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ohtobeleah · 1 year

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The Marksman // Bradley Bradshaw

Summary: When Bradley Bradshaw, the most senior chief sniper with the NCIS, is called out to a hostage situation, he comes face to face with his greatest fear in life. His fiancée is on the hostage list.

Warnings: Bradley Bradshaw NCIS au. Bradley Bradshaw x F!reader. Gun violence. Hostage situation. Injuries inflicted on reader due to gun violence. Heavy themes.

Word Count: 8.6k

Author Note: This has been this fanfic’s third rewrite for its third fandom and I will take it with me to every fandom I end up in. This is also not to be confused with my NCIS series. And you don’t have to have seen NCIS to read this. xxx ~ Leah

Bradley Bradshaw or “Rooster” As most of the world knew him better as— (He himself had always prepared the casual nickname over anything else) had a unique skill set.

He simply. Never. Missed.

His ability was unparalleled. He was undoubtedly the most skilled and above all the highest-ranking Marksman in the NCIS - The Naval. Criminal. Investigative. Service. Beside Rooster, there was Jake Seresin. His best friend, his partner. His annoying voice of reason and brother in arms.

Wherever Bradley Bradshaw went Jake Seresin wasn’t far behind. Gone were the days where they’d dick around in pre-flight checks, gone were the days where they’d spend hours pulling G’s and soaring high as jet fuel burned up in the atmosphere. A dynamic duo that served to be more humbling than most, had an incredibly intense and demanding job title.

Bradley though, well he always made time to enjoy the little things in life in and amongst the highly stressful and sometimes dangerous situations he found himself in.

It was something new, something he didn’t really see the point in for a long time. To stop and smell the roses from time to time. Life was seemingly precious and beautiful, although Bradley more than most people knew that in the blink of an eye things could change. That worlds could be turned inside and on their head and shaken to their very foundations.

He’d lost his father at a young age. So young he barely remembered the figment of his father that still remained in his memory—the only faces he could picture now were those he saw in photographs his mother used to have scattered around his childhood home. He kept those photographs and now proudly displayed them above the fireplace in his home, his mother and father had weaved themselves in and out of medallions and awards that over the years Rooster had accumulated.

His mother, Carole, had unexpectedly passed a few years before he joined the Naval Academy, leaving him hollow. Bradley droned on through life on autopilot, just doing what he had to do in order to get where he wanted to go.

But how could Rooster not enjoy the life he’d built for himself, how could he not bask in the glory of the success he’d had in two highly demanding job titles. How could Bradley not love every second of every day that passed him by, how could he not? When he had the most beautiful and intelligent woman by his side. You. Y/n Y/l/n, or soon to be Y/n Y/l/n-Bradshaw. A stunning white gold engagement ring wrapped around your delicately manicured finger most days of the week if not all the days that ended in, well, day. A symbol of love and commitment, a physical reminder of the love Rooster had for you. He wanted you in his life forever. He’d love you forever and a day and you him.

Rooster just adored his soon to be wife, he considered himself the luckiest man in the world to have your perfect self by his side. Every morning before Rooster went to work you would make him a coffee and a slice of avocado toast. It was just a part of your love language—acts of service. Making sure your soon to be husband was always well fed and maintained a balanced diet was just a small step in that process.

You were his backbone, without you? Rooster was pretty sure he’d implode. He’d be stuck with Jake and although he loved him dearly, Rooster had already decided that wasn’t an option he was willing to take.

Life was hard—challenging at times and sometimes Rooster was the taker of that challenging life. That fact could weigh heavily on even the toughest of men. It was something Bradley was plagued with, nightmares riddled his memory, and stole energy from him on taxing days. It made him question almost daily what type of man he was, who he was protecting, why he was the way he was. What was the reason behind the path his life had led? But with you by his side, life could be a little good, life could be just a little great, life could be somewhat perfect for even just a moment......until it wasn’t.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about this particular morning. Rooster groaned as his alarm went off at a crisp 4am, the smell of his fiancée freshly cleaned hair a soothing note in the air around him. Hints of juniper and raspberries danced across the pillows you’d fallen asleep on.

His back stung—marks from last night and nights prior still prominent and deep. Your cat claws had scratched at his muscles when he’d hit deep—hit hard. Bradley wrapped his arms around your waist, his tight hold and bulging muscles held you tight in his grip. The gentle touch of warm flesh was strikingly different to the cool of the morning air that threatened to take you hostage, that threatened to steal you away from the warmth of your soon to be husband and comfortable bed.

“Mornin.” Rooster grumbled into your soft and supple neck. Small and delicate goosebumps soon littered your skin as you smiled softly and moaned in response, snuggling into the covers a little more as Bradley’s hands groped at your breast from under the shirt you’d stolen from him. “Mornin honey.”

“No, not mornin, stay in bed—“ You incoherently mumbled back, eyes still closed. Face pressed heavily into your pillows. “Stay in bed just for five more minutes.” It was a plea that fell on deaf ears as Bradley leaned in to kiss your cheek and shoulder lovingly.

“Can’t.” He chuckled softly. “Gotta have a shower.” Untangling himself from his semi-naked fiancée, Bradley took a second to admire your beauty. Bradley really was in love, oh so in love. He thought he’d never find this kind of love until he met you.

While Rooster showered—revelling in the steam that opened his pores as he sat on the built-in step, you trudged your tired self into the kitchen with fuzzy slippers adorning your feet and began your morning ritual. Two coffees, two pieces of avocado toast and a face mask. Time? 4:15am

Sitting at the dining table with your laptop open, you slowly sipped at your coffee as you began paying the monthly bills. You were always smart with numbers, with maths in general. Specifically financial statements and savings.

As a banker, you were always in your own head dealing with other people’s financial positions. So much so you sometimes disregarded your own health and well-being, you’d only just noticed that the smell of the freshly smashed avocado made you want to vomit as you raised it closer to your mouth. Gagging as you placed it back onto the plate.

It smelt like rotting flesh.

Without thinking too much into it you pressed finalise payments for yours and Rooster ’s monthly bills. Forgetting you hadn’t added the phone bill yet. A pretty substantial payment in all honesty.

“Oh god—“ You held a hand across your mouth as you gagged and rushed over to the sink to spill your guts. Coughing and spewing the content of your stomach which technically wasn’t much being so early in the morning—but that didn’t change the fact you genuinely loved avocados.

As you washed your hands and mouth out— you sighed leaning on the bench. Wiping the evidence of your sudden throw up from the corner of your chin as your soon to be husband rounded the corner, fixing his casual button-down. Hair still wet like an ungroomed labrodour. Mustache perfectly combed as you lost sight of the tufted of chest hair Bradley covered up as he finished doing his shirt up.

“You good mama?” That nickname sent shivers down your spine. A true shock to the system—you and Rooster hadn’t been actively trying. You both wanted to wait until after the wedding. But then again, you hadnt been actively trying to prevent things either.

You stood there biting your lip in a trance-like state for a few seconds. Having an existential crisis as to whether or not you should tell Rooster you just chucked at the smell of avocados, ultimately you opted to keep quiet. You didn’t want to get his hopes up, you knew he wanted to be a father more than anything else in life.

“I’m fine— just a little off this morning? I might actually go back to bed when you leave.” You weren’t lying per se, you really were feeling sick.

“Maybe you should call in sick? Can someone take your shift?” Rooster asked, sipping the coffee you’d ever so nicely made him. Toast in his other hand dropping crumbs all over his shirt as you reached to dust them off for him. “Want my girl always feeling fine.” You couldn’t help but let out a soft scoff at the term of endearment that fell effortlessly from Bradley Bradshaw's lips ever so gently. You had always been and would always be his girl.

“Despite want you want, Bradshaw, sometimes life isn’t always the fairest and we get stuck with unforeseen sickness.” You were smart—always had a comeback that left Rooster speechless with your ability to communicate. “Guess my number was up.”

“You know–” Rooster reached down to place a gentle kiss against your forehead. “I wish I could stay and play nurse with you honey.” Rooster teased as he took a bite of his avocado toast. “But I’m already running late.” Your soon to be husband moved away as he smiled, glancing at the laptop as he did so. “You paid the bills already?” He asked, a frown apparent on his face at the total figure at the bottom of the screen.

“Yeah it’s lower than I thought it wou—“

“Where’s the phone bill, did we already pay it separate this month or--” Rooster quickly glanced over the total amount breakdown. The penny dropped in your head as you felt another bout of sickness threatening to blow.

“Oh shit, I must’ve missed it, here I’ve got time I’ll fix it up now—“ With a mouthful of food Rooster sighed in slight frustration.

“Yeah, that would be great bub.” Bradley finished his coffee in a hurry. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, it’s more of an Inconvenience really—I’m definitely looking forward to that late fee.” Rooster scoffed back a little groan as he picked his jacket up from the coat rack by the front door. “I gotta go, I’m already late—bye beautiful!” Before shutting the door. The sound of his keys rattled through your head as you stood in the kitchen frazzled with what had just happened.

Rooster never left without saying ‘I love you’ Rooster never left without a goodbye kiss. And he just had. Why now? Did he see through your white lie? Did he already know somehow before you did? You hadn’t even taken a test! Was Rooster running away from you? Did he not want a child with you? What happened to wanting to be a father? Did he change his mind all of a sudden? All the possibilities that could have triggered Rooster’s sudden departure rushed through your sensitive head. But all it was was he was running late.

Rooster hit his hands on the steering wheel of his car when he realised what he’d done. He’d blatantly forgotten to tell his soon to be wife he loved you wholeheartedly. Forgot in a flurry to get out the door and off to work to kiss your soft and supple lips goodbye. Rooster swore he’d buy you flowers on his way home. That would make you smile. Surely that would make it up to you. A gentle reminder of how much he loved you.

Because he did love you endlessly—without you? Bradley Bradshaw would be well, nothing.

***~***~***~***~***~

“Dude? You’re fucking late?” Jake mumbled from his desk as he saw the elevator open to reveal his MIA partner. Bradley had given Jake Seresin his callsign way back in their days at the naval academy, before they could tolerate one another. As it turned out the callsign transferred quite seamlessly as they transitioned into a new chapter of their lives. Together and apart.

Jake was always late—especially while his wife was away. No one was around to keep him in check. Hangman always left Rooster hanging. Unintentionally and without malice. He just never got the timing right on traffic.

“You’re never late!”

“Good thing I’m here now huh.” Rooster sassed as he walked past Jake at his desk and dropped to his. Despite being a senior in his own department, Rooster still liked working in the field with Jake. It was their thing. A dynamic duo of utter mayhem and chaos. “What’s in the stack today?” Rooster sighed and kicked his feet up onto his deck. Jake couldn’t help but let out an exaggerated groan as he picked up the three case files and did the same. Mimicking Rooster from across the little hall that separated their decks.

“We got a domestic on the naval base—according to the report her husband came back from deployment and was acting strange, she questioned him, he spazzed out and now she’s filing charges.”

“Fair call.” Rooster responded, nodding in solidarity with Mrs Rogers.

“Then we have a body that turned up in an old naval cemetery. We think it’s something unrelated and that’s just where he ended up so we might turn that over to the FBI.” Jake chucked the files down onto his desk. “And finally I think I found missing Seamen Lang.”

“No fucking way!” Rooster couldn’t help but laugh. Semen lang has been missing for four months. He was meant to be on deployment but on a goodwill shore visit in Indonesia he vanished.

“Yeah, shaking up with his mistress in Mexico of all places.” Jake scoffed. “So he’s being brought back as we speak.”

“Jesus Jake when Spiders away you really do throw yourself into work huh?” Rooster asked almost rhetorically—he already knew the answer.

Annabella Webb, or Annabella Seresin. Jake's beautiful chef of a wife. The most amazing cook according to Jake who lived off ready meals and takeaway while she was on deployment–which was this very second. With her maiden name being Webb— the navy calls all Webb’s by the nickname spider. Get it? Spider Web.

“Anna” Jake emphasised, “Will get nothing but my undivided attention when she gets home.” Jake sighed, rubbing his temples and leaning on his desk. “Bro I miss her so much uugghhh— I can’t believe she’s gone for another four months!”

“You should come around more? I’m sure Y/n wouldn’t mind?” Rooster asked as he watched Jake wipe a soft tear from his eye. Shaking off his emotions.

“I don’t wanna intrude—“

“Jake? Shut the fuck up and get your ass over for a few drinks tonight? I’ll text Y/n when she goes on her break at twelve.”

“You sure?” Jake replied, he was getting pretty lonely on the naval base. Having a home on the confines of the Navy’s barracks.

“I’m positive— look I’m gonna go say morning to Angelo down in the armoury but I’ll be back soon.” Rooster stood up from his desk and tapped Jake on the shoulder on his way past. A teasing smirk plastered on his face.

“I bet your right arms fucking jacked up though?” Rooster laughed as he walked away. Jake swatted at the semi-stable six foot man just a little too late as he walked down the hall.”

“Fuck off Bradshaw.”

***~***~***~***~***~

The first few hours of your shift were as normal and routine as they could possibly have been. Dealing with clients, setting up loans and repayments, laughing with co-workers, you really did love your job. Dealing with numbers and helping people with their financial problems and situations was a passion, it never really felt like just a nine to five to get by.

But there was this one guy. This guy you had noticed probably half an hour prior, sitting in the same spot he’d been sitting in the first time you had seen him. With his bag beside him—he looked all kinds of nervous.

You were just about to go on your break, about to fix yours and Rooster ’s phone bill up. You should’ve walked straight out the door. But you didn’t.

“Are you being served, sir?” You asked politely with a smile. The same smile you’d give Rooster when he kissed your cheek. Almost a second nature tick. “If not, would I be happy to assist you? Sorry about the inconvenience if you’ve been waiting an awful while.”

“No, no one ever listens to me.” He scoffed. It wasn’t a response you were really prepared for.

“Oh, I’m sorry sir? We’re you looking for a consultation or a financial advisor or—“

“I SAID—“ The man got up, startling you as he towered over you—so close you had to back up. The bank stopped as if time stood still. “NO ONE FUCKING LISTENS!!” The man pulled out a gun he’d had concealed from his back pocket as he tangled his fingers into your hair. Pulling you close to him.

“Owww—s-stop oh my god—“ You were panicking, your eyes instantly welled with fear as he threw you down to the ground. You could hear people screaming and running as the disgruntled man fired three direct shots into the roof.

“But they’ll FUCKING LISTEN NOW!!”

***~***~***~***~***~

Jake was still at his desk when he was called to the debriefing room, his initial thought was ‘great, another case’ Not understanding that in a few short minutes his life and the life his best friend had known was about to change. Forever.

“Director Gordon.” Jake greeted the masculine man who looked as if he was about to give a debriefing that was as serious as it gets. Jake walked down the stairs cautiously and stood next to Rooster who was already waiting with Angelo.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Jake asked—crossing his arms across his chest in confusion.

“No idea seems serious though, while I was shooting targets I saw the guys pulling up in the vans. Next thing I knew—“

“Okay ladies,” Director Gordon clapped his hands together as he fixed his microphone, making sure his deep baritone voice could be heard from the front all the way to the back of the amphitheatre-style room. “We have a major situation, unfortunately, unfolding as we speak, so to get out as quickly as possible I need your undivided attention.” Director Gordon sighed. Hands on either side on the podium he stood behind.

“Ex-Navy lieutenant Jonathan Walker has, at 12:05 today, started a hostage like situation in the Bank on the corner of Wilson Road and Downmary Avenue.” Rooster wasn’t a pro at geography, but it didn’t take an expert geographer to know where his fiancée worked—he felt as if his heart stopped beating in his chest and threatened to explode all at once. He forgot how to breathe. Suddenly Rooster heard this high-pitched ringing in his ears as he felt his heart race. Rooster was panicking.

“We can neither confirm or deny at this point in time if his actions are related to his recent dismissal on the basis of physical abuse onboard his last deployment, nor can we say at this moment in time if his actions are directly related to his recent attempt, and rejection, in relation to a job he tried to procure at this very bank. What we can confirm is that the NCIS is actively partaking and in charge of operations to defuse the situation in cooperation with the FBI.” Director Gordon stated. “This is the official media report I’d like you all to memorise in case of media interference.”

Rooster went pale, he stumbled a bit and crashed into Jake's shoulder. His vision had gone blurry with tears that threatened to spill over from his water line.

“Bradshaw, you good? Why do you look as if you’re about to pass out—?” Jake asked quietly and with concern.

“Y/n—she, she works there.” It clicked instantly for Jake—but he didn’t want to worry his partner. Didn’t want him to spiral. Especially not in a debriefing.

“I’m sure she’s fine? 12:05? She’s on break, right? She’s probably out of the building?” Jakes words soothed Rooster for a second. His heartbeat regulated as calm washed over his body. You had to be fine. Fate wouldn’t do that to him. To his darling fiancée. To them. Not after losing his parents. Whatever god was watching over him wouldn’t do this to him again would he?

“We’ll have snipers set up in the surrounding building including senior chief Bradshaw, we request your expert skills on the ground this time around instead of giving orders to your team from headquarters.” Director Gordon explained. “We want men surrounding the entire building— Special agent Bradshaw will lead ground unit A in addition to special agent Homes with ground unit B.” Rooster felt as if he wasn’t in his own body. He was looking in on himself from the outside.

When everybody was dismissed and sent on their way to gear up, Rooster was distant. In his own head, hoping, praying his girl wasn’t, hadn’t been in the building at the time Walker decided to have his breakdown.

