thanked you before wandering off - likely to the nearest keg. 

“You will regret that,” Amara warned you in a joking tone, “Last time I tried to get him back to his room, I had to drag him down a hall by his boot.”  You looked to Liriel and Daeron for confirmation, to which they nodded vehemently. You sat back in your chair and sighed before taking a swig of your drink. You were begging to wonder if that was the best decision. 

Daeron got out of his chair and held his hand out to you, “Care for a dance?” 

“Of course,” You placed your hand in his and he escorted you to the floor. Many of the elvish dances are a lot like the ones back home, so you were glad there was not an extreme learning curve. “Have you spoken to her yet?” You remembered his confession the last time you two danced. The supposedly enchanting elf huntress he always treated consumed a large portion of his mind, yet he had been too embarrassed to far as to tell you her name. 

Daeron looked around the room with a faint blush on his cheeks, “I’m working on it.” 

“Ah,” You slowly nodded, “Yes I can see how much progress you have made.” Your sarcastic tone earned you a look of funny disapproval from him. 

“And what about you? Any person back home?” Daeron asked as he spun you around. 

You could not hold back the laugh that slipped from your mouth. You unclasped your hand from his and covered your mouth at the sudden outburst, “No. The options available are… less than desirable.” You tried to find the most gentle words to use and Daeron seemed to understand while he spun you around again. In just a short moment, the smile on Daeron’s face morphed into a serious one. 

You raised your brow at him as he stopped dancing and the two of you stood there. You turned to where he was looking and nothing could prepare you for what you saw. Aemond was right there, with his hands clasped behind his back and a smug look on his face. He never came to these dances, from what you heard, so why was he here now?

“Forgive me, brother,” Aemond spoke to Daeron, “I shall step in.” The blood in your veins turned to ice. Daeron looked at your reaction and stepped close to you. 

“We must discuss a bit of research,” He intervened. 

Aemond hummed, “I am sure you two will have plenty of time on the morrow.” He held his hand out to you and you knew there was no way to deny him - especially in front of the eyes of all the elves in the room. You placed your hand in his and were surprised at the feeling. The skin was cold and rough, his hand larger than yours. Aemond nodded to his brother before moving you away and proceeding to dance. 

The feeling of him being so close reminded you of the sword he held against your throat, yet little fear came over you. He smelled of burning wood and parchment, with something akin to a medley of spices. Aemond did not speak but carefully guided you through the steps. Confusion was not a good enough word to describe your bewilderment. This was the only time you had ever seen him operate with a modicum of respect and possibly kindness. 

That sentiment died the moment he spoke. 

“You two needed to discuss research? Am I correct in guessing that your little adventure was for nothing?” Aemond taunted. The two of you spun before going back to the calm back-and-forth stepping. Other elves around you kept a portion of distance from the king and granted him more leeway on the dance floor.

You knew you had to remain as calm and poignant as possible, “No, your grace,” You would never outright address him as king for as long as you could, “We have yet to begin testing the flowers.” 

“I would advise not to be disappointed when it fails, but I am sure you are used to it.” Aemond’s smugness always managed to dig deep. You could not help but wonder, in all the years of his life, how nobody had yet to knock some sense into him. While none of the other royal siblings had spoken about it, you surmised there had to have been parents or some guardian in their youth to raise them. His siblings were kind, why was he not? 

“Then why did you save me?” Your question caused him to look at you. A glint of confusion shone in his eye. “You wish for me to fail, I could have then and there in that forest. Are you so selfish in your hate towards my kind that you would jeopardize a possible chance of saving and curing your people?”

Aemond’s grip on your hand and waist tightened, though not greatly enough to cause discomfort, “I did not jeopardize anything. If you can recall, I did save you.” His voice lowered in both volume and pitch. 

“Then why?” You questioned again, “Why did you save me?”

“You forget easily, I already told you,” Aemond reminded, “For my sister.” 

