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#I CANNOT BELIEVE I FINALLY FOUND IT IVE SEARCHED FOR SO LONG
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yeah sex is good but nothing matches the feeling of finding out what the cartoon you watched as a kid is called when you only have faint memory of one single scene
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m0m3nt0-m0r1 · 4 months
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he is singing in the kitchen while i fix my hair in the bathroom. i leave the door wide open, just so i can catch a glimpse of him as he walks by. he's mumbling the words a little bit, but i can tell its the song ive had stuck in my head. if i were watching this on a screen, i would whisper him a guess on which one of us would die by the end of this. that this was too perfect for tragedy to leave be.
i dont believe in soulmates, but its hard not to think that something in the both of us was not waiting for that same something in the other. he does not try to hide me. he does not believe i am rotten. he does not believe i am doomed. he tells me he is proud of me. i am starting to see what he sees.
i think he is the most beautiful person i have ever met. there is never a dull moment. i lay my head on his chest and i dream about forever. he is the only forever i have ever had faith in. he tells me he cant believe he fell in love so quickly. i cannot believe i have finally met the one i have loved for so long. i would wait another lifetime, just for a taste.
we play cards and we talk about nothing. we watch cartoons and laugh at the same jokes. i feel at home with him. all the walls in his apartment are green, all the lights are yellow. he tells me it smells like smoke, but i cannot tell. i have been kidding myself on what love was for so long.
i want to shout "by god, i have found it! it is here, in the palm of my hand, and it is real and it is mine!" i want to show him off like a shiny rock i have found on the beach, or the brightest flower in my garden. i want to stay in this moment for just a moment longer, but i believe this is only the beginning. the beginning of the real thing. that something with a capital 's'. i have known him for my entire life, yet all he does is surprise me.
i am no good with my words when i am happy, i am running circles in my mind trying to describe the bigness of this boy, the vastness of my emotion. there is nothing else like it, and it feels disingenuous to try and belittle it into scribbles on a page. but i will try. i will write and write and write to try and find the words that will never be quite right, and i know i will not find them, and i will try again.
i will continue to search for the right words, and i will be better equipped with him by my side. but today, i will sit on his couch and i will listen to his heartbeat and i will thank every thing i have ever done that led me here this day, and i will know he feels the same. that is so special.
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crackcrocs · 2 years
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DEATH WILL ONLY BE THE BEGINNING #11
Culminated Epitome.
MANIA
It had not dawned upon me, ultimately up until the very recent weeks, how much I was scared of the outside world.
not the whole wide world..
the high society, retrospectively..
historical symbolism, standing for anything… feeling like I even have the place to really do so in the first place, feeling like I cannot stand for things not because the law says I’m not allowed, rather because the order of things is so profoundly messed up…
words, language, terminology used in our every day context when conversing amongst one another, sharing thoughts.
sometimes, I just knew it would take me so long to get to finally reaching a point- any point I try to make, because I believe I’m never truly trying to conclude, or round things up or summarise, I like short & sweet but I like enlarged & verbose too y’know.
Big ideas, even bigger dreams.
like, how the hell, am I supposed to talk less? lessen my tone, (or to come more correctly) lower my tone, I can make sense of that- respecting the environment, those around us, neighbours, the sleeping. I can totally understand that. but cut my self short, to have good times just for a laugh ?
at times it is as though I am all out of laughs.
There’s nothing sad about it, so please don’t fret. it just is what it is, & that’s okay! okay?
my sense of humour perhaps, just has a more acquired taste these days.
still random, still wacky, still goofy, still rooted in cringey depressive vibes. but hey the beauty of humour is it’s subjective right?
I won’t object to that. I’ll just say I’m a bit more focused on what I’m willing to plate first these days, mainly because I had so much on my plate before so I’m still in the process of clearing.
information is like food.
-the things we consume become a bigger part of us than we may think.
sometimes, I don’t have an interest whatsoever in entertaining non sensical stuff. it’s not even about it being stupid, I like silly best believe i am the goofiest of them all- but I don’t enjoy or care for non sensical, it’s about it being pointless & sometimes I believe things to be.
I believe underneath many people are insensitive and inconsiderate beyond imaginable.
Who gives a damn about consideration eh? It's the age of laughs and attention, put your emotions on hold if you have any left.
The time is now: to seek out unhealthy approval and validation. Time to not actually do anything influencial, just play that role.
Time to Trend. It's always been time to trend.
I never got why feeding the arrogant, false & pretentious ego was a thing.
Dominion Ascends.
Suffering on- we keep Swaying Slowly yet Swiftly through the Seasons, in Search of Silence.
Supremacy Pretends.
To be power.
Distribution dividends.
I'm sour.
Swimming or Showering to wash away our Salty feelings.
Souls Saturating, seeking Salvation.
Save me from Snakes.
No time for Salt, only Saxa(phones)
Take all of this with a pinch of Salt.
Singing Stale Songs, English hieroglyph or Welsh whale braile.
shopping carts, bullseye darts, beating hearts, l'escargot a snail trail.
stuck - like Satellite Statues stoned in a spiritless state.
I find it a shame that we have to laugh at others to feel happy, because we struggle to produce that happiness ourselves.
Nothing beats laughing together. Pure infectious contagion at its finest.
there’s so many things with a real point to them, that I’ve found to be more enjoyable. now; don’t get me wrong, of course I enjoy the whole rest & ready to go easement & consolation.
Instant assuagement.
but there is more than just recreational hindrance.
I prefer to sort & make sense of what ive really decided to make matter to me, purely because of continuous relevancy. without paying attention to that first, I can’t even enjoy properly, it’s like this weird attachment to truth and freedom, only it’s not so weird because desiring veracity & sincere certitude is only natural.
it is not controversial to believe justice is right, and to recognise that people and the law is unfair, far deeper than we seem to know.
I need to know, I need to feel safe, I can’t risk too much doubt because feeling unsafe leads to feeling paranoid, which is just pure scary. it’s just me feeling overly anxious- uncontrollable.
and all mainly because I feel doubt towards power structures and unsafe in the world, so that is the loop that leaves me feeling outcasted.
because I simply cannot stop myself from thinking, from thinking so much to the point I feel like bashing my head against a wall several times a day or a week, or using a scalpel to remove my brain & pouring it in acid. (sorry for the graphics, it’s just a feeling I get)
I get that it’s fun, the world is supposed to be fun, but it’s not all fun because it’s all games, which we're meant to play without knowing the rules fully.
we're supposed to feel comfortable gambling our lives away? feels like a scam to me.
I never said I don’t enjoy much of the mind numbing content circulating round the internet, it’s just sometimes I’m looking maybe for a darker type of humour.
The type that really hits the spot… you know.. that G spot, not the one downstairs the one upstairs, the one within your little eye.
the spot in the deepest darkest corners of my Gnosis. where I go Hip Hip, Hooray!
(Hip, Gnosis I hope you see what I did there)
when I know and understand the humour at its core it causes me to react more, thus it having a true effect on me.
everything is looking to make us react now a days tho, but we have to ask if everything is looking to make us feel, specifically positive.
maybe I just like more down to earth because that’s where I’m at, and that’s kinda how I’ve always been, what I’ve always been looking for, I dunno..
more polemically pragmatic perhaps..
I don’t know, how to pretend to be happy anymore, I know how to act okay but that’s about as far as I go.
Now my issue is being.. I got so used to pretending to be happy that I never learned how to show up or show myself upset or angry, which was a lot of the time.
I know how to be alone, I got used to that lonely feeling from a young age, so being secretive and keeping myself to myself was never the problem, it’s that I was functioning problematically, I didn’t mean to be destructive and disruptive but I managed to do just that, because I knew no other way, I had to make mistakes to learn first hand. Because the hands that held me first were the same hands that beat me.
It’s as though Punch & Judy strings aren’t holding up my smile any longer, my sense of humour has taken a darker turn.
I’m still a funny fucker, just I can no longer be taken for a joke.
I’m still playful and fun, I’m just not here to fool around, I’ll take the piss sometimes- but respectively, I won’t take the piss out of things- on a level that will be so detrimental (not that I can say I ever did).
I intend to truly have a good time because I am able to determine what I may encounter, by having a better mental judgement before choosing to place myself in environments where I will essentially enjoy, or may be faced with negative or fake energy. I revoke myself from all of this.
I aim to have more meaningful encounters.
I intend to have a good time because I know the folk I’m around will allow it, because they have created that comfort so there is room and there is space to be silly, to be goofy, to be wacky, to be chatty, and ultimately to be able to embrace each other still, even in silence- comfortably, with no feelings of awkwardness or saltiness in the air.
I’ll lack the ability to truly give myself credit where it’s due, *pat yourself on the back always tho* as a matter of fact, I doubt myself quite a lot, hardly even believe in myself, I didn't want to acknowledge myself for a long long time, because I still can’t believe a lot of what has actually happened to me.
things still feel like they’re happening and I feel foolish for not being able to control the visuals even if I just put my mind to something or try distract it. It doesn’t work like that.
Inside I am still a child, but I am not childish.
even when I was youthful, and naive, i was not as inane as some of the immaturity I was surrounded by.
hardship is the hardest ship to breeze though.
who wants to sail with? who will I let tag along?
I remain more critical than noticeably kind toward myself.
like a mother’s tough love.
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yoonsshadow · 3 years
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ETERNAL - iv
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➳ summary ; They have died so often that death has lost its meaning; hurt so regularly that pain has become inconsequential; lost so much that they hold each other to the light of the stars. They have nothing yet they have everything, as long as they have each other. And, after centuries, they now have her.
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➳ pairing ; bts!ot7 x fem!reader
➳ genres ; The Old Guard au; fantasy, historical, action, romance, alternate universe
➳ themes ; angst, fluff, death
➳ warnings ; talk of death, ptsd/flashbacks, war zone, heavy violence, course language, panic attack
➳ word count ; 2k
➳ note ; Hello! I know that this chapter took a little longer to get out, and it is a little shorter than usual, but it’s because it takes a lot of time and research to make sure that I’m doing this story justice. That being said, I hope that you enjoy!! The journey for these eight have truly begun now, and boy, do they have a lot coming. :3
masterlist
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For a while now, your life has been slipping between your fingers. Like a shadow passing through the night, every moment has melted through you, pooling at your feet until you’re slipping, falling, thrown to the ground. From the moment the first bullet was delivered through your skull, you have lost grip of your control; of the things you hold dearest to you.
Sitting here, surrounded by these seven men, that empty cavern in your chest aches just a little less. It hasn’t started to fill up yet⎯⎯might not for a very long while⎯⎯but the silence no longer echoes. 
“It still feels weird to think about,” you say, soft voice carrying through the room with ease. They are all listening so carefully that you cannot meet any of their eyes. “That I died, I mean. I’ve had time to rationalise it, but my whole life has been spent thinking one way⎯⎯believing in life and death, mortality, the fragility and preciousness of living⎯⎯but now I’ve been killed multiple times, died naturally a handful more, and so it feels as though the whole world has been skewed and I’m yet to find my balance.”
Your fingers fiddle together in your lap, eyes downcast to the empty soup bowl on the coffee table.
“The story of how I died the first time is kind of a long one. I can’t tell you about the final moments without explaining everything that led up to it, but there are a few years of history to go through. So, if you want me to condense it…”
“We have all the time in the world,” Namjoon assures, and it could be a joke, a satirical remark regarding your current situations, but instead he speaks with the utmost care, as if he is afraid of any wrong word, any misstep. He is telling you that they are patient, that they don’t mind waiting, that they will listen to every word you say. For you.
And it warms that hole in your chest enough for you to meet his eyes⎯⎯all of their eyes⎯⎯and offer a small smile. Then you nod to yourself. This is a story you need to tell, no matter how painful the memories are.
“Two-and-a-half years ago,” you begin, “the Special Warfare Command uncovered the elaborate smuggling operation of North Korean forces. Untraceable men⎯⎯assumed Black-Ops⎯⎯would enter South Korea through other countries using fake documentation. It’s unclear how long they stayed, months or years, but they would eventually kidnap vulnerable children and smuggle them to North Korea via Mongolia and China.
“Unfortunately, it took years to trace the movements of these men to a point where we knew what they were doing and how they were doing it. The SWC eventually concluded that North Korea were kidnapping and training future sleeper agents and spies, and avoiding suspicion by hiding in the Gobi Desert. They had an entire base of operations on a grey-zone of the border between Mongolia and China, and managed to leave no traces of their movements.”
You need to take a deep gulp of air at this point. Up until now, you have merely stated facts; regurgitated information as you have been told. However, you know that everything from this point on will become personal. You try to think back on your years of conditioning in the army.
“It was at this point that my team was requested for the operation. The 707th Special Mission Group has hundreds of personnel, all within two assault companies, one support company, and one all-female company. There are many missions in which female operators are a better fit, this one included, and out of the female company, my team was chosen.
“When I was promoted to Captain, and at such a young age... All I felt was excitement. Excitement for such an honour, for the experiences ahead, for being able to lead my very own team. The women on my team worked so well, too. We had many successful missions, small and big, and we were ready for this operation. We were ready for Operation Fawn.”
The air in your lungs stutters as you exhale, and you try to swallow the lump in your throat. You’ve avoided thoughts of the thirteen women who had become your friends, your family, but now you are submerged in the memories. Both joyous and tragic.
A few of the men around you look as if they want to move forward, to comfort you, but they also know that it isn’t their place to do so. Not yet.
“The plan was relatively straight-forward. We had found the location of the children, and so it was our job to silently infiltrate the site. Remove all hostiles, retrieve the missing kids, bring them back safely. It wasn’t unlike other missions we had completed before, so we were confident that we could execute it without fail.”
Pulse pumping loudly in your ears, heart beating violently in your chest, you begin to see flashes of that night, playing before your eyes without your permission.
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“Get down!” A bullet whirs through the air where your lieutenant’s head had just been, close enough to be able to hear it cutting through the air. “Shit,” you mumble to yourself, peeking around the corner of the collapsed wall for the rest of your team, “how the fuck are there so many of them?”
“Captain.” A voice cuts through the chaos, the intercom in your ear crackling to life. “They’re still pouring in - West entrance - all armed. There shouldn’t be this many men.”
You land shots on three oncoming men, their bodies falling to the ground, but they are quickly replaced by more on their way. You have to do something; you can’t allow your team⎯⎯or the children⎯⎯to die tonight. 
While your lieutenant watches your back, you fiddle with the dial of your radio, changing to a different channel.
“Command, this is Dragon, do you copy?”
No response comes through, and you’re forced to move from the wall with your gun poised, firing shots at any unfamiliar figure you see.
“Command, this is Dragon, do you copy?!”
A grenade explodes a short distance away, shaking the ground and sending you stumbling.
“Command, this is Dragon, Operation Fawn has been compromised! I repeat, Operation Fawn has been compromised! Delta Team needs immediate backup, over a hundred hostiles, and counting!”
Either the commotion around you drowns out the voice in your ear, or you’ve yet again received no response. You are starting to get desperate.
“Jesus fuc⎯ we’re completely overwhelmed, Command! My team can only hold out for a little while longer, but these fuckers just keep pouring in! Something is wrong, there shouldn’t be this many of them, we can’t fucking⎯”
Somebody tackles you to the ground. Gunshots, shouts, dirt in your face, a hand on your throat. The man on top of you is heavy, but you’re able to roll him off of you and shoot him between the eyes.
The blood splatters across your goggles.
It’s all too much. There are men everywhere, and you can’t see any of your team members throughout the chaos. You can’t get through to your command centre. Everything that was supposed to be easy tonight has gone wrong. Something heavy, and dark⎯⎯something that feels a lot like doom and panic and we’re going to die⎯⎯lurks in your guts, but you can’t think about that right now. You have to find your girls, have to save these children, have to stay alive⎯
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Your fist aches nearly as much as your thudding chest.
Images of death and violence fade away as you blink violently, flexing your fingers individually and then all together, mind still scrambled, still alert.
There are hands on your shoulders, solid and heavy and grounding, and a pair of soft eyes searching for yours. All eyes in the room are on you, but all you can focus on is Yoongi, who looks as if he knows, as if he understands.
And there is a fist-sized patch of red on his left cheekbone. God, your fist, his face, what have you done, oh god I’ve hurt him⎯
Cool air blows on the silent tears that stream down your cheeks, your bones trembling with adrenaline and fear and sorrow. He’s saying something, lips moving slowly, but the clouds in your head are muffling everything. His hands move to hold yours.
You recognise the movement of his lips as the words breathe, it’s okay, and you try your best to obey, but your throat has closed up, tight like the grip of that enemy soldier who had held you to the ground⎯
Yoongi brings one of your hands to his chest, pressing your fingers into him, and you faintly feel the thudding of a heartbeat against your palm. Then, he breathes in, slow and deep, and you follow.
In and out, one by one, Yoongi slowly guides you to breathe steadily once again, your chest growing less tight with each shaky gasp. The tears have stopped flowing, and your limbs have calmed into only a slight tremor, and the darkness in his eyes are captivating. You want to lean forward, let them swallow you whole, but you instead squeeze his hands in silent thanks.
“Let’s get you to bed,” he whispers, and you realise that your head has calmed down enough to take in your surroundings. All seven are watching you with a careful and guarded eye, but you find no pity. It brings you a sliver of relief.
Rather than replying, you merely nod your head and allow Yoongi to pull you up onto shaky legs. Exhaustion is already weighing you down, and all you want to do is escape your own mind.
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They have been once before. You, asleep in the spare room, and them, huddled together on the lounges. They are worried about you, but they are also much more; the fear in your voice, the heartache in each memory, was familiar to them. As they watched you relive your trauma, they relived theirs as well.
“I’m sorry, I-” Namjoon’s words stutter out, unsure, unplanned, unlike the way he usually speaks. “This is my fault. I should’ve known- it was too early to- and maybe you wouldn’t have gotten hurt...”
“Hey, no.” Seokjin’s hands on Namjoon’s shoulders are as firm as his words, kind eyes seeking regretful ones. “Don’t blame yourself; this is nobody’s fault. She made her decision to tell us. Don’t take that away from her. And we all know that she couldn’t help that reflex. Yoongi’s been hit harder.”
“We didn’t even hear the rest of the story,” Jimin pouts, nibbling his lower lip between his teeth. “Like, how she died, how her team died, what happened to the mission.”
“We’ll have to be patient,” Yoongi sighs. His cheek is already blue and purple, and will probably be fully healed in an hour. “We know the fundamentals, anyway. A mission that was supposed to be clear-cut somehow got turned on its head. It cost her team’s lives.”
“How does something like that even happen?” Next to Jimin, Taehyung’s pout is not quite as full, but still full of the emotions he is trying to keep in. “It isn’t just her team that got hit, but the entire Special Warfare Command. This was a big operation, guys, so something like this should’ve been prevented.”
“Do you think…” Jeongguk is clutching a pillow close to his chest. “Do you think somebody from the inside betrayed them?” Six faces turn to look at him, shocked at the implication, shocked that it makes sense. “I mean, the information about the operation would have been top secret. North Korea has resources, sure, but they shouldn’t have known the when, where, and how of the mission. Somebody had to have turned.”
“Who would’ve done it?” Jimin’s question is not asking for an answer. He feels sick at the thought.
It is at this moment that Hoseok chooses to emerge from his deep silence. When he speaks, his voice is regretful. Knowing. “I think she knows exactly who did it.”
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tags: @leafyturtle​, @loveyoongles, @paint-music-with-me, @barbikatherine, @itsmorgo1604, @calling-dips-on-j-hope, @veronawrites, @applepie1000, @yoonchrisgullwrites, @ally22042000, @ireallylikefoodandyoutube, @blglmgk01​, @basicgukk, @softescapism​, @sinceritythatcouldntbedelivered​, @m1nt-3lla​, @hunnayesblog, @rosycheekb​, @hemmofluke​, @the-bisaster​ 
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yesttoheaven · 3 years
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AMOR FATI
pairing – neil x female!reader
wc – 3.8k
warnings – mention of death, self-blame, anxious/intrusive thoughts, questioning reality, refusal of help, guns, stalking, but I swear there's a light at the end of the tunnel haha
a/n – The last time I suffered so hard for the death of a character, was when Newt died (Maze Runner) and now Neil has captured all my attention and his death has hit me in the same way 😩 I needed a happy ending so I decided to write this!
The Eternal Return and Amor Fati mentioned in this fic are one of the main ideas of Nietzsche's philosophy.
English is not my first language. I am getting help from google translator and he is not always a good ally, so I apologize for any typos or grammar errors.
Y/N – your name
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She approached the painting hanging on the wall, watching the details closely. Ouroboros. A serpent eating its own tail. Months ago, when Y/N was visiting an antique store in Mumbai, she saw that same symbol. The owner of the establishment approached when she realized her interest in the piece and explained that Ouroboros represents the ideas of movement, continuity and, in consequence, Eternal Return. A concept that the universe and all existence and energy has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number of times across infinite time or space.
"Max finally fell asleep." Kat returned to the living room, attracting Y/N's attention.
She walked away from the painting, taking back her seat on the sofa and asked:
"How is he after everything that happened?"
For a moment, Kat looked at the painting on the wall and then at the friend she won in the midst of confusion over the Algorithm. At that time, despite being fighting on the front lines to prevent a possible Third World War, Y/N seems complete. Happy. Today that happiness no longer exists in her eyes.
Letting out a sigh, the woman sat next to her, answering:
"Sator was never a present father. He was always busy... now i can see the kind of work he was involved in. Anyway, Max just got used to his absence."
"It's notable that he's happier at your side. When we first met Max was a bit of an introvert, but today he is radiant." Y/N confessed, showing a small smile and the blonde shook her head, agreeing with her words. "How's everything?"
"Perfectly well. It's weird sometimes... After years of being stuck in a failed relationship, freedom is good."
"It seems like life is good for one of us." The woman let out a bitter laugh, putting the latest events on a scale, but she didn’t want her friend to think she wasn’t happy for her. She really was. "I'm sorry, I just..." The words remain stuck in her throat, while she covers her face with her hands. In addition to physical and mental fatigue, Y/N tried to hide her grief.
Kat touched her shoulder, showing that she was here.
"I know you're hurt, but it's been three months and you never talked about what happened that day... This is not good for you."
"What do I have to say, Kat? The guy I fell in love with was a fucking time traveler! And now he's dead and I don't know what to do. My life just... stopped without him."
"I can imagine how difficult it's for you to cross that line without Neil at your side, but giving up is not an option. Grief is consuming you little by little and you are just accepting it..."
"We are trained to contain our emotions and deal with death in the best possible way. It used to be easy for me, but then he came and turned my life upside down." Y/N put her hands on her knees and stood up, walking without an exact destination. "Neil was always one step ahead of us all..." She stepped forward too and found the painting again, but her mind was lost in thoughts about him. Neil knew her so well. And he had a charming smile, but completely arrogant at the same time. "I was sent to Mumbai to help two agents and when I arrived at Priya's penthouse that night, there he was. When he saw me, that was the first and only time that he let his guard down. I'll never forget how he looked at me, it was one of those breathtaking moments... Completely cliché, I know."
On the sofa, Kat was impressed. When Y/N turned towards her, there was a bright smile on her face. The simple memory brought her a breath of happiness and Kat enjoyed seeing her friend like that, but unfortunately that moment did not last long. Memories aren't enough. Neil is dead and nothing can change that.
"I miss him so much, Kat." The smile disappeared as soon as tears appeared in her eyes, cascading down her cheeks.
"My dear..." Worried about her, the woman got up quickly and approached Y/N, wrapping her in a tight hug. "I'm really sorry."
"I spent the last three months locked up in my a-apartment because I thought I could handle this situation on my own. At times I b-believed it was just a fever dream... Maybe I was losing my mind, but this is proof that everything was real." Through tears blurring her vision, she looked at the watch on her wrist, remembering that night.
Y/N was in a private cabin on the ship. The others were with Ives and Wheeler, going over the mission in search of any loose ends. A standard procedure. Y/N knew she should be with them, but she needed a moment alone to organize her thoughts. And that moment is now. The past few weeks had been a real mess. The inversion was difficult to explain and mainly to understand. She was used to field missions, but being an inverted soldier on the battlefield was not in her plans. Either way, she agreed to be a part of it and running away with biased assumptions was not going to help. Humanity depends on them.
Three knocking on the door caught Y/N's attention, but she remained silent, waiting for the person to give up and leave, but when it didn't, she just murmured 'Come in'.
"So, here you are." The man used a surprised tone of voice and closed the door behind him. "What will our superior think when he learns that you are running away from the briefing?"
She let out a laugh before answering in the same mood:
"Don't worry, I know this mission like the back of my hand. I just needed a moment."
"There's something wrong? Are you ok?" Neil spilled the questions quickly, visibly concerned for her.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Neil." Y/N smiled at him, but looked away just seconds later, confessing: "Maybe I'm a little surprised by the situation. I have spent years dealing with terrorists, but the inversion is really not my point."
