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deludedfantasy · 9 months

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Trimax Vol 12 Ch 5-9

Alright, here goes, second half of the volume. As always my suffering continues and I wanted to shake Vash the Stampede because he has no sense of self-preservation.

Ch 5

Listen, I’ll never be able to shut up about how much Vash loves humanity despite how terrible they’ve been to him. He knows!! He knows how awful people can be! He’s witnessed it firsthand. But still, he says, “I can’t judge them. I don’t know what they’ve been through or what led them here. Because there’s always a reason.”

It reminds me of the ultimate thesis of The Good Place: That people can only be judged by the circumstances and the world they were raised in, because that influences so much of how we act and the choices we have about who we are and who we can be.

I can’t believe Vash stayed with Knives for 80 years after the Fall. Considering how angry he was at his brother, it’s mind-boggling. On the other hand, he didn’t have anyone else. Vash, at this point, didn’t know or understand humanity beyond Rem. All he has in this world is Knives, so he can’t leave him. That knowledge that they’re stuck together even though Vash doesn’t want to be is what makes them grow apart.

Can’t believe Vash has had the same backpack for 70 years. That bag must be indestructible or something.

They’re still so young is what gets me. They might be eighty, but they still look and likely act a bit like children. Is it an Independent Plant thing or have they been stunted, only spending time around each other for so long?

Also, love that one day Vash just decides to get in a stranger’s car to get away from Knives.

Once again, Vash points a gun at Knives…and he doesn’t shoot. Knives get in his face and puts his head to the barrel and still, Vash doesn’t shoot.

Knives has never had a problem killing, especially to protect his brother, who he thinks is a naive idiot. He murdered an entire village, adults and children, just to protect him from whatever they were going to do to him.

How does Knives manage to look so young and innocent after murdering an entire town?

So interesting to me how Vash asks Knives to stay with him when his brother walks away. If I’m reading this right, Knives decides to leave him once and for all, because he’s done dealing with Vash’s human sympathies. But even though Vash was the one who walked away first, he doesn’t want his brother to go. If it was just about not killing people he would’ve just said, “Don’t go.” But instead, he says, “Stay with me.” Stay with me, don’t leave me by myself. Somewhere deep down, Vash still loves him and he doesn’t want to see Knives become this.

Is this the first time Vash shoots somebody? It’s so brutal that the first person he ever shoots, the reason he picked up a gun in the first place, is his own brother.

It doesn’t even seem to do much to him. It’s more of a nuisance. But Knives lobs it back at him tenfold. Because he doesn’t really care about Vash. He casually chops his entire arm off just to teach him a lesson. That a gun—a human weapon—will never be as powerful as the blades of an Independent Plant.

Then, Vash spends the next 70 years training to prove him wrong. This moment, this failure, it’s what sits at the core of Vash and what motivates him to become the gunman, Vash the Stampede. Because next time, he won’t miss.

Though I don’t actually think he was shooting to kill in this moment. That was the intent Knives put on him. I think Vash just wanted to get his attention, but Knives turned it into that and Vash ran with that because that’s a lot simpler than the very complicated feelings he has about him.

“Don’t worry, Knives. This time, when you go, I go.” Vash…please don’t say that. He’s so ready to die for this. He doesn’t see a future for himself anymore.

Actually, what is Vash doing? He doesn’t just miss, he’s too good to do that. He’s up to something.

Wow, I hate how right my last thought was. Vash, stop talking like this! I think there are many people that would disagree with this statement!

Ch 6

Is Knives creating holes in his body to dodge Vash’s shots? Because that’s…urgh. That’s a lot.

Ah-ha! Vash does have some other plan in the works that doesn’t involve outright killing Knives. And Knives is just now starting to get it. The way he looks down on Vash and humans will ultimately be his downfall. He thinks the fact that Vash won’t kill is stupid and naive but then also thinks that humans are terrible because they’re nothing but murderous scum…while he also goes around murdering people left and right. Ah, Knives, your hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Oh, they’re trying to communicate with the dependent Plants! This has never been brought up as a possibility before. Is that what the conversation in the Plant room a couple chapters ago was about?

Knives just doesn’t get it. It’s not necessarily about forgiveness (though Vash certainly has thoughts about that too). It’s about understanding, and not letting your impulses and first impressions cloud your judgment completely. As the story Vash then tells goes on to prove.

Those people were preying on travelers for a reason. They’d been turned out from everywhere else because they were contaminated. They had no other way to survive. If I’m reading this right, those people in the village were the same ones that had fought so hard to keep the contamination from spreading so far. In doing something noble, they damned themselves. It’s the tragedy of human existence collapsed into one story.

And that poor girl. She survived the contamination and Knives’s slaughter. She lost everyone she cared about because she refused to shun them as everyone else did. Being a survivor twice over is a terrible thing. But also, she’s the embodiment of human love in the midst of tragedy. She didn’t dismiss them, despite the contamination and what they did to survive. She loved them because they were hers, and it didn’t matter what had become of them.

The fact that Vash stayed and listened, tried to understand, says a lot about him. He has always wanted to understand humanity, its good parts and its bad parts. That’s why he defends them so fervently, because he has experienced the whole of the human condition, unlike Knives who is so stuck on only the worst of humanity, refusing to see the good that survives despite all the tragedy.

You say it, Vash! Knives is ignorant. His arrogance is a shield that protects him from harm but also keeps him from seeing the hard truth.

Goddammit, it’s the military! I completely forgot about them. Thank God for whoever is driving that shuttle, otherwise Vash would’ve had to spend much more of himself stopping the Plants from getting hurt than focusing on Knives.

Ah, yay, Meryl and Milly to the rescue! Causing chaos in the name of Vash the Stampede, as they should.

Don’t be sorry, Brad! Vash is grateful (and also probably thinking how much he doesn’t deserve it, but we’re gonna ignore that) and it’s exactly what he needed in that moment.

Being reminded that he has friends to help him will only give him the strength he needs to keep fighting.

Oh no, I feel so bad for Chronica. She’s lost her friend. And obviously, Domina was much younger than her, someone with a bright future that Chronica was so looking forward to seeing. Now, Knives has taken that away from her. Except it’s only strengthened her will. She’s about to go all out in the name of revenge, I can tell.

Ch 7

Oh no, Meryl and Milly are in trouble! Not my best girls!

Was that Vash’s blood? What happened? Because it doesn’t look like Knives actually got a hit in.

Oh…he’s bleeding from the eyes and the everywhere? I guess? Because he’s pushing himself to the brink of death and using up all of his power.

I need to include this panel because…just look at him! He’s bleeding from the eyes again, this time because he’s pushing himself to the brink of death to fight Knives. And he’s so determined to do it. There’s nothing in those eyes but raw will and hatred.

So the Earth fleet isn’t aware of Vash’s presence at all! They’re gonna be in for a big surprise when they realize there’s another Independent on the planet and he’s trying to stop Knives.

Yay, Livio to the rescue! He’s helping out the girls because they’re Vash’s friends. He’s so nervous though, and I totally get it, but he’s not messing anything up. Livio is so hard on himself because he wants to do better, but Livio, my friend, a little awkwardness never hurt anyone.

Livio has turned over a new leaf, but he’s still gonna do things his way. Which means not tip-toeing around talking or negotiating, but acting. But he’s right. There’s only so long they can keep the military distracted. They have to find a way to stop them so they don’t keep interfering with what Vash is doing because he can’t afford to be distracted from his fight with Knives for a second.

Ahhhhh, Vash is running out of time! Knives knows it too and he’s using it to his advantage, tiring him out rather than killing him, because Vash is basically doing his job for him.

Also, I remember someone mentioning how Nightow doesn’t use the character coughing blood/bleeding from the nose trope often so it’s really significant and shows how dire things are when they do. And when was the last time we saw someone bleeding like this? When Wolfwood was on the verge of death…

Ch 8

We’re receiving so much Plant lore here. It’s so interesting that they apparently don’t have a sense of self. But from what I understand, they aren’t a hive mind either! They’re like a collective consciousness, each individual adding up to a whole. Add Independents into the mix though and then things get a lot more complicated. Because it seems like they’re the ones who are behind all the fusing even though dependents Plants are probably capable of it on their own.

Vash, no!!!! I can’t tell, did Knives hit him with something or did Vash just overextend himself and collapse in a bloody heap? Either way, he’s just spurting blood everywhere and I’m scared.

Meanwhile, Livio is out here serving absolute cunt, if I do say so myself.

Oh Vash…despite how hurt and exhausted he is, he’s still trying to get up. He’s sees the world and the city, and it’s enough to remind him what he’s fighting to protect. All those people huddled down there, all of his friends. He’s not done until he knows they’re safe. He has to see this to the bitter, bloody end.

Elendira? Chronica?? Legato??? What’s going on? There’s a lot of people popping up out of nowhere!

Though it seems like connecting with the Plants gave Chronica a better view of the situation on the planet because now she knows Knives’s name and is apparently going after him directly.

Also, who was Vash planning to shoot? Knives? Is that why Legato finally makes his appearance? To keep Vash from killing Knives?

Ch 9

And now we briefly return to Vash in the oubliette. Sorry, I still can’t get over that Knives get him locked in a glorified hole in the ground for 7 months.

Apparently, during that time Vash tried talking some sense into Legato and learned how pointless of an exercise that is. Because Legato is devoted. His life doesn’t matter, only serving Knives does. And this chapter, we’re gonna find out why that is.

Oh boy, I’m not prepared to read this again. I was truly not expecting what I found out the first time and it’s haunted me ever since.

Suddenly, everything about Legato makes sense. Of course he hates humanity. He watched them pass him by every day as he suffered, as he was used. It takes a special kind of rage and hurt to produce the kind of hatred in a person that would lead to them using their powers to slaughter an entire city.

Something in me also squirms uncomfortably at the idea of Legato wanting to serve him after all he’s been through. But then again, at least this time he gets to choose who he serves and what he does. This being had the power to decimate all those people Legato hated in an instant. He gave him the revenge he’d craved for so long. All that power Knives had, isn’t it what he’d dreamed of having himself when he made his plans to slaughter that town?

And how strange that must be for Knives. A human wanting to serve him, being awed by him. Does he think this is the treatment he deserve as a Plant? What exactly was going through his head when Legato sank to his knees and offered him his service? This is likely the first time he’s let a human get so close to him on their own. It’s such an intriguing meeting that leads to an even more intriguing dynamic.

A lot of people have said it better than I have, but Knives does seem to care about Legato. He probably recognizes in him the way humanity uses and discards things so easily. In a way, they’re kindred spirits. But the downfall of their relationship is that Knives ideology keeps him from truly getting close to Legato or letting him in. Because all humans are bad and evil, and in the end, even Legato has to die.

Hang on, is the implication here that Knives was the one who named Legato? I can’t even put into words how big a deal that is. A name is huge, it’s a marker of individuality and humanity and the fact that Knives gave that to someone, let alone that he did that for a human, is kinda insane.

#trigunbookclub #trigun

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veggieheist · 3 years

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Witch!AU Reylo is always a good time 🤩🙌✨🔥

More art on my Instagram✨

Story blurb down below!👇

Rated T

cn // witches , witchcraft , kidnapping , fear of assault

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Kylo Ren stood in the cool shade of a tree, leaning against the wide trunk nonchalantly, ignoring the other people gathered there to take advantage of the respite from the heat. In the branches above him a mourning dove cooed, a soft sound among the chatter of people and the buzz of the cicadas.

In his hand was a piece of ashwood, small chunks carved out by the whittling knife in his other. He took care with his work, but his sharp eyes lifted every so often, focusing on the girl selling wares from her wagon across the dirt road from the tree. The heat did not seem to affect her much, her tanned skin evidence of her love for the sun.

Kylo watched her over the course of the day. She smiled at passersby, spoke matter-of-factly to those seeking tonics for ailments, laughed with a woman who seemed to enjoy telling local gossip to a new ear, and now seemed very unaffected by the flirtations of a young man.

Kylo’s eyes narrowed, his hands stilling. The boy was persistent, and she was getting irritated. When the boy tried to reach for her hand, Kylo watched as she let him, pulling close enough for her to whisper something in his ear. Kylo’s skin tingled as the magic wove through the air. The boy staggered back, a dazed look on his face, and then wandered away.

A repelling spell. Kylo scoffed. Smart. But not very smart to do something like that out here, in the open, where anyone could see. The girl’s eyes darted about, looking for the alerted gaze of someone who may have noticed her act of forbidden magic, but there was only one audience member to her indiscretion, and he had his hood up, enchanted to ward off any notice. He was as if part of the shadows; unassuming and forgettable. Her eyes slid over him as expected, and Kylo smirked, returning to his whittling.

She was the reason he was stood here, sweltering in his black robes and armor. She was a witch, even though she tried to hide it behind her simple tonics and herbs. He’d been tracking her for days, and finally caught up with her here.

He was on a mission from his master to capture her, and even though he knew not what the purpose was--she was hardly trained, seeming only to be able to harness the bare minimum of power afforded to their kind--but Kylo was not going to question it.

In the shade of the tree, Kylo wiped the sweat from his brow and adjusted his position against the rough bark of the trunk. In his hands the knife moved through the wood object, its shape taking form.

It wouldn’t be difficult to snatch her. He already had a plan; all he had to do now was wait.

--O*O--

Rey finished gathering up her wares from the table she had set up outside her wagon home, bringing them up the steps to place in the cabinet designed to neatly hold them. It had been a lucrative day, so there weren’t as many going in as she had taken out, and she patted her coin purse with a smile before hiding it.

She folded the table next to bring it inside as well, setting it back up in front of the bench seat along the right wall. Her wagon was a modest home, but cozy. Her bed was along the back wall, a nest filled with blankets and pillows, an array colorful beads on hanging strings glittered from the waning sunlight coming in through a small window.

The left side wall contained more cabinets with dishware and food, jars with herbs and preserves, and a small woodfire stove. The right side wall had more cabinets still, although these ones were kept locked. Inside were books, old scrolls, and grimoires, but also some amulets and dangerous items not meant to be handled by innocent humans.

Rey couldn’t afford to be caught, so she hid them behind concealing charms and repelling spells. No one would search those cabinets because they would seem far too boring to garner any attention.

She’d already had a close call earlier in the day, when an inquisitive constable had approached her table. He’d carried a large cross hung from his neck, and a sharp look to his eyes. She’d smiled broadly at him, hoping he couldn’t see the anxiety making her sweat. It’s just the heat, she would have said if he’d asked.

“‘Tonics and tinctures,’ eh? You a witch?” He’d crudely asked, not even trying to be tactful.

“My great great grandmother was one, sir,” she answered, a lie, probably, since she didn’t know her family, “but all I have is a penchant for medicines. I have a signed letter from a priest, Christening me as a Holy Hand.”

Most people like her did that--connected themselves to a church to avoid being burned at the stake. They were less likely to be looked at with contempt if it seemed like they were doing God’s work.

Rey just needed money to get away. To go anywhere. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but so far she hadn’t found it.

The constable had looked over her letter with a critical eye, but ultimately gave it back and continued on his way with a gruff, “Don’t stay too long.”

It was a warning she would heed. She’d be on the road by first light in the morning.

Rey brought feed and water to her Clydesdale, murmuring softly to him as he munched. “On to the next town in the morning, Bibi.” Then she whispered a spell to strengthen him and climbed the steps back up into her home. Being a Clydesdale, Bibi was the only kind of horse able to pull her wooden camper by himself, but she still tried to help with whatever magic she could manage.

Rey shut the wooden door and made a simple meal of bread and vegetable soup, eating at the table silently. By the dying light from the three windows about the cabin, Rey knew it was time to draw the curtains and ready for bed. The lamps filled the small home with warm light, and she was just reaching to untie her corset when a knock came on the door.

Rey frowned, going to it. There was a latch to open a small window and see who was calling, but it was still difficult to make out the shadowy features of the hooded man standing outside.

“I’m closed for the evening,” she said. “If you need something I can help you in the morning.”

She closed the latch before the man could answer, a wave of cold gooseflesh making her shiver. The visitor was silent, and she wondered if he’d walked away after a moment of not detecting any sound. She moved to her small closet again when the door latch clicked and swung open.

Rey stood straight, alarmed, sure that she’d locked it.

“I’m closed,” she said with more conviction, the words for her repelling spell on the tip of her tongue.

The man who entered her humble dwelling had to duck to get through the small door frame, and his head nearly brushed against the roof. He was broad, dressed in black, and as he entered Rey saw the flash of red gems embedded in the hilt of his sword at his hip.

She sucked in a breath. An inquisitor? Here? Had the constable sent for one?

But no, he didn’t carry any sign of the cross, nor did he have the stench of smoke that seemed to permeate an inquisitor as if their souls were made of ash.

This man had a darkness about him, but he was no witch burner.

He removed his hood and suddenly Rey felt like her eyes could focus again. She frowned, blinking. Strange. He was handsome, with dark hair in waves to his shoulders, a large nose somehow more elegant than ugly, and piercing eyes the color of whiskey. He seemed to not care that she had already told him twice she was not open.

Rey swallowed but steeled herself. She’d warded off enough men in her life to be able to take this one on easily.

His eyes went from scanning her to roaming around her living space. She couldn’t help to feel judged, and it made her scowl.

“If you need something, I can help you in the morning,” she said, voice hard. “Please leave.”

He finally looked back at her. Somehow he seemed to fill the entire wagon up with his presence, even though he was still standing in front of the door. That it was open helped Rey feel less trapped.

“I’m looking for something,” he said, ignoring her again. “A kind of herb. Willow’s Needle.”

Rey shook her head. “Willow’s Needle is a forbidden herb, used only by witches. I’m one of the Holy Hand, I don’t do witchcraft. Here,” she found the priest's letter and held it out for him. She tried to control the shaking of her hand. “It’s signed by Father Michael from--”

There was a gust of wind from the open door, blowing the letter from her hand and extinguishing all but one lamp that hung above her bed. The door swung shut, enclosing them together.

Rey stepped back, her heart thundering. The man stood still, staring at her with dark eyes.

“Are you here to kill me?” She asked, thinking of the knives kept in the drawer by the stove. The man was closer, but Rey knew that even if she could get one it would be no match for his sword. And even then, she had a feeling this man was far deadlier than the piece of sharpened metal at his side.

“No,” he said, taking a slow step forward. He was like an encroaching black cloud, and for all the magic Rey knew she had under her fingertips, she was finding herself far too overwhelmed by his presence to think straight enough to use it.

“Don’t be afraid,” he told her quietly, within arms reach now. “I feel it too.”

“Feel what?” Rey whispered.

His lips quirked up on one side.

“Magic.”

His hands rose and Rey took an alarmed step back, gathering strength to try and throw him with a spell, but she stopped. Lights began to sparkle to life as he whispered into his cupped hands, a dazzling display of power that Rey hadn’t witnessed in years. Not since she was a child, before she was taught to keep hidden.

Her curtains were closed so one would see this forbidden show except her, but it still felt like she shouldn’t even be looking. What if someone saw? What if they accused her of it?

The man lowered his hands to show her his creation, and Rey stepped closer, entranced, warmed by the light. She gave a delighted gasp at the tiny bird made of magic nestled in his gloved palms, and she glanced up to see a much softer expression as he watched her in turn. Rey looked back at the bird, shy in the face of this nameless man’s attention. This rare male witch.

All at once it didn’t matter that he had barged into her home and frightened her. He was like her, and maybe that meant he was lonely too. Maybe he was here to find a traveling partner. Someone to be himself with.

Rey’s heart ached to be truly seen by someone who wouldn’t be afraid of her.

She’d instinctively held her arms to her chest in a shield when he’d advanced, but now one hand unclenched, wanting to show she wasn’t afraid, that she accepted his magic. The little bird chirped a twinkling song, and Rey smiled, wanting to see if it was as soft as it looked.

“Go on,” the man murmured, as if he could hear her thoughts. “You can take it.”

Rey smiled and accepted the warm illusion into her own palms. It was a very convincing mirage, one she had never been able to conjure herself. She looked up again, but the man’s face was closed again, his eyes sharp, and all at once Rey felt the illusion evaporate. As soon as the small wooden carving of a bird touched her skin, her whole body froze.

She couldn’t move. Only her eyes widened in horror at her error. Ashwood.

“It’s a paralysis charm,” he explained as her dread rose. “Carved into the wood. A simple thing, really. Any witch worth her salt would have been able to detect it.” He stepped close, all warmth gone, his cold eyes calculating as they scanned her frozen form once again.

“I don’t know why my master would want a weak vagrant like you, but I suppose you’ll have your uses.”

Rey could only whimper at the implication, and she wished she could move and fight back. But her hands had seized around the bird figurine as if in a cramp, and she knew she would not become unfrozen until it was no longer in her grasp.

The dark witch-man bent and easily picked her up into his arms, her body pliant but still out of her control. He took the few steps to her bed and settled her down in the pillows. Her eyes watched him fearfully, the worst thoughts of his intentions flitting across her mind, a desperation beginning to bloom in her breast that nearly had her whining in an attempt to beg him not to defile her.

But he actually pulled the edge of her skirts down to cover her exposed calves, and then straightened, not giving her unguarded body a second glance.

“You should try to sleep,” he told her. “Fretting won’t do you any good, and the spell won’t go away until the bird does.”

And then he turned and left, the wood creaking beneath his heavy boots, the door clicking shut behind him. Rey heard the lock latch into place, and then the sounds of heavy hoofs, and straps being moved. The wagon lurched as Bibi was attached to his leads, unfamiliar with the man doing it. Rey willed the horse to stomp him, to run away and find help for her, but she felt a wall in her mind.

Whoever this witch-man was, he was far more powerful a person than Rey had ever encountered before.

She heard boots climbing to the perch near the window by her bed, and then the flick of reins. The next time the wagon lurched, it stayed in motion, the whole cabin swaying and jostling from the unpaved road.

Rey had no idea where she was being taken, or by whom, but she knew if she was going to survive this kidnapping she was going to have to use all of her wits she could muster.

Anything less and she was sure to succumb to whatever dark agenda awaited her at the end of this journey.

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#reylo #star wars #witch #witch au #witchcraft #rey #kylo ren #kylo x rey #witch!rey #witch!kylo #fanfic #fanfiction #my art #Reylo art

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soyeahitsmiddleearth · 3 years

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Killer Good Looks pt. 2

The Company/Reader

Goblin tunnels, scapegoats, and life-threatening adventures... Oh, and you're still supposed to kill these guys, hm.

Angst, Humor, Action

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The fall from your little cozy cave down into the deep dark depths of the Goblin Tunnels was not a pleasant one, and you're almost certain that a concussion is in the makings with how many times you and your companions have smashed your heads against walls, each other, and rocks alike.

You got lucky for the most part, and they've got pretty thick skulls so they'll be fine too.

Once the twisting tunnels and dead-drops are done, you all lay at the bottom of some sort of cage, groaning and recovering from the shock of it all (you're fairly certain there's a period there where you're all unconscious).

Damn it, you should've known better.

You've known for ages about the goblins that reside in the Misty Mountains, but you, for some reason, thought you'd be safe enough with the horrible weather to make it in and out of the mountain range before they even knew you were there.

The goblin king won't see you, will he? He won't recognize you, right?

Yeah, so, there was a time there where you worked freelance, having no assignments from The Brotherhood or anything to do, and you caught wind that the goblins of the Misty Mountains came across something desirable.

Something... shiny... and... possibly magical.

Your kleptomania went positively wild at the mere thought of finding something so pretty and sparkly in such a dreary and dismal place, so you set out for the Mountains, staked out around the entrances for a few days, and then snuck in and stole that 'thing'.

The 'thing' ended up being a radiant, beautiful ring stolen from some poor traveler more than likely. Whether they wiped out the kingdom or stole it in silence is unknown to you, but you didn't really care.

You snuck in at night while countless goblins went out to hunt and enjoy the evening, and then you swiped the ring from the goblin kings finger while he slept when day came about, hid in the tunnels until night once more while he flipped out in search of it, and made your escape the following night.

Only after you stole it did you find out that it was magical.

It morphed to fit your finger as soon as you fit it on, and granted you some enhanced senses.

The enhancements weren't vast or grand, but it was a very slight adjustment that helped to polish your already honed skills.

You could hear a little better, see a bit further, and increased your 6th sense for detecting others.

They probably went through numerous hardships to acquire such a useful item, and, now, it was all yours for free.

That day you spent hiding away in the tunnels, waiting for night so you could escape after stealing it in the day, was boring, but also a little frightening. The way the goblin king screamed and screeched about a thief and needing to find his prize made you briefly fear for your safety, but it didn't take long for you to realize they're too dumb to spot you.

You may not be the strongest in terms of physical strength and brute force, but your willpower and cunning got you through it almost effortlessly. And, if you did get into a physical altercation, your agility and reflexes would help you go down while taking them out with you.

Anyways, your point it that, he may not recognize your face since he never saw you, but if he sees the ring then it's over for you.

So, once you regain your rational thought after your daze, you slip it off your finger and shove it into one of the hidden pockets in your shirt. Who knows if he'll recognize the ring or not.

In no time you are being hauled up to your feet and dragged away with the rest of your companions, though you are a fair bit taller than all of them so it's harder for these nasty bastards to keep you under control.

No matter how vast or grand your skills are, you'd never be able to take on all of these guys; you're a stealth master for a reason after all.

The lot of you are taken down a series of paths to an audience with the horrendous Goblin King, and along the way you manage to kick quite a few of those grabby little monsters down into the dark depths below.

A minute or so passes that ends with all of you, ultimately, in front of the Goblin Kind and helpless.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" His voice booms in front of all of you, echoing throughout the caves, "Spies? Thieves? Assassins?”

