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tokiro07 · 1 year

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Undead Unluck ch.143 thoughts

[Ashita no Fuuko]

It’s the third year anniversary! Only one more year until my prophecy comes to pass, and at the pace we’re going, I can absolutely see Undead Unluck either making it right to the finish line or even going over by a number of chapters! I don’t necessarily see it hitting five years, but at the same time I’m not exactly opposed to the idea

Man...there’s something melancholy knowing that we might well be in the final year of the story, much like how One Piece is rapidly approaching its finale in the next two years or so. I’m very excited, but I’m honestly worried about what’s going to fill the void. I’m loving Cipher Academy, but for completely different reasons, and I’m definitely not as attached to Cipher Academy as I am to Undead Unluck

But enough moping! This is a celebratory time, and we open with a stunning color page! This is our first time seeing Void in color, and seeing how he contrasts Fuuko in his color scheme and build really makes him feel impressive. However, Fuuko herself is definitely the highlight here. Not only is she brimming with a confidence that the girl from the beginning of the series wouldn’t have even dreamed of having, her hair is actually highlighted with the pink and blue of the series’ iconic paint splotch imagery, and the effect is gorgeous

On a lesser note, this is also the first time we see Nico’s color scheme in his younger years, and the strained lilac hair we’re used to is now a deeper purple. I don’t know if there was a way that Tozuka could have carried that effect over in black and white, but man, this really makes it clear how much younger Nico is here than in the previous Loop

Fuuko approaches the ring with her teammates playing the role of her coach and backup, with Nico specifically wearing an eyepatch as a reference to Danpei Tange, the coach from Ashita no Joe. Once again following translator David Evelyn pays off!

Nico notes that the best strategy for fighting Void is to evade until he runs out of stamina, which, coupled with his “peek-a-boo” fighting style, is a clear reference to Mike Tyson whom Void’s major inspiration of Street Fighter’s Balrog is based on

The announcer very explicitly refers to Fuuko as a man, which at first might seem jarring, but it’s actually because of Nico’s memory control device; because intergender matches are prohibited in professional boxing, the world at large, and most notably the sponsors need to believe that Fuuko is a man. Naturally, Void can see Fuuko for who she is, but he’s already agreed to the match anyway, so it doesn’t really matter to him

Fuuko hits Void with a one-inch punch, which due to its origins in Chinese martial arts, Void identifies it as a kenpo technique, indicating that he’s likely familiar with a variety of fighting styles and not just necessarily American boxing. Kenpo itself is derived from the Chinese quanfa, which I believe is a pretty generic term, but basically it means that Fuuko is using a Chinese or Chinese-inspired technique rather than say a Japanese karate or jujutsu technique, most likely learned from fighting Feng

Likely because she had used the same technique on Void in their first encounter, Void seems unaffected this time, despite Fuuko knowing from practicing on Nico that it’s effective at targeting an opponent’s organs. Poor Nico, suffering traumatic intestinal damage just as a guinea pig

The group gears up for Void to get hit with a wave of Unluck, only to be disappointed when nothing happens. Even when facing down a barrage, Fuuko insists on dodging so as not to accidentally activate Unluck

The first round ends and Void takes notice that Fuuko is hiding her ace, which her team chastises her for while also taking care of her. Ichico gives Fuuko some water and Nico rubs a copious amount of Vaseline on her face, which is funny cus I don’t even think she got hit in the face, so it’s not like she needs to stop any bleeding yet

Fuuko explains that she won’t use Unluck until Void becomes a Negator because that would potentially cut the final match of his career short, and she would much rather he go out on a high note. I imagine that this would not only help him to leave boxing behind without any regrets, but it would also be helpful in building a rapport between them, which I believe I mentioned a few chapters ago was an important aspect of Fuuko’s leadership style. She wants Void to respect her, so a humiliating defeat would only serve to prove she’s stronger than him and potentially build resentment. Letting him fight to his heart’s content and have a great time, on the other hand, would make him much more loyal to Fuuko and the Union’s goals. The way I’m wording it kind of makes it sound manipulative, but what I’m trying to convey is that she’s trying to be his friend, not his boss, and her ability to understand what’s important to other people strongly facilitates that approach

Fuuko gets more serious and breaks out one of Feng’s Shin Hakkyoku moves, the Lashing Step Cannon, only to be countered with a barrage, pushing her to the ropes. As Fuuko slumps against the ropes, Void dejectedly asks the referee to start the count, sad that the match seems to have ended, only for Fuuko to declare that she wants the best match possible and launch herself at him using the tension of the ropes

Void sees how haggard Fuuko is and can tell that she doesn’t really have the stamina to keep going, and instead is being kept in the game by sheer grit. Because of this, he declares that she’s the “best at being a boxer” out of all of his opponents, and lunges

In this moment, Void gains Unavoidable and Fuuko is forced to freeze. Void panics, worried that the match he was just having such a blast with is going to end with what should be an easily avoidable punch, and lands his strike right on Fuuko’s cheek. Considering that this is the punch that killed Ed in the previous Loops and that Fuuko is not trained to take a punch like this, I think that Void may have slightly altered the path of his punch in his panic, cus if that had hit her in the temple it definitely would have killed her. Her ponytail and her mouth guard get punched out and Fuuko is even sent flying, I have to figure it felt like she was getting hit by a car

Now that Void has become a Negator, Fuuko asks Gina to catch her with Unchange, allowing her to throw herself back into the action and landing a body blow on Void. Through a bloody crazed smile, Fuuko declares that this is now Negator Boxing, meaning that now she’s willing to start using Unluck

Also, props to Tozuka for drawing a woman getting so utterly brutalized. I think a lot of artists would shy away from that type of thing, but Fuuko’s bleeding from the mouth, her eye is almost swollen shut, there’s a huge bruise covering half her face...and she’s still got a huge smile on her face. Fuuko’s no stranger to this kind of thing, with her bloody nose in chapter 1, but this elevates it so much higher. I’m almost worried about how she’s going to look during the final battle

It’s interesting that Nico had said that Fuuko needed Unluck to even the odds, but the reality is that Unluck itself so massively outclasses simple boxing in terms of damage output that refusing to use it was actually a handicap for Void’s benefit, not the other way around. It’s only when Void is in possession of Unavoidable that the fight truly becomes even, as now it’s a battle between Unluck + Shin Hakkyoku and Unavoidable + boxing

How this match will evolve from here is anyone’s guess, so here’s mine; Fuuko’s Unluck will manifest with the ropes flinging Void directly into Fuuko’s fist, flinging Fuuko into one of Void’s openings, the ropes breaking when Void hits them, a light(s) falling on Void from the scaffolding, THE SCAFFOLDING falling on Void, and ultimately the bell going off at the least opportune moment for Void in one round, possibly the final round

I’m sure someone who’s more familiar with boxing could see more possibilities for how this goes, but those are my predictions. I think those all may be a little too straightforward for Tozuka, but boxing is pretty restrictive in its setting, so I can’t really see any other way for it to go aside from meteors, which I don’t think Tozuka would want to use here. Honestly, shockingly mundane things like those would actually be really exciting developments in a boxing match, I think, and I’m sure it’s more about the execution than the idea anyway

The fight is really heating up, and I’m glad that since I accidentally waited a few days to post this that it’ll only be a couple more until we get to see where it goes. I wonder if it’ll be resolved in this coming chapter or if it’ll spill over one more...

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #4y1a reviews

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rek1s-headband · 3 years

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Break up prank on the sk8 boys

➯ Characters: Reki Kyan, Langa Hasegawa, Cherry, Joe, Miya and Shadow x gn reader

➯ Warnings: none, just some angst to fluff. Enjoy!

Reki:

He thought it was a joke at first

Like you, he watched his fair share of videos, and had seen the trend going around already

But you weren’t discouraged, you were going to try and make him believe it no matter what

He laughed it off the first time, but after you simply gave him a puzzled look and a “huh?”, he felt his heart pick up significantly. Maybe you weren’t joking??

Instantly he was running back in his mind where he could’ve possibly gone wrong, where he could’ve messed up so badly that you felt the need to leave?

After his nervous laugh died down, he went deadly silent

“You’re serious?”

You were starting to feel awful, like maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, but you decided to persist

When you nodded your head slowly, you could’ve died when you saw how quickly his face dropped

Even though he had a small smile on his face, you could see the tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. He was running a shaky hand through his hair, and when you were ready to take him into your arms, to tell him you were only kidding, he wouldn’t let you get a word in edgeways

A flood of questions was suddenly leaving his moth, all his unvoiced questions coming out in one go. He was holding your hand now in an almost death grip, asking you why you were unhappy, why you wanted to leave

Why he wasn’t good enough for you

That’s all you needed before you were pulling him into your arms, sobbing yourself. This shut him up, he was completely speechless as your tears pooled on his shoulder, telling him you were so sorry, that you were only joking. You just wanted to see him get a little panicky, you never expected the outcome to look like this

As soon as the words left your mouth you saw his shoulders visibly drop, pulling you impossibly closer as he let the last of his tears out. He chuckled shakily, running a hand up your back.

“I thought I lost you for a second there”

That was when you pulled your head out of his shoulder, grabbing his face between your hands and pulling him closer to you. Eyes wide, he simply watched as you declared he could never lose you, that you weren’t going anywhere. You were stuck to him like glue, whether he likes it or not

He gave you one last relieved smile, before he was pulling you close again for a desperate kiss. He kissed you like it was the last time he ever would, because now that he’d thought he lost you, he was never going to take anything about you for granted again

Langa:

Was fully convinced you were serious right off the bat

Right as the words “I think we should break up” were leaving your lips, his brain was doing overtime trying to figure put how he hadn’t realised how unhappy you were. Sure, he was kind of bad at reading emotions, but surely he wasn’t so terrible he couldn’t figure out how his own s/o was feeling?

Was he really as bad at communication as people told him he was?

You instantly regretted your decision as you watched his mouth hang open, saw his eyes scrunch slightly as he wrung his hands quietly at his sides

He nodded, and you couldn’t seem to swallow the lump in your throat as your eyes locked on the small tear rolling down his cheek, which he quickly wiped away with a small smile

“If thats what will make you happy”

You couldn’t seem to collect your thoughts as you watched him step closer to you, dropping his head to your level as he grabbed your hand. It was soft, as if he didn’t want to hurt you any more than he thought he had. He stumbled over his words, trying to find the right ones to say. Eventually he just took a deep breath, and looked into your eyes

“Were you really that unhappy?” Your heart broke when you heard the crack in his voice towards the end. “How did I not notice how sad you were?” Tears were falling down his face again and he didn’t even bother wiping them away this time. Suddenly you were shooting forward, grabbing his shoulders as you began to cry

“You’ve never made me unhappy Langa, not once.” You saw his wide eyes stare at you, not even attempting to reply as he watched you continue. “It was a joke, Langa. I wanted to see how you’d react, I didn’t think you’d take it this seriously. Did you really think you made me unhappy? Ive never been happier than when I’m with you-“ you barely got to finish before he was wrapping you in his arms, his grip vicelike. His face was digging into your shoulder, clinging to you as if you’d disappear any second.

His breath was ragged and shaky as he pulled you even closer, making sure there was absolutely no room for you to escape. You ran your hand through his hair in an attempt to calm him down as he slowly emerged from your shoulder

With a small chuckle, he rubbed the side of your face with his hand, letting his head drop slightly as he let out a sigh of relief

“I really thought I was ignoring my own s/o’s feelings.” You laughed, pulling him into another hug

“If I’m ever upset, I’ll let you know. Just know it wont be for quite a while” you grinned, grabbing his collar to pull him into a kiss. It was sweet, and gentle, and you felt all your previous problems melt away as Langa pulled you closer, smiling into the kiss

Cherry:

You and Kaoru rarely fought, and when you did it was over minor things that were reconciled within a day. So when you were sitting him down, asking if he’d be okay with breaking up, the only thing he could feel was complete confusion.

What happened? You’d always been so happy, never expressing much discontent. And besides, whenever you did it was resolved as soon as possible. What was so different today?

What was making you so unhappy that you felt the relationship was beyond saving?

Or worse, what outside your relationship was making you happier than him?

He kept these thoughts to himself, coughing quietly to try and open up his throat that seemed to be impossibly tight at that moment. He held your hand, stroking it softly and nodding before looking up at you

“Why the sudden change of heart, hm?”

The small smile on Kaoru’s face that was slowly diminishing by the second made you want to melt into the ground. Even when you were asking him to leave, he was still so caring, still so loving. You could only watch, feeling your heart break as he looked at you, his eyes glassy as he quickly plastered the fakest smile you’ve ever seen onto his face

“Well, if you’re unhappy when you’re with me, surely we shouldn’t be together.” He let out a small, breathy laugh that was almost missed by you, if you hadn’t been watching him with such avid horror. “I dont know why you feel you aren’t happy anymore, sweetheart, but I’m glad you realised what you want.” You watched him stand without a word, as you slowly realised that this is real.

He thinks this is real

That was all you needed before you were leaping off the couch, practically turning it over with the force you’d pushed off it. You were shouting his name, grabbing him by the arm and absolutely dragging him to face you. With the sudden turn and shock, you both ended up on the floor as you began to babble, words pouring out of your mouth and tears streaming from your eyes

“Kaoru, of course I’m not unhappy, you always know just how to make me happy, I could never leave you!” You were jumping on top of him, wrapping your arms around his neck as he sat up, a hand on your back and the other pulling your hair back from your face, trying to find any trace of a lie on your face

“Are you serous? It was all...” he was speechless. He didn’t realise you would even pull something like that, much less go so far with it

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” you sobbed. “I never meant for it to go this far. I just wanted to see you get a little worked up, pull a funny prank, nothing else, i prom-“ you were cut off when Kaoru pushed his lips onto yours, breath shaky as he ran his hand through your hair, as if you were going to disappear any second and he was making sure you were still there

When you finally pulled away, he pressed his forehead to yours, letting out a small laugh

“Don’t ever pull that shit again”

Joe:

When you first brought it up with him, he felt his heart drop into his stomach. Surely you weren’t serious, right?

He kept a smile quirked on his lips, a questioning look in his eyes. Still, you kept a face of steel, as if challenging him to ask if you were joking

As worried as he was, he wasn’t sure you were being serious. Something about it wasn’t..genuine? You looked too straight-faced, your expression staying neutral the whole time as if to not give something away. He was certain he hadn’t done enough to make you this delighted about breaking up, so why were you so unaffected?

The cogs were turning in his brain, all arrows pointing towards one of two directions: either he was a massive dick, or it was a prank

Oh. A prank

Of course, he wasn’t certain, but it would certainly explain quite a bit

So he decided on a plan. It wasn’t exactly the nicest thing to do, but if it was a prank, it was a nice way for him to get you back for the little skit you pulled. And if it wasn’t a prank, well, maybe it’ll take the sting away a little

His mouth quickly dropped to a frown, ready to put his plan into action. “Oh yeah? Well, thats a bit of a relief.” He had to try hard to hide his grin when he saw your eyebrows furrow, saw the frown begin to spread across your face. So maybe it was a prank. You could only watch as he continued his speech

“You see, I’ve been thinking about ending things for a while now. There was a girl at S I met a few weeks back, and man, you should’ve seen the eyes she’s been giving me. Anyways, I’ve taken a real liking to her, and Ive been thinking about giving things with her a shot. Of course, now it shouldn’t be a bother, right?”

When he saw your face contort from confusion to anger, he knew he’d fucked up severely. Suddenly you were getting up close to his face, prank forgotten, poking him in the chest as you began to shout

“Are you serious!? After all we’ve been through together, you’re just gonna leave me for some bitch you met a few weeks ago??” You were fuming at this point, while Joe watched you with with a look of mock confusion

“What’s your problem? You were the one who wanted to “break up”, right?” Something about the way he said ‘break up’ made you freeze, looking up at him as you watched a grin begin to form on Joe’s face. That bastard

“You...you asshole!” You were lost for words. He knew this whole time? And instead of enlightening you, he decided to play along? You watched with a blank expression as Joe laughed, pulling you into a hug

“I knew it” he let out a loud laugh, but it almost seemed forced. You pulled away, and when you tried to look at him his eyes seemed to be everywhere but you. You grabbed his jaw, forcing him to look at you

“You didn’t think id actually want to break up, did you?” When he simply frowned, pulling his eyes away again you cooed, pulling him into your chest as you stroked his hair, feeling his arms slowly wrap around your waist and hold you close

It’s safe to say the two of you stayed like that for quite a while

Shadow:

When you asked him to break up as a joke, you simply wanted to see if you could piss him off. Hiromi was prone to getting mad at the smallest things, cursing up a storm when he did something as small as mess up his makeup

So when you saw his face break, felt him shrink in on himself as he asked you why, what had he done that made you want to leave, your face was frozen with shock

Now this was completely new. Of course, you knew Hiromi wasn’t just some big angry man, but you didn’t think he’d get this worked up

Brows furrowed, he brought a hand to his forehead as he let out a long breath

“What happened?” Those two words held so much emotion it almost made you break. You didn’t realise how much this would affect him, just how upset it would make him. But here he was, an emotional wreck as he wiped an almost-tear away from the edge of his eye

But soon after, he was stepping close to you, grabbing your hand and looking at you with all the sincerity in the world

“Please, give me another chance. I dont know what I did, but I do know we can fix it. I know we can, please y/n. I cant lose you”

His heartfelt speech was all you needed for the tears to slowly fall from your eyes, Hiromi looking at you with a look of concern, and confusion. You were stepping into his arms, crying silently as he hesitantly put his arms around you, not quite sure what to do. So was that a yes?

You picked your head off his shoulder, not moving from his arms

“Oh, Hiromi” he looked down at you, concern washing over his face once more. “It was only a prank, I’m so sorry.”

Now he wasn’t just upset, but relieved. A bit of anger was in there somewhere, but that could be overlooked for now. He let out a loud laugh, hugging you so tightly you could’ve sworn you felt at least 3 of your ribs break

“And what made you think that was a funny thing to do?” His voice was dripping with sarcasm, not letting you out of his death grip. You simply shrugged, burying yourself deeper into his chest. He smiled, his knees practically buckling after the whole ordeal

He held you at arms length, a frown on his face. You felt a twinge of panic, maybe he wouldn’t forgive you?