“Yo Rooster!” Jake cried out, trying to get his wingman’s attention. “Rooster !” He called again.

“Hmm?” Rooster responded when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Director wants you— said it was of importance.” Jake softened his voice, knowing that the reality of the situation was his what felt like a sister in law quite possibly could be on the list of hostages. Rooster nodded softly as he stepped aside—director Gordon approached the van Rooster and Jake found themselves nearest to.

“Bradley” Gordon sighed. “Your fiancées' name please?” It came out more of an order than anything else.

“Y/n sir, Y/n Y/l/n,” Rooster responded softly, but like a soldier, shakingly.

“I thought so—unfortunately son your fiancée's name has shown up on the list of people being held inside the bank no—“

“Jesus,” Jake swore under his breath even though he had a gut feeling deep down.

“No—no, no no no no she can’t be sir, no I—“ Rooster ’s eyes watered when director Gordon placed his hand on his shoulder trying his best to comfort the man who needed to keep his shit together.

“Bradley, I need you to focus on your job, yeah? You gotta get your girl and me taking you off this case isn’t what will help her now is it?” Gordon raised his brows as Rooster looked to the roof and let out a sigh - stopping himself from crying out in utter heartache. “I will relay any and all information that comes through to you alright? I promise.” Rooster nodded. “We’ll get her back, Bradshaw.” Gordon poked Rooster ’s chest. “You’ll get your girl.”

***~***~***~***~***~

You sat curled up in the corner—shivering from fear. Terrified beyond belief as this man you knew for not even a millisecond of time now held the power to save lives and take them away. A modern-day grim reaper.

“You’ll all be lucky if you leave here alive,” He spat as he trudged through the lobby - scared souls spread out in littered groups. Huddling together in fears of being alone in their final moments. You, however? You were alone. Separated from her co-workers.

“You all know NOTHING of betrayal!!“ Walker hissed as he cocked his rifle. “Pain, Hurt, Sorrow. God, I’ll blow this place to FUCKING smithereens before I ever feel rejection again! DO YOU HEAR ME!” Walker shouted caused you to jump, whimpering in the corner as you cried your eyes out.

“Ohhh— do I scare you, sweetheart, do I? Huh?” Walker laughed as he sauntered over to where you had hidden. Dragging you out into the centre of the lobby by your hair. A frightening moment. Flailing – you screamed and cried in so much fear, consuming your entire being.

“Stop! No—no no no p-please let go!”

“I’m gonna hurt you,” Walker chuckled. “Hurt you so bad, make an example out of you that the fucking higher-ups can’t boss us the fuck around and not feel the consequences.”

“Whatever you’re going through you don’t have to do this— you don’t, don’t have to—“. It didn’t hurt at first, the sound ringing in your ear was honestly the thing that got you the most in the first few seconds. Then came the pain. The excruciating, stinging, wet pain that radiated through your shoulder. You could only assume you’d been shot— in shock you were silent. Your hand came up to cover over the wound that leaked dark oozing blood. Your hand was covered in seconds.

“Don’t tell me what to fucking do or I’ll shoot you right between your fucking eyes— WHOS NEXT!? huh? You!” Walker pointed to one of your co-workers. The barrel of his gun in her face.

“Get me a fucking phone.”

***~***~***~***~***~

Rooster trembled as he walked up the stairs in the Westpack building, adjacent to where his beautiful soon to be wife and 15 of your co-workers were being held hostage. At this moment in time, there had been no reports of hostages injured. The first of many unreported events to happen that day. Rooster was at this moment in time - oblivious to the injury you had been subjected to. If he knew? He’d lose it.

Rooster set himself up, his sniper rifle-armed and loaded, directly facing the bank. Laying on his stomach— Rooster adjusted his earpiece, looking through his magnifier with one eye closed. Manoeuvring his rifle slowly to identify possible hostages, trying to find his beloved fiancée, while also looking for his target.

“Foxtrot in position.” Rooster stated. “Loaded and waiting for further instruction— over.”

“Yeah Roos, it's Jake man, cut the lingo for a second, will you?” Jake groaned from the ground. “Reports have just come in that he’s wearing a dead man’s switch.” Rooster’s heart froze—Walker wearing a bomb meant if Rooster took the shot he’d for sure kill every single person in the building.

“It’s gotta be a bluff” Rooster responded strong. “He wouldn’t be?” He was in total and utter denial.

“Rooster, we can’t take that fucking risk bro stand down!” Jake ordered. Although Rooster was chief in his specific unit—Jake had all eyes and ears on the ground. Rooster himself? Was isolated in the building across the street.

“Director Gordon, do you read?” Rooster sighed as he switched channels from his walkie.

“Lieutenant Bradshaw, you have eyes on Walker?” Gordon asked as he watched news reports play on the enormous screen before him. It was a tactic the director didn’t use all too often but referring to Rooster as Lieutenant Bradshaw kept him grounded. Taking him back to when life and death decisions were paper thin. When G forces and jet fuel were his life.

“No sir not yet, however—“

“You are to only observe if the target walks into frame, that man is wearing an explosive device according to his threats and intent.” Rooster wasn’t going to argue then and there on the spot —he’d wait till later. His heart was racing as he searched each available window for any sign of life.

“I need an update Director,” Rooster growled.

“Walker has made demands we can’t possibly fulfil, we have a standoff situation taking place but until we can confirm or deny the presence of an explosive device I ask you to remain in an observatory state marksman Bradshaw .”

Time stood still for Rooster as a soft tear rolled down his cheek, he let out a sigh of pain and despair as Rooster nodded in response. Knowing his silence was a good enough response.

“Yes sir.” He whimpered as his lip quivered. His beautiful fiancée so desperately needed him and all he could do was watch—not knowing your current state. Rooster wouldn’t even come close to knowing for another five painstaking hours.

***~***~***~***~***~

“Rebecca.” You whispered as you leaned your head on her co-workers shoulder. “Becca you gotta get out of here— see the side door behind us?” You asked as Rebecca slowly and shakingly turned—nodding as she saw it was slightly ajar. “I’m gonna distract him and-“ You couldn’t help but cough a little as pain radiated through your bloodied and mangled shoulder as you did so. “And you’re gonna run, tell the police he doesn’t have a bomb, tell them everything he’s done, okay? You have to.” You knew that the police outside would be trying to confirm if there was a threat of a bomb.

“Y/n, you’re injured—“

“I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t try.” You slowly pulled a positive pregnancy test from your pocket. You’d taken it in the bathroom before you started work. Zipping it in your skirt pocket to show Rooster later that day. “You have to help me by getting out of here, get as many girls to follow you? Understand?” Rebecca nodded as she softly whimpered. Walker was over on the other side of the lobby making one of the cashiers empty any and all of the tills at the foreign exchange units.

“Go, hurry!” You whisper-shouted as you slowly stood. Rebecca shuffled on her ass across the floor away from you as you whimpered in pain. Walker wasted no time in pointing his gun directly at you as you dropped the test you held in your hand to the ground as you raised her hands above your head. An agonising scream left your throat as your shoulder popped. The sound of your pain was loud enough to cover the sound of Rebecca fleeing through the side door—along with two others.

“I—I need something to stop m-myself f-from bleeding out?” You whimpered as you walked slowly but ultimately closer to the man. You were beyond terrified. Nothing about this made sense, why you? Why these people at this mundane time. Why was any of this happening?

“Get the FUCK back against the wall before— hey wait a minute where?” Oh no you thought. He’d noticed. “Where the FUCK did the rest of those girls go!! YOU SNEAKY LITTLE BITCH” Walker yelled as he pointed his gun and fired a bullet into your thigh only to turn around and fire two direct rounds into the skull of your co-worker John who was emptying the tills.

“AAAHH—!” You screamed as you dropped to the floor—another one of your co-workers Andrea rushed to your side.

“Oh god oh god oh god oh god,” She repeated in panic as she held you in her lap. She knew it was bad— seeing the positive pregnancy test on the ground before Walker picked it up and chucked it at the nearest wall. Andrea was a good person, she put her own life on the line so you wouldn’t be alone in your final moments if the god she so desperately prayed to took another young life too soon. “I’m here Y/n I’m here.”

It would inevitably be Homes who started a chain reaction of misplaced information that fateful day. As Rebecca rounded the corner into the street she ran with her hands above her head and tears streaming down her cheeks. It was a bittersweet moment. On one hand, she was safe, on the other her co-workers, including a just revealed to be pregnant you, were still trapped in a life threatening situation.

“Ma’am,” Homes gasped. “Ma’am you’re safe now I’m—“

“He doesn’t hav-have a bomb, do wh-whatever you need to d-do with that information to get my friends the fuck out of there!” Rebecca cried before she fell into the arms of David Homes.

But Homes never passed the message on, a hostage who had just fled the clutches of a captor had given grade A evidence to an agent she trusted—for some reason or another, Homes didn’t find that message to be of importance. Which meant when Rooster locked eyes on his target from across the street when he had him in his sight. A perfect shot. Rooster was denied his shot.

“DIRECTOR!”

“There has been no threat of life Chief Sargent Bradshaw , STAND DOWN!” Director Gordon hissed. “We don’t have confirmation as to whether or not he is wearing—“

“No threat of life? Sir! He has my fiancée held fucking hostage and you’re going to sit behind a screen and tell ME there’s no threat of life!!?”

“Stand down Bradshaw ! That is an ORDER!!” Rooster hovered—his finger grazed the trigger. You could see the little red dot lighting up Walker’s head. It was him. You knew it. It was your Rooster. You noticed the small naval badges on Walker's backpack a few hours prior. You knew Rooster would be near. A painfully peaceful moment. Comforting.

As time lingered you wounded why Rooster didn’t take his shot. It was perfect. Dead centre in fact—you smiled because he was your marksman. But all of a sudden, the little red dot disappeared. A soft “no” escaped your lips in utter disbelief.

Did Rooster truly not want your baby that much he was willing to allow some crazed guy to take your life. Maybe you were delusional? The same hormones which made you spew your guts up this morning making you think such horrible thoughts. Maybe you were right though? Maybe Rooster wasn’t coming for you? Maybe he didn’t care anymore. He didn’t say he loved you this morning. Didn’t kiss you goodbye. Maybe that was your sign? That nobody was coming to rescue you.

Maybe you’d die alone? Maybe you’d die at the hands of evil. Maybe your number truly had been up.

***~***~***~***~***~

Five hours. Five hours Rooster was told to wait for new information. He was losing his mind not knowing. The thought of never seeing the woman he wanted to marry ever again haunted him. His girl. He’d known you since he was your next-door neighbour. At first? Things didn’t work out—you know, the typical new neighbour who doesn’t exactly get off on the right foot situation. Who seemed to not give a shit? But when Rooster actually started trying, you knew he was your end game. Rooster was adamant since the first time he’d laid eyes on you that he wanted you forever. He’d never felt love like this before. He had one shot at love, and you were it.

Being in the unknown petrified Rooster, for all his training was worth he wanted to throw it all out the window if it meant he could have you back safe in his arms— to see you smile, to hear you laugh, to tell you he loved you endlessly and wholeheartedly because he didn’t this morning. He didn’t tell you he loved you and now he may not ever see you again. How cruel was the world? Rooster was no stranger to death—sometimes he himself played the same grim reaper who threatened you as he laid looking through a magnifier for a target he can’t shoot. Contemplating leaving his post, leaving it all behind to save his girl his way.

“Director Gordon? Sir, I wasn’t aware you’d be joining us on the ground?” Rooster heard Jake talk through his ear piece.

“Well Seresin, after five hours of practically twiddling my thumbs and playing yes sir no sir with a very frustrated Marksman I’ve come to the conclusion something just doesn’t seem right.” The Director huffed. “Where’s Homes and his team?”

“Observing the side section of the building—they’re still working on evacuating the west side of the building in case of an explosion.” Jake replied. The director sighed.

“Follow me, son, I fear I’ve made a great flaw in my judgement entrusting special agent Homes with such a responsibility—man can’t even tie a damn tie.” Jake chuckled slightly at Director Gordon as they walked. The old man still had humour riddled through his sixty five year old bones after all. He was old for his job but in tip-top shape. Not a day over 40 he looked.

Rooster laid listening, his skin crawled with anticipation. Jake might have known he was online or not— but Rooster was glad to be a part of something. He felt so isolated up in his nest.

“Homes! What I’m earth is going on?” Director Gordon screeched when he rounded the corner to see those who looked like former hostages sitting with blankets around them.

“Jesus!” Jake gasped. “Why the fuck would you not radio in!”

“We’ve been evacuating the surrounding buildings in case of an explosion! I couldn’t do two things at once?” It was truly a poor excuse. “You try pulling your thumb out of a day Seresin instead of playing desk jockey.”

“If—if you had listened, I said he—he didn’t have a bomb and If you had wanted to help us you would have listened when I said there are people hurt and dead inside!!” Rebecca hissed—her eyes not trained on anything but the ground. She’d suffer from ongoing PTSD like symptoms for her entire life going onwards. “My friend, Y/n” Rooster’s heart stung at the sound of your name. “She was already bleeding to death when she told me to get out and her efforts to get help have gone unnoticed by your poor knowledge of how to operate a functional team.”

Rooster screamed in pain into his microphone, altering Jake to the fact he was online and on Rooster’s channel.

“Bradshaw knows.” Jake looked at his director as he held his earwig—Jake didn’t ask, he already knew the orders which needed to be given. “Rooster, listen, can you see walker?”

Rooster didn’t answer, his heart hurt, he himself felt as if he was dying. The pain of losing his girl was too much to handle. Jake could hear him crying out for you. It broke his heart to hear.

“Rooster, do you copy? Do you see Walker?” Jake yelled still holding his earpiece into his ear.

“NO!” Rooster yelled back through a croaky voice. “I had him, Hangman, I could have fucking shot him five hours ago! She’s dead, isn’t she? SHE’S GONE!?”

“Rooster you gotta get yourself together and find him and the second you do? Put as many fucking rounds as possible in this son of a bitch, Do you copy senior chief Bradshaw.” Only Jake, his best friend, his partner, his wingman and brother, could pull Rooster from the edge of despair and remind Rooster who he was. He was the love of your life. “She needs you, no do you fucking copy!?”

“I c-copy” Rooster cried as he repositioned himself. Moving his gun slowly in hopes of seeing Walker again. “I copy Hangman—“

***~***~***~***~***~

“Why do people do the things they do agent Seresin?” Rebecca asked Jake as he helped her over to the nearest awaiting ambulance.

“I think people do the things they do out of fear—Walkers scared of the unknown, but it doesn’t make it right.” Jake replied.

“You know Y/n?” Rebecca asked as Jake gestured for her to sit on the stretcher—a medic immediately attending to her split eyebrow.

“She’s my soon to be sister in law actually.” Jake softly smiled, he’d known you for as long as Rooster himself did. Having helped Rooster move into his new apartment and having a conversation with you in the lobby when he dropped a box of his clothes.

“She was your soon-to-be sister-in-law agent Wilson” Rebecca sighed as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Was.”

As Jake walked back towards the bank he could hear his name being called what sounded like a thousand times over, getting closer and closer with every single second.

“Jake! Hey Jake! Hangman—Seresin!!” Rooster shouted as he ran as fast as he could—sweat dripped from his forehead.

“What the fuck Rooster!? What are you—?”

“I couldn’t stay up there for another fucking second knowing she needs me, give me a fucking gun before I lose my god damn mind!” Rooster pleaded. Jake only just then realised just how red and blotchy Rooster’s face truly was. He was a mess. Had been since the moment he heard the name of the location nearly seven hours ago.

Jake saw Director Gordon as Rooster heard him load his own handgun gun. Handing it to Rooster as he turned around.

“Son if you truly wanna play the game you gotta learn how to be clever.” Gordon sighed as Rooster took the gun. “But if you really wanna get your girl you gotta break the rules—your best bet is this side door, it’s still ajar slightly.”

“Rush him?” Jake asked.

“I gotta get her outta there Jake she needs me.” Rooster cocked the gun he’s recently been given. “be on my left.”

***~***~***~***~***~

“This is the NSIS Walker disengage your weapons, or we will shoot to kill!” Rooster yelled as he prepared himself to raid the bank, full-body armour on – Jake too along with twenty other agents, including the FBI. “Walker!!?” Rooster wasn’t a killer, if he could fire a shot to injure and disarm, he would take it 99.9999% of the time. However, this was personal.

You knew your fiancé’s voice – your heart swooned when you heard Bradley Bradshaw’s voice echo through the lobby.

“He’s here.” You smiled to yourself. You felt cold. You were so incredibly tired. Andrea held you close—she was covered in your blood. It was pure carnage within the lobby. It looked like a war zone, dark and filled with death.

“Oh, you only listen now huh?” Walker laughed maniacally. “Too FUCKING late!! You!” Walked hissed as he pointed to you, grabbing you by your hair. It felt too normal at this point.

“Leave her alone!” Andrea cried. “Haven’t you done enou—“ Walker didn’t give her a chance to cry. He knew he was done for - taking as many hostages as possible with him along the way. You cried out as walker's arm wrapped around your throat as your feet slipped along the floor, your body was giving out on life from pure and utter exhaustion. Choking as the cold metal of the end of Walker’s gun pressed harshly against your temple.

“Shoot me! Fucking shoot me I dare you, your bastards! I’ll take her FUCKING with me!!” Walker screamed hysterically. Enough was enough for Rooster as he burst the door open as Jake rushes in. Rooster fired straight past him—over Jake's shoulder.