"I'm not good with advice, but someone once said to me: Don't try to understand. Certain things in the world do not need an explanation."
"It's wise advice, but I'm a methodical person. Logic has always been my ally in missions."
"A methodical person, huh?" He asked with an arrogant smile playing on his lips and she just rolled her eyes. "I know how worried you were when Sator shot Kat, but we are using the inversion to save the world and you're one of the most brilliant agents I have ever seen. Everything will be fine."
"Are you praising me?"
"What's that? Can't I praise my partner's talent?" Neil pulled up a chair to sit across from her, crossing his arms.
"In that case, thank you. Remind me to put this on my resume." Those words made him laugh and that sound could easily be compared to music in her ears.
Touching her knee, Neil added:
"We are very confident with the mission. You don't need to worry."
"Are you sure?"
"I cannot say that unforeseen events do not happen, but we are prepared for that." Y/N knew he was right, but this mission is the biggest one so far. It's not about saving a country. It's about saving the entire world. This was arousing insecurities in her and it was like walking in a minefield. Ironically, she was familiar with this, but not in such catastrophic proportions. "I want you to have this." The man took his watch off his wrist and handed it to her.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" The question came out as a whisper from between her lips.
It didn't make sense. Why does everything in this conversation look like a farewell?
"We will be on opposite sides tomorrow, but i want you to know... I will always be with you, Y/N."
"I saw the way he looked at you... That's how I used to look at Sator before he became a monster in my life." Kat started, running a hand through Y/N's hair. "When I was lying on that stretcher and partially drugged with the medicines, I saw him beside you... watching you sleep. There was so much love in his eyes. Love for a lifetime, Y/N. So don't do this to yourself. The way he left hurt us all, but there was nothing you or any other agent could do to change what happened at Stalask-12. Neil saved the world. This gave us a second chance. You cannot give up now. This organization needs you. And keeping your mind busy at that moment is the first step towards a fresh start."
"N-No, I can't..." She broke the hug, shaking her head in denial. "I left the organization."
"What? Don't you work for Tenet anymore? But when we first met you told me that you can't imagine working in another area... And that this is your life's work."
"Being an agent is my life's work. I was in Yemen when Tenet found me and assigned me to this mission. My only job is to make this world a less hostile place, but the motto of this organization is not what I believe, Kat. What's happened's happened. Really? It doesn't work for me." Y/N ended the sentence with drops of anger in her voice and Kat did not say a single word.
Through the newspapers, Max's mother followed what was happening in Yemen over the years – a real endless war – and knowing that Y/N was in the middle of it, makes the situation unquestionable. People died in front of her eyes. Friends of the corporation. And then some time later, Tenet arrived with a fresh start, but in the end everything remained the same. She lost Neil. It is as if her life's work never had a happy ending because the world will never stop being a hostile place.
"He knows?" It was easy for Y/N to identify who she was talking about. The Protagonist. Or just TP.
"Here's another problem. I worked with him and indirectly worked for him at the same time! God, that man created this organization! And his name remains a mystery to us all!" She pinched the tip of her nose, feeling frustrated with all the secrets that haunt this organization. "And answering your question, yes, he knows, but he did not argue about it. I was a complete mess and he was not doing very well either... He stayed in my apartment for the first month, probably to make sure I didn't do anything stupid." And Y/N would be forever grateful for that. She likes him. Just as friends, of course. TP was a reserved man, but it was he who held her when everything was falling apart. "But we've had a fight. I blamed him for what happened at Stalask-12 and since then we haven't spoken anymore."
It was easy to see that they carried more pain than they could actually bear. Y/N lost her great love and the man lost his best friend. The situation just turned into a conflict between them and that was the result.
Realizing the sadness reflected in Y/N's eyes, Kat decided to change the subject of the conversation. Keeping that thought, she smiled and pointed to the painting on the wall. Maybe that could help.
"You seemed interested in this one."
"Oh yes, in my spare time I am a lover of art and its meanings. It is really attractive the way Ouroboros is connected to the Eternal Return..."
"And Amor Fati too." Kat completed, piquing Y/N's curiosity. This part was new to her. "It's impossible to affirm the Eternal Return without loving life. We need to learn that things happen as they do. Sometimes seemingly good. Sometimes seemingly bad. We don’t always get it our way... Unless we choose that whatever way it is, is our way. When we choose to Amor Fati, to love everything that happens, to love our fate, then we will always get it our way. Because the way it is, is the way it is. Unchangable. And therefore it must be good, even if it sucks."
These words touched Y/N's heart. This was a contradiction to what she is experiencing right now. Love your fate. She would like to understand and accept what happened, she really wanted, but why is it so difficult to move on?
Because Neil is dead.
That was the only explanation for her. The end of a relationship would be more acceptable. If he were alive, things would be completely different now. However, grief is overwhelming. How could she just accept what happened?
"I... I gotta go." That was all she managed to say before picking up her bag and leave the penthouse, ignoring Kat's protests.
When the elevator doors closed, an exhausted sigh left her mouth and the instant she saw her reflection in the mirror, Y/N wanted to cry again. After three months alone, she thought visiting her friend would be a good idea. Kat was willing to help, but the problem was that Y/N is not allowing herself to be helped. As soon as the doors opened, she left the metal box and found the hotel lobby partially empty. Her watch showed it was 3:13 AM, this explains the absence of people on the street as well. In front of her car, she searched the bag for the key and coincidentally her cell phone started to vibrate. Probably the text messages were from Kat, but confusion hit Y/N the instant she looked at the identifier and saw that the messages did not belong to any of her contacts.
Stay away from the car
They put a bomb
I'm on my way
Her first reaction was to take a few steps back and look around, trying to understand what’s going on and find the person responsible for these texts, but Y/N was alone in the dark street. When she thought it might be an unnecessary prank, a black SUV approached at high speed. The car stopped just a few meters away from where she was, but that was enough to make her body freeze.
"Y/N, come on!" The man exclaimed, the urgency in his voice would have made her run immediately, but she didn't move. Her feet had frozen on the floor. This cannot be real. "Come on, get in the car! We don't have much time!" He tried again, it was possible to hear the sound of the other cars approaching.
Y/N watched in slow motion the moment he left the car and ran towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"How is this possible?" She asked in a whisper, completely lost in his blue eyes.
"It's good to see you too." Neil admitted, feeling his heart race. She looked so fragile in his arms. Very different from the last time he saw her. "We have to go." He accompanied her to the car and as soon as Y/N took the passenger seat, he returned to his seat.
For her this moment was like a fever dream, so she just looked down and started counting her fingers. One, two, three, four, five... Neil noticed, but said nothing, just kept driving. The cars were fast approaching, but he would do everything possible and impossible to get Y/N away from these people.
"Give me your cell phone." He looked at her for a brief moment, but when Y/N didn’t react, he wasn't sure if she heard it, so he just took the phone from her hand and threw it out the window. That was enough to get her out of the numbness:
"What the fuck, Neil?!"
Despite the adrenaline rushing through his body, the man laughed.
"If I found you because of your cell phone, they can too." After that, he crossed the red light and made a risky turn, trying to end this chase. "Before you ask, no, this is not a dream. Unfortunately this is very real..." Neil didn't like what he saw when he adjusted the rearview mirror. "And now they are getting ready to shoot us."
That observation put Y/N on alert and she looked back, seeing a man with an AKS-74U and another with a Beretta M12.
"If you knew it wasn't a dream, why didn't you bring an armored car?" She ran her tongue between her lips, smiling at the man beside her. Neil tried to argue, but she just took off her seat belt and picked up the Glock 19 stuck in the vest he was wearing.
Y/N crawled out of the car and sat at the window opening. This encouraged the men in the two cars to start shooting, trying desperately to hit her. Neil shouted something that she couldn't understand and then she felt one of his hands on her thigh, giving her stability to continue with the plan. With her arm resting on the roof of the vehicle, Y/N aimed the gun at the car that was closest to them. Her intention was not to start a firefight in the middle of one of the main avenues in the city, but she had no other option. Holding her breath, she fired the first shot and the bullet hit the tire, taking the car out of circulation. Y/N celebrated while preparing for the second car, but dealing with this one was not an easy task. Now they were in a tunnel and, consequently, losing speed because of the other cars that came along the way. Neil left two pats on her leg, indicating that she had better get back in the car and that is what she did. Screams, honks and gunshots echoed through the tunnel, turning the place into a war zone. Whoever these men were, Y/N knew they weren't going to give up.
Tired of playing cat and mouse, she went to the back seat, getting on her knees. Through the broken glass above the trunk, Y/N adjusted the aim of her gun, ignoring the sniper and focusing on the driver. With another accurate shot, the bullet hit the man's chest and he lost control of the vehicle. The car overturned for a while, streaking the asphalt, but no other car was involved in the accident. Y/N sighed in relief and looked for another possible threat, just checking, but when she realized that the area was clean, she returned to the passenger seat, leaving the gun on the dashboard in front of her.
"Next time I'm going to get an armored car." Neil comments, stepping on the gas. "Nice shot, by the way."
"Anytime." Y/N smiled, trying to control her breathing.
With the adrenaline disappearing from her body, it was hard for her to believe that this was really happening. For many nights she cried, wondering what it would be like if Neil just came back to her, but now she was afraid to wake up and realize that it was just another vivid dream.
The sun was rising when they arrived in a shed away from the city. Seen from the outside, the place was a little scary, but the interior wasn't that bad. There was some equipment like trackers, walkie-talkie, bulletproof vests, weapons, ammunition; a table with a mess of papers and on the other side two beds and something that Y/N supposed to be a private bathroom.
"Where we are?"
We. That simple word echoed in her mind. Y/N thought that "we" didn't exist anymore.
"For now in a safe place. It's dangerous for you out there." He answered the question and took a bottle of water, handing it to her after taking a generous sip.
"Who are these people, Neil?" She wanted answers, lots of answers, and that frustrated the british spy because for the first time he didn't know what could happen.
Neil had a mission and that mission ended with him dying in Stalask-12, but after what TP did, everything changed.
"We have a name..." He wanted to say more, he wanted to reassure her, but that was all he had at the moment.
Y/N drank some water and left the bottle on the table, looking at some reports and photos. All photos were of the same man.
Lenard Vaher
"But apparently they don't just want you..."
It took a few seconds and when the realization hit Y/N, concern appeared on her face.
No, not him.
"Where's TP? He's safe, right?"
"He was going to see you when Lenard's men kidnapped him. This happened three weeks ago." And considering the anger in Neil's voice, finding TP was proving an almost impossible task, but in the midst of so much concern, one point attracted Y/N's attention.
"You said he was going to see me..."
"There was something he needed to tell you." Neil sighed, resting his hands on the table. A few strands of blond hair fell over his forehead, but he quickly shook his head back, as he always did. "He returned to Stalask-12, Y/N."
After that statement, the only sound that could be heard was Neil's footsteps closing the distance between them and the first thing she did was put her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Neil smiled. And that was not one of his famous smiles. That was a shy smile. His heart was beating like a drum and it was all because of her. Loving Y/N was something so special and pure, that Neil accepted his fate without a second thought. Saving the world, he was giving her a second chance to live, but now he is the one who received a second chance.
"I missed you every day." Before she could begin to consider the meaning behind his words, he settled his mouth upon hers, robbing her of thought.
She closed her eyes and melted against him, flattening her hands on his arms. Neil caught her bottom lip in his teeth, nibbling and licking at it until she thought she might perish from the intensity of the feeling. She whimpered at the sensation, and he rewarded the sound by deepening the kiss, giving her everything she desired. His tongue stroked hers, slow and insistent. A lush, decadent pleasure unfolded within them, snaking through their veins as though it had lain coiled in anticipation for years.
Just waiting for this moment.
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a/n – really hope you enjoy it and thank you soooo much for reading ;)
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caws5749 · 3 years
Text
CH 13: Experimentations
A/N: I hope you enjoy, I’m very excited about where the series is going! 
Your Red-Headed Mentor Masterlist
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Tony watched from the window as you descended the plane stairs, making your way towards the crowd of agents. He felt troubled and on edge, as if something was out of place, just slightly amiss.
A twinge of guilt ran through him as he took in your expression. You were frightened, though you tried to mask it. But mostly, you just looked like you’d tried to rectify something. You looked as though you were turning yourself  for your sins because it was the right thing to do, when you really hadn’t done anything besides fight your teammates and not add a signature to a piece of paper. He felt responsible.
When Tony saw you fall as a gunshot rang out, he was already halfway out the door, the Iron Man suit encasing his body. He should have known something wasn’t right.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast he flew, he wasn’t fast enough. You were taken away on one of the jets, and he hadn’t seen which one. He couldn’t get to you, so he did the next best thing, and got to one of the agents.
“Where the hell did you take her? What did you do?” he interrogated, pointing his hand at one of the leftover men.
“She will serve a greater purpose now,” the man smiled, before crushing something between his teeth and falling to the ground.
++++++++
“Hey, Tony,” Clint answered the phone.
“Hey, Clint. Listen, something bad happened.”
Tony explained what he’d seen while Clint silently panicked. After clearing his head, he promised Tony he’d start researching and reaching out to some old contacts about new groups that were in the business of kidnapping Avengers.
Within five hours, he’d found something, prompting him to give Tony a call back.
“Hey. I’ve got a location, and a purpose, but you’re not going to like it.”
+++++++
Your head was pounding, to put it lightly. A more accurate statement would be that it felt like someone was fiddling with a needle in your brain.
Were those voices? Was a mouse running all over your body or was someone jamming needles into your extremities?
You’d thought that your next session with the “Physical Specialist,” as the Red Room called him, was tomorrow, not today.
Forcing your eyes open, you immediately called out in fear. This man wasn’t familiar and neither was the room. You had no idea where you were, but you had a feeling it wasn’t good.
“Hello, pet,” the man snarled, his lips curling upwards in a way that sent horror through you.
You tried to gather your bearings as your eyes searched the room for anything that might give you a clue as to why you were here and where exactly ‘here’ was.
“You’ll find nothing,” the man pointed out airily. “You will not know where you are, nor will you know who we are. You will simply exist here, as my pet, until you are fit for duty.”
“And what might that be?” you asked.
“That is for me to know, and you to find out.”
You tried not to scream when he plunged a needle into your neck.
“That’s it, pet, that’s it,” he whispered, coming closer so that his lips were ghosting over your ear. You were starting to see black at the edges of your vision, and you knew it wouldn’t be long before unconsciousness reclaimed you.
“You may call me… Dr. Romanoff. That name means something to you, doesn’t it, pet. Does it make you feel alone? Sad that you cannot call upon her? It’s a shame, really. You’ll never see her again, until I make you kill her. Until I make you cut her open, slowly, and painfully, so that you have to watch and feel every cut of the knife as you tear your mentor apart.”
You couldn’t help it when tears flowed as the blackness consumed you.
++++++
“Wake up, my pet.”
You jolted awake, tugging at the shackles that bound you.
“I am afraid you are still trapped, sweetheart. But don’t worry, soon you will be able to exist in a special type of containment.” The man smiled sickeningly, and you felt nauseous.
Something else felt….wrong too, but you couldn’t quite place what it was. It felt like something was coursing through your veins and threatening to explode out of you at any moment.
“Do you feel it yet?” he asked. He didn’t wait for a response. “That power, flowing through your veins. The experiment has worked.”
Your heart stopped.
“What did you do to me?” you growled.
“You will soon see,” he grinned wickedly. “For now, I think it’s time for another nap. You may familiarize yourself with your newfound abilities when you wake.”
+++++++
“Come on, Nat,” Clint begged quietly as the phone rang for the fifth time.
“The subscriber you have dialed is no longer in service,” the automated voice finally said. He ran his fingers through his hair. She didn’t want to be found, and so she wouldn’t be. And normally that was fine, except for the fact that Clint needed her.
Natasha had no idea what was going on with you right now. She’d assumed the government had put you up in a cell in some high security prison, and that you’d either be broken out by Steve or released when - or if - things resolved. And she certainly couldn’t do anything about it, so she’d left.
Which would have been fine, if the government had actually been the one to take you. Unfortunately for everyone, you’d been taken by a unique side branch of HYDRA, formally known as EXIA. They were highly invested in human experimentation and artificial intelligence, and they weren’t going to let their major experiment be done on just anyone. Once they knew they could successfully perform an implantation of abilities on someone, they set their eyes on you. You were young, resilient, strong, and above all, a public figure. There was no better way to get EXIA on the map than by kidnapping an Avenger and performing a successful experiment on her.
On the other side of the world, Tony was preparing for your rescue mission. With intel from Clint that seemed legit, he’d asked Vision to accompany him to check out whether or not you were being hidden away in an underground base in Siberia.
“What if her mind’s been fiddled with?” Tony wondered aloud, tinkering with his suit.
“I would not be surprised if it had, Tony,” Vision answered, looking more somber than usual.
“We don’t know what we’re walking into.” It was Tony’s way of saying ‘be careful.’
“No, we do not. We will get her back, though.”
Tony nodded. He only hoped the modified robot was right.
++++++++
“Up!” a loud voice commanded as an alarm rang out loudly. You startled awake, your head fuzzy.
“Up, my pet!”
You were much too out of it to fight, so you opened your eyes, shakily standing. It was then that you took in your surroundings. The closest way to describe the room you were in was that it appeared to be similar to a giant shower.
The more you woke up, the more another feeling, a new one, took over.
“Do you feel that, sweetheart? It is your power. Let it out.”
You looked for where the voice was coming from, but apart from the speaker up in the corner, you couldn’t see him.
But the feeling was becoming overwhelming, and letting it out sounded like it would bring relief. The only issue was that you weren’t exactly sure what would happen if you did.
“If you do not, pet, I will force you.”
You took a second to consider your options, realizing you had none. You took a deep breath, before letting go. The second you stopped holding back, you couldn’t stop. You didn’t even have a minute to be surprised when water was the thing that came out of you. All you knew was that you needed to let it out, that it felt so good to relinquish control.
You even caught yourself with the barest hint of a smile, though suddenly a wave of dizziness came over you, and you collapsed onto the floor.
+++++++
“Got you,” Tony muttered to himself, swooping into the room and blasting all of the guards. He picked up your unconscious body, panicking slightly at the pale color of your skin. Shaking his head to clear all traces of anger towards the man who did this to you, he made sure you were secure before taking off.
Back on the jet, Vision tried to assess you while Tony piloted.
“She appears to be dehydrated. She will need an IV.”
“What the hell did they do to her?” Tony muttered, growing angrier by the second.
“I got a look into their laboratories, as well as a very unique room. I am inclined to believe she has hydrokinesis.”
“Water powers.”
“Yes, I believe so.”
“I’m guessing she’s not very good at controlling them yet,” Tony sighed. “What type of unique room?”
“It’s purpose was most likely a training space for her.”
“Did you get a good look at it? We’re going to need one of those.”
+++++++
“I know you’re out there.”
“I know you know I’m out here. So, are we going to talk like grownups?”
“Is that what we are?”
“Yelena,” Natasha breathed as she finally laid eyes on the woman she hadn’t seen in years.
“Natasha. What brings you home?”
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miyanom · 3 years
Text
THE FIVE TIMES HE DIDN’T
MASTERLIST | KEITH KOGANE X ALTEAN!READER
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WARNINGS: weapons, fighting, mentions of war
NOTES: If anyone wants, I actually have ideas for a sequel (and a spin off where it’s the times Y/N didn’t) to this! So if you enjoy this, please let me know if you’d like them too!!
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i.
Keith trails slightly behind Y/N as her eyes flicker from store to store. The only reason he had agreed to stick with her was so nothing would happen to her. It wasn’t that he didn’t know Y/N could protect herself — no, he knew she was more than capable of taking down an enemy combatant. All of that training her and Allura had gone through as Altean children was for a reason — but he didn’t want to risk her getting hurt.
And maybe part of him wanted to spend time with her. Even if that meant staying about 10 feet behind her at all times.
Y/N glanced over her shoulder, a frown tugging at her lips when she noticed Keith was trapped in his thoughts.
“Keith,” she called out, coming to a stop.
Keith, still trapped in thought, only snapped out when he felt his chest colliding against her back. “I’m s-”
“Don’t be,” Y/N laughed.
A beautiful sound, if you asked Keith.
“Come on, walk alongside me, Keith,” she pleaded. “We are friends, are we not? Friends walk with each other, not behind one another.”
Keith fell into line as they continued through the mall, still on the hunt for the lenses that Coran needed for the teludav. “What’s on your mind?” She questioned.
“Nothing,” he quickly shook his head.
“Oh…” The two fell into an almost comfortable silence. If Shiro were here right now, he’d be giving Keith looks, trying to get him to finally say something. To confess the feelings that felt like they were eating him up. But Keith couldn’t. He couldn’t risk that.
Maybe before, before they had met Ulaz. But now? Now it wasn’t a good time.
Keith looked down as his hand brushed against her own, he was half tempted to hold hers. “Y/N-” He started speaking before he even knew what he was doing.
Though at the same time he spoke, Y/N was pulling away and stopping in front of a shop window, a grin forming on her features as she stared at the shiny jewelry inside.
What was he even thinking? Did he seriously believe now would be a good time to tell her how he felt? Y/N would end up hating him, and then not only would it ruin their friendship, but it’d mess with the team’s dynamic too.
How were they supposed to work together in the Red Lion if she hated him?
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ii.
“Keith.”
His head shot up at the sound of his name, but when he realised it was Y/N - standing there in her armour, a confused expression on her face - he lowered his head in shame.
“You’re-”
“Galra… yeah,” Keith breathed out.
Y/N blinked, before stepping closer as she moved to sit beside him. “I was going to say you’re going to be okay. This doesn’t change anything, Keith.”
“It changes everything!” Keith shouted as he stood up, moving away from Y/N. “You should hate me, Y/N.”
“Well, I don’t,” Y/N shook her head. “I could never.”
“But Allura… and Altea-
“Allura will come to understand,” Y/N stood up. “You may have Galra blood, but you are not them. You aren’t part of the Empire that did that to my home. You’re Keith, from Earth. Paladin of the Red Lion, and my friend.”
She took his hand in her own, causing Keith’s expression to soften slightly. “I will never hate you, Keith. Especially not because of something so out of your control.”
At that moment, he wants to tell her. He wants to spill everything he’s been feeling. Explain those butterflies in his stomach that appear when she smiles at him, or the nights he can’t sleep because he’s thinking of her.
But he doesn’t. And when Y/N finally notices that he won’t say anything, she sighs and drops his hand. “I hope you’ll see what I see one day, Keith,” she whispered, before turning to leave the room.
Keith just watched as she felt, slipping from his grasp again.
Maybe it’s for the better. Everybody leaves in the end, maybe it was a good thing she was doing it now rather than later. After all, her words could’ve just been a lie in an attempt to comfort him.
What if she hated him for being Galra?
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iii.
Tomorrow was the day.
They were finally going to take down Zarkon. And while Keith knew he should probably be getting rest, preparing for the battle. He was instead walking through the Olkarion castle, half hoping Y/N would be awake and willing to talk too.
Keith stepped out onto a balcony, his eyes falling onto Y/N, whose arms were crossed as she stared into the distance.
“Hey,” he spoke softly.
It took Y/N a moment before she turned to see who was there, and suddenly a smile began to tug at her lips. “Hi.”
“What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”
Y/N’s eyes flickered between the sky and Keith. “Well, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?” She shot back.
Keith couldn’t help but smile as he walked over to stand beside her. “Good one, Y/N.”
As she faced the city below them once more, Keith found himself staring at her. “I couldn’t sleep,” she answered quietly. “The Empire… We finally have a chance to stop Zarkon, and then you and the other Paladins will be free to go home. I just…”
“What?” Keith’s brows furrowed in confusion.
“Well, I’m happy for you all. Truly,” Y/N sighed. “But Altea won’t come back just from defeating the enemy. And I know I have Coran and Allura, and the Castle ship but- but it’s not home.”
“I know it’s not the same but you can… you can always come back to Earth. With me,” Keith muttered.
He could’ve sworn that Y/N’s face softened as she blinked away the tears that had been forming in her eyes. “I’d love that, Keith,” she smiled sadly. “But do you really think your people will accept us?”
“I don’t know,” he sighed. He really didn’t think about that. Or about how they’d see him if Earth were ever affected by the Galra. “But you’ll always have a home with me, Y/N. No matter what.”
“Thank you,” Y/N whispered, glancing at him as a blush crept onto her cheeks.
The two stared at each other for a moment, and just as Keith was about to lean in, the door behind them opened. “I guess I’m not the only one who can’t sleep,” Hunk realised, shuffling over to stand with his friends.
Y/N quickly averted her gaze, turning to face Hunk. “Are you alright?”
Keith frowned, a quiet sigh escaping his lips as he left the balcony.
Why did he even try?
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iv.
“You look like you could use some rest,” Y/N called out. When Keith lowered his sword, he could see her leaning against the doorway, still dressed in the gown she had worn for their meeting with the ambassadors of the planets they had just rescued.