This thought was quickly forgotten when he barked out a loud laugh. He dropped his face to your level, putting his hands on your shoulders

“Pull something like that again, and I swear you’ll give me a heart attack”

Miya:

Miya has never been one for properly expressing his emotions, so when you walked up to him one day and asked him to break up, he simply frowned. He didn’t let it on, but his world was very quickly caving in around him

Keeping a neutral expression, he sighed and nodded his head. He didn’t trust himself to speak right now

When you gave him a confused look from his lack of a verbal response, he really had to try to not walk out of that room there and then. You break up with him, and then expect him to just take it and walk away with a smile??

When you continued to look at him expectantly, he just let out a breath, turning away from you. “Fine. Whatever. If thats really what you want then so be it” he was kicking himself for being so blunt, but what other choice did he have? He couldn’t think, his lungs felt too small, too cramped

And now you were going to leave just like everyone else had

You tried to put your hand on his shoulder, calling his name quietly. He simply shrugged you off, dipping his head so you wouldn’t see the tears that were quickly collecting in his eyes. You’d just dumped him, the last thing he needed was you seeing him cry. You didn’t give up, asking him why he wouldn’t just look at you. Still not facing you, he attempted to talk again

“What more is there to discuss? You want to leave, so go. I’m not going to stop you if its what you want.” The crack in his voice at the end of his sentence broke your heart, and you were quickly turning him around, with more force this time, so he was forced to look you in the eyes

“Do you really think I’d leave that easily? It was a prank, you dumbass.” His head was buzzing with thoughts, why the hell would you do that? So you dont actually want to leave? You’re still gonna stay with him? You-

His thoughts were interrupted by you flicking his forehead. His hands flew to his head, letting out a cry. First you pretend to dump him, and now you have the audacity to flick him?

However, it did serve its purpose of pulling him out of his thoughts, and you were quickly pulling him into a hug while you stroked his hair. Before long you felt your shoulder grow wet with tears, the occasional sniffle leaving him. You laughed, holding him close as you tilted his chin to look at you

“I’m not going anywhere, as much as you might like me to. You’re stuck with me for a while longer, Miya Chinen.” He looked away from you, clicking his teeth

“Shut up..” he was mumbling, but there was so mistaking how hard he was gripping your clothes, as if you might try to leave again. But like you said, you weren’t going anywhere for quite some time

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claymorexpunisher · 2 years

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I Know Your Heart (One Shot)

Pairing(s): Roman Reigns/Fem. Reader

Summary: Inspiration taken from a storyline between Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Reader doesn’t heed Roman’s warning and she comes out into the ring during one of his heated confrontations with Brock. It doesn’t end well and reader has to talk Roman down from doing something he might regret.

Tags: Violence- reader takes an F5. Strong language, Murderous!Roman, eventual fluff.

Word Count: 1279

I knew not to go out there.

Things with Roman and Brock were getting more and more tense with every segment and promo they cut before their inevitable match at Day 1 in a couple weeks.

Brock was different.

But so was Roman.

Gone was the man that Brock thought he could frazzle and intimidate with a single look, or the man who once felt the need to nod and please everyone.

Nah, this Roman was an entirely different breed.

And even still, Roman’s protectiveness over me never changed.

I loved him for it, but at the same time it pissed me off.

I know he tries to protect me because he loves me, but there was still that stubborn part of me that wanted to prove that I could handle myself.

By now I had been in the business just as long as Roman, and his cousins and I felt like I had studied every last wrestler in that locker room down to the smallest tell in their posture.

For how much Brock’s antics seem to have changed as of late, I felt like he was still predictable…

‘’Oh look! We’ve got company!’’ Brock’s unnervingly chipper voice rang throughout the arena as I made my way into the ring.

I was nervous as shit but I hoped it didn’t show.

‘She just came out to check up on you, that’s sweet! You didn’t have to come all the way out here, sweetheart.’’ He said to Roman, who was looking at me with slightly wide eyes.

I already knew I was gonna get an earful from both the higher ups and especially from Roman, but I didn’t care

I figured my involvement would light even more of a fire on the whole feud and… well, I was right.

I made the mistake of standing right next to Lesnar as I said my next words, smiling at him.

‘’Hmm… nah. He doesn’t need me checkin’ on him. I don’t need a reason to be out here in our ring so watch how you address me, sweetheart.’’ I sneered, vaguely gesturing between roman and myself.

One minute, Brock was laughing, seemingly unaffected by my words.

And then, my body was lifted and came crashing back down onto the mat, knocking me out as my head bounced on the mat from Brock’s brutal force.

Brock clearly didn’t take very kindly to a woman dishing his bullshit back at him.

I wasn’t awake yet but, instantly, things went into complete and utter chaos.

Even the fans now had a hunch that Brock hitting me with an F5 hadn’t been a part of the plan.

You could hear a pin drop as the crowd watched in shock as Roman and Brock began brawling in the ring as I was loaded on a stretcher.

They all watched on as both men began delivering stiff punch after stiff punch to one another, along with vicious threats from a livid Roman.‘’I’ll fuckin kill you, you son of a bitch!’’ Roman roared as he lunged at Brock again, but by then WWE officials had come down to try to deescalate the situation.

As I finally came to, I immediately noticed Jimmy, Jey, Roman and Vince murmuring amongst themselves.

And to my distaste, I realized I was in a hospital room.

‘’I know this is a lot to ask, Joe. But I need your word that this isn’t gonna escalate. I can’t have you doing something you’ll regret.’’ Vince said lifting his hands in front of him as Roman let out a dry laugh that signaled that he was on the brink of losing it.

As I cleared my throat, Vince and Roman’s eyes panned over to me and Roman immediately grasped my hand and kissed it, then he reached up and carefully carded his fingers through my hair.

‘’Hey, baby. How ya feelin’?’’ He said and I did my best to smile even though I felt like complete shit.

‘’I’m okay… and don’t worry, Vince. He’ll work the match and come back home like always.’’ I said, meeting Roman’s eyes and then Vince’s once more.

At that, Roman pulled away from me slightly but I wouldn’t let him.

I held his hand tighter as he shook his head.

‘’He should be in this hospital bed. Not you. And I don’t care if it’s at Day 1, or if it’s on the street, but he should consider himself lucky if he gets to crawl away once I’m done with him.’’ Roman growled, clenching his fists as his eyes no longer met mine.

It was my turn to shake my head.

I knew Roman would be livid.

Truth be told, for some reason, I thought he’d be angrier at me than at Brock.

I should’ve known better.

‘’Ro, stop- ‘’ I went to say, but he was having none of it.

‘’Vince, he went off script and he gave my girlfriend two broken ribs and a concussion! And you two want me to let that shit fly?! Fuck no! He's lucky I let his ass walk outta there tonight!’’ Roman exclaimed, settling a little as I gently shushed him.

‘’Baby, listen to me… Can you please excuse us for a second, Vince?’’ I asked my boyfriend’s boss and he nodded, leaving us alone.

Continuing to hold Roman’s hand, I stayed silent for a couple seconds, gathering my thoughts.

I completely understood why he was angry.

Had it been him in my position, I would’ve wanted to end Brock too.

But I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if Roman did something he might regret on my behalf.

It just didn’t sit well with me.

‘’You are so much better than him, Joe. In every way possible. Starting with your heart.’’ I started, sighing deeply as I began to just let my thoughts flow, hoping that he’d begin to see reason.

‘’Aside from your dick it’s one of the biggest things you possess!’’ I continued, giggling as he began to smile, shaking his head at my crude remark that I’d blame on pain killers later.

Then his eyes began to soften as I held his face in my hand and I knew he was ready to bend.

‘’Your massive and kind heart is why I fell in love with you in the first place. And I know that you are more than willing to protect those you love with your own life if you had to. But I will not let you do something you might regret over an unwise decision on my part. Do you understand me? I know you’re pissed off and I don’t blame you. But it happened. It happened and now I need to heal. And I’m gonna need your support while I do that.’’

Now the fire in Roman’s eyes completely melted away and he kissed my palm tenderly, sighing as he pressed a soft kiss to my lips.

‘’I love you… and you’re right. I have to focus on being there for you and on doing my job like always. I’m just angry that I couldn’t stop him. I knew he’d hurt you, that’s why I didn’t want you out there in the first place! I shoulda- ‘’

I shushed him with a fingertip to Roman’s lips and shook my head.

‘’You’re here. And I’m okay and I’ll live. That’s all that matters... Plus, you can’t go to jail cuz I need someone to laugh with after you retain your title and smash him at Day 1. ‘kay, Chief?’’ I asked him, raising a brow.

Roman’s entire face lit up as he finally laughed, and I tried not to breathe a sigh of relief at the wonderful sound.

‘’Yes, ma’am.’’ He nodded, jokingly saluting, and kissing me again.

#roman reigns #roman reigns x reader fic #roman reigns x female reader fluff #wwe fluff #roman reigns fanfic

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nlights37 · 3 years

Text

Fixer-Upper Ch. 5: Teaser

Trying to get this shit wrapped up as I type this, but until then, please enjoy this peek into Joe Snow's Real Depression Hours!

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At least a quarter of the whiskey bottle remained, and he’d committed fully to polishing it off, but it seemed like it was taking forever.

That probably had something to do with the fact that he couldn’t quite breathe through his nose.

The nose thing, well, that was from the crying, not that he would ever tell anyone about that. Especially not Dany.

Fuck, now his eyes were burning again, and he wasn’t supposed to think about HER, not her name or her smell or her taste, Gods, the way she tasted was insane. There was this spot just at the pulse in her neck, where she was so sweet, and something about the way her heartbeat would speed up under the tip of his tongue, the way he could fucking feel her getting hotter for him, just made him crazy.

Jon slapped a hand against his own cheek, wincing a second after the loud crack sounded through the air, furious with himself. “Stop it.”

He heard a whine and looked up to find Ghost watching him from the corner, which was shocking on it’s own because the dog had refused to even look at him since he’d gotten back from his breakup and subsequent breakdown in his truck. How the dog had known he’d spent an hour in that parking lot silently crying, swiping his sleeve across his face every few minutes until the fabric was soaked, he wasn’t sure.

Who the fuck even was he anymore? He didn’t remember ever being this fucking pathetic.

Ghost tilted his head at Jon.

“This is your fault,” he answered, at the question in the dog’s eyes. He jabbed a finger towards Ghost, the rest of his hand wrapped around the liquor bottle, liquid sloshing as he pointed accusingly. “You were supposed to stop me, pal. How did you let me get in this fucking deep, huh?”

Maybe it was the alcohol but he was sure, in that moment, that Ghost glared at him.

Then the dog huffed, and circled, and turned his back to Jon completely.

“Don’t give me that bullshit, man.” Jon rose, a little unsteady, passing the muted television currently playing a ‘Westerosi Pickers’ marathon that he had chosen because he thought it would distract him but really all it had done was make him wish Dany was there tucked up right next to him like she was supposed to be, making fun of the hosts and eating all his chips and doing that thing he really liked to his earlobe during commercials.

No, no, he didn’t need to think about that, and he pitched forward, hand finding the wall there in the corner, as he slipped down next to his dog, in the dark. Fuck, it was night.

How long had he been drinking?

Fuck it, it didn’t matter, because he clearly hadn’t drunk enough yet, everything still hurt too much.

Begrudgingly, Ghost shifted until he could put his head in Jon’s lap, then sighed.

“You sad, too?”

Big eyes angled up to look at him, and another low whine emerged from the dog.

Jon set aside the bottle on the floor beside him and fished in his pocket for his phone, grunting with even that minor exertion. The screen swam before his eyes at first, but he managed to connect his phone to the bluetooth speakers above the television, and he fumbled around until he finally got his music app opened, the appropriate playlist selected.

There was dead air for a moment, and he met Ghost’s eyes again, resigned. “We gotta do it, pal.” The opening strains of ‘Everybody Hurts’ began to play, and Jon shook his head regretfully as Ghost’s ears pricked up. “Time for the breakup ritual.”

This wasn’t gonna work. He knew it, even as he began to bob his head drunkenly, every forlorn word striking directly into his inebriated broken heart.

He knew it wasn’t gonna work, but that didn’t stop him from coming in where he always did, off-key and far too loud. “Don’t let yourself gooooooooo,” he bellowed, face crumpling as he started crying again, mangling the next line terribly because he was finding you couldn’t shout your heartbreak out when you were also sobbing.

But he pulled it together for the most important part, yelling and slurring to the empty room that everybody DID hurt sometimes, and he was everybody, apparently.

His head thumped back against the wall and he stopped trying to do anything but sniffle and hiccup and drink and just let the rest of the song happen to him.

It looped, three times, and now he could only manage short breaths through his mouth, but when his reddened eyes fell on the gift bag he’d shoved beside his coffee table he jumped as if he’d been electrocuted. “Fuck,” he rasped, and crawled over to get it, leaning against the base of the sofa for support as he cradled the item in his lap.

Then a chill wracked him and it clicked in his mind why he’d tried to shove this out of sight earlier.

It smelled like her. Like that fucking lemon meringue pie body wash she used that made her smell fucking edible and he could almost taste her skin under his tongue, the firm give of flesh as he would sink his teeth into the rounded curve of her hip and she would moan and thread her fingers into his hair and pull…

He let his fingers crinkle against the tissue paper and sucked in another thin stream of air through his nose, still stopped up, his eyes feeling heated and swollen as he looked down at the present she had given him.

If he opened he, that would be it. It would be over. He didn’t know why, but it made a weird sort of sense, and he was convinced that this had to be true. So maybe he just shouldn’t open it.

But he had to.

Because she gave him something, and he had to know, he couldn’t not know, what was in this bag.

His mind flashed sluggishly to the desk calendar page he had meticulously poured over before declaring it a masterpiece, a brief record of what they’d done, a little something to remember him by when she inevitably got scooped up by some lucky fuck who could behave himself at parties and be respectable and made better choices. Jon was just a ruiner, anyway, that was one thing Ygritte had probably been right about, that Jon ruined everything he touched, killed it until there was nothing left.

Dany was better off without all his bullshit, in the end.

So, while he’d had every intention of keeping Naked November for his own personal times of reflection he’d decided to give it to her.

He wondered if she had unfurled it yet, if it had made her laugh, or maybe she’d studied it with that tiny devilish little smile that always popped up whenever sex between the two of them was involved.

Maybe she was doing what he was. Maybe she was getting shitfaced drunk and listening to sad music and trying to scrape together the will to purge Jon from her life. If he were going to continue on with his own special breakup traditions he would need to go round up all the things he hadn’t given her back at the park, things around his place that he knew full well were there but he hadn’t been able to part with. Her spare toothbrush, his extra from his last dentist visit, purple plastic spangled with silver glitter, still sat in the holder by his sink. Three berry yogurts were lining the door of the fridge, along with the pale ale she’d brought the last time she’d come over. Several of Drogon’s cat toys, his ‘floaters’ that ended up travelling between both their places, were scattered in with Ghost’s.

Maybe she was wandering around her place right now and finding it was just as haunted by the spectre of him as his house was saturated with her.

Maybe she was crying. He didn’t like the thought of that, at all. She’d looked upset at the park, putting on her best unaffected face for awhile, but maybe it was just the sex she was mourning.

A small, petty part of him hoped no one ever fucked her like he did, and made make all those amazing noises she made, and he hoped she never called someone else baby in that low throaty voice that made him want to bury himself inside her until neither of them could walk. That was his, and maybe it was selfish, but he didn’t care.

“Fuck it,” he muttered, and took another drink from the bottle, smiling bitterly at the burn then thrusting his hand into the paper. He grew still when his questing fingers encountered a hard edge, and for the life of him he couldn’t begin to imagine what it could be.

So, he took a deep breath and braced himself, and pulled the object free.

#fixer-upper #jonerys #fic tease #final chapter #joe snow is big sad #prelude to makeup smut #jon x daenerys #modern au #homestretch

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youssefguedira · 3 years

Text

day 19

lighter angst today! also slight deviation from the prompt. i just wanted an excuse to write nicky and nile bonding and so that is what i did

[prompt: sleep deprivation]

Nile wakes gasping for air, Quynh’s silent screams burned into her mind, the way she always seems to now. If not Quynh, it’s the people she killed in the lab, the man who killed her, over and over again.

She can’t remember the last time she slept a full night.

Unable to stand the dark of her room after the dark at the bottom of the ocean, she gets out of bed and leaves.

There’s a faint light coming from the kitchen, and Nile walks toward it, wondering who else is awake.

It’s Nicky, standing in front of the counter with his back to Nile. “Can’t sleep?” he asks without turning around.

“Can’t stay asleep,” she responds. It’s been days, and she’s so tired.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He gestures for her to sit down, and she does, dropping onto one of the stools by the counter.

“I don’t know,” she says. “Feels like every time I try to close my eyes all I can see is the people in the lab, or- or Quynh.”

Nicky hums sympathetically as he sets about making tea.

“And it’s just… tiring, you know? I don’t think I’ve slept a full night since Goussainville, and I know this probably won’t last forever, but… I just want to be able to sleep again.”

“It will get easier,” Nicky says. “It can be… difficult, at first, but it will get better. I can promise you that.”

“Does it ever go away completely? The - the guilt.”

“No. If we were completely unaffected by what we do, we would no longer be human. But you will be able to sleep again, in time. Here.” He slides a mug of tea along the counter towards her. “This will help.”

“Thank you.” It does help, a little, the warmth helping to soothe her.

Nicky gives her a small smile. “You’re welcome.”

“What are you doing awake?”

Nicky shrugs and returns to whatever he was doing when she came in. “I cannot sleep either.”

“We should form a club. Insomniac Immortals. Hey, that sounds kind of like a band name.”

“I can play the guitar,” Nicky offers. “And a few other things.”

“Well, I can’t play anything, so that’s a small problem with the plan.”

“You have time to learn.”

“I guess I do.” She stares into her mug as if she’ll find the answers to all her questions there.

“Have you made bread before?”

The question surprises her, and she looks up. “Yeah, a couple times with my mom. Why?”

“Would you like to come over here and knead this?” Nicky asks, pointing at the lump of dough on the counter.

“Sure.”

Nicky smiles, and steps aside to make room for her at the counter. The repetitive movement is grounding, and she wonders if that’s why Nicky asked her to help.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asks.