“For your sister?” Your tone was not convinced. Ultimately, if you looked at him closely, he looked just a tad nervous. There was an underlying feeling of anxiety in the way his eye darted around the room. He acted indifferent, but there was only so much falsity one could use before they ran out.

“You ask a mighty amount of questions.” Aemond deflected. 

“I wouldn’t be good at what I do if I was bad at asking questions.” You raised your eyebrow as a silent challenge. He turned his gaze back to you, a subtle fire in his eye. Before he could make a retort, you spoke again, “You did not answer my question.” 

Aemond scoffed, “Get used to disappointment.” 

You gave him a feigned and innocent look of confusion and kept your tone polite, “Did you not start this very conversation saying I was used to disappointment? Do you forget easily?” He did not appear to like you and disliked how you used his own words against him. The music came to an end and he pulled away from you as if burned from the contact. 

He looked as though he was going to speak, but chose not to. Aemond stalked off and passed through elves that immediately parted and bowed their heads. While making a big deal of not tolerating anything, he sure did let you get away with a lot. Why must he go out of his way to make you miserable? Does he not have a myriad of tasks to tackle as king?

It was not until he disappeared from your vision that Daeron approached.  

He gripped your shoulder with a worried expression, “Aemond said something horrible, didn’t he?” 

You gave him a reassuring tight-lipped smile, “Just the usual.” Daeron sighed with disappointment and wrapped his arm around your shoulders to guide you off the dance floor and back to the table with Amara and Liriel. Daeron pulled out your chair and you sat down. When you were gone, food had been brought to the table and you settled in to relax and talk with your friends.

You had lost track of the hours as the night passed. Despite Aemond’s attempt to spoil your night, it was significantly better than the last celebration. It was only a week ago, but you had been so new to the castle and unsure of yourself. Now, you had felt stronger after making good connections. It was incredibly fun to bond more with them. 

Since elves lived such long lives, they were never short on stories to tell. Naturally, time passed quickly. Daeron had just finished speaking when you saw Aegon in the distance. He stumbled towards the grand doors that were left open, his clothing somewhat dishevelled.  

“Excuse me, but I am tired and it looks like Aegon may accidentally take a tumble down a flight of stairs if he is not watched.” You pushed out your chair, bowed your head goodbye to them and rushed to the prince. He just made it past the threshold when he stumbled and fell on his knees. You reached him and put one arm across the upper part of his back and the other on the front of his stomach. 

“Ah,” His lopsided smile greeted you, “My saviour.” 

“Come on, let's walk,” You helped to lift him and began a wobbly trek down the halls of the castle. The two guards assigned to watch you followed closely behind. 

The walk took longer than it should have, given that Aegon fell multiple times and it took great strength to get him up again. You wondered if you should ask the guards for help, but decided against it. Every time you had tried to talk to them previously had been met with absolute silence. You had to ask him for directions to his room, which took him a long time to remember. 

Once you reached the door to his quarters, you resisted a loud sigh of relief. You leaned him up against the stone wall to open the door. After another few minutes of struggle, you managed to get him onto his bed. He yawned loudly and stretched out his arms. 

“I am sorry you have to deal with me,” Aegon mumbled. 

You were caught off guard and confused by his words, “What makes you say that?” 

“Helaena is so smart and Daeron has his success in healing. Aemond is the king and I, well, I am a drunk.” Aegon shakily moved his hands to gesture to his body. You removed his boots and placed them at the foot of the bed. 

While you were pouring water into a chalice to place on the bedside table, you thought of a response, “You do not have to be a drunk.” 

“But that is what I am good at.” You moved to sit on the side of the bed, your feet lifting a few inches off the floor. Aegon’s eyes were half-lidded.

“Gods know he won’t remember this,” You whispered to yourself before you raised your head to look at him, “Do you know how many of my people would kill to live as long as you? To learn and grow, to hone skills and make a difference? You have been given a gift, don’t waste it.” Your tone bordered on harsh, but you reeled it in. Something told you deep down that lashing out at him would only make the situation worse. There was no guarantee that come the morrow, these words would stick, but it was better than saying nothing at all. 