“Seriously, Keith, have you gotten any sleep since…” She trailed off when Keith narrowed his eyes in her direction. “I’m sorry. I just worry.”
“We aren’t replacing Shiro,” he told her angrily. “I don’t care if it means losing Voltron. We aren’t replacing him.”
Y/N looked taken aback, as if she were surprised that Keith would speak to her like that. Honestly? It surprised Keith too.
Y/N had been the one to help him search for Shiro ever since the battle, she was one of the only people who hadn’t given up. And this was how he was treating her?”
“Sorry,” he whispered, averting his gaze.
“Keith, I know how you feel,” Y/N sighed, walking over and placing a hand on his shoulder. He hated to admit it, but her touch felt comforting. “When I met you all and found out what happened to the old Paladins, I didn’t want any of you anywhere near the lions. I didn’t want to replace the Paladins of old…”
He glanced at her, wondering where she was taking this. “But we must do what’s best for the universe. That is our role as Paladins. Even after such a great loss, we must continue fighting. And while I didn’t know Shiro for long, I know that’s what he would want us to do.”
Part of him wanted to shout, to tell her that she didn’t know anything about Shiro. But when he looked into her eyes, he could see the concern, he could see that she cared - almost just as much as he did.
“He’s not gone,” Keith whispered. “He… he can’t be.”
Y/N frowned, but pulled Keith into her embrace nonetheless. He just stood there for a moment, before dropping his head to rest his forehead against her shoulder. “I’m sure Shiro is still out there, and we will find him. I know it,” Y/N spoke softly. “But right now, we need a Paladin for the Black Lion. The Empire won’t wait for us to find Shiro.”
As he pulled away, Y/N stared at him, a sad smile on her face.
Realising just how close they were, a blush crept onto Keith’s face. But instead of moving back, he just stayed there. However, when she began to lean in, he quickly stepped away. “I’m sorry for shouting at you,” he sighed, looking away.
“Oh… You don’t have to be,” she told him. “He’s like a brother to you. Just like Allura and I. If she disappeared like Shiro… I’d be acting the exact same right now.”
They both went silent for a minute, before Keith suddenly headed for the door. “Where are you-?”
Y/N’s voice was drowned out as the door to the training room shut behind him, but instead of waiting for her, he just continued toward the Black Lion’s hangar.
He didn’t mean to brush her off like that, but maybe it was better this way.
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v.
“Keith, where were you?”
He pulled the hood of the Blades uniform off his head as he turned to look at Y/N. He could practically feel the anger radiating off her as she held tightly onto the helmet of her own paladin armour.
They had been drifting since the lion switch, now that they didn’t share a lion. And then even more when Keith took a step back to work with the Blade of Marmora. He was sure she hadn’t even noticed - not when she had been so busy working with Voltron or bonding with Lance, who now shared the Red Lion with her.
“I’m-”
“We needed your help back there,” Y/N pointed out. “Keith, Voltron needs a leader. We cannot-”
“Can you stop?!”
Y/N’s eyes widened slightly, before they shifted into a glare. “Excuse me?”
Keith, who usually would have been surprised at the tone in his voice, simply met her eyes with a glare of his own. “It seems like all you want to do is snap at me recently!”
“Maybe you deserve it! You’re our leader, the Paladin of the Black Lion. And yet, you’re never here. You continue to run off with the Blade of Marmora, like their errand boy… The Blade doesn't need you as much as we do.”
Y/N had a good point, he was supposed to be their leader and he wasn’t around to actually lead. But he had let Lance get in his head, how there were too many Paladins and not enough Lions. And now that Shiro had reconnected with the Black Lion, well… Keith didn’t have to pretend to be the leader he wasn’t meant to be.
“I need to be with the Blade of Marmora right now, they-”
“You need to be with us, Keith,” Y/N told him. For a moment, he let himself believe that she was saying that because she needed him. “The universe needs Voltron.”
But he let himself believe in a lie. The truth was, Y/N was already leaving just like everybody else in his life. And it’d just be easier to push her further away.
“I have to go.” He pushed past her, about to leave the hallway, when he heard Y/N scoff from behind him.
“Fine. Run, like you always do. I guess we just don’t matter to you after all.”
Keith looked over his shoulder, opening his mouth to say something. But he could see Y/N’s figure already retreating down the hall.
He lurked around in the castle for a little while before finally heading to the bridge, where the entire team was waiting for an explanation. The words seemed to come better to him there than they did when he was in the hallway with Y/N just an hour ago.
And he fessed up, about how him being absent allowed Shiro to reconnect with the Black Lion, and how he had made the decision to join one of the Blades missions to infiltrate the Galra’s quintessence supply line.
“It could take weeks, maybe months to pull off, but… if there is a chance, we have- I have to take it,” he spoke. “I need to be on that mission.”
He could feel everyone’s eyes on him, so he continued. “Shiro, you are the rightful leader of this team,” he stated. “And you proved it today by reconnecting with the Black Lion. It was always meant to be yours.”
“Keith…” Shiro stepped forward, gently placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “If this is what you feel is right, then we won’t try to stop you. But just know that we’re here for you whenever you need us.”
“I know you are,” Keith smiled. “And I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
Shiro pulled him into a hug, one that the entire team joined in on. Except Y/N, who started heading for the door, refusing to even look in his direction.
“Y/N-”
“She will come around,” Allura sighed, watching her friend leave the room as an awkward silence began to loom over them.
Keith frowned, staring at the closed door. He needed to leave soon, there wasn’t enough time for him to run after her right now, no matter how much he wanted to. So with a sigh, he turned back to the team, forcing a smile onto his face as he did so.
He had hoped to leave without so many regrets weighing him down. That had been a foolish dream clearly.
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Addicted to You
Part IV: Crazy on You
Summary/Author's Note: The mission starts to go off the rails as a certain someone starts to get a taste of greed. Frankie deals with the dark parts of his soul and worries how you'll react to seeing such things. (Thank you so much for your support of me and this fic. Part I became my first fic to reach 300 notes and I cannot believe it was a Frankie fic, but he deserves the love.)
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Pairing: Frankie Morales x Pope's Sister!Reader Word Count: 5.3k (apparently I cannot shut up about Frankie) Warnings/Ratings: 18+ -- Stone cold murder, blood and gore, greed, language, panic attack, hurt/comfort, stress, a lot of violence--like a LOT, fucking TOM. (<<< This warning came back lmfao)
Part I * Part II * Part III
[MASTERLIST]
Frankie's hand in yours was like an anchor keeping you from giving in to the anxiety bubbling up inside your gut. They should have been wanting to leave the house, not going up another flight of stairs deeper into the mansion. The tension in the back of Frankie's shoulders was palpable and you wanted to reach out and put your hand in the middle of his back. He glanced over his shoulder at you and you tried your best to give him a reassuring smile. 
"What's going on, Tom?" Frankie asked as the two of you cleared the threshold of the office and looked around. 
Lorea's office was larger than any of the bedrooms had been. Expensive black oak bookshelves were on each wall and they matched the leather furniture and dark polished desk. The rain continued to pound against the windows and as a crack of thunder rattled the glass panels, you gripped Frankie's hand tightly. He turned and pulled you against his side as he leaned against one of the side tables. Your shoulders didn't relax however until you felt his nose against your hair, pressing a chaste kiss to the top of your head.
"We got nothin," Will hooked his fingers in the front of his vest. "This guy's a ghost."
"What?" Frankie looked around as Benny stormed out of the adjacent room. 
"The fuck!?" He cursed as he tossed two fistfuls of limp duffle bags on the ground. "Nothing but empty bags!"
"And Lorea? Pope?" Tom said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at your brother like a disappointed father. Everyone seemed to take a moment and look at Pope as he stared blankly at the empty bags on the ground at his feet.
"He's gone. With the money." Will shrugged.
"Your girl gave us up, Pope." Frankie said as he raised his head from your hair and looked at his friend. "We gotta get the fuck out of here."
Pope took his hat off and squeezed the bill between his hands as he looked around worriedly. "No, no, no," he shook his head and ran a hand down his face before cursing. "No, no--fuck."
"Wait--" You interrupted, moving slightly away from the shelter of Frankie's body so they could hear you. "It might be still here."
"What do you mean, baby?" Frankie asked, keeping his hand in the small of your back and raising an eyebrow in question.
"Before," you swallowed hard and glanced at Tom before looking back to your brother. "Before they put me in the spare bedroom--they were painting. So much paint. All through the night."
"What does that matter?" Tom asked curtly.
Pope's eyes widened slightly as he put his hat back on backwards and pointed at you. "Shit--" he looked back at Tom. "What does that smell like to you?" His nostrils flared and he started looking around on the floor.
"Like a serious fuck up, man," Frankie bit his lip and Benny chuckled. 
"No, she's right," Pope pointed to the wall nearest to him, and then to the cans of paint that were piled just outside the door. "It's fucking paint."
All of the men looked at the walls and took note for the first time of the crisp shine that lay on the fresh top coat. Parts of the room still looked wet to the naked eye, and rolls of painter's tape lay in various forgotten places on the floor and along the baseboards.
"The house is the safe," Tom whispered as he lowered his gun and moved away from where he was leaning on the desk. "The house is the fucking safe."
"The house is the safe," Pope nodded as a smile broke out on his face. He turned and crossed the few feet to you, putting his hands on the sides of your face and kissing you on the forehead. "You're a fucking genius, hermana." 
Pope walked towards the closest wall and pulled out his hunting knife. He kept it sheathed and used the blunt handle to start hitting. The drywall was thin, and crumbled easily under the force in a dusting of white and chunks of paint and insulation. Just like you all had concluded each section of the wall was filled with stacks upon stacks of bundles of cash. Pope picked up a bundle and turned around slowly to show it to the others--a large grin plastered on his face.
"Holy shit," Benny moved to a wall opposite of Pope and started hitting the drywall with his elbow, over and over, until he had a wall big enough to start pulling the sheet rock down with his hands. "Will! Help me, man!"
Will joined his brother as they slid the large table to the side and took down the giant oil painting that covered most of the wall. Each of them started ripping and soon bundles of money were falling into the floor from the force of their search.
"Holy shit!" Benny said again. 
Each of them laughed and cursed, hooped and hollered, as they broke down each individual wall and revealed the cash underneath. Frankie made sure you stepped back before he took out his own knife and started helping.
"We need bags," Pope called.
"I got it," Will nodded, tossing a couple of the duffles to them.
"Keep 'em coming, man!" Benny said, catching the canvas and dropping to his knees to start shoveling hundred dollar bills into the bags. 
Frankie paused for a moment and looked at Pope with a serious look on his face. "What's wrong, Fish?" Pope asked.
"If the money’s still here, it means he’s still here." Frankie said, glancing back at you before back to the other man.
He was right. It made you look over your shoulder cautiously for any sign of the narcos lurking in the shadows. However, no one was in the room except the six of you. 
"He's gone man!" Benny called as he toppled one of the armchairs away from the wall and got to work on an untouched part of the room. "There's more over here!"
"Back wall, too!" Will called.
"Concentrate boys," Tom snarled, shoving fistfulls of cash bundles into a bag of his own. "How much time we got??"
"Eight minutes!" The Miller brothers said in unison from the opposite side of the room. 
They were all panting with the exertion of breaking the sides of the house and hustling to get as much of the stash into the duffle bags as they could, tossing them into the threshold of the office once they were zipped up and ready to go. The uneasy feeling was back in your stomach and you moved back over to Frankie's side and put your hand on his arm. "Cat--" you started to whisper but Tom yelled over you.
"Start getting this shit down to the van," he barked, tossing another bag onto the pile. "Keep your eyes open, do you hear me?"
Frankie looked at you with eyes so gentle it made your heart ache. It had been so long and yet with him standing in front of you it was as if he had spent the night in your bed just days ago. Without speaking, it was as if he understood what you were trying to tell him. You wanted to get the hell out of that mansion--money be damned. 
"We'll do it," Frankie spoke up, breaking your gaze to look at Tom. "(Y/n) and I will go get the van and start loading up. We need to go."
"Good plan," Will nodded, handing his bag off to you instead of tossing it, with a reassuring smile.
"I can tell you one thing man," Pope, laughed as he and Tom continued to use both hands to shovel money onto the floor. "You can tell your girls they can stop studying, because Daddy's going to buy their way into Harvard!"
"Yeah, bitches!" Benny said with another cackle.
Frankie tossed another bag over his shoulder and made sure you were with him before moving out of the office and down the steps. Will was close on your heels as he passed Frankie and said, "I'll go get the van."
"Be careful," Frankie nodded.
The two of you made it to the breezeway that framed the driveway in place of a garage. The cool air felt good on your skin and the rain smelled refreshing as you stood in a spot that it hadn't managed to blow in on. Getting out of that house felt like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders and with the relaxation came the ache of your tired muscles. Frankie told you to stay put and he made a couple more trips as they continued to toss him bags of money down the staircase. He was not subtle in the fact that you were never out of his sight for more than a handful of seconds. Each time he came back to throw more bags onto the pile, he touched your arm as if to reassure himself that you were real.
Will backed the van up and as soon as it got into position, Frankie hit the back doors with the palm of his hand, signaling a stop. He threw open the double doors and started loading.
"You guys stay here," Will said after he hopped out of the driver's side. "Get it loaded up and Benny and I will do the running."
"Sounds good." Frankie nodded and kept moving, working methodically to get as much into the back as was possible. It was like a game of real life Tetris. 
You handed him bag after bag, finally speaking up as the van started to become full to the brim. "Cat--" you started again and he paused to look at you. "We need to go. Please."
It was the 'please' that got him. The look in your eyes that said if you spent another minute in this god forsaken mansion, it would break you. You had watched your crew die, you had been manhandled, tied up, and left alone. And now that he had come to the rescue, you needed as much distance between yourself and this place as humanly possible. His eyes softened and crinkled lightly around the edges, lines that hadn't been there two years ago but that you suddenly found endearing. 
"Okay," he nodded. "Okay, we're going. Come on, baby." He slammed the doors shut as he tossed the last bag in and grabbed your hand like he had before. 
The two of you walked back up the stairs at a hurried pace and when you walked back into the office you weren't prepared for what you saw. Between Pope and Tom, they had gotten the entire wall torn down and from ceiling to floor, stacked within the studs that made the frame of the house, was nothing but bundles and bundles of cash. Benny had moved into the hall just outside of the office and on a hunch, started hammering at another wall. 
"There's more over here!" He called back to the others.
Frankie looked in the hall, and in the bedroom you had been tied up in, noting that each wall had a fresh coat of paint just like in Lorea's office. "It's the whole fucking house--fuck--"
"What is it, Fish?"
"The van's full man," Frankie urged him, looking at the rest of the guys in the office. 
"It's all good," Will nodded, stopping his task of filling another bag. "We gotta go." 
"Holy shit, this is a fuck ton of money," Benny said, grabbing another full bag and starting the trek down the stairs. 
"We need to go," Frankie repeated what Will announced and Pope nodded in agreement. The only one who didn't move towards the door was Tom.
"We got time a couple more loads," he mumbled as he continued to hack away at a new wall with his machete. 
Frankie narrowed his gaze on the man and glared at the back of his head. "What the hell are you doing? Stop digging more out we have all this to deal with!" He gestured to the floor that was littered with already packed bags and you tightened your grip on his hand. The anger building in his voice was undeniable.
 "I said, just a couple more loads!" Tom argued without turning around and even looking at the others. 
You waited for Frankie to retort but Will beat him to it, kicking one of the chairs out of his way and pointing at Tom. "You know in the ten years I've been working with you Tom, you have never missed a hard out!"
"We need to go!" Benny called from the stairs and Tom whipped around in anger. 
"Listen to me! I gave us a fifteen minute cushion," he gestured out the window to the driveway. "That's twelve minutes to the church, a forty minute service, and twelve minutes back. Add five minutes to load in and out of the van and we can subtract seven and beat them to the exit route." He slammed his hand against the wall and raised his voice another level. "We will be fine! Alright? God dammit, look at all this!" He waved his arms around the room and Frankie shook his head. 
"Fuck this!" He snarled and gripped your hand to start walking you down the hall. 
"Fish is right," Will said, working to keep his voice calm and even to counteract Tom's. "Time’s up. We gotta go."
"Wait--" Pope finally spoke up and Frankie stopped in the hall to look back at him. 
"Santi--" you said, shaking your head. Surely he didn't agree with Tom. 
"I want one more sweep for Lorea--," he said, looking pointedly at you. "Alright? (Y/n)?" He knew you were scared, he knew they needed to leave, but three years of hunting this bastard and if he didn't do one more search of the house, he would always wonder what if. "And then we burn it all down."
Against his better judgement, Frankie nodded in agreement and rubbed his forehead. "Fine. (Y/n) and I will get these last ones down there, and you call when you're ready to light it up. But you better fucking hustle."
Will and Tom pulled themselves away from the walls and moved down the hall to the master bedroom. Pope started to follow and you let go of Frankie to grab his arm instead. 
"Don't do this. Please. We need to go, now." You begged and looked him in the eyes.
"I have to look one more time," he said as gently as he could as he gripped your arm in return. "He has killed so many people. I have never been this close before--it ends now."
"Santiago--" you said, using his full name in a tone you both knew sounded like your mother.
"Go with Frankie," he nodded to the man at your right. "Go downstairs and get ready to--"
"GET DOWN!" 
Tom's voice rang out from the bedroom at the end of the hall and the doorway erupted in an ear shattering blast of automatic fire and flashing lights. Frankie slammed you up against the wall and covered you with his body, bracing his forearms over your head. You made a noise as your back hit the drywall but you knew he didn't mean it--his only goal was to protect you, even though you were the one wearing the kevlar. The action made you remember just how much bigger he was than you as your world went dark and all you felt was the solid plane of his chest and cotton button up. 
There was yelling, more gunfire, you heard Pope yell rapidly in his native tongue and Will said something over the bullets before everything went silent. 
"What the hell are we shooting at?!" Frankie called above your head, loud enough that his voice carried into the bedroom. He looked down at you against his chest, panting hard as his heart raced. “You okay?” he whispered and you nodded. You were so tired of the sound of gunfire.
"Target down!" Tom called back and it made Frankie move back and let you breathe once again. 
The two of you hurried into the bedroom and you gasped as Frankie put his arm out to keep you safely behind him. 
Pope stood in the doorway of a secret safe room that had been hidden behind a large armoire. In the entrance to the hiding space lay Lorea in a pool of his own blood, with a bullet dead center in the middle of his forehead. Call it a hunch, but you knew your brother had made that hell of a shot. Pope had his gun pointed at the unmoving body and the veins in his arms flexed as he readjusted his grip on the weapon. His body went still before he pulled the trigger again, then again, over and over, emptying the entire clip into Lorea's head. Once the narcos was nothing more than a pile of blood and brain matter the gun clicked empty and Pope lowered his arms, hitting the release on the magazine and letting it fall to the floor. 
Frankie approached him slowly and moved his own rifle to one hand so he could touch his friend on the shoulder. "You got him, man."
"He's dead." Pope said flatly and Frankie nodded.
"Good."
A groan came from the other side of the room as Will dropped to one knee with a thud. Everyone turned as they watched the blonde put a hand to his side and pull it back with his own blood painted across his fingers. 
"I'm hit." He grunted, tossing his rifle to the side and working on the straps of his gear. 
You hurried to his side as Tom mirrored your movements and the two of you flanked the man on the ground.
"Where?" Tom said.
"Left side." Will groaned as you helped him lay flat on the ground with his head resting against his backpack.
"Help me get this off, Tom," you said firmly, pulling at the straps of his kevlar that had ridden up just enough to let the bullet go through his lower love handle. You raised up Will's shirt and inspected the wound as warm blood slid down your hand and over your wrist before dripping to the floor. The man hissed as you probbed the wound. "It went straight through."
"Thank fuck," Tom said, looking up as Pope rummaged through his bag and handed you his clot kit. 
"Get it on him, and then we gotta go."
"I'm okay. I'm okay," Will nodded as Pope took Tom's place on his opposite side. Tom and Frankie aimed both of their guns at the door as they heard footsteps. "I told you this was a stupid idea." Will groaned. 
"Yeah, you sure did," Pope chuckled, helping you wrap the stretchy material around his waist and apply pressure. 
Benny came back in and the two guarding the door quickly aimed their guns at the ground. "Church is out--they're back...shit." His eyes got wide as he laid sight on his brother and the blood all over your hands.
"The family is here?" Frankie asked and Benny shook his head.
"No, the first shift of guards."
Once you secured the clotting cloth, Will thanked you with a grip of your arm and a smile that reached his kind, blue eyes. You stood and allowed Benny to take your spot, helping him get his kit back on and slowly make it to his feet. They hadn't brought a stretcher and they definitely couldn't carry him out of here, but the blonde kept repeating that he could make it. 
"Okay, new plan," Pope looked out the window, watching the guards pull up to the house. "we each grab a backpack of cash and we go out through the jungle and around."
"No, no way," Will shook his head and groaned as he got all the way up onto his feet. 
"We are getting Ironhead home safe!" Tom pointed at the blond. "Not trekking him through the jungle. And we are not leaving them any of this fucking money!"
Frankie felt his hands ball into fists as he took a step towards Tom but Pope blocked him with his arm and you took the hint to go stand by him. 
"Right…" Pope said cautiously with a desperate look on his face--talking to Tom like the ticking time bomb that he was. "So, we burn it all down and go."
"There is about a hundred million dollars down there in that van," Tom pointed to the hall. "We are going out the front. We need to hunt and shoot quickly. Call out your kills--I don't want any fucking surprises!"
There was a moment of silence as the two men clearly struggled for who was calling the shots. You tried to breathe evenly as you watched the vein pop in your brother's neck as he stared down Tom. Tom had always been your least favorite of your brother's squad. His hotheaded manner and stubbornness always seemed to get him, and anyone else in his path, in more trouble than they should have. But you stayed next to Frankie and let Pope think this one out.
"We had two objectives--Lorea and (Y/n). Now, I am not putting my sister or Ironhead in more danger for some fucking narcos money."
"Both of them will be in more danger if we drag our sorry asses through that jungle," Tom stepped closer to the other man. "You brought me here to lead--now, I'm not asking, we're not taking a vote, I'm telling you...we're leaving through the front."
The two of them continued to stare at one another before Pope finally backed down with a nod and your stomach dropped to the floor. "Alright."
"Let's get it done," Will said, breathing heavily as he adjusted his rifle in his hands. "Quick and clean. Like always."
"Pope and Frankie, you take (y/n) and go out that way and down through the kitchen. Millers down the front. I'll hang back and keep an eye out--here we go fellas." Tom accentuated each order with a point and gesture of his arm and Frankie looked down at you.
"Get your gun out," he said, lowering his voice as you all started to move in the directions you were told. "Don't shoot first--unless necessary."
"Got it," you nodded, gripping the glock tighter than was needed to keep your hands from shaking. 
You moved swiftly and with purpose. Taking two steps to Frankie's one as you moved down the stairs and through the living room. A short spatter of bullets sounded from the dining room and shortly after, you heard Will's voice through the com on Frankie's ear. "That's two down in the front hall."
The two of you turned the corner and Frankie squeezed the trigger, firing twice into the chest of a guard who crossed his path. "That's three."
Another round of shots and Pope's voice came next, "That's four."
"Back to the main gate. They dropped more guys out there."
Frankie clicked his com, "I'm going out through the kitchen and grabbing the van."
"The kitchen is the wrong way, what are you on about Fish?" Tom's voice came over, confused and irritated.
"I got something I gotta do." He said back and turned to you behind him. "Stay here."
"What??" You said, your voice a little higher than you would have liked it to be.
"I need you to stay here." He tried to be reassuring but your heart started hammering in your chest and the thought of being alone again in this place. The idea of him leaving you for any reason made it even worse. 
"Don't leave me," you shook your head. The fear on your face must have been more evident than you thought because looking at you made him hesitate. 
"You promise that no matter what happens in the next few minutes, you'll do as I say?" He asked and your fear turned increasingly into a mixture of panic. 
"Frankie--"
"Promise me, (y/n)." He said flatly, he was not negotiating.
You nodded, adding in a meek voice, "I promise."
He led the way into the kitchen, his rifle was slung over his shoulder by the strap as he took out another handgun from the holster at his side. The appliances were incredibly outdated but the creamy butter-yellow walls and white cabinets easily made the kitchen the brightest room in the desolate house. You watched Frankie walk around the kitchen island, his gun sweeping the area as he moved into the heart of the room. 
Two men lay on the tile floor, bound and gagged, and you knew exactly who they were. They were two of Lorea's head guards, the ones that shoved you in the van in the middle of the city, the one that hit you, tied you up--and Frankie knew it too. 
He raised his gun and one of the men started to yell around the black electrical tape over his mouth, thrashing his head back and forth wildly. You felt like you were going to be sick. 
"Frankie…" you said, standing next to him and touching his side. 