“Of course.”

“You and Joe, how did that… happen?”

“Ah.” Nicky smiles. “It’s a long story. I was not a good person back then, but he still showed me kindness. We were the only ones who could possibly understand each other, even if we hated each other, and so we stayed together. There were times I thought he would leave, and times I nearly did, but neither of us did, so…” Nicky shrugs. “It’s difficult to explain. It happened because we both wanted it to, and we stay together because we choose to.”

“You two are lucky.”

Nicky tilts his head. “Perhaps. But I do not believe luck has much to do with it.”

They work in companionable silence for a while, Nile kneading while Nicky rolls out another lump of dough - cookie dough this time. It almost reminds her of weekend mornings baking with her family, and she feels the familiar pang of homesickness.

“What are you making now?” she asks, to distract herself.

Nicky is hunched over the counter, carefully cutting shapes in the cookie dough with a knife. “I forget the English. Farfalle? Butterflies?”

“Can I see?”

He straightens and moves slightly so she can see. Sure enough, he’s already created two tiny dough butterflies, with one half-formed.

“They’re beautiful,” she says, and Nicky smiles. “Why butterflies?”

“I like them,” Nicky says simply. “I’ll let Joe ice them in the morning.”

“Is baking in the middle of the night something you do a lot?”

“When I can’t sleep.” He returns to cutting out butterflies. “Helps with the… restlessness, I think is the word. You’re welcome to help any time, if you want to.”

“Thank you,” she says.

(They stay up, sometimes talking, sometimes quiet, until dawn. In the morning, Joe ices Nicky’s butterfly wings, each different from the last. And every night from then on, Nicky is there when Nile can’t sleep to offer advice, or just the opportunity to talk, while they bake together.)

(After a while, it starts to feel like home.)

(After a little while longer, Nile can sleep again.)

#neon writes #the old guard #nile freeman #nicolo di genova #with slight background #kaysanova #i don't know what this is honestly #the ending's a little abrupt #i just wanted to write nicky making butterfly cookies at one am #and i think joe would have fun with icing #that is all #userhegel #usersimo #swquser #lazynbored #moonlightandromache #usertriz #farfalle is like. the single word i know in italian so #butterflies!!!

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mamahersh · 3 years

Text

The Road to Hell (is Paved with Good Intentions) Chapter 5

“Season 8 was well underway, and the server’s first conflict is bubbling just under the surface. But BDoubleO can’t worry about that right now because he has an Etho to find so they can work on the Horse Course together. However when Xisuma calls a surprise server meeting on behalf of EvilXisuma, BDubs gets his answers about where Etho’s been in the worst way possible.”

(CW: angst, blood, gore, torture)

Chapter rating: M

Back to the rescue team and those left behind, focusing on BDubs and a surprise Mumbo Jumbo! (Bet you weren’t expecting Mumbo angst.) Thank you all again for your interest! As previously mentioned, if you enjoyed this, I was directly inspired by this fic over on AO3.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 6

BDubs knew it was going to be hard trying to find where Etho and EvilX were hiding, but he neglected to remember how nerve wracking it would be with the added challenge of hearing his communicator go off every time someone died. Admittedly, it had only been the two times thus far, but checking and seeing they were both Etho made him want to go insane. The only boon they had, paradoxically, was the same curse keeping Etho stuck in that hell hole: that they were able to respawn in the same place they had died in. This at least meant that their progress wouldn’t be undone at a moment’s notice because someone died and got sent to their base halfway across the map in the opposite direction they were searching.

After he had checked his communicator to see the death message, “Ethoslab was slain by Ethoslab whilst trying to escape EvilXisuma”; BDubs decided he would stop watching chat completely. If someone died, he knew they would be fine, and he really didn’t need to know how else Etho was going to suffer till they found him. Plus, he had Doc keeping an eye on Etho for him. And he had Beef by his side, plus the Big Eye crew supporting him. He just had to keep reminding himself he wasn’t alone, it wasn’t the jungle again, he had his people with him.

“Hey BDubs, you see anything yet?” called out Tango, flying by on his own elytra. BDubs startled in the straps of his elytra, and focused more on the ground below.

“I got nothin’!” he called back, swooping to the back of the formation the big eyes crew had made to check the area stretching from the girls’ southernmost border to the northernmost border of Cleo and Joe’s shared territory. They had decided to first fly over their assigned strip of the x coordinate line to see if there was anything obviously wrong from a bird’s eye view. After that, depending on the results from the other search teams, they would dig down in strategic intervals to be as thorough as possible. They had calculated the size of the room based on the video feed before they had left, and so they planned on digging straight down every 9 blocks along the axis. As crazy as that was, they were hoping with forteen hermits all doing it at the same time equally spaced along the line, they would be able to find Etho within an hour or two. (This all assumed that EvilX hadn’t been lying, but this was the only thing they had.)

——————————————————-

Mumbo hated every decision that had led him to this moment. He hated every decision that others have made on his behalf that had led to this moment. (That was a lie, he blamed himself completely. Even though Grian had had the idea to institute him as the CEO of Boatem, it was still his final say as to whether he would actually complete the role assigned to him. It was his decision to step up to the plate and lead them at this critical time. Everything that was happening was entirely his fault.) As he watched, horrified, Etho having to stay strong without anyone by his side; Mumbo thought he would throw up. If he didn’t faint first that was. (How pathetic of him, that he couldn’t handle the consequences of his actions.) He stood miserable in front of the screen, promising himself the least he could do was watch every moment Etho was without help and in pain because of him.

Beside him, Xisuma frantically typed in his admin console, seemingly trying in vain to undo whatever EvilXisuma had done to the respawn mechanics. To his other side, TFC stood stoically, seemingly unaffected by what he was witnessing, though Mumbo was sure that if he looked over, he’d be able to see the disguised pain in TFC’s eyes. Behind and a bit to the side of Xisuma was Joe, who’s pain was obvious to see, but stood strong despite it. (Mumbo wondered why Joe was here at all, till he remembered how close Joe was to Xisuma). To TFC’s other side stood Doc, who looked about one more Etho death from finding a way to crawl through the screen and detonating in EvilXisuma’s face. And to Joe’s other side stood Scar, sympathetic tears trailing down his face and holding himself in a way that Mumbo knew he did when he was particularly missing the comfort of Jellie the cat.

Mumbo watched as Etho poofed back into existence, arm that he had mangled looking noticeably more mangled than before.(Though there was something off about the restraints and his arm’s relation to them that Mumbo couldn’t place. It didn’t help the camera’s resolution wasn’t quite perfect clarity, and a bit of a wide shot, so details were a little difficult to pick out. Though it didn’t stop them from seeing the next part just fine.) Once Etho was back, EvilXisuma punched him in the face, hard enough they could see a tooth fly out of his mouth.

“You will regret that,” stated EvilXisuma, just barely loud enough to be picked up by the camera. (Mumbo knows Etho would normally have replied with something like, ‘you already said that’, but, well…)

“Any updates Xisuma?” questioned Doc, still staring intently at the screen looking for any clues as to the whereabouts of the the torture room.

“He’s still goin’ strong Doc,” replied Joe instead, peaking over Xisuma’s shoulder to see what he was up to. “You got any new clues?”

Doc growled under his breath. “No.” He sounded bitter to Mumbo, all acid and sharp edges.

“I can’t tell, but there’s something different about his arm I think,” said Mumbo hesitantly, nervously watching as the rest of the group stared intently up at the screen to see what he meant.

Scar spoke up, “I think I see what you mean. His arm isn’t quite aligned correctly with the chair arm, right?”

Mumbo nodded, pointing at Etho’s arm on the screen where it seemed to almost intersect with the cuff and was bleeding profusely. “I don’t know how, like if it was just a natural consequence of trying to move his arm in that direction as he died and respawned, or if it was just a one time fluke; but he seems to have gotten his wrist intersected with the cuff on the armrest and the stake from earlier seems off center.”

As Mumbo was trying to explain, EvilXisuma had begun to focus on Etho’s fingers, and starting on the opposite hand to the one they were observing, he began to break them individually. Mumbo was selfishly happy that he didn’t have to focus on Etho’s pain for a moment as he allowed himself to fully focus on the potential puzzle in front of him.

TFC suddenly spoke up, voice coming off as gruff. “Hrm, this is good and all, but it depends entirely on EvilXisuma not noticing this little update; which we’ve done a pretty poor job at not letting him on. What with him more than likely able to hear us, and all that.” Doc muttered a quiet, “fuck” under his breath in response, and they all held their breath as they waited to see if EvilXisuma would say anything.

Instead of saying anything, he continued to methodically snap more of Etho’s fingers, causing the group to flinch in varying amounts at each wet snap. However, as Mumbo was trying to take in details not relating to Etho’s pain, he could tell that the mic was picking up EvilXisuma’s muttering. But Mumbo didn’t have the super amazing hearing that someone like Ren or Grian had; but he wondered if one of the other people in the group here had more sensitive hearing. “Anyone able to make out what he’s saying?” muttered Mumbo.

Doc hissed a quiet affirmative, and muttered back, “Yesssss, but I need to focus. Please everyone be quiet, thanks.” Everyone but Xisuma nodded back, who was too busy still trying to figure out what EvilXisuma had done to the code to notice anything else around him.

Mumbo did his best to both suffer the consequences of his actions, while at the same time he couldn’t stand watching one of his fellow Hermits in that much pain. He could no longer distract himself, as he couldn’t make out what EvilXisuma was saying, and there were only so many times he could try to determine how many pixels on the screen related to the walls were just stone or his imagination trying to give him impossible answers. EvilXisuma had finally finished with Etho’s left hand, and he now moved to the right before he took a noticeable pause. Mumbo held his breath, hoping beyond hope that EvilXisuma somehow hadn’t noticed Etho’s weirdly placed hand. But that was an impossible wish after all.

“Well well well, how have you managed this then?” Evil Xisuma appeared to poke the part of the wrist that seemed to be poking part way out of the cuff. Mumbo couldn’t help but notice that Etho seemed so gone that he barely flinched at what should have been an incredibly painful jostle. “I’m interested in seeing how you struggle with this.” Evil X nodded at Etho. “Yes, I shall let you struggle. But we still have about 9 more bones to break, so on we go.” With that, he kneeled in front of Etho and started snapping the fingers on Etho’s right hand. Each wet snap ended with a muted whine and shudder from Etho, who seemed to have zoned out far enough that any reactions seemed mostly involuntary at this point. EvilXisuma seemed quiet for the first few snaps, before he went back to muttering in a just barely audible way. Mumbo could only assume that EvilXisuma was unaware that his mic sensitivity was set too high, and thought he was muttering in such a way as for those of them watching the stream would be unable to hear him. That, or it was an unconscious habit, and didn’t even realize he was doing it. Either way, Mumbo continued hoping he would continue to do so, so that maybe he would let something slip and Doc could post it in chat.

Meanwhile Doc had been listening closely to what EvilX had been saying, but none of it thus far had led to a clue. Most of what he was muttering were curses and the terrible things he planned to do to Etho. Honestly Doc wished he couldn’t hear what EvilX was saying, just so that he wasn’t obligated to continue listening to see if that scum slipped up. But the chance of catching something important was too high, so he went back to diligently listening to the stream, mentally cursing at every suppressed gasp or whine or wet snap from Etho.

EvilXisuma made quick work of Etho’s fingers, and seemingly tired of Etho’s lack of responses decided he needed to kill him. However, because he was feeling particularly vindictive, he gutted Etho, guts spilling over his knees before he disappeared in a flash of red. Mumbo, morbidly curious how the game would register the death, looked down at his communicator. “Ethoslab was slain by EvilXisuma.” He was selfishly grateful that the server messages were that generic. He watched further as Etho poofed back into the chair, though as before his killing blow hadn’t followed him through respawn, but all his previous wounds did. Mumbo looked very carefully at Etho’s wrists and saw that he had managed to get his wrist farther out, and the stake seemed almost completely out of his arm. Unfortunately for Etho, respawn managed to break him out of his trance, and he seemed far more present and aware (and in pain) for the moment. The only positive that Mumbo could see was that EvilXisuma seemed to have either turned off the speakers on his end, or was ignoring them completely. But Mumbo could only hope that either Doc would hear something soon, or the search parties would stumble across the hidden room soon; because he wasn’t sure how much more of this he could watch.

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bubblyani · 4 years

Text

Bail Out : 10 (FINAL)

(Bruce Wayne x Reader)

A Bruce Wayne Multi Chapter Series

Chapter 10: Life Sentence (Final Chapter)

Summary: One fateful, drunken night gets you arrested for assault. However, once you get bailed out by Billionaire Socialite Bruce Wayne, surprising obstacles get in the way, forcing you to question all your choices in life, career, and in love.

Word Count: 6200+

Rating: Mature (18+)

Warnings: Violence, Swearing and Sexual Content

Author’s Note: The Final Chapter is finally here! As much as it makes me happy to give this the ending I wanted, I am truly sad to part with this Series. Hope you will enjoy this for the last time <3

CHAPTER LIST

Serene was the nocturnal sky, generously adorned with stars that shone like diamonds. Though an obstinate circle of clouds slowly advanced from the distance, the sky brimmed with enough confidence. Enough to conquer the night with its serenity. A sheer contradiction to the chaos that conquered the rooftop of Wayne Tower. Chaos that morphed into a fight to the death.

Gripping on to the phone, a surge of hope rushed through your system within a matter of seconds. For Blake’s message helped. It was the solution to all this. “LOOK OUT!” Batman’s growl made you look back. Your face grew pale the moment your eyes caught the sight of Emilio, pointing a gun at you. All happened in a matter of seconds. “You’re getting away that easy!” He said, chill embodying him with his hand in the trigger. It seemed death was greedy for your company. Frozen in place, Would you accept? “Goodby-Ow!” A surprise attack greeted Emilio from the back as the Dark Knight forcefully bashed his head with his elbow, leaving Mr. Slender on the ground, fully unconscious. You sighed looking at Batman, relieved to find him well. Except, you realized the evening was not fully resolved. Wait! Your heart raced frantically. Where was Clara all the sudden? Darkness was an ally to Clara, camouflaged as she ambushed Batman from the back. You gasped as you saw her grab his neck with a black wire, forcing him to fall on his knees as she began to strangle him with it. A strong man, he certainly was. You needed no proof. However, sneak attacks such a this were practically anyone’s weakness. Thus, his agonizing roars frightened you. Seemed that death turned its attention somewhere else. And that frightened you more. “No…Bruce” You whimpered to yourself, as your heartbeat grew fast in ten folds. Never had you lost anyone you cared for. And as weak as it seemed, you were not prepared to lose him. Not him. Not him at all.

“Wait! WAIT!!” You yelled at Clara, “DON’T DO THIS! NOT TO HIM!!”   Unfortunately, those words did not reach Clara’s ears. Not when her focus was elsewhere. Even through the cowl, Bruce’s face had turned gaunt, struggling to pull the wire off his neck, but failing miserably. With gritted teeth and groans of frustration, Batman was as helpless as he could be. Smothering yourself by the sight of him this way, tears pooled around your eyes. And at that moment.That very moment, was when a memory flashed before you:

 “You know what? It’s a darn shame Joe Chill didn’t finish the job…He should have gotten rid of the entire Wayne family”

You remembered Henderson’s harsh words, insulting and harming the reputation of the man you admired before you at the hotel one fateful night. Then you also remembered the rage in your eyes, taking justice into action as your fist bashed through his nose.

Now here you were, having to stand up for the same man once more, except in actual dire circumstances. For it was his life that was harmed instead of his reputation. Being the reckless woman you were before will certainly not help.Not with her. Not with an opponent of this magnitude. As time ticked fast, you had to take action. Smart was key. Practicality was key. His life was key. Tightening your fists, you drew in a deep breath:

“ALPHA!!…” You cried out, to which she did not answer once again. Pressing your lips together, you yelled louder: “CLARA!! I KNOW, OKAY?…” You said, "I know, being in your position, you don’t wanna hear me out. I know!” You continued, “Especially me being the target but…” drawing in another breath for courage, you added, “But I ask you to make an exception...Oh god!” Covering your mouth, You gasped as she strangled him tighter. Unaffected, Clara scoffed:   “No offense but…A job is a job…” Gathering the courage that spilled all around, you held on to the phone tightly: “Yeah maybe but..What if the job is NOT worth it?” You inquired loudly. Looking up, she seemed a bit surprised. “What?” “I mean…” you paused, “Is Henderson really giving you what he promised?” You said, raising both arms, “Or don’t you have a feeling that he’s stalling ?” Clara stood straight. “What makes you say that??” She snapped defensively. “This…” You replied, pointing at your phone as you played the Blake’s file on loudspeaker: It was a conversation between two men.

“Sir, about the Bruiser, I think the police maybe onto us” One man said, his tone rife with concern. “Don’t worry, she’ll finally be taken care of” the other voice replied. Which seemingly was Henderson’s. “When do you want to wire the rest of the payment to Alpha?” Henderson’s cackle was loud, “Payment??” He repeated, “No that’s not gonna happen, Paterson” “Sir?” Paterson was confused. “This Alpha..he’s is a sly one, and definitely not the obedient kind. Do you think my plan was to pay that son of a bitch in full?? Nah...as soon as the job is done, I’m gonna get them all arrested...Cause no one...No one messes with Henderson” “But sir-” “THAT’S FINAL!”

Calmer was what you felt, as you put the phone back in your pocket. A few seconds of silence was all that required for Clara to loosen her grip on Batman. Her expression changed. It was filled with shock, as if the recording had slapped her in the face.

“Don’t you see??” You chuckled sadly, “Henderson is trying to make a fool out of ALL of us.” As you pointed at her, at Batman, even Emilio, “In the end...it’s us who’s getting screwed” Staring at the ground, Clara’s eyebrows furrowed. Being a pawn in someone else’s game was never good news, “That message could have easily been fabricated! ” She snapped with naiveté. You smiled sadly.

