#it's so sad because they really could have done something very good with Freelancer I would have loved to visit Space China or Space Russia | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fraugwinska · 5 months ago

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Chapter 16 - Fallacy

Fallacy (noun) 1. a failure/error in reasoning which renders an argument invalid. 2. a deceptive appearance

Tags & Warnings: Mentions of suicide and depression, Explicit sexual content, Discussions of acts of homophobia and conversion therapy If you see this symbol ♫ I highly recommend to listen to the song "City of Stars" by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone from the movie 'LaLaLand' (Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/1xk2Z84gbcn4tPXiiutxzS?si=12af0d158b22496b)

You lifted another 8-pin cable out of a black wooden box, careful not to drop it as your still sweaty hands made everything slippery. Dante. The stagehand was Dante, how did you not recognize him straight away? Now that you knew, it was so obvious. Irritated at your sudden excitement and Dante's beaming smile, Mimzy had quickly ordered you, in a not-so-cute tone of voice “Oy, slackers. Less gawking, more working. The band is going on stage in 30 minutes, so you better get moving.” before pulling a reluctant Alastor backstage. His gaze had been a mixture of surprise, discontent and annoyance as she dragged him along, eyes narrowing at you and the nightingale. You would've felt flattered, but the shock of meeting your long lost friend made you unable to concentrate on anything else.

"I knew it was you the second I saw you." Dante laughed down at you from the ladder, taking the heavy cable from your hands. "I was just waiting for the penny to drop."

Dante had grabbed the end of the cable you were holding and connected it to a spotlight, working with skilled, nimble hands.

"I have no idea how I didn't recognize you sooner."

He hopped down, smiling at you cheekily, just the way he had when you were alive.

"I know, you can be so daft sometimes. Some things never change, eh, munchkin?"

You chuckled at the familiar nickname while he rounded you and plugged the other end of the cable into a power outlet. He quickly checked the time on his wristwatch.

“Okay, done. And with time to spare... you don't wanna see Mimzy when she's angry.” he pulled you to the side, taking two bottles of water out of a backpack, handing you one while opening the other. He eyed you, and his demeanor shifted to nervous and hesitant, now that there wasn't anything but conversation to do. “I'd like to say it's good to see you, but... considering where we are, well...” he started, leaning against a pillar, avoiding your eyes.

“Dante.” you started, fidgeting with your unopened bottle in your hands. “I'm... I'm sorry. I never thought you'd end up... here.”

He gave you a sad smile. “You don't have anything to apologize for, (Y/n). Suicide isn't really a virtue, I knew I'd take the trip down here.” His hands disappeared into his pockets, and you wanted to ask so many things. But you knew Alastor and Mimzy could return any minute, so you decided to postpone the heavy conversation you wanted to have for another time.

“So... you work for Mimzy?”, you asked instead and Date visibly relaxes.

“Temporarily... It's an on-off thing. I'm kind of freelancing, a job here, a job there. It's good money, and she can be very nice and generous.” He chuckled at your doubtful expression. “Don't take her attitude too personally, munchkin. Ever since she saw that video of you, she's kind of miffed that you could fish in her pond. Mimzy doesn't like to share the spotlight.”

You blink at him. “What video?”, you asked, your own confusion mirrored with Dante's.

"The one on the Vee's sinstagram. Velvette posted a story the other day, of you singing in a karaoke joint, apparently it was almost immediately deleted, but it caused quite a stir because she tagged Vox in it, joking about him being 'literally pussy whipped', or something like that." Dante shook his head and sighed. "She was a real pain to work for after that. You didn't know about that?"

"I had no idea. I don't have a smartphone." Well that was just what you needed - Drama with more than just one overlord. How did no one tell you about that? Maybe Charlie, Vaggie and Husk weren't aware, they all used their phones sparingly, but Angel was practically glued to his, and you knew he must have known about it - he was working for one of the Vee's.

"I'm going to kill that spider..." you muttered under your breath.

Dante laughed quietly, and turned his head to the stage, where some demons put up instruments. "I remember the time you spotted a hobo spider in my bathroom and almost demolished my shower cabin, throwing the laundry basket at the thing."

You looked at him. From the fogginess of your mind, a memory materialized, you heard yourself scream in panic and felt the heavy wooden frame as you hurled it against a gigantic brown insect that hung on tiled walls while rushing out a white washed door, right into your friends chest. His loud, amused laughter resounded in your ears as he caught you, and you fell together to the floor. A laugh bubbled up in your throat, and Dante grinned at your giggling figure. In the distance, a door audibly opened.

"All this hubbub and I still missed that damn thing.", you chuckled.

"You always did have shit aim, munchkin, I have a scar from Pettersons' stage fighting class to prove it." he snickered and ruffled your fringe.

"Hey, no flirting on the clock, bird-boy!" Mimzy's voice chimed mockingly, her heels clicked as she and Alastor approached, and you sobered immediately as Alastor's tight smile and burning eyes stalked your face.

"Sorry, Miss Mimzy. We finished right on time and everything is set up and working." Dante took a step away from you, pushing himself between you and the miffed looking woman. He smiled at her, a genuine, bright smile. "And Howard wanted to speak to you about changing the setlist again."

"The hell he will, 'ya leave for five minutes and suddenly he thinks he's John Hammond." She huffed, pulling her strapless dress up at the neckline. "Well, Al, gotta skedaddle, this joint can't run without me. Come by again sometime - alone - have a drink and a dance, just like old times, will 'ya?" Mimzy clicked her tongue at you, then skitted away to find the poor demon called Howard. Which left you and Dante and Alastor. The latter eyed you intensely, while he addressed the still smiling bird demon next to you.

"Dante, is it? Now don't you two look like birds of a feather?", he almost sang, voice light and melodic but his stare was almost violent. "Are you acquainted with my darling little assistant, boy?" He sounded so utterly condescending, you had to cock a brow.

Dante, bless his soul, didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "Very much so, Mr. Alastor. We were best friends in the overworld, almost inseparable." he said cheerfully, completely oblivious of the radiating static that surrounded Alastor.

"Inseparable you say?", Alastor questioned, prickling needles creeping up your legs. "How interesting. Well, as much as I hate to interrupt this surely touching reunion, we do need to take our leave, darling. Say goodbye to your... friend."

"Right.", you said, still irritated by this obvious animosity, but you nodded and took a step to Dante who looked at the both of you with blissful cluelessness. You felt the radio demons looming presence in your neck, and mentally rolled your eyes.

"I live at the Hazbin Hotel. You're welcome to visit anytime... I'd love to... talk." you hurriedly said, before being almost ripped from him by Alastor's iron grip.

"I'd like that too, munchkin. Have a good evening, you too Mr. Alastor." Dante yelled, much too enthusiastically, and waved you goodbye as Alastor practically marched you out of the club. You could've facepalmed yourself. Some things really didn't change, and Dante's talent of being absolutely unable to read a room was one of them.

She was almost jogging next to him, her arm trapped around his, and struggled visibly to keep up with his – admittedly rage-fueled – pace.

He was annoyed, to say the least. Not only was this bird-demon obviously charmed by her, which irritated him to no end, no, but the audacity, the utter nerve he had, calling her such a childish, diminutive pet-name while touching what clearly wasn't his!

That's what he was: Annoyed. And slightly angry. Very, very angry. And, dare he admit, jealous. Yes, he felt jealousy. That vexing pang in his stomach when he saw the way her cheeks flushed and her tail curled when this impertinent creature ruffled her hair, when he saw her openly laughing, handing out a privilege he was sure he had a monopoly of: Her smile. Oh, how he wanted to rip out his feathers then, one by one, and stuff his throat with them until he choked on his own plumage.

Yes, that's what he wanted to do, and it took all his restraint not to give in to these urges.

"Sir... Alastor, please... can we... slow down?” His ears twitched at the sound of her breathless voice, and he stopped abruptly, in his thoughts as well as his stride, making her stumble. He looked down, and his grip loosened instantly. She was clutching his arm, ears and tail hanging low and a worried expression on her face. He blinked at her, the image of her smile and laugh with the stagehand gone, and his rage dissolved. He straightened his back, easing his grip on her a bit more, but he didn't release her.

"Of course, dear, forgive me. I was lost in thought." he said, a bit softer, and she relaxed a bit, sighing deeply.

"I noticed." She looked at him, a frown on her face. "Is something bothering you?"

Alastor snapped his free arm behind his back, pushing away the irritating image of the bird-demon, and grinned down to her. The day had been irritating enough, no need to fill it with further complications.

"Nothing at all, sweetheart. It's just been an awfully long day, hasn't it?", he nonchalantly exclaimed, wanting to wipe the memory of the idiot nightingale away and replacing it with his own touch, so he gently petted her ears. With a grim satisfaction he watched them shiver and her expression melt at his soft display of casual affection.

"Speaking of which, we should get going back to the hotel, wouldn't want to have our friends wait too long for the good news."

She tilted her head questioningly. "So, Miss Mimzy agreed to lend us the equipment?"

"Indeed she did. And the princess will be pleased to hear it won't cost us a helldime." Alastor chuckled at her stunned face. "I just had to remind her of the many times I've handled her ever-returning troubles for no more than her friendship in my pocket and her loyalty on the table."

A beautiful laugh rang out from her throat, and his ears perked at the sound. It sounded so much better at the place where it belonged - between him and you.

"Now, it's getting quite late, let's skip the sauntering and make use of my shadows to hurry home, or we'll risk Niffty to cook dinner."

He received no protest, just a small nod as she tightly gripped his arm. He decided to appreciate this moment of comfortable compliance and couldn't help but to smugly enjoy how close she clung to him as he teleported them back to the hotel.

Three days have passed, and Alastor had returned to his usual, detached self. The news of Alastor's bargain with his friend had Charlie hyped, and that evening, dinner had been on her. She ordered three party-sized pizzas – a cuisine Alastor didn't care for and so he had excused himself to an early nights rest, leaving you with the rest of the residents to live down the events of the day. Angel had been glued to your side the whole time, eagerly waiting for the opportunity to pull you aside. When the group didn't disintegrate after the pizza was gone and bellies were full, he declared loudly that you and him were much too tired for mingling, and had dragged you into his room.

"Tell. Me. Everything!” he had grinned, pulling you onto his bed, legs crossed and face full of impish delight. "Did 'ya yell at him? Did 'ya flip a table? Speak, woman!"

"No, we actually had a pretty normal, regular conversation. You know, like adults."

As much as you had wanted to talk about it, you couldn't tell Angel about your... escapade with Alastor. It was too fragile, too much of a question mark, and you were more than sure Alastor would be livid if anyone knew, let alone Angel Dust. The hotel wouldn't withstand that extend of an explosion.

Angel had raised a single eyebrow, eyes squinted disbelievingly at you, and a deadpanned "Oh come ON, all that riling up and there weren't even dishes flying?" He had sighed dramatically, putting the back of his hand against his forehead. "All my efforts, wasted."

"Not entirely." you had whispered, and decided to at least give him something to feed on. "He told me he's fond of me."

Angel's face had been less than impressed. "Uh-huh, is that old-timey code for 'Show me 'ya ankles?'"

You felt no remorse when the pink heart-pillow had hit him hard and straight in the nose.

You had sworn him to secrecy - "Fine, fine, it's barely some secret anyway, Rocky." - and then changed the subject, confronting Angel about the viral video of you. He outright confessed he knew about it, but told you that "it wasn't a big deal, nothing to worry about. The Vee's do shit like this all the time.", but he looked nervous and uncomfortable, determined to sway the conversation away from the topic. You didn't push it, but made a mental note to find out more about it another time.

Ever since that evening, your routine at the hotel went back to exhaustively uneventful.

Alastor was significantly more present, and therefore more at your side than before - or was it just because you were on the lookout for it now - and he always found a new reason to discreetly touch your arms, back or waist. Not a word was uttered about it, but you swore you sometimes hunger in his eyes and the crooked, knowing smiles he gave you. Yet, the evenings have become lonely again, no visits or invitations, no anything really.

You used the lonesome silence and time waiting for sleep to finally claim you to write in your diary. The sepia pages of the little gift from Rosie were slowly but surely filled, half of the papers were covered in notes, poems or fractured lyrics. Your personal therapy had become an integral part of the nights, the muted scratching on paper helping you gather your thoughts, deal with your increasing fears of rejection and released at least some of the pressure the voices in your head put on your mind. Your writing became a bit more polished, less fragmented than in the beginning, and your pen flew over the pages, words and syllables forming lines and verses, and a certain demon was woven more and more into your work.

Another day, another routine. It had been a pretty productive day, you had finally convinced Husk to dig out his old trumpet and meet you in the ballroom to assess what you'd do for the planned duet. He had been hesitant, the redness of embarrassment visible under his fur. Yet, he came through the double doors with slumped shoulders and a black case in hand and soon after the both of you stood (a bit unceremoniously) on the stage.

"I dunno, kid. I haven't touched that thing in forever." He sighed, the brass instrument in his paws.

"Well, give it a try. For me, pleeeeease?" You blinked at him with overly big, round eyes, and after a short moment, he rolled his eyes and he had given you a defeated nod.

Playing an instrument was like riding a bike - you never really forget how to do it. The same was true for Husk, he picked up his trumpet and, despite the initial rustiness, soon started playing his first song. He laughed, surprised by himself, and you encouraged him to play some more. You listened intently, and after a while, you sat down on the bench and joined him on the piano, improvising the best you could. Soon, the bike ride became a tandem, you and the cat harmonized with ease, and by the end, he wore a very new and unsuspected kind of self-confidence.

The last note was still resonating when the doors of the ballroom were pushed open and a familiar radio voice resounded in the room.

"I knew I'd find you two here."

You and Husk looked up, and Alastor was striding towards you, a curious grin on his face.

"Don't look so shocked, I'm not deaf and this hotel isn't as soundproof as you think." He came to a halt next to Husk, looking at the trumpet. "It seems that you've finally coaxed old Husker out of his artistic retirement."

Husk huffed. "She got a talent for makin' people do shit they wouldn't otherwise."

"Oh, I am well aware of that."

Alastor's eyes were on you, and your gaze dropped down to the keys, your ears twitching nervously. Husk gave the radio demon a wary look, then looked back at you, and then at the both of you again, his brows knitting together, clearly wondering what that was about.

"Hey, uh, Imma grab a drink, oil the old pipes before dinner, yo' know? This was fun, kiddo... Thanks." he said, put the instrument into it's case and hopped off the stage. Without another word he scurried away and out the door.

"Seems you have another resident wrapped around your little finger." Alastor's voice was right behind you as you fiddled with the music stand.

"I wouldn't say that. I just showed him that he had other talents than mixing drinks and sleeping upright.", you said gingerly, placing your hands in your lap. "But I'm glad you heard us. What do you think?", you asked, turning to look at him, a slight blush on your cheeks. He didn't move away from his close position, and the proximity made your tail sway.

Alastor leaned down to reply, again with that glint of hunger in his eyes, his face so dangerously close to yours, so easy to close the small distance between your...

"Husk said she's in there, oh, she'll be so happy! (Y/n)! You have a visitor!", Charlie burst through the doors with more than her usual enthusiasm, the glass in the wing doors chiming from the impact. Behind her, Dante trailed alongside Vaggie and a very pleased looking Angel. Alastor straightened, took a small, unimpressed step back and faced the intrusion, all traces of his former state erased with perfect timing and a subtle sigh of annoyance, leaving you confused and blinking in bewilderment.

You, however, were visibly flushed and taken off guard and Angel, curse that mischievous idiot, cocked a single eyebrow suggestively at you, an angelic smirk on his lips and wiggling his own eyebrows up and down at you behind Charlie, Vaggie and Dante. He would have no chance of survival if looks could kill.

Dante's smile grew wide when he caught your eyes. He was dressed more informal than last time, more like his old self - a simple, tight-fitting white shirt under a sandy brown, heavy-knitted cardigan and light blue jeans.

"I finally finished my gig at Mimzy's yesterday night and thought I'd swing by. Wasn't sure whether your invitation still stood..." He put his hands into his pockets, smile and stance awkward. "But I really wanted to see you again, munchkin."

The harsh and loud sound of feedback cut your answer off. Heads turned, and Angel stifled a snicker and Charlie and Vaggie stared at Alastor, who looked innocently into the distance, grin wide and stiff, his hands hidden behind his back. You however, ignoring the increasing static attacking your back, jumped up from the bench and hurried down the stage.

"Of course the invitation stands. I'm glad you came, Dante."

Charlie took your hands, hopping up and down on her feet as she spoke. "I've already shown him around the hotel! He told me his amazing story of being reunited with you after all this time, it's so nice to meet a friend of yours, (Y/n)!" Charlie beamed at the nightingale, “He's such a nice guy!”

"Yeah, Rocky, where have you been hidin' this hunk A' feathers? And here I was thinkin' 'ya didn't have any hot friends besides me. Guess you have a few skeletons in 'ya closet afterall, eh?" Angel grinned, appreciatively eyeing Dante's backside.

"Alright, let's cool the sexual harassment down, he's only just arrived." Vaggie said unnerved, already pushing the smirking spider out the double doors. "I'm sure they have a lot of catching up to do, how about we give them a few minutes? Dinner in half an hour?" Charlie nodded, following her girlfriend's lead. "You two take your time, we'll be in the kitchen!" She gave Alastor, who hadn't moved at all, a slightly challenging look.

His red eyes snapped to Charlie, the static snapping into a calm hum. "Ah, yes, of course, let's leave those two to reminisce about the good old days." His laugh seemed a little bit forced, but his movements were smooth as he passed you, and stopped just briefly enough to brush your lower back, his eyes fixed on the unsuspecting nightingale. "Do stay for dinner, Dante. Our lovely Niffty does make a fantastic roast chicken , when she get her hands on the right ingredients ." His words, although nice, were sublimely laced with an underlying threat. Something that flew right over both Charlie's and Dante's head, apparently.

Your friend gave Alastor an almost blinding smile. "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Alastor, that's mighty kind of you."

Charlie's smile was strained, her eyes flickering back and forth between the three of you, and she gave you an apologetic shrug as Alastor turned on his heels and strutted out the door, hurrying after him. You watched the doors closed with a loud thud, shaking your head at the passive-aggressiveness Alastor showed Dante for apparently simply existing.

“Man, everyone's so nice here.” Dante smiled innocently. Oh Satan. Ignorance truly is bliss.

“Yeah, they are... well-meaning.”, you compromise, fidgeting with the ruffles of your blouse. You looked at your friend, not knowing where to begin the conversation you wanted to have the moment you realized who he was. Dante watched your fingers picking at the delicate fabric, his smile turning into a sad, crooked line.

“Come on, ask, I know you want to.”

You swallowed hard.

"What happened, Danny?” His eyes dropped at the long forgotten nickname. “One day, we were out buying a gift for your mom's birthday, and a week later, I get a call that...”, your voice broke, and you blinked tears away. Dante took a step towards you and grabbed your hands.

"I know, munchkin, I know. I'm so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am." He sighed, his breath trembling. “I told them when I was at mamma's house, one day after her birthday. I came out. I thought I was ready, they were ready. But they weren't.”

He turned his back to you, a hand brushed nervously trough his hair, combing back his quiff. “They... well, papa was furious, mamma cried and screamed. I... They told me I'm a disgrace, that I was... sick, and needed to get help. I wasn't allowed to come back to the academy, they wanted to send me to a conversion camp, to... cure me."

You reached out to him, but he began to move, walking back and forth while gesturing nervously. "When I said I didn't want that, that I can't try to be someone I'm not, that I didn't want to pretend and lie to my family anymore... they threw me out. They said.... that I wasn't their son anymore. That I was dead to them. I felt... trapped, and scared, and like a mistake. And then, I stood at that bridge, and I just..."

Dante's shoulders shook, his hand buried in his hair, he sobbed loudly and his voice was raw with emotion.

"Danny...", you whispered, and wrapped your arms around his shoulders. You hugged him tightly, and he turned to return the embrace. He held you closely, crying quietly into the crook of your neck. "I'm so sorry, Danny. So, so sorry."