He lowered the gun ever so slightly and looked at you. "Remember the deal? Whatever I say, right?"
Bile rose in your throat as you saw the hardened look in the eyes of one of the kindest men you have ever known. Those normally warm, coffee-colored eyes were almost black as he looked at you with a locked jaw and unwavering stance. Seeing such emotion in him and how palpable it felt around his aura hurt more than you ever thought it could. Tears burned in the back of your throat as you nodded. You weren't crying for the men on the floor, you were crying to the soul of the man you loved. 
He reached his free arm out and drew you against the shelter of the side of his body. He could feel you tremble against him as you grabbed onto his shirt like the lifeline that it was. 
"Close your eyes and cover your ears," he said, flatly and when he felt you let go of him to do so, he pulled the trigger. 
One shot. Muzzle. Bitch. Two shots. Merchandise. Cunt.  
Two clean shots, echoing in the empty kitchen, hit both of them directly in the center of the forehead. No mistake, no chance, just dead. Frankie felt you jolt against him with each bang and no matter how much he wanted the men at his feet to suffer the way you had suffered, he wouldn't risk making you feel differently about him. The idea that the rage bubbling in his gut could make you look at him in fear was enough to keep his emotions in check. He had done what he needed to do. They would never lay hands on anyone else the way they had laid hands on his girl, no one would ever suffer because of them again--for now, that was enough. 
--
Neither you nor Frankie spoke as you left the mansion and loaded into the van. You watched in the rearview mirror as Tom squeezed the lighter fluid on every inch of the foyer and the curtains that lined the walls. He pulled out a lighter and paused for a moment before flicking it to life and tossing it down. The front of the house quickly engulfed in flames, so bright they burned blue towards the bottom where the heat was the most intense. 
The wipers squeaked in a rhythmic annoyance as you sat in the van and the two of you waited for the rest of them to get the other vehicle. An SUV of guards pulled into the compound and you gripped the console as Pope and Will opened fire, busting the tinted windows and peppering everyone inside with bullets. Each man opened a door and grabbed a now lifeless guard by the shirt and pulled him out to let him slump to the ground like a ragdoll. 
You watched as Tom moved up from the ditch and shot the last guard in another spray of blood that was quickly washed down the rocks by the rain. 
It was suddenly too humid in the car. There was not enough air circulating as your chest felt tight and your breathing increased. It felt as if someone was sitting on top of you. Your hands shook, your eyes burned, and you wanted to claw at your throat to desperately rid yourself of whatever was stuck inside of your windpipe.
"Frankie," you managed to choke out as you started to feel around your vest for the buckles. "Frankie, I can't breathe." 
"Hey, hey," he said softly, turning his body in the seat to face you. Saying your name, he reached out and put his hand over yours as you kept trying to rip at the straps of the kevlar. "Stop. (Y/n) stop."
"I can't--" you started to argue with a shake of your head and you hated how weak your voice sounded. You weren't broken. You could do this. But the silence of the car, paired with finally being in a space of solitude with Frankie, was forcing every fear and thought you had in the last three days to race to the surface. 
"You can," he insisted. "We are not out of the woods yet." He took your hand in his and scooted as close to you as the center console would allow. He put your hand over his heart and made sure you locked eyes with him. "This has to stay on you. You understand? I know what you're feeling and I promise as soon as we get somewhere safe you can fall as hard as you need to and I’ll be there, okay?"
You nodded way too quickly and felt dizzy the moment the motion made your hair bounce. He squeezed the hand he had pressed against his chest and dipped his head to make sure you caught his gaze.
“I’m okay,” you said, not sounding okay in the slightest, but maybe if you said it outloud it would be true.
“I know you are,” he reassured you. “Breathe with me. In through your nose--there it is. Out through your mouth. You got it. Here.” He leaned forward and turned on the A/C, pointing the extra vents at you and breathing became easier once you felt the cool air tickle the strands of your hair. He kept hold of your hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it a few times.
“Thank you,” you closed your eyes and leaned back against the headrest continuing to breathe as evenly as you could. 
“No thanks needed, sweetheart,” he said quietly, looking back out the window as Pope gave him a signal to keep moving. “That’s us.” 
You started to pull your hand away so he could drive but he kept his grip on it, balancing them on the gearshift as he moved his freehand to the top of the steering wheel. The unconscious action made you smile a bit. Something as simple as holding his hand over the console of the car reminded you of summer drives in his truck. With rolled down windows and a classic rock station, you could almost smell the wind in the grass and hear the frogs calling along the tree line. You held onto that memory as tightly as you held onto his hand, knowing that it was the only things that were going to get you out of this fucking jungle in one piece.
--
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pipedream-parrish · 4 years
Text
Happy 34th birthday, Twinyards
read on AO3
i
It is Aaron’s 14th birthday and he has just found out that he has a brother - a twin brother, an identical twin brother, who looks exactly like him and might just understand him, too. His mom didn’t do anything for his birthday - she hasn’t since he was little, or maybe those long-forgotten memories were really just dreams that have managed to worm their way so deep into his psyche that he’s accepted them as truth. The kids at school sang to him, which was fine, but Aaron can’t help but think maybe now it will be different. Maybe once he meets this brother of his, then they can celebrate their birthdays together. Maybe they can give each other presents, and eat cake, and blow out the candles using the combined forces of their breath. Maybe, maybe, maybe. 
(Andrew spends this birthday choking down cake that Cas got him, trying to hide the fresh marks on his arm, and thinking about the best way to keep his mysterious brother as far away from him as possible)
((one month later, Aaron receives a letter in the mail. He couldn’t tell you everything it said - he just knows that all of these maybes have just been thrown into the middle of a busy highway to be crushed under uncaring tires.))
ii
Its Aaron’s 15th birthday and his mother has celebrated by beating the shit out of him and then throwing a random assortment of pills from the bottom of her purse in his direction as an apology, and Aaron cannot help but think that maybe it won’t have to be like this anymore. He thinks about what Andrew said (Andrew, who really does look just like him, and who seemed so angry about Tilda, and seemed to believe that Aaron didn’t deserve, that he deserved good things--) had said to him, thinks about how maybe when Andrew moves his mom will stop it, maybe it’ll be alright, maybe nothing will hurt anymore and everything will be okay and he’ll have a brother. It’ll be the two of them against the world, and Aaron may not know this other boy all that well, but he promised to protect him, so that must mean something, right? Even if before that he said he didn’t want anything to do with Aaron, he changed his mind, and thats what matters, right? Right? And so when Aaron blows out the birthday candles that he bought for himself at eh convenience store the night before, he wishes for his brother to come home soon, and for them to be a family like they were supposed to be. Like he deserves.
((Six months later, Tilda is dead and Aaron has stopped believing in family.))
iii
It is Andrews’s 16th birthday and he has not spoken more than two words to his brother for most of the year, but Nicky tries to force them to do something, to celebrate, to be normal teenagers for once. Andrew leaves halfway through the elaborate dinner that Nicky has prepared, and pretends not to see the sad look he aims at his retreating back. Pretends that he doesn’t care what Nicky thinks of him, what Aarons thinks of him. Pretends that he stopped caring about Cass, that actually he didn’t care about that, either. Pretends and pretends and pretends, and convinces everyone but himself. 
((He’s not so great at lying to himself yet. He’ll get better with age.)) 
Late that night, after he’s heard everyone else going to bed, he sneaks downstairs and steals a slice of the double-chocolate cake that Nicky got them. There are already a couple of slices out from where Nicky and Aaron had some, so hopefully, this moment of weakness will go unnoticed. 
(Aaron spends his 16th birthday sad and mourning, refusing to look his brother in the eye. When he blows out the birthday candles with no help from a magical brother, he wishes that he never met Andrew in the first place. Not that he believes in magic or wishes or anything good at all, anymore. He barely has a bite of his cake before leaving the table. He, too, pretends not to see Nicky’s teary eyes as he leaves him standing alone in the kitchen, the remnants of a wasted attempt at love scattered all around him)
((he, too, is not so great at lying to himself yet. He, too, will get better with age))
(Nevertheless, when he hears Andrew come downstairs in the dead of night, he creeps into the hallway to watch his petty theft)
((He never mentions it.))
iv
It is Andrew’s 17th birthday and he is so high off the ground that he never even realizes the date.
Or maybe he does and just forgets.
The meds are still new, and he’s not used to them yet. Not used to the loudness, and brightness, and plastered on a smile. His cheeks hurt all the time now - he is constantly working muscles that have not had much use, the last couple of years 
(the last couple of lifetimes)
Needless to say, it is Andrew’s 17th birthday and he does not even realize it, and instead, he spends it in his room, his precious room that has a lock that works, coming apart at all his frying edges. Boys like him were never meant to grow old. Boys like him were never meant to last. And so he lays there and shakes uncontrollably, and laughs, too, tells himself this is fine, he’s fine it’s all fine and knows better than to believes it. Perhaps it is a mercy, that he eventually gets used to the meds. 
Perhaps it is not.
(Aaron doesn’t celebrate his birthday, either. Instead, he picks up extra shifts at Edens and goes to bed early. 
He cannot wait to leave this fucking house)
v
It is Aaron’s 18th birthday, meaning that he is a legal adult. He finds this funny. He has always been an adult; he was an adult when he was four and creeping across the house on silent feet to steal crackers from the pantry because mom forgot to feed him; he was an adult when he was 10 and forging his mothers signature on school papers, and making excuses for why she couldn’t come into parent-teacher conference night; he was an adult when he was sitting across from his reflection in a juvenile detention facility, and promised protection. One more birthday doesn’t mean shit.
(Andrew agrees. He, too, has been an adult for as long as he can remember.)
((Still, when Nicky slips cards under each of their doors wishing them a happy birthday and telling them he’s proud of them, and that he hopes that adulthood treats them right, well. If Aaron squeezes his eyes shut as hard as he can to prevent the tears from escaping, and if Andrew tares it up into a million pieces because it almost makes him feel something, then no one needs to know))
vi
It is November 4th, and the newly-coined monsters are in Columbia, just like they are most weekends. They make the same stops as always, go to the same club, the same restaurant. 
Never once is the word birthday mentioned.
vii
It is Andrew’s 20th birthday and he is about to make one of the worst mistakes of his life. For now, he sits against the windowsill, watching his smoke dissipate into the afternoon air, absently listening to the sounds of Nicky and Aaron’s video game wash over him. He’s grinning, as is usually is these days, and if he was capable of having a long-lasting coherent thought, he would want to carve that grin off his face.
Alas, he is not capable of long-lasting coherent thought. Oh well. Perhaps it’s for the best.
Renee got him a gift. Silly Renee. Always so nice, so kind, even to monsters like him. Hasn’t she learned better than that by now? It seems not.
When Nicky receives a phone call that leaves him in a panic, it is almost enough to garner Andrew’s attention. 
Almost.
When he leaves the room in a rush only to come beach with Neil, the enigma, the hallucination, the rabbit, in tow behind him, Andrew actually does start to pay attention. Only a little though. 
When Neil pulls him aside, and asks for the unimaginable, and then manages to make it seem like a good idea, well. Andrew’s interest has been peaked, and he agrees. Why not? It might be fun. Might be, might be, might be.
(It’s not. It’s not fun at all, and if nothing else then Andrew is finally allowed to leave that smile behind for good. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Andrew, happy birthday to me!)
((Aaron spends his birthday playing video games and wondering why the new kid holds such sway over his brother. When he looks back on that day, he will not remember any of that. He will only remember that that was the day everything went wrong, and he was unable to fix it.))
viii
It is Andrew’s 21st birthday, and it might just be a good one. No alarm wakes him up in the morning, even though he’s sure he set it last night, meaning he gets to sleep in. When he wakes up it’s to Neil bustling about the dorm room, clearly searching for something.
“Practice?” Andrew asks and is told in no uncertain terms that they will be blowing it off for the day. Yes, today is shaping up to be a good one.
Instead, they go out driving, blazing down empty roads as fast as the mas will take them, eating up millage and gas money and caring at all. Neil rolls down the window and lets out victorious whoops into the still afternoon, the wind flushing his cheeks and tousling his hair. Andrew almost thinks something disgustingly sappy about that but is able to rain in his own brain just in time. 
They got greasy diner food for lunch, and Andrew orders a massive ice cream Sunday that Neil doesn’t comment on. They go back to Fox Tower and lounge around their dorm, kissing and smoking and playing video games. They have pancakes for dinner, and Kevin doesn’t bother them once about going to tonight’s practice. Andrew goes to bed full and sated, and almost, almost, happy. It’s a good birthday.
((the next day at therapy, Aaron complains that he didn’t get to skip practice yesterday. Andrew shrugs and says that he should take notes for next year. It’s almost an invitation. Almost, but not quite.))
ix
It is Aarons’s 22nd birthday, and he takes a leaf out of Andrew’s book and skips practice. He and Katelyn drive into town, and walk up and down the streets, popping into stores at random and picking out delightfully ugly things for the other to buy. In one shop, Katelyn shows Aaron a shirt made from a disgusting green fabric with the gaudiest floral pattern he’s ever seen. In another, Aaron finds shimmering, sparkle filled pink and purple shoes with a six-inch heel. They both nearly get sick from laughing. That night, they go out to the fanciest restaurant they can afford and get wine drunk. Aaron tells Katelyn that he loves her, which is something that he’s told her a million times before, but that doesn’t stop it from mattering. This will always matter. She will always matter. He looks at her, just looks at her, and thinks about how lucky he is to have this. And he thinks about Andrew, just for a second, curses him for keeping her from Aaron. But then, for an even shorter second, the thought occurs to him. I hope he’s as happy right now with Neil as I am with her. 
((Andrew may not show it the same way, but he is. He is.))
x
It is their 25 birthday now (which it longer than either of them thought they would live), and after years of therapy and working through their issues, Aaron has decided once again that he wants a brother. And so he books a flight to Boston, and buys a ticket to Andrews game, and watches his brother play exy on their birthday. Their birthday. Sometimes he still forgets that they are a “they” now. He'll still say my birthday, my mom, my cousin, my family. But it's not just his, and so he meets Andrew at the player’s exit after the game and forces him to go to dinner with him. And they spend their birthday together, just the two of them, for the first time since they were born. And its-
Well, it’s not bad. It's kind of nice, actually. Stilted, at first, and undoubtedly awkward, but. 
But they’re still brothers, even after everything. They share family and history and most of their DNA, so it seems right that they also share a dinner. And they talk, about Andrew’s pro team and Aarons residency, and about halfway through Aaron realizes that even though he was the one who forced this, Andrew isn’t trying to stop it. He came with him to dinner, and he’s talked more in the last hour then Aaron thinks he ever has before, and Aaron realizes that he wants this too. Andrew wants a brother too. They part ways outside - Andrew doesn’t offer to drive him back to his hotel or to let him stay at his apartment, but that’s ok.
Because Andrew wants this too. 
Andrew wants this too.
epilogue 
It is the Minyard twins’ 34th birthday, and as has become a tradition they are each awoken by a phone call from Nicky. Aaron only grumbles for a moment before Katelyn is handing his phone to him and he’s picking up. Andrew takes longer, turning over and burying his face in Neil’s neck for a second or a minute or a year, before finally grabbing his phone. To be fair, it’s about 2 hours earlier for him than for his brother. When he was younger he would hang up, and Nicky would call back, and he’d hang up again, until around the third call when he would finally give in and answer and phone. He doesn’t hang up anymore. He supposes that he’s grown. It’s a facetime call, so he’s greeted with Nicky’s over-enthusiastic smile and Aarons bedhead that looks so much like his own. He props himself up on some pillows so that he’s nearly in a sitting position, and gives a halfhearted wave. Beside him, Neil stays lying down, curling himself into Andrew’s side. Andrew absently starts carding his fingers through his hair. Nicky starts to talk, telling them about the business, and the adoption process, and the cute thing that his and Erik’s dog did. King jumps up onto Andrew’s chest, and then there’s a lot of cooing over how cute she is. She starts to lick at Andrew’s temple, which makes everyone laugh and Andrew rolls his eyes. It’s ok. He doesn’t really mind. Aaron talks about the hospital, and then his toddler (who is really more of a kid now, she’s getting so big holy shit) bursts into the room, climbing up onto the bed. She says hi to her Uncle Andy (Neil taught her to say that when she was a baby, and it tuck. Again, Andrew doesn’t really mind) and Uncle Neil, and her cousins Nicky and Erik. they talk more, Andrew waking up and partaking in the conversion, occasionally mouthing things to Neil in Russian to make him laugh. He loves it when Neil laughs (he’s not so concerned with not thinking sappy things anymore).
It’s a good start to a good day. They order take out and eat it on the floor, just like they do every year. Neil gets him a cake, and he sings happy birthday, just like they do every year. 
A plane ride away, Aaron and Katelyn hire a babysitter and go out to dinner, just like they do every year. Katelyn gets him a loudly collared tie, just like she does every year.
It’s a good day for both boys (who are now much closer to men), but more than that, it is a good day for both brothers. For that is undoubtedly what they are now. Brothers. 
That night, they both get a text from Betsy. It says Happy birthday, my lovely boys. I hope this year treats you well. 
And then it does.
It does.
thanks for reading! if you reblog i’ll love you forever :)
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quillandink333 · 3 years
Text
Scarlet Carnations ~ Part IV
BotW Link X Zelda ~ Detective AU
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Rating: T
Word Count: 5.1k
WARNINGS: death, murder, loss, trauma, blood and gore, terrorism, organized crime, self-harm
Summary: Inspector Zelda Hyrule, assisted by the faithful Constable Link Fyori, is infamous for cracking the most confounding of cases in a town dominated by crime. Her latest assignment is to solve the murder of her own godmother, Impa Sheikah, the late CEO of Sheikah Tech. Incorporated, while staying under the radar of the dreaded Yiga organization.
Part I • Part II • Part III • Part IV • Part V • Part VI • Part VII • Epilogue • Masterlist
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It was nine o’clock in the morning, two days after I’d made my arrest, and Paya’s trial was in its opening stages. I was watching from the gallery. Normally, as the one running the investigations, I would be the first witness to take the stand, but today, for whatever reason, the lead prosecutor, Urbosa Sigatur, planned to summon me second after Auntie Purah. Urbosa was far from a stranger to me, however. She and I had collaborated on several cases in the past, and she shared with me many of my own ideals. She’d once even known my mother before her untimely demise. And so I decided not to question her judgment, however unconventional it may have seemed.
The prosecution’s opening statement had been based on the fact that the stolen Sheikah Slate, along with a bloodstained bullet, had been found in the defendant’s room, which, until recently, hadn’t been searched as it had been deemed irrelevant to the case. With these conclusive pieces of evidence, she’d stated, the defendant had been charged with both the theft of the Slate and the murder of its owner, Impa Sheikah.
The stolen object was the most central piece of evidence in the prosecution’s case. It had once been a target of my own immense interest, even before its theft. But that had all changed following its recovery. The riddle, though having been solved by means of professional reprogramming, still made little sense to me if any. “Carnation” was its answer, according to Auntie Purah herself. Much to my dismay, the secrets that the riddle had supposedly kept hidden had turned out to be nothing but my own fantasy. Every last piece of data that had once been stored in the Slate had been deleted, meaning the possibility of proving a motive for its theft was next to nonexistent. The only thing left in its memory was a diary entry, written by Auntie Impa the day before her murder. This in itself, however, held the potential to serve as a lead to her killer’s identity, at the very least.
The diary entry, as projected onto the courtroom wall by the Slate, went,
“Today was the first day of Zelda’s holiday visit. It is hard to believe that the last long term visit she paid us was already over a year ago. We have all missed her dearly. She seems as interested in my sister’s work as ever. It brought me joy to see the two of them bonding over their shared passion once again.
“However I must admit, I would still love for her to also spend some quality time with Paya some day soon. I sensed some resentment coming from her directed at my dear granddaughter. Perhaps it is something to do with that boy. Either way, it seems their relationship has hardly changed since she left the nest.
“I cannot say for certain whether anyone will ever be able to read this, but I have faith that Purah will figure it out. I am no good with machines like these, but I believe in her. At any rate, I hope she is the one who gets to read this message, but in the event that it happens to fall into the wrong hands, I will sign off here.”
With this, the prosecution’s argument, though a bit scattered across several different points, seemed sturdy enough so far. That Auntie Impa had seemingly known that her life would be taken the following night after writing her final message, combined with the fact that she’d received no threats from the outside world up until then, was one of the strongest pieces of evidence in our arsenal.
Paya’s defence lawyer, one Revali Twii, had made several attempts to dismantle her argument by claiming she had no possible way of knowing whether or not the victim had received a threat from outside the estate by phone. These attacks were easily deflected. As a foreigner to this city, Mr. Twii had been unaware that, thanks to the Sheikahs’ company, household phones here were all equipped with recording devices. Naturally, Ms. Sigatur had already listened to each recorded call since a month before the murder and had detected no discernible threat in any of them.
And yet in spite of all that, the argument shifted heavily in favour of the defence when it then carried out his cross examination. With how confidently Urbosa had stated her case, I never could’ve imagined how easy it would be for the opposing side to shatter it into countless, tiny pieces.
Mr. Twii’s primary line of questioning was a solid one, to say the least. He concurred with my deduction as presented by Ms. Sigatur that the parlour indeed was not the true scene of the crime. However, he claimed that the real crime scene could not possibly have been the defendant’s bedroom either. His basis for this was the gunshot. Paya’s room was in the same hallway that the sleeping quarters of the current witness, Auntie Purah, as well as myself, were in. Mr. Twii had her testify about the sound of the gunshot that she’d heard. In addition to the fact that it hadn’t seemed loud enough to have come from the very next room over, she’d only heard it once: from the parlour.
No doubt he intended to question me about the same thing when the time came for me to take the stand. I’d been itching to speak my mind and set things straight so badly that I’d had to cross my legs just to keep myself from getting up too soon by the time court was finally adjourned for a half-hour recess.
Now the prosecutor and I were together in a private room reserved for witness prepping. Normally I did just fine testifying on my own, but in this trial, everything was at stake, and I couldn’t seem to stop my heart from racing no matter what I tried. Thankfully I had Urbosa here, and simply talking with her had done much to calm my nerves already.
“You’re originally from out of town too, aren’t you?” I noted, thinking back on her performance.
“That I may be, but unlike that lawyer, I’ve spent enough time here to know of the perils this city is facing, and who’s been holding it together in spite of all that.”
“Right.” My lips rested against the curve of my index as my leg bounced restlessly underneath the table. “That schmuck really doesn’t have a clue, does he?”
“No, not likely. Though he’s quite the formidable opponent, I must say.” She leaned back in her chair, looking pensive, but not the least bit agitated. “My case took quite the beating out there.”
My heart rate was starting to pick up again. “You don’t think you’ll...lose...do you?”
“Who, me? Lose?” She let out a hearty bout of chuckles. “Young lady, are you quite sure you know who you’re speaking to?” I returned her laughter halfheartedly, unable to shake the foreboding feeling lying at the pit of my stomach. Urbosa cleared her throat, preserving her calm smile. “All jokes aside, I wouldn’t worry even if we do end up losing this one. The true criminal is still out there somewhere, and there is no such thing as a perfect crime.”
“I suppose...” Perfect crimes may not have existed, but neither did perfect investigations. If they ruled Paya out as a suspect, then only one other, “safe” option would remain.
“Alright, out with it. What’s on your mind?” Her hand had landed on my shoulder as she’d reached across the desk, over my half empty glass of water. “And why are you so set on getting Paya convicted, if I might ask? Sibling rivalry is one thing, but this is...”
I avoided her perceptive gaze, staring intently at the latch on my bag. What could I possibly tell her? “It’s just,” I stalled, eventually settling for a vague, “I’m running out of time.”
After a long pause, she leaned back, letting go of my arm. “I see. Well, whatever it is, know that I’ll be on your side no matter what, little bird.”
Oh, if only she’d known.
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“So to sum up, you were outstandingly negligent in your investigation of the defendant’s bedroom.”
My jaw unhinged at what I’d just heard come out of the attorney’s mouth. I’d just finished giving him an explanation of my findings in as much detail as I could, during which time he’d been surprisingly polite, until now.
“You likely saw the Slate along with the bullet and made your arrest right then and there. You didn’t even stop to consider the possibility that you hadn’t found all there’d been to find in that room, did you?” I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off again. “In fact, I’m willing to bet you didn’t even attempt to look for the murder weapon.”
“Excuse me, Sir,” I retaliated with chest puffed up, “but my team and I searched the property from top to bottom, repeatedly, for two whole weeks, and—”
“Yes, I am well aware. However, you failed to complete a thorough search of this so-called ‘true crime scene’ before you arrested Ms. Sheikah. Do you deny it?”
I was floundering for words. Why bother questioning me if he merely intended to cut me off and answer his own questions? “I-I...”
“Objection.”
All eyes fell upon the prosecution. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“The defence is harassing the witness, Your Honour.”
The judge gave a slow, considerate nod of his head. “Objection sustained.”