“I think you pretty much know that I don’t do that. I never do that” you said, tone brimming with confidence, “Remember, you once called me an unprofessional thug with anger issues? Well guess who’s exactly just that??” You added, “You’re not a reckless one, Clara. I know that. Don’t... let one bad client ruin your life, just don't”

Silence followed you soon after, sending you in to spirals of concern. Yet, it was evident you did your best. And waiting with bated breath seemed worthwhile, when Clara released finally Batman from her grasp. Falling on to the ground, you watched him gasp for air. As much as you longed to be there by his side, you merely kept standing, resolute in protecting his identity and your relationship with him. You stood as if he meant very little for you. Painful as it was, it had to be done. Yet, it did not stop you from smiling with relief.

“Here you are, getting away from death once again” you heard Clara say, as you found her looking at you with a smug expression, “Wait!” She paused, her smile disappearing, “ If I shot you…” she said, pointing at you, “…then…why aren’t you bleeding?”

Standing up slowly, you pulled up your t-shirt, revealing the black bulletproof vest, with the bullet still intact. Mouth slightly parted, Clara certainly appeared surprised. Upon seeing her reaction, you were certainly relieved to have listened to Alfred Pennyworth’s careful instructions earlier. You were relieved you actually listened.

“Loyalty has its perks, you were right” You said with a smile. You sensed Bruce looking at you, pleased. And if Alfred was there, he would not hesitate to offer a prideful nod.

Clara chuckled, before walking towards the now-groaning Emilio. And truthfully, you did not mind.Bad blood was never a necessity between the two of you. Regardless of all that happened, regardless of her attempts to wipe your existence off the face of the earth, your eyes could never put in a pair angry glasses when it came to Clara. Hurt you were, truly. But never wrath. And you were relieved. For you could empathize, for you respected her for who she truly was: a woman who took her job very seriously. Picking Emilio up, she looked over to you: “Everything aside…” she began, “I meant what I said...” she said, “...it has been an honor knowing you. But...it’s up to you to believe me” she added whilst shrugging. All you could do was to nod. For it seemed the most appropriate. And with a sudden cloud of smoke bursting before you, she and Emilio disappeared.

“Bruce!” You breathed worriedly, dashing towards Batman helping him slowly get back up. For finally, you were free to feel relieved for him. Breathing deeply, he looked you straight in the eyes through his cowl: “Are-Are you oka-”

He was cut off, as you decided to kiss him with utmost passion.

This kiss, it encompassed relief. Relief to find him alive and out of death’s reach. It encompassed of your guilt, of your inability to assist him sooner. And by his enthusiasm kissing you back, a rush of excitement coursed through you. Especially when you came to the realization you not just kissing Bruce Wayne, you were also kissing Batman. And that was not a common occurrence. Shrieking Police sirens from downstairs pulled both of you away. Given the sounds coming from inside the building, you knew there would be police company.

“Go...” You said to him, “...it’s okay” “You sure?” He inquired deeply, to which You nodded. “Absolutely...I can handle it” And you certainly were confident about it.

The roar of thunder surprised you, signaling the hasty arrival of cold showers, descending from the dark clouds that now had completely taken over the skies. Looking up, you smiled as the continuous drops refreshed your face.

“Well, whaddaya know?” you began, as you turned to look back at him “…it’s-” Only to find he had disappeared, “….raining”.

Amused once again by his signature move, You smiled to yourself, “So cool…” you muttered, looking over your shoulder the moment the rooftop door suddenly flew open, as a group of policemen finally swarmed out with John Blake’s familiar face leading them.

Though the clear skies were serene, the clouds truthfully seemed to have actually brought rains of hope in disguise. For finally, all was well for you. With an non washable smile on your face, you indulged in the rain for as long as adulthood permitted you to.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gotham city, yet again declared its intention to never rest, and the Gotham Police was clear proof. But as you sat across John Blake’s desk, you were certain of the fact at least your heart could rest easy tonight. And you were grateful.

“Thanks for this by the way…” you said, gently pulling the neckline of the gray hoodie you had on. The rains of hope were refreshing, yet you were drenched by the end. Thus, the gray hoodie that was lent to you was a life savor.

“Oh, Officer Langdon had a spare one so..”

Blake replied casually, before looking over at Nina Langdon. You also looked over at her with surprise. Working on her police reports with diligence, she was the epitome of bad-assery in your eyes.

“You’re welcome” eyes meeting yours, Nina said coolly with a smile. Relieved, an inaudible “Thank You” escaped your lips as your head slightly bowed involuntarily. Nodding back, her eyes quickly move towards Blake’s, her smile growing larger. And you were immediately reminded of the visit from last time.

“I know…” You began softly, forcing Blake to look back at you, “…it’s not my place but…” you added, as he leaned forward with concern “I’ve been tracking some serious sparks between the two of you since my first time here…” you stated. And to your relief, Blake chuckled, making John chuckle, “…please tell me something’s going on-”

“Oh yeah there is…” John said, “…for sure” He confirmed with a nod.

“AHA!” You snapped your fingers victoriously, “So I DO have the sense. Thank goodness” you laughed alongside him. As the laughter subsided, you took a deep breath: “You were the real hero today, Officer…” you uttered, crossing your legs, “…I mean, if it weren’t for the recording…” you breathed in, “…it would have been one hell of a bloody evening…”

“Yeah…but …" he began, “I don’t know if I can use this against Henderson” a downcast expression clouded his face. Your eyebrows furrowed as you suppressed a sudden yawn.

“What do you mean?”

“You kidding right? An Officer recording a conversation through eavesdropping?” His eyes questioned your sanity, “ Wouldn’t exactly go well with our case…”

“Oh yeah…” a trace of enthusiasm left your system as you nodded. How naive you were to even assume this would be child’s play, “…and I bet the CCTV cameras had something to catch” you muttered, slowly coming to the disappointing realization. You may have escaped death. But the root of all danger, the man with the power and the riches, would be left unaffected. As if nothing significant occurred.

“I’m sorry this was a dead end,Ma’am” Blake said sadly. The vibration of your phone urged you to look down, seeing the text brought a smile. A comforting smile. “Not entirely” you replied, looking back at him, “I mean, We know who planned it all, right?And the assassin will have no business with me anymore..so…” you paused, “…not all hope is lost” Smiling warmly, you slowly got up, “You saved many lives today, that counts. Thank you...for everything, Officer Blake”

Officer Langdon stood next to Blake, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Looking at her hand, he turned back to you with a smile full of content. Fortunate you were truly to be arrested by him that fateful evening. Fortunate you were to have him believe in you. You were truly fortunate.

Standing by the entrance of the precinct, you breathed in deep. A smile was inevitable the moment your eyes caught the sight before you. Dressed in a fine suit as always, Bruce Wayne leaned against his Black Lamborghini as he waited for you late at night. With the streets almost empty at that hour, you were truthfully quite relieved to find him there. And admittedly, the sight of him instantly grabbed you by the hand, leading you to the very first morning when he showed up this way.

“You clean up pretty good, Mr. Wayne” You jested, slowly walking towards him. He smiled: “Part of the job, I guess” he responded which drove you to a chuckle, “Let’s go home”

A faint camera shutter sound intruded your ears, capturing your attention. Looking to your left, you spotted a young, scrawny looking man shyly scurrying away with a camera phone in hand. What photo did he take? A part of you longed to know, however the other greater part did not seem to care, for you truly were not in the shape to mind at all.

Getting in to the vehicle, memories that still seemed fresh revisited you. That first conversation, getting your hand treated, accidentally having your poor heart stirred. Leaning against the passenger seat, a luxurious sense of comfort brought out another yawn from you.

“I gotta say…” Bruce began, starting the engine, “The vest, I really did not see that coming”

“Hmmmm” you hummed, occupied in the comfort with your eyes closed. “But really, that was very clever of Alfr-”

His words were faint, growing even softer. For you were a willing victim to the exhaustion , which was effortlessly brought out by the comfort of an expensive leather car seat.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Erik Henderson was impatient, and it certainly showed. With his silk robes moving around, he paced from one corner of his bedroom to the other with speed. For along with impatience came disappointment.

“Is the girl here yet?? Where the fuck are they?”

He snarled loudly, when he sat on one of armchair. As for the Bruiser, he was promised the deed would be done tonight, with the result presented tomorrow morning. But until then, it did not hurt for him to engage in some early celebrations. Preferably with the company of his usual lineup of high end call girls. However, they were late.

Along with his ill temper and lack of appreciation to his wife, infidelity was high on the list. And tonight, his body was ready with much enthusiasm. He was ready to feel like a man. Ready to indulge in the sight of the women pleasure one another, only to pleasure him soon after. Still, they were late.

“Apologies! Mr. Henderson”

His eyes to shot up by the sound of a brunette woman. She stood by entrance of his room wearing a trench and beige heels, her full lips and big eyes growing distinctive as she began to walk towards him. Henderson raised his eyebrows:

“Wait a minute!” He said, as she approached him, “You’re not the girl I asked for ...” he said, rising from the chair angrily, “Why aren’t you answering me, you bitc-ARGH!”

Henderson cried out loud, when he realized the woman grabbed him by the arm, only to twist it effortlessly, switching to grip his neck tightly before she stabbed his stomach with a small knife. With his defenses weakened and knife still in stomach, he was lowered back to his chair. However, her hand did not leave his neck.

“Wh-” Henderson began breathlessly, “Who the fuck are you?” He inquired.

“Perhaps this...might jog your memory” the woman said, as she proceeded to wear a black mask, that shaped like a skull. Eyes widened, Henderson just could not fathom what he just witnessed.

“Alpha!?” He breathed. “Indeed, I am…” Clara replied, now in that familiar robotic voice. “You’re…” he stuttered, “…you’re a wo-”

“Ugh!” She shook her head,“Save me the sexist bullshit” she added annoyingly, whilst taking off the mask,“Looks like you were never gonna pay for our services, huh?” She inquired, “And I bet ...” she said, her free hand going through his chair while the knife was still intact, “….you have an alarm for the police to show up, hmmm?” She raised her eyebrows, finally discovering his mobile phone, “Heh! Just what I thought...” She remarked with a chuckle. So the Bruiser was right all along.

Speechless and injured, Henderson only could hyperventilate weakly. Clara smiled at him coldly. Funny how the tables have been turned. Funny how the man once was powerful now reeked of sheer desperation.

“I knew You’ve always been bad, Mr.Henderson” she began, “…but THIS? This disrespect? is just unforgivable. So…here’s what we’re gonna do…” She added, menace evident in her tone while she twisted the knife harder into his stomach, that sent him screaming, “You and I…we are gonna take a little trip… out of Gotham”

Fear translated in to Henderson’s quivering lips, “For-For h-how long?”

“Oh….” Ready to show her true colors, Clara Bennett flashed an evil grin, “…indefinitely”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The blue hour greeted your fluttering eyes gently the next morning. Stretching lazily, you felt your presence on a bed. It seemed the car seat was full of comfort it sent you to the deepest slumber. The blue hour appeared more graceful at the Wayne Penthouse. It was indeed quite the beauty. But the beauty was intensified the moment your eyes glimpsed upon the man laying beside you.The man who gazed long enough for you to smile shyly.

“I dozed off last night huh?” You inquired, your tone rife with sleepiness.

He nodded gently. Pressing your face against the pillow, embarrassment took control. The thought of Bruce Wayne carrying your sleeping figure all the way to bed was more than you could imagine. What if you snored? What if you drooled? Oh! The horror!

“I’m sorry...” you mumbled, looking at him. However, he shook his head.

“Don’t need to...” he replied, his breathy tone sending shivers down your spine. You raised your eyebrows: “Shouldn’t you should be sleeping?” you inquired playfully, whilst laying on your side.

“Don’t want to...” He said, moving closer to you.

His tone may have been gentle, yet it did not mean he was not confident about it. And the moment you felt his lips press against yours, that confidence suddenly had more reason. Kissing him back, you indulged it as you would indulge your morning coffee. Even better. His kiss at dawn was a gentle fire, that was lit to spread warmth around a once cold and lifeless room, to give it the life it once had. His kiss was also a reminder of what you needed. A need that was urgent. Pulling away gently, you glanced upon the surprised expression in his face. You could empathize why, and you were surely were not planning to disappoint.

Maintaining his gaze, you dipped your hands under the white sheets, stripping yourself off your sweatpants and underwear as fast as you could. He was certainly fascinated as you tossed the sheet aside, only to slowly straddle him, wearing nothing but the gray hoodie. A faint gasp left you when your naked mound made subtle contact with his shorts. It caused friction. More importantly, it caused sheer arousal that stimulated the entirety of your senses. Seeing him so calm beneath you, it certainly was a pleasurable sight. Balancing yourself over the mattress with one hand, you were surprised at how you managed to pull down his shorts with ease, receiving his full cooperation to remove it completely. You were calm, yet daring this morning.

The sight of Bruce draw in his shaky breath as you slowly sank into his abundantly erect manhood caused weakness in your knees. However, you had to be strong. Your damp opening welcomed him whole, as you finally sat with comfort. Finally becoming one, you stretched yourself, pulling your hoodie off, leaving you completely bare. With your hands resting on his bare chest, you permitted the gentle blue morning filter wash over you when you began to roll your hips in slow rhythm. For you were a lazy rider, mounted on a horse who took you home with relaxation. For you were both relaxed, for you were both calm. This morning, it need not be a passionate race that needed a speedy finish. It was merely just two lovers on a slow journey, intimate and brimming with emotion.

Amidst the breathy moans exchanged between the two, Your eyes conversed with his. You told him how indebted you were to him in every way. You stressed how you wished every second with him was longer than the others. You apologized for every single moment you hurt him without your knowledge. He acknowledged them all, surprising you as he sat up in a flash. Wrapping his arms around your waist, his fingers explored your bare back, feeling its curves before he proceeded to envelope his lips in yours in a slow, yet passion inducing kiss. He kissed you with a mission. As if he longed to fulfill your wish, as if he was on a fierce attempt to slow down time. The manner his tongue embraced your own, certainly was a display of how this pleasure was to be indulged in the slowest, possible manner.

And it certainly meant taking one’s sweet time.

Distracted with his kisses, you were even unaware of his right hand roaming over to cup your left breast. In the midst of the morning chill, he warmed it with his generous palm, his thumb gently running over the now erect bud. The fact he savored this act slow, roused you even further. Shivering moans exited your lips the moment his delicious mouth replaced his thumb, latching on to it. The manner of which he suckled it, the manner he tasted it with passion, provided a new form of life within you. Kissing his head frantically, you continued to moan. You adored this man, you could not deny it. In fact, you could burst into tears by the thought of it. With his lips now placing gracious kisses around the softness of your breast, sparks of fire began to spread. Your fingers traced over the strangle marks on his neck, causing your lips to quiver with emotion.

Kissing his neck with determination, you hoped you would not inflict more pain upon him ever again. He heard your hopes, as his own lips frantically looked for yours to kiss you once again. Surprise was clearly the main role this morning. Your eyes widened the moment he quickly turned, flipping you back to bed, hovering over you.

Holding on the headboard, Bruce continued to move inside of you, frustratingly slow. His soft breathy moans blessed your ears, while his finger felt your sensitive nub at your opening, providing ample stimulation to throw your head back and feel the headboard behind you. He breathed in your name religiously, urging you to look at him. He spoke to you in hushed tones. He swore to protect you always, no matter what may come his way. He swore with such passion and desperation.

You believed him, with all your heart you longed to. However, you were also realistic. This was all on the brink of passion. For truthfully, Life never was always kind to everyone who walked this earth. Exceptions would always exist, even where he could not show up. And you did not take them to heart. Not one bit. For you knew better. As he buried his face on your neck, adorning it with kisses, that was when you decided, deep in your heart, to make your own promise.

Blinded by passion or not, you swore. Your swore to be at your best, and keep yourself safe. And whatever trouble may announce its arrival, he would never blamed for it. Never ever. For he was no god. He was only a man. And he was yours.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hues of yellow infused with the blue as the sunlight secretly crept into the penthouse. It brought more color. But nothing could replace the magic of the blue hour, and you were grateful to have made great use of it this morning. Sitting on the edge of the bed, you slowly put the pants back on, whilst the gentle yellow light grazed over your naked torso. Bruce’s hand stroked your shoulder blades, surprising you even further when you felt his blessed lips on the lower back. Biting your lip shyly, you proceeded to dress yourself with the gray hoodie once more. But in fact, butterflies still managed to flutter within you. If only words existed for you to describe the effect this man had on you, they would be used fervently. But since there were none, you knew you would fail to do him justice. The value you held for him was beyond all measure. And that was why you were reminded of what you longed to tell him before:

“Bruce?”

“Hmmm?”

Lazy hums escaped Bruce when you turned to his reclined figure in bed. Sitting crossed legged, nervousness washed all over. You wished for a distraction. You wished to remain in his arms a bit longer. But this was mandatory, thus a deep breath was a necessity:

“I got a job offer...from Hudson’s”

You said. Surprised, Bruce slowly sat up.

“The HR company?”

To which you nodded slowly, “Yeah…And I think…” you paused, “I think I’m gonna take it”

You watched him slowly process the information he just received. It was evident with his concerned expression. “You’re… leaving Wayne Enterprises?”

He breathed in inquiry. You froze. For that sentence simply forced your heart to clench tightly. And the fact those words exited his lips in an innocent manner, made it truly worse. Nostalgia hit you violently in the head. After an entire decade of devoting one’s life to this company, it would seem unthinkable. Yet, decisions such as these were not for the faint hearted. And you certainly were not one.

“Yes I am…” you admitted, “But not right away…” you quickly added, moving closer to him, “…I still have a lot to do, like cover for Lillian during her leave, and If I am leaving, I’m gonna have to train whoever will be taking my place…I just…” you paused, “I just wanted to let you know…before I accept it”

Your clenched heart remained so, as silence filled the room. His doe-eyed expression was clear as day, taking in the news: “So…” he began, staring at you, “…It’s finally happening, huh?” He muttered.