Roosters had a unique skill set. He never missed. His ability was unparalleled. A clean shot directly between the eyes of the name who hurt his girl so badly. Turns out Walker was never good at counting his rounds.

As Rooster rushed towards you, you couldn’t stand another second, falling to your knees.

“Brad—“ You whispered as he slid on his knees and held you so tight Rooster thought you were going to pop. Crying aloud in nothing but heartbreak seeing his beautiful fiancée in so much pain. So hurt.

“I love you.” It was the first thing that came to mind when Rooster cupped your cheeks. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head as Rooster moved your hair from your face—the same face usually so full of happiness and love, cold to the touch and smeared with blood. Your lips were tinted a blue like colour. “I love you so much Y/n do you hear me? I love you, okay you gotta stay with me alright? You can do that for me, you won’t honey?” Rooster sobbed as tears ran down your cheek. Your eyes closed as you fell completely limp in your soon to be husband’s arms.

Rooster came for you. Your marksman. He loved you.

All your questions were answered as you slipped away— Rooster’s gut-wrenching pleas for you to stay were the last thing you heard.

“Don’t you do this to me baby don’t you fucking leave me here!! No—-!”

***~***~***~***~***~

It was like time stood still for Rooster as he rode in the ambulances alongside his girl. Jake had booked it to the nearest car he could find with sirens blasting as he followed.

You were a fighter, you still had your whole life ahead of you. You weren’t going so easily– you’d miss Rooster too much. You were fighting hard to stay on earth and live your life to the fullest. So was your darling baby.

“Rooster?” Jake whispered, trying not to startle Bradley too much. “She’s gonna be alright.”

“She died in my arms Jake, don’t give me falsified hope.” Rooster was tired, he was drained from all emotion and energy. He’s lost you, his girl, holding your white gold engagement ring between his fingers. The ambulance officer had asked him to remove your jewellery. Caked in blood it looked more like copper than white gold.

To say they rushed you into emergency surgery straight away was an understatement. Rooster had no chance to ask if he could say goodbye.

Unbeknownst to Rooster as he sat waiting covered in blood with Jake in the waiting room, you needed a lot of blood transfusions, you needed the bullets removed, and roughly one hundred and fifty stitches, a combination of internal dissolvable and external stitches. The bullet from your shoulder managed to hit at just the right angle—causing minimal damage. The team of doctors who worked around the clock to save your life popped it back in.

The bullet in your thigh missed your artery by 3mm, it took doctors and nurses about twenty minutes to pull the bullet out due to the fact they didn't want to graze it against your femur. It’s a routine check for pregnancy in women which made it extremely complicated and even more of a high-risk surgery and highly complicated when your heart started to fail.

Practising CPR wasn't an option when it came to saving your life due to your shoulder wound, in between doctors stitching you up and connecting you to life support there were nurses using a defibrillator on you just trying to keep your failing heart into a rhythm again. Soon enough though? After a slight panic thinking they might actually lose you? they got you stable, stitched up—doctors took the calm to ramp up the blood transfusions. Pumping you with much needed red blood cells your body so desperately craved.

As your heart steadied towards the end of surgery —doctors were able to eliminate the use of life support. A paediatric nurse stepping in to review your file to check the baby's health once you found yourself out of surgery.

Meanwhile, back in the waiting room, Jake sat on the ground next to Rooster. On a particularly busy night, both boys got up to let a pregnant woman sit down. Rooster went completely numb seeing her, feeling like he was never going to get that life with his beautiful girl—his darling fiancée.

“Mr Bradshaw? Would you like to follow me please?” A lady cooed, both Rooster and Jake following her into a private room.

“How’s my fiancée?” Rooster asked softly, drained from waiting.

“There were complications during surgery from the blood loss, they put her on life support to finish up the stitches, a little tricky, but both of them are fightin strong.” she smiled.

Both Rooster and Jake went into shock, staring at her back as she walked out like she'd grown another head before turning to look at each other still just as confused.

“D-did... did she just say both?' Rooster stuttered.

“I think so.” Jake replied in the same confused, dazed and exhausted tone.

“But that means... no I’m sure I heard her wrong.” Rooster mumbled- the nurse returned again to say you were stable and would be out of surgery soon, Rooster was overcome with relief- deep down he knew you wouldn’t leave him in this cruel world alone - too relieved Rooster honestly forget to ask about her 'both' comment until a different nurse walked in - her scrubs were pink with tiny white flowers scattered across the fabric, unlike the plain blue scrubs of everyone else Rooster had seen that night.

“Hi. Bradley Bradshaw is it?' She asked the two of them, Rooster nodding his head frantically in response.

“Uh, Rooster.” The nurse only smiled in response. “Just Roosters fine.”

“I'm sure you've had a very long day, just thought I'd pop in to let you know your fiancée is going to be out of surgery in about ten minutes, and then she'll be in ICU recovery, we expect you'll be able to go in to be with her in about an hour or two after that, after three or four hours she'll be moved into here in the ICU ward, and I’ll be popping in a few times a day for check-ups until she's discharged from the hospital, and then she'll need to come in once or twice a week for probably one or two months, sound good?” The nurse in pink scrubs rambled on about the important update—but all Rooster could think about was her scrubs, and how he'd seen a nurse going to help the pregnant woman from the waiting area wearing the same ones.

“C-can I ask you why your scrubs aren’t blue?' Rooster asked, his heart racing with anticipation. He couldn’t be? Could he? You couldn’t be? Could you?

“Part of being a paediatric nurse, it’s meant to be a little less clinical for the kids, and for parents.” The nurse smiled brightly in response. It was clear she enjoyed her job position as she walked out of the room.

Within a millisecond though? Rooster once again broke down full-on sobbing, joy, sadness, happiness. Pride, excitement, anger, hurt, all the emotions of the rainbow flooding his exhausted and overwhelmed body because his girl, his beautiful darling fiancée who needed him so much was being held together by a thread in surgery, not only fighting for yourself but your baby too.

***~***~***~***~***~

From the moment Rooster was allowed to be by your bedside, he didn’t leave for a second. He couldn’t take his eyes off your stomach, watching it rise and fall with every breath you took. The only other time he looked away was to check your face– watching your eyelids flutter as you slept. You deserved to rest.

Rooster held your hand tight, afraid if he let go it would all be a dream—slipping your cleaned engaged ring back on your finger, being ever so careful not to move your arm as your shoulder was still tender. Stitched and patched.

“You and I are gonna have a series talk about when you should be taking your lunch breaks bub—“ Rooster joked to himself trying to find a little humour in such a morbid and dark situation. “But dammit Y/n I thought I lost you, god I feel like I’ve been to hell and back today but to see you safe I’d do it again, so just please come back to me.” Rooster whispered. He was talking to himself more than anything.

But you twitched softly—your eyes slowly opening as you tried to say a groggy “hi”

“Hi, my beautiful girl, I’m right here, don’t move too much, okay you’ll be in a lot of pain.” Rooster cooed - watching your eyes land on your flowers by your bedside. Rooster promised he’d buy you flowers.

“Am I alive?” You asked softly, confused as to your whereabouts as Rooster cried softly as he squeezed your hand.

“You sure are honey—I got you, I got him, he won’t ever hurt you again— won’t hurt you both ever again.”

“My marksman huh? You never seem to miss.” You couldn’t help but tease as you left out a soft groan. Your shoulder throbbed as you went to rest your hand above Rooster’s, his hand resting gently on top of your stomach.

“Yeah, clearly mama, I never miss my target.”

#bradley bradshaw x reader #rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley 'rooster' bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #jake hangman imagine #jake seresin imagine

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ilwonuu · 1 month

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night in

જ⁀➴. boo seungkwan

𖣔 pairing- non-idol! kwannie x reader, established relationship

𖣔 summary- your boyfriend is the best company for spa night.

𖣔 warnings-fluffy, kissing, affection, lmk what else

𖣔 a/n- i just wrote this for myself. i need to write more kwannie!!! pls send requests for kwannie if you have any. i just want to give kwannie a rose <3

your seated on your bathroom counter. your boyfriend standing in between your legs as he puts his face mask on your face. “you look so cute all focused.” you giggle at his expression.

he’s so focused on making sure he doesn’t get any of your hair in the mask. “i got to make sure i don’t mess up your skin care!” he laughs along with you.

“your face mask is almost dry.” you say as look at his face more. getting lost in how handsome the boy is. you just smile to yourself a little.

“what are you smiling about love?” he questions as he finally finishes putting on your face mask.

“mm nothing you’re just cuter every time i look at you kwannie.” you say as you seem him blush slightly through the pink tint of his face mask. “that was very cheesy.” he smiles putting a sweet peck on your lips.

“you are always being cheesy towards me tho.” you giggle as he helps you off the counter. “only a little.” you laugh again as you pull him into another kiss.

he smiles when you pull away. your face mask sticking to his. “we’re connected now i guess.” he laughs at his own words and at your struggling to not to pull half your face mask off with his.

“all of my hard work ruined.” he teases as you pull your head away finally getting the face mask from sticking together. of course ruining the mask that kwannie just put on for you. he laughs at your defeated expression.

half of your face mask now stuck onto his face mask. “well i am not putting on another one.” you laugh at yourself as you sit on your bed with him.

“you’re all pouty now.” he makes a sad face at your still defeated face. “it came off before we could take cute couple selfies.” you pout as you reach for him to hug you.

“sweetheart we have a million cute couple photos.” he rubs your back gently. “but i want spa night ones.” you laugh at yourself being so dramatic.

“we can do spa night every night honey.” he kisses you again. your faces not sticking together this time.

“let’s take our face masks off. well whatever is left of yours.” he chuckles a little. you rolling your eyes playfully as he follows you to your bathroom.

“okay spa night was not a success but you are a cutie so it’s fine.” he just rolls his eyes at you playfully. “you’re being a little dramatic honey.” he laughs with you. enjoying the sound of your laugh more and more.

he takes off his face mask along with you. both of you washing your face shortly after. “lets brush our teeth and go to bed.” you smile and peck his lips again as you grab your toothbrushes, handing your boyfriend his.

both of you brushing your teeth together. the two of you wanting to touch each other at all times, kwannies hand moving to your waist mindlessly. both your teeth brushed now. him pulling you into a big hug.

“i love that i get to go to bed seeing you and wake up seeing you.” he says with a smile. “you are the perfect girl to wake up to.” he says with a kiss.

“kwannie- that was so sweet.” you blush looking away from him. “you deserve all of it sweetheart. now lets go to sleep, i am super exhausted.” he sighs.

his face going into another smile after looking at you. “babe you have a little bit of face mask still on your face.” your first instinct would be to look in the mirror in front of you.

but kwannie is just a much better mirror in your opinion. “where?” he smiles kissing your lips. “just there.” he laughs a little at himself. “that’s was cheesy than my joke earlier!” you scoff playfully.

“you don’t want my cheesy love?” he questions you playfully. “i want all your cheesy love kwannie.”

#seungkwan #svt #seventeen #svt fanfic #svt smut #svt imagines #svt seungkwan #seungkwan fluff #svt fluff #svt x reader #seventeen seungkwan #seventeen fluff #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fics #Spotify

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prongslvl · 10 months

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FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH - kaz brekker

PAIRING kaz brekker x platonic!reader

SUMMARY after another successful heist, your account was once again filled with money and you had one person in mind to use it on first.

a/n: very first time I've written for Kaz so slight warning for ooc ! Still making my way through to his character 🙏

The nights in Ketterdam were always rowdy. When the moon rose, that's when the bad guys came out to play, causing trouble on the streets with their foul language and inappropriate desires. Tourists were advised to arrive in the morning and keep their windows shut at night, unless they were just as shady.

The Crow Club was packed with people, more than usual. The tables had been upgraded, and there were more gambling machines and games. It was like paradise for those addicted to gambling in here.

You scanned the crowded place, keeping an eye on everything despite the bustling bodies. Your arms were tired, but it was still early in the night, and the reason for your exhaustion was all around you, making you proud.

Tonight's success was thanks to the heist you and the other Crows pulled off a few days ago. Your bank accounts, including the club's, were overflowing with money. But you had no plans to share that wealth with anyone else.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late; hope you didn't mind," Anika's voice greeted you from behind. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail, the same style she wore during jobs. Both of you shared shifts guarding the doors. You were assigned the first eight hours, while Anika and another Dregs member would take over.

You smiled and patted her back. "As long as you showed up, I'll see you tomorrow." With a final nod, you moved away from the crowd.

Heading straight to the bar, you spotted Jesper talking to Nina, each with a drink in hand. Jesper waved you over to join them.

Grinning, you grabbed a cup from a passing server's tray and took a seat beside Jesper.

"Having fun?" you asked, taking a sip of your drink. It wasn't the usual rum from Ketterdam; it had a stronger taste that burned as it went down.

"Oh, we are! We've been enjoying Ravkan food without even setting foot in Ravka. What more could we ask for?" Jesper leaned back, looking content.

Nina nodded, turning to face you directly. "And we were just talking about you!"

You chuckled, taking another sip. "Oh really? I hope it was something juicy so I have an excuse to beat you both up."

Nina burst into laughter, holding her stomach as she struggled to stay upright on the stool. Jesper joined in, their laughter filling the air.

"The truth is, we were wondering who you'd treat tonight," Nina finally said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

It had become a tradition for you to use your money to treat a lucky Crow. Last week, you bought authentic ingredients that one of them had been craving on your way back from Bhez Ju. They had been stuck in their warehouse for three days.

Since the heist, there was one person you hadn't given special treatment to—the person who made it all happen.

"I was actually thinking of Kaz," you said, Jesper pausing mid-drink, his eyes widening. Nina burst into laughter, barely able to keep her balance on the stool.

Jesper whistled. "Now that's interesting. But do you think Kaz would let you treat him without getting something in return?"

You gave him an offended look. "He is getting something!"

"Something that he values," Jesper pointed out, pointing his finger at you. "If anything, he'd probably want you to spend the money on something that benefits him directly."

"And he'd take it without hesitation!" Nina chimed in, clearly feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"I've thought about that," you admitted, pouring yourself another drink. "But it wouldn't be special if I did that. He might even threaten to take all my money." They laughed, agreeing with your reasoning.

You and Kaz weren't close like you were with Jesper and Nina. There was a distance between you, whether it was your doing or his natural disposition to keep people at arm's length. Your relationship with Kaz was mostly boss and employee. You exchanged sarcastic remarks and purposely irritated each other, but it never went beyond that.

It was strange how you were his first Crow but felt the most distant. Inej sometimes worried that your tension with Kaz would affect future jobs. You didn't believe her at first, but as you pondered it more, you noticed Kaz's restlessness around you.

You didn't like to imagine or assume things, especially when it came to someone like Kaz Brekker. Every time you mentioned spending money, he'd scowl disapprovingly. To others, it looked like his usual expression, but you noticed the slight twitch of his eyebrows and the deeper frown.

That's why you chose Kaz—to find out what his problem really was with you.

Hours passed, and the Crow Club closed its doors, leaving only a few Dregs to clean up. Jesper and Nina were taken away by Wylan and Matthias, bidding their goodbyes.

A waiter approached you with a tray of food from the club, including a drink.

"Thank you. Here's a tip for your service," you said, handing him some money from your wallet. The smell of the food made your stomach grumble.

Knowing Kaz, and taking into account what Jesper had said, you knew he wouldn't want to be dragged out of his office unless it was official business. So instead of taking him to a fancy restaurant, you decided to bring him food from his own club.

Climbing the wooden steps, you noticed the building had grown quiet. You knocked on the doors of Kaz's office in a specific rhythm known only to the Crows, allowing yourself entry without needing Kaz's help.

Kaz glanced up from his paperwork, his eyes narrowing as he took in your presence.

"Well, what do we have here?" he said, his voice filled with suspicion. "Did I ask for dinner?"

"Not exactly. But I figured humans need to eat at least twice a day, and you, Kaz Brekker, haven't eaten yet," you replied, closing the door behind you, a smirk playing on your lips.

He didn't say anything at first. You weren't sure if he was looking at you or the food, but it didn't matter to you.

Kaz's gaze shifted to the plates on the tray, a flicker of interest crossing his eyes before he composed himself into his usual stoic facade. "I don't need your charity, but I guess I can spare a few minutes to eat," he finally said, his voice lacking its usual edge.

If it was one of his tricks, he was hiding his hunger well. He neatly stacked the papers on his desk to make room for the tray. You noticed his raised eyebrow.

"I won't be able to finish all this," he started, but his words trailed off as he saw you pull a chair and sit down. You smiled, making yourself comfortable.

"Of course you won't. Did you really think I'd let you eat alone?"

"That would have been better," he muttered.

"We can't always have what we want."

You poured yourself a drink and filled Kaz's cup. The room filled with the sounds of utensils clinking and the quiet chewing as you both focused on your meals. In your head, you hadn't expected it to be this easy to convince him to eat withh you.

As you searched for salt on his desk, you realized it was within Kaz's reach.

"Can you pass me the s—?"

"No."

You sighed, not surprised by his response, and reached for it yourself. You caught his side-eye, and you smirked back.

Kaz took another piece of bread, then spoke up. "Since you have free time during the night, I've decided to assign you to night patrols with Inej," he said, his eyes still on his plate as yours widened in disbelief.

"What?" you exclaimed, shock evident in your voice and expression.

"You heard me. You'll be joining Inej on her patrols."

"But I have other things to do—"

"Not things more important than contributing," Kaz interrupted, his stare silencing any protests. You groaned and took a big bite of chicken.

"But you won't split the pay with Inej. You'll have your own payment."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Kaz scoffed. "It always does."