Twii gave Urbosa a subtle but unmistakable side-eye. I thanked her silently. “Speaking of the murder weapon,” he continued in his signature, holier-than-thou tone, “I have here Exhibit F: a list of traits possessed by the elusive firearm responsible for the victim’s life.”
This wasn’t good. The list in question had been compiled by the prosecution based on traits of the fatal wound revealed by the autopsy, as well as other traits shared by the two bullets that were found at the estate. It contained information like its .38 caliber and that it had likely been fired twice at point blank, to name a few examples.
“My question for you, witness, is the following. What did you find during your ‘investigation’ regarding the weapon?”
This was fine, I kept telling myself. He still had yet to present the most fatal piece of evidence in the record. “As I’ve said before, none of our searches turned up any sign of it, other than what’s listed on that piece of paper you’re holding.”
“Is that so?” The sarcasm rooted in his voice had me sweating bullets. “In that case, Ms. Hyrule, I’d like to turn your attention to this passage here at the bottom.”
That was “Inspector Hyrule” to him, but of course, he couldn’t care less for such trifling things as common decency.
But when I read over the passage at which he was pointing, my throat closed up.
“Allow me to read it aloud for the court.” He snobbishly cleared his throat. “And I quote, ‘The murder weapon and the circumstances surrounding it strongly suggest an Octoric M&P revolver,’ end quote. I’d also like to add that this particular model is favoured by the district bureau of police, who issue them out to many of their detectives for self-defence.”
I gritted my teeth, annunciating each word as I spat, “Get to the point.”
The smarmy bastard was hardly even phased by my unmasked hostility. “Now, now, Ms. Hyrule, you’ve no reason to worry,” he waved off. “After all, I have no intention of accusing you.”
When he spoke that last word, my heart stopped, and deep down, I knew it was over.
“Firstly I wish for you to clarify a few things for me, as you were one of the first to discover the scene of the murder when it happened.”
I gave a slow, strenuous nod, losing strength in my knees by the second, but standing my ground all the same. “Go on.”
“The defendant showed no sign of having a gun on or anywhere near her person when you arrived, correct?”
“Correct,” I lied.
“Good. Now that we’ve established that the defendant was unarmed, I’d like to present another piece of evidence.” He laid out flat a second sheet of paper on the stand in front of me. “Exhibit H. This is part of a record kept by the precinct where the witness is currently employed, alongside the rest of her team. It details a list of the firearms given out to detectives each day, as well as the time when each one was issued and when it was returned to custody at the end of its designated officer’s shift.”
And there it was. I’d known all along that it had only been a matter of time until he’d bring out this piece of evidence, but, evidently, I’d failed to prepare myself mentally for this. Perhaps a part of me had hoped not to be on the stand when it happened. All I could do now was hold my peace and pray that it wouldn’t get worse from here.
“This page corresponds with the day before the murder. Now, Ms. Hyrule,” he addressed, summoning a swarm of butterflies in my stomach, “I’m sure you’ll recognize this badge number here. Would you please read it aloud for me?”
I swallowed my nerves and did as he’d requested. “FB7732Z438LL.”
“Thank you.” He flashed me that shit-eating grin of his. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the number belonging to one Constable Link Fyori, the witness’ very own investigative partner.” A few whispers drifted through the gallery following that announcement. “One who reads this will also notice that, after his revolver was issued out to him the morning before the murder, it was never returned to the precinct’s custody thereafter. In fact, it is still missing to this day.”
With this, the whispers grew in number, creating a din of distrust that had the attorney smirking from ear to ear.
“Objection.”
The whispering dissipated. Twii’s shoulders sagged as he hypocritically shot Urbosa a look that said, “What now?”
“Mr. Twii, how is this relevant? Unless you have definitive proof linking Constable Fyori to the crime, I see no point in bringing it up.”
The judge gave a pound of his gavel with a bone-chilling shake of his head. “Overruled. The court will allow the defence to continue, provided that it has good reason.”
My mouth fell open, and so had Urbosa’s.
“Thank you, Your Honour. I was just getting to that, my good prosecutor.” Now even she seemed on edge. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut through with a knife. “I may not have proof as things stand currently. However, that is about to change. You see, I have reason to believe that our witness here is covering for someone.”
The courtroom broke out into an even louder din of murmurs, as if I couldn’t clearly hear each backhanded remark the members of the gallery were making at my expense.
The pounding of the judge’s gavel echoed throughout the room, and the whispering ceased once again.
“You must be mistaken.” I stood as tall as I could with how close my legs were to giving up on me. “I happen to be one of the most trusted detectives in the force. Why do you think I was put in charge of this case despite being one of the first on the scene?”
“Ah, but that, dear witness, was your superiors’ fatal mistake.”
Damn that solicitor. “What do you mean?”
“Although my client has elected not to testify to the court, she has let me in on a certain piece of information—one that I believe will make the jaws of everyone here drop to the floor.”
Surely not. Surely even she wouldn’t dare stoop so low.
“Inspector...” The attorney looked me dead in the eyes. The air was suffocating. “What do you have in your briefcase?”
Everyone was staring at me and murmuring amongst themselves, more raucously than ever before, like I was the one on trial.
“N-No, it’s—it’s not what it seems,” I wavered. Then mustering my shattered courage, “You!” I pointed my finger at Twii. “Prove to me that the defendant wasn’t lying. I demand to see proof!”
But my demands were met with silence. Even Urbosa was looking at me with cold contempt and disappointment.
“Bailiff.”
An officer appeared from the sidelines. He seized my bag.
“Wait, stop!”
I tried to wrest it from his grasp, but he was too strong. I watched helplessly as he opened it up, reaching in and revealing the murder weapon for all to see.
“No...!”
“Bailiff, what is the number engraved on that weapon?”
He seemed to recite the number in slow motion, twisting the knife with every digit. “FB7732Z438LL.”
“No, please!” I screamed. “It wasn’t him, he’s been framed! Please, Your Honour, you have to believe me!”
Amidst the roar of the crowd, I saw the conclusive shake of the judge’s head. With a pound of his gavel, he said, “I hereby order the immediate detainment of Link Fyori under the charge of first degree murder.”
I met eyes with my partner but half a second before I saw him be dragged out of his seat with brute force.
“No!”
“As for this witness, she shall receive her sentence after being questioned by the police for the concealing of evidence, contempt of court, and perjury.”
I cried out when an overwhelming pain shot through my arm. My family watched from the gallery in either horror or disgust, or a mixture of both perhaps. I tried with all my might just to get the bailiff to stop hurting me, but it was futile.
“Your Honour, just a moment please.”
With the judge’s approval, the man’s grip on my arm lightened up. The one who’d spoken had been none other than that wretched defence attorney.
“Inspector, if you don’t mind, I have one more question to ask you.”
I held my breath, bracing myself. Though there wasn’t much he could say at this point that could possibly make the situation worse.
“Why?” he finally asked. “Why did you feel the need to conceal such a critical piece of evidence?”
My entire face boiled over with heat. I looked around, taking in the courtroom’s atmosphere, and my whole being was filled to the brim with indescribable anger and shame. Barely able to swallow the charged whimper lodged at the cusp of my throat, I choked out the words, “No comment.”
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The trial had ended while I’d still been in the middle of interrogation by my own peers. I was lucky enough to get off with a fine, but it was because of that hour-and-a-half-long lecture that I only found out about Paya’s “not guilty” verdict after the entire courtroom had been cleared out. This was no surprise to me, of course, but still a disappointment, to put it lightly. What was a surprise was that no one, not Paya, nor Auntie Purah, nor even Urbosa, had bothered to wait for me.
That was fine. They could think whatever they wanted of me. I’d simply have to redeem myself by proving Link’s innocence in his trial.
It was to this end that I made my way to the district’s Centre of Detention.
When Link appeared behind the iron bars of the visitors’ room, he was already sporting a worn and faded prisoner’s uniform, surely having just undergone an interrogation of his own. Though, from the looks of him, his had been considerably more thorough than mine.
I cleared my throat. “Hello, Link.”
“Hello,” he replied.
Deathly silence filled the air. The harsh ticking of the clock on the wall behind me was slowly starting to crawl under my skin.
“They, uhm...didn’t go easy on you, eh?”
He shook his head, eyes wandering without aim.
Why did it have to be so hard to talk to him sometimes? He’d never been so unapproachable back in our days as teenagers. Though now, I supposed, recent events were only making things even more difficult for me than usual.
“Look...” I took a deep breath, shifting in my seat. “I’m sorry. Alright? I couldn’t cover for you forever. They were bound to find out eventually. Please, don’t be upset.”
“What? Zelda...” His demeanour morphed from listless to urgent, almost apologetic, as he struggled to find his voice. “Why would I be upset with you? I never asked you to cover for me in the first place.”
“I know.” Now it was I who couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eyes. “I just knew that you couldn’t have possibly... I mean, you would never—”
“I didn’t.”
He’d caught me with my mouth hanging open, when he’d cut me off.
“I didn’t kill her. I promise you.”
Of course he hadn’t. It was obvious, even though the revolver had borne no fingerprints and, with the gloves that he always wore, he wouldn’t have left any. What motive could he have had? He was an amnesiac, and even if he hadn’t been, he still wouldn’t have had a reason to kill my godmother.
I took out my pen and notebook, the only things left in my case that hadn’t been confiscated. “Tell me what you know, Link. Everything.”
A beat. Then he straightened his posture and began to explain his side of the story. As it turned out, my intuition had been spot on. This whole mess was the design of the Yiga organization. Link told me about his encounter with them before the murder. They had blackmailed him into surrendering his revolver to them, after which he would never see it again.
Though, even without a hint of deceit in his tone or manner, I had questions about the means by which the Yiga had blackmailed him. He had virtually nothing to lose. Didn’t he?
In any case, I honestly had considered showing him the gun that I’d found on the scene that night, but somehow I’d had the distinct impression that he’d known nothing about it, despite the very object in question belonging to him. I’d thought perhaps someone from the organization had switched out his weapon for another without his noticing. It was no secret that even the police bureau was infested with their ilk. In the end, I hadn’t been far off the mark.
The whole time he spoke, he had his head lowered, hair falling in front of his eyes, as if something were holding them back from meeting mine. Then he muttered, “When I had my encounter with the organization, I...remembered.”
His limited annunciation meant I had to take a moment to decipher the syllables of the last word he’d uttered. Then they sank in. “Wait. What? You mean you...” It felt beyond strange to even speak the words after so long. “You got your memory back?”
He lowered his head further. Was that a nod?
My mind went back to what he’d said to me on that one occasion in the office, not long after this whole mess had first begun. “Link, you...” My hands curled into themselves around the strap of my satchel. “All this time...why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t,” he pleaded. “It would’ve been a hindrance to the investigation.” I hated to admit it, but he was right. Dropping that bomb on me would only have thrown my conscience deeper into its already tangled web of turmoil.
Amidst all the questions swirling in my mind, one suddenly appeared, eclipsing all the rest. “Why did you disappear back then?”
At this, he finally looked up and met my gaze. But when he did, his eyes were wide, almost trembling. His look seemed to cast the whole room into a great, looming darkness.
“Oh, it’s...it’s okay if you’d prefer not to talk about—”
“No,” he exclaimed. “I must.” But the way his shoulders came up to meet his ears and how rapidly his chest rose and fell told me it wasn’t going to be an easy story to tell. “It was the Yi—” He choked on his words. “The...organization.”
There it was again. The name of the group I’d been chasing without rest ever since their appearance eighteen years prior. “I knew it...” I mumbled without thinking.
He steeled himself, then continued. “That day, my father was picking me and my sister up after school. Normally we would’ve ridden home with him in his automobile, but that morning, he and I had planned to surprise Aryll by getting...I think it was ice cream, on our way back. Anyway, we decided to walk home that day. But...” His face darkened yet again. “But then...”
Pressing him for more details would have been beyond cruel. I could only imagine the horrors that those blackguards had put him and his family through. “How many of them were there?”
“I’m not sure. All I know is that they had us outnumbered.” I nodded along, without thinking, as he continued his tale. “They were all armed with what looked like military grade shotguns, and they wore those masks with the inverted Sheikah family crest... I’ve always known that I’d seen that image somewhere before.”
No one knew why the organization had chosen this symbol for themselves, though I personally suspected it to be a show of opposition.
“Anyway, after they sh...shot father,” he struggled, a hand coming up to his now quavering lips, “they must’ve felt threatened by Aryll and me, because the next thing they did was...shoot her, too.” The way his tone had started to oscillate and how his face had drained itself of colour made my stomach churn. His anguish was so clear, it was devastating. “One of them had said something to the ends of, ‘We can’t have you scamps telling on us.’ But before they could...’shut me up’ as well, I fled.” Another pause. He kept on breathing. “I was too terrified to notice which way I was going. The whole time I ran, they kept firing at me. They were too reckless to aim properly, though, mind.”
“Well...that’s lucky, at least,” I tried. This was met with a sigh of reluctant agreement. “Still, how did you make it out of that with your life?”
“They stopped chasing me when I made it out of the back alleys and into the open,” he explained. “I suppose they couldn’t risk revealing themselves.”
Now it all made sense. Seven years ago, when he’d vanished without a trace, it was as though he’d never even existed in the first place. No one could get in contact with him or his family, and yet, no one batted an eye about it. It had seemed I’d been the only one who’d thought of it as anything less than perfectly normal. Just like when my mother had lost her life.
“We never had the chance to get ice cream that day.” He looked all but ready to burst into tears with that sentence. That was the moment I realized, no matter how drastically the last seven years of hell had changed him, there was still a fragment of that playful, hollow-legged sixteen-year-old left deep in his dark, forgotten core. If there was a way to bring that bright-eyed child back out into the light, I would find it, even if it spelled my demise.
Even so, there was one thing left that had yet to be explained. “What about your amnesia?”
“Ah...” His brow furrowed in thought. “I don’t know what caused that, to be honest with you.” He seemed to be racking his mind, but to no avail. “By the time those thugs finally gave up, I didn’t recognize my surroundings. I remember trying to find my way home, but I suppose I just ended up getting myself even more lost from there.” It was no wonder. The street names in this town were of little help in navigation, and it wasn’t hard to understand why he might have been apprehensive to ask for directions in such a bustling and hostile environment, especially after what he’d just been subjected to. “So I fell asleep in the streets that night,” he concluded with a shivering exhale. “The next morning, I woke up without the slightest notion of who I was.”
My heart took a plunge at the thought of his young self curled up in some alleyway, like a baby bird who’d fallen from the nest. “It must have been some sort of mental defence mechanism,” I conjectured. “That’s the only explanation I can come up with.” He slowly nodded his agreement. “After that, then, I suppose the rest is history.”
“Indeed...”
The visitors’ room fell into a deep, reflective silence, one nothing like that which had had me gasping for air moments ago. I watched the weary feelings of dread swim in his once bright blue eyes, tearing him apart.
He’d spent five whole years in that cold, cramped ward without even a name by which to call himself. And now we were back where we’d started. He may have regained his memories in the end, but at what cost?
I no longer felt the need to hunt down those who had wronged me. Now, my only desire was to slip between the bars that stood between the two of us and whisk him away to a far off land, where no one would ever hurt us again. But I pushed the impossible daydream aside. Even if escape were an option, we’d only be running straight out into range of Yiga fire.
“After your trial tomorrow...well, at the very least, I’ll lose my badge,” I smiled waywardly. Then, letting it fade and rolling my shoulders back, “Until then, I swear, I’ll do everything within my power to prove your innocence. Then we can go out for ice cream together.”
His eyes shimmered with unshed tears when he looked up at me then. Now that I thought about it, this seemed like the first time I’d ever seen him come close to crying, even in the time before the incident. Of course, he’d seen me in tears countless times back then. I wondered if he remembered them.
“Zelda...?” My name had started to leave his lips with conviction, but weakened on its way out. “There’s...something else I should tell you.”
“Anything.”
Just then, I caught him straightening out the cuff of his black-barred sleeve, concealing the fair skin of his wrist, out of the corner of my eye. “Never mind.” He again cast his gaze downwards, muttering an inaudible, “It’s nothing,” under his breath.
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thefugitivemango · 3 years
Text
Tower Ascendance - Pt IV
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[[ Co-written with @sylaess​ / @sylaesschasewind​ & @kidcatgemini  /@codegemini​ ]]
|| PART I || PART II || PART III ||
~*~
Sinafay was quick to act. Even without weapons, she rushed at the winged figure, but was immediately knocked back by one of its powerful wings. She hit the wall and landed next to a crushed animated armor… well, not animated any longer, most likely cut down by Argonas on his way in. Her hand reached out and took hold of the depleted armor’s weapon, a large axe. 
Convenient.
She grinned. 
The Vindicator took hold of the Mawsworn’s foot as it was pressed to his bare chest. He strained, resisting being stomped further into the ground. Thankfully, he was sturdier than the fallen Kyrian had anticipated. In a quick, fluid motion, he twisted the foot! 
*CRRKKK*
The Mawsworn let out an echoed squeal of pain, rivaled in volume only by the sickening cracking and snapping of its ankle bones and tendons! Immediately, it flapped its wings to get airborne once more, and take the weight of its now-broken foot!
Argonas scrambled to his hooves shortly after, and reclaimed his shield and mace. The Light coursed through him, shining brightly in the otherwise dim place. A show of force… and also a distraction, he hoped.
“Strike fast when you can, then fall back!” he instructed his companions. “I will keep its focus!”
With that, he hurled a Light-borne hammer upward at the tainted Ascendant-- exploding on the impact and knocking the winged abettor back slightly further as sparks of Light showered about it. He definitely had its attention now!
Sylaess had to squint at the shower of Light. Her twin blades were in her hands instinctively. Feet were already moving. For one reason or another, this felt far more comfortable to her than the dread and wonder. Maybe it was a familiar action or the affirmation of danger. Or literally just her swords in her hands and no need to keep puzzling out this wretched tower. The Mawsworn cursed in her shriek of surprise and agony, those wings sweeping in almost defensively as she hurled herself backwards. Or was hurled on the hammer express. Hard to say. The elf caught a glance of that shadow magic forming around the Darksworn’s hands. Heard the quiet words start forming. Ah, shit. “Argonas, ‘ware!”
It was a lot like twisting her skin tightly across her skull, agitating that permanent migraine she’d been nursing this whole time into a dull roar. One leap--felt her lips peel back over her teeth in a rictus snarl as she cast her own spell. Runes barely glimmered. But it went off. The death grip. Yanking her attention with tainted arcane. Felt like being lit up by a search beacon. Syl did not like it. ‘You should know my name is Corrus. I will not permit you to leave.’
The unwanted thought was as intrusive as a finger in the eye. Syl’s swords crashed into the Mawsworn’s spear harmlessly--but she’d interrupted the cast at least. Landed on her feet and danced aside before she could be taken by a swing from that very unfriendly looking spear. “--I don’t give a shit who you are. Get out of my way.”
Sinafay grunted, her spiritual form and time spent in the Maw causing her to tremble under the voice in her head. A pause was all it granted the Mawsworn as she shook it off and charged it from behind.
Unfortunately the shaman lacked the physical strength she had in life. Her blow landed, but was easily deflected by the assailant’s armor. He paid her no mind, his concentration set on the bigger threat, the large Light wielding Draenei in front of him. She huffed, frustrated, taking a few steps back, before charging again.
This time, she jumped up and swung down at one of the Mawsworn’s powerful wings. Success! It cut through part way before getting stuck, lodged in the wound.
Grounded and limping, Corrus found herself at a sudden disadvantage. The opening Sinafay provided was all Argonas needed to reinforce the notion-- a low sweep of his hammer took the remaining good leg out from under the Mawsworn, causing her to topple helplessly. Unable to stand, unable to get aloft… the disgraced Kyrian was in trouble! 
Argonas’ attack didn’t end there, either; as Corrus fell, the Draenei raised his shield up over her before bringing it down on its edge. Once, twice, battering Corrus with a series of painful impacts. She failed in any attempt to block, only able to free herself from beneath the Vindicator’s beratement with a sudden flap of her remaining good wing. Enough wind kicked up to cause Argonas to stumble back a step as the shield caught the gust over his head. She kicked away from him, and shrieked.
“You miserable mortals! I may have underestimated your tenacity, but no amount of fight will free you from your fate! Your souls will never escape the torment of this tower!”
The Mawsworn rose-- not by her wings, but by something else. She hovered a meter or so off the ground, a sickening energy permeating the air around her. Then, a dark haze-like shield surrounded Corrus as she began uttering another incantation! 
Her blades were up--but the sweep of the shield, the words... Sylaess grit her teeth. Found herself backing up from the sight, fighting off a wave of nauseating memories. A sort of bitten off shout was trapped between her clenched jaws, low and continuous. She simply held her swords.
Sinafay swung again with the axe, but the weapon only bounced uselessly on Corrus’ shield. A chill went down her spine as the energy in the room darkened. She looked towards Argo and Syl.
“Take cover! Now!”
She ran towards Syl, motioning for Argo to do the same.
“Shield!”
As she said the words, the room’s ceiling seemed to open up and dark energy enhanced spears began to rain down.
The Draenei raised his physical shield up overhead, cradling the Death Knight and the soul of his beloved close-- as close as he could for a soul, anyway. The dark spears were met with a brilliant Light that emanated from the Vindicator. An incandescent shield expanded over the trio, shielding them from the hail of blackened death! 
“NO!” Corrus shrieked in frustration! “Why won’t you fools just submit!”
Her power expended, she fell back to the ground, collapsing to a kneel. Her foot was still mangled. Her wing torn. She glared from beneath her darkened helmet at Sylaess, Argonas, and the soul she sought to keep imprisoned here. 
She was no match.
“This isn’t over!” she left them with her vague threat, before a familiar darkness overcame her-- not empowering her, but translocating her to elsewhere in the tower.
The fight was finished.
“Is everyone alright?” Argonas asked, glancing between Sylaess and Sinafay.
The elf blinked, peering after Corrus a long moment while she escaped from the closeness of others. The cacophony of spirits was getting louder and harder to block out. She shook her head, jostling herself back into thought. “Leave while we have a breath to do so.” Her swords rested in her hands as an afterthought. No; this would be the best chance she had, after all. ‘You can’t. You have to leave here, find him.’
Flat black eyes stared almost through the wisp, listening to the calm voice. The gentleness. A tone of caring, of love. Heartbreak. Familiarity. That empty calm seemed to mute the world around her in the moment like a thick blanket. She knew what to do. “I’ve got one last thing to do here. It isn’t ethical. So take your chance to leave--they come few and far between after all.”
‘Don’t do this to me. These are other souls!’
It didn’t matter what either of them did from here on out, she took a few steps back into the chamber. Settled her shoulders and shut the world out. Relatively. The spirits were chattering agitatedly. Took a slow breath in, and focused. Just like the Ebon ritualists had shown her. Breathe in. Empty mind. 
Would it even work?
Don’t worry about that. Just try.
‘Syl, no.’
Her breath tumbled out slowly, deliberately. Words chasing the end of it. “You don’t get that choice. They’re beyond saving.”
A steady trickle of power thrumming up through her swords. The pale icy gleam of runes, pre-written spells, coming to a guttering life in a deliberate pattern.
Sinafay’s moon-eyed look had been back on Argonas. Seeing him in action in all his Light filled glory was a sight she would never tire of. She grinned, elated. Finally, they would be out of the tower and out of the Maw! All her years of suffering were about to come to an end!
But, again, the air in the room changed, and she glanced over to Sylaess, worry and confusion set on her features.
“Syl? What are you doing?”
“Sylaess!” Argonas called out as well, brow furrowed.
He didn’t like this one bit. He knew the Death Knight was a variable from the start, but… to turn back and rush further into the tower so close to escape? He couldn’t believe it! What was she thinking!? Had she completely lost her mind?
Well… maybe, now that he thought about it. She wasn’t exactly holding it together before they arrived here, as he recalled.
Still, he had prepared for this possibility. Nothing would stop him from getting Sinafay out of this accursed place-- not even Sylaess. He decided several corridors back that if it came to saving Sinafay or saving Sylaess, he wouldn’t hesitate. And it seemed that moment was upon them now.
“... Damn it!” he cursed, before turning back towards the exit. “Quickly, Sina. We may not have much time!”
Sinafay shook her head, concerned gaze meeting his, fists clenched at her side. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her friend in this terrible place.
“No!” she answered, stubborn as ever, “We cannot just leave her here!”
“We have no choice!” Argonas scowled back. “She can take care of herself. But we must get you out of here!”
“I will not leave her!” came her reply, stomping a hoof down in frustration before turning to make her way towards her friend.
“Sinafay, get the fuck out of here while you have a chance.” Calm and still. Right. She looked at her swords again, keeping herself mostly turned from the pair. “I don’t intend to linger. Just go, I’ll catch up. I need to help him first.” 
The air around her was sharp with cold. Frost was growing off of her armor surprisingly fast. Had to focus. Draw whatever else she could to pull enough power, enough spirits nearby for this. It would be much easier if Sinafay wasn’t near.
