#now i just get easy loot. hell yeah

[breaddo]

okay! til you can summon the wall of flesh again in hardmode. accidentally did that while fishing. i <3 terraria

#now i just get easy loot. hell yeah #excalibur kills that shit in like 6 seconds

[ponderingmoonlight]

Toji Fushiguro coming back to life to save (y/n) in Shibuya

Shibuya Arc scenarios that live in my head rent-free pt.ll

Pt. l with Gojo and Geto are here

Pairing: Toji Fushiguro x reader

Word Count: 2,5k

Notes: Literally no one asked for this, I had to do this for myself after the latest episode okay. Loots of grief, hurt and language. Enjoy

„Hey, it’s been a while“, you mumble to yourself, mindlessly dropping a bouquet of flowers onto the stone in front of you.

“You’re not coming back, are you?”

It’s been more than 10 years to be exact. Ten years of working as an assassin, ten years of roaming around without an aim.

Ten years since losing him.

Back then, you never admitted to anyone how you felt about him, how his sight alone made your body do crazy things and lightened up your cloudy mood. He was never a man that was easy to love, let alone very emotional. When it comes to women, Toji probably was the worst man walking on this earth.

But oh how much you loved him. How much you adored the little smile he wore on his face when he teased you, how much you longed for his arms that wrapped themselves around you when nobody was watching, how much you miss his hands roaming all over your body while he fucked you brainless each and every night, screaming out his name like a prayer.

Losing him was the most unbearable pain you’ve ever felt, an event that made you forget your belief in love forever. He was never yours, but losing him shattered your fucking heart. Since he’s gone, you never let another man touch you again, living from alcohol, cigarettes and assignments.

And this.

You visited Toji’s grave whenever you felt enough courage to do so without breaking down. Day after day, week after week, year after year. Always with the same empty feeling that occupies your mind, the what ifs that plague your tired heart whenever you think of him.

Beep beep beep.

Who the hell is calling you right now?

“I’m busy doing nothing”, you bark into your phone.

“(y/n), just wanted to let you know that something’s going on in Shibuya. Rumor has it that that Gojo boy was sealed.”

“Impossible”, you breathe out, almost dropping your phone.

Gojo Satoru, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer, the fucker that killed Toji all these years ago, is gone? Your heart bangs against your chest, mind unable to comprehend the words. This is your chance. The chance to seek revenge, to kill everyone he cares for in one place without resistance.

Everyone expect him.

“I don’t know how this will go. My kid, Megumi. If something happens, keep an eye on him for me, will ya?”

You promised. Despite the fact that you pushed Toji’s past away as far as you could, you have to keep an eye on his son when Gojo isn’t around anymore.

“I thought so too, but seems like that’s a fact.”

“Do we know anything else? Some dirty details?”

“Not really, but someone pretty strong has to be there if that person was able to seal that fucker, don’t you think?”

“Yeah”, you mumble.

“I will take a look at this myself.”

Without waiting for a reply, you hang up and start walking.

This is your chance. After all this years of suffering, regretting, anger and agony, you’ll finally get your revenge. You will show them what the strongest jujutsu sorcerer did to you by taking your love away, by destroying your life so violently that there’s no more happiness left. You will give him a taste of his own medicine.

If Gojo Satoru ever sees the light of day again, all of his beloved ones will be dead. You will make sure of that.

-at Shibuya-

“Jujutsu sorcerers and their fucking curtains”, you mutter to yourself while effortlessly walking through the barrier.

How pathetic to think that curses and other jujutsu sorcerers are their only enemies. After all, Toji was almost able to defeat the strongest of them with nothing but his own rough hands.

Almost. How much you hated that word. He was almost able to defeat Gojo, he was almost able to survive that battle, he almost made it home to you.

But he never did. And that’s why you’re here, standing on top of a tall building while scanning the area around you. A few seconds later, loud bangs can be heard from a stress a few miles away. You spring into action immediately, gliding over the buildings with your harness so effortlessly that even a trained eye wouldn’t detect you. In their world, you are invisible, nothing more than a shadow without jujutsu.

And that’s their weakness.

You stop on a house corner, immediately caught by the sight of none other than Megumi Fushiguro in front of you along with another boy and an old fart. Your heart clenches painfully at the way his cold eyes stare at the old man, his facial features taking you back in time. Oh, he looks so much like his father.

So much that you want to go back home and swallow a bottle of vodka to get his face off your mind. But no, you’re on a mission, you have to make sure that kid is alright and kill all of his friends. You’ve got a job to do, get a hold of yourself.

With skilled eyes, you judge how he moves, how he acts, how he fights. Well, he might not be the best fighter you have seen yet, but he sure has some potential. Together with his little friend, he should be able to defeat that old fart. If not, you’ll come back later.

While you swore on keeping an eye open for him, you’re reluctant to meet Megumi and somehow don’t want him to find out that you’re after his friends and sensei. So you tear your gaze away from him, aiming for the skyscraper in front of you where another fight takes place. Whoever this is will be the first victim of your killing streak.

You will make every single one of these bastards pay for what Gojo did. You will make them feel the way you felt after his decease.

Over.

And over.

Again.

It isn’t hard for you to get up Shibuya tower in the matter of seconds, the harsh winds waving through your hair. Your heart pounds, eyes darting around the area.

Three people, two men are fighting while an old lady sits on the ground.

“And who of you belongs to that Gojo fucker?”, you mumble, gripping both of your katana’s tightly.

This is the moment. After Gojo is sealed, this is your opportunity to finally seek revenge, to kill every single one of them. When this fucker returns, he’ll be alone.

Just like you are since he killed Toji.

“What the hell are you doing here? Get lost”, the old woman hisses.

You stare at the broad back of the man who hits the other without mercy. Damn, that speed, that precision. It’s like back then. His fine technique almost makes him look like…

Toji.

Automatically, your feet carry you forward. You swing yourself in the air, feet ready to kick the broad man into his chest.

“Don’t you think this is a little unfair?”, you shout.

His eyes dart towards you.

He grabs your ankle.

All you can do is stare at him, mind going completely blank.

His face. This gorgeous face you adored so much. The little scar that emphasized the corner of his delicious mouth so well. His collarbone that creeps through the sweater he’s wearing. No, there’s no doubt. The man standing in front of you is Toji.

“Get out of the way, woman.”

Toji’s frame slams your body against the ground merciless. You see stars, lungs refusing their service as all you can do is stare in horror at the shell of the man you used to love, glimmer of hope nipped in the bud.

This isn’t his voice. This isn’t his smile.

This just isn’t Toji.

You hate the way your eyes start to water as he grabs your throat and yanks you upwards.

“You are not Toji. How dare you to use his body like that”, you cough out.

Instead of replying, he just smiles at you so heartlessly that you feel like throwing up. No, this simply can’t be Toji. This is the empty shell of the man you’ve lost. Feelings flood your heart uncontrollably. Anger, grief and most of all disappointment haunting and bringing you to your knees. God, how much you wished it was true. For the split of a second, you really thought this was him. Your Toji, the man you haven’t forgot after all these years, the only one you ever sacrificed your heart to.

But he’s gone. And he won’t come back.

“There needs to be a corpse for shapeshifting. Dumb girl, of course this isn’t Toji Zen’in. But you will die through his hands.”

Your body refuses to move. All you can do is watch as he throws the body of the other man down, off the tower, into certain death.

Fuck. Is this really how it ends?

“Y’know, you’re actually not that bad.”

“I hope so, jackass. Otherwise I’ll throw you out.”

“C’mon princess, don’t be like that. Y’know I’m obsessed with you.”

“Oh yeah? Might need to hear that again…”

“I’d rather show you.”

Like in slow-motion, his frame casually walks back and comes to a stand next to the old woman. Every limb of your body screams out in pain, lungs feeling like they’ll rip apart any minute. So this is the force of Toji Fushiguro.

It could be funny, actually. You always thought Toji is the strongest man on this earth, admired him for his sheer strength despite not being a jujutsu sorcerer. But when he was with you, his deadly touch became gentle, caressing you with what felt like…love.

Did he really love you? Who knows. But you did. Oh, how much you loved that man – the man whose back is now faced towards you, muscles tight by the thought of killing you with his bare hands.

Is there anything more ironic than getting killed by Toji Fushiguro?

“I would rather die through his hands than living like this until I’m as old and ugly as you.”

“Grandson.”

“I know, granny.”

He turns around. The shell of the man you thought about every night before drifting off to sleep, the man that is the only one you ever dedicated your heart to. That oh so rough face that felt so gentle against your fingertips. How much you’d give to talk to him one last time, to let him know how you really feel.

With a swift motion, he grabs your throat again, feet hanging in the air as you feel like life is slowly drifting away from you. Before your blurry vision threatens to eat you alive, he slams your already weak body into the floor, blood spurting in every direction.

Nothing but darkness and this foreign far away voice that speaks out of his body.

“That should be enough.”

Your fingers twitch. Is this the end? His footsteps echo through your brain.

“Granny, wh-wh-wh-wh-what do whe do now?”

“It won’t hurt to keep Satoru Gojo out of play. So go down below and kill sorcerers.”

…

“Grandson?”

“Who the hell do you think you’re ordering around, old hag? And how dare you to hurt ma princess?”

That voice…You must be hallucinating. It sounds just like him, just like you remember it. That deep unpromising vibration that made you go crazy more than once.

A shriek, a dull fall, silence. Footsteps that are approaching you again. Heavy, confident steps.

“I thought you can take more than that, princess.”

Hands grab your shoulders gently, lifting your bruised and weak body out of the dirt. You force yourself to open your heavy eyelids, mind still trying to process what is happening.

You stare right into his ocean blue eyes.

“Missed me?”

Your shaky breath rings in your ears, trembling hands searching for hold on his shoulders.  

“Toji?”

Nothing more than a fade whisper in the night, a faint hope resonates.

“You’re still looking hot.”

Tears swell up your eyes before you can catch yourself while you wrap your aching arms around him for dear life. This has to be a dream, some cruel technique, a hallucination. But you don’t give a fuck. At the moment, all you can think about is how he wraps his large arms around your waist and back while holding the back of your head and the way he smells.

God, he smells just like you remember, just like the Toji you knew.

“Please tell me you’re back. Tell me this isn’t just a cruel dream. I don’t want to wake up anymore….”

“Live and in color. It’s been a while”, he comments.

Your eyes dart towards him and his sly grin. The grin you know all too well, the grin you adored more than anything else in the world.

“I missed you every single fucking day. And now…And now you’re standing in front of me. Alive”, you stammer.

“These fuckers thought they could use my powers against you. Ain’t no way  I’d let this happen princess. Even if it means going to hell and back to be with you.”

Your fingers trace over his cheeks, his collarbones, his broad chest.

“It’s me, (y/n)”, he confirms your unspoken question.

“I missed you.”

“Yeah? Missed ya too. And can’t wait to show you how much. But work comes first and I still have a lot of shit to do.”

“I came here to take revenge, to kill all of Gojo’s little puppies for what he did to you”, you hiss through gritted teeth.

“What a good girl you are, I always loved ya for that. Let’s get you out of here first. I’ll be back in a few hours, ‘kay?”

Toji…Loves you? Your hands dig into his firm biceps, eyes piercing right through him for any sign of sarcasm, any sign of manipulation.

But no, it’s clear. The man in front of you is indeed Toji Fushiguro. And he told you that he loves you.

He’s back and he loves you.

“I love you. Fuck, I love you so much! Living without you was hell”, you cry out, completely breaking down in tears while he holds you in his arms.

“I know princess, I know… Will catch up on everything, I promise. Let’s get you outta here. So sorry for hurting you like that.”

He picks you up in his arms while you allow yourself to close your eyes and lean your face against his chest. This might be a manipulation, a dream and nothing more. But you never thought you’d get him back. Fuck, after more than 10 years you’re really back in his arms.

Screw if this isn’t real. For this precious moment, you finally feel home again.

#jjk imagines #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #jjk season 2 #jjk hurt #jjk fluff #jujutsu kaisen toji #toji fushiguro #toji fushiguro x reader #toji x reader #jjk toji #toji x you #fushiguro toji #fushiguro x y/n #fushiguro x reader #fushiguro x you #fushiguro #jjk fushiguro #jjk fanfic #gojo x reader #gojo saturo #fushiguro megumi #megumi fushiguro #jjk megumi

[softguarnere]

Hey. I'm really sorry if I came across pushy or impatient bc that was not my intention at all. Of course school is more important. I hope you like my ideas but if not that's totally fine.

Ok, so here's the first one. You have been a member of Easy co. through almost the whole war. Down in the mud with them and forced to wear the same uniform. Other than being the only girl in the company you just blended in with the guys. That is, until the end of the war came.

My request is a headcanon of the guys reaction to seeing you actually look like a girl for the first time. I mean the works; pin up hair, make up, killer dress, and heels. Also, if it's not too much trouble could you please make sure to include Doc Roe, Babe, Malarkey, and Liebgott? If you want to include any of the other boys please do. Thanks!

Hey hey! Me again sending in my second idea. Again you're the only girl in Easy co. and at some point during the war you took quite a bit of shrapnel; especially to your chest and abdomen.

This is another reaction headcanon request (of a more romantic nature) of the guys seeing all your scars for the first time during a more private moment. Again can you please include Doc Roe, Babe, Malarkey, and Liebgott? Thanks! ❤️

Since you sent two requests, I decided to combine them for the sake of ease and time.

Even though I'm a writer, I'm a historian by trade, and I've never been comfortable with the whole "unexplained sole female member of the company" because I could never stretch my imagination to come up with a proper explanation for why that would be, so I hope you don't mind that I had to change it slightly. I also don't write NSFW, so the second part had to be left pretty vague.

Because of the time crunch, these haven't been proof read or edited!

Reactions to seeing you dressed up for the first time, and later, your battle scars

Doc Roe

When a women's division was added to Easy Company, a lot of the men found themselves getting somewhat distracted

If he's being honest, then yes, Gene has spared a glance at some of the women. But he's been so busy with the constant work of being a combat medic that he hasn't noticed anyone in particular

Until the end of the war, that is

Everyone goes wild once Berchtesgaden is taken. People are looting the jewelry and clothes for themselves, for friends and family, for sweethearts back home

And you happen to take a dress and some jewelry that make you absolutely sparkle - when Gene sees you for the first time, it takes his breath away

Once he works up the courage to talk to you, the two of you take it slow

With everything that has happened and the fast pace of the war, he completely forgot that you took some shrapnel back in Bastogne

You seem so ashamed when you first show him the scars it left you with, but he thinks nothing of it

"We all got 'em," he assures you

"You don't."

"Yeah, I do." He places your hand over his heart. "You just can't see 'em."

Babe

Okay, I think he would actually take notice of you for the first time after the war

It's at an Easy reunion. He happens to look up from his drink as you walk in

He chokes, which draws Bill's attention

"Who the hell is that?"

Bill squints over at you. "Oh, I think it's (Y/L/N)."

"Who?"

"(Y/N)? From the women's division, remember?"

Babe tilts his head. "No."

"Well, she looks different outta uniform, I guess."

All this to say, Babe has taken an interest in you, and he has no qualms about telling you exactly that when he (re)introduces himself to you

You have a great time at the reunion, and although you and Babe keep in touch and become close, he's a little shocked to realize how many things he didn't know about you

Like about the scars that the war left you with

You're shy, almost timid, when you show him, even though you trust him by now

"I had no idea," he admits.

"I don't usually bring it up," you hesitate before continuing. "It, uh - some guys haven't liked it. It makes them uncomfortable."

Something about the way you say it is so open and honest that Babe can't help the rush of emotion that comes over him. He grabs your hand and squeezes it tight

"Then doll, they weren't good enough for you."

Malarkey

Unlike the others, he knows you got hit, because he was there

But it's not something that he thinks about. He's busy trying to forget the war, after all

And as the war draws to a close, he gets so used to seeing you in your Ike jacket and thinking about how it makes you look like some sort of goddess of war that it's distracting

It's not until your last night in Berchtesgaden, when your relationship becomes official, that he learns about the scars the shrapnel left you with

"Does it hurt?" he asks, immediately remembering that awful day back in Holland when he saw you go down as the shrapnel struck you.

"No." You only smirk. "You should see the other guy."

He knew there was a reason that he liked you so much.

