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redspiderlilysplat · 2 years ago

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New opportunities

This is a fanfic where your reincarnated into the rdr world with your brother. What do you do after you’ve made a name for yourself and then meet Hosea in the valentine bar?

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This was my fourth play through of the red dead redemption 2. I loved the story and the plot, always had, always will.

My elder brother had an obsession to the video game also, always talking to me of new theories and what not.

It was a car crash that took it all away.

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They say when you die it all goes black. Others say there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for one to walk through.

Me and my companion had neither, instead we were greeted with beautiful meadows and lavender flowers.

Now who woulda thought one could be reincarnated into their favorite video game. I sure didn’t but this was the new reality.

I stood up from my spot in the grass, looking around. It appeared we were in Big Valley, just beside the stream.

My brother huffed as he also stood up, the man had always been tall so it was no surprise when he towered over me.

I watched as a civilian came trotting back on his horse. “Hey mister!” I waved the man down as he came to a stop, “yes ma’am?” I walked up to the horse and looked up at the cowboy. “Would you happen to know where the nearest town is? Ya see me and my brother here are pretty new to this country and our coach just up and left us. Could you help us out?” I batted my eyelashes at the man, assuming he’d give us the directions.

He did, even going as far as escorting us. When we arrived we were at strawberry, “thank you sir, it really means a lot.” I shook at his hand while he nodded and started back on his journey.

“We need a horse.” My brother chided in as he stood beside me. I nodded, “We could get a job and try to save up.”

So that’s what we did, we got a job at the general store then once we got horses we moved on to bounty hunting. We had made a name for ourselves, we were unstoppable, ruthless, and undefeated. Our pay was outstanding, we could afford good clothes and good guns, our horses upgraded to two black turkomen.

I now stood in a bar by myself, my elder brother off getting a bounty. My thoughts were interrupted when an older fellow leaned against the bar beside me. Hosea Mathews.

“Good evening.” He spoke to me as he order himself a drink. “Hello stranger.” I sipped at my whiskey as i side eyed the man. “What brings you to these parts?” I asked as I looked over. “Just traveling! Just got out of them horrible mountains, bad storm I got caught in.” I thought of where in the game this was, the beginning of the second chapter. “Well my oh my i bet that was horrible.”

We continued speaking, now sitting at a table. The time struck 6:00 the windows showing off a dark sky. “Well I must get going.” He stood, i budded in. “So soon Hosea?” I leaned back in my chair as his eyes widened. “Excuse me? How do you know my name.” He gripped at the jacket that he held. “Your apart of the Van Der Linde gang. That I know. Do I care? No frankly I do not. But I do wish to join you on this little journey you are all on.” I stood, my spurs clinked. Hosea looked around at the bars patrons, “surely you can trust me? We’ve been talking for the past few hours. I’m very trustable, even if I’m a bounty Hunter I have no intention of turning either of you in, besides 500 for one of your men? That’s not enough for my horses weekly maintenance.” I laughed at my horses expensive lifestyle.

That’s most likely what landed me in the middle of the camp, sitting at the wooden table across from Dutch who prodded for information. It was at least an hour of questions and being stated at by half of the men in the camp.

“Am I boring? Yeah. I have no talking skills but I’m loyal if you feed me and I will never leave you because I need the food.” I spoke as I stared off at his golden rings. Dutch sighed as he leaned back, “You can stay but you will have to prove your worth, tomorrow you’ll go out with Arthur to collect debt.” I nodded with a smile, if my timing is right we will be paying a visit to the Downes farm.

The day was quiet as I was prepared a tent on the off skirts of camp. They clearly didn’t trust me, being farthest from anyone but close to Bills tent. The view was so much more beautiful in real life than in pixels.

I was seated by the campfire, cleaning my m1899 pistol, Micah plopped down beside me. “Now how’d they let a bounty hunter like yourself into this gang? Did ya do one of ‘em?” The blonde wheezed as he carved into a piece of wood. My hand stopped at rubbing the oil into the gun, “I could almost ask the same thing on why they let a rat like you in.” I chuckled as I went back to my cleaning.

Micah stood and walked in front of me, I put my gun into his holster and looked up at him. “What’d you say girly?” He took a hold of my chin, making my head turn in his direction. “I think you heard me just fine ‘cowpoke’.” I mocked the nickname he had given Arthur. His face was priceless at the name, I walked away from the campfire and off to the horses.

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Morning came quick, Arthur putting his hat on as he walked toward me. I was currently feeding my steed a sugar cube. “Are you ready?” He spoke as he got up on his horse. “Sure.” I got up on my own horse and poked at his side with my dulled spur.

It was time to save Arthur’s life, even if it meant my own being risked.

#red dead redemption x reader #reincarnation #rdr2 #rdr2 charles #rdr2 arthur #rdr2 fanfic #rdr2 Dutch #rdr2 micah #rdr2 molly #slow burn #eventual romance #manic mc #older brother

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bubblegumbeech · 3 years ago

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The Librarian’s Trick

Day one Ectoberhaunt: Trick or Treat

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34213519

Wes was certain this Cassius guy was a ghost. He had to be. Humans didn’t live on the outskirts of town in large decrepit clock towers that Wes was pretty sure didn’t exist last week .

Humans didn’t have red eyes and white hair (unless they had a condition called Albinoism, Wes had looked it up. But Albinoism also meant they had no melanin anywhere and Cassius Dark was decidedly tan in an admittedly attractive but decidedly not Albino kind of way)

Humans didn’t have fangs when they smiled but normal teeth whenever Wes tried to point out that He had FANGS. They were right there!!!

Humans didn’t spend all their time either with Danny Fenton (who was Also very much a ghost!! Which should be in the list of proof but no one believes it so it’s seperate but still!) or mysteriously absent.

And humans didn’t seem to know everything all the time but talk like a bad astrology website.

So Wes was going to find a way to prove it.

His first try had him sneaking a “ghost translator” he didn’t remember the stupid name Fenton’s dad called it when he bought it with his allowance, into the library where Cassius Dark supposedly worked.

Supposedly, because while he could be found there, Wes had never actually seen him doing anything other than reading. And it was never a book Wes recognized, like, he wasn’t reading the Twilight series or anything. The last book Wes saw had been a large ancient looking tome written in a language Wes didn’t recognize. But Everytime he tried (subtly! He was super nonchalant about it!) to take a picture it ended up blurry!! And No Kyle, it wasn’t because he was bad at taking photos .

But that didn’t matter because Wes had a different plan now. He was going to use the Fentons’ new version of their “ghost translator” thing, and see what happened. It was supposed to be both a translator and a truth decoder at the same time. So no matter what a ghost said, the device should say what they actually mean. Or something.

With Danny, a bunch of innocuous stuff went off around him, but people always hand waved it as faulty tech. Wes wasn’t sure that was the case, in fact he was positive it wasn’t. But if he could get something useful to build up from, that would be a good start. And every good reporter needed a start.

He stepped up to the Library’s front desk, where Cassius was sitting reading what was clearly a spell tome if the different summoning pentagrams in the open page Wes could see were anything to go by.

“Welcome Young Weston,” Cassius said, the hint of a smile hidden behind his red eyes as he closed his book. Wes could swear they were glowing slightly. Geez did this guy get his ‘how to pretend to be human’ classes from Fenton ?

… that would certainly explain why no one ever believed Wes, since that was a long beaten dead horse in his closet.

He, very discreetly, had the device hooked up to one of his earphones, which he kept in one of his ears like any normal less than perfectly mannered teenager as he asked Cassius Dark his questions.

“Excuse me sir? Do you work here?” he started with, it was a more or less innocuous question and one he actually wanted the answer to.

Cassius Dark smiled. “I do.”

My Job is all that was, is, and shall be. That which I set as my goal is beyond mortal comprehension and those I call master shall fall to my machinations. But yes, I get paid for sitting at this desk and answering questions sometimes. I am a ghost, fear me.

Wes tried not to sweat too obviously. What the fuck?

“Can you tell me where the journalism section is?” Wes decided to make a tactical retreat, at least his voice didn’t crack.

“Straight back for eight shelves and then turn right. It’s next to the Non-fiction books.”

I know what you’re looking for, I know why you are here. I know the exact time of your death and what will happen next. Your efforts amuse me though. I am a ghost, fear me.

What Wes did next was not exactly fleeing. But it wasn’t not fleeing either.

He’d have to try something else.

The next thing he wanted to try was a bit riskier. If you thought about it a certain way. But it also wasn’t if you thought about it the way Wes did.

He was going to use a phase-proof net.

Genius, because unlike the translator machine thing, it would actually stop the ghost from attacking Wes if it got angered. Which it would, probably, since Wes was throwing a net at it.

The plan was really simple though, he’d gotten a very large net, paid extra for the little aim thing, practiced half a billion times of his brothers before they went to the parents and got him grounded for a week, and then memorized the path Cassius Dark took in the mornings to go to his “job” at the library.

Right now he was hiding in one of the leafier trees, right above the path that Cassius always used, waiting.

And waiting.

And… waiting.

Honestly he was about to go home and was fairly certain this guy was going to be like, super late to work, when he finally appeared.

Wes wasted no time aiming, making sure the trajectory was absolutely perfect, and firing the net off. He was just about to jump in celebration, watching the net as it curled slightly around its target, but before it could hit and wrap around him, Cassius was suddenly not there.

Or he was, but just a little bit to the left, so that the net sailed harmlessly past.

Wes cursed.

The third one was fool proof. It had to be.

Which was why Wes was staring at a large conspiracy board, covered in paparazzi-esque shots of the librarian and random notes he’d taken, all connected with a dizzying amount of red string.

“Kyle, seriously. I need to figure out what kind of ghost he is or he’s always going to have the upper hand!!”

Kyle just rolled his eyes and continued playing his video game, as if he didn’t care that Wes had set up his very important planning and plotting in the middle of the living room so long as it didn’t interfere with his own plans.

“It has to be pretty powerful, he was able to dodge my net before it even touched him. And the translator thing clearly said ‘my goal is beyond comprehension’ or something,” Wes mused, “and he also said his job was like, everything?”

Wes checked his notes, “yeah, ‘all that is was and shall be’. What could he mean by that?”

His very annoying and clearly not taking this as seriously as he should brother just chuckled. “I don’t know Wes, maybe he can see the future?”

That… no. That’s way too OP. Just the thought of it sent a shiver down Wes’ spine. There was no way a ghost could see the future right?

Right?

He had to test this theory.

But how do you even test something like that?

“Kyle, how would you test if someone could see the future?”

“Throw something at the back of their head and see if they dodge?” He answered way too quickly.

Wes thought about it for a moment. “No, what if they just have really good reflexes?”

“Oh huh, I guess that could be true. No idea then.” He shrugged and Wes had to fight the urge to throw something at the back of his head.

Whatever. He had to make plans.

He’d tried just throwing things. It was risky, and kind of terrifying, but Kyle was right it was the first that came to mind.

But Cassius never dodged. He was always just, not where Wes thought he was. Or Wes had really bad aim, which he didn’t!!! He was a basketball ace!! He had great aim! And great situational awareness!!

So why couldn’t he hit Cassius Dark?

Obviously it was because he could see the future. And the smug smile he always had when he knew Wes was looking reminded him an awful lot of a certain other Phantom.

Ask him about his family.

Easy enough. Especially without the Fenton’s weird translator because that might have been a bit terrifying. And also this time he had back up.

He dragged Kyle by his sleeve into the library.

“Mr. Cassius!”

Cassius looked up from his book, removing the delicate reading glasses balanced on his nose. “Can I help you Mr. Weston?”

“Yes!” He smiled broadly, taking out a small notebook that he had used to take notes on the suspicious and ghoulish things going on around town until it was mostly shreds of paper. “I’m writing an OP ED on the town library, and would like to know more about the librarian. Can you answer a few personal questions?”

Kyle snorted and Wes had to elbow him in the side to get him to shut up. He was here as back up, not to ruin his plan.

“So,” he began, “is Cassius a family name?”

“No.”

Wes nodded. And then frowned. Did ghosts have families? Supposedly they were alive once right? At least that was the general idea, Wes thought.

“So what can you tell us about your parents? Like, what’s your father’s name?”

Cassius raised an eyebrow, and had a soft smile filled with good humor. Wes felt it hit him like a threat. What was this ghost hiding?

Well, other than the fact that he’s a ghost.

“I can’t tell you much I’m afraid. My mother is long gone and I never had a father.”

Kyle grimaced and elbowed Wes himself before saying, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It’s no matter,” Cassius replied, still smiling, “I may yet see her again.”

Ah, so either she wasn’t dead or he’s convinced she became a ghost too. That made sense. It could be his unfinished business as they say among the paranormal hunters. At least, the not fight-y and crazy ones.

“So Dark was your mother’s name?” Wes asked, wondering if he could maybe find any records on her where he had failed to find them on Cassius himself.

The smile slid right off his face. Wes and Kyle both felt the subtle chill in the air as Cassius leaned back and looked off to the side, as if to glare at something that wasn’t there. “No, I’m afraid Dark is my ex-husband’s name.”

“Why keep it?” Kyle asked, completely ignoring the danger of the situation.

The smile came back, except this time instead of soft and barely there as if he were indulging a child, it was sharp and twisted. He chuckled at an inside joke no one else in the room would ever understand and then he said, “Well, it’s not like he has any use for it now.”

Wes paled. Had he killed his husband?!

After a hasty retreat from the library Wes treated Kyle to a milkshake and fries at the nasty burger just as he had promised. Payment for going along with his ‘weird ghost theories’.

But Wes couldn’t eat, he was too busy thinking. This one actually helped! He found information about the ghost’s previous life! He had a mother, but not a father, and had a husband.

With the current politics it was one of two options. Either he was from a previous culture that allowed men to marry each other, or he was a more recent ghost than Wes had been expecting. He had already taken out his laptop and was scrolling through obituaries with the surname Dark, trying to think if he knew any off the top of his head that might have been in town when they died.

Nothing particular came to mind.

Wes’ thinking was interrupted by a loud, obnoxious slurping noise from his brother. He shot him a glare, but Kyle didn’t react. Wasn’t even looking at him. Instead he was looking out the window and watching one of the daily ghost attacks with Phantom playing hero as always.

“You know, it’s kinda cool that they’re hiring actors to build the town’s lore like that,” he said, clearly ignoring the obvious evidence of ghosts right outside his window.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Wes groaned, rubbing at his eyes. He needed coffee or something, it was a shame the Nasty Burger only served sludge no sane person would drink.

Kyle finally looked away from the window, his eyes wide as if he was the one confused. “You know, how they got the librarian to say he was married to Pariah Dark? And then imply he’s the reason he’s a ghost?”

Wes felt like the seat underneath him had suddenly disappeared. “Where did you get That from?!”

“He said his ex-husband was named Dark! Pariah Dark’s Ghost Zone show is the first thing that comes to mind!” Kyle argued back. “Isn’t it?”

Holy shit this guy was married to the ghost king.

He thought back to the ominous answers he’d gotten that first day from the Fentons’ translator. Maybe he should leave this one alone.

Wes was at the library, studying quietly and absolutely avoiding the librarian. Not that he’d seen him today, but it didn’t hurt to keep his head down. With any luck the guy had a short memory and would forget Wes had been trying to find a way to out him to the town.

A portal ripped from the air in front of him, sending a static energy throughout the library and causing Wes’ hair to stand on end. It was a swirling purple, deeper and more… well more than most of the natural portals that Wes had seen appear around town.

He wanted to scream, but years of living in Amity Park had fully trained that out of him. Screaming was the number one way to get a ghost locked on you as their first target. Especially if you were there when the portal opened.

Before Wes could even think to duck under the table he was using a figure stepped out of the portal, poised and composed. He had a deep purple hood that seemed to swirl with the fabric of galaxies and a large ornate clock embedded into his chest. His skin was a rich blue and he had glowing red eyes.

Wes recognized him immediately.

“Oh, hello Mr. Weston, is there something I can help you with?” Cassius Dark asked.

#Danny Phantom #ectoberhaunt 2021 #clockwork dp #wes weston dp #background dark ages #Bee's writing #fanfiction

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sopxhiea · 4 years ago

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Moirai

Alfie Solomons X Reader

Summary: Alfie comes over for dinner with the purpose of gaining the infamous uncle’s trust but he has other ideas in mind and they all concern the pretty niece.

Warnings: Age gap.

The italic text is in a foreign language.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

"You taste like chocolate."

The jew.

That’s all that can be heard for the next couple of days.

What does he eat? What would he like to drink? Will he come on time? Who’s he bringing? What does he look like?

The weather is chilly, a thin layer of snow graces the trees around. The horses are in their place, warm and content after a day’s ride. There’s not much that can be heard on the outside of the mansion, just the sound of lively chatter from the inside as the maids hurry to get the cake ready.

The air in the balcony is cold, given it’s the dead of december. The weather has been nice enough for too long, you gather as you watch a set of birds fly around each other and they soon disappear behind the large tree trunks. The sun sets slowly on the horizon, the orange hue soon disappearing as you realise your hands are red.

He’s coming today.

There’s a group of middle aged men in the house, most of whom are business associates from the past. They’re too old to work now, retired and an empire left behind of the crumbs they used to work off of. They’re all dressed in a similar manner, a simple lines suit and a fitting hat made of similar fabric. Their shoes shine as they walk around the grand gallery.

The gallery decorated with your work.

It’s a dangerous game, the most thrilling one you’ve played so far. The ends of your silk dress dance with the cold wind and you hug your cardigan tighter, the inside noise is too much to bear so you find yourself in the balcony of your study.

Six days.

The motions of it are a bit delayed but the so called London gangster is dancing on the red ropes you’ve provided him. He plays the game exceptionally well, leaving no trace behind and the flour on his shoe soles are always cleaned. His rings burn when they meet your skin but it hasn’t been that many times, you gather.

You hadn’t slept with him still.

Keeping him on his toes was the little bit of thrill you had needed. He didn’t tire, unlike the many lads you’d been out with before. He came back for more but he knew the borders you’d set for the time being. There was no questioning from his end, just the frantic nod of his head before he attacked your lips.

And then, your uncle had invited him over for dinner.

That meant trust, that Alfie was now a part of an important bond your uncle was keen on forming. He didn’t just have dinner with anyone, not in his own house. He had done it with another partner before and now, you got christmas gifts and jewels as gifts from him every now and then. It meant that Alfie was now trusted.

Although you had your doubts.

The maid called your name, her steel like voice cutting through the long corridors. You hadn’t seen a car pull up but it was only a portion of the front area that could be seen from the balcony you were standing on. You hugged the cardigan tighter before exiting the glass decorated space.

The dress you had on had a small cleavage, buttons all the way down to the bottom of the dress. The lilac color fit the golden decoration around, or so you thought as you made your way down the stairs in a cheery manner. You were only allowed to be respectful to the guests but a little fun would hurt no one.