“Fuck that! I am NOT leaving!”
“Yes you are.”
Suddenly, Sinafay was halted by something; a bar? A pole? A spear. Argonas knew he couldn’t touch her, himself. To a mortal like him, a soul was intangible. But the Mawsworn had weapons that both souls and mortals were affected by. Both could touch. In her haste, Corrus left behind her spear. It would have to do.
He made quick work of it, bending and folding the spear like a pretzel, wrapping it around Sinafay at her arms and chest. It worked! He could take hold of her now, by the darkened metal rod wrapped tightly around her.
“Forgive me, but I am not about to let you stay in this place!”
“NO!” She let out a frustrated shout, “Argo, let me go!”
He brought Sinafay up over his shoulder, handling her by the metal which bound her, and turned to depart-- but not without casting one more glance back at Sylaess. He didn’t like whatever it was she was doing. The aura felt malicious. As malicious as anything they had encountered in the tower already. Whatever she was doing, he knew it was best if he didn’t see it…
“Be quick, Sylaess.” were the only instructions he muttered. “Do not die… again…”
The elf didn’t so much as flinch at him. She sat on the floor with a sigh and put the hilt of her sword in her mouth and bit down. Hard. The runes were dizzy bright now, the spirits were losing it.
Resigned to the tumble of events.
‘You can’t do this!’ ‘I made the choice a few minutes ago, catch up. If I don’t, you’re gone. You’ll be gone the moment I walk out those doors if this doesn’t go on.’
She shut her eyes against the wisp’s insistent fluttering. The muscles of her jaw contort, knotting. As if words were trying to spill out but were stopped by her claim on the hilt. A snarl formed in her throat, breath hissing out of her nose and mouth. A splintering sound--
There was a long moment of silence. An absence of the crowd of fragmented spirits. She sagged, spitting out what was probably fragments of a tooth, or metal. Didn’t care to check. But Solieyu was there in a truer form. Standing. Staring in disbelief and dismay.
One more sharp breath drawn in, and she spits the pommel out. Wiping her chin with the back of a hand.
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writefinch · 3 years
Text
Dear Dairy, Pt.1 (cn: noncon, Mm, kidnap, emphasis on *forced* feminization, induced lactation, milking, bondage, drugging, induction of gender dysphoria in a cis guy, things of that nature)
7th July 2018
Cold day today. I dusted off my scarves for the first time this year. Not literally, they'd been vacuum sealed and packed away when the weather turned in October. I threw out the red and yellow knit scarf, something I should have done last year, as it's far too Harry Potter. I was going to pick out the UMIST scarf but that felt a touch dull for the first scarf of the year. In the end I picked out the green silk paisley, which I felt provided a contrast with the pink shirt. I wore them with the second-hand grey Armani that I've yet to have tailored; I haven't yet decided if it's worth the trouble. I'm leaning towards yes, as I received two compliments today, one from Jason's database administrator, a charming and flirtatious--to say nothing of attractive--lady from Perth. We've talked about the possibility of meeting up for drinks at some point, and I'm increasingly inclined to take her up on the offer.
Experiment C2 is adjusting to his newfound freedom since his release last week. It was sad to see him go, and I'll cherish the time we spent together, our first night especially when he violently objected to the idea of servicing me. Oh, how he kicked and fought, clawing at his neck chain, scratching me, biting, swinging wildly. He bloodied my nose rather viciously and left me in no mood for sex that night, to the extent that I almost let him go entirely.
Of course, his demeanor changed altogether after I bagged him. A clear plastic bag over his head, taped around his neck, watching him gasp and writhe for air that isn't there, screaming his silly little head off until he's sure that he's taken his final breath, then tearing a tiny hole over his nostrils. I let him suck in four generous lungfuls of air before I bagged him the second time, and I went through seven bags before allowing him a rest. After that he became such an agreeable and solicitous cocksleeve you'd have thought he was raised in a merchant marine!
Still, he was unsuitable both physiologically and psychologically for the experimental interventions, and I only have so much space in the cellar, so I had to let him go. Some of my social acquaintances are keeping a close eye on him. He's been told that running his mouth will lead to nothing but the cold grave, and I believe he's a bright enough lad to take that to heart.
I'm beginning the search for his replacement tomorrow.
20th July 2018
I've found him! I've found him I've found him, he is everything I've been looking for, he is perfect, it is as if God placed that boy on earth for no other purpose than my need for him. I can barely contain my excitement.
He is an itinerant surf bum, twenty years of age, single, underemployed, estranged from his family. He has flowing blond hair, a few wisps under his chin that can barely be called a beard, deep brown eyes, and a lithe, rangy figure that seems to be slowly growing into the top-heavy carrot-shaped build of a classic surfer. He's been living in town since May, surfing most days, doing temp jobs, lodging in the spare bedroom of a friend of mine.
What a perfect physique! His body is accustomed to being dashed over rocks and whipped by surf, what fun I will have finding and surpassing his tolerances for pain! Oh, to restrict and ration out air to a boy who has trained himself to hold his breath underwater since he was a young teenager, to see those taut muscles stretched over a rack, I cannot wait, I can't wait.
I won't speak or write his name. I now take every action with the foregone conclusion that he is mine, and that he is already Experiment C3. In my mind, he is already in my cellar.
My friend has kindly allowed him to get behind on his rent, and C3 apparently plans to move to Sydney in ten day's time, driving out across the country in his decade-old Ford Ka, surfboard strapped to the roof. When he disappears a few days before that, people will assume he left to avoid paying his rent.
They won't be wrong, in a sense. C3 won't be worrying about rent for a long, long time...
26th July, 2018
It hasn't been an easy choice, and it is in fact a decision I've been struggling with for some time now, but I've decided to let my hair go grey. I'm almost forty for heaven's sake, and I noticed my first grey a year before the financial crisis. Ever since then I've been religious in my application of dye and toner, carefully concealing each and every one of the pale little buggers that pops up, but it's gone from something I'd do after a haircut to something I'm doing twice a week. I won't rush it, I'm going to ease off the dye over the course of the next year or so, but by next July I'll be au naturelle salt and pepper.
Work remains dull but tolerable. I know I'm blessed to be able to do most of my duties from home given my hobbies, but there's a certain sense of removal from everything, as if it's not really a job at all and I'm back at university doing a coursework-intensive compulsory module. On the other hand, I do enjoy going to the office in a way that I did not when I was going there five days a week!
Experiment C3 is screaming his head off again, I think. It's very faint, and I've turned off the air conditioning in the sitting room so I can hear it coming up from below. I suppose I can't blame the boy, given the circumstances. He hasn't seen me since the drugs wore off, and he's in the same configuration I first kept C2 in: his feet are in snowboard boots and locked into clips in the floor, his neck is in a steel collar connected to an eyebolt on the floor by a one-metre chain, his wrists are cuffed and pulled up towards the ceiling by another chain, he has noise-cancelling headphones strapped over his ears blaring white noise, and he's wearing a blindfold snug enough to prevent him from even blinking underneath it.
He's been there for seven hours now, since three in the morning. He can neither stand nor sit nor lie down, he cannot turn around, he cannot see--though it is pitch black in the cellar even if he wasn't blindfolded--he cannot hear his own voice, and I very much doubt he has any idea how he got there.
As I said, I haven't been down to see him properly yet, so I'm monitoring him at a distance via CCTV and also his pulse and blood oxygen readings. I'm keeping him watered through an IV drip and I'm not at all worried about feeding him just yet, though I'm sure he'll be getting hungry given that I emptied out the contents of his guts with an enema while he was still unconscious. I want him properly good and woozy from sleep deprivation before I introduce myself, either forty-eight hours or until his vitals get a tad skiffy, whichever is shorter. By my word, I am not an impatient man!
Of course, given the close monitoring required, I'll only be getting a few more hours sleep than he will. I suspect I'm getting the better half of the deal. Ah, the poor thing just wet himself. He needn't worry, it's all going into the bucket between his feet, and it'll go to good use later.
I've calmed myself down since his capture, for practical reasons as much as anything else, but I am still abuzz with energy. I am already looking forward to writing my next entry!
28th July 2018
I introduced myself to C3 today.
He spent an impressively long time in the stress position before he was unable to push his legs and instead dangled from his wrists, almost twelve hours, at which point I let the wrist rope go slack and allowed him to collapse. To prevent him from sleeping I intermittently blasted him with high pressure cold water whenever his pulse dropped below 100, for about a further four hours until I decided he'd had enough rest and strung his wrists back up.
He lasted five hours that time, so I let his wrists down again and stood sentry with a paintball gun, giving him a good and proper three-round burst whenever he stopped whimpering. Up again, barely an hour, down again, where I pinned him to the floor with wiring from an electric fence, set to deliver low-intensity zaps across his arms and chest whenever it seemed as if sleep was a possibility. He only got a few shocks, I think the first few put him in such a state of alarm that he didn't dare relax enough to be given another.
I strung him up a few more times, sometimes combining the motivators--his quivering thighs made a delightful target for paintballs as he tried to hold them in a crouching squat--until we reached the forty-ninth hour. I then played my recorded introduction tape through his headphones. It was identical to the one I'd played for C1 and C2, which was itself similar to the one recorded for B4 through B9.
Of course, as the deaf and blindfolded boy was crouch-squatting in place hearing my voice tell him that his old life was forfeit, that he was livestock now, that he would be used as a sex slave, that disobedience would only lead to misery, and the details of the hormone treatments he would be on, I was standing in front of him, masturbating.
My timing was impeccable. Just as the last lines of the recording said "if you're wondering when you'll meet me, I'm right in front of you," I came all over his whorish face. I'm afraid I'm no Peter North, I've no more than four spurts and the first one is always rather watery, but I nailed him right between the lips with one burst and smeared the rest over his face with the tip of my cock. He froze up rather delightfully during the whole ordeal, barely flinching as I cleaned off the tip in his hair.
I took the microphone and spoke directly into his headphones. I told him he'd been in his predicament for two days so far, that he was to obey my simple instructions, and that if he did he would be allowed food and allowed to rest. I told him that I would not require him to speak at any point during these instructions, and that if he so much as whispered I'd keep him strung up without food for another two days. He nodded in agreement, which earned him a hard slap, as I'd not asked him to nod or shake his head. I told him then to nod if he understood, which he did.
I freed one of his arms at a time, telling them to keep them in place and move them only as and when I told him to move them. He obeyed--a far quicker learner than C1--and I put him into the straitjacket. I unlatched his boots one at a time, putting him in ankle cuffs with a short length of heavy chain between them. I injected him in the buttocks with his first dose of anti-androgens, a painkiller, and his hormonal cocktail, and I removed the IV from his arm.
At that point I led him to his cage, a 2x3 metre cell, 1.5 metres high. I removed his blindfold, though it did him little good as it was pitch black in the entire room--I'd switched off the lights and was working via a set of light amplification goggles--and pushed him onto the wipe-clean bedroll.
"Lie still like a good little boy until the lights turn on, and then you can help yourself to some food," I said to him. He made a sound as if to respond, then silenced himself, lying still in his bonds.
The lights were on a timer, and they came on harsh and bright when I was upstairs, watching him through the CCTV on my desktop with a fresh pot of coffee. Three of the walls of his cage were walled off with a tarp, allowing him to see about a fifth of the basement through the remaining wall. Inside his cage was his bedroll, a doggie bowl full of oatmeal and bananas, a small plastic trough filled with fresh water, and a litter tray.
I considered staying up and watching him, seeing the fear grow in his eyes, his first attempt at eating cold food without the use of his hands, the humiliation of pissing in a litter tray, but I was exhausted. As soon as I've finished writing this entry, I'm going to take a well-deserved nap.
4th October 2018
The truffle salt from Coles is a waste of time. Don't misunderstand me, it's useable, it's palatable, and it has the necessary truffle aroma. "Has" is the key word there, it's got the half-life of Fermium and after a week in the cupboard it's now just table salt with black specks in it. I think I'm going to invest in some decent truffle oil at Christmas.
C3 is coming along marvelously. The combination of injections and a high-fat, high-calorie, vitamin-rich diet have had a visible impact on his physique. His skin has softened even further from a clear and healthy surfer's complexion to almost peachlike smoothness and he now has visible jiggle on his thighs, stomach and buttocks. Most importantly, he's now the not-at-all-proud owner of a set of A-cup breasts, complete with sensitive, pebble-sized nipples.
His breasts are extremely sensitive. He's told me as much directly, but I've confirmed it through experimental means. A few light stripes under the nipples with the cane used to bring a wince to his face when he first came under my care, now it brings him to his knees, and the mere sight of the thing leads him to cry and whine rather prettily.
He did have some issues with portion control, in that he wasn’t eating the full servings of food I had prepared for him. This was unreasonable and short-sighted on his part: while plain, I have not asked him to eat anything that I wouldn't willingly eat myself, and while I am not a professional cook I am certainly a talented amateur.
The solution was a simple one: if even a smear of food remains in his dish, I do not feed him for the next two to four days. I only had to enforce this rule twice, and he's finished every meal I've put in front of him for the past two months.
He's gone without sleeping for the last forty-eight hours, he's gone without speaking for the last three weeks, and I've added a low dose of LSD to his drinking water. Tonight he should be somewhat tractable for the induction of a hypnotic state. I am not trying to control his behaviour--there's nothing I want him to do that I couldn't compel him to do through more reliable means--but for an in-depth interview. In concert with a lie detector and a regulated dose of barbiturates, I am going to make him bare his soul to me.
There are a few specifics I'm interested in, such as confirming my assessment of his sexuality and gender identity, and it never hurts to shore up my security by inquiring of any planned means of escape or rescue, but in great part I am doing this for morale effect: I want him to have no respite from me, even inside his own mind. He will learn that he has no more control of his thinking than he does of his eating, sleeping or exercising.
Speaking of which, I had to leave him in an armbinder for a few nights when he insisted on doing press-ups in his cell. The additional restraints distressed him greatly, and he's seemed afraid to even move lest I restrain him further. That was back in August, and I have since acquired an elliptical trainer which I allow him to use daily, good behaviour permitting.
I will write again tomorrow with details of tonight's interview, and I only hope it's more productive than C2's interview was.
5th October 2018
Well, that was elucidating.
I left C3 unrestrained for the interview. It was his first time free of shackles and cuffs outside of his cage since he'd arrived, as I wanted him to be relatively comfortable and I was confident that his drug cocktail would prevent any serious escape attempts.
He is not a natural hypnotic subject and I was only successful in inducing a semi-trance state. I don't think he achieved a trance, but I think he believed he was in a trance, and for my purposes that was more than sufficient. He talked for hours and provided an unabridged history of his life so far. His parents, his brothers, his schooling, his love of surfing and camping, his romantic attachments and rejections, his childhood friends and bullies, his fear of dogs, his earliest memories, his deepest shames, enough to fill a short memoir.
The interview lasted for ten hours, with breaks every two hours to allow him to pee (as I'd also allowed him to drink lime cordial from a cup while he spoke) and to adjust his dose of drugs and deepen his trance state. He cried frequently and easily. He bears a great amount of shame and guilt for someone so young and so relatively innocent--raised by Catholics, naturally--and spent half of the fifth hour in uncontrollable hysterics. I let him rest his head in my lap and stroked his hair as he cried, and he clung on to me like a man drowning. Once he ran out of tears he had a bout of cathartic laughter, and after that a calm passed over him, and he remained in a state of detached, cooperative calm until I ended the interview.
Of course, most of this was filler and background information for the parts that truly interested me: his sexuality and gender identity. Both were perfect. His sexuality is less important but still delightful. He is entirely heterosexual and repulsed by men. He still has nightmares about the one time I have molested him so far, when I coated his face with cum shortly after his chapter. You wouldn't believe how hard I got as he told me that!
He sometimes masturbates in his cage, which he tells me is mostly from boredom than any sexual desire, and he fantasizes about sex with women. He has little interest in sadomasochism, no interest whatsoever about taking a submissive role, and aside from a weak interest in pegging he is plain vanilla. He has fantasies about sex in public, fucking multiple women, being woken up by receiving oral sex, and seducing older women.
His gender identity is much the same: male, through and through. He has insecurities about being slight and physically unimposing--related to bullying in school--and about being insufficiently masculine. He takes pride in the callouses in his hands and the scars on his body from surfing, and wishes that the thin, pale stubble on his face was thicker.
It's of little surprise then that he finds the changes from the hormones to be a cruel and unwanted imposition. His breast growth makes him feel powerless and disgusted with himself, he can feel his muscles weakening, the tenderness in his breasts is terrifying and degrading, and even the topic of penile and testicular shrinkage made him choke up and sob. He says that even when I allow him to sleep, his mind feels clouded and he finds it increasingly difficult to identify the particulars of his emotional state, which swings and changes in ways he is not used to.
Again, I must reiterate how promising this is. My experiments concern the induction of sexual neuroses and physical development on non-consenting subjects. C1 was unsuitable because he--well, she, more likely--was a little too keen to embrace the role I had planned for her.
C3 is sleeping now. I haven't actually left our impromptu "therapy room" and he's drifted off with his head in my lap. He needs the rest. I have big plans for him, after all.
24th October, 2018
I took a trip to the cinema today. Specifically the single-screen cinema in the back of the adult bookshop. C2 is turning tricks for the manager. I don't think it's his first career choice but for some reason he's been unable to get a job anywhere else in town. He tried being an independent streetwalker for a while, which didn't work out well for him as he was quickly picked up by the local police and treated rather roughly. Almost as if they were keeping an eye on him!
The manager of the adult bookshop got in touch with him, I believe he was waiting for him outside the local lockup in fact, and informed him of a safe, reliable means of plying his trade. Now he sucks cock in the back room cinema along with a handful of other whores in exchange for a roof over his head and ten percent of the ticket sales.
He was apparently given a second tour of the police cells for not handing his tips over to the manager in a timely and honest manner, so his left eye was still swollen shut when I saw him today. His garb was delightful: pastel pink yoga leggings with the Adidas stripes down the sides, and a duck egg blue midriff-cut t-shirt with "BOY" on the chest, with a female gender symbol in place of the O.
I sat down next to him in the otherwise empty cinema and flashed him my ticket, which had set me back $84--worth every penny--and he flashed me a charming smile. There was no glimmer of recognition in his eyes, like all of my experiments and side projects he'd never seen me without a mask. He put his hand on my thigh and told me his name, which I've already forgotten. The feature began, a rather energetic video from the noughties with Kelly Wells, Hillary Scott and Layla Riviera, prompting C2 to get on his knees in front of me. He gagged a little when he unzipped my jeans, not because I was unwashed but because I'd applied a generous quantity of deodorant and aftershave so that he would not recognise me via scent.
I enjoyed a slow, leisurely blowjob for the next hour, where he displayed all the basic techniques I'd so painstakingly taught him as well as a few new ones he'd picked up more recently. There's something to be said about consuming porn this way, not just the oral service but also watching the film from the beginning, without skipping forward to my favorite parts or switching between videos, letting myself slowly build towards my climax at the same pace as the on-screen action. I came just before the money shot, pulling out to cum all over C2's face as Kelly Wells guzzled piss on the big screen, and let C2 lick and suck my balls until the credits rolled.
Before he or I got up, I took out $20, waved it in front of his eyes, and then used the notes to wipe cum up from his face. He flinched at the roughness, scowled, told me to cut it out, and put his hand on my leg as if to push away from me. I said three words.
"Punishment position three."
It was as if I'd reached inside him and squeezed. He let out a pitiful squeak, straightened up on his knees, pushed out his chest, put his hands behind his back, closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and let his tongue hang out. I stuffed the cum-soaked banknotes between his mouth.
"Be good, C2," I told him as I stood up. He didn't move a muscle as I walked out of the cinema, and as the door closed behind me, I heard a single muffled sob. It was an enjoyable experience and I certainly needed it after the last few days because C3 has really been a handful.
It began on the weekend when the first signs of lactation appeared. C3 has been getting increasingly upset with the changes to his body, his widening hips, his weight gain, his shrinking musculature, his shrinking genitalia, and his C-cup breasts. The breasts are especially upsetting, he complains that they ache constantly and are tender to the slightest touch. In any case, when the first droplets of milk dribbled out of his nipples something snapped.
Through tears, he told me that he refuses to eat, that he cannot live with the things I am doing to him, and that I should either let him go or kill him. Obviously this is unacceptable. I told him I was not treating his request with any seriousness, and that if he did not eat his meal, he would go without for the next several days. He nodded forlornly, but still refused the food.
I strapped his hands into leather mitts to prevent him from improvising methods of self-harm, and continued as normal. For the next three days, he refused to respond to commands or obey orders, remaining silent and going limp. He wailed in pain when I caned his soles and slapped his tits, but he continued to wallow in self-pity.
He was ravenously hungry by Wednesday, but when I gave him the opportunity to eat, he would not. I left the bowl of food in his cage overnight, and in the morning it remained untouched. He had not thrown it out or despoiled it, he had simply ignored it in an admirable, if misplaced, display of willpower. I gave him one final warning that there would be serious consequences if he did not eat now. He refused, so I applied the consequences.
I fitted him into a padded restraining board, on his back, his arms, legs, chest, stomach, forehead, chin, wrists and ankles held in place by canvas straps. He could not move an inch, not that he was trying particularly hard. A hollow dildo gag with a breathing hole went into his mouth, principally to prevent him from trying to bite off his own tongue. I catheterized him and inserted a hollow plug into his backside, not overly gently in either case, much to his consternation.
Then, intubation. I fed a heavily-lubricated silicone hose into his left nostril. He thrashed and twitched, as is expected when such a procedure is performed without the aid of benzodiazepines. Undeterred, I asked him to start swallowing, lest the tube end up in his lungs. He did as much gagging as swallowing, but after a few eventful minutes I felt the tell-tale glide of it being pulled down his esophagus and into his stomach.
Once the tube was taped in place under his nose, I attached the free end to a pump until it drew fluid out from within him. A few drops of this fluid onto pH paper revealed it to be stomach acid, which hopefully meant that the hose was not in his lungs. I then attached the hose to the feeding machine, and explained to C3 exactly how it would work.
He would have his meals and water combined into a slurry, kept at a cool four degrees celsius, and injected into his feeding tube. The pressure inside the hose would make breathing difficult or impossible while the food was being pumped, and the volume of his meals--around a litre and a half of slurry--meant that each feeding would be spread out in thirty second bursts, delivered semi-randomly over the course of an hour.
As I told him this, I undid my belt and began to masturbate. Despite the obvious temptations, I had not molested C3 in an overtly sexual manner since that first facial at the beginning of his captivity. By combining molestation with removal of autonomy, I wished to impress upon him the importance of obeying me with whatever autonomy I allow him to have.
I pressed the button on the feeding machine as I approached my climax. C3 squealed and gurgled like a drowning cat from the sensation of ice-cold sludge pumping through a tube in his sinuses and down into his throat, choking as the diameter of the tube expanded enough to cut off his breathing. He thrashed in his restraints with such force that he almost moved the gurney beneath him!
Seeing tears stream from his eyes was too much, and his eyes were precisely where I aimed. I landed a good few ropes on each eye, which he scrunched shut in disgust. When the tube stopped pumping I pried open his eyelids with my fingers and made sure a good quantity of my burning, stinging cum got in each eye, then smeared the rest across his face. He tried to blink it out, with little success, and before he could do much else I applied the padded blindfold. He hates and fears the eye-shutting pressure from the neoprene padding at the best of times, and wasn't overjoyed to wear it with his eyes gunked up with sperm.
He's been like that for the last three days, unable to move, speak or see, fed three meals a day through his nose. The only interaction he's had is when I've unrestrained his individual limbs and allowed them some movement, one at a time, to prevent bedsores and deep vein thrombosis, and when I come down to grope his sensitive tits. He is only able to relieve himself through the catheter and through enemas.
After a few days of stick, he's almost ready for the carrot. Tonight I am making pork carnitas with soft tacos, which he has told me is his favourite meal. I have also purchased one of the Harry Dresden books, which he told me he is an avid reader of. When dinner is ready, I will make him an offer: he will ask me for normal food and apologize for forcing me to use the feeding tube. In return he will be allowed out of his restraints and returned to his comfortable cage, along with his favourite meal and a good book, which he will be allowed to read during his spare time as long as he behaves himself.
I hope he accepts, for his sake and mine.
16 November 2018
C3 had his first true milking today! I've been teasing dribbles of milk from his nipples with my fingers for weeks, but today the volume was so high that I had to deploy a handheld breast pump. He whimpered for the duration but was obviously relieved by the reduction in pressure. It was as if he found the whole ordeal rather humiliating.
The milk is rich, a touch gamey, and less sweet than expected. I don't think the taste will be anything to write home about while his stress levels are so high, and I think that will be the case for some time. I've taken half for myself, and I'm mixing the other half into his food.
