#DID YOU KNOW?: just like Bella i also shot a man with a bow and arrow 🥰 except i'm currently serving 5 years no parole

[fuckmeyer]

hot tip: EXCLUSIVE behind-the-scenes content available to those who livechat my fic to me

#you will learn more about me than you ever wanted to know #(apart from my crippling insecurities and traumas which are WHOLLY evident in text) #DID YOU KNOW?: just like Bella i also shot a man with a bow and arrow 🥰 except i'm currently serving 5 years no parole #jk jk #sadly the Buffalo Wild Wings date was very real #we met on Tinder. (you already know where this is going) #he drove AN HOUR AND A HALF to meet me for the first time #i specifically sent the text 'you really shouldn't drive all that way.' to no avail #i refuse several offers to get picked up for the date. a bitch don't compromise on safety #we get there. we talk about the weather. and the drive. and how much we like Buffalo Wild Wings #he talks about how humanities degrees are worthless. (i was attending a liberal arts school. for an English degree.) #rounded the night off by discussing his favorite social media: 4chan. #he proceeds to explain IN DEPTH his favorite memes and shitposts. this man is verbally illustrating greentexts #oh and BY THE WAY he's christian and looking for a tradwife #the date lasted 45 minutes. i have never hawked down 15 mango habenaro wings so fast. #at the end of the date he went for a kiss. instead i patted him on the shoulder. #i went to my car and waited until he drove away before i went home. #never talked to the guy again #yike #got free wings tho

[eschergirls]

Originally posted at: https://eschergirls.com/photo/2020/04/22/guaranteed-get-female-your-bag

Another gem from Jess Morrissette on Twitter:

"What if we simply played to our strengths? What if we're so good at gaming, it somehow triggers an 'I want the alpha male' response in females?" A Game Geek's Guide to Getting Girls (PC Accelerator, February 2000).

I know PC Accelerator was trying to be a Maxim for gamers thing but holy crumbs.  Even as comedy this comes up short.  I almost would say you could make a drinking game out of reading this article but you'd probably die taking shots whenever "a female" showed up.  Also extra points for the advice to hide your gaming interest from a woman until you "bag" her because not letting your partner know about an important hobby in your life is a great way to make sure she's interested in it. >_>

Transcription for screenreaders (thanks again to Bella (@MoviePosters00) for the transcription):

A GAME GEEK’S GUIDE TO GETTING GIRLS

Okay palm-shavers, listen up! Reaction time is a factor. Say the first word that comes into your mind when we say "flying fat baby with a bow and arrow." No — not Messiah! Dammit, your answer is the reason we're writing this article. When you see that pint-sized chubby cherub whizzing around plinking people, it means Valentine's Day is breathing down your neck ... and baby, with this much love magic in the air, even you might be able to get a date.

As a service to you, our reader and — dare we say it — our friend, PCXL has sought an answer to the mystery that plagues so many gamers, "how do I get a girl?" We've searched high and low, discussed this conundrum over beer, subjected ourselves to countless seconds of daytime talk shows, drank more beer, picked up (and hastily put down) many women are from Venus-type books, slurped down more brew ... and, amazingly, reached an answer.

COMMUNICATION

To get chicks, a guy needs to communicate — often by talking. Realizing this Herculean task would prove impossible for almost any gamer worth his gaming spurs, and tougher for those even more worthless, we beat our heads against this barrier for days (and sucked down more beer) until a glimmer of hope laser-burned its way through the hangover.

What if we simply played to our strengths? What if we're so good at gaming, it somehow triggers an "I want the alpha male" response in females? Heavy stuff. Before we could commit our theory to print, we knew it needed rigorous testing, experimentation, quantifiable results. Unfortunately, we have no scientific credibility whatsoever. But we've never let a lack of credibility stop us before.

TERMINOLOGY

Here's a quick primer of terminology used in our experiments ...

Chick = Girl = Babe = Woman = Lady = Female = The ones with the bumps who constantly perplex us

Game Guy = You = Horny = Geek-like = Perplexed = Everyone needs a little help sometimes

Game =Game

Theory = An unproven idea that's more than likely wrong

Hypothesis = An unproven idea that's more than likely wrong. Also, the side of a right-angled triangle opposite the right angle.

Postulate = Something you assume from the outset to be true, unproven and wrong pretty much by definition

PCXL = Horny = Geek-like = Perplexed = Everyone needs a little help — and we're here to give it

EXPERIMENT ONE: THE "INTERACTIVE ROMANCE"

SUMMARY

In an ongoing effort to bring males and females together via the arena of computer gaming, a number of new companies are creating "gender-friendly'" titles. DreamCatcher Interactive (http://www.dream-catchergames.com) has developed an interactive romantic adventure based on a true story. The Legend of Lotus Spring (set to release February 2000) has players of most major sexes participating in the story of a young emperor and the woman that he is forbidden to love. Described as a "whimsical, non-violent game," TLLS takes you to the Far East over 100 years ago, touching on cultural, as well as romantic and adventure elements. As a date-locating technique, the TLLS experiment was an abject failure, as evidenced by this Session Excerpt from a co-ed focus group:

SUBJECT ONE (female)

They should've gotten Fabio to be in this thing!

SUBJECT TWO (female)

I'd like to help with the "motion capture" for that!

SUBJECT ONE (female)

It's so whimsical and non-violent!

SUBJECT THREE (female)

Awwwww, look at that! There's a "virtual serenade."

SUBJECT FOUR (male)

Sweet Jesus, please let me die.

PLUSES

Subjects 1-3 enjoyed whimsical, non-violent gameplay; Subject 4 also experienced Culture and Sensitivity-Broadening elements, as per his previous plea bargain with the City and County of San Francisco, California. (His original offense involved animal shelter felines and "Black Cat" brand firecrackers, but we shan't elaborate on that story.)

MINUSES

Despite a sincere effort on Subject Four's part to share the cultural and romantic elements of the game, considerable friction erupted. Subjects 1-3 suggested a "Fore-Player HunkMatch" mode while Subject Four insisted the experience remain a "Single-Player Shooter." Alas, Subject Four did not survive the triple-strength Silent Treatment that ensued.

OVERALL SUCCESS RATING (OUT OF FIVE)

Minus One. Not only did the male subject fail to score, but he was repeatedly and needlessly reminded of his utter lack of resemblance to Fabio.

EXPERIMENT TWO: PLAYING HOUSE

THE SIMS

Frankly, everyone believes that The Sims, from software-as-living-toy masters Maxis, is going to be an absolutely cool game. If you didn't read last month's exposé (crawl out from under your rock), it's the "game of life" made real.

You develop characters, Sims as they're called, and guide, coddle, force, etc. them through various phases in life, searching for financial and marital success. You can end up a lazy, jobless, criminal (much like the PCXL editorial staff) or you can develop a thriving career, gain the respect of your peers and co-workers, and generally lead the sort of enviable life we'll never quite achieve.

Lightbulb flashin' over your noggin yet? That's right — this should be perfect for connecting with chicks! We had the same thought ... not surprisingly, we once again demonstrated our total lack of experience and knowledge of the female thought process.

We were deep into the experiment when we realized that playing The Sims with a cute lass is like eating the broccoli and skipping dessert. How so? The Sims is just so real when you play it with a chick. They actually try to do well with their characters and they want you to succeed too. By the time you're done, you're married, employed, saddled with children ... and you haven't even gotten a kiss off the girl (in real life).

PLUSES

If you're really hard up, The Sims is sort of like practice for relating to real flesh and blood females.

MINUSES

The Sims presents all the work with none of the perks. Perhaps the most telling test-result was this ... babes don't get weak-kneed around men who play house!

OVERALL SUCCESS RATING (OUT OF FIVE)

2.5 dollies — While the game initially got the attention of the female subjects and painted the male subject in a sensitive light, it eventually rendered the male subject more hard up than ever in "real life."

EXPERIMENT THREE: GIRLS THINK THEY CAN DRIVE

NASCAR LEGENDS & TEST DRIVE 6

Why did man invent the wheel? So he could invent cars. Why did he invent cars? So he could impress chicks, of course. The attempt to translate the theory that "chicks are impressed by car-savvy guys" into "chicks are impressed by car-GAME-savvy guys" began with Test Drive 6 from Infogrames —and an utter failure to "get her motor running." The following audio was recorded during a race through Rome:

GUY

Hey! Watch the curve coming up!

CHICK

Is there a map? I don't think this is the best route, we should stop and ask for directions. Isn't Father of the Bride on Channel 4 tonight?

CAR

[CRASHES]

The session was immediately scrubbed and re-started the next day using Nascar Legends. In addition to bitchin' graphics, the incredibly realistic races in Nascar Legends are on tracks — eliminating the whole map thing. Our male test subject was able to expound on the muscular virtues of a 1970 Plymouth and get veeeery groovy in his lingo.

GUY

This is so groovy.

CHICK

Did you just say the word "groovy"?

As the race intensified, Nascar Legends and the general grooviness seemed to be having the desired effect.

CHICK

Mmmmm, wish I could drive this with a joystick ...

Unfortunately, this test case proved inconclusive, because the friggin' puss — ahem — guy, made the fatal mistake of paying too much attention to the game and ignoring the girl. He allowed a full 37 seconds to elapse before responding to the joystick statement, sending several possible messages to the test chick:

A) He was not interested in any way whatsoever in helping her get her hands on a joystick.

B) He cared more about the game than he did about her.

C) He is a total lame-ass and is wasting oxygen that a real man could use to deliver a clever joy-stick retort.

Despite the excellence of Nascar Legends, this experiment resulted in the death-knell response:

CHICK

Isn't Father of the Bride on Channel 4 tonight?

OVERALL SUCCESS RATING (OUT OF FIVE)

Five joysticks for the game, three joysticks for the experience of actually playing this with a female, and an obvious and complete lack of a joystick on the part of the male test subject.

EXPERIMENT FOUR: CHANGING TACK

NOCTURNE

When G.O.D. opened the Spook-House doors and unleashed their deliciously ghastly Nocturne, little did they imagine the power they were placing in the hands of the would-be non-virginal male. A combination of "X-Files" chic and classic survival horror action, Nocturne will give you the tools to awaken your "little zombie" from the dead, but you can't expect G.O.D. to do all the work. Take a cue from the game's incredible atmosphere and transform your grotty little hovel into an environment suitable for jitters-induced romance. Lower the lighting ... candles would be a nice touch. Make sure your friend/room-mate/mom (oh, you sad little boy) won't pop in and burst your love-bubble at the climactic moment. Steal some grave stones and casually lay them about:

GIRL

Are those real grave stones?

YOU

Oh, these? They sure are.

GIRL

You're so cool, after we play a little bit of Nocturne, let's do some ... rubbings.

Don't talk during the game play if you can help it. Let the silence and tension build so that when a shambling horror suddenly lunges at her onscreen persona, she'll shriek. The effect is totally ruined, however, if you're the one who lets loose an effeminate shriek.

PLUSES

With proper set-up and execution, a "Nocturne Date" will deliver more sizzle than a dozen oysters. Even if you don't score, a night of blasting werewolves and zombies is a night well spent.

MINUSES

There's a definite gross out factor at work here. When ghouls overwhelm your date and feast on her twitching on-screen corpse, she may be more inclined to vomit than make out with you. On the other hand, you can turn this negative to your advantage by slapping a hand over the offending image and intoning in your best movie hero voice, "This isn't something you want to see."

OVERALL SUCCESS RATING (OUT OF FIVE)

Four Severed Zombie arms. Good for you!

EXPERIMENT FIVE: SAVE ME HERO!

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

Admittedly an unlikely candidate for Date Movie of the Year, The Blair Witch Project — the overhyped no-budget, shake-cam, low-grade-video epitaph for three missing-and-presumed-screwed filmmakers — yielded the highest results in terms of female subjects exposed versus female subjects, ah, exposed. Throughout the course of the film, the three actors lose their bearings. hurl profanities at each other, and eventually meet an enigmatic but doubtless unpleasant end.

Of course, the game version of this, utilizing the Nocturne engine, is in the works and will be published by G.O.D. A clingy female, the DVD, followed by the game… what kind of loser would you have to be screw up this opportunity for a terror induced tryst? Now where the f —k is the map?

PLUSES

The overwhelming majority of female subjects tested responded positively. often sporadically clinging to the males next to them during, and in most cases after, the film. At least two left the theater with the stated intention of staying with the males that evening. Of course, at least a quarter of the male subjects also clutched the males next to them at least once during the film. There are, ah, other magazines that will deal with those test results.

MINUSES

A very. very slim but noteworthy percentage (about 8%) of otherwise-sensitive female subjects found the film's terror element utterly ineffective —thereby degrading the relative status of the participating males (who thought the film was scary) to that of instant, shriveled Weenie. “This is so not cool, Josh!”

OVERALL SUCCESS RATING (OUT OF FIVE)

Five wood-stick-figure-thingies. Heh, heh, heh — we said "wood."

WHAT WE LEARNED

Of course, much of our experimentation assumed the herculean task of getting the girl into your "love nest” in the first place. If you can manage that, then it's best to keep your passion for gaming a secret (until you've bagged her).

Going the route of using horror to terrify a “victim”' to your arms is more fraught with problems (not to mention issues of legality). So get them in to your life in whatever way you can, then you can use the tips and game styles we've investigated to ensure that you can still spend time at your PC and keep the girlfriend happy (a tough mix — trust us).

What could possibly be better than a lovely co-operative Diablo adventure, a Worms: Armageddon face-off, or living out your virtual lives together in Everquest or Asheron's Call?

Remember though, that the real fun and frolics needs to be done in the real world, not online. There are probably laws against that kind of thing.

EXPERIMENT SIX: LET’S GET LITERARY

SALEM'S LOT

This technique was developed outside our offices but captured on videotape. It's so diabolical, so shameless, that we hesitate to even report it. But we will anyway.

The Diabolical Test Subject (DTS for short) had candles lit, Courvoisier at the ready, and was seated with a girl (GIRL for short) on a couch. Further still, he was, brace yourselves, talking to her. In the midst of our shock we realized that he was reading.

It took us two minutes to determine what tome of romantic lore he was reciting ... it was Salem's Lot, by Stephen King.

You may be saying "So what? I'm a gamer, not a librarian.” Or perhaps you've seen the 1970s made-for-TV movie “Salem's Lot" starring Starsky (or was it Hutch?) Well, pay attention Love Master ... by borrowing someone else's words you'll seem smart. By displaying no fear (even during the graveyard scene with little Danny Glick) you'll seem more manly. But above all else, by reading, you will appear to be communicating.

At press time we hadn't managed to work out whether Blue Byte's new Stephen King-based release F13 will induce the same terror effect as Salem's Lot. It does feature a new story from the currently rehabilitating horror-meister and desktop themes and screensavers, etc. for fan boys. Fan-girls are fewer, but never turn to their touchy-feely drivel as a substitute.

TIFFANYSDOMAIN.COM

Do you know why we love Tiffany so much? (If you've seen her pictures here and you don't know, you've got bigger problems than we thought). We love her because she's on Playboy's new video "Wildwebgirls.com"

And we love her because she's on the Playboy Channel's "Night Calls." She also has her very own website that we've been spending an inordinate amount of time “researching” for this feature ... tiffanysdomain.com.

If, after reading this little bit of prose, you still remain chickless, you can see a whole lot more of Tiffany (and a wagon-load of other babes who have problems staying dressed) on "Wildwebgirls.com”... or checkout www.playboy.com for all the steamy details.

Thanks Tiffany!

#magazines #pc accelerator #video games #double standards #representation #general sexism #links #submission

[caiuscassiuss]

sasaeng | l. taeyong (m)

DESCRIPTION: Someone’s obsessed, but it’s not who you think… In which an idol is completely, utterly, disgustingly obsessed with you.

Genre: stalker/ sasaeng + idol au angst | “romance” | psychological thriller WC: 15k Warnings: graphic smut (humping, masturbation, fingering, cum shot/creampie, preg kink), unhealthy obsession, drug addiction, graphic violence (depicted beating, poisoning), slight coercion

(⚠️Warning⚠️: This ain’t your regular idol au. There is drug addiction, body issues, unhealthy obsession, and whole lot of dark stuff, and that, if it triggers you in any way, DON’T READ THE BOOK. Also, the author does not condone ANY unhealthy behavior in this book in any way, shape or form. I AM NOT romanticizing stalking and obsession; I wanted to write this to explore a unique dynamic and twist to the Idol AU. This behavior is unhealthy and not normal, and please, seek help if this were to ever happen. Apologies if I have written any behavior unrealistically. ⚠️)

A gentle humming fills the bathroom as the shower is turned on. A female enters the shower, naked, and precedes to cleanse her body of the troubles and worries of the day.

Yet, the eye at the keyhole isn’t noticed. In fact, it will never be… if he has his way.

Shocked gasps come over the studio as, for the first time in history, two idol groups tied for 1st place on a Music Show. Every vote, every score was match for match. While celebratory confetti cannons and music blared pathetically in the background, the audience, the staff, the crew came to a standstill while the idols stood, frozen, on stage.

What were they supposed to do? There was only one trophy after all. Were they supposed to cheer? Boo? Scream?

The in-ear on Ong Seongwoo blared to life as the producer came to his senses.

“Quick! Congratulate both groups, I’ll just— fuck— how did we not see this coming—”

Seongwoo pasted a smile to his face and reanimated his lively and cheerful self. “Well, that’s was unexpected, but, congratulations to both NCT U and FEM for winning 1st place on this week’s broadcast of Music Core!”

Gradual clapping and cheers came from the crowd, which rose even louder as a crew member rushed onto stage carrying 2 trophies. The idols on stage slowly began to move, whispering and gossiping amongst themselves at this unexpected development.

The groups in question themselves were smiling but shooting confused and worried glances at each other. Was this supposed to happen? 

The crew member hurriedly passed one trophy into the slender fingers of Lee Taeyong, the leader of NCT U, and the other into the arms of Sunmi, the leader of FEM. They both regained posture and, while avoiding looking at each other, bowed. The other groups left in a flurry of confetti and streamers, while NCT and FEM stayed on stage.

Seongwoo furrowed his brows as he listened intently into his in-ear. He nodded, turned, then smiled broadly at the audience, not a single piece of his hair out of place of his signature comma hair style.

“We will be playing the winners’ songs in no certain order, thank you everyone!”

3 taps of a drumstick signaled the vocal-heavy and flowery track of FEM’s 2nd EP, “Halo”. NCT U politely took a step back as FEM flounced onto the middle, dazzling in the sparkling lights.

As lead vocalist Sunmi began to start her first line, her voice began to crack and tears were bubbling at the edge of her periphery. She choked out a tearful “sorry” and buried her face into the slim shoulders of your fellow member, Bolin, the main dancer. Both clung together like glue, clasping each other for comfort as the monumental accomplishment swept over them like a tidal wave.

Our 1st win, you thought, smiling slightly and wiping the tears off the edge of your vision. Our 1st win since our debut a year ago.

You were tapped on the shoulder and turned to see FEM’s main rapper, Bella, smirking and shoving the mic at you. You quickly realized that Sunmi was belting out the pre-chorus, and you got ready to sing the difficult chorus.

Lee Taeyong stood to the side, full of mixed emotions. Was it anger? Jealousy? Indignancy? His light blond hair hung around the the bony structure of his face, highlighting his slight gauntness. He stared at FEM, not knowing what to feel until he saw her.

It was some damned drug trip, wasn’t it? Because there was no way the spotlight rested solely on her, as sobs came out of her pretty pink lips while she laughed in joy. Her silky dress flowed around her like it was upheld by a heavenly wind, in tune with the concept her company presented her as.

A goddess.

A goddess of heaven and earth.

Taeyong could only stare like he was a starved man, drinking in the sight like seeing an oasis in the middle of a dry, dry desert. His tinted lips hung open as his gaze remained solely on the vision she presented.

The longer he saw, the more he saw her. A goddess in group of harpies, yet, so insecure and hurt. Was this what it felt like when Pygmalion laid eyes on Galatea? The way Hades saw Persephone?

His heart stuttered in his chest and he felt like he couldn’t breath.

A goddess for him and himself.

1 Year Ago

“I’ll lead you, I’m the boss! I move you, I’m the player!” The heavy bass and domineering synths echoed throughout the gymnasium, thousands of green light sticks moving in unison to the catchy beat. It was quite a sight to see 60,000 plus green sticks fill the gigantic Seoul Olympic Stadium in the night in expansive 360 degree seating.

A chorus of male, synth voices harmonized together for the outro, the group of seven in a triangle formation broadcasted on gigantic screens. The crowd let out thunderous roar, shouting the fan-chants in order.

“Taeyong! Doyoung!”

The 7 men in tailored army suits, silver chains glinting as they swung around from the sheer force the men were putting into their movements. The managing crew of the concert watched the men through their many screens, communicating through headsets.

“On the count of three, release the stage door, alright?”

“Jaehyun! WinWin!”

The flashing lights of the monitor played over the director’s passive face.

“One.”

“Jungwoo! Lucas! Markeu!”

“Two.”

The crew member reached out the arm to turn his monitor closer. His sleeve brushed against the control board, brushing against a certain switch.

“NCT!”

The lead figure, glaringly obvious with his blood red hair in the middle of the formation, suddenly disappeared from screen. From the tops of the stands, the audience could see the large gaping hole slightly off to the left of the stage.

Murmurs and gasps filled the stadium as the 6 remaining figures broke formation to swarm around the gaping hole. Mark, WinWin, and Doyoung  knelt down near the hole while Jaehyun and Jungwoo looked down at the stage sidelines, visibly panicking on the billboard screens. Lucas frowned as he pulled his in-ear closer, his full lips pursed while listening to the crew’s directions.

2 staff members in “NEO CULTURE TECH: LUCID DREAM” t-shirts climbed up to the stage from the bottom ground, guiding the anxious members off the stage.

Cries and shouts arose from the worried crowd. All lights shut off, and the clamors gradually grew louder and louder until the overhead speaker blared to life.

“Everyone, we are sorry for the inconvenience.”

Under the jungle of metal bars and concrete, the red-haired man groaned in pain. His leg was twisted awkwardly, having caught on a metal bar his high fall down. Through his tears, he looked a few feet up to see Mark’s and WinWin’s worried faces peering down at him.

“Due to the early releasing of the stage platforms, Lee Taeyong fell through the hole and we are currently awaiting his status.”

A swarm of team members maneuvered through the concrete structures, crouching around his figure. The remaining NCT members, bar the BOSS members from the stage, ran to his position, and peeked from behind the crew.

“Taeyong-hyung!” Chenle’s high voice shouted, his face the pallor of white as anxiety ran through all members present. Johnny and Jeno clutched onto him tightly, their mouths parted in shock and fear for the pillar of NCT.

A young woman looked up at the rest of the crew, her eyes wide.

“Quick, get an ambulance! He’s broken his leg and I can see blood!”

“Lee Taeyong, leader of top boy group NCT, injured at Seoul Concert!”

“World Group NCT, leader Lee Taeyong breaks his leg at concert!”

“NCT leader Lee Taeyong hospitalized after serious accident at Seoul concert!”

“NCT Taeyong rushed to ER for a broken leg after stage accident at concert!”

“Global Boy Group NCT: leader Lee Taeyong taken off roster for first leg of NCT world tour due to an accident at kick-off concert!”

“NCT TOP VISUAL TAEYONG UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FIRST LEG OF NCT’S 20- CITY WORLD TOUR AFTER ACCIDENT AT SEOUL CONCERT!”

You opened your eyes, hearing the air conditioning and the warm lights of your dorm room. You could hear the hum of the television screen from the living room and the smell of bulgogi from the kitchen.

You yawned, stretching your arms and padded off to the kitchen, wrapping a furry robe around yourself. You saw through your bleary vision your group’s leader and proclaimed “omma” Sunmi stirring something on the oven, her curvy figure in a tank top and leggings. Sulhee and Boram were recumbent on the couch, their hair up in towels as they chatted casually.

“Good morning, everyone,” you smiled tiredly. It had been a late night practicing.

“Y/N.” Sunmi smiled at you.

“Unni!” Bella and Lin cheered, rising from their places on the couch.

You grinned at their boundless energy. Bella and Bolin were the same age, younger than you and Sunmi. You called them your “happy little flowers” and their room “the flower garden”, which they always laughed at.

“Hi, my lovely juniors. How are you~?” you giggled, taking a seat at the breakfast table.

“We have a break day today! Isn’t that great?” Bella wriggled into the seat adjacent from you while smiling wildly.

“We’re totally free Yeday!” Bolin cheered in her accented Korean, a bit of her native Chinese slipping through.

“Today, not “yeday”, Bolin. Good job though, you’re improving very well,” Sunmi’s calm voice entered your conversation. “Also, we’re not totally free. We just get to spend the day in the dorm.”

“Why do you have to ruin my thunder?” Bella whined, pouting her lips and her infamous “aegyo” face that many a show host melted for.

“That’s reality, sweetie,” you smiled at Bella.

The four of you chatted over the table, drinking tea and coffee as the noon sun began to peak through the floor-to-ceiling windows of your dorm. You all began to gradually migrate to the couch area, your group’s favorite place to hang-out and chat when resting.

“Wah, look at them!”

At Bella’s shout, you craned your head to look at the television monitor and saw the rerun of Music Bank flashing on screen. This part, however, displayed the famous NCT U members dancing to their latest hit song.

At the lead of the dance was a handsome man in light blond hair.

Lee Taeyong.

This was his first time performing on stage in a year, and he looked like he came back better than ever. He looked so fierce, his sharp features dominating everyone’s attention including yours. His moves were so sharp and clean that you couldn’t help but be mesmerized.

You vaguely remembered the news when he first broke his leg at the concert a year ago. Back then, you felt a huge amount of pity but also a huge amount of annoyance, as his injury caused a media frenzy that overshadowed your debut. NCT had been on top of the world then. The SM group broke records in Japan, China, and Korea and had been reaching into the European and South American markets successfully due to a flood of show appearances and concerts. While you never thought the whole world-domination thing would work, NCT seemed like they were well on their way to make it happen. 

They still were on top of the world. NCT was now a household name all around the globe, but they had lost their shining star for a good while.

“NCT Taeyong? Yeah, he may be handsome and all, I just… have a bad feeling about him. Not an auspicious guy,” Sunmi murmured, looking suspiciously at the screen.

Bolin snorted. “You sound like my grandma who lives in the province. “Oh, you have such a lucky nose Bolin-ah!”” she mimicked her grandmother, hunching over for the effect.

Bella and you burst into laughter, almost knocking over your drinks in the process.

Still, you couldn’t get his face out of your mind. Watching, staring, boring…

…into your soul.

Taeyong stumbled into the bathroom at 3 AM, shaking greatly and noisily opened the bathroom cabinet. He slammed the orange bottle onto the sink top and the sound of rattling pills filled the bathroom.

OXYCONTIN

Pain Killer Medication

Prescribed for LEE TAEYONG

1 PILL PER DAY

Well, it’s his third today.

Taeyong knocked back the pill with a glass of water, sitting on the ground with his head in hands until the shaking went away. Grimacing, he slowly got up on weak legs, supporting himself on the sink as he stared into his reflection.

The unnatural sharpness. The gaunt hollows of his cheeks. The deep dark circles. The blood-shot eyes.

The face of handsome, living death stared back at him in the mirror. He couldn’t even remember how he looked like a year ago, when he was fresh-faced and healthy.

Ever since the accident happened.

Since that day, everything was ruined. His fans, NCTzens, his favorite people in the world and the people keeping him going— he couldn’t even see them because of the damned injury. He couldn’t perform, couldn’t sing, couldn’t dance— all he could do was sit in his parent’s house, watching the videos of his members enjoying life while he hoped and prayed this injury wouldn’t put him out of commission for life.

Even when he could perform with them on the last leg of the tour, he was on a chair. Helpless. Unable to perform. Invalid.

The pain medication the doctor prescribed helped. It shut away his pain, physical and mental, and let him feel alive again. He felt like he was performing, singing, and fucking just in one pill. Slowly, his dosage decreased and he felt helpless, resorting to lying about his pain to the doctor to get those fucking pills.

And it turned him into this. A reflection of what he had been in the past. Fuck, how had it gotten this far? He hadn’t even looked this gaunt and pale during Boss and Baby Don’t Stop. He couldn’t even face his members without them looking at him like he was to be pitied. Like an injured animal, they had to take care of him instead of him taking care of them.

He padded quietly down the hall, trying not to wake any of the tired, sleeping members from yesterday’s music show. He creaked open the door to his and Johnny’s room, sighing quietly in relief as he realized Johnny was fast asleep and snoring. The only sounds heard was the puffs of the air humidifier in the room and the regular sounds of urban life.

Settling onto his bed, reaching for his handphone. The artificial light lit up the room before he hurriedly turned it down until it only cast a slight glow on his face.

Taeyong scrolled through the hundreds of pictures he had saved of you, whether it be from performances to press releases and more. It was like he didn’t feel the burning and incessant call of the pills in a tiny orange bottle whenever he focused on solely you, lost in your smile and in your eyes. He smiled softly at your simple pre-debut photos, and smirked when he saw the HD fan photos of you from your latest concert. God, you looked like an ethereal dream from his high. A goddess descending from the heavens. His Helen to his Paris.

“You need to lose weight, seriously. At this rate, you’ll be obese in a few months!”

You gaze turned downwards at the scolding voice of your manager, whom had been staring back at your reflection in the waiting room mirror.

“Yes, Mrs. Kim,” you sighed.

“I saw you stand next to Twice’s Tzuyu at the Hallyu Wave Concert and you looked like a short, fat, rat next to her! Do you know how embarrassing that is? To the company? To the members? Aish, really, you’re so plump I can barely look at you!”

You bit your lip and tried not to let tears leak out your eyes. You knew that if she were able to see your tears, she would yell at you for ruining the makeup on your face. God, why did she have to be so mean to you? 

This was not even the tip of the iceberg. Much more degrading insults have been spit out her mouth when she was first assigned your manager. She has ripped into every single fibre of your being, degrading your looks, your singing, your dancing. “Are you even worth being the main vocal? The trash collectors sing better than you!” to “Fuck, you’re so dumb. Dumber than those retarded kids.” She was… horrible, to describe in one word.

Mrs. Kim was an idol from the nineties, and was picked as your rookie group’s manager solely on her experience in the entertainment industry. Even staring at her while she was making some calls, you could see the faint shadows of beauty to her aging face.

You slowly slipped out of the room, trying to get away from red-faced and ranting Mrs. Kim. You finally did, and when she saw you escape, Mrs. Kim yelled after you even louder but was unable to chase after since you were already in the hallway. She didn’t make want to make a scene, afterall.

Shivering in the cold of the hallway, you rubbed your arms up and down and cursed your groups’ stylist. Damn her for putting you in a dress with only spaghetti-straps on your bare shoulders. Even though it was summer, South Korea had an obsession with keeping cool and often overran the poor air conditioning unit.

You tottered around in your block heels until you rounded a corner and practically crashed into a warm chest. Toned and muscled arms wrapped around you to keep you from falling down

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Are you alright—”

You tilted your face up to the man’s impressive height, and instantly took a step back.

Shownu from Monsta X.

His sculpted face smiled down at you, a smirking curve to his plump lips.

“Yeah, I am. After running into you, how could I not?” he laughed, the rumble of his chest vibrating against your hand.

Well, at least your were no longer cold now. In fact, you were burning with embarrassment.

Shownu was an idol that you knew everyone in the industry wanted. In bed.

You’ve met love-struck girls on these shows, giggling after him as they passed by in the hallway. It was because of his handsome and manly looking face, a fresh departure from the flower boy visuals every one else had. God, his body was an attraction on its own— a broad, chiseled chest, narrow waist, and muscled legs that went on for longer. It’s been a few years since he debuted, but now, Shonwu was the kind of sex symbol even 2PM had trouble rivaling.

You stepped back even further and gave him a low bow.

“I’m so sorry! Please forgive me, sunbaenim,” you repeated, face burning in embarrassment.

“Nah, sweetie, you don’t have to do that. It hurts to see such a pretty girl bow so low,” he soothed, his face smooth even though there was a tint of mortification.

Probably because he didn’t want to be seen with a rookie girl like you. Ugly, talentless–

“It’s really my fault, I just was jogging without looking where I was going. And uh, sorry but I didn’t catch your name?”

“Oh, um, Y/N. Thank you. Excuse me—” you avoided his piercing eyes and tried to step past him, but, to no avail, he placed his bulky body in your path.

“Hey, do you wanna take a walk with me?” He said casually, like he wasn’t practically leaning over you like a shadow. So suddenly? you thought.

“Um, I really better get going— “ you stuttered, trying to get out of the situation. Shownu was nice and all but you didn’t fancy going alone with one of the biggest sex symbols of the industry.

“Please, I insist.”

Well, that’s how you found yourself wandering around backstage with Monsta X’s Shownu. You could barely stop staring at him in his half-open black shirt, tight, ripped jeans, and pointed shoes.

“So… uh… I heard the shouting,” Shownu mumbled and turned away, scratching his head.

Your brows furrowed in confusion until they relaxed in realization. Shit, if someone found out about this…

“I also heard the, em… insults.”

You cringed and turned away, rubbing your arms in comfort.

“Uh, it’s nothing. I just did something wrong and she just got a little heated with her scolding,” you lied.

Shownu stops in the middle of the hallway, hands on his hips.