Something like that.

You are, technically, all three, but none of you are there for him.

One of the small, ugly creatures steps forward and informs him of who you all are, "Dwarfs and a human, your Malevolence."

His face morphs into one of disgust and he practically spits out, "Dwarfs?"

"We found them on the front porch." The lacky confirms.

“Well, don’t just stand there; search them! Every crack, every crevice.” He cries, slamming his fist down which makes the wood tremble beneath all of you.

A bunch of words are traded and the Great Goblin exposes his knowledge about Thorin and the fact that his greatest enemy, Azog the Defiler, is still alive and kicking.

“Send word to the Pale Orc; tell him I have found his prize.” A twisted smile takes over his huge face and causes that skin beard to shift, a disgustingly entrancing movement, and he looks down at the searching goblins expectantly.

You've had a 3 of your knives tossed aside and your short sword has been stolen, but you're happy to report that some of your hidden weapons and the stolen goods are still hidden.

Suddenly, one of the goblins loses it's head and throws something in front of the group, screeching and screaming with horror.

The Great Goblin recoils and he hisses out fearfully, "I know that sword! It is the Goblin-Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks."

Whips and nails, teeth and palms, the dwarfs are abused with every limb, weapon, and thing possible, and before you can even think on it, your voice demands the attention of them all.

"Wait!"

Silence, stillness, attention.

God, you hate it.

You slip the ring from your pocket and onto your finger and take a step forward unobstructed from the enraged goblins, slightly nervous but blank in expression.

"I cannot hide it anymore. Every second that passes weighs on my soul, for the desire to be recognized for my deeds is too strong."

"Speak your piece, human, what do you want?"

You raise your ringed hand and brandish the smooth metal off to him, "Do you recognize this? The ring I so cleverly stole from you all those months ago?"

"M-My ring!" He bellows, taking a step forward, "How- You thief! You were the one who stole from me? You?!"

You say nothing at first and betray no emotion in your face, lowering your hand back to your side. When you do speak, you push arrogance into your voice, "I took it while you indulged yourself in sleep, and then I hid right under your nose for an entire day, holding my prize and listening to your whining and petulant screams." The insults are all well aimed and meant to enrage him, for you're hoping to take his attention off of the dwarfs before he can have them all killed. "If I had known you were so pathetic and slow-witted, I would have taken it during the night and saved myself the time."

Someone calls your name, Thorin, and he hisses with confusion, "What are you doing?"

You ignore him.

If he weren't so pale and colorless he would've been red with anger at your taunting words. The Great Goblin is seething and spitting, his huge, clawed hands clenched into fists as he tries to form a coherent thought.

"You dare speak down to me? You will be punished!" He cries, pointing a long nailed finger at you, "Cut the ring from those thieving hands, and then take those hands as well!"

Your expression shifts when you're shoved forward and onto the ground on your hands and knees, taking on a more defiant look despite the hint of fear in your eyes.

It's not like you want them to cut off your hands, you kind of need those, but you're fairly confident that this groups luck will strike once again and save you from a life of picking things up with your feet and wrists (if they don't kill you, that is).

"No!" Someone yells from the group of dwarfs and goblins, followed by shouts and calls from others as well.

Unfortunately, the roaring in your ears is too loud for you to make out individual voices, but it's nice that they aren't apathetic towards your fate.

Before you know it you're being shoved face-first into the ground and your arms are being wrenched out from beneath you, stretched out and poised for being cut off. Your finger with the ring on it is pulled from your fist, and when you glance up, you see a sword poised above the head of a goblin, ready to relieve you of your hand.

There's lots of screaming and yelling, and at some point you squeeze your eyes shut since you're no longer confident in your assessment that you'll be saved in the nick of time.

Finally, right when your fate is about to finally be sealed, a bright light blinds you all and renders the goblins immobilized momentarily.

Gandalf the Gray stands there with his powerful staff in hand and an aura of white surrounding him, meanwhile you all just stare in awe.

“Take up arms. Fight. Fight!” He demands, slamming his staff on the ground which shakes your very souls.

You, and everyone else, require no more prompting.

In one swift movement you roll back onto your feet and steal the discarded sword aimed to take your hands, and then you jump right into the action.

You and the entirety of the group make a swift and action packed escape where you spend the majority of your time protecting the Durin's, sticking close to them and keeping the goblins away.

Everything passes by in a blur of limbs, blood, and violence, and it isn't until you've killed the Great Goblin and escaped back out into the light of the soon setting sun that you have a moment to breathe and think about all the things that just took place.

It's at this time that everyone finishes running and takes a moment to catch their breath that you all realize Bilbo is missing, and you immediately curse yourself for not keeping a closer eye on him.

A couple of the dwarfs begin to blame each other and there's some mumbling amongst themselves, but Thorin has another idea entirely about what really happened.

"I’ll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He’s thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone."

You purse your lips but say nothing despite your disagreement with his words; arguing with the people 'paying you' isn't the brightest idea, so it's better to just keep your mouth shut.

And then, quite the peculiar thing, said hobbit steps out from behind a tree and states matter-of-factly, "No, he isn't."

There is varying amounts of surprise and shock that wash throughout all of your expressions. Hell, your eyes even widen slightly when he appears so suddenly. How did you not notice him even with your ring on?

"Bilbo Baggins! I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my life!” The gray wizard exclaims with a grand smile on his wrinkling face.

Kili speaks next, informing the little hobbit that there was little hope surrounding him. "Bilbo, we'd given you up!"

"How on earth did you get past the goblins?!" Fili wonders.

"How indeed..." Dwalin sounds suspicious almost when he repeats Fili's question, but you're entirely worried about something else.

"Are you alright, Bilbo?" You chime in before he can explain himself, stepping closer to give him a quick once over.

You were hired to protect the Durin's, but you need all of them to get access to that mountain with ease.

Or, at least, that's what you tell yourself.

The hobbit looks up at you and offers a slightly nervous smile, "I am fine. Just a few bumps and bruises."

"I want to know...," Thorin's voice breaks through your conversation as he asks, "Why did you come back?"

A quick moment of silence passes as you look down at your feet and listen carefully, actually a bit curious yourself.

It isn't like you couldn't do his part of the job for him, though your assignment is something else entirely, and he expressed his desire to leave right before you were all kidnapped by the goblins... so why would he come back?

"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have," Bilbo begins with a slightly grim face, "And you’re right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden..." He trails off as a faraway look momentarily blurs his vision, probably imagining what he could be doing at home right now, and you all watch and listen carefully. "See, that’s where I belong. That’s home. And that’s why I came back, cause you don’t have one - a home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.”

Your eyebrows furrow together when he finishes speaking his piece, because his words are... greatly troubling.

He was ready to leave it all behind before, mere seconds away from leaving back towards The Shire and Bag End, but here he is now. He came back because he genuinely wants to help; he wants them to reclaim their home and find their wandering origins.

Everyone is silent as they think over the words Bilbo speaks, and while it awes most of them, you only feel more bothered.

Such a kind hobbit who you may likely need to kill.

"That's foolish." You find yourself saying that before you can even think about it, something that's been happening too often for your liking.

You get several shocked looks, hell, you're shocked yourself, but you don't take back your statement.

Where did this disdain come from all of a sudden? This disdain not towards the kind hearted hobbit, but towards yourself?

"You are not the person to be calling the actions of our Master Burglar, foolish." Gandalf scolds, eyeing you with a pointed look. "I know your taunting and teasing towards the Goblin King was no accident or arrogance driven necessity. And I also know that you could have easily broken yourself free before harm befell upon you. I brought you along to do a job, and do this job you have - much too well. I thank you for the distraction, but your methods may have proved to be a mistake had I not arrived on time."

You look back at the gray wizard with an unwavering stare, eyes slightly narrowed as you attempt to glare him into submission; only, he doesn't relent and stares right back at you.

"You came in time." A weak defense.

"And if I hadn't?" He asks, voice raising slightly. Gandalf doesn't much like backtalk. "How far would you have taken it? Were you going to allow them to take your hands? To cut that trinket from your finger?"

This time you hesitate in replying, something akin to a pout tugging at your lips. "Of course not. I had faith that you would come, and you did...," you trail off, then add begrudgingly, "And if you hadn't, then I could have escaped quite easily."

Another silence filled by the two big egos facing off against each other.

Gandalf's ego wins, unfortunately.

You relent and look away, catching the troubled gazes of Fili and Kili.

Did your actions really bother them that much?

"Well what do you suppose I should do? Let them harm you all?" You wouldn't let that happen.

That thought that lingers behind your words makes your eyebrows knit together in confusion once again, and your gaze wanders away once more.

Now that you think about it, why did you do it? I mean, why did you really do it?

You knew they weren't actually going to die just like that, he's too scared of the pale orc to do that, but you did it anyways. The possibility of harm befalling upon these dwarfs actually... affected you.

Gandalf pauses and observes you carefully, then realization sparkles in those infuriatingly wise eyes of his.

"Well, no matter. I did not mean to scold you, for you are a very capable person, so I thank you for doing your job well and diligently." He lets those words hang in the air for a time, then he moves on, "Now, we must discuss where we are and where we must go."

"I say-" Thorin begins, only to be cut off by howls and the sound of a gravely voice speaking in another language. "Out of the frying pan..." He sighs with a weary face.

"And into the fire! Run! Run!!" The gray wizard snaps.

You all begin your hasty retreat down the mountain, and at some point the sun begins to set.

The sky turns all sorts of vibrant shades of orange, blue, and red, and the light delicately kisses the peaks of each tree, mountain top, and surface. The air smells fresh, as it usually does following a hard rain, and the grass and leaves glisten healthy because of the drink offered to them by the sky. It's a magnificent sight to behold, but none of you are able to appreciate it, for the beauty of nature is being darkened and tainted by the evil intent and fear.

Those nasty wargs chase you all down like prey, maybe that's exactly what you are, meanwhile your feet take you as far away and as quickly as they can.

You jog behind the two youngest Durin's, being as Thorin takes the lead as per usual, and keep a slow enough pace to avoid taking over them (they're not the fastest group of dwarfs, after all). You can't have them becoming warg food when you still need them to get you into that mountain...

"Pick up your feet more when you run!" You command, glancing behind you briefly to gauge just how close those bastards are.

They heed your advice and end up running just a bit faster, something that relieves you somewhat.

The land begins to thin out and the ground you run on narrows, thus forcing all of you onto a cliff filled with trees and a precipice topped with a leaning tree.

“Up into the trees, all of you! Come on, climb! Bilbo, climb!” Gandalf demands, jumping up to grab one of the low hanging branches and pulling himself up.

You stay planted firmly in place and wait for everyone to find a spot in a tree and climb to safety, and while everyone else, even Bombur, finds somewhere to avoid the bloodthirsty wargs, Bilbo is still running for the tree line.

A frustrated curse passes through your gritted teeth, but you waste no time in rushing forward and yanking Bilbo away from the jaws of an awaiting warg. You foot shoots up and crashes into the side of its face, successfully knocking it off course since you nailed it in the eye which gives you two enough time to sort things out.

"Quickly!" You hiss, leaning crouching down with your hands clasped in front of you, "I can boost you up, but you mustn't waste anymore time!"

The little hobbit nods his head and steps his big right foot into your awaiting hands, and, once he's secured, you launch him up and into the awaiting low hanging branches.

"Y/N!" Fili screams from above you, panic lining his voice.

Your gaze snaps forward just in time to see sharp teeth and brown fur, but right before those razor teeth can sink into the soft flesh of your neck, a rock comes sailing through the sky and nails the nasty beast right in the nose.

It whimpers and jerks its head off to the side, but you don't waste anymore time in watching it freak out and instead roll around to the other side of the tree and jump up to grab a branch and pull yourself further up so they can't get your feet.

You reach up to grasp another branch, but someone catches your hand instead and easily hauls you into another layer of the tree.

"I've got you." It's Dwalin, and he doesn't let go of your hand right away until you're secure.

"Thank you." You dip your head after voicing your thanks then do a quick once-over to make sure everyone is safe in the trees, only, you don't get the chance to finish that before those wild dogs begin to rip at the roots holding the strong pines into place.

One by one do each of the trees begin to lean and fall, creating a domino affect that forces all of you to hang vicariously over the edge of the cliffside.

A quick glance down shows you the imminent death that awaits you below, and, for the first time since this chase began, you fear for your and everyone else's lives.

"Catch!" Kili yells to you, tossing a flaming pinecone your way.

Where did they get flaming pinecones?

Gandalf of course, you should've known even before you looked up.

You turn your attention ahead once more and pull your arm back, poised to throw the pinecone with all your might, only to stop mid-swing when something, or rather, someone, gets in your way.

Thorin Oakenshield stands on the trunk of the sinking tree with his weight distributed to maintain balance, and just ahead is Azog the Defiler, staring him down with an arrogant, sick smile.

Oh Jesus... this dwarf sure doesn't make your job easy.

You throw the pinecone since the flames began to lick at your gloved fingers and move to stand up, but the branch you sit upon cracks and creaks, groaning under the sudden movement.

Shit.

If he dies the dwarfs may give up on the entire journey altogether and decide to leave the mountain alone, and then where will that leave you?

You don't even want to think about it.

Another attempt is made to pull yourself up onto the thick trunk, but this time the entire branch cracks and breaks, falling out from beneath you as it hangs by the sparsely attached strings of ripped apart wood.

You just barely manage to throw yourself into the trunk and hang off the side, feet dangling in open air with nothing to leverage yourself with.

Panic blooms in your chest as you completely loose control over the situation, unable to even swing your legs up because of the way your arms can't completely wrap around the trunk.

"No!" Dwalin screams just above you, catching your attention briefly despite your panic.

You look over to the side and see that Thorin has lost his fight against the pale orc. He lays on the ground, unmoving and defeated as another one of Azog's companions raise its' weapon above its' head to kill the dwarf king.

"Damn it!" You hiss helplessly, pawing uselessly around the rough bark in search of any sort of leg up. "Thorin!"

This is it. They're going to kill him and all of you are going to fall to your deaths, soaring through the sky for a brief time before you become nothing more than bloody splatters on the ground below.

The sound of metal hitting metal and the clashing of weapons draws your ear as you begin to slip further down the circumference of the trunk, but you can't even turn to look because there's nothing left for you to do.

The rest of your body drags your arms from around the tree and, in a last ditch effort to avoid the drop, you grasp the broken, hanging branch.

It snaps of as soon as your weight yanks it down, and then... you're free falling.

Someone screams your name (is that Bofur?) but you don't do anything.

You don't writhe or scream; you don't flail your arms or cry; you just stare up at the horror stricken faces and your partners in falling (Dori and Ori) as numbness overtakes your whole body.

Yes, your stomach drops as the feeling of falling sickens you, but in your heart, in your soul, you feel nothing.

It's not like you've led a particularly good life or anything, but still, you don't want to die. Even if there is nothing for you, no one that cares, you still don't want to go; because once you're dead, the only thing anyone will remember you as is a ruthless monster, a puppet of The Brotherhood.

You don't want to die.

Maybe you should've rejected the job in the first place; maybe you should've made better designs in general; maybe you should've allowed yourself to let those foolish dwarfs and sweet hobbit close if to just feel a moment of belonging.

Little do you know, all of these thoughts will prove to complicate your mission further, because this is, in fact, not the end.

One moment you're falling to your death while having an existential crisis, and the next you're being snatched out of the sky by one of the Great Eagles.

#the company x reader #the hobbit fanfiction #the hobbit #reader insert #thorin oakenshield #fili #kili #killer good looks pt. 2 #assassin reader #angst #bilbo baggins #kili x reader #fili x reader #thorin x reader #bilbo x reader #bofur x reader #dwalin x reader

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duuhrayliegh · 3 years

Text

watch your six - part five

pairing: eventual bucky x reader (they’re together in the next chapter i stg)

warnings: language (several f bombs bc i feel like bucky would be liberal w them), sam and bucky being little shits, bad nicknames,

word count: just under 2500

a/n: long awaited but it’s finally here! i’m super proud of this one :) i hope y’all like it also this was the first time i’ve written something like this so constructive criticism please. i hope i did the characters justice

p.s.: my requests are still open babes! i’m working on the next part of this series and also possibly continuing TFCL ;) my tag lists are still open as well

please like and reblog if you enjoyed the story

xoxo ray

series m.list

ray’s m.list

***********************************

The tension in the room was palpable. “What do you mean you know her, Buck?” Steve questioned. Bucky’s eyes were flitting around the room, landing on each face of bewilderment. He honestly didn’t know what he meant but that, it kind of just came out. Where the fuck did that come from? Who is this woman?

“Uh, hello? What’s going on in that cyborg brain of yours?” Sam interjected quickly, to which he received a sharp glare from both Bucky and Steve. Sam shrugged his shoulders and a quiet snort was heard from across the room.

“He’s got a point, Terminator.” Tony said as he plopped himself into one of the rollie chairs. “You can’t just say something like that and then not explain it.” Bucky’s brows furrowed and he expelled a grunt as his response to Tony.

“Bucky, you’ve got to give us something to go on here.” Natasha said calmly as she eyed an increasingly agitated Bucky.

Since coming back from Wakanda and being brought into the compound, Steve, Sam and Natasha have learned how to read Bucky. Steve has always been able to read the one hundred and six year old, they have shared life experience. Natasha was is a trained master assassin, trained in the Red Room by the Winter Soldier. One of her most valuable skills is her ability to read the emotions of anyone around her. And Sam, well he still leads a support group down at the VA. Being a war-torn veteran himself, he knows what it’s like to have to deal with the memories.

“Look, I don’t know what I meant by it.” Bucky finally said, throwing his hands above his head in exasperation. “It just came out, ya know? I didn’t process it before I said it and now, it’s out there. And to top it off, I don’t have the fucking memories there to back it up. They’re definitely there, but they aren’t just presenting themselves to me on a silver platter.” The group around him silenced.

Bucky was known for being the quiet, brooding type. His murder stare was comically famous around the compound. Sam constantly picked on Bucky about it, so hearing the man spout more than a few words at a time was a shocking experience for all of them.

“You know, there is a way that we can know what even your own mind doesn’t want you to know.” Tony said, darting his eyes over to Steve, who stood stoically in front of the large monitor.

“Goddamn, Tony! We said this isn’t an episode of FRIENDS!” Sam shouted.

“He won’t like that Tony. You know he won’t.” Natasha cut in quickly.

“But, if it works and it tells us if this woman knows anything, then it’s worth a shot.” Tony shot back.

“Tony. No. He’s already been through that and you want to subject him to it again?” Bucky was listening intently to their conversation, trying to figure out what they were referring to. Natasha seemed adamant that Bucky would not be a fan of whatever it was. Tony, as usual, couldn’t care less.

“What are we talking about?”

“Wanda.”

“Who’s Wanda again?”

“She’s the witch.”

“We have a witch on our team? That’s not possible, there’s no such thing as witches and wizards.”

“Uh, yeah there is, cyborg.”

“No, there's not bird brain.”

“Yeah. There is, dumbass. She’s the one who does the hand thing and then there’s the crazy red glow around her? She’s got long hair? Dating the android?”

“There’s an android on the team?” Bucky was still getting to know everyone on the team, but he was positive he would know if there was a fucking android on the team.

“Yeah, the guy with the yellow glowy thing embedded in his forehead? Do you pay attention at all, Bucky? He’s dating Wanda, the witch with the red glowy hand thing?” Sam was waving his hands in front of his face and gesturing to his forehead.

“There’s no fucking way. Steve? Is there an android on the team?” Bucky turned to Steve, expecting an answer. All of the sudden, a red mass phased through the wall behind Steve. Vision appeared, looking quizzically around the room.

“Did someone ask for me?” His British accent carried through the room, once again causing the room to silence and turn to Bucky. Bucky’s lips were pursed, disgruntled that Sam was once again right in their little squabbles.

“Alright fine, but there’s not a witch right?”

“If you’re referring to Ms. Maximoff, then no. She simply manipulates molecular polarity allowing her to alter the reality around her.” Vision said it as if Bucky was meant to understand it. When in reality, Bucky was still getting over the fact fangirling that there was an android talking to him.

“However, if calling her a witch makes you more comfortable,” Vision paused and turned towards the doorway on the other end of the room, “I believe you should ask her permission before doing so.” He raised his hand causing Bucky to follow its direction.

“Hey Tony. Friday said you wanted to see me?” Wanda glided into the room, doing a quick survey of its occupants. Her gaze eventually landed on the vibrant being beside Steve. “Vis, you left in the middle of us making dinner. We’ve talked about that.”

“Yes, do forgive me, my love. However, I believe your expertise is required outside of the kitchen.” Wanda’s orbs flicked to Steve’s first and then to Tony’s, waiting for instructions.

“We want you to go inside Barnes’ mind and retrieve memories about someone for us.” Tony stated plainly. Bucky’s eyes widened and his fear grew. She can do that? Who the fuck was going to tell me that? Can she read my mind too? Is she listening now?

“That’s not exactly how it works, Tony.”

“It doesn’t matter because I never agreed to that, Stark.” Bucky said firmly. He was tired of his brain being put in a blender. He was finally getting comfortable in his own body again. He was gaining more and more control over his mind every day. Granted, he wasn’t sleeping because of the nightmares.

No, not nightmares, because of the memories. Why the fuck would he willingly subject himself to that during the daylight? No, his pain, though constant, was only to be shown at night, when he was completely alone and there’s no chance that he could hurt anyone else.

“If this is the only way that we can know for sure, then we need to do it.” Tony pushed, “You know I’m right, Cap. After what happened with the Sokovia Accords, even though they aren’t monitoring us as closely as they could be, they’re still watching. And if we storm in there without any good reason to, then it’s our asses on the line.”

“Hey, I don’t remember giving you authority over my brain. So what the fuck gives you the right to try and get me to do this shit?” Bucky stood as he spoke, “You’re heroes, goddamn it. It’s your fucking job to save people who need you to. So you should fucking do it. With or without a goddamn reason, you prick.” He shoved the chair away from him and stormed out of the room, passed Wanda who watched with a pained expression.

“He’s right, Tony.” Steve said quietly.

“About what, Cap?”

“We shouldn’t have to have a reason to do our jobs.”

“All I’m saying is that if he has information about this woman that could help us, we need to know it.�� Tony glanced back to Wanda, “What if he’s enhanced like Wanda and Pietro and we go in there guns blazing. What happens if she perceives us as a threat? What then Cap?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, Tony.” Steve was the Captain, so ultimately it was his decision. This left Tony incredibly unsatisfied, giving him a reason to implement a plan of his own. “We leave tonight. Be ready to leave in three hours.”

The room emptied quickly, everyone having their own rituals to do before departing on a mission. Steve and Sam were the last to remain in the room. “Do you really think this is a good idea?” Sam asked in a hushed whisper.

“It’s the only one I got, Sam.”

“Are you going to let him come on the mission?” Steve made a face as he clenched his jaw. “I mean, Tony has a point. If he knows something, I think we should try to figure out what it is.”

“We can’t ask him to do that, Sam. You know we can’t.”

“I’m not saying that we should, but if you bring him on this mission and he remembers something in the heat of the moment?” Sam turned his body to fully face Steve, “What are we going to do then?” Sam brought up a valid point, but Steve knew he wouldn’t be able to stop Bucky from coming on the mission.

“Like I said, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

********************************

It was somewhat therapeutic for Bucky to be sharpening his knives. He sat quietly on one of the overstuffed couches in the compound’s common area. A wide array of matte black knives was laid out on the coffee table in front of him. He held one in his hand, raking it against a damp stone to create a slick silver edge on the blade. His solitude didn’t last long, not that he expected it to, especially here in the compound.

“Hi, I don’t think we’ve ever formally met. I’m Wanda.” She stuck her hand out for Bucky to shake which he did, with great caution. There is no telling what this woman is capable of. I don’t need to get too comfortable with her.

“Bucky.” He kept his replies short, in the hopes of deterring her from wanting to interact with him. He knows that is exactly what Steve and his therapist in Wakanda told him to stop doing, but that’s irrelevant.

“I know what Tony was suggesting for us to do isn’t ideal, Bucky.” Bucky shuddered unintentionally, his fear rolling off of him in waves. “I just wanted to let you know, I would never do that to you. Not unless you asked me to and even then I don’t know if I would.” Bucky turned his head to face her. She seemed sincere, but then again people are always rotten on the inside.

“I promise, I won’t.”

“I’ve heard one too many promises in my day, Wanda.” He shifted back to his original task, flipping another knife into the palm of his hand and dragging it along the stone. Wanda nods and lifts herself to her feet, about to retreat to the kitchen.

“It’s the nightmares, isn’t it?” Bucky froze mid-drag, eyes boring holes into the table in front of him, not responding to Wanda. “The reason you don’t want me in your head?”

“What do you know of nightmares, witch?” Bucky sneered defensively.

“You would be surprised what I know of nightmares, Bucky.” She approached the back of the couch, curling her hands around the plush fabric. “My brother, Pietro, and I, volunteered for the experiments with HYDRA.” Bucky whipped his head around to face her, immediately registering her on a higher threat level. She lifted her right hand and a glowing red ball danced between her fingers as dynamic vines licked up her palm.

“We thought that they were there to help after everything that we went through in Sokovia.” Her accent thickened with each word, “After Stark’s bomb didn’t go off, we thought it meant we were destined to take him down. So we went to the closest freedom fighter group we could find.”