He's been docile since the force feeding. The intensity and inevitability of the punishment is part of it, but the rewards are equally important. My deal is that he can ask for anything once. Obviously I laugh at certain requests--he's not getting a phone or a two-way radio--and some things require compromise, but otherwise I have been accommodating. His cell now contains a lamp he can turn on or off, two dozen books and graphic novels, an old mp3 player, and a box of wet wipes. His relief from the constant boredom of being confined in a cage for twenty hours a day is palpable, and he has chosen the comfort that obedience brings over the misery that stems from disobedience.
He has asked if he'll ever be free from this basement and I truthfully said yes. One day he'll be walking around outside free of physical restraints and he will sleep at night in a bed he can truly call his own, though I'm unsure if he'll ever truly be free of me. He takes comfort in the fact that he has not yet seen my face or anything that might identify me, as he reasons that I am therefore not incentivized to bury him in a shallow grave to protect myself. His conclusion is correct but his premise is wrong; he'll know who I am eventually and I still won't fear him.
I'm currently milking him once per day regardless of his feelings on the matter, and I think this has hidden from him the fact that he now needs to be milked. Without his daily milkings the pain in his breasts would become unbearable, and soon he will develop mastitis if he's not milked. This will form another important part of his development: begging for things that are distasteful but necessary. With the exception of the wet wipes, there is nothing inherently humiliating in the things he's asking for. I believe he'll find begging to be milked intensely humiliating, and more humiliating still because of the tolls I'll extract from him when he goes down that road.
A brief note on his physical changes: his breasts are bigger but they remain C-cups for the time being. There are now a striking set of stretch marks on the sides and undersides of his breasts, along with some smaller, subtler ones on his thighs and buttocks which have also thickened up nicely. At some point I'm going to give him a regular schedule of retention enemas until he gets stretch marks on his belly befitting a pregnant little broodslut. His skin is delightfully soft and I'm shaving his face daily until the home electrolysis kit arrives. The combination of hormones, daily exercise bike sessions, and a lack of any upper body resistance training has changed his physique from a surfer's build to a more bottom heavy one.
As soon as I have finished writing this entry I am going to give him two gifts. The first gift is an ear piercing. It will be home to a yellow plastic tag, a miniature version of a cattle tag. The second gift is his name. He's not C3 anymore, and he's certainly not whatever stupid name he called himself before I acquired him. He has lovely tits and he's a milk cow, so his name will be Cowtits.
Cowtits. I think it suits him.
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Text
Title: Wrong Winchester Turned Right (Part X)
Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader (Female)
Word Count: 2506
Warnings: None that I know of
Prompt: So not really a prompt, I was on Pinterest and I looked up fanfiction prompts and this popped up from a user who I can’t find the account of… Anyways reader jumps on the back of who she thought was her best friend in public but ends up quickly realizing her mistake.
Note: Shoutout to my beta reader for keeping me going
(Read Part I Here, Part II Here, Part III Here, Part IV Here, Part V Here, Part VI Here, Part VII Here, Part VIII Here, Part IX Here)
Taglist: @vicmc624
--
“70 years?” The shock you were feeling clearly shown across your face. “But then how is she here now?” You searched your brain, the depths of your memories to try to recall if there was anything you didn’t tell them. You’d spent so much time researching, you weren’t sure it was possible that you could have messed up on a detail as large as the resurfacing of this creature.
Dean watched you pace. He didn’t think you even recognized when you stood up to start walking. “It’s okay, (Y/L/N).”
You stopped walking, when did you start doing that, and stared at Dean. You had begun to associate his use of your last name with the intimate moments you’d shared. “I can’t explain this, how is that okay?”
“(Y/N/N), it is okay. You shared what you knew and we just have to do a little more digging.” Sam watched you, he’d seen the look in your eyes several times when you reached a stopping point in a case. “Maybe we should get some food.”
“You cannot make me calm down with food me with food Samuel Winchester.”
“Look, I know you. You’re hungry, hangry even. Let’s get some food and spend a little time just thinking about what could possibly explain the return. Any holidays, anniversaries, or similarities to another creature.”
You looked between the boys. “Fine, but we need to figure this out fast before she finds someone else to ensnare.”
------
After returning to the motel room you all secured a spot and opened up your laptops to do some research. You refused to give Sam the satisfaction that he had been right about food helping you, instead you continued to glare at your screen. It was like a scavenger hunt, picking through various clues to lead you to the reasoning she could possibly be awake 70 years earlier than she should.
You started by searching holidays that fell around that time that could have impacted this arrival. You’d hoped it would be as simple as All Hallow’s Eve but the timing didn’t make sense. You searched through the holidays but the only one that caught any attention was Litha, also known as the summer solstice. It was the longest day of the year but it was also the day that indicated the dark was taking back over. Considering the creature’s nature it wouldn’t be far off but there had to be something more. You switched to anniversaries.
You researched old cases that seemed similar. Disappearances of multiple girls, bodies never found, but a trail of men left in the wake of their disappearances. You spotted the trend of years between the appearances start to dwindle. What could have changed to cause this?
Dean spoke up, breaking your train of thought. “According to legend she is supposed to appear once a year, some Scottish folklore, but Sam found something saying she’s not supposed to appear for another 70 years.” 
“The American folklore mentioned that she was far more efficient when she would come out so she didn’t need to come out as much.”
“Folklore is just that boys, we need to remember that just because it’s what someone believes, it doesn’t mean it’s completely factual. Once upon a time the cases that resembled her activity were sparse but over the last 500 years it seems they’ve gotten closer and closer.”
“How did you research that far back already?” Dean stared in amazement. He drained the last of his beer, a small drop trailing down his chin.
You watch the drop of beer and your brain thinks of how nice it would be to lick it off of him. Well, that is going to be distracting. “Been doing it for a long time and I already had some prior knowledge. Her pattern is becoming more predictable though. Perhaps her investments aren’t lasting as long or the blood isn’t as rich as it used to be. Hunters do like to drink.”
Dean shared a wry glance with his brother as he popped the cap off his next beer. “Cheers to that. So, anyways, how do we know when she’s going to disappear?”
“We don’t, the dates of disappearance are the only thing that were ever inconsistent throughout time. Which is why we need to act fast.” You knew it was coming, the food break could only stall the conversation of you being used to lure her out for so long. “I say we take two days to prep and plan, and then Friday evening is the night we go through with it.”
Dean reminded himself this was the right thing to do and bunched his hands into tight fists. “What do you believe is the best course of action?”
You’d chosen the bed as your place of study but wished you were closer to Dean in this moment. You shifted your laptop to the bed and moved to the edge of Sam’s bed, close enough to rest your hands on top of Dean’s white-knuckled fists. “We go on a date.”
“A date? How will that get her attention?”
“I’ll be all dressed up and so happy to be out with you but you’ll go on and break my heart. My appearance should attract her because she has a thing for shiny objects and a mean man who deserves to die would be the icing on the cake she needs.”
“Doesn’t sound like we have to wait until Friday.” Dean adjusted, his muscles loosening at the fact that he would be with you during this scheme.
“We should wait though. Friday night is date night for most people. We need to round out the image and appearances too. Plus we can’t stop our search, especially with the interaction I had today. She’ll know we’re onto her and if we were to just go for it the next day it would look suspicious. Waiting provides us time to make it look like we are struggling, giving up, weakening.”
Dean released the fists he held and gripped your hands with his. “Weak is one thing we are not.”
“We know that, she won’t, especially if we can pull the fight off.”
Sam, who’d been patiently biding his time finally spoke up. “You two should investigate together tomorrow. You haven’t quite appeared as a couple in public and it will seem odd if the two of you just go out Friday. I’m going to take a shower while you figure out what you think you can fight about.”
You waited until the water was running, unable to pull away from Dean. You’d agreed to start something, but now the thought of ending it, even faking ending it, seemed too real too soon. “Can we pull this off?”
“Oh, I think I can manage to get upset with you about something.” Dean chuckled when you snarled. “See, we’re already ready to argue.”
“What about Sam?” Dean just stared at you, waiting for further explanation. “We could fight about Sam. I’ve been hunting and investigating with him over you so it wouldn’t be far fetched to think that there was something going on there.”
Dean flinched. “I don’t want that imagery, again.” Dean pulled you onto his lap, linking his fingers behind your back. “Does this mean we have to go shopping?”
“Well, I didn’t exactly pack going out clothes for a hunting trip.”
Dean resigned himself to the idea of spending hours looking for clothes with you, but reminded himself it was just more time he got to spend with you, something he was enjoying probably far too much. “We’re doing it together. I think it’ll help with the appearance, plus I want as much time with you before this all goes down.” Dean planted a kiss to your neck.
“It hasn’t even been three weeks that I’ve known you, the real you, but it feels like so much longer.” You hooked one arm around Dean’s neck, leaning back so you could look into his eyes. This next part wasn’t going to make him happy. “Promise me one thing, if this turns south and she lures me in, you won’t let her keep me. Trap me up until you can figure out a way to get me back or end it.” You felt yourself hit the bed before you had time to process what was happening.
“End it?” Dean was stomping the length of the room, thrusting his fingers through his hair. “We just talked about how we aren’t weak. There is no way anything is going to happen to you.” Dean stopped and looked at you. “I’m going to walk around outside for a bit, I need some space to think over the fact you want me to just end it.”
You flinched as the door slammed behind Dean. Maybe it was callous to say end it but if it was necessary so be it. To hell with him. Who did he think he was getting upset when he said he would go with the plan. To. Hell. With. Him.
You stood, prepared to just change and go to bed, but found yourself seeking out the man who continued to push your buttons.
“This is my choice!” You yelled to his shadow. “I can ask Sam to do it if you don’t think you can but I refuse to live a life with this creature where I’m luring and killing men for sport. You’re either with me or you’re not.” Satisfied you got that off your chest you turned to reenter the motel room but found yourself scooped into Dean’s arms. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Don’t you dare ask Sam.” Dean carried you to the hood of Baby and set you down, standing between your legs. “Of course I would do it but did you think the concept would be easy for me to think about? What if I told you to end it for me if she managed to get her claws in me and I was fighting to hold on? How would you respond?”
You bristled, the thought quite unpleasant. “I get it, and I’m sorry, but it is part of the job, the life.” You leaned forward and linked your hands behind his neck, drawing him closer. “This should get her attention.”
“I’m not doing this for her attention,” Dean mumbled, dropping a featherlight kiss to your lips. “I like you, and I don’t like people lightly. Giving me time to wrap my head around losing you before we go through with this plan is probably for the best and it will probably help my anger during our faux argument.”
“It’s not going to be easy for me either. I may have been indifferent to you at first but I like you too.”
“Indifferent?” Dean chuckled. “You couldn’t have cared less about me at the start if you tried.”
“You’re wrong,” You said, recalling the day you jumped on his back. “I would say I found you annoyingly attractive but we just started off on the wrong foot.”
“Does that mean we are on the right foot?”
You answered by sealing your lips to his. You crossed your ankles behind his legs, pulling yourself as tight against him as you could. You didn’t even recognize your own behavior anymore, but you were about to put your life on the line in a way that you never had before. Not just yourself though, someone who had quickly become an important piece in your life. It should have shook you how much you cared about Dean but instead you felt comfort in his arms. 
“You’ve really gotta stop thinking while I’m kissing you,” Dean interrupted your train of thoughts.
Sighing you moved your hands to cup his face. “I was just thinking about how comfortable I am in your arms.”
“Oh,” Dean said, squeezing you tighter. “Well, in that case, could you think out loud?”
“Let’s go back in before we draw too much attention to ourselves.”
Dean scooped you off the hood of the car. “Don’t wanna scratch the hood.”
You rolled your eyes. “Okay, you didn’t scratch the hood, now put me down.”
Dean continued to carry you, dropping you on the bed, ignoring the look Sam was giving him. He turned to his duffle bag, deciding he needed to take a very long shower. He lifted the duffle bag onto his shoulder and winked at you before walking into the bathroom. He wanted you to join him but this case needed to be over before he could think about going any further with you.
He stripped out of his clothes and turned the water on, not as hot as he normally would but he needed to cool down, which would normally work if you hadn’t knocked on the door. “What?”
“I need to change.”
“Couldn’t you just ask Sammy to step outside?”
“Oh, don’t be a baby.”
Dean pictured you changing, easily done since you’d showered together just that morning. How had it only been since that morning when it felt like it had been days if not weeks since that had occurred. “(Y/L/N), you’re killing me.”
“When you first started using my last name I hated it but now I find it endearing, kind of a turn on.” You heard Dean groan, bringing a smile to your lips. 
“Could you just change and go so I can get on with my shower.”
You slipped your night shirt over your head. “Right, I’m sure that’s all you need to get on with.” When Dean’s head whipped around the shower curtain to glare at you the laughter bubbled from deep within before you could stop it. “I’m going.” You walked out still laughing, catching a curious eye from a lounging Sam. “Just teasing your brother.”
You curled onto your side under the blanket, keeping room for Dean since you knew that was where he was going to sleep. You thought about how you woke up with him and the events that had transpired to his black eye, followed by the entire day you had. You were overwhelmed and the exhaustion soon took you under.
Dean attempted to get under the covers without waking you. Sam was out and the only light was from the moon shining through the curtains. He sucked in a deep breath when you rolled against him, nervous.
“What time is it?” You mumbled.
“Just close your eyes and go back to sleep.” Dean wrapped an arm around you, pulling you close so your head rested on his chest. As soon as Dean could feel your chest rising and falling at a slower rate he relaxed and felt himself begin to fall asleep. He knew the next two days were going to be long as the preparations to face the creature who inadvertently brought you together unfolded so he took the time to enjoy the feel of you in his arms. Running his fingers and up and down your arm he let the pattern lull himself to sleep.
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avversiera-writes · 3 years
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try again; in everyday we breathe life [tobirama senju/you] - chapter 3
Chapter 3 - Now
Summary: some moral teetering here and there; tobi and you as his wife switch attitudes, as you realize not everything is what it cracks out to be
Word count: ~3k
available on AO3.
Chapter 1 - Now | Chapter 2 - Then, part 1 | Chapter 2 - Then, part 2 |
When you finally come to, you feel an IV drip inserted into your hand. A heavy hand is resting on your arm, and it lifts off when you turn your head to the side. Tobirama stares at you, neither angry or placating, and once you get a good look at his face, you realize that he is quite sad. There is no sound in the background, but the desire to fill in the silence is strong. For once, you have run out of words. 
  “You didn’t want to let me know.” Tobirama states after a long time. “Do you think I would not find out?” 
  You bite your lip, just in case you say something wrong. 
  “Do you not trust me?” Tobirama continues, and his tone becomes a little scalding. “Why would you want to keep this from me? I am the Hokage.” 
“Tobirama,” you say. 
  Tobirama looks away, and he takes a deep breath. “You have to be okay.” 
  “I am okay,” you tell him what he has to believe. “I really am. All right?” You meet his eyes. 
Tobirama looks at you coolly, and he puts a hand on your forehead. “Rest, and I am not asking.” 
  You take his hand from your forehead, and plant a kiss on his knuckles. Tobirama squeezes your hand and then nods at you, and he turns to exit the hospital room. You close your eyes again, but your mind replays the memories you would rather not revisit. You remember the pain, the way you felt like you were going to die. You remember how beaten and bruised Tobirama was when he found you, how close he was to losing his life, but he still found you and fought for you and for the child that you have lost. 
  You were going to be okay, but the simplest things are often quick to trigger your emotions. You do not want to go back to the days where you can barely step out of the bedroom without having a breakdown. 
  No, you have to be strong. You have to make it stop. 
You swing your legs to the side of the bed and take a deep breath. There is one way to make it all stop. You just have to eliminate the root of it all. 
//
After being enlisted by Mito to search for Hashirama, Tobirama finds himself wandering through the dark woods that are just outside of Konoha’s walls. At this hour of the night, the trees are not just trees–they are alive, they talk and they stand tall and eerie, covering the ground with their own world. The cold night breeze blows through, and the branches above him sway, and the shadows on the forest floor created by the wane moonlight begin to dance. 
  Tobirama senses that he is getting farther and farther away from Konoha and not even closer to his brother, even though he knows that he is somewhere out here. Well, as of this moment, his presence seems to be everywhere. 
  The air is not crisp, despite its chilliness. It feels tangy, and it almost makes Tobirama dizzy. Hashirama’s power here is so dense, so overpowering. The trees are literally weeping from it. The ground trembles from it, with the rocks rolling around and skittering, and the roots of the trees rearranging underground, restless. Probably like his brother.  
  “Brother?” Tobirama calls, just in case. He hates how small his voice sounds, how human . 
“Tobirama,” Hashirama suddenly appears beside him, and Tobirama whirls to his brother. 
  Hashirama plants a hand on his shoulder and a shiver runs through Tobirama’s spine. 
  “What–” Tobirama breathes out. His brother feels different. He feels like a part of something bigger, like this forest. 
  “You’re out late, shouldn’t you be home?” Hashirama asks, and Tobirama notes how light and burden free he sounds. 
  “Shouldn’t you?” 
Hashirama smiles and he pats the back of Tobirama’s neck. “I am home, brother.” 
  “Your wife and children need you at home, elder brother,” Tobirama searches his brother’s face. 
  “I need you,” Tobirama whispers, afraid of what Hashirama will say this time. He does not want to be rejected by his own brother. The last of his siblings. 
Hashirama looks to the sky, clear and dark, with countless stars glittering over the world like diamonds. The moon is halved, luminous yet it looks incomplete. 
“It’s calling me out,” Hashirama says, his voice sounding far away. 
  Tobirama’s heart hurts, because he does not know what is ailing Hashirama. He wishes he can fix this. He takes his brother by the arm and he starts to drag him back towards the village. “We are going home.” 
  “Do you not hear them?” 
  “Hear what?” Tobirama snaps. He needs to get his brother away from here. 
He hurries, not caring if Hashirama is probably tripping over his own feet. They pass the familiar landmarks that lead to Konoha, and finally, they arrive just outside the walls. 
  “The trees, brother,” Hashirama finally replies. “The trees are alive. Here, there. Everywhere.” 
//
You sneak into the underground prison where Miura Kimiko is currently detained. Alone in the dingy hallway, you detect the scent of mold, and the light on the ceiling crackles in a green-ish dim light. You brandish your sword, and it hangs by your side, waiting and thirsting for the next cut for blood. You grip the hilt, and you slice at the air to prepare yourself. 
  You stop in your tracks as a shallow laugh echoes ahead. 
  All the fight in your drains away, and you slink to the nearest wall. Your sword drops to the floor with a clang and you flinch from the noise. Immediately, you swoop down to grab it and you let out a shaky breath. 
  You do not like this. You know that you are acting irrational. Even if you do what you have to do here, there will still be the pain and the guilt left behind. 
“Come back for a second attempt, m’lady?” You hear Kimiko rasp. She chuckles, sounding like rusty metals rubbing against each other, and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. 
  You let out a deep breath, trying to will away the black spots in your vision. 
Then, without thinking anymore, you march up right outside her cell and wield your sword into a thrusting position. 
  “Beautiful, merciful and graceful, wife of Senju Tobirama,” Kimiko drawls. “That’s what you’re known for, right? But we both know deep inside, you are just as twisted as your degenerate husband.”
  You swallow, and you make out her frail silhouette in the darkness. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” 
Suddenly, Kimiko slams herself into the metal rails of the cell and you step back from surprise. 
  “Don’t I?” Kimiko almost screeches. “Why don’t you just die and see what I mean?” 
Her eyes stare you down, unhinged. Her hair is everywhere, matted and dishevelled. Her fingers on the rails look like finger bones. 
  “Why won’t you just die?!” Kimiko shouts and she bangs at the cell bars. Then, she murmurs under her breath, “He will bring you back anyway.” Her arm juts out and she grabs on to the front of your collar. “While I will be alone!”
  “Why did you do it?” You demand, leaning your face away from her. You finally gather up enough bravado to face her. You narrow your eyes at her words, unsure of what she means. Of course, you know that Tobirama will do everything he can to save you. He has proven it time after time again. 
Kimiko chuckles darkly, and you take your sword and place it next to her neck. 
  “Finish the job then,” Kimiko sighs. “See how your husband will bend the rules because family is always the exception for him. He doesn’t care about us!” 
  “You’re wrong!” You snap angrily. “He has done everything for this village. He has given his life for it every single day, and you cannot even begin to comprehend what the scope of his job is.”
  “He is a hypocrite! You, him, and the rest of your damn Senju clan!” Kimiko glowers at you. “You and your shinobi ways. There is always some war to fight. Peace was never an option as long as you live!” 
You grit your teeth, feeling so vindictive at the audacity of assuming that your husband does not care about the village and its people. He cares so much that it is painful to watch him give his all, every single day in that damn office and his damn Hokage hat.
  “How dare you?” You threaten. “You try to kill me, and have succeeded on killing my child–”
  “You killed my child!” Kimiko screams. “Our Hokage, who is supposed to be our protector, killed my child!” 
  “That is part of being a shinobi,” you bite back. 
“You can only say that because you are not out there, risking your life!” 
“Why me?!” You yell above her voice. Tears begin to stream from your eyes.
  Kimiko’s hand withdraws from clutching your collar, and her shoulders slump down. “I do not know,” she says, hushed. 
  A moment of silence passed, and the sheer rage you feel overwhelms your logic. All this pain, and for naught. You have done this a thousand times, have taken lives without much of a thought, that this should not be much of a chore. 
  “Your husband dwells in the darkness, my lady, and in the shadows, he plays god with the dead,” Kimiko whispers. “He could just bring her back.”
  “What did you say?” You demand, her words passing over your ears. War cries into your ears, drowning out every voice.
  Kimiko’s body shakes as she laughs, and the sight is horrendous. You want to stop it. It sounds mocking to you.
“Do it, wife of the Hokage! Do it!” 
  Your hand shakes, and you wind your arm to strike at her neck, wanting to make yourself to really do it, to go through with this once and for all, when a hard grip stops your arm and suddenly, the world bends around you, swirling into hues of black and blue. When the world comes to, you fall to your hands, and you hear your sword drop with a thud. Your vision clears, and you see Tobirama’s long legs in front of you. 
Your hands clenched into a fist, gathering the dirt into your palms. 
  “Why?” You say in a low voice. 
  “Because if you do kill her, I would have to act as your Hokage and not as your husband,” Tobirama snaps in a hard voice. "Do not act unreasonably, like what you are doing right now."
  “I don’t need my husband, I need the Hokage to punish her,” you lash out. 
Tobirama grabs you by the arms and forcefully stands you up. He looks angry. “I am punishing her. In accordance with the laws.” 
  “The laws you and your brother constituted!” You push him away from you and you start to cry uncontrollably. 
Tobirama takes a deep breath, and he clenches his fists. “If you want to kill someone, then kill me, as I am the one who withdrew you from that mission that took your students’ lives. At least, dying by your hand, I know that justice is served. There is no better way to go.” 
Your tears fall down your face, and down to your chest. You look at him, and despite all the resentment you feel, you are able to process what he is not showing you.
  You shake your head, and you face the village before you. He has taken you on the top of a hill that is opposite the Hokage monument, and from here, you can see what Tobirama has built. How beautiful it looks from above.
"I would, but you will never fight back," you cringe at the way you sob your words out. 
Tobirama stays silent, but you feel how heavy his heart is, and his frustration and helplessness is rolling out in waves. You are supposed to be the one supporting and helping him, but you feel so weak and out of place, like time just stopped for you and no matter how much you try to move forward, you are put back into your place.
You close your eyes, and you hear Kimiko's words replaying back into your mind, now that you are starting to calm down. 
  You glance at your husband, who is staring lasers at the ground.
  You clutch your arms with your hands and you step closer to him. 
Tobirama looks up and you sense anguish beneath his eyes. The both of you had lost a lot. Your eyes meet his, and you see him struggling to put his walls up. 
"Let’s get you home," Tobirama curtly says, and he gestures down the path.
  You step forward and take one more glance at his face. He cannot seem to meet your eyes again, the more your stare lingers.
Your husband dwells in the darkness...and in the shadows, he plays god with the dead.
Your hand juts out to take his and Tobirama flinches. His hand is very cold. 
You look at your joined hands and you exhale slowly. “I am sorry.” 
  Tobirama looks shocked at your words. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
You nod glumly, and Tobirama laces his fingers with yours. “I wasn’t going to kill her. I don’t think I can. I tried to. I wanted to.” 
  Tobirama tugs your hand and you end up even closer to him. There are tiny steps to get closer, and he is running through them all at once. 
“I know,” Tobirama whispers. He sounds relieved. 
“I’m not really as good as people let me out to be, hm?” You tell him sadly. “I have been feeling so numb and distant for all this time. I wasn’t thinking. I have failed you.” 
  “You will never fail me,” Tobirama reassures, and his large palm covers the side of your face. “Please do not say that.” 
His thumb catches a tear, and he slowly pulls you into his embrace. He rests his chin on top of your head, and he starts to berate you. “I told you to rest, and because you did not heed my advice, you are acting irrationally. Do not get out of bed tomorrow. I will send Biwako to check on you.” 