Shooting smiles to the familiar faces of the maids, you eyed the chocolate cake on one of the trays and reached for the icing, it was the best part of it all. Before you could reach for it, though, Magda, the older woman slapped your hand away with a low smile.

“No! No tasting the icing this time.” she scolded in a motherly manner and you made a disappointed face which soon disappeared, you knew she’d give you the biggest slice when the time came for it.

You didn’t realise Alfie had arrived, standing on the large entry hall you were stood in.

Facing the handsome lad, you pulled your bottom lip inside. His eyes were glistening, beard illuminated with the last specks of sun seeping through the front doors. The breeze hadn’t made it inside but his coat would protect him from anything, you reckoned.

He was wearing a suit, a similar one to the one you’d seen him wear the first time he came around. Hair slicked back, the scruff on his face in a neater cut as he looked at you with his hat on his hands. There was no cane this time, he had been feeling better.

Your uncle was somewhere inside the mansion, you didn’t even know where but it didn’t matter. Not now, anyway. You offered him a gentle smile but he was busy, too busy to even greet you at first as his eyes took in the sight of you, hair messy and a few buttons from your top undone which gave him a generous look at the valley of your breasts.

Quickly gathering yourself and covering the undone buttons with the sweep of your hand, you fluttered your eyelashes and spoke.

“’Ello, luv.” he spoke with a low voice, the one that made shivers run up your spine but you didn’t show them to him.

A sweet nod was all he got from you before your uncle showed up, greeting the gangster and inviting him to the dinner table. It was going to be challenge, you gathered that much.

Everyone slowly gathered around the table: Alfie, you, your uncle and a friend of his. They all seemed to know each other, you observed soon enough and you sat down in front of Alfie in the large dining room, his eyes throwing stolen glances at you as your uncle spoke about business and all that.

As much as he tried to keep you away from it, you already knew a good amount.

The appetiser was served shortly after and Alfie watched you behave like a good girl would. He knew from that one time you ate in his office, in a rush, that you didn’t like to observe any of the manners your uncle had taught you. It was easier to eat the way you felt comfortable but he found his eyes to be fixated on the way your hands worked effortlessly around the dishes.

He soon realised that he, one way or another, had to stop staring at you and join the conversation. You saw the way he gulped before cracking a joke about the Sabini to your uncle, everyone seemingly enjoying the joke. You kept your eyes on your table, afraid your uncle would catch onto something, although he was clueless.

A gasp left your lips when the cake was served, a small one that didn’t even make it into your uncle’s side of the table as he conversed with the friend he brought. Alfie caught the small sound and smirked, a low sound of rumblings heard soon after.

“Fuckin’ heard that one before.” he spoke, talking about the countless times you’d made out in the span of a week and the sounds you’d made each time he’d shift his body under yours.

You eyed your uncle first, clueless. Your eyes landed on Alfie’s smirk afterwards, a wink followed before he started eating the cake. The heat rose on your cheeks but you stopped yourself from making any noise, giggles stifled as he looked at your delicate features.

You ate the cake in silence, a few stifled moans here and there and it was soon enough when Alfie commented.

“Why the fuck is yours the biggest slice ‘ere, pet?” he said, low enough that the last part was not so audible.

You chuckled, watching his eyes hungrily look at your lips as you licked the chocolate off of them with your tongue. His ears were going red, slowly but surely and you wondered if he’d excuse himself or just have you somewhere in this mansion.

“I get special treatment.” you spoke after his stares returned to your eyes from your lips.

“That, you fuckin’ do.” he spoke, nodding before eating the last part of the cake he had left. You still had a large portion of yours on the plate since it was impossibly big. That didn’t mean you wouldn’t eat the cake, it would just take you a bit longer to finish it.

He eyed the cake first and then you, his gaze shifting every few seconds but it landed on you at last.

You smiled at him, the plan of enticing the man was clearly working. You cleared your throat and cleaned around your mouth before standing up and getting all the attention all of a sudden.

“Excuse me, I’ll be back shortly.” you offered your sweetest smile and two older men kept on talking after nodding at your small form. Alfie had been watching, planning on getting you alone somewhere.

You had been torturing the man the whole time. Small moans only he could hear while eating the cake, the few buttons on your top hanging loose and the way you’d lick your lips afterwards. He cursed at himself before standing up, asking about the whereabouts of the bathroom to wash his hands.

He had no plans to visit the bathroom.

You felt his hands before you could see him.

The corridor you’d made your way into was a small one, right after the large entry and it led to your study. You needed a breath of fresh air without anyone disturbing, his eyes had made your rationality disappear in the blink of an eye and you hated him for it but this was to time to dwell on things like that, not when your uncle was close.

A small giggle left your lips when his hands grabbed your waist and made you turn around in a swift motion, right when you were in front of the door of your study. You met a pair of amused orbs as he looked down at your small form, chest heaving with anticipation.

“What excuse did you have for leaving uncle?” you spoke, lips almost touching his and you were whispering into his face. You saw his eyelashes flutter as he held you tight, your feet were no longer touching the floor.

“He ain’t even listenin’, luv, too busy fuckin’ discussin’ shit with the other bloke.” he spoke against your lips and before you could muster up an answer, his lips were on yours.

His plump lips melted into yours, fighting for dominance but you were the loser in this case, Alfie had always been the dominant one. You felt his hand grab you even tighter before he lifted you up and your legs wrapped around his middle, he turned the door’s handle in the process and entered your study.

A small moan left your lips and he hungrily swallowed the sound, your chest vibrating against his as your hands desperately tugged at his hair. This wouldn’t be the day you’d sleep with the gangster, but you figured you’d get close.

Alfie’s kisses were more desperate than usual, a sense of urgency was evident when his tongue clashed with yours and all you could do was to moan into his mouth. His hands rested on your waist and bum, caressing and squeezing as his small groans filled the air.

You broke the kiss, you had to. Breathing in slowly, you couldn’t help but marvel at how deep this man kissed. He was still staring at your lips as you tried to regain your breath, back against the wall of your study.

“Will you put me down?” you spoke, his eyes still on your lips as you tasted him on the flesh, your tongue glossing over it.

He slowly let you down, your feet finally touching the floor and no longer wrapped up around his broad body. You didn’t look disheveled but something in your eyes had changed, anyone could see that. Hunger now resided in them but you wouldn’t give in so easily, you wanted him to wait.

Your eyes met his across the room while you lowered yourself on the sofa. His hair was messy, breath uneven and the sleeves of shirt rolled. He was a sight for sore eyes but you wouldn’t tell him that. A smile appeared on your lips as you spoke.

“They’ll come looking for us, you know.” you said, chest still rising unevenly after the relentless kiss he’d given you.

“We’ll just make somethin’ up then, aye?” he asked but it wasn’t much of a question. He knew you were used to making up excuses at the spot due to the nature of your uncle’s business and your night life.

You nodded and he approached you like a hunter would approach its prey. You felt your insides tingle but you couldn’t do anything, your uncle was three doors away and he would come looking for you if you didn’t return soon enough.

“No.” you said, knowing why he was approaching you the way he was but before you could push his broad shoulders away from you, he pulled you flush against him on the sofa until you were straddling him and he was planting kisses on your collarbones.

You let him do this thing for a while, his kisses slowly became sloppy as you kept on letting small moans go free. His lips found yours soon enough, he tasted all power and musk, and the chocolate care from earlier.

A giggle left your lips at the thought and he stopped kissing you, confused eyes locking into yours.

“What?” he asked, voice a little hushed even though you knew your uncle would be in the room soon, he didn’t like it when you would disappear.

“You taste like chocolate.” you spoke against his lips before pecking them. It was something you could get used to.

“That why you keep fuckin’ kissin’ me?” he spoke against your lips as you nodded slowly. You needed to get off of him and out of the room.

And so you did.

It took all your willpower but you lifted yourself off of him and smoothed your dress down as he watched you, hair disheveled and breath uneven and he thought this was the most beautiful he’d seen you look. You gulped before speaking, his blue orbs bored into yours.

“We need to go back.” you spoke, huffing and clearly annoyed.

“I don’t see a problem, luv, yeah if anythin’, I much-”

You cut him off, you would be the one who’d have to pay for this when he was gone and your uncle was shouting at you for keeping your company away from the guest, he wouldn’t know you were about to fuck the guest. “Alfie, he asked you to come to dinner because he trusts you, not so that you could fuck his only niece.”

He nodded once, got up and nodded again and tugged at his beard. You looked at him through annoyed eyes, eyes that would soon soften because he wasn’t a prick, unlike what many thought.

He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and nodded once more. You shot him a grateful smile but it all came down crumbling when you heard your uncle’s footsteps behind the door to your study. He was mumbling and grumbling.

But you had the perfect lie.

“Suit yourself.” Alfie spoke, hearing him right outside the door.

“You owe me one.” you spoke through your teeth to Alfie before the door was open in a fast motion, your angry uncle outside the door.

Alfie shoots your uncle a knowing smirk and he doesn’t say anything for a while, just stands there and tries to put two and two together. You’d fixed your own appearance and then Alfie’s before he’d come barging in so he doesn’t see any lipstick stains around his beard or your heaving chest as you stand far away from the jewish gangster.

“Hello, uncle.” you speak, Alfie’s eyes glisten as you speak in a language he doesn’t quite understand. He thinks it fits you, the real you.

“What’re you doing here? And with hi-” your uncle starts speaking but you’re fast, years of living under his roof has taught you a trick or two.

“I was showing Mr. Solomons some of the pieces I was working on..” you speak in English this time and Alfie nods, looking at the unfinished canvases on the corner. Before your uncle can protest further, you start speaking again.

“He had seen some of the finished ones during the party when he first came around so I figured he’d have some comments.” you trail off and Alfie marvels at your ability to make such things up, it also stings him in a way he doesn’t quite understand.

“I see.” your uncle speaks at last, eyes landing on you and then Alfie. You shoot him a sweet smile, and he’s convinced.

Poor man, you think.

Your uncle isn’t stupid, you know that. He wouldn’t be where he was if he was as daft as he seemed right now. The man just trusts you, blindly and completely. You feel a sense of security knowing the fact but also something along the lines of pity knowing just how many times you’d told him you were visiting a friend and ended up piss drunk in a bar with a lad.

It’s a thin line you walk on most times but it’s fun with Alfie, you admit.

Your uncle hurriedly makes his way towards the tea room then, his other guest waiting with a smile. No one was upset much to your luck and you noted the way Alfie’s hand touched the small of your back whenever your uncle wasn’t really looking. He wanted trouble but you couldn’t give him that, not in where you were.

But you’d make him pay for it.

You behaved for the rest of the time the guests were near. You drank your tea quietly and ignored the way Alfie’s eyes searched for yours. You laughed at the other guest’s jokes even though they weren’t funny and fixed your dress whenever the fabric tried to cling onto your upper thighs.

Alfie watched all along.

Then the time came for you to bid farewell, which you did with a sweet smile and ignored the way Alfie’s lips twitched at the end. He wanted to kiss you goodbye like he had the last time he had seen you but your uncle was near and the risk was higher than you both were willing to take.

You closed the door after the farewell, not bothering to say anything to your uncle but there was a knock on the front door right after you’d closed it. Everyone else was gone now, your uncle to his office and the maids to the kitchen and the dining room to clean up. It was just you.

You opened it slowly and saw Alfie. A scoff left your lips and you pushed the door back to its place, trying to close it but he was quicker when he put the head of his shoe in between the door and the wall and you could no longer close it.

You could never be too safe. Not in this house.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Solomons?” you spoke in a low voice, you couldn’t risk being overheard by one of the maids and even if you were, you had to keep it in line.

“Let me fuckin’ have you for one, pet.” he spoke, tired of the game of waiting for the time you’d open your legs for him. He would wait regardless but you’d pushed his buttons and it was time for him to push yours.

“Damn it, Alfi-” you spoke but he was tired, he just wanted you to himself. He was amused, too, at the way you were trying to act composed when no one was near.

“I’m fuckin’ serious, pet, I’m beggin’, yeah.” he spoke, he was clearly amused at the whole exchange but you kept your smile to yourself. “You can’t just kiss the me, yeah, the way you fuckin’ did and expect me to not be all hot and bothered, right.”

You rolled your eyes at the man before speaking. “You were the one who kissed me.” your breath was soft as you spoke.

“Yeah and for the fuckin’ record, yeah, I’m the one kissing you now.”

You didn’t have time to protest when he leaned down and his lips met yours in a sweet kiss. It wasn’t rushed and needy like the one from earlier but like he was trying to tell you something.

That he needed more but he was willing to wait as long as you would want him to. That he would come back for more, not because he only had you but because he desperately needed you and you only.

But he wouldn’t tell you that, not just yet.

You were a gangster’s niece, the one and only family he had. You did know luxury and comfort but you knew the opposite as well. He knew you were a beauty the first time he’d seen you but you were trouble as well. It wasn’t easy to jut sweep you off your feet and make you a good wife, you wouldn’t want that anyway.

He watched the way your cheeks flushed after the tender kiss and your eyes fluttered open, only to met his blue ones. Your gaze dropped to his lips, then his beard before eyeing him again, a smile on your lips he knew well.

“Goodnight, Mr. Solomons.” you sweetly whispered against his face.

And he knew.

He knew you’d be coming around his place that very night, he didn’t know when but he knew you’d be dropping by. So he did the next best thing.

“Goodnight, you sweet minx.”

Just like that, he was off and you were on your way to your uncle’s office to tell him that your friend needed help with some emergency and that you’d be gone for the rest of the night to stay over at her place.

-------

Tagging: @clairecrive @parkbearum @sourirez @vetseras @mollybegger-blog @babylooneytoonz @peakascum @jjklefttoe

a/n: I’m sorry this came in so late but I truly do hope you enjoy it and let me know if you’d like to be tagged!! I have more chapters of different series coming and i’ll keep you posted!!

Merry Christmas and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

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thewalkingdead-fan101 · 5 years ago

Text

In This Hell Daryl Dixon X Reader Part 6/??

Hey guys! I am so sorry for not posting chapter six sooner, I've been working really hard on it for you all and I hope you like it! :) In this part I've tried to give some insight of the readers past. Warnings- General Walking Dead stuff, Blood, Gore, Swearing.

After his confession, Daryl had run off, and decided to sleep in a different tent. Much to my disappointment. The night went by quick, so did the next sunrise. After pulling my boots on, I grabbed my jacket and headed out, running into Carol as I exited the tent. “Morning Carol.” I smiled. “Morning, How’d you sleep?” She responded. “Half decent.” I answered “So about the same as every other night.” She laughed I nodded my head, grabbing one of the baskets with Carol. We washed the groups clothes, putting them back into the baskets. “I wish we could give back to Hershel, and his family. They’ve helped us with so much.” “You’re right. Maybe we could make them a dinner?” “That sounds great.”

“I’ve been thinking about it.” We stopped by our makeshift clothesline, placing the baskets on the picnic bench.

Hanging out the clothes, someone else had joined us. “I can't believe I slept in.”

“You must have needed it. Feeling all right?” Carol asked.

“Next time wake me, all right?” Lori paused. “Especially on laundry day.” She finished, grabbing some clothing.

“We can manage.” I smiled “I had an idea I wanted to run by you.” Carol looked over to me.

“What's that?”

“That big kitchen of theirs got me thinking. I wouldn't mind cooking in a real kitchen again. Maybe we all pitch in and cook dinner for Hershel and his family tonight. Kind of looking for things to keep my mind occupied.”

“After everything they've done for us, seems like the least we could do.”

“You mind extending the invitation? Would just feel more right coming from you.”

“How so?”

“You're Rick's wife. It sort of makes you our unofficial first lady.” Carol smiled as I chuckled. I look aver as the rest of the group make their way over to the Cherokee. “Morning, guys. Let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover.” Rick called out. I looked over to Lori, who was staring at her husband. “Hey, are you okay?” I asked, rubbing her shoulder. “Huh? Yeah, im fine, sorry.” She shook her head. “You know where I am if you need anything.” I nodded. She nodded back in response with a small smile. “I’ll be back, im just going to see if they need any help.” I smiled. I walked over to the Cherokee as Shane opened his big mouth. “Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse.” He commented from the passenger seat. I glare at him, shaking my head at his negativity.

“Anybody includes her, right?” Andrea asked. I looked over to Daryl, who was avoiding eye contact.

“Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high.” He stated to the group.

“It's a good lead.” Andrea nodded.

“Maybe we'll pick up her trail again.” Rick noted. I look back over to Daryl, who points over onto the map.

“No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here, take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her.”

“Good idea. Maybe you'll see your Chupacabra up there too.” T-dog jested.

“Chupacabra?” Rick asked.

“You never heard this? Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time he went squirrel hunting and he saw a Chupacabra.” Dale finished. Smiling, I reminisced over that night.

Merle and Daryl were sitting on the left hand side of the fire, Morales and his wife on the right, Jacqui and T-dog next to Andrea and Amy. Glenn was sitting with Dale, Carl was sitting with the other kids, Louis, Eliza and Sophia as Shane, Lori and Carol chatted. Ed staring at his wife with a murderous glare in his eye, that we all had noticed. Then there was me, Sitting next to Shane, close enough so he knew where I was. I sat directly across from Daryl, making eye contact every now and then. We were all swapping stories about what we did before the end of the world, who we are.

When Merle noticed me watching Daryl. Thats when he stood up, getting everyones attention. “Come on little brother. You got this in the bag.” “Sit down Merle.” Daryl shook his head. “No, No, No, These people have told their stories, now let's tell them one of yours.” “Nah, they don’t wanna hear it.” He argued. “Come one Daryl, Let's let the people decide.” Merle made his way around the fire, stopping in front of where I was seated.

“How ‘bout you? You seem pretty interested there sweet cheeks.” “Leave her alone Merle.” Daryl softly growled. I looked up at Daryl and smiled softly. “I wouldn’t mind hearing it.” “See little brother? She wouldn’t mind hearing it.” Merle mocked me.

I rolled my eyes as Merle made his way back over to sit next to Daryl. “So what is this story about? You have my sisters attention, must be good.” Shane laughed. Daryl took a deep breath before starting.

“I- uh, I was out hunting, Merle was out doing whatever it was he was doing, our old man was at home passed out.” He began. “I was hunting squirrels, there wasn’t any big game around, it wasn’t the right time of the year. I had been out for a few hours, had about seven squirrels bagged. I was following one, that’s when I saw it.” “Saw what?” Carl asked, leaning on his knees, mirroring myself. “ I saw a chupacabra.” “A chupacabra?” Shane asked. The group all laughed as I watched Daryl, look down. “What did it look like?” I asked. Daryl looked up at me and I smiled. “You don’t believe this. Come on.” Shane scoffed. I ignored Shane, and kept eye contact with Daryl. “It was big, it was on all fours, looked like a cross between a bear and a coyote, Its eyes glowed red and it was hairless, looked as though it was scaly. It had spikes coming from it’s spine, it left as soon as it noticed I was there.” I looked over to see the kids all amazed at the story of the chupacabra. “After it ran off, I went home, told the old man, he didn’t believe me, I told Merle and he didn’t believe me.” “I think the only people buying into this story are the kids.” Andrea laughed.