You stood there for a while, the nightingale's sniffles and your gentle hushing the only sound in the empty room. Then, he pulled away from you, and wiped his wet cheeks.

"Why didn't you tell me?", you asked, a rogue tear rolling down your cheek. "I would've helped you, I would've been there for you."

Dante smiled sadly at you. "I know. But you had already so much on your plate. Your mom, and your jobs, and your own depression. I couldn't be another burden on your shoulders, you were already close to drowning, munchkin."

You felt awful. Guilty. Devastated. You felt a deep, unrelenting sadness for your friend, for what he had been through, and what he had done because of it. And you were angry, for not being there, not seeing the signs, not saving him from the people who were supposed to love him, but didn't.

Dante gently put his fingers on your cheek, wiping away the stray tear. "Do you remember when I came out to you? Second year, just after our songwriting workshop. I was so scared, I didn't know what would happen, what you'd say. But you accepted me, accepted everything, the way I am." He took your hand and lead you up to the piano again. “The day after, you took me to see LaLaLand.” he chuckled, pulling you onto the bench beside him. “It was the first time I went with a girl to the movies without her thinking it would end in the sheets.”

You chuckled too, weakly. “You cried the whole ride back, I remember.”

"A man has the right to be sad if Ryan Gosling is singing. Those are the rules." he nudged your shoulder, his playful tone returning. Then, he looked at the keys, his left hand tenderly placing itself on the lower half of the piano. "That night, we promised we'd be always there for each other... I'm sorry I broke that promise. ♫

The notes were blunt, but full of melancholy. Dante was never a piano player, but he was so obsessed with this song, you had taught him the left hand in countless nights on his keyboard at home, while full on take-out pasta and cheap Ginger Ale. He started singing, unsure and out of practice, but still as beautiful as you remembered his voice to be. Any faint sound, was it statc?, drowned out by his tender notes.

♫City of stars Are you shining just for me? City of stars There's so much that I can't see♫

Your right hand moved on it's own to the higher keys, joining his and completing the melody.

♫Who knows? I felt it from the first embrace I shared with you.♫

Your voice felt thick and course, but you smiled when you started to sing, and heard him breathe a small sigh of relief. As if he feared you wouldn't join in, leaving him alone. As if you could ever do that.

♫That now our dreams They've finally come true City of stars Just one thing everybody wants There in the bars And through the smokescreen of the crowded restaurants♫

Dante nudged your side with his elbow, something he always used to do to make you miss a note or two, and while singing, you couldn't help but join his chuckle. Your hands moved in wonderful unison, completing each others lack of confidence. Like two pieces of an old puzzle, reunited in a beat-up cardboard box, suddenly falling into place and fitting perfectly again.

♫It's love Yes, all we're looking for is love from someone else

A rush A glance A touch A dance♫

You looked at each other, coaxing the opposite into a grin, while your fingers grew steadier and in self-confidence in pressing down on the keys.

♫A look in somebody's eyes To light up the skies To open the world and send it reeling A voice that says, I'll be here And you'll be alright♫

Dante swayed side to side, his face playful and challenging, and you took the challenge, straightening your back and took on an almost arrogant pose, accentuating the higher notes you played with a smug expression, earning his signature amused huff.

♫I don't care if I know Just where I will go 'Cause all that I need is this crazy feeling A rat-tat-tat of my heart Think I want it to stay♫

His gaze fell back to the whites and blacks of the piano, the corners of his lips falling down again, and he looked forlorn, as if deep in contemplation. You watched him silently, wondering, if he didn't decide to end his life, if he still would've ended up here, in hell.

♫City of stars Are you shining just for me? City of stars♫

You leaned your head on his shoulders, closing your eyes. No, you decided. He wouldn't have.

♫You never shined so brightly...♫

Both of your hands rested on the last set of keys. For a moment, none of you spoke, moved or breathed. The last tunes faded into the empty, lowly humming hall and Dante's head finally fell against yours, his cheek warm in your hair.

"Stay. Here at the hotel."

You opened your eyes and looked into his, smiling earnestly. He looked at you, a bit taken aback, but said nothing.

"Charlie and the others are nice people. They'll love you, and they would accept you just as I did. And if, by any chance and miracle, redemption really is possible, then I know you'd be the first one to archive it, Danny."

"Do you really think I could?", he asked, a hopeful light in his eyes.

"I absolutely believe you could. And no matter what happens, I'd be there for you. Just like we promised."

The nightingales hand slid off the keys, and softly cupped yours, before closing over it completely, engulfing in a warm grasp.

"Just like we promised." he said, determination in his voice.

You opened the doors, still laughing when you ran against something red and solid. Alastor stood rigidly in front of you both, almost glowing in the darkness of the corridor. His toothy smile was menacing, dark swirls of his shadows danced along the walls. Oh-oh.

"Ah, what wonderful timing!”, he said overly joyous, a straight indication of his aggravation. “Husker and Niffty are just dying to meet our visitor."

"Actually", Dante interrupted cheerfully, stupidly wrapping an arm around your shoulders in an unconscious effort to be obliterated, "(Y/n) here convinced me to stay, so... I guess I'll ask princess Charlie to become a permanent resident here!"

Please, please, please, ground, you pleaded, swallow me whole.

Alastor's eyes twitched, and the corners of his lips pulled higher than you've ever seen them.

"My, aren't that news that'll ruffle some feathers?", he pressed through his teeth, a malevolent static laced around his voice. "Why don't you hurry to the kitchen and tell her, my good fellow? Me and this darling kitten will join you shortly, there's some urgent business we have to take care of. Don't wait for us to start enjoying dinner."

"Sure thing, Mr. Alastor!", the nightingale chirped, blissfully ignorant, and made his way down the corridor. "I'll tell them the good news and save you a seat, munchkin!"

Alastor's claws grabbed your shoulder as he followed your friends silhouette disappearing into the foyer, before he pulled you towards him, taking your wrist hostage. You wanted to ask what was wrong, but his shadows were faster, enveloping you in an instant.

His hand were still clamped down on your wrist when the shadowtravel ended abruptly, and your feet fell into damp, soft ground. You blinked confused, head dizzy from the unexpected transportation. Alastor finally let go, and you almost fell backwards into the softness surrounding you. Around you were tall reeds and grasses, that lined the edges of shimmering bodies of shallow waters, like a swamp, rustling softly in an explainable breeze. There was a whisper of crickets in the air, and the dim illumination of a pale-blueish moon above your head, hidden by thick, almost indigo colored leaves of cypress trees.

"I do have to say, my dear, I am surprised,", Alastor stated, his voice betraying his fake, lighthearted smile – he sounded utterly enraged. "I did not take you for the type who would so blatantly throw oneself at the next best tail. Especially not since the right to your body isn't yours to give."

"Wh- What are you talking about?" You stuttered, taken aback. If he intended to make you blush, he hit his mark, but with your confusion, his choice of words was even more questionable, as was his accusation. For a moment, you were baffled. Blinking slowly, his words echoed in your mind. Was he suggesting that...

"I think it's high time I remind you that your body, soul, mind and heart, belong to me.", Alastor took one long step, until your shoes almost touched, and his body loomed over yours. "Undress."

Oh god, yes. Your eyes widened, your mind catching on fire. Your hands instinctively went to the buttons of your blouse, like a natural response to his order ingrained in every fiber. His stare was all consuming, he was literally pouring with possessiveness and - dare you say - jealous energy, and it drove you insane. As unhealthy as it very possibly was, you felt almost power drunk at the thought of Alastor - THE Radio Demon - enacting on jealous rage just because he saw you touch or talk to somebody else- not to mention your very gay best friend. He wants us. But that was the crux, wasn't it? Was he reacting to his, or just your feelings? You had been so full of emotion after speaking with Dante, maybe this reaction of him was - once again - your doing. No, please no. Let him want us.

The whining, wanton voices in your mind made your head impossibly fuzzy, but at the same time, adrenaline spiked your heart rate, flooding your brain with excitement and yearning.

"Alastor... um, maybe my emotions, I mean... my powers are a bit confusing right now?", you started to ramble, trying to regain the little clarity you had left.

"Frankly, darling, I really don't care about whether it's your silly power or not. ʊռɖʀɛֆֆ.”

The amount of intensity that backed his voice made you tremble so hard it had to be registered on the Richter scale. You stopped, hesitated a moment longer - not because you didn't want to obey him, not in the slightest, but because you were overwhelmed by your own, visceral reactions -, but your hands kept popping the buttons, until the collar fell open.

He watched with such voracious intent as your trembling fingers opened the next few, gradually exposing the upper curve of your breasts. His eyes didn't miss any detail, as you finished unbuttoning it. You lifted it from the waistband of your pants and slipped the thin fabric off your shoulders, and he only stepped in closer to you when it fluttered to the floor.

Your skin already glowed faintly, an effervescent mist hovering over it in the strange ambiance around you, pink against teal. Your own heat collided with the cool air of the bayou as you stepped out of your pants, kicking off your shoes in the process - the last barrier only your flimsy, plain black underwear. It felt dangerous, exhilarating, you felt vulnerable and at the same time strangely powerful, and the surge of those two conflicting emotions electrified you.

Alastor's gaze hungrily traveled from the soft expanse of your exposed throat, down the thin curve of your sternum, stopping at your chest before it was shielded by the thin fabric of your bra. The short journey ended when his eyes focused on the crook of your neck again,

"Go on, little gem, you're almost there.", he crooned, tilting his head with a wicked expression when you reached for the clasp of your bra. Your heart made a salto montale.

"Take. It. Off."

The snap of the clasp echoed the flutter of your heart as the cloth fell over your arms onto the ground. You stood shivering, breathless, his starved look making every nerve in you jump. Your nipples hardened as the coolness hit them, goosebumps littered your skin, but it was obvious that you weren't shaking because of the cold. He drank you in, his ears flicked shortly - a brief, subconscious gesture of amusement and satisfaction at your unyielding compliance and the instant reaction your body displayed as a consequence of it. With an agonizing finality, you slipped your fingers under the straps of your panties, and pushed them down, letting them join the mess of fabrics under your feet.

He looked at you as you were something only meant for his eyes, like a masterpiece that had been hidden from the public by a passionate collector. Something he would have wrapped in silk and kept in darkness until he decided to unveil it in the right circumstances, making it only his own to adore - and covet.

He moved, slowly, stepping around your now exposed and vulnerable body. He circled you like a shark, unraveling your frame inch by inch as he walked in an unapologetic, predatory rhythm, savoring every crevasse, every plane that made you up, enjoying every moment of you yielding your bare body to him, your tail whipping around your thighs in nervous swishes.

He reached out with an impish smile, his fingers glided through the soft fur of your tail, letting you twitch and whine at the teasing pull on it.

"I'll make it perfectly clear, kitten, so you won't make this foolish mistake again." Alastor pushed you down, and you fell back with a small cry into the softness of moss and soil. You wanted to say something, but before you even had a chance of uttering anything remotely intelligible, he had thrown off his overcoat and rolled up his sleeves, revealing blackened fingers and hands fading into light gray, not unlike your own skin color before his shirt concealed what looked like soft, thin traces of red fur.

His claws dug into your thighs, spreading them with absolute ease - as if you had a chance of resisting - and knelt in between them, fixated on your painfully throbbing, exposed wetness. You arched at the sharp feeling of his nails piercing into your soft flesh, mind numb from the lack of oxygen as you forgot to breathe entirely.

"This..." he leaned in and dragged his tongue flat through your folds, flicking the sensitive bud above in the process - just briefly and shallow enough for the sensations to register before they ebbed again. Your gasp was as loud as it was shattering, drawing the last reserves of your fleeting air out of your lungs.

"...belongs..." once more he dragged, dipping his tongue deeper this time, before flicking out the pointed tip playfully, leaving you a whimpering mess, and shifted his hands towards your knees - opening you almost criminally wide. He hummed in deep satisfaction, harmonizing with the whispering sounds of the waters and the crickets, the vibrations traveling like a landline right from his mouth into your deepest core.

"...only..." This time, he let the very tip of his tongue swipe the tip of your pearl, again and again, an addicting and wickedly slow pace. Alastor's claws left the spot behind your knees, finding new interest on the lower halves of your belly and chest, scratching almost harshly from your rib cage, down towards your public bone. His nails left tiny trails of redness behind - like writing poetry on your body with your own blood.

"...to..." he smiled menacingly at your whimpering, panting self, your mind addled, your eyes already shimmering through the wildest shades of the color wheel.

"...ME." His unholy mouth closed fully around your clit. Your moans became frantic when he started to suction the already raw spot in perfect, overwhelming pressure and coaxed his tongue, round after round and in slow, sinful pace, over it. You cried out his name, hands flying foolishly into his hair, finding enlarged antlers and gripping onto them like you'd drown without them, desperate for purchase, desperate to hold onto something. He let you, and intensified his ministrations, feeling your mind-breaking build in delight.

You came - oh, how you came - with an urgency and intensity that stole your breath away - yet he relentlessly licked you through it, not relenting in pace or pressure - keeping you on this devastating and haunting edge, drinking every last drop with such hungry need as if it were water and he was dying in a desert. When he finally relented, you fell back exhausted, panting, shaking, sweating. Alastor pushed your hands softly from his antlers, releasing them from your grasp. He was towering over you now, your trembling legs falling on either side of his, completely open - bare, utterly spent and limp. His eyes were on yours, ravenous, his mouth glistening wet from your juices. With his lips curled in a merciless smile, he watched you writhe under the aftershocks, and it only added another tingling sensation on top of them - making you moan and shiver even more, so vulnerable under his gaze alone.

"Did the message come across now, kitten?"

"Perfectly.“, you whispered, still spent from your orgasm. He brushed your disheveled locks tenderly and reached out with his claw, teasing your lower lip with its pointy, razor-sharp tip. A rogue drip of blood escaped your mouth as he cut it, he caught it and licked it off his finger, closing his eyes and letting a gratifying hum escape his throat.

The gang was halfway through dinner when you and Alastor appeared. A snap of his fingers had restored your disheveled physical state, yet it was you who bore the consequences mentally - forcing yourself into a neutral, innocent expression after what happend proved impossibly hard. Half of the table eyed you with suspicion as you made your apologies and sat down - Angel winked, Husk simply raised a brow, Vaggie crossed her arms in disapproval. The other half - Charlie, Niffty and Dante - however smiled happily, the nightingale unaware and innocently patting the empty chair next to him encouragingly. He had, indeed, saved you a seat.

Charlie stood up almost jovially, welcoming a new potential sinner and resident of the Hazbin Hotel now that everyone was present.

"So, let's try and give Dante the best possible welcome to our family!", she chimed, raising her glass to a toast. Dante smiled his usual boyish smile as the others - with the exeption of Alastor, who observed your friend with quiet distaste - joined their glasses to cheer.

"Hear, hear!", Angel grinned, leaning over to Dante with a sly look, his fingers lightly tracing the rim of his glass. "Are ya roomed yet, birdie boy? If not, why don't 'ya crash with me? I got a big... bed.", he offered seductively, giving the nightingale a full-on flirty look. Throughout the following groans, indignant huffs and amused giggles, Dante laughed heartily.

"I don't think that would be the best idea, I wouldn't want to tempt you.", he gave the e flamboyant spider a good natured wink, completely unfazed by the other's shameless advances. Angel huffed dramatically, resting his elbows on the table and cupping his chin in his hands, batting his long lashes at him.

"The offer still stands, Tweety, I like the challenge of turning a straight guy around."

Dante gave you a quick glance, nodding slightly and took a small breath. "Well, then you need to look for one.”

The spider leaned back, a curious tilt of the head while Charlie gave a confused smile and looked between them. "I... beg your pardon?"

You gave your old friend a small, encouraging smile, and put your hand softly on his arm while you avoided looking at Alastor as to not burst out in laughter for what was about to happen.

"I said, 'you need to look for one', because I'm gay.", he said bluntly, smile nervous but genuine. “Munchkin told me you'd be okay with that... I am kind of closeted, she's the only one who knew until now.”

Radio silence hung for a few seconds. Then Charlie jumped up quickly and almost threw herself over the table, a squeak of happiness as her arms encircled Dante's neck in an awkward hug, almost making him fall from his chair. “OH MY GOSH! Of course we're okay with that, I'm so honored, so proud of you to tell us!”

He patted her arm with a bright laugh, as the table erupted in surprised and happy chatter. Vaggie rubbed her temple, sighing in loving disbelief at her girlfriend's dramatic outburst. Husk didn't bat an eye, going back to his meal, but was smirking openly and raised his glass to Dante's statement. Niffty clapped cheerfully, while Angel applauded loudly, catcalling and hollering lewd praises.

You dared to look at Alastor, and the sight was worth everything: the Radio Demon looked shocked. Actually, he looked as close to 'being dumbfounded' as he'd ever get, with the biggest 'what-just-happened-expression' plastered across his face and irritated static popping all around him. When he regained his composure, he smoothed his tie and searched for your eyes. With the rest of the group distracted by congratulating Dante, no one noticed Alastor mouthing at you a single word:

"Touché."

<< Previous Chapter - Next Chapter >>

#hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #alastor #alastor x reader #hazbin hotel fanfiction #fraugwinskawrites #ao3 fanfic #method to madness #angel dust #charlie morningstar #habin hotel vaggie #hazbin husk #hazbin niffty #hazbin oc #metoma #radiogem

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rottytops · 2 months ago

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squid thoughts after finalfest...

readmore bc i dont think anyone cares or even knows who runs this blog anymore but anyways

squids huh...........i have such a weird and intimate relationship with splatoon, i was SO into it when s1 came out i literally wouldnt shut up about it, i was on fucking. SQUIDBOARDS everyday pre-release sucking up all the info i could on splats, and i played it to absolute death too. at the end of s1 for final fest i was in a really weird housing situation bc i was leaving college and my like 2 month lease at my apartment i couldnt afford was running out, but i dont think i had a tv or something? so i had to use the apartment's like...public office room to play that final fest at like 2AM (i was team marie of course)

then splat 2 happened and i think splatoon was like, my entire life for several years no joke. i fell into a big splatoon community, got really into making splatoon art and OCs, had tons of splat friends, it was kind of a whirlwind. splatoon was the launching pad i used to get into freelancing commissions which is really funny in retrospect because i could not and still cannot figure out how to draw the inkling mask to save my life.

those were really really fun days and i still consider 2 the peak of my interest in the series as well as my favorite splat game + idol group, the good days in my splat fanbse didnt last forever though since my mental health and the difficulties of freelancing ate me alive in a way that im only just now recovering from, but that doesnt tarnish the memory or anyhting, the friends i made during s2's run are some of the closest ive ever had and im still with them even today, so i guess in a way splatoon 2 affected my life in a way only comparable to like...the disgaea series which is REALLY SAYING SOMETHING

but that brings me to 3 which is definitely when i fell off of the splat boat and wanted to move on. to be honest a lot of drama happened post 2's end that made me not wanna look at splat 3 at all but of course i caved and bough it anddddddd barely even played it, lol...i missed a ton of the catalog battle pass things and didnt feel the need to play that much, i didnt even get side order until like 2 months ago... it makes me sad to think that something so important to me is just not quite for me anymore, even if i love it dearly, part of that i think is just ive accepted im REALLY BAD AT SHOOTERS no matter what. a million hours in 1 and 2 and my aim is still super bad, i was able to get all X rank in S2 but in S3 i can barely land my shots or use my brella and had to swap to the 52 gal...its embarassing! i think id get really into a splatoon RPG or something, so maybe they just need to make a splatoon spinoff for me to get absurdly hooked to it but for now im pretty content closing a book on playing the games

but man, final fest made me realize how much splatoon has done for me over the years, i think ill always adore the world and its characters, even if i dont keep up with the games very much. im a little miffed team past won beecase even if i love the squid sisters, i reaaaally dont wanna see them doing more idol stuff. let those bitches retire!!! theyre like 30 now and still doing the same songs and outfits they wore nearly 10 years ago!! aauuhg, though i guess me caring so much about virtual squid idols shows how much the series still means to me...

i dont have any closing thoughts and i dont think anyone read this far either but it does feel very nice to word vomit on my blog which i. do not do. anymore. for some reason..

i love splatoon a lot i think, maybe i should just draw squids without playing the games...i think ill do that...