You got off the bed and made your way to the door. Your hand gripped the wrought steel handle of the wooden door. When you opened the door and allowed the torchlight of the hallway to seep in, Aegon called out your name. You turned to him to see him on the bed still, but his face looked as though he had more clarity. 

“My brother is not bad, just confused in his way and lashes out,” Aegon spoke.

“What?” You questioned. Your grip on the handle tightened.

Aegon rose slightly to fluff the pillow below him with a huff, “I saw him speaking to you. It is not my place to say, but he is not what he tries desperately to convince people of.” 

“And what is that?” Your query was met with a beat of silence. The distant shouts of the party were long drowned out, nothing but the crackling of the hearth and buzzing of the fireflies outside occupied the room.

“Evil.” His words echoed in your head. 

You gave him a shaky smile, though your heart was not fully in it, “Get some rest, Aegon.” With that, you left his room and closed the door. For a few moments, you stood unable to move. The family you had been exposed to since your meeting with Helaena was more complex than you could have imagined; a fine distraction you did not want to sink into and distract from your research. However, your curiosity had always been your greatest strength and weakness.

Chapter 9: Home and Hearth Preview

“I do not hate you,” Your words caused him to stop. You were slightly fearful, but it waned with each passing day, “I do not know you enough to hate you.” 

“But you have heard enough,” Aemond’s voice had dropped back down to a natural volume, contrasting his combative attitude from before. He shifted on the saddle and scanned the darkened forest.

“Stories, yes, but I doubt them more with each day. I have not seen you gut anyone, or drink the blood of your fallen foes, or anything else like that.” You reasoned. Your fingers brushed the purple petals of the flowers in front of you.

Aemond looked away from you and towards the flowers on the ground, “How do you know I do not do those things?”

✧₊⁺⋆☾ I have a poll going at the moment regarding an idea for future writing. If you are interested, you can vote here.

☾⋆⁺₊✧ If you want to be added to the taglist, click here!

taglist: @izzicle @arriettys-song @ggukiespace @wasntpriscilla @marielahurtado @shamelessblazecrown @peachysunrize @lolliespocketfullofpollies @lanadragon04 @kokosg @sinistersnakey @aemondtargaryenwifey @m-riaa @sarcasticwitch11 @coriellesmarya @simpinonyouz @scrumptiousloser @gcdofchaos @whorrorbellee @saturnssrings @ashjade19 @uniquecutie-puffs @fan_goddess @impossiblepersonastranger @certifiedhaters @crystal_siren @dejiekoo @ladyofthewoods15 @lilostif16

[vroom--vrooming]

F1 drivers in the apocalypse

Max Verstappen

He was not prepared for it, nor he ever imagined something like this would ever happen. That being said, the poor guy had to kill the infected or zombies on day one, and at that time they were still considered "people" so Max was kinda in shock.

He had blood in his hands for at least two days because he was still trying to make sense of what's going on.

He learned that no one can be trusted pretty soon when a loving family teamed up with him and on the second night they tried to kill him and take his weapons and supplies. He survived but decided to never trust anyone, no matter who they are.

He quickly became very skilled with blades and axes. He always carries an axe.

Avoids trouble. Kills anyone who seems shady.

He has lived days he won't even wish upon his enemies...actually he would.

Charles Leclerc

When the apocalypse started Charles thought either it was a big prank or somehow Halloween arrived early. He really screamed his lungs out when he saw a zombie eat a person alive. The guy literally froze and went completely cold.

Let's just say Charles found out quick enough that butter knife is not that effective in killing zombies, and neither is a chokehold. Ran over a few zombies with his Ferrari

Went completely paranoid and didn't sleep for a week until he passed out. Woke up to find his survival kit and Ferrari gone. Couldn't believe he got robbed. Got very angry and decided to track the guys who robbed him

Found the guys who robbed him. Asked politely to return his stuff and his car, got laughed at. He got even more angry. Had a blackout, and when he came to his senses everyone around was dead and he was covered in blood.