Liebgott

Listen, he's such a flirt that I'm convinced he noticed you before and has been subtly throwing flirtations your way throughout the war

But once he sees you at the war's end in a dress and some bright red lipstick that you stole? WOW - you're a knock-out. The pin-ups back in the States have nothing on you, and he simply can't wait another second to make a move

"Hiya, your Highness." He kisses the back of your hand and gives you a deep bow. "My name is Joe. Have we met before?"

All the other women would be giggling while watching the interaction. You can only roll your eyes, trying to hide the heat rushing to your cheeks.

"Maybe once . . . in your dreams."

Joe has always thought you were pretty, and he'll think your gorgeous no matter what

Seeing your scars has a different effect on him.

The anger that would course through him at the realization that the war left its mark on you in the most literal sense? Unmatched.

"Joey," you have to tell him, hooking his chin with a finger and guiding his gaze back up to your eyes. "If it makes you uncomfortable I can - "

"No." He grabs your hands. "Sorry, doll. I didn't mean to make you self-conscious. I just - "

"I know," you assure him. "No use being angry now, though. The damage is done."

But he doesn't want you to see it as damage. And slowly, he comes to see it as character instead; one more piece of you that makes you who you are - and reminds him of why he fights.

#these are not my best work #I'll have to edit them later when I have more time #band of brothers headcanons #eugene roe #eugene roe x reader #babe heffron #babe heffron x reader #don malarkey #don malarkey x reader #joe liebgott #joe liebgott x reader #band of brothers x reader #my writing

[eldritch-spouse]

Rinx soulmate being consumed with greed but homeless/poor?

[Oh I LOVE this. Fem reader.]

There's a new demon in the city.

Well, not just any demon, that by itself wouldn't be note worthy. Nah.

Fancy guy. One of the big shots.

From what you've heard so far, the huge being causing complete mayhem is none other than the Icon of Greed himself. Yeah, that guy! Broccoli head. What's his name- Uh, Rings? Yep.

It's been pretty fun watching him go. The vast majority of people are locking up their homes and businesses, fleeing the streets while the demonlord and his servants terrorize the area. It's nothing short of admirable to you. He points to a shop, his servants ransack it completely, handing him some of the spoils so the King can have them immediately and sate his instincts. You've seen the fucker pick people up. Entire people, just having them be dragged into Hell. Maybe he collects them, you sure as fuck won't claim to know what these elites get up to in their free time.

You wished, oh so bad, that you had that type of freedom, the power to just take things, take everything you want! Because it should be yours. You should get to have all the nice things which sit outside your reach yet taunt you oh so cruelly. Day and night. A tormenting existence.

Point is, you're getting some sort of karmic satisfaction from watching the snobs around you get royally fucked. It's not so funny when someone takes everything you have, is it? When all you've worked so hard to get in life is ripped from your hands, as if you're no more than a child. Yes, maybe now they'll stop looking at you with such disgust in their eyes. Get a little humbled... Oh, who are you kidding? These people get high off their own farts, they won't learn a thing from this.

Knowing this, you've mostly just been enjoying the show. There's no need to hide, after all. There's not a single penny to your name at the moment. Zero. Your clothes are tattered and you have literally nothing remotely expensive to claim. Plus, you're not dolled up like most of the folks in these parts, so it's not like you'd ever be a target, right? What would a greed demonlord and his servants want with a human that's piss poor?

Nothing.

So there's no need to get stressed, right?

You sit on your usual bench, covering yourself under a worn blanket, clutching a discarded pillow you had found in the midst of the chaos. Most people would be sane enough to feel perturbed, but you fall asleep to the sounds of screaming, glass breaking and doors being torn asunder like it's the most wonderful lullaby.

Something's moving.

You groan, annoyed from a tugging sensation out of nowhere. It takes a moment before your sluggish brain catches up with reality. And you realize someone's trying to steal your pillow.

Bleary eyes peer up at a small pink form clad in a maid's garb. The demon appears to startle a little once she realizes you're awake, adjusting her glasses and offering you a guilty look- Although not letting go of your pillow.

" Fucking- Excuse me? " You nearly snarl at her.

" A-Ah- " She's tugging harder now, but you don't let go either. You'll be damned if you let her take this out of your hands! There are so many other things she could be looting, she's going to pick on the homeless person?! What a bitch. " Miss please, I'm just doing my job! "

" Some fucking job you have- There are stores everywhere, why do you have to screw with me?! "

She appears to fluster slightly, caught red-handed. In her moment of awkwardness, you yank the pillow forcibly out of the demon's hands, clutching it to yourself while you glare daggers at her. You're sure she can hurt you, but you have nothing to lose anyway.

" F-Fine! You looked like an easy target. I'm just trying to meet a quota, I don't want to hurt you. Just give me that pillow and I'll leave you be. " She's getting really agitated, but so are you, taking several steps back, which she quickly tries to cover.

" No way! Fuck off, get another one. " You're not giving it away, you just aren't. It's always been hard for you to part with things, this is no different.

" I would, if there were any left around here! "

" Oh bullshit. Look, this isn't even a good one. "

" It's not the quality, it's the quantity! " The imp tugs at her long dark tresses, exasperated. " Miss please, I don't want to hurt anyone. "

That just makes you angrier. " No! I won't- "

All of a sudden, you bump into something solid. Not a wall, it's too warm for that. A feeling of total dread washes over you, draining the color off your face as you freeze like a corralled animal. The imp before you jumps as well, standing straighter.

" M-My- My King! " She stammers, and part of you almost wants to faint. You might very well die here.

" What's this, Nena? Can't you do something as basic as getting me new bed dressings? "

You recognize that snobbish voice. It's him. It's actually him. The Greed lord, right behind you. Gasping, you try to dart sideways, quickly stopped by a freakishly large hand which easily traps your entire chest against his form.

Another, ring-clad hand comes to pluck the pillow from your grasp. And as much as you wanted to offer resistance, you don't say a peep or move a muscle.

" There we go, see? Like taking candy from a ba-... "

All of a sudden, his speech crashes entirely, leaving everyone in a confusing, concerning stillness. You have no idea what's going on, pinned under a gigantic hand, heart racing, looking at this "Nena" demon who appears as scared and anxious as you. This can't be good.

Shivers grace the back of your skull, making you glance upwards, coming face to face- Well, face to orb-thing with the demonlord. You assume he's staring intensely at you, perhaps repulsed by your disheveled appearance, or considering how to end your existence for inconveniencing his quest for, what was it again? Bed dressing?

" L- Lord Rinx, sir? " The pink imp eventually speaks up, snapping her superior out of his daze.

Rinx straightens up like a plank, his grip on you unfortunately still foolproof. " Gather everything and everyone, we're going back home. "

She shakes her head. " But sir, we're not ready- "

" We're going home. Now. "

That tone certainly leaves no room for questioning.

" Yes, yes sir! " And she's scrambling away, nearly tripping on her own feet as she starts frantically calling out for others, leaving you and the massive demon who just stole your pillow alone.

You're not quite sure what to do or say, so you wait for him to move first, puzzled when all he does is brush somewhat messy locks of hair away from your face.

" What have they done to you? "

The murmur is nearly inaudible. You're not sure what he's talking about, so you just blink, unnerved by the gentleness of his touch. The demon manages to make your eyeballs nearly pop put of your skull when he actually hands you back the same pillow. He... He gave it back. Greed demons don't do that, this guy is clearly ill.

" How long have you been living like this...? "

Why does he care? Does he think he can fool you? What kind of game is this?! Instead of answering, you just frown, turning your face away. It's all the answer he needs.

" Unacceptable. We're going to fix this immediately. " He taps his own head, which is weirdly tiny compared to his hands.

" I don't want your pity. " You're not even sure if that's what he's offering you.

The large demon chuckles, taking your hand in his as he begins walking somewhere, large legs forcing you to awkwardly jog in order to keep up. " My little treasure, I'm not offering you pity, I'm going to give you all the finest luxuries the world has! "

Something thin and green coils around your waist, it takes you a panicked moment to realize that's his tail, ending in an odd fluffy tuft. His words haven't quite processed yet, in fact, it's easy to believe you're still asleep on that very same bench, drooling on yourself probably.

" B-But-... Why? "

The million dollar question that has your eyes narrowed in clear suspicion.

" Because this is no way to treat my future Queen! Just look at yourself! Tell me names, I'll wipe the streets of Greed with them. "

Q... Queen?

Queen of Greed? What.

Not leaving you a second to digest the information, Rinx halts abruptly to rummage through the almost imperceptible pockets of his flashy red jacket, jingling and clinking titilates your ears, until he fishes out a small ring, pinched between sharp claws but shining like a star. You know that's real diamond on it. Why would he ever have anything fake? He's a king. In spite of all that's happening, you can't help batting your eyelashes at it, as if to enchant the thing into magically becoming yours.

No such effort is necessary apparently, because the other kneels before you, in the middle of these utterly trashed and deserted streets, gently bringing your wrist closer so he can slide the jewelry on your ring finger.

This- Oh God, you really are going to pass out any moment now.

Rinx hums pleasantly at his work, lifting the very same hand so he can nuzzle into your palm and sigh. " I know, diamond is too cheap for you, don't be offended dear, we'll find better later. "

What the fuck.

No. You know what? This is great. You have no idea what's wrong with this demon, why he thinks you of all people are going to be his future "Queen", but why not take advantage of it? Why not let yourself enjoy some pampering for once? After all these horrid years, living day by day, never sure of anything, not even your own safety- You deserve this. You deserve nice things. He's right. And even if you never come to love him at all, it's a much better life than what you currently have going on.

So why not give it a chance, you ponder as you examine the brilliant ring around your finger. Why not try?

" Rinx? "

" Mm? "

" A-As your Queen- " Lord, his tail is swatting around so hard you're afraid he'll take flight at any moment, hanging off your every word. " I never want to pay for anything again... And I want a new wardrobe. "

His laughter is so jovial it's intoxicating. " Deal! Deal! Anything you want is yours! "

You're picked up in a blink, cradled to his chest, where a heart wildly hammers. The hand cradling your head is not as threatening as it should be.

" As long as I get to keep you. "

That doesn't sound like a bad deal to you.

#Rinx oc #yandere monster #yandere teratophilia

[violetlunette]

Runaway Chapter 8: Departure

Summary: Malleus continues to sort through his emotions while Lilia finally receives news…

Previous Chapter

Master List

Ao3

Notes: *Twst spoilers for Chapter/Book 7

Lilia’s body went cold as the world stopped around him.

“A...body?” he repeated, his heart coming to a sharp stop. No. No, that couldn’t be true.

It had to be a mistake. It had to be.

“Papa, please live a long and healthy life.”

“No matter how strong you are, you’re still my one and only father. So, please, let me take care of you.”

“Let’s stay together, forever!”

‘Silver…’ Lilia’s body quaked with terror. N o. No! This couldn’t be real, it couldn’t! There had to be a mistake. There just had to be. Silver couldn’t be  dead ! He couldn’t!

Lilia never had a chance to explain things, to apologize. He didn’t get to tell the other he was sorry for everything--

‘This can’t be happening.’ He felt sick.

This couldn’t be real! This--

“Yeah, near a skeletal body on a pirate ship.”

...eh?

“What?” Both Lilia and Crowley mirrored the question.

“The ring hooked on to the hat somehow and sank it down to the bottom of the sea. It landed near the body of a dead pirate on the wreckage of an ol’ ship. Already looted, unfortunately.”

. ..

. . .

.. .

. ..

. . .

… !

Lilia tilted to the side as the world restarted itself, the man's face completely blank.

Once the world rebooted, Lilia shifted from a stunned bat to an angry cat.

“ You--!!  WHY THE  HELL  WOULD YOU SAY IT LIKE  THAT?! ” he yowled, loud enough that the other men jumped. He nearly pounced, claws out, when Crowley grabbed him around the waist.

“Oi! Easy now, Vanrouge!  Easy! ” Growling like a dog, Lilia easily shoved the headmaster aside, glaring at the sailor.

“Someone get a map!” h e demanded. “I want to know the  exact  location you found this!”

If the broom was missing a rider, then Silver must have fallen into the ocean. If so, it was likely he was swept to a nearby island. Provided, he didn’t drown. Lilia just needed to figure out which island that was by finding where Silver was and what the current was like that night.

The sailor was startled by the sudden demand.

“Huh? I--” Lilia’s patience snapped, and he leveled the poor old man with a glare that would make a dragon tremble. (And had.)

“ Did I stutter? ” he barked, making the others jump like rabbits, his red eyes flashing like warning lights. “Get me a map!  NOW! ”

~*~

After getting the frightened sailor to pinpoint the area where the ring was found and getting information about the currents, Lilia took the map back to his room to decide his next course of action.

It wasn’t easy.

There were several islands, and there was no way to tell where Silver was swept. Lilia could only guess when Silver fell into the sea, which made tracing the tides difficult. It didn’t help that the storm had thrown everything off, messing up the waves of the currents.

Regardless, Lilia had to figure it out quickly.

If Silver was on a little island, it wasn't a big deal, as it would limit where he could go unless a ship came. In that case, Lilia could easily inquire about it. (Assuming the island wasn't abandoned.) However, if the boy was on the mainland, Silver could be getting further and further away from him every second. And what if Silver never even made it to land?

What if he was abducted by pirates and was forced to work as a swabbie? Or sold off as a slave somewhere? Or what if he was taken by Nemo and forced to live on a submarine for the rest of his life, drinking turtle milk and the like? Never be seen again by the surface world? Well, if it was the latter, then Lilia would make sure Nemo was never found again, and if it was the pirate thing, he’d--

Lilia took a deep breath to rein his mind in.

‘Keep it together, Lilia,’ he told himself, rolling Silver’s ring between his fingers. Letting his imagination run wild wouldn’t help a thing. But then, what would help?

Lilia looked at his reflection in the crystal stones of the gold ring.

It had been three days since the jewel piece was brought to him.

That meant it had been a whole week where Lilia had no idea where his son was or if he was safe.

It was driving him crazier than he thought. Lilia hadn’t slept in days, and he only ate when Sebek or Kalim came to check on him.

‘Heh. I’ve really become a worrywart, haven’t I?’ Then again, according to Malenore, he was always this way.

His expression dropped as he thought of his dear friend and first love.

Malleus said that by taking in Silver, Lilia had betrayed her. Lilia never thought of it like that.

When he took in Silver, he only thought of Leven’s dreams for their people and if Lilia himself could come to care for a human. But now, he couldn’t help but wonder: how would Malenore react to Lilia raising the son of her enemy?

She hated humans. Even before the war, she looked down on them as inferior and thought it was “cute” that Leven wanted to live at peace with them, at best.

If she saw him now, how would she react?

Lilia bit his lip, then shook his head.

‘No. There’s no time for that.’ Lilia had to concentrate on pinpointing Silver’s location. The rest could wait. It had to.

The bat frowned.

‘If only there was a way to track him—‘ “Ah!”

As he thought about this, the ring seemed to jump out of his hand. 

It landed on the map and began to roll around and around before falling. Lilia read the name under it; his brow furrowed in thought.

“The Queendom of Roses?” Could that be where Silver was? Even if that were the case, how would Silver’s ring know?

The jewelry piece glittered as if responding. The frown on Lilia's brow deepened.

Despite having had the ring for all these years, Lilia had no idea what its magical properties were. Only that, it helped both the knight and Silver and had diurnal magic. Regardless, it had a connection to the two.

‘Could it lead me to Silver?’ Well, it wasn’t like he had any other directions to take. He would have to gamble and hope for the best.

“Well then! Time to head to Queendom to paint the roses,” he decided, circling the island with a pen. He only prayed that he would find more than white rabbits and Cheshire cats there.

~*~

When Lilia announced his departure to Sebek, the lad insisted on accompanying him, but Lilia turned him down.

“You’re still a student, remember? I’m not,” he reminded the other. While Crowley was “kind” enough to allow Lilia to remain, the fact remained that he had already dropped out. He couldn’t stay forever. (As much as he would have liked to.)

Lilia had to push down his emotions.

They were in the mirror hall now, Crowley having gotten the mirror ready to send him to Queensland, where he would begin his search. Sebek found out and came to see him off, even ditching his class to do so, something Lilia made sure to scold him for.