“Does she usually do this?” he asked, his voice raising in anger.

You waved your hands in front of you. “N-No, she just was… in a bad mood today,” you winced; even your voice sounded weak in your ears.

Shownu seemed to catch on it too, his hackles rising. His breathing seemed to get heavier as his broad shoulders went up and down harshly.

“Y/N, this isn’t good. You can’t excuse her behavior— look, I know I just met you and it may seem weird that I’m getting kinda angry over this, but it’s disgusting! Especially to someone like you? It’s unforgivable.” He shook his head, his knuckles under fingerless gloves tightening.

“You’re very kind—solicitous, too— but I am perfectly fine,” you said firmly, resolve clear in your face. You couldn’t stir up any trouble whatsoever. You just won your first show award and the hype around your group has increased, but the public wouldn’t hesitate to crucify you for any transgressions, real or not.

He studied your face carefully, as if he were searching for any sign of cracking or weakness.

Finding nothing, Shownu sighed heavily.

“Well, if it ever gets out of hand, I’m here, Y/N,” he relented grimly. He placed a large hand on your shoulder in comfort and you smiled reluctantly, thankful someone has your back.

In the shadows, a blond-haired man watched the bulky man lay his hand upon the small girl’s shoulder, his clenched fists shaking in anger.

Taeyong darted across the street in the night, dressed in charcoal black to blend in with the shadows. He lifted his black hood over his baseball cap, and tugged his mask tighter over his face. He could not be seen at any cost.

After weaving through the rambling streets of Seoul, he stopped in front of a non-descript apartment complex. He checked his phone and verified this was the right address, before walking to the back of the building.

He had a mission to accomplish.

Taeyong carefully stepped through the trees and clambered up the high stone wall dividing the street from the building’s backyard. He landed with a soft thud and he cringed, hoping the creaking of the wood wouldn’t give him away to the people residing inside this particular unit.

Taeyong saw the soft glow of lights from the floor-to-ceiling windows of FEM’s dormitory and cheered, thanking god that someone was home. He checked the forum for FEM sasaengs, for god’s sake. The calendar said that Sunmi, Bella, and Bolin were out recording for a radio show while you stayed in the dorm to recover your voice, as you had lost it by overusing it a few days ago.

He had planned for this moment days in advance. He had to needle your address from a staff member from your company, and had to ensure that his schedule was clear too.

The red-haired man crept nearer to the glass, peaking hesitantly around the corner. However, when he did, he saw the most beautiful sight in his life.

You were humming as you sat at your vanity, rubbing several creams and lotions on your face. You were still beautiful bare-faced, in Taeyong’s eyes, even more beautiful than made up in makeup and shadows. His eyes hungrily drank in your bared skin as you were just wearing a thin tank-top and underwear.

Finished doing your night-care routine, you got up from the vanity you and Sunmi shared. You grabbed the lotion sitting on your cabinet and proceeded to hoist one leg up on the bed.

Taeyong nearly creamed himself at the sight of your beautiful legs bared to his vision, your core only covered by a frilly underwear piece. You proceeded to pump some lotion onto your hand and rub it down your legs.

The blond-haired spectator fumbled for his phone in his pocket and pressed record, tilting his camera at the perfect angle to record your half-naked figure.

Your hands got closer and closer to the crevice of your thighs and Taeyong rubbed his hardening erection through his jeans. He bit his lip as the tips of your fingers brushed the edges of your panties, and he nearly dropped his phone when he saw the tips of your nipples jutting through your thin t-shirt.

Taeyong followed the line of your body as you stretched and proceeded to dim the lights. Your half-naked figure flopped onto bed then curled up in the sheets. The boy idol ended the recording and walked carefully closer to your side of the window. He grunted softly at his erection nearly bursting out of his jeans, making it uncomfortable to walk.

He snapped a few pictures of you sleeping, your bared backside clad only in frilly underwear. God, he imagined grasping that full ass as you rode him, you covering your mouth so your moans wouldn’t escape and eyes closed in utter rapture.

Was it wrong to dream such lewd things about someone who just turned twenty?

You were jogging around the Han River extremely early in the morning. Your manager had woken you up from your sleep and forced you to go running, yelling insults at you as you ran out the house.

Biting your lip, you tried not to cry when you remembered the way Mrs. Kim had called you a fat, dumb pig over and over this morning. The members couldn’t even hear her insulting you because it was so early in the morning and no one was awake.

You were on your third mile and already breathing hard. There was an already painful stitch in your side that had developed around the two and a half mile mark and sweat dripped uncomfortably down your back.

You gritted your teeth and kept on running, determined to show Mrs. Kim you weren’t a pig. Nor were you dumb or untalented.

Besides being a devil of a woman, your manager had unfortunately woken you up from one of the most pleasant dreams of your life.

It was filled with vibrant colors and happiness, pleasure and bright lights. The only concrete things you could remember were dark, dark eyes and pink, pretty lips pulled up into a smirk.

You had been feeling antsy these past few days ever since you felt like you were being watched at night. You grew more paranoid, looking out the window frequently and checking your back. Curiously, you also grew restless, as in… unfulfilled. Something in you felt restless while your underwear was always soaked. What was happening? Did adults usually experience this?

So caught up in your thoughts you ran into someone standing by a pier. You gasped a little as you fell flat onto your butt.

You rubbed your head, which was smarting from the impact into someone’s broad shoulders.

“Miss? Are you okay?”

You opened your eyes to see those black eyes from your dreams, hidden behind a white baseball cap. Your eyes were drawn to those pretty pink lips from your dreams, which were bared from his pulled down mask.

“L-Lee Taeyong- sunbaenim?!” you stuttered nervously, curling into yourself. God, you probably looked like a glazed donut with how sweaty and unkept you were.

His eyes widened in surprise. “Y/N-ssi?”

“What are y-you doing here?” you asked, still in shock at his presence. He was the face that brought you all those bright lights and vibrant colors in your dream.

He chuckled slightly, the dark sound rumbling in his chest. He offered a hand, smiling slightly at you.

“Why don’t I help you off the ground first? It seems rather uncomfortable down there.”

Ah, so this was the gentleman people told you that was Taeyong.

You took his proffered hand and he helped lift yourself up. You saw his toned arms quite well, as he was wearing one of his classic sleeveless tank-tops. His veins and muscles bulged slightly with the effort and you decided to focus on that rather than the handsome man’s face.

The pair of you stared at each other in silence, drinking in each other’s features.

Taeyong watched as horror crept over your face until you bowed deeply.

“I’m so sorry! I forgot to greet you, sunbaenim—”

Taeyong grasped your shoulder until he could see your sparkling eyes.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. Just call me Taeyong-ssi, is that okay with you?”

You nodded, your flushed face and gleam of sweat reminding him of something else—

“So, what are you doing out here so early in the morning?” you asked, averting your eyes from his gaze.

“Oh, uh, just walking. I love the morning, y’know?”

Gradually the two of you struck up a conversation while walking next to the Han river. He really was kind and easy-going, which surprised you greatly. You thought he was a cold man, but he got rid of that notion as he made you laugh.

During your walk, Taeyong suddenly hissed in pain and held his leg.

“Taeyong-ssi? Are you alright?” you asked in panic, holding arm unwittingly.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” Taeyong grunted out.

“Are you sure?” you questioned, looking at Taeyong holding his leg gingerly.

“Yeah, it just the leg. I don’t know if you know, but I had a stage… accident a year ago. Broke my leg, put me out of commission for our group’s tour. It’s just probably one of the pain echoes my doctor told me would occasionally flare up since I was so active after the injury.”

“Oh my god, that’s horrible! I’m so sorry,” you said, genuinely feeling bad for the handsome idol. You imagined him performing when one of those pain flashes hit, and he had to grit through the pain and perform.

Taeyong smiled at you until he rose up, standing closely beside you as you kept walking.

“Well, enough about me. Was there something specific that brought you out here on such an early morning?”

Your bright smiled dimmed, and Taeyong noticed it immediately.

“Just wanted to exercise, that’s all,” you murmured in a soft voice.

He’s watched you enough in videos to know you were lying, and that made him worried. Taeyong lifted up your chin with his pointer finger until you were forced to look at him directly.

“Hey, hey, is something wrong? You can tell me, you know,” he whispered lowly, looking at you with so much care and compassion in his eyes you almost melted in his hand.

You then remembered the words of your mentors when his thumb started to stroke you lips. “Be careful of those predator idols, alright? There’s many male idols that like to prey on young, rookie idols like you.”

You stepped slightly backward, eyes wide. “Are you one of those predator idols my teacher told me about? Because please, don’t touch me.”

His eyes widened slightly until he burst into laughter. You watched in confusion as he cracked up, holding his waist with how hard he was laughing.

“No, I’m not. I promise. I can tell you some idols from my company that are like that, but I promise you, I’m not.”

You pouted suspiciously at him until he smiled disarmingly at you, and you relented.

“Alright.”

A brief silence ensued until Taeyong spoke up. “But seriously Y/N, what’s wrong? You seem… really troubled.”

An inner war raged inside you for a few minutes until you turned to him.

“I’m exercising because I’m fat,” you told him, hugging yourself in comfort.

“Wait, what?” Taeyong exclaimed.

“Yeah. I just… well someone told me I needed to lose some weight so,” you waved your hands helplessly, “here I am.”

Taeyong never felt so furious in his life. Who would dare insult this goddess? Y/N was perfection, she was better than anyone he’s ever known.

“What the hell? Y/N, I can confidently tell you that you are one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met and I’m from SM, for god’s sake. You are gorgeous, okay? Don’t let anyone ruin that for you,” Taeyong exclaimed, struggling to keep his boiling hot temper in check.

You sighed. “It doesn’t even matter if I’m pretty. I’m kind of dumb too, and I can barely sing.”

Taeyong was one word away from snapping and murdering whoever planted these thoughts in your head. What kind of bullshit was this? Y/N was the kind of person who deserved to be always smiling and laughing, not wallowing in self doubt. His fingers clenched in the pocket of his windbreaker.

“Look, whoever told you this bullshit is lying out of their ass, okay? You are not dumb, and you can sing. I’ve only known you for a little while but I know you are intelligent, even just talking to you for a bit. Plus, you’re the main vocal for a reason. You can outsing most of these female rookies these days. Seriously, fuck the person who told you this crap,” Taeyong seethed.

You saw how angry he looked and warmth filled your being. Was he really this mad on behalf for you?

You touched his arm, and he settled down a bit. You looked at the deep, dark eyes you thought you feared and smiled widely. Taeyong thought you looked beautiful, smiling a real smile unlike the ones you plastered onto your face during those variety shows.

“Thank you... oppa.”

Taeyong never felt so aroused and in awe time at the same in his life.

Fuck. You had messed up big time.

Your voice had cracked, in the middle of your fucking high note on stage during the live recording. Holy crap, you were in for a world of trouble when you got back to the dressing room.

“Shit, shit, shit,” you mumbled, striding across the hallways.

“Y/N?”

Shownu, in his manly glory, stood in front of you with his face a mask of utter concern.

“S-Sunbaenim.”

“It’s just oppa to you, alright?” he smiled.

Oppa. Even saying that in your mind felt wrong.

“Is it not a bit unprofessional? We hardly know each other,” you asked cautiously, trying not to cross any boundaries. Sometimes, you hated this culture of having to be so respectful to your elders to the point of self-degradation.

His smile fell. “O-Oh, that’s fine. If that’s more comfortable for you.”

You kind of felt guilty at the forlorn expression on his face, but even so, it just felt wrong.

“Well, anyway, you did great on stage,” Shownu offered.

You snorted in disbelief before covering your mouth, horrified at your lack of grace and respect.

“I… was not satisfactory at all. I have to work harder.”

“What’s wrong? I saw you dancing. You and your group did amazing.”

“Sunbaenim, my voice cracked. During my solo part. In the climax.”

He was speechless for a moment, unable to respond to that. Shownu quickly recovered, a disarming smile back in place on his chiseled face.

“I, well, that’s unfortunate. However, you’re just a rookie– you have a lot of time to improve!”

You bit your tongue to stop yourself from arguing him. He debuted once, he knows what it’s like for rookie idols. Even now, the standard is so high for rookies to be perfect in looks, dancing, and singing. It was unreasonable, but the business was harsh; that’s what it was.

“Thank you, sunbaenim.” You bowed to him politely.

He bowed in return and almost turned to leave until it looked like he remembered something.

“Wait, is your manager still doing… you know?”

You bit your lip, desperately trying to find a way out of this.

“Ah! Look at the time. The stylist told me she needs to, um, retouch something! Yeah, so I better get going. Bye!”

You quickly fled before you could see the intrigued expression on the handsome man’s face. Running reluctantly to your group’s dressing room, you hesitantly opened the door and entered.

“Yah, what the hell was that?!”

There she was again, in her full resentful glory. Mrs. Kim.

You sighed, rubbing your temples as you took off your heels. Reaching up to loosen the velvet pussy-bow tie that was suffocating you, you slumped back into a chair while the other members were… what were they doing? Practicing?

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Kim,” you offered weakly, hoping to end this scolding soon because you felt like you were about to fall asleep any minute.

“Sorry? Sorry?! That’s all you can say for yourself for that, that travesty you dishonored the company with on stage?!” Mrs. Kim yelled, slamming the door and getting up in your face. You could see the stress lines in her forehead and the remains of her old beauty, her youthful beauty turned into this old hag.

“I- It was a mistake,” you stuttered, folding your hands in your lap and turning your gaze downwards.

“Your voice fucking cracked on stage— what the fuck? I thought you were our main vocalist for a reason! We should just replace you with a dying pig and no one would notice!”

Mrs. Kim went on to pace angrily throughout the small dressing room, releasing a barrage of insults while throwing things around. She got red-faced and puffy, violent, ranting how you were an utter disgrace and you were a slut who couldn’t even sing.

“ — hope you realize the gravity of your actions today! Why, if I were you—”

“But you’re not,” you whispered, feeling a strange energy in you.

Mrs. Kim paused in her furious pacing, and turned to your folding chair.

“What did you say to me, you pig?!” She hissed, getting all up in your face again.

“Are you deaf? I said, “I said “But you’re not”, Mrs. Kim,” you sullenly glare up at her.

“I’m going to kill you—”

You suddenly push back your chair, the poor folding chair sliding back harshly until it banged into a makeup desk.

“Wake up, Mrs. Kim. You will never be me, nor can you ever be me,” you gritted out, suddenly towering over her until she had to step back.

“You don’t know shit, you’re a failed idol. You had one hit-- a dance hall song!-- and that was it, until your fame and beauty faded out and then you were forgotten in the eyes of the public.”

You crossed your arms as she seemed conflicted, a mixture of rage and anger and wounded pride glimmering hatefully in her beady black eyes.

“How can you even criticize me when you didn’t even sing? Dance well? You couldn’t do anything as a MGirls member, not even perform.”

“Then, when all of it was gone, you asked yourself many times, “why am I working at the gas station? I was an idol”, until you started blaming the world.”

You felt invincible. You saw Taeyong smiling and getting angry on your behalf and his lips and color and vibrancy— it was like something physical inside you snapped and released all your anger on your manager.

“It’s their fault I’m barely making money, it’s their fault I can’t perform well, it’s their fault that I’m not loved or payed attention anymore— until you finally met someone that you could vent your anger out onto: me.”

“But wake the fuck up Mrs. Kim. You can not and never will be what I am. Don’t be jealous that I’m living the life you always wanted,” you spat in her face.

Uncharacteristically, she went silent for a moment. The perpetually deep lines on her face softened and made her look much nicer, much motherly. Mrs. Kim was truly unreadable and you couldn’t tell what she was thinking at all.

The edges of your lips lifted.

Suddenly, pain bloomed in your cheek as your head was slapped to the side. Her slap hurt so badly that the site of impact felt numb and you lifted your hands, rubbing your probably red cheek.

You didn’t have to time to recover as she reared back her fist with an expression of utter rage, her lips pulled up in a ferocious sneer as her beady eyes looked like they wanted to pierce you.

The blow hurt stung the crown of your head and you cried out, but Mrs. Kim quickly wrenched your long hair and pulled. Your mouth opened to scream, but her other fist gripped your jaw so tightly it felt like she wanted to crush it with her manicured hands.

“You bitch,” your irate manager snarled, as she spit in your face.

Her foot delivered a punishing blow to your exposed midriff, and the air was taken out of you as you fell back onto the ground. You tried to curl into a fetal position as she pulled her leg back again and again to hurt you, punish you as her embarrassment and rage against the world culminated in a tiny dressing room backstage of a music broadcast.

The world was spinning as she forced your face to look up at her, while you were lying, wounded, on the ground. In your blurry vision, even you could see the psychotic and deranged smile on her face as she knelt beside you.

“Thank god we’re done recording,” she said, and then the world went black.

Taeyong was roaming around the halls of backstage, unable to stay in the dressing room with the members awkward and nervous atmosphere. He wasn’t a fucking stranger, for fuck’s sake but they acted like he was a new member in the group. Taeyong gritted his teeth and his jaw went taut as he remembered when they thought he wasn’t looking, they sent him pitying glances and sighs of sadness.

Taeyong inconspicuously grabbed some pills from his bag and burst out the door, unable to handle the stifling environment. He fully intended to take the two white tablets in his hand in some kind of isolated place, but first, had to remember where all the good places were.

He remembered the first time roaming these halls and meeting his sunbaes, incredibly in awe of their confident yet polite demeanors. Now he was the sundae, as groups younger than him and new rookies nearly tripped over themselves to bow and greet him. They looked at him in awe, “Korea’s Visual Treasure” as nicknamed by Vogue, while not looking discreetly at his formerly broken leg to see if he was limping or something like that.

And as always, his thoughts drifted back to Y/N. His smile turned utterly lovesick and infatuated when he thought of seeing you when you were a rookie, in your demure pink tennis skirt and fucking stockings. The ones that ended at mid-thigh and was held up by garters, the ones that every senior boy group jacked off to every night.

He fingered the thin slip of lace in his front pocket, rubbing it between his fingers in tandem with his heeled boots clicking on the ground.

What were they?

Why, they were your panties, of course.

What else would it be? Whose else would it be?

Taeyong lovesick grin was luckily not seen by anyone as they curled up in a delirious edge. They were hard to attain, as was everything related to you was. He had gone through several parties to find your dorm’s housecleaner, a young girl that was easily bribed into taking a pair of panties and some of your tank tops from your drawers. His love for you knew no bounds, nothing as silly as the law and the right to privacy would stop him.

But then, he remembered that guy.

Shownu.

That son of a bitch touching Y/N, looking so concerned when he was basically on top of her. Taeyong saw the intentions in his eyes, the way he undressed you with his mind and the way they roamed over your figure.

He was going to kill him, one day, he swore. Maybe chop off an important part or something so Shownu could never lay a damned finger on your holiness.

His phone buzzed. As he looked at his phone, he realized it was nearing prep time and grimaced. He looked for a door leading downstairs, vaguely recognizing the hallway as the fifth floor. Taeyong opened the door to what he thought was the stairwell, and instead realized it was a storage closet.

The blond-haired man was about to shut the door until he saw the hall lights striking upon something shimmery and he stepped forward to take a better look.

It seemed to be from some kind of fake clothing gem, attacked to the middle of a pussy bow. His eyes followed the shape of the pussy bow to the top, followed the new line of something vaguely human and soft and when he opened the door a tiny bit more to see better, his heart leapt into his throat.

It was you.

Taeyong saw you, the girl of his dreams and nightmares, spread across the dirty tiles of the storage closet like a doll whose strings had been cut. Even in the dark and with red and purple bruises blooming like flowers onto your skin you were still enticing.

His panic gave way to unwanted lust, his addiction to this girl coming back in full force when she was right in front of him like she was delivered there. He bit his lip as genuine care and concern battled the shameless wantonness that arose when he saw the tantalizing peaks of your breasts through the white shirt. Your skirt had splayed haphazardly across your legs, revealing inch by inch the delicious skin leading to your core until his vision was impeded by black safety shorts. Taeyong’s hungry eyes made out the shape of your mound through the spandex and dropped to his knees, so overcome by care and lust that his weak body could barely contain the sensations.

His vision swam until it focused back on you, where the dark lights illuminated your body like a halo. He crawled on his hands and knees, the package between his thighs physically throbbing in need, while he came closer to your prone body.

He raised a tentative hand to touch your glowing skin until his right mind screamed at him to stop, that this was immoral and dishonorable but the pill he took 15 minutes ago egged him on to go on. The hand that had paused in the air resumed its descent onto your body, landing softly onto your knee.

Taeyong held his breath as he softly stroked the skin of your knee, and when you didn’t show any signs of waking up he got braver. His whole palm rested on your played out leg, tracing over the bruises with tenderness. His hand seemed to wander down to his trousers on its own, palming his cock in his cupped hand roughly until he was dry-humping his own hand. He closed his shadowed eyes shamefully, blocking out the shear embarrassment of the situation.

Taeyong heard a small moan of pain then jerked his hands away from his half-stained trousers when he saw your petal lips open slightly.

The first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was darkness and the silhouette of a person stood against the cracked light of a doorway,

Then you registered the burning pain all over body, mainly on your stomach and back. A pained scream left your lips as you curled deeper into yourself, trying to escape the bone-deep ache of the injuries.

“Shhh, shhh,” the silhouette whispered as the presence settled beside you, a man’s almost painful heat pressing into your skin like a brand.

He started stroking you back and you unconsciously leaned into his heat, wanting his all-consuming warmth to burn away the aches and pains that you body was composed of until you snapped back into reality.

You jerked away suddenly from the man and his touches, backing away frantically until your back painfully banged into a metal shelving unit.

Your mouth opened to scream but it was blocked by a hand, his hand, and it clamped over your mouth so that it muffled your panicked noises.

“Wait, shit, hold on—“

The dingy light of the supply closet flicked on and the cold light threw everything into relief. Your thrashing ceased as you saw those haunting eyes staring right at you, so uncomfortably close you didn’t know how to react.

Taeyong-sunbaenim kneeled in front of you, the gaunt hollows of his face deepened even further by the light of the one light bulb hanging above you.

As he saw you were not protesting anymore, he carefully removed his hand and leaned back, sitting on the floor in front of you.

An awkward silence enveloped both of you until you caught sight of your bruised arms and legs and you yelped, frantically trying to cover the evidence of your weakness from one of the most handsome and captivating individuals you’ve ever met.

The most handsome and captivating individual.

Ever.

“Hey, hey, no, it’s alright you don’t need to hide it from me,” Taeyong urged, extending his hands as if to help.

Please don’t, he begged silently. Don’t hide yourself from me. Don’t deny me your perfection.

You curled further into you self and buried your face into folded knees, hardly looking at him. You struggled not to burst out in tears, whether it be from the furious beating you received or the embarrassment you did not know, but they still bubbled up.

More silence preceded until he broke it.

“What happened?” he whispered tenaciously.

“…me,” you whispered back.

You heard a small huff of air when a pair of arms wrapped around your trembling body.

“It was that person, huh?”

You bit your lip and nodded into his broad and strong shoulders, feeling tired and drained all the sudden. It was like his touch had sucked away all your anxiousness and worries, just leaving you and him and nothing else.

“Y/N?”

“Oppa,” you mumbled. You didn’t hear the sharp intake of breath as you continued. “Oppa, she beat me up.”

“Who’s she, baby girl?” he urged, but you still didn’t hear the dangerous edge to his deep voice,

“M-my manager,” you said almost silently.

Somehow, he must have heard you or felt your lips move against his shoulder because he tensed up and his grip on you tightened.

“You’re fucking manager did this? She beat you up? Called you fat? Dumb?”

Even though you didn’t answer as a wave of brutal pain passed over you, he understood.

“I’m going to rip the throat out of that motherfucking whore—“ he hissed as he motioned to get up until your small hands tightened on his shoulders.

“...Please, don’t leave me. Please,” you cried, clinging tightly to him.

Taeyong looked down at your face, knew that you were delusional with pain and probably wanted anyone to hold you, but he couldn’t resist your red eyes and trembling lips…

His shoulders untended and he carefully sat back on the ground, pulling you into his lap. You straddled his lap while you sobbed into his silk stage shirt in total pain.

Totally forgetting his prep and the pills he was supposed to take in his pocket,  all of his intense focus was on you. After this small taste of your gift, he knew he would never be able to live without it again.

He just couldn’t.

You looked out the window of the private clinic, deep in the neighborhoods of Seoul. IV’s and various cords were hooked up to your arms as you shifted against the cotton material of your hospital dress.

A sigh escaped your lips when you saw the piles of bandages wrapped around your legs, reminding you of an embalmed body from Egypt or South America.

Wonderful thoughts.

The door creaked open as the nurse click-clacked in, a polite smile on her face.

“I’ll be rewrapping the bandages again, is that alright?”

“Y-yes,” you croaked out, immediately reaching out for the glass of water beside you.

Your eyes began to get entranced by the repetitive actions of the nurse as she unwrapped and wrapped, snipped and snapped.

When you turned to look around the room, you could see the nurse out of your periphery looking piteously at your bruises. That summed up most of the reaction of the clinic when you limped in with Taeyong. They quickly and quietly admitted you in, and when finally asking the origin of the injuries, you had lied. You had told them you fell in the gym while Taeyong thrummed in anger beside you and the doctor scribbled in the false information. They even knew for sure that you were beaten up when they examined your wounds, but they pretended not to know and put you to bed.

“There, that’s all better,” she smiled softly.

Just as she was about to walk out the door, she seemed to remember something.

“Oh, also, someone left you a get-well gift. I’ll get it.”

Soon your hands arms were full of a fluffy pink teddy bear, it’s beaded eyes and stitched-on smile beaming dopily up at you. A sky-blue ribbon was wrapped around its neck, and you shifted the bear like it was a baby to read the note attached to it.

“Get better soon, my lovely junior. -Oppa :)”

Your lips parted slightly in shock as you stared at the beautiful present, not believing the larger-than-life Global Idol Lee Taeyong would send you a get better gift. Or let you cry on his shoulder. Or accompany you to the hospital. Wow.

The door to your room opened once again, but it was not the nurse that walked through, but the main doctor.

“Y/N-ssi, it’s nice to see you looking better.”

He sat down in a chair beside your bed and pulled out an important looking binder, emblazoned with words that disappeared too fast for you to read as he opened it.

“Y/N-ssi, I want to talk to you about your injuries.”

You automatically grimaced and your hands clasped your arms, hugging yourself.

“We all know you were physically hit in some kind of fashion.” he continued, maintaining eye contact with you.

“We also wanted to know if you wanted to file a police report.”

“No!” you automatically rejected. First, it was because of the embarrassment, but then it was the fact that you were an idol and you weren’t supposed to get into these kind of situations. Plus, who would believe you anyway?

“Well, alright, if that’s what you think is best for you—”

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open and you spot Sunmi panting.

“Sunmi?” you asked, perplexed. The doctor in front of you could only stare in utter confusion.

“Y/N,” she wheezed. “It’s manager Mrs. Kim.”

“She’s in the ER— injured.”

“Sunbaenim?” you asked through the phone, voice muffled from crying.

“Y/N? Is everything alright? Also, it’s oppa,” Taeyong urgently replied. As usual, his deep timbre sent shivers down your spine even through a phone line.

“C-can you come here? I’m so sorry, I know that if you can’t, it’s alright, it’s just—” you rambled in embarrassment, ashamed of having to ask for help.

“Y-yeah, it’s alright, I’ll be there soon, okay? Stay put for oppa.”

The line goes dead and you stare out the window of your dorm room blankly. No one was in the dorm right now, all visiting Mrs. Kim in the hospital while the company ordered you on bedrest.

You weren’t exactly rioting.

After dropping the huge bombshell on you, Sunmi tried to get you out of the room but the doctor had refused, stating you had to rest at least a week to go back outside. Sunmi sullenly relented while you hadn’t protested at all from the side.

Bits and pieces of information filtered back to you in your hospital bed. Mrs. Kim was currently in the hospital in a medically-induced coma after she was found 11 stories down from her apartment roof, splayed out on the road. She was barely breathing when the EMT reached her.

The doctors had stated they were unsure if there was foul play involved, since Mrs.Kim had shown an increasingly frayed psyche in the past few months. However, there was evidence she was pushed off the roof since her injuries showed signs of fighting.

You didn’t know what to think.

At this time, you heard the doorbell ring and you jumped up from the bed, almost tripping as you tried to get to the front door. The cold air conditioner breeze brushed your thighs and you were suddenly reminded you were half naked, only clad in a gigantic t-shirt and panties.

A blush rose up on your cheeks as you fumbled to find some shorts. Can you imagine what would’ve happened if you faced the mighty Lee Taeyong clad only in an oversized shirt and tighty-whities?

After pulling on a pair of shorts, you pulled open the door to find the slender figure of Lee Taeyong dominating the entryway. He was sporting just a regular white t-shirt and black skinny jeans, although not without shades and a medical mask. Taeyong looked like every manhwa fantasy school girls had, the picture perfect image of a bad boy on the regular.

You hurriedly pulled him in, looking around the hall to see if there were any nosy neighbors but finding none, you closed the wooden door.

Suddenly, he was too close to you. Your head was close to his chest and you smelled his expensive cologne and something that was just him, something that broke through your willpower and insisted you just stand there and inhale all of him. A small “eep!” escaped your mouth at the unfamiliar distance between you and Taeyong.

“C-come in! Do you want anything to eat? Drink?” you stuttered, guiding him to the living room as he took off his expensive-looking sneakers.

“Nah, I’m alright,” he said, and plopped himself on a couch.

An awkward silence pervaded the area as you looked down in embarrassment and his eyes wandered all over the place. Oh god, he probably spotted the huge pile of dirty dishes in the sink. And the copious amount of junk food you and Bella had scattered on the counter.

“Well, uh, I’m sorry, but—”

“Hey, no, you can tell me everything, okay?” he rebutted, the perfect picture of concern.

You fidgeted again, inwardly hating yourself for being so weak and shy in the presence of Taeyong. He probably thought you were so weak rookie girl who couldn’t deal with shit.

“Well, I don’t know how to tell you anything if you can’t start. Trust me,” he beamed, leaning in closer to you.

So you started. You told him all about what happened (all though he had a glint in his eye when you told him your manager was in a coma) and what you were feeling, the guilt of being ecstatic that the person who helped make your career was now effectively a vegetable.

“Fuck, I don’t know what’s going to happen. The company doesn’t have any staff that could help with this mess, and we’re almost bankrupt for god’s sake, and adding to the fact that we have a new album repackage coming up? I literally have no idea what’s going to happen.”

You rub your temples and bury your face in your hands. Taeyong is pensive for a while until you can feel his weight shifting on the couch, scooting closer to you.

You feel his tentative hand grasp your shoulder and a cool hand grasp your chin.

“Hey, look at me,” he whispers soothingly. His hand moves down from your shoulder to your upper arm, rubbing soothing circles into your arm. “I honestly am no help to you. But, realistically, after looking at your debut, you’re on an upward spiral.”

You didn’t feel his fingers trembling on your skin as you were so enraptured by his eyes, deep dark depths that bored into like a drill.

“– you’ll get those brand deals, the concert invitations, just wait for it, ‘cause I know I did.”

The edges of his lips lifted in a small smirk as his hand trailed from your upper arm to your curled hands, grasping them softly and then with more pressure. Long, slim fingers folded over your own like a vice.

“I’m here, y’know?”

Your heartbeat rapidly as you closed the door to Taeyong, your whole body quaking in nervousness? Fear? Excitement? You had no idea anymore when it came to this man.

His fingers felt like they were still blazing fire over your skin, still leaving goosebumps in its wake. It was like those colors and feelings in that dream but in real life, splayed out in front of you.

You shakily padded back to your room, the cold air-conditioning brushing on your skin in a lacklustre reminder of Taeyong’s touches. You staggered onto your bed, collapsing into it and melting into the sheets.

Faux fur brushed against the side of your face, causing you to sneeze. You came face to face with the rather large teddy bear Taeyong sent you a few days ago, it’s black, beaded eyes staring right into your own as your curled around its stuffed body.

Funny, they looked like Taeyong’s, but had some kind of depth, like a camera lense or something…

You remembered his hands and his lips and his eyes as your hand unwittingly wandered down to your shorts, slipping beneath the waistband and fingering the lace of your panties. A small moan left your lips as your inner thigh nudged your teddy bear.

Everything felt hot as you slipped down your shorts and rolled over onto your belly, lying atop Taeyong’s gift. Your panty-clad hips undulated onto the bear as you hid your heated face into your pillow. It was so embarrassing to do something like this, god, this was so wanton. Who the hell humped their teddy bear?

The teddy bear’s fur tickled your thighs as you ground down more upon it, jolting energy into your whole body and making every hair stand on end. It was like the soft caress of a lover, the brushes of Taeyong’s hand that made you shiver in pleasure and at that the unusual feeling.

Your t-shirt rode up and up until it reached right under your breasts, and the mound of material annoyed you so much you took it off and threw it off to Sunmi’s general side of the room. Your bare breasts were sensitive to the fabrics underneath you, your nipples scraping your sheets over and over until they were erect.

“Oh, fuck,” you whispered, feeling the wet stain on your panties with your fingers.

Still, your hips ground more and more into the bear until your panties were so soaked through they were basically useless and you slipped them down your legs. You were completely naked now and clutching onto your bedsheets for dear life as you thighs clamped down upon the toy.