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loominggaia · 1 year ago

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I love Mr. Ocean because he seems so chilled out no matter what. Does he ever get mad? What does it take to make him rage?

He's super chill! Actually in my original character notes for him, I wrote something like "Mr. Ocean must never use curse words or yell at anyone." That was a hard rule I wanted to stick to when writing him for the LG series.

He doesn't yell, curse, or call people names. He doesn't lash out with violence unless he has no other choice, and even then he will often hesitate. He never talks shit about people. Whatever anger he feels tends to manifest as sadness instead.

He raises his voice at Solveig after she killed his half-brother in "Ocean Returns to the Sea". Although I should mention he wasn't really angry at her, he was just overwhelmed with grief. He understood that she had no other choice and never held the murder against her. He also "killed" Roach to protect Alaine from him, but he did this knowing that Roach would just resurrect anyway, so no real harm done. In "Supply and Demand", he decapitates Roach for the same reason; not out of anger, but simply to protect people he loves from him.

When Disgrace attacked Drifter's Hollow, Mr. Ocean just calmly summoned rains, blasted a few bonewalkers, and buried dead villagers after the battle. He didn't scream at anyone or curse his enemies at any point. He never expressed anger towards Disgrace himself, just sadness that the event happened and concern for his friends.

And then there's "A Mage in the Making"...Itchy treated Mr. Ocean like absolute shit in this story for no good reason. He cussed him out, yelled at him, called him slurs, framed him, even physically assaulted him several times, and not once did Mr. Ocean retaliate with insults or violence. He didn't even raise his voice back at Itchy. In fact, he tried to calm him down and help him with his problems, and referred to him as "my friend" the entire time.

I mean, we're talking about a guy who can't even dredge up malice for a piece of trash like Sovereign. You know, the guy who bullied him, attempted to murder him, and medically tortured him for centuries? Mr. Ocean's not even mad. He loves his brother and continues to make excuses for all those terrible things he did.

So...I'm going to say no, Mr. Ocean doesn't really get angry. This is a very unusual trait, but then again, he's a very unusual person. His extreme docility is actually a major problem which has led to many people taking advantage of him in the past. Luckily, he has the Freelance Good Guys looking out for him now and they all have his best interest at heart.

If Mr. Ocean's loved ones are in peril, make no mistake, he will fight and even kill to protect them. But he's not the type to sit there and dwell on how much he hates his enemies or how the world has wronged him. He's really quick to forgive and forget.

So what could make him rage? Well, maybe a generous dose of zyrup...but that's about it. Anger just isn't in his nature. He's basically perma-stoned.

...Although I gotta admit, seeing him lose it on someone would be hilarious. I'm tempted to let him rage out once--and only once--in the entire series. Like, maybe Itchy pushes him on the wrong day and Mr. Ocean just lets loose with curses, slurs, assault, you name it. Everything shitty Itchy ever did to him, Ocean does it back twice as hard. The reaction is totally out of character, it comes out of nowhere, it ends abruptly, and it never gets mentioned again.

Or better yet, maybe he should unleash that fury on Sovereign...hmmmm...

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

#ask #askliterature #askmrocean

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elbiotipo · 2 years ago

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Since we are talking about retro games (well, I AM, idc about the rest of you) I'm reminded of Starlancer and Freelancer, I got the Starlancer CD with a magazine when I was like 7 or 8 (maybe it's still there somewhere) and played it until it scratched and I played Freelancer as an adult, they're really good

the games themselves are fine they're very good space shooters and Freelancer is an excellent space trucker simulator (yes that's its own genre) with very good combat exploration and a living universe...

the "funny" thing about them is the geopolitical setup, in Starlancer you fight all across the solar system in a war for the Alliance which is made of the USA, the EU, Japan and Latin America it's unclear (more on that later)... So basically Space NATO against the Coalition that is made of China, Russia, and the "Tigris Confederation" or the "Saracens" it's so hkdjfjkssdjsdhj it's U-S-A AND ITS LITTLE BUDDIES AGAINST THE AXIS OF EVIL COMMIE-MUSLISMS (the game was released in 2000 btw), your friendly squad is mostly composed of Usamericans, British, Japanese and a few Latinos (again, it's unclear) and all the enemies have stupid accents and moustache twirling monologues it's so racist it comes all the way down to funny because how balant it is seriously even my cousin at 12 or 13 noticed... like you remember that Top Gun parody Hot Shots where all the Arab pilots have names like Falafel? It's exactly like that but taken seriously

NOW the sequel Freelancer is an amazing game where you can explore star systems and stuff, the story is good there's a lot of worldbuilding, but the backstory is as follows: some Aliens destroyed the Solar System (I acutally believe it was retconned from the Coalition destroying the Solar System because that would be too racist even for them), and the Alliance sent colony ships to escape (the rest of the world gets fucked I guess) which made new nations across the stars but they're basically the same nations of the Alliance now even more stereotyped, so you start in Space USA with planets such as New Manhattan, New Alaska, etc. and there's also Space England with a Space London which is rainy, Space Japan, Space Germany which has lots of space factory planets and starts wars at random, you get the idea

but the fifth lost colony ship, which was called the Hispania (AJHGHJSDGJHDFS MUERE DE CRINGE ODIO ODIO ODIO) apparently was supposed to represent both Spain and Latin America (because Hispanics I guess) apparently was destroyed or sabotaged because the captain was bad or something.

And what happened to the survivors of the Latin American themed ship?

they became drug dealers and bandits.

(you can't interact with them in game btw)

yeah.

it's still a fun space shooter, not gonna lie.

#it's so sad because they really could have done something very good with Freelancer I would have loved to visit Space China or Space Russia #even with all the stereotypes hell even Space Hispania (AAHHGJJJJJHHHH) would be fun #but no they were really really commited to their NATO Supremacy worldbuilding apparently #starlancer #freelancer #cosas mias

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ladyfogg · 2 years ago

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How did you become a ghostwriter ? 🤔 AND is it lucrative enough to support you solely ?

It was an long painful process to be honest. I will preface this by saying my experience is based on working for ONE company and I can't speak for all ghostwriting companies. I will also say I've had much better luck doing things myself and not through a ghostwriting business.

I had subscribed to a newsletter that had daily listings for freelance writers. A ghostwriting company was looking for romance writers so I applied. I was very excited to get the position.

The downside was, with this particular company, we definitely weren't paid what I thought we should be paid and the due dates/turnaround time for projects was fucking ridiculous. I'm talking about 3 weeks for a 30k word book. And you also didn't get paid if you didn't completely finish the project. Like edits and all. Not only that, clients could comment on your progress whenever, so you'd be trying to finish when they would have changes or not like what you had done so far. You also couldn't vet the clients yourself and were stuck with whoever they assigned you to.

There was also a legit romance novel formula you HAD to follow. I'm talking something that told you how many words you needed to spend on certain story beats. There was zero room for creativity.

I worked for them for about four months but was going through a very dark mental time. They were uncaring about my situation and unyielding on their due date. Basically the manager/owner was starting to be rude to me. Even though I was working on TWO books at the same time, three of them for a brief period. I had to leave mid project because I was having a legit mental breakdown. And no, I was not paid for either project.

HOWEVER, through that madness something good came out of it. One of the clients, one I had only gotten halfway through their book, tracked me down through my personal website and reached out. She said she loved what I had done and was sad to see me go. The company flat out lied and told her I had taken a full time job somewhere else. But she said that if I was ever interested I had a job with her whenever I wanted.

I outright told her the legit reason why I left and also apologized for not finishing her project as that's not the way I operate. She was super understanding and her offer still was standing and could be taken whenever. A few months later, I accepted and I've been writing exclusively for her ever since. Which is about four years now.

Because I'm in charge, I can negotiate WAY more pay. Not only that, my policy is that I charge for the full amount upfront and any additional words once the project is complete. I now make double per book than I made at the company writing three books. And she gives me bonuses and a certain amount of creative freedom.

As far as being lucrative, I believe it can be. I personally just don't have the time right now to write as much during the day as I'd like. But even so, she loves my work and has actually increased the word count per project because we both know I can handle it. We started at a minimum of 30k words and now, the last two books I wrote for her have been over 90k words.

As long as she is kept up to date on progress, she's totally fine. Any due dates are "rough" estimates and from the beginning she made it clear that my health comes first. I really lucked out with her. And she's the reason I tell writers to always make a personal website. You never know.

#ghostwriter #ghostwriting #ghostwriters

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disturbedbydesign · 3 years ago

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The Widow and the Wolf - Chapter 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x dark!exWidow!reader

Summary: After Natasha Romanoff took down the Red Room, the former Widows scattered to the wind. Raised to be a killing machine and released into the world with nothing and no one, you decided to use your newfound autonomy to take down the bad guys of your choosing. But now Natasha is riddled with guilt for leaving you on your own. She wants to recruit you, rehabilitate you, make you part of a team again. But the rest of the squad has reservations, and no one is more against you than Bucky Barnes.

Warnings: Graphic violence; Mentions of domestic violence, rape, pedophilia, human trafficking, child sex trafficking; eventual Dubcon (not Bucky); eventual smut; slow(ish) burn enemies-to-lovers. [More warnings will be added as necessary but these are the Big Bads.] 18+ only, no minors.

A/N: This is canon-adjacent in that I just decided to pick and choose who I wanted to write for and what parts of canon I wanted to use. Best not to think too hard about where it falls on the timeline because the canon is a mess and we all kind of hate it anyway.

If you prefer to read on AO3, you can do so here.

Chapter One

You’ve been tracking him for days, not that it was hard. His patrol schedule is always the same, as is his after-hours routine: drinks at the Irish pub on Reade Street with the other boys in blue. It’s a cop bar but you waltz right in, looking lost even though you know the name, rank, and various misdeeds of every guy in the place. He looks at you, because of course he does—his wife assured you that he has a wandering eye, among his other sins.

You take a seat at the bar. “Double vodka rocks, please.”

The bartender pours you your drink and you take a deep pull, savoring the burn of it. Then you wait, but it doesn’t take long—it never does. Sergeant Thompson sidles up to the barstool next to you.

“Hey darlin,” he says, his breath reeking of cheap beer. “You lost?”

You turn to him with an innocent smile. “Evening, officer.”

“It’s Sergeant,” he says, tapping his badge, “but I won’t hold that against you. So, what’s a pretty young thing doing in a dive bar with a bunch of old men?”

“I was supposed to meet a friend for dinner but she bailed on me. Figured I’d grab a drink before I head home.”

“And where is home?” he asks, not that it’s any of his business, but cops think they deserve answers to any questions they feel like asking.

“Williamsburg,” you lie.

“You’re pretty far from home, then,” he replies, even though you both know that you aren’t. He takes a sip of his beer and the foam leaves a trace like a mustache before he licks it clean. “It’s late. Why don’t you let me drive you? Wouldn’t want you on the subway this time of night.”

“It’s only 8:30,” you say. “I think I’ll be just fine.”

He leans in conspiratorially. “Well, I really shouldn’t be telling you this—open investigation and all that—but we’ve been on the lookout for a guy in the area, serial rapist, real nasty piece of work.”

That’s one thing the two of you have in common at least.

“I’d feel a lot better if you’d let me take you home, darlin.”

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” you admit. “Can’t get much safer than the NYPD, right?”

He laughs and so do you, knowing that nothing is farther from the truth—especially when it comes to this guy.

Sergeant Thompson speeds across the Williamsburg Bridge with his flashers on, headed toward the address you gave him. Of course, that’s not actually your address—you don’t have a home anymore—it’s just one of many rundown warehouses in the neighborhood, variously used for impromptu raves and as drug dens and, in your case, a private place in which you can take care of business without fear of being interrupted.

“This is me,” you say, waiting for him to let you out of the back of the cruiser where he insisted you ride—caged in like a helpless animal, or so he thinks.

“This place?” he asks. “Looks like it’s about to collapse.”

“You’d be surprised what they can do to these places on the inside—gentrification and what have you. My rent is astronomical.”

“Still,” he says, “I’d like to walk you up. Looks a bit unsavory.”

“If you insist, Sergeant.”

The second you get up the stairs to the top floor, you inject him with the etorphine, straight into the jugular, and down he goes. It never gets old—how easy it is, when they think that they are the predator and you are the prey. You drag him into the loft where you’re already set up for a long night’s work.

When he comes to, he’s fixed to the chair with (among other things) his own handcuffs, mouth taped shut and a rag shoved in for good measure. You don’t want to hear him talk; it’s time for him to listen. His day of reckoning has come. He starts to squirm but between the cuffs and the duct tape and the sedative still coursing through his veins, he’s not going anywhere. Even if he did get free, you could take him down easy. It’s what you were trained for. It’s what you were born for.

“Welcome back, Sergeant,” you say, and he screams something unintelligible through the rag which, if you had to guess, would be some combination of “cunt” or “bitch” or any of the other choice words he likes to use on his women.

The tarps are laid meticulously around the room, placed strategically to catch any and all evidence of what you’re about to do. When he notices them, he goes still, because he knows. Part of him knows.

“So,” you say, pulling out the Thompson file, “this is quite the impressive resume you’ve got here, Sarge. Lots of civilian brutality complaints, including a few choice allegations from female prisoners. Oh, and then there’s the domestic violence and marital rape. You’re a real charmer, huh?”

There’s more muffled screaming but you ignore it—the last gasps of a dying man.

“Here’s the thing, Sarge. I know you think that you’re above the law, because you are the law, but you aren’t. Your wife is real tired of your shit, and me? Well, let’s just say that my motto is protect and serve.” You lean in close enough to smell the salty sweat on his brow. “And unlike you, I actually mean it.”

You pull your favorite knife from your thigh holster and slit him from ear to ear. “See you in hell, Sergeant.”

You sit on the edge of the table, swinging your legs and watching him bleed out. It doesn’t take long. The actual disposal is the real work. You set about chopping him into manageable pieces and you find yourself missing the days when you didn’t have to cover your tracks alone, when there was a clean-up team to take care of it for you.

But you’re freelance now. You’re not a Widow anymore. She made sure of that.

Sometimes—like right now, when you’re dripping sweat and every muscle in your body is screaming its exertion as you saw through bone after bone—you hate Natasha Romanoff. You know why she did what she did; you understand that, objectively, it was the right thing to do. But did she ever stop to consider the repercussions of her actions? She got out early and found a new family and became one of the Good Guys. But you? You entered the Red Room with nothing and you left with nothing.

They always said you were born to be a killer. It’s all you’ve ever known. So what exactly did she expect you to do? You may be free of the mind control, but you never had the chance to develop a mind of your own. Killing is all you know. At least now you get to pick your own targets.

Once you’ve got Sergeant Thompson all squared away, you pack him up in the trunk of his cruiser and drive upstate, listening to the 80s station you like. It occurs to you that most people have heard these songs a thousand times—so many times that they know the lyrics instinctively, can sing them without even having to think about it. It’s all new to you, though. You can’t decide whether it makes you sad to think about all you’ve missed or whether you’re lucky that you get to experience for the first time what everyone else is already tired of.

When you get to the farm, you dump Thompson in the holes you’ve already backhoed, then you hop on the Cat and fill them all in. You shoot a text to Mrs. Thompson from your burner—just a thumbs-up emoji—and she replies with a smiley face. It was only so long before he would have killed her; she knows it as well as you do. The only people that will grieve the dearly departed Sergeant Thompson are a bunch of assholes who are one false move from ending up in your web.

You didn’t charge Mrs. Thompson your usual rate—just what she could afford without drawing the attention and ire of the Mister. Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, you even work pro bono. After all, you only kill people for money who you would happily kill for free. You consider it a service, something for the greater good of society. You’ll take money, sure—you need it to live and to continue your work—but not from people who can’t easily spare it.

You have standards. You have a code. That’s the difference between the you that served as a mindless weapon wielded by others and the you that decides for yourself how to use the gifts you’ve been given. No women. No children. No collateral damage. Only Very Bad Men who’ve done Very Bad Things. You don’t see the harm in it, not really, and as you settle into bed you come back to the thought you often have before a fitful night of sleep: who’s the real avenger, Natasha?

*****

Natasha wipes her brow and throws the rag down on the mat, grabbing a bottle of water and chugging half of it before she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. Bucky has barely broken a sweat from their morning sparring session, and he doesn’t even try to fake it. He’s in an especially grumpy mood.

“This is a bad idea, Natasha.”

“To some people, maybe,” she says, “but I want to bring her in anyway. I don’t understand how you of all people are against me on this, Bucky.”

“Uh, for starters, she’s a serial killer.”

“That’s a bit of a harsh assessment, considering the circumstances. And do I really need to remind you that the same could be said about the two of us? That a lot of people still say that about us?”

Bucky sighs, because he knows she’s right, but this is different—you are different. “It’s not the same,” he grumbles, but he’s not entirely sure it isn’t, and that’s what’s really bothering him.

“Look,” Nat says, taking a step toward Bucky, “I need to try, ok? I know what she’s going through because I went through it, except she’s completely alone out there with nothing and no one. You and I… we had people behind us, helping us.”

“And what if she says no?” Bucky asks. “Are you just gonna let her go on doing what she’s doing? She’s killed… how many is it now?”

Natasha mutters something under her breath and Bucky looks at her expectantly. “What was that, Tasha?”

“25 people in the last 6 months,” she states, her mouth set in a hard line.

“Exactly,” he says.

“I would like to point out that they were all very bad people. So...”

“Tasha,” he says, and he puts his hand up to silence her. “I can’t help you on this. I’m sorry. I want to, but I can’t.”

Natasha huffs out a laugh. “You know what, Barnes? You’re real high and mighty for a guy who–”

Natasha stops herself when she sees the ice-cold look in Bucky’s eyes. “Go on. For a guy who what?”

“Nothing,” she says. “I’m sorry. I’ll go on my own.”

“Well, good luck to you. Hope you don’t get your throat slit.”

Bucky stomps off and Natasha is left wondering if she’s about to make a huge mistake. She knows you’re volatile, that a part of you must resent her, but she needs to make it right. At the very least, she needs to try.

Natasha grabs her tablet and scrolls through the latest intel on your whereabouts. She’s just missed you in New York, but she thinks she’s got a jump on your next target: some coke dealer down in Miami with a predilection for underage girls. Just a brief glance at this guy’s file is enough to make Natasha’s blood run cold. She knows why you do what you do. If she’s honest, it doesn’t bother her one bit that you’re doing it. It’s the thought of you out there on your own, filled with hate and anger and thirsty for bloody vengeance, that frightens her. Because maybe one day—left to your own devices, lost in the chaos of your troubled mind—getting the Bad Guys won’t be enough for you. Maybe you’ll decide that some of the Good Guys aren’t so good after all. Maybe you’ll even be right.

She contemplates being honest with Steve and telling him where she’s headed but decides against it. Steve isn’t on board with her plan. Natasha doesn’t fault him for it—he doesn’t understand, he couldn’t. Bucky, though... that’s a disappointment, and it surprises her. If anyone knows what it feels like to spend your life as someone else’s weapon, it’s Bucky Barnes.

Natasha waits until nightfall to “borrow” the Quinjet, and she finds Bucky waiting for her when she gets to the hangar.

“I’m coming with you,” he says, “but only as back-up. She’s dangerous, Natasha.”

“Maybe so,” Natasha replies, “but only because she’s afraid.”

*****

You knew that she’d be coming for you sooner or later. Might as well get it over with. Your little stilt cabin on the outskirts of the Everglades isn’t quite set up for company but at least it’s tucked away and difficult to access. You’re surprised she brought him, though—that was a mistake. You and she could have a nice long conversation, but you have nothing to say to the Soldat.