“I Believe.” I smiled.

“See little brother. She Believes.” Merle laughed.

Daryl looked around the group as they laughed softly.

“I know what I saw, and I ain’t need none of y’all to believe me.” Daryl said, standing up and stalking to his tent.

“That’s it little brother! You only need me. You hear?” Merle called out, smiling as he watched Daryl leave. I look up to see Daryl, wearily watching me. My head snaps in the direction of Jimmy who was laughing at Daryl. “What are you braying at, jackass?” Daryl asked.

“You believe in a blood-sucking dog?” Jimmy sarcastically asked. “Do you believe in dead people walking around?” Daryl fought back. Jimmy looked down, before reaching for the gun.

“Hey hey. Ever fire one before?” Rick asked.

“Well, if I'm going out, I want one.” He stated.

“Yeah, and people in hell want slurpee’s.” Daryl responded, making his exit. I stifled laughter as Jimmy watched him walk away. “Why don't you come train tomorrow? If you're serious, I'm a certified instructor.” Shane called out to Jimmy.

“For now he can come with us.” Andrea smiled.

“He's yours to babysit then.” Shane nodded.

“What can I do?” I asked “You can stay here and out of the way.” Shane answered. “Excuse me? Shane-“ “Im sorry (Y/n), but I agree with your brother. It’s best for you to stay here and make sure that everyone is okay.” Rick nodded. I looked at Rick and nodded. “If that is how I can help find Sophia, fine.” I nodded as I backed away from the Cherokee and over to where Carol was.

“What’s the plan for today?” Carol asked.

“Rick, Shane, Dale, Andrea and T-dog are going out to search the woods, Daryl Is searching along the creeks and some old ridges.”

“I hope they’re all safe… the last thing we need is more people hurt or missing.” She sighed. “Carol-“ “Im starting to lose hope.” She started, looking out over the field that held a few head of cattle. “My little girl is out there, and each day that passes, doesn’t help. Andrea tried to comfort me yesterday… I told her not to, I can’t take anymore thoughts or prayers… It’s exhausting.” She continued. “I get it, I really do Carol. But we can’t give up. We will find her, and I am praying that its under good circumstances, but we will know what happened to your little girl, we will get closure.” Carol looked over and smiled softly. “Im with you, the whole way.” I smiled grabbing her hand.

She squeezed my hand as she let a few tears fall. “Thank you.” I looked up and watched as the others made their way into the cars and driving off to continue the search for Sophia. “If you need me, I’ll be inside, making sure that its clean for when they bring her home.” Carol sniffed. “Okay, ill talk to you later.”

Standing up, I stretch, looking around the farm. On the front porch, Glenn was strumming the guitar that Dale had found on the highway. Maggie coming out of the house, talking to Glenn. I make my way over to where Lori was sitting, staring at her hands, a somber expression. “Hey, are you okay?” I asked, sitting next to her. “Huh? Yeah honey im okay.” She responded. “Lori, I know you… Something is up. Talk to me.” “(Y/n), im fine, im just thinking about this world we are living in now, that poor little girl missing, my boy shot… Maybe this isn’t a world for children.” “I haven’t told anyone this. Before the CDC was destroyed, Jenner did an ultrasound… We found out that I was five weeks along. He tried to tell me that he could get rid of my baby.” “What?” She asked looking at me. “He said all of this stuff that terrified me. Since we left the CDC, I can’t stop thinking about what he said.” I paused. “Maybe you’re right for thinking that way. Maybe this isn’t a world for children anymore, hell I’ve been thinking that lately. But we are survivors, that’s what we do. Your boy, in that house, is a survivor. He pulled through, as for Sophia? I am still praying every night that we find that girl and bring her back.” “Am I a horrible mother for thinking this way?” She asked “Of course not! You’re only human. Lori, we are all going to get through this.” She nodded and smiled softly. “You’re right… That’s rare for a Walsh.” She joked. I laughed along with her. “You have the wrong sibling for that, im right at least 89.5% of the time.” I joked.

“You have a point. Your brother is barely right.”

We laughed for a moment.

I turned my head and I heard the sound of leaves crunching, seeing Glenn make his way over.

“(Y/n/n), can you give us a second?” Lori asked.

“Of course. I’ll talk to you later.” I smiled, getting up, walking toward the house. I turn to see Glenn headed towards Lori and I. “Hey, (Y/n/n)

I knocked on the door and waited for someone to acknowledge my presence.

“You don’t have to knock you know.” Maggie smiled walking up the steps.

“I just wanted to be polite... I didn’t want to just barge in.”

“It’s fine, really. Come on.” She opened the door and led me inside.

“What’s going on with you and Glenn?”

“What are you talking about?” She asked suddenly, a worried glint in her eye.

“You guys look pretty friendly.”

“We’re just friends, acquaintances more so.”

“It’s okay, you are allowed to make friends. We aren’t going to hurt you guys.” I smiled.

“It’s not that, I can promise you it’s not that.” She smiled.

“(Y/n/n)?”

I turn my head to see Carl looking through the crack in the door from his bed.

I look back at Maggie with a small smile.

“Do you mind?” I asked.

“Not at all.” She nodded backing away.

“Hey buddy, can I come in?”

He nodded.

I walked in and sat in the chair next to his bed.

“How are you feeling today mister?”

“I’m okay.” He smiled

“Does it hurt?”

“Not really, not anymore.”

“That’s good, that is really good.”

“I’m like dad now. He was shot, I was shot. He gave me his hat.” He said excitement clear on his face.

“So there is a new sheriff in town?”

He just laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, so I’m the boss now.”

“Alright, do you want me to fluff your pillow there boss?” I joked with him.

He laughed softly, before he sighed and rested his head against the headboard.

“What’s wrong kiddo?”

“I’m stuck in this stupid bed all day.”

“Carl, you need to get your rest, to get better.”

“I just want to be out and help look for Sophia.” He sighed.

“Hey, it won’t be long. You’ll be back on your feet in no time... Have patience.”

“I know. But I know I can help.”

“I know you can help. But right now, you need to help by making sure you get better.”

He nodded, looking around the room.

“I have an idea.”

He looked back to me hopeful.

“Give me a sec.” I smiled, getting up and leaving the room.

I stopped in the dining room where Maggie was seated at the table.

“Hey, sorry to be any trouble, but do you have any cards or games?” I asked.

She looked over and smiled.

“Yeah, I think so.” She answered, getting up and heading towards the living room, opening a small cupboard.

She was down for a moment, before popping back up with a monopoly board and scrabble board.

“We have these.” She smiled, passing me the two.

“It’s perfect, thank you!” I smiled

“You’re welcome.” She called as I left.

I made my way back to Carl’s room, halting as I catch a glimpse of a few of the Greene’s family photos hung on the wall. The biggest photo on the wall was a family portrait. Hershel, with a beautiful woman on his arm. The two were surrounded by three kids, Maggie, Beth and im guessing Shawn. In the portrait, Maggie and Beth were much younger, but there was barely any difference in their appearance. I could feel the presence of eyes, boring into my back. I turn to the side to see Hershel staring, briskly walking away after our eyes met. Left in the hallway, I turn back to the photos, smiling at the photo of of Maggie behind a screaming Beth on a rope swing. The next photo is of who I am assuming is Shawn as a young boy, sitting behind the wheel of a tractor on Hershels knee.

Another picture of the three kids, all with matching outfits, a newborn Beth in a basket, Shawn and Maggie holding the basket.

The photo reminding me of one the photos Shane and I had to endure for our parents when we were kids.

We were young, I was about three, Shane closer to six. Shane and I both sitting in a wheelbarrow, Shane behind me in matching denim overalls, covered in dirt. “Shane, come on buddy, You need to smile!” I heard dad trying to encourage him. “Shane, we’re sending these to your Grandma Jean, and the rest of the family, you need to smile sweetheart.” My mum said trying her best to coerce a smile from a stone faced Shane. “Same goes for you (Y/n). Big Smile angel.” My dad spoke. It didn’t take much to persuade me to do a giant smile. “Thats my girl!” My mother smiled. “Your turn now my boy.” My father started to get stern. “Come on, please smile for mommy and daddy.” Mom tried once more, softly sighing.

The bright sting of the flash had momentarily blinded us as the next picture was taken. Out of no where, both of our parents erupted into massive cheers. “Atta boy Shane!” Dad yelled still ecstatic. “This is it Patrick.” Mom had smiled. “We finally got our boy to smile Marie.” Dad smiled hugging her.

I shake my head and come back to now. The last photo I see is of Hershel and his wife, on their wedding day. Hershel looked much younger, his hair slicked back and his tie tight. I left after examining the photos, smiling over the smallest details. “So, I figured out what we can do to pass time while we’re here.” I smiled entering the room. “You are gonna stay?” He excitedly asked.

“Yeah, until you get tired.” “What are we going to do?” He smiled, slowly sitting up. “Well, Maggie found us Scrabble and Monopoly. What do you want to play?” I asked, placing the two games on the bed next to him.

He looked between the two and smiled. “Can we play monopoly?” “Definitely.” “Dibs on the Race car!” He stated excitedly. “Fine, Only if im banker.” I laughed. His smile became brighter, which I thought was impossible.

We set up the board and started the game.

After an hour or so I look up to see a smug smile on his his face.

At this point Carl had owned a majority of the board, and I was in jail.

“You are pretty good kid, I’ll give you that.” I smiled.

He looked at my piece in jail, and laughed.

“You’re back in there?” He kept laughing. “Okay, I have bad luck today.” “You were on a roll.” “I know!” I laughed with him. “Do you want my Get out of jail free card?” ‘When did you get that?” I asked genuinely intrigued. “When I picked up my chance card earlier.” He laughed.

Soon after the room was full of laughter between the two of us.

“Keep that for yourself, you might need it later.” I smiled. “Okay, don’t cry if I buy the rest of the board.” “Oh so the kids got game.” I play scoffed, causing him to laugh even more. “Okay sheriff, it’s your turn to roll.”

He rolled his eyes as he laughed more.

Picking up the die, he rolled them, getting a double three and moving up six spaces.

“You’re too good at this kid, you’re starting to remind me of Shane.” I chuckled.

I looked up to see a somber expression on his face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked putting my hand on his shoulder. “We shouldn’t be doing this.” “What do you mean?” “We shouldn’t be playing monopoly.” “We can play scrabble instead?” “No! We shouldn’t be having fun.” He shook his head. “What makes you say that?” “Sophia is still missing. She should be here playing with us.” He sighed, looking down at his hands.

My heart broke for the boy in front of me.

Being the only kid in our group, his friend missing.

I can not even begin to fathom what is going on inside of his mind.

I open my mouth to say something, but I can’t find the words.

He lets out a small sob, places his head in his hands, his shoulders rising and falling with each sob.

I move the portable table aside and sit on the bed, pulling him into a hug, my hand gently rubbing his back.

“Hey, hey, hey... it’s okay.” I tried to calm him down. “It’s not fair! She should be here!” He mumbled against my chest, in between sobs, pulling me closer. “I know it’s not kiddo...” I sighed hugging him tight. “I miss her (Y/n).” “I know... I do too.” I agreed lightly stroking his hair back. “We will find her right?” He asked pulling back and looking up. “I hope so...”

He nodded in response and yawned, now rubbing his bloodshot eyes.

“It’s time for you to get some sleep.” I smiled softly as I stood up, tucking the blanket over him as he laid back down. “Thank you for hanging out with me today.” He whispered. “Hey, you’re family now. You don’t need to thank me for hanging out with you.” I smiled pushing his hair out of his face.

He softly smiled back. As I left the room, I could hear voices talking and laughing from the kitchen. Walking down the hallway, I soon arrive to the kitchen, stopping and leaning against the doorframe. “Well, what’s going on here?” “Do you remember what we spoke about this morning ?” Carol asked.

I nodded. ‘Well, Lori spoke to Patricia, asked if we could use their kitchen to make them a nice meal.” “I take it, that it obviously went well.” I smiled.

“Well, we thought it’d be great.” Beth smiled wide. “In that case, is there any room for an extra pair of hands?” “Hey, there’s always room for you.” Carol chuckled. I entered the kitchen and stood at the sink, next to Lori who was washing some potatoes under the running water. I smiled as I looked at the others, Carol wiping the dishes, Beth and Patricia at the table in the centre of the room, chatting. i grabbed the already washed potatoes and started to peel them. “Potatoes are the best.” I exclaimed. “Seriously, Potatoes could have been used as currency hundreds of years ago!” I laughed.

“Oh yeah? I never thought I'd be so happy to see a potato. I'm just glad we're not roasting squirrels over a fire in the woods.” Lori chuckled. “Thank you, Patricia, so much for letting us into your home.” She finished.

Patricia looked up from her spot at the table and smiled.

As Lori washed the potatoes I peeled them and cut them up for boiling.

We had put a ham into the oven to cook, and stringed beans on the stove ready to boil. Carol decided to wash the dishes as we went along. The next half an hour as we prepared the meal were just full of laughs as we joked and talked to one another.

When I finished the potatoes I walked over and helped Carol with the dishes. I kept my gaze outside of the window.

“Go.”

My head snapped to the right. “What?” “I said go.” “Why?” I chuckled softly wiping the plate in my hand down, and placing it on the counter.

“(Y/n). We have this covered.” Carol smiled. “Carol-“ I was cut off. “Is right. Go. See if he is back yet.”

I turned my head and looked at Lori. Who waved her hands in a shoo motion. I looked around the room to see all of the girls smiling at me. “Are you guys sure?” “Just go.” They all said in unison.

“Okay, okay.” I put my hands up in surrender as Lori lightly snatched the tea towel out of my hand and playfully hitting me with it. I lightly squealed as I jumped away from her.

As I got to the entrance way of the kitchen I look back to see the girls all smiling and giggling again. I smile as I see the normalcy of it, that we all so desperately need. It was Shanes birthday party, all of the men and the boys were outside on the grill, while all of the women were inside making snacks and refreshments. “Pumpkin! Where is my little Pumpkin?” Echoed throughout the house. I giggle softly from my little hiding spot.

“Surely, my little pumpkin isn’t hiding from me!” The same voice called out, legs walking in front of the small end table.

I put my hand over my mouth so she couldn’t hear me. The legs stopped directly in front of the table. “Marie, I can’t find pumpkin anywhere!” I heard my mothers laugh from the kitchen. “She will come out sooner or later Jean!” She called back.

Grandma Jean sighed and turned away slightly and walked towards the kitchen. “Its such a shame. I dont know who can be my taste tester.” She dramatically sighed.

I moved the dangling laced cloth from in front of my eyes and poked my head out from my cover. The coast was clear, so I made my move.

I quietly crept out of my hiding spot, making sure wasn’t seen. My little feet carried me to the kitchen to see mom with all of my aunts and my grandmothers. Aunty Tania, Aunty Ruth and Aunty Sarah were standing along side one another with their ice cold lemonade that Grandma Jean had made. Grandma Paula and her partner Sophia, or Grandma Sophia as we called her, were cutting all different types of sandwiches into triangles and taking the trays outside as mom and Grandma Jean were rolling out cookie dough and making her special ’Triple chocolate, white fudge swirl cookies’ that made her a family favourite on both her side of the family and on moms side of the family.

I watched in awe as the seven women laughed and joked and smiled at one another’s stories and tales.

“Hey Ma, Your pumpkin is in the foyer.” My Auntie Sarah stated as she noticed my presence, exhaling the smoke from her cigarette out of the side window. “I told you that she would come out soon Jean.” Mom jested as Grandma Jean swatted her away. I smiled lovingly at the memory, completely turning to the front door.

As I opened the door, the first thing I see was Dale and Andrea talking to each other.

Dale on the ground looking up at her as she kept watch. Dale had said something else before entering the RV. I smiled, knowing that slowly the two were going to make amends. I start to descend the stairs. “Walker! Walker!” She yelled out, causing the rest of our group to run and grab their melee weaponry. Shane was carrying a short handled hoe/pickaxe. “Best let us handle this!” I heard Shane call out. The guys all ran towards the walker, all but Dale who tried to get Andrea to lower the gun. My stomach was churning, as though something bad was going to happen. “Andrea, don’t shoot, let them handle it.” Dale had half climbed the ladder trying to stop Andrea, as she lined up the shot. “Dale, give me those binoculars please.”

He handed them to me. Looking through the binoculars I see the others in front of the walker. Searching I notice that it isn’t a walker, its Daryl, he looks like one, with Rick pointing a gun to his head. After a second he lowers the gun.

I smile and lower the binoculars. I look up to Dale and Andrea. “Guys, it’s-“ I was cut off by a loud echo, my eardrums ringing from the intruding sound. My heart feels like it’s stopped, everything was in slow motion. I look over the field and see Daryl drop. Tears fill the brim of my eyes. “No, no no no no.” I muttered. I threw the binoculars to the ground and took off in a sprint. “(Y/N)!” Dale called out. I ignored everything, I fought the pain in my chest as I pushed harder and faster to get to him. There was a broken fence ahead, so I sprint toward it and vault myself over it stumbling as I landed, but pushing myself to get back up and get to Daryl.

My cheeks felt cold as the wind harshly blew against the tear soaked skin. “Daryl!” I called as I got closer to the group, watching as Shane and Rick lifted him up.

I started to slow down, the closer I got. “Is he okay? Is he breathing?” I asked frantically as I grabbed his face in-between my hands and searched it for a bullet hole, seeing a harsh line on his scalp on the left side. I could hear footsteps behind me. “oh my god. Oh my god, is he dead?” Andrea asked. “Unconscious. You just grazed him.” “Oh thank god. Im so relieved.” I scoff and push past her.

“Whats that about?” She scoffed. “Andrea, just leave it.” Shane called as we kept walking.

“No Shane, im not going to leave it.” She grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. “You could’ve killed him.” I sneered. “What?” “Daryl. You could’ve killed him.” “I didn’t though, I missed.” “You only just missed Andrea! I told you not to shoot! And you didn’t listen.” I snapped.

“(Y/n)-“ she started to talk. “I don’t want to hear it.” I held my hands up and backed away, shaking my head as I turned around.

Behind me, I could hear T-dog start to speak up. “Guys…”

I continued to follow Rick and Shane, not wanting to leave Daryl’s side.

“Guys….” He spoke louder. We all stopped and turned. My eyes landing on the small doll in his hand. “Isn’t this Sophia’s?” He asked, holding it slightly higher in the air. I look at the doll and more tears brimmed my eyes.

Daryl finding Sophia’s doll, meant that we are closer to finding her than we have been before. My head snapped back towards where Daryl was hung between Rick and Shane, after hearing a small groan.