A delirious cry left your lips as your clit felt the tiny hairs of the fur brush once, twice upon your nether lips. You could only move faster, gritting your teeth at the unexplainable feelings that exploded inside of you. You felt like you were possessed, a slave, to your desire as your fingers slipped themselves inside your sopping wet hole.

You imagined they were Taeyong’s fingers sliding in and out of you while you were curled on his lap. Your face would be buried into his shoulder, involuntary tears slipping out as you ground against his slender appendages. You would feel his broad chest rumble with laughter, clutching you tighter as he thrusted harder and harder into your core.

His thumb would slowly sneak it’s way up to the bundle of nerves hidden under a hood of skin, and when he would suddenly press his thumb on it—

“Shit!”

Colors and flashes of light exploded in your tightly-closed eyes, your teeth biting into your lips with force. Your bare body seized in pleasure, contorting in all sorts of ways, unable to handle the pleasure. A flood of liquid left your pussy and it coated your thighs, the fur of the teddy bear clenched in between your legs. Tears leaked out of your eyes in sheer pleasure, and you pitifully ground your hips into the bear to prolong your orgasm.

You could only hear the sound of heavy breathing in your room and you rolled onto your back, staring at the stark-white ceiling above you. A glint from the periphery of your eye caused your head to turn.

Your mouth dropped open at the puddle of glistening liquid coating the teddy bear Taeyong had bought you, staining the fur a dark pink. God, what the hell had you done?

Embarrassment quickly took over you as you cleaned yourself up, putting the bear and your soaked panties in the washing machine. Everything cleaned up, you fell back into bed and turned off the lamp.

As you lied in bed, ready to sleep, one thought occurred to you.

How did Taeyong know your address?

A few miles away, in an state-of-the-art dance studio, a blond-haired man in a bathroom could only stare in shock at the image of Y/N’s breasts bouncing as she ground back on forth on something. When he got the daily notification of his private camera in the feed named “Baby Girl”, he rushed

However, he didn’t expect this.

This masterpiece of Y/N, her pretty pink lips parted and presumably giving way for moans. Her eyes were shut in pleasure as both of her hands clasped over her mouth, and Taeyong could see the angle of the camera shifting downward as she humped more and more.

He could see the fur of the bear and her core rolling over and over the belly, yet he couldn’t see her true treasure. Flashes of popped up occasionally as she rose up like a tidal wave but only to sink back down into the stuffing of the bear.

Taeyong took a deep breath and flushed down the pills in his back pocket into the toilet, knowing how much of an idiot move this was. You couldn’t go cold-turkey, he knew; you had to go through therapy and rehab and all that kind of crap. But, Taeyong didn’t have time. Idols were discreet and expected to deal with messes alone, so he could deal with the withdrawal period to focus his full attention on this.

Y/N bouncing up and down on his phone screen, in pleasure.

Just for him.

Only for him.

Shownu yawned as he walked to his apartment’s mail cabinets. Dressed in only sweatpants and a sweatshirt, he hoped no one from the press would see him.

It was relaxing to be alone. So he bought an apartment away from the members, an apartment building filled with the elderly so fans shouldn’t be here. It was his own haven of isolation, his breath of fresh air from the punishing lights of the stage.

He shook his head in disbelief at his silly philosophical thoughts, and pulled out his key.

Inside the box was a fat bunch of mail, him guessing it was probably 75 percent junk mail. As he walked up the stairs, he sorted the various flyers and letters and his guess was right.

Seriously, he didn’t need another ad for plastic surgery.

However, when soon got up to his apartment door, a small letter underneath all that pile of junk remained in his hand.

A simple “셔누” (Shownu) graced the front, but no return address listed. There were no postage stamps or anything.

Suddenly, he felt a bad feeling about this. Shownu was not usually the superstitious kind of guy, but when something as minimal and small as this shows up, it’s never something good.

Was it a sasaeng, an obsessed girl trying to contact him? Trying to get his attention?

God, he hated sasaengs. Did they have no shame? No basic respect for privacy? For god’s sake, he had to break the lease on the apartment he was about to get 3 months ago when a fan found out he was moving, and now he was here.

They were so obsessed with this ideal of him, an idyllic version of someone who he probably wasn’t at all. The girls that followed him on flights, called his number in the wee hours in the morning, the one time someone actually broke into his hotel room in California.

They weren’t in love, they were fucking psychotic. Infatuated with someone who wasn’t him.

Shownu shut the door to his apartment and after throwing all the junk mail into the trashcan, he stretched out on his favorite leather sectional.

The simple white letter with simple black letters stared back at him. Should he at least get this screened or something first?

To hell with it, he was curious.

The first thing that fell out was a newspaper clipping. On the 3rd page of the Korea herald, was a small section announcing the hospitalization of Kim Sohye, a middle-aged woman whom was a popular idol in the nineties. The article went on to detail how she was splayed across the road in blood, having either been pushed or fallen off the roof of her apartment building. Now, she was in a medically-induced coma.

What did this have to do with him?

He was quite annoyed, thinking someone was probably fucking with him, until he saw the last part of the article.

Kim Sohye is the manager of FEM, a rookie girl group who has just gotten their first win. No word has been released from their company on what will happen to the group’s activities.

While he was shocked, Shownu lad a large part of him that yelled “good riddance!” to the woman who had verbally abusing Y/N.

Good for her then, he’d have to find some way to check up on her. Maybe backstage at Music Core?

Another white paper fell out of the envelope, the paper feeling quite slippery to the touch.

Shownu,

I took care of the manager when you couldn’t. I actually did something instead of watching from the sidelines. Anyways, good luck trying to reach Y/N. She isn’t interested in you, you know? My goddess is simply too good for your whoring ways.

With much loathing,

A Fellow Idol

(P.S. By the way, I don’t think you’ll be able to reach her anyway. You should’ve stuck to your gut and got this piece of mail screened. This letter is coated in a poison that goes airborne when the envelope is opened. You won’t be touching Y/N anytime soon. Rot in hell, you son of a bitch.)

Shownu, horrified, belatedly realized the slipperiness of the paper was due to the poison. He was so confused, so filled with fear and that all ended when everything went black.

Laughter filled the apartment as sunlight streamed through the window.

“D-Did you see that? He- ha!”

“He just— I’m dying!”

You and Taeyong were curled up on the couch, laughing your asses off at the viral facebook post of cute shiba dogs being clumsy. You were stilled wrapped up in your laughter, however, the man’s warmth next to you still made you self-conscious. Taeyong might be a comfortable friend instead of an intimidating senior, but he was still an intimidating man. Pretty-boy looks he was known for, but whenever you were near him, there was a sort of self-assuredness and confidence that cornered you and had you speechless.

Well, not so much nowadays. Taeyong and you were genuinely good friends after the whole debacle. He talked to you, listened to you, gave you advice: even drove you to the hospital to visit your injured manager while standing as emotional support outside the room.

Although, Taeyong was sort of… strange? Perhaps it was just you, since you had never had a close guy friend or any romantic relationship of the sort, but something felt off. The handsome man never really wanted to leave you, not in the lovey-dovey kind of way but in the kind of intrusive fashion that made you late for things. Talking about other men in the presence of him had him incensed and sullen, often blackening his mood and ruining the day for both of you. He also had a weird thing about calling him oppa, always insisting you use the term instead of “sunbaenim” or”-ssi”.

You stroked your teddy bear in thought, hugging it tightly and blushing, remembering the things you had done with the teddy bear. Hugging it tight and close in embarrassment, a hard object pressed into your chest. Hoping Taeyong (who was enraptured by the video on screen) was not looking, you gently felt up the teddy bear.

In your fingers was something hard and square underneath all the fluff and stuffing of the bear’s head. You imperceptibly frowned. Was it a box of some sort? Maybe it was a device that helped it speak?

You watched Taeyong through your eyelashes, his sharp features glinting with the reflected light from the screen. God, he was so handsome.

Momentarily forgetting the box, you felt a deep ache in your heart for Taeyong. He was too kind, too gentle and caring for you not to fall deeply for. Stupid, inane, ridiculous— this infatuation was all sorts of stupid for so many reasons.

You were barely 20, he was already 25.

You just debuted, a rookie; he. an established senior.

You an idol from a small company; he, from a behemoth.

You, a girl who would get attacked for whatever she did; he, a beneficiary of a double standard.

But the heart wants what it wants.

You felt tears inadvertently well up in your eyes as you finally feel the hopelessness of the situation. Turning away so Taeyong wouldn’t notice the glistening tear roll down your cheek, you quickly compose yourself and turn back.

“Oppa? I’m going to get something, okay?”

He turned and you were once again faced with the full force of his attention. It was like a bag of sand on your shoulder, except you weren’t an air balloon and they weren’t getting cut off. No, they were piled and piled onto you like you were supposed to drown.

“Yeah, yeah. I get the cute babies and dogs all to myself now,” he joked, leaning back into the couch.

You took the hand of your teddy all the way to your bedroom, wiping your eyes along the way. You imagined you looked somewhat like a distressed toddler, padding back to your room.

Holding down the bear, you raised the pair of scissors over the gift.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

White stuffing exploded out of the cut, going this way and that way as you stuck your hand in. After a few seconds of blind searching, you pulled out the box you had felt against your chest earlier.

There, resting on your palm, was a camera with a blinking red light.

Taeyong lounged on the couch, feeling content but a little restless.

A feeling that usually pervaded his whole body when he was away from you.

When he could not touch you, see you, feel you, Taeyong was antsy. He couldn’t sit still, his eyes zoomed around like balls on a roulette table, couldn’t focus. It was like withdrawal, but from you.

His members noticed. They noticed he was maybe a tiny bit healthier, less gaunt, but forever distracted. Yuta remarked sullenly that he was always on his phone, never making time for the rest of the members in the dorm.

But how could he? How could he focus when dancing when his baby girl was just one swipe away?

Taeyong’s leg bounced up and down as he waited for Y/N to return from her room.

“Sunbaenim.”

Taeyong’s dark brows furrowed as heard your voice. You haven’t called him “sunbaenim” in private in weeks.

He turned around and what he saw nearly made his heart stop.

Taeyong’s face went through several phases. He turned bone-white in shock, eyes wide in panic, and stuttering in desperation.

“What is this?” you asked, your tone deceptively light.

“Y/N—”

“Why did I find a camera recording inside the stuffed bear you gave me?”

For once, Taeyong was speechless. He didn’t have a smooth condolence or excuse to give you. His eyes looked pained when his hands reached out towards you.

“Y/N, baby, let me explain.”

“Don’t call me baby! You better have some damn good explanation for this, I- after all this time? You’ve been spying on me?” you voice had gotten very angry but then had immediately turned anguished.

“Baby girl, please, I had to keep eyes on you somehow! I couldn’t just let you go, can’t you understand?”

“Understand what?”

“I’m fucking in love with you! I need you! I can’t breathe, can’t sleep, can’t eat without you!”

You reared back in shock.

“Taeyong, this isn’t love,” you spoke slowly, backing away from him. “T-this is obsession. You need help”

“This is love, Y/N. I have given up everything for you, I’ve done everything for you.”

He stalked towards you slowly, trying to not scare you off like a frantic doe.

“Why do you think your manager suddenly fell of a building? That bitch certainly didn’t fall off by herself. I fucking pushed her fat ass, I hid near the roof entrance and threw her off the skyline. It’s a pity she isn’t dead, but you know what? She’s in a coma and in pain, she deserves it after hurting you.”

“Oh my god—”

“There’s more! Remember our dear, handsome, Shownu?”

An expression of horror befell your face and seized your heart.

“No—”

“Your dearest Shownu is in the ER after being poisoned. It isn’t on the news, but I sent him that letter. It was a letter coated in poison. Poison that goes airborne after being exposed to the air after 24 hours in being in liquid form. He couldn’t man up for you, so I did away with him!” he shouted, sounding crazed and delirious and not like your Taeyong at all.

“Taeyong, you’re scaring me!”

He sucked in a gasp of pain, distress radiating from his whole body. His eyes were like fractured glass, broken, and had a touch of desperation shining in those mesmerizing depths.“Oh no, baby—”

You stumbled away from his body.

He relented and sat back down on the couch reluctantly. When he sighed, it felt like he was on the cusp of doing something but he just put his head in his hands.

After a moment of tense fear, he spoke up. “I gave up so much for you. I gave up the pills for you.”

“Pills?”

“After my injury last year, I was addicted to narcotics. They just got rid of all the pain in my body and in my mind. You have to understand, baby girl, I was distraught. I couldn’t participate in the world tour with all my members, couldn’t see my fans, couldn’t even fucking perform of my broken leg. I didn’t even know if I would be able to perform afterwards.”

You let out a small gasp.

“But for you, after seeing you on stage on our win looking like salvation, I gave it all up—”

“ —and focused all on me,” you whispered.

He nodded, his eyes scanning over you and his body tense in anticipation, like he expected you to bolt.

Your head was spinning. All these revelations being revealed. Taeyong, the sweet, caring, oppa of yours that had helped you through pain was the a criminal, a menace to society that had nearly killed two people. He was insane, delusional, a sasaeng of the worst kind— the kind that thought he was in love. You needed space, or else him and his eyes and his passion would consume you and never let go.

“I- I Taeyong—”

“Oppa,” he muttered.

“-this,” you waved a frantic hand between the space of you two “isn’t healthy. I need to think—”

You hadn’t even blinked before Taeyong slammed you into a wall, pressing his lips onto you like a brand. His hands grasped your waist tightly to him like he was trying to meld your body with his, trying to crawl into a cavity and never come out.

“Baby girl,” he said in between the kisses. “Don’t leave, me, please.”

“No, we need to talk this out—”

“No talking, Y/N. Sometimes we need our bodies to express some things that can’t be spoken for us. I have been waiting to touch you for real for months.”

His slender fingers didn’t even fumble when they slid underneath your t-shirt. His thumbs massaged the skin of your sensitive sides. His fingers left goosebumps in their wake while they slowly traveled up and up until his hands were right beneath your bra.

Meanwhile, his other hand had played with the edge of the back your shorts. Slipping in and out, unable to choose whether to play with elastic of your shorts or your panties.

Please, just go in! You frantically thought and then immediately recoiled in disgust. This criminal, this murderer, was touching you and you submitted to him like a bitch in the heat? You raised your knee to hit to where the sun didn’t shine.

Almost predicting your actions, he smirked into your kiss and slipped in whole hand into your panties. Your knee dropped as you clenched your teeth, the wall supporting the whole of your weight. He was now cupping your butt in his large, slender hands and he pulled you in even more towards his body.

“Oh, baby girl, you’re mine, you know that? Since the day I saw you…”

His hand abruptly pushed your bra cup and was holding your breast in hand. A reluctant moan came from your lips as you tensed from the sensations.

“…to the day I saw you getting off on the teddy bear I gave.”

You gasped, embarrassed and ashamed then tried to push him off, but Taeyong took advantage of your parted lips and slipped his tongue. You were still a deep red, now knowing he knew of that time you humped his teddy bear picturing him, imagining his fingers you.

He chuckled deeply, letting it hang in the air. “What a naughty girl, huh? No one would never expect that kind of wantonness from you.”

“But, me?” He whispered, right at your ear. The puffs of air coming from his lips rushed over your skin and you shivered. You were so over-sensitized, feeling his hands on your butt on your chest on your neck— fuck, he was everywhere. You needed him stop before you couldn’t think why this was wrong and- “I see it. You’re all for me to devour.”

Taeyong started stripping off your shorts, and a soft hiss was heard as they were dropped to the floor around your feet. His talented hands started unclasping the clasp of your bra strap and you felt the decompression of the band around your chest.

“You’re like alcohol, you know? To me,” he casually said, as if you were having a conversation instead of groping each other.

He rubbed his fingers near the crevice of your thighs. “You begin the night wanting to nurse a glass, to savor it, taste it.”

“But in the end, you just end up drinking the whole damn thing and get the most wonderful high.”

Taeyong, without warning, pinched your clit. A shout left your lips and he quickly quieted you down, pressing his lips against yours. Your hands clenched his broad shoulders like a vice and you shamefully looked downwards, unable to look this man in the eyes. What were you doing with this- this sinner?

Rubbing two fingers against the wetness coating your nether lips, he slipped them in and curled.

“Taeyong!” you gasped.

He played your pussy like a well-practiced instrument, undulating with an unheard rhythm known to his ears only and you could only anticipate. A bit pressure this way, he learned, made you gasp, but a curl in this direction made you keen loudly and hump against your hand. You couldn’t believe your mind was kept captive by your helpless body, and you wished so badly you could tell him stop but--

He lightly stroked your clit and you jumped, shaking in his arms until he held you still. Over and over again he pressed but never at the prefect pressure or the perfect spot.

Abruptly, he pulled his fingers out of you. He nearly creamed himself when he saw you pouting your perfect lips up at him, pressing yourself against him like a wanton whore.

“Do you really want this, baby girl? Tell me,” he said, wrenching at your shirt to get it off.

“Yes!” you hissed, far beyond rational thought at this point.

“Well, my baby girl has to show it for oppa, okay?”

He scooped your bare legs up and sat on the couch, you straddling his lap.

“You’re going to cum while grinding yourself against my dick,” he smiled wickedly as he roughly guided your hips atop his bulge.

“W-what?” you asked confusion.

He grabbed your hand and placed it atop the bulge in his trousers. The bulge twitched and thrummed under your touch while a vein popped out from Taeyong’s forehead.

Taeyong leaned up to your ear. “You get to hump yourself against a real dick this time. Not some pathetic teddy bear.”

You looked reluctantly at him, butbegan to undulate your panty-clad pussy against his clothed dick.

“Faster, baby. You can do better than that.”

More and more you went over his dick, stimulating your clit in the most wonderful of ways. Actually having a warm presence under you increased your pleasure ten fold and adding in the fact it was Taeyong? One hundred fold. You felt a wet spot forming on his trousers and already soaking your ruined panties.

“I want to see you come undone for me. Need me. Want me.”

You clenched your eyes shut as you stuffed a hand in your mouth to stop yourself from screaming. You tried to angle your clit into touching the hump of his dick underneath his trousers, but it just rubbed against your pussy lips.

Taeyong thrust up for the first time while you, in mid grind, harshly pushed against his dick.

It hit the spot.

Even with your hand covering your mouth, your scream could be heard throughout the apartment. You came apart on Taeyong’s lap, not even being penetrated, and you shook uselessly against his chest.

He laughed that annoying chuckle again, cool and calm as a cucumber. He stroked your back as you came down from your high, holding you against him desperately.

“Good job baby girl, I’m gonna do my part now.”

Flipping you over on your back, he pulled at your panties you lifted yourself up, allowing him to take the soaked material from your core. Your pussy was exposed to the cold air and, seeing his eyes resting on your vagina, you clenched your legs together.

“Tsk, tsk, my baby girl shouldn’t hide herself away from me,” he spoke serenely while painfully wrenching your legs apart, veins popping out for his forearms from the effort.

He finally took your bra off your chest, and your nipples stiffened in the cold air.

Taeyong’s eyes glazed over and he groaned, nearly falling to his knees from the pure perfection of the sight of you naked.

Taeyong took off his shirt then unbuttoned his trousers and he exposed his cock to your hazy vision. He stroked his dick, spreading the precum along the veiny sides.

Lowering himself, he buried his head in your neck and his cock pressed against the entrance to your core. You grasped onto his broad shoulders, feeling his defined collarbones beneath your feelings, and tightened your grip.

“You’re the first thing I think of in the morning, anytime, and I’ll make you think of no one but me.”

With that, he thrusted harshly in. Mutual moans of appreciation were elicited from you two. He was a perfect fit inside of you, providing the puzzle piece to you incomplete puzzle. It felt like your nerves were going haywire after being surrounded by him.

“I knew you would be a perfect fit. You’re mine,” He stated it like a fact of nature.

He rolled his hips against yours and you couldn’t stay still. Your hand searched for something to latch onto in an ocean of pleasure, and Taeyong’s hand was the beacon of light to hold on to.

Your pussy clenched him at different times, often catching Taeyong off-guard and having to rein himself in from cumming inside you too quick. After your last pulse which nearly brought him crashing headfirst into oblivion, he removed himself from you.

You whined, your legs trying to bring him back in. However, Taeyong just flipped you over and dragged you to the edge of your couch, throwing you over the arm. Your butt stuck up high in the air while you buried your face into a pillow, screaming in anticipation. He quickly slipped himself back in and you screamed.

This position let you feel him better, and let him go deeper. He hit spots he hadn’t before while you were on your back. He was panting loudly, and you could bet sweat was running down the sides of his chiseled face.

All your pining and his obsession was coming to a culmination. He thrusted harder and harder into you until you could feel your cheeks turn red. You could feel his desperation in his hands, that clutched you like he was never going to let go and his thrusts, rutting into you like a demon.

“My goddess, my goddess,” he repeated like a mantra.

“Taeyong!” you yelped. Inside you was an even more vibrant explosion than your dreams could have ever fathomed, consuming your vision and you body and everywhere. You thrashed in this overwhelming pleasure, being consumed and devoured by a passion.

“Yes, baby girl, cum for me— oh, fuck!”

His hips stuttered as his cum coated your walls white, thrusting his semen into you. The feeling was so pleasurable you felt like you nearly had a second orgasm. You felt his cum coat the lips of your vagina and slowly run down your thighs.

He stopped, and hunched over you, breathing harshly. Taeyong put a shirt on you as he fell back into the couch, pulling you to sit on his lap.

“I- I love you!” you blurted out suddenly. You groaned in embarrassment as you covered your eyes.

“Baby girl, you don’t know how glad I am to hear that. I’ve loved you from the first time I saw you. I can’t even explain what I feel for you, that’s why I’ve done crazy things for you. Feelings like this come once in a lifetime and you can’t let them go, no matter the price,” he whispered, stroking your belly with infinitive care, knowing what must be forming in your belly right now.

The sound of a click resounded throughout the apartment and you looked up to see the three horrified faces of Bolin, Bella, and Sunmi through the doorway.

Sleep, Y/N. We’re going somewhere far, far away from here and I promise…

… you’ll love me…

…YOU’LL NEED ME…

holy shit, i have had to repost this because it’s not showing up in the tags im so sorry if you’ve seen this like 12837293472 times

#taeyong #nct x reader #nct smut #taeyong smut #kpop #kpop fics #taeyong x reader #nct imagines #taeyong imagines #johnny #yuta #wayv ten #wayv kun #jaehyun #winwin #shownu #monsta x

[voltagesmutter]

Pirates In Love - Prologue

Own adaption of a prologue to PiL because I adore it so much and wanted to do something for the first voltage game I ever played.

The OC (Bella) is loosely based of Elizabeth Swan, because she is just a pure bad-ass and I LOVE HER. Also didn’t want the OC to be like the real one in the game because she’s such just too weak for this.

Smut, head-cannons and one shots to follow based of this prologue hence why I wanted to do it, also the characters names are off the English version, as this is the one I played!

Strong Language, Violence and derogatory terms towards the OC below the cut

“Eduardo I am not a child! Will you stop following me and let me do something by myself!”.

“Yourself? You make a mess wherever you go! You need someone to keep an eye on you”.

“I literally can’t do anything on this ship!” You huffed with laughter.

“Anytime I go to help, you or someone else swoops down to ‘protect me’, all I wanted to do was practice with a sword for five minutes in peace!”.

“Your too weak of a woman to handle a sword,” His words made your blood boiled

“I know how to handle a sword.” You yelled angrily.

“Kid you don’t have to impress me,” He smirked, fucking smug asshole.

“I am not a child! No-one of you knew how I was brought up or what exactly I am capable of! You all see me as this virginal innocent girl, that you don’t see me as the woman I am,” You sighed whilst shaking your head, your hands placed firmly on your waist.

“I see you as a woman,” He mumbles.

“Just shut up Ed, you made it very clear how you see me,” You pushed past him, purposely knocking yourself against his shoulder. You mumbled angrily under your breath as you stepped out on to the deck. Life on the Sirius was great, expect you can’t do anything, it was beyond frustrating. Every-time you did anything, someone was there watching you, these men really didn’t see you as the 22 year old woman you was. In fact as Ed had stated earlier, you was often referred to as ‘kid’, you was older than one of the crew members Thomas for god's sake. They saw you as feeble, weak, woman and it was tiring. You had skills, you knew how to fight, hell you’d been doing it since you was a child. 

Growing up wasn’t easy for you after losing your parents due to a corrupt family burning down your house and stealing you away in order to raise you to be a bride for one of their sons. You was sheltered and cared for by an elderly nanny of the family who took pity on you and taught you how to fend and fight yourself, she had told you stories of what the family was like and how she refused to see them ruin and taint you. The day the Sirius and it’s crew fell into your life was the day you had retaliated against the family. They were forcing you to become engaged to their eldest son, a known womaniser and woman beater, as you had become legal age of marriage. Instead of being the ‘good submissive’ girl they had raised you as, you refuted and attacked, taking one of their priceless pistols and aiming it at them.

“Oh look she think she’s tough,” “Get her son, put that bitch back in her place,”. Their words are still fresh in your ears. As the brute of a son stepped towards you, you fired a warning shot with your trembling fingers, but it wasn’t until he pounced at you, you shot him. You don’t know where, you don’t know what happened after and you never want to find out. You ran and ran and ran, until your feet could run no more and hid in a barrel once you heard the navy sounding waves of alarm. That barrel ended up on the Sirius and long story short that's how you're here. 

You loved the men on board, they were ‘barrels of laughs’ but you were tired of being treated like a weak girl, you were more than that. You pressed yourself against the ships side, letting the soothing ocean air hitting you face. You loved being on the water, it was peaceful, tranquil and safe, safer than you had ever been in your life. 

Your eyes teared up slightly as you thought about what you had left behind, it was horrible life you had suffered. First watching your parents murdered before being ‘saved’ by the people who did it, being forced to grow up in a lifestyle to accommodate them and their wishes to be ‘the perfect bride’. When you was 17 you fell in love with one of the stable boys, very clique, and he loved you back. You both stole sweet moments together, making love under the stars or anywhere that was private, until one day your lover was caught and he was ripped away from your life. Another stable boy had reported the feelings of your lover to a high authority and not wanting the risk of anyone stealing or ruining you they had him removed. You never knew what happened to him, you prayed he was alive and well but that day was when your world went black and all you wanted to do was escape, waiting for the perfect opportunity. 

Your thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched squeal.

“Pearl!” The recognisable voice of the man who was a true representation of a mentalist came running towards you from the side.

“Hello Alan,” You barely even turning to him. He did his usual grand gesture of bowing before taking your hand and kissing it.

“I’ve come to sweep you away from these evil men my pearl,” He grins like a child. You had to give it to him, he was persistent, this was the 5th time in two weeks he had come to rescue you. Even since your first encounter he became infatuated with you, determined to make you his and steal you away.

“Oh Alan, you truly know the way to a woman's heart,” You sigh before turning around, resting your back against the side, you propping your elbows up on to it. 

“So you’ll come!” He yells with excitement.

“Sorry, not this time,” You sigh with a slight laugh as you watched him pout.

“Alan how did you even get on here, the Rika is miles away,” You question as you push yourself up and walk to the other-side of the boat. The deck was empty, hence why Alan had been on the ship for more than 30 seconds without being thrown overboard.

“The Rika is right there pearl,” He says pointing to it, it was docked behind the Sirius.

“Wait so who’s that then?” You ask, pointing to a ship which was gaining speed towards you. 

“Shit, Alan move,” You yell and run to the mast, ringing the bell sharply. Come on lads where are you? No-one was coming and this ship was only a few knotts away from you, a rowdy bunch of men on the deck, with the boat currently anchored you were sitting ducks. Alan was slightly cowering, he lived up to his reputation of being a wuss.

“Give me that,” You yelled, taking the gun out of his holster but strapping it to the compartment on your garter. Since being on the ship you had to create your own clothes, luckily sewing was deemed as ‘quality wife’ material and you’d been forced to learn from an early age. With the odd scraps around the boat you had crafted a off the shoulder white puffed sleeved shirt, with a corset that settled neatly under your breasts, a pair of shorts to match that clung to your waist with a garter belt, somewhere for you to keep a weapon, not that you was given one. What? Who said pirates had to be unstylish? Taking a sword from the rack, you gripped it into your right hand.

“Guys! Anytime!” You yelled down the deck, you didn’t have time to run down the helm and alert everyone, that was the whole point of the bell they were clearly ignoring. 

“Until next time my pearl!” Alan called out to you, somehow he managed to dash onto the Rika and it was already setting sail.

“Alan, you coward!” You screamed but it was no use, the Rika was fleeing, looks like its just you Bella. 

The ship had fulled approached and the men grabbed onto ropes, swinging down onto the deck with a thud, a man in a similar attire to Morgans waltzed towards you, his eyes glistening. 

“Well, well, well, what do we have here,” He asked intriguing, circling you like a shark. 

“You must be the Sirius whore,” He spits and he grabs your chin forcefully.

“I am no ones whore!” You yell back, bashing against him to free yourself.

“Oh, now aren't we feisty, I bet your a delight to fuck,” His grip tightening on you, causing you to whine. 

“Oh look lads, they even gave her a gun to play with, you know little girls shouldn’t play with weapons, unless its a cock,” He adds, howls of laughter coming from his men. You swap the sword in your hand behind your back and without thinking you brought your right hand up into a first and punched him straight in the nose, he feel back against the side, the cracking nose of his being broke rung through your ears.

“I am not a whore, I am no-ones fuck toy, I am not some god-damn damsel in distress who needs rescuing every five minutes,” You furiously yell, your body wracked with anger as you point the sword, pressing it against his bollocks, keeping him pinned against the side.

“Alright lass, calm down it was only some fun,” He pleads but you press the sword forward ever so slightly.

“Chose your next words carefully if you want to keep your cock,” You hiss, your eyes seeing red. 

“Men back on the ship,” He swallows and you raise an eyebrow to him.

“Give me your gun,” You state.

“W-what,”.

“Give me your god-damn gun, or say goodbye to your pathetic excuse of a dick,” Your eyes widening. His hand shakes slightly as he reached for it, you quickly duck and roll away as he points it to where you once stood, in all honesty you saw that coming from a mile away. Taking the gun from your garter, you cock it before pointing it at him. Both of you standing opposite each other in a standoff. 

“You’d make a brilliant addition to our crew lass,” He smirks.

“Not only would you keep my cock and bed warm, your fight in you would make it exceptional to tie down,” He adds. Not even taking a second, your finger pulled the trigger shooting him in his right shoulder and he curled in pain. Not taking any chance you lean forward and thump your, well Alan’s, pistol over his head, knocking him out stone cold. With a sigh you lean down and take his gun, glancing over it, it was blue with encrusted gems on it and it was yours. As you stand up you see the crew of the Sirius watching you and all that had just happened.

“Feel free to chip in at any time guys!” You yell, men who needs them, sometimes you have to be your own hero. 

“Get him off here before I put a bullet through his head,” You hiss before shoving your way past the crew and down into the kitchen. You needed a drink, a really really stiff drink. 

Is it a clique that the only drink on the boat apart from water is rum, stocks of it everywhere you looked. You propped yourself onto the kitchen counter, a bottle in your hand as you slugged away, you weren't that little girl who used to be. The girl who was too frightened to say a word, who was meek and obeyed every order, she was going to have a terrible life so in a way Sirius saved you and that's what you clung to being on this ship. Unable to sit there anymore and let your wallow away in pity of your former self you head back up the deck, hoping the ship had set course. 

“Did you see how she punched him! I heard his bones break, it was kinda awesome,” Thomas was enthusiastically yelling, he was the definition of innocence. 

“Yeah, I think she’s got a better aim than you Eduardo,” Russell chuckled but Eduardo did his usual scoff of disapproval. 

“Hey there's our tough, mean, fighting machine,” Morgan yelled as he welcomed you onto the deck, the other ship had gone. 

“You have some explaining to do,” Eduardo said with a stern look, this time it was you who scoffed.

“Like I said before I’m not some virgin princess who swoons at any man who rescues her, I know how to handle myself,” You reply before placing the bottle you were holding on the table. 

“Well lass, were having a celebration tonight, like the night you first arrived, to celebrate the full moon so you will have plenty of time to tell us then,” Morgan laughed as he slapped his knee, he had to be the most joyful person you had met, he was the true definition of a pirate. 

You helped set up the deck for the celebrations, barrels of rum being brought out and you found yourself being more chatty and open with the men. You got to learn a lot about them and vise versa, after seeing your reaction earlier no-one of them saw you as helpless child anymore. They respected you.

“Wait so you shot him? What happened next?” Nathan asked you, leaning forward over the table.

“I don’t know, I ran away and ended up on the ship,” You slurred slightly, the alcohol and the gentle sway of the ship hitting you. You began to laugh slightly.

“I shot two people, me,” You couldn’t help but giggle. You never could hold your alcohol, not especially compared to these men who were throwing it back like air. 

“You're tougher than you look kid,” Eduardo smiles and wraps an over your shoulder, clearly he was drunk, the man never smiled. 

“Never underestimate a woman!” You hiccuped with a slight blush. 

“So let’s see the gun you stole,” Chris asks and you look at him slightly clueless.

“I threw it, I didn’t want anything from them, but you can look at this one,” You said handing him the gun from the man earlier. 