His words stirred a wave of nostalgia within you. Memories of past jobs, where you were treated differently when it came to money compared to the other Dregs, flooded your mind. You were always the happiest one, comparing salaries with Anika and Muzzen, knowing yours was the highest. Kaz had his own way of showing favoritism when it was just the two of you building the Crow Club from scratch. His very own version of your special treatment.

Suppressing your grin, you took another bite, relishing the comfortable silence that enveloped the two of you.

#shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone #six of crows x reader #six of crows #six of crows imagine #six of crows duology #crooked kingdom #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x you #kaz brekker #platonic!reader #platonic fanfiction

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aingeal98 · 6 months

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hiii i consider u a cass expert and since this has been eating at my brain for a few years at this point; do you have any thoughts on the way cain's poor excuse for parenting impacted cass on more of a cognitive/developmental level? like children need stimuli of all kind that she clearly didnt get even outside of literacy and social interaction and i think its super interesting to explore how cass has complicated relationships with things most people take for granted (like... did cain allow her to have any toys? to play any games other than the "two for flinching" thing? does she struggle with the fine motor skill needed for writing bc she really didnt have smth similar? omg is she ok?? i want to peel her like an onion so badly) sorry for brain vomiting over here i have thoughts and feelings about cass cain and its incurable

Anon you've come to the right place for incurable thoughts and feelings about Cassandra Cain! And you raise such a good point like there's no way Cain's abuse didn't leave her with more than just aphasia, illiteracy, cptsd, all the emotional issues... OK well he left her with a lot of stuff but still! You're definitely right that there's more. I'm no expert but one thing I know how to do is ramble about Cass, so:

In flashbacks we see young Cass doing a jigsaw of a rose in the dojo Cain's raising her in, which makes me think he did want to find ways to make sure her cognitive skills functioned even without words. Of course this is just me theorising but in terms of toys I think he would have carefully selected things that would stimulate her brain and improve her motor skills even without reading and writing. The image of David Cain carefully buying Jenga and Operation and making sure all the packaging with words on it never reaches Cass is now permenantly stuck in my head so thank you for that.

I do think she was definitely deprived of a lot though, and things like the jigsaw were clearly meant to be filler stuff for her before the actual fun games like "getting shot and dodging the next few bullets". I don't think Cain would have ever wanted Cass to be relaxed and comfortable enough to actually fully enjoy playing with toys, you know? If she was actually able to find things like jigsaws meaningful and fulfilling then his conditioning of her to associate getting shot with "fun game of dodgeball" wouldn't have been as successful. Cass may not have liked two for flinching but she did love the fighting and the dodging. Any thoughts of "why am I in pain when I could just be playing Jenga" would have never been allowed enter Cass's head. Which would be easy enough because (understandably so given the isolation) Cass looked up to Cain and got joy and fulfilment from seeing him smile. He doesn't care if she finished the jigsaw other than getting angry/worried if she fails. Whereas being able to assemble and break apart a gun while blind makes him light up with happiness/pride. So naturally, even with Cain making sure her brain isn't TOO different for her not to be able to function as the perfect weapon, she would still be deprived of important cognitive skills and stimuli.

The writing specific fine motor skills would definitely be impacted imo because while her training makes sure her hands can work a massive variety of weapons and probably permenantly injure a man in multiple places with each finger, writing is such a specific task that only comes naturally to us because we learned it so young. It can be learned later in life of course but the natural act of holding a pen and writing would feel so alien to Cass. And that's before you factor in her dyslexia like no wonder we only saw her pick up a pen once 😭 Cass being able to write the alphabet with any sort of ease and lack of intense focus would be a massive accomplishment given David Cain's fuckery.

And just in general being so isolated for most of her childhood would have impacted her brain so badly like even without the autism Cass must have been in overstimulated sensory hell after leaving Cain. So many voices talking, which she'd never heard before. So many smells and sounds and new textures and sights that are too intense for her eyes to handle. She missed out on an entire world and only got to start experiencing it when she was 8, that's got to have a longterm impact. I think as well as autism Bruce and Barbara had her tested for adhd due to all the symptoms she displayed. Doctors aren't clear if she actually has it or if its something different brought on by her upbringing. She spent nine years homeless and travelling so she's more adjusted than she was at the start but there's still times that the whole world just goes blurry and whoops panic attack time need to find an empty place and hide.

I'll stop here so I don't rant forever but thank you for giving me the chance to yell about head. canons and theories. Cass is indeed the most fascinating onion, and the layers are endless. Feel free to rant in my inbox whenever you want I love hearing other people's thoughts on her!

#dc #cassandra cain #dc rambles #asks

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coffeeheartaddict2 · 10 months

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Could it be?

Book: Crimes of Passion

Pairing: F! Trystan Thorne x F!MC Aaliyah Rose

Category: Angst/pining

Rating PG

Warnings: alludes to sexual thoughts

Word count: 700

Summary: Whilst stuck in a freezer with Aaliyah, Trystan thinks and reflects upon her growing feelings for Aaliyah and her feelings for Juliana.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Pixelberry.

Authors note: so disclaimer I have not finished book one yet of Crimes of Passion yet, however I felt inspired to write this fic. I do not know how much writing as of yet I will do for Crimes of Passion so please enjoy.

🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶

She had never expected to find herself here when she met the Private Detective Aaliyah Rose. She was impressed with her physical prowess at their first meeting and investigating the cult and murders was mentally a challenge that I never knew I needed.

I had been guarded of course. The memories of that night when I lost Juliana but there was something about Aaliyah that made me want to tell her everything about that night.

Here we are sitting in a freezer, tracking down some stolen items from uncle Tommy’s bar. We cuddle up together to keep warm. She is in my arms. She feels so right, cuddling into me with her head on my chest. Thoughts go to what I have fantasized. Kissing her, running my hands along her curves, lavishing attention on her breasts, to tasting her and watching her fall as she succumbs to her climax. The thoughts make me feel warmer and she cuddles into me more, making me want to act on them more.

To distract myself I ask her about her dad, his career and what happened. I found it comforting, not only was she trusting me with this information but that I was not the only one who had lost a loved one in tragic and mysterious circumstances.

Aaliyah moves and our lips are close. I badly want to kiss her but we are interrupted. Matty finds us and lets us out. A part of me is annoyed but also I am relieved that we have been rescued. Matty fills us in on what has been happening, why he stole from Tommy. One thing leads to another and we are on a stake out. It is a success and we have retrieved Aaliyah’s dads gun and badge.

Aaliyah is relieved. To others it is just a gun and badge but to her it is a part of her dad and this a part of her. She still does not know who murdered her dad but maybe solving this cult case will bring her closer to justice for her dad also.

She is relieved that Matty will only need to work off the damage and is relieved that the debt has been wiped but she is still angry. At least the gun and badge is where it belongs.

After celebrating the success of the stakeout Aaliyah is caught up in different thoughts. The thoughts of what nearly happened with Trystan. She did find her attractive, she was not the normal type of person to whom she has had relationships prior but how often does a PI from New York work closely with exiled royalty from Drakovia? The more she worked with Trystan the more she changed her opinion of her. She was not just some spoilt exiled royal but someone who was willing to work and get the best outcome. She hoped to hear what really happened with Juliana, what the other royal at the party had her intrigued and then thoughts went to the freezer today. She did not imagine Trystan getting warmer and she so badly wanted to kiss her. Did Trystan feel what she thought she was starting to feel for her? She must do, Aaliyah thought. If Trystan only wanted her for one night of debauchery then surely it would have happened. A familiar heat was pooling at Aaliyah’s core and she went to have a shower and to pleasure herself to the thoughts of what almost happened.

Across town, at a penthouse apartment, Trystan was thinking about the events of the day and what almost transpired. She thought she would never find anyone that she would fall for, especially after Juliana, she had a string of lovers, both male and female to fulfill needs but she knew that with Aaliyah, it would mean so much more, it was going to fill a void that she never thought would be filled until now. She went to have a shower, again pleasuring herself to the thoughts of what she wanted to do with Aaliyah and promised herself that when this case was over she would make her dreams become reality, the only question was after today, could she wait that long?

——-

Authors note 2: short and sweet but as I stated in the previous authors note, I have not finished playing book 1 yet so as such I have not gotten to know the characters and events well enough to write longer fics, I am surprised that I was inspired to write this. I will be tagging my normal tag list so if you DO NOT want to be tagged for crimes of passion please let me know.

Tagging: @jerzwriter @jamespotterthefirst @genevievemd @cariantha @bex-la-get @tessa-liam @socalwriterbee @potionsprefect @liaromancewriter @a-crepusculo @crazy-loca-blog @trappedinfanfiction @youlookappropriate @binny1985

@lucy-268

@choicesficwriterscreations

If you wish to be added or not receive crimes of passion fics please let me know

#crimes of passion #choices fanfic writers creations #fic of the week #f! Trystan Thorne x f!mc #Aaliyah rose #choices #play choices

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s1desn4cks · 1 year

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I can’t get this out of my head, so ya’ll are getting s/pooky m/onth v0re with K/evin and Borrower S/treber. (Non-fatal, protective, mentions of digestion but nothing happens)

C/andied B/ats (censored so it doesn’t show up on the main tags)

It had been about a year since Kevin had found the little borrower running around the candy shop. At first he was furious, trying for months to trap the little guy without success. It wasn’t until he found the little borrower stuck in some old chewed up gum, pleading for help, that he realized this wasn’t just some creature to get rid of. It, no, he, was a person. A small one, but still a person. After helping him out of the gum, Kevin watched him run off and decided that he would befriend the little borrower.

It had taken months of purposefully leaving out small candies and promising he wouldn’t hurt the little guy for Kevin to finally gain the borrower’s trust enough to know his name. Streber, the borrower, was still weary of Kevin, but now trusted him enough to let Kevin hold him in the palm of his hand. Streber and Kevin bonded over candy and their shared love of the sugary stuff, slowly trusting each other more and more.

Nowadays the two were inseparable. It was common to walk into the Candy Corner and see Streber on Kevin’s shoulder, or sitting on the counter eating a candy. Everyone in the town had pretty much accepted it as normal, after all it wasn’t the weirdest they’d seen. Whenever Halloween rolled around, Kevin was extra nervous and protective over Streber. Streber didn’t blame him, after all he’d been told stories by Kevin of what dangers seem to come looking for him every Halloween. This Halloween was no exception, and when two dreadfully familiar little kids walked into the store, one dressed as a skeleton and the other as a pumpkin, Kevin fearfully grabbed Streber in his hand. Streber let out a small squeak of fear, but he trusted Kevin and knew he wouldn’t be hurt. As Kevin scolded the kids, a man in a devil costume slowly approached the window.

“See! That’s trouble!” Kevin’s eyes widened, his voices laced with fear as he pointed out the window. “K-kids? Why is he following you?” Kevin’s grip tightened on Streber as he backed away, pushing the kids behind him. “Kids, outside, now!” Kevin yelled, and Streber whined from the sheer volume of it. The two kids ran out the back door as Kevin blocked them from view of the masked devil.

“Well well, look what we have here. A meal all for me, and a little snack, too.” The masked devil hummed and smiled, showing off two very sharp fangs, while stalking closer to Kevin.

“Damn it why’d he have to be a pred, too?!” Kevin ran over to the wall of candy dispensers and turned one on, causing candy to spill all over the floor. The masked devil only laughed, kicking the candy out of the way as if it was nothing. Kevin’s panic rose, not just for himself but for Streber, who was now shaking from fear in his grip. As the devil stalked closer he licked his lips, causing Kevin to panic. He had a plan to get himself out of there, but he couldn’t risk dropping Streber and he wasn’t about to leave the borrower here to fend for himself.

In a moment of desperation, Kevin opened his maw and shoved Streber inside. The borrower yelped, falling face first onto Kevin’s tongue. Kevin hummed at the flavor of the small man, almost like a Swedish fish, then shuddered as he realized he was tasting a person, and not a piece of candy. Under different circumstances, he realized, Kevin may have actually enjoyed this. The masked devil stopped and tilted his head, as if watching to see what happened with a morbid curiosity only a killer could have. Kevin looked at the masked devil and then to the door. He considered just running for it with Streber in his mouth, but the thought of accidentally hurting him if he tripped stopped Kevin in his tracks. In a moment of desperation, Kevin made a decision. He pushed the borrower to the back of his throat with his tongue and gulped. His gag reflex kicked in and he used every ounce of courage he had to swallow again and not spit Streber out. The small form of Streber started slowly sliding down Kevin’s throat, creating a small bulge that could be visibly traced down until it passed by his collar bone. Kevin gasped as he felt the small form slip into his stomach. His face went red, and he put a hand over the small bulge Streber made in his middle.

The borrower was shaking on Kevin’s tongue, the pitch black maw dripping saliva all over him. He wasn’t sure why Kevin had shoved him into his mouth, but he was sure there was a good reason. After all, Kevin wouldn’t’ have spent all this time befriending him just to eat him, right? He shivered on the tongue, the soft surface sinking under his weight. If he wasn’t terrified, it might even feel relaxing, almost like a beanbag. Suddenly the tongue started moving under him, pushing him back. He tried to grab onto the muscle, but the slickness prevented him from getting any grip. The tongue pushed him to the back of the throat, and he squeaked in surprise.

“No, no no, please!” Streber whimpered. He felt so betrayed as Kevin let out a large ‘gluck’, sucking him in down to his waist. In a desperate attempt Streber reached for the uvula, grabbing hold. He heard Kevin gag as he gripped it, tears forming in Streber’s eyes as he realized that the trust he had built with this bean had all been just a ruse. Another swallow caused Streber to loose his grip and slip completely into the throat. The muscles suctioned him down, pushing him closer to his final destination as he now openly sobbed. It’s not like Kevin would see him cry, anyways. When he reached the bottom of he throat, the sphincter opened up to drop him into the stomach. Streber splashed down into the liquids, quickly back-peddling into the walls of the stomach and away from the juices. He curled up against the walls, the folds almost cradling him, and cried silently into his now soaked cape. He felt a pressure on top of him, and realized Kevin must have put a hand on his stomach. The borrower curled up further, terrified and resigned to his fate.

Outside, Kevin glared at the masked devil. “Well, wasn’t that a show. Now I get a two fer’ one~” The devil cooed, and Kevin took his chance to run. He felt Streber move around inside of him as he ran, almost gagging at the uneven feeling it gave him in his core. Kevin bolted out the back door, not stopping to look back as he heard he devil laugh. He ran until he couldn’t anymore, then ran some more. He would keep Streber safe no matter what.

When he finally realized he was no longer being followed, he slowed to a jog and headed back to his house. He could feel Streber shaking within him, and he wanted nothing more than to comfort the borrower and hold him in his hand again. He feared that he had lost all of Streber’s trust, and as soon as thee borrower was released he would never see them again. Kevin saddened at the thought, sitting down on the edge of his bed and once again placing his hand over his stomach. He sat there for a long time, not sure what to say. How do you even apologize for swallowing someone whole?

“…Kevin?” A small voice echoed from his middle. If he wasn’t so focused on his middle he might not have even heard it. Kevin inhaled a sharp breath, before realizing it was probably squishing the poor borrower and releasing it. His heart rate was through the roof, terrified of scaring Streber more than he already had.

“Kevin, please…” Thee small voice came again. “I don’t want to die…” Streber pleaded, hearing Kevin’s heart rate increase as the stomach squished in on him.

“I- you won’t.” The voice of Kevin reverberated all around Streber, causing another wrack of sobs to come over the borrower as he was once again reminded that he was inside of someone. “You’ll be okay—“ Kevin tried to explain, but he wasn’t sure what words to use. “Shit— how do I even apologize for eating someone?” Kevin mumbled. That caused a small laugh and a sniffle to come from the borrrower inside of him. Kevin sighed.

“Still your same old self, even after swallowing me.” Streber mumbled, trying to wipe the tears from his eyes but only succeeding in spreading mucus all over his face.

“I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t let him get to you and I wasn’t about to leave you there to fend for yourself.” Kevin sighed, rubbing his hand over the form of Streber. “I promise you’re safe. I… Know from experience.” Kevin evened out his breathing, letting his pounding heartrate slow down as Streber started to shift inside of him.

“So… I’m fine…? I’m safe?” Streber asked tentatively. He wasn’t sure about trusting Kevin after literally being swallowed whole, but it’s not like he had much of a choice in his current position.

Kevin sighed again and kept rubbing Streber’s small form. “Yeah. From him, and… me.” He said with a sad and defeated tone. Kevin knew he had lost his friends trust, after all he had swallowed the poor borrower.

“Oh.” Streber blinked. He slowly uncurled, letting the stomach cradle him. He could now feel Kevin’s rubs more clearly, and it almost felt nice despite his location. Streber ran his hand along the stomach walls, feeling the folds and how they moved every time he shifted. Kevin’s rubs stopped, the stomach becoming quite a bit warmer, and redder although Streber couldn’t see the latter. The stomach rumbled and growled with the movements. Streber froze, wondering if he’d done something wrong and really was going to die.

Instead of digestion starting, a small burp and a large sigh escaped Kevin. The air that was released from the stomach caused it to shrink, now straddling Streber like a hammock. The moment of panic left him, and Streber relaxed into the folds, absentmindedly rubbing the stomach walls while Kevin prodded at him from the outside.