You climb up the tree to your lookout platform and hoist your sniper rifle onto your shoulder, following their slow but steady progress through the knee-deep swamp water, trying to line up a decent shot as they weave in between the bald cypress trees. When you see your chance, you take it, and you put one about an inch from where the Soldat’s metal arm meets the flesh of his shoulder. It ricochets off, as intended, and he jumps forward to shield Natasha. You hear her laugh through your earpiece.

“Relax, Barnes. It was a warning shot. If she wanted to hit you, she would have.”

“She did hit me,” he snaps.

You smile as you descend from the tree to meet them.

“Well well well,” you say. “If it isn’t the Murder Twins. To what do I owe this unwanted visit?”

“You know why I’m here,” Natasha says.

“Yes,” you reply, “but why is he here?”

The man she calls Barnes looks at you with disdain and you give it right back to him. You can tell that shot in the arm really pissed him off and it pleases you to no end.

“He’s just watching my back,” she says. “That’s what happens when you’re on a team.”

“Right, The Avengers. How adorable.”

“Listen,” Natasha begins, but you stop her.

“Let me save you the trouble of whatever little speech you have prepared. I’m not coming with you. I’m not going to Widow rehab and joining your ragtag group of misfits. And I’m not going to stop doing my work just because you come here and bat your eyes and smile pretty at me.”

“Your work?” spits the Soldat. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

“Bucky, don’t-”

“Let him talk, Romanoff,” you say. “He obviously has some… opinions. Now that he’s got the mask off, he can finally speak for himself.” You take a step towards him, your rifle in hand but not pointed at him. “So speak, Soldat.”

He looks flustered and not a little bit angry. You can tell he doesn’t like to be called by that name. “Killing people isn’t work,” he says.

You huff out a laugh. “And what is it that the two of you do, exactly? Run a coffee shop?”

“We are not the same,” he says, and you smile because you know that he doesn’t actually believe that—how could he after everything he’s done?

“I think we are exactly the same, Soldat, with one huge exception: you’re still letting other people tell you what to do, and I’m done with all that.”

“This is pointless,” he says.

“Now that is something you and I actually agree on.” You turn to Natasha. “You should go while you still can. I have work to do.”

But Natasha just won’t let it go. “I should never have left you alone,” she says. “This is my fault. Let me fix it.”

“I don’t need to be fixed,” you snap, and you raise your rifle and point it directly at her head. “Leave, Natasha. And take your little pet with you.”

The Soldat grabs her arm gently. “Let’s go, Tasha. She’s hopeless.”

You feel a pang of something then—some indescribable form of melancholy. You try to keep it off your face but you can tell from the look in his eyes that he sees it. A minute tremble of your lip, the quick double blink—it gives you away, and now you’re really pissed off.

“Leave. Now,” you yell, and it pierces through the sweltering darkness. “I’ll make you sorry if you don’t.”

You watch Natasha and the bionic man make their way out of the swamp. You don’t turn your back on them, not that you think they’ll try to take you by force. That would be unwise and Natasha knows it. Once you’re satisfied that they’re gone, you return to the cabin. The bloodied man in the linen suit lays strapped to the bed where you left him, squirming and shouting around the gag in his mouth.

You have to stop yourself from making this a messy affair, but the anger you feel—at her, at him, at everything—is making it difficult to temper your darker urges. You’re not one for torture, even though this man absolutely deserves it for the horrible things he’s done. You almost give in, but you remind yourself that this is a job—it is work, despite what the Soldat may think—and you have to remain professional.

You grab the man’s file off the desk and pull a chair up next to the bed. “So, Mr. Garcia, where were we?”

CHAPTER TWO >>>

#bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes #sebastian stan #dark!fic #dark!reader #the widow and the wolf

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riathedreamer · 3 years ago

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You asked for it: live thoughts from Ria and @creatrixanimi watching RvB Zero.

So, after having a movie night the day before (third movie night in a week, actually, we are very productive) watching Neil Breen movies and “Cool Cat”, it was now time to touch upon Zero. Sadly, Zero does not belong in the “so bad it’s good” category, but alas, Ria had to spoil Haley’s innocence.

This is not a proper edited review, but just snippets of our live reaction while watching the thing together. We are not drunk, but this continued way past midnight for Ria, so maybe her brain isn’t fully functioning. Also, Ria is a potty mouth because cursing is easy when it’s not your native language. Enjoy.

Episode 1:

Ria: I can’t figure out if they were trying to do a Grif and Simmons parallel with those two random guards talking outside, the ones with the Wash retconning.

Haley: Their armor doesn’t cover their noses.

Ria: That’s gotta be cold. Frostbitten noses.

...

Haley: There is no exposition. Like, it feels like the writers had their idea and know what is going on, but we don’t so it just feels weird and random. It feels like a Marvel movie.

Ria: Is that a compliment? I haven’t watched Marvel.

Haley: Not a good one.

...

Ria: This episode isn’t that bad in itself. But it’s just there to establish that the OG characters can’t beat this new villain, but the new guys can, and, urgh.

...

Episode 2:

[The shot focuses on One’s behind.]

Ria’s dirty mind: Ass.

...

Ria: STOP CALLING HIM DAVID.

...

Ria: I like this character, but I don’t remember his name.

Haley: Raymond.

Ria: This is why we need a name system like with the Freelancers and states. Should’ve just been numbers all the way through. Except Eleven, you fucking whore.

...

Haley at the sight of Raymond’s phone: It’s so big.

Ria: It’s the future. I can believe it.

...

Ria: Here’s the thing driving me crazy. Axel is a normal name in Denmark. But like, only old people use it. I know two Axels and they are both older than eighty. So that’s when I think of when I see Axel.

...

[After the whole training montage where we are introduced to the characters, we are still confused.]

Ria: I can’t remember their names.

Haley: Well, they didn’t show all of them. They didn’t show One.

Ria: They did!

Haley: They did?

Ria: Wow. So we got all that tell and no show, and we are still confused.

...

Haley: When it comes to genre, it’s actually not that bad with the narrated tell and don’t show. If it wanted to be a cheesy/bad action movie, that’s a trope that’s used relatively frequently in the genre. It’s a bad action movie. But it’s not RvB. It’s kinda like a particularly bad Marvel movie.

Ria: You’re really not selling me on the Marvel movies tonight.

...

Ria: I know I’m just a sucker for Joe, but I keep thinking of s15. Like, here they just use the files as a cheap way to introduce the characters. But like, in s15, Dylan just read out loud Grif’s file, and it was not to introduce him, but like, to show the complexity of the characters and go against the files? I don’t know, it just seems way cooler now.

...

[After the whole “what’s East’s deal” scene, we were so confused. Literally paused for five minutes trying to figure who was whose dad and why and what. How many daughters did Axel have? And where are they? We were just lost. Future Haley: Him waxing poetic about his daughters while watching the two girls in his team train confused me like I thought he was talking about East and One and couldn’t count sdfghjk. Future Ria: I’d even watched the show before and I was still confused.]

Ria: I can’t figure out if they’re too fast or if we’re just stupid.

Haley: It’s like I’m trying to remember the details but it all slips through my fingers.

Ria: The whole Zero experience is to feel too old for this shit.

...

Ria: STOP FUCKING CALLING HIM DAVID

...

One: This is how it’s done, grandma.

Ria: Fuck you.

...

Episode 3:

Haley: People would like it if they love dumb action shows. It works as a mindless action show.

...

Haley: So this is a temple?

Ria: I hate the worldbuilding. Is this the same planet as before? Like, Chorus had temples, but it also had lore about it. Is this the same sort of temples?

Haley: So shouldn’t this temple have its own key? Why do they need to include Tucker? It makes no sense for the temple to require a totally different sword from a different planet.

Ria: So they could beat him up ‘cause OG characters are weak now.

...

Haley: I don’t like the training scenes. They are so long and boring.

Ria: This is like the third episode where they are training. Holy shit.

...

Haley: It’s not that bad. But if you like Red vs. Blue, it’s not something for you. They aren’t really comparable.

Ria: I just don’t understand what they wanted to continue for Red vs. Blue. Like, it’s not the worldbuilding or the plot or the characters. I just don’t get it.

...

Haley: Raymond is the best character.

Ria: I like Raymond.

Haley: He’s RvB. He should be the main character.

...

Ria: Did East just use the “I’m not like the other (girls)” line?

Haley: I don’t like her. She’s a brat. Why did Carolina have to apologize? They were just training, this is something she’s gonna have to deal with on a daily basis lmao.

Ria: Didn’t Carolina have a cast on her arm? It’s gone now. I can’t keep up with the timeline. So, she’s healed, but how long was Wash gone? They are so vague about everything. Worldbuilding, timeline, motivations.

...

Ria: …Did Carolina just say she’d suit up? While wearing a full armor suit?

...

[And this is where the cursed part takes place. To talk, we’d often pause the thing. Here, I randomly paused during the introduction for Starlight Laboratories. There’s a desk in the shot. With a fucking marker on it.]

Haley: That’s a Crayola marker. That’s a Crayola marker on the table.

Ria: Glad we can appreciate the details by pausing.

[Haley then missed the entire Axel flashback scene because she was too busy looking up pictures of Crayola markers. When this is revealed, Ria lost it for like, three minutes]

Haley: I had that marker as a kid.

Ria: So 4/5 stars for the marker?

Haley: They were supposed to smell like blueberries or something but they just smelled like chemicals.

Ria: This is the most excited we’ve been about Zero so far.

[Future Haley: I was literally laugh-crying you dont understand. This was the best part of the show.]

...

Episode 4:

Ria: They all have super powers. It’s so weird.

Haley: I keep thinking they are gonna explain stuff. But they don’t. So I’m just confused.

...

[Haley has now brought forth all the markers in her room to find a Crayola one. She drops them all on the floor. Ria loses it again.] [Future Haley update: I found a yellow one it smells like lemons :)]

...

Ria: They are all glowing and have super powers. It’s weird. Like, I know we had super powered armor before but that was all connected to AIs. I don’t get how all of this works. They don’t have AIs.

...

[We both agree that we enjoy Raymond and Tiny. Bless them.]

...

Ria: It’s weird. The dialogue is so oblivious, it comments on its own mistakes. Like, Carolina just acknowledged Wash has had a computer in his head before. But they don’t acknowledge the whole canonical lore about his trauma regarding computers in his head and why he’d hate this. Same with the name David. They just noticed that it’s his first name and that’s how they’d show how close Carolina is with him, but they didn’t acknowledge the canon lore that Wash dislikes people using his first name.

...

Episode 5:

Haley: Why didn’t they use Locus’ sword instead. It’d make more sense. He’s the one travelling around planets and wanting to help people??

Ria: What’s the worldbuilding here? Is Tucker on the same planet? Is this Earth? Chorus?

...

Haley: Gotta love it when they make Tucker hit on teenagers.

Ria: Oh god why did they make East 18.

...

Haley: They should have done something with the Warthog song, even if that’s a Red Team thing.

Ria: I miss Red Team.

...

Ria: Wait, so if these three swords are connected, why can the two first ones move by themselves and they have like super powers connected to them? When Tucker’s sword is just boring? They didn’t even make a joke about how the two new swords are longer than Tucker’s.

...

Tucker: I’m fine, I have my sword.

Ria: That line is so tragic in hindsight.

...

One: It’s Tucker. He is dead.

Carolina: Oh my god.

Haley: *laughs her ass off*

...

Haley: I don’t understand why anyone is doing anything.

Ria: Your brain is still thinking about that fucking marker.

...

Episode 6:

Ria: The dialogue did it again! Wash just said “amazing medical tech”. Like, he points out a plot hole. Because that amazing tech can heal brain injuries and bring people back from death, but East had to be tortured for years to heal her vague illness? Like, why couldn’t their amazing tech fix that.

...

[While watching the design of the temple.]

Ria: It looks like those are just plates glued to the wall. Dinner is served.

...

Haley: There is no logical reason why they brought in Tucker. His sword isn’t even from this planet.

Ria: To lure in fans.

...

Haley in a very sad voice: The speech wasn’t good.

...

Episode 7:

Ria: Is all of this happening on the same planet? They keep driving. The worldbuilding is so weird. At least earlier RvB made a joke about how they could just drive everywhere. This is like a big desert, a training base, laboratory, city and temples and Tucker’s workplace, and I don’t know if it’s even on the same planet.

...

Ria: Diesel is just standing there waiting while they outfit Carolina.

Haley: It’s like a video game.

...

Ria: The temple’s walls are filled with runes.

Haley: It feels like a free/bought asset. It doesn’t even look like the temples on Chorus. It looks like something in WoW or something like that.

Ria: It’s driving me mad. I can read runes! Imagine a big boss fight and the freaking alphabet is plastered on the walls. That’s what I’m looking at.

...

Haley: Zero is such a boring villain. It’s not interesting when we don’t know what this “power” actually is or what he wants to do with it.

...

Ria: That’s the helmet Spencer wore.

Haley: Oh god I forgot about him.

Ria: So did the writers.

Haley: Spencer should have been the real villain.

...

Haley: *sees the random model of the temple guardian alien* I miss Santa.

...

Episode 8:

Ria: The aliens are just dancing in the background while Carolina is fighting Diesel.

Haley laughing: Oh my god, they are. They are just jumping up and down.

...

Ria: So, the villain just turned overpowered, and the solution is that Raymond just flicks a switch we haven’t heard about and now the heroes are overpowered too?

Haley: It just makes them shiny. And like... they don’t even use the “power”, they don’t fight him with their powers which only some of them have, they just shoot their ordinary guns at him while doing unnecessary flips.

Ria: I just remembered Church’s dick switch. That had more dramatic buildup.

...

Axel: You’re too cocky for that.

Ria’s dirty brain: Cock.

...

Post Zero thoughts:

[Ria returns from bathroom break and Haley is proudly showing off her marker over video cam.]

Haley: There was too much going on so I just focused on the marker.

Ria: So how many stars would you give it?

Haley: It’s really bad.

Ria: How many stars for marker representation?

Haley: Three out of five. It was only there for a second.

...

Haley: In the beginning, it wasn’t that bad. It was dumb, but also fun and sorta cool. But then it just went on for too long and they didn’t explain anything properly and it stopped being fun really fast. But I can see why some people might enjoy it. Like, you’d love it for its action but only that. Not for plot and/or the character writing.

Ria: I think my biggest problem is the worldbuilding. They kept everything so vague because they didn’t want to connect, not really. Like, where is this happening? When? Why are Carolina and Wash there? Like, the motivations for all the characters were so vague as well.

...

Haley: Raymond was great. He had personality and some good lines. And he felt like RvB. Like, he used his brain and actually got shit done, but he also wasn’t over-powered. He followed a similar character arc to what the Reds and Blues had. He sucks at fighting but he’s efficient and smart in a practical way with his rocket launcher. He does the most and he doesn’t stop being a goofball! Even Zero was focused on stopping him the most at the end. And he didn’t need to do any stupid flips.

...

Haley: The borrowed assets annoyed me. It ended up looking stupid, like, the temple felt more like fantasy than science fiction. And nothing like Chorus. And normally, RvB doesn’t have to worry about being cohesive because all of the designs are from Halo so it all makes sense and it’s connected. But this is just so random it feels distracting, I feel like this is a big reason people felt that Zero was so jarring… but on a subconscious level. It just felt off and there was no cohesive design. Also everything looked like it was made for video games and not modified at all for the show.

...

Haley: Honestly I was optimistic at first but then I got confused really fast and it kept getting worse because it was so fast. They didn’t explain stuff properly or at all. Like, they made it too big. Should have been smaller. I thought going with the “Starlight Labs is evil and needs to go down” plot would have been A LOT better and would have tied together multiple aspects of the story that the temple plot didn’t.

Ria: If I had the power which I don’t, I dunno, but I if the main point was to introduce new characters, I’d keep them tied to lore and worldbuilding we already know. So we don’t get so confused and it doesn’t feel so disconnected. Like, I’m still in love with the idea that it should have been Carolina on Chorus dealing with these soldiers who have been fighting all their lives and now don’t have to do that anymore. But maybe Chorus still needing an army, and that’s why she is training it. I don’t know, but like, familiar, build on what we know. And then they wouldn’t be superpowered, but like, just competent-ish but normal soldiers and we’d get to know them better, but I just think Zero just wanted them to be these super cool soldiers even better than Carolina so they could pull off all the fight scenes. ‘Cause it’s all Zero has going for it. The fight scenes. It’s its strength and weakness ‘cause they sacrificed everything else to look cool. And it does. But it’s boring and there is nothing else going on.

...

Ria: I’m still so annoyed about the temples. Why are they there? Like, on Chorus it was a big thing, also plotwise, but it had lore connected to it and the worldbuilding explained it. So, where are these temples? A different planet, right? Is it the same aliens? Are people just cool with the temples? Why haven’t they been explored before. Chorus made sure to explain all of that.

...

Haley: The West and East scene-

Ria: Feast.

Haley: Confused me. ‘cause West didn’t really regret anything. He just said why he did it. And then all of the sudden East forgave him and rejoined the team. It was so weird. He doubled down on the thing she hated him for so much I was like “Wow he’s kinda an asshole” and then all of a sudden she was on his side? What?

...

Haley: Zero does its job if you want action and nothing else. And it’s not RvB. Don’t watch it if you like RvB. And I just want to acknowledge that we are nitpicking. Quite a bit. I’ll admit that. But, I wouldn’t nitpick the other RvB seasons the same way because the old RvB never took itself seriously the way Zero did.

Ria: I agree. We are nitpicking. But like, that’s why we have the movie nights.

Haley: But we are also allowed to criticize it. You can do that with any season. And with the other seasons, you could nitpick it and you can find stuff you don’t like, but there are always stuff you do like or that other people like. I just can’t find anything about Zero that I like. Besides Raymond.

Ria: Yeah. Like, I really love 15. And it had so many flaws people pointed out. And when it comes to criticism and Zero, I just don’t see many points about why people like it. They are allowed to do that though. But, like, we could have a movie night where we watch the Chorus seasons and we’d nitpick so much because we both have issues with it, but there is still so much stuff we’d still like.

Haley: I like Raymond though. He’s like Grimmons lovechild.

Ria: No. Fuck you. Don’t put that in my brain.

...

Haley: Raymond being in this… I want to say it feels like the Freelancers seasons but if Grif was part of the team or something. But that’s just “Hit and Run”. *laughs*

Ria: NO! That’s cursed. Shut up. Also, the Freelancers were way better written.

Haley: And those seasons made better sense.

Ria: And like, the Freelancer seasons did the thing with change of tone and have these new and super cool characters and fight scenes. But they kept half of the seasons to be around the Reds and Blues so we still had the humor and the dumbasses, and Zero just, it didn’t connect.

...

Haley: So, I have some thoughts on Zero.

Ria: I know, you fuck, I had to write them all down by hand.

Haley: I like bad movies, actually, but Zero didn’t stay fun, so no, I didn’t enjoy it.

...

Ria: Do you forgive me for making you watch Zero?

Haley: Yeah.

Ria: What should we watch next?

...

Also, Haley dressed up her dog for the event and you all deserve to see her:

#we asked you answered we delivered #like most of these are just stupid observation #but we do have some proper reflections on the good and the bad and the ugly #and markers!#rvb zero critical

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consulaaris · 4 years ago

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SHEPHERDS OF HAVEN RECRUIT FORM - RHIANNON VASI

(template by @shepherds-of-haven !)

BIOGRAPHICAL INFO

name + nicknames: rhiannon vasi - rhia (by red, and later the other shepherds), sunshine/frosty/ice-queen (by chase)

titles: captain of the shepherds, the hero of haven, the dragonslayer

callsign: aethereal (possibly glacier)

gender: cis woman

sexuality: bisexual

pronouns: she/her

racial heritage: hunter

age + flower day: 28 years + 12 leph (winter)

height: 5’3” (160cm)

“a female mage with waist-length tousled raven hair and attractive stormy grey eyes. you're wearing your shepherds uniform and sun medallion. you have a streak of white in your hair as a result of your hunter heritage, and your cloak sports a golden eagle clasp.”