“Lets get him back, get checked out by Hershel, then we can ask him about the doll.” Rick stated as they turned back toward the farm house.

I kept on their heel as we got closer and closer to the house. I looked up and noticed everyone standing outside in front of the house. “What happened?” Hershel asked as soon as we were in earshot. “He was shot, it was an accident.” Rick said glancing at Andrea. “Get him inside. I’ll take care of the wounds.” Hershel nodded. I felt someone pull me into their arms and into a hug, which I return. “He will be okay.” Lori spoke. “I know.” I nodded, slowly stepping back. “Im just going to uh-“ I paused. “Just going to go in and wait.” “I’ll come with you.” She stated, walking behind me.

We followed the others inside, and sat against the wall across from the room the guys were in. I sat my knee’s against my chest and laid my head against them. I felt a hand run across my shoulders and sighed as I turned my head and looked at Lori. “Everything will be okay.” Lori paused. She nodded her head.

“Just you see, everything will be okay.” She sighed.

Series Masterlist Next Part

#daryl dixion imagine #daryl x you #daryl dixon #daryl x reader #daryl fanfiction #The Walking Dead #norman reedus

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squidproquoclarice · 4 years ago

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Hey Squid 👋🏻 Regarding your Sunrise AMA, what is one of your favourite moments from the story, or favourite thing about Sunrise in general? Was their a line or paragraph that stands out to you as one were you were like yes, this is good and just flowed easiest? Did you have any things that you knew straight away that you needed or wanted to write about? Also I was wondering what inspired you to have them join the Circus? And what do you think their kids jobs would be when they grow up? (I probably have a dozen more but I will just leave it at that for now 😊 ty!)

Heya! Let’s see. Since we’ve got multiple questions, I think I’ll leave the favorite moment(s) question for someone else to ask. Favorite thing about Sunrise: I started it a few days after finishing the game. From the savefiles and my chapter 1 posting date, it was only four days. Obviously Arthur touched something emotional within me, like he did for a lot of people, and seeing Sadie so cold, alone, and fatalistic in the Epilogue hurt too. I wanted to see if I tried to write what could have happened after that fight on the ridge where it might lead. So I guess my favorite thing about Sunrise is that it debunked the assumption that Arthur had to die for the story to work or matter. I wrote a journey for him and for Sadie that a lot of people connected to and told me that meant a lot to them to see them thrive and heal. Characters don’t need a tragic ending to be deeply meaningful. Characters don’t have to die for redemption. It’s not somehow more artistically pure or daring to kill someone off. I didn’t break RDR1 by writing Sunrise, and I made the plot beats of the RDR2 Epilogue work. So Arthur’s death also frankly wasn’t necessary for plot integrity towards the events of 1907 and 1911. A line or paragraph that I really enjoyed writing: I’ll go with one early on, from chapter 6, “Death Is A Woman”, that actually gave the chapter its title. He managed a low, dark chuckle at that, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees. His lungs gave a bit of a grouchy hitch at it. “Newsmen are a different breed of confidence men and liars, that’s all. Anyway, I’m sure Death’s got to be a woman, Sister, cause it seems even she won’t have me.” That one made me feel like I really finally nailed Arthur and his character and state of mind in the weeks right after he’s had his entire life and identity knocked out from under him. But of course he has to couch it in a self-deprecating quip. Also kind of a funny line in retrospect because I hadn’t planned anything with Death/The Strange Man cropping up in the story at this point, but apparently Arthur’s wrong and Death is not a woman in RDRverse. ;) Things I immediately needed or wanted to write about: Giving Sadie a voice and POV to show what was going on in her head. Beyond that, giving both of them the respect of acknowledging their PTSD, but doing my best to let show what trauma recovery really looks like, and showing that it’s possible. I didn’t want to either shrug it off as inconvenient to a happy ending, or else treat them like permanently broken things. I wanted it to be a journey. When it came to Arthur’s TB, I also wanted to write something realistic and accurate to the period in terms of his recovery rather than just sort of handwaving it. Historical medicine’s an interest of mine, so this was a good chance to explore some of that. Joining the circus: This is one of the rarer instances where the tail sort of wagged the dog and I had to make something fit to an immovable future plan. I had them in 1904 having claimed a homestead up in Canada that needed to be settled and improved within three years. And I knew for 1907 Team Griffith needed to be in the five-state area of the RDR2 map in order to be involved in the Epilogue. I could have had them go back to Chuparosa and continue eking out a living, and debated pushing them back on the bounty hunter path to put them being sometimes in those American states that would let them cross paths with the Marstons somehow. Didn’t really like it. Given how averse they were to bounty hunting together with two very young children at home, how Sadie absolutely wasn’t going to be the little wife sitting at home and letting Arthur go alone into danger as an alternative, and how much they both liked the idea that they no longer needed to live that sort of life, it felt like I needed something else. And it needed to be something that they could walk away with no offense taken from in three years. In retrospect, I could have had them hire on at MacFarlane’s full time rather than seasonal and developed that bond even more, but I ended up coming up with a circus that folds in 1907 as a good alternative. Given they’re ace riders and crack shots and pretty fair actors, that Arthur was very used to a nomadic lifestyle, that circus folk are great actors and can deal some mild well-meaning trickery as part of the delight, that they were fairly egalitarian for the time, and that traveling circus folk sort of existed as a quasi-disreputable and tightly knit “outsider” group, it felt like a neat chance to mirror the gang, but in a positive way. So with the circus, I got to write Sadie and Arthur getting to live the best version of that kind of life, and sort of coming to peace with more of the past by it. Proving the things they missed about the gang weren’t the robberies or Dutch’s antisocial philosophy, but the people they loved and the freewheeling lifestyle. Also proving that while they enjoy that life, they do both really want to have something more settled and put down solid roots. Sadie misses that, and Arthur yearns for it as something he’s never had. Also noting I hadn’t planned at all on Arkady Rudenko when I wrote Sadie and Arthur performing as the “Cossack Karolovs”, and I only realized that connection after I’d written the final chapter. Guess my unconscious brain knew more than I thought even back then, though I’d only earmarked a few months before that final chapter trying to possibly work in the interesting fact of Ukrainians being a very prevalent immigrant group to the Canadian prairie provinces at the time. But yeah, as an actual Cossack kid, Archie’s probably going to laugh his ass off. Kid’s jobs: So I actually have a short scrapped bit that I didn’t include as an extra document at the end of chapter 88, though I debated it. I like the piece, but I wanted to leave it with Sadie and Arthur’s journal entries and the circle of things being sort of complete. It’s a preface to a book called “Red Dead Redemption” written by Jack--who’s become a writer of a fairly famous radio play turned TV serial--in the ‘60′s once all the OGs are finally gone and he feels safe to tell that story. It mentions that the illustrations were done by his wife, Bea. So yeah, Bea got Arthur’s artistic talent, and by submitting her work as “B.M. Griffith”, she managed to get some illustration jobs that would have been denied to her as “Beatrice”. Mattie (Matt as he grows older), becomes a doctor. He’s already got the caring heart and desire to heal and help people. He’ll likely end up helping Felipe out as a teenager and learning some of the ropes there before going to college. Susie ended up becoming a teacher. There were definitely still strictures at the time against married women working as teachers, so if/when she got married (and I think if so, she did it later in life) she’d have been expected to retire and effectively become a housewife. But she’d still keep teaching as a tutor. Andy, with his energy and love of horses and the outdoors, actually shows a passion for farming and ranching. So he’s the one who ends up running the day-to-day of Paradise Run as the next generation. Feel free to keep up with the AMA with those further questions! Might be better to send them in individually, though, as this one got pretty long. ;)

#rdr2 #may the sunrise #sunrise ama #writing #fic from the parking lot #foundynnel

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surveys-at-your-service · 4 years ago

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Survey #376

“when the wind bends the branch to softly touch me / when the band plays your song / i feel strong enough to keep dreaming”

If your s/o smoked pot/did drugs would you care? Yes, but for pot that's only because it's illegal here. I also find smoking to be a turn-off, but I'd be able to look past that if it was for actual health reasons. Do people ever call you by your last name? No. Has the last person you dated/fell in love with ever seen you cry? Yes. Where are you going on your next vacation (or where do you WANT to go)? I've got none planned, nor do I know where I'd want to prioritize. Like there's South Africa, but I first need to get healthier before I could handle the heat and trudging through sand. I want to go to Yellowstone National Park to spread Teddy's ashes there (seeking permission of course), but again, I need to be in better shape before I go on a venture of photographing there, as well. I need to be healthier to do a lot of the things I want to... Do you own anything bought in another country? No. Who do you text the most? Sara. Four things you wish you had? Better health (including mental), financial stability, a job, and motivation to indulge more in my artistic hobbies. What was the last thing you cried about? Stress regarding this dog we're stuck with. What is your favorite Elvis song? Probably "You're The Devil In Disguise." Do you think you could be the next American Idol? Ha, absolutely not. Do you prefer reading fiction or non-fiction? Fiction, by a long shot. Does anybody send you money in the mail for your birthday? No. My grampa used to, but he's been dead a couple years. Who is one person you met and automatically didn’t like? I was not a fan of a doctor I once saw for my tremors. She was very rude and just threw the idea of me having Parkinson's or something at what, 17 years old or whatever? My psychiatrist knows her as well and knows she's a whackjob. Heard her name and was essentially like "ew" lmao. What monster would you be most afraid to have in your closet? A male one with a knife, I guess. I really hate knives. And men scare me anyway. Which Adam Sandler movie do you like the most? I don't know, he's in too many to possibly think of one right off the top of my head. Who was one of your first celebrity crushes? Jesse McCartney was my first true love, haha. Have you ever been hit on through text messages? Yes. Do you have to do any yard work? No. Have you ever mowed the lawn? No. Do you get an allowance? No. Did you ever know your great grandparents? I think I knew one? There was this woman from my childhood I knew as "GG" for "great grandma," but I have no recollection of who she was related to or even if she was directly related to me. I remember that I really really liked her, though. Do you like the taste of Tums? It's the texture I really don't like. The candy-like Tums though, y'know, not the chalky ones, I like more than someone should like medicine, haha. How about Pepto Bismol? Omfg no. Do you have a fast or slow metabolism? I have a slow metabolism, but thank Christ it's not as bad as when I was on Abilify. That stupid fucking medicine was the reason I gained so much weight that I haven't been able to lose. What’s your favorite onomatopoeia? (Crash, bang, zoom, meow) I dunno. Do you eat ramen? There's only one specific kind of ramen I've had that I like: Yakisoba's spicy chicken one. Sweet or regular pickles? Regular. I don't like sweet pickles. What kind of dreams do you have most often? Since my nightmares started, violent ones. I'm usually trying to defend myself or lashing out at someone myself. What do you do for personal growth? I try to be a deep thinker, for one. This can way too easily lead to overthinking, but I appreciate that I think it at least helps me learn from my mistakes and work towards making me a better person. I need to start challenging my anxiety more, as that would definitely be massive growth... If you could read anyone’s mind, who would be the first person you’d read? Jason's, only because all I want to know is if he thinks I was emotionally abusive after the breakup or not. But I also don't want to know. Do you have a makeup item or style trick that you feel improves your look significantly and that you feel like you couldn’t go without now that you have it? No. What’s your favourite cereal? Probably Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but I like a lot of cereals. Do you prefer red wine or white wine? I don't like wine. Way too bitter. Do you read Reddit? If so, how often and what subreddits do you like? I don't, but I've thought about lurking on a reptile husbandry one or something like that. Might learn some stuff. But at the same time, there are so many conflicting and very strong opinions amongst hobbyists to the point of awful toxicity that I'd rather not read. Have you recently broken up with a significant other or even just a friend? No. Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and left without paying? God no. When was the last time you played a board game? What did you play? Probably Scrabble back when Sara visited. Do you primarily use cash or card for your purchases? Why? Cash, because I don't have a debit or credit card. Do you believe sex should be mandatory in an ongoing dating relationship? Um, no? Some people don't care for it, and that's completely fine. Have you ever recorded yourself doing a cover of a song? No. Any secrets you’d never tell anyone? No matter how close they are to you? Yes. Do you like deviled eggs? NO. FUCK that yolk shit. What career are you most interested in? I still think my first career goal, a paleontologist, would be most interesting and exciting. Like just IMAGINE discovering a new dinosaur. And it's such a job of passion - you have to be so, SO careful and invest so much time in slowly recovering it from millions of years of rock and sand and time. I can only imagine the feeling of accomplishment when an excavation is complete. Have you ever seen a rooster? Yeah? What do you think about religion? Honestly, I personally wish it had never been a thing. It's brought with it so much hatred and bigotry, but I do acknowledge at the same time it's brought great comfort and hope to some people, and that's wonderful. But just all things considered, I feel it's done more harm than good. What’s your favorite sweetheart name (baby, honey, angel, dumpling) Probably "lovely." Has a little kid ever fallen asleep on your lap before? Yes, back when I babysat my neighbor's kid once. Have you ever thrown a grenade? Yikes, no. Have you ever talked face to face with someone famous before? No. Have you ever owned a rocking horse? I don't think so? If you could meet anyone in the world who would it be? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Have you ever wished you were dead? Yes. Is it awkward when people start talking all deep around you? No, I actually like deep convos. Have you ever played the old school Pac Man arcade game? Possibly? Ever played Mario Karts on Nintendo 64? No. Have you ever been scuba diving? No. Can you surf/boogie board? No. Do you like Chinese food, Mexican food, or American food better? American. What’s your favorite thing to order from Taco Bell? Cheese quesadilla and fiesta potatos. Sometimes I get the cinnabon delight thingies, but I avoid 'em with how unhealthy they are. Do you like hot, cold, or lukewarm showers? Pretty hot. Do you like to swing? I LOVED swinging as a kid. I haven't done it in a very long time now. How about jumping on a trampoline? I loved that as a kiddo, too. I haven't done that in years. What are you favorite color eyes? Sapphire blue or like an emerald green. Do you have long arm hair? Nah, at least I don't think so. What third generation console is your favorite? PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii? I loved my PS3. I'm still so bummed mine broke. How often do you like to have sex? I'm not sexually active, but even when I was, I didn't care. Do you have a facial expression you seem to pull a lot? What is it? Not really. I think I look stoic most of the time. Do you always listen to music when you’re online? No; I usually have a let's play or something like that on that I can split my screen and watch while doing something else. If so, what are you currently listening to? I'm listening to "Love Goes On And On" by Lindsey Stirling and Amy Lee right now. Do you ever forget how to do really simple things? Like what? Yes, like how to control the laundry machine and other things like that. There's just so many options that I never, ever remember what to set it to, no matter how many times Mom shows me. That's how my memory is with most things these days, really... Were you born with naturally straight teeth? No; I needed braces. If you were the opposite gender, what name would you like to be called? Uhhh maybe Severin. Do you prefer original or sour Skittles? I love both, but sour wins. What about chocolate or peanut M&M’s? I also enjoy both, but the original are better. Your favourite band: Do you prefer their old or new stuff? That's like... impossible to answer, lol. I just love everything. Do you check to make sure your ear phones are going in the right ear? No. Do you secretly still listen to Ace of Base? I have no idea who that is. Have you ever broken someone else’s bone? No, thank goodness. I'd feel awful. Is it stupid to think you can write a book at thirteen? No?????????? There are incredibly talented writers out there at young ages. Hell, I remember as a kid, I wanted to be the youngest published author way before that age. Are you ever embarrassed about what you dream about? There've been some I wouldn't share. Have you ever had sex with someone as a favor? No, and I never would. Does your mom let you date? I'm 25, my dude. She let me when I felt ready, though. If you had the last person you kissed’s Facebook password, would you go snooping through their stuff? Why or why not? She doesn't have one, but hypothetically, fuck no. Because that's none of my damn business, and it still wouldn't be even if we were still dating. Have you ever fainted? If so, when was the last time? If not have you ever come close? I've fainted once when I was a teen and have come close many other times. Ever take a keyboarding class? Do you type using the skills you learned in class, or how you used to before you took the class? Yeah; it was mandatory for I think one year in middle school. I type how I was taught in there. Do you find your best friend’s significant other/crush attractive? She doesn't have an s/o, and idk who her "real" crush is, as much as she'd love Frieza to be real, haha. What do you do with your clothes that don’t fit anymore or just don’t want? Donate them. Do you cut out coupons? My mom will keep some fast food ones she gets in the mail sometimes. Did you ever breathe in helium and talk funny afterwards? I think I did once at a birthday party, but I'm unsure. Would you ever open your own business? If so, what kind of business could you imagine yourself having? I want to be a freelance photographer so, so badly. I want to specialize in nature and wildlife, but having a boudoir studio would be great to help keep me afloat, plus I adore the art of boudoir. I've shot it once for an old friend, and by god, I loved how empowered it made her feel, especially as a plus-sized woman. She adored the pictures, and I'd just love to help other clients feel like they're gorgeous in their unique body, too. Last type of candy you ate? I had a donut from Starbuck's yesterday. Did you decorate your house for Halloween? If so, how many decorations? Did you go all out, or just put up a few things? Mom and I don't really decorate anymore. :/

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''love goes on and on (feat. amy lee)'' by lindsey stirling

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sparkkeyper · 4 years ago

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Whumptober Day 11: Defiance

Aka "Crowley is furious at God". Whoops, it's sad. I've had this in my head for a while now, and well...

Warnings: child death, animal death, Old Testament-typical mass death (it's the Plagues of Egypt, folks, it's not pretty)

***

An angel and a demon stood on top of a rocky outcrop as the wailing and the screams rose up from the city. The angel's expression was very carefully blank. The demon's was most definitely not.

"Proud of yourssself, are you?" Crawly's voice dripped with disgust, his mouth twisted with horror and rage. Yellow filled his eyes to their edges and his nails dug into his palms until they drew blood.

Aziraphale flinched. "I told you before, nobody consults me on things like this." He was trying so very hard to set his face into a look of determination but the wringing of his hands betrayed him. "I didn't have a hand in any of it, not this time. All of this came directly from the Almighty."

Crawly's gaze roamed over the ravaged streets. Animal carcasses lay scattered, attracting flies by the thousands. Locusts flitted about, mingling with the occasional frog. Grief-stricken parents sobbed and clung to each other, ironically in every doorway where the blood wasn't.

"She promised she wouldn't do it again," he hissed. "She promised."

"She promised not to send another flood."

"But every other kind of extinction is fair game, is it? Sounds exactly like the sort of fine print She'd employ."

"Now, it's...it's hardly extinction..."

Crawly turned his anger onto the shrinking angel beside him. "They have no harvest! No livestock! What are they to eat next season?"

"Pharaoh had every chance to make the right choice..." Aziraphale's mumble trailed off weakly but the demon rounded on him anyway.

"They have no future! No children!"