Went back into paranoid mode, but this time he is scared of himself as well.

Lando Norris

This guy locked himself in his house, thinking it's the safest place. But he almost died from a heart attack when the dead came banging on his door at night. He had to climb through his balcony and jump to escape. Dislocated his shoulder and only realized it when he stopped running. Popped his shoulder right back in after an hour of crying in pain.

He figured out that the zombies smell the living so he covered himself with the disgusting insides of a few dead bodies. Got him far enough and without harm for three days.

Almost got killed when he ran into a group of few humans, they thought he was a zombie.

Killed a living thinking it was a dead guy coming for his brain. Because of it he had nightmares for weeks.

Found a group and stuck with them for his safety and survival

Oscar Piastri

He tried to drive himself out of the city but the car broke down and he was trapped inside with the dead surrounding him. He waited till dark when the zombies slightly stepped away, and then he made a run.

He Home Alone an entire department store and stayed there for a few weeks until his traps stopped working. He gathered everything he could and left, and went out of the city.

Soon learned that in the new world politeness doesn't always work, but a gun always does the job.

Got offered to join a group, but he declined. The group started to hunt him for other purposes. Each one of them died a horrible death after getting stuck in his traps.

Took shelter where the group were staying.

Carlos Sainz

This guy was on vacation and got stuck in a foreign country. Literally stole a boat and escaped thinking that only that country was infected.

Reached a completely different country and saw the same chaos. Wants to get home but there is no way.

Kill count went from 0 to 20 in a day when both dead and living came after him. He never recovered from that. When he looked in a mirror after weeks he barely recognized himself.

Turned a little psychotic but still has a good heart...at least that's what he believes, otherwise he is no longer a human.

Killed a group in their sleep to take over their farm.

Alex Albon

Probably the only guy in the world who refuses to kill anyone, living or dead.

An excellent thief. First time he stole he left a sorry note. Carries a cat with him, his companion. Survived on cat food for a week till he found an abandoned market.

A master at staying out of trouble. No one can catch him or even see him until he wants them to. Very polite but talks to himself and the cat, may have gone a little crazy.

Franco Colapinto

What would you do if the girl you were picking up for a date gets bitten by a zombie and then comes back to life? Well, Franco tried to take her to the hospital. Not a good place to be when the entire hospital went into lockdown, trapping the living and the dead inside.

Franco ran and found himself in the morgue. A few more people joined him. They only lasted there for two days before one of them died and turned and bit another. Franco had no choice but to get out and lock them all there. He somehow got to the roof and escaped through the fire exit.

Almost got killed or bitten many times over the next few weeks. From innocent flirtatious guy to a ruthless killer. Very brutal kills.

He got out of the city right before it got nuked. Took shelter inside a train tunnel. Anyone who tries to pass it dies.

Lance Stroll

He was safely in his basement, had no idea how bad it was outside. Thought it was just an extreme version of covid. He was forced to get out when his cook died. When he got out it felt strange, like he was the only man on earth. That didn't last long when his security team turned zombies came after him.

Got the helicopter and flew away. Went to search for the military, hoping he would be safe. Soon learned that all organizations no longer exist. Ran out of fuel and had to land. Spend the night at an abandoned military base.

Was surprised in the morning when he found out there were people there. Begged them to let him stay there and in exchange he will tell him his address and they can get all the resources, including weapons. The leader agreed.

Eventually turned into some sort of caretaker of the group.

Fernando Alonso

Poor guy lost all his loved ones in a month, and not only that, he also had to kill their zombie version. It drove him crazy. He almost gave up, putting himself in dangerous situations just so he could kill.