BACKGROUND INFO

weapon: daggers

magic specialization: elementalist (aetherai)

birthplace: maj

education: circle-trained

MISCELLANEOUS INFO

past jobs: freelance mercenary, bodyguard, library assistant, tavern waitress (that one lasted like, a solid day and a half before she blew up on a rude customer)

likes: fancy cloaks, books, khav, stargazing, sweets & baked goods, picnics, cats, snowy or rainy weather, quiet days, inside jokes, cuddling with her friends & loved ones

dislikes: people prying into her past, pickled vegetables, enclosed and/or crowded spaces, swimming, being Known™ in haven

strengths: magic (both brute force & controlled), knife-fighting, working with children, speed, cleverness, quick-thinking, introspectiveness, honesty

weaknesses: social situations, overly stubborn, past injuries (particularly on her hands) sometimes make it hard to fight physically, brute strength, holds grudges, emotionally repressed + PTSD, has a major guilt complex & will push people away/get herself into dangerous situations to “protect them” (doesn’t consider her own safety to be an important thing, essentially)

hobbies + special skills: wood carving, studying magic/history/astronomy, writing poetry, impressive gambling skills (she’s good at people reading and has a great poker face; she just struggles when she has to like. actually talk LOL)

major arcana: the hermit

dnd morality alignment: chaotic neutral/true neutral; leans towards the good side there, though

meyers-briggs personality type: intj-t

PERSONALITY

heart of gold / will of iron (it’s a 52-48 split- very close)

rebellious / loyal

independent / social

tactful / straightforward

bold / cautious

charming / stoic / intimidating

witty / sincere

resentful / forgiving

self-preserving / self-sacrificing (rhia claims she’s self-preserving, but she’s really... not)

book-smart / street-smart

one-god / atheist / old faith

bright mind / silver tongue / razor wits / nerves of steel

overall personality: although as a child/teen she was confident and playful, ten years of life alone and on the run have hardened rhia and caused her to retreat into her shell. she’s always been headstrong and stubborn, but now she tends to come across as rather prickly or icy to people she doesn’t know or trust. when you do get to know her though, it’s clear she’s more awkward than intentionally mean, although her personality can still come off as snarky or abrasive when she’s in uncomfortable situations or around unfamiliar faces. rhia can be a bit temperamental at times, but (though she’s convinced otherwise) she’s a good person with a kind heart who’s incredibly protective of those she cares about, no matter how much she may try to deny or bury it- she never asked for the powers to save the world, but she’ll be damned if she won’t do it... regardless of the cost to herself. she blames herself entirely for the loss of her village and is terrified of hurting the people she loves like that again, but joining the shepherds is the biggest catalyst for rhia trying her best to open up once more. though she’s always cared for them in her own way she’s now beginning to truly trust them, and with red around she’s slowly starting to show her softer side again, too.

RELATIONSHIPS

best friend(s): red antiqua, halek prince, riel syndran, briony stormbreaker, caine

preferred mission partner(s): red, halek, blade (they butt heads, but rhia trusts his work ethic lolol), and ayla or briony. generally a team that she trusts to get stuff done & won’t give her a heart attack (i.e. working with chase or trouble can be fun, but rhia is Stressed)

friendly rival(s): probably chase a little bit, just because they tend to snark at each other a lot. they’re good friends though! she and ayla also get a little competitive since they’re both elementalists, but it’s the type of rivalry that pushes them both to improve.

love interest(s): red antiqua (ex and current)

first kiss scenario: okay but the fact that i could 100% see that being their first kiss as teenagers + a possible first kiss once they get back together... good shit. (and i do have a WIP where rhia gets injured... 🤔)

enemies: ebert, the endarkened, the autarchy, moonsilk (not really she’s just big mad + halek is her bff ajsjjsjsj)

REFERENCE QUOTES

“she’s got a passion for learning, that one. miss vasi was the best assistant i’ve had in ages, and though i often found her reading on the job she always finished her work. very detail oriented, too, although i do wish she hadn’t left so suddenly. it always did feel like she was running from something.” (- librarian from an unnamed city in Blest)

“rhiannon’s vicious in a fight, i’ll give ‘er that much. she’s not exactly the most chatty o’ folks, but if yer looking for a good bodyguard you ain’t getting’ much better than ‘er.” (- fellow mercenary)

“i think she might hold the record for the shortest amount of time a waitress ever worked here. to be fair, i don’t really blame her for throwing a drink in that man’s face and threatening to shove her foot up his you-know-where when he made that comment, but business is business.” (- owner of an inn in an unnamed city in Blest)

“rhia was always at the top of our class in the circle; she was confident and funny, and even when she got in trouble it was clear the teachers loved her! she was always happy to help anyone with their work, too- or anything really. she was great fun, one of the good ones. i do wonder what happened in those years she was gone though, because seeing her again, it was like she was almost... sad. like a light all burnt out. i hope she’s alright; i’ve been a little worried, and i know red and neon have too. red especially, if you catch my drift.” (-panrachus )

#shepherds of haven #shoh #shepherds of haven mc #shoh oc #shoh recruit form #oc: rhiannon vasi #i’m procrastinating writing again (although i am Almost done with this rhia/red fic i’ve been working on holy shit)#but in any case: rhia has been living in my head rent free and i love this disaster woman <3 #i was too lazy to edit the artbreeder image to add her white streak or beauty marks lolol but it’s fine #i know i’ve done some art & fic with rhia but i don’t think it’s rlly touched on some aspects of her character i’ve been fleshing out?#so a solid intro post felt in order ahshjsjsjsj

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not-reagan · 3 years ago

Text

milf: man i love forests

pairing: deforester boo seungkwan x frat boy mirror demon han jisung (side pairing reagan x rainbow)

genre: crack, strangers to friends to lovers, non-idol au

warnings: cursing, brief supernatural elements, i don’t know if this applies but all lcase, and i listened to christmas music and abba while writing this

word count: 2.7k

authors note: happy birthday @miyuuraiura !! i am so sorry about this monstrosity being your birthday gift but you asked for it so it's your fault entirely. i was gonna include some context on this story for those who are not rainbow and i but actually i don't think i will.

seungkwan did what he could to get by. he loved nature, he really did, but sometimes you have to make moral sacrifices to survive. he was a college kid strapped for cash, and when he saw a sign reading “GET RICH QUICK, INVEST IN DEFORESTATION” in the summer going into his freshmen year, he jumped at the opportunity. sure, he would have rather been a freelance singer, hired for bar-mitzvahs and children's parties, but that job market was flooded at the moment.

jisung, on the other hand, had no care for nature. actually, he didn't care for any human things, apart from “banging parties, booze, the boys™, and bitches”. he hated quite a bit about earth, the worst of all to him being college. as a demon, he had no reason to attend university, but after he was summoned in the bathroom of a frat house by the school’s power couple; rainbow and reagan, he felt obliged to follow the two around and keep them company.

for seungkwan, his main job rarely required in person work. he usually just chose plots of land to demolish, and sent plans to local managers. the only time he actually had to knock down any trees himself was during his summer break. he has a part time job of course, but it didn't provide him enough cash to survive. for someone with a job as a deforester, he truly did do what he could to save the environment. he joined his schools environmental club, becoming vice president his sophomore year because of his work with them. he kept his job a secret, not even telling his parents where the influx of cash was coming from. he kept a low profile and went through the motions of life. he didn't have much of a social life, with his small amount of friends being from the environmental club.

han jisung found joy in witnessing his professors and fellow students lose their minds over his lack of effort in class. he did the bare minimum and still passed with flying colors. most of all, it angered his seatmate in earth science, who happened to be none other than boo seungkwan. seungkwan was a hard worker in everything he did, particularly in school. he didn't get the best grades, but by no means was he the worst. averaging a steady B+, seungkwan spent most of his nights studying or working, rarely going to parties and enjoying himself only through one person karaoke rooms.

this fact upset jisung. he didn't know why, but seeing seungkwan so tired every day made him feel sad(? jisung wasn't sure what it made him feel. it was an emotion he had never experienced before. rainbow told him it meant he had a crush. to this he threw an empty soda can at them). not to mention seungkwan’s upsetting karaoke addiction, which he knew all about the danger of because of reagan, who spent most of her weekends drunk and singing. jisung didn’t know why he took such a liking to seungkwan. what he did know was that he was ecstatic to find that they would be paired together for a project. a project that required quite a bit of teamwork, and a lot of after school work sessions.

seungkwan liked to think that he didn’t hate anyone. he hated evil people, like hitler and stalin and jyp, but he didn’t really hate anyone besides the worst of the worst. that was until he experienced jisung. he wasn’t sure why jisung always talked to him when he was trying to take notes in class. he especially wasn’t sure why he was so excited to be partnered up together for the project that was worth 25% of their grade. seungkwan was less than happy to have to cooperate with jisung for an extended period of time, and he was not looking forward to letting him into his dorm room, or going anywhere near jisung’s frat house. seungkwan had no idea what he was pushed into.

they planned to meet at the cafe on campus at 5:00 pm after class. seungkwan was less than happy. jisung was thrilled. when jisung arrived seungkwan was sitting at a table drinking an americano and working on an english essay. he wasn't sure how to approach him, slowly walked closer before tapping on his shoulder. seungkwan jolted in his seat.

“jesus fuck jisung. you scared the crap out of me,” seungkwan gasped. jisung’s ears flushed as he brought his hand to the back if his neck.

“sorry,” he started, pausing for a second before starting again, “why don't we get started?”. he swung his bag down to the ground as he took a seat. seungkwan offered a small, non genuine smile before pulling out the project’s guidelines.

“let's try to finish this as quickly as possible. im pretty busy and don't have much time to fool around.” seungkwan said. jisung felt his heart drop. did seungkwan really think that little of him? granted, he always dozed off in class but he got his work done on time and in an orderly fashion. he felt his mind begin to wander. if seungkwan felt this way about him now, how would he feel when he found out that jisung was a demon. would seungkwan start to like him if he knew him better? jisung couldn't figure out why he cared so much about how seungkwan perceived him. he had never had an issue with others opinions of him before, so what made seungkwan so different? for some reason, jisung felt the need to connect with seungkwan. if not for himself, then at least to help him let loose.

after working silently on each of their portions of the projects for 3 hours, jisung finally spoke up. “do you want to maybe come to my party next month? well, it's not my party, it's for rainbow’s birthday. i know you're not one for social interaction but it would be cool to see you there. i’ll give you the details if-”

“i’d love to go,” seungkwan cut off jisung’s rambling. to be honest, he wasn't exactly sure what he was agreeing to, but he knew it would shut jisung up, and seungkwan valued his peace and quiet. part of him also just felt downright bad for the other. he seemed to be trying awfully hard to become friends with seungkwan, and he wouldn’t admit it, seungkwan had started to warm up to the boy. he really wasn’t as much of an issue as he had thought before, and was actually really respectful of seungkwan’s wishes. maybe i’ll give him a chance, seungkwan thought before going back to his work.

over the next month, jisung and seungkwan continued meeting to work on their project. seungkwan was less short with the other, and jisung was still red faced every time seungkwan decided to talk to him, which became quite frequently over the next few weeks. jisung was starting to realize that the feelings he had for seungkwan were not simply platonic, and that he didn’t just want to be friends with him. with the help of rainbow and reagan, he had come to the conclusion that he really, really liked seungkwan, and that he was going to do something about it. remembering that he had invited seungkwan to the party, he devised a plan to not only tell seungkwan about his whole “i’m actually a demon” thing, but also about his true feelings. it wouldn't be easy, but it was what he had to do.

a month later, seungkwan still wasn’t exactly sure why he had agreed to go to jisungs frat house at 9:00 pm on a saturday night. yet there he was, standing on the front porch of a large house, wondering if he should bite the bullet and walk in, or spare himself and leave right then. he didn't get a choice, however, as rainbow and reagan stepped out of the house giggling while clutching onto each other. both stopped in their tracks when they saw seungkwan. the couple and seungkwan stared at each other for a good minute before seungkwan shook himself from his trance.

“hey rainbow!” seungkwan started, “and reagan too. i know we aren’t super close, but jisung invited me and i thought i’d just drop by and wish you a happy birthday.” he passed her a birthday card filled with $50 bucks and then turned to leave. “i’ll leave you guys now. have a great birthday!” before seungkwan could get very far, however, rainbow grabbed him by the arm.

“hey, i’d love if you’d stay! at least go say hi to jisung. i’m sure he’d like to see you,” she said, silently making note to have jisung pay her back for being a great wingwoman.

“he’s probably hiding in the second floor bathroom. if you don't see him in there, just say his name three times in front of the mirror. he’ll appear.” reagan explained. seungkwan thought she was joking. how wrong he was.

following his entrance to the house, he had to refuse not one, not two, but three different people who were looking to give him bottles or cups of something which seungkwan presumed to be various types of alcohol. navigating through the house was difficult, reaching the stairs to the second floor only after running into numerous people borderline fucking on two large couches in the living room, a smoke circle taking place in what seungkwan assumed to be a dining room, and a very aggressive makeout session against a wall. once he finally reached the second floor, he had some difficulty finding the bathroom, accidentally walking in on reagan and rainbow, who had miraculously made it upstairs faster than he had.

“if you don’t stop shitting constantly i am going to break up with you! also, stop taking feet pics! it’s weird!” he heard rainbow shout.

“at least i can eat seafood! how does it make your head hurt? you’re the weakest link! that fucking seafood platter was delicious. and you know what, i’m glad i didn’t have to share it with you!” reagan responded. seungkwan quickly shut the door, not wanting to get involved in whatever drunken argument was going on there. after a bit more searching, he finally stumbled across the right room. knocking first to see if anyone was in there, he entered, and to his surprise, nobody was there. jisung was nowhere to be seen. seungkwan reviewed his options. he could a) leave the party, or b) continue to look around the packed house. but there was another option. he thought about it for a second.

“what's the harm in trying,” seungkwan thought out loud, before staring directly into the mirror.

“han jisung, han jisung, han jisung.”

nothing happened. that's what seungkwan thought, until a minute later the lights in the bathroom flickered off and the mirror began to glow. “what. the. fuck,” seungkwan managed to squeak out before falling backwards into the tub. first a leg emerged, then two arms, and finally the rest of jisung’s body.

“i feel like the genie in aladin every time i have to get into a fucking mirror,” jisung complained before seeing seungkwan toppled over. to that view, he jumped down off the counter and moved to help him up. seungkwan, aside from falling, seemed to be reacting well to the whole situation, at least in the sense that instead of freaking out he seemed to be in a state of shock. jisung took this as a good sign, and lifted the motionless body up onto the toilet seat.

“hey seungkwan, you there?” jisung waved his hand in front of seungkwan's face as he slowly came to his senses.

“what kind of twisted party trick was that?” seungkwan asked, pretty seriously. jisung just laughed.

“you summoned me from the mirror. i’m like a funny version of michael jackson except i'm a demon and not a man in the mirror.” jisung explained. seungkwan just stared. “are you ok kwan? do you want me to get you some water?”

“it was… kind of sick.” seungkwan stated. he didn't know why he wasn't scared. under any other circumstance like this one, he probably would have shit his pants. for some reason he felt comfortable around jisung. he felt warm. he felt seen. it was something he hadn't felt before. that's when he realized. he wondered why it took himself to long to figure it out. he never hated jisung. he just didn't know what to do with the fact that he made him feel special, and that he felt as though he belonged when they were together. it had hit him why he was so nervous the whole night, why he had wanted to make such a good impression, and why he was willing to embarrass himself by calling out jisungs name as opposed to just choosing to go home. it was because he loved him.

“can i tell you something?” both of the boys said at the same time. jisung giggled and seungkwan flushed red. **authors note! bonus starts here**

“you first,” seungkwan offered. he wasn't exactly sure he would be able to make it through a sentence without getting any redder than he already was.

jisung took this opportunity to finally get his true feelings out into the air, “i like you… uhh like, i like like you. i have since we first became seatmates. well, i think that's when i've liked you since. i knew whe-”

“you're rambling again,” seungkwan told him. jisung flushed a dark shade of pink. “it's a habit of yours. i think it's cute actually.” seungkwan wasn't sure where his sudden surge of confidence came from, but he was glad it came. he was standing up now, holding jisungs hands in his. jisungs heart was racing a mile a minute as he looked down at their intertwined hands and them back up, catching seungkwan looking directly at his lips. “can… can i kiss you?” seungkwan stuttered out. jisung couldn't find his words, so he opted to just nod.

when their lips connected, seungkwan could have sworn he heard fireworks. he did later find out that someone was setting off a firework in the back yard, but it was the thought that counted. their lips melted together perfectly, and seungkwan wondered why it took him so long to admit his feelings to himself. he could have been kissing jisung for a month before this.

once they finally parted, seungkwan spoke softly, “i like you too. i think that's pretty obvious now but just in case you didn't know.” jisung had the dumbest, most confused face on, and seungkwan had the brightest smile he'd ever had. seungkwan had rendered jisung speechless, for once in his life. not long after, they started kissing again, content with their emotions and their new relationship.

seungkwan was never one to believe that good things were permanent. he was overdramatic, stubborn, and hated interacting with people outside his small social circle. that was until han jisung came along. he was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, he could let someone else into his life.

jisung was a simple man. well, not a man, but he was simple nonetheless. he liked banging parties, booze, the boys™, and bitches. well maybe there was one more thing he liked. he knew for sure he liked boo seungkwan. maybe he loved him. maybe seungkwan even felt the same way.

-fin

**BONUS**

reagan and rainbow leaned up against the door to eavesdrop on their matchmaking work.

“holy shit!” reagan gasped.

“what is it?? tell me what happened. you're hogging up the door!” rainbow hissed.

“our boy is so grown up,” reagan pretended to cry. “put your goddamn ear up here.” rainbow felt her ear connect with the cold door just as jisung confessed his feelings.

“i like you… uhh like, i like like you. i have since we first became seatmates. well, i think that's when i've liked you since. i knew whe-” his next words were cut off on the girls side of the door as reagan squealed.

“shut your mouth! seungkwans saying something!!” rainbow said, obviously annoyed that reagan was obstructing her ability to hear the exchange.

“can… can i kiss you?” they heard seungkwan say. both looked at each other in shock.

“oh. my. god.” was all rainbow could say.

“i think we should give them some alone time,” reagan suggested as she tugged rainbow down the hall.

“i think we need some alone time for ourselves,” rainbow said as reagan pushed her into a random room and locked the door behind them.

#kpop #seventeen #stray kids #svt #skz #fanfic #guys i am so sorry #seungkwan #jisung #boo seungkwan #han #han jisung #a birthday gift #miyuuraiura #for you 💕#han jisung x boo seungkwan #jisung x seungkwan #han x seungkwan

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hamburgerhelpersotherhand · 4 years ago

Text

Infatuation P9

Joe Goldberg x Reader x Love Quinn

Warnings: Kidnapping.

Notes: I’m currently rewatching Hannibal for the 10th time since it’s on Netflix now. Honestly there will never be a show that hits the same way 😔💝 I hope you like the POV whiplash in this.

My name is Y/N L/N.

I’m a freelance writer with no notable published works. Everything I’ve written has been private, but I dream of a day where I can share it.

My mother moved to L.A. so she could follow her dreams. I always supported her, but I left. It’s hard to stay for someone when you feel unsafe- and at the time, I felt unsafe.

I had some friends. One of them was named Love Quinn. She was very pretty, but didn’t have a filter growing up. At my age now, I’d consider her crazy for saying the things she did, but we were young and children tend to be kind of crazy.

Her brother, Forty, used to tag along with us. I didn’t really think much of him. He always trailed behind, weird, awkward. I can’t say I didn’t like him, because he asked me out and I said yes.

But as we got older, Love eventually opened up to me about a secret. I hated to hear it, I really did. It kept me up at night, and I felt my morals tear.

Forty killed someone.

At the time, I had gone on a date with him. I think he believed us to be official after that, but I heard Love loud and clear and couldn’t shake the feeling off. Every simple thing he did made me overthink. I felt like I would be next in line to get the cut.

Forty had blacked out when it happened, but that only worried me more. Would I be able to stop him? I don’t know, but I didn’t want to test the waters.