Kevin laid down in his bed, a hand over his stomach feeling the rubs from Streber. It relaxed him, making him tired as his full stomach shifted around. He let out a small burp and sighed, feeling his stomach close tighter around Streber. He knew it wasn’t safe to release Streber yet, the borrower couldn’t defend himself if the devil guy came back, after all. He could feel Streber relax into his stomach walls and continued rubbing the small form. The borrower may no longer trust him, but Streber was safe. Kevin hoped that after he released him, Streber would stick around, and maybe now that he knew it was safe, Streber would let Kevin swallow him again under better circumstances. Kevin smiled at the thought and drifted off to sleep.

Streber heard Kevin’s breath and heartbeat slow, and figured he must have fallen asleep. The borrower thought over his situation. He was safe, warm, and surrrounded by someone he knew would never hurt him. Although he wasn’t too sure how much he trusted Kevin anymore, he knew the bean would protect him, and that was enough trust for now. Streber slowly drifted off to sleep.

#safe vore #sfw vore #sfw g/t #g/t vore #g/t #protective vore #unwilling vore #s/pooky m/onth vore #k/evin #borrower s/treber #borrower #borrower vore

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jungle-angel · 1 year

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Out in the Middle: Part 15

Summary: While the guys are off on the hunt, you and the girls decide to have a little fun of your own

You stamped off your boots as you came back into the house, hanging up your jacket on the coat hook along with your hat and mittens. It was a hell of alot colder out now, the snow falling harder but the heat of the house and the smell of cinnamon, cloves and apples bombarding your senses and warming you from your head to your toes.

“Ya’ll gotta be freezing!” Beth exclaimed as she pulled something from a small fridge under the counter.

“Yeah and the hands are still out in it,” you said, removing your scarf and hanging it up. “I’m hoping they come in soon.”

“I told’em no later than noon,” Beth said. “It’s gonna get colder through the winter and nobody’s freezin to death on our watch.”

“Whatcha got?”

“Little something for later when the kids are asleep and the men are downstairs in the basement watching the football game later.”

Beth pulled a clear bottle from the wine fridge under the counter and stuck it right next to the toaster. Your jaw almost dropped when you saw it, relieved that it was finally that time of the week. “Beth Wheeler, you are a lifesaver!!!” you exclaimed.

“I wasn’t about to let any of us go the whole week without it,” Beth told you. “i love the babies to death but I’d love nothing more than to just let Joey run around outside with a stick.”

You laughed a little as Beth stuck it back in the fridge for later, the two of you getting the kitchen set up to make dinner. Surprisingly enough, the kids were as quiet as could be, playing downstairs in the basement or watching some of the old VHS tapes that John had collected throughout the years. Monica came through the door a few minutes later, practically speaking in tongues as she shivered.

“Them idjits better get their butts home before the deep freeze hits,” she shuddered, stripping off her coat and scarf.

“Are the hands all in?” Beth asked.

“They went in an hour ago,” Monica answered. “Last I heard from Kayce, they were just over the hill and coming back.”

You looked up at the wall clock just above the stove and saw that it would be at least another ten to fifteen minutes before they were home. God please let them get home before the snow gets worse......you prayed.

Monica pulled up her Spotify playlist before she set to helping you and Beth before Nora made her way up from the basement. “Oh ladies,” she chirped. “Guess what? I come bearing a gift.”

You and Beth snorted a little while Monica playfully rolled her eyes. “Whatcha got?” Monica asked.

“Remember the week before Halloween when you and I went over the hill to go and get a few things for your dad?”

“Yeah why?”

“Well,” Nora said. “I’ve had this sitting in a wooden fruit crate ever since harvest and every year at Thanksgiving, my gram and my aunts would put it out as a centerpiece or serve it at the table.”

What Nora pulled from the box was nothing short of awesome, several ears of corn in bright shades of red, orange, yellow and black. “Oh my God, where did you.....?”

“Rose Black Moon gave us some out of her field when we helped her and her grandsons fix the tractor,” Nora explained.

“Was it really bad?” Beth asked.

“Hadn’t been working since the summer,” Nora answered. “Parts were hard to get and we had to barter for the ones we couldn’t get at Tractor Supply. But it got fixed and they got the harvest in on time so I’d say it was a success.”

You and the girls chattered away about everything under the sun when you saw Cody, the youngest of Beth and Rip’s kids padding his way to the sliding glass door, his thumb in his mouth and his Denver Broncos blanket clutched in one arm. Beth had always joked that Cody should have been named “Linus” from the way he always had his thumb in his mouth and his blanket in his hand.

All of a sudden, Cody’s little head perked up and so didn’t the family mutt’s. “Momma!!! Momma!! Turkeys!!!”

“You see the turkeys Cody?” Beth asked.

“No Momma! Turkey!!”

Cody pulled at the sleeve of his mother’s hoodie before Beth followed him to the sliding glass door and sure enough, there were the men, traipsing through the snow, pulling the freshly hunted turkeys on a small sled behind them.

“Thank God they made it,” Beth said. “I’m gonna go and let’em in.”

You followed Beth down to the basement, through the bar room and past the room where the kids were playing and into the store room to let the boys in. One by one, they filed into the mudroom, kicking off their boots and stamping off the snow on the shitty rugs before hanging their wet clothes up.

“Good hunt baby?” you asked as you helped Rhett off with his wet jacket.

“Caught three birds,” Rhett said in between his chattering teeth. “Twenty pounds each.”

“Holy shit!”

You placed your warm hands on Rhett’s freezing, reddened cheeks, the cold running from him to you as he pulled you close to him. “I’m gonna rest for a while,” Rhett said sleepily. “We’ll get the birds all de-feathered later.”

“Wanna watch something while the girls and I cook?” you asked, kissing his cheek.

“Might watch ‘The Men Who Built America’ with John or something,” Rhett answered, rubbing his tired eyes. “Mom said she went to the store to get a few things and then she’s comin back.”

“Go get yourself upstairs and we’ll make you guys hot drinks if you want’em,” you told him. “We’ve got all day today and then tomorrow is the big day.”

You and Rhett walked hand in hand up to the living room, excited for the day ahead tomorrow and relieved that you could catch a break in between until then.

#outer range #yellowstone #rhett abbott #rhett abbott x reader #john dutton #rip wheeler #beth dutton #rip x beth #kayce dutton #monica dutton #kayce x monica

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merlinsbbeard · 9 months

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Word Search Tag Game

Thank youu @uncertainwallflower and @annasghosts for tagging me and sorry I took so long to get around to this. Anyways, here goes:

FAMILY

They dropped Cindy off first. She hugged Petunia through the passenger window and waved and blew kisses as they pulled out of her paved drive. James remained in the middle seat, knees less compressed, but shoulder still firmly pressed against Lily’s. By the time they reached All Saints Street, the sun was setting, settling an orange hue all about the front garden. Vernon didn’t come in, he was to attend a family dinner celebrating Marge’s bulldog’s birthday. Petunia waved him off the whole way down the street and finally dropping her hand, spun on her heel and declared, “I need a smoke.” Forget-Me-Not—A Jily summer love story

MISTAKE

“It was a mistake. We were on holiday and I hadn’t seen you in ages. I—” All's Well That Ends Well—Teenage angst eventual-Jily

BROKEN

Lily smiled, lifting her goblet a little closer to her painted lips, eyeing the crowd in front. Swig. “Happy birthday, by the way.” She broke the stalemate. James had felt like a broken record stuck in a loop all day. Thank you, thank you, thank you. His furry mind couldn’t think of anything better to say. “Thank you.” “Yooou’re welcome.” Ain't No Rest for the Sloshed—Prongs Party 2023 microfic

SIGH

His eyes flicked down to her lips then back to her eyes. His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. “May I?” She nodded. His head dipped swiftly down to meet her once more. She heard the handset clack on the cradle, then his hands found her cheeks, her jaw, the soft skin beneath her ear, tilting her up into him. She went willingly, rising up onto her tiptoes. His lips were warm on hers; slow and forgiving. He sighed into her, then took a minuscule step forward, backing her against the wall and deepening the kiss. Forget-Me-Not (again)

And now, for Bella's words:

BACK

Lily and James's eyes met often. His brow would be knit and he would look away quickly. Hers would furrow and she would keep looking. Perhaps if he had looked back once, she would have worked up the courage to go over to him and apologise. What did she even need to apologise for? For asking him not to sit with her after he had spent the early hours of the morning comforting her? A bit. For caring more about what other people thought than what he did? Yeah, a bit of that too. But he never did. So, she never did. All's Well That Ends Well (unpublished snippet)

LIGHT

My chest has been waxed and my body rubbed down with a cream that makes my skin glint like sunlight on still water. I’m dressed in a satin blue-grey suit, it’s belted at my hips with a silky sash that falls to the floor, brushing my polished leather shoe. Above the sash, the jacket gapes. I have no shirt so my chest is entirely exposed. Sex appeal, I think to myself. Finniad: Striking Hearts (unpublished snippet)—Finnick Odair's origin story

QUIET

Dinner passed relatively quietly with scraping plates and clinking cutlery and eyes flitting across the table. Dessert was another matter. The second time Lily and James’s hands bumped while reaching for the same thing, the custard spoon this time—“Oops, sorry, you first.” “No, you.”—Petunia let out a great big sigh. Two pairs of eyes fell on her and Lily asked, “What?” “Just—would you stop eye-fucking over the crumble? Jesus Christ.” Forget-Me-Not (again, again)

REACH

The people around me are beginning to stare. I duck out of the pen and approach the stage that now seems miles away. My heart is in my throat, my feet are clumsy, and my mind is running a million thoughts at once. I look up as I climb the stairs and my own face stares back at me from the screens. I try to conceal the terror in my eyes but I’m unsure how successful I am because I’ve reached Eyre and Alfonso and now I must face the crowd. Finniad: Striking Hearts

Open tag for the following words:

Hasten

Drive

Feel

Flinch

#word search tag game #tag game #snippets #self rec

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generalluxun · 11 months

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Fanfiction: Dates, Places, People, and Things Chapter 3(of 3)

Author's Note: And here's the end to this little slice of life. I actually toyed with Lukabrina before I fell for Adribrina, and I find I can enjoy both quite equally. The interactions, and circumstances are different enough that they are two very different ships. I hope you enjoyed! As always link to my AO3 in the bio, and full text after the break.

Luka relished the wonderful melodies in the wake of Juleka’s success. His sister's normally halting notes played out in joyous ascending scales. They twined and danced with Rose’s in the sweetest of ways. Not for the first time Luka wished he could capture one tenth of the music of the living in his own work. If only others could hear what he heard.

Yet, something was missing. Luka raised his head from the group hug, and his eyes confirmed what his ears had already told him. He carefully disengaged from the quintet, his motion breaking the hug but not the closeness. The remaining four gushed and murmured among themselves in an intimacy no less strong for the lack of physical contact. Luka slipped away to the lone figure sitting apart. Her head was down and she was brushing futility at her sweater which was… Oh Issi .

Luka leaned forward with his hands on the speaker in front of her, “You have always been one to get into your work, haven’t you?”

Sabrina looked up sheepishly, she shook her still-messy hands and said,”Can I use the bathroom to wash up?”

Luka offered her a hand up. When she hesitated he glanced down at it and then gave her a smile. She put her hand in his and he drew her to her feet. “I’ve got a better idea, if you’ll allow me.”

She just nodded, stepping in a little closer to him. As they headed for the stairs below deck, he saw her glance back to the band. “I can’t fix your speaker without some fourteen gauge wire.”

Luka displayed all his electrical knowhow. “Is that expensive?”

Sabrina shook her head, “I have some at home, I just can’t do it now.”

Luka led her back towards his room. “Gee, you can’t do us a complete and total favor right this second? What kind of friend are you?”

He grinned down at her, laying it on thick. It worked. Sabrina was jolted out from under her raincloud. She puffed out her cheeks and stuck her tongue out at him., adding a couple of playful love-thumps with her fists to his arm. “Senpai’s so mean!”

Luka ushered her in. “the worst, I know.” He stole a kiss from the top of her head as she passed.

Once inside Sabrina looked around curiously. It occurred to him she hadn’t actually been in his room during any of her visits. She paced the perimeter of the small cabin, examining each and every thing with an inquisitive eye. Luka knew he could leave right now and she might not even realize his absence for a good five minutes. Sabrina in appraisal mode was a focused creature.

Instead, he waited and watched, feeling the way she interacted with all the little parts of him scattered about the room. Would she even remember the handprints if I took her back upstairs now? The fact that the answer might be no made him ache happily inside.

“Do I pass muster?” he asked.

“Oh!” Sabrina jumped, hands going to her face only to leave smudges. She shook her fingers futility and rubbed her mouth on her already messy sleeve. “Sorry. I was just curious…”

Luka stepped over to her, surveying a new Kitty Section poster he had put up. It was printed professionally, and en-masse. An ‘apology of sorts’ from the passenger up in the bow of the ship; Sabrina’s idea, Rose’s work. “Curiosity’s never led us wrong, so far.”

Again, she scooted closer to him as they stood together. Luka put his arm around her. She leaned into his shoulder and Luka just let time happen around them. He had things to say, questions to ask, but they receded for the space of a happiness.

When he spoke, it was into the stolen silence. “Did you want to join the hug?”

He felt her tense, but she didn’t pull away. Instead she turned her face against his shoulder. “I didn’t think I should. I’m really happy for Juleka though. Will you tell her for me?”

Luka countered, ”You can tell her yourself, I think she’d like to hear it. Besides, It’s forever fun to torment a little sister with the fact her big brother has a girlfriend .”

That turned the tension into a series of burbling ‘tee-hees’ from Sabrina, and butterflies echoed from within Luka’s belly. The idea was a delightful mystery to both of them still. Luka wondered if he’d get used to it someday, he hoped not. Sabrina’s pure sincerity was a dawn that came more than once a day for him.

She asked, ”Should I have hugged Juleka?”

“Only if you wanted to, but you’re welcome now. I want you to believe, and act on that. We’re not a traditional family here on the Liberty, but that just means we can add new members however we like.”

A shiver ran through her. Sabrina reached up a hand for him, but withdrew it at the last second, turning it mucky-palm-side up. She gave him a sheepish look, ”Maybe I should wash up?”

“Go on, but just your hands… and face. I’ve got something for the rest.”

Sabrina gave him a curious look but he just returned an enigmatic smile. It got him another puff-cheeked face. This time when she headed for the door he reached out to give her a playful pinch, just missing his target. She realized his intent after the fact and twisted, hands covering her backside as she trotted backwards out the door. “Naughty!”

Luka rummaged in his dresser, he found what he was looking for quickly, but not. He set the shirt aside and kept looking. I know we had to have another one left somewhere…

Yet by the time Sabrina came back in he still hadn’t found it. She announced her presence by crouching down beside him as he searched the space behind his bottom drawer on hands and knees. “Whatcha lose?”

Luka sat back on his heels and picked up the one he had found. “A companion to this, I thought you could wear it.” He let the Kitty Section t-shirt he held fall open from its folds. It was an XL, big even for him, it blocked out Sabrina completely as it hung there. “This one’s a bit-”

The fabric billowed and shifted in his grip. Sabrina had ducked herself under the hem and wriggled her way up. She stood, and Luka let go, a chuckle already forming on his lips. The shirt hung down on her, even with her head and arms still inside it. Luka stepped back. Sabrina’s sweater vest dropped from inside the t-shirt. A few seconds more and her blouse followed. Then her ginger bob poked out, revealing her oh-so-proud smile. She pulled herself the rest of the way out and turned in place happily, ”Oh I love it!”

The T-shirt’s sleeves hung to her elbows, the hem almost to her knees. The wide neck bared one freckled shoulder and a pale blue bra strap. Sabrina took hold of the shirt near the hem and swished it like a set of skirts.

Luka remembered his stolen sweatshirt and recalled her words. “Yours now?”

She steepled her fingertips in front of her face with an impish grin.

“It looks good on you.”

Sabrina shifted the shirt, fixing the collar, only to have it slip off the other shoulder. She pinked but shrugged helplessly.

Luka’s eyes drifted down to the newly bared shoulder. An daydream formed of an evening spent counting those freckles, it could take many happy hours. The daydream made his fingertips tingle like the beginnings of a new tune. Everything that had been easy and casual with Marinette was meaningful and ticklish with Sabrina. It had taken Luka a while to pin down the reason: Both of them were fully present when they were together.

Luka pulled his eyes away from her shoulder, and found he’d been caught. Uniquely, his cheeks warmed in mild embarrassment. It was hard to play it cool when her complete sincerity made his heart race with even the most innocent of gestures. He cleared his throat, ”So, um, think it’ll work for some casual fried food?”

Sabrina scooted the shirt back up, only to have it immediately fall again. She put on a brave smile for him. “I’ll make it work. I can always steal your sweatshirt again too,” she finished, with more ‘grabby paws.’

Luka mocked surprise and crossed his arms over his chest, holding his sweatshirt in place. “Not again! I’ll run out soon.”

Sabrina surged in, tugging and wrestling just as performatively in an effort to get it off of him. “We’ll get you more. I’m gonna make a pile at home to sleep on.”

The image of Sabrina curled up on a pile of his sweatshirts flashed through Luka’s mind. In the warmth that brought, another thought followed, one that stirred up the ticklish unknown once again. He caught hold of her questing hands and suggested, “Trade?”

Sabrina went still, but puzzlement was plain on her face. “Trade?”

Luka opened his hands, moving them to lace his fingers with hers. “I get to keep my sweatshirt, but I’ll give you a kiss instead.”

Those aqua eyes widened behind her glasses. Sabrina's face lit up, and the purity of that joy resonated in Luka's chest. Sabrina still held that sense of innocent wonder at simply being kissed. In turn it made kissing her a thing of newness and wonder as well.