"I didn't call down any plagues, Crawly!" The angel stumbled backwards, hands up in surrender. "All I was told was that this was punishment for Pharaoh-"

"Then punish Pharaoh!" Crawly screamed, sweeping his arm wide across the city. "Not the children! They didn't do anything! She was five!" He stabbed a finger at a house below them, then at another. "He was three! Just because he had the bad luck to be born first, that makes him the scapegoat for the Almighty's games?!"

"I didn't choose this!" A horn blew off to the east, where a great crowd of people were beginning to move at the city's edge. Aziraphale bit his lip hard. "Look, I've got to leave-"

"Not even going to stick around for the aftermath? Not going to help bury the dead or heal the sick or try to revive the ruined crops? How good of you."

"I have my orders, Crawly! I'm to go with the Hebrews, Michael was very clear on that point."

"Where will they go?"

"Nobody knows really. The general consensus is anywhere is better than here. They're taking it on faith."

"Faith!" Crawly spat on the ground at his feet. "Faith that the Almighty won't kill them after watching Her rain every kind of destruction down on innocents here? They'll starve, Aziraphale. There's no harvest left for anyone anywhere, no game. You'll watch them die out in the desert."

The horn sounded again and Aziraphale turned to leave, glancing back for a moment like he wanted to say more, but ultimately finding no words.

Crawly seethed, watching him turn his back on the destruction of the city. But it wasn't Aziraphale's fault - it was Hers. She who claimed to love Her creations and then set fire and death and pain upon them if they didn't bow to Her every changing whim, if they interpreted Her signs wrong, if they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time! She coddled one blameless child and struck down another all according to Her fucking ineffable mood and it made his blood boil like the sulfur pools. Why should Her game be allowed to play out the way She wanted it to? Why should all of Egypt have to roll over and cede the world to Her special pets?

Crawly was running through the streets with fire in his eyes. Every dead animal he passed, every vagrant covered in sores, every weeping mother only made it burn hotter. It took him no time at all to reach the palace grounds and no one stopped him as he burst into the inner chambers with the force of thunder.

"Pharaoh!"

Ramses was knelt over the body of his son, so similar to all the other fathers in the streets. Guards turned to the newcomer but Crawly had no patience for them. A demonic miracle held them in place as he stormed up to the king, grabbing onto all the threads of grief and pain that spilled from the human and twisting them into hatred.

"Your brother has turned on you and you'll let him get away with no consequence?" The demon slammed his hands down on the marble bier that held the dead prince. "Avenge your child! The God of the Hebrews has cursed your land, your people, to devastation, and you're just going to take it? Get up, Pharaoh, and show them that they can't bring such horror here and escape unscathed! Remind them who is lord of this kingdom! Make the rivers run red yourself with their blood this time!"

Ramses surged to his feet and Crawly knew he had him. Revenge pulsed through the human's soul, and through the demon's as well. The hold on the guards released as their pharaoh began bellowing orders and within moments the whole of the palace was in a frenzy, marshaling what soldiers remained into a force bent on slaughter.

Crawly rode with them, commandeering the biggest, blackest stallion from the royal stables despite his usual hatred of the animals. He hated a lot of things today, and horses were now down at the bottom of his list. Death and bloodlust were not part of his traditional repertoire but She had pushed him too far with this and he was not going to let Her get away with it, he was not!

By the time the remnants of the pharaoh's army had mustered and given chase, the Hebrews had reached the shore of the sea. As Crawly watched, the distant water split in half and the Almighty's pets began to cross the dry riverbed. He snarled out loud, knowing such a miracle was far too great for one angel. This was God Herself, of course it was. He gripped the reigns of his stallion harder. Aziraphale would be fine in the chaos, he had miracles on hand to make sure of that. But he couldn't say the same for the rest of the throng.

Four hundred foot soldiers, riders, and charioteers surged onto the seabed as the Hebrews climbed out on the opposite back. Only a few minutes more and the army would be upon them.

A horrible roar echoed from behind them and Crawly looked back just in time to see a wall of water as tall as the palace itself crumbling inward towards him. Screams assaulted his ears but he didn't even have time to open his mouth before the wall struck him with the force of an avalanche, tearing him from his horse and smashing him into the ground.

There was a terrible stretch of time where Crawly couldn't make sense of anything. He was pummeled from all sides by water, stone, bodies, armour. All air was forced out of his lungs and seawater took its place. He had no idea which way was up, and after the roar subsidied a deep oppressive silence filled his ears.

If Crawly had been human, he would be dead. But he was a demon, and the broken bones and crushed sternum could be reversed with a series of miracles. His chest rebelled against the water that filled it, but he didn't truly need to breathe so he could bear the ache.

Eventually the churning ocean around him settled down enough for him to realize he was pinned to the sea floor by a chariot wheel. It took some wriggling - during which a normal human would have certainly drowned three times over - but he managed to free himself. The water around him was full of debris and bodies as he swam for the light above.

Crawly burst to the surface with a gasp that lost itself in gurgling. He dragged himself half onto a nearby rock and doubled over, choking up seawater and trying to clear his lungs enough to breathe.

On the opposite bank, the last of the Hebrews were disappearing over the hill.

He screamed the moment he had the breath for it, a sound of betrayal and failure and impotent rage, directed solely at the heavens. Dead men and dead horses filled the water around him. Dead crops and dead children filled the kingdom behind. Death and pain were always the clearest signs of Her interference. And now She waltzed away from him like always, leaving him powerless. Caring nothing for the ruin in her wake.

He wouldn't face any punishment from Downstairs, he knew. Four hundred souls dead while steeped in the throes of Wrath was quite a consolation prize. More than enough to keep Hell happy and off his back.

But it was no consolation to Crawly.

He screamed until his throat was sore, then collapsed alone on the rock in the sea and wept with Egypt.

#good omens #My fic #whumptober2020 #Crowley #Crawly #The Plagues of Egypt #tw: child death #Tw: death #Tw: animal death #So um I'm sure you've noticed but God in the Old Testament is kind of a massive dick #Crowley yells at God

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legendarymasterwolf · 5 years ago

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I finished RDR2 and I need to talk about it

My thoughts when I first played it last summer was that it had an interesting story with interesting characters, it was just far too long for me. Due to quarantine, I finally decided to attempt to finish the game (I was already aware of a few story beats that had yet to happen when I returned to playing, but I hadn't witnessed them yet). By the time I finished, this game had set itself as my second favorite game of all time (The Witcher 3 is still my favorite, though that's definitely going to change when cyberpunk 2077 releases).

SPOILERS FOR RDR2 FOLLOW!!! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

The first half of the game intrigued me. It took the time to show how the Van Der Linde Gang was a dysfunctional family unit, and I loved the little moments in camp where everyone would be sitting around a campfire singing or something like that. Though at this point, I was just intrigued. Not to say there weren't any great moments or shocking deaths up until halfway through the game. The mission where you burn the Gray family's tobacco fields reminded me of Far Cry 3′s Weed Burning sequence, among several other memorable moments from the story as well. Plus, Sean and Kieran’s deaths were shocking and brutal (my boys did not deserve to go out like that, Sean getting shot in the head mid-sentence and Kieran getting his eyes gouged out and decapitated, his headless corpse sent back into camp on a horse) and I still felt for those deaths.

But the midpoint of the game is where everything changes. The gang decides to rob the Lemoyne National Bank in Saint Denis. It goes off without a hitch until the Pinkertons suddenly show up out of nowhere, taking Hosea hostage. Matters are further complicated by Milton, who shoots Hosea when Dutch tries to talk his way out. The way the nicest member of the gang and adoptive father of the group was gunned down without ceremony is shocking enough, but to have Lenny join him minutes later and not even in a cutscene when he’s gunned down by Pinkerton Agents on the roof just hurts. The gang is forced to flee the bank as Arthur, Dutch, Javier, Micah, and Bill board a boat out of the city, with Charles offering himself up as a distraction so they can escape.

Guarma is nothing to write home about. If you remove it, nothing is taken away from the story, and there are parts of it that just feel out of place for a Red Dead game. What I would have preferred was a chapter with Sadie as she and Charles protect the group while they travel to Lakay. Speaking of Sadie, by this point, she had grown on me, especially in a later mission with Arthur where they bond while they take out the remaining O'Driscolls. Props to Alex McKenna, she knocked it out of the park in this scene, hell, the whole game. Sadie probably has the best character arc in the entire game. I might even have a new favorite female video game character (sorry, Aloy, you're still cool).

But before this came some of my favorite moments in the game. Two specific ones I want to talk about before I get into the rest of the second half include the TB reveal and the subsequent conversation about it. The reveal itself comes out of nowhere, although if you're watching closely when you go to get money from Thomas Downes and notice that Arthur has been coughing more and more up until this point, it may be pretty obvious what he has. A doctor confirms it after you suddenly fall off your horse coughing up blood: Arthur has tuberculosis. In 1889, this is a death sentence. As you leave the doctor's office, you either see a deer or a wolf depending on your honor level, a representation of your spirit. For the rest of the game, you are underweight no matter how much you eat as the disease slowly kills you. But this didn't sink in for me until the conversation with Sister Calderon. I know there's an alternate version of this conversation with Reverend Swanson if you have low honor, but the one with Calderon hit me hard when Arthur admitted he was afraid of dying (Roger Clark, you absolutely deserved winning Best Performer at the Game Award in 2018, you knocked this performance out of the park). Calderon tells him that he can now see his life clearly, and that helping people should be something to do before he passes on. It's just a beautiful conversation that made Arthur's condition even more real.

Dutch's decent into madness takes up most of the game's second half, besides Arthur's illness (though I will admit I loved the mission where you rode with Rains Fall). The final straw comes after the last train robbery the gang does, where Dutch refuses to rescue Abigail after she is taken by the pinkertons and claims John is dead. Not content to leave Jack an orphan, Arthur and Sadie ride to rescue Abigail. It turns out to be a trap with Milton holding them at gunpoint, revealing Micah as the traitor since Guarma. After dealing with Milton thanks to Abigail, Arthur sends the women off, before donning his hat for one last ride. I'm pretty sure I mentioned before on this blog that "Portals" from Endgame is now something I'm conditioned to cry to. Well, now another song can do that, "That's The Way It Is" by Daniel Lanois, the song that plays as Arthur takes one last ride to camp while he hears the voices of those that he helped or hurt along the way. Seriously, I'm crying as I'm writing this because I'm listening to the song right now.

When Arthur gets back to camp and accuses Micah of being the traitor, John arrives as well, claiming that Dutch left him to die. Before a shoot out can begin between the remaining gang members over loyalty, the pinkertons arrive. Arthur and John escape the confusion until their horses are shot down, giving Arthur one last moment with his chosen horse and allowing you to make one last decision: cover John's escape or go retrieve the gang's money in the cave? Choose to cover John's escape as the finale it leads to is the best one you can get with high honor. After a bit of running, it becomes clear to Arthur that he won't make it and someone needs to stall the pinkertons. After a short goodbye to John, he gives him his signature hat while John calls him his brother. Minutes later, he is ambushed by Micah and nearly shoots him until Dutch stops him. Micah and Dutch leave as Arthur passes away from his injuries and tuberculosis, seeing one last sunrise before dying.

Now for the epilogue. Yes, it was long as hell and I did not need it to be around four hours long. However, I will say that there were some great moments there. I was relieved to hear that Charles and Sadie made it out, while Pearson settled down and got his own general store in Rhodes, Tilly got married to a Hatian lawyer, and Mary Beth became a romance writer. But two of the best moments come from the last two missions of the game. The first comes when John proposes to Abigail on the lake. It's just such a sweet scene and a great moment between the pair with John deciding to truly commit to Abigail.

But the cherry on top comes with the final mission, American Venom, where John, Sadie, and Charles ride to confront Micah Bell one last time. It culminates in a standoff with John, Dutch, and Micah who is holding Sadie at gunpoint. Dutch finally ends the standoff by shooting Micah after everything, after which the game gives you one last Deadeye as John in the most satisfying moment of the game when you shoot the bastard (honestly, is there anyone who likes Micah?).

The game ends with John using the money from Blackwater to pay off the bank that owns his ranch and marries Abigail during the credits as "Mountain Hymn”, another song that makes me cry from this game, plays while we see what has become of several members of the cast. This game was just brilliant. Rockstar outdid themselves this time, and while it isn’t perfect, what with the realism of gameplay being too much sometimes, the Guarma chapter being unnecessary, and the Epilogue being 3 hours too long while reminding us of the turmoil to come in the first RDR game, I still loved playing as an outlaw from the last days of the American West. It’s definitely another one to add to my list of favorite games of all time and I’m glad I got to play it during a period of similar conclusion in my life.

It’s almost poetic.

Yeah, this game was fabulous. I’m done now.

#rdr2

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modreduscycle · 5 years ago

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Green Knight Pt. 4

“I’ll see you both before sunset!” Bertilak bade, leaning down to kiss his wife goodbye. Once their lips parted, the lord grabbed Gawain’s hand and kissed it. “And I have not forgotten our game.”

Oh dear sweet lord. Adultery is bad, adultery is bad, and would probably not be made better by committing it with both parties in a marriage. Besides, Bertilak was just being polite and chivalrous. He meant nothing by it. Gawain forced a smile. “Neither have I, although I still don’t think I’ll have anything to give you.”

“We’ll see! Farewell!” With a loud bang and a rush of cold air, the door slammed shut behind him and Gawain was left alone with Ragnelle.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and glanced over to see Ragnelle smiling at him. “Come with me, there’s something I’d like to show you.”

She took his hand and led him into another room of the castle. Inside, the walls were covered with paintings and the furniture was covered in thick furs, many of which were splattered with paint. Easels stood up around the room, canvases upon many of them. There was a shelf in the corner with more canvases, these blank, along with jars of paint. There were also several potted plants, healthy, green, and some in full bloom despite being midwinter. Now that he thought about it, the castle seemed to have as many plants as furs, and they had a lot of furs decorating the place. Even Ragnelle herself always had flowers in her hair.

Ragnelle rubbed the back of her neck. “What do you think?”

“It’s amazing, you paint in here?” Gawain asked.

“Obviously. Bertilak sometimes joins me, but I think he gets embarrassed a bit. He doesn’t have as much practice as I do, so there’s a difference in skill,” Ragnelle explained, sinking into a fur-covered couch in front of two easels. Gawain noticed the canvases on them were both blank. Ragnelle picked up a brush and held it between her fingers like a pen. She cast him an alluring look. “Would you like to try your hand at a brush?”

“I haven’t really painted before,” Gawain muttered, trying to fight a blush.

“Then I can teach you, come here,” she bid. He sat down next to her and she angled the nearest easel toward him. “What do you want to paint?”

“I don’t know… Gringolet, maybe?” he suggested, picking up the brush and dipping it into paint.

“Who’s that?” asked Ragnelle.

“Oh, that’s my horse’s name. The one I rode in on.”

“Oh! Him!” Her eyes brightened in sudden understanding. “He’s a nice horse, I went down to the stables to visit him last night. He’s very spirited.”

“Right?” Gawain exclaimed. “Everyone else seems to think he’s a monster or something.”

“I mean, he was trying to bite the stablehand when I walked in, so I do see where they’re coming from,” Ragnelle admitted. She grabbed his hand and helped guide his strokes, sidling closer to him in the process.

“He’s just not a huge fan of men, myself excluded,” Gawain explained. “He has good reason to be, too.” His eyes narrowed. “I almost killed his previous owner because of how he treated him. Gaheris had to stop me.”

“Abusive son of a bitch?” Ragnelle asked. He could feel her hot breath on his neck.

“Yeah. I had to nurse him back to health for months before he was even fit to ride for a short period of time. It took a long time to get him to eat anything other than apples.”

Gawain felt Ragnelle’s hand tighten around his wrist. “Almost wish you did kill his previous owner, or at least caused serious injury.”

“Well… I did sort of hit him…” Gawain muttered. “Gaheris described it as me, ‘bitch-slapping him with my shield.’ He flew about three feet and slammed into the wall. Didn’t put up much of a fight about me taking his horse.”

“Wonder why,” Ragnelle quipped. She fell silent. “I know what it’s like for someone to hurt you like that, but I never had anyone like you to come and save me.”

Gawain stared at her with wide eyes. “Is it Bertilak or…?” He thought he was a pretty good judge of character, and her husband certainly hadn’t set off any alarms, but if he laid a hand on her, they were having words.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Ragnelle quickly denied. “Bertilak has never been anything but kind. I’m not even certain he has it in him to hurt anyone outside of a fight.” She sighed and looked away. “I just didn’t have a great family.”

Gawain bit his lip. “My mother’s pretty awful, too.”

“What’d she do?” Ragnelle asked.

“I know I don’t know everything, but…” He wondered how much he should say. Accusing a queen of such things, regardless of circumstance, was a bit scandalous and probably not something a knight should do, but on the other hand, she was his mother. “Well, my youngest brother was born because she raped someone, just to give you a general picture of the kind of person she is.”

“Oh, wow.” Ragnelle’s eyes widened.

“She always made it perfectly clear her opinions on my siblings and I range from indifference to outright hatred,” Gawain muttered. “She threatened to murder my youngest brother if my aunt didn’t take him and I’m not certain, but I’m pretty sure she physically abused one of my other brothers but he clams up everytime I try to ask.”

“My mother is perhaps the only family member who I maybe could stand,” Ragnelle explained. Her brush strokes became furious and harsh. “I say ‘maybe’ because she disappeared when I was a baby. My father remarried and my stepmother is the the biggest bitch I’ve ever known. My half-brother’s a son of a bitch, and that’s an insult against both of them. My father either did nothing or was on their side.” She wrapped her fingers around a strand of hair with several blue flowers in it, even more than there had been a few minutes ago.

“That’s awful…” Gawain muttered. He grabbed her hand and squeezed. “They’re awful.”

She smiled over at him. “Yeah, took me a good portion of my life to fully realize it wasn’t me. When I did, I stuck around one more year before running away. I was sixteen.”

“That’s about how old I was when I left for Camelot,” Gawain replied. There was an awkward moment of silence. “So which one of your parents were fey?”

“Huh?” She jerked around and looked at him with eyes wide.

“Your flowers,” Gawain pointed to his own hair. “It’s a trait of nature fey, right? Plants growing in your hair.”

She stared at him for a few more seconds. “...both of them, actually. My stepmother is human, though.”

“I’m only a… I think it’s sixteenth myself? My grandfather was a fourth light fey,” Gawain mused. “So basically it’s barely worth mentioning.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard, I just didn’t know you were still familiar with the fey,” Ragnelle replied.

“My aunt is Morgana le Fay and I live in Camelot, how could I not be— wait, where did you hear that?” he asked suspiciously.

Her eyes widened, like she’d been caught at something. “I… well, you’re not exactly an unknown knight, Sir Gawain of Orkney.”

“So my reputation proceeds me,” he muttered.