I had to leave.

I don’t think I meant to do that.

When I came back to my senses, you were unconscious and on the ground.

And— and I kind of just... stared. You’re on the sidewalk at my feet, laying on your side. I have no recollection of dropping you. How long have I just been standing here?

Whoever was in that car saw me— saw us. But it’s long gone and I can’t let you go now, too much is at risk. Oh god, Y/N... why’d it have to happen this way.

Wait. If I... if I take you with me. Home? No, no. Th-The storage locker. Yeah. I have something there that can... help. Wow, my heart is beating right out of my chest! The jumps are starting to hurt, but I can’t help it. I think I’m getting excited.

I reach down to pick you up and sling you over my shoulder. You’re heavier than I thought you’d be, but that’s probably because you’re completely limp.

I look both ways and cross the street to get to my car. It’s still late and the sky seems just as dark as it was when I got here.

When I open the trunk, I look you over... You’re not dead, I don’t know what I’m thinking. The trunk? Come on, Joe...

I let go of the luggage, open the back door and try to lay you down gently, but your head hits the seat with a smack. I momentarily cringe back, hoping you won’t feel it in the morning.

I try to maneuver you around into a seated position, you have to look natural. As I crawl over you to lift your upper body, you moan. My face heats up and I reluctantly back out of the backseat. I tell myself to just... drive slowly, you’ll be fine like this. If anyone stops us, you’re drunk, passed out, and I’m driving you back home.

Your luggage was thrown into the trunk, I didn’t give it much care when I tossed it in. My mind is elsewhere and I almost feel like this isn’t happening. Y/N. Shit. You didn’t have to do this, you didn’t have to force my hand like that.

I fix my rearview mirror and catch a glimpse of you. You... almost look dead, but I can see your chest raising and falling with your light breathing.

Bringing you inside of the storage locker was simple. You were still passed out, there was no fight when I dragged you along with me. Lucky me, am I right? Lucky me, I have to maneuver my life around another ridiculous obstacle. I’m finding myself in this position a lot but you’d think I’d be better about it by now. Well, I like to think I’ve become more adept in some aspects.

Once we are inside, I lay you on the cold floor and pull the storage door down.

You groan and my head snaps in your direction. Oh no.

I quickly make my way to your shifting form and bend down to run my hands over your sides, searching your pockets. Where’s your fucking phone? Shit, there’s no time to freak out over this. You’re waking up and I’m not about to knock you out again.

I grab you by the arms and drag you inside the glass cage. Do I really want to call it that? Not really. I’d prefer it be referred to as more of a... I don’t know. It’s a box made of glass. It was previously being used to store these old books, but they’re long gone. If I told you about what I used it for this past year, would you understand? Probably not. Your freak out earlier should be enough of a clear cut answer.

Before you start to tightly blink your eyes, adjusting them to the awful light, I’m already outside the enclosure and closing the door between us.

Your head looks heavy as you try to lift it. Your legs curl up into yourself as you begin to take notice of your surroundings. I can tell you don’t understand, you look so lost. I almost feel bad.

You sit up quickly and back yourself into a corner with your head spinning. Don’t make yourself sick, Y/N.

I’m watching you from the other side of the glass, finally letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in.

Watching you curl up in the corner of the cage hits me in such a familiar way.

“W-Will?” I hear you mumble meekly as you rub your eyes. I don’t respond. I can’t respond. I just want to watch.

“Will, where are we?” You ask, pressing your head into the glass behind you and looking toward me. Your face contorts as some form of reality begins to settle in.

“Please don’t...” Your voice falters and I notice your weak attempt to hold back tears. I feel guilty but I can’t imagine letting you go, especially now. We just... we just need to talk it out before I make any more decisions.

You’re sobbing now. It’s sad to listen to as you choke on your own breath.

“Y/N, calm down.” I say, pressing my hand to the glass. If you’re not careful, you’ll make yourself pass out. Besides, I’m exhausted. So exhausted. I don’t want to babysit you right now, I’d much rather be sleeping in Love’s bed.

“P-Please don’t kill m-mee!” You beg with a weak excuse for a voice. Watching, I can’t help but inhale sharply. God, I just want you to shut up.

“Listen to me-“ I try to speak, but you cut me off.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” I flinch back.

There it is. The sudden need to leave.

Maybe if I leave, you’ll calm down. Maybe if I leave, you’ll figure things out on your own and realize that crying about it all is a waste of time. Should I deprive you of water too? Joe. Come on, Joe. Don’t act rash, you’re just angry.

Hopefully some rest will benefit the both of us.

I try to say my goodbyes, but you just cover your ears and cry out like a child.

When I finally make it apparent that I’m leaving, you begin to settle down.

But it’s too late, I’m securing my cap back onto my head and sliding the locker door up.

Once the door is down again, I lock it. I might’ve heard you say ‘wait’... I think. But what does it matter? You’re being a brat, despite my generosity. I could’ve done something much worse to you, you know?

Listen. Whatever you’ve heard— whatever you think you know about me- I think you’re getting it wrong. I’m not that bad, Y/N. I’m a good person, I care about you, I care about Love... and ultimately I care about us.

Don’t force me to do something so awful for something so minimal.

#joe goldberg #love quinn #joe goldberg x reader #love quinn x reader #x reader #forty quinn #you #fanfiction

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free-boundsoul · 3 years ago

Note

Meh, I don’t really care. Anything is good with me. As long as it has a good story. Maybe we could watch a comedy or something light? I feel like my brain could use a break and sad shit or complex, theory-heavy stuff is just going to get me going and I’ll never relax. Got a go-to movie or show that makes you laugh?

Yeah, they can be kind of hovering, but I’m very lucky that my parents are there to balance me out a little bit. People think I put so much pressure on myself because of them, but that’s not the case. I do it by myself, despite them. I’d love to see Hux and Lasko again. I miss them. Of course, we can play Smash. D&D… I don’t know. Do you think you can teach me how to play? I’ve heard of it and I know it’s super popular, but I’ve never done it before. It seems really involved and people get really into it. I’ve heard Lasko talk about his character and stuff. I wouldn’t want to derail you guys or slow you down.

It is a super convenient skill to have, isn’t it? I can’t tell you the last time I washed a dish by hand. I’m not sure if that makes me a good magic user or a lazy person. I’m really thankful we got paired together in that class. What’s your schedule look like for next semester? I know we’re on different tracks, but I hope we have something together.

Ugh, yeah, it made growing up so much fun. I’m just kidding. My dad would never abuse his powers like that. He always allowed me my privacy, though he did have a channel open with my mom all the time, probably to talk about stuff they didn’t want me to hear as a kid. You don’t have to worry about him listening to your thoughts or anything. Not that I think you lie. You’re always really open and honesty with me, and I appreciate it. He’ll be respectful. If telepathic stuff is something you’re interested in developing, he’ll be more than happy to help. In fact, I tested out of telepathy when I started at DAMN because he taught so much. What? What do you mean I take after my mom? What are you saying, Freelancer?

That’s a good point. I’ll be sure to tell Lasko it’s an invitation, not an obligation. Yeah, I’ll send you the link so you can add to it at your convenience. It’s a lot to keep track of. Always feel free to ask if a question pops up. It’s easy to get stuff mixed up, especially when you’re a little bit of everything, as a Freelancer.

It must’ve been really hard for that to happen to you without a clear explanation. I’m sure it’s still hard twice a year, but at least you know why now. At least when it comes to the sun-bound solstice, I get to experience the euphoric high. It’s really amazing. My power is so, I can barely explain, there. Tangible. Present. My fire burns like nothing I’ve ever known. The problem is the moon-bound solstice really knocks me out. It’s like I couldn’t light a candle if I tried. And I’m so damn cold. Freezing and I can’t do anything to warm myself up, not to mention the headache, the nausea, the muscle soreness. I usually just hide in my bed for as long as I can that day. My dad is moon-bound and my mom tries really hard to help him celebrate even in their own little way. He does the same for her during the sun-bound solstice. Now that I’m older, I try not to get in the way on the moon-bound solstice. Honestly, yeah, I… I would like to maybe come over to be with you, but maybe you don’t understand how hard it hits me. But, wouldn’t you mind? I mean, I’d hate to schlep over to your place just so you can take care of me, especially if you’re going to be feeling great one minute and lousy the next. That wouldn’t be fair of me. I usually just ride out of the day alone. I can take care of myself, you know?

-Damien

Hmm a go to show? I think you might find it childish but I like to watch Avatar the Last Airbender. It still makes me laugh even though I've seen it countless times. Which might be kinda ironic considering the magic we can do. I kind of... wanted to be a water bender when i was a kid. I liked that you could heal with it and yet still kick butt. Do you have any shows from when you were a kid that you really liked to watch?

I wish you wouldn't put so much stress on yourself, Damien. I know the weight of your goals are heavy, and you want to surpass them in a few years. But I... I worry about you. Your goals are so admirable, and I want to see you reach them, even help you if I can, I just don't want you to get buried under them, if that makes sense?

As for D&D...haha, I'm kinda in the same boat as you are. I've heard about it but have no idea how to play. But Lasko is going to try and teach me, if you'd want to learn how to play together?

I have the advanced healing class next semester, advanced elemental control, that cloaking class I am... unfortunately forgetting the proper name for. Oh, and a water control class. I really need to improve on that... what about you? I hope we have classes together too.

Aww that's sweet that your parents have a connection open between them. Telepathy is pretty intimate, right? It must involve a lot of trust in each other to have it open all the time. I wasn't really worried about him peeking in my thoughts, I am interested though. I've only heard someone's voice in my head during... well, you know. Oh, so weird question. Since your dad is telepathic, did telepathy come easier to you? Or was it like learning psychokinesis? And...just that you're a very straight forward person. Not in a bad way or anything! I like how you get right to the heart of the conversation. It makes it easy to talk to you.

Haha, it'll probably be a good thing to clarify. You know how nervous he can be. And thank you! I hope you won't get annoyed with me if I ask too much.

It was okay! I felt better the next day so I usually forgot about it. I still can't believe I didn't notice that it happened twice a year on the solstice. And wow... that sounds amazing. I'd love to see you on the sun-bound solstice. If that wouldn't be weird?

And that sounds terrible to be feeling like that for the whole day! I don't get hit that hard, though I kind of feeling like I'm on a rollercoaster of caffeine highs and lows so... I might ramble a bit. But I'd love to have you over and try to help in any way I can. I make a pretty good chicken noodle soup from scratch and I could try and kick up the spices a bit to hopefully help warm you from the inside out? I wonder if healing magic helps at all during the solstice? And...I know you can take care of yourself, Damien, but that doesn't mean you have to. So, I hope I can help, even if it's just a little.

#damien anon!!🔥#i rambled a lot...#i hope that's okay #thank you for putting up with me #sending platonic love to damien anon

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atlafan · 4 years ago

Text

My Everything - Part Seven

A Take it Slow Sequel

What happens with Harry and Y/N after he proposes? How will the two navigate the engaged life while also continuing to juggle their jobs, friends, and families? Let’s find out.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, and smut!

a/n: not proofread fam, I didn’t have the strength.

Masterpost

It was Louis and El’s first real weekend without Eliza May. Eleanor was taking it much better than she thought, probably since she’d be able to drink alcohol, and then she could just pump and dump. Her and Louis were getting their costumes on while you and Harry were doing the same.

“Will people even know what who we are?” He asks.

“Of course! We looks so cute too.” You kiss his cheek. “Now hold still so I can put your makeup on.”

You both walk out of your bedroom and see Lou and El in the living area, hanging out with Buster. They were dressed like their favorite soccer players. You and Harry were dressed up like Max and Roxanne from a Goofy Movie.

“You two look so cute!”

“Thanks!” You beam. “It was so easy to put together too.”

“You both ready?” Harry asks.

They both nod. You and Harry say goodbye to Buster, and across the street you go. When you walk in you see Niall dressed as The Flash and Wonder Woman.

“Now these are costumes.” You say, hugging them both. “Well done.”

“Look at the two of you! Very creative.” Sarah says. “Go get a load of Rachel and Mariah, they’re Harley and Black Canary.”

“Why did we not get the super hero memo?” Harry asks.

“None of us discussed it I swear!” She says.

You got find the two of them and say hello. You take a ton of pictures with your friends, and they make sure to take plenty of you and Harry. You feel sad when you see your friends taking tequila shots. Even Harry and the guys were drinking heavily.

“Everything okay, Y/N?” Eleanor asks you.

“Um…not really, no.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s a stupid thing to be upset over.”

“I’m sure it’s not.” She smiles.

“I’m…on a specific type of medication that I have to take every day, and I can’t drink alcohol while I’m on it. I haven’t really drank since my birthday, and this is the first time I feel sad about it. I’m having fun, but…” You both look over at everyone. “I’m not having that kind of fun.”

“Well, I haven’t started to drink yet, so I won’t.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I really don’t mind. I made it nine months, remember?”

“Thanks.”

Niall and Sarah’s place was packed with people, and your very drunk fiancé was grinding on you while you danced. You could feel him growing harder against your ass, and it was starting to annoy you rather than turn you on. You turn around to face him.

“I’ll be right back, I need to use the bathroom.”

You step away from him and go down to the hall bath. You take a deep breath as you look at yourself in the mirror. El grabs Harry’s wrist before he can follow you.

“What?”

“I think you should start drinking some water.”

“Why?”

“Because…she told me she’s sad everyone’s having more fun than her.”

“She did?”

“Yeah…everyone’s pissed but her, Harry. Look around.” She gestures around to the people at the party. “She feels left out, H, and you’re not helpin’.”

“Shit.”

Harry stumbles into the kitchen and gets some water. You find him in there.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothin’, just think I’ve had enough is all. I have a plan to catch tomorrow, no need in havin’ a hangover, right?”

“Y/N!” Sarah says. “Come do a shot with Rach and I.”

“I can’t, Sarah.” You mumble.

“Why not?” She pouts. “Oh! Are you still taking that medication?” Your eyes widen and you look up at Harry.

“Sarah.” Niall grabs her by the waist. “Leave her be, alright?”

“Yeah, leave it alone.” Rachel says.

“All I did was ask her a question.”

“An invasive one.” Niall says. “If she doesn’t want to drink she doesn’t have to.”

“Will you all please just stop?!” You had enough. “I’m not some child you have to overprotect! You wanna know why I can’t drink? I’m on a medication to make it so I don’t black out and hurt Harry again, okay? I had a really bad flash months ago and I slapped him! My therapist prescribed it for me, and I can’t have alcohol with it because it’s also an antidepressant. Are you happy now?! I’m so fucked up in the head that I need pills to keep myself from doing something stupid!” Your eyes were glossy, and you were filled with rage.

You brush past all of them and make your way to the front door.

“Fuck, Sarah, you can have a real big mouth sometimes.” Harry says. “You couldn’t have just listened to your boyfriend for once? You’re always doin’ that to him, as if he doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about.”

“He doesn’t know her better than I do.”

“No? I’m startin’ to think he’s the only real friend she has. Excuse me.”

Harry goes after you and leaves.

“Babe! Babe!” He runs down the hall and catches the elevator door. Your arms were crossed and you were crying.

“I feel like such an idiot. I ruined everyone’s good time.”

“No, honey, it’s okay.” He wraps his arms around you and pulls you to his chest.

“You were having fun though, and then I just blew up. I should go apologize.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “Maybe tomorrow when there isn’t a huge party happening you all can talk, but right now we should just go home.”

“What about Louis and Eleanor.”

“I gave Lou a key in case we left at different times, it’s all good.”

You and Harry get in the door, and you both say hello to Buster before going to wash all your makeup off. You hear Louis and Eleanor at one point, and Harry goes out to say goodnight to them. He kisses you to sleep. You would have let him love on you a little more, but you had your period. Not great timing before his trip to Wisconsin. He didn’t mind just holding you close to him though. It was what you needed more than anything.

“You’ve barely said anything to me since they left…” Sarah says as her and Niall get into their bed.

“I’m not quite what to say…”

“I’m going to apologize to her tomorrow, I know I was wrong.”

“Yeah, you were.” They both lay on their backs. Niall turns to look at her. “You really don’t listen to me often. You always think you know best…it bothers me. It’s like you don’t value what I have to say.”

“I’m sorry.” She turns to face him. “I don’t mean to make you feel that way.”

“I know you and Rachel are her best friends, and I know you both mean well and care about her…but Y/N and I got really close after everything happened. I’ve seen her in some different ways. I just wish you had let her tell you instead of making her so upset she blew up.” He sighs. “And now Harry’s goin’ away for a few days…you’ll need to fix this, Sarah.”

“I know, I know. I feel terrible okay? I got too drunk, and-“

“Yeah, but you should have known not to bring it up from when we went to Homecoming. That’s the annoying part. You were told to let it go, and you didn’t. It’s like you’re not used to bein’ told no.” He huffs.

“Well, to be fair, I’m not.”

“What?”

“Oh come on, Niall. I was an only child, I was a rainbow baby…admittedly I was a little spoiled.”

“Yeah, well, you’re a fuckin’ adult now. You’re twenty-five years old, grow up.” He huffs and turns away from her, leaving her speechless.

She sighs and rolls to her other side. Niall rarely got mad at Sarah like this. She was his baby girl, and she knew she fucked up with you.

“Please call when you get there.” You tell Harry and Louis the next morning.

“We will, love.” Harry says, giving you another kiss goodbye. “I love you, be good.”

“You be good too.” You wink at him.

“My Lou.” Eleanor and Louis share a nice embrace, and just like that the boys are out the door. You sigh heavily. “They’ll be back before you know it.”

“I know. I’m more so sighing because Sarah will be here any minute.”

You and Sarah sit out on the balcony while El FaceTime’s with her mother and Eliza May.

“I’m really sorry, Y/N…I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.”

“I just wasn’t ready for you all to know. It’s embarrassing…”

“No! It’s not, it’s super normal to-“

“I know it’s normal, okay? I just feel like it’s another thing with me. I feel like there’s always something going on with me so I didn’t want everyone to know just yet.”

“I’m sorry. I think I got pushy because you didn’t tell us about what happened to you right away, so any time I feel like you’re keeping something I think it’s the worst possible thing and-“

“But that’s still something I needed time to tell you.”

“I know.” She looks down and then back to you. “I wasn’t a very good friend last night…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay…you were drunk.”

“That’s not an excuse. I had no right.” You smile at her and give her hand a squeeze. “So…the meds…they help?”

“Mhm, a lot. I haven’t had a flash since I started them.”

“That’s great!”

“It wasn’t all on you last night either. I was jealous that you all were having fun. I was having fun too, but I do miss getting buzzed. And Harry was drunk, and I love him when he’s drunk, but I got annoyed, and-“

“It must be really hard…we can all try to stop.”

“No, I don’t want that. None of you need to change things up for me. Just stop asking me if I want a drink.” You smirk.

“Deal.”

Louis taps on Harry’s shoulder to get his attention. He takes his earbuds out and pauses his movie.

“You know you don’t have to ask if you want to cuddle.” Harry smirks.

“Maybe later.” Louis laughs. “I thought since we’re up in the air now and you can’t escape, I could talk to you about somethin’.”

“Oh Christ, what is it?”

“Well…you know how mine and El’s wedding will be in the U.K.?”

“Yeah…?”

“We won’t be comin’ back to the states after.”

“Yeah, you mentioned you might honeymoon in Spain, right?”

“Yes, but after that…we still won’t be comin’ back to the states, mate.” Harry’s face falls. “Her entire family is over there, we don’t have anyone here.”

“You have Niall and I…”

“You both are two hours away, you might as well be across the pond with her family. We both want Eliza May to grow up with family. I may not have a mum and sister anymore, but Eleanor does. This is important to both of us. I can freelance anywhere, that’s the beauty of it. And she’s already lookin’ for jobs in London. We’re hopin’ to live just outside the city near her family.”

“But…what about Freddie?”

“To be honest Bri was only stickin’ around here for me…she works remotely, and she said it would be easy for her to switch to London time. She’d move out there, I think she’s been wantin’ to go back too. It’s time, Harry.”