“But I want it back! I also have Alan’s so don’t try to keep it,” You pouted watching him hold up the weapon to the light. 

“It’s beautifully jewelled,” Russell exclaimed leaning over to admire it. 

“But it’s miiiine,” You sang and took it back, securing it to your leg garter. 

The night continued with laughter and stories and for the first time since you joined the Sirius, you was apart of the crew.

#pirates in love #voltage pirates in love #voltage inc #voltage fanfic #voltage romance games #voltage pil #pil #love 365 pil #love 365 pirates in love

[ttxrtledeerr-olemtala]

Olem Tala

Main Story (Taussma)

Side note: All of these are mostly unfinished, and i change the stories a lot, so chances are they will change at some point. (Also, if you see any flaws, please point them out, thank you!)

The main story is about a schizophrenic wolf (Winter’s Howl). He ‘hallucinates’ about demons from a hell-like realm called Taussma.

Winter is constantly bullied and pretty much has no friends, so instead of imagining them as the demons they are, he imagines them as good people. He ‘imagines’ that Taussma is a place near where he lives, so he goes out to find it, thinking that he’ll be welcomed there. Well, he isn’t. He realizes that they aren’t as good as he thought they were.

The demons slowly gain more and more power, until somehow, they are physical entities (hopefully that makes sense). He runs away from Taussma after he realizes that they’re slowly trying to kill him, but little does he know, they followed him, and they’re gonna kill him, and everyone else pretty much.

Secondary Stories

Finley (Tw: abusive relationship, murder, etc)

Finley is the story of a woman named, well, Finley. She was forced into a relationship with a controlling and abusive 42 year old man named Scavenger.

Scavenger was very abusive towards Finley, but they end up having 4 kids together: Bella, Ezekiel, Clover, and Max. Finley adored the children, and would do anything for them. Scavenger hated the children and would get annoyed at them even talking to him. Eventually, when Max was 9 years old, Scavenger brutally murdered them.

Finley, rightfully devastated, finally realized that she needed to get away from him. She hid the children from Scavenger, and killed him the same way he killed Max, except this time slower, so that he would feel every bit of pain. She took her children, and they escaped off to a place far away called Taussma.

Greedy (Tw: homophobia, child neglect, etc)

Greedy is about a family of 4 people: Quin, Heinrich, Simon, and Pike. Heinrich is the father of Simon and Pike. He is a very kind man who looks for the good in everyone. Simon is really brave, and is a closeted gay. Pike is really adventurous. Quin is the mother of Simon and Pike. She’s very greedy, selfish, and homophobic.

In the family, there are also two pet foxes named Karkeo and Masseren. Karkeo is very sassy, and kind of a smartass. Masseren on the other hand is more calm.

When Quin finds out that Simon is gay, she beats him and tells him to leave. After he leaves, she takes her anger out on the rest of the family, mainly Heinrich, Pike, and Karkeo.

Sick of her bullshit, Karkeo leaves to go find Simon. Months pass, and Quin becomes more and more hostile. Pike decides that he’d rather die alone looking for his brother than die from neglect, so he leaves. Masseren, being protective over the young boy, follows him. Somehow, they manage to find Simon. Simon is now living with his boyfriend, Cecil.

Meanwhile, back at home. Quin becomes more violent. After a heated arguement between her and Heinrich, she beats him, ties him up with rope covered in thorns, burns the house down with him in it, then runs away to Taussma.

Rainbow (Tw: transphobia, violence, etc)

Rainbow is about a German family with three members. Verdrehte is the mom, Leemit is the older sister, and Viktor is the younger brother. Viktor comes out to Leemit as trans (ftm). Leemit is very supportive of him, and helps him with things like binding, training his voice, etc. She helps him work up the courage to come out to Verdrehte, thinking it would go well, but it didn’t.

Verdrehte was furious, calling him numerous slurs. She also started screaming at Leemit for supporting and helping him. She burned Viktor’s arms, chest, legs, neck, and face, and she broke Leemit’s jaw and nose. She told them that if they tell anybody what she did to them, she would kill them.

Viktor and Leemit both agreed that they would try and run away, and get help. They ran away from home, but Verdrehte caught them. Viktor managed to get away, but Leemit wasn’t as lucky. She was caught, and after refusing to tell where Viktor was, she was killed.

No more (I use humor for this one because I’m not really sure how to explain it in a serious way without it sounding cheesy or cringy. Tw: graphic)

No more is the stereotypical good vs evil story. Taussma is really strong now, so they’re gonna try and kill everybody. Some teenagers and 2 foxes decide that they’re stronger so they fight the demons.

One of the teens (Praise) shot the cougar in the head with a bow and arrow. It went through his brain and somehow put him in a rabid state. Bella somehow managed to yank out her own tooth and its somehow sharp enough to rip someone’s stomach open. She also stabs someone else’s eyes with her teeth and makes them go bilnd.

Eventually the goth h0 almost kills the gay demon prince, which leads to the rest of them retreating.

Canary (I’m gonna use humor again bc this is kinda fun lmao. Tw: abuse)

Canary is about these two twins (Remy and Charlie) who decide that it would be a good idea to explore an ‘abandoned’ factory. They go in and quickly find out that it is in fact, not abandoned. Almost immediately they encounter 3 people. Ryann, Ellie, and Oliver.

Remy and Charlie are seperated, and Charlie encounters some of the people that are stuck there. Some of those people are Pogo, an insane but friendly woman who looks like a cymbal monkey, and Ginny, a motherly woman who kinda looks like a burlesque dancer, and Lola, Ryann’s daughter who was supposed to die a long time ago but he keeps bringing her back to life just to abuse her and treat her like shit.

Remy encounters also encounters different creatures. Their names are Babyface, a mute clown, Herstel, a bear that looks like she got drenched in clown/fun house/carnival acid, and Urlen, a strange looking creature that looks like a combination of a bird, a deer, a sheep, and a very thin cat.

Eventually, Ryann tortures Charlie and tries to get him to show emotion, except he’s physically unable to. Ryann injects Charlie with something that makes him show emotions.

Ryann for some reason decides to burn the place down, with everyone in it, then escape, except the workers there are kinda stupid and forgot to contain literally the most dangerous creature there, which is Con. The cougar who was supposed to die, but didn’t somehow. Con attacks, and kills Ryann. Con tries to kill Charlie, but Pogo comes in and kicks Con into the fire and helps Charlie escape, So then they all escape and go home and pretend that nothing ever happened.

#tw child abuse #tw transphobia #tw violence #tw homophobia #tw child neglect #tw abuse #tw murder #tw abusive relationship #olem tala #olem tala explained #mild cringe warning #oc #oc story #story #demons #demon #hell #hell-like #wolves #wolf #schizophrenia #fictional characters #fictional universe #hallucinations #hallucinating #hallucinate #i need criticism #criticism #cringe #kinda cringy

[xmxisxforxmaybe]

Melbourne, An Interlude

Summary: Merriell “Snafu” Shelton is on leave in Australia and meets a girl who, in quite a twist for Merriell, ends up charming the pants off of him. I was inspired by @rami-hoe and their story, The Soldier and the Nurse, because it was written in Snaf’s first person POV.

 I am experimenting with this whole first person POV thing, so I keep Snaf’s thoughts in a slight version of his accent—this might be annoying af and not work at all :/ Feedback welcome! This is also my first piece on here with an OFC instead of a reader insert. I still tried to keep her vague-ish, but I wanted to do something different : )

 This story will be two parts because I no longer seem to be able to write a one-shot to save my life.

   Permanent Taglist: @rami-malek-trash  @sherlollydramoine

   Warnings: language, racial slur against the Japanese in accordance with the time period, and lots of sex stuff, so no under 18s, please!

If Guadalcanal was anythin’ to indicate what else was comin,’ I was gonna make the most of my time here in Melbourne. I was one of the lucky ones without malaria, but I was skinnier than I’d eva been and it was provin’ to be difficult to keep food in me long enough to actually fix my malnourishment.

What I can tell ya was takin’ a shower without a gun within arm’s length, without the fear of havin’ a shell dropped on ya naked ass, was next to feelin’ like god himself was wrappin’ ya up in a hug made out of warm rainwater.  

 It took a few days of eatin’ a little here and there and a whole lotta sleep for my nerves to relax. After a few meals dat finally settled well and sleepin’ for damn near 36 hours, I was ready to go out and find a drink, and I more than hoped not to spend anotha night alone on a fuckin’ cot in dat stadium.  

 First night out, I drank five glasses of whiskey and ended up stumblin’ around, gettin’ lost—I used to be able to drink a hell of a lot more than dat. I ended up runnin’ smack inta a gaggle of girls, gigglin’ and chatterin’ as dey were headin’ into the bar I just left.

 I’ll be honest, I didn’t care which one said yes—so I took my shot, hopin’ I’d come across as charmin’ to at least one of em. I smiled a lot because I knew girls liked it when I did, and I ran a hand through my hair, short because it had just been cut, tryin’ to look just a little innocent and tryin’ to not sound as drunk as I was.  

 Her name was somethin’ like Stella or Bella, and I’m pretty sure she was a decent lookin’ girl. She took me back to the place she shared with her sister, and while she was shy at first, she opened up once the lights were out. I tried my best to get her to leave a little light on because I spent enough time in the black of night, not able to even see my own dick in my hand when takin’ a piss. But she was too shy for dat.

 I took my time, drunk as I was, and made sure she was ready for me. I wasn’t ‘bout to do somethin’ stupid to start off my leave and maybe she’d be the only girl I’d end up gettin’. I wanted her to remember a good enough time.

 The sex was . . . sex. She was a little quiet, a little soft. She kept her hands at her sides, clutchin’ at the sheets on occasion as she laid under me. I eventually gave up on askin’ her what she liked, how she wanted to be touched, because she just giggled and shook her head. I liked it betta when a girl let loose, when she let me know it felt good, too.  

 I came, pullin’ out even though I was wearin’ a rubber. Unlike a lot of my buddies, I paid damn close attention to those fuckin’ VD movies dey showed us. Right before we shipped out, a kid I knew from trainin’ camp got the clap. Sometimes, when I think ‘bout just slippin’ in to a woman, I remember what his fuckin’ dick looked like and I spend the thirty seconds lubin’ and wrappin’ up with one of the rubber kits the officers give out like candy. I wasn’t gonna spend half my leave vistin’ a Pro Station, or worse, laid up in the hospital with my cock on fire.

 Once somethin’-ella was asleep, I tried to leave, quiet as possible. The damn MPs were still up everyone’s assholes, and I didn’t wanna be put in a cage. But on my way out, I ran into her sister and her name sounded somethin’ like Stella or Bella, too. She wasn’t quite as good lookin’ as her sister, but at least she wasn’t shy.

 Honestly, I was just engagin’ in small talk, tryin’ to leave, but before I knew it, I found myself, naked and sprawled out on Stella/Bella #2’s bed with her bouncin’ on my cock like she’d been born to do it. Unlike her sis, she really didn’t need my help to come, and I actually was a little taken aback when ‘bout two minutes in she started screamin’ like a banshee, shakin’ and comin’ undone on top of me. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feeling of her warmth, the sweet smell of sex mixin’ with whateva clean soap she had used, until I found myself comin’ for her, just like I did for her sister.

 This one was more difficult to get away from, her limbs all tangled with mine and I wasn’t ready for dat—for feelin’ like I couldn’t move. It was way too much like sittin’ in a foxhole up to ya asshole in mud, tangled with ya weapon and ya gear and leanin’ against a buddy.

 I relied on instinct and stayed real still, laborin’ my breathin’ like I was asleep and sure enough, she drifted off, snorin’ her head off.

 I detangled myself and got outta there. I’d come enough to be a little more sober, so I snuck a glass of water before headin’ out, hopin’ I’d be able to find my way back to base unnoticed.

 * * * * *

 The next few weeks proceeded in much the same fashion. Drinkin’, smokin’, a little gamblin’, and closin’ out the night by finding some sweet thing to bed down. I was the happiest I’d been in a long time and even though the threat of drills and trainin’ was kept loomin’ ova our heads, I didn’t mind. Nothin’ here would eva be as bad as what was ova there.

 Like I said, I was content with my days and nights and believed it would be how’d I’d spend my time in Melbourne until I saw her.

 I was playin’ a game of cards with a few of my buddies, a cigarette danglin’ from my lips, the smoke waftin’ up in a thick stream when I glanced up at a loud guffaw of laughter comin’ from a few tables ova. I reached up to lower my cigarette, and when I found the source of the laughter, I saw the sexiest woman I had eva laid my damn eyes on.

 She was surrounded by a group of marines I didn’t know, probably from the 7th Division. Her laughter had them captivated, and her glass of beer was—goddamn, she was drinkin’ beer like she’d been doin’ it her whole life. Her lips fit sensuously ova the thick rim of the mug, and the way she licked the little bit of liquid from her upper lip after a long draught, not just a sip, but a real drink, made me shift in my chair.

 I had to know her—fuck sleepin’ with her; I just needed to be near her.

 I bowed out of the game, the guys givin’ me major shit as I walked toward her table, all of them turnin’ to see if I’d make an asshole of myself.

 When I stopped in front of the table, the conversation barely paused, even though she noticed me immediately and shot me a smirk, her pink lips glistenin’.

 “Hi ya,” I said loud enough to turn all their attention. “Name’s Merriell Shelton, 1st Marines Division, and I’d love to buy ya a drink.”

 The woman raised her eyebrow, her smirk still planted on her lips. The marines around her laughed and told me to fuck off, albeit with more polite words since dey were in front of the lady.

 “As you can see Merriell Shelton, I don’t have a shortage of marines to buy me a drink. What makes your offer so special?”

 American. I wasn’t expectin’ dat. Her response made it clear she was bein’ coquettish. Her tone was teasin’ and her eyes were shinin’ with a wickedness I had never seen in a woman’s eye before. It only made her more appealin’ and only made me more determined to shut the other guys up who had started laughin’ at her response, tellin’ me to keep movin.’

 “Well, my offer is different, Miss, because dat’s all I want,” I said.

 The marines shifted in their seats, clearly annoyed, until one of em I hadn’t seen earlier, guffawed. It was a guy in my company named James Haneson, but everyone called him Hollywood because he had movie-star good looks and wore sunglasses every chance he got. In fact, even though it was night, he had ‘em on now.

 “Sure, Snafu. You’ve been with a different girl every night since we got here. Remember those sisters? Or were you just full of shit?” Hollywood said, his white teeth glitterin’ as he laughed while the othas joined in. Because I knew him, I caught the edge in his tone. He was sendin’ a clear signal, but I wasn’t ‘bout to let him win without a fight.

 Still wearin’ a grin I considered to be charmin, I retorted, “I neva’ said I been a saint. All I want is to buy a drink for the most beautiful woman I eva seen who also happens to be able to drink betta than about half the men in my company.”

 The woman laughed at dat, a throaty, deep laugh I felt run straight through body, like I got a good jolt from a bad wire.  

 “Well, gents,” she said lookin’ all ‘round her circle of admirers and fixin’ em with a sad little downturn of her mouth, which was surely negated by the wicked look in her eyes. “How can a gal refuse such a reasonable request?”

 The guys all protested, Hollywood even reached out to take hold of her elbow, but she slid out of her chair and her linked her arm in mine.

 “I’ll see you boys soon,” she said as she reached across the table to drink down the last of her beer.

 “Wait, Kathryn! Are you gonna come back to this bar or will you be at the one ‘cross the street?”

 “Or the club down on Main?”

 “Or—”

 Kathryn cut them off with a wink, statin’, “Guess you’ll just have to wait and see!”

 Then, she turned to me and whispered, “Let’s get out of here before they stop being so amiable.”

 “Kathryn! Where ya goin’? You promised to have a drink with me tonight,” an Aussie marine who was at least three times my size and looked to be more mountain than man said as we whirred by him, Kathryn callin’ out her response ova her shoulder.

 “Now, I know that isn’t true because I never make promises to soldiers, Roger! Catch ya around!”

 As we exited the bar, Kathryn leaned into me to make way for a group of people headin’ in and she whispered right in my ear, “I took him home night before last and he came on my thighs before he even got my panties off.”

 I laughed, goddamn did I laugh! She was sexy and had a mouth on her dat woulda made most men blush.

 She continued to lean into me, and when I turned to look at her, her eyes were on my face and she was grinnin’.

 “That was a good reaction. You see, I was testing you, Mr. Shelton, and you passed. Shall we have that drink now?”

 “Yes, ma’am,” I said returnin’ her dazzlin’ smile.

 “I know a place that isn’t quite so inundated with, well, your lot.”

 I let her lead me through the streets, happy she kept her arm linked with mine. She smelled like perfume, a familiar scent dat reminded me of the little purple sweet violets my granmama grew. Perfume was a luxury now, so I figured with the way she spoke and dressed she was from money. Girls with the kinda confidence Kathryn had were used to havin’ things at their disposal.

 As we walked, she pointed out various places and named them, tellin’ me whether dey was worth vistin’ or if dey’d charge ya double.

 “How do ya know so much if ya American?” I asked, no longer able to keep my curiosity from climbin’ out the bag.

 “Well, my father is Australian. He met my mother while he was at University in the States. We always spend Christmas here with my grandparents, but since the war, I haven’t felt much like going back to my studies. I work in the shipyard now as a welder.”  

 I actually stopped in my tracks. I was expectin’ maybe a Red Cross volunteer or a nurse, but a welder, huh.

 Kathryn let go of my arm and pulled off her glove, holdin’ up her hand and tellin’ me to feel it.

 I reached out and ran my own calloused fingers ova her’s and across her calloused palm.  

 “You really are somethin’, ma’am,” I said, not botherin’ to hide the awe in my voice.

 “I guess we haven’t been properly introduced—I’m Kathryn Taylor,” she said as she held out her ungloved hand to me.

 “Merriell Shelton. Pleasure to officially meet ya,” I said as I enveloped her hand in mine, admirin’ the strength in her grip.

 “Come on, Merriell. We’re almost to Smithy’s.”

 We turned a corner and after walkin’ a few more feet, Kathryn took my hand in her once-more gloved hand and lead me down what seemed like a never-endin’, near pitch-black alley. She made a sharp turn left and then a right before we were brought to a buildin’ dat looked just like any otha bar in Melbourne, except the accents from the patrons out on the patio were all Aussie.

 “Kathryn! Good to see you, luv,” the man at the door said. “And who’s this?”

 “My friend, Merriell Shelton. He passed my test, Joe,” Kathryn said with a wink.

 The man called Joe chuckled and clapped me on the back, however, his next words were anythin’ but friendly.

 “Start any shit in there, mate, and your MPs will be the least of your concern, clear?”

 “Clear,” I said with an affirmative nod.

 I followed Kathryn in and got a fair share of stares, but no one seemed to pay us much mind once we slid into a little booth in the very back.

 “Drinks are on me,” Kathryn said as she fished around in her little bag.

 “Oh, no ma’am. I invited you—”

 “Merriell. You fought. You lived. You’ll be off to fight again. I’m not the one risking my life on those godforsaken islands. The absolute least I can do is buy you a drink,” Kathryn said with finality as she slid from the booth and strode away—at least before stopping on her heel and doing a rather impressive about-face.

 “I forgot to ask what you wanted,” she said with a quizzical look on her face as she stood in front of me.

 I had to laugh. I didn’t think I’d eva met a woman who made me laugh as much as I had in such a short while.

 “I like whiskey,” I said.

 “You’ll get the finest in the house,” she said, smiling again before she turned and took off for the crowded bar.

I took a lot of pleasure in watchin’ her walk away. Her blue dress clung to her backside like it was made for the sole purpose of drivin’ a man wild.

 When Kathryn returned, she had two large glasses of beer and two glasses of whiskey.

 “Figured it’d be awhile before they’d make room for me at the bar again,” she said as she scooted a beer and a whiskey to my side of the table.

 I thanked her and took a sip of the whiskey. It was damn smooth, so smooth I was sure I’d never tasted anythin’ like it before.

 Kathryn also took a sip and thought for a moment before sayin’, “I think it has a nutty taste. Definitely not floral, not woody.”

 I shrugged my shoulders at her, not sure what else to say.

 “It’s my dad’s and my granddad’s favorite. I’ve been sneaking sips since I was a little girl,” Kathryn said as she slid her glass toward me. “However, I really don’t like it at all.”

 I laughed again, a quiet chuckle of surprise because I wasn’t eva sure what was gonna come out of her mouth next.

 “Where are you from, Merriell? Your accent is . . . sexy,” she said, pausin’ to either add emphasis or because she might’ve finally felt a little shy.

 “I’m from New Orleans, Louisiana.”

 “New—Naw Orlens. No. New Or-lins. How’d I do?”

 “Not too bad,” I said with a chuckle. “Just don’t eva go full yank on me and say New Orleeens,” I said, draggin’ my e’s out to create dat sound I absolutely hated.

 Kathryn giggled and said, “Point taken. I never want to hear you make that terrible noise again.”

 We both smiled at each other, and even though the night was still young, I wished it would neva end.

 Talkin’ to Kathryn was the easiest thing I’d eva done. She didn’t ask about the war, so I got to enjoy not talkin’ about it. After a few more hours and several more drinks, I learned about her childhood, her schoolin’, and her life here with her grandparents. In turn, I opened up to her about home, growin’ up and not always havin’ money but how my granmama made sure us kids neva went hungry.

 I could tell I was feelin’ the effects of the whiskey and Kathryn could, too. Like everyone who wasn’t Cajun, she said my accent was takin’ up ‘more space in my mouth’ as she put it.

 “But it’s still so sexy,” she said, this time bold as brass.

 “I’m convinced dat nut’in on dis earth is sexy as you, darlin’,” I said, shooting her what I hoped was one of my best grins.

 “You know, I’ve never met anyone with eyes more beautiful than yours. They can’t lie, Merriell. Did you know that? I’ve been testing you all night,” Kathryn said with seriousness, except I couldn’t help grinnin’ at her slurred speech.

 I was a little taken aback at the compliment, though, and told her so.

 “Nobody’s eva told me dat ‘bout ma eyes. Usually, dey just call me . . . unnervin’ or some shit,” I said with a nervous laugh. I had never confessed dat it bothered me to anyone.

 Kathryn narrowed her eyes, takin’ her time to formulate her response.

 “Prolly because you can see right the fuck through people—just like you did with, oh, what’s his name back at the bar . . . Hollywood! People want to feel like they’re special, like they’re some kinda enigma that can’t be solved. But you, Mer, you just cut right through their bullshit.”

 “I’ve neva wanted ta kiss someone more dan I wanna kiss ya right now,” I said, leanin’ on the table, my fingers dancin’ ‘round the glass dat was between em.

 Kathryn sat straight up and looked like I’d dumped a gallon of ice-water ova her head. I was confused enough to start to apologize for bein’ forward, but she cut me off.

 She locked her eyes on mine and said, “No. When we kiss, it’ll be something that you remember for the rest of your life, not a stolen press of the lips or dart of the tongue in a back-alley bar. You deserve something more than that, Merriell.”

 No woman like Kathryn had eva said anythin’ like dat to me. In fact, no woman had eva said anythin’ like dat to me. I was a lotta things, a whole lotta things, but this girl seemed to deem me worthy of far more than I eva imagined for myself.

 We were both disappointed when the bartender announced last call. It was near 3 am, but I neva felt more awake; it felt like the fuckin’ Japs were a million miles away on their own stinkhole of an island, mindin’ their own goddamn business and dey had decided to keep it dat way.

 “Guess I outta let you get back before they send the MPs after you,” Kathryn said, her eyes a little glassy as she smiled at me.

 “Nah—da officers quit checkin’ up dat closely on us. All it takes is a few favors and ya safe from dem assholes.”

 Like I was discoverin’ she was prone to do, Kathryn grew serious and changed the topic on me.

 “I’m looking for something, Mer. I’m just not sure what it is yet, but I do know that I’ve never found it.”

 I smiled at her, puzziln’ a little ova what she said.

 “I dunno if I’ve got anythin’ dat interstin’ for ya, but I would sure would like to see ya again.”

 “Done,” she said, pullin’ a little notepad and a pen from her purse. She scribbled an address on it and reached ova to tuck it snug into my shirt pocket.

 She had put her gloves back on and reached up to cup the side of my face. I leaned inta her touch and closed my eyes, savorin’ her gentleness. She slid her gloved thumb ova my lips, pressin’ just a little on the bottom one. I opened my eyes and we just stood there for what felt like a lifetime, lookin’ at each other.

 She shook her head, and pulled away, sayin’, “I’ll make sure you get on the right tram. Come on.”

 Kathryn took off down the dark alley, and I followed her, thinkin’ there was a good chance I’d follow her anywhere.

#snafu #Snafu Shelton #snafu imagine #snafu fanfic #snafu x ofc #rami malek #rami malek character #the pacific #Merriell Shelton #merriell shelton imagine #merriell shelton x ofc #female reader

[missusk]

Pecha Berries

A Pokemon Shield Nuzlocke Story.

Chapter 4 - Just Six, but Seven is Fine

[Team Roster: Jackson (Scorbunny), Bella (Yamper), Lacey (Wooloo), Orchid (Bunnelby), Sap (Grubbin)]

Dolly changed out of her uniform as quickly as she could, not wanting to wait another second to enthuse with Hop about what just happened. He must have had the same idea, because they both came sprinting out at the same time and nearly smashed into each other.

“That was wicked!” Hop yelled, pumping his fists.

“I know!” Dolly shouted, jumping up and down.

“Standing there on the pitch,”

“In the stadium,”

“In front of everyone!” he finished, clenching his fists. “I can barely contain myself!”

“My heart’s racing!”

The two blathered back and forth, talking a mile a minute, until two others approached them.

A familiar twirl of dark red and gold flickered, alongside a crisp light gray. Dolly was practically catapulted into the wall by the amount of charisma these two men brought as they walked forward. She had seen them both a thousand times through a screen, but something about the way Rose’s light green eyes pierced into hers made her heart quicken.

Oh boy.

“Seems like the two of you enjoyed the opening ceremony by the sound of it! You must be the two Trainers our Champion endorsed himself,” Rose said with a charming smile. “Welcome, and it’s a delight to meet you.”

He shook Hop’s hand, then turned to Dolly, taking her hand in his as well. Not for a handshake, however, as he placed his other hand on top of hers. His light green eyes met hers as he continued.

“I’m Rose, of course.”

Dolly’s eyes flicked from his eyes down to her hand held within his. She swallowed.

Oooh boy.

He needed to stop looking at her because sweet Arceus were those green eyes mesmerizing. Not this again. Why must she be bombarded with so many charismatic men? Her poor heart could hardly handle it. She swallowed again when Rose turned her hand over and smiled inquisitively.

“Oh, and what’s this? I see you both already possess Dynamax Bands,”

She wished he would let go of her hand before it slipped out from how much she was sweating. Her hand probably felt like a Cloyster tongue. He looked into her eyes again.

“It seems like you’ve been led here by the guiding light of the Wishing Stars.”

Instead of an eloquent and insightful reply, as was her full intent, Dolly’s throat just let out an unfortunate squeak. She could see Hop in her periphery raising an eyebrow at her and boy did she want to smack him. And herself. She thought she was more robust than this, but alas, she was just a wafery napkin that was easily charmed by powerful men.

Rose finally released her hand from his and stood back, smiling at the two of them.

“I daresay this year’s Gym Challenge is looking to be an absolute blast. Very good, very good indeed! The whole Galar region is in for some excitement!” he said. After a quick glance at his watch he gave them a slight bow. “I’m afraid I must be off, but best of luck to you both!”

Tall, handsome, charismatic men: 2. Dolly: 0.

Hop nudged her and waggled his eyebrows as Rose left. She shoved him.

Leon came up next, pumping his fists as she had seen his brother do so often. He explained to them a bit about the next steps of the Gym Challenge, and about something else too, but she only watched his golden eyes sparkle. And his arms when he moved his cape back as it cascaded over his broad shoulders. And his dazzling smile. She wondered if the previous Champion wore their shirt as tight as he did. What was he saying? Dolly felt like she was going to explode when he ruffled her and Hop’s hair and sent them off with some more Poké Balls and potions.

Hop whistled as they made their way to Route 3.

“It’s a good thing I’m going to be Champion and the one working with Rose, huh Dolls? Not sure Galar has enough towels for how much you were drooling. And you know, you’ve got to actually win your way up with Pokémon battles. You can’t just persuade Rose to give you Badges by using…other means,” he said with a wink.

Dolly gasped and smacked his arm.

“What kind of girl do you take me for? Arceus,” she laughed. “It’s not my fault he has hypnotizing green eyes.”

“Gross, girls are so weird," Hop said, pretending to gag. "He’s a tubby middle-aged man. Lee told me Rose picks his nose,”

“He did not tell you that!” Dolly laughed. “Whatever, you’re just jealous he’s handsome and magnetic and intelligent and you’ve got less charm than a brick,”

“What!” Hop yelped, stopping in the road. “I’m charming!”

Dolly continued on, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

“I don’t see any girls drooling over you,”

“I’ll prove it to you with a Pokémon battle, how ‘bout that?”

"Not sure what that has to do with charm, but I can’t stand here with you assuming I’m not going to win again,” she grinned, pulling up her sleeves.

The two Trainers battled in the streets of Motostoke, laughing and mocking one another as they darted about the bricks. Dolly was liking this feeling that continued to burn within her every time she battled. Sometimes it was fire, and sometimes it was a roaring ocean, with waves crashing and resurrecting her soul as she commanded her Pokémon forward.

As Hop withdrew his final Pokémon, he set his hands on his hips.

“Just what I’d expect from my rival! You know what? I’ll even give you one of my League cards! That’s how good I think you did in that battle,” he grinned, plopping his card into her hand. When he did, Dolly laughed again.

“What am I supposed to do with this? Floss my teeth with it?”

Hop reeled back at her comment.

“How dare you! That will one day be a limited-edition collector’s item! Keep it safe and sound and one day it’ll be worth millions,” he said with a decisive nod.

Dolly rolled her eyes as they continued into Route 3. Hop was nearly bouncing around her by the time they got to the edge of Motostoke.

“Just go,” she smiled, rolling her eyes again. “I don’t fancy sprinting everywhere anyway.”

“Great see you in Turffield then!” he beamed, already rushing toward Route 3. “Hello Galar! Meet your next Champion!” he called, startling a few Rookidees out of a nearby tree. “From the sleepy town of Postwick - it’s me, Hop!”

Dolly let out another laugh as she shook her head, meandering into Route 3 herself.

The fresh air filled her lungs as she took in a deep breath, the sun shining brightly upon her. She stretched up toward it, flexing her fingers. She agreed with Sonia when she said it was nice to be on the road - minus her aching feet and aching shoulders and aching back, at least the sunshine and breeze were nice. She was also excited to use the new tent she got in Motostoke instead of using that old fabric shrapnel as a blanket.

She looked about her, tall grass filling in more of the pathway forward. The blades waved gently in the wind as Dolly peered through. A new route meant a new Pokémon to add to the team. She could catch one more Pokémon, she would allow herself one final team member, and now it was just a matter of who it would be.

Her eyes locked onto a bit of brown trudging through the grass. There. She tossed out Jackson and pointed to the Pokémon flank facing away from them. He nodded, prowling closer, ears flat against his head.

In a flash he leaped, chomping down on the Pokémon.

“Nice hit!” Dolly enthused, running up to the two Pokémon. “I think?”

Jackson’s face was flush in the dirt as a Mudbray held it there. He squirmed and shouted a few choice words, to no avail.

“You a Pokémon Trainer?” the Mudbray asked, still holding Jackson down with his hoof.

“Uh, yeah?”

He nodded his head toward Motostoke.

“Saw you and that purple-haired lad battling, saw you could talk to Pokémon. Mind if I come with you?”

“Oh. But, uh” she stuttered, glancing around. “Aren’t we supposed to battle? And I catch you proper?”

The Mudbray shrugged, taking his hoof off Jackson and setting it on the ground. Jackson shot up and gasped, flinging mud onto her shoes.

“You sent out a Fire-type Pokémon. Didn’t want to bother hurting him if I was just going to come with you anyway. Not much to do around here.”

Dolly stuck her lip out in contemplation.

“Well, I suppose that’s pretty considerate of you. I imagined my last Pokémon catch would be a little more... exciting?”

“Yeah come on, I want to battle!” Jackson enthused, hopping around the Mudbray. He threw a couple air-punches, then tripped over a rock and back into the mud.The Mudbray shrugged again as Jackson fussed.

“‘Fraid you won’t get much excitement out of me. That’s why I’ve been looking for a Trainer to follow around, anyway. Name’s Hudson.”

“I’m Dolly. Welcome to the team, then, Hudson,”

He nodded as they continued along Route 3. Jackson kept punching at Hudson who only walked stoically along.

“Come on, Hudson! I’ve got all this energy and I want to battle!” he roared, reaching his fists to the sky. He punched a Zigzagoon, it fainted, and Jackson evolved into a Raboot.

Dolly couldn’t help but chuckle as Jackson sprinted around her and Hudson.

As the trio made their way through Route 3, battling and leveling and chatting, Dolly eventually ran into Sonia, who was gazing out over an energy plant in the distance.

“Heya, Gym Challenger!” she grinned, turning to Dolly as she approached. “You looked real ace out there during the opening ceremony! Oh, but where’s Hop?”

“He went on ahead,” she said, rolling her eyes. Sonia grinned.