Bucky watched as she dropped her hand, the red energy dissipating immediately. “We weren’t the only ones, though. There were hundreds of us. Pietro and I just so happened to be the ones that were able to withstand what they put us through.” Their eyes met, gaze holding as she continued speaking. “Then, I watched their future. And in their ideal future, we weren’t there. None of us. No Avengers or enhanced people. No humans whatsoever.” She swallowed thickly, “That’s when we knew they lied. We had suspicions earlier, but we just did what we were told so we could get what we wanted.”

“What exactly did you want?”

“We wanted Stark dead.” She held Bucky’s eyeline. “But now, my brother is dead. And all I want is to see HYDRA's downfall at my hands.” She glanced back down at her hands, “What Tony wanted me to do,” hesitating as she continued, “I know he just wants me to go through your memories and pick out the ones specific to Agent Libra, but that’s not how it works.” Bucky looked at her and then leaned back into the couch cushions, gesturing for her to continue. “The way that I would go about that would be to have you experience the whole thing over again.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean,” Wanda sucked in a deep breath, “It’s like a lucid dream. Your body would be moving and you wouldn’t be in control of it. Any action that you did at that particular moment in history would be reenacted exactly as it occurred.”

“So, if I were to do this, it would be like I was the Soldier again?”

“If that’s what it felt like, then yes.” A shiver ran up Bucky’s spine, he definitely didn’t want that. “I just wanted you to know what you would be getting yourself into if you did decide to allow me access to your memories.” A stiff nod was all she received in return.

He knows she’s just trying to be nice but he can’t help but want to run away and hide in a dark room. Bucky has been through so much because of that freedom fighter organization, he couldn’t fathom people actually volunteering their bodies for their twisted scientific experiments.

“Thanks for letting me know, Ms. Maximoff.” Even though Bucky wanted nothing to do with this woman next to him, his mother still raised him to be respectful of everyone.

“Oh, you can call me Wanda.” She smiled as she began her approach to the kitchen yet again. One thing was still nagging Bucky and he had to know the answer.

“Hey, quick question Wanda.” She stopped and turned to face him, sending a small hum in question towards him. “Are you a witch?”

Her head tilted thoughtfully, “Yes, I am.” She left it at that, leaving Bucky with wide eyes and a mouth that was hanging open. Goddamn it, I fucking hate it when Sam is right.

*****************************

watch your six tag list

@indigo123789 @austynparksandpizza

#watch your six #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fan fiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #eventual bucky x reader #female reader insert #Sebastian stan #bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes

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huayno · 3 years

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from neon genesis evangelion, vol. 12

The Mysterious Stranger

The Anime, the Manga, and the Mark Twain Novella

"God will provide for this kitten." "What makes you think so?" Ursula's eyes snapped with anger. "Because I know it!" she said. "Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His seeing it." "But it falls, just the same. What good is seeing it fall?"

—from The Mysterious Stranger

There is a short novel by Mark Twain, written near the end of his life and published posthumously, entitled The Mysterious Stranger. The tale is set in a small village in 16th century Austria, where three boys one day meet a young man different from themselves: "he had new and good clothes on, and was handsome and had a winning face and a pleasant voice, and was easy and graceful and unembarrassed, not slouchy and awkward and diffident, like other boys."

The mysterious stranger starts to do small but amazing tricks for them—causing water to turn to ice; conjuring grapes and bread out of air; even making birds that can fly out of clay. At last one boy, the story's narrator, works up the courage to ask the stranger who he is:

"'An angel,' he said, quite simply, and set another bird free and clapped his hands and made it flyaway."

The angel then proceeds to really impress them by making an entire toy castle, complete with five hundred miniature soldiers and workmen that move around by themselves. Naturally the boys get involved with this ultimate playset, making their own knights and cannon and cavalry, and although they get rather nervous again when the angel reveals his name is Satan, he assures them he is not that Satan, but only named after the fallen one.

"We others are still ignorant of sin; we are not able to commit it; we are without blemish, and we shall abide in that estate always." Distracted by two of the miniature workmen, "Satan reached out his hand and crushed the life out of them with his fingers... and went on talking where he had left off: 'We cannot do wrong; neither have we any disposition to do it, for we do not know what it is." Horrified as the other boys are, "he made us drunk with the joy of being with him and of looking into the heaven of his eyes, and of feeling the ecstasy that thrilled along our veins from the touch of his hand.'"

Yes, Kaworu Nagisa made quite an impression on the fans of Neon Genesis Evange/ion, despite the fact that, in the original broadcast version of the TV show (before it got all director's-cutted, box-setted, special-editioned, and platinum-lined) he shows up for only slightly less than thirteen minutes of total screen time, the climax of which being an entire minute where nothing happens at all.

That's what being a beautiful angel will do for you, especially when you make the most of your thirteen minutes on Earth by having a Whirlwind romance with the main character that ends in a lover's quarrel with Prog Knives and finally a voluntary martyrdom at the hand of your boy here. Relationships don't come any more tragic than that of Kaworu Nagisa and Shinji Ikari, and when fans (including this one) first saw it on TV, the affair was so brief and shocking the story logic of it didn't click in until much later.

In the anime, Kaworu is acknowledged as the Final Messenger, and, of all the Angels Shinji has to fight, this is the most ruthless battle, won at the highest possible cost to himself. It took even longer for me to realize that the showdown in episode 24 had also taken us full circle from Shinji's first fight in episodes 1 and 2, which emphasized his personal helplessness against the looming Angel Sachiel. Against Kaworu, it is the Angel who becomes the small, helpless figure, while Shinji is represented only by the gargantuan, frightful helm and arm of his Eva Unit-O1. We never see Shinji's human face once throughout the whole final minute of decision.

So as Col. Trautman would have said instead of Major Katsuragi, "It's over, Shinji! IT'S OVER!" Kaworu v. Shinji (or Kaworu x Shinji, in the doujinshi) was the big final showdown between humanity and the Angels. And with the outcome leaving Shinji at his most wretched ever, wouldn't it be nice if everyone just died—your wish being Eva's command, as it turns out that fortunately humanity hardly ever needed the Angels to slaughter itself.

"I am perishing already—I am failing—I am passing away. In a little while you will be alone in shoreless space, to wander its limitless solitudes without friend or comrade forever...But I, your poor servant, have revealed you to yourself and set you free. Dream other dreams, and better!"

—from The Mysterious Stranger

Satan's words near the end of Mark Twain's story also uncannily prefigure the end of the world and the Instrumentality project, both of which follow his death in the TV show in such quick order you picture Anno as a hairnetted fry cook dinging the counter bell. By now you see Sadamoto's handling of Kaworu, and perhaps nothing illustrates the different experiences of the manga and the anime better than his handling of this critical character.

No longer the last Angel to be fought, Kaworu actually becomes an active Eva pilot and fights an Angel—the dude even has the nerve to observe the fight is fixed, based on his knowledge of SEELE's prophecies. Sadamoto of course introduces him at an earlier point in the narrative—at the equivalent of episode 19's end—and then sends him to NERV near the equivalent of episode 22's beginning—before certain important events, to put it mildly, can occur. When one notes this kind of thing, of course, it's important to restate that the Evangelion manga has always been a separate but equal "official" version of Eva, with no particular obligation to align itself with the anime, and indeed it was with Book Five, the first released after The End of Evangelion, that Sadamoto began to truly seem free to go in his own direction.

Nevertheless, as the "other" official version of the Eva story, it is reasonable for fans to view it as an "alternate history" relative to the anime, and the way Kaworu has been introduced makes us realize the manga may end very differently indeed. Despite the fact we know here that Kaworu is an Angel from the very beginning, he appears destined to at least hang around long enough to pick up a few paychecks. It's not clear when your health benefits kick in at NERV, although if Ritsuko is your primary caregiver it might be best to forego them.

Sadamoto's remarks upon visiting the U.S. in 2003 indicated that the Eva manga might (might) be planned as a twelve-volume series in all. There is still plenty of room for speculation, as the slow working pace to which the artist himself often refers has of late become almost relativistic—as of this writing, it has been eight months since Sadamoto has drawn a new installment of Eva in Japan, and hence a Volume Ten is nowhere in sight. It may be small comfort, but those of you reading this are pretty much in the same drifting boat as the Japanese fans.

"An angel's love is sublime, adorable, divine, beyond the imagination of man—infinitely beyond it! But it is limited to his own august order. If it fell upon one of your race for only an instant, it would consume its object to ashes. No, we cannot love men but we can be harmlessly indifferent to them; we can also like them, sometimes."

—from The Mysterious Stranger

And with Book Nine we see the most staggering difference thus far between the manga and the anime; Sadamoto's Shinji doesn't even like Kaworu, much less love him. Of course, you could say the less-ethereal Kaworu of the manga is harder to love. I can't believe Sadamoto had him tell Rei he thought she'd be "heftier." And yet he did.

I don't think any A.T. Fields actually got penetrated in the anime; while I do think Shinji felt sexually attracted to Kaworu, and that you the audience are supposed to feel that he felt it, what Kaworu himself thought was a very different matter. Like Rei, I believe Kaworu to be innocent—coyly, he appears not to be so, because while Rei needed to be reached out to, Kaworu has come to reach out; whereas Rei has spent her existence being observed; Kaworu has come to observe.

Indeed, in the manga, Shinji's irritation about Kaworu's invasion of his personal space seems almost a parody of his attitude in the anime. In the TV show, when Kaworu put his hand on Shinji's, he flinched but did not pull away; whereas in the manga it's easy to imagine Shinji slugging him. Instead he goes to run after Rei, hoping to get closer to her again.

I hardly think the change reflects any phobia on Sadamoto's part (after all, we even get to see Shinji's "Unit One" in the manga), but the fact the manga Shinji is less emotionally bleak and empty, and hence less vulnerable. Shinji's just as negative in the manga, of course, but it's an active variety, rather than the passive negative creep (in the best Nirvana song sense) we know from the anime. We don't have to imagine him slugging Gendo; from the look of surprise on Dad's face in Book Seven he would have smacked the beard off his face if Kaji hadn't stopped him.

Neither is Shinji in a positive emotional situation where we leave him here, either; indeed at this point in the manga there's arguably no one he can turn to—the more brutal fate that befell Toji has cut him off from his school friends, Rei has become hesitant, Kaji is dead, and his perennial self-esteem booster Asuka is going to need to rebuild her internal supply before she can even get back to calling him a loser and idiot.

So, like Misato trying to put her own hand on Shinji's, all I can do for now while we wait for Sadamoto-sensei is to recommend for your winter vacation reading list The Mysterious Stranger, which I can almost guarantee will give you new angles to think about Kaworu, and may even earn you class credit besides. A quick look at the novel's comments on Amazon list a teacher who says fundamentalist students walked out of his class when he taught it; another compares it to The Matrix; those who dislike it call it "sick," "bitter," and "twisted." Sounds like good old Evangelion to me!

—Carl Gustav Horn

[a drawing of Kaworu holding a kitten]

Although The Mysterious Stranger can also be found in a number of print editions, including The Portable Mark Twain from Penguin (haw haw), the story, being from the days when mp3s came on shellacked cylinders, is legally available online at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/TwaMyst.html. The same site has a book called The Holy Bible, King James Version, which fans of Evangelion might also enjoy, although it's technically "Editor's Choice."

#eva #kaworu nagisa #idec if twain didn't write that shit #i'm all over this

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noonachronicles · 3 years

Text

The End of the F**king World Pt. 6

Byun Baekhyun X Reader

Word Count: 10.5k

Warnings: Aggressive fluff. Copious amounts of affection.

Genre: Apocalyptic/Alien Invasion AU. Two idiot lovers.

A/N: My apologies to anyone that was waiting. Sorry for disappearing and taking so long on an update! I can’t believe this is almost sort of done?? I feel like there’s still a lot that happens but there should only be like 2-3 more parts. We’ll see I guess!

On the third consecutive morning of waking up with Baekhyun’s arms wrapped around you, you decided that there was no other acceptable way. What was the point of waking up if it wasn’t done feeling warm and inexplicably safe? You didn’t even move. You didn’t want to disturb him because you weren’t ready to start your day. In a matter of hours the two of you had been able to create this bubble of perfect happiness. The kind of happiness that you hadn’t felt in so long and you didn’t want to give it up just yet.

You kept your cheek pressed to his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart and felt the rise and fall from his breathing. It was nearly enough to lull you back to sleep. Through the windows of the store you could see light from the sun starting to make its way into the galleria through the opening of the shattered roof. As it continued to inch its way across the old tile you knew your time was almost up.

“You awake?” Baekhyun asked quietly, his fingers gingerly running along the arm you had wrapped around him.

“No.” You grumbled into his chest after a long stretch of silence.

His chest shook with a light laugh, “I had the best dream last night.”

“Oh yeah? What was it about?” You let out a yawn before looking up at him.

“You told me you loved me.” He looked so happy just at the memory of it that your heart warmed about ten degrees. “Then we had… the most amazing sex I’ve had in years.”

“Best sex or only sex?”

“Don’t ruin it.” He grinned.

Your hand moved along the length of his neck, until it curved to cup the back of his head and you pulled him toward you for a kiss.

Pulling reluctantly away you whispered, “Well I think you should keep dreaming then, I’ll join you.”

He pushed his nose into your hair, inhaling you before muttering, “I wish we could. I’d spend all day dreaming about you. I’ve done it before, remember that time I had the flu for like two weeks? It was awesome.”

“God, you’re so in love with me.” You teased.

“That’s true.” He agreed. “Unfortunately for my dreams, we should leave soon. If we do we might make it to rendezvous before noon.”

It was quiet for a minute as he waited for you to comment with your opinion, knowing that you always had something on your mind.

He was surprised when you let out a slightly whiny and completely out of character, “I don’t want to go. I want to stay here with you.”

“What?” It was all he could manage. “I- You- What?”

“Wouldn’t you rather stay here with me?” You asked, “We could eat junk food all day. Play with nerf guns or lightsabers or build every LEGO set they have or turn the whole mall into a blanket fort…”

“Stop, I’m already so aroused.”

“We could kiss too. Kiss until we can’t feel our lips. Please?” You begged, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Baekhyun was glowing at the sound of the words coming from your lips, unsure he’d ever get used to it. “We have to go, you know that. Don’t you want to make sure Seulgi is okay? That everyone made it to rendezvous safely? Don’t you want to check and make sure everything is set for Baddie? That everything and everyone is prepared?”

With a sigh you nodded, resting your pouty face on his chest again. “I guess. When did you get so responsible?”

“Look,” he said, wrapping his arms around you once more. “It’s not that I don’t want to spend our whole lives together tucked away in the galleria playing with toys and having sex. That’s literally my second biggest fantasy. It’s just that, my first biggest fantasy? Is telling everyone we know that you’re finally mine. That you love me.”

A blush warmed your cheeks and you groaned, “Okay, fine. We can go.”

“We can always come back afterwards. Then we can stay as long as we want.”

The room stayed silent for a moment while you considered the suggestion. A heavy brick of anxiety plummeted into your gut and you knew why you didn’t want to leave. You pushed yourself up so that you were sitting beside his stretched out body, and looked down.

Quiet and unsure you asked, “You really think there’s going to be an afterwards?”

“Ahh. That’s what this is about. ” He sighed, “You don’t think we’re going to win.”

“I just,” you hesitated, “We’ve all watched the same footage. We know the most probable outcome.”

“Yeah but you’re the one who agreed with Yeol in the first place. You’re the one who wanted to try.”

“It’s different now.” You picked at the lettering on his T-shirt.

“How?” He asked, completely oblivious. “It was two days ago. Nothings changed.”

“Now I have more to lose.”

After a second of thought he grinned and pointed to himself. “You mean me?”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. “Yes, obviously.”

With a grunt he pushed himself up into a sitting position and grabbed your face with both hands. After very little warning he had his lips on yours, and then he kissed your cheeks and neck until you were giggling from the tickle of his lips.

“Stop!” You laughed even as you wrapped your arms around him and pulled him closer.

He kissed you until your cheeks hurt from smiling and then leaned back, “You’re not gonna lose me. I’m not going anywhere, not after I worked so hard to get here.”

“How can you sound so certain?”

“It’s you and me, y/n. Til the end of the world.”

“Have you been this cute the whole time?” You asked skeptically.

“Crazy, right? How you never noticed before.”

Leaning into him you pushed your lips against his again and ran your fingers through his hair. You eased back onto the blankets, pulling him on top of you. You just wanted a few more minutes and it seemed that he was willing to give you just that. His hands moved under your sweater, cool against your heated skin. Before it got too far, and you both knew that it would, he pulled back and rested his forehead against your chest with a sigh.

“Have you thought about what happens if we win?” You asked, leaving one more kiss on the top of his head. “Mostly I just thought about how if we lose we die, but what do we do if we live?”

“Whatever we want.”

“Well?” You asked, “It’s not like I have any plans so...what would you want to do? Have you thought about it?”

He hummed, “It doesn't really matter to me as long as I’m with you. It is possible I’ve spent time imagining taking you away. Spending time together just us two.”

“I’d like that.” You smiled as you tried to picture it. “Where would you take me?”

“Out of the city.” He said with immediate certainty, a plan quickly brewing or more likely it was a plan he’d had ready for awhile. “We could find a car that still runs, pack it up with supplies. Or we could hike...just take our time. We could go to the mountains. My family had a cabin up at the lakes. We could stay there for awhile.”

“Baekhyun...” the backs of your eyes burned with tears, nothing had ever sounded so nice. “Yes. Please.”

“Yeah?” Lifting his head from your chest he smiled, “Then that’s what we’ll do. But we gotta leave here first, defeat Baddie, save the world. All the hard stuff.”

You let out another long groan, “Quick. Let’s go before I change my mind.”

With a laugh Baekhyun hopped to his feet and helped you to yours. Both of you changed into a set of fresh new clothes and cleaned up the mess you’d made. You kept the camping setup he’d made. While he emptied out the little tub you even made the bed of blankets. You weren’t sure why but there was just an inkling of hope that moved through you. The tiniest belief that the two of you would get to come back and if you did you wanted it to look nice. Like it had been waiting for you, expecting your return.

After you strapped your boots on tight, had your knives in their holster, and threw on your jacket you were ready to go. As you waited for Baekhyun to pack the rest of his bag and refill the waters you found the pictures he’d taken the night before, forgotten underneath a lantern they’d half slid under. With a little smile you tucked the one of you two in your inside pocket along with the one he’d taken before the museum.

“Ready?” He asked, handing you your water.

“Yeah.” You held out the topless picture of you he’d taken, “Here. Don’t lose this again. I’ll kill you for real if I find out anyone else sees it.”

He grabbed the picture and looked down at it. His eyes went wide with surprise as if he’d forgotten he took it. Tucking the picture in his own inside pocket he looked up at you with a grin.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged, “I just really like you.”

Once you were out of reasons to postpone any longer you followed Baekhyun who led you safely back down to the ground floor. The city outside was quiet but not eerie as you made your way down the sidewalk. You weren’t sure how you knew, but you knew you didn’t have to worry about Baddie today. Maybe it was just something in the air but you felt confident that the two of you would make it to the rendezvous with no trouble at all. You only made it about a half a block before you grabbed Baekhyun’s hand, slipping your fingers in between his. He stared down at your intertwined hands for a long while but ultimately he didn’t say anything about it. After that, everytime he stopped to take a picture of something, he made sure to grab your hand again before you moved on.

Rendezvous wasn’t that far from the galleria, a handful of miles all together, but it was taking the two of you much longer than it should have. You didn’t care that you were being so off brand, you couldn’t help but feel unenthusiastic about the whole thing. Already missing your happy little bubble, you dragged your feet like your legs were filled with bricks. If Baekhyun had any complaints about how slow you were going he didn’t voice them. He seemed to just be enjoying the journey.

“Baek?” you sighed, you were coming up on the last block.

He stopped to turn and look at you with concern, “Everything okay? Did you see something?”

With a small pout on your lips you shrugged, “No. I just want…”

“What? What is it?”

Looking just past him you saw an abandoned car and nodded towards it, “Can we sit for a minute?”

“Of course.” he squeezed your hand and the two of you walked over to the dented, spray paint covered vehicle. “Are you tired? We’re almost there.”

You shook your head no as he took a seat on the hood and waited for you to sit next to him. Instead you stepped between his legs. Cupping his face in your hands you dropped your mouth to his for a kiss. He chuckled against your mouth, his hands dropping to your hips.

“This is all you wanted?” He asked after you’d finally taken a break for air a couple minutes later.

“It had been a whole hour since the last time you’d kissed me. I was starting to think you’d already grown tired of me.” you answered, your lips lingering against his.

He lifted his hand up to brush your cheek and grinned, “I’m going to be honest, I would have never expected you to be this needy.”

“I’ll be honest too, I’m not usually like this. Actually, I hate being needy and I sort of hate you right now for making me feel like this.”

“Well I’m sorry I make you feel feelings, and I’m sorry I made you wait for kisses. I’ll never make you wait again.” he pulled your face to his for another kiss and then said, “Although you did make me wait until I was basically the last man on earth before you even noticed me.”

Brushing the hair from his forehead you frowned, “I know I’ve already said it but, I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”

“I would have waited longer.” he confessed in earnest. “If I was you, I would have made me wait longer. I’m going to be intolerable from now on.”

“Jokes on you.” you laughed, “You were already intolerable.”

He shook his head with a chuckle, “Jokes still on you then. I’m only going to get worse.”

Dropping his hands to your waist he pulled you closer, until you were pressed against his chest. He looked at you so sweetly as you watched him. His eyes were so bright and kind. Internally you cursed yourself, unsure of how you’d gone so long without just accepting it. Without accepting him and how deep your feelings went. It had been an impressive amount of denial on your part.

“I love you.” You smiled, and pressed a soft kiss against his cheek.

His eyes sparkled as he looked at you. “It’s so weird hearing you say it. Even though you’ve obviously loved me all along.”

“Obviously.” You grinned offering him another kiss, which he accepted. “I hate you, Byun Baekhyun.”

“Mmm.” He nodded with content, “That’s better. That feels right.”

You raised your eyebrows expectantly but he didn’t say the words.

“What?” He asked with a small knowing smile.

“Don’t make me beg.” You scowled.

Sliding his hands up to your neck he let his fingers get tangled in your hair. “I love you too.”

He kissed you then with purpose until you were moaning into his mouth. You’d even half thought to tear him from his pants, your hands gripping the waistband of his jeans. It was lucky that you didn’t go through with it. After a while you could hear a loud masculine, “Noooo!” that flowed down the street followed by a shrill feminine, “Yesss!”

You pulled out of the kiss, face flushed and lips sore.

“Ignore them.” Baekhyun murmured, his head still turned up to you with his eyes closed.

You were able to lean back down one more time and leave a peck on the tip of his nose before Seulgi tackled you in a hug and dragged you away, “What did I miss yesterday?? Tell me everything!”

“Good to see you’re alive too, Seul.”

“Yay! You’re alive, whatever.” She rolled her eyes, “Tell me!”

You laughed and looked over to where Chanyeol was patting a beaming Baekhyun on the shoulder and offered a supportive, “Finally.”

“Come on!” Seulgi probed once more, “Everything! Details!”

As you walked together down the street, the guys not far behind, you told her everything you could remember between saying goodbye to Chanyeol inside Crowley and right then. Seulgi cried when you told her about Baddie in the museum, thinking about how she could have lost you then and there. Other than that she cooed, aww’d, and sighed dreamily over every detail which only embarrassed you further. Once you told her what you remembered, to her satisfaction, she told you about the rest of the group's relatively boring trip to the rendezvous that had taken all of a day. Almost everyone else had arrived as well with just a few stragglers. It relieved you just a little to know you weren’t the absolute last to arrive. And by then you were there.

Sehun and his Quad Four family lived together in the oldest hotel in the city, Wisteria House. It was a twelve story, hundred year old building that had been renovated about five times in its history. The brass plaque outside of the front doors announced to its guests that it was a historical landmark of the city. Though having grown up a local it was known to you as Haunted House. You’d only stayed there once, on your eighteenth birthday. You had made it until two in the morning before you and your friends had scared yourselves so bad telling ghost stories that you had to leave.

After seeing the look on your face the first time he’d told you where he was staying, Sehun assured you that nothing inside of Wisteria House was scarier than the Lurkers that hung out outside. Though you remained cautious of the idea of staying there. The elevators were decommissioned for obvious reasons, which meant that the trip up to the top was done by staircase and suddenly you understood how Sehun and his family stayed in such good shape. Seulgi brought you to a room that was closest to the one that she was staying in with Chanyeol and made a very big point of making sure anyone within a mile radius knew that you and Baekhyun would be sharing the room together.

Once you dropped off your bags in the room, and gifted Seulgi and Irene what you’d brought them from the galleria you all went to the roof. That’s where everyone else had gathered. It looked like a rooftop war room. There were marked up maps of the city lying around, weapons of all sorts, printouts of various versions of Baddie during attacks in several different cities. There was a genuine sense of excitement on the rooftop. Everyone seemed to be much more positive about the idea of the fight, and in general just very happy to be together. Along with lingering hugs you gave Taemin a handful of lollipops and Jongin the jar of jolly ranchers you’d grabbed for him.

Sehun went over the basics with you of what the plan was so far. He showed you the inventory of the different weapons in the arsenal. Since there were still a few missing people, it had been agreed on to wait until the next afternoon for the actual fight. Plus everyone seemed to want just one more day together, which you were grateful for. Everyone and everything seemed more than prepared and it felt a little like you had nothing to do. Seulgi and Seungcheol were doing inventory on medical supplies and rationing it out the best they could. Baekhyun was with Chanyeol and a couple of the others going over maps in vigorous detail. Everything just seemed peaceful. You ended up just grabbing your tape player and sitting on the roof, taking a little time to yourself to memorize the city.