“Lou…I…”

“Just think, when you take your long trips we’ll be able to see each other. I’ll be able to see Mitch and Sarah, and I can check in on your mum.”

“I guess that’s true.” He sighs. “I know this is somethin’ you have to do…but I’m not excited about it. I mean…”

“I know you’ll miss Fred and Eliza May, but we can keep FaceTiming like we do now. Not much will change, you’ll just need a plane when you want to come visit, and so will I.”

“Suppose I’m used to missin’ yeh already.” He shrugs. “Have you told Niall?”

“Yeah, he knows. Told him over the phone. I knew you’d need a bit more attention.” He smirks.

“Gee, thanks.” He rolls his eyes. “So…you’re not movin’ before the wedding?”

“No, El wants to make sure she has a job lined up and all that. I mean, we could, but we have an infant and it would just be a lot. She’ll be goin’ back to work soon…it just gives us more time.”

“Well, we better fuckin’ hang out a ton while we’re still in a close proximity to each other.”

“Deal.”

After Sarah left, you and Eleanor went take Buster for a walk. The air was brisk, but it was nice. You loved the fall weather. She looks at her phone and sees a text from Louis.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“I have somethin’ to tell yeh, and Lou just texted sayin’ he told Harry, so I have the go ahead now.”

“Alright.”

“After the wedding, we’re movin’ to the U.K.”

“Oh my!” You stop to look at her.

“My whole family is over there. Bri’s even been wantin’ to get back there too, so it just makes sense for everyone. I start work back up in a week or so, and I’m already lookin’ for jobs in London. We just don’t have anyone here. You guys are great and all, and I know Harry’s family to Lou, but-“

“I get it. I’d wanna be close to family too. It would kill me if I had a baby and my parents rarely got to see them. Louis told Harry on the plane?”

“Yeah.”

“Smart.” You chuckle. “Probably didn’t get too upset then.”

“I don’t think so. I’m sure he’ll call you later and blubber like a baby in true Harry fashion.”

“You’re probably right. I know it’ll suck, but you guys are doing what’s best for your family.”

“Exactly.” She sighs. “Plus, going back for the healthcare alone just made a lot of sense to us.”

“And Bri’s just able to move with Freddie?”

“I guess she’s been wantin’ to move back for quite some time, but she didn’t want to take Freddie away from Lou. She’s nice in that way. I think that’s what really started the entire conversation. We’re hoping to all live outside of London so we’re still in a close proximity. Fred should be with his family too, you know?” You nod and keep walking, Buster right at your side.

“You know, when I first really got close with Niall my biggest fear was that he was going to move back to Ireland, and he very well could do that someday. I couldn’t imagine always having to fly out to see your family, and only for special occasions.”

“At least video chattin’ is a thing. It helps you feel not so left out.”

“Right…now sometimes I get nervous that Harry might want the same thing…but at the same time it would be really silly. He’s made a life for himself here.”

“I don’t see Harry goin’ back. He loves London and his family, but he’s better here, from what I’ve been told. If he really wanted to move back there, he would have after grad school.”

“You’re right.” You smile as her words put you at ease. “Well, I’m happy for you guys. It’ll really be a fresh start to your lives as a married couple.”

“Exactly! A whole new adventure.”

Harry and Louis both call you and Eleanor once they’ve landed. They check into their hotel, and have fun eating and drinking at the bar downstairs. What they didn’t know was that you had arranged for some other things for them. The game was two days away, so you had arranged a stadium tour for the two of them tomorrow.

They were both in awe as they got to walk through and listen to the history. Harry bought a new sweatshirt, and some other memorabilia. He finds a Wisconsin key chain he thinks you might like.

“Just a key chain?”

“I think she’s kill me if I got something that had the Packers logo on it.”

“Oh right, she’s really into the Patriots.”

“You have no idea.”

That night, they check out the night life, and have a great time just getting to spend time together one on one. It was rare, and they both enjoyed it.

“So, you’ve set the date and all that. You must be really excited.”

“We’re thrilled, mate. With you, uh, movin’ back and all, will you still have time to be my best man?”

“Of course! I may not be able to fly back for every little thing, but you’ve got me in your pocket if you wanna FaceTime me in. I’ll of course come for the bachelor party, that’s a given.”

“You better.” He laughs.

“Have you two asked Niall about officiating yet?”

“Not yet, I think when we get back we’re gonna take him to dinner. It’s hard gettin’ him alone now that him and Sarah are livin’ together.”

“Has Y/N decided who she wants her maid of honor to be yet?”

“No, she said she wants to talk to Rachel and Sarah about it. She doesn’t their feelings to get hurt if she chooses one over the other.”

“They should just make it like a rotation, so when they all get married some day they can take turns. Like if say Rachel is Y/N’s maid of honor, then Y/N could be Sarah’s, and then Sarah could be Rachel’s.”

“That’s what I think the conversation is going to look like. We’re goin’ cake tasting soon, that’ll be fun.”

“You’ll love that. It was a lot of fun for El and I.”

“You must be getting excited to make things official soon.”

“We’re very excited. Fred’s gonna look so cute walkin’ down the aisle with the rings. He tells me all the time how he’s gonna do it, and then when it comes over he struts around.” He laughs. “Here look.” He takes his phone out to show Harry a video.

“Oh my god, he’s too cute. I know it’s a lot of work, but I can’t wait to have one of my own.”

“How soon after you get married do you think you’ll get to work on that?”

“Pretty soon since the wedding is nearly two years away. I’ll already be twenty-eight, and she’ll be turnin’ twenty-seven that summer. I was hoping to start havin’ ‘em sooner than that, but she said when we go on our honeymoon we could start trying.”

“There’s really no rush for it, Harry. I love Freddie, but if I could’ve waited longer to start havin’ kids, I would have. Enjoy the time that you have less responsibility, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

The boys cannot wait to get to the stadium again for the game. You had gotten them really good seats.

“She did a great job, if you weren’t already marrying her I’d say you’d need to wife her up immediately.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty amazing.” Harry sends you some pictures of them in front of the field, and it makes you smile.

This was the first trip where Harry wasn’t totally sad to be away from you, probably because he had his best friend with him. He missed you of course, but he was with the other person he liked spending his time with. You were having a great time with Eleanor too. She stayed home with Buster during the day while you were at work. You found her to be an incredible cook as well.

The Packers didn’t win their game, but it didn’t matter to Harry. He was just so thrilled that he finally got to see them play, and didn’t have to watch on the small screen of his phone. They had to catch their flight out almost immediately after the game ended. Harry and Louis couldn’t stop talking about the game almost the entire flight home. It was a great little trip. As they touched down in Boston, they couldn’t wait to get home to their girls.

“Night, El.” You yawn.

“You’re not waiting up for the boys?”

“It’s getting late, and I have to work tomorrow. Harry’ll come in when he gets home.” You smile.

Your period always exhausted you. You wanted to stay up a bit longer, but you knew you’d be a zombie tomorrow if you did. You were just about to fall into sleep when you heard the door creak open. Harry was tip toeing in, and you smile when you see him quietly go into the bathroom. He slips into bed with you and wraps himself around you. You sigh happily.

“You’re awake?” He whispers.

“Mhm. How was it?” You whisper.

“Amazing. I’ll come see yeh for lunch tomorrow to tell you all about it.”

“You and Louis had fun?”

“We had the best time, thank you so much.” He kisses your cheek and then your lips before settling back in to spoon you.

“You’re more than welcome.”

“The stadium tour was so cool. I can’t wait to show you the pictures I took.”

“I can’t wait either.” You adjust back against him, and you just feel so cozy. “Missed you, baby.”

“Missed you too, angel.”

It was a tough goodbye the next morning after breakfast, but so it goes. You let Buster go to work with Harry. He actually missed his daddy for a change.

“Hey, Harry’s having lunch with me today, just FYI.” You tell Niall once you’re at work.

“Alrighty.” He smiles. “They had a good time?”

“Mhm, I think they both really enjoyed it.”

“I knew they’d need the alone time. When Lou told me they were movin’ back home…well, I just knew they’d need to be together a bit. And now they have these nice memories.”

“Yup. So, what are you doing this weekend? Speaking of alone time, Harry and I have been craving some Niall time.”

“Just me?”

“Mhm.”

“Friday night is usually date night for Sarah and I, but I could probably do Saturday.”

“Great! We were thinking of just going out for a simple bite.”

“Cool, yeah, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind the alone time, or maybe her and Rachel could hang out.” He shrugs.

“Perfect! Just let me know once you confirm it.” You smile and leave his office.

Harry shows up at noon like he said he would, with Buster, and you two eat. He tells you all about the tour and shows you the pictures.

“Oh! And I got you a little key chain too.” He pulls it out of his pocket and hands it to you.

“Aw, thank you, sweetie.” You give him a peck on the lips and add the chain to your keys. “I love it.”

“I can’t thank you enough for putting all that together for us. It was a great few days.”

“It was my pleasure, Harry.” He stands up and puts his hands on your hips.

“You look really nice today.” You had a pencil skirt and a blouse on, nothing out of the ordinary.

“Thank you.” He kisses you and you kiss him back, but you press against his chest. “That’s enough of that.” You giggle.

“One of these days I’m gonna get you bent over this desk, just you wait and see.” He smirks.

“Mhm, sure. Niall said he might be able to go out with us Saturday night.

“Oh, great! I gotta go, I have a one o’clock. I’ll see you at home, love you.”

“Love you too.” You kiss one more time before he leaves with Buster.

Harry’s hands were on you the second he got through the door. He missed you so much, and your period was over, so you were game for whatever he wanted to do. He had you on top of the kitchen counter, your skirt bunched up at your hips, and was thrusting in and out of you. You hand one hand in his hair and one hand on his shoulder. Both gripping at him furiously.

“Feels so fuckin’ good.” He groans. You moan your response when you feel his fingers rub your clit. “Need you naked, now.” He pucks you up, staying inside you, and waddles down to your bedroom.

You can’t help but giggle, but you’re left whimpering when he pulls out to set you down. He unbuttons your blouse and gets everything off of you. He strips himself as well, and then he’s back inside of you, one of your legs over his shoulder to get in nice and deep.

“Oh fuck!” You cry out as he hits your g-spot.

“Right there, baby?”

“Yes! Right there! So good, Harry.”

He drives in deeper and faster, making your body start to shake. You moan out his name as you release around him. He drops your leg and gets closer to you. His chest flush with yours. Your nails run down his back as he rocks in and out of you. You wrap your legs around his waist, the two of you were as close as you possibly could be.

“Love you so much.” He says into your ear.

“Love you too.”

“Love you forever.” He groans. He was starting to come to his own release.

“Forever and ever, Harry.”

He loses it and grips one of your hands as he fills you up. Your fingers intertwine as you both catch your breaths. You move to cup his cheeks so you can kiss him. Your tongues mold together and you both just enjoy the taste of each other. He pulls out of you and lays next to you, his hand drawing shapes on your stomach.

“I mean it you know?” You look at him. “I’ll love you forever, Y/N.”

“Well I should hope so because I plan to do the same.” You lean down and kiss the tip of his nose.

He watches you get up and slip into the bathroom. He lays on his back with his arms behind his head. He had the life he always wanted and dreamed of. His career was a successful one, and he was going to marry the perfect woman. You were the person he had waited his whole life for. Every person he had been with prior was just his journey to you, and only you.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fic #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles y/n #harry styles angst #harry styles angst fic #harry styles smut #harry styles smut fic #harry styles fluff #harry styles fluff fic #my everything #take it slow sequel #fluff #smut #angst #hope everyone has a great friday!#feedback is always appreciated!!

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billpottsismygf · 4 years ago

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Okay, so that was an episode. I'm still feeling shook from the "special announcement", but I liked that. I wouldn't say I loved it necessarily, but it feels like one that will grow on me.

I will say I was quite disappointed that the Doctor got out of prison so quickly and so easily. All the promotion implied she'd be in there for the majority of the episode, and I found it a bit underwhelming that Jack just broke her out without even breaking a sweat. I was thinking we'd see a lot of the Doctor introspecting and monologuing, perhaps a little like Heaven Sent, and instead that just got completely undercut.

Since I've mentioned Jack, god I love him. It was wonderful to see him back. In some ways I feel like he was underutilised, but I can't really articulate why. Him being in prison for 19 years to rescue the Doctor doesn't get dealt with at all, nor really the Doctor's decades in prison. On that note, I loved that Yaz was angry with the Doctor for leaving them, but it stung that she didn't even ask how long it had been for the Doctor.

Speaking of Yaz, her consistent characterisation throughout her time on the show has been that she completely idolises the Doctor. She's the best thing that ever happened to her, the best person ever, and I was only thinking last night how much I really want to see the pitfalls of that explored. We definitely got that a little bit in this episode. The companions all being unnerved by Jack's casual mention of his deaths and Rose's exile in the parallel universe was good, as was the justified anger and hurt. I also really liked Jack's conversation with Yaz about how it hurts after the Doctor has left, but I'm not sure it was explored enough.

Obviously I don't know where the show is going after this, but I really want to see Yaz's unhealthy idolisation dealt with. She doesn't necessarily have to become completely disillusioned, but idk I want to see it properly explored, which seems like it will be harder with a new companion aboard.

Speaking of John Bishop, he's a very interesting choice. I'm really intrigued to see where they go with his character. He started off as a stand up comedian, and I've greatly enjoyed his comedy, but when he branched out into serious acting, the little I've seen him in really impressed me. I'll be interested to see whether they go more comedic or serious with him - not that any character has to be only one of those things, but I don't get the impression he'll be a Nardole-like comic relief character.

Graham and Ryan's exit was fairly well done, especially Ryan's. It was a natural continuation of the doubts that were first voiced in Can You Hear Me, made worse by 10 months of living normally again. I loved him confronting the Doctor because she was once again trying to keep things from him. That's definitely been something missing in the current era, companions calling the Doctor out on their bullshit. I was hoping for some kind of Martha in Gridlock moment ("I'm not moving until you tell me the truth") and this was a nice way of doing that. I do like how much Ryan has clearly matured over his time in the show.

Graham's decision to leave with his grandson also makes perfect sense for his character, given that family and time with the people he loves are his character's primary driving force. I found the gifting of the psychic paper a little strange, though. She didn't hear them saying it would be handy earlier in the episode and no other companion has had it as a parting gift. It seems like Graham and Ryan are going to carry on fighting aliens freelance (Martha and Mickey style), travelling around the world to do it, but that doesn't make sense to me, given Ryan's desire for a normal life at home.

Oh also, Grace appearing at the end was really weird? It was obviously meant to be an emotional moment, but it was just bizarre that some sort of apparition appeared to both of them out of nowhere... What was meant to be happening? I don't think that worked at all. It's such a shame, as a reference to Grace could have been lovely, maybe Graham looking down at a frog necklace or something idk, but instead such a potentially moving moment fell completely flat.

God, I've written so much and I haven't even spoken about the Daleks once. They were cool, I guess. It was nice to our old pals the bronze Daleks again, I've missed them. The Doctor's plan to bring them to earth to kill off the impure ones was extremely reckless and honestly I can't quite believe her plan worked with as few consequences as it did.

There was a high body count in this episode. I liked Leo a lot and was genuinely sad when he got killed off. I definitely wasn't expecting the prime minister to get killed off so soon into her plan; I thought she was going to have a far more active role in the story. I also feel like the defence drones (just the AI, creature-less ones) didn't get explored properly for the horrifying concept that they are. They were used in that protest near the beginning, but the true horror of these tanks being deployed not only against protesters (already horrifying) but just out and about on the street etc. was completely overshadowed by the fact that the Daleks took control of them.

Honestly, I would have been more interested in the story if the creatures had never been cloned. The Doctor realises they are just AI designed by humans, but they're still awful and need to be stopped. Perhaps that would have worked better in a more sci-fi setting, because it wouldn't necessarily work for the Doctor to just bring down the UK government on modern day earth (then again, The Christmas Invasion...), but I still think that would have been a more compelling story and would have properly utilised this quite horrifying concept that does feel very real, prescient and possible in the current world.

I think those are my main thoughts for now, but I may think of other things at some point. A lot of this sounds quite negative, but I should say that I did have a great time during the episode, and I feel like I will enjoy it upon future watches. We shall see, though!

#doctor who #revolution of the daleks #doctor who spoilers #dw spoilers #the daleks #captain jack harkness #yaz #graham ryan #thirteen #john bishop #john bishop character #mine #dwmine #reactions #I've only realised how many little things bugged me until after I finished the episode #I was genuinely having a really good time throughout

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gods-no-longer-tread-here · 4 years ago

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Y’all didn’t give me Witcher prompts so here’s one I wrote for my boi Liam on Facebook:

Geralt knows his human form is intimidating. But if he were in his true form, he would drive humans to madness. So he stays in his bulky human body, following the demon.

The demon is everything a demon of lust should be: handsome, dangerous, carefree, and rich. He walks ahead of Geralt, chatting enthusiastically with the human woman on his arm. They do not have a tie of sin, so she is not one of his tempted. But why would a demon want to be seen with someone he does not control? Geralt has been told over and over that demons are possessive, and cruel, and abusive. Perhaps this is something he does for fun.

The demon and the human part with a hug, and while the human walks away, the demon turns and looks straight at Geralt.

His eyes are so blue. Sapphire-blue. Phthalo blue. The blue of an intense flame.

Geralt clenches his jaw and approaches. If the demon wants to fight on the street, Geralt will oblige him.

With a smile radiating warmth and sweetness, the demon enters the building he had stopped outside of. Geralt can feel the pulse of demonic energy already; every inch of this building saturated with evil. But he is fearless. Warriors are always fearless. He opens the door and steps inside.

Darkness slams over his eyes, a howling wind lashes around him, and the stench of incense made with blood fills his nose, mouth, and lungs. Before he can catch his breath to shout, it all falls away, instantaneously. He blinks and looks around.

This is a stone box reminiscent of a jail cell. There are four candles, one on each wall. A small summoning circle is tucked in the corner. And on the pile of ragged furs in the middle of the cell sits the demon.

The demon doesn’t smile, just props his chin on his hand, looking tired. “They’ve sent another already, have they?” he says dully. “I keep telling your superiors, I’m freelance, now. Not affiliated with Hell. Ah well, that’s angels for you.” The demon sighs and sits up straight. “What’s your name? You can call me Jaskier.”

It leaves his mouth before he can think: “Call me Geralt. What do you mean, freelance?”

Jaskier chuckles. “You’ve heard of fallen angels, right? They’re not fallen. They’re freelance. They work on the ground, taking care of people, while the fucks up in Heaven fight over who gets to lead Heaven’s army. I did the same. Hell is… a bad place. And I hated being bitter and spit on. So I came to Earth.” Jaskier smiles crookedly at Geralt’s confusion. “Don’t you ever feel the same? Feel like… escaping? Claustrophobic and caged?”

Geralt shakes his head. “It’s nice in Heaven,” he says. “There’s a library and the First Ones know all of history.”

“But don’t you ever feel like something is missing?” Jaskier presses. “Like there’s more, but no one will tell you?”

Geralt frowns. “No,” he snaps. “I have been taught everything I need to know.”

Jaskier looks at him with a sad, wistful expression, then sighs and stands. “Alright, Warrior Geralt. Before you kill me, I would like to take you to somewhere nice; a human library.”

It was too tempting. Geralt loves books too much; it’s his weakness. So he nods, lets Jaskier take his arm, and lets the darkness enfold him.

Geralt is horrified by all the inaccuracies in the human history books. But as the inaccuracies repeat over and over, and begin to make more sense than Heaven’s histories, he starts feeling sick. What else has he missed?

Jaskier reads books called “bodice rippers” while Geralt reads book after book of history, jumping around in eras and topics, trying to see why Heaven would lie about humans. He finds a history of Christianity in Europe and wants to throw it in a mud puddle, because no, that’s impossible, Heaven teaches love, not this--not this terrible history of war and domination and destruction. Angels are supposed to love. Humans who follow God are supposed to love. Isn’t that the true sign of goodness and mercy? To follow God and Heaven?