Sabrina wet her lips. "Okay," she whispered, as if keeping the most tender of secrets.

She lifted up onto her tiptoes, leaning in and using their laced hands for balance. Luka leaned down, the ticklish anticipation growing until…

The kiss was gentle, all her kisses were. The kind of gentle that could last for hours in a single moment. Luka felt five years drop away, just a boy having his very first kiss all over again. Sabrina made a soft sound in her throat, contentment given voice. When she slowly rocked down off her tiptoes he followed her, keeping the contact just a second longer to steal that eternity from time itself.

He was floating on a sea of sounds. The water against the boat, the beating of his own heart, ten thousand little noises of Paris all around them, and the soft puff of her breath gasped out in the wake of the kiss.

Luka opened his eyes slowly. The pink cheeked smile that greeted him made him want to sink back into the moment immediately, but others waited above. Luka settled for, "I need to watch trading those away too early in the day. They're a sure fire way to make one wish for night."

At that the pink turned a bright crimson. Sabrina’s mouth made a shocked ‘oh’ and she ducked her head, pawing her hair forward to hide her face. Luka was still parsing just what he’d said to cause the reaction, but knew what came next. He braced as she turned and tackled her shoulder into him, cuddling in to hide against his chest.

The potential implications of his comment finally clicked for him. Luka wrapped Sabrina in a hug and let out a soft embarrassed chuckle, “I didn’t umm- quite mean it, that way.”

Of course now that he’d realized it, his brain was quite willing to run with that particular daydream as well, though to his credit it was far more impressions and feelings than vivid detail.

Luka held her while the overload passed. Slowly Sabrina relaxed against him. He felt her fiddling with the zipper on the sweatshirt that started this all. Her voice drifted up. “I- I wouldn’t say no.”

And there it was again, the notes of complete honesty in her voice. Luka had learned long ago to listen for the background notes, to parse hidden melodies, and draw truth from the storms of noise most people wove around themselves. The pure tones Sabrina communicated in were everything he struggled to find in others. They struck the chords of his emotions before he was even ready at times, drawing resonances he was scarcely prepared for.

Times such as now. The poet was speechless before the intensity of his own feelings. “I-”

She uncurled against him, looking up. Her touch followed her gaze, cupping his cheek. “Me too.”

They settled back into a hug for a minute more before drawing apart. Luka cleared his throat, still feeling the heat in his face. “We’d better go up, before they start thinking things.”

Sabrina swayed as she moved toward the door, catching hold of the hem of the shirt again and spinning to flare it out. She lost her balance and nearly toppled, just catching herself. “Things like, ‘Where did her blouse go?’”

It was Luka’s turn to have his eyes go wide. Sabrina half hid her face behind her hands again, both blushing and grinning at her own insinuation. He gave her a grin in exchange, then held out his hands, fingers flexing at her. “Yeah, like that.”

She caught the glint in his eye and let out an ‘Eeee!” as she turned and bolted. Luka chased her back up the stairs to the deck, tickle-threats inches behind her the whole way. On deck she instantly darted behind the largest protection there was.

Ivan blinked at Luka in confusion. Luka gave him a helpless shrug, “Sorry about that.”

Ivan lifted one arm, turning to peer behind himself even as Sabrina peeked out. He noted, “I’m used to it, though it’s usually Mylène hiding behind me. I’m not sure there’s gonna be room for two.”

Mylène joined the group. “Oh, I don’t mind sharing, Teddy Bear.” She blinked as Sabrina inched back out from behind Ivan. “Oh goodness, is that one of your shirts, hon?”

Ivan’s reply was instant panic, “No?”

Luka saved him further embarrassment, “Technically it was, but never got to him. It’s an extra from the old band shirts. I was going to hand it over because I think Ivan’s the only one who it would have fit, but some people don’t seem to mind that.”

Sabrina stepped further out, smiling at Mylène and Ivan, her temporary bravery slipping back into nervousness again. “It’s comfy,” she defended.

Mylène beamed. “Isn’t it? I steal Teddy Bear’s shirts all the time. You can just curl up in them and it’s like a full body hug.”

Above the pair Ivan was slowly going red faced. He rubbed the back of his head and looked for Luka for help.

Juleka supplied it first, ”We go’n?” she asked, stepping into the expanding circle.

Luka latched onto the new direction, ”Yes, Food! We should go, where are we going this time? It’s… who’s pick?”

Rose hopped into the mix, still wiping the grease paint off her chin with a towel. "New girl picks!"

All eyes swelt back to Sabrina, who instantly wilted.

Mylène was still there beside her though. "You can't pick wrong. That's what being the one to pick means. If they don't like it, you just won't have to pick again for a while… they haven't let me pick for months since the salad smoothie debacle."

A collective groan rose in memory. Even Mylène cringed a bit before defending herself.

"It sounded cool! They donated a percentage to sustainable agriculture!"

Sabrina visibly regrouped as the attention shifted from her. By the time it came back she had uncurled. Luka felt like cheering. Sabrina suggested, "Could we eat at Five Guys? I know it's burgers but I really like their peanuts…"

A chorus of responses.

"Peanuts? Like in shells?!" Rose.

"I l'k brgrs." Juleka.

"I haven't had a burger in forever." Ivan.

"I'm sure I'll find something to eat." Mylène.

Once more, his circle of friends had validated Luka's faith in them. "Alright, let's shove off."

The group had made it up to street level when a crash from back on deck made them stop.

Sabrina piped up beside Luka, "We forgot…"

Another crash and everyone was at the railing. Back on the Liberty, a sight that made jaws drop.

Kagami was chasing Chloé across the deck, bokken in hand. "You can not escape me forever!"

Her quarry mocked over her shoulder, "Can't I?"

Chloé turned, seemingly at bay.

Kagami thrust with her sparring weapon.

Chloé leapt to the side, "Sissone!" A second dodge, "Pirouette!." A third. "Arabesque!" Each a ballet pose that took her just barely out of harm's way.

Kagami paused on the third strike and Chloé leapt clear, "Grande Jete!" She landed on the ship's rail, perched proudly, and laughed into the back of her hand. "Hahaha, you're far to brutish to try and match me for grace!"

Kagami made the jump to the railing too, both girls now standing on an inch of rounded steel. "oh really?"

Chloé panicked and wobbled as Kagami raised her weapon, "no, wait!"

The blonde lost her balance, struggling to remain on her perch. Kagami lowered her guard but smirked. The smirk lasted only until Chloé pitched over, catching Kagami's blazer in her flailing, and taking them both over the side into the water.

A wet shriek and a stream of Japanese were both drowned out by a fierce topmast bellow from Anarka's lungs, "Woman Overboard!"

The brawny captain ran across the deck and threw a preserver over the side.

Luka said, “We should help.”

Juleka. “Y’h”

Rose. “We should…”

Sabrina noted, “Or, we could run.”

The group exchanged a look among themselves.

They were already a dozen blocks away by the time Anarka hauled the first streaming girl up over the side.

#miraculous ladybug #luka couffaine #sabrina raincomprix #mylene haprele #ivan bruel #juleka couffaine #rose lavillant #chloe bourgeois #kagami tsurugi #ml fanfiction #ml fic

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talonslockau · 5 months

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Fire and Ice - Chapter 22

Chapter 21 || Index || Chapter 23

Ever since the announcement of Windclan's fate, the Clan had been tense, waiting for an attack at any moment. Though patrols along the Shadowclan border had been thus far uneventful, everyone knew that could change at any moment. Nothing could relax the fear every cat was feeling, nor did anyone try.

Firepaw's routine remained for the most part unchanged, though Tinyfrost was accompanying him near constantly now. Because of it, he had had no opportunity to go visit Princess since their first meeting. As much as he desired to see his sister again, he knew better than to try sneaking off, especially while tensions were high. He didn't need to be in more trouble than he was already.

"So why have you been avoiding the other apprentices?" He blinked out of his thoughts as Tinyfrost spoke aloud. The two had been collecting fresh moss for the Shadowclan elders' bedding. "I thought you were friends with all of them."

The mere thought of the other apprentices sent his heart racing. "It's nothing. I've just been busy with all the hunting I have to do."

"Which means it's your fault." Tinyfrost observed, his icy blue eyes stoic as he regarded his apprentice. "If it wasn't, you wouldn't be reluctant to talk about it."

He looked away with a grimace. "You don't know that." He grumbled under his breath.

"I do now." His mentor's voice was as quiet as ever as he spoke. "You can't try and hide it from me, you know. I've seen you sitting by yourself during sunhigh, and I haven't seen you say a single word to them since the Shadowclanners arrived. I assume it has something to do with them."

For a moment, Firepaw was tempted to tell the other tom to leave it alone, that it wasn't his business. Yet they were stuck together until Bluestar decided that the danger of Shadowclan was past, and Tinyfrost could all too easily spend that foreseeable future needling him about it. Unfortunately, ignoring him wasn't a viable option.

"I couldn't stand them rubbing their success in my face." He muttered as he tore away another section of moss. "While I'm stuck taking care of every elder around, they're off enjoying hunting competitions and training and sleeping in." His fur rose as he thought about it. "They get to eat twice a day while I'm lucky if I get one meal to myself!"

He expected the other tom to mock him, much as everyone else had been doing, but to his surprise his mentor nodded sympathetically. "You've been working harder than most. And it's not fair." He blinked in surprise at the kind words. "You've shown a restraint most warriors would have trouble with, given the season."

Firepaw hesitated, unsure how to take the sudden praise. "I, uh, thank you." He finally managed, dipping his head to the older tom.

"But." Of course there was a but. "You can't just take your frustrations out on your friends. Yes, it isn't fair that you were punished when you did the same thing any warrior would have done. But lashing out at those that care for you won't help."

Truthfully, Firepaw already knew that. He'd known how wrong it was since the moment he had berated them. Yet despite all of that, he still found it hard to consider apologizing. If he did, he would have to listen to them bragging, day in and day out.

"If nothing else, the rift between you and them obviously isn't helping you." Tinyfrost continued as he began gathering up the collected moss. "I'd guess it's making you feel worse. Maybe fixing it would make you feel better for a change?"

The apprentice looked away from his mentor, not wanting the latter to see his grimace. "I don't need your sarcasm." Firepaw grumbled as he began collecting up his own moss. "I can handle it myself."

"Suit yourself." Tinyfrost replied simply to his apprentice's attitude. "If you want to mope around by yourself during your precious little free time, that's your prerogative. Just don't let it affect your performance." He could hear the other tom bundling up his moss. "Why don't you go take that bundle to Spottedleaf and Yellowfang? I'll take this to the Shadowclan elders."

Firepaw glanced over to him in surprise. "Are you sure? But Bluestar said-"

Tinyfrost waved him off. "It's fine. You're only returning to camp from here, and I'll be careful. I can take care of myself out here. Besides, don't you want to get this done faster, so you can hunt yourself something before moonhigh?"

Firepaw had to admit that the thought of getting to eat was far too tempting to turn down. "Alright. Stay safe." With that, he picked up his bundle and headed for the ravine.

The sun was getting low on the horizon as he entered camp; it wouldn't be long, he supposed, until the border patrols came back, and the other apprentices along with them. Thankfully, the camp was only guarded by a couple of warriors, and was otherwise empty at the moment.

The healer's den was getting dark as he entered, and only Yellowfang was inside. He supposed Spottedleaf was probably out gathering herbs for the coming war, preparing as much as she could like everyone else in camp was.

"Hello, Yellowfang." Firepaw greeted her as politely as he could, dropping his bundle by her paws. "Do you need me to change your bedding again?"

Her predictable scoff came as he spoke, as it had ever since he had been assigned to care for her. "Do you always smell dung wherever you go? I'm fine." She sniffed at the moss he had brought her. "I could use some mouse bile for the ticks on my back, though. The base of my tail itches something fierce!"

Firepaw hesitated. "Where do I find mouse bile?" He asked the old healer. He knew Spottedleaf sometimes collected the discarded organs from eaten freshkill, but he had no idea where she stored them.

"I'll get it." Yellowfang stretched out her front paws and made her way over to Spottedleaf's storage, clumsily kicking the moss alongside her. Firepaw looked on uncertainly as she extracted a patch of moss and pulled a small, round object out of Spottedleaf's storage and cut it open.

"Here." The old healer gestured at the moss as she limped back to her nest. "Just put the moss on the ticks with your paws. They'll be leaping off to get away from the stench." She snorted at that. "In a way, they're smarter than you for that."

He did his best to refrain from rolling his eyes as he picked up the moss with one claw. "You're going to hold that against me forever, aren't you?" He grumbled as he gently lowered the moss onto the base of her tail.

"Well, my leg is still broken because of you, so…" The healer's tail lashed against his paws. "I think I'm entitled to, yes."

Firepaw couldn't restrain himself from grimacing. "Yeah, you and everyone else in this camp." He muttered to himself.

The molly's ear twitched at his words. "You managed to anger every cat in camp? Even at my prime, I never accomplished that." Her voice was wry, almost reassuring, if he didn't know any better.

"I might as well have." He grumbled. "Half of them are pissed at me for attacking a healer, even though she stank like a fox. Half of them are still angry at me for being a former kittypet, and half of them are too busy enjoying themselves to bother themselves with their 'friend' struggling." His nose rankled at the thought of his friends gallivanting off while he was busy feeding a quarter of the Clan.

"That was three halves." Yellowfang observed. "Don't tell me you've gone so far as to recruit additional kittypets just to get them to hate you? Quite the impressive feat, if that's the case."

He huffed at her snarky response. "Whatever. Why do you care? You hate me as much as anyone else here."

The dark molly shrugged, dislodging the moss from her tail and forcing him to drag it back onto her spine. "I'm stuck here listening to you. I could sit in silence like a sullen kit, but that's rather boring, isn't it?" She snorted dismissively. "I have to say, I'm surprised such an aggressive kittypet has any friends in the Clan. They must be impressively brave, or naïve."

Firepaw growled at her insinuation. "I only attack trespassers, not Clanmates." He snapped. "Besides, didn't I already tell you? They're not really my friends anymore."

She flicked an ear at that. "Fine, then. What did you do to get them to hate you? Cover their nest in thorns? Pee in their freshkill? Get them assigned to elder duty for a quarter-moon? You know, normal apprentice things?" There was a pause, then she sighed. "Well, they used to be."

"Pee in their freshkill?" He shuddered at the thought. What a waste of food. "No. They were rubbing my face in the fact that they all managed to follow the code and win while I broke the code - completely on accident, while trying to follow it - and now I'm stuck taking care of every elder in the territory."

Yellowfang was quiet for a long moment. "Every apprentice breaks the code at some point. Some more than others." She sighed and glanced over her shoulder. "Move that mouse bile up, won't you? I can still feel a few ticks in my spine."

"Try telling them that." He grumbled, complying nonetheless. "Try telling the whole Clan that, really."

"It is our belief in the warrior code that makes us a Clan." Yellowfang murmured as she looked away again. "Without it, who are we? What are we?" Her voice wavered for a moment. "It is the job of the healer to guide the Clan when our leader will not."

Firepaw tilted his head in confusion. "I don't see what that has to do with anything."

She was silent for several long moments, and for a heartbeat he wondered if the healer had forgotten he was there. "There are some wounds not even a healer can mend, Firepaw. You should remember that." She sighed again. "Remember that where I did not."

"Some wounds…?" He glanced over his shoulder to where camp was. She couldn't possibly be suggesting that she couldn't be the one to talk to the others? Perhaps she meant that it had to be him?

"That's enough for now, Firepaw. I don't think any ticks will be bothering me for a while." Yellowfang shook off the moss, which landed with a wet slap on the dirt beside her. "I'm not that hungry, so I don't think you'll need to catch me dinner tonight. I'll share something with Spottedleaf."

"I- Alright, then." The young apprentice hesitated. "Are you sure you don't need anything else?"

"If I wanted something else, I'd just say it." The old molly snapped, evidently back to her usual bad mood. "Now leave me be. I don't need to listen to the inane ramblings of a moody apprentice."

He didn't need to be told twice. "I'll see you tomorrow, then." He mumbled, hurriedly making his way out of the den and into the camp clearing.

By now, most of the patrols had returned, and were sharing tongues with each other as they ate for the night. All of the apprentices were back, conversing over freshkill as they did every night.

Firepaw watched the five of them for a few moments. Both Tinyfrost and Yellowfang had at least insinuated that he ought to make things right with them. He would never have a better chance than this. If he didn't do it now…

He forced his paws to carry him across the dusty clearing, ignoring the conversations carrying on around him. As he approached, Ravenpaw was the first to look up, nudging Pepperpaw and Dewpaw beside him until all five of the apprentices saw him come to a stop in front of them.

"Firepaw? Do you need something?" Pepperpaw's ears were perked forward curiously, but he could tell by her squint that she was obviously distrustful of his intentions. He supposed he couldn't blame her.

"Look, I…" He took a deep breath, trying not to let his nerves get to him. "I wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Cinderpaw asked, before she was quickly shushed by Pepperpaw beside her.

"I messed up." Firepaw admitted, his tail dropping into the earth below. "I was angry, and I took it out on you guys instead."

"That you did." Pepperpaw murmured stoically. "You can't help how you feel. What matters is what you do with those feelings."

"I- I know." He dipped his head with a sigh. He remembered those words from the night the fox had entered the nursery; the night of the Gathering. "I handled it poorly and you didn't deserve it. I'm sorry."