Exhaling deep, you smiled softly: “I’ve been holding onto this company for so long cause of loyalty...that I didn’t even think of my own career…” you said, “But…after I met you, everything is starting to make sense, everything I need to do is coming to me” you continued, “So, If I leave… I can finally do what I’m really good at”

There was no mirror, yet you could feel your own eyes sparkle with excitement by the mere thought of it. You could imagine it already, walking over to Lucius Fox, handing in your notice of resignation. And you could certainly imagine his response as he would smile with a nod: “I understand” He would say, with a silent exchange of understanding for it was clear you were doing the right thing. You could imagine it all. Blinking that future away, you looked at Bruce:

“And if I leave…” you said, “I don’t have to question my liberties anymore, especially when I think about us...” you paused, breathing deeply, “If that’s what you really want. Cause…” you added as you bravely cupped his face, “…that’s what I want”

When silence overpowered the atmosphere, you grew concerned. But before you could make your way down that path, Bruce expressed his opinion by leaning forward with a loving kiss. A loving kiss that encompassed everything: His acknowledgement, his excitement, and even a taste of sadness.

“Well...” he breathed into your lips, “As much as I’m going to miss seeing you at office-” You chuckled, “You rarely get to see me unless you come by-” Chuckling back, he nodded, “Point made”. Concerned, you looked directly at him. “You upset?” You inquired, to which he immediately shook his head. “Actually…” he smiled, “I’m proud of you. The way you truly want to go far for what you really need, you inspire me. You give me hope” he added, “And yes! I do want this” holding both of your hands, he stressed, “So it’s definitely worth it” You gulped, as you realized that your heart had more to reveal that expected. Especially when you saw him show this much of enthusiasm. With a heartbeat strong enough to penetrate through your entire being, you began: “Bruce…” you paused, “That day when you bailed me out, I got a Life Sentence”

Suddenly, that smile of his disappeared with concern. To which you could only smile wider with amusement.

“I got a Life Sentence, because you stole my heart” you added, “And that’s a Sentence I was willing to take on. That’s a Sentence I could never get over.” You said, “I know, there will be a day…where you and I can walk hand in hand in public, with nothing to fear. We won’t have to worry about our reputation or our safety. I know that day will come soon” you continued, hope filled in your tone, “ But until then, I’m willing to do anything. I’m willing to be quiet, I’m willing to pretend, I’m willing to let the whole world believe I’m minding my own business, when I’m actually happily minding my own business…with you” holding his hands tightly, you spoke with adoration, “Cause given the current circumstances, I am not gonna give a shit about what everyone is gonna think, or about showing off. I just wanna be happy. And being by your side is one important factor of it. That’s it…” you took a deeper breath, “I love you, Bruce” you spoke in an emotional tone, “And the more time passes, I think I find it harder to deny that…”

Letting it all out, never did anything feel this taxing on you. Especially as you kept looking into his beautiful eyes that were a journey in itself to embark on.

“I wish you know…” Bruce began, “…how it frightens me to make promises” he said softly. The pain in his voice was evident. The pain he seemingly had held in all these years. You nodded fast.

“I know, i know…” you admitted in honesty, “Being in your…position, I don’t blame you. Not one bit. You don’t have to say anything, Bruce” you said for you truly meant it.

“But…” he began, holding your hands once more, “You will know in time...you will know how much I love you. Cause I do”

Jaw dropped, suddenly your clenched heart loosened up completely. His face formed a puzzled expression. “What?” “You just said it...” You said, chuckling when he finally came to the realization of what he just admitted. Euphoria, rushed though you as you covered your mouth with emotion. For ever since the day you fell for him, those words were what you always dreamed of hearing.

“Wow! You love me...” you voice broke, as tears formed within you, “…you do love m-” mumbled last words did not seem to matter when Bruce pulled you in for another gentle kiss. He loved you. Bruce Wayne he loved you. Unfathomable yet real. Immersed in his arms in an embrace, you rubbed his back with love.

“Don’t worry…” you assured, “I know what I’m getting into. And I’ll be here…” you paused, “…for a while. Okay…maybe even longer than that” you jested, as he began to laugh out loud. The sight of his laughter was what you cherished. And what you hoped to provide for him as long as you could.

You fixed your hair hurried upon seeing Alfred Pennyworth enter the room with morning tea. The fact he found you in bed with Bruce made you embarrassed.

“Sorry Alfred...” you muttered shyly. Alfred however, never looked this pleased. “Never apologize for putting a smile on Master Wayne’s face, Miss” He said, as he placed the tray on the bedside cupboard “And mine...”

A trickle of warmth engulfed your heart, to the point you felt your nose itch with the urge to cry once again. Scrunching up your nose, you smiled. Blessed it was truly to be this loved.

“Apparently,Henderson is missing”

“WHAT?” You and Bruce both inquired, looking at Alfred.

“That’s what it says in the papers” He responded, waving the newspaper in his hand.

Was it Clara’s doing? Was it her way of acquiring revenge? You could not help but wonder as Alfred began to read the mentioned article to Bruce. And then again, how ironic. Erik Henderson strongly wished for you to disappear, yet ended up disappearing himself.

The bedside cupboard beside you vibrated. Taking the phone, you found a text from Allison:

lol…did you see this?

Below the text was a link attached. A link that directed you to an article at a familiar website: wheresdabat.com

Your eyes widened by the sight of the photo that was above the article. A photo that showed you standing outside the Police Station with Bruce from last night. The article was written as the following:

Just when we were filled with hope of a possible spark between Batman and the Bruiser, we run into another hurdle. For here we can see the Bruiser’s employer, Billionaire Socialite Bruce Wayne arrived to her legal rescue once again last night. What could it be? A Love Triangle perhaps? Or are we just kidding ourselves completely??

Amused laughter erupted from your throat, causing Bruce and Alfred to look at you.

“Everything okay?” Bruce inquired.

“Yeah, its just...” you smiled, “It looks like the name Bruiser is gonna stick around for a while” you said, showing them the website article.

“Well…” Bruce began, “… it does have a ring to it” he added with a smile.

“You know what?” You looked at them, “ I like it” You chuckled, “ I used to hate that name, so so much. But not anymore. Guess it’s my own alias now.” you said jokingly.

It was evident it would be a scar you would have to wear for a while. But in truth, it was a scar you would gladly wear. For that scar, it bailed you out, it brought you the liberation you desired, and it led you to love. Thus, you were not remorseful at all. No wonder you like it so.

Excitement bubbling within you in great speed, you began to form a text reply to your friend:

Fuck!

You sent in an instant.

FUCK!!!

It certainly did not take long for Allison to respond: 

Oh no ...what is it, Sweetie? I’m sorry but I thought it was just hilarious...

Chuckling, you texted back:

No it’s not that. Ali, I think...

Over excitement led to accidentally hitting ‘send’ before you could finish typing.

What ? What is it? You’re freaking me out here…

Smiling upon seeing Allison’s reply, you looked up. Never did you imagine the sight of Bruce and Alfred causally having their morning tea would bring you such joy. With your smile still intact, you replied with the most happiness and the utmost confidence:  

I think it’s officially official with me and Bruce Wayne!!! 

——————THE END—————————

Another Author’s Note: Thank You for all you lovely people who decided to join me in this journey on Bail Out! When I took a break and started planning this story, I never thought I would receive this much love. Truthfully this is one of the favorites I have written and with the most effort and hard work. So your love meant so so much! My heart is literally heavy now. You are all awesome! Love you all! Keep being awesome!

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bitch-butter · 3 years

Text

Little bit of a rivers prequel exploration. I've mentioned this scene a few times in the series, but it's not really my intention to do anything that takes place before part one, so this was just going to like slowly asphyxiate in my drafts unless I released it lol

She's going to live on Tumblr unless I somehow decide I want to do more of Whatever This Is in the future, but since it takes place before the series you don't need to have read the other parts which is sexy.

Read More for like 3k of Gay Shit~

* * *

Hay wasn’t the smell that Joe would have gravitated to normally. The mulchy wetness in combination with the dry and yeasty texture always made him think of bugs, and this feeling was not a welcome one when forced to be bedded down on a big pile of the stuff. Each breath full of the smell was nearly enough to make him gag.

Still, beat sleeping outside. And the smell was strong enough to cancel out his own smell, which, he knows from experience, isn’t a walk in the park right now either.

He had settled into a comfortable enough doze by the time his mind caught onto the frankly annoying fucking snoring emanating from the corner of the barn. Cracking his eyes open, he glared into the corner where a Hoobler shape slump is curled up against the wall, snoring away into the dark with an unfamiliar body sprawled on the ground a few feet away, seeming unperturbed.

One fucking night is all he’s asking for. Fuck.

Pulling in an aggravated breath, Joe sat up from his hay-bed, contemplating whether or not to try and ignore the sound or move out completely to a quieter spot. He glanced towards the door of the barn, where clear moonlight cut across the ground to illuminate the dry, if a hint cold, night beyond. It wouldn’t be the worst thing to sleep out tonight if he had to, he supposed.

He’s taking in the details of the scene outside when he spots what looks to be the toe of a boot popping out from beside the doorway. For a moment his heart picks up, hand moving to grasp onto his rifle, but the boot doesn’t move, just remains planted solidly in the dirt. The longer he looks, though, the more he makes out a calf, leading to a body sitting against the wall outside.

It’s curiosity more than anything that brings him to his feet. What kind of guy doesn’t fucking drop the second he gets an opportunity?

Of course it’s Webster.

He doesn’t know why the realization brings a smile to his face. Why the sight of the other man leaning up against the barn, legs bent and beaten up notebook in his lap, makes him feel oddly alive. He doesn’t even know Webster that well, only spoken to him one-on-one maybe a handful of times at most, and definitely doesn’t know him as well as he knows some of the other guys.

But still, he feels light. Light enough to step outside and look down in amusement at Webster, who in turn looks up at Joe in bewilderment. “Trouble sleeping in the dirt, Web?”

Bewilderment turns critical as Web frowns, eyes falling back down to his book as he continues writing. “Not tired.”

Snickering, Joe stepped around Web to let his own back hit the barn, sliding down to slouch beside the other man. “Always knew there was something wrong with you.”

He’s digging for his smokes in his pocket when he realizes that Web’s hand has stilled, and that the other man is looking aside at him with an inscrutable expression, eyes glancing over Joe’s face in the near-dark. “What?” he asked, an edge of anxiety in his voice.

Web’s face clears in an instant. “Nothing,” he sighed, turning back to his book. Even in the shadows Joe can see the tips of his ears are red.

“Right,” Joe nods disbelievingly, holding out his pack in an attempt to dispel the strange air surrounding them. Web takes one gratefully, mumbling a thanks as Joe placed one between his lips, holding his lighter up between them. They bend in towards each other, close enough that Joe can smell Web; a dirty, grass-like smell with an undercurrent of that same sweat all the guys have now.

Better than hay, he thinks as Web draws back with his cigarette lit, before snapping the lighter closed and smoking in silence for a few moments. He finds his eyes drawn ceaselessly to Web’s pale hand as it moves across the page, turns to the next, and continues on. Web has good hands, he thinks to himself, before blinking the thought away.

Doesn’t mean he stops looking, though.

“What are you writing about?” he asks softly, voice creaking a bit.

Web looks at him, face more open as he sighs out a stream of smoke. “Eindhoven.”

“Got a dame you want to remember, huh?”

Web huffs a small laugh. “No,” he takes another pull on his smoke, breathing deep and exhaling steadily. “I just don’t want to forget what it was like. How it felt.”

Joe smiled quizzically. “Writing a book or something?”

“I don’t know,” Web replies, and it’s such an obvious lie Joe can’t help but laugh. This earns him a withering glare. “Even if I was, why do you care, Liebgott?”

“I don’t,” Joe bites, and it’s such an obvious lie of his own that Web laughs at him. “Guess I’m having trouble imagining anybody wanting to read about you.”

Web scowled at him. “Well, it wouldn’t be just about me, that’s not the point.”

“So you are writing a book?” Joe grinned, bringing his dying cigarette back to his lips.

Mouth opening and then closing just to open again, Web looks at Joe in bare-faced annoyance. “You...” he trailed, seemingly having trouble finding the exact right word to express how irritated he was.

“You’re going to catch flies, buddy,” Joe smirked, grinding the butt of his smoke in the dirt and almost snickering as Web’s lips clamped shut. “Anyway, don’t count your chickens, Webster. War ain’t over yet and I doubt anything you replacements have to say would be worth a damn.”

This snaps Web out of whatever annoyance induced fugue state he was entering. “I’m not a fucking replacement, Liebgott,” he snapped, eyes glinting at Joe’s in the moonlight. “I was in Normandy, same as you. And even if I hadn’t been, what gives you the right to treat me or any of the other guys like that?”

Scoffing, Joe found himself toeing the line between being amused at Web’s reaction and finding himself somehow actually getting hot. “Way I see it I get to talk to you or any of the other guys however I want,” he said, meeting Web’s eyes with no small degree of challenge. “Seeing as I was here from the beginning and all of you are just showing up to chew on the bones.”

Web stares at him for a moment, his pale face unguarded and awash with surprised pain. “So, what then? Babe isn’t Easy to you? I’m not Easy to you?”

“Babe proved himself.”

A sharp “Ha!” stung in Joe’s face as Web’s head tilted back momentarily, before the other man levelled him with a skeptical look. “You’re so full of shit that you don’t even realize you are, Liebgott.”

Joe shook his head, unsure of why the back of his neck was heating so rapidly. “Keep telling yourself that, Webster. Fact is, what you do out there’s going to matter more than whatever bullshit you’re scribbling in your diary.”

Web nodded mockingly. “Alright, Joe, so I just need to earn the approval of who? You?”

It’s said so sneeringly that Joe can’t help but be nasty back. “Eh, we’ll see if you make it back.”

The hum Web emits might be mistaken for a tease, but Joe can see the lines drawn on the other man’s face as he shoots his eyes down to the ground. “Right,” he nods, swiftly standing and grabbing his pack from the ground beside him, crushing his smoke under his boot. “I’ll take it into consideration,” he says, shooting Joe a dark look over his shoulder. “‘Night.”

Joe blinks and Web is striding away, almost in the space of a breath. “Sleeping outside is for suckers!” he calls.

“Fuck you!” Web called back, casual and unaffected as anything, blue eyes glancing over his shoulder and back at Joe. They shot fire at him, and Joe all of a sudden feels as though he’s been struck by lightning, heat zig-zagging from his head all the way down through his bones.

Inexplicably, he wants more of it.

As fast as Web was disappearing into the dark and the trees of the orchard beyond Joe is scrambling up, nearly running just to catch up with him. He settles at Web’s side as though they had not just devolved into verbal fisticuffs a few moments prior, and gleans some pleasure from the clearly agitated face the other man gives him as they continue moving along side by side.

“Yes?” Web prompts impatiently.

“What?”

He holds back a smile at the roll of Web’s eyes. “What do you want, Joe?”

Joe has to scoff, shaking his head in the splintering shadows the darkened trees cast over them. “Like I’d want a goddamn thing from you, Web.”

The chuckle that greets him catches him slightly off guard, and he finds himself glancing back at the other man’s dark profile, the smile turning up the edges of Web’s full lips -

He shakes his head.

“I don’t think you actually know what you want,” Web said teasingly, voice low in the quiet of the night, eyes darting over to catch onto Joe’s like hooks. “If you did you wouldn’t be following me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Joe challenged, eyes still caught up in the knowing gleam of Web’s even as he tried in vain to gather the strength to break the connection.

“You don’t know?” Web asked obliquely, an air of casual imperiousness settling over his words like a heavy fog.

All of a sudden they’re stopped in the dark, trees sprouted up all around them in a pattern that, were it light out, might have been effortlessly beautiful, but in the dark gave the distinct impression of a cage surrounding them, stars glimmering beyond the branches above like shattered glass. But he can see Web in uncomfortable clarity, stood before him with his eyes looking down on Joe like he knows something, like he has a secret that he stole away in the fucking dark of the night, and damn it Joe wants it back.

“I know a hell of a lot more than you think I do,” he utters in what he intended to resemble a growl, but comes out sounding much more like a rasp.

“Oh, really?”

He steps into Web’s space, expecting Web to do what any other guy would have done and take a step back, and is met instead with Web’s unflinching conceit. With this added proximity he finds himself swallowing down some unnamable wave that rushes up through his body and threatens to spill out of him and straight onto Web, and in the dark he can feel his neck flushing.

If he can see Web in the dark then no doubt Web can see him right back.

He does, because his eyes move effortlessly from amusement, to annoyance, to resignation. “You don’t know,” he says definitively, and Joe can almost feel the words moving through the air between them.

Web says this as though it’s supposed to end the matter, break the connection, and yet if anything Joe can feel him moving in even closer, and it’s pure stubbornness that keeps him rooted to his spot. “What are you doing?” he murmurs, eyes moving down along the planes of Web’s pale face, drawn like a magnet to the sight of the other man’s lips, which are pink, and parted, and -

“What am I doing?” Web whispered back, sounding almost as though he was talking to himself, but their faces hovered close to each other in the dark for too long for him to not know what he’s doing, and the way his eyes aren’t on Joe’s eyes but lower, lower -

“I…” Web trails away in the second before suddenly their lips are meeting. And Joe knows he didn’t move, and he didn’t feel Web move, but they’re together, they’re connected, their mouths are moving against each other as soft as fucking clouds and their noses nudge and Joe’s neck is hot and it feels perfect, it feels like heaven to kiss Web, he’s kissing Webster -

Reality shoots back into him like the sear of a bullet to the head, and as fast as their lips meet he’s shoving Web away. His hands meet Web’s shoulders roughly, pushing him with strength that he almost didn’t know he had in him, and where the fuck was this side of him back in Toccoa?

But he only gets to relish the gasp of air back into his body for a moment, as his forceful push sends Web careening back, feet tripping backwards over the knobby roots of the trees surrounding them, and he hits the ground hard.

“Oh, shit,” he spits, immediately moving to narrow the space between them yet again, dropping to his knees beside Web’s downed form. “Are you alright? I’m sorry, are you alright?”

For his part, Web looks a little dazed by the quick pivots of Joe’s mood in just the last few seconds, and blinks rapidly in the shadows before coughing. “You’re like a fucking child, Christ.”

“Hey,” Joe mutters, flush deepening with embarrassment, with confusion.

Web’s eyes are on him again, and he only just keeps himself from shrinking back because where he had anticipated the usual swell of annoyance or of, please, anger, Web appears almost hesitant and...what? Fearful? His gaze moves over Joe’s face quickly, as though measuring every line, every angle, searching for something.

“What?” Joe croaks. “You scared?”

Swallowing heavily, the other man quirks a disbelieving eyebrow. “Aren’t you?”