“Y/n…” Chanyeol said, pulling on your arm. “Can I talk to you?”

He sat down when you nodded and you hit stop on your tape player.

“If you’re going to tell me how much better I can do than Baek, I already know.” You joked.

“Well since we don’t have to have that conversation...” He laughed, “Maybe we can talk about something else?”

He looked nervous and you couldn’t remember a time...ever, where Chanyeol looked nervous. He’d been a pillar of stability for as long as you could remember. Seeing him twist his fingers together in his lap was honestly making you a little nervous.

“What’s going on?”

Legs shaking, he let out a long slow breath. When he looked over you realized it was you. He was afraid because of you.

“Yeol… what did you do?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “Yet. I...I want to ask Seul to marry me.”

“Oh!” In an instant your whole chest felt tight, “I mean, that’s great! But why do you look like you’re terrified of me?”

“You’re her best friend.” He gulped, “You're the most important person in her whole life. I wanted to ask your permission.”

“I’m not though.” You said quietly. Your eyes were brimming with tears. You were so touched that he’d thought to ask you, “You’re the most important person in her life now, you have been for awhile. And I can’t imagine anyone more perfect for her, Yeol. You have all my blessings.”

“Thank you.” He blushed lightly. “I’m going to do it now. I want to do it before...you know.”

“What better time than the present?” You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and gave him a reassuring hug, “Good luck. Though I don’t think you need it, like at all.”

Cheeks aching with a smile you watched as he pushed himself up and moved across the roof to where Seulgi was still checking medical supplies. He’d just gotten to her when Baekhyun’s body blocked your view and he sat down where Chanyeol had been.

“Hi.”

“Hey,” you said, trying to look over his shoulder to see where Chanyeol and Seulgi had disappeared to.

“I thought I’d come see you. Since it’s been like an hour. Didn’t want you thinking I’d stopped loving you.” He grabbed your chin and directed your gaze to him. “I’m over here.”

With a sigh of defeat you smiled and leaned in to give him a kiss and all of the attention he was so desperate for. “Hi, Baek.”

“What did Chanyeol want? Why were you hugging him? Huh?” He asked, pulling you in for a hug. “Huh!”

“Why are you always so jealous?” You laughed, slipping your arms around him.

“Because,” he whined, “it took me a really long time to get you to love me.”

“No,” you confessed, “it just took you a long time to get me to admit I love you.”

“Why would you say that?” He asked, lying his head on your shoulder, “You know I can’t handle your confessions of love. Every time you admit it...putty. Especially today! What with the engagement. I’m already too emotional. So much love in the air.”

“Ahhh.” You leaned your head against his, “So you already knew.”

“Of course.” He chuckled, “He told me his plan last week but then shit hit the fan. He wants to do it now, said he didn’t want to regret it if something were to happen tomorrow and he didn’t get the chance.”

“Good.” You said and pressed a kiss on the top of his head, “She deserves that.”

“You deserve that too.” He said quietly.

You laughed, “Are you asking me to marry you? Because this is a pretty lame proposal.”

Finally he pulled away from you, so he could get a good look at your face, “Do you want me to ask you?”

“No, not now anyway.” you said definitively. “I know you’d only be asking because Chanyeol is asking Seulgi.”

He frowned as he looked over at you, “You know that’s not true, don’t you? Tell me you know that when I ask you, and I will ask you, it will be because it’s you. It’ll be because I want you.”

Your cheeks burned with a blush, “Calm down, Baekhyun. It hasn’t even been a whole day since we hooked up. Are we even technically dating? Shouldn’t we be together for at least a week before you propose forever to me?”

His eyes were closed when you looked over at him and he let out a long sigh of tried patience, “...and you think I’m annoying.”

With another laugh you leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You had to have known I wasn’t going to make it easy for you.”

“You have never made anything easy for me. We’ve been on plenty of dates by the way. Just yesterday I took you to brunch at the convenience store. We went to the museum…” you nodded in silent agreement and gave him another kiss. “I will marry you, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Okay.” you agreed. “Not today though. Today is for them.”

He frowned and you waited for the inevitable whine, “Actually, if you think about it, Yeol is stealing our thunder. You and I have been a long time coming. We are a big event. We’re the main event.”

“I don’t need thunder, Baek.” You grinned, “I just need you.”

With a dramatic gasp he clutched at his chest, “I swear to god if you’re nice to me one more time I’ll just explode. I waited so long for this, you’re giving me too much all at once.”

“I could always take it back.” You threatened.

“Too late, no take backs.” He grinned and grabbed the earbud that you’d tucked into the top of your shirt and pulled it out, “What are we listening to today?”

“The Cure.” You said pressing play again on the tape player. A laugh escaped you as the song began.

“What’s funny?” he asked.

“The song.” you laughed again, “The End Of The World.”

As he slipped his fingers between yours he hummed, “Appropriate.”

You leaned your head against his shoulder as the music played and looked back out at the city. It would be easy, you imagined, to pretend like nothing was wrong. In a little moment like this. Moments with Baekhyun where things seemed almost normal. Granted you had never sat on the edge of a roof of an abandoned hotel with knives strapped to your thigh in the before times. However, up until very recently, you did spend almost every waking moment feeling like you might die at any second. Not with him. With him you were so happy that any worry you had was suffocated by it. Things, as strange as they were, felt right. You knew from the jump that tomorrow’s fight was a suicide mission, but now you knew you had a real reason to fight. Right on cue Baekhyun’s fingers squeezed your hand tighter in his lap and you closed your eyes.

The sweet moment you were sharing only lasted a little longer. Before you knew it Seulgi was rushing onto the roof in a hysterical euphoria. She gave you a quick hug and then it was down to business. Just as impatient as her groom, Seulgi wanted the wedding to be that night and in the two minutes it took her to find you, she’d already come up with a plan. There was a handful of hours left before sundown but after hearing the plan you agreed, it was totally possible to pull off. As she was telling you her idea more and more people gathered around and offered to help. You had been tasked, and rightfully so you thought, with finding rings for the couple. You said you could do it on your own but as you’d secretly hoped, Baekhyun wouldn’t hear it and insisted on coming with you.

The two of you would share your tasks, finding candles and getting rings. Your half of the task was easy. You already knew what rings you wanted and exactly where to find them. Armenia was a handful of blocks away, and assuming that no one had randomly looted it, you remembered there was a ring that Seulgi had always talked about wanting. Luckily on the way there Baekhyun had remembered Apothecary. It was one of those luxury retailers that sold insanely overpriced items that fit a boho chic aesthetic. Two hundred dollar jeans that never lasted more than six months, completely manufactured jewelry and home decor that was intentionally made to look like it was handmade by a child. It was in general a terrible shop when you could get more authentic items for less money if you shopped across town. It was finally beneficial to you on this day however. Along with everything else the store offered a section of inauthentic witchy and occult items, including an entire wall of shelves filled with candles.

“You’re an absolute genius.” you said peering through the window, “This is perfect.”

“Well, I used to walk past it every day to get to you.” he mentioned, but your head was already somewhere else.

Eyeing the few Lurkers in the shop you thought about the museum. You’d been so distracted by things with Baekhyun that you’d almost forgotten all about the incident. Part of you wanted to test it again and see what might happen.

“Hey.” you turned around and left a kiss on his cheek. “I can handle this. Why don’t you go ahead and check out the jewelry store? See how many Lurkers are in there.”

“Are you sure?” He frowned, “You don’t want to do it together?”

“I’m sure I can take three Lurkers.” you grinned, “This won’t take me any time at all. I’ll just meet you at the store when I’m done here. I was thinking if we get everything as quick as we can then maybe we don’t have to rush back. You know? So if you go clear out the jewelry store then we can grab the rings, get them cleaned up and still have time to do anything else we need.”

“Anything else we need?” He asked thoughtfully, “Like you wanna mess around?”

“I didn’t say that!”

“No, I said it.” He leaned in to give you a quick kiss before pulling away, “Alright, be quick! I’ll miss you if you take too long.”

“Good, I hope you do.” You pushed him gently and watched him take off down the sidewalk, with a sudden sense of urgency you called out, “Hate you!”

“Love you too!” He called back over his shoulder as he rounded the corner at the end of the block.

After a deep breath you opened the door to the shop. It looked mostly untouched, a nice thick layer of dust covering everything. There was a section of floor that was flooded with sunlight but the back of the shop, where the candles were, was dark. The three Lurkers moved slowly forward at your appearance. They stepped just to the edge of the light and waited, light clicking and hissing noises came from them but no shrieking which should have been their immediate reaction to you. Their bodies swayed with movement but it was so subtle you barely noticed. Grabbing a blade for each hand you stepped towards them. With every cautious step forward you waited for a reaction but there was none. Even when you were well within attacking distance.

You still weren’t sure why they weren’t coming after you, why they were just standing there watching you. It was by no means a comfortable situation but after a couple minutes had passed you were no longer scared or nervous. You even walked into the shadows with them, circling them as they stood there mostly frozen except for their breathing. Standing back in front of them you looked closely at their silver eyes, they looked like they were made of metal. After taking a nervous breath you even lifted your hand to touch their leathery scales. Still they didn’t move. Then with a gulp you pushed one of your blades between the eyes of one of the Lurkers as the other two watched with no reaction. The light drained from its eyes and it collapsed on the floor at your feet and still nothing.

“What the hell…” you muttered.

You didn’t understand what was happening but you didn’t like it. You made quick work of the other two Lurkers and bagged up every candle you could find before taking off down the street. You weren’t sure if you were going to mention anything to Baekhyun. You’d need to see if the same thing happened with him. Maybe something had changed for everyone, not just you. Whether it had changed for better or worse still wasn’t totally clear to you.

The jewelry store looked empty. When you moved inside and didn’t immediately see Baekhyun your heart started to race. Dropping the bags of candles on the floor your head spun with worry. Did he get hurt and leave to find help? Did he run into Baddie on the way over and not even make it to the store in the first place? Your feet were about ready to take off to try and find him when you caught sight of the top of his head. He was looking down at something in his hands as he made his way back into the showroom from the back.

“Hey!” You said feeling relieved. “Was it bad?”

Baekhyun looked up at you with a smile. “Not at all, just a couple in the back.”

“Good.” You chewed nervously on your lip. “Um, did they attack you?”

“Yeah.” He said, giving you a strange look. “That’s a weird question. Were they supposed to welcome me warmly and offer me a drink or…”

You shook your head, “No, I was wondering if anything like out of the ordinary happened.”

“No, why? Did something happen with you?” He asked, clearly growing concerned. “Are you okay? We shouldn’t have split up...”

“I’m fine.” You tried to give him a reassuring smile as he made his way to you. “Everything’s okay. I was just curious. It was a stupid question. Don’t think about it too much.”

Grabbing his worried face in your hands you tried to distract him with a kiss. It seemed to work, as you pulled away he just smiled back at you, happy as ever.

“You want to see something funny?” He asked.

“Of course.”

He lifted his hand and showed you what he’d been looking at. “I found your locker. This was in it.”

It was a picture from what felt like ages ago. It looked like it was taken at a restaurant or maybe a club. It was Seulgi’s birthday, which was made obvious by the ‘birthday girl’ sash she was wearing. You’d had your arms wrapped around her in a hug and the both of you were nearly doubled over with laughter. Taemin was on the other side of you, a drink in hand and blurred around the edges like he’d been dancing.

On Seulgi’s other side stood Chanyeol and Baekhyun. You could see the pink on the top of Yeol’s ears, he looked hammered and was still somehow the only one that managed to be looking at the camera. Baekhyun’s eyes were locked on you, mesmerized by the way you laughed. It made your heart ache. All you’d ever wanted was someone to look at you the way he did and you were too clueless to ever see it.

“What makes it funny?”

He shrugged, “Maybe more embarrassing than funny. The way I was completely desperate for you even all the way back then.”

“I don’t think it’s embarrassing.” You shook your head. “No, I love the way you look at me. We can trade.”

He watched curiously as you reached your hand into your jacket. After a quick double check that you’d grabbed the right one you handed him the picture from the night before. With a smirk you handed it over to him, snatching away the one he’d shown you.

“Now I’ll have the one where you’re completely desperate for me and you can have the one where I’m completely desperate for you.”

“Oh. Oh yeah! I love that.” His face lit up when he looked down at the picture. “Yeah, god, you should feel…so embarrassed about this. Look at you. How are you not mortified? If I had proof that I was totally obsessed with someone the way you are with me, I would never show them. You’re so courageous letting me have this incriminating evidence.”

“Shut up!” You laughed, landing a smack against his chest. “I hate you.”

Baekhyun let out a scoff and flipped the picture around to show you, “Clearly.”

“Stop teasing me.” You said very seriously and walked over to one of the shattered glass cases, “I have work to do.”

“Yes ma’am.”

You were relieved to have found the ring you’d been thinking about. It was a beautiful princess cut diamond set in a rose gold band. You still had vivid memories of the times before. Just the two of you at work, your manager gone for some reason or another, and she would wear the ring all day long. She told you over and over again how if she was ever going to get engaged she hoped that this would be her ring. The matching band for the set was with it, much to your delight, and then you found the perfect band for Chanyeol. A black tungsten band with a rose gold inlay to match Seulgis’s set. Once you had the rings you cleared a bit of counter space and got to cleaning both of them to perfection.

So caught up in your task you didn’t even notice what Baekhyun had been up to. He’d been wandering around the shop, scoping out different pieces of jewelry. You were almost done, Seulgi’s rings were already boxed and you were just finishing shining up Chanyeol’s band. Baekhyun had moved behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist.

“You picked some pretty nice ones.” he said, kissing the back of your neck.

“Thank you, I did my best.”

“I think I did better.” it was just a whisper and it sent a shiver down your spine.

“What do you mean?” you asked as he stepped away from you. He didn’t answer so you placed Chanyeol’s finished ring in its box and turned around to see what he was talking about. When you saw his pleased face you let out a sigh, “Get up.”

Knelt down in front of you he shook his head, “I mean, I think I picked a better ring than you, so…Will you marry me?”

“Did you just look for the biggest diamond you could find and picked that one?” You asked looking down at the gaudy hunk of jewelry. A massive pear cut diamond that would cover half of your finger easily.

“It’s totally possible.”

“Please stand up.” Your face burned with a blush, there was no one else even there but you were still embarrassed.

“Come on, just marry me.” getting to his feet he moved in front of you.

“Why?” wrapping your arms around his hips you pulled him close. “We could be dead by tomorrow, so what does it matter?”

“Marry me because we could be dead by tomorrow.”

You hummed in thought. “What day is today?”

“Wednesday.” he said after a moment.

“If you can wait, I’ll marry you on Friday.” You compromised.

“Why Friday?”

Tightening your arms around him, wanting him closer, you answered, “Because that means we made it past tomorrow.”

“Friday…” he said as he contemplated.

You nodded, “We get to Friday and I’m all yours.”

He scrunched his nose slightly, “I would actually argue that you already are mine.”

“Maybe.” You grinned and he leaned down to kiss the curve of your lip.

“Wear the ring at least.” He held up the gaudy diamond ring once more.

“It’s too big.” You complained.

“That’s not what you said last night.” He smiled for a moment and then it faltered, “Wait… no. That is what you said last night? Crap...give me a second…”

You sighed as he tried to figure out his own joke, “Thank god you’re cute.”

He looked at you with his big sweet eyes and pouty lip as he held out the ring, “Please wear it? I know you think it’s stupid, but...for me?”

It was then you knew you were in trouble. Realizing that you’d do anything for that face.

“Give it here...”

Taking the ring you slid your body away from his. His eyes followed you curiously around as you made your way through the store. You picked something out of the case a little ways away and then moved onto another case picking out one more thing before making your way back to him. He continued to watch you as you clasped a thin silver chain around your neck, the ring he’d given you dangling against your chest. Once you’d finished with that a second chain dropped from your palm and he let you secure the chain around his own neck.

When you pulled away he dropped his gaze down to the silver band you’d found for him and smiled, “A ring for me?”

“Well you’re going to need one, right?” You tried not to smile too much at the absolute joy on his face. “For Friday.”

“For Friday.” He nodded and happily tucked the ring and chain under his shirt.

With that you grabbed his jacket and pulled him towards you until your chests were pressed together and your lips met. His hands shot quickly to your hips before crawling slowly up your sides. You laughed against his mouth at the soft tickle. The shop was so quiet except for the smack of your lips and the tiny little moans you couldn’t keep in your mouth.

“How much time do we have?” You gasped after a few minutes.

With a reluctant groan he pulled his hand from beneath your shirt, where he’d been cupping your breast to check his watch. “We have an hour until we’re supposed to be back. We can make it there in under twenty minutes if we hustle. So like...forty minutes?”

“We could do a lot in forty minutes.”

“I only need like ten.” He shrugged.

“Baekhyun!” You smacked his shoulder, “What the hell?”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t use all forty!” He snorted out a laugh. He really thought he was so funny, and the worst part was that you thought so too. “Listen. If I had known you were just going to use my body like a washing machine then I would have...”

“Then you would have what?” You asked, grabbing his collar and pulling him in close again. “Hmm, what would you have done?”

His hands grabbed your hips as roughly as you’d grabbed his collar and he grinned. “I would have tried harder...won you over sooner.”

You let out a laugh, “... you’re ridiculous.”

“It’s true. I should have suggested a friends with benefits situation...years ago. That always turns into romance, right?” You hummed in agreement as you tugged his jacket off his shoulders. “Maybe I should have gotten a bad injury and you could have nursed me back to health and then you would have fallen in love with me that way.”

“That wouldn’t have worked.” You shook your head incredulously while you pulled his shirt over his head. “Seulgi would have nursed you, not me.”

“Maybe she’s my soulmate.”

You paused to look at him, unamused, for just a blink before roughly tugging the belt from his pants. “Oh, we’re soulmates now?”

“Well I thought we might be at first,” he looked down as you shoved his pants down his hips so that he was left in his boxer briefs with his pants wrapped around his ankles. “now I’m starting to think maybe you’re some sort of sex demon.”

With a sigh you pulled your shirt over your head, “Will you please shut up and help me take my clothes off?”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.”

Once the two of you were done and after a bit of a hustle the two of you made it back to rendezvous just in time. Preparations had already been started. Some of the guys had collected pallets from a nearby construction site and created a platform for the ceremony. Irene had found an old art supply store and took charge of strategically placing wild flowers, tulles, and lace around the roof. You lit the candles you and Baekhyun had found and other light sources that people had scavenged until the rooftop had a nice romantic glow.

Baekho and Taeyong had set up a feast of a buffet. Everyone, knowing the likelihood of surviving tomorrow was low, decided to use almost all the rations. You wanted to make a joke about it being the Last Supper but you also wanted to do better at staying positive for Baekhyun so you kept it to yourself. Though, when Sehun made the joke, you allowed yourself to be one of the few who actually laughed.

When all of the decorations were in place the guests went down to their rooms and changed from apocalypse battle gear into wedding attire. You and Irene helped Seulgi with her hair and makeup. She’d found a simple cream colored wrap dress at a thrift shop a few blocks away and somehow made it look like it was worth a million dollars. You tucked the tiara you’d found for her at the jewelry store in her hair as the final touch. Irene had found you a dress to wear. She’d had a feeling you’d forget to find something to wear and she’d been correct. You worried for a moment about Baekhyun but she assured you that they’d picked something up for him too.

Seulgi had asked for a couple minutes to be alone so you and Irene headed to the roof to check that everything was still perfect. The mood all around was so happy and joyful. It was as if a change in clothes and a reason to celebrate turned the whole vibe of the end of the world around. You wondered, quite seriously, if the community should implement a casual Friday rule… if you lived of course.

As the sun started to set in the sky, and everything was in place, it all looked amazing. It looked like an actual wedding. Not just a last minute, pieced together, apocalypse wedding. Taehyun was sitting to the side of the platform playing songs on his acoustic guitar while everyone continued to gather on the rooftop.

You’d been tugging at the skirt of your dress, no longer used to the feel of being so exposed you worried it was a little too short. You did, however, feel grateful that you’d just shaved your legs the night before. When you looked up Chanyeol was making his way through the door to the roof. He looked so handsome. He was wearing a crisp tux, his hair was slicked back emphasizing his giant ears, and the smile on his face was filled with a joy beyond words. He gave you a hug as he passed by you on his way to the pallet platform to wait for his bride and you wished him luck.

“Woah.” You turned to see Baekhyun who’d come in right after Chanyeol, camera hanging from his neck.

You blushed immediately at the way he looked at you. “I look stupid, don’t I? I feel weird.”

“Oh, there is nothing stupid about the way you look. You really just took all my breath away.” His palm was pressed against his chest.

You’d intended to say something snarky in return but you’d frozen. Realizing quickly that you’d never before in your life seen Baekhyun in a suit. It was so simple. Just a white button down under a sleek black blazer and a nice pair of dress pants. And yet here you were, a wreck.

“I think we should tell people we’re engaged.” You gulped, “Right now.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like the way they’re looking at you.”

He laughed, “No one is looking at me, except you.”

“Well they could.” You argued, “And they should know that we’re pretty serious. You agree, right? We’re pretty serious?”

“You think I’m sexy.” He grinned.

“Don’t tease me, just announce our love to everyone.” You whined as he slipped his arms around your waist and pulled you in.

“Say it.” You shook your head and he laughed again, “Say it and you get a kiss.”

“I think you’re sexy.” You whispered against his lips before accepting your reward.

“I’m the luckiest man in the whole world.” He muttered into the kiss.

In the back of your mind, as you stood there lips pressed together in an obvious display of affection, you knew you were being out of character. Even before the invasion intimacy in public was never really your thing but no matter how hard you tried to fight it you couldn’t get enough of him. You had to have him as much as you could. The dam you’d built to protect yourself had completely collapsed and you were drowning in yearning. There was nothing more you wanted than just to be with him and be near him. You felt somewhere between nothing like yourself and exactly who you were meant to be.

You would have kept on him even longer but you happened to notice the blurry form of Taemin run passed you to the platform where Chanyeol was and pulled away. Baekhyun dropped his hands from you and grabbed his camera. You watched as he snapped a few pictures over your shoulder. Turning around you looked back at the door, watching as Seulgi stepped through and Taehyun started to play a new song, slow and romantic. In an instant your eyes were filled with tears, she looked like an actual angel. She was glowing. You’d never seen anyone radiate joy so fully before.

When she reached the front Taehyun stopped playing, everyone quieted allowing Taemin to start the ceremony. Sticking to his side so you weren’t too much in the way of him taking pictures, your arms tightened around Baekhyun's waist as you watched your best friend marry the love of her life.

You’d forgotten how short wedding ceremonies were and it took you by surprise when they came to the vows so quickly. As you listened to Taemin speak you barely noticed Baekhyun move his lips to your ear. Then, following along with the ceremony he began to whisper to you.

“Y/n… every day I become more and more certain that I was put on this earth to love you. I promise to love you until my very last breath.” As you realized what he was doing you turned around in his arms to face him, “As your beloved husband I promise to make sure you laugh everyday and to kiss you so much you never feel unloved. I can assure you I will always get jealous when you show affection to others. And maybe most importantly I will be with you and there for you through the easy, happy times and especially through difficult and trying alien invasions.”

“Baekhyun,” you whispered quietly so not to disturb the ceremony, “You are, I believe, the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I love you. As your wife I promise to never make you wait for me ever again. I promise to always listen to what you have to say and to sometimes let you take the lead even if doing so makes my skin itch. I will always share my music with you, and any candy I find. And even though I know you don’t need me too, I will always do everything I can to protect you. Always. I will be with you and there for you through the…help...”

“Easy happy times…” he grinned.

“Right, I will be there with you and there for you through the easy, happy times and especially through difficult alien invasions.”

A few yards away you could hear Taemin tell Chanyeol, “You may now kiss the bride.”

And your lips met Baekhyun’s. For a second you let yourself imagine that your friends were cheering for you. The moment was all you needed as you turned back to your newly married best friend and her husband and you cheered along with everyone else.

Baekhyun kissed your forehead and you watched as he walked away for a minute to get some better pictures of the group. Everyone looked so happy and it felt like for the first time in a long time you could actually relate.

An arm around your shoulder pulled you away from staring too fondly at Baekhyun and you looked up to see Jongin.

“Hey.” He smiled over at you mischievously.

You glared suspiciously at him for a moment, “Hi.”

“I saw that.”

“Saw what?”

“You know.” He grinned, pulling his arm from you and shoving his hands in his pockets, “I was standing right behind you. I just wanted to let you know I saw and heard everything.”

“Don’t tell anyone.” You sighed, “Not today. Especially not Baek.”

“Don’t tell especially me what?” Baekhyun asked as he stepped up from behind you, his arm easing around your hip like it’s where it had always belonged.

“Ah, Baek, you heard your girl.” Jongin said, giving you a wink, “Come find me tomorrow, I’ll tell you then.”

You chuckled lightly as you watched Jongin head over to where everyone was getting the party started with food and music.

“That counts, you know.” Baekhyun muttered against the side of your head. “We’re married now.”

You blushed feeling the butterflies storming your stomach. “You tricked me, I said not until Friday. Not until after we’ve survived.”

“You'll find, Mrs. Byun, that I can be a very tricky individual if it means getting what I want.” He grinned, “And what I wanted was to be your husband for the rest of my life. Even if the rest of my life is only from now until tomorrow.”

Turning to face him you had to bite down on your lip as your eyes glossed over with tears. It took you a minute to be able to speak without crying and when you finally did it was a lightly whimpered, “If you weren’t so sexy...”