“Parts of it, yes, but reputations and people are two different things. Just take it for granted that I might know a few more things about you than you do about me,” she explained.

“Being in the limelight sucks,” mumbled Gawain.

Ragnelle sighed and wrapped her arm around his neck, making eye contact. “I’m sure it does, but you know what?”

“W- what?”

“You’re so much better in person than any stories of your heroic deeds could ever make you out to be.” Before he even realized what was happening, she closed the short distance between them and kissed him. He couldn’t stop himself before he kissed back.

She was the first to pull away, smiling shyly afterward. Gawain knew his face was beet red, and he was trying to quell both the smile on his face and the giddiness he was feeling. “That… that shouldn’t have happened.”

“It’s fine, Gawain.”

“No, you’re a married woman and I—”

“Don’t want to commit adultery, I understand.”

“I… oh God, do I tell Bertilak?”

“You can, he’ll understand.”

“Will he?!”

Ragnelle rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

He stared at her. “Really?”

With a sigh, Ragnelle pushed a strand of red hair out of her face. “I know my husband better than you do. Trust me, he would not have a problem if we did it right here on the couch.”

“I feel like you’re screwing with me. Also, no!” Gawain added, objecting to the suggestion. He ran his fingers through his hair. “What do I do?”

She glanced over at him. “You know, you got that kiss.”

“I noticed that, what do you…” His eyes widened. “Wait… are you telling me to…”

“It’s a good way to tell him,” Ragnelle replied with a grin.

“It’s also a good way to get stabbed.”

“He won’t stab you.”

Gawain fell silent and thought for a moment. “Well, I’ll be dead soon anyway, what’s a few days earlier?”

“That’s not the spirit, but I’ll take it.”

They spent the rest of the day painting. Gawain’s didn’t turn out great, even with Ragnelle’s help, but he was proud of it. Ragnelle argued since he made it and didn’t receive it that it didn’t count by the rules of the bet, but he still gave it to her as a gift. After all, what use did he have for it?

When Bertilak arrived back, Gawain internally screamed while the large man took his coat and armor off. This was a bad idea, all previous experience told him this was a very, very bad idea. But it also tempted him, and he made a promise…

His thoughts were broken off when Bertilak clapped his shoulder and pointed to the game, laid out on a table. “That’s all yours. Is there any you want the cooks to serve for dinner tonight?”

“U- um, the boar looks pretty good,” Gawain stuttered, a little distracted.

“Excellent!” Bertilak boomed. “I thought so too! Now, do you have anything for me?”

“Actually, yes,” Gawain admitted. Before he could change his mind or lose his nerve, he got up on his tiptoes and pulled Bertilak into a deep kiss. The man really had a nice beard, he had to admit. It wasn’t scratchy, just soft and fluffy. If it wasn’t for the fact that this was bordering on adultery, he would have kept going but instead he broke away after a few seconds. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ragnelle hiding a smile while Bertilak looked pleasantly surprised.

“...and I thought I got the better catch today,” he muttered. “You are a very good kisser.”

“I’ve had some practice,” Gawain muttered.

“I’m sure you have,” Bertilak agreed, blushing. “Oh, and I know we can’t exactly request things from the other person, but if you’d like to get that again tomorrow from wherever you received it, I’d be most grateful.”

…there was no way they were both flirting with him. No way. He was either in heaven or hell right now and he didn’t know which one.

#I FORGOT TO DO A READ MORE AND I'M SORRY!#arthuriana #green knight #gawain #ragnelle #bertilak

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princess-of-the-corner · 6 years ago

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OKAY! So, half of me wants to not spoil Lady Luck, but the other half of me wants to discuss how the ‘Lovesquare’ works in that AU.

Short version: Since Chloé became Ladybug instead of Marinette, the original ‘Lovesquare’ doesn’t quite exist, but Marinette and Adrien still end up together. This post is just the way interactions changed because of it.

Here we go!

Origins

Since Marinette isn’t Ladybug, Chat Noir doesn’t fall in love with her when she stands up to Hawkmoth.

Instead, Adrien falls in love with Marinette when she stands up to Chloé(And also because she stood up to him earlier in the day when she thought he was in on the gum prank, but you know).

Because of a conversation Adrien has with Chloé, the umbrella scene is different. Chloé is the one who… well she doesn’t apologize exactly. But she explains to Marinette that Adrien is not a jerk and is just super sweet and wants friends.

Since the umbrella scene isn’t the same, Marinette doesn’t develop a crush on Adrien. However, she later develops a crush on Chat Noir.

Yep! I’m going full Reverse Crush!AU. Their dynamic is very different from usual though.

Marinette:

Since she’s not a stuttering mess around Adrien, she actually gets to hang out with him and befriend him. They become close pretty fast.

At first, Marinette begins with the whole ‘stuttering mess’ thing around Chat Noir once she develops the crush, but it’s negated fairly quickly due to a chunk of their interactions being during Akumas and her taking charge. After the first few times, she can interact with him normally and, you know, befriend him again.

Adrien:

Adrien is sweet and kind and honestly he does flirt with Mari a lot. He’s also a little flirty in general, but especially to her. But she doesn’t realize it’s genuine. However he ramps up the flirting and showing off as Chat Noir.

He is never really tempted away from loving Marinette, because he knows she loves him back. Not in an entitled way or anything. But she loves ‘Chat’, which is him, and he is 110% aware of that because not only does she discuss this with Adrien sometimes, but she does outright confess early on.

At first the only problem is that he can’t tell her that he’s Chat Noir, so since she thinks they’re two different people, she convinces herself that he’s ‘just a friend’. But as time goes on, Adrien starts to get scared of what will happen when she does find out. Because they’ve been getting close on both sides of the mask. And he would end up using her ‘let me tell you about my crush’ stuff to flirt with her as Chat Noir. (Like, telling Adrien that her favorite flowers are carnations and Chat ‘just so happens’ to get her a bouquet of them.).

On the rest of episodes!

Stormy Weather

Either Mari doesn’t show up to the photoshoot, or Adrien invites her in the first place.

Bubbler

Mari gives Adrien the scarf in-person, and he loves it. (Nathalie is left to scramble and find something else, but that won’t show up here).

Evillustrator

This is a BIG ONE!!!!

So, first things first, when Chloé sees that Nathaniel has a crush on Marinette, her comment is to go ‘Hey, Adrien, looks like you have some competition!”, so Nathaniel’s anger is focused on Adrien as a romantic rival instead of Chloé’s general comment. (honestly he should’ve been more upset at the teacher since that’s what got him Akumatized in the first place but at this point I’m beating a dead horse with another dead horse so you know.)

Chat Noir protecting Marinette though! He’s extra flirty and does show off, but he’s also super sweet and wants to make sure she’s okay!! And while he’s concerned and protective over her being live bait, he does trust and respect her enough to do it.

The next day, Adrien asks what she thought of Chat. And oh no. She’s all blushing and tripping over her words. Alya correctly guess that Mari has a bit of a crush, and she just gushes about him for a bit.

Chloé makes it worse by asking questions like ‘I’ve heard rumors about him. Is it true that his butt looks good in tight leather?” (Chloé no! Chloé yes!)Mari’s all red like ‘I wasn’t trying to look, but he was kinda there and damn.’

Adrien is dying. Chloé is teasing him because ‘she returns your crush but she has no idea!!!’

Copycat

Marinette doesn’t leave an embarrassing voicemail, since she wouldn’t have a number to call Chat Noir. She wouldn’t call Adrien like that, so she has no reason to steal his phone.

Chat Noir doesn’t love Lady Luck, so when he tells Théo that Lady Luck isn’t interested, it’s less ‘spur of the moment jealousy’ and more ‘trying to let him down gently’.

Dark Cupid

Another Big One!!

Adrien is still writing a poem, though this time it’s to Marinette herself. Mari doesn’t find the old draft in the trash. Instead Adrien is using Chloé as someone to bounce ideas off of (it’s revenge for the butt question.)

Marinette is debating about giving Chat a Valentine’s gift. Obviously she wants to, and does put together a box of cookies, but she has no idea how to send it to him.

Later when Chat is hit by Dark Cupid’s arrow, Lady Luck realizes she needs True Love’s Kiss™ to break the spell. She’d love to debate on whether that means a Romantic Kiss, but whatever.

She stops by to pick up Adrien’s poem, and finds Marinette. She explains the situation and tells her ‘you’re his true love so you should be able to break the spell!’. Mari is skeptical at first, but she shows her the poem and says ‘there’s only one girl he knows who this applies to, so it’s you’.

We have the fight/chase/whatever where Lady Luck gets to hold Chat still long enough for the kiss.

After everything is over, Lady Luck tells Chat about the True Love’s Kiss™ thing and apologizes for telling Mari about the poem before it was finished.(and apologizes for saying it’s from Chat instead of from Adrien.)

Both of them kinda low-key confess, but due to Chat being a Hero, it’s complicated. Ultimately they don’t get together yet.

That said, this does lead to a few late-night balcony visits!

Horrificator

Since Chloé is trying to be a decent wingman, she immediately suggests Marinette to replace Mylene for the kiss scene.

Gamer

Since Mari doesn’t have interest in Adrien romantically, she doesn’t sign up for the game contest. Instead, Adrien drags Chloé in as an attempt to get her to socialize in a friendly way.

Animan

Nino knew from Day 1 that Adrien had a crush on Marinette, so he didn’t develop his own crush on Mari. Instead, Alya finds out about Adrien’s crush and is determined to set them up.

Alya knows some about Mari’s crush on Chat, though she thinks it’s still just a ‘hero crush’ and ‘unobtainable’, so she wants to set Mari up with someone she can actually, you know, be with.

So Alya, Nino, and Chloé end up hiding in the bushes while Adrien talks to Marinette. Alya and Nino wonder why Chloé’s there, and she tries to explain but they’re interrupted by the Akuma.

Lady Luck tosses Alya and Nino in a cage, but Chat Noir saves Marinette.

Antibug

Or, rather, Miss Fortune. Since Marinette is Akumatized instead of Chloé.

Miss Fortune gets real flirty with Chat Noir. To be fair, he’s flirty back. “Hey, usually I’d have no objections to you tying me up, but at least let me buy you dinner first!”

I can’t say too much about Miss Fortune because, you know, spoilers. But they do talk a lot.

Pixelator

This one wasn’t originally lovesquare-heavy, but since it’s Marinette instead of Chloé who gets stuck in the void with Adrien, let me just say that Adrien is Dying™ because he could easily get out if it weren’t for the fact that he can’t tell her he’s Chat Noir.

Simon Says

That Ladrien moment is replaced with Adrienette, and there’s more Marichat once Adrien pulls the shower trick.

Volpina

I had to address this because I’m sure someone will guess ‘oh, Mari’s not jealous so she doesn’t follow Lila and find out she’s a liar!’. Well, first of all, in Canon Mari knew Lila was a liar from minute 1 because of the ‘bffs with Ladybug’ thing so the following had nothing to do with jealousy.

Anyway! Marinette knows about Chloé being Lady Luck,, so when Lila shows up like ‘I’m totally bffs with Lady Luck!’, she knows something’s up and still follows her.

Despair Bear

since Chloé is trying to help Adrien get with Mari, she isn’t upset when they dance.

Prime Queen

While Nadja originally goes after asking if Lady Luck and Chat Noir are a couple, and gets a ‘AHAHAHAH- Oh wait you’re serious?’ in response, she digs into other potential love interests. It’s actually Chat who leaves upset, since he didn’t want to let slip something about Marinette and put her in danger (from either paparazzi or from Hawkmoth).

Riposte

Instead of wanting to learn to fence to impress Adrien, Marinette wants to learn because she keeps getting involved with Chat Noir. While she’s been decent at fighting in the battles she’s ended up in, she does want to have some sort of fighting ability.

In the end, Kagami ends up in the fencing class, but Adrien agrees to teach Marinette himself. Chat also agrees to help out.

Gigantitan

Originally I was thinking that this would be reversed and instead of The Girls getting Mari to confess to Adrien, it’s The Boys getting Adrien to confess. But….

Remember what I said about Alya thinking Mari’s thing for Chat is just a ‘Hero Crush’? Alya gets The Girls together to try and hook up Mari and Adrien. Mari is less than enthused, since while she likes Adrien fine enough (in the ‘if I didn’t fall for Chat’ way), she is focused on Chat.

Like, while Mari does mention Chat a lot, she usally is low-key about it. Saying ‘my friend’ or something because if it gets out that she’s close to Chat, then she’d be a target. Alya, having tried to set her up with Adrien, thinks it worked since Mari mentions things about this ‘friend’ that matches up with Adrien, and thinks that Mari is avoiding using his name because Chloé is in earshot and ‘would obviously be possessive of her Adrikins!’

Glaciator

Marinette invites Chat to get ice cream. Chat doesn’t show up because it’s dangerous for him to be seen going on a date with a civilian, though Adrien does show up instead. Marinette is upset, of course, but understands.

Chat later brings her to a late night rooftop dinner date to apologize.

Both discuss the relationship. They’re frustrated that Chat can’t tell her who he is, even though Mari knows about Chloé being Lady Luck. They can’t even hang out on normal dates because that would make Mari a target.

They kind of… it’s not exactly a fight. But they decide to try other people because they can’t just break the rules.

Well, Marinette decides to try someone else. Adrien thinks to double his efforts to win her over as Adrien.

Fozer

I”m gonna adjust episode order to have this happen pretty soon after Glaciator, since that was the ‘sort of breakup’.

Marinette is interested in Luka, and asks him to go ice skating. She invites Adrien too, since she wants this to be less of an outright date as she’s still unsure of her feelings. She tells Adrien to invite someone too.

Adrien chooses Kagami, and explains to her upfront the situation and his reason for asking her. He’s like ‘Look, the girl I have a crush on is trying to date someone else, but she invited me as a friendly support. I want to support her, but I’m feeling a bit heartbroken so I also need support. I’m asking you because if I ask any of my other friends they’ll tell me to sabotage the date and win her back’.

Kagami is 110% done with this bullshit, but helps anyway. She does initially think that Mari knows about the crush and is being a jerk to Adrien by inviting him, but she finds out that’s not the case here instead of later.

Kagami still tells Adrien he should ‘switch targets’, though even if she did have a crush on him she can see she’s already lost and lets said crush die.

Gorizilla

(I know this is also slightly out of order but I have Reasons. Besides it’s not like the show itself has an order)

We still get a bunch of Adrinette fluff!!

Syren

Adrien is frustrated about the Marinette situation instead of Ladybug keeping secrets(Because Lady Luck doesn’t keep secrets from him). This is less him being bratty and more him realizing how much he screwed it up, because now that Mari and Chat “broke up”, if he ever tells Mari that he’s Chat, then she might hate him for ‘lying and keeping secrets’.

Sapotis

Major interactions!!

Okay, so, since this is the Lady Luck AU, Chloé is handing out the Miraculous. Now, why would Chloé choose Alya for the Fox Miraculous? She wouldn’t.

Both Lady Luck and Chat Noir agree to give the Fox to Marinette. Partly because the romance, but mostly because she’s the person they’ve seen be the most ‘deserving’ of being a hero, already working with them.

Chat knows who ‘Fennette’ is, but she still isn’t allowed to know who he is. However, they are rekindling the romance since two Heroes can be seen together and pass it off as ‘Hero Patrol’ or whatever.

So they are sort of officially together. But this makes it difficult for Adrien since he has to refrain from being romantic with Mari while out of costume.

Troublemaker

Mari still has a wall of Adrien, but it’s legitimately Fashion research.

Backwarder

Marinette is not delivering anything, not even a love letter.

Weredad

So, what happens is that Fennette and Chat Noir head back to Mari’s place in a ‘I’ll walk you home after an Akuma attack’. Marinette gives Chat a goodbye kiss, and her dad kinda catches them?

The episode goes on from there pretty similar, in that Tom goes overboard on the “Hello future son-in-law!” bit.

However, when asked about long-term stuff, Chat admits that as much as he likes Marinette, dating her as a Hero would be dangerous for her. Therefore, ‘Chat’ cannont be seen dating ‘Marinette’ until after the fight is over.

Weredad is caused by Hawkmoth twisting this into ‘well, if you get their Miraculous to me, the fight would be over, wouldn’t it?”

Chameleon

Lila is still a bitch but what else is new?

When Marinette and Chloé accuse Lila of lying, Alya’s like ‘look girl I didn’t want to out your crush but considering you’re being jealous I have to call you out on it’.

Mari’s like “Alya what the fuck are you talking about?”. Alya clarifies that she means the crush on Adrien.

Marinette corrects her, saying that while she does care about Adrien, and might have had a crush on him in other circumstances, she’s in love with someone else.

Alya points out all the things she’s said about ‘her friend she’s in love with’ and how it obviously applies to Adrien. Mari agrees that she makes a point, but she’s still in love with someone else. And even if she was in love with Adrien, that doesn’t mean Lila is automatically right.

There’s more of the stuff with calling Lila out, and Lila of course countering with another lie. But the only thing I’ll say on it is I’m thinking about one of her lies being that she’s Fennette, obviously using Illusion Magic while in costume since she looks nothing like Fennette, and when asked about ‘Fennoir’, she lies and says ‘we’re not actually together, I’m just helping cover for him because he’s gay’. Which gets hilarious.

Animaestro

We do get some background Adrienette, but it’s overshadowed by Lady Luck suing for copyright violation.

More importantly, there’s no jealousy over Kagami.

Silencer

After defeating Silencer, Marinette has a talk with Luka about how she’s in love with someone else. He’s great and all, but there’s someone else. Luka assumes it’s Adrien and tells her to go for him.

Oblivio

I’m debating about whether it’s just Lady Luck and Chat Noir who get hit by Oblivio, or the whole team(only problem with the ‘whole team’ option is I have no idea who to give the Turtle yet…)

If it’s the whole team, we get the same Adrinette falling for each other again.

If it’s just Lady Luck and Chat Noir, then it’s purely platonic.

Christmaster

Instead of a box of future birthday gifts for Adrien, the gifts are for everyone’s birthdays/christmas/etc.

Oni-Chan

Kagami doesn’t become Oni-Chan out of jealousy over Lila.

She becomes Oni-Chan because Adrien has been venting to her about Lila being pushy and overly flirting with him and trying to manipulate him into a relationship. So when Kagami sees the selfie of Lila kissing Adrien and he is clearly uncomfortable, she goes into protective mode over that.

This might be the episode where Chat is given permission to do an identity reveal with Marinette. If only because Chloé is fucking pissed at the stuff Lila is trying to pull, and this feels like the biggest ‘fuck you’ they can deliver. So, you know, after this we get actual Adrinette!!

Timetagger

Chat asks Future!Alix about his future romance, clearly hoping to hear that he and Mari are married with three kids or something like that.