“Whatever else is going on, you have to continue your education,” he told the boy. “Otherwise, you won’t be able to become a guard, and all your efforts will be for nothing. 

"Besides, Malleus would be all alone if you came. I know you don’t want that.” Lilia pushed down even harder at the emotions his ward brought up and the reminder that the two had yet to make up.

Sebek went stiff at the thought, his eyes shining.

“Ngh! Of course not. But…” His expression was torn. Of course, he wanted to be there for Malleus, but Sebek also had a sense of loyalty to Silver, who had been like a brother to him all this time.

Lilia lifted a hand to his shoulder and smiled.

“You did more than enough, Sebek,” he said honestly. He gripped the boy in appreciation. “Without you and your efforts, I wouldn’t even have a lead. You did your part. Now let me do mine.” Then he winked. “I’ll bring Silver back, and you can kick his ass for running away like this.” Lilia prayed that wasn’t an empty promise. Sebek still looked unsure.

“But will you be alright by yourself? With your magic..." Sebek trailed off, causing Lilia to tense as he forced his smile to remain.

“Even without my magic, I can take care of myself.” Lilia was magicless, not helpless, and he refused to be treated as such. (It was partially what pushed him to leave in the first place.) He continued;

“I still have my strength, my speed--” ‘My clever.’ “--I’ll just fine.” A teasing grin crossed the old man’s face.

“Or are you doubting my skill?” he asked, fangs glinting in the light as he revealed them with a grin. Sebek jumped erect.

“I would never doubt you, Lord Lilia!!” he boomed, his voice echoing around the room. Lilia chuckled.

‘Cute as always,’ he thought. He patted the boy’s arm.

“Excellent! I leave Malleus in your hands, which I know are more than capable.” At the mention of his ward, the amusement drained from Lilia’s features and was replaced with solemnity and a heavy heart. “...Take care of him, Sebek,” he said quietly, his arm dropping. Sebek’s expression fell like a puppy’s.

“Won’t--Won’t you say goodbye to him?” he urged. Lilia paused in his action to grab his travel bag (the rest of his stuff was generously stored by Kalim).

Malleus hadn’t taken the news of Lilia’s departure well last time—in fact, that was what led to this whole mess—but now, it may be different.

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to see me gone now.” Lilia sighed as he picked up the sack, his fingers shaking. Sebek nearly burst into tears.

“Master Lilia! You can’t believe that.” Lilia didn’t know what he believed.

Before this whole debacle started, Lilia truly believed that while Malleus would be saddened by his departure, he wouldn’t be as affected as he was.

Then, after he woke up—He didn’t know. Lilia just didn't know anymore.

Was leaving like this for the best, or was he just running away from his own feelings?

“I don’t know,” he admitted, shouldering the bag. “Regardless, Malleus won’t talk to me, and Silver—" The man closed his eyes. “Silver’s all by himself right now.” That’s right.

Malleus was alone before but was saved by Silver and Sebek, just as Lilia was saved by Malleus and Silver once upon a time. Now Lilia had to save Silver.

“I’m not saying goodbye—not yet,” he promised. “But I have to go, for now at least. I’ll be back when I find Silver.” That part may have been a lie, considering Malleus was directing all his pain at Silver, but saying so would have hurt his student even more.

Sebek looked as if he were about to argue but bit his tongue. Instead, he closed his eyes and retracted his sobs with a loud ‘s niff.’

“Take care of yourself, Master Lilia!” he said in a thick voice. “Both Malleus and I—we’re counting on you to bring Silver back.”

Lilia nodded. “I will.”

Sebek stepped back from his teacher as his mentor approached the mirror. In front of the glass, Lilia paused.

He felt as if he was being pulled in opposite directions. The father was eager to find Silver as soon as possible. But on the other hand, leaving Malleus...

His grip tightened on his bag.

‘No. No turning back now,’ Lilia told himself.

All other factors aside, Malleus was safe and had friends who would help him. Silver, on the other hand...

Determined more than ever, Lilia stepped into the mirror, leaving Night Raven College and all those within behind.

--

Not as exciting as the previous I'll admit, but I promise to make up for that in chapters to come.

#mine #twst #twisted wonderland #twst silver #lilia vanrouge #twst lilia #twst runaway #lilia twst #lilia twisted wonderland #twst fic #dire crowley #sebek zigvolt #twst diasomnia

[lightning-witch-jenny]

My stupid metatextual analysis of Pokemon's Teal Mask DLC

I MIGHT BE WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING I SAY HERE THESE ARE DERANGED AND INSANE RAMBLES. if you have anything to add or reason to think I'm flat out wrong please tell me!

You know it, I know it, the Teal Mask DLC is based on the story of Momotaro. For those who don't know what the hell a Momotaro is, here's a video that explains it because I don't want to have to explain what it is!

I'm going to assume you already know the story or watched the video and now know the story. If otherwise what the hell are you doing here

SO ANYWAY it seems to me that The Teal Mask is an anti-nationalist message. The story of Momotaro represented Japan taking down the west and getting fat loot at their expense. The Teal Mask takes that story and flips it on its head and says the Oni was good and Momotaro's crew were bad. Follow this train of logic and the story takes on a new meaning.

Ogerpon, as with the Oni in the tale, represents the west, or at the very least a foreigner from the west. Take into account "Ogre" is an english word which Oni is often translated as, and yet even in japanese her name is still OGERpon, and she is still referred to as "an Ogre," even though she is clearly based on the Oni from Momotaro. Almost like there's a reason they'd want to use a western term for Ogerpon's name. And considering its implied she and her friend were from the future and sent back to ancient Kitakami (Japan) that checks out. If we examine it from this angle the story has a new layer. Suddenly the backstory of Ogerpon is about how she and her friend were rejected for their cultural differences. They were an outsider in a land so different to them, they couldn't be accepted this way. Them wearing the masks is probably representative of them as foreigners trying to fit in with the new culture they find themselves in and finding acceptance in their conformity.

And In Come The Loyal Three (I will not be discussing "Dokutaro." I will take the story as is currently presented)

I don't think the Loyal Three literally represent all of Japan's people, I think rather, they represent Japanese nationalists. Their name of "The Loyal Three" might represent how on a meta level they represent loyalty to their home and culture. So in a literal story sense they steal the masks and kill Ogerpon's friend because they want that Fat Loot, but I think what this represents is nationalists refusing to accept foreigners into their culture and taking back what is "theirs." They are reclaiming their culture from someone they think does not deserve to be a part in it, even though they have been living there for some time. The Loyal Three KILL this man over it!

I uh... I don't know what Ogerpon killing The Loyal Three in retribution is meant to map to. Or if it represents anything deeper. And YEAH you can say "oh it represents how the usa dropped the bombs on japan which is why ivy cudgel is busted!" but you're WRONG and STUPID. So far the plot seems to suggest something more small scale. Ogerpon seems to represent an immigrant to japan, and The Loyal Three represent nationalists. You can't then turn around and say that in this specific point in the backstory they default to the roles they have in Momotaro where Ogerpon is the whole USA and The Loyal Three are all of Japan.

That out of the way it's easy to see in this reading why the people believe Ogerpon to be the villain, a foreigner just killed three native people. In-game it's just "they got confused and thought the Loyal Three had just defeated the vile ogre" but with this reading their reactions make more sense

And then of course the actual events of the game. Your two rivals are one Kitakami native who hates outsiders and wants them to stay away and seems to respect the Loyal Three, and one who to the contrary is obsessed with Ogerpon and you, the player, a foreign westerner

Now it's important to note at this point in the story, The Loyal Three and Ogerpon are not active players, they are ideas clouded by lies. So I think IN THIS CASE, The Loyal Three and Ogerpon represent Japan and the west. Specifically in the context of Carmine and Kieran's opinions of them. Considering Carmine is distrustful of you on the grounds that you are a foreigner and Kieran is fascinated by you (and very quickly becomes obsessed to a toxic degree)

Over the course of the story as the truth is revealed, Carmine learns that foreigners deserve a fair chance, while Kieran downward spirals. I believe this is meant to represent how one should be accepting of foreign cultures but not obsessed with a culture that they aren't a part of.

And of course, while Ogerpon gets its masks back, it ends the story being allowed to visit the village without them. This probably is meant to symbolize that Ogerpon is now free to partake in the culture it was shunned from, but she does not have to conform to that culture and can still be herself.

There are probably a lot of things I missed, and I feel both as if this is a reach AND a surface level reading. But overall it really comes across to be as if The Teal Mask is an anti-nationalist allegory, flipping the tale of Momotaro on its head to show such thinking is wrong, and rather than see foreigners as enemies to defeat, one should respect them and welcome them.

#pokemon #pokemon sv #pokemon scarlet and violet #the teal mask #ogerpon #the loyal three #the hidden treasure of area zero

[loopspoop]

Chapter 4 here we are! Fujiko is back and everyone’s trying (and failing) to cope! Lots of hurt and comfort in this one but they’re working hard to handle things!

TW: panic attack

Fujiko opened the door, frowning as she looked around. There was a blanket on the ground and the coffee table was moved across the room. Where the hell were the boys? Had they gone upstairs to use an actual bed? Hopefully so..Lupin wouldn’t recover well on just a couch. She walked inside, shutting and locking the door behind her as she looked around.

“Hello? Jigen? Goemon?” She called, walking to the stairs as she began to go up.

Zenigata peered over the railing, smiling as he relaxed a bit. “Fujiko, we’re up here.” He had worried it was an intruder.

“Zenigata-?” Fujiko hesitated. “When did you get here-?” She thought he wouldn’t be able to find them…

“Oh, uh…I’ve been here the whole time actually…you have the medication for Lupin, right?” Zenigata rubbed his nape sheepishly, glancing away.

Fujiko nodded a bit, climbing the stairs the rest of the way. The whole time? So, he was already here and they just didn’t know? That was a little creepy. Where had he been hiding at? And where were Jigen and Goemon? Had he arrested them? She wouldn’t be happy if he had arrested them.

“Where is everyone?” Fujiko looked past Zenigata, frowning.

“Ah..we had some trouble while you were gone. Jigen and Goemon are keeping an eye on him in the bedroom but we really do need to give him some medication.” Zenigata frowned, leading her to the bedroom.

“Trouble? What kind of trouble?” Fujiko frowned, looking into the bedroom quietly.

Lupin laid in the bed, still unconscious. Jigen sat on the ground beside the bed, smoking silently as he tapped his foot. That was an obvious sign he was anxious. She had picked that up early on, whenever he was on edge he fell into the tapping habit. Goemon sat at the foot of the bed, watching Lupin closely as he held onto Zantetsuken. She could see him rubbing the handle with his thumb, another anxious habit she had learned about from her years with them. Whatever had happened must’ve been bad…but Lupin was still breathing, that much she could see.

“Took you long enough.” Jigen mumbled, glancing at her from under his hat.

Fujiko frowned a bit, walking in as she unpacked the bottles. “You try seducing a pharmacist.” She grumbled angrily.

Jigen scoffed. “Took you less time to seduce Lupin every time you show up wanting a cut of our loot. You decided to take your sweet time while he’s here dying on us!”

“Nobody is dying.” Goemon looked at Jigen sternly, holding Zantetsuken tighter. He wouldn’t let Lupin die.

“Guys-“ Zenigata frowned, looking between them all anxiously. This wasn’t the time to fight.

“Oh, easy for you to say, Goemon. You took two weeks to get your ass to the lab to get him out!” Jigen glared at him, standing. “You took two weeks and Fujiko took two hours! And Lupin’s laying here suffering because of it!”

Fujiko narrowed her eyes. “You have no right, Jigen! I didn’t see you get out of that cell before Goemon showed up and I sure as hell didn’t see you busting your ass to get medication for Lupin!”

“Yeah because flaunting your tits is busting your ass!” Jigen rolled his eyes, glaring at them. “It’s like you two don’t even care what happens to him!”

“That is not true!” Goemon’s stood, glaring at Jigen as his hands shook. “Don’t talk to Fujiko that way!”

“This isn’t fair, Jigen! You aren’t blameless here!” Fujiko huffed, poking her finger into his chest angrily.

“Guys, hey-“ Zenigata frowned, trying to get in between them to stop the fighting.

“I am!” He wasn’t…god he wasn’t blameless but blaming them felt better than blaming himself. “It should’ve been one of you!” He growled angrily. “One of you should be in this bed! Not Lupin!”

“Jigen! Enough!” Zenigata got between all of them, glaring. “That’s enough.”

Goemon narrowed his eyes, turning as he stormed out. He couldn’t handle Jigen right now. He couldn’t handle thinking that everything he had said was true. He could’ve done more. He could’ve gotten there sooner or given Lupin better medical care. Instead, he waited two weeks and put Lupin through hell. It should be him in that bed. Lupin did not deserve this.

Fujiko glared, pushing the medications into Jigen’s arms roughly. “You fucking take care of it then, Jigen.” She growled. “And don’t come crawling to any of us when you manage to fuck it up.”

She turned, walking out and downstairs. She didn’t need Jigen to remind her of what had happened. She didn’t need him to remind her of any of the horrors Lupin must’ve faced in that lab and that it was her fault too for getting caught so easily. But Jigen wasn’t blameless either. It pissed her off that he thought he could get out of this blame free. If he thought he was so great then he could handle Lupin by himself!

Zenigata turned to Jigen, frowning. “What the hell was that?” He crossed his arms.

Jigen turned away from him, looking through the bottles quietly. “Forget about it, Pops.”

“No, I will not forget about it!” Zenigata grabbed his arm, turning him around so they faced each other. “I’ve never heard you talk to them like that. What the hell is the matter with you?”

“Leave it alone.” Jigen growled, looking away. He didn’t need this..

“No. I get this is stressful but you don’t get to blame everyone but yourself-“

“I do blame myself, damnit!” Jigen snapped, looking up at Zenigata angrily. “I blame myself for this shit! I sat in that cell for two fucking weeks and didn’t help him!”

Zenigata hesitated, letting Jigen go. He knew that, since Jigen had finally snapped, he had better just listen. He knew the man was usually pretty closed off. No doubt this had been building for a while..

“I got myself caught and Lupin was right down the hall for two damn weeks getting dissected and tortured! And I didn’t help him!” Jigen shouted, slamming the bottles down on the bedside table angrily.

“I couldn’t get out of that damn cell! And when we finally did I couldn’t kill the bastard! Goemon did! And Fujiko got the car and the medication! And Goemon- Goemon treated him!” Jigen clenched his fists, his voice cracking as he looked down at Lupin.

“And when he had his seizure..that was you, Pops. I’ve done nothing for him…what type of partner am I if I can’t do anything for him…?” Jigen pulled his hat down further, trying to hide the emotions that were getting the better of him. “..It should be me in that bed…not Lupin..”

Zenigata frowned, hesitating before he put a hand on Jigen’s shoulder. “You got him out of there. It might not have been all by yourself but you got him out of there. And you’ve been taking care of him the best you could. And I would say…I would say that Lupin would be pretty damn grateful if he was awake right now.”

Jigen bit his lip hard, tears beginning to trail down his face as he sunk onto his knees beside the bed. He had been so worked up…and he said pretty shitty stuff to Goemon and Fujiko when they were hurting too. He had really fucked up. What would Lupin think of him if he had been awake for that? Zenigata sat on the ground beside him, wrapping an arm around him quietly. He had dealt with a fair amount of this with his time on the force. Jigen just needed some time..

“…I love him.” Jigen mumbled softly, shaking his head. “I love all of them..and I fucked up…I fucked everything up.”

Zenigata hesitated, frowning as he thought quietly. “I don’t think you did.”

Jigen glanced at him before glancing down. “I’m sure accusing them of failing Lupin doesn’t win me any points..”

“Maybe not. But they’re in the same boat you are right now. They’re worried about him. And I’m sure if you went and apologized and let them have a moment to feel how stressed they are…it might work out.” Zenigata squeezed him, smiling a little.

Jigen thought quietly for a moment, laughing a little. “When did you get good at being sappy, old man?”

“Hey, I was married once!” Zenigata rolled his eyes, shoving him gently. “Communicating is important..even when things get hard. Now go sort things out. I’ll give Lupin his medication.”

Jigen wiped at his eyes, nodding as he stood. “Thanks.” He looked out at Zenigata from under his hat, smiling a little.