He smiled brightly as he lifted his hand to your cheek, “You’d be so mad at me.”

“Mrs. Byun.” You groaned, pulling him into a tight embrace, “I hate it.”

“I know, I know. Isn’t it terrible? Now come on, it’s time for our first dance.”

As the night went on so did the party. It had become more than just a wedding celebration. There was an almost somber undertone as people tried not to acknowledge that this might be it. This could be the last good thing to happen to any of you. So people drank and ate and laughed. Everyone shared their best memories from the last few years and from the before times. There was so much dancing and so much singing, most of it done very poorly. All of you pushed away your worries about the future and just spent time enjoying the company of the people you’d grown to love so much over the past few years. People you needed, the people who had all become your family.

At some point, you weren’t sure when exactly, someone had given Chanyeol a guitar. He and Taehyun had started an impromptu jam session, leaving Seulgi by herself for just long enough that you were able to sneak in a dance with her.

“I’m so happy for you.” You smiled, brushing your hand over her glowing cheek. “You’re so beautiful.”

She wrapped her arms around your waist and the two of you swayed slowly to the sound of the guitars.

“You wanna know something funny?” She whispered after a minute and then leaned back to look at you. “I’m so happy and grateful to everyone for doing this for me and Yeol. I’m so in love. And yet… I think I’m most happy about you and Baek.”

“Why?” You laughed, “Because I stopped being so stubborn and finally got dicked down.”

With a small smile she shook her head. Her fingers wrapped around the chain hanging from your neck and she pulled the ring from where you had it hidden down the front of your dress.

“Congratulations.” She smirked. “Mrs. Byun Baekhyun.”

“He told Chanyeol…” you sighed knowing you shouldn’t be at all surprised. “I told him not to. I didn’t want to take away from your day.”

“Of course he did. I’ll excuse you for not being the one that told me first!” Seulgi laughed and pulled you in for a tight hug. “It’s just so nice to see you happy again. It’s like I finally have you back. All of you, not just the tough parts.”

“You think he makes me weak?” You asked quietly.

She thought for a second and asked, “What are you going to do when we win tomorrow?”

“Baekhyun said he’s gonna take me away for a while.” You smiled at the thought, “We’re going up to the mountains, just us.”

“No, he doesn’t make you weak.” She shook her head adamantly, “If anything he’s made you stronger. Before Baekhyun, y/n, you didn’t make plans. Not once did you talk about your future. You didn’t even believe you’d have one. I bet you’re more determined to win tomorrow than you’ve ever been. Aren’t you? It’s because he made you want something you never wanted before. A future.”

“Yeah, he’s the worst,” With a little nod you groaned, “and I love him so much.”

“I know. I’m the one that repeatedly told you so.” she laughed, “You’re not the only one that can be right.”

Looking down at your hand you turned the ring over and over, “It’s stupid, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, does it even really count?” You asked, “It was just us making promises to each other. Do you think it’s silly for it to make me feel so....happy? Am I being childish? Is it just a pretend thing?”

“You said you made promises. Did you mean them? Do you intend to keep your promise to him?”

“Of course. It meant something to him, I wouldn’t go back on it.”

“Did the promise he made mean something to you?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah.”

“Then it counts.” She smiled, “It’s not silly or childish if it means something to you. It’s not about ceremonies or documents or anything else. It’s the promises you made to each other that matter. Period. End of story.”

Once it had gotten pretty late there was only a little more than a handful of you left that hadn’t gone to bed. None of you were ready for that good feeling to end. Someone had built a small fire pit that everyone left had gathered around. Except for you and Baekhyun. Despite the fact that there was no longer any music being played, that the only sound was the light chatter and laughter from your friends, he wanted nothing more than to dance with you. It was the least you could do to indulge him, even if your feet were aching.

“You’re too quiet.” Baekhyun muttered against the top of your head, which you had resting against his chest as you moved together.

You gave him a shrug in response.

“Are you thinking about tomorrow?”

With a sad sigh you nodded.

“Don’t. Think about how we’re together right now instead. Think about how sexy you think I am in this suit.” He joked.

You lifted your head and gently kissed his jaw. His arms wrapped around you tighter and you let yourself sink into him. It was easy when you fit so perfectly against him. Trying to do as you were told you stopped worrying about what might or might not happen the next day and only think about the present.

And maybe it was the wedding leaving you far more emotional than normal. Or the way the soft glow of the various lights framed all of the angles of Baekhyun’s face so perfectly that it made you think he looked ethereal. It might have even been the way your brain refused to process any of the sounds that surrounded you except for the low hum vibrating in his chest as he sang only to you mixed with the sound of his heart beating under your ear.

It was probably a mixture of all of that that left you feeling more in love than you thought possible. And somehow still upset and overwhelmed with guilt. Truthfully, it had been happening all day. If you had even a second of silence or a moment to let yourself think, luckily there hadn’t been many, you’d remember how good he always was to you. You’d remember the less than ideal way you treated him to protect yourself. Then you’d just feel guilty that you were allowed to feel this good being with him now.

After a few more quiet moments and too much thinking your lip started to tremble slightly and you whispered, “You make me so happy.”

Baekhyun left a kiss at your temple, “You make me happy too.”

“I’m really sorry, Baek.” You muttered, your cheek pressed against his shoulder.

“Sorry for what?”

“Wasting so much time being miserable. Not loving you like I should have. Like you’ve always deserved.” Tightening your arms around him you sighed. “I wish I could go back. I wish I wouldn’t have been so scared.”

Baekhyun let out a heavy groan. “Would you stop? At first it was funny because it was like for once I was right and you were wrong and you had to admit it but you have to stop this! You get so sad and it’s taking all the fun out of me being smarter than you.”

“What?” You asked, taken aback.

He took a step away from you and grabbed your cheeks in his hands, eyeing you very seriously. “Silly girl. You are literally wasting time that you could be happy worrying about having wasted time not being happy! Stop it.”

“I’m sorry.” You mumbled, his hands still pressing your cheeks together.

“No. Don’t say you’re sorry. No more ‘I’m sorry’ for the next...twenty-four hours!” He commanded. “I love you. You love me, right?”

You nodded, wide eyed at his commanding tone.

“Good then just be with me right now, in this moment. Like you were yesterday. Remember that? You loved that!”

“Okay. Okay! I’m-“ he raised an eyebrow at you and you bit back the word. “I’m in love with you.”

“Nice recovery.”

With a smile he pulled you back into his arms and you grinned into his chest. Your grin turned into a giggle and you found yourself blushing against him.

“What?” He asked.

“I just…” you laughed, “I don’t know. That was really sexy of you. So demanding and in charge. You don’t really do that a lot.”

“Yeah? You liked that?” He smirked, “Liked it so much you wanna go back to our room and consummate this marriage?”

Looking over to Seulgi you saw her happily hanging off of Chanyeol. Pretty sure she didn’t need you, you looked back to Baekhyun and nodded enthusiastically.

“Thank god because I have thought of nothing other than getting you out of this dress from the second I saw you in it.” He muttered as he eased his arm around your waist and the two of you dipped quietly away from the celebration.

#byun baekhyun scenario #exo scenarios #baekhyun x reader #exo x reader #kpop scenarios #TEOTFW

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neokids · 3 years

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Fortune's Fool: Act XI

Masterlist (read previous and future ones here!)

Act XI

Tw: Lots of blood, character death, violence, murder, guns, knives, weapons, foul language, self-inflicted wounds, suicide, overall graphic content

“Miss Hwang,”

Yeji turned around to see a messenger awkwardly standing, he was oddly keeping his distance as if she carried the contagious madness.

“Yes?”

“Your parents ask for your presence in their office. They would like to speak to you right now.”

And they didn’t even bother to check what had happened downstairs in their own house, how thoughtful.

“Regarding what?” Yeji asked, anticipation building up causing her to fiddle with her fingers behind her back. “They did not say. They just asked for your presence. Immediately.”

Yeji let out a sigh as she made her way upstairs, she glanced back at the pool of blood all over the living room, how on earth would they clean this up. She also noticed her relatives talking so casually amidst the scene, as if nothing happened. As if it wasn’t contagious.

As she approached her father’s office, the door immediately opened. Yeji was taken aback by the sudden appearance of her father holding the door for her, it was as if he was waiting for her all along.

“You asked for my presence? Are we to discuss recent matters?” Yeji asked as soon as she sat across from her father and mother. Lord and Lady Hwang only looked at each other as Yeji noticed something in her father’s hands. He held a creamy white envelope sealed off in a rich gold stamp. She eyed it as well before glancing back to her father.

“How are we going to get rid of the bloodstains downstairs?” Yeji asked again, leaving her first questions unanswered.

“We’ll call for someone to clean it up.” Her mother said, dismissing Yeji’s current worries.

“Mama, it’s the madness. It’s in our house now, who knows who else will suffer. It could be a viral contagion, we should ask the other servants if they made contact with the ones who tore their throats out.” Yeji explained, ultimately regretting the decision seeing as her father narrowed his eyes at her in confusion while her mother eyed her quizzically.

“What made you assume it was viral?” Lady Hwang asked simply, no tones of suspiciousness in her voice.

Yeji froze as soon as she realized she blurted out a piece of information she found out from Jeno, but she had to remain calm. Her mother wasn’t the type to stay silent when she finds something suspicious, she was the type to confront someone directly.

“Hearsays,” Yeji replied calmly, “At this point, anything is possible.”

“Moving on,” Lord Hwang said firmly, clearly wanting to dismiss the current topic. “Summoning you here to talk about this madness wasn’t the reason we called you here.” He pushed the thick white envelope he was holding towards Yeji.

“What is this?” She took it, observing the intricately written gold letters curve with elegance. It was heavy as well.

“An invitation,” Lady Hwang explained, “To a masquerade ball from the Chinese.”

Yeji opened the envelope recklessly, wanting to get it over as soon as possible. She read that it was indeed an invitation from the Chinese, specifically signed by a man named ‘Xiao Dejun’

“It’s going to be held next week in the gazebos,” Lord Hwang added as he redirected his attention to the other stacks of paper on his desk. “They want to celebrate the joined forces and powers of Korea and China!” He recited flatly as Yeji read the exact same lines on the invitation.

We are extending our warm welcome to all of Viper-gang members, it reads in royal blue ink.

Yeji heard her mother scoff, causing her to tear her attention away from the invitation and towards her mother. Lady Hwang had a clear expression of distaste on her face, obviously not buying whatever the Chinese had written on the invitation. “If they wanted to celebrate, then they should start remembering that this is our country, not theirs.”

“However,” Lord Hwang added, as if he didn’t hear what his own wife had to say, “If they wish to celebrate, then let us celebrate.” Her father said sternly, he looked up to his daughter staring at him with a mouth opening and closing, finding the right words to say. “Also I believe there is another invitation somewhere in that envelope?”

Yeji rummaged through the invitation to reveal another card, this one bright red in color and had silver lettering,

It was from the Lius.

But it wasn’t for Yeji, it was for her father. Mr. Liu was requesting another meeting despite how many times they have been turned down. A few weeks ago, Yeji turned him down only for her to turn down his son as well. She didn’t know why they were so adamant about selling their product, they weren’t prominent nor known whatsoever. In fact. Nobody knew who they were or where they came from.

“Well,” Yeji said as she slid the envelope back to her father’s hands, “Why should this concern me?”

Something about the silence irked Yeji, the silence contained unleft words from both Lord and Lady Hwang’s mouths. They were waiting for something, an answer, a follow up.

“Well,” Lord Hwang began, “I would greatly appreciate it if you were to go with me,” He finally said as he folded his arms against his chest.

“You’re not certainly making me go to this ball, right?” Yeji asked to confirm, eyes shifting to her father who had a serious expression on his aging face to her mother who looked like she wanted to end this conversation immediately.

“It’s always your choice, Yeji.” Her father said flatly. Something to know about Lord Hwang is that he never took no for an answer, especially when it came from a family member. Better yet, his own daughter. “But I prefer if you would.”

“Appa,” Yeji whined, “I did enough partying in America to last me the rest of eternity. Surely the Chinese could discuss and bargain all they want, but in the end we always know they will never have the final say in this country.”

“Yeji,” Lady Hwang scolded.

“What?” Yeji retorted, righteous.

“No, she has a point.” Her father said as he raised a hand to stop Lady Hwang, “They only wish to mingle and propose their products to me, I would let you go if it weren’t for a certain someone requesting your presence.”

Lord Hwang had his gaze pinpointed on her. Yeji however, remained silent. She blinked once, then twice. She already knew where this conversation was heading towards.

“I see,” Yeji decided to say plainly, she didn’t want to press on whoever requested her presence. Judging by the sent invitation from the Chinese, and a separate invitation from the Lius, it was already a dead giveaway.

Yangyang Liu.

“We need all the power we can get. We need the forces, the allies, the security and comfort knowing that we will continue our reign in this city. I need you to be my little translator when they mutter something in Mandarin, thinking I can not speak their mother tongue.”

Yeji made a disgruntled groan from her throat. “As you wish, appa.” She stood up and took the letter from her father’s hands once again. “I’ll go as you wish!” She exclaimed as she tried to walk outside Lord Hwang’s office. Just as she was about to reach for the doorknob, her mother suddenly spoke up. “Wait,”

So. Damn. Close.

Yeji turned around as she cocked a brow, “This….Yangyang,” Lady Hwang started “Why is he requesting you?”

Lady Hwang said his name as if it held meaning to her. Lady Hwang thought that it had some effect on her, she didn’t know that that effect would be her getting annoyed more than anything.

Yeji pursed her lips into a thin line, “He is Mr. Liu’s son, obviously.” she replied, apathetic. “I believe the main reason why they requested for another meeting is because they are still trying to sell their product to us.”

“Is he handsome?” Lady Hwang asked, curious for herself rather than her own daughter.

“My god, mama.” Yeji replied as she tried to stop herself rolling her eyes. She walked towards the door again, hopefully able to leave this time. “He is just using me, this is just business. If you would excuse me, I have to–what the hell are you doing?”

The latter part was directed to Hyunjin, who was standing right in front of her as she opened the door.

“Relax,” Hyunjin smiled a very much fake smile, “I was on my way to the balcony.”

They both knew it was a lie–Hyunjin not bothering to try and make a more believable expression. Yeji closed her father’s door with a loud thud. She waited for her cousin to say something, but he only stared back, his plastic smile not leaving his face.

“Well do you have anything to say to me, Hyunjin?” Yeji asked, crossing her arms. Hyunjin’s smile only grew wider.

“Only one,” He said as he eyed the door, knowing full well that Lord and Lady Hwang could hear their conversation, “I just can’t wait to go to this party, jiāchǒu bùkě wàiyáng.”

Yeji stiffened, satisfied with the reaction he had caused, he turned around merrily and left. He shoved his hands to his pockets as a whistle from a song left his lips.

The family’s shame shouldn’t be exposed.

“Méiyǒu shé me kě jiēlù de,” Yeji muttered. She stomped as she went down the stairs, glaring at the relatives who were still near the crime scene, happily going on with their latest gossip they just had to share. She made a beeline towards the kitchen to see Karina seated on the counter chomping down on an apple. She had no idea how Karina managed to find an appetite when she was seated right in front of a huge stain of blood.

“So?” Yeji asked as she tapped the counter beside her cousin.

“What? Oh, I gave up trying to remove the stains ten minutes ago.” Karina answered as she took another bite of her apple. After chewing for a while, she tilted her heads towards the side as she looked at the stain.

“It kinda looks like a dog, don’t you think?” She asked as she looked at Yeji who looked at her with a concerned look on her face.

Yeji only stared at her as she swallowed her bite. “Too soon?”

“Way too soon,” Yeji replied, shaking her head. “You busy? I need your Rover ties.”

“For the nth time–” Karina answered, rolling her eyes as she tossed remnants of her apple towards the trash bin, “I do not have Rover ties. What am I finding though?”

Yeji grinned, one thing she loved about her cousin was her eagerness to play spy and to go to unknown grounds. “Jinyoung Park’s address.”

Karina only needed to wrinkle her face, not quite surprised for the sudden request. Yeji could ask her to go get the weirdest most bizarre things, and she would still oblige. Yeji didn’t need to reason out her request as Karina leaped from the counter and feigned a salute to her cousin, her lips turning into a quick smirk. “Yes sir!”

…

“Lice?” Jeno echoed in disbelief

“Lice-like,” Kun corrected, head shaking in the process. He examined a strip of skin he collected from the corpse Jaemin and Haechan brought back to them. They could see the tiny bulges of pockets where the dead insects resided. Jaemin was turning pale while Haechan had his fingers placed on his mouth.

“They jump from one host to another like lice through the hair, I believe they only die when the host dies.” Kun went on as he further pressed onto the membrane, beside him was Doyoung audibly gagging from the sudden autopsy they had to perform. Nevertheless, the Neos had seen far stranger things.

“Oh good heavens,” Jaemin suddenly blurted, feeling dizzy as he gripped onto the table. “We could have been infected.”

Haechan made an exaggerated groan, “They’re dead already,” He said as he motioned towards the insects and the dead body.

“And yet you made me dissect that,” Jaemin retorted, recalling the previous scenes. He shuddered, suddenly remembering how disgusting it was. His body was on full vibrate mode, “How–”

“Gentlemen,” Jeno prompted, his fingers drumming the table he leaned on. He suddenly felt like all the oxygen from the lab was being sucked out, he couldn’t breathe. He had already woken up with a throbbing headache since he wasn’t able to get a good sleep. He tried to redirect Jaemin’s and Haechan’s attention back to Kun, but it didn’t work.

“I told you, my hands were full.”

“You were holding two knives, you could have easily slipped them in your goddamn pockets.”

Jeno gave an apologetic smile to Kun, there was no way he could get Jaemin and Haechan to stop. When the two weren’t busy discussing theories or other normal things, they would argue. Most of the time, it would be about nonsense things that shouldn’t be worth debating over. They would get so engaged in each other until you could see one of their faces going red, or vines starting to pop out from their necks.

“As I was saying,” Kun continued, realizing the two men infront of him had no signs of stopping anytime soon, “since we have much more advanced resources in our facilities than all of Seoul, I could try manufacturing a cure, if that sounds good to you.”

“The only thing that sounds good to me is when you finally shut the fuck up!” Jaemin suddenly exclaimed to Haechan, causing Kun and Jeno to turn their attention once again to them.

“Yes,” Jeno pleaded, making Kun smile a boring smile to him. “That would be great. Thank you, Kun–”

“Don’t thank me yet, Mr. Lee.” Kun tutted, “I can’t manufacture anything without you and your friends’ help.” Kun’s last statement effectively made Jaemin and Haechan to stop fighting. They exchanged glances and slowly turned towards Kun, who was serious as a priest giving a sermon.

“Anything,” Jeno promised, making Jaemin quirk a brow as Haechan nudged him to prevent hearing his whining. “I need to run live experiments,” Kun nodded to himself, “Yes, a live victim. You must find me a live victim.”

“A live–”

This time it was Jeno’s turn to nudge Jaemin’s side.

“Noted,” Jeno said quickly, hoping his two friends would stay silent, “we’re on it. Thank you, Kun. Truly.”

When Kun nodded to them, Jeno pushed himself off the table he was previously leaning on. He quickly dragged both his friend and cousin towards the exit. Jeno was rather quite impressed when Jaemin managed to stay silent the whole time they were making their way towards the doors, not hearing a single whine nor complaint leave his lips. It was only when they were under the dark sky clouding the city did Jaemin finally burst.

“Ya! What the hell?! How the hell are we supposed to find a live victim?! Who the hell would be our live victim?! You know what, don’t answer that. I volunteer in Haechan to be the experimental–Ow!” Jaemin’s rant came to a stop once he felt Haechan’s palm smack him on the head. Jeno sighed as he continued to walk, kicking a few pebbles blocking his way. Jaemin, full of energy as always, was bouncing.

“Careful,” his cousin warned. “Might trip on a pebble.”

“You’re giving me a headache.” Jeno replied as he turned around.

“How are we supposed to know a victim is a victim?” Jaemin went on as he ignored them both, “We only know they were infected once they have succumbed to it! Not to mention they only have a solid five minutes left before they die.”

Jeno shut his eyes momentarily, when he opened them again he felt like he could fall asleep that instant. “I don’t know.”

The walk home was just Jaemin and Haechan bickering once again. Jeno barely contributed to their usual debate for his headache only grew worse. Once they reached the entrance of the main mansion, Jeno could only muster a quiet farewell, leaving Jaemin and Haechan to stare at him. They understood him though, they knew Jeno always got silent when he had too many thoughts clouding his head.

Jeno meekly opened the heavy entrance doors. All he needed was a quick nap and maybe a few pills to ease his throbbing headache so that he could come up with a plan for Kun’s–

“Jeno,”

Jeno’s head jerked up to his father looking down on him from the top step of the staircase. His eyes narrowed at him per usual, his lips forming into a thin line.

“Yes?”

Without saying a word, he extended his hand to give Jeno a piece of paper. He thought that his father would come down to meet him midway, but Lord Lee only remained where he stood. This caused Jeno to hurriedly come up the stairs to keep his father from waiting. The piece of paper turned out to be an invitation with a name and address written in reflective silver ink.

“Find him,” Lord Lee sneered when Jeno looked up for an explanation. “I have heard from my advisors that the Rovers may be the center of all this madness.”

Jeno’s fingers tightened on the invitation he held, “What?” He asked, quite taken aback on the sudden request, “But the Rovers have been trying to be on our side for years–”

“Yet we push them away everytime,” Lord Lee refuted, not interested in what his son had to say, “Obviously they are changing strategies, trying to side with the Vipers seeing as we lost them. Before they could do anything we must counter them immediately. Stop them.”

Was it simply the Rovers’ strategy? Were they trying to kill all those in a gang or mafia so that the violence could finally stop? Were they trying to panic the crowd so that the crowd would listen to them? So they could rule over?

“How am I to stop a whole political party?” Jeno murmured quietly, “How am I to–”

Before Jeno continued, his father had slapped him on the head causing him to grip on the stair’s railing to prevent him from falling down the stairs. He moved away from his father, hoping he could avoid a second hit. He shouldn’t have countered his father vocally when he was an arm’s length away.

“I gave you a name and an address, did I not?” Lord Lee snapped, growing impatient with his own son. “Go. See how true the word on the street is.”

With that, his father returned to his own office, not even bothering to glance back at his son. He gripped the piece of paper tightly, his head throbbing worse than before, Jeno inhaled before muttering bitterly,

“As you wish.”

#jeno mafia au #jeno mafia #nct mafia #nct mafia au #nct dream #nct dream mafia au #jeno lee #nctitzy #yeji mafia au #yeji mafia #jeno angst #jeno smut #jeno fluff #aespa au #aespa mafia au #yejeno au #yejeno

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morkofday · 3 years

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pingxie thoughts (and prayers) pt. 1

i’m trying to make a series of my random thoughts on ultimate note pingxie (i might go to other versions too but who knows when). idk if this fandom really needs my two cents but here yall go either way. at least i get my screams out of my chest. (apologizing if my english breaks bc of my feels, this really isn’t my first language)

The Jacket Scene

This is about the scene where Xiaoge, Pangzi and Panzi discover Wu Laosi’s body with Wu Xie’s coat covering it and what happens before, during and after that scene. I had some thoughts on how this one moment connects the things that happened in the previous episodes, and what Pingxie seems like after this very small but significant ordeal. (placing under cut bc this is long. with some pics!)

The thing is, with this whole drama, that we’ve rarely seen the worried side of Xiaoge before this. We have seen him coming in and sweeping Wu Xie off of his feet and rescuing him from whatever situation the boy has put himself into but we rarely see his worry. And throughout Ultimate Note, we finally see a lot of that. (this post by @jockvillagersonly already talks about the snake egg scene and all the worry so I guess I don’t have to get into detail here.) But, ever since the beginning of this, ever since Xiaoge once again sweeps Wu Xie right off of his feet (figuratively) in Golmud Sanatorium, he shows a lot of concern towards Wu Xie. Though he gets it out in varying ways but. Let’s not blame him for that, shall we?

First of all, he doesn’t want to rope Wu Xie into coming with them on this journey; he very blatantly wishes Wu Xie to turn back and leave. It sounds a bit rude and Wu Xie reads very wrongly into it. It’s just that Xiaoge doesn’t want Wu Xie to get hurt on yet another journey. He just wants Wu Xie to be safe and where does that lead him? Into worrying.

So, what gives us this jacket scene in the end is that even if Xiaoge holds very tightly onto his feelings and doesn’t talk about them or, god forbid, show them (especially to Wu Xie if they’re related to him), other ppl are still very much aware (e.g. Hei Xiazi, A-Ning and Pangzi). Example: When A-Ning talks with Wu Xie about him joining this expedition, she states that she doesn’t care about Wu Xie’s life but Xiaoge does (which,,, Wu Xie looks flabbergasted. Poor soul). She sees what Wu Xie, unfortunately and infuriatingly, does not. He understands Xiaoge’s silent and somehow reluctant care.

All of this then means that when Wu Xie’s team goes missing as they explore the shipwreck (or they just can’t contact ppl with their radios anymore bc of reasons), Xiaoge is absolutely losing his shit. He is already doing this before that (cue the scene with Hei Xiazi a lot earlier, in the pic above) but this is his last straw. He flees the camp to go look for Wu Xie, all his deals be damned. He might look cool and composed while doing this but his eyes are very telling. He is losing his fucking mind and no normal guy stands in his way (Wu Laosi being the one in his way is somehow so ironic in the light of what’s about to happen).