Geralt can’t read any more after that. He shuts the book quietly and tells Jaskier, “I’m done.”

Jaskier raises his head and meets Geralt’s eyes with his own beautiful sapphires. “You’re not, though,” he replies softly. “You want to learn more. You just can’t learn more right now.”

Geralt hesitates, then nods.

“Alright, Warrior. Have you tried kebabs? They're amazing.”

Geralt spends the dark hours sitting in a corner with an ancient wolf skin wrapped around him. He’s dizzy with thoughts and confusion. Is all of this true? Do humans control themselves, instead of following either God or Satan? If they do control themselves, how do they know what is good and what is bad? Why would Heaven teach young angels lies? Heaven is supposed to be good, but lying is evil.

Jaskier sighs and gets up from his “mattress” to walk over and sit beside Geralt. “It’s a lot,” he murmurs sadly. “When I left Hell, I read as many “sinful” books as I could--and they were more sinful than Hell had told me they would be. My superiors told me that humans were all disgustingly good and needed to be humbled… but humans aren’t completely good. I’ve swindled millionaires, I’ve caused scandals that destroyed entire companies. I’ve met humans so truly evil that I couldn’t even look at them. But… there really are good humans. Community gardens, charities, free clinics funded by people who agree with their cause. Attorneys who give up time and money to fight for the rights of the marginalized and oppressed. Little kids playing with each other, adults talking to their friends, old humans being begged to tell stories of their lives. There is so much good on Earth, Geralt. Human beings survived and thrived because they cared for each other. Because they were good.”

Geralt is silent for a moment. Then he says, “I would like to go to the library again.”

Jaskier nods. “We can do that.”

It’s been two weeks and Geralt still has no idea what humanity is.

He’s read all the history books at the library. He’s read instructional books on everything from knitting to blacksmithing to making small characters out of dog fur. He’s even read one of Jaskier’s favorite bodice rippers and gave it back quickly, his face redder than a tomato.

He likes mystery books. He’s not sure why. He likes to try and guess who the villain is. He’s always wrong, but… that makes them interesting.

And in so many books, there isn’t even a peep of religion. Even the philosophy books he reads in fascination talk about it in the abstract, how religion came from the human need for community and a moral compass. The philosophy book he likes best talks about the importance of the elements, and how they balance, and how they can influence different humans.

He likes that. Humans are not ruled by good or by evil, but their own natures, which are tied to their material plane. And slowly, he begins to realize that no one is born in the dichotomy that he was taught.

Jaskier asks him on the last day of the second week, “Do you want to stay on Earth? There’s billions of books to read, and billions of people who can tell you more.”

Geralt looks at him for a moment. Then he does a very stupid thing and presses a clumsy kiss to Jaskier’s cheek. “Yes. I want to stay with you.”

Jaskier’s face turns pink, and he smiles. It’s a beautiful smile. Why did Geralt ever think a bunch of white and gold buildings were more beautiful than Jaskier’s smile?

Jaskier cups Geralt’s face in his hands and kisses him slowly, tenderly. “I want you to stay, too,” he murmurs.

#Geraskier #angels and demons #I have FEELINGS okay #The Witcher #my mumblings

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warsmith-38 · 4 years ago

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How I would do RWBY pt.4

World Travel Arc.

Season Four.

Cinder was found by Salem after fall of Beacon.

Missing arm and eye.

Salem helps her and even rewards her.

She accomplished her goal of shooting Ozpin with the arrow.

It didn’t take, sure, but that’s not Cinder’s fault.

Arm is replaced with grimm arm.

An eye was also offered but Cinder refused because she wants a visceral reminder of her failure.

Translation: Because chuunibyou.

Cinder spends her time training to compensate for and overcome her new disabilities.

Has massive grudge against Ruby.

What should have been two easy wins were stolen from her by sheer dumb luck and circumstance.

She has made it her goal to prove that she is more powerful than Ruby and will do so by tearing her heart out and turning it to ash.

Salem decides that Ruby will be an issue to her long term plans and sends her best assassin, Tyrian, to kill her instead of Cinder.

Just like Summer.

She doesn’t want to send Cinder on the grounds that she thinks that homegirl REALLY needs to chill.

Ruby is full murderhobo.

Killing grimm and taking whatever freelance bounty money she can on her way to Mistral.

Fuck if she knows what she’s going to do when she gets there but she hasn’t planned all that far ahead.

She just wanted to not be stuck at home again.

Finds JNR, who had volunteered for general assistance in the areas around Mistral.

JNR says that there’s both a grimm issue and a bandit issue in the area.

Ruby wants everything to do with it.

Blake is on her way back to Menagerie.

Encounters SSSN who are on light duties and are being sent to putz around in Menagerie.

Sun asks her ‘what the fuck is your plan?’

Blake says that the only place for her in the world is back home with her family.

Weiss is also back home with her family but is far less into the idea.

Dad is distant and detached.

Mother is drunk and miserable.

Winter is the only one she properly interacts with, training and sparring to keep herself in shape.

Winter offers a position in the military, a cushy one at that (Can I get an amen for nepotism?)

Weiss ignores the offer, is depressed, misses her friends.

Yang is stuck at home, also depressed, dealing with deepening abandonment issues, and constantly fiddling with the trinket Raven gave her.

Having Ruby run off only made things worse. Combining her abandonment issues with the feeling of letting her sister down when she needed her most.

Tai barely pays attention to her outside of his constant worrying about Ruby but eventually sees the trinket and tells Yang about Raven.

Is very clearly bitter about the whole thing but is pretending he isn’t.

VERY rose (ha) tinted glasses about Summer.

Not that she was secretly a piece of shit or anything, but to hear Tai talk about her she made saints look like goatfuckers.

Ironwood shows up and gives Yang robo-arm as an apology for saying he’d help her after the fight with Mercury and then letting her down.

Ironwood helps break Yang out of her funk, offers some military style counseling, helping her work off the muscle atrophy, even teaches her some spec-ops chokeholds and the like.

Yang says it’s nice to have an actual male role model/father figure in her life.

Ironwood rips Tai’s shit in for being such a bad parent to Yang.

Tai has no real counters to what Ironwood is saying.

He realizes that he’s been a neglectful asshole and starts helping retrain Yang too.

Weiss makes a scene at an event her father is putting on.

Jacques sits her down after it and says that they’re going to have a completely frank conversation.

Topic shifts to their viewpoints and life choices.

He’s fine with his daughter disagreeing with him, he just wants her to understand him and he her.

Weiss calls him out on the blatantly bad shit the SDC has done.

Jacques defends his points, saying that he tried to make things better for the faunus and the White Fang just made everything worse for everyone.

Weiss tells him that passing the buck is bullshit.

Agree to disagree.

Jacques gives her a spiel laced with double meanings about freedom and making your own path.

Weiss leaves that night. (keikaku doori (Translation: All according to keikaku (Translators note: Keikaku means plan)))

Jacques might be a dick but he does want his family to be as genuinely happy as he can make them.

Blake gets back home.

Gets royal reception on the grounds that she’s the daughter of the chief of the kingdom.

Sun sends SSN to get on with their mission, he’s gonna be a while, faunus business.

They understand, they’re hip to this sort of thing, and tell him that if he needs them they’re just a phone call away.

He calls Blake out for being one of the most privileged faunus alive while lecturing others on said topic.

Blake and Sun walk in on White Fang people trying to recruit Ghira.

Notices Blake in the process of telling them to leave.

Ghira shoves everyone out of his way to embrace his long believed dead daughter.

Emotional reunion.

Sees Sun, makes joke about ‘Adam’s cheerier replacement’.

Blake gets sad.

Ghira assumes Adam died or something and doesn’t press the matter.

Calls for a royal banquet to celebrate the return of his daughter.

Sienna is present.

Sienna is overjoyed to see Blake alive and well.

Blake is happy to see ‘aunty’ Sienna but is apprehensive to talk that much with Sun glaring at them both.

Ilia is there (as head of local White Fang cell) and is happy to see her old friend is alive.

She already knew but has to keep up appearances, especially after The White Fang was seen at Beacon.

Very poor publicity to be seen operating at a place like that.

Ilia had been reassigned to Menagerie before the fall happened so she’s not guilty of taking part.

Later has small meeting with Blake, Sienna, Ilia, Sun, Ghira, and Kali.

Sienna tries (again) to bring Ghira into the White Fang.

His joining would bring all of Menagerie and the connected resources into the conflict.

This is opposed by everyone else present barring Ilia.

Ghira says that he has washed his hands of the problems in Atlas and has local stuff that he believes is more important in the long run.

Supporting Wild Call is how he helps the rest of his people.

Kali’s been running Wild Call since Ghira stepped away to run Menagerie.

Sienna talks about how faunus are treated in certain parts of the world.

It really is nowhere near as bad as she says it is.

Blake brings up terrorist acts in places completely innocent of any faunus abuse.

Sienna ‘condemns’ these acts and blames them on ‘bad apples’ like Adam, citing the fall of Beacon.

Says that Adam was acting alone and without official endorsement.

She’s lying through her fucking teeth, but the only other one who knows that for sure is Ilia.

While taking part in the fall was technically unsanctioned, Sienna knows all about Salem and was okaying Adam’s efforts working with her.

Ilia suddenly feels very guilty for some odd reason.

Ghira is very confused, doesn’t keep up too much with world affairs, generally too busy.

Blake rounds on Sienna for trying to shift the blame to Adam, cites all of the bullshit attacks she was involved in, letting it be known that she herself was in the White Fang.

Ghira and Kali both become enraged at Sienna, who told them that Blake was killed years ago at a protest gone south.

Sienna tries to make excuses for the cause.

Is escorted with Ilia from the palace at gun point.

Kali and Blake reconnect as Ghira has a sit down with Sun, telling him to tell him everything he knows.

Weiss is stowed away on airship bound for Vacuo/Mistral (doesn’t really matter which, ship gets taken down either way).

Ship gets attacked by grimm and gets splashed.

Weiss makes it to shore and travels southward, realizing that maybe she should have planned this a little more than not at all.

Wonder who she picked that up from.

Ends up surrounded by bandits who see the pretty girl from Atlas who might just be worth a lot of cash.

Weiss kicks the shit out of them.

Raven shows up.

Weiss loses.

Yang decides enough of her sulking and gets ready to set off to find Ruby and either 1. Bring her home 2. Look after her and keep her safe on her personal quest 3. Kick her ass for running off and making everyone worried 4. Some combination of the above. (Maybe hit up where Raven’s map leads along the way if she gets the chance)

Tai acknowledges that he can’t always protect his girls.

Tells Yang to not be too hard on Ruby, realizing that she would never have been happy with a calm, sheltered, life.

Summer was the same way.

He also apologizes for neglecting Yang for as long as he did.

Yang gets a hug from Tai, a salute from Ironwood, and a slobbering from Zwei.

Yes, the dog is still here. He’s a good dog. Every story could use a good dog or twelve.

Gets to the continent that Mistral is on. (I do not care about the name)

Starts biking in the direction that the conflict zones are, hoping to find word about Ruby along the way.

Gets accosted by bandits along the way.

Kicks the crap out of them.

Raven shows up saying that she expected nothing less from her daughter.

Yang realizes that she is indeed around where the map was pointing her.

This was supposed to be a test to see if Yang was resourceful enough to track her down.

Didn’t really mean to come this way just yet, but sometimes things just work out that way.

Raven happily takes her daughter to the main camp.

Yang is apprehensive to get comfortable and seems a little disappointed that her mother is just some asshole bandit.

Raven gives her a speech all about survival of the fittest and might makes right and all that jazz.

Yang wants to know why she left her in the first place and why she is suddenly wanting to be back in her life after all this time.

She’s got a lot of questions and Raven has very few answers.

Raven avoids Yang’s questions and says that she’s always been watching her from behind the scenes.

Yang actually dislikes that even more because it means that she could have been there for her the whole time, yet wasn’t.

Raven continues by saying that if Yang’s so weak that she couldn’t beat a pissant like Neo then she really needs mama to teach her what’s what.

Offers Yang a position in the tribe and even offers to make her second in command.

Yang then sees Weiss in a cage.

Raven explains that she’s going to be given to Salem to use as a hostage in Atlas.

Yang had already given up on getting answers and was already going to tell Raven to eat shit but now...

Demolishes the camp, takes Weiss away on the bike, and leaves the trinket Raven gave her in the dirt.

Would have taken the time to kick the shit out of Raven, but she needed to get Weiss out of there.

Raven is livid.

In Menagerie, Ghira and Kali have very upfront conversation with Blake.

They are upset with her that she ran off with terrorists but are happy she’s alive.

They also admonish her for running/taking the easy way out of every problem she’s had.

Blake is exasperated that the last place she could run off to is calling her out for running off so much.

Adam is all like ‘what up bitches, imma kill ya’.

Has sizable team of White Fang commandos with him and some grimm Salem sent.

Ilia shows up with her own commandos to counter his.

Both sides duke it out with the Belladonnas (Nightshades technically) getting pissed and telling all of them to get off their lawn.

Blake fights Adam.

Starts losing.

Sun calls SSN in for the assist.

They help but not all that much.

Sienna shows up to break the stalemate.

Starts kicking the shit out of Adam’s posse.

Officially denounces and attaints Adam for his crimes.

Adam leaves and swears vengeance, telling Blake that if he can’t kill her, he’ll kill RWY and make sure they know it was her that sent him to them.

Blake finally learns her fucking lesson.

Start to pack up to stop Adam before he kills RWY and, either afterwards or in the process, find and reconcile with RWY.

Takes the time to actually explain why she’s leaving this time.

Ghira understands.

Sienna takes partial blame and offers Blake the last known location of a red hooded huntress with a big fucking scythe her spies found.

Blake thanks her, but refuses an escort, hitching a ride back to the mainland with SSSN.

Ghira and Kali thank Sienna for the help but still tell her to get the fuck out and that the White Fang and their war are both not welcome in Menagerie.

In the name of their past friendship, they don’t just shoot her.

Blake has parting conversation with Sun about justifications and personal growth.

She and Sun amicably part ways.

SSSN go back to their usual shit and Blake starts hunting for Ruby.

Her logic is that, as far as she knows, Weiss is surrounded with SDC security and Yang is probably somewhere safe-ish, while Ruby is actively in a dangerous locale and ripe for predation.

Speaking of…

Ruby and JNR are clearing out local grimm around Mistral as expected.

Include sad scene or two there they find the ruins of Nora’s home village, destroyed by bandits.

Tyrian is all like ‘what up bitches, imma kill ya’.

Ruby is actually very eager for a fight against one of the important bad guys.

That excitement is curbed when Tyrian lets her know that he was the one to kill Summer.

Ruby is now more scared than anything.

R+JNR fight him and get their asses handed to them.

They try running but Tyrian isn’t giving up the chase.

Turns into cat and mouse game.

Jaune is pushed to his tactical limit against an incredibly intelligent and just as unpredictable enemy.

Everyone is scared out of their minds.

The cat (Tyrian) is just playing with his food (R+JNR) at this point.

Could have killed them at any point but he’s a sadistic animal that gets off on this shit.

Nora flies into a fury, bellowing that she will never lose anyone close to her ever again.

This creates an opening in Tyrian’s style.

Jaune’s planning manages to exploit this enough so Ruby gets a good hit on him, severing his tail.

He is very unhappy at this development.

Decides that he’s done playing with his food.

Wrecks R+JNR.

About to kill Ruby when Qrow ex machina runs him off.

Jaune discovers his semblance is healing and uses it on everyone that needs it. Which is everyone.

Qrow is annoyed that Ruby ran off on her own but understands.

Says that there’s an abandoned chateau that can serve as a pit-stop.

Been in the Branwen family for ages.

They abandoned it after they lost their fortune and it got overrun with grimm in the past.

Grimm have since moved on but the building is still there.

He’ll explain everything he can when he knows they’re out of danger.

Raven contacts Salem and tells her which direction Yang and Weiss are going.

Salem barely cares about what one of her least important agents is up to.

Notices that Ruby is in the same area and gets wind that Tyrian failed.

Sends Cinder and company to meet up with Raven and get hunting.

Salem makes a point of ordering Cinder to let Tyrian take on Ruby and not get involved against her.

Cinder just happens to ignore that order.

Blake does a little extra tracking but heads in the right direction.

Yang and Weiss hear about a red hooded huntress with a big scythe and follow the rumors.

Everyone converges at the chateau at the same time.

It’s a very all over the place scene.

Ruby is happy to see Weiss and Blake but is a little wary of Yang after how their last conversation went.

Yang is eager to make things up with Ruby but more than a little scornful of Blake.

Blake is scared of everyone’s rejection but understands their anger and is more than willing to work through it if they’d have her.

Weiss is happy to see everyone but her happiness and excitement is curbed by how everyone else is reacting to each other.

The tension explodes when Cinder and co. arrive.

Ruby and Cinder lock eyes.

Ruby goes quiet for a moment-

And then goes completely Broly BERSERK!

Group of boss fights.

Ruby madly charges Cinder in a rage.

JNR, Qrow, and Weiss begin fighting Emerald, Mercury, Tyrian, and grimm they brought.

Blake fights Adam. (again)

Yang fights Raven, constantly calling her on her shit.

Abandoning her and Tai to be some asshole bandit, siding with Salem, being a coward, et cetera.

Says that she has figured out that the reason Raven left was because she’s just a chicken shit coward who can’t deal with the world.

All of her issues and traumas have manifested into a sort of nirvana of wrath that gives her a one-time, ‘fuck you, mom’, power up that puts her at Raven’s power tier level.

Ruby vs Cinder takes them away from the others.

Ruby is in berserk, adrenaline filled, wrath fueled, fugue state, taking hits that should be stopping the fight but aren’t.

Cinder is also not fighting at her best due to A. missing eye, B. her grimm arm having a built in weakness to Ruby, and C. the fact that she had no idea that Ruby would go fucking mental like this.

Ruby eventually knocks Cinder down a pit and promptly passes out from blood loss.

Blake beats Adam and tells him to fuck off, saying that she will not stoop to his level of murder.

Yang overpowers and beats Raven, but barely.

JNR is busy with the grimm and Qrow is busy with Tyrian, who has a freaky grimm tail now.

Weiss is fighting both Emerald and Mercury.

Is losing pretty hard.

Yang shows up to fight Mercury.

WY have their first proper rival fights against E+M.

And proceed to lose.

Raven has heel-face turn and bails them out.

Tyrian is killed at the same time. Small justice for Summer.

Qrow reunites with Raven.

The Branwen siblings intimidate E+M, faking not being fuckoff exhausted.

Dare they stand against this deadly alliance?

Nope.

Emerald and Mercury cheese it.

Raven explains that since Yang beat her, Yang is now in charge of the bandits.

Raven says how proud she is that her daughter is such an ass kicker.

Yang is about to tell her off but then realizes that Ruby is still gone.

They find her in a widening pool of her own blood.

Jaune heals her.

Everyone wonder just what the fuck that was that Ruby did.

It’s not its own power or a sub-power of her new semblance.

She was just that fucking angry at seeing Cinder.

RWBY has a big ‘we beat the middle to high tier bad guys’ group hug.

Ruby affirms that she senses that Cinder is still alive but accepts the hug anyway.

Raven says that Salem’s next target is Mistral itself with Adam’s White Fang hardliners.

Yang says thanks for the info and then tells her to do what she does best and fuck off.

Literally everyone mirrors the sentiment.

Raven leaves in a huff but starts to question her morals.

RWBY is now reunited as a team.

They’re not quite back to normal, but they’re all together again.

Reunited RWBY, JNR, and Qrow now on course to Mistral proper to recoup and make new plans.

Season four done.

#RWBY #does this count as rwde?#Ruby Rose #Weiss Schnee #Blake Belladonna #Yang Xiao Long #Taiyang Xiao Long #Raven Branwen #Cinder Fall #Tyrian Callows #Salem #Team JNPR #but without the P #I regret nothing #Qrow Branwen #How I would do...

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