Zenigata nodded, standing as he smiled back and began to look the medication bottles over. He knew the gang weren’t all bad..they just made some bad choices sometimes. They were still human..it was part of what charmed him so much about them. Jigen walked downstairs, biting the inside of his cheek as he looked around. Fujiko was laying on the couch, watching the TV silently. Jigen took a breath, walking down stairs the rest of the way. He would have to settle things, even if they were so mad they wouldn’t talk to him.

“..Fujiko.” Jigen walked into her line of sight. “I’m sorry for what I said.”

“Are you actually sorry or did Zenigata just tear you a new one and make you come apologize?” Fujiko glared at him, sitting up. “You were such an asshole, I’m surprised he didn’t tell you to leave.”

“He probably should’ve.” He sighed, sitting beside her. “I’m actually sorry. I know we don’t always see eye to eye and I can be a bastard-“

“Can be? You are.” Fujiko huffed, glancing at him angrily.

“Fair.” Jigen laughed a little. “All of this just…put me over the edge and I took it out of you and Goe and I shouldn’t have. And I’m sorry. You didn’t take too long. Without you we would’ve been screwed. I’m sorry I said all of that to you.”

Fujiko bit her lip, glancing at him quietly for a moment. “…what happened while I was gone, Jigen?”

Jigen sighed, rubbing his face quietly as he looked over at the blanket on the ground. He could still see Lupin there, shaking, not breathing. The sound he had made when he stopped breathing..it was something he would never forget. He hadn’t been the only one to see it or the only one to deal with the fallout..Fujiko didn’t even know the worst of it.

“Jigen.” Fujiko took his hand, frowning. “Tell me what happened.”

“He had a seizure. Right here, he just..stopped breathing and..” Jigen sighed, playing with Fujiko’s fingers gently. “His fever from the infections got too high…and I thought…I thought he was dying..Pop’s was the only one who knew what to do about it..”

Fujiko eyes widened as she held onto Jigen a bit tighter. All that had happened while she was gone…? No wonder he had snapped at her for taking too long..she probably would’ve done the same thing after seeing something like that. She wouldn’t tolerate his behavior…but she could forgive it. He was sorry, that much was very clear. Obviously the events with Lupin had taken their toll on Jigen…and most likely Goemon too. It was all she could do to keep from imagining Lupin in pain like that. It made her feel sick…poor Lupin.

“I forgive you. But next time just..talk to someone? Don’t accuse us of not caring. We all care about Lupin.” Fujiko looked at him sternly.

Jigen nodded. “That’s fair. I’ll work on it.” He wouldn’t take it out on them again.

Fujiko smiled softly. “Good. Now I’m going to shower the two weeks of cell dirt out of my hair. Go make up with Goemon.” She pulled his beard lightly before she stood.

Jigen rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah..” hopefully it would go well with Goemon..

“And, Jigen?” Fujiko walked to the stairs, smiling softly.

“Hm?” Jigen turned toward her, raising an eyebrow.

“Lupin is oblivious at the best of times.” Fujiko winked, waving as she walked upstairs. “Just remember that.”

Jigen hesitated, blushing. What the hell-? Was he that obvious? Damnit…he would deal with that after he talked to Goemon. At least she wasn’t being a bitch about it... He shook his head, looking around as he rubbed his nape. Jigen checked the rest of the downstairs over, frowning when he found no trace of the samurai. He walked to the back door when he heard the sound of Zantetsuken cutting through something, opening it as he peered outside curiously.

Goemon held Zantetsuken tightly, striking at nearby trees angrily. How dare Jigen accuse him of not caring for Lupin?! He cared for him! Of course he cared for him! He paced angrily, hands shaking enough to make his slices crooked. His chest felt heavy. He had failed Lupin more than once but..this was continuous failure. Lupin could have died because he had taken too long…he had not treated him well enough. Goemon bit his lip, stabbing Zantetsuken into a tree as he leaned against it. He felt like he was drowning, his hands shaking as he panted. Maybe this was deserved…

“Goemon.” Jigen walked over, frowning as he watched. He was definitely worked up..

Goemon glanced at Jigen, body trembling as he gripped Zantetsuken’s handle tightly. Lupin could’ve died..and Jigen was right to tell him it was his fault because it was. Of course it was. Jigen and Fujiko couldn’t get out of that cell. It was all his fault for taking so long. He sank to the ground, vision blurring as he clenched his fists. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t do anything right!

“Shit-” Jigen frowned, carefully stepping closer. “Goemon.” He crouched beside him.

Goemon curled in on himself, gasping as he teared up. He cared for Lupin…he would’ve given his life to take Lupin’s place! Jigen was right..he had failed and continued to fail. Whatever this was, it was karma for letting this happen to Lupin..

“Goemon. Goe, breathe.” Jigen grabbed his hand carefully.

Goemon flinched away, his hands shaking harder as he looked at Jigen. His chest ached and it was hard to breathe. Tears streamed down his face, his hands gripping his hair roughly. Maybe he would die and fail again by making more work for everyone. It certainly felt like he was dying. Jigen frowned, carefully wrapping his arms around Goemon as he held him tightly. He could feel how tense he was..how much he was trying to breathe properly. He never meant to make the poor guy have a panic attack over Lupin’s condition..Goemon closed his eyes tightly, hyperventilating as he tried to breathe properly. Tears continued to stream down his face as he tried to relax into Jigen. It was his fault this had happened…he should’ve been better.. what Lupin must’ve thought of him had he been awake…he felt nothing but shame over his actions..

“Just breathe, Goe. Breathe with me. In and out. It’ll pass.” Jigen pressed a hand to Goemon’s chest gently, breathing with him.

Goemon bit his lip, shakily breathing with Jigen. He gripped Jigen’s arm anxiousky, the shaking his his hands dying down a bit after a minute. His chest still ached..but breathing came a bit easier as he focused on the pressure Jigen applied to his body and the sound of him breathing. Even thought he detested his and Lupin’s smoking habit, the cigarette smell was calming and familiar and helped ground him. This was so embarrassing..he was a samurai..he was supposed to be strong. This was not strong. He was being childish in front of Jigen of all people..

“That’s it.” Jigen nodded, squeezing him carefully. “Just take it easy. Everything’s okay.” He felt awful for causing this to happen…

“Jigen..” Goemon mumbled, resting his head back against his shoulder as he looked down. This was embarrassing..Nobody should’ve seen him like this…

“I’m right here, don’t worry. It’s just a panic attack, it’ll pass.” Jigen frowned, gently taking Goemon’s hand. “I shouldn’t have blamed you for anything, Goe. I took my stress out on you and Fujiko and I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. You did everything you could’ve and I know Lupin would’ve appreciated the hell out of you if he was awake.”

Goemon closed his eyes tightly, more tears streaming down his face as he held onto his hand tightly. “I-I would’ve given my life for Lupin..I failed him…”

Jigen shook his head, holding his hand gently. “Lupin wouldn’t want that, Goe. You know he wouldn’t want that. You didn’t fail anybody. You did so much..do you think I would’ve thought of that thing with the sugar? Hell no. You took great care of him and you killed that bastard that did this to him. When he wakes up he’s going to be so grateful..I’m grateful for you too, Goe. We all are.”

Goemon hesitated before squeezing Jigen’s hand. “..I care for all of you…very much..” he mumbled softly.

Jigen blushed a bit, nodding softly. “We care for you too, Goe…” he glanced away, biting his lip. “Me especially..”

Goemon blushed a bit, glancing at him as he nodded little. “..thank you..for assisting me..”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve had my fair share of panic attacks.” Jigen shrugged a bit. “You’ll probably feel like shit for a while, just a heads up. We can go inside and rest for a bit, that’ll help.”

Goemon bit the inside of his cheek. “What about Lupin?” He glanced back at him anxiously.

“Pop’s watching him. He’s gotten his medication too, so he’ll be alright.” Jigen nodded, helping him stand as he held onto his hand. “Since we’re all here we can rest and take shifts watching Lupin, okay?”

Goemon nodded a bit, pulling Zantetsuken out of the tree as he held onto Jigen’s hand. “..okay.”

Jigen nodded, walking back to the house with Goemon. He knew he was tired, he could see it in how he walked. He knew that was from all the stress and the panic attack. They’d just have to get a little TLC while Lupin recovered..once he woke up it would be a lot easier.. he squeezed Goemon’s hand, the samurai squeezing back as they made their way inside.

“We’ll get some water and then once Fujiko finishes taking her shower you can have one. That’ll help. For now we can just sit on the couch, okay?” Jigen helped him inside, sitting Goemon on the couch while he got him some water.

Goemon nodded, looking down at the floor quietly. They was definitely embarrassing..and he didn’t need to be babied by Jigen for having an outburst…though, it felt nice to be taken care of.. It was reassuring to know that Jigen had been in this situation as well..it made it feel less embarrassing. He just didn’t want to make anyone worry for two people when they had Lupin to worry about.. Jigen walked back in, handing him the water as he sat beside him. Goemon drank some, putting the water down nearby as he laid back against the couch. His eyes ached..his head ached..his body was tired..he hadn’t had a panic attack before..they were definitely something he would have to train against.

“Come here.” Jigen frowned, pulling Goemon up against his chest as he laid back.

“Hm?” Goemon opened an eye, looking up at him as he blushed a bit.

“I’m figuring you’re sore. Just take it easy.” Jigen gently ran his hands through Goemon’s hair, massaging his scalp carefully to help him relax.

Goemon blushed more, hesitating slightly before relaxing against Jigen slowly. It…felt nice. It was hard to let himself relax knowing Lupin wasn’t well off..but if Lupin had more people to watch over him…maybe it was okay? Jigen told him it was…he would trust him..he wanted nothing more than for things to be alright again..

Fujiko watched from the stairs, smiling softly as she dried her hair with a towel. She was glad they had sorted that out. They were cute together when they weren’t at each other’s throats..now they just needed Lupin to wake up and things would start to be okay again. She would go over the notebooks Goemon had brought back and they could figure out what to do for Lupin. They would put him back together and find ways to cope with this…she would make Jigen confess to him too. She wanted things to go back to some type of normal again.

#goemon ishikawa xiii #lupin iii #lupin the 3rd #goemon #jigen daisuke #lupin the third #fujiko mine #zenigata #jigen #jigen lupin the third #Midnight Jacket AU #Cyborg!Lupin #tw panic attack #hurt/comfort #is it angst? yes #lupin polygang #lupin polycule #jigoe chapter

[george-weasleys-girl]

Hi! Can you write part two to this? It'd be so cute. https://www.tumblr.com/george-weasleys-girl/715964690344345600/hi-could-you-maybe-write-a-fic-on-reader?source=share

Of course! I hope you enjoy it!

~•~

Weasley Twins x Fem!reader (platonic)

Summary: Our fearless trio set out with their new secret weapon to acquire late night snacks.

Warnings: a couple of curse words

~•~

Midnight Run

Sequel to The Next Generation

~•~

"I'm hungry," Lee complained.

"Yeah, me too," George agreed. "I've still got some of my candy stash."

"Nah," Lee made a face. "I want something heartier than a chocolate frog."

"You know what we could do," Fred interjected. "We could go get Y/N and her... thingy and sneak down to the kitchen."

"What thingy?" Asked Lee.

"Isn't she in astronomy class right now?" George pointed out.

Fred looked at Lee. "It's top secret. On a need to know basis."

Then he turned to George. "It's just after midnight. She should be getting back any minute. If we hurry, we can be waiting for her in the common room."

George's eyes lit up. "Ooh, good idea!"

Both boys jumped out of their pajamas and got dressed for an adventure. "We'll bring back a smorgasbord!" Fred yelled to a bewildered Lee as he and George raced out the door.

~•~

"Hey guys!" Y/N smiled wide when her best friends met her at the common room entrance. "I didn't expect to see you two tonight."

"We're hungry," Fred announced unceremoniously.

Y/N raised an eyebrow. "Um... ok... I'm sure I could dig up some candy from my room."

George shook his head. "We were thinking of something better." He paused to make sure no one else was around. "We could use your map to sneak down to the kitchen."

Y/N's eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Of course, silly me!" She pulled off her backpack and pulled out the map. "Here. You two figure out a game plan while I go put my books up."

~•~

Getting to the kitchen and acquiring snacks was easy enough. It was getting back that proved problematic. Loaded down with food and keyed up by their newest excursion, they failed to notice Filch was headed straight for them.

"You were supposed to be paying attention to the map!" George hissed at Fred.

"I was!" Fred retorted. "I just got distracted!"

"Distrac - " George began, but Y/N cut him off.

"Shh! It doesn't matter. We'll just go back the way we came. There's more than one way to get back to the dorm." She held out her hand. "I'll take over as map-reader.

Both boys nodded, and they picked up their pace in the other direction.

"Shit!" They'd only gone a few feet when Y/N screeched to a halt. "Snape is coming at us from the other direction."

All three looked around for an easy escape, but there wasn't one. The nearest connecting hallways lay on the other side of their rapidly approaching nemeses.

"Look!" Y/N pointed. "A broom closet."

"There's no way the three of us are fitting in there with all this food," Fred countered.

"No, but you two can," Y/N started piling her loot on top of theirs.

"We can't just leave you to the wolves," George argued.

"You're not," Y/N grinned. "I'm a shape shifter, remember? You two hide in the closet, and I'll keep them distracted so you can get away. I'm gonna lure them in Snape's direction."

And with that, she transformed into a bat, squeeking at her friends once before heading off in the professor's direction. Snape was the furthest away, which is why she chose him. She knew that as soon as Filch heard the commotion, he'd come running, and the further away they were from George and Fred, the better.

The boys almost laughed out loud as they listened to Snape and Filch yelping and cursing.

"C'mon," George whispered. "This our chance."

Fred nodded and opened the door. "I wish we could stay to watch," he squinted down the dark hallway. "I bet she's dive-bombing the hell out of them."

And he was right.

Y/N was doing exactly that while deftly keeping herself just out of their reach. Then, as soon as her bat ears detected her friends making their escape, she took one last daring dive to knock Snape's wand out of his hand before flying off.

~•~

George and Fred stood in the center of their dorm room, doubled over in laughter.

"How did you get all this?" Lee stood wide-eyed, staring at the mountain of food. "And where's Y/N?"

"Dive-bombing Snape and Filch," Fred replied.

"She'll be back any minute," George said.

Lee looked at them and shook his head. "You know what? Nevermind. I don't wanna know how you pulled this off." He sat down and grabbed a meat pie. "I'm just glad to have something good to eat."

It was right at that moment that a tapping noise came from the window. "It's Y/N!" George exclaimed, rushing to let her in.

The little bat flew in and immediately shifted back to Y/N.

"We didn't expect you at window," Fred genuinely looked surprised.

"Neither did I," she said. "But Filch decided to try to chase me down, so I ducked out the nearest window.

"Good thinking," George said and threw his arm around her shoulders. "Now, let's go celebrate our triumph by stuffing ourselves silly."

The trio turned to find Lee gawking at them, mouth hanging open and a half of a meat pie in his hand. "What just hap - " he began, then changed his mind. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope. I don't wanna know."

~•~

@milivanili99 @fancy-pantaloons @turvi @zvummyummy @xmjthewitchx @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @georgie-weasley @samberriejams @nighttimemoonlover @jsjcue @wzrd-wheezes @mrsgweasley @hufflepuffie @morally-grey-obsessed @fredweasleyyyyy @anvaaryn @lastwandastan @samshifts @asuperconfusedgirl @hmisa11 @superduckmilkshake @mysticsheepsoul @gemofthenight @1lellykins @junerprsh @sierraluvz @wolfkill16 @kaysau2510 @qmylovexoxo @planetkt @costheticbabe @drama-queen-fromthevault @thatonepersonwhocantwrite @smallsweetvanillabean @alexistonks @charmedfandomgal @themaraudersslut @hanne-montana @greenapplegrass @el-de-phi @lizzytrees @scooby-doo1995 @phant0mkitsune @spididerman @Yoursarahg @loveosewood @rhunew @spididerman

#george weasley #fred weasley #george weasley x platonic #fred weasley x platonic #hp fandom #hp universe

[wazzappp]

anGR RE7 au part two electric boogaloo

part 1

Robbie thinks he’s protecting himself and Gabe by not telling the BSAA, but they totally already know they're both infected. Mandatory blood tests revealed incredibly high concentrations of the mold in both of them. Sidenote with the blood testing: Robbie would absolutely use the fuck out of the psychostimulants. In the game they reveal hidden loot so I think that would translate to hyper-vigilance and oh jeez would he use the hell out of that in a survival horror situation. But what the fuck are the psycho stimulants? Addaral? Meth? COCAINE? Idk dude but I think it would be funny as fuck for a scientist to go “Yeah with this mold concentration he should have mutated into a horrifying monster by now and he hasn’t but WHY THE FUCK HAS HE TAKEN ENOUGH COKE TO KILL A HORSE?” Anyway, tangent over. 