Then Pangzi and Panzi walk in, taking Xiaoge with them. And I find it so very amazing that Pangzi is able to see right through Xiaoge. But this knowledge is comfortable, caring. Pangzi might speak about Xiaoge’s worry in a teasing way but it’s how he goes at these things. And with Pangzi, Xiaoge can show his worry (even if he’s being emo about it and sucks it in like the cool guy he is bc… idk my dudes, maybe for the same reason he doesn’t even look at Wu Xie when he gives him that compass in the desert, boy has problems ok). He’s safe with Pangzi who doesn’t force Xiaoge into admitting his feelings but shows him how ridiculous he’s being bc of course they can worry about Wu Xie. They’re all worried about Wu Xie.

Then, after all the wandering in Devil’s City, they finally get to the shipwreck and there’s a camp but! Surprise! It’s full of corpses. Killed by corpse bugs. And then we see Wu Laosi (A-Ning’s right-hand man? I think?) wearing Wu Xie’s jacket. Xiaoge spots the jacket like a blood hound, drawn to it in an instant. And we as viewers know that it’s not Wu Xie laying there, that he’s long gone and having a not-so-fun adventure through the Devil’s City with A-Ning, but our guys do not. Xiaoge does not. We can see how his face freezes as he notices the body and then goes to look at it. He doesn’t even touch it, he just stares. Pangzi has to pull the jacket off of the body bc Xiaoge is too shocked to move.

And maybe he does know that it’s not Wu Xie (like he lets Pangzi think later bc he’s Cool and Collected) bc he’s just so accustomed to that body but. For a second he really does believe. And if we think about him earlier, when he was saving Wu Xie from the desert, his first words for Wu Xie who regains his consciousness were, “Sorry, I was late.” Bc he wasn’t there early enough to prevent Wu Xie from collapsing and being in pain. He wasn’t there early enough to keep Wu Xie from harm. And at this moment here, Xiaoge comes to remember that perhaps, comes to think about how he might actually be late one day. He thinks about it so intensely and it makes him so frustrated that he just furiously slices that stray corpse bug into half with his sword (even if it has no point when Pangzi and Panzi already have their knives out and ready to go). He’s just so mad about the thought of someone or something harming Wu Xie and him not being there to prevent it that Xiaoge, our Poker Face, has a temper tantrum. What a day this has been for him. Might consider other emotions after a couple more years, it’s becoming exhausting and I feel him on that.

But then this just leads us to the overwhelming protectiveness we see during their journey in the jungle before they get to the Heavenly Queen Mother’s Palace (and Xiaoge goes to the jade meteorite and forgets everything but let’s stay in this happy-ish place still). We see him attending to every tiny movement of Wu Xie. He’s there to steady Wu Xie when he stumbles, he’s there to keep branches off of his face, helps him to cut down damn vines. There’s that egg removal scene with overwhelming fear. There’s the snake repelling mud and them sleeping in that tent. There’s Xiaoge catching Wu Xie from mid air more than once. He just... pours over, in a sense. Suddenly, he’s come to face the mortality of this boy he travels with and he’s painfully aware that he is the reason why Wu Xie is there in the first place. Wu Xie even states it himself when he’s yelling at Pangzi about lying to him when he said he was going to Beijing. Wu Xie says he’s the only one who’s in Devil’s City and on this journey just for his own accord (and at this moment, Xiaoge knows it also means he’s the reason bc Wu Xie has promised him things).

It’s a horrible thing to know for Xiaoge. And I think this jacket scene just brings out all of that, reminds Xiaoge of why he didn’t want Wu Xie here in the first place but had to accept his involvement still. Reminds him of what he can still try to prevent as he was given this chance. Wu Xie really becomes his first priority here, and it shows up even starker in the way he puts Wu Xie’s survival over his own mission while working with Chen Wenjin. He outright refuses to do things before Wu Xie is safe. He somehow accepts, silently determined as he is, that there’s no other option for him anymore. He’s stuck with Wu Xie as strongly as Wu Xie has stated that he’s stuck with him. And sometimes I just wonder how many times Xiaoge must’ve seen nightmares of Wu Xie dying, especially after the scare this one simple jacket gave him. How many times he blamed himself for those. How many more times he wanted to apologize for being late (bc maybe one day he would have to tell that to Wu Xie’s corpse).

#ultimate note #dmbj #pingxie #wu xie #xiaoge #zhang qiling #pingxiethoughtsandprayers #yeah idk what to do with this #this scene just leaves me breathless #bc wow a way to fuck us all up #bc as soon as i saw wx throw that jacket i knew #it was gonna be a thing #and the journey that is zql's face #in every scene before they find wx #also the parallel with the desert scene #where wx isn't in such grave danger #and then xiaoge comes to him #bc of course he does #and his first thought is to apologize for being late #bc he can tell that to wx now #wx is still alive he can be sorry about getting him hurt #bc he blames himself ofc #but then this scene happens???#as soon as xiaoge lets wx go alone #and he must be blaming himself again #he's ready to murder someone bc of this fear #he's ready to just yell and he's trying to hold it in #it's breaking me #and wx never learns about this bc ofc #that's how pingxie works yall

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akkalatechlabs · 3 years

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An Eye for an Eye.

This “short” story is how the Robbie I personally write lost his eye, replacing it with a guardian one. It’s the biggest reasoning to how he is at the present with his paranoia and fears. It started all from this.

TW: Eye horror and gore -- "Listen up! From now on there will be no breaks. No moments of rest. Out in the field-" A Sheikah warrior spoke loudly in front of multiple young Sheikah. All of them in uniform, getting ready for the ultimate test - to survive out in the real world. "Now then... is everyone here?" The Teacher spoke. A young boy raised his hand, looking worried. The teacher sighed, "What is it?" "Robert is late again." The kid spoke. The teacher clicked his tongue, "This is the last time he-" 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙢.

All the students screamed and looked behind them. There he was, all covered in grease and smoke. A young Sheikah, roughly sixteen walks over and sits down as if nothing happened. All of them... 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. "Robert-!" Robert glanced up, wiping his dirty face with his arm, "Yes sir?" Without a moment to react, the teacher's hand is raised then... 𝗦𝗹𝗮𝗽. Robert flinched as his face was turned to the side as his cheek began to sting. The teacher slapped his cheek and pointed at him, "You think you can play with ancient technology like that? And 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 it no less? You are a Sheikah 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧, not 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧. Get your hands 𝙤𝙛𝙛 of them. Do you understand?" The Sheikah warrior teacher glared daggers at him. His red eyes meeting theirs, trembling a bit and nods. "Yes sir..." Robert swallows nervously, looking down. The teacher walks back to the front. All of the other students whispering, laughing, mocking... S t a r i n g ... Robert couldn't handle all their judging eyes on him. "What did you do?" Another Sheikah whispers over at Robert, smiling. Robert leans over, whispering back, "Replaced some wiring... just as an experiment. Guess it didn't like that." The other gasps, "That is so cool...you have to show me sometime!" "CHILDREN." The teacher clapped, causing the two Sheikah teens to flinch, looking at them. "Pay ATTENTION. This is the most important test. Do you understand?" They both nod. Robert smirks a bit and leans back to the other, "...wanna see it later?" The other nods quickly and grins. -- The ultimate test... Surviving out in the field with all the techniques that have been taught. Of course, Robert was smart. He knew the techniques, sure. But he wasn't... good with them. The other Sheikah kid from before was following him as they wandered in a wooded area. He was much better skilled than Robert was in sneaking, fighting... With time – he could be a warrior. If he wasn’t so misbehaved like Robert was. They were the most... troublesome in the class. "So, we have to... just survive for a few days? Easy!" The other Sheikah smirked, putting their arms behind their head as they stretched. "Maybe we could steal the other's stuff. Then we will survive even better. Steal their weapons too." Robert sighs, shaking his head, "Then they wouldn't have a chance, M." The other shook his head and crossed his arms, "Robert, the key to surviving is making sure they don't steal from 𝘶𝘴. This is survival now. What are you going to do if you don't act? Use the guardians to make them forfeit?" Robert suddenly smiled. The other blinked and sighed. "...Robert, you'll just blow our cover with another explosion." Robert smirks, snapping his fingers and points at him, "That is what you think, 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘰! I know what I did wrong to make it malfunction last time... I'll get it this time; I am sure if it!" Robert runs around, looking for a nearby guardian. Misko quickly follows behind him, skidding to a stop. Tapping Robert's shoulder and points. Turning around Robert opens his mouth, Misko immediately turns Robert's face towards the guardian stuck in the ground, five legs poking out of the ground. "Eureka! Let's go, Misko!" Robert quickly rushes over to the Guardian and walks around it, looking for... Ah! There it was. Robert presses a button and the head pops open, showing a bunch of wiring and parts. Misko walks over and gasps, his eyes widened in awe. He never... seen the insides of what a Guardian looked like until now. As Misko's jaw was dropped, Robert was already fiddling with the wiring. Ripping them out and mixing them in different places. "..." Misko took a step forward, watching Robert tear apart the black and blue wires. He jumps back as Robert took two wires and put them together, causing a zap - making himself jump a bit. "Ouch!" Robert yelled and quickly put his burnt finger in his mouth. "...You sure you know what you are doing?" Misko asked, a little nervous, "I was just kidding about the Guardian thing. If it explodes, I'm outta here and leaving you behind." "You would miss me if you did that!" Robert laughed and put the wires back together, another zap, "I'm trying to jumpstart this doohickey... just give me a few minutes then this will be as good as ours!" Robert smiles widely as he rips more wires and presses them together. Zap. Zap. ... 𝘉𝘻𝘻𝘻𝘵. Misko groans and leans against a tree while waiting, glancing around just in case other students come by. Or worse - their teacher. "Come on...!" Robert bites his lip and takes another wire, placing the new one with the older one. A blue hue faintly appears in the corner of Misko's eye and gasps, fully turning around. "Robert! Look!" Blinking, he jumps back and the Guardian's head shuts and twists left and right. Robert freezes up and swallows. He prayed it wouldn't explode this time. The Guardian's head stops and looks at Robert. Misko walks over and looks up in awe once again then hits his arm playfully. "You did it!" Misko laughed in shock, he didn't know how he did it - but he was a genius! “Y-Yeah! I did!" Robert smiles and pats the guardian while looking at Misko, "Now nothing will stop us. We will definitely survive with this on our side." Misko's happy expression suddenly drops, looking absolutely terrified. Robert blinks, tilting his head, "Misko...?" Misko grabs Robert's hand and runs, sudden a blast from the Guardian fires right after. Robert screams, looking back as it starts to stand up from the ground and chases after them, aiming a laser at them. "No! No! This isn't right! It's supposed to listen to us!" "I knew this was a bad idea!" Misko yells back and rushes behind a giant rock, pulling Robert beside him to hide. "You GAVE me the idea, Misko!" Robert screams, immediately Misko's hand covered his mouth as they hear the eerie 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗣. 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗣. 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗣. … of the guardian near them. 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. Robert shoves his hand away from his mouth and pokes his head out looking at it. It was... amazing. He got it to work... Him. Without any of those fancy tools. This was HIS work. Despite being hunted down by it right now, he was pretty proud of himself. Misko quickly pulls him back down and hushes him, he poked his head out and took out throwing knives from his pocket, swallowing nervously. They were not trained enough for this, 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵. Robert, glancing down stops him and whispers, “Don’t damage it! I brought it back to life, I just need to get close to it and rewire it again!” Misko shoves him off, shaking his head, “You’ll get killed, no way am I letting you near that thing.” Misko huffs and dashes to a near tree with Sheikah speed, quickly glancing back at the Guardian. It turns its head, seeing Misko and scurries towards him, laser aiming... aiming... Misko, suddenly frozen by fear can only watch. “Misko, move!” Robert screams and pushes him out of the way as the beam strikes, just slightly hitting Robert’s face, causing him to immediately scream out in pain. Misko quickly gets back up and a hand stops Misko. Looking up he sees their teacher in full uniform ready to fight. Many other Sheikah warriors suddenly appear, all attacking the haywire guardian. Robert, covering his wound with his hand, stares at the horror of the guardian he just fixed. With his remaining eye he could only stare at it... being torn apart. Piece by piece. Legs first. Causing it to be still. That alone was enough to cause it to stop working. The teacher brings Misko to the side, Robert turns, watching Misko talking to the teacher looking... guilty. He glances at Robert time to time. The teacher’s eyes widen and turns his head at Robert. B u s t e d. Without a word, their teacher grabs Robert by the arm and drags him back to the training grounds. Turning his head, he looks at the guardian, frowning. Misko quietly follows with that guilty expression on his face all the way back. Robert had a feeling he knew what was going to happen. -- “You’re out.” The teacher crossed his arms, looking down at Robert. The young Sheikah slowly tilts his head up, clenching his jaw from the pain of what was left from the beam. He hasn’t seen what he looks like, however he knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. The medics had to wrap multiple bandages and cloths around his left eye. Some said with proper healing, he would be able to see. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧. Robert wasn’t stupid – he knew his eye was never going to heal. He winced as tears built up. Could his left eye even form tears anymore? “Sheikah warriors need both their eyes. You can no longer be here like this. You failed the test – now leave.” “But I have nowhere else to go...” The young Sheikah pleaded, “Please, I have to be a warrior, there’s nothing left for me...” The teacher shook his head, “Robert... You cannot stay here in this condition. Unless your eye heals fully and can function as it used to... You know that will not happen with a wound that bad.” His ears drooped as he tilted his head down. This was his home and he was getting kicked out... again. “Pack your things and leave before dawn.” The teacher walks out of the room and pauses, placing his hand against the door frame, holding his head down. “... I’m sorry.” He could only mutter out. He felt bad for the kid; he’ll never see properly ever again. Now he was kicked out? If he could only have it his way, he’d make sure Robert could have stayed. Maybe even calling him his own... However, it was not his decision. The teacher walks out and leaves Robert alone in the room. The young Sheikah’s hands shook as he stood there, so many thoughts all at once. He had to fix this... he wanted to stay. He had to stay. “...” Robert suddenly had an idea, smiling he runs over to his back and takes it, running back to the forest. Maybe, just maybe if they didn’t harm the eye of that guardian, he could take it and... Yes, yes! It could work. -- Slowly moving his head left and right to check for anyone around he walks back to the guardian from before... in pieces. “They really made sure it wouldn’t come back alive, huh?” Robert sighed to himself and began to dig around, collecting pieces. Sitting down he sees his reflection upon a more shiner piece of the guardian. The bandage was soaked in blood. He never seen anything like this, especially not while looking at himself. He needed to see the damage; he had no choice. Swallowing nervously his hands shook and he unwrapped the cloth and bandages, revealing the horror. The beam took a chunk of the left side of his face, his eye was... Oh, Hylia. 𝙂𝙤𝙣𝙚. His left eye was just... 𝙂𝙤𝙣𝙚. He covered his mouth at the sight, shaking, feeling his lunch ready to come back. No. He had to fix this. He can fix this! Taking out tools Misko stole for him from a few researchers, he proceeds to cut a piece of the guardian part to cover the wound around the eye – a placeholder for... wait. Where was the guardian eye? Drawing his attention away from his reflection he moves his head, digging through the guardian pieces all around him. There. Still glowing ever so slightly. It was in good condition – was the eye of the guardian. Robert grins, “An eye for an eye.” Drawing back his attention to the metal part he continues to cut it in an angular shape. Sighing, Robert carefully cuts the guardian eye with the stolen tool. It wasn’t... perfect. He may have cut it a bit smaller than his normal eye but there was no other eye to try again with. Attaching it to the other part he grabs wires, touching them to see if they still made a spark. Z a p. “... Ouch.” That was the answer he needed. After hours of work it was time to attach it to... Himself. Scratching his head, he looked at his reflection. He had to do this. Taking the guardian eye attached to the metal part he pressed it against his face, looking at himself. He looked... pretty cool. Now he had to just get it on him and keep it there. Taking a deep breath, he takes the tool with one hand and held the technologic eyepiece with the other. He turns the tool on, aiming it at his face. A laser shoots from the tool as he clenches his teeth, using it to keep the metal there, potentially melting the metal on his face. Everything hurt. Every single thing hurt so, so badly. His hand was wobbling as he went in a line, following the corners of the tech to his face. It had to cover the wound. It had to... His vision on his right eye started to blur from the pain alone – he felt himself becoming lightheaded about to pass out. No. He couldn’t pass out yet. Not until he was finished. Another line done. He tilts his head up a little, finishing the lining close to his jaw, then to his ear, to the other side. Done. Done. Done... With one final glance at himself, for a second, he saw his work was finished. He drops the tool and falls back passing out from the intense sharp pain. --- Stirring awake he opened his eyes slowly, sitting up. Day time? He must have passed out all night... Rubbing his face, he flinched at the sudden change of feeling on his face. Soft skin to sudden hard metal. Oh, right... Right! Robert looks back at his reflection, looking back at him was one red and one blue eye. The blue was bright – Sheikah technology at its best. He actually could see. He could see... Robert could see with his left eye. Closing his right eye, he looks around with the left smiling widely. He got it to work! Quickly grabbing his stuff, Robert rushed back to the training grounds. With a working eye he could stay now! He didn’t have to leave! The young Sheikah was overjoyed, proud – he knew that with this he could stay! Passing other Sheikah they all gasped, covering their mouths, looking horrified. Robert swallowed nervously... Was something wrong? They should be in awe of his work... Right? Why did they look scared? It worsened. Sheikah from near and far whispered, pointed at him as he walked by. More shocked gasps. Judgmental stares. Robert looked down, why did he feel like he did something wrong again? He never did anything right; it was always the same. Same glaring, same judging, same whispers and snickering. It weighed him down, feeling sudden dread as he walked back into his class. The teachers all froze, their eyes widening at the sight of Robert. Some even dropping what was in their hands. “What have you done, Robert?” His teacher finally spoke, breaking the long moment of silence. “I fixed my eye so I can stay in training like you said! I can see even better than before now. I can stay, right? I can stay...” Robert smiled slightly, “I know it’s a little messy work but it’s fine since Sheikah have scars all the time and-” “Stop talking!” the teacher screamed at him, “You’ve messed with Sheikah technology far enough, but this... this is the worst crime. Against all Sheikah rules.” Robert’s smile faded quick, swallowing nervously, “What... what do you mean?” All the warriors in the room stared at him with furious expressions, it started to click he did something... beyond his knowing. “Fusing body with technology like this is forbidden, Robert. It’s against... Oh, Robert...” the teacher dropped his head down, pure disappointment laced in his words. “... You have to leave and never return. You are no longer allowed in Kakariko.” Robert’s eyes widened, dropping his bag. Like a brick hitting him, his chest tightened as tears pooled in his right eye. “...But this is my home, Dorian...” Robert’s voice was small, shaky, “Where am I supposed to go...?” “He should be exiled!” an older warrior yelled, “This is prohibited! He cannot walk around like that! He is dragging down the Sheikah clan just by-” Dorian - Robert’s teacher - holds his hand up stopping the other from speaking, “He’s just a kid. I’m not letting him die over something he did not know.” The older scoffs and looks away, “What are you going to do with him then? He cannot show his face here anymore.” Robert held his head down, trembling as he quietly sobbed, watching tears drop on the ground. He was kicked out of his own home so many times, finally when he finds a place to call home – he was kicked out again. Listening to the older Sheikah yelling and screaming about Robert’s fate he could only stand there and sob. All of this over something he was... actually proud of. He got his eye to work again; why was this so wrong? “He has to be shown to the elders!” “No! He will die if that happens!” “You cannot just keep him a secret! You’ll get killed for doing that!” Robert couldn’t take it anymore; grabbing his bag he dashed out. He didn’t belong here... 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯. Robert ignored the gasps and stares once again as he ran, stumbling over his own feet. He had no idea where he was going. All he knew was he had to leave Kakariko Village and never go back. He... felt awful. Hopefully Misko wouldn’t mind that he didn’t get to say goodbye, perhaps they would meet again. He’d be a fine warrior someday. Unlike Robert, anyways. He suddenly stops to catch his breath. Glancing back at Kakariko from afar. He wanted to call that village home; he really did... Who was he kidding though? 𝙃𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 – 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙮. The young Sheikah was never going to have a home to call his own, it was stupid of him to believe he belonged there. Robert was smarter than that. Foolish and stupid to believe he could even stay. Robert sighs and picks up his bag again, throwing it over his shoulder as he made his way to... wherever his legs brought him. Digging through old guardian parts along the way, he eventually makes goggles for himself to hide his eyes from the world. Despite the staring he hated so much, it was better than stares of horror. It was much, 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 better this way. No one would accept him like how he is now without them. The goggles weren't a problem. He could live wearing them all the time. 𝙃𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙮.

#my writing.txt ;;#aoc robbie #young robbie #robbie #age of calamity #legend of zelda

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autistic--cryptid · 3 years

Note

INFODUMP ABOUT UNDERTALE TO ME RIGHT NOW :O /POS

(about Anything At All idc if its rambly bullet points or anything pls im begging u this is lichrally my special interest cmon pleaseee /lh)

OKOK I WILL!!! /pos

cant put this under the cut on mobile so here’s your warning that this will b a very long post!!

random chara hearcanons + ramblings bc CHARA MY BELOVED!!!

i might be projecting but i hc that chara has depression and ptsd! we know they hated people bc of what asriel says during the epilogue, “I know why Chara climbed the mountain. It wasn't for a very happy reason. Frisk. I'll be honest with you. Chara hated humanity.” and i think they hate humanity so much bc of some trauma other people caused. chara is angry and upset, and probably starts to hate humanity more once they learn about all of the pain humans have caused monsters. they aren’t evil or mean, they’re traumatized and hate people because they’ve been hurt so many times

i like to think that chara is so close with asriel in part bc he was one of the first people they felt like they could fully trust. asriel was with them through everything, saved them, gave them a home, etc. i think chara loved him so much in part bc asriel was there for them when everyone else had hurt them

i think chara erases the world at the end of the genocide run because of frisk’s actions in that run and not bc they themselves are cruel. chara is smart, they know that a frisk who would kill all monsters would likely be interested in destroying things alongside chara. the way i see it, chara is angry. they had to watch frisk kill their friends and family, the monsters who took them in and protected them after they had been hurt so bad by humans. chara watched them hurt asriel after he cried and begged for them not to hurt him. they watched frisk reset over and over at every save point, trying to hard to kill everyone and everything and not stopping even when they themselves are struck down. and they don’t have a body anymore so they couldn’t do anything to stop it. genocide run frisk shows what chara hates in humanity: mercilessness and cruelity for the sake of cruelity. they want to get revenge on frisk and stop them from hurting alphys and the monsters who hid and escaped. they want to stop frisk from hurting people beyond the barrier. chara constantly says “just finish the job” throughout the run because they’re exhausted and can’t stand watching frisk hurt these monsters anymore, they just want everything to end. the reason they only come out at the end is fear, in part, and the fact that watching asriel be killed despite his cries and begs was the last thing they could take. when they say “it’s me, chara!” in the mirror in toriel’s home rather than “it’s you” i like to think it’s for a similar reason that sans says “pretend to be a human” to frisk, and for the same reason that some theorize he would make fake blood at the end of the battle with him. chara wants frisk to see another person, hoping maybe they’ll find some goodness and humanity. just like some theorize that sans would use ketchup as fake blood to make frisk see that they’re hurting people like themselves as well, chara wants frisk to see that frisk is human to remind them of any good humanity they might have. they aren’t evil and they aren’t seeing themselves in frisk’s actions, they’re trying to stop frisk from hurting everyone and trying to get revenge on frisk for the pain they’ve caused. the reason why you get a photo with chara and everyone’s faces crossed out or a chara nightmare when you finish a pacifist run after a genocide run is chara reminding frisk of the pain they caused and showing them that the atrocities they committed aren’t something they can just erase and move on from. chara just wants monsters to be happy and to be ok and they hate that once again a human has taken that happiness away from monsters, but they know a reset won’t stop frisk because they will just start over, so if they erase the world and take frisk’s soul for frisk to get it back they can hope that without that soul and determination frisk can’t reset anymore and thus no more genocide run, even though that ultimately isn’t the case. chara just wants to help monsters and they’re angry at her another human for hurting them

asriel says in the epilogue that chara wanted to hurt the humans in the village when they attacked asriel and them, but once again it’s not bc chara is evil or violent, it’s bc they were traumatized by humans and and this is like a fight response to those triggers, and also bc they wanted to protect asriel!!!

chara’s plan to collect 7 human souls as talked about in the tape was for the good of monsters, not so they could hurt humans. they wanted monsters to go free and to live a normal life with their monster family. when they say “our plan had failed, hadn’t it?” in the genocide run they’re referring to their goal of freeing and saving monsters, not like, killing the people that asriel wouldn’t fight. chara wanted to save monsters and to break the barrier, they didn’t want their soul to fuse with asriel because they knew that meant their soul couldn’t be one of the 7 to free monsters. when frisk killed the monsters in the genocide route it meant that monsters weren’t free or safe, their plan with asriel to free monsters from the underground and save them from the prison humans put them in had failed because once again a human had taken everything from them

on a lighter note, pacifist run chara narrates and translates for frisk! chara and frisk likely come from the same village seeing as they’re both able to just go up the mountain and see what’s there, so they probably know the same form of sign language. frisk is mute and signs things to chara, who translates over the phone for them. they also describe everything around frisk since they’ve lived there before and know what everything is while frisk doesn’t know. when they don’t know what to say, they describe stuff! they probably aren’t sure what to make of the mettaton fight since they’ve never seen mettaton ex before, so they say “smells like mettaton”. they don’t know about the amalgamates so they say “smells like sweet lemons” during your fight with lemon bread

the mummy wrappings in the red soul coffin were for chara. asriel removed them from their coffin and carried them off to the village before those supplies could’ve been used. when he brought chara back in after they were attacked, toriel took them out to the flower bed in the ruins where they initially landed to give them a propel burial, and then chose to live in the ruins specifically to take care of chara. chara is buried under the flowers right at the start of the ruins which is why asriel refuses to leave in the epilogue and says “someone has to take care of these flowers.” it’s also in part why toriel is so sad and lonely, being in the ruins and visiting her child daily makes her remember the pain she felt losing chara and asriel and it makes her extra worried about losing frisk and the other humans. through visiting chara like this, both asriel and toriel can see them and talk to them even though they’re mostly gone

asriel and chara were the ones who left those echo flower messages about wishes. chara was the one who laughed and said “it’s just funny, that’s my wish too”

just like kris, chara also had little red horns. chara didn’t like that they were human since they hated humans, but loved monsters and wished they were one. asriel made them little paper horns to be more monster-like, and eventually toriel sewed them an pair and put it on a headband so they could stay on their head

not really a headcanon or theory, just a note. there’s lots of similarities between kris and chara: red eyes, knives, portrayed as “strange”, likes to scare other people (kris hiding under noelle’s bed and putting ketchup on their arms to scare her, and chara doing their creepy face to asriel in the tape—they likely did it before cause asriel had to have known what it was so there’s nothing saying they only do it when asked by asriel), a bit secluded and like to be alone (toriel is no longer upset with kris when she finds out they didn’t answer her calls bc they were with a friend, chara is only ever shown or talked about in relation to asriel or their parents), both kind of get rid of their soul in some way (kris removes their soul and chara like died to give their soul to the monsters), both have similar outfits (although kris looks more like frisk in their face and hair), very close to their asriel, both like monsters, both have mostly obscured eyes until the ending of the game, etc.

chara can only verbally talk to frisk, but they can talk through the phone, similar to how asriel spoke to frisk on the phone at the end of the true lab even though he didn’t have his soul back then and was still a flower, and similar to how you can understand the memory head amalgamate when you use your phone. frisk is one of the few people who can hear their voice irl

chara can verbally talk with mettaton, mew mew, and nabstablook since they were all once ghosts/are ghosts. mettaton sometimes helps chara to speak and to appear to crowds bc they can use his microphones to speak since that’s technology and chara can use his advice to show their own incorporeal form more clearly. chara and nabstablook get along very well as shy ghosts who are best friends with their family

chara and frisk become best friends in pacifist runs :3 frisk returns the the underground sometimes to talk to asriel and lets chara speak to him while they visit through their phone, and eventually chara convinces asriel to come back with them and to live with them again (yes i know this isn’t possible in canon shhhhhhh)

chara is autistic and has adhd. they also have chronic pain and use a cane as a result of their chronic pain and bc of a long lasting injury they sustained from falling into the underground, or they float as a ghost

#UNDERTALE SPECIAL INTEREST POG!!!#HONESTLY ME TOO ME TOO WAS A BIG SP.IN WHEN IT CAME OUT SND STILL IS TODAY!!#ask #undertale #special interest #cirrus says things #tw// character death

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hit-me-with-a-ladle · 3 years

Text

Ch.5 of Creepepastas x fem!reader

A/N: This is ch5 of a long-running series. The next chapter is going to dive deeper into other characters so I hope you'll like them. The chapter is very long so enjoy<3

TW: blood, organs injuries.