“He can’t sit still at all, can he? Guess he really wants to catch up to his brother.”

Dolly shrugged as Sonia continued explaining about the local surroundings. She mentioned a building off in the distance that Rose owned, and suddenly Dolly was much more interested in the conversation.

“Can’t say I really get him, but the chairman seems like a pretty brilliant guy, right? He even endorsed a Challenger this time too, I think his name was Challenger Bede.”

Dolly nearly swooned, thinking of Rose and their interaction earlier. Of course he was brilliant, Sonia. He was brilliant, charming, enrapturing, handsome, captivating, etcetera. She thought back to those dark features, those dangerous eyes, that chiseled jawline.

“Oh, and here, these should help you,” Sonia suddenly added with a grin, holding out her hand. She plopped two revives into Dolly’s hand. Dolly stared at the two yellow tablets for a moment, her eyebrows pulling together.

“Oh, uh...thanks Sonia, but I can’t accept these,” she muttered, looking down and handing them back.

“Wow, look at you, Miss Confident!," Sonia said, letting out a laugh. "Don’t think you’ll ever lose, huh?”

“No, I...I can’t use them. ‘Nother part of the Curse.” Dolly said quietly, still kicking at the ground. Sonia tilted her head.

“What do you mean? Do they have the same effect as throwing too many Poké Balls?”

“Not quite. But they definitely won’t work for me.”

Sonia nodded, understanding dawning on her face. Dolly let out another breath.

“That part is the hardest to talk about, for obvious reasons. I figured you’d think I was selfish and cruel and whatever since I was battling again, risking the lives of my Pokémon like that.”

Sonia paused, scratching her chin again. Then, she shook her head.

“I don’t think less of you, Dolly. From what I’ve seen, you treat your Pokémon with a lot of love, care, and respect. They all seem to like you, too. And hey,” she said with a smile, setting her hands on her hips. “Maybe that part of the Curse doesn’t affect you anymore anyway. I’d say keep battling and moving forward in the Gym Challenge - maybe we’ll both learn more about it as we go along like this.”

Dolly couldn’t help but smile at the woman before her. Even though she wasn’t positive Pokémon fatality was part of her Curse still, it’s not like that was something she wanted to test anytime soon.

Sonia saw her off to Galar Mine No. 1, Dolly trying her best to be subtle when asking more about Rose. Just subtle things like his energy plant and his chairmanship and if he was married or not. Subtly, of course.

Dolly grimaced as she walked into the mine, a layer of grime and dust already forming on her clothes. She peered about, taking in the view of the new scenery before her. It was dirty, dusty, and gross. Little Pokémon darted about, popping up out of the dirt, but she was at six Pokémon, the limit she set herself, so she didn’t bother catching any as she traversed through the mine. After their training, she learned Hudson was quite the powerhouse. He obliterated the first Roggenrola they ran into anyway, so no new Pokémon even she wanted.

As she trekked farther in, her distaste for the mine wavered as she noticed little outcroppings of gemstones sparkling between cracks in the wall. Then she stepped in a Diglett hole, nearly rolled her ankle, and her distaste was right back where she started.

After following the Carkol tracks farther, Dolly could see daylight reflecting off of some of the gemstones in the walls. She let out a sigh, hoping she was getting close to leaving this rubbish mine. Her shoes and ankles were caked in dust and all she wanted was a hot shower. As she followed the tracks to the end of the mine, she saw someone standing in the way of the exit, looking about the room.

He looked to her as she approached. Had she met this guy before? His huge pink coat looked familiar...

“Coming this way? I’d advise against it. Any Trainer with a Wishing Star is in for a beating from me and my Pokémon,�� he smirked, shoving his hand into his pocket, tossing a Poké Ball into the air with the other.

Great? She just wanted to take a shower.

“You. You’re the Gym Challenger endorsed by the Champion, aren’t you. What a joke,” he snickered. “You’re aware the chairman is more important than the Champion, correct?”

How dare he pit those two glorious men against each other.

“Uh...do I know you?” Dolly asked, peering around him to the exit of the mine.

“I was chosen by the chairman himself, and that makes me more amazing than you!” he laughed, still tossing his Poké Ball into the air.

A memory of him shoving Hop in the Motostoke atrium flashed through her head. So, she had seen him before. Was this that Challenger Bede Sonia mentioned earlier? What a stupid name to go with such stupid hair.

“Uh. Right. Look mate, I just want to get to Turffield,” she said, trying to sidestep around him. “Not looking for Wishing Stars or the bother,”

Dolly's brow furrowed as he blocked her path, standing to his full height.

“I said any Trainer who already has one is in for a beating,” the boy growled. “Are you deaf, or are you as stupid as the other bloke who the Champion endorsed?”

Her eyebrows raised. So that’s how he wanted to play. She took a step back and lifted up her hands in mock-defeat.

“You’re right, you’re right, my apologies, your majesty,” she said, bowing slightly. “Now, somebody who was endorsed by the most important man in Galar must have an important name, right? What was it again…?”

Dolly pondered, rubbing her finger to her temple. The boy smirked again.

“You’ll do well to remember it,” he started. “It’s B-”

“Brandon...Bryce...Bill…” she interrupted, setting her hands on her hips. She looked up and snapped her fingers. “Ah, I remember! It was Bidet!”

She could practically see the steam shooting from his head.

“Doing the hard work for the hand of Galar,” she continued. “Tell me, Bidet, do you and Oleana take turns wiping the chairman’s a-”

“That’s it!” he fumed, taking a furious stomp forward. “No one makes a fool of me or the chairman. Go, Solosis!”

He chucked his Poké Ball into the space between them and a Solosis’ cry echoed throughout the mine.

She tossed out her Poké Ball with a yawn and her Grubbin appeared before them. After a few hits, the opposing Solosis was down. Suddenly Dolly was grateful for the challenging training in the cave, as it would have been pretty embarrassing to lose to this guy. It only took a moment for Dolly to realize the pattern unfolding before her. That was quite a bit of pink...and quite a bit of Psychic. What a shame that her Grubbin was Bug-type.

It didn’t take long before her opponent was defeated and even more furious. He clenched his fists and took a step toward her. She stood her ground, staring up into his eyes as he glared down at her. After a moment he paused.

“Fine. It’s fine. I wasn’t even trying that hard anyway,” he grumbled, slapping some coins into her hand.

Bede took a step back and looked her up and down. Subtle.

“Well that was unexpected,” he laughed. “I suppose you’re more able than I thought.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Thanks, I guess. Off to Turffield then. Bye Bidet,” she said as she hiked up her bag and exited the mine.

The setting sun shone brilliantly over the fields of wheat unfolding before her. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust, but once she had she took in a breath.

Wheat fields rolled over the hills as far as the eye could see. There were trees dappled throughout the landscape, and giant stones artfully placed throughout. She could see Turffield in the distance, with its Gym watching over the town. This was certainly a much better view than the mine, she thought, as she started towards the route. She took a couple steps, tripped, and landed face-first into a pit of mud.

“Sorry,” she heard someone squeak.

“Who in the bloody he-” Dolly looked up and was met with a pair of big, brown eyes. Her mouth fell open. Unfortunately for her, some mud fell in. “An Eevee! No way!” she yelped, mud spitting on the Eevee’s face.

The Eevee cowered and started scampering away.

“Wait, hold on!” Dolly called, quickly picking herself up out of the mud. “I’ve only got one shot per route, I’m not letting this one go. Go, Jackson, catch that Eevee!”

Jackson took off sprinting. In a decisive tackle both Jackson and the Eevee were on the ground, rolling, tackling, biting. The dust was kicking up as the two battled, peppering the air around them.

“Careful Jackson, not too much!” she called as she caught up to the two of them. Once the Eevee looked just weathered enough, she tossed a Poké Ball, then it rolled three times and clicked.

“Alright!” Dolly cheered, pumping her fist into the air. “An Eevee, what are the odds of that happening?”

She cheered again, picking the Poké Ball up off the ground. Perhaps having seven overall wasn’t so bad? It’s not like she could let go of an Eevee.

“Let’s meet her officially, shall we?” she asked as Jackson came running back to her.

In a flash of light the Eevee was before them again, still panting.

“Here, take this,” Dolly said, kneeling down and holding out an Oran berry. “This’ll make you feel better,”

The Eevee took a cautious step forward, her paw hovering above the ground. After a moment she trotted to the berry and ate it up quickly. Dolly plopped onto the ground completely, crossing her legs.

“Welcome to the team, little Eevee. Do you have a name?” she asked, picking at the mud that was drying on her face.

“It’s Posey,” the Eevee whispered, looking at her paws. “Thanks for the berry…”

“Do you like adventure, Posey? Traveling? What do you like to do?”

“I’m Jackson!” Jackson said, interrupting Dolly as he grinned. He stood up to his full two-foot height and stuck out his paw. “Sorry about beating you up!”

“Oh it’s okay,” she said, a small smile appearing on her face as she shook his paw. “I like battling, and I’m pretty good at it, too.”

Jackson grinned and she looked back to the ground bashfully.

“I’ll say!” Jackson boomed. “Your Bite nearly tore my ear off!”

“Th-thanks,” she smiled, eyes twinkling.

After an introduction to the rest of the team, Posey melded in effortlessly. Jackson seemed to be paying her quite a bit of attention, and Dolly made a sly mental note of that.

After a bit more training, they found a nice outcropping to set up for dinner. Dolly sighed as she took a seat, peeling off her socks and shoes again. Not so blistered this time, she thought as she watched her small Pokémon team playing in the grass. Sap clambered up to sit on her lap.

It had been a while since she lived like this she thought, stroking her now-Charjabug who was emitting sparks in content. She’d never had so many Pokémon on her team, but she did have one once before.

It was before she and her mum moved to Galar. Even then she was pretty lackluster - all the other kids had hobbies like collecting pretty stones or doing crafts, or playing sports or competitive chess. It wasn’t until she met her in the forest near her home when she was looking for Pecha berries to pick. She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old - even then she could talk to Pokémon, but her mum never let her have any. She was outside, meandering in the woods for the familiar bushes. She remembered it was spring, because her Pokémon’s coat was pink - her favorite color at the time. She was reaching in the bushes, but instead of grabbing a berry, she grabbed the flower on her head. From the second they made eye contact, their bond was solidified. Every morning that spring Dolly would ask her mum if she could go pick more berries because ‘she just really loved Pecha jam,’ and her new Pokémon friend would meet her at the edge of the forest. They would play together, splash in the stream in the forest together, tell stories - everything, really, throughout that spring and summer. It wasn’t until one summer dusk that her friend hadn’t come to meet her at the edge of the forest all day that day.

Dolly had wandered into the forest, a flashlight and the fireflies being the only guiding light as she called for her friend. Then, as she was walking along, she heard a familiar cry. Rushing through the bushes, ignoring the branches whipping at her face, she made it to a clearing in the forest. Her friend was surrounded by Unfezants, clawing and pecking at her in the clearing. Dolly had run up, trying to shoo the birds away as her friend cowered on the ground. It was then that she felt that fire within her first spark. When she and her friend blazed in unison and defeated the swarm of angry Unfezants, that was when the fire within her was ignited.

Dolly shook her head to the present and watched her new team hop around their makeshift camp. She had been on the road for a while, and she wasn’t any closer to figuring out her Curse than when she started in Postwick. That voice in the Slumbering Weald...what had it said? Shield of Galar? Overcome the Curse? She remembered that part as much. So someone, or something, knew about her Curse besides her mum and Sonia. But what did that mean?

“Miss Dolly, can you tell us another story?”

Dolly jolted into focus as Lacey trotted up to her, sauce from dinner still sticking to her wool.

“Maybe the one about the nice princess with the fluffy hair?” she asked bashfully, kicking at a rock on the ground.

“No, no, tell the one about the ninja who ate all the bananas!” Jackson quipped, bounding up to her as well.

“Or the one about the secretly courageous accountant and that venus flytrap and the treadmill,” Hudson added, joining the other two to sit before Dolly.

“I liked the ninja one too,” Posey added with a brief glance towards Jackson.

Perhaps deciphering her vision was a task for another day. She let out a laugh as she stood from her spot, setting Sap down and dusting off her leggings and skirt. They needed to get back on the road if they wanted to make it to Turffield before the sun set.

“How about a new story about a Pokémon team who loved washing dishes,”

“That’s lame!” Jackson pouted. “Make something cooler!”

“Alright, alright," Dolly laughed. "I’ll tell one as we clean up. This one is about a Snorlax who couldn’t touch his toes…”

As she wove the narrative for them, her small team cleaned up and set off again. When she finished her Snorlax story, she sent them back into their Poké Balls and hiked her bag up on her shoulders. She started back along the route, picking at the mud that was still caked in her hair. Suddenly she heard a call from behind her.

“Wooloo, where do you think you’re going?”

“I’VE GOT DREAMS TOO BIG FOR THIS PODUNK TOWN!”

Dolly turned just in time to be tackled to the ground by a runaway Wooloo, his wool squishing against her face.

It didn’t take long before someone lifted the Wooloo from her and tossed it to the side. Her vision was filled with the worried face of a man above her, his large sun hat blocking out most of the sky.

“My...Are you okay? You took that Tackle head on…” he said, lifting her to her feet.

Dolly winced as her back pinched when she stood fully. Just something else to add to her repertoire of aches and pains on this journey. She nodded when she saw his worried face.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she grimaced.

“You must be one of those Gym Challengers, right?” the man asked, beckoning the Wooloo to his side. Dolly nodded in response. “Ahh, I thought so. I saw you at the opening ceremony.”

Wow, pretty impressive that he remembered her of all people. She was really hoping no one would have noticed she was there, then no one would notice that she would drop out after this town’s Gym. He stuck out his hand with a friendly grin.

“My name’s Milo, I’m a Gym Leader and rather partial to Grass-type Pokémon. I’ve been itching to see just how good the Champion-endorsed Gym Challengers are. I can walk you down the rest of the way to Turffield, I’m off there with this little guy anyway,”

Dolly nodded and walked in step with Milo as he chatted with her on their way to Turffield. He was pretty friendly, but she wasn’t sure how many of these questions she wanted to answer. If she was just going to quit after his Gym, the less everyone knew about Challenger 052 the better. They made it into Turffield before the sun fully set, and Milo left Dolly with a wave. She grinned as soon as she saw Hop waiting at the front of the town.

“Dolls I thought I already told you, you can’t win by flirting with every important person in the League!”

"Nice to see you too.”

“How do you manage to get so dirty so quickly? There’s literally mud in your hair,” he grimaced as he fell into step with her.

“Gotta do what I gotta do,” she laughed, picking little pieces out of her hair. “Now where’s the Gym?”

She looked about the town as she followed Hop down the dirt path. It was lush and green, with fields of wheat rolling over into the horizon, trees speckled throughout. Little brick houses sat humbly throughout the fields and dirt roads of the town, accented with colorful flowers, shrubs, and artfully placed wheelbarrows. Tall stones rose from the ground as well, marking the end of each path throughout the village. She and Hop made their way through the town, breathing in the crisp air as the sun continued to set. They finally approached a tall, round building, oddly out-of-character for the humble town.

“That’s Turffield Stadium right there,” he grinned, turning to her. “The place is jam-packed with Challengers, though. It’ll be ages before your turn comes up, but I’ve already got my Badge. I reckon I’m just about the greatest when it comes to wrangling Wooloo, I’ve had plenty of practice at it, after all!”

What? Wooloo? Why was he wrangling his own Wooloo? What did that have to do with the Grass Badge?

“Wow, check you out,” she grinned, flipping the Badge over in her fingers. “Leon better get ready for you and Wooloo.”

Is that what he meant about wrangling Wooloo?

“I’m sure you can win this one, too. You are my rival, after all,” he smiled again.

She looked up to Hop, up to his familiar face and his familiar smile. She would miss seeing that smile on the daily once she headed back to Postwick. They could always video chat, she supposed. Dolly let out a yawn as she rubbed her hands over her arms, the cold of dusk biting at her.

“Waiting until tomorrow is fine with me, I’m knackered anyway.”

She waved goodbye to Hop and looked back up to the Gym looming before her. It glimmered in the dusk, with the purples and greens contrasting the dark blue sky behind it. Dolly let out a sigh, picking at the skin around her fingers. Her mind flashed back to her first Pokémon, then back to the present. This could be it, she could lose another one. But, she set out to beat at least one Gym, and that’s what she was going to do. Beat Milo then head back to Postwick...maybe she could persuade her mum to let Munchlax have some friends. Bringing home seven Pokémon wouldn’t be so much more than one, right? Dolly speculated different methods of persuasion as the sun finally set over Turffield.

———————————————————————————————————–

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Full Chapter Index

#pokemon #swsh #sword and shield #galar #fanfiction #writing #nuzlocke #hop #pechaberries

[crossbows-and-moonshine]

Into My Web (Chapter 3)

Its been so weird writing this one. I'm so used to writing pre-show and season one Daryl that's it's strange now. I've mentioned so many times how his voice changes throughout the seasons and I keep watching clips to see him right and hear his voice how it should be around the time.

If anyone's interested just what era Daryl I'm writing since this isn't really canon, I've been watching the video TWD S3E9 - Daryl Leaves the Group for his Brother by the account Rick Grimes on youtube. This is how he looks in my head and how he sounds. Just if anyone cares loool.

I’m writing this author note way after I finished this chapter.

I have like only 6 chapters written up of this so far and I’m fucking freaking out because I’m gonna fall behind loool

I’m not as inspired with this one as I was with Flames and I’m really hoping it just kicks the fuck in or I’m gonna go insane.

I really should have started posting my other Daryl one I've been working on. I have like 11 chapters of that one done and I have a clearer idea of where I'm going with that one.

Bad life choices

-------------------------

“Give me my damn bow back Daryl!” Arabella snarled as she stomped after the hunter through the yard. He was still a few steps away from her and he had been ignoring her protests all through the prison. She lunged forward and grabbed his wrist, yanking it so he turned around to face her. His face was unimpressed as she glared at him.

“Give it me back!” she repeated, her eyes ablaze.

“I said no princess,” he smirked, clearly loving seeing her so upset.

“It's not yours, its mine, so give it the fuck back!” she yelled, her anger reaching an all-time high. Her small hand was still firmly gripping his wrist and the touch felt like it was setting him on fire as it spread through his arm. He yanked it away from her easily as he scowled down at her.

“What part of no do ya not get here?” he asked harshly, she clenched her jaw fighting the urge to deck him.

“What the hell is going on out here?” Rick asked, glaring at the pair of them like naughty children.

“He took my bow Rick!” she frowned at him. Yeah, they certainly acted like fucking children. Rick squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and heaved a sigh. He was so sick of dealing with them like this. Daryl watched him and he could sense the impending ear-bashing a mile away.

“Rick, ‘fore ya start, I only took it ‘cause she needs the rest alright? Her arms were shakin’ so bad this mornin’ just from liftin’ her damn spoon at breakfast,” Daryl defended himself. He wished he hadn't though as he realised it sounded an awful lot like he cared if she hurt herself or not. Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment that he had just declared that, not only to Rick but everyone else milling about, and also the fact he was right and he had seen her struggling.

“Look, ain't like she can help round here if she fucks her arms up is it?” he asked harshly, trying to rectify what he said so it sounded a little less like he was bothered that she needed the rest.

The glare she shot his way told him it worked, at least on her. But when he looked to Rick, the tug of a smirk on his lips told him his brother most definitely wasn't so convinced.

“Maybe Daryl's right here. If you hurt yourself then you’ll never learn. You need to take it easy,” Rick said in that diplomatic tone he always had. Arabella squinted at him with her nostrils flaring.

“You’ve got to be kidding me?! I won't even use it Rick! I just want it back! It’s mine, people have no right just taking my shit!” she implored, looking at Rick with those large blue eyes. Daryl rolled his eyes and huffed, knowing Rick would give into her. She was right, it was hers, and if she wasn't going to use it, he had no reason to actually keep hold of it. He knew if someone even touched his bow they'd lose their damn teeth.

“Alright, Daryl give it her back,” Rick sighed, making Daryl grumble as he took it from his shoulder and shoved it at her. Her arms wobbled a little and she tried to ignore it as she slung it over her shoulder. Daryl had caught her though and was looking at her with a quirked brow like he was taunting her.

“You’re such an asshole Dixon,” she spat before turning on her heels, walking back inside. She knew he didn't give a shit that her arms were hurting, it was just an excuse to do something to piss her off, to take something of hers.

A couple of hours later saw Arabella sat with the youngest Greene as she tried to soothe Judith to sleep. Arabella had been shunned no matter where she went. Whether it was trying to help Tyreese at the fence, Carol with the laundry, even Rick with the fucking pigs, everyone told her to just rest and she hated it. She was being treated like she was seriously injured just because her arms ached and she knew Daryl was the asshole behind it, no doubt to taunt her of how weak she was.

“He’s just lookin’ out for you Bella,” Beth smiled softly as she rocked the baby to sleep. Arabelle squinted at her with a scoff.

“He hates me Beth, everyone knows that, he's being an asshole,” she muttered, toying with the baby bottle in her hands as a distraction.

“I don't think he hates you at all,” Beth smirked a little, glancing over to her.

“Oh right yeah, I almost forgot about your weird little theory,” she snorted, rolling her eyes.

Judith finally fell asleep and once Beth put her in bed, she came over to sit with her.

“He likes you Bella, I know he does!” she insisted, earning a laugh off her.

“Yeah right. He calls me all the names he can think of, but he likes me, sure,” she snarked, making Beth huff.

“It’s what boys do! They pull the pretty girl's hair and tease her ‘cause they like her,” she defended her theory, looking at her friend with her large innocent eyes.

“He’s a grown-ass man Beth, not a schoolboy,” Arabella snorted, shaking her head.

“Yeah, well maybe he is a little too old to act like that...but maybe he ain't ever liked a girl before, maybe you're special,” Beth grinned wickedly at her.

“That's it, I’m done. You’re awful. I’m off to find Maggie,” Arabella laughed as she stood up, making Beth giggle at her.

“You know, I have a theory,” Glenn smirked as he looked at Daryl.

“Oh God,” Maggie muttered, turning her head to fight the grin that wanted to make way on her face. The three of them were stood near the fences in the yard. Daryl had just been grumbling about Arabella and how she hurt herself being stupid for practising for so long.

“What's that?” Daryl asked gruffly as he gulped some of his water.

“I think you like her,” the shit-eating grin on Glenn’s face didn’t even falter as Daryl choked on a mouthful of his water.

“I think ya musta hit yer damn head,” Daryl snorted as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“No, hear me out a minute. You told everyone not to let her lift a finger because she hurt her arms, and we both heard how concerned you sounded this morning about giving her the bow back. Not to mention how you're always looking at her,” Glenn smirked. Daryl squinted at him, his hands clenching and unclenching like he was trying to stop himself knocking the damn assholes head of his shoulders.

“I think ya don't know what the fuck ya talkin’ about, ” he growled.

“Oh look, your girls coming over,” Glenn snickered, making Maggie cover her mouth to stifle her laugh at Daryl's murderous face.

“She ain't my damn woman,” he sneered, but much to his dismay, Glenn didn't seem the least bit scared of him. Fuck, he was losing his touch.

“Hey Mags, Beth wanted me to ask if you wanted a sleepover tonight in my cell,” Arabella asked as she got to the three of them.

“A sleepover? Its the end of the world and ya’ll gonna have a sleepover?” Daryl asked incredulously as he looked at her.

“Can you guys hear that really annoying sound?” she asked, looking confused as she looked around, making sure her eyes never landed on Daryl as she pointedly ignored him. He felt his temper flare, especially when Glenn let out an inelegant snort.

“Sure, I’ll come by later,” Maggie grinned at her friend. Soon enough Arabella was walking away again. Daryl glared after her retreating form like he wanted her to set on fire. Glenn snapped him back to reality as he started talking, and he realised he had been indeed looking at her once again and proving Glenn right. Lucky for him they seemed not to notice.

“What is it you guys do at these sleepovers?” Glenn asked curiously as he looked at his wife.

“The usual, braid each others hair, eat stuff, gossip,” Maggie shrugged casually.

“Oh. I always thought girls like...had pillow fights in their underwear or something,” he sighed looking so let down by the revelation. Daryl barked out a laugh as Maggie looked at him with her mouth agape.

“You do realise my little sister’s gonna be at this sleepover right?” she asked him carefully. Glenn looked sheepish for a brief moment, and Daryl shook his head as he quirked a brow at her.

“So ya sayin’ if it was just you and Belle there, ya’d be livin’ out his fantasies?” he asked looking amused. The couple looked to him though with shit-eating grins and he grimaced internally knowing just how he fucked up.

“He called her Belle! Oh my God! Did you hear that?!” Glenn asked gleefully as he looked at Maggie who was grinning.

“That I did. What happened to ‘Princess’?” she said the word so sickly sweet that Daryl scrunched his face up. He was pretty sure he ain't ever said it that way to her before.

“You two can go fuck yaselves,” Daryl huffed as he pointed at them, making them roar with laughter as he walked off with a groan.

“You gonna find your princess, prince charming?!” Glenn called after him, making some heads turn in the process.

“Fuck my life,” he sighed, not turning around but lifting his hand to flip him the bird before skulking off inside.

That night the three girls were sat on a blanket on the floor of Arabella’s cell. Why they chose to sit on the floor instead of the bed, she didn't know. But it felt much more like a sleepover for some reason when they sat on the floor. Maggie was braiding Beth's hair, Arabella’s had already been done. Her long blonde hair now in two french braids either side of her head, a couple of wavy bits framing her face. She was stuffing her face with some cookies they had found, they were stale but she was enjoying them all the same.

“You know Maggie agrees with me on my theory,” Beth smirked at her, making her stop mid-munch to scowl at her.

“Oh, you mean the Daryl one?” Maggie asked, shooting her friend a sly grin. Arabella rolled her eyes with a groan.

“Not this again,” she whined, she’d had enough of it for one day.

“I think he does like you,” Maggie agreed with Beth.

“Come on guys, we’re supposed to be having a fun sleepover and worshipping the holy grail here,” Arabella huffed, stroking the small bar of chocolate that lay between them on the blanket lovingly. It was tiny, they'd probably only have a bite each but it would be the best bite of anything she had ever had.

“You know, he called you Belle before,” Maggie grinned, making her look at her like she had grown another head.

“You're so full of shit,” she snorted shovelling another cookie into her mouth.

“I’m not, he was talking about you and then he called you Belle, Glenn found it hilarious,” Maggie huffed a laugh as Beth grinned.

“See! He talks about you!” Beth smiled widely at her, causing her to roll her eyes again.

“He talks about me ‘cause he goes around telling everyone I’m a weak ass bitch.” She huffed, her tone harsher than intended. Maggie could see her friends mood souring so she decided to lay off, unfortunately, her little sister wasn't so good at reading moods.

“You should talk to him, get to know him more,” she suggested.

“I tried Beth, remember? At the farm? I tried to get to know him and he didn't wanna know. If he isn't ignoring me altogether he's calling me every name under the sun. Trust me, he doesn't like me,” she bit out, glaring at the pack of cookies. Maggie tugged her sister's hair lightly making her hiss and gave her a pointed look to drop it. They were supposed to be having fun, not making her feel like shit. They dropped the issue and continued on with the sleepover, talking about anything and everything. They went through magazines years old with no new gossip in, but it didn't matter because it was all they had.

“Oh my god! You're in this one!” Beth gasped, casting her eyes to Arabella before back to the magazine as her sister leaned over to see it.

“Oh no,” she muttered, there was only ever one reason why she made it into the magazines and she was frozen as she watched on in horror.

“Heiress to whiskey company in rehab for the third time for drugs and alcohol…” Maggie read out slowly, her eyes widening as she looked over at her friend.

“You were taking drugs?” Beth whispered, looking horrified. Arabella swallowed thickly as she blushed with shame. She hated her past and she really didn't think it would come back to haunt her, not now with her new family. They’d never look at her the same after this. She snatched the magazine from Beth's hands as she glared at the floor.

“I’m not feeling well, you should leave,” she bit out, her tone leaving no room for argument. Maggie wanted to say something to make her feel better but she could see the girl had shut down, she would get nowhere right now. Instead, she dragged her sister out of the cell despite her protests.

Arabella sat on her bed glaring at the magazine in her hands. She hated that this happened, that things would be different now. Soon whispers would go around the prison and no one would want to know her. She tossed it on the floor angrily. Angry at her younger self, angry that she had to use in the first place. She flopped onto her back with a sigh and wiped a hand over her face. Everything was fucked now.

Taglist; @risingphoenix761 @daryldixonandfrogs @arlaina28 @divadinag @keeperofwonderlandus @jodiereedus22 @easnuppa @fand0m-fiend @txladyj-blog @walkingdead-dixon

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon imagine #twd #twd fanfiction #twd fanfic #The Walking Dead #the walking dead fanfic

[hollands-poppet]

Don’t Make Me Choose// Chapter 1

Mob!Tom Holland and Mob!Harrison Osterfield AU series

A/N: AHHH, I’m so excited to finally put this part out! I’ve been working on it for a while so to get this out is so exciting! I would love some feedback, and also your guy’s response will also determine how fast the next part will come out. 

Word Count: 5.6K 💛

Warnings: angsty, alcohol abuse, italics is flashback, I didn’t proofread this at all 

-

Being a part of the mob was something Harrison thought was the greatest thing in the world. He thought it was cooler than being the president of the United States or even better than being a superhero. He felt like like he had it all, he had more money than he knew what he could do with and he was able to take care of the people that he loved.

Oh, how he loved Y/N and he would literally do anything for her. And if there was a God, he literally thought she was a gift from up above because she was one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen. He knew from the moment his eyes landed on her that he wanted all of her and to make her his forever.

She turned around from the view of the mirror, her toothy smile immediately making Harrison fall in love with her even more. She turned her back to him again and lifted her hair so that her back was exposed, “Do you think you can button me up?” His fingers lingering to the buttons and your dress and slowly buttoning the pearl beads on her back, the tip from his fingers sending shivers down her spine.

“Thank you, Haz.” She lets her hair down loose again, and turns to him. He wanted to lean in and kiss her, it felt like it was just two of them left in the world until he realized her bridesmaids started setting the veil over her head. It reminded him again that his boss, his best friend and most powerful mobster in the UK was marrying the girl he was in love with.

One of the bridesmaids, Bella, who also happened to be Y/N’s maid of honor and best friend started to pin down the veil. She made sure to hide the pins where no one could see them. The veil itself was long, from the front it nearly touched the ground but from behind it was a train that was longer than the train from the dress.

Bella held a few pins in her mouth as Y/N stare down at the bouquet in her hands. The veil was long and beautiful with lace details all around to the front and to the train. It truly gave Y/N a heavenly look, she almost looked like an angel or maybe that’s what Harrison was thinking because he was head over heels for her.

“Do you need some help with that?” Robyn asked, another one of Y/N’s bridesmaids who was adjusting the train just perfectly on the ground. In the midst of all this adjusting of the veil, Haz just stared at the woman in front of him and was taking her all in one last time before she was wed off to Tom.

“Harrison?”

He is knocked out of his thoughts when he hears her voice, Y/N’s eyes already locking with his when she looks up from the bouquet. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

He clears his throat, and adjusts his bow tie as he shakes his head “No, no. I’m just fine. You know what? I should go and check on the groom, make sure he’s ready to go.”

Lies.

Y/N nods, she really can’t do much under that veil.

“Thanks again Haz, Tom is so lucky to have you. I’m not surprised he picked you to be his best man.”

Ouch, that stings.

He buttons his tuxedo and smiles behind his bittersweet taste of this wedding, “You know, he’d be nothing without me.”

Lies again.

They both laugh in synchronicity as Bella and Robyn both finish up on the veil, the two ladies both stop in place and notice the vibe between the two.

Haz makes eye contact with Robyn who has her arms crossed, not really liking what she is seeing. “Harrison, why don’t you go get Tom now? I’ll see you before we walk down the aisle.”

Y/N notices the tension that starts to arise, “Thanks again, Haz. See you out there.” She gives him one more smile until she looks back at Bella who is already adjusting the veil from the front.

And then Haz began to make his way out of the guest room of his best friend’s mansion and started to walk towards Tom’s office.

Y/N wanted a twilight,forest vibe wedding back home in the states but Tom was able to convince her to have the wedding in his backyard back in London. He met Y/N back in the states when he was making a few deals out in New York almost 3 years back. She was out on vacation and they both met at Joanne’s Trattoria where she was eating with Bella.

Haz remembers that night so clearly, he remembers walking in and seeing her sitting at the table with her hair straightened and really natural makeup that highlighted all of her best features. Fuck, he was mesmerized.

“A table for two, please.” Tom remarks as he checks his time on the watch. The hostess apologizes and tells him that he must make a reservation but Haz is tuned out of the conversation at this point.

He’s only paying attention to the woman who is sitting across the tiny restaurant, her smile was already so contagious. Haz could hear Tom threatening the hostess when he places his hand on his mate’s shoulder, “Actually miss, those are our friends at that table, we’ll just go and sit with them.”

Tom looks confused as fuck but plays along with his friend’s idea, “What are you doing?” Haz again pats his friend’s shoulder, “Look at that table.” He nods his head in direction of Y/N and when Tom looked back at his mate, he let out a giggle.