The BSAA has decided to just observe for now. They briefly considered separating them just because Gabe’s virus concentrations of the mold were significantly lower than Robbies, and then remembered that Robbie just single handedly fought through what would have killed two of their teams. If they wanted to try and take Gabe away they should be ready to lose an entire compound of men. Besides, the kid is like a built-in handler for them. He makes Robbie happy, keeps him wanting to be as human as possible, and most importantly keeps him fucking docile. The havoc someone who just cant fucking die (along with probable other powers) would be able to wreak… better to just keep them together.

And the most annoying part for Robbie is that they are probably right. Gabe is his tether to humanity in this AU as much as he is in canon. The hive mind aspect of the mold could make it incredibly easy for Robbie to lose himself without someone to center him. Gabe keeps him focused on things like; needing to eat, needing to drink water, needing to breathe (his skin isn't actually skin, just a mold approximation of it so he doesn't technically need lungs). On that note, after receiving a lot of damage Robbie looks significantly less human. The mold and his subconscious are no longer focused on blending in, but on healing themselves and attacking the threat. Places where scars from past injuries at the Baker house are most apparent usually start to turn black and spiderweb out, along with whatever area received damage. It takes a few hours and a feeling of safety to go back to normal.

I've been thinking about how to fit Lisa into this au because I really like her, and I'm thinking she should be a scientist. She's sent once or twice a month to collect blood samples from both of them to monitor their health. At first Robbie does not trust her in the slightest. The mold is still at work combined with his traumatic experiences and she is very much an intruder from an organization he does not trust. Gabe is an entirely different case. His mind isn't as influenced as Robbies and he still desires more social interaction than he's presently getting (hence talking to the mold in the walls like I said on my previous dump) So he's also skeptical about Lisa at first but warms up to her pretty quick. She doesn't get annoyed when he asks her about her cool equipment like some of the other people who come by, and she actually talks to him like a person. 

Goldendaydna made a BEAUTIFUL suggestion for getting Robbie to trust Lisa more quickly and it translated into my brain as this so here is how their first meeting goes: Lisa comes in early in the morning and introduces herself as a doctor from the BSAA here to make checkups on them. Both of the brothers are pretty suspicious and really don't trust her. But she explains that she's just here to take a few samples and run some cognitive tests while she's emptying out her bag. She sees Gabe eyeing the equipment and starts to explain what each thing does while taking it out. Robbie is straight up not letting Gabe even get close to any of that shit and staring daggers at Lisa but she says she can't leave until these tests are completed. She basically just sits in the kitchen refusing to leave. Hours later Gabe finally gets too curious to leave her be, and starts talking to her while Robbie is outside cooling off. She's been making attempts at small talk all morning and every time Robbie ignores her she writes a fucking memo in her stupid little notebook who the hell does she even think sHE IS GOD DAM- anyway. Gabe agrees to do some bloodwork after she offers to show him how her equipment works. She seems nice and what she's talking about isn't scary at all! The mold in the house lets him know what's happening and Robbie just BOOKS it back inside while tendrils of black start to creep out the crevices of the walls. Lisa gets that she is very clearly not welcome and puts her hands up while still holding her notepad “Ok, ok I get it. I’ll leave.” She takes a look at Gabe, who is currently hiding behind Robbie looking very worried and sets her notebook down on the table with the rest of her equipment. Then takes a couple steps back towards the door. “Don't worry, I won't tell them about all” she gestures at the walls “this. If you want a different doctor the BSAA will send one in.” she says, trying to defuse the situation because there is a very angry Bioweapon in front of her right now. And Robbie actually manages to think through the overprotective moldy haze and realizes that 1. There's no guarantee that she will keep her mouth shut and he can't keep track of that if she goes away forever. 2. Maybe if he’s careful with his words and questions he can try and learn more about him and Gabe's respective infection levels. 3. This is… kind of an overreaction, he can see that. Robbie’s noticed that he's becoming more territorial (he's paranoid not blind) and he very VERY much does not want the mold to affect his mind more than it already has. Maybe she can be practice for not wanting to shove everything that isn't molded out of the house? The mold slowly creeps off the walls and he flops down in a chair and puts his arm on the table basically saying ‘FINE’.

Lisa serves a double purpose; collection of samples and observation as well as socialization. She really did mean it when she said she wouldn't tell the BSAA. Mostly because she doesn't need to, they already know Robbies infected (Robbie just doesn't know that they know oh god it's like a bad detective novel up in my brain rn). But getting the samples at all when her coworkers were expecting extraordinary violence definitely earns her some brownie points at work. Robbie seems perfectly fine keeping his own little world isolated to himself and Gabe, but if he ever begins to feel trapped the BSAA needs to know how safe he is around other people and if the brothers can be reintegrated into less isolated areas. They are mostly concerned with Robbies aggression because.. well… he has shown to be VERY AGGRESSIVE when fighting through the Bakers house (I mean Ethan and by proxy Robbie cut Jack Baker in half with a chainsaw to be fair). 

Because Lisa is more trusted by the brothers, she is often sent ahead of time if someone else needs to come by the house. In this way she acts both as a buffer for the mold's hatred (and subsequently Robbies hatred) of unfamiliar people coming into what is supposed to be a safe place. For example, if the electricity goes out she might show up an hour before the electrician to prepare the boys for someone new arriving. When she shows up they're both just sitting in the dark around a candle with the light reflecting off their eyes lol.

I think with Ethan being trained by the BSAA (probably to be used as an agent) they would probably do the same with Robbie at first. If they can use his brother to keep him under control he could be incredibly effective at neutralizing new bio threats. I think Robbie would be skeptical about what they're training him for but I don't think he would object to learning more about how to defend himself. Eventually I think the BSAA would decide that he's too volatile to be used as an agent… but maybe Gabe could still be useful. It's important to remember the BSAA aren't really evil, but they are desperate and probably corrupt to a certain degree (so..kind of evil? Whatever lol). They're not like the old Umbrella Corporation but they aren't any kind of morally pure. I think they would try and find a way to sedate Robbie so Gabes skills could be freely utilized. 

#I am here once again to be annoying #ghost rider RE7 au #robbie reyes #lisa (ghost rider) #my art #sketch #got several different directions that i think a re8 continuation could go #my head says 'KILL MAIM BURN' but my heart says 'undead found family cottagecore' and idk if I can choose #honestly i think my heart says kill maim burn a little bit too... #gore #tw gore

[tobiasdrake]

B&E in a necromancer's lair. We're here to crack some skulls and we don't care whether they're animate or not. I got the looting bag. Grab whatever isn't nailed down.

Coffins and books. All the walls decorated with coffins and books. I don't know how she keeps them all organized.

"Shit, I need Archaic Fortunes of the Ill-Contented. Was that over with Johnson, Miller, or Woodkip?"

There's no way in hell she actually reads these. Cataloguing them this way would make keeping track of them next to impossible. These books are purely decorative. She's doing that middle- and upper-class thing where people buy books just to put on their shelves to make them look smart.

Oh, and the keys are alive. That's convenient. Living skeleton keys make for a nice show of force. Very intimidating, probably helps out in negotiations. But a door that can be opened by hitting something in the room with a stick is nonetheless a door that is not very well secured.

But enough about that. We have a nice, roaring fire so let's take a break for story time.

Ohh, that's how we become a Solstice pair. A bird flings us onto that prison of an island as a means of containment. Gotcha. I'm following along.

Hold up. That's an option? I can actually become God-Empress? Is there any way you could stop telling this story and instead explain more about that because I am fascinated by the implications.

This is why Serai was nervous about pitting us against the Necromancer, then. The Three Sisters are the same kind of thing that we are.

What an asshole thing to do.

So Roro was literally born evil. Okay. That calls into serious question how morally culpable she even is for all this necromancer business. If the Three Sisters are morally compelled by the forces of their birth then they aren't even really sentient. She is no more making a choice to do any of this than Garl is making a choice to go get eaten by the Dweller.

Oh, Momo's one of us. I wonder if she has any relationship to Moraine. Their names are annoyingly similar. Hmm.

Was she a sun or moon warrior? I'm going to assume moon on the grounds that it's the better of the two.

Yoyo decided to go be the creepy swamp lady who emerges out of the darkness to tell your fortune. It's a vibe. I get it.

Yeah, you can't really be metaphysically compelled to absolute neutrality without being an irritating centrist. She is magically blocked from being able to form opinions on things. That must suck.

What must their childhoods have been like?

Roro: Hey, for lunch do you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a soggy leaf covered in mud? Yoyo: Either is acceptable. Momo: HEY. NO. STOP THAT. Roro: But she said it's fine!

Green fire.

Like the green lantern by the fireplace or the green candles just a short way to the northeast. Man, getting a green flame for our return passage is going to be a piece of cake. How convenient.

Until otherwise noted, I'm going with that latter one. I've chalked them up to "Sometimes weird shit happens". Life is strange, and when you throw magic and destiny and gods into the mix, it gets stranger. The universe owes you no explanations for the wild shit it does sometimes. We could all die tomorrow and never even know why.

They're a weird thing that happened one day. One of them's dead now and another one's probably going to be soon, if this burglary-turned-robbery continues to snowball. Then the world will continue to turn as if they were never here.

...

Thank you for being here to read us stories, Teaks. I appreciate your existence with me in this moment.

Gross gross gross gross gross gross gross I hate this island so much gross gross gross gross

Honestly, I'm impressed with her corpse horde. Do you think she killed all these people herself, or has she been raiding graveyards? It can't have been easy to stockpile bodies on the same island where the Dweller's cattle-ranching villagers.

Unless whatever the Dweller's doing to them doesn't damage the body too much. Hmm. They could be friends or business associates or something. Roro gets the bodies once the Dweller's done doing whatever to them? Like letting your dog chew on your steak bone.

You don't need to be so formal; This is just a robbery.

Hands in the air. Bring out the soulstones and nobody has to get hurt. ...well, I broke a lot of kneecaps getting here. Left several zombies in pieces. Roughed up your duke.

Else. Nobody else has to get hurt. Specifically you, I-I'm threatening you and...

...

You know what, I should have rehearsed this. Can I get a do-over?

Oh, sorry, I'm legally prohibited from accepting that offer. See, I'm already enlisted in a morally ambiguous paramilitary organization and they made us sign non-compete clauses when we were enrolling in the Academy. Hands are tied.

...wait, wasn't your sister Headmistress? Oh, that's probably why the non-compete clauses were in the contract. Huh, the more you know.

Roro's coyly trying to reframe the narrative and call us out for our "RPG adventurer" plundering. And me, I'm over here like "I know what I'm about. Stick 'em up and give me the goods."

There's that ascension thing again. You gonna give us some more context on what that means or....

Fuck, I know those names. Solena and Luan. Solena and... I think the villagers back in our prison town were talking about them. They are actively worshipped as sun and moon deities where we come from.

So that's a no on context, then. Everyone's gotta be a cryptic fucking asshole about everything.

Fine. You know what? Drip-fed lore teases always makes me want to break someone's nose, so let's go.

Choke on my staff you cryptic bonebag. I'm gonna use your phylactery to mark my place in one of the books you never read.

That's what I thought. Consider yourself mugged, Roro. Give up the rock and this can all be over.

Mission accomplished.

I gotta say, I'm proud of everyone. We did a fantastic job here, each and every one of us. Truly admirable performance; Heroic, even. I'm sure Momo must be looking down on us, beaming with pride for what her legacy has become.

Today, we have truly exemplified what a Solstice Warrior can be.

#sea of stars #drake plays sea of stars

[bleedingcoffee42]

More x speirs R EATING MY BRAIN LIKE A DYNAMITES ..THANKS U DEAR!!!NOW I HAVE ONE EXTRA RARE PAIR FOR WHICH I WILL CRAWL AGAIN.

Hell yeah!!! SpeirMore is absolutely coming to the tags come HBOWar Rewatch week.

More had to hide his album from the French and An "easy co. officer" and Winters helped him do it? By stuffing it in the seat of his Jeep and making him his Jeep driver? And then the French tried to take it back at gunpoint, ending up with everyone drawing their guns?

Anyhow, after the war More goes back to Wyoming with his album and sells Folgers coffee. Joins horse clubs, the cavalry, etc. Meanwhile Speirs ends up in Montana eventually with horses in retirement and there are pictures of him at a rodeo with his brother.

Post War Western SpeirMore potential, just sayin. (And save his life, GDI, stupid cursed loot killing everyone.)

Wartime provoking Speirs to get a rise out of him.

It writes itself. It will be written because the brainrot is real.

#speirmore #because 3 fics in the tag? here we come

[timelesslords]

Cheater, Cheater

This is for @halfbloodcarrie who has gifted me beautiful works of art that you should go read instead of this absolute nonsense I wrote her in return ❤️ I’ll get you back for real soon but take this as recompense in the meantime 😌

Read on AO3

“You know what, if there’s something you wanna confess, why don’t you get it off your chest now.”

Percy had hardly ever seen his girlfriend this angry. At least, hardly ever seen her this angry at him. Those grey eyes were scary like this, bright and stormy as a thundercloud. Percy felt a wave of unshakable dread wash over him, but he knew he just had to get it over with. He’d fucked up, and now he just had to man up and tell her the truth.

That was easier said than done, what with her piercing gaze tearing his resolve to bits, but somehow he managed to find his voice anyway.

“Fine,” Percy said, the words sticking on his tongue, “I cheated.”

For a brief second, Annabeth just stared. Then—

“You what?” she asked, voice cold, each word clipped. Percy winced. He’d known her reaction was going to be bad, but hearing it out loud was so much more awful than imagining her reaction in his head.

“I cheated,” he said again. The words came easier this time, but not very much so. Annabeth stared at him, unblinking.

“You cheated,” she repeated.

“Yes,” he said, swallowing uncomfortably. His mouth was suddenly very dry.

He saw Annabeth take one unsteady breath, then two. She was mad, really mad, and he knew he deserved it but it hurt to see anyway— hurt to see how much she was hurt by the whole thing. That was the worst part of it all, not the anger directed towards him, but the guilt at how upset he’d made her.

“What happened?” she asked, voice still stiff and unyielding. Percy sighed, raking a hand through his hair.

“I don’t know, I’d had a drink and I was feeling bad and I just— I don’t even know why I did it, it just happened.”

“Cheating doesn’t just happen, Percy!” she snapped, anger finally flowing into her voice, the dam broken. Percy felt a little of his own irritation break through his carefully prepared exterior. He was in the wrong, he knew that, but still— she couldn’t be that mad.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? It was a mistake.”

“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you,” Annabeth muttered, turning away from him.

“Annabeth, please—“

“No, just— gods just shut up. I can’t even look at you right now.”

“Annabeth, come on,” Percy sighed.

“No! You cheated!”

“Are you serious? I stole five hundred dollars from the Monopoly bank and you’re acting like I had an affair!” Percy exclaimed, unable to take it anymore.

“Yeah, because you used the extra five hundred dollars to buy Park Place and ruin my strategy!” she yelled, whirling back around. Her hands were curled into fists by her side.

“It’s Monopoly! Everybody cheats!” Percy yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

“Nobody cheats at Monopoly!” Annabeth yelled back.

“Oh, so you don’t play banker every round so you can skim a few hundreds off the top?” Percy accused, knowing it was completely unfounded. It’s what everyone but Annabeth would do if they ever got the chance to play as banker, which, of course, they never did.

And, okay, maybe Frank and Jason wouldn’t loot the bank either, but every single other person present at game night definitely would.

“No! It’s so I can keep track of the money and make sure cheaters like you—“ at this, she pointed a very deliberate finger at his chest, “Don’t get away with stealing!”