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Minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days, and by the end of the excruciating training, the girl had travel back to the cabin covered in cuts and bruises barely able to stand. As for Jack, he was fine and dandy, not caring that she kept panting and groaning in pain while walking. Though, after tripping for the third time because her knees couldn't hold the weight of her barely moving body, Jack got considerably aggravated. "Can you hurry up," He spat, contempt undoubtedly evident from the way he was standing and continued on his way not even bothering to wait for her. She glared daggers at his back and slowly stood with the help of a nearby tree. Supporting herself on anything she could find in her surroundings, slowly but surely she was finally able to walk to the cabin.

Before entering enter. She noticed Jack had already arrived and was reading. Rage tainted the girl's mind, ' That scum-bag, how could he not wait for me?' Storming in with a limp she didn't even look in his direction, instead, immediately going to the stairs to go to her room. But as she was about to leave, Jack spoke up out of nowhere. "There's a medkit in the bathroom, which is across the hall from your bedroom. You should stop the bleeding and take care of all the cuts," What he said made the girl even more hostile," Why do you even care?" She spoke sneeringly, not paying him any mind, carrying on her way. "Well, we will be training again in a few hours so you should fix everything up and get some rest." He stated again with a sigh and continue reading. The girl loudly forced out a breath in reasonable frustration while attempting to go to the bathroom, not carrying to answer.

Solace washed over her as she reached the final step of the long narrow wooden staircase, and slowly approached the bathroom door. Grabbing the circular handle and gently twisting it, she entered. It was a considerably small rectangle-shaped room although perfect for single-person use. Located inside by the far right corner was a small walk-in shower with sliding plastic doors that seemed to have a foggy design. Right next to it, a white basket meant for storing dirty clothes, and a boiler connected to the walk-in shower, and the was toilet positioned opposite the shower. Near it was the sink with cupboards above and a dirty mirror and next to the sink, a washer and a drier placed one on top of the other. There was also a long vertical mirror across the doors

Looking at the wall she noticed that bark brown marble tyles covered the lower half of the wall while the upper half was painted in a dull shade of white. Nearing the sink, she opened one of the cupboard doors that were lazily covered, in cheap grey paint. Glancing inside, she noticed the medkit Jack informed her about, it was covered in cobwebs and had dust all over it, slowly reaching within she grabbed it and instantly pulled it out. Causing all of the trinkets inside to vigorously rattle. Turning around and putting it down on the clothes basket, she looked at herself in the mirror. Suffice to say she was surprised that the coveralls she was wearing didn't have any tears, just a bit dirty.

Taking them off, she tossed them in the washer and turned it on. " So it'll only take ten minutes to wash, that good." She said to herself, relieved. Scowling, when she looked at her wounds. There was a rather large bruise on the lower part of her leg, though it wasn't as bad as she thought it would still get infected if she let it be. There were also many deep cuts sprawled all around her body. ' I should take care of this.'

Reaching for the kit and opening it up, she looked to see what exactly the red metal box contained. Inside were many items, most of them she could name. There were different sized band-aids and sterile gauze pads, adhesive tapes, elastic bandaids, antiseptic solution, and much more. She first grabbed the antiseptic solution and dabbed some on the gauze pads, slowly cleaning the deep cuts she had. And then after finishing she swiftly started bandaging up the wound she had on her leg.

Though feeling great pain, she still soldiered through and cleaned all of the injuries. After finishing, she grabbed the clothes in the washer and put them in the dryer. "Guess I should wait another 10 minutes. What should I do now?" Walking out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body she ran to her room.

Opening the door she noticed her old clothes were gone and one of the closet doors was slightly open, feeling a little uneasy she went to check it. She could feel her stomach turn the moment she opened the closet doors but was soon taken aback by the area of the same blue jumpsuits Jack gave her this morning. They were all the same size, odourless and finely ironed. Not bothering to question why and how they were there, she sighed in relief that she had something to wear. Instantly changed and limping to her bed to lay down for some rest.

Slamming her head in her pillow she looked up at the ceiling, 'What's happening? Is this just some sick dream?...No,...it can't be, if it was I should have woken up by now. But never the less, there has to be a way out and I'm going to find it. I just need to gain their trust first and work out my plan as time passes.' Reassuring herself, she fell into a slumber.

After a few hours, she woke up. Getting up in a tired daze she looked around the room confused but soon remember why she was there and let out a loud grunt of frustration. Slowly limping out of her room she went downstairs not bothering to see if Jack was still there. Peering into the kitchen she saw the silhouette of a hunched man leaning over the refrigerator. Uncertainty washed over her as she was not sure who that was but soon assumed it was Jack. Though, as she was about to enter she was stopped in her tracks as the hunched man tore himself away from the fridge giving the girl the chance to take a good look at him.

Her face turned pale when she did as she saw Jack's mask lifted to the half of his face revealing his hark-like teeth covered in some kind of tinted red liquid. She assumed he had put something back inside the fridge. The man had a crooked smile on his face as he slowly put his mask back down his face. ' How didn't I notice it earlier when I was eating? Was it even there? No, it couldn't have been I would've noticed. Right? Yeah, yeah I would've definitely noticed!' Her mind was in a panicked frenzy as she was zoning out while looking at the ground not noticing that Jack was approaching her until he spoke up. "You're able to walk I see?" He remarked sarcastically as he towered over her. She gulped, but her throat was dry so it felt like sandpaper was going down her throat walls.

"Yeah..." She murmured turning her head away from him, even though she couldn't see his face anymore she could still feel his eyes piercing into her soul as she entered the kitchen. Slowly approaching the fridge she tried to act unfazed. Couthesly opening its doors her stomach started spinning, though getting a better look she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, all until she looked deeper inside. In the back, blocked by all the other food, there was a jar slathered in red liquid with some kind of bean-shaped meat, it almost resembled a kidney.

All of the worst possibilities passed her mind as her face turned pale and her mind went static. Jack seemed to notice and suddenly slammed the refrigerator doors shut as he stood in front of the girl. The sudden action made her look at him as she gulped. "What are you looking at?" He spoke up, crossing his arms, he seemed more amused than anything else as he looked down at her. "I was just getting something to eat." She quickly replied and backed away anxiously. "You sure? I mean you were looking in there for a while, did you see something you didn't enjoy." He darkly expressed as he approached, but she stood her ground, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of her withdrawal even if she was shit-scared.

"No...I should make myself something to eat now." Blanckly retorting she moves past him, in an attempt to get herself out of the uncomfortable situation she was in. Reaching the kitchen counter she avoided getting near the refrigerator at all costs as she searched the cabinets for something else to eat. That morning she noticed that all the food in the cabin was very nutritious, there was nothing that could be deemed unhealthy. Inside she could see some cereals and bars of what she assumed was granola, but also different varieties of pasta. Taking in a deep breath she took ahold of it and got ready to cook.

Placing the pot filled with water on the stove for it to boil she searched for salt. With every step she took Jacks eyes didn't leave the back of her head. He seemed intrigued by what she was doing almost as if he had never seen anything like it before. After a while, she was finally done and put all of the food on a plate. Glancing back she noticed that Jack had sat down on the table with his head resting on his right hand, looking at her. Carefully approaching the table, she sat across from him. Starting to eat, she didn't look at him, choosing to stare at her food instead.

"You have ten minutes to eat before we go back to training." He vocalized as he calmly waited for a response. "Ok." She muttered still not looking up at him. "I know you saw me eating. That's why you've been so quiet." His whole demeanour was calm as his words piercing her stomach like knives. Her eyes widened for a second as her face contorted in surprise. "Well, I didn't see anything so...it doesn't matter." She promptly addressed, ultimately peering up at him. "Oh c'mon now. Don't lie. I mean do you think that I didn't notice you gawking at me as I ate. That's rather rude don't you think?"

She kept her mouth shut as her gaze wandered around the room. At that moment Jack got up from his seat getting closer to the girl's direction, her body went tense. "Tell me, do you want to see what I eat? Arent you even the slightest bit curious." He mused as he inched closer and closer. She again refused to look at him so he took ahold of her face, making her. "Answer me." He demanded. Taking in a sharp breath she just said "No." Jack then straightened his back as he neared the fridge calmly opening it up and searching inside. After a while, he finally found what he was looking for and quickly pulled it out.

It was the red jar, Jack then placed it in front of her. Opening it up a foul stanched advanced through the room. Her face scrunched up and she felt as if she was going to throw up just by the smell itself. "Wanna give it a guess to what it is?" He asked as he got another plate putting it in front of the girl. He took the substance out of the jar, red dripping down his hand as he placed it on the plate. She froze as her eyes widened, she was sure of what it was. "It's...it's a kidney." She said squeezing her eyes shut, pushing the plate away.

Jack darkly chuckled, "Lucky guess." He said amused by her reaction. He was forbidden from physically hurting her but that didn't mean he couldn't have some fun. "Wanna try it?" He spoke as he grabbed the organ shoving it in her face taunting her with it. She shook her head trying to get up from her seat. "Oh well, too bad." Jack grabbed his mask and put it halfway up his face, his shark-like teeth were perfectly visible again, they were extremely sharp and had a silver tint to them. He took a big bite from the organ, a sickening ripping and mushing sound was heard from jack as he ate it. The girl watched in absolute horror and quickly got up and running to puke in the sink.

Jack could be heard laughing at her as he chewed. "Well get cleaned up, were going to train again in a bit." He spoke with delight as he put the kidney back in its place and in the fridge. She could hardly stand as she saw him walking out of the kitchen. Gaining her composure after a while she finally went to find him. The training was as gruelling as the last time and at the end of it, she was extremely tyred.

Going to her room she lied on the bed and eventually, she fell into another dreamless slumber.

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introvertguide · 3 years

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15 Badass Movies for a Fun Time at Home or with Friends

There is a buzz in the air as COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out and the hope of having a movie night with friends is again becoming a reality. Watching alone isn’t as fun because I want to talk to somebody about what I have just seen. A full theater does not agree with my introvert nature because somebody screaming or laughing or talking on their phone will ruin it for me. Watching with a fellow cinephile or two is perfect. But what to watch first? People have been stuck inside, so fantasy and alternative worlds have been overly popular. All I do is talk over zoom for a living. I think what I need most right now is a movie about realistic people with realistic skills that go into a situation and just wreck house. I need a badass movie. What is this “badass” movie you might say? Well, here are some basic criteria: 1) There must be a tough lead character who kicks butt while spouting one liners and doesn’t need superhuman powers (high levels of peak skill with speed, aim, or strength is OK if they are plausible in the real world), 2) most of the characters (good and bad) must be likable, admirable or at least memorable, 3) the lead must face and defeat overwhelming odds against them, and 4) extra points for memorable one liners. Also, I am only dealing with human protagonists (sorry Terminator), but slightly superhuman opposition is acceptable. This list is by no means exhaustive, it is just an example of some badass movies. So in no particular order:

1) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

To start off the list, I want to mention the most well known American badass. Indiana Jones is a smart guy with a gun and a whip. He is rugged and punches guys in the face. He has weaknesses but works through them to get the job done. Harrison Ford was in his early 40s for this role and had this tough-as-nails and seen the world kind of feel while still being young enough to fight hand to hand. Any of the first three films featuring Indiana Jones would work here, but this is the original and it started the fun. Easy to watch. Easy to cheer for. Great movie. You can’t really go wrong with any age or group with this one.

2) 13 Assassins (2010)

This movie is extremely badass but not for everyone. This is one of the goriest films I have ever seen as 13 warriors kill off a couple of hundred soldiers and the evil leader that they guard. The movie was directed by Japanese extreme horror icon Takashi Miike if that means anything to you (hey made Audition and Ichi the Killer). The movie has gallons of blood, but also an amazing story of redemption and honor. There are tons of scenes of a single warrior taking on dozens of soldiers and managing to overcome. Not for everyone, but still very much a badass movie.

3) The Raid (2011)

This is an Indonesian action thriller with the word action in bold. The film is directed by Gareth Evans and stars Iko Uwais as part of a small police force that tries to take down an old building that houses a drug lord and his violent gang. It has a lot of what I like in badass movies: one-on-one fights between the lead and almost superhuman villains, long well-choreographed scenes, a banging soundtrack, ridiculous weapons, and ridiculous gore. The fight scenes in tight places and the use of the environment for weaponry is amazing and the sound design makes sure you can feel every punch. The lead character should have no chance, but he makes up for it with skill and being a pure badass. This movie is one of the few that I would describe as having non-stop action.

4) Jon Wick (2014)

When did Keanu Reeves become so cool? I grew up with him being part of the Bill and Ted duo. He decides to learn martial arts and play a god-like being in the Matrix movies and then becomes a one man wrecking crew? I guess he is a badass because he does it so well. Keanu plays a retired hitman who is wronged and decides to go back to work for vengeance. He just won’t stop coming and seems to constantly survive out of pure hatred alone. There are 3 films in the series and any one of them will impress. Pure fun too watch.

5) Casino Royale (2006)

When I was asking around, there were many people who thought that James Bond was the ultimate badass. I disagree in that many of the older films show Bond as overconfident with the assistance of many people. In fact, Q is more of a badass in many ways than James Bond. However, when the series was taken back to its roots with the last book that had not been made into a serious film and made darker, it reached badass levels. From the parkour chase to a poisoning to an extreme torture scene, this was not like any James Bond movie before it. Roger Craig plays a much colder lead who gives no quarter, much more like what the greatest secret agent would have to be. Heavy on violence but light on gore, this film is more for all audiences than other films on this list.

6) Desperado (1995)

What makes this movie is not all about Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek. It is that every other character is memorable and badass as well. The street standoff with Bucho’s men versus El Mariachi, Quino, and Campo is iconic. El Mariachi murders everyone in a bar with precise skill. The rogue assassin Navajas with all the knives played by Danny Trejo. Nothing but extreme shoot outs and fight scenes with a ridiculous variety of guns and explosives. I think what makes this movie so amazing is that all these amazing assassins are incognito and, when they suddenly produce an arsenal out of nowhere, it is always a pleasant surprise. Quino and Campo are amazing when they bring their guitars.

7) Pulp Fiction (1994)

Truly the role that made Samuel L. Jackson into the ultimate badass. He and his partner Vincent are hitman that keep running into the worst situations. The thing about the film is that everybody is so cool. The characters are cool, the music is cool, the dialogue is cool, hell even the diner featured in the movie is cool. The movie only spans a couple of days (in completely separate segments shown out of order) but packs in 7 distinct situations that are all berserk. From the mind of Quentin Tarantino, this movie is dripping with the best characters traveling through the best story. Highly recommend.

8) Leon: The Professional (1994)

Also known simply as The Professional in the U.S., this film features the debut of Natalie Portman. It is directed by Luc Besson at his best period, right between La Femme Nakita and The Fifth Element. The lead is actually a quiet hitman who reluctantly takes a little 12-year-old girl on as an apprentice to become a paid assassin. Her parents were killed by a corrupt cop and she wants Leon to help her exact revenge. He is an absolute badass and somewhat of a caring surrogate father to the girl. Unlike a lot of the films on this list, the premise is not simply kicking butt in a bad situation. There is serious character growth. Apparently you can be a caring parent and a cold-blooded murderer...and that is badass.

9) Kill Bill (2003)

Being a badass is not exclusive to men and The Bride is a prime example of this. She survives a shot to the head, kills deadly assassins, slaughters a gang, and takes on a crazy school girl bodyguard. She is tougher then any lead I can think of and she has the bad attitude and sense of vengeance that makes for a badass. Combine this with the soundtrack and beautiful cinematography associated with director Quentin Tarantino and you have a beautifully violent movie in which the hits keep coming. Even on this list, the fight scene between the bride and Gogo Yubari is insane. Also note the nod to Bruce Lee with the bright yellow motorcycle suit. Beautifully badass film.

10) Aliens (1986)

In nature, there are few things more dangerous than a mother protecting their young. A mother will fight you to the death and make sure that, at the very least, you won’t be able to go after her kids. Now imagine an alien planet covered with hostile beings created in the mind of James Cameron and Stan Winston and you have a setting made to create a real badass. In the beginning, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is just desperate to survive and barely knows how to use a weapon. She meets a little survivor named Newt and then has a real reason to become aggressive. She and a group of marines fight through a station filled with super destructive xenomorph aliens made straight from nightmares to save this kid. The transformation is truly amazing and culminates in a mech suit versus a giant queen alien and it is extremely badass.

11) Army of Darkness (1992)

Far and away the funniest movie on this list, this is the third film stemming from Evil Dead and again stars Bruce Campbell taking on the deadites that were raised by reading from the Necronomicon. The opposition is the undead evil that faces the world which makes the violence very unrealistic. This was early work from Sam Raimi and features a variety of different shots done to the extreme. What really makes this film stand out is how Bruce Campbell is amazing at delivering a one liner. His classic quips have been used as fun Easter eggs in video games like Duke Nukem and World of Warcraft for decades. The quintessential horror comedy and a perfect example of a badass.

12) Die Hard (1988)

Apparently, I am a big fan of single characters that need to work their way through a building of villains using mostly intelligence and the element of surprise. Throw in some one liners and I am all for it. That is exactly what this is with Bruce Willis crawling barefoot around a 40 story building and fighting off a gang of villains. The movie also has Alan Rickman as the main bad guy and he is chewing the scenery. This is a great example of being a badass, but it is too bad that the follow up sequels were so poor. Definitely stick to the original and let the rest pass by.

13) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)

An OG of the badass movie genre, this is some of the best of Sergio Leone and the spaghetti western. Instead of one badass, this movie has three different leads that are all amazing. You have the good, Clint Eastwood, who is an amazing shot and a heart of gold under a rough exterior. You have the bad, Lee Van Cleef, playing an conniving assassin that will kill anyone that he doesn’t have a use for. Finally, you have the ugly, Eli Wallach, as a desert rat that will do anything to survive. They all gain information about a gold stash and need to work together to get it, but this creates a vortex of cheating, undercutting, and straight up murder. Clint Eastwood is more of the classic badass with his cigar, hat, and poncho, It is an iconic look on an iconic character in an iconic movie. That is what I call badass.

14) Ong-Bak (2003)

This less of a badass movie and more houses some of the most amazingly badass fight scenes that can only be described as badass. This movie introduced the great Tony Jaa to the western world and showed the high flying nature of Thai boxing and Muay Thai in general. The main character is entered into a street fighting tournament and the moves include a flying double knee drop and a full splits kick. If the whole movie was the tournament, it would be the best movie that ever existed. The variety of opponents makes the fighting even better and the cinematography is top notch. Tony Jaa is truly badass in this film.

15) Dredd (2012)

Not the crappy version with Stallone, this movie is seriously badass. It features Karl Urban who is helmeted for the entire film (as Dredd would be) taking on a 200 story mega slum filled with residents that want to shoot him dead. There is a drug dealer high up in the building and she locks down the entire compound with instructions to kill Dredd, who only has his rookie partner to help. He takes on random resident mobs, groups of gang members, and even a trio of mini guns that have bullets that can rip through walls. He has a smart gun with a bunch of ammo that he uses judiciously to kill everybody. This movie was seriously underrated since it had not been that long since the garbage Judge Dredd came out in 1995. The 2012 is a far superior movie, being much more violent and dark instead of having Rob Schneider as the comedy relief (not badass).

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I know there will be a lot of opinions about what makes a badass film and what movies i didn’t add. Feel free to add your own movies or critique my choices. I will stand by my choices, however, and recommend any of these films for a night of cheers and badass action.

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warrioreowynofrohan · 3 years

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The Leithian Reread - Canto X (The Attack by Celegorm and Curufin)

This canto splits into two stories: Lúthien and Beren having a rather circular argument about what to do next, and Celegorm and Curufin facing the fallout from their actions in Nargothrond.

Beren and Lúthien bury Finrod before departing from the isle of Tol Sirion. [Very slightly edited by me to update names.]

The isle in Sirion they left behind

but there on hill-top one might find

a green grave, and a stone set,

and there there lie the white bones yet

of Felagund, Finarfin’s son -

unless that land is changed and gone,

or foundered in unfathomed seas,

while Felagund laughs beneath the trees

in Valinor, and comes no more

to this grey world of tears and war.

Many of Sauron’s captives from Tol-in-Gaurhoth return to Nargothrond, as does Huan (Huan most likely with them and looking after them, as post-Bragollach Beleriand is a dangerous place and I can’t imagine they’re in very good shape).

The reaction in Nargothrond stands out because nothing has fundamentally changed about Celegorm and Curufin’s actions. It was obvious before (Canto VIII) that Celegorm and Curufin were deliberately abandoning Finrod to die, and it’s still obvious now. Finrod’s death is an entirely foreseeable action of the Nargothrondrim’s choices. The main point that’s new is the realization that defeating Sauron was possible - possible for one elf-maid and a dog, no less. They really are, as the narrative itself calls them, fickle. It’s even more striking in the Silmarillion, where no one will go with Celegorm and Curufin, not even their own people (for all perceived that the curse lay heavily upon the brothers, and that evil followed them) in contrast with the Leithian ([they] took their horses and such folk as still them followed). The Silmarillion version works better in terms of narrative consistency, as no one else is with the brothers when they attack Beren and Lúthien.

I’m very interested in what’s going on in the heads of Celegorm and Curufin’s followers - the ones who stay in Nargothrond - at this point. They’ve backed the brothers all through their coup, all through the brothers threatening the Nargothrondim with a second Kinslaying, all through the imprisonment and attempted rape of Lúthien, and done nothing to impede these profoundly un-Elvish actions. And now, suddenly, they all turn away and decide that they’d rather stay with a group of Nargothrondim who are probably more than a little angry and hostile to them. Is it repentance? A belated attack of conscience? Pure self-interest - Nargothrond’s one of the most secure places in Beleriand at the moment, and in that respect preferable to the northeastern front of the war?

Orodreth, in pretty much the only documented moment where he takes a stand and sticks to it, forbids the killing of Celegorm and Curufin, and exiles them instead. I think he’s a fundamentally good person, just one without any strong leadership qualities who’s been placed in a position for which he is fundamentally unsuited.