“You want to fuck her, don’t you?” The brunette continues to let out quiet laughs, Haz’s cheeks immediately becoming flustered.

“What? No, mate. I don’t even know her.” The two still standing be the entrance look around to see if anyone if paying attention to their conversation, paranoia always on the back of their minds.

“I know you don’t know her, I just know you haven’t gotten laid in a while.” He takes a look back at the table where Y/N was sitting, “Fuck, she is beautiful. I’ll give you that Haz.”

The blue eyed blonde chuckles, Tom was right about the getting laid part but he didn’t want to fuck her. He did want to know her.

“Well, let’s get to know her then.” The most powerful mobster in London readjust his suit and made his way towards the table, leaving Haz behind.

Now that night Tom knew that Haz wanted to make a move on Y/N. So he let him but his soon wife-to-be couldn’t help but gravitate with Tom in the moment, and he did too. He knew from the moment he lied eyes on Y/N that he was going to make her his wife someday.

But he wasn’t ever going to tell Harrison that.

Tom knew that Haz probably had a salty palette at some point about him and Y/N dating but love is love. You don’t choose who you fall in love with, it just sort of hits you in the face and you roll with it. And that was something Tom could never understand.

It was a concept he would never understand because he fell in love with a girl that his best friend wanted to get to know. And she just happened to fall back in love with him, isn’t that fucked?

Tom almost chuckles at the thought of it because of how fucked up it sounds. He is already dressed in his tuxedo for the wedding, a flower that his mom pinned on the left side of his pocket right where his heart is. His fingers typing away at his laptop where he was finishing a couple of things up.

He was on high alert today especially because it was his wedding. He made sure there was extra everything, extra security especially. This was a day that he knew Y/N was so excited about, she had planned the last six months creating the perfect wedding.

Anything that she wanted she always got. She was his sun, and as long as he made sure she continued to shine everything else didn’t matter. Even though she wanted to get married back in her hometown, this was the only thing Tom wanted his way. It was the only way he knew they would be safe from rival mobs, the only way he could truly protect her in his estate.

He closed the top of his laptop, and notices his best mate standing at the door frame.

“You’re never not working are you?” Haz lets out as he crosses his arm and leans against the doorway.

Tom gets up from his work chair, “Yeah, I’m even working on my wedding day. Can you believe that?”

Haz pushes himself from the doorway and into his friend’s office, “I can’t believe you’re getting married.” He makes his way to the big window in the office that is in view of Tom’s backyard, his backyard not even recognizable. Even though Tom’s office was on the second floor, he could tell Y/N had really went hard with the decorating and planning, even the pool had lily pad decorations and lights shining from the bottom.

“I can. I just never knew it would be her.”

Haz didn’t know that either.

Tom pulls out two shot glasses from one of his drawers, along with his bottle of whiskey. “How about you take a shot with me while I’m still a single man?”

Tom sets them down in front of the window as Haz keeps staring down at the fantasy that was created in his backyard, “Yeah..lets do it.” He grabs the shot from the desk as does Tom.

Before they clink their shot glasses together, Harrison clears his throat and raises his drink, “To a happy life and wife.”

Tom lets out a smile and raises his shot as well, “Cheers to that.”

The shot glasses clink together and they both bring the whiskey to their mouths. The slight burn of the whiskey almost as bitter as the burn Haz is currently feeling, his best friend is marrying the woman he was in love with but it was too late to change anything.

So he clenched his fist as the burning from the drink surpassed his throat. He sets the shot glass down as he closes his eyes shut tight, his head spinning. Haz knew his alcohol intake was heavier lately, his addiction that he had kept denying until he had passed out at a gas station only a couple of months ago had crept up on him.

His doctor ordered an immediate detox right away but he didn’t want to, Haz didn’t feel like he needed to. Sure, his dependency on alcohol was high but he didn’t need it to function but he promised himself that once he realized he needed it to function was when he decided he would get help. He knew he was being an idiot but when you’re addicted, the disease doesn’t let you see that.

Tom pinches his nose slightly from the burn, he knew nothing of his friends on going addiction other than the bump Haz got on his head was from tripping on a step. He really didn’t think anything of it, you would think he would know his best friend better but Haz was good at keeping his own secrets.

The blonde clears his throat again and remembers the reason he came into the room, “Before I forget, Y/N is ready mate.” He walks up to the mirror in the office, adjusting his tie before walking to the door frame.

“Harrison?”

He stops in his place and looks over to Tom who is walking towards him, his arm swinging over his friend’s shoulder “Thank you..for everything.”

The two give each other a hug, and not a bro hug. Full on arms around each other, they’ve known each other since grade school and to come this far was something they both couldn’t be more thankful for.

-

-

Once the soft symphony started to play, Nikki and Dom began to walk Tom down the aisle, his parents flung around both of his arms. His mother was already emotional, her first son already being married and taking over the family business was too much for her. Time flew so fast but she was excited for what was to come next for her son.

And Dom was a proud father, he didn’t know quickly his son would adapt to the mobster life and take over. His son took over way faster than he did when Dom was young lad like his son. Too say that he was emotional was an understatement but he would never let his son see him cry.

The trio stopped right in front of the seated crowd, and in front of the reverend who was going to marry Tom and Y/N. The flower wall behind them making this moment almost too perfect not to capture.

As Nikki and Dom are being photographed leaving Tom at the aisle, Bella and Harrison are getting prepared to walk down the aisle next. They both stare ahead waiting for their cue, Harrison’s hands are shaking a bit. He’s nervous but for what, for why? Maybe that was just him wanting another drink.

“Does he know?”

Haz’s hands stop shaking at the question Bella throws at him, they’re both still staring straight ahead, waiting to walk down the aisle.

“What are you talking about?”

She lets out a whispered scoff, “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about..it’s obvious.” Her hand grips a bit tighter on the bouquet of flowers she’s holding, “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

For a moment, Haz looks down at the ground. He feels caught, like he’s about go down for something he’s never told anyone but then he brings his head back up.

“Yes, I do.” He takes a pause. “And if you tell anyone-”

“For your sake..” she takes a deep breath as she hooks her arm around his. “I won’t.”

Bella knew as best as anybody that it wasn’t in anyone’s best interest to know that Harrison was in love with Y/N. Even speaking about it now was risky, but she had to know and for some reason it made her a bit emotional. Tears beginning to flood her eyes but she wouldn’t dare let them come out.

“I want the best for Y/N, and I’m not about to let you ruin it.”

And before he could respond, the duo is cued by the usher who is waiting by the door. Y/N wanted a rendition of My Love by Sia performed as everyone walked down aisle. Tom was actually able to get Sia to perform but she was in regular clothing so she wouldn’t outshine anyone at the wedding, he decided he would tell Y/N that surprise later.

Bella’s arm is hooked on his as he leads the way down the aisle. The crowd of family, friends and a bunch of Tom’s business partners turn around to look at the partners walking down the aisle.

A toothy smile from the both of them appear as they make eye contact with Tom, who has his hands in front of him.

Once they reach the front, they separate and make there way to their respective spots. Sam and Robyn soon follow after, big smiles swept across their faces as they make their way down the aisle. The twin was really attracted to Robyn that night, her red lips paired with the satin champagne dress was really making him feel some type of way.

They both separate once they reach the front of the aisle as well, Y/N didn’t have another bridesmaid for Harry to walk down the aisle with so he sat this one out. But then it was time for Y/N to walk and she was nervous.

She was nervous about a lot of things, the main one right now tripping over her dress. Her palms were clammy as she stood at the entrance of where she was going to begin to walk, she stared down as the reverend cued audience to stand as your presence was about to be made. Tom would’ve made them stand up for you anyway because you were his queen.

The walkway seemed way longer right now than it did this morning when she was making sure everything was decorated the way she wanted. She was a perfectionist and it anything was going to go perfect, it had to be her wedding.

As the guests finished standing up, Y/N took her first step down the aisle. The light shining through the veil casted a beautiful glow on her face that she was unaware of. Tom’s throat began to burn at the sight of his fiancé, how fucking mesmerizing she looked. She looked like a goddess walking towards him, and walking alone down the aisle only amplified the beauty she was casting at the moment.

Y/N’s parents didn’t walk her down the aisle because they didn’t attend the wedding. They didn’t want to get involved in Tom’s lifestyle. They respected their daughters wishes to marry him but did not approve of anything he did, therefore there presence was not at the wedding.

She didn’t care though, at least not in this moment. Sure, she had to walk alone but she knew walking down this aisle she would meet Tom there and she wouldn’t be alone anymore. This union was going to solidify that she wouldn’t walk to have any path by herself.

Every step he became closer in her sight, she tried not to walk too fast because she didn’t want to throw off anyone so she walked in a good pace. The flowers in her hands making her sweat a little more than usual, she kept her eyes locked on forward and Tom.

Fuck, Harrison wished it was him that she was walking towards so badly but it just didn’t turn out that way. The dress she wore really brought out her beauty, and everyone in that room knew Tom was lucky to have her. Anyone that knew her knows how good of a soul she has, and the face this best mate scored her was questionable, at least in Harrison’s eyes.

Tom wanted to cry, this moment was huge for him. He was so in love with Y/N, and he felt so blessed to be able to make her his on this beautiful, spring day.

Once she reached the front of the aisle, she got to Tom’s side and turned to him. Her veil dividing any contact between the two, which almost drove him crazy. So he leaned in to his left and whispered, “You look so beautiful.” Although Tom wanted to take the veil off of her already, he knew waiting til the end would be worth it.

The reverend signals everyone to take a seat and begins his sermon, “We are gathered here today for the union of Tom Holland and Y/N L/N.. if anyone wishes to give any reason why these two shouldn’t be married, speak now or forever hold your peace..”

If Harrison wasn’t Tom’s best friend, he would’ve jumped at the moment like in a scene of a movie and tell the woman that he loved her but he couldn’t. There was too much to risk, even though losing his life could be one of those risks that wasn’t on the top of the list for him. Losing Tom as his friend was the biggest risk of all.

The reverend continued since no one spoke, Tom would’ve flipped if anybody objected anyway so it was best no one say anything at all.

“I understand that you both have written your own vows, so I will go ahead and let Tom go first.”

Y/N smiles and looks at Tom who is pulling a note out of his pocket which are his vows, Tom is never a simpy type but when it comes to his girl, he’ll simp for her anyday. His heart race is beginning to increase as the paper unfolds in his hand, his hands beginning to shake as he realizes he has to read this in front of a bunch of people.

He clears his throat and smiles at Y/N once more before he looks back down at his paper.

“Y/N L/N, I never knew what it was like to be truly in love until I met you. I remember the day I walked into Joanne’s Trattoria and seeing you from across the room. Although it was Harrison’s idea to go in and not mine, it was his best idea yet. ”

Harrison’s heart stings again but he laughs with the audience who thinks Tom’s line is funny.

“I’m forever grateful to him for that. Y/N, you’re the woman for me, you are literally the missing piece that I found that fit perfectly. You were the missing piece that brought balance to my life, and my life has always been on the run but you’ve brought my run to a stop. A stop that I was willing to put a hold on so that I could you bring you on the run with me.”

He takes a pause, the burning sensation in his throat causing him to have a shakiness in his voice. Y/N wants to touch his face but she can’t because of her veil, but she is taking his words all in and her eyes are swelling with tears.

Tom clears his throat and continues to speak, “I promise to protect you with all that I am and with all that I can be. I didn’t know how life could be so amazing until I met you and making you mine forever is the best thing I’ve done thus far. I love you, Y/N.”

He begins to refold the paper and tuck it back into his pocket, he looks up to Y/N who is wiping a tear under her veil as she mouths “I love you.” The clapping of the audience fading in the background, Harrison smiling through his bitterness.

The reverend proceeds with the ceremony, “That was beautiful..now Y/N you may continue with your vows.”  

She knew she wasn’t going to be able get a note handed to her so she had tucked into her lace sleeve on her arm, her fingers tugging it at it with the bouquet in her hand. She unfolds it, and holds the note with her left hand. Before she begins to read, she makes eye contact with Tom who is already staring at her which causes her to tear up again.

“Thomas Stanley Holland, I didn’t know what to think when I first met you. You seemed very in over your head, and you reeked of your vanilla and wood cologne but somehow you managed to make me fall head over heels for you.”

Again, another punch to Harrison’s heart. He wanted nothing but this vow to be read to him.

“I don’t know what the future holds for but I feel like it’s something great. Something is coming and I’m not sure what it is but I know you’ll be there. I know whatever life throws as us, you’ll do what you can to fix it. I will never fail my duties as your wife as long as you promise to keep me as yours forever. It feels like this lifetime will never be enough time for me to love you like I do now. So, I give you my life now, today, forever and always as a promise of my love for you. I love you, Thomas.”

She drops the note on the floor, and immediately taps a tear that is sliding down her cheek. She looks back at Tom who can’t help but have tears swell in his eyes, wanting so bad to just kiss her already.

The reverend begins to speak again, “The rings please.. Tom, please pull Y/N’s veil back.”  As Bella hands one of the rings to the reverend, Tom is pulling back the veil. As he pulls it over her head, he realizes how much the piece of cloth has been hiding her beauty.

“Y/N, take this ring and slide it on Tom’s finger..”

She begins to slide it on his finger when he the reverend asks him, “Tom, do you take Y/N as your wife? To love her in sickness and in health? Through the good and the bad?”

He responds just as Y/N finishes slipping the band in his finger, “I do.” He turns to his best man for the ring, and the blonde reaches in his coat pocket for the wedding band. Harrison hands Tom the other ring, a ring that he wanted to put on Y/N’s finger so bad.

Tom places the ring at the top of her finger and begins to slide it down as the reverend begins to speak, “Y/N, do you take Tom as your husband?To love him in sickness and in health? Through the good and the bad?”

Tears begin to flood her eyes as she smiles, “I do.”

The reverend smiles widely as he achieved his deed today, “With the power invested in me, I know pronounce you Mr. & Mrs. Tom Holland. You may now kiss your bride.”

The moment that Tom was waiting for was here and he was more than happy to do it. His lips landed on Y/N’s as their union was just tired together permanently. Their kisses felt like they had never before, it felt different and even then they both couldn’t hear the claps of their family and friends. It felt like just them two in the room, it felt like it was just them two forever.

Harrison clapped as well, tears beginning to flood his eyes..he wasn’t only just bitter but he was genuinely fucking happy for his best friend, his friend finally found someone who wanted to be with him and take care of him. It just stung, the blued eyed man figured he would eventually get over it.

-

-

The after party continued just like any other wedding, of course Tom and Y/N stuck together like glue. They both greeted some guests as they walked around the backyard together arm in arm, more utterly in love than ever.

As they patter around the backyard together, Haz watches from the corner of the party on high alert. He had gotten a call from one of the security that unmarked cars kept patrolling the mansion so he was prepared for anything.

Y/N and Tom had sat at their table while family and friends when up to the mic and said a few sweet things about the couple. The two listened while holding hands, drunk in love at the moment.

Haz watched the people talk from the corner of the room, he was supposed to go up as well but he didn’t know when his turn was. So he did what he does best and took a flask out of his inside pocket and took a drink, the vodka making his throat numb.

“So you’re resorting to becoming a drunk now?”

The familiar voice he had walked up the aisle with startles him a bit, “Hi, Bella. Glad you’re having fun.” He remarks sarcastically as he takes another drink from his flask. 

She stands shoulder to shoulder with him, “Look what I said before-”

“Just forget it. You’re wrong, I know my own truth.” Haz becomes super defensive, taking another drink from his flask before he returns it to his pocket.

“And so do I, as someone who really cares about you..I know how you feel about her. I just don’t want you to get hurt.” She tries to rest her hand on his shoulder but he pushes her hand off.

“Well, it’s too late.” As he walks away, he puts the flask back into his pocket and makes his way to the empty mic. Before reaching the stage, he grabs a champagne glass from a waiter that passes by and cuts the line of people who are waiting for the microphone. The alcohol starting to make him forget that he abandoned his post in the corner while he kept watch.

He clears his throat, “Excuse me everyone, I just wanted to make a toast to my best friend and his wife.”

Tom and Y/N pull away from whispers into each other’s ears, and turn their attention to Haz who has his glass raised by his face.

“Whenever I look at these two, I feel almost a sense of home. They give me hope that love is real.”

More lies, it was all the alcohol rushing through his bloods that was making him say these things. Y/N and Tom didn’t know that though but they continued to listen and raise their glasses high.

“So, to my best friend and the girl that won his heart.”

I wish it was mine that you had stolen.

The guests toasted and a bunch of clanks could be heard in the backyard, as salty as Harrison was though he could at least that all he could truly be satisfied with is being able to keep Y/N through Tom’s life as his best friend. He wanted to be obviously more than friends but he would settle for this than nothing at all.

As he got off the small stage with the large background of flowers, he walked directly to the groom and bride’s table. Tom got up before he reached the table and extended his arm for a bro hug, “Thanks Haz, means a lot bro.”

“Anything for my favorite couple.” Haz lied straight through his teeth.

Tom krinkled his nose and made a confused face, “Have you been drinking, mate?”

Haz completely ignoring question extends his hand, “I just wanted to see if Mrs. Holland would care to dance with me?” She laughs as she puts her hand in his, “Of course, the best man deserves at least one dance.”

She passes Tom and gives him quick kiss as she follows the blonde to the dance floor.

Harrison spins her around as one of her arms find his shoulder and the other lands in his hand, they begin to sway to a song that is playing in the background.

“Thank you for that toast, it was beautiful.” Y/N cracks a smile as she looks into the blonde’s eyes, he smirks as he takes the lead, “Yeah, I meant every word.”

Harrison’s lie streak was on a roll today.

She laughs as she follows his lead, “Thank you for everything, Haz. I’m still not accustomed to Tom’s lifestyle but you being around has helped a lot.”

He stares into her eyes as they sway on the dance floor, “Well, I’m glad... I’ve been able to impact you some type of way.” As he dances with Y/N, he wishes so much that Tom had toasted them instead..he wishes that she felt the same type of way she did. He always thought she did but today was evident of her real feelings, how she decided that Tom was her soulmate.

Y/N and Harrison sway a bit more, following the beat of the song. Although he did smell a bit like booze, Y/N had never really been in Harrison’s grasp until now. He felt broad and strong, and even though she’s known him for as long as she’s known Tom, she wanted to get to know him more and her being married to Tom would allow that.

“We can be best friends now that I’m married to yours.”

Another stab to his heart. He smiles through that, the buzz of the alcohol now hitting him “Yeah, I figured we would be best friends, you don’t love me like you love Tom.” He slurs the words, so Y/N doesn’t really catch what he says, “Wait, what did you say?”

But before Haz could answer again, he is tapped on the shoulder by Tom, “Harrison, my mum would love to dance with you and I would love to steal my wife away from you.”

He pulls Y/N by her waist and into his arms, causing Haz’s jawline to tense as makes a digusted face, “Yeah go ahead, you already stole her.”

While in each other’s arms, Tom and Y/N both look at the blonde concerned.

“Mate, are you okay?”

Haz sighs deeply and rubs his hand through his gelled hair, “I’m just…” he pauses and takes a look at Y/N and then to Tom who is waiting for an answer.

“I’m just drunk...I have to get back to my post now.” And he doesn’t say another word but just walk away, he couldn’t face the humiliation he wasn’t going to remember the next day. Haz wasn’t going to go back and keep patrol, he was going to leave and get wasted so that he could make everything he felt tonight feel numb.

Tom wants to call for his best friend but doesn’t want to cause a scene at his own wedding so he just lets it go.

For now.

-

A/N: AHHH!!! POOR HAZ, my babes is hurt but what do you think is gonna happen next? I would love to hear your theories, thoughts, anything you want to say! I also have a playlist for this fic so if you want to suggest any songs for the playlist, please send them in! I love you guys! Goodnight/Goodmorning! -Amy💛

p.s not everyone that is on the taglist asked to be tagged but if you want me to remove you let me know!! 

playlist💛 

hook me up w/ a coffee? 

DMMC Taglist: @ladybirduris @thedaydreamingwriter @a-walk-in-silence @tomhaz @mischiefmanaged49 @tomshufflepuff @smexylemony @musicgirl234 @spidey-pal @greenarrowhead @superheros-and-others @captainbuckyy @kawaiigothfishpasta @hollandechart @thollandx @glader-witch-wolf @amren-rhyssecond @peteryesparker @hazhasmycoffee @the-queen-procrastinator

#mob!tom holland #mob!Harrison osterfield #Mob!Tom #mob!tom holland x reader #mob! tom series #mob!Harrison osterfield x you #y/n x mob!Harrison osterfield #mob!Harrison series #mob!Harrison osterfield x y/n #mob!tom x y/n #mob!tom holland x you #mob!tom holland x you #harrison osterfield imagine #Harrison osterfield #Harrison osterfield blurbs #Harrison osterfield blurb #tom holland imagines #tom holland imagine #Tom Holland Fan Fiction #tom holland angst #tom holland #tom holland fan fic #tom holland x reader imagines #tom holland x reader imagine #mob!tom holland x y/n

[alj4890]

And Then I Met You

Part 5

What happens when the one you thought you were meant for turns out to be meant for someone else? 

@walkerinfolkvangr @alleksa16 @penguininapinktuxedo @blackcoffee85 @stopforamoment @fullbeaumonty @cocomaxley @darley1101 @hopefulmoonobject   @krsnlove @littleblossom357   @annekebbphotography  @gibbles82   @bella-ca  

Masterlist

Part 5

A little over 6 weeks after arriving in Hollywood

"This scene!" Amanda folded her arms and laid her head on them, glaring at her laptop.

Holly walked over and read over her shoulder. "Still giving you trouble?"

"It's impossible! How I was able to convey it in the novel, I will never know." She buried her face in her arms and let out a frustrated sound. "Thomas is going to have to do without it."

"You live with the man and clearly don't know him. If he asked you to do this scene, then it must be a pretty big deal." Holly patted her on the back. "How about you take a break?"

"I can't. Thomas went to meet with Ryan to try and persuade him to play Arthur. I promised I would have this done by the time he returned."

"Do you honestly think you can write it out in your current frame of mind?"

Amanda pushed away from the table. "No. In my current state, I'll be tempted to kill Elizabeth so that I don't have to write this romantic tension developing between her and Reginald."

"Excellent! Addison! We're taking five!" Holly yelled out.

"Oh thank God." Addison came running around the corner. "If I look at one more swatch of cloth, I will end up trying to persuade Thomas that everyone should be naked in the movie."

"Where are we taking our break? And can there be tacos involved?"

"Wait! We're going out? I thought we would just relax on the couch or something." Amanda looked between the two, worried about being unable to finish the scene.

"Uh oh. She's turning into a hermit. Hunt's influence knows no bounds." Holly teased.

Addison giggled and opened up a drawer in a side table. "I'll call in the order while you force her to relax." She looked up at Amanda, grinning. "We will take you out one night and show you the fun side of living here."

"I've had fun! I did go out the other night to your party. And let's not forget the awards ceremony." Amanda protested.

"Yes you did and you forgot to tell us all about it." Holly took her arm and pulled her out to the backyard. "We need to know everything."

"DON'T SAY ANYTHING WITHOUT ME!" Addison lowered her voice and apologized to the person on the phone. "Sorry! We need a number 16, 8 and two number 3s."

Holly stretched out in one of the lounge chairs by the pool. "So how did it go--"

"I know you were NOT starting without me." Addison plopped down across from Holly and focused on Amanda. "Okay. I'm ready. Tell us everything!"

"You know what happened at the birthday party and the awards show. We went to the ceremony and then the after party." Amanda looked out over the pool, thinking how much fun she had with him on both of those nights.

"Yes, we know all that. Did anything else happen?" Holly persisted,

"Tell us more about the after party. Matt told me that you were drawing quite a bit of attention. You were a knockout in that red dress." Addison leaned forward when she noticed a blush appear. "Did you and Thomas dance?"

She shook her head. "No. We got seperated for a while at the party. Matt danced with me though, which was fun." She pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them. Amanda thought of the model that was flirting with Thomas that night. She also remembered seeing that same woman at the surprise party. "Thomas seemed busy with some model."

Addison spit out her drink. She coughed while Holly hit her on the back. "Model?! Thomas? Did she have black hair? Beady eyes? Too tall and long legged for any normal mortal?"

Amanda laughed at the description and nodded. Holly scrunched her face in disgust. "Monica."

"Who's Monica?"

"Someone who only gets by on her looks. She wants to break into film, but she has a personality like a wet paper bag." Holly explained.

"Holly! That's horrible! Why are you so cruel to those poor paper bags that are damp." Addison's teasing grin faded. "Monica tries to latch on to directors when she sees them. Thomas is the one she wants most since his films hold the most prestige."

"I see." Amanda mumbled. Thoughts of Thomas being captured by the ridiculously beautiful model made her feel...what did she feel? Sadness? A bit of wistfulness perhaps. He certainly didn’t seem bothered by her chasing him. Could he really fall for someone like that? It’s a shame I will never be that beautiful, she thought. Perhaps Thomas might see me differently if... she mentally shook her head. She did not need to start thinking like that.

Addison nudged Holly. They saw the flicker of emotions on Amanda's face. Their hope to see her fall for Thomas grew as her expression became more concerned.

"Did he remain with Monica?" Holly asked

"Hmm? Oh. No he found me and we went home together." Amanda’s slight frown remained as she realized he did the same at the surprise party. Maybe he didn’t feel anything for the model. 

"Thomas is too intelligent to succumb to that creature's attempts to seduce her way to fame." Holly stated with firm resolve.

Addison nodded. "That is one of the great things about him. Thomas never goes for pretty faces with little more than false sincerity behind them. It's amazing how many beautiful actresses he has worked with and never tried anything. I think he is waiting on someone special." She began to emphasize her words. "Someone who can make him smile. Someone he loves to talk to. Be around. Someone he can work with. Maybe share his passion of films."

The gate buzzer interrupted her description. Amanda stood up and went to answer it. Once she was out of sight, Holly turned to Addison. “I think she likes him. Now the question is how do we get them to admit to their mutual attraction.”

Addison shrugged. “I think I might have laid it on pretty thick what Thomas would like in a significant other. We have to think of something fast. If we aren’t careful, they will finish the screenplay and she will return to Cordonia.” Her brow wrinkled as she imagined the future. “He will end up with someone we don’t get along with and she will probably be wasted on some pompous lord or something.”

Amanda returned with the food and decided to change the subject. She did not want to keep talking about the type of person Thomas would end up with. The last thing she wanted was to be reminded that she was once again not the one for someone she cared about. She paused in unwrapping the food. Why would that thought pop up? She didn’t feel that way, did she? No. She simply did not want to see a friend with a jerk. That’s all that it was and all it could ever be. The rest of the afternoon was spent with the three of them laughing and talking about some of the people Amanda had met at the surprise party. When Holly and Addison left for the evening, she returned to work on the dreaded scenes.

Thomas returned much later than he had planned. He could not wait to share the news that Ryan had not only accepted the part, he was also excited and ready to start reading through the script. When he opened the door he smelled cookies baking. He recalled that cookies were the one thing she had laughingly told him that they were her go to for when she was stressed. Thomas warily entered the house. He walked into the kitchen and saw her sitting at the table. His greeting and smile disappeared as soon as he saw her red eyes. “What is it? What happened?”

She motioned to her laptop. “THAT! I can’t get it right.” She wiped angrily at the tears that spilled out. “I have been working on the two same scenes all day! I can’t write it. You need to do them or cut them...or find a new screenwriter.” She got up and checked on the cookies in the oven. He stood there watching her in shock. He had never seen her so frustrated. He went over to her laptop and read what she had so far. 

“Hmm.” He nearly flinched from the glare she shot at him. “You are on the right track.” She scoffed at his attempt to encourage her. “Perhaps we should try and get your inspiration going again.”

“And how do we do that? Please don't say more writing.” 

“Let’s act out the scene. Then you will know how you want the characters to respond. When you go back to writing it out, you will have a clear image in your mind. I think you have been thinking of the story as a whole instead of this scene being on its own.” Thomas took the cookies out of the oven when it buzzed and grabbed her hand. He pulled her into the living room and sat her on the sofa. 

“You are Elizabeth and are about to meet the man who the Queen has arranged for you to marry. Arthur has been told there is no hope for his suit and has left the country. How do you sit? What are you feeling”

Amanda’s brow furrowed. “I am anxious and heartbroken. I have no idea what my future will look like now that the man I thought I was meant to be with is no longer the one for me. I am also highly curious to meet my intended that I have only heard rumors about.”

“Good. Now keep that in mind as I walk in. Reginald would be confident yet deep down he is just as nervous to meet the one he is commanded to marry.”

Thomas left and entered again. He paused when he saw her sitting. With hands barely trembling, she rose and curtsied to him. “My lord, I bid you welcome to my home.”

He moved closer to her and took her hand, a sense of wonder on his face as he gazed down at her. “Lady Elizabeth.” He bowed and kissed her hand. “I thank you for your invitation. I have been hoping for such a chance to meet you.”

“Please sit.” Amanda pretended to ring for tea. She turned back to him with a tremulous smile. “Am I?” She broke off and looked away with embarrassment. 

“Are you what?” He asked.

She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Am I what you expected?”

His lips lifted into a soft smile. His voice deepened as his eyes wandered over her. “I’m afraid not.”

“Oh.” Her lashes fell to hide the hurt in her eyes. She jumped in surprise when he took her hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. 

“You are far lovelier than I expected.” His thumb lightly caressed her knuckles. His eyes lowered to their clasped hands. “Am I what you expected?”

She shook her head slowly. “No. You are not at all what I expected.”

He lifted his eyes to hers, searching for some sign of her true feelings. A small smile appeared on her face. “I am pleasantly surprised with you, sir.” They continued to go through the lines until they reached the end of the scene.

Thomas nodded and broke character. “Now do you know how you wish to write it?” Amanda nodded and quickly typed it up. She then grimaced at the next one that had given her problems. He read over the scene and made her stand up again. “Let’s try this one out.”

He stood directly in front of her. “I am Reginald. I am about to kiss the woman that I am not only engaged to but have fallen in love with. I have discovered that she had given her heart to Arthur beforehand, but due to his displeasing the Queen, he was denied her hand in marriage. What do you think Reginald is feeling?”

“Grateful and guilty for being given a chance with Elizabeth. Heartbroken at knowing that at one time she was in love with another. Hopeful that he can win her heart for himself.” She replied.

“That is my take also. Now I believe Elizabeth is confused, right? She has begun to have feelings for Reginald but with Arthur returning to Cordonia, she is unsure who holds her heart.” Thomas listened as Amanda continued the description of Elizabeth’s emotional turmoil at this point.

“Now I am trying to show the woman I love how much I do without being able to fully give in to any actions.” Thomas took a step closer to Amanda and began the scene.

“My Elizabeth, I have missed you.” He raised his hand and gently caressed her cheek. “Not seeing you these past few weeks...it has been torture.” He swallowed uneasily as he lowered his eyes to her lips.

“Reginald. I,” Amanda looked away as if in pain. “I missed you also.” She looked back up at him and slowly placed her hand over his that was against her cheek. 

“My love,” Thomas whispered as he slipped his free arm around her waist. He lowered his head, his lips nearly brushing hers, when her phone rang. They jumped apart and stared at each other in surprise. She hesitated and turned away from him to find her phone. 

“Hey Maxwell. No, that’s okay. Thomas and I were working on a scene. Yes, I will call later. Yes, I promise. Give my love to everyone. Bye.” She lowered her phone and chewed nervously on her bottom lip. Had he been acting or was there something else there? She looked over her shoulder and saw him walk into the kitchen. He returned with a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk on a tray.

“Come on. You can finish typing up that part and then call it a night. I believe we need a little film noir to end the evening on. What would you say to watching Murder, My Sweet?”

She smiled at the offering to ignore what had almost happened. It must have been my imagination, she thought. “That's one of my favorites. Let me get my notes and I will meet you in there.”

He breathed a little easier when she walked out of the room. He sat down and wondered what had come over him. He nearly took advantage of the script to kiss her. Thomas ran a hand over his face. He would need to be more careful around her. He couldn’t ruin this.

She came back with her laptop and quickly typed out the scene as they had acted it out. She paused and glanced at him. "Thomas?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think Reginald would feel during the kiss?" She asked as she turned and propped her arm on the back of the sofa.

Thomas swallowed the bite of cookie he had in his mouth and coughed. "He would feel," He moved to look into her eyes and started again. "He would feel that his very existence was meant for that one moment. To hold her in his arms, kiss her." His eyes moved down to her lips. "Knowing she was meant for him would be flooding his mind once he could form a thought. His love for her would be permanently etched upon his heart. No other could ever hope to take her place. He would be willing to fight every step of the way to be the only one who holds her heart."

Amanda's lips parted in surprise. Before she could stop and think about the question, it popped out. "Have you ever felt that kind of love in your past?"

Thomas lifted his eyes to hers. "In the past? No. I have not."

They stared at one another for a few charged seconds before the RKO logo and beeps broke through the stillness. As if on silent agreement, they turned back to watch Dick Powell's portrayal of Phillip Marlowe solve a murder.

#choices #choices rcd #thomas hunt

[catte-bard]

We Were Once Thick As Thieves

(SPOILERS FOR 4.5)

Six Years Ago. . .