“Well clearly that plan was a bust,” Percy muttered, not really meaning to. Annabeth glared at him. He maybe deserved that, just a little.

“When did you even do it?” she asked. She wasn’t shouting anymore, at least, but her voice hadn’t lost that cold quality.

“When Frank showed up,” Percy admitted. It had been the perfect crime— everyone had been so distracted by his arrival, and subsequently the arrival of the pizza he’d picked up along the way, that nobody had noticed Percy stealing a couple of bills from the bank.

It was lame, pathetic, really, to resort to stealing to not even win Monopoly at a game night among friends. But Percy had been a little tipsy, and, well, it had been a little too easy.

Annabeth still hadn’t said anything.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? It was lame of me. I was just losing really bad and I wanted to stay in the game.”

“It was lame of you,” Annabeth agreed, folding her arms over her chest. If Percy wasn’t mistaken, her eyes were a little watery.

“Aw hell, are you crying?”

“No,” Annabeth said, with a very unconvincing sniffle.

“I’m really sorry, Beth. Really.”

He really was. If he’d known just how upset it would make her, he never would have done it. Percy hadn’t even thought it was a significant enough move to keep him in the game more than a few more turns, but a few lucky rolls on top of that had made his deception a bit more nefarious than he’d intended.

“I hate losing,” Annabeth said, finally.

“I know.”

“I would’ve won if you hadn’t done that.”

“I know,” he agreed.

“I hate you a little right now.”

“I know.”

She sniffled again, making less of an effort to hide it. Percy couldn’t stand the distance between them anymore. He stepped forward, opening his arms in invitation. She slid into them easily, burying her head in his chest.

“I still hate you,” she repeated, voice slightly muffled by his shirt.

“I still love you, and I’m very very sorry.”

“You have to tell everyone that you cheated.”

“I’ll send an official confession to the group chat,” Percy promised.

“I’m going to absolutely demolish you next week,” Annabeth mumbled into his chest. Percy couldn’t hold back his laugh at that, even if she glared at him for it. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was holding back the smallest of grins as she did. He felt her relax underneath him, her anger slowly ebbing away.

“I look forward to losing fair and square,” he said.

“You’d better,” Annabeth said, settling herself into Percy’s chest once more, “Next time I won’t be so nice about it.”

Percy laughed, and he could feel her laughter too, just a little.

“I expect nothing less.”

#percabeth #percy jackson #IT'S NOT AS BAD AS IT SEEMS I PROMISE #pjo #percabeth fic #annabeth chase #pjo fic #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo oneshot #percabeth fluff #percabeth angst

[vibing-and-writing]

kidnapping scenarios

A/N: hey! so one day I was super inspired and wanted to write a series of scenarios with genshin impact characters.... but i feel like if I’ve lost some inspiration for it so I decided I’m just gonna post the two I have finished!! also these are both suuuppper self indulgent but i had a lot of fun wrtiting these!! the traveler is also gender neutral ;3 i’ve never written for Kaeya so I hope its not too ooc. as always feedback is appreciated! hope you enjoy ;0

Summary: A drabble based on how Diluc and Kaeya would react if they found out you got kidnapped by Abyss Mages! 

Warnings: | Kaeya: a lil angsty, depiction of a panic attack | Diluc: N/A |

- Diluc  Ragnvindr-

It was supposed to be a simple commission. “I’ll be back before sundown!” you yelled over your shoulder as you walked out of the tavern. 

“Sundown” his ass. 

Diluc had been waiting for you for four hours pacing around the tavern until he couldn’t take it anymore. “They’re a really good fighter,” he told himself, “they probably got lost again.” But the reassurance was in vain. The moon was high in the sky and there was no sign of you anywhere in Mondstat. Chugging the last bit of alcohol, Diluc picks up his weapon and packs some food for the road, and sets off to go find you himself. 

When he goes to your commission location, the only thing left is a demolished hilichurl village, parts of the huts aflame and sword marks up and down the archery towers. But he does notice one thing. It’s so minute, Diluc almost walked right over it. There is the faint elemental trace in a circular shape. An abyss mage. With their teleporting ability, it was probably easy for them to overwhelm you with hilichurls before trekking you off to some far off base. Diluc can feel the anger and disappointment coursing through him. Anger for how the Fatui could touch a hair on your precious head and being disappointed in himself for not looking for you sooner. He had failed as a protector of Modstadt’s people, and he’d burn anyone that gets in his way to find you. Hell has no fury like an angry Diluc and it only took him half an hour to track where they took you.

Sneaking behind the bushes, Diluc can see you tied by rope covered in ice, struggling to get free. The abyss mage’s voice is shrill and echoes through the camp of hilichurl minions. “What are you planning, traveler? You know you are not from this world.” Diluc can see you roll your eyes, your body shaking. “I already told you I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you answered, your voice unwavering but hoarse. Diluc props his sword up next to him from the bush. Your gaze snaps to the gleam in the bushes before moving back to the abyss mage. Luckily, the abyss mage doesn’t notice and shoves his staff near your throat. “Don’t play games with me, traveler. You know something and I’m willing to use violence to force it out of you.” Diluc can hear you chuckle even through the relief that flashes in your eyes. “If it’s violence you want, then that’s what you’ll get.”, you say, as Diluc launched himself at the abyss mage with a battle cry. Using his Pyro, he melts the rope off of your body and hands you a Sunsettia before yelling over the sound of battle. “Stay put! I’ll come get you when it’s safe.” The abyss mage and hilichurls run around the camp chaotically, not prepared for Diluc’s rage. 

By the time the fight ends, the camp is nothing but ash. You had stayed put like Diluc told you, munching on an apple you found while you waited for him to loot the camp. Diluc crouched next to you, his voice soft. “Are you okay?” Diluc asks, his hands reaching towards your face to rub your cheek. You give him a small smile, your voice raspy but still happy. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. Thanks for looking for me. Sorry I missed our date.” Diluc smiles, for the first time since you left this morning and plants a firm kiss on your forehead. After the range of emotions both you and Diluc had been through, the day had come to a peaceful resolution, as you walked hand in hand back towards Mondstast, safe and sound.

>< Kaeya Alberich ><

At this point, Kaeya just wants you back in his arms. 

He knew sending you into a dungeon, especially without him being there was a terrible idea. You had been sent to investigate a dungeon that had highly suspicious activity going on, and for the past three hours, he’d been pacing back and forth in front of the dungeon doors. To not make up feel incapable, he let you walk in on your own, sending you off with flirty words of encouragement. Now all he wants is to bust into the dungeon and whisk you away from this cruel world. 

Doing just that, Kaeya slams open the doors of the dungeon, his heavy footfalls echoing through the space. Any unlucky slime or hilichurl that gets in his way is graced with an icy glare, making quick work of the first rooms of the dungeon. But then something sparkly catches his eye. Picking it up, he notes it’s a piece of your favorite cape, and his heart starts to ache. When he first entered the dungeon, he held onto hope that you were just taking your time or you went adventuring, but this confirmed his fears. Staring at the scrap of fabric, his thoughts begin to spiral as he jumps to the worst scenarios. They’ve taken you to a distant nation and he can never save you. You’re being tortured and you’re alone and you’ve lost hope. You’re sitting in some fiery pit, your spirit and his care burning with you. Feeling his anxiety grow, he tries to do those breathing exercises you taught him, but he can see his own breath due to the temperature he created. Standing still for a moment, he remembers a distant conversation you had about this very instance. “I hope you know I’ll always try to save you,” he had told you that night, his voice resolute and determined. You giggled at his dramatics, your hands tracing his eye patch gently. “I know,” you answered simply. “Because I’d do the same.” Breathes evening out, Kaeya feels his anxiety ebb away, letting in a renewed sense of determination and simmering anger. They fucked with the wrong knight. Grasping his sword with resolve, Kaeya sets on his way to find his beloved and prays that the poor souls that hurt you beg for mercy because he doesn’t plan on giving them any.

The air in the dungeon is frigid, and even before you can see Kaeya you know he’s coming. Glancing at your tattered clothes, and knowing Kaeya as well as you do, you knew he would find you sooner or later. For a guy with an eye patch, he’s very observant. And you also know he knows how to make an entrance. The floor around the metal door keeping you captive freezes before shattering with a loud clang. Pieces of metal crumple to the floor before you see Kaeya’s silhouette. Slowly, walking in, you can see frozen tears gathered near his eye, as he grabs keys he got from who knows where and the cuffs around your wrists fall. Grabbing one of your hands, he brings it to his lips, as new tears spring from both your eyes. “I told you I’d save you,” Kaeya says, his voice cracking with emotion. Wiping his tears with shaky hands, your smile lights up the dark cell. “I always knew.”

#genshin impact #genshin kaeya #genshin diluc #diluc x reader #genshin impact kaeya #kaeya #kaeya x traveler #genshin impact diluc #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact drabble #genshin imagines #diluc genshin impact #kaeya genshin impact #drabble #genshin traveler #kaeya x reader #kaeya x gn reader #gender neutral reader

[neonacity]

HYACINTHE | CHAPTER 3: JAEMIN X READER

SUMMARY:

Na Jaemin is far from being your typical 20 year old. Instead of slaving through college, he wastes away his hours cracking safes. Weekends that should be spent partying with friends consist of illegal races on good days and small scale bombings on bad ones. Na Jaemin is far from being average, unless you consider being a member of Seoul’s top organized crime family normal.

There is no such thing as a sense of normality and peace in his trainwreck of a life, so when he met a barista who was brave enough to call out his dangerous taste in coffee, he was like a moth to the flame. Everything about her is normal, which means she is forbidden to him, in all sense of the word. So why, then, does he always find himself at the front steps of her shop, breaking all his personal rules even if he wishes he could stay away?

A/N + Disclaimer: this is a side story to Black Daisies, my main mafia fic feat. 0T23. While the plot is based on the main story, this can also be read as a standalone fic. As usual, this is purely a work of fiction and in no way am I implying any member of NCT to behave the way I write them here. tw: crimes, heists, potential death, mentions of drugs and other illegal activities.

PAIRING: Jaemin x Reader

TW: illegal activities, gunshot wound, mentions of blood

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

FIC TRAILER

MASTERLIST

"Another bank was looted last night around 11PM, this time in the Geumchon district. This is the second bank that was broken into in the past week and the fourth that is rumored to be the doing of one of Seoul's organized criminal…."

I sighed and put down the pen that I have been using to scribble on a piece of napkin. A frown creased my forehead before I grabbed the offending piece of flimsy paper and crumpled it with my hand. Jeno, who was silently watching the news, looked up and shot me a curious look. He was leaning over the counter lazily, his cup of half finished hot cocoa beside him. 

"You okay?"

I winced. "Yeah... Actually. Actually, no. I am not okay," I said finally as I threw the used napkin to the closest thrash. I have been scribbling all the things I have to pay for the coming month there and couldn't bear to take another look at it. Jeno grabbed his drink and silently took a sip of it, obviously waiting for me to elaborate.

After my initial 'unplanned' meeting with Jaemin's friends, it has become more or less of their routine to drop by the cafe to hangout. Jaemin was initially against it at first, always scowling whenever he would see one of them already in the shop, though it seems like he has gotten used to it lately—or rather, he didn't have any other choice but to simply accept it. They would often sometimes come in groups—Jisung and Chenle are big fans of the pastries—but other times it's just one of them who would drop by to visit like Jeno now. My favorite is when all of them drops by to visit, not only because I've started getting closer to them too, but because customers would automatically flock into the shop whenever the "handsome gang" is there. Honestly, I couldn't blame them.

"I'm a little bit short on money this month. I was supposed to get my monthly allowance from my scholarship but something happened so it will be delayed. I have lab things to buy and well—everything sucks." 

Jeno nodded slowly, though I have a feeling he doesn't really understand my plight with money. Spending time with the seven of them has given me a better understanding of each boys' personalities. Jeno, for example, is definitely the calmer one of the bunch. While the others would cause chaos every now and then—Jaemin included, he would be on the side watching them usually with that adorable eye smile of his. He is different from Mark who would mostly jump in to join the fun before calming everyone once things get overboard, though both seem to share the same responsibility over the group. He also seems to be the closest to Jaemin, so by extension, I am also most comfortable around him. 

"How much money do you need?" 

I gave him a look as I reached out for a paper cup to make myself my own hot cocoa. 

"I heard the same question from your best friend before. Are you also going to offer to be my sugar daddy?" 

Jeno choked on his drink and hid his laughter behind his raised cup. 

"Do you want Jaemin to kill me?" 

That made me inappropriately blush.

"Sometimes I just want to bust out a bank like that group everyone is talking about." 

Jeno didn't say anything and continued watching me from the brim of his drink. 

"You think you can do it?" 

"Do what?" I asked as I poured hot cocoa on my cup. I said that off-handedly, I almost forgot my words the moment they left my lips. 

"Rob a bank. You know, do something illegal." 

I leaned back against the counter and craned my head a little sideways as I thought the question over. I didn't actually think of that before so I had to listen to my moral compass a little bit before answering. 

"It depends on the reason." 

Jeno looked surprised by my reply. He was probably expecting a goody two shoes answer from me, which I don’t blame him for, to be honest. Even I am mildly shocked by what I said. 

"The reason?" 

"Yes. I mean, if the only reason I would steal is because I don't have money to support my studies, then no, I wouldn't do it. I have other options. I can work extra jobs or I can just drop out from uni. But if I didn't really have any other choice, if I had to do it for someone really close to me, for example, then I would do it." 

"That is very…"

"Cliche, right? I know. But that's how it works, at least for me," I said with a laugh. "I do know what's good and bad, but I'm willing to jump the gun if I have to." 

I didn't know if it was my imagination, but I thought I heard Jeno murmur something under his breath as I turned to get back to work. 

"I bet Jaemin wouldn't like that." 

-----

PRESENT DAY, a little over one month after the happenings in the first chapter. 

They disappeared like bubbles. No, he disappeared in thin air, like smoke that was blown over by a strong gust of wind. After that night when Jaemin bust through my cafe door, hiding god knows what and asking for temporary shelter, he hasn't shown himself again, apparently leaving while I slipped into a light sleep. Even his friends stopped visiting the cafe which, for a few days, made me genuinely feel scared. Are they okay? What happened to him? Who was he running away from?

That worry slowly and gradually morphed into anger as the days lengthened. I know it was my way of coping with my emotions, but I couldn't help myself. I tried calling him, but the line was cut. It even came to the point that I had to call each of his friends, but it seems like the numbers they gave me were all temporary ones, too. I felt frustrated. I felt...abandoned. 

Was it really easy for him to just cut off all contact with me? 

Was it foolish of me to think that there is...something deeper here than just friendship?

It was the start of winter when the loud ringing of my phone woke me up from my nap. Eyes still heavy with sleep, my first instinct was to look at the clock by my table which registered 1:19AM. I frowned. I was in the middle of finishing a paper before I decided to take a nap but who could be calling me at such an ungodly hour? 

I blearily reached out for my phone and barely looked at the unregistered number before hitting the answer button. 

"Hello?" 

"Noona?"

I froze. Just like that, I felt the sleepiness slowly melt away from my consciousness. I know that voice. 

"Jisung?" 

"Noona, we need your help." 

I sat up on my seat after registering the panic in his voice. I heard another tone suddenly hiss at him from the background before a rustling sound overtook the speakers. It sounded like someone grabbed the phone from his grasp before he could even react.

"Jisung. What's happening—"

"Hello?" The new voice that spoke on the other line made my heart stop. I stared at my wall, wide-eyed.

"Jaemin." 

"I'm sorry. We didn't mean to—"

"Jaemin, we don’t really have any other choice but her, give me the phone," another one jumped in. It was Mark. 

"No. Hyung—"

"We're losing him," my lips parted in shock at what I heard. His voice sounded clearer now and I could very much pick up the iciness on it. Mark has always been so friendly and warm that it threw me off guard. 

"Give me the phone." 

The authority he held made me assume that Jaemin did as he was told. Next thing I know, he was calling out my name from the speaker.

"Mark, yes, I'm listening." 

"Hey. I'm really sorry about this, but we need your help. We really have no other choice, Haechan is in such a bad state—"

That made me stand up and push away from my desk.

"What the hell is going on? What do you mean about Haechan?"