“No, I -” he starts, before abruptly halting. It’s a lie, he is afraid. But not of Web, who’s still looking at Joe like he half believes Joe’s going to clobber him, but of himself. He’s never done anything like that before, never even allowed himself to linger on the thought of it for longer than the space of one thought between another. Certainly he hadn’t ever drawn Web into those fleeting moments. Well, not in a traditional way at least.

If he palmed his cock and saw Web’s hands, or the curve of his jaw, then that’s nobody’s business. He thinks about a lot of things.

“No,” he settles.

Web doesn’t look like he quite believes him, if the distressed curve of his lips is anything to go by, and Joe reaches out to settle a hand on his neck just to see the way his eyes widen. He swallows, feeling a shiver pass through him at this simple, voluntary touch, and before he knows it he’s smiling, and at the sight of his smile Web is smiling back. And if he’s been paying special attention to parts of Web lately his smile hasn’t been one.

It is now.

“Alright,” Joe whispers through half of a chuckle, shaking his head. “Can I kiss you again?”

Smile melting from relief to happiness, Web looks as though he’d do just about anything Joe asked him to, but he manages to huff a tiny laugh first. “Are you going to push me again?”

Rolling his eyes, Joe tugged at his light hold on Web’s neck, blood heating at the way the other man’s eyes fluttered. “No.”

Shifting up from where he’d been braced back on his arms, Web reached out to take gentle hold of either side of Joe’s face, one hand combing back through his dirty hair. “Then yes,” he nodded. “Yes, please.”

This time they pull each other into the kiss, their lips meeting again just as softly as before, slotting together with an ease that felt almost unnatural with disuse. His hand rubbed clumsily at the skin of Web’s neck, easing himself back into the rhythm of kissing. It wasn’t enough that he hadn’t kissed anyone since Georgia, but now he’s kissing a man on top of that, and the combination of sensations has him shuddering and hardening in his pants even before he feels Web’s tongue gently asking permission into his mouth.

His mouth falls open with the slightest pull to his hair, and he welcomes the other man’s tongue with a grace he honestly feels he should be lauded for. He’s been with some forthcoming dames, to be sure, but none of them have felt this strong or as sure in his arms, letting Joe take and taking Joe right back. It’s something he could easily get addicted to, he thinks, as his tongue presses in to play over Web’s and he firmly wraps his other arm around the other man’s waist.

Web’s arms wrapping around his neck are overwhelming at first, before he feels their bodies, pressed together, easing back to rest on the dark, mossy, ground. They settle side by side, facing each other, legs fumbling and maneuvering around until Web has one leg thrown easily over Joe’s hip and Joe has one knee pressed steadily between the spread of Web’s thighs.

They split apart at the first accidental nudge of their crotches against one another, Web gasping and Joe hissing, before Web begins gently kissing down along his jaw.

“You taste like olives, a bit,” Joe said hoarsely, catching his breath as though he just ran up Currahee.

“Oh, sorry,” Web apologized, glancing back up at Joe’s face with a furrowed brow.

Joe shook his head, pressing a kiss just off Web’s lips. “I like olives,” he rebuffed, pulling their mouths back together in a smacking kiss. “Fuck,” he gasped softly, pressing in to kiss along Web’s neck beside his ear. “You done this before?”

Web breathed out a little tremble, smoothing his hand up Joe’s back. “Kissed a man?”

“Yeah,” Joe rasped, swallowing heavily as his hips rolled against Web’s own, lazy but with intention.

The nod of the other man’s head draws him out of his fascination with Web’s neck, and he finds himself pressing an exhilarated kiss against Web’s cheek as he speaks. “Yes,” he admits in a whisper. “Not- ah, not many, but yes, I -”

He’s laying another, harder kiss against Web’s lips at the self-conscious wobble of the words, his tongue sweeping through Web’s mouth as though to gather them and take them back into himself. Groaning as the leg Web had thrown over him tightened, bringing them almost fully flush, he brought one hand down to grasp tightly at the meaty flesh of the other man’s thigh, pulling it gently upwards and had to smile at the pleased hum that rattled around Web’s body.

“Have you?” Web asked gently.

Joe shook his head. “No.”

“Oh,” Web murmured, pulling in a deep breath at the steady roll of Joe’s hips against his own, head falling back against the darkened soil and baring his neck for Joe, who immediately resumed kissing along its length. “Lieb...Lieb…” he breathed, almost absentmindedly as Joe realized exactly how much he enjoyed when Web said his name. “Joe...we should- we should pump the breaks a bit.”

Pulling his face from the hot expanse of Web’s neck, Joe frowned down at him. “What?”

“No, I -” Web swallowed, giving his head a clearing shake and blinking back towards Joe with a little more clarity. “I like it, I like it a lot, I’d just rather do this on the other side of tomorrow, if you know what I mean.”

The heat still pulsing through his veins screamed its discontent, but Joe reluctantly acknowledged that wherever this interaction was heading was now paused for the time being.

Figures, Web looks the part of a fucking tease, after all.

“Alright,” he muttered, releasing Web’s thigh with no small degree of bitterness, letting Web ease himself back just enough for Joe to feel distinctly burned. He sat up with a gently heating face, mindful to keep himself angled away enough that Web wouldn’t be able to see it, and looked around the orchard surrounding them, searching out anything to anchor his eyes to so that he didn’t have to think about Web’s lip, his legs, his eyes in the dark -

Eyes that meet his own once more, his chin caught gently in the other man’s warm palm as Web turned his face back. Web, at the very least, seems just as put out at stopping as he does, and for a moment he wants to be an asshole, wants to fight, but can’t bring his mouth to do anything but fall open, breathe.

“Can I?” Web asked quietly.

Joe could only nod.

The kiss is as light as a feather, whispering across his lips like dust settling, and he hums into the feeling and, suddenly, feels at peace. He runs one hand through Web’s hair, smoothing it, and gathers up the heat from the other man’s neck in the palm of his hand, bringing it back to himself like he had stolen his secret back from where Web had hidden it.

He pulls back softly, face still angled into Web’s sphere. “See you on the other side, huh?”

Web sighed, nose brushing Joe’s own, and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to look teasingly back at him.

“Arschloch,” he drawled, pushing Joe back with a soft touch to the base of his neck before standing, brushing dirt from his pants, and taking off into the darkness of the orchard without a glance back at Joe.

Joe watches him go, seeing for the first time the length of his limbs, the curve of his ass, and allows himself to want. He, as fast as lightning, very badly wants to find a patch of darkness to crowd him into tomorrow night.

If Web makes it back. If they both do.

Without a second thought, he’s up and following Web into the dark, ignorant and uncaring of their destination.

#webgott #~rivers~#i write variations of webgott where they've lived in their dynamic for a while #so it was fun and interesting to write a bit about their early relationship to each other #for $10 i will stop posting long ass fic excerpts on tumblr

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bisluthq · 3 years

Note

"she was bullied for her looks her whole life"

BAHAHAAA Nat you're on your fucking bullshit still. Karlie literally became a model as a teenager so I would say that's the opposite of being bullied... She literally profits off her looks and seems completely unaffected by the imaginary "victim" you created on her behalf. 😂 I'm sure she appreciates it. I thought you said people like her or Joe don't need freaks on the internet coddling them cause they're grown ass successful adults. That's one of your recent takes I completely agree with.

Bro idk she was bullied in high school partly because of the modeling.

Either she’s lying or like… look up pics of this girl in high school and then remember she was a literal nerd who did a weird job in another city and ya. She was badly bullied. That’s just a biographical fact about her.

#nat talks klossy

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hoardofhyperfixations · 5 years

Text

Powerful Chapter 9: Prince

Chapter 1

Previous Chapter

Masterlist

Warnings: homophobia, use of the word f*ggot as a slur, Remus being Remus so it gets kinda ick

Pairings: Mostly Dukeceit, hints of prinxiety, background Logicality for this chapter

Summary: Remus joins the party! Use "Flirt" on Dee? *Yes *No

Notes: Congrats to @paranovigilant for guessing Remus' power correctly! He's...not subtle with how he uses it.

Loud shrieks filled the air, which caused a crooked grin to spread across his face.

Remus surveyed his brother's friends; Patton was still there in all his good-two-shoes-ness, and was that Logan Trams?

If he remembered correctly, that was the guy Patton wanted to bone.

There was a guy with dark eyeshadow under his eyes and was leaning into Roman, and another with curly brown hair, mismatched blue and green eyes, and a large burn mark taking up the left half of his face.

Ooo, he looks fun!

"Remus!" Roman hissed. "How the hell did you get in?"

"The normal way?" Remus scoffed, green eyes never leaving the scarred boy.

He was cute.

"I was just down by the door." Eyeshadow-dude said, looking confused. The cute guy nodded in agreement, apparently thinking Remus had meant walking through the front door like an absolute cowardly loser of a person.

"No, stupid, I climbed through the window. Geez, Ro, why are your friends so dumb?" Remus stretched his arms, yawning.

"You climbed through my window?" Logan demanded.

"Ugh." Roman groaned, rubbing his face. Remus grinned. "Guys, this is my brother, Remus. He's...well..."

"Hi, Remus!" Patton waved, used to his shenanigans already so he was unaffected. Remus waved back.

"Hi, puppy!" He chirped back, sticking out his tongue out at him and showing off his tongue piercing.

Logan narrowed his eyes in response but said nothing.

Ooo, drama much? Someone's jealous.

"I'm Logan Trams." Logan introduced.

"So I've heard." Remus winked at Patton.

"Does everyone here just automatically know who I am or something?" Logan huffed.

"Virgil." Eyeshadow-dude moved on, completely ignoring Logan. "Uh, nice to meet you, I guess…"

"Raccoon." Remus nodded thoughtfully.

"..." Cute-scar-guy said nothing. Remus frowned.

"Aren't you gonna introduce yourself?" They met eyes for a moment.

"Dee." He blurted, cutting eye contact quickly. "I, um, like your hair."

"Aw, thanks!" Remus beamed. "I like your scar!"

Dee frowned but said nothing in reply.

"Hey, Rem, maybe not the best thing to say." Roman elbowed him in the ribs.

"You guys are all so boring!" Remus whined, pouting a bit and kicking his feet up on Logan's lap. "So, what exactly are we talking about? Mutilation, hopefully?"

Remus plopped down beside Dee at lunch, directly across from his brother, who he promptly kicked under the table for no reasons other than he could and he wanted to.

"Hey, double D." He said, nudging Dee lightly with his arm. "What's up?"

Dee looked...surprised? Why would he be surprised?

"What? You look like you saw a ghost or somethin'." He smirked, resting his elbow on Dee's shoulder for fun.

"Oh, um, I'm fine." Dee muttered. "I just, uh, don't get asked that a lot."

Remus licked Dee's scar in response.

Dee squeaked a bit, leaning away and flushing bright red all the way up to the tips of his ears.

"What the hell?"

"You taste like salt."

"That's called sweat."

"Ah. Fun fact: dolphins have sex for pleasure, but they don't get sweaty!"

"Thank you for that vital information." Dee answered, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Wow, now that was a good look for him.

Remus definitely wanted to get in his pants.

Dee went back to picking at the school lunch. Remus looked at it and pulled a face, over dramatically gagging. Even he knew it was nasty.

Looks like rat vomit with blood and boogers and shi-

He set down his neon green lunch box with a black outline of a clicker villain's mustache on it.

"Fuck that," Remus nudged Dee, "you can eat some of my lunch. That looks like when you throw a guinea pig up into the air but the ceiling fan catches it and hurls it against the wall full force and hits a cockroach on the way down."

This is how you flirt, right?

He'd have to ask Roman later.

"Oh." Dee said softly. "Thank you. I like your lunch box."

"Thanks! I like your ass!"

"Oh…"

As it turned out, Remus had a few classes with Dee.

Which was perfect, especially gym since he got to check him out in the changing room.

And apparently Dee had the same train of thought since he was almost 100% staring at Remus when he took off his puke green t-shirt.

"Eyes up here, Big D." Remus teased, even though Dee was a decent amount shorter than him. The boy next to Dee made a face and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'faggot'.

Ah.

Remus narrowed his eyes.

Is that a walking piece of shit I see?

The boy shoved past Dee.

It is!

"Hey!" Remus jogged over and tapped W.P.O.S. Boy on the shoulder, grinning as his bare fingers made direct contact with the other's skin.

Perfect.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, nevermind. I thought you were someone else." Remus lied through his teeth, turning back around and pulling on his black tank top and green shorts. Dee had already changed, and damn if Remus wasn't going to admire his ass in those black shorts.

He had other things to do at the moment, sauntering out the locker room door after the boy. He waited impatiently for Dee to come out as well, quiet as ever, before he snapped his fingers and the boy's eyes turned the same shade of forest green as his own.

This will be fun.

"PENIS!" He shouted as he stood up straight. "VAGINA! ASSHOLE! FUCK! PUSSY! I'M A HOMOPHOBIC PIECE OF SHIT!" He twirled and danced like a ballerina with a broken foot who had her eyes gouged out and stuffed down her throat. Remus kept his hand hidden as it guided the boy's movements. "I HAVE A TINY, TINY, MINISCULE PENIS! FUCK! SHI-"

"Rodney!"

"SHIIIIIIIIT!" The boy, Rodney exclaimed one last time before blinking hard and slouching, eyes returning to brown. "I-"

"Rodney, to the principal's office right now!" Mr. Orick snapped, writing Rodney a pass quickly and handing it to him.

Dee was covering his mouth to stifle a snorting laugh, which Remus considered a huge success.

"Geez, I wonder what his deal was." Remus said, admiring his sloppily painted black nails. They were already chipping.

"I don't know, but he seemed like a jerk anyway." Dee said, messing with the gloves he'd kept on. That was pretty weird.

"Why do you have those gloves on?" Dee tensed. Remus didn't really notice. "They're cool! But why?"

"I don't...wanna talk about it-"

"Why not? Oh, are they burnt like your face? Are they all crispy and black like overcooked French fries? Do they look like burnt pans? Or twigs from a forest fire?" Remus continued, looking up at the ceiling as he rambled on, thinking up different ways burnt up fingers could look. "Or maybe they're all red and bubbly, like-"

"Remus." Dee hissed, glaring at him. "That's enough." He scooted away, looking away. Was he uncomfortable?

Remus frowned.

Was it something he said? Did he do something wrong?

He lifted his arm and sniffed his armpit.

No, he'd actually showered today--and with soap!--so the smell wasn't it.

At least not this time.

"Sorry?"

"..." Back to the quiet? The silence Remus so desperately hated?

Oh, blood coated booger teeth! And things were going so well.

So much for flirting...

Powerful Taglist: @sea-blue-child @ab-artist @freepaperie081 @soft-transboy @zamoradraw @beach-fan @nerdy-as-heck @cute-anxious-kitten @imjustawibba @theangstking @the-dumbster @theunoriginaldaisy @romansleftshoulderpad @what-a-catch-joe @clcloudsh @fuck-the-sushi @sevenstevearmy @soul-of-a-vixen @paranovigilant

#powers au #powerful #dukeceit #the trash talks #ignore the trash #the trash writes #old posts

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growingpaynes-art · 5 years

Text

The Lion King 2019 Review: What I Liked, What I Didn’t, and How It Compares to the Original

Non-spoilery overview and note to anyone debating watching this-

If you’re looking for this film to give you something that the original didn’t, you will be disappointed. This is a nearly shot-for-shot exact recreation of the original for most of the movie. There are some minor changes, but no major differences in plot.

However

It’s definitely worth seeing- once on a matinee ticket at the very least- if you enjoyed anything about the original. It’s pretty faithful to the source material and the hyper-realism of the animation really is best viewed on a big screen. The comedy is solid, the changes they made to the story and characters were good decisions, and as a guy that was literally raised on the original movie and grew up loving every part of it, i did legitimately enjoy seeing this remake with my mother (who introduced me to the original when I was very little) and getting to share this story that I loved with my younger sister for the first time.

If all you are here for is the “Let’s Go Lesbians” guy you will be satisfied

Spoilers under the cut

What I Liked:

The visuals of the opening sequence alone are worth the price of admission. They’ve lovingly recreated the iconic intro nearly frame for frame in astounding detail. It really succeeded in taking me back to my three-year old self seeing the original for the first time on my family’s little box tv, captivated by the visuals and score.

Timon and Pumbaa were legitimately funny and are stronger characters than in the original.

They kept the aspects of Scar that made him sinister, conniving, and creepy without stepping into queer-coding territory. They also didn’t apply racial coding to him in the overt way they did in the original.

At first I was disappointed by Rafiki’s lack of a staff in the opening, but I was later pacified by its appearance for the final battle. I would however, have liked to see the “oh yes, the past can hurt” bit between him and Simba, which was absent in this version.

I felt that the introduction of the hyena characters in the elephant graveyard was stronger in this version, but i do wish that the chase scene had gone on for longer. It’s significantly shorter than the original, and the cubs don’t fight back like they did in the original.

The hyenas played a larger role where they had much more agency, and the relationship between them and Scar was on more equal footing. Shenzi was an especially welcome change, presenting a truly chilling presence easily rivaling Scar’s. Florence Kasumba’s performance really stands out. Additionally Eric Andre and Keegan-Michael Key’s hyena characters served as quality comic relief without any jokes straying into possible able-ism.

The ‘pinned-ya’ scenes were re-choreographed to be more like two kids wrestling and didn’t have the awkward sexual implications some people point out in the original.

This version offers a quick explanation as to why Scar is living with the pride despite the typical customs of real lions

The mouths were really animated very well, and were for the most part very expressive. They were a bit hard to track during the songs, but generally words were formed pretty believably in their mouths and expressions such as smiles or grimaces were rendered very clearly without looking foreign on an animal face. This was by far best achieved on Timon and the hyenas, but was decent on the lion cubs, Scar, and most of the minor characters as well. The other adult lions weren’t as expressive, but they’re weren’t terrible either.

The animation of Timon, Pumbaa, and the hyenas continually impressed impressed me throughout the course of the film. They were simultaneously the most consistently realistic looking and the most expressive. I honestly don’t understand why some people are coming for Pumbaa and saying he’s ‘nightmare fuel’, his design was both very friendly looking and accurate to real warthogs. He and Timon seemed to be the favorites of both the kids and adults in my theater.