The winter air was crisp; fat flakes of snow drifted down silently. Grey winter clouds hid the sun from view. Most had retreated to the warm safety of their homes. Garlemald’s bitter winters discouraged many from venturing outside too often. The few individuals that dare brave the outdoors hurried about bundled up in their thick coats.

Ceruleum burning at a nearby plant wafted on the breeze. It gave the air an almost metallic tinge.

Bellona and Atticus sat perched atop a stone wall, watching people rush by to escape the cold. No one paying much attention to either youth. Too occupied with getting to their destinations.

“You’ve been quieter than usual today. Something wrong?” Bellona was the first to break the silence between them. She swung her legs back and forth, glancing over at her seeming sullen companion.

Atticus brow was crease and his gaze cast down. Lost in thought, at first it seemed her didn’t hear her. “Hm?” He eventually looked up. “Ah…no. Something’s just been on my mind.”

She arches a brow. “Your father?”

“Yeah…” He sheepishly admitted. “It’s the longest he’s been away from home is all. And I guess I’m just worried…”

Bellona gave a sympathetic nod. “I’m sure he’s okay. He’ll come home eventually like he always does. I’m sure his work in Eorzea won’t keep him there for too long.”

He nods but the somber cloud above his head seemed to remain.

She tilts her head at him. It wasn’t like Atticus to act so serious. She wasn’t used to such sullenness and silence from him. To be honest, it was a bit worrying.

Alright then, let’s move on to a different subject. Maybe he’d cheer up talking about something that’d take his mind off his worries?

She drummed her fingers against the cool stone as she thought. “So have you heard about that magitek that fell through the ice a few days ago?” She eventually asked.

“Hm?” Atticus perked up. “Oh, yeah, Quintus told me about. I hear it some new prototype for something, wasn’t it?”

Bellona nods. “I was there when I saw it happen.”

“Oh really?” Her friend arched a brow.

“I was.” She insisted. “They were doing something out on the lake—I don’t know what. But the ice started to crack, and all the engineers started to panic. When it started looking like they couldn’t save it, they just abandoned it and ran to land to avoid falling in with it.” Her brow creases. “Though I think they said two of them didn’t make it.”

A truly awful turn of events. Especially, to see it unfold. The sound of ice breaking and people shouting in panic...

Bellona shook her head, ridding herself of the thought.

“Sounds like quite the screw up.” Atticus mumbled. “Would’ve hated to be the person who had to report that to my superiors. I bet that project was expensive too. You think they’re going to try to get it back?”

Bellona shrugs. “If they do, it’ll probably be in the spring when the lake has thawed.” All the ice would make such a retrieval too risky.

The boy chuckles. “Yeah, someone definitely got a lot shite for that one. Feel bad for that one poor bastard who had to take the brunt of the blame.” He tilted his head in thought. “Quintus also told me about those two engineers. You know one of their bodies washed up yesterday?”

Bellona shook her head. This was news to her.

“Yeah, it supposedly wasn’t a pretty sight to behold.” He grimaces. “The skin was blue and grey. The nose had frozen right off and—” He pauses dramatically to lean close to her. “—Their fingers were run down to the bone from them scratching at the ice to escape.”

Bellona leaned away from him, giving her friend a skeptical look. She searched his face for any sign of deceit. What he was saying sounded like a load of horse shite. 

It sounded like something he was making up just to scare her. She certainly hadn’t heard of anything like that.

“That’s gross.” Bellona finally said, wrinkling her nose. “You’re gross.”

Her friend laughed. “I’m only telling you what Quintus said.”

“Your brother’s gross too.”

“Gross? I thought you had a crush on him?”

Her face went a deep shade of red.

“No! What makes you think that?!” Her voice shrill and indignant.

“I remember it.” Atticus told her. He casually traced his finger through the snow that had collected atop the wall. “We were nine and you told me you thought Quintus was cute. And I thought that was the most disgusting thing you’ve ever said to me. I had never felt so betrayed.”

Bellona shoved him in the arm. “That was when I was nine, you arse. That was years ago!”

He arches a brow. “Alright, but do you still think he’s cute. You do, don’t you? Oh, I think I might barf.”

“I do not!”

“Oh, so you think he’s hideous? Thank gods, finally someone agrees with me.”

Biting back another response, Bellona simply rolls her eyes.

“I only tease out of love, dear Bella.” Her friend laughs. “Though I am curious.” Atticus tells her as he wipes a tear from his eye. “If you don’t fancy my dear brother, then who do you fancy? Come on, there has to be someone who’s caught your eye. Someone the proud Bellona bas Marcellus is trying to court?”

“That’s none of your business.” Bellona mumbled, feeling her cheeks grow hot again.

“That’s not fair. I told you about Clovia when you asked.” He pouted. “Your turn to tell me who you like.”

And when Bellona refused to answer he said. “I bet I can guess who it is.” A mischievous smirk plays across his lips when he saw her ears perk. He had her attention. “I know who it is. Because you got in trouble for sneaking around with her past your curfew, didn’t you?”

Bellona merely grunted, refusing to confirm or deny his guess.

But that was all Atticus needed to know he was right. “Ha! I knew—ARGH!”

“Oh, Atticus! Are you alright?” Bellona called out to him.

She looked down at him, fallen from his perch and lying on the ground behind them. It wasn’t a far fall and a large drift of snow had also ensured he hadn’t been hurt. At most, he seemed dazed.

The young Garlean blinked up at her. “You pushed me.” He sounded shocked.

“Did I?” Bellona feigned innocence. “Must have been some weird spasm or something.”

“You’re going to pay for that, Marcellus.”

“You’ll have to catch me first, Vitalion.”

Childishly sticking her tongue out at him, Bellona quickly hopped down from her perch and took off before he could climb back over the wall.

Present Day. . .

There was chaos and fighting all around. Fires blazed and ceruleum ran in bright blue rivers across the ground. All around was the sound of steel clashing against steel, explosions rumbling in the distance, men and women shouting.

The disorder was overwhelming, but Bellona helped where she could as she navigated her way through the battlefield. A hail of arrows here, a potion given to injured ally there.

It was a terrible scene to view everywhere. Such carnage rivaled that of the Battle of Ala Mhigo. Cries of agony and anger.  Soldiers on both sides dragging their injured to safety while trying to fend off attackers.  Men and women laid dead or dying in the dirt. A few times, Bellona had to watch where she was going so as not to stumbled over one of the fallen.

The sight of it all left her feeling ill. This bloody battle could have been avoided. No one would have had to die today. However, Varis could not be swayed from his madness. And his arrogance today—his ignorance, would cost so many people their lives.

Perhaps it was that Ascian heritage showing itself?

It’s quiet here.

Bellona paused to study her surroundings. Somehow, she had found herself in a part of the Ghimlyt Dark that wasn’t busy with clashing soldiers. It seemed both Alliance and Imperial forces had moved on from the area. Aside from the few wreckages of burning magitek machinery and abandoned standards, nothing stirred within the barren field.

There was nothing here. Better to move on to somewhere she was needed.

However, just as she were about turn away, a single gunshot rang out. The bullet whizzed by mere fulms away. It seemed the field wasn’t as empty as she thought…

Bellona looked over her shoulder, in the direction the shot had come from. And emerging from behind one of the burning wreckages was a single imperial soldier.

Had he been there the entire time?

The woman’s eyes darted about, looking for anymore potential hiding places. This could easily be an ambush she had just walked into. However, no other soldiers emerged. It seemed this one was alone. A straggler left behind by their cohort? Or a coward trying to run?

Either way, she could handle one legionnaire on her own. The Miqo’te lifted her bow, readying for a confrontation.

The soldier paused before Bellona; their gaze hidden but she could feel them studying her. Leering at her.  They stabbed their blade into the ground before slowly reaching up to remove their helm.

Her heart sank when she saw the face underneath.

No…

Her bow slipped from her fingers.

She couldn’t hurt him. She wouldn’t hurt him…

Atticus tossed his helmet aside and took up his weapon again. Golden eyes cold in the amber light of the blazing fires around them. Slowly he approached with his weapon brandished before him,

“Take up your bow.” The man demanded. His tone cold with anger.

Bellona’s ears flattened and she shook her head. No… Perhaps, somewhere at the back of her mind, she knew that eventually she’d actually have to confront him. However, now to be actually faced with it… “Atticus…”

“Take up your bow, right now.” Atticus snarled.

“I…I don’t want—”

“You don’t want to fight me.” He mocked. “Tis too late for regrets and pacifism. Especially when you already have the blood of your own countrymen on your hands.”

And you think I’m ever going to forgive myself for that? She wanted to say so badly. She wanted to tell him how she hadn’t wanted any of it to be this way. That she hadn’t wanted to fight against friends and family. That she hadn’t wanted to be a traitor.

However, words failed her. Her tongue frozen by terror as she looked her former friend in the eyes and saw killing intent staring back at her. No more pleading. No more mercy. No more chances. She was just another enemy of the Empire, and he another imperial soldier who would cut her down should his emperor will it.

And Bellona felt like all sorts of remorse in that moment.

She stepped back. “Atticus, please—”

“No.” He interrupted. “I gave you so many chances to redeem yourself and to return to Ilsabard, but you never heeded me! Now look at where it’s gotten you. Why must you be so bloody stubborn?! I could have spared you this fate!”

He swung his blade through the air and Bellona stumbled back, tripping over a piece of debris and fell to the ground.

Is this how she died?

Her bow laid feet away, too far out of her reach for her to use it to defend herself. And looking at her surroundings, she found nothing else within reach that would be useful.

Defenseless.

Atticus now stood above her; his blade pointed in her face.

“Go on…” Bellona urged him when he wouldn’t deliver the killing blow. “Do what you must for your emperor and country.”

Atticus narrowed his eyes at her. And she saw such disdain within that gaze that for a moment she thought he’d really do it. However, he abruptly lowered his weapon and stepped away from her. A growl of frustration came from him.

Bellona laid there for a moment. Then realizing that he wasn’t going to attack, she slowly got to her feet. “Atticus?” She timidly called to him.

The man stood with his back towards her. His grip on his blade was trembling.

“Why isn’t this easy?” He muttered.

“Taking a life should never be easy…” Bellona softly told him. She walked over to him and attempted to place a comforting hand on his arm. However, the man shot her a dark look and immediately shied away from her.

She tried not to feel too hurt from the look of disdain he gave her. It was a look she deserved anyway…

“Why did you leave?” He asked. “You had a good life in Garlemald. Family and friends who loved and supported you. Why would you run away from all of that?”

He shook his head. “What could possible be worth betraying your kin and country?” He gestured around him at the flames and ruin. “Is this what you wanted? Men and women dying all around in bloody war?”

Bellona opened her mouth but couldn’t find her voice. Atticus’ barbed words left her without the courage to speak. He was right to be angry with her. Every criticism, every insult, she deserved.

What could she even say? Sorry? That wouldn’t fix things. All the terrible things she’s done.

“Have you nothing to say for yourself?” Atticus sneered.

She shook her head. “I…This isn’t what I wanted.” Finally, her voice came to her again. “I wanted peace.”

“Does this look like peace to you, Bellona?”

Her eyes cast down to the ground in shame. Peace? How could she claim to strive for peace when she led the way, carrying the bloody war banner?

“This isn’t what I wanted.” She repeated. She hadn’t ever wanted to fight.  

Her hands balled into fists. “But I’ll not be to blamed alone for the bloodshed today. The Eorzean Alliance didn’t want a fight. But your emperor rejected their offers of peace! We could have all laid down our arms today but Varis is too much of a zealot and a mad tyrant to listen to reason!

“That is not a man who sits on the throne, but a blood-thirsty beast. That is what you’re fighting for.” Even now, Varis’ confession still echoed in her head. It made her shudder just thinking about it. He was mad—a puppet of the Ascians. “He’s doesn’t want unity, Atticus, he wants destruction.”

The man narrowed his eyes at her.

“Enough. I’ll hear no more slander of my lord.” The man snapped. “He gave Eorzea a chance. He offered his hand forth for them to join the Empire. He offered his friendship.

“Lord Varis longs for peace. And he knows the only way to achieve it is by uniting the entire realms under a single standard. It is the Eorzeans who crave destruction. Their rejection shows that.”

He sounds just like him. Bellona thought in horror. Just like that madman. Too blindly loyal to see that Varis meant to lead the world into its undoing.

“Atticus, please.” She tried to reason with him. “Varis—the Galvus family, even the entire Empire. There’s more to it all.”

“I said enough of that! Now, it’s time for you to come home, Garlemald misses its lost daughter.” He held his hand out in beckoning. “Our emperor can be a merciful man. If you ask for forgiveness now, it will be given. Please, all you need do is come with me and swear your loyalty to him and all will be forgiven.”  

Bellona took a step back and shook her head. “I can’t abandon Eorzea.”

“But you would abandon Garlemald and all you love? Help its enemies burn it to the ground?”

“No!”

“Do you think you can have both?” Atticus asked her. “This is war, Bellona. You need to choose which one matters more to you.”

Again, she shook her head. “Why do I have to make a choice?” She demanded. “I love Garlemald…and I also love Eorzea. I don’t want to see something happen to either.”

Couldn’t she save both? Couldn’t there be peace between them? Why does it have to come to war and choosing sides?

“You know better than that.” He told her. “That’s not how this works, Bellona.”

And his grip tightened on his weapon and he lifted it to point at her. The blade gleamed amber in the firelight.

“I need to know. Which will you stand with? Garlemald—your home,” He took a step forward, weapon brandished before him, “Or Eorzea?”

Her heart pounded in her chest and her mouth had run dry. She opened her mouth but found her voice gone. She couldn’t will herself to speak.

“I told you before. I can’t abandon them.” Bellona quietly said, finally finding her voice. There was an ache in her throat. “I’m sorry…”

I’m sorry I had to do this. I’m sorry if I hurt you or anyone else who cared about me. I just wanted to do the right thing. I wanted to help people the Empire had hurt. But I just ending up hurting those close to me instead and I’m so sorry for that…

She wanted to say but swallowed her words when she saw Atticus’ face. Many emotions flashed across his features. Irritation, shock, disappointment. But she mostly saw hurt. Hurt and betrayal.

However, the pain on his face was quickly overshadowed. Sorrow quickly melted into trembling anger. An anger unlike anything she’s seen in him before.

“As am I…” His teeth bared.  

And for the first time, she actually felt afraid of him.

“Bellona!”

Atticus’ head snapped up at the shout and he immediately backed away. Moments later Yugiri and Hien were there. And upon seeing a hostile imperial soldier, moved forward to confront him. Standing protectively in front of the warrior.

Atticus leered at them, as if debating on taking them all on. He was outnumbered. It would be a risky fight—a foolish fight. One that he’d lose quickly. There was no honor in recklessly charging into a confrontation which had odds stacked against you.

He gritted his teeth in frustration and took a step back. His gaze shifted to Bellona one last time. Anger and hurt—so much hurt burned behind that glare.

Then turning around, he retreated. Disappearing amongst the smoke.

“Coward.” Yugiri murmured.

“Are you alright?” Hien asked as he helped Bellona to her feet.

“Yeah…” The Warrior mumbled. Shaken but fine. “He…he didn’t hurt me.” She stared off into the direction Atticus had run.

Had Hien and Yugiri not arrived in time he probably would have…

She had seen that look in his eyes. That was not the look of a merciful man. That was not the look of a friend. The thought of him willing hurting her was too outrageous—too painful to bear. But that look. So much anger—so much disdain in that one look.

What little bridge that had remained between them before seems to have crumbled away now…

“We should move on.” Yugiri suggested, looking in the direction Atticus had run as well. “That one might come back with reinforcements.”

Bellona nodded her quiet agreement. And with an aching heart, turned away.  

#final fantasy xiv #ff14 #ffxiv rp #writing #bellona and atticus #tumblr mobile decided to be temperamental so had to repost this

[psychosistr]

Hero- Part 1 (CaeJose Dancers!AU)

I decided to add to this au because it was too cute to resist doing more of it. And, I figured, what better day to post this than valentines day? I’ve got other parts planned after this one, but this one’s mostly just laying the foundation for Caesar and Joseph’s relationship. Enjoy ^^

Also, I’m gonna name different sections after songs that inspire me for the chapters/the theme music I imagine for certain moments during them. This set was inspired by “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias.

Another day, another dance class finished.

As the students filed out of the studio to go change back into their regular clothes, Joseph gathered cleaning supplies to wipe down the balance bars and mirrors from where people had been leaning on them off and on all day. She hated getting stuck with the menial chores like cleaning, but her mother’s assistants, Messina and Loggins, were tasked with keeping up the Hamon Troupe’s studio whenever Lisa Lisa and Joseph were teaching at the class-studio, and, unfortunately, that left Joseph to do the clean up here.

On her way back into the studio, she saw Caesar leaving with the last of the class. When he spotted her, his face lit up with his usual charming smile and he stepped aside, holding the door open for her with a bow. “Ladies first.”

Joseph couldn’t help but smile as she walked through the opened door, Caesar following after her. “Geez, you sound like such a cliché romance character- the classy gentleman that tries to charm all the ladies around him to mask his secrets, only for the heroine to win his heart and turn the tables on him.”

Caesar chuckled a bit, leaning against one of the balance bars as he watched her pull out the glass-cleaning spray and some paper towels. “Well, you’re certainly not far off: I enjoy being a classy gentleman, and I may have a few secrets, though I only attempt to charm the ladies who catch my interest.” He looked her over with a smile that tested the border line of charming and seductive. “I suppose that just means I’m waiting for the right heroine to come win my heart.”

Joseph’s face flushed at the obvious flirt as she busied herself with cleaning the mirrors. “…”

Caesar did these sorts of things a lot after their first dance together: He would wait until the last possible moment to leave and make small talk with Joseph. He’d flirt with her, sometimes subtly if others were around, other times openly as he was now. Not to mention that during the actual lessons, any time there was any sort of partnering up that needed to be done, he would proudly declare that he would be Joseph’s partner for the dance- acting as if he was staking a claim even though no one else ever wanted to be her partner, anyway. Also, he had this habit of just standing there sometimes, watching her, as if he was studying her or something. It was all very flattering and Joseph wasn’t quite sure how to deal with it all.

Joseph was suddenly startled out of her thoughts by a warm hand covering her own. She looked at Caesar’s reflection in the mirror and saw his hand lightly resting over hers, fingers stroking along her own as they gripped the bottle of glass cleaner. “Would you like any help with that? It seems like a lot of work to have to do by yourself.”

Joseph shot him a grateful, if slightly flustered, smile through the mirror. “Thanks, but my mom’d have my head if I got one of her students to do my chores for me.” She looked back at him over her shoulder. “Maybe you can help next time she’s not around.”

He gave her a soft smile, his fingers trailing longer than necessary along her hand before finally pulling away. “Very well, then. Until next time, mia bella fanciulla.”

Joseph watched him leave the studio through the mirror, a dreamy smile on her face. It always made her heart flutter to hear Caesar speak Italian like that. She had to go look up a few phrases from time to time, but, from what she’d learned, pretty much every name he called her was some combination of “beautiful” and a feminine title- his favorites seeming to be “maiden”, “angel”, and “goddess”, depending on his mood. It was really sweet and Joseph never got tired of hearing whatever name he decided to call her.

Joseph distracted herself with thoughts of Caesar as she cleaned the studio to help time go by faster.

By the time she was nearly done cleaning, her mother had finished up some paper work in the small office attached to the studio. “How much more do you have left?”

Joseph indicated the bar she was wiping down with a disinfecting wipe. “Just this last one, then-” She stopped and looked towards the doors to the changing room when both she and her mother heard a loud crash from that general direction. “?! What the hell?!”

Her mother was already heading towards the sound, gesturing for Joseph to follow her. “Whatever it is, I doubt it’s anything good…” They followed the sounds towards the men’s changing room, a small crowd of male students gathered outside. “What happened?” Her sharp voice cut through their chatter, instantly turning all eyes in her direction.

“A couple of guys started fighting in there, ma’am!” One of the students explained.

Lisa Lisa glanced around the crowd. “Anyone left in there that wasn’t part of the fight?”

“No, Lady Lisa Lisa!” Another one responded.

“Good.” She looked up at Joseph. “I might need you to help break it up.”

Joseph nodded and cracked her knuckles in preparation. “I know the drill, mom.”

Her mom opened the door and Joseph led the way in, glancing around the room. She soon spotted the source of the crash from earlier: The two-sided island of lockers that normally stood in the middle of the room had been knocked over and was still being used as part of the battleground. Joseph saw one guy currently lying unconscious on top of the over-turned lockers, another one semi-conscious with a dazed look on his bruised face on the ground half-leaning on the lockers, and the remaining two brawlers on the floor nearby. It was about what she expected for a fight that would drive the other guys out of the room.

What Joseph hadn’t been expected to see, though, was Caesar being one of the remaining fighters. He had another man pinned below him with one hand gripping his shirt and the other curled into a fist that he slammed repeatedly into the other man’s face. He looked beyond pissed, his eyes narrowed with a look of absolute hatred that seemed almost endless. She’d certainly never seen him like that before…

“Bastardo!” He yelled in rage as he brought his fist down hard against the man’s jaw, a loud popping sound being closely followed by a cry of pain that didn’t dissuade Caesar from slamming his fist down again at all. "Lo sporco degenerato! Non ti meriti nemmeno di essere nella stessa stanza di lei! Questo è quello che ottieni per aprire la bocca, stronzo!"

Joseph was shocked, to say the least. She had no idea what could make Caesar this mad and it made her hesitate to do anything. “Jojo!” At least until her mother’s voice brought her back to reality.

“R-Right!” She hurried over to the scene of the carnage and got behind Caesar, grabbing his arm before he could bring it down for another blow. “Caesar!” He struggled to free his arm, apparently not hearing her, so she pulled him off of the other man by force and used her strength to subdue him in a standing full-nelson hold. “Caesar! That’s enough! Stop!”

“!!” That seemed to get his attention, finally, and he froze in her hold. “Jojo..?”

Joseph kept her hold on him firm, making sure he couldn’t break free. “What the hell, Caesar? What’s going on in here?”

Lisa Lisa walked up to them, looking between Caesar and the other men spread around the floor and the lockers. “That’s what I would like to know as well. Would anyone care to explain?”

The guy Caesar had just been wailing on popped his jaw back into place with a whimper, rubbing a hand over the forming bruise. “We were just talking and he suddenly went off on us!”

Caesar tried to surge forward at the man again, but Joseph’s hold was too strong. “Sei un bastardo bugiardo! I warned you to shut your mouths and you didn’t! You got what you deserved!”

Lisa Lisa looked down at the man on the floor. “What, pray tell, were you discussing?”

“We were just talking about clothes, I swear!” The man replied, trying to back away from the still struggling and bound Caesar. “We were talking about how certain colors of tights just don’t look good on guys and he decided to butt in and told us to shut up.”

At the part where he said “certain colors of tights” looking good on guys, he cast a glance in Joseph’s direction.

Ah.

She understood now.

She glanced at the back of Caesar’s head, feeling him struggle to break free with the clear intention of beating the guy further for the rude slight. “Continua a parlare e ti rompo i denti, stronzo!”

Joseph glanced between the two and suddenly let go of Caesar, pretending he’d broken free of her hold. “Oops.” She said with the fakest worried tone possible. “My hands slipped.”

Caesar glanced back at her with the smallest of smirks which she readily returned, the look shared between them only lasting a second but it communicated everything between them perfectly:

“Go kick that bastard’s ass.”

“I will, thanks.”

Then Caesar was tackling the guy back into the lockers and beating him again. Joseph stood back and watched for a while, simply enjoying the sight of Caesar beating up the other man with a protective fury that made her heart flutter and a smile spread across her face. Her mother was yelling at all of them, telling Caesar to stop and telling Joseph to grab him again. They’d all be in trouble later, but, for now, Joseph was content to enjoy the moment.

After receiving a thorough lecture from her mother about not doing what she asked of her, Joseph walked outside to wait for her. She’d already changed back into her casual clothes- a pair of ripped dark blue jeans, a super-hero themed red and blue tank top, and a pair of red converses. Outside, sitting on the front steps of the building, she saw Caesar finishing off a cigarette- now dressed in a pair of black leather pants, a matching jacket, and a white shirt with an image of a blue bubble on the front.

She decided to go take a seat next to him. “Hey.”

He looked up, a bit surprised to see her, and quickly stubbed out his cigarette on the concrete before flicking the butt away. “Hey.”

“So..” She started while casually leaning her weight back onto her hands. “I didn’t know you could fight like that. Three on one and you were still kicking all of their asses? That’s pretty impressive. The thing with the lockers was a bit excessive, though.”

Caesar looked down at his hands, one of them wrapped in bandages around the knuckles. “Perhaps. I didn’t plan on it, though- they just gave out when I tackled the guy.” He took a deep breath and ran one of his hands through his hair, a slight frown on his face. “I’m..sorry you saw that. My temper gets the better of me sometimes. It’s a sad remainder from my youth..”

Joseph shrugged and patted him on the back, leaning her weight onto her other hand to maintain her balance. “Eh, it’s fine. Honestly, I’m not much better: I once shoved a guy down a well because he threatened my uncle.”

That earned a surprised laugh from Caesar and he looked back up at her. “Hah! You did? Was there at least water in it?”

She shrugged with a smirk. “Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I think he got the point.”

Caesar smiled at her. “Wow. You’re pretty impressive, yourself, Jojo.” He rolled one of his shoulders. “I’m still a bit sore from that hold earlier. What was that, by the way- krav maga? Where did you learn that?”

Joseph winked at him with a grin. “Let’s just say that dancing wasn’t ALL my mother taught me.” They chuckled and an easy, comfortable silence fell between them as they watched the sun start to set along the city’s skyline. “….You know..” She began after a few minutes, not looking at him and keeping her eyes on the sunset. “You didn’t have to do all of that..I’m a tough girl, I can handle myself..I’m used to what they say, it doesn’t bother me..” That was a bit of a lie- it did bother her, she’d just learned to ignore it.

“I know.” Caesar said, keeping his eyes on the skyline as well. “I know I didn’t have to..but I wanted to. You don’t deserve to be treated like that. Aside from the damage to the lockers, I’m not going to apologize for what I did..or for what I might do in the future. I’ll do this as many times as I need to until everyone learns how to treat you properly. That’s my choice and I am going to stand by it.”

“……..” Joseph felt that tugging at her heart again and couldn’t help the small smile on her face or the tear that wanted to spill over the corner of her eye. “Hey…Caesar…” She reached over and found his hand, giving it a light squeeze. “Thanks..for being on my side..”

Caesar smiled softly and squeezed her hand back. “Of course, mia bella dea.” He held onto her hand as they watched the sun set behind the city together. “Always.”

Joseph smiled a bit more and sat there, content to enjoy the moment.

Part 2->

-From the Beginning-

Translations for Caesar’s Italian rage:

"Lo sporco degenerato! Non ti meriti nemmeno di essere nella stessa stanza di lei! Questo è quello che ottieni per aprire la bocca, stronzo!" - “Degenerate filth! You don’t even deserve to be in the same room as her! This is what you get for your opening your mouth, asshole!”

Sei un bastardo bugiardo! - “You lying bastard!”

“Continua a parlare e ti rompo i denti, stronzo!” - "Keep talking and I'll break your teeth, asshole!"

#caejose #caesar zeppeli #joseph joestar #dancer!au #modern!au #trans!character #trans!joseph #misgendering #transphobia #but not by caesar #caesar is here to protect all the lovely ladies out there #caesar stands by his lady #the fight scene is actually based off of something I did irl #I tackled a girl into some empty lockers when she made a comment about my trans friend being in the girl's dressing room #I knocked out her teeth and would do it again >:) #caesar and I will beat up all the transphobes of the world!

[heauxadamas]

“But Mom!” Part 3

Aubrey walks in Chloe’s hotel room and was immediately engulfed in hug. “Oh my gosh, Bree! Charlie, honey! Hi.” Aubrey passes Charlie over to Chloe.

When the little boy was stirring Chloe hugged him even tighter. She showered him with kisses, hugs and I love yous. “Charlie where were you? I was so worried.”

‘The DJ was right’ he thought. So hugged his mom and said, ”I'm so sorry momma.”

“It’s okay, honey. Don’t scare mom like that again okay?” Chloe looks at his blue eyes so he’d understand. “Okay, let’s get you to bed.”

The blonde just watched everything unfold in front of her and got out quickly before Chloe started asking questions. She slipped out the redheads’ hotel room, went to her own — well.. hers’ and Stacie’s — showered, and slept. She was anxious about tomorrow but extremely excited at the same time.

Needless to say, the brunette, who was left by herself, couldn’t sleep as well. It was only when Charlie got picked up that she realised how much she wished that it was Chloe’s child.

If it was though, what would she say? How would she act? Her own voice echoed through her thoughts, ‘Losing someone you love is really hard. And your mom really loves you. I promise, when she sees you she will just hug you. She won't get mad. She'll hug you and kiss you and tell you that she loves you…’ Except the thing was, she couldn’t kiss Chloe or tell her how much she loves her because the last time she did, the redhead walked right out of her life.

She got her phone and shot the mom a text, “Hope your kid’s alright. Please let me know if he got home safe?” Then she resorted to finishing the song she was working on before she got her welcomed interruption.

"Good morning momma!" Charlie jumps up on Chloe's bed. The woman just fell asleep 30 minutes ago and was grumpy for a minute before being showered with kisses by her favourite boy.

She cuddled him and pretended to be asleep for a little more. "Momma can we go see DJ today?"

Chloe shot her eyes open. The DJ? Was it Beca? Damn it, she totally forgot to ask Aubrey. Just as if she’s been heard, Aubrey walks in the Beale’s room all dressed up for the day. “Good morning redheads! I think it’s time for breakfast!”

“Aunt Bree!!!” Charlie runs towards her, crashing on her thighs with a hug. “Hey there, Charles!” She hugs the boy back.

“Bree, can we talk?” Chloe was sitting on her bed and looking at Aubrey with dead serious facial expression and the blonde knows what Chloe’s first question was going to be. Except, it wasn’t Chloe who threw in the first question, “Aunt Bree, you met DJ B—

The boy was interrupted with a hand to his mouth. Aubrey kneeled so her eyes would level with Charlie, “I think it’s time for your bath, young man. Come on!” She held the boy’s hand and guided him to the bathroom.

Chloe shakes her head aware of the extreme evasion Aubrey was doing. “Okay, Bree! We’ll talk about it later!” She laughs it off and grabs her phone. When she came across an unregistered contact, her eyebrows were drawn together. ‘Hope your kid’s alright. Please let me know if he got home safe?’. She noticed it was sent last night, even before she got Charlie back, so she quickly replied, ‘He did. Thank you so much!’

She was surprised when her phone ding-ed immediately, ‘Thank god! I thought I gave your child to the wrong person!’ Wrong person? How can Beca not know it was Aubrey… What did Aubrey do? It is Beca, right?

Meanwhile in the bathroom

“You met DJ Beca, Aunt Bree? Sorry I was so sleepy last night.” The boy asks as Aubrey as she helps him take of his shirt.

“Yeah, I did. Was she mean to you?” Aubrey lied and immediately jumped onto her protective side.

“She’s not. She’s the coolest! She’s also very pretty!” He smiled. Charlie held Aubrey’s hand as she was about to help him take his pants off, “Aunt Bree, I’m a big boy now. I wanna take a bath on my own.”

“Alright, big boy. I’m gonna go leave the door open so just call me if you need anything okay?” She says smiling. As soon as she got out, she was met with expecting eyes.

“Yes, it was Beca.” Aubrey said as she sat down on Chloe’s bed, her back against the redhead. How was she supposed to explain this to Chloe? Wait. Was she supposed to tell Chloe that it was all planned? Damn it. What would Stacie say?

The redhead was eyeing her best friend who seems to be anxious, “You WERE the one who picked Charlie up… right?” and the blonde whipped her head to face Chloe. “I can explain.”

“Please do.”

“Okay. I asked someone to pretend to be Charlie’s nanny so she would be the one to pick him up from Beca.” She held her hand up before Chloe could even speak. “Let me finish. She was an okay person. Okay, I knew it was Beca because I knew Beca was… is going to be here. With the rest of the Bellas. Stacie and I planned this whole thing because we think it’s time for you to get back in touch with Beca. No, the other Bellas have no idea and they aren’t here yet. Stacie said the rest would be here tomorrow but she’ll be arriving today.”

“Are you done?”

“Please don’t hate me.” The blonde bows her head down and preparing herself for the fury that was about to come. All she heard, though, was someone’s back crashing on the bed. “What am I going to say to her, Bree…”

She felt sorry for her best friend. She really just wanted to help because lately, all Aubrey’s been hearing were “What if Beca this” and “What if Beca that.” She and Stacie were kind of getting tired of it.

Every weekend, Stacie would crash at Aubrey and Chloe’s house. Chloe moved in with Aubrey as soon as she left Atlanta… as soon as she left the Bellas. Aubrey was already an established lawyer in Baltimore when Chloe got there and Stacie and Aubrey bumped into each other while the blonde had a visit in the White House together with Chloe and Charlie a year ago.

It then started from there with the request that Stacie doesn’t tell Beca about Chloe or Charlie.

It was a month before the first week of summer. Stacie, Aubrey and Charlie were in the living room while Chloe was fixing up the popcorn. “Why do we have to watch a movie again?” the boy whines.