Others like him started to follow him, respect him. Fernando felt like it was his responsibility to protect those who are loyal to him. But by this point he has become ruthless, and any trace of pre apocalyptic Fernando was gone.

He led his people to a military base and settled there. No one goes in or out with his permission.

Others have tried to attack the base and take over but Fernando is too good with his strategies and they always end up running away or dead.

Lewis Hamilton

Always with the faith and positivity. First he was all about saving and protecting people. Soon realized a little bit of fear and kindness will get him followers, people who would serve him and be loyal to him.

Doesn't like to get his hands dirty, but every now and then he will punish or kill someone to set an example and to keep the fear alive.

He thinks of himself as a saviour, and by his logic everyone should surrender and join him if they mean well.

Tried to take over Fernando's group but failed miserably. Revenge is still his priority but doesn't know where Fernando currently is.

George Russell

He was just minutes away from getting eaten alive when Lewis saved him. He owes Lewis his life and wholeheartedly follows him.

Lewis' right hand man. Loves to do all the dirty work. No one can question him.

He doesn't talk about his life prior to joining Lewis, mostly because he is no longer that man. But he was a killer even before the apocalypse

Cruel is his middle name

[phantoms-world-and-more]

Court case for the jokers punishment

So the joker got an infection and eventually kicked the bucket

Bruce is nutral if a little sad

Jason is pissed he couldn't kill him

And all of the other batfam are releived that the jokers not out and about anymore, and atleast the family fight on the joker ends

During a family meeting to discuss the jokers death a Lazarus pit opened up and a...butler? Servent? Footman? Who knowes! someone in a suit...

Oh and he was floating off the ground and translucent

The batfam were on high alert and instant attack mode, damian tried to stab the guy and ended up tumbling through him

Bruce walked up and intended to intimidate him, but the guy walked through him...and right for jason

:you are jason todd, correct

:why do'you care

:you are the jason todd killed by the joker and reserected by currupted ectoplasm, correct

:my death is none of your business!

:mr todd, as a victem of the joker you are entiteled to a say in the jokers punishment

The whole room got quiet, jason was freaking out but...also calm. The pit was reacting to this guy like...comradery? Companionship? It wasent negative but not positive either

Bruce was still trying to intimidate the guy into giving them answers

Tim and dick were just staring

and damian was making another swing with his sword

:w-what do you mean, jokers punishment ???

The guy pulled out a seat and told everyone to sit, he pulled out a file and put it in front of jason, bruce went to grab it but the guy slapped his hand away

:only mr todd and trusted members of the ghost kings high court may read it

That was the first time he acknowledged bruce and he didnt like being ignored, jason couldn't hold in his chuckle at B getting frustrated

Slowly jason picked up the file and began to read, the paper on the top was a basic file of jason todd before he died, age,school, adoption date, birth place basic things though the thing that stood out was the words at the bottom

Cause of death: joker

Following it was the date, time, wepon and location of his death

He flipped to the next page and saw a similar file to robin, the day he started training, his first day out, how he met bruce, an analysis of his fighting gear from that time, his patrol rout

And at the bottom was the same thing with the same information

Cause of death: joker

Jason was starting to worry why he wasent freaking out about this file he was kinda a numb giddy if that made sense, the batfam were all looking at him expectingly and the butler guy was just watching him

:why are you watching me??

: oh, you see, some ghosts tend to...loose themselves a bit when confronted with...sensitive information, I'm just making sure you wont panic

That got a look from dick and tim, bruce just "hmm"ed and damian was still glaring at the guy

Jason turned to the next page and saw another thing like the last pages, except this one was much more recent, age, height, the day he came back to the public eye,

But there was alot more concerning writing

Death date, date of reserection, level of corruption, death age, core growth, manifested abilities

Jason gave a look to the guy but didnt freak out, though everyone at the table saw the look and was starting to get concerned, jason didnt know what to make of the information let along what it ment

He turned the page and saw one for red hood, age, number of wepons, occupation, date he made his davew, number of times he tried to kill the joker, ect;