Future!Alix is like ‘Oh, we have a harem’. After the Heroes choke on that sentence, she says ‘oh, yeah, all the Heroes grew very close and relationships quickly get fuzzy when you’re so tired after a battle that you just fall asleep in a pile on the couch and wake up cuddling random people. Oh btw we have our own headquarters like Titan Tower or something.’

No one knows if she’s saying that to fuck with them or not. Especially when Present!Alix jokingly flirts with our Heroes.

Party Crasher

This episode goes off the rails anyway, but Mari doesn’t ditch the girls to go to her crush’s party.

Puppeteer 2

Adrien still pulls the ‘pretends to be a statue’ prank. Marinette doesn’t act nearly as embarrassing, but she still jokingly flirts with his ‘statue’

When he reveals that it’s actually him, Mari panics and punches him. Adrien’s just like ‘holy fuck marry me’.

Ikari Gozen

Since at the very least ‘Fennoir’ is canon, and Adrienette is possibly canon, there isn’t any initial jealousy between Marinette and Kagami. It does kick off the friendship though!!!

Okay that’s as far as the series is right now so I’m done.

#Miraculous Ladybug #Lady Luck AU #Reverse crush #Adrienette #Marichat

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ladyboltontoyou · 6 years ago

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Arthur Morgan x Reader: Hope

Ask: Hi! Will you please write a oneshot in which Arthur thinks he could never love again until he meets this woman he thinks is literally perfect? She's the definition of a southern belle, she lives on her own in a small house with some farm animals. He keeps finding excuses to come visit her, all the while filled with confusion, doubt, denial, etc?

Warning: Cursing, cringe amounts of fluff

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Reader

A/N: I switched the P.O.V’s up a little bit so this is different than my other works. Please let me know if there are any mistakes.

Love? Sure. Arthur loved a lot of people. He loved Sadie, she was like his sister. John, like he was his little brother. Dutch, Hosea, Javier, he loved them all. They were his family.

“You know what I mean, Arthur. Not platonic love.” Mary-Beth nudged Arthur’s shoulder as they rode the cart into Rhodes. “There’s no one you want to marry? You don’t have dreams of marrying someone? Havin’ kids and settling down?”

Arthur shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, I just don’t think about that stuff anymore. With the life I live, I don’t think I’ll find something like that.”

“That’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard.” She sighed.

Well, that made him feel no better about his situation. Ever since the other Mary he found it hard to have any kind of hope. Even if she did want to be with him it would be hard since he was in such a serious gang.

This was why he hated thinking about stuff like this. It always soured his mood and made him feel hopeless. He preferred pretending romantic love didn't exist. He was happy enough with his makeshift family. He didn’t need a wife.

That’s what he told himself.

“Arthur, slow down!” Mary-Beth grabbed his arm and yanked it back, pulling the horses to a stop. “You bout ran her over!”

Arthur saw a young woman carrying a few large tools, walking along the side of the road A rake, a shovel, and a pitchfork. She was struggling to carry them all and when Arthur stopped beside her she lost her grip, causing them to all spill out of her arms.

“You need a lift, ma’am?” He called out as he watched her fumble to pick up the tools from the grass.

***

You had gone to town to pick up a shovel from the general store, but the cashier ended up talking you into buying a pitchfork and a rake. You had only meant to get the shovel so you didn’t bother taking your horse, you needed to talk a walk anyways. The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining, why not enjoy it before it got too hot?

Now here you are, trying to balance all three large tools without looking like an idiot. And it didn’t help that a couple on a wagon almost ran you over.

“You need a lift, ma’am?”

You looked up from your fallen tools and squinted against the afternoon sun, adjusting your straw hat. “It would be nice, I didn’t come prepared to be carrying all this.” You laughed nervously and picked your shovel back up. “Can I just toss these in the back?”

“Sure can!” The woman smiled, patting the empty wagon behind them.

“There might be a little blood in there though, we just sold some game to the butcher down in Rhodes.” The man warned as you threw the shovel in the cart.

“Oh, that’s no problem!” You waved them off and threw the rest of the tools in the back. “I live by myself on my parent’s old farm, I do a lot of work so I’m not worried about a little blood.”

The couple exchanged an impressed look but you brushed it off, it probably wasn’t often they met a woman who wasn’t scared of blood and who owned and single-handedly managed her own farm. It was impressive, well, at least it was to them.

“Where do you live?” The man asked as walked around the cart to get in. “You don’t need to sit in the back, there’s enough room up here.”

The woman jumped down as if something bit her. “Let me help you up here.”

Little did you know, she was doing this on purpose in the hopes of more conversation between you and Arthur. She hated the idea of Arthur not finding the woman he deserved since she knew he was such a good man. He deserved the world and more.

“Thank you!” You smiled as she helped you into shotgun. When she climbed on behind you, you noticed how good she smelt. It was a lot like the gardenia perfume they sold in the Rhodes general store. “Anyways, I live a little while up the road. I was silly not to bring my horse but the weather was so nice I wanted to take a walk. Didn’t expect to buy such an armful, but you know those silver tongued salesman.”

“I sure do.” The man sighed and gave the horses a whip.

“How rude of us not to introduce ourselves!” Mary-Beth laughed as the cart started moving. “I’m M-” She stopped and paused for a second as if she forgot her own name. “Elizabeth. And this is my friend Andrew.”

“Wonderful to meet you both! It’s so nice of you two to pick me up! It would be a long walk home.” You wiped the sweat off your forehead with your handkerchief and leaned back against the cart seats.

The whole ride Elizabeth, who insisted you called her Beth, bragged about her friend Andrew. She talked about he was skilled in almost every profession, and would be a wonderful farm hand if you were ever looking for help.

Which, in fact, you were. So you took her up on the offer and he acted glad for the job, even though he hadn’t said a single thing when you and Beth were discussing it. It was as if he had no say in it at all, which was hilarious to you.

***

Arthur didn’t want to admit it to Mary-Beth but giving you a ride was the best decision he’d ever made. He knew her whole plan was exactly that, to find him someone to fall in love with, so he planned on doing the exact opposite.

But goddamn, it was so hard.

The first day he started helping out around your farm he caught himself staring at you five times. Five times! The first was when you were showing him around your horse stables. The wind was blowing just right and hit you in that perfect, dramatic way. That was the first time he noticed how beautiful you were. And after that, he just couldn’t stop.

The second time he was watching you carry hay bales around. He caught himself because you had dropped one, causing you to topple over it and fall into the grass on the other side. He went to help you but by the time he got to your side you were already standing up and picking the thing back up again.

The third was over lunch. You were both sitting together eating homemade chicken, rice and mixed vegetables with seasoning. When he looked up to compliment you on your food he just had to stare. His lips parted to say something but no words came out, he was helplessly hypnotized by how damn adorable you looked. Your cheeks were red from working, your skin had the slightest bit of sweat on it, and your lips were red and swollen from the spices in the vegetables. He remembered you made a remark about too much jalapeno juice, saying it was silly to use that much juice when it was so warm outside.

The fourth was when he was feeding your chickens. He stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead and noticed you leaning out the window in your house, sipping on a beer and watching the sun set. The golden glow hit you perfectly. He found himself wondering, how can someone be so effortlessly beautiful and adorable at the same time? It would be different if you were trying to look attractive, but you weren't at all. It was all pure, effortless, it came to you so naturally.

The last time was when you were paying him for the day. You were fumbling in your desk to get out the proper amount of money for the day, twenty dollars. You had laughed nervously when you couldn’t find the correct amount of money and brushed your hair out of your face, successfully capturing Arthur’s stare once again.

***

“Sorry, I’m not as organized as I should be.” You tried to ease your own awkwardness as you counted your money. “Is twenty enough?” You asked and looked at your new farmhand.

It took him a second to respond. “Oh, no, twenty? I didn’t do that much, ma’am.”

“(Y/N).”

“(Y/N).” He smiled at your reminder and scratched the back of his neck. “But really, I only deserve ten.”

You laughed at that and closed your desk drawer. “No, you’re taking twenty. If I have to slip the extra money in your satchel when you leave, you’re taking twenty.”

He smiled wider at that and you felt your heart swell at his expression. You knew damn well you had formed a crush on him, there was no denying that. The first time you even looked at him you felt your heart skip a beat. Not only was he drop dead gorgeous, he was a good man as well. And a hard worker.

“Alright… fine. But that just means I’ll be workin’ harder tomorrow.” He took the money from your hand and started walking to the front door.

“Then I’ll pay you even more!” You crossed your arms as you watched him open the door.

He turned around, standing in the open door with a smirk on his face. “I guess I’ll just work harder the next day.” He said before tipping his hat and leaving.

***

For a few weeks, Arthur was in complete denial about his feelings for you. Which was pretty hard to keep up, considering every time he saw you he fell more and more in love. Everything about you was just so perfect to him. You were sweet, generous, selfless, you had guts, more guts than a lot of men he knew. You were funny and you had the same sense of humor as him. Even though he felt guilty about taking so much money from you, the fact that you paid so well only made him love you more.

And not to mention the mutual trust. It was obvious the both of you had so much trust in each other, which made him feel awful. He had told you his real name the second day he worked for you, explaining there were a few rich men that didn’t like him so he usually used an alias. But the fact that he trusted you enough to give you his real name made the feelings for both of you so much stronger.

Three weeks in and he had told you he was in a gang. You took it surprisingly well, saying your father had been in a gang before he settled down with your mother. You said if everyone else in the gang was as good as Arthur then you didn’t care one bit. He told you a few of them were, but some were a little rough around the edges. You simply replied that was good enough for you.

After two months of working for you, Arthur came to terms with the fact that he was smitten. He stopped denying it to himself, he even told Mary-Beth about the whole ordeal and thanked her for her small role in the whole situation. For a while he regretted that because she wouldn’t stop pestering him with questions, saying your relationship would make such a good love story.

The whole thing was mutual, thankfully, you were head over heels as well. You wrote about him all the time in your journal, wrote to your friends in Valentine about him, even found yourself dreaming about him. It was all perfect until the man who held your heart almost gave you a panic attack.

***

“(Y/N), could we talk?”

You looked up from the letter in your hands and smiled, seeing Arthur standing in front of you. “Of course, sit down. I was just reading a letter from my friend Jolene.”

Arthur sat down as you folded the letter, taking off his hat and setting it down on the table between you.

“I’m not good with words, not when it comes to you.” He started with his eyes locked on your folded letter.

“Oh, no.” You whispered under your breath, feeling your heart drop. That sounded bad. Did it, though? You had no idea. When it came to Arthur you were so in love that the thought of losing him scared the daylights out of you. So any sign of negativity in your mind meant that he was leaving and you’d never see him again. It was only because neither one of you had done anything about the obvious feelings. You knew he felt something for you and you damn well knew you felt something for him, but since you hadn’t talked about it a lot of things were still in gray.

“I’m not sure what I’m trying to say or do here.” He put his arms on the table and began picking at his nails, his eyes still lowered. “I guess, uh…” He trailed off and sighed before rubbing his face, laughing nervously. “Jesus, woman. You’ve got me so tied up I can’t figure out how to say I love you.”

Your heart stopped and your lungs froze. Did he really just say that? Did he say what you’d been praying he’d say every night since the day you met him?

You could see his jaw clench when he realized what he said and his eyes quickly darted up to meet yours, searching for a reaction. In that moment they had never looked so blue and so kind. His lips never so tempting. His hair never so soft.

He had never looked so perfect than he did when he confessed his love to you.

In an effort to calm your racing heart you placed your palm over your chest. “You just said it perfectly fine, Arthur.”

The look of relief that took place on his face was enough to make you weep. You both stood from your seats at the same time and rounded the table to embrace each other in one of the warmest hugs either of you had ever experienced.

For the both of you, that hug felt like it only lasted a few seconds before you parted to kiss, when in reality you had lost track of time and were in each others arms for a solid minute.

His lips were just as you imagined, soft, plump, and they tasted like the apple pie you had both shared after dinner with a small hint of expensive cigar smoke. You could kiss him forever. God knows you both wanted to.

When you finally parted to catch your breath you were met with a sweet smile.

“The day I met you I had just finished thinking about how I’ll never find something like this. Only a few month ago I thought I’d end up… jesus. I’ll be honest with you, (Y/N), this is one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through. I’ve been through a lot, things I don’t even wanna speak of again. I’ve lost the people closest to me more than once. Damnit, I don’t know what I’m getting at here, but-”

You cut him off with another kiss, running your fingers through his soft hair. When you parted you gave him an understanding smile. “I think I know what you’re saying. It’s okay. You ain’t gotta worry about losing me. I can take care of myself.”

It was a small assurance, but he was still grateful for it.

“And since I didn’t say it before, I love you too, Arthur. I really do.”

#Red Dead Redemption #red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption imagine #rdr2 imagines #rdr2 x reader #rdr2 red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #fluff #rdr2 fluff #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan imagines #arthur morgan imagine #arthur morgan fluff #myfanfic #request

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stephic-writings · 6 years ago

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Get Your Game On! -- FFXV x The Video Game Store

Oh hey, guess where I work at. Now guess what inspired me to write this headcanon. C: YEAH BUDDY. Have some headcanons about these awesome characters as some... Maybe just as awesome customers!

Noctis Lucis Caelum --

The silent browser.

If you greet him, and he’d awkwardly tell you that he’s just looking around.

Spends all of his time staring at the games in the Playstation section -- VITA included.

You don’t really know what he’s looking for, but he looks confused at everything.

Even when you think he’s lost and confused, he comes up with ten games.

Not sure if he’s getting these games because he’s going to play them all, or just for the sake of having them.

Maybe both, but you’re still confused when he comes back in next week for more games.

Plays a little bit of everything to know about anything.

But recommending games to him is a nightmare because he’s played everything.

He’s a good guy though, so you don’t mind him browsing for hours upon hours.

Prompto Argentum --

Way too excited to be shopping for video games.

But at least the energy makes it fun to work.

Likes to shout out questions from across the store as he’s looking at games, but never directly approaches because he’s looking still.

‘Have you played this one?!’ You have, and so has he. He was just wondering.

Stoked for anything and everything JRPG and anime.

Does the really loud and dramatic gasp that signals you that he’s probably going to buy something.

But usually whenever he opens his wallet, he cries inside because there goes his money.

And yet, he comes back next week and hollers about how good the game he got was.

Comes to all of the late-night launches for his favorite games and takes pictures to promote the store alot.

Has probably waited 12 long years for KH3.

Ignis Scientia --

The last real game he’s played was released, like, a million years ago.

Doesn’t play video games often, but he came in and upgraded his system when someone decided to add his console to their ‘collection.’

Settled with a Playstation because he’s curious about what the interest was.

You don’t see him for another month later after he bought his system, Detroit and Horizon Zero Dawn.

He had to 100% complete both of the games before he trades them in and finds another couple.

Did you know there’s DLC, Iggy? ‘There is?!’ He buys it and plays the crap out of that too.

He only ever gets a couple games at a time, but they’re lengthy guys.

Three months later, and he still hasn’t completed Skyrim.

But then again, can you even really beat that game?

He’s the regular that makes it his mission to bring cookies as a gift for the holidays. For being such a helpful staff.

Gladiolus Amicitia --

Looks like a burly FPS bro, so it’s not surprising that he is one.

Gets all of the Call of Duty and Battlefield games when they come out, like it’s a designer trend.

Yes, they’re both the upgraded editions too.

Plays mostly Grade A titles that happen to be popular around the time, and brags about it alot.

He’s very direct about what he wants, and rarely ever browses for a new game.

Xbox for life. Doesn’t care that everyone else has Playstation because he just borrows Ignis’s system.

Comes in sometimes not for his own games, but simply to find a rare otome or harem anime game.

You squint a bit at Code Realize in your hands, but he says that its for his little sister.

But you caught him in the act when you made a passive comment about how Arsene was your favorite character.

Hey, he’s gotta play something in between the release of his CODs and Battlefields!

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret --

Doesn’t have time to be at home usually for an actual home console, so he’s quite happy with Nintendo Switch.

She gets all of the cute games on her system, and often uses it for little kids to help calm them when healing them.

Doesn’t know what games to get usually, so she has lengthy conversations about what would be a cute one.

Gets more obscure games usually, but that’s because the covers look the cutest.

An absolute fan of Cat Quest, because cats.

She’s always asking about what new games would be nice to keep an eye on, and preorders to make sure she gets them.

Free stuff? You bet your butt you’re giving it to her. The puppy face is too much.

She got Super Smash Bros for her Switch recently, thinking it’d be fun for the kids to play.

But she had to unlock all of the characters on her own, so she played for a week straight.

Don’t ever challenge her to Smash Bros now. She’ll destroy you with Zelda.

Ravus Nox Fleuret --

He’s that poor sucker that gets the older generation consoles from pretty much everyone.

Not that he minds. He’s okay with a casual game here and there.

Browses exclusively in the discount game bin, only to be disgruntled by the million copies of Madden in it.

All about that RPG life where he can be a knight in it.

But he comes back in shock as he tells you the story about that elf Zevran and how he accidentally witnessed an awkward romance scene.

Now he plays these glorified dating sims. For the story and for the handsome men.

He’ll often come to the store on weird occasions -- usually at night -- to ask you about all of his tech support and game walkthrough questions.

He’s technologically handicapped.

Tends to get all of the warranties and game protections on everything he buys.

He’s got nasty game rage and dogs, so he keeps everything protected.

Ardyn Izunia --

A fan of the classics and comes in often with the games he buys online through the web inventory.

Opens it all up to make sure if things are fakes or not, because collector’s gotta collect.

Gets on his high-horse alot about how he has an unsealed collector’s edition of The Witcher III, which you still don’t believe him on.

He comes in with the intent on preordering collector’s editions only for games, and drops so much money on all of it.

How rich is this guy?! It’s probably best that you don’t know.

All of his games are in steelbooks, so he asks often about if you can give him whatever steelbooks you have to keep his games in tact.

Tiny retro game systems? You bet your butt he wants to buy those.

Supposedly can speedrun Super Mario Bros in record time, but again: you still don’t believe him.

Probably the most eccentric person you deal with, and he’s actually really difficult with his insane collector’s demands.

But nevertheless, he definitely keeps things interesting, and gives you stellar reviews.

Cor Leonis --

He doesn’t really come in for the video games, to be honest, but is still a regular for some reason.

Bought Red Dead Redemption 2, and that’s been the only game he’s been playing.

You try to recommend other things, but nope. Only Red Dead.

And Monster Hunter World. He admittedly enjoyed that one too.

But you make most of your sales from him when he buys collectibles.

All about those Dragon Ball and anime statues.

Avoided the POP figures for a long time, but caved when he saw a Sailor Moon POP.

It was too cute. Don’t judge him.

He gets made fun of by the other regular, Loqi, that ‘conveniently’ happens to be shopping the same time as him.

But jokes on Loqi. His Madara statue is worth more than Loqi’s car.