The short scene where adult Simba gleefully pounces after a pair of butterflies and invites a scared Hartebeest hang out, oblivious to his own status as a carnivore, was pretty adorable.

Timon and Pumbaa were more or less confirmed to be a gay couple, and are shown with their own piglet during the ending sequence. This isn’t lingered on for longer than necessary, just long enough for you to appreciate how adorable the little striped piglet is, and thus it comes off as more genuine than performative allyship (it’s definitely better than Beauty and the Beast’s “exclusively gay moment” or Endgame’s Gay Joe Russo). It also helps that Timon isn’t being portrayed by a straight guy leaning as hard into the camp gay stereotype as possible. It was a moment that I, as a queer person, actually enjoyed.

What I Didn’t:

I felt that the musical score wasn’t as strong as the original. I wanted that first note over the sunrise to shake the theater, to bang across the screen in brilliant gold, and when it didn’t, I was disappointed. I felt this way regarding the score and soundtrack for much of the film.

While much of the dialogue matched the original nearly word for word, the delivery of most of it was much more subdued. I understand that they were going for a grittier tone that was less cartoon-y, but a lot of Scar and adult Simba’s lines seemed like they were mumbled off at the end of a work day and they’d just given up on trying to get a better take. Donald Glover seemed to teeter between Marshall Lee and complete disinterest a lot of the time.

I would have liked to have seen more of Rafiki than what we got, and I’d been hoping for an expansion on his role from the original rather than a reduction.

The “I killed Mufasa” bit was done very well- Chiwetel Ejiofor’s delivery of the line was chilling (although not as much as Jeremy Irons’), the expression in Scar’s eyes was very sinister, the light of the fire hit him just right. The following revelation of this truth to the lionesses however was bumbly, and seemed like it was originally written to be longer but was quickly and awkwardly condensed. It really didn’t flow as well as the original.

The end battle between Scar and Simba was anti-climactic. The choreography and visuals were much more creative and suspenseful in the original. The blows didn’t really have much weight or ferocity to them, and they didn’t coincide as well with the score. There also was no sick kick move, Scar literally just accidentally rolls off the cliff. The showdown between Nala and Shenzi is far better- it’s vicious and animalistic, with a few shots having them silhouetted with fire roaring behind them, Nala’s massive teeth shown off impressively in profile.

From the very first introduction of Scar, it’s strongly and very overtly implied that Sarabi is the one that gave him the scar after he attempted to advance on her despite her rejecting him. This is revisited again when he commands Sarabi to be his queen upon his assuming of the throne. She again rejects him. With this moment being played twice, I expected this to be a plant for a later third scene of Sarabi temporarily putting Scar back in his place, or at least threatening to take his other eye, to replace the scene from the original where he slaps her across the face. Scar and Sarabi do eventually come to blows as Simba and Nala return to Pride Rock, but it’s very brief and sort of just a clumsy grapple without a clear winner, and with no reference to their apparent backstory. This comes off as a case of planting without payoff. I expect that either a scene such as the one i described was originally planned and cut for time, or it was thought that the implications of such a scene might bring the film up towards a PG-13 rating.

I wish that in the more harrowing sequences, such as the elephant graveyard chase and the stampede scene, that we could see some real fear on the character’s faces. There’s some really good tensing of the body and some bared teeth, but there’s not much in the eyes. I feel the emotion would have been communicated better if the pupils were dilated, if the eyes were darting back and forth with the whites showing at the edges occasionally, the ears flattened down hard against the head.The child actors put forward some really believable fear and sadness through their voices, but the faces just didn’t quite match it. I do however understand that this is a kid’s film, and that showing a hyper-realistic lion cub gripped with sheer terror or coming to the understanding of the gravity of death is probably too much for most young kids. I personally just prefer to have truly heartwrenching, impactful, and emotional scenes in the media I consume, and I often walk away unfulfilled in this respect (although, i admit i am very difficult to please in this area- i’ve been a die-hard mcu fan for the better part of a decade and i left my first watch of infinity war almost completely unaffected.)

Continuing from the last point- The eyes on most of the characters were very static. They rarely blinked, only really looked straight ahead and lacked any range of expression beyond neutral and slightly squinted. The expression of emotion could have been greatly facilitated by the use of the brow muscles, dilating and contracting of the pupils, more squinting and widening, some side-eye or eye-rolling, etc. Even using some more body language would have made a world of difference (for example- an excited cub wriggling with excitement, his paws shifting and his little butt scooting in the sand because he just can’t contain himself, his shoulders shaking with high-pitched giggles) Emotion was delivered quite well through the mouths, but almost not at all through the eyes. This made the scene where Simba discovers his dead father especially awkward looking. JD McCrary delivers some heartbreaking cries and a few tear-choked lines, and the little cub body shakes and cowers, but Simba’s cgi face retains a completely neutral expression. Its a very cute, and perfectly realistic face for a lion cub, but it’s a face that feels inappropriate for this context. Adult Simba and Nala are the worst offenders in this respect. Simba looks almost like a plush doll, almost never changing expression at all. Nala looks superbly hyper-realistic, but... too realistic. She’s as perfect of a cgi lioness model you could possibly ask for, but because of this, there’s no intelligence in her eyes for some of the shots. It’s strange and distracting to hear a human voice come out as her mouth moves realistically while the eyes retain a vacant animal stare. This is really weird to me as there are multiple moments in the film where they absolutely nail the eyes- the sequence where Simba chases Rafiki through the dense jungle, several shots of Nala sneaking away from Pride Rock by moonlight, the close-up of Scar as he reveals to Simba that he killed Mufasa. The commonality between these shots seems to be strong directional lighting, where light from the moon or a fire can catch the irises and make the expression in them really pop. Closeups of Mufasa’s face showed that they had unprecedented control of the facial muscles- they moved with intricate complexity under the skin and fur- and yet the eyes were blank. It’s disappointing that they clearly had the capability to get the eyes right and apparently just didn’t allow the cg artists enough time to apply this consistently.

The slow motion zoom away from Simba’s face as he watches his father fall from the cliff face is admittedly ridiculous looking in cgi. This “long live the king” doesn’t come anywhere close to the original. Mufasa’s climb up the cliff is pretty good, but the fall feels flat and unemotional.

The sequence tracking the wad of Simba’s hair went on for too long.

The story seemed much faster paced than the original, and each scene seemed to be too short, leaving me wanting more. Some of the scenes feel awkwardly chopped or condensed, and some of the dialogue is a bit bumbly. This movie kinda relies on you being very familiar with the original.

#lion king #the lion king #lion king spoilers #lion king review #review

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spruceplank · 5 years

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Glitch04

First // Previous //Current // Next >> -------- Also on ao3!

At first it wasn’t noticeable. Maybe the blocks you just broke would suddenly go back to where they had been. Maybe your hits wouldn’t connect with the mob you were hitting. Then it slowly got worse and worse. And then the world around them started to vanish.

And that was only the beginning.

Things were getting weird. There was a while where he hadn’t been actively involved with the others trying to deal with some things on his own, but now that he was back it was clear that something beyond normal was starting to happen.

And he wasn’t talking about whatever was going on with the build off. He was talking about the actual world itself. The holes straight to bedrock, the strange redstone torches in caves, the half carved out strip mines that randomly appeared, the mobs spawning even if the area was completely lit up, the portals breaking or connecting strangely, and now, now it had been night for three whole days in a row.

Phantoms screeched above the skies of Hermitville. Most of the hermits in Hermitville hadn’t been able to sleep in over three days. Because not only had sun not risen for three days in a row now, but the beds they had also placed there would never actually let them sleep the night away due to the fact monsters kept spawning no matter the light level. Plus for the past four days the nether portal had been broken so that was also fun.

The fact of the matter was that the longer they stayed up though, the more phantoms kept spawning. Thankfully X said he was trying to fix the portal issue for first so at least they could hide from the phantoms there.

The strangest thing was that apparently the main islands were completely unaffected by the broken day/night cycle. Which was strange in itself, granted a lot of the hermits were out in Hermitville currently. Then on top of all of that were the raids.

Cub and X had flew inside the walls carrying Scar and Jellie respectively a few days ago looking tired, ragged, and wounded. Behind them was a group of ravagers and then several raid patrol parties chasing them. No matter how many patrols they took down, two more would come and take their place.

They had holed up in the portal tower. Xisuma was in his church messing with the code, hiding away from the rest of them in hopes that the patrols that managed to break through the walls and constant swooping phantoms would go for the larger group. It seemed to be working for the most part, but there was only so long they could hold up there before their barricade downstairs was broken through from the sheer number of things trying to kill them.

It would be death to peak out and try to shoot down some of the mobs outside so they were stuck in here, cluttered together, just waiting for Xisuma to send word the portal was fixed. He knew a lot of the other hermits had also come out to build and explore in and around Hermitville, but now that they were all clumped up here together it was strange to see so many of them gathered in one place for once. It was worse because of the situation they were in.

Scar sat across from him, curled up around Jellie. No one asked about what had happened that required Scar to be carried instead of flying on his own. Granted amidst all the chaos that started right after the three of them flew into the village, he doubted many people had even noticed that fact. If he watched closely, he could see Scar shake silently with every breath he took.

Another thing why the others may not have asked was because Cub sat between Scar and a majority of the other hermits that were here. Though most of the others seemed to be talking about something, but he really wasn’t listening too much. It was too hard to hear over the screech of phantoms and general chaos outside. Well that and the fact that he was exhausted from a general lack of sleep and annoyance at being constantly blown up by creepers trying to build his manor. That and now things like what happened to Stress and Tango kept piling up.

He was pulled from his thoughts when the portal next to him lit up and his communicator beepeed.

XisumaVoid: The portal should be working now, head in and I’ll make my way after you once most of the mobs dissipate from a lesser population.

The others were also reading the message, gathering up their things, and - there was a loud explosion from below them that shook the whole tower. Fumbling from the tower shaking as he stood up, he nearly crashed into Scar. Another explosion shook the tower and Scar went tumbling into the portal. Without second thought he dove in after him.

The transition between the overworld and the nether was always something he could never get used to. It was disorienting to go from the gentle and usually calm air of the overworld to the harsh heat of the nether. The loudness of the nether now seemed quite compared to the warzone they had literally just come from. Standing up slowly he brushed his clothes off and looked around for Scar. For a second he was nowhere to be seen and Wels couldn’t stop the fear that started weighing down on him.

Then he saw something shift from the other side of the portal. Crouched behind the portal, Scar sat curled up in on himself, shaking violently. Rushing over to help Scar his heart jumped out of his chest when the portal shattered right next to him. Scar gasped loudly and shuddered at the sound. Throwing away his fears about the now broken portal he dropped to kneel next to Scar.

“Scar, Scar can you look at me?” he asked as quietly as he could over the sounds of the nether.

Scar slowly turned to look at him, breathing heavily. He didn’t need to look closely to see the tears in Scar’s eyes nor the dried tear tracks on his face. Just what had happened before all this?

“Just breathe with me okay? We’re going to be fine, just breathe with me right now okay?” he explained slowly. Making sure to breathe deeply so that the movements of his chest would be easily visible. “Breathe in, one two three, hold it four five, breathe out, six seven eight. Okay? In, one two three. Hold, four five. Out, six seven eight.”

He repeated the cycle several times until Scar’s breathing was only occasionally hitching. At this point he could faintly hear several pairs of footsteps nearby. Slowly getting up, he looked around he saw the other hermits rushing over to them. Maybe they managed to relight the portal, or had to find another one. Looking closer it was easier to tell that the latter option was the one they had done. Most of them were bruised and covered in phantom bites with tattered and torn elytra. Only Grian looked mostly unscathed which made sense because he was probably the best flyer out of the bunch.

Cub rushed up and immediately took the spot down next to Scar. He couldn’t hear what they were saying because they were whispering too quietly but Scar was whispering back so he took it as a good sign.

“Are you two okay?” Joe asked as he jogged over not far behind Cub. Doc not far behind him with the architech boys trailing behind them both as Grian held onto Jellie, and Iskall helped Mumbo along who wasn’t putting weight on his left leg.

“Better off than the rest of you I’d say, though I can’t speak for Scar. He’s still affected by whatever had happened before the past few days.” He explained looking back to where Cub was helping Scar up.

“What do you mean?” Doc asked looking the two Convex over.

“Well Cub and X came flying into town like four days ago and Cub was carrying Scar like he couldn’t fly on his own. I couldn’t see any scars on him though so I don’t know if he died or if they just faded away by the time they went and found him. But whatever happened, its shaken Scar up pretty badly. When we fell through the portal I had to get him to copy my breathing to stop him from hyperventilating.” He said. Behind him someone said something he didn’t quite catch. Turning around to face Cub and Scar, he caught most of what Scar was saying thankfully.

“.... There was a glitch. I was walking through the forest out near another village I had just renovated. Then the chunk I had stepped into vanished beneath me and I was stuck there until X and Cub came to find me.” Scar admitted. He looked down at Jellie whom Grian had handed off to him. He held Jellie a little bit tighter as he continued, “For three days I was stuck there. It, I, it was the worst. There was this awful static noise that nothing else seemed to be affected by. The worst part was -”

Scar was cut off when his, no everyone’s communicator dinged. Pulling out his own out, he read the message. It was in that moment he felt it deep in his soul, that they were in way over their heads.

Renthedog was slain by falsesymmetry using [¡!フㄣㄣĿㄣㄣ:フリ]

#hermitcraft #hermitcraft fanfiction #the hermit collective #gltichau #:)#Things kick off next chapter kiddos #and its going to be a long long ride #:) :) :)

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anonymouswriter2311 · 5 years

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Badge’s and Barmaid’s, Chapter 21

Sorry for the long wait. Between travelling and university work I haven't had much time to write. I'm not back to my usual update speed just yet, but just know that I haven't abandoned this!

AO3 Link

“What the hell are you doing here?” Charity hissed as she quickly buttoned up her silky blouse, her cheeks red with a mixture of arousal, embarrassment, and anger. She had a whole load of plans for how their afternoon was going to pan out and having to throw clothes on in front of Joe freaking Tate was definitely not on her list.

“I knocked but no one answered, I can see why now.” Joe’s smug smirk grew as he looked over Charity’s shoulder to Vanessa, who was thankfully now fully dressed. “Nice to see you again Officer.”

“Detective.” Vanessa hissed under her breath as she stood behind Charity. Gently she rested her hand in the blondes back, making sure to keep the small contact out of view from the unwanted guest, only to have Charity move away from her touch. Vanessa wanted to be mad, but she knew that Charity had a long history with the Tate’s and her walls needed to stay firmly up whenever he was around.

“Whatever…I don’t think you’ll have much of a title left after this anyway, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that I don’t pay taxes so you can spend your work day in the back room of a run-down pub fornicating with a known criminal.” He smirked the vilest of smirks, tightening an invisible noose around Vanessa’s neck. Finally, he had dirt on Hotten’s newest arrival, and he wouldn’t think twice about using her to his advantage.

“What I do in my spare time is my business Mr Tate,” Vanessa stood her ground, going as far as to gently push past the taller silent woman.

“I think the badge and gun on the table is a big hint that this isn’t spare time.” His smirk intensified, a wave of nausea hitting Vanessa hard.

“Who cares! Now, are you going to tell me why you’re here or am I gonna have ta’ thump it out of you.” Charity spat, every fibre in her body keeping her anchored in place.

“Threatening me in front of an Officer, ballsey.”

“I didn’t hear a threat, did you, Detective?” Charity smirked back, praying that Vanessa would have her back.

“Nope.” The shorter woman said with a pop, as she resisted the urge to reach out and comfort the blonde. She could see how much Joe’s presence alone was affecting her.

“You’ve really got yourself quite the little puppy dog here, and I thought you had more sense.” Joe casually sat on the edge of the table, making sure not to break the intimidating eye contact with Vanessa. “I wonder what your supervisor would think? Sleeping around on the job, with a Dingle nonetheless.” He added, his lips curling up as she watched the Detective squirm slightly under his gaze.

“He’s not going to find out! What Vanessa and I do is our business, and you can stick your privileged gob out of it!” Charity quickly jumped to Vanessa’s aid, the blonde feeling a strong urge to protect the smaller woman.

“Charity, I can handle him.” Vanessa placed her hand carefully on Charity’s arm, hoping to calm the blonde – if that was even possible at this current moment.

“You shouldn’t have to! Isn’t this breaking and entering?” The barmaid spat, looking to Vanessa for answers.

“Not when you have a key.” Joe chuckled as he jiggled a familiar set of keys in front of Charity.

“How the hel-”

“Debbie gave me it a few months ago, in case of emergencies.” He cut her off, taking great pleasure in throwing the small set of keys at Charity’s feet. This was the last straw for Charity, and before Joe even had the chance to open his privileged mouth once again, Charity was pouncing, ready to inflict as much damage as possible. She’d almost made it, her hands just inches away from his throat when she felt Vanessa pull her back and quickly plant her smaller body in front of Charity’s fuming one.

“Vanessa get out of my way.” She tried and failed to push past the frowning Detective.

“Don’t do something you’re going to regret Charity.” Vanessa hissed, more worry than anger laced in her voice. Charity breathed deeply, going over the endless amount of calming techniques she’s been taught over the years.

“I just want to get to know my brother, is that too much to ask for?” Joe shrugged, unaffected by Charity’s little outburst.

“Over my dead body!” Charity was once again restrained by Vanessa, who was ready to attack the man-child herself at this rate.

“What about my silence?” He smirked, his words catching Charity’s attention. “About this, about Detective Woodfield’s extra duties. If you two are hiding in here with all the doors locked, I take it this is something you’d like to keep quiet.” Vanessa was about to refuse when Charity quickly cut her off.

“Tomorrow afternoon. Noah has the dentist in the morning, and I’ve promised him the rest of the day off.”

“Charity!” Vanessa whisper-shouted, as the taller blonde made a point to avoid any eye contact with her.

“One hour. That’s all you get.”

“That’s acceptable.” Joe nodded, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

“And I’ll be here the whole time.” Charity pushed past a stunned Vanessa to square up to Joe.

“Understood. He’s my family Charity. I only want what’s best for him, you’ve got to believe me when I say that.” He added, for the first time seeming sincere as he spoke.