They’ve accomplished nothing with all their treachery except alienating the two largest elf-kingdoms in Beleriand. They are entirely unrepentant, and are instead furious (went away in anger dire) despite, or pethaps because of, being treated more mercifully than they deserve. This is the state of mind they will remain in through the rest of their lives, from the attack on Beren and Lúthien through to the Second Kinslaying: a determined and ever-worsening hatred towards, and need for vengeance against, anyone they have wronged. Mercy is the worst offense to pride, as in Saruman’s words to Frodo at the end of the Scouring of the Shire (You have robbed my revenge of sweetness, and now I must go hence in bitterness, in debt to you mercy. I hate it and you!) It is, in fact, hard not to draw parallels between the scenes: Saruman attempts and fails to kill Frodo in reaction to being offered mercy, even as Celegorm (in the Leithian) or Curufin (in the Silm) attempts to kill Lúthien for the same reason.

Perhaps, on some entirely unacknowledged level, they realize what they’ve become - but rather then recognizing it as a vonsequence of their own actions, they blame the people they have harmed for being the cause of their fall.

Beren and Lúthien, in the meantime, are arguing on the borders of Doriath: Beren wants to go alone on a hopeless quest to Angband, while Lúthien is all for either ignoring the Quest altogether and eloping (perfectly legit, albeit rude, by elven standards) or going with Beren if he insists on going to Angband, whether he likes it or not: And if she may not by thee go, against thy will they desperate feet she will pursue, until they meet, Beren and Lúthien, love once more, on earth or on the shadowy shore.

At this moment Celegorm and Curufin attack. It’s entirely unprovoked, and driven by nothing but hate and - given the attempt to kidnap Lúthien - lust. One of the clear patterns of the Leithian is that Lúthien, formidable against supernatural threats, is less successful against mundane ones; in tbis sequence it is Beren who rescues her, twice. I’m sure there is deliberate symbolism in this, but I’m having trouble putting my finger on it. It’s as though the purpose of her powers is to stand agai st the forces of darkness, not to fight other elves, even ones who are behaving evilly. And having lived all her life in Doriath, she has no experience with elves acting in that way; she is fundamentally a good and compassionate person (see her sparing of Curufin, and later how she deals with Carcharoth), and this sort of evil is alien to her.

It’s worth pointing out how impressive Beren’s accomplishment here is. Unarmed and on foot, he defeats a mounted Calaquendi who is armed with one of the most dangerous knives ever to exist. He jumps full onto Curufin’s horse, tackles him off it, and then strangles him before Curufin can get to any weapon. This is also another instance of evil deeds resulting in good by accident: without Angrist, Beren and Lúthien would never have bern able to retrieve the Silmaril,from the Iron Crown, so the attack by Celegorm and Curufin becomes essential to the Quest’s success.

As the brothers ride away, they shot twice at Lúthien, not at Beren, in what is thus quite clearly deliberate revenge for her showing mercy. Huan brings an herb that is likely athelas, and Lúthien heals Beren, building a fire and caring for him through the night. Beren, very frustratingly, immediately upon waking returns to his original theme of telling Lúthien to wait in Doriath while he goes to Angband, as if mortal peril was just an inconvenient distraction. She is still having none of it: Why turn we not from fear and woe, beneath the trees to walk and roam, roofless, with all the world as home, over mountains, beside the seas, in the sunlight, in the breeze? It’s interesting to entertain the idea of what would have happened if they had simply set aside the Quest. They ultimately go to live in Ossiriand after returning from death, and there’s nothing stopping them from doing so now. In the long run, Beleriand would have been worse off for it - there would be no Voyage of Eärendil and no War of Wrath - making their quest no less important to the First Age than Frodo’s was to the Third.

Beren remains obdurate, and after they reach the borders of Doriath and have been there some days, he leaves her sleeping and sets off for Angband.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #lay of leithian #leithian reread #beren and luthien #beren #lúthien #celegorm #curufin #orodreth

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magioftheseas · 4 years

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Repressed/Stunted

For @badthingshappenbingo

Prompt: Please Don’t Leave Me taken from here.

Rating: T+

Warnings: Possessive and violent thoughts but in terms of content, nothing really.

Notes: I finally wrote a full-ish Pokemon BW fic, focusing on FerrisWheelShipping because... Yes! This one’s on the messier side, sorry. I have a lot of feelings about my Trainer Touko/Hilda headcanons. I just think she should be much more aggressive. So, I explored that a little. Hope it’s okay. =m=

***Alternate Ao3 Link***

Commission? Donate?

It had taken a while to ‘break N in’, so to speak. When she first offered that he stay with her and her mom, he had of course been anxious. Wary. He grew only more skittish the closer they got to Nuvema, and the only reason he hadn’t bolted the second the door opened was because her mom had greeted him so warmly.

“So you’re the friend she’s talked so much about! Come in, come in!”

She had wondered, of course, if N had ever known a mother’s affection. Judged by his dumbfounded stare and the way he trailed after her mother like a lost Lillipup, she suspected that wasn’t the case.

He really is a child, isn’t he?

“She looks a lot like you,” he had remarked. “That’s normal, isn’t it? What about your father?”

“We don’t really talk about him,” she had replied with an easy laugh. “I barely even knew him.”

“Oh. Was he bad?”

Like yours?

She had shrugged.

“Like I said, I don’t know. Can’t really make those kinds of calls on someone I didn’t know.”

“I see.” N blinked at her, eyes wide. “That’s such a noncommittal response. So mature, Touko.”

Mature?

The relationship between her and N had always been a little weird. From the start, N saw her as a rival and a counterpart to himself. With his own grand self-image, she couldn’t deny the expectation in that sparkling gaze of his was beyond uncomfortable and frustrating. Even now, N looks at her like there’s more than what she is, and the weight of that is crushing on her shoulders. With his life and world crumbled, his pedestal of her remained.

She still wants to tackle him sometimes for that. It would be inappropriate to do so at the dinner table, so she just thrums her fingers along the surface, and she takes in how her mom prepares their plates with a smile and a laugh. Like nothing is amiss. Like nothing ever went wrong.

“How long are you staying with us, N?” her mother asks. “I certainly don’t mind having an extra pair of helping hands around.”

“Touko insisted I’d come and she’s quite scary,” was his answer. “When I told her my living conditions, she went into a rage.”

“Because he sleeps outside,” she huffed. “In the cold. Without even a tent.”

“My friends keep me warm, Touko. It’s not cold at all.” N shook his head. “Not to mention tents are windy and unyielding.”

“Yeah, he’s staying with me until further notice.” A pause, and it was probably then that Touko realized how rude she was being. “T-That’s alright, isn’t it, mom?”

“As I said, I don’t mind,” her mom chirped. “It’s nostalgic, isn’t it? Having a friend stay over. Both Cheren and Bianca are so busy these days. How are they doing?”

“They’re...doing fine,” she says because she’s not sure what else to say. “Don’t worry. I’m looking into getting our own place so this shouldn’t be a permanent setup.”

Her mother’s smile is broad. N eyes her curiously. Intently. She doubts he understands this situation, the undercurrents brought about by societal expectations and pressures. He was sheltered from all of that—she wondered if he even truly understood what independence was. N was a couple of years older, yes, but he was also much, much more immature.

Not that it’s his fault or anything.

“You don’t have to be in such a hurry, Touko,” her mom said. “Just grow up at your own pace.”

“Can’t help it,” she huffed. “I don’t like to fall behind.”

Cheren and Bianca seem to be on a path that’ll suit them for the rest of their lives. Or at least the foreseeable future. Meanwhile I—still have no idea what I want, exactly. Besides that guy.

“Is this a competition?” N asked, quite confused. “I apologize. I do not understand at all.”

I want him. To be with him. Maybe that’s shallow, but... It’s because he’s so innocent that I can’t help it.

“It’s irrational,” Touko explained. “It’s not really meant to be understood so much as felt.”

“I...see. I don’t suppose you can explain those feelings in greater depth?”

“Not with formulas, no. Sorry.”

Inferiority, desire, and drive. I’ve always been the kind of person to let my emotions guide me. Blind leading the blind. I even ended up on going in circles looking for this stupid, stupid guy.

N was frowning, almost pouting, and she wanted him fiercely.

“Even as a human, you’re particularly arduous, Touko.”

“It’s not good human behavior,” she admitted. “But it’s not bad for a rival, huh?”

I say like I hadn’t crushed Cheren under my heel. Like I haven’t made Bianca almost cry. Like it’s not a great thing that both of them moved on from me.

“At least you’re not inflexible,” N mused. “Some humans are. It’s really frustrating. I can still only communicate properly with a select few of them. Beyond you and Mei, of course.”

That’s a bad thing. You left in the first place to gain a greater understanding. I shouldn’t be a little happy to hear that.

“A lot are flexible,” she said. “Keep trying, N. Don’t give up. And if someone is being particularly stubborn—I’ll beat them up.”

“Not battle them?”

“Sometimes you can settle matters with your own two fists, N. Oh, but only leave that to me. Don’t get into any fights. Be diplomatic where you can.”

“I know that,” N replied, brow furrowed. “Ghetsis made it clear that such physical means were...unsightly.”

“It’s because I don’t want you getting hurt, obviously,” Touko said. “Not to mention it’s for the sake of everyone else. I don’t think I’d be able to hold back against someone who hurt you.”

Even that monster’s name is enough to drive me into a white-hot fury. N’s incredible, isn’t he? For saying it. So easily.

N does bristle this time. With a predictable amount of childishness.

“I can handle myself. I don’t need a guard.”

“Oh, no,” her mother cut in. “Touko’s just like that with her friends. It can be a nightmare to deal with especially when she tried to physically fight Bianca’s father.”

N blinked, and his mouth opens. It closes without a word, leaving behind only a soft hum. Touko, too, said nothing in response. She felt no need to protest nor defend herself.

“Some things never change,” her mother just sighed, preparing the plates. “But, well, enough about that. Let’s eat!”

“Thanks, mom.”

“Thank you for the food,” N muttered, head ducked.

After the food was set out and the table made, they ate in relative silence and comfort. Touko wondered if she should have been relieved that N knew to use utensils. She then felt foolish for the thought. N wasn’t completely untamed, obviously. That monster wanted at least the appearance of refinement, so N would know how to function somewhat in a social setting such as eating at the table. Thinking of it that way, Touko found herself wishing N wouldn’t have bothered with the pretense. Even now, the way he operates forks and knives was stiff and almost mechanical. Between that and his tightened features, it was clear just how nervous the other was.

“Is it any good?” her mother asked, ever kindly and worriedly. She no doubt took notice as well.

N’s nod was more of a spastic jerk.

“Thank you for the food.”

It was too much to take, so she looked away for now.

“Thank you for the food,” she echoed in a drone.

N was a couple of years older than her. Physically, he was in the early stages of adulthood. But with how much of the world he’s seen, he might as well still be a child. He’s a lot like Bianca, body growing faster than allowed. Sheltered and sweet, only N’s upbringing was of a much more sinister nature.

N was once a king. At the time, Touko wanted to crush him. To smash him between her palms and wipe the remnants off her shorts. She had pretty strong feelings against him. His smug attitude and upturned nose, the way he would continuously dart his eyes towards her team attached to her belt. He spoke so quickly that she wanted to wring his neck.

All that said, she wanted to shove her tongue down his throat. Be it because of hormones, because he was the first guy she really got to know besides Cheren, or even because N was just pretty to look at, there had been undeniable attraction. Attraction which hadn’t even been separated from violence.

And now, she—doesn’t want to hurt him. Because she knows how vulnerable he really is. How he had been manipulated by a monster and how his face had crumbled like paper when called a freak. When she wanted to embrace him, it was fueled purely by the desire to keep him safe from the rest of the world.

She still let him leave. She understood that he needed to understand things for himself. She had been his ultimate rival, but they hadn’t been friends. She couldn’t have expected him to confide in her. And, yet, she still chased after him and now that they’ve reunited... She frankly has no intention of letting him go again, even if it’s for his own good.

N was stated to have a pure and innocent heart. The only thing pure about Touko was pure stubbornness.

“Mom’s nice.”

“Yeah, she is.”

She doesn’t correct N. Her mother didn’t either, finding it endearing if a bit sad. Touko did think to tell her not to pity him, because N doesn’t like to be pitied—but she thinks her mother might ask her more about N, and she doesn’t want to talk about him. Or rather, what she knows about him.

She kind of wants to keep it to herself out of the messed up desire to keep N to herself.

“It’s warm,” N said. “Nothing like the castle at all. It’s all calm. Calming. I envy your upbringing, Touko.”

He’s a little tall for the futon that her mother laid out. Touko stares at him shifting awkwardly.

“You’ll get used to it,” she finally replied. “You’re gonna stay here for a while, yeah?”

He hums softly.

“If you’ll have me.”

She could’ve laughed, even as she did have the decency to feel the slightest twinge of guilt. It wasn’t enough to admit the truth. She only felt guiltier because N thought highly of her. Like this—she was taking advantage of him. She’s been with Bianca long enough to know how to be gentle with people, and yet...

“Sorry.” She slips off her bed, hovering over him before pressing down on her hands. With N’s head in-between, she held herself over him with resolve. “You’re not lonely with me here, right?”

When that monster told you the truth—when he spat in your face about inhumanity, I can’t even imagine how you felt. Devastated? Shattered? Perhaps—you felt the loneliest you’ve ever been. I get it. I do. I understand why you had to get away. But—that didn’t stop me from wanting to scream “please don’t leave me!!”

“It’s a little lonely,” N admitted, because he really was so unabashedly honest. His eyes were bright, but her reflection within them looked a little twisted. “The reason for that is because you’re closed off from me, Touko.”

Ah.

Aha.

Her heart nearly stuttered through her ribcage. Funny how words like that could cut through her.

“Are you mad?” N asks so sadly, reaching up and cupping her face. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving.”

This idiot really has such trouble understanding the human heart. But, he’s trying. Oh, Arceus, he’s trying so much. For years, he’s been trying.

Swelling with adoration, Touko turned to kiss his palm, nuzzling into that hand. N pets her for that, and maybe to him it’s just like reassuring a friend. Gentle touches to show that the world isn’t entirely cruel. If she had been a tad more immature, she would’ve recoiled at the idea of being treated like she was broken. But because she’s mostly selfish, she accepts his affection greedily.

I’m not letting you go again. Sorry, N. Sorry.

At least N holds her like he doesn’t want to let go, either.

#Magi fics #bad things happen bingo #FerrisWheelShipping #Pokemon BW #bad things bingo

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amazingdriverfics · 4 years

Text

Crowned by the devil - ch. 5

Summary: Kylo and Cardo are gone and the time to face the arena has finally arrived.

Warnings: violence

A/N: hope you like it ;)

Previous Chapter Following Chapter

Your walk to the training facility, on the contrary of what it had been on the other cycles, was quiet, Cardo’s stupid jokes weren’t bothering you and your company was a faceless stormtrooper. The knight must have been embarrassed because of what had happened between you and his master in the previous sessions, you thought to yourself, but you were proved wrong. When you entered the familiar room as the trooper leading you left, you could see no knight, in their places was a blonde, tall, beautiful woman with green eyes dressed in a chromed stormtrooper armor. “You must be y/n. Don’t be shy come in” the woman said in a rigid tone with an unbothered facade on her face, making you comply out of habit, afraid of what might be coming your way. “I’m Captain Phasma, you can call me Phasma. I’ll be the one in charge of your training until the you are sent to the arena now. The Supreme Leader and his knights were sent on an important mission” her cold voice echoed through the room once again. This would be a good thing, you said to yourself, you would miss Cardo and his sense of humor, but staying away from Ren was just what you needed to get him off your head, so you nodded, ready for this change. “We’ll continue with the blaster training” Phasma stated.

The Captain was the best blaster shooter you had ever seen. You were hardly ever impressed with anyones skills to use the gun, but she surprised you, she made you feel like you had never put your hands in one during your whole life, the reason why she trained troopers was definitely explained. You were also honored to be trained by her, you felt like she was doing what Juney never got a chance to, finishing your training. Her tips were incredibly useful and her criticism was everything Ren’s wasn’t, it was useful. By the end of the first half of your cycle, you were feeling pretty good, the sensations you had when you trained with Juney taking over you once again.

As you sat on the mat with your lunch in hands, Phasma closed the distance between the two of you. “You do know how to shoot a blaster, you are better than my troopers” she said before sitting by your side. “Thank you, been doing it for a while” you replied shrugging your shoulders. “I don’t think you need to train this anymore, let’s do some hand to hand now” her cold voice back.

The second half of your training was the most exhaustive one, what you had learned from Cardo and Kylo - what you weren’t ready to admit - made you stronger and more capable. Both you and Phasma didn’t meet the ground once, never losing, always in a violent struggle to get the other one on the mat. On the Captain’s side, she had her height and strength, on yours, there was your speed and the fact that fighting two impossible opponents toughened you. By the end, you were both sweating, your body was aching like it had never before and you were also feeling the most alive you had felt in a while. “This was amazing” you said grabbing a water bottle and sitting. “You really are impressive, I can see exactly why the Supreme Leader has chosen you” the blond woman replied, copying your moves.

“I really don’t, I have nothing in common with those other girls” you shrugged hoping to end the subject. “That’s because he didn’t choose them” Phasma said with a smirk on her face. Her statement confused you, why would Kylo Ren want you to be his Empress when he could have every single woman he wanted on the Galaxy? On the other hand, this also explained his obsession with you, his need and hunger for you and your body. The great amount of thoughts going through your head caused you to stay silent for a while before replying to the woman which kept on smirking. “If not Kylo, who chose them?”.

“Me, Pryde, Mitaka, Hux and his knights. He only had one requisition for participating of this ‘experiment’, as he calls it, you needed to be on it.” Phasma replied, answering your question, but leaving you with a bunch of other ones in its place. Before you could ask some more, she left the room.

-- --

The rest of your cycles went pretty much the same, training with Phasma everyday and leaving with a very sore body, trying to get some of you questions answered, but ultimately failing, since the blonde woman always dodged them telling you that Kylo should be the one to answer you. All you were able to find out was that she had chosen Aduke for this, they met in the Imperial Academy when younger and never lost touch, even though they were far from each other since Aduke was a field doctor working with another ship’s troops.

It wasn’t long before it was time to go to the arena. In the beginning of the cycle, your routine went pretty much the same, you were led to the training center to meet with Phasma. This time, however, the two of you didn’t engage in any sort of physical training, the time was used to learn more about what you would be facing in the following two cycles. The arena would be like a small planet, you would be sent with water and food, nothing else, the weather wouldn’t be a problem, the creators didn’t want for any of you to die from natural conditions, once it wouldn’t prove your capacities. Hidden in some places would be medic supplies and weapons such as knives and blasters, if you could find any of them you would already have an advantage.

With a shake of hand, Phasma wished you good luck sending you to the next stage of your preparation. You were escorted back to your room where you ate lunch trying to assimilate everything that was told to you, a plan had already formed in your mind, you would find shelter and only after that you would try to find the supplies, but it still wouldn’t be a priority since you weren’t going to be hunting any of the girls. Unlike what you had previously thought, you weren’t nervous, you had survived much worst and you had been killing and fighting for your life for a long time now.

Shortly after you finished your meal, a stormtrooper arrived delivering you clothes very much like the ones you used for training, a black tank top - with no name -, legging, training boots and a thermal coat, perfect to keep the heat from leaving your body, and commanding you to get ready. You took a hot shower, letting it last a little bit to long since you wouldn’t be able to have one in the next cycles. As soon as you got out, you put the clothes on leaving the coat around your hip, a not against you belly keeping it in place. After gathering your hair and fitting it in a tight ponytail you were out the door ready for whatever was going to happen next.

-- --

Kylo was apprehensive, he knew that y/n was capable to survive the experiment without a doubt, but the fact that he hadn’t been able to see, touch and keep up with her training personally in the last few cycles made him anxious.

When he found out him and his knights would have to go to Naboo in order to end a rebellion, Kylo let the only person he trusted enough to finish his Empress training: Phasma. She was owning him a favor anyway since she used the experiment as an opportunity to bring her lover closer to her. At first, the Captain wasn’t happy with the designed function, but with the pass of cycles her reports of y/n’s training got bigger, the woman was impressed with his girl’s results, she even said that they were perfect for each other - like he didn’t already know that -.

When he was alone in his room after battling all day, Ren’s mind would drift off to their last encounter, the feeling of her soft lips against his, the way his clothed cock rubbed against her covered pussy, the moans escaping y/n’s mouth, the scratches she left on his back and the hickeys he left on her skin. All of those memories went straight to his dick making it instantly hard. He was still considering killing Hux from stopping the moment.

Kylo missed her very much.

-- --

You were brought to the arena in a small ship, the place itself was also located on a ship. With the small backpack hanging on your back filled with the supplies promised by the Order, you entered into the unknown ready to take the next step necessary for you to be back on Tatooine. Looking around, you could see a fake sky with a sunset indicating that you had a small window of time to find safe shelter. Quickly, you decided that the other especial supplies would be dealt with in the morning. The ground wasn’t nothing like you were used to, it was completely covered by green grass, which meant you would have to be careful while walking, as your foot pressed the plants, they made noises and even though they weren’t loud, they were enough for a talented assassin - like you - to hear. From far, you could see what looked like some kind of village partially hidden from your view for trees, perhaps there was where the weapons and medical stuff were, you would be headed there in the morning to check. Of another thing you were sure, if you could see the village, probably the rest of the girls could too, in the following cycle you would have to come up with a good strategy to stay hidden.

After analyzing the space, you started a slow pace letting your instincts guide you and sharpening your senses. You decided to sleep by the trees, you would use their leaves to cover the grass near you, if anyone came close, the sound would be enough to wake you up. The walk was torturous, by the time you had arrived the intended place, the sun was almost totally gone. Quickly you started to work with your plan, carefully climbing a tree and grabbing a handful of leaves, spreading them on the ground closer to where you planned to sleep, but not far enough to attract any unwanted attention.

When you were finally done, the sun had already set for about 3000 minutes and you finally allowed your body to relax sitting on the ground as you took off you backpack and started to go through the supplies on its inside, planning how much you could eat and drink each day to avoid being without it. It wasn’t long before you were sleepy, putting the bag back on, you laid on the grassy floor using your coat as a pillow.

-- --

Kylo was watching his girl sleep beautifully through the screen. He had arrived too late to meet her before she was sent to the arena, but at least he would be able to track her every movement. In fact he could track any of the girls, but he didn’t give a damn about them, except to check how far from y/n they were.

The room filled with screens was also occupied by his knights - watching excited since they had a bet going on about who was going to survive and who wasn’t -, Phasma - whose eyes were at all times in the screen following Aduke -, and Hux who kept bitching about how Kylo should be paying attention to all of the girls not just his new toy. The way he spoke about his Empress set Ren over the edge and it wasn’t long before the General was on the floor, face as red as his hair, catching his breath after being force choked by Kylo.

The dark knight was confident that, despite the situation, y/n would get out of there breathing. She had to.

-- --

What woke you up, fortunately, wasn’t the sound of the leaves being destructed with stomps, it was the sunlight able to pass through the trees top. In no time, you went back to a sitting position, placing your coat on the same place it had been before you slept and you had also started to get some food and water for breakfast - a couple of fruits and a third of your first water bottle -.

Getting up, you quickly gathered the leaves on the floor storing them in your backpack knowing that they could be used for the same purpose again.

After all was done, you started to walk in the same pace you had used in the previous day as you headed to the village, now about half an hour far. Watching the sun, you imagined that it was about 0700 hours, which meant ten had passed, another thirty-eight to go.

The walk was uneventful and before you took notice, you were standing in front of a bunch of poorly made wood houses - which looked like they would fall if wind was ever to be in touch with their surface -. Aware of the danger you were being in a open space which attracted attention to itself, you were quick to enter in every each one of them hoping to find any of the things promised to be scattered around this arena. Your attempts, however, resulted only in frustration and it wasn’t long before you resumed your walk getting away from the place.

Walking without destination, you found a small pond in which you decided to stay until the sun was close to set when you would make you way back to the place you had slept. After you spreaded the leaves around you as a safety measure, you sat near the water letting the sounds it made clear your mind and relax you. Lunch passed and you kept unbothered, however when the afternoon started to end, the sound of a foot pressing against leaves made you jump to your feet ready to fight.

Shortly after, a small girl with long hair came to view, Heide you remembered, the one who hanged out with Antje. “Look, I’m not looking for a fight, okay?” you said keeping in mind what you had promised yourself - you wouldn’t kill girls just for the Devil’s entertainment -. As a reply, you got a dry laugh followed by the words “Too bad, cause’ we are”. Before you could process her statement, the woman you had come to hate appeared, her blond hair and green eyes awakening the same rage you had felt the last time you saw her inside of you. “You think you can attack me like a savage animal and leave without consequences?” Antje annoying voice asked. Refusing to answer her, you shrugged ready for what was coming, you had trained for this. The smaller girl charged into you in an attempt to bring you down, but before she could, you escaped her hands watching as her brown hair was completely soaked by the water she felt right into.

In no time, you closed the distance between you and Antje, your foot meeting her right leg causing the woman to lost balance, taking advantage of it, your hand found its way to her head forcing it to your knee. As soon as your hand let go, the blonde’s body fell to the ground and you turned to deal with Heide who had just got out of the water. She was faster than her company, but it wasn’t long before you pinned her down forcing the woman to eat grass. When you were finally ready to end her, a knife entered your skin right at the end of your ribs making a scream fill the air.

#crowned by the devil #kylo ren #kylo x reader #kylo ren x you #kylo ren x reader #kylo x you #cardo #captain phasma #phasma #first order #supreme leader kylo ren #armitage hux #knights of ren #original female character #reader insert #star wars #adam driver

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