From beside him, Graypaw shrugged. "We all get mad and make mistakes. I get it." He bit down on his squirrel. "At leasht you owned up to it."

Pepperpaw glanced at her brother with a frown. "That's true, but…"

Cinderpaw flicked her tail quickly at her sister's words. "Hey, as long as he promises not to do it again, what's the problem?"

"I won't." Firepaw spoke quickly, before Pepperpaw could respond. "I swear I've learned my lesson. It wasn't your fault, and I shouldn't have acted like it was." He hesitated, before adding, "I just want to make things right."

Pepperpaw sighed and looked down at her pigeon. "You have had a lot on your shoulders lately… Maybe we should have been more understanding." She admitted slowly. "I suppose that Cinderpaw and Graypaw are probably right."

"Besides, remember when Cinderpaw stole your rabbit fur ball and tore it up in front of you? You were mad at her for a moon!" Graypaw chuckled fondly at the memory. "Honestly, Firepaw's been doing everyone's share of the chores for the last half moon or so. We should really be thanking him, when you think about it."

"Graypaw…" Pepperpaw's tone was low, almost warning him.

"That fur ball was an accident! I didn't know it was close to falling apart like that." Cinderpaw huffed, interrupting her sister before she could say anything else.

"A-anyways, I just wanted to say sorry. I need to go catch something to eat before the night patrol leaves, so…" Firepaw started to slowly back away, all too familiar with how quickly conversation could devolve when Cinderpaw was involved.

"Nonsense!" Graypaw patted the ground beside him with his tail. "There's enough on this squirrel to share. C'mere."

Firepaw paused, his stomach growling at the thought of an easy meal for a change. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude…"

"Nonsense." Graypaw nudged the squirrel slightly towards him. "You're forgiven, right? You won't be intruding on anything. Besides, I could use your help in an argument. See, Cinderpaw thinks that Shadowclan eats snakes, but I think they'd be too thin to get any meat off of."

"Obviously only the baby snakes would be too small to eat. Have you seen a full-grown adder? Those things are huge!" Cinderpaw interrupted, tail lashing already. "They already eat toads, so why not snakes?"

"They've got to be poisonous, though, right?" Graypaw turned to Firepaw as he sat down beside the other tom. "Have any of the Shadowclanners said anything to you about it?"

The ginger apprentice considered it, thinking back through his interactions with the elders and Yellowfang. "I don't think they have…" He admitted slowly. "I could ask them, but I don't know if they'd answer me, let alone honestly."

"I'm telling you that they do! One-eye said so!" Cinderpaw insisted, already forgetting her meal as her eyes glistened with the thought of winning an argument.

"And you believe everything One-eye says? She used to tell you your nose turned red when you lied." Graypaw chuffed dismissively. "You believed that one for three moons!"

Firepaw had to purr at the two bickering as he leaned down to take a bite of squirrel. He was glad he had made up with all of them, even if Pepperpaw and Ravenpaw were still eyeing him hesitantly. He had missed these conversations with all of them, though he hadn't been willing to admit it to even himself. It felt right to be sitting next to Graypaw and the rest of them now.

Now, all they needed was to deal with Shadowclan once and for all, and everything might turn out okay after all.

#talonslock #warrior cats #fanfic #wc #the prophecies begin #talonslock story #fire and ice #thunderclan #firepaw #tinyfrost #yellowfang #graypaw #pepperpaw #cinderpaw #ravenpaw

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herebegiants · 7 months

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‿︵‿✎ The Summoning Curse ✎‿︵‿

Silence engulfed their travel for a while - the birds would even quiet as they drew near.

Until Chris finished his breakfast.

“So, uh… kin I ask why we’re goin’ closer to the city full of fairies who want teh kill yeh?”

Nick frowned at that. “Not everyone there wants to kill me.”

Chris huffed, flashing a smile as he stepped over a boulder. “I’d be surprised if they did.”

Nick craned his neck to share a questioning look.

“Um… thanks?”

Chris cleared his throat. “What I mean teh say is, yeh haven’t actually told me what yeh need help with.” He raised a curious brow. “It’s not often yeh get summoned in general. Let alone for just helpin’ someone survive the woods for a night.” He chuckled.

Nick breathed a laugh. “I bet…”

Then his face turned solemn.

“I guess you wouldn’t know though, huh?” He rested his chin in his hand. “For the longest time, my home’s been a center of learning among, uh… the ‘little-folk’.” He explained. “It’s not a big place, but it’s earned a name for itself through the Sorcerer’s University - where I’m attending. The school’s gotten so famous for its successes that it has some standing with the Marchioness.” He frowned at the forest passing by. “The thing is, there’s been a resurgence in technological interests lately. A strong one. And a growing number of Ambranth’s politicians have been pushing for magic studies to be dropped in favor of funding our own research.”

Chris bobbed his head to the side, blinking. “Wow.” He scoffed. “Not surprised. Somehow summonings always have somethin’ to do with politics.”

“That’s not even the problem yet.” Nick pointed out. “See the-“

Chris interrupted with a groan, rolling his head over his shoulders and getting pops out of his neck. “Give me the short version, please. I’m not gonna remember all this.”

Nick arched a brow. He shifted around, crossing his arms with a wiggle of his head. “Well long story short, we need to have magic to defend ourselves. We’re not as big and strong as you.” His expression turned somber once more. “There’s, a lot of people who would get hurt in the time it would take, switching to non-magic research. After all, that’s why the school exists. Not everyone stays in the Hidden Cities, but everyone who doesn’t still wants to stay safe.” He threw up his hands as his own agitation grew. “People need some way to defend themselves!”

Chris hummed in thought, his brow furrowing. “Technology could provide some means of self-defense.”

Nick sighed, nearly deflating as he slouched over. “I’m sure it could. But like I said, it’s not the switch that’s the probl-“ His arm slipped out from under him as Chris dropped to the ground.

The giant’s eyes were narrowed, gazing through the bushes.

Past the walls of the underbrush stretched a little moss-blanket clearing, surrounded by hedges and bright orange butterfly flowers.

In its center stood a building.

It was three stories tall, with pristine white walls lined and crossed in brown patterns as dark as its steep shingle roof. A stone brick tower rose from one of its sides, ending in a circlet of stained glass windows - its entire length swept with long, flowering vines carefully grown to reach up in a spiral from its base.

The smell of hot tea radiated from the second story’s open windows, drawing a sigh from Nick’s lungs. A smile spread on his lips.

“And that would be the meeting point.” He beamed at Chris’s puzzled face and chuckled. “What? You thought we’d just be stuck out in the woods this whole time?”

Chris arched a brow at him with a meaningfully unimpressed look.

Nick pulled back with a chuckle. “Aww, c’mon, we’ll figure something out for you too!”

“An’ what about soldiers?” Chris frowned as he glanced back out from their cover, craning his neck to see from different angles around the leaves. “Shouldn’t they be scurryin’ around out here?”

“It’s the far edge of town, and there’s a cliff surrounding the area about a mile out.” Nick patted his wrist. “They wouldn’t bother stationing anyone here when they’ve got a whole forest to sweep.”

Hesitating, Chris got back up to step over the bushes. He set his hand to the ground, letting Nick jump off, and followed him as he rushed to the back door.

Nick reached for it, but then stopped. His brow knit with worry.

“Hey, Chris?”

The giant turned his attention away from the roof, having a finger poised to poke the shingles that reached up to his chest-level.

“Yeah?”

Nick bit his lip.

“Could… could you give me a minute? It’s, it’s my friend’s place. I, just wanna talk with her first. Give her -uh - give her a head’s up about…”

He swallowed down the lump in his throat.

Chris breathed an amused snort. He turned back to the roof, brushing a finger over the frame. “It’s no issue teh me. Do what you’d like.” He rubbed his fingers together, flashing a smile to Nick before stepping over to a tree out of view of the door. He leaned back against it and folded his arms.

Nick smiled back as he disappeared. Then he rapped the wood thrice, once, and twice.

A moment passed before it creaked open.

A sharp gasp followed. A patter of bare footsteps rushed up, vibrant color thudding into Nick as a pair of arms threw themselves around his middle.

“NICK! Oh dear gods are you alright!? I’ve been worried SICK!”

A freckled, wide eyed, chestnut face pulled back - a woman with dark curls falling over a pastel dress that swayed around her ankles in a heavy lull. Her eyes were full of concern as she pulled him down to her level and clasped her hands on his cheeks.

He grinned, chuckling as he took her wrists in turn.

“Everyone in town is talking about what happened at the prison with that thing!” She rushed “And-“

“I-I’m fine, Jinx.” Nick hurried, his eyes darting a sideways glance to where Chris was hiding.

She huffed as a frown overtook her expression. “Well I’ll make sure about that! Get in here!”

Nick yelped, pulling back as she grabbed his arm and tugged him to the door.

“Wait! Jinx, there’s something you need to kno-“

It slammed shut behind them.

»———— .❅*⋆⍋⋆*❅. ————«

Chris tilted his head, curious to see who this soft new voice belonged to.

He could just make out the silhouettes of the fairies through the colored windows. Nick’s feathers were fluffed, his head whipping back and forth from the door as he seemingly attempted to get a word in. The other, a much shorter form that only reached up to his middle and didn’t appear to have wings, still had yet to let go of his arms and was moving about excitedly.

Then Nick whipped his head back one last time, staring at her.

And her movement abruptly stopped.

There was a rather long moment in which neither of them seemed to breathe.

Then Nick nodded, and the second silhouette turned to the window.

Chris shifted his arms.

The figure stepped up to the glass. A lock clicked, and it slowly opened.

A pair of wide, honey brown eyes peeked out, widening even further as they followed his figure up to his face.

Chris nodded his head in a light bow.

The woman squeaked as she ducked back inside and slammed the window closed.

Breathing a long sigh, Chris tightened his lips and slumped his shoulders. He shuffled his feet, glancing to the sky as the voices started up again. The woman’s now shrill with a frightened edge.

Well… fuck.

»———— ✯ ⋅. 𝄞 .⋅ ✯ ————«

“It’s okay! He’s not gonna hurt anyone!” Nick turned one way to the next, holding his hands out and trying to face her as she paced back and forth.

His stomach twisted itself in knots.

Jinx’s brow was deeply furrowed in a contemplative scowl, her eyes boring holes into the polished rock floor of the little kitchenette - one of her elbows propped in a hand as the other hand pinched her chin.

Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought him here this early…

“I’m sorry, Jinx.” He tried, guilt starting to add to the twist of his insides. “I didn’t think you’d be angry-“

“Angry?” She paused, her scowl softening to a frown as she snapped her head to him. “I’m concerned, Nick! You saw firsthand what he did to the prison! And you brought him here!? Without the others?! Without backup?!”

Nick winced.

She wasn’t exactly shouting. Somehow she never managed to do that. But it was the sort of stab you get in your chest when you’ve so badly upset the one person who just never is.

Because that’s exactly what was happening.

“Look, I know what that must sound like,” he tried to explain “but he’s not gonna try to punch in the library.”

Her brow twisted in a pitifully frightened face. She clasped her hands together, bouncing them in emphasis to her words. “How, would, you, know, that?”

“Because I’ve had to spend the night with the guy in the woods! He’s done nothing but help me!”

“He’s forced to help you, Nick!” Her eyes weighed with worried tears. She put her hands over her face and breathed a long whimper. “Ohhhhhh - You don’t know how this works, do you?”

Nick pulled back with a huff, a frown spreading over his face. “‘I don’t know what I’m doing’, ‘I don’t know how this works’,” He threw a hand in the air with each line, “could someone please tell me then, because just saying I don’t know doesn’t help to fix that!”

Jinx looked up, puzzled. “Who’s already said it?”

“Chris!”

She blinked at him.

Nick wiped his hands on the sides of his face with a groan. “The giant! That’s his name.”

Jinx glanced out the window again.

“Well he certainly wouldn’t tell you.” She frowned at the towering silhouette. “It’s better for him that way.”

Nick’s expression dissolved. “What… what d’you mean?”

She looked at him, breathing a sigh that rose in pitch with guilt.

“Nick, the summoner can control the summons.” She hesitated. “Even against the summon’s will.”

Nick blinked at her.

“What?”

She bit her lip. “It’s… it’s necessary in some cases - a fail-safe when the summons proves dangerous.” She glanced out the window again with a nod. “It’s a gamble to conduct a summoning ritual - and one that’s not in your favor. People who get cursed with undeath are not generally good individuals.” She explained. “You have to tick off someone pretty important to manage that. And by important I mean,” She pointed to the roof, “divinely.”

Nick’s eyes widened. A pit opened up in his stomach.

“But… he’s, he’s-“ he bobbed his head to the side “I mean, he was a bit cranky, but. Not…”

Jinx breathed a sigh. She stepped up to him, giving a squeeze of reassurance on his arm.

“I’m sorry, Nick. You weren’t in the loop because…” she shrugged. “You’re. You’re too nice.” She looked into his eyes with sympathy. “We didn’t want to put that kind of weight on your shoulders. You were never supposed to be the summoner.”

Nick blinked. He stared out the window, studying the huge silhouette.

Wiping a hand over his face, he turned to lean back on the counter under the stained glass. His mind flashed back to Miss Lark. To her words. To her encouragement.

Stand your ground… Your trial will not last forever.

He groaned with realization.

She knew as soon as I was the one to follow her.

He took a deep breath.

I can do this. I can still do this.

He glanced out the glass over his shoulder.

But… Everyone seems to think he’s dangerous.

He looked back to Jinx’s worried face. Her eyes searched his, waiting to know how he’d react.

She’d help him. He knew she would. She always had.

I wouldn’t have to use it. I could just, know. Just in case.

So, I guess…

“The… the controlling thing… how does that work?”

Jinx clenched her jaw, hesitant. She studied his face for a moment.

“Are you sure you can take this responsibility?”

Nick tightened his lips. Reaching around, he pulled the necklace out from his belt. He tilted his head at it, letting the gemstone roll in his palm.

“I think I already have…”

Jinx waited another moment, glancing between him and the stone.

She exhaled a sigh, then held her hand out in a beckon, locking eyes with him as she cupped her hands around his and nodded to the gem.

“You have this? And he must do as you command. But remember, it must be a command.”

Nick stared at the ruby. His face twisted with guilt.

“I. I don’t like this...” He squinted. “I don’t want to force him into anything.” He blinked back the mist in his eyes. “And, if I do, I’ll be alone.”

Jinx’s brow knit with sympathy. She tilted her head to meet his gaze. “He can’t hurt you, you know. Not when it’s your blood that’s called him here. You’re bound to each other, and I guarantee he knows it too.”

Wagging his head, he looked up at her again. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Her face melted, turning her gaze to the ground. She gave his wrist a gentle squeeze as she breathed in the barest of whispers “I know.”

Nick shifted his wings.

One of his flight feathers bent, pushing against something.

And they both jumped as a clay pot fell from the counter, shattering on the stone floor.

»———— .❅*⋆⍋⋆*❅. ————«

Chris snapped up his head, his eyes widening as he watched Nick’s silhouette double over.

He sucked in a gasp through his teeth and leapt for the building.

#reupload #HereBeGiants first draft

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valleynix · 1 year

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Before I go further into the story... I'VE DONE RESEARCH. And I have one more theory. I hope I managed to make it make sense it was hard to gather thoughts into words.

So the Megamycete can store the consciousnesses of people that are infected/died. It is also capable of creating a whole new realm.

So, I think when the blackouts happen Reader finds themselves in the world created by the Megamycete. The people they see are pieces/versions/copies of their and other people's (like Dimis) consciousness. Since there was a calmer version of Daniela, I assume there can be a scarier, more feral version(s) of the Reader too.

Now I think Miranda is, perhaps, running tests on the Reader, on the different copies/versions of their consciousness like it was with Rose in the DLC. Maybe they're supposed to go through some kind of scenario(s)?

To see which version will succeed and in what circumstances.

But it seems most (if not all) failed. That's why the "Not enough, not good, can’t help" lines.

That would explain the feeling of deja vu, that Reader already spent time with Dimitrescus. Those could be the memories of a different version of the Reader that had already gone through the scenario.

But I don't know if this is the version that Miranda chose as destined to succeed or if it's a random consciousness on loose?

(Or the Reader the story we follow is still a test subject and none of this is actually real like idk they're trapped in their body, their mind stuck in the fake realm)

But... yeah, what was Miranda's goal. This is the part of theory I have doubts about but let's go.

It's strange but for me it looks like Miranda wanted Reader to like... neutralise the Dimitrescus? But Reader became attached to them so they didn't want to hurt them. So Miranda forced them by getting into their head. (Since it was mentioned she can do that)

In those blackouts I feel like Reader becomes hostile toward them sometimes, like they're not completely themselves.

The ch6 blackout looks like Reader (even if didn't want it) attacked them (perhaps even killed one of them) but failed at defeating them all.

And Miranda(?) said they weren't ready, but she can try again. As in, use another copy of the Reader perhaps? To make them go through this all again and see if this time they'll be successful.

So when those people the Reader sees say they're not good enough, they can't help. Maybe they mean they can't fight against Miranda to stay sane and not hurt the people they grew to care about.

There was a line "I can't let her win" so perhaps they mean they can't let Miranda take over their mind and make them fight against Dimitrescus.