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movienotesbyzawmer · 5 years ago

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

May 4: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

(previous notes: Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

Source: UK 3D Blu-ray

I saw this at pretty much the very first available showing, and haven't watched it since. But since I had the other Disney-era ones in 3D, and I still have the capability to watch 3D movies at home, I decided to complete my Blu-ray collection by ordering the British 3D Blu-ray, like I'd done with The Last Jedi. So now I'm going to see it at home for the first time, in 3D for the first time, and take notes like I've been doing.

My reaction when I saw this on opening night was that it was a lot of fun. I didn't think it was as good as The Last Jedi. Overall it feels like a trilogy where the first priority was to avoid the mistakes of the prequels, and the second priority was to have them be fun movies. Mission accomplished, but the actual story of this trilogy is only marginally satisfying. But I left that opening night screening excited about all the neat things I'd witnessed. And now I shall press play and do some re-witnessing…

Emperor Palpatine, the opening crawl tells us. He wasn't someone we were expecting to be part of the plot of this movie, was it?

First scene after the opening shot is a slow-mo land battle, visually different from Star Wars movies in general. Dude kills 100% of everyone then plucks a mysterious relic from a mysterious relic. He's on a Tomb-raider-y treasure hunt.

It takes him to a Tomb Raider-y lair… and there are creatures in green liquid ahhh!

"…some consider to be… UNNATURAL", that line from Episode III. Very love it. Good reference.

The image of all those Star Destroyers is super super super cool.

And now after a calculated bit of lightness in the Millennium Falcon, the good guys arrive at a super neat looking planet thing. Not even ten minutes in and we've seen three inventive new planet environments.

And now a chase, "lightspeed skipping", and each skip is a cool space place, all different, one of them has a big monster! They are tuned into what's good about Star Wars movies, these Rise of Skywalker makers.

Also, Finn and Poe seem to have settled into their roles as funny supporting-character buddies. The first movie really seemed to be beginning a more dramatic arc for Finn, but it doesn't feel like that's happening any more.

0:15:36 - Rose Tico sighting! Her arc blunted as well. Be nice if she joined them on this mission they're about to leave on.

Really kind of surprising how much footage there is of Carrie Fisher, who died years before this came out.

Okay now we're back with Kylo Ren on this planet that's the equivalent of that orc-factory in Lord of the Rings. What's he doing? Collaborating with some ukky beings. Fixing his helmet. Hm.

Bit of humor in the conference room scene, again calculated.

Back to our heroes and they're on another neat new planet with color clouds & celebratory visuals, pleasant.

0:23:40 - Very cinematic Rey-Kylo cross-galaxy conversation, cool.

Lando saves them from stormtroopers, and is therefore given the honor of the "I've got a bad feeling about this" line.

0:28:00 Speeder chase in the desert, and the stormtrooper speeders launch them up and they fly! Cool!

Hah, there's a gag where Rey fires up her light saber and Poe tries to do that too but his is just a flashlight, cute.

Okay, here's this scene I like where there's a serpent monster in their Tomb Raider cave, and Ray figures out that the monster just needs to be force healed so she does it and it helps them. Sounds corny but I like it.

0:36:00 - we see the Ren gang on a plateau and here a new music theme. I'm not much noticing the new music themes in the Star Wars movies of the 2010s, but there's one.

This scene. The Kylo/Rey meeting in the desert. It was heavily teased in the trailer and it would have been more effective if we hadn't seen so much of it in the trailer. Also there's a who-can-magic-harder duel that ends up killing Chewy, except that we don't have to believe that very very long.

"Let's do that!" about wiping C-3POs memory, John Boyega's exceptional comic timing on display again.

0:45:40 - We're on this new planet now, which is so Poe can find the person that can do a memory wipe of 3-3PO, right? It's fast-paced, this movie.

"We sent out a call for help at the battle of Krait, nobody came" says Poe. Am I forgetting that drama from The Last Jedi? I know he's talking about that final battle from that movie, but I didn't remember a despairing "no one is coming", at least not like it was a huge, shocking letdown.

I like the little Babu creature but we don't get much of it, do we

Poe is all "did she do that to us" when he sees her Force-hypnotize the stormtroopers, haha

0:58:10 - Pretty unique shot, dollying backwards facing Poe & Finn shooting stormtroopers we can't see until they fall in front of the camera

"Your parents were no one… they CHOSE to be" here's where it starts to seem like this movie doesn't like where the last movie was going & made it be different. If this were an improv class the teacher would be like, "remember the principle of 'yes AND…'"

Okay, this bit coming up where General Hux saves them & says he's the spy. It's… funny? And dumb? Maybe? Sort of a tawdry end to this character in the trilogy maybe?

"You.. Are a Palpatine." Dun dun dunnnnnnn. Okay sure I guess. This isn't what I'm into Star Wars movies for; I wouldn't have had it be about this.

They get to the new planet and Rey figures out how to use the knife tool to find where to go, it's so like a Tomb Raider game that I feel like I'm reading a cheat guide on GameSpot

Now Finn is bonding with the girl on the planet who is also a stormtrooper deserter, makes that whole Finn subplot make more sense.

Rey swiped a cool watercraft to go to the wreck of the Death Star and I just want to point out once again that I like the vehicle design in Star Wars movies.

1:13:10 - overhead shot of said vehicle is the first notable example of something that looks good in 3D in this movie. I'm inclined to say you really shouldn't feel like you're missing out if you're seeing this in 2D.

She's in a vision cave on the wrecked Death Star. She fights HER OWN SELF for a second, and bad-Rey rawrs at her in a way that reminds me of when Bilbo does that in the first Lord of the Rings movie. I liked it there and I like it here.

1:18:05 - First bit of my beloved "Han Solo and the Princess" theme, so lovely

Now Rey and Kylo are saber dueling all over this wreck with waves everywhere and it reminds me of the big climactic duel in Episode III where it seems like the duelers are going out of their way to duel in a cool looking place.

Everything gets all dramatic in a way that doesn't really get explained - Leia very deliberately says "Ben", then dies, but it affects Kylo allowing Rey to kill him, but then she un-kills him with Force magic because "I did want to take your hand" and then bounces. And it's not over with this kind of thing, because Kylo has a not-really-real conversation with his played-by-OMG-Harrison-Ford father, and he symbolically hurls his awesome saber away. So where are we now? We're in some drama, that's where. I miss cool vehicles and inventive creature design!

1:27:45 - Modded-up Star Destroyer emerges from lightspeed and it's another cool 3D effect.

And then it blows up the planet where Poe's ex-girlfriend was and it looks cool, but we could have used her to be around more. Wait, does she not-be-dead later or something? Probably.

Okay, very corny sequence happening now, it's the pep talk between Rey and ghost-Luke, it ends with a smirking Luke raising up an X-wing like he couldn't do in Empire Strikes Back, so I guess that plot point is tidied up.

Okay, we got past that drama and now there's a very simple Saint-Crispin's-Day speech riling up the troops so they can go to that mystery planet for the final battle, and interest level has picked up.

1:41:28 - Hey a shot of Rey going through a wall gap is a reference to the earlier cool-in-3D shot of the watercraft & the Death Star wreck.

And here's something that internet assholes picked on - they ride horse-things on the Star Destroyers. Lighten up comrades, maybe this just isn't your kind of space adventure movie.

Rey gets in the mystery-edifice and holy hell it's creepy! There's an audience of thousands of cultists in black stone bleacher seats, chanting in perfect unison! It's downright Kubrick-y!

They really had fun with the lighting in the Palpatine room. Also, there are red stormtroopers on the Star Destroyers and aren't they pretty.

Palpatine is trying to convince Rey that she should embrace hatred and hill him and rule the galaxy in ritual hatred with a chanting congregation of hooded dipshits. Will it work? He does have a very compelling speaking voice. But here comes Kylo! He has had a change of heart or something!

"The life force in your bond," he narrates, and then bad-magics them super hard! We never could have anticipated that evil force spells could thwart their plans.

1:54:20 - very satisfying shot of a giant fleet of good guys coming to save the day. They hit us with the idea of no one coming to save them, and just like when Han Solo swooped in in the first movie, it feels good that this time someone else did show up. And yes it includes Poe's girlfriend and that charismatic little varmint!

Super cool to see Star Destroyers get blown up.

Also cool when Palpatine super-zaps lots of good guy spaceships. Sound is neat on that also. This intense visual/aural experience is what I was thinking about for a while after first seeing this movie.

Rey beats Palpatine by having that surprise second light saber. Whatever, this is a super cool looking scene with all the bad guys in that chamber getting wasted.

Other cool battle climax imagery happens up in the sky, even though it's kind of hard to see what exactly physically happened to save Finn and those guys on the crashing Star Destroyer.

Kylo… what??? Didn't die when he just disappeared into a crevasse??? Quel surprise! He's super-reformed now and heals Rey up with his tender love for her. They kiss, their carnal desires overtaking them, they are high on the most ethical lust the galaxy has ever known! And he dies and disappears, but is visibly satisfied. I feel okay mocking this because I suspect no one likes it. And then it moves on to really cool aftermath visuals that are crazy fun to watch. They are experiencing the great victory in other planets from the other movies, and to the tune of John Williams themes from movies past.

Maz presents Chewy with a special medal, am I supposed to know what that's about? They're giving it major gravity.

So the movie, the trilogy, and the Skywalker Saga ends with a scene of Rey returning to Tatooine to bury the two important light sabers, but also whip out another one she had, and then tell a townie that she's named Rey SKYWALKER, and the final moment is of her gazing at the two suns with the Binary Sunset theme playing us out. What I like about that is that it sends the message that that moment from the original Star Wars, elevated to greatness largely by John Williams stirring theme, is the pinnacle of cinematic experiences that were brought to us by this series.

I like this movie less than any of the Disney-era movies for sure, and I think after watching it a second time, it lacks some specialness that could have allowed it to hold up better against the best Star Wars movies. But I wouldn't say it's bad, and I certainly wouldn't advise against seeing it.

#star wars rise of skywalker

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elane-in-the-shadows · 6 years ago

Text

Red Queen Fan Fiction - Red Huntress Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10jj

Epilogue

Find this on wattpad and on AO3

Deep in thoughts, Diana almost botched her handshake ritual with Madeline when her little sister arrived. Madeline smiled off her irritation, so Diana returned to her pondering, even as she chewed on her bread.

It was one of the rare truly hot and sunny days in the northern Lakelands, and it had rained the days before. So, were the Silver storms and nymphs even needed to prepare the soil for the corvee, or would the plants grow with the powers of the greenies just as well?

Finished with her meal, Diana glanced at her mother to mention her doubts. Maybe they were seeing this too negatively? But the words died on her tongue as she saw Mama occupied with chatting and giggling with Madeline.

Typical. Her mother – both her parents – freely shared their worries with Diana, the elder, while they continued to pamper Madeline. When Diana had been seven, as Madeline was now, she had already taken care of her baby sister, on her own, when their parents were at work.

So it was still, when Mama had a double workload for herself. Even last winter, after the evening Mama miscarried the baby they couldn’t afford. She’d left Diana and Madeline behind to go hunting again at the next dawn.

Although that night, all three of them had fallen asleep arm in arm, hugging each other and holding tight. Not only Mama and Madeline …

Diana sighed, taking a sip and using another splash to moist her face. She got up, looking for Giselle or another friend when her mother spoke.

“Diana, please help Madeline carry the baskets back to the village,” Mama told her.

Taking a breath, she prepared to argue. Madeline stood at their mother’s side, holding her hand, just like Diana had little time before. Jealousy added itself to this day’s general frustration.

But when Mama grabbed her shoulder, Diana could only nod. No wonder. Clara Farley was too formidable to be denied.

“Sure,” Diana agreed.

Madeline didn’t stop talking on their way back to the village. It was one way to pass the long road home by listening to Madeline’s stories about their aunt Heather’s kids, who Madeline was closer to as they shared an age.

That still did little about Diana’s dim mood, though. Everything became clearer to her today. It had always been a burden how distant everything was, yet she only realized its weight right now. The vastness of the fields, to provide for the village just the needed amount of crop, cost its habitants a lot, in labour, time and energy. It was like they were always working or walking somewhere, with no time for anything else that the lords – or the villagers themselves, probably – would call “unnecessary”.

Diana hated she didn’t have even the option to try it out, whatever, “it” could be.

“And?” Madeline inquired. “Any Silvers showed up already?”

Diana snorted.

“Oh please!” Madeline insisted. “I can’t believe you saw nothing. Was it the queen? Tell me it was the queen!”

Diana stopped dead. “The what?!”

“Queen Cenra, the nymph?”

Diana laughed, but Madeline wouldn’t let her curiosity die. “You know, I kinda imagined …”

“What?” Diana said sharply. Couldn’t she be spared this? “Why do you have to be like this? So … so …” But she didn’t know like what. There had to be a word, Diana was sure, but no one had bothered to tell her, and likely the new queen didn’t want her to learn it. The Cygnets had never shown themselves interested in the northern Red peasants, even less in their education.

“Why do you look forward to wave and bow to the queen?” Diana said instead. “Like a good serf?”

Madeline shrugged. “It’d be cool, if we can say we’ve met her in person …”

“So you can say what to her? Ask her that Papa comes back and never has to leave again?”

Madeline’s jaw fell down, then started to shiver, like she was about to cry. Immediately, Diana felt horrible. However her day went, she couldn’t shove her anger on her little sister. She dropped the basket she carried and stepped toward Madeline.

“I’m so sorry, Madeline, please, I just want him to return, too …”

Madeline wiped her tears and swallowed her sob, not showing her sadness like their mother wouldn’t.

Diana didn’t know if she should be proud or hurt that Madeline managed to do this. She could only wait nervously for her sister to accept her apology.

Finally, her sister took the last step into her arms. “Sure, Diana,” she whispered. Then, having pulled away and picking up Diana’s discarded basket, she said “I can take this now, we’re almost there.” She paused. “I’ll stay the night at the farm.” She smiled faintly.

Diana nodded, and hugged her sister once more. “Have fun,” she said softly, but wondering if the fissure she pointed out was too blatant to ignore any longer.

Madeline dashed down the way to the farm kept by their aunt and uncles, taken over from their grandparents. Turning around, Diana herself hesitated to rush back to the fields. It felt so pointless, but what should she do? She strolled through the village, on the only street that had been tarred ages ago and now was more cracks and bumps than anything else. Hardly any street or road was long-living in the Lakelands, because of the marshy, humid ground. She supposed the Silvers had methods to build better streets, on better lands.

Yet in Sieverling, nature crept back in every crevice, in every corner, whether you looked at the plants growing in the holes in the streets, or at the houses interspersed with smaller fields, pastures or the outskirts of the woods, with some long branches reaching over and shading the paths its people used. Diana’s own home was rather in the forest than the village, given it had been the hunters’ lodge for generations. Her father had no living relatives on his side, so Mama and Diana’s assistance was welcome. Only that Mama always had a long walk between the forest and her work at the butcher’s, especially when she was dragging her game there ….

“Heh?”

While Diana had sauntered, her mother almost ran to her, to her surprise. What was she doing here? But Mama reached her before she came to a conclusion. She took Diana by the arm and urged her into another direction, toward their house.

“Mama?”

Her mother only looked forward. “We’ve something better to do than kicking our heels,” she said.

At home, Mama merely told Diana to feed their dog, Lily, then took a sack and her old hunting rifle. Diana was puzzled – that wasn’t enough equipment for a hunt. But her mother didn’t reply, only smiled earnestly and bid Diana to come with her into the woods.

It was obvious hunting wasn’t the goal. It wasn’t the right time for that, but a lucky hit was always possible. Yet Mama walked too fast to find game, and with a certain determination that unsettled Diana.

Instead of prowling through the brushwood, they entered a well-kept path, soil but better to walk on than on the damaged villages paths. “This one leads to the manor,” Mama said after they’d covered two kilometres or so. “Lord Isère wants us, that is, Papa, me, Anam and the other woodcutters, to maintain it perfectly. So he can show up in leisure in his transport or carriage, should the desire strike him.”

“And having a pretty view while he’s at it?” Diana added, glancing at the flowers planted on the sides.

Her mother grinned. “Yeah, that too.” She sighed. “I used to go along here quite often before I married Papa.” She paused, and Diana wondered where this was going.

“Before I had a secure, full-time job, I mean,” Mama continued. “When I was a teenager, I did all these odd jobs. To earn a few scraps of coin for the family, besides what I did at the farm. I went to another farm, or a shop, whoever needed a hand to help.”

“Like at the butcher?” Diana asked, guessing that was how she got her current job.

The corners of Clara’s mouth twitched and she nodded. “Like at the manor,” she added.

Diana’s eyes widened. “For the lord? I thought …”

“He has his own, regular farm hands, yes. But every now and then, he wanted more.” She stopped and looked at Diana. “Come. We’ve arrived.”

The path led on between several paddocks at the edge of the forest straight to the manor. Diana couldn’t help glimpsing at it, at a compound so much larger and richer than what she was used to. The paddocks and the steeds grazing it already looked noble, but were nothing compared to the flower beds and gravel yard surrounding the brick buildings. They couldn’t be exclusively living quarters, although the riding halls or stables or stores all appeared lavish on their own. There was no other way to describe the compound but as sprawling.

Diana didn’t want to call it beautiful. She wouldn’t.

Fortunately, her mother stopped at a paddock, assessing the horses in it. Suddenly, she grinned and whistled. Diana couldn’t believe it. Her mother was positively beaming – and one of the horses galloped toward them.

Startled, Diana inched away, but her mother waved her back. “Don’t be afraid,” she said, “I know this one from back in the day.” She started to stroke the red-brown horse’s head. “This is my old friend Diamond.”

Carefully, Diana moved closer and dared to touch the huge animal. She trusted cows much more, but she was happy for her mother’s sake, who clearly enjoyed this.

“Good horse,” Diana whispered, and smiled weakly at her mother, who patted her shoulder.

“Wait here while I look around, okay?” Mama said. “It’s safest here.”

Diana wanted to ask why they even came here, and what her mother was doing where it had to be not so “safe”, but she didn’t get the chance. Having placed her rifle somewhat hidden in a patch of higher grass, her mother hurried toward the buildings.

@elliemarchetti @lilyharvord @mareshmallow @maudthebookeater @wessanade @marecalrandomstuff @misology @sxfik @scxrletguardsdawn @misslucyhutton @almostconstantlyawkward @olivegreenolives @abbyboul @sparrow-ceol @choosemarecal @gisabarrovv @choosememaven @ifyouholdmebackimightexplode @alicialichter @avid-author-activist @gamer670 @neyrriz @shadykittentraveler @everybodys-emo-mother @yjlover @redqueenfandom @inopinion kk

#diana farley #red queen #red queen fanfiction #victoria aveyard #steel scars #broken throne #clara farley #shade barrow #glass sword #king's cage #war storm #red huntress #red huntress ch 2 #farley #colonel farley #captain farley #scarlet guard #cenra cygnet #madeline farley

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