"I'll explain later. We're on our way to you now."

"Wait, what? You don't know my address."

"We'll be there in seven minutes."

That was all he said before he cut off the call, leaving me standing shell-shocked in the middle of my room.

---

They banged on my door not even five minutes after. I had barely pulled on a cardigan when loud knocks rang through my small one bedroom unit causing me to quickly run and grab my knob open. 

I stood frozen at the sight of the seven boys crowding my doorway. Everyone was covered in some sort of soot, leaving them almost unrecognizable in their black outfits. Mark and Jeno were in the middle of the group, carrying a half-conscious Haechan between them. Jisung, Chenle, and Renjun brought the rear, their eyes moving wildly as if checking for eavesdroppers. Jaemin stood closest to me, his jaw tense and his eyes apologetic. My gaze snapped back to the center of the group when Mark called out my name. 

That's when I saw it for the first time. I didn't notice it at first because of its dark color, but Jeno was holding a towel against Haechan's stomach. Except it isn't black, it was a deep dark red.

Blood. 

"Oh my god." 

"Please help us." 

Maybe it was the shock, but I quickly stepped aside to let everyone in. I had barely slammed the door shut when I heard a crashing sound from my small dining area. Jeno pushed everything on top of my table to the ground as Mark and Jaemin gently guided Haechan on it. 

"What—what is going on—"

"He's been shot. Thrice. We're not sure but I think two of the bullets are still there," Renjun answered me as he grabbed the soaked towel from Mark's hand and replaced it with a new one. Jisung and Chenle worked on closing all the shutters of my windows while Jaemin tore off a lamp from my living room to move it close to Haechan. He closed all other lights other than the ones on the dining area and the small lamp.

It was then when my training finally kicked in. I ran towards the table to peer at the wound, my shaking hands gently moving the new towel that is quickly getting soaked by blood again. Haechan gave a soft grunt of pain before slipping to unconsciousness again. 

"I think there are still foreign objects there. It's what causing the severe bleeding."

"Can you take it out?"

My eyes shot to Jeno. The harsh lights from the lamp threw strong shadows on his stressed features. 

"I'm not a licensed doctor."

"We don't need a licensed doctor right now, we need someone who can patch the hole in his stomach. Please." 

I gritted my teeth. I have a ton of questions running through my head right now, but he's right. We need to act fast or else we will lose him. I rolled up my sleeves then and called out to whoever can act fast to my orders. 

"Somebody get the black box under my bed. I have all my surgery practice tools there. I need hot water and lots of towels. Everyone move. Now."

As soon as I said my orders, each of the boys were moving in a flurry to get everything that I asked for. I was adjusting the small lamp directly over the wound to peer at it better when I felt a gentle hand circle around my arm. I looked up to see Jaemin staring at me. 

"Thank you." 

I didn't say anything at first. I don't know if it was the shadows playing over his features, but he looked different from the Jaemin I knew in that brief moment.

"Don't thank me yet. Say that once we're sure he survives."

---

I was stirred from my sleep by the light snoring of someone to my right. Turning my head, I was greeted by the sight of Jisung who was currently sprawled on my sofa, his legs so long that they were dangling on one end. Chenle was on the floor below him, his face covered by one of the pillows he probably fished from one of my love seats cradling Renjun's curled up form. Mark and Jeno were both sitting upright, the former close to Haechan and the other by the door like a sentinel. They seemed to be in deep sleep too, they're heads hanging low. Jaemin was on the floor next to my seat, his breathing slow and relaxed. 

I blinked slowly as my gaze moved from boy to boy. It took me a painful two hours to do the impromptu surgery, first working on taking the bullets out before sewing everything back together. Haechan was lucky enough that the bullets didn't hit any vital organs or important vessels, and that the extreme bleeding was only caused by the wrong muscle being hit by the impact. He slipped from being conscious to unconscious throughout, and everyone had to work together to help me while I did my thing. 

I couldn’t really blame any of them from crashing the moment we made sure that Haechan’s safe—for now. 

After rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I tried to silently move from where I was curled on, careful not to stir anyone. I still have a ton of questions, but those can be taken care of later. I padded as carefully as I could towards the table where Haechan was still resting and peered at the IV that I had hooked on his arm to make sure everything was moving well. 

They even have spare blood bags with them for emergency transfusions. 

...As if this kind of thing normally happens.

"He's going to be okay, right?" 

I hastily turned to see Jaemin staring at me. His voice was low and was only loud enough for me to hear. 

I stared at him for a bit before looking away. 

"Yes. He'll survive."

"Thank you so much." 

I didn't answer. He also didn't say anything else, though I could still feel his gaze heavily on me. I braced myself before speaking again.

"We need to talk." 

I didn't wait for him to reply. I simply walked towards my room, leaving my door open for him to follow. I only turned back to look at him when I finally heard it close softly behind him.

"Who are you?" I asked, before he could even say anything else. I watched as his jaw tightened and released, his eyes full of indecisiveness. I didn't waver. Not this time. 

"You said…"

"That I will never ask questions? I did. But I can't do it anymore, Jaemin. You disappeared for a month without even saying goodbye then showed up on my door with your friends, one of them with a hole in their stomach. You have blood bags—freaking blood bags. What the hell is going on?" 

I tried my hardest to control my voice, not wanting any part of this conversation to be heard outside. My legs felt weak at the moment but I tried my best to continue standing so I could hold his gaze. 

The look in Jaemin's eyes, however, almost made me want to give up. I knew from the pain and hesitation there that I wouldn't like whatever it is he is about to say.

"I'm a criminal."

My stomach dropped. 

I was expecting it, but hearing it straight from him didn't soften the impact and the shock. 

"A…" 

"We steal. We do illegal things. There is absolutely no good way for me to describe this, but yes, I am a runaway who was stupid enough to bring you into this mess," Jaemin said through gritted teeth as he tore his eyes away from me. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to take a deep breath to steady himself.

"I was stupid and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone back and tried to befriend you after that order of coffee. I'm sorry I ran to you that night a month ago. I seriously thought I was going to die and I wanted you to be the one that I see for the last time. I'm sorry for today, or that I couldn't answer any of your questions back then. It was selfish of me to keep you in my life without giving you anything back," he stopped and forced himself to look at me again. My heart squeezed painfully in my chest when our gazes met. 

"I'm sorry." 

I didn't… couldn't say anything. One part of me had already expected this because it is the only reason that makes sense. Those vague answers, his detachment from normal society, the money, every clue seems to point to one direction, but that didn't spare me from my moral dilemma now. Because while I knew, I didn't exactly consider how it relates to me.

I was afraid to.

Because the truth is, I like Na Jaemin to the extent that I'm afraid of what I can do for him.

"Do you kill…" I asked in a whisper, my voice shaky. A frown passed his already stressed features before he answered.

"No. None of us do," he answered, and I knew then that he was telling the truth. Regardless of what he is or what he didn't tell me, I trust him to not lie to me.

"Am I—am I in danger?" I asked next. He firmly shook his head.

"No. I made sure of that. No one would dare—" he stopped, as if gauging what words he can use to not scare me even more. "You have always been under protection." 

That’s when it clicked. The cafe visits from his friends. The random strangers who seem to spring out from nowhere every time I was out and about and needed sudden help. 

My legs finally gave way and I collapsed on my bed behind me. My mind was trying its best to wrap around the situation, leaving my thoughts in a jumble. There are a million things I wanted to say, but I couldn’t get a single one out at the moment. 

Jaemin seemed to know what I was feeling at the very least because he simply stood there, silently watching me. I'm not sure how long the two of us stayed in that bubble of silence, but it was also him who brought me back to reality when I felt warmth cover my hands.

I looked up to see him kneeling in front of me, both his hands gently enveloping my clasped ones. The look in his eyes made my heart lurch, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything still. 

"I'm sorry if I was selfish… I promise, after this, you won't have to worry about anything else."

No. 

"When I met you, I saw something that's so different from the life that I have. Believe me, I tried my best to leave you alone, but I wanted more of it—more of —you, so I kept coming back." 

Are you going to leave me again?

"But you'll be safe now. I promise. You can go back to how it used to be before I… almost ruined it." 

Please don't leave me. 

Jaemin gave my hands one last squeeze and I felt him move to straighten himself. Before he let them go, however, another gentle warmth pressed against my forehead as he grazed it with his lips. 

"Thank you."

My tears dropped the same time the doors closed behind him. 

---

Chapter 4

#na jaemin #jaemin nct #nct jaemin #jaemin #lee jeno #mark lee #lee haechan #park jisung #zhong chenle #huange renjun #nct dream #nct dream fic #nct angst #nct dream angst #nct mafia au #nct mafia #nct mafia imagines #mafia!jaemin #nct dream imagines #nct-writers #nct imagines #jaemin x reader

[beelsnack]

Bad Influence - Beelsnack's 666 Follower Special!!

(Technically I'm over 666 - shoutout to the porn bots)

But seriously, holy shit, there's a lot of you. Thank you all so much for liking my stuff, and for interacting with me and sending me good vibes and all of that. I hope I can keep giving you guys quality work!!

And yes, I am a nerd and I consider 666 a milestone for a blog for a bunch of demons. No, I'm not sorry.

-----

Lucifer: He couldn’t help but wonder when the change had set in.

When the human first arrived in the Devildom, they had been humble and meek. If anyone complimented them, they deflected it with the mastery and resignation of someone who had been doing it for far longer than they should have. And if someone thanked them? You would think their entire world was dissolving around them.

But now?

He extended a gloved hand towards them as they descended the stairs. Tonight was one of the rare nights where they had the opportunity to be alone without one of his brothers tagging along, and they had been planning this date for nearly a week now. They slipped their hand in his without any of the hesitation they would have shown at first. They knew they deserved his reverence.

“You look radiant as always, my dear,” he curled his fingers around theirs as they reached the bottom step, bringing the backs of their knuckles to his lips. “Surely there is no star in the sky that could outshine you.”

They laughed - his theatrics always did amuse them. “You do have amazing taste, after all.”

He chuckled as well, guiding the two of them to the front door. “Of course. Do you think the Avatar of Pride would associate with anyone less than the best?”

“Definitely not,” the wind that came through the door when they opened it blew their hair away from their face, and Lucifer couldn’t help but preen at the fact that he had helped that quivering little animal grow into the proud swan that stood before him.

“Speaking of the best, where are we going for dinner?”

“Don’t worry, my dear,” he laughed as they made their way out into the night. “You deserve the world, and the world you shall get.”

“Unless ‘the world’ means a steak dinner, I’m not interested.”

Mammon: “Come on, don’t leave me hangin’ out here!”

The curtain covering the entrance to the changing room rustled, and Mammon heard a faint “Fine, fine, just give me a sec!” before it finally opened and out stepped the human.

Mammon always thought they looked good no matter what they were wearing, even if it was one of his old t-shirts and a pair of shorts. Actually, especially if it was one of his old t-shirts and a pair of shorts. But seeing them decked out in his fashion brand - one he had both designed and modeled - was definitely making him feel some type of way.

He let out a low whistle when they stopped in front of the chair he had seated himself in. The results of his own shopping spree were tucked haphazardly into a colorful assortment of bags at his feet, but the human had taken a bit longer than he did picking out their stuff. And damn, was he glad they did, because otherwise he wouldn’t get the chance to see them modeling his clothes.

It was a private fashion show, just for him.

The outfit itself was pretty simple. A black fitted tee beneath a cropped leather jacket, a pair of faded dark-blue skinny jeans, and a pair of black sneaks with a gold stripe going up the side. But the thing that brought the whole outfit together was the long necklace with a topaz pendent resting against their breastbone.

“Well?” they asked, giving him a spin before striking a pose before him. “What do you think?”

For a moment, he couldn’t speak. The human wearing his clothes...it was the next best thing to them walking around with “I Belong To Mammon” tattooed on their forehead.

“I, uh...I guess you...um,” he swallowed thickly. “Ya look alright, I guess.”

“That’s tsundere for ‘you look hot,’ right?” they grinned before spinning around to look in the mirror. “Man, this is a whole look! I have to have it!”

If this had been a few months ago, the human would have waffled back and forth about whether or not to buy anything. It didn’t matter how much they wanted something, it was almost like they just couldn’t do anything nice for themselves. There was being frugal, and then there was deprivation. Now, though, was completely different.

“I wonder if I should get some shades to go with?” they mumbled, looking themselves over in the mirror. “I think that would really pull it together, don’t you?”

“Just don’t go for the Ray Bans, it’s a fucking scam.”

Leviathan: "Come on, come on, come on…"

Very rarely was Levi the one watching someone else play games, unless it was a stream. And as mind-blowingly awesome it would be to watch the human stream one of his current faves, he definitely didn't want other people seeing how adorable they looked when they were focused.

They had come to him with absolute determination in their eyes, begging him to help them out. There were a limited amount of UR armor sets in the event, and they needed to get their hands on one. And, well, what kind of friend would he be if he didn't help them out?

(The fact that he already scored the armor is irrelevant.)

So, here they were, camped out in the pillow nest that they often made for themselves when gaming in his room, laser focused on the screen with Levi giving them guidance. The event level was brutal, but they were in the final hours, so it was crunch time.

"Okay, this boss is easy once you know the attack pattern. Four regular slashes, a jab, then you've got about five seconds to get behind a pillar before it uses the AOE."

"Gotcha."

Even then, it was a long battle, and they had used up most of their healing potions by the time the monster let out an anguished roar and disintegrated into a pile of bones. The human held their breath as they moved towards it to gather their loot.

"Yes!!"

They practically leaped out of the pillow nest in triumph. There, right on the top of the loot list in shimmering gold font, and the UR armor that they had been coveting.

"I got it! I got it!" they cheered. "Levi, I finally got it!"

"Hell yeah you did!" the two of them shared a crisp high five as the results of the campaign loaded on the screen. It was updating in real time, so they could watch as the final moments of the event ticked away.

Levi knew what they were looking for. Early on in the dungeon, another player had done them real dirty, sniping them from a few levels above and then taunting them over VC about how they would never get the armor now. So of course that only inspired the human to work harder, and here they were.

3...2...1

Event over. Quickly, the human scrolled up to the beginning of the list, checking the names of all the players who scored the armor.

Levi sat next to them, chewing his lip. What was that person's tag again? He didn't remember.

Suddenly, the human let out a snort that turned into a full-on giggle fit.

"They didn't get it!" they cackled like a hyena. "Serves them right, the jackass!"

Levi was pretty sure it wasn't a good idea to laugh at the misfortune of others. But, he knew better than anyone that spite was a hell of a motivator. When they had first gotten themselves isekai’d into the Devildom, they had let demons walk all over them, Levi had personally witnessed a lower-level demon shove them out of the way to get a sandwich they had been reaching for, and the human just stood there and let them take it. But they had grown to be a little more selfish, and if they wanted something, they were taking it.

And maybe, just maybe, seeing them like that turned him on just a little bit.

Satan: "You want to come and say that to my face?"

Satan stood there in stunned silence as the human spun on their heel to look the demons right in the eyes. They had their back to him, so Satan couldn't see the look on their face, but whatever it was made the two lesser demons flinch.

"Hey, come on, Human, we were just joking."

"Yeah, no need to get all worked up."

They scoffed, and Satan knew them well enough to know that they were rolling their eyes. "Is that right? So you don't think I'm a...what was it? A fleshy meat sack who thinks they can get what they want by sleeping with the strongest demons in the Devildom?"

Another flinch. Satan chuckled to himself.. Did those morons really think they wouldn't hear them? Humans might not have super-heightened senses but they weren't deaf.

A small crowd had begun gathering around them, waiting to see what would happen. It wasn't every day one of the human exchange students squared up to a demon.

"You've got some nerve," the human drew themself up to their full height - which, admittedly, was laughable compared to most demons - and crossed their arms. "What do you think Lord Diavolo would do to demons who messed with his exchange students?"

"I believe there's a special spot in the Royal Torture Chambers for such demons," Satan came to stand next to them, and the other demons downright cowered. "If I recall correctly, there's an Iron Maiden down there."

"Ooh, cool!"

"Alright, we get it!" One of the demons cried, throwing their hands up defensively. "We're sorry!"

Satan opened his mouth to spit a curse at them, but the human beat him to it. "I've got Lord Diavolo on speed dial, so start running."