  You roll your eyes, despite the grimness of the situation. 
  “Focus on getting well,” Tobirama continues on, but the usual bite in his voice is gone. “ I need you to be well.” 
You hear the plea in his voice, the desperation that he refuses to show but it bleeds out in various ways. He does not say please or beg, but you notice that he is not imposing. You almost lost your mind today, and acted on an impulse that you can never come back from. You forget for a moment that the ground you stand on is solid, and that you have your values that you hold close to your heart. You realize that you will lose yourself to that darkness, but you are not the only one losing here either. There is Tobirama, who teeters between the gray area of black and white, who is capable of many heinous things as long as they are justified, but he still looks to you for some understanding and depends on you. 
The revelation reels you in. You always refused to acknowledge it, but you have always known that you had a penchant for understanding even the most derelict person. Even Kimiko. You understand her too well, but this time, you had let your anger and resentment control you. You understand that she is hurt, and because of that, you want to hurt her back. However, if you continue on this path, you are no better than the enemy shinobi out there. You are no better than her. 
  Sometimes, it is hard to be aware, and to possess a conscience that speaks loud and clear. Sometimes, it is hard to follow a steady moral compass. 
You want her atonement, as you simply cannot let go what she has done to you, but that cannot happen if she dies. Merciful as people, as Tobirama, makes you out to be, you are also human. 
  Once, everything was so simple. You lived by the ways of shinobi. You fought as one. Now, things have changed. You cannot have the same narrow view anymore, despite wanting–no, forcing yourself to see through a gilded scope. There will always be the bad things, but you need to acknowledge that, and learn and be better because you are needed. 
  You remember Madara’s words to you, of your husband setting himself up to fail, and you revitalize the drive to ensure that he will not. 
  Not in this lifetime, if you can help it. 
To be continued...
Chapter 4 - Then >>
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The Intern | Part Three
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Summary: You move to New York to focus on your art but end up working as an intern at Stark Enterprises
Chapter Summary: its the morning after the night before and Tony wants to see you in his office 
Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader, Peter Parker x Reader (friendship)
Word Count: 2523
A/N: for the purposes of this story Stark Enterprise is set out like an office building in New York and the story does not follow the same timeline as the movies. Reader does not know Peter is SpiderMan. Also, spelling and grammar is not my strongest skill so please be kind :)
Part Two | Masterlist
- - - - -
The next morning when you got up for work you remembered why you don’t really like drinking wine. You took some painkillers to ease the headache, got ready and left your apartment. 
You got off the train and found Peter waiting for you as he usually does. As you walk with him you tell him about the night before. 
“It was actually really nice. We ate pizza, looked at art, and I taught him how to bake brownies”
Peter looks at you confused.
“It’s a long story. Thing is, we’d both had a bit to drink and when we were baking we ended up having a kind of food fight with the flour. Then one thing led to another and... we almost kissed”
“You kissed Mr Stark?!” Peter blurts a bit too loud which causes a few glances from people around you. 
“Shh, Peter, keep your voice down! No, we didn’t actually- we almost did, he backed away before anything happened and then he just left. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do now”
“If nothing happened then that’s okay right?” Peter asks innocently. 
“Yeah but something almost did. Am I supposed to pretend nothing almost happened, or do we need to talk things through? What If last night has completely changed things? ugh! Never drink wine Peter, never!” You say bringing one hand up to your head. 
“It will be fine y/n. Mr Stark probably doesn’t even remember” Peter tries to reassure you as you both walk through the main doors into the reception. “I’m sure nothing has changed- who is that?” He says as you both notice the new girl sitting at the reception desk. Your reception desk. 
Suddenly Happy appears in front of you. 
“Ah miss Y/L/N, I’ve been waiting for you”
“Who’s that?” You ask, pointing at the desk
“the new intern.”
“But..” you start to speak but Happy interrupts
“Mr Stark wants to see you” he gestures for you to walk with him.
You look at Peter who just shrugs sympathetically. 
“Now!” Happy shouts back to you already ahead of you so you have to do a little jog to catch up with him. 
“I’ll see you at lunch then” Peter shouts after you as you walk up the stairs. 
— — — —
You could feel your anxiety rising with every step as you followed Happy down the corridor toward Tony’s office. Happy opened the door and waited for you to step inside before following you in. 
“Ah just the girl I’ve been waiting for” Tony says sitting behind his desk, flicking through papers “thanks Happy” 
Happy nods and steps outside, closing the door behind him. You don’t move, you stay stood by the door anxiously. 
“Well come on in, take a seat” Tony says, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of the desk to him. You do as he says and sit looking at him, waiting for him to speak. But he just continues looking down at the paper. 
“What’s going on?” You ask cautiously. 
“Oh, you’re fired” he replies casually and you feel a huge wave of panic sweep over you. 
“What?! Why?” 
“I’m kidding!” He says finally looking up at you “I’m sorry that was mean”
You breath a massive sigh of relief. 
“Okay you really cannot say things like to me, my anxiety can’t handle it” you shake your head letting out a nervous giggle. 
“Yeah I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist” he gets up from his chair, walking around to lean against the front of his desk right in front of you “although technically it wasn’t a complete lie. You are no longer an intern at Stark Enterprise. BUT don’t freak out, I have something better lined up for you”
You look at him confused and he smiles at you. 
“I want you to come work for me”
“But I already work for you” you reply blankly. 
“I mean, WITH me. I’m offering you a job as my personal assistant”
“I don't understand. I thought Happy was your personal assistant?” You ask and Tony laughs. 
“Don’t let him hear you call him that. No, Happy is my head of security and chauffeur. But lately he’s been taking on some personal assistant duties and, well let’s just say that does not make him Happy.” 
You look up at him trying to process what’s happening. He smiles down at you. 
“So? What do you think?”
“I think there are a load of other people who have been working here way longer than me, and are far more qualified than me, that would kill for this job.” Tony nods his head as you speak. “So why me?” You ask. 
“Because they’re not you.” He says sincerely and takes you by surprise “I’ve never met anyone else in this building who cares as much as you do about doing a good job. You’re always one of the last ones to leave this building, and you always have a smile on your face. You’re hardworking and honest and talented. And I know you worry a lot but you never let that stop you. Just look at the way you chased that guy through the building the other week. You’re braver than you think.” He leans forward, putting his hands on your shoulders to look into your eyes
“Ive seen something special in you Y/N, you have the potential to do great things and I want to be the one help you get there.”
You look into his eyes and you can tell he’s being genuine with you. A smile creeps onto your face and you start to nod. 
“Is that a yes?” he asks.
“Yes” you start laughing, “yes I’ll take the job”
Tony jumps up, grabbing your hands and pulling you up into a hug. It feels nice, comfortable. Then he pulls back suddenly to look at you again.
“I’m glad you said yes, I kinda already filled your old intern position...”
“Yeah, I noticed.” You giggle.
— — — —
You spent the morning with Tony, filling in some paperwork while he explained the sorts of things you’d be doing as his new PA. It sounded perfect. Double the salary you were on before, and Tony promised you’d have plenty of time to work on your art. 
On your lunch break you decided to head down to the reception desk to collect a few of your things you’d left in the desk drawers. Thankfully the new intern was also on her lunch break, you didn’t really feel like awkwardly explaining to her that you used work on that desk. As you’re putting the last few things in your bag Peter comes running up to the desk speaking a million miles an hour. 
“Why are you packing your things away? Oh my god y/n did Mr Stark fire you? Or did you quit because of the almost kiss? Y/N please don’t leave-“
“Peter! Relax! I’m not going anywhere. I’m just not the intern anymore.” 
Peter stops talking and just looks at you.
“Im Mr Stark’s new PA.” you smile and Peter’s face lights up
“Y/N! That’s amazing! Congratulations, I’m so happy for you.” Then he stops smiling and looks like he doesn’t know how to ask you the next part “...Do you think this had anything to do with.. you know.. last night?”
You think for a moment then smile slightly. 
“No. He told me the reasons why he's giving me this job and, I believe him. He didn’t even mention last night at all. I don’t know if he was drunker then I thought, or if he’s just choosing to ignore it but either way I’m fine. Now can we please go get some lunch, I’m starving” 
— — — — 
A week later. 
You walk into the coffee shop you’ve now become a regular at since taking on your new job. It’s Tony’s favourite and he sends you there pretty much every day to collect drinks so when you walk through the door the server behind the counter recognises you instantly.
“hey y/n”
“hey MJ, how you doing today?”
“cant complain. I’m guessing Tony wants his usual?”
“yes please” you say with a smile
“coming right up” she says as she puts your order through the till “I hope he pays you well for treating you like a slave”
“he doesn’t treat me like a slave” you laugh handing over the company credit card Tony gave you “I actually like doing the coffee run, its nice to not be stuck behind a desk anymore”
“plus you get to see your favourite barista” 
“oh of course, highlight of my day!” You grin at her and she hands the card back
“i’ll bring your drinks over in a minute” she says before turning around to make them and you move to the end of the counter to wait. As you stand waiting you look up at the pieces of art spread around the walls of the cafe. Even though you see them everyday you still love studying them while you wait, they make you feel inspired. 
“hello y/n” a voice behind you startles you and you spin around to see the man who had come into Start Enterprise a few weeks ago. The guy you’d chased into Tony’s office. He gives you a sinister smile. “I hear Tony’s promoted you, congratulations!”
“how did you know-“
“I’m sorry where are my manners? We were never formally introduced were we? I’m Professor Randall, but you can call me Charles.” He presents his hand for you to shake and you look at him cautiously. As your about to reach out to shake his hand MJ calls that your order is ready and you turn round to see her stood holding your drinks waiting for you to take them off her. You turn back to the Professor and point over your shoulder. 
“I better be going” is all you say before turning to walk over to MJ. 
“of course. I’ll see you again y/n” he says and you look back to see him walking out the coffee shop. 
“thanks MJ, you're a star” you say as you take the drinks from her and give her a smile, trying to cover up how shaken you are from that small interaction. 
“no problem” she says smiling back “hey who was that creepy guy? Ive seen him in here a lot recently but he never actually orders anything. Just sits and stares at people. He’s really weird”
“I don't actually know him. It’s a long story but, look I better be getting back to work before Mr Stark sends out a search party for his coffee. See ya” you say and turn to walk out the cafe. 
“see you tomorrow” she shouts behind you. 
— — — — 
When you walk back through the doors of Stark Enterprise building you bump into Peter who spots the coffee cups your carrying and instantly knows where you’ve been. 
“hey y/n? Is MJ working the counter today?” He asks pointing at the cups in your hand.
“yeah she is. Let me guess, you gonna go there for lunch today right?”
“uh, maybe yeah” he blushes which makes you smile “You wanna join?”
“not today no, got a lot on. Speaking of, I really gotta-“
“no no, of course yeah carry on. I’ll see ya later”
As you pass Happy in the corridor you pass him his coffee cup and he gives you a small smile of thanks. You walk into Tony’s office and put his cup down on the desk in front of him. He says thank you but doesn’t look up from his work. You take a seat on a chair over by the window and take a few sips of your drink. You soon find yourself looking out the window daydreaming, rerunning the conversation with the Professor through your head. Was it coincidence he was in the cafe or had he followed you there? And if so, why? Tony had said this guy had tried to get his attention a few times, what was his plan? What did he want?
“Y/N?! Hello?” You suddenly realise Tony is calling your name and you look up to see him staring at you from his desk. 
“what? sorry, I was daydreaming” you reply sheepishly.
“hmm I noticed. I was just saying that we need to get the guest list together for the fundraiser next week” he says, eyeing you with concern “where were you then? I could see in your eyes you were somewhere else completely”
“nowhere. Like I said, just zoned out for a minute. I cant even remember what I was thinking-“
“y/n.” Tony interrupts as he stands up and walks over to sit on the chair next to you “I’ve spent enough time with you lately to know when something is bothering you”
You look down at the floor. 
“you don't have to tell me anything, but you can talk to me anytime”
“honestly Im okay. It’s not even a big deal, I just bumped into Professor Randall at the cafe and he was a bit weird. That’s all.”
Tony’s eyes go wide for a second when you mention the Professors name. 
“what did he say to you?” Tony asks, a hint of worry in his voice. 
“Not much. Just that he’d heard about my promotion and then he introduced himself”
“anything else?”
“no” you shake your head “as soon as the drinks were ready he said he’d see me again then he left”
“he said he’d see you again? Those were his exact words?” You can tell he’s getting more and more worried. 
“Yes. Tony, whats going on? Why does it matter?”
Tony looks at you and he can tell he’s stressing you out. He takes a breath and smiles trying to be reassuring. 
“It’s probably nothing, but I just want you to be safe.”
“why wouldn’t I be?”
“no you are. It’s just. The Professor isn’t a nice man, and I don't want him harassing the people I care about the way he’s being harassing me. From now on Happy will accompany you on all trips outside this building and we will be driving you to and from work every day” he stands up and goes back over to his desk, picks up his coffee and has a drink. 
You watch him, thinking over everything he’s just said. You cant shake that uneasy feeling you’ve had since you left the cafe. 
“Tony?” You said standing up from your chair and Tony turns around to look at you. “I need you to be completely honest with me now.” 
You pause as Tony gives you a small nod. 
“Am I in danger?” You ask quietly. 
Tony walks to you and puts his hands on either side of your face, looking into your eyes. 
“no. I promise you, I will keep you safe” he says sincerely. 
You give him a small smile and he kisses you on the forehead before taking his hands away from your face. 
“right, let’s get to work on this guest list” 
Part Four 
Taglist: @brownbuble​, @star-trek-is-my-lifesource​
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motorcitizens · 4 years
Text
ive never seen anywhere to watch motorcity with subs? so i went looking and found transcripts of most of the early mc episodes (available in a reply so tumblr doesnt kill the post) but theyre missing a few towards the end. i decided on my fourth rewatch that id transcribe episode 9! whether youre a hard of hearing fan or just want the reference, here you go! let me know if the initials are annoying, ill edit them out.
-I got you with the slash!
-Nuh-uh!
-You first.
-Why me?
-Cuz you're dead anyway.
-There's nothing down here!
-Philip? S- stop fooling around, man. I- I can hear you down there.
-Aah!
[theme]
-The last time I bought anything from you, it took me a week to fumigate the kitchen!
-Okay, the reshcaps were a mistake, you're right about that. But today, I have something extra special...
D- ...then she says, 'that's why I can't eat the sandwich!'
[all laugh]
C- Wait, wait, I got one. Where does a snowman keep his money? In a snow bank! Eh? Get it? Come on, it's funny!
Th- We're searching for the Vanquisher, king of the realm?
T- Oh. I think they're talking about me.
M- Yeah, I have no idea who you're-
Th- There he is!
Burners- Chuck?!
T- [laughter]
R- Hey! You dare insult Lord Vanquisher? I should take your tongue and feed it to the birds.
T- Uh, you can't do that. I need my tongue.
C- Release him, Darkslayer.
R- ... Fortune smiles upon you today.
M- So, Chuck, you wanna introduce us to your... friends?
C- Guys, allow me to present: Thurman the Magnificent, and Ruby the Darkslayer!
Th: We are knights of the kingdom of Raymanthia.
C- It's called LARPing! [...] Live action role-playing? [...] Okay, I have a life outside of the Burners, you know!
D- Sure doesn't look like it.
T- Oh! I get it! Ahahaha!
Th- My Lord, a situation has arisen. The oracle awaits.
O- As you requested, Sam and Phillip were dispatched on a scouting mission early this morning. But we have not heard from them for many hours.
M- What do you mean you haven't heard from them?
O- I fear, Lord Vanquisher, they have gotten lost on the outskirts of the realm.
T- Texas is confused. Okay, now is this part of your little game or is this real?
D- We're standing behind some dude's van who calls himself the oracle. What do you think?
O- I demand silence!
J- I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with Texas on this one.
O- Chuck! Make em stop.
C- Wait. Is this part of the game?
Th- No. Sam and Philip are really missing.
M- So, this is for real?
O- We need your help.
C- I vow to find our wayward kinsmen.
C- Guys, this is LARPing!
T- Woah. That's it?
C- Each weekend, teams battle for control of the realm. The rules are simple: First, once you step onto the field of battle, you must remain in character. Second, if you must be vanquished: do so with honor. It's neat, ain't it?!
J- The game's already started?
R- If by 'game' you mean a ferocious battle to the death for the crown of Raymanthia, then yes.
O- But we can't win unless we find our friends.
[at the same time]
C- I say we split up.
M- Let's split up.
M- No disrespect! Chuck- uh, I mean, Lord Chuck. What do you think we should do?
C- Ahem! If we split up, we'll cover more ground!
O/Th/R- As you say, Lord Vanquisher.
C- Okay guys. We'll check the warehouse near the old Renaissance center, you guys check the battlefield.
Th- I dunno where that is. Can somebody else drive?
M- So, King Chuck. How'd you win your crown?
O- It happened many weekends ago... Chuck stood as freedom's last hope against Mad Dog the Conqueror. If he were to fall, darkness would reign for yet another long weekend. Mad Dog summoned his dragon to finish off the Vanquisher once and for all, but fate had different plans. It was totally awesome!
C- Naw, it wasn't... that awesome.
D- Little dudes!
J- Sam! Phillip?
D- Where are you?
Guy- Huzzah!
R- Leave this to me!
Guy- The bards shall sing of this day... the day the Darkslayer fell!
R- Someone shall fall on this day... but it shall not be me.
[fighting noises]
Guy- Aha! Tsk, tsk. You've lost your sword!
T- hyah!
R- What are you doing! I had him right where I wanted him!
Guy- You're not playing by the rules.
T- These are Texas rules! [karate noises] Now. We need you to answer some questions.
D- We're looking for two missing kids, Sam and Phillip. Have you seen them?
Guy- I'd rather die a thousand deaths than help the likes of you.
J- Ahem! Forgive us, my liege, but we are but humble squires in search of our kinsmen. Can you help us?
Guy- I've never been one to refuse a lady, certainly not one as ravishing as you. Saw your kinsmen five hours ago, approaching the Dungeon of Anguish.
D- Neat trick.
Th- We're never gonna find them in time. Then the stupid Bardonians are gonna win, think they're all cool with their fancy mustaches.
C- Hey. Buck up there, camper! People said we'd never win the Battle Royale last Fall, but we did. Our friends are out there, and we'll find em! We just gotta keep-
M- Uh, sorry. Dutch just called. Your friends were seen someplace called the Dungeon Anguish?
Th- It's actually the Dungeon of Anguish.
C- It's, uh. Well, it's actually just in the basement right here.
C- Wah, ah! Get it off me, get it off me!
Th- This isn't part of the game!
M- Yeah, well, neither is this!
R- That was. Incredible!
D- What were those things?
M- Don't know. But I'm betting they have something to do with our missing friends. We have to move. [LARPers kneel] Uh, come on. Get up, guys, we don't have time for this.
O- From this day forth, you shall be known as "Mike, the Smiling Dragon."
Th- You just got a great name. Jealous!
C- For saving my life on the field of battle, I owe you a debt of life.
M- That's... really not necessary.
O- Actually, it's totally necessary. The king of the realm cannot rule while carrying a debt of life.
C- As such, I give the crown to the Smiling Dragon!
M- No. No, Please, look, I can't, I just- I was-
C- Mikey, you gotta!
J- Hey guys, check this out! I've never seen that symbol before.
D- That's really old.
M- Way before my time. Maybe Jacob can help.
Th- What if those... things have Sam and Phillip?
R- Never fear. We have the Smiling Dragon. As long as he's our king, we can't lose. Did you see his moves? They were just so- so-!
M- You okay, buddy? Look, if it's about what happened back there, I'm sorry man. I was just trying to help.
C- It's not that. It's just-
M- Just what?
C- Look, I tripped, okay?
M- Um... If that's some kind of LARPer slang, I have no idea what it means.
C- The story you heard. About how I earned my crown? That's not how it really... went down. It was my first real battle. I'd never held a real lance before. I was still getting my balance when Lord Mad Dog summoned his dragon... I ran forward but... I tripped. The lance fell and hit him by accident! I won my crown with a lie. Hey... it's better that you're king now. I was never fit for the post. I've been king for 48 consecutive weekends, and-
M- 48? Woah, you do play this game a lot.
C- Yeah, but... it took less than an hour of LARPing with you for the others to see me for what I truly am... a follower.
M- Hey, a follower couldn't have led his team to 48 consecutive victories. You can't fake that!
C- Mikey... Look, I appreciate your support but we both know I'm no leader. Not when I'm a Burner and not even when I'm here, playing make believe.
M- Here. Take the pin back.
C- You can't just give it to me! The only way I can get it back is to earn it by saving your life. And let's be honest. That ain't gonna happen.
Th- Never seen that tunnel before. You aren't planning on taking us down there, are you?
R- Well I'm going in!
Th- Do you know how much trouble I'll get in if my mom finds out I went down some crazy dark tunnel looking for killer robots?!
O- He's not joking. His mom is terrifying.
M- They're right. This isn't a game anymore. Texas will stay up here and keep you safe while we go get your friends.
T- What! Wait, why me?
M- Because you're the bravest warrior we've got.
T- Yeah, that's true, but come on! Don't leave me with the nerds!
D- What is this place?
O- Booyah! Mutant wolverine. I win!
Th- I could show you how to use that.
T- Save it. Not interested.
O- Why not? You're really good.
T- You really think so?
Th- Here, watch.
T- Hyah! Huh?
T- Mike, Julie! Incoming! We got trouble!
Th- Come on, I just got this!
O- Your mom is gonna be so mad.
J- This isn't working!
M- I'm open to suggestions!
R- A wizard!
Ja- Applesauce!
J- Jacob?
R- Aww!
Bot- The creator has returned!
M- Uh, Jacob? Care to fill us in?
Ja- It started back when Kane and I were partners- before there even was a Deluxe! I was designing our first ever Utility Bot. Its purpose was to make life in Detroit easier and safer. I equipped it with a new AI that would allow the bot to anticipate human commands, but I was the only one the bot seemed to listen to. But if it were ever to escape the lab, there's no telling the danger it could pose. I begged Kane to shut the program down! I always thought he did.
Bot: It began soon after you left us. Kane retrained us! We were instructed to capture enemies of the public and bring them back to Kane's new creation, an Interrogator. But the humans could not control it. Kane sealed the lab. Our new master told us every human was out to destroy us. As such, every human became our enemy. Disloyalty was severely punished. So we waited, until this door finally opened.
M- Our friends went missing this morning. Have you seen them?
Bot- Of course. We took them per our master's instructions.
J- We need to get them back!
[roar]
Bot- Our master has awoken. If he discovers you here with us, he will destroy us.
M- Get the LARPers out of here!
C- I'm not leaving you guys!
R- Our place is here, with our King!
M- This isn't a game! Get your friends to safety.
C- Let's move!
D- Come on!
J- Look out!
[rubble collapses the door]
T- Mike!
D- Julie!
Both- Jacob!
D- We'll never move this stuff by ourselves!
T- Says who?
Th- What do we do?
C- I know a way to get through there! But I will require your van.
Ja- There used to be another exit!
J- Hey, look at this!
M- The kids have to be in one of those rooms. If we can find a way past that thing we can rescue them and get the heck out of here! Think you can buy us some time?
J- Do you even have to ask? Hey, ugly! Over here!
M- Sam! Phillip! Climb up here!
S- You're the new king of the realm?
M- You bet your butt I am. Lord Smiling Dragon, at your service. Now get up that rope, squire!
T- Okay, I admit. It's pretty cool.
C- But is it possible?
D- Sure. But there's no way the three of us can build it fast enough.
C- What if they helped?
D- I know you don't mean the little lunatics that just tried to kill us!
Bot- We cannot get involved. If our master were to find out-
C- He's not your master! You are in Raymanthia. And in Raymanthia, every man- or... freaky little Utiliton- is free! Free to stand up for yourselves. Free to fight back! And free to live! Our friends are down there, and I swear to you on the steel of my blade that even if I have to slay the beast itself, we! will! bring them back!
[utilitons cheering]
T- hwah! Nah, see, this ain't nerdy. This is a level 25 battle ax, okay? Twenty five. Think about it.
Ja- Maybe there wasn't another exit?
M- Stay here!
M- Way to go, Chuck!
S&P- The Vanquisher!
T- Make way for Texas!
C- The beast is absorbing the blasts!
[mike gets got]
C- Mike!
C- Drive! and when I say stop, stop fast! ...STOP!
M- Ha, oh yeah!
M- For saving my life on the field of battle, I owe you my life. My steel is yours to command, since a king cannot carry... I forget how the rest of it goes, here! All hail King Chuck, the Vanquisher!
R- This was the coolest game ever!
M- ... the game. Your win streak. You guys have to go defend your crown!
Th- We'll never be able to muster an attack in time.
T- What if we help.
M- We're yours to command, Lord Vanquisher.
C- For the glory of the realm!
[all yell]
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