“You know… he sounds more and more like someone we know every time I see him.” Stacie whispers to her girlfriend ignoring the boy. “Don’t let Chloe hear you say that.” Aubrey hushes her.

“She hates this movie.” The redhead suddenly appeared with a bowl of popcorn one hand and a bowl of melted chocolate on the other. “Who am I kidding, she hates all movies.”

Stacie pretends not to understand, “Who are we talking about?” and was lightly elbowed by her girlfriend. “Kidding.”

“Can we watch Animal Planet instead?” Charlie asks the girls who agreed unanimously. The kid was so engrossed in what he was watching that the adults had the chance to talk. Well, Chloe did.

“You know, if Beca was here. She’d be sitting beside Charlie watching Animal Planet too.” “Do you think she’ll like Charlie?” “I wonder if Beca’s changed… at all.” “Maybe I should talk to her.” “Charlie reminds me so much of Beca.” “Charlie heard Beca’s music yesterday, he loved it.” “I miss her.”

“I never told her I love her too.”

And that was all it took for Stacie and Aubrey to plot this whole thing. It should’ve worked out. It just… isn’t at the moment.

“I can’t believe my kid remembers her name.” Chloe’s voice pulled Aubrey out of her worry and she was looking at her best friend. “She almost said DJ Beca if you hadn’t covered his mouth.” Chloe was saying these things casually as if she was talking to herself more than she was with Aubrey.

“I’m really sorry, Chloe. I just… we thought we could help.” Aubrey says genuinely. The redhead sat up on her bed and looked at her best friend who seems extremely dejected. “Come on, Bree. It’s fine. I understand.” She opens her arms wide, hoping Aubrey would let her come for a hug. She did.

“Does Beca know it’s me?” Chloe asks after a second. “Well… not exactly. But we should… wait for Stacie?” Aubrey hesitates to suggest when her phone rang suddenly.

Phone Conversation Stacie: Hey Bree! What room did we get again? Aubrey: Oh you’re here! Come over to 302? Stacie: Alright! Aubrey: Before you get here, Chloe knows.

“Apparently, we don’t need to wait?” the blonde smiles sheepishly.

“I’m done! Mom?!” Charlie shouts from the bathroom and Chloe stood up to get his change of clothes.

She was drying him with the hotel towel when he spoke, “Can we go see DJ Beca? Can we, mom? Can we?” The excitement in the boy’s voice was hard to say no to.

However, she isn’t ready to see Beca yet. Not like this. This is… so weird. “No, Charlie. We can’t.”

“But mooooooom! Please?” His whine turns into a beg. So Chloe caved. How would she be able to resist those eyes.

“Yes, come on! We’ll go see DJ Beca!” She got him to wear his shirt and his underwear. Charlie put on his shorts on his own so Chloe went out to talk to Aubrey again. She was surprised to see Stacie was already there though. And before the redhead could say anything, Stacie was going at it, “Please don’t be mad! I’m so so sorry!”

“Charlie wants to see her again so you better go fix this. Both of you!” The redhead glares at both of them and they were immediately out of the hotel room.

“Geez who knew Chloe could be that furious? The last time I saw her that way was when you guys fought about the pitch pipe.” Stacie reminded her.

“Oh god, please don’t remind me.”

The two were walking aimlessly. They really just rushed out of the room and was supposed to plan about how to talk to Beca when, “Stacie? What are you d— Aubrey?!”

The taller brunette snapped her head in the direction of where the voice came from and she was flustered. Leave it to Aubrey to handle the situation though. “Beca, we need to talk.”

The couple asked Beca to join them for breakfast and they explained everything to her. Except the part where Chloe loves her and Chloe has always loved her.

“So wait, you’re telling me. That. Charlie, the cutest kid, is really Chloe’s child?” The couple nods. “And that… you wanted to surprise all the Bellas including Chloe about this… whole finally-we’re-complete-reunion kind of thing?” They nod again. “And you, Posen, had to hire an amateur actress, who could have kidnapped Chloe’s child, just so the surprise won’t get spoiled?” The blonde glared at her but the brunette nodded with a snort. “But you’re telling me now because Chloe found out and she doesn’t want things to be awkward?”

“Yes. Exactly.” They answered in sync.

“Huh. So where are they? Where’s Charlie?”

————

As soon as Chloe got the text from Aubrey, ‘Just had the talk with the midget. She’s looking for you… well mostly for Charlie but, we’re having breakfast. See you! xx’

Chloe’s mind was racing. She has no idea how to deal with this. Charlie is buzzing with excitement. He’s never been this excited about seeing someone. Not even his own father. It’s been five years.

Five awful years without seeing Beca or hearing from her. Not for the lack of trying from the brunette though… it’s just that… well Charlie. She doesn’t know how to explain things to Beca.

It wasn’t because she was ashamed of his son. Never. It’s just that the last time she saw Beca, the woman had told her that she loved her and she just walked out of her life. Then Charlie came and she fell in love with her child. Her parents got mad and she just couldn’t face Beca, not after how Beca acted after she left.

As soon as the redhead walked out on her, Beca was left in the room broken. She was trying so hard to keep it together. She was convinced that things wouldn’t go wrong. After all, the Bellas assured her that Chloe felt the exact same thing, maybe even more.

She got her hopes up.

And they were smashed in an instant.

After Chloe left the house, Beca gave herself an hour to herself before deciding to get trashed and wasted. She loves Chloe, sure. For now though, she gets to pretend that she doesn’t. She drunk dials the woman and it went straight to voicemail. “I never want to see your face again, Beale.” The drunk Beca said.

She was left unsupervised and no one knew about that drunk voicemail except Chloe and Aubrey. When Aubrey told Stacie about it, the brunette tried to fish for information and the brunette can’t seem to have any recollection of ever saying it.

“I never want to see your face again, Beale.” It was playing in Chloe’s mind on repeat. She couldn’t help but be scared of seeing Beca. Until someone from below was tugging at her shirt.

“Momma, I’m hungry,” with a pout, Charlie gives his mother the best puppy dog eyes he could. So she smiled back at him, “Come on Charlie, let’s eat!”

The blonde got back from excusing herself to message Chloe. “Yeah, Chloe just texted me. They’re on their w—

“DJ! DJ!” she was cut off by a sprinting redhead towards Beca and all she could do was smile at him. The DJ got up from her seat to brace herself for impact. True enough, Charlie didn’t even bother pulling the breaks and let himself collide with Beca, causing them to tumble down together, laughing.

Chloe was surprised to see Charlie running that fast towards someone. Never in her entire life did she see him become so eager to see someone again. Other than Chloe herself. She tried to put on the best smile she could and tried to walk at the same pace as she was supposed to, even though her feet felt heavier and heavier with each step.

When Beca looked up, she saw Chloe walking towards her them and she couldn’t help but think how beautiful the redhead is. Although she didn’t have any make-up on, she was glowing. She was wearing a white button up polo, a pair of denim shorts, and a pair beach sandals. Effortless.

The redhead walked towards Stacie and Aubrey to give them both a cheek-to-cheek kiss and walks over to Beca. “H-hi.”

“C-Chlo..” Beca looked up. Forgetting how to speak.

“You know my momma?!?!” The little man in between them suddenly snapped them out of their moment. Looking so surprised by the whole situation as much as the older women were.

A/N: Let me know what you guys think! Been busy with life lately so there’s that. Haha. I’m sorry about the long wait for this really tiny part. Thanks for following the story though!

Quick Links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 4

#but mom #but mom part 3 #this part sucks ass #let me know how much ass though #bechloe fanfiction #beca mitchell #chloe beale #staubrey fanfiction #stacie conrad #aubrey posen #pitch perfect fan fiction #bechloe moms #myfic

[robinhoodrevisited]

Woodman’s Rescue Remedy (pt.4)

Sherwood Forest. Commander's Hut. Lexa: "Trebuchets. You're sure?" Clarke: "Yes. We have to start evacuating now." Lexa: "No." Clarke: (Incredulous:) "What do you mean no, Lexa?" Lexa: "If we evacuate, they'll know we have a spy inside their walls." Clarke: "Not necessarily." Lexa: (Looks away:) "We can't risk it." (Lexa walks over to her desk and Clarke follows.) Clarke: "What's the point of having a spy on the inside if we can't act on what they tell us?" Lexa: "Are the Black Knights assembled in the castle? Has Prince John declared himself King? (Clarke shakes her head:) Then we do not show our hand any more than we already have. The stunt you pulled with the Prince's soldiers already exposed us." Clarke: "Even Vaisey would've found out you were here eventually." Lexa: "With our numbers depleted the element of surprise was our greatest strength. The clan leaders resolve is weakening. It took everything I had just to bring them all to the table here today. We evacuate now and the alliance of the clans will disintegrate. They'll all return to their homelands and we'll be right back where we started." Clarke: "So what are you saying? That we just do nothing? Let the Sheriff's men bomb us?" Lexa: (Not looking at Clarke:) "It'll be a blow. But our army will be safe inside the woods. And it will inspire them." Clarke: (Softly:) "And what about us?" Lexa: (Turning to Clarke:) "We slip away. Right now. (Grabbing a cloak from a chair:) Put this on." (Lexa moves toward the back entrance of the hut.) Clarke: (Following:) "Lexa, wait. You don't understand, I convinced Isabella to spy for us based on the idea that it would save lives." Lexa: "Clarke, sometimes you have to concede a battle to win a war." Clarke: (Shaking her head:) "No (Thinking desperately:) We can inform the leaders of the clans. Pick a rendezvous point in the woods. Each of them can slip out separately." Lexa: "And how many more people will they tell? Where do we draw the line?" Clarke: (Frustrated:) "Well then cancel the meeting! Start a fire, something!" Lexa: (Turning and walking away:) "Clarke, we don't have time for this." Clarke: (Grabbing Lexa's arm to get her attention:) "No, this is wrong!" Lexa: (Steps closer to Clarke, her voice a whisper:) "It's also our only choice, and you know it. You could have warned everyone out there, but you didn't. You said nothing. This is war, Clarke, people die. You showed true strength today, don't let emotion stop you now. It's time to go." (Lexa turns and heads out the back door of the hut. Clarke stands torn for a moment then, reluctantly, she follows the Commander.)

Nottingham Town. Sarah’s house. Interior. (Joseph opens his bag on the table and pulls out a bottle of clear liquid, revealing the Nightwatchman’s mask still in the bag. He steps over to the soup kettle as Much enters with around loaf of bread. Joseph hides the bottle in his hand at his hip as Much steps over to smell the soup.) Much: “Hm. Smells good. Are you a cook?” (Much goes over to the table, closes Joseph’s bag without noting its contents, and clears the table, putting the bag beside it.) Joseph: “No. I’m a man of science.” Much: “Science? What, er, sort of science?” Joseph: (Pours a generous amount of the liquid into the soup.) “The science of elimination.” Much: “What’s that?” Joseph: “Finding ways to get rid of dirt. (Much sets out bowls and plates. Walking over to the table while keeping the bottle hidden, then slipping it back into his bag:) Have you noticed there’s dirt everywhere? We have to get rid of it. And there are people who will make the necessary difficult decisions, who don’t need to be popular.” Much: (Setting out spoons:) “Well, you can talk to the Sheriff. He doesn’t need to be popular.” (Joseph grabs Much’s arm.) Joseph: “With the right tool, we can clean this country, create a new England.” Much: (Pauses, confused by Joseph’s meaning.) “Well, you should definitely talk to the Sheriff. (Joseph pats Much’s shoulder, realising he’s not going to understand, and walks back to the soup kettle. Much watches him a moment, then goes outside. Calls out the door:) Food!” Exterior. (Robin, Djaq and Marian are attending to the sick. Little John comes round the corner.) Little John: “Food.” Marian: (to Djaq:) “I’ll take over.” (Djaq relinquishes her spot to Marian. Robin stays.)  

Marian: (to Robin:) “You organised this?“ Robin: "We had hospitals in the Holy Land. I thought that’d be the last time I’d see them.” Marian: “How did you know there wasn’t some kind of infectious disease?” Robin: (Shakes his head.) “I didn’t.” Marian: “That’s brave.” Robin: (Scoffs quietly.) “How did you know?” Marian: “I didn’t.” (Joseph arrives.) Joseph: “Robin, you eating?” (Marian recognises Joseph and quietly slinks into the dark corner behind her.) Robin: “In a moment. The others can start.“ Joseph: (Insolently:) "No, I need you (Robin scowls back at him. Congenially:) I mean, you should eat.” Robin: “I’ll be there in a moment.” (Joseph leaves. Robin shakes his head as Marian reappears from her corner.) Marian: (Whispers:) “Robin. Robin, I know that man. I’ve seen him before in the castle. (Robin gives her his complete attention.) He’s advising the Sheriff.” (Robin quickly solves the puzzle about Joseph’s strange behaviour and the poisoned pies.)

Sarah’s house. Interior. (Joseph is handing out bowls of soup and bread to Djaq, Little John and Much.) Joseph: (Walking through them towards the stairs:) “And the Lord said, `Take, eat, do this in memory of me.’” (Little John dunks his bread in the soup.) Much: “You make it sound like the Last Supper.” (Joseph folds his arms and leans on the stairs. Much holds his bowl to his lips. Djaq raises her spoon from the bowl. Little John opens his mouth to take a bite and an arrow slices through his chunk of bread, knocking it from his hand, followed in rapid succession by two more: one piercing Much’s soup bowl, which goes flying, and one knocking the spoon out of Djaq’s hand.) Little John: (Angrily:) “Robin!” (Robin steps in the door with a nocked arrow pointed at Joseph. Marian is right behind him.) Robin: “This is the last supper… for you, Joseph.” Marian: (Holds up Joseph’s mask.) “You poison people and then you keep a record of their suffering!” Much: (Wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.) “What? That is revolting!" 

Joseph: (Boasting:) "My poison has no taste, and no colour, no odour. (Smiling:) It’s a beautiful thing.” (Djaq sniffs her bowl, trying to smell the poison.) Robin: “What’s the cure for the poison? (Joseph turns his head and merely smiles slyly at Robin. Robin’s temper flares and he lets loose an arrow, which grazes Joseph’s cheek. Marian is a bit shocked at Robin’s tactics.) (Impatiently:) There are people out there dying. (Joseph fingers his wound.) Children!” Joseph: (Smiling:) “It’s made from an extract of the Amanita mushroom. (Joseph revels in their puzzled faces. He looks at Djaq.) The Angel of Death? (Djaq silently gasps. Joseph looks at Little John.) The Devil’s Cap? (Little John glares at Joseph. Marian looks wide-eyed at Djaq.) There is no cure.” (Robin looks to Djaq. Joseph chuckles, then suddenly kicks over a chair and runs past Djaq towards the window.) Exterior. Little John: (From the house:) “Stop him!” (Joseph dives headfirst out the window and rolls into the street before anybody can catch him. He gets to his feet and races towards the barricades. Robin aims an arrow, but can’t get a shot off at the fast-moving target running through all the people before disappearing round the corner. He lowers his bow in exasperation.) Joseph: (to the soldiers:) “It’s me! Let me through! It’s me!“ Little John: (Running round the corner:) “Stop him! (Joseph slips through the barricade which is immediately closed behind him as Little John crashes into it and roars. Much catches him up, followed by Djaq and Robin. Joseph nods his thanks to the guard and leaves.) They knew him!”

Much: “He tricked us!” Djaq: “Clever.” Much: “Clever? He nearly poisoned us. What about these people?” Little John: (Thinking:) “Belladonna.” Much: “Bella what?” Little John: “Belladonna. For mushroom poisoning.” Djaq: “Belladonna is deadly nightshade. It is a poison.” Little John: (Shaking his head:) “It works. Woodman’s remedy.” Djaq: (Amazed:) “Poison to fight poison.” (Inspired, Djaq smiles and runs between Robin and Marian, heading back to the medicine box Much found earlier as Robin wonders if it will really work.) Sarah’s house. Interior. (Djaq opens the medicine box, picks out a bottle and smells it.) Sarah’s house. Exterior. (Marian steps forward, looking over Sarah’s shoulder at Jess. Robin stands at the foot of her bed, with Much and Little John lined up beside it.) Sarah: “Djaq? Djaq? It’s Jess. I thinks she’s going. (Djaq steps round the corner with the jar from the medicine box. Sarah sees it.) What’s that?” Djaq: “It’s a hunch. But it could kill her.” Sarah: “Whose hunch?” Little John: “Mine. (Sarah looks at him. Little John steps forward and takes the jar from Djaq.) Here. (Sits at Jess’s side.) Trust me. Let me do this.” (Sarah cries for a moment, agonising over having to make such a difficult decision. Marian puts her hand on her shoulder. Sarah sucks in her breath and regains control.) Sarah: “She’s going anyways. Just try it. Just try it. (Little John smears a bit of belladonna on Jess’s tongue. Jess turns her head. Marian watches anxiously.) Jess! No! (Sobs. Marian and Robin exchange glances. Djaq looks on sorrowfully. Little John’s face falls, thinking his remedy killed Jess. Sarah sobs.) No! (Sarah bends over her seemingly lifeless daughter, then notices her eyes moving under her lids. Jess opens her eyes. Happily:) Jess! (Puts her hand on Little John’s shoulder.) Oh, it’s working! It’s working!”

Djaq: “I think it is. It is working.” (Sarah hugs Jess as Marian smiles.)   Sarah: “Oh, merciful God!” Much: “Amazing! (Slaps Little John in the chest with the back of his hand.) How did you know that?” Little John: (Slightly embarrassed and offended:) “I know some things.” Robin: “We have to stop Joseph before he poisons anybody else. Now, he’ll have gone into the castle. We have to find away to get in after him.” Marian: “Well, how did Will get in?” Much: (Confused:) “Will?” Marian: “He’s in the castle. (Robin’s eyes widen in disbelief. Much looks back at Little John, who hangs his head, knowing exactly why.) Didn’t you know?” Robin: (Realising:) “Oh, no.” Marian: “What’s going on?” Djaq: “He’s going to kill the Sheriff.” Marian: “Well, doesn’t he know Prince John would destroy Nottingham?” Much: “Oh, he knows, but…” Robin: (Quietly:) “The man the Sheriff killed… was Will’s father.” Marian: “Dan? (Crestfallen:) No.” (Marian looks at Robin with a mixture of sympathy and horror.)  

#bbc robin hood #robin hood #lucy griffiths #jonas armstrong #keith allen #lara pulver #toby stephens #joe armstrong #richard armitage #anjali jay #harry lloyd #sam troughton #gordon kennedy #eliza taylor #Alycia Debnam Carey

[moviegeekandproud-blog]

Aside from going to the movies as much as possible I do love a chill night in with good ol’ Netflix. With the ENDLESS amount of content on the streaming service, Netflix also loves putting out their own original movies and T.V. In between my trips to the theatre I just so happened to be able to catch a movie here and there throughout the year and like last year, here are the list of movies l watched with a brief review of how they turned out in no particular order.

Okja 

picture via pinterest

picture via slashfilm.com

Starring Tilda Swinton and Paul Dano

An exceptional adventure of a little girl named Mija risking everything to rescue her best friend, a remarkable animal named Okja from a multi-national company. I found this movie to be exciting, fantastical, and touching friendship story with a satirizing message regarding the food industry. With comic and over the top performances from everyone involved including Jake Gyllenhaal, you will fall in love with the lovable Okja.

3 ½ out of 5

I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore

picture via imdb.com

picture via mistfts.com

Starring Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood

This dark comedy involving a woman whose home was burglarized and gets inspired to find the people who did it with the help of an eccentric and obnoxious neighbor. As they dig deeper they get entangled in a much bigger situation they are clearly not prepared to handle. This movie is not bad. I liked the wit of the script. Since it is a comedy, there are a lot of bumbling criminals running around the movie but I think the self help the depressed lead is going through is interesting enough to keep it realistic and a little relatable to anyone who feels like they get shit on every day and just can’t get a break. Check this out if you feel like something indie to watch. A comedy with a bit of substance.

3 out of 5

Naked

andcompany.com

picture via consequenceofsound.net

Starring Marlon Wayans and Regina Hall

With no explanation given at all, Marlon Wayans plays a man who happens to be caught in a time loop repeating the day of his wedding to his fiancé. Not only that, he wakes up completely naked. Only he remembers his previous day and must find a way to make it to his wedding and marry the woman he loves. The concept is nothing new you haven’t seen before and unfortunately, the hijinks were a bit too silly to be taken seriously. Yes, it is a comedy but it has to be funny and somewhat real even for comedy sake. No real interesting characters. Marlon is charming but he was given a horrible script to work with. Its an okay watch but once it is over you will forget you watched it.

2 out of 5

Little Evil

picture via imdb.com

picture via hypable.com

Starring Adam Scott and Evangeline Lilly

A horror comedy spoof of The Omen a man marries a woman with a 6-year-old son of her own. Typical modern family except that he believes the is might be the antichrist. I love the concept and Owen Atlas who plays the devil’s child is great in it as the brooding evil incarnate. Evangeline is funny as the naïve mother unaware of her son’s true destiny. Packed full of other known standup comedians and T.V. actors this has a bit of humor that keeps you engage but as the movie progresses it gets way too silly and a little boring. This is one I think can be scrolled pass but if you like the actors associated, give it a shot.  What do you have to lose? Your soul?

1 ½ out of 5

Take the 10

picture via imdb.com

picture via imdb.com

Starring Josh Peck and Tony Revolori

A comedy involving two friends who plan to make a big change in their life has to tie up loose ends when a drug deal goes bad. All taking place in one day, this movie is told in interwoven shorts from the perspective of a different character each time covering the same 24 hours. This movie would actually be worth recommending but the characters are not likable at all. In fact, one of them is just a straight up asshole who is too narcissistic for his own good. The Y generation may find this enjoyable and relatable as well as anyone who lives or knows southern California well to understand the joke within the title. It wasn’t boring just not a great movie.

3 out of 5

iBoy

picture via imdb.com

picture via inuth.com

Starring Bill Milner and Maisie Williams

Trying to capture on the superhero fad, a young boy is given the ability to control anything technological. Of course, no superhero with powers are created without a tragedy. He gets these abilities because pieces of his cellphone were implemented into his brain after being shot in the head while on the phone. Discovering his new gifts, he uses them to save his crush and take back the neighborhood that is being controlled by a mobster and his goons. This idea is about as bonkers as it sounds. It actually attempts to try and be a serious authentic crime drama. The acting is par and the movie isn’t slow. The way he uses his abilities is creative but this story is a stretch to be taken seriously. For you Game of Throne fans out there that want to see Arya Stark out of her war garment then check this out, otherwise, this is a movie you don’t need to see.

2 out of 5

#realityhigh

picture via imdb.com

picture via dailydot.com

Starring Nesta Cooper and Keith Powers

Combine the color and upbeat acting of Disney and the updated and modern teen experience of Freeform and you got yourself a high school comedy. This one involves a high-achieving high school girl who is supposedly someone who isn’t beautiful to get the man of her dreams because she wears glasses witnesses her crush dating someone who is the center of a reality tv show that follows her around. Through certain circumstances she is drawn into the world of being popular and getting everything, she wants but also risking losing the very thing she didn’t believe she had the whole time. I actually enjoyed watching this teen flick. All the characters were very likable, they all had brains and had a voice and it seemed that everyone got their fair share of screen time. I actually see this show being a great series. At the end of the day it is a cheesy teen flick that makes millenials look like technologic narcissistic zombies. If they decide to do more of these following up what happens next, I wouldn’t object. Honestly, if you watch the trailer and have interest in watching it, check it out.

4 out of 5

You Get Me

picture via imdb.com

picture via netflix.com

Starring Bella Thorne and Halston Sage

A thriller in the same vain as A Fatal Attraction, Swimfan, and anything involving a love affair turned deadly. Bella Throne is the new Glenn Close in this teen suspense movie when she has a one-night stand with a man who recently broke up with his long-time girlfriend. After a weekend of sex and cuddles, he tries to get back with his girlfriend realizing what he lost and she decides that he is the new love of her life and will destroy anyone that gets in her way. This movie was a little cheesy as some of the actions carried out seemed to unreal to be carried out. I don’t really feel sorry for the victim or protagonist of the movie. These movies tend to bug me sometimes with the idea that a woman can’t go without a man. Just think if this movie was Twilight and Stewart’s Bella went all postal in addition to her obsession with Edward. If you are a fan of Bella Thorne, check this out. If not, this is the same ol’ same ol’ tale.

2 out of 5

1922

picture via wikipedia.com

picture via basementrejects.com

Starring Thomas Jane and Molly Parker

The Stephen King adaptation of his novel 1922 sees a prideful father and farmer who is having financial troubles keeping his farm afloat. His wife wants to sell but he is to proud to give it up. Convincing his son to participate, they plot to kill his wife to make sure they can keep the farm. The outcome is far more than they would imagine. Paranoia, deceiving, and ghostly visions and dreams plague the father and son who try and keep up the charade that their mother just disappeared. Haunted by their crime the movie gives off a thrilling ride to possible insanity. This movie is more drama than horror and more depressing then suspenseful. Doesn’t mean this movie wasn’t good but just know that this movie may not be what you think it is. If you want to see a gut-wrenching story and the desperation of what one man would do to keep his livelihood, you may enjoy this film.

3 out of 5.

The Babysitter

picture via wikipedia.com

picture via bloodydisgusting.com

Starring Samara Weaving and Judah Lewis

This horror comedy is one of the best horror films in 2017. It is silly in a McG sort of way but has a lot of heart in it. This movie has everything: cults, bullies, spiders, shirtless hot guy, blood sacrifices, deflating implants all wrapped up in a big bow with McG’s signature stamp on it. That can only mean you are in for a bizarre, twisted, and funny flick mixed with some jump scares, some cool kills and the laws of gravity are thrown away because it’s McG. I love the cast and they played likable characters. This will make you laugh and there is a lot of blood. I think the script is clever and the friendship between the babysitter and her charge is the best part. A slow start in the beginning but once it happens it doesn’t stop.

4 ½ out of 5

Gerald’s Game

picture via wikipedia.com

picture via fhm.com

Starring Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood

An adapted Stephen King novel adapted for screen was one of the best ideas in 2017. I have never heard of this novel before and it is terrifying to watch. What a well done film with suburb acting from Carla Gugino who is at a cabin with her husband trying to spice up their relationship but due to unfortunate events she is put through the most brutal mental test to find out if she has what it takes to survive. This was a gut-wrenching edge of your seat one woman show. It will have you spooked, bewildered, and any other intense feeling you can think of. I highly recommend this film and towards the end you will witness one of the most painful look away scenes of 2017.

5 out of 5

If you would like to read a full review of What Happened to Monday and Death Note, click here and here.

There are more to be seen and eventually I will get to more. Which Netflix movies did you watch in 2017? Comment below with your favorites and ones that were just the worse. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you at the movies.

title photo provided by vancouvereconomic.com

Netflix Original Movies 2017 Aside from going to the movies as much as possible I do love a chill night in with good ol’ Netflix.

#2017 #Netflix #Netflix Originals

[marissawallenbdb-blog]

Unexpectedly Welcome

“My deepest apologies for just showing up here like this, your majesty, but… I need help.” A look of confusion passes over the queen’s face as she looks over at me.

“Marissa? What are you doing here? I thought you’d already gone home for the day.’

“I-indeed I had, my- ah, Beth.’ I said, automatically correcting myself from calling her ‘my queen,’ since she’d already made it plain that she prefers to be called by her name. “But my brother and I have had a fight, and well- he kicked me out of our home. If you would let me stay here today, perhaps tomorrow as well, while I attempt to make other arrangements? I truly do not wish to be a burden, but I have literally nowhere else to go.” I put my hand over my mouth as a sob threatens to escape. Beth and Bella both come over to me, and Beth wraps an arm around my shoulders as Bella takes my hand.

“It’s alright, Marissa, of course you can stay here. But I think we need the whole story. Fritz, please go and get us some tea, or other refreshments. I think it’s needed.” the kindly doggen bows and goes off in the direction of the kitchen. “And I think we need to bring Wrath in on this. Bella, would you take Marissa into the library while I go get him?”

“No problem.” The other female responds, then Beth cuts me off before I can object.

“No, Marissa. You’re Wrath’s former shellan, and- logical or not, necessary or not-  he does still feel responsible for you. Added to that, Havers is our personal physician. If you’re going to be staying here, however temporarily, because the two of you had a bad enough fight that he kicked you out of the house, Wrath needs to be told.” I sigh.

‘Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Beth walks over and starts up the stairs, and Bella lays her hand on my shoulder, squeezing softly and giving me a small, friendly smile. We go to the library and sit on the sofa in front of the dormant fireplace. In seemingly no time at all, the door opens again, and the royal couple enters, with Fritz just behind them. As he walks over to the coffee table to set down the tray he’s carrying, the king smiles at him.

“Thanks my man, we’ll let you know if we need anything else.’ The butler bows and leaves, shutting the door behind him. Then Wrath and Beth sit down on the couch opposite Bella and I, and he leans forward with his elbows propped on his thighs.  “Alright Marissa, tell us exactly what the hell’s going on. “ i take a deep breath and begin my tale.

It all began when John was found in the human world and brought to the attention of the Brotherhood. He was brought into Havers’s clinic for a series of physical examinations to make sure he was in good health, and DNA tests to try to track down his bloodlines. I was volunteering there as usual, and we began chatting- well, he was writing, of course- and we became friends. I ended up volunteering to feed him during his transition when it hit, since I could get there to Torhment’s house, or the Compound if he happened to be there, faster than just about anyone else. We even had a plan in place to get me to him during daylight hours if that happened to be when his Change came upon him. And once that occurred, our friendship began to morph into something else, something much deeper. Havers did not like this. John may be the son of a Brother and half brother to the queen, and thus a member of the glymera by birth, but he was also mute (though, one would assume that a doctor would have more tolerance and acceptance of such things). Added to that, he was also raised among humans, so he was still learning our ways. And given my social class’s opinion of that other species, Havers probably also considers John ‘contaminated.’ The more time I spent with John, and the deeper our connection grew, the more mine brother and I butted heads over our association. The tension between us grew and grew until it finally culminated in this morning’s fight.

And now here I am, homeless, with no family who will acknowledge me anymore, and dependent upon my former hellren and his new shellan for shelter and support until I can get my feet under me once more.

As I tell my story, I can feel the anger radiating from all three of my listeners. Then finally as i finish, Wrath bursts to his feet and exclaims “That shortsighted, prejudicial fool!’ I blink, taken back a bit at the strength of his reaction. “I’m going to have a serious talk with that male…’ I shake my head

“Please do not trouble yourself on my account, my lord. I do not think he will ever change his mind on the subject. And even if he did, if he were to come to me and take all those words back, telling me I could come home, I do not think I ever could. Not after this. As i told your shellan, i just need somewhere to stay for a short while until i find my own place, and I would be most grateful if you would be so kind as to allow me to stay here.”

“Well, of course you can stay here, for as long as you need to.” Beth said firmly, leveling a look at her hellren as if daring him to disagree with her. He simply nodded in agreement, and she smiled and looked back at me. ‘You’ve had an eventful night, and could probably use some rest. Come on, I had Fritz make up a room for you, and he should be just about done by now. I’ll show you the way.” I get up and follow her, and she leads me upstairs to one of the bedroom suites. As we approach the door, she nods at the room directly across the hall. “That’s John’s suite. I thought maybe you two would likely want to be close to each other. But, let’s not disturb him quite yet.” she continued as we walk into the room. “I think he’s already asleep, and besides he’ll definitely wanna know why you’re staying here, and I don’t think you’re up for going through that whole story all over again so soon. This evening will be soon enough.” I nod in agreement. “Now, why don’t you go take a nice hot shower while I go get you something to sleep in. And I know we’re not exactly the same size, but I have some clothes that should fit you well enough until we can get some of your own things brought over. I’ll bring them as well.” She turns for the door.

“Beth? Why are you doing this?” I call out before I can stop myself, before she can walk out of the room. She turns back with a surprised and curious look in her eyes. I look away, unsure, but press on with an explanation, seeing no other choice. “I-I truly have no wish to offend or upset you, it’s only that this is not the reaction I was expecting from you when I arrived, and I was wondering at it. Why are you doing this? Welcoming me so, being so nice to me?” I glance up, but glance away as she walks towards me. She lays her hand on my cheek for a moment, then puts it under my chin to tip my face up so I’m looking at her.

“I want you to listen to what I’m about to say, Marissa, and remember it; there is nothing that I wouldn’t do for you. Remember feeding Wrath when he was shot? My blood was still too weak, i wasn’t far enough past my transition yet. You saved the life of the man I love when I couldn’t have done so myself. Added to that, John is- well, he cares about you a great deal. And it’s because of my brother that yours has disowned you-” I shake my head.

“No, it is not John’s fault. It is the result of Havers being a- how did Wrath put it?- a shortsighted, prejudicial fool.” Beth nods.

“Yes, you’re right.’ She gives me a little hug, with a smile. “Now, shower. Sleep. I’ll come back and leave the clothes for you on the bed. I’ll see you this evening at First Meal.” I nod.

“Alright, I will see you then.” she walks out, closing the door behind her, and I walk into the bathroom to follow her suggestion. After lingering in a hot shower I come out and put on the borrowed pajamas, moving the rest of the clothing Beth had brought onto a chair to be sorted through later. Then I slide under the covers to slip almost immediately into a deep, worn out sleep.

#MarissaAsksToStay #UnexpectedlyWelcome