Idk why she would want them dead tho😭 so I may be so horribly stupidly wrong about this part but yeah

before i get started partially answering your theory (because i don't want to spoil anything), can i just tell you how much i ADORE this theory??? like... oh my god. i love the thought and work you clearly put into making it and i will cherish it <33

i will say that you did pick up on a few things!! and something you did hit PERFECTLY (but i will not say which part >:) ). it's very interesting seeing theories pop up before the reveal because, truthfully, everything is written as if there are several possibilities, if that makes sense?

like, it's intentionally misleading so that you won't really know what's going on until the reveal, but the clues/hints/foreshadowing can lead to multiple outcomes. i am tired and my vision is blurry so i hope this makes sense BAHA

i believe Miranda's motives are either hinted at or said in chapter eight/nine, but when/if you get there, i'd be happy to clarify her reasoning for doing All That and why she wants to Dimitrescus (and everyone else) dead. i really can't remember if i did go into detail about it or if it was all simply implication; i'd have to go back and reread :o

but listen, nah. we don't insult theories here >:( i had fun reading what you think is going on and all the evidence you have to back yourself up; no theory is a stupid one! i intentionally wrote it so that you most likely wouldn't know what exactly was going on, but you did come very close in some areas and 100% got some others :D

i do look forward to hearing what else you have to say as you continue reading <33

#asks #mmm this is exciting skdfhjs #i think only like #one person ??#actually guessed what was going on before the reveal #ezzie partially guessed iirc #but again it's all intentional #you are being intentionally misguided >:)

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juanitasupreme · 2 years

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ykw im feeling messy today time to be divisive and rank blackpinks singles best to worst.

1. Du ddu du: best raps, had a atual dance break, the hype during that era was unparalleled this was their first global hit ,basically but them on bullet proof boyscouts level

2.boombayah: the girls had one chance to prove to their company they were the new it girls and they did. lisa's rap outsold. jennies rap outserved. rose was on the sliding on the floor jisoo was a visual all was well. birthed blackpink in your era and i cannot lie "i dont need a boy i need a man" had me gobsmacked

3.So hot remix: technically is a single and not a comeback but i said i was ranking singles so get off my dick. the only reason teddy hasnt given blackpink an actual comeback like this is because he's afraid of success? i guess? has one of the least cringe english raps in their discography. like theyd actually body this. this remix came in the middle of a drought and got more streams than the original song in months. absolutley insane. hell they could probably still release it, just give jisoo lines and add a dance break omg.

4. Sour candy: technically not even blackpinks song but lets be honest it is. well its rose's really and we all know out of the 4 girls rose and lisa are the only ones really trying anymore at this point. once again if bp had a song like this they would devour. it would top the charts (deservingly) the reason its not higher on the ranking is because lady gahgah is on there, sorry ma'am

5.Playing with fire: she gave. everything. choreo was engaging, lyrics were deep. raps were slaying. everyone sounded good and this is the last time all of the members were seen trying during live stages. if bp released a song like this today blinks would cry tears of joy.

6. love sick girls: their last truly amazing song theyve put out to date basically manufactured in a lab to be a hit and it was.

7.whistle: its odd seeing whistle divorced from her sister boombayah but im gonna be honest here she has strong line distribution, good rapping but jennies vocals on the chorus never rlly hit for me. she sounds like shes straining, especially the bridge. honestly in my opinion they shouldve kept the demo version iykyk

8. Stay: i feel like people forgot about her. this is the only time bp released a slow song as a single. its very christian horsegirl music which was perfect for rose. i wonder if bp wouldve been better off releasing songs like this and their regular uptempo dance pop songs so that way they would have more depth as a group. but that would require actual effort from yg. bp has such a obvious formula for a lot of their songs that even when they try to break it it ends up more of the same *see, shutdown*

10. sure thing cover: ok i know im fucking pushing this it wasnt even a single but im putting it here because bp couldve benefitted from having a song like this in their discography

11.forever young: on the technicality forever young was promoted on music shows i will count it as a single. shes ok. i put her over kiss and make up simply because she has a dance break

12. Kiss and make up: technically dula peepas song but bp did good so im keeping it here.

13. Ice cream: npt as bad as people say it is its just painfully basic and selena didnt rlly add much but i digress.

14.pink venom: as soon as i heard it i knew they were going for early 2000s late 90s throwback vibes so i didnt hate it like everyone else what can i say i have the mind of a mastermind it was still a let down after waiting so long for a single though

15.as if its your last: i know the pinks hate this song it was the only new thing they had to perform for like two years.

16.ready for love: whew the hype for this song died so fast. its not even bad just forgettable

17. shut down: i will give the song this, the lyrics actually are catchy. the melody of the chorus was stuck in my head after the 2nd listen which is strange since its a lackluster song. rapper jisoo showed up which was a welcome surprise. the english raps left a lot to be desired.

18. awesome screen awesome camera: yes i put an ad with just lisa and rose here to make the number on the list even, and yes this samsung jingle is still better than kill this loveand hylt

19. kill this love: the first time(and not the last) i remember being truly disappointed by a bp comeback.

20. how you like that: ....

#too many bad takes #anon

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darkwitchtraveler · 9 months

Text

It had been a hard shift. Two structures and four vehicle accidents in a 24 hour period was unusual for our house. I drug myself to my truck and drove straight home. Once at home, I started undressing time I got into the house, and by the time I made it to the bedroom, I was down to my boxers. I went to the bed and pulled the covers back and was out by the time my head hit the pillow.

Being a firefighter had its perks. I worked 24 hour on and 48 hours off. Most nights, I am able to get my eight, but the action the night before had me exhausted. On a normal day after getting off shift, I would leave the fire house and go to the gym, then run some errands for the wife and usually make it home shortly after lunch, so for me to head home and go to bed was not something I did a lot. Most of the guys at the fire house had second jobs on their off days. I was fortunate, being an officer and having a successful realtor for a wife, it was not necessary for me to have a second job. My wife ran the house, with my support. She paid the bills, sat up appointments for me and our kids, and never gave me grief for not being the conventional husband. I believe that my schedule is probably what has allowed us to stay together so long.

As I slumbered, I heard a noise down stairs. I rubbed my face and rose up from the pillow to pay closer attention. I thought I may have been dreaming, but as I listened, I heard it again. I slowly slipped from the bed and reached into my night stand and pulled out my Glock. With out taking the time to slip on some pants, I slipped out of the bedroom, down the hall to the top of the stairs. The noise continued. So step by step, I slowly eased my way down the stairs. Once at the bottom, I looked around. The clothes that I had left on my way to bed were gone. I raised my head, with the pistol by my side, and scanned the living room and into the kitchen. Again, I heard a noise and it definitely came from the laundry room that was located on the other side of the kitchen.

I stayed close to the wall, as much as I could, and made it to the kitchen door. Slowly, I stuck my head inside and looked around. I was convinced that the burglar was in the laundry room working to get the washer and dryer, so I tip-toed closer. When I made it to half way the kitchen, the laundry room door opened. I froze and raised the pistol. First I saw the laundry basket, then to my surprise, a tall blonde carrying it. The woman saw me, screamed, and dropped the basket as she raised her hands above her head.

“Who are you?” I said, gritting my teeth.

“Please, don’t shoot! I am Ivana; I am with the cleaning service.” The woman answered with a trembling voice.

I slowly lowered the pistol and asked for ID. Ivana, with her arms still in the air, walked slowly over to her purse and with out taking her eyes off of me, reached in and pulled out her company issued ID and handed it to me. I scanned the information and everything looked legit. I handed her the ID back and apologized. I then realized in the excitement, that I was standing in the middle of my kitchen in my boxers. I politely and apologetically excused myself and went back to the bedroom. I slipped on a t-shirt and sweats and went back to try to convince this lady that I was not monster.

By the time I returned, she was in the living room and had continued with her duties. Now that I had calmed down, I began to notice the woman bent over in front of my coffee table. Ivana was tall for a woman, I would say 5’9, and looked to weigh about 160-170 pounds, but with her height, she carried the weight very well. She was dressed in loose pants and a matching shirt, I assumed her uniform, but even with the loose pants, her bubbly butt was noticeable. As she bent over, the pants tightened around her ass. As I looked, I did not see any sign of a panty line. The thought of her wearing a thong, or no panties at all, began to make my cock swell.

Ivana was in deep concentration with her work and did not realize I was there until she had worked her way around the coffee table so that she was facing me. Before she noticed, I was able to look down her loose fitting shirt. Her breasts were not very big, but the firm looking mounds were confined in a pink lacy bra. As her hand wiped around the table, they barely moved. When she rose back to a standing position, she saw me looking at her. She blushed as our eyes made contact. The color coming to her face highlighted the softness of her cheeks.

“Sorry about earlier, my wife didn’t tell me you were coming.” I said apologetically.

“Its ok Mr. J, you are never here, so I did not think to announce my arrival.” She replied, adding a pretty smile to let me know I was off the hook.

She continued to clean, and ask me questions about my family, my job and just anything she could think about. I figured that she had a lot of time by herself, so the company was welcomed. After a while, I found myself assisting her, while we talked. All the time, I was taking in her almost flawless beauty and body. There was something different about this woman, but I could not figure it out. As we worked together, I found out that she was single and working to save money for fulfill her life long dream, but did not reveal to me what the dream was. Not being one to pry in others business, we changed the subject.

She was telling me about all her adventures that she had while working with the cleaning service. She literally had me crying as she would always put a comical swing to each of her stories. We worked our way up the stairs, to the bath room and my kid’s rooms. The more she talked, the faster she cleaned. The more she clean, the more open she became, and the more I was getting turned on by watching the way she carried herself. I had never been so turned on by any other woman, other than my wife. When she would kneel and look up at me, I would image my rigid cock parting her full red lips. I know I should have left her to complete her duties, but I was intrigued and didn’t want to let her out of my sight.

By the time we made it to the master bedroom, I had worked up quite and erection. When I caught Ivana not looking, I turned and adjusted myself, by placing my hard cock head between the elastic of my sweats and my stomach. While Ivana went into the bathroom to clean, I worked on straightening the books and stuff on the dressers and night stands. Every so often, she would stick her head out the door, to get eye contact during the conversation. Each time she looked out she was smiling, which in turn made me smile.

She announced, from the bathroom that she was finished. I had my back to her adjusting the clothes in the closet. When I turned, I noticed that she had gotten her shirt wet while cleaning the shower, and her erect nipples were protruding. Even though the shirt was loose, the wetness made it clean to her ample breast.

“Mr. J, are you OK?” Her voice broke my trance and I realized I had been staring at her breast. This time it was me that was blushing.

“Oh, yeah, I am sorry.” I replied.

“Oh it’s OK, I kind of like the attention.”

All I could do was smile and lower my head. I could not believe that I had been so stupid. I decided that I had stayed too long and it was time to make an exit, before things went any further. As I walked towards the door, she caught my hand.

“All I have left is the bed. Would you like to help me with it?”

When I turned to respond, she stepped to me, and she pulled me by the hand to her. Our lips met. At first I was reluctant, but when my lips touched her ultra soft lips, I could not pull away. My hands wrapped around her waist, and hers went around my neck. Our innocent kiss quickly became more passionate as her tongue grazed my lips. I opened my mouth enough and her tongue invaded it. Our tongues rubbed over and over each others as she pulled me closer. My hands slipped under her shirt, and up her smooth back.

I felt her hands rub down my face and neck. They continued down my chest and stomach. She hooked her fingers into the waist band of my sweats and pushed them down. My cock bounced free of its restraints. Her fingers quickly wrapped around my throbbing cock. I leaned down and took the hem of her shirt. She released my cock just long enough to raise her arms so it could be discarded. She gripped the base of my cock as her tongue licked around its head. With a quick snap, I unbuckled her bra, letting her gorgeous breast loose. My hands cupped her breast as she engulfed my cock.

Her mouth was warm and wet and the sensation of her tongue cupping my shaft made me stumble. I back into the bed, and sat. She quickly raised up to get the angle to take me deeper into her mouth. Sucking noises escaped her lips as she masterfully sucked. My hands were on the back of her head and I was thrusting my hips. It had been so long since I had my cock sucked, I had forgotten how wonderful it felt. I knew at the pace she was going, that I would blow my load soon. I reached down and pulled her up to me.

As she was moving up, something strange rubbed against my cock as we kissed passionately. My hands went to her pants and slipped in the back and I squeezed her bubbly ass. It was then that she surprised me, and broke our kiss and sat up on the side of the bed, with her face in her hands and her elbows on her knees.

“Ivana, did I do something wrong?” I asked as I sat up and tried to pull her to me.

She struggled against my embrace, and I could tell she had started to cry.

Again I tried to console her by pulling her to me and received the same reaction.

“This was a mistake Mr. J.” she said almost sobbing.

“Its ok, Ivana, we can stop if you want to. I don’t want you loosing your job, and if me being married is a problem, I understand.” I replied, with a hint of disappointment.

“No, it isn’t either. Unless you tell, no one would know. If we go any farther, I am afraid of what you may do.”

“Look, I am sorry about earlier, I am not a violent man, and you don’t have to worry about me saying anything to anyone.”

“Mr. J, you know when I told you that I was saving my money to fulfill my life long dream?” She asked as she raised her head. The tears flowing from her eyes making her mascara run.

“Yes Ivana, I remember you saying that.”

She took a deep breath, “My life long dream is to be a woman.”

I guess my shock of her statement was revealed by the expression on my face. She went on to tell me how she had been born a male, but had never been into men stuff. She refused to consider herself a homosexual, but a female trapped inside a male’s body. In school, she never wanted to play sports and was teased a lot by the kids calling her sissy. When she was in High School, he father had passed away, and her mother allowed her to start dressing as a woman. She had taken the money her parents had intended for her college and had some surgeries to make her a woman. She only had one procedure left. With that she stood and pulled her pants down and revealed a small, erect penis.

“See even my penis is evidence that I should be a woman,” she said, trying to laugh.

I was stunned. The first emotion that hit me while she was telling me her life story was that I had just let a man suck my cock. As she continued her story, my emotions changed to shame, and disgust for the way she had been treated. I looked at her as she stood in front of me, naked. I looked at her beautiful face, which was definitely the face of a woman. My eyes lowered to her perky breast, the light pink areolas, and the hard nipples. I had never seen tits like that on a man. Then down to her penis. Her penis was uncut, but only two or three inches long and very thin. In reality, I believe my pinky finger was bigger than it was. I had a choice to make. So I stood and stepped closer to her. My cock rubbed against hers as I pulled her into an embrace.

My hands rubbed down her back and I cupped her bubbly butt. I raised my hand and lifted her face with my fingers. I lowered my head, and we kissed. It didn’t take long for our kiss to hit the passionate stage or even more passionate than before. Her fingers wrapped around my cock and she stroked it as we kissed. When our kiss broke, I looked into her ocean blue eyes and smiled. She gave me the biggest and prettiest smile that I have ever seen. Then she stepped back and released my cock. She held up a finger, signaling for me to give her a minute. Still naked, she left the bedroom.

As I waited, and hoped for her return I laid back on the bed. In all of this, my cock had not lost its hardness. It stood proud as I lay on the bed, with my hands under my head. Soon, Ivana reappeared. She climbed on the bed, her smile just as big as before. She knelt on her knees between my legs and brought her hands up. In her hand she had a condom. She pulled the tab on the package and pulled it out. She masterfully unrolled the latex over my throbbing cock. Then she reached back and picked up a tube of lube she had brought. She smeared the lube on the condom. She applied a dollop of lube on her hand and reached past her penis between her legs.

She wiped the excess lube from her fingers onto her shirt that was on the bed. She lifted my cock and positioned herself above me. Her eyes rolled back into her head as the head of my cock penetrated her sphincter ring. She slowly allowed her tight anus to accept the full length of my cock. We then began to move slowly, together. Her ass was so tight and she expertly shifted her hips allowing it to begin milking my cock. One of her hands was on the bed bracing her while the other pulled and tugged on her hard nipple. With each inward thrust she gave a soft, pleasurable moan.

We fucked slow and easy for some time. I was surprised that I could hold back. The thought of her in general should have pushed me over the edge, plus the fact her ass was so tight, and my love of and lack of anal sex. Her thrust became more forceful and soon she was bouncing on my cock. Her breasts were bouncing as she rode me. To my surprise, she quickly lifted off my cock and got on her hands and knees in the middle of the bed.

“Fuck me, Mr. J,” She said as she looked back over her shoulder at me.

I quickly got to my knees and assumed the position. I pointed my lubed cock at her now gaping ass. I rammed it as hard as I could. She screamed loud as I sunk deep inside her ass. I gripped her fleshy ass cheeks as I pounded her ass hard and fast. On every other stroke or so, I would slap her ass and watch it flutter. I could not last much longer as my fucking became almost animalistic. With one last thrust, I filled the condom with an over sized load of cum.

I fell onto the bed, completely out of breath and in pure ecstasy. She crawled to me slowly and seductively. She slowly rolled the condom off my spent cock and lowered her lips to clean me. She laid the leaking condom on her shirt and lay beside me. We lay there until we both regained enough strength to move. We both got up. She discarded the condom in the toilet as I redressed. While I was dressing, I noticed a wet spot in the middle of the bed. When I ran my finger through it and found it was sticky.

“Sorry about that, I guess I had better change the sheets,” she said as she walked out of the bathroom.

Together we stripped the bed and replaced the soiled sheets with new ones. She made the bed and began to gather her materials. Before she left, she walked to me and gave me a big kiss.

“Maybe you can come home early again next week?” She asked with a smile.

“I am sure I can arrange that,” I said as I lowered my head and gave her one last kiss.

I watched her bubbly ass as she walked to her car. She blew me a kiss as she backed out of my drive and pulled away. I shut the door and went on with the rest of my day, hoping that the next week went by quickly.

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