Jason tried to ignore all the things that stood out and gave him a sinking feeling and the pit had an...odd reaction

He flipped a page and rather than another log thing there were pictures, mostly id photos and things accessible to the public, but there were also alot of photos that looked like tim took them when he was playing watchdog

He flipped the page and read the following:

You jason todd, due to the crimes and atrocities commiced to you by john, kur aka:the joker

One week after the jokers death he will be tryed and condemed for his actions, and dispite the unusual circumstances surounsing your existence you are entiteled to a say in how the joker is punished

Due to your previous and current occupation you have much more sway over the outcome of the trial then most of his other victmes though they will still have their say

You will not be forced to attend any trial or judgement, as this selecting processes is voluntary and you may reject having any involvement in the case of the jokers soul, condemnation or punishment

And dew to your unique standing with parties that for whatever reason (the big bad bat, you know who) may want to joker to get a lighter sentence than diserved the batman will not have nor get any power or say over the conditions of the joker. he will not have any say and you do not have to lisen to him on any matters concerning this trial

I thank you for your time and any question you may have berry( the ghost who delivered this to you) will answer any and all questions

High king of the infinet realms: phantom

P.S: most people in the infinite realmes kinda have a grudge against the batman so don't be shocked if berry dose something to him

Jason closed the file, handed it back to berry and just...sat there for a good 5 minutes

:mr todd do you have any questions you need answering

l:... I've been out of the loop d'ya think you could...give the the details of...whatevers going on...and what court trial for the jokers soul?

:ah i can do that mr todd.

So 24 hours ago the joker passed away, dew to the ambient ectoplasm in gothem he bacame a ghost in the infinite realms

At jasons confused look he said he'd explain later

:the high king of the infinet realms immediately had his soul captured and he is currently waiting for his trial

The joker has killed alot of people in the infinite realms and they want their pound of fleash, and king phantom is beyond willing to give it to them

So anyone willing is going to his trial next week to condem him

You were killed by the joker and are under unique circumstances, in fact it was up in the air weather to let you have a say or not, but you were dead and thus entitled to a say in his punishment

Because you fought the joker and died to protect gothem you have a larger sway over the outcome than most

:... so what your saying is... i can fuck over the joker even when hes dead?

:yes

:hhahaha hell yeah!!!

Jason jumped up and started laughing like a lunitic, now it made sence why the pit was giddy, it knew he'd finally get his pound of fleash and B couldn't do shit!!!

Batman: that cant be fair

: whyever not

: he's already dead just let him rest

:after all the things he's done...never

: he's already been punished leave him be

That was the wrong thing to say as berry jumped out of the chair, knocking it over and jamming the table into the rest of the batfams ribs

:HES BEEN PUNISHED, WHAT WAY HAS HE BEEN PUNISHED

:he die-

:WE ALL DIED!! HE'S DIED, I'VE DIED, HELL YOU'VE DIED! That dose not excuse his crimes! Besids! What do you think he'd do in the infinite realms! Think you egotistical furrie a madman with no punishment, developing powers and access to multiple universes! Its a disaster waiting to happn you idiot

:it's still unfair, i will stop it

: how moron! you have no say in this you are naither a victme or a trusted member of the high kings court, you have no power

:then I'll talk to this king

:*snort* sure you will...mr todd do you have anymore questions?

Jasons giddiness froze at being put on the spot so suddenly he froze mid-cackle and had to stand properly before he answered berrys question

J: uhh... how to i get to the trial, thing on the right time

: a servent will escourt you,AND ONLY YOU, to the event. Good day and fuck you!!

Berry opened a portal, stepped through and gave bruce the finger

Everyone kinda stared at where the portal was, jason was the one to break the silence by giggling

: hahaha i still get to fuck over the joker and, for once, you can't stop me, later you egotistical furrie

Jason ran to his bike and floored it out of the batcave, he has to plan