“You’ve got what you came for, now do one!” Charity spat, moving aside so he could leave. “Oh, one more thing.” She grabbed his arm violently, forcing Joe to face her. “You ever come into my home again, and I will do something that I won’t regret.” She whispered, unsure if Vanessa could hear her or not, but at the same time not caring.

“Detective.” He nodded at the silent blonde as he left, the once confident smirk wilting slightly.

The air was thick between the two women, neither daring to look at each other in the eye. Vanessa couldn’t believe what had just unfolded, her job threatened, and new-found relationship exposed, but that wasn’t what was bothering her. Charity.Charity was bothering her. She pulled away from her touch, threw herself under the bus out of fear and Vanessa couldn’t understand why. Surely, they’d gotten past this, Charity had promised her that she was all in, she’d said that this wasn’t just a game for her. So what changed? How had the woman who had been kissing her with such passion and lust moments ago, suddenly turned her back and moved away?

“You didn’t have to do that,” Vanessa whispered softly as she gently lowered herself onto the sofa, arms wrapped tightly around herself. “I don’t care what he does…you didn’t have to give in because of me.”

“I didn’t.” Charity hissed back, quickly regretting it once her eyes landed on the look of pure hurt on Vanessa’s face. “Not entirely…I did it for us.” She moved swiftly towards the shorter woman, carefully taking a seat next to her. “My lot. They wouldn’t understand, not yet.” She muttered uncomfortably, tightly clasping her hands together on her lap, restraining herself from reaching out to touch Vanessa.

“You’re ashamed of this? Of us? Is it because I’m a woman?” Vanessa’s voice broke slightly. She’d been through this before, been stuck hiding a relationship because of shame.

“No! It’s got nothing to do with that, trust me!” Charity reached out and tangled their hands together, giving Vanessa’s hand a small reassuring squeeze. “Man, woman. None of that matters to my lot.”

“Then what is it? Why are you so worried about them knowing about us?” The shorter blonde finally snapped, breaking their intertwined hands as she stood abruptly. “What is it you are hiding from me Charity?” She pressed, the barmaids silence only angering her more as she impatiently waited for a response.

Charity ran a shaky hand through her messy hair, making her wish that she could be back in Vanessa’s strong arms once again, back when Vanessa wasn’t mad or upset, back when she didn’t have Joe Tate blackmailing his way into Noah’s life and succeeding. Softly her eyes met Vanessa’s, she knew that she couldn’t – no shouldn’t – keep her in the dark anymore. “It’s what you do...you’re a copper Vanessa.” Charity’s eyes fell to her lap, afraid of what was to come next. She would never ask Vanessa to change who she was, and she knew that Vanessa wasn’t that kind of person who was even consider changing for someone else. She was strong-willed, stubborn, and completely in love with her job and Charity loved that about her, not that love was a word she was even close to embracing or even acknowledging.

Charity was sure that she had messed things up once again, that was until she heard a soft chuckle escape from Vanessa’s lips and quickly turn into a hearty laugh. “Seriously Charity? You want us to sneak around because I just so happen to carry a gun and badge?”

“It’s not funny Ness. We don’t mix with coppers, it’s not in our blood.” The taller blonde pouted, before being quickly engulfed by Vanessa homely arms.

“Well, you seem to enjoy mixing with a certain copper.” She smirked at the woman in her arms, before littering her neck with hundreds of little kisses, full of relief now that she knew she wasn’t what Charity was ashamed of.

“Yeah, well I’ve never been a rule follower.”

“I never would have guessed.” Vanessa captured Charity’s lips, happily savouring every second.

“I will tell them. Just not yet, they need a little warming up first.” Charity whispered as they broke apart, foreheads rested against each other.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” The barmaid smiled shyly, half expecting Vanessa to drop her like a bag of spuds.

“I trust you Charity.” The shorter blonde rolled her eyes playfully as she brought her hand up to gently brush a strand of wild hair behind Charity’s ear. “Just promise that you’ll be honest with me?”

“I promise…” Charity gave a small nod, just about enough emotion put into it as she could muster without a breakdown.

“Now, where were we?” Vanessa smirked, her hands already beginning to unbutton Charity’s shirt for the second time that day.

“I think.” Vanessa let out a small squeak as Charity pulled her onto her lap. “I was about to mix with my favourite copper.” Clothes soon found their way to the floor and the two women happily lost themselves in each other, neither quite ready to deal with the shit-storm that was coming their way.

#Charity Dingle #Vanessa Woodfield #Charity x Vanessa #Vanity #Vanity Fic #Emmerdale #Emmerdale ff #Johnny Woodfield #Moses Dingle #Noah Dingle #Debbie Dingle #Tracy Shankley #Joe Tate

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thegirl20 · 6 years

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So, @nessdingles had this headcanon about Vanessa and Johnny encountering Noah after he left the pub. And then this happened.

(It’s really rough because I don’t normally write at night. I’ll see how I feel about it tomorrow, but I might tidy it up and put it on AO3.) (ETA: I did put it on AO3.)

They’re approaching the pub, Johnny chattering away happily about Moses and jam sandwiches, when she sees Noah storm round from the back, a rucksack on his shoulder. Her stomach drops when she catches the expression on his face. It looks like he’s been crying.

“Noah. Noah!” He doesn’t stop walking so she scoops Johnny up and takes off after him. “Noah! Wait a second.”

He stops walking, his shoulders lifting and dropping in a sigh. He spins and glares at her, and there’s no mistaking the tear tracks on his face from this distance. “What?” he spits.

“Where you going?”

She’s sure he’s about to growl something about it being none of her business when Johnny waves at him. “Hi Noah,” he says, smiling shyly.

There’s half a second where she thinks that Johnny might get his ire instead, but his face clears a little when his eyes land on her son and he even tries a little smile. “Hi Johnny.” Johnny giggles and hides his face in Vanessa’s shoulder.

“Look, come to mine, eh? I know this is a huge thing that’s been landed on you and you probably need time to-”

“She chose him.”

Noah’s trying to look unaffected, but she hears the waver in his voice. She frowns. “Eh?”

“I told her I didn’t want him around, reminding us of what his scum dad did to her. And she said she wanted him to stay.” He swipes angrily at his eyes and hikes his rucksack higher on his shoulder. “So I said I’d go. I’m going to stay at Joe’s.”

Her heart breaks for how that must have made Charity feel; to be made to choose between her boys with everything else that’s going on. She wants to go to her and make sure she’s alright, but she knows that if she can deal with the Noah situation, that will mean more to Charity than tea and sympathy right now. She lets Johnny down onto his feet, taking his hand again.

“Right. Why don’t you come to mine and you can wash your face and I’ll make you a brew. Let you clear your head a little, eh?” She tilts her head. “And then I’ll drive you to Joe’s if that’s what you want.” If it comes to that, at least she’ll be able to tell Charity she got him there safely.

“What?” He scowls. “So you can try and make me go back there? No thanks.”

“No.” She shakes her head and holds her free hand up. “No talking. Not unless you want to. I promise. Just some peace and quiet.”

He actually seems to be considering the offer and she has to bite her tongue to stop herself from badgering him further. Johnny looks up at him and holds out his hand.

“You come see my train, Noah?”

Once again, his face softens when confronted with Johnny’s lack of agenda and she thanks whoever’s listening that the babysitter was ill. Noah rolls his eyes, but takes Johnny’s hand and smiles.

“C’mon then, mate. Show me your train.”

Vanessa tries to mask her sigh of relief as the three of them head in the direction of her house. She gets them both inside and wrestles Johnny out of his jacket, shedding her own and hanging them both up. Noah drops his backpack by the couch as Johnny drags him over to the box where his wooden train set is stored. She watches them for a second, noting how Noah is a completely different boy around Johnny than he is around most adults. He’s the same with Moses; loving and gentle and friendly. Vanessa’s sure that’s the real Noah. Not the one he shows to the rest of the world. The one that’s cased in armour because he’s been wounded so often in the past.

“Can you keep an eye on him for a minute?” Vanessa points to the stairs with her thumb. “I’m just going to change my jeans.” She lifts her eyebrows. “I’m still damp in some pretty uncomfortable places.”

His nose wrinkles and Vanessa’s chest constricts at how much he resembles Charity in that moment. “Gross. Yeah, whatever.”

“Great. Then I’ll make us a brew, yeah?”

She nods and smiles at them, turning to bound up the stairs, two at a time, slipping her phone out of her pocket as she goes. She quickly calls Charity, closing her bedroom door behind her. It rings a couple of times and Vanessa murmurs ‘C’mon’, hoping that Charity’s not so frantic that she’ll ignore the call. Her breath catches when the call is answered.

“Babe, listen, I can’t talk right now. Our Noah’s taken off and I need to-”

Vanessa cuts her off. “I’ve got him. He’s here.”

“Eh? Where? At yours?”

“Yeah.” Vanessa nods.

“Right, I’ll be th-”

“No, Charity...I think it would be better to give him a little time to calm down, yeah?”

“Oh, you do, do you? Well, he’s my boy and I need to...I need to explain...I need to tell him-” Charity’s voice breaks. “I just need to-”

“I know. I know you do.” Vanessa feels her own throat begin to close up. “Look, he was on his way up to Home Farm when I found him and if you barge in here right now, that’s where he’ll make a beeline for again, isn’t it?” Charity doesn’t respond, so Vanessa keeps going. “I just wanted him to come here and clear his head a little bit. It’s a lot to take in.”

She hears a door close at the other end and when Charity speaks again, her voice is lowered. “Listen, Ness...when he left...he said...well-”

“I know what he said. He told me.” She can picture Charity’s surprise perfectly.

“Wow. An hour of water pistols and you’re best buddies, then?” The sharpness of Charity’s voice makes Vanessa close her eyes and she bites back a sigh as Charity continues. “S’probably for the best, actually. I mean, he’ll need a new mum now that he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

“Charity.” Her voice is firm. “He doesn’t need a new mum, and we’re definitely not best buddies. But he told me why he doesn’t want Ryan around and I...I think that maybe I can talk him round a bit.” She bites her lip. “I’m gonna try, at least. Is...is that okay?”

There’s a long pause and she knows the answer could go either way. Charity could lash out and insist on coming over because she’s used to being everything to Noah. Vanessa holds her breath when she hears Charity sigh.

“Yeah.” She sounds weary. And no wonder. “Yeah that’s...that’s...thanks, babe. And I’m sorry I snap-”

“Charity, you don’t have to apologise. With all you’re going through right now-”

“Doesn’t mean I get to take it out on you.”

Vanessa closes her eyes and wills herself not to cry. She covers her mouth and swallows, nodding. “Okay. I’m going to go and make us a brew and see if he’ll talk to me a bit.” She wants to be able to tell Charity she loves her, but by some silent agreement, they’ve decided that it’s not the time for those kinds of confessions, not with all that’s happening. “Is Ryan still there? Debs?”

“Yeah, they’re chatting away in the kitchen. Probably about me.”

“Probably,” Vanessa agrees. “You’re their common ground right now.”

“Right. Both had the privilege of being abandoned by Charity Dingle, haven’t they?”

“That’s not-”

“I know, babe.” She can hear some warmth creep back into Charity’s voice and it heartens her. “I was joking.”

“You know how I feel about you putting yourself down. Even when you’re only kidding.”

“S’long as you don’t put me down, we’re doing okay, yeah?”

Vanessa smiles. “I’ll call you in a bit. Let you know what’s happening.”

“Okay.” A pause. “Take care of my boy.”

“I will.” She needs to hang up, or those words are going to come out. “I’ll speak to you soon.”

“Bye babe.”

“Bye.”

She takes a moment to compose herself after she hangs up, her thumb brushing over Charity’s face on her phone screen. Inhaling deeply, she grabs a clean pair of jeans and gets into them, just in case Noah noticed what she’d been wearing, and heads back down the stairs. Johnny is directing Noah as to how to construct the track on the coffee table. Noah glances up as she reaches the bottom of the stairs and she gives him a little smile before heading to fill the kettle.

Her back is to him when he speaks. “I take it you called her.”

She sets the kettle down and flicks the switch, turning and leaning back against the counter, allowing him space. She nods. “I did. I wanted her to know you were safe. She wanted to come and speak to you, but I said it was best for her not to.”

He rolls his eyes. “Is he still there?”

“Yeah, he is.” She watches his face crease into a frown, his jaw tense. “I...understand why you feel the way you do about Ryan, you know.”

“No you don’t.” He scoffs. “She’s not your mum.”

“No. But she’s my girlfriend.” Vanessa turns away again, grabbing two mugs and sorting them for tea as the kettle comes to the boil. “I hate thinking about what he did to her too. I hate thinking about how he hurt her, and how scared and alone she must have felt back then.”

She pours water into each of the mugs, stirring each of them in turn. A noise from behind alerts her that Noah is moving across the room and she stops breathing, terrified that he’s heading out the door, but he comes to stand by her. She pushes one of the mugs in his direction, looking up to find that he’s trying not to cry.

“And most of all,” she continues, her voice low. “I hate that I can’t take it all away, all those horrible memories. I wish I could do that more than anything.”

“Yeah.” He sniffs, picking up his tea. “But she’s not gonna forget it if he’s there, is she?” He scowls. “She has to think about it every time she looks at him.”

“No, love,” Vanessa shakes her head, forcing the words past the lump in her throat. “She’s not gonna forget, no matter what. Ryan or no Ryan.” He looks away, a sob escaping his lips and he turns his back to her. She lays a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. “Ryan isn’t a reminder, because she never forgets it. But she’s so strong that she built a life for herself, a good one. And that’s what helps her. That’s what gets her through times like this, really hard times when she has to think about all that bad stuff.” She rubs his back. “Having you and Debs and Moses around her. And Ryan.”

He spins back around, looking more like a little boy than she can ever remember seeing him. “But...but he’s part of that guy!”

She nods. “Yeah. But he’s part of your mum, too, remember?” She smiles. “He’s funny, and sarcastic, and clever. And if you get to know him, you’ll really like him. I’m sure of it.”

Rubbing at his eyes, he inhales shakily. “You’ve spent a lot of time with him, then?”

“Not a lot, no.” She wipes a few of her own tears away. “But enough to know he’s a sweet guy who’s had his whole life turned upside down.” She lifts her mug and takes a sip. “He’s got to live with what his father did to your mum. He’s got to live with knowing where he came from. Which is why your mum wants him to know that none of it is his fault.” She sets the mug down and waits until he looks at her. “Because it’s not, Noah. None of it is his fault. He was a defenceless baby.”

He nods and sniffs. “It’s just...it’s hard to not think about that guy.”

Her heart jumps at the slightly positive tone in his voice. “It’ll be easier not to once you know Ryan as a person, I promise. Then he’ll just be Ryan. Your daft big brother with really awful taste in music.”

He smiles a little. “I’ve already got one of them.” He sighs. “It’s weird. I started this year with one brother…”

Vanessa nods, lifting her eyebrows. “And now you’ve got three.”

“Four.” She looks over to find him watching Johnny play with his train. Tears spill down her cheeks and she covers her mouth. He sighs and rolls his eyes. “Don’t get soppy.”

“Sorry. Sorry.” She smiles, wiping her cheeks. “There. Not soppy at all.”

“Yeah, right.” He smiles at her, before dipping his gaze away. “She’s got you an’all, you know.”

Still reeling from his previous admission, she almost doesn’t catch this one. “Eh?”

“Mum. You said she had us and that helps her.” He shrugs. “She’s got you to do that too. I think...I think you’re maybe the best person she’s ever had.”

Tears spring to her eyes again and she shakes her head. “You tell me not to be soppy and then you say that?”

“Whatever.” He turns and pours the remainder of his tea into the sink. “S’pose I should go back up there.”

Vanessa clears her throat and smiles. “Your mum would really love it if you did.”

He heads over and picks up his bag, looking back at her. “You coming or what?”

She grins.

They walk to the pub the same way as they walked to Tug Ghyll; each holding one of Johnny’s hands. He begs them to swing him, so they do all the way around to the back of the pub. Noah looks at her when they reach the door and she nods at him, encouraging him to go first.

The look on Charity’s face when they enter the living room is one that Vanessa will remember as long as she lives. It’s pure shock that quickly slides into confusion, and then finishes on elation.

“Babe!” She gets up from where she’s sitting at the table with Debbie and Ryan, approaching Noah carefully. “I’m so glad you came back. I was gonna-”

She’s cut off when he throws himself into her arms, wrapping his own around her and burying his face into her neck. He’s repeating ‘I’m sorry’ over and over and Charity holds him tight, her eyes closed and a hand on the back of his head as she murmurs to him. Vanessa deposits Johnny in front of Moses’ toy box and comes back over just as Noah and Charity break their embrace. They smile at each other and Vanessa has to stop herself from crying again. Noah wipes at his face and turns around.

“So. Vanessa says you’ve got terrible taste in music. That right?”

Ryan breaks out into a delighted grin. “Oh she did, did she? This from a fully grown woman who listens to S Club 7.”

Vaness gasps, but Charity interjects. “Oi!” Charity points at Ryan. “Now I won’t have you going around telling blatant lies about people.” She gestures at Vanessa, moving her hand up and down. “She’s not fully grown at all, is she?”

“Hey!” Vanessa pokes her in the side and allows herself to be dragged into an embrace as Ryan, Noah and Debbie debate what constitutes ‘good taste’ in music. She wraps her arms around Charity’s waist and lays her head on her shoulder, watching the three of them.

“Thank you. For whatever you said to him.” The words are murmured against her ear before a kiss is pressed to her temple. “Looks like we need to add ‘Noah Charmer’ to your CV as well as ‘Snake Charmer’, yeah?”

“I didn’t have to say much, really,” Vanessa concedes. “He talked himself round in the end.” She lifts her head and looks up at Charity. “He loves you to bits.”

“Yeah.” Charity rolls her eyes. “Someone has to, eh?”

Vanessa touches her thumb to Charity’s chin, getting her attention. “He’s not the only one who does.” Charity’s eyes soften and she leans in, brushing her lips over Vanessa’s in a whisper of a kiss.

“I know.”

#noah dingle #vanessa woodfield #charity dingle #charity x vanessa #vanity #emmerdale #writing #fic by me #fan fiction #vanity fic

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