The two demons turned tail and booked it down the hallway, nearly crashing into Beelzebub as he turned the corner with a sandwich hanging out of his mouth. He stood frozen for a moment before he swallowed and turned to Satan and the human.

"Were those two bothering you guys?"

Satan cast a sideways look at the human before a wicked grin spread across his face.

"They took care of it."

Asmodeus: "Well, someone's feeling bold tonight."

The door had barely shut behind the two of them before the human was pressing Asmo against it, mouthing at his neck as their hands traveled down the front of his silk blouse. He shuddered gleefully as their breath ghosted against his ear lobe.

"I can't help it," they murmured, fingers skirting just beneath the hem of his shirt. "You looked so good out there."

"I look good all the time, darling," he hummed, reaching up to grab a fistful of hair to gently pry them away from his neck.

"You looked especially good," they huffed as he let go of their hair. "Dancing like that, I could barely wait until we got home."

"Aw, sweetheart, you should have come to join me." Asmo rolled his hips in an echo of the dancing he had been doing at the club, delighting when he felt them shiver against him. "We could have put on a show that would have captivated the whole Devildom."

"I don't think the staff would appreciate it."

"They would be too busy watching to care," Asmo giggled, diving down to capture their lips in a quick and dirty kiss. "Although I can't say I'm not thrilled to be getting a private show."

Beelzebub: “Man, this place has the best barbecue!”

Dinner dates were a pretty common thing for the two of them. Over the course of the human’s stay in the Devildom, the two of them had figured out which restaurants would put up with Beel’s appetite and which would visibly freeze when the Avatar of Gluttony entered the establishment. The Hellfire Barbecue was one of the good places, probably because Beel made sure to tip really well, and one time personally went into the kitchen to tip the chef. Or, well, he tried, anyway. He ended up giving the money to the human and told them to give it to the chef because he knew if he went in there he would devour everything. But the sentiment was still there.

Beel smiled down at the human as they wiped the barbecue sauce off of their face. “You finished all of it this time.”

“Huh?” they glanced at their plate. “Oh. Yeah, I guess I did.”

“You usually don’t.”

“I was really hungry, I guess.” they grinned sheepishly.

Beel distinctly remembered the human telling him that they always tried to save some food for later. Whether it was being resourceful or because they had a weird sense of shame around eating too much, Beel didn’t know, but he had never pressed in case it was a sensitive issue. But, seeing them indulge themselves and looking genuinely full and satisfied made him happy. And was probably his main motivation for taking them out to dinner so often.

Well, that and getting his own food.

“I like watching you eat.” Beel said, waving to the owner as he passed by.

“You...like watching me eat.” the human repeated, looking somewhat confused.

“You look so happy when you eat good food,” Beel smiled. “I like seeing you happy.”

Belphegor: Oh, how the tables have tabled.

“Come on, I don’t feel like dealing with Lucifer’s lectures today.” Belphie grumbled, tugging half-heartedly on the human’s arm that was flung around his waist. “We should get up soon.”

For all of his complaining, Belphie didn’t move. If anything, he snuggled down deeper into the bed. He loved when the human agreed to have a sleepover in the attic with him. They got uninterrupted cuddle and nap time, since nobody dared to come up to the attic except Beel. And Beel was almost always welcome to join the cuddle puddle.

“Five more minutes…” the human mumbled sleepily, burying their face into Belphie’s neck. The soft, contented sigh they let out tickled, and he squirmed a little.

“Aren’t you usually the one waking me up?” Belphie nuzzled his nose against their hair.

“But it’s comfy here,” they whined. “I don’t want to get up.”

“You just don’t want to do the presentation in class today.”

“Your point?”

Belphie laughed. “Can’t say I disagree.”

“I did all the hard work anyway,” they shrugged. “We’ll make Mammon give the report.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

The two of them settled back down into the nest of pillows. The human had almost drifted back to sleep when Belphie brought his nose down to theirs to nuzzle them together.

“You’re cute when you’re sleepy.”

“You’re cute when you shut up and let me sleep.”

#obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me asmo #obey me beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me belphegor #obey me belphie

[tamagoincident]

To Lure a Bird

arthur morgan x reader

summary: The Van der Linde Gang plans to rob a train, too bad you hit it first. You, being the reasonable person you are, coerce rough-looking men to run a job with you in exchange for the stolen money, and everyone gets more than they bargained for.

chapter: 1/10

link: AO3

Chapter One - A Mutual Enemy

On the evening you first heard of the Van der Linde Gang’s presence in Valentine, you stood at the bar of Smithfield's Saloon disguised in men’s clothing. Not a typical Friday for you, as you tried not to make it a habit of sticking around places where reckless men became more reckless the further they disappeared into their cups. But years ago you’d helped the bartender, a giant man named Ernest, drum up enough money to pay off his debtors, and he held you in the highest of regards ever since. It was the only place you could drink without being disturbed. Ernest made sure of that.

“What’ll it be, the usual?” he winked at you, his large hands already reaching toward the whiskey.

You smiled and nodded.

“I have information you might want to hear,” he continued, pouring the liquor into a glass and sliding it towards you. You caught it easily.

“Oh?”

“There was a young lady here last night. Overheard her talkin’ to some fancy pants New Yorker who kept braggin’ ‘bout the luxury train he’ll be taking back to the North. She seemed awfully intrigued,” Ernest said. “And get this, it weren’t the only instance I’d seen her, neither. Few days ago she’d been traipsin’ around the outskirts of Valentine with a bunch of scary lookin’ out-of-towners.”

“Figure they’re planning on robbing the train?”

Ernest shrugged. “It’s easy pickin’. You know how naïve high society can be.”

Maybe easy enough for a one-person job, if done quickly and with care. You’d only robbed a train once with two people you used to run with. You didn’t run with them anymore. It hurt you to think of it.

You held up your glass for a refill and leaned forward, brimming with interest. “Tell me more about this train.”

—

The train tracks rattled underneath Arthur’s feet.

“Get movin’,” he said to Sean, pointing towards the trees hidden in the darkness. Arthur climbed atop the wagon they’d rode in on and placed in the middle of the tracks, which bore five hundred gallons of oil. He widened his stance for balance and pulled a bandana over his mouth and nose. “Here she comes.”

Arthur squinted against the blinding brightness of the incoming headlight, cocking his rifle as it approached. The train’s horn bellowed into the night.

It saw him. Good.

It came to a hissing and screeching halt. A uniformed man stormed out from the front cab. “What's goin' on here? What's—aw hell,” the engineer wailed, kicking the dirt underneath his feet. “Not again! Gettin’ real tired of this shit.” Behind him, a shadow of blurred movement. Charles, ready to strike him unconscious.

Arthur jumped off the wagon. “Hold it!” he yelled to Charles, who paused his assault and instead restrained the man with a pistol aimed at his head. “What d’you mean, ‘Not again?’”

“If y’all are trying to rob us, we’ve already been hit,” he wheezed.

“You’re bluffin’.”

“You and your boys are more than welcome to board and check. Reckon it’s a waste of time though.”

Arthur swore. “Let him go, Mr. S.”

Charles let go. The engineer stumbled forward, sputtering and coughing. In between heavy breaths he said, “Happened near the Heartlands. Strange feller in a mask robbed us blind and then pointed a shotgun at me, gruntin’ at me to start the engine or he’ll call for his gang to kill everyone on board.”

“Why in God’s name would he do that?” Arthur said.

“Beats me. But now that I think of it, he was probably expecting y’all. Here, he gave me this—” he moved to reach into his coat pocket, but ceased upon the chorus of rifles cocking. Sean and John had appeared to find what the holdup was.

“Don’t move a goddamn muscle,” Arthur growled. “Mr. S., if you could kindly grab whatever’s in that fool’s pocket.”

Charles complied, plucking out a wad of paper. He handed it to Sean, who read aloud:

Don’t want the loot, only your attention.

Have your lady informant go back to the saloon and talk to the bartender.

He’ll tell you where to find me.

Cause any trouble and you won’t see a cent.

Sean laughed bitterly, waving the note in the air. “Got us good, didn't he?”

“Give me that, you idiot.” Arthur snatched the note and tilted the lettering towards the train's headlight. “Goddamn it—”

A bullet whizzed by Arthur’s head. The engineer dove to the ground for safety.

“Get on your horses!” Arthur yelled to the gang and whistled. Once in the saddle, he spurred the horse on and rode hard into the trees, past the storm of bullets, and evaded capture.

He was the last to arrive back at camp, after making sure he hadn’t been followed. He passed Dutch’s closed tent and found Sean blackout drunk near the fire. John sat close by, clearly on the same trajectory as the Irishman, with the amount of empty beer bottles at his feet. Arthur cleared his throat. “Where’s Charles?”

John glanced up, eyes bleary and lined with red. In the firelight he looked small and exhausted. “Asleep.”

“You should be too.”

“Well, I ain’t,” John mumbled tipping the beer to his lips and draining it. He tossed the bottle aside with a crash.

“Need me to tuck you in Marston? How ‘bout a bedtime story?”

“Real funny, Arthur."

Arthur sat down across from John, allowing the sound of crickets and snuffling horses to fill the silence between them. When he spoke, his tone was softer. “Don’t think I’ve seen you this shaken. Not even when you was freezin’ your ass off after them wolves got to you.”

John’s gaze dropped to his lap. “I’m a bit rattled, s’all. I got a bad feelin’, Arthur.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you think the law showed up a little too fast?”

“Maybe,” Arthur said. “I’m more curious about the son-of-a-bitch who knew we was gonna rob that train.” He turned, pulling the note he’d stashed into his saddlebag and brandishing it.

“See? You’re worried too. S’not just me.”

“I’m not worried,” Arthur cast the notion aside. No use in admitting to being worried unless there was really something to lose sleep over, especially in front of John, who looked like he was fixing for an excuse to leave again. Arthur didn’t want to be the person to give him one. He would gladly take a bullet before he watched Abigail’s face twist back into sorrow and disappointment on account of John flying the coop.

“We gonna be okay, Arthur?” John asks.

“Can’t tell the future anymore than you can, Marston,” Arthur said, crumpling the note in his fist. “What we can do is find the bastard who pulled the wool over our eyes, and deal with the rest as it comes along. I’ll talk to Mary-Beth tomorrow. Ask her to go back up to the saloon.”

John watched as Arthur tossed the paper into the fire, the edges curling into black.

—

You waited across the tracks from the abandoned trading post in Roanoke Ridge, taking shelter behind a sturdy tree (you’d almost hid behind one crawling with poison ivy vines, what a sight that would have been). The instructions you’d given Ernest to pass on had been clear: Whoever is sent must be on time and arrive alone. You checked your pocket watch. Already a half hour late. Out of desperation you remained a few minutes longer. The sun was almost at its peak in the sky, and you were getting hot with your scarf obscuring the lower half of your face. You cursed yourself for wearing such bulky trousers and long sleeves.

In your mind, the heist had been preferable to wasting away in the heat. With a little theater and luck, you managed to rob the train heading north. You still couldn’t believe your good fortune. Keeping your voice low and husky, the passengers and engineer had mistaken you for some hardened outlaw. You’d threatened them with your non-existent gang that was supposedly trailing close behind. In reality, the only thing riding alongside the train was the horse you’d borrowed from Ernest.

You scanned the landscape with binoculars, on the precipice of calling it a day, when you saw a pair of figures ascend the hill behind the dilapidated structure. The taller of the two was wearing a fading grey shirt that you imagined was once white, which stretched across his broad shoulders. He staked a far contrast to the companion at his left, a leaner man with dark hair that extended past a deep scar on his cheek. Both looked tough and mean. Exactly the type of men you’d hoped for.

Though two against one, the odds weren’t good if things went south.

You dropped the binoculars and reached for your rifle. Steadying yourself, you squinted through the scope, drifting down the length of their bodies until their dusty leather boots came into view. You cocked the gun, exhaled, and took the shot, aiming inches away from them.

“Shit!”

“Thought I’d said to come alone,” you called out. “If one of you gentlemen doesn’t get going, the next two bullets will be right in the forehead.”

“Jesus Christ,” the dark-haired man yelped. “Is that a woman shooting at us?”

“Woman or not, doesn’t change the fact she’s got a goddamn rifle!” the other fired back. “Alright, miss, my friend here is gonna get on his horse and leave. Ain’t that right, Marston?”

“Rode all the way out here for nothin’,'' he complained loudly and whistled. When his horse came around, he placed his foot in the stirrups and swung his leg over the saddle. “If you ain’t back by sundown, I’ll come lookin’ for you, Arthur. Hear that, lady?”

Arthur waved a dismissive hand. You waited until the horse disappeared behind the hills before coming out from the brush. At this distance, you could discern more of his features. The first of which you noticed were bright blue eyes that writers and painters alike had mused over for centuries.

He directed them at you. “There,” he said. “Happy?”

You lowered your rifle. “We’re off to a poor start, I’m afraid.”

“Don’t want no trouble. Just didn’t know what we was walkin’ into,” he said, moving closer, hands up slightly as if to not appear threatening. “You were real vague in that note of yours.”

You reaffirmed your grip on your rifle. “That’s close enough,” you said. Any closer and he’d eclipse you, your neck within snapping distance of those strong hands.

“Then, how about you tell me how this is gonna go?”

In the days leading to this moment, you’d thought of the ways you were going to approach this. Never did you imagine getting this far. “Do you have any idea why I may have invited you here?”

“To gloat, perhaps? About beatin’ us to that train?”

An involuntary upward twitch at the corner of your mouth. “Not quite, sir. I value my time and yours, so I’ll keep it short. I need you.”

Arthur pointed to himself. “You... need me?”

“Yes, you.”

He dipped his head, obscuring whatever expression he was making beneath the brim of his hat. Rubbing his neck, Arthur said, “Can’t imagine why you’d need me, lady. Accountin’ for the fact you don’t even know me.”

“I’ll rephrase. It’s not you I need exactly, it’s somebody like you. And your friend, for that matter.” You paused. “I used to have partners, too. One is dead, the other is in need of rescue. She was kidnapped. I want to hire you to help get her back.”

“Why not go to the sheriff? Seems a hell of a lot easier than getting up to all this trouble.”

“The sheriff?” you scoffed. “You really think he’d risk himself and his men to help me save a working girl from outlaws? Most likely he’d look into my background, and then I’d be arrested before I could even blink.”

“So all we gotta do is save your friend from her kidnappers and what, you’ll pay us?”

“You’ll get the money from the train, and I’ll throw in seventy dollars on top of that,” you said.

“What’s the catch?”

“Pardon me?”

“The catch,” Arthur repeated. “Seems too easy.”

“Didn’t say it’d be easy. Are you familiar with the O’Driscoll Boys?”

A spark of recognition. He was, in fact, familiar. “Yeah, I heard of ‘em. Your friend Emma… them boys captured her?”

You nodded. “A former client of hers runs with that gang. He found us in a hotel room, shot Henry, and knocked me out. When I came to, Emma was gone, and I was alone.”

“Under ordinary circumstances, I’d be glad to help,” he said. “You see, there’s someone I’d need to run this by and he’s already got it out for their leader, Colm O’Driscoll. This’d be the perfect excuse for him to do something goddamn stupid.”

“Please. If you’re familiar with them, you can imagine how awful it must be for her. I’ll even give you half the money upfront,” you said, decocking your rifle and slipping it back over your shoulder by its leather strap.

“Can’t promise nothin’, but I’ll talk it over with some people tonight. Meet me at that saloon in two days, same time. If it goes in your favor, I’ll take you to see the man who makes all the decisions.”

“Are you going to make me wait again?” you asked.

“You’re the one asking for favors, miss.”

“I’m offering a job.”

Arthur’s lips set into a hard line. “A job that might get us into a world of trouble, adding fuel to a fire that’s been burnin’ for a long time now. Frankly, you don’t know what you’re getting into.”

And because you didn’t want to push your luck, you fell silent. You watched him call for his horse and mount it.

“I’ll be on time,” he mumbled as an afterthought, and rode off in the direction he came.

#arthur morgan #arthur morgan fanfiction #rdr2 ao3 #rdr2 fanfiction #arthur morgan x female reader #arthur morgan x you #arthur morgan x y/n #reader insert #rdr2 fanfic #arthur morgan/reader #tlab